We saw this advertised in a paper and decided it would be the perfect way to start our day. Admission was free during lunch (12-3) so we figured we'd head over at about 11:30. I was so excited. I figured we'd find a lot of other Spring breakers since it is a huge beer festival. We took the tube to Camden, located the Centre and were greeted by a man with thin, stringy hair, a gigantic beer belly and only three teeth. He chuckled a little when he saw us and handed us fliers listing which beers were where. He told us we could get our glasses inside and to the left so we headed there eagerly.
We entered a massive theater-type hall and froze in our tracks. The Camden Centre was full of old people. Blinded by the gray, we surveyed the room trying to comprehend the situation we just walked into. Was this a senior citizens event? We looked at each other and laughed hysterically. As it turned out, we were the youngest people by at least thirty years at the 24th annual Beer and Cider festival. We were three of about ten or eleven girls. Most of the people were so old it was difficult to figure out their sex.
Following the toothless man's instructions, we located glasses at the left of the hall. We each purchased pint glasses and opened our pamphlets to figure out what we wanted to drink. My first meal of the day consisted of a pint of Valiant. A brew from the Bateman's Brewery in Lincolnshire, it was described as "golden beer, clean, crisp and zesty." We each got different beers and shared while observing the Camden natives as though we were documenting life in the jungle for Discovery Channel. Most of the people were missing at least three teeth. Several had not showered in days. Dare I guess, weeks? We saw an array of loose cardigans and unique spectacles. Most people had red and purple tints to their faces indicating extreme alcohol consumption over the years. There were some very unique individuals including one man with a button on his cardigan that read, "Lip reader. Speak slowly." One bartender (although I use the term loosely as they were not actual bartenders but old people serving beer) donned a shirt that read, "98% drinker. 2% twat." The Camden Centre even recruited some security forces for this event. Our favorite security guard was a 5'5'' 85 year old man with a hunch back and an ear piece, presumably connected to some sort of communication system in case anyone got out of hand. Our friend walked around the hall squinting at beer drinkers while keeping a finger to his ear piece and firmly stating in a strong British accent, "Roger that," and other random command phrases. He may or may not have been speaking to another human being.
A couple beers later, we decided it was time for some actual food. The beer festival started us off well and provided a fairly representative sampling of London's pub culture. Satisfied with our experience in Camden, we ate sausages and Doner Kebabs and hopped on the tube to go meet Jess. Next stop: London Eye.
We decided to do the London Eye on one of the only days it didn't rain. The weather was perfect. There were clouds but the sun shone through lighting the eye, Big Ben, Parliament and other landmarks perfectly. While waiting for Jess to arrive after a day at her internship, we took pictures and sat in the sun enjoying the area.
Our ride on the Eye was great. There were only four other people with us so we could move around freely. The view was amazing even though I got a little scared and had to sit down. Noelle took that opportunity to make fun of my by resting on the window and pretending she was falling out. Just like on big rollercoasters, they took a picture at the end of our ride. We all made ridiculous poses and Noelle, in true Asian tourist form, purchased the picture after stepping off the Eye. On our way to the tube we got Nutella Crepes. Delicious.
Michelle and I went back to Chris' where one study abroader's birthday was taking place. Michelle and I discussed several important things in the kitchen including my 21st birthday. We decided that instead of buying the typical "cute birthday outfit" I will get some crazy costume. Specifically, I will dress up as Little Bo Peep and my roommates will dress up as sheep (lots of cotton balls) and I will have one of those long curved canes that I can use to drag them around all night. I'm looking into the details.
A group of at least fifteen of us left Chris' and headed to Imperial College, which apparently has several bars, a DJ and a dance floor on Wednesdays. Chris brought us to a gated area where we each paid one pound and walked into a large courtyard with picnic tables and people smoking Hookah outside. We went inside to find the bar. It was in a huge room past the dance floor and DJ. The bar was fully stocked and students were waiting to be served liquor in the comfort of their own campus.
"Can you imagine this being the GSU?" Michelle asked. No. There is nothing even close to it at BU. Student were able to drink freely and have a good time on their own campus.
After walking around a little more, we discovered that many students were dressed up as bizarre characters. There were Bananas in Pajamas (pajama pants and huge, cardboard bananas on their heads), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Legends of the Hidden Temple players and many others. Apparently every night has a theme. Michelle and I danced with some bananas and students took turns joining their friends on a large stage to dance under the lasers and colored lights.
The bar closed down and groups of people started leaving. On our way home, Michelle and I decided we were hungry and wanted to stop at Sainsburys for some chips. Finding a bag of chips in London is not as easy as one would imagine. For some reason, the chips are packaged as six, eight or twelve snack sized bags in one massive bag. We scanned the aisle for fifteen minutes trying to locate a normal bag of chips but settled for a variety pack of eight. Michelle grabbed some strange dip and we dove in the second we got to Chris', methodically tearing through each individual sized bag until we were sufficiently full. After our snack, Chris, James and I got into a wrestling match. I put up a good fight.
What a superb day. Bed time.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment