Well, I missed Les Miserables. I took a nap, which turned into a sleep and then I woke up and the performance had started an hour and a half prior. Disappointing? Yes. The end of the world? No.
We went on a tour that detailed the life of Jack the Ripper (a serial killer in London at the end of the 19th century). The tour guide has written a book on the subject and been on international TV. He gave Johnny Depp the tour before he performed in the movie "From Hell" and we saw the pubs and such that were central to the killings. We also went by a wall originally built by the Romans and expanded upon in medieval times which was pretty cool (as far as walls go anyway). It's possible that the tour guide had a bit of a morbid fascination with things that are a bit morbid. You may have guessed that the tour was morbidly amusing as a result. Murder, prostitution, dark alleyways and long knives. Actually, doesn't sound so amusing now that I think about it. Morbidly fascinating perhaps.
Today we went to the RAF (Royal Air Force) museum which was pretty interesting. Being an air force museum there were naturally a lot of airplanes. I wish we could have sat in the cockpits and stuff and been able to interact with the planes more hands on, but it was still pretty cool nonetheless. My investments professor (Dr. Gritta) has been spending a LOT of time trying to educate us on English history, particularly WWII history, so looking at the planes was definitely more interesting because I had more of an idea what type of role several of them played in the war.
On the way back from the RAF museum Dr. Gritta and I were walking through Leicester square we ran into a crowd of people gathering around a speaker box. Standing in front of this speaker box was this tiny little kid, looked like he was 2 maybe, but he was dressed in casual college student clothes, wearing headphones, and dancing like you wouldn't believe. I wish I got a picture, it was absolutely hilarious. This kid had moves that were baller, I mean they were fancy, I don't think I could compare. Yeah, it was a puppet. An AWESOME puppet. It was pretty sweet. Dr. Gritta's only comment was, "that kids going to lose his hearing if he stands in front of the speaker like that." I was amused.
I went to pick up a phone today since I could get one for relatively cheap. While I was in there dealing with issues with my credit card another guy is up at the front counter and is obviously not happy about something. He's going on with the clerk and getting more and more aggravated. I'm just finishing up my transaction when this guy just collapses. Everyone in the store turns to see what is going on, someone runs up to him to see if he's okay, and he just starts freaking out. Don't get me wrong, he's not convulsing or anything, he didn't pass out - he was merely throwing a tantrum. It was pretty disturbing.
On that note, I really need to figure out what to do about money while I'm over here - having some issues and I don't quite know what to do about it. Hopefully thing will work out though.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Showtime
These are the shows we are seeing while here in London:
As You Like It - Tuesday, 17th
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_You_Like_It
Les Mis - Thursday, 19th
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_%28musical%29
Much Ado About Nothing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Ado_About_Nothing
War Horses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Horse_%28play%29
---------------
After walking around Windsor Castle I went to go eat some lunch with Dr. Mitchell and his son. We ate at a place called Nando's, which I believe is a Portuguese chicken place. It was pretty tasty and I even ate reasonably healthy. The waiter really tried to push a bottomless soda on me which was unexpected. First, there don't seem to be many restaurants here that let you fill your own cups with soda. Second, this guy really wanted me to buy this soda for 2.25 pounds sterling - essentially four dollars. It was a good restaurant though, only thing is that it really wasn't very spicy. I ordered hot, but by the end of the meal I was pouring on the extra extra hot sauce.
We were then walking down the street and found a very nice little fudge shop with the most amazing little fudge you've never had (but I have). Dr. Mitchell got three slices and I picked up one, each of which was a few hundred grams. I figure it'll take me a few days to eat and I'll need to share with a couple people that think they may like some rum and raisin flavored fudge.
I've actually been eating reasonably well here. I think I may have mentioned that a number of the guys in my flat like to cook. I've been making rice fairly regularly because... it's cheap! Well, relatively speaking anyway. I've been making pretty nice rice though. Garlic, thyme, cumin, dried parsley, fresh ginger, fresh ground Mediterranean sea salt, and balsamic vinegar mixed in as the rice boils. The rice is 1 cup brown, 1/2 cup white, 1/2 cup dried veggies. Then I saute some onions, cut up some carrots, squeeze some lime or lemon, then add a dash of olive oil. After cooking up such a scrumptious, ricetacular creation I then attempt to trade portions of my rice for something someone else has cooked up just to get a bit more variety in. Lately I've been eating pita bread with banana and nutella for breakfast. I try to throw in a nice cup of jasmine infused green tea if I've got time in the morning as well.
