I'm Lovin' It

After being here for a few weeks, we’ve gotten to know the transportation system pretty well. We love to make fun of the lady who announces the stops and train lines you’re on, it helps us practice our British accents. We enjoy when she politely says, “Mind the gap when leaving the tube.” But then again everything sounds polite in a British accent. We’ve decided which tube stops and train lines are our favorites.

Stina:

Favorite tube line: Hammersmith and City

Favorite overground stop: Canada Water

Favorite tube stop: Waterloo (Steph sings Abba’s "Waterloo" EVERY time we go through it)

Steph:

Favorite tube line: Jubilee

Favorite overground stop: London Bridge

Favorite tube stop: Tottenham Court Road

How delightful are all of those names? We are falling in love with this city!

On Wednesday night we went to see Les Miserables. It was perfect. The singing, acting, and production made it an unforgettable experience.

This week we both received our Oyster cards in the mail! Oyster cards are passes for the tube, buses and the overground. We look like real Londoners now, swiping in and out of the station without needing to buy a ticket every time we go somewhere. We are REALLY excited about these cards, you have no idea!

Friday was our busiest travel day so far. Stina started off her day by waking up at 6 a.m. to meet a dear friend (Farrell) who had a layover in London. Steph slept a little later and traveled to meet Stina at Paddington station. From there we took the train to Reading, England.

Reading is a lovely city. Our friend from high school, Stephanie, got married to a Brit and moved here this month. We visited her home and got to see our other high school friend Claudia, who was also visiting Stephanie. We had a great time acting like normal people instead of college students. We got to eat some delicious Mexican food, walk around a mall, and most importantly drive in a car on the wrong side of the road! We’re thinking about renting one and trying it out. That’s a lie; we would definitely put the lives of these poor Brits in serious danger if we tried.

After three weeks of being in London, our laundry piles had become quite large. We ventured out to a laundry mat called "The Laundrette." Sounds cute right? Not so much. We spent way too many pounds to wash and dry our clothes (which didn’t come out so clean and dry). But the other people inside made it quite an experience. We kept to ourselves and did some schoolwork (yes we’re doing schoolwork!).

Saturday night we got invited to someone’s house for a game night. Yay friends! We played a British version of catch phrase. We weren’t much help to our teams as we had no idea what the words “aubergine,” “tea towel,” and “trainers” meant. Our new British friends got a kick out of it. We imitated our best British accents for them and they did an American one. We definitely don’t sound as whiny as they make us seem! We’ve decided to buy the game and bring it back to the motherland so we can show off how sophisticated we’ve become.

Sunday was quite the day! We went to two different churches, walked across London Bridge, strolled through Regent’s Park, met up with some friends for afternoon tea, and ended the day by clogging our arteries with Big Macs, fries, and McFlurries.

Although it seems like all we do is run around London and have fun, we are taking classes and really enjoying them! This whole “class once a week” and “optional readings” thing really suits us.

Cheers!