Whilst in London: Words, Markets, Thoughts, School and Pictures

For those of you who (I'm sure) anxiously wait to read what I write about myself, my apologies for the length of time that has passed since I last posted. This one is especially long just for you. I've even split it into sections so you could make reading this a multi-day affair.
School has finally started and I am so grateful for the purpose, routine, and reading materials it has provided me! It was honestly a difficult summer once I was out of work and without something to keep me busy, and then once in London and without a hubby, a difficult week before a routine was established. Even with a schedule my sleep pattern is still horrendous. No worries though, you worriers. It's all getting better!
London:
Today I celebrate the one month anniversary of living in London. I love this city more each day, especially as I acclimate and find those places I know I will frequent (pubs, restaurants, parks, libraries). Since my trip down to the Sunday UpMarket and Spitalfields Market I have been to the Camden and Stables Market (terribly busy and chintzy, even on a weekday when it's pouring outside, like the day I went). Apparently it's a huge tourist attraction, but wasn't quite for me. I also visited Covent Garden Market, which I liked much better. It was cleaner and classier. The market is right up against St. Paul's Church (not to be confused with St. Paul's Cathedral) and is known for the performers who juggle, sing, etc. for the crowds that gather in the square behind the church. The first time I went was on a weekday. I then decided to go again the same weekend and though the crowds were stifling, there was more to be found in the way of entertainment. I spent 20 minutes in the square during a light drizzle, eating a traditional cornish pasty (if you get them from the right place they are amazing) listening to a guy perform a Jason Mraz medley and watching a crazy lady 'dance' along on the sidewalk next. 'Jack Sparrow' was also there standing beside one moving statue painted completely in gold, and another in silver. I thought Covent Garden was much more pleasant during the week, even if you do miss the weekend performers. The best time to go to a market is as things slow down in the late afternoon. The food vendors sell their wares for half price, and yes, I know it's been sitting there for hours now, but it's still good (and half price!). On the list still to visit is Portobello Road Market and Borough Market, known for it's fruit and veg/farmer's market. Other exploring in the last couple weeks has included a day trip out to Hampton Court Palace- one of Henry VIII's and supposedly haunted by one of his wives. It's also an interesting mix of Tudor and Georgian architecture. I also wandered through another portion of the Victoria and Albert Museum and from there walked over to Kensington Gardens, saw the Royal Albert Hall, the ostentatious Prince Albert Memorial, Kensington Palace and ended up on Kensington Gardens Street, where I walked by the Romanian Embassy, Royal Norwegian Embassy and French Embassy among others. Beautiful houses with intimidating black gates, and cameras on every wall. That night I actually walked about 3/4 of the way around Hyde Park- and it's not a small park! This past Sunday I walked over to and around Regent's Park and loved it. It's absolutely gorgeous.
The last two weeks have also been an exploration of libraries. As a graduate student in central London I have access to the Institute of Historical Research, the impressive UCL Main library (if you've seen Inception, apparently a scene was filmed in the foyer), the Warburg Institute, Senate House Library, and the British Library, which counts among its many treasures two complete Gutenberg Bibles and two of only four surviving copies of the Magna Carta. I now have four (count them) four library cards! The truly wonderful thing is all of these are only about a 10-15 minute walk from my flat.
7/7:
Now that I no longer have the very professional and completely impartial journalism of Q13 Fox News to inform me about all the important things happening in the world (oh, how I miss James Lynch), I've instead, albeit reluctantly (winking face), turned to BBC for my news. One of the stories they've been following lately has been an inquest into the July 7, 2005 London transport bombings. I have to admit, I really didn't know much about them until just recently, and it's come as a real shock to realize two of the four bombs detonated by suicide bombers were very close to where I now live and study. One was underground on the Picadilly Line just between Russell Square and King's Cross- Russell Square station is literally a block from my flat and King's Cross is only a seven minute walk away. In fact, the Picadilly Line is the one I most frequently take when traveling on the Tube. The other exploded on a bus on Tavistock Square, which I walk everyday on my way to campus. I don't include this in the blog just to be macabre. This blog is about my experience in what is my home for the next year, and this has certainly shattered some of my initial suppositions and assumptions about how I would relate to and experience London. Knowing now what I know makes being in those places...different. I think sometimes we as Americans feel we hold the market on suffering at the hands of extreme terrorist violence, and though the loss of life in numbers that day (52) was much less than that of 9/11, it certainly doesn't make that loss any less tragic.
