Scavenger hunts and SHOPPING!

I had a very busy weekend! Saturday we were split up into groups of 5 or 6 and were given a specific category of places in London to find on our own and take pictures of various things within that location.  My group was given parks, and we got to see Regent's park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and Green Park.  This was one of the most tiring days of my entire life.  We walked for about 5 hours straight.  WE DO SO MUCH WALKING HERE. It's such good exercise but when you aren't used to walking for that long every single day, it makes your feet and legs pretty sore.  Also, our group really got lucky (this is sarcasm) as every picture we had to take was on the opposite end of the park from where the main entrance was.  One park took us almost an hour to get from one end to the other.  I had a really fun group though so it made the whole day go a lot faster.  It also helped us get more familiar with the tube system here, which has surprisingly gone really well so far. 

Yesterday, Kari, Kayla, Sam and I decided to do some shopping! We first hit up the Camden markets, which is in the town where Amy Winehouse lived.  It is also the place where the punk rock style originated! We saw some very unique shops and people there.  They have hundreds and hundreds of small stores and booths where you can buy pretty much anything you could think of.  None of us were feeling adventurous enough to get anything at the market, but we all wanted to go back soon and look around some more!  Then, we met up with 3 other girls from our trip and took an overground train to where the Olympic stadium is.  We were hoping we could get close enough to walk around and take some pictures, but since the closing ceremonies for the Paralympics was going on that evening, we were only able to get some pictures from a department store window.  Still pretty cool!  After a few pictures we ventured our way to one of the most amazing stores I have ever been to, Primark.  It's huge and they have really cute clothes for super cheap.  If you think Forever 21 is overwhelming, multiply that by about 50 and you have Primark.  I didn't find any clothes I really wanted/needed, but I got a scarf and a bracelet.  To be honest I was way too tired to try on any clothes, so I'll have to go back soon!  We had ice cream for dinner and then took the overground train and the tube back home.  We met up with Patrick, Joe, Hilary, Christina, and Elizabeth at a pizza and pub place that is really close to our houses.  It was a great way to relax after an exhausting day of shopping.  I have my first class today and am not mentally prepared for it whatsoever.  It's been nice to have time to wander around the city, but I'm also extremely excited to finally get into a daily routine!  This week, we are going to a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theater on Wednesday, another day trip to Brighton on Friday, and a soccer (football) match on Saturday.  Busy week ahead but I'm excited for everything :)  Talk to you soon!



Kari, Elizabeth, Christina, Hilary, myself, Patrick, Kayla, and Joe at The Gate!





The best picture I could get of the Olympic Stadium!



Fish Massage/Pedicure at Camden Market.  Weird!!