“By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show”

Although I had a pretty rough week (classes AND finally finishing my model UN background guide), my weekend definitely made up for it! WOOP!

Friday: That afternoon Aaron and I decided to go book shopping. We started out at the British version of Barnes and Noble, called Waterstone's...I should probably not describe it as a Barnes and Noble because it is SO MUCH BETTER. They have floors filled with textbooks (good ones that I would like to read...) Aaron and I spent a good part of an hour on one floor filled with International Affairs/Political Science/Social Science books. We're big time nerds, but that's ok. Then we tried to find a used book store that was supposedly really close to our flat, but we walked around the area for a while and couldn't find it. So, we stopped in a park nearby and read for a while. Then we took the tube to Oxford Circus; we wanted to walk around the area before it got engulfed by the weekend crowds flowing in and out of the thousands of shops on the mile-long shopping street.

Later that night, my roommates (Jade and Natalie) and I went across town to see a free showing of Medea. The show was in an outdoor amphitheater (who knew that word was spelled like that?!) right across the water from the Tower of London, and right next to the Tower Bridge (The bridge in the picture). The scenery alone was AMAZING. The play was so-so...but worth the price. hah.

Saturday: Aaron and I decided to try again and find the used bookstore because we had heard great things about it. After looking at a map this time (great, great investment if you ever want to come to London, we discovered), we set off on our journey. We found the bookstore amidst a weekend street market! It was SO cool.

There were lots of food stands; everything smelled so good. The scents of Japanese, Portuguese, Moroccan, Turkish(!!), Thai, etc. etc. are mixed together; it was heavenly. Aaron attempted to avoid all of the food temptations and walked directly to our beloved bookstore. The first book that I pick up is "Oryx and Crate" by Margaret Atwood, which I have looking for! I was so excited, I put the book in my hand and I picked up another. It was "Trainspotting", which I have ALSO been looking for. It was a very nice (and cheap) blessing :)

After a filling Portuguese pastry (prawn and some garlic/scallion sauce), Aaron and I went to investigate a carnival ride that we spotted behind a building on the way to the bookstore. We walked behind the building and found an annual street carnival that a neighborhood was holding!

There were mini-carnival rides, a clown, a puppet show, a band, more street venders and food :)!!! It was really cool to stumble upon. Aaron and I walked around for a bit and then decided to head to Soho.

Aaron was on a mission to find the street (Berwick Street) where the photo for Oasis's album cover for "What's the Story, Morning Glory?" was taken. We found it pretty easily (everything seemed to be going right yesterday!), and we found a Hare Krishna band chanting and dancing in the streets on the way.

On Berwick, we discovered the best used CD/DVD/Vinyl store in London, as far as I'm concerned. It was decently priced, and it had everything. EVERYTHING: Indie/alternative/rock/hip-hop/bluegrass/blues/etc. etc. etc. SOOO HAPPY. MUSIC HEAVEN. Aaron and I both bought CDs. (I bought Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Wallflowers, and Primal Scream [some band that Aaron recommended])

Sunday: Aaron and I headed out early to go to church!!! We went to service at a church (apparently known for its congregation of visitors) in Oxford Circus called All Souls. The sermon was really good and the people were inviting and warm. We met a old British black woman named Janet and her husband, Paul. It was a good start to the day. The rest of today has been spent napping (soooo tired), doing homework, and going to the gym! (Boring, lazy Sunday). First day of Monday classes tomorrow, I'm pretty nervous about it! We'll see how these new classes go...I'm afraid that I'm going to be overwhelmed!