My Weekend Off

In light of having come down with only-God-knows-what I decided to take it quite easy this weekend. And when I say quite easy, I mean I did little more than walk to and from the cafeteria on Thursday and Friday. I don't want you to get the impression that I was lazy, because I did manage to watch three seasons of QI, a British quiz/comedy show and read half of a book. As you can imagine, those activities were very trying.

Saturday, September 29th

Woke up feeling surprisingly well, rather early as well. Grabbed a hearty "English" breakfast from the cafeteria, walked to the Tube station and took the District towards Westminster. I think that it is worth noting that I was in a rather good mood, and you'll soon find out the reason. After about fifteen minutes of sitting on the Tube (by the way, riding it is no longer a novelty, it's more of a chore) I got off at Westminster, which is where you alight if you want to see the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey - the three things that everybody things of when they think of London. It just so happened that my excursion was on a Saturday and the tourists were as thick as ever. It's funny how you see the stereotypes ring true at tourist attractions. The loud and overweight American (with an American flag t-shirt), the Japanese tourists who look like they're on an elementary school field trip, and the French people, just being so, French. I'm slowly finding that tourists are far more entertaining than whatever they're gawking at.

Even though I've been in London for over a month now, I still don't know the city as well as I would like (in my defense, it is enormous), but I do know the Westminster/Whitehall area like the back...like the back of an overused simile. I took the shortcut towards St. James Park, it's this beautiful and majestic Whitehall street that is always deserted because people are scared of the security guards. Oh, now I should probably tell you where I was heading and I was rather looking forward to it. I decided after a week of being under the weather and spending less than 15 quid, I deserved a little treat, and that treat was the Churchill Museum and War Rooms.

The price of admission was 10 quid, but honestly I would have paid 20 quid for the museum, it was that well-done. I was wide-eyed and excited the entire four hours I was exploring the place. It was less of a museum visit and more of a religious pilgrimage. The war rooms (located underneath nearly two feet of steel and cement underneath various govt. buildings) were amazing. You have to realize, the entire complex, which was top-secret, was sealed off and forgotten about from 1946 until the 1980s, so everything is wonderfully preserved and authentic. I got to see the actual room, and the radio equipment, from which Churchill gave his wartime radio addresses that rallied the British people against Nazism. The bookworms have their Jane Austen and Wordsworth tours, the art buffs have their National Gallery, and the theatre nuts have the West End. But I get the Churchill Museum.

The enormous section devoted to the "Churchill Museum" was spectacular. I've been to the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, The Imperial War Museum, The London Museum, The Docklands Museum, The V&A Museum, The Natural History Museum, Kensington Palace, Blenheim Palace, The Tower Bridge Museum, and The British Museum (sorry, that was intended to be more of a manifesto than showing off), and I have to say that hands down, The Churchill Museum is the best designed museum in London. The manner in which it is laid out, the artifacts, and the use of media couldn't have been done better. Surprisingly, it wasn't based on hero-worship, instead it was based on historical objectivity, which I think does a fantastic job of honoring the memory of the greatest human being of the 20th century. I'll summarize it for you. He was a war-hero when he was 25, he invented the tank (which brought an end to trench warfare), he was the only one that identified Hitler as a threat, he personally rallied the British people against the Nazis (supposedly 80 percent wanted to make peace with Hitler after Dunkirk), he won the war, he identified the Soviet Union as a threat to freedom in 1946, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he was noted as a brilliant painter, he was happily married for 54 years, he was knighted, and the U.S. Congress, NATO, and the U.N. all closed down on the day that he died. An amazing man, which is a bit of an understatement.

Sunday, September 30th

Okay, I'll admit that I took it easy today. I woke up rather late, grabbed some mediocre food from the cafeteria, and then headed for Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. I basically just moved from bench to bench, alternating between reading a book and people watching. The people were far more entertaining than the book, and the book is good too. The families are just so picturesque, all the time. All wearing designer clothes that appear to have never been wrinkled in their entire lifespan, all with one or two designer children, but the thing that is a bit striking is that all of them seem to be smiling and happy. Perhaps it is because it is Sunday and the sun was actually out today, but I tend to think that the Brits just seem to be a happier people. I know they're miserable when they're working 55 hours at their desk job in Canary Wharf during the week, but with their families, these people are genuinely happy.

