Saturday July 12: Windsor Castle

A fellow CES intern emailed the list asking for company on a weekend trip - I didn't know her, but wrote back and we met at the train station to go to Windsor. A bit like a blind date, but it was a terrific day trip. The high street in the town was charming, winding around live music performances, shop keepers promoting their fancy ladies' clothes or discount pastries, and hyper-polite British police patrolling to keep the tourists in order. In the afternoon, we visited famed Eton College, perhaps the most prestigeous and expensive boarding highschool in the world. The guy my freshman roommate seduced, err, is dating, attended Eton and it was only a 5 min walk from Windsor.

The main spectacle was of course, Queen Elizabeth II's weekend home, the charming, 13th century, sprawling Windsor Castle. We saw guards marching and changing (not changing clothes of course!). We saw the full tour of the outside grounds, gardens, moat, gates, booby-traps (haha Todd, booby!) and enjoyed the company of a charming British tour guide who loved his job and knew everything. The inside was well, expansive and over-decorated in the way that famous castles tend to be. The main dining hall had seats for 160 guests at one long table. 18th century British portraiture covered the walls and plush carpet covered the roped-off floors. Spectacular, but nothing I didn't expect in terms of extravagance, size, and stature.

An afternoon well spent!

All of last week

I have a lot to report, but last week at work was pretty uneventful. The highlight of the work week was meeting Judy and David for Spanish food. We went to a great Tapas place and indulged in Sangria, tortilla espanola, bacalao (I definitely remembered that from AP Spanish!) and other tasty treats. As an added bonus, I met up with a friend from last summer in Miami - we worked and lived together during our time at Breakthrough. It was really nice, and oddly bizarre, to reconnect.

Monday July 7: Business as usual

While my fellow Americans were off enjoying an extended weekend, I enjoyed no such festivities. Today was a regular day at work. The other Harvard intern (also 2009) joined today so I spent some time orienting her. I also found a valid reason for why I needed to spend an hour at Harrod's (across the street). I'm trying to find appropriate companies that might use Corrour Estate as a promotional prize for their customers and wanted a quick survey of outdoor gear and apparel -- since the estate is essentially in rugged wilderness, it seemed like it would align with the brand for fancy outdoor / sporting / active clothes. It was a successful voyage into the tourist-laden, Prada-selling behemoth of a store (full city block square, 6 stories up). Also developed a list of family friendly movies to be included in the DVD library for the cottages.

It rained like the dickens today. Wonder what the derivation of that expression is. Back to work tomorrow and the rest of the week. Trying to plan a weekend day trip if Steven comes to visit me this weekend (Dover? Canterbury? Brighton?) Depart for Scotland on this Sunday for a week... really excited to go back, despite my job being "man the office and answer the phones".

'Tis late, good night!

Tuesday Jul 1 - Friday Jul 4: Corrour Estate in Scotland!

Took the Caledonian sleeper train to Corrour from London. First time I traveled anywhere with a 1st class ticket! Small compartment like a jail cell, but it had a table, bed, window, mirror, hooks for hanging clothes and all was very space efficient. On the 11 hour trek overnight, I kept awaking hoping, like Christmas morning, I would be there! The sun rises at 4:30am, so I kept thinking 'it must be morning, I must be there by now' but sadly, I'd still be 3 hours away! While I didn't too much work, I had a wonderful time!

The territory is vast, very green, and the architecture of the cliffs, glens, and forests is stunning. The hilly and rocky ground billowed, like clouds, covered in moss and ferns. It was not dissimilar from the cloud forests in Costa Rica, just very chilly and with annoying midges (nastier versions of mosquitos). With road grading, construction, IT work all hapenning on the Estate, I just stayed out of the way. It's absolutely invigoring to be somewhere so unspoilt by human interference - the lochs (Scotch for lake, ie Loch Ness) were placid, reflecting the sky and mountain peaks in their shimmering surface. The forests and bogs whispered as water dripped from leaf to leaf and gravel crunched underfoot. Went for a bike ride after work with Hunter, another Harvard intern working at Corrour, and the stunning landscapes and crisp air were inspiring. We got off our bikes to explore an old farmstead foundation, and in that moment, a cloud bypassed the hill (hill here means small mountain), and the heavens opened and we were soaked instantly. I don't mean the kind of soaked you say when a passing city bus sprays puddled water on your trousers. I mean that wet is a spectrum (not a binary!) and there was no further we could go. Hours more of water dumping for the sky would not have made my jeans heavier, my shoes soggier, or my glasses more splattered. Hunter's bike brakes stopped working too, so we walked back, chilly. Character building and fun.

Slept beautifully out in my cabin in the woods and departed after very limited work. Returned to London Friday morning. Played 'Spot the American' on the Tube, a game at which I am skilled. Wished them Happy Fourth of July and I pulled up Red White and Blue outfit subtly. Did ask my co-workers whether the UK might declare independence from the US one day (Travis's line). Got a hearty laugh from all. And with that I sign off. Need to figure out weekend plans now. Will load photos later for the past two week's adventuring.

