days 2-4
some general comments, first. i definitely like being here, despite the somewhat gloomy weather. you just kind of get used to it. and i think its rather fitting, actually. everyone dresses so much better here. really. not so many younger kids trying to look like hoes or guys trying to look like thugs. people seem to have more of a sense of self. yes i know i'm making huge blanket statements.... oh well. also, its remarkable.... there are pretty much no fat people here. in the US, you go into any Walmart or grocery store, and half of the people's arses are like 2 feet wide. i can only remember seeing one really fat person here, and they were a tourist from the states.. haha. and the reason why is because everyone walks here. hmm, maybe its cause the gas (err.. i mean petrol) is so expensive. but yeah, everyone walks everywhere. i've definitely done lotsss of walking and i've only been here a few days. (edit, a few yrs later: umm, youre stupid. that's true in most major cities)
also people seem like they would have more interesting stories to tell, if you were to ask them about their lives. you know? like... everyone has a story to tell. and lots of times where i'm from, you look around and people look so boring. again, a huge general statement but oh well. but here people just seem as if they'd have more interesting stories to tell if you started talking to them. i don't know, maybe i'm just on crack. also, i've tried out my fake accent a few times and didnt get any funny looks or furrowed brows, so i guess i pass. yay :P ok so now, onto a description of what i've been doing, with pictures....
Day 2 (Friday)
i spent the first part of the day walking around Clerkenwell (section of the city) with my aunt and some other ladies... she's in some women's club thing for women from the states who are living in london, and they were doing this walking tour thing so she said i could come along. since i hadn't really been out by myself yet i figured i'd just go with them. it wasn't the most exciting time in the world but at least it was something to do. i felt like suchhhh a damn tourist being with a bunch of other american women who were dressed like americans and just the whole stereotype, and i usually try NOT to act like a tourist, but be that as it may. i tried to take some pics despite the rain. then after that, i went off by myself to check out the National Gallery cause my aunt had to go to her volunteer job at the library. so i looked at lots of art again.. saw some of the pieces that we studied in art history when i was in that class.. so that was cool. then i came back and did who knows what. that was my first time taking the tube by myself. since then, it seems like i've taken it myself a bunch of times.. not sure if thats the case but anyway... its rather easy to use.. you have to be pretty much stupid in order to screw up. there are maps of the different routes all over the place and everything is clearly marked... so yay for that. much better/easier to navigate than the Paris metro. ok, so on to the pictures.
a little courtyard (i forget what it was called)
panoramic view of the same spot
there were a bunch of these tiles on the wall... they were honoring not-so-well-known people who performed selfless acts for others and lost their lives as a result. some of the stories were really sad :(
a little garden area we passed
thought this doorway was pretty nifty
pretty flowerbox on top of a doorway
Day 3 (Saturday)
Saturday morning i went off by myself to Covent Garden... this little market-type area... it was awesome. its kinda indoor-outdoor... like indoor but open air? i dont know. but then outside in the streets (which, in this area, are closed off to traffic so you can just walk around), there are a bunch of entertainers.... there was a guy playing guitar/singing who was really good... a guy doing cool stuff on a freakin huge unicycle, some guys from the Royal Opera who were singing (really freakin good too), a guy doing acrobatic stuff... balancing a ladder on his head... then climbing up the ladder without anyone holding it up or anything... pretty nifty. then theres a bunch of shops inside... some more upscale than others. also lots of cool places to eat. then behind the Covent Garden area is a little market called the Jubilee Market, which i actually thought was cooler... kinda like a fleamarket i guess. there were little stands with people selling all kinds of stuff... jewelry, arts & crafts, clothes, scarves (which i bought 1 of... and one in the Covent Garden area), food, all kinds of stuff. very cool. i thoroughly enjoyed it. then later that night, i got a call from some American college students who are here doing internships at the embassy (my aunt is friends with a woman who works there, and gave her my name.. the lady told my aunt that there were some college students working there and maybe i could hang out w/them one night or something). so the one girl called me and said they were going to dinner somewhere around Trafalgar Square and then maybe going to a pub or something afterwards. so i met up with them.. they were nice. we went to an italian restaurant and then to a cool pub afterwards. ok, some pictures:
there were 5 or 6 of these.. characters?.. all painted interesting colors and they just stood there without moving. they look like statues but they are actually real people. actually this guy on the bike had a timer set that went off every minute (i think) and every time it went off, he'd jump into a different pose and just stand without moving at all until the timer went off again. it was pretty cool.
this guy was cool lookin
this girl just stood there even as people walked all around her... same as the others.. people would try to come up and talk to them and they continued to just stand there without moving
here's the guy on the huge unicycle. btw, the people in the background were actually standing on a step. so pretend theyre standing down a few inches, and then compare their height to the unicycle guy. yeah.
