On a cold, windy, and drizzling January/February day trip to London I trudged up the hill that led to the Horniman Museum and Gardens. It was a weekday and the museum was brimming with school children running about, causing a ruckus. I didn't take but one picture inside and it came out poorly anyway. But I feel like the pictures of the surrounding area came out quite nice. It was a pretty day despite the drizzle and it ended with new friends and oversized beers at a Bavarian bar. 

Sigh. It looks so beautiful even if it does look cold. I realized today that I'm actually missing the cold/winter. California really doesn't have a winter, which I know a lot of people say, but you really just don't notice until you experience a winter/season change. And Spring is about to sprout in England! The clumps of pollen, the greenery, the increasingly longer days! Take me back and let me bask in the English sun with a cider. 

Your Broad,

Dacy

I developed this roll of black and white film at University of Kent's Photography Society photo lab. Then I had the negatives scanned at Jessops. It's a shame I haven't used more black and white film. It's pretty special. I have two more rolls that have yet to be developed, but I'm eager to see. 

With the exception of the last three, these were all taken in London. They're all from around my first few weeks in the UK way back in January and it's sort of bittersweet seeing these for the first time just as my trip is speeding to a palpable end. 

Here are some pictures of real people I know instead of just landscapes and whatnot.

Definitely need to re-focus the camera lens on people rather than things. There's something about capturing a person on film that feels more special.

Your Broad Abroad,
Dacy

Just a quick update before I fall apart writing my final essay of the semester. Don't mind me while I melt into a puddle of babbling nonsense. Here's a picture, just cause.

One of my favorite pictures I've taken while in the UK. This is at the Hunterian Museum in London which is located in the Royal College of Surgeons. Take me back to London and the Hunterian instead of the library!

Your Broad Abroad,
Dacy

This past weekend was solitary, indeed. Most all my housemates were either off visiting family or away on holiday. While it was a tad lonesome, it was also a pleasure to be stuck in my own head for an extended amount of time, to have the house to myself, to enjoy my own company. It really is rare for me to be alone, even in the UK when I'm already far away from everyone I know and love. It allowed me time to reflect, contemplate, be super silly in the privacy of an empty home- all the things a person needs to stay some sort of sane.

I spent a day in London wandering around on my own. I walked a bunch and stumbled on random coffee shops. I made an appointment at tattoo shop. I went to a Japanese stationary store called MUJI because I really wanted to replace the ink cartridge for a pen, but they no longer stock them! I love pens and this one is a fave and it really is sad I can't replace the ink. I went to the Tate Modern and to Brixton Market. It was a really lovely solo day trip. I ate really good ramen and an eel roll. And now, just a few pictures because I still have another roll of film that needs to be used and developed. Lots of sun in these two.

Your Broad Abroad,

Dacy

I wish I had more film photos to post here, but my last two rolls were black and white and I discovered that in Canterbury it is really expensive to develop black and white. It costs about £17-20 and they have to send it out which can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. I'm hoping to join a photography society that has access to a dark room, so hopefully I'll not only be taking photos, but developing them myself as well.

In other news, I spent a night in London this past weekend. It's just over an hour ride by train from Canterbury. We had a rather appalling stay at a hostel near King's Cross that felt very much like a prison cell. The room was teeny tiny with 3 three-tiered bunk beds and a bunch of skeezy looking older men. One of the men had the loudest snore.

We didn't do any museums, which was a bit of a disappointment for me. But I was with a girl that wasn't into the idea of museums and there's nothing worse than going to a museum with someone who's uninterested. I'll definitely be going back to London on a solo trip/with my roomie so I can do all the things I want. And take my time to take photos. I often feel rushed to take photos or to not take photos because I don't want to feel like I'm making people wait. We had a visit to Camden Market which was overwhelming simply from the sheer size. Every time I thought it was going to end, there was another corner that opened up into more stores, more food, more art. You could easily spend an entire day there. I'm also glad I didn't have much cash on me because I probably would have bought a lot of nonsense.

We did tourist things the next day: Big Ben and the London Eye. I would have liked to go inside Westminster Abbey, but it didn't work out. The London Eye was really amazing, but I'm not sure if it was totally worth the steep price. I'm not afraid of heights, but as the London Eye rises, it's a little nerve-wracking. It's such a slow creep- it's almost an imperceptible climb. But before you know it, all the people look tiny and the green park at the bottom looks like it's part of a miniature set. The view from the very top was really vast and enough to make one feel like a teeny speck in a teeny pod on a tiny wheel. 

What I learned from this trip: Never plan a last minute trip without some specifics planned. I ended up spending more money than expected and eating at places that were not top-notch. I'll not make the same mistake twice!

Your Broad Abroad,
Dacy

Never have I heard a man eat with such complete disregard for those surrounding him as I did at a little Indian restaurant in London. The noises emanating from him were ungodly. Animalistic. Disgusting.

It was as if he hadn't eaten in days, weeks, and his zeal for the chicken or lamb or whatever he was sucking and smacking on was actually a matter of life and death. I have never heard someone eat so loudly and with so much slobber. 

At one point, he was eating fast enough, that something lodged in his throat. If I didn't think this man could do anything louder, I was wrong. His hacking cough was guttural and disturbing. I swear I could feel the chunks of half chewed chicken, lamb, potato, as well as the invisible spray of germs splatter across my exposed neck. 

I can imagine all the sauce and spices lodging beneath each fingernail as he dug in with both hands, disregarding the knife and fork. I'm sure some of the sucking noises was him sucking out the remnants from his fingernails. 

The food was mediocre, at best. Listening to a man consume food in the most audibly disgusting fashion really made it worse, but also an experience. A disgusting, repulsive unique experience.

Your Broad Abroad,
Dacy