A Wicked Weekend in London with Anna

28 February – 1 March 2009

A Wicked Weekend in London with Anna

After a restful night in Streatham, Anna and I got up ready to walk the streets of London. We had arranged a hotel for Saturday night so that we could really take advantage of the London nightlife instead of dealing with a 30+ minute commute to Streatham. We lugged Anna’s bags through buses and the tube, but before checking into our hotel, we stopped in Leicester Square to purchase tickets to a Saturday night show! Leicester Square is located in the theatre district of London, the equivalent of Broadway more or less. On the weekends, one can find hundreds of tourists queuing up to buy theatre tickets. There is the TKTS booth (which I think is the same name as the main one in Times Square) but the queue there was by far the longest. There are loads of other ticket booths and windows offering to sell tickets for any of the shows, and sometimes at a discount. As Anna and I waited in line, we contemplated what to see. She had her heart set on “Billy Elliot” and I was open to anything.

About 20 minutes later, we reached the front of the line. We were greeted by a young man who was clearly wearing bronzer with glitter on his cheeks. Perhaps he was really getting carried away with his “theatre” job. Anyway, we were disappointed to find out that the “Billy Elliot” tickets were very expensive. Plan B: “Oliver” the musical…well, it was sold out. So finally, we ended up deciding on “Wicked.” The well bronzer boy mentioned that he could get me a good deal on Billy Elliot tickets all week if I was interested…I figured, why not?! It would be my last week in England so I bought myself one ticket to see Billy Elliot the following Monday.

Now that we had solidified our Saturday night plans, we took the tube to our hotel in the Paddington area. Anna had stayed in this hotel about a year ago when she visited and had a good experience. The check-in area was pretty fancy and nice, but our room wasn’t ready yet and so we left our bags in storage. Our next stop was the Royal Collection Shop near Buckingham Palace. This is where one can purchase royal memorabilia and items like china with Queen Elizabeth’s patterns, bathrooms with her initials, pencils and erasers with her crest…you get the idea. Anna had her heart set on a pillow which had the union jack and across it read, “God Save the Queen!”

We took a stroll past Buckingham, through Green Park, and down Piccadilly Street until we came upon Fortnum & Mason’s. The store was packed with tourists and I set off to find some lovely delicious souvenirs. I picked out some quality tea including a Smoky Earl Grey, some biscuits, fancy jams, lemon curd, and even some cupcakes for a snack. The Easter goodies were beautiful but I never imagined that a chocolate egg could cost so much, I mean even if it did have real gold flakes on it! At this point, it was time to grab some takeaway food, and settle into the hotel before the show started!

Once we made it back to Paddington, we collected our bags and went to find our room. Strangely, the room was located in a building across the street from the lobby. Then we had to go down a narrow rickety flight of steps to the basement and there we found our room!! Anna was less than impressed, apparently last time the quality was much better. Now we had wallpaper that was peeling off and a bathroom with subzero temperatures. We wanted to complain but we barely had enough time to scarf down dinner, change, and get over to the theatre!

“Wicked” was playing at a theatre right next to Victoria station. We had pretty good seats on the floor not too far from the stage. “Wicked” is essentially the story of the Wizard of Oz but told from the perspective of the good witch, Glenda, and the “wicked” witch of the west. It was a comedy, and I would say, more of a chick show, but it was very cute and I enjoyed it. Once we pushed our way out of the theatre, we hopped the tube to the Piccadilly Circus area but walked in the opposite direction of touristy Soho. We were hoping to just stumble upon a lively pub where we could enjoy a few drinks. As we contemplated one lounge, the people standing outside convinced us to give it a try. Nice atmosphere but really overpriced cocktails and poor beer selection. After our first drink, we moved next door to a more traditional, crowded pub called The Phoenix. They had an awesome selection of beers and ciders from the UK and abroad. We tried a Belgian white beer with strawberry and a German wheat beer. I would have been happy to sample each of the ales on tap, but alas, the pubs in England do not stay open very late! Just as they were starting to kick everyone out around midnight, we were approached by a very drunk Irish man. His name was, Paddy (imagine that?), and he and his friends had traveled to London for the weekend to watch a rugby game in which Ireland played England (and won by a point) and have a good time. He asked us if we knew where the hot spot was, and we explained that we were just as clueless as he was. Anna told him that he was lucky to be talking to a doctor and a scientist. His half open eyes looked at us with disbelief. From there, we got into a conversation about vaccines. He told us about his son, Shawnie, who got the chicken pox twice. Let’s just say that Paddy didn’t believe in vaccines anymore and when I did not think it was the time or the place to give him an immunology lecture. As we chatted, I could see his other friends snickering at him in the corner. Finally, a very large and loud bouncer yelled again for us to go, and we wished Paddy good night and hopped the tube back to Paddington!

Sunday morning when I awoke I was so excited to enjoy a hot, hot shower at the hotel. Don’t get me wrong, I was loving my time in England, but I must say that I really missed a good shower. It isn’t as enjoyable to take a shower where I have to hold the showerhead in one hand, and try to soap up with the other, and worry about when the warm water will run out, or how cold and damp my room will be when I returned. Much to my dismay, I could not get anything more than a cool shower! No hot water at all!! Totally unacceptable! Anna had to end up showering, more or less, in the sink because she couldn’t take the cold shower! Anna was furious that the hotel standard had changed so much. After we ate our “English breakfast buffet” we talked to the manager. After much complaining and negotiating, the best we could get from him was a 10% discount…better than nothing!

Now that we settled that, we could enjoy the rest of our day until Anna had to fly back to Sweden. We decided to do a bit of shopping and since I had been given the suggestion to go to Camden Market, we headed to north London. Camden Market was insane: crowded with tourists and locals, tons of crazy and random stuff for sale, yummy street food, and great people watching. We had some delicious crepes, both sweet and savory, when we arrived. Everyone waiting at the crepe cart was a French tourist! Leave it to the French to travel all the way to England and eat only French food. We wove our way through the thick crowds and the narrow rows of the market. I never realized how enormous the market is-just when you think you’ve seen it all, another market pops up around the corner! It felt sort of like the Venice Beach of London with all of the “freaks” and artsy types including the tattoo/piercing crowd and even a nice demonstration by the Hare Krishnas! I find it comforting to see that mocking the Hare Krishnas seems to be a universal joy! Once we tired of the crowds, we took the tube to Oxford Circus. First order of business was to order a Belgian waffle drenched in Nutella from a street vendor. Then we were off to visit Liberty. Liberty is a high-end department store in a beautiful huge Tudor building. Liberty carries many of the fine designer items but is also known for their beautiful patterned fabrics. I could have spent hours in the store smelling all of the exotic perfumes, checking out the many scarves, and admiring the fine clothing. Next, we just had a look in Burberry, it seemed mandatory! We fantasized about how one day we would come back to London in our Burberry trench coats, go to high tea at the Ritz, and have a day at the Sanctuary Spa.

