31 Mar

Our only full day in Sevilla! One of our first orders of business for the day was finding an internet café to properly write home and check our mail. This took some time, but afterwards we got down to some real sightseeing. The first stop was the Catedral. This cathedral is the 3^rd largest in Christendom and the building that really puts Sevilla on the map (though, according to http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/cathedral.htm, this church is the largest in the world; I’ve seen both St. Paul’s and St. Peter’s and I’m not sure if I can verify or disprove the claim). As I expected, the interior was simply beautiful. Gothic in style, the tall, sweeping vaults are designed to overwhelm even the most irreligious visitor. We spent a good amount of time walking around and listening to the information on our audio guide (we found that these guides are nice to have if you have no prior knowledge about the place you’re visiting). The reputed tomb of Christopher Columbus is also here. As befitting a national hero (even though he wasn’t Spanish!), old Chris gets a fabulous, dark, impressive tomb of wrought iron. The main altarpiece of the Catedral is one of the most stunning works of art I’ve ever seen in a church. In gold and silver, the key scenes of the life of Christ are told from holy conception to birth to death and resurrection. And those panels are just four out of literally hundreds! The entire piece stands at least 20 feet high and a strong set of gates guards it. Beautiful!

After we left the interior of the Catedral, we headed for the Giralda tower in the courtyard outside. The courtyard itself was quite beautiful. It is called the Patio de los Naranjos, which means the Courtyard of the Oranges. Indeed, orange trees were arranged symmetrically around the courtyard. As always, I was tempted to pluck one down but they were forever out of reach.

The climb up the Giralda tower was quite unusual in that there were no stairs but instead what was essentially a ramp that winded round and round until you finally reached the top. Talk about being handicap friendly! Apparently, Pope John Paul II delivered an address from the top of the tower to the people of Sevilla in the early 1990s. Faithful followers wheeled the Pope all the way up to the balcony that provides one with an incredible view of the city. After shooting many pictures, we trotted down and out. On the way up, I could swear I recognized someone from UNC, but before I could make a positive identification, she had already gone well past us on her way down. Who knows?

The Catedral done, we headed to the famed Alcazar (fort) of Sevilla and toured around it for a while. It was nice but not as nice as the Catedral so we did not spend too much time here. We were feeling pretty hungry so we went in search of food. We came across a tapas bar that was supposed to be pretty good, but the wait was awfully long. I began to despair that we would ever get a seat at the bar (there were about 8 stools for 15 people!) and then miraculously two seats opened up. Mom and Dad sat while I stood until a third opened and we all got comfortable. Being vegetarian ain’t easy in most places (except India) and here it was especially difficult. We tried to explain to the guys behind the bar that we eat no meat, but it wasn’t getting through real clear. To our immensely great fortune, there was an American couple next to us who were extremely friendly and helpful. The woman was adorable. She recommended a few dishes and so we tried them. One was called ‘pisto’ which is basically eggplant and onions done in this delicious way; sort of a stew, nice and hearty with a good amount of flavor. Usually pisto is covered with jamon (ham) but the nice lady ordered it ‘sans jamon’ for us. She also recommended this almond and garlic soup which turned out to be one of the best dishes I’ve tasted in a long time. None of us have ever had this combination before and it was fabulous. I think we just ordered dishes of these and along with a glass of red wine for Dad (I just took a sip) and some of the crispy little pieces of bread they had, we had a delicious and satisfying meal. Turns out the couple had children who attended North Carolina schools (one was at Davidson, I don’t remember the other one) and the woman herself attended NC State. They’d been traveling in Spain for a couple weeks and she knew a fair bit of Spanish. We ended up finishing our meals at the same time and we thanked them profusely upon leaving the restaurant. Talk about luck! I’d been hoping to sample some tapas for a few days and we were happy to have enjoyed some in such an agreeable manner. Sevilla is quickly becoming my favorite city.

From the restaurant we walked to the Plaza de Espana (pretty much every Spanish city has one of these). It is quite an impressive square with a gorgeous fountain in the middle where some tired Brits were taking the time to cool off their feet. We walked along the sides to admire the arches and nice architecture of the buildings. On a wall at the base of the buildings and going all the way around the square is a set of ceramic tile murals for the cities of Spain. Each city gets a little square where its name is written and its most famous sites are depicted. Very appropriate decoration for a ‘Plaza de Espana,’ don’t you think? It is also here that George Lucas chose to film part of his recent Star Wars trilogy. In a scene in Episode II where Anakin and Padme are standing on a pretty bridge overlooking some pretty scene, they are actually standing on a bridge in this square. The bridge was beautiful but the water beneath it not so much, so I don’t blame Lucas for using some CGI for this scene. When we were nearly done, I politely approached one of the Brits and asked him to take our picture. He greeted me with ‘Hola’ before finding out very quickly that I spoke perfect English. We may look Hispanic, but we certainly don’t look Spanish (they’re too pale for us). He kindly obliged and took a couple really nice ones.

From the Plaza we walked through some lovely gardens on our way back to the apartment. Mom and Dad were a little tired so we decided to rest for a bit, eat dinner, and pack some before heading out again at night. My appetite was back in a big way and I enjoyed some more Indian food from home. A nighttime stroll sounded really good so we left to find the Catedral and just see some of the Barrio Santa Cruz at night. What a great decision! The Catedral was lit up beautifully and to our surprise, we saw a huge crowd of people lining a street next to it. We felt like some gelato for dessert so we quickly popped into a café/restaurant to order some and head back out onto the street in time to catch whatever it was the people were waiting for. I remembered that Semana Santa (Holy Week) was rapidly approaching and that Sevilla celebrates the occasion in a big way. After some time, a sort of bier was carried out the doors of the Cathedral with a statue of Christ kneeling on it. Minutes later, a priest or other religious figure placed a cross onto the shoulders of the Christ statue. That being done, a procession of altar boys and small children as well as adults with tall white candles and long staffs began moving along the walls of the Catedral. Like everyone else, we watched them for a while until they turned the corner. Figuring there wasn’t anything else to see (and eager to get away from the crowd), we left the scene and decided just to circle the church before heading back to the hotel.

As we entered the square between the Alcazar and the Catedral, we saw the procession once more, except this time we were much closer and the crowd wasn’t so bad. Excitedly, I began taking pictures while we speculated what it was all about. A teenage girl next to me glared at me after a time before she approached the statue and crossed herself before leaving. What an idiot I am! Here I was, clearly a tourist, talking rather irreverently during an important religious procession! No wonder she was upset. I immediately shut up after she left and stopped taking pictures. Happy, and very pleased with the city of Sevilla, we walked back to our hotel to do some final packing and to get some rest. We would be renting a car the next day so we had to be extra alert! Cheers!

30 Mar

We had train tickets to Cordoba and then to Sevilla that day so we got a very early start and checked out of our hotel. The train ride wasn’t a lot of fun ‘cause we were exhausted from not having slept much. I was dozing most of the ride so I don’t remember much of the outside scenery. I do remember it being rather dry and grassy.

At the Cordoba train station, we stored our bags in a locker and then sought out the information desk. The man there was very helpful and for a single Euro we bought a nice map to the city. Our first destination was the Mezquita which is an ancient and famous Muslim mosque.

This mosque is grand in scale and beautiful for its interior design. What struck me most about this Mezquita were the rows and rows of red marble pillars that created both a sense of closeness and infinity within the building. Unlike many of the Christian churches and cathedrals I have visited, this place did not seem to try to overwhelm you with high vaults and sweeping arches that force one to strain their necks skyward. Instead, this mosque enshrined beauty and heavenly grace largely at eye-level and within reach of the common man. After we had admired its beauty, we visited the tourist office located outside. The woman there was quite friendly and gave us several free posters after Dad inquired about one.

Cordoba is also famous for an old Roman bridge (Puente Roman) that has been straddling the rather small river there for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the bridge was closed for renovations and we could only admire it from one side. It was getting to be lunchtime after we finished with the bridge, so we went a bit further into town in search of a place to eat. We found this little falafel place which was empty except for us. The food was okay and the service not too great. Dad decided to get some sangria but I was disappointed to see the server just pour it out of a liter bottle. I know the stuff is really popular, but it’s still depressing to see it served that way.

After lunch, we walked around the city some more. I bought a postcard and we searched for souvenirs for the other two but couldn’t find the right things. We didn’t want to reach Sevilla too late (it’s still a couple hours train ride from Cordoba) so we headed back to the train station in the early afternoon to pick up our bags and buy our tickets to Sevilla. I had a bit of trouble finding the right ticket counter to go to, but once we did, getting the tickets was a simple matter. We were pretty early for the next train, so we just chilled out for a while. Dad and I tried to get some wireless internet but, expectedly, failed in this endeavor. When the time came, we headed over to the baggage scanner. After my bag went through, the guard motioned me to open it for him. I obliged and moved around some of my clothes and such before miming an innocent ‘what did you want to see’ question. He just looked at me and silently pointed to the X-ray screen. I could see the figure of my dagger in solid black against the white around it. ‘Oh’ I mimed, ‘that’s what you wanted to see.’ I immediately pulled out the box and let him examine it. He quickly discerned that it was just a toy (not really) due to the colorful and childish print on the box, and let me go. Hilarious.

