London: First Few Days

By the time I started typing this entry, I had already been in London for five weeks. It has been long enough for me to get used to the high prices, the random accents, and the long daily commute. The food is good, the beer is great, and the company is excellent. I am taking classes exclusively with American law students again, which is both a good and a bad thing. One, I don’t have to explain myself as much, but I don’t get the same variety of input as I did in Portugal. The weather is a lot colder too!!

I live in Finchley, which is a long way out, but the amount of money I save is well worth it. By the way, if that name sounds familiar, that is because you watched the Chronicles of Narnia, and that is where the Pevensies are from. I have spent a lot of time getting used to living in Britain, so I actually don’t have that many things to add to the blog yet, but you will see a few posts over the next few days.

As a group, we took a sightseeing bus tour around London and I was able to take a few pictures of some of the landmarks. Here is the Albert Memorial. It was opened in 1872 by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband who died in 1861 from typhoid…

We also stopped off at Leadenhall Market, one of the many locations where they filmed Diagon Alley…

Unfortunately, it was one of the off days, so not much too see. Our next stop was a photo opportunity for tower bridge…

After the tour, a few of us went to an old pub called the Ye Olde Chesire Cheese. Apparently it has been there since 1558, even though the current construction is linked to the reconstruction after the Great Fire of 1666. There are older pubs, but it is pretty cool inside. Here is a group of us enjoying a few pints, a regular pass time I enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy in London :)