I didn't mention that I traveled to Stone Henge/Salisbury on Sunday. It was my first real journey outside of London and the 2-hour train ride there revealed some British countryside that reminded me a little of the American Midwest with a few more hills.

So... Stone Henge. Some people claim to be disappointed by it, but it was very near to what I expected. Located in the Salisbury plain, it was pretty damn cold and windy. Sheep were chilling out nearby but kept away from the Stone Henge area by a not so inconspicuous electric fence. The road is right next to Stone Henge too. I must say, the 20-minute bus ride there gave me a newfound appreciation for London buses. Sitting on the top-deck of the bus, it felt more like I was rocking in a boat.

I tried my best to listen to the free audio tour guide thing, but my fingers were freezing as I held it to my ear. My Stone Henge travel pals, Gabor from work and his fellow Hungarian friend, relied on me for listening to the important bits and relaying the information. I won't go into what I learned, because that would be (more) boring... but it was a good time and I'm glad I went. In the gift shop, I flipped through some photography books of Stone Henge from 1900-present and was kind of shocked to see the vandalism that persisted at Stone Henge until the '70s. People put tables and chairs on the lintels and drank up there. They chipped bits of rock away for a souvenir. And they wrote on the actual stones. So... needless to say, visitors are kept a safe distance away. Good.

We also ventured into Salisbury itself, home to Salisbury Cathedral which boasts a.) the tallest church spire in the UK; b.) the largest cloister and largest Cathedral Close in Britain; c.) the world's oldest working clock from 1386; and d.) the best preserved of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta (we unfortunately got there 5 minutes too late to glimpse it). Who would've thought...

It was cool to travel with Hungarians and ask them about their country/history. They kind of laughed about it and all the arbitrary borders for Hungary and neighboring countries which are home to many Hungarians also. It's also a feat to overcome mistranslations, as they speak "British." They're what I would call fluent, but things still go awry with accents, pronunciations, and American/British colloquialisms. Anyways... that's a wrap.

I'm just back from an in-store performance by Laura Marling, a singer/song-writer I've been ranting and raving about over at the TMC blog. So while thoughts are fresh...

The in-store took place at the tiny Rough Trade West, a tiny record shop in Notting Hill off of Portobello Road to celebrate the release of her first record, Alas I Cannot Swim. Laura performed behind the counter with just a microphone and her Gibson acoustic. She did her best to talk a bit with the audience but her shyness showed through, as she sang with her eyes downcast for most of the songs. Her eyes would occasionally drift up and look above the audience at all the posters and when the guy who was front and center, arms wrapped around his girlfriend, scrambled to silence his ringing cell phone, she smiled wide. I was right up front, just behind a slightly pungent man that took too many photographs. I could even see her fingers grey from all the guitar picking. She played six songs or so and then returned to sign some cds and singles.

As I listen to her album now, I prefer her live versions, especially of "Alas I Cannot Swim," (listen to below) a favorite that sounds a bit like its a traditional story sung in some traditional style that I can't put my finger on. Somewhat unfortunately, it is inconveniently hidden away at the end of the last track. Some album versions are a bit more elaborate compared to her stripped down versions at the in-store. Luckily, I will get to see her live again... next Monday when she performs with Noah & the Whale at ICA and in March with my free ticket included with my purchase of her song box.

Edit: I've listened to her album several times through now and I think I need to give it more praise. Listening through my headphones and not my crappy laptop speakers, the loveliness of her live performance came through in her album versions. Very nice and calm to listen to as I did my morning Econometrics problem set.

I don't really know how to write real "reviews" so I will just conclude by saying that the in-store made me feel good. A bit of tugging at heart-strings and a bit of smirking at her bashfulness. At only 18-years-old, I think Laura Marling's song-writing is amazingly mature and intelligent. I hear her single "Ghosts" has been snatched up by a mobile phone provider so perhaps she'll go the way of the Feist-Starbucks marriage and be propelled to international stardom, complete with Ipod commercial.

Music has been a bit of a savior for me here in London. I'm really lucky that I'm right here in the middle of it. Hopefully, I keep taking advantage of it all.