Week 2 London: Exploration

The V&A or Victoria & Albert Museum

Hello, Lovelies! Thank you for reading and following my blog! I do so appreciate it and I hope not to disappoint.

So, what have I been up to this past week? Well, I've decided with the free time I have before school starts on September 30 that I would explore the city I now live in. On Wednesday, I explored the museums close to Imperial College of London, mainly the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The nice thing about these museums is that all of them have free admission. In the Science museum, I found myself reading about the early clockmakers of London, from medieval times all the way up to the 1960s. The museum had another exhibit on the famous Royal Society (actually known as the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge), of which Robert Hooke (inventor of the microscope), Christopher Wren (architect of St. Paul's cathedral), and Isaac Newton (if you don't know what he did already...then...) were all members. Original oil paintings of most of their members were displayed on the walls, with their posh wigs and disapproving stares. I, of course, bought a few books at the gift shop, including one titled Unnatural Causes, which is all about forensic pathology. Stay tuned for a later book report.

An astrolabe plus a globe 

Isaac Newton 

Building for a lightning strike

The Natural History Museum from the outside

The Natural History Museum was smaller but impressive, with an exhibit about volcanoes and earthquakes that included an interactive shaking floor, mimicking the famous 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. I was tempted to buy a bunch of geodes that I, of course, didn't need in the gift shop, but instead purchased a copy of Sapiens by Yuval Harari. It's been on my list for quite a while to read, as it's a bestseller. I'm about 2/3 of the way through now and it is impressive, describing a sweeping span of human history, from the beginnings of evolution to the future eras. If you're into social sciences, technology, or current events, I highly recommend for a good read.

Portrait of young Marie Antoinette

The Victoria & Albert Museum (started in 1857 as the South Kensington Museum, until Queen Victoria expanded it in 1899), was an impressive multi-building structure, housing artwork from all over the world. I found myself following a trail of medieval art leading to a Renaissance sculpture wing. I didn't get through the entire museum, as my feet were killing me by the end, and I desperately wanted some dinner. But I am determined to go back this week and finish the rest! There's always too much to see in so little time.

Sculpture of the Greek myth "Leta and the Swan"
(Hint, the Swan is Zeus seducing Leta...as usual)

On Thursday (yes, sorry this'll be a long post if you can't already tell), I picked up my visa card from the post office. As the Sherlock Holmes museum was only another 40 minutes away I decided to walk. What a mistake! I walked all the way up to Paddington, which is at least 5 miles north. By the time I reached the Sherlock Holmes museum, my feet were killing me! The museum itself was somewhat disappointing. It was a flat that someone had converted into a museum, so there were only four rooms to actually tour around in. And each room was reached by narrow, steep, creaky stairs. Still, the study was nicely Victorian, with the chairs and doctor's desk looking as I imagined it would in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous stories.
However, what was interesting is that there were portraits of famous criminals during the time that Sherlock Holmes would have lived, stuck up on Sherlock's bedroom wall.

Sherlock's Criminal Wall 

One of the portraits contained the mug-shot of famous serial killer Lizzie Borden. I asked about Lizzie's picture for two reasons, firstly, she came after Sherlock Holmes' time period (so strike one for inaccuracy), secondly, she was from America (strike two for inaccuracy, Sherlock rarely left for America), and thirdly, the jury is still out as to whether she actually was a murderer! The tour guide gave me some measly excuse about the study of criminal psychology (which wasn't invented until the 1960s, not the 1890s). It's sad to say that I spent more time in the gift shop than the museum itself. I took an uber home, not wanting to walk another 5 miles. I also promised myself that tomorrow would have a more fun venue.

Beautiful window!

Friday, in fact, did have a more fun venue as I had booked a bus trip to travel out to Warwick Castle, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and Oxford. Warwick Castle lies in the county of Warwickshire and was strategic in many battles.

#library goals

The castle was first a fort created by William the Conqueror. Later, it was visited by the Prince of Wales and by a very young Winston Churchill for a party one-weekend in the early 1900s. I climbed three out of the four towers of the castle (the fourth being off-limits), and surveyed the countryside below, noticing the old drained moat, and the river Avon flowing next to the castle.

Bear Tower of Castle Warwick, added by King
Richard III

The River Avon with a beautiful broken bridge in the middle

Enjoying the countryside view from the castle

Shakespeare's early house

The bus then brought us to Stratford-upon-Avon, which I was extremely excited about, is the home of one of my favorite writers, William Shakespeare. Unfortunately, the house that Shakespeare bought after making loads of money in London was destroyed in the 1800s, but his parents' house still stands. The tour through his parents' house is rushed and somewhat disappointing.
There isn't a lot to see in the house, with mainly just some props lying around in different rooms. However, I did find out that Shakespeare has a Chinese contemporary that wrote plays during the same period. Tang Xianzu also wrote drama and has been dubbed the "Shakespeare of the East." I'll definitely have to read some of his plays and see how he compares to our famed playwright.

