London | Day N° 21 | Oxford & the Eagle and Child

Today I am leaving my beloved city of London. In this short period of time, I have come to love this city: each day I found another aspect that deepened my affection, respect, and interest in this wonderful place. I’ve traveled to every major city in the US, and I love them each in their own ways; but London far outdoes them in my eyes. There is something completely different about this place, about the UK. Honestly, it’s the pride of its people. The British are so fiercely proud of their land and ways, and have good reason to be. It makes for a very elegant, refined, and respectful society, one that I’ve adored from afar for many years, but experiencing it has only made me love it more. Perhaps if I lived here, after many years, I would get a bit sick of it; but for now, I would give anything to spend more time in this city.

So it was with great sadness that I spent my last day in London. Honestly, I didn’t even spend much of it in London – around 11:00, Eli and I took a bus to Oxford for the afternoon. But in the morning, we walked down to LSE one last time, down Aldwych and the Strand, around Horse Guards Parade and past the Palace. It was cool and grey, of course, and I find that I have even come to love that. I, who want to spend the rest of my life drowning in sunshine, was so cosy and happy in the chill British air and under rainy grey skies.

After walking through a grey cool London to our bus stop at Grosvenor Square, we boarded a double-decker bus and crossed the deep green countryside to reach Oxford, and I got to see a bit of the UK outside the city: rolling green hills, shallow valleys, pastures of sheep, little villages. It was so perfect. When we alighted on High Street, Eli and I immediately delved into Oxford’s campus. I’m not familiar with the area, but we visited Radcliffe Camera, St Mary’s Church, one of the libraries, Christ Church, and many beautiful courtyards. The architecture of the school is obviously so impressive and old, and the gardens and lawns were well-kept and so British. We randomly happened upon a small exhibit of ‘Magical Books’: artefacts from the creation of those magical worlds that have become entwined with Oxford. Yes, this was a special exhibit for Middle Earth, Narnia, and some of the other fantastic places that are tied to this place in various ways. I couldn’t believe that we happened across this little room, because it was too perfect to be true. Almost half of the entire exhibit was dedicated to the works of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. 

Tolkien's hand-painted 'Conversations with Smaug'   

As soon as we walked in, I saw two small hand-drawn maps set in glass cases that looked familiar… it took me some time to come to terms with the fact that these were original maps of Middle Earth and Narnia hand-drawn by Tolkien and Lewis. I don’t think I’ve come to terms with this even now… I have spent so many hours reproducing Tolkien’s world, through maps, language, music, script, art; and there it was, the original, in the creator’s hand. The exhibit also included quite a few of Tolkien’s watercolours: ‘Conversations with Smaug’, Bilbo and the giant eagle, cave paintings from Middle Earth, the death of Smaug, and, possibly the ultimate treasure for a Tolkien fan and an artist, the original hand-painted covers created by Tolkien himself for the novels. First of all, it was almost beyond my comprehension to see these things that he had created by hand. Second of all, the man was a fantastic artist. His watercolours on their own are beautiful, richly coloured, and masterfully done. That on its own was impressive! There was a number of other incredible related things, including the script from the One Ring and the carvings from Balin’s tomb written in Tolkien’s hand, and torn and burnt pages from Book of Mazarbul that Tolkien had created.

Another of Tolkien's illustrations

It still leaves me shocked to think about it. If I were to ever plan some elaborate, grandly-scaled theft, I wouldn’t steal endless amounts of cash from a vault or casino; I would find a way to get my hands on these artefacts, these pieces of paper that are beyond worth. The maps and manuscripts and illustrations hold far more worth to me than the things other people would consider valuable. Tolkien shaped so much of who I am, and I have the deepest reverence for his genius.

  

That being said, imagine my reaction when Eli and I went to the Eagle and Child, a very old and small pub in Oxford that Tolkien and Lewis (along with others) met at to discuss their writings. They called themselves the Inklings, and I remember when Eli and I first became friends and bonded immediately over our love for writing, our fathers (who are Tolkien geeks too!) hinted that we were creating our own Inklings group. And that’s what we called it for years, when we got together at a café or bookstore to write and read each other’s manuscripts and discuss our ideas. We have both dreamed of coming to the Eagle and Child since we first met; it kind of signifies the ultimate step of our friendship to us, like we’re coming full circle.

