Edinburgh

Caitlin and I left for Heathrow Airport on Friday afternoon after class in the rain. I tset a worrisome tone to our trip because it would b eunfortunate if our only day in Edinburgh was rainy. We got to the airport and through security very quickly, and to my surprise, they do not check passports when traveling within the UK. I was nervous about my e-ticket but it worked perfectly. The plane ride went smoothly and it was beautiful above the clouds. I took a decongestant during the day, and this was the first that my ears were not in horrible pain during and after a flight.

It was easy to tell from the aerial view that Scotland is simply beautiful. I say simply because the green and brown rolling hills and mountains look so peaceful around the small patches of farmland.

Anyway, we took an easy bus ride from the airport to our hotel, which was right in front of Princes St. Gardens and the Scott Monument! The Castle was also just across the gardens and it was absolutely beautiful, seated up on a cliff above New Town. (Edinburgh is split by the gardens as Old Town and New Town). The other most captivating part of Edinburgh is the majestic Arthur's Seat above the Palace. The sun just beamed down on it, and it was a rich green. It is amazing to see nature so close to city life.

We stopped in our room for a little bit to drop our stuff and look through the binder of brochures for something to do that night. We decided to find the ghost tours that started a little later on a street that we had passed on our bus ride. When we got to eh top of the street, we saw a ghost tour company by a different name, were confused, and then decided to take it. The tour guide was about our age, totally done up in a black suit with a top hat and cane, and adopting a very loud, obnoxious (familiar to me) character. Naturally, we were ridiculed for being Americans, and then made friends with the Canadians.

On the tour we walked through small alleyways and learned about being yelling something like "tallyhoo"? and then throwing their "buckets of nastiness" out the window into the middle of the street. The out-of-towners usually got a mouth full because they would look up when they heard someone yell. He brought us over to St. Giles' Cathedral and he yelled at me for following him up the steps where he would be speaking and demanded that I stand on the ground level with the other peasants. After this tiff, he decided that I would be the witch that the mob would hang. He brought us through the mob mentality of framing someone for causing your problems. For instance, oh no my puppy died, it must have been Lara because she was muttering something in the street the other day. Anyway, they put me through various tests i.e. nailed my thumbs to opposite knee caps, made me swim but I stayed afloat because my dress, then tortured and burned me. Quite the pleasant tour group.

Then, we went into the underground vaults of Edinburgh. By the way, I should mention that Edinburgh is known as one of the most haunted, if not the most, city in the world. We went into level 1, 2 and 3 vaults. Level 1 means that spirits are present but are unaware of you and cannot interact. Level 2 means that spirits are present and are aware of you but cannot interact. Level 3 means that spirits are present, aware of you, and can interact with you. The underground vaults are where the homeless used to live if their home collapsed in from weather conditions. THey moved here without any light to live in small, crowded rooms, where your neighbor may become your toilet, because it was illegal and punishable by death to be homeless. Historians estimate that the average healthy male could survive up to 18 months. The vaults were very creepy, and the spirits were harmful according to the tour guide and a specialist. We were forced to stay around the edge of the room because in the centers of the level 2 and 3 rooms is where teh most "activity" has occurred. In one room there is a circle of large stones and whenever someone is inside they come out covered in scratches. One person on a tour put their arm in, and on the way out of the vaults tripped and broke his wrist. Another story is that a daughter swore her mother took her hand and led her to the other side of the vault, only to find when the lights were turned back on that her mother was on the other side. It was very creepy, and one couple didn't enter the Level 3 vault.

After the tour we walked down the Royal Mile and saw a Faneuil Hall-like area where there was a stage filled with over 20 people throwing fire. Apparently they do this every night? And there was a circle of men playing drums.

The next day we ate scrambled eggs on toast at the Elephant House cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter with a view of Edinburgh Castle. We then went inside Edinburgh Castle and through various submuseums like military, crown jewels, POW bunks, etc. The POW bunks were my favorite part! There were 3 doors that had been carved on in the 1700s by American "rebels" of the American flag, ships, their names and dates. It was amazing. The people who founded our country were held there and experienced those bunks as a result of the war for independence. Soo neat. [P.S. At Leed's Castle they celebrate the 4th of July - maybe they were happy to get rid of us?]

