DAY 2
When I first found out I was going to London, I got excited about three things. 1) Hamilton, 2) Grocery Shopping, and 3) Running in London. Now, there's definitely more things I was/am looking forward to, but I just kept visualizing myself doing these three things when I went to London. So I got to do TWO of them today. (Not Hamilton, sorry that will be coming soon.)
Mandarin and I went on a run through Hyde Park and it is just gorgeous. The weather (so far) is amazing. The air has just the right amount of humidity and it's not too hot and not too cold. All you need is a light jacket. ;) There are so many other runners in the morning and it really helped me feel united with the London people. People love their dogs here, so you also get to see lots of cute dogs running around. The birds here are a little to bold for my taste though. I have a fear of being attacked by birds, so I almost ran Mandarin over a few times trying to keep my distance. #safetyfirst
After class today, we went grocery shopping at Sainsbury's. I was in HEAVEN. I've always loved grocery shopping, but in London it is just so fun. The only thing that kept me from buying everything was the fact that I was going to have to carry it all on the 16 minutes walk back to my flat. Their packaging is so cute! The people here just care about appearances and I love it. The bag of apples I bought has a super big UK flag on the back. It's such a good idea! I mean why wouldn't you put your nation's flag on your bag of apples? I also purchased the most amazing orange dark chocolate bar. That will definitely be repurchased. Something about grocery shopping makes you feel at home. OH and I got this peanut butter that is a combination of peanuts, walnuts, and cashews. It's genius!!! All of my favorites all in one. I love these people. AND you can buy zoodles in microwavable packages. Maybe that's in the US, but I haven't seen it before. Their directions say to cook until it's "Piping Hot." So specific. I think that's all I have to say about groceries. For now. . .
We went to Postman's Park , which was quite touching. The history here helps put everything in perspective. It's also just hidden right in the middle of the city. I little green gem amidst the buildings and cars.
Then we walked through the Museum of London. I loved this way more than I was expecting. It sounds like I'm loving everything here, which is true. I've been on an adrenaline rush this whole time. I ate at 6pm on Thursday and then didn't eat again until 1:30 pm on Friday (and I went on the run) and I was totally fine! Like not grouchy in the slightest. If you know me at all, you know that is not normal. I usually have to eat but London is just doing wonders for me. Back to the museum! It put the city in perspective. The streets are gorgeous here and I kept thinking "How did they figure out how to do this right so early? How were they so smart in their designs originally?" THEY WEREN'T! After the Great Fire (which destroyed about 75% of the city) they rebuilt everything with brick or stone walls and the did it riiiigggghhhhtt. Also my mind is a melting pot of all of these British movies & novels, and the museum helped me connect the dots of what events were in which time periods.
Last semester I was studying the restoration of Charles II, and I was trying to hunt down cool painting about him. I walked around the corner in this museum and saw one of the Charles II paintings! I looks so much better in person than in google images.
We saw our first London show in the Barbican. It's called The Encounter and it's about Loren McIntyre, a National Geographic photographer, that had some crazy stuff happen to him in a jungle in a remote area of Brazil. It's a one man show, and everyone in the audience wears headphones the entire show which makes it feel like he is talking directly to you. The story is SUPER crazy and a little hard to follow, but the guy did an amazing job of pulling out themes and ideas in memorable ways. There's a part when he's being attacked by bugs and it really feels like they are buzzing around in your ear and I hated and loved it all at once.
Mandarin and I went on a run through Hyde Park and it is just gorgeous. The weather (so far) is amazing. The air has just the right amount of humidity and it's not too hot and not too cold. All you need is a light jacket. ;) There are so many other runners in the morning and it really helped me feel united with the London people. People love their dogs here, so you also get to see lots of cute dogs running around. The birds here are a little to bold for my taste though. I have a fear of being attacked by birds, so I almost ran Mandarin over a few times trying to keep my distance. #safetyfirst
In Hyde Park
After class today, we went grocery shopping at Sainsbury's. I was in HEAVEN. I've always loved grocery shopping, but in London it is just so fun. The only thing that kept me from buying everything was the fact that I was going to have to carry it all on the 16 minutes walk back to my flat. Their packaging is so cute! The people here just care about appearances and I love it. The bag of apples I bought has a super big UK flag on the back. It's such a good idea! I mean why wouldn't you put your nation's flag on your bag of apples? I also purchased the most amazing orange dark chocolate bar. That will definitely be repurchased. Something about grocery shopping makes you feel at home. OH and I got this peanut butter that is a combination of peanuts, walnuts, and cashews. It's genius!!! All of my favorites all in one. I love these people. AND you can buy zoodles in microwavable packages. Maybe that's in the US, but I haven't seen it before. Their directions say to cook until it's "Piping Hot." So specific. I think that's all I have to say about groceries. For now. . .
We went to Postman's Park , which was quite touching. The history here helps put everything in perspective. It's also just hidden right in the middle of the city. I little green gem amidst the buildings and cars.
 |
| Sorry this is so shaky! I'm still learning |
Then we walked through the Museum of London. I loved this way more than I was expecting. It sounds like I'm loving everything here, which is true. I've been on an adrenaline rush this whole time. I ate at 6pm on Thursday and then didn't eat again until 1:30 pm on Friday (and I went on the run) and I was totally fine! Like not grouchy in the slightest. If you know me at all, you know that is not normal. I usually have to eat but London is just doing wonders for me. Back to the museum! It put the city in perspective. The streets are gorgeous here and I kept thinking "How did they figure out how to do this right so early? How were they so smart in their designs originally?" THEY WEREN'T! After the Great Fire (which destroyed about 75% of the city) they rebuilt everything with brick or stone walls and the did it riiiigggghhhhtt. Also my mind is a melting pot of all of these British movies & novels, and the museum helped me connect the dots of what events were in which time periods.
Didn't realize Ian was photobombing my pic
minus Ian and the backpack
Last semester I was studying the restoration of Charles II, and I was trying to hunt down cool painting about him. I walked around the corner in this museum and saw one of the Charles II paintings! I looks so much better in person than in google images.
We saw our first London show in the Barbican. It's called The Encounter and it's about Loren McIntyre, a National Geographic photographer, that had some crazy stuff happen to him in a jungle in a remote area of Brazil. It's a one man show, and everyone in the audience wears headphones the entire show which makes it feel like he is talking directly to you. The story is SUPER crazy and a little hard to follow, but the guy did an amazing job of pulling out themes and ideas in memorable ways. There's a part when he's being attacked by bugs and it really feels like they are buzzing around in your ear and I hated and loved it all at once.
xoxo
Rebecca
Can I just say...I love your shoes...
ReplyDeleteThank you!! That's one of my absolute favorite pairs.
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