It’s a small, dark place, with a fireplace in each room, a little bar, and a conservatory at the back (which is probably new). The Rabbit Room is set to one side by the bar, with a long wooden table right by the large fireplace. This is the room that the Inklings met in, where they sipped beer and pored over each other’s manuscripts. It was honestly too much to handle.

It’s quite an interesting phenomenon: it’s quite evident that the majority of the greatest creative masterpieces have come from the North, particularly from the United Kingdom. What is it about this land, the chill, the grey clouds and stone, the deep emerald green, that inspire such imagination in men? One would think that the brilliant hues of the tropics would be a more fertile land for imagination and tales, but the greatest stories come from these cold hills and cliffs. I don’t understand why, but I can certainly feel it when I’m here.  

The Eagle and Child can be a place where time stands still. When Eli and I had our little Inkling meetings years ago, we’d just sit and write for hours on end, with no other worries, gone to the world. We’ve since lost that… but at the Eagle and Child, tucked in a corner by the fireplace, hot Earl Grey tea at the ready, we found our sense of writers’ timelessness again. Imagination can come alive here, in this little old pub. The dark shelves and fireplaces, wooden walls, quiet private tables in little rooms; I can easily see how these men were inspired to write about

the halls of Rohan, underground burrows of talking badgers, hushed conversations around a Bag End fireplace. Middle Earth and Narnia came alive right here. They were crafted over many hours and conversations and pints over this wood table and by this fireplace. I could have stayed forever.      

But of course, we had to pass on. We returned to London around 18:00, and got ready to depart for Paris. We’re taking an overnight bus from London to Dover, in a ferry over the English Channel, and then down from the coast to Paris, to arrive early in the morning. Then, we skip over to Versailles for a day, to stay in the beautiful Trianon Palace!      

London | Day N° 20 | Knightsbridge, Mayfair, and Oxford St.

My last day at LSE – and the day of my final exam! I woke up quite early to study in my room, reviewing as much as I could. It’s so much material to understand in such a short period of time, but I can only do my best. I let Eli catch up on sleep while I went down to study at the New Academic Building on LSE’s campus for a little while before I took the test.

One of the differences in schools here (or at least a difference between William & Mary and LSE) is the strictness of exam-taking. At W&M, all students sign an honour code and are then trusted to be faithful on their exams and schoolwork; many tests are completely un-proctored by the professor or any kind of instructor. Here, the regulations during an exam are extremely strict. You must turn your mobile phone off and have it under your desk during the exam. You can only use LSE-approved calculators, and you aren’t supposed to have anything else on your desk during the exam (drinks, etc.). Your student ID card needs to be out on the desk so the invigilators (such a better name than proctors!!) can come around and mark you down several times throughout the exam. No one is allowed to leave during the exam, and in the last fifteen minutes, no one is allowed to leave, even if they’ve finished. I’m not complaining, it’s good that cheaters are so discouraged, but it’s quite strange.

Goodbye room..... 

Anyway, after I had finished my exam (and officially finished my program at LSE!), Eli and I met up with my friend from LSE and did a quick shopping trip to Knightsbridge, yet again. We didn’t get to spend much time there, but I felt that Eli needed to see Harrods while she was in London. We had a quick late lunch at the Caffe Concerto across from Harrods, and then had to scurry down to the tube to meet our friend for dinner. He (very generously) treated us all to a fantastic Indian meal at Benares in Mayfair. The restaurant was so beautiful, modern with black stone and fountains and colourful candles. We had the strangest assortment of dishes: my first course was a lotus kebab with lavender yoghurt (very spicy!), the entrée was jackfruit biryani (the jackfruit was almost flavourless and kind of had the texture of an artichoke heart or aubergine), and dessert consisted of tandoori pineapple (incredible) and Earl Grey ice cream. My friend also recommended a passion fruit and chutney martini, Benares’ signature cocktail, which was so interesting: quite sweet but with a rich spicy undercurrent in each sip. Every single thing I tried was completely different from the Indian food I’d ever had before; it was definitely a culinary adventure! Such a great recommendation and experience.  

