A Look Back at London

Reflecting at the Roman Baths, you know.

I remember sitting in the Callaway Building at Emory, casually checking my email between classes as my eyes darted downward to see the subject line about my acceptance into the London 2012 program. Though adrenaline pumped through my body before, during, and after reading that email, there was no way in anticipating the truly incredible experience that I was about to have. Looking back to six weeks ago, I left Milan with anxiety and nerves interspersed with excitement. My time in London will be something that I remember for the rest of my life. Going home, I don’t necessarily feel like a completely changed person. What I have gotten out of this experience is a better understanding of myself, my interests, and my love for travel. I’ve learned that I can navigate a city on my own, be almost as good of a personal travel agent as my mom is, and open myself up to new life experiences. I’ve learned that it’s okay to not have a plan, as much as I like structuring my day, and just go with the flow to see where your footsteps take you. I’ve felt the power of a unified and spirited nation, from being here during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and singing with thousands of people in Hyde Park. I’ve expanded my understanding of the Olympics to a great extent, and have had a taste of the extensive work that goes into being a host city. I’ve confirmed my love of learning about a wide array of subjects, whether it be from onsite visits, tours, guest speakers, or museums. I’ve become connected with the arts and theatre again in a way which I know will motivate me to seek out exhibits and performances on my own for personal enjoyment. I’ve broadened my palate, from Polish sandwiches to Paella to Perfect Chicken. I’ve made connections with individuals from different backgrounds and interests, united by our time and experiences in London. I’ve learned to open beer and cider bottles solely using my hand and a table ledge, a skill perfected over six weeks without a bottle opener. I’ve crossed things off of a bucket list, and instead of regretting what I didn’t get to-am saving them for next time I am in the wonderful city of London.
            I’ve been incredibly reflective upon my time here in the past week. Like I have said, things as simple as walking around various parts of the city to take in the sites, smells, and noises have been so meaningful in themselves. I’ll miss the aroma of Yo! Sushi, .60 miles into normal route for running. I’ll miss feeling impressive when I jaywalk first, and have native Londoners follow my lead rather than me follow theirs. I’ll miss the necessity of getting caffeinated at Café Nero before lectures. I’ll miss the “Righto”’s, “Mhmm. Yup. That’s right.”’s, and the sidebars..not to mention the “Am I right, ladies?” and “Helloooo felllasss.” I’ll miss the friends I made here, a group that meshed so well together from the start-guaranteed to make the best of a boring lecture or to have a great time together regardless of where we went out. I’ll miss the diversity and possibility of everything London. I could go on forever, but intricacies above reflect the minute parts of my experience here that truly made it all the while. I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness for the opportunity, to both travel to Italy with my team but also largely to have been in London at this specific point in time. Thankful beyond measure to my parents in getting me here, and those who have aided in or journeyed with me along the way. London will forever have a special place in my heart, and I cannot wait to go back there again someday.

6/30-6/31: The Journey Home

That all brings me today (Saturday), the day where we left our home for five weeks to go to our respective destinations around the world or United States. Goodbyes/see you later’s began in the evening the night before and continued into the morning. We got one last English breakfast at Café Maya and ate back at the flat as we were waiting for the cab. At 11:00 AM, our final goodbye was said to Jasper as me, Mike, Margot, and Moira piled into a cab to travel to Heathrow. Right as we were pulling into Terminal 5, the song “Home” by Michael Buble came on the radio. It was almost too fitting to have been real, but it happened. I said my final goodbyes to them and lugged my overabundant bagged into the airport. The check-in process actually went really fast. I had a few hours to kill once I got through security, so I hung out in around the A Gates, the same place where my team hung out waiting for our connecting flight to Italy. Thus, another full circle moment. I couldn’t believe that just over six weeks ago I was there with my teammates, awaiting our ten day adventure through Northern Italy. Once my gate finally popped up on the screen, I made my way to C63 and waited to board my British Airways flight. I was delighted to hear that I got upgraded when I got to the ticket counter to check in.

