death by Top Shop

Part of USC’s study abroad program is working with a professor on a print project, which is a lengthy, in-depth story on any topic of our choosing. On Thursday, we met the professor, Paul Majendie, and luckily he is an energetic, hilarious Brit who worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters and has plenty of journalism stories to share—including a few near-death experiences apparently. There are so many things that would be fun to write about here, but I am leaning toward something about food (maybe focusing on the few Mexican restaurants here).

On Friday I ventured off on my own for the first time in awhile and went to Oxford Street for some shopping. I hadn’t been to Top Shop here yet so that was my first stop. The store was massive and beyond overwhelming, which I should have expected because the one in SoHo, New York is super expansive (Katy gets sick when she goes in there). I ended up wandering in circles for over an hour and went into the dressing room twice. After snapping out of my daze (an odd feeling of wanting to sprint away from the endless racks, but also being pulled toward all the cute clothes), I finally decided on a top I ended up wearing that night to a club. Next I went into Urban Outfitters, but quickly felt annoyed with myself for going into an American chain. I could still feel the numbing effects of Top Shop and my motivation to shop broke. I decided to forego the tube and walked home; it was nice to have some alone time away from the group even if Top Shop came out as the winner.

Lydia, Kristin, Susan, Alex and I went to Portobello Road on Saturday, but before we perused the stalls we ate at The Sun In Splendor, a yellow-painted pub at the beginning of the street. I ordered tomato soup, but it was overly peppered and I wasn’t feeling it, which is uncharacteristic of me because I usually clean my plate even when the food is mediocre. Susan and Alex each made purchases, but we got there kind of late so they started closing up; it got really cold quick after the sun went down, so we hightailed it back to the tube station (I think my toes were ice cubes).

We have gotten in the habit of doing something during the day, then having a siesta before getting ready to go out at night. I love this lifestyle choice, but it does have one hazard/flaw. When you get all cozy and warm in your bed it is really hard to find the motivation to get ready and face the cold outside (actually inside too because the heaters in our flat are currently not working). Even with this temptation we have managed to explore the city’s nightlife, which has been very fun to say the least (even with 10-pound covers at most places). Today I plan on running some errands and doing some reading (proof I actually do go to school).

Wanderlust Wednesday: London Eye & Parliament

Because a few of us do not have class on Wednesdays we dubbed it Wanderlust Wednesday, a day devoted to exploring this amazing city. Having a free day in the middle of the week is ideal for this purpose because we are often going to be traveling on Fridays when we also do not have class. Now you might be asking yourself, “Isn’t she supposed to actually study while she is studying abroad?” Yes, there will be the occasional paper and I want to learn about British history, politics and journalism, but my education this semester is mostly going to be outside the classroom.

So for our first Wanderlust excursion we went on the London Eye, walked through Parliament to see a debate in the House of Commons and gawked at Big Ben. The view from the London Eye was spectacular and I am really glad we did it, touristy as it is. From the London Eye we walked across a bridge to the Parliament building and Big Ben. They only do tours on Saturdays, but we were able to sit in on a debate between Members of Parliament about whether or not businesses with outside furniture should be financially responsible to clean that area of the sidewalk. Such a riveting topic that put Susan right to sleep.

Excuse the gray hue in all of my photos, it is the overwhelming color in this country.

London Eye 

class with Snooki

Yesterday was the first day of classes and it was quite interesting to say the least. From the beginning USC warned us that American and British universities (they call them “unis”) differ in many ways, but it wasn’t until I got here that I fully realized what that meant.

They do paper registration. Even though half the information needed to register is online, we still had to write down the courses we wanted to be in and get it approved in person. It took us a full day of orientation to get everyone’s classes sorted out when it could have taken 15 minutes online. And after all that I still don’t have my confirmed schedule.

People also talk [loudly] during class. A girl with a massive Snooki poof sat behind me with another girl and a guy who would not stop talking. This was slightly ironic because when we broke up into small group discussion he didn’t say anything. It was also weird that the professor just kept on lecturing without calling the whole blabbing bunch out.