Class is a good 10-15 minute walk from my flat and starts at 8:00 a.m.. Classes vary somewhat in that we may take a field trip for one class on one day, and then almost all of the four hours of class the next day are for the other class. Today is all operations because Dr. Mitchell is going to visit Paris over the weekend so Dr. Gritta is taking class on Friday. Towards the end of class today I'll have my first class with Dr. Mitchell for the advanced class that I'm in with him. I'm expected to sit in for the material I've already taken, but that's fine because it's an interesting class and I'm happy to really learn the material well.
As You Like It - Tuesday, 17th
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_You_Like_It
Les Mis - Thursday, 19th
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_%28musical%29
Much Ado About Nothing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Ado_About_Nothing
War Horses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Horse_%28play%29
---------------
After walking around Windsor Castle I went to go eat some lunch with Dr. Mitchell and his son. We ate at a place called Nando's, which I believe is a Portuguese chicken place. It was pretty tasty and I even ate reasonably healthy. The waiter really tried to push a bottomless soda on me which was unexpected. First, there don't seem to be many restaurants here that let you fill your own cups with soda. Second, this guy really wanted me to buy this soda for 2.25 pounds sterling - essentially four dollars. It was a good restaurant though, only thing is that it really wasn't very spicy. I ordered hot, but by the end of the meal I was pouring on the extra extra hot sauce.
We were then walking down the street and found a very nice little fudge shop with the most amazing little fudge you've never had (but I have). Dr. Mitchell got three slices and I picked up one, each of which was a few hundred grams. I figure it'll take me a few days to eat and I'll need to share with a couple people that think they may like some rum and raisin flavored fudge.
I've actually been eating reasonably well here. I think I may have mentioned that a number of the guys in my flat like to cook. I've been making rice fairly regularly because... it's cheap! Well, relatively speaking anyway. I've been making pretty nice rice though. Garlic, thyme, cumin, dried parsley, fresh ginger, fresh ground Mediterranean sea salt, and balsamic vinegar mixed in as the rice boils. The rice is 1 cup brown, 1/2 cup white, 1/2 cup dried veggies. Then I saute some onions, cut up some carrots, squeeze some lime or lemon, then add a dash of olive oil. After cooking up such a scrumptious, ricetacular creation I then attempt to trade portions of my rice for something someone else has cooked up just to get a bit more variety in. Lately I've been eating pita bread with banana and nutella for breakfast. I try to throw in a nice cup of jasmine infused green tea if I've got time in the morning as well.
Class is a good 10-15 minute walk from my flat and starts at 8:00 a.m.. Classes vary somewhat in that we may take a field trip for one class on one day, and then almost all of the four hours of class the next day are for the other class. Today is all operations because Dr. Mitchell is going to visit Paris over the weekend so Dr. Gritta is taking class on Friday. Towards the end of class today I'll have my first class with Dr. Mitchell for the advanced class that I'm in with him. I'm expected to sit in for the material I've already taken, but that's fine because it's an interesting class and I'm happy to really learn the material well.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Fast Lane
Monday: Class, Tower of London
Tuesday: Payden Rydel, Shakespear at the Globe - "As you Like It"
Wednesday: Windsor Castle
Class has been good overall so far. We have just gotten past the initial introductions to the class, so I expect things will pick up. Dr. Gritta is teaching investments, but he is teaching a lot of English history at the same time. We go on field trips all the time. For instance, Payden and Rydel is an investment bank based out of LA, but we got to visit the London branch which is in the middle of the financial district in London. Lloyds of London, the Bank of England, and the London Metals exchange were all down the street. There was a cool little market there as well that serves the financial district. It was an odd mix of really expensive shops and street vendor stalls. Payden Rydel was really interesting and they had people from all aspects of the company speak with us. In addition they fed us an absolutely amazing lunch.
The Tower of London is also next to Tower bridge, which is the bridge that replaced London bridge (which is now in Arizona). The Tower of London used to be a residence of the royalty, but now it mostly holds a lot of history, some of the crown jewels, and a lot of history. We took a tour with a beef eater (retired soldiers that are now more or less the stewards of the Tower of London) which was absolutely fantastic. A trend is quickly developing, which is that the churches/cathedrals are absolutely amazing, and you can't take pictures of the inside of them. The crown jewels were utterly stunning and I could have spent several days looking at the jewels and the history stowed inside the white tower (the oldest tower in the tower of London). The white tower primarily holds the armor and weaponry of royalty through the ages.
