Falling Into Old Habits.

I have been neglecting my blog.  Obviously that video message was my sad attempt at getting back onto all of your good sides, but I know that people who check daily, I'm talking to you Michelle, and you Amanda, have been sad that I went a week without posting.  So I promise to make a stronger effort to actually update you on things even if they are small and trivial.  No more laziness....I want you to enjoy London with me so here goes some more about this amazingly awesome city.

I took another walk through Hyde Park today.  Just so people are not confused how I can repeatedly walk through the same park over and over here is a map of the place so you can once again try to understand just how big it is.

I sort of wish this map was green, as one would assume a park map would be but....hey what are you gonna do?  I also wished it fit on the page....again we will just have to deal.  So I live just to the south west of this map down off Kensington Road.  The pictures I posted before were all from the Round Pond which you can see is right by Kensington Palace.  But today I made it all the way over to the Serpentine Gallery and yes.....you are reading that correctly, that little red dot just to the right of "Kensington Gardens" says Peter Pan!  I finally found the Peter Pan statue that was a gift from JM Barrie, the man who created Peter Pan and the whole world of Neverland.  Any of you who know me at all will know that it was once my greatest aspiration to be Wendy so I could live in Neverland with Peter Pan forever.  I have pictures with him at Disneyland, and even performed a version of the musical in high school.  Let's just say I love Peter Pan.  Of course I took my picture with it and it brought me great happiness (see pictures below)

I have developed an interesting sleep schedule since getting here.  I guess you could attest it to the fact that when you go out in London....you GO OUT in London.  Any night out doesn't really end until around 2 or 3 so bedtime is looking around 3:30 or 4.  Mom and Dad, sorry if this frightens you.  That would put wake up time around 12:30-1.  This of course creates a viscous cycle because this also means that you won't be going to bed very early.  As I write this at 11:15 it feels as if I'm just getting into the swing of the day.  OK that may be a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.  Late to bed, late to rise I guess.  I'll have to work on breaking this pattern.

Schoolwork is finally starting to feel real.  Which is not making me very happy.  But I am very happy that I get to fill my hours of homework studying exciting things and not boring things.  And when I'm done with homework.....I remember that I still live in London....which tends to make everything better.  I'm giving my first presentation in class tomorrow.  Well I think it should be my only presentation I make this quarter but I decided to take one of the early weeks and get it over with.  I'm talking about the concept of the flâneur.  I had no idea what this was before I read about it so... short academic diversion.  The flâneur is a man of well means, who strolls through Paris, usually in its grand arcades, at a very slow and contemplative pace.  He is most at home in the crowd 1. because he enjoys studying others and 2. because others can notice he is a man of leisure and therefore very wealthy.  My travel writing class focuses a lot on the act of walking and how walking is the only way you can really know a city.  However not every city is set up for walking....hello Los Angeles.  So cities like New York, Paris, and yes, London are all very unique because they lend themselves to really be read like a text, and you can only really read them through walking.  And not just walking to get somewhere, but wandering without purpose.  It's pretty interesting but also a bit of dense reading.  I have some more that I need to do before my presentation tomorrow so I will be wrapping this up soon but I thought you might enjoy learning about the flâneur.  I hope you did.


I will end with some pictures.  A few from this Wednesday's field trip to the Museum of London and some from today in Hyde Park including of course the penultimate picture with Peter Pan!

Pretty church celling.

The rounded grey line that cuts through this square is the outline of the original Roman Gladiator arena.

Original wall around Roman Londinium

The definition of riding in style.

A Grey Heron.  Strange looking bird.

View over the Serpentine.

This is a really cool sculpture that reflects the sky.

Italian Fountains

Me with a swan!!

PETER PAN!  And I was wearing green...too perfect.

This just had to be done.