London - a New Beginning

Well, here I am - London!
I write this post, in fact, from the computer lab of my dormitory on High Holborn in the City of Westminster. For those of you that don't know, I moved here to take my MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics. I am 7-10 minutes walk from campus. I went there today - its a very small, enclosed feeling place. The school is technically just buildings on city streets but it feels separate from the bustle of the city. So, what are some of the first things I've noticed that are different here?

The Grocery Store:
My local grocery store is Sainsbury's. Its a major chain here. First of all, there is no pharmacy section at the supermarket - you have to go to a separate pharmacy to get most soaps, any types of drugs, and all the other things they sell in a pharmacy. Its almost only food at Sainsbury's. Many of the foods they carry are different than in the U.S. - different brands, different names; different foods all together. In a stroll through the cereal aisle one notices that most of their favorite General Mills cereals are there, but they say Nestle on the top left corner of the box instead of the familiar American brand. Chocolate Rice Krispies are called Cocoa Pops.
At the checkout stands, the cashiers sit at rotating fabric-upholstered chairs as they work the register and it up to the patron to fill their shopping bag.

The Super Store:
Perhaps the most bizarre store experience I had was on my quest to buy towels. I was told to find a store called Argos. I walked the three blocks to its indicated location and found a small storefront. Inside, it was absolutely jampacked with people...but no products! There are absolutely no products on the floor of the store! Instead, in giant heaps, one finds 2000 page product catalogs. I was *forced* to ask a cute girl with an Eastern European accent how to buy anything. It works something like Ikea, in that the items have codes with which they are identified. You take the codes of the items you want up to the register, and they bring the items out for you. Its very bizarre. Imagine shopping at Wal Mart with only 2inch by 2inch pictures of the items and a 2 sentence description to guide you.

Sightseeing:
Today I did a fair amount of sightseeing. I hopped on the tube and 1 transfer and 20 minutes later, I was at Westminster. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are astonishingly ornate and beautiful. Westminster Abbey looks remarkable as well. I didn't go in them today, but will come back another time to watch the House of Commons MP's go at it. Walking down the street, I passed the entrance to Churchill's War Rooms, 10 Downing St. (the British White House), and the Horse Guard, who have to have the most boring job in the world - they just sit on top of a horse holding a sword up in one hand and are not allowed to even turn their heads! Its really quite weird to think that a persons job is to be living statuary. I made my way up to Trafalgar square with its extremely tall pedestal upon which Lord Nelson is perched, and then I crossed the street and ate at St. Martin's in-the-Field Church. In the crypt. Yup, the Cafe in the Crypt was recommended to me by a guide book and so I went down the stairs into the Church crypt where, resting on top of the tombs are dozens of tables. The food was quite good and relatively affordable - I will have to return! Most of the gravestones were well worn and barely legible but I did see dates ranging from the 18th to early 19th centuries on some of them. I wonder if people started to use regular headstones and outdoor grave sites to avert the risk of cafe development that is engendered by the design of an underground tomb. After lunch, I went to the National Gallery where I looked at paintings by Raphael, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Eykes, Boticelli, Rubens, and more...needless to say, it is an incredible collection!

Well, my next few days will see me registering for classes, eating some good pub food, begging for a bank account, getting a local cell phone, visiting Portobello Road market, and just generally trouncing around London. And, seeing as how its 3:30 AM here, I'd best be getting going. So, as the locals say, Cheers!