Phew!
Thanks to my wonderful luck and my froogle ways I have no computer at the moment. It turns out that my laptop decided to break at one of the most inconvient places, where it charges, and it will cost almost as much as the computer did when it was brand new. With this new item to be charged to my traveling money, I simply can't bring myself to do it. At the moment I am looking to see if I should just buy a new computer instead of fussing with shopping around for cheaper places to fix this part.
The guy at the first shop I went to rudely explained that, "This is a girl problem. Girls just don't understand how to take care of a computer!"
Thank you so much, Mister. I will be sure never to come to your shop again. :D
However! Besides this small bump in the road I have been very busy. I have seen one musical and one play already since the last time I have spoken with you and they were equally amazing. I saw Les Miserables which was wonderful! The singers were top knotch and the setting was very creative in its ways of turning and twisting to be several different settings instead of just using props. The play I atteneded was called The Charity that begins at home. This venue was much smaller. I was basically in the lap of these actors who were giving this production in a round. I loved this play more than Les Miserables but that is simply a matter of taste and opinion.
Over the weekend we took a day trip to Windsor to see the castle in which the Queen spends most of her weekends.I wanted to go simply to get out of the city and see these rolling hills that I have heard so much. After having a 45 minute train ride and realizing that there was no country to be seen because of the ever growing suburbs of London, I was a bit upset until we actually saw the castle. This place was absolutely beautiful.From the castle to the tiny town that surrounded with shops and tourist prices, I loved it. Despite the high price for simply walking into the gates, I was incredibly happy with going to see it. The history of all the reigns that lived there jumped out at every moment. This castle withstood so much and is still there today with so much presence. I wouldn't dare to live there but to visit is a must if you are anywhere in this area.Inside was even better, from Queen Mary's doll house to the treasures that have been collected through the years of both war and treaty to the portraits of so many influential people of the past. One of the most incredible things was the guards room. This room was covered in weapons but in the most decorative way. Using these symbols of fear to be beautiful peices of art in different patterns. Also, I had never seen such beautiful swords in all my life. I only wish that swords were more of a custom instead of guns these days.
The people that were visiting were another story though. It was shocking to see how many asian people were at this castle. None of them spoke english and most of them were under the age of 12. They were rude, loud and completely inconsiderate when it came to respecting the history of the place. It got to the point that I had to leave certain rooms simply because I could not enjoy the elegance and beauty that surrounded me. By the end of the tour and the people surrounded the guard, with his tall black, furry hat, it got worse. I have the utmost respect for those men. They are simply doing their duty yet they must deal with people taking their picture constantly. It must get rather dull. At this point, one of the asian girls that had been fluttering around us for the past two hours in a very indecent manner asked in broken english,
"Can I get picture?" I, of course, smiled and said yes. Assuming that she meant for me to take a picture of her and her friend she began to pull me and one of the others girls I was with together for the photo. We were what she wanted a picture of. I haven't decided if this was because she hasn't been around a lot of Americans, thought we were British or we are simply that gorgeous. I'm voting for the last.
After coming back we hit the pubs, the rest of the story you will have to ask me in person. :)
On Sunday, I chickened out and didn't go to the Chinese New Year parade because it was cold and gross outside and my bed simply needed more time to bond with me. However, I did make it to the fireworks. Was it worth it? Were they amazing? Would I do it again? In short, no. After standing in Trafalager square for twenty minutes, not being able to see anything because for some reason tall guys have to pick up their little brothers so they can been at least three feet taller, and noticing it was about to rain the show was horrid! As said by Anna, " I can see better fireworks at a baseball game!"
I visited the Tate Modern yesterday in hopes of exposing my artistic side to a new perspective and broading my horizons, I learned something about myself. I don't like modern art to much. I fear that the term modern art is becoming an excuse for people who had a bad past to not actually do anything with themselves. I mean to paint a splotch of white on an off white wall and call it emotional or video taping a man kicking a bucket for ten minutes and calling this art...Many of the featured peices could have been done by a first grader or even me. Simply because you don't understand a peice does not make it genius. Again, its merely opinion.
On a positive note! Before going to play last night we off handly decided, "why not go to Paris for the weekend?" How positively wonderful is that? Hopefully it will actually happen.
By the way, everyone who is reading this is not being very sweet! I haven't gotten a single parcel! No letters, no postcards. Shame on you! ;)
Just in case you feel so kind as to make me feel loved, here is the address:
Hope Moon
Vandon House
1 Vandon Street
London SW1H 0AH
United Kingdom
Tata for now,
Hope
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Assignment 2.