Passionfruit-chutney martini   

Eli, my friend, and I then walked the few blocks down to Oxford Street. This is another busy shopping district, perhaps more accessible than Knightsbridge. We looked through a couple of British (maybe European) shops that I’d never visited before, Primark and River Island.  I wish we had more European stores like this in the US: our clothing shops are either very cheap and horrendously unfashionable, or very fashionable and expensive. H&M is the one of the few common shops that has low prices but supplies us with European fashion, but I wish we had more!

It was quite late at that point, but when we returned home (and after I said my goodbyes to my friends from LSE!), Eli and I stayed up for a bit planning out our trips to Oxford and France. We went through many opetions before finalizing all our various means of travel: bus, train, cab, shuttle, airplanes… This will certainly be an interesting trip, and we will definitely be experiencing many different aspects of Europe! It’s strange for me to travel so much without a car, which I’ve always had, and have to submit to the schedules and fares of public transportation; honestly, it’s much more of a pain too. But it’s a part of the experience!  

London | Day N° 19 | Eli and Zab Reunited in London!

At the Dorchester for high tea!

Zabelieth is together at last! Since our spring semester ended in May, Eli has been interning in New Haven, Connecticut, while I spent half my summer in Chicago and the most recent half in London, studying at the London School of Economics. Eli is starting graduate school in Uppsala in two weeks, and since I'm still in London, we knew this was our perfect opportunity to visit Europe together!

We are spending three full days in the UK, two in London and one in Oxford, and then crossing the Channel to visit Versailles, Paris, and Nice. After that we each fly off to our respective destinations: Eli to Uppsala, and I am heading back home to Virginia to start my last semester of college. Though we only have a week together in Europe, we are going to cram each minute full of new experiences! Between travel, sightseeing, dining, and leisure (beaches on the French Riviera.....), this coming week is destined to be absolutely incredible for both of us.

Eli arrived at Heathrow early Thursday morning, and I hopped on the tube to go meet her there. It was so good to see a friendly face after being without my usual friends or family for a month! I think she was just as shocked as I was to realise that we are finally in the UK together. We have been dreaming of traveling here for more years than we can count, and it's surreal for those dreams to finally come true.

Though we arrived back at High Holborn relatively early in the morning, I had class shortly thereafter, so Eli decided to be a trooper and walk down Drury Lane to see Aldwych and the LSE campus with me. We had a quick pot of tea at the Delaunay Counter, and were still speechless at the fact that we were there together. Since we were little, both of us have held British culture and literature in very high esteem, mainly because of our great love for the classics. My family ingrained in me great respect and love for British culture: for Winston Churchill and GK Chesterton, Adam Smith, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, James Herriot, Doctor Who, and British things in general (teatime! horsemanship! dog-loving!). Through high school, Eli and I shared our love for this country and its traditions, especially in colonial times, and together we adoringly researched things like the East India Company. We worshipped writers like JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, and since then have only wanted to learn more and more about the UK. We've made teatime a tradition when no one else has, we've baked scones together, watched British films hundreds of time, and debated novels like Lady Chatterly's Lover. We've also done all these things over again more recently with French culture, but I'll get to that in a couple of days!

Anyway, upon arriving in London, jet-lagged Eli and I had tea at the Delaunay Counter, and after my class, we trekked down the Strand to the Mall and did a walking tour of the River Thames, Victoria Embankment Gardens, Buckingham Palace, St James, Westminster Abbey, and Fortnum & Mason, and Eli was so excited to find a Laduree branch on Piccadilly (where I got some delicious Marie-Antoinette-inspired tea!). We hadn't seen each other in months and were catching up, so it was a quick, casual tour of some of London's most famous sights.

The Promenade at the Dorchester

I had my final exam at LSE the following day, so after doing a quick tour, we settled down at Le Pain Quotidien on High Holborn so I could do some studying before teatime. Several weeks before, I had made a reservation for afternoon tea at the Promenade at the Dorchester, one of the renowned afternoon tea venues in London (along with the Delaunay, the Ritz, the Waldorf, etc.). Eli and I have been having afternoon tea for years, and threw a beautiful, elaborate tea party for our closest friends while we were in high school. But this is the first time that we've had the opportunity to enjoy a true British afternoon tea together!

