Walking in a Winter Wonderland!!

I write being able to bear many pictures, many stories, and many bouts of shivering. As some may have heard, London has just had the biggest snow storm in 20 YEARS! Of course, it's barely a dusting compared to what us New Yorkers are used to at home. But the Brits were simply baffled when they actually accumulated over 3 inches of snow - gasp!! They even canceled classes on Monday, the tube shut down, and no buses were running. If only they could come back home and see how us Yanks stop at nothing, let alone 3 inches of snow. However, the snow looks so completely gorgeous here. But, I'm getting a bit ahead, because I didn't get the chance to upload any photos from my trip to the Eye last Tuesday, and my Cambridge day trip on Friday!



SO, Tuesday night around 7:45, my friends and I took the tube to the London Eye and prepared for our wonderful half hour ride on the world's third largest ferris wheel! The Eye is pretty new, built in the 90s, and it's one of London's biggest tourist attractions. Here are a few pictures of the spectacular view (we went at night, which is supposedly the most beautiful time to go):

Katie and me, in front of the Eye.

The first few meters upon our ascent, we got a great view of Big Ben.

Katie K, Katie G, me and Cait.

The view going up!
So lovely.
Another Big Ben shot.

It seemed to go much faster than the allotted 30 minutes, but the view was worth it! Plus, being so high up is just such a crazy feeling. You start to see things as a disjointed observer rather than a busy pedestrian who is only focusing on the one street she's walking on. Seeing it all at once makes it that more real.

That Friday, I took a day trip to Cambridge. We got on a 10 AM bus and took the hour and a half ride, where we were met with a tour guide. She showed us around all the different college campuses and the beautiful King's College chapel. Cambridge is such an adorable village... they have so many little streets and alleyways with shops, eateries and clothing stores. It's a little reminiscient of parts of East Hampton, actually. Here's a huge load of pictures (some with captions, some without, because I probably forgot what i took the picture of!):

The Tower of London (This was before the day trip to Cambridge.. my bad.)

The flag outside of Cambridge University.

The lake with a shot of the boats you could purchase for 45 minute tours on the water. We wanted to do it, but once the tour ended, we didn't have much time and would rather explore on foot.



King's College.

More King's College

This crazy clock with a locust on the top. Apparently the locust was there to symbolize "eating up time."

Outside of King's College chapel.

The stained glass windows inside the chapel were amazing.

The ceiling was even more amazing! So much detail.

After the chapel visit, we went to a bakery with the cutest little treats!

Cait bought this big cookie for her boyfriend!

Cait and me outside in front of the many boats.




That pretty much sums up the visit. We got back around 7 at night, then went out to Piccadilly and went to a few fun places with our British friends from town. I think it's official that we have a real group of natives here as friends! I think the deal was sealed when, by the end of the night, they were saying "word up, dog!"



On Sunday, the snow started. By Monday, the entire town was white, and everything basically shut down. We used our day off to frolick throughout the streets and take pictures of the freshly frosted outdoors.

The view from my window that morning.

Walking down Pentonville Road.

Gordon Square looked gorgeous!

A great shot of the park.

And thus concludes my adventures so far!!! It was a great weekend, but unfortunately classes have resumed and I have ample work to do. This weekend I don't have any major trips planned, but my friend just bought us tickets to see Snow Patrol in the beginning of March, so I'm really excited about that. In the meantime, we'll have to plan some fun excursions for the weekend. Farewell for now, my yanks!

British term of the day:

Wellies: the term for 'rainboots.' I just bought a pair due to the snow, and when I asked how much the rainboots were, the woman hesitated for a second and said, "Ah, no, the wellies you mean to say." Whelp, I guess that's what I mean to say from now on.