Attatched

So, today was my last full day in England. We went to Hampton Court Palace, Stonehenge, and Bath today, and everything was closed because it barely snowed two inches. Oh well, that just means I'll have to come back. Honestly, I'm really going to miss it here. I can't really decide if its London that I'm going to miss or the fact that I'm on vacation. I really don't want to go back to school. Even though its my last semester and I only have two classes to worry about, I still really don't want to go back.

Anyway, we went to see Phantom of the Opera yesterday, and it was absolutely amazing! The day before that, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral finally, but of course, the day that we planned on climbing all the way up the dome, the top two galleries were closed. We then tried to go to the Portobello Market to buy these journals, and it was closed. Then of course today, the day that we decide to go to Stonehenge, Windsor, and Bath, everything is closed! Again, I think this is just the universe's way of telling me that I must return.

So, my trip comes to an end. I'm going to miss London, but its comforting to know that I'm going to a city that's pretty much exactly the same except for the accents (New York). Then, of course, I have to go back to Los Angeles where everything is fake and the weather is ridiculous (but nice). This time of year, the weather in L.A. is the worst. Its not hot enough to go to the beach, and its not cold enough to wear coats and winter clothes. Its always gloomy, and I never know exactly what to wear in order to be prepared. All I know is that I'm glad that I got to have this experience, and I am now able to move forward in my life and continue with my plan. Year 2010 has gotten off to an awesome start, and I only hope that it continues on this path for the rest of the year.

Awkward Balloons...

So, last you've heard from me, we ate at this weirdo restaurant in a crypt. Well, guess what? I got freaking food poisoning! After I wrote that blog about how bad the food was, as soon as I got in bed, my stomach started hurting. After an hour and a half of trying to sleep it off, I finally went to the bathroom and threw it all up. It was almost as if the food in my stomach was insulted by what I wrote about it and decided to get its revenge by poisoning my insides.

The next day, I tried to get through the day as best as I possibly could without making myself sick again. The wobbly tube ride did not help at all, but then I had miso soup for lunch that was only one pound and fifty pence, and that made me feel a little bit better. Mariel and I had wanted to go to St. Paul's Cathedral, but we decided that we shouldn't go because I may not have been able to make the climb up the dome. So, we put that off for another day, and we decided to go to the Tate Britain Museum. It was my least favorite museum out of the ones that I've seen here because I'm was a little confused by the combination of historical art and modern art in such close proximity to one another. After that we met up with our friends and went to this Italian restaurant called "Guidos", which was pretty decent. The serving sizes were fairly large, and the food tasted much better than previous meals that I've recently had that I'm not going to mention again.

After "Guidos", we went to this pub called "Shakespeare's Head." Mariel and I got beers even though we're not really "beer people." I thought that my beer tasted like bread, and then everyone made fun of me for voicing that opinion aloud. I mean, its practically made of the same stuff, so I don't see why its such a shocker for someone to say that beer and bread taste similar.

Anyway, today we were completely useless. We woke up at noon, then when we finally left the house we went to eat lunch, and I discovered that after the second time trying it, I'm not a big fan of fish and chips. Then we went to the supermarket, and got food and snacks for the rest of our time here in London. After that we got ready to go to this club called "Koko" with our friends. It was fun, but I definitely wore the wrong shoes. Now my feet are throbbing, but at least I was able to enjoy the music... to an extent.

I have a feeling that tomorrow I'm going to be just as useless as I was today. I'll try not to be.

City Life

London is really really similar to New York City. I know everyone always says that, and I have even been guilty of saying it once or twice, but today it actually hit me. Mariel and I were walking down The Strand today, and I actually forgot where I was. It was one of those moments where I wasn't really thinking about where I was or what I was doing, but then when I snapped out of it, I realized that I thought that I was home, in New York City. I felt like I was in high school again, just walking somewhere with a friend like we use to do after school or something like that. It was a really strange feeling, but it made me realize that city life doesn't have to be as bad as I remember it being. Yes, there are the occasional creepers, bad smells, and bomb scares, but if I could just get past those minor details, I don't think it would be so bad to move back there again. I don't want to get too ahead of myself though. Odds are four years from now I'll be whistling a different tune, which sounds exactly like something I would do. I wonder if I'll ever be able to settle somewhere.

