mrsronweasley (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mrsronweasley) wrote2002-10-14 01:56 pm
mrsronweasley) wrote2002-10-14 01:56 pm
On London and Hats.
Well, now that I am really sick of writing my damn CV (that's resume to all those over the pond), I will take a break and finally write about London, provided that anyone's actually interested at this point.
So, as I mentioned before, the day started out really really crappy. It was cold, murky, and when we all went outside to catch the train, there was no one on campus. Literally. Everyone was sleeping, since it wasn't even 9 on a Saturday morning. I got about, oh, four hours of sleep the previous night, so I was not in the best of moods. Bad Thing #1.
On the way there, we made the mistake of buying tickets to a little obscure station, as opposed to say, Victoria Station. So, we had to switch trains twice, and ended up getting off at some other obscure little station and going on the tube. Bad Thing #2.
Let it be mentioned that we were on the line that would have eventually brought to us to a place that was called nothing short of King's Cross. That's right. But, we didn't. If I had been with any one of you, I'm sure we would have. But, in any case...
When we bought our day passes on the tube, we realized that we effectively didn't have a plan. We simply didn't know where we were going. Bad Thing #3.
Marie was irritated because she is the self-confessed anal-retentive of the three of us, and she needed a destination. So, we picked one - Buckingham Palace, because I wanted to see it, for prosperity's sake.
We shuddered as soon as we saw it - completely surrounded by tourists. The headaches increased, especially mine, since I have this tendency to also get an earache if the wind is too cold. Which it was. So, we wandered down to the National Gallery from Buckingham Palace (which I guess I can now mark off the list of things to see before I die), and went in, because if we hadn't, my ears would have fallen off. And I had no hat.
I enjoyed the Gallery despite the fact that in order to read the titles I had to squint due to my headache that Just Wouldn't Go Away, and despite the fact that my legs hurt. (Why? Got me.) We ended up spending a couple of hours there, wondering around, and my headache went away a little bit - at least I didn't feel like getting back on the train, going home and burying myself under my duvet anymore.) I wish I could have appreciated it more, but under the circumstances...
Then we went in search of a bakery so we could get something to eat - all three of us were rather hungry. We wondered down to the Theatre District, and I almost abandoned the girls because 'The Importance of Being Earnest' was being shown, and I never got the chance to see it this summer. But I didn't. Because I was good. Oh, and I had no money for that, but that's beside the point. No, really.
In any case, we found a place to eat, and were greeted by the bitchiest waitress I have ever had the good fortune to come across. Is it wrong of me to mention that her accent was French? I don't think I saw her smile once, at anyone, just give off the 'fuck off or I'll smack you' vibe. Ugh. So, we ate, left a horrible tip (so, we're like that...) and then began walking around again, all rather pissy and headachy. And then, at some point, right after we all said that maybe we should just go back and do this again some other time...something happened. The sun came out. It grew warmer. My headache went away. And we found a really cool place.
We just felt better, it was great. We wandered around the streets, looked into different shops just for fun - the really strange ones, obviously - and the best part was that we could. I guess I'm now so used to travelling with my family (even though we haven't actually travelled together for a few years now...hmmm...) that I've forgotten whay it's like to just go places you want to go. It was great. At one point, we went into a shop that I would definitely shop in for clothes if I had an extra, oh, £100 pounds lying around just for a few pairs of pants, and drooled. It was sort of like vintage, but not...but yes... I can't explain it. In any case, it was damn expensive, and it was damn cool. The girls had been talking about getting me a hat so my ears wouldn't hurt anymore, and Theresa came up to me and showed me one. It was green with grey specks and a grey pottom ridge, and was fluffy and cool. I looked at her with that 'you're kidding, right?' look, since I was expecting it to be in the 20 quid (ha!) range, but then looked at the price and it was only £5. I said something to the effect of "errr..." and Theresa said, "Do you want it?" And I, quite rightly, said that I had no money (I had just repaid her the money that I owed, and had no money left with me whatsoever), to which she replied with "we're getting this for you." So, they did. They bought me a hat. I can't believe they did that, but it was just so...waaaahh... So nice.
We continued our walking, and stumbled into a little alley that opened up into a courtyard - of weirdness. There were vegan/vegetarian food places, massage places, strange cool shops, and we decided to try our luck with a yoga mat. You see, Marie has been looking for a yoga mat ever since she got here, and she simply has not been able to find out. Wherever we went, it was 'well, there's a place across town...' and then we would get there and it's closed, or they're out. So, we weren't expecting much when we walked in and asked, just for the sake of asking. And we really weren't expecting to hear: "Oh, yes, two doors down, they have those!" Marie was beside herself and she is now a very content owner of a yoga mat. And Theresa got a scone. Everyone was happy.
