Arrival

I arrived at the airport in London yesterday at about 10am, immigration took forever (as usual), and then I ventured right onto the Underground to make my way to the FSU study center located in Bloomsbury (it is centrally located so it will be a great place to stay). The Underground- also known as the tube, is very clean, quiet, and manageable. In other words it is the exact opposite of the T in Boston, so that was a nice surprise. I walked from the tube station to the study center, loosing a wheel from my suitcase in the process, but I arrived in one piece.

Since I wasn’t too jetlagged when I arrived, I met up with my friend Rachel from McGill who is now in medical school in London. I hadn’t seen her since we graduated so it was awesome to catch up!

Today was the first “official” day since yesterday was a bit of a wash with travelling. In the morning we had a classroom session, then a few of us took the tube to the banks of the Thames River. We saw Black Friar Bridge and then set off along Fleet Street which was made famous by Sweeny Todd and also referenced several times by Charles Dickens. Fleet Street is also home of Ye Old Cheshire Cheese! We did not make it to Ye Old Cheshire Cheese today but I will definitely return to visit it. We did, however, visit the original Twinings Tea Shop where we were able to taste some excellent teas and bask their aromas. Built in 1706, Twinings is one of the oldest shops in London, from the pictures it looks much the same many years ago as it looks now. Twinings Tea holds a Royal warrant of appointment meaning that it has been endorsed by the British Royal Family, fancy!

Twinings Teas Storefront