Thanksgiving in England and Misadventures in London

You may have noticed that the title of this post says, "Misadventures in London."
This is because I was, in fact, meant to go to Winchester and Stonehenge today with IFSA Butler-the company who sent me abroad.  However, due to a combined effort from Royal Holloway and the IFSA Butler buses, I was left behind.

First, Royal Holloway has this absolutely obnoxious tendency to close every entrance to the university campus except one after 11:30 at night, and doesn't reopen them again until 8 or so.  As a result, I had to reroute myself two times on the way to the train station. This undoubtedly set me back some time. 

British Fighter Plane circa WWII

Then, once I had taken the train into London and taken two different underground lines, as I was hastily making my way towards the pick-up destination Butler gave me, I saw the Stonehenge Buses driving away.

I was none too pleased.  It was about 8:55 in the morning and I was in London. 

St. Mary's Abbey

Well, I decided I'd at least get my money's worth and stay in London a while.  Walk around and whatnot.  So I sauntered on my way, not really going anywhere in particular.  Eventually I came upon the British Science Museum. 

German V-2 Rocket circa WWII

Now, one of the brilliant things about London (especially for me today), is that all museums are free admittance. I've been to the Minnesota Science Museum, and I took it upon myself to look into the Science Museum here. 

This is an early Indian rocket with a sword attatched to it.

Model of British Warship

There was loads to see.  The first thing I learned about was the history of the Steam Engine, followed by a healthy dose of knowledge regarding the development of missiles and space technology.

BMW 3-wheel car similar to one my father and I saw years ago.

Next was a look at British culture through a few hundred years. 
There were boats and planes and plastics and plenty of places to eat.
They also had a section dedicated to children--much like the Minnesota Science Museum--where children could experiment with wind, magnets, light, etc.

After my escapade at the Museum, I wandered around some more, and found myself in front of this store called Harrods.
Someone had told me of this store earlier in the year. They told me that you could buy anything there, especially "back in the day."  Apparently you used to be able to buy lions and such from there.  It is over 150 years old and the 3rd most visited tourist destination in London.
Anyway, I decided to take a gander, and I must say I was not disappointed.

No photos allowed in the shop itself

• This place had 7 floors, and covered the entirety of a city block (a total of 1 million square feet.  One football field is 57,600 square feet.  Do the math, we're looking at a little more than 17 fields of shopping). 
• When I first walked in, I was greeted by Egyptian architecture and decor. This was the famous "Egyptian Room." I was also greeted by doormen in very fancy green uniforms.
• Harrods sells over 350 different types of cheeses, and they have a year-round Christmas section.
• There are 25 different restaurants in the department store.
• Harrods accepts pounds, dollars, and euros.
• The ground floor had a bank where you could buy solid gold bars, flights, £2500 pens, full-size roulette tables, and a 7-foot tall stuffed bear for £2,999. Among the other vast selections.
• The first floor was chock-full of purses, handbags, fragrances, cosmetics, and jewelery.
• Second floor was entirely devoted to ladies clothing.
• Third Floor had an antiques section complete with fossils and mattress-sized crystals. You could also buy pets directly from this floor.
• Fourth floor contained Best Buy, essentially. You could also buy a zebra or cheetah skin.
• Fifth floor was all children's toys and apparel.  Absolutely everything you could want as a child.
• Sixth floor was sports.  There was a full bicycle shop, a place to buy skis, winter garments, golf and horse equipment, and everything else under the sun.

There was so much more that I can't recall simply because my mind was overwhelmed with all I was seeing.

Thanksgiving

Last week one of my friends asked me if I was going to celebrate Thanksgiving this year.  I told him that it wasn't likely.  Somehow, people started asking if we could celebrate Thanksgiving and make an event out of it.  I figured it couldn't hurt, and that it would be fun to show how Americans do Thanksgiving and such. So I sent an email asking for instructions since she is the mastermind behind our massive extended family Thanksgiving back home.

Unfortunately, I must not have made it clear enough regarding my impotence regarding Thanksgiving preparations.  When I say this, it is because neither myself or my co-chef--Chris--realized that one must thaw a turkey for 24-48 hours. 
We made this discovery as we were at the supermarket on Thanksgiving morning. 

Fatal Mistake.

The Thanksgiving table and guests.

Achilles Heel.

Chris came up with a plan to save us.  We would buy a frozen turkey crown, which is just turkey meat but can be cooked from frozen. We would also buy a refrigerated chicken, so as to have something fresh and to maintain the classic aesthetic of a Thanksgiving dinner.  He then helped me find the other necessities, such as cranberries, which are only available in a jar. We had to skip the sweet potatoes because there wasn't any, and there also wasn't any pumpkin pie.  We did manage to get meat, gravy, stuffing, veggies, and potatoes.
Once all way purchased, we headed back to my flat to start the prepping.
It was here that we encountered another obstacle: the kitchen that had been formerly abandoned as long as I had been here suddenly became Hell's Kitchen.  Everyone was making something, but not for Thanksgiving.

Turkey, peas, potatoes, cranberries, Kool-Aid

If I didn't know any better I would have thought that they had planned it.  Luckily, since we had been there first, and asked them politely if they'd be finished by 8:00, they were out of there by the time the guests arrived.
We also realized that we had nowhere near the amount of cooking wares we needed.  But we were resourceful, and made do.

Carrots, gravy, stuffing, and mashed potatoes

We more or less "winged" all of the cooking.  Chris and I were joined by Joe and James, who are also in the geology department.  Together, we had about half of the cooking know-how that any of our respective mothers have.  But soon we had a turkey, a chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots, stuffing, cupcakes, and cranberries set and ready on the small table.  Then, to make it more American, I made some Grape Kool-Aid, which none of the 10 guests had ever tried.
Once all was set, I made a bit of a speech/explanation of Thanksgiving, and then said it was tradition to go around and say what one is thankful for.  I mentioned the support of my family, and meeting new friends good enough to share such a time with me.

The largest chicken we could find at Tesco

Then we ate.  And it was good.  Chris and I were afraid the cosmos were out of line.  Somehow everything had come together.  We had nothing but good reviews on everything. Chicken and turkey was succulent, gravy was savory, mashed potatoes soft and fluffy, veggies well cooked, and stuffing full of flavor. 
After all was done, I brought out my secret weapon:


Ice Cream Cake.
From what I understand, ice cream cake isn't present in the UK.  At least not in the way we have it in the States, where you can buy them from Dairy Queen or the grocery store. 
So I took it upon myself to make them one, and I did, out of Oreos, fudge, chocolate, and mint ice cream.  As far as I can tell it was a smashing hit.

Mikey's Minnesotan Mint Murder Ice Cream Cake

It was without a doubt a resounding success.  In my top 20 favorite Thanksgivings.

The Remains