I uploaded my photos to fb.  If you can't see them, let me know, and I'll be sure I didn't mess up the settings. If you're not on fb, let me know and I will invite you to see them.  Thanks for reading!  I never know if I'll post before my next big adventure... one more example of the noncommittal issues of GenY.

Friday:

Today has been a day.  In fact, it was a day to remember almost immediately.  There was the 4 am wake-up.  The 5 am bus arrival (I was told 5:30… leading to a frantic final few moments).  And the best part—finding out at 4:30 that we were missing a student.  The student turned up about 30 minutes after the bus left, and managed to make it to the flight.  There is so much more to the story, but of course I can't really go into those details here!   So after 3.5 hours of sleep, I had experienced about 20 different emotions in the first hour of being awake.  It's a very interesting feeling to be praying frantically for the safety of a student, then [mentally] cussing out the student, then praying, then cursing.  Repeat every 5 seconds for an hour and a half.  Beginning at 4:30 am. 

The rest of the day turned out to be wildly uneventful in comparison. Thank goodness.  I am typing this from somewhere over Newfoundland.  It's been 5 hours, with 4 to go. 

From home, 11 am Saturday—yes, the day turned out to be uneventful once the morning's drama was resolved.   After 17 hours of travel, I had dinner with a friend at Cracker Barrel.  There were no CB's in London. Shocker.  I went to bed at 8:30 last night, woke up at 6 and got out of bed at 7, and feel like a new person this morning.  Now, it's time for the scramble to get my classes ready, since we start on Monday (ack!). 

I know this promise seems empty after so many failures to follow through, but I will post pictures, hopefully before the weekend is up!  If I can't get them to come up here, I will link to them, or send an email to subscribers to the blog.  If you don't hear anything, let me know and I'll email you the link.

Thanks for reading, friends. 

This is a really long post, because it's been a few days. Sorry.  Pour a cup of tea or something?

Tuesday:

For day 2 of our pass, we hit a few more hot spots.  First, we headed to the Churchill War Rooms and Museum.  This bunker was closed immediately following the end of World War 2, and was largely forgotten.  The maintenance man began giving tours as he told people what was there, and sometime in the last 20 years it became an official museum site affiliated with the Imperial War Museum here in London.  Becuase of the way it was left, many of the rooms are actually exactly as they were the day that the lights were turned out at the end of the war.  Some of the rooms had been used for other things, but the recreation was as close to the original as possible.  I loved seeing the maps on the walls, the maps they used to track ships in the Atlantic and English Channel.  I could see the pin pricks in the map.  The museum made me want to learn more about Churchill. 

After the war rooms, we headed to a quick lunch in a pub, and then on to Westiminster Abbey.  I loved hearing about the history of the church, and seeing so many people's burials and memorials. (Shout out for Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, Isaac Newton, and many others). Maybe because of living in such a relatively young country, I find the older things especially interesting.  Again, The King's Speech was fresh in my mind as I saw the coronation site in the abbey. 

Since we were across the street from Parliament, recognizable not just from its immediately-identifiable building, but also for the protesters eternally camped out in front, we decided to stand in line to see their government in action.  We lucked into tickets for the first 30 minutes of the House of Commons, and oh, what an experience!  It was quite the raucous affair, and we were there to see the Deputy Prime Minister answer questions thrown at him by anyone in the Commons. It was funny, and intense, and rapid-fire.  The Deputy PM has quite a funny wit, and had me laughing at several points.  One of my favorite lines was something along the lines of "those men were monosyllabic whilst in our chamber, but they become loquacious outside."  They freely heap insults across party lines, and [sadly] there were many aspects of the dialogue that were similar in substance, if not in delivery, as in the States.  We definitely have a more formal system in the US!  After the mayhem of the House of Commons, we crossed over to the House of Lords.  The room was far more fancy, lots of gold and velvet, and it was as dry as they say it is.  One man droned on the entire time we were in there, and we witnessed at least 3 members sound asleep on the benches.  In fairness to the boring speech, we did only last about 10 minutes before taking off. 

After seeing the government at work [or at stall], we headed to Kensington Palace for high tea at The Orangery, a cafe affiliated with the palace.  Our passes gave us a discount, but it was still overpriced. I was surprised my class of all male students was interested, but they wanted to do it. 

