TFC: the last of London

one [Sat, 12-Dec / Sun, 13-Dec]

I awoke to a beautiful London sunny Saturday shining in through my curtains and onto my bare walls and packed luggage.  This was it, the final day…

Avey and I headed north to the place we shared so many memories throughout the semester: Camden Town.  We strolled through the market stalls, Avey stopped for some nachos, and we ended our brief visit at The World’s End pub, a place we spent several hours and several pints.  We curled up next to the fireplace, sipped our final snakebites, and reminisced about our times there…….and then 100+ Brits dressed as Santas bombarded the pub!  The entire place filled with them while there were hundreds more outside screaming “What do we want?! CHRISTMAS! When do we want it?! NOW!”  It was precisely the note Marie and Avey Camden time needed to end on.

We quickly stopped in Russell Square so Avey could pick up a few final souvenirs at a bookshop she visited during the semester.  We quickly headed back to South Kensington for our 3pm pre-departure flat inspection.  After getting a thumbs up, we headed to Covent Garden and Seven Dials, another area we wanted to say a final farewell to.  I had one final errand on my list in Holborn: visiting the Princess Louise pub, a perfectly preserved old school pub featuring ornate decorations and 8 separate room divisions around the bar.  It was definitely the coolest pub I went to in London, and I’m glad I saved it for the end.  The night was well upon us, so we again headed home for a final pub meal at our local, The Zetland Arms.  We were joined by Mike and all indulged in classic pub grub.  I savored every bite of my Welsch Rarebit with chips and every sip of my final Strongbow pint.

Back to Manson Place we went for final showers and a few hours of shut eye.  We arose at 1:30am for a cup of tea and final packing.  The Marist men returned to the flat and even thought they were drunk they were a great help in getting my 90 pounds of luggage down the 5 flight Mount Manson walk-up, where we stored our luggage in John’s flat on the first floor.  Saying goodbye to our flatmates was definitely strange, but considering we all go to school in Poughkeepsie it was more of a see you later–much more manageable!

Avey and I then embarked on our final London adventure: 3am breakfast at Vingt Quatre, a 24-hour bar/restaurant in the neighboring area of Chelsea.  One of the very few 24-hour eateries in London, it was no surprise that we arrived to a 45 minute queue of extremely drunk and hungry yet still posh (that’s what you get in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea!) Brits.  I can confidently say it was well worth the wait.  Our final meal was a very metaphoric one: Avey had the American Breakfast (pancakes=US) while I indulged in the Full English Breakfast and a Bloody Mary, the final legal cocktail.

We strolled through the borough for the final time and arrived back at Manson Place at 5am with a bit of time to spare before our 5:30am cab.  It came and we were off to Heathrow.  That was probably one of the strangest car rides of my entire life, and I will never forget the last glance of Manson Place I took over my shoulder or the last street sign I saw before entering the airport: the very quintessentially named Devonshire Passage.

My bags just made it in under the weight restrictions (phew!), security went smoothly, and we killed some time in the duty free shopping areas and chatting to a fellow traveler in Costa Coffee.  Our flight crew went MIA so we boarded a bit late, but soon enough we were in our seats with our luggage stowed, our seat backs upright, and our tray tables locked.  And up we went, engulfed by the dense London clouds I so often admired from the ground…

Cheerio!

TFC: London life

two [Fri, 11-Dec]

Lauren, John and I began our day at the Geffrye Museum to learn about the history of the British middle class through their interiors.  It was a very interesting and approachable museum.  Displaying rooms as a guide to presenting lifestyle was a great approach, especially during their “Christmas Past” exhibition where all of the period rooms are decorated with traditional festivity.  Obviously I loved learning about the history of Christmas and its celebration!

