Day 13, Meet a Family, and Original Bus Tour

Good Morning to you all back in the states :) I hope you all have a great day- mine is already getting close to half over and I have to get ready for my excursion to my friend's aunt's house near London for the weekend. But here is a little update of what is going on over here!

Yesterday, we took a group picture of all the students at Harlaxton.  I can honestly say it's my favorite picture since arriving here!  Last night, I met my host family, coined "meet-a-family" at Harlaxton.  The couple, Ann and Andrew, are retired and they live in Grantham.   They picked me up at the Manor and we traveled back to their house, which was about a 15 minute drive from the school.  They live in a small subdivision near the outskirts of Grantham.  We had a lovely time- we just talked and talked and they made me dinner.  It was really nice to go into a home and be part of a family function.  While I was at dinner at their house, Harlaxton students were "sorted" into houses- a new tradition like Harry Potter.  I have been sorted into the Mercia house, which I like to call, " 'murrica".  Mercians is known for for their honesty and ability to adapt. They are most comfortable in autumn, the very season of change. Do not forsake their honesty, though, for like their double-headed eagle they can defend themselves quite well.  Interestingly enough, I do enjoy autumn, so I thought that was pretty cool.  The house system is going to help us compete in sports and other games and activities around the Manor on week nights.  I am really excited to meet the rest of my house!  

 Back to my London journey- after museums and the Tower of London, the group I was with traveled into Soho for dinner at a pasta place, which tasted almost (almost!) like home.  We then returned to the hostel for the night.  The next day, Bailey and I traveled together via the Original Tours, which is a double deck bus tour of London.  We were able to get on and off any routes we pleased, and we had a great time just experiencing the culture of London that way.  Some of the sights we saw include Westminister Abbey, St. Margret's Church, St. Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circus, and so many more!  It wasn't a very pretty day outside, but it was nice to sit down instead of walking to all of these places.  We did stop in Trafalgar Square, which is one of the Olympic headquarters.  We were able to sit with other tourists and Londoners and watch the trials of the Paraolympics, which was quite a cool experience.  I bought my little brother a t-shirt, and then we traveled onward to a small pub for lunch.  I was very happy to find a real American burger (they are hard to find here!) and then we walked down towards Westminister Abbey.  Of course, we saw good ol' Ben on the way :) Then, Bailey and I did a quick walk across the bridge towards the London Eye, which we were both scared to death to ride.  It was actually a lot of fun once we got on.  Each car that looks so microscopic actually fits up to 30 people in it!  There was a bench and we were told that it would take roughly 30 minutes to get all the way around.  I have never been able to see so far- it was really cool to attempt to see across London.  Of course, the view was magnificent as well. After our ride, we caught the tube back to our hostel and we went on a pub crawl with approximately 50 students that were on the trip with us.  It was a fun night meeting people from other countries- specifically Greece, Brazil, and Canada.  Bailey and I were able to get back to the hostel safe and sound for a good night's sleep- Sunday morning we were traveling to Hampton Court Palace!

That's all I have time for today- it's lunch time here and I have an afternoon full of homework to do to keep ahead for next week!  Hopefully I will be able to post again tomorrow before I leave.  If not, I will try to get on again on Sunday!
Cheerio!
Taylor <3