June 25th 2011: Bon Voyage

Here I sit on the ever-so-long plane ride over the Atlantic and I realize what an amazing opportunity I have just experienced. I think back from how excited I was on the plane ride over, and how I am definitely not disappointed as I ponder the experience as a whole on the plane ride home. I think about all of the history lessons I was given, touring houses and museums, taking in every piece of knowledge I could.  I think of the amazing sights I have seen… things I never in a million years thought I would be able to see with my own two eyes. I think of my two best friends that I got to share it all with, I think of the great people traveling with me that I’ve come to know, and I realize how truly blessed I am. Some of the trip was hard, long, and frustrating, but I think of all the things I get to bring back with me, the memories, the souvenirs, the pictures, the friendships, and I realize that every moment I spent on this adventure was worth it. Even when the hot water didn’t work in our hotel, or my shoes got soaking wet in the rain, it was all worth it. I probably will never get a chance to partake in such an amazing experience for the rest of my life, and for this opportunity I am grateful.  As my blog comes to a close right along side this trip, I know that I will return home a cultured and educated student who has only a small grasp on the world as a whole, but it well on her way to figuring it out a little more.  This time I have spent abroad has planted a seed in me, and I want to continue to travel, to take it more amazing sights, sounds, and sensations.  To any who may read this with interest to go abroad in the future: do it. It’s expensive, and very different, but so worth it. You’ll come home a much better person.

Thank you to all who have kept up with and read my blog! I know I had some trouble keeping up with it, but better late than never! Cheers! 

June 24th 2011

Although we were not scheduled to be anywhere until this evening, I was not about to let the day go by. We still got up pretty early, had our delicious breakfast, and went exploring. Of course, this is our last day, we gotta fit in whatever we missed! On the way to Regent’s Park, we decided to stop at Oxford Circus to find a shop I had heard about. It’s call TopShop…. Ever heard of it? It was massive! There were clothes and shoes and accessories everywhere! Plus, they were having a rather large sale, which indeed caught our attention the most! However (and probably fortunately for my bank account) I didn’t find anything worth purchasing, but the store itself was enough of an experience! We ate lunch at a place called Garfunkel’s, which was recommended to us by students from last year’s trip. Pretty good chicken, I must say.  We finally made it to Regent’s Park, and really wanted to visit the zoo. Unfortunately, the cost to get in was 20 pounds, which in the case of the terrible exchange rate would have almost been 40 dollars. Oh well. We decided to find Queen Mary’s Garden instead, which was free of charge to visit (yes!). I can honestly say I have never seen more beautiful flowers in my entire life. There were roses of all colors, some as big as my open hand! And the garden was so big that we didn’t even have time to see it all! I am sure this was the perfect way to close such a perfect trip. We made our way back to the hotel, a little reluctantly because the flowers were so mesmerizing, but we had a show to make. We ventured out to Hampstead Theatre to see a production of Richard III.  Never have I seen something so disturbing and amazing at the same time. I was on the edge of my seat the entire performance! The acting was spectacular, and the bloody quality was definitely believable.  I am so glad we made arrangements to see it!

Fountain in Regent's Park

                       Flowers in Queen Mary's Garden

June 23rd 2011

Rachael and I spent the morning at the Covent Garden market. There were cute little market shops everywhere! Also, a lovely string quartet played in the middle of the market. It was beautiful. We made it back to the hotel in time to hear some poetry readings by the ENGL 210 class, and then we boarded the bus for an afternoon to Charleston. We first stopped at the Berwick Church, where Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, two of our members of the Bloomsbury Group, painted beautiful murals on the walls of the church.  A cool fact about the murals is that Angelica Bell, Vanessa and Duncan’s daughter, was the model for Mary in the murals. Also, the two shepherds found in the nativity scene mural had both lost an arm. It was not specified how, but one can assume it was because of the war or some type of laborious job. Other smaller paintings surrounded the walls of the church, such as farm life, flowers, and landscapes. We stopped for a snack at the local pub and headed to Charleston house.  This is where Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Clive Bell, other members of the group lived for a number of years. The house has been preserved quite well, and to this day houses original paintings created by the artists.  My favorite part of the house was that the walls in each room were uniquely painted. Most of the bedrooms were painted as the artist inhabiting the room would have liked it. I really appreciated how these people had decorated their own home with their own work. We were given a free glass of wine after the tour, which was a nice end to a lovely day. Plus, the garden at Charleston house, just like many other gardens I have seen in England, was beautiful. I just wish it wouldn’t have been raining so I could have enjoyed it more! We boarded back on the bus and headed back to London, where we filled our bellies with yummy pub food and hit the sack. Only one day left of our glorious adventure!

