February Update Pre-Italy

Since I haven't posted in a few weeks, I would like to update on everything I have done in February so far.

Leicester Square
Natalie, Geoff, Freda and I went exploring through one of the main nightlife centers of London: Leicester Square. Since we went on a Thursday, it was somewhat uneventful and quiet. We went to a place that I can never remember how to pronounce and split a jug 4 ways. It was very tasty, I love girly drinks. :-) We suddenly decided to leave, and out the door Freda ran into a friend from home in California who did not know she was in London. It was extremely random, and reminded us what a small world we live in. After walking around we were hungry and went to Burger King. Fast food chains are surprisingly nice, clean and large here; typically, they are two floors.

Kavanagh's
I finally went to the bar that is literally behind my building. We went just before 10pm so there was no cover, and we got a table for a group of the guys, Michal, and me. We were there for hours singing to American music (killing me softly!), dancing, and laughing at those dancing around us. I love Kavanagh's, it is a great local pub.

Stratford-Upon-Avon
I went on a daytrip to see where Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays. The main center where you buy tickets to get into various buildings around the town is also a museum. It was a great summary of his works, including a miniature Globe Theatre. We went to his birthplace, his daughter and son-in-law's home, where he retired, and the church where he and his family is buried. Their graves are inside the church, including his famous tombstone "Good frend for Jesus' sake forbeare, to digg the dust encloased heare. Bleste be ye man yt (who) spares thes stones, and curst be he yt (who) moves my bones." Perhaps a ploy to not let people know Shakespeare did not exist and the grave is empty...

Warwick Castle
The castle was not far from Stratford-Upon-Avon. We walked the entire perimeter, inside the castle, on the high walkways, and up the towers. The towers were very difficult to walk in and sometimes there was no light at all. However, the view from the top was magnificent. Inside the castle was a "Kingmaker" area where there were wax figures from Madame Tusseaud's (yes, I'm butchering the spelling). There was a funny recording playing in one room with the voice of a little boy about someone being killed, then he would say "Kingmaker" in this creepy whispery voice... we could hear it from the gift shop too, so we heard it about 10 times. Also, the Peacock Gardens and grounds were beautiful. The mill in the river was nice too, and inside there's an explanation on the technological evolution of the mill through time.

Porgy & Bess
Eugene, Natalie and I went to see the famous Gershwin musical "Porgy & Bess". I really only knew "Summertime" before I saw the show, so it was really interesting to actually learn about the full plot and the rest of the music. It was a great performance, but rather sad because it is about an African American community during the Great Depression. Porgy and Bess fall in love, but Bess cannot refuse her old whorish ways, and while he is being held as a witness for a murder he himself committed, she leaves for New York. There is much more to the story, but that is the basic idea.

Camden Market
I finally went to a market! Camden Market is absolutely enormous. It is basically an entire town. I bought a really cute keychain of a bright red phone booth and a shot glass with the Union Jack. We got a little lost as we were wandering through the maze-like buildings, and it was kind of creepy, but we found our way out. There is a ton of Asian food and treats; I bought the freshest sugar doughnuts possible. They came off the rolling oven, he dumped them in sugar, and handed them to me. There is also a lot of clothing and some outlet stores, like Aldo. I definitely want to go back there again, although I would like to see Borough and Portobello Markets, first.

City Tour
My European Capital Markets class had a tour through the City of London. Fortunately, the tour began at the Royal Exchange where I work, and gave me a chance to learn my way around the entire area. We went through all the hidden alleyways to all the biggest banks. There are many places that have changed from their original purpose. For instance, there is an old church that now has lunchtime orchestral music. One large, old bank is now a huge restaurant/pub and has a large TV screen high up on the wall with financial news. Most importantly, we went to Diagon Alley! This is from a scene in Harry Potter, and it is literally a block behind my building. We also went to Lloyd's of London, which is essentially an inside out building. The Gherkin (basically, a large phallic-shaped glass building) was really neat to see, and apparently it is eco-friendly and structured with a bulge to minimize wind on the ground. We saw many other famous banks, but there are too many to list. London has more banks than New York, shocking but true. This is perhaps why it is the largest foreign exchange market, with about $750B daily turnover, as opposed to New York with $460B. I can't wait to begin working there in a few weeks so that I can really get to know more about the area and London as a financial market.

Canary Wharf Tour
In my European Union: Institutions and Enterprise course, we went to Canary Wharf. It is absolutely amazing, perfectly clean, beautiful, and I would love to work there. The only catch is that it is significally further from me than the City, and outside Zone 2 so more expensive. Something that surprised me is that it is less expensive than real estate in the City (perhaps that is why everyone is moving to Canary Wharf - not to mention all the shopping.) It shouldn't be much of a surprise though because the City is famous for its history as a world leading financial district. We started our tour at the Docklands where there are upscale hotels, restaurants, offices, a floating church and a museum. This area is also perfectly clean and nice. We saw an interesting video in the museum about the bombings of the Docklands, and how London recovered the area to what it is today.