Nothing too special going on with me lately--still writing my essays. Pretty much the highlight of my days is the latte I order from the student union bar each day as a break from the library. Thrilling!

I remembered I never posted pictures of my day trip to Brighton a couple of weeks ago. Brighton is only about and hour south of London; it's on the coast of the English Channel. It is a popular holiday location for Londoners as there are beaches and clubs and a huge pier with carnival rides, video games, and slot machines. Brighton was also popular with King George IV who had a palace constructed there.

Over looking the beach and Brighton Pier.

Relaxing at a beachside cafe.

The beach is stony--no sand to be found anywhere.
Not nearly as nice as Lake Michigan beaches!

'Seabirds' (as they are called here)

The Royal Pavilion

The domes and spires resemble the Taj Mahal.

We ate a yummy Italian restaurant and I ordered DELICIOUS tiramisu for dessert. I wanted to lick the plate, but restrained myself.

It took some time for me to get back into the school mode once Tasha left, but I can say now that things are rolling again. (I must be butter cuz I'm on a roll!)
Today in about 2 hours I managed to type about 1000 words. Yay! Add that to what I wrote yesterday and all last week and I am up to 2000 words for the 5000-word essay that's due next week Thursday. I'm pretty happy with this progress and hope it continues the rest of this week. There were times last week when I was getting upset and frustrated with myself because I would go to the library for the afternoon only to leave several hours later with hardly anything to show for it. Today as I was typing like mad I realized that some things just can't be forced--when it was time for me to write, I wrote. You can't rush genius. :)

It's good that I've got lots of writing to keep me busy these days because if I'm not busy in the library or my room, it's tempting to wander around London--which leads to spending money. You may have heard that the US dollar has reached record lows against the GB pound--the lowest in 14 years! It's over $2 for each £! Why me?!?! Why now?!?!

The weather in London continues to be phenomenal. Over the weekend it was around 25° C (that's about 77°F)! So many people were sprawled out on blankets in the parks and squares having picnics or reading or just relaxing. Love it! Today it was a little cooler and more cloudy, but still there's been no rain in over 2 weeks and I've been able to wear my flip-flops--which is how I personally determine the beginning of summer. Up until a few days ago though, there were still no leaves on the trees, which threw me off. Now that they've finally blossomed, London doesn't seem like such a cold and gray place.

Here are some of Tasha's pictures of our adventures around London and Edinburgh and Glasgow...

Blossoming tree in Kensington Gardens.

EVERYONE who visits London has to have a picture like this.

The British Museum--a beautiful atrium.

Tea and scones with jam and cream at the British Museum restaurant.
SOOOOOO delicious!

The Rosetta Stone at the British Museum.

What does it say? I have no idea; I just know it's very important.

Great view of Edinburgh Castle from the train station.

University of Glasgow. The fourth oldest (I think) university in the UK.

Our hotel in Glasgow. Free brekkie in the morning!

Tasha was only in the UK for 6 full days, so we had our work cut out for us when determining how to spend our time. 3 days in London and 3 days in Scotland, split between Edinburgh and Glasgow, seemed to be a good, though ambitious, plan.

The train ride to Edinburgh lasted about 5 1/2 hours. We arrived in the late morning, so we were able to explore a bit of the city for the rest of the day. In both Edinburgh and Glasgow we made use of the sightseeing buses--they are great ways to get oriented in cities and to see all the major sights in a short amount of time.

Edinburgh is divided into several neighborhoods--Old Town and
New Town are where most of the action is.
These are some pictures of Old Town.

Bagpipes are so weird!

A view of the castle from below. It sits on a huge rocky hill.

Getting ready to enter the castle.

The oldest structure in Edinburgh--a 900 year-old chapel within the castle walls.

One of the many old canons on display.

A view of New Town from the castle.

These pictures show how high the castle sits above the city.

High Kirk of St. Giles, where John Knox preached during the Reformation in Scotland.

Salisbury Crags and 'Arthur's Seat'-the highest point in Edinburgh.

Glasgow was so different from Edinburgh. I am glad we decided to go to both cities even with a tight schedule, because it was interesting to compare the two. Edinburgh is much more picturesque and seems to capitalize on its 'Scottish-ness' more than Glasgow. Glasgow is much more modern and actually felt like it could be a city in the the US. It is known for its artsy culture as there are several art schools located there. Shopping (malls, markets, boutiques) is great in the city center, but the main sights are dispersed over a larger area than Edinburgh. I only have a few pictures of Glasgow taken from the sightseeing bus.

I also took several short videos of Scotland and have combined them into one.

Tasha has some pictures of her visit too so I hope to get some from her later and post them another time.

London has been my home for a while now but haven't taken many pictures of some of the more popular tourist destinations. Although I've been to these places many times, it was fun to visit them again with someone who is experiencing everything for the first time.
Here are a couple videos:

Covent Garden is not a garden, it is a marketplace. In the old days produce was sold, but now it's mainly boutique stores and kiosks. There are some cute restaurants and cafes too--a string quartet can often be found serenading the patrons. Covent Garden is usually packed, but we got there early enough in the morning to enjoy it without having to fight the crowds.

Piccadilly Circus is just an intersection of several roads--a center of action in London. There are some big retail stores around it and it's also known for the big electronic billboards.

Scotland pictures coming soon!


I've been incommunicado for the past week or so because I had my friend Tasha visiting me. We had great times and plan to put up some pictures and videos soon. Check back later.