Living La Vida London: Day 4

Today I woke up, got ready, walked over to the Tube station, got my Oyster pass (finally), walked back to my dorm room, and headed to class. Afterward I went with my friend Stephanie to Top Shop and T.K. Maxx just to look around. Being the lover of shopping that I am, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I don't have a Top Shop anywhere near me and got two relatively inexpensive things. Now I have some awesome stuff from London. Honestly, I would get most of my clothes from Top Shop if I lived here in London. That place is wonderful.

Stephanie and I then decided that we were hungry and in need of some good old McDonalds cheeseburgers, so we stood by a Starbucks in order to get some Wi-fi and found the nearest one. Unfortunately, the soda machines were out and our only options for drinks were water or orange juice... oh well! I can't really complain much, seeing as they serve delicious American fast food there. I can honestly say that I would rather have McDonalds than any traditional English food any day of the week. I'm starting to realize just how good it is to be American and have all these wonderfully unhealthy food options at my disposal.

Afterward we headed back to our dorm rooms and decided that it would probably be best if we both turned in for the evening and did our massive work loads from our classes today. I have to read about sixty pages of Old English text. I bet everyone who reads this is just seething with jealous rage.

I was ready to do just that when I decided that I needed to go out and get a couple of things from the store. It was on my walk there that I realized I hadn't taken any pictures today. So I pulled my camera out and this is what I captured:

  It was then that I realized just how beautiful Kensington (not to mention London) is. I had been so busy being worried about being okay with my surrounding the first few days that I completely forgot how lovely it is to slow down and revel in the beauty around you. Taking walks is one of my favorite things to do, so it's a wonder that I never really decided to slow down and stroll to my destination instead of adopting the Londoner speed-walking pace of things. I began to wonder if the people who live here ever really stop to think about how beautiful this city really is and how lucky they are to be a part of it all.

 Much to my dismay, I had some allergy issues for the first couple of days here because it is allergy season and all of the flowers are blooming. Yes, all of the flowers are blooming, but I love it. You can smell the flowers in almost every part of Kensington and most of the flowers are roses. Yesterday morning a sweet little old English lady literally stopped and smelled a beautiful white rose. I didn't really think about that experience until I noticed just how many rose bushes I was surrounded by. I want to grow old and be that sort of a person no matter where I live.

 I simply cannot get over how lucky I am to be living in this part of London for almost a month! It might be a bit posh for my taste, but at least it's close to some of the most gorgeous parts of London. I do so enjoy walking to class every day at noon and being able to enjoy both nature and the architecture that I am surrounded by.
I did notice something rather funny today: the pub that is just down the street from where I live was once a school for nuns. They really do make every bit of space count here, and at least they took the time to make a plaque commemorating what originally stood there.

And this happens to be the view that I have to fortune of looking at every time I venture down the six flights of stairs to the lobby of my dorm. I really do love London.

I think the most difficult decision I will have to make this entire time here is whether or not I want to spend a day up in Liverpool without my brother Garrett there with me. It's every die-hard Beatles fan's dream to make the journey to Liverpool in order to see where it all began. I feel like that trip might have to be saved for the next time I come back to London because the next time I come, I'm bringing at least one other member of my family.

So now I will begin reading that Old English text. 

Prayers are encouraged and much appreciated.