Museum of London
After collecting a group of girls and deciding to go to the Museum of London we left in hopes to be wowed by our destination. Being a lover of museums, I adored the Museum of London. I never expected it to be as hands on and interactive as it had been. After arriving with a group of other members I found that I was one of the slow museum goers in comparison to all the other girls. It took me three hours to get through the whole thing while it only took the others girls two. I suppose I feel the need to read most of the plaques instead of just looking at the pieces. From the beginning I was amazed at the extravagance of how evolved the weapons were in the earliest of years as well as how many spearheads and points were found. The skulls were so well preserved that it was shocking that everyone wasn’t amazed by the almost full mouth of teeth that was still intact. As the museum made its way down the years and began to introduce the fashion of the times, my girlish side showed its head and I could not help but get excited to see how jewelry evolved as well as the clothing choices through out the times. At the beginning I was very shocked at how many children were there but as I went on to see the wonderful hands on stations that the museum had for children I was very impressed. Besides one crying baby, every child I saw was seriously learning and the parents were helping them read what was being shown and talking to them about what they were looking at. I was amazed at how well behaved these children were. There was no screaming, no tantrums and not a single pouting child about how much their feet hurt or how hungry they were. In the states this would have never been the case. It made me take a double look at the parenting styles in Britain. This actually made me enjoy that the children were there and enhanced my visit so much more. The interactive technology of this museum was mind blowing. There were many stations that were being projected from the ceiling and you actually could touch the map or picture or whatever it might be and it would give you more information or ask you questions. I had never seen this before and it was mind blowing. I must admit that I am a button pusher so this was a wonderful experience. My favorite part was the garden walk. It was only a room but there were mannequins standing around in the garden “socializing” with the clothing styles of the time. On one wall was a constant film of servants setting up tables in the garden for dinner at a later time. It was just gorgeous. The only falter of the visit was that the seemed to jump from the 1700’s to the 1900’s very quickly and there was nothing said about the colonies and only one written statement about the world wars. However, all in all it was wonderful and I am glad I went. It jump started my desire to visit even more museums and left me only a taste for my hunger of history.
After collecting a group of girls and deciding to go to the Museum of London we left in hopes to be wowed by our destination. Being a lover of museums, I adored the Museum of London. I never expected it to be as hands on and interactive as it had been. After arriving with a group of other members I found that I was one of the slow museum goers in comparison to all the other girls. It took me three hours to get through the whole thing while it only took the others girls two. I suppose I feel the need to read most of the plaques instead of just looking at the pieces. From the beginning I was amazed at the extravagance of how evolved the weapons were in the earliest of years as well as how many spearheads and points were found. The skulls were so well preserved that it was shocking that everyone wasn’t amazed by the almost full mouth of teeth that was still intact. As the museum made its way down the years and began to introduce the fashion of the times, my girlish side showed its head and I could not help but get excited to see how jewelry evolved as well as the clothing choices through out the times. At the beginning I was very shocked at how many children were there but as I went on to see the wonderful hands on stations that the museum had for children I was very impressed. Besides one crying baby, every child I saw was seriously learning and the parents were helping them read what was being shown and talking to them about what they were looking at. I was amazed at how well behaved these children were. There was no screaming, no tantrums and not a single pouting child about how much their feet hurt or how hungry they were. In the states this would have never been the case. It made me take a double look at the parenting styles in Britain. This actually made me enjoy that the children were there and enhanced my visit so much more. The interactive technology of this museum was mind blowing. There were many stations that were being projected from the ceiling and you actually could touch the map or picture or whatever it might be and it would give you more information or ask you questions. I had never seen this before and it was mind blowing. I must admit that I am a button pusher so this was a wonderful experience. My favorite part was the garden walk. It was only a room but there were mannequins standing around in the garden “socializing” with the clothing styles of the time. On one wall was a constant film of servants setting up tables in the garden for dinner at a later time. It was just gorgeous. The only falter of the visit was that the seemed to jump from the 1700’s to the 1900’s very quickly and there was nothing said about the colonies and only one written statement about the world wars. However, all in all it was wonderful and I am glad I went. It jump started my desire to visit even more museums and left me only a taste for my hunger of history.
Assignment 1.
Disclaimer: On this blog I will be doing some of my British Seminar assignments.
Assignment 1/street life:
After a week of figuring out the transportation in London and exploring the prices of what is cheap and what is expensive, I have found that markets are my favorite shopping experience in London. I had the opportunity to go with many of the others in my program to Borough Market which is right across from what is known to have been Shakespeare‘s church. First of all, I adore the area that this market is in. The history that surrounds this market is extravagant and makes me feel as if I have stepped back into the past and am having the chance to follow the steps of many before me. The feeling of the market is that everyone is in high spirits with a hint of precaution due to the pick pockets that could be around any corner. Despite the hesitation to let your guard down it does not stop everyone from enjoying themselves. Everywhere there were booths of fresh foods, home-made baked goods and gourmet foods. In every direction there was a different aroma of some savory food that you only wish you had enough time to explore every single one of them. This market was so exciting to experience simply because of all the people watching. There were people from every class, every age and every type, trying infused cheeses and tasting free samples. The Borough market, though, seemed to be on the richest side of any market I have had the opportunity to go to. The only way I can describe the type of market it was is a high class Mexican market mixed with a Californian market.
