Author: Lindsey

King’s Cross & Fabric

England

Oh no! I didn’t get to write an entry for yesterday. Which was mad busy, by the way. Yesterday, I slept until 11–the longest I’ve slept in while being here. Then I went for a run in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park, which was absolutely beautiful. I think I might study or read there soon before the weather gets too cold. After returning, showering, and snacking, Melissa Antoine and I took a little trip to King’s Cross to find Platform 9 3/4!
kingscross

We are SUCH geeks, but it was so worth it!
meplatform

So after that, Antoine went off my himself because us girls were going to go shoppingggg. And I got a cute little dress from H&M which I wore that night at Fabric. We walked around the Harrods area for a little bit, explored a bead and jewelry store called Wave, and tasted free samples of tea down the street–the tastes of which we fell in love with right away and decided to buy tins full of it 🙂

Then we took the Tube from South Kensington to Gloucester Road (the perks of using a monthly Oyster card: going one stop doesn’t mean a thing!) to get some alcohol for the night. Guess what they hadddd!!!
babycham

And rushed back to cook pasta and drink up. At 10pm our big group embarked on the journey to Fabric, this really famous (and now infamous) nightclub at Farringdon. SO not worth the time, and it took us about 2 hours to find our way back home, which ended up being around 4am. For Saturday: homework time.

on anon

Nightlife, Quotes

I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days–three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.
~John Keats

Went out for Rachel’s birthday to On Anon, which is a nice club except for the cover charge of ÂŁ7 = the suck. Danced for a while with friends, was stalked creepily, met a boy named Tom, came home late. The end.

Things I Need to Say Right Now

Lists, London, Reflections

– I absolutely cannot STAND class breaks at weird hours where people come down to the library and act as if they were at a party. It’s obnoxious and kills my concentration when I really, really need to get things done.
– British people don’t wear raincoats. This puzzles me. Although, if it rained all the time back home, I’d probably get sick of carrying one around too.
– The small pack of Digestives costs 99p. The big pack costs 68p. This doesn’t make sense to me, but it does make sense to my tastebuds. I really can’t believe I’ve eaten as much as I have already.
– My rainboots, or ‘wellingtons,’ are a big hit here. It makes me smile.
– People don’t talk on the Tube. And when they do, they are American. Well, obviously we’re seen as boisterous and loud when everyone else doesn’t SPEAK.
– Classes are so relaxed here compared to Boston. You have no idea how much of a relief it is that I get to spend 6/7 nights a week out.

V&A Museum

London, Museums, Photography

For class today we went to the National Portrait Gallery (Leicester Square) to see some Henry VIII and Elizabeth I portraits.
henryportrait

And it off-and-on POURED rain 🙂 Which means I got to wear my rain boots and amazing raincoat out. After class, Melissa and I browsed the Victoria and Albert Museum, which houses an odd arrangement of things, from ironworks to plaster castings to Rodin sculptures to Turner paintings to jewelry, costumes, persian rugs, silverware, etc. A selection:
rug

raphael

foyer

Nice way to spend the afternoon. Did I mention Prince William visited the Natural History Museum yesterday and Melissa saw him? YEAH. WE LIVE ACROSS THE STREET.

Anyways, we did that for a while before coming back to chill. Then I went to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater at 19:30 to see As You Like It. Under an open roof, in the pouring rain, without an umbrella.
stage

And it was brilliant. Absolutely lovely. The thing I love most about Shakespeare is that on stage, it is the easiest literature to understand. And the actors were funny, and having fun in the rain, and everything about it was just so delightful. It was the first time I actually went out into London alone and navigated the streets and stood by myself–it felt so exhilarating!
globe

Updated To-Do

Lists, London

– pictures of Parliament at night
– drink a good pint at a historic English pub
– shop at Harrods
– ride on top of a double decker bus
– take a photo inside a red phonebooth
– stumble on a genuine Banksy
– stand on Platform 9 3/4
– attend a Westminster morning service
– take a picture with a palace guard
– Trafalgar Square
– Portobello Road
– Hampton Court Palace
– St. Paul’s Cathedral
– visit Liverpool
– ride in a black cab
– pay for the London Eye
– people-watch on the Tube
– find Gringott’s/Ministry of Magic phonebooth/Leaky Cauldron
– walk on the Millennium Bridge
– walk the Yorkshire countryside
– get caught in the English rain
– buy a Lindsay scarf
– run across Westminster bridge during the day
– run across Westminster bridge at night
– eat bangers & mash
– drink Primm
– visit Tate Modern
– tour Parliament

