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!!

London | Days N° 12-13 | Riverboat Cruise

Thursday and Friday of this week mainly consisted of classes, and the realisation that I only have a week left in London. I love this place so much. Not even the people, or the culture, but the place itself. The cafes and shops and gardens and river. I'm so, so sad that I'll be here for only one more week.

After the midterm on Wednesday, my Financial Markets class switched professors: our dear and very fabulous Dr Pascal Frantz left for Dr Christian Julliard as planned, who is teaching the second half of the course. This next week (and the final exam) will be more theoretical and less quantitative than the first half of the course and the midterm, and I'm so grateful. I haven't gotten my midterm grade back yet, but it was purely memorising formulas and solving equations, which I really don't enjoy. I'd prefer to explain these theories in words (rather than formulas) any day. Dr Julliard is young and energetic, and should be easy to learn from.

After class on Thursday, I went to Waterstones Piccadilly to read. I didn't have much homework to do, so I made progress in A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. I need to finish the series before I start my fall semester, or I'll have to wait until I graduate to finish it! And then immediately after class on Friday, my friend Fidan and I returned to our residence to get ready for the long-awaited Riverboat Disco. This very popular event is hosted by LSE each summer session and is open exclusively to students, and even so, only a portion of the students are able to get tickets (the boat accommodates 600, and there are thousands of LSE summer students). After the tickets had all been sold, some of the unlucky students were purchasing them from other students for ten times their face value. My friends and I (after a lot of stress) managed to get tickets on the first day they were sold.

The riverboat (shown above!) set off from Tower Pier, which is right next to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, and across the river from the Shard.  The boat was quite lovely, with a grand staircase and two bars, dining rooms, and a dance floor. My friend and I spent most of the evening on the prow, watching the Thames pass by. Tower Bridge was opened for our boat to pass under, and the cruise went down the river to the east, past Greenwich, all the way to the O2 arena. Unfortunately, it didn't head west, to pass the London Eye and Houses of Parliament, which would have been really amazing to see at night: but it was too large to go under London Bridge and the others bridges in central London.

Many of the other students went off to various clubs in London after the cruise ended at midnight, but my friend and I returned to High Holborn to have a midnight snack and sleep. We plan on doing some more sightseeing on our last weekend here in London!

London | Days N° 10-11 | Midterm, Baku, and the London Eye

Chocolates at Harrod's  

It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in London for a week and a half! I don’t have much longer here… the time is speeding by. I took my midterm exam this morning, after studying like a madman for the past week (and particularly yesterday). It went well – I hope. The UK uses a different grading scale than the one I’m used to. In the US, a student starts with 100 points for their grade, and then deductions are made. An ‘A’ is often given for grades in the 90-100% range, ‘B’ in the 80-89% range, and so on and so forth. Here, a student starts with 0 points, and is assigned points based on their work, making their way up toward 100%. However, it’s more difficult to get a high grade this way, so an ‘A’ is given for grades in the 80-100% range, ‘B’ in the 70-80% range, ‘C’ in the 60-70% range, and so forth. We’ll see just how difficult it is to get an ‘A’ by this method, but it seemed like most of the previous summer school students at LSE have been able to get A’s and B’s.

After taking the midterm exam, my two friends and I did a bit of touring around London! This is our only full afternoon and evening off until the end of the course, so we wanted to take advantage of it and see a bit more of the city. We took the Underground over to Knightsbridge (once again) and spent a bit of time at Harrod’s. This time, I was able to see the gourmet foods section in more detail, found some rose-black tea, and purchased passionfruit macarons (yum!!). I also had to get some chocolate-covered rose-flavoured Turkish delight for my little sisters, who are fans of the Chronicles of Narnia series. It was interesting talking to my friends (who are from the UK and Azerbaijan) about the differences in food availability here. For example, it’s pretty difficult to find Turkish delight in the US, except in some gourmet food stores and around the holidays. No one really even knows what it is except for its famous role in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. But it’s relatively easy to find here. On the contrary, Godiva chocolates are rare in the UK and Europe, while you can buy a box of Godiva chocolates basically anywhere in the US. Harrod’s was carrying basic boxes of Godiva chocolates (worth less than $20 in the US) for almost £40 ($60!!).  Of course, it depends on availability, but it’s just interesting to see what it is considered rare or valuable on each continent.