My second market was Brixton market which eased itself into the kinds of markets that are more common in my experiences. As soon as you walk into the area there are guys trying to get your attention with, “Hey Sexy” and other comments of a provocative nature. Some of the other girls that we ran into were uneasy about this way of grabbing someone’s attention but I found it refreshing in a way. I simply think this is because I am use to such things from Mexican markets and it is just a ploy to pull you towards their booth, they mean no harm, they are just having a bit of fun with the tourist. This market is filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, hanging meats of all kinds and clothes. The clothes booths had everything from shoes, scarves and hats to ski masks and make-up, all of the cheapest kind. I believe this market was a lot cheaper because of the area and not as upper class in comparison with the Borough market but I enjoyed it just as much. There were not as many people at this market in the morning of a Monday which caused the booth owners to try and grab every person walking by in anyway. Because of this, bargaining could occur here and if you didn’t like the price you just moved on down to the next fruit stand.
Both of these markets helped me to understand that, despite the British way of being reserved and not having open conversations, there are places that this way is relaxed. Whether it be on a weekend on the rich end or during the week on the cheap end. Everyone was so nice and friendly in the ways of how they held themselves, sellers and buyers alike.
Assignment 1/street life:
After a week of figuring out the transportation in London and exploring the prices of what is cheap and what is expensive, I have found that markets are my favorite shopping experience in London. I had the opportunity to go with many of the others in my program to Borough Market which is right across from what is known to have been Shakespeare‘s church. First of all, I adore the area that this market is in. The history that surrounds this market is extravagant and makes me feel as if I have stepped back into the past and am having the chance to follow the steps of many before me. The feeling of the market is that everyone is in high spirits with a hint of precaution due to the pick pockets that could be around any corner. Despite the hesitation to let your guard down it does not stop everyone from enjoying themselves. Everywhere there were booths of fresh foods, home-made baked goods and gourmet foods. In every direction there was a different aroma of some savory food that you only wish you had enough time to explore every single one of them. This market was so exciting to experience simply because of all the people watching. There were people from every class, every age and every type, trying infused cheeses and tasting free samples. The Borough market, though, seemed to be on the richest side of any market I have had the opportunity to go to. The only way I can describe the type of market it was is a high class Mexican market mixed with a Californian market.
My second market was Brixton market which eased itself into the kinds of markets that are more common in my experiences. As soon as you walk into the area there are guys trying to get your attention with, “Hey Sexy” and other comments of a provocative nature. Some of the other girls that we ran into were uneasy about this way of grabbing someone’s attention but I found it refreshing in a way. I simply think this is because I am use to such things from Mexican markets and it is just a ploy to pull you towards their booth, they mean no harm, they are just having a bit of fun with the tourist. This market is filled with fresh fruit and vegetables, hanging meats of all kinds and clothes. The clothes booths had everything from shoes, scarves and hats to ski masks and make-up, all of the cheapest kind. I believe this market was a lot cheaper because of the area and not as upper class in comparison with the Borough market but I enjoyed it just as much. There were not as many people at this market in the morning of a Monday which caused the booth owners to try and grab every person walking by in anyway. Because of this, bargaining could occur here and if you didn’t like the price you just moved on down to the next fruit stand.
Both of these markets helped me to understand that, despite the British way of being reserved and not having open conversations, there are places that this way is relaxed. Whether it be on a weekend on the rich end or during the week on the cheap end. Everyone was so nice and friendly in the ways of how they held themselves, sellers and buyers alike.
Sunday 22 January 2012
Walking like a Londoner.
My Feet Falling Off
Alright...So It's been a couple of days since I last posted but I have a wonderful reason.
I was tired.
Since I last left off we had scavanger hunt to do that was meant to help us get use to using the public transportation. This idea was fabulous, but once it was announced that the winner would recieve cash as the prize it all went to hell in a hand basket. The whole lot of us were seperated into groups of threes and sent off to travel all over London in hopes of finding what was on the list. Some examples of what was asked of us were take a picture from aboard a double decker bys, buy something from Hamley's Toy Shop, buy some fruit from Strutton Ground, get a picture with a policeman (bonus if you get to wear their hat) and so on. Sounds pretty simple, right ? Wrong! The amount of points you could obtain was 15 out of the ten things that were asked. We only had three hours to get all of these things accomplished and for the record,London is huge! What did I learn on this exhausting escapade? Two things. Never rely on the transportation because it will let you down and you will have to walk for the next twenty minutes to get anywhere close to where you THINK you are going and learn how to walk...fast. Londoners do not stroll, mosey or go on joints of any kind. They speed walk like there is no tomorrow. You will be pushed to the side if you are not walking fast enough, elders are a nusiance when its rush hour and are completely ignored in efforts to get to their destination that whole two minutes early. It makes perfect sense that they are all fit and have no problem with obesity in these parts. With the movement of the city as well as the cash thrown into our competitive side, we took off. I ended up coming in second place... with four blisters.
So what do I do?
Join a couple of other girls to a pub for a drink to relax from the days activities, of course!
What happens after the other girls have a couple of ciders and finally feel resonable?
We decide to go dancing, what else?
