Lasts of London

Oh goodness. Three days left in London. How do I start about that? It was weird. I came here and I remember walking up Hogarth Road toward my flat one evening and thinking to myself how far away April seemed. I imagined then what it would feel like walking up to 40 Hogarth at the end of four months here. How knowledgeable, how comfortable, how, well, London, I’d feel. And now I actually feel that way. It’s strange, seeing yourself undergo that sort of transformation. It’s all sort of bittersweet.

Ok, I’ll get sentimental another time. None of that now. I’ll catch you up on how the last London week has gone.

I guess I last left off on Wednesday. Thursday, had a great lunch with Sarah and Alex at our favorite brasserie, Maison Malinowsky, right across from work. We all are obsessed with salmon, brie and tomato paninis at this place. It was the first place we ate when we started work, and it seemed fitting that our last group intern lunch was at the same place. Monday and Tuesday we also ate lunch out at some spectacular local areas. Monday, we found a stand that gave you literally a 3-pound tub of delicious Greek salad and food for only £3.50. And Tuesday, I had my first amazing Neil’s Yard experience. Literally 100 yards away from work is this colorful oasis of vegetarian heaven, nestled right in the middle of some buildings. We had a great lunch comprised of a veggie casserole, a organic roll and some freshly made juice all pretty reasonably priced.


Neil's Yard. So rainbow, so hippy, so wonderul. So surprisingly under my nose this entire time.

Yes, I enjoy talking about food. No, eating is not all I’ve done in London. I have come to the conclusion that enjoying the whole dining experience and trying new original stuff is definitely one of the highlights of travel. I think my flatmates really taught me how to appreciate that. And given that it was my last week in London to do so, appreciate I did.

I’ll continue on this gastrointestinal tour shortly, but first must tell you about Thursday night’s experiences. We planned a pub crawl around the Covent Garden, Leicester Square area that took place right after work. It was cool to meet up with all the girls and some of Alex’s friends that I hadn’t met yet. I only enjoyed a couple pints before a few of us met up with a big group from class to see Spamalot. It is probably one of the funniest shows I have seen, taken right from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But it’s so much better. Great score, hilarious acting, same beloved storyline. Our group seats sucked…we were higher than God in the play. But still, great show.


Out on the pub crawl.


Spamlot, but not the London cast.


Here's some of the London cast. Lady of the Lake (Gwenivere) and Sir Gallahad.

I’m continuing with the aforementioned tour. Friday morning the interns were treated to a full-English breakfast at Simpson’s, a British institution. We had the infamous “10 Deadly Sins”—a 10-part plate, full of everything from sausage and baked beans to black pudding and liver. It was all amazingly delicious (minus the liver and kidneys), and I of course, loved the whole ‘quintessentially English’ experience.

Friday night Pam and I went to the Troubador, a bar down the road that I’ve been trying to hit up all semester. It’s got a great concert room down in the basement that’s pretty famous. It was where Bob Dylan had his first British concert, for example. It was folk night Friday, so we got to enjoy some pretty crazy instrumental stuff. An amazing saxophonist was the highlight.

It was nice going into the weekend because I had already accomplished most of what I’d wanted to do while in London. So there was a lot less pressure to do a ton of stuff and see everything. Pam and I had a late brunch at a local café that my flat mates love, then headed out to Oxford Circus to explore the world’s most intimidating female clothing store—Top Shop. The one on Oxford Street is absolutely huge. It was fun looking through everything, but no purchases. Wasn’t in the shopping mood I guess. I’m more looking forward to haggling cheap shops in an outdoor market in Madrid this weekend. We also explored Carnaby Street, a really famous shopping street in the area. It was the hot-spot in the 60s (the opening scene in the first Austin Power’s movie is shot there), and it’s having a newer revival today. It was fun, but again, not in the shopping mood. Still in the non-shopping mood, we of course went to another shopping destination, an old and pretty iconic department store called Liberty. It’s totally a Tudor-style building, and absolutely fabulous wooden interior. It was fun walking through and looking at everything, though I again did not buy anything. Shock.


The famous Liberty department store.

