Coach and Carnival

The Oberlin-in-London program had a fabulous coach tour of London. Unfortunately, it was not in horse drawn carriges like I originally though - coach means bus here. The best part about the tour was our hilarious guide - an older Londoner lady name Suze. She showed us all parts of lesser-known London, or as much as she could considering the size of our coach. We saw Chinatown, some Mews, the best place to have afternoon tea, expensive car dealers, and even the pub where the Horse Guard drinks! She said "Ladies, you should really go an meet those nice men," and proceeded to tell us about the time she went there and met all the kind young gentlemen.
Other notable sights were:
-a modern skyscraper that Londoners refer to as The Erotic Gherkin-The market where Diagon Alley was filmed
-Lord Mayor of London's building which Londoners call "The Testicle"
-A popular Japanese noodle restaurant chain called Wagamamas
and lots of other things that I'm looking forward to find again and explore!

She did not approve when we told her of our plans to attend the Notting Hill Carnival because she is wary of it's violent history and general rowdiness. Although we did not abide her advice, we had lots of fun! Loud, rowdy, crowded, drunken, dirty, fun! We joined the throng of people in the streets and avoided stepping on the garbage as much as possible. Eventually we found a parade to join and had lots of fun watching everyone dance and eat and party! The next day I got my face painted, and ate some delicious Caribbean food and watched a parade consisting mainly of scantily clad women wearing beautiful, intricate, brightly colored costumes. The carnival isn't comparable to anything I know of in America. There isn't any structure to it, but that doesn't seem to inhibit it's popularity in any way!

Running into history

I've come to the conclusion that the English from the Tudor and Elizabethan Eras must have been perpetually uncomfortable. The National Portrait Gallery gave me the opportunity to observe this. In every portrait, the subjects sit so awkwardly and smile unconvincingly, if at all. I liked the exhibit though, it was the easiest history lesson I've ever had, and it was an accident to learn anything at all! Out of all the people I met at the Portrait Gallery, I liked Queen Elizabeth I and Lady Jane Grey best. Jane was Queen of England for 9 days, appointed in King Edward VI's will to carry on Protestant England, but then was captured by Mary I supporters (Roman Catholics). But after killing a bunch of people, Mary died, and that's when Elizabeth stepped in! She was great! And that's the History of London! (brevity spares you from boredom)
I love all the sidewalk tile mosaic entrances to buildings The National Portrait Gallery has one, and even the Hardware Store that I live above has one! I guess English people have a lot of pride in old-looking things.
London is great! I've barely had any jet-lag, so I've been getting up at normal hours to go explore. It's a lot of fun, even though the weather has been mainly gray and rainy. Usually I find cool, free, touristy things, but London has a lot of less popular, but equally cool things too. On one walk, I found Tavistock Square which has a large statue of Ghandi in the center.
The park has more trees an benches than the average London square, most of which are dedicated with a plaque noting the donor or honoree. It's really cool - lots of peace groups and Indian leaders and Mayors of various London boroughs. Yay independence!
Also I've noticed a lot of thoughtful old Londoner men hang out here to read newspapers and smoke their pipes. It's a reassuring sight - I'm glad those men still exist in more than just my imagination.

It's time to wander and enjoy!

I ran into so many tourist attractions on my first full day in London. I walked to Trafalgar Square, mourned the construction site of St. Martins in the Field, and walked into the National Gallery, visiting many rooms in the 1800 - 1900 section. When i got too tired of standing, i found a nice bench and got out my guide book out of habit. Looking on the map I realized how close Trafalgar is to the Thames, so I made a quick decision to leave the Gallery, and walk to the Thames. I wandered down Whitehall to the Horse Guard, went through the Horse Guard Parade to St. James's Park, glimpsed Buckingham Palace through the trees at the far end of St. James's Park, saw the Centograph, then went down the Victoria Embankment to the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben where i could see Westminster Abbey a couple blocks away from me. My day went on like this, back up the Victoria Embankment where various famous and/or beautiful buildings are visible and then up the streets of Holborn (pronounced (Hoe-bun) to Bloomsbury.

All the pictures are on my photobucket site now, so this boring, list-like entry can be illuminated a bit by some visual help.

Lodon meets Emily meets London meats

I'm here and I'm settled! London is absolutely wonderful. The streets are bustling and the shops are cute and plentiful! I live about a block away from the Piccadilly line on the underground and about 2 blocks away from Russell Square. I cannot get pictures onto the computer today, but I'll try to post some in the next week. Russell Square is gorgeous with a fountain in the middle and grand old trees all around it. Of course the London squirrel and pigeon population has found Russell Square too. After I arrived yesterday, I got out of my flat as quickly as possible to start exploring. I walked all over Bloomsbury, only got lost a few times, and successfully used my maps to find my way home, just like a good tourist should! I tried to find a fish n' chips place or a pub to have dinner but i ran out of energy so I just got a hot dog from the vendor outside the British Museum.

My neighborhood has many bookshops, markets, Indian restaurants, and pubs. My flat is quirky, small, but lovable. I picked the room with the balcony, although the balcony is just as dirty as the rest of the flat. I'm excited for my roommates to arrive because then we can properly commence the buddy system!