Christmas in London

Thanksgiving has passed and CAPA hosted a fantastic dinner for us, even though Thanksgiving is an American holiday.  For a country that doesn't observe our celebration, CAPA did a great job and the food was really quite nice.  I was quite happy with my first vegetarian dinner, though I may have had way too much sweet potato delightfulness.

(Harrod's Wizard of Oz tree to celebrate the book's 70th anniversary.  This tree is simply clever.)

So now the Christmas season begins in earnest without the craziness of Black Friday.  Slowly but surely, the Christmas mood is starting to set in as I think about having only 2 weeks left in London and quickly decorating the house in preparation for family visits.  I am now playing my Charlie Brown Christmas CD, and that is an instant injection of holiday spirit.

More Christmas pictures will come as I take in several Christmas Markets in London this weekend.  Next weekend, we are heading to Christmas Markets in Belgium and Germany.  I may be all Christmased out when I return to the States!

A shot up Oxford Circus, one of London's premiere shopping areas.

This is the Somerset House and Collections.  Beyond this beautiful Christmas tree (sponsored by Tiffany's) is a large ice skating rink.

The ice rink at Somerset with the Christmas Tree behind me.

A pic of Selfridge's, my favorite store here.

This is a picture of Leadenthal Market.  It is a beautiful market near the flat, and it is particularly beautiful when decorated.

It's not a Christmas pic, but I thought it would be a fun take on the Three Wise Kings...Henry VIII, King Kong, and Elvis.  This is a pub near my flat, and I love the sign!

Rudolph outside Covent Garden Market.  He is all twinkles.

Inside Covent Garden Market.  I went on a week day to avoid the masses of people that turn out (and ruin pictures) on the weekends.

Cologne and Craig

One of the many altars in the Dom.

I FINALLY found a Dunkin Donuts in Europe.  I have never been so happy to have my hazelnut coffee!  A pound came home to London with me.

I visited Craig in Cologne this weekend, and it was a great time.  Seeing Craig is always an easy time because we pick up right where we left off--as good friends do.  Cologne itself is a beautiful city, though the 1960s-70s buildings were not very interesting architecturally.  But I guess that is what happens when you rebuild a city that was all but decimated in the war.  Fortunately, the Dom Cathedral survived, and what a piece of work that was.  I compare it to the Cathedral or Learning or Heinz Chapel on steroids.  Standing in front of the cathedral was a lesson in feeling small and plain.  Inside was no less spectacular, including the golden shrine that supposedly contains the remains of the three wise men (hence the three crowns that are the city's official logo).  I am not sure how you prove that, but I left my scientist hat in London for the weekend.

Herr Griffin would have been disappointed in my memory for German, but not in my appreciation for good German ale.  Tasty pastries were everywhere, as they are throughout Europe; it remains a wonder that I have lost weight while here!

It is difficult to believe that I will return to Pittsburgh in just a few weeks.  I have had a great time and a once-in-a-lifetime experience; however, I also feel it is time.  I am ready to have my life back, and many of the students are having similar feelings.  There are many things that I have to do in the short time remaining, so hopefully my blog will be better updated in the coming weeks.  ;)

The outside of the Dom.  

Repeat and Twist

It has been a while since my last update.  One should not conclude that I have been secluded in my flat for these two weeks, however.  I have been busy showing Paul around London and the ruins at Bath Spa, so I haven't had much new to report.  Let's just call it the grazing tour of London's markets, especially Borough Market that I have mentioned before.  We found an amazing grilled cheese sandwich (worth every bit of the 5 pounds we paid), and the vendor is originally from Michigan.  So we chatted about all things American in London while she grilled a tasty treat from God.  Our tour continued through Irish steaks, chorizo sausages, mulled cider, etc.  I knew Paul would love this market!

We took in several museums, including the British Museum and Library.  It was amazing to see an early Gutenberg Bible, da Vinci's notebook, original works of Shakespeare, writings of Freud and Darwin in their own hand, 1 of 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta, and original scores penned by Handel and Beethoven.  What was truly amazing was to fathom that many of these works were created long before my country was even formed.  THAT is impressive.

We also managed to catch a few shows ("Cirkus Cirkor," which I would describe as a Freudian dream after an acid hit, and "Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical").  Our friend Craig visited from Germany also, and so it was fun to be back in the heyday of our time together in Pittsburgh.  We wrapped up his visit with a whirlwind tour of the Thames, the London Eye, Buckingham, Westminster Abbey, and a concert at St. Paul's Cathedral.

After two months of being in London, I have just had my first moment of wanting to be home.  It came on Saturday, and I had a real sense of longing to be back in my "normal" life.  That will come in six weeks.  In the mean time, I will have more friends visiting, and I will be heading to Germany to visit Craig and to Brussels for the Christmas markets (no one's getting presents this year, FYI!).  ;)