Patience is a virtue...one that YOU apparently do not have!

Synopsis/Abstract: Irish friend, Grainne, visiting our humble abode here in London; searching for a good club to go to on Friday night and failing miserably I might add; a quest for cupcakes Saturday morning followed by a bit of shopping and some serious nap time; Saturday night yet another search for a club to go to (this time with much more success); sleeping in Sunday morning; going to a movie Sunday afternoon; going to class Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (walking around Piccadilly after Tues’ class); going on a walking tour of Shakespeare’s London Wednesday night (in the rain…) followed by a trip to the Imperial College student union pub; Class Thursday- field trip to Apsley House; All American Rejects Concert Thursday night; tour of Parliament Friday morning; followed by a well deserved nap; and finally…dun dun dun… a shiny new post for the blog! Now that I am fully dedicating the next hour or so of my time to updating you people on the various exciting (and not so exciting) things I did this week… you can all stop complaining about the distinct lack of updating. It’s not my fault if I’m busy! You will just have to wait patiently between each post, which I know can be difficult for those of you living vicariously through my adventures! So, without further ado…here you have it, installment number 19 of Hobbs Goes to London: The Wonderful Exploits of Gabby. Actually, one more thing, just a tiny little ado, I’m going to throw a little disclaimer out here about the length and quality of the following post. It will be long… and it will be amazing. No, that’s not what I meant to say. Well the long part is true…but I’m not too sure about the amazing. That is up to you, dear reader. But what I actually wanted to say is since this is in fact going to be quite lengthy, I can guarantee you that I will not be proofing it. So please disregard any grammatical, informational, and/or contextual inaccuracies or catastrophic blunders you may encounter. They are not my fault; you are just reading things wrong. Okay. That is all I am going to say on the matter. Case closed.


The Things People Do for a Cupcake
and various other tales…

Hokay, so here is the Earth. What? No, wrong topic… my mistake. Lets start with Friday night, shall we? I believe where I last left you, I was writing Friday morning excited about the impending visit of Grainne, a friend from Ireland. She arrived around seven o’clock Friday night. We were originally planning on having her stay in our room with us…but apparently overnight guests are not allowed in this building. We thought about sneaking her up, but the idea of skulking around the building wheedling our way past the front desk worker all weekend was a little but too stressful to handle, so we ended up checking her into a cheap hotel down the street. I have never in my life seen a hotel room that was so minuscule. They do things small here. Real small. All it had room for was a single bed that had walls on three sides of it, a small desk, and sink. It was about the size of a pantry. As I mentioned in my preface to this post, we did attempt to find a club on Friday night that was within walking distance from our rooms. We discovered a place called Opal that is pretty much on the end of our street. It was ten pounds to get in (expensive) but the guy at the front desk assured us that it was a great place to go. It was not. The cheapest drink was five pounds (not worth it), the music was some sort of trance-like techno-y mix, and the actual space we were in looked like a very small cave. Now, ordinarily, the idea of a cave bar could be somewhat intriguing…but it was very small and the crowd was not exactly the kind of people we wanted to be BFF’s with. So we ended up calling it a night early (well, early as in not quite yet the wee hours of the morning).

(Random Tube station...)


Saturday morning, Grainne insisted on waking us all up by 9:30 so we could go on a quest to find these apparently amazing cupcakes that were sold in the Market place at the Duke of York Square. Not entirely sure where this market was, we set out anyways. We ended up, without getting too lost, finding our way to the Crumbs and Doily’s stand where there were cupcakes aplenty! They were worth the trek =) When we got back we discovered that our shower was broken. The nozzle/snake/pipe thing had unglued itself and was whipping around like an uncontrollable hose, until it finally broke off and water was just shooting up from the pipes. Yes, it was not convenient at all. Fortunately there is another bathroom with a shower down the hall, and we all just snuck into that one =) Saturday night, we decided to risk another try at a club. This one was actually quite fun. The music was great for dancing (they played a good mix of oldies, pop, hip-hop, and pretty much anything anyone requested) and it was filled with people our age. Overall, it was a successful night.

(The greatly anticipated cupcakes!!)

(Grainne, Me and Melissa at the club Los Locos)

(All of us!)


Grainne left Monday afternoon (tear), but Melissa and I will see her soon! We are going to go visit her over spring break. Monday night was my Shakespeare class and Tuesday morning, British Life and Culture. I went shopping for a little while at Piccadilly Circus Tuesday after class. I had to buy two books for my Shakespeare class…and was directed to go to a bookstore that wasn’t even open yet! After walking around for a bit, Mary (one of the other girls from SCU) and I found a Borders and I was able to get my book there. I was a little bit disappointed though, as I had wanted to say I went to an authentic English bookstore!!!

