Laundry on Sundays

So as is the case for most college students, or so it seems, is the tendency to do laundry on Sundays. It makes sense, the end of the week... want to make sure everything is ready to go for classes and work on Monday... whatever the case may be.

Well, this has been my tendency on Sundays. I walk across Anson Road to Dalmeny Street, and at the end there is a laundrette. There I spend roughly 30 minutes washing my clothes... its 4pounds for one wash... that's $8 people... $8 for a machine that spins my clothes around in soapy water. And for drying, 1pound for 20minues... but 20 minutes doesn't do the trick, so I usually just wash my clothes there, and bring them back to my room to air dry on the window sill, or to be hand dried with my small blow-dryer (which I don't use for anything else, so why not). I leave the clothes hanging all over the room for the day, while I go out, run errands, or tour another part of the city. Most weekends, if the weather isn't too bad, my clothes will be dry when I return in the evening. I then fold them up and put them back in my suitcase, as my room only has a small standing wardrobe with no shelves and only 3 hangers in it :) I have become quite inventive with dealing with wrinkles, as you probably has already guessed!

But anyways, today I got back in the evening to notice that one of my argyle socks had been whisked off of the window sill while drying. Raising the window and looking down, I saw my missing sock, lying on the window sill of the room below me... along with my white Calvin Klein bra (which, to be frank, I probably would not have noticed had gone missing immediately). I debated how to get the sock and bra back, and realized that my only hope was to ask the Irish man who was working at the desk downstairs. His name is Rory, and he is the least friendly man I have ever known... he lives in the B&B and works for the owner as well - what a happy life, huh! Anyways, I went downstairs and told Rory that I needed to get to my clothes via room 15. He stared at me for a minute, probably angry with me because he would have to miss a few moments of his beloved horse races to bring my back up the stairs and into the room to retrieve my things.

We entered room 15, and I quickly brushed by him to get the bra and sock off of the window sill before he got to them. I am sure he thought my passing in front of him to get in the room was rude, but I would rather be rude than have him retrieving my bra off of the window sill for me... AWKWARD! I thanked him and went back up to my room. Laughing a little, I realized that Rory had probably never had to assist with such a requst ever, in his 30+ years of living here. But that's what I'm here for, right, to leave an impact on the people I meet every day - as the silly American college student :)

I will continue my Sunday tradition of laundry, but will have to determine a way to leave the clothes on the sill, and not have them blow away!

I haven't been keeping up...

So, I know that I haven't been very good at keeping up with this... here are some pictures if you haven't already seen them on my facebook account!

The cows of Cambridge... I have been working with Professor Mary Beard of Cambridge on my research, and on my first visit to the campus I decided to walk through the gardens rather than take a cab from their train station. This is what I ran into on my way out... COWS! Right next to me, and they didn't even mind my taking pictures!! Unfortunately my camera batteries died, so you'll have to wait for more pictures of the beautiful campus...

Street Art exhibition at the Tate Modern... really amazing museum as it has been built from an old power plant. The shabby, brick walls which are the first view of the museum have been covered with these enormous paintings and photographs of famous street artists of the modern age.

Naked bicyclists riding down Whitehall Road... at first I thought, in celebration of the Queen's birthday... but no... the are memebers of a group who have come up with this Naked Bike Tour which will be traveling Europe for the next few months... This was during San Meehan's visit... and he and I ran into these folks on multiple other occassions!

Dinner at Nag's Head pub... South London... the best Ham and Cheese Sandwich ever!!! And my half pint of Bitburger :) Very good meal after a long day of trudging around the city with Sam!

And we ran into the naked bicyclists here... for their afterparty

Night on the Thames... this is the London Tower bridge lit up for the evening. And a view from the South bank, but just to the other side is the Tower of London.

My last carnivorous meal in London - but it was really good - Chicken Tikka from the Taste of London. This was a really fun food festival that Teena and I went to at Regents park. The food was phenominal and we saw lots of celebrity chefs... like Gordon Ramsey from the F Word and Hell's Kitchen, and Hugh Fearnley of River Cottage Spring (who has convinced me not to eat meat from the grocery store).

I think I know what I want to do with the rest of my life...