Matthew vs. Fever, Man vs. Wild

Monday, September 24th

Mainly just went to class today. My History of London class continues to disappoint but my British Politics class is still going strong. In fact, today was our first evening session with John Hayes MP (Member of Parliament) which was more exciting than anything. How lucky am I to be taking a British Politics class that is taught once a week by an actual Member of Parliament. The comparison would be a class taught by a congressman or senator back home. This session was on campus, but soon they will be held in Parliament itself, and obviously I'm really looking forward to that. Today was also the day that I came down with my mystery ailment, high fever, delirium, pounding headache, wobbly vision, and horrible fatigue. So I went to bed at 8, and woke up 14 hours later.

Tuesday, September 25th

Woke up at 10 feeling well, wrote my Museums and Galleries paper all day. Went to Museums and Galleries. Once more the mystery ailment returned, so I skipped dinner (probably not the best idea) and spent the rest of the day in bed. Very exciting I know.

Wednesday, September 26th

I think today was one of my favorites thus far. Number one, it was very cold, which was nice. Went to the National Portrait Gallery with Museums and Galleries class, which I actually really enjoyed. The portraits on the top floor read like a historical narrative, letting you see the faces of the movers and shakers of the last 500 years of Western/World History. It was wonderful being able to recognize half of their names. Then we were forced to explore the ground floor, which I didn't like at all. It was a section devoted to the rock stars, celebrities, and fashion "icons" of the last ten years. I couldn't help thinking, "do these people realize that in one hundred, wait, twenty years, one or two of these people will be viewed as worthy of having their portrait in this museum?" I'm sorry, I'm with the Queen and Prince Charles on this one, I'll take the historical and traditional over modernity any day. Maybe I've spent too much time in history books.

After the National Portrait Gallery I had to head to Canary Wharf for my History of London class. It took about an hour and a half to get there, and has a much different feel from Kensington. I'm still struck by the amount of difference and uniqueness between London neighborhoods. Canary Wharf is an area that was once the maritime hub for London, but in the age of supertankers, the docks were no longer useful. During the Thatcher administration, banks and financial institutions put in motion plans to demolish all of the residences that still remained and replace them with skyscrapers. Well the plan went through, and now you've got an area with 400 years of history paved over by 15 year old streets and shiny buildings. I know, I know, I'm old-fashioned. One of the few structures that survived the building project houses the Docklands Museum. It essentially traces the 2,000 year history of the Thames and London (Londinium/Lundenwic/Lundenburgh) as a port city. Most of the exhibits were either geared towards children or old men who build model ships, and because I don't fit into either of those categories I think I wasn't as interested as I should have been. You can only ooh and ah over so many rusty nails. And it certainly didn't help that my mystery ailment returned half-way through the compass exhibition. Because of that I had to cut my visit short and head back to my dorm for some needed rest. And when I say "head back", I mean walk a mile to the Tube station, walk up 150 stairs to transfer to the District line, walk the mile to my dorm, and then climb another 100 stairs. That actually doesn't sound too bad, unless you've got a delirious fever, the chills, and a pounding headache. I'm making it sound worse than it was, but I'm glad I made it back.

On returning to my room I rested for about an hour, and even though I didn't feel like it at all, I made myself get up and go to a church with my roommate Brandon, his girlfriend, and Brandon's friend Tim. Why church on a Wednesday night (well I guess that doesn't sound so far-fetched)? Because Bear Grylls was speaking. Yes, the guy from Man vs. Wild, it was one of the best times I've had out here. There was free delicious food and free decent wine before his talk, and free dessert afterwards (mind you, this is in London, where nothing is inexpensive, let alone free). I soon found out that the church (Holy Trinity Brompton) was Bear's home church, and he wasn't going to just be talking about eating disgusting things in weird locations, he actually had some great things to say about his Christian faith as well. It was "inspirational", hearing this come from the guy with the number one show on cable, and who has climbed Everest and mountains deemed "unclimbable". And because of that, when he talked about life as a series of mountains to climb, it wasn't cliche, it was poignant.

