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Things I need in my life right now
- A sweater with fruit on it
- Colored jeans
- Breton stripes
- Cute dresses
- A literary sweatshirt
- Dorothy Parker shot glasses
- The Storymatic
- A ticket stub diary
- A teapot shaped like a British telephone box
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Back in the USA
I’ve been back in America for a few days now, and though I was sad to leave the green of England behind, I am so happy to be back in the land where people are polite and say “y’all,” the weather is warm and my favorite shows/sports are on TV. And where Coke tastes better. Yay America!
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Final thoughts on England
Here’s some final things I learned from England:
-Tea is always a good idea.
-If it’s sunny outside, you should probably carry an umbrella.
-Library books are sacred.
-Everything needs salt.
-It is possible to read 6 books in a week.
-There is no shame in a Ben’s cookie. Same for Phizzy Pig Tails.
-Punting has a steep learning curve.
-Digestive biscuits are much better than their name suggests.
-Public transportation rocks. (Most of the time)
-It is possible to write a 13 page paper in less than 12 hours.
-A house with 40 people living in it is perpetually out of printer paper.
-Colanders do not belong in the dishwasher.
-Rhubarb jelly (jell-o) is never a good idea.
-Mornings that don’t begin with a pain au chocolat and hash browns are never good.
-Mr. Juicy is the king of fruit juices.
-The coolness of sitting in the Harry Potter library loses its charm about an hour into a paper.
-Certain foods do not belong on pizza.
-There is such a thing as too much potatoes.
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Last of London
Monday was my last day in London, so I packed it full of everything I hadn’t seen yet. I started the day bright and early and headed out to Westminster Abbey. What an awesome way to start the day! Westminster is so beautiful in the morning, and I was one of the first people to go in, so that was nice. Westminster is a really cool church, and while I was there, they had morning prayer, which was one of the coolest things I have done. After Westminster, I headed over to the National Gallery. I wandered around there for a little while (maps cost a pound?! Pass), and though nothing can compare to the Paris museums, the National Gallery was really cool, and I really liked the Van Eyck marriage painting. Very cool. After that, I headed next door to the National Portrait Gallery which is like a giant yearbook of famous Britons. I really liked it a lot. Then, I headed over to Harrod’s for tea, which was worth all 24 pounds I paid. So good. Probably the best cream tea I had in England, and a great way to say good-bye to the only English meal I liked. Then I went back to my hotel to get ready for Les Miserables. Unfortunately, I misread the time, and I had 30 minutes to get from one end of London to the other. Long story short, I ran into the theater just as it was starting. The usher told me I was lucky for barely making it. It was so amazing! Nick Jonas debuted as Marius, and he was actually really, really good. Les Mis has some really hard notes to hit and Nick did a really good job. I didn’t like the actress who played the older Cosette (her voice was very shrill), but Eponine and Fantine were amazing! It was the perfect send off!
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I hate the Underground
I had big plans for Sunday. They didn’t include the Underground closures. For some reason, all trains to Tower Hill (i.e. the Tower of London) were closed, so I had to get creative with my travel plans. I ended up just walking along the Thames until I got to the Tower. The Tower was pretty cool. I had heard so much about the crown jewels, that I built them up in my mind a little too much and was a little disappointed by them. But overall, I enjoyed the Tower. There were a bunch of cool exhibitions and I took the free tour offered by the Beefeaters, which was super entertaining. My plan was to head up to the British Museum, followed by tea, but I ended up getting off the bus at the wrong stop. Luckily, I could see St. Paul’s in the distance, and there was a M&S right across the street from it. I ended up enjoying lunch on the steps and feeding the birds! It was awesome! I finally made it to the British Museum, which is probably the coolest non-art museum in the world. I spent a really, really long time in there. And I didn’t even see anything because I got tired and left before I finished. Afterward, I tried to go to Notting Hill to check out the shops, but I got lost again (the whole time I have been in Europe I had only gotten lost about 5 times; I got lost 3 times today). So, I ended up finding a Tesco, getting dinner (paid for by the change I stole from Ali and 104 Banbury) and heading over to Hyde Park, where I had another picnic. I wandered around the park for a bit, and then headed over to Speaker’s Corner, which was ok, but it was all religious speakers so I didn’t hang out long. Too much like the Tate preachers! I think I got dehydrated though, because I was feeling pretty bad, so I headed back to my hotel and watched a little bit of the World Cup.
The agenda for today is Westminster, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Harrods, maybe Oxford St. and Les Miserables with Nick Jonas! Awesome.
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You sound like you need a man-purse
I was super sad to leave all my friends behind in Oxford. Luckily, Julia and her cousin were spending some time in London before they left for their tour of Europe, so I spent Saturday with them. We went to Leicester Square to get tickets to go see Avenue Q, and ended up hanging around there most of the afternoon because there was a special preview of all West End shows going on in the square. We saw Hair, Grease, Sweet Charity and some others I can’t remember. Then, we wandered around London’s Chinatown, which was ok. We went into a grocery store where Patrick bought some interesting fruit that was really good (picture to come later). Then we went to Avenue Q, which was awesome. The theater we saw it in was really small and intimate. And the show was so funny! The performers are awesome, especially the ones who play multiple characters. Amazing! Afterward, we kind of wandered around for a bit, and then went to the Tate Modern. Tate Modern was cool, if you like modern art. It had a lot of interactive stations, which was pretty awesome. I really liked the Andy Warhol room, and they had some other cool pieces, including a Monet. Then I had to say good-bye to Julia for real, which was sad. It was just what I needed—a nice relaxing day!
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Final week
This week has been my last in Oxford. I’ve said good-bye to everything and everyone I have grown to love over the past 3 months. Here’s some things I will miss:
-Cream tea. Why is this not popular in America? It is amazing!
-The Bod. Though I hated it, I also loved being able to study where so many great thinkers have come before. And I was remarkably productive.
-City Centre. Everything you could possibly want, all within walking distance.
-Ben’s. Dear Ben, why are your cookies so warm and gooey, even 5 hours later? Is it because you bake them with extra love? You need to come to America. People would love you. Love, Me.
-Phizzy Pig Tails. The. best. candy. ever.
-“Cheers.” People say this all the time as a greeting, good-bye or thanks. It makes me cheerful. (Get it?)
-Green. I cannot stress how much greener England is than America. I think it’s because of all the rain. It is beautiful.
-Old buildings. I love old buildings. Everything that I thought was old in America is suddenly going to look brand new.
-Rain. I will not miss the fact that it rains every day, but I will miss the fact that when it rains here it never pours.
-Dinner robes. I still feel like Harry every time I put mine on.
But, the thing I will miss most of all is…104 Banbury Rd. The people. The jokes. Alejandro. Keble Ball. Bieber. The landing. Breakfast club. Walking to meals/City Centre/Summertown/class. Mrs. Bradshaw’s floral arrangements. Random awkward J-gregg moments. Room 6. Everything.
Good-bye Oxford!
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The best of my Paris photos. There’s over 300, so if you want to see more, you will have to catch up with me in real life :)
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