It is officially my last week in London before heading back to the States for the Holidays. Which I am beyond excited about. As my British flatmate put it, I go "mental" for Christmas (I denied it at the time, but it's totally true). Anyway, I am extremely psyched to go home, but it's also pretty great to be in London around Christmas. I've been frequently enjoying mulled wine at the outdoor markets, buying British gifts for everyone, and just seeing all the lights and Christmas trees everywhere. They get really into Christmas here, which I obviously think is great.
Because I'm leaving for three weeks I have been trying to do a lot of work, because God knows I won't be very motivated to do much when I'm home. But I did manage to have a fun Sunday afternoon since I wanted to take advantage of my last weekend in London for awhile. I met up with a friend of mine and a bunch of her flatmates (everyone from a totally different country--only in London) and we went first to Brick Lane which has an amazing vintage market. Unfortunately I am currently broke after doing all of my Christmas shopping, but I will definitely be returning there when I have some Christmas money to spend. We also had Indian food in Brick Lane because it's (apparently) famous for its curry. I'm not really a huge fan of Indian food but it was pretty delicious and they had chapathi--one of my favorite things from when I was in Kenya.
After Brick Lane, we went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum and got in for free because one of the girls works there (score!). It was far cooler than I thought it was going to be. I mean, I thought it would be fun to take pictures with the fake celebrities, but they have a lot more stuff in the museum. There's a dungeon section where people try to scare the crap out of you and there's a ride-type thing where they have a mini-history of London which was pretty cool. Plus I got my picture taken with James Bond, ET (red hoodie and bike included), Johnny Depp, and Iron Man, among others. Definitely a fun place to spend an hour or two.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
My Week of Being a Tourist
You'll have to excuse my lack of posts recently. My time has been filled with lots and lots of work, but last week was also filled with lots of great stuff with some lovely visitors I had here in foggy London. Since we had to cram so much stuff into one week, I'm just going to provide you with a list of all of my favorite things.
1. 24-hour trip to Paris! We went in the Chunnel! And had croissants and Berthillon ice cream and great wine and macarons! This time I also tried foie gras for the first time and had some wild boar stew which was fantastic. (Yes, most of what I get most excited about in Paris is food-related.) We did the sight-seeing stuff too. (Plus it was so wonderful to show my grandmother around since she'd never been.)
2. Full English breakfasts. So it's disgraceful, but I hadn't had one of these since being in London. I was not disappointed. It helps that I'm weird and actually legitimately enjoy black pudding.
3. Boat ride on the Thames. At sunset. Enough said.
4. Riding the London Eye on a slow day with only four other people in the pod with us and seeing all of London.
5. Hearing live French jazz in a bar in Paris while drinking a Monaco.
6. AFTERNOON TEA. I wish I could do this everyday. We went to the Wolseley (try to not say that name with a pretentious old-fashioned English accent) where they have the best scones I have ever tasted. Topped with clotted cream and jam. Descriptions cannot do it justice. Plus you just get to hang out for hours eating and drinking tea. My dream.
7. Seeing a play in the West End starring Arthur Darvill (Rory from Doctor Who for all you fellow nerds) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter...I don't know which reference is nerdier).
8. After-theatre drink at the Waldorf. (Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm actually classy.)
9. Going to the Tower of London and seeing some actor playing one of the kings just chilling and interacting with tourists from Argentina. Slightly awkward because he was so in character, but still excellent.
10. Thanksgiving in London with family and friends from all over the world.
11. Mulled wine. I really can't get enough. I need a recipe to make it at home.
12. Watching the new Bond film and recognizing all the places in London, particularly the tube station that I get off at to go to school where Bond had to bust through the door. So excellent.
That's all for now. Clearly it was a pretty excellent week. And I just noticed that about half of those are food- or drink-related. Yeah...I'm okay with it.
1. 24-hour trip to Paris! We went in the Chunnel! And had croissants and Berthillon ice cream and great wine and macarons! This time I also tried foie gras for the first time and had some wild boar stew which was fantastic. (Yes, most of what I get most excited about in Paris is food-related.) We did the sight-seeing stuff too. (Plus it was so wonderful to show my grandmother around since she'd never been.)
