I said "Burr!" It's cold in here!

Last night Val and I ventured to the Absolut Ice Bar. Apparently it's one of just 6 ice bars around the world. Some of our friends had gone there earlier in the semester, but we weren't able to go for one reason or another and wanted to go, so we made it happen last night. When I say 'ice bar', I mean that you go into basically a large freezer that they keep at -10 degrees. Inside they have benches (covered in fur to make it warm enough to sit on) and walls sculpted out of ice. They tried to inspire warm thoughts by putting an graphic of a fireplace behind another thing of ice. Before you go in, they give you capes and gloves to wear inside to keep warm. But even then, with a sweater and my regular coat on underneath the cape, it was still pretty cold. Your cover charge includes one drink that they give to you in a glass that is completely made of ice. So cool.(ha ha...no pun intended.) Your ticket allows you inside for 40 minutes which although not all that long, is long enough. It was a lot of fun and a nice study break. There are a couple of pictures here, but check out the "These are the times to remember..." album for more pictures.

Walk like an Egyptian

Last night Val and I went to the King Tutt exhibit at the O2. The O2 is a very large and very cool venue that hosts concerts, has lots of restaurants, has a movie theater, and a skating rink inside; think Mall of America style minus the shops. Anyway, because we took a detour to get tickets for ice skating on Saturday, we were an hour late, but they let us in anyway. It was really cool to see all the artifacts found cleaned up and so in-tact after 3200 years. They showcased a chair from before King Tutt's time that still had the original weaving for the seat. It's incredible to think that something that old is still in tact. But, we walked through all these exhibits, and the mummy of King Tutt was no where to be found! Not only was he absent, but his sarcophagi wasn't there (there were 7!), and none of his wrappings or anything. There were some artifacts of things found with him (right next to him), but he wasn't there. So while it was a fun exhibit, I'm not sure it's worth the price we paid to go without Tutt. Dang. Oh well. Only 10 days left in London.

Just my luck

I took a study break last night to go and watch a replay of the KU v. AZ basketball game. It was initially played on Sunday, but because the owner of the restaurant is a KU grad (yes, here in London!), he shows as many games as possible...even if they aren't live. I"m not a huge fan of watching re-broadcast games, I didn't know the outcome, Nick did and said it was a good one, so I went to watch. He was right...it was a fantastic game. Seeing the shots of Lawrence in the opening scenes made me very excited to get him and be in the midst of all the craziness again. And then Brandon Rush's last second shot that almost won us the game was amazing. But coinciding with my luck on finding out the winner of the football game just before it started, the power (or some of the power, really) went out in the restaurant with 2 minutes left in overtime and I missed the victory. Bah.

Still bleeding crimson and blue

I was so close. I woke up, avoided checking my e-mail, facebook, didn't receive any text messages, no one told me the score, I didn't get on the internet. I made it all the way to Bodean's to watch the game, made sure they were going to show the game before ordering, and found out 5 minutes before it started that KU lost. Nick (the other guy from KU in my program) persevered through the whole game despite knowing the outcome. We didn't play awful...we just weren't at the top of our game. Regardless, here's to the men in crimson and blue who have taught the University of Kansas community that there is more to life than basketball. :)

Tigers are an endagered species; extinction starts today.

The biggest game in college football, and the biggest game in University of Kansas Football history, starts in about 5 hours. (For those of you who don't know, it's Kansas v. Missouri.) Not only is this going to be an epic battle between teams with a historic divide, it's a battle for the national championship. We're number 2, they're number 4. If the winner of this game goes on to win the Big 12 Championship next weekend, they will most likely end up with a spot at the big dance in New Orleans in January. And I'm missing it. :/

They are actually showing the game here in London, but because it doesn't start until 1 a.m. my time, I'm going to have to wait for a replay at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon. That means, come about 2 a.m. my time (8 p.m. for most of you), I will not be available because I do not want to know the outcome of the game until I can watch it for myself. If anyone tells me, I will drop kick them into next week. Until then, I'm going to try and quell my excitement for this game by working on my human rights paper. What a crazy Saturday night....

Smile for the birdy!

I posted a new album on facebook. The link is on the right: "These are the times to remember 'cause they will not last forever" So far it includes pictures from Thanksgiving and the Jamie Cullum concert.