That evening, I met up wtih 2 other professors to see 39 Steps, a play based on a book and a Hitchcock movie.  It was very funny, and very much a cross between Monty Python and Alfred Hitchcock.  There was only a cast of 4, and the way they pulled it off was fun and entertaining.  I definitely felt inadequate at parts though, missing British, Scottish, or Hitchcock jokes.  I know I missed them because the audience erupted with laughter, and I sat there like a bobblehead. The evening was rounded out by a half pint at a pub, then on to bed.

Wednesday:

We continued to use our London pass today, and we did our best to get our money's worth.  We spent the morning at the Tower of London, which was built in a few years after 1066.  That is wild!  I learned a lot about it from our very entertaining Beefeater tourguide, included with admission.  The audioguide paid for with class money?  Pretty much a waste. So, if you're heading across the pond any time soon, remember: Beefeater tour: Definitely.  Audioguide? Heck no. 

From there, we headed to pick up theater tickets from Leicester Square, then to a hop on - hop off boat down the River Thames from Westminster to Greenwich.  It was a bit more complicated than that, but I'll spare you the details.  [I'm on a boat, y'all.]  Once again, the boat had a very entertaining guide who educated us on the buildings along the river.  It was about an hour-long ride, a nice break after a long morning of walking. 

We got off the boat in Greenwich, and proceeded up yet another very long hill to the Royal Observatory.  There, I stood with one foot on either side of the Prime Meridian.  I also set my watch (er, Bridgett's watch that she let me borrow because mine died right before the trip) according to official Greenwich Mean Time.  Bridg, your watch is perfectly accurate right now.  The view was pretty incredible from there, and we were able to see into the distance to several of the Olympic sites.  I think my students questioned the purpose of the trip while we were on the long boat ride, but they all seemed to enjoy it once we arrived.

On the way back, we had a bit of an adventure.  We had to take a train called the DLR, which is separate from the Underground.  In those stations, the ticket scanners are different.  Unfortunately, though we tapped in, we did not tap out.  When I went to the information desk to find out what to do, I got a stern look, a tsk tsk (LITERALLY, the lady tsk tsked at me), but then she did not make us pay the 6.50 pound penalty for doing that.  Oops!  She made sure we knew "it's your lucky day."  Whatevs, at least we didn't have to pay!  I was thankful, though...

That evening, I met up with a friend from grad school for dinner (she's who I stayed with the last time I was in London).  It was nice to catch up, but it was an email glitch that limited us to a short dinner on my second-to-last night.  I was then off to see The Lion King, along with several others from the University.  The show's visual impact was really, really cool.  Les Mis was definitely my favorite of the shows, but I am also glad that of the 3 I saw, each was unique.  After a long, full day, it was off to bed.

Thursday:

Today, I met up with my students early (we try to meet up with them relatively early each day in the last week to encourage them not to go wild).  We spent some time at the National Gallery museum.  We had lunch in the pub I visited the first day, then went our separate ways.  I walked all over-- Leicester to Covent Garden back to Leicester to Piccadilly to Oxford-- all the while looking for Harrod's.  Unfortunately, it wasn't in that area!  I gave up after a while, though I was able to pick up a few more gifts while in those major shopping areas.  I made it back to the house, spent 45 pounds mailing course materials given to me at the site visits back to Alabama, then headed off to Harrod's.  I was completely, utterly overwhelmed in Harrod's!  I tried to find some different sections [like kids] but couldn't figure out the store, and kept ending up in the D&G and Balenciaga sections... One of these things doesn't look like the other ones, one of these things does not belong... I gave up, and deicded I was only trying to buy something there because it was Harrod's, and that was silly.  So, off I went, back to the house.

This evening, we were supposed to have a faculty farewell dinner.  Turns out, I was the only faculty member to make it.  It was nice to get to know one of the study abroad office staff, and the student assistant who came along was one of my econ majors, so it still turned out to be a nice dinner of Indian food with good conversation. 

