The End

This is my final blog post...

I've been thinking about this post for awhile, but I thought it would be forever before I would have to write it. Mind you, I delayed writing on account of my cold, but I've kept delaying because, honestly, I'm really not ready to accept that my time in England is over.

The last few days of traveling took us to Hucknall, where Ada Lovelace is buried. For those of you who don't know, Ada Lovelace is an icon for women in computing. Working under Charles Babbage, she wrote the first computer program (for a computer Babbage never ended up building) and is considered to be the FIRST computer programmer! In addition, she is also the daughter of Lord Byron.

Hucknall is just outside Nottingham, so we stopped by at a pub, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, for lunch. The pub is built into a cave, so the ceilings and some walls are simply rock. It was a really fun experience, but the food was only okay.

That was pretty much the (anticlimactic) end of our travels. From there, we returned the car and went back to London. Our first night was rather uneventful. We got in too late to eat at any of the places I recommended, so we just got sandwiches and went to the pub.

Initially, we'd intended to meet Cate at Cittie of Yorke, but I decided to walk my parents past Ye Olde Mitre House first. It's considered to be the most hidden pub in London, but every time I've gone, it's been PACKED. This night, however, it was practically empty; in fact, as we went by, a waiter exclaimed, "Customers!" We explained that we were actually passing through on the way to meet a friend, but he gave us an interesting history lesson about the pub. When we finally met with Cate, we felt bad about leaving after the waiter had been so nice, so we went back. The waiter, whose name turned out to be Andy, was very happy to see us, and we all had a good, relaxing time anyways.

The next day, we had breakfast at Smiths of Smithfield and took a bus up to Highgate Cemetery. We saw the graves of Douglas Adams, Sir Ralph David Richardson, Karl Marx, and George Eliot. It was a very peaceful afternoon, and the cemetery was just lovely (which may be an odd thing to say about a big park full of dead people but it genuinely was beautiful -- in that serene, contemplative way).

Tea was Bea's of Bloomsbury, which turned out to be an overall family favorite. Bea's serves the best cupcakes EVER, but the mini-desserts and scones were also divine! I spent the rest of the afternoon packing and cleaning, so the pinnacle of the evening was really dinner. We went to the Bleeding Heart Bistro, a highly regarded French restaurant with pub and restaurant branches within the same square. Bleeding Heart Yard (where all three eateries are located) is named after a story regarding some local party-going noblewoman who was murdered by her "swarthy" (direct quote from the restaurant) lover. Her heart was torn out and left pulsing and wriggling on the pavement... Thus the name.

My parents, perhaps due to poor judgement on their part, allowed me my choice of anything on the menu. I ordered foie gras for a starter and leg of rabbit for my main. Both were delicious, but I was really impressed by the foie gras. I love paté, but this was just... Wow.

That night, I went out with Cate, Holly, and Beth. It was a bit of a downer evening because it really marked the end of our time together. Also, Beth's boyfriend had already left, so it was a rather sad affair all around. Still, it was good that we got our last hurrah.

I brought back to the States 4 pint glasses, 3 mugs, a tea strainer, and a Welsh flag. I could hole myself up with some loose leaf tea and ale and pretend I never left. Instead, I've just been lazing around. I only brought 2 pairs of 2-week contact lenses to England (that's a story in and of itself) and made them last the whole 5 months. Needless to say, I had an eye doctor appointment as soon as I got back. I also got my hair cut short again, and I got to see my Amanda (actually she drove me to my doctor's appointment -- the cars are all coming from the wrong side!).

----
Anyways, here are some things I picked up from my time in England.

From my food journal...

Best Fish & Chips
Rock and Sole Plaice
45-47 Endell Street
WC2H 9AJ

Best Desserts
Bea's of Bloomsbury
44 Theobald's Road
WC1X 8NW

Best Breakfast
Smiths of Smithfield
67-77 Charterhouse Street
EC1M 6HJ

Best Pub
Cittie of Yorke
22 High Holborn
WC1V 6BN
OR
Ye Old Mitre House
1 Ely Court
EC1N 6SJ

Best Pub (Outside London)
The Borough
3-5 Dalton Square
LA1 1PP

American vs British Terminology
American - British
Sweater - Jumper
Napkin - Serviette
Pants - Trousers
Zucchini - Courgette
Eggplant - Aubergine
Fries - Chips
Chips - Crisps
Ladybug - Ladybird
BandAid - Plaster
Exit - Way Out
Line - Queue
ATM - Cash Point
Desserts - Puddings (Puds, for short)
To Go OR Takeout - Takeaway
Check - Bill
Semester - Term
Trash can - Rubbish Bin
Drunk - Pissed
Ad - Advert

Some Other Common Words and Phrases
"Cheers!" - used both for toasting and also to replace thank-you (ie one might say "cheers" to someone who has held the door)
"I can't be bothered..."
"Take the piss out of..."
To "pull" someone - to hook-up with somebody. Despite what Harry Potter tells you, snogging is not the common phrase for this
"Brilliant"
"Bollocks"
"Wanker"
"Oh, crumbs!"
"Pucker" (as in good)
"Pasty" (this is a food, the 'a' is pronounced like the 'a' in 'cat'*)

*I was once told that if an 'a' is not followed by an 'r', it will be pronounced like the 'a' in 'cat'. For instance, pasta or kebab...

Why No Updates?

I am writing this update in case someone is reading this (and the more improbable case that said reader is wondering why there have been no updates about my trip).

I am sick.

I mentioned a dry cough in my last post, and it's become an EVIL SCOURGE upon my sinuses and upper respiratory system!

There will be some real updates when I recover.

In the meantime, here's a picture from York:

Scottish Countryside

Today was beautiful and sunny, so we ventured out from Edinburgh into the Scottish countryside.

The Scottish Wool Centre is about an hour away and does daily sheepdog demonstrations, so we drove to the town, Aberfoyle, first. We got there about 30 minutes early for the demonstration, so we wandered around the store first. Mom and Dad both bought nice Scottish wool sweaters, but I couldn't find one that I liked or that fit. Unfortunately, all the colours and patterns I really liked were men's sweaters, and the smallest size still fit like a sack. Instead, I ended up getting a raincoat because although I've been on this rainy island for 5 months, the only "rain gear" I own is an umbrella from Poundland, and even that can't withstand the slightest breeze (as I learned when the spokes on my first Poundland umbrella snapped like twigs in a gentle wind). I didn't really pack for the northern cold, so hopefully the raincoat will also keep me a bit insulated over the next couple days of travel.

Anyways, the sheepdog demo was fascinating, but on account of the demonstrator's thick Scottish accent, we really only understood the "pretty dog moves angry geese" part.


Just a note: the coughing in the video is NOT me. It was the girl next to me who was determined to infect me with her plague!


The sheep were pretty ridiculous creatures. They kept baaing, but it sounded more like an angry chain smoker.

Next, we took a scenic "Three Lochs Forest Drive", but there weren't any particularly breathtaking views and Dad sped through the whole thing. Perhaps the most interesting part of the drive was when we had to stop for a bunch of West Highland Cattle in the road.



We continued on to the Inchmahome Priory, perhaps one of the prettiest sights so far this trip. We had to take a 12-person ferry boat to the island where the priory ruins are located. The priory was active until the Reformation when the building was abandoned and fell into disrepair. It's really quite magical.



When we were back on the mainland, we were all pretty ravenous and immediately began searching for lunch. As it's a bank holiday, it took us a little while to find somewhere to eat, and I was in "attack wildlife" mode. Lunch was tasty, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I ordered a cheese starter, a local trout, and a side of mash. This is really the second time I've ordered fish in the UK, and as with the Whitebait, I was served the WHOLE fish!



Our lunch gave us the energy to continue on to visit Rob Roy's grave. I don't actually know who Rob Roy is. The best explaination my parents could provide was "Liam Neeson played him in the movie adaptation." The guidebook description didn't offer much enlightenment either... But it was on the way, so we stopped.



Within a few minutes, we were back on the road, and we took the long drive to pass Loch Lomond. Unfortunately, Dad had a bit of a headache and couldn't keep driving. We stopped at a rest stop so Dad could take a nap. Mom and I watched some young children playing in the water, which was Titanic-type cold. Unfortunately, the only photos I was able to get of the Loch were with my iPhone as my camera ate through two sets of batteries today.



When Dad recovered enough to drive, we got back on the road, but at this time, it was evening and all the bank holiday travelers were driving home and stopping traffic. Then, we got lost. It took 3hrs 15min, instead of 1hr 40min, to get back to Edinburgh.

In the past day or so, I've developed a strange tightness in my chest accompanied with a dry, itchy cough. Mom and I have a bet going about whether or not I'm catching a cold.

--

Yesterday, I forgot to mention that I tried haggis. It wasn't so bad. Actually, it tasted kinda good. I also had black pudding (which I've had before), but this time, it was a bit harder to eat...

137 Photos of Rubble, 48 Hours of Wet and Cold, 17 Hours of Daylight: Priceless

Yesterday, we drove up to Edinburgh with a diversion to see Hadrian's Wall. We stopped at two forts, one of which was a cavalry fort. Both were absolutely incredible!

The truly amazing thing was how the site was treated. In the past, huge chunks of rock were moved around for building projects elsewhere, and border reavers built houses into the forts. Now, children and sheep climb all over the ruins, and it's amazing they haven't done more damage. I saw a child do a flip off a wall.


The "lockers" in the fort's changing room.

Even so, the site was INCREDIBLE and there were so many Roman artifacts! The whole day was raining on and off, and by the end of the day, I was completely soaked through. Just absolutely drenched.

