Getting friendly with Abbey, Ben, and Kensi.

Me and Amisha in front of Big Ben
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Yes! We're off to London! My friends Tanya and Amisha, and I decided to make use of our winter break from Rutgers and do some traveling. We ultimately decided on London because of its wide array of activities and because there is no language barrier to cross. We flew Virgin Airlines, and a good thing too because it was awesome. Very friendly flight attendants, decent food, and your own entertainment center right in front of you. We left on the 28th from Newark, and arrived in London on the 29th (about a 7 hour flight). Our first impression: London is a beautiful city, and its obvious that there's lots to do here. Tanya, Amisha, and I are staying at a very nice house belonging to Amisha's cousins in Kingsbury, an area inside Brent, (which is just one of many districts in the borough of London - I didn't realize that London is actually the name of a borough and not just the city itself; a little different from what I'm used to.)

Westminster Abbey
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Today was our first real day, so we got an early start and headed out to where else - Westminster Abbey. It is a massive medieval church with probably hundreds of tombs of past Englanders, many who were famous. A lot of them were buried right below the floor - so as you walk, you are stepping over the graves of many personalities, some dating as far back as the Church's beginnings in the 1000's, and some as recent as the 1990's. But the most striking aspect of all is the building's intricate architecture and artwork - almost every inch is full of detail, all handmade and all very impressive. The only downside was the line (or queue) to enter - people were lined up around the block! But it didn't matter, because while you wait, you can just look around you and take in the fabulous city. Most of the buildings here are, or at least look, very historical and very old. And of course there's a beautiful view of Big Ben, Parliament, and the Thames River. I didn't realize all these things were clumped together, but it sure makes for easier travel and for great photo ops. We then headed out to Kensington Palace, the residence of many past monarchs, and most recently home to Princess Margaret (the Queen's sister who died a few years ago), and occasionally to Princess Diana. It just so happens that when we came, they had an exhibition of Princess Di, where they put up some very beautiful photos she took for Vanity Fair.

London is a beautiful city, and its obvious that there's lots to do here.

Kensington Palace
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The palace itself was very nice, though not as impressive as I expected, but I'm sure this is because it has changed a lot over the years, and only a small portion is open to the public. I'm looking forward to visiting Hampton Court and Windsor, two palaces that are supposed to be really breathtaking. I hope to go in a few days. Then we stopped at Oxford Street, which is comparable to NYC' Madison Ave. It is a very long street (about a mile and a half) with just stores and more stores. I should add that it was very crowded for winter, probably more so than in NYC, which I didn't think was possible. Some stores are very high end, some are not, but no matter what store you go to, expect to pay a lot more than you would in America - London is expensive! But its worth it - I'm having a lot of fun. Some things I've noticed so far: the accent is really cool, cars here are TINY, and driving on the left side of the road is confusing.