I am currently procrastinating packing. I picked up one of those plastic-y bags for my carryon today, which was alleviated the mounting stress given the purchases I've made here (not least of which-- 2 bottles of whiskey).  However, my breakfast time is 4:30 am, so I need to get to bed soon!

Hopefully, the next time I post will be from the US.  And I know I still owe pictures... soon and very soon, I hope!

Sunday: 

This turned out to be a beautiful day in Edinburgh, a nice reprieve after the previous day's mess.  An early start, sticking to the vegan portions of the Scottish breakfast, and I was off to the Palace of Holyrood.  It was interesting to learn so much about Scottish history,and of course the castle was pretty. I went from there to Canongate Kirkyard, the cemetery where Adam Smith is buried.  After walking in circles in the graveyard for about 30 minutes, I finally found his resting spot, and got the required economist picture at his grave. 

Since it was such a beautiful day, I headed back to Calton Hill, to see if I might find some better shots than the day before.  Success.  I was relieved to see that I was no longer gritting my teeth in every picture. 

I had an early afternoon train, so back to the hotel to check out and get to the station.  The train ride was pretty uneventful, though I had a near mega embarrassing moment (turned out to be mild).  I wanted some coffee so went to the cafe car.  After purchasing my coffee (which they place in a bag so that you don't spill hot coffee on other passengers while walking back to your seat), I turned to get back.  Unexpectedly, the train lurched to the side, sending me off balance.  In an effort to steady myself and not spill the coffee, I reached for the nearest wall.  Unfortunately, the way I stumbled looked as I was making a serious play at a man standing against the wall!  My hand went on the wall just next to his head, and my face got about 2 inches from his.  I am sure my eyes were wide and slightly startled by the encounter.  I looked over at his friend who had a funny look on his face, I am sure wondering what the heck I was trying to do.  I apologized, we all laughed, and I continued on my way.  As I walked away, they did the standard British 'eehhhh...'  I laughed all the way back to my seat. 

It was nice to get back to the home base, though I was yet again shortchanged on sleep as I tried to keep organized.

Monday, we began the sight-seeing intensive portion of the class, using the London Pass which gives access to many of the pricey stops.  We did St. Paul's yesterday morning, and climbed all the way to the top!  The cathedral is breathtaking.  After that, the class headed to the Bank of England museum, where I was able to lift an actual gold brick.  Then, we moved on to the Imperial War Museum, which is always fascinating.  I ended the day meeting up with my research co-author Tom, who works in London.  After working for a bit, I headed to his flat for dinner with him and his wife.  I really enjoyed catching up with them.  We see each other about once every 2 years!Another late night, followed by another early morning... I might sleep for all of Saturday when I return!

I woke up today feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. I headed to have my “full Scottish breakfast” provided by the hotel.  I was thankful that I don’t eat eggs, because that was a non-issue. I remembered Andrew & Donna warning me about the uncooked Scottish breakfast.  I went with things that wouldn’t make me sick (beans, mushrooms, tomato, hash browns, toast), plus some bacon.  They were so right—that bacon wasn’t too cooked-looking. I ate the rest, but left the raw bacon on the plate. (In fairness, I think it’s cured).  I liked it though. Minus the bacon.  I got off to a late start, which was nice after a string of very busy, early-start days. 

It turns out it’s good I had a hearty breakfast, because I ended up eating a 3 pm linner.  More on that later.  My hotel is on the side of Calton Hill, high above the city.  I hiked up the trail from the hotel, and enjoyed the views. Actually, I am overselling a lot here.  It was crazy windy, gusty, and raining while I was up there. I tried to shelter behind the monuments, but my camera was actually being blown back in my hands when I tried to take pictures.  Sufficiently soaked, with some mediocre pictures, I ventured down Hume’s Way (as in David Hume, the political economist!). I inadvertently walked right into the graveyard where Hume is buried, and like a good economist got some photos there.  I then proceeded up the Royal Mile, all the way to the castle.