There are some other subtle differences I am not going to note because my explanation would make me seem more arrogant and snobbish than I already sound. And although this laidback attitude might be a welcome change for some American college students, I thrive on order. When things get chaotic I get stressed, but maybe I should just do as the Brits do this semester and adopt a laissez faire attitude. I'm half way there because I've accepted that how and when things happen are out of my control and there is no point wasting energy on it, but I have no problem putting energy into sending fiery death-glares to eradicate this talking during class thing.

land of the hipsters

We’ve been doing a lot of walking recently, opting to see the city via sidewalk rather than by double-decker bus. It is a nice change to be able to stroll unlike in LA or Seattle where cars seem to be the best option most of the time. This has also helped us master jaywalking (a difficult task when cars drive on the wrong side of the road), which will eventually lead to looking like locals with London swag, a term we created and a status we all hope to reach within the next five months.

Today we walked to Brick Lane where unmarked basements become vintage bazaars during weekends and hipsters congregate. Yes, rubbing elbows with the alternative crowd boosted our swag status. Part of Brick Lane is also lined with Indian restaurants with salesmen standing outside offering deals on 3-courses. We finally picked a place to munch on delicious curries, and after lunch we wandered through Spitalfields Market. We were kind of disappointed with its offerings, but it might have just been less exciting because it was near closing time.

curry and naan

Tonight we are going on a pub crawl in Camden Town, which is probably going to be touristy and cheesy but we have to fit it in before our London swag is fully developed. Cheers!

a little tour

This week has been filled with orienting ourselves to City University and learning about our neighborhood, which is Clerkenwell (the Brits pronounce it Clarkenwell and, yes, there actually is a well). The university organized a walking tour of the area that is filled with historic and funky--our tour guide really liked this adjective--sites. Anyway, here is some of what we saw:

1. This meat market is open from 2-7 a.m., but after the work day is done the workers head to nearby pubs for breakfast and a pint. These early morning breakfast pubs could serve as the perfect place to grab a bite after a night out for us in the future. We have already discovered very few places are open late, and if they do claim they are open late that means closing time is about 11 p.m. To us Americans who are used to 24-hour drive-thrus this closing before midnight thing is unacceptable. The other night we did get lucky and found a falafel place near our flats that stays open until 3 a.m. Needless to say, we will be seeing those Turkish men again soon.      

2. This is the oldest house in London because it survived a massive fire throughout the city in 1666. I think the tour guide said it is worth something like 1.5 million pounds not just because of its historical significance, but for its prime location in the center of London and its large square-footage. 

3. Across the street from the house is the Church of St. Bartholomew The Great where Hollywood has filmed many scenes. The tour guide said it is a great example of Nordic architecture, which would be useful to know if I could recognize the style's characteristics. 

4. Near the church is St. Bartholomew's Hospital, which is the oldest hospital in the city and has the only statue of King Henry VIII in London. When the king became head of the Church of England he disbanded all of the monasteries in his kingdom, but he kept this hospital running. It would look bad to close a hospital, but it's fine to behead two of your wives.   

5. This is not something we saw on the tour, but we did learn that our school's mascot is a carrot. From a muscular, fearless Trojan who rides atop a valiant, snow-white steed to an orange root vegetable. It sounds sort of like a downgrade to me, but it is quite comical so I'll take it. Apparently it became City's mascot because a sports team had a match so they loaded their equipment on a donkey. He wouldn't move so they dangled a carrot in front of him; the lure got him moving and the team won their game. So now a university in distinguished London has a carrot with a goofy, cartoon smile as a mascot.

London is so steeped in history it seems like every building I walk by once housed a Victorian author or was built on a popular hanging site. There is so much to do, see and learn here that I hope I can do more than just scratch the surface.    

settling in

Monday morning my mom and I went to High Street Kensington to get toiletries before making our way to East London where my flat is. She helped me get my stuff inside and situated before we explored the place and said good-bye. The flat is adorable (I will post pictures soon!) It is three levels: Lydia and I share a bedroom and bathroom on the top floor; Alex, being the only male in our program, gets his own bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor; and the basement is an open kitchen and living room (it has been dubbed the speakeasy because of its subterranean location). It is part of a complex called Crawford House, and there are other students from Washington University and Wisconsin living here too.

We didn’t have enough time to unpack before we met people from Accent, the company that organizes housing and other logistics for our program, for an orientation and dinner at a pub nearby. I got fish and chips for the first time since I have been here and it was delicious—some of the best tartar sauce I have ever had. After dinner, we found our way back to the flats and unpacked before getting ready to explore our new neighborhood. We walked around for a little bit and then decided on a pub to get a pint. We talked and laughed about ridiculous journalism assignments and experiences reporting in South Central. On our way home we stopped at a convenience store to get stuff for breakfast in the morning.