There were there were seven of us in total that ended up going to Picadilly Institute. We had heard about it from another student studying abroad here and learned that there were six rooms with all different themes and music. As soon as we got off the tube we were approached by a man explaining how beautiful we were and that we only had to pay five pounds to get in instead of the twenty. I must admit, we were pressured but it turned out, it really was a deal. The club was packed with people, before we even got in we saw a cat fight at the door. Once the brisk air left our surroundings the pounding of music embrassed our bodies and we couldn't hear each other unless we were an inch away. We paid and looked around, first lost and then the music hit. Our first room was decent and we knew the first couple of songs until the DJ decided to go a euro route and we lost the groove. So...to the next room we went! This is when the fun began. This room was packed with people of all different backgrounds, ages and dress. You couldn't even begin to imagine that it was near cold outside with everyone in the room was sweating. The smell of sweat, vomit and strong alcohol took over your senses only for a moment until the music took control. We knew EVERY song in this room and we took advantage of that. You can never go wrong with dancing. Once that beat hits, there is no turning back. We found a place to sit and keep our stuff safe and dance at the same time but there was only one problem with our location. The guys. We were surrounded by mostly Indian older men, atleast in there thirties that could not get enough of us. You really learn who people are in a club...I turned into Mother hen and kept an eye on my chickadees with every guy they were dancing with. Everyone had fun but it seemed that some of the girls were a little crazier than I had anticapated. Lets just say...the quiet ones are always the loosest. The night started with a guy drunkingly gashing his head open with a wine glass on accident and ended with two guys choking each other before ending up on the ground in a fight. All in all, by twelve thirty we were ready to make our way back, happily. It was a blast.
The next day we had to wake up at nine because we had a walking tour around Shakespears part of London.Yes, even more walking. Please do remember that I still have four blisters. Despite that, I must say that I was rather disappointed when it came to the area. There were many places that were pointed out that use to be theatres or influential locations that are now office buildings and pricey flats. For instance, where there use to be bear baiting was now paved over and only fenced off because it was right next to a parking area. I was really excited to see The Globe, despite how wondeful the idea is that it has been redone, it just...didn't have the feeling as I hoped. It simply was too clean and put together. Perhaps it just seemed fake to me.
This is a picture of the new globe and do you know what is in the place of where the globe should be?
This map of what London was back then. Behind this is apartments that can not be torn down due to some city code. This breaks my heart a bit but I suppose everything can not be saved or we would never have progress. We also walked by St. Paul's cathederal that is, at the moment, surrounded by tents and protesters that have the same basis of our occupies.
St. Paul's is amazing. It is HUGE. One of the stories that our tour guide explained was that it was one of the most protected buildings during the World War II.
We ended up in a market that was busying with people, free samples and semi-cheap food. It was placed right next to the church that Shakespeare would have gone to. Well, atleast, historians can estimate.
The market that is directly in front of this church is called Borough Market. When I say market, I mean handmade foods of gourmet taste, hanging animals for sale and baked goods from all over Europe. In relation to the markets I have been to in my past I must say it was a cross between a Mexican market and a Californian one.
Today we went to the Museum of London which I found completely wonderful. Many of the other girls did not agree so much. The artifacts that were found were marvelous! I couldn't believe what was created so early in comparison to the south american area. Also, I am a sucker for the victorian era. I just know that I was born in the wrong time. I hope there are more museums to come but I can't wait to go to the art museums either. Although, I am ready to get out of the city and see some rolling hills. I need to see beautiful country side. What have I learned about myself? I don't feel the need to live in the heart of the city in my life time, I love nature way to much and I am not a fan of watching cement grow...
Toodles for now,
Hope
P.S.
Who doesn't love these?;)
Alright...So It's been a couple of days since I last posted but I have a wonderful reason.
I was tired.
Since I last left off we had scavanger hunt to do that was meant to help us get use to using the public transportation. This idea was fabulous, but once it was announced that the winner would recieve cash as the prize it all went to hell in a hand basket. The whole lot of us were seperated into groups of threes and sent off to travel all over London in hopes of finding what was on the list. Some examples of what was asked of us were take a picture from aboard a double decker bys, buy something from Hamley's Toy Shop, buy some fruit from Strutton Ground, get a picture with a policeman (bonus if you get to wear their hat) and so on. Sounds pretty simple, right ? Wrong! The amount of points you could obtain was 15 out of the ten things that were asked. We only had three hours to get all of these things accomplished and for the record,London is huge! What did I learn on this exhausting escapade? Two things. Never rely on the transportation because it will let you down and you will have to walk for the next twenty minutes to get anywhere close to where you THINK you are going and learn how to walk...fast. Londoners do not stroll, mosey or go on joints of any kind. They speed walk like there is no tomorrow. You will be pushed to the side if you are not walking fast enough, elders are a nusiance when its rush hour and are completely ignored in efforts to get to their destination that whole two minutes early. It makes perfect sense that they are all fit and have no problem with obesity in these parts. With the movement of the city as well as the cash thrown into our competitive side, we took off. I ended up coming in second place... with four blisters.
So what do I do?
Join a couple of other girls to a pub for a drink to relax from the days activities, of course!
What happens after the other girls have a couple of ciders and finally feel resonable?
