A Day in Dover

Greetings!

I've been falling behind (already) on posting, so today is my catching up day.

If you like seeing beautiful things, GO TO DOVER.
If you like exploring, GO TO DOVER.
If you like history, GO TO DOVER.
If you like walking, GO TO DOVER.
If you like the ocean, GO TO DOVER.
If you like being amazed, GO TO DOVER.

Yesterday I took a bus with two friends to Dover, England. You can also take a train to Dover, but it is more expensive. I booked my bus tickets a little less than a week before I went, and it was 16 pounds round trip! The train would have been more than double that in cost, but take an hour to get to Dover. The bus was also very comfortable. It was a little over two hours, which was really not a big deal, as long as you leave early. We left at 7:30 am and stayed in Dover until 8:00 pm.

We really lucked out that the weather was GORGEOUS! In the rain, the cliffs can be slick (yikes!), it is much much colder and windier, not as pretty, and so forth. So try to go on a sunny day, but is so hard to plan on that in England!

The bus station is right in the center of town, so to get ourselves settled, we started wondering around. We saw St. Mary's right away, which was so beautiful. It just so happens that on Saturday Mornings in the Parish center (right next to the church) they serve coffee and tea for 70 pence and all of the profits go to charity. If you're there on a Saturday, stop in! There were a bunch of sweet elderly folk in there, who sat with us and told us all sorts of stories. They were so friendly and were one of the big highlights of the trip. They told us about Dover a bit more as well, and we asked a few questions which they gladly answered.

Next we went to a bakery. Since it is not London anymore, things were so much cheaper! I should have bought some home made bread (40 pence for a loaf!). But the bakery wasn't actually great quality, just a note. My little pastry I got was just okay...but that could also be because I am a bit obsessed with bakeries, and have high standards. I did see more bakeries around, so I would recommend going into a few first.

We headed up to the castle first, and the views up were just lovely. When we got to the top, it was breathtaking. You could see all of Dover as well as the ocean. Simply amazing. Also, the castle costs 17 pounds admission-yikes! But, it was worth it. You can see the castle, go inside it and explore, go into the tunnels of the cliffs, museum, tours, lighthouse and much more! You could seriously spend a whole day just up there. We did the hour tour, "Secret Wartime Tunnels: Operation Dynamo. Rescue from Dunkirk". This was an immersion exhibit, where you got to walk through the tunnels, listen to radio broadcasts, see clips of the war, and hear some great stories. I find the World Wars very interesting, and I really enjoyed this. They also have a "Wartime Tunnels: Hospitals" exhibit. There was also great views when you exit the tunnels. It was so cool to go inside the tunnels, to be inside the famous white cliffs! The tunnels were visible from the end of our bus ride, and I had no idea you could go inside.

Going into the castle was an amazing experience. Did I mention that parts of it are 2,000 years old? There is so much amazing history in Dover. The views were incredible on top of the castle. You had 360 degrees of Dover and the ocean-so beautiful. Words can't describe it.

We headed down after that, but that was a bit of mistake-we should have continued upwards to go to the South Foreland lighthouse and walk The National Trust Walk. Instead, we went back into town. We did end up going to the beach, which is beautiful. I would just recommend staying up at such a high elevation, instead of going back down, and then back up. We ended up taking a bus to just outside the lighthouse path. It was 3 pounds one way, which was a bit unfortunate. But just the walk up to the lighthouse would have been approximately 1.5 hours, so it did save us time and gave us more time to enjoy the actual scenery.

The lighthouse costs a couple pounds. We lucked out actually, because our friend we met at coffee works there, and let us in for free and gave us a personalized tour! This lighthouse is not only beautiful and picturesque, it was the first lighthouse to use electricity. There is also a cute little tea house attached. A nice place to stop before the walk back! The tearoom was adorable and the tea itself was delicious! They also had little cakes as well.

The walk back was another great highlight. The lighting was beautiful; the adjacent farmland was luminescent in the sun, the cliffs were stark white, and the blue sky made the ocean look even brighter. It is not physically a hard walk, but I estimate it took us a bit under 2 hours to do, with all of our stopping to snap pictures. The cliffs are one of the most memorable sites I have ever seen. I simply loved it.

We had some fish and chips at Castle in the center of town. The fish was greasier than I would have liked, but it was a good deal at 4.30 pounds for a small which was plenty food for us three hungry travelers.

Final words of advice: GO TO DOVER. The castle and the cliffs are simply magnificent, and if you have a day in England, Dover is a great place to be. I can't wait to explore more of this great place!

Cheers,

Liv

A Royal Day

Hello!

Thursdays are great days for me, because I DON'T HAVE CLASS! :) So I had planned to get off at the Piccadilly Circus stop on the Piccadilly line and follow a walk that was in my London 2013 guide. The guide I use is Eyewitness Travel. My family friends let me borrow it, and I would highly recommend it. It has a great pull out map which is really easy to follow. (I have limited map skills, and even I can parse through this one!)