We ended our afternoon with afternoon tea at Harrods. Harrods is the epitome of all high end stores and is owned by the Fayed’s (as in Dodi al Fayed, Princess Diana’s fiancé). It makes Sak’s or Neiman Marcus look like Walmart. The store is enormous with every luxurious item you could imagine including an elaborate Food Hall section which is essentially like a market with fresh fish, perfect produce, beautiful backed goods, and even a huge selection of fresh eggs among other things. We had our tea at Laduree, a French tea room. It was a beautiful, ornate area with picture perfect pastries and sweets on display. We sat in red velvet cushioned chairs and we had a meal essentially consisting of tea with sweets which we ate with real silver. Anna had violet tea and I had a special blend. We tried pain au chocolat, raspberry tart, macarons, sandwich-like pastries with cream in between flavored with orange blossom, rose, and red berries. Macarons are not to be confused with macaroons, which in the US, are like a coconut cookie. We had so many sweets that we felt a bit sick to our stomachs but it was a nice way to pamper ourselves at the end of the weekend. Before we knew it, it was time for Anna to make her way to the airport! It was sad to say good-bye! Even though it had been 6 years since we had seen each other, it really felt as if no time had passed! It’s always great to have a friendship where you can pick up right where you left off even if many years have passed. Hopefully our next visit will be in Sweden!

A nostalgic day in Brighton

27 February 2009

A nostalgic day in Brighton

Anna and I woke up early to get ready for a trip back to the very place we had met, Brighton! After enjoying another lovely shower in Charlotte’s bathroom, I fed Anna crumpets for breakfast, for the first time. I couldn’t believe that in all of her many visits to England she had never had a crumpet!

There are usually half a dozen different ways that one can get around the London area on public transportation with all of the various combinations that the tube, bus, and rail systems provide. I thought it would be best to take the train from Streatham as we were already in south London and thus that much closer to Brighton. I figured I had better use the Streatham train station at least once! We found it right off of Streatham High St in the center of town, about a 15 minute walk from the flat. We purchased our tickets, subtract another £18 from the bank account. We had to make a couple of transfers, but eventually we were on the fast train to Brighton.

About an hour and a half later, the train slowed down as it approached Brighton. The train track is quite elevated as it enters town so that you can seen streets upon streets of brick stone houses, and beyond that the English channel in one direction, and rolling green hills in the other. I had a little flashback of my arrival to Brighton 7 years ago to study abroad. The sun was out and there was barely a cloud in the sky, the best weather I had had the entire month.

We decided that we would start our day off with a hike at the Seven Sisters Park. This area is about a 1 hour (slow) bus ride from the center of Brighton and offers beautiful views of the chalk cliffs along the English Channel. When we got off at the train station, we asked a bus driver which bus would take us to Seven Sisters. He directed us a block from the station to wait there for the bus. Two British girls were also waiting for another bus to go to Peacehaven. The four of us were waiting there for 30 minutes wondering where in the hell the bloody buses were! We were passed by loads of other buses but not the ones we needed! The one girl was quite cheeky and humorous so she at least offered some entertainment. Eventually, their bus finally came and Anna and I were left scratching our heads. Anna suggested we call the bus hotline to find out what was going on! Well, the operator on the phone informed us that the bus stop at which we had wasted 30 minutes waiting, only is in operation for that bus route early in the mornings. That was pretty frustrating and we were cursing that guy for the rest of the day as he used up a precious hour of our time.

We walked down to bustling Churchill Square, the center of Brighton, and found our bus stop. In the meantime, we checked out the place and decided it hadn’t changed much since 2002 which was quite comforting really. Finally, our #12 bus arrived and we excitedly jumped on and took a front row seat on the top deck of the bus. The route that the bus takes hugs the coastline for probably a good 10 miles. There are gorgeous views of the English Channel, rolling hills, cute towns, golf courses, posh ocean front homes, and the stunning white chalk cliffs. The only annoyance of the ride, besides the guy behind us blasting techno music from his iPod, was the fact that the bus stopped so damn much! We felt like there was so much we wanted to see and so little time in the day.

Finally, one hour later, we jumped off the bus at the Seven Sister’s park. By that time, it was about 1pm and we were starving. There is an inn/restaurant right on the park premises that I had been to on nearly every visit to the park in the past. We stopped and ate there and it was warm and sunny enough to enjoy our meal on their patio. We didn’t linger too long though since we knew we had the early sunset to beat.

The Seven Sister’s park is a large area, in fact I am not sure how large, but it appears to go on and on. The South Downs Way, a long hiking trail, traverses this park as it makes its way through south England. If one chooses to follow this trail, it could possibly be a week in itself if one stopped and stayed at the little villages along the way. Seven Sisters Park also is full of grazing sheep and cows. From a distance, one can see the little fluffy white sheep dotting the green hillside. Walking through the park, the sheep can be quite close. I tried to get some good photos of them, but they were a bit afraid of people and definitely preferred to nibble at the grass in private. It was interesting to look down at the ground and see how the grass was clipped short and groomed by the sheep! There was a pasture area also with a lot of hefty looking cows also minding their own business but leaving large poops behind.

We made our way through the park towards the water. I couldn’t get enough of the views both of the cliffs ahead, the animals grazing, and the water that runs throughout the valley of the park. Eventually, we started to make our descent up a steep hill that is essentially the start of one of the cliffs. It can be a pretty intense hike up but with many chances to rest and enjoy views or take photos. The views are even better from the top. The view to the east is of the Seven Sister cliffs as they undulate in the distance and culminate at the lighthouse at Beachy Head. The view to the west, towards Brighton, is of the black rocky beach below which contrasts against more white cliffs in the distance. It is said that this is the biggest suicide spot in England. One look over the edge is certain to give even bravest person vertigo. The edge of the cliff is really like a crumbly piece of chalk and probably 100ft or more below are the waves hitting the cliffs.