Farming... yes, you read right... I think that I relaly want to have my own farm when I grow up :) Having the opportunity to visit fresh markets here in London has been my favorite part of the trip. You might think that that's a crazy, and ignorant thing to say... but it's the absolute truth. I visited Borough market this morning, as is my usual Saturday am routine, to get som fresh fruit and veg for the week. It just always amazes me though, the people you meet and the passion that they have for what they do.

Can't you just picture it, living on a huge plot of land in the countryside... with pigs and horses and cows and chickens... feeding them healthy grains and watching them grow. And playing lines of vegetables in the healthy brown dirt... weeding the gardens and picking the beautiful, and delicious things that grow. I would love it - be in absolute heaven!!! Until then, I guess that I will have to settle for my beloved NH :) no complaints, because I do love the state... but take a look at these pictures and tell me that you would not want to eat these kinds of foods, fresh from your own backyard, EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE!

My afternoon snack... Thank Crunch Salad (carrots, gulbar wheat, sunflower seeds, raddish, and eggplant) in a huge, freashly made wheat pita from I <3>

A night out on the town... and a proposal

Now I'll admit it, many of my nights I spend alone, exploring the city or picking new places to grab a bite and try a new food or beer (although less beer as I have really not been that impressed). But, my friend Teena and I have become quite close and for the past 2 1/2 weeks she and I are usually together evenings, either eating at her place or going out to do something fun. Last night she took me out with a few of her friends from uni... everyone was very nice, and I enjoyed myself very much. I am posting this though, to explain a very interesting realization I had while standing outside of the Victoria and Albert Museum with them around 8pm last night.

Being as I am here to do research and volunteer at the British Museum, I feel quite comfortable with the expectations of museums in general. As most of you would know, food and drink are not allowed in 99.99% of exhibits, most short-term exhibits require the purchase of tickets for entrance, and most of the time loud music is not played in foyers. These are just simple common-sense type details that come along with touring museums. Now, I do not claim to be the most experienced museum-goer, but being in the city, and having an intense interest in art history, I have visited almost 60 museums and galleries now, so going out with this group of Teena's friends to an exhibit opening wasn't too intimidating. We arrived to the blarring noise of techno music flowing from the interior of the Victoria and Albert, and as we entered there was a small bar to the side where you could get a Pimms or water or coke. Everyone rushed to the bar. Buying drinks, and offerring me multiple, I kindly turned them down, recognizing that we were only in the foyer of the museum, had not had our bags checked yet, and would need to move along as the exhibit started in less than 10 minutes. Apparently the group thought that they would be allowed to poke around with the pitcher of Pimms for the evening, as they enjoyed the new China exhibit. I giggled a bit to myself when they realized that this was not the case.

As we walked up to the ticket counter, I asked how many tickets we needed for the exhibit, as I have a pass now that allows me to get very cheap entrance fees (one of the curators I am working for got it as a Welcome to London gift for me). They all looked at me like I had five heads... tickets? I explained that to go to the particular exhibit they were interested in, we would need tickets, but that if we just wanted to poke around the other rooms of the museum that are opened (and available for viewing on any given day of the week) we would not have to pay a cent. They wanted to get the tickets... so we did.

Manuvering our way through a few small crowds, our group of 20 or so entered the exhibit, and I have never IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, see a group of 20+ year olds looked so dazed and confused. I explained to Teena, who then passed the info down the line, that we just poke around, read the text panels, and enjoy the exhibit... we did not have to stand in line or wait for a tour... it was essentially a free for all. Everyone chuckled a bit, and we began through the exhibit.

I should also mention here that, an exhibit on modern day China would not have been my first choice of entertainment for the evening, but everyone else seemed excited, so I thought, hey, maybe they knew something I didn't. The exhibit was beautifully done, covering the major growing cities of Shanghai and Bejing in an enormous space... everything from koala bear statues, to architectural models, to acupuncture Nikes. It seemed a bit incohesive, but the aesthetic layout was great, and it was really nice to see an exhibit at the V&A that was a bit more modern. The group found it a bit strange really, and I think I heard someone say that they felt as though they might get beamed up to Mars with the bright neon lights that were flashing, and the tall white and black wall panels that separated each space. It was a little bizarre, I will admit, but I think that it was laos unique, and that's what interested me about it.

You can imagine that the group was quick to pass through the rooms, as finsihing the exhibit meant a rewarding trip to the pubs. We hopped the tube back to Camden and found a relaly cute little place with music and PHENOMINAL cocktails! Not to expensive, and really fun music, everyone loosened up, danced around, and had a good time.

