Recap overload

I haven't posted in a few days so here's a recap...

Thursday - After work, I stopped by the National Portrait Gallery. They have so many famous portraits there, for free too. My favorite exhibit was one of this Christian saint Fabiola. One man collected paintings and drawings of her over a few years. So it's about a couple hundred depictions of the same woman - all different. Really teaches you about perspective.

Friday - Nick, Elvia and I went to Brick Lane (an Indian neighborhood) for some famous curry. The restaurant is one of Prince Charles' favorites, and it was wonderful. Someone here said Indian food is the only food with flavor in England. They might be right. After that we walked on Tower Bridge to the other side. Nick got a milkshake that disappointed him immensely. Then we headed to Buckingham Palace and spent some time sitting on the steps of Queen Victoria's statue. That night I saw "Madame de Sade" with Dame Judi Dench. I have rarely been so shocked at a play (it was very sexual), but I loved it. Judi was amazing, and I'm so fortunate to have seen her live. A few of us went to a pub at night. It was a busy day, but very fulfilling.

Saturday - CJ had planned a walking tour of the city so we followed her. She's like the Rick Steves of our trip. We walked to St. Paul's which is about 10 minutes from our flat. (We went to a Sunday vespers service there too). Again, more picture-taking. Then she led us to the Somerset House, a beautiful estate owned by my future husband (no idea who that is...I just want to live there). There was a fountain that Sarah and I ran through barefoot. It was a child-like experience. We might go back there to picnic. After we went to Covent Garden, an overpriced, touristy market. We were not aware of this at the time, and a few of us made some poor shopping choices. Oh well, you live and learn. We walked along the Thames for a couple hours after leaving the market. We went down to the shore, where a few people were having a techno-dance party. We also saw some skater boys, random animal/nature photographs and chairs made from fake grass. Saturday night I went to a dub-step club (reggae-type music).

Sunday - We went to the Old Spitalfields market on Sunday, which was a drastic change from Covent Garden. The goods were unique, artsy and creative. I bought some stuffed owls (not real duh), a necklace, jewelry and a raincoat. We spent a few hours there, mostly enjoying the range of vendors. My wallet and I enjoyed the visit and hope to return. Like I mentioned earlier, we went to the evening service at St. Paul's. It was a nice trip, but it made me want to visit a synagogue for shabbat services. I might go this Friday to one near Brick Lane, where a lot of Jews used to live.

Monday - We had a group visit to Al Jazeera today. It's an interesting news outlet. It's funded by an Arab who gives them full editorial control. They have few ads and full freedom to pursue the stories other news outlets ignore. After that we went back to Brick Lane for more curry. I came home and took a nap before going to see "39 Steps," a detective comedy. Tomorrow starts week 3 of work. I'm determined to write more this week. Yay for clips.

Weekly superlatives:

Worst part of the week: Spending money.

Best part of the week: Loving London even more.