London FUNdon.

After the 81 stair ascent to my flat on the top floor of the London Centre, I sit Indian style (politically incorrect) on my bed in basketball shorts listening to A Postcard to Nina by Jens Lekman with the aftertaste of fish and chips in my mouth from the corner pub, the Champion. London really is the greatest city in the world. If I had to choose anywhere to live outside of the US, London would be at the top of my list. It's better than France, Italy, Spain, San Salvador (...I just remembered pupusas and am reconsidering this statement), Germany, Canada, Mexico, and South America. Much offense if you disagree.

London is such a comfortable city. I don't feel tied down by societal expectations (yes, I'm talking about you, Provo). From anywhere in the city I can walk in any direction and within a few blocks find the best foods from all over the world. It's rainy. The people are quiet, composed. Literature. Music. Theater. Accents. Different cultures around every corner. Papal visits. The Thames. The Globe. No language barrier. Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norman ruins neighboring local business buildings. David Bowie.

It's magical. It has everything and more. It's like finding a golden ticket. Or discovering 20 dollars in your coat on the first day of winter. Or snogging Emma Watson.

Tangent:

I FOUND OUT WHO THE MURDERER IS IN BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. It only took me five months.

Yours truly,

Andrew Wiggins

Up and over we go

This is a bit overdue, but here are a few of my favorite pictures from Barcelona.

Gorgeous coastal city streets in the center of the city. Vespas, new cars, palm trees, exotic fragrances roaming like smoke, tickle my nostrils.

Paella paella paella! Lemons make shellfish and crustaceans smile upon my tongue.

Magdalena con chocolate, a delightful pastry from a cafe across the street from hostel.

Children popping the most enormous bubbles this side of the Atlantic.

Water fountain explosion. Hide your kids, hide your wives.

Colors, lights, colorful lights. Water. And yes, the fountain was better than the Bellagio.

And while the seagulls are crying

This morning I woke up early early early, ate breakfast, packed a sack lunch and boarded a coach with the 40 other students in my program. We drove for about three hours to Dover, where we visited the secret underground tunnels at the Dover castle. They were used during the Napoleonic wars and then were refortified and significantly expanded during World War II. They go so deep underground, and they reenact the way the lights would flicker when the bombs would fall.

The castle is amazing. It's so old, so historic, and towers over the city, overlooking the English Channel. It's unlike seeing the ocean from any other place in the world. Instead of a strip of endless sand that meets the beach, it's a series of grassy hills that end in tall white cliffs, allowing you to see an unobstructed view of the ocean. The green grass contrasts beautifully with the light blue water and hazy gray clouds.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=41377718&id=17812842&comments&alert&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_comment_tagged

While I was there I listened to The Decemberists song "We Both Go Down Together." It was so cool to listen to that it there. From my personal "reading" of the song, it seems a lot like a modern day response to Matthew Arnold's poem Dover Beach. Instead of holding to love as the only source of hope in a changing world, Colin Meloy's characters jump to their deaths because not even their love could be accepted. It was so cool to hear it and look out on the ocean, see the seagulls circling above me, feel the cool sea breeze on my face. One of the coolest experiences I've had here.

We went to the Canterbury Cathedral and it was one of the most mind blowing buildings I have ever seen in my life. It is so much taller than I could have imagined and the ribbed vaulting makes it look like it reaches up up up all the way to the heavens.

I'm out of time, but here's a link to a picture of me in front of some ruins at St. Augustine's Cathedral in Canterbury.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=41377727&op=1&view=all&subj=17814602&id=17812842&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_tag

Oh, and to finish the night off I played cards with my entourage for four hours. Got third place.

Also, I am afraid that the London Centre is haunted. But I don't want to talk about it because it just makes me scare myself.

I'll post pictures for real soon. I've been taking a lot, the bandwidth is just terrible here so it's going to be more of a project than I originally hoped.

The music divides us into tribes

I'm in London.

I've only been here for four days, but I've been keeping busy. One of my pet peeves is when someone talks about a new experience as if they've been doing it their whole life, so I'm going to try to avoid that.

The food here is anything but bland. Everything I've eaten has been incredible. I even dream about cheese sometimes. Really. Last night I was with a group of people I've met here and they were all eating cheese and crackers and I asked "Where did you get cheese from!?!?" and then I woke up.

Food I've eaten:

-The best waffles I have ever had in my life (with chocolate and cream)

-The best German street bratwurst with grilled onions and sauerkraut and dijon mustard

-Fish and Chips from an amazing pub across the street called The Champion

-Gelato, hazelnut, pistachio, and white chocolate

-Food from the London Centre, better than I expected, not as good as waffles

Classes here are neat. They require out of classroom experiences and write ups, which is good because I'm getting credit for doing things I want to do anyway. So I love it.

Yesterday I went to Portobello road where they have an amazing outdoor market. They had so many foods I wanted to try. So many. And I will eat them all. Pad thai, paella, fried sea food, bratwurst (in quite a variety), fish and chips. Mostly anything good. I didn't buy any trinkets, but on the way back to the centre I wandered into a corner book store and bought a copy of The Brothers Karamazov for 2 pounds because I only have like 2oo pages left and I want to finish it.

This city is vibrant and alive. It's so multicultural and rich with history that there's no way it will ever get boring.