Beautiful mural at Berwick Church

           beautiful vines growing on Charleston house

   Our wonderful bus driver, and honorary group member, Paul.

June 22nd 2011

Early morning class started our day.  We got to hear presentations from the grad students (and Miranda who is an honors student) about some of the members of the Bloomsbury Group. We as a group decided that their relationships with each other and their scandalous stories could totally make up an entire season of a soap opera. We then took a rather long and rainy walk to several famous squares around Bloomsbury that were directly connected to our members of the group.  Most squares had flats that one or more of the members had lived in at some point in their lives.  This was pretty cool. After the walk, we ate lunch and went to find more shopping opportunities. Our evening show was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which was hilarious! I was sad though, because several posters around town advertised Tim Curry would be starring. Unfortunately, he was not in the performance that we saw, but it was still great! I really enjoy how the show doesn’t have much of a tangible plot; it’s more about contemplating life and all that comes with it. R & G spend the entire span of the play trying to figure out who they were (because they didn’t know which name belonged to which one of them), why they were where they were, where they came from, and what their purpose was. It was a fun concept and kept us thinking the whole time. It helped a lot that most of time we were laughing our heads off. If anyone hasn’t seen the movie with Gary Oldman, it’s on Netflix, and I recommend it… if you’re into this sort of thing.

Me, Holly, and Rachael outside the Haymarket Theatre.

June 21st 2011

Back to the National Theatre for a wonderful production of Cherry Orchard starring Zoe Wanamaker! It was a lovely production, but no matter who produces it, it still jerks tears in the end. I was just so thrilled to be in the Olivier theatre once more.  The show was pretty lengthy, so we didn’t have much time in between Cherry Orchard and War Horse. I can honestly say that I have never seen a better show than War Horse. I was completely taken away into the story.  The horses are life size puppets that are worked by 3 puppeteers each. I had to constantly remind myself that the horses weren’t real. But they were definitely alive.  They each had so much personality, which left not only me, but I’m sure the entire audience in tears by the end.  If I had my choice, I would go back again and see it. After a long day of nothing but theatre, it was time for bed. Our trip is coming quickly to an end, and it’s bitter sweet.

June 20th 2011

Last day of our weekend off! The girls and I made it to the Sherlock Holmes museum. It was very interesting… very detailed, with real fire blazing in the fireplace. The very top floor was clad in wax figures that look very much alive in the pictures I took. Right next door to the museum was the Beatles store. I was very excited to check this place out, since they are one of my favorite bands, but of course, everything found inside was way overpriced, so I had to turn it all down… although I almost bought a Beatles juke box for 2,000 pounds, but I realized I probably didn’t have that much room in my suitcase…. We then ventured to the famous Abbey Road crosswalk, where it is actually very difficult to get in a good picture. People driving on the streets don’t really care if you’re trying to capture such a splendid moment, so you gotta walk briskly! We then found the National Gallery where we saw lots of van Gogh painting, which I thought was really cool. It’s so neat be familiar with paintings from textbooks or pictures on the internet, and then see the originals with your own eyes. We were so tired after that, so we decided to rest for the remainder of the afternoon before heading to the Globe theatre to see Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, and it was a great production. However, it was raining for most of the performance. I felt terrible for the people in the yard, where there was no cover! Fun day overall, and only 5 days left! It’s gone by so fast!

