Jan 24: Class and more Piccadilly

The London Eye looks good at night!

Trafalgar Square...at night!

Some idiot and a fountain in Trafalgar square

 Just an overall excellent day. I had a lot of class, which unfortunately excluded me from tea with fellow BC students (Katie went, I'm sure she will write about it), but what made my day, well, was the night.

After class, I met Katie downtown at the Westminster tube stop (which was surprisingly tricky to get to), since she was already in the city. We walked around Westminster, which is a great area and headed over to Trafalgar Square, since we didn't really get a good look at it on our bus tour. It looks pretty great at night, so I was pleased to be there.

We continued walking around town, which was surprisingly easy to navigate downtown (everything seems much closer than it does out by where I live) and soon we found ourselves in Piccadilly Circus. I've been there a few times already, but to be honest, it hasn't disappointed yet, so I plan on returning quite often.

We at an Italian restaurant, Il Cucciolo, which was pretty good food. It oddly had a TV on when you walked in playing MTV music videos, which in my opinion kind of killed the Italian vibe, but again, good food.

We decided to switch it up for dessert and headed over to Caffe` Concerto, which had a ton of great looking desserts in the window and drew us both inside. I got a Belgian waffle that did not disappoint. Perhaps I'll visit Brussels at some point while I'm here and get myself a real, authentic Belgian waffle.

Big Ben at night

 Afterwards we headed back on the tube and made our way back to Dinwiddy House, our housing. It is so much fun to explore London and I plan on doing it more as the weekend approaches.

Tomorrow may bring a trip to Camden Markets with Katie and some friends from SOAS. I'll be sure to take some pictures!

Til then - Cheers!

Jan 23: Working Wednesday

Cadburys Cadburys Cadburys Cadburys

I didn't have class today, which was nice, but I spent most of the day doing schoolwork anyway. It was fairly productive - I finally began to crack into an Advanced Economic Analysis essay (but still am far from finished) and even got my laundry done.

Later, Katie and I went to Shibyua, a Japanese restaurant right around the corner from where we live. It was good food and a good time. One thing I've noticed, at least where I live (the King's Cross area), is that restaurants are never crowded and are usually somewhat empty no matter what time of day it is. I'm not really sure why this is and it continues to puzzle me why so many places stay open so late, yet appear to do little to no business. Luckily, the food I've had around here has been pretty good, so I can't complain there.

After dinner I did some quick supplemental grocery shopping, and couldn't resist a giant Cadbury egg (which came with 4 Flake milk chocolate bars) while I was buying some more food. It's important to take advantage of this stuff while I'm here...at least that's what I tell myself.

Tomorrow I have a full morning and afternoon of classes. I might also go somewhere in downtown London with Katie in the evening - more on that later.

Til then- Cheers!

Jan 22: Throwback Tuesday

Sorry I don't have much to report for today - just attended lecture and spent the day catching up on reading and essay planning. I want to try to be consistent with this blog though, so I figured I could write something. Unfortunately, after a day of reading (and slacking off) , I'm pretty tired and may fall asleep soon. I'll leave you with some pictures from last time I was here (perhaps I can try to replicate them during my stay) :

Bridget and I at Westminster Abbey

The London Eye (and the hotel we stayed at!)

I was on the Diamonbacks in Little League, just in case you were wondering.

It's actually less fun than you think. Mega slow. Not cool when you're 9. Maybe it will be better now that I'm older!

Just thuggin' it in front of Tower Bridge, with some random family in the back.

London looks cool at night.

I wanted to knock those down so bad.

 Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more eventful.
Til then - Cheers!

Jan 21: Another week of academia

Just making some chicken

BBQ Chicken n' Peas

I can't believe I've been here for more than 2 weeks already. We are already on our 3rd week of classes! Kind of crazy, considering BC just went back last week.

While I'm here I'll have 8 or so 3,000 word essays to write, and they some are due sooner than I would like. It feels like this is the first official week where I will be quite diligent about work, as I now have my bearings (somewhat) and have future trips planned to make time for.

That doesn't mean I still can't have fun in my down time however. After class today, I worked for a little and to reward myself, I made Katie and I some BBQ Chicken for dinner. She was nice enough to balance it out with some peas. I really should buy more vegetables...

Currently, I'm just relaxing, thinking about tomorrow and some other future events to be excited about. The Super Bowl, for one. I think the 49ers will win, but it will definitely be close. I would be ok with either team winning, since I like players on both squads. The real issue over here is finding a place to watch it that isn't jam-packed. I really liked Bodean's BBQ...maybe they still have some availability.

