Angry ladies, shiny jewels, and the death of Megan Walsh

Well looks like we have been slacking again, so it is time for another post. Also, we need to start posting pictures.

Sunday:

We woke up excited to venture to Hyde Park. When we arrived, we were greeted by beautiful green scenery (which seems unlikely in the winter) and ridiculous amounts of birds. I think Hitchcock had the right idea because some of these birds are TERRIFYING. Nightmares.

Every Sunday in Hyde Park Londoners gather in "Speaker's Corner" equipped with wooden stools and loud voices. A few brave souls stand upon the stools and yell out arguments, opinions, etc. to a crowd. We first listened in on a man yelling about the Bible and religion, but eventually he was just yelling at a man smoking a cigarette, and then that man started yelling at him, and then I was too caught up in the drama to actually understand the original argument.

We listened in on other religious and political arguments, but by far the most ridiculous was some old woman who just HATES EVERYONE IN THE WORLD. I don't believe she had any actual point to make besides people need to leave "her country". Though she said she was religious, she claimed everyone else was going to hell except for her kind soul. Some man with a slight Scottish accent asked her a question and her reply was, "I don't speak Scottish. Get out of my country". Luckily I captured some of this on video. Apparently she has been coming to Speaker's Corner every Sunday for 20 years, so I suggest one of you go find her.

After almost 2 hours of laughing, crying, and yelling, we decided to go on a mission to find the most elusive boy in the world--Peter Pan. Though we thought we were walking in the right direction, we basically walked 7 miles out of the way. Eventually we found the Princess Diana Fountain Memorial, so we spent some time sitting around the peaceful, artsy fountain trying to heal our frazzled minds. As English majors, we could go on about the significance of the circular fountain and how it represented Diana’s life, but we won’t. Soon enough, we FOUND that sneaky boy hidden behind some foliage. I would love to say it was life changing and inspirational, but I don't like to lie. However Glenn, Dave, and Edgar were so happy to have found it that they immediately fell to their knees and bowed down to the boy who refuses to GROW UP, get a life, and discover a more accessible place to hide from tourists.

The 5 of us attempted to take the tube home, but then realized the closest stop was inconveniently closed which meant we had to figure out the science of buses. Though I thought Peter Pan would inspire me to fly home, it actually took us a solid 2 hours to make it back to Russell Square. We then rewarded ourselves with Fish& Chips from the closest pub. Plenty of people were gathered at the pub to watch soccer…sorry, football. It was comparable to being at Grotto’s during a Phillies game, but of course we didn’t really understand anything.

Tired from a long day, we finished our homework, planned a trip for Paris& Barcelona (for the last weekend), and passed out.

Monday:

Of course we were dying to do a Harry Potter tour in London, so we read about a cheap walking tour. We arrived with some others outside a metro stop, excited to see magical sights. Of course, the tour actually had absolutely nothing to do with Harry Potter. I mean it was a very interesting historical tour, and we did see where Gringotts Bank was filmed, but we may have been slightly disappointed.

Instead we saw a gothic mansion similar to the Malfoy’s, a bar that the Leaky Cauldron may have been modeled off of (but actually was a popular hangout of Aleister Crowley), and a church where Charles Dickens’ parents were married.

We then apparated to The Verve, a bar near Leicester Square. We taught the British how to fist pump (like a champ), though they looked extremely awkward. Additionally, we learned that British men believe American girls are “slutty and ignorant” and they have no fashion sense. Yayy. They were also convinced that Edgar was a preppy Eminem fan in addition to being Becky’s father. Pleasant.

Tuesday:

After class, we quickly ate and then headed to THE TOWER OF LONDON. We were given a tour by some awesome beefeater. He was wonderful and also had no idea why he is called a beefeater. Glad he knows his history. Then we explored a little bit, but we didn’t have too much time since we had an assignment due at night.

The Crown Jewels were BEAUTIFUL, and shiny, and beautiful (guys, take note). They even had a pure gold punch bowl which would be PERFECT for gin buckets. If any of you ever need to buy as gifts, we would be happy to receive some of the items from the exhibit. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos. We proceeded to the TORTURE room where Megan was hanged, drawn, and quartered. She’s still alive.

After frantically finishing the homework, we had to be at a play at Gielgud Theater called Yes, Prime Minister. It was fairly entertaining though we struggled to stay awake. Since we were starving afterwards, we went to McDonalds and got delicious food for once. Except the British don’t know what Honey Mustard is, and they think sweet and sour means “chili sauce.” Clearly, it’s not.

Though the British have Universal Healthcare, they still have no idea what good food is. HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE OIL AT SUBWAY? You don’t know what vinegar is? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT FLAVOR IS? Nope.

Wednesday:

We took a 2 hour bus ride into Cambridge and then walked around. We found a nice little lunch place where Brittany got a potato jacket filled with chili con carne and cheese and Megan got one with baked beans. Obviously it was raining (SHOCKER).

We then took a tour and learned about the University which is actually split up into many different colleges. For some reason the tour guide thought we were all future scientists and assumed we knew everything about science. SO about half the tour was over our heads.

We then had some extra time so we went to The Eagle—the pub where Watson and Crick announced the discovery of DNA. The mulled wine was excellent.

After a long day, Brittany went with the group to Los Locos, and Megan disappeared to go hang out with Mr. Crowley.

Thursday:

Today was filled with class, gross greasy food, and SHOPPING. Megan went on quite the shopping spree but she does not want to discuss it as she is probably returning EVERYTHING. Or not since she has already worn some of it. We also completed our project with Lauren on the medicalization (not actually a word Dr. MICHAELEC) of Chronic Public Scratching. Interesting. We then visited our favorite bar/club, O’Neill’s, where it was so hot that wine glasses slipped out of our hands. Whoops.