I started the day off with a lousy shower and croissant down at Ramsay Hall. We then went to class and did what we normally do for two and a half hours. Dr. Martin gave us a real treat today though as three of our class members were celebrating birthdays in the past week or so, she brought two cakes. That was excellent. Not to mention, the cake provided some nutrition since I didn't eat much of a lunch. They gave us chicken and chips today and when the woman next to me (Ditoria) cut into her chicken, a green-gooish broccoli broth-type stuff drooled out. I decided to just stick to the chips.
After lunch I made my way out to Madam Tussuad's Wax Museum. I had a good time, though I really feel for the price you pay, the attraction should be a good bit longer. There are absolutely HUGE amounts of people there, which makes it difficult to actually take good photos as people are constantly in them. Also, some of the wax sculptures are so real you almost have a hard time figuring out who is a human being and who is a figure. Overall I enjoyed it, although if I had a family I would probably skip Madam Tussuad's just because it is so expensive. There is a portion of the attraction where you walk through an exhibit with live actors portraying murderers and such. It was entertaining, although I broke the rules and accidentally grabbed one of them. A guy as reaching for my face so I grabbed his wrist. I immediately apologized and he didn't really say anything. Oh well.
After the wax museum I came back to the dorms and had a bit of a nap. By the time I woke up it was time for the cookout. Several of the ladies (Ditoria, Ontaria, and Virlinda) did most of the food preparation, although Alex did cook the hamburgers. There was a good amount of us down there celebrating the Fourth and really I am very happy we got to do that. It was a nice touch from home. Not to mention, the hamburgers we made tasted a lot better than the hamburger we had out a lunch last week. These people and their food really amaze me.
So after some hanging out and that sort of thing, we all decided to head to the nearby pub called The Court. I went and wrote my reaction paper to yesterday's field trip, sent it to Dr. Martin and by the time I was done it was time to go. So, off we went. Donald, Amanda, Ditoria, Ontaria, Virlinda, Brandy, and I all went down to The Court. Amanda would leave in a little bit to get Katie, since Katie was out with a lot of the other students doing a Harry Potter walk around London. We sat around and I was the odd man out not drinking. It didn't bother me at all though since I'm used to it and I was having a good time anyways. Eventually a few other people from our dorms came up and were hanging out near us. That was a bit annoying as I didn't know any of them and, to be honest, they were getting on my nerves. At least two of them I recognized as being the culprits who wake me up at 3 in the morning slamming doors, so I just tried to maintain my composure.
We eventually went back to the dorms where it's just been a little bit of sitting around and doing a whole lot of nothing. Tomorrow I plan to go with Dr. Martin's group on a field trip of the BBC. I am debating whether or not I will stay for the second half of the trip, as there are things around London I'd like to do. If I don't stay then I'll either go to the British Museum, go to the London Eye, or check out the Tate museums. I also need to get my Brit Rail pass validated and pick up tickets to go to York. Anjelica and I are planning a day trip to York on Saturday, which should be fun although I expect it will be tiring. York is a 3 hour train ride there, and a 3 hour train ride back. But, it will be an opportunity to see another city besides London and I hear that Yorkminster Cathedral is one of the greatest cathedrals in England.
Some photographs of today's outings and be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8494714@N03/
P.S. I also got a letter from my parents they sent to me from San Diego today. It sounds like they had a pretty awesome trip. If only their trip was a week earlier...
