16: dance, dance!

Eight days sure feels like a long time!
On Monday, I went to a club called Heaven with some friends. Drag queens abounding, people of questionable morality getting down...good times. We decided to re-enact our fun Monday night at a club called Metra in the west end. Evidentially I like dancing all of a sudden? ha. I get a nice workout, too. :D

Yesterday I decided to go on a shopping spree...at Primark. haha. I got a few things that I can't quite wear yet. I'll wait until the weather gets warmer. Still, it was nice to go out alone and treat myself a little! I got two dresses, a jacket (since 2 of my 4 jackets are looking a little worse for the wear), a scarf, a tee shirt, a pair of boots, and a purse all for under £80! Go me, go me. I might add that Primark is exhausting, by the way. I had to stand in line for a dressing room for over half an hour!

Tomorrow I am going to Bath with Sara, and I am really looking forward to it. I'm supposed to be deciding what we're going to see and where we're going to go. Hm. Guess I should get to that.

On Friday I got three--count 'em, THREE!--letters from Brigette and Matt collectively, and the day before I got a supercool one from Jenn and Kaila. It was like Christmas! I'm still writing Brigette back, seeing as we tend to write novels to each other, but the others have been sent. Look out!

Here's a little picture from Monday, because I love it:

15: whining, sorry.

I am currently fed up with money and spending it, unnecessarily, on things that should be automatic.

What do I mean? I just spent $300 booking my return flight home--$100 to the program and $200 to the airport for flight cancellation. Freaking awesome. Considering the fiasco that was Vienna, and this $300 cancellation fee which could have potentially been another trip, I have now spent close to $1000 on things that don't actually benefit me directly. And the real kicker? When I fly back to the states, I fly back to LAX because they wouldn't let me change my destination to go straight home. AIFS sucks and if I would have known that I would have to deal with so much bullshit (excuse my language) while I was here, I would have never picked this program.

While we're on the topic of money woes, get this: my spring break in Marseilles? Probably not going to happen, either, considering that with flight, accomodation, transportation, and food, the cost of the trip comes out to something like $600 for only three days. D : Giant sad face. And I don't want to go to Paris again, because I'm probably going to go there at least twice more during my stay.

I hate that I worry about money so much. I'm afraid I'm going to go back to the States and feel like I didn't do anything. But I just can't justify $600 for three days, particularly when that money isn't entirely mine.

Blah, blah, blah. BORING. I just had to get it out. Promise more eventful things in the future.
I guess I'm going to a drag show / club tonight?

14: Hyde park, Shakespeare, misc. weekend.

On Thursday, I took an impromptu trip to Hyde park with my friend, Kevin. We paparazzi-d ducks! Look!




Later that night, I went and saw "Much Ado About Nothing" at the National Theatre. It was incredible! I texted Matt right after to tell him that it was the most moving performance I'd ever seen. The scene were Claudius lays, weeping, upon Hero's grave had me on the verge of tears (at least, that's all I'll admit to...ha), and the scenes between Benadick and Beatrice were flawless. The perfect balance of comedy, turmoil, disdain and love. I was absolutely sucked into the performance and couldn't take my eyes away for the entire three hours. Very inspiring.

Oh, and fun fact: Zoë Wanamaker, aka "Beatrice", played Madam Hooch in the first Harry Potter. Thought a few of you out there might like that!

Okay, I was going to make a huge post, but somehow I can't remember anything I was going to write about right now. haha.

I went to Da Mario's last night (Kaila!) and it was delicious. I had Pasta del Pastore--spinach, garlic, pesto and pine nuts = delicious. I was going to go out to a pub called O'Neils with some of my friends, but that pasta super-expanded or something and traveling wasn't going to happen. ha. Even though it was only in Picadilly, but whatever. We'll see what happens tonight. I am freakishly tired, for some reason? I hope I'm not coming down with the third wave of sickness this semester. It's ridiculous!

In the mean time, I am washing laundry and waiting for the caf to open, while simultaneously avoiding my homework and planning a spring break trip. Too many details!

13: Wallace Museum, "concert."

