A time-sensitive read: Kofi Annan's Interventions

This book has been on my list for some time now, and when Kofi Annan himself came and lectured on my first day of classes at Uppsala University less than a month ago, I was absolutely amazed by this man's combination of candor and composure. I picked up his autobiography of his years as head of UN Peacekeeping Operations (1993-1996) and then as Secretary-General (1997-2006), during which time he was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in tandem with the UN itself. The book, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace, is a concise, focused read which dives right at the heart of the multiple international failures of the 1990s and early 2000s: Rwanda, Bosnia, Iraq... Kofi gives a blunt, refreshingly-sharp critique of the shortcomings of the United Nations as a cohesive actor in conflict prevention, an issue he has made it his business to remedy over the past twenty years.

I can't speak highly enough of this book. As a Peace and Conflict Studies student with a basic knowledge of the topics and players in major UN debates of my lifetime, my knowledge was completely uprooted by Annan's summation of the conflicts from the perspective of the UN. Not only does he present the issues in an incredibly fluent and concise manner (a testament to his natural ability to zero-in on the root of a conflict, the place where diplomacy must be targeted), he also peels back the complex layers and interactive structures of the UN to easily engage the reader with the interplay of countless nuanced exchanges between many, many actors over endless years of conflict after conflict. In the throes of what was no doubt one of the most challenging jobs in the world, Annan emerges as a lucid, forward-thinking individual, one who was always attune to the bigger picture, even as actors (often the US) barraged the UN to make narrow-minded and thoughtlessly reactionary decisions in the face of global trauma.

This is a book that you can open to any page and find immense wisdom. I would love to quote many, many of his paragraphs, but I would like to mention this one, because it really gets at the heart of why the UN fails to act in the face of crisis. It's not because they don't want to or don't have the ability to; rather, it's the very nature of the organization, i.e. that it is reliant on the whims and decisions of the actors that constitute it. The UN is not an independent force, and this is something that we tend to forget. "The UN" is a term for the consensus (or at least the bargaining table) of every country in the world (except Kosovo, Taiwan, the Vatican, and Palestine).  Failure to act on the part of the UN is merely a failure for the broader international community to act.

"Contrary to what many suspect, the UN has few resources of its own.  For a peace operation, I had to go to the troop-contributing countries and ask for peacekeepers.  For development assistance and humanitarian relief, I had to go to the donor governments." (140)

With events unfolding in Syria, this is a very timely book to read - Kofi Annan leaves off in this memoir with mentions of the escalating tensions in Syria.  I would recommend reading it now before it becomes outdated by a barrage of new developments in the Middle East.

One last point I want to make about this book: he gives a thorough account of the Iraq War from where he sat as Secretary-General while the US chose to commit an illegal act of invading Iraq without the approval of the Security Council.  In light of everything Annan writes up to this point (he saves the Iraq War for last), in light of his descriptions of how painstakingly the UN had to be restructured in order to step out of the Cold War era and into our world of contemporary armed conflict (most of which is actually intrastate in nature), this decision to flout the UN had terrible ramifications that continue to be seen and felt, even a decade later.

"By behaving the way it did, the United States invited the perception among many in the world--including many long-time allies--that it was becoming a greater threat to global security than anything Saddam could muster.  This was a self-inflicted wound of historic proportions--and one that did immense, and possibly lasting, damage to U.S. standing in the world.  Abu Ghraib did not come out of a vacuum, and neither did Guantanamo.  The way they both ran counter to the principles of the rule of law has done incalculable damage to the global struggle for human rights." (366)

The sad fact is that Kofi Annan had been devoting nearly all of his time to engaging in diplomatic processes all over the Middle East -- with Iraq, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Hizbollah, you name it!  And real strides were actually being made!  The US invasion of Iraq put pretty much all of this to a halt, delaying peace in the Middle East by years, if not decades.  This isn't old news; the consequences are apparent today, in the US's less-than-amicable relations with many Middle East leaders.

Buy on Amazon

All-in-all, I was absolutely riveted by this book - it's a remarkable historical artifact, going through all the major conflicts of my lifetime (I'm 22) and discussing the ways in which the UN has adapted for the better (while still pointing out where the organization has still to better itself).

Traditional British Scone Recipe

After returning from a month spent in beautiful London, I have been craving the traditional British scones that are such a part of life there. The scones sold here in the US are quite unlike British scones: they are very sweet and incorporate all kinds of fruit and flavours (from blueberries to cinnamon to pears and cheese!). British scones are simple, perfectly balanced, and unparalleled, and to get them here in the US, I have no choice but to make them myself! There's also no better way to spend an autumn or winter afternoon than enjoying freshly baked scones, hot tea, and a cosy book....      