We didn’t linger as long as I would have wanted to since the day was dwindling. We took the really steep path down and came out right on the beach. The beach is made of huge black and grey pebbles and unfortunately, littered with a good amount of garbage. England is such a clean place overall, that it has always surprised me that the park is not better kept. We tried to walk down the beach as fast as we could, but it was really hard to move that fast when walking on a bed of pebbles! A good work out though. Finally when we hit solid ground again, we sped off on our way to the street. The last thing we wanted was to miss another bus. We were about 100 feet or so from the bus stop when the bus came lumbering down the road. I made a sprint for it but Anna couldn’t keep up and the bus driver certainly wasn’t going to linger for us. After the disappointment of missing the bus, I decided we should reward ourselves with ice cream. There is always an ice cream truck at the park. I had something called in oyster which was a wafer made in the shape of an oyster with some marshmallow fluff and coconut filling and then topped with lots of soft serve vanilla. Yum!! We were well sugared by the time the next bus came!

On the ride back, I noticed that the bus was full of elderly people. Looking out among the rows of seats, all I saw were white and gray haired heads! There were all very cute, coming and going, linked arm and arm with one another. It seems as though the desire to move to the sea at retirement is a trend that spans across cultures!

When we got back to Brighton, we stopped at a square called the Old Steine to transfer buses. Anna wanted to visit our old campus at University of Sussex before it got dark. Campus is located in the town of Falmer which is less than 5 miles from the center of Brighton. It is a pretty rural area with green hills as far as the eye can see. We had our own little tour of the campus and stopped at the school store to buy Sussex t-shirts and hoodies, and also some yummy Kinder Happy Hippo chocolate biscuits (my favorite). The campus mostly looked the same, but since we were there they built a new medical school and added a couple more buildings. It truly is not the most beautiful college campus. Even though I remember reading that the buildings won some architectural awards, I always found them to be pretty ugly. The sun was starting to go down so I suggested we catch the approaching bus back to Brighton.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived in Brighton, it was already dark! We had a little walk down by the water and by the brightly light Brighton Pier which holds lots of rides and cheesy boardwalk games. From there, we wandered in land further and walked through The Lanes. This is an area in town with winding little pedestrian streets lined with cute shops, restaurants and quaint pubs. All of the shops were closed, but we found a cute pub called The Druid’s Head and enjoyed some lager. We were having fun sitting there relaxing in the cozy pub and remembering the fun we had back in 2002! From there, we made our way over to the student house where I lived on York Rd, right off of the main drag in Brighton.

We were quite giddy as we walked through Brighton. We even got nostalgic about the Waitrose grocery store where we would shop back then. Anna insisted we go inside and of course I ended up leaving with a bag full of crumpets and shortbread. At last we walked up the hill to 10 York Rd, my old home! This was a “two family” house style with mirror image homes attached by a door in between. It was reserved for University of Sussex students and while we lived there, was mostly full of international students. Back then, we had the following countries represented under one roof: England, US, France, Sweden, Wales, Chile, Canada, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. In fact coincidentally, a guy who was in my high school class and also lived in our neighborhood in Mountain Lakes also lived in that house in Brighton with me!

Anna got so excited that she decided we should ring the doorbell and have a look inside! I was feeling shy but she insisted, rang the doorbell, and pushed me in front of the door. A grungy haired 20 year old boy answered the door. We explained to him that we had lived there 7 years ago and wanted to take a peek. He got a kick out of the idea that we had lived there before and was happy to let us in. We just browsed around the first floor, stepping into the kitchen where we had many a memory and posed for a few silly pictures. It truly had not changed in seven years and I could still see the same curtains hanging in my old bedroom upstairs!

It was about 8pm at that point, and Brighton was hopping with people walking in the streets, heading to the pubs, enjoying their Friday night. We regretted that we hadn’t packed a bag and stayed over, but we figured it was due time that we grabbed some dinner (curry) and ate it on the train ride home! It was a great trip down memory lane.

Canterbury Tales

26 February 2009

Canterbury Tales

Late on Wednesday night, my friend, Anna, arrived from Sweden. Anna and I met back in 2002 when we both studied at Sussex University in Brighton. We hadn’t seen each other since the summer of 2003 when Anna visited the US. As soon as I told Anna I was coming to England, she started to look into booking a ticket to visit. Being that she is an anglophile, like myself, she was happy to have an excuse to come to the UK and of course, to re-unite with me!

Her flight from Uppsala did not arrive at Heathrow until 9:30pm. Unless one is able to take the Heathrow Express train, it is usually a long and painful underground ride to get from the airport. As luck would have it, Anna’s mobile phone battery was low and my pre-paid UK SIM card ran out of money just as we were trying to coordinate how she would get to my flat in Streatham! I was impressed she made it here so easily, although slowly, especially when the bus driver didn’t even seem to know the stops on his own bus! I walked her back to my flat and welcomed her to my damp little bedroom. Anna and I snuggled under the covers just as the baby in the next flat started crying…welcome to my world!

Anna got to sleep in during the morning while I went and worked a half-day at the hospital. I made sure to give her the run-down of some of the “rules” of the flat, according to Charlotte: hot water only comes on for 1 hour in the morning between 7 and 8 am, make it a quick one as it often runs out of hot water, after your shower you must use the specially designated rag to wipe up any residual water on the walls or tub, place the bathmat on the radiator to dry when you are finished, if you are cold in the bedroom turn on “the fire” (Charlotte’s term for my space heater), and if you are still cold, here is the trick to sneaking in and turning on the heat for 1 more hour!