At this point, I was cold and wet except for under my coat.  The wind was so bad that I couldn’t use an umbrella, and at times the rain hurt my face.  Wow, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful day!  Even with that, I was stunned by the beauty and age of the place.  I made it to the castle (if you haven’t been, it’s at the top of the Royal Mile, and up a very, very large hill).  I was nearly blown over at the top, and found myself ducking into every covered / indoor site on the castle grounds with my self-guided audio headset in order to get out of the weather.  I chuckled when, as listening to the guide, the narrator mentioned that English royalty had spoken negatively of the castle in Edinburgh, something about it being miserable, cold, blustery and wet.  Check check and checkity check!  I learned some in the exhibits, in others I pretended to look until I was ready to brave the elements again.  I was able to get a few good shots of the city from up there in a 5-minute window that was just grey, but not windy.  I am making a big deal about the weather because, as you will see when I finally start posting pictures, I am grimace-smiling in all of the photos.  As in, “I know I should look so excited, but I am trying not to pout because rain is hitting my eyeballs.”

After about 3 hours in the castle grounds, I ventured out.  At this point, I had reservations for 7 pm at The Witchery, the most famous restaurant in Edinburgh. It’s built into part of the castle, with a  second dining room in The Secret Garden, adjoining the first.  I decided that I wouldn’t make it back to that location if I started down the hill, given the weather.  I ducked in and was happy to hear that I could instead sit for a late lunch.  I was seated in The Secret Garden, which simply from its name I knew was going to be perfect. It’s a room that used to be a playground, but was covered over. It’s entirely lit by candlelight, which adds to the charm of it.  Charming is not the right word, it’s so much more than that.  I felt like a character in a Jane Austen novel sitting there, the wind and rain beating against the windows, but a very fancy restaurant, somehow lacking pretension.  Which brings me to the thing I am most proud of today:

I ate haggis.

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, and was made in the past with all the non-meat portions of the animal left over—we’re talking heart, lungs, liver, etc.  I was told I had to try haggis while in Scotland. One colleague even gave me 2 pounds to encourage me to try it.  To be honest, I am glad I did, regardless of outcome. I try to experience the true local culture (as opposed to what the touristy people sell you) when I am in a new place.  So, I dove in.  I figured if anyone does it well, it will be The Witchery.  And, it was actually quite delicious.  The dish is haggis ‘n neeps n’ tatties.  Neeps refers to a mashed turnip dish, and tatties to a fried potato patty.  After I finished (and I ate all of the haggis except the sheep’s stomach it’s served contained in—think sausage casing), I asked the waiter what was in there. I knew better than to ask before!  He told me that at their restaurant, it actually is less lungs and brain (in fact, none of that), but liver, with ‘minced lamb and beef, and chicken ?’  First, minced just means ground here.  Second, the ? after chicken is because despite him telling me 2 times, I had no idea what word went there. I’m going to count that one up for divine hearing loss.  I don’t think I want to know!  When my dish was served, I had to lean over to the couple sitting next to me to ask “How do you eat haggis?”  I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to eat it all, or what.  Better safe than sorry. 

The haggis was listed as an appetizer, so I ordered another one—brown crab from the Isle of Munn with fennel and an apple cider dressing. I asked about the crab, but the waiter couldn’t explain it except to say that it was very local and very good.  It was.  I will say, though, that it was much milder than our Maryland blue crabs. I prefer my hometown version.  That said, it was very tasty.  With my end-of-meal cappuccino, they brought out fudge that tasted like butter.  So good.  I rate my Witchery experience a major success, haggis and all.

While the meal was delicious, it was consistent with the slow-food movement. As in, it took a while. By the time I finished, all the other sites I planned to visit were closed. I meandered up and down the Royal Mile a bit longer, picked up some souvenirs, then headed back to the hotel.  It has been nice to be dry for a while now. 

My train leaves at 2 pm tomorrow, so I am hoping to hit up some additional sites before a late check-out and train ride back to “the jungle,” as Lilly called London!  I originally planned to try to go to the church where John Knox preached, but right now I am not sure if it will happen.  I think it will depend on time, weather, and wake-up. 

The dork factor of the day—when people ask me how long I am in town, I answer that I am working in London this month but took a weekend trip to Edinburgh.  (I don’t need to share my life story with everyone I speak with, some of you will be surprised to hear).  I am a slightly dishonest dork for phrasing it that way, I know.  However, it does change how they treat you, instead of the typical American tourist…

Cheers! 