Afterwards, I met up with the Boston University girls (and Steve) at the Imperial and had a great time. Turns out I might be playing the role of tour guide for them this weekend, because they haven't seen much of London, and I've been everywhere twice. As of the moment, those are my only plans for the weekend. I'm just hoping to take it easy and get rid of this fever thing, because while it would be interesting to see the differences between British and American health care, I don't want to learn about it first hand.

Oxbridge

Friday, September 21

Today was my "eventful" trip to Oxford. Tim and I got up early and headed to grab some breakfast in the cafeteria before our day trip, which turned out to be a mistake. When we got to the Underground station to head to Paddington, we got on the Tube only to find out that the train in front of us was disabled on the tracks. Mind you, this was rush hour, so it was no surprise that chaos ensued. Everybody ran towards the street, hailing every cab and filling up every bus, Paddington station was three miles away and our train was leaving in twenty-five minutes. We walked/jogged the whole way in about thirty minutes, so we were late and exhausted. The tickets I'd purchased were now useless so we had to shell out another 17 quid to get to Oxford. Let's just say it wasn't a good start to the day. The train ride was about an hour and a half, and we finally arrived in Oxford at noon (an hour later than we were supposed to).

Our first stop was Carfax Tower. Essentially, you pay two quid to climb up 99 steps of the most claustrophobic spiral staircase you've ever seen. I'm pretty sure it was built for people that were five feet tall and five stone, but the view from the top made it all worth it. The tower is one of the tallest buildings in Oxford and afforded us a wonderful view of the city. After Carfax Tower we headed to Christ Church and Magdalen colleges to see their quadrangles and cathedrals. The campuses were beautiful, I was trying to think of a more descriptive adjective, but that will have to do. We then headed to the Bodleian Library (the oldest library in the world) and the Radcliffe Camera, whose architecture was picture-worthy in the least and majestic at best. But soon we realized that we had really seen all that Oxford had to offer. Then we headed to the bus station and took the hour-long bus ride to Woodstock. After getting off the bus, we set our sights on Blenheim Palace.

As you've probably heard, I'm quite the fan of Winston Churchill. So before I came out here I compiled a list of Churchill-related places to visit: his estate in Kent, the World War Two war rooms, etc. I had placed Blenheim Palace on the list, partly because I had heard that it was impressive but mainly because it was the place that Churchill was born (his mother went into labor at a party she was a attending there). I thought the 13 quid admission was a bit steep, and then I walked through the gate. I am sure that the view of the palace and its grounds will be one of the most beautiful and amazing things I will ever see, it will probably even beat out seeing my first born child. The Grand Bridge, the countless hectares of rolling green hills, the Column of Victory, The Great Court, and the palace itself - it was an experience not easily transcribed. There were two excellent exhibitions on the Duke of Marlborough and his direct descendant, Winston Churchill. It was very informative, and seeing everything from the military uniform of Churchill to the side bedroom where he was born was akin to a religious experience.

After walking five miles on the grounds we finally had to leave and head back to Oxford. Again, we were quite exhausted. Our train left at midnight, so we had to burn about 6 hours in a relatively boring town. So we hid out in a quiet pub, well, it was quiet for about 3 hours. But Oxford is a college town, and it was Friday night, soon that quiet pub was converted into a rowdy pub, which was a shame. So we were forced to wander the streets for the next two hours in order to find a semblance of quietude because we were utterly exhausted. We both fell asleep the minute we sat down on the train and woke up in London. We arrived at 1am, so the Tube was closed, and after waiting for the bus for half an hour, we decided to walk home. We made it about three blocks and hailed a cab, we barely made it up the stairs to our room and I passed out at about 2am.

