TODAY WAS ONE OF THE BEST DAYS EVERRR. (Okay I know I will probably say that every day but really- today was incredible.) Also, the title of this post is an allusion to an Andrew Belle song, my favorite one in fact, which is fitting for today's happenings! Another side note, these posts get longer and longer with every day and I suggest you stop reading now unless you want to hear me rant about what most would find to be unnecessary details and descriptions of my day.
Moving on -
We started with class, the first day! 5 hours of modern drama lecture was dry, no doubt. But- our professor has a British accent, so listening wasn't a problem... until the jet lag hit. All of us were slowly dozing off and struggling to keep our eyelids open and minds alert. For lunch, we walked to Pret a Manger, a take-out place featuring flavorful coffees, and completely hand-made and natural foods. Also, I can't forget to add that when we walked to Pret, it was pouring rain... also, I can't forget to add that this curly haired girl spent 30 minutes straightening her mane that same morning. Needless to say, I returned to class with a slight wave in my previously perfectly straight hair. (Don't be fooled by the euphemistic language of 'slight wave' - it wasn't pretty.) After class, I booked by ticket to visit Edinburgh, Scotland next weekend! That should be exciting, as well as my ticket for Dublin, Ireland in June.
So Andrew Belle happens to be one of the most underrated musicians of all time, in my opinion. I have to give the credit to Erin Ting - she did expose me to his work just this past year and needless to say, I became obsessed. His mixture of unique vocals and pitches with the keyboard and other wonderful sounds that I am far too ignorant to even begin to describe is just magnificent. His work brings happiness, calmness, brightness and simultaneously soothes. AH I'm a big fan- I'll leave it at that and stop rambling. Anywho! Chloe and I found out a couple weeks ago that he was playing at a pub tonight in Notting Hill (yes, just like the movie) and it was free! Yes! Completely free! College students have a close connection and ardor for free things. Count us in.
So, we ventured to Notting Hill via the tube. This was my first time riding the tube! It's incredibly complicated and if anyone ever wants to see how big London truly is, looking at a tube map is all you need. There's a total of 15 different lines, all of which have various stops. One would think that such an intricate system would be hard to navigate... however, props to the designers and engineers that worked on London's public transportation system. It is incredibly simple and easy to get around. Signs are placed in the most logical places, and it is simplified by the ubiquitous maps and vocal readings that inform you of what line you're on and what direction you're going in. So after exiting the tube at the Notting Hill station, we settled for dinner at a place called Eat. I'm so impressed with the 'fast-food' options in London. Tangent- for people who really know me... you know that I am in love with real food. Real vegetables, real fruits, real wholesome foods that have fresh flavors and burst with color. At Eat, all the options were healthy, wholesome, colorful, true foods. I chose a glass noodle salad with thinly shredded carrots, red bell peppers, edamame, cabbage, seared beef, with a soy-chile dressing. DELICIOUS. OH MY GOODNESS SO DELICIOUS. Even more delicious... for those of you who know me even more, you know that I love citrus and I love cheesecake. What did Eat offer as a dessert option?! - Little cups of lemon cheesecake. Sorry I need to take a break from writing to wipe up the drool that's running down my face from remembering how out-of-this-world tasty this meal was. The lemon cheesecake was beyond perfection- the soft part of the cheesecake was not an overpowering lemon flavor, not artificial lemon at all, but just had a perfect freshness and light creaminess. The graham cracker crust at the bottom of the cup was light, not overly sweet, and perfectly crumbly.
After this life-altering meal, we walked to The Elgin, the pub where Andrew Belle was playing. First of all, the neighborhood of Notting Hill is absolutely beautiful. It's quaint, cute, and still holds elegant and tall buildings with my favorite iron railings and pillars. We walked into the pub and found out that Andrew wasn't playing until 10 pm... It was around 7:15. At first, we were discouraged and disappointed but we soon realized that there's no such thing as a waste of time or bad time in London. We settled into Caffé Nero which has now become by far my favorite coffee shop in London. I have always really loved hot drinks but I find straight coffee to be too strong and the sugar-filled coffee specialty drinks too sugary... Caffé Nero's menu stated at the bottom, "If you like a milder cup of coffee, ask for 1 espresso shot instead of our standard, 2." AH MEANT FOR ME. I ordered a vanilla latté with 1 shot of espresso and it was the best cup of coffee I've ever had. Perfectly sweet from the vanilla accents, slightly bitter from the espresso, and creamy from the foamed milk at the surface. We sat in this cute little coffee shop for a while and then ventured back to the pub to watch the opening act for Andrew Belle.
Chloe and I were standing at the bar when I said to her after looking at a man, "I keep seeing this guy and thinking he looks exactly like Andrew Belle!" Sure enough... it was Andrew Belle. Andrew freaking Belle! Just casually standing at the bar talking to people and making friends. We asked him for a picture and he was so kind and asked us where we were from and made small talk. My heart was so filled! A delicious dinner and wonderful cup of coffee, and Andrew Belle agreed to take a picture with us!? Could this day get any better?! Andrew played after the opening act and while we were mingling in the pub, we met a Londoner named Claire. Claire was the cutest thing ever! She's an apprentince and works in a specialty chocolate shop in SoHo. SoHo is the young, eclectic part of town that is filled with exciting happenings and great night life. She talked to us about the U.S., music, things to do in London, and even helped us navigate the tube afterwards!
