A Little Rock 'n Roll

When you think of the London tourism market, there are a few things you think of right away. 

The London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc.

You get the picture.

I think of the same things, but as my time in England begins to draw to a close, I've been making it a point to find hidden treasures. If you're a regular follower, you know I've found the location where the last D-Day briefing was among other gems. 

St. John's in Notting Hill 

One of the things that I've been interested in was learning more about the Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove area.  Knowing general history of the area especially with the notable musicians that hung out in the area in the 1960s and 1970s, I did a simple Google search to see if anything interesting sprung up for locations. Let's just say that I got more things to do than I expected! 

Last week, I hunted down two key places based on the Google search results that I got. 

The first? The building or rather house where Jimi Hendrix was found dead.  22 Lansdowne Crescent was the former Samarkand Hotel where Hendrix was found in dead in the basement in September 1970. 

Down the road, I found my second destination of the day. The Elgin Pub is a pub that I literally pass multiple times a day on my way to school, run errands, or just take in London life. Joe Strummer used to play and hang out at this local spot in Ladbroke Grove before he joined the Clash! 

The hidden treasures of London are my favorite! Stay tuned for what I find next! 

Father Daughter Eurotrip: Day 2

On Tuesday, Dad had finally started to get over jet lag. We took a casual morning to get started complete with a full English breakfast. We dined at Shakespeare's Head- a local place near the LSE campus that my friends and I often visit! It was my Dad's first experience with traditional English breakfast, and we left full for a day of sightseeing!

Traditional English Breakfast

Since we were so close by campus, Dad deserved a campus tour. When I applied to LSE, I had only walked by it during my time abroad in 2010. It was not like the whole touring process that my Dad and I did in 2007 when I was looking at colleges. Nevertheless, I gave him a full campus tour complete with a stop at the George (on campus pub).

Outside the Old Building at the LSE

And, since we had no luck getting into the Churchill Museum on Monday- that was our next stop! We spent about two hours in the museum looking at the war rooms from World War II. It's one of my favorite museums in London, so I was glad to get back and go through it again!

The man in the trenchcoat I do believe was Churchill's ghost

To round up the afternoon after the museum, we wander through St. James' Park up to Buckingham Palace and then to the Royal Mews.  The Royal Mews is where the carriages, cars, and horses for the royal family are kept.  We were able to see the carriages used for the royal wedding as well as the gold stagecoach which is used for coronations. Begged me to ask the questions: When is the next wedding? And, when will see another coronation? 

Dad and me outside Buckingham Palace

The Golden Stagecoach used for Coronations 

Early evening before we changed for dinner, we headed down to Waterloo to do the London Eye. I've been meaning to do the London Eye since I studied abroad in 2010. Yet, I never had the time to do it! But, now I can officially cross it off the bucket list and my 101 in 1001 days list! It was a bit overcast, so the views farther away were limited. However, we still got some great shots of the iconic London buildings!

Big Ben in the Background

On the London Eye

After we had a quick change at the hotel, we set off for dinner at Rules. Rules is the oldest restaurant in London. It was established in 1794 complete with tons of stories about the royals and celebrities surrounding the establishment. There's actually a secret entrance for the royal family as well as a private club to be invited too. Sadly, we just ate in the dining room for the evening, but it was a real treat. The walls are decorated with photos, paintings, clocks, etc. from over the years. The atmosphere was elegance left over from the days gone by. And, the food was divine!

The Kate Middleton "29"

The Experience of Rules

And, no...for all of you Downton Abbey fans. Edith was not in for the evening.

Tuesday in London was busy, but we saw a lot! Dad and I were both able to cross off quite a few things on the bucket list! Stay tuned for more adventures. 

Father- Daughter Eurotrip!! It's BOOKED!

Excitement!

I can officially say that the epic father-daughter eurotrip has been booked! 

My Dad will be arriving in London a couple days after my Lent Term finishes, and then we're off to explore! Some of you have heard me mention this trip as I was putting the final touches on the planning- searching for flights, tours, hotels, and great restaurants. Well, now, it is all essentially booked minus some last minute details as we get closer!

So, you want to know where we are headed? 

We're spending four days in London. This includes a day trip up to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath. I've never been to Bath, so I'm looking forward to it! Highlights of this leg of the trip will also include: the London Eye, the Shard, High Tea at Harrods, and showing Dad the Crown Jewels.

From there, we're off to spend four days in Dublin. We are spending the first day taking in the main sights including some that I did not get to see in 2010. We will then be taking three day trips! The first is a day trip to Limerick, Cliffs of Moher, Burren, and Galway. The second and third trips have us heading to Cork, the Blarney Stone/Castle, Belfast, and the Giants' Causeway.

And, then we are off to a country where both Dad and I have never been to. We're going to Berlin for four days! We're going to be taking in the sights from the Cold War and viewing the memorials for World War II.  And, what is a trip to Berlin without a day trip to Dresden and another one to Potsdam! 

To finish the Euro-trip, we will head off to Paris! It will be five years to the day that I went to Paris for the first time when Dad and I arrive. We're going to take in the sights, eat some macaroons, and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. On one day, we are taking a day trip to Normandy and the D-Day Beaches. And, before we leave, we will head off to Versailles and Giverny! 

It's going to be an epic couple of weeks, but my Dad and I are so excited for this! We've talked about traveling around Europe since I can remember, and now it's official. We're headed to our homelands of Ireland and England, exploiting our love of Cold War history in Berlin, and indulging in sweets in Paris.

Counting down the days already!! 

A Birthday Celebration, a Walking Tour, and a lot of Homework!

Well, it is hard to believe that in two short weeks, I'll be on a plane back home to the US for a three week break before returning for the next term. Michaelmas term has flown by. I feel like I just got here the other day, began the pre-semester math course, and now, I'm working on two group projects and final STATA problem sets before they are due in week ten. Nevertheless, it's clear that I made the correct decision by choosing to attend LSE. And, thank goodness, weekly adventures have been able to balance the hectic crazy work schedule that I find myself in.

This past week was my friend, Kaitlyn's 23rd birthday. We planned a mini-celebration post economics Tuesday morning with mimosas, balloons, and some Krispy Kreme donuts. 

Friday evening, we all went out to dinner for her birthday followed by a few drinks to celebrate.  We went to the Blue Lagoon Restaurant on High Street Kensington followed by drinks down in Shoreditch. Here are some photos from the evening!

Birthday Girl, Emma, and me

Arielle and me

On Saturday, Jenny and I met up to use this Groupon tour that we had bought several weeks ago. We spent 10 pounds in total for what we expected to be a guided tour about the royals  of England. Yet, what we got yesterday was little emphasis on the royals. Rather, our tour focused on Coco Chanel, the pelicans in St. James's Park, and Downing Street. It was interesting and fun, but not really what we paid for. 

Hanging out at New Scotland Yard 

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

View of the Eye from the Downing Street Entrance

Today, I'm in the library trying to finish a lot of work, so that is the reason why this post concentrates more on photos than an actual weekend re-cap. Stay tuned this week for some interesting wrap-up posts to the semester!