London a.k.a. Home

After three weeks in London, my small room in Chelsea is beginning to feel like home.  This became particularly clear when I returned from a weekend in Paris.  Don't get me wrong- I loved sleeping in a hostel, but by the last day of the trip I was actually longing for home.  And home has become London.

Let me back track to where I last left off... I started classes the week of January 12th.  The IES London Centre is a 45-minute-commute from the LRH (London Residence Hall).  The 3/4 mile walk to the South Kensington Tube Station takes me through residential streets lined with elegant town homes, past Cinqo (an amazing Italian deli and tart shop), the Chelsea Hospital, a private primary school, the Chelsea Farmer's Market (an easy distraction), small coffee shops and cafes, Snog (Pink Berry, London-style) and the Hummingbird Bakery. If you are a fan of cupcakes, the Hummingbird Bakery is your heaven.

Rows of gourmet cupcakes (everything from red velvet to double chocolate with cream cheese icing) tempt you from behind a long glass case and cake platters line every inch of spare counter space.  It is almost (emphasis on almost) too much for a sweets-person to handle.  On our first day of school, my friend Abby and I popped into the bakery for an afternoon snack- and we were definitely not the only ones with this idea.  After our indulgence of a shared vanilla cupcake with silver sprinkles and two lattes, I decided that I had already found my favorite coffee and dessert place.  A premature decision, perhaps, but nearly a month later I remain firm in my choice.

I am taking five courses, each taught by an English professor: Contemporary Business Issues in the EU, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: Their Art and Movement, British Youth Culture, The Architecture of London, and the Economics of Europe and the EU.  So far, my classes have been discussion-based, heavy on the reading, and interactive with our London setting.  My architecture of London class meets every Wednesday afternoon from 2pm to 4:30pm.  We meet at a different location around the city and our professor lectures as we walk.  I have taken both of the architecture courses offered by the Art History department at Wofford, Principles of Architecture and 20th Century Architecture, but learning onsite is a completely different experience. 

 

On of my favorite places in the city so far is Covent Garden.  The area as we now know it was designed by the British architect Inigo Jones in the 17th century.  The concept was for a planned market town with a central arcaded piazza.  Through the years, it has transformed from fresh produce market to red-light district to tourist attraction.  But, the open air structure with specialty shops, produce stands, and street performers still makes for an entertaining- and historically rich- afternoon.

-Katherine