Kathleen's As of Yet Untitled Blog About Madrid: I finally made it to England!

After twenty years of being a diehard Anglophile, I finally made it to England! I flew in through Manchester and stayed two nights with Beth (another USC student), who is spending the year in Leeds. It was so nice to see all the people and places she's been talking about for the last few months! Even then I was getting really, really homesick, but seeing how much she's enjoying studying abroad helped me get excited for my own European adventures! Leeds is an amazing city with a great student atmosphere, and I'm really glad I got to see it for myself!

In Leeds, I was introduced to two things that seem VERY important to the British: takeaway food and Primark. The former consisted of wonderful, delightfully greasy food that was generally well under five pounds (1 pound = $1.48). Primark, on the other hand, is something like the British (or, rather, Irish) Old Navy: cheap, fairly stylish clothing that generally falls apart within the year. They only exist in Ireland, England, and Spain. I'm stoked.

That Friday, after yet another train ride through rolling countryside dotted with sheep (SHEEP!), we (Beth, her friend Alison, and I) finally made it to London! It was SO nice to see Sarah, who had been off on an adventure of her own.

OK, so London is both one of the coolest cities in the world and a constant chance for the hardcore geek in me to blossom! Everywhere I went reminded me of Harry Potter. Or Mrs. Dalloway. Or Alan Rickman. Prince Harry, Nick Hornby, Bend It Like Beckham. I half expected Sherlock Holmes to pop out of every side street, or someone to sell me an illegal dragon egg in every dodgy pub. I loved it, and I cannot wait to go back. Soon.

I suppose we did the normal touristy stuff (Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, etc.). However, it was my first time staying in a hostel, so THAT was an experience! The Astor Hyde Park (where we stayed) was lovely, clean, and had wifi, which was nice. My stay there was the start of two themes of the semester: 1.) The metro is your friend. 2.) Keep your friends close and your purse closer (I slept with mine).

My favorite attractions, by the way, were the Tate Modern, the Tower of London, and the National Portrait Gallery. I got to see where all the Tudor family squabbles went down, modern art that, whether or not I understood it, made me think, most of the famous paintings of British kings and queens, and this really beautiful portrait of Virginia Woolf by Vanessa Bell (her sister). I am now also the proud caretaker of a stuffed Henry VIII. He says hi.

Everything we did on the entire trip, however, was probably overshadowed by one thing: SNOW!!!! I NEVER see snow (something Beth, Alison and Sarah quickly tired of me saying). It was SO pretty and, even though it made traveling a nightmare and seeing some sights impossible, I think it was totally worth it. Then again, none of my flights were cancelled (Sarah).

I suppose, instead of this really long blog post, all I really needed to say was that I went to London and had an amazing time, so there it is. It was so worth it and I can't wait to go back!