Dickens and Doyle

Today was a rather laid back day. Everyone having gone to Paris, campus was very quiet. I did get to sleep in until about 10:45, at which point I met with my friend Sarah to go over plans for the weekend. We decided we were going to get to the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the Charles Dickens Museum today. We left at noon, got lunch at a pub called The Volunteer and went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum first. There was nothing spectacular about it. It was just a house on Baker Street, but not quite 221B, and it was decorated as though Sherlock Holmes had lived in it. Incidentally, parts of the Baker Street tube station are decorated with this tile on the walls:

If you didn't know anything about Sherlock Holmes, the museum would not have been very amusing to you. I don't know that much about him, but I knew enough to appreciate the place. By the end of it, I was doubtful of his being a fictional character; the place was very well designed. He has lots and lots of odd things stacked everywhere. There was a room for Dr. Watson and a room for Mrs. Hudson. They had wax figures of some of the prominent characters in the stories as well. If nothing else, it was a glimpse into a house of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's time period (Victorian, I think?).

There's the Museum. It's easy to miss if you're not paying attention.

He had so much stuff. Supposedly.

There's Professor Moriarty- Sherlock Holmes's rival.

Figures from "A Scandal in Bohemia"
After the Sherlock Holmes Museum, Sarah and I made our way to the Charles Dickens Museum. It was an adventure because it was a little bit of a walk from the nearest tube station (Chancery Lane), and we got to walk through residential areas and streets full of cafes and shops. The Charles Dickens Museum is at 48 Doughty Street, which is where Dickens lived in London during his prime years of writing. We were very fortunate to be here during this time because this year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of A Tale of Two Cities, my favorite Dickens novel thus far. There was entire exhibit dedicated to the book...mostly to the history behind the book (French Revolution), but there was a wall dedicated to Sydney Carton, and I was lost for words. Sydney Carton is the hero of the novel, even though he is not given the credit for being a hero until the very end. We toured the house, saw where he wrote Oliver Twist, which was neat considering I saw the musical associated with the book earlier in the week. We spent a good hour and a half looking through some of the manuscripts and even got to hold a first edition copy of Nicholas Nickleby. If there was anything more I learned about Dickens from this visit is that he was very involved in social work. Having been through a rough childhood (his family was put in debtors' prison and he was sent to work in a blacking factory) in the Victorian Era, he was committed to bettering the lives of others when he had the means to do so. He opened a house where prostitues could seek refuge from society and visited various schools reputed to treat students harshly. It was a good day spent indulging myself in literary things. It just made me want to read more Dickens and Doyle.
The rest of the night was spent on campus, keeping accounts of my expenditure, relaxing and watching TV shows on my laptop. Tomorrow will be a long day considering we have plans to get tickets for Wicked, see the British Museum and the British Library, and then watch Wicked at night. Here are pictures from the Dickens Museum:

Dickens' Study, where he wrote Oliver Twist.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." One of the best opening lines ever.
That would be me outside the Museum.

Bath and Barrie

I almost missed the field trip to Bath, waking up just in time at 6.30 am to meet the class by 6.45 am. All turned out well, however, and we made the 8:00 am train to Bath Spa via Paddington Station. The train journey was delayed by a few minutes owing to crowded tracks or something, but we were in bath at around 9:45am. We arrived in Bath to lots and lots of rain. It was terribly cold, in spite of the fact that it is situated south of London, and we were worried about the progress of the day if the weather kept up that way. Luckily for us, it stopped raining the moment we walked out of the station. We got on one of the double-deckered tour buses and made our way to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath.
Jane Austen spent a significant amount of time in Bath, some on vacation and some when her father moved to Bath for retirement. It was in Bath that the Rev. George Austen died (also, incidentally, where Jane's parents got married). Jane Austen hated Bath. She and her sister Cassandra did not care for the city life, and especially after their father's death in 1805, they were subject to a lot of rules concerning proper social conduct. For instance, they were not allowed to attend public parties without a male companion to lead them. To us, this may not seem like a big deal but considering that there was nothing to do in Georgian England but socialize, this presents quite a big problem for the Austens. They were also very poor after the death of the Reverend, and living in Bath became quite difficult for them. The very last residence of Jane, Cassandra and their mother was on Trim Street, which then was infiltrated with thieves, prostitutes and the like.
Although Jane hated Bath, it gave her a lot to write about. She never quite wrote anything in Bath; she only began The Watsons but never made it past 17,000 words. Her last two completed books Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, however, have a significant portion set in Bath. We were given the opportunity of seeing all the places that Austen writes about in these novels, mostly streets on which her characters live and places where important events occured in the novels. The Pump Room, for example, is important in Northanger Abbey. It is where the ladies went everyday for dances and to socialize. It is now a restaraunt with a view of the Roman Baths. The gravel path where Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth finally profess their love for each other in Persuasion is actually present near the Victoria Gardens. Speaking of Victoria, I learned something about her today during the bus tour. Apparently she inaugurated the gardens named after her when she was 11 years old, 7 years before she was to ascend to the throne. People thought she did a good job considering it was her first public engagement; however, one reporter made a comment about the dullness of her outfit or something, to which she took offense. She swore never to visit Bath again. She was so adamant that many years later, en route to Bristol via train, the curtains in her coach were drawn so that she didn't have to see Bath and that its citizens wouldn't see her. Quite a temper she had.
Anyway, the Jane Austen Centre in itself didn't have that much stuff. We all ready knew most of the biographical information the guide gave us. Two friends and I ate lunch at the Regency Tea Room, which is a part of the Jane Austen Centre. After lunch, we went on a walking tour, which is when we were shown the various locations associated with Jane Austen. The weather had cleared up a lot...it was still very chilly, but the sun was out.