Oh, and there was a sign on one of the buildings proclaiming that someone from Monty Python had lived there. Heeeeell, yeah.
We walked around more, walking through Covent Garden, and then down to the river. We were walking on some bridge, I don't even know what it was, when we turned and saw Big Ben. And then it hit me. Dude. I was in London.
I got so excited that we went down to the very pier and walked along the river, stopping for a half hour break at one of the benches, sitting, chatting and eating an orange. Then, we finally walked to the Big Ben. Very cool. It was just one of those things that you have to see, like the Empire State Building (which, rightly, has lost its Empire State Buildingess to me by now). We also walked around Westminster Abbey and heard the clock chime 4. We were all grinning at each other. We're such dorks.
And that was that. We had to go back after that, and the girls then stayed in Brighton while I went back to the campus.
Overall, it was very much worth it. I will go back again, by myself, and walk around more, and take in more, and maybe bring my sketchbook.
London ROX, and this is only the beginning.
~*~
And, completely on a different topic, I am screwed. It turns out that two of my classes clash on Tuesdays - my 'sensation and perception' class is at the same time as my 'issues in neuropsychology' class and I don't know what to do. My advisor isn't here today, and I need advice quickly.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
I could theoretically, not go to 'Sensation and Perception' once a week, but that's so half-assed, it's not even funny. And, on a more shallow note, that's the Glow Boy class. How disappointing.
So, as I mentioned before, the day started out really really crappy. It was cold, murky, and when we all went outside to catch the train, there was no one on campus. Literally. Everyone was sleeping, since it wasn't even 9 on a Saturday morning. I got about, oh, four hours of sleep the previous night, so I was not in the best of moods. Bad Thing #1.
On the way there, we made the mistake of buying tickets to a little obscure station, as opposed to say, Victoria Station. So, we had to switch trains twice, and ended up getting off at some other obscure little station and going on the tube. Bad Thing #2.
Let it be mentioned that we were on the line that would have eventually brought to us to a place that was called nothing short of King's Cross. That's right. But, we didn't. If I had been with any one of you, I'm sure we would have. But, in any case...
When we bought our day passes on the tube, we realized that we effectively didn't have a plan. We simply didn't know where we were going. Bad Thing #3.
Marie was irritated because she is the self-confessed anal-retentive of the three of us, and she needed a destination. So, we picked one - Buckingham Palace, because I wanted to see it, for prosperity's sake.
We shuddered as soon as we saw it - completely surrounded by tourists. The headaches increased, especially mine, since I have this tendency to also get an earache if the wind is too cold. Which it was. So, we wandered down to the National Gallery from Buckingham Palace (which I guess I can now mark off the list of things to see before I die), and went in, because if we hadn't, my ears would have fallen off. And I had no hat.
I enjoyed the Gallery despite the fact that in order to read the titles I had to squint due to my headache that Just Wouldn't Go Away, and despite the fact that my legs hurt. (Why? Got me.) We ended up spending a couple of hours there, wondering around, and my headache went away a little bit - at least I didn't feel like getting back on the train, going home and burying myself under my duvet anymore.) I wish I could have appreciated it more, but under the circumstances...
Then we went in search of a bakery so we could get something to eat - all three of us were rather hungry. We wondered down to the Theatre District, and I almost abandoned the girls because 'The Importance of Being Earnest' was being shown, and I never got the chance to see it this summer. But I didn't. Because I was good. Oh, and I had no money for that, but that's beside the point. No, really.
In any case, we found a place to eat, and were greeted by the bitchiest waitress I have ever had the good fortune to come across. Is it wrong of me to mention that her accent was French? I don't think I saw her smile once, at anyone, just give off the 'fuck off or I'll smack you' vibe. Ugh. So, we ate, left a horrible tip (so, we're like that...) and then began walking around again, all rather pissy and headachy. And then, at some point, right after we all said that maybe we should just go back and do this again some other time...something happened. The sun came out. It grew warmer. My headache went away. And we found a really cool place.