A whole troop of schoolchildren followed us onto the train and I figured it might be a long ride. Still tired, I managed to doze most of the way. I must say, the Sevilla train station is one of the more impressive ones I’ve seen. One feature I really liked was in the bathroom where there was a panel on the far wall with LEDs. When a stall was occupied, the light would be out and vice versa. It was a simple and elegant means of letting people know how long they would have to wait and if a stall was vacant, exactly which one was. It’s the small things that matter. We first went to a tourist office to get some info and maps, and then caught a cab into the city. Unlike Madrid, Sevilla is a relatively small, relaxed town that is still bustling but not frantic and congested. The streets got narrower and more twisted as we headed into the Barrio Santa Cruz (one of the older and most famous parts of the city) until we stopped in a small square with a giant, elaborate iron cross and orange trees.

It took us a few minutes to find our bearings, but once we did, it was a simple matter to check into the hotel. The woman at the desk was kind and spoke perfect English. We were exhausted so fortunately our apartment was completely ready. Saket, the dear soul he is, had left us a message that the receptionist gave us. He wanted to make sure we were okay and since we didn’t have internet access, we had to write out a letter and then give it to the receptionist to type back, which she obligingly did (this was after we had settled in)

The apartment was amazing. I was blown away by how well stocked and arranged it was. I was extremely tired and feeling a little sick so I got into bed in the master bedroom and took a little nap. I woke to hear the phone ringing, but by the time I realized what it was, the ringing stopped. Moments later, the receptionist knocked on our door to inform us that Saket had written a second letter asking if we had made it to the hotel safely (this was before we sent the reply). Dad immediately drafted a reply. Mom wanted to get some groceries like fruit and bread so she got directions from downstairs and went out in search of food. After I woke up, Dad and I arranged the place a bit. For dinner, we had some fruit, bread, and some of the Indian packets Mom thoughtfully brought from home. I was still feeling unwell so I just had some strawberries while Mom and Dad ate. After they finished, we made plans for the next day and then got ready for bed. I slept in the living room on the sofa bed that was surprisingly comfortable. Cheers!

29 Mar

We got off to an early start this morning bound for the Atocha train station and then Toledo! It took a rather longer time to find the proper ticket office than I reckoned and thus we made our train with a slightly smaller comfort zone than I would have liked. Our cabin wasn’t terribly full, and we were rather lucky to find a small group of four American ladies traveling in the seats near us. We quickly rearranged our seating arrangement such that both parties could sit with their respective members. We chatted briefly and discovered that they’ve been in Spain for some time now and that one of them apparently acts in London. She divulged that information to us after I told them I was studying abroad there. She amusedly said that since I had not been to see her performance, any hope of friendship between us was lost. I was a little bewildered by this behavior and simply attributed it to thespian eccentricity and possibly some alcoholic influences. Between them they possessed a decent command of Spanish and consequently managed far better in gastronomical and sightseeing affairs than we did. Oh well. Upon our arrival in Toledo, we wished them a pleasant trip and I suspected that, Toledo being a tiny town, we would probably run into them again before the day was out.

Not wanting to make a trek up the hill into the town proper, we hired a cab at the train station that took us to the top in a matter of minutes. Toledo was formerly the capital of the Spanish empire and when you’ve seen the place, it’s rather surprising to think of it as such after seeing Madrid. Madrid is much like London in that it has preserved a good deal of its regal past and maintains its diminished regal present quite well. Toledo does not invoke images of austere majesty but rather quiet, floral scented evenings spent wandering its narrow, winding cobblestone streets while listening to the drifting notes of street musicians playing on its many squares. The whitewashed walls give the place a refreshingly cool, clean feeling that turns exuberantly joyful when sunshine clings to them.

Our first destination was the Alcazar (or fort) Toledo is famous for. After circling the entire complex searching in vain for the opening, we inquired of a nearby police officer as to the possibility of visiting the fort. He informed us, in broken English, that the place was closed to the public for renovations. Oh no! That plan having failed, we headed instead to the next item on our list, the Cathedral (nearly every Spanish city has its famous church).

This cathedral reminded me of some we had seen on our Central Europe tour. Gothic (I believe) style with tall, delicate arches and beautiful stained glass. We were impressed not only by the finery of the church architecture but by the remarkable art collection. Mostly Spanish and religiously based, the paintings were nicely arranged among other valuable church artifacts.

Upon leaving the Cathedral and emerging once more into the light of day (it was a beautiful day!), we headed for a tourist center to get more information about the city, and especially to find a good place to eat. The woman at the tourist office was very nice and even gave us a set of free posters! Apparently, El Greco’s most famous painting, "Entierro del Conde de Orgaz," is found in one of the churches in this city. We decided that since we were here, we might as well see it. I wasn’t as impressed as I hoped I would be, and what was worse, is that we had to shell out several Euros just to catch a glimpse. Lame. You really shouldn’t have to pay to go inside a church. Once we left San Tome, we were all hungry so the first order of business became finding a place to eat.

We ended up choosing this little place in a quaint, sun-drenched square. The staff was quite helpful in pointing out vegetarian selections. Mom got a paella (hearty rice dish indigenous to Spain) while Dad and I got pizzas. I think she made the better choice. It was nice to eat in that square and listen to the voices of other tourists walking by. We still had some time left to us after lunch, so we decided to look for some souvenirs. The whole day, I had noticed swords, daggers, and small arms being displayed in many souvenir storefronts. Along with delicious looking confectioneries and elaborate dining ware, weapons seemed to be the local pride of this place. That being the case, I was determined to take a dagger home with me.

I saw some nice ones in a few of the stores we visited, but concerns over security on the trains stayed our purses until one shopkeeper repeatedly assured us that there would be no problem. People bought this things all the time, she said. I found a beautiful and elaborate dagger for 12 Euros. If security took it from me, I would be sad and disappointed but it would not be a big loss. We decided to chance it.

We still wanted a good night in Madrid so we left for the train station immediately after buying the dagger. As we walked into a square where the taxis dropped people off, I just had to stop and shoot some panoramic video. The scene was just too perfect. A sun drenched square with happy children running about and tourists busily taking pictures. Gorgeous! Toledo truly managed to charm all of us in a matter of hours. As we took our taxi back to the station, I shot as much video as I could before the memory card became full.

We were a little early for our train so we had to wait for a while. The ride back to Madrid was uneventful and we first headed to the nearby Retiro Park. It was still afternoon so the sun lit the place up brilliantly. We walked around here for a couple of hours before catching the Metro back to the Plaza del Sol (Plaza of the Sun) which was near our hotel. Dad and I decided to get some gelatos before joining Mom at the hotel. They took a nap while I took some time to update my blog and take care of pictures. After they woke up, we freshened up a bit and went in search of an Indian restaurant Mom had looked up before leaving.

I found the place on my map but misjudged its distance from two metro stops. We ended up getting off at one that looked much closer to the restaurant on the map than in real life. We just kept on walking until finally we found it. Food was pretty good and since a light rain was falling, I was determined to enjoy it to make up for all the trouble we had in finding it. We left and found the truly nearest Metro station very quickly.

What happened on our way back to the hotel from the Plaza del Sol I will never forget and do not desire to record it here. Suffice it to say the experience nearly ruined our vacation and that the rest of the night passed quite, shall I say, disagreeably and it was late before we finally laid our troubled and angry heads to bed. Cheers for the day, but not for the night.

28 Mar

Our first full day in Madrid! Our first stop today was the Royal Palace (“Palacio Real”, I think) near the commercial part of the city. On our short walk to the outdoor court, Dad and I noticed some guards by a government office who were packing some serious firepower (AKs, I think they were). It’s one thing to play with these weapons in a video game, it’s something else to see them in person in the hands of a guard who doesn’t look like they have much of a sense of humor. Despite the abundant sunshine, the court was a little chilly with the cool and steady breeze blowing. I guess it’s still a little early in this part of the country for really warm weather. The grounds were entirely stone and though expansive, rather plain. Before our guided tour of the palace and its rooms began, we wandered through the royal pharmacy (never have I seen such elaborate containers for everyday chemicals) and royal armory (too dark to really be impressive).

