MASTERING LONDON
1 Year
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1 Degree
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1 Big City
Out With a Bang
A little something special for my last post =) ps. Seriously worth a click over to Vimeo to watch in HD.
Self-Important Musings on Cream Tea
Cream tea is a joy of mine. While sitting at my last cream tea in London I realized I had a lot of opinions on it. This post idea was born.
What is it? Cream tea is one of many tea services. It includes a scone (probably not what you're thinking), clotted cream (don't panic I'll explain), jam and a pot of tea. Afternoon or high tea is the traditional service with tiers of cakes, scones, and little sandwiches that can cost you a pretty penny at nice hotels and restuarants. Someone put it once that "you can't eat for two days" after afternoon tea at the Ritz. Cream tea is more managable.
Scone? Go to starbucks. Order a scone. Eat it. Now you know what a scone is not. An english scone is more like a southern buiscuit only denser and sweeter. In my mind, it is really just a vehicle for gobs of clotted cream and jam. Plain is best. Raisins (or sultanas) weird me out with jam - seems wrong.
Clotted Cream sounds gross. I know what you are picturing: sour cream or cottage cheese. Thankfully, that is not what it is at all. It is closer to a sweet cream cheese, but lighter like butter. I know a few people who have proclaimed they would like to take a bath in it.
Assembly instructions. There's a whole regional feud over in what order the clotted cream and jam should be lathered on a scone. You can choose the cornish way (scone jam cream) or the devonshire way (scone cream jam). Time for the self-important part of this muse - devonshire is right, cornish is wrong. Putting jam before cream is like putting jelly before peanut butter. You end up with a slippery mess. This is not what you want while eating your slightly posh afternoon snack. I also firmly believe you should cut your scone in half and then break individual pieces off to add the condiments too. No sandwiching - you will look like you are eating a hockey puck. Finally, if you have any clotted cream left at the end of the meal you've done it wrong. Having jam left over is acceptable.
And the tea part? Oh right - the tea. Take to your liking. I like something floral.
Feel like a major weight was just lifted off my chest. Thanks for letting me share. I look forward to hosting cream tea for my friends now that I'm back in the U.S.
Disclaimer. I'm not English. =P
New Word Wednesday
The British English Edition
During my study abroad summer in Spain, I made a point to blog the words I'd learned each week. It was a good discipline to help me review and reflect. This year there are two British English words that have worked their way into my vocabulary, and I wouldn't mind them being permanent, a remnant of my year. Figured I should define them for you and the continued understanding in our friendship. :P
"Sorted" : figured out, organized, well planned
Is dinner sorted for tomorrow night?
"Cheeky" : forward, brash, funny with a twinge of innuendo
He got a little too cheeky so I ended the conversation.
I already did the "Sorry?" thing when I didn't understand what someone said. I also often got made fun of for asking questions with the British intonation (no, not the accent!) These two fit into my lexicon quite nicely.
Sun, Stand Still
Today is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, marking the end of one season and the start of another. Today is also the last exam of my foreseeable future. If that weren't enough, today is a exactly a month until I leave London. The collision of these events couldn't be more apropos. Please forgive me for being a little sentimental.
The sun rose at 4:43 and will set at 21:21. After taking my exam from 10 - 1, there are still hours of sunlight to enjoy. The extensive sunlight as the days have lengthened has been a real wonder to me since we don't experience such extremes in Florida. Waking up early many mornings - panicked I'd missed my class based on the position of the sun - was a small, slightly hilarious price to pay. After today, the days start to shorten again and I'll have returned to the U.S. before the dark days of winter return.
I am trying not to be dramatic but it feels like the sun is literally setting on my time in London. The seasons are literally changing as I prepare to enter a new season of life as a young professional and leave that of being a student.
Moving to London was hard hard hard. Now it is hard to put words to paper that appropriately express how much I have enjoyed life in the last few months. We can joke that I'm weather motivated, but it is the strength of my relationships and recent experiences that really drives my happiness. Even though I know it is time, it is mildly frustrating to be moving again just as I feel settled in. Mom has always said I don't handle it well when things end.
The word solstice comes from the Latin solstitium for "sun stands still". Today I would implore the sun to stand still for just a little longer, before the changes of the next few months come flooding in. Though he may not listen, I'll savor this gift of an extra long day.