Wednesday morning was class again and then laundry time. I’ve been putting off doing laundry for as long as possible…mostly because it costs four pounds… but also because I didn’t actually know where the laundry room was! Hehe I found it though, without too much trouble and now all my clothes smell nice and clean =)

Wednesday night was the walking tour of Shakespeare-land. Basically we walked around the river Theme’s where the new Globe is (the Globe is the theatre where Shakespeare worked, acted, wrote, and pretty much lived). The old Globe was destroyed by a fire and was never rebuilt, but a few pieces of it remain. It was really cool to see them both! We also walked around the area and saw various authentic (ancient) buildings that where there when Shakespeare was. One interesting, yet slightly creepy site we walked by, was a fenced off area known as Cross Bones Graveyard. It was a very old graveyard where unknown people (paupers, criminals, prostitutes, or simply people know one knew the identity of) were buried without any recognition or marking to show that they were there. Even though not a single identity is known of the hundreds of people buried there, visitors have made a memorial out of the site; putting flowers and original poems on the gate. It is an interesting thing to see. Overall the tour was pretty cool, but it unfortunately started raining while we were walking so it was cut short. Definitely worth the trip though for anyone at all intrigued by Shakespeare and his works.

(The new Globe...please note the rain)

(Prostitute Graveyard....interesting tour choice...)

(This pic was meant to go down at the bottom, it's in Westminster Hall)

Thursday morning I had my History of Modern Design class. It was a field trip day, so we blessedly did not have a three-hour lecture! Instead, we went to the Wellington Museum, or Apsely House, home of the first Duke of Wellington. It is right in the heart of London at Hyde Park Corner. It is an amazing house filled with famous paintings and statues. The Duke of Wellington is famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The whole house is a filled with tributes to this. It was pretty cool.

After that, Melissa and I went to the All American Rejects concert and it was amazing! We had horrible seats…but it was still worth it because the show was so good =) It was pretty funny when the crowd started chanting for an encore, we could totally here the English accent as they all yelled “We want more!” only, they said it as ‘moh’. It was fun.

(Apsley House)

Today, we all (the SCU students) had a scheduled tour of Parliament this morning. It was really really interesting. We weren’t allowed to take pictures once we got inside, but the whole building is massive and ancient and all around spectacular. It was pretty awesome to actually go through each room and see how the British government works. The House of Lords had a giant throne that is gold plated- for the Queen to sit in of course. The House of Commons was less impressive decoratively, but still just as cool to see where all the action happens!

(Big Ben and guess who!)

(Inside Westminster Hall, before going into the House of Parliament)


After the Parliament tour, I took a giant nap, which was splendid and that brings me to right now. I am typing. Yes, we have reached the end of this tale! I didn’t think it would happen…I impress myself sometimes. =)

Soo, I am not too sure what the plan is for tonight. Melissa is going on a date with a very nice English boy she met the other night. He is one of Cameron’s football (soccer…) teammates. She is about to leave right now, so I’ll just have to wait to see how that goes! Jenna, Mary and I have plans to go get Indian food for dinner and then maybe do something afterwards. A pub? Maybe…it's definitely a possibility. Other than that I have made no concrete plans for this weekend. I am running out of ideas of touristy places to go- amazingly enough I think I’ve done all the big ones! If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know and I will take them under consideration =)

Well, I think that this is all for now. I need to go take a shower. But you probably didn’t need to know that. It is supposed to be wickedly cold starting on Sunday; negative degrees at night and only in the 30’s during the day. Snow is a possibility for Tuesday. Hopefully I will not freeze to death! I’ll do what I can to stay warm… Let me know if anything interesting happens at home. I appreciated the long comments and emails people have been sending! Apparently a little complaining can go a long way!!!

xoxo

Here's a link to some pictures that go along with the post below: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077319&l=926d3&id=7102721

"Ladies if you fall, my strong arms will catch you. Gents, the ground is hard."

The past few days have been pretty busy with classes (yes we actually have to go…), sightseeing, and sleeping. Last I spoke to anyone, I believe it was Tuesday. I guess what I should do here is attempt to remember aallll the way back to Wednesday and go from there. It will be difficult, as that really was a long time ago (a whole two days), but I think with the help of the tea I’m drinking, conveniently provided by my mommy or I guess I should say mum while I’m here, you know, to try and fit it…wow I just went way off topic there…. What was I saying? Oh yes, with the help of my nice warm cup of tea, I think I might be able to remember some of the details of the past few days…

So, Wednesday. I unfortunately had class at nine, where as my roommates did not. It’s very depressing. I had my Shakespeare class where I was apologized to profusely by the professor who apparently was somewhat stricken to find that he had actually left a student behind! It made me feel better =) Anyways, apparently I am going to go on the tour with a different class, and we are going to meet in a pub first and he is going to count how many people he has before he leaves, in honor of me. That was pretty much the only interesting thing class-related. After class, I went back to my room (where the roommates were only just waking up) and ate lunch. I don’t remember what I ate so don’t ask. After eating, we (Melissa, Jenna, Mary, and I) headed down to the tube to make our way to Her Majesties Royal Palace and Fortress, or more commonly known as The Tower of London. The Tower of London is a very cool place where you can see all the cells and towers where old famous prisoners were kept and where they were beheaded and what not. Some examples of famous decapatees are Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Thomas More. When we got there we tagged along the end of a tour, which was very entertaining and informational. Apparently there are about thirty guards who actually live in the Tower with their families. I feel bad for those kids… think of how hard it would be to sneak in or out at night when you LIVE in an ancient fortress…yeah, not gonna happen. Another cool thing to see at the Tower, are the Crown Jewels, which is where one can find the largest natural diamond in the world. Yes, The Crown Jewels were quite impressive, although whyy they really needed a pure gold wine bowl the size of a bathtub baffles me just a bit.

