Mmm, truffles are tasty. I made up a batch last night of Bailey's Irish Cream truffles, and they're very, very good. Of course, that could just be my addiction to chocolate speaking...

There's not much to be said about today. We went to the market on Portobello Road for a long time, but even there everything's alarmingly expensive, though most vendors seem prepared to barter. It was fun, but very draining, and so I'm enjoying sitting down in the computer lab. Also, we lost Mel, and Diana and I were relieved to hear that she made it back ok, since she claims frequently that she has no sense of direction.

Alright, I am far too tired to be coherent; I hope I wake up a little. Diana and I are thinking of going back to our flat for dinner, and then over to the Tate Modern, which is open till 10.

Dover+Van Gogh+Stonehenge

Equals SUPER FUN HAPPY TIMES!

Yes, I did all of that, and so much more, in the last three days! These bus tours are hard-core; they adhere to a strict schedule, and you get to see the most wonderful things!

On Wednesday, for example, we did a tour that started by going to Canterbury for its cathedral (and it's fudge, of course ;-)). The cathedral is absolutely stunning in its height- those gothic architects knew what they were doing. We headed off after that to Dover, which must be the single most beautiful place on earth, especially with the weather we were having. We walked out to the water's edge over the pebbly beach, and looked accross to France, and back to the White Cliffs, with Dover Castle, nestled in the most luscious emerald grass crowning them. Heaven on earth, I'm telling you! We took a tour of the war-time tunnels in the cliffs at Dover, and took a quick walk around. Mel and I went up to the old Phalos, which is a lighthouse first built by the Romans. We climbed to the edge of the hill, and the view was astounding. Seriously, this is the place to be on a sunny day!

Thursday after class I finally got to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, with Diana, Matt and Mel. We of course climbed up on the lions at Trafalgar Square, thankfully without injury. (I say this because our friend Mike dislocated his shoulder while climbing on them last week. Crazy American Tourists, always getting into trouble ;-)) At the National Gallery, we were astounded by the first room we walked into, which had Van Goghs and Cezanne's; the next room held Degas, then Monet, Seurat, Renoir, Rousseau, and so on and so forth. Velasquez, Vermeer, Caravaggio, Titian, Pernese. That place is incredible!

Ack! Mel is over my shoulder, apparently ready to leave the lab. I'd better go! But really quick, I have to say that our 10 hour bus tour to Bath, Stonehenge, and Salisbury Cathedral that we took today was wonderful!
Later!

Striped Socks and Spiral Stairs

Wow, i'ts been several days since I last posted. (Thank-you Captain Obvious) I'm sitting here in the lab waiting for my laundry while listening to In-Grid on my cd player. I'm so so so glad I brought my CD's- I can't take not having music now and then.

Anyway, we had grand plans for today of going to Trafalgar Square and to the National Gallery, but those were abandoned when we finished lunch at our flat and realized that we're all exhausted, and that a long nap sounded far more attractive than sight-seeing. Mmm, unconsciousness.

Anyway, I suppose I should finish the story of the weekend, eh? So, there we were on a Saturday afternoon in SoHo- fun place. Parts are really clean and attractive, and others are seedy (for example, the alleyways lined with strip-clubs and sex-shops). "China-Town" is comical in it's size- it's all of one block long, and ined with restaurants. It was still exciting, though, to see a fruit that's as big as three basketballs. Oh, and the best part of SoHo? The socks! That's right, I bought two pairs of wild, over the knee socks. Steppie, you'd love them. One pair is black and turquoise stripes, and the other is purple argyle. I cannot express the joy these give to my shallow and stupid side. It's actually kind of depressing, being in London and not being able to afford to be well dressed- everyone here looks smart and very much "together." We Americans really are so very tacky.

Let's see, let's see... after SoHo we went to O'Niell;s (the pub) to watch some of the soccer game. Unfortunately, they didn't have the T.V. near our table on, and we were all tired, so we left pretty early.

On Sunday we went to Oxford! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day- it was cool, the sun was out, with distant puffy clouds, and Oxford itself is always gorgeous. We went as a group of 11, so our train ticket was really cheap, though once we got there we separated into much smaller groups. My friends and I went to Carfax Tower, which is all that's left of St. Martin's Church, and after braving the spiral stairs (of which we had so many the day before), looked out over the skyline. We got lunch at KFC, of all the bizarre places, and went into Blackwell's (the biggest bookstore in the world). We also went to the University Museum of Natural History, and to the Christ Church Picture Gallery. The picture gallery was really interesting, because it had a couple of Tintoretto's, two Botticelli's, and several Van Dyke's. We finished the day with a bite of cake at the Old Tom pub accross from Christ Church College, and I slept very hard on the train ride back in between reading "Persuasion."

