london calling

as many of you may already know, i'm currently in london with a group of students from my school for a journalism study abroad / internship program.  we've only been here 2 weeks, but i'm starting to feel like i've lived here for much longer!  possibly because of our action packed days -- we've gone to major london markets, shopped oxford street and carnaby street, visited the national portrait gallery and british museum, eaten fabulous food, and gone on too many adventures to count. with 6 weeks to go i can only anticipate more amazing memories, but i wanted to share with you the few photos i have so far!

had to share this first - how cute is it that kate & will are on my tube card?!

tower bridge - quintessential london.

our neighborhood is gorgeous!!

where i work

burough food market ... aka heaven.

{for some context, this is the list of food i get here: pretzel bread, 6 macarons, goat cheese&spinach quiche, carrot-orange-lemon juice, grape leaves, meringue... WIN}

pastels!

and you know me - i'm already getting into the shopping here. the whole currency conversion thing is a bit of a downer (the $ isn't worth much, to say the least) but it's helped me get creative with less expensive places like vintage shops, boutiques, and markets.  last night, i shopped the adorable carnaby street (where the iconic liberty london dept store is located, BTW) and every shop was having a 20% off "shopping party" -- such a great discovery by my friend claire!  we had a delicious meal followed by a lovely night of shopping the local shops as well as the bigger chains (like MAC, miss sixty, boss orange, and lacoste). i'm so glad i went; i got a floral dress on sale at a tiny little boutique. 

shopping is just one of the many channels through which i'm trying to structure my life like a true londoner; hopefully by the end of my stay i'm an expert on the city! 

well, here's hoping...

happy travels!

II emily