Theatre, Pageantry, and Oxford

Monday, 18 June 2012

Despite the long, tiring weekend, Monday was a busy day. I started my day by walking down to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to buy tickets for Wicked. They happened to have student tickets, so we were able to get a good seat for a decent price.

Changing of the Guard

After picking up our tickets, we headed over to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. We got there a bit early, so we had to wait, but it was worth it because we were able to get spots right up against the gates. Unfortunately, where we were, there was a police box blocking the small detachment of soldiers that was already in the courtyard in front of the palace. But it didn’t matter much because we could see through the windows of the police box, and we figured that once the actual ceremony began, there would be more soldiers down by where we were. After waiting for over half an hour, a band, clad in red coats and bearskin hats, began to march down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace. They marched all the way to the Palace and the Changing of the Guard began. It was really cool to see all of the guards moving together in such regimented unity. There is a lot of pageantry that surrounds the actual changing, so even though the same movements were being repeated several times, it was still fascinating to watch. After that, we headed over to Piccadilly Circus to the Rail Europe office in order to purchase train tickets for our trip to Italy, which is much cheaper and much faster (overall) than flying.

View from my seat at Wicked

After classes and dinner, we caught the Tube to Victoria Station to go to the Victoria Apollo Theatre to see Wicked. We had awesome seats! We were up high enough to see everything, but still close enough to see the actors’ faces. Wicked is my favorite show, so I was ecstatic that we had such a great view. It was really interesting to hear the musical done in British accents because I’m so used to the American version of it; the way they say certain words changed how things in the songs rhymed, but everything still rhymed. When we got out of the show, it was after 10:30, but the actors had done such a great job that we decided to stand out by the stage door and get autographs. Finally, around 11:00, we headed back to the college to get some sleep after a long day.

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

Bodleian Library

Tuesday, after my class ended at 1:00, a friend and I headed to the train station where we bought tickets and got on the train to Oxford, which was about an hour away. We didn’t really know what there was to do in Oxford or what to expect, so we just showed up and figured we’d walk around and find things. First thing we realized off the train was that Oxford was not what we were expecting it to be. Both of us thought it was just a tiny town that is basically just Oxford University. But we were wrong. While the town itself is tiny (we were able to walk everywhere, which was good), there is much more to it than the university, though being a university town, a lot of the town is devoted to Oxford University. But our realization didn’t deter us. We grabbed some brochures from the information desk and set off into the town of Oxford to see what we could see.

Divinity Hall

The first thing we stumbled upon was the Bodleian Library. We thought it looked cool, so we decided to pay the £4 for a tour, and boy was it worth the money. The library itself was built on top of the Divinity Hall, which was the first dedicated testing room for Oxford University. And coincidentally enough, it is the same place where they filmed the infirmary scenes in Harry Potter films. Our tour took us up into the library, which, like most libraries of the time, was on the second floor. The library, which was built in the ____s, houses a lot of old books, many of them several hundred years old. Not only is the library a fantastic piece of history, but it was also the location of the restricted section of the library in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

The Eagle and Child

After our tour at the library, we continued wandering around town, getting lost, and not really knowing what we were looking at, but we didn’t really mind because the town itself is gorgeous and the day was beautiful. According to the maps we had, and subsequent research, the main thing we saw that we didn’t know was important was the Radcliffe Camera, which is another building of the vast library of Oxford University. After wandering around, we headed to the Eagle and Child, a pub frequented by many Oxford students, such as JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. Not only is the pub a piece of literary history, but it also has great food. With full bellies, we boarded the train back to London and got back to the college around 9:00, exhausted, but happy.

An Explanation

I must apologize for the woeful lack of entries as of late. With the last two weeks of classes, I hit crunch time, both in school and touring. I've been doing a lot, I just haven't had the time to write everything down. I'm doing my best to catch, but it might take me a while to get everything posted. Especially now that I'm no longer in London, but traveling through Spain and Italy, I'm having a hard time getting to an internet connection to upload things (right now I'm sitting in a McDonald's - of all places - to write this). That being said, I'm going to try to upload what I've written as I come across an Internet connection.

