A Rundown

On Friday, Laura, Josh, and I walked down Oxford Street towards Kensington Gardens. I do not know how I could have missed Oxford Street before now, but it was so much fun, very much like the busiest shopping districts in New York City. We passed through a really high-end district, with Louis Vuitton (I can't even spell that) next to Tiffany next to Sotheby's next to craziness. Unlike the cheapie places I populate, the places here gave out free samples, so we all got some delicious Belgian chocolates just for walking in the door to a store we could never afford. A+.

Kensington Gardens was magnificent. So green, so serene (that rhymes), and so many birds! Ducks, geese, swans everywhere. I have never seen so many swans just chillin' in all my life. It was really beautiful. Not to mention the fact that the weather was LOVELY, warm and sunny and rain-less, a rare thing for London.

One of the few pictures sans birds:


Swans!:


Then we had tea at the Orangery, but not before Laura and I indulged in some silly pictures by Queen Anne:




Then on Saturday, Laura and I went out to Notting Hill, which was lovely and white even if I did expect Julia Roberts to come out of a bush at any moment. We went to the Portobello Antiques market, which went on for blocks and blocks and sold incredible old books and silverstuff and relics and etc. And I got some delicious spiced apple drink, which made me reminisce about going to farms with my family when I was little, picking apples and going on hayrides and buying apple butter. I hope I did not complain about that at the time; it is a really sweet memory now. I am thinking Autumn might be my favourite season. I would never want to live somewhere without it. Thanks, Mum and Dad.

Classy Notting Hill sign:

May I quote, "Come and snog in safety! They'll never know." Ooooh, the British. I love the word snog. Will introduce it to the Americas when I return.

Below, we have the most intense matryoshka dolls I have ever seen. They actually got bigger to the left, out of the frame of this picture because it was just too much for one small camera lens to capture:


Me being superfly in front of a leopard car. Unsure if this was an antique, or if someone actually drives this:



Then yesterday, we went to Trafalgar Square intending to see a Hogarth we had talked about in art history class at the National Gallery, but we ended up dead in the middle of Chinese New Year: London Style. Apparently, London hosts the second-largest Chinese New Year celebration in the world. That's second to China, people. Do not ask me why. But it was crazy--hundreds and hundreds of people crowding block after block of the city, firecrackers going off in Leicester Square every other hour, paper dragons all over the streets, piano prodigies on the stage, the works. Quite an experience:


Then later that night, I went over to the boys' flat and received a lovely meal, then hung out with Gerald's two friends from Spain who I could not understand at all. Must learn Spanish, would be helpful in my life. I did hear the Spanish lisp, though, so that was something. We also watched a Cuban movie, and I have learned that the word for bus in Cuba sounds like "wawa." This, incidentally, is also the name of a rather delicious chain of convenience stores along the Jersey Shore, and it really made me want some Arizona Sweet Tea and a hot dog as per my beach days with Debbie long ago.

Also, I made dinner all by myself for my two suitemates and myself on Thursday!!! Homemade tomato-basil sauce with zucchini, over whole-wheat spaghetti, side of honey-glazed carrots. It is the shining accomplishment of my LIFE. No joke. I am putting it on my resume and I don't care how many potential employers laugh and throw away my file.



In other news...I am going to Paris this weekend!! Thursday through Sunday. Exciting stuff. Also, Miss Samantha Lil Bo is coming to visit me over spring break!! This makes me immensely happy.

What makes me less happy is summer. Freaking out over summer plans over here. Considering Kentucky. Someone please tell me how ridiculous an idea that is.

Word of the day:
Sheets = turns out it just means pages, like in America. Couldn't we have said this in the first place?

Contemplation of the day:
Will being in Paris on Valentine's Day make me barf?