I enjoyed Oxford much more this time than when I went several years ago, because I was in contact with the guide book, and was able to navigate and see where and what we were doing. It's weird, but I enjoy everything so much more when I can see a map.

Yesterday we had three hours of lecture on English history in the morning (gag me- interesting, but that's a really long class). In the afternoon we took a tour of the British Museum, which was interesting up until Mel fainted. She revived pretty quickly, and since I'd seen the museum before, I was more than happy to volunteer to sit with her for a while. We joined up with the other tour, and got to see some interesting stuff. The major problem at this point (other than the fact that food costs a small fortune here) is exhaustion- we've been getting up to sightsee or go to class everyday, and we're all very, very tired. Despite napping this afternoon, I know I'm still wiped out. Alright, my laundry should be done! Tomorrow we're going to Dover and Canterbury with the classes, which should be very pleasant- I wrote a report on Dover back in 7th grade, but I've never gotten to see the White Cliffs before!
Tscheuss!

SoHo and Lawrence of Arabia

I have to make this brief, unfortunately- we're leaving shortly to go buy train tickets to go to Oxford tomorrow! :-)

So, today we were on the tube, and I'm pretty darn sure that the guy standing up between where Mel and I were sitting was a pickpocket- his eyes looked at my well-guarded bag, then at Mel's, and began trying to figure out where this other woman kept her wallet. He didn't pay any attention to anything but bags and hip pockets the entire time he was riding.

Today we took the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral, and it was absolutely gorgeous!!! So much of the ceiling was done in glowing mosaics with gold and deeply colored tesserae. They're working right now on conservation of the cathedral in honor of it's 300th anniversary which is in, I think, 2010, so much of the walls were hidden, but many parts had been heavily scrubbed and conserved. They're working right now inside the dome- I'd love to see what those murals look like once the've been cleaned. Oh, and the Baldacchino over the altar is absolutely gorgeous. I loved the candlesticks- they were as tall as I am, not to mention the candles themselves! We walked up more than 700 steps to get to the different galleries in the dome, up rather treacherous spiral staircases. We went down to the crypt after that, and I took a picture of the bust of T.E. Lawrence- I was just so amused that the bust was actually entitled "Lawrence of Arabia." We finished up by sitting in the nave for a little while, listening to the choir which was practicing with organ accompianiment.

Alright, I've gtg! I'll tell you about SoHo another time ;-)

Sloth and Envy; My Two Favorite Sins

So, I was on the tube today, and I saw a guy who was chewing gum, and had really weird jaw muscles like that guy from "The Office."

So, let's see... so much has happened! Wednesday night some of us (Elizabeth (gag), Mel, Kristen, Kristen (yes, there are two), Erin, Matt and I went to O'Niell's Pub which is just down the road, and then we went to the Black Widow up on Gloucester Road. That's a great place. We tried their "Seven Deadly Sins"-I had the Sloth, which is just delicious. Last night we went back for kareoke, and I tried the Envy (a grasshopper) and Mel and I also shared a snakebite (half Fullers, half Strongbow (yummy!), and blackcurrant juice). Tasty stuff! I am, as always, a brazen hussy, so I hopped on up there and sand "Respect" (Aretha Franklin). There was a black woman there who could sing incredibly well- she sang "My Heart Will Go On" and a couple of other songs, and boy does she have pipes! Afterwards some of the girls went to Club Richmond, which is supposed to be a great place on Thursday nights, but we don't meet the shoe dress code, so Matt, Colman, Mel and I went back to our flat and played UNO until Colman left, and then hung out until Elizabeth came down and stared us out. Before we went to sleep, Mel, Steffi and I sat up talking. It was overall a really fun night.

Wednesday we had class for two and a half hours in the morning, and another two hours in the afternoon. That night, after getting back from the pubs, I stayed up and read "Persuasion" (Jane Austen) until 3 in the morning! I should really try to avoid that, because the next day I ended up taking a four hour nap after I got back from class!

Also, the other night I made korma again! It was very yummy, despite the fact that I didn't have all of the ingredients, and just kind of improvised a great deal. I've found things to cook which are extrememly cheap, but I'm afraid drinks cost a fortune, so I'm not really staying ahead,lol. I mean, a pint of Strongbow costs £2.70! That's like five bucks! Ouch I say, ouch. My wallet is also whimpering.

I'm having fun here, and enjoying the company of the friends I'm making, but there are certain individuals who I miss immensely.

