Open Jewels - October 3, 2009

It's been nearly two weeks since I first arrived in London, though it seems like I've been here much longer - in a good way. One thing that hasn't changed since last week is that I still have not had a single class this semester! I will officially begin classes this Tuesday, October 6th at 11am with "19th & 20th Century Art in London Collections." I got pretty lucky with my schedule - I think, anyway - and I only have class at UCL on Tuesdays & Thursdays; my Villanova class is on Monday nights in South Kensington.

What have I been doing for the past two weeks if not studying & going to class?

I made the ten minute walk down to Oxford Street from my dorm room and fell further in love with the area I live in. Stores with every style of clothing pinned with ranging price tags lined the bustling street as I narrow-mindedly made my way to my long anticipated target: TOPSHOP. I only heard of Topshop a short time before leaving for my trip but ever since the five story store entered my mind, I had to get there. I tried on a million things, not knowing which size I was or which style I would make my own, let alone the pound to dollar conversion. My biggest hesitation with buying things at Topshop was that these metropolitan, European styles would perhaps never be worn again when I return to Southeastern PA next semester. But that was just a hesitation - not a halt to my shopping. I figured, hey.. I'm in London.. I'll deal with next semester then.

You can see my priorities when I talk about Buckingham Palace after Topshop... but in reality, I did go sightseeing before shopping. From the front, Buckingham Palace didn't look very royally palatial to me; it seemed more of a state building that you might find in D.C. had the USA been an older country. However, my friends & I made our visit just in time to catch one of the last days of the tour through the inside of the state rooms in the palace. The palace looked beautiful from the gardens that the tour eventually let us out on. Everything inside was gorgeous, ornate, and full of royal history that continues on today.

That fact is probably the coolest thing about going to all of the London historical sights: their traditions are still very much alive. Everything you see is still used in the administration of the state. Their preservation of royalty is also fascinating.

I haven't gone inside the houses of Parliament or Westminster Abbey, but I've visited the area a few times and plan to peek inside soon. I learned, from multiple people, in what seems to be one of those facts that Londoners won't let tourists mistake, that Big Ben is actually the bell inside the tower - not the clock, as even I believed it was before a million locals ingrained the truth in my head.

After walking over Millenium bridge, I took a ride on the London Eye, which was spectacular. The ride offered views of every corner of London. There is a big difference between the London & Manhattan skylines: buildings in London are relatively low. There are sparsely located skyscrapers but really nothing comparable to NYC buildings. This low skyline makes for a never-ending view of both the inner and outer city, which was so cool to see. I live around the block from this hideously ugly but very tall telecom tower so spotting my neighborhood from the sky was not a problem.

The Crown Jewels at the Tower of London was one of my favorite tourist stops so far. It is so neat that all of the real jewels that have been worn for centuries and are still worn on the right occasion today are on display for the public. The US keeps our sacred piece of paper hidden behind a massive vault... their billions of dollars of jewels are right out in the open, though at night they are similarly locked in a huge vault. I wonder if that says anything about our countries- we vault paper, they semi-vault jewels... never thought of that until now. Well, actually, my friends & I have been talking about how people are generally more laid back here, enjoying a pint at the pub what seems like every night of the week as opposed to the cut-throat New Yorkers who wait for the weekend to go all out.

Speaking of pubs, nightlife in London has been so much fun. Last week, as part of Fresher's Week at UCL, we checked out Koko, a Broadway-style theater converted into a multi-level nightclub... I loved the venue, it was so clever. The past two nights I spent at O'Neills in Piccadilly Circus. I had been advised to check out O'Neills, the three-story pub featuring live music on the top floor, from multiple parties and all of them knew exactly what they were talking about. It was soo much fun, with people swinging and dancing on every floor, and enjoying the band on the top floor. The ranging ages and nationalities it attracts makes for a really good mix of people, which is entirely different from Tuesday nights at Sports Cafe, also in Piccadilly. The beer pong tables, lounges, dance floor, and cheap drinks it features on Tuesdays lures every American college student spending the semester in London. Though it seems completely typical, it actually makes for one of the best nights of the week because you finally get to be in a place with a familiar feel where you know people. I ran into dozens of Villanovans, a girl from my hometown, and the people I met earlier during my time at UCL. The general consensus among all of them was that Tuesdays would be spent at Sports Cafe.

Besides the cheap drinks at Sports Cafe, there isn't much in London that is cheaper here than at home - except theater tickets. Wednesday night I went to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria theater for only 30 GBP, which is roughly $55. When I saw Wicked on Broadway in NY a few years back, my family paid around $110 a ticket in February for advance tickets in May. We bought our second row Orchestra (though to the side) tickets a day ahead of time in Leicester Square. Since I had seen it before, I wasn't sure how the British accent would fit in to the production - but it actually had little affect on it... we'll see if the same goes for something like Jersey Boys.

After my first week (which is really just two days) of classes, I'm heading to Amsterdam for the weekend. Though I'm interested to see how these classes will be, I'm really excited for my first trip!