Something I've learned after spending three weeks in a foreign country is how different our American culture truly is. Sure, in London they speak English, eat McDonald's, and listen to Lady Gaga, but there are some striking dissimilarities that you sometimes have to look a little deeper to fully see. As a professional fatass, I have been eating ALOT since I got here, and that of course takes me to many grocery stores and corner stores (known here as Food & Wine stores). At the grocery stores, I've also had to purchase basic things like face wash, shampoo, and toothpaste. And here's what blows my mind - they have about three brands of everything. For face wash, they have maybe two brands (Neutrogena and Clearasil) and maybe three different types of each brand. That's it. At Walgreen's or Duane Reade, back home, there are a double digit number of brands of face wash and countless varieties of each, catering to specific skin types (sensitive, oily) and with scrubs, or microbeads, or non-drying, or extra-moisturizing. They don't have that here. The same thing with toothpaste: they have Colgate and one other local brand, but no Crest, and there's no tartar-protecting, or extra-whitening, or any of that. And forget about mouthwash - it's Listerine, or it's nothing. Also, they don't have teeth whitening strips. At all. Basically, back in the States, we have entire AISLES of products that don't even exist here.
This was at first disconcerting - I like to switch things up, try a new toothpaste, a new body wash, whatever. But then I realized - how many times have I stared at a product on a shelf, trying to figure out if it matched my exact skin type or hair type or tooth need (and since WHEN do teeth have needs?) when probably any product on that shelf would have gotten the job done.
I think American culture allows us to indulge in any need we may think we have, and that makes us extremely self-conscious. Yes, I have this shampoo, but is it keeping my hair soft while still protecting the color and keeping my scalp from drying out? Is this pimple on my forehead stress-related (because they've got a face wash for that) or is it because my skin is too oily, or not oily enough? We have each placed ourselves in a tiny little box - we are our own niche market, with our specific brands that cater to each tiny flaw that we have perceived in ourselves. At a certain point, nobody will be able to share people's shampoo or toothpaste for a night because it won't do what we think we need it to.
I realize that not everyone is like this - I know that, as college students, we sometimes have to make ends meet and share shampoo, and nobody dies, and the world keeps on spinning. But the fact that American drugstores and pharmacies present us with this cavalcade of options says alot about our culture. We have become inundated with choices, and have thus held a more critical mirror to ourselves to say, what else needs fixing? Next time you go to Duane Reade, or wherever you buy things that keep you clean and pretty, don't think. Grab the first bottle of shampoo, or toothpaste, or mouthwash you see.
I bet you won't even notice a difference.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
A Weekend in Paris: Pinecone Enforcers, Kitchens with Ceilings, and "Leila, put your head down there!"
Bon soir, my blogchildren! I have returned from Paris, and I have brought back news: Paris is RIDICULOUS. What an absolutely amazing, insane weekend, the first of I hope many amazing weekend trips around this crazy continent. I am going to try to keep track of all the Parisian highlights, but a LOT happened, so bear with me. Pictures again yayyyyy.
Morgan, Hannah, and I left London on Thursday afternoon to head to our Parisian adventures. I could hardly pay attention in class, I was so excited, and getting on the train and leaving London for the first time only increased my excitement. The Eurostar is FAST - it reaches speeds of over 120 miles per hour, and we flew through the suburbs of London, the Chunnel, and the countryside of France, which was beautiful. I think we passed through about five different weather systems on our way through to Paris, it was at one point overcast, then blue sky with insane puffy clouds, then a pouring thunderstorm, then a beautiful sunset. Of course when we got to Paris it was freezing ass cold, as per our usual weather system. But we met up with Tay and hopped on Le Metro (French for "The Metro") to head to his flat. We stopped by 8 aut Huit (the French 7/11) for some incredible baguettes and wine, which we consumed rapidly in his apartment. Tay's apartment is much bigger than ours -- his living room is the size of me and Morgan's entire room -- but the three of us were all sleeping on one futon, which led to some ridiculous sleeping positions and very cramped nights (but hey, twas free!)
We headed out to a local restaurant, where we had some good French cuisine (steak with shallot sauce, veal cooked ... in a French way) and more wine. (You should be noticing a pattern here). We made plans to head out to a bar near the Bastille after Tay finished an essay (yes kids, homework, like class, unfortunately exists in Europe). Hannah and I passed the time by utilizing and enjoying Tay's ice shot glasses. We then headed out into the Arctic cold to meet our friend Lindsay near the Bastille, have an impromptu streetside photoshoot, and then head to a tapas bar for sangria. Our walk home was an adventure for certain - let me explain the Hangover Cow.
So, on our way back, Hannah and Taylor find this small piece of art on the street. It was a metal tank painted and wrapped in wire. There were four wooden legs also wrapped in wire, and a makeshift head. It was a cow. Now, no one can be certain, but it may have been thrown out, may have been for sale, or may have been part of a store's exterior decor. That tidbit has been lost, as Lindsay, Morgan, and I turn around to see Hannah and Tay sprinting towards with us with the cow. All of Hannah's pictures are of ... the cow. We get back to Tay's, where we have a cow photoshoot, and then Tay has the bright idea of hanging it above his bedroom (which is also the living room), using a hook already in the ceiling and the cow's wire exterior. Thus, the Hangover Cow. It hangs over you, and judges you when you wake up hungover, so you must bow in reverence to the Hangover Cow.
The ice shot glass
Taylor and Hannah: Professional Cow Thieves
The Hangover Cow in all of it's glory
Needless to say, we felt VERY judged waking up Friday morning beneath his judgmental glare. It was early, and Tay had class, so we hopped in some warm clothes and took the Metro to the NYU in Paris area. It was a cute area with lots of shopping and boutiques, and the Eiffel Tower loomed in the distance, so Morgan and I trudged through the freezing rain (no joke - probably 36 degrees and drizzling) to find us some landmarks. Following the tip of the Eiffel Tower's 1050 foot tall spire, we wound down through some Parisian backroads and - BAM. If there's anything that can be said about European landmarks (as well as the American celebrities that play music outside of them - looking at you, Justin Bieber), there is always that initial moment of sheer awe that you may not ever forget. The top of the Eiffel Tower is impressive, sure, but we turned a corner and saw the base of it across the Seine River, it's absolutely stunning. That is a Top 10 Europe Moment without doubt. We crossed the river and made it to the Tower, then took way too many pictures. Skip that Google Image Search kids: this here's the real deal!
The first view
My artsy shot
Me and the Eiffel Tower! Yay!
After that, we took a much-needed pit stop to thaw, dry off, and drink hot chocolate. Then Morgan and I went to the Museum of Wine, as we have consumed much and will be consuming more. We learned lots about wine and caves and the history of wine and blah blah blah we really just went for the free glass of wine. Hey - this blog will always be honest, if nothing else.
Then we met up with Tay and the Paris crew to grab lunch, swing by the Louvre to see the outside, and hang out at Lindsay's AMAZING apartment. Legit, it's as big as the downstairs of my house, probably bigger, and it's so nice and relaxing. We spent a lazy afternoon there, talking and planning our EPIC night at the clubs. Following this, we went to Taylor's, took a quick nap, got ready and headed back to Lindsay's for the pre-party
The inverted pyramid in the Louvre
The non-inverted pyramid entrance to the Louvre - I cracked the Da Vinci Code, just btw
Sweet metro sign
So, they know how to party in Paris. At Linday's, I got to be DJ (which everyone knows is my favorite), so we played tons of Gaga, Ke$ha, Passion Pit, and LMFAO feat. Lil Jon. We also participated in MANY of what Mssrs. Jon and LMFAO sing of - sorry if this reference goes over your head, mom and dad, but it's nothing illegal. We took many pictures and had a great time - I met a girl who knows basically everyone I know at Vanderbilt, small world indeed. With pictures taken and everyone in good spirits, we caught the metro to ... LE DUPLEX. (French for the Duplex)
Crazy crazy crazy. 20 Americans, a 25 Euro cover charge, three floors, amazing DJs, and four hours of dancing. Probably one of my favorite nights out ever, we had such an incredible time - it was certainly, but I'd say we got what we paid for. Lots of "I Gotta Feeling", "Sexy Bitch", and other amazing club songs - we were all sweaty as hell but we kept going, we had such a fun night. Our group finally left around 3:30am, at which point we took a cab (and had a fun sing-a-long with Morgan - apparently all he knows of the song "Tik Tok" is the "Whoa-oo-whoa-oo-whoa-OH!" part) back to Lindsay's (which, apparently, WASN'T the plan, but after we woke them up and had them buzz us in we got it all figured out). We made some late night food, watched an episode of Hey Arnold (Romeo and Juliet episode, in which Helga's mom famously says "Honey, did you take your diarrhea medication?") and Are You Afraid of the Dark, which has NOT held up well as we have aged. We slept six to a bed. PERFECT.
The Arc de Triomphe (yes, we clubbed in the shadow of this - be jealous)
Our home for Friday night
We wake up Saturday morning (feeling very much like P. Diddy, Ke$ha would be so proud of us) and manage to put ourselves together, head back to Taylor's, and sleep a couple more hours. After our nice morning nap, we get ready, eat pizza, and head to meet Tay's friend Dave at Sacre Coeur. This is an old church in the Montmartre neighborhood and is the highest point in Paris, offering incredible views. To get there, we just had to walk through the Weave District of Paris where, I kid you not, EVERY store was a ... weavery. There were hair extensions at the wazoo - we were so tempted to get our weave did, but fought the urge and kept climbing to Sacre Coeur. We finally saw the sun (omg it exists? in Europe? SHUT UP) and enjoyed the views of the city and the nice weather before touring the church (epic, huge, everything you expect from European churches), fighting off gypsies with our bare hands (NO change for you, gypsy demon!), and heading down the hill to Montmartre, aka Paris' Red Light District.
