Since my arrival in England, I've been fortunate to have had 3 chances to explore London, each time with a different lovely lady. Ananda Dinnis (who did her Fulbright year 2 years ago and has returned here to live with her true love,) Jeanie Nowlin (a friend and former co-worker from home who was passing through London on her return trip from Kenya) and Stephanie Keagle (currently starting off on her Fulbright year) each were wonderful at helping me explore this fascinating city.
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| Everyone has to have this photo! |
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| Ananda and me touring London |
Ananda and Jeanie gave me fabulous overview tours of the city, including Covent Gardens
(where I had an Eliza Doolittle moment,) Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square,
Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Kensington Palace,
the National Art Gallery, and some of the best pubs in town.
Stephanie invited me to go to the Notting Hill Carnival, the largest street festival in Europe, which originated in 1964 as a way for Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their culture and traditions. Evidently, those traditions include dressing in fantastic parade costumes, eating delicious Caribbean food, and smearing yourself with chocolate pudding while dancing in the street.
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| Preparing to Parade |
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Stephanie and me eating Caribbean
street food |
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| With a Friendly Bobby |
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| Pudding Dancers |
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Dancing with mops and dusters;
good plan after the pudding dancers!
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Each of my 3 London visits were unique and so much fun! They've left me with plenty of ideas for many future trips to this city that has so much to offer.
It looks like you are having a wonderful time. Keep posting pictures and writing about them. I am getting very tempted to plan a trip to see you!
ReplyDeleteThe trundle bed is available!!
DeleteDear ms. Tuisku,
ReplyDeleteIt's me, Lauren! I just wanted to say that I love your blog. It's very interesting. Why is pudding so important in England? And why do they dance with cleaning supplies? I hope some day I can come to England with you. It would be very nice to go there. I loved being in your class & I hope you are having a great time in England.
My teacher this year is Mrs. Linkugel. You, Mrs. Sherman & Mrs. Linkugel are great teachers!
Love,
Lauren
Dear Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry that it has taken me such a long time to reply to your comment. For some reason it was sent to my spam folder, and I was just told to check that folder from time to time, and yours was the only one in it. I'm not sure why pudding is so important in England, all I can tell you is that they call any kind of dessert a pudding, for instance, cakes are called puddings here. I think maybe they were dancing with cleaning supplies to clean up all the spilled pudding.
I loved having you in my class and I am sure that Mrs. Linkugel is enjoying having you in her class since this is a very special year for her. I am having a great time in England with 30 very nice children in my class here. I hope you can visit here someday, there are lots of wonderful places to go. I have really enjoyed the castles, myself. I think we need more castles in California! Enjoy the rest of the school year! You'll be getting out soon, but here our last day of school is July 24th. Love, Ms. Tuisku