October 30, 2009
Another 8am morning – this time in order to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace is home to the Queen of England and contains 775 rooms. If the flag is flying from the flagpole, it means that the Queen is home. It just so happened that the Queen was home although we did not get to see her. It was crowded as can be for the guard change and almost impossible to see anything. Fortunately, I did get a few pictures of all the finery.
Next, we went to get tickets for the evening show of “Wicked”, which is the story of the friendship between Elfaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz. We did manage to get seats for 20 Pounds. I would have paid more because I have wanted to see “Wicked” for years but 20 is just fine. Since Amanda and I had done all the major sites the day before and had food at the hostel for lunch, we split from Samantha and Vi so that they could go see everything and we could go eat. They then met up with us at the hostel and Samantha and I decided to go to the Natural History Museum.
The Natural History Museum is an impressive building and the exhibits inside are even more intense. The first thing I saw when I walked in was the giant skeleton of a brachiosaurus. The museum contains an extensive dinosaur bone collection as well as exhibits on rocks and minerals and mammals, just to name a couple. Similar to the Louvre, it is impossible to really appreciate all that this museum has to offer within just a couple of hours. Samantha and I spent 45 minutes in an exhibit called the Vault which contains extremely valuable gemstones and precious minerals. One of the rocks is a meteorite that fell in 1910 in Ferrara, Italy. It contains material that is older than the Earth itself! In the mammal room is a full scale model of a Blue Whale. I could have spent a month in every exhibit in the museum and still not have comprehended all of the knowledge it had to offer.
After the museum, Samantha and I headed back to the hostel for a bite to eat and to meet up with Vi. We then headed over to the Apollo Victoria Theater to see “Wicked”. Words cannot describe how excited I was to see this show. I have loved the music from “Wicked” since high school but never had the opportunity to see it. It did not disappoint. Everything about it was wonderful: costumes, singing, set, and actors. It was magnificent.
October 31, 2009
Amanda and I set out early to visit Notting Hill and Portobello road. On Saturdays, there is a very large market selling everything from pashminas to antique telescopes. All kinds of people come to the market to both buy and sell. This diversity is packed onto a simple two lane road. It had been raining earlier in the morning so it wasn’t impassable when we first arrived but by the time we left, it was almost impossible to stay together. We drifted in and out of shops and stopped to look at things that caught our eye. There was so much to see it was a little overwhelming.
We headed back towards the center of town in order to visit a friend of Amanda’s. On our way back, we witnessed the insanity that is Halloween in London. There was a museum turned haunted house which included zombies, vampires, and other ghostly figures which haunt the night. I adore Halloween. I love to dress up and go out. I really love seeing all the costumes that little kids wear because they can be extremely cute. I do not, however, like being scared out of my skin. For this reason, I do not frequent haunted houses or anything else of the kind. However, the line for the museum’s haunted house was almost around the corner so in the end, without my business, haunted houses do just fine.
After a brief lunch, Amanda and I sprinted to the National Theater in order to catch the matinee of “Mother Courage and her Children”. This play is set in Poland during the 13 years war and follows a woman named Mother Courage. She has three children whom she is desperate to protect from the fighting but during the first scene, her eldest son is sneaked away by a recruiting officer. Her second son, who goes by the name of Cottage Cheese, has a mental disability and her daughter, Kattrin, is mute. Mother Courage follows the Polish army with a cart containing items that she trades with the soldiers for money. As the play continues, heartache and death are constant companions. It ends tragically but is still an amazing play. This show was truly one of the best I have ever seen and inspired me as an actress.
Next we headed back to Covent Garden. I had a ticket to see “War Horse” and Amanda decided to go to “Sister Act”. It may seem strange to see two shows in one day, but Amanda and I are theater majors and the stage is what we love. “War Horse” was very good. It follows a horse named Joey (a magnificent puppet manned by three people) and other horses as they go to war. Joey’s human companion Robbie is so distraught when Joey is taken away from him that he follows the horse into battle even though he is not of age. It is a heartbreaking but beautiful story.
Afterward as I made my way back to the hostel, I ran into Vi and Samantha. They had gone to see “Grease” that night. We decided to go out and see what London had to offer on Halloween. In the end, we went back to the hostel and had many conversations with the others who were staying there. It was a load of good fun and I went to bed quite happy with my day.