If the outer area didn’t impress much, the inner rooms certainly did. Elegant, almost baroque at times with ornate bronze, these rooms were works of art. Hand-woven rugs from famous cities in Spain adored the floors of many rooms and glittering chandeliers dazzled our eyes. Some of these state rooms are still in use today for special occasions, such as visits from foreign leaders (presidents and prime ministers) or other important business of the state, such as the signing of the European Union Constitution or whatever document it was that declared Spain as part of the EU. We saw a dining room table long enough to seat over 80 people (and that’s when it was not fully extended!) and centerpieces made literally out of silver and gold.

After we left the Palace, we wandered through the nearby areas of the city. It was most pleasant to stumble upon gardens and little patches of refreshing greenery that really added life to the sterile stone and glass everywhere else. After grabbing a quick lunch, we made our way to the Prado Museum. This museum holds one of the finest art collections in Europe and certainly the best in Spain. From classical greats to modern marvels, its exhibits span the ages of Spanish (mostly) and international art, including some gems from Raphael and Titian. I think Francisco Goya almost had a wing to himself though other major Spanish artists, Velazquez, El Greco (Greek originally but he did most of his work in Spain), Murillo, and others had sizable collections. Again, pictures (without flash, of course) were allowed in this museum. I like the National Gallery in London better, but this place was still impressive. We were a little tired towards the end and took a tea/coffee snack break downstairs before finishing off a final few exhibits and then leaving. I really liked how EU students got in for free! I’ve had good results for student discounts here so far, and I would very much like this trend to continue.

There were several vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs outside the museum and we browsed through their collections. I picked out a nice silver and black wrap. We looked for Saket’s pin but couldn’t find the right one. We had a flamenco show tonight at 20:00 so we needed to find some dinner before getting there. The show was in a small restaurant near the Plaza Real so it was there that we chose to find some food. Not many of the menus seemed to appeal to mom and dad (though I wasn’t too picky) and at last, we decided on an Italian place. The sun had mostly set by the time we finished and with the steady wind, I started feeling quite cold and eager to be inside somewhere. It was nice to people watch though. The food was okay.

A short walk got us to our flamenco placed and we were guided to a table pleasingly close to the stage. There was a troop of schoolchildren at the place and they were thankfully well behaved. They sat there with the Coca-Colas and juices while the rest of the crowd sipped beer, wine, and sangria (essentially a wine cooler; like wine mixed with punch). One drink was included with our ticket price so we all decided to try sangria. It wasn’t as strong as most of the stuff I’ve tried in London but I still didn’t fancy it all too much. Some tables around us were sharing pitchers. The show started right on time.

Four musicians took the stage and three ladies in dresses sat on chairs in front of them. The music started and the women started clapping and tapping their feet to it. I, dumb tourist that I am, started clapping along until one of the waiters politely told me to stop. Boy, did I feel like such an idiot! I learned my lesson and was quiet for the rest of the night. After some singing, one of the ladies got up and started dancing. I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with flamenco dancing, but it is rather different from most American and European dances. It’s very stop and go, individual, deeply personal, and always improvisational. The dancer uses her entire body for the performance and though these ladies were not wearing the traditional, flowy, gorgeous dresses typical of flamenco, they made use of whatever material they had to enhance their performance. While one danced, the other two clapped and said “Ole!” as encouragement. The ladies danced a couple of sets apiece before a young man joined them on stage. He was amazing. He seemed to throw his entire body into his dancing, especially when he did this wonderful tap routine where his legs flew while his arms reached out to the audience for support. He and one of the ladies did a “duet” for a short while. Flamenco is an individual dance, and thus there is little if no touching between the male and female dancers. They would circle each other but never get too close. It certainly played out as an interesting dynamic that enraptured the crowd. Discretely, I shot as much video as I could (though pictures were allowed, video was forbidden). I got some nice shots too.

After the show, we paid our bill and then headed back out into the Spanish night. It wasn’t too late, but I still didn’t like wandering around too much in an unfamiliar area. We finally went to bed around midnight. Tomorrow we take a train to Toledo (which is only an hour or so by train from Madrid). Cheers!

27 Mar

The inconceivable happened this morning. I overslept!! I swear, my alarm must not have gone off. The deal was that I would call them as I was getting ready to leave to make sure they were ready to go. Dad, in his infinite wisdom, decided to call me around 7:20 to make sure I was doing my part. If it wasn’t for his phone call, I’m pretty sure I would have not woken up ‘til much later…

Frantically, and ever so thankful I had packed nearly everything the night before, I got ready as fast as I could and practically ran to the train station. I got there several minutes early and had enough time to declare myself an idiot several times before boarding. I found Mom and Dad waiting and ready at Victoria, and I first apologized to them before heading over to the ticket office to buy two Zones 1-6 passes for them. As soon as I got them, we grabbed our things and headed for the Victoria Line. The Tube ride to Green Park and then to Heathrow went quite smoothly with me kicking myself for almost ruining this all the way. My alarm clock has worked nearly flawlessly the whole time I’ve been here and it picked one heck of day to screw up.

Once at Heathrow, we checked in smoothly except to find out that our flight was delayed. We moved up to an earlier one that she told us we had to hurry to catch. Ah, what a great start to the trip! We made it the plane with about five minutes to spare before the hatch was closed. The flight went very smoothly and within a few hours, we were in Paris! Oh, but not for long! We hurried to our gate as fast as we could but were stopped a couple of times by security checks. Anger was mounting in our fellow passengers, especially one Italian woman who was convinced that this ineptitude of the airport officials was going to cause her to miss her flight. One man attempted to bypass the line on the excuse that he too would miss his flight, but was turned away to the approval of people already in line who told him they were worried about their flights too. ‘Then we’ll stay in the same hotel!’ the cutter retorted as he headed to the back of the line. Welcome to Charles de Gaulle airport, ladies and gentlemen.

After all was said and done, we made to our gate with time to spare and since I hadn’t had any breakfast, my own fault completely, I took the time to grab a big and delicious muffin. I finished it just minutes before boarding. I may hate Charles de Gaulle, but Air France is a decent airline. Our flight to Madrid was uneventful and rather pleasant. We managed to pick up our bags quickly and smoothly and then immediately sought a taxi to get us into town. I’m not sure how many airports do this, but I thought it was neat how the taxis would shut off their engines and put their cars in neutral while waiting for customers. They would push their cars to the front of the line and only turn them on after their customer(s) got in the car. Fuel efficient and quiet: a perfect combination. Our driver quickly loaded our bags into the trunk and then we were on our way! Warm air blew in through the windows and brilliant sunshine lit the city on fire.

To mom and my alarm, our driver proceeded to show us on a map of his all the sights of the city. Not just at stoplights, mind you, even while driving! He was an excellent driver which was a very good thing for us…In no time at all, we reached our hotel and I liked our driver up until the point where he tried to cheat us out of a few Euros. We had agreed on a price before leaving and he at first did not give dad the proper change until dad demanded it of him. Our hotel was nice and we settled in a little and refreshed ourselves a bit before heading out for the famous Sophia Museum (which was the only one open that day).

In a pleasant welcome to the city, a big group of artists and theater people were demonstrating/celebrating in the square right in front of the museum. We watched them for a few minutes before heading into the museum. Like the Louvre in Paris (though not nearly of the same scale and grandeur), the Sophia Museum is a palace converted into an art museum. It’s a modern art museum and consequently I did not understand very much of it. Many of the exhibits were interesting yet virtually incomprehensible. Pablo Picasso’s most famous work, “La Guernica” is on display here. It covers most of a wall and is quite a work to behold. Pictures were allowed in this exhibit, something I found quite unusual, yet “La Guernica” was the only painting special enough to have its own retinue of guards plus at least five security cameras (those were the ones I could see in the room). We looked a few more exhibits after that before leaving the place in search of dinner.

Mom printed out a list of vegetarian places to eat at and so we struck out for one. On the way, we took a side street and found a sign pointing to an Indian restaurant. Curious, we checked out the place and decided to eat there. It had only been open for a couple of weeks. The staff was sort of helpful in telling us about the city, though the food wasn’t anything special. It was getting dark as we left and since we were tired and in a new city, we decided to head straight back to the hotel. The nice thing about Spain is that people here keep very late hours, so the streets are still bustling even near midnight with diners and coffee drinkers.

At the hotel, we all got some much needed rest. Cheers!