We then walked down the Royal Mile and ate at a pub where I got my first shot of 'neat' Whiskey at Mr. Hayes' suggestion and steak and ale pie. Mmm good. We continued to walk down the Royal Mile while doing tourist shopping when suddenly we heard bagpipes! Marching down the street were building dressed in kilts, playing bagpipes, followed by people carrying the Scottish flag. We then walked to Holyrood Palace and learned that one of the Vanderbilt daughters lived there after being forced to marry into British aristocracy. He wanted to marry her because he was losing his fortune and she was still rich. They had two children whom she referred to as "the heir and the spare", they divorced after about 10 years and married people they actually loved. Out the back of the Palace is an old abbey, and I saw a baby bat! At first I didn't know what it was and thought I saw some sort of mole thing on the side of the building, and when I got close I saw wings tucked under the fur ball, which is when I freaked out and walked far away.

After the Palace we walked across the bridge toward Princes St. and stopped at the gardens. They were beautiful, bright green and the small hill up to the street was lined with bright yellow flowers. Oddly, this is what used to be the pit of Edinburgh where they would throw dead bodies, waste, etc. After our stroll through the gardens we had to get back to our hotel and leave so that we could make the next day at Leed's Castle and Canterbury. It was sad to leave, and I hope that I will go back there sometime soon.

Blenheim Palace

Blenheim Palace was a gift to a duke Churchill after winning the Battle of Blenheim against the French. The Queen was unable to give him anything other than a house because he already had the highest title. She commissioned 240,000 pounds, which quickly turned into 260,000 pounds: a lot of money for three hundred years ago. Eventually, Winston Churchill was born there, and was said to dictate while in the bath. He would then get up from the bath and into a towel, which in one case fell down and he continued to pace while dictating. Suddenly, the door bell rang but he did not hear this as FDR walked into Blenheim Palace to find a naked Prime Minister. Churchill responded without the least bit of embarrassment, “You see Mr. President, I told you I have nothing to hide.” I imagine that FDR did have something to hide, however: his eyes. Anyway, he was known for being a very quick-witted man, whom always won the battle of words. One woman said to him “If I was were wife, I would poison your tea.” To which he responded, “If you were my wife, I would gladly drink it!” One actor sent him two tickets to the opening night of his show saying, “Here is a ticket for you and a friend… if you have any.” Churchill responded, “Unfortunately, I am busy that night. But if you make it to the second night, perhaps I will attend.” An interesting fact we learned inside the Palace, is that Consuela Vanderbilt once married one of the dukes because he needed money and her parents forced her to marry a European aristocrat. Consuela was not very happy with this because he was in 5’10” or so, and she was over 6 feet tall. They had two children, and 11 years of marriage, which fortunately ended in them finding people they both actually loved and married. They had the most faded tapestries I have ever seen. They were Flemish and took 10 years to sew (and only from the back, so that they could never see their work as it progressed, which was a great risk – and ultimately, one of the dogs had hoof-like paws.) Now, significant portions of the tapestry are white, likely from exposure to sunlight in the bright room and flash photography. I have never seen the effects of such things to this great of an effect, and I now see the importance of not taking pictures when museums say not to. One friend of mine mentioned that the Mona Lisa is already becoming deteriorated, not even from flash photography, but because of people even breathing near it. I hope that I see it before it ever loses a lot of quality. Throughout the Palace, a lot of furniture was from Versailles after it was invaded. Bright royal red and gold furniture in one room was made for Louis XIV(?). The Palace also had Chinese, German and French china on display. Some, or perhaps all, of it was from a fellow that lived down the street but could not fit it all in his house anymore. He asked the duke if he could move into a small area of the Palace, and in return keep the china displayed in the Palace and after his death it would belong to the duke. The man died at only 37 years old.

During our free time, we decided to go into the café for tea and cake. This was my first time drinking afternoon tea at a café, and it was very good. I got Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla. I also got an apple and blueberry cake, but it was somewhat dry. We got lots of great pictures throughout the afternoon; the grounds and Palace were beautiful. Although, I must say I don’t believe I am the hugest fan of the honey-colored stone that made up the exterior of the Palace, and also much of the buildings in Oxford. Perhaps that was the most available stone in the area.

Oxford

Oxford University was honey-colored buildings scattered all through the town, around the market, shops and churches. The tour guide gave us a short tour around the area by St. Giles’, through the crossroads, past the Oxford Shop where you sit in desks for a multimedia tour, the Oxford Campus Store, to the Museum of the History of Science, Sheldonian Theatre, the Bridge of Sighs, Radcliffe Camera, The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and Brasenose College gardens/dining hall/chapel. If you are interested in some more history, I have put information at the bottom of this post.

