London Love and Travel Adoration in General

It is personal anecdote time! By now, I think it has become quite apparent that traveling is one of my true passions.

There are several reasons why I am passionate about traveling.

First of all, because I have a stable home environment, I feel comfortable being a little out of my comfort zone. I have a home base which grants me the confidence to explore and take risks. Regardless of what happens, I know I have a place waiting for me when I return.

Second of all, I am curious about the world. I adore learning about history and culture. Foreign languages are completely fascinating.

Third of all, I am a very visual person. I need to be able to see things in order to appreciate them. You can read about the Eiffel Tower all you want. Until you have actually been there, you cannot truly fathom the size and impressive sight it offers.

Going along with the visual thing, I am a fashion enthusiast. There is something about foreign fashion that is completely exciting. The specialized shops that these fabulous cities offer are incredible.

There are numerous other reasons for my passion as well, but way too many to list today!

I have traveled to Europe three times thus far. I would like to expand a little on my third and most recent trip.

I had the privilege of going to London for a two week study abroad trip during Ohio University's winter intersession in 2007. I went with a group of ten Ohio University students and Professor Jody Lamb to study 19th Century Art History.

It was a truly fabulous experience because we went during the holiday season. London goes crazy for Christmas so the store fronts were gorgeous, as were the decorations everywhere we went.

We stayed at a lovely hotel in the Bloomsbury district which was close to everything. A typical day consisted of spending a few hours at a museum for our class portion of the trip, lunch, sightseeing in the afternoon, a dinner, and then either a night at the theater or pub-hopping.

Some of the museums we visited were the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria & Albert, and several others.

As for London sights, we went to Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Chinatown, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, London Eye, etc...So wonderful.

This is basically my little shout-out to the OU Study Abroad Department. They offer all sorts of fabulous opportunities. I knew I would not have the time or money to study abroad for a quarter or even a summer. By offering the winter intersession trips, one is able to complete a course at an accelerated two weeks and explore a city for a more modest price.

So if you have the travel bug nagging at you, check out study abroad opportunities. I am so glad I did!