Shakespeare's parents' bed

Shakespeare and his Chinese contemporary

The Reading Room building of Oxford

We then moved onto Oxford. It was a very cute town, as each building is made of the same Oxfordshire stone, a honey color. Our tour guide showed us around campus, explaining that the tuition for international students can range from 30,000 to up to 50,000 depending on which country you're coming from. So much for cheap education, although the campus was pretty enough to tempt me to consider doing a Ph.D. just to live there. I'm totally against that idea now, but it still lingers in the back of my mind.

Another Oxford building

I didn't return to London until about 6:30 p.m., after taking a bus trip of 300 miles.
Saturday was Kew Gardens. It was also my first time taking the tube, so I was quite nervous. I managed okay and made it to Kew, where everyone and their second cousin had planned to visit for the weekend. The gardens are around 860 acres, with conservatories, palm houses, and temperate houses dotting the parks.

The tropical house at Kew Gardens 

There were so many things to see I had a hard time keeping track of how many photos I had taken, though I did recognize many plants, just due to my internship at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I had hoped to visit the famed Kew Gardens Herbarium, which keeps thousands of dried specimens collected from all over the world, including some by Charles Darwin. However, entering the Herbarium is by appointment only. I will be trying to make an appointment and keeping my fingers crossed that they let me in.

Carnivorous Plants! 

Lovely Hibiscus

One of the famed Chihuly glass sculptures 

No idea what these are

#plantception

Part of the famous Tower of London, plus the original stone
wall in front of the building

Sunday I visited the Tower of London, the Globe theater to watch a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the Jack the Ripper museum. I took the tube again and arrived at the famed Tower around noon. I climbed a couple of the towers within the Tower (which is really more like a large stone fort),
including the tower that held the famous poet Sir Walter Raleigh. He actually named the state of Virginia, after the virgin Queen Elizabeth I. Guess she didn't really like that...no, there were other reasons Raleigh was imprisoned, including having a secret marriage to one of Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting. Whoops. He was later executed within the Tower. Anne Boleyn, one of King Henry VIII's wives, was also executed within the Tower. Two princes during the time of King Richard III's reign were supposedly buried in the walls of the Tower (or so two skeletons found in the walls tell us). The list goes on an on of the Tower's bloody history.

The spot where Anne Boleyn was beheaded...yikes

Prison graffiti

What most people, myself included, come to see in the Tower is not the etched graffiti of terrified prisoners (though there is that too), but the Crown Jewels. Noon was the worst time to see the Jewels as it took me a whole half an hour just to get into the exhibit, and then elbow my way to the glass boxes. Of course, no pictures were allowed, but I can tell you that they're very sparkly.

Of course, I had to take a picture

The stage of the Globe Theater

I then rushed over to the Globe theater, trying to avoid the slight drizzle of rain. I made it with plenty of time to spare before the performance. The play ran for a good three hours, during which the actors dutifully ignored the rainy weather and performed wonderfully. I can't say I've seen a better version of A Midsummer Night's Dream than that. I will return to the Globe this coming week for a performance of King Henry V, which I'm excited for as it's a nationalist play and one of Shakespeare's best-written ones, in my humble opinion.

Bloodstained desk of Jack the Ripper with replicas of the actual
letters he supposedly wrote

I then left the Globe and walked to the Jack the Ripper museum. Like the Sherlock Holmes museum, it was a flat that someone had converted into a museum, complete with rooms of props and wax figures. The eerie thing about the museum, besides the fact that it dove into the mind and madness of a serial killer, was that I was one of the only people there. The floors creaked hideously, and I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder multiple times, especially while I was in the proposed study of Jack the Ripper. The museum had you climb from floors one to four, then end in the basement. The basement was posed as the mortuary, where each of the five canonical (and I say canonical because there's still debate about how many women were actually killed by Jack the Ripper, but most experts do agree on five actual killings) victims were processed. The fluorescent light of the room, plus the body drawers and grotesque pictures made me shutter. I soon left the museum with a feeling I couldn't shake off...a feeling like I was being watched.

