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The weather was very funny this past weekend. It was fairly warm, reaching as high as 50 at some points. However, it rained on and off – and when it rained, it poured. There were also some periods of winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour!
Last Thursday I met Rick at school after his class and we headed down the block to the British Museum. This museum is full of ancient and relatively modern artifact. Sadly, most of them were probably stolen from other countries at the height of the British Empire. Anyways, we saw everything from mummies to Greek statues to Islamic art to Victorian porcelain to china from a factory in Syracuse!
Perhaps the most famous artifact owned by the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone. This stone, which is about four feet tall, was the missing piece that allowed historians to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. It has the same thing written three times – once in hieroglyphics, once in a more modern form of Egyptian, and once in Greek.
Friday we went to another museum. This time it was the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. This gallery features art (I believe almost wholly European art) ranging in time from about 1250 to 1900. We packed a lunch and ate when we arrived at Trafalgar Square sitting on the steps of the gallery. Trafalgar Square is dedicated to the Battle of Trafalgar, when Lord Admiral Nelson beat Napoleon. The main feature of the square is the huge Nelson’s Column, which is flanked by four massive lions. There are several other statues and fountains, framed in the back by the massive National Gallery.
We headed into the gallery just in time to get out of the rain. My main purpose in visiting the gallery was to see the Impressionism exhibit, which featured painting by Degas, Monet, Manet, Morisot, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and others – bringing me wonderfully back to high school French class. We started with the Impressionists and worked our way back through time. As the paintings got older, the subjects got more and more monotonous. When Rick said that if he saw one more painting of shepherds offering gifts to baby Jesus he was going to scream, we decided it was time to leave.
We sprinted through the rain across the square to the St. Martin-in-the-Fields church. I could not honestly tell you what the church looks like – the whole building was covered in scaffolding and the inside was closed for a concert rehearsal. Rick was recommended the Café in the Crypt by someone from home, so we decided we would pop in for at least a cup of tea.
The café is literally in the crypt of the church – there are brick vaulted ceilings and the floor is made of tombstones. We looked at the menu and decided we would have a proper English High Tea, as we hadn’t done that yet (most hotels and other places that do it charge at least £15 – about $30). For £5.25 we got a piece of layered chocolate cake, a piece of sponge cake with cherries in it, a scone, jam, whipped cream, and a mini-teapot that had two cups of tea in it. I couldn’t eat it all, but wrapped up my scone and jam, which made a wonderful breakfast the next morning.
On the way home the rain was becoming steadily heavier, so we decided to duck back into Hamley’s (the huge toy store) to wait for the rain to pass and see the Christmas chaos. Okay, really Rick just wanted to play with the toys. Anyway, this might not have been the best idea, because when we emerged about an hour later, it was raining even harder. We returned home soaked to the skin, and spent the rest of the night huddled in about six layers of clothing over some intense Scrabble games.
Saturday started out, once again, as a gorgeous day. I looked out my window to see the beautiful sunshine and passers-by wearing nothing more than sweatshirts. However, looking closer I also saw that the signs and awnings of the stores and restaurants across from us were whipping around and their owners were frantically chasing them. The winds had started. Deciding it would be wise to not go too far, Rick, our roommate Jessica and I went to a Lebanese restaurant for lunch.
I have lived off Edgware Road, which is heavily populated by people with Lebanese (and other Middle Eastern countries) backgrounds, for more than three months. Practically every other store front is a restaurant, yet I had not yet eaten at one. We chose a restaurant only two doors down from our flat. I had hummus with lamb meat and Lebanese rice, Rick had falafel and rice with lamb meat in it, and Jessica had seasoned potatoes with fried vegetables. We all left with very satisfied taste buds and very full stomachs.
Saturday was a special day in the West End of London. Oxford, Bond, and Regent streets, the main shopping areas, were closed to all traffic. Hordes of people filled the streets and were entertained as they shopped by musicians, clowns, and other street performers.
With no real shopping to do, Rick and I headed out mostly just to watch the madness. We ducked into Selfridges, a posh department store which always has interesting window displays. There we discovered it was possible to spend over $1,000 on a sweater and $600 for a child’s winter jacket. Most major department stores here also have food halls, which are basically mini-grocery stores with cafés too. Selfridges seemed to have an extensive American food selection, where a homesick American could pay £4 for Jif peanut butter and £6.50 for Aunt Jemima syrup. I guess I don’t miss it that much.
While we were out walking around, (surprise, surprise) it started raining again. This time we ducked into the massive Apple store on Regent Street. The store in Carousel Mall ain’t got nothing on this. Two stories of gadgets and computers. We played with the latest versions of the iPhone, the iPod Touch (basically an iPhone without the phone – but you can still get online), and the iPod Nano. Maybe in ten years I will be able to buy an iPhone.
Sunday our grand plans to visit another of London’s parks and maybe the London Zoo were squashed by rain, gale force winds and a paper that took much longer to write than it should have. Rest assured, although the winds continued throughout the day, the rain and homework were finished by 2:00.
That’s about it. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last day of classes. I have one short paper and two final exams to go. And on Monday Rick and I are taking the Eurostar to Paris. The Eurostar is the need high speed train that goes from London through the Chunnel to Paris in just over two hours. We’re leaving at about 6:30 Monday morning (uggh) and will get back about 10:00 Monday night. I can’t wait!
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