She then directed us to the Christ Church Cathedral, the market and pubs to spend our free time. My friends and I decided to first go to Christ Church Cathedral, primarily because it is Hogwarts from Harry Potter. Unfortunately, that area of the Cathedral was closed today, so we decided to see the rest of the church anyway. It was beautiful, and they gave us a map of key artifacts throughout the chapel. These included the Jonah Window, St. Frideswide Window, the Shrine, the Bell Altar, the Chancel Vault, St. Catherine Window, and the Becket Window. At this end of this post I put more information on each, these blurbs were given to us on a map of the interior.

After walking around, we went to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Shop, The Old Sheep Shop “…full of all manner of curious things…”, across the street. It was really cute and I bought a few gifts. Then, we ate at the Eagle and Child pub (aka Bird and Baby) where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien frequently met to discuss their respective books, Alice in Wonderland and Lord of the Rings. It was my first time trying sausage and mash (or bangers and mash), and it was really good.

After lunch, we tried to go to the Sheldonian Theatre so we could walk to the top for a view of the city, but it was closed. We decided to go to the Oxford Campus Store to buy some Oxford gear, so I got a khaki and blue hat and a blue and white shirt. After this adventure, we were off to another at Blenheim Palace, the home of the Churchill family for 300 years.

More Oxford Information
a.) On St. Giles’, “at the south end lies the recently restored Martyrs' Memorial which commemorates Archbishop Cranmer and Protestant Bishops Latimer and Ridley who were burnt at the stake in Tudor times by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. A cross in the road outside Balliol college marks the actual spot of the execution.”

b.) Sheldonian Theatre was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer. The theatre is used for music recitals, lectures (such as the annual Romanes Lecture), conferences, and for various ceremonies held by the University (such as graduation and matriculation). Handel performed here, including the first performance of his third oratorio Athalia in 1733. The building seats 800–1,000 people and is situated in the grounds of part of the Bodleian Library adjacent to Broad Street. To the left at the front is the Clarendon Building and to the right is the Old Ashmolean Building. Behind the Sheldonian is the Divinity School.

c.) Hertford Bridge in New College Lane, Oxford, England is often referred to as the "Bridge of Sighs" because of its supposed similarity to the famous bridge of the same name in Venice. However, Hertford Bridge was never intended to be a replica of the Venetian bridge and many believe it looks more similar to the Rialto Bridge in the same city. The bridge links together the Old and New Quadrangles of Hertford College. (The bridge does not link Hertford College to New College, as is stated by some inaccurate city tourguides.) The bridge, and much of its current architecture, was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson. It was completed in 1914, despite its construction being opposed by New College.

d.) The Radcliffe Camera (often abbreviated to "the Rad Cam" in Oxford), is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the English Baroque style and built in 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. The building was funded by a £40,000 bequest from John Radcliffe, who died in 1714. Nicholas Hawksmoor proposed making the building round. After the Radcliffe Science Library moved into another building, the Radcliffe Camera became home to additional reading rooms of the Bodleian Library. It now holds books from the English, History and Theology collections, mostly secondary sources found on undergraduate reading lists. There is space for around 600,000 books in rooms beneath Radcliffe Square. The term "camera" translates from Latin as "room" or "chamber."

e.) The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew. It is situated on the north side of the High Street, and is surrounded by university and college buildings. St Mary's has one of the most beautiful spires in England and an eccentric baroque porch, designed by Nicholas Stone, facing High Street.[1] Radcliffe Square lies to the north and to the east is Catte Street, pedestrianised since 1973. The 13th century tower is open to the public for a fee and provides good views across the heart of the historic university city, especially Radcliffe Square, the Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College and All Souls College.

f.) Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which includes the City of Oxford, England, and the surrounding countryside as far north as Banbury. It is also, unusually, the chapel of Christ Church, the largest college of the University of Oxford. Some artifacts within the Christ Church Cathedral are:

1. The Jonah Window by Abraham van Linge 1630s. This window is of great interest because only the figure of Jonah is made of stained glass. The rest of the window consists of small panels of painted glass, showing the city of Nineveh in minute detail.

2. The Shrine, built 1289, destroyed 1538, rebuilt 1889, 2002. The oldest monument in this cathedral, the shrine is covered in fine carvings of plants and faces. It once held the relics of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, but was destroyed at the Reformation. Firdeswide was then buried beneath a nearby gravestone.

