Understated Abroad

I had the absolute greatest time in London.  Who would have thought that research or solo travel would have been so fun? I was able to see so many incredible sights and monuments, all while trying incredible food and learning so much. 

I thought I would round out my trip with a highlight reel of all my favorite adventures.  

Markets

Food 

Obviously, trying new food is one of the best parts about exploring a new place.  London did not disappoint.  Pretty much everything I had was incredible and unique.  Hightlights included the fish and chips (of course), a chicken curry dish I got from Monocle Cafe (more on that later), and the avocado sweet potato fries I got at Camden Market.  Honorable mention goes to the sunset perri-perri burger add pineapple from Nando's which was a faithful staple when I was too tired to find somewhere else to eat.  

I went to the Churchill Arms in Notting Hill because, well, look at it, and was delightfully surprised by the quality of the thai food there.  The flowers really take the cake though.

I got my first London Fish & Chips at the Chipping Forecast, also in Notting Hill, and I was incredible.  So good.  Even the peas were good and I hate peas.  But I ate all those peas, along with everything else.  Go here.

This bubble waffle was sub-par but adorable.  Nosteagia is near Buckingham Palace and Green Park, so that helped. Activities

Barnes Village, where I stayed, was very lovely and gave me the opportunity to run right along the banks of the river Thames.  This is Hammersmith Bridge, which I crossed daily to get into the center city.

The National Archives were so so cool.  This is a confidential (now open) record from 1982 with notes concerning the Iranian nuclear program.  Casual.

What? America? How can it be? This is a photo from shortly before I was denied entry to the American Embassy for "security reasons". Whatever.  I still got thisclose to being back on American soil.

If you are a super-fan with a keen eye you may recognize this building.  The black door next to the Speedy's awning is the entrance used for 221B Baker Street on the BBC Sherlock.  Yes I tracked it down.  Judge me.

I visited a lot of coffee shops in London, but this was my favorite. I have listed to Monocle 24's The Briefing for my news every morning since I was a freshman in college, so I knew I had to visit their cafe, right down the street from were they produce their shows while I was in London.  The Monocle Cafe plays their station and sells their newspapers and magazines, and has really really great coffee. I recommend checking out everything that Monocle produces, from podcasts to pot pies.

Bonus: A Warning

Literally whatever you do do not go see Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.  While my other West End experience was magical (read about it here) the words that best describe this production are forced, ridiculous, and just awful.  I am not exaggerating when I say that Trina Vega's one woman show "She-cago" was home to better acting and more realistic accents.  If anyone knows someone involved in this show please let them know that they owe me three hours.  

I loved London and cannot wait to return.  But for now, it's on to Switzerland and the next academic adventure! 

Once I had finished all of my research in London I decided to take a day trip to visit Oxford, home of the oldest university in England.  The city of Oxford itself was beautiful, and I had a lovely time exploring the individual colleges and pretending that I was a student there.  

Because (in theory) I am a prospective student, I was given tours of all the colleges (and by all, I mean the ten out of the thirty eight that I stumbled into).  All of them were so neat and historic and gave off serious Harry Potter vibes (maybe because a good chunk of Harry Potter was filmed here? idk).  The chapels were especially amazing.  While I was in the Hertford College Chapel I met the priest as she was leaving and she told me all about the history and architecture of the chapel.  

Hertford and Lincoln Colleges were my favorites-- just look at this ivy in one of the Lincoln College quads: 

I could get used to studying here.

The history in the city was incredible, as was the architecture.  One of the best places I visited during the day was the Vaults and Gardens Cafe for lunch.  The food was incredible (and not terribly overpriced) and the location could not be beat.  It was in the building that was the original main building for the university when it was founded (aka like 800 years ago).  Just look at this view I had for lunch: 

The Radcliffe Camera and my Chicken Basque/Quinoa Salad.  One of the best meals I had in England tbh.

I really really enjoyed exploring the city talking to students and faculty in Oxford.  It was a unique environment that I hope to visit again.  

One of the best things about London so far is all of the free museums.  And within the walls of these museums are a majority of things that I learned about in the four semester H2P (Honors Humanities Project) courses at the University of Arkansas.  

H2P, though soul crushing challenging at times, taught me SO MUCH about culture, beginning with basically the beginning of time to present day, as well as how to be a good, self sustaining college student/academic.  

Each semester we covered different cultures and civilizations, and the different artifacts that represented them.  A lot of those artifacts have found their way to the British Museum (and the modern art from H2P4 in the Tate Modern), and I GOT TO SEE THEM ALL IN REAL LIFE IT WAS LIKE A WEIRD AMAZING SCHOOL DREAM.  I don't know how to not make myself sound like a giant nerd here, but it was so incredible to see all of the things that I had written COUNTLESS papers over in real life.  

