4 days...

Well, time is short, but I've got a few crazy busy days left!

A.S., M.M., and I went to the Texas Embassy for dinner...Go Frogs!!

Today, E.D. and I went to Westminster Abbey today, and got close and personal with Big Ben as well.

The church (...cathedral?) was beautiful! Poet's Corner was pretty much amazing. This past weekend I took it easy; I spent some time in Hyde Park, stumbled across Speaker's Corner, and saw two shows: Marguerite (which was okay) and Blood Brothers (good, in an 80s-tastic sort of way). Tomorrow we're taking a day trip to Bath, Wednesday we're seeing shows and I'm giving my oral presentation, Thursday is our last day of class, and then it's all over! Pretty crazy.

See you soon!!!

Harry Potter and LOTR

Sadly, I haven't done anything quite as exciting as le gay Paree, but C.P., B.L., and I all made it to the legendary Platform 9 3/4. (This is a Harry Potter reference/landmark, for the lesser learned.) We thought about showing our true identity and going all the way through, but we thought we would alarm the small children standing by.

We also had to take the classic in-a-British-phone booth picture, though no phone calls were actually made.

I've seen several more shows, including The Chalk Garden, which was pretty awesome. Today, however, I witnessed one of the most awesome theatre experiences ever imagined: The Lord of the Rings.

I know. I was a doubter. It sounds like the stuff of disaster (and in a way it is), but I haven't had that much fun in a play in a very, very long time. The story was cut incredibly, but it wasn't awkward and choppy (like Gone with the Wind). I can see why it didn't work commercially--the story and the acting aren't the most stellar to ever grace the theatre--but the effects, spectacle, and magic were absolutely breathtaking. Like Midsummer, it held some of the most beautiful moments I had ever seen onstage.

Gollum.

Lothlorien

We're starting on our last week here--crazy to think about. I'm hopefully going to see more awesome theatre, and I still need to go tour St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey, but I think I'm going to spend some time revisiting the places I've enjoyed most, like Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. It's been a pretty great ride, but I'm not going to lie, I'm ready to see a Taco Bell.

...although I hear I'm too late for Taco Johns. What is happening to my town?!? You leave the country for a month, and look what happens...

Break a leg, Company!!!!!!!

Highlights from Paris

Okay, so I could write pages and pages about le gay Paree, but I don't want to spend hours in front of the computer, so the long story is going to have to wait till I'm back in the states.

Or, you could just ask Dad.

It's him! The Phantom of the Opera! He's here, inside is lair. Or there...inside your mind.

Omaha Beach.

American flag (and Dad) at Normandy.

Dad.

American Cemetery at Normandy.

View from the Eiffel Tower. After traveling eight hours to Normandy (to spend 3 hours there), we decided we would be smart and end the day walking up 668 steps, plus an elevator ride, to get to the top of the ET. We were exhausted, but we refused to be lame, and we finally made it.

To see more of the Eiffel Tower, look at the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7ti0jp_0xs

The original Lady Liberty.

Le Louvre. Home of the Mona Lisa and Mary Magdalene.

Arc of Triumph.

Comedie Francais, where I saw a show!!! I couldn't understand a word, but I followed most of it...I think. It was a pretty sweet experience, even if I didn't get the whole story.

View from Notre Dame. To see more of Notre Dame, again, check the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ukGwBd89YY

Dad and I at Notre Dame...after climbing yet more stairs.

Statue of Pierre Corneille (a playwright) outside of the Pantheon. I feel that his new hat suits him--no, we didn't do it. The Pantheon was huge and beautiful; Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Voltaire, and Mare Curie are all buried here, and we got to see their tombs.

Overall, it was pretty rockin'. We ate food (some good, some okay, all different--we finally caved and ate Hard Rock Cafe on the last day), walked eight million miles, and saw just about everything that is humanly possible to see in four days.

We met lots of nice French people; most of them could speak at least some English, but you should ask Dad about being bilingual.

More as the story develops--this weekend was definitely one to remember!!

Tribute to the Motherland.

On Saturday, we went to the Trooping the Color--and saw the Queen! We didn't stay for the ceremony (where Her Maj inspects the troops), but we did see many soldiers with rifles/music.

This is my new boyfriend Herbert. We bonded. I waved. He blinked (I think). It's true love.

It's her! It's the Queen! We took bets to see what color she would be wearing this year. I guessed hot pink...obviously, I was mistaken, but after last year's lime green, anything is possible. I thought she was very classy. (Although I guess if she showed up naked, it would still be considered classy. That's what you get when you're Queen. Instant class.)

Just in case you ever wanted the experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9xeHqvGopM

Sunday we voyaged to Salisbury to mess around and to see Stonehenge. It was...just amazing. Absolutely incredible. And beautiful. And ridiculous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uLwt0gHF1E

One of our friends asked, "You're going to see....rocks?" I guess in essence that's what they are, but it was so, so worth it. Thousands of years of weather and war, and there they were. Awesome.

We walked into Salisbury Cathedral just in time to catch the service--both the service and the church itself were gorgeous. The Cathedral also houses one of the two remaining copies of the Magna Carta. Random, but still cool.

Get ready. This rock...the round one on top of the base...is one billion years old. Literally. That's what the sign said. One billion. I touched it--not sure if that's allowed, but it's not like there's a gate around it. I touched something that is a billion years old. I don't even know what that means.

This morning we took a tour of the Royal Court Theatre (now one of my favorite places on Earth), K.L. and I bought tickets to le gay Paree, and we're going to see a show tonight at the Old Vic: Pygmalion.

More as the story develops.