Elementary, my dear Rachael

June 19th 2011

Well, we didn’t get a lot of sunshine, but at least it didn’t pour! We spent the beginning of our day wandering around Regent’s Park and Kensington Gardens. A small scare of rain sent us hunting for late breakfast, which we found was on the same street as the stables! Then it was time for horseback riding through Hyde Park. It was fantastic! And it only rained on us once! It was a little scary at times, especially when we would pass people with open umbrellas and our lead horse would go crazy! Apparently most horses are scared of umbrellas… random fact for the day. After riding for an hour, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Hyde Park, where we found the Peter Pan statue and the Princess Diana memorial fountain. We walked along the Serpentine where we saw a mother swan and her babies (I’m not sure what the proper term for a young swan is). They were beautiful and came so close to us! After plenty of adventure, and more than enough walking for one day, we called it a day pretty early, grabbed some snacks from the nearby Tesco’s (a grocery/convenient store) and hung out with some newly made friends in the lobby of our hotel.

Holly and me with our horseback riding hats.

Me posing with the boy who never grew up. 

A mother goose and her babies in the Serpentine in Hyde Park

June 18th, 2011

Even though it’s Saturday, we still didn’t sleep late. This weekend is our weekend off, and Rachael, Holly, and I are not going to spend it being lazy! We started our morning trying our best to make it to the Portobello Market, but due to several tube line closures, our arrival was delayed. We finally made it… but low and behold, the morning sunshine lied! We were drenched in a matter of minutes, cold and soaked to the bone, since none of us really prepared for such strange weather. Within 10 minutes the sun was out and shining again! But not a moment too soon did we stop for lunch, for another down pour hit. You know, I thought Louisiana weather was bad, and then I came to London. Always be prepared! Anyway, the market was fun, there were lots of lovely antique shops, but most of them were filled with junk. I did however find some really cute shoes for only 5 pounds! (Yes, I know this is almost 10 American dollars, but hey, I thought I did good!) We finally made it back to our home away from home, and decided it was best to wash some clothes, get some dinner, and call it a night. Tomorrow we have a lot of great things planned! Please sunshine, don’t fail us tomorrow!!!  

Really awesome bassist on Portobello Street

          My two best friends. Tired from a full day! 

June 17th 2011

Woke up at 4:30 in the morning with the sun in Stratford! Breakfast in our guesthouse was delicious! We headed out on the bus to visit Shakespeare’s birth and death places. I really enjoyed walking in his footsteps for a day. Paul, our lovely bus driver, took us to Oxford after, where we were taken on a tour of the University.  Since there is no real university campus and the different colleges of Oxford are in various parts of the city, we had a lot of walking to do! Our tour guide, Jane, did a lovely job of teaching us a little history of the city and university. We also saw a few places where some of the Harry Potter movies have been filmed! (The courtyard where Mad Eye Moody turns Drake Malfoy into a ferret? Yep, I’ve been there.) After the tour, we had a few hours to explore the city, but we spent most of our time inside shops, due to the dreary weather outside. (Yet again, I wore my TOMS. Bad decision.) After such a jam packed few days, rest was very much needed for the evening.

Shakespeare's grave inside the church. Never been disturbed!

     cottage where William Shakespeare was born 

     beautiful courtyard at New College, Oxford University

           part of the original Oxford city wall 

June 16th 2011

Made our journey to Stratford-Upon-Avon! It was beautiful! We made our first stop at Anne Hathaway’s cottage, which had the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. It was also fascinating to see the very place where Shakespeare and his love abided for a some of their lives. Our tour guide told us very interesting stories about the life and times of the families living in this era. For example, in order to clean their chimneys, they tied a chicken to a rope and threw it down into the chimney! They would get so distraught inside the chimney that they would start flapping around, which would clear out all the soot. Must have been a funny sight. We then headed to the theatre, also known as the Royal Shakespeare Company… no big deal…. Just one of the most renowned theatre companies in the entire world! (OH MY GOSH!) We first saw a matinee of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. It was set in present day Las Vegas, which was definitely interesting to see. This production starred Patrick Stewart (for those of you who don’t know, he played Professor X in all the X Men movies, as well as many other major roles) as Shylock. I can’t explain how shocked I was to look at the program and read his name. After the show, we settled into our bed and breakfast houses, then went back to the RSC to see their production of Macbeth. I have never seen such a fantastic production in my entire life! They told the story so crisp and clear, and kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I had such a wonderful day!

