1. Today we hopped on the tube and right in the middle of this huge mass of people stood an old man, playing the guitar. He played quite well, and when he finished, he took off his hat and a few people gave him some coins. We figured it wasn't a bad way to make some extra money. Get on the tube, play the guitar, collect your money, get off the tube. Brilliant!
2. We made a grave mistake today. There is a store in central London called Primark. It's a good sized department store, equivalent to a JCPenny's or Sears. However, everything is REALLY cheap. Purses for 4 pounds ($6), bed sheets for 3 pounds ($4.50), shirts for 2 pounds ($3). But the quality of these items isn't terrible. It's rather good, in fact. In short, this store is a kind of Mecca for us poor college students. Our TCU group went there this morning to buy bedsheets and towels, however those of us staying at the IES dorm were being provided with sheets, so we only bought the bare essentials. We moved into our room today (our tiny, tiny, tiny room) and discovered that the sheets we were given were not the best quality. It looked like prison. So Matt and I decided to go back to Primark to buy good sheets. WORST MISTAKE EVER. The store had been completely taken over by people. It looked like the day after Thanksgiving. That's how crowded this store was. If we had stood still for a moment we would've been as dead as Mufasa in a herd of wildebeests. We made our way upstairs to the bedding and towels area as fast as we could, where we discovered that they were completely out of everything we needed. Of course.
Yesterday we went to Windsor Castle, one of the Queen's many homes. She was actually there yesterday, which we knew because the English flag was raised on top of a tower! We were able to walk all around the castle as well inside the chapel and in several rooms. Unfortunately, no picture taking was allowed inside, but I have more than enough pictures of the outside of the castle. I have a slight obsession with taking photos. Afterwards, we found a great little English pub where we had dinner. I ordered a chicken and mushroom pie, which was delicious. No human bits inside at all. That was a Sweeney Todd reference.
I mentioned in my last post that I had noticed how uniquely stylish the English people are. I have noticed something else. None of them seem to be obsessed with their weight or their physique at all. I have not seen a single gym since I've arrived here. I have seen only one tanning bed. Yet once again, the surprising thing is that I haven't seen any morbidly obese people either. They all look quite average in weight, or even below average. I suppose this can be attributed to the fact that portion sizes of food are definitely smaller than they are in America. Drinks are served in very small glasses, and never with ice, something I miss. When ordering water, you must always specify whether you want it sparkling or still. I have yet to go to a restaurant that serves bread before the meal. Plus, people walk. A lot. I hope I pick up on some of these eating habits.
You know....it hasn't rained yet.
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