Portobello Market

Today Katherine and I went to Portobello Market. Our directions were to get off the tube at the Notting Hill Gate Station and follow the crowds. That's all you really need to know to get there. Of course, I think about half of the people who were in London today decided to go with us. The crowds were unbelievable. The merchandise was unbelievable. I could have happily sat down somewhere and just watched people walk by for hours. I've seen "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and seen the creepy book seller guy. I've seen "Notting Hill" (more than one time and no, I didn't see any shops that just sell travel books) but in both cases, I was not prepared for what I really saw. I think it's funny how both movies I know of about the Portobello Market have to do with books. . . Maybe that's just all I remember. I do love books, as I'm already worrying about how to get all the books home that I've already bought. It's a good thing both my bags were light on the flight over. I keep wandering into bookstores and I have NO self control when it comes to books. Anyway, back to Portobello - I did see lots of places to buy used books, and I tried my very best to go into every one. There are antique stalls and jewelry stalls and books stalls and flower stalls and fruit stalls and pastry stalls and etc, etc, etc. I have decided that whoever creates "Smell-o-vision" will be brilliant, because the smells today were unbelievable. Fresh flowers, sweet strawberries, tart oranges, crepes cooking, leather notebooks, I can't even describe all of them. In the shops, especially the book shops have that sort of dusty smell that is unique to old books. I saw a hardback set of E.Nesbit books that I really had to force myself to walk away and leave. I saw some little tiny volumes by Shakespeare and Dickens, even what looked like a large old family Bible. Huge stacks of cups and saucers, teapots, lots and lots of jewelry. I also was amazed at the stalls and shops selling silver. Now, I don't know much about silver, but I saw a ton of it today. My niece, who is 9, recently became enamored with salt cellars and the tiny little spoons used to sprinkle salt out of a salt cellar. I found some for her today, at an incredible price. I also found some tea balls for my sisters, who like to make hot tea using loose tea. Metal tea balls are not available around where we live. I also ventured into the Woolworth's, where I found the first Reese's Peanut Butter cups I've seen since we got here. I haven't been into a Woolworth's in years. I didn't buy a whole lot of stuff today, but I truly did enjoy the experience. I was having a little trouble in the crowds on our way back – I tend to get a little nervous in a big crowd. I think it has to do with getting lost once in a crowd when I was a little girl. I loved looking at the houses along the way to the market – especially the ones that are painted the colors of sherbet – pink, yellow, pale green. It is just gorgeous. I especially loved one door that was hot pink and had little flowers on the number marker. Again, everywhere I looked I saw flowers and of course just had to get some pictures of them.

You can see more of my pictures, including the pink door by following this link to my Picasa Web Album.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SandiJimmerson/PortobelloMarket

July 4th in London

Yesterday I spent my first Independence Day away from the US. I've spent July 4^th in various places – at home, and at the beach most recently, but never out of the country. In London, July 4^th is just another day. No banks were closed, the mail still came, and people still went in groups past our window to the British Museum. So, what's an American to do in London for to celebrate Independence Day? Well, the Study Centre has tea every Friday at 4:00, so for the occasion, they had decorated the Lecture Theater in red, white and blue, including blue sparkly lights. For tea, they had great goodies (I actually had Nutella for the first time) the biggest strawberries I've ever seen, raspberries, and especially for the occasion, mini apple pies. Tea was fantastic! Later, we wandered down to the British Museum which was celebrating American Independence Day with lindy-hopping, line dancing, American beer tasting and free Krispy Kreme donuts. They were really good; however, I think I offended the woman passing them out, because she heard me telling Katherine how good Krispy Kremes are when they are hot! She informed me that since they were free. . . I apologized, but I think she was still offended. I was just telling Katherine about the time my sister Patti, nearly killed us by throwing her car in a u-turn in front of a semi truck, because the "HOT" light came on at a Krispy Kreme store. I didn't mean to offend her, and the Krispy Kreme was fantastic. They also had people exhibiting American football outside, and a quilt exhibit inside. After all the excitement, we needed some real food, so since it was July 4^th, what could be more American – we went to McDonald's. Are there any words to describe McDonald's French fries? (I'm not ashamed to admit I have the palate of a 12 year old and I LOVE McDonald's food.) So, there you have it, my Fourth of July in London.