A proposed study for the famed serial killer Jack the Ripper

Oh well! I wasn't.
Monday was actually a fairly normal day, as I registered for classes and got coffee with my friend Mariana, who also is in my program of Science Communication. She's from California, and we chatted for quite a while about what to expect. It was nice to finally meet up with someone and discuss things.
Today I went to the British Museum, right as they opened (I've learned my lesson by now, with the 12 million people living in London). I wandered through the halls of mummies, Assyrian etchings, Chinese calligraphy, and other breath-taking pieces of art that have been housed for decades in this building. I did end up elbowing my way to the front of the display case of the famed Rosetta stone, that had such a dark color it was hard to get a good picture. But I did take pictures of nearly everything else. After spending three-plus hours in the museum, and way too much money in the gift shop (my mouse pad is now an oriental rug instead of my to-do pad), I headed home. I reached the tube station only to be caught in a downpour, having to shower when I reached my flat.


So my only question after all these adventures is: where to next???

Cleopatra's mummy, plus her wooden inner sarcophagus 

The Suicide of Ajax, from Greek mythology

Who doesn't love hieroglyphics?

Great color! 

#librarygoals

There's no filter on this picture, stunning blues! 

Bad hair day? 

The Egyptian god Sehkmet 

Calligraphy and art 

Assyrian Lion Hunt 

Week 1 London: A walk for nothing, or why you shouldn't wear white pants on grass

Hello, all my fans! I have finally arrived in the U.K.! Well, I technically arrived yesterday, but I am getting a bit ahead of myself. I do need to summarize my past week. I ended my vacation in California, taking with me a couple ceramic projects my aunt Julie put me up to, as well as a picture frame I had made for Ben as a going away gift like any friend would do. I was only home for two days before I would be whisked away to rainy London. Those two days blurred together as I raced around northern Colorado to wish my last goodbyes to family and friends. I am still missing all of you! Sending hugs and tea from across the pond!

Spot the rabbit! My aunt Julie sculpted it!

 Unfortunately, I caught a cold before leaving the U.S., which only made my journey more lethargic. My parents drove me to the airport, where we ate lunch and discussed family matters, all of us pretending I wasn't about to step on a plane.  When the time came for me to head to the sesspool of security, my parents and I shared tearful hugs and goodbyes. I miss you both. 
After reaching my gate, I relaxed for a bit before the flight attendants began boarding us passengers in our flight to Frankfurt. It was cheaper to fly to Frankfurt, then London as opposed to just London. This meant that I had a five-hour layover in Frankfurt, which I used to binge-watch Season 3 of the Office, on Netflix (bears, beets, and Battlestar Galactica). I only slept three hours on the flight to Frankfurt and spent the rest of the time watching movies such as Deadpool 2. Nothing much else to report about the plane trip, except that if you haven't been on an international flight before, they do give you better food. Not much better mind you, but better. I was able to get some food and coffee in Frankfurt during my short stay.

I arrived in London at 3 P.M. (GMT), which for my Yankee friends and family is 8 A.M. your time (MST). We're 7 hours ahead here, so if you're doing the math it's easier if you put it in military time. To say I was exhausted is an understatement. I scrambled out of the airport to find the uber driver I had booked. Thankfully he was understanding at my confusion over where to meet in the Heathrow airport. The drive to my flat was silent but enlightening for me, as I was able to see the buildings and parks that I had previously missed due to arriving past dark the last time I visited London. I lugged my 50 lb suitcase down my rickety stairs to my basement flat. Never have I ever been so close to death before. Granted, it is not the way I would have chosen to go, as falling down the stairs holding a giant suitcase seems a bit measly for my taste (I'd much rather follow suit to Agatha Christie and be a Body in the Library lol...). I then spent the next several hours unpacking my suitcase and the four boxes I had already shipped, despite the fact that I hadn't eaten in several hours and was extremely exhausted. I was able to fit everything in and make my flat seem homey. Yes, there were plenty of shelves for my books. Though it's really tempting to not fill all of them.

I'm convinced my room was the living room at one point due to the fireplace. 

I think I lucked out with having the one room with a big window in the basement flat. My poor roommate Jessica lives under the street! Poor girl, though she's moving soon. I met all of my roommates. The couple is Mohammed and Kerry, who is leaving at the end of this month, so I won't see them that often. There's also Min, a Ph.D. student at Imperial College. She told me where the nearest grocery store is, and a bit about the college as well. She's leaving in November, while Jessica is leaving in October. So I will have new roommates soon, though I like the ones I'm living with now. We all keep to ourselves, staying in our rooms. Min is the only student, but she gets home close to when everyone else does, late in the evening.

