DAYS 15, 16, 17. Lion King, Hamlet, Tea Parties, & Wanderings.

I have been busy and blogger has been down, which equates to being behind on posting once again. Unfortunately my memory is awful but I will try not to leave out anything important (especially because this is my only method of recording my travels).

DAY 15, WEDNESDAY.
Class as usual. We discussed the performance we saw of War Horse, and what we read for Hamlet. After class we bought tickets for Lion King, the musical. During the afternoon I have no idea what I did haha, probably attempted to do homework but ended up on the computer sifting through photographs. Before the show we went attempted to find a cheap Thai restaurant but failed and ended up getting pizza at an italian place. Lion King was so great, I loved it. The acting and singing wasn't the best but when there is so much else going on, you don't really notice. The costumes were fantastic, and the set was beautiful and creative. The opening scene was my favorite part, I think my mouth was agape the whole time. I realize that I am biased to this show and that most of the other people who saw it didn't like it as much as me butttt...I am obsessed with all things African and it doesn't help that I was raised on the music from the Lion King. "He Lives In You" has been stuck in my head ever since. After we left the theatre we did some meandering down to the Thames and admired the city lights illuminating Parliament, Big Ben, and The London Eye. It was a perfect night.

DAY 16, THURSDAY.
I slept in a little bit. Glorious. Then we went to Hyde Park for a tea party at noon. We had chamomile tea, crumpets, pain au chocolat, lemon biscuits (cookies), and a baguette. We ate and chatted underneath the overhanging branches of a draping tree, it was a beautiful day and that made it perfect. Later that evening we went to a lecture for Hamlet and then saw the performance at the Globe. This time I decided to be a groundling and stand on the ground in front of the stage instead of sitting around the sides where there is a good chance of an obstructed view. Even though we had to stand for around three hours, it was worth it to be closer with a pole-free view. I really like their version of Hamlet. I think that they made a good choice on the costumes (monochromatic/earth tones), and on many of the actors. The man who played Hamlet actually looked like a hobbit and made strange facial expressions that did not always match what he was supposed to convey, but some of the other actors were great, especially the man who played Laertes. The mousetrap scene was hilarious and very creative as well.

DAY 17, FRIDAY the 13TH.

Today almost everyone in our program went to Brighton, a seaside city mentioned frequently in Jane Austen's novels. I chose to stay instead with a few others, and plan on going back another day. During the morning we went to the Victoria & Albert Museum, which houses art and other artifacts. We viewed sculpture, paintings, drawings, and some theatre stuff. It's a great museum and I plan on going back to explore some more, especially since I am feeling guilty being the resident art major and not even spending much time looking at art so far. After that we went to High Tea at the Orangery. BEST THING EVER. It was straight of out a book. The Orangery is situated at Kensington Palace within Hyde Park. I ordered chamomile tea and fruit scones with clotted cream and marmalade. It was divine and I loved every minute of it. The gardens were also beautiful and exquisite. We then took the tube to Hampstead, which is north of central London. We ate crêpes at this little stand where they actually spoke French and they were so good. Mine had egg, cheese, and ham- plus they came in a cone with a "snaknife" (think fork-knife)! We then decided that since it was Friday the 13th, we would find the cemetery. We were told it was over the Heath (a large park raised up in between High Gate and Hampstead), so we journeyed through it asking directions along the way. Long story short, we wandered for hours trying to locate it when finally we took a bus to it and found the cemetery to be closed since it was dark...however we plan on going back. The park was beautiful and walking in it was just what I needed- to be out of the city and in nature. Today was something out of Pride and Prejudice. And anything that even comes close to a Jane Austen novel makes me happy, so today I was extremely happy. Ready for lots of pictures?

Carolyn @ the Heath

Days 12, 13, & 14. New Ward, Tower of London, Temple, & War horse

Ok so it's been a while but here is what I have been up to for the last three days.

DAY 12, SUNDAY.
Five Other girls and myself went to our Portuguese-speaking ward for the first time. It was a really good experience and I am so glad that I was assigned to that ward. I could barely understand anything, but would pick up a few things that were similar to Spanish. The people were friendly, nice, and so humble and it was great to see their dedication. Later that night we had a fireside on the Blitz of WWII.

DAY 13, MONDAY.
We had class like usual :/ and then went straight to the Tower of London as a class. I had already been but it was still good (although I wish we had had a beefeater giving us the tour). But it was a funny day and combine that with lack of sleep and you get me giggling all day long.

Tower Bridge (taken by Chelsea)

Where the Royal Jewels are kept

DAY 14. TUESDAY.

Today we took a group trip to the the London Temple, which is actually out of the city in the countryside, and it is gorgeous. We rode a train and then got from the station to the temple by taxis. The temple grounds are the prettiest ones I have ever seen- large greens, flowers, a little river complete with a bridge, and lots of trees. I am so glad we were able to get out of the city for a day and enjoy the peace that comes with attending the temple, especially pondering while inside. After we got back we saw the show "War Horse", a play that we are studying in class. It was amazing, and I loved it. It was a story about a teenager and his horse during the time of WWII. The horses were created by puppet-work in the form of a real size horse with actors making all the sounds (breathing, naying) needed to make it seem real. I always get so emotionally involved in anything that has to do with animals. I probably cried like three times, but at least it had a happy ending. 

Worst picture of all time...but whatever.

What the horses looked like (from the website)

LONDON: DAY 11. The Globe, Borough Market, Celebrity Sightings, & Hyde Park.

