London

Chilling (quite literally) in London has been absolutely fantastic. Days so far have been just as relaxing as full. Sunday we watched two fantastic soccer matches: one between Everton and Chelsea (2-3), and one between West Ham and Man U. (1-0). West Ham is 17th out of 20 Premiership teams, Man U. is 1st, having lost one game to, you guessed it, Arsenal. Evan and I watched in amazement as Man U. were embarrassed for the first time at West Ham's home stadium. The next day, we checked out UCL, got some free internet, and generally enjoyed the tube (hurrah for week long passes!). Tuesday we went to the British Library and looked at original scores from such composers as Mozart, Bach, and Chopin, as well as an amazing collection of Bibles (Gutenburg, Wycliff etc.), books and the like (an original copy of Alice's Adventures Underground, letters of Jane Austin, Shakespeare's plays, Tolstoy, etc.), and some amazing scientific documents (Chinese acupuncture charts, Da Vinci drawings, a Japanese flower-arranging text-book). It was most awe-inspiring. We had planned to watch an Arsenal - Liverpool game, but it was postponed due to fog. Today we spent 4 or so hours in the Tate Modern, and experienced the 5 and 3 story slides that plummet to the ground (all inside of course). This interactive artwork as well as an amazing set of equa-distant mirrored electronic sliding doors were the most accessibly incredible things in the museum. We stood in the center of all the doors for some time, slightly confused, giddy, and excited. It sounds simple, but the effect inside is absolutely paranormal. Carsten Höller, the artist that created both these pieces, is now my hero. You may be able to find pictures on Google. Of course we did much more than this, but at least you get the idea of how much fun we are having. Flights around Europe range from .01£ to several pounds, so we may take a short trip. Travel is great.