Saturday, September 24th

After four hours of sleep, we headed for the Victoria bus station. I slept on the bus the whole way to Cambridge, we got in at about 10:30. Okay, I know I've now only been to three cities outside London, but by far, Cambridge was my runaway favourite. We started our day at Trinity College, with a gorgeous quad and chapel. It turns out it is the wealthiest college in the world, with alumni such as Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Lord Tennyson and Prince Charles. We continued our two-day college tour by going to yet another Magdalen College (as with everything else, it was more enjoyable than its Oxford counterpart), and then onto King's College, which had the best quad and cathedral I've seen (better than Westminster Abbey). It was truly a treat. We then headed to the River Cam to see if we could catch a punting tour. You can rent your own punt (boats that are built on the same idea as gondolas), but we figured that would just be humiliating, so we managed to get a punting tour guide. The ride was relaxing (when we weren't colliding with those uncoordinated tourists who rented their own) and very enjoyable. After the ride, we sneaked onto the grounds of Trinity College in order to sit by the river and watch those same tourists push their boats around in circles. We did this until sundown and then headed off for the bus station on the other side of town. Arrived back into London (exhausted mind you) around 11, went to bed at midnight and slept until noon Sunday (I earned it).

Sunday, September 23rd

As I said before, I slept until noon. The power has been out in my room since Friday, so I've basically spent the whole day in the Common Room downstairs with my laptop plugged into the wall. Very uneventful day, only ventured out for lunch, dinner, and coffee. Will probably turn in early on account of still being relatively worn out from walking about 25 miles over the past two days (I've got the blisters on my feet to prove it). The next event in my schedule is Ireland in a week and half, it will be my first time out of England, and I am really looking forward to it. Cheers!

This past week

Tomorrow morning I'm heading off for the weekend with my friend Tim for Oxford and Cambridge, which I'm sure will be wonderful, so I figured I'd might as well document my relatively uneventful week, because I'm sure it would be quite overshadowed by Oxbridge if I waited until Sunday to write about it.

Monday, September 17th

Class from noon to half-four. I actually look forward to going to my British Politics class, because nearly everything the professor lectures about is all brand-new to me. My History of London class is interesting, but the professor (who is actually a Canadian, not a Yank) is not all-that knowledgeable and a bit condescending - which is an odd combination. Went to the Imperial with Tim and his friend Rena later that night. Met a German grad student who was trying to hone his Californian accent, he said words along the lines of "dude" and when I shook his hand to say goodbye he insisted that I give him a high-five. Also met his miniature British sidekick from Birmingham. He was, let's say, excitable, because "spaz" is no longer politically correct. It was interesting because he looked as if he could easily be 15 years old, but was working on his thesis. I'm just amazed at the different and dynamic characters that I'm meeting out here.

Tuesday, September 18th

Museums and Galleries class in the afternoon. Judging from the manner in which our Italian professor treats us, I am beginning to understand why Italy was the birthplace of fascism. Spent the evening reading and went to bed early.

Wednesday, September 19th

Imperial War Museum with Museums and Galleries class from 11 to 2. Upon my second visit I'm beginning to believe that it is my favorite museum. Although I did have to restrain myself from accosting and/or punching the two American teenagers who decided that it was appropriate to crack jokes to one another in the Holocaust exhibit. Went to see a few medieval churches in north London with History of London class from 3 to 5. They were unimpressive, lacked any interesting history aside from the fact that they were very old, and were honestly quite creepy. But I still enjoy exploring new parts of this wonderful city, so I'm not complaining at all. Came back pretty exhausted from having been walking for ten hours, went to the Imperial for a pint with Tim and then came back here and read until I fell asleep. My bed time, evenings and nights are beginning to resemble those of the elderly.

Thursday, September 20th

Let's just say I took it easy. Woke up early and stayed in my dorm all day, only venturing to the cafeteria. Luckily Tim persuaded me to come to a play with him in the West End. We saw Spamalot, which is a musical "lovingly ripped off" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was absolutely fantastic. For some reason I've always had an aversion to musicals and theater in general, but Spamalot certainly did a lot to change my mind. It was hilarious, witty, entertaining, but most of all, a very good time (it was definitely worth the 25 pound half-price ticket). And that brings me to the present, I'm off to get a good night's sleep so I'll be ready for the 9:30 train to Oxford. Cheers!

