whirlwind westminster

the past three days have been a whirlwind of activity, culture, food, and excitement. its been rough trying to translate it into words. this is truly a place that everyone should travel to at least once. the history alone is enough to make the pilgrimage.

i wish i had been able to blog daily about the adventures im getting ready to share. however the internet's been spotty and we've been getting in and feeling rather tired anyways. now, however, instead of minute daily accounts you'll get more impressions. which are sometimes better than simple recounting of the day's activities.

wednesday & thursday

i believe that the last time i updated was tuesday night, because when i fell asleep in front of the computer it was the last time i had solid internet connection. i blame the pictures i was trying to upload- blogger has a really crappy photo uploader. i may just create an online web album and link you all to it.

anyways! i am supposed to be telling you about thursday!

i'll do it through an excerpt of an email to christopher:

yesterday (my wednesday) was the british museum and wicked. youre going to absolutely LOVELOVE the british museum (as will all of you!). i can already tell! its gigantic- over 6 million artifacts. and the cool thing is that its not just little insignificant stuff. im talking about history-altering pieces. the rosetta stone, pieces of the parthenon, ancient mummies, runes, chariots, vases, buddhas. they have pieces from every corner of the globe- even a big old head from easter island. pieces from stonehenge. EVERYTHING. i think the coolest part while youre walking around is realizing that once upon a time, not so long ago, the british ruled effing everything. they owned everyone! and when they took over, they took the best stuff for themselves and hoarded it all under one roof. now thats not to say that it isnt a brilliant idea or collection- because it truly is, but i guess i just question how much of their ambition was truly better understanding humanity as a whole, and how much of it was just licking things to claim them. :D

so then WICKED! not only did my mum buy my tickets and snacks and most meals, but she also bought me the best umbrella i have ever seen! i love it so so much! it looks like im a witch! and its gimongous. the top curves up so that it looks like elphaba's hat, and its printed with WICKED and i'll never ever forget the british showing now! as for the show- the comedic timing was a little off from the american version, and even the costuming was a little different. our view was great though. and so were the vibes from people there to see it. i got the british program too, its got all the info on the british cast. elphaba's face was very round and cheeky like the brits. a different take on it... most of them in the states have very pointy faces... but it was definitely a novelty seeing it here- i mean, theyve thick accents and they actually go to "UNI"! i definitely noticed that they do not have the same vocal powers as the girls back home, but still- it was so good and a great experience. it was hard not to compare it. but when youve seen meghan hilty and eden espinoza- well you just cant help it. still, mom saw it and loved it so i suppose i did good suggesting tickets.

then today (my thursday) was a really nice day as well. we slept right through breakfast but then managed to get up and make it over to buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards. well, actually, we made it to the palace and then stood around TRYING to watch the changing. ultimately unsuccessful. im just too short and not aggressive enough. i can always try again. or i can just watch a video on youtube. :D dont care either way! funny thing about mom here in england though is how obsessed she is with the royal family. shes been chattering away about the queen and how special she is and how she cant believe diana died and asking about the princes and wanting to see the palace. like- its seriously cute how starstruck she is by the whole concept of the monarchy. when we saw the crown jewels at the tower of london she nearly wet herself (although after seeing the three largest diamonds in the world, which are roughly the size of a tennis ball, raquet ball, and ping pong ball, i wanted to as well). angela and i were ready to head to the british library after the changing of the guards, but mom insisted that instead we head inside to see the queen's staterooms. so once again she shelled out the cash and took us into the palace. OHMYGOD the grandeur. everything was gilt in gold, draped in silk, and adorned with the finest wood, marble, fabrics, and art the royal family has been able to find. i learned a whole lot about the place, the life of the royal family, and the history of the art there. i ended up really glad that she dragged us in there though, since we ended up finding out later that since you can only tour the palace when the queen is not in residence, it only ends up open to the public for about 2 months out of the year. luckily i made it inside. we saw incredible collections of fine japanese porcelain, italian marble sculptures, artisan-crafted ornamentation, and even ridiculous rooms full of gifts given to the queen accompanied by dresses she wore when visiting her commonwealth nations. and although im a little embarrased to admit it- i had no idea what or how extensive the british commonwealth system is until the exhibition in the palace. it was flooring, and then at the same time it ruffled my feathers a little bit to think about exactly what that system stands for. all in all, i've got a really great look at the plunders of the monarchy. thank god for the new world.

not too much else after that. grabbed sandwiches (mine mozarella, basil, and tomatoes(said in the british fashion) on a fresh roll) and headed down to the palace park. nommed my sarnie (equivalent of sammie) on the palace park lawn with my pellegrino limonata and watched clouds, children, and let the wind kiss my cheeks. john, paul, george, and ringo playing beautifully in my ears as children chased thrown walnuts and i enjoyed my afternoon being a daughter and sister and bird.