Slap me silly and call me Naomi!

Thanksgiving in the UK wasn't nearly as bad or as hard as I thought it was going to be. Since Americans are the only ones celebrating it, it is actually entirely possible to go through the whole day not knowing it's Thanksgiving--- life just keeps going. But since we didn't have school, it wasn't entirely possible for me. Thanksgiving day mass is my FAVORITE, so to have that feel, I got up and went to mass at Westminster Cathedral (note: This is the same place where I got off the wrong tube stop and had to walk 45 minutes way back in September. I was smarter this time and was there plenty early and in an efficient manner.) After mass, I sat and read a couple chapters of a book in a Starbucks, and then came back home and did a lot of work on my human rights final paper (VERY close to being done, by the way). I received an e-mail saying that this event called "Sparkling Thursdays" was going on a department store, so my friend Melissa and I decided to check it out. They were supposed to be having quite a few give aways and have other beauty related events, but we got there and no one really knew what was going on. Some of the make-up counters were giving away glasses of champagne, and one we stopped at and let them do our make up had sweets, so all in all, it wasn't a bad trip. (The pic is Melissa with her "new" make-up.) Just not quite what we were expecting. We ended the day by meeting up with two other people from our program to watch football and eat BBQ, something I thought was quite appropriate for Thanksgiving. I also was able to video chat with my family. They weren't actually able to see me, but I could see them and we could all talk. I think knowing that was coming and actually having it happen made being away from home bearable.

Today consisted mostly of working on that paper, but culminated with the fulfillment of one of my London goals: seeing Jamie Cullum in concert. Who is Jamie Cullum, you ask? Well, he's this amazing jazz/pop/rock pianist singer guy from England. I became acquainted with him because my roommate Andrea let me borrow a bunch of her music when my computer crashed 1L year. His music sat on my computer until last year when it somehow found its way on to my iPod and, in a glorious twist of fate, ended up playing while I was shuffling through all my songs. Since then, I've been hooked. I could probably sing you every word to most of his songs, and many of my days are spent humming his melodies. I like his music for a variety of reasons. It's in large part due to his amazing piano skills. Another element is his singing voice-- a cross between Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and some other more modern artist I can't really put my finger on; it has the scratchiness that usually only comes after years of singing and smoking and drinking a lot, but the youthfulness to really connect. The third reason is that so many of his original songs have really thoughtful lyrics ("Romanticizing London Skies" comes from one of his songs.) Both my roommates from home and my roommates here and London can attest to how much I have commented on(and tried to get them to share in) his music.

Anyway, I've been trying to get to see him since I came to London. He played the night before we left for Ireland, and since we were leaving at 3 a.m., and no one wanted to go with me, I missed out on that opportunity. Then he played at a free concert in October, but I was unlucky, and despite my calling and logging on to get tickets the moment they went on sale, I missed out. I saw that he was playing at this show tonight, but initially thought I would miss him because of my Thanksgiving break trip plans. When those changed, I seized the opportunity.

I have to admit that this wasn't really a Jamie Cullum concert; he took (an unusual) supporting role in this concert that really belonged to the guy he plays bass with (Geoff Gascoyne). But Jamie was featured on both piano and vocals and it was absolutely amazing. (Melissa went with me to the concert, too. This is her and I there.) He is a lot of fun to watch-- he gets really into it and sometimes you can hear him "tapping" his foot above all the other music. (That fact made it impossible to get a good, clear picture of him playing the piano with the crappy little camera I have.) I can't imagine what In fact, it's probably a good thing he didn't sing more, because I would have completely melted and would now exist only as a puddle on the Cadogan Hall floor. We had amazing seats (we were so close that I could read "Steinway and Sons" on the piano, and see the reflection of his hands on the backside of the keyboard.) It was also really nice to hear some good jazz from good musicians, and re-open my eyes to that genre. All in all...pretty darn tootin fantastic.

