So little time left in foggy London-town!

Hi!

After last Friday's post, Jenna and I headed back to the dorms for a "quiet party," which is all they will allow in our rooms out of respect for other people on the hall. We met up with Gina, a girl our age from New Zealand who works in the PT department, and the party quickly became non-quiet. After a two bottles of wine and hours of complaints about our hospital, The NHS, English ways, etc. we decided to call it a night. With a tiny headache, I arose the next morning and Jenna and I headed to the Paddington train station for a day in Windsor. Home of Windsor Castle, occasional weekend residence of the Queen, but little else, we knew we could fit all things in during one day. We arrived after a short train ride and met up with Laura, who only lives about 10 minutes away and she was home for the weekend. We walked around the town for a little bit. I was so excited because I finally found some black knee-high boots I've been searching all over Europe for and a kelly green scarf I was also looking for. It was a great shopping trip for me, finally! We called it quits after that and headed up to the Castle for our tour. Jenna was highly impressed b/c this was her first castle of Europe and it was huge. We took the tour and got to see the grounds and inside the castle apartments. I didn't remember this, but supposedly there was a huge fire in 1992 that destroyed lots of the castle and some of the really old stuff. Overall, the castle survived and all the rooms have been refurbished since. It was a beautiful place, but unfortunately we didn't get to take any pictures inside.

After the tour, Laura headed back home and Jenna and I had tapas in Windsor, then headed back to London. The day was filled with just enough activity and we crashed early on Valentine's Day as Jenna was getting up early to meet her mom at the airport and I was just naturally sleepy. Sunday morning I woke up and decided I would have a day to myself to browse around London and catch the last few things I needed to see before my time is up. I started with hopping on the tube to the "Westminster area" where The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey are. Tourists aren't allowed in the church on Sunday, but I was just in time for a service, so I was holy and went in. It was a beautiful church to just sit, stare, and of course, pray in. It was a great experience I wasn't expecting, but definitely cherished. I moved on to see No. 10 Downing St. (home of the Prime Minister), The Horses Guard Parade (where the knights keep watch over the royal horses), and St. James's Park. All were very interesting and I was glad I was able to fit these extra things in. I walked on to Trafalgar Square and grabbed some souvenirs and lunch in the area. I went to a great Tex-Mex place called Texas Embassy Cantina, recommended by the guidebook and Leigh Ann! It was a great escape from English food and I definitely recommend it for anyone traveling over here that needs bottomless chips and salsa, a nice cold beer, and great fajitas. I walked on and went to The British Museum, mostly because I was in the area. I did see a couple of cool things, including The Rosetta Stone, real mummies, parts of the original Parthenon, and lots of other artifacts from Asia, Africa, etc. It didn't include much "art" so it was a nice escape from the many other museums I have been to. I called it a night early and got ready for my week.

This week has been ok so far. Last night I met up with Jenna, her mom, and the other 3 ladies here with her mom. We enjoyed Fish & Chips from The Golden Hind again, which were better than the previous visit. It was nice to get out, especially because the weather has been mild (around 50 during the day). Tonight I've just come to The Station to blog, check emails, and do some research about where I shall journey to on my final weekend. I've thought about catching a boat on the Thames to Greenwich, heading to Oxford, or going somewhere crazy like the French wine country! Where in the world is Melissa?! I'll be blogging again soon, hopefully with pictures from Barcelona, but I've yet to add them to my computer so far. Take care and continue to prepare for my arrival back to the U.S.