It was such a wonderful day. Also, I am realizing more and more every day that my posts are becoming more like journal entries and less like brief-travel blog posts. So, on that note, my most sincere apologies to anyone who even reads these anymore. I sure wouldn't!
Moving on -
We started with class, the first day! 5 hours of modern drama lecture was dry, no doubt. But- our professor has a British accent, so listening wasn't a problem... until the jet lag hit. All of us were slowly dozing off and struggling to keep our eyelids open and minds alert. For lunch, we walked to Pret a Manger, a take-out place featuring flavorful coffees, and completely hand-made and natural foods. Also, I can't forget to add that when we walked to Pret, it was pouring rain... also, I can't forget to add that this curly haired girl spent 30 minutes straightening her mane that same morning. Needless to say, I returned to class with a slight wave in my previously perfectly straight hair. (Don't be fooled by the euphemistic language of 'slight wave' - it wasn't pretty.) After class, I booked by ticket to visit Edinburgh, Scotland next weekend! That should be exciting, as well as my ticket for Dublin, Ireland in June.
So Andrew Belle happens to be one of the most underrated musicians of all time, in my opinion. I have to give the credit to Erin Ting - she did expose me to his work just this past year and needless to say, I became obsessed. His mixture of unique vocals and pitches with the keyboard and other wonderful sounds that I am far too ignorant to even begin to describe is just magnificent. His work brings happiness, calmness, brightness and simultaneously soothes. AH I'm a big fan- I'll leave it at that and stop rambling. Anywho! Chloe and I found out a couple weeks ago that he was playing at a pub tonight in Notting Hill (yes, just like the movie) and it was free! Yes! Completely free! College students have a close connection and ardor for free things. Count us in.
So, we ventured to Notting Hill via the tube. This was my first time riding the tube! It's incredibly complicated and if anyone ever wants to see how big London truly is, looking at a tube map is all you need. There's a total of 15 different lines, all of which have various stops. One would think that such an intricate system would be hard to navigate... however, props to the designers and engineers that worked on London's public transportation system. It is incredibly simple and easy to get around. Signs are placed in the most logical places, and it is simplified by the ubiquitous maps and vocal readings that inform you of what line you're on and what direction you're going in. So after exiting the tube at the Notting Hill station, we settled for dinner at a place called Eat. I'm so impressed with the 'fast-food' options in London. Tangent- for people who really know me... you know that I am in love with real food. Real vegetables, real fruits, real wholesome foods that have fresh flavors and burst with color. At Eat, all the options were healthy, wholesome, colorful, true foods. I chose a glass noodle salad with thinly shredded carrots, red bell peppers, edamame, cabbage, seared beef, with a soy-chile dressing. DELICIOUS. OH MY GOODNESS SO DELICIOUS. Even more delicious... for those of you who know me even more, you know that I love citrus and I love cheesecake. What did Eat offer as a dessert option?! - Little cups of lemon cheesecake. Sorry I need to take a break from writing to wipe up the drool that's running down my face from remembering how out-of-this-world tasty this meal was. The lemon cheesecake was beyond perfection- the soft part of the cheesecake was not an overpowering lemon flavor, not artificial lemon at all, but just had a perfect freshness and light creaminess. The graham cracker crust at the bottom of the cup was light, not overly sweet, and perfectly crumbly.
After this life-altering meal, we walked to The Elgin, the pub where Andrew Belle was playing. First of all, the neighborhood of Notting Hill is absolutely beautiful. It's quaint, cute, and still holds elegant and tall buildings with my favorite iron railings and pillars. We walked into the pub and found out that Andrew wasn't playing until 10 pm... It was around 7:15. At first, we were discouraged and disappointed but we soon realized that there's no such thing as a waste of time or bad time in London. We settled into Caffé Nero which has now become by far my favorite coffee shop in London. I have always really loved hot drinks but I find straight coffee to be too strong and the sugar-filled coffee specialty drinks too sugary... Caffé Nero's menu stated at the bottom, "If you like a milder cup of coffee, ask for 1 espresso shot instead of our standard, 2." AH MEANT FOR ME. I ordered a vanilla latté with 1 shot of espresso and it was the best cup of coffee I've ever had. Perfectly sweet from the vanilla accents, slightly bitter from the espresso, and creamy from the foamed milk at the surface. We sat in this cute little coffee shop for a while and then ventured back to the pub to watch the opening act for Andrew Belle.
Chloe and I were standing at the bar when I said to her after looking at a man, "I keep seeing this guy and thinking he looks exactly like Andrew Belle!" Sure enough... it was Andrew Belle. Andrew freaking Belle! Just casually standing at the bar talking to people and making friends. We asked him for a picture and he was so kind and asked us where we were from and made small talk. My heart was so filled! A delicious dinner and wonderful cup of coffee, and Andrew Belle agreed to take a picture with us!? Could this day get any better?! Andrew played after the opening act and while we were mingling in the pub, we met a Londoner named Claire. Claire was the cutest thing ever! She's an apprentince and works in a specialty chocolate shop in SoHo. SoHo is the young, eclectic part of town that is filled with exciting happenings and great night life. She talked to us about the U.S., music, things to do in London, and even helped us navigate the tube afterwards!
It was such a wonderful day. Also, I am realizing more and more every day that my posts are becoming more like journal entries and less like brief-travel blog posts. So, on that note, my most sincere apologies to anyone who even reads these anymore. I sure wouldn't!
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