26 Mar

Cursed British Summer Time! Also known as Daylight Savings Time. The clocks jumped ahead and thus I got less sleep than I was hoping for, even though I woke up a little late. I grabbed my empty duffel bag and ran down to the train station and just caught the train for Victoria. When I reached the hotel, Mom and Dad were still getting ready. Mom decided to abandon her plan to go to Alton since the morning had already progressed further than would have been suitable for such a trip. Today was Sunday so Westminster Abbey was closed. We had already finished most of what I had planned for them, so the question remained as to what to do today. I proposed a walk in Hyde Park followed by some time at the Imperial War Museum and then dinner in central London. Mom was still acting morose from yesterday’s unfortunate experience and it wasn’t until we reached the Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park that things began to brighten for all of us. There were religious speakers on the soapboxes today, one apparently Muslim and the other Christian. The Muslim leader fielded questions about the recent riots and protest concerning the publishing of cartoons offensive to the Prophet Mohammed. One British woman started arguing with him about free speech and, considering the political leanings of this country, it wasn’t surprising that the audience was almost completely on her side. Woman: 1 Speaker: 0

We ate lunch at a Pret a Manger (a shiny, ubiquitous, café-styled food chain owned by McDonald’s Corporation) and then caught the Tube south for the Imperial War Museum (IWM for future reference). Mom and Dad were delighted to see a piece of the Berlin Wall outside the museum and were impressed by the large, 15-in naval gun out front that could hit targets over a mile away! The shells for that gun are actually taller than Mom…

They enjoyed the IWM more than I thought they would which was quite pleasing. We went through the Trench Experience and Dad and I sat through a simulation of Britain during the Blitz. After the IWM, we went into town in search of food. For my benefit, Indian was once again chosen and dad picked out a place called Mela from one of our London guides. It was situated in Piccadilly Circus and so to get there we caught a bus from a little ways outside the museum right into Piccadilly Circus. Although the guide said PC, it might as well have said Charing Cross road because the restaurant was much closer to that road than to PC.

Mela is a funky place with a polite and attentive staff, cool décor, and EXCELLENT food. The presentation of the dishes was superb, especially my paneer tikka masala. This was the first Punjabi dish I’ve ever tried that was not curry based and boy did they do a good job of it. Mom and Dad ordered wine while I stuck with tap water (so boring, I know). Dinner took some time and then we caught a bus for Victoria.

My train was set to leave about 20 minutes after we reached Victoria station which barely gave me 10 minutes there (since the walk to the station was about 5 minutes each way). They hastily stuffed the duffel and another handbag with all the clothing and supplies they wouldn’t need for Spain and then I left. I made it to the train with only a couple of minutes to spare, and then had to walk miserably up Champion Hill in the steadily falling rain with an incredibly heavy handbag and a sort of heavy duffel slung over my shoulder. Oh, and the backpack to boot. J Eh, it wasn’t that bad. I was just a little concerned because I still hadn’t packed for Spain (I couldn’t really, since I was going to use the duffel bag) and I had to be at Victoria early the next morning.

I packed as quickly as I could but couldn’t make it to bed before midnight. Spain tomorrow and for the next two weeks! Huzzah! Cheers!

25 Mar

The Tower of London! I dragged myself out of bed and made it to the Tower nearly 30 minutes before I was supposed to get there. It wasn’t a bad wait; I got to people watch, eat some leftover sweets, and sit in the sun for a while. It was still a pretty cold day though, and I was more than happy to see my parents finally come down the hill. We bought our tickets and then had to wait about 20 minutes before the first tour started. We made use of our downtime by taking pictures with some of the Tower Guard who were happy to oblige. Those guys are amazing! It used to be that a person could buy the post of a Yeoman Warder (the official title of the Tower Guard) for 250 guineas (no small sum at the time) but the Duke of Wellington (the same one who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo) abolished that scheme. Instead, these men are chosen from various military branches after having at least attained the rank of Warrant Officer, Staff Sergeant or Flight Sergeant. It remains a highly respected position and one not taken on lightly, since appointments are held until the age of 65 and one becomes a special constable of the Metropolitan Police to boot. These are merry and jolly men who laugh and joke with each other and the tour groups whom they guide around the Tower. Most of them live on the Tower grounds, some in houses centuries old (and frequently renovated).

Our guide did a wonderful job and I was entertained as much as before when Sachi, Saket and I all went. I told him that I was studying at King’s and he wished me best of luck in my studies. Aww. Unfortunately, the famous Tower ravens were not out and about as usual because of the fear of avian flu. There were black birds around and I excitedly took pictures of some before Dad pointed me to the sign telling of their safeguarding. Pity. After our tour we visited the crown jewels and the armoury. My goodness those jewels are magnificent! I didn’t care much for the silver and gold diningware but the jewels were beautiful…I’m a sucker for diamonds and almost anything shiny and sparkly for that matter. So like a barracuda…

The day was surprisingly fair after we left the Tower so we walked over to Tower Bridge (the beautiful bridge on the East End that everyone thinks is London Bridge but it’s not) and crossed it to reach the south bank. We walked a ways heading west to find a bus to Westminster and ran into a surprising symphonic performance on the way. They were under a makeshift tent and performing near the City Hall (a very modern and flashy building). I thought I had heard music on the bridge but did not realize it was live. We stayed for a while to watch and I shot some video of the performance. We slowly but surely made our way to a bus stop where we caught one heading for Westminster that took us on a little tour of the south bank. Unfortunately, Westminster Abbey was closed by the time we reached it. I had forgotten that it closed as early as 13:45. We had just missed it by an hour. The weather also worsened and it began to rain lightly. We spent some time at Trafalgar Square and then the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. There was a big free speech rally going on at Trafalgar and I got to shoot some pictures and video of it before we found a café in a bookstore and hung out there to get some tea and warm up.

We had our show of As You Like It tonight at the Novello on Aldwych and so we decided to go near King’s and buy some tea before eating an early dinner and catching the show. We accidentally took a bus a bit too far and then had to walk back in the rain to find Twinings, a fine tea shop, closed. My school was also closed and it was nearly 5:30. London is so frustrating when it’s raining because it’s hard to find a nice place to go. Mom and dad were getting rather crabby and I just wanted to get out of the rain. I stopped at a Thai restaurant near King’s and waited outside until their doors finally opened for dinner business. Dinner was a miserable affair, especially when Mom said she had decided she really wants to go to Alton (to see the Jane Austen Museum there) whether we wanted to join her or not. Some way to spend Mother’s Day.

I was more than relieved when we finally left the place and got to the theater super early. It wasn’t a terrible wait since the theater was all right if not a little small and a bit stuffy. So stuffy near the back that one poor woman fainted during the show. That’s what a humid rain will do for ya.

As You Like It was an enjoyable experience, though I felt the second half was much better than the first. I think my parents liked it too. It was late when the play ended and so I showed them to their bus station right next to mine on the Strand. They could catch one directly to Victoria while I could catch my 68 back home. I got on mine just moments before their bus arrived and thankfully they got home safely. I looked up train times and prices to Alton before going to bed. Cheers!

24 Mar

Since I don’t have seminar for Sociolinguistics, I’m all done with classes! Our first stop today was St. Paul’s Cathedral. Unfortunately, my parents did not spend a very good night at their hotel. Their experience was so bad, in fact, that they really wanted to leave and find a better place. While my mom got ready, my dad and I left to do just that. We found a nice room at a nearby Quality Inn and were all set to cancel at the B&B and move-in there, when we were told by the B&B staff that they would not refund us the remaining nights. Unfortunately, my parents had went ahead and paid for the remaining nights and the manager’s claim was that they approved of the room and thus had no right to complain and demand their money back. We disagreed and though we couldn’t get a refund, we demanded a different room. It was slightly better and after a much delayed start, we finally left for St. Paul’s.

This cathedral is amazing. I can see why it is the pride and joy of Christians all over England. It’s the second largest church in Christendom after St. Peter’s in Rome. The gildings, paintings, and delicate yet stately architecture truly make it a marvel. We visited several cathedrals and churches in Europe and this place certainly rivaled if not surpassed many of them. Although photography was forbidden, I saw other people shooting and decided to do the same. I made sure not to use the flash (as that is what they were really concerned about) and managed to take a few decent shots. I was worried about getting caught while my dad was egging me on to shoot more openly.

We climbed to the dome together and then Dad and I went all the way to the top with a bunch of Canadian rugby players. What a view! I told Dad that this was arguably the best view of London from any point in the city and one of the rugby players overheard me and said that he had been on the London Eye (big “observation wheel” on the Thames that was built for the millennium) and that this view was much better. It was cold, windy, and rather gray but still stunning.

Once we got down, we had lunch at a nearby café before catching the Tube to Tower Hill. The journey took much longer than I thought since the Tube stations we had to change at were much larger than I had anticipated. It probably would have been easier to walk! When we finally reached the Tower, we were told that although the place wasn’t closing for another couple of hours, the last guided tour was just on its way out and that if we hurried we could catch up with them. We didn’t think it was worth it and decided to visit Brick Lane instead. We walked down the street for a while and stopped in a couple of grocery and sweets stores. We looked at different restaurants before choosing a Balti House. The food was okay and I was happy to leave the place since it was quickly becoming smoky with a new wave of smokers.