Here are some of the highlights: 

Mesopotamian lions, studied in H2P1

The Elgin Marbles, studied in H2P1. Side note: BIG supporter of returning them to Greece, but I was so amazed viewing them.  I cried a little. Main thing I learned studying these: they're displayed improperly. When atop the Parthenon they should face outward rather than inward.

Mexica double headed snake, studied H2P2

Carved Stool from the western coast of Africa, studied H2P3.

The Parliamentary Archives were a dream.  It was so neat to be able to go into the Houses of Parliament and sort through all of the documents that I had ordered up, seeking out things that can help to inform my thesis.  It was also neat to be able see acts of parliament that were written on scrolls from up to 450 years ago.  Everything was sorted and cataloged and organized in order to preserve it, but with an appointment anyone at all can view these documents from hundreds of years ago.  



When I made my appointment I order about fifteen different documents, memos, and reports.  What was really interesting about the process was that I had no idea exactly what the document contained before I got it, so some of them were amazing and full of information, and some of them were 1/2 page memos about application of an act banning pistachios. 

That's the beauty of research.  You never know what you're going to find, and sometimes you don't even know exactly what you're looking for, but you know exactly when you've found something that you need.  I've had those moments frequently here in London, and I look forward to even more in Geneva while I really buckle down on my research project.  

PS: Here are some tourist photos of me where I don't look like I'm dying.  You're welcome.  

Bonus pic of the BBC.  Doesn't feature me looking away awkwardly, and it's not composed/exposed very well either.  Oh well.

I would like to preface this post by saying that I had a really great day today. But some crazy things happened that would probably make any normal first time solo traveler book a ticket back home and call it a day.  

Today started out quite nicely.  I made coffee and eggs for breakfast and put on one of my favorite shirts for what I thought would be a fun first day of research and afternoon of sightseeing in the central city.  I downloaded directions from CityMapper, put on a sweater (it feels like late September here!), and set out for my first solo public transportation experience (don't laugh at me, I don't get out much). 

The first leg of the journey went incredibly well, except for me trying to get off of the bus at what the bus driver assured me was definitely not a stop.  At the tube station I flawlessly mimicked the people around me and followed my app's directions, arriving at Kew Gardens in no time at all.  I was so proud! I had done it! I even posted a celebratory snapchat bragging about how well I had done.  Oh, how pride goeth before the fall.  But I'll come back to that. 

I walked the remaining way to the UK National Archives, where I went through a small orientation, toured the small curator's museum, and picked up this semesters first round of souvenirs (I found a hog pin okay, I HAD TO BUY IT).  Absolutely famished, I decided it would be a good idea to grab a small latte from the cafe at the archives and then begin my day of sightseeing. I drank the coffee in a posh pink chair that overlooked a poster of the Declaration of Independence (a copy of which is actually stored in the Archives).  I downloaded my next set of directions and set off, sure that London could not beat me.  

I was wrong.  

My first mistake was not paying attention to which train I got on.  Rookie mistake.  I just followed everyone else, thinking that it had worked so well before.  If I had paid a bit more attention in that one moment this post would be a few well placed photos of me pointing at Tower Bridge or Westminster Abbey and some obscure quote or lyric.  Instead, this post is a warning.  I was three stops in, headed north bound rather than east when I really figured out that I had made a mistake, and honestly what tipped me off the most is when the houses went from precious Victorian cottages to warehouses with broken windows.  I got off immediately and hopped on what I thought was the south bound leg of the same line.  Wrong again.  This time I ask an employee how to get where I need to go, they tell me a series of three station changes, I repeat them, and then forget them immediately.  Thanks to Jesus alone I end up on the right line, and make the right couple of switches so that I am finally just one train away from my final destination.  

Two things are important to mention at this point.  One is that it has been three hours since I departed from the Archives.  The second, is that my feet have giant blisters all over them.  ALL over them.  Giant.  It's getting hard to walk.  But nevertheless, I persisted. Anyway, riding all over London and trying desperately to understand the maps was actually a little fun. 

As I board my final train I notice that the clip on my bag is undone, and I begin to get a bad feeling.  Sitting there, on the Piccadilly Line towards Hammersmith station, I realize that I've lost my wallet.  That's right.  Credit card, debit card, driver's license, and about $70 in cash are stone cold missing.  I feared the worst, but the whole time I had a feeling that everything would turn out alright.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had most likely left my wallet sitting in that pink chair, too overcome by the coffee and the words of Thomas Jefferson to remember to put my wallet back in my purse.  

You can say it.  I'm saying it too.  I'm an Idiot.  