London Day Trip: Hampton Court Palace

England

9am-5pm class today with no lunch = EXHAUSTING. But we got to take an adventure to Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace in Surrey (HP lived in Surrey! ahem), which had the loveliest gardens. And some kingly architecture.
lionunicorn

The front of the palace.
front

The great hall, I think.
glass

Some staircase. Some really pretty staircase. Some good painting.
art

One of the courtyards.
courtyard

And the backyard gardens. Some in French style.
trees

And some in English style, which is always the prettiest.
garden

Outside we caught a sighting of King Henry VIII himself!
henry

Before we left, we walked through the Palace Maze!
maze

After I came home, I really did nothing more than buy groceries and sit around the room eating what I bought. Digestives: 1, Lindsey: 0. ALSO, today I got my Student Oyster Card. FINALLY. So after paying the ÂŁ205, I will now be able to travel as many times on the Tube as I want in Zones 1&2. Which meansssss….. a trip to King’s Cross VERY SOON. To see Platform 9 3/4. Which will begin my long and arduous journey into touring as many as-made-famous-by-Harry-Potter locations as possible. AM TRULY PSYCHED.

Brighton & Westminster

England

Ahhh 6 minutes until tomorrow! I’m trying to get entries in every day in real time, and so far it’s been a little stressful. Especially because I have like no time at night and no real want to write anything down. Anyways, today we went to Brighton, which I thought was really anti-climactic. It took an hour and a half to get there, our tour guide was horrible, and there wasn’t really much history outside of George IV’s Royal Pavilion, which in itself was very bizarrely non-English. The outside is very Indian, while the inside is decorated ENTIRELY in Chinese. In the words of Craig Ferguson: Iiiii knowwww!

Continue reading →

Thames River Festival

London, Markets

Today, I went to get my fixed camera! ❤ Then Melissa and I went to the Thames River Festival, which had all these really neat kiosks and stands that sold handmade jewelry and bags and accessories etc. It was BUSY.
festival

I splurged and bought a ÂŁ35 top that is gorgeous and adorable… and probably doesn’t fit me as well as the 6 foot tall girl who was selling it. But hopefully it will look cooler when I wear it back home. There were sand artists doing really cool things on the side of the Thames.
sand

And we wandered through the streets and found some cool sightings. I found this Banksy-knockoff (unless it actually IS by Banksy, but you can never really tell) work of art on one of the walls.
brick

We found and participated in a wine tasting which was alright, but earned me an ugly red stamp on the back of my hand. The London Bridge had lots of cool organic foods and halfway through turned into a hayloft. Kids were throwing bits of straw everywhere and making a mess. It was really bizarre.
festivalbridge

At the end of the afternoon, a beautiful sunset over the Thames.
millennium

sunset

Then we took the Tube home only to rush to get ready to go out again for a free night out at a club called Pep-C, which turned out to be WAY BELOW the hype. It was full of well-dressed pretentious and unattractive people who either danced and were gross or looked okay but wanted nothing to do with you. So I pretty much left at midnight and called it a night. You live and learn, I guess, and I got a free night out of it. Pictures tomorrow, when I visit Brighton!

Egg & Peter Pan

London, Nightlife

Interview went wonderfully. Shopped at Primark and H&M. Got some cute stuff. Then went clubbing at Egg. Met Michael, a Londoner born Romanian who adores Tolkien and thinks 9/11 was a conspiracy. Talked about Romanian men being perverts but the country as a place needing to be traveled to. Also made a point of remembering my name = <3. Tall and skinny with swept hair to the side, covering most of his face, white t-shirt, tight jeans. Way back home was too cold. Took the bus but got off early. Met Jamie, a blonde and perfect looking gay 18 year old from Wimbledon who escorted us to Piccadilly Circus. He had a Waldo shirt on (he made it himself) and a big bulky brown suitcase from which he extracted a jean jacket for me to wear. He used to practice ballet, but hurt his back and couldn’t do it anymore, so now he works at a bar and will soon be going to Disneyland to be Peter Pan! (Side note: I later suspected he might have been lying to cover his real identity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Campbell_Bower). He kept jumping up and down and laughing at how American we were and how British people were just as rude and loud. People we meet here are SO exciting. I just wish I had more time with them other than a drunken night out or walking down the street.