The main purpose of our trip to Knightsbridge was to visit Baku, a fantastic Azerbaijani restaurant south of Hyde Park. My friend (currently studying at LSE  Summer School) attends university in Wales but is from Azerbaijan, and wanted to introduce us to Azeri food. I’m always ready to try new things, and I was particularly interested in this type of cuisine because my little sister is from Kazakhstan, which borders the Caspian Sea across from Azerbaijan.

It was absolutely delicious. Between the three of us, we tried many different dishes: yarpag dolma (vine leaves stuffed with lamb), gutab (thin pancakes filled with herbs, lamb, and pumpkin with pomegranate seeds), Barbary duck and watermelon salad, a cheese-and-pick platter, dushbara (a wanton-type soup with beef parcels in veal broth), and baklava. Everything was new to me (even those dishes which I thought I had tried before, like baklava and dolma, but soon realised that the American versions are nothing near the real thing) and so, so good. In addition, the restaurant itself was stunning. The dining room was chic and comfortable, and the presentations of food were unique and beautiful (everything was served on slate tablets, except for the dolma, which was in a boat!). And of course, after lunch, I had to try Azeri tea, which I found similar to Russian tea, but a little lighter. The whole lunch was such a delicious discovery, and I wish Azeri cuisine was easier to find!

The view of the River Thames west from the London Eye

Once we were quite full, my friend and I used up the rest of our free afternoon by taking a turn on the London Eye (finally!). The queue wasn’t too bad, and I’m glad we did it. First of all, this enormous Ferris wheel is almost 450 feet high but is cantilevered (supported on one side only), which is incredibly impressive and a little scary. It’s just enormous. Its position also allows unparalleled views of the River Thames to the east and west. London is beautiful, especially along the riverfront, and the Eye gives you a pretty perfect view of the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Charing Cross Station, and the Shard. It’s a shame, but because of how much studying I need to do, I don’t think I’ll be able to visit all these places in the next week. I’ve passed them and seen them from afar, but most cost so much to tour, and I feel like I need to dedicate all my extra time to schoolwork. I’ll try to maybe sneak one or two more in before I go – but I’m sure this won’t be my last time in London!

Zab in London | Days N° 8-9

I'm sorry to disappoint, but I haven't done anything thrilling over the last two days. Because my midterm is coming up on Wednesday, I've been studying as hard as I can.

I have been trying to find some peaceful places to study, though, particularly ones that are open a bit later in the evening. On the left is the 5th View at the Waterstones Piccadilly, a top-floor cafe with views of the city. I went there this evening for dinner (bangers and mash! yum!) and then sat down in the classics section to do some studying. Like I said in a previous post, Waterstones is very well-kept, quiet, and beautiful. They have nice comfy couches too!

There are a handful of cafes on the Kingsway where I've taken a couple of hours to sit down, have some tea, and study at: Bill's (pictured below), Paul, and the Delaunay Counter. All have outdoor seating, which is irresistible in this perfect weather.  Another favourite would definitely be the New Academic Building on the LSE's campus, which I've also mentioned before.  I love the open space, big windows, and views of the city. Does anyone sense a pattern here?

I was only able to visit when I first arrived, but the Victoria Embankment Gardens on the Thames was beautiful and I'd love to return to sit and read in the garden. Every day here has been only lightly cloudy and in the 70s, so I'm taking every possible opportunity to be outdoors. The picture above, at Waterstones, was the first afternoon of real London fogginess - which was equally wonderful because it was so cosy!

While I haven't done much besides study over the past couple of days, I'm still learning more about this city, culture, and people that surround me. Honestly, it hasn't completely sunk in that I'm in London, in the United Kingdom, in Europe. I don't know if I'll even totally wrap my mind around that until I leave! I've wanted to be here for so long, that it's still quite surreal now that it's actually happened...

A difference between US and UK culture that has become more apparent over the past week is the study habits of the students here.  Whereas the library and study rooms at my university in Virginia would be absolutely packed with students during the evenings, late at night, and during the weekends (even when exams weren't coming up!), the campus here (the study lounges and library and such) are essentially empty over the weekends and during the evenings. The buildings close earlier here than they do in the US (William & Mary's library is open until 2:00 every morning and 24-hours during exam weeks, whereas the LSE campus closes around 18:00). Here at LSE, the 2,000+ summer students currently in classes all have midterm exams in two days. When I went on campus to study over the weekend, I expected all the study areas to be full - but they were almost completely empty!