Hello all! I never quite know how to start these things, so I'll just jump right in.

Wednesday, September 12th

Today was a museum day, that is for sure. I woke up early and went to the V&A to meet my Museums and Galleries class. It was much more interesting the second time around, it is wonderful having a professor for a tour guide. It was odd, because the first time I walked through the plaster cast galleries it was a bit of a joke to me, but this time it was more awe-inspiring than anything. And hearing the stories behind a lot of the artifacts I'd seen before was very interesting.

I had to leave early in order to meet my History of London class at St. Paul's cathedral. We walked through the area northeast of the cathedral, where all of the buildings (save a for a few churches) are less than fifty years old because that entire neighborhood was destroyed during the Blitz. The destruction gave city planners a blank canvas, they installed a highway and an enormous complex called Barbican. I suppose it was supposed to be an architectural and residential experiment, but when all you can see is steel and cold cement, it feels a bit like a dystopia from science fiction.

Within the area of Barbican was the London Museum. Which, while it lacked artifacts, was very informative and worth the free admission. It only had a few small exhibits, so I only spent an hour there and then hiked three miles to the nearest Tube station that wasn't closed. Went to the Imperial with Tim and talked to the employees for about three hours about annoying Americans, and then turned in for the night.

Thursday, September 13th

Woke up early and hopped on the Tube at Kensington High Street for Paddington train station. Caught the 10 o'clock train to Bath after waiting for about an hour because it was delayed. The train ride was surprisingly comfortable and enjoyable, I had a table and four seats to myself, and the rolling English countryside provided the entertainment. I arrived in Bath at about noon. Walked to my hostel and found out that check-in started at 2, so I explored Bath for the next two hours. And that was when I realized that there was going to be a problem. In that short amount of time I had traversed the city south to north, east to west, saw all of the free sights, and managed to take a short nap in the Circus. Doing all of that in such a short amount of time would have been fantastic if I had a train ticket for London that night. The problem was the fact that I had booked three nights in the hostel and my train ticket wasn't good until Sunday. So after I finally checked in, I claimed my bed, made a four-day friend, and took a nap until sundown. After my nap I decided I should do some more exploring, maybe there was some hidden nook or cranny that would justify four days in a tourist town. You have to realize that only hours earlier the streets were packed with old people, and I mean proper old people - canes, wheelchairs, white hair, and fantastic cataract sunglasses - all from Arizona mind you. But it was 7:00 and the streets and walkways were empty, every store was closed, and I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I tried to find a pub or restaurant that wasn't closed.

After about an hour I finally found some "cheap" fish and chips (5 pounds/$10). I returned to my hostel dorm room with a half-full stomach and Making History by Stephen Fry from Waterstones. I talked to Natalie (my four-day friend I met at the hostel) for a few hours, and then around 10, all hell broke loose. Our room was right above the pub, which happened to be a very popular pub, for loud, drunk, and obnoxious English students. Let's just say, that if I was the mayor of Bath, it would be a felony to have Karaoke past midnight.

Friday, September 14th

Woke up early and went on the free Bath walking tour. Which was long (three hours) and worth the free admission, the modern history of Bath is built on gossip and speculation - not really my thing. I ate lunch at a beautiful (and cheap) Indian restaurant that was housed in a Georgian ballroom, which was enjoyable, well, as enjoyable as eating by yourself at a sit-down restaurant can be. Then I went to the Roman Baths, which at 10 pounds/$20 was a bargain for how amazing they were. I spent four hours just wandering with my audioguide, which was wonderful because it was Bill Bryson (a fantastic American travel journalist). The enormity, beauty and antiquity of the entire complex was surreal and awesome (in the proper sense of the word). It was by far the highlight of my time in Bath.

I then booked a day tour for Saturday, then took off for a beautiful park on the outskirts of town to read my recently purchased book. Later that night in the hostel, while lying in bed, I overheard a conversation taking place across the room...
Female: "So where are you from?"
Male: "Seattle."
Female: "No way! I'm from Tacoma!"
Me: "Me too!"
You have to admit, that's pretty crazy. We actually ended up chatting for five or six hours after we found a quiet pub away from our ridiculous hostel. They were wonderful and interesting people, Phil was getting his doctorate in Atmospheric Chemistry and Jackie was traversing Europe for the next four months. It really is a shame that I'll never see them again, they took off the next morning.