We bought some delicious sweets before catching the Tube back to Victoria. While I waited for my train, my parents stayed with me and we ate some of the sweets. I made it home around 22:00 and met Katie at Checkpoint Charlie. She had just returned from a day out at the library and then a play and dinner with some friends. I wasn’t feeling too tired so I hung out in her room for a while. We talked about all kinds of things from scuba diving (she’s swum with sharks!) to the X-Files (she’s a huge fan) and my theories on how the Harry Potter series will end. What a cool kid. Before we knew it, it was near 1 a.m. and I had to get up early to meet my parents at the Tower of London. Eek! Cheers!

23 Mar

Mom and Dad arrived this morning! Unfortunately, I still had to go to class so I could not meet with them until just past 14:00. My last Court Cultures class was as entertaining as ever and I know I’m going to miss Rivkah’s lectures. She’s a gem. After class, I had a brief meeting with Devyani during which we discussed my final paper for that class. She said I’m on the right track with my ideas as long as I focus on the history, policy, and individual experience of bilingualism. Sounds good. Our meeting ran a bit late and then the Tube was a bit delayed so I was a bit late getting to the B&B at which my parents are staying.

And then Mom was! Standing outside in the English sun waiting for me. Ah, it was sooooo good to see them again! And so much food! Cookies, chuckrie, packaged Indian food, shero, so good!! I have such wonderful parents. They seemed fairly fresh and refreshed after their flight so after about 10 minutes in which I got to eat some mutya, we headed for the British Museum. I’ve been dying to play tour guide (did I mention this?) since I got here, and today I finally got that chance. The trip to the Museum was pretty straightforward and we got to chat pleasantly on the way.

As I knew they would, both of them loved the Museum. After we ogled the Rosetta Stone, I led them to the Greece and Rome section where we admired the Elgin Marbles of the Parthenon for a long while. We rested for a bit and enjoyed some tea and coffee before Dad went to Egypt and Mom and I went to India, China, and Japan. Both exhibits were amazing. I was feeling very hungry (since I’d all but skipped both breakfast and lunch) and Mom and Dad were feeling a bit hungry too, so we left the Museum around 18:00 in search of some food. They knew I’ve been craving some good Indian food for a while and so we went to this place called Hasan Raja on Southampton Row. I remember this was the place that Jess and her mom recommended, and oh were they right. The food was delicious and the service polite if a little slow. After dinner, Mom and Dad were pretty tired and I had to get back as soon as possible to finish my last paper for my Causes of War class. I dropped them off at their hotel and then caught the 21:41 train from Victoria to Denmark Hill.

As soon as I got back to the dorm, I began furiously typing and researching to finish up. Lainey, Gregg, and Liane popped in briefly, Lainey to celebrate finally being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and Gregg and Liane to rejoice in the fact that their papers were already done. I kept typing away and finally finished at 1 a.m. Hooray! As soon as I was done, I went to bed. We’ve got a long day planned for tomorrow…Cheers!

22 Mar

The last day of 1^st WW Lit and Sociolinguistics. Tear. Well, at least a tear for the second class, certainly not the first. Was I ever glad to leave that lecture room this morning! Socio was fun as we discussed various topics in bilingualism. It was also a very useful class for me as I will be writing my final paper for that class on bilingualism. Sharma did bring us juice and biscuits which were a tasty treat. This was also the last class I’ll have with Qamer, but I’ll make sure to keep in touch with her even after leaving King’s. She’s a neat kid.

Tomorrow we’ll be discussing portraits of Queen Elizabeth for my Court Cultures class so I made it a plan to visit the National Portrait Gallery this afternoon before class tomorrow. This gallery has a beautiful collection and the Tudor pieces within it, though small, are magnificent.

Before I entered the Gallery I bought a sandwich to eat it in Trafalgar Square (which is right next to both the National Gallery and the NPG). Seconds after I sat down on one of the stone benches on the east side, a swarm (and I mean a swarm) of little British schoolchildren alighted on the ground and benches around me. Within moments, I was completely surrounded. I really wish I could have had someone take my picture like that. It was hilarious. I did take a shot of them after I left. They were still young enough to be cute and old enough not to be annoying. In the gallery, I admired several paintings of Lizzie and some of her courtiers before heading downstairs to look at some paintings and photographs of the current Queen Elizabeth II. There’s one of the Royal Family with the Queen Mother (who passed away in 2002) that I really like. Prince William looks especially dashing in it and is rather surprisingly at the forefront and much taller than his father Charles. Strange, yet not unpleasant, choice.

After the NPG I wandered down Regent Street in search of a Waterford and Wedgwood store for some gifts for home. I finally found one, but it didn’t have the patterns I was looking for. I also walked through an amazing toy store called Hamley’s on this street which would rival FAO Schwartz for the variety and quality of toys. It looked like a really fun place to work.

From Regent Street I caught a bus back to Aldwych and then another one back to the dorm. My parents arrive tomorrow so I really need to finish as much of these papers before they come. Eek! Cheers!

21 Mar

My Causes of War class ended last week, so I had neither class nor seminar today .Hooray! All the more reason to get more paper writing done…which I did, eventually. I’m so psyched about my parents coming and have to do some last minute decision making for that, as to which gifts to buy now, later, send home, etc. My papers and research for those took up most of the day. Cheers!

20 Mar

Today was the day on which King’s would release our pre-disclosed examinations so I headed into town in the late afternoon in order to pick mine up for the 1^st WW Lit class. After looking through the exam briefly, it doesn’t look like it’ll be too difficult. I then left King’s to grab some lunch and then head back to the dorm. I did a lot more work on my papers today before calling it a night. Cheers!

19 Mar

Yet another fairly low-key Sunday. My papers for Causes of War are due on the 24^th and my parents arrive on the 23^rd, so needless to say, I’d better get cracking! I did some more research and a bit of writing for my papers, and I’m not too worried about getting them down on time. They’re tiny papers anyway, and instead of having to print these out, I just have to e-mail them in. No problem, right? We’ll see in a few days…

The rest of the day passed peacefully, and I went to bed a bit late as usual. Go figure. Cheers!

18 Mar

So today Lainey had her official birthday bash and what a night it was. Since I’m not the pub-crawling club-hopping type, I stayed back and did my laundry instead. A lot of the other JYAs and her friends went with her to celebrate and oh they did. Poor girl didn’t even remember much of how she got home until people told her later. By the vague recollections and photographs, it looks like she had a swell time. Cheers!

17 Mar

Happy St. Patty’s Day! As expected, this place makes a rather big deal of the occasion; enough of one in fact to have the parade the weekend before the actual date so that people of all ages can safely enjoy the celebration. Brilliant. Due to my lack of interest in such drinking holidays, I did not participate in the festivities and instead stayed in the dorm after class and got some work done. Well, I did wander around town for a bit after class, but more or less headed back to KCH.

Today was the last day of my Sociolinguistics seminar. Devyani, my professor, said she had planned to bring us juice and biscuits but ran out time this morning, so she would get them for us for our last class next week. Aw, how cute.

The evening passed rather uneventfully. I managed to get some work done for class, but pretty much wiled away most of my time. Cheers!

16 Mar

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to soon top the experience of yesterday, though I know my trip to Spain with my parents will come awfully close, if not actually surpass it. Court Cultures was entertaining as always. I’m really going to miss Rivkah Zim. She’s just so funny and such a dear old lady. This was our penultimate class and the 3^rd years are getting a little excited and nervous about the months ahead. This is their final semester of undergraduate college, after all. I asked one of them, Sam, what she will be doing after college, and she answered “more of the same, probably.” She also noted that most people go to work directly after obtaining their BA. I know the situation is more or less the same back home, and I think my number of grad school prospects is slightly clouded by the type of friends I have.

Today is Lainey’s 21^st birthday! When looking for a place to eat with Andy and Jess, I came upon this little Italian placed called The Blue Olive that I decided to scope out before we met there. Good thing I did too! Though nothing of the sort was mentioned online, the place was boarded up! Seeing that I thought, great, Plan B. Except I didn’t have a Plan B and Lainey was counting on me! I went back to the dorm and looked up some more places. I found a service called TopTable that conducts online reservations at restaurants all over the UK and in some places on the Continent. I signed up with them and tried booking a place called Amaretto on Tottenham Court Road (near the British Museum). TopTable had a special arrangement with the place in which a party could get 50% off the total food bill if everyone (max 20 people) ordered at least 2 courses (main+ dessert/appetizer). I sent in my reservation request with these guys, but since they were taking so long and I wanted to make sure we had a place to go, I called Amaretto and booked it straight out for 10 people at 18:30. It wasn’t until 17:20 that TopTable got back to me and informed me that I had the discount. Score!!