Saturday, 1 March 2008: My friend Kevin and I went to the Wallace Museum--which was evidently founded by the illegitimate children of Royals, ha--because our Contemporary British Theatre professor told us that it had some great French revolution-era pieces, and we all know what a sucker I am for that era of design. ha. It was really cool! I don't know that I'd make a special trip for it again, but it was certainly interesting. The rooms were so sumptuously decorated, and (as always!) I got a few interior design ideas. I am such a nerd, picking ideas up for museums.

Anyway, we poked around there for a while, looking at their collection of paintings, furnishings, and medieval and Gothic-period suits of armor before hitting up the gift shop. I didn't buy anything, but more than a few things caught my eye! They had a lot of fashion books from the period, and I was more than tempted to buy a pattern book, but it was £20. Eek! If I keep thinking about it, maybe I'll go back or try and find it on e-Bay--or maybe not. I have issues with e-Bay, as you'll find out later in this entry!

Then we went to a restaurant called Fresco, which was essentially a juice bar (I had orange carrot juice...so good!) but also had delicious pita sandwiches for fairly cheap. After, we went and farted around on Oxford street for a bit and then returned home.

That night, I went to a concert that I thought was supposed to be an electro-pop dance party. Sounds fun, right? Everyone we've talked to has said that we absolutely had to go to an electronica concert while we were here, because European electronica is so much different/better. So we go to one recommended by a roommate's friend. This night, aptly described by Kelly, was a huge night of "What the ****?!"

We get to the venue in central London about a half hour after the show was supposed to start because of issues with not one, but TWO trains. (The one ahead of us broke down, and then the one we packed into during rush-hour traffic had a malfunction and also had to be taken off the tracks. Delicious.) The show ended up starting almost an hour late, which I guess is normal. Anyway, the opening band sucked, and that sort of set the tone for the entire night. Why, you ask? Because this is turning out to be a straight-up concert, not a dance party like were expecting. Electronica? No. Synth rock? Yes. Not into it. If you feel like checking out what my ears were subjected to, here. That main song sounds a lot like NIN, but some were this kind of weird Morrissey/Depeche Mode/Linkin Park (ew, I know) fusion and I was not diggin' it real hard.

However, I spent £20 to get in, and so I was going to have fun, gosh darnit. Once my roommates quit ditching me at the same time to go pee and/or smoke a cigarette and leaving me to save spots, we headed into the middle of the crowd and got as close to the front as we could. Danced our faces off. Yeah, I didn't dig the music, but it was definitely an experience and something I'm glad that I did.

Um. I've been meaning to post at some point about all the stupid things that I've done since I've been here. Here's a list:
- Busted my foot in Vienna. Seriously, it feels sprained. This was over a week ago, and I have no idea how I did it in the first place!
- Shrunk my only winter coat. Luckily it still fits, but if, for some reason, you ever feel compelled to put wool and/or dry-clean only materials in a foreign washer (on low heat, of course) with the intent of simply air drying it...don't. Wrists get surprisingly cold.
- Bought a $4 bottle of water in Paris when I totally could have had a Coke for cheaper.
- £14 gin and tonic, also in Paris. omggg.
- Missed my flight out of Slovakia. Shuddup. We don't talk about it.
- Tripped up the stairs in front of the shower-repair man.
- Stepped in a cold dog poop on the street while wearing my favorite shoes.

...wow. I thought I only had two or three dumb things to make fun of myself for, but apparently I am just a big idiot. ha. They just kept coming to me!

I also ordered a new journal yesterday because I found a really cheap Moleskine on e-Bay yesterday, and I was really excited. It was only £2.94 for a regular sized, unlined one, and they are normally much more expensive (like £10). However, after I committed to buy, I was confronted with the reality that the shipping would be more than double the cost of the actual notebook itself. ha. Last time I do that. Live and learn, right? I feel like that is becoming my motto more and more every day.

I'm off to do some of the homework I have been putting off since last Thursday. Shoot. I am really worthless sometimes. : ] Love you all! I am still anxiously awaiting your letters, by the way. Hurry up, you stinkers!

12.

Hello, hello. Not a whole lot of new going on here. I'm pretty sure only about five people read this, so hello Mom, Dad, Ingrid, Matt, and Katie. haha.

