1.20.08 - london update # 5

Having spent over a week in Britain, I've noticed a lot of the people here fall into distinct categories. For the benefit of those who haven't been here, or who don't have my (quite keen) observational skills, I've provided a rough guide to the aforementioned categories below.

1) The Arthur Weasley (aka the Beefeater)
"Jolly" is the only proper word to describe these men in the 30-60 age range. They are often a little plump, have a prominent mustache, sometimes a bald head, and a red face. Usually found either smiling or yelling at kids.

2) The Working Woman
She's dressed to kill, usually in all black, and wearing four-inch heels. Wears a facial expression conveying great importance. Always in a hurry. She doesn't look at you, but stares off into space as if contemplating the mystery of the universe... or maybe the intricacies of some corporate multimillion-pound merger. Although she doesn't look at anyone, she has the remarkable ability to maneuver large crowded streets without bumping into anything or anyone.

3) The Foreigner
Just when you thought you came to this country because everyone spoke English -- you were wrong. These can be anywhere: sitting next to you on public transportation, working behind your favorite shop counter, bumping into you on the street. Often found in greater numbers than native British.

4) The Implanted Earphones Guy
Usually in the 18-30 age range, he is often found riding the tube. Attire: black peacoat, striped scarf, nice jeans, expensive shoes, plenty of hair product. And, of course, the iPod earphones that are permanently attached to his ears. There is never any head-nodding or foot-tapping to let you know what he is listening to, however; he's way too suave for that. Occasionally one has been known to pull out a BlackBerry and start e-mailing.

5) The American Tourist
Travel in large packs of between 10 and 40 people. All ages, all sizes. Feel the need to talk at cosmic volume levels in order to communicate with their friend on the tube, who is approximately three inches away. Conversation is never of intellectual significance, but usually centers around who texted who, who got drunk when, and what shoes who bought.

1.16.08 - london update #4

It's my bedtime, so I'm going to make this quick.
1. Theatre here is amazing. I can't get over it. We just saw Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre, and it was so great! I've never been much of a fan of Shakespeare, mostly because I've never seen one that can hold my attention, and let me tell you that we had a really busy day and I was half asleep by the time we sat down, but within 15 minutes of the play starting I was riveted. The acting was amazing; the two leads had such great chemistry; the set was really simple but the way they used the lighting and the revolve worked perfectly with everything. During intermission I mentioned how great the female lead was, and found out that she was Madam Hooch (the flying teacher and Quidditch ref) in the first Harry Potter movie! Also one of the guys was in the recent three Star Wars movies. I don't know which character because I haven't really seen those. Zoe (the female lead) really was fantastic though. I had never read this play before, but I really like it now. I think I'll watch the Emma Thompson movie version when I get home sometime.
2. Today was the longest day EVER. We were gone for 14 hours and we were speed-walking pretty much all of that time. In the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace I stumbled across a little room of some jewels and crowns, and I think I stared for about 20 minutes at this one crown and necklace. I've never been much for huge jewelry in the past, but I think I want to be Queen now. Just so I could go see plays every night and wear a lot of diamonds. And have Faberge eggs lying around my room. (Those things are pretty sweet...)
3. I'm going to see Ewan McGregor in Othello!
4. "Stronger" by Kanye West? My new favorite song. (Completely unrelated, but just thought I'd share.)

Sorry no pictures today... hopefully I'll get some uploaded tomorrow!

1.15.08 - london update #3

I never thought I'd be saying this, but production-wise, Lord of the Rings was the most amazing piece of theatre I have ever seen in my life. Just when I thought the special effects couldn't get any crazier, or the stage couldn't change any more, it did. I followed the plot pretty well the first act, but got kind of confused during the second. I expected to though, because I didn't know the story, and I loved the show so much that it didn't even matter.

We went to St. Paul's this morning. I don't think I've ever climbed that many steps to get to the top (it was around 500), and once we got up there it was raining and 70 mile per hour winds, but it was really cool to get to see the whole city. The cathedral is really beautiful too.

Another highlight of today was the Courtauld Gallery. Kelli and I weren't too excited at first about spending 2-3 hours in an art gallery, but it was AMAZING. There is nothing like being six inches away from a Monet or a Van Gogh. Although I think my favorite painter whose stuff we saw today was Seurat. It was really fascinating though. I'm officially a fan of Impressionism now.

Okay, it's 1:00 in the morning-- after the show tonight, we walked around for about an hour trying to find the Hard Rock Cafe, ended up giving up and going home and eating at KFC, but it was really late. So... good night!

1.13.08 - london update #1

Five things I have learned during my roughly 12 hours in the UK so far:

1. Yes, the British indeed use the words "fiver," "tenner," and "quid" to describe their money. I know that people in Nick Hornby books and British movies talk like this, but somehow it still amazes me to hear people use these terms in real life.

2. They get very irritated when groups of 40 American college students don't know the rules. (Standing on an escalator is apparently only permitted in a single-file line on the right so that people who are in a hurry can sprint past you on the left.) One gentleman yelled at us this morning as he was hurtling full-speed toward the mass on the escalator, "Stand on the RIGHT! WALK on the Left! That's how we do it in London."

3. Everything is small here. The houses, the rooms, the beds, the wardrobes, the grocery stores, the clothing stores, the restaurants, the restaurant tables, the people. (Refer to #5).

4. They have changed the five-pence coin sometime since 1970 and mine got rejected today while I was trying to buy two oranges at Tesco. The guy gave me a really funny look and said "Uh, this is a very old five-pence coin. We don't accept these anymore." Seems like a ripoff to me.

5. They dress immensely better here than anywhere I've ever been in the US. Granted, I've never been to New York, so it could just be a big-city thing, but I feel like everyone I pass on the street has just stepped out of a Vogue photoshoot. Whereas most of the people I see in my home country look like they just came from a photoshoot for the "Before" section of one of those L.A. Weight Loss ads.

More to come later. At the top is a picture I took of Buckingham Palace today (Notice the flag is flying, which means the Queen was inside!) Anyways, I haven't slept in 30 hours... so, I'm off to do that. Leave a comment! I miss everybody!