Brick Lane

Today me and Jake traveled to Brick Lane to see what it is all about. We thought it was a good idea to see brick lane so the book we are reading, which is based on brick lane, would make it a more interesting read. I only read a couple pages in the book but right away I noticed things that were in the book were exactly how he described. There were a lot of bengalis (people from Bangladesh) trying to get us to come eat at their restaurant. They were trying so hard to offer us a deal that we couldn't refuse. There were Bangladesh restaurants all over the lane so it made sense that each one was trying so hard to get customers. When we were walking through the lane it made me think about social awareness because of the people that were walking the streets there. It was a very rough neighborhood and you had to be aware of the people walking near you. At any given moment someone could come up to you and ask for all your money. That was the kind of vibe that Brick Lane was giving us. Also when discussing the Bangladesh restaurants they need to be aware of their competitors. When that many of the same business are crammed next to each other, you need to be aware of what the competition is offering. There was also a lot of awesome paintings on the walls all around and that was probably my favorite part. When we got a little away from the lane it got more interesting with the artistic expression that was being displayed. Brick Lane was definitely a place that had a lot of artistic expression from the paintings on the walls to how people expressed themselves with clothes and piercings. It was awesome to go see and now i'm very excited to continue reading my book.

Roman Bath

We went to the Roman Baths today for the second time after seeing Stonehenge and it was a lot more entertaining the second time. It was pouring but like the London rain always is it stopped after a couple of minutes. We had some time before our tour so we were able to walk around and get some food. The surrounding area around the baths was very beautiful and I actually had my first caramelized apple. Very surprising i've never had one before but it tasted just like I thought it would. It was good but a little too much for me since it had chocolate sprinkles on it also. The bath definitely has an element of culture borrowing because of how the Romans came to England and were able to bring their culture all the way over to here. It looks just like somewhere you would find in Rome which makes it that much cooler. You feel like you left England for a couple hours and traveled to Italy. Seeing the baths again made me want to travel to Italy that much more. The baths also had an element of class because of the different things that went on at the baths. The higher your class and money you had the better service you received. For example massages were given here and the wealthier people had better amenities like softer linen or better massages. It was an awesome day trip and I can't wait to go back!

Stonehenge

It was my second time seeing Stonehenge today and this time was a lot colder than the last. We went with our lovely tour guide Trudy and it was pouring with pretty strong winds. It was very interesting to see it again and being older gives me a different perspective than it did several years ago. I still have no clue how the hell the stones got there but if I had to guess I'm going to go with the aliens. There's no way they possibly could have brought them here without some help. But who knows. We were pretty lucky to see it when we did because they are implementing a new parking lot system so the traffic isn't moving the stones anymore. The people do love their stones.

When choosing two elements to incorporate into the Stonehenge trip I would have to pick artistic expression and power. The blood, sweat and tears that went into making this beautiful art is impossible to completely grasp and fully understand. Whether it was used for burial ceremonies or sacrifices we probably will never know, but we do know that a lot of time went into creating this artwork. They were expressing something when they made this and it took a lot of artistic and creative ability to figure out how to make this work. Pitching this idea to other people would have been a very interesting site to see. Can't imagine explaining to the people how to create the piece or even start by explaining the moving process. Mind blowing. Power is also an element that goes into this blog because the power that Stonehenge has is immense. It is a symbol of the people and the people of London see this as the thing that represents them. When you see a picture of the stones you automatically connect it to London. The people of London know that and that's why they love it so much. It stand for who they are and what they are about. It's like seeing the Liberty Bell and you automatically think of Philadelphia and the great place that is. I think Londoners also love it so much because of what it stands for. It shows that nothing is impossible. It shows that no hurdle is too large and that there is no such thing as "I can't." If you want something done you do it no questions asked and no complaining. And that is what happened with Stonehenge. They wanted it done for whatever their reason was and they went out and did it. Because of that Stonehenge is one of my favorite places and has a place in my heart forever.

Punk IPA

One of the best IPA's I've ever had but it's so hard to find in the London area. Made by Brewdog Beer. It's 5.6% and is light golden in colour with tropical fruits and light caramel on the nose. New Zealand hops are balanced by the biscuit malt. The finish is aggressive and dry with the hops emerging over the warming alcohol.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

This was on our way to the Globe Theatre and since we were a little late we actually were able to participate in the marathon while running to meet the group. It was pretty insane passing people in the race trying to get to the globe. Highly doubt that will ever happen again in my life and it was definitely an awesome experience. Considering how recent the Boston marathon was I thought it was wild that we could get that close to the runners and how few barricades there were. Being able to look past all the bad that has happened involving marathons recently and continuing to race shows great pride in place and tradition. Everyone was very passionate about the race and there was a lot of pride for London.

My First Gay Bar

Went wandering today with Badge and Jakub and we ended up in the soho area trying to find a pub to grab a pint. It was a pretty cool area that I haven't seen before with old school streets and back roads. After walking a while we said the next pub we see we're gonna get a beer at. Little did we know the next pub we saw was a 40+ gay pub. That was an experience to say the least. Definitely not the day to be wearing a cardigan and colored jeans that's for damn sure hah. When we were leaving badgley got hit on by an older man who told him his eyes were gorgeous. After he almost tried to kiss him on the cheek we decided to get the hell out of there. 

Here's a picture of our bartender 

First Weekend

It was the first weekend here in London and I have to admit it was pretty fun. In our group everyone brings something different to the table and we all seem to get along pretty well together. On Friday we went to Tiger Tiger with most of our group and it was pretty awesome. The club has all different levels and has a different theme in every room. My favorite was Groovy Wonderland because I was straight disco fevering it on the dance floor. The floor was just like the one in disco fever too so it's hard to have a bad time when that is going on underneath you.



Saturday night we went to Fabric which was another club with different rooms. There was a london house room which was just all bass pretty much. In the other rooms they had electronic music but it wasn't the type of electronic that i'm used to. The only down side to the place was the guy to girl ratio. The place smelled like old cheese and bo so I had to step out a couple times. Another thing is the way guys hit on women here. I forgot how bad it was and it's just hilarious to see a guy walk up to a woman and just grind up on them without saying anything. Just a pack of wolves trying to feast. Even made friends with some security haha

Arriving in London

Whatssss up everyone. Stefan Resnick here and I’m studying in London for 6 weeks with an internship. I am going to be working for a company called London Blitz which is an american football team. Pretty stoked to be working for them but it was just a surprise to hear I would be working with them because I was told I would be working for a company called Planet Organic. Even though I was caught of guard I’m extremely pumped to be working in the sports industry. Can’t wait to see what my boss is like and how different it is compared to football back home. I just got into London this morning and my flight was pretty solid. Took some Xanax and passed out for most of the flight so can’t complain there. Tried to meet up with my roommate Jake but didn’t have any wifi so I couldn’t get in touch with him. I ended up taking the tube and headed to the flat myself. The place is awesome I really couldn’t of asked for anything more and I can’t wait to explore the Chelsea area of London. We have a bus stop directly outside of our place and the tube stop is half a mile away. Finally hit me that i’m in London for 6 weeks which is just insane it took this long to hit me. Even though this wasn’t my first pick I’m still happy I’m here and I’m about to have this amazing experience. It’ll be nice to have experience in London prior and I’ll be able to help out everyone in the group with getting around.


Let’s do it lonnnnnnnndddddonnnnnn

Me right now: