Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The End

Well folks, I'm back in the States. 
My trip to Switzerland got cancelled due to weather so I came home early. 
Here is a little bit about my last week.

Our last Saturday we went to the QPR footfall game. 
We also found the best gelato place. Too bad we didn't find it sooner...
I happened to pass by The Old Vic.
And I finally got my classic telephone booth photo. 

I'm so glad I was able to share these last few months with you all. 
Thanks for reading.
Cheerio! 

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


A Bit of the East End

For our last Art and Architecture class we went out to the East end, where the contemporary art and galleries can be found. 
Here are just a few things I thought were neat. 
 Some Disney graffiti.
 Art commissioned by a bookstore. 
The White Cube gallery. 

Natural History Museum

I went to the Natural History museum on Tuesday. 
It is so full of exhibits and interesting information that it would be impossible for me to write it all down here so instead I'll share some pictures and tidbits along the way.
 Just inside, you are greeted by one of the many dinosaur skeletons the museum has on display.
Turn around and you see this beautiful arch. The main hall is enormous and beautiful. 
The mammal room is absolutely stuffed (no pun intended) with these animals. This picture doesn't even show half of what's in there. The collection is a mix of stuffed animals and models.
 Apparently the British say "fishes"
 The dinosaur exhibit is amazing. First, you walk across a bridge spanning the entire exhibit, lined with the skeletons. Then you walk down a ramp, past an animatronic T-Rex, followed by wandering through the first floor of the exhibit which holds models and facts and hypotheses.



 A T-Rex skull and a Triceratops skull.
 Another section of the museum is referred to as Darwin's Cocoon. The museum is putting an effort into continuing Darwin's process of collection samples of every species. The focus at the museum seems to be mainly plants, butterflies, spiders, and beetles. They have collected samples of 95% of the 20,000 known species of butterflies.
To see the cocoon, you are taken to the top by a glass elevator and then you walk back down through it. There are windows into the labs and where they keep the samples and there are many interactive videos in which the curators discuss the work they do.
 Back in the main atrium, there is a cross section of an enormous sycamore tree that was cut down in the 80s in Panama. 
 The rings are labeled with significant events throughout history. 
 The atrium was so beautiful.

 Here, the museum is lit up with christmas lights.
Outside, there is a skating rink and carousel. I didn't skate but it made for a beautiful picture. 

Abbey Road

I went to Abbey Road last week and took the iconic picture. 
It was hard to capture, I think I walked back and forth about six times. It was a busy street!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Oxford

Yesterday I took a train to Oxford with three friends: Hillary, Kemper, and Becca.
We arrived in Oxford in time for lunch at a small cafe.  Throughout the day we wandered around the old town, exploring the old architecture and city streets.

Here are a couple pictures of one of the campuses in Oxford.
 The round building is a library.


At one point during the afternoon I got together with a good friend of mine from Hendrix who is studying at Oxford for the semester. It was nice to get to see her and catch up a little bit.

We also checked out the covered market. It had almost everything you could possibly need.



Here are Hillary and I being goofy by a field full of cows.

For dinner, we met up with one of Kemper's friends from home who goes to Oxford full time. She is actually doing her entire undergraduate career there. She took us to a nice Italian restaurant where we learned more about the school system here and about her interest in becoming a lawyer.

While we waited for Kemper's friend to get out of a meeting, we had coffee in a cafe down this pretty alley.

Our evening ended with us waiting at the train station for the next train back home. It was a simple day, and a nice break from the noise and pollution of London. 

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Harry Potter

I went to platform 9 & 3/4 today! I had to have my nerdy Harry Potter experience. 

Here I am with my roommates, Kate and Hilary.