From Old Street we headed south across the London Bridge to Southwark for a evening of pub/bar hopping.  We began at The Anchor, a riverside multi-room pub recommended by our teacher Giles.  Lauren and I had our first and last pint of London Gold while John savored a Guinness.  With that coating over our stomachs, we sought dinner and the easiest/quickest solution was Gourmet Burger Kitchen, a chain in London voted as having the best burgers in town.  We walked it off along the Thames Path to Waterloo Bridge and The Riverfront bar/restaurant at the BFI Southbank Centre.  I always love spending time Thames-side and looking out onto a twinkling London was precisely where I wanted to be on my final Friday night.  I’m so glad I got to catch a few final glimpses at the breathtakingly lit Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, etc…

Before catching the Tube at Waterloo, we stopped for a final pint at Hole in the Wall, a pub located next to the station and under a train overpass; the sounds of passing trains could be heard and felt, a very cool feature.  We then embarked on my last late-night, just-before-it-closes Tube ride, and I savored every second of it.

TFC: these are a few of my favorite things…

three [Thurs, 10-Dec]

My day began with an early morning alarm but for a very good reason: a tour of the BBC Television Centre in White City!  I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to my time at NBC in Rockfeller Center, and it was great to be in that kind of environment again.  The tour was extremely similar to NBC’s, including a portion at the end where the tour group creates an entertainment and a news piece of TV.  I was the only ‘outsider’ in a tour group of female university students from some outside-of-London location, so figured I would sit back and let them play.  The outgoing ones immediately volunteered for tech positions in the control room and to be players on the game show…but no one volunteered for the news (those fools!).  After moments of silence, I wet for it with the disclaimer “I have an American accent!”  I took my position in front of the teleprompter and went for it.  I must admit, I’m so glad I got to do it, flex my broadcaster muscles, see what I would look like on a BBC broadcast, and get the pen they give away to any volunteers so I didn’t have to buy one in the store   Everyone gave me rave reviews too which was nice, considering I feared many of them would be thinking “who the hell is this American thinking she can be a British broadcaster?!”  After the tour I took a quick stroll through the rest of the BBC complex.

I headed home for breakfast/brunch/my second to last can of soup before Avey, Lauren, Sarah, Mike, and I headed north to Hampstead, joined by  Andrew from Marist.  We stopped at the famous Creperie de Hampstead (Avey and I held out for our later plans…) and strolled on the High Street (where I fetched a very certain something for a very certain someone’s Christmas stocking hehe) and through the Heath — it was an absolutely beautiful afternoon, perfect for gettin in touch with London countryside.  We headed back into town and towards home, but Avey and I got off at Hyde Park Corner for Winter Wonderland!  It was just dusk and we decided to drop the £7.50 on tickets for the Ferris Wheel…and it was SO worth it.  We got yet another glowing view of London from above in a very luxury private cabin complete with radio feed, adjustable lights, and comfy benches.  We went around fr four times too!  Between the London Eye and this, London sure does know how to do their Ferris Wheels.  We were met by Annie and her friend Sarah; the four of us strolled around and took in the smells of delicious German festival food.  Avey has some German in her and went abroad there for a while, so it was great to have her confirm the authenticity of the German-ness.  We indulged in several treats, including chips, candied hazelnuts, mulled wine, chicken sausage, and candy by the gram.  Going with four people was definitely the best way to indulge in an array of the goodies available.

After being outside all day, the cold was finally getting to us so we called it a Wonderland and parted ways.  Then Annie brought my attention to something: [thanks to all of the final work she has to do] it was our last London adventure together and we wouldn’t be seeing each other until January! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

The past two days caught up with us, so we decided to chill out and watch some London/New York/holiday appropriate movies: A Child’s Christmas in Wales and You’ve Got Mail.  I was definitely beat and passed out before the end of the latter, as did Avey.  Nothing like a spontaneous snuggle sleepover!

