Out on the wiley, windy moors...

July 24, 2007
London, England

Today we did not really have class, but instead a Jack the Ripper walk. We spent a solid three hours walking around London's East End, looking at the locations of Jack the Ripper's murders, as well as places of residence and hang outs that his victims frequented. About halfway through the tour, we went to a pub where the Ripper's youngest victim, Mary Jane Kelly, was believe to had had her last drink. It was 11:30 AM...but our instructor encouraged us each to buy a drink and take a short walking break. So I sipped a Pimm's with lemonade as I wandered around this nearly ancient pub, reading the "Jack the Ripper" history that the pub had recorded on its walls.

We finished walking art just after one, and I raced to St. Paul's Cathedral to meet Julia for our climb to the top. We got sandwiches from Marks and Spencers and dined on the cathedral steps. I must say that, after nearly a month and a half in Europe, 424 consecutive steps felt like almost nothing. We didn't even need to take a break as we ascended stair after stair. The cathedral itself is an architectural marvel. The intricacy with which it was designed is magnificent. The views from the top of the Cathedral, however, are really something else. We had a panoramic view of the entire city, and chose the perfect day to do it. It did not rain the whole time we were on the observation deck (I am getting quite used to rain, by the way)!! I must say that the thing that shocked me the most about the view from St. Paul's was the vast amount of evident construction going on around the city. For a city that is entirely built up, I was shocked to see ten or twelve cranes in any direction I looked. I took pictures of the cranes to document this surprise. Another shocking, yet neat, thing that I found was that looking down upon the public square right next to St. Paul's Cathderal, the entire square looked like a miniature model, one that would be displayed in the museum. Even the people, in motion, looked like they were part of this model. It was really fascinating to Julia and me.

Julia and I made a pit stop at Sainsbury's on our way back from the Cathedral, where we finally found Kinder's Hungry Hippos, which we had been longing to try since hearing about them, well...since Julia told me about them--she has been wanting to try them for longer. I love Kinder schokolade, and it reminds me of the time I spent in Germany in high school. As we were in the checkout line at Sainsbury's, I heard "Heathcliff, it's me--Cathy. Come home. I'm so cold. Let me in-a-your windoooow." I paused, listened for a second, then looked around, hoping that Gabby, Emily, or anyone else from Mr. Bizal's AP English class would somehow be in the store. The stage was set for me to have one of the biggest laughs of my life, but unfortunately there was nobody there for me to share the experience with--Julia has not even read Wuthering Heights. I waited in the check-out line, letting Kate Bush's shrill voice flood my mind with memories of AP English. To hear this song playing on an everyday public radio station was easily one of the craziest moments I have experienced yet here in Europe.

That being said, the rest of the day was routine. Dinner (pasta), and then my room was flooded with students from Michigan and Arizona.