Jessica Takes London: A week's Worth of London

OMG so since tuesday I went on my personal walk to Notting Hill (like the movie-which I've never seen). I took the city bus and got off at the wrong stop-Marble Arch-because it looked close to Notting Hill on the tube map. I noticed that drivers on the bus DO NOT STOP even if you ask them to, let them know that your friend is coming right now, or even if you are walking down the steps. I was walking because my stop was coming up and the bus JERKED as the driver began to drive and I slammed into the wall down the steps! I tried to play it off but no. That’s very interesting here: in American the bus driver may stop unless he is in a bad mood because they buses may come infrequently, but here the buses are more frequent so I guess if you miss one there’s one coming within 5 minutes.

Marble Arch!

carvings in Marble Arch

History on Marble Arch

Flags near Marble Arch

Statue of a horse's head by Nic Fiddian Green!

pretty fountain!

Art inside the Marble Arch tube station

Cool Ad I saw while waiting on the tube to get to Notting Hill

Cool bookstore

What the rain does to the sidewalk!! so slippery!

Pretty church building

Range Rover

Colorful Doors

Pastel Blue house

Notting Hill was SO PRETTY!! The houses alternated colors ranging from pastel pinks, blues, purples, greens, to vibrant blood red or electric blue to a nice cream color. There are shops lining the streets (like most of London I’ve noticed), and then if you walk a little ways you will find Portobello Market. I actually took a wrong turn and didn’t end up getting to Portobello market right away, but I got to see some awesome Vintage shops and comic book shops! It reminded me of the square in Denton with the comic book shop, recycled books, thrift shops with antiques and random goodies that are good for decoration. I also was school kids today and one girl was dressed like Madeline-hat and all!

She's dressed like Madeline!

Lingerie shop? wow lol

look at all the pretty colors!

Eventually I got to Portobello Market and it. Was. Awesome! I got gifts for some friends and my brother, and I saw a shirt I have to go back and get. It was so nice and it was cool seeing clothes and hats and shoes for a cheap price. One cool Ad I saw was some graffiti art that actually promoted the shop it was next to. It was a picture of four guys dressed in doctor’s scrubs with scalpels and things with a shoe on the operating table and the caption was “Shoe repair.” The store next to it was a shoe repair store, and that was the first time I have seen that done.

Hummingbird Cupcake from Hummingbird bakery. Cream cheese icing, almonds on top!

Can you see my little prepaid phone? no apps on that haha

Small girls in their school uniforms

Where I got an awesome Minnie Mouse Sweatshirt!

grafitti!

The graffiti Ad I was talking about!

Graffiti van!

colorful houses

Record shop

Awesome huh

Cool Art work in Notting Hill

she's dressed like madeline

underground

Eamonn Walker!

So this guy was Howlin Wolf in Cadillac Records, and was a bad guy in Blood and Bone with Michael Jai White! I recognized him but could not remember what movie I knew him from! I was so excited

Another photo. We are the same height, he's broad in teh shoulders. Apparently he's from London!

Cool Art in the tube station

So I adopted the Study Abroad Squirrel from another girl in my group and I decided to take him with us when we went to Westminster Abbey!

I named him Alex. Here's Alex on the tube ready for a day of sightseeing

Alex in front of the London Eye

Alex in front of Big Ben

Me and Big Ben! (and my sweater from the vintage shop)

Me again-that sweater makes me look wider than I am. Or am I really that wide? I dont know.

I never knew Big Ben had gold and black on him!

Clearly I couldn't get enough

statue near the London Eye and Big Ben

Alex in front of Big Ben

The other side of the Houses of Parliament

Underground sign and Alex photobombing

Alex taking a touristy photo near the booth

me talking while taking a touristy photo near a booth

UK Flag on top of the Houses of Parliament

Tube sign, Big Ben, Double decker bus-so London!

Alex-he couldn't get enough

Statue of Winston Churchill

Westminsterrrrrrrr abbeeyy!!

Big Ben and London Eye

Alex and Big Ben and the London Eye

me and Big Ben and the London Eye

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is where Will & Kate got Married!

me (before everyone got in my way!)

Sooo pretty!

Alex is happy to be at Westminster Abbey

Last Photo I was able to take-Inside no photography is allowed.

There are soo many people buried there! There's a tomb for Shakespeare and Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, everybody really. There was this awesome place where we could fill out a prayer card because they have prayer twice a day. I filled out a card for my family after the death of my grandmother, my brother, my friends, and myself! It was really nice I felt all warm and fuzzy. While we were there they even had a moment of prayer so THAT was pretty cool! I even walked where Kate walked down the aisle to meet Prince William on their wedding day! Ahhhh I felt like I was in the moment. Im not crazy about the royals (I like the Kardashians more-i'm not sure why) but that was cool to see what she saw on her wedding day

When I could take photos again. the walls in this photo is similar to the walls inside and the ceiling! great artwork old statues for tombs of people. so. much. history.

stained glass! my mom loves stained glass

People are buried in these on the floor inside!!! there are DEAD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE in Westminster Abbey

Pretty view of outside

We got lost and walked around twice lol

"Remember the men and women of the armed auxilary forces who lost their lives in the times and places of conflict since the second world war"

They look like toy soldier!

Back to Big Ben photos. I have been waiting to see him since i was TWELVE 11 long years Im taking alll the photos!

flowers inside a cafe for afternoon tea

Alex wanted some tea

Alex, roommate Crystal and roommate Kendra after i got some new shoes!

Jerk City!!! This was a hole in the wall Caribbean Chicken place that Ludacris ate at probably while filming Fast 6!!! the food was sooo good!

