Being British

When I think of things that are just quintessentially British, one of the first things that comes to mind is tea. Partly because I am from Boston (I think you might have heard of a certain infamous tea party) and partly from my US History classes and all those tests on the Revolutionary War (which coincidentally enough is the War of American Independence here, ha). Miss Alice, our librarian at the London Centre, has afternoon tea every Tuesday during our lunch break, so I had already had a taste (literally) of this British tradition. But I had heard that afternoon tea is a must-do while in London. So on Friday afternoon, Kelly, Megan, Kaitlin, and I decided to embrace a British tradition and go to afternoon tea. We went to this adorable little tea parlor right up the street from our flats, called Bea's of Bloomsbury. I had been walking by each day on my way to school and looking at the beautiful cakes in the window, so I definitely had high expectations, and they were more than met! It was a lovely afternoon (well, that does sound British, doesn't it?). We had several pots of Earl Grey tea, along with pastries, scones, and cupcakes. The scones and strawberry jam were definitely my favorite. The cupcakes have been rated "Best in London" or something like that, and they were delicious too. We just sat and drank tea and chatted for a couple hours, which was so nice and relaxing. We were surprised the staff didn't rush us out to fill the table, and were so happy when they told us to stay as long as we liked. I had never really been a big tea drinker before coming to London, but I am really getting to love it, especially the fruit flavored ones. And it is the prefect thing to warm you up after a long walk to school in the rain; there's a reason these Brits drink so much tea! And as my friend Torie put it, tea is caffeine that calms you, what more could you ask for?
After tea time, we continued our girls' day of being British by going to a roller disco that night. It was so much fun! We dressed in funky outfits and skated around to 70s and 80s music all night long. There were definitely some roller skating pros there, along with people who weren't so good and definitely didn't hesitate to grab on to random strangers as they fell to the ground. Shockingly enough, I didn't fall. My figure skating skills definitely didn't translate to the roller rink, but I was able to keep my balance, so I was happy. There were also some crazy outfits: a guy wearing angel wings, lots of sparkles, and several tutus. I think we fit in pretty well, considering while we were walking there a group of girls asked us if we were going to "the rave." Definite sign of an outfit success!
AJ also came to visit from Oxford last weekend, so it was really great to see him for the first time since August, since he is there for the whole year. I wasn't the best host due to the mountains of pre-spring break homework I had, but we hung out for awhile and we also took him to one of our favorite pubs near the flats, the Sir John Oldcastle. I shockingly strayed from my usual order of Strongbow and got some delicious Swedish apple cider while introducing AJ to the typical London pub scene that we all love so much.
Speaking of pre-spring break homework, I finally finished it all and am leaving for my spring break adventure in approximately half an hour, via King's Cross Station (maybe my train will accidentally take me to Hogwarts instead?). First stop is Brussels, then on to Cologne, Prague, Vienna, Auschwitz, and Berlin. I can't believe that spring break is already here. I've been dreaming about this trip since I was about ten years old, when my cousin Melissa sent me postcards from her study abroad travels and adventures. It looked like so much fun that I knew I wanted to go myself someday. Its just crazy that its actually here. So European Adventure, here I come! Look for an epically long blog update when I return!