Chronicles part II

Aya Sophia. 

 Other highlights from my trip included :

• Visiting the famous Saint Sophia mosque (Aya Sophia) as well as its twin, the Little Aya Sophia
• Hanging out with Istanbul's friendly cats
• Gazing up at the beautiful domes of several mosques - favourites include the New Mosque next to the Spice Bazaar, as well as the Suleymanye Mosque
• Spending the day at Topkapi Palace and running into 5 fellow students from the LSE
• the Istanbul museum of Modern Art- I got a much better appreciation of how influential Europe has been to Turkish artists, and vice-versa. 
• Wandering around the residential neighbourhoods of Fatih and Eyüp. Taking the téléphérique up to the Pierre Loti café. 
• Becoming fluent in "urban planning speech" thanks to my fellow travelers, who spent the week examining processes of gentrification in Istanbul. I met so many wonderful people involved in the LSE-MSGSU field research project and wish I'd had the chance to spend more time with all of them. 

There are cats EVERYWHERE in Istanbul. 

Blue Mosque

Fish Market in Karaköy

Topkapi Palace (Circumcision Pavillion)

Tiles. Detail from the Circumcision Pavillion.

Laundry Day in Fatih neighbourhood

Istanbul Chronicles

I`ve been sorting through my pictures from Istanbul all morning long, and haven't managed to whittle them down very much. It's impossible to do justice to such an amazing city in a short blog post. I suppose I'll focus on my highlights!

My top 3 sights were the Chora Church, an incredibly old Orthodox church covered in the most breathtaking mosaïcs imaginable; the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art (Carpet Museum); and Istanbul's skyline seen from a Bospherus river commuter ferry.

Gorgeous mosaïcs in Chora Church 

Traditional Slippers, from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art

Taking a cruise up the Bospherus is definitely incredible. Although most of the time, one is far from the shoreline, the ferry stops along the European and Asian side.

View of the Black Sea from Anadolu Kavagi (Asian side of Istanbul)

I'll continue on another blog post to keep these short and readable.
xx

Culinary Adventures In My Kitchen

Hello everyone,
Apologies for my silence in cyberspace. I`ve been rather busy doing dull things like studying and eating. Since I dont have any exciting pictures to offer (no I didn`t go Skydiving this week- although I know a girl who did- and no I wasn`t on a Sri Lankan beach either - though another friend was there quite recently) I thought you might like to see what Ive been eating these days.

Homemade Biryani (not made by me!!)

 First we have the amazing home-made Indian Biryani specially cooked by a friend for another friend's birthday. I promised myself I will learn to make this amazing dish one day. The flavours just exploded in my mouth...mmm...The cook said she spent 2 hours with her mom discussing this recipe. Delicious accompanied with a glass of pink lemonade and a lighthearted Bollywood movie.

Yummy Cake (also not by me! from PAUL)

 Voici le cassis aux pommes et aux mûres du pâtissier PAUL, une chaine française importée à Londres. Une copine burkinabaise nous a apporté ce délice lors d'un dinner de filles. J'adore inviter du monde dans notre petite cuisine étudiante - c'est tellement plus agréable que de souper seule, et d'ailleurs on mange toujours mieux lorsqu'on cuisine pour d'autres.

Veggies that I helped chop

Roasted Red Peppers (my creation)

J'ai fait cuire des poivrons bourrés au fromage halloumi à quelques reprises. Cette recette du BBC est très facile à suivre et c'est parfait pour les végétariens (il y en a plusieurs en développement international).

Jumping for joy because yes, you can eat well in London!!

What else have I been up to these days...
-Started zumba classes - wow my calves hurt the first time.

-Last Thursday we had an awesome networking event, the "Industry Dinner". I talked to some very dynamic people, from NGOs, consultancies and even from the world of journalism (Al Jazeera). We had a lively debate about the KONY 2012 video which has gone viral. One of the girls at my table has volunteered with Invisible Children, so it was great to get her point of view on the whole debate about whether it's better to inform and get people passionate about an issue (while oversimplifying the message) or whether it's better to inform fewer people but strive for a fuller understanding of very complex issues.

-I finished watching Downtown Abbey. I do love an over-the-top drama in period costume.

