When it's just You and Me and the English Channel...

Last Friday, the British Youth Culture class made a trip to Brighton. Although I'm not in the class, I signed up for the trip and the promise of the best fish and chips in England. The town is still a popular spot for teens and young adults, with night clubs along the beach, comedy clubs, and shopping. We took a couple of walking tours around the town and spent our lunch break eating on the pier and enjoying the beach.







Katie, Kaitlin, and I wanted to actually set foot in the Channel, so we trekked down to the water. The beach is made of pebbles and rocks, making walking barefoot a painful experience. It actually felt better when the cold water came up to us. Kaitlin screamed when the water hit her, but Katie and I both laughed.




Below is a display in one of the windows in the shopping district. The poppies are in honor of Remembrance Day.



The Pavilion Theatre hosted, in 1974, the Eurovision Song Contest, which ABBA won for Waterloo. The Eurovision Song Contest is held every year with the goal of promoting European unity and pride in their artists, but ABBA is the only group to ever achieve any fame from it. Pink Floyd also debuted Dark Side of the Moon at the Pavilion Theatre.




Saturday night, several of us watched Notting Hill in preparation of Sunday, when we visited the setting of the movie. On the way to Portobello Road, we passed the house where George Orwell lived.



Below is the "blue door," where Hugh Grant's character lived in the movie. The location of the bookstore that his character owned is the second picture.




After taking the tour of Notting Hill, I remembered that I haven't posted any pictures from Chelsea and the places that we spend the most time in London. The residence hall is the tall building in the picture below.




Chelsea is a very posh, up-market part of London. The picture below is just a random sample of cars that we see driving around: Porsche, Merecedes, BMW.



The Thames is just a couple of blocks up the street.



Chelsea Old Town Hall. The first day we were here, some IES administraters gave us a walking tour of Chelsea. Of this building, our guide said, "This building is used a lot to film weddings. Like those corny British movies were people get married then walk down the steps. You know, the Hugh Grant ones."



And speaking of Hugh Grant...his house is literally just around the corner from the Res Hall.



Hyde Park is just a short bus ride away. Below is the Peter Pan statue.




The IES Center, where we attend classes, is several Tube stops away in the Bloomsbury area of London. It is only two blocks from the British Museum.



Below is the building where Orwell set his Ministry of Truth in 1984. Today, it houses several libraries, including the Senate House Library, where we have memberships.