Anna took the bus to meet me near the hospital at lunch time. She picked up a light lunch for us at Sainsbury’s and we hopped on the tube to get us to London Bridge rail station for our ride to Canterbury. Once we bought our tickets, which were not cheap at £20 round trip, we navigated our way to the east station and found our platform. I perused through a little shop while we waited and decided to get some crisps (aka. chips) for the 1.5 hour ride. They definitely had some interesting flavors including: roasted chicken & thyme, Thai sweet chili, and Buffalo mozzarella & herbs. But I opted for the chocolate and chile flavour. I will say that it wasn’t terrible but I definitely wouldn’t buy it again, although I found the crisps strangely addictive and quickly devoured the bag! Anna told me about her morning at the flat. She got to meet Roger, who was kind enough to turn on the radiators for her! She then realized she should rush for the shower while there was still some hot water. Anna tried her hardest to take the speediest shower ever, neglecting even to wash her hair for that day! Anna also commented on the serious humidity in the apartment. All of the windows are covered in water, almost like a steam, but heavier. Charlotte puts these little humidity absorbent boxes the windowsills but I don’t think they make much of a difference. When you touch the curtains, they are heavy with moisture. Anna was quick shocked at this state of affairs! She blamed it on the single-paned glass windows in the apartment, and she may be right about that. It certainly doesn’t help with the heating problems!

Anna and I felt like we had gotten stuck on the slow train to Canterbury! We were anxious to get there as we only had the afternoon, but frustratingly enough, it seemed as if the train stopped every 10 minutes! And it wasn’t just the number of stops, but the fact that the train would wait in the station at some of the stops for a full 5 minutes! I suppose this is somewhat typical for England though, and people here don’t make much of a fuss over it. They quite calmly just accept that this is the way it shall be!

At last, we hopped off the train in Canterbury! Once we emerged from the station, we found ourselves on curvy roads lined with quaint Tudor-style buildings. Once we walked a bit further, we passed through an arch in a stone wall, which would have been the old city wall. From this point on, many of the streets were actually closed off to cars so we could walk around quite aimlessly, taking pictures, and not worry about getting run over! We stopped for a piping hot cup of Earl Grey and found the Canterbury Cathedral!

I thought the cathedral was well worth the €5.50 entrance fee, and more! It might very well be my favorite cathedral ever. It has been around for 1400 years, or so I read, although there was a major fire in 1174 which apparently ruined most of the church as it was at that time. It is in history not only for being a major Christian pilgrimage site, but also famous for, Thomas Becket. Becket was made archbishop in 1162, but later seriously irritated King Henry for disagreeing with him too much. Henry later had 4 of his knights murder Becket right at the altar in Canterbury cathedral. This is apparently the very thing that made Canterbury such a famous cathedral as Becket was canonized soon after and the pilgrims came in floods. This gothic style church is really an immense place with many different nooks to the cathedral, not just one long open space as others are. There were different chapels/altars within the cathedral including tombs and a crypt. The ceiling just seems to be miles high so I can see how it feels as if the cathedral is encasing the heavens. There is so much detail to the carvings all over the walls and ceiling. I could have spent a few hours in there taking pictures and exploring all of the corners of this cathedral. I actually ran out of time because I was taking so many photos and looking at every little thing. Apparently I missed out on one of the most famous parts of the cathedral, the underground crypts which is all that was left from the fire in 1174. It also holds the altar where Becket was murdered. I can see how this church is fitting as the real center of the Anglican church, with such history and really impressive architecture!

After they finally kicked us out, we walked around the cathedral grounds. There are some stone ruins of what I assume may have been other buildings destroyed in the fire, but I am not sure. Adjacent to the church is Kings School which is a top English prep school. All of the buildings are beautiful and old and look like the same era of the cathedral. It is hard to imagine that one could actually attend school there! We saw a few kids who looked like they were on their way to choir practice or something. Otherwise, the area we explored was very serene and quiet. The birds were chirping at dusk and we stayed in the cloister area watching as the setting sun painted the side of the cathedral a warm pink color. We made a little friend along the way, a ginger colored kitty who was lurking about. He took to Anna the most! I felt like I could have explored the outside of the cathedral for longer still, but we saw one of the guards come and start closing gates and Anna said she preferred not to sleep in the cathedral that night. I, however, wouldn’t have minded!

By the time we left, it was all but dark out. We wandered around some more of the pedestrian streets of Canterbury and went in a few shops. I have found it a bit frustrating how early the stores close in the UK. We would have liked to look around more but since it was around 6pm, almost everything was closed! We decided to eat some dinner there before catching the train back to London. We ended up at a cute pub very close to the cathedral called The Buttermarket. From reading the back of their menu, I learned that there has been an inn on this site for at least 500 years. In the area outside, there was a butter and dairy market at one time. The pub is said to be haunted now…I suppose that may be possible with a 500 year old history! I enjoyed an English ale with my bangers and mash (aka. sausage and mashed potatoes). I can’t say it was the best bangers and mash I have had, but I did enjoy the pub. It had that great cozy, relaxed, homey feel that the lovely pubs in the UK have. I still haven’t figured out why most of the pubs in the US are just large, cold places with ridiculously loud music. I think we could stand to have a few more cozy little pubs in each town, its such a good place to socialize and an excuse to get people off their couches, away from their TV and internet, and socializing with real humans!! With our bellies full of beer and food, we headed back to the train station and home to London.

A Day in the Life

23 – 25 February 2009

A Day in the Life

Amidst all of the traveling and sight seeing I had been doing so far, I was really enjoying my daily routing in England. Many times in the morning, I thought of the Beatles song, “A Day in the Life” as the lyrics go: “Woke up, fell outta bed, dragged a comb across my head. Made my way downstairs and drank a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was late. Found my coat and grabbed my hat, made the bus in seconds flat…” And so my mornings went: woke around 6:45. I was no longer showering in the mornings, as I am accustomed to doing, as the hot water was not ready then. I would freshen up and then make myself a nice cuppa tea with milk. I enjoyed my hot beverage with some butter laden crumpets and jam, and a creamy yogurt. Then I would speed walk the 2 blocks from the flat to the bus stop. Some days if the bus was approaching, I would have to make a run for it, at times, dodging oncoming traffic. Other days, I waited a good 15 minutes for one of my buses to arrive. When the doors would part, and a semi-organized but some what chaotic fashion, we would all cram inside. Most days I was lucky to get a seat which was the perfect time for people watching.