            That all brings me to right now (middle of the day Saturday), sitting in my business class reclining seat/bed/nook. This is nothing compared to a normal intercontinental first class, which I have flown once. I feel spoiled and ignorant sitting here. I made eye contact with a girl who looks about my age who also got upgraded, we excited excitingly dumbfounded looks. I explored the different features of my seat before taking off and read through the extensive menu they gave us. I spent the beginning of my flight watching 21 Jump Street with Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, which was hilarious. Last time I tried to watch this was at Emory with a few of the guys. By watch I mean connected a laptop to the television and tried to watch an illegally recorded version online. I think this is much better ;) The lunch I was served was the most extensive one I have eaten on this trip, haha. Salad, salmon appetizer, and a risotto and seafood dish have been keeping me incredibly full and content throughout the entirety of the eight hour flight. It also says there is a snack bar area at the gallery, but I don’t know where that is so I’m just sticking to my seat, haha. The second movie I watched was one with Jason Segal and Andy Bernard from the Office, his name is slipping my mind right now. It was interesting, wasn’t the greatest movie but they’re both always hilarious. Now I finally have caught up with my blogging, my eyelids are definitely heavy between the late evenings and lack of sleep due to the spring coated beds. I am definitely looking forward to my bed at home, you know there’s something wrong when you’re seat/bed on the plane is more comfortable than the bed you’ve been sleeping in for the past five weeks. For now, bidding adieu until I wrap this post up later during my connecting flight from Atlanta to Washington, DC.

            Okay so that all brings me to now now (Monday afternoon in Starbucks), I’m home but want to detail the rest of my journey back. Connecting flight from Atlanta to Washington, DC didn’t actually happen until Sunday morning. Once I got through customs, got my bags, re-checked them, went through security again, and got Qdoba for dinner, I made my way to the gate. While just sitting around they asked for volunteers to give up their seats for the flight that evening. I ended up bumping my flight until the morning. After waiting for a while to get my hotel voucher sorted out for the night, I navigated to ground transportation to find the shuttle for the quality Motel 6 they set me up in. The Atlanta air hit me in the face as I walked outside. I couldn’t believe how hot it was even at 10:30-11:00 at night, which still makes me question how we’re able to make it through preseason every year in these temperatures. I know it’s a heat wave now, but hopefully it’ll cool down a tad before we go back to school in August! Anyway, after about 20 more minutes of groggy, tired waiting the shuttle game and a group of us piled on. We cued to get our room keys and I headed up to the sixth level for the night. At this point, I wasn’t concerned about the quality of the place where I stayed, I just wanted to get some sleep. And that I did, in a King sized bed. As my house is still without power and AC, I didn’t mind bumping my flight until the morning. Plus I got $400 Delta Dollars in the bank to use within the year, which I definitely plan on doing so for either getaways or visiting friends during the Spring J After uploading some pictures from the last week, I hit the hay for six hours until my wake up call.

            Finally, finally took the last leg of my journey home on Sunday morning. Exhausted from traveling and late nights, I was a little draggy throughout the day but excited to be heading home. The flight from Atlanta to DC was painless as usual, aside from a bit of turbulance. I got in around 11:30 AM where Papa Stein came to pick me up and meet me at baggage claim, a dozen roses and all. Apparently my baggage still came in on Saturday night, even though I didn’t do so myself. It took us about seven minutes to realize that they were there and not coming around the baggage loop with everything else. After getting all of my stuff, we headed home to a house with no electricity or air conditioning, woohoo! When I was going through the Atlanta airport, I noticed that my body was definitely still in London mode. I walked to the left side to try and go down the escalators, wrong move. I also tried to pay $11.25 for an $11.33 meal, thinking that the quarter was equivalent to the 50 pence coin in London. Not to mention I also almost walked into the men’s bathroom and then almost dropped my phone into the toilet…was thinking that they were all signs saying I should go back to London. Once we arrived at home, I gave my family all of their souvineers from both Italy and London. I passed out for about 30 minutes before we went to Champp’s to watch the Euro 2012 final!

6/27-6/29: Wrapping Up in London: Matilda the Musical, Dr. Dee, and Soaking It All In

6/27

Lunch box from Thai Square.

