Stratford-upon-Avon & 21

Stratford-upon-Avon was nearly perfect. Not only did I get to stand two feet from the final resting place of THE William Shakespeare but I got to see the bed where he was conceived and born. Plus, the program treated us to luxurious accommodations in a bed and breakfast that had a great shower and a nice older couple who made us a traditional English breakfast. I'm out of town almost every weekend until November which means real showers and real adventures are in my future.

The bus got us out of the city just after rush hour and since we took the same high way that we did when visited Oxford, I didn't feel guilty sleeping as the country side flew by. Our first stop was Warwick Castle, "Britain's Greatest Medieval Attraction" where all the Earls of Warwick lived and tortured prisoners until the 18th Century, or so. The castle itself was amazing and the views were incredible atop "Guys Tower," the tallest tower at the castle. The big turn off, however, was that the place was overrun with tourists and dumb attractions. I had pretty bad fish and chips for lunch after watching a demonstration of the "largest trebuchet in the world!" and before leaving, Ryan and I toured an underground gallery full of wax figures in period costumes. It was pretty disappointing.

After the castle, we headed to Stratford-upon-Avon where Shakespeare was born, raised, and buried. We stayed in a really quaint bed and breakfast and Unique and I each got our own twin bed on the first floor complete with a great shower and a television. As soon as we arrived, we headed straight to Trinity Church (the site of Shakespeare's tomb) where our program director provided us with a brief biography of the playwright on the banks of the River Avon in the cemetery where Shakespeare's son "Hamnet" was supposedly buried. After touring the church which took about two minutes, Ryan and I walked along the river and took a boat (propelled by a man turning a large crank the entire ride) across to the other side where we enjoyed coffee and cookies near a Tudor style foot bridge before dinner.

Trinity Church and the River Avon:
Six of us had Italian for dinner. To celebrate my 21st birthday, I ordered a gin and tonic with lime and most of us had some form of dessert. I opted for chocolate and Kahlua pudding with homemade ice cream. I spent way too much money but I have no regrets.

From dinner, we went straight to the temporary site of the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre (the actual building is undergoing some serious renovations) for their production of Hamlet. Patrick Stewart played Claudius, Hamlet was played by David Tennant (who stars in "Dr. Who" and made an appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The production was four hours long but the play was easily the best I've ever seen. Seeing Shakespeare, done well, can be a really rewarding experience.

After the play, we were too exhausted to go out to drinks so I spent the night of my 21st birthday watching the movie Scream in my room with Unique until 1 a.m.

The next morning we awoke to a full English breakfast (without the beans) that included ham, sausage, fried eggs, toast, and a boiled tomato. Our first stop in the morning was the birthplace of Shakespeare (where I purchased an "Out damn spot!" [from Macbeth] eraser and a coffee mug featuring the line "To be or not to be?" [from Hamlet] from the gift shop) and the second was Cafe Nero for a little pick-me-up. I hit several landmarks alone because everyone else was uninterested in what the town had to offer. I loved walking around the Elizabethan-style homes open to the public and then taking pictures around their back gardens. Roses are still in bloom in central England.

The home where Shakespeare was born (70% of the home is original):The matinée of The Merchant of Venice was pretty weak compared to Hamlet but was thankfully not as long. The play did have some moderately big names and since I had never read the play before, it was a good introduction to the story. I also loved the venue. The theatre was built to look like the Globe and had a nice, open courtyard where the audience could mingle with the cast after the show. Unfortunately, Patrick Stewart was the only player to use the back door.

I slept the entire way home on the bus. We didn't get in to London until 7 p.m. but Jon and Ryan were determined to make meatball sandwiches. We have no groceries.

After dinner, we were invited to a game night at a Grinnell flat on Great Portland Street where Kerry, Nora, Karly, Josh, Thomas, and Alissa had tea cakes and candles waiting for me. They sang Happy Birthday and we all enjoyed beer and each others company until almost 2 a.m. All in all, I had a great birthday.

Post Scotland

I've spent the week recovering from my trip and planning more trips and booking more flights across Europe. Last night we solidifed plans for our October 10th visit to Paris (I can't even pronounce the name of our hostel) and I'm in the process of getting my fall break in order. I got an email from a Grinnellian in Poland. The tickets are cheap. Who knows.

Allison Sutton and I set a date. I'm visiting her in St. Albans on October 5. I couldn't be more excited.