Friday-

I had to get up at the standard weekday time in order to catch my train to Edinburgh. After a fitful night of sleep (I don’t know why), I made it to the Underground station with time to spare.  Turns out, that was a very good thing, as it took THREE trains for me to be able to squeeze onto one.  Literally not another person would fit on the first few trains through the  station.  I lucked out with someone getting off on the third one.  The train ride from London to Edinburgh was uneventful, but beautiful.  I did some work, caught 2 cat naps, and saw a rainbow and many beautiful bits of English and Scottish countryside. 

If you have been to Edinburgh, you know what I mean when I say that this is one of the most striking cities—in fact, probably the most striking—in terms of skyline.  Edinburgh was known as the first skyscraper city.  Their buildings were built up 500 years ago!  So everywhere are these incredible spires and castle-looking buildings, so old, and so beautiful.  From the 10 minutes of clear skies since I’ve arrived, I know the view to the Firth of Forth (the water of the port in the city) is breathtaking. 

The b&b where I am staying came highly recommended by a friend (yay Jenn!).  It’s totally lived up to its selling.  The people are friendly, answering my 20 questions when I first arrived.  The rooms are perfectly adequate, and there is a tea and coffee setup in the room!  I realized that the communal living of the house must be getting to me, because I nearly wept when I saw that my room had a private bath.  I didn’t realize how much I valued not having to compete with 12 girls for 1 WC and 1 shower.  J

I walked around the first day, but arrived too late to do any official sightseeing.  I spent some time on Princes Street, which is the shopping area that has become kitchsy and trendy.  Translation: Teenagers, EveryWhere.  It wasn’t my favorite moment, however I was able to stop off for a spot of tea and scone at Jenners, a Macys-esque department store right on the main stretch.  From there, I saw the castle, and many monuments and important buildings.  Unfortunately, I don’t know what they are, because I don’t own an Edinburgh guidebook. 

I meandered a bit longer, then spent about 20 minutes reading a guidebook in Waterstones, their version of Borders.  I felt much more prepared after this!  As I headed away from this area, I went upa  street, since it was described as the shopping area that hadn’t gone downhill.  Totally true.  A much more enjoyable stroll up there.  Dinner was at a fantastic Nepalese restaurant near my hotel.  When I checked into my b&b, the lady at the desk told me that if I had any questions about Edinburgh’s history, there is an elderly lady (Lilly) who works in the evenings at the hotel doing odd jobs, and to talk to her.  So, upon returning to my hotel, I headed up to find out some insider’s information on the city.  That was one of the most interesting hours of my life.  Seriously!  I started asking about restaurants, but quickly realized that wasn’t the kind of help she could give.  For the next hour, she told me in a very conversational way, as though she had personally witnessed it, about Mary Queen of Scots, and Robert the Bruce, and Greyfriars something or other, and all kinds of history. I really appreciated that, since I walked into this trip with just about zero institutional information.  I felt like a true Rick Steves traveller doing that.  When I mentioned it today to the receptionist, and how it made the castle more interesting to me, she said “she probably built the castle too.”  Ha.  Crazy Scots.

After that I had the best night of sleep I’ve had since I left.  Thank goodness for that!

So this will have to be a two-fer since I didn't make it to the computer yesterday.  It's been a whirlwind 2 days, and I'm trying to settle in before making the trek to Edinburgh tomorrow morning.  I've enjoyed the past few days, and will work in chronological order, because if not for order, then what?

Tuesday night:  GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

We made it to the 6th-tier football match, the Ebbsfleet United of Northfleet vs. another team whose name I still don't know.  The United needed to win to make it to the tourney for moving up a tier, and they did!  The goal happened right in front of us, a glorious cross to the head of a striker.  It was a fun time, but the first bit was rather stressful on the train, because we realized moments before boarding the train to the small town (this was the 3rd change of train to get there) that we lost 4 students at some point.  The organizing faculty were pretty worried, but I somehow managed to not be that concerned... a combination of it not being my event, and not being my students?  I suppose I could have drummed up more sympathy. We found out about 90 minutes later that they had boarded the wrong train, and were headed back to the house.  Before the game, the owner spoke to us (a bunch of us tagged along to the sports marketing class for which this was part of the course).  It felt authentically British, so cheers to that.