Lainey came back around 16:00, already quite drunk. She had gone to the KCL bar after class with some kids from her seminar and a couple of JYAs. They just kept buying her drinks…She managed to sober up a bit before we headed for dinner. I had to send her friends directions on how to get to Amaretto. It was pretty hilarious.

The place was a small, cozy, family-run place and the portions were big and delicious. Most of the people opted for appetizers while Kate, Gregg, and I chose dessert. Talk was fast and fun and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I had a “mint chocolate bomb” for dessert that was wonderful. It was a core of liquid dark chocolate surrounded by mint ice cream that was covered with a hard, thin layer of dark chocolate. It took a couple of pokes to break the surface, after which some of the inside chocolate started oozing out. Lainey, who was sitting across from me, said, “It’s bleeding!” Thanks for that imaginary, dear.

Soon after we left the place, I realized that we hadn’t sung for her. So there, on the sidewalk in central London, we started singing “Happy Birthday” nice and loud for all the passersby to hear. Hardly any of us drank anything (some of her friends split a bottle of wine) but I’m sure the people around us must have thought we were just another bunch of drunk college kids. Oh well, it was fun and I’m sure Lainey liked it. We had just missed the next train back so Gregg and I decided that we should just catch a bus from Elephant and Castle instead. Upon leaving the station and reaching Waterloo Road, Sarah spotted the 176 and shouted “there’s our bus! Let’s run for it!” And so we did. It was hilarious. After we reached the stop, we noticed the 68 right behind the 176 and since it’s slightly better, we hopped on that instead. The bus was extremely crowded but we managed to find six seats nearly together in the back. The ride home was pretty fun.

After we got back to KCH, we were determined to gin Lainey. I’m sure I’ve explained the process before. She tried to resist, but agreed to a half ginning. She was a trooper through it and finished it off without a problem. (Again, I am soooo glad I've already had my 21st birthday!!) As she settled, Sarah and Gregg ordered some drinks to keep her company. Kate and I had work to do, so we bade her good night and happy birthday before heading back to our rooms. After I got back, I finished my reading for class and talked with the family at home for a while.

All in all, it was a great day. HAPPY 21^st BIRTHDAY LAINEY!!! Cheers!

15 Mar continued

I suppose the previous post requires some explanation. After a surprisingly enjoyable Wednesday of classes (1^st WW Lit wasn’t as mind-numbingly boring today, perhaps because we discussed madness), I headed straight for the Donmar Warehouse theater in Covent Garden in search of my ticket. There was a £22.50 pound ticket still available in the Circle section (top floor) but when I asked for the standing room ticket instead, he obliged. Ticket in hand and fearfully excited, I pondered what to do next. The time was just past 13:30 and the show wasn’t on until 19:30. Instead of staying in town at the library or something, I decided to head home and get some reading done for tomorrow.

Time passed quickly and soon after I decided that I would make my own dinner early (because I needed to catch the 18:24 train, I couldn’t eat dinner at 18:00), Lainey informed me that she was hungry already and wanted to eat dinner at 17:30 instead. That worked out perfectly for me. Dinner was fun and I left early near the end of it to catch my train. I made it to the theater right at 19:00 and immediately felt a bit underdressed. I had a nice sweater on, my leather jacket, and my leather gloves. It was the jeans that killed the elegance of the rest of my clothing. Oh well, I’m a student.

I asked the man taking my ticket if there was a chance for autographs. He told me that they usually come down the stairs I was about to ascend after the show, and that they would only sign play-related material, like programs and such. Before I went to the standing room section, I bought a program for £2. There was no one else on the top floor, so I sat down while I could. About 15 past a lot of people started showing up and the house was full just before 19:30. Shortly thereafter, the lights dimmed and Sir Ian McKellen walked on stage. Everyone shut up for him.

The play was about a family man (Ian McKellen) who performs a ghastly operation at work called “The Cut” that apparently “frees the soul from the body.” The cut itself is not explained, only its effects. It’s an extremely painful process and most of society is strongly against its execution. McKellen’s family does not know what he does. The play begins with a young man visiting McKellen’s office and requesting that The Cut be performed on him. McKellen is desperately trying to get away from this foul practice until the young man convinces him that it’s a beautiful thing although there are other ways to achieve nearly the same experience. This part goes on for some time until McKellen finally performs The Cut, much to his distaste and the young man’s agony. I must say, it was a little startling to hear McKellen swear so profusely at first, but I soon grew accustomed to it.

The next scene took place at McKellen’s home when he and his wife are waiting for their maid to bring out dinner. The woman playing his wife, Deborah Findlay, did a wonderful job and was better than McKellen at some parts. The pace dragged a bit here but the dialog was quite good at times. This bit ended with the husband and wife pair resolving to patch up their strained relationship.

Next thing we know, we’re in a jail cell with just a bed and a dismal overhead lamp. McKellen has been imprisoned for performing The Cut! His son, part of the movement against the barbaric practice, visits Pops in prison and tries to help him. McKellen refuses all aid and even asks his son if he thinks he is evil, to which the son responds (after some delay), yes. I thought the acting done by the son was atrocious. His part was definitely the weakest of the entire play. Father and son talk for sometime, until finally McKellen is left in complete darkness. Play over!

I rushed out of the theater (after applauding mightily) and waited at the bottom of the stairs, Sharpie in my hand and program in my purse. I waited until the entire theater emptied, and still no sign of the cast. Finally, I saw some girls giggling near the top of the stairs and knew it could mean only one thing. I immediately went back to the top floor and on the landing I could hear McKellen’s great booming laugh echo around. I went in search of the source of the voice and found it in the tiny bar/café on the second floor. He was right there!

A woman was just ahead of me, and then it was my turn. I said, “May I have your autograph, sir?” to which he responded, “Certainly.” I handed him my program and Sharpie and was embarrassed to see him have a little trouble opening the tight cap. As he signed the program, I managed to squeak out, “I think you’re marvelous,” to which he simply replied, “Thanks.” I thanked him as he handed me the program and pen and then, grinning from here to Timbuktu, I turned around and left. I dared not linger for he was talking with a couple of old ladies and my autograph request was intrusion enough, and I did not want to be rude.

I can’t express in words how happy I was leaving the theater. Cloud 9 was not high enough for me. I couldn’t stop smiling until I got home. Lainey and Gregg were there and when they asked how the play was, I didn’t answer but just pulled out my program and handed it to her. “Oh my gosh!” she said. “That’s how the play was,” I answered. It was amazing. I chatted with them for a bit before taking a picture of the program and sending it to some friends and family. I also immediately posted in on this blog.

Now you know exactly how I got Gandalf’s autograph. Needless to say, the rest of the night passed very well. Cheers!

15 Mar

I got Sir Ian McKellen's autograph!!!

14 Mar

Sheets today! I woke up early to exchange my sheets for clean new ones, and instead of climbing right back into bed after remaking it, as I usually do on these days, I decided to be productive and stayed awake instead. I’m not sure if you could call the morning productive, but I did manage to set a good plan for the day and even found some books at the library that I’ll need for my linguistics paper.

We had our last Causes of War seminar and it was rather fun. The topic was terrorism and we discussed various current terrorist groups (most of them relatively small) and how the affected governments were dealing with them. Justin told us that if we were interested in visiting Oxford to let him know so that he could give us some tips. I’ve definitely made it a plan to go there and so I asked him how I should go about it. He told me to try punting (riding on the river in a tiny boat styled rather like those used in Venice) if I was feeling intrepid, and to see some of the colleges, Christ Church in particular (the largest and finest, and the one Sir Christopher Wren did some work on). He even said that if I let him know when I’ll be coming, he and his wife would host me, and that we could meet for a drink or something. I just might take him up on his offer; he’s a cool guy.

After class, I decided to get some business done so I went to the Novello Theater and bought our AYLI tickets. I was still keen on seeing Ian McKellen again so I wandered around Covent Garden looking for the theater but was unsuccessful. Not to be foiled, I went back to the Strand and looked up the directions again. Turns out I was close but just missed the right street. Hungry, I bought some lunch before heading back to Covent Garden. I found the theater with little ado and inquired about tickets. I was informed that the shows were all but sold out for the rest of its run in London. Oh no! The ticketman also told me that they release 10 “day tickets” on the day of the performance starting at 10:30, and that standing room tickets become available after all of those have been sold. I resolved to come back there the next day as soon as I could to try to get either a day ticket or a standing one.