Saturday, September 15th

Day tour (8:00-18:00): Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock, Castle Combe, and the Cotswolds.

The best money I've spent over here. An absolute blast, even though it was just eight old couples and me, playing the role of fill-in grandson. Stonehenge was better than I expected. Avebury was surreal. Lacock was a weird little tourist village where I wasted two hours and ten pounds on a sandwich. Castle Combe was...quaint. And the Cotswolds countryside was to die for. Sorry for the summarizing, but if you've read this far, you're probably glad I did so. Upon return to Bath went out to dinner with Natalie, and then went to bed.

Sunday, September 16th

Woke up early, checked out, and then sat in various parks for five hours waiting for my train to come. Took the 14:00 train back to London Paddington. And that's about it.

So what's the verdict on Bath? It was enjoyable, I really liked meeting Natalie, Phil and Jackie. But I definitely did not need to spend four days in the city, there's only one-day's worth of activities. To give you an idea of how much I had to do, I finished all six-hundred pages of Making History before I got back to London.

Let's see what I'm doing next. This weekend, Tim and I are going to try to hit Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) in two day trips. And then in two weeks the two of us will be heading to Ireland for a few days. Good stuff.

Tower Bridge Tour and Thames Walk

My original plan for posting was to wait for a good amount of things to happen and then summarize it. But here it is Tuesday, and the only day "worth" writing about is Sunday.

On the weekends, the cafeteria at the Richmond Kensington campus is closed, so we're all forced to improvise in the most expensive neighborhood in one of the most expensive cities in the world. The cheapest thing you can buy is an unsatisfying and bland sandwich for three pounds ($6). And a decent take away lunch will set you back about 8 pounds ($16). So needless to say, when you hear about two pound fifty fish and chips across town, the half hour trip is actually worth it. And that is exactly what my friend Tim and I did on Sunday. We took the Tube across central London from Gloucester Road to the Tower, and walked about a mile, for a five dollar meal. After we ate two servings of fish and chips (mind you, it was the only thing we were going to eat all day), we headed off for the Tower Bridge. I've been in London for two weeks, I've been to Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, The V&A, The Imperial War Museum, and The Natural History Museum, and I haven't paid a pence for any of it. So it was hard, but Tim coaxed me into spending six pounds for the Tower Bridge exhibition and tour - and it was money well spent. We took an elevator to the top of the bridge and got to walk back and forth on the walkways, the view of the Thames and the London skyline was captivating and surreal - I'll be honest, it still hasn't sunk in that I'm actually here.

So after two hours of video presentations and placards, Tim and I walked along the south bank of the Thames. We accidentally stumbled into an enormous "Oyster and Seafood Festival" (I always thought oysters were included in the seafood category) where thousands of people were carrying around plates piled with odorous, but delicious-looking shrimp, prawns, clams, and oysters. So after fighting through the crowds and horrible cover bands we made it onto a street where we could actually breathe. We then walked about two miles along the Thames (which is clogged with debris, visible pollution, and disgusting seawater) to the Tate Modern, and there we crossed the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral. Then after hiking the mile to the Tube station we were finally on our way home. As with all of my other London experiences thus far, it was exhausting, yet very rewarding.

Let's see, what else? Oh, last night I went to a fantastic traditional pub, the Queen's Arms, with a few of my Boston University friends. And from there we headed to a ridiculously swanky and trendy bar on Queen's Gate Terrace. It was one of those places where the pints cost eight pounds, but luckily my mate John bought the round. It was quite nice, I actually got to know a few British people (as opposed to Americans for a change) pretty well and had them judge my accent, I don't know if they were just being nice, but I think I passed (at least it's near impossible to being as bad as Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent in Mary Poppins).