Weave on the sidewalk! (Oscar Garza's?!?!?)
Sacre Coeur
The view of Paris from Sacre Coeur
Eiffel Tower from Sacre Coeur
Our first stop in Montmartre was the SEXODROME. It sounds like a sexual fighting arena from the future. What we got was ... well, not too far from that. They label themselves the World's First Erotic Supermarket. I try (I really do, mom and dad, honest) to keep this blog family-friendly, and so I won't share too many of my exploits. Just know that there are things that one can't unsee, and I saw way too many of them in about 20 minutes. There was also the Sexual Haunted House (not really, but... yeah, just ask me in person later) and the Pinecone Enforcer and the corn and the dolphin ahhhhhhhhh can't write about it any more because it's disgusting and gross so, bottom line, thesis statement, DON'T GO TO THE SEXODROME.
Following that... whatever that was, we stopped by the Moulin Rouge. Unfortunately, Mya, Pink, Christina Aguilera, and Lil Kim weren't around, but otherwise it was pretty cool to see. Thankfully my camera battery lasted long enough to capture that, as it soon died. Thank god I wasted my camera battery on the Sexodrome and NOT on Versailles. Another slap in the face to European history. (Looking at you, Justin Bieber)
DON'T DON'T DO NOT DON'T (The Sexodrome)
Moulin Rouge (French for "The Red Moulin")
A little taste of Arkansas in the heart of ... well, the sex district of Paris
Another shot of the red windmill. Classy? Methinks, yes.
Well the pictures run out here, BUT THE ADVENTURE DOES NOT! Following the craziness of Montmartre, we headed to Cite, the island on the Seine that holds Saint-Chapel and Notre Dame, some pretty badass churches. No hunchbacks, alas, but we enjoyed walking around nonetheless and seeing the architecture. We then walked over to the shopping district of Marais. An ATM chose to devour Tay's bank card (sorry buddy - is the NOM NOM NOM noise a bit too soon?), so we tried to handle that before doing a little shopping. We found lots of store with jeans with too many zippers and pockets (oh, the European sense of fashion), and this sweet vintage store where I got a vest for 5 euro (now I can be vest friends with MiGeo, Matt, BoCo, Craig, and Taylor! Hooray!) You could also purchase a fur coat for 15 euro. Believe me, I was tempted.
That night, we cooked dinner at Lindsay's, enjoyed some wine, and took it easy. The dinner was phenomenal, all of us helped out a bit, and then we played a great game of Categories. From this, we learned that a ceiling is an item in a kitchen and that a chicken is a water fowl. We also played Skeletons, which is like Truth or Dare with no Dare - everyone just has to answer one question. We learned a LOT from this, but as the rules state, what happens in Skeletons stays in Skeletons.
Sunday, the Hangover Cow mooed bright and early to wake us and send us off to Versailles, the French Royal Estate about thirty minutes away from Paris. Go ahead and pop open that Google Image search, as I wasn't able to recharge my camera, but this area was absolutely incredible. Sunny again (yay sun!)which was perfect for all the walking we did. The palace itself is incredible, so lavish and overly-decorated and just about everything was gold-plated, it was really awesome to see it all. One room probably cost about as much as my house, and there are dozens of rooms.
Even more impressive, at least to me, were the palace grounds. The garden of Versailles is truly huge - it's just massive. You look as far as you can see, all the way to the horizon, and it's still the gardens. So incredible. We spent several hours walking around in the freezing cold and exploring this place. Apparently nobody understands that swans bite ("Layla, put your head there!" - famous last words), and we officially found the coolest place to ever ride a bike. We had lunch at a restaurant where, after being ignored for half an hour, we had some decent food and really interesting conversation with an old French guy. I couldn't understand a word of it, mind you, but I'm told it was interesting.
Oh, I do have one picture of Versailles. Trees in Paris are like Rollercoaster Tycoon trees. They are all geometrically perfect and God just kind of left-clicked and put them there. This is Tay and I hugging one.
It took us almost an hour to retrace our steps back to the train station (I got French McDonald's! They had a touch screen ordering system and everything! Kudos to me for being a typical tourist!) We barely kept ourselves awake long enough to get back to Tay's, at which point we made and ate dinner, skyped our respective families, and passed out. Our legs, bodies, and brains were exhausted from so much doing and seeing and going and moving - truly an unforgettable weekend though. Thanks to Tay, Morgan, Hannah, Lindsay, Dave, and everyone else for the laughs, the photos, and the memories.
Europe is awesome.
Morgan, Hannah, and I left London on Thursday afternoon to head to our Parisian adventures. I could hardly pay attention in class, I was so excited, and getting on the train and leaving London for the first time only increased my excitement. The Eurostar is FAST - it reaches speeds of over 120 miles per hour, and we flew through the suburbs of London, the Chunnel, and the countryside of France, which was beautiful. I think we passed through about five different weather systems on our way through to Paris, it was at one point overcast, then blue sky with insane puffy clouds, then a pouring thunderstorm, then a beautiful sunset. Of course when we got to Paris it was freezing ass cold, as per our usual weather system. But we met up with Tay and hopped on Le Metro (French for "The Metro") to head to his flat. We stopped by 8 aut Huit (the French 7/11) for some incredible baguettes and wine, which we consumed rapidly in his apartment. Tay's apartment is much bigger than ours -- his living room is the size of me and Morgan's entire room -- but the three of us were all sleeping on one futon, which led to some ridiculous sleeping positions and very cramped nights (but hey, twas free!)
We headed out to a local restaurant, where we had some good French cuisine (steak with shallot sauce, veal cooked ... in a French way) and more wine. (You should be noticing a pattern here). We made plans to head out to a bar near the Bastille after Tay finished an essay (yes kids, homework, like class, unfortunately exists in Europe). Hannah and I passed the time by utilizing and enjoying Tay's ice shot glasses. We then headed out into the Arctic cold to meet our friend Lindsay near the Bastille, have an impromptu streetside photoshoot, and then head to a tapas bar for sangria. Our walk home was an adventure for certain - let me explain the Hangover Cow.
So, on our way back, Hannah and Taylor find this small piece of art on the street. It was a metal tank painted and wrapped in wire. There were four wooden legs also wrapped in wire, and a makeshift head. It was a cow. Now, no one can be certain, but it may have been thrown out, may have been for sale, or may have been part of a store's exterior decor. That tidbit has been lost, as Lindsay, Morgan, and I turn around to see Hannah and Tay sprinting towards with us with the cow. All of Hannah's pictures are of ... the cow. We get back to Tay's, where we have a cow photoshoot, and then Tay has the bright idea of hanging it above his bedroom (which is also the living room), using a hook already in the ceiling and the cow's wire exterior. Thus, the Hangover Cow. It hangs over you, and judges you when you wake up hungover, so you must bow in reverence to the Hangover Cow.
The ice shot glass
Taylor and Hannah: Professional Cow Thieves
The Hangover Cow in all of it's glory
Needless to say, we felt VERY judged waking up Friday morning beneath his judgmental glare. It was early, and Tay had class, so we hopped in some warm clothes and took the Metro to the NYU in Paris area. It was a cute area with lots of shopping and boutiques, and the Eiffel Tower loomed in the distance, so Morgan and I trudged through the freezing rain (no joke - probably 36 degrees and drizzling) to find us some landmarks. Following the tip of the Eiffel Tower's 1050 foot tall spire, we wound down through some Parisian backroads and - BAM. If there's anything that can be said about European landmarks (as well as the American celebrities that play music outside of them - looking at you, Justin Bieber), there is always that initial moment of sheer awe that you may not ever forget. The top of the Eiffel Tower is impressive, sure, but we turned a corner and saw the base of it across the Seine River, it's absolutely stunning. That is a Top 10 Europe Moment without doubt. We crossed the river and made it to the Tower, then took way too many pictures. Skip that Google Image Search kids: this here's the real deal!
The first view
My artsy shot
Me and the Eiffel Tower! Yay!
After that, we took a much-needed pit stop to thaw, dry off, and drink hot chocolate. Then Morgan and I went to the Museum of Wine, as we have consumed much and will be consuming more. We learned lots about wine and caves and the history of wine and blah blah blah we really just went for the free glass of wine. Hey - this blog will always be honest, if nothing else.