However.....plans changed! As the best kind of plans do!

I did get off at Picadilly, and I started to walk around, but then things kept grabbing my attention. There is a lot of theater in that area, by the way. I peeked around a bit, it was so cool! Also, I ended up in Chinatown I believe. London's Chinatown is really small, and there seems to be some authentic food there. Side note: I am not sure if there is more to this Chinatown, or more Chinatowns in London. As I said, I sort of stumbled upon it. I ended up walking through the Royal Opera Arcade which is a posh side alley way. It is the oldest shopping arcade in London. But there wasn't really any cool shops. It was a cute place, but it is not a must-see.

So I continued to get even more distracted, and saw a statue very far away, and walked towards it. The architecture in the area was so beautiful, I had to keep pausing. I was such a typical tourist, eyes-widening at everything and snapping pictures left and right. The statues ended up being of Florence Nightingale and Sydney Herbert. But just beyond that I spotted a park! The weather was so nice out (so unlike London), and the park was GORGEOUS! It ended up being St. James Park. Which is definitely a must-see! It is so pretty, and there are great swooping trees, and a small pond. What makes the pond so cool is there are PELICANS!! The birds were apparently a gift from some guy, and it's a tradition. (I swear I read the thing, but the birds distracted me...). There were other birds there as well: seagulls, ducks, mysterious birds, and crazy pigeons. I ate lunch there and then continued my walk.

I ended up going to Buckingham Palace! I was actually blown away by it's grandness. It is so beautiful. London as Open House events in the fall, where you can go into buildings that are normally closed off to the public sometimes for free! Buckingham did cost 16.00 pounds (with a student discount), but it was so worth it. It was such a great experience I won't forget. If you are around in the fall, definitely take advantage of Open Houses. Anyway, the palace is amazing. There was a free audio tour too, which gave so much history behind the palace. There was an exhibit about the Queen's coronation which was so amazing. The queen's coronation dress was on display and it was-there are no words. It was so ornate, so beautiful, so symbolic and so perfectly royal. The tour was worth it!

I went to the Guard Museum as well (just around the corner). It is pretty cheap-5 pounds for adults, 2.50 for students. It is a small museum, but I thought it was so interesting to learn about British guards and military history. All sorts of medals, uniforms, army regalia, and even musical instruments were on display. However, I haven't been to the National Army Museum or the Imperial War Museum. I am excited to check those out!

It was a great day in London! I think what made it so great, was the fact it just...happened. There is something about wandering that I love. Exploring side streets, taking spontaneous turns and changing plans to discover more; It makes travelling truly an adventure. London is a beautiful city, and a great place to get lost in.

Until next time,

Liv

It's Tube Time

'Ello!

I come from a small town in the US, and never use public transportation. (Unless the school bus counts). So I was a bit nervous for the Tube. I had heard the whole "Mind the Gap" thing a million times. But that's about it.

So, during orientation the leaders pretty much shuffled us around on the tube, and I didn't really pay attention. Hello, jet-lag. Either way, I only really figured out the tube when I was forced to do it myself on a scavenger hunt. The hunt was fun (We won! No big deal), and I got better at knowing how the tube worked and what direction I needed to go in.

But basically, don't worry about the tube! It'll just happen, and be fine. Also, there are so many people who don't know what they're doing either, so Londoners are used to it. Are they okay with it...maybe not.

Hints for Tube Life
~Don't stand on the left side. Stand to the right. People walk up or down on the left side. They will literally push you out of the way (so I've heard)
~Talking loudly on the tube is seen as VERY obnoxious. I mean, it sort of makes sense. All the tired business people coming home don't want to hear your nail polish drama, or something. Just be respectful.
~Don't stop in the middle of traffic...self explanatory
~Don't be afraid to ask for help! The officers there are great
~Offer your seat to elderly people, pregnant, mothers, and so forth. Especially if you're in priority seating.

The tube is great to get places, but don't forget about walking or buses! Buses are cheaper and 24/7. I admit, I have not yet tried them. I'll let you know when I do! But I am a huge fan of walking in the city. You really get to be out there, experiencing the culture first hand. The sights are everywhere, and it is nice to know how the city connects, instead of going stop to stop underground and not seeing it's magnitude.

Best of Luck,

Liv

Welcome to the blog!

Welcome to my blog, "Livin' London"!

I am an American student studying abroad in the great city of London. 

I hope to provide all sorts of information about London as I discover what the city has to offer. I am also cooking all of my own meals, so food will be a big part of the blog! I plan on travelling a lot in England and in Europe. 

If I can assist you in anyway way about London, travelling, being a student, or anything at all, just drop a little question on the blog!

Cheers,

Liv