Wednesday:  $%@#*

AM - we met with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development as a class.  It was really interesting. I won't bore you with the details, but it was a very interesting visit, and informative too. I think the students enjoyed it.  It was extra exciting when the man meeting with us casually dropped the f-bomb in the middle... that's the business world, I suppose.  On the way back, I was seated to an old man who seemed interested in where we were from, but then proceeded to talk for the next 15 minutes about how, and I quote, "this country is in the shitter."  He had that Cockney accent about himself (or should I say 'imself), so I really only caught about one-third of what he said to me.  My students were snickering, and trying to figure out a way to rescue me from this man's rant against the UK (he was pro-USA, too, which was shocking). 

PM - after a change of clothes, we headed out to the gravesite of Karl Marx.  Since the class is loosely about the History of Capitalism, throughout our days I have had the students talk a bit about major philosophical contributions to the field, and you can't talk about capitalism without talking about Marx.  It was an old English graveyard, and was pretty interesting to see.  The way to the cemetary from the train was about a mile hike up a pretty steep hill.  The town was very quaint.  On our way out, the old man working at the cemetary gate talked to us for a bit, then went on a rant about how we didn't need to go to Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's, or the Tower, they were just a waste of time-- just look at the pictures.  So the slightly batty codger count of the day? 2.  For sure.

PM x 2 - After that, I met up with another prof at the house, and we both had theatre tickets for the evening, me for Les Miserable, him for another show.  We headed to Chinatown for a quick dinner, then separated.  Les Mis was in.cred.i.ble.  I love that play.  The actors were brilliant, as they say here.  I cried just as much this time as the last time I saw it.  They were that good!  Another night of staying up late doing school prep has me at the edge of exhaustion, but not quite there.

Thursday:  Whoopsie. OR. I still haven't found what I'm looking for. 

AM into the PM - today was my daylong trek, through a tour company, to Oxford and Windsor. We started in Oxford, and I was amazed walking through the town.  I wish we could have spent more time there.   There were many Harry Potter links, and many fun links to the University life and history.  We got to tour Christ Church College, the largest Oxford college, and saw the Hogwarts cafeteria, for one.  I got my photo snapped outside The Eagle and Child too!  I looked for a glass or shirt there, but the only thing they had was a t-shirt that said "I drank my way through England's pubs."  Since that is false, and not the kind of shirt I would wear, I had to pass. 

Then, we were on to Windsor, home of the main residence of the Queen.  I loved Windsor.  I was mildly amused all day, because I am pretty sure Wee Britian from Arrested Development was designed after Windsor.  We toured around a bit, then had a self-guided audio tour through the castle and grounds.  It was very interesting, and I was so glad I saw The King's Speech before I left.  Every time I saw something mentioning George VI, it meant so much more to me!  The Dollhouse was incredible.  At this point, we had another hour to walk around, so I parted from my students and headed off on my own.  I inadvertently witnessed the afternoon changing of the guard, which is always entertaining.  And one of my goals in the trip followed-- I had tea at the Crooked House in Windsor.  I had cream tea and scones with clotted cream and jam.  So tasty!  To make it even better, the shop owner asked what I was doing there (travelling solo leads to so many interesting conversations), and it turns out she's studied development economics, and worked for the UN and some nonprofits on development.  It was fascinating to talk with her, and I think she enjoyed it as well.  She owns the Crooked House shop, and picked that up after having children and leaving the high-energy world of development work.  Because of how enjoyable that was, I had to quickly hoof it to the tour bus.

Oh yes, that break is there for a reason.  The tour only included two people not in my class, a nice, older Russian couple.  As I come speedwalking to the bus down the very big hill that the castle is perched upon, I ran into them, and they were lost and unable to find the bus.  In my haste, I neglected to get out my map. After at least 10 minutes of wandering confusedly, I called the company, who then called my tourguide, who tried to figure out where we were.  I told her we were at a train station, and she said she'd meet us on the platform.  Fun fact! There are TWO train stations in Windsor!  Wow, guess who didn't know that!  So, after a few more minutes of "Do you see the train?"  "Yes, I am looking at it." "Well, I am here."  "Well, so am I."  We realized we were at different stations.  The tourbus then determined to pick us up, instead of relying on us to get to them.  Everyone seemed to agree that the Russians were probably instrumental in throwing me off my way... Surely I would have pulled out my map if I hadn't seen them, right?  Right?  Definitely my most embarrassing moment yet on the trip. Hopefully nothing will top it.