We just felt better, it was great. We wandered around the streets, looked into different shops just for fun - the really strange ones, obviously - and the best part was that we could. I guess I'm now so used to travelling with my family (even though we haven't actually travelled together for a few years now...hmmm...) that I've forgotten whay it's like to just go places you want to go. It was great. At one point, we went into a shop that I would definitely shop in for clothes if I had an extra, oh, £100 pounds lying around just for a few pairs of pants, and drooled. It was sort of like vintage, but not...but yes... I can't explain it. In any case, it was damn expensive, and it was damn cool. The girls had been talking about getting me a hat so my ears wouldn't hurt anymore, and Theresa came up to me and showed me one. It was green with grey specks and a grey pottom ridge, and was fluffy and cool. I looked at her with that 'you're kidding, right?' look, since I was expecting it to be in the 20 quid (ha!) range, but then looked at the price and it was only £5. I said something to the effect of "errr..." and Theresa said, "Do you want it?" And I, quite rightly, said that I had no money (I had just repaid her the money that I owed, and had no money left with me whatsoever), to which she replied with "we're getting this for you." So, they did. They bought me a hat. I can't believe they did that, but it was just so...waaaahh... So nice.
We continued our walking, and stumbled into a little alley that opened up into a courtyard - of weirdness. There were vegan/vegetarian food places, massage places, strange cool shops, and we decided to try our luck with a yoga mat. You see, Marie has been looking for a yoga mat ever since she got here, and she simply has not been able to find out. Wherever we went, it was 'well, there's a place across town...' and then we would get there and it's closed, or they're out. So, we weren't expecting much when we walked in and asked, just for the sake of asking. And we really weren't expecting to hear: "Oh, yes, two doors down, they have those!" Marie was beside herself and she is now a very content owner of a yoga mat. And Theresa got a scone. Everyone was happy.
Oh, and there was a sign on one of the buildings proclaiming that someone from Monty Python had lived there. Heeeeell, yeah.
We walked around more, walking through Covent Garden, and then down to the river. We were walking on some bridge, I don't even know what it was, when we turned and saw Big Ben. And then it hit me. Dude. I was in London.
I got so excited that we went down to the very pier and walked along the river, stopping for a half hour break at one of the benches, sitting, chatting and eating an orange. Then, we finally walked to the Big Ben. Very cool. It was just one of those things that you have to see, like the Empire State Building (which, rightly, has lost its Empire State Buildingess to me by now). We also walked around Westminster Abbey and heard the clock chime 4. We were all grinning at each other. We're such dorks.
And that was that. We had to go back after that, and the girls then stayed in Brighton while I went back to the campus.
Overall, it was very much worth it. I will go back again, by myself, and walk around more, and take in more, and maybe bring my sketchbook.
London ROX, and this is only the beginning.
~*~
And, completely on a different topic, I am screwed. It turns out that two of my classes clash on Tuesdays - my 'sensation and perception' class is at the same time as my 'issues in neuropsychology' class and I don't know what to do. My advisor isn't here today, and I need advice quickly.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
I could theoretically, not go to 'Sensation and Perception' once a week, but that's so half-assed, it's not even funny. And, on a more shallow note, that's the Glow Boy class. How disappointing.
no subject
Can I take your Issues in Neuropsych course for you? Because, you know, that's what I want to do, and it sounds like fun, and stuff? Anyway, how did you shedule classes that conflict? Don't they tell you when you do that? Silly English school.
no subject
London is just amazing. I wandered around for a day on my own last time I was there, and it's just... woah. Manchester's big, but London's a whole different level.
London Calling
I'll never forget the first time I saw Buckingham Palace. My friend and I were lost (surprise!) in Hyde Park: "Why's there a factory here, and what are all these people doing in front of it? It's not like it's Bucking--oh, wait a sec..." Guess we got it at a bad angle.
Glad to hear you had fun in the end.
no subject
But seriously, that's often the best way to find cool stuff. This couple i'm friends with said that one of the best times they ever had in their many travels was getting lost in Rome. They wandered about the whole day and ended up eating at the best place they tried in their whole trip. She said it was a *very* small place, only a couple of tables, and the lady kept giving them odd looks. To this day, they aren't sure if it was actually a restaurant or somebody's kitchen that they stumbled into--but the food was amazing.
Sounds like a great time, though, and I want to see a piccie of you in that hat! I meant to cheer you up earlier by telling you what Arwen's Halloween costume is (and I really need to get a picture of her in it!). She is a convict! It's a black/white striped outfit, complete with a prison number, and has a striped hat that says "Bad Dog" right across the front of it.
I made her wear the hat today when I came back upstairs to find that she'd chewed up several of the papers off my desk, the little shit.