The Day of Acceptable Celebrity Stalking (aka the BAFTA Awards)

Today I went to the BAFTA red carpet (The British Academy of Film and Television Awards). I am still a little in shock, because today will be an experience I don't think I will ever forget.

The whole idea of even going to the BAFTA red carpet started a couple of weeks ago, when two girls from my program and I went to a movie and saw a preview for the BAFTAs. My friend and I kind of joked about going to the actual ceremony, because we thought maybe we could get tickets. I looked it up, and saw that tickets were not available to the public, but the red carpet was open for all. So we and another friend decided to go.

As we did more research, we realized that you needed a wristband to get into the red carpet area, and those were handed out at 8am on the morning of the ceremony. I knew that if this was anything like the SNL line, people would be waiting at least a night in advance. Turns out, we were right. We at first were planning on going down there after our trip to Cambridge at 10pm last night, but decided against that once the idea of sitting in the freezing cold became more real. So we compromised, and decided to get there at 5.

Us and our early morning line buddies!

After a 4:30 wake-up this morning, we taxied out there and found a decent sized, but not massive line. We were numbers 197, 98, and 99, and after seeing the amount of people smashed into the pens today, I'm glad we were so low in the cue. We managed to get right up next to the barrier!! It was a little smooshed, and there was a group of guys next to us who I'm pretty sure were just paparazzi in disguise, because they had a giant binder of posters of all the different nominees that they kept shoving over my head. They also booed Michelle Williams when her handler person ushered her away and wouldn't let her sign any more autographs. That was kind of mean.

So we waited from about 1:00 to 4:45, when the first guests started to arrive. At first it was a lot of normal looking people, but then the big names started to arrive. First up was the cast of The Help, including Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain. Viola Davis signed a few autographs, Octavia Spencer signed quite a lot (sadly didn't get all the way over to us) but Jessica Chastain was the sweetest! She went up and down the line, taking pictures with anyone who asked. Including me! I look horrendous (getting up at 4:30 am and being outside for half the day doesn't do wonders for the appearance) but here it is anyway:

 

So cool!! 

After that, things really picked up. It was a big change from the early afternoon when the area looked like this:

Then changed to this:

It was really cool to see all the work that goes into creating the magic. The carpet itself is pretty basic, not too plush looking and just sprayed onto the concrete. One of the workers cut out a piece for us and we split it into three pieces, so now I have my own piece of red carpet! I also was surprised as to how unglamorous the walk the stars took was. They all looked amazing (although pretty cold) but the area around was a lot of scaffolding and people walking around with walkie-talkies and orange lanyards. 

I think my favorite part of the night was getting to meet the infamous George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Both men are a little older now, but still incredibly sexy. I already had a thing for Clooney, but Brad Pitt has grown on me after tonight. His voice is very nice to listen to, during the little we talked. I said "Hi" to both of them and then just laughed. Sounds about right.

I also (only from far, far away) got to see Jon Hamm. Call me weird, but I am pretty much obsessed with him. It's probably good that he was on the other side of the carpet, other wise I think I would have jumped over the gates and into his arms. Probably wouldn't have been looked very highly upon. I saw another Mad Men star, Christina Hendricks. She is seriously so awesome. And of course Meryl Streep, the classiest lady around. So with that and about fifty other celebrities, I'd say my night was pretty successful.

Portobello Road: The Market of Nostalgia, Crepes, and Cute Puppies.

Over the course of my semester here, I have been to several markets. Covent Garden, Camden, Greenwich, and now Portobello Market. Covent Garden was probably the most ritzy, Camden the most eclectic, and Greenwich the most like State Street if it were a collection of different booths all under one roof. Out of all of these, I think my favorite has been Camden. But Portobello Market was an experience all its own.

February's temperatures seem to be colder than January's, and last Saturday was no exception. A group of us girls decided to take a trip to Portobello Market, which is located in the area known as Notting Hill.

Here is the neighborhood in the movie titled Notting Hill. Isn't Hugh Grant just the cutest?

My experience on Portobello Road was fun even with the chilly temperatures, and I enjoyed perusing through the little shops and stands all along the road. I didn't reach the end, but know I will definitely be going back again.

The thing I like most about Portobello Market is that it is mostly an antique market. From silver spoons to Parisian fashion ads from the 1930s, this market seems to have it all. I spent a long time rifling through a basket of coins from around the world, and found a coin from 1871! It was also weird seeing American coins being considered somewhat of a marvel. There were several record booths, and I had a hard time not buying every Beatles album. They have tons here! I also spent sometime in the little sideshops and arcades. In one arcade, I got to meet an adorable yellow lab named Ollie who became my best friend for about five minutes. There are seriously so many cute dogs here. I saw several more at the market, and wished I could take one home with me! Someday.

Portobello Market

Cool side note: George Orwell (the author of 1984) lived in a flat just a few steps behind where I took this picture. Did I mention I love this city?

No trip to a market is complete without trying a dish from one of the food stands! I tried a cheese crepe, which I know sounds basic, and it really was, but it was delicious! It was fun to watch the lady spread the dough out on the frier (it's the simple things in life) and the end result was a yummy, warm treat that I will likely try and make myself sometime.

Tomorrow is our trip to Tower of London. It's a little different than any of the markets (I don't think there will be crepes and cute puppies amongst the crown jewels) but should be an experience nonetheless.

The (So-called) Snowpocalypse of 2012

I must say, I am by no means a huge fan of snow. I've lived in Wisconsin for almost twelve years, have developed a high tolerance for it, but to me the icy roads and frozen toes outweigh the pretty scenery and skiing trips. (I've only been skiing once in my life. Pretty sure I should not have passed the bunny hill.) With the lack of snow this winter, and what I though was a zero percent chance of snow in London, I have kind of missed it. Well, the wish to have just a little bit of snow here was answered last Saturday, when I looked out the window and saw flurries of snow falling. I couldn't believe it! We were told at orientation that it does not snow in London. Last year they had their first snow in several years (five whole inches... Batten down the hatches!) and the city just shut down. This year I learned, was no different. Heathrow canceled half their flights, the tubes were delayed, and the morning after I could see snowmen dotting the grounds Kensington Gardens.

I had made plans to meet some family friends for lunch at their home in the outskirts of London, but wasn't too worried. It had stopped snowing in the night, so I figured the city would have gone into snow-safety mode, like Madison. Oh I was so wrong. It took me an extra twenty minutes to walk to the tube station, not because of the heaps and heaps of snow (that did not exist, I might add.) but the sidewalks had absolutely NO salt on them. I managed to make it to the tube stop unscathed, and luckily by the time I was back from lunch, the snow had melted and there were no more obstacles in my path. It's funny, because the amount of snow they got was basically just your average dusting for Wisconsin.

It wasn't that cold outside, but people were completely bundled up. I have to say, Londoners are kind of wimps when it comes to cold weather. It hasn't gotten down below 30* in the month I've been here (A month already... Time is flying!) and I've heard so many people complaining about the freezing temps. It's interesting to see how different regions react to weather. I'm even finding that after the few weeks I've been here I feel like I'm more sensitive to the temperatures, just because I hear people talking about them! A few people from my program were in Rome last weekend, and it snowed there too. They had their military out shoveling the streets and sidewalks, because most citizens didn't own shovels. Crazy stuff.

Here's hoping that it doesn't snow again, and only gets warmer. I'm ready for spring, and I've hardly had a winter.