+

my new cell phone number:

011 44 07503820026

text me. it's cheap.

early morning musings.

how is it monday already?

and why am i awake right now?

i keep waking up having anxiety about spring break. it's stupid, i know. it's not my only chance to travel europe, and it's a brief one at that. but i suppose it's my lack of close companionship for the week that worries me. i don't have seth. i don't have maggie. i have a plan to visit madrid and see jenny & caitlin for the final weekend, but i'm perplexed as to what to do the rest of the week. i wish i could teleport someone here to hang out and bounce around europe with me. all i want to do is travel, and do it right, but i don't want to end up alone. 

london is wonderful, but it's the little things that make me miss home. the cultural differences. the time differences. the fact that, no matter how hard i try and compare things to make it easier, london will never be new york. the lack of lasting familiar faces. i don't know.. i just feel foreign. 

i'm sure i'll be fine. i'm sure all this worrying is for nothing and spring break will come and go with a whole mess of fabulousity. i just hope something alleviates the stress of pre-worrying about it soon. or i just might go crazy.

anyway - this weekend was full of fun adventures. maggie and i did make it alll the way out to kensington at 11pm on saturday to take in "the reader." it was good, i enjoyed it very much. not best picture material, but definitely not as crap as everyone says. another thing that weirds me out about england - movie theatre popcorn sucks. it's not fresh and there's no butter on it. you get it out of a big canister in the middle of the room and it tastes like shit you buy in a bag in the supermarket. epic fail. anyway - maggie and i survived our 1am bus ride back after waiting a million years for the shockingly inefficient night bus to pick us up. 

yesterday, we went on yet another date. this time to the british museum for our art in london class. then we wandered over to the charles dickens house museum, because we're literally the coolest people we know. saw some old pieces of paper, and commode (toilet) chair chilling out in the old bedroom. i learned all about reform schools and the social

awareness of charles dickens. it was extremely interesting. and i bought some hilarious postcards to send to deserving people. THEN we went to platform 9 3/4 in king's cross for a hot second. took some pictures and peaced out. i wish we went to hogwarts. that would be so tight. 

while we were there, i heard the announcement for the 4pm train to PETERBOROUGH. oh how i wish it were that easy. 

alright. i suppose i should go make some use of my morning, since it began so early. class today. then a brief rehearsal. then perhaps some cooking in my little kitchen late into the night. ooh! that's what i'll do. i'll make myself a proper breakfast. scrambled eggs and a bagel and lots of fruit. that sounds fantastic.

for those keeping score at home:

the reader

frost/nixon

the visitor

doubt

gimme down to THERE hair.

well. i succeeded. abi cut my hair tonight.

i feel like i'm at summer camp. 

next up, nose piercing in the bathroom with a safety pin.

ahh. memories.

we're going to play with it more, add layers and such. 

but there's a preview. featuring the bicycle earrings i bought today.

love.

guys. there's an obama musical coming to london.

i don't think i ever talked about the inauguration. well, it was beautiful. it would have been, regardless, but to be here, huddled in the ICA (institute of contemporary arts, where i have class) with a whole mess of americans and brits, was a truly wonderful experience. everyone was bustling around, getting coffee and tea, chatting and anticipating. they had it projected on the wall for everyone to see. we got prime seats. amidst hot chocolate and tears, i listened as the room got silent, and watched as obama stumbled his tongue-tied way into the 44th presidency. i'm obsessed with him. i like politics, i'm interested in the fate of my country, but never have i been so inclined to check up on things back home, to watch the economy, to update myself. i don't know if it's my age, my major, or obama himself that's inspiring me but for some reason, i am. and i see it in my friends, in my peers, even in my teachers here in london. 

i guess my art teacher said it best, "way to go america. you finally got it right!"

in other news, things have been getting on quite well here. i'm fully settled, my classes are interesting, and i'm making new friends (i'm sure mom & dad are happy to hear that). last night i went on a mini bar tour around islington, our neighborhood to the north, with a bunch of the RADA kids. it was nice to go out and hang out. i've been clubbing since i've been here, but i'm quickly learning it's not really my thing. i'd much rather have a bit of space and quiet to get to know people, talk about our lives before london, what we've all been though, what we've all left behind. it's nice to get to know people. and it's something i very much need to do, as i just met all of them last week. i have very high standards for who i hang out with, i thank my beautiful nyc family for that. so though i'll never be able to find replacements, i'm branching out, and it's wonderful so far.