I've been using this recipe to craft my own traditional British scones since I've been back in the US, and they're pretty close to what I was able to get in the UK. I sometimes allow for a few twists in the ingredients (substituting in gluten-free flour, for example), and some people prefer plain rather than 'fruit' (sultana raisin) scones, so feel free to adjust as you prefer!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat/gluten free, if you prefer)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter (I use Kerry Gold unsalted because it's Irish and so soft and creamy!)
• Half a cup of sultana raisins (or just golden raisins if you can't find sultanas in the US... I haven't been able to)
• Three-quarters of a cup of milk (I usually use whole milk or even half-and-half to get richer scones)
• One egg yolk for glaze
• Fruit preserves and clotted cream for serving, if desired

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 Fahrenheit.

Mix the first three ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well blended. 'Cut' the butter into the dry mixture using either your hands (my choice!) or a pastry blender, until the mixture is crumbly and there are no more large chunks of butter. Try to avoid warming the butter beforehand - you should use cold, firm butter for this step. This can be difficult when you use typical US butter, which is why I use Kerry Gold - it's much softer even when refrigerated.

Desired texture once the butter has been cut in  

Once the butter has been 'cut' in, add the raisins (if you don't want plain scones), mix, and then add in the milk or half-and-half. Knead lightly with your hands until well mixed - but don't overdo it! Less is more here, and over-mixing will keep the scones from being light and fluffy. You want the dough to be quite moist.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured, flat surface and flatten to about a three-quarter or one-inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter (about two inches in diameter) to cut the dough into circles. If you don't have a round cutter, that's fine (I don't!) - just use the bottom of a round glass that's about two inches wide to lightly mark the top of the dough, then cut the circles out with a sharp knife. This works just as well. Place the scones an inch or so apart on a greased baking sheet.

Isolate the egg yolk from the whites in a small bowl and whip with a fork. Use a brush (your fingertip will work too!) and lightly glaze the tops of the scones. This will create a lovely golden glaze once the scones are baked - but use only a very little (just until the tops are shiny) or the scones will come out soggy. Then pop them into the oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Beautiful! Scones are best eaten warm, so either enjoy them right away or heat up for a minute in a toaster oven if you'll be eating them later.

Here's a bonus tutorial for serving scones the proper British way. Cut the scone in half lengthwise, so you have two flat circular pieces. Spread with a sweet fruit preserves or jam - I prefer Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves - and then top with a dab of clotted cream, if you can find it. You can substitute whipped cream too, but clotted cream (kind of like a mix between whipped cream and butter) is the traditional way to go. The Fresh Market carries Double Devon Cream, but it's difficult to find elsewhere in the US. After having my scones this way in the UK (which is how they're always served), I can't eat them any other way! And don't forget the tea!

October book to buy: The Kinfolk Table

Kinfolk Dinner: Brooklyn, NY from Kinfolk (kinfolk.com) on Vimeo.

I wish more people knew about Kinfolk magazine.  Based in Portland, OR, this new indie magazine has a very unique theme: small, intimate gatherings.  Good food, good company, good conversation, the passing on of recipes and home-related skill sets, exploration, travel, &c.  It has a fantastic aesthetic - natural, rustic, simple, beautiful.  The team of freelance photographers, writers, travelers, and filmmakers who contribute to each new issue come from all over the world.  Their latest issue (#9 - they haven't been around that long!) has the theme of "defining your weekend, finding the right balance between work and play" and you can check it out here.  Another cool element of Kinfolk is their monthly events, which are themed each month but which take place simultaneously in locales all around the globe.  Take this month's "Preserving the Season" gatherings in Seattle, Mexico City, and Oslo, to name a few - all celebrating the harvest and teaching guests about canning, pickling, etc.  Upcoming events are always posted to their website here.

This October, Kinfolk is branching out even further - they're publishing a cookbook!  I had the pleasure to preview it, and it is really just fantastic.  The Kinfolk Table: Recipes for Small Gatherings is divided into sections by city/locale.  From Brooklyn to Copenhagen, to the English Countryside, each sections includes profiles of a variety of individuals who have been discovered by Kinfolk over the years.  Photographers, bakers, farm owners... they come from all walks of life, yet they've all welcomed Kinfolk into their homes and have shared their most precious recipes.  Some are their original creations, and some are recipes that have been handed down through their families.

The cookbook is full of gorgeous photography, not just of the culinary creations included but also portraits of all the contributors, and even a great deal of photos of their homes, their kitchens, the small beautiful elements that make up their daily lives.  The volume leaves you not only with the ability to make simply, healthy, delicious meals and desserts (such as Pasta with Wilted Arugula, Almonds, and Soft Goat Cheese or Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake), but also stories: of people, places, livelihoods...  It's incredibly true to the magazine's mission, and is definitely a must-have for chefs, travelers, and all indie/hipster types. ;)

You can pre-order The Kinfolk Table on Amazon.

