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.

***

One of their newer exhibits:

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

***

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.

***

A note to my brother:

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

***

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.

Brighton Beach

I loved the beach!! I like the ocean, I like the rocks (you don't get dirty), and I like the everything. It was such a great day!

We went to the Royal Pavilion of King George IV: it's essentially the Graceland of Brighton. It's a massive palace used to entertain and impress, and it is drenched in decor and wealth. I still can't get over the fact that we are walking the halls and streets of kings. They talk about history coming alive--I was in the bedroom of the king today. Pretty incredible.

The beach was relaxing and beautiful, although now I'm sunburned. Hooray! Melanoma!! Womp, womp. We also went to the boardwalk; C.P. and B.L. rode the roller coasters, and C.P. and I went on the super-campy Hotel of Horror ride. We barely escaped with our lives.

It really was a superfun day--exactly what I needed. And tomorrow I get to see a very good friend!! Weekends are sweet.

Puppets, Ferris Wheels, and Petticoats.

Yesterday, we hit up the British Library, which was pretty much amazing.


I saw such things as Shakespeare's First Folio, a Gutenberg Bible, the Beowulf manuscript, and the second oldest copy of the letter to the Hebrews. It was incredible to see things that were just that old, but also to see the handwriting of people like Da Vinci, Darwin, and Newton.

That night, we experienced Gone with the Wind, the hot new musical.


The most I can say is that it was a valiant attempt. It was pretty, and they told the story, but the songs just got in the way. They should have left it like the movie; it would have functioned better as a play. You could see the effort and the intent, but sometimes it's just not enough.

This morning, the class went to the V&A museum; it's massive and pretty cool. I got separated from the group--I know, shocker, right? :) --so I decided to go to Leicester Square and see Avenue Q and hit up the London Eye.

The Eye was beautiful:


I had to wait in line a while, but it was totally worth it. I like being up high!! But seriously, one of my favorite things so far has been getting that view of the city. Not to be punny, but it does put you in perspective; after so many near travesties, it made me excited to be in London again.

B.E.R.--> I have a note for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J17XSmwaoA8

Tonight, I saw Avenue Q. I knew the premise and the score of the show, but I wasn't ready for such a genius concept. It was a great show, the actors were super talented, and I laughed all night. It was pretty sweet, and a terrific satire of our time.

Love and miss you all~

Day Two

Highlights:

Saint Paul's Church--the church for the actors.

National Portrait Museum

The Vortex at the Apollo

The Tower of London

The City at the Royal Court

Our room:

Our bathroom:

And our whale, whom we have dubbed Humphrey the Humpback:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2zTl9imcmA

I know the video is super lame, but it must be heard to be believed. Seriously, it goes on for literally five minutes after you flush. Ridiculous.

The Tower is absolutely beautiful:

So much history happened there! Right outside is the Tower Bridge, often confused with London Bridge, which is actually further up the Thames (and no, it doesn't rhyme with James).

Later, we went to Tower Hill, where the execution of prisoners took place. There was an area for the memory of those who died by the axe, but there was also a massive monument to the sailers who died in WWII:

It wrapped around in a circle, and each of the black slabs is covered in names. It was pretty amazing.

Tomorrow, we're off to the British Library and to see Gone with the Wind...the musical.

More as the story develops.

Here at last.

11:30 am, London time.

Well, we didn't get lost; we didn't get mugged; and we didn't crash into the Atlantic, so I feel that the journey here was a success. As we began the decent, I knew I should have been excited about finally being in London and seeing our friends, but in all honesty, all I cared about was getting off of that stupid plane. :)

Once landed, everything went fairly smoothly--until I very nearly passed out in the customs line. I actually almost hit the frozen tundra, and still have no idea how H.D. got me into the chairs at the head of the line. So, I'm two nanoseconds into the London adventure, and I'm "that person" who has managed to cause mass chaos before leaving the airport. Oh well...so now I owe H.D. my life.

We arrived at the flats--which are very nice and MASSIVE--where a couple of our friends were planning to see The Lion King at 3:00. It was an awesome show to see on the first day, and helpful that I had seen it before, since I was exhausted. The theatre was gorgeous, and we had pretty rockawesome seats, especially for being in the nosebleed section. I hit the sack around 10pm, after being awake for 31 hours straight.

Today we are taking a tour of West End and seeing Noel Coward's The Vortex at the Apollo.

First on the to-do list, however, is coffee.