We caught up on wine and Project Runway on Monday but most of the week, we did homework and hung around the flat. I'm still frequenting Starbucks and working on my new Sudoku book but things have calmed down considerably and I feel less pressure to see everything all at once. I did manage to get to the Museum of London on Tuesday, which was neat, and I visited the Imperial War Museum with class on Monday. I found both museums to be very accessible and I'm planning on sending my parents to the War Museum while I'm in class. My dad could easily spend a whole week there and my mom would like the gift shop. They sell aprons there.

Today I had my first test of the semester and yesterday I got my first paper back. Some professors just don't get me. On my exam, I know I completely missed the mark on the section about the historical significance of Westminster Palace. For those of you who don't know, the Abbey and the Palace are two different landmarks. Westminster Palace is more commonly known as the Houses of Parliament. For lunch, I headed north on the Northern line for a delicious burrito from my new favorite spot called "Mucho Mas" in perparation for the test. Their food is authentic Mexican-American and it makes me feel better about being here.

We've been riding the bus home from school everyday and I'm really liking it because we get to see all 7,000 cultural and architectural landmarks like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, House of Parliment, and Charing Cross in one go. Turns out, they are all less than a mile from our flat. It also gives me a chance to breath without feeling like I'm inhaling massive amounts of exhaust.

Soup night/Lasagna night starts in about 20 minutes and I've got to get the wine to the dinner party before people get upset.

When I get back from Stratford-upon-avon (I'm leaving tomorrow morning) I'll let you know if I could see how big Patrick Stewart is under his cod piece in Hamlet.

Scotland

Boy was it nice to get out of town for a few days. I left early on Friday morning (a little too early, actually but you can never be too careful when flying out of Stansted on an airline called "EasyJet") and landed in Edinburgh at one or so. I caught a bus to the city center right away and was on Waverly Bridge overlooking Edinburgh Castle, The Mound, Calton Hill, a bunch of stunning monuments, and the Museum of Edinburgh by quarter to two.

I had all of my hostel information in hand but I still managed to walk in the wrong direction off the bus. Luckily, I ran into a Visitor's Information Center (this is rarely the case when I get lost) and was able ask a nice woman where to go. She literally pointed out the window of the visitors center directly at my hostel when she read the address. I was very thankful that I was so close to everything and also very embarrassed. While I was there, I picked up a bunch of free maps and compulsively purchased a discounted student ticket to the Edinburgh Dungeon. Then I took 25 pictures from the grassy area near the center and walked to my hostel. Sites in Edinburgh are either at the top of a hill or at the bottom of a hill. Fortunately, my hostel was at the bottom. It was also right across from the Dungeon!

It took a while to check in because eight English men wearing football shirts were also in the process of checking in and the receptionist was trying to explain to them why she would have to keep their room keys until they paid the £250 damage deposit. By the time I got up to the counter, she was so furious and exhausted that she forgot to collect my deposit, told me to have fun, and then sent me up four flights of stairs to my room. The room was covered in gaudy floral murals and stupid sayings like "Mind, Body, Spirit, and Shoes" (OFFENSIVE) but the bathroom had a real, working shower, and the place was clean and smelled normal. I opted for the all-girl dorm partially because it was the least expensive but also because staying above that middle-aged Finnish man who slept naked in my London hostel was really traumatic.

Disgusting: It took me about 25 seconds to get settled in so I was at the Edinburgh Dungeon by 2:30 or so. The "Dungeon Experience" is in several cities throughout Europe (including Amsterdam and York) and if you ever get a chance to go, do not. Actors with pretend facial sores in ghoulish costumes walk guests through the "Dungeon" and tell stories about some of Edinburgh's creepiest historical figures. I don't regret going but I would never go again.

I walked straight from the Dungeon down to a footpath to the Museum of Edinburgh and then up the hill to a courtyard of a church of a theological school. From the church, I toured a tartan making factory and then walked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. Since it was the end of the day, I decided not to pay the huge fee to walk through the castle (I toured the Tower of London last week and I was pretty sure there would be some overlap) but I did enjoy the view from atop the mountain. Half way down the mile, I stopped into St. Giles Cathedral and ran into a girl from my program!! so we decided to grab dinner together. Luna ordered haggis (so I didn't have to) and I opted for the steak pie and Scottish beer. Haggis is gray and furry and tastes like the inside of a sheep. We walked the rest of the Mile after dinner and spent a bit of time at the foot of some stunning green cliffs. I went to bed at 9 p.m. after falling asleep in the upstairs of a Starbucks doing Sudoku.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 8:30 but because I was sharing my room with 10-12 girls, I had to wait until 10:30 to shower. Before my shower, I had a conversation with an older woman from Germany and two younger girls from New Zealand about all the reasons America is terrible and all Americans are ignorant. I agreed with most of the things she had to say but I still felt a little anxious/nauseous after our talk so I left the room as soon as I was fully clothed and set out for some important buildings and landmarks on Prince Street in New Town. I hit Calton Hill before noon and then found an old cemetery and the former Scottish Parliament building (the new building I saw the night before across the street from the Palace of Holyrood).