this afternoon abi and i ventured back up to islington to wander through the camden passage antique market. it was adorable. tucked just off the main road, on a little cobblestone street, were a collection of vintage stores, boutiques, coffee shops, and the outdoor markets. i got some earrings shaped like old school bicycles, and a cute little sundress. we got a late lunch at this strange mexican/coffee bar/dessert place. there were cocktails, churros and chicken tacos all together on the menu. weird. abi had a lamb shank. it was massive.

 

the picture on the left is of a basement dressing room of some vintage store we went into. it was beautiful. with all of these statues and ornaments sealed to the wall. we were obsessed. 

tonight maggie and i are venturing out to a late movie to see 'the reader' alll the way in kensington, by hyde park. so far away. but i'm excited. it's our adventurous date night. plus i need to see this movie, it's my duty as an oscar-follower. oh! i never sounded off on the nominations.

well i'm pretty content with everything. it's ridiculous kate winslet is nominated for 'the reader' and not 'revolutionary road.' i'll probably have a stronger opinion after i see the movie tonight. i'm glad 'WALL-E' is nominated for screenplay. but i'm missing cate blanchett's nomination. whatever. i'm still not over her loss last year. it was a pretty predictable year, nomination-wise. there were a lot of wonderful movies, so it was just a guess on what combination. well - we'll see what happens next month. in the meantime - doubt, the reader, frost/nixon, and the visitor are on my list to see before the 22nd. all systems are go.

i should go. maybe i can swindle abi into cutting my hair tonight before i go. ooh! 

love love love.

 

"don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled."

a few more photos of a few more things:

big ben counting down the minutes until the inauguration.

at "the end." a popular indie nightclub that's closing soon. the end of "the end." where we went out for my friend haleigh's birthday.

pelicans & the palace.

st. paul's has the coolest history. it was one of the few things not destroyed during the massive WWII bombings of london. a bomb landed on the front steps but didn't explode. soldiers took it out to a remote, open area to detonate it and it made a crater 100 feet in diameter. had it exploded, it would have leveled the place. but it didn't. and the centuries-old building remained untouched.

 "the young lovers" 

my mom and i in front of the peter pan statue in hyde park. tourist much?

early afternoon in hyde park.

i love london.

cowhide and clocktowers.

hey guys. or just seth. hey seth.

this is weird. i haven't BLOGGED in so long. it'll take me a while to get my entertaining pants back on.

so this was a big week for me. i've learned a lot about london, gotten a basic grasp of the city's geography, successfully navigated the tube, AND started classes.

now i just need to:

- buy a real alarm clock.

- learn how to cook, so i'm not stuck stalking the 24-hour mcdonalds down the street.

- learn which coins are which, so i don't spend 20 minutes counting change.

- see buckingham palace!

 and finally..

- learn to stop laughing hysterically everytime the subway announcer goes, "this is the PICCADILLY line to COCKFOSTERS." everyone please take a moment and repeat that sentence to yourself. i thought so.

so. my classes. my life. where to begin?

at the beginning. since julie andrews says so.

last sunday, NYU was kind enough to send us on a sightseeing bus tour of london. me and a few of my friends sat up front (since we're obviously the cool kids) and made small talk with the guide. i brought up Ab Fab when we passed Harvey Nichols. caitlin would be proud. 

afterwards, my parents and i went out to dinner for my mom's birthday. we went to this delicious, classy steak place in piccadilly circus (i just wanted to say that). the place was nice but the decor.. was hilarious. leather-wrapped bannisters, cowhide chairs, cowhide panels on the walls. and the best part was, it took itself SO seriously. as if you were going to forget what you were about to consume. brilliant. beautiful. happy birthday kathy indeed. 