Shakespear was totally wild. First, we were at the globe with standing room seats, birds in the rafters and all. We had seats, which was nice, though we were off to the side so it was hard to hear some lines and we couldn't always see everything. I was unbelievably tired from the long day at Payden and Rydel and not getting a lot of sleep the night before so I think I fell asleep in my seat a number of times. I'm glad we are going back, so I can be more attentive! The theater was excellent, with incredible acting, fantastic music, and obviously the allure of Shakespeare at the Globe.
Windsor castle was spectacular. Think castle, consider definition and input Windsor. In fact, portions of the castle were rebuilt so that they looked more like what people expected when they thought of "castle". The rooms were gorgeous, st. George's chapel was unbelievable, the doll house extraordinary, the grounds enormous. Windsor was incredible.
But I need to go! Homework and such to do. Thanks for reading, I'll try to keep posting regularly and with more details. I have pictures, hopefully I'll get those up at some time as well.
-Samuel
Tuesday: Payden Rydel, Shakespear at the Globe - "As you Like It"
Wednesday: Windsor Castle
Class has been good overall so far. We have just gotten past the initial introductions to the class, so I expect things will pick up. Dr. Gritta is teaching investments, but he is teaching a lot of English history at the same time. We go on field trips all the time. For instance, Payden and Rydel is an investment bank based out of LA, but we got to visit the London branch which is in the middle of the financial district in London. Lloyds of London, the Bank of England, and the London Metals exchange were all down the street. There was a cool little market there as well that serves the financial district. It was an odd mix of really expensive shops and street vendor stalls. Payden Rydel was really interesting and they had people from all aspects of the company speak with us. In addition they fed us an absolutely amazing lunch.
The Tower of London is also next to Tower bridge, which is the bridge that replaced London bridge (which is now in Arizona). The Tower of London used to be a residence of the royalty, but now it mostly holds a lot of history, some of the crown jewels, and a lot of history. We took a tour with a beef eater (retired soldiers that are now more or less the stewards of the Tower of London) which was absolutely fantastic. A trend is quickly developing, which is that the churches/cathedrals are absolutely amazing, and you can't take pictures of the inside of them. The crown jewels were utterly stunning and I could have spent several days looking at the jewels and the history stowed inside the white tower (the oldest tower in the tower of London). The white tower primarily holds the armor and weaponry of royalty through the ages.
Shakespear was totally wild. First, we were at the globe with standing room seats, birds in the rafters and all. We had seats, which was nice, though we were off to the side so it was hard to hear some lines and we couldn't always see everything. I was unbelievably tired from the long day at Payden and Rydel and not getting a lot of sleep the night before so I think I fell asleep in my seat a number of times. I'm glad we are going back, so I can be more attentive! The theater was excellent, with incredible acting, fantastic music, and obviously the allure of Shakespeare at the Globe.
Windsor castle was spectacular. Think castle, consider definition and input Windsor. In fact, portions of the castle were rebuilt so that they looked more like what people expected when they thought of "castle". The rooms were gorgeous, st. George's chapel was unbelievable, the doll house extraordinary, the grounds enormous. Windsor was incredible.
But I need to go! Homework and such to do. Thanks for reading, I'll try to keep posting regularly and with more details. I have pictures, hopefully I'll get those up at some time as well.
-Samuel
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Camden and Greenwich
Went on a boat ride up the Thames river starting at Westminster and ending at Greenwich yesterday. At Greenwich you can visit the prime meridian but as of two months ago it started costing 10 pounds to get in. All of us found that price to be too steep so we passed it up and walked around the observatory for a little while. There was an awesome navel chapel and mess hall though. Really, the best part about traveling to Greenwich was the boat ride. The architecture of buildings along the Thames was absolutely astounding. In addition, the gentleman on the mic pointing things out had a fantastic sense of humor making the ride all the more enjoyable.
This morning Dr. Gritta told us he was going to take us on a walk to a market. We walked for nearly four hours. The market was pretty cool. All the shops were in old horse stables so it made for a cool ambiance. We walked past Lord's Cricket, Abbey Road and the Beatles original recording house, Paul McCartney's house, and a peaceful little canal. All said it was a nice morning, but I wasn't really expecting the amount of walking that we did when we woke up.