We decide to go dancing, what else?
There were there were seven of us in total that ended up going to Picadilly Institute. We had heard about it from another student studying abroad here and learned that there were six rooms with all different themes and music. As soon as we got off the tube we were approached by a man explaining how beautiful we were and that we only had to pay five pounds to get in instead of the twenty. I must admit, we were pressured but it turned out, it really was a deal. The club was packed with people, before we even got in we saw a cat fight at the door. Once the brisk air left our surroundings the pounding of music embrassed our bodies and we couldn't hear each other unless we were an inch away. We paid and looked around, first lost and then the music hit. Our first room was decent and we knew the first couple of songs until the DJ decided to go a euro route and we lost the groove. So...to the next room we went! This is when the fun began. This room was packed with people of all different backgrounds, ages and dress. You couldn't even begin to imagine that it was near cold outside with everyone in the room was sweating. The smell of sweat, vomit and strong alcohol took over your senses only for a moment until the music took control. We knew EVERY song in this room and we took advantage of that. You can never go wrong with dancing. Once that beat hits, there is no turning back. We found a place to sit and keep our stuff safe and dance at the same time but there was only one problem with our location. The guys. We were surrounded by mostly Indian older men, atleast in there thirties that could not get enough of us. You really learn who people are in a club...I turned into Mother hen and kept an eye on my chickadees with every guy they were dancing with. Everyone had fun but it seemed that some of the girls were a little crazier than I had anticapated. Lets just say...the quiet ones are always the loosest. The night started with a guy drunkingly gashing his head open with a wine glass on accident and ended with two guys choking each other before ending up on the ground in a fight. All in all, by twelve thirty we were ready to make our way back, happily. It was a blast.
The next day we had to wake up at nine because we had a walking tour around Shakespears part of London.Yes, even more walking. Please do remember that I still have four blisters. Despite that, I must say that I was rather disappointed when it came to the area. There were many places that were pointed out that use to be theatres or influential locations that are now office buildings and pricey flats. For instance, where there use to be bear baiting was now paved over and only fenced off because it was right next to a parking area. I was really excited to see The Globe, despite how wondeful the idea is that it has been redone, it just...didn't have the feeling as I hoped. It simply was too clean and put together. Perhaps it just seemed fake to me.
This is a picture of the new globe and do you know what is in the place of where the globe should be?
This map of what London was back then. Behind this is apartments that can not be torn down due to some city code. This breaks my heart a bit but I suppose everything can not be saved or we would never have progress. We also walked by St. Paul's cathederal that is, at the moment, surrounded by tents and protesters that have the same basis of our occupies.
St. Paul's is amazing. It is HUGE. One of the stories that our tour guide explained was that it was one of the most protected buildings during the World War II.
We ended up in a market that was busying with people, free samples and semi-cheap food. It was placed right next to the church that Shakespeare would have gone to. Well, atleast, historians can estimate.
The market that is directly in front of this church is called Borough Market. When I say market, I mean handmade foods of gourmet taste, hanging animals for sale and baked goods from all over Europe. In relation to the markets I have been to in my past I must say it was a cross between a Mexican market and a Californian one.
Today we went to the Museum of London which I found completely wonderful. Many of the other girls did not agree so much. The artifacts that were found were marvelous! I couldn't believe what was created so early in comparison to the south american area. Also, I am a sucker for the victorian era. I just know that I was born in the wrong time. I hope there are more museums to come but I can't wait to go to the art museums either. Although, I am ready to get out of the city and see some rolling hills. I need to see beautiful country side. What have I learned about myself? I don't feel the need to live in the heart of the city in my life time, I love nature way to much and I am not a fan of watching cement grow...
Toodles for now,
Hope
P.S.
Who doesn't love these?;)Thursday 19 January 2012
Fashion Fiasco
Shopping on Oxford St.
Today we decided to get on the tube and make our way to Oxford St, where all the shopping seems to be done.
As we stepped out into the open air, the first thing you see is hoards of people stampeding down the street with their fancy shoes. The streets are still strung with hanging christmas lights that actually are formed to make umbrellas, christmas presents, stars and snowflakes. Despite how well they are designed that is the last thing your eye catches as you lead your way down the pavements.
I must explain the fashion of London. Whoever said that blue jeans were an American thing was sadly mistaken. The major different is the fit. Ever bluejean is very well fitted. There is not a single pair of boxers showing or a bell bottom to be found. Straight leg for the men and skinny for the women. The reasoning, I assume, for this is because anything else would be dragging on the "dirty" street and would constantly get wet. Also, baggy pants don't fit in the fashionable boot of the season for the women. These people dress to be seen constantly. Everyone is making a fashion statement in the highest quality. I have never seen so many suits, leather loafers, fur coats and high heals in my life.