Actual view from Calton Hill: In the afternoon, I took a quick trip to Leith on the bus and toured the Royal Yacht Britannia. The highlight of the tour was getting to see the bedroom where Princess Di and Charles spent their first night as a married couple.

On a whim, I decided to take a three o'clock train to Glasgow. For £6, I got to see some solid Scottish countryside as well as spend the afternoon walking around the city. I saw the Cathedral and walked up and around the site of the Necropolis (a breathtaking cemetery on what looked to be the highest hill in Glasgow) and walked along the River Clyde.

Necropolis in Glasgow: I stopped to rest in the Glasgow Green and listened to an impromptu concert on the river featuring a man practicing his bagpipes. Glasgow had considerably less going on than Edinburgh and the streets were a bit dingier but it also seemed more fun and hip. I ate a great Japanese meal for dinner (I had the hardest time finding a spot to eat as the city had really limited options) and then headed back to Edinburgh at 9 p.m. As I was about to pay for my ticket home, a man approached me and handed me an extra return ticket his wife had accidentally purchased. The people I spoke to in Glasgow were much nicer than those I spoke with in Edinburgh.

I caught my plane out of Edinburgh at 9:45 a.m. and made it back to my flat in time for a great four-hour afternoon nap.

On my shuttle ride back to the city, I got excited about living in London again.

Pre Scotland

"This wine can't be that bad. It has a cork." -Ryan explains how wine that is corked is better than wine that has a twist off lid.

I'm still in London. Tonight we're finishing the "Wine Window" (every time we drink a bottle of wine, we add the empty bottle to the window sill in the living room) and watching Project Runway and possibly Top Design. I had a very eventful weekend and my legs are really sore.

The only thing I remember from last week is being excited for my big solo trip to Scotland. Plus, 1ST ANNUAL SOUP NIGHT HAPPENED LAST WEEK! Jordan came over at six on Wednesday night and Jon vacuumed our place (for the first time since we moved in) and I washed dishes while Jordan prepared vegetarian potato and kale soup. Guests started arriving at about 6:45 with tons of good bread and wine and by seven, the soup was done. We asked everyone to bring their own dishes and silverware so we didn't have to use throw away stuff and we all pitched in to do dishes at the end. The most important part of soup night is when the chef du jour explains how the soup is made. This week, we all learned a lot about the historical significance of kale and also about boullion cubes. Kerry is making roasted vegetable lasagna on Thursday night which is not soup but will probably be delicious.

We saw three plays last week so we're looking forward to cooking better meals this week (like burritos!) since we only have one on the itinerary and we'll be less rushed in the evenings. War Horse, about a boy and a horse who are separated at the start of WWI and then miraculously find each other near the end of the war, was absolutely incredible. It played at the National Theatre so we all got dressed up. The animals in the production were played by humans who used elaborate wooden puppets, even the horses were puppets manipulated by people. It sounds odd, but it was well done and believable. Under the Blue Sky, the play we saw on Thursday, was none of those things. After the play, Ryan and I went to a pub called "The Coal Hole" for drinks and then took the bus home.

Our walking tour on Thursday was really interesting because we got a chance to see where the barristers and solicitors (British lawyers) are trained. Barristers in the UK still wear black gowns and wigs made of horse-hair for all of their court appointments. We also walked along the river for part of the afternoon which is always a treat.

I spent a lot of my free time in coffee shops this week doing Sudoku and spending lots of money. One money saving tip I've discovered, however, is telling the barista that you're getting your chocolate cake/lemon bar/blueberry muffin to go (or "to take away" as they say here) because they charge you an extra 30-50 pence to "eat in."

Early Friday morning, I went to Scotland.

All in the family

"Porn: A Family Business?! Is it 11:00?" -Jon

Right now, the whole flat is camped out in front of the television. We're watching "Porn: A Family Business" and drinking cider which I'd say we've earned considering today we each turned in our first paper of the semester. It was three pages not including the title page or the works cited page.