Anyway, today we went to have lunch in Chinatown, and the food was really good and pretty cheap, which was a nice change. After that, we went to The British Museum and spent a few hours looking at Egyptian artifacts, Mexican art, and Japanese art. I'm really not a museum person, so I'm surprised that I was able to survive for that long. It was interesting though. My favorite part was the Japanese section because I learned about art in Japan during my Art of Zen class that I took over the summer.

After the museum, we hung out at Starbucks for a while. We needed a break after walking around in a museum for so long, and Starbucks is always so warm and inviting. So, while we were warming ourselves, we decided to go to dinner at this place called "Cafe in the Crypt," which is a restaurant that is located on top of a crypt. We pretty much ate surrounded by people's graves. I know this sounds weird, and it is, but we only went because my guide book said it was a good place to go. Anyway, the food was terrible! Whoever wrote my guide book is an idiot, and I'm never buying from that company ever again. AND, whoever decided to build a restaurant on top of a crypt is kind of sick.

After the weirdo dinner, we went to Leicester Square to have desert. We both ordered tiramisu because Mariel had never tried it before, and I was shocked. Now I kind of feel bad, because her first impression of one of my favorite deserts was mediocre. I have definitely had better, and it was more like a tiramisu flavored cake then an authentic tiramisu. So yeah, that was the end of our day. Tomorrow we're going to Buckingham Palace, and I'm finally going to get to see the changing of the guards! Yay!

TuesdayWednesday

So, I was going to write a blog this morning, but then my computer decided to be slow. This meant that I had to restart my computer, which made me lose everything that I wrote. So, here it goes again...

Yesterday, Mariel and I woke up much earlier than we normally do, and we went over to the West End to buy tickets for us and our friends to go see The Lion King. Then we had breakfast at a coffee shop sort of place and went over to the Tower of London. We spent about four hours there, and we had a pretty good time considering all of the killings that use to go on in that place. We learned a lot about how people were really short back then and how the rulers of the nation walk around with elaborately sparkly hats on their heads while holding giant shiny sticks, AND we saw where they keep all of these elaborately sparkly hats and shiny sticks too! I think they should make Obama where a sparkly crown. It would probably up his popularity rating. You know, because people like shiny things... even if they do send more troops to Afghanistan. Right? Never mind.

Anyway, The Tower of London was fun! After that, we went back to the house, ate some lunch, rested a little bit, and then went off to see The Lion King. The show was only okay. I feel like 1. Its probably better in New York, 2. The actors did not have American accents like the characters did in the movie, 3. The singing was mediocre, 4. The children who played Nala and Simba were not very good actors, singers, or dancers, 5. The dancing was pretty bad in parts where it was featured, and 6. Timon (who is one of the best characters) started out with an American accent, but kept slipping in and out of it throughout the rest of the show. I mean, if you're going to try and be like the original character and keep the original accent, at least hold it throughout the entire performance. Oh yeah, and one of the worst parts was when Pumbaa said something like, "I'm going to gravel before him," and Timon was like, "Its not gravel its Gr-ahhh-vel." I think if I were closer, I would have probably shouted out something like, "Only in this country, it is!" So yeah, Mariel and I might try to catch a matinee of Phantom tomorrow, and I have a feeling that it will be a lot better.