2. Full English breakfasts. So it's disgraceful, but I hadn't had one of these since being in London. I was not disappointed. It helps that I'm weird and actually legitimately enjoy black pudding.
3. Boat ride on the Thames. At sunset. Enough said.
4. Riding the London Eye on a slow day with only four other people in the pod with us and seeing all of London.
5. Hearing live French jazz in a bar in Paris while drinking a Monaco.
6. AFTERNOON TEA. I wish I could do this everyday. We went to the Wolseley (try to not say that name with a pretentious old-fashioned English accent) where they have the best scones I have ever tasted. Topped with clotted cream and jam. Descriptions cannot do it justice. Plus you just get to hang out for hours eating and drinking tea. My dream.
7. Seeing a play in the West End starring Arthur Darvill (Rory from Doctor Who for all you fellow nerds) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter...I don't know which reference is nerdier).
8. After-theatre drink at the Waldorf. (Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm actually classy.)
9. Going to the Tower of London and seeing some actor playing one of the kings just chilling and interacting with tourists from Argentina. Slightly awkward because he was so in character, but still excellent.
10. Thanksgiving in London with family and friends from all over the world.
11. Mulled wine. I really can't get enough. I need a recipe to make it at home.
12. Watching the new Bond film and recognizing all the places in London, particularly the tube station that I get off at to go to school where Bond had to bust through the door. So excellent.
That's all for now. Clearly it was a pretty excellent week. And I just noticed that about half of those are food- or drink-related. Yeah...I'm okay with it.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Eating, drinking, and walking in Copenhagen
This past weekend I ventured out of London for the first time since I got here with a completely random and last-minute trip to Copenhagen (loving this aspect of living in Europe). So my friend and I met up in Copenhagen because I've heard it's a really cool place and it certainly lived up to my expectations. It's a really beautiful city, but there's also an edginess and a hipness to it--some parts are a little dirty and there's a good deal of graffiti around, but it's still a pretty charming place. I really loved the area called Nyhavn, which is basically a little canal with brightly colored buildings on either side and lots of beautiful wooden sailboats. There were tons of cool restaurants down there and one of my absolute favorite things was all the outdoor seating at the restaurants with old-fashioned lanterns on all the tables and, because it was pretty freaking cold already in early November, blankets on all the chairs. So freaking quaint. Our first night in Copenhagen we stopped at one of the restaurants and had some glogg, aka absolutely delicious hot spiced wine with raisins and almonds. Perfect for a cold night on the water. We also ate dinner at another restaurant the next night where I had an amazing dish of deer, roasted chestnuts, an apple sauce, juniper berries, and Brussels sprouts. Basically, a dream come true for someone who is obsessed with seasonal and regional food.
We also took a jaunt (really a two-hour walking adventure) over to Christiania which is an independent area of Copenhagen with its own governing system (Wikipedia it). Basically, it's a hippie commune walled off from the rest of city where pot is legal (or at least not illegal) and readily available at wooden stalls and people just hang out and smoke. We didn't partake, but it's a really cool place to visit just to see all the crazy art on the buildings and the characters who inhabit the place. It's strange (and kind of cool) to think that a place like that can exist in a modern city today.
Another highlight was a bar we went to called Karriere in the area of Vesterbro, which is basically the hipster part of town. I felt that I was altogether not cool enough to be there, but I tried to blend in, something that became difficult when my dear friend asked a typically model-handsome Dane to take a picture with her (seriously, so many of the people in Copenhagen are just really incredibly good-looking). In any case we had a great time and the drinks were really interesting and, of course, delicious. One of my favorites had rum, orgeat syrup, a bit of absinthe, and elderberry something or other. There was another one I enjoyed that had bourbon and blood orange and chocolate flavors. Unbelievable. However, the most hipster thing about this place (other than the fact that it used to be a meatpacking plant or something) was the bathroom setup: they have about 25 doors in this hallway where one leads to another and only a few of them are actually bathrooms. Quite the adventure.
Now, this post is getting quite long, but I just have one more cool story from Copenhagen. On my last day I basically just wandered the city and after visiting a cool palace and gardens I meandered over to the Norrebro area. I saw a big cemetery and it seemed like a lot of people were strolling through it so I decided to do the same. Then I discovered that it was where Hans Christian Andersen is buried. Who knew? So that was a pretty cool accidental discovery for me.
