From North Philly, to…LONDON!

Packing for this 3 1/2-month adventure was not an easy task. You always here about the bad weather you must prepare for, wear layers, pack lightly…but with all of that advice, I still was able to pack two large suitcases a duffel bag and a suitcase full of stuff. Each suitcase hit the 50 pound (weight, not currency, I was still in the US!!) mark, but i got away with not paying.

After saying my goodbyes to my mother and father, i met up with my fellow Temple U students, which we then met up with even more Temple U students, so the crew on my plane were Zac, Yrcanis, Natasha, Kristen, and myself, and we later found out Kate was on our plane too.

The plane ride was relaxing, and somewhat surreal. Was I really heading to London?! After so much talk and planning, the day was finally here! I was extremely pleased with the entertainment Continental Airlines provided. Many movies to choose from, games to play, television shows to watch, and music to listen to. I watched an array of programs. Food wasn’t too good, I won’t lie, but it was enough to keep my tummy satisfied for the trip.

After 6 hours in the air, we landed….I MADE IT TO LONDON!!! Right off the plane, it was still surreal, until I got to the immigration officer and I heard that British accent, and went a little further and saw the pound symbol rather than the common $$$.

So all of us Temple students, after getting all of our luggage, began the journey to our house. We hopped on our first ever tube ride to Gloucester Road station. When getting to our stop, a very long train ride, especially being jetlagged with many huge bags, we hit our first roadblock…STAIRS. We had to climb a huge flight of stairs which wouldn’t seem hard, but with all of our bags it was a challenge. Our next issue was finding Metrogate to check in. London streets are very winding and curved rather than grid-like as it often is in the US. After circling the area that would soon by our new neighborhood, we finally found the place, got our keys and walked to our house.

Settling in my room, located on the basement flat, I wasn’t too pleased at first to be in a room with two bunk beds, and what seemed to be not as cool as the main Temple floor. But after getting to know my roommates and seeing how we have a pretty awesome deal with our own little area here away from the big Temple floor, i’ve grown to really enjoy it.

Where is this house? Well when I heard we would live in a great area, and didnt expect to live across the street from A PALACE…and more specifically where PRINCESS DIANA LIVED!! I still can;t believe when I go for jogs, I run by this palace on my left, and on my right is Royal Albert Hall

I think the only photo taken from the jounrey to London...me, natasha and zac waiting to board the planeKensington Palace

One of the first days in front of Kensington Palace

~ by andrewwgood on October 1, 2009.