It was wonderful. The Promenade at the Dorchester is completely stunning, with gold pillars, exotic tatues, bright walls, and tons of greenery. The teacups and teapots were exquisite, and we enjoyed many courses: tea sandwiches (cucumber, smoked salmon, egg, mozzarella and basil, herbed chicken), a Middle Eastern sampler plate, little miniature ice cream cones, scones with jam and clotted cream (of course), and an assortment of French pastries, which we couldn't even touch, we were so full at that point! It was just too perfect. The setting was beautiful, the service was very impressive, and the food and tea could not have been better. It was just a shame we couldn't eat more! They kept trying to bring us more food, and it was such a shame to have to turn it away.

When we had eaten our fill and and drank at least two teapots full of tea each, we simply returned back to High Holborn so I could study for my exam the next morning and Eli could finally get some much needed sleep. But we knew more adventures awaited us in the following days!

London | Day N° 18 | Baker Street and St James

The view of Buckingham Palace from St James Park  

Though my final exam is only two days away, I spent much of Wednesday exploring a couple new (but important!) areas of London. This morning, I finally managed to get into the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and after class, I walked to St James’, Buckingham Palace, and Fortnum & Mason.

In the three weeks that I’ve been in London, I have thrice attempted to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street, but was unsuccessful until this morning. The other times I tried to get in, the queue was incredibly long – and probably because they can only allow a few people into the cramped flat at a time. Well, this morning, I woke up bright and early, made it to the museum half an hour before it opened, and was one of the first people in. Ha!

Of course, the iconic address, doorway, and entry were thrilling enough on their own. But on the first floor, I found Sherlock’s bedroom, outfitted with a little bed, fireplace, single window, etc., and packed with knick-knacks. Every inch of the entire flat was outfitted with little objects that either tied directly into one of Sherlock’s cases, or fit with the general character of Holmes or Watson. There were shelves packed with bottles, potions, and medicines, all sorts of knives and pistols, tobacco pipes, body parts (dried ears and thumbs and such), magnifying glasses, letters, and unusual old items from every corner of the world. Next to Sherlock’s room on the first floor was the drawing room, with the two chairs beside the big fireplace, the two large, heavily-draped windows (all I could think of was them blowing up in the television series!), and the infamous wallpaper with bullet holes.

The second and third floors were more museum-like, with various artifacts from Sherlock’s cases enclosed in glass boxes. There were also two rooms with life-sized wax figures (made by Madame Tussaud’s?) of some of the most famous characters from Sherlock’s stories, including my beloved Irene Adler.  It was actually a little spooky!  The whole flat was very cool to see though, especially that famous entry and drawing room.

I had to head off to class after that, but when I finished my lecture at 17:00, I walked down Aldwych and the Strand to the Mall (the broad, tree-lined street that leads up to Buckingham Palace), and through St James’ Park, which lines the Mall to the south. St James’ is smaller and more woodsy than Hyde Park, and is very beautiful. There’s a shallow pond filled with geese and swans, and there were even a couple of squirrels scurrying about – but everyone was taking pictures of the little pests! There are almost no squirrels here, and it’s too funny to see the way people react to them here. After three weeks, the total count of insects and squirrels that I’ve seen is three and four, respectively. It’s incredible.

Buckingham Palace

Anyway, I walked around St James’ and the front of Buckingham Palace, which were both really picturesque and stunning. The statues in front of the Palace were some of my favourites, and the gates and guards were impressive. I wish I could see the gardens behind the Palace though! What’s really been the most incredible thing for me on this trip has been seeing these locations that are so iconic for me. I’ve revered these places for years (mainly through television and film), and it’s so strange and thrilling to see them in person, to actually physically be there, to see that they are truly tangible! Places like Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler’s homes (which I’ve seen thousands of times in the television series), Buckingham Palace (especially in The Queen, which is one of my favourite movies), Shaftesbury Lane and Millennium Bridge (Harry Potter), and many others have always been surreal to me, and now here I am. It’s way too cool.

