Day 2: Being Tourists

Day 2

Die hard that I am, I stayed up to watch as much of the Twins game last night. Yes, it started at 1:10 local time, but I was sure the Twins were going to reward my fandom with a stunning win.

The top of the fourth saw Kevin Slowey lose his perfect game and the Twins drop from up 1-0 to down 6-1. It was about 2:20 and I was wiped. Chalking this one up as lost, I finally hit the hay after 24 hours awake.

I was shocked to find the text from my dad telling me the Twins had pulled it off in 10 innings. I’ve hardly been able to hide the smile all day.

Today was orientation day. We were guided around a bit of Chelsea, mostly what we’d already found, but nice to know things like the grocery store, which seemed expensive, really was the pricy one to be avoided, and that there was a cheap one down the street.

We headed into the tube station to buy passes (EXPENSIVE!) and then jumped the Picadilly line to Holburn station, which is a few blocks from the IES center.

The Center is basically hidden in the neighborhood, not in the sense that it is hard to find, but in the sense that it looks just like every other building nearby. The building was built in 1699, which is kind of mind blowing.

I think it was 1699, it was pre-1776 for sure. Sitting in buildings older than the US is a strange feeling. Hard to imagine the context around the building in all its various ages.

After more rules and tips, we headed out to be proper tourists. We took a bus tour of The City and a few surrounding Burroughs and stopped for pictures at St. Paul’s and Westminster. Things I learned on the tour:

1) Sweeny Todd was based on a true story
2) St. Paul’s was THE target during the blitz, so in order to keep their symbol alive, parishioners took turns spending the night in the cathedral, strapping themselves to the very top and repelling down the dome to put out the fires started by firebombs. I have more respect for those people than I thought was possible.
3) British Security seems to go in waves of way too little and then a HUGE overreaction.
4) Our guide LOVED booze. Still, the Wine Museum may be worth the trip...
5) Socialism is great for tourists. Everything is free to me!

The tour ended at the British Museum for a whirlwind highlights tour. I felt a little cheated, honestly, but it is free (!) and just about 2 blocks from the IES center, so I’ll be back on my own time later.

We hit a pub afterwards, decent enough, still pricy for a pint though. I think we’ll do less and less of that as time goes on. Novelty has worn off a bit, and we’ve yet to find a great place.

After a bus ride home we decided to hit Tesoro for some cheaper dinner foodstuffs. Blake and I decided to split some raw hamburger and fries, which was decent, but lacked a little something.

I made the burgers and they weren’t too bad, especially given the equipment and lack of condiments. I felt really good about that, maybe I can cook afterall….

So, between the debates and the Twins game, I have ample reason to still be awake. Hopefully Obama will destroy McCain and this whole thing will become a foregone conclusion before the stress of the campaign and the playoff chase kills me!