I suppose having this type of (I don't think eye-opening is the right expression, but maybe thought-turning) experience is exactly why PLU pushes their students to study away. As an admission counselor I messaged- very well, I'll argue- how impactful and changing study away can be...how funny I'm now actually undergoing those impressions. I knew I would, but I wasn't certainly wasn't expecting all of them.
School:
I do like being a student again. It's different- I have four classes, which are held for only two hours once a week. I have one class each day Monday-Thursday, and none before 11am. (That's most likely a strong contributing factor to my out-of-whack sleeping pattern). Monday is 'The Public Sphere in Britain 1476-1800'- a little dry but I don't mind it. Tuesday I walk over to the Strand campus of King's College (about a half hour away) for an intercollegiate option 'New Perspectives on Early Modern Religion.' Really enjoy that class so far- it really is amazing to see the engagement a conscientious, intentional and talented professor can pull out of students. Wednesday the Core Masters Methodologies and Research course, where for the time-being we have combined with the MA History students (I'm an MA European History student, remember). This Wednesday we tried to wrap our heads around Weber's 'ideal type,' a social science methodology that's...never mind. I'm not even going to attempt it. And Thursday is Spanish Level B (intermediate), where I have 5 years on each of the other students (I feel kind of old). I'm filling up much of the rest of the time with reading- lots of reading.
UCL is a fairly exciting place to be. It's only since being here that I've realized how prestigious the school really is. Of course there's self bragging (my MA tutor consistently 'extols its many virtues'), but I'm finding there's some merit in it. Apparently, UCL is a part of the 'triumvirate' of universities in England, alongside Cambridge and Oxford, and has been ranked 4th in the world by QS World University Rankings. Now, my friends in higher education know just how meaningful (or not) these rankings can be, and have a healthy skepticism about how exactly organizations go about ranking schools- but my friends in higher education admission also know that if you are ranked well- you brag about it. At any rate, I feel more each day I made a wise choice in deciding to do part of my postgrad work here. Other fun facts about UCL: it was the first university in the UK to admit people regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof), and the first to admit women on an equal basis with men. Alumni include the first prime minister of Japan, Alexander Graham Bell, Ricky Gervais, Christopher Nolan, the entire band of Coldplay, 21 Nobel Prize winners, and Mahatma Gandhi. That's right folks, I'm going to school where Gandhi was educated.
Photos: Yay! For those of you patient enough to read my ramblings, you'll now be rewarded with the latest photos. I'll try to post a little more frequently, but make no promises. Hope you are well. Love, Emily

Lookit what I found! It's an ad agency on one of the streets very close to my flat.

Hampton Court Palace- the Tudor front

Hampton Court Palace- the Georgian back

Hampton Court Palace- the yeomen's chamber, completely decorated in weaponry

The King's throne

The King's other throne

In the Tudor part of the palace- the Great Hall

English Garden

Victoria & Albert Museum- a turban brooch

V&A- Indian playing cards and chess set

V&A- Valour and Cowardice

V&A- Truth and Falsehood (she's pulling out his forked tongue)

V&A- Buddha (Tibetan)

Outside the V&A

The Prince Albert Memorial

Prince Albert Memorial, and behind it, the Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Gardens- an Anish Kapoor sculpture. I'm the one in the middle, taking the picture.

Oliver, the bulldog. He loved that basketball. Apparently he's a very rare type of bulldog (one of six his owner told me), but I haven't been able to find any information, so I have to admit I'm a little skeptical. But he was still awesome. I miss my pups.