Today, Mariel and I had plans to go to Tate Modern, which is a modern art museum that's within walking distance to our friends' house where we're staying, after we made a short trip to return something at H&M for Mariel, but that didn't really work out too well. When we finally got outside of the house, it was snowing and only partially sticking to the ground, which made it slushy and very slippery. I, of course, didn't wear snow boots because I decided that it would be okay if I wore my Chucks since we would be walking around inside a museum all day anyway. So we take the tube over to Knightsbridge, and once we get over there we realize that we're both really hungry. So we head over to H&M, find out that they don't have the size that Mariel needs, and we head back out to find a place to eat. Eventually we come across a really fancy Victorian style looking place that is a restaurant and a tearoom. Since one of my goals while in London was to go for afternoon tea, we both got really excited and went inside. I think we were the only Americans in there, and we definitely got some looks because I was really underdressed, but overall it was a really good experience. The server was really nice (she sounded Irish or something like that), and the tea and food were really good! I love taking tea! In fact, I think I'm gonna do it again... AND in America too! Probably at my house or at Starbucks or something... but still, I'm gonna do it!

After my fourth or fifth cup of tea WITH milk and sugar, we walked over to the bus that would take us to yet another H&M in order for Mariel to find her skirt in the right size. One bus ride later, we end up in South Kensington, and we not only find an H&M, but we also find a Zara, a Topshop, an Urban Outfitters, and an American Apparel. So, our plans were officially changed. I was somewhat disappointed in Topshop, and I didn't get anything in there, but I did get a purple peacoat on sale at Zara. It turns out that the Urban Outfitters is WAY cooler in the U.S., and I was kind of surprised because the people my age that I see on the tube are usually dressed really cute. Where do you get your clothes?! Never mind. Don't tell me. I can't shop anymore anyway!

So yeah, that's all for now. I'm going to try to go to sleep early tomorrow so that I can start my day a little earlier hopefully. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be worse than today, so there is no way that I'm leaving the house with any other shoes besides my snow boots this time!! There's nothing worse than walking around trying to find a tube station with wet socks while dragging the bottoms of my jeans on the soggy ground. Don't try it. Its not fun!

Today!

That's right! Today was the day that it became a little less exciting to see Big Ben. I mean yeah, we still took about 500 pictures of it, but it wasn't as exciting as the previous days where we took about double that amount. I wonder how many pictures we'll take of it tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll keep you updated.

Seriously though, today was a very productive day, and yes, we finally went shopping a little bit. This morning we went to Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery, and Piccadilly Circus, which was where we ate lunch at this Indian restaurant that refused to serve us tap water. The server came to the table and asked, "What would you like to drink?" and I said, "We'll just have water please." He then mumbles something like, "Still or Sparkling," and I say, "Still please, but..." and before I could finish my sentence he runs away. Then he comes back with this bottled still water that looked far too expensive for students on a budget, and I say, "I'm sorry, before you open that, can we please have tap water instead?" He then proceeds in saying, "No. We do not allow tap water." Eventually, one of the other servers decided to treat us like actual paying customers, and he brought us some tap water. The other server eventually came back and said, "We don't usually serve tap water, but we made an exception for you. Just you." I mean of course all I could say at that point was "Thank you," but I was kind of confused because I thought that getting water on your table at a restaurant was a give in. Technically, I could have brought my own glass, went to the bathroom and filled it up in there, and it would have been the exact same thing. Maybe their dishwashers get paid extra to wash glasses for some reason, but it all seemed kind of strange to me. Too bad I don't remember the name of the restaurant so I wouldn't even have been able to warn anyone to not go there if they want to drink tap water with their meal. I could tell you the location, but that wouldn't do any good either because there were 2 Indian restaurants right next to each other, and I am unsure of the other restaurant's policy on tap water rations.

Anyway, after lunch, we went to Westminster Abbey, which was really nice. I had been there once before, but the first time I came at a time when it was extremely crowded and it was difficult to get through everything. This time, we went at about 3:15PM, and it wasn't too bad. We got through everything in about an hour, and we still had plenty of time to sit and listen to the Abbey's evening song at 4:30PM. I recommend going there if you are interested in history at all because I learned a lot about Kings and Queens of England that were buried there just by going through the self-guided tour. I have to admit that Poets' Corner was one of my favorite parts though because I like being in the presence of such classic writers, even if its just their decaying remains.

