London July 2nd-July 5th

July 2nd, Monday:
So, now that I have an alarm clock, I've been waking up all by myself! NOT! My alarm clock isn't waking me up. Like, I don't even know if it goes off in the morning, because I don't wake up. Waste. Anyway, so Monday's are of course class days. Class went from 9-11AM. Then, we had an hour break. I had to make the hardest decision of my life. "Should I take a 1 hour nap?" or "Should I eat lunch?" Which two of the things that I love doing most more than anything won? I ate food. It shouldn't even be considered eating food though...I ate 4 slices of bread with milk chocolate spread ALL over! Yummy! Then, class again from 12-2AM.
After class, some of us decided to head over to Wimbledon to see if we could even get on the grounds. I had very little faith that we would get in. Well, bite your tongue Sean, because we got into the grounds. Not only that, but Kim, Sarah, and I decided to wait in the queue (showing off my British language), to try to get better tickets. This is how it works, when you buy the ticket (18 pounds) to go into Wimbledon, you get to walk the grounds and see courts 2-19. Centre Court and Court 1 are where are the more famous/talented tennis players play. Therefore, we waited in the queue in the rain to try to get better tickets. In order to get these tickets someone that already has the tickets has to bring their ticket to the office so it can be resold for 5 pounds for charity (basically...i'm a saint). While waiting, I pulled a Sean...I started talking with all the Brits in the line. It was a lot of fun. Yay for British friends! Okay...no more tangents (for now). When we got to the front, we were given one Row K ticket and TWO FRONT ROW TICKETS! That's right...I'm amazing...ROW A to Wimbledon! Regular admission ticket (About 100 pounds) turned into charity ticket for Sean...5 pounds! I can rant and rave about my luck forever (aka...I'm very thankful). We made our way to Centre Court, and I took the Row K ticket first, but we switched on and off, so I got fair 1st Row! And Lo and Behold, who was just starting the match when I made my way into the stadium?...SERENA WILLIAMS! I remember last time I saw her was when I met her at TRL last year. Now...I'm seeing her play for real! It was amazing! Serena was doing INCREDIBLE. But then she got a huge cramp in her leg, fell to the floor, and had to get medical assistance. She made it back up and LUCKY FOR HER, it started raining. They can't play tennis in the rain, so they postponed it until it stopped. During the rain, I decided to be hungry (as always), and so I ate pizza and STRAWBERRYS AND CREME (the Queen's favorite snack at Wimbledon no less). Then, we went to the gift store where everything cost a billion pounds which is 2 billion dollars. I mean, I could have gotten something, but I'm just too frugal with my money (...if only). When the rain subsided, we went back to our FRONT ROW WIMBLEDON (I can't get enough of that) seats. Serena finished her match after birds flew in her face, she broke her raquet, etc. (She just has a drama filled-life okay?...Leave her alone). SERENA WON! I went crazy! It was so great! Note: During the game whenever it would get too loud, the announcer would say "Quiet please," and it would get DEAD SILENT! Just thought I would share that random information (because American sports are so LOUD).
Right after Serena, Andy Roddick was supposed to come on and start playing his match. I was EXTREMELY excited to see him play, but then it got dark and rainy, so he couldn't! So sad...no really...VERY sad. On the way back to the tube, I basically got drenched, soaked, and wet...which totally equals hot chocolate when I got back.
I stayed in the rest of the night, solely because cold rain is just not my deal. And I needed to wake up at 6AM the next morning for our little excursion. Night.

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July 3rd, Tuesday:
Where to begin? Oh yes, that's right...Waking up at 6AM! Rushed downstairs, ate breakfast, got my things ready, and bolted off for the bus. We were soon well on our way (sort of, even though the bus driver had to keep going reverse down very narrow streets because he had no clue where he was going) to Stratford-upon-Avon. I read a lot and listened to "Poison" by Groove Coverage and talked to people and sang on the way up there. First stop: Anne Hathaway's house. So my professor asked on the bus "We are going to Anne Hathaway's house first. Do any of you know who that is?" I was about to yell, "Anne Hathaway! Devil Wears Prada!" And...it's a good thing I didn't, because apparently Anne Hathaway is Shakespeare's wife! Oh Sean. The house was actually very interesting. I learned that they put chickens down the chimney, because they would flap there wings to get all the grime and soot out. I went outside (it was sunny, but of course that didn't last for longer than 5 minutes), but I did go outside and sit on a bench and just really enjoyed the English countryside. It was very pretty.
Our next stop was to the church where Shakespeare is burried. Then, ironic enough, we went to Shakespeare's home (Go figure, first his burial site...THEN his home). Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I was touching everything in the house soaking up as much of Shakespeare's knowledge and intelect as I possibly could. I also got to see a REAL FOLIO (There are only about 200 in the whole world, and it's an original of a compilation of Shakespeare's works. It was worth 1 pound at the time it was printed. Now, it would sell for over 1 MILLION POUNDS!) After, we drove down to Blenhiem Palace, which is Winston Churchill's home. One word: HUMONGOUS! It was huge! It was incredible! I learned a lot of really neat things in there, too. For instance, the queen (Elizabeth I...i think) gave them the estate. Well, they put a statue of the queen in the library. The statue is of a very pretty Queen, however, Queen Elizabeth was actually very NOT pretty. She weighed over 300 pounds, and the statue was of a very trim lady. I guess it was just their way of saying 'Thank You'. OH MY GOSH Moment: So, during the virtual tour, we had to wait in a room for a little while. I was with one of my professors, his wife, and a lot of other students. The lady that worked there in the room turned to me and said, "You're not interested in anything are you?" I didn't even know what to say to her...like how rude! There was NOTHING to do in the empty room, except wait for the next room to open. Anal lady. Anyway, I wanted to say "Yeah you're right, I flew across the ocean just so I can NOT enjoy myself." Well, the professors and students still talk about my experience with that lady even now. We spent about 5 minutes in class on Wednesday talking about it.
After playing at Churchill's, we went to Oxford University. We only got to spend about 45 minutes there, but what a GORGEOUS campus! We decided to start walking back to the bus when it started to rain again. Well, torrential downpours soak me...so I was soaked even though I DID have an umbrella ella ella eh eh eh. Good times. But wait...there's more! Half way back to the bus, it started HAILING! Hail...falling...from...the sky...EVERYWHERE! We had to run for cover before we died. It was the WEIRDEST thing ever! But all's well, I'm alive.
That night, I studied, studied, studied.

