City Experience

Yesterday was all set to be pretty uneventful. We had London Novel class in the morning followed by a lecture from a professor from Miami on museum theory. After the lecture, Liz, Jordan, Amber, Elizabeth and I all decided to make our way to Brick Lane for some famous London Indian cuisine. We had heard a lot about Brick Lane's Indian food in both guide books and from Professor Coyle. Well, turns out there is more than one Brick Lane in London. We took got off the tube and began to walk down the street to where it would intersect with Brick Lane. It became clear to us very quickly that we weren't in the right place. It was the middle of the day and we weren't in any real danger, but it was not a place where I would have liked to find myself once the sun was down. We all turned around and got back on the tube to head home, where we ordered Indian food from a place that delivered locally. After looking up more information about the Brick Lane we had visited in the East End, we discovered it was in an immigrant neighborhood with a questionable crime rate. Even though this misadventure wasn't one I would ever like to repeat, I definitely learned from it. I not only appreciate the area we are in much much more now, I also will always be sure to triple check my directions and information about any new area I visit in London!

To make up for the less than successful trip to Brick Lane, we decided to all get together in a big group and go to a local club for our first real night at a London club. We did  our research in guide books and mapped out the route, which was only about a 10 minute walk from our flat. We did not expect that the club would be closed, having gone out of business the weekend before. So instead of the club we made our way to a popular pub called The Court on Tottenham Court Road. The pub is a popular local student destination and was full of both British students and other students studying abroad. I for one was happy to end up at a pub, which is always a more comfortable place than a club. We met some really nice people and had a great time.

Jordan, Elizabeth, Myself and Liz (with Carolyn in the background)

This morning Elizabeth, Amber, Jordan, John and I visited the British Library. In order to get into any of the reading rooms, you have to first get a readers pass. The process of getting this pass is comparable to facing the Spanish Inquisition. I not only had to provide two forms of ID, proof of residence and proof of signature, I also had to present proof I was a student, what topic I was planning to research and a list of the books I was interested in reading (you can't check out any books). After finally getting the pass you proceed down the locker rooms where you store all of your stuff except for what you are bringing into the reading room, which you have to place in a clear plastic bag. You are not allowed to have coats, a bag, pens, highlighters, cameras or any type of food or beverage in the reading rooms. When you enter a reading room (there are several, all dedicated to different areas of study) the security guards inspect what you have brought in and check your readers pass. They also do this on your way out to make sure you aren't smuggling anything away, even going as far as opening your computer to make sure a paper isn't tucked under the closed screen. Despite the very stringent security measures one has to pass to get in, the reading rooms are incredible. I sat at my own desk area on an extremely comfortable chair and perused a very nerdy book, a translation of the Irish epic Tain Bo Cuilange, while checking my e-mail and making some notes on my computer. I'm adding the British Library to my growing list of Nerd Heavens that exist in London.

The Library closed at 5 and we returned home directly after leaving. After a deliciously American meal (we ordered Dominos, adding to our American themed food day, having had McDonalds for lunch) we began to discuss what our plans were for the evening. I ended up heading to the Rugby Tavern with John, Emily and Emily's cousin Ryan who was visiting. The Six Nations Rugby tournament is currently going on and Emily, being a rugby player herself, was keen to watch it at a tavern or pub. The Rugby tavern was, unsurprisingly, packed. We detoured to the Court, which was equally as crowded but eventually yielded an open table for us to sit down at. After the Wales- England game ended we headed home since we were all still exhausted from being out the night before. Overall, pretty quiet day.

Tomorrow we're planning on round 2 of going to a London club. Hopefully we can find one that is open and isn't too far!