We arrived next in Edinburgh for a lovely pub dinner. As we've gotten further north, the days are getting longer and longer. In Edinburgh, we have a little more than 17 hours between sunrise and sunset. It's a bit disconcerting.

This morning, we went up to Edinburgh Castle. When we first got there, the sky was sort of blue, but after we'd queued for tickets, the sky was already cloudy. Within about an hour, it was raining.


The view from Edinburgh Castle... PRE-rain.

We walked around the Royal Mile and wandered around to try to find the church from the Da Vinci Code movie; however, it is actually six miles outside the city, so we didn't find it and wasted quite some time. Instead, we decided to hike up to Arthur's seat. Mom and I are both terrified of heights, and Mom was unable to climb it. I made it to the top, but I had left my camera with Mom and didn't really get any pictures.

Other than that, we really haven't done too much...

I've taken a bunch of videos during the trip that I hope to post soon!

So... Who is John Ruskin, Anyways?

Today marks our second day in the Lake District, and it's been significantly better than yesterday. Firstly, the sun was out today, so it was a bit warmer. Secondly, we actually had a decent meal.

First thing in the morning, we took a local hike to get a good view of the lakes and fells. It was a great walk and totally justifies my puddings and ales later on in the day.



Afterwards, we took the ferry to the other side of the lake to explore the towns there. We stopped first at the home of Beatrix Potter. We were able to wander the gardens and gift shop, but the house itself was closed.



We drove over to Hawkshead to explore the town, but it was very touristy. Most of the town was filled with tiny gift shops selling chintzy Hallmark-knockoff-style tchotchkes. We drove BACK to Sawrey, where Beatrix Potter's house is, to get lunch at a pub that had come recommended by a local. The pub really was pleasant, and we had a large, delightful lunch.

On our way to the next town, we came across Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin, and we ended up spending a large portion of the day there. I didn't know who John Ruskin was previously, but his house was incredible and the gardens and grounds were lovely.




We were finally able to get down to the lake shore (thanks to the Brantwood Harbour Walk).


A snail cell and a piece of ceramic that I found in the Brantwood gardens.

The day was relatively uneventful but a lot of fun; however, dinner was again disappointing. We went to a pub that specializes in a very specific sheep breed, Herdwick, for their lamb. The meal was pretty good although nothing special, but the staff and overall atmosphere were very unpleasant.

And he says, "I'm goin' crazy out there at the lake."

Last night, we arrived in Lancaster after a 3+ hour drive from Warwick. The owners of the B&B we stayed at were perhaps the nicest people I've ever met. The town is a bit depressed (though still charming), and our hostess directed us to a local pub, The Borough.

The Borough is one of the best pubs to which I've been, and it certainly helped that it was Wednesday steak night (and they were willing to give me the steak practically raw). All the food was wonderful, the ales and cider were excellent and varied, and the staff was so helpful and friendly!


This is Lancaster Castle... Part of it is currently being used as a prison...


The Roman Bath ruins here were full of litter, and we were allowed to clamber all over them (if one were willing to climb around the rubbish).

We were only staying in Lancaster as a layover on the way to the Lake District; however, the more time I spend in the Lake District, the more I wish we were still in Lancaster. There were very few things to see or do in Lancaster, but the Lake District is so cold and all my meals here have been disappointing.

When we arrived, we stopped by the Visitor Centre first to learn a bit more about the area. From there, we pretty much beelined it to lunch. We went to a cafe down town, which turned out to be one of our worst meals thus far. From there, we drove to a couple nearby towns: Ambleside, Grasmere, and Keswick.

The countryside here is beautiful, and I was really hoping to do some hiking here; however, it's so miserably cold and windy (and ALWAYS threatening rain) that no one else is interested. Also, I'm not really prepared for the weather. I packed for a cold Spring day... in London. My warmest outfit is a T-shirt and sweatshirt, and the cold here just rips through it.



Still, if the weather is less ominous tomorrow, we're going to take a ferry across Windermere and hike a bit in the Fells.

When we got back to Windermere in the evening, we began searching for a local, traditional pub. The Internet turned up very few possibilities and we ended up at a restaurant in the neighboring town. Bad decision. The atmosphere was a bit odd, and the decor was all very modern. My food was decent, but my parents' dinner was not. At all. They both had beef, which the menu claimed was local; however, it came fried and horribly overcooked.

Conclusion: The Lake District is gorgeous... for hikers and tourists.

Castles and Country

Initially, I was hoping to update every day, but it's been a bit difficult. For most of the day, I don't have Internet, and I'm navigating our driving route. We don't get back until late usually, and since we're sharing a room, I can't stay up much later than Mom and Dad. Thus, I haven't been very good about updating my blog or writing postcards.

Anyways, we've visited a lot of small towns over the past two days. Yesterday, we went to Lacock, where some scenes from the Harry Potter movies and Pride and Prejudice were filmed. The town is truly how I imagine the old English countryside. The streets are lined with ramshackle houses and wisteria. Honestly, if it weren't for the cars, I would have readily believed that I'd stepped back in time. Alternately, there wasn't much to do in the tiny town, so we continued on to our next major stop, Blenheim Palace. This is perhaps one of my favorite sights thus far.

The land on which the palace is built was given to John Churchill in commemoration of his military victories over the French. He built the palace and gardens, and honestly, I'd compare it to a British Versailles. The house is largely decorated in French style and the grounds are impressive and meticulously maintained. The palace tours focus largely on the family history, but there are some interesting Winston Churchill exhibits as well. The palace may also appeal to me because it hosts a major equestrian competition every Autumn.


Blenheim Palace and the gardens.

After Blenheim, we drove through a couple small Cotswolds towns, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold. We stopped briefly to take a couple pictures, but there wasn't a lot to see in either place and neither was as picturesque as Lacock.

Our B&B is in a Cotswolds town called Broadway. The B&B was absolutely lovely with clean and spacious rooms… and Internet! Anyways, we got in a little before dinner and met up with Mom's coworker for drinks at the Fleece Inn, a really nice pub a couple towns over. It was a great evening, but we didn't really get to see the town of Broadway, just the outskirts.

The next morning, we toured a couple other small Cotswolds towns, Northleach and Chipping Campden. Northleach reminded me of the Doctor Who dream episode, where the elderly people live so long because their bodies are inhabited by aliens of some sort. It was a small hamlet filled with old people. We walked around and took some pictures, but we didn't stay long. Chipping Campden was a much nicer town but much busier, so we didn't stay long there as well.

We drove on to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the Shakespeare sights. Stratford is incredibly touristy, but it was very, very hard to find any parking. We drove around for about 40 minutes before we found a lot. Street parking was "pay and display" for a maximum of one hour (and you couldn't return for another two).

We went to Shakespeare's Birthplace museum. The beginning of the museum was a little dubious. We got shuffled through a bunch of darkened rooms where some animatronics and recordings told us a bit about Shakespeare, but after that, it was pretty pleasant. The house itself was really cool, and there were guides who explained a bit about the time and the history of the room. All the talks were really interesting and informative… although it's amazing how little we actually know about Shakespeare. In the garden, a few actors were milling about to entertain us. Mostly, they were pretending to be rehearsing for various Shakespeare plays and would run scenes every few minutes.


In front of Shakespeare's birthplace.

Our next Shakespeare stop was Anne Hathaway's cottage, but we got there very close to closing time so we didn't stay long. We toured the house in a similar fashion to that of Shakespeare's birthplace and wandered the gardens a bit as well.

In the evening, we went to see the town of Broadway, which we all agreed was the most charming towns we'd seen thus far. It was much less crowded than the other towns, and it was just beautiful.


An adorable side street in Broadway.

The next morning, we left for Warwick (pronounced Warrick, apparently) to see the castle there. The whole experience kind of had the feel of Disneyland. There were a bunch of school groups running around, there were costumed actors to evoke the time period, and several exhibits that were more entertaining than informative. One exhibit was meant to recreate a 19th century party being hosted at the castle. We were received at the door by a woman dressed as a maid, and she brought us into the parlor room where we were formally announced and our "hostess" greeted us. There were wax figures with prerecorded messages standing in for the other guests. Each room represented activities of the party. In one room, (fake) tea was being served; in the study, the men were smoke and gambling. In fact, an upstairs bedroom displayed a canopy bed, curtains drawn, from which prerecorded male and female giggling noises were playing.

Hoping for a tour of the dungeons, we'd purchased tickets for the "Castle Dungeons", which turned out to be more like a haunted house that enterprised on the horrors of Medieval times. Actually, it was an awful lot like the London Dungeons, where people in gruesome costumes jump out at you in the dark, but the Castle Dungeons really wanted to gross us out.

Dad and I climbed the tower and ramparts. I always thought that my fear of heights eclipsed Mom's, but she couldn't handle the ramparts. We didn't spend much more time in the exhibits. I was hoping to see some jousting (I kind of wish this sport still existed) but ended up at a Bird of Prey show instead. The show was incredibly well done and interesting, definitely better than any I've seen in the States.


The view of the castle from the ramparts.

At that point, it was later in the afternoon (and none of us had eaten), so we just did the Peacock Garden and left. I probably took more photos of birds than of the castle itself.


One of MANY peacock pictures... This is AFTER it discovered I had a biscuit.


One of my favorite bird photos.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen...

I wrote this blog post last night when we didn't have Internet. I will write a post for today's travels later tonight or tomorrow.

---

My parents' flight arrived at 7:40AM, and I had to meet them at the airport (an hour away from central London). I woke up naturally at 5:29AM (20 minutes before my alarm) and still felt that I was rushing to finish getting ready to leave. I needed to take out my rubbish and recycling, make a breakfast of the perishables in my fridge, and make sure I had everything I needed. I left the flat at the time that I'd planned, but when I got to the tube, I waited 30 minutes for a train to the right terminal. As the ride is largely underground (and thus, I had no cell service), I was worried that my parents would get there and try calling me. I got to the meeting point just as they did, luckily.