All in all, Copenhagen comes highly recommended from me. The pastries alone were enough for me.
We also took a jaunt (really a two-hour walking adventure) over to Christiania which is an independent area of Copenhagen with its own governing system (Wikipedia it). Basically, it's a hippie commune walled off from the rest of city where pot is legal (or at least not illegal) and readily available at wooden stalls and people just hang out and smoke. We didn't partake, but it's a really cool place to visit just to see all the crazy art on the buildings and the characters who inhabit the place. It's strange (and kind of cool) to think that a place like that can exist in a modern city today.
Another highlight was a bar we went to called Karriere in the area of Vesterbro, which is basically the hipster part of town. I felt that I was altogether not cool enough to be there, but I tried to blend in, something that became difficult when my dear friend asked a typically model-handsome Dane to take a picture with her (seriously, so many of the people in Copenhagen are just really incredibly good-looking). In any case we had a great time and the drinks were really interesting and, of course, delicious. One of my favorites had rum, orgeat syrup, a bit of absinthe, and elderberry something or other. There was another one I enjoyed that had bourbon and blood orange and chocolate flavors. Unbelievable. However, the most hipster thing about this place (other than the fact that it used to be a meatpacking plant or something) was the bathroom setup: they have about 25 doors in this hallway where one leads to another and only a few of them are actually bathrooms. Quite the adventure.
Now, this post is getting quite long, but I just have one more cool story from Copenhagen. On my last day I basically just wandered the city and after visiting a cool palace and gardens I meandered over to the Norrebro area. I saw a big cemetery and it seemed like a lot of people were strolling through it so I decided to do the same. Then I discovered that it was where Hans Christian Andersen is buried. Who knew? So that was a pretty cool accidental discovery for me.
All in all, Copenhagen comes highly recommended from me. The pastries alone were enough for me.
Friday, October 26, 2012
London Markets
So far one of my favorite things about London is the markets. Borough Market is probably my favorite. It's walking distance from my flat and it's fabulous. I could easily spend so much money there, but I mostly go to get free samples. They have every type of food imaginable. You can get produce and meat and fish, but there's also lots of prepared foods and bakery goods. My favorite things are the chocolate and cheese stands and seeing the crazy stuff available at the butcher's (see the background photo on this page) and at the fishmonger (there was a whole shark one week). It's the type of place that I can absolutely picture Anthony Bourdain visiting. I've been twice already but need to go back since I've yet to try the paella, which looks amazing, or the beer shops.
Another market that's pretty fantastic is Camden Market, which is quite different. It has pretty much everything--clothing, jewelry, antiques, ethnic food stalls, home goods--and you can very quickly get totally lost in the many alleys and streets that seem to go on forever. I've wandered around there two separate times for a total of at least four or five hours and still haven't seen everything. Not even close. So the stuff they offer is fantastic (last time I tried on fascinators--those funky British hats people wear to weddings--and then discovered a stand with tons of Star Wars paraphernalia), but my favorite part of going to Camden Market is seeing the people there. It is by far the most eccentric grouping of people I've ever seen. You get your typical tourists, but then you also get the punks with their two-foot tall mohawks, goths, ravers, and girls in old-fashioned ruffled dresses. The contrasts are really something.
Another market that's pretty fantastic is Camden Market, which is quite different. It has pretty much everything--clothing, jewelry, antiques, ethnic food stalls, home goods--and you can very quickly get totally lost in the many alleys and streets that seem to go on forever. I've wandered around there two separate times for a total of at least four or five hours and still haven't seen everything. Not even close. So the stuff they offer is fantastic (last time I tried on fascinators--those funky British hats people wear to weddings--and then discovered a stand with tons of Star Wars paraphernalia), but my favorite part of going to Camden Market is seeing the people there. It is by far the most eccentric grouping of people I've ever seen. You get your typical tourists, but then you also get the punks with their two-foot tall mohawks, goths, ravers, and girls in old-fashioned ruffled dresses. The contrasts are really something.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
London is full of (awesome) weirdos
In the past couple of days I have witnessed a number of interesting individuals around London. Granted, London is a really diverse, eclectic place, so I really shouldn't be surprised by the "interesting" people I see, but I still think they're worth remarking on. Plus, once you get jaded about life here, there's probably not much out there that would interest you.