Then we met up with Tay and the Paris crew to grab lunch, swing by the Louvre to see the outside, and hang out at Lindsay's AMAZING apartment. Legit, it's as big as the downstairs of my house, probably bigger, and it's so nice and relaxing. We spent a lazy afternoon there, talking and planning our EPIC night at the clubs. Following this, we went to Taylor's, took a quick nap, got ready and headed back to Lindsay's for the pre-party
The inverted pyramid in the Louvre
The non-inverted pyramid entrance to the Louvre - I cracked the Da Vinci Code, just btw
Sweet metro sign
So, they know how to party in Paris. At Linday's, I got to be DJ (which everyone knows is my favorite), so we played tons of Gaga, Ke$ha, Passion Pit, and LMFAO feat. Lil Jon. We also participated in MANY of what Mssrs. Jon and LMFAO sing of - sorry if this reference goes over your head, mom and dad, but it's nothing illegal. We took many pictures and had a great time - I met a girl who knows basically everyone I know at Vanderbilt, small world indeed. With pictures taken and everyone in good spirits, we caught the metro to ... LE DUPLEX. (French for the Duplex)
Crazy crazy crazy. 20 Americans, a 25 Euro cover charge, three floors, amazing DJs, and four hours of dancing. Probably one of my favorite nights out ever, we had such an incredible time - it was certainly, but I'd say we got what we paid for. Lots of "I Gotta Feeling", "Sexy Bitch", and other amazing club songs - we were all sweaty as hell but we kept going, we had such a fun night. Our group finally left around 3:30am, at which point we took a cab (and had a fun sing-a-long with Morgan - apparently all he knows of the song "Tik Tok" is the "Whoa-oo-whoa-oo-whoa-OH!" part) back to Lindsay's (which, apparently, WASN'T the plan, but after we woke them up and had them buzz us in we got it all figured out). We made some late night food, watched an episode of Hey Arnold (Romeo and Juliet episode, in which Helga's mom famously says "Honey, did you take your diarrhea medication?") and Are You Afraid of the Dark, which has NOT held up well as we have aged. We slept six to a bed. PERFECT.
The Arc de Triomphe (yes, we clubbed in the shadow of this - be jealous)
Our home for Friday night
We wake up Saturday morning (feeling very much like P. Diddy, Ke$ha would be so proud of us) and manage to put ourselves together, head back to Taylor's, and sleep a couple more hours. After our nice morning nap, we get ready, eat pizza, and head to meet Tay's friend Dave at Sacre Coeur. This is an old church in the Montmartre neighborhood and is the highest point in Paris, offering incredible views. To get there, we just had to walk through the Weave District of Paris where, I kid you not, EVERY store was a ... weavery. There were hair extensions at the wazoo - we were so tempted to get our weave did, but fought the urge and kept climbing to Sacre Coeur. We finally saw the sun (omg it exists? in Europe? SHUT UP) and enjoyed the views of the city and the nice weather before touring the church (epic, huge, everything you expect from European churches), fighting off gypsies with our bare hands (NO change for you, gypsy demon!), and heading down the hill to Montmartre, aka Paris' Red Light District.
Weave on the sidewalk! (Oscar Garza's?!?!?)
Sacre Coeur
The view of Paris from Sacre Coeur
Eiffel Tower from Sacre Coeur
Our first stop in Montmartre was the SEXODROME. It sounds like a sexual fighting arena from the future. What we got was ... well, not too far from that. They label themselves the World's First Erotic Supermarket. I try (I really do, mom and dad, honest) to keep this blog family-friendly, and so I won't share too many of my exploits. Just know that there are things that one can't unsee, and I saw way too many of them in about 20 minutes. There was also the Sexual Haunted House (not really, but... yeah, just ask me in person later) and the Pinecone Enforcer and the corn and the dolphin ahhhhhhhhh can't write about it any more because it's disgusting and gross so, bottom line, thesis statement, DON'T GO TO THE SEXODROME.
Following that... whatever that was, we stopped by the Moulin Rouge. Unfortunately, Mya, Pink, Christina Aguilera, and Lil Kim weren't around, but otherwise it was pretty cool to see. Thankfully my camera battery lasted long enough to capture that, as it soon died. Thank god I wasted my camera battery on the Sexodrome and NOT on Versailles. Another slap in the face to European history. (Looking at you, Justin Bieber)
DON'T DON'T DO NOT DON'T (The Sexodrome)
Moulin Rouge (French for "The Red Moulin")
A little taste of Arkansas in the heart of ... well, the sex district of Paris
Another shot of the red windmill. Classy? Methinks, yes.
Well the pictures run out here, BUT THE ADVENTURE DOES NOT! Following the craziness of Montmartre, we headed to Cite, the island on the Seine that holds Saint-Chapel and Notre Dame, some pretty badass churches. No hunchbacks, alas, but we enjoyed walking around nonetheless and seeing the architecture. We then walked over to the shopping district of Marais. An ATM chose to devour Tay's bank card (sorry buddy - is the NOM NOM NOM noise a bit too soon?), so we tried to handle that before doing a little shopping. We found lots of store with jeans with too many zippers and pockets (oh, the European sense of fashion), and this sweet vintage store where I got a vest for 5 euro (now I can be vest friends with MiGeo, Matt, BoCo, Craig, and Taylor! Hooray!) You could also purchase a fur coat for 15 euro. Believe me, I was tempted.
That night, we cooked dinner at Lindsay's, enjoyed some wine, and took it easy. The dinner was phenomenal, all of us helped out a bit, and then we played a great game of Categories. From this, we learned that a ceiling is an item in a kitchen and that a chicken is a water fowl. We also played Skeletons, which is like Truth or Dare with no Dare - everyone just has to answer one question. We learned a LOT from this, but as the rules state, what happens in Skeletons stays in Skeletons.
Sunday, the Hangover Cow mooed bright and early to wake us and send us off to Versailles, the French Royal Estate about thirty minutes away from Paris. Go ahead and pop open that Google Image search, as I wasn't able to recharge my camera, but this area was absolutely incredible. Sunny again (yay sun!)which was perfect for all the walking we did. The palace itself is incredible, so lavish and overly-decorated and just about everything was gold-plated, it was really awesome to see it all. One room probably cost about as much as my house, and there are dozens of rooms.
Even more impressive, at least to me, were the palace grounds. The garden of Versailles is truly huge - it's just massive. You look as far as you can see, all the way to the horizon, and it's still the gardens. So incredible. We spent several hours walking around in the freezing cold and exploring this place. Apparently nobody understands that swans bite ("Layla, put your head there!" - famous last words), and we officially found the coolest place to ever ride a bike. We had lunch at a restaurant where, after being ignored for half an hour, we had some decent food and really interesting conversation with an old French guy. I couldn't understand a word of it, mind you, but I'm told it was interesting.
Oh, I do have one picture of Versailles. Trees in Paris are like Rollercoaster Tycoon trees. They are all geometrically perfect and God just kind of left-clicked and put them there. This is Tay and I hugging one.
It took us almost an hour to retrace our steps back to the train station (I got French McDonald's! They had a touch screen ordering system and everything! Kudos to me for being a typical tourist!) We barely kept ourselves awake long enough to get back to Tay's, at which point we made and ate dinner, skyped our respective families, and passed out. Our legs, bodies, and brains were exhausted from so much doing and seeing and going and moving - truly an unforgettable weekend though. Thanks to Tay, Morgan, Hannah, Lindsay, Dave, and everyone else for the laughs, the photos, and the memories.
Europe is awesome.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Two Weeks in London: My Bank Account is Getting POUNDed!!!
GET IT?! POUNDED? Damn, I'm funny.
Anyways, hello my little blogchildren. Sorry that it has been a WEEK since I've updated - it has been extremely busy and I want to make sure my posts are worth reading, so they deserve some time and dedication. This entry will be a mind dump - as much as I can remember in from the past week, in sort of chronological order. Oh, and I took pictures! No more Google Image searches!
Class has started! Yes, sadly, I have academic obligations this semester and won't just be adventuring and traveling throughout Europe. I like them so far. One class, Understanding the European Union, will definitely be my hardest. It's an honors class and most of the other students in there are politics majors, so I definitely have my work cut out for me. Professor is great though, and I feel like it will stretch me academically, so I think that'll be fine. Plus, it's balanced by my Wednesday class, Abnormal Psychology, where the professor actually told us "Don't do any of the readings unless you're still not sure about something after the lecture". There is also no homework in that class. AWESOME. The professor is actually a Hogwarts professor, she's so British and probably magical. Her first sentence to us: "Hello! I'm Professor Loewenthal! I'm 68, I'm an Orthodox Jew, and I LOVE psychology!" She and I are probably gonna end up dating, NBD. My final class is a communications class - it's going to be easy, a bit dry but hopefully it will get better. It's just ... my professor likes to say the same things. Again. And again. And again. I actually do a decent impression of him, so next time we skype (if you're reading this, please add me on skype - alex_heald), I will do it for you. Global globe media. Context globe globe.
Beyond class, we have been doing a LOT in London. Tuesday of last week was my first time to The Rocket after we ate dinner - The Rocket is basically the Still of London, except it doesn't suck. It's just a typical bar with a jukebox (and yes, they have Tik Tok, Miley, and Gaga) and some really cheap beers Tuesday night, so it may become a new regular Tuesday tradition.
After class Wednesday, I walked to Oxford Street to find a sporting goods store. See, in Nido, you can drink in your rooms AND the communal kitchens, which sport two tables that BEG to be turned into beer pong tables. Beer pong needs ping pong balls though (or, as they are also known here, whiff whaff balls), so I went off in search of those. I probably got some disease at this store, it was closing down and absolutely disgusting, but 12 whiff whaff balls for a pound-ninety eight is pretty damn good. Then I walked down Oxford Street, almost bought every single thing at Topman but resisted, and then walked home - it was nice to familiarize myself with our area a bit more.
Beer pong (or cider whaff, as we now call it) was a mess. Solo cups are impossible to find, so we tried using styrofoam cups, but the balls were heavier than the cups by a ratio of 2-1 or so, and we spilled enough cups in about 5 minutes that we decided to stop and wait until we found sturdier cups. We played Kings and Up the River, Down the River instead, and had quite a nice time as we prepared for ... KARAOKE WEDNESDAY!
