Times they are a'changin: Saturday in the Park

Finally finished the first week of classes at LSE, and with 15 hours of completely new lecture material in my head (the equivalent of about a month of classes at Yale), I was ready for a nice change of pace, a relaxing Saturday. And how better to change gears in London than by watching the changing of the guard. So Kevin and I walked down to the Mall, and watched the very formal guards parade up the street and into the Buckingham Policy courtyard, all marching in time to celebratory music. Once inside the guards changed places one by one, very ceremonial in style. I watched for a while, but then decided to head out to my next adventure for the day: Harrods.

Video coming

Harrods department store is amazing: It's a NikeTown, Brook-stone, Swarovski, Ghirardelli, Disney Store, Ralph Lauren, Museum, 4-Star Restaurant, Dessert Parlor and City Street all in one. And the prices are staggering: 5,300 pounds for a pair of gold turtle encrusted swim trunks, a 2,000 pound crystal iPad, an antique table "on-sale" for 76,000 pounds. My personal favorite was the Millionaire Gallery which included a original Apple Macintosh signed by Steve Jobs, James Bond style spy gear, and a personal Submarine Scooter to name but a few of the awesome gadgets and collectables.

Now who shops here you might ask? Well probably the owner of that Bugatti out front, but also me. I bought a Chelsea jersey that I will wear proudly at Stamford Bridge in a couple weeks, and got a free Harrods bag with it! While I was buying the jersey, Kevin wandered away and I wasn't able to find him for the rest of the day, so I eventually left for Hyde Park.

I ate my lunch and read a paper for class while sitting in a deck chair overlooking the Serpentine Lake (until some guy told me I couldn't sit there and I moved to the ground directly next to the chair until he left). I wandered around and got lost in the park for several hours, seeing some awesome monuments, palaces, and gardens and people-watching the picnickers, street hockey players, couples and just generally taking in the whole scene. I would say Hyde Park isn't as grand as NY Central Park (like Piccadilly Circus to Times Square) but it is definitely an awesome park to kick around a soccer ball, eat with friends, and experience nature in the city. I also found Royal Albert Hall, which I hope to catch a Proms Concert in, sometime in the coming weeks.

I ended my first Saturday, and started Sunday, at the Ministry of Sound, a club in the South bank. Trashy Tommy or Tommy Trash or some "famous" DJ was appearing so Kevin got us tickets. It turns out he didn't even take the stage until 3am, but I still had tons of fun dancing with some seniors from Emory until the early morning. It was a great first weekend in London!

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