Dover and a Surprise Trip to Canterbury

This past Sunday, I went on a day trip to what I thought was going to be the White Cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle. Boy, was I in for a surprise. This was a trip that BU offered through it's "social programme," and all I wanted to do since even before I arrived in London was take a trip to see the Dover White Cliffs. I basically begged Melissa to buy a ticket and was very excited to find out that most of my friends had decided to come along for the day as well.

The first surprise came when we boarded the bus and the tour guide handed out an itinerary and started speaking on bus's loud speaker. She told us that there had been a change in the plans, and we were now going to spend the morning in Canterbury, then go to Dover in the afternoon rather than Dover first then Canterbury. The change of plans threw us all off, solely because we were completely unaware that we were going to spend time in Canterbury in the first place!

So off we headed to Canterbury, which was actually a very pleasant surprise as the town was made up of cobblestone streets and very old, adorable buildings and shops along with a cute little river! See below. 

 

  

  

  

I've been really enjoying taking small day trips out of the city to the other towns around England because they have all been so beautiful! Canterbury was so old and quaint and cute, it was definitely a good surprise that we ended up there. We also got to go in the ChristChurch in the town, which was of course gorgeous. It bewilders me that something that intricate and detailed could be built in 1072 with the amount of technology (or lack thereof) they had. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to take pictures inside the cathedral so that is in my mind and my mind only. All I can say was that it was breathtakingly beautiful, like most of the buildlings in England.  

So my excitement continued to build all day long and finally, off we went to go to the cliffs. We first had to walk through an underground museum in the underground tunnels used during WWII as bases and hospitals before we arrived at the look out point to see the cliffs. The tunnel museum was pretty interesting, though. The tunnel system is very extensive and really helped the troops to plan certain attacks and was also very useful in housing and healing wounded soldiers. However, all I wanted to do was see the cliffs and walking through tunnels for 60 minutes was not making me happy. Finally, we were released from our tour and we were left on our own to find the supposed "look out" from which we could view the cliffs. 

After wandering around for about 20 minutes, we asked someone where a good place to see the cliffs from was. He kindly informed us that we were standing ON the white cliffs, and probably wouldn't be able to SEE them unless we went down to the bottom where the road was. Or across the channel to France. Which was really convenient, because the only reason we had come on the trip was to VIEW the white cliffs not walk around IN THE TUNNELS BUILT INSIDE OF THEM. Luckily, we found the "viewing area" and got these views of the cliffs:

 

We also only got a chance to walk AROUND the castle grounds rather than a chance to go INSIDE the castle. Fortunately (again), we had beautiful views to defer our negative energy from being blatantly lied to by our school.

 The castle that we were never able to go in because we ran out of time

 

View from ON TOP OF the White Cliffs

 

Another view standing ON TOP OF the cliffs

 Myself, Melissa and Ellie all happy because we thought we were going to see the beautiful White Cliffs of Dover

So that's the last time I pay $30 to go on a trip organized by BU. Until March 14, when I go to Stonehenge for a day trip. That one would be hard to mess up. I mean, they are big rocks piled on top of each other. Maybe they'll let us stand on those too!

Harry Potter Tour Part II!

So on Saturday, the second sunny day in London in a row, Melissa and I finally headed out to see the Harry Potter sites in and around the city of London. We started out and headed all the way to Leadenhall Market, which is where they shot a scene with Harry and Hagrid right before they enter Diagon Alley. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk through Leadenhall Market because someone was shooting a movie (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Not really, but wishful thinking) so we just took pictures right outside of it. 

 

  

It doesn't look very recognizable, but when you watch the first movie, Harry and Hagrid definitely walk through the market before they go into the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. Next, we went to the Millenium Bridge, which is the bridge that the Death Eaters destroyed in the Half-Blood Prince (the sixth movie). 

 

 

 

Next up - Gringotts. After walking along the Thames for about 10 minutes, we arrived at The Australia House, which either was used in the filming or was the inspiration behind the bank, Gringotts. It definitely looks like the building in the movie, just before a few special effects that made the bank three stories with crooked pillars. 