My favorite part of this includes the following pieces:
- My students, who were on the bus at the appropriate time, said that the tourguide was talking to the driver and said, "Who gets lost in Windsor? I mean, maybe Oxford, but WINDSOR? It's tiny!"
- I had read my students the riot act about not being late to the bus. Then I was 15 minutes late, with these lost Russians.
- When I got on the bus, they applauded.
- And then told me, "Oh, I've already posted this to Facebook."

I apologized to all involved, tipped the guide, and have a fun story to tell.  My students have enjoyed, a bit too much, sharing the story with others in the house already. Oh well!  :)

I am waiting now for some others to return, to grab some dinner before packing and doing some laundry for tomorrow.

I am hoping to post some photos soon, either on here or to FB.

No, don't panic. I haven't entered to any ill-advised civil contracts today.  However, I did see a page of one of my favorite books in the author's own hand at The British Library. Yes, I'm talking about Jane Eyre.  After nearly 12 hours of sleep, I was ready to go this morning.  My class spent the morning at The British Library, mostly in one room.  In this room, we saw the Magna Carta, Gutenburg Bible, the oldest Bible in existence (only one other like it, and it's at the Vatican), Handel's original composition of the Hallelujah chorus in his Messiah symphony, notes from the Beatles, including John Lennon's words for A Hard Day's Night, scribbled on the back of his son's birthday card, and many other fascinating documents from history.  This was a site chosen a bit on a whim, but I am so glad I did.  Really, the Jane Eyre manuscript might have been enough for me. 

We headed back to the tube station, which happened to also be King's Cross.  For you Harry Potter fans, this is the home of the famous 9 3/4 platform.  Due to construction (everywhere we encounter 'pardon the inconvenience, we are readying for 2012'), we had a bit of trouble finding it, but thanks to some helpful workers, we finally located the elusive platform.  The general consensus?  We were all glad that we didn't really go out of our way to see it.  Because of the construction, they created a fake brick wall (made out of posterboard, essentially), and had the cart. A glaring construction light ruins most pictures taken there.  I had one anyway, and hope to post pictures soon... just not tonight.

After a delicious lunch at an organic place, we headed to the London Metals Exchange, one of the more course-specific visits I have planned.  [At lunch, I had whole wheat couscous with butternut squash, beets, feta, carrots, cucumbers, and french vinaigrette. I am mainly including this description for my family, which already thinks I eat yuppie food.  It was might tasty.]  It was a fantastic visit.  At first, we thought that it was only moderately interesting, as we were able to observe a live 'pit market,' which means that men are shouting for deals on metals in a small, circular area.  The most exciting part was a last second order that probably moved $400 million worth of commodities.  Each metal has a 5-minute market, and it cycles through the list twice.  But, then an employee of the exchange who we intercepted after he gave a presentation to another visitor kindly took time to meet with the group, and his presentation was roundly deemed both informative and entertaining. The highlight, for me, wasn't the story of the two senior level trading floor employees getting into a fistfight in the exchange after a rather liquid-drenched lunch, though that was pretty funny.  My highlight was the way my students handled themselves, the questions they asked the employee, and their general behavior.  I had heard warnings that the students would look bored at anything focused on the course, but I was super impressed with them, and made sure they know. I am hoping the positive reinforcement will keep that coming! Interesting fact-- in London, they refer to the Wall Street Journal to the Dow Jones [I don't even think this is a slang term-- I think it might actually be called that here?] because of the Murdoch connection to both.  It's pretty clear that the exchange are not fans, not least because the WSJ has gone after the LME for things that are not interesting if you actually understand the market. 