I won't say much about the night, just let these pictures speak for themselves.
Needless to say, we didn't stop believin'. We lived on a prayer. And some old man got his Celine Dion wings on, and knew that he was alive.
Thursday night we took it easy, as we had a day trip to Greenwich coming up - I enjoyed a nice glass of red wine as I watched Lost in bed. When did I become Justine Bylo?
Anyways, Friday we woke up early and headed to Westminster Pier for the boat to Greenwich. Brief history: Greenwich is where the Prime Meridian is located, aka the boundary between Eastern and Western Hemispheres. There is some other historical stuff there too. This is the end of Alex's History Lesson. The boat to Greenwich was awesome, we went up the Thames and got to do a lot of sight-seeing. Greenwich itself was rainy and cold (as it often seems to be here in London), but we had fun looking at an old military hospital, seeing the Queen's House, and climbing a mountain to the Royal Observatory to see the Prime Meridian and stand in both hemispheres. Here are some photos of said Meridian as well as the boat ride to Greenwich:
That night, we had our first visitors: TAYLOR AND LIZ!!! As we all know, Taylor is my baby boy for life, and Liz doesn't even go here. Tay was coming in from France and Liz was in transit from Tampa to Orlando to New York to London to Florence. We surprised Tay at the train station, then went out that night to this awesome cheap bar called Montagu Pyke's. It was one of our more wild nights in London, but in a good way - we were out til 3, bar/club-hopped, and had such an incredible time. Kelly romanced Marc with a "c", drank 4 R2D2s, we climbed the Trafalgar Square lions, and maybe fell out of a bus seat. Pics from that night:
The next day we did a TON of sightseeing after a ... disappointing lunch at McDonald's. McDonald's here doesn't taste the same. Not even sort of. The fries are kind of sweet, the mayonnaise is just weird on my McChicken sandwiches, and it's just ... it's just wrong. Damn them for being open 24 hours and being my only option on my way home from going out.
Anywho, we saw the Tower Bridge all the way to Big Ben - if you want to enjoy this wonderful tour with my always witty commentary, please come visit me. Here are pictures:
Following these adventures, we went out and did a pub crawl in Camden Town, which is a really cool area about 20 minutes walk from us - Tay and Liz introduced us to some British friends, we found some awesome new spots, chased tequila with raspberries, and enjoyed being somewhere new. Definitely going back, apparently during the day they have the most AWESOME flea market you've ever seen - I'm all about flea markets.
Sunday was a lazy day - Morgan and I woke up late, did some reading, and sat around until dinner with Taylor and Liz at Nando's, this amazing chicken place in a place called Angel. (PS. They have Chili's here. We are going. So. Soon. And. I. Can't. Wait. Because. I. LOVE. CHILI'S.) After that, we went to The Rocket for a few pints, and then came back here and booked STOCKHOLM! Last weekend in Feb, me Morgan Kelly and Emily are headed to Scandinavia to freeze our asses off, see the Northern Lights, and meet beautiful blond people! Our hostel is in a boat haha - YES.
Yesterday, Monday, I did some homework and then met up with Liz to see the Tate Modern. AWESOME modern art museum. It was like MoMA on crack, but there was some truly crazy art there - weird sexual stuff that made me very uncomfortable. Remember the tall tower from the past set of pictures? That's the Tate, and that tower is, I believe, where the weird sexual art takes place and scares me. Come visit me - I'll take you there!
Last night was Evan's birthday, so we went to an amazing pasta place for dinner (after being hopelessly lost forever in SoHo). Dinner was amazing, we had a really good meal and some kick-ass risotto - I inhaled it. Afterwards, we had an amusing walk/tube ride home that involved Hannah and Evan stopping at the scariest pub I've ever seen to use the bathroom and Evan saying that Ke$ha was probably the downfall of our society. So true, Miss Rome.
Anyways, that's it so far. Paris is this weekend, we leave in about 48 hours, and I'm so excited for my first trip! We are gonna see the Eiffel Tower, drink lots of amazing wine and eat cheese and baguettes, and hopefully have an epic run along the Seine River. Apparently, that's all the rage. Remy did it in Ratatouille. Liam Neeson did it in Taken. I'm gonna do it in REAL LIFE, bitches. Heck yes.
I have lots of random thoughts when I'm out and about. I'm gonna start writing them down and letting you know them, and I promise to update more often. I dunno if I'll have internet in Paris, so expect a big post next Monday. Love you all! Happy Tuesday!
Anyways, hello my little blogchildren. Sorry that it has been a WEEK since I've updated - it has been extremely busy and I want to make sure my posts are worth reading, so they deserve some time and dedication. This entry will be a mind dump - as much as I can remember in from the past week, in sort of chronological order. Oh, and I took pictures! No more Google Image searches!
Class has started! Yes, sadly, I have academic obligations this semester and won't just be adventuring and traveling throughout Europe. I like them so far. One class, Understanding the European Union, will definitely be my hardest. It's an honors class and most of the other students in there are politics majors, so I definitely have my work cut out for me. Professor is great though, and I feel like it will stretch me academically, so I think that'll be fine. Plus, it's balanced by my Wednesday class, Abnormal Psychology, where the professor actually told us "Don't do any of the readings unless you're still not sure about something after the lecture". There is also no homework in that class. AWESOME. The professor is actually a Hogwarts professor, she's so British and probably magical. Her first sentence to us: "Hello! I'm Professor Loewenthal! I'm 68, I'm an Orthodox Jew, and I LOVE psychology!" She and I are probably gonna end up dating, NBD. My final class is a communications class - it's going to be easy, a bit dry but hopefully it will get better. It's just ... my professor likes to say the same things. Again. And again. And again. I actually do a decent impression of him, so next time we skype (if you're reading this, please add me on skype - alex_heald), I will do it for you. Global globe media. Context globe globe.
Beyond class, we have been doing a LOT in London. Tuesday of last week was my first time to The Rocket after we ate dinner - The Rocket is basically the Still of London, except it doesn't suck. It's just a typical bar with a jukebox (and yes, they have Tik Tok, Miley, and Gaga) and some really cheap beers Tuesday night, so it may become a new regular Tuesday tradition.
After class Wednesday, I walked to Oxford Street to find a sporting goods store. See, in Nido, you can drink in your rooms AND the communal kitchens, which sport two tables that BEG to be turned into beer pong tables. Beer pong needs ping pong balls though (or, as they are also known here, whiff whaff balls), so I went off in search of those. I probably got some disease at this store, it was closing down and absolutely disgusting, but 12 whiff whaff balls for a pound-ninety eight is pretty damn good. Then I walked down Oxford Street, almost bought every single thing at Topman but resisted, and then walked home - it was nice to familiarize myself with our area a bit more.
Beer pong (or cider whaff, as we now call it) was a mess. Solo cups are impossible to find, so we tried using styrofoam cups, but the balls were heavier than the cups by a ratio of 2-1 or so, and we spilled enough cups in about 5 minutes that we decided to stop and wait until we found sturdier cups. We played Kings and Up the River, Down the River instead, and had quite a nice time as we prepared for ... KARAOKE WEDNESDAY!
I won't say much about the night, just let these pictures speak for themselves.
Needless to say, we didn't stop believin'. We lived on a prayer. And some old man got his Celine Dion wings on, and knew that he was alive.
Thursday night we took it easy, as we had a day trip to Greenwich coming up - I enjoyed a nice glass of red wine as I watched Lost in bed. When did I become Justine Bylo?
Anyways, Friday we woke up early and headed to Westminster Pier for the boat to Greenwich. Brief history: Greenwich is where the Prime Meridian is located, aka the boundary between Eastern and Western Hemispheres. There is some other historical stuff there too. This is the end of Alex's History Lesson. The boat to Greenwich was awesome, we went up the Thames and got to do a lot of sight-seeing. Greenwich itself was rainy and cold (as it often seems to be here in London), but we had fun looking at an old military hospital, seeing the Queen's House, and climbing a mountain to the Royal Observatory to see the Prime Meridian and stand in both hemispheres. Here are some photos of said Meridian as well as the boat ride to Greenwich:
That night, we had our first visitors: TAYLOR AND LIZ!!! As we all know, Taylor is my baby boy for life, and Liz doesn't even go here. Tay was coming in from France and Liz was in transit from Tampa to Orlando to New York to London to Florence. We surprised Tay at the train station, then went out that night to this awesome cheap bar called Montagu Pyke's. It was one of our more wild nights in London, but in a good way - we were out til 3, bar/club-hopped, and had such an incredible time. Kelly romanced Marc with a "c", drank 4 R2D2s, we climbed the Trafalgar Square lions, and maybe fell out of a bus seat. Pics from that night:
The next day we did a TON of sightseeing after a ... disappointing lunch at McDonald's. McDonald's here doesn't taste the same. Not even sort of. The fries are kind of sweet, the mayonnaise is just weird on my McChicken sandwiches, and it's just ... it's just wrong. Damn them for being open 24 hours and being my only option on my way home from going out.
Anywho, we saw the Tower Bridge all the way to Big Ben - if you want to enjoy this wonderful tour with my always witty commentary, please come visit me. Here are pictures:
Following these adventures, we went out and did a pub crawl in Camden Town, which is a really cool area about 20 minutes walk from us - Tay and Liz introduced us to some British friends, we found some awesome new spots, chased tequila with raspberries, and enjoyed being somewhere new. Definitely going back, apparently during the day they have the most AWESOME flea market you've ever seen - I'm all about flea markets.