Gates at Buckingham Palace

I had dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant in Victoria (delicious!), then walked back through St James’ Park up to Piccadilly to stop in at Fortnum & Mason. Good lord, one would be hard-pressed to find another shop as glorious as Fortnum & Mason. I can’t decide whether I like Harrod’s better! Fortnum & Mason is known for being the grocer to the Queen, and has been on Piccadilly for more than 300 years. It’s much smaller than Harrod’s; the ground floor is dedicated entirely to tea (from Fortnum & Mason’s exclusive blends to jams, honeys, and biscuits), and the lower ground floor has the actual grocery (so many beautiful fresh fruits and meats… luxury oils, wines, champagne…). It was wonderful. I bought their Smoky Earl Grey blend, which was apparently made specially for the Palace when the Queen requested a smokier Earl Grey tea. I’m proud to say that I have greatly expanded my tea collection while I’ve been here, from Harrod’s Flowery Earl Grey to Whittard’s Afternoon Tea blend and the London Tea Company’s White Tea with Elderflower. When I get back home, I’m going to need a whole room for my tea collection… I think I have every kind of tea that can be found on the face of this Earth.

Fortnum & Mason 

It was raining lightly (of course!), and I couldn’t have said that I truly experienced London until I had walked through St James’ and Piccadilly in the cool, grey London rain! The weather has been quite cool while I’ve been here; I can’t imagine how cold it gets in the winter. But the summer is so lovely. I couldn’t think of a more perfect place to spend my August. 

Early tomorrow morning, Eli will be arriving at Heathrow airport!! I am uncontrollably excited that she will be joining me for my last three days in London, and then we'll be traveling France together. It's sad that I'll have to spend much of tomorrow studying, but I'll still be able to show her a handful of my favourite study spots: Waterstones, La Pain Quotidien, the Delaunay Counter... and we have reservations for afternoon tea at the Dorchester! Check back in tomorrow to hear all about our first day together in the city!

London | Days N° 15-17 | Emirates Air Line, Canary Wharf, and St Paul's

St Paul's Cathedral from One New Change

I'm sorry for the lag in my posts! I'm a couple days behind, but my final exam is coming up quickly, so I've been spending much of my free time studying (again). This past Sunday, my friend and I visited North Greenwich and Canary Wharf, and early this morning, I managed a quick trip to St Paul's. I'm trying to squeeze in as much as I can before I leave in a few short days! I can't believe that this trip has gone by so quickly already...

So on Sunday, after having breakfast, my friend and I took the tube down to Greenwich. Another LSE student had recommended trying out the Emirates Air Line over the River Thames, which is a line of gondolas (kind of like one of the enclosed glass ski lifts) that starts in North Greenwich next to the O2 Arena and passes over the River Thames. I've seen the Thames from all kinds of angles now: the central part of the river (Houses of Parliament and such) from the London Eye, the eastern half that passes through London from the riverboat cruise, and now the Greenwich area from the Emirates Air Line. This latest trip afforded great views of Canary Wharf, the O2 Arena, and the very windy bit of the Thames that lies to the east of central London. 

View of the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf from the Emirates Air Line

Both sides of the river around the Emirates Air Line felt a little more like Dubai than London! They were very clean, new, and modernly sculpted areas, with luxury shops and uber-modern architecture. A large proportion of the people who were there sightseeing were Arab, and the food being sold was predominantly Middle Eastern; like I said, it kind of felt like I was in the UAE. It was very interesting and different than I would have expected in London.  

After our ride, my friend and I stopped at Canary Wharf, which was one of our stops one the way back to Holborn. Because it was a weekend (and August, when many Europeans are on holiday), it was pretty desolate. It was very different than I expected. Since it's on the other side of the river and a little further out of town, I didn't think Canary Wharf would be brand-new, sparkling clean, and made up of glittering skyscrapers, quays, gardens, and plazas full of luxury shops, cafes, and restaurants. It was really impressive. The tallest buildings belonged to the big banks, Citi and JP Morgan and such. The lower levels of these skyscrapers had shops and restaurants, and were oriented along the edges of the quays and around central gardens and plazas. Like I said, it was quite empty (except for some other tourists and diners), so we were able to walk around and see the buildings easily. I was very impressed - and it was strange to think there's a chance that perhaps, one day, if I'm extraordinarily lucky, I may have the opportunity work there....