13 Queen Square- One of the places in which Jane Austen stayed. They rented the middle floor. The building now houses a solicitor's office.

The Pump Room, about which I talked above.

Trim Street, which I also mentioned above. The sad thing is, we have no clue where on Trim Street Jane Austen lived. There is some new construction on it, so for all we know the original building may have been demolished.
After the walking tour, we were free to do whatever we wanted. I got on the sightseeing bus to get a quick feel for Bath before I had to head back to London to see Peter Pan. Here are the results of the tour:

The reason for Bath.

The Royal Crescent Hotel. Also mentioned in Northanger Abbey.

That's the river Avon. I learned that Avon is the Celtic word for river. So it's River river. When the Romans conquered England, they expected the rivers to have different names like they did, but whenever they asked they always got the same answer-Avon. Therefore, there are about 11 Avon rivers in the UK. The bridge is Pulteney Bridge and was designed to house shops.

Bath streets.
I caught the 4.45 train back to London Paddington after the bus tour, promptly fell asleep on the train and rushed to Kensington Gardens to make it in time for the show. My dinner, consequently, was a chocolate brownie.

The tent in which Peter Pan is performed.


The stage at the beginning of the show- it is a recreation of the Darling children's bedroom.
The show was...interesting to say the least. It was very unconventional, what with being held in a tent, having projections on the screen serving as most of the scenery and involving acrobatics for the scenes involving flying. I want to say the show is directed towards a younger audience, considering the story; however, most of the kids I sat around were bored before we hit interval and a lot of the dialogue and action was a little mature for them. My classmates and I, however, thought some of the action was juvenile and cute, to put it well. It wasn't badly done at all, it was just a little too childish for us. The best part about it, however, was the actor that played Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. It is the same actor who plays the father and the hunter in Jumanji. It was pretty amazing to watch him almost recreate that image. The actor, incidentally, is Jonathan Hyde. He was also in Titanic as J Bruce Ismay, the managing director of the White Star line (the guy who encourages the captain to hasten the progress of the ship). Anyway, that was fun.
Most of the group leaves for Paris tomorrow. I plan to stay here and as I mentioned previously, get a lot of things accomplished. First thing on my list, however, is to sleep until at least 10am. Nothing else comes close to being as important.