After that, we picked up the rental car (and we were upgraded… to an Audi!). My parents drive manual cars back home, and Dad thought it would be an interesting challenge to get a manual transmission here, as well. It certainly was interesting.

For my friends who don't know, I'm already REALLY jumpy in cars. Car accidents just seem to follow me around, whether or not I'm the driver. Typically, when I'm uncomfortable in a car, I just hold onto something with a death grip (unless I'm driving, but I drive like a grandmother -- actually, my grandma told me I drive too slowly). Usually, the situation is safe (and it's just my fear), so I don't want to offend the driver by making my fear obvious.

In this instance, my typical tactics were not enough, and most of the trip was punctuated by me yelling, "GAH!" or "BAH!" or, occasionally, "THAT'S THE CURB!" In my defense, we did hit the curb a couple times. Also, in my defense, Dad appointed me navigator, so I was sitting in the front passenger seat and VERY aware of how close we where to the edge of the road. Dad is definitely getting the hang of driving in the UK, but I think the major issues are:
1) the clutch is on the left side, so he has to shift with his left hand
2) cars drive on the other side of the road
3) cars can park in either direction on either side of the road, so it's hard to tell if we're driving the right way
4) the speed limit on the narrow country roads is 60mph (this TERRIFIED me)

We stopped first at Stonehenge, the greatest henge in the world (thanks, Eddie Izzard). It was very impressive although visitors are not allowed close to the site, and it really is just like ALL the pictures. Still, I was not disappointed. I took a bunch of pictures of Stonehenge, but I also took a disproportionately large number of photos of some nearby sheep and a field of rape (this strange yellow flower used to make canola oil, which is called rapeseed oil here).


It looks pretty much the same from every angle...


Here's some sheep from Stonehenge. You can see a field of rape in the background.

From Stonehenge, we drove to Longleat, the estate of the Marquess of Bath, which is open to the public. The grounds are incredible (and also hosts a Safari Park). The weather was perfect for touring the gardens, and the house was equally as impressive. We spent a couple hours at Longleat before continuing on to Bath. We checked in to our bed & breakfast and got dinner.


Longleat

The B&B hasn't been the best experience. For one, I've been able to access the Internet for, maybe, 15 minutes. Also, a train runs right under the B&B (it's built on an archway over the track) and goes by every 30 minutes or so during the day. Luckily, we haven't noticed it at night… In addition, there is no ensuite bathroom… but there is a shower… in the corner of the bedroom… It's a really odd setup. The owners are very nice and hospitable, but I'm kind of glad that we're only staying for 2 nights.

Today, we went into Bath to sightsee. We took a wonderful 2-hour free walking tour in the morning. We pretty much got to see all the major sights, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable and funny. He told us a bunch of great stories about Beau Nash. My personal favorite story was about Robert Coats, a wealthy socialite who desperately wanted to be an actor. He paid a theatre in Bath to do a production of Romeo and Juliet with him as Romeo. The play was so bad that during the balcony scene, when people were booing and throwing vegetable matter, he took out a snuff box, took some snuff, offered some to Juliet, and offered some to the front row of the audience. After Romeo's death scene (in which he took a whole 2 minutes to die), an audience member called out, "Die again, Romeo!" So, he did. He got up and died again. The performance brought him such fame that he toured the production for many years until he retired.

Our guide also pointed out a number of Jane Austen sights, including the gravel walk where Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth get together at the end of Persuasion. We even got to walk down it, too!

Afterwards, we went to a local pub for some cider (and pie). It's true that the West Country has FANTASTIC cider! Also, the bartender was kind of cute. From there, we went straight to the Roman Baths.

The baths are really cool. We took the audio guide because it was free, and although the information was very interesting, the presentation was a bit boring and contrived. There were little bits narrated by Bill Bryson, who's a very funny man, but his commentary was very uninteresting and didn't add much to the tour. Originally, the Romans associated the place with the goddess Minerva. About halfway through the baths tour, there was a gift shop selling "Roman-style" owls (on account of the Minerva association), so… I bought one. Go, Bryn Mawr!

At the very end, we got to sample water from the spring. The water has a high iron content, and it's very warm. The taste reminded me of blood. Honestly, it was an awful lot like drinking blood. Dad and I finished our glasses, but Mom couldn't finish the water… It was disgusting.

Partially to get rid of the taste, we went from there to Sally Lunn's for tea. I got a Sally Lunn bun with lemon curd and clotted cream and tea. I love England.

By the time we finished, it was already after 5PM, so we came back to the B&B to reenergize (translation: Dad and I wanted to try to get Internet). We couldn't connect to the Internet, so we decided to go for a walk (as most places were already closed at 6PM on a Sunday). Dad walked around trying to find free WiFi (which was largely unsuccessful). This lack of Internet has been very trying… Right now, I'm compensating by writing my blog post in TextEdit.

---

I will post more Bath pictures later!

A Tale of Death, Friendship, and the Failure of Kites (Or How I Survived Finals)

My hardest exam, Linear Circuits, was yesterday. Honestly, I was really disappointed with myself and how the exam went. I'd studied quite a bit (because I was so freaked out about the exam), but when I sat down to take it, I kept second guessing myself. I walked into the exam feeling so ready and confident. I KNEW the material, but I can't help the nagging feeling that I messed something up.

Anyways, I've been studying a little bit every day and simultaneously trying to take advantage of the last of my time in London.

On Saturday, Cate, Holly, and I went on a FREE tour of Somerset House. One of my guidebooks informed us that they do a "Hidden Spaces" tour for free every first and third Saturday of the month. The building abuts the King's College Strand campus on one side, so it was really convenient (and really interesting to learn about a building we'd been sitting next to for almost 5 months).


You may recognize the building from a couple Sherlock Holmes movies (including the new one), Sense and Sensibility, The Duchess, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and practically a million other movies...

The highlight of the tour is something called the "Dead House." There are actually no corpses interred there (our guide told us that they'd checked), and the head stones had been moved there from the Catholic chapel that had been built at Somerset House for Charles I's wife.


Apparently, the skull and crossbones used to be a symbol for doctors. Comforting, eh?

On Monday, I took an early morning walk to Postman's Park, the site of the Watts Memorial. The memorial displays plaques for everyday people who died doing heroic, selfless deeds. They date back to the 19th century mostly and are absolutely fascinating (and really moving).


These were truly incredible, and if you would like to see more, I took a TON of photos of these, and they're all on Facebook (in my "Around London" album).

Except for these few diversions, I was mostly locked in my room studying, but now that my Linear Circuits exam is over, a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. In addition, Abbey returned from Scotland last night, so we all went to see Robin Hood at the Vue. It was the perfect way to end the evening!

This morning, Abbey and I went on a mission to pick up her external hard drive from the repair center and decided to pick up some bagels on the way back. I tried a "shortcut", and we ended up walking a lot more than necessary... Oops... As I'm sure my friends can agree, I have a very good sense of direction (and can almost always get from Point A to Point B without issue), but no one should ever, ever, ever listen to my shortcuts. They are NEVER shorter. Remember this if you ever choose to travel with me.

In the afternoon, we went to Hard Rock Cafe because Abbey needed to get a few souvenirs for a family friend (or something like that). We had a blast, and it was kinda like being back in America. We had (American style, not British) milkshakes and burgers.



When we went into the Hard Rock Cafe, the sky was blue and (mostly) clear. The past couple days have been very warm; in fact, this weekend, it's supposed to reach a high of 23°C (~73°F)! For London, that's pretty impressive. Anyways, when we left the Hard Rock Cafe, it was still warm, but the sky was London-colored (grey). Still, we went up to Hampstead Heath to enjoy the gorgeous weather with some outdoor fun!


From Hampstead Heath, you can pretty much see the entire London skyline. It's gorgeous! And the park is everything the English countryside should be (well, sans sheep -- Baaaah!)! There are ponds and wildlife! It's picturesque and really reminds me how much I miss the country.

I brought a few of the things that I'd picked up for my London May Day (for which, as you may recall, it was raining). Namely, I had tennis balls, a frisbee, and a kite. Abbey was REALLY excited about the kite and absolutely determined to make it fly. I'm no good with kites, but I really like throwing things (and I'm pretty good at it). Mostly, I played catch with whoever would join me. Abbey and I brought our foam swords, but I kinda broke both of them. Accidentally. Really accidentally. Abbey and I have been whacking each other with the swords all week, but it took a couple strong swings to demolish both of them... Whoops... They were just £1 after all...

Cate will never forgive me for this video.



Here's the videos I took of a few attempts to fly the kite. There were many, many, many more attempts, but I stopped filming after a couple... Oh, and a note on the music: I put the clips into iMovie to splice them together, and I added in the music as a joke; however, when I removed it, it wasn't nearly as amusing, so the music stayed...

Are you a veterinarian? 'cause these pythons are SICK!

I feel absolutely great. I just finished my first exam, Operating Systems, and I was amazed how well it went. It's the only grade we're getting in that class, so it's really put my mind at ease to have it DONE.

Last night though, I really couldn't sleep. I should have been exhausted, but I tossed and turned for about 45 minutes before I realized something... I could SEE! At first, I was very confused. The light on my computer's power strip had a SHAPE! I could make out the window! Then, I noticed that I'd forgotten to take my contact lenses out... Brilliant! After that, it was at least another hour before I fell asleep. I was thinking about a lot of things, mostly graduate school (and not at all about the exam, surprisingly), but I really started to get nervous about my exam in the morning. I woke up early to review some more and map out the exam location (not on campus AT ALL). I ate something, regretted eating, and left early.