To the UK and beyond (also known as Edinburgh and Dublin)

Friday, 15 June 2012 (Edinburgh, Day 1)

The Elephant House 

For our second journey outside of London, we once again chose to go by bus. Fortunately, the bus ride, unlike the ride to Paris, was uneventful and we arrived in Edinburgh in the morning. According to a lot of the goofy souvenirs, it rains all the time in Scotland, and Edinburgh didn’t let us down. It rained basically the entire time we were there. But hat didn’t deter us. From the bus station, we figured out the bus system (Edinburgh uses busses, not a subway system) and got on a bus that took us to our hostel where we dropped off our bags before heading out into the city. Our first stop was a free walking tour that took us around Edinburgh. Ironically, our tour guide was not Scottish, but rather Irish, but he was still very knowledgeable and explained quite a lot about the history of Edinburgh. During our tour, we saw many of the big areas of Edinburgh, including the Grassmarket, which is an area that house bars, pubs, and shops. We also got good views of Edinburgh Castle, which sits on a cliff with three sheer sides. Also on the walk, we saw the Elephant House, which is the café where JK Rowling wrote the first three Harry Potter books. After the walking tour, which lasted for three and a half hours, we ended up relaxing a bit. We slowed down, ate lunch, and spent the rest of the late afternoon shopping around Edinburgh. After the slow afternoon, we went to a pub in the Grassmarket to celebrate a friend’s birthday. There, we decided that since we were in Scotland, we should try Scotch. We had 10-year-old Macallan scotch which was surprisingly quite good.

Saturday, 16 June 2012 (Edinburgh, Day 2)

Edinburgh Castle

Scottish Guard

The next day, our second day in Edinburgh, we woke up a bit early so we could make it to Edinburgh Castle before the lines got too long. Once again, it was rainy and cold, but it actually helped add to the aura of the castle. As we walked up, the cliff was shrouded in mist, which made the castle more intimidating and mysterious. A good portion of the castle is outside, so we trooped through the wind and rain to see the views of the city before heading inside to the different Scots war museums that the castle houses. My favorite part of the castle was seeing the Royal Scottish Guards dressed in their full dress kilts. After the castle, we headed to Loopy Lorna’s, a tea house, in order to get out of the rain and warm up a bit. We had tea and scones with clotted cream and Scottish strawberries. After tea, it was back into the rain and across town back to our hostel to collect our things and catch a bus out to the airport to fly to Dublin.

Sunday, 17 June 2012 (Dublin)

Gate at the Guinness Storehouse

Dublin is a city with a lot of things, and there was no way we could hit everything in one day, but we made the most of our twenty-four hours in Ireland. The first stop after breakfast was the Guinness Storehouse. We weren’t able to tour the actual factory itself, but we were still able to see a lot of what goes into making and distributing Guinness. My favorite part of the tour was the very end – we went up into the Gravity Bar which has a 360º view of the city. It was great to be able to see the city as a whole considering that we didn’t get to see many of the big things in Dublin, such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral. After the storehouse, we walked down the road to Temple Bar, which is an area full of markets, shops, and restaurants. We spent an hour or so there walking around and looking into the markets before heading to the bar called Temple Bar. However, the bar was crowded and loud, so we didn’t stay there for lunch, but headed on to Trinity College, which is just down the street. At the college, we went into the library, where we saw the Book of Kells, which is an illuminated version of the Gospel in Latin. Not only is the book beautiful with all of its illustrations and fancy writing, but it was also really cool to see a Bible that is so old – it was written in 800 AD. After seeing the Book of Kells, we continued through the library, where we saw the Long Room, which contains a lot of books from the past three hundred years and marble busts of important English thinkers. By the time we got done at Trinity College, it was dinner time, so we ate before heading to the airport to fly back to London.

Seeing British History

Britain, because it is such an old country, is home to a lot of history. Because of all this history, it is hard to go anywhere in London that is not absolutely entrenched in history. For two days straight, I spent the day surrounded by British history, visiting Shakespeare's Globe one day and the British Museum the next.