 

We then made the long trek to King's Cross Station, where the Hogwarts Express leaves from Platform 9 and 3/4. We first saw St. Pancras, the train station whose exterior was used in the movie as though it was King's Cross. Then we went inside and took pictures at the tourist's Platform 9 and 3/4, but also saw where they actually filmed the scene on platform 4. 

 

St. Pancras

 

Platform 9 3/4

 

Inside of King's Cross

The day wouldn't have been complete without a viewing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Except in London it's called the Philosopher's Stone. After seeing all the filming sites in Oxford and then in London, we just had to see them again for ourselves in the movie. I must admit, I wasn't blown away by any of the sites in London and I was a little disappointed. But once we turned the movie on and saw that we had stood on the same stairs that the characters did in Oxford and saw the places that we had walked through that day, we finally grasped how cool it was to be at those sites. It also gave us another excuse to watch Harry Potter One, our fave.

 

Things I want to do/Things I've done

 Time to update my lists!

THINGS I WANT TO DO:

• Go to the London Zoo
• Go to the Aquarium (if, in fact, it is an aquarium)
• Go to the Jewish Museum
• Go on the London Eye
• Mingle with British people
• See more of England
• Go to Stonehenge
• Go to The Globe
• Harry Potter Tour (including Kings Cross, Platform 9 3/4 - "Excuse me, can you tell me where I might find platform nine and three-quarters?" "Platform nine and three-quarters? Think you're bein' funny, do ya?"
• Walk on The Harry Potter Bridge (aka The Millenium Bridge)
• Go to Abbey Road
• See the Dover white cliffs
• See the London country-side
• Go to a football game
• Go to Amsterdam
• Go to Italy (read: eat my way through Italy)
• Go to Germany (where the beer is cheaper than water!)
• Go to Spain
• Go to Scotland
• Go to France (Paris/Leon)
• Go to Switzerland
• Go to the Tate Modern Museum

THINGS I'VE DONE:

• Had my first legal drink!
• Saw Westminster Abbey
• Saw Big Ben
• Boated under the London Bridge
• Went to Buckinham Palace
• Went to Trafalgar Square
• Befriended a Londoner (Simon)
• Went to London pubs
• Rode the tube 
• Went shopping (a little) 
• Went to Oxford
• Completed half of a Harry Potter tour (Oxford) 
• Went to Notting Hill
• Went to Portabello Market
• Watched Love Actually
• Saw live music in England AND Ireland
• Went to Ireland
• Went on a double-decker
• Went to the Museum of Natural History

Destination Dooooooooblin

This weekend, we headed the short distance to Dublin, Ireland, to see some sights and visit with Casey, who is studying abroad there this semester. It was the first time we had traveled outside of the United Kingdom, so it was definitely interesting yet good to see where the other London airports are, how to get there, etc. We left late Thursday night, so we didn't get to do much in Ireland once we landed, but we did get to see Casey's apartment at Dublin City University and met some of her suite-mates, who were very nice. I also got to start eating her brand new bag of granola, which I continued to do throughout the weekend! Look at us, all happy to be reunited for the weekend! 

 

On Friday, we had a lazy morning - we got a little rest and ate a lot of eggs. Then, we got on a train that took us to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Dun Leary), a town on the eastern coast of Ireland. It was very beautiful, but we chose a bad day to go there. Although weather.com said that it was going to be sunny and 38 degrees, the weather in Dun Laoghaire was actually cloudy and windy, with a threatening storm off the coast and a wind chill of probably 12. But we made the best of it, walked down the pier in the gale-force winds, got really cold, snapped some pictures, then went to find hot chocolate. As cold as it was, the coast was very pretty and we have pictures to prove it! 

 

The coast of Dun Laoghaire

 

  

The impending storm

 

The land as seen from the pier

Another view of the town

 

Lighthouses! 

 

Boats!

Unfortunately, we were so cold and worried of developing frostbite that we didn't make it all the way down the pier to see the lighthouses, even though I had specifically chosen Dun Laoghaire to visit simply because it had a lighthouse! It was a very fun day and the coast is definitely something you should see, but I would recommend either preparing as if you were going to the north face of a mountain. Or just go on a warmer day.