here's one hall of Covent Garden (there were 2 or 3). its open at the end, there. so now you know what i mean about it being kind of indoor and outdoor.
one of the guys singing opera. very impressive.
here's the area they were singing in
the other guy who sang. also very good.
the guy balancing the ladder on his head
the Smartcar convertible... haha
the house i'm staying in :P
one of the roses out front
going down the escalator to get on the Tube. usually there are lots and lots of people. i was there at an odd hour though, so i figured it'd be an ok time to whip out the camera and take a picture like Super Tourist. bah.
the kids i went out with.. they were pretty nice
taken out the window, there... i thought it was cool (& similar to my stained glass icon i use on here. maybe i'll make this an icon.. hehe)
Day 3 (today)
today my aunt and i walked to another market called Camden Market which was also really neat. on the way there, we walked through Primrose Hill... which is the park that Roger and.. hell, whats her name.. the lady in 101 Dalmations... where they lived and where they walked their dogs. hehe. quite a view up at the top. anyways, the Camden Market was a lot like the Jubilee Market that i mentioned before, but much MUCH bigger and more eclectic. it starts out with regular stands just like Jubilee, and then as you wonder further and further into the different sections, things get more and more..... electic.. and out there. lots of goth shops, stuff for ravers... punks... all kinds of bohemian/hippie clothes..... just random stuff.. anything you can think of. lots of food stands... lots of eastern food... chinese, indian, moroccan.. lots and lots of others. it was pretty damn cool. you could spend a whole day there. there were lots of shops i wanted to look in, but i just didnt go in. i could've boughts lotttssss of stuff but i just bought another scarf... yeah, just what i need. so far i've bought 3 while here. haha. ok, pictures...
view from the top of Primrose Hill... its quite a walk up to the top
saw a woman walking this tiny little dog (whose name was Minnie... awww). the dog was soooooo little. here's a picture of her at her owner's feet
looking up through a tree that's starting to turn colors... happy fall
check out this car....
haha
thought this was nice... not sure if its ivy or what.. i just liked the color contrast
here we are at one of the main parts of the market. here's a panorama
and now some of the individual shots that make up the panorama, there...
we were inside, here, looking down at some stands on the lower level. lots of cool stuff. this was before we got to some of the more.... eclectic sections
ditto
random
fun with umbrellas
this guy was interesting... he gave off a very masculine aura but was holding a bright pink umbrella. when i set up the shot, originally, he was also surrounded by lots of people wearing very dark colors, so it was pretty interesting. but by the time i got a good vantage point, all the people in dark colors were gone. ah well.
hmm, guess i didnt take any pics of the more out there sections... perhaps i'll go back again next weekend and do so, then. well i guess thats about it for now!
also people seem like they would have more interesting stories to tell, if you were to ask them about their lives. you know? like... everyone has a story to tell. and lots of times where i'm from, you look around and people look so boring. again, a huge general statement but oh well. but here people just seem as if they'd have more interesting stories to tell if you started talking to them. i don't know, maybe i'm just on crack. also, i've tried out my fake accent a few times and didnt get any funny looks or furrowed brows, so i guess i pass. yay :P ok so now, onto a description of what i've been doing, with pictures....
Day 2 (Friday)
i spent the first part of the day walking around Clerkenwell (section of the city) with my aunt and some other ladies... she's in some women's club thing for women from the states who are living in london, and they were doing this walking tour thing so she said i could come along. since i hadn't really been out by myself yet i figured i'd just go with them. it wasn't the most exciting time in the world but at least it was something to do. i felt like suchhhh a damn tourist being with a bunch of other american women who were dressed like americans and just the whole stereotype, and i usually try NOT to act like a tourist, but be that as it may. i tried to take some pics despite the rain. then after that, i went off by myself to check out the National Gallery cause my aunt had to go to her volunteer job at the library. so i looked at lots of art again.. saw some of the pieces that we studied in art history when i was in that class.. so that was cool. then i came back and did who knows what. that was my first time taking the tube by myself. since then, it seems like i've taken it myself a bunch of times.. not sure if thats the case but anyway... its rather easy to use.. you have to be pretty much stupid in order to screw up. there are maps of the different routes all over the place and everything is clearly marked... so yay for that. much better/easier to navigate than the Paris metro. ok, so on to the pictures.
