that was the day of my interview with the very intimidating westminster university, we had already organised to stay in london for the night as it ended up actually being cheaper! we were up at arfound 7am as the train was leaving stone at 9am, we had a nice little walk to the station from my house as it was silly to drive and leave the car when it was only a leisurely half hour walk. once we got on the train it was ti'me to have a nap and relax as it was going to be a very long 3 hour journey.
the french man had made sandwiches...if you can call them that...consisting of hot dog sausages, mustard, salad and tortilla's...interesting combination to say the least!!
once we had arrived in london we got ourselves some tube tickets and made our way from euston station to oxford circus, once we were there we started walking towards the university that only happened to be a 2 minute walk. once we got there we went to the reception and i explained that i was there for a journalism interview...but disaster...i was at the wrong campus!!! the one i needed to be at was at least half an hour away, i rang them from the building i was at letting them know i was at the wrong place and we jumped onto the first bus that went to marylebone tube station. whilst on the bus i felt so disappointed in myself...the only opportunity i had to prove myself was ruined by my own silly mistake!
we eventually got to marylebone station and got onto the first tube, it was then a half hour journey to harrow, where i was supposed to be...
i must have looked a right state as i was sitting on the train crying my eyes out and speaking in french...i honestly felt like giving up, i'd already given a bad first i'mpression so why continue. the worst thing was i had worried so much about my physical appearance that morning, making sure that my hair and make up was just perfect and now the make up was running half way down my face and my hair had had a lovely 'rain wash' thanks to the beautiful weather...(sarcasm if you couldn't tell)
eventually we found our way to the university and that's where french man left me to do my thing. i walked into the room of the interview where they were just finishing off (it was a group interview) and i felt like breaking down again. only, as i walked in the interviewer said not to worry and that he would speak to me after we'd had the tour of the campus and that it would be fine....finally my day was turning out a little better!!
the university, i must say disappointed me a little when i first saw it as it looked old and unlooked after but once we were inside it was another world.
it was exactly as i had hoped, with all its macs and latest technology and big study rooms. and best of all....a huge library!! my heaven!!! it was three floors high and juts filled with books and people studying...somewhere i knew i would be spending a lot of ti'me in.
The University the first time i saw it
What I saw afterwards...
eventually it was ti'me for my interview which i again, became nervous about but when i met the interviewer he told me someone else had turned up later than me!! i was so pleased because it meant that i wouldn't be on my own. i went and sat down with her whilst we waited for hi'm to come to us. she was a really nice girl who was with me so i automatically felt at ease, however, as soon as the interview began i got worried. this was was clever, i mean, very clever and clearly knew her stuff when it came to journalism. he asked us to talk about ourselves a little and just had an interview. he seemed quite happy but i definitely wasn't feeling the same.
once the interview was finished i rang french man up and i re told hi'm everything that happened, at least now it was over and done with and we could go and do some visiting. firstly we had to stop off at our hotel to drop off our bags which was back in the centre of westminster. honestly, the hotel was awful, but for 40 pounds i'm not one to complain.
The Hotel, from the outside it looks nice, but inside was horrible!
we started walking around trying to find the monuments but we kept walking and walking just finding rows and rows of streets that began to just look the same. we were both fed up so we decided to stop at a spanish tapas bar and have a few drinks...two pints and two rfounds of tapas later we both felt a little bit tipsy...definitely the best way to be when exploring london....and decided to have a walk and see where we ended up.
after a walk past westminster cathedral and past different shops and cafes we eventually found what we were looking for!! we found the london eye, big ben and the houses of parliament! perfect!!!
Westminster Abbey
Again, Westminster
BIG BEN!
I love this picture because i think it captures the vibrancy and fast pace of London
Houses of Parliament
Me under Big Ben
The partner under Big Ben
A bit of a blurry picture =S
we walked along the river thames and started to get a little hungry...as it was my birthday the next day french man decided to treat me to whatever i wanted and there was only one thing on my mind. delicious sushi prepared by real sushi chefs....where better to find them in england than in london?? so we decided to carry on walking and go down different streets that looked like they had restaurants and see if we could find anything, but street and street was disappointment after disappointment. we got to a busy area (still have no idea where it was) where there was a band playing and had a real upbeat vibe, i told the french man that i didn't mind if i didn't get to eat sushi we might as well just go to a restaurant and just have some food any where.
we made one last effort to try and find a sushi bar close to defeat and look what we came across!!!!!
CHINA TOWN!!!!
and guess what was in china town??? a real japanese restaurant serving sushi!!!
unfortunately we didn't take any pictures of the food but i promise you it was a real feast!! i had never seen anything like it and i eaten things that i had no clue of what i was eating...we think one thing was octopus...but i'm not sure...and i'm happy not finding out, all i know was that it was beautiful...
after the lovely meal we made our way back eventually and collapsed to bed. tired, full but extremely happy with my day that seemed to have started off so badly...
All i could do was just hope....
the lesson to learn from this is, EXPLORE!!! You never know what you will find!! But wear good shoes!
Bisous
