Mapping Your Way Around

Let’s talk about maps. There are so many types of maps out there. There are the simple street maps. There are the travel guidebooks that have maps in them. Then there are the city maps that mark famous sites. As an AIFS student you will receive a city map with the famous sites on it. This does come in handy. I used mine until it started to tear at the seams. However, my primary map was the Knopf MapGuide: London. This map book is awesome!!! It’s wonderful traveling size (only 6” x 4”). It is organized by city areas (Westminster/ Whitehall and Covent Garden/ Soho/ Bloomsbury), and with in each section is a fold out map of the area and it also gives examples of restaurants, tearooms/pubs, shopping, theaters, Tube stations and must-see sights. The map is easily readable. Oh, and it also gives advise on matter such as tipping, clothes sizes, seasonal events, and so on. Plus, they only cost $9.95 on Amazon.com! It is absolutely fantabulous!

Another guidebook that I recommend is the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. This book is heavier and bigger than the Knopf, however it holds much more information, such as the occasional background facts, that the handy-dandy Knopf sometimes doesn’t mention. They have all the info you need to travel around the city. I still have the copy I got when I was sixteen-years-old and I still read it. In fact I read it so much and so often when before I studied abroad, that I was familiar with most of the sights, though it was a different matter of actually getting to the places.

My suggestion would be to get a map guide like the Knopf that can easily be placed in a bag and cause from a distance it does not look like a touristy map However, you may also take a guidebook like the DK Eyewitnes Travel Guide and look through it when you want and simply leave it in the your room when you go out for the day. I believe the next time I go abroad, I’ll be doing this.

Status Report for The Wielded Pen - London

As you may notice, it has been a considerable amount of time since my last post The Blog Still Lives, which stated that despite returning from my studying abroad adventures I was still going to keep the blog running and add information about London and the the AIFS study abroad program. Well, has it turned out life and school took control.

However, with undergraduate school completed (I begin graduate school in the fall) and a burst of motivation, I have begun to compile information for numerous posts. I goal is to have at least some of the information posted by the end of July.

Please continue to check in on The Wielded Pen - London for updates. In the meantime, my other blog The Wielded Pen is alive and ready for visitors!