Weekend of Fun and Relaxation

Portobello Road Market

Johnson House view from our little park square

The fountain in the middle of the park

Jordan and I right outside of where we live!

Very nice landscaping!

This past weekend was a chance to get some minor tourist sights out of the way and to get ready for finals weekend. On Saturday, Jordan, Rory, and I headed to Port0bello Markets in Notting Hill. This is by far the biggest stretch of vendors in London! Imagine the length of 3 football fields of antiques, food, drinks, jewelry, clothes, and other various things sprawled out in front of you! It was a beautiful day! To end our perfect day, we ended up going to a pub for some pre-drinks and then headed to an invite only club, Quo Vadis. (with Rory and the studio) You had to follow a certain dress code and when you got inside it was an elegant lounge. Every group had an individual server and it was a really chill night. We just sat around and enjoyed each others company!

The next day I decided to venture off on my own to Hyde Park to enjoy the day of sunshine! I took a book, my laptop, and the mountain of homework I needed to do and picked out a nice spot. I grabbed a nice little picnic too, and I ended up spending 4 hours in the park! It was really nice to just sit in the park and enjoy it though. Afterwards, I ventured back to my flat (via the Rodeo Drive of London!) and started to work on my papers.

Horses in Hyde Park

Beautiful

My view from where I was sitting

Jordan- V.I.P.

Charlie playing Kiera Knightley...

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Eiffel Tower in Paris lighting up on the hour, every hour

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

CHELSEA!!!

Concession Stand Menu!

They wave these flags for the entire halftime

The field

My future husband- Yury Zhirkov

Part of the team store

On Tuesday night, Jordan, Elise, and I went to a Chelsea game!! Chelsea is my favorite football team and I have watched numerous amounts of their games! It is also fun because my flat is located in Chelsea, so I see that it is only right to support them! The game was against the Bolton Wanderers and I can not begin to explain the excitement of the game. The stadium is huge and is located only a few tube stops from where I live. As soon as you get on the tube, everyone is decked out in Chelsea gear! Random people will just shout and give you high fives as you walk by. Being a girl in Chelsea attire is even better and the guys love to be your friend!! At the game, the excitement level is even higher and the amount of cheers the team have is impressive. I know quite a few, so I was able to join in on some! Chelsea ended up winning the match and everyone left on a happy note!!

Chelsea Match!! Listen to the cheer in the background!

The Chelsea Lion!!!

Just part of the team

Good action shot

Half of the stadium

If number 18 fails, I guess Ill go for him

Jordan and I

Studio Day

Mimosa anyone?!

(at the recording studio)

Me with my new friend Charlie!!

Rory with Jordan and I

My friends in our little nook

On the Sunday of that weekend, Elise, Jordan and I decided to go spend the day with Rory and his friend Charlie at the studio they work at! Rory is producing some of his own songs, so we just sat around watching him play with Charlie and drank mimosas! The studio is really cool and high-end and is located right in the heart of Soho! (a real fun area with a lot of bars and good restaurants!) For a break, they took us to an amazing falafel place where you just stock it up yourself with a veggies and sauces of all kinds! It was so good and filling, and kind of good for you! (makes me feel a little better about it!)

After the guys got done at the studio, we made our way over to a pub to catch the Arsenal game. We just sat around and talked for awhile and enjoyed a few pints in the process. It was a really relaxing afternoon and I felt like I really belonged in London. I didn't have a set schedule and I was just enjoying a nice game of football!

Pics from the Day

Changing of the Guards

The wall we climbed!

Buckingham Palace

London Bridge

View of the London Eye from the Monument

View of Tower Bridge from the Monument

Stairs we had to climb to get to the top!

The Monument

Southwark Cathedral

Food at the market!

View of Tower Bridge and the HMS Belfast from London Bridge

(what I see right outside of where I work!)

Touching the Thames!

Changing of the Guard, Climbing the Monument, and Borough Market

On the weekend after Easter, we decided to go see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. The parade started at 11:30 on Saturday and by the time we got there at 11:00, the place was packed!! We tried to get a good view from the grass, but it just wasn't working! Lucy then spotted a wall located on the opposite side of the street, so we decided to climb it! This wall was about ten feet high, but we made it to the top and had a wonderful view!! The changing took about 45 minutes and the day was so beautiful!!

After we witnessed the changing of the guard, we made our way over to the Monument. The Monument is built over where the Great Fire of London started. The monument has 311 steps til the top, but the climb is definitely worth it! The views were amazing! After we got done with our climb, we crossed over the London Bridge and I had the chance to touch the River Thames!! (needed to see if it was like the Allegheny!)

We were really hungry by this point, so we made our way over to the Borough Market which has nothing but food!! It was so busy, that our group of 6 had to split up and meet later in the yard of The Southwark Cathedral. Leandra and I ended up going around and the amount of samples we had was phenomenal! I was really full by the time we walked through the market, that I almost couldn't finish the sandwich I bought! We had cheeses, salsas, chutney, vinegar, fish, smoothies, fruit, pastries, and a lot of other free samples! After our walk through the market, I met up with Steph and we took a walk through the Cathedral. It was really big and pretty and I was surprised to know that this whole market and church was right by where I worked!

Imperial and the International Student House

Start of the dance floor at Imperial, still early though!

Elise, Leandra, and I at Imperial

With Steve Urkel!!! Haha he had to dress up

as him for missing practice!

At the bar at Imperial drinking snakebites (cider with blackberry currant)!

The program that I am in (CAPA) has given us access into two student unions in London- Imperial College and the International Student House, or ISH. Both are ridiculously fun and very cheap to eat and drink in. It is also a great place to meet other students around London and become better friends with the ones at CAPA. I have made some great friends over here and it will be sad to leave everyone...but I am going to enjoy my final weeks and look forward to seeing the Pitt CAPA kids on campus!!

Every Wednesday we try to go to Imperial Student Union, which is sports night! All of the college teams come to the union to drink and unwind after their games. Most of the team is dressed in wacky outfits, but only those who did something wrong! For example, a kid was dressed as Richard Simmons because he messed up the words to their teams winning fight song! Big mistake!!! Imperial is split up into two parts, one side is more of a pub atmosphere with lots of long tables and benches and the other side is a dance club. They also have a pavilion outside that you can sit under and talk to your friends on a nice night! It is a lot of fun for a Wednesday night and I have made some great friends there!

The other location we belong to is the International Student House, or how we like to call it ISH!! Every Thursday ISH has karaoke and the small pub will be packed with students from all over the world, but mainly CAPA students! Last time we went, three of my friends and I sang 'Girl's just want to have fun'!!! We got a lot of cheers, and lets just say, I might be in the same league as the Beetles now! Overall, both places are a lot of fun and are very cost-conscious for London students!

Girls at ISH!

Right after we got done singing! (our fans love us)

Singing!

Posing for our album cover!