I have to say that London has one of the most diverse populations ever! Everyday I would encounter English, Irish, Polish, Indian, Middle Eastern, Middle Eastern Muslims, Black Muslims, Caribbean, Asian, and so on and so forth… I had heard this part of London had a lot of Pakistanis and Muslims and this appeared true. The women stood out the most, as they were either wearing head scarves or a full burqa, but then men would also wear the long robes and hats. Perhaps it was good to expose myself to all of these Muslim women, because I have to admit that I have always had a problem with the notion that a woman must cover her head, and at times everything but her eyes. It seems oppressive to me. One of the residents I work with is Middle Eastern and she wears a scarf around her head, but I hardly think she fits the stereotype oppressed woman. She is just like any other 20-something year old girl, jokes around, flirts innocently with her co-workers, basically I forget the scarf is even there! Still not sure how I feel about the woman are so cover that all you can see is their eyeballs…

In any case, I have been here long enough that I am also now used to seeing some of the same people on the bus every morning. There is the fashionably dressed 20-something girl, obviously heading into central London. There is the black woman and her 10 year old daughter, who she once referred to as “cheeky.” I see young moms with babies, old men in tweed hats, and hippies with dreadlocks. There are always a good handful of school children, always in some type of uniform, which brings another song to my mind, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” They definitely love uniforms here! The hospital staff wears many different uniforms, certainly different from home. The female nurses wear white pants and a fitted blue and white polka-dot top. The male nurses wear blue pants and white tops with little ribbon-type things on the shoulders, looking somewhat like soldiers. The technicians wear a slightly different outfit, housekeeping another, and so on. I sort of like the formality of it all, and the fact that it is easier to identify each person’s role just by looking at them.

My bus ride to work takes 10 to 15 minutes depending on how much traffic there is. Sometimes you get stuck in a line of buses just wishing the driver would open the doors! I pour out of the bus with the masses of people. Most veer to the left and enter the Tooting Broadway Tube station. Some continue past that, to the South Thames College, and a few walk a few more blocks ahead, like me, to St. George’s hospital. There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the halls of the hospital each morning. I walk quickly to St James’ wing where the ICU is located, most days I am running a little later. I sneak into the OR (aka. theatre) locker-room to change into scrubs, and then a join in with the morning rounds. Often times I am not the only one late, I have noticed that the doctors-in-training here are much more likely to be late than the residents I have worked with at home. No one makes a very big deal about this if it even bothers them. Generally, they don’t take life as seriously here.

After the morning rounds, everyone picks a patient or a few to take care of for the day. I have gotten to look after a few different types: elderly who got in a moped accident, old lady with flu plus pneumonia, but if there is any patient with Obstetric or Gynecologic problems, those are the ones I jump for. There have actually been a handful so far, and one very sick postpartum patient who has been there since my very first day on service. There is usually about an hour and a half to two hours to work on our patients which is more than enough time with some left over so that I can look up some more information about my patient’s case. There is always someone around to help if I need it, and as I said, it’s a very low stress process, which is a contrast from what I am used to in the hospital at home.

The official ward rounds happen from 10:30 ‘til about 12:30 and are led by one or more different ICU specialists. There is quite a range of different styles and personalities. There is the Italian doctor who tends to be less aggressive with patient management. Then there is the Indian doctor who is more soft-spoken but efficient. Then we have the doctor with the very dry British humor who usually takes a more aggressive approach to patient management. He calls some of the elderly patients, “old & crumbly.” He basically takes the role of the man in charge, usually quick to step in and say “What the hell were you thinking?” He is the one always quoting the latest research studies, or mentioning his own research experiences. Generally, all of the doctors are very down-to-earth and approachable; he is the only one who is intimidating. He will definitely be the first to tell the residents if they screwed something up. Interestingly enough, all of the residents call him by his first name. I still can't get enough of the fact that we get tea, coffee and biscuits every day during rounds! Although I have been told this is not the norm for most services in the hospital, I think it is a great tradition.

After the official rounds, I take my lunch break. I will eat with the Italian doctor, Gianpaola, when she is there. Otherwise I go alone. I have been eating most of my meals in the main cafeteria. There is usually a good choice of food options and it’s cheap! Everyday there are 5 potato options, usually some sort of curry or Indian food, a meat pie, and I especially love the warm dessert. I have had coconut sponge cake, spotted dick, apple & peach pie, and rhubarb crumble all swimming in warm custard!

After lunch, I return to the wards and take a look at my patient to see if they are stable. If there are any procedures going on like bronchoscopy, central line placement, or tracheostomy placements then I will watch. Sometimes I help with paperwork to get the patient ready for discharge. No one really keeps tabs on me or minds if I stay or go. It is nice to have a good level of autonomy. The longer I have been here, they have given me more responsibility. I usually head home for the day when there isn’t anything else going on. Some evenings I visit the hospital fitness center. Other nights I kill a few hours playing on the internet in the school library’s computer lab. Eventually I head home to Streatham on the bus. Sometimes I see the same commuters from the morning. Inevitably there are always a few people on the evening bus who wobble on, having just come from the nearby pubs. Once home, Charlotte and I catch up a bit. Sometimes her boyfriend, Roger (or “Roo-gah” as it sounds when she says it), is there too. Some nights we listen to the BBC news radio, other nights to the British classical music station. Before I know it, its time to start the day again.

A morning in Florence & an evening in Pisa

23 February 2009

A morning in Florence & an evening in Pisa

I can not say that I awoke on Sunday morning feeling the most rested ever…between the slight wine headache and the apneic snoring of my Italian roommate, I was a bit tired. I quickly got dressed and ready and went out to the hostel kitchen to check out the free breakfast. They had some packaged pastries and crackers, yogurt, juice, and some muesli and milk. It was enough to start the morning. My new friend, David, was also up and we ate one last meal together before parting ways. He was off to beat the queue at the Uffizi Gallery and I had a date with the real David!

My hostel was called Academy because it was right down the street from the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno, which is really famous for housing Michelangelo’s David sculpture (made in 1501-1504). On the way, I stopped for a quick cappuccino to stave off the caffeine headache that was sure to join the wine headache. I was happy to arrive and find that there was absolutely no queue outside of the museum as it can be horrendously crowded. I walked right in, forked over my €6.50 and entered the museum. Before you even get to the David, you walk through galleries of other renaissance and medieval religious paintings. They were really beautiful but I have to say I was anxious to see if this David guy was all that he’s cracked up to be. Finally, there he was, standing in the middle of the building, under a glass dome and surrounded by a Spanish school group. He was much bigger than I had expected! In fact I later read that he stands 17ft tall and made of a single piece of marble. The level of detail in the statue is really impressive. In his hands and feet, each nail is outlined, every vein and tendon carved in such a life-like manner. His hair, although made of marble, gives off the impression that it might be soft and flowing if the wind were to blow, or you were to run your fingers through it. It truly just expresses the notion of strength and male beauty. I felt as if some of the proportions were a little bit off, but wasn’t sure if that was just my point of view in looking from below. It was interesting to read that when the David was on display in England, a plaster fig leaf was placed over David’s twig & berries so as to make him more modest when the Queen came to view him. There is a glass barricade around the base of the statue that was placed after a crazy artist guy attacked David’s toe with a hammer!