Oh so yummy-yummy, Episode 2

looking for a delicious website? Check out:

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/candytruffle/truffle.html

and you'll be very, very hungry, but hopefully also inspired to make truffles... preferably for me ;-)

Oh so yummy-yummy

The best part about visiting such a diverse city is the grocery store. They actually have frozen Indian food! I swear, I'm in heaven. Last night I went to the grocery store and discovere that they have this ready-made korma sauce that you just put over sauteed chicken and boil for twenty minutes, and it's done! I made it up last night with two chicken breasts, and a bunch of basmati rice, and I bought naan at the grocery store to eat it with. I'll have the leftovers for lunch today. Of course, chicken breasts cost a fortune (four for £7, which is like $13), but the meal is simple enough that it works out to around $3.75 a meal, which is certainly cheaper than eating out, where meals run about £6.75, or around $11US. I also bought a Korma "spice blend," which has a recipe for chicken korma on it that I'm going to try. It should be an adventure! (Especially since I don't have all of the ingredients, lol)

I think I'm going to look up recipes online for desserts with alcohol in them, since I can actually make them here. Yay for a drinking age of 18! Speaking of which, some of us are planning to go to the pub tonight, which should be fun.

I just got out of my first class here, and it wasn't too bad. It was two and a half hours of lecture, and I have two more hours later, but I'll have only a short class tomorrow. I have to try to figure out my weekend trips- I'm thinking about going up to Durham one of these weekends to visit Kevin and Matt Cecil, but it's really far away, so I'm not sure yet how that's going to work. I also want to go to Bath, and Elizabeth is talking about spending this weekend in Cardiff. Luckily I have three weekends, so I have the time to do all three, hopefully. Of course, money is another issue... I may forego Cardiff, because I really, really want to do Durham and Bath. We'll see!

Alright, I've got to get back to my flat so I can eat my leftovers from dinner last night- I'm going to try to figure out how to take the tube there, since it's a really, really long walk, and I have to be back in the classroom in two hours.
Ciao Bello/a! :-D

Jet Lag Time 5000!

Wow, this computer lab is cold! I'll have to make this short, or else I'll freeze to death in here, lol.
Well, I'm successfully in England. I'm staying at two story flat in South Kensington that is rather interesting- only one of the toilets actually flushes, and as it turns out it's the only functioning toilet in the entire place! I'm sad because they changed the housing assignments at the last minute, so I'm not with the people I requested to be with, though they are in the same townhouse. Instead I'm with one girl I like, Mel, two girls I barely know, two girls I wish I didn't know, and one girl who wears those really short, short knit skirts they sell at Urban Outfitters that make you want to vomit so much.

I was enormously excited yesterday when I was sitting in a room here at the school watching MTV Britain, or whatever they call it, and a music video by The Streets came on! I think it was called "You're fit but you know it." The lead singer has really, really bad teeth- Go Team Britain! ;-)
Ooh, and yesterday I actually saw one of the new mini-coopers with the Union Jack on it's roof! Very thrilling, let me tell you. I ate dinner with this girl Mel at a swanky Indian restaurant, though we split the food since it cost so much. The exchange rate over here really, really sucks. You basically look at things and say "Oh, well that's not so bad," but then you remember to multiply the price times two, and suddenly you can't afford anything. Amusingly enough, the Indian restaurant had a group speaking Japanese!

They're very considerate here- on crosswalks it tells you which way to look so you don't get run over.

Today we took a guided bus tour and then a tour through Westminister Abbey, which was nice. I forgot my tube card in the room, so Mel and I had to walk back, which wasn't so bad. On the way we stopped and took pictures at Buckingham Palace and lay around on the grass in St. James' Park watching the swans. We also stopped at the ever-so-swanky Harrod's, and looked around at all the high fashion. My God, that store is big. They had this extraordinary room which mainly sold chocolates! And they had three different kinds of baklava! I would have been in heaven, if it weren't for the high price tags on absolutely everything (which didn't stop me from getting a couple of truffles). :-)

Anyway, I'm off to the grocery store. Hopefully if I do my own cooking as much as possible I can afford to eat on this trip :-P
Cheers!

Mused and Abused

So... "Troy" is a really lame movie. I mean, I enjoyed myself, because I was busy laughing at the stupid characters and the artistic inaccuracies, as well as how completely the writers captured the basic personalities of the characters. I mean, Achilles really is a jackass, and Paris really is a pathetic little pansy. Well done, writers, well done.