November 1, 2009
I decided that I wanted to go back to Portobello road to see if the market was still open. Unfortunately, the weather that had been so kind to us during the week gave in and it began to pour. There is nothing like walking down a deserted street in London, in the rain, only to discover that your shoes are no longer as water proof as they were when your trip first began. In the end, Amanda and I gave up wandering aimlessly around and stepped into a Starbucks to help warm out insides. We had a little heart to heart conversation (always good for the soul) then set out again in order to stop by the Tate Museum of Modern Art. This museum contains six floors with just about any kind of art imaginable. The Tate is free to enter, but the temporary exhibits are a paying affair. There was only one temporary exhibit that I wanted to see but I had run out of money and I couldn’t get more. In the end, I saw Monet and Andy Warhol so the visit was not a complete failure (as if seeing just those two artists alone could be considered anything but a victory).
We headed back to the hostel so that I could change my socks and decide which matinee show we wanted to see. Sundays are much more difficult to see a show because it is often what is called a dark day. Dark days are simply days when the show and the actors take a break from performing. In America, these days often happen on Monday but in London, this is not so. Luckily, we found a promising play: “The Shawshank Redemption”. “The Shawshank Redemption” began originally as a novel by Stephen King and then became a movie made in America. As a play, it was very impressive. A man Andy is sent to prison for a crime he constantly claims he never committed. He becomes friends with another inmate named Red and the two strike up a strong bond. As the story continues, the audience sees the injustices inherent in the system and it all ends in a very surprising manner. Amanda and I so enjoyed it that we gave it a standing ovation and stood outside the stage door to get signatures. Laugh if you will, but it was worth it.
We headed back to the hostel, made dinner, and I ended up going to bed quite early. We were going to have a long day of travel the next day.
November 2, 2009
We had to start out early in order to get to the airport on time. Luckily, Amanda and I had checked in online but Samantha and Vi needed to check luggage. To make a long story short, we all managed to make the plane by the skin of our teeth. Hannah and Jenna were both on the same flight so it was good to know that the majority of us were getting back together. We flew into Pisa with no problem, bought tickets for Arezzo and then proceeded to spend the rest of the day on very crowded trains. Exhausted and sore, we made our way back to the palazzo and I fell into bed to get some much needed R&R. I had a wonderful trip and it is my dear hope that I will one day be able to visit London again.
martedì 17 novembre 2009
lunedì 16 novembre 2009
The London Pop-up Book: Part 1
October 28, 2009
Amanda and I had been planning for London for so long that it was wonderful to finally be on our way. We had plane tickets, a place to stay, and a plan on how to get there. We packed the night before (and had a wonderful time with Chelsea’s family) and talked about some last minute things. We got up around 6 because wee had to be at the bus station by 7. Caught the bus to Arezzo, caught the train to the Pisa airport, waited in line to check in and then to security. Here are some tips for European airline travel:
1.) Check-in online if you can. It saves time, energy, and frustration.
2.) Make sure any and all toiletries are in a clear case and in 100mL bottles or less (And yes, Clinique face wash works just as well in a smaller bottle as it does in the bottle it comes in. Don’t go wasting 15 Euros in the shop at the airport just because you forgot about the bottle rule.)
3.) Make room for delays
4.) Bring money and food.
5.) If you find that your credit card has decided to not let you withdraw money in the country you land in and you have to call your bank, be kind to the person on the phone. They have very hard jobs and are much more likely to help you faster and more efficiently if you ask them how their day is.
So we arrived in London around 4 and made it to the hostel around 5. The hostel was just wonderful, a great find by the brilliant Amanda. Close to the Underground but in a nice residential area that felt very safe. We arrived in time to see a show that night. We decided on “The Woman in Black”, a thriller-type ghost story in which there are only two characters and one ghost. I thought the acting was wonderful, especially because one of the actors portrayed a number of different people. A man named Arthur Kipps has gone to an actor in order to receive help on a story he has written about his past and wishes to tell. The Actor, who has no other name, makes the story a performance and places himself in the role of the younger Arthur while the real Arthur takes on the roles of all of the other people involved in the story. I realize that this is a bit confusing but the performances were just wonderful. I won’t give away the ending; I will just say that it was the perfect show to see just before Halloween.
October 29, 2009
We woke up around 8 in order to get as much out of the day as possible. In some strange twist of fate, the weather, which had been bitterly cold when we left Sansepolcro, was surprisingly warm. This was odd for October, but I will always take blessings where I can. Our first order of business was the Globe Theater. Yes, that amazing building in which Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. Being a theatre major (and a past student of the infamous Gary Walton, whom has taught me the majority of what I know of that great bard), I could not bypass such an opportunity. Truly, it was as if I found water in the desert. I have been without stage and script for the whole semester. Being able to just sit in the Globe and listen to its history, I fell in love with the theatre world all over again.