The exit for Oxford St is called Oxford Circus and whoever came up with the name, wasn't kidding. It is just covered in fast walkers, slow walkers, people of all ages as well as shops from department store size to shoe box size. From old buildings to new but we had to eat before we started this escapade. The choices? Pizza Hut or KFC...Come on London! Give us something better to work with...nope, not a chance. Pizza Hut it was! It was pretty ritzy for what it being a Pizza Hut and it seems that here, buffet style can be anyway you like. The couple next to us took their same plates back everytime so...being American tourists, we asked the waiter if that was common practice. He kind of chuckled and explained that everyone does it differently, it doesn't really matter. You can take one plate or twenty. Thank you Mr. Waiter man for your friendly explanation. We ate our fill and began again on this shopping extravaganza, which it definetly was.
Primark was said to be affordably cheap yet incredibly busy. So that is where we went. I'm beginning to actually trust everything that is said because this place was a mad house. The line for the dressing room was so long that girls and woman alike were trying things on in the isles. It seems that you dress to go to this place, camisoles are a must and preferably tights as to not waste time in this shopping hunt. Compared to all the other shops that we glided through such as, Forever 21, H&M and a huge department store, it was cheap. I've learned now that cheap here is pretty expensive for my taste. When you first glance at the price you think "oh Wow! That isn't so bad" then you take a second, remember you are in London, and have to almost double it due to our dollar situation. We ran into some other girls from our program and then got lost and seperated from everyone continuely, until we left the building.
I can proudly say, I didn't buy anything even in the pressure to grab the not-so-much sale.
As it began to get dark, which starts around 4:30, we made our way back down the other side of the street. Randomly entering shoe stores and then running out because of the prices. But, here is where the adventurous side of me comes out!
So there I am, walking down the street and BAM! There are these adorable 50's style dresses with petticoats included! Can you imagine? I insisted that we must go in and off we went. The store was run by some Indian men and was two stores crammed into this little area. There were shoes, bags, I love London stuff, leather coats, coffee mugs, luggage, and in the back were a whole section devoted to these dresses. I was pretty much going crazy over how attractive they were and how adorable I would look in them. With hope in my eyes and a desire to re-live one of my past lives of a 50's housewive, I looked at the price. 49.99 Pounds. My heart sank and I just adored them for a bit longer before I knew I had to leave them behind in this tiny little shop with loud foreign music. Anna insisted that I haggle. Growing up with my family, traveling Mexico and being as frugal as I am, you would think I would be great at this. Well, you are wrong! I slowly asked him how much and he said in broken english, " you try it on and I make better price." Sounds pratical. See if I like it, maybe I will love it and can never take it off, so I agree! He announces for me to follow him and the girls follow as well until we begin going behind the counter and down the stairs to the basement. Sounds a bit off, right? The other girls weren't behind me anymore and I decended into the basement that was filled from bottom to top with boxes and two other Indian men standing around drinking coffee...now that I think about it, I bet it was tea. The man led me through the jungle of mess, pardoning ever so often and showed me the three, very hidden, changing rooms. Who wouldn't be uncomfortable in this situation? A young, American girl in a basement, changing with three other men just waiting outside the door? It was a little awkward. Despite that, I tried the dress on, it was as adorable as I had hoped...fit perfectly, no problems with the zipper but the situation completely through me off and all I could do was hurry to get out of the basement. Nothing happened, I probably was safer down there with those men who had been working this shop all day for years then on the streets of London. But it was just strange, to say the least. The man who took me down stayed there, waiting against a couple of boxes and asked if it fit, did I like it and for us to go back up stairs. Anna met me and we had made a plan early to make it seem as if we had seen this dress before, LOADS cheaper. It seemed like it would work. We got him down to 35.00 pounds, which was "a price just for you" but I couldn't do it. Somewhere, there is the perfect dress that I won't be able to let it go but this was not it. Next time!
We made it back with no problems besides an occasional checking of the tube map to see if we are going the right way, usually we arent, but we always catch it before its too late and with team work and someone carrying a teeny tiny map in their purse, we made it safely home.
By the way,I lied. No pictures today. I'm trying this "fitting in" business and having a huge camera around my neck and having to hand it off to someone else everytime I try something on, just wouldn't do.
However! Next time! I swear!
Toodles,
Hope
Today we decided to get on the tube and make our way to Oxford St, where all the shopping seems to be done.
As we stepped out into the open air, the first thing you see is hoards of people stampeding down the street with their fancy shoes. The streets are still strung with hanging christmas lights that actually are formed to make umbrellas, christmas presents, stars and snowflakes. Despite how well they are designed that is the last thing your eye catches as you lead your way down the pavements.
I must explain the fashion of London. Whoever said that blue jeans were an American thing was sadly mistaken. The major different is the fit. Ever bluejean is very well fitted. There is not a single pair of boxers showing or a bell bottom to be found. Straight leg for the men and skinny for the women. The reasoning, I assume, for this is because anything else would be dragging on the "dirty" street and would constantly get wet. Also, baggy pants don't fit in the fashionable boot of the season for the women. These people dress to be seen constantly. Everyone is making a fashion statement in the highest quality. I have never seen so many suits, leather loafers, fur coats and high heals in my life.