Part of our small kitchen

When I finished settling in, I skyped my sister, Rylee, as I was feeling lonely. I hadn't had a normal conversation with anyone at all in the past 24 hours and needed someone to pull me out of my head. My sister, like my family and some of my friends, are good at that thing. We're only 17 months apart, so we're fairly close. She was also having a bad morning, so we were able to motivate each other and chat for a while. That made me feel better. After my skype call, I decided to get some food. I didn't know where the nearest market was at the time (it's literally around the corner), so I walked 20+ minutes up to Kensington high street to Whole Foods. They had 3 levels, and I lost myself in the random brands of food I had never seen before. I got all the basics, knowing I would find somewhere cheaper to eat in the future. I walked all the way back to my flat toating groceries. Thankfully, London is such a diverse place that people carrying their groceries is a natural occurrence. Honestly, almost anything seems to be a natural occurrence, it's a laid-back city.
After ravenously devouring a bowl of pasta, I watched some more Netflix then went to bed. I slept for a good 10 hours, rare for me. I felt better and got up around 8:30 the next day.
My friend Lucy, who is also in my master's program, was paying me a visit in the morning to drop off some bags. I ate breakfast and met her at the front door. Apparently, her friend and she are going to Marseilles for some beach time. I had a twinge of jealousy as I closed the door behind them, but it passed.  I decided today was the day I explored more of the city and grabbed my visa card from the post office. Using my city-mapper app, the post office I had to go to was 40 minutes away walking. So I toodled along in a northern direction, taking pictures of the streets that wowed me, due to architecture, or balconies, or...well...see for yourself.

For all the Whovians 

Beautiful balconies

Because our mailmen aren't cool enough. 

I enjoyed the balconies on this building

I enjoyed the lovely architecture, even though there
 was a lot of construction

A hidden walkway next to this gem of a house

My path of walking took me straight into Kensington Gardens, where I decided to stop for lunch and do a bit of reading. I bought a deli sandwich at Sainsbury's (their local grocers), and found a shady patch of grass to sit on as it was hot in the sunshine. I pulled out my book (1599 by James Shapiro, decent read about Shakespeare writing Hamlet and Henry V). I sat for an hour eating, reading and people watching. Eventually, I repositioned my legs and noticed that the dead grass of Kensington Gardens did not want to let go of my pants, shoes, or jacket! If this wasn't bad enough, the pants I had chosen to wear for the day were white. So in the glory of Kensington Gardens, I stood up and brushed off my pants and jacket, including making some delicate and polite brushes across my butt region.

The dead September grass

I continued walking down Kensington Gardens until I reached a large iron gate with gold. I smiled as I realized that I had found the Kensington Palace completely on accident. Of course, I blended in with the tourists and took some photos, but I enjoyed wandering through the hedges and fountains knowing that I didn't seek this place out, but instead it seemed to find me. By that time my phone was on 15% battery, and I wanted to make sure I knew my route home, so I walked back to my flat to recharge my phone and put my feet up. 

Once more I made the trek, arriving at the designated post office only to be told that my visa card had not arrived yet and that I should return on Thursday. Ugh! I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed. So, I decided to walk back down Kensington high street and explore that route a bit more. It just so happens that Waterstone bookstores in on that street, and I couldn't help but go in. I have a job interview with the store on Thursday to work with them, hopefully using the skills I learned at Barnes & Noble. Waterstones is a beautiful store with three levels, but on each one, the books seem randomly organized in my opinion. 

You start to observe things in a bookstore once you've worked long enough in the book industry. For example, Barnes & Noble organizes their stores into many sub-sections within a genre. So within the "business" section, you will find subsections such as "motivation and management," "job hunting and personal finance" or "investments." In Waterstones bookstore, I found little of that, with bigger genres being separated into "history" or even "British history," and then alphabetized by author. No sub-sections beyond this, which is annoying if you're trying to find a book on World War II, do you go to history or British history? 

The circled items help clarify sub-genres

Another thing you notice is which publishers print in paperback and which in hardback. In the U.S., any Barnes & Noble employee (or at least those who care enough about their job to pay attention) can tell you which books we only offer in hardback. Even the books in paperback are around $23.00, depending on what version of the book you're buying (if you're confused please comment below, or if you're bored, please comment below). In Waterstones, most publishers print their books in paperback, with different covers than the U.S. editions, as well as cheaper prices. I was astonished and a little annoyed at myself by how cheap the books were and how many were in beautiful paperback editions that Barnes & Noble didn't have! I do have to say that I'm excited to hopefully learn more about the U.K. book industry from working at Waterstones. But I digress...

I did also go to Sainsbury's later for some snacks, as I propped my sore--again--feet up in my room. It's been a busy day, but it's also been nice not to be cooped up in my flat room and feel lonely. Being around other people allows me to be out of my head, to see that other people are there, and I'm not alone here. To me, that is a comforting sight. 

So tomorrow my plans??? Hmmm...probably walk around campus and figure out the buildings. As well as find out how to get to Stratford-Upon-Avon.