The testing center is on the other side of town entirely. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by public transportation, and it was morning rush hour. Still, I got there with plenty of time to spare. We took our exams with about 500 other students, all in one room. We each get our own assigned desk number. The tests are already on the desk, and we start when the proctor says so. For the first 1hr and 15min., no one is allowed to leave their desk. After that, you can take bathroom breaks or turn in your test.

Cate and I are going down to the gym this afternoon. I've been working out five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with Cate and sometimes Abbey and Holly; Tuesday and Thursday by myself), and I'm really noticing the results. I feel much more energetic, and I'm starting to get back some of the muscle tone I lost when I got to Bryn Mawr. When I get home, I'm looking forward to horseback riding again. Hopefully, I'll be able to work with Splash a bit...


This is Splash. And yes, that's me. No comment.

Actually, I've made a list of things to look forward to about going back to the States... I really don't want to leave London (by my calculations, I will be able to move here in 6-8 years and become a UK citizen -- we'll see), and I'm a bit anxious about readjusting to life in the States. I look right first when crossing streets, I've adapted to a more British vocabulary (flat, lift, jumper, serviette, chips, crisps, etc.), I enjoy sitting in a pub with my friends, and I ALMOST enjoy the weather... But when I come back, I can look forward to faster Internet! Okay. So, there's more on the Coming-Home list than faster Internet (like seeing my friends and family -- I miss you guys!), but I'm absolutely amazed by how quickly this semester flew by...

---

Here's a picture from Austria of the Lipizzaners at the Spanish Riding School. We weren't supposed to take ANY photos of the horses, but as you can see, the lady in front of me also whipped out her camera as soon as the security monitor went by.

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya...

Abbey and I went to the Portabello Road Market today. I've been hoping to start a collection of old dime novels and penny dreadfuls, and on Saturdays, the market is famed for its antiques. We found a first edition of Through the Looking Glass (too expensive for either of us) and an interesting collection of Grimms' Fairy Tales (including "The Jew in the Bush", apparently -- we were both amused by this). Unfortunately, we didn't find anything fitting what I was looking for...

Instead, we ended up at Poundland (the more amusingly named British Dollar Store equivalent) where we both bought foam swords for £1. This turned out to be the BEST purchase of my whole trip. We spent the afternoon enacting epic battles and bopping each other with our swords. Abbey got a video of me attacking a lamppost, which depending on how embarrassing it is, I may post at some point.

Honestly, I was exhausted from the day out, but Cate and Holly came over in the evening for a Doctor Who marathon. They helped me try some of the Turkish delight, but most of the flavors were pretty gross. The only one I really like (although I still have a couple left to try) is pistacchio, believe it or not. Ah, well... We got through two Doctor Who episodes and called it a night. To bed!

Musings on Mushy Peas, Turkish Delight, and... David Cameron?

Yesterday was election day in the UK. The day itself was pretty low-key. I went to the gym in the morning and walked around a bit in the afternoon (it was quite a nice day -- for London weather, anyways). In the evening, I went down the street to the Farm Collective (a small store that sells food made entirely from local farm products), and I got my usual Angus beef pie with mash and gravy... and mushy peas. Mushy peas have been a recent discovery although I've seen them quite often on traditional British menus. It's pretty much peas mashed up with some milk, butter, and salt (a lot like mashed potatoes). But there's something about them that's just sooo good. The mushy peas at the Farm Collective use less butter/cream, and I think they add a touch of mint... Ultimately, they're radioactive green in color but delicious!

In the evening, I met up with Cate, Holly, Beth, and Matt to watch the election night coverage at the Waterfront (the King's College student bar). Abbey was working on her final paper and was absent most of the week. Anyways, we got a couple snakebites (1/2 cider, 1/2 ale, and a splash of blackcurrant syrup) and found the perfect booth to see the TV... also we were right across from this guy who looked surprisingly like Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher from Star Trek). We were able to see the exit poll results before the Waterfront started to become really, really crowded. It got uncomfortably hot very quickly, the noise made it impossible to follow the election, and the people made it very difficult to even SEE the TV. Cate, Holly, and I ended up leaving around midnight, when only 3 seats had been declared (to the Labour Party).

This morning, we found out that it's a hung Parliament. We are all hoping David Cameron doesn't become Prime Minister, but it's not looking so good. In my opinion, there is something about David Cameron that makes him very unlikeable. A note here on British elections... people don't vote for a candidate, they vote for a party. David Cameron is a Tory (Conservative), Gordon Brown is the Labour Party candidate, and Nick Clegg is a Lib Dem (Liberal Democrat). To be honest, none of us support the Conservative policies, but it's even harder to believe the support David Cameron's gotten. If he does NOT become Prime Minister, we're going out for a celebratory pint.

Today, I met up with Cate and Holly to go to the gym (yes, again). Abbey was too exhausted from her paper-writing (she handed it in and is now done for the semester), but afterwards, we all went to the Borough Market. I love Borough Market so very, very much. As it is, I want to move to the UK, but Borough Market just reaffirms this. Today, I had an ostrich steak baguette with onions and cranberry sauce. I liked it a lot more than the kangaroo burger from a few weeks ago. We were walking around afterwards and got free samples of Turkish delight. I've heard about it before in books although it sounds like a made-up candy rather than something that actually exists. I've never really enjoyed candy. For one, I've never really liked the texture of most candy bars. When I watched Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory as a child, there's one scene where the kids go to the candy store ("The Candyman Can" song). After that, all real-life candy was just a bit disappointing. It's too sweet and always sticks to my teeth and the roof of my mouth. Turkish Delight, on the other hand, was chewy but not sticky and not unpleasantly sweet. I bought a sampling of flavors (yes, yes... free samples work on me), so hopefully I'll find one I like...



You can watch the whole movie here.

A Small Apology

I'm writing this post to apologize for the lack of posts. I haven't really been doing much blog-worthy stuff since I got back from Europe.

I got settled back in, did laundry and the like. I had a programming assignment due (it was assigned a couple days before I left for Europe, and at the time, I was also working on a paper), so I needed to get that done.

Cate, Abbey, and I have been hanging out quite a bit. Holly was around to see Clash of the Titans with us. Clash of the Titans was fun but pretty disappointing. The movie builds up to this fight with the Kraken, which lasts all of 5 seconds. In fact, more than half the scene is just the Kraken rising up out of the water. Yes, I just spoiled the movie for you. Wait for the DVD or watch it online (http://www.movies-links.tv/movies/clash_of_the_titans_2010/).

Holly left to travel around Spain and Portugal, and Cate, Abbey, and I were left to our own devices. We had a small May Day celebration. I served strawberries and cream for breakfast and made cucumber sandwiches for lunch (plus, tomato/mozzarella salad, some cheeses, and chocolate covered blueberries and strawberries). It rained, so we spent most of May Day inside. Midway through, we all went home anyways. I got some more programming done, and we reconvened to watch the Philadelphia Story. We also saw Iron Man 2, which came out in the UK before the US. This was much, much, much better than Clash of the Titans, and a good time was had by all.

My first exam is on May 14th, so I hopefully I have a bit of time to relax and get some studying done. I probably won't be traveling much, but I would like to see some of the London sights that I've missed thus far (Tower of London, for one). If anything interesting happens, I will write about it ASAP!

British Advertising

British ads are insane! When I went to see Alice in Wonderland, I was amazed by the how crazy the ads were. Many times, I could not guess what was being advertised until the very end.

For example, here's an ad for Crusha (100 points if you figure out what Crusha is):



Honestly, I wished I'd paid more attention to the ads before Alice in Wonderland. I pretty much just stared incredulously, but later I wished I could remember what they all were; however, the one thing about British advertising that really stands out in my mind is the traumatic nature of their public service and safety ads.

Throughout the subway and on the streets, there are posters for either a) avoiding unmarked/unlicensed cabs and b) the buddy system. These ads really use shock factor to say something like "don't do that or you and everyone you love will end up dead."

Example A:


Example B:


The video ads are so. much. scarier. There are several 4-minute ads (that I will not post here) that are absolutely terrifying. One, against texting while driving, shows a couple teenage girls in a car. The driver is teasing the girl in the backseat, saying that she's going to text the guy she's crushing on, but as she is texting, her car goes into the other lane. They collide head-on, and the next, well, 3 minutes and 58 seconds are spent on incredibly graphic crash scenes, where several other cars pile up and everyone (except the driver and a little kid, shaking its dead mother's body) are dead. You can click here to see it, but I've warned you.

Ads in America simply can't compare. In terms of the funnier product ads, well, this article attributes it partly to the homogeneity of British culture. In terms of the traumatizing PSAs, I believe that American censorship would never allow it. People would be too offended by the graphic images (and afraid of the effect it would have on younger audiences). But in the UK? Keep calm and carry on!

Here's a really strange PSA. Can you guess what it's for before the end?

The Triumphant Return

Yesterday, I made it back to London.

The journey started after dinner in Berlin. I'd gone out with Kurt and Nora, and we finished dinner around 11:30PM. Although a bit early, I headed straight to the train station. From there, I caught a 12:44AM train to Koln. I was sitting next to this really nice German student, Max, and we chatted for a bit; therefore, I really only got about an hour of restless sleep before he got off at Dortmund, and I decided to stay awake (so as not to miss my transfer). I got in to Koln at 5:40AM and had to be on a train to Aachen at 5:47AM.

I made it. And thank goodness, too! There was a train after, but the Aachen station was where I first began to encounter some problems. I had my credit card and reservation number, as instructed by my Eurostar reservation, to pick up my tickets from a kiosk; however, my reservation number was alphanumeric and the machines only accepted numbers. When I inquired at the desk, the lady told me that I could only pick up my tickets at the Brussels station (my destination) and pointed this out in the small print on the ticket.