When I left the museum, I saw a line at least 50 people long waiting to see the David. I was so thankful that I made it my morning priority to visit the Accademia. From there, I wandered through the sunny morning streets of Florence. It was a bit less crowded as I guess the tourists were still sleeping in. I found a tiny piazza with a small flea market and I sat down and watched the locals buzzing about. From there, I noticed the green patina of a copper dome in the distance and decided to find out what it was attached to. I stumbled around until I finally found it…it was a Jewish synagogue! I didn’t really expect to see that, as Italy is such a catholic nation, but there it was, the Jewish section of Florence. It only lasted for about 2 blocks, but it does exist!

I followed my nose to the smell of leather and perused through a few shops. They had some beautiful items: boots, wallets, coats, purses, high heels and so on. The items were not wildly expensive, but certainly not a discount. In another store, they also sold cameo jewelry. I find cameos to be so beautiful and classy, and not something one sees every day. They had rings, necklaces, earrings and brooches, and even a few lamps! They even had blue cameos which were pretty. They were all out of my price range, but it was fun to look. Apparently Italy is known for its shell cameos, something I never knew!

After lots of window shopping and noticing the increasing crowds of tourists coming out of every street, I crossed the Arno again into the Oltrarno neighborhood which is much quieter. I wanted to go up the hill as far as I could and see what the view was like. It gets quite steep in the area across from the Ponte Vecchio. Eventually, I found myself at one of the entrances to the Boboli Garden. I was a bit shocked that they charged €7 to visit a park, but I told myself, try everything once! The park has some beautiful views of the Arno, Florence, and the mountains beyond. It is very impressive to see how the Duomo (cathedral) dominates the entire city as it is the tallest building. It was pretty quiet at Boboli so it was a peaceful experience with the birds chirping in the trees. The Palazzo Pitti is also located in the gardens and I believe my entrance fee granted me access to the interior, however I realized that time was running out as I needed to get to Pisa with some daylight left!

With out rushing, I meandered through a few more streets in the Oltrarno and then crossed back to the area closer to my hostel. I was quite hungry at this point, and wanted to try some real Italian pizza. It was surprisingly harder than I thought it would be to find a quick pizza places. There were plenty of sit-down pizzerias, but not too many where you could grab a slice and go! In fact, most of them were right near the Piazza del Duomo, which is what I wanted to avoid. However as time was of the essence, I gave in and followed the other tourists. I tried a slice of mushroom and a slice of salame. The pizza slices were rectangular without a large crust like we have at home. There was also far less cheese on them too. I sat outside of the Duomo, admiring it one last time before I would leave Florence. After my pizza, I treated myself to another serving of gelato. This time I tried cantaloupe and vanilla flavors which were delicious. After that, it was time to be on my way!

I gathered up my belongings from the storage room at the hostel, opened my map, and navigated my way to the train station. The path that I took, led me through a busy market, which turned out to be a tad frustrating as I was in a rush to get to the station knowing that the next train would be leaving shortly. I also wished I had more time to stay and see what they had to offer! However, I did recall that Ali and I had spent time in this market back in college when we backpacked through Europe, so at least I hadn’t totally missed the experience! The train station was packed with people coming and going. I bought my ticket to Pisa from an automated kiosk for just €5.60 and I ran to the train as it was leaving in just 5 minutes! After my little sprint, I found 2nd class train car and settled in. I later realized that I really didn’t need to rush so much, as the train sat on the tracks for another 15 minutes. I think Italy runs on “Italian time” to a large extent.

My ride was some what uneventful and I arrived in Pisa and just one hour, around 3pm. Unfortunately, the weather seemed to have changed in that time and now the skies were grey and overcast. I used my travel guide map to find the way to Hotel Bologna, my last bed in Italy. It was a nice three star hotel and it seemed almost deserted. It was a nice break from the hoards of people in Florence. My room was tiny, but very cute, clean and even with a plasma screen TV.

After dropping my bags, I set off to make the most of the last few hours of sunlight. I walked on the Corso Italia, which is the main shopping area in Pisa. There were a lot of people in this area, it seemed to be mostly locals. There were groups of little children in costumes, dressed as princesses, animals, knights, and so on, basically like Halloween. They were throwing confetti in the streets, and I presumed it was for Carneval celebrations. There wasn’t much in the way of shopping to do since it was a Sunday afternoon, so I kept going so that I could check out the Piazza del Miracoli (the Leaning Tower of Pisa).

I have to say that the pictures were a lot nicer from our stop in Pisa on my first day in Italy. With the overcast sky, it wasn’t as special, but nonetheless, it is fun to just look at the crazy tower. It really leans in several different directions! It probably would have fallen over by now if they hadn’t secured it with wires and also solidified the ground below. Apparently it’s basically just sand under the entire Piazza so the other buildings are also on somewhat of a lean. When I had my fill of the Piazza del Miracoli, I wandered through some of the other piazzas and narrow streets of Pisa. It is really a pretty city that most people never explore outside of the Leaning Tower. I found it to be a lot like Florence, but with less tourists and less graffiti!

I decided I would try to get an early dinner since I had a 6:30am flight the next day. I wanted to try this restaurant that my guidebook recommended and I even found the place easily! I walked in and the women inside told me something in Italian, basically that they were not open yet. I had no idea what time to come back, but then saw they had a menu posted outside. They would reopen at 7:30pm. Now I had some time to kill…I walked a bit more and then settled in at an internet café to call home. Finally it was after 7:30 and I headed back to the restaurant. It was already quite full but I had no trouble getting a table. I ordered a calamari and polenta dish for my antepasta, and it was delicious! Then I had linguine with clams and pomegranate for my main course. I never would have thought to put those two foods together but it worked really well!! When I finally left the restaurant around 9pm, there was a wait to get a table. Pisa was like a whole new city when I emerged. There were people everywhere: eating in restaurants, drinking in street cafes, and socializing in the street. It was quite a contrast to how dead the town was earlier in the evening. Across the river on the way to my hotel, there was also a band about to play on a large stage, likely for the Carneval celebrations.