Instead of packing a picnic dinner last night, we headed to the Mayor's Thames River Festival for the night parade and fireworks display with the intention of finding something to eat there. We all scrapped together some solid street food and chatted in a very European-looking patio under trees covered in blue and white twinkle lights until it was time to move to the river. Thirty minutes before the show, we walked down to the beach and watched the fireworks (which were launched from two barges on the river) right on the Thames with hundreds of other locals and tourists. The display was the best I've ever seen and I was so inspired by the whole event that I cried.

Unfortunately, a picture could never do the fireworks justice.

Tonight Ryan and I went to a new age production of "Twelfth Night" at a small theatre in Kilburn called the Tricycle Theatre. Even though we were late, the usher got us right in and threatened a woman who was saving two seats for a couple of her "no-show" friends to move or leave. She was irate and Ryan got to sit next to her for the entire show. I didn't really understand the show but at one point, they gave away pizza and two shots of Tequila to members of the audience.

Wednesday we're having soup night with some fun folks and tomorrow I'm going grocery shopping. This weekend we mastered the bus system which means we are no longer at the mercy of the underground that closes at 12:30 on a good night. Tomorrow I'm taking the bus to and from the grocery store just like a young professional might do at the end of a long day at the office.

Donna Vinter, our program director, gave Jon an acoustic guitar which means I'll be spending less time in the flat. Tonight, Ryan and I hid it under my comforter but Jon found it right away. I'm just teasing, Jon is a great musician (plus, the guitar doesn't have a D string which really limits the number of songs he can play).

Oxford and the Tower of London

Yesterday on the way to Oxford, I saw sheep, cows, and geese on the country side and everything felt really perfect. Nora and Josh proposed the trip as a means of getting us out of the city and Oxford had everything we needed to refuel.

We caught the bus about a mile from our front door and at £5 each way, it was a great investment in my health and happiness. We spent almost an hour in the University's Botanical Garden and walked up and down old streets lined with churches covered in red ivy. Instead of taking a tour of Christ Church (Oxford's most celebrated property where parts of Harry Potter were filmed) we walked around the grounds and read a brochure about it which was cheaper. On our way back to the bus, we ran into a very important museum called the Ashmolean of Art and Archeology that was full of Egyptian and English artifacts. The highlight of the day was easily the thirty-five minutes we spent in a restaurant called "The Opium Den" where we were never served and practically asked to leave when we finally got the attention of the server. The place was full of important Japanese business men. By the time we decided to grab lunch on the go instead, I was so hungry I had no choice but to eat two pasties and an Orange Fanta for lunch for some random pasty stand.

Oxford also had a great covered market (where I bought Ryan a small birthday cake to celebrate his 21st day of being 21) that reminded me of Pike Place Market except with more blood pudding.

I got some good pictures of the sights in Oxford with my new camera but instead, I'll post this one that I found online.

Christ Church:
I regret not buying a sweatshirt.

Wednesday I ate lunch at a place called "Wok in a Box." The food was disgusting so I threw it away and went to McDonald's and bought french fries. I felt very guilty but also very satisfied. After lunch, I met my class at the Sainsburry African Galleries at the British Museum. The galleries had ancient and contemporary art from Kenya, Benin, and Ghana among others and I especially enjoyed some of the sculptures constructed out of decommissioned weapons from Mozambique including the "Tree of Life" and the "Thrown of Guns." The gift shop didn't have the postcards I was hoping for, but I enjoyed spending an hour or so in the museum. That's about all I can handle anymore and the British Museum is the biggest and most overwhelming of them all.

All I did on Thursday was be late for a walking tour with my history class. By the time I caught up to the group, they were just leaving St. Bartholomew's Church where Shakespeare in Love was filmed.

I toured the Tower of London on Friday and all I could think about was how much it reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg. There were tons of tourists and sets of armor in glass cases. I saw the Crown Jewels! Much like the main attractions in Disney Land, before you see the Crown Jewels, you have to travel through three different rooms where film clips of Queen Elizabeth's coronation are set to royal soundtracks as they're projected on massive screens. On either side of the Jewels (which are displayed in glass cases in one long line) are two moving sidewalks to prevent people from gawking too long. Most of the crowns were smaller than I thought they would be and the crowds weren't as intense within the Treasury (where the Jewels are kept) so the sidewalks looked a little rediculous. I will be taking my parents to the Tower. My dad will LOVE IT and FREAK OUT especially over the White Tower where the weapons and suits of armor are housed.

