Hi guys!
I don’t know if I have mentioned it, but I now live in New Cross, London and I’m attending Goldsmiths University of London for a year of study abroad. During my year I have the plan to tell you about different things to do here in New Cross and London, places to eat, strange experiences that I’m sure I will encounter and other things. If there is something you want to know, please let me know and I will do my best to figure it out for you.
My first week was crazy. Here they have something called Fresher’s Week which is quite similar to what I’m used to back home. During this week there are lots of activities, you have to enrol yourself in the system, get your student ID, in my case I have to sign up for classes and start to find your way around the university. In my case, I also have to pay different things like rent and school money. My bank has shown itself somewhat difficult to work with, but in the end, everything worked out. On Wednesday during Fresher’s Week, I went on a day trip to Windsor Castle. Windsor is a pretty little town and the castle was started in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror. During its history, it has housed many monarchs of the British empire, also my favourite ones the Tudors. Today it is one of the royal residences for Queen Elisabeth the 2nd. The castle and St. George’s Chapel is beautiful inside and out. You can really walk through the beauty and extravagance of the British empire and I think you are able to see quite a lot of the castle. Sadly it wasn’t allowed to take any pictures, but you can always look online. I personally love old castles so I really enjoyed myself on the trip and I would highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves interested in art, history or pretty things in general! Also, I finally bought a mug that I have wanted for so long; a Harry Potter mug that changes when you put heated substance in it!
The week after some of my friends and I went to see all of the touristy places in London. We went to Baker Street, Bond Street, Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Parliament. Since I’ve never been to London before I’ve only seen these places in movies and it was so nice to finally see them in person! We also found the biggest Waterstone that they have in London. It is located close to Picadilly Circus and it’s four floors big! If anything could be like heaven, that must be it. I bought two books, The Count of Monte Cristo and Lés Miserables since these two would have cost me so much more at home and I really would like to read them. They look like brick stones and are probably just as heavy, but who cares? Also, when you are in London a lot of places are within walking distance. I highly recommend walking instead of getting an Uber, the tube or a bus if possible because you get to see so much more this way!
This Friday I went to Shakespeare’s Globe with some friends and we watched the Kings Lear. I don’t know what I expected, but I was very happy by the time we left. I have never read Shakespeare, but of course, you have heard about Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello and a couple of the other famous plays. When we entered the theatre I was so surprised by how nice it looked considering its age. Most of it has probably been restored, but that’s details that can be ignored when you stand there in person. That fact that we were actually outside was very nice and we were super lucky with the weather! Due to the fees, we had standing tickets since they are only £5 each and you have to stand for three hours, but it was very much worth it! The actors were brilliant and I think they did an excellent job. I’ve never been that close to actors in action and it’s just a whole different experience than sitting at a distance in the audience. When you can see them shaking and spit flying from their mouth in a heated scene it really changes the whole theatre experience. I think they all brought their characters to life in such a great manner! Now, since I have not read the play someone might contradict me on that, but that can be their case.
I will come back to you with more London news soon. I’m planning to give you a whole little post about my uni-life, but it will have to come a little later on when I have figured it out a little bit more.
Have a great weekend everyone!
– The Book Reader
TheBookReader 