Shakespeare Week, Part 2

Stratford-upon-Avon was an awesome day. We did the whole deal: Shakespeare's birthplace, Midsummer at the RSC's theatre, and Shakespeare's grave.


Shakespeare's birthplace.

Boats in the Avon. Note the names.
Statue of the Bard. It was surrounded by four other statues of some of his greatest characters: Prince Hal, Hamlet, Lady MacBeth, and Falstaff.
It was a great trip and a beautiful place, and this Midsummer was one of the most beautiful productions I have ever seen. I have stories for my brother--he would have appreciated a lot of their choices.

Today, B.L., C.P., and I went to a science museum and then to Kensington Gardens to visit Peter Pan.

This was under the energy conservation exhibit--apparently a future alternative for fuel will be poo. I didn't ask questions.

This was the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It was gorgeous and peaceful--I really enjoyed seeing it.

We found him.

Last year's group read Chapter One of Peter Pan at the statue, so we continued the tradition and read Chapter Two. I kept looking around into the trees to see if he was listening to the stories about him.

Side story: I had a Peter Pan pin on my jacket, but I discovered it missing while we were in the park. It's gone. I should have known better than to bring Peter Pan into Kensington Gardens; he's obviously going to run away.

I do believe.

Tonight, in celebration of Friday the 13th, we braved The Woman in Black. It's a clever, creepy ghost story that surprised me by being super good. It's a very well put together production.

Tomorrow we're going to see the Queen!

Shakespeare Week, Part One

Yesterday, we kicked off the week with a Shakespeare tour of London. It was pretty neat: we saw remains of Blackfriar's monastery, which later became a playhouse for Shakespeare and co. in the winter. Also on the tour was the fake Globe Theatre:

It took an American to create this reconstruction of the Globe--I'm not sure what that means, but it's pretty cool. We're seeing Merry Wives of Windsor here later today.

We also saw the site of the actual Globe:

It's not the most inspiring sight, I guess, and it doesn't do a whole lot for the imagination. But somewhere underneath this building, concrete, and 400 years of history, we were literally standing in the footprints of Shakespeare. And that, friends, is something to think about.

It's like that everywhere here--you can't move three steps without encountering ghosts.

Later that night, C.P., B.L., and I journeyed to Regent Park to see Romeo and Juliet in a gorgeous outdoor theatre. It was...okay. They set it in the fifties and had pretty sweet dance-fights with knives, but it really took me out of the show when they threw in the Fonzie "Heeeeyyy" amongst the antiquated language of Shakespeare.

Yesterday, we took a tour of the National Theatre and saw a wonderful production of Harper Regan there:

This space is like fantasy land for theatre. All of their production is done on sight in shops (which is unusual for a theatre this size), and they hold three different theatres, all of which house two or three shows in rep. It is a massive organization that is known for producing only the highest quality of work, and--are you ready?--they actually get money from the government to do it.

A group of us also went to the Psycho Buildings exhibit. It was weird:

They had these rooms set up to stimulate your senses in three dimensions, not just two. These pictures, besides being stolen from Google, are two of the exhibits. They also had a mini-pond thing you could row out onto, a maze-esque thing of colored paper, and a creepy city made out of empty dollhouses. It was okay; it's just not my thing. I would walk into a room and think, "Wow. This is cool. It took a lot of work from the artist. ... Now what?" I think I'll stick with theatre, thanks.

After the show at the fake Globe, I think we're going to try to catch another show at the National. It's called The Revenger's Tragedy, and apparently the violence is such that they have to mop the blood off the floor at intermission. Now that's theatre!

Tomorrow we're capping off Shakespeare Week with a pilgrimage to Stratford-upon-Avon to pay homage to good ol' Bill. Pictures to follow.

The London Zoo and other such happenings.

Yesterday, I slept in for the first time since getting here, and it was wonderful. I met M.M. at one, and we went to Leicester Square for about two seconds before deciding to catch the 3:00 matinee of Cabaret. It was an awesome production, and I just took it easy for the rest of the night.

This morning, B.L., E.D., and I went to the service at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was a bit different from the Baptist environment I grew up in (and by "a bit" I mean "different in every way possible"), but it was such a connection to history. For at least four hundred years (and more), people have been coming to this church for the same reason, saying the same words and participating in the same rituals. Everyone from the kings to the students (even Southern Baptists and Catholics) was and is welcome, and I can't imagine a more beautiful surrounding. Pretty powerful.

We passed a barber shop and an EAT restaurant on Fleet Street on the way back. Any takers?

Later, we went to the London Zoo!!! It was a beautiful, relaxing day--and a pretty rockawesome time.

The bear wanted a kiss, so I gave him one.

Penguins!!

This was a random dung beetle statue/monument thing. No one seemed thrilled about having their picture taken with it; I don't know why.

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One of their newer exhibits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAaqna5DLU8

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This statue is of the bear that A.A.Milne based Winnie-the-Pooh off of. The man is not Milne, however, it is the man who owned the bear.

One of my favorite pictures of the day.

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A note to my brother:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH51DasxtCc

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I thought we would be seeing mostly animals we were familiar with, but there were some I had never heard of before in my life. Like this. What is this?!? We christened him the panda anteater, but I feel that there is a more technical term for this critter.

This was a statue of......well, we decided a bird embryo. This is yet another family photo of the day.

And finally, the reason for visiting the zoo in the first place: Harry Potter. Yes, sportsfans, this is the sight where young Harry accidentally frees the Brazilian boa constrictor, causing pandemonium. This is also the sight where this scene in the first movie was filmed. History, my friends, history.

Shakespeare Week begins tomorrow!!! More as the story develops.