High Tea, You Say? Brilliant!--Day 47

Today was another jam-packed day, but it was mostly "fun stuff," so I didn't really mind. As you know, I am quite a silly person, so I was very happy to break my personal record at Tesco (I made it under 15 pounds this time!). I suppose this was a very good thing because I needed to buy cereal from Waitrose (more than two pounds for two boxes--it's actually cheaper than the thin selection at Tesco) and contact cleaner from Boots. Let me offer a word of advice to you if you are traveling to London: pack all of the medicines and personal care products that you will need for the entire trip because pharmacies are VERY expensive. I don't even want to tell you how much I spent on one measly bottle that would normally cost me $8 at home (which is starting to look like a bargain right now, believe me).

After my morning shopping excursion (which I find very relaxing and enjoyable, actually, if you can believe that), I settled in to work on some homework before our big fancy tea party.


The Gore Hotel is quite a posh little place, and it's clear that they really try hard to please guests with their service and food. Everything was absolutely delicious. I just wish it had been less filling! There were so many things I wanted to try, but I just couldn't fit it all in! We started with some lovely little sandwiches (peppers and cream cheese, smoked salmon), then the waiters brought out little cakes, pastries, and scones. My favorite pastry was a little square of rich, dense dark chocolate cake. The scones were good but very dense and filling. We ate them with the traditional clotted cream (like very thick butter) and jam--watch out! These are rich beyond belief, and it is very easy to get sick eating them. The tea was wonderful, too, and it just kept coming! I think I had four cups, and Mary Hall (one of our program directors) said we all did a good job of keeping up with the Brits as far as that went. We learned from one of the professors (Dr. Brian Ridgers, the theater professor) that the tradition of a big meal around 3 or 4 PM started because people would go out drinking at night, and they needed to have something in their bellies before they consumed a lot of alcohol (having lunch at noon and then drinking at 7:30 is not a good idea). So, we had that wonderful little history to ponder as we sipped our tea and nibbled on our sweets. The room itself was very cozy and beautifully decorated. I hope the photograph I have taken adequately captures the atmosphere. It was difficult to get good image quality because of the dim lighting. Up-beat versions of classical music were pumped in through the speakers, which made for a very nice ambiance, and it was a nice time of talking and snacking. I got extremely full, so I won't be needing dinner tonight (and breakfast isn't looking too certain, either!). We had quite a few cakes and things left, and the hotel staff were nice enough to let us take home what we didn't eat, which is fabulous. Now we have some treats to share amongst ourselves (we were talking about getting some fruit, cheese, and bread and having a picnic in St. James's Park on the next nice day). All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon.

Elizabeth and Sarah, happy to be enjoying the lovely surroundings of the Gore Hotel.

The tearoom in which we dined.

I finally collected one of each of the British coins and bills for you to see (well, except for the penny because it's really not that interesting, and if you really want to know about it, you can just look it up yourself).

The top row (from left to right) features the backs of the two-pound coin, one-pound coin, and 50p coin. The bottom row (from left to right again) features the backs of the 20p coin, 10p coin, and 5p coin. You may notice an interesting incomplete design on the backs of the 20p coin and 5p coin. These are new 2011 coins, and each different type of coin has a different section of the royal seal on it, so when you combine a new version of each coin in just the right way, you get a complete picture of the royal seal, like a puzzle! Pretty neat, huh?

This picture just shows the fronts of all of the coins, which like the notes feature a likeness of the Queen.

On the top left is the back of the five-pound note, which features a likeness of Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker social reformer and advocate for prisoners' rights. On the top right is the back of the 20-pound note, which features the likeness of Scottish economist Adam Smith. The bottom left is the back of the 10-pound note, with the image of Charles Darwin. The bottom right is a depiction of what the fronts of all of the notes look like (I figured you would get the idea with one instead of all of them), which is basically just a picture of the Queen. Interestingly enough, the bills in Scotland (which also uses pounds) do not have the Queen on them.

Well, I hope you found those pictures educational and cool. I like the two-pound coin the best because it is made of two different types of metal and because I think that it is the most appropriately-sized coin for its value. It makes no sense to me that the 5p coin is smaller than the penny, that the 10p coin is larger than the 20p coin, and that the 50p coin is larger than the pound coin. Dr. Kivisto, our Augustana program leader, really loves the pound coins because he says they're "so tactile," but I just think that they are awkward. They are too small and thick, making them much more dense than other coins. Aren't you glad you know my little pet peeves about British currency? I do like the fact that all of the bills are different sizes, so you can always tell them apart (very handy for blind people).

Tomorrow I only have my British Politics class because our Art History professor is no longer in the country. I'm going to be very glad for the free afternoon to finish up some reading and to continue working on my paper. I hope you enjoyed reading about my tea adventures, and I think one of my friends will post a "family picture" from the event soon so you can see us all dolled up! Cheers!