Apparently we are going to a big store today which is good. I have a number of little things I need to pickup, like a razor, that I don't seem to be able to get at the local Tesco Express. Right, well I'm out for now.
Cheerio
This morning Dr. Gritta told us he was going to take us on a walk to a market. We walked for nearly four hours. The market was pretty cool. All the shops were in old horse stables so it made for a cool ambiance. We walked past Lord's Cricket, Abbey Road and the Beatles original recording house, Paul McCartney's house, and a peaceful little canal. All said it was a nice morning, but I wasn't really expecting the amount of walking that we did when we woke up.
Apparently we are going to a big store today which is good. I have a number of little things I need to pickup, like a razor, that I don't seem to be able to get at the local Tesco Express. Right, well I'm out for now.
Cheerio
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Five Guys and Fries
So, I'm rooming with five guys. There are three other flats: a group of four guys, a group of five girls, and a flat with both professors and Dr. Mitchell's son. All said, it's a good group.
Overall, my flat works pretty well together. All of us eat surprisingly healthy. All of us are trying to exercise regularly. All of us are reasonably clean, reasonably quiet, reasonably amusing, undeniably attractive, etc. While the last is a joke, the point is we seem to be a pretty good team, which is rather nice and somewhat unexpected.
Dr. Gritta really likes to play tour guide, so he takes us out a lot and points things out while giving us a brief history. Yesterday we went to the Sherlock Holmes pub where almost all of us proceeded to get a Sherlock Holmes Ale. We also walked past parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham palace. Apparently we will be touring Parliament and Westminster Abbey at some point, but Buckingham palace isn't open to tours except in the winter because the crowds get too large for them to be manageable during any other time.
We have Oyster cards with unlimited Tube rides for zones 1-3 while we are here which is really nice. My flat is five minutes from the Warwick tube stop, which is in zone 3. I'm pretty well right in the middle of London though so it's pretty easy to get most places. Consequently, I managed to go dancing Thursday night and it was only 5 or 6 tube stops away. Dancing was fantastic, although a little bit expensive. On the other hand, everything is really expensive here. I cringe when I think how much money I've already spent, but on the other hand my burn rate is decreasing as a number of my initial expenses won't immediately reoccur. For instance, with food I had to buy a number of things like olive oil, some herbs, ginger, etc - so the expense is heavier up front but the use of that expense is over an extended period of time. Nevertheless, everything is really expensive :-(
Anyway, I'm off for now. There's plenty to do before we head out at 10:00 to travel around Greenwich.
Overall, my flat works pretty well together. All of us eat surprisingly healthy. All of us are trying to exercise regularly. All of us are reasonably clean, reasonably quiet, reasonably amusing, undeniably attractive, etc. While the last is a joke, the point is we seem to be a pretty good team, which is rather nice and somewhat unexpected.
Dr. Gritta really likes to play tour guide, so he takes us out a lot and points things out while giving us a brief history. Yesterday we went to the Sherlock Holmes pub where almost all of us proceeded to get a Sherlock Holmes Ale. We also walked past parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham palace. Apparently we will be touring Parliament and Westminster Abbey at some point, but Buckingham palace isn't open to tours except in the winter because the crowds get too large for them to be manageable during any other time.
We have Oyster cards with unlimited Tube rides for zones 1-3 while we are here which is really nice. My flat is five minutes from the Warwick tube stop, which is in zone 3. I'm pretty well right in the middle of London though so it's pretty easy to get most places. Consequently, I managed to go dancing Thursday night and it was only 5 or 6 tube stops away. Dancing was fantastic, although a little bit expensive. On the other hand, everything is really expensive here. I cringe when I think how much money I've already spent, but on the other hand my burn rate is decreasing as a number of my initial expenses won't immediately reoccur. For instance, with food I had to buy a number of things like olive oil, some herbs, ginger, etc - so the expense is heavier up front but the use of that expense is over an extended period of time. Nevertheless, everything is really expensive :-(
Anyway, I'm off for now. There's plenty to do before we head out at 10:00 to travel around Greenwich.
Friday, 13 May 2011
Blogger Fail
Blogger recently had issues with its servers and the site was down for almost two days or something. In that period, blogger also lost my registration and my first post, as well as prevented me from updating further. If you've been wondering where I'm at, sorry to keep you in suspense. Blogger just totally failed is all.
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