Darice in London!

Fellow Vassar and Cushing House gal pal Darice Murphy was in London this weekend!  She traveled from Madrid where she is studying abroad and it was lovely to be able to spend some quality time with her–she stayed over Saturday and Sunday nights.  Luckily, I was in prime London tour guide shape following madre/ma mère’s visit and showed Darice around the Londontown!  Her visit was also a great occasion to spend time with Annie and Jenna.

Besides seeing the sights documented below, we spent some time at the Tate Modern, danced Saturday night away at Zoo Bar in Leicester Square (to ridiculous 90s pop throwbacks while sipping on delicious cocktails), and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (clearly the best, and clearly tons of London references). All in all, a great weekend!  The downside: my bed will never be as warm as when I was spooning with my girl :(

Published in: on November 24, 2009 at 5:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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London Eye

Thanks to a sweet hook-up through FIE, I got to experience the London Eye for only £10!  I headed over after work on Thursday and was lucky enough to meet up with some other Manson Place residents–3 girls who live in another flat but go to Marist, so hang out in my flat a lot–which means I actually got to be IN photos!

Our “flight” began at 6:30pm, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.  We got to experience sunset, seeing London by day on the way up and London by night on the way down.  I know there are a lot of photos of the same views, but I really wanted to document the temporal experience more than anything.

Afterward, I headed back home to the lovely sight of Julia Arena!  We were both on the Cushing house team last year and lived in the same hall.  She is studying in Copenhagen, Denmark but was in London all week with her program for a study tour.  She came over and out with us on Tuesday night, and instead of leaving on Thursday with everyone else from the program she stayed with me until Saturday morning.  It was great to have a true friend here with me, and we had a great time.  We had a true pub dinner Thursday night, cooked an exceptional stir-fry with king prawns and oyster sauce for Friday dinner, invested in Party Rings for dessert, and went out on the London town to Zoo Bar (Leicester Square) on Friday night, where Annie Black met us with two of her flatmates.  It was quite the reunion!  I was so sad to see her go so early on Saturday morning.  It might have been a little too great having her here, cause now not pales in comparison :(

Published in: on October 10, 2009 at 6:33 pm  Comments (1)  
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Walk London: Autumn Amble

What better way to kick off a Saturday than with an Autumn Amble sponsored by Walk London and entitled “Print, Power, and Democracy”?  Well, when you’re me, that option is pretty phenomenal.

Here is the description from the Walk London website:

Description: Special Walk: led by official City of London Guide. Find out about the history of the book trade near St Paul’s cathedral; discover Stationers Hall; see the plaque commemorating Wynken de Word and the early print industry; St.Bride’s Print Museum; Fleet Street and the history of journalism; Dr Johnson’s house and the history of the first English Dictionary; ending at Lincoln’s Inn Fields and the wonderful quirky SirJohn Soane Museum. Many opportunities for refreshment and toilet breaks along the route.

Section: City Walk 2

Category: Urban Amble – Special walk – Under 5 Miles

Meet At: 11:00

Meeting Point:St Paul’s Station – exit 2 – click here to view route planner

Nearest Tube Station: St Paul’s

Finish: Lincolns Inn Fields, 1.3 miles, approx 2 hours

I discovered it during the week and forwarded it along to my Vassar cohorts — Mike, John, and Chenxi decided to join and it was great to have similar minds along for the walk with me.  Once again, it proved the perfect pairing of pleasure and academia, especially since the themes are so in line with my media and urban studies tracks.  The guides did an excellent job of explaining the history and pointing out the sites along the way, and I loved how the same topics we have been discussing in our City as Material course came up again.

The walk ended at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, a spot we already visited on one of our City as Material walks, and directly across from the Sir John Soane’s Museum.  We decided to seize the opportunity and head on in!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside, so you’ll just have to trust me when I say it was the most amazing house ever, containing one of the most amazing collections of paintings and artifacts I even had the privilege of viewing.

Published in: on September 26, 2009 at 2:50 pm  Comments (1)  
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London via Coach Bus

FIE arranged a coach bus tour of London for us on Saturday (5-Spet) afternoon.  Driven by Paul and narrated by Pamela, I was lucky enough to snag my choice seat in the front so I had front and side window view!  (Being in the front not only served well for soaking it all in, but also for listening to P & P bicker in British, and get my inquiries answered!)

It was a great way to see all of the sights…for a brief, fleeting, glass window/tree obstructed second.  I tried to take the best pictures possible, but a lot of the moments passed and many of the identifications and information went over my head.  Above all, it was overwhelming…but in a good way — I saw how much there is to see and explore, and there is a ton of it!

The route:

The tour’s absolute aim was to see as many of the quintessential landmarks as possible while hitting the least amount of traffic.  The Thames served as our guide as we zig-zagged across it and followed its banks, weaving through the West End and the City of London.

The photos below are being documented as my first glances at the city.  I can guarantee improved images and captions in the future when I return to the areas!

Although the coach bus medium wasn’t ideal for taking pictures of the city, it was for mapping it.  I definitely feel like my conception of London has improved.  It was a prime pace and flow to see how the city is planned.  Many striking similarities emerged with New York, from infrastructure to attractions to tourists, and it definitely got my brain working in the Urban Studies grove.  A native New Yorker and isolated traveler, my only previous first-hand comparisons to draw were between the Big Apple and Walt Disney World; I am thrilled to be able to add London to my repertoire and look forward to exploring it more–for pleasure and for analyzing–throughout the semester.  This grand-scheme approach has been serving me well; I am finding that I like to survey areas at large before diving into their intricacies.

Published in: on September 7, 2009 at 11:05 pm  Comments (2)  
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