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