I know it's been a while, but there hasn't been much from the norm to report! The weather here in London has finally gotten nice! It has been sunny and pretty warm. I am LOVING IT. I don't have to bundle up and freeze my face off every time I step outside!
On Monday, I worked from home for my internship. It wasn't a very busy day for me as one of my supervisor's was very busy and didn't have much for me to do. I then hung out with Miguel for a bit. It was weird to see Havana's without a bunch of people packed in there. We then got some food at this place that popped up across the street. I decided that spicy chicken would be a good choice, boy was I wrong! It was absolutely delicious, but my mouth was on fire. I came home and chugged milk and started shoveling yogurt down my throat to soothe the burn.
Tuesday, I headed out to my internship for the first time in a few weeks! I now understand how frustrating the tube system can be. Everything was delayed and we just kept stopping! Luckily I only ended up being about 10 minutes late. I also decided to start working from my laptop so I can have all the materials I need whether I am working from home or actually in the office. It's also easier because I am used to Mac computers, not so much Windows, so it was nice to be working on something that I'm comfortable on.
Wednesday, I had my British Pop class and then had to wait for about a half hour after class for my internship meeting with Bill. He just asked me what I thought about it and if I liked it and whatnot. We ended up talking about Spring Break and I'm getting incredibly excited! Our itinerary as of now is that we are flying into Verona. We then go from Verona to Venice for two days, Venice to Rome for 2 days, Florence for 4 days with day trips to Sienna and Pisa and then off to Naples on Saturday to fly home to London! I'm so excited to finally see so many famous places. I can't wait to be a straight up n00by tourist hahah.
On Thursday, I had both my Sports classes. In Sport Marketing, we had a guy from MLB International come and talk to us. He was talking about sponsorship and how different things vary in the States and here when it comes to baseball and apparel and such. It was pretty interesting. For SPUK, we got to go on a tour of Lord's, the home of Cricket. I learned a lot about it and how it is the most prestigious cricket club in the world. The place is GORGEOUS. The application process to become a member is crazy! You have to be at least 16 and then you must have 4 endorsements from current members. Each of the members that endorse you must have been a member for at least 5 years and haven't endorsed anyone in the last 12 months. You then must wait 6 months for approval and then a whole 19 years to become an official member! It is quite a lot of work, but being a member is definitely something to brag about. There are 30,000 seats which seems like a lot, but cricket clubs such as Melbourne have 100,000 seats. We were told that the seats don't always sell out because a match can last anywhere from 3 hours to 5 days! I can't imagine being a player. Superstition is apparently quite common in Cricket as well which I found interesting. There is apparently a South African player who couldn't find his bat one day, and his team had taped it to the ceiling. After he found it, he played the best game of his life, so now before each game... he tapes his bat to the ceiling haha.
After our tour was over, our guide said he was headed to the pub and we all laughed and continued into the shop. After everyone had left besides Chelsea, our professor and I, our professor mentioned that we should go grab a pint. We thought she was kidding, but she most certainly wasn't! That is something that I can never see happening in America. It was awesome. As we were sitting there drinking our Peronis, who walks into the pub, but our tour guide! It was definitely a good laugh.
Chelsea and I then headed over to Oxford Circus for some Spring Break shopping. The Primark was packed and for some reason, it was 1000 degrees in there. I had my backpack (or rucksack!) on and was carrying my laptop, so I cannot wait to get a massage the moment I am back in the states. I always seem to be carrying my laptop at the most inconvenient times!
On Friday, I woke up around 12:15. It was WONDERFUL. I haven't been able to sleep in in so long so it was magical to not have to set an alarm. I then got ready and headed out to meet up with Miguel and go to the British Museum! The building was massive and absolutely gorgeous. We went to all the cool stuff, like Ancient Egypt, where we saw a piece of the Rosetta Stone! It was amazing how small and intricate the writing on it was. I also felt pretty awesome saying that I had a cartouche on the necklace that I normally wear (Thanks Uncle Fred!). We then saw pieces of the Parthenon and even some mummies. It's safe to say we lost our appetite after seeing the wrapped up carcasses of ancient Egyptians.
We then headed to a pub (let's be real. We're in London, when are we not heading to a pub?). We had to wander around a bit, but then I realized we were right by where my dad, Aunt Hannah and Aunt Tiny stayed! I felt like such a local knowing a pub in the area when Miguel didn't! But then of course he realized where we were and we went into a place called the Tottenham. I love the feel of pubs here. They're so quaint and fancy, a lot of them are at least. I asked what the difference was between a pub and a bar so then obviously we had to head across the street to a bar. We had a number of pints there and the one bartender thought I was from California which was pretty cool! I quickly corrected him though and told him I was a New Yorker. It was a very fun night. We grabbed some late night pizza and I headed home. It is definitely safe to say that I felt a lot better last night than I did this morning.. lol.
After I woke up this morning, Chelsea and I set off to find a bookstore so she could get a book for class. After walking for a while, we found out that the bookstore we had been looking for was closed for good! After feeling a bit defeated, we looked on the bright side. It was an absolutely beautiful Saturday in London and we got some fresh air. After finding another bookstore, we realized it was very close to school so we could find it easily. The place was adorable! It wasn't a Barnes & Noble, it was more of a "Shop Around the Corner" like in "You've Got Mail" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. I definitely want to go back and get myself a London book. It was silly of me to not think of that. (thanks for the suggestion, Mom!) I got an Anita Shreve book to read on the tube because the Russell Brand biography I have been reading just hasn't been cutting it.
I originally thought it was just the small area upstairs, but then I saw stairs and there was an even bigger room full of books!
We then did some food shopping and walked home through the masses of people leaving the Chelsea game which had just ended (The Chelsea Stadium is here in Fulham). We spotted an Ice Cream truck called "Chelsea Cones." Obviously Chelsea and I had to grab some cones! They weren't quite as good as Iceberg, but they were London-y! The ice cream was much different, it was more airy and lighter. It was still delicious!
The ice cream man is obviously amused (picture courtesy of the lovely Chelsea Bell!)
Now we are back in the flat and I'm about to shower and then possibly do some homework since Midterm Projects and my "graphic novel" for my internship are all due this week. BLEGH. I can't believe this is how I am spending a Saturday night in London! But soon enough, I will be on my way to Italy!
Sending lots of London Love and Sunshine your way,
Xx Paige
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