I was looking forward to finally getting a nice rest in my bed before starting the week back in the hospital. I watched some BBC news, to catch up on the real world, and then settled into bed. I probably slept for about 2 hours when I woke up with stomach pains! Now I was regretting eating all of that shellfish! I tossed and turned for awhile, and then on top of the pain, felt nauseated. Well, let’s just say that I got that dinner out of my system and pomegranate and clams didn’t go so well the second time…Unfortunately my night went on like this until I had to get up at 4:30. I probably slept 2 hours tops as I was in and out of sleep with pain and nausea. I was not a happy camper when I trudged out to the van for the airport. The ride to the airport was less than 10 minutes, and I was disappointed to see that I had to wait in line behind 50 hyper Italian high school students to check into my flight back to London. It was all I could do not to just collapse and as soon as I checked in, I made a beeline to the café for a croissant to at least put food in my stomach. Then I went to security where I was informed that I was only allowed to bring ONE bag onto the plane with me. This is certainly not the norm on any other airline, and when I flew RyanAir to Pisa, I was allowed two bags. Apparently they do it differently in Italy and this was causing quite a commotion in the security line as everyone tried to consolidate their bags…I got through eventually, and was happy to settle into the plane and head back home. When I arrived in Stansted, it turned out to be a good thing to enter as a non-European Union traveler since basically the entire plane was from Europe, there were only about 5 of us outcasts waiting at the non-EU border control. I had to deal with a battery of questions from the immigration officer, not just the usual where did you come from and where are you going, but every last detail about what I do in England and he even wanted to know what was the date of the first time I ever visited England and exactly when did I plan to leave. Nonetheless, I was happy to be back “home” in cloudy London and made my way to the hospital to start the day!

Florence: Cathedrals, Gelato, and Italian Men

21 February 2009

Florence: Cathedrals, Gelato, and Italian Men

My travels continue in Italy...Saturday morning we were a bit more leisurely in the hotel as it was the last day and had to tie up loose ends. We returned to our regular café for one last coffee (or hot milk for Dad) and pastry! We did some people watching in the little town of Loro Ciuffenna. In particular, we watched Wayne. My dad had enjoyed watching all of the people in this sleepy little village, but he liked Wayne the best. Wayne was an older man who could be found slowly strolling up and down the streets of Loro with his hands clasped behind his back clearly in deep thought, or so it seemed. Sometimes he was getting a coffee, sometimes standing on the little bridge peering off into the distance, reflecting on life. Who knows what his name actually was, but my dad decided that he reminded him of our cleaning man, Wayne Lovegren…strange as Wayne has ginger (red) hair and bore very little resemblance to this Italian, but I was willing to go with it. On a side note, my dad also thinks that my cat, Roxy, looks like Wayne too…not sure why the fixation is on Wayne, but it could have something to do with the fact that we used to tease William as a child that Wayne was actually his real father, but I digress…

Once all was settled at the hotel and the car was packed with every last sausage, jar of honey, bar of soap, and red man purse, we were on our way! We headed into Florence, or Firenze, as the Italians say. There, I would part ways with my parents and William as they flew back to the US. We got to Firenze in time to find parking and enjoy one last meal together. We had a quick lunch including vegetable antepasta, radicchio & walnut risotto, salads, and so on… After finishing, we had to say our goodbyes. As my parents drove off, I had a sudden pang of loneliness and a touch of nervousness as I was now alone in Italy and at the time, still unsure of where I would spend my first night!

I walked a few blocks to a B&B I had found online with good reviews and a great price. I found it in a quiet area near the Arno river and across from a theatre. I climbed the 5 stories to the B&B through a dark, old building. At the top, I was greeted by a friendly man who informed me he had given away his last room 5 minutes ago! I was kicking myself the whole 5 flights down for not booking it when I called earlier! Oh well…on to plan B, another B&B also full…I started to get nervous now thinking I might have to spend my entire afternoon searching for a decent bed. I tried the third number I had, for a hostel called Academy. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of staying in a hostel. I have had the hostel experience many a time when backpacking through Europe in college and when studying abroad, but I feel like I have finished with that phase of my life. I no longer want to wake up to use the communal bathrooms and find that the walls and floors are covered in vomit, deal with a hostel shower flooding the bedrooms, or hear thumping music from the hostel bar one floor down. The only reason I even considered this hostel was because on their website they advertised that they were not like the average hostel. They tried to give each customer a more private experience. I called them, and they had a spot for me so I was on my way!

To get to the hostel, which was actually in a great location in the historic center of Florence, I walked along the Arno River. This is a beautiful walk as one can admire the many bridges that traverse this river including the famous Ponte Vecchio. The Renaissance style buildings along the banks are colorful and beautiful creating a wonderful reflection in the water. I was briskly walking to my hostel and taking in the sights, when I heard someone say, “You lost something!” Of course I turned my head and looked up to see a tall, well dressed Italian man of probably 35 or 40 years of age, walking towards me. He said, “You lost your sense of humor!” He went on to ask me why I looked so serious walking through Florence. I briefly explained that I was on the way to my hotel. So he introduced himself and started chatting me up…the usual “where are you from” and “what are you doing here” talk. For an Italian, his English was really good. He told me he worked in women’s fashion (how stereotypically Italian!) and clearly had that womanizing way about him!! Coincidentally, he had actually been to New Jersey many times including the Short Hills Mall and knew many towns in my neck of the woods. I had mentioned that I was in England studying for the month, and so he went on to say “I don’t know if you like Italians, or maybe you just like English men, but perhaps we can take a coffee while you are here!” I said something political along the lines of yes, I like all kinds of people but I have an American boyfriend! He didn’t seem to mind and proceeded to give me his number if I should like to get together while I was visiting! I played along to some extent but I knew there was no chance I would take him up on the offer!! I had always heard the Italian men were forward but now I was experiencing it first hand!

After meandering through Florence, including some of the famous spots like the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza Vecchio, I finally found my hostel! It had a heavy, huge wooden door and a bell to ring. Once buzzed in, I passed through the giant door, and then a metal gate, past a courtyard and up a flight of stairs. I was greeted by a friendly girl with a British accent. She informed me that unfortunately the private rooms were all booked, but I could stay in a 4 or 6 person room. Of course I went with the 4 person, but she warned me I would be with all men. That didn’t bother me at all, so I handed over the credit card and for €28 I had a bed at last!! She showed me to the room and gave me a little LCD lamp to use at night. I have to say that I was pleased with the accommodations and glad to be given a locker as well.

