Monday 29 June 2009
Class was EXTREMELY confusing. We were learning about the British political system. I'm pretty sure that it isn't that complicated, but Professor Dick was talking in circles. I'm definitely still not sure what even happened that day in class.
Monday night was fantastic though!!! We went to see Regina Spektor in Hyde Park. I have already seen her two times live, but it was totally worth it - she never disappoints! It was especially exciting because she just came out with a new CD so she was playing mostly new material. Naturally, I had been listening to her new CD was a week straight so I was prepared.
This is my favorite song:
The middle of the week was pretty dull - I went to work. We attempted seeing the Lion King again, but it was sold out AGAIN. I think we've given up. I can't say I'm super upset. I saw the two musicals that I really wanted to see, so seeing the Lion King would have been a bonus.As the week winded down it got more exciting again!
Friday 3 July 2009
Mel, Maggie and I woke up nice and early on Friday so that we could go get pedicures. If you could've seen our feet, you would know why! Walking around London all day every day had seriously taken its toll...I don't think my feet have EVER looked that bad. Afterward we got lunch and then went to St. Paul's Cathedral.
St. Paul's was fantastic. Once again I was a little bored walking around on the inside - pretty only gets you so far. The inside was much prettier than Westminster Abbey though. The intricate detail work on the dome ceiling was crazy. All of us wanted to know how they did it. Of course I don't have any pictures of the inside...something about it being inappropriate to take pictures inside churches :) I wanted to know how it was appropriate to take them during weddings then - whatever. Once we finished looking around the ground floor we began our journey to the Golden Gallery, all 530 steps of it.
On the way up to the Golden Gallery, you pass through two other galleries on the way. The Whispering room is so cool. It is at the lowest part of the dome ceiling and because the room is completely round, you can stand on one side and whisper something into the wall and someone standing on the other side can hear what you've said. Mel, Maggie and I whispered things to each other for a good 15 minutes before we decided to make our way to the Stone Gallery.The Stone Gallery is halfway up the dome and it is actually on the outside. The view was lovely. We could see all of London from up there. Not to mention the breeze up there felt really good after walking up all of those steps inside a hot, hot cathedral.
The Golden Gallery is at the very top. It it also on the outside of the cathedral and I almost had a panic attack walking up there. We made it about halfway up on the scary, spiral staircases and I just couldn't go any farther because I was paralyzed out of fear. It took me about 5 minutes before I could continue climbing up to the top. Once we made it up there it was totally worth it. I can't even explain how beautiful it was up there. A little frustrating, admittedly, because there was only enough walking room for about two people, but so beautiful! Plus, on the way down there was a girl wearing a really short skirt and you could see her butt because the wind was blowing so hard. We followed her all the way around the Stone Gallery hoping it would happen again so we could take a picture.
In the middle of the day we went to the Museum of London. It was the most boring museum I have EVER been to and let me tell you, I have been to some pretty boring museums in my day and this one, by far, takes the cake. That is all that needs to be said. Oh yea. We made Mel climb on top of a horse outside so we could take a picture.In the evening, a bunch of us went to the Absolut Ice Bar. It cost a little more than I would have liked to go to, but how often can you say that you went to a bar made entirely out of ice...never! They keep it at -5 Celcius (24 Fahrenheit) inside to keep it from melting and they give you a pull over parka and glove to keep warm. Even the glasses are made out of ice. It was really cool. In fact, if you google Absolut IceBar London and look at their gallery for 3 July you can see a picture of my friends and I.
Saturday 4 July 2009We woke up early again on Saturday so that we could go to the Borough Market. Mel and I had both heard very good things about the food there, so we definitely wanted to check it out. Plus, it counts as a visit for class. We took a little detour because Mel was sure that it was by her work and then after we'd already took the tube all the way down there we realized that maybe we were thinking about different markets because I'd seen Borough Market by the London Bridge tube station - we weren't very close to there. No biggie though - she showed me restaurants that her company had done the interior decorating for.
The market was really fun. We got to sample all kinds of candies and we got delicious croissant for breakfast. I also got a whole bunch of cherries for 5 pounds. I've eaten them all already. Most delicious.
In the afternoon we wanted to meet Mags in Oxford Circus to do some shopping in hopes of finding an outfit to wear to the club that night. The train decided it didn't want to go to Oxford Circus, so we had to get off at Piccadilly Circus. When we came out of the tube station there were people EVERYWHERE. As we headed down the street toward Oxford, we realized that the Gay Pride Parade was going on. It felt really good to be there to be a part of that. There was so much love and acceptance in the air. It was quite the coincidence as well because the club we were going to that night is one of the biggest gay clubs in London - it is called Heaven and we were going with our friends Lorenzo and Simon to see Lady Gaga.Lady Gaga was really excellent. Well, the singing wasn't really excellent, but she has so much energy when she performs and her costumes were just so bizarre. I don't really have any pictures of that night yet because I need to borrow them from Mel - she stood up on the stairs and her pictures are WAY better than mine.
Sunday 5 July 2009
We must be crazy, because we woke up early on Sunday after going to bed at 4am so that we could be on a bus to Brighton by 10am. It was worth it though. Brighton is on the coast of England and it is so beautiful there. When I was looking at my pictures the next day I almost didn't believe that what I was seeing was real because it is so beautiful.
We went to a place called Jamie's Italian for dinner and it was just delicious. Mel had been there earlier in the week on a site visit for work and said we absolutely had to try it, so we gave it a shot. It was a little pricey, but it was so nice to just sit with friends, enjoy a couple of bottles of wine and a good meal. Plus, the Jamie of Jamie's Italian is Jamie Oliver from the Food Network! I love watching his show - he is fantastically English and says silly things like 'I'm just going to give it a quick whazz' when discussing putting things in the food processor.
Thats all :)Check out the rest of these pictures in my facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122518&id=185002852&l=bee8b64d29
