Sunny Sunday--Day 11

This morning got off to a gloriously sunny start, which is as rare as a comet around here. We usually see a few peeks of sun throughout the day, but nothing permanent. We learned that this is due to the UK's position as relatively skinny island in the Atlantic Ocean. Basically, weather skims over the UK rather quickly, causing wide fluctuations in climatic conditions from hour to hour. Rain comes in waves, and the sun more or less does the same. We here need to cherish the sun while we can because October and November become less sunny and more rainy.I couldn't resist taking this photograph of the clouds back-lit by the sunshine:

A little self-explanatory, no?

I spent about half an hour this morning on my second grocery trip to Tesco. I am very proud to say that for the second week in a row, I have come at 20 pounds or less for food for the week. Actually, today's total was about 18 pounds ($30), which is considerably less than I have budgeted for food each week ($50). I got quite a lot of food for my money, including romaine lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, one kilogram of carrots (2.21 pounds), milk, two packages of cheddar slices (10 per pack), penne, bread, tomato basil sauce, nectarines, peaches, and kidney beans. I also bought toilet paper for our room, and the total still came in under 20 pounds. I guess the point I'm trying to make it is that I am finding it much easier than I expected to feed myself, and this gives me confidence for when I return to Augie in November. I'm very excited to cook with this food, especially the pasta (I'm thinking of sauteing the zucchini in olive oil, then adding them to the pasta and serving the dish with the tomato basil sauce and a nice salad).

After lunch, I was able to call my parents on Skype, and we chatted for about 45 minutes. Then, one of my friends knocked on our door and asked me if I wanted to accompany her and a couple other friends to a hair salon. She wanted to cut her long hair really short--I'm talking pixie cut here. Another friend wanted to get her hair dyed red underneath. Let me tell you, the pixie cut looks great on my friend! I'm returning to the hair salon today with the other friend to finish her hair coloring (she couldn't get it done yesterday because they needed to do a 24-hour skin test to make sure she wasn't allergic to the dye).

Today was the last day of the Thames Festival, a celebration of the great river on which London is located. I met a group of my friends there in the evening, and we walked around amid the various food and craft stalls, finally making our way to the route of the giant three-hour parade that features in the festival each year. It was quite a chilly, rainy evening, and I neglected to bring along my nice new raincoat because my friend and I went straight from the hair salon to the festival (and as you read above, the day started out really nice). Long story short, we only watched about an hour of the parade. But it was a very interesting hour nonetheless! My impression is that the parade celebrates the many ethnic groups found in London, including those from the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. The parade was filled with loud, boisterous music and enthusiastic dancers dressed in bright colors. I particularly love this picture from the parade:

Rapping on a sea turtle.

I also took some nice snapshots of the river and of Westminster (the area near the festival) by evening/night:

The might Thames at dusk.

The London Eye lights up at night!

The National Theatre also likes to glow below the light of the moon.

The Thames again, this time surrounded by the glittering lights of Westminster.

When we got too cold, we ventured inside to a little cafe called Caffe Alba, where I consumed probably the best mocha I have ever had in my entire life. It was rich and chocolate-y, and I wish there had been more of it. I drank said mocha in accompaniment to a delicious brie-and-grape baguette sandwich, which I also found very good. Fortified with such warming and hearty fare, I ventured back into the chill with my friends in tow, and we slowly made our way back to the Tube and our residence hall, where I knew a hot shower and warm bed awaited me. My friends and I chatted for a little bit before bed, then I turned in early, hoping to catch up on the sleep. Tomorrow is a busy day: I'll be dining in the footsteps of celebs!