So yeah, after that, we went to Harrods, which is the famous department store in London. On the way, we stopped in H&M because they were having a sale. I got a dress and a sweater (or a "jumper") for 14 pounds! Then we finally made it to Harrods, and we stopped at the cafe inside. I got a scoop of hazelnut gelato, and Mariel got an earl grey tea. Then we went to the Harrod's Arcade, which was where they sell all Harrod's merchandise. They were having a sale there too, AND they were able to charge me in American Dollars, which was great!

After that, Mariel and I met our friends at a pub for yet another pub dinner. This pub was pretty cute though, and the bartender was an American girl from Virginia. It was weird though because the whole time I was standing there she was complaining about Americans. I think she was trying too hard to fit in. Maybe people will like me more if I start insulting myself in public more often. I may give it a try tomorrow just to see what happens. As usual, I will keep you updated.

BRRRR...

So, today we took a very long walk along the South Bank, which allowed us to see The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye. Although we already saw those things the day before, and we're probably going to see them again tomorrow, it still hasn't gotten old. I wonder when it'll get to that point. I'll let you know.

We ate French food today... basically twice. For a snack a couple of hours before dinner, we ate a sweet crepe with walnuts and chocolate sauce, and then for dinner, we went to a French restaurant. It was pretty good considering we're not even in France. I actually think that I like it better than the food I ate when I was living in Paris. Not the crepe though. The crepes in France are the best that I've ever had in my entire life. That's the only compliment that I can give the French for now. I limit myself to one compliment per every couple of days at the most for the French. I'm not quite sure they deserve any more than that.

Tomorrow, I think that we're finally going to Westminster Abby. We've been saying that we were going to go to Westminster Abby for about four days now. Its about time that we actually see it. I'm tired of planning on going there and then not following through. I'm not sure what we'll do afterwards, but I'll let you know..... as usual.... if anyone's even reading this. Probably not.

Saturday!

Today (technically yesterday because its Sunday already, and I still haven't gone to sleep), we had our very kind friend Chris take us to South Kensington, Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland, Notting Hill, Portobello Market, and Waterloo. Of course, when we went to Waterloo, all I kept singing in my head was the Abba song Waterloo, and I couldn't remember any of the other words besides the word Waterloo, so it sounded something like, "Waterloo... la, la, la, la, la, la, Waterloo..." At least it was in the right tune... I think. Anyway, the weather was still pretty chilly, but the sun was out for most of the time that we were, which was a nice change compared to the rain when we first got here. So far, I would say that London is one of the cutest cities I've ever been too. Its a mini New York City that's slightly cleaner, especially in the public transportation area. I don't want to jinx myself or speak too soon, but I think the New York MTA could learn a little something from the London Underground system. The trains come fairly quickly, they have better indication as to when the next trains are arriving if you are waiting on the platform, and they are more efficient overall in getting you to you desired destination... in my opinion. I'm sure that it has its negatives because of what I have heard from the locals, but as of now, I'm pretty happy with the tube (knock on wood).

Tomorrow, we have no idea what we want to do. I want to go shopping despite every ounce of better judgement that I posses in my pathetically brainwashed mind. I would love nothing more than to save some money, but I just want to buy stuff, and I can't even help it. I'm proud of myself for not buying anything today. The only thing I bought was a chai from Starbucks and some dinner for Sunday night, which left me feeling proud and a tad bit unsatisfied. Its very sad but very true. If I would have actually let myself buy something that was not a necessity, I would have satisfied my craving to shop, but I would have felt super guilty for spending money knowing that whatever the price was in GBP, I would need to double that and subtract it from the amount that I know I have in USD. Its so sad.

Well, its late, and I need to sleep. Wish me luck with my shopping addiction. May my better judgement overrule the absurd need to pay double the price for something that isn't really worth that amount of money. Lord, have mercy.