Lately I’ve been sightseeing and exploring London on my own. It’s nice to feel comfortable navigating through the city independently. After class a few days ago I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum. Afterwards I went shopping in Knightsbridge and on Oxford Street. I’ve been here for a month and this was the first time I bought anything materialistic. Self-control. It’s so easy to spend money here. As if London isn’t expensive enough to begin with, I live in an area called ‘The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’ which is very ritzy. Hugh Grant lives next door to me, so that should tell you something. Everyone in London dresses as though they’re on a fashion runway. Casual dress is a rarity. I bet wearing sweatpants is considered a sin. This is much different than Penn State, where people just roll out of bed to go to class hungover.

On my day off I went to The Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. Americans commonly refer to The Houses of Parliament as Big Ben, but Big Ben actually only refers to the bell inside the tower, not the entire structure. (How pretentious do I sound?) I’ve seen pictures of these landmarks since I was young, so I was hoping they’d be as beautiful as I imagined. I tend to build things up in my head, but I was definitely not disappointed. I spent awhile taking in the view. I easily spent 30 minutes just staring at The Houses of Parliament.

Over the weekend I went to Stratford (William Shakespeare’s birthplace) and Kenilworth Castle. I’m not the biggest Shakespeare enthusiast, but I appreciated seeing where Shakespeare grew up. His impact is undeniable, but I’m not as obsessed with him as a lot of people are. Stratford was a nice little town, but some of it was commercialized which damaged the historical credibility of it for me. Kenilworth Castle was gorgeous. We got to climb through the nooks and up to the top and got a great view of the English countryside. As we were leaving it began to snow.

Next weekend I’m going to Dublin! My Mom is there right now and my family lives there. I’ll be staying with a longtime family friend, Denis. (It will be nice to save money by not needing to purchase a hostel!) I can’t wait to see him and my other relatives I haven’t seen in awhile. It will be great to experience Dublin with real Irish people! As much as it’s fun to travel with my friends, this will be an authentic cultural experience.