Ack! Falling behind!

Another day-by-day update:

Wednesday I went to Camden Town to do a little shopping--I probably spent too much time there, but it's such a fun part of town I couldn't help it.

Thursday we saw some of the churches designed by Christopher Wren--he designed 50 of them after the great fire several hundred years ago that burned most of London to the ground. We also took some time to check out St. Paul's Cathedral, which was also designed by Wren. We went in the late afternoon so that we could see Evensong; it was a mostly male choir, and the way their voices filled the church was very beautiful. I spent the rest of the night in, goofing off.

Friday was another pretty low-key day. I've been trying to take it easy this week, since next week will be busy. I spent some time at the British Museum, checking out the American Printmaking exhibit. I was amazed by some of the prints--a lot of them look like they were drawn or painted, their so detailed. I also looked at the mummies (I've been obsessed with Egyptian history since I was in the sixth grade) and took another look a the Rosetta stone, since I didn't have much of a chance when we went to the museum with my class. After that, I headed over to Tottenham Court Road, where there's a Borders, and I picked up guide books for Paris, Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Saturday I went to pick up Dorothy and my train tickets so we can get from Denmark to Sweden. They ended up being twice as expensive as we thought. Why is rail travel so costly? Ugh. After that, I went to Portobello Road again, and it was a lot different from the last time I went. Saturday is the antique fair, so the streets were packed with stalls and people browsing. I picked up a couple of things, along with some cheap fruits and veg. I'm totally spoiled by California produce..even the things I got at the farmer's market were pretty much...eh. After that, I had the apartment to myself, since Taylour's in Greece and the other two girls went to Paris. I totally took over the couch and spread my crap everywhere, and had a nice night of relaxing.

Today, Beth Ann and I went to the Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. Maybe Britain doesn't have the same freedom of speech we have in the US, because now that I think about it, I haven't seen any crazies marching around shouting insane lectures at people like you get in San Francisco or LA. But on Speaker's Corner, you can say whatever you like, so there were all sorts of opinions flying around. There was one guy yelling about Palestine, another going on about conspiracies and Iraq, and oddest of all, a little old women dressed in pearls and a purple house coat. She stood on a stool and screamed about how God would hold us responsible for our failures, and something about alternate dimensions.

After that, I went to Brick Lane again for the Sunday Up Market. It took my a while to find it, and at first I was a little disappointed, because all I could find was used clothing and junk. Once I got to the real market, though, I found some really interesting clothing and jewelry, and some great food. I didn't buy anything, but it gave me some really good ideas. Tonight I'm staying in again--there's not really anyone to go out with, anyways, and I want to start reading up on my guide books. Cheers!