I hadn't slept much, and I was terrified that I would be stranded in Aachen. I'm pretty sure the expression on my face was something between fear and panic. Either way, the woman told me she could sell me a new ticket on the SAME train, so I took it.

I bought some snacks at the station. I got a banana, some water, and a Bionade (in the hopes that the sugar would keep me awake). From there, I caught my train to Brussels no problem.

I got into Brussels with about 45 minutes to spare, and I was anxious to use the restroom, but I decided it would be best if I checked in first. The line to check-in was virtually non-existent, and I made it through security to Border Control in a matter of minutes. However, I almost didn't make it through Border Control. Apparently, when you have the Student Visitor Visa, every time you travel outside the UK, you pretty much void your current visa and need to reapply upon entry. To do so, you need the admission letter from your university and proof that you're leaving the country within the six months admitted to you. I had neither of these things. They took my student ID, my healthcare card, and my passport, and left me in a room for about 25 minutes.

They eventually let me through, but I no longer had time to use the restroom and had to go straight to my train. The only available tickets (and actually the cheaper tickets by 13EUR) were in first class. They fed us. It was the most glorious stale bread lump ever. I had not realized how hungry I was until they brought out the food trays. The poor guy next to me must have been terrified. Especially because I would fall asleep without warning. I couldn't really control it, and there was no lead-up. One minute, I'd be sitting there, feeling awake, and the next minute I'd be waking up. No transition.

I got into London late, but I got into London. Our train arrived at about 11:00AM or a little after. The train station, St. Pancras, was packed with people: news reporters and many others waiting in line at Eurostar or waiting for a train out. When I got to the tube station, it was a madhouse. Luckily, not many people were waiting for my tube line, and I made it back pretty painlessly...

My first action on arriving home was to shower. And such a wonderful hot shower!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I went to Waitrose and got groceries, walked around the city for a bit, and met up with Cate in the evening.

The Great Europe Adventure: Berlin

My time in Berlin has not been nearly as touristy as the rest of my trip. Mostly, I've been hanging out with Nora and taking it easy.

I left Prague on a 6:30PM train and was supposed to arrive in Berlin at 11:33PM, but for some reason, our train just stopped between Dresden and Berlin. I ended up getting in around midnight (keep in mind that the Berlin metro stops running at 1AM).

The train ride wasn't too bad. After settling myself in a carriage, a man asked me if there was reserved seating. When I responded, he realized that I was American, and he sat in the carriage, and we talked about America vs. Europe. Turns out, he's a history teacher in Newark. As we were talking, another passenger heard us speaking English and decided to join us. He was a Computer Science student from Atlanta, Georgia who is working (for the short-term) in Prague. It was nice to have some travel companions, even if I am pretty sure that I fell asleep and may have drooled on my hand a bit. Also, the Newark teacher had a Berlin metro map, which helped me find my way to Nora's.

When I got to the metro, all the trains appeared to terminate too soon. I called Nora to ask if there was an alternate route, but another guy overheard my conversation and promised to help me find the transfer at the next station. He had just bought "the best disco album ever made" -- which is, apparently, Annie's "The Greatest Hit" -- and was in a very good mood. Apparently, he's a Norwegian artist working in Berlin. He spoke English almost flawlessly, and he got me safely to the train (lucky, too, as it was the last train).

Nora and Kurt met me at the station, and we decided to stop for kebabs (I had bought a snack at the train station in Prague, but it turned out to be the most repulsive conglomeration of yeast and flour known to man). Of course, it was 1AM by this time, but kebabs are effectively the NJ diner food of Europe.

We stayed up kinda late, catching up. Nora and Kurt are doing really well. Nora's studying alternative medicine (and she's apparently interested in acupuncture), and Kurt is studying design. They have this lovely, spacious apartment on the 6th floor (thank goodness for Kurt or I would have died on the stairs with my luggage). Nora had early morning class the next day, so we decided to call it a night.

The next morning, I slept in (9AM -- haha) and spent the rest of the morning organizing my flight home (check-in online, print tickets, book transportation from airport to central London, book train to meet family in Bath). I met Nora near her campus, and we got lunch at this nice Asian restaurant nearby. Nora and Kurt seem to eat a lot of Indian and Turkish food, so honestly, I've tried almost no German cuisine, but I'm also eating for cheap (and finally having regular meals -- most of this trip has been snacking when the need arises).

We walked around the neighborhood a bit and saw this really strange art exhibit at a nearby alternative school (which had previously been an abandoned hospital, or something). We grabbed some small groceries for dinner, but Kurt did the majority of the shopping and cooking when he returned from class. Nora admits that Kurt is a better cook, and honestly, all his food has been delicious (and healthy!).

The next day, Nora and I went down to central Berlin, where we walked through a lot of the more touristy sights. I saw the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, the Neue Wache, Museuminsel, and Fersehturm. The weather was rather nice, and it was good to walk around. After lunch (Egyptian), we went to a nearby market to pick up some fruits and veggies for the house.

When we got home, news of the Iceland volcano was becoming more ominous, as the Berlin airports were closed for the day. At the time, my flight was still on, and I would hopefully be able to meet my family in Bath as planned; however, not long before dinner, we saw news of Ryanair cancelling all flights until Monday and a phone call to the airport confirmed that my flight was, indeed, cancelled. This is about when the anxiety set in.

First, I would not be able to book any other flights until Monday, and then there's no guarantee that it would not also be cancelled. I wouldn't have been able to book a bus until Wednesday, and all train lines were booked through the weekend. I was pretty tense all evening, as one thing after the other fell through, but Kurt made a nice pasta dinner with homemade sauce that was fortifying and restorative. After dinner, Kurt had to go to a party at a friend's house, and Nora (who had a headache) and I (who had panic) stayed behind.

Finally, at around 11PM and after about 4hrs of searching, I was able to book a train for Monday. Of course, I have to leave the Berlin main station at 12:44AM on Sunday night/Monday morning, arrive in Aachen at 6:45AM (it's unclear whether this includes a transfer in Koln), transfer to a train to Brussels at 7:23AM, arrive in Brussels at 8:32AM, and transfer to my final train to London. I should get in to London at 10:26AM on Monday morning. And I will kiss the sweet, sweet UK ground.

Nora and I watched a couple episodes of 30 Rock to unwind, but we still went to bed relatively early. I stayed up for another hour or so from the anxiety and woke up at 7AM to find that my parents' flight to the UK had been cancelled mid-air, and their flight had been sent back to Newark after having made it about halfway there. I really hope they will still be able to come visit, but this really throws a wrench into our travel plans...

Today is beautiful and sunny (which is perhaps the most frustrating part). Nora and I had breakfast outside, but she left to have lunch with her uncle. Kurt is around somewhere. I went for a walk earlier and sat outside to read, which has been nice. Mostly, I just want to get back to the UK safely and with as little hassle as possible.

The Great Europe Adventure: Vienna & Prague

I spent only a day in both Vienna and Prague, but they were both a lot of fun!

The train ride from Paris to Vienna had me transfer in Zurich, where I spent the majority of my time trying to find Internet and eventually ended up paying €4 for 20 minutes. I was trying to get in touch with my host in Prague, as I would technically be arriving the next day and had not yet heard from him since my initial request. I was also trying to look up hostels, just in case, but didn't feel comfortable booking online standing at a kiosk in the middle of the train station.

My train ride from Zurich to Vienna was about 8hrs, and it was completely worth the cost and hassle of the whole trip. The train went through the Alps, and the views were spectacular. We followed the path of a river for some ways, and the water's were a perfect reflection of the sky, almost disconcertingly blue. At one station, it was snowing, and as we entered Austria, the sky became more and more overcast. Still, I got to see the sunset over the Alps. It was beautiful.

Anyways, I arrived in Vienna at about 10:40, and my host had asked me to meet him at the Metro station (Taborstraße) near his flat. The Viennese metro map was the most confusing thing I'd ever seen. The one posted in the station had the entire city map (street names and everything) with all the buses and metro lines in the TINIEST print. After scrutinizing the map and not being able to find the station (even on the metro line -- once I found that), I decided to go down to the track and perhaps ask someone there. Down on the track, each direction had a picture of a line with the progression of the stops for that line and the transfers at each station. It did not show the path of any other line, nor did any map nearby, but I knew I had to be on the U2 line and took the only direction with a transfer to that line. Once on the train, they had a map (above the door, showing the stops) that was actually useful. I have seen this map nowhere else but on the train, but it eventually got me where I was going. My metro ride to my departing train station (Philadelphiabrücke) was entirely guesswork, but I got there.

Anyways, I got up relatively early and had breakfast with my host, Lorenzo, the next morning. From there, I walked to the central area of Vienna. The city is very beautiful, with many interesting sights, but it's very small and easily walkable. I went first to the Stephansdom, as Lorenzo had told me that this was the major symbol of Vienna. It's a very impressive church, and for some admission, you can tour the Catacombs and see a bunch of dead Habsburgs. I decided I would come back for the Catacombs if I had time later.

From there, I found my way to the Spanish Riding School, and for €6, they allowed us to watch the Lipizzaners being exercised. Honestly, when I walked into the Spanish Riding School, I had no idea what the €6 was for, but my first thought was just, "Horses? Sign me up!" Although, to be honest, I was not particularly impressed by the riders. The stadium is GORGEOUS (we were not allowed to photograph), with two elaborate balconies from which to watch and beautiful Corinthian columns throughout; however, the horses weren't doing much more than anything you could see at a local Dressage show, and one guy was fighting with his horse, sawing on its mouth, wobbling about in the saddle, and making quite a spectacle of himself. The horses were beautiful though, and I still sat and watched for about 30 minutes. I also got to see the stables, although from a distance. The horses look surprisingly small in their stalls. And I walked around the Hofburg a bit.