Sunday was a lazy day - Morgan and I woke up late, did some reading, and sat around until dinner with Taylor and Liz at Nando's, this amazing chicken place in a place called Angel. (PS. They have Chili's here. We are going. So. Soon. And. I. Can't. Wait. Because. I. LOVE. CHILI'S.) After that, we went to The Rocket for a few pints, and then came back here and booked STOCKHOLM! Last weekend in Feb, me Morgan Kelly and Emily are headed to Scandinavia to freeze our asses off, see the Northern Lights, and meet beautiful blond people! Our hostel is in a boat haha - YES.
Yesterday, Monday, I did some homework and then met up with Liz to see the Tate Modern. AWESOME modern art museum. It was like MoMA on crack, but there was some truly crazy art there - weird sexual stuff that made me very uncomfortable. Remember the tall tower from the past set of pictures? That's the Tate, and that tower is, I believe, where the weird sexual art takes place and scares me. Come visit me - I'll take you there!
Last night was Evan's birthday, so we went to an amazing pasta place for dinner (after being hopelessly lost forever in SoHo). Dinner was amazing, we had a really good meal and some kick-ass risotto - I inhaled it. Afterwards, we had an amusing walk/tube ride home that involved Hannah and Evan stopping at the scariest pub I've ever seen to use the bathroom and Evan saying that Ke$ha was probably the downfall of our society. So true, Miss Rome.
Anyways, that's it so far. Paris is this weekend, we leave in about 48 hours, and I'm so excited for my first trip! We are gonna see the Eiffel Tower, drink lots of amazing wine and eat cheese and baguettes, and hopefully have an epic run along the Seine River. Apparently, that's all the rage. Remy did it in Ratatouille. Liam Neeson did it in Taken. I'm gonna do it in REAL LIFE, bitches. Heck yes.
I have lots of random thoughts when I'm out and about. I'm gonna start writing them down and letting you know them, and I promise to update more often. I dunno if I'll have internet in Paris, so expect a big post next Monday. Love you all! Happy Tuesday!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Week One: No More Google Image Search!!
Finally, posting some pictures, mostly of me in front of the monuments and stuff. Expect more soon!
Alex on the Millennium Bridge in front of St. Paul's Cathedral
Alex on the Millennium Bridge with the sunset and South Bank in the background
Alex with JUSTIN BIEBER (zomg) in the background on the Statue of Bieber at Buckingham Palace
Alex in front of (you guessed it) Big Ben
Alex with the horse guards on Parliament Street
Alex in a typical red London phone booth
Alex at the pub with Alan and Kelly, enjoying some cider
Alex attempting (and failing) to make it to Hogwarts. Hagrid: "You're NOT a wizard, Alex."
Alex on the Millennium Bridge in front of St. Paul's Cathedral
Alex on the Millennium Bridge with the sunset and South Bank in the background
Alex with JUSTIN BIEBER (zomg) in the background on the Statue of Bieber at Buckingham Palace
Alex in front of (you guessed it) Big Ben
Alex with the horse guards on Parliament Street
Alex in a typical red London phone booth
Alex at the pub with Alan and Kelly, enjoying some cider
Alex attempting (and failing) to make it to Hogwarts. Hagrid: "You're NOT a wizard, Alex."
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Day Three and Four: The Gay Camp Counselor, The Six Hour Tour, and "Who Let Me Look Like This?!"
Wow. About 48 hours since the last post, and they have been by far the most eventful since we got here. Chronological order is probably the best bet, let's hope I remember everything. Ahem...
So Friday night, post blog update and nap, we went out to grab a quick bite and started at a bar called The Lexington up the street. There were wayyyy too many kinds of whiskey (it was, after all, a whiskey bar), and it was also incredibly crowded. Our group had a drink before we left the masses to this place we'd seen called The Hobgoblin. My kind of place - felt like Antarctica (ughhh miss that place), good cheap drinks, and there was a dog in the bar. Who needs health codes when you can bring your loyal four-footed companion with you everywhere? Not London, that's for sure. We had a blast there, even though the music was lame (I asked for Ke$ha, and the guy goes hmm, I may have Q-Tip? NOT THE SAME). From there, we left and headed to Chapel Bar, where there was nobody there but an empty dancefloor calling our name. We danced like crazy for about an hour, they DID have Ke$ha (thank god), and then we swung by Lexington to check it out before heading home.
Saturday was THE day of sight-seeing, and while I dreamed of a sunny warm day to see the sights, we woke up to rain and 37 degrees. Damn. We decided to bundle up and do it anyway, because come on, it's London and we're American tourists with a need for photos and a bad habit of clogging up sidewalks. Morgan and I met up with Kelsey, Maja, Avi, and Christina, and we hopped on our first London bus to go ... well, we weren't really sure. Maybe Big Ben? Possibly Westminster Abbey? We couldn't even see out of the bus since the windows were so foggy, so we just ... got off when Avi thought we were near Hyde Park. And huzzah! We were. That left us ... near Hyde Park. We had a general idea of how to get to Buckingham Palace though, so we forged through the freezing rain with three goals in mind: 1)Stay dry 2)Get food 3)See a lot of shit.
We walked by the Marble Arch near the Hyde Park corner, and then around this ridiculously long brick wall that is one of the exterior walls of the palace complex. When I mean long, it's about a ten minute walk down a block with governmental buildings on one side and a heavily guarded, barb-wired, spiked brick wall on the other. We kept walking, saw some more official looking stuff, turned a corner and - HOLY CRAP! Buckingham Palace! It's amazing, exactly the type of elaborate facades and ornamentation you'd expect from British Royalty. This is probably a good point to pause the blog and say that I, being a complete dumbass, forgot to charge my camera the night before this epic day of sightseeing. There are plenty of photos - Morgan and company took a lot. They just aren't on my computer. Please open a new tab on your web browser, search for "Buckingham Palace" on Google image, and photoshop me in. Voila! We now resume our regularly scheduled blog. (Oh, and the Buckingham Palace surprises aren't over yet .... this is what literature teachers refer to as FORESHADOWING).
We took some obligatory photos in front of the palace, looked at the guards who literally stand frozen - I have to imagine it's an even more mind-numbing job than being the model at Abercrombie. Then we headed out to find food, as we were truly starving. We could see the London Eye through some trees, so we headed in that direction through St. James Park, the large park outside of the palace. Best. Park. Ever. First of all, the squirrels are friendly and cuddly - they will come close to you and try to climb your pant leg if you offer them food. Second, we got some awesome hot chocolate. Third, there are some ridiculous water foul including massive swans, colorful geese, and this little things called coots, which are black birds with white faces and noses that look like masks. (Google Image Search: St. James Park, coots, hot chocolate). This one swan was in love with Morgan and followed him down the entire pond, it was the funniest thing ever. Oh, and apparently, it's apparent to eat swan unless you're a member of the Royal Family. We learned that the hard way.
(Note: we didn't actually eat a swan, they're too damn hard to catch).
After that, we walked through a large plaza and under an archway to find ourselves right by the Horse Guards. As we learned, they are purely ornamentation - just two British guards, sitting on horses, getting paid to do nothing as asshole tourists like myself take pictures next to them. What an EFFICIENT government they have here. We walked down this street, Parliament Street, and found a pub where we stopped for lunch. Very British food, but well-prepared, so we enjoyed it as well as a break from the cold and wet. We left, turned the corner, walked a block and- HOLY CRAP. BIG BEN. It was right in front of us, and truly amazing to see. It was gray and near dusk, so the lighting looked incredibly dramatic - probably a great way to first see it in all its glory. We stood there for awhile soaking it in and taking pictures, then we walked by Wesminster Abbey and the Parliament building. This was all very hit-and-run tourism: we never stopped and went inside somewhere, we just enjoyed the spectacle and then hurried on to the next sight. (Google Image Search: British Horse Guards, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, fish and chips)
We walked across Westminster Bridge with the massive London Eye to our left, and as we were walking (and perhaps even jaywalking) towards it, the lights turned on - it's really beautiful right on the side of the river, and even though it doesn't reopen for the year a couple more days, we are really excited to get to ride it. We kept walking down the Thames, which is one of the most beautiful and romantic walks I've ever had. The sights are incredible - it's a mix of commercial, residential, governmental, old and new, young and old. I think it was standing by the river and soaking in a full 360 of London that it truly me hit how incredible this city is. I know it has only been a few days, but wow - I love it. You can't take two steps without seeing something incredibly historic or exciting.
Our walk continued to take us past more and more amazing things, including the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern Museum. The Tate Modern is terrifying (please Google Image Search this now). It used to be an old factory, and it has this massive brick tower that looks like something out of 1984. So scary. From the Tate we walked across the Millennium Bridge and thankfully were not killed by Death Eaters. The bridge takes you right to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is the second-largest domed structure in the world. It's also breathtaking, incredible, and ... well I'm running out of adjectives for everything I've seen. We ended this six hour tour with our first Tube ride, which we successfully navigated. Best tourists ever.
