Horrah!

Cheers, London!

Well friends, I'm in London and very vibrantly alive. I had forgotten the excitement of this fabulous city, and have certainly been making the most of it since my arrival on Tuesday. It feels like I've been here for much longer.

Getting the touristy stuff done with: Admiralty Arch near Charing Cross

I have also discovered even more friends who also happen to be here and have been busying myself with various meetings-up. Tonight Megan cooked up a tasty dinner @ Philippe's flat (which is terribly cute and has a great balcony)... the meal was very luxurious for poor college students, but certainly complete with cheap red wine and 45p chocolate digestive biscuits for desert (they sound gross, but trust me...).

Meg = the hostess with the mostess... so I gave her a smooch.

During the day, Lily, one of her friends from school here, and I walked the westward Thames walkway (The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Saturday market, London Bridge, Southwark Cathedral, the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern art museum, Millenium Bridge, and St Paul's Cathedral), spent some time enjoying the Tate's new aquisitions (& a really fabulous room of Richard Hamilton's work), and took a zillion photos like true touristas.

Tower Bridge + the Thames

@ the Globe (she's scorning me and I'm fainting with shame, clearly.)

These slides are inside the Tate Modern - you can ride them from the 5th + 2nd floors to the basement!! WEEEE!

I also ventured to Stratford-upon-Avon (and dragged Lily along with!) for a deja vu and reunion with the current Stratford gang, the program that allowed me to live in England for four months as a highschooler. They had invited me along to see The Winter's Tale, which was fabulous, although some scenes were a bit obstructed. Not the best use of stage space, anyway. It felt so nostalgic to be riding the train (our clutch means of transport when we'd travel all around), back in Stratford... with the RSC... and the swans... Well, maybe not the swans.

Being silly on the train... (I taught Lily to play Spit! We caused a ruccus.)

Dinner @ Barnaby's in Stratford - classic fish n' chips, of course!

Backtrack to the British Museum with Megan - I especially liked the Ancient Egyptian adornments (wish I had a headpiece of gold foil cut flowers..and some sweet hair rings), small ivory miniatures, and Japanese prints - and wandering around Russel Square.

A carved monkey trainer and his trainee... such a good facial expression

How amazing is she... I mean, c'mon, she has talons for feet!

Yes, I have already gotten lost trying to find an address I had been to 3 times previously. For 40 minutes. But I was only 6 minutes late (sorry, Meg). And have been verbally misunderstood more times than appropriate when asking directions or talking with British folk I meet. So yes, I am a tourist. And worse yet, an American tourist. Although today someone told me, upon meeting, that I didn't look like an American. "I thought you were Spanish or something," she said. I was quite proud. Americans are known here, as in much of the world, for being rude, inconsiderate, and ignorant. I'm sure there will be more to be said on the national identity subject later...

On Monday, Lily and I head off to Brussels to visit her family (via EUROSTAR!! oh I love trains!). Much chocolate, art-noveau, and waffles to be had, I'm sure... Until then, much love!