From the day I got my first tattoo, I knew I would be covered in them. They are extremely addicting and one of the first things I can remember feeling about this trip to London was that I wanted to experience getting a tattoo in London. I wanted to make sure that the tattoo I got wasn’t just any tattoo and had meaning to me that reminded me about our trip. I originally planned that I would get a bowler hat and a wooden cane, but I also purposefully planned to get it later in the week so that if there was anything else, I decided would be better, I could change it.
He is one of the nicest artists I’ve ever had the pleasure of being tattooed by. He has a calming voice and accent. When he was getting ready to put the needle to my skin, we got to learn a bit about each other. He asked me where I was from, and I said so, and then I returned and asked where he was from because I was curious about his accent and still think it's cute. “I'm from Rome” he says.
I think tattoo artists who can make you feel comfortable and welcome quickly should be given more respect. Fabio and Seven Doors Tattoo definitely have my respect, and I hope to be tattooed there again sometime soon.
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Food is something I take very seriously. I very rarely share food, and if I do share it with you, you are very special to me. If I let you taste it, it's because it must be tasted by someone else other than me. The United Kingdom has some unique foods its known for, and I think London does a pretty good job of representing that, as well as just having so many delicious other foods to eat and places to go. Where did I go? Well, I always ate breakfast at the hotel, which was not bad for hotel food. A classic English spread along with breads and cheeses and juice and cereal that looked like bird food. For my dinners I visited places such as: Juju's Bar and Stage, The Culpepper, Poppies, Burger King, Angus Steakhouse, and The Inn of Court and Balans Soho Society (Our group dinners). My favorites out of those were, Juju’s, The Culpepper, and Balans Soho Society. Jujus was more of a bar than a restaurant. What is unique about Juju’s is that each month, the cook changes, and therefore, so does the food, as well dancing and different events every night. The Culpepper was a pub, a restaurant, and a hotel! While most of the furniture seemed mismatched and very vintage and distressed, everything blended together perfectly to create a warm harmony in my heart. I think the drinks helped me warm up a little too. I had a Disco Sour which was strong but delicious. With my drink, I ordered a goat cheese and root vegetable filled pastry with more vegetables on the side, so actually mostly healthy. Then, I said to myself, “I have to try something I know I'd probably hate and is a British staple”. Black pudding. The actual thought of it is absolutely disgusting. Pork blood. I ordered the fried black pudding, and when It finally came time to bite into it and taste it, it was surprisingly not terrible. Didn’t taste like blood at all. It was creamy and got most of its flavor from the sweet chili sauce that it came with and I happened to dip it into. Balans Soho Society was the fanciest dinner that I had. It also happened to be our farewell group dinner, so it was nice to have so many people eating with me. It’s never fun to eat alone. I ordered myself a glass of prosecco as a toast to myself for getting through the trip in one piece, I was proud of myself and everyone else there. For my dinner I ordered a small plate of cauliflower risotto with caramelized goat cheese, and a large plate of stuffed pork belly. The cauliflower risotto was amazingly creamy and delicious, but filling, and could’ve used more goat cheese to add more flavor. The pork belly was disappointing, but still delicious. Overall, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere made it even better. I ordered myself another drink called a Rosemary Colins, and didn’t realize that it was happy hour, so I was happy to receive to drinks to finish off my dinner.
Out of everything that came out of our London trip, Eltham Palace was the best. When I think of the United Kingdom, and what I thought this trip would be, I’d hope that it would be like Eltham Palace. The perfect mix of medieval, art deco, and nature in one space. The Courtauld family took over the palace in the 1930’s to save it from decline, and to live in it during and a bit after World War 2. The morning that we visited the palace, it was the most perfect timing on the weather’s part. The days before, it was cloudy and raining, the day we went to the palace, the sun came out and shined upon our faces of amazement at the beauty of the gardens and the art of the palace. When walking throughout the inside of the palace, every room I entered brought me to the brink of tears. I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve never seen a more beautiful place in my life, pretty much nothing could match it. Except maybe for the woman who made a lot of it happen. Virgina (Ginie) Courtauld was described as lively and unconventional, something that I strive to be. I mean, Ginie had a pet Lemar! A RING TAILED LEMAR, AS A PET. Now that is both a product of being rich and being one bold, bad ass bitch. In one of the bedrooms, there was a sign that went into more detail about who Virgina was as a person. She was born in Romania and her father was an Italian. Her mother, Hungarian. What struck me the most was the rumors that she had gotten a tattoo of a snake on her ankle on a dare. So. Freaking. Cool. I was already planning to get a tattoo later in the week to commemorate my trip to London. I didn’t want anything too cheesy or obvious. I didn’t want a big sign on my body that says, I WENT TO LONDON LOOK AT ME (Like Big Ben or the London skyline). I wanted it to be mine, and I wanted a story to tell. I was originally going to get a bowler hat and a wooden cane, but after that day, I knew I had to get the snake. Eltham Palace was inspiring. I love art deco and modern, but still old and with character. To have something that looks so new and modern but still has a history behind it, a truth to it, and a story to tell. We as humans are something new, and we all have our own stories and truths to tell I was joking to the people around me that I wanted to put an offer down on the palace. The truth is, I absolutely would If I could, what a dream it would be to live there! The absolute happiness it brought me just to be there, I can only hope that my future home will bring me that much joy.
I am hoping that the travel to London will be smooth with as little problems as possible. I love to travel and being take a plane and be able to sit back with the world underneath me brings me a sort of peace in my mind that my life, compared to the life of the world, is in the end meaningless except for statistics. Humanity is a temporary tattoo on time. Anyway, back to reality and not being to existential. I enjoy the atmosphere, the busy busy and the I may never see this person again and the people watching and the asking yourself how and why we are all here. I'm curious just how much our time is going to get broken down when we arrive in London. How much freedom will we have exactly when it comes to times where there is nothing on the itinerary? Will the times on that itinerary be more specific? I want to be able to know what is always going on or will be happening, so that I can make the most of my time in the city. I want to be able to eat and drink everything I can. I've made a budget for each day we are in London for what I can eat and drink. I am going to try and try new foods, but I think the one thing that is off limits to me is anything with mushrooms or like, the classic black pudding which is a blood sausage that originates from Great Britain and Ireland. Overall, I'm not really worried about much, and don’t have any big expectations, this way I am happy with however the trip turns out. I think something I'm more concerned about is making and having friends while on the trip so that I can go out at night after the end of the day. Otherwise, I'm ready to take on London.
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AuthorSamantha Salvemini, 19, Film and Moving Image major with a Producing and Writing Minor at Stevenson University Archives
May 2019
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