First Week Back

Last Saturday, I got back into Londontown in the evening. 

One week later, I've survived one of the hardest weeks of graduate school, yet. 

This week has been crazy with academic assignments, meetings, and trying to fit in a social life! 

On Sunday, jet-lagged and all, I headed over to my friend, Maryann's house to celebrate Founder's Day for Pi Beta Phi with some of my fellow sisters! It's one of the last few events I'll help plan and attend with the UK alumnae club! 

Monday was my last first day of school, ever. It's been a long-time coming! We also got access to the new MPA Lounge, finally. It will definitely be a great study space for the last months.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday, a 48 hour tube strike started. It's a struggle to get anywhere when the tube strikes happen. I walked home one day due to traffic jams. Thankfully, my walk home was fairly scenic...

Buckingham Palace

Italian Gardens

Suffering through the tube strike, I managed to complete two final papers. The first was my policy paper that was about MOOCs and public diplomacy. The second dealt with polarization in Congress. It was a week of late nights, coffee, and good iTunes playlists.

And, yesterday to cap off the week, I spent the evening with some of my friends catching up about breaks, talking about summer plans/post-graduation plans, and just relaxing! 

How was your week?

Kensington Palace

If you read my post yesterday, the last few weeks have been a bit stressful. 

I've been trying to balance the load of homework and job applications on my plate with activities in London. It's part of my whole goal to see as much of London before I leave at the end of June. 

Last Friday, the weather was gorgeous. I wandered through Kensington Gardens after having a working breakfast and a quick haircut. 

Kensington Palace

Stopping by Kensington Palace, I saw they had a few new exhibitions open. I hadn't been inside Kensington Palace since I was abroad in 2010. Then, it was still under renovations. So, I was quick to buy a ticket and check it out! 

There was a photography exhibit which featured the famous photo of Wills, Kate, and Prince George. 

There was also an exhibit about Queen Victoria and other royals during that age of British history.

My favorite exhibit was the one that featured the Queen's dresses from the 1950s- 1970s. 

Dress of the Queen's 

Dress of the Queen's 

Lizzy's Fashion

The exhibit also had a small section dedicated to Princess Diana and her fashion. 

Princess Diana's Gowns

It was a perfect Friday afternoon! Although, I did not run into any members of the royal family...

For those students reading my blog, make sure to show your student ID to get the discounted entry fee. There are two different cafes at Kensington Palace. There is one directly inside the Palace post the gift-shop. Yet, I recommend going outside to the Orangery. I've been there several times, and I've never been disappointed!

Have you visited Kensington Palace? Did you happen to see the sighting of the royal family? 

First Week Back via Instagram

Besides starting my internship and getting ready to begin the second year of my grad school program, I've been up to some tourist activities, catching up with friends, and being a Londoner once again! 

A huge positive about being back in the UK? I get to watch Downton Abbey Season 4 now...rather than in December! 

Back to eating delicious pub food!

There was an overload of Prince George souvenirs at Harrods.

I had brunch with a few of the girls from the Local Levo London group on Saturday. We had a few brunch cocktails, delicious food, and just caught up about careers and our summers. 

And yesterday, I stopped in to see if Wills and Kate needed someone to babysit Prince George. Sadly, they didn't respond to the doorbell. Prince Harry, I would gladly babysit your nephew with you! 

"Tea with jam and bread"

1st. If you know the song reference of the title, excellent job!

Last Sunday, Nicole and I had high tea! We had found a GroupOn for high tea for 30 pounds. Splitting the cost, we got a normal high tea service that costs 75 pounds for roughly 15 pounds plus service. It's the little bargains in life. 

Arriving at the hotel overlooking Kensington Gardens, we were swept away right away to an age gone by. Of course, high tea is served everyday, but the hotel decor reminded me of the Victorian era. The first part of  tea? Champagne, of course!  A quick toast to being in London for one month was followed by tea. I choose traditional breakfast and was very glad I had quite a large pot for myself as it was a bit chilly that day. 

Tea and Champagne

Tea time!

With the tea came out the three-level tray of food! Eating our heart's desires...sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, cupcakes, tarts, and macaroons! Yum!! And yes, I posted the photos to make you hungry!

Scones with clotted cream and jam

Spice Cupcake

Whipped Tart

Macaroons!

Tray of Food

As you can see, we left full! It was a great adventure, and I cannot wait for my next experience. On the bucket list is to eventually have high tea at Harrods!