Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Eurovision!
Eurovision is an annual singing competition held among countries of the European Broadcasting Union. It works like American Idol in the sense that you vote from home for your favorite performance. All of the contenders however, had won different national singing competitions. It is the cream of the reality show crop! If I had to choose a contender from the United States, Carrie Underwood would get my vote.
The UK came in last, whomp whomp. The winner, GERMANY! She was my favorite, but I did not think she would win because a lot of the other singers were much more theatrical.
So see for yourself:
The Winner, Germany -
To show a little theatricality (and AMAZING interpretive dance)-
When watching this I thought of Erich and Josh, this is a DIVA -
YOU MUST WATCH THIS ONE:
At least go to 1:10...the man that is in a red hat, is not a part of the performance. He had crawled up onto stage and just joined in.
Basically this was an amazing show and I am a little bummed that the US cannot participate.
On a final and different "note," why does the US not care about the world cup. Here it is, the biggest thing since Sex and the City 2, not. The World Cup is the Super Bowl on Steroids - and America does not even blink. At least we care about the Olympics.
The UK came in last, whomp whomp. The winner, GERMANY! She was my favorite, but I did not think she would win because a lot of the other singers were much more theatrical.
So see for yourself:
The Winner, Germany -
To show a little theatricality (and AMAZING interpretive dance)-
When watching this I thought of Erich and Josh, this is a DIVA -
YOU MUST WATCH THIS ONE:
At least go to 1:10...the man that is in a red hat, is not a part of the performance. He had crawled up onto stage and just joined in.
Basically this was an amazing show and I am a little bummed that the US cannot participate.
On a final and different "note," why does the US not care about the world cup. Here it is, the biggest thing since Sex and the City 2, not. The World Cup is the Super Bowl on Steroids - and America does not even blink. At least we care about the Olympics.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Camden Market
I took a short trip up to Camden Town. This place is punk central. It reminds me exactly of St. Marks Street in NYC but instead of it just being one block between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, it is the size of the whole East Village!
The streets are lined with tattoo parlors, shoe stores, souvenir shops, smoke shops, sunglass huts, and every type of ethnic cuisine imaginable.
Every food station is begging for business. They all hand out samples and try to entice the people walking by to going into their food hut. Yes, all of the places serving food are located inside of huts. What is nice is that every one charges the same price for a meal. Which makes it that your taste buds do the choosing, not your wallet! After walking around for a while I finally choose a place to spend my 4 pounds. I got some Thai Food, and I could not have been more satisfied with my decision.
Next I went into the famous CAMDEN MARKET.
I thought it was anticlimactic. After walking around the actual town, going into a tented area with clothes, clothes, and more clothes was boring. Everyone in there was selling different goods, but mostly it was just I heart London shirts.
** Before I leave London I think I am going to get one. At first I was not for this, but now, I am warming up to it.
I did get a book in Camden. It is a British psychology book and so far I have learned that I am an EXTREME EXTROVERT - but I kind of already knew that.
The streets are lined with tattoo parlors, shoe stores, souvenir shops, smoke shops, sunglass huts, and every type of ethnic cuisine imaginable.
Every food station is begging for business. They all hand out samples and try to entice the people walking by to going into their food hut. Yes, all of the places serving food are located inside of huts. What is nice is that every one charges the same price for a meal. Which makes it that your taste buds do the choosing, not your wallet! After walking around for a while I finally choose a place to spend my 4 pounds. I got some Thai Food, and I could not have been more satisfied with my decision.
Next I went into the famous CAMDEN MARKET.
I thought it was anticlimactic. After walking around the actual town, going into a tented area with clothes, clothes, and more clothes was boring. Everyone in there was selling different goods, but mostly it was just I heart London shirts.
** Before I leave London I think I am going to get one. At first I was not for this, but now, I am warming up to it.
I did get a book in Camden. It is a British psychology book and so far I have learned that I am an EXTREME EXTROVERT - but I kind of already knew that.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
4 Nights in 2 Hostels
I have had the opportunity to stay in a lovely flat for free while in London, however I wanted to get out there and experience the London hostel life for a few days. I intended on just going to one hostel, but unfortunately the first place I stayed was a far trek out of the city and just bloody hot! I am usually not picky, but the heat mixed with the smell of non-deodorized Brazilian men's pits was not pleasant.
After switching to a cheaper/better hostel in central London I was back and ready to go!
