Yikes, I've really been neglecting my blog!  Time to play a little catch up I guess!

On Tuesday, January 22 we had a "pound trip" (cool things that only cost 1 pound through our program) to the play 39 Steps at the Criterion Theater.  I wasn't very excited because I'm not a big fan of plays, but this play was so great!  It's a satire of an Alfred Hitchcock movie performed by only 4 people.  It was very funny and the theater itself was very cool.  Before the play six of us went to dinner at Analucia (Spanish Tapas).  They had a ten pound 3-course meal deal that we ordered.  For the appetizer I ordered a traditional Spanish omelet, which was pie shaped and had potatoes and cheese in it.  The main course was called Gambas a la Milanesa.  It was King Prawn (shrimp) with tomato sauce that was more like salsa and rice.  It was delicious, but I didn't really enjoy ripping off the heads, tails and legs of the prawn.











During the week, life in London isn't much different than in Madison.  I have class until 5 on Mondays and the other days when I don't have much time in class I am pretty lazy.  It's really bad of me, but it's hard to want to go out and do things when it's cold and cloudy all the time!  My classes are pretty cool so far.  On Wednesday I have Interpreting Popular Culture.  Last class we watched an amazing documentary by BBC about the influence of the Blues on rock (classic rock as we would know it).  The documentary featured Eric Clapton, The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Animals.  It was just so awesome.  For this class we are given an assignment to go see a band at a blues/jazz bar.  I wasn't really into that before I saw this documentary and realized blues and jazz are so relevant to the music I'm into and I had no idea!

On Thursday we had a welcome lunch at Maggie Jones restaurant, which is about a 10 minute walk from the flat.  It's a quaint little restaurant that seems very authentically British.  I had rocket salad, which was some green salad-y plant with Parmesan cheese and cooked mushrooms.  It was surprisingly delicious!  For the main course I had chicken with tarragon sauce and cooked veggies, of course it was good.  I ordered apple crumble with cream for dessert thinking it would be a safe choice, I was unpleasantly surprised at how terrible it actually was.  It was like bread and apples in coffee creamer, but it tasted just -ugh- awful!! Oh well, it was an experience.  The decor of the restaurant was really interesting.  It felt like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean, but cleaner.  I was also convinced that the place was going to start a massive fire because everything inside is wooden, wicker or dried plants all hanging above like 7 candles on each table!
In anticipation for a long day at Windsor, we stayed in on Thursday night and watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  We have watched a lot of Harry Potter since being here :)



We left for Windsor Castle bright and early Friday morning.  We went by coach with our favorite tour guide, Britt.  Its a lot of fun even just riding the bus places because we get to see so much of London that we can't just walk to.  The ride took around an hour.  Windsor is the first castle I've ever visited and honestly it was even more grand than I expected it to be.  Around the castle are little shops and cafes that are fun to look at.  Of course, I found one of my favorite British stores and just had to buy a maxi dress :)  The castle is so huge I can't even describe it all!  First, we had to go through security which was funny because we learned that you are allowed to have a knife, but only if it is under 3 inches long.  Like what is the point of that!  We were (un)lucky enough to be there for the changing of the guard, which I still can't figure out why it's so interesting.  There was a band and lots of yelling, I'm probably a horrid tourist for not being more impressed.  It was pretty cool though to see that they carry bayonets (with actual spears on the end!).  After we went into St. George's Chapel.  I wish I had pictures of the inside to post because it was absolutely spectacular, but you are not allowed to take pictures anywhere indoors at Windsor.  (You can however buy their book of pictures, how nice)  The ceiling is mind-blowing.  There are so many intricate details on it and the arches are so awesome!  Lots of dead royals are buried there, including Henry VIII and Prince Albert.  Britt says she thinks the current Queen will be buried there, but no one really knows.  We were able to tour most of the castle.  It was stunning.  I've forgotten most of the names of the rooms :( but anways... There is one room that is just massive and was constructed in celebration of defeating Napoleon.  Portraits of important leaders and military men who helped defeat him cover the walls, which was really neat to see because they honored men from all over Europe not just England.  Another room I really enjoyed was one that was very long and tall with the crests of all the Knights of the Guarder all over the walls and ceiling.  They had suits of armor displayed all over the walls.  I suggest Googling the inside of the castle because it really can't be put in to words and since I wasn't allowed to take pictures (still bitter about that!).  After touring the castle we went to a cafe where I had possibly the best chocolate cake on the planet.  It had a cream puff on top! I'm obsessed with the desserts over here.

Yesterday (Saturday) was Australia Day and I was invited to celebrate with my friend Kim and her cousin Danielle, who has been living in London for about 5 years, at a pub called Alice House.  We had a little trouble finding our stop on the Tube, but we made it!  Alice House was a quieter place to celebrate than others where they were packed starting at 9 am.  Some of Danielle's friends are Australian, but they couldn't really tell us the point of the day. I ordered a cider (alcoholic, they do not understand the concept of non-alcoholic cider here) but was feeling a little too dehydrated to actually drink it.  I also ordered an amazing bacon cheeseburger and chips.  We had a great time and learned some valuable pointers on living in London.

Today five of us went to the Camden Market, which was a blast!  On the main road there are lots of tents with pretty much all the same shirts and dresses, I bought a really great Abbey Road tank top for only 5 pounds!  While browsing a tent owner asked if I needed any help, I replied "oh no thanks, I'm just looking" and he said "Looking for a husband??", my friend and I quickly walked away laughing hysterically.  It was quite bizarre!! The best part was probably off the main road, a little cobblestone area full of food.  You could get donuts, kebobs, "gourmet" mac n cheese and deep fried oreos, paella (which I am getting next time!), and Polish sausage.  I got a falafel wrap that had some green and purple veggies (not sure what they were) and 2 kinds of sauce-one was white and the other was a red chili sauce.  It was sooo delicious! I bought some bracelets for a few friends at home from a small tent.  There were a couple vintage record stores that I spent some time browsing at as well!  It was a great little day trip and I definitely plan on going back!

Donuts at Camden Market

This week I will be very busy! Wednesday night some friends and I are leaving for Scotland for the weekend.  I am going to the Tower of London tomorrow, so hopefully I won't be lazy and will post after that/before Scotland.