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Wednesday was a bit of a slow day. I didn’t do much in the morning aside from laundry (I got so

caught up in everything London has to offer that I was down to only one outfit). However, after class, our Auburn group headed down to the Thames, where we went to the Globe to see Shakespeare’s Henry V. Seeing the play in the Globe was a different experience. Normally, when I see a play, I get dressed up, go into a fancy theater, sit down in a comfortable, warm seat, and settle down for the next three hours. But the Globe doesn’t work that way. Instead of putting on a dress, I bundled up, wearing layer upon layer and a scarf and thick socks so as not to be cold during the play. And it was a good thing too. The Globe is not an enclosed theater – when Shakespeare used the Globe, there was obviously no electricity, so the top was left open, so as to use the sun to light the stage. As a result, the Globe is exposed to the weather, and we went, it was quite chilly, so it was a good thing I dressed warmly. Also, the Globe is shaped differently than normal theaters. Instead of having rows extending backward from the edge of the stage, the Globe’s seats wrap around the stage. Our seats were on the side of the stage, so I didn’t really get to see the actors’ faces, but I was able to see their backs. Despite all this, the production was absolutely phenomenal. Shakespeare’s history plays aren’t my favorite, but this production of Henry V was absolutely engrossing. I really like Shakespeare, so getting to see one of his plays performed in his theater was the experience of a lifetime.

Thursday, 14 June 2012

Thursday after class, I took the day to myself and went to the British Museum to explore and have some quiet time. I had no idea that the museum was so large – one of the pamphlets I read said that the museum had over 8 million items on display. I ended up spending over three hours there and I still didn’t get to see everything. Because the museum closed at 5:30, I was forced to skip the African and Middle Eastern exhibits. However, I was still able to see all of the big things and the things I wanted to see. The big attraction at the museum is the Rosetta Stone. The stone is a lot bigger in person than I thought it was, which made it all the more impressive. In addition to the real stone, the museum also had a replica of the stone which was on display so that people can touch it and feel what the writing feels like. Another big thing at the museum is one of the Easter Island statues. I knew that the statues were quite large, but standing next to it, I felt quite dwarfed. Like Stonehenge, there is something mystical about the Easter Island statues, and despite the fact that there was only one statue on display, the aura of mystery was still quite present. The third big thing at the British Museum was the large display of mummies and sarcophagi in the Egyptian exhibit. It was really neat to see different stages of mummification, including mummies with and without wrappings as well as those inside their sarcophagus. 

Update on an Update

I know that I've been kind of quiet lately - I've fallen behind on documenting my adventures and I'm trying to get all caught up. The past two weeks or so have been hectic between all the side trips to other countries in Europe, school, and trying to see everything in London. That being said, I promise to have a new blog up soon. It will probably have to be in two parts because there's so much to talk about, but I'll get it written. Until then . . .

Stonehenge, Paris, and More

It has been a whirlwind of a weekend, full of lots of traveling, lots of walking, and a lot of sightseeing.

Friday, 8 June 2012

Stonehenge

Friday morning, we got up early and headed out as a group to Salisbury, which is the town closest to the site of Stonehenge. Once there, we boarded a bus, which drove us up to Stonehenge. It was already pretty windy when we left London, but Stonehenge, because it is on a hill, was even windier. I had a hard time walking around without being blown over! Despite the wind and the cold, it was really cool to see the stones in person. There’s something mysterious about Stonehenge because no one knows for sure what the stones were used for and how exactly they got there. After finishing at Stonehenge, we got on a bus that took us back down into Salisbury. Salisbury is the home of Salisbury Cathedral, which has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom. Because the church was built in the medieval era, the architecture was, of course, beautiful.