After the Globe, Amanda and I visited some of the most famous sights in London. In order to visit the Globe, one must cross the Millennium Bridge. This modern structure crosses the Thames river right in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Paul’s was built in the 17th century and is one of the largest Cathedral domes in the world (this fact courtesy of my St. Paul’s mini card obtained from my hostel). Right beside the bridge sits the City of London School. According to Amanda, this is where Daniel Radcliff attended school for two years before making his millions as Harry Potter. Lucky lad. Not long afterward, Amanda and I took the tube to see such famous sights as Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. James’s Park, and Buckingham Palace. In truth, Big Ben is the name of the giant bell inside and the tower’s actual name is Stephen. Stephen the tower. I think I understand why everyone calls it Big Ben.
The London Eye is the world’s biggest Ferris wheel. For 17 Pounds, you can sit for 30 minutes in an enclosed glass egg and see the entire city. I did not spend 17 Pounds to see the entire city because venturing that high on a Ferris wheel is not my idea of fun. Heights and I don’t get along well. Still, just viewing the wheel was interesting. Even if the wheel doesn’t look like it’s turning, it is.
Westminster Abbey was next on the list, followed by the Houses of Parliament. Westminster Abbey has a small chapel next to it which is free to enter. Amanda and I had decided to go inside St. Paul’s and Westminster on Sunday because then you can venture in for free. Otherwise, it costs upwards of 10 pounds to get in. The chapel though, was just lovely. It reminded me quite a bit of the church I attended when I was younger. The walls of the chapel were covered in memorials and prayers for the departed and the stained glass windows pictured abstract art instead of traditional Bible scenes. We were lucky enough to have entered while the organist was practicing and so sat in silence for a few minutes just to enjoy the music.
We next wandered through St. James’s Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. This park is home to a large number of geese, swans, and ducks because there is a large lake located in the center. All of these birds recognize you as having one thing: food. This provides a lot of entertainment for the families who come to the park. It was such a lovely sight to see all the different ages present. Young and old, small and large; everyone can have a good time. We saw a group of children having a race on hop balls (those big bouncy balls that you sit on) and we saw people walking their dogs or just sitting on the grass and reading. At one point, Amanda and I found a marble monument in the shape of a wedge. A small amount of water flows from the top of the wedge to the bottom. The real sight came from watching all of the children climbing up and down this monument. They would slip and fall on the marble and some would laugh and some would cry. They would run and pose at the top for a picture and one little girl decided it was her job to collect all of the leaves which had gotten stuck. We sat and watched all the fun for a while until one parent read on the side that the monument was not to be climbed on. Everyone then vacated the makeshift playground. The monument is to commemorate the Canadians who came to help the English during both World Wars. The plaque in front states: In two world wars one million Canadians came to Britain and joined the fight for freedom. From danger shared, our friendship prospers. I understand honoring those who have given their lives for freedom, but at the same time I doubt those who passed would have been upset at seeing those children having such innocent fun. Especially if they could have seen the smiles.
Samantha and Vi met up with Amanda and I back at the hostel. They had been to Paris first and then made their way to London. We decided to see a show called “War Horse” that night but unfortunately it was sold out. We decided to see “Dirty Dancing” instead. “Dirty Dancing” was first a movie and is now a stage show. The dancing, of course, was amazing. The acting…not so much. Nevertheless, it was still a very enjoyable show. A successful first full day in London.
Amanda and I had been planning for London for so long that it was wonderful to finally be on our way. We had plane tickets, a place to stay, and a plan on how to get there. We packed the night before (and had a wonderful time with Chelsea’s family) and talked about some last minute things. We got up around 6 because wee had to be at the bus station by 7. Caught the bus to Arezzo, caught the train to the Pisa airport, waited in line to check in and then to security. Here are some tips for European airline travel:
1.) Check-in online if you can. It saves time, energy, and frustration.
2.) Make sure any and all toiletries are in a clear case and in 100mL bottles or less (And yes, Clinique face wash works just as well in a smaller bottle as it does in the bottle it comes in. Don’t go wasting 15 Euros in the shop at the airport just because you forgot about the bottle rule.)
3.) Make room for delays
4.) Bring money and food.
5.) If you find that your credit card has decided to not let you withdraw money in the country you land in and you have to call your bank, be kind to the person on the phone. They have very hard jobs and are much more likely to help you faster and more efficiently if you ask them how their day is.
