Pictures!

I have uploaded several albums of London pictures if you'd like to peruse them:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112073&id=185002172&l=0df0a26786

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112069&id=185002172&l=b6732ca83c

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112067&id=185002172&l=d80b8f23f9

Rewind and Play

On Tuesday, I had my last day of savoring the sights of London.
I didn't have much of an agenda. I got up and went to Central London for coffee with Lizzy, another friend that I met in Peru. Lizzy is British and is studying at Uni in London. We had a nice chat about the differences between British and American universities. Lizzy explained to me that courses of study like Classics, History and Philosophy are well recognized as rigorous courses of study in Britain. Because of this, students with these majors can get jobs in various fields after graduation. I took mental note of this major difference from the US. If someone got a philosophy degree here, I'm sure they'd be looking for work.

Speaking with Lizzy and visiting Pauline on Brick Lane caused me to have a sharp pang of sadness, since I'm no longer in an artistic atmosphere. Being surrounded by people who think of life from different angles and perspectives, is truly refreshing. Its inspiring to be in that community, and is something I hope to get back to some day. I had that sort of community in the art program at Point...

Tuesday afternoon, I dashed back to Brick Lane and ended up on Petticoat Lane where they sell wholesale fabrics. It was an exciting find. Tuesday night was fairly low key, had some red wine with my flatmates; Munya, Daniel, Jenna and Mariah. It felt like a little family. I need roommates.

Today I got up at 6:30am and left on the tube at 7:30am to arrive at Heathrow at 9am for my 11am flight. Another empty Bowing 757 flight from LHR to ORD. I didnt mind. I got to stretch out and sleep. However the flight was delayed arriving in Chicago, and I had flashback of missing my connecting flight coming back from Peru. I dashed through lines and made it through customs, in time to jump on my plane. My luggage, however, was not so lucky. Welcome home.

a meandering Monday

Maria and I decided to part ways. For the morning.

In fact this was quite alright, because I love exploring on my own. If you know me at all, you will find that I explore things at a slow pace. Take shopping for example. When I shop (which is a rare occasion unless thrifting), I must have the full potential of a piece of clothing develop in my mind before I'll buy it. Similar with exploring a new city. I like to taste the atmosphere, get a feel for the vibe of the crowds. 

So instead of taking Maria with me, I took Erik. In the form of a lovely soundtrack that is. I popped in my headphones, and set off for an amazing photo adventure to the tunes of Eriks songs (which he will never give me the names of! hint, hint!). I took the best London pictures I've taken so far. 

Wandered around the Tower of London and enjoyed the random samplings of people. I hate scenic photography. Give me people anyday. However I haven't quite gotten over the fear or blatantly shooting pictures of strangers. So I will often pick something "scenic" in the background and shoot the interesting passerbys in the foreground instead. Muahaha...

Well, I did get to take some purposeful portraits, because Maria agreed to be my subject matter at the end of the day. We met up and strolled around a park. After getting back to Wood Green we lounged away some time at a Sheesha Bar (similar to Hookah Bar) at I got to eat my fav dish: Tabouleh!!!  

A Lovely Sunday

Ahh... lazy Sundays!  Sometimes its hard to be lazy as a tourist, especially when time is so short. So I've been battling the guilt to see every monument, building and historic site and instead enjoy myself by sleeping in and leisurely seeing sites. 

Sunday was an exciting day because I was able to meet up with two friends who I met last summer in Peru. Emma, the Project Manager of the site I volunteered at, from New York and Pauline a fellow volunteer from Paris. Pauline is studying film in London and Emma is working on setting up a non-profit volunteer group for disaster relief (European Disaster Volunteers: edvolunters.org). 

We met up at the Brick Lane market. This was by far my favorite part of London! Extremely artsy, with new designers and artists selling their work, as well as vintage shops gallore and street vendors selling second-hand clothes. The crowd was fairly young, and VERY fashionable. A bit intimidating, but great for a clandestine photo. This market was a lot different than Portobello Road, because here everything was unique, and often handmade. 

I did find that I have one thing on London in a big way: THRIFT STORES! In London they sell vintage clothes for exorbitant prices!  I'll keep my 50cent purses and dresses, thank you very much. 

Stopped by Pauline's flat, which is in a lovely location on Brick Rd. I swear if I could only live in a place like that... there would be no end to constant artistic inspiration! The three of us ended our evening together with a glass of white wine, and then a dinner of curry up the road.

Friday/Saturday

Wow... time goes quickly when you're traveling, because everything is new!

What did I do Friday? Hmm... well Jenna (Maria's roommate who is also from Finland) and I tried to get into a Catholic Mass at St. Paul's Cathedral so that we wouldn't have to pay to take a tour. We figured they couldnt charge us to worship God, we were right! However we were also too late getting in... After that we went off to Kensington Palace, which is the royal palace that was used before Buckingham came into vogue. Got to see some of Princess Diana's dresses (she used to live there) and then some far more historic rooms that were used by Queen Anne and Queen Victoria in the 18th-19th centuries. It was actually a really great tour for a museum!

