impressions of london.

overall, being in london and paris was amazing. the architecture is so overwhelming, and the people just seem more refined. my pix can be found here, and here are some highlights of the trip:

big ben and parliament
extremely beautiful. this was my introduction to the art of trying to fit it all in the picture, which you realize in europe is hard. i think that's why photos fail to express the true scope of what you see in person; it's almost as if every snapshot you take has to be a panoramic for it to do even the slightest justice.

westminster abbey
though we didn't go inside, the exterior of westminster abbey is gorgeous. we did go into st. mary's church, which is right next door and open to the public. i didn't realize until i had snapped like 8 pictures that you weren't supposed to. oh well. i think the next time in london, this is definitely a site i will hit up.

autumn
fall is the perfect time to go to europe. for me, personally, it was nice because we don't really get fall weather in california, and i miss it. but it's great for a number of other reasons; 1) it's the off-season for tourism, and although there are still crowds, i imagine they are far more manageable than summer or christmastime, 2) the weather is good for walking and touring--not too hot and not too cold, and 3) you get to look cute in a coat!

buckingham palace
the best part of visiting buckingham, i'm ashamed to admit, was shit kid. shit kid was this little american tourist who couldn't have been older than 3. he was adorable. and right in front of the main entrance to buckingham, some horse had taken an enormous dump. shit kid, with the purest glee imaginable, found this enthralling, and provided us with at least 7 minutes of pure entertainment. he danced circles around it, pointed to it, and squatted over it, pretending it was his. it was incredible. had i had a video camera, this would undoubtedly be the #1 video on youtube.

we didn't even mean to, but we saw the changing of the guard. it's cool to see how formal they are over there, and i must admit it was cool to see the guards protecting the palace were women [ at least until they were relieved of duty ]. we couldn't figure out why they were wearing non-traditional garments, but i'm sure there's some formal reason for that as well. the statuary and architectural details surrounding buckingham are incredible.

the london premiere of once
first off, if you haven't seen once, do. don't be put off if you hear it's a musical. it's really not. well, i guess technically it is, but they don't bust out into song and dance or anything. it's a very charming movie, and if you are a friend of mine, chances are you will like it.

since london premieres i guess are always a little behind ours, once was just premiering. best part was at the theatre right down the street from us in angel. literally right down the street. after the screening, glen and marketa did a short q&a and then performed a few songs. afterwards we chatted with him on the street. it was such a great evening. definitely a highlight of the trip.

tower bridge
the iconic bridge of london is often thought to be london bridge, but london bridge is actually a piece of shit in comparison to tower. not to mention the day we went the sky was so blue and perfect. once again, pictures fail to do justice to the massive size and incredible detail of the structure. right around tower bridge we also saw a much more modern-looking building, which apparently is city hall. i found it impressive, and maybe a bit telling, that their city government would embrace a much more modern style. one of the things i did notice just in the way the city functions and in things like advertising on the tube is the UK is far more environmentally conscious than we are.

the tate
the crowds at the tate SUCK but the art is awesome. especially now. i guess they just recently put a new sculpture in front of the tate building, by a woman named louise something. it's a giant spider and super cool.

the other highlight was part of a yearly grant, and this year it was a piece by doris salcedo. it has a fancy name, but everyone knows it as a big, giant crack. when i heard about it, i thought, ok, that's probably cool, but to see how she split the entire main hall of the tate is a lot more impressive than a crack in the floor sounds. unfortunately, she didn't provide any info as to how the piece was constructed... in fact, after doing a little research she actually scoffed at the question, saying HOW the thing was made is immaterial, what's important is the why. ok, ok, i get what she's saying about modern art and making a statement about the art world and all that, fine. but shit man, how'd you do it??

there was a bunch of other great stuff at the tate as well. warhol had some great pieces, there was a really cool short film of these ants and confetti, some cool murals by african artists, the only one whose name i remember being modo.
even the gift shop at the tate is overwhelming, but i came back with a cool souvenir... it's a postcard calendar where you can switch out various artworks and have a piece of the tate every day. i'm very excited to do so.

st paul's cathedral
again, an architectural marvel. it's funny how cathedrals really can inspire belief. i'll get to that more when i hit notre dame, because that's where it really struck me. but st paul's is beautiful, and i must admit, i almost liked seeing the back of it better because it was so serene. if you come across the millennium bridge, you can enter a garden along the side, and it's very peaceful there. of course, the front with its statues is amazing and shouldn't be missed, but if you want to spend a quiet hour, definitely find a bench in the garden.

piccadilly circus
my first impressions of piccadilly were not good. the rugby world cup semis which england won had just finished, and it was just soooo unbelievably crowded. i was very put off by the whole thing, so i was glad when we went back the next day and things were a little calmer. we also walked down to trafalgar and took a few pix there. piccadilly is sort of like times square on a smaller scale, and to be honest, i can kind of do without either. but we did eat at pret à manger, and i liked that sandwich a lot:)

oxford circus
great shopping! hit up zara and some of the cheesy souvenir shops. the dollar is so weak right now it sucked, it's like the prices are exactly the same except they're in pounds. but you kind of just have to get over that. i did.

the tube
i love the tube. it's a little tiring to hop on it four or six times a day, but if you were using it as just everyday transport, i think it would be great. it's not at all intimidating like navigating the ny subway system, and it's clean and goes everywhere we wanted it to. rush hour is claustrophobic, but i guess that's to be expected.


... ok. i'm tired now. will blog about paris later.