Hello all!

We had one of the best weekends (weather wise) so far, and Meg and I took full advantage of it (see our Brighton pics), but before I get to that, here's how my week went

Monday: got up, had class, had our weekly AHA meeting where we got our new Oyster cards- and I look orange in the picture for some reason. Went grocery shopping, came home, did some homework and then headed back into town to see Timon of Athens at the Globe. It's not a show that is done very often, and now I see why. It isn't a great script- probably because Shakespeare only wrote about 65% of it, and the choices the director made were...different, to say the least. But we got to sit for this one, so my knees were happier.

Tuesday: our walking tour today was Westminster, so that was pretty cool. Turns out that Westminster Abbey and Westminster Palace are actually quite separate, I thought they were closer than they are. Took a ton of pictures before the rain made me quit- be sure to check them out.

For our Britain Today class we watched a dvd on the English civil wars and revolution. It was good, especially because I don't know a lot about this point in history. I know the stuff before, but got to learn some new stuff, which is always good.

Wednesday: this morning in our Shakespeare class we pretty much sat around and talked about why we hated Timon so that was fun. I really love this class-the professor is amazing. For our Britain Today class we went on a trip to Putney to visit St. Mary's, the site of the Putney Debates. Very pretty church (the photos are in with the Westminster ones). Our play for that night was canceled, so most people went and saw The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I however, had a paper to write, so I stayed home, did that and then watched some TV.

Thursday: Playwriting in the morning- still warming up to this class, but its the one class I cant drop, so I will be there whether I like it or not- we discussed the production of Turandot we saw last week and planned our trip to the Imperial War Museum next week, which should be really cool. After classes, Meg and I went down to STA travel to talk about fall break plans- I think we may to go Spain.

Friday: Meg had art class this morning, so I headed off to explore the British Library. Sadly without a reading pass, you can't get pass the lobby. And they would not issue me a reading pass because I didn't have my driver's license on me. Lame. So I will return again later. I met Megan at Moorgate for some lunch and then we decided to go explore the wondrous world of Harrods. Oh my goodness, it's amazing. I bought one of the most delicious baguettes i have ever eaten. We also went to the Chocolate Cafe where we ordered strawberry and white chocolate milkshakes. Only I forgot how they make milkshakes here (basically just shaken up milk, no ice cream at all). It was nasty, and I could only bring myself to drink about a fourth of it, which is a shame, because it was 5 pound 50. yes, ladies and gents, the worst $11 I have ever spent. ugh. But other than that, Harrods was awesome.

Saturday: Megan and I decided to take a day trip to Brighton Beach. We caught the national rail from London Bridge and spent about an hour on the train. We could not have asked for better weather- it was beautiful!! Being at the beach was so nice, made up for the fact that we both worked our tails off this summer; it was our day to relax in the sun. And so we did. Before hitting the beach, we stopped in a really pretty church with great stained glass windows. We walked along the beach for a bit, sat down in the rocks (no sandy beaches, but the rocks were actually quite nice on the bum) and ate some lunch. We packed pb&j so as to save some quid, as it is very touristy, which equals expensive. After lunch we wandered around the town a bit and saw a park full of elephants, the national theatre and two guys on stilts. Heading back towards the water, we decided to walk the pier, where we saw two arcades, roller coasters, fish and chip huts and lots more. We were lured in by the amazing smell of Belgian waffles on a stick and settled our selves, and our waffles, in some deck chairs to take in the sun for a few hours. Megan sketched and I read, it was lovely. Then we walked a bit more, took in a Fishing Museum (made me think of you, Dad) and headed back up the beach, stopped a jewellery stand, where we bought really pretty necklaces and hiked back up the hill to the station and back to London. It was a fantastic afternoon. We got home around 7ish, had some dinner and Jessie & I watched Elizabeth: The Golden Age (which is very good, if you haven't seen it). Later on we headed over to Kate and Cara's to watch the Presidential Debates, where I feel asleep and did not want to walk back home in the cold.

Sunday: slept in, showered and put some laundry in. Meg went to church and I went back to the Library. Sat and updated my paper journal until I got hungry, so I went to a pub and [finally] had some fish and chips. I felt like a real Londoner, my beer-battered fish, vinegar soaked chips and mush peas (which are much better tasting than they look). I also had a pint of Irish cider, which is rather good. I stopped that the grocery store on my way home and here I am, uploading pictures and updating this blog.

Miss you all and hope you are well!