            Wednesday morning I went on a really nice run down the Thames. Instead of just going down to Blackfriars Bridge then to Waterloo and wherever from there, I kept running toward the footbridge that crossed over to the area of the South Bank where the London Eye is. I dodged people traffic and crossed the bridge and headed back east. Though we have spent some time around the Eye and Southbank Centre, we hadn’t been to the area between the Southbank Centre and Blackfriars. I ran by an outdoor bookstore and a few outdoor bars with artsy seating and architecture. When I’m back in London this will definitely be an area I will spend more time in. After I got back and ready for the day, Margot and I headed over to the Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden to try and snag some tickets to Matilda the Musical. We got there around 1:00 PM, and there were already a few people waiting for return tickets as they had sold out. We decided to grab lunch at Thai Square, a restaurant we had passed on the bus that boasted about its recent winning of a best restaurant award. I hadn’t gotten Thai food yet since I had been in London, even though it is one of my favorites, so I was excited. We both got lunch boxes that ended up being way too much food, but it was delicious.

The BEAUTIFUL Matilda stage.

            Following lunch, we went back to the theatre and cued (I think American English should start using this phrase, it’s much simpler than saying “got in line”) to wait for return tickets. Unfortunately they only had enough for one of us. Margot being the awesome, selfless person she is insisted on myself taking the ticket. I hesitated and felt bad at first, but after her persistence I finally decided to just get the ticket and go by myself (she ended up getting to see it on Friday though J). Matilda was by far one of my favorite musicals that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been lucky enough to have seen a decent amount. I laughed, I almost cried, I grinned nonstop, I was completely engulfed in the show. It was by far one of the most dynamic, creative, and impressive performances I have ever seen. The children, who made up half the cast, had loads upon loads of talent. I was so impressed with their singing, acting, choreography, and the like. I can’t get over the creativity of the set and how the actors and actresses oftentimes intertwined the set with their choreography, namely in “School Song” with the letter blocks/gate of the school and with “When I Grow Up” and the swings. Seriously though, I would see this again in a second-especially as it is coming to Broadway in the fall! And yes, they do include the cake scene in the musical version J My favorite characters were probably Matilda, Bruce, Sergio (Matilda’s brother, hilariously recreated in the musical) and Ms. Trunchbull (spoiler alert: she’s played by a man in the musical, hilarious). I cannot say enough good things about the show. I bought the soundtrack right when I got home and have been listening nonstop since then. I apologize in advance for any ranting and raving I do about the show in the next few months. After the show, I decided to walk home as it was nice out and Covent Garden is about a mile and a half away from the flats. I stopped at Bea’s on the way back to get Margot a cupcake for her kindness in letting me get the ticket. When I got home I cooked myself dinner and just hung out for the rest of the evening as I was pretty exhausted.

6/28

           

            Thursday morning I began my day with another run. This last week I have honestly have been spending a lot of time while I’ve been running or walking just reflecting upon my time in the city and really just taking in the city and all of its senses. It’s almost been sort of a mental and therapeutic closure for me, just exploring the different neighborhoods and thinking back upon all that I have seen. I went to Café Nero in the afternoon to try and get some work done which proved unsuccessful. I decided to head over to Covent Garden again and just walk around there, soaking more of London in. We had to meet our professor at 5:15 PM to get our tickets to Dr. Dee so I had a few hours to kill. I mainly used my internal compass to get around, which was pretty good by the end of the trip, not really caring if I got lost. I eventually made my way down to the National Portrait Gallery. This was a museum I was a little ehh about visiting, as it wasn’t on my “must-see” list, but I’m very happy that I took the time to go in. I most greatly enjoyed the more recent portraits. I really enjoyed the variety in technique of the more modern portraits. One of my favorites was the one of David Beckham, naturally. It definitely wasn’t a traditional portrait, as it was a video on loop of him sleeping in bed. My favorite portraits were also the ones that made my put my nose millimeters from the canvas to discern whether or not it was a photograph-all of the times I had to do this, it was in fact not a photograph. That is what blew my mind the most. The intricacies of someones facial features-from the veins in their eyes to the wrinkles running along their cheeks-recreated from oil pastel or whichever medium was incredibly impressive. I read in my Fodor’s book that they had a restaurant/bar on the top floor, and because I had about 20 more minutes to kill I decided to go up there. I ended up getting a bellini and enjoying the view of Trafalgar Square and the rooftops of London.

English National Opera's Dr. Dee.

            When 5:15 PM came around, we met in the lobby to collect our tickets then we were told we had some more time to kill before the pre-show talk led by Professor Cook. We hung out at the Café Nero next door and got some coffee. Once we filed into our temporary seats by the Dress Circle bar, Professor Cook began leading the pre-performance talk. I had initially thought that this was just going to be a talk with our professors, a few actors, the director, and the composer-but it turns out it was a ticketed event that was being recorded for a podcast (I am guessing for one of Professor Cook’s BBC Radio arts broadcasts). The two performers discussed their role, and the director took us about his vision and the process of collaborating on the piece. I am most grateful for this presentation as it gave me a fairly good background to the show so I was able to follow along better during it. The show itself was..interesting to say the least. Dr. Dee is about man from the early 18^th century who essentially acted as an oracle, made some predications and sometimes played advisor to the Queen. I honestly didn’t really follow the first act, and only did more for the second act because it was discussed more in depth during the pre-performance talk. Like I said about my experience seeing a play at the Globe, though I didn’t totally get the show, I enjoyed the experience of seeing my first opera. One thing I was surprised with was the variety of music within it. I was expecting the traditional belting-out opera singer throughout-but the opera singing was interspersed with more contemporary sounds in addition to one of the directors who would play the acoustic guitar and sing every so often. Fun fact: that guy is also a member of Gorillaz. After the show, the professors took us to a late dinner at Pizza Express down the road. I had a delicious grilled vegetable salad with goat cheese, something I had been craving from there since the last time we went before the Globe. It was a definitely nice conclusion to the class and one last big dinner together. That was probably the point where I realized that my journey in London was really coming to a close. Sitting at the table with my ten other classmates and reflecting upon how much we had done and learned together was really a moment of thankfulness for me.

Group on the last night at Picadilly Institute.

After finally wrapping dinner up around 11:45 PM, we headed back to the flats where we debated about whether or not to go out. I ended up going back to Picadilly Institute with Lucie, Eleni, Carter, Mike and Jasper. This is probably the occurrence that began the events that really came full circle from the beginning. This was the club that we went to on our first night out. Both times were also coincidently marked by us accessorizing at the club, the first time with a straw hat and goggles being passed around-this time with a glittery top hat. We wandered through the many different rooms that made up the club, each with their own personality-still proving to be one of my favorite venues in terms of decoration and set up. There was even the same DJ in the 90’s/00’s throwback room, as we went on Saturdays both times. Our time there winded down with his mixing of a Destiny’s Child song with Mambo No. 5 per my request (I told him it was written about me). After the club I went to the casino with Jasper and Mike to hang out and extend our evening, the same one I went to before when the guys wanted to watch the NBA finals. All I really did there was watch ESPN America-which was playing the X-Games and also showed a few highlights of the Redskins acquiring RG3 and some from a Nats game, which I got really excited about. At around 5:00 AM we finally left the casino to Leicester Square already plenty illuminated by daylight. We wandered around (interspersed with some skipping around on my behalf) trying to find a bus to get us back. I don’t know why seeing sunlight then is rejuvenating for me. It was just another seemingly minor experience that helped me see the city and explore its streets in a new light-quite literally. I finally got back to the flats around 5:20 AM, and was tempted to just stay up and hit the gym at 6:00 AM to lift. Especially because Jasper told me he’d cook me breakfast if I did so. Despite that incentive, exhaustion finally began to hit me when I got in and I went to bed until 11:00  AM.

           

6/29

Atop the London Eye!

            Friday morning and early afternoon I spent packing and trying to get all of my stuff organized for my departure on Saturday. I went to the gym to get one last lift in at LA Fitness then went to Faraday one last time to print out my boarding pass. My sentimentality really began to sink in then, especially as the goodbyes to our friends from the other classes had already begun as many were traveling this weekend. When I came back to Gazzano I found out that some people had gotten tickets to the London Eye. I luckily showered and got ready just in time to get a ticket and leave to go with them. I’m actually very happy that we waited to ride the London Eye until our last day. It was a very symbolic way of closing our journey in London. It was nice to be able to recognize buildings and parts of the city on our own, and reflect back upon our time at each of them. Though it was looking like an overcast evening (we up went around 7:00 PM), the clouds slowly moved east revealing a sunset and blue skies dotted with more-white-than-grey clouds. After our thirty minute trip around the Eye, we decided to stop by a pub before heading home. Walking along the Thames and down the Strand, I led everyone to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a historic pub that I have been wanting to go to since reading about it in Fodors. Located about halfway between the Eye and our flats, it seemed like the perfect place to stop. Not to mention it was one last thing to knock of my bucket list J

            The pub definitely lives up to being “ye olde” and the atmosphere is such also. The sign to the right of the front door proclaims “Under 15 Sovereigns: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Rebuilt 1657, in the reign of Charles II and continued successively in the Reigns of James II (1702-1714)…….Elizabeth II (1952). All of the sovereign king and queens were listed in between, really giving a perspective on how archaic the pub is. As we descended the staircase down two flights, there were tables literally in every nook and cranny. Ducking our heads, our feet shuffled downwards along the woodchip dusted floor until we settled in at a long wooden table. I tried a pint of Smith’s organic wheat ale, which was pretty good. Some of us spent some quality time at a 63 bus stop with an incredibly intoxicated man before finally catching one back toward our flat. Myself, Lauren, and Jessie went to Perfect Chicken for our last dinner-once again, another “full circle” moment. When we walked in Reese was as bubbly as ever, but he was definitely lamenting in our departure with us. “AMERICA!” he yelled cheerfully as I walked in, a greeting that I will definitely miss and a nickname I will probably never be called again. I can’t remember if I talked about this before, but Reese has been calling me “America” since the second time we went there. He misheard my friends when they tried to tell him my name is Erica, and thought it was America…it’s stuck since then J As we were discussing how sad we were about leaving, I was clearly pouting and he came over and grabbed my cheeks and told me to smile, “America, don’t be sad yet!” Promises were made to tell all of our friends in the States about Perfect Chicken in the City. For a departing gift, they gave us our already affordable £3 meals for £1 each. Reese exchanged hugs with all over us, and we left with food in hand to eat back at the flats. The rest of the evening was spent booking cabs and sitting around with the girls listening to sad music, talking about our time there, and singing . Funny enough, we found out the guys were also listening to sad, goodbye music also next door. I guess we all had the same mentality by the time our last true night was drawing to a close. It was a relaxing way to bring our time in London to a close, and the evening turned out to be a great synthesis of random things to end our time there.

6/26: Last day of "Class" and the Science Museum

            It turned out that Tuesday ended up being our last day of legitimate lecture, and also a fairly eventful day for me in general. We arrived at Faraday House at 9:30 AM, a little sluggish from our eventful day yesterday, but ready to start the day. We actually had one of my favorite guest lecturers come speak to us in the morning. A woman who is part of the organizing committee for the Cultural Olympiad came to discuss with us her role in the Olympic Games, the London 2012 Festival, and what sorts of tasks and challenges make up her job. One of her main roles in her position is being a sort of middleman between the International Olympic Committee and those participating in the Cultural Olympiad. She discussed the integrity of the Olympic logos, and how one of the greatest challenges is regulating the use of such logos by those participating in the Cultural Olympiad (a problem that was solved by coming up with a whole other logo altogether). I had asked her what some of her favorite projects or performances have been to work with or acquire. One that she mentioned was a performance called “Dinosaurs Not Allowed.” In short, a group of English children who are traditional folk dancers wanted to create their own show-but didn’t want the complete interference of adults. Thus, they organized their own production and came up with the title. She was very honest about her job and other organizations she works with, which was both refreshing and a bit humorous. She made me really think further about my appreciation for the arts in addition to other sorts of jobs I had never even pondered about before.