From there, I went on a mission to find lunch. Lorenzo had recommended a couple places to me (and encouraged me to try wienerschnitzel), but I couldn't find those and resorted to my guidebook. The first place I went to was almost perfect, it was affordable, nestled away on a quaint side street, and offered a ton of options. Problem? It was closed until dinner. By this time, it was raining outside, and I consulted my guidebook for a nearby option, the Cafe Central. Typically, cafe means "less expensive" in my guidebook, but this place was very ornate (but still significantly cheaper than ANYTHING in Brussels). Still, I was soaked through and freezing and decided I would just get the wienerschnitzel and a water. The meal was delicious (although when I asked for "water with lemon," they brought me sparkling water that was opaque from the amount of lemon juice and I was charged for it). I ended up sitting near this Californian woman who had moved to Vienna several years ago when she met this Viennese guy. We talked a bit, and I left to go to the Albertina museum.

I desperately needed to top-up my phone (as I still needed to get in touch with Nora AND my Prague host), but when I called Vodaphone, they told me I could only top-up by phone if I had a valid UK credit card. I didn't, and they told me to find some place in Vienna that sold Internation Top-Up Vouchers. I went to the tourist information office to ask them, and they told me to check with Orange around the corner. I came to a T-Mobile first and asked them. They relayed me to A1, which was apparently in contract with Vodaphone, and they got me a voucher. However, when I tried to top-up, it told me I needed a 12-digit code and the one I had was 13. I returned to A1, and they fixed it.

I was right near the Albertina, which my guidebook claimed was "home to one of the largest collections of graphic arts in the world, with works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Dürer, and Michelangelo." I decided to give it a go and paid my admission and headed right in. The museum was VERY impressive. I started at the top of the museum (where the bathrooms were located -- haha) and started working down. The top floors had a large collection of modern art, and all the names were famous, recognizable artists: Picasso, Matisse, Rothko, Manet, Monet, Munch... They had a very interesting exhibit of works by Jakob and Rudolf von Alt, but when I got down to the Habsburg apartments, where the non-modern art (the stuff I was really interested in) was housed, I found it was closed for a special event, to which evidently I had not been invited. Instead, I went to their special exhibit on Andy Warhol, and then booked it to the gift shop. They had some of the BEST postcards!

I needed to get back to pack up my stuff and get to my train, so I bought an apple strudel for the train ride and headed back. I got a bit lost on the way and was stopped by a crazy lady dressed like a princess, but I got to my train in time and headed...

to Prague. I arrived at the train station really, really late (11:40PM) and had to wait for my host. He was running a bit late, and staying in the train station was perhaps the most traumatizing part of this whole trip. One guy came up to me early on and asked me if I needed a ride somewhere. He was REALLY creepy, and I firmly told him no. I pretended to be very engrossed in reading the train schedule to Berlin, and he went away. There's only so long you can read the train schedule, so I went to stand by the metro station entrance. This even skeevier guy came up to me, he was small and wiry with lots of piercings and wearing these huge camoflauge cargo pants. He stood very close to me and started talking to me in Czech. I just ignored him, and he started grinning at me. I just looked off into the distance and continued to ignore him. Then, he reached out and ran his fingers through my hair. At that point, I freaked out and just walked away. I couldn't really go very far, but just then, my host showed up.

As it turned out, he only lived one metro stop away, so we got out of there pretty quickly.

The next morning, I woke up super early, naturally, and was out of the house before anyone else woke up. I first went to the train station and bought my ticket to Berlin, then walked through Wenceslas Square towards the Old Town Square. On the way, I came to a market where one stand was selling little cartons of mixed fruit (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries). I bought one for breakfast. It turned out to be a bit more expensive than I expected, but the berries were all so delicious and I hadn't had something healthy in so long...

I proceeded to the town square and checked out most of the major sights there. I watched the astronomical clock chime the hour, and this trumpeteer stands at the very top of the tower and blows his horn, in all 4 compass directions. Tomas, my host, promised that Bohemia Bagels near Old Town Square had the best bagels, and in Abbey's honor, I decided to grab one. It was good, and I enjoyed it, but it still doesn't hold a flame to a good NYC bagel.

I walked around the Jewish quarter a bit and ended up at Kafka's house. I walked to the Klementium, but it was closed until the end of 2010, so I decided to head up to the castle. I walked across the Charles Bridge, which was mostly under construction, and discovered that another trumpeter trumpets the hour from the top of Charles Bridge as well. The place was full of tourists. I bought my "reduced combo unguided tour pass" to some of the sights at the castle.

I was a bit unimpressed. The castle itself wasn't particularly well curated. They had little laminated papers in each room that described what it was, but most of the time, both the English and Italian were missing (there were SO MANY ITALIANS). The castle was just how you imagine most Arthurian castles: cold, dank, and rather plain. I went to St. George's Basilica, at the castle, and that was interesting, but very small, and there was really no English translations at all. From the pictures, I gathered that a bunch of people were buried there, they dug them all up, and analyzed this one guy because they postulate that he's a bit of a hottie.

My ticket also covered the "Golden Lane" which was pretty much this touristy shopping street that's supposed to feel like you've stepped back in time (see Williamsburg, VA). You could buy reproduction this-and-that or pay exorbitant amounts to "try shooting a REAL crossbow." At the end, there was the castle's prison, which was VERY cool, but was terribly overrun with middle school children.

Afterwards, I met up with Tomas for a coffee and had to head back to pack up my stuff. The morning had started out beautiful, but the afternoon was wet and cold; I was NOT anxious to walk around more.

Anyways, I arrived last night with Nora in Berlin, and I'm almost out of battery life on her laptop, so I'm going to wrap this up. I may add a little more and proofread later.

The Great Europe Adventure: Paris

Tonight is my last night in Paris. Tomorrow at 8:20AM, I get on a train to Vienna (and arrive at 10:40PM). I miss London so much, and while I'm really enjoying my travels, I also cannot wait to go "home" to the United Kingdom.

I arrived in Paris after a rather uneventful train ride, and my host, Alix, met me at the station. She lives in Montmartre, right next to the Sacre Couer on this really cute, quaint street. Mind you, I had to drag my suitcase up a gigantic hill. Anyways, Alix made a delicious, healthy dinner, and honestly, I was just so excited to be eating veggies (that weren't frites, anyways)! I slept well on an air mattress but woke up early to meet up with Abbey and her friends. I felt so bad because I was trying to be quiet so as not to wake Alix, but I pretty much dropped everything I could've... And to top it off, I couldn't figure out how to open the door, so she had to get out of bed and let me out.

I met up with Abbey and her friends (Shosh, Dana, and Miriam) at the site of the old Bastille prison, where there is now only a commemmorative column. We took the requisite tourist photos and went off in search of breakfast, specifically crepes. We were overwhelmed by hunger before finding an affordable crepe cart and instead got a croissant and chocolat chaud at a small cafe. However, on our way to Notre Dame, we found a crepe cart and got crepes anyway.

We walked around Notre Dame, with Abbey singing the Disney movie songs. The church itself was very beautiful, but not many of my photos came out in the dark church. Abbey wanted to climb to the top, but the line was insane.

After getting a bit turned around, we made it to the Louvre. It was free for us, as we are all residents of the European Union. Win! We saw all the major tourist items (Mona Lisa, Victory, Dying Slave, Code of Hammurabi, etc), and we walked around for a bit; however, the museum was huge and Abbey and Team needed to get to some fasion event/show/museum/thing by 3, so we decided to grab lunch... I got pate...

I parted ways with Abbey and Team to go meet up with my host in Monmartre. She gave me the grand tour of the area, everything from the Sacre Couer to the Moulin de la Gallette and the Moulin Rouge itself. The area is absolutely gorgeous and the weather (for once) was sunny and warm. Alix had to run to class. She offered me the keys, but I told her that I would meet up with Abbey instead. I texted Abbey and decided to wander around for a bit while I waited for her to respond. I ended up near the train station, where a bunch of skeevy Frenchmen tried to hit on me. I returned to Montmartre in the hopes of using the Internet, but the cafe was closed. I walked back to Alix's and was able to connect to the wireless from the front stoop. It'd been about 1.5hrs since I first texted Abbey (and I'd tried calling several times and texted a few more times as well). I used the wireless to check my messages and send her one on Facebook. Still no response, and by this time, I was hungry.

I wandered the neighborhood until I found an affordable meal (crepes), but I still had some time before Alix returned from class. I decided to go to the Sacre Couer, where a number of other tourists were taking in the view of Paris at night and some musicians were playing. It was pleasant, but I was approached by a few sleazy Frenchmen and felt that sitting down would have made me way too vulnerable. Alix texted me to say she was heading home. And I beelined it for the flat. I used Alix's computer to hunt down Abbey's friends on Facebook and send them messages to see if she was okay. I pretty much went to sleep not long after. I was exhausted and cold and worried.

I woke up early the next morning, as there was some commotion from the neighbors moving out. When I checked Facebook, I found that Abbey had lost her phone and the two friends whose numbers she still had did not know mine or did not pick up respectively. Abbey had brought some things for me from London, and we agreed to meet up in the evening so I could get my stuff.

