Advertisement
Published: March 14th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Alissa and Anna
At the Concert London: The University Budget Edition
Hi all, I know what you are thinking “two blogs in one week, whatever did I do to deserve such joy.” Yes, it is true I am back to writing and updating people on my life here in England. This is the final tale from my pre-Christmas travels so after this update, all I need to do is write a long post about the various shenanigans that occurred in January and February. Back to the story.
In early December I took a spectacular trip to London with my American friend Alissa. I know it is slightly sacrilegious to have made an American friend in England, but I did, so live with it. Early in October we discovered that one of our favorite bands – Vampire Weekend – was playing in London, and that the tickets were cheap. The combination of a chance to hear M79 live and a weekend away from Bristol was to good of an opportunity to pass up. Friday afternoon we hopped on the train at Temple Meads and two hours (one episode of Dr. Who and two episodes of Friends) later we were at London Paddington. From Paddington we made
our way to the C-link Hostel near Kings Cross Station and changed into our concert clothing. We then caught the tube to the end of the line and then a free bus to the concert venue, Alexandra Palace.
Alexandra Palace is a “peoples palace” that was constructed during the Victorian Era. It now fits huge amounts of people in its Great Hall. The first band on was Ratatat, although we missed most of their set due to travel time taking longer than expected. The next band on was Janelle Monae. She performed pretty theatrically and had a great voice. I must admit that even though I had no clue who she was, I definitely enjoyed her performance. However, the best part of the evening was the Vampire Weekend performance. First of all, I didn’t actually realize how hot the band members are. Secondly, it is crazy but its true: I have played the song M79 twice as many times as any other song in iTunes (no judgment allowed). Thirdly, it was a great show. Fourthly, watch the videos.
After the show ended we waited in queue after queue and finally made it back to the hostel, to fall
asleep around 1 am. Unfortunately, for us C-link Hostel only serves breakfast till 9 a.m. so we were awake and fed by ten and out the door on a Walking Tour by 11. Now if you don’t remember by long inspiring speech about the walking tour in Dublin, please read the entry Dublin: Part 2. Needless to say this Free walking tour was just as fantastic. We went all around London from Hyde Park Corner to Buckingham Palace, to Trafalgar Square to 10 Downing Street to Big Ben, to Westminster Abbey and even more places that I can’t recall. Furthermore, our guide was a history major who knew her stuff, which made the tour even more fantastic. After the tour, Alissa and I went to the National Gallery and explored the treasures that are there. I love Monet’s paintings, along with the Degas. Finally, we got bored of walking about and made our way back to the hostel for an early night in.
Sunday was by far the best day! We woke up early and ate the hostel breakfast and made our way by tube back to Westminster Abbey for Matins. The service was nice, and the inside of
the church was even more spectacular. Plus it was free. The choir was absolutely lovely, and the space seemed to radiate secluded majesty. The only thing that was disconcerting was the fact that we literally prayed for the royal family in the same way as in a Catholic service you pray for the Pope. The influx of the State into Religion struck me as wrong, but I guess that is an American creed and not a universal truth. After the service we visited the gift shop and spent a little time being ridiculously touristy. Then we ventured though Hyde Park and into Kensington Gardens. After finding the statue of Peter Pan, and Alissa getting attacked by a swan, we finally sat down in the Orangery for a decadent High Tea.
When I first got to England I believed that everyone stopped what they were doing at around 3:45 p.m. and sat down for tea and scones. I was devastated to learn that this was no longer a cultural tradition. However, at the Orangery I relished the decadence and deliciousness of a High Tea. I chose to get the Orange Tea, but with chocolate tea instead of orange rooibos. The
tea was fantastic. If you have the opportunity to have chocolate tea make sure to have it with at least one cube of sugar and a dash of cream. These simple additions transform the tea into a similar to but better than hot chocolate drink. The tea was served with mini sandwiches, an orange scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam (see Devon post for my opinions on clotted cream), and then two tiny cakes. Overall, it was beyond delicious and a great way to end the weekend.
All that was left to do was make our way home, exhausted but content with the weekend. Enjoy my pictures.
xx Anna
Advertisement
Tot: 0.115s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0715s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb