Spinal Tap

Turn it up to 11 folks. Tonight is Spinal Tap's one night only world tour at Wembley Arena. And yours truly has tickets.

For those of you who haven't seen the famed rockumentary, I'd highly recommend you go and watch it. Preferably now.

Tonight's concert will presumably feature hits like Sex Farm, Rock and Roll Creation, Big Bottom, Hellhole, and (fingers crossed), Stonehenge. That giant skull better be above the stage too. Cannot wait.

Coffee

I don't want to be nativist or anything, but I've determined that
starbucks coffee is far superior to costa. Sorry Italy.

Sent from my iPhone

Aaron Nyquist
Hamline University School of Law

Legal District Walking Tour

Today, after enduring another 4 hours of listening to our professor drone on about the Federal Arbitration Act, I went on a walking tour of "Legal London." I suspect that isn't on your typical list of London must sees.

It was somewhat fascinating though, I regret I didn't bring my camera. Apparently, our classroom is right on the edge of London's legal district, just a couple blocks from the Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court. One thing I noted about their courtrooms, the judge seems like he is seated on top of a skyscraper. Seriously, the judge's seat just towers above the rest of the room. Really intense. I think I may go back some weekday to hear part of a case.

It's interesting how jealously they guard their legal heritage here. I mean, in America, people think the law is so arcane, so full of Latin terminology, so inaccessible. Here, you have grown men walking around wearing horsehair wigs, for no better reason than that that's the way things have been done for hundreds of years. I mean, everything in England has a much longer tradition than we have in the States, for obvious reasons. But in the midst of such a contemporary society, it just seems strange that they cling to such traditions. Another thing, apparently law school lectures used to happen in the dining hall, right after dinner. Back before they had lecture halls, you know. To this day, law students must attend 12 law "dinners" before they can graduate.

The woman who gave us the walking tour was a walking stereotype of every British accent you have ever heard. I don't know if she was intentionally just going over the top, but if she was, props to her. I was legitimately impressed. I wish I could have made some sort of recording of how she pronounced "London." Her accent was so thick, it sounded as if she was saying two different words. "Lon," and "dun."

Anyways, yes, the legal district. Not necessarily on the postcards, but fascinating nonetheless. I think I'll walk back one of these days after class and take some photos. Speaking of photos, I've been meaning to post some, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe later this week. Truth be told, I haven't taken many yet. Just some of the area around Queen Mary's, etc. I'm saving the real photos for later on.

USA Football*

Off to the pub to watch the US play Brazil in the Confederations Cup final. For those of you not into international football, this is a big deal for the United States. We beat Spain, which is the number one ranked team in the world, to get to this point. Let's keep our fingers crossed for another miracle.

Go USA!

*Well, at least they gave it a good shot. I was super psyched when we were up 2-0 at halftime though. It could be worse, I suppose we could have lost to Canada or something.

Grocery Shopping

I got up this morning, and was craving some tea. Not just any crap tea that I could purchase at countless corner markets, but actual Yorkshire Gold tea. Were I to be considered an actual "tea drinker," surely Yorkshire Gold would be my tipple of choice. Since as aforementioned, no corner store carried this particular brand, I decided to take a walk down the road to Sainsbury's, which is a big grocery store. Confusingly enough, I guess it's more like a Target now, since they had clothes too.

Anyways, it was about a 20 minute walk or so, at least a mile away. It's kind of hard to explain exactly where I'm staying in relation to the end of the city, but were you to walk down Mile End road towards the Thames, you'd run more or less right into the above building, designed by Norman Foster. I think it's kind of interesting to juxtapose the sleekness of that building, the business-y grandeur of it with the surroundings just up the road. We're seemingly right in the middle of a fairly large immigrant neighborhood, probably mostly Indian and Middle Eastern. There are a ton of halal food shops, and there are lots of men and women in Muslim looking hats, robes, and headscarves. Right down the way from our school, near the grocery store, there is a huge open air market, with people selling food, clothing, household goods, etc. If it wasn't for all the English signs, you might think you were in Islamabad or something.

It all goes to show that there are a plethora of people in this city, just as in any city. Lots of different people trying to make a life.

Needless to say, it's interesting to see this other side of London, the lived in side. You definitely don't expect postcards from immigrant street markets selling halal chicken doner kebabs.

It was fun to go grocery shopping. Since I didn't really have to open my mouth, I could just take in the pleasure of being another person in this city, surrounded by the masses. Just like so many others, all I wanted was my mf-ing tea.

White Bread

I had really been hoping to avoid the kind of sweltering summer that so often plagues Minnesota. London, with all of its shitty rain, fog, and general unpleasant weather, seemed like the perfect place to avoid the heat. It must not be meant to be, for it has been around 75 or 80 degrees all week here. I suppose the sunshine is nice, but I was really looking forward to not feeling disgusting all the time.