T Minus 11 Days

First of all, I cannot believe there are only 11 days left! That is so crazy. I still have...all of London to see. I'm really starting to panic about all the things I have yet to see that I haven't had a chance to see. So, this weekend while a significant number of people are in Paris, I am going to get to my list of places to see. Luckily for me, these places can be tackled alone and might actually be more fun that way. The list includes: Covent Garden, The Sherlock Holmes Museum, The Charles Dickens Museum, Camden Market, Portobello Road (the last two are prime shopping locations), Harrods (I've seen the building, but haven't been inside yet), Hampton Court, The British Museum, The British Library, Charing Cross Road (known for its numerous bookstores).
We had classes today. My Jane Austen class dragged on forever, unfortunately. We talked about Mansfield Park and I don't care for the novel very much, and couldn't quite keep awake. However, we got done with that novel and moved on to Northanger Abbey, and were given a pretty detailed introduction to the Gothic novel tradition. It was interesting...the stories of many of the first Gothic novels sound very trashy and silly, but I want to read them regardless. So if anyone is so inclined to get me a copy of The Italian or The Mysteries of Udolpho both by Ann Radcliffe, feel free to do so. Or even The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis. We had vegetable curry and rice for lunch and it was delicious (for those who are familiar with it, it felt a lot like having sambar rice).
My theatre class was the most interesting it has been thus far. This is because we had a very famous sound designer visit us and speak to us-John Leonard (if you google his name, his website should be the first to pop up in the search results). He was incredibly chatty- he went off on an incredible number of tangents, shared many anecdotes, etc. The only thing he did that I am somewhat familiar with is designing all the sounds in the Madame Tussaud's in New York. He has apparently worked some on the sound for the museum here in London as well. He currently has several shows on West End including Duet for One, Calendar Girls and Carrie's War. He mainly goes out to places, records sounds for sound effects and puts clips together for soundtracks for theatre productions. Of course, his job is a lot more complicated than I described it, but that's the gist. Needless to say, most of us were impressed by the celebrities he has worked with- Dames Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren, Ralph and Joe Fiennes, etc. What is even more impressive is that he, and his wife (who is a cellist), have recorded frequently at Abbey Road (of The Beatles fame). In fact, his wife is a featured cellist on the Harry Potter soundtracks- apparently she's playing the strings whenever there are dementors in the scene, so my guess is the 3rd and 5th movies. And it gets better: Leonard's father-in-law was also a cellist, and is actually one of the string players in The Beatles' song "Eleanor Rigby." This, to me, was amazing because the strings are my favorite part of that song. Anyway, he's done a lot of stuff and he's been around people who have done a lot of stuff, so it was an amazing experience.
I decided to take a night off tonight because tomorrow is going to be a long day, with the visit to Bath and then Peter Pan at night. I ironed some clothes I had washed, updated journals for class, and hung out with my recently engaged friends. They introduced me to a British comedy- The IT Crowd. It was pretty funny, and they plan to show me more episodes in the following week. They're going to Paris this weekend to celebrate their engagement (lucky!), so I won't see them for the next few days.
And now on to bed, as I have to leave for Bath at 6:45 in the morning.

Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?

I woke up, breakfasted, and left with friends well in advance to get to the Changing of the Guard; however, the gates of Buckingham Palace were all ready flocked a full hour and 15 minutes before the scheduled event was to take place. Being short, my friend and I tried to weave through the crowd to an acceptable spot from which to see the event, but we were unsuccessful. We saw the guards marching in to the band (brought back memories of marching band), but could not even get a glimpse of the guards within the gates. So, we left. Here is evidence of what we did see.


The Palace.

Approaching band.


Clarinet line!
A quick errand to Oxford Street to exchange money was next, after which we ate lunch at Garfunkel's Restaurant. I got the spiciest pasta I have ever eaten- it had a spicy tomato sauce as well as jalapenos in it. After lunch, we split ways because I had to be back on campus for my theatre class field trip. I did, however, make a stop at a street vendor selling pashmina shawls for really, really cheap in the most spectacular designs. I could not resist and got myself a few...maybe I'll be inclined to part with a couple when I get home.
I got back to campus at around 2.15 and took a power nap until around 2.35, at which point I got ready to meet the class to go to the Drury Lane Theatre Royal, which is actually on Catherine Street. We had the best tour yet. The tour guides got dressed as prominent people in the history of the theatre and were incredibly animated about the information they gave us. The theatre set the standards for what we know as modern theatre. It was at Drury Lane that women were first allowed to person in Britain. The use of a lot of technical elements originated at this theatre. It is because of tunnels leading to the docks from the theatre, and sailors being the operators backstage that they are now called crew. Sailors were the natural choice for the job because a lot of the equipment used backstage (ropes, etc.) is the same as on boats. We toured the Royal Retiring Room, which is where the Queen would retire to during interval, etc. It was a very engaging tour.


Our tour guides. I didn't quite catch the importance of the man, Mr. Brown, but the lady is the first actress to perform there- Nell Gwynn.

