Borough Market

This morning we went to Borough Market. We actually went because we tried to go on a Harry Potter tour that seemed kind of unreliable, and turns out it was. At this point I figure it's a couple college kids that want to make a couple extra bucks because the meeting point was next to a college. Perhaps a coincidence, perhaps not. Luckily the meeting point was also near Borough Market so when no tour guide came we headed over there. It is a big farmers market and had some really good smelling food. And some really bad smelling cheese.

The Tower of London

On Wednesday we went to the Tower of London. I'd never been before. There were a lot of cool things I learned about royal history and of course it was fun to see the Crown Jewels! My favorite part was the wall walk- where you walk along the wall and can see all around the compound. They used to keep prisoners and torture people there. (I wish there had been more about the princes murder but there wasn't). But it was mostly used by the royal family as a home. It's where they also kept exotic animals the king received as gifts! That was my favorite fact. I also read on Wikipedia that they executed people there as late as World War I and II. They killed 12 people for espionage.

The crown jewels were mostly things used for the coronation of the kings and queens- like crowns and staffs. There was a staff in there that has "the first star of Africa" on it- a 530 carat diamond. It's the largest flawless cut diamond in the world. At first I didn't think it could be real. This diamond and "the second star of Africa," which is in the Imperial State Crown, were cut from the biggest diamond ever found- 3,000 carats! Crazy!

For the Stirlings

My favorite part was reading about the animals. Henry III had a polar bear that they would tie on a long rope and take down to the river Thames to fish! Can you imagine living in London and seeing someone walking a polar bear down to the river!? If only I could see it now.

Baby armor! Why this was needed is beyond me.

Also I learned that when they used the bathroom it would just fall down the side of the building. They thought it dropped into a ditch that was washed away by the Thames. Apparently they were wrong and one day someone found a cesspit 500 years in the making.

Fashion's Night Out

Tonight we went to Vogue's Fashion's Night Out at Covent Garden. I knew about the one in New York, and hoped this one would be full of designers and celebrities too. Alas, it was not. This was its first year and it didn't seem like it had the following that New York has. It was still fun though. We walked to different shops and saw people drinking their free drinks and looking fashionable. It was just fun to get away and do something different that I would never get to do in Utah.

We came upon this shop that happened to also be a flower academy. It was a really cool work space and the lady who runs it was terribly nice. She told us about a promotion to take a hat making class for 90 pounds. We told her we were art students at a University then said, "Oh, then you're probably poor." She said she wished she could let us into the class for free. She was nice. There was also a picture of her with Camilla Parker Bowles on the wall- Prince Charles's wife. Classy.

The Betsy Johnson store was kind of fun. People were giving hand massages and doing makeup. Nothing too fancy.

On a less shallow note, we got to do something incredibly great today. We got to go to a private room in the British Museum to look at original Michelangelo, Van Gogh, and Rembrandt drawings. It was so so cool. They took us back to a locked room and we got to look at them up close. The room itself was also neat. It had high ceilings and the walls were flanked by rich dark wood bookshelves. There was also a balcony that had more ancient looking books. There were people with white gloves. It felt like we were in a movie. Being an art inspector/handler at a museum would be such a fascinating job.

We got to see one of Michelangelo's practice sketches for some images for the Sistine Chapel. There was a sketch he did for the famous Adam/God painting. You could see where he messed up Adam's leg and had to move it down just slightly. It was so cool to look at something that you know these masterful artists have touched. Peter said we could go back and look more. What a great resource that we get to take advantage of here.

Proms

On Monday night we went to the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Concert Hall. The Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra performed the night we went. It was a really beautiful venue. It is a huge round room with several balconies and deep red velvet seats. The music was beautiful too, although I was sleepy at the beginning and struggled to stay awake. Thankfully after intermission I got over the tired bout. We're so busy and I'm so exhausted here that every time I sit down I can't help but fall asleep- even while on the tube!

They had a picture from when they showed Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and it was accompanied by an orchestra!

These guys came up to their seats with cups of beer. It seemed like an odd drink for such an elegant place. Then when I went to the bathroom at intermission I saw people with wine glasses. I guess they can balance each other out.

Portobello Road

We pretty much live in Notting Hill and every Saturday there's a big market of vendors (and stores) on Portobello Road. We went there this last Saturday and it was fun to look at all the items for sale. It's known for its antiques, and it definitely had a lot. Everything was really expensive though. I plan to go back since it's just a couple streets away from the Centre. This market really brings the crowds.

Several vendors had old books, letterpress letters, and prints.

Should I buy one of these? 5 Pounds.

Some of these globes cost 300 Pounds. That's about $480. At least I could take this free picture. Some of the people don't like you to take pictures of their stuff though. My friend Kendall took a picture of vintage rings a man was selling, he is from Brooklyn, and he said, "I didn't spend a half hour setting this up for you to take a picture." Nice guy.

We live in a fun neighborhood, and beautiful as you can see. It's nice we live close so I can think about what's really worth buying, and easily go back for it!

L. Cornelissen & Son

On one of the first days here, my art professor, Peter, told us about some art supply stores around London. He told us about this one, L. Cornelissen & Son and said it had small drawers of things like powdered pigments and paints. Then the English professor, John, piped in with "It's like a store from Diagon Alley!" Right then and there I decided I should go. It's such a cool store and there really are skinny drawers that would be perfect to fit wands! There's also the neat old jars that hold various powders. The blonde woman at the front had the loveliest accent, which just added to the experience.

Just like Ollivanders!

If only there were wands in those drawers...

A few Iphone photos

I forgot to bring a memory card reader for my camera so the only pictures I can upload are from my phone. So here are some pictures from around the city and I trendily used an app that makes them look vintage, because they kind of look better that way. Things are going well, we've been walking around the city a lot- and I just get so sleepy and my feet hurt so bad. Oh well, it helps to get to know the city!

St. Paul's Cathedral.

Big Ben.

Buckingham Palace. Kate's wedding dress is there right now and I want to go see it.

Well it is taking forever for these photos to upload so I will have to do more later, and I'll also have to buy a card reader! Cheers!