I had breakfast with Alix, and I left to meet Ed at the Arc de Triomphe. From there, we went to the Catacombs. The Catacombs were incredible (and creepy). Ed and I made up a bunch of great horror movie scenarios. When we got out, it was about 2:45, and I was ravenous! We flipped through my guidebook and found a "traditional French restaurant with mains from €7" within walking distance from the Catacombs. However, we got a bit lost and by 4PM, places were mostly closed and I was about to gnaw on an inanimate object. So, we settled for a nearby cafe. The food was delicious, but we didn't finish until close to 6. We went over to the Eiffel Tower and sat for a bit in the nearby gardens. It was a rather pleasant evening, but Ed was eventually called home. As one of the books Abbey brought for me was actually his, we agreed to meet up the next day.

Alix had gone out with friends, and I still needed to get my stuff from Abbey. I met Abbey and her friends at dinner, but I wasn't particularly hungry. I ordered a glass of wine and the cheapest thing on the menu, a cheese plate. On the bill, the cheese plate was double what I expected. When I inquired with the waiter, he explained that there were two cheese plates, a big one and a small one. They had brought me the big one, I had been charged accordingly, and there was not much I could do. At this point, all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and collapse, but Abbey and her friends wanted to climb the Arc de Triomphe at night (it was right down the street). I waited below, as I didn't want to pay and am not comfortable with heights. While waiting on a bench in the underground pathway to the arch, I watched two American tourists taking photos with the large panorama photo of the view, as though they had actually done the climb. Ridiculous or genius?

From there, we went back to Abbey's hostel, but we took a bit of a long way. By that time, it was close to midnight. I was practically a zombie and I didn't want to keep Alix awake, so I grabbed my books and came straight back. I collapsed and slept until 10:30 (9:30 GMT, mind you). I had a weird dream where I was part of this boating community and we were traveling over the ocean in 5 row boats. My boat was a little behind all the others, and as we were rowing, this huge shark swam up from the ocean and towered over our boat. In my dream, I knew it was a shark, but it was really this big, burly, WWE-type man. He told us that we would need to choose four boats to sacrifice to him or he would slaughter us all. I told our chief of this, but he said that if we acquiesced, we would forever be subservient to the shark. Instead, we would fight and die with honor. I had a premonition that we would all die terribly, so I snuck away to where we had hidden the boats and separated the four with the fewest provisions on board. When the shark came, he was very angry and said that we had tried to trick him. That's about when I woke up...

Anyways, Alix and I decided to go on a picnic because it was a beautiful day. She made bread with blue cheese, walnuts, and pear, and she brought cherry tomatoes. We met up with her friend who brought some other snacks. It was a lovely picnic, but it got cloudy and cold as the day wore on.

Eventually, I left to meet up with Ed and to give him his book. We walked around Montmartre and grabbed hot chocolate before I bade him farewell and returned to Alix's flat. Alix was watching the Ultimate Gift, and we ended up watching together. However, her grandfather called. Apparently, she had forgotten to meet him for dinner on the other side of the city and she bolted out to meet up with him. I, in turn, am still in the flat and will spend my evening preparing for my train ride tomorrow. I bought snacks for the trip and just need to repack my bag. Then I'm off, bright and early tomorrow...

FYI: This took me a little over an hour to type on my iPhone keyboard because I was too frustrated to attempt Alix's AZER keyboard...

The Great Europe Adventure: Amsterdam

I left Amsterdam very early on Tuesday morning, and Holly meet me at Amsterdam Centraal. Holly's friend, Sonya, is studying abroad in Amsterdam, so we first took my stuff to her place and decided to grab lunch in the area. It was the first time in days I'd been able to afford real food, so I got this "warm meat sandwich with peanut sauce on a soft roll." It was really good, and I got a couple traditional puff pancakes for dessert. It was the first time I'd really felt full in days.

Holly and I decided we would go to the flower market, find this chip place she wanted to try, go to this local market, and go to the Rijksmuseum. The flower market was a lot of fun, but it was very small. Ultimately, we wandered off to central Amsterdam to find chips with peanut sauce (the Dutch love peanut butter, apparently).

We wandered around for about an hour, going up and down the same tiny side streets, and were entirely unable to find the chip place again. We ended up getting chips at a cafe by the Nieuwmarkt. As we later discovered, we walked very close to the chip place several times.

After chips, we walked down to the flea market. It was really strange and eclectic and sold everything from miscellaneous fish parts to clothing and beyond. From there, we went straight to the Rijksmuseum.

Here's my major problem with Amsterdam: the cost of the museums. It was the exact reverse of Belgium. The Rijksmuseum, for example, was 12.50EUR, and it was surprisingly small. There were two floors, perhaps three or four rooms on each floor. The first floor had some paintings and relics (is that the right word?) from Amsterdam's history. The second floor was entirely art.

Really, the major selling point of the museum is its collection of Vermeer and Rembrandt paintings. The Rijksmuseum houses the Night Watch. We were in the museum until closing, as we wanted to get our money's worth.

At this point, we got in touch with our CouchSurfing host, Joke (pronounced Yoka). We went back to Sonya's place to get our stuff (about 30 min. walk) and ran down to the Vondelpark to meet Joke. Walking, we would not have made it in time, so we decided to take the tram... Each ride was 2.60EUR and the operator kept giving us wrong directions to the park. We eventually got there and met up with Joke.

From there, we went back to her place. She lives above a model train store, and every time we went in and out, we had to close the storefront gate. It was kinda cool, but in the evening, when we just wanted to go to sleep, it was a bit annoying. Her apartment building was really cool and like nothing I'd ever seen before. Each floor of the building was a separate flat, but besides locking bedroom doors (and, thankfully, a locking bathroom door), there's is no separation between the flats.

We hung out with Joke and had dinner at a nearby cafe. We were all going to meet up with Sonya to see a jazz performance at a nearby bar. Joke decided not to go, as she had work the next day, but Holly and I had already committed and decided to go for a little bit.

It was fun, but I used the bar's wireless to get in touch with Riha back home to discuss housing, as the draw was the next day. When I returned, I kept falling asleep, despite the loud music, so Holly and I decided to leave.

Joke had a hammock and an air mattress, so I slept in the hammock and Holly slept on the air mattress in a sleeping bag. The hammock was orange, my pillow was yellow, and the curtains in the room were red. The next morning when I woke up, I'd wrapped the pillow (and part of the hammock) around my head, and I was really confused that the world was so... orange. Other than that (and occasionally being cold -- I need to get a travel sleeping bag), I slept really well.

The next day, we walked down to another market, where we got a gift for Joke, and Holly found a post office to mail some of her purchases back to London. Afterwards, we explored central Asmterdam a bit more, but Holly was apparently having a bad day because a bird pooped on her head. We stopped at a cafe, so she could use the bathroom to wash up. We got drinks (they don't serve tap water -- only bottled -- in Amsterdam), but Holly spilled her red soda drink all over her white skirt. We decided to go back to Joke's for a bit so that Holly could change.

In the afternoon, we met up with Sonya and went to the Werf, the wharf in Amsterdam. It used to be a squatter community in the 80's, but the government gave them some money to build up the place and there's a cool art community there now (although the abandoned warehouse feel still remains). We had a light dinner in a cafe that was converted from an old industrial greenhouse.

Afterwards, Holly and I ran to the Anne Frank House (we'd been putting it off to avoid the line -- which is typically wrapped around the block). We both agreed that it was something we needed to experience, but we were a bit disappointed. All the furniture was removed, and the tourists were AWFUL. They were very pushy (in fact, in the ticket line, this guy just kept leaning on me -- literally leaning), and the lareg number of people in such a small place made it really hard to fully appreciate the exhibits.

Holly left for Hamburg this morning, and I'm leaving for Paris in about an hour, actually. This morning, after I dropped off Holly at the train station and dumped my bags in a luggage locker, I went to the Van Gogh Museum (14EUR). Of the three, this was my absolute favorite. The crowds were, again, insane, but this museum had the space to accommodate the crowd (and as I got there 30 minutes before opening, I was one of the first people in). The exhibits were informative (and I wasn't going to pay the extra 5EUR for an audiotour) and quite extensive. I spent most of the morning there.

I eventually decided to find a cafe where I could get some vegetables (I haven't been able to find anything green to eat in days. Over lasagna (with aubergine, thank you) and soup, I wrote out my postcards. Now I'm just killing time until my train.

I'm really excited for Paris. As much as I liked Amsterdam, it definitely isn't my favorite city. It's not very walkable (the canals make walking routes very indirect) and the public transit is unreliable. Plus, I couldn't afford to go to many museums because each was 1/3 or more of my daily budget...

More updates to follow!

The Great Europe Adventure: Brugge

I have to keep this brief, as Holly and I are soon leaving for another day in Amsterdam. I will update more about Amsterdam later.

On Monday, I went to Bruges by myself, as Holly had left for Amsterdam in the morning. The train ride was so easy, and the city is rather small. I only had a small map print out and found my way to the city center by finding the really tall tower (one of the churches) and just walking towards it.

It was a great way to get around because the city is so beautiful and there are many hidden nooks and crannies (that's a strange expression -- I hope I spelled it right). I first went to the Stadhuis Museum, which was only €1 for students. It was a small museum that covered some of the history of Bruges. Next, I went to the next door Church of the Holy Blood (I'll have to check the translations when I can Google later). Apparently, they have a vial of Jesus's blood, but it's displayed in a huge silver tabernacle and you can't see a darned thing!

Afterwards, and on Holly's recommendation, I went to the Chocolate Museum, where I took a tour on the origins of chocolate and how Belgium came to be home to the world's best chocolate... There was a chocolate demo where they gave out free samples, so no complaints there.

Afterwards, I was pretty hungry, but as with Brussels, food is SO expensive (the cheapest I could find was a slice of quiche for €11 -- NOT OKAY). My guidebook recommended this Italian restaurant that, apparently, does LARGE pasta dishes for €3. I found it, but it was closed (Monday after Easter and all). In fact, almost all restaurants (that weren't completely touristy) were closed. Instead, I grabbed "frites"(chips, fries) at the Frites Museum.