So that sounds like a busy day, right? Most people would probably grab a nice dinner, watch a movie, and pass out? Too bad I'm not MOST PEOPLE. (This ends the unnecessarily badass part of Alex's blog). NYU, once again sponsoring our bad decisions, hosted a social event at a wine bar that was basically an excuse to have great beer, meet other NYUers, and start the night of right. It was a blast, even though the appetizers sucked - we met a bunch of people and rounded up a large group to head out for the night. We traveled in a group of maybe 25, which I think we can all agree is WAYYY too big of a group to head out in such a fashion. But there we were, doing it anyway. We took the Tube to Leicester Square, at which point chaos hit. It was pouring rain, the clubs had "member's only" restrictions, and everyone had to pee like Seabiscuit. We ended up going to a number of places and had a pretty good time, it was quite the late night. Lots of dancing, lots of looking for late night buses, some 4am McDonald's, and an AMAZING Skype session with some people back at home. Miss you guys =)
Woke up today pretty late, there was an NYU Bus Tour that I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on (only because we had walked and seen so much yesterday, I was afraid we'd end up hitting the same hot spots - which, well, we did, but it was worth it as we will soon see. FORESHADOWING.) But for the first time EVER in London, THE SUN WAS OUT! It was warm and beautiful outside, and Morgan finally convinced me, so we made a quick lunch and headed down to catch the bus. It was well worth it, just for the information we learned about London. We took the bus by campus, by Regent's Square, down the major shopping area to several of the places we saw yesterday, like Marble Arch, Hyde Park, and the house of the Duke of Wellington. The tour guide was hilarious - she warned the ladies not to show their "naughty bits" at King's Cross Station unless they wanted some money. We saw the Albert Memorial near Hyde Park, several department stores like Harrod's and Lord and Nichol's, and then drove back around the huge brick wall to see Buckingham Palace. This is when, as they say, shit got real.
So the tour guide says she has a great place to take a picture of Big Ben, and it's a very nice-looking establishment, so sure, I'll follow her. I'd already seen the Palace, and it turned out that said place for said picture was on the steps of the large statue outside Buckingham Palace. Great, I think. What a fun statue. As we walk to said statue, I hear several street performers playing a nice acoustic ditty. What a good song, I think to myself. Wait I minute, I say, Alex, you know the words to this song. "You're who I'm thinking of... girl you ain't my runner up..." Turn to my left to look at street performers, and oh my god.
Justin. Bieber.
(blog pause will my head explodes)
(told you the foreshadowing would pay off)
Not some average street performer singing a J-Bieb song, not the amazing karaoke performance that Taylor always does when he's drunk, but the real, live Justin Bieber. Acoustic concert on the steps of the Buckingham Palace statue (which, since I never learned its real name, is now known as the Statue of Bieber). It was truly a magical moment. I should probably pause now to apologize to thousands of years of British history. Yes, all the things I have seen so far in London have been great, and even though they sometimes hide behind corners (looking at you, Big Ben), they have been somewhat expected. But the 15-year-old pop star that sings oh-so-memorable lyrics over oh-so-catchy beats, 10 feet from me, jamming out hardcore?? Truly epic.
Needless to say, we all freaked a bit, but nowhere more than my new best friend (who I don't know her name but was still awesome). She runs up the stairs and just hugs him, and he's a tiny little kid, but she was like .... feeling it. She almost started to cry, I think. She then proceeded to talk to and give her e-mail to his manager, scream at him (several times) "I LOVE YOU!", then, as he walked away to live his life as a celebrity, scream "JUSTIN! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" She was amazing. On the way back to the bus, she realized how much of a hot mess she was (hungover, big sunglasses, loose ponytail, gigantic furry vest that made her look like Yogi Bear), and she yelled "WHO LET ME LOOK LIKE THIS?!" I love her.
(Google Image Search: Justin Bieber. Then feel a little guilty, because he's really too young for you think he's that cute.)
Following Biebergate, as it's now known, we finished the bus tour, stopping again at St. Paul's and going to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, the Tower of London, London's East End, and a few other places. It was a busy busy day, and we finally took a night off (thank God). After dinner at Pizza Express with Morgan, Kelly, Kelsey, and Christina, Morgan and I booked our FIRST TRIP EVER! (Actually, I'll probably go to Paris beforehand, but this is the first one we've paid for). We are going to Barcelona, Spain for Carnival on Feb. 11 to Feb. 14. It's the Spanish version of Mardi Gras, and we can only hope that it's incredible. Me, Morgan, Kelly, and Athena - should be a trip worth blogging about.
Well, that's a wrap for now. I still need to Skype some people, organize a bit, and figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow. First day of classes but I don't have anything until Tuesday, so I may work out, walk around some, and just immerse myself even more in London. I will try to steal some pics from Morgan, so be patient, or just find me on facebook and they'll be tagged there. I will be remembering my camera in the future. Love you all, thanks for reading this - leave a comment, skype me, whatever =D Cheers!
So Friday night, post blog update and nap, we went out to grab a quick bite and started at a bar called The Lexington up the street. There were wayyyy too many kinds of whiskey (it was, after all, a whiskey bar), and it was also incredibly crowded. Our group had a drink before we left the masses to this place we'd seen called The Hobgoblin. My kind of place - felt like Antarctica (ughhh miss that place), good cheap drinks, and there was a dog in the bar. Who needs health codes when you can bring your loyal four-footed companion with you everywhere? Not London, that's for sure. We had a blast there, even though the music was lame (I asked for Ke$ha, and the guy goes hmm, I may have Q-Tip? NOT THE SAME). From there, we left and headed to Chapel Bar, where there was nobody there but an empty dancefloor calling our name. We danced like crazy for about an hour, they DID have Ke$ha (thank god), and then we swung by Lexington to check it out before heading home.
Saturday was THE day of sight-seeing, and while I dreamed of a sunny warm day to see the sights, we woke up to rain and 37 degrees. Damn. We decided to bundle up and do it anyway, because come on, it's London and we're American tourists with a need for photos and a bad habit of clogging up sidewalks. Morgan and I met up with Kelsey, Maja, Avi, and Christina, and we hopped on our first London bus to go ... well, we weren't really sure. Maybe Big Ben? Possibly Westminster Abbey? We couldn't even see out of the bus since the windows were so foggy, so we just ... got off when Avi thought we were near Hyde Park. And huzzah! We were. That left us ... near Hyde Park. We had a general idea of how to get to Buckingham Palace though, so we forged through the freezing rain with three goals in mind: 1)Stay dry 2)Get food 3)See a lot of shit.
We walked by the Marble Arch near the Hyde Park corner, and then around this ridiculously long brick wall that is one of the exterior walls of the palace complex. When I mean long, it's about a ten minute walk down a block with governmental buildings on one side and a heavily guarded, barb-wired, spiked brick wall on the other. We kept walking, saw some more official looking stuff, turned a corner and - HOLY CRAP! Buckingham Palace! It's amazing, exactly the type of elaborate facades and ornamentation you'd expect from British Royalty. This is probably a good point to pause the blog and say that I, being a complete dumbass, forgot to charge my camera the night before this epic day of sightseeing. There are plenty of photos - Morgan and company took a lot. They just aren't on my computer. Please open a new tab on your web browser, search for "Buckingham Palace" on Google image, and photoshop me in. Voila! We now resume our regularly scheduled blog. (Oh, and the Buckingham Palace surprises aren't over yet .... this is what literature teachers refer to as FORESHADOWING).
We took some obligatory photos in front of the palace, looked at the guards who literally stand frozen - I have to imagine it's an even more mind-numbing job than being the model at Abercrombie. Then we headed out to find food, as we were truly starving. We could see the London Eye through some trees, so we headed in that direction through St. James Park, the large park outside of the palace. Best. Park. Ever. First of all, the squirrels are friendly and cuddly - they will come close to you and try to climb your pant leg if you offer them food. Second, we got some awesome hot chocolate. Third, there are some ridiculous water foul including massive swans, colorful geese, and this little things called coots, which are black birds with white faces and noses that look like masks. (Google Image Search: St. James Park, coots, hot chocolate). This one swan was in love with Morgan and followed him down the entire pond, it was the funniest thing ever. Oh, and apparently, it's apparent to eat swan unless you're a member of the Royal Family. We learned that the hard way.
(Note: we didn't actually eat a swan, they're too damn hard to catch).
After that, we walked through a large plaza and under an archway to find ourselves right by the Horse Guards. As we learned, they are purely ornamentation - just two British guards, sitting on horses, getting paid to do nothing as asshole tourists like myself take pictures next to them. What an EFFICIENT government they have here. We walked down this street, Parliament Street, and found a pub where we stopped for lunch. Very British food, but well-prepared, so we enjoyed it as well as a break from the cold and wet. We left, turned the corner, walked a block and- HOLY CRAP. BIG BEN. It was right in front of us, and truly amazing to see. It was gray and near dusk, so the lighting looked incredibly dramatic - probably a great way to first see it in all its glory. We stood there for awhile soaking it in and taking pictures, then we walked by Wesminster Abbey and the Parliament building. This was all very hit-and-run tourism: we never stopped and went inside somewhere, we just enjoyed the spectacle and then hurried on to the next sight. (Google Image Search: British Horse Guards, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, fish and chips)
We walked across Westminster Bridge with the massive London Eye to our left, and as we were walking (and perhaps even jaywalking) towards it, the lights turned on - it's really beautiful right on the side of the river, and even though it doesn't reopen for the year a couple more days, we are really excited to get to ride it. We kept walking down the Thames, which is one of the most beautiful and romantic walks I've ever had. The sights are incredible - it's a mix of commercial, residential, governmental, old and new, young and old. I think it was standing by the river and soaking in a full 360 of London that it truly me hit how incredible this city is. I know it has only been a few days, but wow - I love it. You can't take two steps without seeing something incredibly historic or exciting.