My 2 biggest disappointments

Today we (all the members of our class, with our professor) went to St. Paul's Cathedral for a tour. (I know – it sounds so difficult and hard, for class we toured St. Paul's.) I was very disappointed today, and I'll share with you. I had two separate issues that caused me distress. The first thing was there is no picture taking allowed inside St. Paul's. Apparently several years ago, some tourists were making a big fuss, not being respectful with themselves and their cameras and the head person of St. Paul's got irritated and said "NO MORE PICTURES!" And so, that is why now, if one takes a tour of St. Paul's there are no pictures allowed. There were many beautiful things that I wish I could have taken pictures of, like the geometric staircase that makes up the Dean's staircase, where the steps float, seemingly unattached to anything. Each of the 88 steps has identical wrought iron banisters, and each one is hand made. My aunt and uncle who live in Screven, Georgia would love to see those. Robyn, my sister who is a nurse, for her, I'd photograph the memorial for Florence Nightingale, one of only three women with a memorial in the cathedral. The American Memorial Chapel is gorgeous, with the stained glass window that have the seals of each of the 48 states at the time it was created. The beautiful Tijou gates, which were created by the same artist who made the 88 banisters for the Dean's staircase, those would have made a great picture. Most of all, to stand right under the dome and look straight up, that is a picture I'd really love to have. We had a lovely tour guide, Dr. Don, who knows more about St. Paul's than I could even imagine. He told us details for about an hour and half straight and never missed a beat. Luckily, there is a handy dandy book that can be purchased for only 5.99 (which is $12.00) that has all those lovely pictures inside. These are much more gorgeous pictures than I could have taken, but still, I would have liked to have tried.

My second disappointment will sound trivial to some. . . I was all excited about St. Paul's because one of my favorite movies of all time is "Mary Poppins." I love the idea of the Birdwoman who sits on the steps of St. Paul's and feeds the birds. Remember, Michael Banks has "tuppence" that he wants to give the Birdwoman. (Be glad this is not a podcast, because I'm singing to myself "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" which would not pleasant for anyone to hear.) So, I wanted to see someone feeding the birds at St. Paul's. Imagine my disappointment or even despair, when I saw the discreet little sign that says "For public hygiene, please do not feed the birds." I was nearly heartbroken. Of course, the birds don't seem to care that no one is feeding them, they still fly and hop around, but I really wanted to feed the birds.

I was not at all disappointed with St. Paul's. It is beautiful, and awe-inspiring. I'd like to think that I wouldn't have been an obnoxious picture taker, who was disrespectful and rude. I don't know how people could be, because I felt very insignificant inside. I felt very small and in awe of those who had such talent to be able to create the things I was seeing. I wish I could slide the curtain of time aside and take a little peek at the building of St. Paul's, to see how they built it, to see Christopher Wren stomping around in the mud and mess, making sure it was just like he wanted it. . . It just seems like such a marvelous creation should make us aware of and bring out the best of human nature, and instead for some, it brought out the worst of human nature. So, if you ever come to London, be sure to visit St. Paul's Cathedral and if you take a tour, ask for Don. He's great. He'll tell you great stories and show you things you never imagined. But, turn your camera off when you come inside, and make sure you have 5.99 to get the pictures you will surely want.

Outside, you can take all the pictures you want to, and I took a bunch. I am just fascinated with the flowers I see everywhere, so I find myself taking lots of pictures of flowers. I am so amazed by the actual building of St. Paul's I kept taking lots of pictures of it, too, from as many angles as I can.

After our tour, we went to lunch at the Punch Tavern. They have a great buffet; others had homemade lasagna, a roast beef sandwich that was huge, and fish and chips. I haven't had fish and chips yet, but I'm really curious about the side of "mushy peas" that comes with it. Everything was just delicious, I had some fresh pasta salads that were delicious, and I think that the Punch Tavern gets my vote for the best restroom (they just call them toilets) that I've been in so far. I'm going to do a whole post on British bathrooms another day. Our class mate, Jodi, found this place for us.

Next, we crossed the Thames on the London Millennium Footbridge and popped into the Tate Modern Museum. It was interesting, but I don't mind saying I'm not sure modern art is quite my thing. It was quite an experience. We also took a peek into the Globe Theater, where I bought my niece a book. She's only nine which is a little young for Shakespeare, but it is written for children. I enjoyed it thoroughly, so I hope she will too.

We also rode the Underground for the first time today. Others in our class have already ridden it, but for my flat mate and I, it was the first time. I have ridden the subway in New York and the Metro in Washington DC, but the London Underground feels different from each of those, although I can't really explain why. Maybe it's the signs that say "Way Out" instead of "Exit" or just the polite way things seem to be worded. It was quick, easy, and uneventful, which I suppose is a good thing. We got a little rain today, I was actually amazed at how some of my pictures show a perfect blue sky and some show a sky as gray as can be.