After walking around the towers for about 2 hours or so, it got really really really cold. And yes, the use of three really’s was necessary to prove my point of the coldness. We headed back home where we lounged for a little bit, ate dinner and then got ready to go out again. Melissa and I headed over to the pub at Imperial College to check things out. One of the guys from SCU is playing on the Imperial soccer team, and apparently all of the sports teams’ head over to the pub after practice. We went in and it was very entertaining; lots of screaming and chanting and loud boisterous games being played.



Inside The Tower of London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tower_Of_London#Executions

The poor dog was very sacred...espicially since its neck is already broken, it is a perfect candidate to in the tower!

Waving hello! from Tower Bridge.

Me, attempting to take a picture with a bridge in the background. FAIL.

***

Thursday, we had class at 1, in which we had a test. I swear that class is the most painfully boring class I have ever experienced; it pretty much sucks the life out of you one picture at a time. The class, The History of Modern Design, so far has been focused on architecture and styles…which is interesting, but not when it is beat into your brain in three hour segments. The only good thing I can say about the repetitiveness of the class is that it is not really necessary to study because we’ve seen and heard each picture and description ten million times. The professor somehow seems to expect us all to be extremely mentally incompetent… Anyways, the test was not the bad and I think I did well. After class we all went back to shower and get ready to go out to dinner. Melissa’s uncle, Mike, was in town on business and offered to treat the three of us to a swanky dinner. Before I mention the amazing-ness which was dinner, I just want to say that if you ever find yourself at the Covent Garden tube stop, DO NOT TAKE THE STAIRS. Yes, we made that mistake, and after 193 windy spirally steps I thought I was going to lose a lung. There were actually people sitting on the floor when we got to the top attempting to begin breathing again. Hahaha anyways, now to talk about dinner. We went to this bizarrely awesome place called “Sketch”. It was really unlike any restaurant I have ever been to. The food was amazing! I’m not really quite sure what exactly it was that I was eating, but it was delicious. I know for the main course I had lamb. It was teeny tiny, but extremely tasty. Aside from the food and the drinks (which were also on the ten and above scale of ratings), the atmosphere was just plain interesting. I really don’t know how to describe it other than slightly bizarre but fancy and super cool. The tables had couches on one side of them for chairs, the ceiling was gold with giant chandeliers, the walls were plain white with sparkles and designs projecting across them the entire time, but most impressive of all were the bathrooms. Really these bathrooms are worth a visit whether you had to go or not, and this is coming from a person who is normally not a fan of public restrooms. To find the bathroom you walk up a spiral staircase, which on one side had blue light and the other had pink, boys and girls. When you get to the top, all you can see are about twenty giant white pods. Yes, pods, as in space pods that slightly resemble giant boiled eggs. It was very entertaining. Inside the pods, there was music that would cheer and clap for you while in there, which was slightly disturbing in a funny sort of way. I think it was the most entertaining trip to the bathroom I’ve ever taken. And underneath, right at the bottom of the staircase, was this cozy little bar tucked inside with a little half-circle opening. It was cool. Anyways, I think I’ve gone on about bathrooms for long enough. I actually took a picture in there so I’ll try and post it if it turned out. So yes, dinner was great; probably the fanciest meal I’ve ever had.

So there you have it, Wednesday and Thursday. Today I slept in which was amaaaazing. I’m not sure exactly what the plan is for this weekend, but I’m pretty sure little to no sleeping is going to be involved so I was really attempting to cherish my moments of lazy-sleep time this morning. Melissa’s friend Grainne from Ireland is coming to visit and I’m sure we are going to try to do something fun!

That’s all for now folks. I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens this weekend. Apparently it is supposed to be really rainy and cold which I am not looking forward to, but I’m sure I will survive! I miss you people… it’s annoying =( Week three is supposed to be the hardest so if I call home sounding miserable, just know that that you were warned! Let me know how everything is going at home. There has been a distinct lack of emailing going on from your end; I am very disappointed in you! I’m supposed to be the one too busy to write home, and look what I’m posting for you today! I’m practically writing a little novella here!!!

The very special bathroom facilities at the "Sketch".

It was very interesting in there.... I normally do not condone taking bathroom pictures, but I had to make and exception for this.