Pubs and Clubs

Yes, I know I have been a a major slacker on my blog thus far, but I have been super super busy since my arrival in London! Therefore, I am going to write a general blog about the nightlife so far (aka about the past few nights out) and then I promise I will keep up to date on my blogging!

My first experience out in London was with Alexa and some of her friends that are here on the University of Wisconsin-London program. We ventured over to their place on the tube where they are staying in flats near Hyde Park and the Gloucester tube station. We hung out with them for awhile before leaving in a group of about 10 to head to Picadilly to see the club scene. On our walk through Picadilly (which is basically like Times Square in New York City) we were approached by numerous club promoters who all tried to give us special deals to get in their clubs and bars. Finally, we settled on Zoo Bar, which ended up being a blast. Me and Kayla, one of the Wisconsin girls, chatted it up with one of the managers of the club and ended up getting us in for half the price of cover and also got us some free drinks! He became our best friend, giving us both kisses on the cheeks when we left and asking us to come back sometime soon. The club was pretty crowded and was similar to some of the places I went to in China- with neon lights and everyone dancing.


The next night out was with all my new friends from the IES program!

We decided to go to a more chill place so that we could all talk and get to know each other better. We went to a small pub that was by the Sloane Square tube stop. Our dorm is about a 10-15 minute walk from both the Sloane Square stop, as well as the South Kensington stop, which is really convenient. We were pretty touristy stopping and taking pictures pretty much everywhere we went. Me and Keetin split some fish and chips (my first so far in London) and it was delicious! We also began our competition with Kevin and Blake for cutest roomies- Me and Keetin are clearly winning so far. (See the picture of the four of us). It was so amazing that all of us got along so well and it was only the first day that we met. We all talked and joked with each other like we had been great friends forever. I cannot wait to spend the next few months with these people.


The following night was similar to the night before, except that we went to our local pub which is called the Cadogan Arms. It is literally right down the street from our dorm, about a 30 second walk, so it will be a fun place to just go for a quick drink or to meet up with people. It was filled with a ton of students and younger people which was really fun. We had a huge group of us sitting on couches, around tables, etc. There were some people from the night before, as well as some more people we had met during the day at orientation and everyone was very friendly and fun to get to know.


Our final night out so far was absolutely amazing. There were probably about 40 of us in total from our program that ended up going to the same club Friday night (our first weekend night out in London!) I'm not exactly sure what the name of the club was that we went to but it was only a short bus ride from our dorm to the Clapham Junction station. The club that we went to used to be an old theatre where plays/musicals were performed, but they had renovated it into a night club. The place was absolutely massive- there were three or four bars, two floors, a bunch of stages to dance on, and a giant dance floor. We literally danced the night away- to the point that our feet hurt so bad that we had to drag ourselves home around 2 a.m. Even better, my friends Jeff and Ross from back home were in town for the night and they met us at the club and hung out with us all night, which was so much fun! I can't believe how different the night scene is here compared to school and back home. It is completely normal for people to stay out until 4 or 5 a.m. and we are so not used to that haha! Anyway, I am sure I will have many more nights out to update everyone on so be prepared for bigger and better stories!