Helena's Super Secret Ninja Missions

So I really miss 24-hour places. London, as cosmopolitan as it may be, does not seem to have many things that stay open throughout the day. In fact, the only place I can really think of is the Tesco Metro across the street from the Russell Square station. The other night my roommate, J, was hungry but lacked snack food and since it was well past midnight, she wasn't able to find a place that was still open to deliver food to her. It was terribly tragic. A lot of my friends on this program tend to talk about this a lot--places in New York that are open all the time. However, I suppose I have this problem when I'm on campus as well. It was just never so...salient, in my opinion. I'm not quite sure why.

Another thing is that pubs have a tendency to close down at midnight or so. The bartenders will literally kick you out. Well, not literally. I have yet to see someone tossed out of a pub, like they are in movies and such. I just find this phenomenon really bizarre.

I hate that the tube closes at midnight. Although I know that I am centrally located, I find it quite constraining. Just because I don't necessarily need the tube doesn't mean I don't want the option, right? I realize that the Barcelona metro closed at midnight on most nights, but at least it stayed open until 2 AM on Fridays and all night on Saturdays. Yes, I miss Barcelona immensely.

I know this will make me sound like a nerd, but I seriously miss the library, especially during times like this, when I have tons of papers to write before a deadline that is rapidly approaching. I know, I really should get off my blog right now and continue writing/reading for my classes, but there's only so much research a girl can do before all the words start blurring together and losing all meaning. Like the word 'laborer.' I really feel like I've typed that so many times that it doesn't mean anything anymore. Of course that could also be due to the fact that it's currently...quite late. Or, you could look at it another way--I'm awake at an abnormally early time. It's almost miraculous that I'm still (for the most part) going strong. Clearly, my level of productivity peaked a few hours ago, but for the most part, I'm still typing coherent thoughts. My sentences might be a bit choppy but at the very least, everything is spelled correctly and is grammatically correct.

So if you're wondering why I've been blogging more often in the past week than I did in the whole month of January, you have your answer. I'm procrastinating. Which shouldn't be a surprise to most people who know me.

Here's to libraries that are open 24 hours a day! London really should get on that. The Senate House Library isn't even open on Sundays. I find that absolutely mind-boggling. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to spend my Sundays either sleeping or doing homework for Monday (considering I have seven hours of class on Mondays, it's necessary). So where do British college students study on Sundays?!

Last weekend, I went on a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was a bit underwhelming (honestly, I probably would have enjoyed it more had it been sunny when I'd gone) but I absolutely loved Bath. By the time we arrived in our second destination, it was lovely and sunny, allowing us to fully enjoy the beauty and architecture of the small town.

We started off with a walking tour through the area, in which the tour guide pointed out several notable sights, including the Royal Crescent, the Bath Abbey, and the Pulteney Bridge, which is one of the world's most beautiful bridges, as well as one of the few bridges with shops built into it. The guide actually mentioned another bridge that fits this criteria--the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, which makes me all the more excited to see it during spring break with K!

Outside the Bath Abbey, there's two statues and apparently one of them lost their heads a while back. Note the space between the head and the...top bit. Anyway, they sculpted a new face out of the beard.

After the tour, we had lunch at Sally Lunn's, which is located in the oldest house in Bath. Incidentally, it sells buns, and I can't recommend it enough! I finally had scones with jam and clotted cream. I know I've had that before, but this time, it was in the U.K. Therefore, it's completely different, I promise. Also, apparently Charles Dickens was a fan of Sally Lunn's buns as well. 

Here's a picture of half of a Sally Lunn bun (I actually really love saying that, in case you didn't realize). It was delicious.

Here's an image of the Roman Baths.

Although I did not manage to get inside the Jane Austen Centre (our time was limited), I did manage a picture with the mannequin outside. I also read reviews saying that the museum is a bit of a tourist trap, which I can believe, especially given the fact that the aforementioned mannequin exists. So I suppose I didn't miss much.

Here's to sunshine! Now that I'm living in London, I get abnormally excited when I see a glimpse of sun. And I tend to keep track of how many times I see sunshine in a week.

So I was recently inspired by M, who has blogged twelve times since the start of the semester, to try to get back on track with this blog. I've done a lot of exploring since I last updated. For one thing, the program put us all on a bus and gave us a three hour tour around London, which was a good way for us to get our bearings. The tour guide informed us that we basically live within walking distance of all the places that we passed by on the tour, including tourist attractions such as the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and the Houses of Parliament.

They also showed us Australia House, which was apparently where they filmed the Gringotts scenes of the Harry Potter movies. However, I still have not been to Platform 9 3/4.

Although we were not on one of those red double deckers, I did seize the chance to ride one of those when F and I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was great to see her, especially considering that we hadn't seen each other since high school (!). Although we didn't get to all the exhibits, I felt quite fatigued by the end of the adventure. If you go, I recommend that you check out the Glass and Greek sculpture exhibits; they were my favorites. Also, I enjoy that basically all the main museums in London are free, including the Natural History Museum and the British Museum. Quite recently, J and I went to the British Museum because she needed to see a specific exhibit for one of her classes. To be honest, we only saw about four rooms out of...dozens, reasoning that we'll have plenty of time to return. I definitely need to return at least one more time to see the Rosetta Stone and more Greek exhibits! K, you in?

Some of you from last semester may remember my love of markets. Given that London has tons of them, I've made a point of seeing them. A few days after a walking tour of Camden, a group of us returned to explore Camden Market, which is one of the largest markets I've ever seen, full alternative fashion and antiques, along with the usual--clothing and food. There were so many different branches and it seemed to stretch on forever. I'm sure we didn't get to all of it, despite having spent about three (!!) hours there. However I'm sure I'll return before I depart, especially since I did not see the London Zoo or visit Primrose Hill, both of which are nearby. I'll probably actually end up doing both of those things next weekend.

Some of the flatmates and I also went to the Portobello Road market, which is apparently the world's largest antiques market, in addition to selling produce and secondhand clothes.

I saw this sign on the side of the market and thought it was very cute. I think Barcelona prepared me for pickpockets though.

G and J had the misfortune of getting seafood paella from this particular stall. It was disgusting. I can't really fault them on their presentation though.

Here's one of the performers at the Covent Garden market. He was hilarious! Also, apparently the word 'busking' means street performance. You learn something new every day.

Aside from markets in London, I also managed to visit one in Greenwich on a day trip. Standing at the Prime Meridian was slightly anticlimactic, but nevertheless worth the trek to the Royal Observatory.

Here's to lovely markets! I have plans to see Borough market and Brick Lane market this weekend, and I have high expectations.