Ps. It's also Father's Day. Hi dad! I love you! Xxoo
The Insanity of Plane Ticket Pricing
I've just discovered something that I truly can't believe while booking my final flight home from London to Fort Lauderdale (boohoo sniff tear).
Paying in different currencies for Norwegian flights drastically changes the price of the ticket when converted back to dollars.
Exhibit 1: Paying in USD
Exhibit 2: Paying in GBP
Based on today's visa exchange rate (1.53) this converts to $809.37. Already considerably cheaper than the USD ticket price.
Exhibit 3: Paying in EUR
Today's visa exchange rate for euros is 1.1 making this ticket $756.69. THIS TICKET IS $121.21 CHEAPER THAN THE DOLLAR PRICE.
My credit card has no foreign fees on top of the visa rate - thanks Capital One - so I obviously chose to pay in euros. It's a great benefit.
Trying to diagnose this phenomenon I come up with two possible scenarios.
- Norwegian uses some historical exchange rate average to do the international ticket pricing. The dollar has gotten stronger recently so this could account for some of the difference. I still would expect their pricing algorithms to account for this better. I doubt they have considerable foreign currency costs.
- The pricing is discriminatory based on self-reported location. The option to pay in USD is only available if you say you are in the US. This would mean you (aka me) are probably not price sensitive when it comes to returning to my own country. Both options to pay in GBP or EUR are available if you select that you are in the UK. Okay, logical because of the EU, but still the pricing is different. Today's EUR - GBP rates makes the ticket in euro worth 495 GBP and the ticket in pounds cost 740 EUR. I guess if you choose to pay in euros you are less likely to live in either London or Fort Lauderdale, meaning you are on holiday and the most price sensitive of the three customer groups.
My mind is going all sorts of places. What if I had chosen to pay in yen? or a really obscure currency? Where are the travel blog posts about this? Am I the only one who was unaware? Wish I had thought to check this earlier because I'm positive I would have saved some money. Hopefully you, friend, will think to try this next time you book international flights.
What Shall I Say About Paris?
I never caught the Paris bug that infected many of my childhood friends.
I was probably too busy nursing the Spanish speaking regions bug, highly influenced by my language studies and proximity to Latin America (aka Miami) I'm sure.
I never cared that Paris is RoMaNtIc...
...or a land flowing with wine and cheese
...or the home of that big metal Eiffel tower
...or honestly dripping in gggooolllddd.
Oops. I guess I care now.
A school "Global Immersion Field Trip" gave me the excuse and free hotel room for a few nights to finally make it to this amazing city. We traveled by Eurostar train which again confirmed my desire for the US to have more options than just flying or driving to traverse the country. As a program, we visited Canal +, Bouygues (said bweeg who would have guessed), and Disneyland Paris. From a business student perspective these companies were interesting cases to study because they vary in their level of success. Disneyland Paris, for example, has only turned profit one year of its existence.
I stayed on for a few days after the official trip in an adorable Airbnb with sweet girlfriends. It was a relaxed visit but we still saw the major sights and many of the neighborhoods. I loved the little streets lined with cafes, the big cathedrals, the hidden speakeasies and the chance to try and pick up some French words. I didn't do major research / planning before the trip which was new for me. We ate by recommendation and planned our sightseeing based on what we wanted to see not what we "had" to see. I'm tres grateful to the numerous French MiMs who guided the way. Bisous.
My French is still lacking, but I no longer contest that I can't physically make the sounds required. It was surprising I could read about 50% of the signs due to the similarity to Spanish. Understanding when spoken though... no chance yet haha.
After so many years of not caring to visit, I really can't wait to go back!
Best Thing I've Heard in London
““I read your blog sometimes and thought “Wow, she feels like an alien here.” ”
L-I-F-E
Hey you! Reader!
This post is a place holder to tell you a few things:
- I haven't blogged nearly as much as I wanted to during my time in London
- But I've been up to my eyebrows in this messy thing we do called life
- A lot of the time I've been too busy processing for myself to also (eloquently and in an entertaining manner) process for you. Attempts to do so came out a lot like "apaehiwon;vkdclvaoripjdfkl;"
- There are so many wonderful things happening during the third term and I am already telling myself it would be a shame not to share them. I'm hoping you found this post after scrolling through many others meaning I did my job
xo