Our walk continued to take us past more and more amazing things, including the Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern Museum. The Tate Modern is terrifying (please Google Image Search this now). It used to be an old factory, and it has this massive brick tower that looks like something out of 1984. So scary. From the Tate we walked across the Millennium Bridge and thankfully were not killed by Death Eaters. The bridge takes you right to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is the second-largest domed structure in the world. It's also breathtaking, incredible, and ... well I'm running out of adjectives for everything I've seen. We ended this six hour tour with our first Tube ride, which we successfully navigated. Best tourists ever.
So that sounds like a busy day, right? Most people would probably grab a nice dinner, watch a movie, and pass out? Too bad I'm not MOST PEOPLE. (This ends the unnecessarily badass part of Alex's blog). NYU, once again sponsoring our bad decisions, hosted a social event at a wine bar that was basically an excuse to have great beer, meet other NYUers, and start the night of right. It was a blast, even though the appetizers sucked - we met a bunch of people and rounded up a large group to head out for the night. We traveled in a group of maybe 25, which I think we can all agree is WAYYY too big of a group to head out in such a fashion. But there we were, doing it anyway. We took the Tube to Leicester Square, at which point chaos hit. It was pouring rain, the clubs had "member's only" restrictions, and everyone had to pee like Seabiscuit. We ended up going to a number of places and had a pretty good time, it was quite the late night. Lots of dancing, lots of looking for late night buses, some 4am McDonald's, and an AMAZING Skype session with some people back at home. Miss you guys =)
Woke up today pretty late, there was an NYU Bus Tour that I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on (only because we had walked and seen so much yesterday, I was afraid we'd end up hitting the same hot spots - which, well, we did, but it was worth it as we will soon see. FORESHADOWING.) But for the first time EVER in London, THE SUN WAS OUT! It was warm and beautiful outside, and Morgan finally convinced me, so we made a quick lunch and headed down to catch the bus. It was well worth it, just for the information we learned about London. We took the bus by campus, by Regent's Square, down the major shopping area to several of the places we saw yesterday, like Marble Arch, Hyde Park, and the house of the Duke of Wellington. The tour guide was hilarious - she warned the ladies not to show their "naughty bits" at King's Cross Station unless they wanted some money. We saw the Albert Memorial near Hyde Park, several department stores like Harrod's and Lord and Nichol's, and then drove back around the huge brick wall to see Buckingham Palace. This is when, as they say, shit got real.
So the tour guide says she has a great place to take a picture of Big Ben, and it's a very nice-looking establishment, so sure, I'll follow her. I'd already seen the Palace, and it turned out that said place for said picture was on the steps of the large statue outside Buckingham Palace. Great, I think. What a fun statue. As we walk to said statue, I hear several street performers playing a nice acoustic ditty. What a good song, I think to myself. Wait I minute, I say, Alex, you know the words to this song. "You're who I'm thinking of... girl you ain't my runner up..." Turn to my left to look at street performers, and oh my god.
Justin. Bieber.
(blog pause will my head explodes)
(told you the foreshadowing would pay off)
Not some average street performer singing a J-Bieb song, not the amazing karaoke performance that Taylor always does when he's drunk, but the real, live Justin Bieber. Acoustic concert on the steps of the Buckingham Palace statue (which, since I never learned its real name, is now known as the Statue of Bieber). It was truly a magical moment. I should probably pause now to apologize to thousands of years of British history. Yes, all the things I have seen so far in London have been great, and even though they sometimes hide behind corners (looking at you, Big Ben), they have been somewhat expected. But the 15-year-old pop star that sings oh-so-memorable lyrics over oh-so-catchy beats, 10 feet from me, jamming out hardcore?? Truly epic.
Needless to say, we all freaked a bit, but nowhere more than my new best friend (who I don't know her name but was still awesome). She runs up the stairs and just hugs him, and he's a tiny little kid, but she was like .... feeling it. She almost started to cry, I think. She then proceeded to talk to and give her e-mail to his manager, scream at him (several times) "I LOVE YOU!", then, as he walked away to live his life as a celebrity, scream "JUSTIN! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" She was amazing. On the way back to the bus, she realized how much of a hot mess she was (hungover, big sunglasses, loose ponytail, gigantic furry vest that made her look like Yogi Bear), and she yelled "WHO LET ME LOOK LIKE THIS?!" I love her.
(Google Image Search: Justin Bieber. Then feel a little guilty, because he's really too young for you think he's that cute.)
Following Biebergate, as it's now known, we finished the bus tour, stopping again at St. Paul's and going to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, the Tower of London, London's East End, and a few other places. It was a busy busy day, and we finally took a night off (thank God). After dinner at Pizza Express with Morgan, Kelly, Kelsey, and Christina, Morgan and I booked our FIRST TRIP EVER! (Actually, I'll probably go to Paris beforehand, but this is the first one we've paid for). We are going to Barcelona, Spain for Carnival on Feb. 11 to Feb. 14. It's the Spanish version of Mardi Gras, and we can only hope that it's incredible. Me, Morgan, Kelly, and Athena - should be a trip worth blogging about.
Well, that's a wrap for now. I still need to Skype some people, organize a bit, and figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow. First day of classes but I don't have anything until Tuesday, so I may work out, walk around some, and just immerse myself even more in London. I will try to steal some pics from Morgan, so be patient, or just find me on facebook and they'll be tagged there. I will be remembering my camera in the future. Love you all, thanks for reading this - leave a comment, skype me, whatever =D Cheers!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Day Two: Bangers and Mash vs. Winston's Bitches
Cheerio! It's 5pm in London, which means it's basically nighttime and has been getting darker for the past two hours. When they say London is gray in the winter, they are not lying. But I'm really starting to like it here. It's weird - it sort of doesn't feel like you're in London sometimes, we haven't seen some of the major landmarks yet and we basically stay in our little Nido/King's Cross/ULU bubble, but at the same time it's all completely new and everyone has an accent and you almost die every time you cross the street - traffic switching directions is a bitch.
Anyways, Day One's adventures took us to a bar called Miller's where they DIDN'T have food but DID have the promise of karaoke later. They also told us about a place called The Flying Scotsmen where, to be polite, ladies remove their undergarments for money. We were not interested. So we found this place close by called the Big Chill, it's a bar/club that also happened to have food, so we ate there. (Side note - so far, British food is about what they tell you to expect. It's all pub fare, everything's fried, and either it has no flavor or way too much. Hopefully more time here will allow me to find some decent places to eat). We then went back to Miller's where we had been LIED to - karaoke is usually on Wednesdays, but had been postponed due to an important football game. Not soccer. Football. We enjoyed another beer and left, as I was actually falling asleep at the bar from pure exhaustion.
Day Two saw us heading to NYU's campus for the first time. We slept through the walking tour (which was really just a way to show people how to get there - silly people who can't read maps!) and made our way there just fine, walking past some cool London architecture, some cool looking restaurants and pubs, and a few parks. London feels like a bunch of different American cities all at once - some parts are like DC, others like Boston, etc. The funny part is that London has been around WAY longer, so I always feel guilty making that kind of comparison. DC and Boston are like London, and not the other way around.
Lunch and orientation were pretty typical and uneventful. I keep meeting and remeeting people, I met someone today who I hadn't seen since Welcome Week freshman year. Everyone's fun so far, it's so much like freshman year again -- Hi! What's your name? Here's my major! Oh you're from LA - let me list every person I've ever met from LA and see if you know any of them! You don't? WEIRD! -- and I think it will be interesting to see who I stick around with throughout the semester. Definitely not Morgan, that kid is effing weird.
After that, we walked around the campus area a bit and then headed to the Pub Quiz! Yes, at NYU London, the school sponsors your bad decisions. Over several pitchers of cider and beer, we answered questions about British history, pop culture, and the like. My team, the Bangers and Mash, ended up winning (God knows how that happened), beating our closest rivals, Winston's Bitches. For winning, we got a gift bag from which I took a shot glass, an umbrella with a map of the Tube on it, a pen decorated like the British Flag, and socks with a map of the Tube on them as well (Tube socks, get it, hahaha I'm so damn funny). Mildly buzzed and high off our win, we decided to do our first London pub crawl! We tried The Rocket (aka the British version of Still), but it was too crowded, and since we are legal to drink anywhere, waiting to get in somewhere just seems dumb. So, we went to a place called Skinner's Arms. This was no regular bar, more like a nice library where old men come to drink scotch and discuss fiscal responsibility. But, pints were cheap, so we enjoyed one before heading on to... McGlynn's! McGlynn's is like drinking in your grandmother's living room. It was decorated like a home, smelled of some vague, nebulous meaty soup, and was rather harshly lit. Again though, pints were cheap, so we had another. We ended up at Miller's again, where we enjoyed a final pint and some music videos (UPDATE: Britain has Ke$ha. Life is good).
Today started on campus again, we got some truly awful sandwiches for lunch (one legitimately tasted like black licorice) and the spent ungodly amounts of money on books. 150 pounds is a LOT of money for books, thanks a lot NYU. Then we ventured off down a new road to grocery shop at this place called Sainsbury's. Grocery stores in London are a magical place, where the eggs are unrefrigerated, mayonnaise is considered salad dressing, and all the children are adorable gingers with adorable accents that are oh so easily coerced into letting you kidnap them if you offer them a chocolate wafer. (UPDATE: I did not kidnap any children, please do not call Interpol. Though the temptation was there. If "ifs" were gifts, then everyday would be Christmas filled with wonderful British gingerchildren).