The funny thing is, I don't find Jamie physically attractive -- it's solely his musicianship. The lack of attraction predominately comes from knowing that he's 5'3" and me being 5'10" doesn't really work (although last I knew he was dating a supermodel who was about my height...). I also make a point not to get caught up in the lives of and obsessed with celebrities; its really not necessary for me to know what's going on with them, and often they glorify lifestyles and make choices with which I 100% do not agree. Plus, they are just people. But something about this music has completely circumvented every resistance I have to that.

I think my "Ode to Jamie" is sufficiently long. Seriously, do yourself a favor and get some of his music. "All at Sea", "Mind Trick", "Photograph", "Next Year, Baby", "Frontin'" and "What a Difference a Day Made" (from the Live at Ronnie Scott's Album) are my top picks.

Thanksgiving

"It being the indispensable duty of all nations, not only to offer up their supplications to Almighty God, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his Providence in their behalf; therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States, in the course of the important conflict in which they have been so long engaged…do hereby recommend it to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of Thursday, the twenty-eighth day of November next, as a day of solemn thanksgiving to God for all his mercies; and they do further recommend to all ranks and testify their gratitude of God for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience to his laws, and by protecting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness."

Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of October 11, 1782, 23:647. The Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, ed. Worthington C. Ford, Gaillard Hunt, et. al., (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904-1937.

Happy BirthdayThanksChristmas!

Last night, in an effort to bring Thanksgiving to London, our program coordinator (Val- not to be confused with friend Val. In this post, I'll say "friend Val" if that is who I am referring to. Otherwise assume Val program coordinator.) set up a Turkey dinner for us at a local pub. Despite my hesitations, it was wonderful. Val hung Thanksgiving decorations all around the room for us, decorated the tables with birthday confetti, and bought British holiday poppers for all of us. The British holiday poppers are kind of like tug of war type things: it's a tube covered with foil wrapping. One person gets on either side of the tube and pulls, and just like with a wishbone, the person with the majority of the tube after it separates gets the prizes inside! The prizes consist of very valuable gems such as a mini stencil, a joke, and a paper crown. If you weren't lucky enough to get a stencil, you might have gotten a spider ring or a fake mustache. (My joke was very clever. Q: What athlete at the winter games stays the warmest? A: The long jumper!! -- A jumper is a sweater in England.)

Then it was time for the food, and we had a feast. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, salad, bread, AND pumpkin pie. After dinner, we had a raffle drawing, and one of our professors who does stand up comedy on the side did part of her act for us. Several of us were still feeling festive after the dinner officially ended, so we went out to a club in Piccadilly. I had fairly low expectations about all of this thanksgiving hullabaloo, but I don't think it could have gotten much closer to home...it was really wonderful.

Most everyone else is off on Thanksgiving trips starting tonight or tomorrow. I'll be here working on my human rights paper (hopefully finishing it) and studying some other subjects. I don't really have a whole lot planned for this weekend simply because I don't have anyone to do things with: people have either scampered off to different places around the world, or those that are here have friends coming in. But I'll make due...and hopefully get to see some other things in London I haven't done yet. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Torn

Last night I went to Shepard's Bush, a borough of London just outside the center, to have dinner and go see a movie with some of the people in my program. (We saw "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. If you like mobster movies, this one is very good.) A couple of the girls live out there and always come in to central London to hang out, so it was time to go out there for once. Many of us also have some weird gloomy feeling, so while Spiderman was calling me from the comfort of my couch, it was necessary to get out.

I, too, am experiencing some of that gloominess. Some of it comes from this being Thanksgiving week, not being home with family, and having so much to do. (That one is pretty universal, I think.) I know others are struggling with missing boyfriends and girlfriends (not applicable to me), and some are just down because of the weather (we are experiencing the stereotypical dark, damp, gray London rainy skies and it's supposed to remain that way all week.) I know part of my gloominess is being completely excited to come home and see all my family and friends, and a complete and utter desire to hang on to this city I love so much. I love everything (well, almost everything) about London, and if I were English and my family lived in England or continental Europe and my friends were relatively close, I'd move here in an instant. There is always so much to do and see, there is history, culture, pop-culture, counter-culture, and life. But there is also something to be said for the much simpler life that Kansas and Iowa provide. There is also a LOT to be said for the people that I love and miss so much. I think part of my wanting to "stay" is also because I know that returning means the real world is calling me very soon. And although I'm happy to be done with the education portion of my life, I'm not all that excited to enter the other part. I know I don't really have a choice, but it still makes me nervous.

