March 1 - Went to Portabello Market for the first time over the weekend, currently probably my favorite place in London. Included among the colorful houses and shops (which probably cost a fortune, location being as they are) include the place where George Orwell once lived. It's got the famous antique market on Saturday, but the problem is it's hard to know what you want. I guess that's some of the fun in going and browsing. The part I like more are the fruit and veg stands further down the road, as well as the coffee shop (Tea and Coffee Plant?) with its specialty selection of loose teas and coffee beans, as well as hot drinks to order. Finally, there were 2-3 charity bookshops that I am also frequenting more often (thanks goes to Shining for (re)introducing me to decent literature). The biggest trouble I have is still just that I'm not sure which books are worth buying. As with so many other things (coffee, cooking, workouts, wine, beer), I'm still just figuring out the basics and trying to figure out what's right for me. I ended up getting grapes, an americano, a couple books and some dark chocolate that I'd been meaning to pick up. It didn't cost much but those are definitely some of my favorite things.
I would've definitely bought a french press for coffeemaking if I had easier access to hot water and if there the hassle in getting it home - I'm sad I'm not able to take advantage of the huge number of coffee places that buy, roast, and grind their own beans for you (top of my list: Monmouth Coffee Shop, Coffee Plant. Eager to try: Camden Coffee Shoppe). Hopefully I'll be able to find a decent source in Cincinnati (eager to try Phoenix Coffee's selection in Cleveland) Fruit and veg stands in general, not just those in Portabello, might be one of the things I'll miss most about London. Will definitely have to visit West Side Market in Cleveland (after asking my parents for their tips in selecting the best produce; they always make it seem so easy, but it takes me forever. I suppose the same could be said about a lot of other things as well.)
This week is shaping up to be gorgeous - the sun was out all day for the first time in a while and it was amazing how many UCL students packed the main quad for lunch to enjoy the weather.
March 5-8 (pictures)- Went to Snowdon National Park in Wales for my program's (Butler's) adventure weekend. The weather all week was gorgeous, and the sun even held up for our outdoor activities on Saturday (though a little cold) and for a trip to the oceanside city of Llandudno on Sunday.
For Saturday, I participated in canoeing in the morning and abseiling (rappelling) in the afternoon. Canoeing was fantastic; we went out on a lake with a great mountain view that was absolutely breathtaking. I had forgotten how hard it was to work with a partner to go in a straight line, though. I'm really sad that I can't make it back for Phi Psi's annual canoe trip (which was an absolute blast last year). Abseiling (theoretically jumping off a cliff face) was a bit of a letdown because the cliff face wasn't terribly steep and our staff wasn't particularly inclined to let us go down fast. It was probably for the better, however, considering that none of us had more than 5 minutes training. I wish that there was a way for us to have climbed some of the cliff faces there (like others we were watching were doing) - that would've been exhilarating. I kind of wish I had chosen the half-day or full-day hike for one of my activities - I hadn't really noticed the pollution in London until I drank in the Welsh air, and I wanted nothing more than to take deep gulping breaths of it.
Llandudno was how I imagined a city on the Jersey shore might have been in the 50s. It had an old-fashioned boardwalk with an arcade, a ton of shops selling homemade wares (including some cool Welsh dragon figurines) and stands on the pier that advertised fish&chips, coffee and tea, and hamburgers. The people were incredibly friendly, as well, and the barely cloudless sky matched the water washing over the beach.
PICTURES (if you missed the earlier links) WALES - courtesy of my friend SULIN!
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