This hostel was right along side one of the biggest parks in London, Hyde Park, and because the weather was so warm it was a perfect place to go and chillax during the day! In the park people bring booze. I did not, day drinking is not my thing, however everyone was drinking bottles of everything all day long, and smoking hookah. It surprised me that on a Monday so many Londoners can spend a day in the park and not at work, but hey, who am I to judge. I always just assumed that drinking in public - sans brown bag hiding a beer - was illegal in the USA? But maybe everyone assumes that and that is why our parks are not as liquored up as London's? Nonetheless, I loved sunbathing by the pond and watching the baby ducklings swim along side there mom, or along side their mum as they would say here in London!
Later that night I decided to cook some food in the Hostel and just hang out there for the night. I wanted to meet some of the other people traveling through London. So who do I meet, two German guys that had just come from Paris. And they say in broken English, "There are six more of us." WOAH. That is a total of eight german guys. Which is more strait men in one room than I had seen in a LONG time, being that NYU is slightly skewed towards gay. And when I say slightly, I mean considerably.
Clearly we all had a good time, but now I have checked out of the hostel and I am back in the flat.
One thing that these German's were persistent about was me having the most awesome answer to the one thing that will always make me smile. I told them my first answer, not good enough, my second answer, still not good enough, and then finally my third answer they approved:
The one thing that will always make me smile - are the smiles I receive from people after they participate in my smile project!
And you know what, when people love this project - NOTHING MAKES ME HAPPIER or SMILE BIGGER! So thank you Germans, you helped me verbalize the thing that makes me smile the most!
After switching to a cheaper/better hostel in central London I was back and ready to go!
This hostel was right along side one of the biggest parks in London, Hyde Park, and because the weather was so warm it was a perfect place to go and chillax during the day! In the park people bring booze. I did not, day drinking is not my thing, however everyone was drinking bottles of everything all day long, and smoking hookah. It surprised me that on a Monday so many Londoners can spend a day in the park and not at work, but hey, who am I to judge. I always just assumed that drinking in public - sans brown bag hiding a beer - was illegal in the USA? But maybe everyone assumes that and that is why our parks are not as liquored up as London's? Nonetheless, I loved sunbathing by the pond and watching the baby ducklings swim along side there mom, or along side their mum as they would say here in London!
Later that night I decided to cook some food in the Hostel and just hang out there for the night. I wanted to meet some of the other people traveling through London. So who do I meet, two German guys that had just come from Paris. And they say in broken English, "There are six more of us." WOAH. That is a total of eight german guys. Which is more strait men in one room than I had seen in a LONG time, being that NYU is slightly skewed towards gay. And when I say slightly, I mean considerably.
Clearly we all had a good time, but now I have checked out of the hostel and I am back in the flat.
One thing that these German's were persistent about was me having the most awesome answer to the one thing that will always make me smile. I told them my first answer, not good enough, my second answer, still not good enough, and then finally my third answer they approved:
The one thing that will always make me smile - are the smiles I receive from people after they participate in my smile project!
And you know what, when people love this project - NOTHING MAKES ME HAPPIER or SMILE BIGGER! So thank you Germans, you helped me verbalize the thing that makes me smile the most!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Towers, Bridges, and Museums, Oh My
In London the weather is usually cloudy with a chance of showers. However for the past few days there has been nothing but sunshine. So I have been taking advantage of this unheard of weather.
I went to the Tower of London. It is 100% the most touristy thing I have done thus far. The tower (I say tower, but it is a big collection of towers, gardens, churches, and now gift shops) was built in 1078 to hold prisoners. If you were a prisoner there, you were going to get beheaded. Inside of these towers, I got to see torture devises, armor, and lots of pretty crowns and jewels of the kings and queens. It was nice, but no great shakes. I personally do not think it was worth the price of entry. This picture is of a guard who gets paid to just stand in costume, excuse me, uniform, all day.
Next I crossed the famous Tower Bridge. It is the most beautiful bridge I have ever crossed :)
From there I crossed another bridge. Clearly I did a lot of bridge crossing. Harry Potter fans - THE MILLENNIUM BRIDGE! Not as spectacular as the Tower Bridge, but still nice.
On the other side of the bridge is the Tate Modern Museum.
Inside this museum is the strangest most abstract art I have seen. For example, there was an experimental film titled, Blood and Feathers part 2. I tried to find it on Youtube, but no luck. It is a woman, Ana Mendieta, standing in a field, nude, naturally. She then picks up a bucket of blood and begins to poor it all over herself. When she is covered from head to toe in blood, without skipping a beat, she immediately lays down into a pile of feathers and rolls around. It was interesting, very interesting, to say it simply. I left the museum feeling much more cultured than when I entered. The most structured part of the whole museum was the Andy Warhol room...
That night I enjoyed my first hostel. It was hot. I met a lot of people who participated in the Smile Project! Everyone there was very into it, which of course makes me smile!