Anyway, unusual suspect number one was, in a nutshell, Neo from the Matrix. Just walking down the street, slicked back hair, all black clothing, and, of course, a full-length black leather trench coat. I had to contain my urge to ask him where Agent Smith was.
The same day that this occurred, I also saw Marilyn Monroe. Driving in a bubblegum pink convertible, red lipstick, perfect blond curls. I was mostly just impressed that someone would be so committed to their persona that they would buy a vintage, bubblegum pink convertible to match. Impressive.
And lastly, this final encounter wasn't weird so much as just wonderful and entertaining. I was riding on the tube and there was a group of three middle-aged guys with instruments, guitars and a fiddle I think. Now usually, when there are people playing instruments on the trains it can be rather awkward because they'll be asking for money and everyone will kind of look awkwardly around, trying to avoid their gaze. This time was different though; it just seemed like these guys were playing for the fun of it. Even the suits, who are notoriously straight-faced and rather glum were smiling at these guys. They played a short tune which sounded a bit like Irish folk music and exited at the next stop, wishing us all a good day and saying, "see you at the pub."
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Hilarious Anecdote No. 1
Yesterday I took a stroll down to the Parliament building and Westminster Abbey, to take some pictures of Big Ben (which is, random fact, actually the name of the bell and not the clock or the tower) and the cool buildings. I was being all touristy, wandering around with my giant camera.
It was getting late and I had to be at my prospective flat for a viewing pretty soon so I went to check my phone for the time. For some reason my phone would not turn on; it just kept going blank and then restarting. After about five minutes of this, I was getting worried because I wasn't sure how much time I had to get to my very important appointment. So I'm rushing to the tube station, worrying like crazy that I've lost track of time, and getting increasingly angrier at my stupid phone.
I was just about to give up and ask someone for the time when I realized. I'm basically directly under Big Ben. Which has what on it exactly? Oh yeah, A GIANT CLOCK. So I'd essentially been wandering around for ten minutes stressing about what time it was and the entire time, all I needed to do was look up.
It was getting late and I had to be at my prospective flat for a viewing pretty soon so I went to check my phone for the time. For some reason my phone would not turn on; it just kept going blank and then restarting. After about five minutes of this, I was getting worried because I wasn't sure how much time I had to get to my very important appointment. So I'm rushing to the tube station, worrying like crazy that I've lost track of time, and getting increasingly angrier at my stupid phone.
I was just about to give up and ask someone for the time when I realized. I'm basically directly under Big Ben. Which has what on it exactly? Oh yeah, A GIANT CLOCK. So I'd essentially been wandering around for ten minutes stressing about what time it was and the entire time, all I needed to do was look up.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Rain
So I still don't have a place to live... :( It's a mess.
But what I do have is a cool British university email address. So that's kinda like a real address.
On another note, I started class today. It seems like the professor is super awesome and I'm really looking forward to it. Not looking forward to the fact that there are only two graded assignments for the whole year. Yikes. Add that one to my Con list.
And it's rained the past two days. Like really rained. I actually saw on the news today that there is serious flooding happening in certain areas because we're getting a whole month's worth of rain in 24 hours. There's that British weather I've heard so much about. Fun stuff.
But what I do have is a cool British university email address. So that's kinda like a real address.
On another note, I started class today. It seems like the professor is super awesome and I'm really looking forward to it. Not looking forward to the fact that there are only two graded assignments for the whole year. Yikes. Add that one to my Con list.
And it's rained the past two days. Like really rained. I actually saw on the news today that there is serious flooding happening in certain areas because we're getting a whole month's worth of rain in 24 hours. There's that British weather I've heard so much about. Fun stuff.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Epic Win
Today I was feeling rather accomplished (I successfully traded in my crappy phone and plan for a better one; I opened a bank account; and I mailed some important paperwork--all before noon) so I decided to do some more touristy stuff because, hey, I'm in London. So I went to a Twinings shop (decided I will be doing a lot of Christmas shopping there), I walked around the area my school's in, and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was pretty sweet and they have a huge assortment of stuff (I saw samurai swords, sculptures by Rodin, designer gowns, Japanese Lolita outfits--definitely the strangest exhibit, and ancient doors).