TFC: last looks

four [Wed, 9-Dec]

My first task of the day was to do my last London laundry load and begin the packing process.  I made a lot of progress and by afternoon it was time to get out on the Londontown.  Avey and I set out for a day full of assorted errands and final “must-dos.”  A major highlight: we climbed the 311 steps of Monument just in time for sunset and got to take in a breathtaking scape of London from above–definitely a great way to gaze at the city for the last time!  When we were over in the shopping district on New Bond Street I realized we were right near Postcard Teas, a specialty tea shoppe featured in the Savoir Fare: London book Allison Tomasino gave me.  Good thing we did!  We each savored the greatest cup of tea of our lives (Big Smoke black tea for Avey, Nokcha green for me), and posted some to ourselves to our Vassar mailboxes to be waiting for our arrival in January.  For dinner, we headed back across town to Brick Lane for Indian food, a classic London culinary experience that I never actually did but Avey relishes in.  We settled on City Spice after being offered a free bottle of wine AND 25% off our meal.  Cha-ching!  After sweating from the inside out, we met up with Lauren, Sarah, and John at Jerusalem Tavern located in Farringdon and awarded the title of “best pub in town” (or something).  It was a great place and I loved putting out my Indian fire with their delicious Winter Ale.

TFC: Classes Complete

five [Tues, 8-Dec]

We headed to the Proboscis studio in Farringdon for the final time ready to present our completed City as Material urban interventions.  (Check out mine here.)  We headed back to South Kensington for our final Networked Media Arts guest lecturer.  And then at the stroke of 4:00pm, we were done with classes in London…

John, Avey, and I headed to our local gastropub The Prince Regent.  We’ve actually never been there before and I’m so glad we stopped in–it had precisely what we needed!  We ordered drinks/food (Mediterranean plate, chips–some of the best food I’ve had) secured a couch and took advantage of the free wifi, sending in our finals and officially calling the semester a wrap.  We hung around for a bit more to play a game of Scrabble and eventually headed home to check on our procrastinating program partners…

Lauren finished her paper!  Then the fire alarm went off.  So, instead of standing outside Manson Place the two of us went to our local pub, The Zetland Arms, to celebrate.  John met us there later and we spent the night reminiscing…and talking to a very interesting Romanian physical therapist.  Yup, definitely going to miss the London pub scene…

TFC: Monday Madness

six [Mon, 7-Dec]

The day began with our final day of Monday classes: The Network Metaphor and New Renaissance with Don Foresta and our check-in hour with Fred.  It was very suddenly sad once we realized we would never be seeing Fred again (we would be seeing Don the next day) — he was a great contact to have this semester in terms of exploring London, and his British Cultural Studies course was probably my favorite in terms of aligning with my interest in television and expanding my cultural horizons on it.

The afternoon was work-work-work.  It was time to get down to business in the Vassar world as we all tried to complete our finals.  I can happily say I completed my City as Material project to be presented on Tuesday and the first drafts of my papers for the other courses. Woohoo!  All that was left to do was celebrate while taking a well-deserved breather…

And that’s when I encored Monday Madness at Sticky Fingers!  After first going with Madre and having a great time with great food in a great environment, I decided it was precisely where I needed to be on my final Monday night in London, further facilitated by the fact that I am out of food.  It actually sounded so great that Avey and Mike decided to join me — once again, the company made it so enjoyable.  We strolled through our neighborhood to High Street Kensington while chatting about how soon enough these streets would be a distant memory instead of familiar stomping ground.  Upon arriving, we went British with Pimm’s Cocktails to start, followed by a round of burgers (I went with the classic Sticky Fingers Burger…and remembered how much I love red meat; Avey stayed true to her vegetarian roots with a Veggie Burger; Mike went gourmet with the blue cheese and caramelized onion rendition).  And then dessert happened.  We “dared to share” as the menu suggested and tackled the Sticky Sundae.  We also got festive with a round of shots named after Rolling Stones songs: Brown Sugar for me, Stray Cat Blues for Mike, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash for Avey.  In a nut shell: yum, yum, and yum.  I haven’t gone out to dinner with friends in incredibly long, yet another treat aspect of the outing.