The Theatre. It takes up the entire street.
Dinner and a quick stop at Covent Garden (which I plan to revisit for a longer period of time) later, it was time for the show Oliver. We, unfortunately, had really bad seats. They were on the ground level, or stalls, but we were under the first floor. The play had a lot of scenes which involved the use of a hydraulic bridge, and so we had to resort to just listening because we couldn't see beyond the balcony. The play, in effect, was amazing. I have never seen a production of this magnitude...not that the cast was big, but it was so apparent that they had a lot of funding. The sets were magnificent and reflected London streets perfectly. They created a 3D effect, and it seemed like the stage extended infinitely in the background...I have no idea how. Compared to Romeo and Juliet and Warhorse, this play, which was a musical, had thousands and thousands of props. The show is based on Dicken's novel, Oliver Twist, and although it is different from the novel, the story was conveyed well. The boy playing Oliver cannot have been more that 12, but he was a spectacular singer. I was thoroughly impressed. The lighting was extravagant and so were the costumes, and I was constantly reminded of how much of a budget the show probably had...considering the theatre is one of the best theatres in London and is currently owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Speaking of the theatre again, it is where My Fair Lady with Julie Andrews was performed...I got cold chills when I heard about it.
Ultimately, I have decided that I love musicals. They are not as engaging as say, a Shakespeare production, or as thought provoking as a serious drama, but I would be perfectly content to see extravagant shows one after another...to be given a sense of reality instead of constantly indulging in suspension of disbelief. Class tomorrow, which will be less exciting, but hopefully rewarding.

It's A Love Story...

Last Tuesday, my friend Miranda's boyfriend began talking to me on facebook about her expectations when it came to a marriage proposal. Miranda and I, being the silly girls that we are, had been talking about engagements and weddings and the sort, and she conveyed the conversation to Daniel (her boyfriend). I was a little perturbed at his pursuit of the topic, so I asked him if he had anything in mind. It turns out that Daniel has contacts here with whom Miranda was supposed to meet yesterday. Daniel said, "So she thinks she's just going to meet these friends on Sunday..." and I finished the rest with, "But you're surprising her here? Are you proposing?" It turns out he was doing exactly that. He planned to propose to her at a nice restaurant, but I pointed out that it was too public, so I suggested Hampstead Heath instead. And that is exactly what happened.
I spent yesterday morning catching up on some much needed sleep. When I awoke, I helped Miranda put an outfit together for the evening: she was told that she was going to be eating at a nice place, so she knew enough to dress up. I lent her a top of mine and some jewelry, and I took pictures of her all dressed up. All this while she was ignorant of the plot to surprise her. I saw her walk away and knew that when I next saw her, she was would be a different person. I was barely able to concentrate on my homework in anticipation of everything that I knew was happening at that moment about a mile away.
I managed to get all my homework done by 8.30pm, a little after which, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to see Miranda beaming and Daniel behind her (bear in mind, I had never met him and yet I had had a very intimate conversation with him). I congratulated them heartily...oohed and aaahed over her ring, heard every single detail of the proposal and could not but be excited that I was a somewhat integral part of it all. Miranda was completely blown away, needless to say, Daniel was ecstatic that she said yes, and I am happy for them both.
As part of the surprise, Daniel is going to be here for the next 2 weeks until it is time for us to leave...which is great for Miranda, but not so great for me. It is a very romantic gesture, but I'm going to miss my friend a little bit.
Today was all about classes. We discussed the positive and negative aspects of Romeo and Juliet in theatre. We talked very, very extensively about 18 different narrative techniques in Jane Austen. It was very tiring. To relieve ourselves from that, then, we went on our second pub crawl on the Dick Whittington Ale Trail. This time we followed the Theatreland path. I was very experimental- I tried Belgian Strawberry Beer (Fuhli, I think it's called) and Belgian Chocolate Beer (Floris, I think). I also had Pimm's, which is this crazy mix of cucumber, strawberry, orange and lemon with club soda and the Pimm's liquor, and finally a Stella Artois, a very light beer. Needless to say, I was, and am, pretty affected by all this, but the night was great and my friends looked out for me. Theatreland is a lot more happening than Westminster/Piccadilly was last week, and I got another shirt in the process.
Tomorrow I plan to go to the Changing of the Guard, after which I'll tour the Drury Lane Theatre and watch Oliver the musical at night. Updates to be expected then.