Wanting to catch the tube to head back, Teena and I left Fiver Five at 1:30ish, ran into an old man who asked me if I was from Toronto and wanted to move in with him and get married... ??? We made it back to the tube just in time to catch the last ride back. I was tired, but smiled to myself on the ride home as I realized that even in a city where I may feel very out of place at times, there are moments like that for everyone... even the friends I had met that night who have been living in the city their whole lives who had no clue what to expect entering a major museum in their own neighborhood :)

Wimbledon Thursday, June 26

So I did it... I took the risk... I stood in line to wait for the Wimbledon Championship matches on Thursday, June 26th. It may seem like I am making a big deal out of nothing, but you have to understand that for some this is a 24 hour process, setting up camp with a tent and small grill with friends and family in a huge car park... I took the easier, and more expensive route, that would not require me to sleep on the pavement (being as a sleepingbag was not on my list of things to pack) and stood at the turnstiles from 6am for Courtside tickets which cost me just under $100 american from 6am until just about 11. IT WAS SO WORTH IT THOUGH!

The Wimbledon championships in June, in London, are a major event. Coverage is all over the tv and steamlined throughout the Free METRO and other newspapers of the city. It's hard not to get caught up in the action. I mean, I used to take tennis lessons as a kid, but otherwise I do not usually have much interest in tennis. At Wimbledon it is a different story. These atheletes train all year in different tournaments and matches all over the world for events like this!

So lets see... which matches was I able to catch... I got to catch the tail end of Rafael Nadal's match against Ernest Gulbis. Nadal is a Spaniard who has made shockwaves on the court this season, and beat out the veteran Federer two weeks ago at the Queen's Cup championship. He is currently the guy to beat, I would say. I also saw Andy Murray, the only Brit left standing for the match, as Chris Eaton (the newbie, handsome, crowd pleasing Brit) was beat earlier in the day. Murray is good - of course I don't know him personally, but he seems a little bit stuck up - so I'm not sure that I like him that much, but from what the commentators say he is playing very well this season - so it's great to have the chance to watch him. From America, I saw Andy Roddick lose, but saw Venus Williams win an amazing game against a Brit named Keothavong. She is an intense player, and quite intimidating at 6'1", but very fashionable as she wears her and her sister's tennis clothing line to the matches, along with large hoop earrings and a white headband with her hair perfectly curled. It's really an interesting event to be at, as making an impression is also very important to each players popularity.

The evening ended quite late with some cooler, more windy weather... but overall the day was beautiful and very much worth the wait in line. I would recommend it to anyone visiting London during the match season because to see the grounds, and the matches played first hand is so phenominal!

So, I know that the picture is a bit blurry, but it was the best out of the bunch really. The two figures in the middle are Steve and Mari. For those of you reading this from Londonderry, you will be interested to hear that this is the son, and daughter-in-law of the Clark family... who live in the historical barn on the corner of Perkins and Stonehenge Road. My Dad does construction work for Mr. Clark senior, and they insisted that while in London, I meet up with their son! This is the place that Mari recommended - Salsa! Now, it is important to keep in mind that I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and tha this was probably a once in a lifetime occurance. Upon arriving to Salsa, I fet a bit out of place, because I don't know the first thing about salsa dancing. Mari showed me a few moves, and after getting me to drink this interesting mixture of vodka, lime, and lots of sugar, they pulled me out on the dance floor. Now, the proces goes like this - you stand in a circle on the dance floor while couples dance on the inside of the circle. Everyone moves at their own pace, but you can't just dance with your friends - you wait to be asked to dance by someone else standing in the outside circle. I was sure that in my sundress and cardigan, I would not be the first shoice of many, but apparently I attracted more interest than I would have liked.

A short, Brazilian man approached me to dance, and I realized that I was screwed! Mari told me that I should at least try, so I did. But I assumed that because we were complete strangers this guy woluldn't try anything too daring.... I was wrong. Pulling me right up against him (he was quite sweaty by the way) he whispered in my ear, "can you make eye contact". I laughed and said, "I suppose". Making eye contact did make it much easier to dance with him, but it was still not the most comfortable pairing I could have been in. When the dance was over, he gave me a kiss on both cheeks and laughed, asking if I was a regular. BIZARRE! Clearly I was not a regular, and clearly I was not going to give this guy my number, as he must have been nearly 15 years older than I... so I quickly moved away and laughed about it with Mari for a bit. We spent the rest of the evening eating and enjoying ourselves, but just as we were about to leave, I was approached again - this time by a younger, taller man who insisted that I dance with him before I left. UG! I agreed, and realized that he was a much better dancer - but I still was not that good.