I'm going to do as much as I can in the next few weeks to have loads of fun, and still get everything done. You'll probably see a few more posts like these that aren't really insights about London, but more about the study abroad transitional experience.

Being a little bit impulsive

So, I've taken an unintended break from studying the past couple days (okay, really just a day and a half) to do some London-y things. The first of which was last night..I met up with Andrew for a drink at a fun little pub, and then went over to a party on a London rooftop. One of the guys in my program (Conor) has a friend that is works over here from the states (Ryan). We've met Ryan on several occasions, and last night he invited us all over to his sweet flat to enjoy the London skyline. It was loads of fun; Ryan's brother was visiting, so we got to meet him and some of his friends. There also a few Brits there, so it was fun to interact with them. The other people at the party provided a nice break; I love all the people in my program, but we've been with them, and basically solely them for the past 4 months. It was nice to shake things up a bit with a few new personalities. Despite the bus ride home with some creepy guys trying to take pictures of Val and I, it was a good evening.

This morning Val and I went a took a tour of one of the 7 great cemeteries around London. It may sound morbid, but this was actually really cool. The cemetery from the 1830s, and was everything I think an old cemetery would be. It had huge, elaborate headstones, with engravings dedicated to the people who had passed. The trees and ivy swept in and out of every crevice, the the changing fall leaves provided some beautiful background scenery. Today is also pretty dreary-- no sun and a little bit drizzly-- so all in all it made for a perfect visit. I know some of you probably think I'm a bit crazy, but honestly, it was really cool.

I don't know whats' on the agenda for tonight, so the only other thing I have to report is that Thanksgiving plans have changed substantially. Althouhgh my classes are only pass/fail, (meaning any grade I receive doesn't factor into my GPA) I'm pretty sure that the grades themselves still show up as "A", "B" or (hopefully not) "C". That being said, I have a lot to do and a lot to start understanding before finals come in two weeks. So instead of traveling to Prague, Vienna, and Salzburg, I'm staying here, and I'm happy with that. Not only do I have a lot to do, I'm pretty tired, so not traveling is okay. This also means that I'll get to (hopefully) watch the KU/Mizzou game in some fashion or another. And the thing that makes it 100% okay is that my all time favorite musician -- Jamie Cullum--is playing in London on Friday night. I've been trying to see him all semester, and now because plans changed, I'm able to. I cannot contain my excitement!!!!!! So, Thanksgiving will be quiet, and probably a little bit lonely, but that's okay. :)

On a sad, but happy note, I fly home 3 weeks from today. Holy cow has this gone fast.

Bright lights, Big City

Last night, I took a break from my regular nightly ritual of studying to be a photo nerd and wandered around taking pictures of London at night with Andrew. There were a lot of factors going against getting really good pictures: the freezing cold (that prevented our hands from being out of gloves for more than a minute or two), not having a tripod to stabilize the camera, and most predominately the fact that both of our cameras are simple point and shoot contraptions that really aren't designed to take the take the type of pictures we wanted. Nevertheless, I got a couple good ones that I've posted below.

Call me!

So, I just set up this new fun thing where you can call a phone number and leave me a voice mail that I can listen to from my computer. I would love to hear all of your shining voices. The number is 651-780-7850. Woot.

Today was a catch up day from being gone for the weekend, and then studying again. Wow..exciting.

All of my Malta pictures are now posted. You again have two options-- pick whatever suits your fancy for the day! :)

They are prostitutes whose boats have holes in them, and don't have life jackets!

Okay…Malta! Val and I flew into Malta and finally arrived at our hotel at around 11 p.m. that night. It was late and we hadn’t eaten yet, so we immediately went to found food. The nearest place we could find was an American Sports Bar and Grill. We ate, drank, and had a jolly old time, and that should be the end of the story. However, at this restaurant, we noticed the beginning of something that consistently happened throughout the trip: people were looking at us funny. We were obviously not Maltese- neither of us have the beautiful olive skin and although our hair is brown, it’s not nearly the color that the Maltese women have. But we at least look European, and although Americans don’t visit Malta all that often, there were loads of Europeans there. We never quite figured out why they all looked at us a little funny (and yes, we checked out all the usual suspects: something in the teeth, smelling bad, dressing funny, etc. and none of those were the culprits), but the extreme double take the man serving us at the restaurant did that night was reminiscent of those only seen in the movies.