Release Date: October 15, 2013

$21.00 | hardcover

Zabelieth's Fall TV Guide

Hello, lovely readers!  Sorry for being MIA for a bit there - new school year for both Zab and me, and for me it also means a new country to call home.  I'm settled in here in Sweden now, and feeling a little homesick I've decided to create a cheatsheet for this fall's must-see American shows.  For myself as well as for you guys. ;)

So first of all, was the return of Jon Stewart to The Daily Show not the best thing ever?  I really missed him while he was off filming Rosewater (2014) in the Middle East.  John Oliver did a great job subbing for Stewart, but nobody can replace the show's main man.

This week was the start of Season 3 of New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel.  The first episode was absolutely hilarious.  I don't want to give any spoilers, but... I think it's time for Winston to do a puzzle.  In Season 3 we'll see how Jess and Nick fare as a new couple, and we'll find out whether Schmidt chooses Cece or Elizabeth.  New episodes show every Tuesday at 9pm EST on FOX.

My favorite show of the moment, Chicago Fire, is coming back for a second season!  The first episode will air on Tuesday, September 24 at 10pm EST on NBC.  The finale of the first season showed dashing candidate Peter Mills submitting an application to join the Chicago Police Department instead, and I'm seriously hoping this was a fluke.  If you're unfamiliar with the show, here's a random fun fact: Taylor Kinney, who plays lead rescue squad firefighter Severide, is Lady Gaga's boyfriend.  He's quite a hunk, as is Australian actor Jesse Spencer, who plays the other lead firefighter, Casey.

Joss Wheadon has a new show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which starts September 24 at 8pm EST on ABC.  The show features the return of Agent Coulson, who we all saw die in the Avengers movie, but whom Wheadon felt the need to bring back in order to lead the show's team.  You can't have S.H.I.E.L.D. without Coulson.  I'm excited to see the show, I think we've been starved for Joss Wheadon television for a couple years now, since Dollhouse stopped.  Check out the badass website for the new show, agentsofshield.com.

Finally, let's not forget that the last season of How I Met Your Mother is set to air this coming Monday, September 23 at 8pm EST on CBS.  I haven't been watching this show religiously, but word is the show finally revealed the mother in the last episode of the last season - which is great, seeing as we've been waiting years for Ted to get to the point.  I'm excited, this is a wonderful show and I'm sure they're going to go out with a bang.  It will definitely be hard for fans to say goodbye to these characters, though - HIMYM has a similar loyal fanbase to Friends.

Book Reviews: The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. & Aleph

I cannot speak highly enough of two of the books I read this summer.  Adelle Waldman's first novel, The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.: A Novel,absolutely rocked my world.  I've never read a book that so perfectly captured what young adult relationships are like.  Nathaniel P. is a hotshot freelance writer living it up in NYC.  At the start of the novel he's already had quite the timeline of relationships, hookups, etc.  The book delves into his past romantic experiences while also watching how he navigates his current affairs.  I won't spoil the ending, but it was refreshing and left me feeling that we're all sort of Nathaniel P., wanting to be the moral compass in every interaction but oftentimes overlooking our own selfishness, our own ulterior motives, even our own flaws.  I think Waldman did an excellent job capturing the male psyche - the book could perhaps have been subtitled "What Your Boyfriends Are Thinking."  Though The Love Affairs was a tough act to follow, I think Paulo Coelho's strangely mystical/autobiographical novel Aleph really nailed it.  I am familiar with Coelho but this was the first book I'd ever read by him.  It was spectacular.  Definitely one of the strangest books I've ever picked up, it is the semi-autobiographical account of a married writer named Paulo who decides to ride the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way to Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan.  Following him on this journey - despite his best efforts to dissuade her - is a young woman named Hilal, a violinist.  As the story develops, it turns out that the narrator and Hilal have met before.  This is where the novel takes a sharp left into the fantastical: Paulo and Hilal have met in a past life, hundreds of years before, during the Spanish Inquisition.  Something happened then that was never resolved, and it is on this grueling, eerie, beautiful train ride that they together delve into their shared existence using something called the Aleph, "the point at which everything is in the same place at the same time. I'm at a window, looking out at the world and its secret places, poetry lost in time and words left hanging in space...sentences that are perfectly understood, even when left unspoken. Feelings that simultaneously exalt and suffocate."  This is a fascinating book, full of beautiful quotes on life and love, very philosophic while simultaneously containing a great deal of adventure.  I want to end with one of my favorite quotes from Aleph, which sums up the unique manner in which human relationships are perceived in this book - as being repeatedly broken and reassembled:

“The world is being created and destroyed in this very moment. Whoever you met will reappear, whoever you lost will return.” (p.13)

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!