Today we met another guy from Accent who showed us how to walk to City University and took us to Angel where there are lots of shops and restaurants. After people got their UK phones and toiletries, we had paninis and went grocery shopping. It was weird looking at all the food and not recognizing any brands, but it seems like we got some good stuff. We successfully caught the bus back to Crawford House and sat on the top level. I don’t know what the rest of the night entails, we might all meet up for dinner or something, but tomorrow is City University orientation all day. I’m excited to meet kids from other American schools studying abroad here!           

wine and chocolate

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day, as it should be. We had brunch (panettone French toast with sausage and apples) before we decided to do more shopping. We meandered down Pembridge Road, which is right by Portobello Road, and looked in mostly vintage shops. There were some shops on Portobello that were too crowded to go in on Saturday (when the market is), so we decided to backtrack and take advantage of the smaller crowds. After a lot of looking and not much buying, we stopped for a late lunch at The Portobello, an organic restaurant. I had tomato soup and part of my mom’s prosciutto, arugula (which they call rocket here) and roasted tomato pizza. We also had wine, which we have decided I am allergic to because of the not-so-subtle rosy shade that appeared on my face while drinking it. Apparently I can only drink organic wine to avoid this. How fancy.

After lunch we veered off Portobello and got semi-lost, which in our case was a good thing. We stumbled upon a chocolate shop called Melt that had interesting-flavored chocolate and hot cocoa so thick it was like drinking a candy bar. Needless to say there was no avoiding buying some with our collective sweet tooth. We got our hosts a blackberry and cinnamon chocolate bar that the guy at the store said was amazing (he was so confident he said he would give us our money back if we didn’t like it). I was very skeptical, but it turned out to be really good when we tasted it later.

chocolate bulldogs

We also went to church where Bill, one of our family friends, plays guitar for the choir. The music was great, way livelier than most Catholic churches I have been to, and the service was very old school with a priest that defines slow talker. After we walked back, we had a bite to eat and chatted. I move into my flat today, can’t wait!

wicked good

On Saturday morning we took a bus to Portobello Market, which has tons of street vendors lined along Portobello Road. They have everything from vintage clothes and jewelry to sandwiches and Brussels sprouts. It was fun looking at the antiques while munching on a Nutella and banana crepe. Near the end of the day we saw a girl who went to school with Jen, lives in our neighborhood and was in London for a school trip. It is pretty shocking running into someone you know from home in a foreign country, but it was fun to see her and hear about her trip. The market took up most of the day; we were all very happy with our purchases and deemed it a successful shopping trip. I got a handmade leather bag that my mom coveted and attempted to find and buy a duplicate of. Thankfully, she failed. I also got a Scottish, wool sweater and “Keep Calm and Carry On” tin sign.

Portobello Market

Later we got ready for dinner and Wicked (we had bought tickets the day before), which I was really excited to see because I have wanted to go forever. We went to an Italian place close to the theater before getting lost finding the way to our seats because they do not have ushers directing people. I was disappointed they didn’t give us Playbills like they do in New York, but the show was very impressive and I loved it.

Paris no more

Originally we had planned on going to Paris Friday morning, staying the night and heading back to London Saturday night, but we ditched this plan Thursday night. Although no one (who is sane at least) would turn down Paris, the change in plans gave us time to do more in London and I know I will make it across the channel at some point during the semester. We started out the day at St. Paul’s Cathedral and then crossed the Millennium Bridge, a walking bridge across the Thames, to the Tate Modern. It houses, well, modern art, and we saw a few Picasso paintings, Pollock works and a Monet.

St. Paul's

on the Millennium Bridge

Next to the museum is Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, which we decided not to take a tour of because my mom was not very interested. Earlier in the week when I had mentioned The Globe she thought I was referring to a newspaper headquarters I wanted to tour. To her credit I did later find that The Globe did used to be a London newspaper, but it merged with another publication in the 20s so would be no longer relevant to our travel plans. Even if she had known of this paper, which I find unlikely, her interest in Shakespeare is clearly limited. Instead, we went to a pub for a late snack, and then we went home for cocktails and helped prepare dinner.