Today my Shakespeare class was canceled, which was exciting to me but seemed to make a lot of other people upset because we were supposed to turn in our mid-term papers. Then again, I didn't stay up until 2 or 3 writing it. I actually finished it this weekend. I know, me not procrastinating is a strange and foreign thought, but it is a possible happening.

I didn't do much last weekend, mainly because I needed to work on said paper and read another novel that we never wound up discussing in class. Grr. It was a dense son of a gun, too! It seemed like most of my friends were either on a trip to Scotland or had some relation (family, friend, boyfriend, etc.) visiting, so I was sort of out of the loop. A little tough, but everything is fine now that people are back. : ]

Plans for the week: London Eye (Thursday), looking for a book store of some kind (Fri.) and possibly Primark (the cheaper, British equivalent of Forever 21...which is all I can afford at this juncture), Wallace museum (Sat.) and Sunday is open for homework, etc. I should really start writing papers for some of my other classes. Perhaps the miraculous history of this weekend shall repeat itself in the future, and I won't be a stress case at 2 am on Monday morning? Only time will tell.

10.5: Exciting news!

I am going to Lisbon, Portugal for reading week!

10: Vienna.

Last weekend I went to Vienna with my roommate, Jillian. We flew into the airport in Bratislava, Slovakia and spent roughly four days knocking around the city. I saw the Leopold museum, got lost going to the Sigmund Freud Museum, the Danube canals (one at 2 pm, the other at 12:30 am...lovely), drank a lot of coffee and wore out a pair of boots. Yes, I know. I am so hardcore that I walked around nearly all Saturday--from 12:30 pm until 2:30 am, stopping only a few times for sustenance and obviously, a break from pounding the pavement.

Pictures here. I don't really feel like writing more about it because we missed our flight on the way back because I am an idiot and cost both of us about $230 bucks and I'm really not happy about that because that's probably going to mean I can't go to Sweden. Suffice it to say that I keep forgetting that everything in Europe is in military time, and so the flight that I thought was at 10 pm was actually at 10 am. Yeah. Real smart, G. I'm trying to remember that I am lucky that I am in London and that there is plenty for me to do here, but my head is spinning with the loss of that much money. : [ Bad day for me, boo hoo.

Anyway, you jerks who I've written post cards and still not gotten a response from: if you don't write back, you don't get more! Come on, guys. It's been over a month. You don't want to make me sad, do you? Do you?

NINTH!

Just a few from my trip to Paris, because posting pictures here is a pain in the butt. I'll probably find a new photo-hosting site, but for now I'm using webshots, and my account name is ewwgrete. [You have been LINKED for the rest of the love.]
I'll update this when I get back from class about the craziness that was Paris. HO-man.

[Outisde the Opera House]

Upon arriving in Paris, I unpacked (quickly, since I only brought two changes of clothes) and headed out into the streets of Paris with my roommates. We missed lunch because of the train ride, so we were on a mission for some food. We ended up stopping at a little café/brasserie for cheese baguettes and omelettes. (I had one very stinkily delicious bleu cheese.) Then, we decided that we wanted to make our way to le Tour Eiffel, and on our way got lost and found the Opera House.

[On our way to L'Arch de Triomphe]

[L'Arch de Triomphe]

Found it, took pictures!

[Le Tour Eiffel]

Found the Eiffel Tower. Accidentally cried because I was so happy. Ate a crepe in the garden. Laughed and made merry. Found our way back to the hotel with a few pitfalls (had my first experience with indecent exposure. Traumatizing.) and met some people at an Irish pub. Went to bed, tired.

[Notre Dame]

Bus tour the next morning from 9 am - 1 pm. Saw the Notre Dame Cathedral and (again), accidentally cried. I was so overwhelmed with the way things had been going so perfectly and I felt so lucky and I couldn't believe I was there. I ended up putting in an offering for a prayer candle.. It was beautiful. Beautiful. I didn't take any pictures inside the cathedral, because it felt inappropriate for some reason, but I want to go there with every single one of you.