Anne Hathaway's cottage

      Part of the group inside a hut made of vines!

      Royal Shakespeare Company theatre!!! 

June 15th 2011

Today we traveled in the footsteps of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.  We began our journey outside of Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament (where Mr. Dalloway worked).  We continued on to the various parts of London that Mrs. Dalloway visits before hosting her party.  It was great to see the places mentioned in the book with my own eyes. It really helped to paint Woolf’s picture of London.  After our long, but enjoyable walk, we visited the British Library.  I saw the original Canterbury Tales, pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, original Beatle’s lyrics written on scraps of paper, and the Magna Carta. Very cool! Then an evening performance of Betrayal, a Harold Pinter one act, that centers around a plot of infidelity. The story works backwards, with the end of the character’s story at the beginning of the play, working all the way back to the beginning. It was very cool to experience!

Following the footsteps of Mrs. Dalloway

The original Canterbury Tales

June 14th 2011

Backstage tour of the National Theatre! It was absolutely phenomenal! It was so intriguing to see that a professional theatre works very similarly to our university theatre, in the sense of organization and task enforcement. However, their facilities were much more advanced than ours… due to the fact that they have a great deal more money… We were given the afternoon off, which we spent in the park. We then headed back to the theatre to see the evening performance of Emperor and Galilean. Wonderful show! The Olivier Theatre and it’s drum revolve stage blew my mind! The set was three-tiered and rotated! WICKED!!


Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures on this day. Lame on my part.  

June 13th 2011

Stonehenge today! It was beautiful to see! We were each given an audio guide, which really gave me some interesting information on the structure, such as at least 1/3 of each stone is underground, which is why they stand up straight. After Stonehenge we visited Jane Austen’s house in Chawton.  It was very well preserved and our tour guide told us a lot! Then we headed back to London for dinner and rest.

Jane Austen's house

Me at Stonehenge!

    


   

June 12th, 2011

I know it's been a while, but the internet is not very friendly. Therefore, I have been keeping my blogs on a word document, and I will upload them as the internet allows...

RAINY DAY!!! It has been raining non-stop today, which is not good for my TOMS wearing feet! (it was not raining when we left the hotel, so I was not as prepared as I should have been.) We went to matins (service) at Westminster Abbey, which many of you know as the church where William and Kate just got married. It was beautiful. The service was very nice, and the choir sounded lovely. After the service, we headed to another part of town to tour the home of John Keats. No photography was allowed inside the house, which was a little unfortunate. But the house was really neat. There is an old mulberry bush outside the house that has been there for over 200 years! (I will try to post a picture of it, but I don’t know if the Internet here will let me. I’ve been having a lot of trouble.) We headed back to Russell Square to rest for the afternoon. Dinner is next on the list, then off to bed, for tomorrow we start bright and early for our trip to Stonehenge!!!!

200 year old mulberry bush

Westminster Abbey

June 10th, 2011

Shakespeare class started off the day then we headed to Greenwich to see Spring Awakening. What a fantastic musical! The voices of the actors and actresses were so pristine! The show itself was done very well, although I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is uncomfortable with controversial issues. After the play we had some free time, but we were so tired, we just went back to the hotel to rest. We eventually we and had dinner at a lovely little oriental restaurant called Hare and Tortoise. The sushi was great! A few movies in the hotel room finished off the night. The next morning we woke up early to go see the Trooping of the Colors. I got to see Princess Catherine, Prince William, and the Queen herself! We met a guy who had come to see the parade several times, and he helped to point out to us the different regiments of the royal guard. It was pretty awesome to see. Once the parade ended, we got some coffee and headed off to wash clothes and shop for the rest of the day. We found a part of the city called Camden Town, and it was filled with second hand shops and markets with great deals on some really cool stuff. I hope I get to go back there to pick up some gifts!