Friday started off really early, as we loaded the coaches to go to Stonehenge. Our tour guide on the bus tried to give us interesting details on the way over (it took approximately 2.5 hours to get there), but none of us were actually awake to listen to her. Also, I don't know where anyone got the idea that Stonehenge was middle of nowhere and that it was difficult to get there. It is situated between the fork of two major roads...I guess the only inconvenience is that you'd have to take a taxi from the nearest train station as opposed to walking or something. Regardless, as the case always seems to be when a trip outside London is involved, the weather was rainy and chilly. We got off the coaches and were given a time limit of around 45 minutes to walk around Stonehenge, and we spent most of that under umbrellas, trying to battle the wind while taking pictures. There is nothing really that I can say about Stonehenge. I am glad to have gotten to see it, but one walk around the pavilion and I was ready to move on. The weather improved towards the end of our visit, so that made hanging around the rocks a little more enjoyable.

This was what the weather was to start out with.

Miranda and I in front of the rocks.

The scene when the weather improved.
After Stonehenge, we boarded the coaches to go to Salisbury, a town about 20 minutes away. Again, the tour guide tried to tell us interesting things about it, but Miranda and I were too busy talking amongst ourselves to hear much (in our defense, the lady was softspoken). I did gather, however, that the steeple of the Salisbury Cathedral is the tallest of all Gothic cathedrals in Europe. They were working on the Cathedral, so part of it was under scaffolding.

Here is the Church and here is the Steeple...

Apparently all this was painted in brilliant colors originally, but restoration during Henry VIII's time stripped the Church of all its colors.

It was pretty amazing inside.
And now for a rant/observation. There is Indian food available everywhere here. Even outside of Indian restaurants. We had lunch at the Salisbury Cathedral cafe and as part of their lunch menu for the day was chicken korma with naan and rice. It was amazingly delicious too. I will continue with this thought when I talk about Haworth.
The group of seven that planned on going to Haworth met after lunch to walk to the railway station. We missed our first available train because my professor was in the bathroom, and so waited another hour until the next train. When we finally boarded the train, we only took it as far as Bristol-Temple Meads, at which point we boarded a train for Leeds. Finding a non-reserved seat amongst all the reserved ones proved to be difficult, but we finally did and settled to talk some more.
We reached Leeds a little after 9pm and immediately boarded the Skipton train to get off at Keighley. From Keighley we took a taxi to our hostel, which looked pretty scary from the outside, but was very warm on the inside. It was close to 10.30 by the time we checked in, and not having had dinner, we decided to get some. The only place open, we were told, was an Indian restaurant about 15 minutes away. Bear in the mind the trouble we took to get to Haworth...and the only place open out there was Indian. I was amazed. The food was very reasonable and very good, and so we headed back close to midnight, stomachs full and eyes droopy.
We woke up early the next morning, had an excellent breakfast (eggs, beans on toast, etc.) and left in pursuit of the Bronte Parsonage. This is what our hostel looked like, by the way.


The girls's room. There were four bunk beds. There were two people in there we didn't know.
Everything in Haworth is hilly. We had to climb a really steep cobblestone-paved hill to go up to the Parsonage, but it was totally worth it. Bronte Village, as the area around the Parsonage is known, is very charming and was still asleep when we got there. So we ventured into the Church were Patrick Bronte, the father, was a parson.

The Church.

View down the street in Bronte Village.
After walking around the Church and reading the memorial stones of the Brontes, we went to the Bronte Parsonage, which is now a museum. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside the museum, so I only have pictures of the outside.


I was completely enchanted with everything I saw and read inside the museum. I saw the couch on which Emily Bronte died, and the room in which Charlotte Bronte did her writing. I saw Branwell Bronte's paintings, and he was very talented; it's a wonder why he was rejected by everyone. Apparently when he was a tutor at a certain Robinson household, he had an affair with Mrs. Robinson....wouldn't it be fantastic if that was the grounds for The Graduate, and consequently the song? That's why I love literature, and the humanities in general; it allows for amazing references. The gift shop is the best I have seen yet, so I was a little self-indulgent, but still did really well with the money.
After the museum, we went in search of the moors. Although it was visible from where we were, it was a hike to actually get into the wilderness beyond civilization. We somehow missed a path leading us to the moors, and had to walk across dung filled sheep fields. I cut my hand on some stone trying not to fall into muddy water, climbed more steep hills, but it was all worth it for these amazing views.




I love that the camera captured the clouds's shadows in the one above.
We hiked almost 5 miles to and fro that day. We were trying to make it to Bronte falls. We never made it to the actual falls, but we made it to Bronte bridge and the stream that runs from the falls.