Then we were dropped off at the Louvre, where I stayed for a few hours and saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. It was surreal being surrounded by all these paintings I've seen in books my entire life, like they were just postage stamps all over the walls. Just dotting.

[Sacre Coeur]

Walked around the Sacre Coeur the next day and had espresso in a café before coming home. The next two are from that day.

So, super breif entry for one of the best trips I've ever taken.

Tomorrow (very early. I leave at 3 am!) I am going to Vienna!

EIGHTH!

"Bueno Bars are milk chocolate covered wafers with a smooth milky hazelnut filling."
They are also probably filled with crack, because I have a full-blown addiction. Anyone wanna buy me a case of 30 for $1.45? hahaha.
No, really.

SEVENTH.

Okay. Picture-free post, but I have to do it.

I am fed up with the Royal Mail. Every time I go to the post office on Gloucester Road, I leave in a terrible mood, which is unfortunate because I love sending post cards and letters to my friends and family at home. The last two days have been no exception to this seemingly unconditional rule.

I needed to send a package. Now, I was expecting it to cost me a fair amount, seeing as it was international and whatnot. Let it be known that I knew this going into the whole ordeal, and that's not the purpose of this whine-fest. I am used to finding free flat-rate boxes when I walk into any post office, usually somewhat varied in size. Having never encountered flat rate boxes in the, oh, ten or so times I have been in the post office, I assumed that I was to either buy a box of appropriate size from behind the stationary counter or have the man at the postage counter assist me with proper packaging. A logical assumption, I dub thee.

On Monday afternoon, I get in line. It's about a half-hour wait time, which I am less than thrilled about, but given the paramount nature of said package, I am willing to submit. Out of the corner of my eye, hidden beneath neatly organized rows of high lighters and mechanical pencils and wedged haphazardly into a corner shelf, I spy what appears to be a jumble of cardboard. "Ah," I say to myself, "boxes!" I politely ask the girl behind me in line to hold my spot and canter over joyously to procure a much needed box.

This is where we run into problem #1: The sizes between the smallest and second smallest boxes is quite significant. The smallest is only slightly smaller than the size of my intended gift--about height and width of a CD case, and about an inch to an inch and a half deep. Well, shoot. I move on to the next box.

UHM. This guy is about 14x8x5. Much larger than I need, but there is no secondary option. Frustrated, I take this gigantic box back to the line and proceed to assemble it in the manner it requires, all the while hoping they have some sort of packaging tape and/or paper that I can use at the desk.

I wait in this atrocious line for about 20 minutes, sweating like an idiot because I'm upset and annoyed with the whole process thus far, when I see it: a notice sign about the size of a half-sheet of paper that says something to the effect of "Please pay for all boxes and envelopes before proceeding to the postage counter."

Now, I am already running late for my 3 o'clock class, so I wait, oh, five more seconds before I say "Screw it!" and go pay £1.50 for my unnecessarily and stupidly large box and then out of the post office with it, contents inside rattling. I get back to my room and cram the entire box with sheets of paper from orientation week and bank on finding some packing tape to borrow from someone, since I'll probably be sending a grand total of two packages the entire time I'm here. I do not need an entire roll of masking tape.

I figured I could get it from the mail room the next day. Right? Right. Wrong. They didn't even have masking tape. What the heck kind of mail room doesn't have basic office supplies?!

Fast-forward to today: Obviously, I end up having to pay for masking tape, too. Awesome. I'm taping this poor excuse for a surprise present together in line, grunting the whole time. When I get to the counter, I have to declare what is inside the package, which I understand but is frustrating nonetheless because it's a gift and I didn't want the recipient to know what he was getting before he, you know, opened it.

Ugh. In summary, Royal Mail might as well tell everybody to drop the soap because that's really how bad they get you every single time. Postage, box, and tape, all for a measly 200 grams of Valentine's Day fun.

Fight the power, people.

6.5! (That's my shoe size, for any would-be gifters.)

I didn't forget. Here's the picture of the Steak Rat I promised you. Disgusting little bugger, isn't he? Look at the way he is poised for action, ready to attack or scamper away--possibly waddle since his butt is the size of a tomato--at the slightest hint of gristle or indication of eminent death. Eventually, he took off up the stairs. Obviously, homeboy knows what's up. Do not mess with B14.