Prince William and Princess Catherine in a carriage!

Greenwich, England. Theatre on right.

June 9th, 2011

Today started with an early bus ride through the countryside to Dover. When we arrived at the castle, I could hardly believe the view I was seeing. It was spectacular! I could just barely see the outline of the shores of France from the castle. We could also see some of the White Cliffs of Dover from the Castle wall. We toured the castle, which was set up as a historical museum. The rooms of the castle were set up as they would have been when King Henry II was on the throne. It was so interesting to see, plus it was much easier to learn history through tangible objects instead of pictures from a textbook. It was sad leaving the beauty of Dover, but we headed to another great landmark known as the Canterbury cathedral. I learned and understood so much more of British history just sitting in the nave of the cathedral listening to our tour guide than sitting in a class room listening to a professor for an entire quarter.  I was mesmerized at how beautiful everything was, and how far parts of the cathedral dated back! As far as 1100! Once it was time to leave, I really felt like I had LEARNED something. It’s going to be hard to top the wonders I experienced today.

Dover Castle

Day 3

June 8^th 2011:

Day 3! What a day. Started the day off in class, talking about Virginia Woolf and her connections to other famous British (and American) writers that lived and worked in the Bloomsbury area. We took a literary stroll around Bloomsbury after that, stopping to view where T.S. Elliot worked as an editor. We also toured the home of Charles Dickens. It was wonderful! We then took the Tube to St. Paul’s cathedral, which is incredible to see. After a great view on the walk across the Millennium Bridge, we toured the Globe Theatre, which I might add, is a dream come true to experience. The Tate Modern art museum was an interesting stop, due to the very…. Modern feel of the art displayed. I did see the original Water Lillies painting by Monet! Dinner at a lovely Greek restaurant followed by All’s Well that Ends Well at the Globe. Wonderful experiences so far! Can’t wait for more!


(Okay, so the internet decided to not let me upload pictures, so I'll post them later on)

The Globe Theatre

St. Paul's Cathedral

Me and the girls on Millennium Bridge

            

First Blog!

So, I have finally found a place that I can get internet, so I'm going to post my blogs (and journal entries for my classes) in order....

June 7^th, 2011:

Good day to you all from Russell Square in Bloomsbury, London! I am so excited to be 4,000 miles away from home soaking in all this culture! So far, London is a fabulous place, just bustling with people from all over the globe. It’s taking a while to get used to the several languages I hear people speak a minute, as well as the different brand names and strange currency to pay for things with. The first day we arrived, I was so tired. I had been awake for almost 24 hours, and it was only 9:30 in the morning! We finally made it to the hotel then visited the British museum, which was full of amazing historical artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone (pictured left) . After a long awaited shower, we made it to a pub just around the corner from our hotel where I ate my first meal of ‘fish and chips’. It was delicious! Next morning, which was this morning, we ate a glorious breakfast in our hotel’s breakfast room before heading out on a bus tour around the city. Our lovely tour guide, Bridget, showed us the ropes and helped us to get acquainted with the city. We saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (which was even more majestic to see in person). We finished our tour at the Tower of London, where we ate lunch and toured the grounds of the Tower. The Crown Jewels blew my mind! Unfortunately, no photography was allowed in the Jewel House, but I took several amazing pictures of other things in the Tower, such as armor from all the king’s reigns, weapons, and the like. We also got to witness a small stage combat performance in the garden right in the middle of the grounds! It was reall cool to see others who love the art of movement just as much as I do. Shopping followed by a small Italian dinner finished out the day. I have loved every second of this trip so far and can’t wait to see what else is in store! 

  

Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace

Tower of London

 P.S. You can see many more pictures on my facebook page! I'll hopefully be able to post them daily.