a little courtyard (i forget what it was called)
panoramic view of the same spot
there were a bunch of these tiles on the wall... they were honoring not-so-well-known people who performed selfless acts for others and lost their lives as a result. some of the stories were really sad :(
a little garden area we passed
thought this doorway was pretty nifty
pretty flowerbox on top of a doorway
Day 3 (Saturday)
Saturday morning i went off by myself to Covent Garden... this little market-type area... it was awesome. its kinda indoor-outdoor... like indoor but open air? i dont know. but then outside in the streets (which, in this area, are closed off to traffic so you can just walk around), there are a bunch of entertainers.... there was a guy playing guitar/singing who was really good... a guy doing cool stuff on a freakin huge unicycle, some guys from the Royal Opera who were singing (really freakin good too), a guy doing acrobatic stuff... balancing a ladder on his head... then climbing up the ladder without anyone holding it up or anything... pretty nifty. then theres a bunch of shops inside... some more upscale than others. also lots of cool places to eat. then behind the Covent Garden area is a little market called the Jubilee Market, which i actually thought was cooler... kinda like a fleamarket i guess. there were little stands with people selling all kinds of stuff... jewelry, arts & crafts, clothes, scarves (which i bought 1 of... and one in the Covent Garden area), food, all kinds of stuff. very cool. i thoroughly enjoyed it. then later that night, i got a call from some American college students who are here doing internships at the embassy (my aunt is friends with a woman who works there, and gave her my name.. the lady told my aunt that there were some college students working there and maybe i could hang out w/them one night or something). so the one girl called me and said they were going to dinner somewhere around Trafalgar Square and then maybe going to a pub or something afterwards. so i met up with them.. they were nice. we went to an italian restaurant and then to a cool pub afterwards. ok, some pictures:
there were 5 or 6 of these.. characters?.. all painted interesting colors and they just stood there without moving. they look like statues but they are actually real people. actually this guy on the bike had a timer set that went off every minute (i think) and every time it went off, he'd jump into a different pose and just stand without moving at all until the timer went off again. it was pretty cool.
this guy was cool lookin
this girl just stood there even as people walked all around her... same as the others.. people would try to come up and talk to them and they continued to just stand there without moving
here's the guy on the huge unicycle. btw, the people in the background were actually standing on a step. so pretend theyre standing down a few inches, and then compare their height to the unicycle guy. yeah.
here's one hall of Covent Garden (there were 2 or 3). its open at the end, there. so now you know what i mean about it being kind of indoor and outdoor.
one of the guys singing opera. very impressive.
here's the area they were singing in
the other guy who sang. also very good.
the guy balancing the ladder on his head
the Smartcar convertible... haha
the house i'm staying in :P
one of the roses out front
going down the escalator to get on the Tube. usually there are lots and lots of people. i was there at an odd hour though, so i figured it'd be an ok time to whip out the camera and take a picture like Super Tourist. bah.
the kids i went out with.. they were pretty nice
taken out the window, there... i thought it was cool (& similar to my stained glass icon i use on here. maybe i'll make this an icon.. hehe)
Day 3 (today)
today my aunt and i walked to another market called Camden Market which was also really neat. on the way there, we walked through Primrose Hill... which is the park that Roger and.. hell, whats her name.. the lady in 101 Dalmations... where they lived and where they walked their dogs. hehe. quite a view up at the top. anyways, the Camden Market was a lot like the Jubilee Market that i mentioned before, but much MUCH bigger and more eclectic. it starts out with regular stands just like Jubilee, and then as you wonder further and further into the different sections, things get more and more..... electic.. and out there. lots of goth shops, stuff for ravers... punks... all kinds of bohemian/hippie clothes..... just random stuff.. anything you can think of. lots of food stands... lots of eastern food... chinese, indian, moroccan.. lots and lots of others. it was pretty damn cool. you could spend a whole day there. there were lots of shops i wanted to look in, but i just didnt go in. i could've boughts lotttssss of stuff but i just bought another scarf... yeah, just what i need. so far i've bought 3 while here. haha. ok, pictures...
view from the top of Primrose Hill... its quite a walk up to the top
saw a woman walking this tiny little dog (whose name was Minnie... awww). the dog was soooooo little. here's a picture of her at her owner's feet
looking up through a tree that's starting to turn colors... happy fall
check out this car....
haha
thought this was nice... not sure if its ivy or what.. i just liked the color contrast
here we are at one of the main parts of the market. here's a panorama
and now some of the individual shots that make up the panorama, there...
we were inside, here, looking down at some stands on the lower level. lots of cool stuff. this was before we got to some of the more.... eclectic sections
ditto
random
fun with umbrellas
this guy was interesting... he gave off a very masculine aura but was holding a bright pink umbrella. when i set up the shot, originally, he was also surrounded by lots of people wearing very dark colors, so it was pretty interesting. but by the time i got a good vantage point, all the people in dark colors were gone. ah well.
hmm, guess i didnt take any pics of the more out there sections... perhaps i'll go back again next weekend and do so, then. well i guess thats about it for now!