We told ourselves we walked it all off on the way home………………….right.  Basically there was nothing else to do but veg out on the couch and let the phenomenon of digestion run its course.  Avey and Mike did some work while we embarked on a Kill Bill Vol. I and II marathon.  I was in a great place with work which worked out well since I could dedicate my full attention as it was my first viewing.  I absolutely loved the films, and the Monday in general!

TFC: final full weekend

eight [Sat, 5-Dec]

Sarah and I woke up with a mission that brought me one step closer to clearing out of Flat 17: eating the final frozen bagel Madre brought over in November.  It was the perfect morning-after-champagne breakfast and set us up for an afternoon of putting the final touches on our City as Material urban intervention with Lauren.  We treated ourselves to tea at Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly — I stuck with a pot of tea since I experienced afternoon tea at Harrods, but I happily watched Sarah and Lauren have the experience with The Swan Lake Tea.

Lauren, moi, Sarah

moi & tea

Sarah, Lauren, & The Swan Lake Tea

Afterward I headed west to Hyde Park to meet with Nina Elias, my “bestie” fellow 2009 NYWICI Scholarship winner, to check out Winter Wonderland.  It was supremely magical!  We enjoyed a pint of cider in a rustic tavern pub while listening to a great live cover band, and enjoyed every sip of it despite the soggy rain.

Nina, Sarah, Lauren, John and I then embarked on an adventure to The Rake in Borough for London’s smallest pub but one of the largest beer lists.  It was overwhelming to say the very least, but we decided to stick to the Belgium brews since that is what they specialize in.  I personally went with Coconut Beer (more like juice), Cookie Beer (not sweet-a bitter with some spice), and Delirium Noel (obviously I had to be Christmas festive!); but everyone shared which was a great way to savor the experience.  I was also really happy to merge my NYWICI, Vassar, and London worlds all at once.  Definitely a spectacular Saturday!

seven [Sun, 6-Dec]

First thing was first: final Sunday mass at Our Lady of Victories.  I was expecting it to be…something, but didn’t know whether that would be weird, sad, happy, or some strange mixture of emotions.  In reality, though, I just felt…fine…

Then down to the Thames I went for what turned out to be a beautiful London afternoon–no wind AND sunny!  I met Andrew Fritzer, a Marist College student who lives a basement flat at Manson Place, to check off another to-do item: the Movieum.  We share an interest in film so it was a great activity to do together.  It is very much an attraction, more so than a museum, but fun nonetheless.  Personal highlight: a special exhibition on The Beatles!  It didn’t take very long to accomplish and found ourselves both free with afternoons to fill…and stomachs.  I took the initiative and suggested another item on my to-do list: the Kensington Ale Trail!  We headed back to our neighborhood and hit up the four pubs highlighted on the map — yes, indeed, there is an actual map and actual prizes!

1) Goat Tavern: we decided it would be prudent to start with a meal and not just ale.  The verdict?  The “Reinbeer” Christmas Ale and Bangers and Mash, another must-eat I didn’t get around to before!

2) The Greyhound: we managed to secure a cozy couch next to the Christmas tree and in front of the football game on TV.  Combined with our Chocolate and Orange Twist Ale, it was super sweet!

3) The Prince of Wales: I already tackled this one with Avey, so I got a pot of tea to build up my stamina while Andrew went with a London Pride and a Cornish Pasty (cause he’s a boy can do things like that. Jealous.) to accompany our game of Scrabble.

4) The Gloucester Arms: we ended with the one closest to Manson Place and another round of Reinbeer.  And oh yeah…WE GOT OUR T-SHIRTS!  Can’t wait to rock that back across the pond.  Avey just returned from a few days in Spain and met us which was another nice touch to the task.

Moral of that story: I really love pub culture.  And I’m really going to miss it.  I am so glad I got to spend a Sunday–the final Sunday–relishing in it.