Trip to Paris (Saturday, 9 June 2012 – Sunday, 10 June 2012)

After Salisbury, we caught a train back to London, packed some clothes in a backpack, and then headed to the Victoria Coach Station, where we boarded a bus to Paris. The bus ride was interesting, to say the least. Our bus driver wasn’t the best – he couldn’t speak English (or French, which might have been semi-helpful since a lot of the people on the bus were French), so we didn’t really ever know what was going on. Luckily, a nice woman next to us took pity on us and told us what was going on and what to do. I didn’t really get a lot of sleep – I don’t sleep well on busses, and every time I fell asleep, something woke me up. We were also late for our ferry, so we had to wait an extra three hours before we were able to get on another ferry. As a result, we got to Paris several hours after we were supposed to. But we got there in one piece, and that’s all that really matters.

Arc de Triomphe 

Sacré-Coeur

Once in Paris, we tried to check into our hotel, but they wouldn’t let us check-in until three o’clock, so we strapped on our backpacks and headed out into the city. The first place we went was the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, which was right by our hotel. We hiked up the hill to the basilica. The hill is one of the higher points in Paris, so we were able to get a good view of the city. After the Sacré-Cœur, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc is in the middle of a very large roundabout, so we had to go through a tunnel which ran under the street to get there. It was a good thing that the tunnel was there because French drivers are crazy. There were no lanes, no lights, nothing to help regulate traffic. People drove fast and merged at a whim, yet amazingly, there were no accidents, not even a close call. We spent some time walking around the Arc before a few of us headed up to the top. Unfortunately, the lifts were out of order, so we had to walk up the stairs. Once at the top of the Arc, I had another fabulous view of the city, including the Eiffel Tower. Following our climb up the Arc, the group headed to the Seine River, where we took a river tour, which included views of the Louvre, Notre Dame, and other famous buildings around the city. The only bad thing was that it began to rain during the very end of the tour. After our tour, we were finally able to head back to our hotel and check-in, which meant that we were able to drop off our backpacks. After that, we headed out to dinner and ate at a little bistro near the Eiffel Tower. Once we were done with dinner, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and got to see it all lit up. We even waited until the hour so that we could see it “sparkle.” It was absolutely stunning – I’m sure the Eiffel Tower is why Paris is known as the city of lights.

The Eiffel Tower at night

The Louvre

The next day, we woke up really early so that we could get to the Eiffel Tower before there was a crowd. We had to wait around an hour and half before the tower opened, but it was definitely worth it because the line was absolutely horrendous – it was stretched all around the base of the tower. Finally, the tower opened around 9:30 and we were able to buy tickets to ride the elevator to the very top. Though I’d already seen the city from high points twice, the view from the Eiffel Tower was really cool – I could see everything. After coming down from the Tower, we headed over the Louvre. We were supposed to go to the Louvre the morning prior, but we weren’t able to because our bus was so late. Consequently, we were forced to rush through the museum because we wanted to get to Notre Dame on time. However, we were still able to see the big things: the Mona Lisa, Hammurabi’s Code, the Winged Nike, and more. Despite rushing through the Louvre, it was still a great experience. 

Notre Dame

After the Louvre, we headed over to Notre Dame, where we climbed up the stairs to the very top. We even got to see one of the bells. After climbing up there, we got to come down, and Mass was going on since it was Sunday, so I was able to experience some of Catholic Mass in French, which was interesting, considering I’m not Catholic and I don’t speak French. After Notre Dame, we ended up near the Moulin Rouge so we could take pictures. By then, it was time to eat, so we went to a nice French restaurant where I tried escargot – it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be! After dinner, we headed back to the bus station where we boarded our bus to return to London. We had a different driver, so the return trip was uneventful and actually kind of pleasant.

Monday, 11 June 2012

We got back to London around 6:30 and made it back to the college around 7:00. My class wasn’t until 2:00, so I promptly crawled into bed – the moment my head touched the pillow, I was asleep until my alarm went off. Before class, a few friends and I headed to the box office to get tickets for Sweeney Todd. We were able to get decent seats for only £25. So after class, we headed out to the theatre. The show was absolutely incredible – Imelda Staunton (the woman who played Umbridge in the Harry Potter movies) was hilarious Mrs. Lovett and Michael Ball (who is a West End legend) was fantastically creepy as Sweeney Todd. Even though it was raining after the show, we decided to go stand out in the rain so that we could meet the actors. It was totally worth it – they were so nice and signed our programs.