That's most of Day 3 up to now - I feel a nap coming on before more pub crawls and pints of delicious beer and cider. Expect pics tomorrow night, we're hitting up Big Ben, the London Eye, and all other very touristy things tomorrow as it's our first wide open day. Hope you're enjoying the blog - facebook me, skype me, comment if you want! Miss you all!
Anyways, Day One's adventures took us to a bar called Miller's where they DIDN'T have food but DID have the promise of karaoke later. They also told us about a place called The Flying Scotsmen where, to be polite, ladies remove their undergarments for money. We were not interested. So we found this place close by called the Big Chill, it's a bar/club that also happened to have food, so we ate there. (Side note - so far, British food is about what they tell you to expect. It's all pub fare, everything's fried, and either it has no flavor or way too much. Hopefully more time here will allow me to find some decent places to eat). We then went back to Miller's where we had been LIED to - karaoke is usually on Wednesdays, but had been postponed due to an important football game. Not soccer. Football. We enjoyed another beer and left, as I was actually falling asleep at the bar from pure exhaustion.
Day Two saw us heading to NYU's campus for the first time. We slept through the walking tour (which was really just a way to show people how to get there - silly people who can't read maps!) and made our way there just fine, walking past some cool London architecture, some cool looking restaurants and pubs, and a few parks. London feels like a bunch of different American cities all at once - some parts are like DC, others like Boston, etc. The funny part is that London has been around WAY longer, so I always feel guilty making that kind of comparison. DC and Boston are like London, and not the other way around.
Lunch and orientation were pretty typical and uneventful. I keep meeting and remeeting people, I met someone today who I hadn't seen since Welcome Week freshman year. Everyone's fun so far, it's so much like freshman year again -- Hi! What's your name? Here's my major! Oh you're from LA - let me list every person I've ever met from LA and see if you know any of them! You don't? WEIRD! -- and I think it will be interesting to see who I stick around with throughout the semester. Definitely not Morgan, that kid is effing weird.
After that, we walked around the campus area a bit and then headed to the Pub Quiz! Yes, at NYU London, the school sponsors your bad decisions. Over several pitchers of cider and beer, we answered questions about British history, pop culture, and the like. My team, the Bangers and Mash, ended up winning (God knows how that happened), beating our closest rivals, Winston's Bitches. For winning, we got a gift bag from which I took a shot glass, an umbrella with a map of the Tube on it, a pen decorated like the British Flag, and socks with a map of the Tube on them as well (Tube socks, get it, hahaha I'm so damn funny). Mildly buzzed and high off our win, we decided to do our first London pub crawl! We tried The Rocket (aka the British version of Still), but it was too crowded, and since we are legal to drink anywhere, waiting to get in somewhere just seems dumb. So, we went to a place called Skinner's Arms. This was no regular bar, more like a nice library where old men come to drink scotch and discuss fiscal responsibility. But, pints were cheap, so we enjoyed one before heading on to... McGlynn's! McGlynn's is like drinking in your grandmother's living room. It was decorated like a home, smelled of some vague, nebulous meaty soup, and was rather harshly lit. Again though, pints were cheap, so we had another. We ended up at Miller's again, where we enjoyed a final pint and some music videos (UPDATE: Britain has Ke$ha. Life is good).
Today started on campus again, we got some truly awful sandwiches for lunch (one legitimately tasted like black licorice) and the spent ungodly amounts of money on books. 150 pounds is a LOT of money for books, thanks a lot NYU. Then we ventured off down a new road to grocery shop at this place called Sainsbury's. Grocery stores in London are a magical place, where the eggs are unrefrigerated, mayonnaise is considered salad dressing, and all the children are adorable gingers with adorable accents that are oh so easily coerced into letting you kidnap them if you offer them a chocolate wafer. (UPDATE: I did not kidnap any children, please do not call Interpol. Though the temptation was there. If "ifs" were gifts, then everyday would be Christmas filled with wonderful British gingerchildren).
That's most of Day 3 up to now - I feel a nap coming on before more pub crawls and pints of delicious beer and cider. Expect pics tomorrow night, we're hitting up Big Ben, the London Eye, and all other very touristy things tomorrow as it's our first wide open day. Hope you're enjoying the blog - facebook me, skype me, comment if you want! Miss you all!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Day One: Alex Needs Assistance
Greetings from Bri'ain! I can't fully convey the wonderful glottal stop that one hear when a Bri'ish person says their nationality but it is truly delightful! The past few hours have been absolute madness - I honestly can't figure out how long I've been up, what meal I need to eat, and what friggin time it is. Here's how I broke it down - right now, it's about 12 noon from the place I left from, but it's 6pm here in London, and it feels about midnight. Plus, I never really slept on the plane, so it still feels like Tuesday and not Wednesday, but I digress. So far, London is incredible. Besides the lack of sleep, flying over was great - I watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, which is cloudy with a chance of maybe becoming my favorite movie ever. Also watched Zombieland, a personal favorite.
So we land in the middle of some snow in London, which meant that we hovered around the airport for an extra hour and then had to wait for planes to get de-iced in order to get off at our gate. We were a bit late, but excited enough that it didn't matter. A big group of people I knew (and people they knew, etc.) gathered our luggage and got on the shuttle to take us to NYU London, which lasted about an hour. The road signs here are AMAZING.
-Yield = Give Way
-Merge = Rejoin the Carriageway
-Detour = Alternate Route Due to Refurbishment
We arrived at NIDO, our dorm, and went through a ridiculously long sign in process that didn't include lunch. Morgan and I moved into our room that was rather small but cozy, I think it'll be nice. We unpacked and then I took a much-neeeded shower - I had about as much grease in my hair as Pauly D. Shower felt great, we then met back up with the group and did some walking around the area.
First off, the obligatory photo of London's infamous Underground aka "The Tube". Every tourist is required to take one, and I hold tightly to my tourist cliches. Then, we went to King's Cross Station and St. Pancras Terminal, two massive train stations that were absolutely incredible to see.
Of course, anyone with a heart and two eyes knows that King's Cross Station is the home of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, which we of course took a disgusting amount of pictures of. Morgan took the one of me in front of it, so expect it later once he uploads his - here is a perfectly decent picture of it without me however, you could probably search for "Platform 9 and 3/4" on Google Image and get the exact same picture, but screw it, I'm in London dammit!
After that we went and got international cell phones, I have a sweet ass Nokia phone that, yes, 2003 called and wants back, but whatevs, it has TEXT MESSAGING! And FM RADIO! And (get this omg omg omg) A FLASHLIGHT! Damn technology, why you so good to me? If you want to text me sweet nothings, I receive them for free, so just hit up 0044-7900-230845. Please kiss me thru the phone regularly, my peoples. After that, we went to a grocery store to buy some wine, where I needed ... assistance. Self-check outs in Britain aren't cool like they are back home, they're confusing and have too many slots for credit cards and make weird beeping noises and I had to have the guy help me like 5 times. I'm also semi-delirious from lack of sleep, so even simple activities are a bit taxing on the ole brain. Tonight we are going to enjoy some wine, then head out to our first pub for dinner and our Quest for the Best Beer in Britain. Then.... sleeeeeeeeeeep. See you all in my dreams kiddos - expect more updates tomorrow =D
So we land in the middle of some snow in London, which meant that we hovered around the airport for an extra hour and then had to wait for planes to get de-iced in order to get off at our gate. We were a bit late, but excited enough that it didn't matter. A big group of people I knew (and people they knew, etc.) gathered our luggage and got on the shuttle to take us to NYU London, which lasted about an hour. The road signs here are AMAZING.
-Yield = Give Way
-Merge = Rejoin the Carriageway
-Detour = Alternate Route Due to Refurbishment
We arrived at NIDO, our dorm, and went through a ridiculously long sign in process that didn't include lunch. Morgan and I moved into our room that was rather small but cozy, I think it'll be nice. We unpacked and then I took a much-neeeded shower - I had about as much grease in my hair as Pauly D. Shower felt great, we then met back up with the group and did some walking around the area.
First off, the obligatory photo of London's infamous Underground aka "The Tube". Every tourist is required to take one, and I hold tightly to my tourist cliches. Then, we went to King's Cross Station and St. Pancras Terminal, two massive train stations that were absolutely incredible to see.
Of course, anyone with a heart and two eyes knows that King's Cross Station is the home of Platform Nine and Three Quarters, which we of course took a disgusting amount of pictures of. Morgan took the one of me in front of it, so expect it later once he uploads his - here is a perfectly decent picture of it without me however, you could probably search for "Platform 9 and 3/4" on Google Image and get the exact same picture, but screw it, I'm in London dammit!
After that we went and got international cell phones, I have a sweet ass Nokia phone that, yes, 2003 called and wants back, but whatevs, it has TEXT MESSAGING! And FM RADIO! And (get this omg omg omg) A FLASHLIGHT! Damn technology, why you so good to me? If you want to text me sweet nothings, I receive them for free, so just hit up 0044-7900-230845. Please kiss me thru the phone regularly, my peoples. After that, we went to a grocery store to buy some wine, where I needed ... assistance. Self-check outs in Britain aren't cool like they are back home, they're confusing and have too many slots for credit cards and make weird beeping noises and I had to have the guy help me like 5 times. I'm also semi-delirious from lack of sleep, so even simple activities are a bit taxing on the ole brain. Tonight we are going to enjoy some wine, then head out to our first pub for dinner and our Quest for the Best Beer in Britain. Then.... sleeeeeeeeeeep. See you all in my dreams kiddos - expect more updates tomorrow =D
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