Music, Museums, and Matcha: A Week in my London Life

Hello, Blog! I’ve had another great week, so much so that I’ve barely even felt the annual post-Halloween depression I’ve come to expect after the decorations go away and the candy goes back to regular packaging. This could also be due to the fact that I’m still carrying out my Fall Watchlist and the mountain of Halloween movies I still have ahead of me is scarier than its actual content (stay tuned for another fall movie review).

I started off strong this week by visiting the Barbican Theatre with my flatmate Josh, where we saw the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra perform.The program was comprised of Coincident Dances by Jessie Montgomery, Piano Concerto in G Minor by Maurice Ravel, and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.” While I had never previously listened to these pieces, it was very apparent that this orchestra brought them to life and did them justice. Between this performance and the opera I saw a couple weeks ago, I’m dangerously close to whipping out my flute and dropping my English major. Stay tuned for that, I guess!

This week was UCL’s reading week, which meant no classes but—theoretically—lots of essay prep and catching up on the exhaustive reading lists that we’re all surely behind on. That being said, I spent lots of time rewatching The Vampire Diaries and cooking spaghetti every day because once you’ve opened a jar of pasta sauce, you’re committed for the next four days. 

Once reading week came to an end and I was perfectly rested and stressed about all the work I should have done as any student should be, I got to spend part of the weekend with my brother, Nathaniel, and his wife, Katherine, who visited from New York for their anniversary trip. Happy 3rd anniversary guys!

The three of us got dinner together on Saturday evening at Prima Sapori Italia in Covent Garden, where I had what was probably my favorite pizza during my time here in London. I think it had what the others have been lacking—a bit of soul. It was warm, doughy, and the tomato sauce had a bit of sweetness to it that mirrors American pizza. I also tried Katherine’s “gnocchi cinque formaggi,” which introduced me to taleggio and scamorza, two cheeses that added a nice smokiness and tanginess. I know nothing about cheese, but thank God for Google.

We walked off some of that delicious cheese and dough around SoHo, strolling around Oxford and Regent Street to see the cheerful displays of Christmas lights and decorations lining the long roads. We stepped inside the Disney store on Oxford Street and were delighted to see the charming and classic dolls dressed in Santa hats. 

We took the tube together, and I stayed over at their hotel in Shoreditch, where we ate lots of British candy and watched one of my absolute favourite early 2000s Halloween films, Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman, which helped me relive my childhood when I was repeatedly ripping open our double pack DVD that also had Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (another great watch). 

After the movie and a shot of espresso for my aged brother, we watched the pilot of Doctor Who to maintain the supernatural mood and embrace our being in London. After years of recommending the show to me, they’ve finally convinced me to watch it on my own! As soon as I’m tired of The Vampire Diaries, of course.

The following morning, we got up early and went for a run along the River Thames and got beautiful views of the sun shining on the Millenium, London, and Tower Bridges. We stopped for lots of pictures, which I couldn’t tell was Nat and Katherine being enthralled by the scenic views or pitying my huffing and puffing. Maybe a mix of both!

Later in the morning, we went down to the City of London to walk around the Barbican Centre and outside of St. Paul’s cathedral. Although we couldn’t go inside because of the church service, it was so worth it to walk around and see the splendor of the exterior. Katherine, the structural engineer and architecture aficionado, gave us great information about the style of architecture of the cathedral, which has both Roman and Baroque elements. 

After checking out the cathedral, we headed over to Bill’s in Southwark to get brunch. The berry pancakes were to DIE for, and the side of hashbrowns made the perfect crispy, salty addition to balance out the syrupy berry compote.

Following brunch, we made it to the main event of the day: the Tate Modern museum. We browsed some of the free collection displays, such as “Artist and Society,” “In the Studio,” and “Materials and Objects.” These collections displayed art that was not only visually impressive, but historically rich and thought-provoking.

We then took the bus from Southwark to King’s Cross, picked up some matcha from Matchado (I got brown sugar sesame matcha), and then walked to Camden Market to get a glimpse of all the food stalls and shops that line the Grand Union Canal. We didn’t stop for any food, though, because we were on a mission to see Primrose Hill before it got too dark. We walked along the canal to the hill, where we got nice views of the city and even some fireworks. 

I had a great time exploring new areas and having some great food! Speaking of which, shout out to Nathaniel and Katherine for bringing me a bag of candy corn from the states (which I’ve since devoured) because oddly enough, the UK doesn’t seem to appreciate the wonders of sugary wax and artificial coloring. 

Anyway…thanks for reading! 🙂