I've also noticed that a surprising number of students don't spend their extra time studying at all, whether on campus, in their rooms or elsewhere. Of course, some certainly do, and very good for them - but there have been plenty of weeknights (and certainly weekends) where people are coming and going early in the morning, masses of students are congregated in the residence hall lounge drinking and socialising for hours, and I find beer cans lying around on weekday mornings all the time. As I slave away at my schoolwork all day and all night, I can hardly believe that these people can spare enough time away from their books. I suppose they must be taking easier classes, or be naturally brilliant. Either way, it's very different from the study habits at William & Mary.

Of course, I am perfectly studious and never get distracted. Teehee! I wish. I'm trying to strike a balance between seeing the city and friends and dedicating enough time to schoolwork to do well in my class; usually, this means that I'll go out in the city where I can be around people and see a new place, but will always bring my notes from class and go over problems and readings. I'm not a natural finance genius, and where some people might find this coming easily to them, I have to study my little booty off to get good grades. But it will be quite worth it! I'm interested in LSE for their Masters in Finance programme, so I know the extra hours of studying will pay off!

Zab in London | Day N° 7 | Studying on Aldwych

Piccadilly at evening-time

I've now been in London for one full week! How exciting. I feel like an expert already and have great disdain for any tourists and Americans I run into. No, not really, but I do feel like I've learned so much about this city already in one week.

Like I said in my last post, I had to dedicate much of my day to studying, and I'll do the same tomorrow. However, I tried to make my day scenic anyway! When I woke up (pretty late, I'll admit, since I had been out the night before), I had lunch at Prince of Wales pub on Drury Lane: vegetable pot pie with mashed potatoes, and hard pear cider. Absolutely delicious, though I'll admit drinking a pint of cider before going to study isn't the best idea.

I spent my afternoon on the rooftop garden of the LSE's New Academic Building, which has gorgeous views of the city. The weather was perfect, almost a little chilly, but I can't believe that every day is so perfect here. In Virginia, and even in Chicago, it gets muggy and hot, and there are always tons of bugs... Here, it's breezy, lightly warm, and I haven't seen a single insect since I arrived.

Studying on the rooftop of the New Academic Building

It was tempting to just rest my head and take a nap up above the city, but I spent a few hours studying my notes from class, trying to put together something of a study guide for myself. There're more than a dozen formulas that we need to memorise by Wednesday, of which I know about two, and more than twenty problems that could be used as models for the ones on the midterm. Math, math, and more math!

When it got a little later I went to have tea at the Delaunay Counter, which is my favourite London cafe so far. Though it's modelled after a Viennese tea room (I think), it's just the perfect London cafe. They also serve big glass French-press pots of Earl Grey tea, enough for at least three big cups... which is close to the amount of tea I can consume in one sitting, but not quite! Anyway, I'll take it.

The Delaunay Counter 

Aldwych and the Kingsway (where LSE's campus is located) is my favourite part of London so far. It's close to river and there's a smattering of gardens, but it seems less touristy and more upscale and beautiful than some of the other places I've visited. The Strand and Knightsbridge and Oxford Street are interesting, and the historical areas are obviously amazing to visit, but they're all just stuffed with people. Aldwych and the Kingsway is more professional, classy, and much less touristy than these other areas, and it's so relaxing to sit outside, listen to the city, and watch the (well-dressed) Londoners pass by.

Anyway, after studying further at the Dalaunay Counter for a couple of hours, I traipsed down to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly to visit the large Waterstones bookshop (the one on the LSE campus is a smaller version). It's absolutely beautiful and very well kept, located down the street from the National Gallery on Piccadilly and across from the gorgeous Le Meridien hotel. There are at least five floors, one of which is dedicated to a cafe, and it puts American bookstore chains to shame. As an avid reader, I could spend the rest of my life in that building. Unique collections of books are arranged on circular tables that fill the rooms; the shelves are well-organised and filled with innumerable books that I'd never heard of before; sections are dedicated to collector's editions of children's classics, or teatime in London (with recipe books from all the most prestigious tea rooms), or classics for boys becoming men. So cool!