So once I get back to where I started this morning, I get right back on the very first tube I had ever taken, headed back to Kew Gardens for the second time today.  Luckily, I get off where I need to. I walk hobble back to the National Archives, my path blocked by a mother swan and three little baby swans. It would have been a lot cuter if I had money. 

Inside the Archives I make my way to the security station, and there it is. My wallet.  Still stuffed.  Academics, am I right? Anyone else would have treated them selves to a nice shopping spree on me.  But some sweet professor from who-knows-where turned in my wallet so that I could live another day.  

This story, however, is far from over.  

It has now been about four hours since I first decided to leave the Archives, and there I was leaving again.  I make my way back to the station, load a bit more money on my oyster card (as my escapades earlier ate up all 15 pounds that I had preloaded) and got back to Hammersmith with minimal challenges.  Needless to say I got on the right train this time.  

At this point, my feet are succumbing to what may be a case of WWI era trench foot, so I decide to drop by the good ole TK Maxx to see if I could find a loafers or something to relieve the pressure on the backs of my heels.  I was successful.  Finally, ready to be done with the day and just pick up some food to eat back at my flat, I head to the bus station and hop on the route that stops exactly in front of where I am staying.  There is no possible way that I can screw this up right? It's an 8 minute bus ride.  

Wrong.  

I forget to request the stop and the bus rolls right through.  Now, a reasonable person would have just gotten off at the next stop and walked back, but I decided that since my feet hurt a little I would just ride the loop and get off when it came back around.  This was a mistake.  The bus continues heading south east for a whole hour before it comes to it's final stop and the bus driver tells me "You have to get off now." Turns out, the bus takes a bit of a break before it circles back a round.  Who would have known.  

So, a bit lost and all on my own, I walk a bit back up the street to a coffee shop that I had remembered passing on the bus and seeing a "free wifi" sign.  I buy a diet coke and an almond biscotti.  For anyone who truly knows me, a genuine sign of my mental state shows here, as I'm not sure if I've ever been to a coffee shop and not walked out with coffee before.  I log on the wifi and look at two options: 1. Uber (20 minutes, 20 dollars) 2. Bus (60 minutes, 1.50).  I took the bus. 

Finally, at about 6:30, I arrive back to where I'm staying, a full 6 hours and 5 walking miles later.  I finish the day with take away pizza and the promise to myself that tomorrow I will actually do something other that ride the tube.  

Like I said at the beginning, today was actually really fun, and a real learning experience. Unfortunately I have found throughout my life that I only learn through learning experiences. Before something tragic happens, like losing my wallet in one of the largest cities in the world, that I have just been all over, I'm just some poor idiot abroad.  

Today I woke up and it was raining, and tonight as I go to sleep it is still raining.  They told me that the stereotypes about London weather were untrue, but for now I'm finding this hard to believe.  

Today was mostly uneventful, as I accidentally slept 18 hours last night (shall we blame it on the jet lag or the NyQuill?).  Once I got up and around I bought some groceries at a market across the street from my flat.  I had some trouble comprehending why I needed to pay for the sack and the sweet lady checking me out had some trouble comprehending why I hadn't signed the back of my card. I guess I gave myself away as an out of towner.  

After I put away my groceries and ate whatever meal it is you eat when you sleep through both breakfast and lunch, I grabbed my umbrella and set off to pick up a couple more things I needed as well as explore a bit.  I made my way across Hammersmith Bridge which spans the Thames.  

Walking down the street I'm staying on.  Getting sprinkled on consistently.

A rather understated photo of Hammersmith Bridge.  It really is quite pretty.  Unlike the Thames, which was, in a word, gross.

Across the bridge I found Hammersmith tube station, and a lot of flower shops, pubs, and a mall.  The most surprising find of the day was a TK Maxx.  Exactly the same as TJ Maxx, but different.  

The first of many flower shops passed along the way.

I felt like I was in one of those movies with an alternate reality where everything is basically the same, but just different enough to drive the main character crazy.

When the rain picked up I returned to my snug little flat to roast some veggies for dinner and begin planning my first day of research in the National Archives.  

Greetings, from concourse F of the Atlanta Hartsfield- Jackson Airport.  The day has finally come for me to depart my dear United States and begin my semester in Europe.  A year of planning has come to an end, and four months of adventure (and a LOT of research) has begun.  

Near the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I mad a cup of Yogi Tea and the tea tag had the message "Travel light, spread the light, be the light."  I taped this lovely little message to my wall to see when I was working and studying, and have been carrying it around in my back pack since I moved out of my sophomore dorm.  This lil tea tag is holds so many wonderful messages.  

Travel light 

Spread the light 

Be the light