As for me, I'm sitting and typing on Sarah Mapes' computer. She's out tonight, and for now at least, I have the apartment to myself. I'm fully taking advantage of it by lounging about wearing a sarong for a dress and eating brie. Oh so yummy-yummy.

So, in that last paragraph, you may have caught the whole apartment business. It's true, yesterday I moved out of my dorm room (with the extraordinary help and patience of Lee and his dad) and into the apartment which I will be sharing in the near future with Sarah Mapes and Adrienne. I seriously could NOT have made the move without Lee- yes Lee, you rock my socks. THANK-YOU!!!!

As for today, I made a trip to the bank, which is a surprisingly big deal. I finally deposited a check that I was given for easter! huzzah!

Ooh, tonight I went with Sarah, Mike, Ryan, and some other guys I don't know too well to Islands for dinner. Scott was our server, and you know what that means... underage drinking! Yay! That's right, I had my first margarita! Of course, it was a mango margarita, and darn good! And don't worry, my driver drank sprite. ;-) I realized that Mike reminds me a lot of Anna Biglen. Fun people, those two.

Oh yes, and I lost at Scrabble today. Drat. ^_^

Also, in case this blog weren't long enough, I've decided, per Mat's request, to include the lyrics of the Avalanches song "Frontier Psychiatrist." I think they have a few errors, but here they are, in all their glory! (These came from the site
)

Is Dexter ill today, Mr Kirk, Dexter's in school,
I'm afraid he's not, Miss Fishborne,
Dexter's truancy problem is way out of hand,
The Baltimore County school board have decided to expel
Dexter from the entire public school system,
Oh Mr Kirk, I'm as upset as you to learn of Dexter's truancy,
But surely, expulsion is not the answer!
I'm afraid expulsion is the only answer,
It's the opinion of the entire staff that Dexter is criminally insane

[Chorus]
That boy needs therapy, pyschosomatic,
That boy needs therapy, purely pyschosomatic,
That boy needs therapy,
Lying down on the couch, what does that mean?
You're a nut! You're crazy in the coconut!
What does that mean? That boy needs therapy,
I'm gonna kill you, that boy needs therapy,
Ranagazoo, let's have a tune,
Now when I count three,
That... that... that.. boy.. boy needs therapy,
He was white as a sheet, and he also made false teeth

Avalanches above, business continues below,
Did I ever tell you the story about,
Cowboys! M... M.. M.. Midgets and indians and... Fron.. Frontier Psychiatrist,
I... I felt strangely hypnotised,
I was in another world, a world of 20,000 girls,
And milk! Rectangles, to an optometrist, the man with the golden eyeball,
And tighten your buttocks, pour juice on your chin,
I promised my girlfriend... a violin

Frontier Psychiatrist... Frontier....

[Chorus]

Can you think of anything else that talks, other than a person?
Uh ohh... uh oh, a bird! Yeah!
Somtimes a parrot talks,
Ha ha ha... Yes, some birds are funny when they talk,
Can you think of anything else?... a record!

Oh my goodness, I don't want to write my human event paper. That's the class that's very ToK-ish, except, thankfully, there are no fifteen minute presentations to worry about, just goofy dialogues between philosophers to write. On the upside of course, mine is more science fiction than philosophy, but still, I need to be studying for chemistry and art history instead of writing this. What was I doing all day yesterday that I didn't write my paper? Oi Vey!
Of course, I just had three cups of coffee at IHOP, so hopefully I'll be able to focus and whip this paper out before four o'clock, which is when I've decided that I'm going to stop and start studying art history for my final tonight. I'm not sure when that leaves for studying chemistry, but I'm sure I'll figure something out... I could no doubt have saved time by not going to IHOP with Lee, but then I'd be sitting here craving hash browns like I have been for about the last week. Wow, with all this coffee in my system, I'm feeling a little bit nutty. That's probably a good thing, though. As Robin Williams said, "You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
Tschuess! :-*

Almost Done

Welcome to my first blog! Isn't it positively thrilling? I know you just can't wait to hear the exciting, bizarre, and totally awesome things I'm up to!
Ok, so they haven't happened yet. Some maybe, but I think the best will be saved for once I get out of the country. So... blog for today... um, Islands still rocks... Go Team Free Fries! Not like at Burger's Plus, of course, but you take what you can get. And, there's always something to be said for the company- *gives Lee look to see if he's reading over shoulder* Yup, Lee's reading over my shoulder.

Ok, I think that this blog is suitably incoherent to interest the likes of you *stares and points at reader* and keep you coming back. Look for exciting entries from London starting around the 16th!
:-*
Ja ne!