Friday Jun 27 - Sunday Jun 29: Punting, Scones and English Gardens

Oxford. Was. Amazing. I went to visit Steven at Oxford for 12-quid (quid = 1 pound, like our use of "bucks" to mean dollars) round trip. Made it there around dinner time and met up with some of his friends. Hours later and after jolly impersonations, accents, jokes at my expense, and shattering paradigms of American life, we walked back to Steven's flat. On Saturday we went punting, which involves pushing a shallow boat along with a pole you push against the river bottom. It was tranquil, but my inexperience as a punter showed. We had a perfect picnic along the shore of the river - champagne, strawberries, a baguette and cheese and proscuitto. Like degenerates, we drank from the bottle. We also watched the carnage unfold
as a guy fell into the water while punting. Quite funny. Enjoyed my first visit to a pub! Steven snuck us into Christ Church as they were turning away envious tourists - he'll be studying for his masters there and the guards were eager to welcome a new student to the flock. We saw the Harry Potter dining hall, the immaculate grassy quad, a pleasant fountain with blooming water lilies, and explored the residential section. It is an impressive edifice! I love that a 12th century church and graveyard nonchalantly peaks up amidst new apartment complexes. I love the unassuming juxtaposition of really old/historic and new/mundane.

On Sunday, we explored the town more, visited Blackwell's, an immense bookstore which boasts to be the favorite of Bill Clinton. We wandered the Botanical Gardens with the replica of a 17th century garden. I learned tequila comes from a cactus-like plant (the agave). Lastly, and the highlight of the trip was my first proper tea at the Rose Café on High Street in Oxford. Everything was perfect; I tried Oolong tea (a hybrid of green and black) and Steven had a tea called Lapsang Su-something. It tasted and smelled like campfire smoke. No kidding. The scones with clotted cream and fresh jam were outta-this-world. After lots of chatting, I hopped on the bus back to London in time to catch a local Indian buffet in my neighbourhood.

Thursday June 26: King Lear @ The Globe

I no longer despise Shakespeare! Went to see King Lear with a friend and it was stellar. Tickets that included seats were very expensive, but the plebeian option of standing in the yard (for three hours) for 5-pounds was affordable, wonderful, and cramp-inducing. It was a great show and only rained as the bodies started lining the stage (ie: the very end). Three hours is a long time to stand. Imagine if we had to take our SATs standing up - they even patrolled it and glared angrily, "please sir, I must advise you that standing in the Yard in compulsory!". Seeing it performed well, in Elizabethan English, with no technology, sound effects or microphones was great. Except for the jets flying overhead and the occasional chirp of mobile phones, I could've been transported back to the 17th century (oh, and there were women on stage).

Wednesday June 25: National Gallery

After work I met a friend at the National Gallery, the fancy art museum like the Louve. After a previous visit to the Tate Modern (gag), I was weary to visit another art museum. But, it was free - like nearly all museums here - and well worth it. We enjoyed a bit of classical music (piano, flute, cello) to set the mood. Several wings were closed, but I got to see a lot of works, enjoyed a few 10-minute lectures about the history of a single piece, and got to see the Monet, Van Gogh and others I wanted to see. Van Gogh's famous pieces were the vase of sunflowers and the simple woven chair. One of the 14 Monet water lilies made an appearance. I discovered I do not like British portraits in the 19th century. Too stoic, military-garbed, and porcelain-faced.

Saturday Jun 21: Strawberries, Evensong, and Fireworks

The day started off domestic and relaxed; grocery shopping, laundry, going for a jog. Then, I decided to venture beyond the small gates of Kensington, my "American ghetto" neighborhood. I met a few friends at Borough market, the open-air gigantic farmer's market. It's a farmers market on steroids; dare I say a genetically engineered market? It covered over an acre, there were segments for jams and marmalades, for fresh meat, for elegant cheeses,

for sangria - a whole isle for sangria! It was immense, reasonably priced, delicious, and colorful. Had my first venison burger and it was heaven (I was also famished when I finally got it!). Also bought fresh berries, some artisan cheese from Welsh cows, and felt properly British. Later, enjoyed said berries along the side of the Thames River and attended Evensong at St. Paul's (Anglican) Cathedral. The cathedral was impressive, as all 13^th century buildings are known to be. Gold leaf covered arches, mystical imposing stain glass, and echoing choir music. The only awkward part was when we didn't put money in the basket as it was passed along. Always interesting to visit powerful religious institutions and recall when it is I'm missing/avoiding.

After dinner, I went with a friend to the dodgiest sounding event ever, called a fusion of world music with acclaimed pyrotechnics. And really, there is not a better way to explain the trippy Enya-esque music paired with fireworks, fire-breathing guns, and a bizarre light show. Enjoyed a late night Indian snack on Bricklane then, having missed the last train, and navigated the night buses back home. It took an hour and a half because we ended up driving around the city for a while, but we'll call it character-building. Also, London bus drivers maximize every ounce (scratch that, every millimetre) of space and sitting in the front can be terrifying.