Kensington Palace is located in Hyde Park, so after the museum we wandered around the gardens and to the central pond, which is filled with swans. It made for some sweet photo shoots!

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Friday- today- My first day to actually hang out with Maria because she has been working. She and I got up and had a late brunch and then took the tube to Notting Hill so we could go to Portabello Market. Its on the top 10 list of things to do in London. It was fun! VERY crowded with tourists. Its fun to see so many different types of people because they all have unique and crazy fashions. I took a lot of covert pictures of people, though I think a few of them suspected.

Notting Hill is located in an interesting neighborhood that is very colorful, enhanced by the fact that there is a lot of government housing (like projects) in a very touristy area. Its good that in London the low income housing is mixed in with normal housing, so there aren't terrible parts of town (I'm sure there are, I just haven't found them yet).

It's interesting- here they sell second hand/vintage clothes in the market so its very popular. I like it that they value interesting fashion, but I enjoy having it an undiscovered market in the U.S. so that I can continue to get cool things at St. Vinnies that no one else can ever find!!!

After leaving Notting Hill, Maria showed me to her favorite store "Primark" which is known for very low cost fashion clothes. It was a madhouse! I felt like I was in a livestock barn- people pushing, grabbing clothes, trying on clothes in the open in front of mirrors. The place was absolutely packed. With good reason, the average cost of clothing there is £5.

Now I'm resting my legs... probably will go back to Central London (zone 1) tonight with Maria and her friends.

First FULL day in London!

Today was my first day of exploring London. Yesterday I ended up spending the entire day inside sleeping and waiting for my luggage-which didnt arrive until 10pm. It was quite frusterating. Did go out for a drink at a local neighborhood pub and see the end of a football match though!

I explored a bunch of neighborhoods in central London. I spent the morning on my own, road the tube to Oxford Circus and roamed about until meeting up with Maria at lunch. The Undeground system is unbelievable simple to navigte, which is great for me and my challenged directional skills. I actually had a lady ask me how to put money on her Oyster Card (tube card), even though it was my first time doing it as well!

Quick run down on some of the places I saw today: Maria and I took a quick run around the SOHO neighborhood, which is where her architectual firm is located. Lots of cute shops, many dodgy ones as well. After lunch I went around on my own for a bit in China town and saw part of the National Portrait Gallery (all of the museums are free). After that I met up with Maria's housemate, Daniel, a native Brit. Together we went and saw Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Downing Street (where the primeminister works) and Trafalgar Square. After that we crossed the Thames (which I embarassingly found out is pronounced "Tems"), and saw the Eye of London (ferris wheel), along with a quick stop in the Tate Modern (modern art museum) and a walk over the Millenium Bridge with a view of St Paul's cathedral.

Whew! I saw a lot today, but it was mostly just a quick overview. I didn't stop in to any of the famous buildings, just got to see their outsides. I now feel more comfortable getting around in London. I found that many famous sites are quite close in cenral London.

Some things that struck me about the Brits- 1) everyone looks very grim and wears a lot of black. 2) there is an air of formality and pride that everyone seems to have which is exaggerated by their accents. 3) people are not very warm, and you do not talk with strangers. However, as Daniel explained to me, Brits are very polite and will warm up to you once you get to know them. I still miss the midwest with its bubbly outgoing friendliness!

I've found many funny signs, such as yield signs which say "Give Way", intersections marked "Look Left/Right" which is helpful for their backwards driving, and a construction sign that said "rubble ahead."

I must say I do appreciate their coffee here! All of the good coffee here is made by French Press, so I am absolutely adoring that aspect. Daniel took me to a historic coffee shop and then we stopped by the cutest neighborhood (Neal's Yard in Covent Gardens-see picture) where I passed by a celebrity, Greg Kinnear(see picture), whom some of you may know as the boyfriend in "Baby Momma" or "You've Got Mail" or the dad in "Little Miss Sunshine."

Well, my legs are telling me that was way too much fun for one day. And if you're still reading you probably think the same! Until tomorrow!

Where in the world is Kaitlyn now? ENGLAND!

Well, it's been quite a while since I've written on this blog and that is because I haven't been traveling! My job at Drake is amazing, but now we're on spring break so I'm taking advantage of the opportunity and traveling in England. I've been long overdue for a visit to my friend Maria in London, so here I am!

As I type I am sitting in a library using free internet in London. My trip has started out quiet adventurously... as I was boarding the plane I realized I didn't have a phone number or complete address for Maria, just knew the underground station we were supposed to meet at!
So, after getting off my flight at Heathrow airport in London, I got on the Underground on Picadilly line to Wood Green. I waited and never saw Maria... because she was trying to call me on my cell phone which wasn't working here :) Started brainstormin plan B- I saw a sign for a library, which in my mind always means help! So went and grabbed a coffee while I waited for an hour and a half for the library to open. Good thing by luggage was delayed so I didn't have to carry around my 40lb rolling bag! I just hope my clothes arrive this afternoon like they're supposed to.

Now, I have arrived at Maria's apartment. It was a bit like a secret mission getting here... after I got to the library, I was able to chat with Maria online and she let me know the house keys were under the first trash can in front of the house. Can't wait for more fun to come...after I take a nap!