So that's about it for the last three days. These last few days have mainly revolved around class and the like, but the next two days will be far more eventful - although I probably won't be able to update until Sunday. Tomorrow I will be splitting up four hours of "class time" in the London Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), which should be interesting. And then the next day I will be boarding the train for my four-day solo trip to Bath, which, from what I hear, should be delighting in the least and enchanting at its height. Expect plenty of pictures and maybe a good story or two. This is where I sign off. Cheers!

British Museum, Westminster Abbey, and Windsor Castle

Okay, it's been quite awhile since I've updated this thing. And a lot has happened, so playing a bit of catch up will be in order. The "problem" is that I've been making a good amount of good friends, so free time to sit down and type out the day's happenings is somewhat of a rarity. As a matter of fact, this may be a bit short because I just got back from Windsor Castle and will soon be heading out for the evening.

I'm really enjoying meeting new people out here. My new roommate Tim and I get along very well. We actually met a group of girls from Boston University last night, and they seem nice. I'm even planning on going to Italy for a week and a half with a few girls from Washington. I don't know, it just feels like now I'm actually beginning to have a social life out here, and I really like it.

On Wednesday I went to the British Museum, which was actually on the top of my list of places to see here, but one of the last places I've seen. The exhibits were absolutely amazing. Just getting the chance to see, in real life, those artifacts that I've read about and seen in history books felt like a privilege (and again, it was free). I saw Keats' Grecian Urn, the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and a vast array of awe-inspiring artifacts from the Ancient Near East and the Persian Empire (not to mention the large Egypt exhibit). It was a shame that I wasn't in much of a museum mood and ran out of steam only after two hours, but needless to say I will be returning soon.

Yesterday was absolutely fantastic. My roommates and I headed to Trafalgar Square, we then walked to Parliament - a building with such spectacular architecture, I am sure I will never get used to seeing it (even though I will be taking a class there every week). Then the three of us attended an Evensong service at Westminster Abbey. It was a relatively small choir, but it was one of the best I think I will ever here. The combination of the moving hymns, hundreds of years of tradition, the acoustics, and standing in one of the most beautiful and venerated buildings in the world brought me to tears. I usually hate employing the superlative, but it was truly one of the most moving experiences of my life. If you were to attend that service and feel nothing, then I would doubt your humanity.

Today I awoke to a phone call from my friend Jenny asking me if I wanted to go to Windsor Castle in fifteen minutes. I couldn't resist the opportunity. So we (Lisa, Stephanie, Jenny, Chris, and Me) took the Tube to Paddington, and then took the train to Slough (where the British/original version of The Office takes place) and onto Windsor. Getting into the castle cost a somewhat hefty 14 pounds. Come to think of it, today was the first day I've paid for entrance into anything, I'd say that's pretty good. At half a million square feet, Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world. It's actually quite ridiculous in its enormity considering the fact that it is listed as a Royal residence, it's more like a city unto itself. It was interesting touring the State Apartments, but waiting in line for 45 minutes to see Queen Mary's Doll House was a bit laughable - being that it's just a big doll house. Just so I didn't feel like I just wasted an hour of my life, I had to lie to myself and tell myself I was interested in the exhibit, but I suppose I had to do whatever the girls wanted to do.

Well, this is where I cut it short. It's off to the Imperial Student Union yet again.

Hyde Park Walk and First Day of Classes

Today was my first day of two of my classes: Inside Parliament: British Politics and History of London. It looks like my British Politics class will actually be pretty challenging, I have to write a hefty essay and present it - to a Member of Parliament (MP), yikes. My History of London class will be interesting even though my professor is a geeky Yank. I assumed that he would essentially be a very well-informed tour guide, but actually he's just going to give us worksheets, which is somewhat of a disappointment. Oh speaking of disappointment, I got another roommate today. For the last week it's just been me and my roommate Brandon sharing a triple room, which would have made it very easy for visitors to stay here. But this morning I woke up to a new roommate. Turns out his visa got delayed (one of my main fears before flying out here) so he showed up a week late, too bad for him. He's from Texas, and seems like a good guy.