Song of the Day: Wilco - I'll Fight
Also, one thing that will always make me smile is British Children with AMAZING accents. It is the cutest thing seeing kids in their school uniforms chatting it up at Museums!
I really hope that does not come off as creepy.
I went to the Tower of London. It is 100% the most touristy thing I have done thus far. The tower (I say tower, but it is a big collection of towers, gardens, churches, and now gift shops) was built in 1078 to hold prisoners. If you were a prisoner there, you were going to get beheaded. Inside of these towers, I got to see torture devises, armor, and lots of pretty crowns and jewels of the kings and queens. It was nice, but no great shakes. I personally do not think it was worth the price of entry. This picture is of a guard who gets paid to just stand in costume, excuse me, uniform, all day.
Next I crossed the famous Tower Bridge. It is the most beautiful bridge I have ever crossed :)
From there I crossed another bridge. Clearly I did a lot of bridge crossing. Harry Potter fans - THE MILLENNIUM BRIDGE! Not as spectacular as the Tower Bridge, but still nice.
On the other side of the bridge is the Tate Modern Museum.
Inside this museum is the strangest most abstract art I have seen. For example, there was an experimental film titled, Blood and Feathers part 2. I tried to find it on Youtube, but no luck. It is a woman, Ana Mendieta, standing in a field, nude, naturally. She then picks up a bucket of blood and begins to poor it all over herself. When she is covered from head to toe in blood, without skipping a beat, she immediately lays down into a pile of feathers and rolls around. It was interesting, very interesting, to say it simply. I left the museum feeling much more cultured than when I entered. The most structured part of the whole museum was the Andy Warhol room...
That night I enjoyed my first hostel. It was hot. I met a lot of people who participated in the Smile Project! Everyone there was very into it, which of course makes me smile!
Song of the Day: Wilco - I'll Fight
Also, one thing that will always make me smile is British Children with AMAZING accents. It is the cutest thing seeing kids in their school uniforms chatting it up at Museums!
I really hope that does not come off as creepy.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Get in a bus and GO!
This was a Day O' Fun! I went on a tour of Windsor Castle, the city of Bath, and Stonehenge. It began at 8:45 AM and we left from the busy Victoria train station in central London. It took only 30 minutes to get to our first destination, Windsor Castle. It is a Castle that is for sure. 30 acres of gardens just for the Queens leisure.
Quick fun fact: Harrods - the famous department store in London - was just sold for 1.5 Billion pounds!!! Which is about 2 Billion Dollars. DUDE! Also, apartments around there will run you close to $35 Million Dollars!
Back to the castle. I met my first friend of my trip on this tour, a nice boy from Kansas who had just graduated from college as well. We bonded over the hilarious Changing of the Guards ceremony. It was quite funny because the big, strong military men were playing flutes, doing little penguin shuffles, and wearing leopard print.
The next stop on the tour was to the city of Bath. Bath was originally a spa resort for the Romans in 43 AD. It has natural hot springs that are rumored to have healing powers. I touched the water, even though you are not supposed to, and it was HOT. And I love hot water, so I would have for sure been a Bath regular if I was a Roman living in 43 AD.
The last stop of the tour was Stonehenge.
Obviously aliens did it. Although while walking around I overheard a man say "It was the Chinese" - his words not mine. All that is at Stonehenge is the ruins and a gift shop, so you take a picture then peace, but nonetheless, it was great to see! Also, by the end of the tour I had met a few more people, all americans around my age, so that was a plus!
Later that night, I had my first London Nightlife Experience. It was pretty wild. The four of us went to a London Karaoke Bar and everyone who sang that night was good enough to be professional singers! When these british folk take the stage, they dominate the stage and sing their hearts out. A live band was behind them playing every song...that was unexpected and really cool. Another thing about this Karaoke Bar is that it was not just filled with young 20 somethings, it had people between the ages of 21 - 65 all thoroughly enjoying the singing and all having a blast!
Quick fun fact: Harrods - the famous department store in London - was just sold for 1.5 Billion pounds!!! Which is about 2 Billion Dollars. DUDE! Also, apartments around there will run you close to $35 Million Dollars!
Back to the castle. I met my first friend of my trip on this tour, a nice boy from Kansas who had just graduated from college as well. We bonded over the hilarious Changing of the Guards ceremony. It was quite funny because the big, strong military men were playing flutes, doing little penguin shuffles, and wearing leopard print.
The next stop on the tour was to the city of Bath. Bath was originally a spa resort for the Romans in 43 AD. It has natural hot springs that are rumored to have healing powers. I touched the water, even though you are not supposed to, and it was HOT. And I love hot water, so I would have for sure been a Bath regular if I was a Roman living in 43 AD.