That's the Bronte bridge.
A long hike (along the path this time) later, we at The Black Bull, the pub where Branwell Bronte drank himself to ruin. We had time to walk around the village before we had to take a steam train back to Keighley and make our way back to London. The steam train was just like the Hogwarts Express. It was a really neat experience.

Everyone that went to Haworth, minus me.

There's our train.
We finally got to Keighley, took a train to Leeds and then got on a train back to London King's Cross. We pulled in to the station a little after 9pm, and finally got back to campus close to 10.30pm. A shower, dinner and sleep were all that were needed to end the day.

Shakespeare

As promised, I am going to attempt to describe everything that has gone on here since Thursday. So, Thursday was all about Shakespeare. It involved a field trip for my theatre class to The Globe theatre, which is where Shakespeare's plays were performed. However, I was a little disappointed. The history of The Globe is thus: It was built in 1599, burned down in 1613, rebuilt the same year, and shut down in 1642 due to Puritan reign in Britain. Eventually it was demolished and hardly 10% of the original Globe remains underneath modern-day London. The Globe that is currently in place, then, is only a replica and has only been functional since 1997! The original location of The Globe was not even discovered until 1989! I don't know why, but I was under the impression that The Globe was the exact same as it had been in Shakespeare's day, and if not, I would have thought it was at least in the same spot. I know that the location is not as important as what is performed, but I was completely shocked at how recently the current Globe was resurrected. Anyway, the day began at 9.30 with a tour of the Globe theatre, which was very impressive because our guide is an actor, although she wasn't acting in any of the current productions. That took up most of the morning, after which we ate a hurried lunch, to go back to another tour- this time of the Rose Theatre. The Rose Theatre was a contemporary of The Globe during the Elizabethan times, and it was in fact a rival of the Globe. Shakespeare's initial works such as Titus Andronicus were performed at the Rose, but after the building of the Globe, all his works were performed there. The Rose is important, however, because it was the first established theatre. The original site of the Rose is currently beneath this very tall, very modern building, and it is being preserved under water because any exposure to light or air tends to deteriorate everything within. Only the foundation is present, and it is not open to the public unless via a private tour. After that we were taken to see the original location of the Globe. It is now under a parking lot for an apartment complex, but there is a difference in the cobblestone to indicate what would have been certain structures in the Globe. All together, it was a most interesting day.

We walked across the Millenium Bridge to get to Southwark, where The Globe is.


The Globe Theatre.

Inside the Globe.

Where the action takes place.
After the tour of The Rose, we were free until around 7 that night, at which time we were to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe. Having walked all day, and expecting an evening of standing, I decided to head back to campus for the time between. Why I say I was expecting standing in the evening was that we were supposed to be groundlings during the performace-we stood in front of the stage, like at a concert, as opposed to having a seat. These are the cheapest tickets to get, and it gives a very authentic experience of how most people experienced plays in Shakespeare's time. They stood in front of the stage, and watched the plays for 3 hours, or however long it was. Only the wealthy could afford seats.
Anyway, since The Globe is situated right next to Tate Modern, the modern art museum, I decided to see that before heading back to campus for a break. It was the fastest I have ever been through a museum. I do not understand the abstract nature of modern art, and did not have much of an appreciation for what I saw within the museum. There were a couple of Picasso works, as well as Warhol, but that was about it. I did a quick walk-through of all the exhibits, just to be able to say I have been to Tate Modern.
I went back to campus, had an hour to rest my feet, ate a good dinner (it included black forest cake) and hurried back to the Globe in the hope of getting a good standing position. The play was fantastic...the experience not so much. I was extremely grateful that we were watching Romeo and Juliet, a story which everyone is familiar with, so that I could concentrate on other aspects of theatre. I haven't read the play since freshman year of high school, and I didn't remember many aspects of the play- Shakespeare is a lot more vulgar than I remember him being, for one thing. The costumes were all true to the period, as was the music of the troubadours, including the instruments they used. The fight scenes were excellently choreographed, and although I was stuck behind the only 6'6" person around, I was able to get a good enough view from shifting my position every so often. All the actors were very accomplished and there was hardly a moment when I was wondering what the time was, or thinking ahead to when the play was going to finish (except for the minute my knees started weakening from standing in one attitude for a prolonged amount of time).
To add to the experience of standing for 3.25 hours, it began to rain at the beginning of the play and continued well into the first act. I only had a jacket with which to protect myself, since The Globe has no protection against rain. As uncomfortable as it was, I'm glad to have gotten the complete experience. At around 10.30pm, the play ended, with a scramble on everyone's part to get back home to dry, warm clothes. I headed to bed early that day, owing to the fact that the trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury began very early the next day.
At present, I do not have the energy to talk about Stonehenge/Salisbury and Haworth, but I do not have plans but homework and housekeeping tomorrow, so I will attend to it then, and will be caught up.