This is the White Tower which is next to the Raven pen:Friday we had sober game night at Josh, Thomas, Alyssa, Carly, Nora, and Kerry's flat and last night we had non-sober game night and rode the bus around the city at night. If you an get a seat on the top of a double decker in the front, in the dark, it's basically the ride of your life.

Tonight we're taking a picnic dinner to the River Thames Festival parade.

London Autumn

The leaves are already falling which means Ryan his wearing is pea coat almost every morning to school. I like London autumn so far since the underground is less suffocating during rush hour which is when I have to make the journey home everyday.

This week's been pretty slow so far but I'm looking forward to the weekend. Jon is planning a trip to Oxford and we're taking the train. Train travel is still fun and new and I can't wait to see a little of the country side. Just recently we all noticed that the contents of our Kleenexes are almost always black at the end of the day. We should probably be wearing masks and respirators.

This morning I booked my flight to Scotland for September 19-21! I'm going solo and my hostel is within walking distance of some important landmarks that I should really start reading about. I'm hoping there are good castles and pipe bands to see and hear. If not, I would be pretty satisfied just drinking coffee and relaxing in a park with some sheep or something. I don't really know what to expect but I'm hoping it is "lush" and "green."

Ryan and I attended the Regents Street Festival over the weekend and on Monday night, stayed in. I was able to check out the bird room of the Natural History Museum before class on Monday and I especially liked the pair of stuffed Dodos that were part of the "Endangered Species" case as well as the egg of some massive and extinct flightless bird that was the size of a bowling ball (possibly bigger.) Tuesday I went to the National Portrait Gallery. It was so so impressive and is probably my second favorite attraction next to the fetus museum. I bought tons of postcards and plan to visit again soon. Their collection of contemporary works blew my mind. This piece, called "Zoe" by Jason Brooks, was my absolute favorite:Tuesday night we watched a play at the Royal Court Theatre called "Now or Later" about US politics and adolescence. I really liked it and thought it was poignant and timely and all that crap until a bunch of my classmates joined me outside the theater and started shouting things like "trite," "poorly acted," and "off-base" in my face. Screw them. The Royal Court Theatre has some excellent performances coming up so I may have to suck it up and actually pay out of pocket for some tickets. We've been pretty spoiled so far.

My package from home arrived and I ate Macaroni and Cheese for lunch yesterday. Oh baby was it good.

Friday, I will be touring the Tower of London and in a few weeks I get to go to Stratford to see Patrick Stewart in "Hamlet."

I would really like to see the Jack the Ripper exhibit before it leaves town and I feel like I haven't walked through enough parks yet. I would also like to go on the Princess Diana Memorial Walk and buy a water bottle.

Best Museum

We're all suffering from what can only be described as "Museum Burn-Out." I physically can not go to another museum for a while unless it's one devoted to the Spice Girls or Princess Diana (both of whom remain my favorite British icons.)

We spent a few hours in the National Gallery on Wednesday with my museum class looking at some of the most commercially successful paintings ever such as Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and a lot of portraits from the 14th Century featuring cherubs and renderings of the Resurrection. I have no idea what we did in the evening (days tend to run together here) but I imagine spaghetti and/or television was involved.

In preparation for my walking tour of Westminster Abbey, I took the undergound to South Kensington where I walked around the Victoria & Albert Museum before becoming too overwhelmed by everything to make it to the museum's exhibit about the Motown group, The Supremes. Not only was I a little thrown off by the Supremes exhibit since the rest of the museum was full of priceless objects from Kings and priests and Victorian elites, I couldn't find it. During one attempt, I followed the sounds of "You Can't Hurry Love" into a room full of antique musical instruments but it was basically a dead end (even though I could still hear the song). I enjoyed the V&A but it's just too huge to consume in one day. To lift my spirits, I bought several postcards from the gift shop and then a thong that says "Mind the Gap" on the front from a convenience store near by. I think I'm going to send it to Rachel for her 22nd birthday that was over a week ago.

The walking tour was great. Westminster Abbey is massive and quite ornate. I always love walking near the Thames even though the water is really dingy. During one small portion of the tour, we walked through the courtyard of the really private and really prestigious Westminster School. The place was once for boys only but now girls are permitted to study there past the age of 17. The only girl I saw was carrying a field hockey stick and wearing a plaid skirt. I can't imagine going to a school where "sweater vest" is on the top of the supplies list.