3. St Frideswide Window, by Edward Burne-Jones 1858. If you look at the very top center circular panel, it shows a ship of souls carrying St. Frideswide to heaven. The brilliantly coloured lower window panels tell the earthly story of this 8th century local saint.

4. The Bell Altar (look closely at the center bottom), by Jim Partridge, 2000. This altar was made to mark the millennium and is dedicated in memory of Bishop George Bell, who courageously opposed the bombing of the German cities in WW2. A cross which stands near it, was cut from the underside of the alter.

5. The Chancel Vault, by William Orchard, c.1500. This remarkable stone vault is made up of intricate star-shaped patterns to create an image of heaven. Twelve beautiful pendants hang gracefully from it.

6. St. Catherine Window, by Edward Burne-Jones, 1878. The face of the central figure, St. Catherine of Alexandria, is a picture of Edith Liddell. her sister Alice was the inspiration for the bool 'Alice in Wonderland', and a portrait of Alice may be seen in a window in the Great Hall at Christ Church.

7. The Becket Window, c. 1320. This beautiful medieval window is the oldest in the cathedral, and contains a rare panel (a diamond in the middle - see next photo for closeup) showing the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket, who died at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Beck is kneeling between a monk and the four knights who murdered him. The panel was defaced in the sixteenth century, and the original face of Becket is now missing.

British Museum, Knightsbridge

After class on Friday, I shipped a few gifts home. It has taken me a while to get this done, and so I am happy to have finally sent them on their way. I then went to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone. It was marvelous. I loved it. It was so powerful. It literally unlocked a few thousand years of previously “lost” history. It was really cool too, because the plaque explained how to read a bit. At first, the Stone was a blur of Hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek. Then, the plaque urged me to find the circled hieroglyphs. Circled groups of images indicate a name. In this case, the name Ptolemy came up multiple times. The plaque broke down each character as a letter. It was also interesting to learn that hieroglyphs used a combination of characters and images. For instance, after spelling out the word “cat” there was an image of a cat. This was on a different artifact in the museum. It was interesting to find all the circled hieroglyphs on other artifacts throughout the museum, as well. Anyway, I am so happy to have seen the Rosetta Stone. I cannot really articulate how it made me feel, but it was truly captivating, and it made me want to sit all day trying to solve the puzzle of translating the languages. It was also interesting to see that along the sides of the stone, the date it was captured and the name of King George I are written. In addition, the piece that we have of the Stone is only a portion of the original stone.

I also walked through the scattered remains of the Parthenon, and some of the Persian and Assyrian artifacts. The Parthenon was essentially reconstructed in the room so that one can walk around and see what the edges of the ceiling looked like. I read almost every plaque in that section of the museum. I plan to go back another day to do another section. Perhaps it will be a gradual learning process, because there is way too much to see in one visit.

My hands were very dry, so after getting on the tube at Holborn, I got off at Knightsbridge. Earlier in the day, I looked up locations for The Body Shop, and saw that there was one near Harrod’s. I shopped around a few stores, and went into The Body Shop to buy the smaller Hemp hand lotion. The night before, I had stopped at a Body Shop counter at Waterloo but they had sold out of the small lotions, and the guy was not very helpful. I tried on a dress at H&M that was designed by Madonna, but it didn’t fit quite right. It was different though, and slimming. I really liked that it had a lot of cinched fabric at the empire waist.

After shopping, I walked home through Russell Square I think it’s called. It was a new perspective coming up from the north side of South Kensington. Anyway, there were a number of nice restaurants along the way. When I got home, I ate some dinner and collapsed for the rest of the night, knowing that I had to wake up the next morning for Oxford and Blenheim Palace.