The Globe

beefeaters and beheadings

Thursday was another packed day, and the first stop was Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. It was interesting to see the guards march and do their thing, but at the end of the ceremony the band started playing classic American songs. “New York, New York” was part of the set and Italian tourists started dancing and singing along.

changing of the guard

Buckingham Palace

 After that unexpected entertainment, we took the tube to the Tower of London where we took a Beefeater guided tour. They actually live in the tower with their families, a doctor and a chaplain, and our tour guide had some romantic, but mostly gory stories about the tower. I almost lost my breakfast while he was describing how they hanged prisoners until they were almost dead then cut out their insides and roasted them on a fire while they were still alive. Pretty gnarly. We went into the chapel where Anne Boleyn is buried, saw King Henry VIII’s armor from when he was young and handsome and looked at different Medieval torture devices. Apparently not that many people were actually tortured in the Tower of London, they were more humane than that with all the beheading and sticking heads on wooden poles. The crown jewels are also housed in the tower and they are so encrusted with precious stones they look fake.

Tower of London

Borough Market is near the tower so we walked there to find some lunch. It was later in the day, so vendors were already closing up and it wasn’t as packed as it is earlier in the day, but we found a place selling sandwiches and decided to take them to a pub to enjoy them out of the cold. Speaking of the cold, I don’t think I have mentioned the weather yet. It is similar to Seattle in that it is cold (around 50 degrees) and overcast, but it rains less and the sun does seem to show itself more often than during a Northwest winter.

Tower Bridge

A pint and a sandwich was just what we needed to refuel and we decided to go to a wine bar called Gordon’s that is built into a cave. The place was packed and even standing for a drink would not have been enjoyable, but it was cool to see. We were within walking distance of The Savoy Hotel, which has the famous American Bar where many cocktails were invented or perfected, so we headed there. We each got a drink (my mom and I were with our family friend Joanna) and munched on olives and nuts while people watching and chatting. I got a blushing monarch that had gin with passion fruit, blood orange and something else I cant remember (grenadine maybe?), but it was delicious. Our server was Canadian and told us the assistant manager was from Tacoma (we later discovered he went to WSU) after he found out we were from Seattle. After drinks we caught the tube home.

one full day

Determined to make the most of Wednesday because of our setback the day before, we left early to catch a tourist bus that our family friend had purchased a Groupon for. My mom and I are usually skeptical of anything that outright identifies us as tourists. I mean I even get embarrassed when I have to pull out a map. That being said, it was actually a very convenient way to get around the city to fit in as much as possible. We first got off at Trafalgar Square and went through the National Portrait Gallery. They had paintings and sculptures of past royals, aristocrats and important writers and scientists. My favorites were paintings of Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth I on her coronation. After the museum, we walked around and took pictures in the square. 

Trafalgar Square

Next we went through Winston Churchill’s War Rooms where he ran the country during WWII bombing raids. In addition to the actual war rooms there is a museum dedicated to the former prime minister’s entire life, and I learned a lot about him. Interestingly he was a painter and an extensive writer; he also had a lonely, sad childhood. We walked a little further to Big Ben and Parliament where we took pictures. The intricacy of that building is amazing and the pictures of it do not do it justice.

Big Ben

Then we headed to Westminster Abbey and made it just in time for the guided tour, which was well worth the extra three pounds. We got special access to parts of the abbey not open to the general public and heard innumerable details about the history of the church and the people buried there. I love the tradition and history of this country; every king and queen has been coronated in the abbey since it was built more than a thousand years ago and they each sit in the same coronation chair, which has definitely seen better days. The US's history, although interesting, falls short compared to England's rich and lengthy past. Although we had more stops on our list for the day, we were happy with all we had seen and learned. After stopping for some leek and potato soup, we took the bus to Marble Arch where we caught the tube back. We got some delicious gelato on our walk back to the house, and once I got home I was so tired I fell asleep before 10. Although falling asleep so early made me wake up early too, it gave me the chance to catch up on my blogging. More pictures on Facebook!

Westminster Abbey

a late start

I woke up early on Tuesday, but after breakfast I was not feeling well and went back to sleep, which put a wrench in our plans. We took the tube to Harrods in the afternoon and shopped around the store, which is a complete maze. You can find anything there. They even have a food section, where you can buy premade meals or raw food. So if you ever need a Prada handbag and a rare steak all in the same place you know where to go. We stopped in a pub to grab a bite to eat before taking the tube to Oxford Street, which is one of the busiest shopping strips in Europe. Regent Street, which is also lined with retailers, runs perpendicular to Oxford so we wandered down there too. We stopped for dinner at a place near Carnaby Street, which we later learned is an area the Beatles frequented. It was pretty late when we came home, so I watched an episode of “Breaking Bad,” a great show by the way, before falling asleep.