So we arrived in London around 4 and made it to the hostel around 5. The hostel was just wonderful, a great find by the brilliant Amanda. Close to the Underground but in a nice residential area that felt very safe. We arrived in time to see a show that night. We decided on “The Woman in Black”, a thriller-type ghost story in which there are only two characters and one ghost. I thought the acting was wonderful, especially because one of the actors portrayed a number of different people. A man named Arthur Kipps has gone to an actor in order to receive help on a story he has written about his past and wishes to tell. The Actor, who has no other name, makes the story a performance and places himself in the role of the younger Arthur while the real Arthur takes on the roles of all of the other people involved in the story. I realize that this is a bit confusing but the performances were just wonderful. I won’t give away the ending; I will just say that it was the perfect show to see just before Halloween.
October 29, 2009
We woke up around 8 in order to get as much out of the day as possible. In some strange twist of fate, the weather, which had been bitterly cold when we left Sansepolcro, was surprisingly warm. This was odd for October, but I will always take blessings where I can. Our first order of business was the Globe Theater. Yes, that amazing building in which Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. Being a theatre major (and a past student of the infamous Gary Walton, whom has taught me the majority of what I know of that great bard), I could not bypass such an opportunity. Truly, it was as if I found water in the desert. I have been without stage and script for the whole semester. Being able to just sit in the Globe and listen to its history, I fell in love with the theatre world all over again.
After the Globe, Amanda and I visited some of the most famous sights in London. In order to visit the Globe, one must cross the Millennium Bridge. This modern structure crosses the Thames river right in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Paul’s was built in the 17th century and is one of the largest Cathedral domes in the world (this fact courtesy of my St. Paul’s mini card obtained from my hostel). Right beside the bridge sits the City of London School. According to Amanda, this is where Daniel Radcliff attended school for two years before making his millions as Harry Potter. Lucky lad. Not long afterward, Amanda and I took the tube to see such famous sights as Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. James’s Park, and Buckingham Palace. In truth, Big Ben is the name of the giant bell inside and the tower’s actual name is Stephen. Stephen the tower. I think I understand why everyone calls it Big Ben.
The London Eye is the world’s biggest Ferris wheel. For 17 Pounds, you can sit for 30 minutes in an enclosed glass egg and see the entire city. I did not spend 17 Pounds to see the entire city because venturing that high on a Ferris wheel is not my idea of fun. Heights and I don’t get along well. Still, just viewing the wheel was interesting. Even if the wheel doesn’t look like it’s turning, it is.
Westminster Abbey was next on the list, followed by the Houses of Parliament. Westminster Abbey has a small chapel next to it which is free to enter. Amanda and I had decided to go inside St. Paul’s and Westminster on Sunday because then you can venture in for free. Otherwise, it costs upwards of 10 pounds to get in. The chapel though, was just lovely. It reminded me quite a bit of the church I attended when I was younger. The walls of the chapel were covered in memorials and prayers for the departed and the stained glass windows pictured abstract art instead of traditional Bible scenes. We were lucky enough to have entered while the organist was practicing and so sat in silence for a few minutes just to enjoy the music.
We next wandered through St. James’s Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. This park is home to a large number of geese, swans, and ducks because there is a large lake located in the center. All of these birds recognize you as having one thing: food. This provides a lot of entertainment for the families who come to the park. It was such a lovely sight to see all the different ages present. Young and old, small and large; everyone can have a good time. We saw a group of children having a race on hop balls (those big bouncy balls that you sit on) and we saw people walking their dogs or just sitting on the grass and reading. At one point, Amanda and I found a marble monument in the shape of a wedge. A small amount of water flows from the top of the wedge to the bottom. The real sight came from watching all of the children climbing up and down this monument. They would slip and fall on the marble and some would laugh and some would cry. They would run and pose at the top for a picture and one little girl decided it was her job to collect all of the leaves which had gotten stuck. We sat and watched all the fun for a while until one parent read on the side that the monument was not to be climbed on. Everyone then vacated the makeshift playground. The monument is to commemorate the Canadians who came to help the English during both World Wars. The plaque in front states: In two world wars one million Canadians came to Britain and joined the fight for freedom. From danger shared, our friendship prospers. I understand honoring those who have given their lives for freedom, but at the same time I doubt those who passed would have been upset at seeing those children having such innocent fun. Especially if they could have seen the smiles.
Samantha and Vi met up with Amanda and I back at the hostel. They had been to Paris first and then made their way to London. We decided to see a show called “War Horse” that night but unfortunately it was sold out. We decided to see “Dirty Dancing” instead. “Dirty Dancing” was first a movie and is now a stage show. The dancing, of course, was amazing. The acting…not so much. Nevertheless, it was still a very enjoyable show. A successful first full day in London.
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