On my way back, I wandered through the main little shopping center in Covent Garden and found this store selling lots of random things at discounted prices. Always eager for a bargain, I walked in. I saw sports jerseys, nice wool coats, scarves, toys, board games, crystal ornaments, paintings, pocket watches (£5 a piece!), hats, gloves, bags, luggage, and more. I found this really sweet sports zip-up jacket (not quite a sweatshirt but not a normal nylon jacket either) that I think I’ll come back for. Checking my watch, I realized it was getting late and my hands were freezing (in a rare oversight, I had forgotten to bring my gloves along with me). I headed back to the Strand and caught the first bus home. The rest of the evening passed fairly uneventfully, and I went to bed early because I had class early the next day. Cheers!

13 Mar

Montag Morgen (remember Frau Lash?) She’s right that Mondays are definitely the laziest days of the week. I spent most of the day at home working on my paper and basically messing around. I looked more into theater tickets for my parents (we ended up deciding on As You Like It by good old William Shakespeare) and while doing so, I found a play starring Sir Ian McKellen called “The Cut” that is currently showing at a theater in Covent Garden until 1 April. Intrigued, I looked more into and when I found out that standing tickets were available for £7.50, I was determined to watch this play.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and I went to bed around 1 again. Cheers!

12 Mar

Just another lazy Sunday. Well, not really, I did manage to get some work done. I had enough to do so I didn’t meet up with Andy and Jess again. I stayed at home and got some serious work done. The day passed by rather uneventfully, and I went to bed around 1. Cheers!

11 Mar

As usual for a weekend, I had a rather late start (though not as bad as usual). I ate lunch, planned my schedule for this fall, read the New York Times online, puttered around a bit on the computer, and talked to my folks at home in the late afternoon. I texted Andy about dinner and he said to recommend a place to go. Since I’m such a cheapskate, I’ve hardly been out to eat here so I looked online for a while for a good place to go that wouldn’t bust our budgets. I picked an Italian place near the British Museum because their hotel is by there and I figured it should be easy for them to go home when they’re tired. I knew I’d have no real trouble finding my way home, no matter the hour.

While my folks and I were talking, I got a call from Andy. He was with Jessica and her mom near the London Aquarium and I told them I could meet them in an hour (18:45) at Trafalgar Square. It’s nice having such an obvious landmark to meet people at. I got ready and headed out in time to catch the 18:24 train. Bambi was at the reception desk so I chatted with him for a while. He was watching “Supernanny” and was appalled at the behavior of the kids on that show. Such brats!

I made it to Elephant and Castle around 18:30 but didn’t leave that station on the Tube until nearly 18:40 because the Tube just stood there forever! Fortunately, I was only a couple of minutes late. They looked really cold with their jackets zipped up and teacups in their hands (coffee cups with tea in them) so we headed to the nearest Tube stop and were on our way. It sounds like they’ve been having a good time so far; they visited the Tower of London and the Aquarium today and will see the London Dungeon and other things tomorrow.

Talk was quite pleasant over dinner. Mrs. Binkley is quite funny and apparently works with a lot of Indians at SAS and had some funny stories to tell about the people she’s worked with. We talked of arranged marriage for a while, and like many of the Americans I’ve spoken to about it, they seemed just bewildered with the idea and couldn’t imagine themselves playing any of the roles (matchmaker or matchee). ßMade up word, I know. The service was a bit slow but the food was decent and certainly decently priced. I also found out that at least Jess and her mom will be in Rome from Tuesday until Friday night. I told them about my family’s trip there in 2000 and her mom asked if I could recommend places to eat. I said that I hardly remember where we ate on that trip except that we had lots of gelato and it was wonderful!

We left the restaurant just after 10 p.m. Jess and her mom were pretty tired (still a bit jetlagged) so they started heading back to their hotel. I figured I could reverse our journey their and catch the Tube at the nearest station when no sooner was this thought in my mind that I saw a bus come down the road that said “68- Norwood Garage.” I blurted, “Oh my god! That’s my bus!” (I had no idea it would be stopping anywhere near there). I quickly bade them goodbye and just ran for it. Jess said “Run, Sapana, run!” and they cheered when I got on. Hilarious! The few passengers on the bus must have thought I was just another strange girl but I just sat their smiling for a few minutes. How could I have known that the restaurant would be just yards away from a bus stop on the 68’s route and that we could leave the place with such impeccable timing? I planned the route there just fine, but hadn’t really given the route home much thought. Ah, such wonderful luck.

It was freezing outside so it took me some time to thaw out when I got home. Sachi was online so I talked to her. She asked if I’d like the last half of the UNC vs. BC game Skyped and of course I said yes. Too bad I listened to us lose…but oh well. BC’s a good team. I talked to them for a bit after that before going to bed at 1. Such a pleasant day…Cheers!

10 Mar

Only two more weeks of class left! I can hardly believe it! Seminar was fun today and I found out from Qamer about a neat event going on this weekend at the Olympia center in Kensington (near where Harrods and some museums are). ZeeTV, the Asian television channel, is hosting a South Asian Carnival of sorts where some big name Bollywood actors will sign autographs, top artists will showcase their music, fashion designers will conduct fashion shows, and food vendors will serve delicious meals. Sounds like fun, eh? The entry fee is £12.50, which is rather steep but I think the experience will be worth it. I’m going to spend some time with Andy Garcia and Jessica Binkley (who’ll be coming to town today) on Saturday so I think I’ll hit up this carnival on Sunday.

Jack the Ripper tour tonight! Lainey’s been excited about this all week and today she could hardly contain herself. In case you’re not familiar with the man, “Jack the Ripper” was a serial killer, perhaps the first in recorded history, who terrorized the East End of London in the autumn (the “autumn of terror,” according to our tour guide) of 1888. He not only killed but violently butchered his five prostitute and destitute victims and sent London into a panic for the rest of the year. Various conspiracy theories surround the case and to this day no one knows for sure who he was. Our tour went around the East End (near the Tower of London and Brick Lane) to various locations, including murder sites and former homes of the victims. Few buildings remain of that time due to heavy bombing of the area during WWII.

The night was cold, windy, and slightly drizzly. All we needed was some real heavy London fog to make the mood perfect. The smog in those days could get so heavy you could hardly see a few feet in front of you. Imagine walking down a poorly lit alleyway then! We call those kinds of places sketchy now but then they must have been terrifying. Who knew what lurked in the darkness of the shadows…

We got back home around 22:30. Katie was just coming back from the library so I talked with her on the walk back from the train station. She’s a cool kid and way more sensible about alcohol than many of the people I’ve met here. I could learn a lot from her (especially about wine; she told me it took her a long time to get used to the taste but when she did, she really liked it). Who knows? If I go slowly, I may be able to down a real English ale without gagging before I leave here. We shall see. Cheers!

P.S. I just found this picture and thought it was funny. (me in Brussels)

9 Mar

So, perhaps I should have prepared a bit more for my presentation. I felt like a bit of an idiot when I repeated myself a bit. Oh well. I do better in the Q&A part anyway. After class, Zim told me I did wonderfully and I felt like answering back “You’re too kind” which is true, but I didn’t want to sound stupid. I was fortunate enough to see the 68 right outside King’s as I left the building and caught it perfectly. As I crossed Waterloo Bridge I remembered that I had meant to go to the library that afternoon. Oh well, I thought; I’m already on the bus so there’s no point in going back. I don’t need those books very urgently anyway.

Back in the dorm, I read, played around on the computer, and tidied my room a bit before dinner. So productive! Dinner was actually quite good and I enjoyed myself gastronomically after a long while. Afterwards I did some more reading, some chatting with home about my parents brief visit to London, and then went to bed around 2. Cheers!

8 Mar

So, I heard something rather disturbing in my sociolinguistics class today. A study was conducted at an American college in which students were seated in a room and played a taped recording of a lecture segment delivered by an average white, middle-aged, female lecturer. While listening, they were given a photograph of the lecturer to look at (the actual woman speaking, I believe). They were then asked to comment on the clarity of the lecture, how well they could understand her, etc. Next, they were shown a photograph of a Chinese lecturer who was also female and about middle-aged. Although the exact same tape was played for both pictures, the students reported that they found the Chinese lecturer harder to understand! It wasn’t an overwhelming majority or anything, but there was a noticeable decrease in the level of perceived understanding on the part of the students. It’s disappointing that people will let their stereotypes carry so far as to be outright unfair to the group stereotyped even when no difference exists.

Weather-wise it was such a horrible day so I just darted home after class. I did some reading and puttering around until dinner. I had a brief presentation for my court cultures class to prepare but since I’ve done so much reading on the material, I wasn’t too worried. I chatted with Gregg and Liane for a bit until I heard Skype ringing and talked to my sister for a while. She got a job offer from Glaxo! Congrats Sach!! After I finished chatting with her, I worked some more on my presentation then went to bed. Cheers!