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July 4th, Wednesday:
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Oh wait, they don't celebrate American Independence Day here. Actually, they hate 4th of July, because that is the day we celebrate becoming free from the Brits. So, knowing me, I shouted "Happy Independence Day" all over town.
We had classes in the morning yet again. English class was the best, because we got to talk about "Merchant of Venice". I really enjoyed our discusion, and "The Merchant of Venice" is probably my favorite of all of Shakespeare's play's that I've read thus far. So, if you haven't read it yet...READ IT! Between classes, Lauren and I went to Diana Cafe.
After classes, a bunch of us decided to go out and do one of our assigned walks for class to get it over with. It was GORGEOUS outside, until class ended, and then it rained. Rain doesn't stop us here though! We walked down "Embassy Road", which was really cool because all the embassies are right next to each other. Little known fact: The house I'm living in right now used to be an Embassy actually. We followed that until we reached Kensington Palace (it was sunny again yay!). This was a grand palace. Princess Diana used to live here, and we saw these really cool flower figures set up outside in honor of her. As we made our way pass the palace, it started to rain again. I'm not talking a little rain. It poured (big surprise, i know). And, you know how I said the rain doesn't stop us? Well, I lied. For reals, we had to run for cover. When it stopped, we decided to power walk before the bipolar weather decided to change it's mind again (which of course it did). I am also very proud of myself, because I went this long without making a single withdrawl...Until I needed to buy laundry detergent.
After the walk, we ate din din and then...one of my FAVORITE parts of the trip thus far...WE WENT TO THE GLOBE THEATER (Shakespeare's Theater)! It was set up to still look like it would in Shakespearean times! We were SO SO SO fortunate to have it not rain the whole time we were there! We saw "MERCHANT OF VENICE", and the play was FANTASTIC! The BEST production I've seen in England so far. The acting was superb! It was throughly enjoyable and yet brilliantly cheeky. I LOVED IT!
Afterwards, Patrice, Kylie, Ashley, James, and Me decided to go out for 4th of July. Well, everywhere we went was closed, so we just ended going back home. I did my laundry, and got to bed at 4AM (Attention Mom: I had to wait for my laundry, and I knew this was the only time I would be able to do it/have the willpower to do it).

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July 5th, Thursday:
So, my alarm clock is set to wake me up. Yet, it wakes all my roommates up EXCEPT me! I don't even hear it! I feel so bad, because Spencer has to wake me up every day! I need to do something about this situation! In any case, we did our LAST walk for the class (London Walks Class). We went to Westminster Abby, and saw a lot of really cool memorials and burial sites. I got to see the coffin that Queen Elizabeth and Bloody Mary are buried in together (half sisters that hated each other). I got to see memorials for Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, etc. I got to see the coronation chair that I read about in my book. It was just really interesting to see all these things that I've been learning about forever! We walked around, and I met a horse which we named (chocolate). Everyone was taking pictures with the horse (there was a guard on top). Well, I went up to take a picture and the horsed kissed my shoulder with his snout (or he tried eating me...but I LIKE to think it was a symbol of affection), and I was the one of the 3 people he did that to. I feel like Dr. Doolittle. Not really. Anyway, we walked passed Parliament. REMEMBER REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER!
After the walk, Holly, Anna, Kim, and I went out for lunch in Soho. We went to a MOROCCAN restaurant, Zaytouna on Firth Street. It was DELICIOUS. Not only was the atmosphere really cool, because I got to sit on a bench with all these lavish pillows, but the food was amazing. I had an appitizer and my entree, Tagine Lamb (Lamb cooked with cinnamon, honey, prunes, rosewater, showered with almonds) for only 9.99 pounds! What a steal. It was amazing!
Then, on our way back to the Center, I decided to get off at Oxford Street to do a little bit of shopping. I've been here for this long, and haven't gone shopping yet! Incredibly out of the norm. Well, I found a store that rivals for the top of my list with H&M. I went to TOPSHOP, and the men's section is called TOPMAN! It is such an amazing store, and of course I couldn't resist getting myself some of that English fashion. I ran into Whitney RANDOMLY at Topshop, which is so weird because it's a HUMONGOUS store! Think H&M on 5th Ave in NYC, and double that. After Topshop, Whitney and I went to H&M, and I was able to get myself a new manbag, because I am in desperate need of one. I need something to carry my stuff in, and now I can pack food and water (I get so dehydrated out here so quickly...BUT NO LONGER)!
We made it home just in time for dinner. After dinner, Patrice, Ryan, one of the professor's family, and I went out to Hyde Park in the rain to play soccer or rather, Football. It was a lot of fun...and I won (well, we won...I just like to say I). I'm pretty much a David Beckham double.
And of course, it is always a good idea to start doing some homework.
Note: Kim and Kylie were out this night, and RANDOMLY stumbled upon the premiere of Hairspray. Saw Freddie Prince Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amanda Bynes, etc...and I am jealous, but nonetheless very happy for them yay!