Thanksgiving

So weeks later people are still talking about Thanksgiving. Here’s a little bit about it...

When faced with the prospect of going out for Thanksgiving dinner, the traditionalist Americans just couldn't do it. We then went on a mission to find a turkey in London. There is no Honey Baked Ham in London. So we actually considered buying a turkey from the deli - yep the same one where they cut sandwich slices. The £240 price tag deterred us, but only after careful consideration. We then had to figure out how to cook a turkey - none of us have even marginally participated in turkey cooking.

Drew was absolutely determined to get a frozen turkey. One that was too big for ANY refrigerator in England, still had the giblets and staff, and needed to defrost for probably 3 days. After a bit of consoling, he's finally settled on two smaller turkeys - thank God!

The search for Velveeta-esque cheese didn’t go well. I needed cheese that would properly melt for mac and cheese. So I go to the deli counter and simply ask which cheese will melt well and not be waxy. Well, I might as have been asking how they constructed Stone Henge. They had to finally call over a manager who told me that the English use a pre-made sauce...so I said, in a rather cheeky manner, "yes, so if you wanted to make that from scratch, wouldn't you use cheese of some sort? Which one of the 11 that you have in this here case would work?" Never did get a good answer. But the mac and cheese was still ok. I did get Velveeta (Thanks Keia) 10 days after Thanksgiving!

We had about 15 people in the end. Only one person - Layal - had ever done Thanksgiving except for the  five Americans. Jocelyn missed her flight to Spain, so she was “happy” to come back (she was really pissed, but she was happy to at least come back to Thanksgiving and not a normal day). Everyone said what they were thankful for, we prayed and then we grubbed. Everyone thought the food was really good, we sat and talked and laughed. It was awesome! We had turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cranberries, rolls, stuffing, corn, apple pie, pumpkin pie and ice cream.

It was the most memorable Thanksgiving yet!

Click here to see the Thanksgiving Scrapbook!

Click here to see the Thanksgiving Photos!

Weekend Marketing and Ohio vs. Mich Game

On Saturday, Drew, Sandra and I went to Camden Market. It was great! We saw all sorts of crazy stuff and we even had fajitas!!! They don’t get Mexican over here (everything has curry in it?) so we were really excited. I didn’t get to spend as much time as I would like, so I will probably go back next weekend.

Then, Drew and I went to Harrod’s to get Christmas ornaments and cards - that’s right, I’m sending cards that are London! Please don’t be disappointed when they aren’t mailed from London. It costs £.72 or nearly $1.40 per letter. I can’t afford that :) If anyone thinks that Christmas is over-commercialized and out-of-control in America, well you’ve never been here during November. All the lights were turned on weeks ago (more on that in a backlogged blog to come) and since there isn’t Thanksgiving to temper it, everyone here is in full Christmas mode. I too, have adopted that sentiment and feel that it’s completely normal now to play all 128 Christmas songs and counting that I have on my computer.

Drew and I braved the Tube on a Saturday six weeks before Christmas (they are ALL out shopping, I’m convinced). The picture above is what the Tube station looked like as we were trying to travel. Seriously, if someone decided to get mad and push, someone else would’ve ended up electrocuted on the tracks. 

Later that night we went to Sports Cafe to watch Ohio win again Michigan. It was an incredible game. There was a two-hour line to simply get in the door. I refused...so I got one of the girls who works there to let my party in. We had a great time!

Torino, Italy

Yup - Italy was all about eating and I took plenty of advantage. We had falafels - Jen almost fought the Kebap guy over the night when he didn’t have the falafels - we had pizza, we had pasta, we had bruschetta, there was great wine, singing (ok, so it wasn’t in tune or on beat, but it was still great), and sleep!

We went shopping and I got a great purse for cheaper than I’d seen it at home or in London. The guy at the shop actually let me talk him down from €75 to €60! I was so impressed with myself.

It has been years since I’ve been as cold as I was in Torino. I certainly didn’t pack appropriately for the trip and paid dearly. I bought a cute scarf and mittens from H&M though, so I guess that it all works out.