Jared showed up on Thursday morning (his program in France starts today and he wanted to get in a little London time before then) so he got to come on our walking tour. For dinner, we tried to show Jared our favorite pub but the place was under construction so we walked down the street and found a comparable one. I had a steak and ale pie and some hard cider. The pair are practically inseparable. We went to the International Student House for drinks Thursday and Friday night because their prices are right. We're hoping to check out a new pub tonight since we're not "club people."

My field trip to Welwyn Garden City was cut short by rain and wind but I enjoyed getting out of the city for a few hours. The town was founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard who reshaped how small towns are designed and constructed (it has industry, a college campus, a town square, access to the city, and a safe residential area all within a six mile radius.) It took about half an hour to get there by train and on the way to the city, we could see the site where the first television show was filmed and broadcast.

On our way home, we ran into some Grinnell people in the underground on their way to the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons so we decided to tag along. The place was full of medical oddities like human and animal fetuses, uteruses, feet, tumors, and nipples which were preserved in large jars of formaldehyde over two stories. They also had a set of Winston Churchill's gold dentures on display! The museum was free and less then 50 people visit a day so you don't have to worry about seeming creepy and weird for looking at certain objects for a long time. It was probably the most exciting museum in the entire city.

I have no idea what these things are. Aren't they gross/cool?We're on our way to the Portobello Market in Notting Hill. Maybe Hugh Grant will be there but probably not.

Famous Person Alert

Yesterday was the fifth morning we had to let the plumber in so to celebrate, I answered the door bra-less wearing the same pajamas I'd been wearing for more than two weeks.

The tour of Reuters was really excellent. Since we were hosted by Editor-in-Chief, David Schlesinger, we got to block all the halls and play with all the news equipment and one my classmates got a chance to read a script off a teleprompter which they recorded (he posted the clip on youtube.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRF4r2QV8RM

The last half of the tour we sat in the conference room and grilled the man about how he's sold out, cheapened the name of journalism, and how he's contributed to globalization, in a bad way. Unfortunately, he was a really nice guy so I felt bad when my class started to sink their pseudo-intellectual teeth into him. AND they had cookies, soda, and sparkling water waiting for us upon arrival. AND we got to wear badges with our names on them.

I nearly missed the tour since I gave myself about 20 minutes to go nine stops on the tube with two transfers. By the time I caught up to my classmates, I was feeling pretty nauseous because I sprinted up five flights worth of escalator since we were told, for security reasons, to be prompt. The professor was the last to arrive and we got inside about 10 minutes behind schedule and I was a little peeved because I was really sweaty and nauseous for the first part of the tour.

Monday night, we caught a play called Fragments which was made up of five short pieces by playwright, Samuel Beckett. Only three actors stared in the play and one of them was in Harry Potter and the Pheonix. Kathryn Hunter, also known as "Arabella Figg!" The short stories were poignant, funny, sad, and hard to understand but really well done. The show was at a small theatre called the "Young Vic."
Kathryn Hunter as Arabella Figg

I hit the Tate Modern museum alone today and saw all sorts of famous paintings by Matisse, Lichtenstein (POP ART), Picasso, Monet, and even some paintings and pieces made out of period blood and condiments. I like "doing" museums solo because I can go it at my own pace and not feel like I need to spend hours looking for "deeper meanings" and "points of view" unless I want to. I ended up walking around for over two hours and then I bought some great postcards in the gift shop. I sat in a Starbucks near by the museum reading about boring things. for a few hours and then headed to class. The museum was easier to find than most sights I've visited because the path is marked by orange light poles. Very Mod.

Inside (Tate Modern Turbine Hall [entrance]):On Thursday, I would like to go to the Tate Britain (since it's practically next to my house) before I embark on my walking tour of Westminster Abbey. It houses some of the pieces that don't fit in the Tate Modern and is a little on the newer side.

Tomorrow afternoon, my class is going to the National Gallery. I like to mark something off of my to-do list everyday.

Now that I'm settled, I'm going to start planning weekend trips around Europe. I have lofty goals so we'll see what's reasonable once I start pricing things. The British Pound is slowly falling, thank god.

Also, a story in a free tabloid I picked up today used quotes taken entirely from the Myspace.com page of the 18 year old boy who impregnated Sarah Pollen's daughter for a story on the "scandal." "The London Paper" and "The London Lite" are free EVERYDAY. Both are tabloids and trashy so you know I'm staying informed.

I'm glad Hurricane Gustav didn't do what it was supposed to.