Tuesday, September 8, 2009

I Like it in the City When the Air is Thick and Opaque...

  1. Back in London.

    Yes. Please.

    Love this town. Love it's feel.

    Just dig it.

    But I've said that already. Perhaps I should tell some tales why...
    1. Locals are just great - There are quick-food-pick-up stores here, Pret A Manger. They're kinda a cool concept. Tons of pre-made, but fresh sandwiches and the like, just waiting for you to give them a home. You would like these places. There is one right by our classroom here in Holborn. One of the baristas is a really cool woman from Argentina. Her name is Barbara, very Spanish sounding. We started talking because of my accent (how's that for a paradigm shifter, eh?), and she likes Colorado a lot. We talked for probably ten minutes that day. Two weeks ago. I still get all of my coffee drinks for free there. Guess it pays off to go out on a limb and talk to a complete stranger. And with my rate of coffee consumption, it really pays off. See? Locals are just great.
    2. Excellent Theater - Brits love plays. Not musicals necessarily, but plays. Straight up British plays. We've been to three so far. Tom Stoppard's Arcadia was our first, and it skyrocketed itself to the place of my favorite play ever. A comrade likened it to a theatrical Gilmore Girls... Quick paced, lightning wit, heavy cultural referencing, but with a bit of Quantum Physics and Philosophy thrown in there. I've since seen two different versions of Shakespeare's As You Like It. It's hysterical. I have a new appreciation for the bard. Go see something at the Globe. And do it as a groundling, just stand for the whole thing. It makes you truly appreciate theater.
    3. Pubs - Really, that's enough said. I feel as though I was engineered to enjoy a pub. They have wonderful ambiance. Dark(er) lighting, with bold, solid colours and wood finishes. Then, they take this great ambiance, they open up the windows and doors, and they promote you taking their product (more on this later), outside! To enjoy in fresh air. How foreign is that? Then, they put on British music (which just. plain. rules. Go listen to: Franz Ferdinand, Adele, the Smiths, and Snow Patrol. Right now. This can wait.), BUT! they play it soft enough for you to have an engaging conversation. In fact, they promote conversation. Every person in a pub is talking. No one is looking around, scoping people out, or somewhere-else-in-their-mind. They're all right there, enjoying each other's company. It just forces you to have a good conversation. Or to make one with your local neighbor, who's bound to be just great (see above).
    Pictures of London are to come...

6 comments:

  1. Oh man B!!! You're such a flirt ha ha!!!

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  2. Kurt - I love this post. It makes me miss London and Europe Semester so much!!!

    I'm so glad to hear that you're having an amazing time.

    I just moved back to Colorado. It's pretty. it misses you.

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  3. Kurt, me and you are going to enjoy an English pub together. It will happen i hope.

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  4. Walker, glad to hear you are doing well. I confirm the statement of Tom Shank above, we need to hit up a pub somewhere (Cairo will probably be our first option, but the pubs suck here).

    Are you uploading pictures anywhere? I recommend either Flickr (buying the $25 account) or Google Picasa Online albums. It'd be good to put some photos to stories.

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  5. Tom and Andrew - It shall be done :D I'm stoaked.
    Andy - I'm creating a Picasa account as I type, pictures soon. Thanks for the blog advice.

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  6. I like it in the city when two worlds collide. Good song choice(s). Also, perhaps I am not as tech-savvy as I thought, but I'm not sure how to make your picture site work. Hm. One more thing...I almost hate to do this, but it's "stoked." You Coloradan. Psh. Always good to hear how you're doing :)
    Cara

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