ITP 2013: August 26 – Rige Shiba

THE WEEKEND BONANZA

Aaaaha! So, finally I get the opportunity to experience “THE SUMMER BANK HOLIDAY” at London!!!!! Yes, I know this definitely does make me sound like an excited tourist with popping out eyes and smile as big as the moon, but I guess this is what happens to majority of us when you are in London city. So as I prepared myself to witness the entire funfair that the day had in store for everybody, I quickly brushed up my knowledge about the Bank Holidays.
Well, for those who are no aware of its background, the summer Bank Holiday as the name suggests was originally intended to give bank employees the chance to participate and attend cricket matches (How interesting!). Hence it was observed for the very first time in the year 1871! However, this day is also a subtle reminder for people to come out of their honeymoon period, as it marks the end of summer holidays for kids, students, and teachers as they return to work /school in autumn.
Like everybody else in town even I made my “must do” list for the day and of course not to forget the weekend!!! This included exploring the culture and myriad cuisine of the city with lots of Fun. Thus, I utilized all the information that I received by browsing through all the free newspapers and magazines that I very religiously collected each day at the Warren Street Tube station.. And I must admit that it was quite a help.
To celebrate the weekend I could not think of any better way other than digging my teeth into some mouthwatering cuisine and my quest for trying out something different took me to Seven Sister’s Street.

I guess Sibel (ITP participants from Turkey) is a good influence on me so I ended up trying something Turkish!! Gosh! The platter was massive but crazily delicious! Also the company of Dong Mei (ITP participants from China) and our walk from King’s Cross Tube station to Schafer House did wonders and helped me in digesting the food and make some space for the Mexican dinner ahead.

But my excitement just got bigger by the thought of my visit to Canterbury with Dong Mei! We hurriedly rushed towards the St. Pancras Railway station and boarded our train heading towards the famous Cathedral City of the United Kingdom.

The Landscape, the architecture and everything about the city was just breathtaking. These are the few moments when I silently wish if only I could stay here forever. Alas! Not everyone is as lucky as Claire and Shezza. But thanks to the technology, I have captured the city in my camera forever! So as I boarded the train to London I waved my goodbyes to the city of historical ruins and prayed that it remains as beautiful and calm as it is today until my next visit.

To top it all, my weekend ended on a very colorful note- the 49th Notting Hill Carnival and as it was my very first experience of this kind so I was really overwhelmed witnessing the unique synthesis of culture, tradition and people from across the globe.
Cheers!

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