Feb 5: EastEnd-ing

Today was quite an interesting day. Class was OK, but more importantly, I finished printing out my boarding passes for my flight to Italy on Friday (can't wait!). I also signed up to see Monty Python's "Spamalot" in mid-March with other Boston College students. I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail, so naturally I'm quite excited for that.

However, the highlight of today was the walking tour of the East End I went on this evening with Katie and more Boston College friends. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it mainly became a street art tour, which was quite fascinating. Here are a few pictures and captions to give you a mini-tour of what I saw:

We met at this Goat Statue, a little past Liverpool Street Station. Not really sure what the significance of it is, but it is a good point of reference.

This is one of the markers for the City of London. To the west lies the City, to the east, the East End.

Look familiar? It's Diagon Alley (from Harry Potter).

This historic pub, The Ten Bells, is where Jack the Ripper picked up a few of his unfortunately victims.

Intro to Street Art begins: There is a sculpture on top of this street sign, an example of the many hidden works of art in London.

This is by an artist who is aptly named "Stick". Cool stuff.

The work on the right is by an Australian street artist (didn't catch the name). I'm not sure who did the one on the left either, but it was made with tiny explosives. Apparently, the next "picture" underneath is already rigged with explosives to take this ones place. Interesting.

A nice piece of Gandhi, coincidentally in the East End which is known for its Indian food.

This work was done by our tour guide! Suicide is the number one killer of males under 35 in London, and this is an artistic attempt to capture that inner anguish/outer seemingly-OK front that occurs for people who find themselves in an unfortunately dark place. It was intentionally placed in a busy area in order to encourage a more public dialogue about dealing with often-stigmatized mental illnesses. This suicide helpline website sponsored its creation.

This was done by some French guys with spray paint. Spray paint!!

This big bird on the building was completed in roughly 30 minutes. Not bad, huh?

We ended our tour with dinner at this Indian restaurant, Sheraz. Lots of curry to choose from, I didn't know what to get, but I ended up picking Chicken Rodon. It was pretty good.

 

The tour was definitely a fascinating adventure and despite the weather being pretty wet and cold, I had a great time. I will definitely be on the lookout for more street art while I am here in London, because apparently it can be found almost everywhere. The rest of the night and tomorrow I will be preparing for a presentation I have to give Thursday as well as Friday - when I set course to Florence. 3 Days - can't wait!

Til then- Cheers!