Mischief in Europe

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sea otters+penguins=Smiles

My last couple days in London were a blast. Friday I went to the London Zoo. Then that evening we all went out to celebrate mine and my friend Nick's birthdays (his was Friday). Saturday, was possibly my favorite day. I went to the markets of London. Borough Market is the best one. There are a hundred different vendors all vying to try and get you to try their delicious food. I bought a baguette, double Gloucester cheese, raspberries, carrot cake, and some iced tea with a sprig of mint and had a mini feast. Next stop was Camdentown Market. I haggled with what I can only assume was a gypsy. Bought a leather jacket for 40 pounds, down from 100. Seemed too easy, he probably would've gone lower. I leave for Cardiff, Wales now.

A Feast of Bread and Cheese

I've been busy here in London. The more time I spend here the more I don't want to leave. The other day I stayed out and did a little night photography. Until my battery died. Wednesday I went to the British Museum and the Imperial War Museum. At the IWM they had an exhibit on British troops in Afghanistan. It was really well done. I've always liked history but this exhibit stuck with me more than all the others. This is something that's happening in my time. It's something I've grown up with. The individual stories are from people my age, people I can connect to. We probably like a lot of the same things and would probably be friends if we ever met. It was a very thought provoking addition.

Thursday was my actual birthday. It was great that it was in London. It wasn't so great my bank card stopped working in the machines to top up my oyster card for the tube. That coupled on top with the fact I wasn't able to withdraw any money made it a little less spectacular than I planned. I had enough on my oyster card to get around and back and I had 5 pounds on me. I went to Borough Market and bought a baguette and some cheese with the last of my money and wandered around the south bank snapping pictures until stopping to eat on a bench in front of the Tate Modern museum. Side note, if you don't like modern art, don't go to a modern art museum then whine about all the pieces. It also hailed on my birthday. Like I said, unspectacular but enjoyable. After squaring away the bank problem that evening I was able to withdraw money from the cash point. The next day, Friday, was my friend Nick's birthday. We hit up the pubs of London to celebrate our bdays with a bunch of his friends. Amazing time.

British Museum

Imperial War Museum

Soldiers from the Afghanistan exhibit

Zipping around

Monday, April 9, 2012

The boy who would not grow up

London. Characteristically gloomy skies and a bank holiday. I called a couple of places in Greenwich and nobody answered. I assumed they were still closed. So I traveled to Soho in search of some record shops. Winding my way down narrow Berwick street I found what I came for. Vinyl gold. There were about a half dozen record shops, half of which were closed, I'm assuming for the holiday. While digging around I found an artist from RVA, Tim Barry, I was pleased as pie. After record hunting I decided to just hop on the tube and get off at a random stop. I'm convinced it's impossible to not just stumble over something cool or historic in this city. I came up out of the station and across the street was a lush green park called Kensington Gardens. I explored its manicured lawns and ancient trees and found a Peter Pan tribute. Pleased as pie once again I left the park and started roaming the streets when I happened upon the Natural History Museum. Just like the Tate Modern I was part way through when closing time struck. It's an enormous museum. The architecture is astounding as well. I was expecting to bump into Indiana Jones.