Great Week of Work

On Tuesday morning, I walked in to work, put my coat on my chair, washed my hands from the tube, and then the Fixed Income Managing Director asked what I was doing today. Responding cautiously, I told him that I was still working on my written project. He asked if I would like to go to a Fund Management Conference hosted by the International Economic Association… in 20 minutes, for the rest of the day. I immediately remembered that I had lunch plans with Claire and Lauren at 12pm, and so my boss agreed to walk outside to let them know that I wouldn’t be able to go with them. After I was assured I wouldn’t be rude to my friends, off I went to Whitehall. Ironically, I had only discovered the night before while out with Claire and Lauren where exactly Whitehall was – it is the huge complex of ornate buildings across from the London Eye, and down the street from Big Ben. It took me a bit to find where it was once the cab dropped me off, and I was a few minutes late for the first speaker, which the MD wanted notes on. I slipped into the back row of seats and began furiously writing notes because I had no idea what the speaker was talking about. That was the general theme of the day. I met 4 really nice business people throughout the day, and was fortunate to get three of their business cards. I have yet to email them. I am thinking of doing it tomorrow; I hope it is not too late. They know I am a student, so perhaps they will forgive me as I discover how to be a more effective businessperson. Anyway, I learned a ton throughout the day, such as what are derivatives (which I didn’t realize I already knew) and synthetic hedge fund replication (which I definitely didn’t already know). Basically, synthetic hedge fund replication is the practice of observing the basic characteristics of a hedge fund and applying those while developing a portfolio that is not a hedge fund. The name is daunting, but it is a rather simple concept. Ultimately, I loved the day so much that I asked my boss if I could go back with him the next day. He said that his only concern was that we had only paid for one spot, and we do not want to risk being charged for a second spot. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for him, he was ill the next morning again and so I was able to go through lunchtime. I met him out front and handed him the binder of materials, and off to the office I went. When I arrived at the office, I spoke with his boss who had just returned from a 2-week vacation. We discussed my project and how to improve it to be a more effective tool for the group. I also asked her if I could come in on Friday so that I may take off the Thursday before Easter when Brad is here. She said that as long as I make up all the hours, it isn’t a problem at all. Obviously, it would be ideal to just the time off, but whatever, it wasn’t a big deal to go in on Friday morning. However, this also means staying late a few days this next week.

The next morning, on Thursday, the MD asked if I had any plans for that night. I said no, accepting that I would have to miss out on Thai Taste with Liz and Marilyn. I ended up going to the London Aquarium from 6:30-9:45pm for the celebratory opening of Euronext’s and iTraxx’s Credit Futures product. It was great. We first walked into a room with a huge circular tank with sharks looming in the bottom, and a school of fish circling around the top. There were a few arcade games that businessmen, professionally dressed, enjoyed. Also, there were two ribbon twirlers, and two masseuses. Let’s also not forget the catering staff. Everyone was dressed for a luau. My favorite people, however, were the divers in the tank. Our “host” diver, held up ads from iTraxx and Euronext, and held up a clipboard against the tank to speak with us. There were clipboards all along the edge of the tank that we could write on to ask them questions, like “Are you concerned that the sharks may eat you?” After a while of feeling shy and having difficulty breaking into a group, I finally made my way into a small group of people from Lehman Brothers. They were really nice, and there was an American girl from the New York office in London for a week. She graduated from Wellesley last year, and did their training program for two months. We chatted about her sister in Asia, worldly travels, how to speak Mandarin, Boston, MIT boys, etc. She was also very nice to let me in on the nickname of another Lehman employee so that I wasn’t horribly confused when I saw him referred to with two names. This other Lehman employee spent a lot of time helping me to know where I should travel while I am here, and also talking about his family’s private tour of Westminster Abbey and how his daughter played Go Tell it on the Mountain on the organ. He was extremely nice, and later emailed me to remind me of all the names of places he rambled off to me. I also met someone who lives in Japan, although is originally from England, and helped to develop the Credit Futures product that we were celebrating. Throughout the evening, we were moved to a petting area with stingrays that were extremely friendly, and I had no idea how personable and interactive they could be! We were then moved to a room lined with fish tanks and with a large bar in the middle. The entire evening they handed out drinks from the open bar and hors dourves, including these little bowls of rice and chicken/pepper kebabs. Finally, I went home and was very tired, knowing that I had to get up the next morning to go to work and class. Overall, it was a great week of work, and it was a nice change of pace from the previously quieter week… all thanks to the Fixed Income Managing Director, and my sick boss.