Yesterday I went on my most ambitious London walk/trek yet. I actually mapped it out on Google Earth and it was 8 miles. First I walked down to the Natural History Museum, which is geared much more towards the younger crowd (which is what I expected). I'm not much into fossils and reconstructed dinosaurs, but their biology and ecology exhibits were interesting, not to mention the absolutely beautiful architecture. The building could obviously be considered one of the major cathedrals built to science. I did skip a few exhibits in favor of just sitting on the top floor and admiring Waterhouse's "idiosyncratic Romanesque" design. After leaving the museum I did a proper grand tour of Hyde Park - Prince Albert Memorial, The Serpentine, Hyde Park Corner, and the Wellington Arch. Looking at it all on a map makes me realize I should have hopped on over to Buckingham Palace, but I have a few more months. I walked by the Iranian Embassy on the way back to Kensington, which was interesting because I saw the exhibit on the SAS siege only a day before at the Imperial War Museum. I'm still getting used to seeing these sights in person that I've seen on television and in textbooks so many times.

I plan on taking it easy tonight, and perhaps spending some time in Hyde Park tomorrow before class, but we'll see. Cheers!

Imperial War Museum

Another day, another museum and yet again my feet are very sore from all of the walking. Last night I decided to skip the Thames pub walk on account that I'm beginning to feel a bit ridiculous walking around London in a group of about one hundred Americans. Instead I went out with my roommate Brandon and his friend Tim to St. Pancras (a borough in northern London) to watch a rugby match a rugby pub, but after three transfers on the Tube and walking about a mile we found out that the game was in fact the day before. So while we didn't get to watch a match in the pub, we did get to explore a bit of North London. The area we were in was quite different from Kensington, the fact that was a little more gritty and far more working class seemed to give the area a little more character. I'm not complaining one bit, but it seems as if Kensington is constantly posing for its postcard picture.

I slept in a little bit today and skipped the Tate Modern field trip for the same reason as the pub walk, and the Tate isn't going anywhere. Instead I decided to go to the Imperial War Museum in Newington, a borough in south London. Word to the wise, if you can avoid it, don't take the Tube on the weekends - I found that out the hard way. The two main lines (District and Circle) that go through Gloucester Road were closed for maintenance, so that meant that everyone had to pile onto the Piccadilly Line. I think that ride will be some of the most cramped twenty minutes of my life, I think it might have even cured me of my mild claustrophobia. I also found out that the stereotype about Europeans not wearing deodorant seems to ring true, very true.

The Imperial War Museum was yet another wonderful and free London museum. Its displays did not glorify war, instead they attempted to show the gritty reality of it all. Walking into the World War One section was heart-wrenching, it was a series of war photographs coupled with some of the most poignant quotes I've read. While the primary source interviews and exhibits were interesting, the museum was a bit short on actual "artifacts" (I don't know if you can call them artifacts being that the museum only covers history from World War One onward), with the highlight probably being the infamous piece of paper brought back to Britain by Chamberlain, signed by Hitler in September of 1938, that promised peace. The museum also had what is supposed to be one of the best Holocaust exhibits, and it was very well done, I suppose it was as tasteful as anything dealing with the Holocaust can be.

Going through each exhibit I noticed that any mention of Israel was very subdued, the only thing I could find dealing with this conflict that has been going on for over sixty years was a small paragraph in one of the displays dealing with the Middle East conflicts. There was no mention of the formation in the Holocaust exhibit (it set aside two rooms to the aftermath of the atrocities). It seemed quite odd to me, and then as I walked out I saw a plaque that read "This construction and renovation of this museum was primarily funded by Oman, Brunei, and Yemen". I don't blame the curators for diminishing the importance of the Arab-Israeli conflict to avoid controversy, I would too.

I spent about five hours in the museum and returned to my flat late this afternoon. I skipped yet another "orientation" activity this evening (I didn't really feel like going on a booze cruise) and settled for wandering the neighborhood some more. I also booked two trips, one to Bath next Thursday-Sunday and one to Prague for five days in November. After spending about 400 dollars on those two trips (that's just on the train and plane tickets and hostel bed), I think I'll only be able to afford my week and a half heritage tour of Norway and Italy next month. And I'm still trying to comprehend the fact that I'm in London.