I set off to make the most of the few hours of sunlight I had left in this beautiful Tuscan afternoon! I was first impressed at how busy and touristy Florence was! There were foreigners everywhere which was quite a difference from the small cities we visited earlier. There were Japanese snapping pictures, American students shopping for leather boots, and Spanish school groups at every juncture! The busiest area is close to the river where the streets are closed to traffic and all of the shops are located. They have everything there from the mediocre to the high end Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes, and so on. I admired the Duomo, the famous red, white and green tiled cathedral in Florence. It is truly a sight to see and it completely dominates the entire skyline as it is the tallest building in the city. I found the interior of the cathedral much less impressive than the exterior. I quickly crossed the Ponte Vecchio, which was much to jammed with tourists for my liking, and continued on to the opposite side of the river called the Oltrarno. This area is a lot less crowded. It has many antique shops, leather stores, and fancy hotels. As I walked through Florence, I was overcome many a time by the strong scent of leather wafting out of the many shops. Florence is known for its leather goods from the affordable to the out of this world!

After walking for perhaps 30 minutes, I decided to cross back over the river. While I was on the bridge, I stopped in the middle to admire the views and take some pictures. All of a sudden I heard someone saying, “Ciao! Ciao! Ciao!” I finally looked in the direction of the noise and saw that the excited voice came from a short, chubby, balding middle aged Italian man who also had very long noise hairs, in fact they were like little tufts puffing out of his nostrils. He walked over to me, standing very close, and started to talk to me in Italian with the biggest smile. I don’t speak Italian, but it was pretty easy to figure out what he said. He asked if I was European, No…he asked if he could offer me a compliment, and then he told me I was “bellissima,” put his arm around my shoulder, squeezed me, and kissed me on the cheek!! He said that Italian men are very sentimental…I like to think that “horny” is a better word…but anyway, he proceeded to also invite me for coffee. Then I sort of acted like I didn’t understand what he was saying and said goodbye. He kissed me again on the cheek before I walked away…talk about violation of personal space!

I wandered back to the Piazza deln Duomo and found a bench from which I could relax and enjoy the scenery. The sun was lower in the sky so there was some great lighting for photography. I also got out my zoom lens and was enjoying taking pictures of unassuming tourists and locals! Through the camera, I spotted this one middle-aged Italian guy, lurking across from the cathedral, smoking a cigarette and watching the crowd. He looked like he stepped out of The Godfather! I wanted to take his picture, but I was pretty sure he caught me aiming the camera in his direction and the last thing I wanted t o was get on the bad side of a man I decided was probably part of the mafia! So I diverted my attention elsewhere. Not long passed before I heard a voice next to me, I turned and there was my mafia man sitting on the bench next to me! He started to chat me up as well! By this time, I had a story down and told him that I was there with my family and just waiting to meet up with them. He asked me if I would like to get together later and I said I would be with my family. He said then perhaps we can have a drink later on!! I said well I will most likely be out for a late dinner. He said that was ok, there was always time for a late drink! I kept making excuses and then he switched gears, asking me how long I would be in Florence. I said I was leaving for Pisa tomorrow. He asked at what time and I explained I wasn’t sure, just playing it by ear. He said, “Noooo, you are lying, like Pinocchio, your nose is growing!” He eventually got the hint and left me alone!

The sun was going down at this point so I headed back to my hostel to regroup. I used the free internet to get caught up on my correspondences. Then I noticed a guy sitting at the computer in front of me, and in fact I remembered he had been in that exact same spot when I left the hostel a few hours ago! When I was finished emailing, I said Hi to him and asked if he had been sitting at that computer all day. He said no, and then offered to share his bottle of red wine with me! So we sat down in the hostel kitchen and got acquainted. His name was David, and he was also traveling alone through Italy. He was half Australian and half Chinese but lived now in Malaysia, but had lived at different times in Indonesia and South Africa, just to name a few! He had come to Italy for the first time recently for work and really loved it and so he decided to plan a 2 week journey through Italy. He had just come up north after spending the past week or so in Sicily and southern Italy. We chatted until the bottle was gone and then decided to get dinner together!

I was happy to have a non-threatening male escort to fend off the feisty local men! We bundled up and wandered out of the hotel to find a restaurant that wasn’t too touristy. This apparently is not too easy to find in the center of Florence but nonetheless we found a suitable place. We shared another bottle of wine, some acqua frizzante, and tried some Italian dishes! I had something called, Gnudi (I really like the sound of that word!), which I had never heard of before but noticed at the next table. It was basically a ball made of spinach and ricotta cheese, although I am sure there was more involved than that. And it was in a milky kind of sauce. Being that I have some what of a love affair with ricotta cheese, I absolutely loved this! Why haven’t I ever seen this in the US?? For dessert, we shared tiramisu and chocolate cake (which was like a rich delicious brownie). We exchanged travel stories, Italian experiences, medicine, and I learned about his interesting life! Then we decided to stroll around Florence. It was still quite busy with tourists and locals alike. There were some people playing music in the streets and young people congregating. We decided to treat ourselves to a 2nd dessert and have some gelato! I tried a mixed berry flavor and he had Kinder gelato (Kinder brand chocolates are my new guilty pleasure). We enjoyed this while taking in the beautiful historic sites of Florence at night! When every last drop of gelato was consumed, we headed back to the hostel as both of us planned to get up early and enjoy the city. Coincidentally, David ended up being one of the guys with whom I was sharing a room!

I settled into my little cot, with my LCD night light, popped in my ear plugs and donned my eye patch and I was off to sleep. A few hours later, I awoke when our Italian roommates came in from a night out on the town. Once they settled in, it wasn’t long before one of them was very loudly snoring-loud enough that I could hear it through my earplugs. Not only did he snore, but after a few seconds of snoring, he would go into a phase of heavy breathing, and so the pattern went. It actually sounded like he was suffocating and trying to breath. Of course I have to end up rooming with the dude who drank so much he has sleep apnea! But I guess it could have been worse, at least he didn’t puke all over the bathroom…