Après Finance Fun

This past week I had my two most important exams, Economics (Wednesday 14:30-17:30) and then Finance (Thursday 10:00-13:00). In celebration of having finished 75% of my exams and in order to rejuvenate, I took Thursday afternoon off.

Directly after our Finance exam Eric, Amelia, Lucien, and I headed to Leicester Square for lunch. Remember, Amelia and Lucien are the same friends who introduced me to wonderful world of Chinese dim sum early last term as well as a few Korean specialties a couple weeks ago. Once again, they did not disappoint. We went to Abeno Too, where we had Japanese okonomiyaki. I had never tried the dish before, but it was like a cross between a Spanish omelet, savory pancake, and pizza...with Japanese flavour, of course. It was such a fun new dining experience and it's good to now know that the Japanese culinary world does at least three things right: sushi, steakhouses, and okonomiyaki.

Amelia and Lucien also gave me and Eric each a stuffed LSE beaver (our mascot) as a going away gift. It was an unexpected and very thoughtful gesture.

I spent the afternoon catching up on a to-do list, but in the evening Eric and I went to the Canary Wharf Four Seasons health club and spa. I went for free. Yes, I have a friend with a membership there and yes, I have a friend kind enough to get a guest pass for me. It was fantastic! So fun and so relaxing. We swam for an hour and then enjoyed the luxurious spa life until the health club closed. The pool was absolutely incredible. Also, I loved exploring Canary Wharf before going into the health club. Very much my kind of area--modern, plenty of tall buildings, bustling, the usual.

Our excellent guides in Asian culture: Amelia and Lucien

Not quite finished, but getting there. Still needs the katsuobushi, aka dried tuna flakes.

Please note the Turkey t-shirt. I pull out all the stops on exam day.

LSE beaver love

CANARY WHARF

The UK's three tallest buildings with perhaps the UK's greatest admirer of tall buildings

Eric, The Thames

Summer (ok, late spring) sunsets in the North are absolutely amazing. The sky is still blue, blue, blue while a fire sun works its way down. This picture looks dark because of the clouds and the picture lighting itself, but notice how low the sun is in this picture and then look at the picture above of Eric. We took the pictures within two minutes of each other. I wonder what Sweden is like right now.

I live in southern Islington, the London borough just north of the City of London. What you see in the background is the City of London, which is the historical London core and original finance centre. I'd say it is still the top financial district in London, but Canary Wharf finishes a close second.