Friday night, we got a small taste of the Dublin nightlife. We started off in Casey's apartment, jamming to Tik Tok and Party in the USA (no suprises there), then headed to a more trendy bar/club to meet up with our other friends who were also visiting Dublin. We stayed there for a while, but we also wanted to experience a more club-like atmosphere, so we decided to go down the street to a pub that had a club upstairs with no cover charge, which was the main motivation behind picking that specific place. Once we got there, however, we realized that the upstairs part was less like a club and more like a sophisticated frat party. We all stood around, drinking and listening to music in a dark room, but also got to talk with some college-aged Irish kids which was fun. We noticed that the Irish are very friendly and will strike up a conversation with anybody, but will be even more inclined to speak to you if you are American. One of my favorite things about being abroad and going to new places, whether outside of the country or just a different place in London, is that I get to talk and converse with so many different people and learn about them and where they are from.

On Saturday, we did a lot of sight-seeing and walking around. We went to St. Stephen's Green, walked past Christchurch, walked through Dublin Castle, then ended up at the Guinness Storehouse to close out the day. It was a long, tiring day but a lot of fun nonetheless. Here is a photo tour of the day. 

 

St. Stephen's

 

St. Stephen's

St. Stephen's

 

St. Stephen's

 

Dublin Castle

 

Dublin Castle

 

Dublin Castle

 

Dublin Castle

 

Christchurch

 

Christchurch

 

View from Gravity Bar at the top of Guinness Storehouse

 

Gravity Bar

 

Gravity Bar

 

Sunset over Dublin

That night, after we ate Italian food in Ireland (which was actually delicious), we got to experience some traditional live Irish music. The band playing is called The Gravel Walk, but apparently does not have a website to link to on here. It really was good that we got to see some live Irish music while we were there, as most of the bands are very very good but just play in the pubs in the area.

It was a very fun weekend in Dublin, but I am very tired as we flew out this morning at 7:40! Now time to rest up for my 21st birthday!!

Oxford

After spending the entire day in Oxford, I have only one word to describe the city: BEAUTIFUL. The architecture is breath-taking, the history of the city is extensive, and best of all, Harry Potter was filmed there! We arrived in chilly Oxford at about 11 am and spent all day walking around and seeing the sights before boarding another bus back to London at 7:30 pm. In between those times, we went to Oxford Castle, Christ Church and the Botanical Gardens, with some extra wandering in between.

Oxford Castle was very interesting, even to me, who is completely uninterested in history. It was built in 1071 and is still standing today - this fact alone blows me away. We first went up into the tower to see Oxford from above. Despite the typical gloominess that lingers over Great Britain, the views were beautiful.

The tower and most of the castle open to the public were originally used to house prisoners. We heard a lot of gruesome stories about torturing the prisoners and their horrid living conditions. Also, we had a chance to take our own mug shots. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Theo.

After meandering through Oxford Castle, we began the real fun of the day. We headed to Christ Church, which is an amazing church that I know nothing about because the only thing I could focus on was the fact that it was used in the Harry Potter films, including one of my favorite scenes. The scene where Harry first arrives at Hogwarts and meets Professor McGonagall and Draco Malfoy was filmed on the stairs that lead up to the dining room in Christ Church. Here they are.

 

"Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe? You MUST be a Weasley."

Also, the hallways near the quads in Christ Church may or may not have been used to film the movies. They look awfully familiar to me....

Also, the Great Hall in Harry Potter was based off the dining hall in Christ Church. It was set up and looked ready for the houses to walk in and sit at their respective tables.

Harry Potter aside, however, Christ Church was gorgeous. The architecture and details of the buildings were amazing and the quads surrounding the area were breath-taking.

 

 

I was perfectly happy to wander around all day just looking at the buildings - a significant statement for myself, who has the attention span of Rolly (a goldfish) and the patience of a five-year-old.

I don't know what this is

 

 No idea what this is either...

 

Botanical Gardens

If that car wasn't there, you would have thought we time traveled to the past

 

Cute modern houses

After waking up at 7:30 am and walking around all day in the freezing cold, I am exhausted. I can't wait for Harry Potter Tour-Part II - ocurring on Tuesday afternoon.