The first night we were there, Jen took us to a local bar that she used to frequent when she studied in Torino last year. We had a great time. We’ve been living in a world where every alcoholic drink is precisely measured... because, what would happen if you got an extra ounce of liquor and didn’t pay for it (insert gasp). Well, Italy is NOTHING like that. We had food that I’m sure we never paid for and the proper liquor to mixer percentage is 2 to 1. Needless to say it only took one! 

Click here to check out the pictures: 

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Trinity

Since the Tube doesn’t run past midnight, going out in central London (about a 35 minute drive) is pretty difficult unless you want to take the 90-minute night bus home or wait until the Tube reopens at 6 a.m.

So, we go to Harrow to party at Trinity every once in a while. It’s usually pretty fun and we can actually walk home which makes it worth it. 

Harrods

After a failed trip to some cultural landmark, I can’t remember what, Jocelyn and I decided to scrap it all and head to Knightsbridge. She wanted to see her old flat from when she lived here before and Grandma told me I needed to see Harrods, so it was a good excuse. 

One of the first things we saw there was MAC Cosmetics. I didn’t bring one tube of lip gloss  to England, so a chance to buy a new tube of lip glass was something I couldn’t pass up. Although, I was able to pass up the gorgeous room dedicated to equally gorgeous hand bags. I was like being a diabetic kid in a candy store. 

Since clothes shopping on a students budget is completely impractical, we stayed in the food halls (weren’t quite as impressive as I would have liked) and ventured toward the home appliances section (toward the Christmas room). The Christmas room was like my greatest dream realized. If you know anything about me, during December you know that I’m inexplicably obsessed over decorating for the Christmas holiday. If you are wondering, the next time I can decorate for Christmas the colors will be green and cream (I already purchased everything from stockings, to Christmas cards and ornaments last year during the half off after Christmas sales - so yeah, it’s serious). 

I cannot tell you how tempted I was to buy just a few boxes worth of things and have them shipped directly home (I think my parents would have shipped it back in lieu of it adding more clutter to the garage). There were bulbs and ornaments, Harrods teddy bear bulbs, nutcrackers, the most beautiful cards you’ve ever seen. And the Christmas carols were playing like it was the day after Thanksgiving.

We also fell in love with the puppies that were in the animal room next to the Christmas room. I’m pretty sure there was a vet or a grooming service there. Can you imagine paying to have your pooch get nails clipped at Harrods?

Click here to see the photos! 

Victoria and Albert

Since I only have class on Wednesdays (for three hours) and Friday (for five hours), Denae and I decided we’d go to a museum for a little culture. We chose the Victoria and Albert which was supposed to be great! It certainly lived up to its reputation. 

First we visited the fashion halls where they had everything from paper dresses that were sometimes used as marketing ploys to wedding dresses. There were designs from Karl Lagerfield, DKNY, Chloe and even a Juicy sweat suit on display. 

We went around to the glass art area, the iron gate art area, the circus area and the Great Bed of Ware, but after the fashion we mostly got distracted by the gift shop. I got a great ring there that looks like a crown and it only cost me £2! 

Tower of London

Jocelyn, Akin and I decided to go to the Tower of London. It cost us £12 to get in and we got there too late to get a tour, but it was still worth it. The Tower is home to years of killings in London. It used to be a fortress, but now it’s just a tourist attraction. There have been queen’s killed there (one because she couldn’t produce an heir) and the nephews of one of the kings. Clearly, although I’m enjoying being a tourist, I’m not retaining much information properly. So don’t rely on much of the facts that I’m presenting. In fact, I can’t tell you how many buildings I’ve incorrectly identified on this web site. I’m working on it though...

We saw where people were held in captivity. They etched their names and drawings into the walls. We also got to the see the crown jewels. There is a little conveyor belt that you stand on and it goes by the glass cases where they keep the crowns. We must have walked on it 4 or 5 times (it wasn’t busy when we were there). The crown that the queen wears when she opens Parliament is amazing. It has so many jewels it doesn’t make any sense.

We also went to Wagamama’s for dinner. Mom really wanted to go to Wagamama’s while she was here, so I was excited to be able to go. The saki machine didn’t work though, so I couldn’t have saki at all. We did have really good food.

Click here to see the photos!