with the Harrods bears

first taste of England

On Monday our family friends picked my mom and me up from the airport and took us back to their house where we freshened up before heading out to walk around their neighborhood. After grabbing some coffee, we stopped and got my UK cell phone. We walked down one of the ritziest streets in London and passed Kensington Palace. We looked in some shops before heading to a pub, Windsor Castle, which was exactly what I imagined an English pub would look like. Inside the pub there were short, small door openings that led to different rooms. We each got a pint and eventually decided to stay for dinner. I got pork loin with mashed potatoes and leeks, and I have to say my first experience with English food was not bad at all despite its poor reputation. By the time we got home, I was exhausted and beyond ready for sleep.

airport waiting

I’m waiting for my mom at the airport in London because she was on a later, direct flight from Seattle (and she calls me spoiled). I’ve finished Chelsea’s book and even though I have four others waiting in my luggage my eyes are too fatigued to read anything smaller than 14-point font. Thus I have reverted to writing a post. A post I cannot post right now because there is no free WiFi in this airport. It is 1:30 a.m. in Seatown and because it is impossible to get good sleep on planes I can confidently say I am exhausted. All I want to do is sleep the day away and wake up to a traditional English tea, but I must resist that urge. The best travel advice my dad has given me is when fighting jetlag you have to force yourself to get on the local sleep schedule; no sleeping the entire day away and being up all night or else it will take much longer to get acclimated to the new time zone. Obviously this is easier said then done, especially when I have been averaging 11 hours of sleep over break, but my dear friend coffee should help me through it. We got a morning snack on the plane, but I’ve grown hungry waiting for Suz so I broke out the pretzel sticks I brought for in-flight munching. I think the Brits are staring because this is an odd choice before noon, but I refuse to eat Krispy Kreme donuts, which seems to be the only “breakfasty” place in this terminal. This is more of a rant than I imagined for my first British post, but I blame the lack of sleep. I really am excited to finally be here! Studying abroad still seemed so far in the future at the beginning of break I’m kind of in shock I’m actually in London. Well, I technically haven’t left the airport yet, but that shall change shortly, my friends!

P.S. I hope my fellow Trojans had a great first day of classes!

the layover

Currently I am in Washington D.C. (thinking of you, Haines) waiting to board my flight to London. The upside: my gate is next to where I got off the plane from Seattle. The downside: the airport’s free WiFi is painfully slow, which makes watching Breaking Bad via Netflix and avoiding boredom difficult. The movie playing on my cross-country flight was that Hugh Jackman movie about boxing robots with “steel” in the title—not my cup of tea. So I opted to read Chelsea Handler’s book “Are you there, Vodka? It’s me Chelsea,” which is hilarious. I found myself holding back audible laughter on multiple occasions and unfortunately I am almost done with the entire thing. I decided I needed to dole out my doses of Chelsea sparingly to extend the hilarity as long as possible and plugged in to watch “30 Rock” and a sad documentary about custodians (I was also confused why this was playing). People in United uniforms are talking about my flight so I guess I should pay attention and organize my belongings that have sprawled across three seats in the waiting area. Next time you hear from me I will be across the pond!  

back on the blogging bandwagon

As promised I have returned from my blogging hiatus to chronicle my semester abroad in London. A little about my program (or shall I say programme): seven other USC journalism students and I will take journalism and social sciences classes at City University, and we all live in flats together that are a five-minute walk from school. I move in on the 16th and have a week of orientation until classes start the 23rd. My mom and I thought it would be fun to go a week early, so I am leaving Seattle on Sunday at 8 a.m. and am expected to arrive in the UK on Monday morning. My God mother's sister lives in London, so we are going to stay with her and her family while we explore the city. Neither of us has been to London before, so we have a lot of things we want to do and see while my mom is there. We are also planning on going over to Paris for two days, which will be fun because we have both been before but never together.

This past week has been pretty hectic because not only have I been preparing to go overseas, but I have been purging and organizing EVERYTHING I own because my mom is moving out of our house at the end of the month. So that meant we had to organize all of my stuff before I left, which was exhausting, but it felt good to streamline and get rid of the clothes and stuff I don't use, need or want anymore. I loved being home for the holidays and I know I'm going to miss USC, but I am beyond excited for London and traveling all over Europe this semester. Tomorrow will be filled with packing and good-byes before I cross the pond!