I spend most of my time in the science-fiction/fantasty and children's floors looking for gifts for my family (hint hint!) and found unique printings of some of my most beloved books, especially the 50th anniversary printing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy which was unfortunately too expensive to buy. I love finding UK editions of book that I'm familiar with: right now I'm reading the Game of Thrones series, and the printings of these books are different here. They're in-between the sizes of the US paperback and mass market editions, and most of the books are divided into two-parts, which in the US you don't usually see.  There was also a number of cool editions of the Chronicles of Narnia series, from a collector's paperback series with colour illustrations to careful reproductions of the first editions from the 1940s and 50s (one of which I got as a gift for my little sisters, who are reading the series now). I spent only an hour in the bookstore and it was nowhere near long enough! I'll have to see if I can make time to return.

Tomorrow I plan on making an early-morning trip to St. Paul's Cathedral, and then I hope to take a ride on the London Eye when it opens at 10:00 before settling down to study. Though I have a lot of schoolwork to do, I'm trying to chip slowly away at my list of places to visit!

Zab in London | Day N° 5 | Shopping and Ministry of Sound

The River Thames at night

Hullo! I had quite an adventurous day trekking all over London on Friday. The weather was beautiful, and made even more so by the fact that I didn't have lecture that afternoon!

I did have class in the morning, though, so after class I went back to Waterstones to relax for a little while. I purchased some cool (and expensive...) cards for my family and sat writing for a little while. Then it was off to the Sherlock Holmes Museum!

Damn the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I have been there twice, once early in the morning and once in the afternoon (both weekdays!), and there has been a line at least a hundred people long, probably more, stretching down the entire block. I tried to go yesterday (I had already bought a ticket!) and waited for about twenty minutes in line, didn't get anywhere, and gave up. I guess I have to get there one morning about an hour before it opens and hope to get somewhere near the front of the line! This tour had better be good... I've probably already spent an extra ten pounds just getting back and forth on the tube unsuccessfully! I did get a good shot of the front of the flat, though.
They have his hat hanging outside and everything, it's very cool. In the show, they cover up the museum (which is right below 221B) with Speedy's Cafe, which doesn't actually exist (stupid me, I thought it did). The cafe awning covers up the museum sign, and they use the same big glass windows. Quite interesting. I'm very frustrated because I would love to catch a glimpse of filming for the new season, but I can't find when or where they're actually filming. They're here somewhere though!

After my second attempt to visit 221B, I went back to Knightsbridge to do some shopping. I didn't end up returning to Harrods just yet, but instead went to H&M (the biggest branch I've been in yet, and of the biggest clothing company in the world - it was big!!) and Topshop (a UK fashion shop) and got a couple dresses and things to wear while I'm here, and a handful of men's clothes for my boyfriend Jared... notably, short European shorts! I couldn't resist.

The women's clothing here isn't much different from what I'm used to at William & Mary or the East Coast in general; it's definitely different from the way people dress in the Midwest, which is mainly in pajamas. The women do dress a bit better here, in beautiful dresses or professional attire, etc. The big difference is in men's clothing, though. Men in the US don't know how to dress (Jared, you are an exception!). The men here dress much better, in collared shirts and nicely fitted pants and proper shoes. The men in the US (even on the East Coast) wear sneakers and baggy shorts and t-shirts. Ugh. They have a thing or two to learn from European men.

Anyway, after doing a bit of shopping, I had supper at my favourite cafe, La Pain Quotidian, which is right next to my residence hall and is beautiful, full of natural wood and plants and glass windows. I was able to nap for a little while after eating, before getting ready to go and experience my first European club! I've gone out a handful of times with some girlfriends in Richmond, Virginia, but that's the extent of my club knowledge. It's much more intense here, of course. I was amazed to find that the tube was even more crammed at 23:45 on a Friday night than it had been at 17:15, during rush hour, earlier in the day!

Surprisingly, many people were not as 'dressed up' as I would have thought. Girls were wearing shorts and jeans and flats, where I had expected dresses and heels. The club was huge and packed with people: there are three separate rooms with three different DJs at any one time, a VIP lounge, and a loft. Another difference when compared to American clubs is that the men here seemed able to have fun on their own: in the clubs I'd been to in the US, single men would just stand off to the side, watching, waiting for a chance to creep up to a woman that was on her own. Horrible. Here, there were many gents who were on their own or with a group of friends, but they were all off dancing and having fun, without poor ladies to creep on. As a lone girl at the club, I was very happy to see that!!

I only stayed for a couple hours as I have tons of studying to do this weekend. Our midterm for this class is on Wednesday, after only six lectures, and this is the first chance I'll have to step back, breathe, and go back over the material that was covered in the first week. I'm destined for a boring but well-needed weekend.