Before Val and I left, we met up with a friend of my friend from KU who is Maltese. She filled us in on things to do and places to make sure we see, which was so wonderful. Saturday we pretty much followed her advice to a tee. We started in Valletta, the Maltese capital. There we visited the church of the Knights of St. John the Baptist, toured Casa Rocca Piccola (the house of a noble Maltese family that is about 400 years old), walked through the grandmaster’s palace, and saw the Malta Experience. The Malta Experience was an hour long documentary about the history of Malta. Since neither Val or I really knew anything about the country before we visited (except that it was the only place in Europe you’re able to visit and still sit on the beach in November), this was a great thing. To sum it up, up Malta has been occupied by everyone from the Romans, the Turks, the Arabs, the French, and the English. The really cool thing is that nearly all of these occupations are reflected in the Maltese language, housing, and the rest of the culture. They only gained their independence from Britain in 1964 (I think). This was beneficial for us because while they have a language, most everyone is at least bi-lingual and speaks English. :)

After Valletta (but later that same day), we made our way to Mdina. Mdina used to the capital of Malta, but I’m not quite sure when that changed. Mdina is also the highest point on the island of Malta (the country of Malta actually consists of four islands), so it provided some pretty great views. In Mdina, and it’s neighboring city Rabat, we visited some catacombs, went through an exhibit about the Mdina Dungeons, and enjoyed a slice of delicious cake at a tea garden. Malta is a country that is at least 90% Catholic, and contains 365 Catholic churches, so there really is no excuse for me missing mass. So, I again asked one of my non-catholic friends to sit through a mass that ended up being in a language they didn’t understand (Andrew in Belgium and Val here). We were exhausted from that incredibly busy day, and had another one planned for Sunday, so after we got back to our hotel (and finding pizza to fulfill a craving we had both had for about 48 hours), we crashed.

The plan for Sunday was to get up and go and visit another Maltese island: Gozo. However, when we got to the place we were told we could take the ferry there, we found out we actually missed the ferry. In the alternative (after being practically manhandled by competing companies that aggressively approached you for their business) we took a tour of all the harbors around Malta and got to see the country from the sea. Malta is tiny, so we could get to most any of the cities on the main island by bus and within an hour. Because of that, we made our way to the town of Marsascala that afternoon. There really wasn’t a whole lot to do in Marsacala, but we found a cool little spot where we could wander kind by the ocean and take pictures.

Since Gozo didn’t happy Sunday, we made it happen yesterday. After a bumpy start, we met our tour guide who took us up to the ferry and we made our way across a very bumpy sea. I don’t know the names of a lot of the places we visited, but suffice it to say that it was beautiful…I recommend you look at my pictures (after I upload them later on). There was, however, one place I want to point out….since the Maltese are so devoutly Catholic, they have statutes and references to the bible and Jesus and Mary everywhere (literally, everywhere). One of our stops today we just outside of a site with life-size marble figures of the stations of the cross. The path led up a hill and ends on top of a huge plateau. I only had time to get a shot of the first station but I can only imagine what it’s like at Easter time. Since the waves were so rough, it created for some awesome rock crashing pictures. The sea was an incredible color blue and the temperature was just about perfect. There was quite a heinous wind, and my hair in all the pictures reflects that, but for the most part, I’m not going to complain. That Gozo tour took all day, and since our flight left at 9:25, we had to quickly make our way to the airport.

Malta was a great place and I recommend it to anyone who wants to go. Be ready for public transportation out of the 1960s and to receive some funny looks, but all and all, it was great. It wasn’t NEARLY as warm as we hoped…in fact I wore a fleece, jacket and scarf most of the time, but it was certainly better than London this time of year.

Checking in!

Hello from Malta. It's awesome. That is all. More when I return home on Tuesday. :)

P.S. ROCK CHALK!!!! 10-0!

