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For whatever reason, Sunday inspires me to update. Perhaps it's the fact that I'm not sitting in front of my computer for 9 hours during work.
On Tuesday, Kacie, Melanie & I went to afternoon tea at Claridge's. Claridge's used to be the hotel where the Queen went for tea (before the Ritz lured her back). It's still considered to be one of the best places in London for afternoon tea. We had a lovely corner booth and the service was phenomenal. Claridge's has a list of over 30 teas to choose from. You can try as many as you like, so we ordered no less than 8. The first thing they bring out are the sandwiches: ham, watercress & cucumber, salmon & cream cheese, chicken salad, and egg salad.... we had 2 plates of these. Then they bring out the desserts, which are phenomenal. There were fruit tarts, mini chocolate eclair bites, some kind of fruity cream (can be seen in the photo above the plate) and, of course, scones (raisin & apple) with clotted butter cream and jam. The scones were different than the ones that I've had. These scones are more like a less flaky biscuit. One can be seen in the picture on the tray... very good though!!! We finally left about 7:30, 2 hours after we sat down. Afternoon tea originated as a snack between lunch and dinner, but we were so full that we didn't eat dinner that night.
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. On Friday morning, we had a terrential downpower. It's ironic because it rains all the time in London, but not in large amounts each time. Normally it's just drizzly. But the city, actually the country, is completely unprepared for heavy rain. Some of the tube stations and lines had to be shut down due to flooding, lots of trains were cancelled & there was street flooding everywhere. This is all despite the fact that the rain was over within an hour and a half. It was sunny and beautiful by the afternoon.
Friday night a group of us went to the east side to a few bars. Kacie had to pick up her book at midnight at a Borders on Oxford Street, so she and I headed there around 11:30. It was MADNESS. The lines at all the bookstores went on for blocks. Kacie had a book pre-reserved, but that didn't make the wait any less. She ended up deciding to just pick it up the next day. But it was funny to be there at midnight. Kind of like New Years but everyone was sober and entirely too excited. Some people just grabbed their book and flipped to the end before they even left the store. I noticed today that there are no less than about 4 people in every tube car reading it. I feel like I should start reading the series!
Yesterday, Kacie, Sergio & I went on a daytrip to Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath. It was such a long day. We apparently missed the bus at 8am pickup, so we had to head across town to catch a different bus. It took off around 9 and we first stopped in Windsor, which is close to Heathrow. It's only about 45 minutes from the city. We had about an hour and a half in Windsor, which was fine because I've been there before. We went through the State Apartments, saw the Changing of the Guard and went into St. George's Chapel. The Queen goes to Windsor on the weekends, so the flag was flying (signifying her presence). Obviously we didn't see her, but it was cool to see the flag flying. We also saw the city hall where Charles & Camilla wed and where Elton John (who lives in Windsor) had his commitment service.
From Windsor we headed to a pub near Stonehenge for lunch. The lunch was included and we ordered our meals when we got on the bus in the am. I was sooooo excited because I ordered the roast beef & yorkshire pudding, but when the tour guide called to place the order, she discovered that they had changed the menu and replaced the roast beef. So instead I had a chicken pie covered in gravy.... eh. It was ok. It looked better than the bangers & mash at least.
We had about 20 minutes at Stonehenge before it started downpouring. I took a lot of pictures, but wish I had a little more time there. As it currently stands, there is a major road that runs right next to the stones. A new plan is in the works, however, that should take place in 2008. They are worried about the damage that the pollution is doing to the spot, so a tunnel is going to be built for the cars to pass through. The current visitor center is right next to the area, but this will be moved 2 miles away and a tram will bring people to the area. There was a sheep grazing field right next to Stonehenge, which I found to be very typical "English countryside". There's not much to say about Stonehenge. It looks the same as it does in pictures. There is certainly a presence about it though. Not quite mystical, but somewhat moving.
On the way to Bath, we passed one of the chalk horses built into a hillside. A few hundred years ago, people dug up the ground down to the chalk and created images that can be seen from far away. This particular horse is famous and I studied it in my art history class. It really just looks like a white horse and even though we were far away, it was clear. Someone said that upclose you can't tell what it is. There are a number of these figures around the countryside, but I don't think that they are all horses.
We arrived in Bath around 4pm. Bath is a large town about 2.5 hours away from London. It has natural hot springs, so the Romans built baths there. The river Thames also runs through the city, which added to the appeal I'm sure. However, the Romans abandoned England shortly thereafter. The city became very trendy during the Georgian era when more baths were built there (they didn't know the Romans had built baths there prior). It was the city where the King's court would come to, kind of like Versailles. The hot springs were supposed to have healing powers, so it was a huge draw for people. When Bath was abandoned by the court for Brighton, the city became essentially a retirement community. Because the baths were expected to heal arthritis, etc., lots of elderly people moved there. Unfortunately, Bath is very hilly, which was not ideal for elderly people. The architecture is very Georgian and beautiful. Nearly all of the buildings are painted in a creamy white paint, so it's an idylic tourist town. There is a lot to do there and I could have spent 2 days easily passing time. Most of the Roman baths have been excavated. The museum was ok, but I preferred just to walk around town. We arrived back in London around 8:15. I proceeded to do nothing all night but watch Season 4 of Sex & the City and drink tea, which was fine.
I got up early (and by early, I mean 9) and had a wonderful morning. I ate toast and tea in bed, then went up to Camden Town to the markets. The area is full of markets. Some antiques, a lot of clothes and food vendors. I stocked up at the grocery store around 12:30 and spent the rest of the afternoon napping. It was a beautiful day, but I decided to be lazy instead. Matt comes on Wednesday, so I'm sure that I'll be getting plenty of sightseeing in then. Kacie and I went to see "Hairspray" tonight and loved it. I downloaded the music when I got home!
Tomorrow night I am going to see "Spamalot" (for the 3rd time, but the first time in London) and then going to see "In Celebration" with Orlando Bloom on Tuesday. I'm going to be fairly theatre-ed out by the end of the week. Matt arrives Wednedsay morning, so I'm trying to get tickets for "Avenue Q" (the puppet musical) for that night. Thursday night we have tickets to go to the London Eye. He and I leave for Paris Friday morning at 5:30am.... blah. We'll spend all day Friday & Saturday in Paris and don't return to London until Sunday night. He leaves London on Wednesday the 1st and my last day at work is the 3rd. I will be in Munich the 5th-12th and I return HOME on the 13th... 3 weeks!
One part of me is very ready to return home. It's so difficult to live in a place temporarily. But I am very settled here. I love this city so much. I have a connection to London that I can't explain. I felt a connection to it before I ever had been here. Part of it, I think, is that I love the history of London. It's fascinating and thrilling to me. I can't put my finger on the rest of the connection I feel. I mean I love the culture and I appreciate the people, the food, lifestyle. It's funny because although I dream of Florence, I find that the day to day life in London is far more fascinating. I'm comfortable here but I am constantly surprised by what I encounter. I am so, so sad to leave this place. There is a fear deeply rooted that I won't return for an experience like this again. Perhaps I will return in January with a permeanent job. But for now, I'm looking forward to returning home to things far more familiar and comforting. Counting down!
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