London Diaries #4

 It's Wednesday night again and this time we are at the end of my fourth week in London. It's so strange to be writing this, because the time passed by very fast, and I didn't realize almost half of the time I'm going to spend here to do my research has already passed. I feel like this week I stayed at home more than usual (and more than I wanted to), because of the rain and because I really needed to focus on my studies. Nevertheless, I managed to experience new exciting things and explore more of the city.

Last Thursday was just a regular day between the library and the supermarket to get groceries. This time I went to the SOAS Library to keep writing my dissertation; it's probably my favourite, as it has big windows that allow you to see the park while you're studying. I also love that I have to walk around Bloomsbury to get there, which is one of my favourite areas, so full of culture and magic.

Friday was a very exciting day: in the morning I went to the National Portrait Gallery. The museum displays portraits starting from the Tudor dynasty until contemporary artworks. I think the collections are very well organized, because, starting from the last floor, you can see the artworks in chronological order, also exploring the different techniques used by artists in every era. It's a really interesting museum and I recommend it if you ever visit London. Afterward, I had to go to the Royal Ballet, as I had booked a ticket to see a show called Live at lunch. I was a short segment of a ballet lesson, where the teacher explained a sequence to two dancers, and they showed us the process of learning it and the final choreography. It was a very magical experience and it was so interesting to get an insight of what happens in the school. To get there from the National Portrait Gallery I also had a stroll around Covent Garden, which I always find to be a fascinating area, although it's often very crowded.

On Saturday afternoon, I managed to go to the Royal Ballet again: a friend had a spare ticket to go see Manon, so I went with her. Every time it's a magical experience to be able to witness a ballet in that theater and this time it was the same. I loved Manon by MacMillan, it's a ballet with a kind of decadent style, that tells a story of love and tragedy, and I could really see those emotions in the choreography and in the expressions of the dancers as well. This is the last time I'm going to have the chance to go to the Royal Ballet, so I will cherish these moments even more. 

On Sunday and Monday I stayed at home to do some housework and keep focusing on writing my dissertation. A very lovely note to those days was that on Monday night I finally watched the last spiderman movie, Spiderman: Brand New Day. It was a very emotional experience, I grew up with these characters, and watching their story develop is always touching for me. Especially this time, the storyline is kinda sad, but the movie is so well-made, and it makes you really emphasize and connect with the characters a lot. I loved Jean Grey's story and hope we'll get to see more of her character. In the end, I think the message of the movie is a beautiful one of love, community and hope.

On Tuesday, I think I woke up still emotional about the movie, so I did a little bit of journaling in the morning, and in the afternoon I decided to go to the SOAS Library. Before getting there, I wanted to spend some time walking around and sitting in a park, so I took a stroll around Tavistock square, and then I went to Cotti coffee to get something hot to drink. I used to go there all the time in Paris with my friends, and the drinks are not expensive and they taste super good. They had a new drink, which was the pumpkin oat milk, and I really wanted to try it, because it seemed perfect for this season. Unfortunately I thought it would be nice to add a bit of black sugar syrup to my drink, and this covered the pumpkin flavour, but I think it was still delicious. I drank it sitting in Russell square with the company of some squirrels. It was a very cozy time that I needed to unwind. 

My Wednesday was not as exciting, because I stayed at home to write my dissertation. I really wanted to focus and do as much work as possible, because I only had a few pages left to finish writing my first chapter.

This is how my fourth week in London ends. I spent more days at home and I always feel a bit regretful about this, because I feel like I should be exploring the city more, but I really needed them to rest and work on my dissertation. Hopefully the upcoming week will be filled with more new experiences and I can't wait to tell you about it.