A few hours in the Natural History Museum rounded out the day.  They had one part that simulated the Japanese earthquake of 1997 (?), shaking floor and all.  That was pretty neat.  There were also the requisite dinosaur skeletons, blue whale, and various other creatures. I think I learned how to tell the difference between Asian and African elephants.  I spent most of the time inadvertently comparing their version to ours.  I'm not sure of the verdict... though this one definitely had more environmental propaganda.  I was most intrigued by the rocks and minerals exhibit, in part because it had the hope diamond! I remember seeing that in DC as a child...

I've just returned from a decent though overpriced Indian meal.  I'm continuing with class prep-- I'm determined to feel moderately educated on the history of economic thought by the end of the first week of class.  I'm hoping the allure of London, and my past studies in the subject, are bridging the gap in a way that my ignorance is not obvious to my students!  Mind the gap.

Tomorrow holds The British Museum, another visit to an economic institution, and a second tier football/soccer game. Hopefully I will learn the team names before arriving to the stadium. 

It is currently 7 pm London time, and I am about to turn in for the night.  I have been awake for essentially 37 hours straight, unless you break that up with my max 30 minute nap on the flight over.  The flight was uneventful. I had a friendly seatmate, the skies weren't too bumpy, and we landed early.  The flight was fully booked because they already cancelled the flights out on Sunday and Monday.  Is there any snow?!?!  We took off at 5:30 pm in Atlanta, landed at 6:30 am in London, and it was dark for the first hour plus we were on the ground. That didn't help the fatigue setting in for many of us faculty who were not able to sleep on the way over! 

The day was spent on what students call the "forced march" or, as one of my students put it, the "death march."  As in, we leave the house at 11 am, and don't return until 4 or 5 to keep them from going to sleep too early.  For a while there, I wasn't sure if I was going to complete the march!  It was a great walk, though, on an uncharacteristically gorgeous London day.  It was probably 45 or 50, but with sunny, nearly cloudless skies.  The group that carried over from the previous 2 weeks said it was the most sun they had seen in the 2 weeks there. For that, I was grateful.  Today, we saw Parliament, Big Ben (look, kids, it's Big Ben. look, kids, it's Big Ben), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and Leicester Square, then another prof and I saw Picadilly Circus (their blend of Times Square and Rodeo Drive in a few blocks).  I had my first fish and chips meal, and it was so good. The prof I was walking with had discovered an out-of-the-way pub in the middle of Trafalgar Square, and it was delicious and cheap. The half-pint I got? Cheap but not so much delicious (Amy, it was the citrus taste in it)... only managed a sip of that. I am utterly exhausted, but hope that bodes well for a good night's sleep! 

It is exciting to finally meet with my students, and I'm looking forward to the next 2 weeks.  I have an interesting group.  One half seems to want to stay close, and the other half to be cut free.  It will be a balancing act.

One benefit of the long travel day was the opportunity to get to know some of the other faculty on the trip.  I feel like we are already friends, given the intensity of the past few days.  I think I have some buddies for checking out the theater now too...

Please excuse any incoherence-- I am literally laying in my bed as I type this!  Off to bed.

...and I answered.  In just 2 days, I head across the pond to teach a 2-week Jan term study abroad course in London to 4 students from my university.  The class is "History of Capitalism," and while we'll do some course-related visits, it's largely an 'experiential learning' class.  As in, experience being a tourist in London for 2 weeks. I am (I think) remarkably more prepared for this trip to Europe compared to my last one, but that may be in large part because I have 4 undergrads depending on me to tell them what to do 2/3 of the time. 

Facts:

Trip dates: Jan 8-21.

Location: Mostly London, with a weekend trip (just me) to Edinburgh, Scotland.

The weather there: Cold and wet, but not any worse than a Maryland winter.  I was warned by many colleagues who had done this class before me that it was cold and dreary in London in January. I was kind of concerned about it, until I realized that I am from the Northeast, and cold and dreary is the definition of winter there.  Thus, I am no longer quite as concerned. Sure, it will be cold, but I think my Yankee blood can handle it.  Edinburgh, however, might be a different story.

Visits I am most looking forward to: The Churchill War Rooms, Windsor, Oxford, Westminster Abbey, and Edinburgh.

So, let me know of great pubs and restaurants to try out, shows to see, etc, in the comments!