It was an interesting evening, and I was glad to tell this second guy that I literally had no phone number with which to exchange with him. He insisted that I should take his number and call him for a night out - his friend in the booth nearby seemed quite excited for this :) So I took Ondre's number and left ASAP - Somehow, a young guy telling me that I looked very intelligent and beautiful was not as flattering as you might think. But it was an experience, and I enjoyed the company of Mari and Steve... I think that they were quite entertained to see the interest these Brazilian men had in me - especially with my terrible dancing...

Grocery Shopping

Now, the picture here is incredibly important in understanding this blog post. On my walk to the British Library I noticed this bread shop... what really attracted me, well didn't really attract me... but caught my attention, was the name: Crusty Bloomers. Not that we have very many bakeries back home in NH, but those that we do have usually have names that remind you a bit more of bread :) "Crusty Bloomers" doesn't really say to me, "fresh ciabatta" or "whole grain rye". Rather, my first thoughts went to the word bloomers ... isn't that a term for underware? Why is it that an owner would name their bread shop that? I poked my head in to see if the girl at the counter might be approachable... but as my eyes scanned the place, I realized that there wasn't a loaf of bread there for under 9pounds... an for me that's $18... a bit much! And this leads me to the real reason for this post: grocery shopping in London. There are so many places to buy food, from the standard, and often a bit pricey fresh markets, to Tesco and Sainsburys groceries which advertise themselves with "cost-cutting prices". But which are best for the freshest produce and truly inexpensive prices? You've got me! With the economy the way it is, I have not gone grocery shopping at the same place twice, and had the prices not change over the course of a 7 day period. It's unfortunate that this has to be the case, especially when I am on a budget, but you just do what you have to do. AND ALSO, there is a huge push here in London for buying fresh, organic food... talk about expensive. Many of the chefs that have tv shows advocate for this, and are not afraid to show the public the conditions that the cheaper, Tesco-chicken are kept in before they are slaughtered and sold at those cheap prices. So I have moved to a new diet plan - vegetarian. It may sound a bit harsh, but it makes me feel a lot better about eating, and allows me to enjoy my food.

So, my grocery shopping is kept to the fresh markets... which I don't mind at all! The atmosphere is very upbeat, and everyone is very excited about what is best to buy for that particular day. There is no mold on the grapes, and when you pick up the apples there, your finger doesn't puncture the skin. It really is a nice change of pace for food shopping, and I can understand the allure here in London. To be able to buy the freshest groceries, as if you'd just picked them out of your own back garden, is much more appealing (and tasty), then the plastic packaged fruit and veg at Tesco. And as for Crusty Bloomers, and other places of the sort - with silly names and ridiculous prices - I just don't have a clue!

the South Bank

So, the south bank of the Thames... huge deal in London! Not only the outer limits of the city, but also home to City Hall, The London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Design Museum... and the list goes on. I decided to visit this area of town primarily for Borough Market, a HUGE fresh food and farmers market that Jamie Oliver, my Naked Chef, has made incredibly popular. There is a major trend here in London for buying fresh. local produce that has not been altered in any way, or force fed, or kept in unnatural environments, etc. And Jamie Oliver did a lot of work at the beginning of his career to puch for this. So Borough Market - too busy to really take pictures on your first trip there, but ABSOLUTELY PHENOMINAL food - from fresh produce to fruit, hand-rolled chocolate truffles, honeycomb, naturally dried fruits and nuts, cheese... EVERYTHING! At first I passed the market because I didn't realize that it was there, but when I stopped to look at my map, I realized that it was set back from the river a bit. A series of small nooks and crannies make up the individual stands, and together they cover over 16 city blocks on the South Bank.

This was my first visit...