We also went to the Museum of Branding and Advertising! It was so fun and informative about how brands have changed over the years and the way they made labels and how they phrased stuff on the labels to make it more appealing at certain times in history.

Hey I know a guy who goes by this name!

old candy.

Pink house!!!!!!

More grafitti art!

Selfie on the top level of the double decker. they drive so crazy!!!!!!!!

The Magnum (candy) store!

pretty statue I saw on the bus

Just a Swarovski store. No big deal

Piccadilly Circus!!

people performing in Piccadilly circus!

Monster on the side of a chinese restaurant!

Cold in July! Cold in July!

Curzon in Soho London (apparently the 'gayberhood") where I saw an AWESOME movie called "Cold in July" (watch the trailer here) it's set in Texas and it's labeled 'thriller' but not really, more like drama mixed with some action and suspense because you don't know if the cops or dirty, or the scary guy's the bad guy, you don't know until the end of the movie. I love independent movies, and the UK has more cinemas that show indie movies (unlike what ive seen in texas. they may be there but I haven't seen any.

We got to see the previews and they were…interesting. There was a lynx commercial where this guy was trying to get to this girl who was across the room in different time periods. It started with the cavemen, went to the Romans and Grecians, went to the 70s with the wartime drafts, and then recent day. Each time he was so close to her but something got in his way-when he sprayed Lynx on his body in present day, he turned around and she was FINALLY behind him! It all happened to the song “one is the loneliest number,” but a more updated and upbeat version of the song. I thought that was really cool, and it was about searching for that love for thousands of years. In America that commercial would probably have been more sexual or more dramatized, instead of him just getting the girl she would have kissed him or something to come on to him more than just standing in front of him. Another commercial was the transport for London speeding commercial where this guy is laying on the ground and the camera is above him, and he says “ I could be at home, it was a silly place to overtake really, I could be enjoying my family instead of of laying here with a punctured lung.” And it was close on him then gradually zoomed out to show the street. That message, because the camera was so close, was more personal than I’ve ever seen for speeding. In the US that wouldn’t have started as a close-up, it would have been a mid-shot that zoomed out, or it would have scanned the wreckage first while he was talking, but it wouldn’t have been so close on his face.

That night Crystal and I went to the roller disco!! It was SO MUCH FUN!! I haven't been skating in a while and I was afraid of falling. It turns out the Brits skate like the drive-crazy! SO fast and close to you and speeding between you and a mate! so interesting! I didn't fall but I almost lost balance a few times. There were people there really dressed like the 80s and they played a mix of older songs and newer songs. there are two rinks and one had more 80s pop, the other had R&B so that was fun. I saw black people! we were in south London, so there were more black people than where we are staying. Crystal and I met some people and they were nice and they invited us to Carnival at the roller rink in august. Turn up! lol not really.

Me trying to take a pic of outside London from inside a bus. the tube stops at 10 or so after that the midnight buses run. It was fun and we got lost in south London so it was cool seeing another side of London than the upscale part where we are staying

Jordans are cheaper here than they are in the US. Hmm Interesting

Guy playing drums on a bike!

pretty building!

Bad advertising!!!! lol Fcuk is what people say sometimes instead of the F-word, maybe that's an American thing but with my American mind I was confused about what store this was until I rounded the corner

More grafitti!

SUnday we went to Hillsong Church London!! it was so good and reminded me of the Village in Denton. It was refreshing to be able to SIT and watch a service without having to do video, or worry about if Sterling or the other girls working video are getting the shot right or if the Pastor looks pink or blue in that light. I was truly able to take notes and hear the message!

The message was titled "All Inclusive". When we speak with a heart that Jesus has, people are attracted to that. Not like the people yelling at you on the street about religion, that's not attractive always. Our words can bring life, and when it comes to words, control is key. Just like the smart phones that can control a house with a push of a button (heat, ac, water, alarm, tv, etc), our tongues control OUR homes (our bodies). we can make the temp warm and inclusive and loving, or with out tongues (the phones) we can make our house (our bodies and words) cold and exclusive. (James 3:3-12)

3 signs of an uncontrolled tongue are:
Lying-is your yes your yes and your no your no? (Matthew 5:33-37)

Gossip- if we talked TO PEOPLE and not ABOUT PEOPLE that would change the world! We should speak the way we would want other people to speak when we aren't around. Basically, if you would write it and sign your name to it, don't say it.

Complaining-(this rang true-my complaining roommate was there so that;s good I wish the other girl who complained would've heard the message too-Ill share it with her when the time is right). Complaining comes from the world (Phil 2:14). Complaining is like sneezing-we all do it-some people have loud sneezes that everyone can hear while others have small sneezes no one hears. Loud sneezes are like people who complain to everyone, and people say "god bless you" without even meaning it after a while. it's like that with our complaints-it's so loud to where people are just responding but not even invested in what you are telling them. Quiet sneezes are people who hold their complaints in, and that's not good either. We should strive to have a nice middle ground to where we don't hold in our issues quietly, but we aren't telling every and anybody either. We should fix our eyes on so we won't be complaining we will be proclaiming!

To fix the problem, go to James 3:12. It's a root problem, it's a source problem (our heart). Spend time with God, so we can bear the right fruits. (Galatians 5:26, 5:22)

What I thought was Windsor castle...it's tower of London lol

The Gherkin!

Tower Bridge!!

picture of the bridge

selfie with the bridge

Emily (my buddy from UNT! we met at heathrow airport and trekked to Regents together)

Other parts of the bridge

Movie during the Tower Bridge Exhibit

View from the top of the London Bridge

Statues of workers on the Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Later that day we went bowling! Half of us went, some people were at Wimbledon ! Which is equally as cool. Bowling was fun, my team lost but we WERE winning for a while!