To wind down before bed, I decided to start dismantling my room.  I removed all of my wall decorations, a collection of postcards and street flyers accumulated throughout the semester.  Bare walls are weird and only another thing emphasizing how fleeting my time is here…

TFC: nine

nine [Fri, 4-Dec]

After cranking out a bit more of my British Cultural Studies final in the morning, I met Annie at Covent Garden to secure Christmas gifts for some very special loved ones.  Great success!  It was a beautiful day so I moseyed home via foot and bus, taking in London as much as I could–my strategy for a while now but getting ever more imperative as the days pass by.

Upon arriving home, I did a bit more work as I made a meal from the frozen food reserves–time to clear out!  The second to last Friday night was officially upon us, and ecen though we were all feeling a bit mellow, Lauren put it perfectly: “I know I will kick myself if I don’t take full advantage of my legality.”  And off to our closets Sarah, Lauren, and I went to get ready for a girls’ night out.  We headed south to a champagne bar, Amuse Bouche, in Fulham.  I didn’t get the chance to do a champagne bar yet, so checking it off my list made the evening even better.  We invested in our own bottle to start with but–in a throwback to our earliest London nights, minus faking names and pretending to be from exotic locations–ended up capitalizing on charity/drunkeness/wealth of 20-something Brits.  Cheers!

The Final Countdown

It’s that time of the year again: the magic of the holidays temporarily tarnished with finals.  But this time, “that time of the year” includes something else: leaving London.

Tragically, my camera has broken and can’t be fixed until I’m back in the States and in possession of my warranty.  Honestly, though, there isn’t much else to be taking pictures of, or at least nothing vitally important.  This realization is one of many I’ve been having lately along the same thematic lines of “wow, I’ve really lived London” and “this experience really is drawing to a close.”  This explains why my posts have been tapering off lately; what I’ve been up to is just living life and enjoying doing it in London.  However, a milestone has been reached: the final countdown.  So, I shall document them, if for my own posterity alone.

ten [Thurs, 3-Dec]

After a productive morning of finishing my paper for The Network Metaphor, I headed to Holborn to grab tea/coffee with Megan Hess, a girl I met this summer through NYWICI who is studying in London with Syracuse University, at the Fleet River Bakery.  Chatting with Megan was great, as was the venue: free wifi and an array of real-life Brits gossiping about the grandkids over tea or busy business bees high on caffeine.  I stuck around after our meet-up and got some more work done on my British Cultural Studies paper before meeting Mike at the Holborn Underground at 5:30pm…

We headed east to Bethnal Green and the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood for their adult late night.  As we stared at artifacts from childhoods past drinking our complimentary glass of wine, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the crossroads I’ve come to in my life — straddling the line somewhere between adulthood and childhood, the same one as home and here.  In 10 short days I’ll be back to being underage and under the [more direct] care of madre and Vassar.  It’s definitely going to be a strange time of adjustment, but the strangest part thus far has been me negotiating with myself how I feel about it all.  This experience has dually reminded me of how I am growing up and how I still very much love being young.  I guess each phase in life has its own pros and cons…the problem is I just don’t know which phase I’m exactly in at the moment, and it’s interesting to have two of them coordinate with two different countries I have lived in.

Afterward, we emerged at Holborn again instead of directly transferring from the Central to Piccadilly Line to stop for some pub grub at The Prince of Wales (one of the many!).  We showed our London Pride by ordering two pints of it to accompany my order of chips and Mike’s Big Ben Burger.  The equally festive Christmas décor and music made one of my favorite London experiences even more magical.  And again, I was reminded — no more pubs or pints in 10 days!  Oiy…I am going to miss it…

We headed home and topped off the night with a screening of Romeo + Juliet and our holiday night cap indulgence.  Nothing like some Leonardo DiCaprio and Bailey’s with Harrod’s Christmas Blend Coffee to call it a night with…