Time flies when you're having fun

Yesterday marked the one month mark until I come home. Who knew this semester would go so fast? I'm looking forward to coming home for a lot of reasons, but I will also be very sad to leave the UK.

I'm going to Malta for the weekend. Should be fun. :)

Chestnuts that have been roasted on an open fire aren't really that good.

Rock, Chalk, and some lights

Okay! So...Bath and Stonehenge. Truth be told, it wasn't all that exciting, but I'm glad I went. Stonehenge was our first stop and basically you get out and walk in a path around the stones and that's it. The stones are cool and it's interesting to think how pre-historic people put them together in the formations that they are and marvel at how they actually did so, but other than that, there's not a whole lot goin' on there. I was surprised, however, at the size of the stones. For some reason, had it in my mind that they were only waist high. (I think that idea came from this game I used to play as a kid called "World Wizard." One of the challenges was to match the world's most famous sites with their proper names. Stonehenge was on there, and the picture was really small-- as of course it had to be-- but somehow from that I got that Stonehenge itself was small.) Anyway, whoope-dee-doo. Rocks in formation....at least marching bands change formation. :)

Then it was on to Bath. We really didn't have a whole lot of time there and the majority of it was spent exploring the Roman Baths. Those were also interesting to see and marvel at how they were used. Some of the methods they used are still in place today in modern plumbing and many of the springs they used to fill their baths still flow; one spring in particular gives something like 6 million gallons of water a day! Like I said we didn't have a lot of time in the town of Bath itself; after touring the Baths we ate lunch and it was basically time to go. I would like to go back...it's an incredibly charming and beautiful city...but time is running out. Maybe someday.

The most interesting thing since then was tonight: the lighting of the Christmas lights on Oxford Street. I think it's probably akin to the lighting of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center...they bring out famous people who dance and sing and perform...and then in dramatic fashion count down and turn on the lights. Truth the told, it was nice, but the lights weren't as pretty as I was expecting (this could be because there were a lot of "other" lights that really took away from the Christmas lights themselves.) And there were SO many people there that the pushiness of the people around us really dampened the spirit. But honestly, that's okay with me. It's not time for Christmas yet...it's much too early. I love Christmas almost more than anyone, but it takes away from the magical feeling it really can have when you commercialize it too much (which is what this event was all about....getting people to buy. In case you don't know, Oxford Street is one of the biggest shopping streets in the world.) I'm glad we went--- it was certainly something "Londony" to do---but I don't think I'll be venturing back to London next year JUST for the lights. :)

Just some small town girls (and sometimes a boy, too), tearing up a lonely world...

Holy cow...what a couple of days. I'm exhausted, but I've got to write now or forever hold my peace. :) (You can see all the pictures via the "Jayhawks Invade London" link under the photos heading.)

Thursday: I had class until 2, but after class Rhonda and I hit the town. We first got sausages from the vendor outside of the British Museum. Then we walked along Oxford street for a bit, and made our way down to the National Portrait Gallery. There was a painting there that I really wanted to show Rhonda, and an exhibit on Pop Art is now open. The exhibit, although kind of small and pricey, was spectacular. I love pop art b/c it really is art (compared to modern art where there is just a line of paint on a canvas that is called "art"); the artists combine their skills with modern clippings and happenings to really say a lot. An entire section of the exhibit centered on Marilyn Monroe and how she lost her personal identity when she became famous. Who know pop art had so much to say!? After that we went to Westminster Abbey for the evening service. We wanted to go and see the boys choir, but again, they weren't singing (that was my third attempt to see them). Regardless, the choir that was there was fantastic and it was cool to go to yet another service at Westminster. After that, we headed to the sports cafe for £3 wings. We went earlier than I had been before, so the service and the wings were much better this time. (Sports Cafe, you are my friend again.) Then we explored Leicester Square a bit, played some air hockey, and stood outside the Odeon Theater where a new movie was premiering...and saw Adrian Brody leaving the red carpet! Woo hoo! We ended Thursday by meeting up with Andrew for a couple of drinks.

