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.
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- Lauren, moi, Sarah
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- moi & tea
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- 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…
