Paninis, a Meeting, and Ghosts

     I was startled and somewhat horrified when my alarm went off at 8:30 because I had forgotten that twice per seven day rotation, I am due at school at 9:35 instead of 10:55. Needless to say, I was on the struggle bus, but I grabbed some raspberries and drove a modest 4 miles above the speed limit to school where I went to chorus. I was not feeling chapel and I had some pressing concerns that came up during my research yesterday to talk to Bailey about, so alas, we scheduled another meeting, this time at Caribou. We discussed how are going to get to and from the Heathrow airport, attaining the proper tube navigation iPhone app, and making sure we are prepared with Oyster cards to ensure easy travel on the underground. 

     After the meeting, I went back to school for religion and then left again. It had been stressing me out all day what I was going to have for lunch because I couldn't settle on a place in my mind and my favorite lunch spot is way downtown on Auburn Avenue and "ain't nobody got time for that" when planning a trip to England! So, being the crafty chef that I am, I made a trip to Whole Foods where I picked up 14 grain bread, avocados, turkey, and sliced cheese with the intention of recreating LottaFrutta's "Pavo del Ocho" panini. I dusted off our family panini maker and when I tell you I created heaven, I am not exaggerating. It was the best ever, paired with baby carrots, lemon infused water, and the remainder of the avocado diced with a sprinkle of lemon juice. 

     After lunch I looked at my project proposal and saw that I needed to plan the entire day for Friday, April 15. Here is what I came up with: 

Friday April 15- 

9:30 Breakfast: Brick Lane Beigel Bake

10:30 Science Museum

12:30 Lunch: The Potato Project 

2:00 London Dungeon 

5:45 Dark Side of London Ghost Tour

8:15 Dinner: Clockjack Oven 

     Brick Lane Beigel Bake is "a 24-hour bakery known for traditional Jewish-style filled bagels such as salt beef and smoked salmon." I picked this place because I love bagels and it seems like something I can grab on the go that won't take as long as a traditional sit-down breakfast place. The Science Museum is your typical science museum, but is insanely popular for the cutting edge attractions and displays. Having taken two advanced physics classes this year, I am very interested in science and look forward to visiting the museum. The Potato Project is dedicated to finding unique ways to make potatoes. I love potatoes. That will be good. The London Dungeon is a 2 hour walking experience that features characters and frights. The Ghost Tour takes you on a walk through London and tells stories of London's haunted past. Clockjack Oven focuses on chicken dishes and is open pretty late, which is why I'm going after the tour. Overall, I hit some roadblocks with scheduling certain tours and coordinating the London Dungeon with Bailey, but I did what I needed to get done today!

Naps, a Meeting, and Some Balls

     Today got off to a rocky start, which is to be expected on the first day of a new schedule when you've been in the same routine for 8 months. My alarm went off at 5:45 AM and I went to my kickboxing class at 6:30. When I finished, I went home, made a peanut butter and banana smoothie and got back in my bed. I woke up at 10:20 to the sound of my maid barging into my room, unaware that I was home and asleep. I was grateful though because it got me up just in time to make it to my 10:55 World Religions class. Once my two classes were finished, I determined it was time to get crackin' on this project. 

     I set up a spur of the moment lunch meeting with Bailey, my travel companion, to talk logistics at R. Thomas Grill. The food was ratchet but the meeting was productive. We discussed our flight details, airport plans, the fact that I am apparently a plebeian because I do not have "global entry status" which is going to inconvenience Bailey when we arrive back in the states, our living arrangements, and some activities that the two of us might want to do together while we are there, even though our projects are completely different. I also learned from this meeting that I am going to have to go to AT&T and get a global data plan to use while I am in London as well as wall converters for my electronics. 

     After the meeting I referred back to my original proposal to check what I needed to do today to stay on track with my schedule. Today I had to "Select dinner spot for 4/14, Select morning activity for 4/14, Lunch for 4/14, Afternoon activity for 4/14, Dinner for 4/14" - not a small task. Luckily I had brainstormed some ideas of places I wanted to visit beforehand so it is not a matter of scheduling, researching, mapping the tube routes, etc. for each place. Here's what I came up with: 

Wednesday April 13-

10:00 AM Arrive in London / Get settled in  

Lunch: Balls and Company

3:00 Harrods 

6:00 Dinner: Bistro Union 

     I wanted to make Wednesday pretty laid back because I tend to suffer from severe exhaustion and jet lag when I fly overseas. The first time I ever went to London, we decided that as soon as we arrived we just HAD to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace even though it happens every day and I proceeded to fall asleep on the ground next to a statue in the middle of the roundabout. Not good. So this time I'm taking it easy the first day and will go all-out on Thursday. Balls and Company is a lowkey restaurant that specializes in meat balls and fresh vegetables. Though their creations are known for being unique, this should serve as the comfort food my exhausted body will be craving after a long day of traveling. I put a trip to Harrods on the schedule for today also because it's something you can do at your own time and pace so I can go at my leisure and spend lots of time (and money?) at London's premier shopping destination. Bistro Union, modeled in a retro school theme, serves the most up to date British cuisine out there. I did not schedule a night time activity for this day due to the fact that I think I'll need my rest, but if I end up with the energy I will certainly seek out something fun to do after dinner.

Thursday April 14- 

10:00 Breakfast: E Pellicci 

11:00 Wellcome Collection 

1:15 Lunch: Mother Mash

2:45 Tower Bridge 

5:45 Dinner: Smack Lobster

7:30 Guys and Dolls

     Up and at 'em is the motto for Thursday. The breakfast spot I've selected, E Pellici, is a "vintage Art Deco workers' cafe offering the full English breakfast and Italian classics". It received great reviews and is highly recommended. After breakfast, I will visit the Wellcome Collection, which is an "unusual mixture of medical artifacts and original artworks exploring ideas about the connection between medicine, life, and art." This particularly interested me because I want to be a doctor, so a museum that incorporates medicine sounds especially exciting. Mother Mash specializes in my absolute favorite food, mashed potatoes, which they like to compare to a big hug. Needless to say I'm especially looking forward to that one. After lunch I'm going to be able to go up on Tower Bridge which overlooks the river Thames. For dinner, I picked somewhere on the West End near the theater where we'll be seeing Guys and Dolls. Smack Lobster specializes in making creative dishes all involving lobster. I personally don't see how I can go wrong here. Finally, I'll be seeing Guys and Dolls, one of my favorite musicals, on the West End. I've seen two shows on the West End before and have never been disappointed, so I'm really looking forward to that. 

     Overall, today has taught me how to research a restaurant or attraction and get the essential facts out of a website quickly. I also learned that there are many great websites that review restaurants and give you a better idea of what they're like. I am on schedule with what I needed to have planned and I am confident in my choices for these days. I'm looking forward to planning the rest of my itinerary and making the trip. Although I got off to a slow start, I'd say today wasn't bad for a first go. Not bad at all.