The exit for Oxford St is called Oxford Circus and whoever came up with the name, wasn't kidding. It is just covered in fast walkers, slow walkers, people of all ages as well as shops from department store size to shoe box size. From old buildings to new but we had to eat before we started this escapade. The choices? Pizza Hut or KFC...Come on London! Give us something better to work with...nope, not a chance. Pizza Hut it was! It was pretty ritzy for what it being a Pizza Hut and it seems that here, buffet style can be anyway you like. The couple next to us took their same plates back everytime so...being American tourists, we asked the waiter if that was common practice. He kind of chuckled and explained that everyone does it differently, it doesn't really matter. You can take one plate or twenty. Thank you Mr. Waiter man for your friendly explanation. We ate our fill and began again on this shopping extravaganza, which it definetly was.
Primark was said to be affordably cheap yet incredibly busy. So that is where we went. I'm beginning to actually trust everything that is said because this place was a mad house. The line for the dressing room was so long that girls and woman alike were trying things on in the isles. It seems that you dress to go to this place, camisoles are a must and preferably tights as to not waste time in this shopping hunt. Compared to all the other shops that we glided through such as, Forever 21, H&M and a huge department store, it was cheap. I've learned now that cheap here is pretty expensive for my taste. When you first glance at the price you think "oh Wow! That isn't so bad" then you take a second, remember you are in London, and have to almost double it due to our dollar situation. We ran into some other girls from our program and then got lost and seperated from everyone continuely, until we left the building.
I can proudly say, I didn't buy anything even in the pressure to grab the not-so-much sale.
As it began to get dark, which starts around 4:30, we made our way back down the other side of the street. Randomly entering shoe stores and then running out because of the prices. But, here is where the adventurous side of me comes out!
So there I am, walking down the street and BAM! There are these adorable 50's style dresses with petticoats included! Can you imagine? I insisted that we must go in and off we went. The store was run by some Indian men and was two stores crammed into this little area. There were shoes, bags, I love London stuff, leather coats, coffee mugs, luggage, and in the back were a whole section devoted to these dresses. I was pretty much going crazy over how attractive they were and how adorable I would look in them. With hope in my eyes and a desire to re-live one of my past lives of a 50's housewive, I looked at the price. 49.99 Pounds. My heart sank and I just adored them for a bit longer before I knew I had to leave them behind in this tiny little shop with loud foreign music. Anna insisted that I haggle. Growing up with my family, traveling Mexico and being as frugal as I am, you would think I would be great at this. Well, you are wrong! I slowly asked him how much and he said in broken english, " you try it on and I make better price." Sounds pratical. See if I like it, maybe I will love it and can never take it off, so I agree! He announces for me to follow him and the girls follow as well until we begin going behind the counter and down the stairs to the basement. Sounds a bit off, right? The other girls weren't behind me anymore and I decended into the basement that was filled from bottom to top with boxes and two other Indian men standing around drinking coffee...now that I think about it, I bet it was tea. The man led me through the jungle of mess, pardoning ever so often and showed me the three, very hidden, changing rooms. Who wouldn't be uncomfortable in this situation? A young, American girl in a basement, changing with three other men just waiting outside the door? It was a little awkward. Despite that, I tried the dress on, it was as adorable as I had hoped...fit perfectly, no problems with the zipper but the situation completely through me off and all I could do was hurry to get out of the basement. Nothing happened, I probably was safer down there with those men who had been working this shop all day for years then on the streets of London. But it was just strange, to say the least. The man who took me down stayed there, waiting against a couple of boxes and asked if it fit, did I like it and for us to go back up stairs. Anna met me and we had made a plan early to make it seem as if we had seen this dress before, LOADS cheaper. It seemed like it would work. We got him down to 35.00 pounds, which was "a price just for you" but I couldn't do it. Somewhere, there is the perfect dress that I won't be able to let it go but this was not it. Next time!
We made it back with no problems besides an occasional checking of the tube map to see if we are going the right way, usually we arent, but we always catch it before its too late and with team work and someone carrying a teeny tiny map in their purse, we made it safely home.
By the way,I lied. No pictures today. I'm trying this "fitting in" business and having a huge camera around my neck and having to hand it off to someone else everytime I try something on, just wouldn't do.
However! Next time! I swear!
Toodles,
Hope
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Arriving in London
The Start of my Adventures Across the Pond.
It all began with some sad goodbyes and a hurrying up to wait in an empty airport. Corpus Christi does not have the highest population of people who travel by plane or can even afford to think about it. Due to this horrid fact, there were a total of twelve people on my plane to Dallas. Despite this, it still was late to the Dallas airport and I had to rush to catch my next plane. Then I had the chance to sit in it for thirty minutes before we actually left. The next eight hours were about as comfortable as a coffin covered with protruding nails. However, once I arrived at Heathrow and realized I was in London it all seemed to fall in place. My bags weren't lost, the taxi was right outside the door and the first animal I saw was a seagull...
The taxi ride went something like this...
"What kind of music do you like?"
"Well I right songs that are mostly folky."
"Where are you from?"
"Texas"
"Oh! Then you must love Wille Nelson!"
The rest involved him relating everything he thought he knew about Texas to me, including Bush.