The last stop of the tour was Stonehenge.
Obviously aliens did it. Although while walking around I overheard a man say "It was the Chinese" - his words not mine. All that is at Stonehenge is the ruins and a gift shop, so you take a picture then peace, but nonetheless, it was great to see! Also, by the end of the tour I had met a few more people, all americans around my age, so that was a plus!
Later that night, I had my first London Nightlife Experience. It was pretty wild. The four of us went to a London Karaoke Bar and everyone who sang that night was good enough to be professional singers! When these british folk take the stage, they dominate the stage and sing their hearts out. A live band was behind them playing every song...that was unexpected and really cool. Another thing about this Karaoke Bar is that it was not just filled with young 20 somethings, it had people between the ages of 21 - 65 all thoroughly enjoying the singing and all having a blast!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
So much walking
The lovely thing about NY is that most of the city streets run like a checkerboard. In London, there is no rhyme or reason for how the streets run. Also, the name of a street can change after one block. Therefore I have walked a lot (in circles sometimes) because of this. However, getting lost in a city that you have never been to before can have some perks. I somehow made my way to Buckingham Palace! It is beautiful and huge and gold and filled with tourists taking pictures of everything from the magnificent gates to blades of grass. I also found myself in front of the National Gallery, where I got to see paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, and Degas. The museum was filled interesting people and with many students from all around Europe between the ages of 3 - 18. Almost every room that I walked into there were students led by a professor of some sort explaining in detail the paintings surrounding them. In one room, students were giving a presentation on a painting to the rest of their class. The focus on art that they have in the education system, I applaud!
On another note, because I have been walking so much I have been listening to music CONSTANTLY, so I have decided to write a song of the day. Today I have 2 because I did not write one yesterday.
Both by Okkervil River: Lost Coastlines and Unless It's Kicks
The first SMILE video of London hits the blog tomorrow!
On another note, because I have been walking so much I have been listening to music CONSTANTLY, so I have decided to write a song of the day. Today I have 2 because I did not write one yesterday.
Both by Okkervil River: Lost Coastlines and Unless It's Kicks
The first SMILE video of London hits the blog tomorrow!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
London Calling
I am offcially in London! All my life I have been asked if I was born in London or conceived in London, if I have a sister named Paris, or my favorite...if I have a brother named Compton. I always answer no, and then simply say, ''London is my great-grandmothers maiden name.'' Since I have arrived in London however, everyone that I have introduced myself to has responded differently than people in the US. ''Your name is London, and you are in London!'' And then there is laughter and smiles because of the irony. After hearing my name, a protester in Parliament Square got down on one knee with his guitar in hand, and played me an original song about the irony of my name. It was sweet.
The little things:
1. Crossing the street - Traffic comes in the opposite direction and cars turn from lanes that I am not used to. If you walk around London the same way you walk around NY, it would not be pretty.
2. The computer keyboard - I am using one now, and things are in different places. The @ sign is very well hidden.
3. Street lights go GREEN - RED - YELLOW - Yellow lights do not mean slow down, they mean get ready your lane is about to move.
4. Money Exchange - I got schooled in the money department, which is NOT COOL. I go to a legit money exchange, assuming all of the conversion rates from $ to £ are the same, but no they are not. Note: Now I know and I will never get jipped like that again.
5. The Bus - I found out that the bus drivers job is not to check tickets. If you show them a ticket they laugh. So what does that mean, Free Bus Baby!
One not so little thing:
THE PARLIAMENT IS AMAZING!
The little things:
1. Crossing the street - Traffic comes in the opposite direction and cars turn from lanes that I am not used to. If you walk around London the same way you walk around NY, it would not be pretty.
2. The computer keyboard - I am using one now, and things are in different places. The @ sign is very well hidden.
3. Street lights go GREEN - RED - YELLOW - Yellow lights do not mean slow down, they mean get ready your lane is about to move.
4. Money Exchange - I got schooled in the money department, which is NOT COOL. I go to a legit money exchange, assuming all of the conversion rates from $ to £ are the same, but no they are not. Note: Now I know and I will never get jipped like that again.
5. The Bus - I found out that the bus drivers job is not to check tickets. If you show them a ticket they laugh. So what does that mean, Free Bus Baby!
One not so little thing:
THE PARLIAMENT IS AMAZING!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Welcome to my NEW Smile Blog
This blog will be used to document the happiness of the world. Each week, a new 5 minute SMILE webisode that features a different place and a different cast of unique characters from all around the world, will be ready for you to watch and enjoy!
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