Canary Wharf

Anyway, Monday was spent in class and studying, of course, though I had a very late afternoon tea at Patisserie Valerie in Knightsbridge. On Tuesday, I woke up early and took the tube to St Paul's Cathedral before my 11:00 class. I wish I had more time to spent at the cathedral (especially after spending £13 on admission!), but it was absolutely stunning. The walls and columns were white marble, along with the many, many statues that were set into the aisles and transepts. Some of the monuments along the aisles were black stone, and the ceiling and arches were beautiful, many-coloured mosaics. I thought the white of the walls and pillars only made the ceilings more beautiful. There were hundreds of chairs set around the church, and even early in the morning, there were already many people there visiting, on tours, praying...   

I've visited my fair share of churches and cathedrals in my life, most of them Catholic, and this one was different than I expected in that almost none of the statues set along the aisles, transepts, and in grottos were religious. They were all memorials to military heroes who had died during their service. They were beautiful and interesting (many of them were life-sized depictions of a particular man as he was dying in battle, on his horse or at sea, but being caught by angels as he fell). Still, it was strange to see very few religious statues in a church, especially when I'm used to seeing innumerable murals and stained glass windows and statues and mosaics of saints, angels, and the Holy Family in Catholic churches. It was quite tranquil and humbling in a different way.    

London | Day N° 14 | Belgravia and Hyde Park

Here begins my last full weekend in London. Next Thursday, my dearest Eli, who I haven't seen in three months, is coming to join me in London for three days, and then we depart for a tour of France!! I'm so excited to see her, to show her my beloved city, and to travel to new lands together! But I don't even want to think about leaving.... I love it here.

Today when I woke, I decided I'd go do some reading for my class (and blogging!) at Patisserie Valerie in Belgravia, after a friend recommended the cafe. Unfortunately, the Piccadilly line (one of the main Underground lines that runs through central London, and the one that I rely on most) was closed for the weekend, and I had to work my way around on various trains to get to Victoria Station, which is right behind Buckingham Palace Gardens and on the east side of Belgravia.

For those of you who don't live in London, don't watch BBC's Sherlock, and aren't familiar with luxury international real estate, Belgravia is the residential area behind Buckingham Palace Gardens. It's ranked by some as the most expensive residential area in the world, where flats (flats) can go for tens of millions of pounds. And, it is the setting for my favourite episode of television ever, 'A Scandal in Belgravia' from Sherlock. I was obviously in so much awe to see these beautiful (and expensive) homes and gardens... Honestly, I was geeking out!!    

Just the neighbourhood Louboutin shop

I strolled around for an hour or so before settling outside at Patisserie Valerie, to have a smoked salmon salad and then tea and scones.  The reverie was somewhat soiled by two American women who sat down at the next cafe over and were so loud that they attracted the glares and raised eyebrows of the hushed Brits, French, and Arabs that were also eating nearby. No wonder they think so badly of us Americans - every day I find another reason why I should be embarrassed by other Americans abroad, who are generally loud and inconsiderate (though often through ignorance, not on purpose).

One example: two days ago, all the residents of my small suite in High Holborn received letters warning us of complaints about our suite: the night before around 3 am, the two American boys who live in my suite had been drunkenly banging on each other's doors for hours and shouting profanities up from the street below, then vomiting in the hallway and leaving beer cans on the floors for the housekeepers to clean up. I was furious. How can people be so rude and oblivious? How can they care so little about others, and themselves? These are students who are studying at LSE, taking very difficult, world-class courses, and somehow manage to drink themselves to obscenity almost every night. It's beyond my understanding. Anyway, the sweet (and quiet) European girl who lives on my floor complained, among others, and I'm just beyond embarrassed to be grouped together with these stupid, selfish, oblivious Americans.