(end of the email. thanks for sharing, love)

shopping for nothing in particular at harrods downtown. THEY HAD EVERYTHING from designer handbags and $50,000 diamond rings to a fish market, fresh deli, french macaroon shop, and drug store. it was insane. like a target on super expensive crack. i couldnt even wrap my mind around it!

bangers and mash for dinner at st. george's pub. mom had prawns. angela duck. i won. pork and leek sausage with perfect mashed potatoes smothered in a sweet gravy. deee lish ussss. although we are noticing that the brits dont much like it when you invade their regular pubs. they tease. we dont care!

friday

friday we slept right on through breakfast and ended up instead heading out to the british library once we all finally made it conscious.

the special collections room was stunning.

i made a point to write down all of the originals we saw so that i will always remember every lovely book, piece of parchment, and manuscript i laid eyes on.

including but not limited to:

Shakespeare's:

Romeo and Juliet

Venus and Adonis

Twelfth Night

Richard III

Hamlet

Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus

John Donne's collection of poetry

The Beatle's handwritten song lyrics for

Michelle

Hard Day's Night

Ticket to Ride

Yesterday

Help!

Sylvia Plath's Insomnia

Charles Ludwig Dodgson

"Lewis Carrol's"

Alice's Adventures Under Ground

Darwin's The Origin of Species

Freud's The Power of Dreams

The Lindisfarne Gospels

The Codex Sinaiticus

Leonardo Di Vinci's notebook pages

THE MAGNA CARTA

a GUTENBERG BIBLE

an original indulgence

and Aesop's Fables.

incredible.

i feel so fortunate to have been able to just see them

i would kill to read through one. just one.

(even if it was in latin)

after the library we headed to the blackfriar's pub.

it was so beautiful

over 200 years old with copper and mother-of-pearl inlay on the walls, archways, and windowframes.

centuries-old stained glass

treated leather ceilings

home-style english pies

english ale

tea

and all the attitude.

but we met angie's friends and had a wonderful, wonderful time.

despite the contrary drunkenness and all-around annoyance on the walk home.

youve gotta love having a sister.

:D

so now that you're caught up, i will promise to post again later tonight about my saturday, and i will promise to include pictures as soon as my internet isnt in such a precarious state. since i know that pictures are all you're here for anyways.

cheers!

and love!

daring double decker deeds

so like i said. yesterday (my tuesday) was so incredibly full of the sights, sounds, tastes, and quirks of london that we could hardly stand it.

we did pretty well though!

we started off the day innocently enough.

breakfast at the luna simone is so homey and yummy and perfect.

table service of common english breakfast is such a nice treat early in the morning.

over easy eggs (yuck, but i ate the whites with salt and pepper. yummmm), "bacon" (which to the brits is canadian bacon. our american bacon is called streaky bacon here, and i've yet to see even one strip of it!), also baked beans, toast with butter and jam, tea with milk and sugar, orange juice, and service with a smile from our duenos. whats the english word for that? host? proprieter? anyways its how i think of the two brothers and their son/nephew who own and run this little b&b.

headed down on a nice walk towards victoria station after getting ready and video chatting with my christopher. there we are, walking down to catch our double decker bus tour of the city, when i spot the WICKED theater down the block. suggested going down to see if they offered the lottery, which they didnt, but when the overly starched attendant let us know that we could pick up tickets for L20 (or $32) it took us about five seconds to decide to see it! we bought our tickets with many squeals and giggles, and then headed off to catch our bus.

now i know its a super touristy thing to do, riding a double decker bus around London, snapping pictures at every opportunity- but i was SO okay with looking ridiculous for a bit. the weather was absolutely perfect, sun parting through bluffs of sculpted clouds to kiss our faces, wind tousling our hair as the cheeky guide pointed out anything he fancied along the roads. super funny, heavy-handed on the pop culture version of history, with constant jokes about english parliament, american sports, and that "seeeeeeeeexy tv chef nigella lawson".

so now, without further ado, i'll just post pictures and comment on them so you all can share my privileged view atop a speeding double decker bus, driving on the opposite side of the road, careening me towards pictures from my history texts come to life.

nigella lawson's house.

