Journeys for Knowledge

After a long day of walking around yesterday, I decided to have a relatively slow morning, finally stepping out at 10 to make my way to Leicester Square to meet my friend Reilly from Berkeley.  While we were supposed to meet at noon, naturally I arrived incredibly early and decided to simply wander around town. Eventually, I stumbled upon Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, as well a small Chinese district that was distinct but in no way comparable to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

By the end of these wanderings I found Reilly, and we set off for lunch. Lacking any better ideas, we opted for Indian food at Masala Zone. The waiters kept asking if I needed an explanation about the food, because for some reason Indian food is quite complicated. That said, the vegetarian thali (platter of small dishes) was indeed delicious. Thanks to the restaurant’s Wifi we were able to plan out the rest of the day, and set off for East London.

The first stop was Spitalfields Market, a large open air market for clothes, jewelry, and other artistic crafts. It was fairly packed but still interesting to walk through. Next was the Fire of London Monument,  a free standing column built to commemorate the 1666 fire of London and the strength of the people’s recovery after. The best part was for two pounds you could climb the staircase inside for a great view of London. Once again my plans had proven to be insufficient to occupy a whole day, so Reilly suggested crossing the Thames to visit the Bororugh Market. This was more of a farmer’s market, along with ample amounts of great smelling food. We got smoothies, took in the amazing smell of bread and cheese, and moved on. By chance we happened across the Globe Theater, which I hope to return to one day this year, before parting ways at St Paul’s Cathedral.

By the time I returned home I was exhausted, but little did I know that my day was far from over. Sanjay had invited guests over for dinner, so I cleaned up and showered before they arrived at 8. Most of the evening was spent talking over wine and dinner, with a brief break to look over photos of a woman named Princess Lulie of Turkey, whom all of the guests had known quite well before she passed away. As the night went one I realized this woman was the first Muslim woman to study at Oxford, and had encountered several spies both for and against Britain during her time as an art historian. I now realized this dinner was to commemorate her death, and the way she had touched these people’s lives.

After dinner the conversation moved past Lulie and went into higher subjects. We heartily debated the war in Syria, the repercussions of cloning animals, the structure of Biblical and Babylonian Law, and even the merit of video games. I mostly followed along with the conversation, only chiming in if I had something truly useful to say. This discussion was just casual talk for these people, but it was something I rarely experience back in college. By 1 AM we all finally retired for the night, but I wonder how many more late nights discussing the finer points of ancient law I will experience.

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