            After lecture, we had a final meeting about our papers with our professors. Jessie and I decided to go to the Science Museum in South Kensington with our free afternoon. We took the tube and meandered through an underground tunnel to walk up the steps to the entrance to the museum. The size of the museum was apparent the moment we stepped through the doors. Regardless, we decided to start at the top at level five and work our way down from there. On the top floor there were two exhibits: one on the history of veterinary medicine, and the Wellcome collection regarding normal medicine. The Wellcome collection was perhaps the most extensive and thorough exhibits I have ever seen. We had spent about 20 minutes in one section of the room, learning about medical factoids from health care around the world to the first heart rate monitors, before finally realizing we had only hit about 1/6 of the exhibit total. We still walked around the rest of the area before moving down to Level Four where the main room took us through the history of surgical medicine and hospitals through the use of models and dioramas. I really enjoyed the portion on Psychology (obviously), which included a lot of materials from various psychology studies.

            The third floor was one of myself and Jessie’s favorite areas-the children’s section. I remember when Grandpa Gene and Grandma Edie lived in Richmond, going to the children’s museum there was always one of my favorite highlights of visiting. Specifically the part where you got to lift a hula-hoop around your body and above your head to create a giant bubble with you inside. Though there were no giant bubbles here, we still had a good time checking out the different interactive exhibits. And yes, we were the oldest “kids” playing in that section. After getting some refreshments we moved on to the other side of that level which was about Aviation. It was mostly closed off, however, so we didn’t get to look too far into it. I wasn’t too worried about missing that part as I have been to the Air and Space Museum/Udvar-Hazy Center countless times. The second level opened up to a reveal a section on Energy. In the middle stood a giant pole that ran up to the ceiling and was literally buzzing. Emblazoned in yellow with black text screaming “Do Not Touch,” the exhibit naturally invited you to touch it. Though it was nothing like Electroshock Therapy from Tough Mudder (running through hanging wires, with 1000V of electricity jolts through them, in order to get to the finish line), you were still able to feel a slight tingling from it. The concept was energy and electricity can be tangible and isn’t just something going around in space that you can’t experience physically. Another cool part of this section was an installation that dominated the entranceway and few levels above, where your answers to questions regarding energy would be displayed. Also on this floor (I think, I’m losing track now) was an extensive section of computer technology, which my dad would’ve enjoyed. By far, however, one of the most interesting things from this museum was the installation called “The Listening Post”. It was pretty much a few hundred of little screens with text scrolling across them. The catch was that the words being displayed were being randomly selected and streamed live from the internet-creating a raw and unedited projection of the world’s online thoughts. Some of the textual display was paired with basic instruments in order to create a symphonic vibe to it.

            After we finished at the museum, we went to Chinatown to have dinner with Lauren and Eleni who were going to see Mama Mia. Getting dinner in Chinatown was on my bucket list, and one of the many last minute things I got to do before I left. My main course was alright, but what was really the best food there was the duck we had for an appetizer. I don’t know why I never eat duck at home, either it’s not as popular as England, or it’s way too expensive. It’s actually become one of the tastes that I like more in terms of protein now. The highlight of dinner was probably when, at the beginning, I asked the waitress if they had any specialties. She thought I asked if they had any special teas. Thus, we ended up with a massive pot of tea that none of us necessarily wanted. After dinner we stopped by a gift shop so Jessie could pick up a few things, and headed home. I ran and went to the gym after I got back, definitely not used to doing that anytime post-Chinese food but I needed to. Following my workout, I took the 63 bus down to the King’s Cross area to meet up with Annette who had just arrived in London last week to study abroad! It was SO good seeing her and catching up. Like I’ve said, seeing Emory friends in London has been so nice and such a surreal experience. We spent hours just talking and catching up, along with giving her plenty of recommendations for things to do during her time here. We lost track of time and by the time I got to the bus stop it was about 2:09 AM. Even though I had to wait until 2:36 AM to catch the bus back (didn’t realize that during the week the night busses only come every thirty minutes…shout out to Mama Stein and Sam for talking to me on the phone then/making me stay on the phone until the bus came), it was completely worth it to see her J