(we're planning on stalking her later this week)

(also in her neighborhood- jk rowling, sean connery, madonna, and among others)

me and nigella's!

buckingham crowds

westminster abbey

big ben

the river thames

the london eye

westminster abbey and big ben from london proper

so much so fast

puchased tickets to WICKED

double decker bus tour of london:

nigella lawson's house

jk rowling's house

the queen's house

(buckingham palace :D)

fleet street

(sweeney todd)

the house of parliament

big ben

westminster abbey

tralfalger square

st paul's cathedral

london bridge

(whose actual name is the tower bridge)

the london eye

tower of london

(including the full walking tour)

riverboat tour of the thames

(saw the globe theater)

and a nice long walk back to our b&b

quite a lot of walking

quite a lot of absorbing

quite a lot of learning

quite a lot of pictures

NOT quite enough rest.

so here i go now to catch some more.

pictures on the morrow.

cheers!

out-of-towner

well. i made it! across the states, the pond, the world! its such a surreal feeling. i made it!

the flight was... well. it was long. and strange trying to adapt to all of the amenities and quirks of flying a british airway versus an american domestic flight. good food, free booze, duty-free shopping. even little care packs stuffed with eye masks and comfy red booties so your feet can relax. a hundred movies to choose from, games, music, tv. it definitely helped to ease the anxiety of being trapped in an economy seat on a cramped airbus hurtling around the world over a vast expanse of watery blue depths. so like i said- piece of cake flight. :D

met up with my mom and sister and took a ridiculously expensive taxi ride from the airport to our lovely little b&b on belgrave road. mom made me look up all sorts of information on my laptop about how to avoid jetlag (the major finding of which suggested immediately adapting to the local time zone), and then we all promptly fell asleep. for 8 hours. :( but it was so worth it. i slept wonderfully! woke up starving, since my little jimmy dean airport breakfast biscuit was smaller than a hockey puck, so we roamed around the streets scouting food. ended up at sainsbury's market, where ready-packed sandwiches awaited us. mine? an "english-style fried-chicken tortilla wrap" which turned out to be quite yummy despite my initial misgivings. mom had egg and watercrest salad, and angela had some sandwich dominated by a mature cheese and pickle spread. oh, and bacon crisps. let me explain. bacon flavored corn chips. good in theory (accoring to my bacon obsessed sister, who has already purchased bacon-mushroom baco bits). bad bad bad bad in execution. they taste like a cross between a baco bit and a stale chicharon with an aftertaste of sweet corn puff cereal. cute package. bad buy. chocolate-carmel cookie-wafer things called "digestives" for dessert, and passionfruit fanta. (you'll love it christopher, i know it!)

but i think the coolest part thus far, i mean aside from the fact that WERE IN EFFING LONDON, was sitting on the front stoop of this quaint little neighborhood doctor's office and eating late-night dinner with my mom and sister. i pulled out my lonelyplanet edition of "live like a londoner", a study abroad travel guide for extended-stay study abroad students, and remembered too dreamily when this was all just big puffs of hopeful fantasy. i bought this book in good faith, before i even applied to the program, as an encouragement, with the desperate hope that the fact that because it was in perfect condition, brand new, and still 75% off it meant that I was destined to be here. i hoped that in purchasing the book that i was buying some concrete self-confidence. and looking around on that little london street, it hit me. no- not a double-decker bus (although we have seen them). but i realized. here i am. i made this happen. i wanted it and i worked for it and i succeeded. and am i scared to be here? hell yes im scared. but this is all for me now. this time. this experience.

i know i am successful.

but what's nicest is that even though i get to go and have this selfish, life-altering experience, i still get to share it with the people i love the most in my life. you can be here, reading and viewing and listening and sharing this with me. its nice to not feel so alone. its nice to feel your love here.

i love you,

family

friends

world.

goodnight.

FROM LONDON.