Claire and Lauren Visit

After work on Monday, I walked into my house to find Claire and Lauren in my livingroom. J I was really excited to see them, and so after changing/eating/them showering, I took them out on the town. First, we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We crossed the bridge to the Thames Path and walked under the London Eye. We went over the walkway bridge down the street to Trafalgar Square. We then walked through the gates to Buckingham Palace and walked for 20 minutes down to see it. It was great to see it at night, since I have already seen it twice during the day. We then walked back, by which point we were very cold from the wind. After going through Trafalgar Square and by the National Portrait Gallery, we went to Leicester Square. We were going to eat at the Hamburger Union, and then I spotted Wagamama’s! The food and dessert were great, as usual. Oddly, though, I had some sort of weird frostbite thing going on with my ear, and once we walked into the warm building, it swelled up. In addition, my other ear couldn’t hear well, perhaps leftover ear problems from the plane. Anyway, this subsided in a few minutes. After dinner, we quickly walked through Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus and hopped back on the tube to South Kensington. It was a very successful night of tourism.

On Tuesday, I went to a conference during the day and ate lamb that didn’t sit well with me. Later that night, Claire and Lauren went to visit some Princeton friends at a friend’s house who lives a few blocks from here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go because I didn’t feel well. They said it was a beautiful home and a lot of fun, and I learned that Hugh Grant lives very nearby. We stayed up chatting for a bit after they got home because Claire and I realize that it will be quite a long summer apart again. We were lucky to have time together this week.

On Wednesday, we ate at Giraffe on High Street. It was very yummy, but unfortunately we got there a bit late and Claire and Lauren had to switch their orders a few times. It tasted great; I love their falafel burgers. I chose not to get dessert, but after trying theirs, I am quite certain to get it next time. J

Claire and Lauren left for Heathrow early Thursday morning. I woke up to say goodbye to them, and it was sad to see them leave. Hopefully, I will be able to join them at lawn parties when I am home in early May.

Harrod's and St. Patrick's Day!

I started off St. Patrick's Day by waking up at 1:30pm. It was wonderful. Although, I was quite disappointed after I lamely pulled open my curtain a few inches and got a peek at the amazingly beautiful weather that I had been missing. Waste of a day? Perhaps, but at least I had my sleep. Michal and I decided to walk down to Harrod's so we could accomplish another big tourist site. It is beautiful inside, grand escalators/stairs that are lined with small balconies. I bought a really cute tin with a man next to a fire engine red phone booth that had triple chocolate chunk biscuits inside. Suddenly, we heard Ave Maria filling the escalator area and went on a hunt to find the source. There on one of the balconies was a woman singing, across from which stood a small audience. She gestured to the shoppers at Harrod's with open arms and took us from a shopping mall to a concert hall. Then, she stopped and Michal and I continued our walk elsewhere through all the various floors and departments. We heard another song again, this time Carmen's Habanera, so we walked out to see a different woman singing from the same balcony. She finished and so we continued to shop, until I heard what I believed to be O mio babbino caro. We ran back just in time to hear the end. I was excited to finally have Michal hear the song I had talked about when I dragged her to Porta Rossa and back to Ponte Vecchio and the Arno when we were in Florence.

When I got back to my house, the St. Patrick's Day party had started in full swing. I made myself a falafel pita for lunch, and bought some cheap wine from Tesco's. We all partied throughout the house, and made it a complete mess, but it was a lot of fun. There were a number of people here I didn't recognize but I met most of them throughout the party. Christine and I decided that we didn't have quite enough to drink, so made a run out to Odd bins and Tesco's for Smirnoff vodka and cranberry juice. We had a funny run-in with the guys at Odd bins and told them they should sell plastic cups and straws and cranberry juice so they could be a one stop shop. They said they'd be willing to sell plastic cups but not straws, and they do have cranberry juice. He pulled up a box of cranberry juice from behind the counter and said "It's made from concentrate." To which Christine replied, "Does that mean we have to add water?" The guys laughed at her and said, "No, you just have to drink it." I was also confused because I didn't know why it was significant to tell us it was made from concentrate. Whatever. We went to Tesco's and found they sell the same thing, but Christine needed dinner and we bought dish detergent so it was still worth the stop. We came back and drank a bit more as everyone started to file out to other parties/eat dinner/get ready for bed. Mind you this was only about 8:30pm. However, most people began drinking sometime between 11am and 3pm. I hung out with Marilyn and Liz in their room and watched Monster-in-Law on Betsy's bed while she and Mike were out. They have the comfiest bunk beds! Michal and Leor randomly walked in while I was watching but then left after seeing I wasn't going to move very far in my pj's... on st. patrick's day... at 10:30pm. Yes, it was rather pathetic. But now I'm going to bed so I can hopefully wake up on time tomorrow for the festival and parade downtown, research for my team business strategy project, and go to a 3 1/2 hours team meeting. Goodnight!