Today was a dreary but surprisingly warm day in London. After sampling a good amount of British food, I am convinced that it is not, in fact, bad. Pictured here is a goat's cheese and rocket (arugula?) rigatoni, which I ordered at a restaurant where we were tricked into tipping, not according to the English custom. Well, at least tipping isn't according to the British custom. Tricking people into tipping may be completely customary.
Last night I was asked for directions by an English man--a drunken English man, that is, but nonetheless I was asked for directions and that's what counts. And I am delighted to say that I have memorized the route of the 30-minute walk to campus. On the way to campus is a building with some gorgeous caryatid columns, pictured at left. Tonight there was an NYU London social at a place called Smithy's wine bar. Impecunious students that we are, we bought two bottles of the cheapest white wine we could find and ate free finger foods. Then we returned to the NYU London hotspot the Rocket for some more drinks and dancing.
At four full days in London, I am surprised at how much we've been able to do. We've mingled with locals, explored adjacent areas of London, gone to restaurants, and initiated ourselves into the world of the grocery store Tesco. Nevertheless, we have much more to experience and accomplish. Tomorrow will be a free bus tour of London--my first foray into the symbolic London which everyone knows from postcards. It will also be the last day to explore London without the cares of classes weighing on our poor, unfortunate souls.