NOTE: In Belgium and the Netherlands, they serve their chips with sauces. I've tried mayo, "Brazil", curry ketchup, and peanut sauce. They're all fantastic! Holly and I want to start a company to bring chip sauces to America!

Anyways, after the fry museum, I waited in line for an hour to pay €4 to climb the Belfry (like in the movie, In Bruges) only to find that half the lookout area was closed for repairs and that all the tourists were crammed into the tiny sliver that was still opened. Still I got some nice panoramic photographs of the city, and I decided to take a walk along the canals on my way back to the train station.

I'd only just begun my walk when my camera began acting up. It would turn on and after a few seconds, the screen would slowly go black. I ran into a bookstore and retaped the damaged areas, and when I went to replace the batteries (I need to change them, on average, about once a day), I found that I had none. So, I went on a mission to get more batteries. The only place I could find them was this terrible tourist shop where a 4-pack of batteries was a ridiculous €7.95. Well, I was about to embark on the most scenic part of Bruges, so I paid the money and bought the !@#%^ batteries.

The walk was beautiful and I made it back for a leisurely evening in Brussels. After the battery fiasco, I had no money for dinner and ended up eating a croissant I got at a grocery store.

Anyways, more updates later, I have to go. Holly is waiting.

The Great Europe Adventure: Bruxelles

I have very little patience with this Belgian keyboard (all the letters are in different places, the period requires a shift, the @ sign requires a third shift, etc.), so please excuse any typos and my reluctance to update everyone individually...

I arrived here in Brussels on Saturday. My train left London at 6:59AM, and I'd gone to bed at 2AM that night. As soon as I was on the train, I was already mostly asleep... but then the guy next to me started talking... and didn't stop. He told me that he "hated the silence on long train rides," but I really just wanted to sleep. Anyways, I was a bit tired when I arrived in Brussels.

Holly met me at the station, and we took my stuff back to the apartment we were staying at. I met our host, Jacques, and he's a really nice guy. And apparently really trusting... Because he decided to go home (to Antwerp) for Easter and left us the whole apartment for the weekend. It's a really nice place, very spacious and perfectly located.

Brussels is quite possibly the smallest major city I've ever been in. Holly and I decided to walk around. We thought it would take a couple hours, but within 10 minutes, we'd seen most of the city. We stopped for Belgian waffles for lunch. Holly had the strawberry, chocolate sauce, and ice cream waffle and I had the banana, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream waffle. They were exquisite! Heavenly!

We walked around a bit more afterwards and ultimately ended up at the Comic Museum. The museum was pretty cool, but I was exhausted and didn't know many of the comics (a large number were exclusively Belgian). We walked through all the exhibits in a little over an hour and went back to the apartment for a siesta. On the way home, it started downpouring (it had been rainy all day), and by the time we got in, we were soaked through. Holly and I were both pretty tired and couldn't really get the energy to move until about dinner time (and the rain was no great motivator).

Before laving, Jacques had recommended we check out Moeder Lambic for Belgian beers. It took us awhile to find the place, but it was totally worth it. When you sit down, the waiter will ask you what qualities you want in your beer (dark or light, bitter or sweet) and will match you with a beer based on your answers. I (dark and bitter) was matched with this great Zinnebir Xmas, and Holly (light and fruity) was matched with the Grisette Fruits des Bois, which pretty much tasted like fruit juice. It was a fun experience. The atmosphere was just what a Belgian bar should be. The long tables were just split tree trunks, and the walls were dark wood and brick. The only food served were cheeses and pates, so we opted to get cheap sandwiches down the street.

It was a very pleasant evening, and when we got home we watched part of the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus before we were too tired and went to bed instead.

Today (Easter), we slept in (until 9AM -- haha) and went to Brussels' "best" flea market. And it was. It was huge and sold everything from hats to silverware to teacups to lab beakers (for real). We both got a couple small souvenirs. Afterward, we went around to a few of the nearby sites, but we couldn't go in any of the churches on account of Easter.

Brussels seems to be famous for six major things: beer, chocolate, waffles, mussels, chips (that's fries to you Americans), and this strange statue of a little boy peeing. We'd tried waffles and beer the previous day, so we set out to find the others. The statue of the little boy was, well, VERY little, but we got the customary photos anyways.

We got chips (for which you MUST choose a sauce -- I recommend one called "Brazil," which sort of has a peanut buttery, curry taste that's surprisingly sweet and delicious) and walked up to the palaace. It had been drizzling most of the morning (even hailing at the chippy), but by this time, it was bright and sunny. We walked around the palace gardens and walked over to the Botanical Gardens.

In the afternoon, we got proper Belgian hot chocolate (they bring you hot milk and dark chocolate and you add the chocolate -- and sugar, if you fancy -- to taste). It was a lot of fun, and the hot chocolate even came with a little pot of mousse! After, we went to Leonidas (a famous Belgian chocolatier) and split a skewer of chocolate covered fruits. As a side note, I assure you we had a healthy breakfast before we left the house in the morning.

Brussels has been incredible thus far, but the city is incredibly expensive. We've been hard-pressed to find any restaurants with entrees under 20 euro (can't find the symbol key), and that is way over my daily budget for the trip. That's mostly why we've been snacking throughout the day; it's really hard to find affordable food (plus, we want to try EVERYTHING).

Tonight, we're hoping to find affordable pub food (Holly wants to get a Maes pint glass from a pub as Mae is her middle name) in Jacques's neighborhood (St. Gilles), but if not, we'll probably end up with sandwiches again. Tomorrow, Holly leaves for Amsterdam (I stay one day longer before I meet her there), and I'm planning to go to Bruges for the day. Brussels is very small, and I can't imagine what else I could see here. I'm looking forward to Bruges but I will probably not be able to update the blog again until I'm in Amsterdam...

At Semester's End

Most of my classes finished up last week, so this week, I'm just trying to get a paper, problem set, and program done before I leave for the continent. In fact, this blog post is really just me procrastinating. I'm about half done with my paper, and I plan on finishing it today, doing my problem set tomorrow, and getting part of my program done on Thursday and Friday.

Abbey, Sarah, Cate, and I had a movie night with cupcakes on Sunday, and yesterday was also pretty low key. Also, yesterday was the start of Passover, so Abbey wasn't around much and I missed her. Today, I decided to try making chips in a pan in the hopes of enticing Abbey over for a bit. The chips were rather successful, both in that they were tasty and they got Abbey to come over!

On Friday, we're having a wine and cheese picnic at one of London's parks as a good-bye before we part ways for April break. The problem is that it's supposed to rain, so we're trying to find a park with a bandstand or pagoda or something under which we can eat.

On Saturday, I leave for the continent. I will NOT be bringing my computer (GASP) but will be checking email from my iPhone and various Internet cafes. I will be traveling between 6 cities/countries in 15 days, namely Brussels (April 3-6), Amsterdam (April 6-8), Paris (April 8-11), Vienna (April 11-13), Prague (April 13-15), and Berlin (April 15-17). On the 17th, I fly back to London to meet my family, and we're heading straight to Bath. Thus begins a whirlwind tour of the UK, ending in London on May 1.

I will try to update as much as possible, but it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to upload photos until I return (I still don't have the cable).

Carnivals and Queens

This past week was the last week for many of my classes. I only have Linear Circuits and a revision session for Operating Systems this week. Which is good because I have a ton of work to get done before April 1 (the official last day of classes), then next Saturday, I leave for Brussels.

On Friday, Ed and I went to the Natural History Museum. The museum is incredible! The building's architecture is very beautiful, and the collections are very extensive. We stayed until closing time and afterwards headed to a chocolate festival at the Southbank Centre. It was fun, but very small and a bit pricey. Ed and I only got a brownie at the festival.

Abbey's friend, Sarah, and her boyfriend came down from Edinburgh to visit this weekend, so that evening, I met up with them to hang out. Since they had been traveling all day, it was pretty low key, and we agreed to meet up early the next day to explore London.

Originally, Abbey and Sarah intended to meet up for waffles at My Old Dutch, but the place didn't open until 11 (and the changing of the guards started at 11:30) so we ate at Smiths of Smithfield instead. SOS is probably my favorite breakfast/lunch/brunch place in London. We grabbed the nearest bus after and arrived at the palace a few minutes late, but we didn't miss too much. There were lots of tourists, so it was a bit hard to see, but halfway through, it started raining and a lot of people left. Typical London. The weather forecast predicted a 20% chance of precipitation, and of course, it rains half the day.



After the changing of the guard, we walked to Harrods. We got cupcakes and Abbey tried on some hats. It was a lot of fun, but at this point, I was already a bit tired out and thirsty. We left Harrods to catch a bus to Battersea Park for the carnival. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by the carnival. Even though it had been open for a couple days, half the advertised rides weren't set up and there was barely anyone there. Still, we each got tokens for the rides and arcade. Abbey blew most of hers on a shooting range game, which I tried (and failed terribly), but Sarah still had enough tokens to go on one of the rides with me.



I ended up going on the carousel by myself, which was a little awkward because it really was me and two kids. Still, the carousel was really cool because each of the kings and queens of England were painted above the horses (and every horse had a name painted on its neck -- I rode Joby). Afterwards, we grabbed the bus back, and for the life of me, I could not stay awake. When we got back, it was downpouring. HUGE SHEETS OF RAIN.

We parted ways for the evening (to make dinner and dry off), but Abbey and I met up later to watch Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is a really fun, obscure Disney movie with Jonathan Pryce.

My camera battery died, so I will grab some photos from Abbey later.