I digress.

Yesterday, I reacquainted myself with central London by talking a walk from the Tower Bridge down to the London Eye. This walk along the south bank of the Thames was always one of my favorite things to do in London, so that was nice. We then walked up part of the Victoria Embankment to Parliament, then took a turn down Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. All in all, probably walked around 5 or 6 miles. Long day, that's for sure. As of yet, I haven't visited any museums or galleries, but I really feel that should be something I do on my own. I like to take my time, and I don't really want to have to feel rushed by another person's disinterestedness. I had a hard enough time yesterday when I went to a grocery store the other day with a few people. I don't understand how anyone leaves a grocery store in less than 15 minutes.

I'm trying to limit myself to buying only one meal a day, so I purchased some sandwich materials the other day. All their wheat bread was expired, so another student said I could have some of the white bread he had purchased the other day. Anyways, there are so many cliches about there regarding Americans and their sliced white bread. Let me tell you folks though, this was honestly the whitest bread I have ever seen. And it tasted like cardboard (legitimately). To add to the insult, the bread was packaged in this disgusting wax paper. Which, I don't know, I suppose it just made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Actual wheat bread is now a top priority.

I don't quite know if London has gotten the European memo about the value of quality bread. I know America hasn't yet, but judging so far, I can say we are not alone.

Live from London

Well folks, welcome to London. Capital of the UK, the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and surely the biggest city in the world without any free wifi to pilfer. Really, it's quite amazing, my future device has been practically rendered impotent. All I can do is check the time, check my calendar, and utilize the Tube map I downloaded. I suppose that's alright though, this can become a month-long exercise in primitive living: Can one 21st century man survive in a large city without a working mobile phone? Maybe I'll write a book.

If any of you need to travel across the Atlantic anytime soon, I would highly recommend British Airways. Two reasons. The first reason is self explanatory: free wine. It makes perfect sense, why wouldn't you want to chill people out on a plane? When you think about it, hurtling 30,000 feet above the ground at 600 mph in a metal tube with wings is a lot more horrifying than society has created it to be. The second reason is that you arrive at Heathrow Terminal 5, which feels like something out of the new "Star Trek" movie. Given the futuristic nature of the building, I thought perhaps I would just forgo the hour-long Tube ride to the University and just take a magnet train or some such device, but alas, that was not to be.

The one other notable thing about British Airways is how unfailingly polite everyone is. When we were queued up to leave on the runway in Philadelphia, the pilot came on and apologized. When the seat belt sign came on, the pilot again apologized. I asked if they had any pinot noir, and the flight attendant apologized. I settled for the bordeaux.

I spent most of yesterday in a jet lagged haze, owing to the fact that I slept maybe a half an hour in a 36 hour period, but that didn't stop me and a few others from exploring our area. That is perhaps for another post. Needless to say, we're a bit out of the way of central London, being the London you see in the postcards. I'd say maybe 15 minutes on the Tube. I hope to take some photos of the University and post them later this week.

On a final note, one thing that has been comfortably reassuring is how normal everything feels. I'm sure these Hamline folks are already tired of my references to my junior year spent in England, but in truth, that year of living has colored everything I experience here in England. Arriving in Heathrow, instead of the usual anxiety that accompanies coming to a foreign country, I felt completely at ease, like I would when flying into Minnesota. I can't hide my accent, but I hope with my demeanor and actions to fit into this city as fully as possible, which I think is an attainable goal. In any event, it feels good to be back.

Leaving Minneapolis

Welcome

Welcome internet denizens. You've arrived at my new travel blog, which (hopefully) will soon be overflowing with witty observations, anecdotes, and stories from the Old Country.

I think one of the forgotten arts of our American society is people watching. I find that incredibly ironic, especially given popular culture's obsession with celebrities and crappy reality tv shows. Why is it that people are more interested with faraway, unattainable objects than with that which is easily attainable and accessible? Maybe it's some sort of escapist fantasy, but that's beyond the point. The point is, that I aim with this blog to capture the human side of London, the lived in side. The same goes for any other destinations that I may come across.

Of course, it's inevitable that there will be some touristy posts as well. I can scarcely imagine going to the British Museum without gushing over with wide-eyed verbiage. And I suppose, I am actually taking a course in London, so I'm sure there will be a bit of arbitration thrown in there for good measure.

Hopefully people will find this interesting. I'll do my best to try and keep it so, as well as being regularly updated. I would gladly welcome any questions or suggestions anyone may have, or points for further investigation.

*Just what the hell does the title of this blog mean, you ask? It's French for "I don't understand." I wish I had some deep, existential background for this, but in truth, I tend to look confused often, so it only seemed appropriate. Additionally, if you understand everything, what's the point of doing anything?