However, the highlight of my day was on my way through the tube station to the museum. There was a guy playing a harp and as I walked by him he started playing...wait for it...the Harry Potter theme song. On a harp. I died. Definitely one of those moments when I wished there was someone with me so we could've had a moment. Instead I awkwardly looked at the people around me to see if anyone else appreciated it as much as I did. No such luck.
However, the highlight of my day was on my way through the tube station to the museum. There was a guy playing a harp and as I walked by him he started playing...wait for it...the Harry Potter theme song. On a harp. I died. Definitely one of those moments when I wished there was someone with me so we could've had a moment. Instead I awkwardly looked at the people around me to see if anyone else appreciated it as much as I did. No such luck.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Lesson One on the Brits
So one useful thing I learned at my orientation for foreign folks is that the Brits are rather passive-aggressive (this is coming from a Brit so any Brits who might read this--don't know why they would anyway--cannot get angry with me. In the words of our orientation leader, Brits do a lot of "tutting." While this trait might be annoying to some, I am overjoyed. I am definitely a "tutter," I just never knew to describe it like that. Basically, if there's something that annoys someone, instead of saying something directly to the person creating said annoyance, a "tutter," will stand by and just be very annoyed and sigh and glare. But no direct action. God forbid. "Tutting" is one of my favorite pastimes because I hate confrontation but I love letting people subtly (or maybe not so subtly) know that they're annoying the hell out of me. So in conclusion, I think the Brits and me should get along just fine.
(On a side note, I just noticed that my blog has a co.uk address and this makes me super happy.)
(On a side note, I just noticed that my blog has a co.uk address and this makes me super happy.)
Monday, September 17, 2012
Pros/Cons
So obviously I haven't been in London for all that long so there's still a lot of time for me to discover things I love and things I hate about living here, but here are some of my initial pros and cons after my first five days.
Pro: Digestives! These little cookies/crackers/biscuits made up like 40% of my diet in Kenya. And I'm so excited to have them again.
Pro: Public transportation! As I haven't had to deal with any major delays or anything yet, I'm still pretty pleased with the transport system. It's great after being in Rhode Island and Vermont all of the last year.
Pro/Con: The British accent. I love it. But half the time, I have no idea what people are saying. I guess when British people are in American movies they cater to us so we can actually understand what they're saying.
Con: Having no place to live. My space in the hostel is literally a cubby with a mattress in it. I bang my knees or elbows at least five times a night.
Con: A lack of American football. I suppose this means I now have to get into the other, more boring football.
Pro: How unbelievably diverse the city is. In five days, I've met and befriended people from the following countries: Spain, Germany, France, England (obviously), Portugal, Argentina, Slovenia, and Norway.
Is it awesome? It's pretty awesome. (Ten points to Gryffindor if you can name that quote. And no it's not Harry Potter; I'm just mixing my references.)
Pro: Digestives! These little cookies/crackers/biscuits made up like 40% of my diet in Kenya. And I'm so excited to have them again.
Pro: Public transportation! As I haven't had to deal with any major delays or anything yet, I'm still pretty pleased with the transport system. It's great after being in Rhode Island and Vermont all of the last year.
Pro/Con: The British accent. I love it. But half the time, I have no idea what people are saying. I guess when British people are in American movies they cater to us so we can actually understand what they're saying.
Con: Having no place to live. My space in the hostel is literally a cubby with a mattress in it. I bang my knees or elbows at least five times a night.
Con: A lack of American football. I suppose this means I now have to get into the other, more boring football.
Pro: How unbelievably diverse the city is. In five days, I've met and befriended people from the following countries: Spain, Germany, France, England (obviously), Portugal, Argentina, Slovenia, and Norway.
Is it awesome? It's pretty awesome. (Ten points to Gryffindor if you can name that quote. And no it's not Harry Potter; I'm just mixing my references.)
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Cheers mate!
So here I am. In London. Still no flat but that should be remedied soon (fingers crossed). I know everyone's been clamoring for me to create a blog (by everyone I mean my mom and Mady) so here it is! Here I'll document all the excitement, confusion, and craziness of living in London for a year. Look forward to more posts (and photos, hopefully) soon!
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