But of course I had to go back, being the kind of person I am with fresh fruit and veg in the summer... and guess who was there, the one and only Naked Chef himself. Having just opened an Italian restaurant in Oxford, called Jamie's Italian, he was tehre promoting a few of the stands who supply him with produce and meats. It was later in the evening, so the market wasn't quite as busy as it had been on my first visit... I approached the stand, pretending to be interested in the large, red-raddishes before me :) He immediately asked me if he could help at all, and when I said, "No, I'm all set", he immediately noticed the lack of accent (as everyone has been doing). So I had a chat with Jamie, and asked where he would recommend I grab a bite to eat before I left - and silly me, I had no idea that they were making sandwiches... so Jamie made my dinner! Marvelous... it was a grillefd eggplant, asparagus, and bell pepper wrap - DELICIOUS! I ended up inhaling it before I got to take a picture, but here's a few to give you an idea of what I saw.

After reluctantly parting with the Naked Chef, I realized something, the "celebreality" in London is SO different from Los Angeles, California, or New York. The chefs here are much more interested in the vivid culture that exists around them, and seem excited at the opportunity to interact and really teach people something about the food that they are eating. I figure, Emeril would hardly have been as kind :)

Queen Mary's Garden and Regent's park... on accident

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY! There were hundreds of people visiting this area of London today, but it was such an amazing opportunity to see such beautiful grounds. I finally had the chance to take some pictures, and hope that they show up alright. There was a small boy in the park who was quite entertaining though... as I was writing in my little journal, he ran up into one of the rose beds and yelled to his mother, "Look Mum, Look, my name, these are my roses!". His mother rushed over, as she should have because the park was practically silent, besides the sound of water and brids... and told him to quiet down. But he was so excited that he laid down beneath the roses and insisted she take a picute of him beneath the small marking sign, "Saint Barts". I had to laugh, as the majority of the people sitting around me were older couples, clearly disturbed by this young child. But it goes to show you that anyone can appreciate the unique beauty here, in the Queen's Rose Gardens of all places!

Starting a bit late...

So, I am officially 4 weeks into my research project in London, and I have decided that rather than writing long journal entries every day, typing them in a blog that people can read is much more efficient. Today is Friday, June 2oth, so I guess I will give a summary of things so far. First of all, my time in London is being spent researching the Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum. This collection has been deemed highly political over the course of its existence in the UK, as there have been multiple requests by the Greek government for their repatriation. The sculptures are made of marble, and are often referred to as the Elgin Marbles, as they were taken from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin (an English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire) in the early 1800s. Parliament bought the Marbles from Elgin for the British Museum - and they have remained there ever since...

Anyways, the collection is phenominal, and I have been surprised to find that they truly do have a home here in London. The British Museum has gone to great lengths to create an interactive exhibit that demonstrates the value of the sculptures as Greek antiquities, but also as major pieces of cultural heritage which were critical to the Museum's beginnings and the history of art. I have been working in the museum primarily, and LOVE being there. I usually spend my days in the library, and help the Ancient Greek and Roman department with research and exhibits when they require an extra hand. In the evenings I like to visit the exhibits when the museum is closed to the public, and then take the Underground home to my room in Tufnell Park.

This week I had my first visit to the University of Cambridge, which was PHENOMINAL! Harvard and Darmouth, and the US ivies have NOTHING on Cambridge! I had the opportunity to meet with my academic advisor, Professor Mary Beard, who is a wonderful woman. She is currently working on the finishing touches on a book on Pompeii, and as a special surprise to my summer, has invited me to Greece. I had not originally planned on going to Greece, but instead spend a few weekend visiting France, Germany, and Spain... however I could not pass up the opportunity and spent a good chunk of my savings on a plane ticket! :)

LONDON has been amazing... every weekend, and evening I look forward to exploring the amazing gardens, museums, and palaces. And the food and the shopping... simply wonderful! The majoirty of the major sight-seeing locations I have already seen at this point, and have been exploring the smaller centers of town where you can find great shopping deals and wonderful fresh markets! I have become quite close with a girl my age who works at the B&B I am living in. Her name is Teena and she lives across the street, but helps her father at the B&B during the day. She and I are going to The Taste of London tomorrow, and I am so excited as there will be many wonderful chefs there, and a few celebrities from the FoodNetwork. I have also gotten tickets to go to Wimbledon, which will be a treat, and am hoping to organize a few other major events before I leave on July 21st.

I will try to keep the more exciting stories posted for you all - hope you enjoy!! <3