-I'm looking forward to my trip to Istanbul but rather sad that this is my last week of taught classes! How quickly time flies, in hindsight. I may update with a few more pictures of my brunches and lunches in the upcoming week. Loads of people from my program are flying to exotic places like Uganda and China, so we all want to celebrate and spent time together before going back to the grindstone in preparation for exams and dissertations.

Je vous embrasse,
Miss Engagée xx

OxFORD!!

Christ Church (Oxford) dining hall- which inspired the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies

I spent a beautiful and relaxing weekend in Oxford!! I was pinching myself the whole time, so happy to be there. A group of us LSE Development Students were there for the OxFID conference, attending seminars on topics like communications in conflict, food security, MDGs and microfinance. I attended talks all day on Saturday, but it was so beautiful that on Sunday I skipped most of the afternoon to go exploring.

As you can see from the first two photos, I visited Christ Church, the beautiful Oxford college which was used for some of the Harry Potter movies (such as the staircase scene where Professor McGonagall welcomed the first year students to Hogwarts). The cathedral and the Tom Tower are quite interesting and it`s lovely to think of all the bright young students who`ve worked and played within these walls, before going on to do great things: W.H. Auden, John Locke, Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) and no fewer than thirteen Prime Ministers!

I hope you are all having fantastic weather too. J'espère que le mois de mars s'annonce beau pour tout le monde!
Love to you all, Miss Engagée xx

2012

The DNA-like building is called "The Orbit", apparently that's where the Flame will go. The other building is the Aquatics Centre. 

 As you may know, 2012 is a BIG YEAR for London. Not only are we celebrating the Queen's Jubilee, we are also getting ready to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. My friend (who's also a Canadian with ties to Ottawa) and I checked out the Olympic Park today - we couldn't actually access the site because it's not ready, but we did get a nice view from the 2012 Olympic Shop across the street.

As you can see, London does occasionally get sunshine in the winter! It's about 5C at the moment but the weather varies a lot depending on the rain, the time of day, and which way the wind blows.

In other news, I had an action-packed weekend planning another friend's 23d birthday party. It was a surprise party: we pulled it off quite nicely, she didn't suspect a thing (well, almost). The theme was "Childhood" so we had a pinata, a "pass the parcel" game, balloons and a clown! (nope, we didn't actually hire a clown, that was just the boys acting up).  I made a cheesecake/brownie cake which was very gooey.

Going to see the Opera this week, I'm very excited!!

lots of love,
Miss Engagée xxx

Bonne Saint-Valentin!

Photo credit: SMUG Lifestyle Store in Camden

Love to all my friends and family. Je vous embrasse,
Mia

Bric à Brac - Odds and Ends

We're exactly halfway through Lent Term already, although I must say it feels to me like we just started. I decided to take my camera for a walk one day to document the sights I see every morning. 

Below are treasure hunters who were out in droves this week, wearing big wellies and carrying metal-detectors (the more serious ones, at least). 

Looking for treasure - will the Thames reveal its secrets?

 I walk by the Millenium Bridge Footpath every day - the second nicest bridge after Tower Bridge, in my opinion. In the picture below, you can almost spot Butler's Wharf - it's just beyond the tall, nearly complete building named the "Shard", which I believe is used for office space. the Millenium Bridge gets you from St Paul`s on the north side to the Tate Modern on the "Bankside".

London School of Economics and Political Science

 I went to see Les Misérables this week with three friends who are all just as keen as I am to explore London's cultural attractions to the fullest. It was fantastic!!! I saw Les Miz three years ago with mom, but this time was just as special. I love the male leads in this musical, which is mainly about Jean Valjean and his journey from convict to respected mayor to runaway from the law to father and hero/revolutionary.

I had a really fun and sociable weekend: my friend X invited a few people to eat dumplings at Northumberland House (the LSE residence which is closest to Trafalgar Square) then another friend invited me to brunch on Saturday (and then I squeezed in some time at the library). That night we went dancing in Soho and I didn't get to bed until 5 am or so ;) and finally we had a huge potluck on Sunday with about 12 people.

Time to hit the books. I have an essay on "agrarian reform" due on Friday!

Bises de
Miss Engagée xx