Tuesday, 12 June 2012

Golden State Coach

After class today, my roommate and I headed out to Buckingham Palace to see the Royal Mews. The Mews are the Royal stables where the Queen’s horses and various carriages are housed. It was really interesting to see how all of that worked – many of the staff lives on site with their families. We only got to see four of the horses, but they were magnificent – so big and majestic. We also got to see a lot of the carriages that the Queen uses, including the Glass Carriage (the carriage Diana rode in to her wedding), the Australian State Carriage (which is the most modern of the fleet, being only twenty odd years old, and had amenities such as heating, air conditioning, and electric windows), and the Golden State Coach (which has been used in such events as the Queen’s coronation and her Golden Jubilee). I can’t even believe that I saw those carriages in real life.

After the Royal Mews, we headed over to Harrods, which was really close and we wanted to go. The place is huge. And really expensive. The first thing we saw when we walked in was room after room of expensive, designer handbags. Then we continued into room upon room of expensive watches. We wandered around for a while and got lost, but we finally found the room with the “cheap” souvenirs. I bought a really cute bear that has a Union Jack tshirt and “Harrods” across the front. After we decided that we couldn’t afford anything else in the store, we headed back to the college. All in all, it was an eventful day.

When it rains, it pours . . . And I’m not talking about the weather.

And on the note of weather, the heat wave is over. Lately, it’s been chilly and rainy – stereotypical London weather.

But I’m not really talking about the weather specifically. It’s been over a week since I’ve last posted, and boy has a lot happened. The beginning of my week (Monday-Wednesday, 28 May – 30 May) was very relaxed. I didn’t do much of anything outside of school – I read and did homework and walked through the park, but that was about it.

But then, Thursday, the beginning of my weekend hit, and that’s when my relaxing week disappeared. This weekend was a five-day weekend because of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – in addition to our normal weekend, Monday and Tuesday were bank holidays. But despite the fact that it’s been a long weekend, I haven’t gotten a break. The weekend has been spent enjoying things in and around London and celebrating the Queen’s sixty years in power.

Thursday, 31 May 2012

Hogwarts Castle

The first major event of my weekend was my visit to the Harry Potter studios in Leavesden. Immediately after class, we got on a train that took us out to Watford Junction, where we caught a bus to the studios. We ended up getting there about two hours early, and since the tour is so popular, we weren’t allowed in until a half hour prior to our ticket time. So, instead of just waiting around, we went into the gift shop and explored – even the set up of the gift shop was interesting, so it made me even more excited for the actual tour. Finally, our wait ended and we were herded into a large room where we watched an introductory video with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger). Once the video was over, the screen lifted, revealing the doors to Hogwarts and through the door was the Great Hall. I don’t want to go into great detail of what I saw during the tour for two reasons: 1) it took me three hours to walk through the entire thing, and recounting the entire thing would take pages upon pages; 2) I don’t want to spoil the experience for anyone who might want to go in the future. But I will say that all the major sets (the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common Room, Dumbledore’s office, the Potions classroom, etc.) were all included. Just being able to stand mere feet from where the Harry Potter series was filmed was overwhelming – I can’t put into words how awesome it is to see things that I’ve only seen on screen. I was so overwhelmed with everything around me that I almost started crying with happiness.

Friday, 1 June 2012

Canterbury Cathedral

Friday was a big day full of train rides, walking, and hiking. In the morning, our group met to go to Canterbury, and before anyone makes the joke, no, we did not tell tales on our way there (in fact, most of us slept on the train). Canterbury Cathedral is absolutely awe-inspiring. The medieval architecture is gorgeous, full of arches and stained glass. I couldn’t help just stopping in my tracks to take pictures (which can’t do the beauty of the cathedral justice) and admire the church and pray. I can’t really explain the emotions I had walking through the cathedral - the best I can do is to say I was overwhelmed.