Yesterday was quite an eventful day. Our class took a tour of the Globe Theatre and the Rose Theatre as well. Our tour guide told us not to get caught taking pictures inside because there were actors rehearsing at the moment and that was policy. As we were walking into the Globe I looked up at the actors and was the first one to gasp "OH MY GOSH THAT'S GEOFFREY FROM THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR!" as I gripped onto the person next to me. And it rapidly spread until all of us were whispering excitedly and trying to sneak pictures. I tried to get one but failed. Until later in the tour we passed him out back in the alleyway smoking and I got a good picture.

In the Globe

The Globe

Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey)

After the tour we decided to go to Borough Market down the street. They had samples out and the bread was so good. I ended up getting chocolate goat's milk ice cream- it was creamy and actually better than I thought it would be. Then we all got separated somehow and eventually I came home to do some homework...so. funnn.

Once we all met up again at the flat we decided to go to Hyde Park. OH BUT WAIT! Before that we one of our flatmates told us Anne Hathaway was doing a photoshoot down the street! So we ran down there and watched it, but they didn't let us take pictures. But still, so cool! Now back to the park...It was even more lovely than last time, if that's even possible. We talked, played frisbee, walked down to the Serpentine and then saw the Peter Pan statue. In the water there was an evil swan that went after this cute little wiener dog...it was entertaining though haha.

LONDON: DAY 10. The National, The Mews, & The Scandal.

Today our class had a tour at the National Theatre in Southbank, London. Can I just say that I love love love that theatre? And of course, I didn't bring my DLSR, which means being the photo snob that I am I took like a total of two pictures there today because all I had was my point and shoot and it takes bad quality photos. Ridiculous. Lesson learned, regret felt, I will never do that again. The National is a more recent building, beautifully designed, and modern. We also got to go back stage and see the production work as well as props. Southbank is so cool. They have fake beach right on the platform overlooking the Thames. And they also have an art festival up right now as well as book sales, cafes, and a skate park in the middle of it all that artists freely tag (which I have decided to do before I leave). I am going back soon, hopefully tomorrow, and will take lots of pictures to make up for it.

Stolen from the wonderful Carolyn

Artists. Tagging. So cool.

Then we went to Buckingham Palace to take a tour of the Royal Mews...we saw the carriage from the wedding and some of the horses. And then me and Carolyn ended the day by reading "The School For Scandal" for class in Hyde Park...not the best play in the world. It takes place around the same time as Jane Austen but it's just about frivolous gossips, so yes my time was wasted. But not to worry the park was sunny and lovely.

A golden carriage. GOLDEN.

Coachman, the Royal horse with a velvet nose.

The lovely Carolyn reading in Hyde Park.

Day 9: Primark and Little Eagles

Yesterday I decided I needed a shopping day. I had been cold and finally needed a coat of some sort (of course now that I bought one it has been warm outside...). So I went to Primark. Craziest place ever. It was huge, full of cheap clothes/accessories/shoes, and incredibly busy. I thought I had died and gone to heaven...if heaven had mile long lines for the fitting rooms. Anyway, moral of the story: America can't touch the London shopping scene.

That evening our group went to the Hampstead Theatre to see the play "Little Eagles". It took place in the USSR during the time after WWII when they were in a space race with the United States. I actually liked it a lot. It had a lot of harsh language but it made you think, ask yourself hard questions, and become aware of the situations they faced- and to me that makes a piece of art successful. I also thought the set was beautifully made and that most of the actors did a really great job in conveying emotion.

|| Fleet Foxes: Helplessness Blues ||

Fleet Foxes just came out with a new album titled "Helplessness Blues" and it is wonderful. I have been listening to it since it came out a few days ago and naturally it has become the soundtrack in my head as I have been wandering London. They also have had adverts up all over the tube for it.

Days 6, 7, & 8. China Town, Museums, and The Globe.

Time to play catch up...I have had jam-packed days lately and that combined with homework equals no time to blog. This will be three days in one, so I'll keep it as short as possible.

DAY 6
We went to down to Soho and wandered through China town, looking at bookstores, souvenirs, and lots of roasted duck. We then accidentally came upon Brewer Street on the way to a park...which we discovered to be the red light district of London...I will spare you the details of but lets just say some of the Utahan's virgin eyes were a bit tainted hahaha cracked me up. After spending some time in the park a few of us went to buy our Phantom of the Opera tickets and ate chinese while we waited for it to start. I really enjoyed the show and thought some of the voices were amazing as well as the set :)

Even in China Town the are celebrating the Royal Wedding

Soho park! I love these girls :)

I had to wait forever to get this picture

DAY 7

Our class met at the British Library to look at some important artifacts, especially books. My favorite by far was Jane Austen's journal and here writing desk! The Beatles' song lyrics on pieces of paper and birthday cards comes in second. We also got to see the Magna Carta, Handel's Messiah, the Guttenberg Bible, and the oldest complete New Testament. Afterwards we went to the National Portrait Gallery to view some paintings from the time period of Shakespeare. Afterwards I laid in the grass in Trafalgar Square and ate ice cream. We then headed over to the Globe Theatre to watch All's Well That End's Well for our Shakespeare class. It was good and I am glad I saw it but the Globe is an open air theatre so I was FREEZING. Spring here is nice, but I HATE THE WIND! Especially since I didn't bring any coats :( but not to worry, tomorrow I am going shopping haha. And we also got to walk across the Millennial Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral, where the opening scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes place :D

National Gallery

St. Paul's Cathedral

The Millennial Bridge

The Globe

DAY 8

Today we had class and went over over papers on The Tempest, and talked about Little Eagles (a modern play we are about to see). Afterwards a group of us went on the Big Bus Tour for a couple of cold and windy hours in addition to a boat ride on the Thames. Again, I hate the wind :( And tonight after I am done blogging I have to write a paper on All's Well That End's Well...oh the joy of homework in London...not.

The Tower Bridge

On the bus :)

The London Eye and Parliament