So much to do, so little time, so sleep deprived!

Even though I've only been here for a couple of days, I'm already dreading the day I'm going to have to leave. :( I have had such a good time. (Sorry, by the way, for not blogging yesterday. I'm a bad person.) The other day, I did not make it to Hyde Park in time for the Kooks, but we were there in time for the Killers. A lot of people (including me) hung out outside of the concert area because you could still hear everything just fine without having to pay. We were not able to see as well as the people were able to last year, but it was really cool to people watch. People were climbing up trees so they could watch the performance, and other groups brought their own bottles of wine and had picnics. I think I might take their lead tonight when Bruce Springsteen plays.

Megan and me at Hyde Park

Yesterday was a very long day. First we learned some of the history of the Bloomsbury neighborhood, which is where we are staying, on a walking tour. Then we made our way over to Portobello Market, which would have been a lot more exciting if it were less hot, I were less sleep-deprived, and it were much less crowded. Also, if you plan to mosey on up to Notting Hill from there, I would recommend that you know where you're going. My feet hate me a lot more now, and Megan and I never actually made it to Notting Hill. (As I've never enjoyed the movie, I'm perfectly happy avoiding it -- as delightful as I hear it is.) Determined to hit at least one destination other than Portobello Market before taking the tube back home, we decided to go to Kensington Gardens. We didn't have much time, but we did make it over to see the edge of the park, and we saw the back of Kensington Palace, which I guess is one of the places where Diana stayed.

We then made our way back to the study center completely exhausted and just in time for the pub visit with our professor and other people in our program. It was hot, crowded, and we didn't think we would get seating for all of us. But after a few minutes of waiting, we were seated and had some good food and some good beer, which lifted my spirits and willingness to head out with some friends to a Michael Jackson party in Camden Town. When we made it to the venue, we found out the cover charge was £18.65 (more than $30), so we just looked for another place in the area to go out. We did, had a great time, and once again, I did not get enough sleep.

This morning, we had a bus tour of London (not double-decker, unfortunately), which was amazing! We got to see so much of the city. I absolutely loved it when we crossed the Thames and got to see the Tower of London, Big Ben, and the London Eye. We stopped at St. Paul's and at the Thames. We also went to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guard. Then we drove to Picadilly Circus and Hyde Park. There was so much to see, and I just thought it was amazing.

I have also been very fortunate with my flatmates (Yeah, I said flatmates.). I'm rooming with Megan, who also goes to UW, and we share a flat with Alexis, who is from Florida, and Michele, who is from Pennsylvania. We hang out, grab food, and run around together. They all crack me up, and I enjoy their company too much to actually get ample sleep. Everyone else I've met has been really nice, too.

Alexis, Michele, and Megan

I thought I would close this entry with some information about the food. So ... are you curious? Is it disgusting? Does it really count as food? I don't know if it's just the places I've been to, but I've been trying a lot of traditional foods, and mine have all been pretty good. The coffee is a bit of a different story, but their espresso drinks have all been pretty good, in my experience. So far I've had:

Jacket potatoes: These were about the U.S. equivalent of baked potatoes with melted mozzarella and fresh tomatoes, mmm... In case you were wondering, the Ginger Beer was also very good.



Bangers and mash: I thought it looked a little ridiculous, but it was pretty similar to a hot dog with more of a sausage taste. I thought it was pretty good as strange as it looks, but the mash was not as tasty as mashed potatoes.

Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding: Delicious. You also get two types of potatoes: roasted and fried. The Yorkshire pudding have a light doughy taste, somewhat similar to a pancake. The thing at the top of the photo that resembles a meatball actually tasted like stuffing. It was very good. (And Dad, if you want to know how I found my green beans, I just lifted up my roast beef, and there they were.)

I'm planning to go listen to Sprinsteen at Hyde Park tonight, so I will have to write more later. Cheers!