Sunday night

I'm sorry if adding this post so soon makes things overly wordy, but in my excitement to convey Paris to you all, I didn't get to everything that happened Sunday night.

It really was a busy weekend, but after a short nap, Maike and I went to Somerset House to do some research for one of her class assignments. At first I was reluctant to go; after all the walking we'd done in Paris, all I wanted to do was sit around. I am so glad I changed my mind! Somerset House is an absolutely amazing house that used to sit right on the Thames. People could even dock boats inside. A Duke, I think owned it, or several, I'm not sure about the details. It is HUGE, and inside there's a collection of micromosaics and snuff boxes. Apparently in the 1700s in Europe, it was very chic to have a fancy snuff box. Members of the upper class loved to show them off, and some of them even had one to match every outfit. They are amazing! Each of them is done in gold, micromosaic, jewels, and diamonds. The boxes are so intricate. Here's a link if you're interested: Gilbert Collection.

We were going to head back to school when the museum closed, but noticed a lot of activity on the South Bank, so we crossed Waterloo Bridge and ran smack into the Thames River Festival! How fun! There were some great street performers, lots of neat shops, and all kinds of food. Maike and I had some "cheese & chips." We expected they would be like in America, where they pour nacho cheese over some French Fries. Nope. Instead, we got a pile of fries with unmelted, shredded cheddar over the top. Interesting...

When we finally got back to school that night, the refectory was closed, so we had to find a little cafe on Baker Street to have a bite of dinner. Unfortunately, right when we had finished eating, a mouse ran across the floor in front of us! Eeeeeeew! I suppose that's inevitable when we're eating in outdoor cafes all the time, but GROSS!

Tune in later for more commentaries on British life...