SIXTH!

Today I went to my first football game. Yes, I know. Pathetic that it's my first, since I played for a few years, and was convinced at one point that I would play in college and ascend to the throne of greatness with my idols Keira Knightly and Parminder Negra.

But I digress. My friend Sara and I headed over to Fulham to watch Fulham FC and Aston Villa duke it out. We got off the tube station and opted to make the 10-or-so minute walk to the pitch on foot, which wound up to be quite an experience. We decided on the way that, since Fulham was the home team, we'd probably root for them. The closer we got to our destination, the more and more Aston Villa fans began to flank us. Keep in mind we're not wearing any distinguishing Fulham gear because, obviously, we just picked our team on the way. These Villa fans are screaming the funniest team chants I've ever heard and are literally on all sides of us. We were boxed in by rabid football fans! (That picture was taken from our seats in the stands, overlooking the people coming in. See all the cops?)

Look at them tixx. Shoot.
Shortly after the picture with The Badger was taken (The Fulham mascot) these weird Japanese guys asked to take their picture with us? I don't really know what was going on, and I don't think they were hitting on us because they wanted a picture with the guys who'd gone before us as well. It was very odd.

Eventually we got out of the crowd and made it to the field, where we checked in, peed (European toilets are frustrating to flush, by the way), and picked up a couple gifts for Sara's friend and boyfriend (Two Fulham beanies, and a Fulham teddy bear for fun).

Then we proceed to our seats and take pictures with Freddie the Fulham bear, who took up residence in my purse. Kick off, lah-dee-dah. It's magnificent and I'm having a blast watching the game and how it's affecting those around me. Moms, dads, kids, all going nuts!

It gets cold very fast, so we decide to wear Sara's gift beanies because she decides she can just wash them before she gives them to the aforementioned people. Good thing, because those suckers saved our lives! Eventually half-time rolled around and we procured two enormous hot dogs on French baguette--mine with mustard, Sara's with ketchup. They were delicious...and bigger than our heads!

Then the second half begins. Neither team has scored yet, and until this point Villa has looked like it's going to be victorious. They've had the majority of possession, and generally seem to have a more aggressive offense. Naturally, they score first, just nipping it in. We were in a neutral section, and it seemed like all the Villa fans were behind us because they FREAKED OUT. Like throwing their panties on the field...yeah, jk. But they really did flip out.

There's about 20 minutes left when this happens. Maybe five minutes later, Fulham gets one in. And 10 minutes later, on a penalty kick, they get their second. Now it's the Fulham fans' turn to celebrate. Being the home team, the stadium (?) erupts in applause and leaps to their feet. Flash bulbs are going off, people are cheering, and all the Villa fans behind us left. hahaha. There were probably three rows that vacated right after that. Hilarious.

So, long story short: I picked the right team.
Now I'm sitting in the common room of Ambassador house, watching the Superbowl with Sara and a bunch of bros. Delightful.

And for the record, I DID give the hat back.

FIFTH!

Alright, so these photos are a little out of order, but this was my adventure yesterday afternoon! I was supposed to go on a Banksy walking tour through London (he's a political guerrilla graffiti artist and does some wicked work. Click here for more info and a couple examples of his stuff!) , but stayed up too late talking, etc. and wasn't able to get up as required at 10:30 in the morning. Luckily, my roommate Jillian is a huge fan and got her hands on the route that the group was taking, so we can do that at our leisure. Perhaps next weekend.

Instead, we decided to head over to Borough Market by London Bridge Station because I'd heard some good things and wanted to explore. It was so cool! I didn't get to take many pictures there (boo, I know) because it was a) really crowded and b) I was holding a coffee, and we all know it's tricky to maneuver a camera and a coffee in a crowd. T.S. Eliot said that the first thing you should do in another country is to smell it, so smell we did. Lots of cheese and mulled wine in the market, which we wanted to try but didn't get the chance as we were sort of on a mission for a particular stand that we never wound up finding. ha. After that, we went to Camden Town, which is a very hip, young area where you can buy pretty much anything and haggle your own price on a lot of things. Sah-weet. I bought a shawl for £3 from this cute little man and plan on wearing it with everything from now on. See how cute it is?