PS: You can see some more of my pictures here:

http://tinyurl.com/56c9t5

Slideshow - The British Museum Day 1

I finally got my slide show at the bottom of this thing to work. I'm pretty excited. Thanks, Mr. Everhart for the advice. By the way, Mr. Harry Everhart is one of my favorite blogs to read - a retired middle school science teacher who still has enough sense to post a great blog. He also writes for the Tallahassee Democrat. I enjoy his blog tremendously.

The pictures from the slide show are from my first trip into the Bristish Musuem. I'm sure that it won't be my last visit.

K. and I headed for our first foray into the British Museum. I was pretty excited, but nothing could have prepared me for what it is actually like. We walked up those huge steps, past the giant columns, (after meeting a couple from Murfreesboro, Tennessee who are celebrating their 30^th wedding anniversary. We went inside and I quickly realized I needed some sort of guide book. I found one with 15 self guided tours, and snapped it up. We began on the Ancient Civilization tour, so we turned left into one hall, and there it was, right in front of us – The Rosetta Stone. I wanted to just shove all the people out of the way so I could study it all by myself, without anybody else around. That did NOT happen, so I took my turn. I just wanted a few minutes to soak up the “ancient-ness” of it. I know that’s probably really not a word, but that’s the best way I know to describe how I felt. We saw plenty of other stuff, from huge chunks of Egyptian temples to parts of Ancient Grecian temples and then onto mummies. I actually saw the capstone of a pyramid, as well as a mummified foot, and a very nice selection of canopic jars. Pretty cool stuff!!!

After about an hour and a half, we were a bit overwhelmed. We left, and went on a walk looking for a post office to mail some things home. We found a post office, right past Russell Square, which is a beautiful little park. The Russell Hotel is gorgeous and across the street. In the middle of the park is a fountain with water just bubbling up and the pigeons were having a ball in there. The batteries in my camera went dead, so I tried to get some video with my camcorder. Those birds were so funny. It was so peaceful in the park, with hardly any noise except the sounds of the pigeons and the water bubbling. The grass is all so green (as opposed to home where everything was pretty dried up and dead when I left) and there are flowers everywhere. I find myself taking too many pictures of flowers, but the colors are just so bright and vibrant, and people seem to take such care with them. I'm jealous - I would be one of the poor windows with no flowers or just some dead stems sticking up.

Tuesday, July 1

Today was our first day of "class" so we met all our class mates, reviewed our assignments for the semester, and discussed the creation of our class website. We took a trip to the Apple Store, and sat through a class on GarageBand. I don't use a Mac, but anybody who does, could have HOURS of fun with GarageBand. It almost makes me want to buy a Mac, just to play with GarageBand. We stopped at Hamley's on the way back to the Study Centre. Hamley's is a huge toy store, five floors plus the basement. It reminded me a lot of the first time I went to FAO Schwarz, in New York. What seemed pretty incredible here, were the people demonstrating some of the toys. I now have one French manicured fingernail, and one with flowers. The kit this lady was selling was pretty cool. My niece would have LOVED it. It had a "As Seen On TV" label on the box. The nearly life size Indiana Jones made out of Legos was really neat. I also enjoyed the stuffed animal section. One of the most interesting things in the basement was a pencil sharpener that plugs into a USB port and lights up when used. Who thinks of this stuff?
Now, we are off to a security meeting. I think we're supposed to learn ways to make sure we're safe while we are here.

The title of my blog. . .

On Friday, our first full day in the Study Centre, we had a mandatory orientation meeting. We were welcomed to London by Dr. Kathleen Paul, who gave us some great advice. She told us to "Embrace the differences." London is not like home, and we should embrace the differences instead of dwelling on them. Then, she also told us about the tunnels that goes from one building to another and reminded us that during World War II, people had to hide in the tunnels while London was being bombed by the Nazis. I decided to adopt that as my motto for this experience, if anything makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, I just remind myself: At least we're not being bombed by the Nazis. It's amazing how it changes your perspective.

My first official post

This is my first official blog post. I'm a little nervous, for several reasons.
1) I'm not sure who wants to read my random thoughts.
2) If you don't know me, my random thoughts probably won't make sense to you (of course if you don't know me, why would you be reading this??)
3) Just putting my thoughts out there kind of creeps me out.

However, this blog is to share my fabulous trip to London with all of my friends and most importantly, my family who is at home, so here it is.


Today is Monday. In London right now it is 11:37 but for my family at home it is only 6:37. I've left the clock on my computer to "home time" to remind me what time it is for them.
Today we are going to visit the British Museum for the first time. We slept in, because we have class tomorrow. So our big plans are lunch, and the British Museum.

I have lots of pictures to post and because we've already been on 3 "official" tours and several wandering around trips. There will be plenty more to come.

This is a test.