B + K left on monday morning, just hours before my first official class of the semester. "theatre in london" is essentially a play-seeing class. i think we're seeing something like 10 or 11 shows and we have to write a grand total of 2 papers on them. also - they're taking us to the globe theatre on april 23 - Shakespeare's birthday - to see the opening day of 'romeo & juliet.' outdoors. standing. as groundlings. i cannot wait.

my other "academic" class is art in london - a museum-going class. this semester is going to be beautiful.

RADA began today. there's not much to say other than it will be intense, and unlike any other learning experience i have ever had. swords, sonnets, shakespeare. ridiculous. i want to expound more, but i feel like i'm not in good writing form at the moment. there are times when i tackle this blog with quick fingers and hyperbolic wit. but currently, i'm at a loss. it's been a long day.

i'm going to cut my hair. the wind, water, and weather of london have proved to be too much for my locks, and they are suffering severely. quite angry at me, actually. so abi, my roommate, has kindly volunteered to cut them so my head is not such a wet hot mess every day. she cuts her own hair, very well, i might add, so i trust her. 

everyone please go listen to john prine. right now.

okay. bedtime. i have a very full day tomorrow. 

i promise my next posts will be interesting. 

OSCAR NOMS TOMORROW.

yes yes yes.

kate.

"paths are made by walking"

basic contact info. just because.

address:

Katelyn Manfre

8.29A

NIDO King's Cross

200 Pentonville Rd.

London

N1 9JP

United Kingdom

landline phone:

020 310 21794

cell phone (text me!):

077 473 86243

love.

"don't listen to what they say. go see."

a few photos from the first few days.

like i said. chinatown is beautiful. cobblestone streets, paper lanterns, and the noticeable absence of any animals being beheaded or skinned in the streets. which is always nice.

"the young dancer" by enzo plazzotta on a corner across from the royal opera house.

also where i sat and waited for brian and kathy to find an ATM for a million and half years.

pretty little phone booths all in a row.

what you can't see is that the insides are plastered with ads for hookers.

on the way from heathrow in the back of the benz that picked us up.

can you tell we haven't slept in 24 hours and have no idea what time it is?

many many more to come, i'm sure.

love love love always.

everything comes on toast.

so. i made it. out of the US and into the UK with no problems.

i've moved in, unpacked, and stalked my way around much of central london in the past few days.

these are things i've learned:

- though i am obsessed with double-decker buses, none run on the ONE bus line required for me to get to and from school.

- nothing is free in england. especially not theatre programs.

- the term for "babysitter" is "child-minder"

- london's glamming up for the 2012 olympics so the skyline has more cranes than buildings.

- cab drivers here are extremely friendly. especially if you give them a new york-sized tip.

- the chinese food here is seriously below average, though chinatown is way nicer than in any other city (see picture below).

-APPARENTLY you can get to paris for 2 hours and £29. i have yet to find out how that's possible.

- london is home to the flagship häagen dazs restaurant (the only in the UK) which serves a menu of chocolate and ice cream concoctions that puts max brenner's to shame.

- i have an obsession with small children with british accents. ughh.

- things close early here. go figure.

so there you have it. tidbits of london trivia. from me to you. 

is london "the city of" anything? like paris is the city of lights. new york the city that never sleeps. los angeles the city of angels. anyone?

my first real view was of big ben (straight up) out my hotel room window tuesday afternoon. of course i was too exhausted and cranky to be able to process anything, but there was a honkin clock-tower staring back at me when i peered through the blinds of room 1033.

i have a roommate named abi who likes tupperware and israeli music. i think we're going to get along just fine.

i have a giant window that faces a giant building under construction. sometimes i watch them weld things.

i have alex fast's mobile (pronounced mo-BILE) phone and bus pass. thanks alex. 

i have a full schedule of art and theatre that will make my brain explode. 

i have a view of king's cross station. 

i "top-up" every chance i get. 

i have 2 A-Z guidebooks. kristen johnston's and NYU's. i prefer kristen's.

i have 2-3 london maps/guidebooks in my purse at any given time. ask me where covent garden is. i dare you.

i have 3 going on 4 ID cards for various buildings in and around london. i will lose at least one before the semester is out.

i think i'm gonna like it here.