And, for good measure, here's how my hair looked the other morning:


I know, I know. It's really cute. I also pretty much live in that sweatshirt when I'm in my dorm, because it's so darn cold in this basement!
Also (omg, sorry about all the tangents here), last night I was awoken by a fleet of drunken imbeciles at 4 in the morning. My roommate and I then noticed kind of a squeaking noise outside our window, so we looked, and there was a massive RAT. I haven't seen many rats in my day--only ones that people kept as pets--but this one I'm pretty sure was abnormally large. It looked like it might make a decent steak. Grosss.


This is after we got off the train at London Bridge Station. You can see the tower of Tower Bridge through the skyline. Nuts, huh?

Half of the delicious muffin Jillian and I split after our unsatisfying £2.50 disgusting sandwiches.

A typical escalator scene at the tube station.

That cheese I was talking about! This kind was particularly...fragrant. There were enormous wheels of cheese everywhere. Next time, I'm going on an empty stomach so I can try more food. It all seemed relatively inexpensive.

I just thought this looked cool.



Near London Bridge.


Wishing well!


When we thought we were in Borough Market and before we realized we weren't.


When we realized we WEREN'T in Borough Market and were on our way out.



Last weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of tasting the most delicious cupcake of my lifetime from a specialty cupcake shop called Buttercup. SRSLY, I took so many pictures with it because it was of the Gods. ha. If I have enough money at the end of the semester, I want to buy the recipe for their buttercream frosting.

See? Look how cute!


This was the sandwich shop we ate at. We should've been put off when we saw that everything was slathered in mayonnaise, but no. We were too blinded by the low, low prices.


On a 'shopping trip' on High Street. The sky was so pretty, but for some reason didn't photograph well and I didn't feel like editing the photo.


There's the salad again. I had what was supposed to be curry chicken (the green stuff in the upper part of the picture) and it had peppers and raisins in it. Groooody.

That's it, dudes! I'm going to a football match tonight...Fulham FC vs. Aston Villa with Sara, and I'm really excited! I'm sure there will be some pictures of that. And next time, I will come bearing pictures of that RAT. Stay tuned.

FOURTH!

Hey, dudes. This will likely turn out to be a mainly text-only post...sorry! I'm working on a collection of photoz for you though. Day-to-day sights and product differences, mainly. Should be fun, I swear!

I just dropped about £90 on books on Amazon.com and I still have to buy some more from the bookstore. This is after taking out about £200 from my account over the weekend, thinking the bookstore at school would be cheap and not rip me off so I could use those withdrawn funds on books. Boo. I

(UK Dr. Pepper tastes bizarre. For the record!)

I'm in the common room watching weird British music videos and sitting next to a guy eating an enormous chocolate eclair.

This is dumb. I'm done. haha. PEACE.

THIRD!

Inside the British Museum, where I went with my History of London class this afternoon.

Once inside the Great Hall. (Very HP sounding, no?)
Right around this time I made some stupid comment that I'm still embarrassed to have made, even four hours later. The museum has an exhibit going on right now of a Chinese terracotta army that was discovered semi-recently, and my Doctor mentioned that that building you see in that picture was filled with "Chinese warriors." So? So, I thought he said "Chinese lawyers" and, thinking it was a group of Chinese diplomats working out issues--I don't know why I thought they'd be handling business in the middle of the British museum--then proceeded to ask what they were doing in there. *face palm.*










Show me the money!


Close-up on those monies. Ooh la la!




One more! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.


Curse Scrolls.


(If you click on this, you can read a little bit more about the Curse Scrolls. I found it amusing, to say the least.)


Bust of Emperor Nero.


The Rosetta Stone! I can't believe I was actually that close. Things are so accessible, not to mention nearly tangible. I could certainly get used to this!

Bits and pieces of the Parthenon.





Some Coptic writings.

That would be what the headdress originally looked like...

And this is how it was found. On a crushed human skull. Fancy!