I’m loving the city and settling in! To be romantic, silly and practical, I’d like to put together a little London Survival Pack for her, something the size of a shoe-box.

Some good responses: a LOOK LEFT card, a TimeOut restaurant guide, tickets for the London Eye, travel guides, and a box of Us to spell words with—my favourite.

Demolition on Olympic site begins [BBC News]
The 500-acre site will include a main stadium, aquatics centre, velodrome, three sports arenas, a hockey centre and accommodation for competitors.

The top town in Britain for blokes [Sky News]
The study - by Cola-Cola Zero - asked 1,200 British men aged 18 to 30 what factors were most important to them.

London takes Facebook capital crown [The Guardian via Londonist]
Members listed in London now number 790,615, an almost twofold increase from May this year.

The wettest May, June and July ever [Sky News]
This makes it the wettest May to July since records began in 1766.

Yeah, okay, I guess I’m a little behind with the news lately, but I’m glad that the smoking ban finally happened. It’s been years since we’ve been able to light up in NY, and well, it’s just better that way. I hated going to pubs and coming home smelling like a chimney fire of cigarettes. Metroblogging London gives us the low-down on why it’s about damn time:

However, that reasoning is barely touched on by our government, who prefer the more straight-forward, but less defensible, “for god’s sake, it’s f*cking addictive killer smoke, people! What’s wrong with you? It’s banned!” approach. Which I kind of love.

First week of smoking ban; a.k.a. The best 7 days of my life [via Metroblogging London]

Technorati Tags: pub, smokingban, uk news

For all you tennis fans out there, the 2007 Wimbledon Championships began today. Now, I’m not one for tennis, but I know how big of a deal it is for those who are. So posh. Yay.

Technorati Tags: tennis, wimbledon

The London Underground’s art program, Platform for Art, has made it to Gloucester Road with work by artist Chiho Aoshima:

The inspiring landscape she has created runs along all 17 archways which sees the scene graduate from day to night and from urban to rural. With such a rich visual focal point to enjoy whilst traveling, one can almost enjoy the daily commute.

Gloucester Road Tube Station Art - London [via the cool hunter]

Technorati Tags: london, platformforart, tube, underground

Yay! An entire week celebrating international education begins today! I’m so excited!

International Education Week is a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of State in order to promote and celebrate multiculturalism and international education. The Week was first established in the year 2000 by the Clinton Administration. Throughout International Education Week - November 13-17, 2006, campuses, embassies, and communities are encouraged to hold activities celebrating international education and diversity.

International Education Week

Technorati Tags: international education week, study abroad

Calling home isn’t always an easy thing to learn when you first go abroad. You spend days or even weeks trying to figure out which phone card works well and will save you the most money. It also costs more to call a cell phone than a landline in the U.S., so make sure you pay attention to the fine print.

Having trouble calling home? [International Student Blog]

Technorati Tags: calling home, cell phones, phone cards