ryan's visit

For his spring break, Ryan came to visit me in London. I can't even explain how wonderful it is to have someone to go to Sainsbury's with at 23:56. It took a couple of days for the jet lag to wear off but one taste of clotted cream and we were back in business. Fish and chips for £3 didn't hurt either.

We spent maybe an hour walking to Abbey Road, and then another fifteen minutes debating whether or not we were at the right end of the street. We started out to the other end of the road just to be sure but after several blocks the weather won - we decided to trust the small group of tourists blocking traffic at the closer end and call it a day. Later we discovered that we were at the correct place and that we don't know as much about our Beatles covers as we should.

We were out walking in the typical afternoon drizzle and all of the sudden the clouds cleared a bit and the sun shone through. We had been waiting for the perfect weather all week to go on the London Eye, not the best strategy in this city, so we dashed over and got in line. It was a bit long, but when we got through the sun was still there - and then they ushered us into the 4D experience (in case you have 3D glasses on hand) very much against my will. Apparently its not a free bonus, its a crowd diffuser.

It was partly cloudy the whole way up and then mostly cloudy and drizzling on the way down, but I am so glad we ended up going. The view was pretty clear, even with the sub-par whether, and it was nice to share something new to both of us.

Neither of us is very photogenic, Ryan doesn't ask strangers for photos and I don't like to, and I never got very into myspace - in other words, this is the money shot for the week.

Notice my scarf? Apparently, he's not just a good driver. He spotted it in a vintage shop buried under other not-so-pretty ones at the Camden Markets for a very good price, and you all know how I am about scarves.

We finished up the week with Avenue Q, a muppet musical. Which sounds so absolutely terrible, but I thought it was funny and Ryan actually didn't mind it. Win.

Link to all of our pictures.

last night

I made my first pizza from scratch.


It tasted a lot better than it looks.

sun & flowers

Having a park just outside my window has definitely improved my general feeling about living in a city.


I caught this guy before they came in and pruned the rose bushes. Spring comes early to England? I hope so.

overheard at the national portrait gallery

Charles II, aged four months, 1630

"Oy! Who is that? ...Ha, its the king. Right, more like the queen in that fancy little dress." It continued, but I'll spare you.

What I find more astounding than the dress is that fact that a four month old baby appears to be sitting upright unsupported. King or not, no human can do that.

the eiffel tower is red, and other startling revelations

For my twenty-first birthday a friend from Wellesley, Katie, and I wandered very far, over land and sea, all the the way to Paris. We have abstractly talked about going together since we realized that our loves of food and art respectively make it an ideal destination and as a result we had a very long list of places to see. Highlights included:

Riding through the Chunnel, which made me realize that all the fuss is not about the actual experience but rather the lackthereof. We had gotten up at 3:30am to make our train so when I roused from a daze and asked Katie when we would go into the tunnel she just laughed - we were already in France.

The very warm welcome that Paris gave us, with the sun breaking through the clouds just as we came into courtyard of the Louvre. Even if I hadn't just come from rainy London I think I would have been blow away by the bath of golden light that shone on the cold city.

Standing in the proper middle of Paris, and making Katie's sister Julie, who was on a school trip to France and Belgium - we managed to catch up with her for the afternoon at Notre Dame, laugh with my ridiculous face.

This plate of crepes, obtained in a restaurant in the gardens of Versailles. Even in February I could imagine why the palace is so famous. And even though I found the overly-controlled landscape comical with its perfectly square trees, I appreciated it all the same.

Watching the sun set over Paris, and making it to the Arc de Triomphe just in time to catch it between day and night. Unfortunately, by the time we figured out how to get past the eight unmarked lanes of traffic to the base of it the sun had finished setting. Then again, thats 284 stairs less for me.

In the Musee d'Orsay I saw the largest collection of Toulouse-Lautrec's work that I have ever seen altogether. Fitting, as we stopped at the Moulin Rouge earlier that day. Also earlier that day I experienced Angelina's bakery, the one place Katie insisted we stop, and had some of the best hot chocolate of my life.

Walking across the Solderino Passerelle Katie spotted all of these locks. It was such a sweet surprise to find them.

And on our last night in Paris, after a delicious steak dinner where we toasted my birthday and officially marked the end of a very successful trip, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. At precisely 8 o'clock the tower lit up with glimmering lights that make it appear to sparkle. I had read something about it lighting up for five or ten minutes at the beginning of each hour, and I was happy to have my suspicion confirmed, although it made it difficult to walk away.

Other highlights were the nine croissants that I managed to consume in just four days, successfully seeing everything on our list, and sailing into the White Cliffs of Dover. I wasn't able to get a picture which really did them justice but you can see them here, with the rest of my pictures.

'living the dream'

Scotland and England are both part of the UK, right? So what's the difference? The difference is plaid covered seats on the double-deckers.



On Friday we walked up the Royal Mile, literally up, to the castle of Edinburgh. Along the cobblestone street are shops selling everything from plaid viking hats to whiskey fudge.


We didn't actually go in the castle but we stopped to admire the view of the city and surrounding mountains.


On the way back for lunch we spotted a deal - any freshly baked baguette filled to your hearts desire for just one pound - one day only. We promptly forgot our plans for sandwiches at home and went straight in. Finishing an entire baguette was difficult, but it tasted like victory. On the way to the train station we stopped and got another, and were recognized.


In Glasgow Katie and I scoped out the Glasgow School of Art by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which were learned about together in out architecture course sophomore year. We sneaked in for just a minute, but mostly just admired the outside. The building is built into a hill, one of the many in Glasgow, and although it is quite small has produced many famous contemporary artists.


We also stopped by the GoMA which is housed in a neoclassical building that seems almost like a church on the interior - it is a beautiful yet unlikely place to find modern art.


We also saw some very interesting street performers on the main shopping strip - bagpipes, violins, and guitar galore. These guys worked the street for no less than three hours with the same impressive routine.


A little ice cream and a smoothie to warm us up!


Back in Edinburgh we walked up Calton Hill for a view of the city. We accidentally discovered the grave of David Hume while we were up there.


In the distance is Arthur's Seat, as seen from Calton Hill.


The 'ruins' are left from a project that entailed the creation of a necropolis but money ran out before it was finished.


A view from the train on my way back to London - East Coast Railways certainly live up to their name.

If you want to see more pictures, my complete album is here.

back in london

I've just returned from visiting a friend in Scotland, and I will post pictures soon. In the meantime I will leave you to ponder this -