Anyway, after leaving the outdoor cafe and loud women behind, I went in pursuit of the Belgravia home of Irene Adler ('The Woman'), made famous by BBC's Sherlock. I'm very much in love with Sherlock and Irene and, being a geek, it was of huge importance for me to visit the spot where the show had been filmed. I jealously passed blocks of stately, gorgeous flats, all white with black doors and black rails and second-floor balcony gardens. The whole area was very quiet and peaceful, particularly for a Saturday afternoon. Almost no one was out and about. Actually, it was a little bit upsetting because each of these squares has a fantastic, beautifully kept private garden at its centre, with paths, benches shaded by huge trees, tennis courts, fountains, and statues - but no one was using them! It was a gorgeous sunny Saturday afternoon, and none of the residents were out enjoying their gardens or beautiful neighbourhood. I suppose most can take it for granted.

After a bit of walking I found Eaton Square, which is the street used for Irene Adler's home in Sherlock. Of course, it was stunning, and I was way beyond excited to see the place they staged her luxuriant boudoir. There was also a perfect little park directly across the street from her flat, with a little pool and palm trees. I creepily walked back and forth in front of no. 44 for a couple minutes, humming 'On the Street Where You Live' to myself, until I saw a security officer strolling a ways down the street and scampered off. I'm such a nerd, but it was wonderful. I would give anything to live in this neighbourhood... though no matter what I gave, it could never be enough! It's such a peaceful, truly beautiful, and elegant place, but the residents pay well to have it that way. I wish the gardens were open so that I could just come to sit and read. There's a tranquility here that one can't find elsewhere in central London.          

When I'd finished stalking the fictional Irene Adler, I walked up Sloane Street (which marks the western boundary of Belgravia) past all the luxury stores (including a baby Dior...). For your reference, the automobile demographic of this area consists of Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs, with a smattering of Porsches, Ferraris, Bentleys, and Aston Martins (actually, more than a dozen Aston Martins, more than I've ever seen in one place), a Maserati, and a single, very loud, and very beautiful McLaren. I kept stopping in the middle of traffic to gape. There are a large number of embassies in the area, which I hadn't expected, and a significant Muslim population, which I had expected. Here and in Knightsbridge (the luxe shopping area surrounding Harrods), it's quite common to see women not only wearing a hijab but a full burqa. Though I studied Arabic for four years, this is interesting for me because in the US, you will never, ever see a woman walking around in a burqa. Here, it's quite common, not only in the luxury shopping areas but around the city, on the train, etc. I don't remark on this with the intention of singling them out or discriminating, but instead to comment on the difference in acceptance between the US and Europe.  Many Americans consider all Muslims to be dangerous or extremists, which is completely untrue, but perhaps somewhat understandable because we are not at all exposed to their culture. Here, a more significant proportion of the population is Muslim, and the Brits are accustomed to their presence and culture. It's just very interesting and different, especially when I imagine the way Americans would react if they saw a group of women walking through a shopping mall or into a train wearing the burqa.

Knightsbridge and Belgravia both run along the southern border of Hyde Park, so I passed through on my way up to the Lancaster Gate tube station at the northern edge of the park. It was lovely but packed with people and pigeons, of course. Here, pigeons fill the streets and parks in the place of our squirrels in the US. I saw my first squirrel today at Hyde Park, a single little guy, almost tame from being fed by all the people. I had to laugh when two girls (who were clearly not from the US) squealed and froze in terror when he went scampering past them - to them I guess he was an oddity.

To me, the swans were the best part of Hyde Park. This is a creature that we don't see often in the US, and they're so large and handsome. In the UK, all swans legally belong to the Queen, no matter whose property they're on. There were dozens swimming in the lake at Hyde Park, along with the geese and ducks and paddleboats. Of course, there were many hundreds of people, but I was surprised to find a peaceful little swimming area and cafe to one side of the lake. There's also a beautiful and unique monument to Princess Diana in the park: a shallow fountain running eternally in a circle, with little waterfalls, but shallow enough that people can dip their feet and children can splash in the water.

Every day, I am so happily surprised by the beautiful things I find in this city. After experiencing something new, like the London Eye or Belgravia or a particular garden or cafe or bookstore, I marvel that I didn't know about this wonderful thing before. I wish I had the time to explore more of this city, but it's depressing to think that I only have a week left. I'll do my best to experience everything I can in the next week, but I like to think of it as making note of places that I can return to in the future, when I come back to London one day - hopefully in the not-too-distant future!!