remember, remember, the fifth of november.

so it's guy fawkes day or bonfire night here in the uk. basically, in 1605 guy fawkes tried to blow up the parliament building and kill king james the first. well, he failed and to commemorate the british now hold bonfire night. there are several big fireworks shows around the city. and lots of fireworks going off everywhere else. think 4th of july in the states. currently, i can see some of the fireworks, from the show at clapham common, from my window. due to the cold, rainy weather, and a traumatizing crowded tube experience, i opted out of venturing to the common. it's pleasant enough to hear and see some of the show from the comfort of my room.

happy fall y'all.

happy halloween from across the pond!!! (or the same side of the pond, depending where my readers are.) halloween here definitely isn't celebrated to the same level as it is at home, sweet home. with that being said, last night D and i manage to round up a group of north americans to celebrate one of the great fall holidays. i was surprised that there were quite a large number of people dressed up and out and about last night to celebrate. we found a bar that had a 'fancy dress' night. (yes, over here it isn't called a costume party, it's referred to as a fancy dress party.) the whole pumpkin carving, pumpkin flavored treats, halloween decorations, insane amounts of halloween candy, and trick-or-treating haven't quite caught on over here, but the dressing up has. while in the states, many people try to come up with more clever costumes, over here most of the costumes tend to be along the more traditional blood and gore, zombie, witches costumes, etc. i also watched hocus pocus to get into the holiday spirit. halloween wouldn't have been complete without listening to a few cult classics including 'the monster mash', 'i put a spell on you', and of course 'thriller'. sadly, this year i didn't have a pumpkin to carve. but, thank you to all of the wonderful people who sent me cards and candy to put me in the halloween spirit! my window sill has been quite festive the past week or two. see?

my window sill and the view from my room.

along with halloween came the annual 'fall back'. gaining an hour is always a nice feeling, but i'm not sure that i'm ready for everything that goes along with it. rumor has it that it gets dark here around 4 pm...so that should be interesting. in honor of apple season, and to satiate my cravings, i baked an apple pie. and i've been talking about this for weeks! last week i bought some fresh fall apples at the borough market. i bought a prepared crust from the store. it's not the best though. i'll have to do some shopping around next time. homemade crust is always the best. i don't think i'm brave enough to attempt it here though. i am definitely missing the kitchen aid mixer at home! i baked cookies a few weeks back. i forgot how long it takes to mix cookies by hand. ah, the luxuries of home!

before.

after. happy halloween!!!

oh yes, i finally got a replacement battery for my camera. there will be more pictures coming soon!

british-isms

so tonight i had my first major american-british language mishap. K and i (both greenville natives) set off in search of mexican food, which is hard to come by here. not only is it hard to come by, but it's not corona's prices either. in a moment of not thinking, we ordered a side of chips. obviously, we have to take it in stride that an endless basket of chips and salsa isn't immediately brought to our table upon our arrival. that aside, you can only imagine the disappointment that spread across our faces when a basket of fries was brought to our table. rather than fill up on chips and salsa before my enchilada, we downed some ketchup and fries. not the same effect. next time i know to specify for tortilla chips. don't try this at home kids, stick with the usual chips and salsa. and eat a few extra for me!

...but if i get a real hankering for tex-mex there's a (drumroll, please) CHIPOTLE in london!!! you have no idea how excited that makes me!

look right.

after 23 years of looking left before crossing the street, it completely goes against my natural instincts to look right. while this statement seems so elementary, you try remembering to looking right instead of left when you get to a cross walk. it's harder than you think. the first week i was here, i felt like my head was constantly spinning back and forth and right and left every time i approached a crosswalk. i am eternally indebted to the geniuses who wrote 'look right' or 'look left' on the crosswalks at large intersections. however, i took my life into my own hands every time i crossed smaller streets. simply because i couldn't read what to do before i crossed. i know this may sound funny, but i am finally comfortable crossing the street here. (i know this because i don't have to wait for the little green man anymore. i have also become quite the daredevil and don't always cross at the crosswalks.)

the cars are not the only thing that move opposite the rest of the world. this also goes for all escalators, trains, tubes, and sidewalk etiquette. the escalators, trains, and tubes don't bother me as much. however, i am still getting used to the 'keep left' of sidewalk etiquette. several times a day, i get caught up in the awkward sidewalk dance with a stranger. (you know, where you each try getting around each other, but always end up trying to go the same direction.)

on another note, i have managed to get sufficiently lost several times now...in my own 'neighborhood.' i use the term neighborhood loosely, in that yes, relatively speaking it is my corner of london, but in that finding my way back home takes at least 45 minutes walking. (and i walk fast!) i find this troubling for several reasons. first, i pride myself on my internal compass. it usually doesn't fail me. second, i usually don't have my comprehensive london map with me when these situations arise (which is a book, not map, therefore i hate lugging it around all the time). third, i like to think i map out my course before i leave, so i can avoid the getting lost. and fourth, i really hate using a map in my own neighborhood. with that being said, i've never really been terribly lost, just more in the wrong place at the wrong time. i also really hate the bus system. i have no problems navigating the tube. the bus is a whole different story. you would think it would be easier since you are above ground and can see where you are going, but for some reason the bus system and i don't really get along. a lot of my hatred towards the bus system arises because i always grossly misjudge how long it should take me to get from point a to point b. while the journey isn't terribly far, the traffic is always terrible. however uncomplicated it should seem, i have almost mastered one bus route in my area that i need to take to the train station. this did come at the price of two or three (eh, who's counting?) failed journeys to get where i needed to be in a timely manner. i will say the bus gets bonus points because it runs 24 hours, while the tube does not. but, bus routes change at night and be warned that they don't always go where you anticipate. (i did have one late night mishap, but i now know which bus not to take!) also, bus routes are not subject to transportation strikes. which the tube and tfl workers did today. thankfully, i wasn't really affected by this.

ok i think that's enough of my current thoughts and grievances on transportation do's and don't's in london. there will probably be more to come. until then, keep looking right.