Pam and I had been wanting to check out a British comedy show the entire semester, and fate would have it that before our last weekend, we just happened to be handed free comedy show tickets walking down the street the other day. We hit up the spot in east London on Saturday, and it was absolutely hilarious. Inevitably, we got picked on as the Americans, and Pam was singled out and asked a lot of questions, of which of course turned to good-humored ridicule. At this point, it’s great because we can totally take the semi-insults. We’re used to how Americans are seen over here, even though there’s still a lot more acceptance and like of Americans than I anticipated. They don’t agree with our war and President, but they seem to like us in person. So though they may call us fundamental Christian war-mongrels, it’s all in good fun. One of the comedians made the point that Brits marched right beside us into Iraq. Overall, hilarious show—all the comedians were great, and being in London for so long, I got a lot more of the jokes than I would have in the beginning. I understood the references to certain parts of London and the UK and reputations of celebs, etc. It probably wouldn’t have been as funny to me in February.

Sunday was another relaxed day. I spent a good portion of the morning starting to pack. I think I’m able to fit all the souvenirs and stuff back in my bags, so no extra shipping costs should be incurred….at least I don’t think so. Right now, I just basically have some clothes and toiletries to throw in, and I’m good to leave. It’s crazy….I don’t want to think about it quite yet.

In the afternoon, I attended a Sunday roast with Pam for a feature article she’s writing on local restaurants’ Sunday roasts. It’s a really traditional concept over here, but as this restaurant was a little more posh than the typical roast location, I don’t think I got the traditional experience. I’m not complaining though—it was absolutely delicious. I got some great Pollock and Hake dishes and a delicious almond and blood orange tart. Best part—totally free. Journalism has its perks.

I lead Pam on one of my infamous death marches through Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park between our late lunch and dinner. During my runs through the park, I’ve discovered some cool places, like the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Peter Pan statue and the Italian Fountains. Of course, I don’t carry my camera on me then, so I was hoping to capitalize on the semi-sunny weather to get a few good shots. Of course, it was cloudy and starting to drizzle by the time we hit the sights, but it was still great to get one good last stroll (or march) through the park. I think Pam enjoyed it too. We definitely burned off our lunch in the process.


Me and the Diana Memorial Fountain. It's so unique.


It's Peter Pan!


The Italian Fountains.

Sunday, my flat decided to have a potluck dinner to celebrate our time together. We all made our own dishes and had a great night reminiscing and joking around. We made a soundtrack for the night of our favorite songs while London and even read goofy poems. It was a really good night and it made me really see how close I’ve gotten with these girls. They are amazing girls, and I know that next semester has some Flat 2 reunions in store.

Today, pretty slow. A great day at work and a nice relaxing night. I got sick over the weekend so I stayed in and have just chilled all night, drinking tea and praying to be good for my last few days and upcoming Spain excursion. This is likely to be my last post while in London. Tomorrow is a girls night with our flat and another flat in the building. All 12 of us are going out for a night of wine and karaoke. It should be absolutely ridiculous. Inevitable hilarity and probably some tears. Wine will do that to you.

Wednesday is a special surprise from our bosses to the interns. They’ve been all clandestine about it, whispering to each other in corners of the office the last couple of days, glancing our direction. I’m REALLY excited to see what they have planned. Honestly, I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been working with them this semester. I feel like a family with them. If I could take anything back home with me, it would be the company, without a doubt.

And Thursday is my final day at work and then an evening of packing and cleaning. It’s all so brief and final. What a strange reality it is. But it’s life. I’m not going to be upset about it yet. I think I’m a little lucky in that directly following my departure from London is an amazing two weeks in Spain with Pete. Words cannot describe how excited I am to see him and spend that time with him.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from London that I took from Alex's facebook. Also, check out my facebook album for more updated pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2252393&l=3fd96&id=15921830


Alex and I at the premier of Flashbacks of a Fool.


Yes, that is Daniel Craig's backside. Still handsome.


There's Claudia Schiffer. She had no role in the movie, but she was there in all her gloriousness. And yes, she is just as pretty in person.


A couple of weeks ago we caught the celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the British Airforce. We went to the Waterloo Bridge during our lunch break. Exactly at 1 pm, the jets flew over the London Eye. I felt very patriotic seeing the red, white and blue...wrong country, but still patriotic.


Thanks for the great pictures, Alex!