Pic Spam!

We're on your escalators, touring your attractions.


Zombies in front of the London Eye


Taking over Regent's Park


Destructive Monkies enjoy the flames


The Amazing Climbing Fairchildren

Giant Pelicans

The ones that Amy didn't get a picture of.

-Sam

Off To A Great Start

This morning dawned bright and gorgeous and full of excellent potential. The sun was shining, as you can see above in the lovely backyard of our hosts, breakfast was made by the lovely Katie and Emily:



And everyone was much improved after a good night's sleep and no longer imitating the walking dead.
That alone made today's excursions much more exuberant and memorable, though the sun in the morning did help. First we were off to St. Paul's Cathedral, which gave the best views and low-impact cardio workout in London.



And the place had a wonderful serene atmosphere, as most old churches do, that you can appreciate no matter what your religion. My favorite part was the three galleries on the upper floors which were essentially huge rings around the outside of the central dome on varying levels.

The Whispering gallery was the first and the lowest (only up 257 steps), looking down on the central worship area, and is named because you can hear someone whisper from clear across the open space in the middle. The second was the Stone Gallery (another 119 steps), and was a balcony circling the base of the dome. The view was spectacular, and there was plenty of room to walk around and enjoy the wonderful breeze. The third was the Golden Gallery, 152 more steps up several tiny spiral staircases, to reach this small, amazing, HIGH circular balcony where the view was SPECTACULAR. Unless you don't like heights. Sean. Anyway, it was the best view in London, hands down.




Next was the Tower of London where there were the Crown Jewels, a spectacular armor display, and ridiculous amounts of sheer history. It was also where my camera died.... But that just meant I could photobomb everyone else's pictures! :D

After we got our fill of the Tower, off to the Tower Bridge, more walking, lots of hot chocolate, and the obligatory London Eye ride which kept reminding me of that Doctor Who episode and the skyline shots from Sherlock (BBC). Despite the cold, it was an amazing night, and the city looks so surreal at night with Big Ben and Parliament all lit. In the face of the cold, the dark, and the barking dogs, we headed back to the Home Base to recoup before heading to the Flask.

Checked off "Having a pint in a British pub" from my London to do list, and now it's time to crash for real.

Oh, and Happy Pi day!

-Sam

London Preparations à la Sam

Hello All!

It's T-minus 17 days until we leave for London on the 12th of March, and I am très excitée! And kinda busy. So far I've secured my passport and my ISIC card, put flags on my debit and credit cards for a week in the UK and done disgusting amounts of research into a new camera for under $100 and what it takes to make cell phone calls internationally.

Despite the fact that I definitely should have been studying for various midterms, it was worthwhile, because I found a decent camera and learned a bunch about cell phones that I otherwise would never have found relevant.

The story goes that my Verizon Alias 2 will be useless because (a) it uses CDMA, a USA based messaging system, while most of the world uses GSM frequences to transmit cell signals and (b) Verizon phones do not use SIM cards, which, if I had a phone that could even access GSM bands, I could replace and be happy as a clam. Well, after I unlocked it, because most phones purchased through service providers are locked into just that providors bands/SIM card. And, if my phone could access the bands commonly used in the UK (900 or 1800MHz). Ugh.

So! In order to have a usable cell phone in the UK and to call the US with it, the best option is to get an unlocked, dual band phone and a SIM card with a service plan that includes international calling for a rate that is less that the price of several organs or a good night in Vegas. After disgusting amounts of searching, I embarrassingly found out that the cheapest and best way to do this was to use the damn voucher I got with my ISIC card (yes, the one I mentioned last night) and pay $30 for the most basic phone offered with it (available elsewhere for $50+).

Now I don't plan on spending hours on the phone while in London ($1.49/min to other cell phones? Yikes![free incoming calls though....]), but I've discovered that I fit snugly into the modern cultural stereotype of feeling naked without one, even if I don't have it surgically attached to my thumbs or ear. It's my safety net. It's worth $60 to have a phone for a week, especially since it will be MINE and available for possible subsequent international adventures. It's coming with me to London.

Other preparations include watching far too much BBC, researching British slang and the history of Leith Hill (where we'll be volunteering), and drooling over the Doctor Who Exhibition scheduled to be at Olympia in Kensington while we're there. Why yes, I am a dork. :)

Ta for now,
Sam Jacobus