Anyway, today wasn't too exciting - just some class and grind work. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit more fun.

Til then - Cheers!

Jan 20: American Football Sunday

View from my snowed-in window.

Today started off, well cold. And it stayed that way. Also it was very slippery. Why? Snow - and lots of it too! It is easy to tell it doesn't snow very often in London, because, well the roads and pathways were just awful and some of the local Londoners have way too much fun with it. Big icy slush watch-your-every-step messes. Needless to say, it looked to be a day to stay in.

I spent most of the day planning/booking a (somewhat) cheap 8 day trip to Florence and Venice with Katie during a week we have off soon (Feb. 8-Feb. 16). Most of the big things (plane tickets, hostels, buses, etc) are in order and booked...it's pretty exciting to be able to do stuff like this! I am thankful and lucky for these kinds of opportunities.

Football, Friends, and Food- even in London!

However, planning can make you pretty hungry. And on Championship Game Sunday back home, what better way then to go a good ol' fashion American BBQ joint and watch football with some friends (Dave, Allegra, and Katie) from back home?

Burnt Ends and Pulled Pork. I love me some BBQ!

Anyway, as you know by now, the 49ers beat the Falcons. I'm pretty excited for them, particularly Randy Moss, who is probably my all-time favorite player and has a chance to finally win a Super Bowl. I'm really hoping the Patriots don't make it (even if it might be fun to watch them lose) because they're cheaters and don't deserve anything and this is their QB.

Anyways, I'm pretty tired and might soon go into a food coma - this is what 4+hrs in a BBQ house does to you. Luckily, I have class at 1pm and very close tomorrow.

Til then- Cheers!

Jan 19: The British Museum

 Today was a fun-filled day, despite the very cold weather. Katie and I went to the British Museum, which is located roughly 30 min. walking from where we live. Here it is in pictures and captions:

In front of the British Museum!

A mummy, from Ancient Egypt!

Greco-Roman Pottery

A tomb and a mummy from Ancient Egypt

Augustus Cesear and myself. Not exactly twins, but maybe cousins?

Perhaps my brother Jimmy...Cesare!

Due to hyper-inflation, Zimbabwe currency is worthless.

Ancient Chess set

All in the family: The Roman Empire!

Hieroglyphics up close!

A comfortable African hammock!

An original Ionic pillar

The Tree of Life (African)

I thought this was a cool Greco-Roman fighting panel.

Ancient Philosophers: Socrates, Aristotle, Sophocles and Epicurus.

An ancient Aztec sculpture.

Me in front of some Hieroglyphics.

The one and only - Rosetta Stone!

Sophocles in Bronze!

The British Museum from the inside. Quite elegant!

A fancy Egyptian tomb/sarcophagus.

The British Museum from the outside.

A very expensive and cool ship!

I had a lot of fun today. Despite the cold weather. I was able to enjoy the British Museum, which is luckily only a block or so from campus! I hope to go back soon and enjoy some more exhibits!

The rest of the night, I just planned for some future traveling and prepped this blog post. It was a slow, cold day. Luckily, the British Museum made up for all of that! What an incredible place! Tomorrow, I hope to watch some American football at a local sports bar. We will see if that actually happens!

Til then- Cheers!

Jan 18: Snow-AS

A square next to Vernon Campus - looks good in white!

View from my window

The first snow since I have arrived occurred today. Its always less exciting in January, but it did make some buildings and areas look nice (you know, until it all turns to gray slush).

Anyway, today really felt like 2 days. I, for some reason, had a rough time falling asleep last night, which was unfortunate because I had a 9am tutorial session. Once it was over at 10am, I raced back to my room to fall asleep for a few more hours. It was well-needed.

After I woke up, I made myself some lunch (Spaghetti-Os) and worked on some school stuff, as well as an application for a summer internship position. It's important to stay on top of these things, and I thought a snowy day was a good time to start.

Later, I went over to Katie's and helped her prepare burgers and vegetables (I mainly handled the burgers). Cooking is something I've really been enjoying here, as well as last semester. Hopefully my skills continue to develop!

Its pretty cold and snowy out tonight, so I've decided to stay in and relax, make travel plans with Katie, and watch TV. We are contemplating visiting Florence and Venice the week of Valentine's Day (since we happen to have school off then). Stay tuned for more on that! Tomorrow, we are planning on going to see some nearby sights - particularly, the British Museum.

Til then - Cheers!