The White Cliffs of Dover

After Canterbury, a few of us took a short train ride to Dover, which is on the coast of England, to see the White Cliffs of Dover. Once there, we walked/hiked for close to an hour to get to the cliffs. Normally, I don’t really like walking for long periods of time, but in this case, it was worth it. We hiked all the way up to the top of the cliffs, and from there, we could look across the English Channel and see a good portion of the cliffs. The view was absolutely stunning – the cliffs are magnificent.

Saturday, 2 June 2012

Tea

Saturday was a pretty relaxing day. We slept in for a bit (I finally got to sleep past 8:00!) before heading out to Camden Market. The best way to describe Camden Market is like Chinatown – it’s a bunch of little shops with everything from jewelry and clothing to cheap souvenirs. It’s definitely a place I’ll go back to at the end of my stay here to get souvenirs. After Camden, we just walked around the city for a little bit and stopped in a café for some crepes and tea. Finally, we went grocery shopping to get food for our picnic the next day.

Sunday, 3 June 2012

The Queen on Her Royal Barge

Sunday was an interesting day. We went to the Thames River Pageant, which was the first big event of the Queen’s Jubilee celebration. We left the college around 11:00 and headed down to Temple Park, which is right next to the River. There were already a ton of people there, so we just sat down where we could find space – it must have been a sight seeing fourteen American college students just camped out in the middle of the street because several people took pictures of us. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold, so our picnic wasn’t the best, but it was still fun sitting out with thousands of other people who were just as excited as we were. We watched the whole thing on big screens that were placed all around the park – the boats were absolutely awe-inspiring and the Royal Family was stunning, as usual.

Monday, 4 June 2012

High Tea

Monday was another relaxing day. In the afternoon, we went to high tea at Topham's Hotel. We got all dressed up and went to the hotel where we were served champagne, finger sandwiches, little desserts, and tea. It was delicious! And it was cool to have a quintessential English experience. After tea, we went to Hyde Park to get spots to watch the Jubilee concert. The concert itself was entertaining – it was dedicated to sixty years of music during the Queen’s reign. It included artists such as Will.i.am, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Stevie Wonder. After the concert, Prince Charles gave a speech in honor of the Queen which was followed by a firework display over Buckingham Palace. 

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

The Queen, Camilla, and Prince Charles

Tuesday was far and away my favorite day of the Jubilee celebrations, which was the Carriage Procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. The night before, I got home from the concert around midnight and finally got to bed around one and then I woke up at six ‘o clock in the morning to go stake my claim on a spot to watch the Procession. I bundled up in long sleeved shirts and jackets, packed a backpack with a blanket and a book, and headed to the Tube. From Baker Street, I took a Tube to Trafalgar Square and walked from there to the Admiralty Arch, which separates the Mall from the Square. There, I stood in a queue for about fifteen minutes until the police removed the barricades and let us into the Mall. I rushed through the crowd to find an open spot up against a barricade so I could see over the crowds. I spread out my mats and my blankets and sat down, my spot claimed around 7:30. And then I waited. But while I waited, I made friends with some nice British people and Australian people. It was interesting to hear their viewpoints on the monarchy and what they thought of Princess Diana. Also, one of the British people, once he found out I was from Tennessee, he told me I sounded like Dolly Parton – I definitely don’t agree, but it was quite funny! During the wait, the service at St. Paul’s Cathedral was broadcast over the loudspeakers, and following the service, we were entertained by cavalry and bands. Finally, after nearly seven hours of waiting, the procession finally started. There were lots of horses followed by two carriages, one with the Queen, Prince Charles, and Camilla and the other with Prince William, Kate, and Prince Harry. I can’t believe that I got to see the Royal Family with my own eyes! Despite the lack of sleep, the cold, and the long wait, it was definitely worth everything to see the Queen. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life. 

Kate, Prince William, and Prince Harry

I’m really going to try to keep up with this blog from now on (since I’ve been here for three weeks and I’ve written as many posts). And on that note, I’m off. This weekend, we’re going to Stonehenge and then Paris, so I’ll have lots of exciting stories to share on Monday.