Friday: Phew! Busy day. I had class until noon, so soon after we made our way to "Neal's Sandwich Shop" for the highly recommended (per Daniel Stover) cranberry, bacon, and brie sandwiches. I'd actually had them before, but they were just as good the second time around. Then we explored Covent Garden a bit, got some delicious gelato from Scoop, and made our way to St. Paul's. Rhonda has been here before, but St. Paul's was apparently completely hidden by scaffolding, so we went to check it out (really just the outside...it costs $16 to get in, and because its an Anglican church, the draw to explore isn't as great as some other churches.) Then we made our way over to a cute little market called the Borough Market. This market was only food, and if you want an idea of what it looks like, think of the scenes in the Harry Potter movies where they try and enter the Leaky Cauldron....they shot those scenes right near the market. We picked up some food for dinner, and came back and made some AWESOME mushroom, garlic, white wine chicken.

The big event of the day, however, was finally getting to see WICKED. It was absolutely fantastic. For those of you who aren't familiar with the show, it's the story of how the Wicked Witch of the West (from the Wizard of Oz). The music is incredible, the actors were incredible, and everything about it was just incredible. It was also incredible how they tied all the little elements of the Wizard of Oz together, filling in pieces of the story that you never thought about before. You leave seeing the characters in the story in a completely different light than before; nothing is as it seems. For those of you who aren't musical theater people, my testament to you is this: several of the people who went with us were skeptical of musical theater for one reason or another. All of them came out with huge smiles on their faces and really enjoying it. In other words, if you ever have the opportunity, you should go see Wicked.

Saturday: Since Rhonda and Kristen had both been to London before, we were able to do a lot of little random things that you don't necessarily do on your first trip to London. We started the day at the Portobello Road in Notting Hill. We saw "The Travel Bookshop" from "Notting Hill" and grabbed some lunch there, but didn't stay too long b/c it was REALLY busy. So then it was time for Abbey Road (yes, THE Abbey Road.) Of course we attempted to re-create the album cover (Andrew even took his shoes off to imitate Paul), but a lot of photoshop work needs to be done before it will look anything like the album. (Expect that around Christmas.) Kristen wanted to get some Christmas ornaments (and I wanted to visit), so we made our way to Harrod's. Before leaving Abbey Road, we thought it would be a good idea to make our way there via a walk through the park to see all the colors. Because of all the colors (and we're all picture freaks), we took a bunch and had fun doing so; We took a picture where we were jumping in mid-air when the shutter clicked. The picture turned out awesome, but Andrew's pants took a beating, ripping in the crotch. That whole situation was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. :)

We eventually made it to Harrod's, explored a bit, got a few gifts for people, and then made our way to Greenwich (with a detour for the loo and cookies in Covent Garden). The Prime Meridian (the line where longitude begins and separates the Eastern Hemisphere from the Western Hemisphere) is in Greenwich, and of course, we straddled to technically be in two hemispheres at one time. :) Then it was time for church and after that, fireworks in Victoria Park. Monday is Guy Fawkes day, and to celebrate the man who unsuccessfully tried to burn down Parliament, the whole country puts on some pretty amazing fireworks displays. This one used more than $2,000,000 worth. We were exhausted at this point, but we still had a few more things to accomplish: Kristen and I tried to to a Harry Potter tour around London every time she was here and always ended up pushing it off. Because of that, we knew we couldn't push it off again (and because of the fact she won't be back here), we had to do it. But we decided to truncate the tour; we already visited many of the spots, but just didn't ID them as HP spots at the time. The main thing we needed to do was get to platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station, and after fireworks, we finally made it there.

And just when we thought we couldn't do anymore, I took them to a place where we could eat American food (BBQ in particular) and watch football. When we arrived, we found out KU had stomped all over Nebraska with a 76-39 win. It was a great ending to a great weekend with great friends. (Kristen and Rhonda left this morning, and I headed to Stonehenge and Bath with my program. I'll write about that later.)

BOO!

Yeah! Rhonda is here! She got in late last night (okay, well, about 8:30) and we went straight to the University of Tulsa London Program Halloween Party! The way I wrote that makes it sound like that it was a sanctioned by the school itself...the definitely wasn't the case. :) The party was a lot of fun. The people in Flat A of my building really went all out. They decorated the house amazingly, and EVERYONE came dressed up, and people made lots of food and snacks and we just had a really good time. Here are some of the pictures...