The VnA, Jack the Ripper and Arsenal

       Yesterday started with a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum focuses in the decorative arts and has a good amount of sculpture but clothing and architectural pieces as well. There were a lot of interactive games and things to do there, making it seem like being in a kids museum again. I made my own monogram and coat of arms, as well as tried on a Tudor period collar ruffle, a Victorian neck tie and two different types of Medieval gauntlet. At the price of, well, free, there really isn't a reason not to go there. They also have a impressive Medieval and British collections.

Style.

       After that was a Jack the Ripper tour with the whole group. It was a little cold and rained right up until the tour started, making it the perfect night to hear a creepy story. Our tour guide was brilliant, he definitely knew what he was doing and didn't exaggerate anything, he told the stories with eerie precision but kept it less than flat out scary. I didn't realize how gruesome the murders were and he told us what made Jack special wasn't that he was a crazy murderer but that he had a good brand name and the press made him famous. At the end of the tour he offered three different theories (out of hundreds) as to who Jack the Ripper was, all of which have their good points and their holes.
       Today we went to Camden, the punked-out market to the North of the city. Everything was pretty cheap and could be easily bargained down. We found a little sandwich shop right outside the Tube station that offered basically a Philly cheese steak but with ethnic flair that was delicious albeit hard to eat since it wouldn't stay together there was so much meat. After that it was on to the Arsenal game. The Tube was packed with people headed out to the stadium and once during the match the screen flashed saying that close to 60,000 people were there. This was a Champions League match, which is between European nations and is not taken as seriously as the Premier League, between British teams. We sat close to the grass and the opposing team's side. It was S.C. Braga, out of Portugal and their fans were few in number but very serious about their team. At one point one of the British guys on our side got up and chanted "It's Champions League, we're all havin a laugh" which only made the Braga fans cheer louder since now they knew this game wasn't being taken seriously. Arsenal destroyed Braga 6-0 and I've realized the best part of a football match in Europe is the fans. Some of the best cheers were:

-Whooooo are ya? (whenever an opposing player was named)
-We love you Arsenal, we do! We love you Arsenal, we do! We love you Arsenal, we do! Aaaaaarsenal we love you!
-We have Fabregas, We have Fabregas (they have Fabregas, a Spanish World Cup team player)

As we left two of the guys sitting behind us told us to bring football and Arsenal back to the States and we definitely will.

Because I don't think we have a choice...