Postponement

Today has positively been the longest day yet. Even longer than our first day in London. At present, I don't have energy enough to describe today. Suffice it to know that it was all about Shakespeare. Tomorrow I go to Stonehenge and Salisbury, immediately after which I am going with some of my friends and my Jane Austen professor to Haworth. The trip has been worked out, and I'm excited about it. I won't be back to campus until Saturday night, at which point I promise details about today and the weekend.

Half-Way

This week marks the halfway point of the trip. I have a little over a fortnight left here, and I'm really starting to dread leaving. Apparently it's typical, but I hope I don't take it too far and throw tantrums when I get home.
Today was the fourth day of classes. To begin the day, there was no hot water in the bathrooms in Maynard, so I had to postpone the shower. Then I found out that they would be working on the hot water lines from 9am- 5pm. Why it didn't work at 7am, then, is beyond me. Regardless, the very first thing in class today was watching Pride and Prejudice- the Keira Knightley version. I knew I loved that movie for some reason and I have fallen in love with Mr. Darcy all over again. I will say, as I always do when I watch that version, that the ending is completely ruined by Hollywood. There is enough romance in the air without Focus Features or Joe Wright or whoever was responsible for it to make it that apparent. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the movie. It is so beautiful all the way until the last three minutes. After that, we took a quiz on Mansfield Park, talked more about narrative techniques, got our first paper back (95, thank you) and then it was time for lunch.
Keeping awake during my theatre class in the afternoon was tough. We took notes while he read to us about theatrical terms, and while I was glad to be learning, I wished that everyone would distract him like they normally do so I could sneak in a nap. But I persevered, and when class was over, I attended the orientation for the Stonehenge/Salisbury trip on Friday. It will be fantastic...I hope.
Perhaps the biggest thing to happen today was my move from Maynard to Dudin Brown. I've mentioned the disaster showers, and they're pretty disgusting in Maynard. Dudin Brown is heaven to compared to it. The bathrooms are private bathrooms. Not private in the sense that you are the only one to use it, but when you're in there, you're the only one there. The floor uses it, but there are two others, so it considerably more private and they are really clean with handshowers and everything. One of the administrative staff was only here until the 21st, and I asked if I could have her old room. It worked out, and lucky me, my closest friend here lives next door. It is amazing.

The room is in a mess because I was scrambling to gather my things to get a shower before I had to get dinner. It is a lot brighter than my older room, I love the bay windows, and it actually faces the street as opposed to an abandoned house/field. I am very happy with the change.
After dinner, three friends and I decided to go to Kensington Gardens to see the Peter Pan statue and walk around the park. Here are the pictures.




That's the Peter Pan Statue. Right across the statue, across the little river that runs through the park, is where they're staging Peter Pan the show, which I will be attending next week.




Don't the clouds look amazing?

Kensington Palace is where Princess Diana lived when alive. Kensington Gardens host many memorials to her, one of which is the fountain below.


That's me (obviously), with my back to Miranda, and the girl in front is Laura. The fourth person with us was Mark, and he took this picture. He does not like being photographed so there aren't pictures of him. After Kensington Gardens, I went grocery shopping at Sainsbury's, somewhat akin to a Kroger, except better. They have everything possible available, and they are very conscious of all dietary restrictions, and cheap. We got back to campus at around 10pm to meet with some people about a possible trip to Haworth this weekend. Haworth is where the Bronte family lived- Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights. For those of you who are familiar with the novels, Haworth is in the Moors and it will be fantastic if we make it there. I am currently researching cheap hostels at which we can stay.
All in all, I am having a most enjoyable time here. Tomorrow a theatre field trip will take me to the Rose Theatre and the infamous Globe Theatre, where I will watch Romeo and Juliet. I am thoroughly excited. Descriptions and reviews tomorrow, as always.