Anyway! I arrived at Vandon House Hotel with all my luggage, all my instruments (my guitar in my backpack and my ukuklele in my huge bag) and half my money due to the expensive taxi.
Vandon House is wonderful. The rooms are cozy but spacious, the shower in tiny but always has hot water and it is in a very swanky neighborhood. All the students share a kitchen and we make our own lunches and dinners. I unpacked as slow as possible to try and make it till four for our first meeting yet I couldn't help it but end up taking a nap. If you know me, that is no surprise. The day ended with the group getting together and going to our first pub called Feathers that was just around the corner. We all recieved free fish and chips, bangers and our choice of an alcoholic beverage. Being ambitious( and thanks to my new friend Lindsey), I went for the cider because I had never had it before. You know what? It was fantastic!
The next few days have been mostly getting to know the area, the rest of the group and getting comfortable with the tube system. If you don't know what the tube is, it is the underground subway that is one of the most amusing things of the British culture that I have found so far. There is no talking, no smiling and no eye contact. During rush hours everyone is pushed into the cars like sardines yet not a peep is made. It's absolutely unlike anything I have ever seen. I have decided that it is my duty as the friendly Texan that I am that I must "Change the tube, one smile at a time!"
Everyone in my study abroad program has found their group they fit in with. Everyone is friendly to one another and we all get along pretty well when pushed into group events like bowling. We help each other and try not to let anyone get lost in such situations.
Tonight, the four of us (Anna, Lindsey,Shelby and I) went on an escapade to see the Buckingham Palace. We didn't realize it was only five minutes away, we continued on towards the eye and then turned abruptly after seeing Big Ben and made our way towards Trafalger Square. It all was so beautiful at night. After passing The Sherlock Holmes pub and walking across the Thames River simply because we couldn't find the next underground entrance we made it back with aching feet but confidence in our traveling capabilities.
I will start taking pictures of all the places I go and all the things I see. There will be much more detail, I'm sure, of certain things instead of a broad idea of what has been happening. Also! Art shots! Who doesn't love a good pigeon sitting on top of a statue in yet another park?
Tata for now,
Hope
It all began with some sad goodbyes and a hurrying up to wait in an empty airport. Corpus Christi does not have the highest population of people who travel by plane or can even afford to think about it. Due to this horrid fact, there were a total of twelve people on my plane to Dallas. Despite this, it still was late to the Dallas airport and I had to rush to catch my next plane. Then I had the chance to sit in it for thirty minutes before we actually left. The next eight hours were about as comfortable as a coffin covered with protruding nails. However, once I arrived at Heathrow and realized I was in London it all seemed to fall in place. My bags weren't lost, the taxi was right outside the door and the first animal I saw was a seagull...
The taxi ride went something like this...
"What kind of music do you like?"
"Well I right songs that are mostly folky."
"Where are you from?"
"Texas"
"Oh! Then you must love Wille Nelson!"
The rest involved him relating everything he thought he knew about Texas to me, including Bush.
Anyway! I arrived at Vandon House Hotel with all my luggage, all my instruments (my guitar in my backpack and my ukuklele in my huge bag) and half my money due to the expensive taxi.
Vandon House is wonderful. The rooms are cozy but spacious, the shower in tiny but always has hot water and it is in a very swanky neighborhood. All the students share a kitchen and we make our own lunches and dinners. I unpacked as slow as possible to try and make it till four for our first meeting yet I couldn't help it but end up taking a nap. If you know me, that is no surprise. The day ended with the group getting together and going to our first pub called Feathers that was just around the corner. We all recieved free fish and chips, bangers and our choice of an alcoholic beverage. Being ambitious( and thanks to my new friend Lindsey), I went for the cider because I had never had it before. You know what? It was fantastic!
The next few days have been mostly getting to know the area, the rest of the group and getting comfortable with the tube system. If you don't know what the tube is, it is the underground subway that is one of the most amusing things of the British culture that I have found so far. There is no talking, no smiling and no eye contact. During rush hours everyone is pushed into the cars like sardines yet not a peep is made. It's absolutely unlike anything I have ever seen. I have decided that it is my duty as the friendly Texan that I am that I must "Change the tube, one smile at a time!"
Everyone in my study abroad program has found their group they fit in with. Everyone is friendly to one another and we all get along pretty well when pushed into group events like bowling. We help each other and try not to let anyone get lost in such situations.
Tonight, the four of us (Anna, Lindsey,Shelby and I) went on an escapade to see the Buckingham Palace. We didn't realize it was only five minutes away, we continued on towards the eye and then turned abruptly after seeing Big Ben and made our way towards Trafalger Square. It all was so beautiful at night. After passing The Sherlock Holmes pub and walking across the Thames River simply because we couldn't find the next underground entrance we made it back with aching feet but confidence in our traveling capabilities.
I will start taking pictures of all the places I go and all the things I see. There will be much more detail, I'm sure, of certain things instead of a broad idea of what has been happening. Also! Art shots! Who doesn't love a good pigeon sitting on top of a statue in yet another park?
Tata for now,
Hope
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