7 Mar

I guess I haven’t mentioned this yet, but today the Association of University Teachers (AUT) of the UK went on strike. We received notice of it last Thursday through multiple e-mails. I was excited to see the picket line and even though classes were cancelled, I headed in to town to see all the action. Turns out, the strike was extremely pathetic. Instead of a bunch of teachers forming a picket line and marching in front of the Strand building, there were a few of them handing out flyers to students entering the building and signs that simply said “picket line” on them posted on the windows. There was no real picket line! What kind of a strike is that! They’re striking for higher pay and hardly anyone is actually striking! It was pretty sad.

Because the “strike” was a bust, I decided to walk around a bit instead. I wandered into the National Gallery and admired some Da Vincis there. Despite the terrible weather (a lovely combination of cold, windy, and rainy), it was rather fun. I got back to the dorm and did some reading and messed around a bit until dinner. Gregg got back from Greenwich shortly before. Today was his birthday and though he didn’t have much of a dinner to celebrate it with, Lainey and Kate bought him a cake from Sainsbury’s and we sang for him around 8.

After that, Lainey and Kate insisted that he get ginned (chug 8 shots, I think, of pure gin) just like Kate did for her birthday, so we took him to the bar. Fortunately, some people there knew the ginning song and after they finished singing, he just started downing the gin. It was pretty amazing, and of course, I caught it all on video. Hoo-rah.

We hung out at the bar for a while before heading back to our rooms for some more schoolwork. I finally went to bed around midnight.

Happy 21^st birthday Gregg!! Cheers!

6 Mar

Mondays are always rather vacuous days for me. I didn’t do a whole lot during the day, mostly reading and researching for class. Gregg went to Cambridge and didn’t come back until just before dinner. Sounds like he had a great time, and makes me want to pay that place a visit (in better weather of course; the place is supposed to be gorgeous in spring). A while after dinner, Lainey and Gregg came by and we ended up talking for a couple of hours. She was supposed to be working on one of her six papers due by the 24^th but...we had fun instead. They left around 23:00 and then I had a small snack before doing some more reading and then going to bed. Cheers!

5 Mar

As expected, everyone today had something to say about the game yesterday. All positive things, of course. Since I stayed up so late last night watching, I woke up rather late and got a slow start to the day. I had a quick lunch then did some reading and writing for much of the afternoon. I had dinner with the gang around 18:00 and was surprised to hear Brooke, from John Hopkins, say that she was glad Duke lost because she hates them. I can understand why Duke isn’t terribly popular in a lot of places, but I’m not sure where the antipathy with John Hopkins comes from. Oh well.

After dinner, it was back to more work. I debated doing laundry for a while and then after checking to see if the machine was open, I decided to go ahead and do it. Lainey came back from Paris around 21:00 and Gregg and I talked to her for a bit about her trip. Sounds like she had a wonderful time, despite the necessary whirlwind nature of the visit.

Since I got a late start on laundry, I didn’t finish drying all of it until past 1. After that, I went to bed. Cheers!

P.S. I also bought Sarah’s new remix album “Bloom” a few days ago and have been listening to it almost obsessively. It’s very different from the first remix album, and on the whole, it’s quite good. It’s also hilarious to hear her sing backup on a song by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. I’ll swear if the album is worth it just for that song!

4 Mar

UNC vs. Dook!! I woke up late this afternoon, showered, ate lunch, then did some research and messed around on the computer for a while. I ate dinner at 18:00 with Gregg, Kate, and her friend Jessie from home. I read and dozed for a while before the big game that started near 2 a.m. for me. Gregg had already gone to sleep next door, so out of courtesy I typed to my family on Skype while they spoke to me and I listened to the game through headphones. And what a game it was!! I was on tenterhooks for most of it; especially the final minute after an 8-point lead was abruptly reduced to only 3. AND THEN WE WON!!! GO UNC!!
Oh, it was beautiful! I was dancing in my chair and then in my room around 4:15 in the morning. If it wasn’t so late, I probably would have screamed for joy. How I wish I could have been in Chapel Hill that night. I’m glad Sachi decided to stay on campus instead of go home for the weekend. You just can’t miss this game, even if you’re not a basketball fan. It’s arguably the biggest rivalry in American college basketball (do other countries have an equivalent?) and the game the whole nation tunes in for. Just wait for the headlines tomorrow. Oh, it was brilliant. Cheers!

3 Mar

I love Fridays. After eating a quick lunch, I caught the train into town for my ling seminar. Class flew by incredibly fast and although it was rather sunny out, the wind was still blowing monstrously and so I headed back home right after class. One of these days, when the wind finally settles down, I’m just going to walk for hours around London and take as many pictures as I can. I swear.

Lainey left for Paris this morning, so the weekend will be rather quiet without her. I read, chatted with my mom for a bit, and did some work until dinner at 6. After dinner, Liane, Gregg, and I just talked about all sorts of things in my room from 6:40 until nearly 12:10. Five and a half hours! My parents were throwing a party tonight for some friends and I wanted to see if I could record some of their conversation for my next ling paper. My topic is code-switching, a sort of phenomenon in which bilingual speakers will switch between languages, sometimes mid-sentence. I’ve noticed my parents and their friends doing this all the time and wanted to record some of that conversation to analyze.

As planned, I got on Skype around 1 and was able to talk to Jyoti aunty, Naman’s mom, for a good while before Saket and Pavak (as they told me later) accidentally reset the wireless router. In the break, I was checking my mail when I got a startling letter from the Chancellor at UNC. Apparently, a former student drove through the Pit in a Jeep around noon and hit several students before driving away and then turning himself into police minutes later. In the Pit!! At lunchtime!? I don’t know how many times I’ve been there myself and know just how crowded that place gets during that hour. The news made me sick and I just stared at my computer for a bit. I talked to Saket about it when he got back online and he told me that Sachi heard that the man, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, acted the way he did in protest or retribution for the disturbance in the Middle East.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I absolutely abhor people who practice this kind of extension of politics or military actions to general public. What the f**k did those UNC students have to do with what is going in the Middle East? Last I checked, most UNC students are anti-war and not eager to kills Muslims and other Middle Easterners. UNC students are not bombing cities or occupying Iraq. I just don’t understand what could make UNC students a valid target for discontent. How did this guy miss the overwhelming liberal attitude during four years at the university? Did he never see the anti-war/anti-Bush protests raging during the Iraq war and election time? How can you possibly attend UNC and not see how many student organizations are fighting injustice, in all forms from political to social to educational, everyday? It is simply not fair, right, or in any way justifiable, to target civilians of a country because you disagree or are upset with the policies or behavior of the government and or military of that country.

I am so thankful that no one was injured seriously and that those treated are expected to make a swift recovery. I found out a little later from Saket that explosives and guns were found in Taheri-azar’s apartment, though it was unclear what he meant to do with them. Thank goodness that man was apprehended before he could commit further acts of violence. If there is any justice in this country, he should be imprisoned for the crimes of attempted murder he has been charged with.

This news shook me up enough that I did not continue my interviews and tried to sleep instead. It took some time, but I finally managed it.

2 Mar

Thursdays are infinitely better than Wednesdays. Or just a lot better. Anyway, the day started out fine until I got to the train station where I was informed that due to a train running off the track near Victoria station, all trains leaving from Denmark Hill into town were indefinitely suspended. Argh! I followed some other KCL students out of the station and to the nearest bus stop where we caught the next 68 right on time. Since I’ve gotten so used to riding the train which takes less than 10 minutes to reach the main part of town, I’ve forgotten how painful the bus ride is by comparison. An agonizing 30 minutes later (sweetened slightly by some Sarah songs), I reached campus and just reached my classroom on time…to find the class before running late and everyone still waiting outside. I guess I’m destined to never be late for class here no matter my transportation difficulties.

Zim’s class was entertaining as usual. I talked more in class today than usual, and actually said some accurate if not inspiring things. Amazing! I paid a visit to the library after class to drop off a book and get the first part of Spenser’s Faerie Queene. On my way back to the Strand, I sort of daydreamed and completely missed Lainey until she was right in front of me with a funny look on her face and her tongue sticking out. Apparently, I had looked right at her with no recognition whatsoever. That’s what headphones (and I was listening to Enya of all people) will do for you. It was funny.

By the time I got back to the Strand, it had started snowing again. I met James Osment (also known as Argyle James who’s from Wiltshire which is near Stonehenge) at the bus stop. I tried to talk with him but his accent was all but unintelligible. I felt like an idiot. I asked him about the snow and he said it does snow in England, but I said, “Not in central London!” and he agreed with me on that. When it started coming down a little harder, he just said, “I love England.” I do too.

The rest of the evening passed by rather uneventfully. I did some reading for class, then from about 10 until midnight, chatted with Gregg and Liane about all kinds of stuff. I finished my ling reading then went to bed around 2. Mom and Dad will be here in three weeks! Three cheers huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! Cheers!