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.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
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.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
All Work and No Play
Today marked the day of the second Jane Austen field trip. We were not going very far from campus. We took a bus to Golders Green (about a mile away), and then another bus to Kenwood (another mile or so) to see Kenwood House. Kenwood House is an historic mansion dating back to the 1600s. It originally belonged to a Murray, who adopted the name Lord Mansfield. In 1922, it was bought by a descendant of Guinness, the guy who invented the Irish beer. The house has been historically preserved, and is the home of a Rembrandt and Vermeer painting, as well as several Gainsborough and Reynolds paintings. The architecture and interior designing is magnificent- very over the top, which is exactly what they were trying to achieve. The grounds are fantastic, needless to say, and it was very easy to picture any Austen mansion as being like Kenwood House. Most famously, Kenwood House was used for the filming of scenes from the 1999 movie version of Mansfield Park as well as Notting Hill, the movie starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. We got an excellent tour with a very knowledgable guide, and learned a lot about the running of a mansion in the 18th century, as well as customs and scandals. It was definitely eye-opening. We were done by around 1pm, so I left to finish all the work that I had waiting for me. I stopped by the Golders Green Post Office to buy stamps (62p for one- so expensive!) and saw where the Hindu temple for the area is, so I'll definitely be planning a visit there soon.
I got back, took a shower, sat down to read Mansfield Park, and promptly fell asleep 30 minutes later. Upon waking up, I did laundry and read extensively to make up for lost time. A not-so-nice dinner of spaghetti and runny sauce later, I did some more reading, cleaned my room (it looks great now) and went over to a friend's room in the attempt of doing homework. Obviously no homework was done, but we talked extensively about American television, which only made me realize how much I missed watching TV. There is a television here, but it only delivers 3 channels, all 3 BBC, none of them with good programming.
I have yet to finish my homework, but sleep is beckoning, so I plan to wake relatively early and finish it (I have to go through a few chapters in Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park and look for any or all of 12 different narrative techniques that Jane Austen employs). Here are some pictures from today's field trip. I'm proud of the flowers, if I may say so myself. They didn't have signs for their names, so I don't know what they're called.
Kenwood House.
The English take their landscaping very seriously.
This side is particularly what was used in the movies I mentioned.
View from one of the trails around the house.
I got back, took a shower, sat down to read Mansfield Park, and promptly fell asleep 30 minutes later. Upon waking up, I did laundry and read extensively to make up for lost time. A not-so-nice dinner of spaghetti and runny sauce later, I did some more reading, cleaned my room (it looks great now) and went over to a friend's room in the attempt of doing homework. Obviously no homework was done, but we talked extensively about American television, which only made me realize how much I missed watching TV. There is a television here, but it only delivers 3 channels, all 3 BBC, none of them with good programming.
I have yet to finish my homework, but sleep is beckoning, so I plan to wake relatively early and finish it (I have to go through a few chapters in Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park and look for any or all of 12 different narrative techniques that Jane Austen employs). Here are some pictures from today's field trip. I'm proud of the flowers, if I may say so myself. They didn't have signs for their names, so I don't know what they're called.
Kenwood House.
The English take their landscaping very seriously.
This side is particularly what was used in the movies I mentioned.
View from one of the trails around the house.
Pub Crawls
Second week of classes began today, with theatre in the morning. We really did nothing in there but talk about our individual reflections on Warhorse from last week. No new material or anything. It was a waste of three hours. A quick lunch later, a friend and I went in search of a post office to get stamps. We walked about a mile and found nothing, and decided to head back to class in the afternoon. My second class was extremely productive. We finished the movie version of Sense and Sensibility, discussed the book further and got into all sorts of narrative techniques that Austen employs.
After class, I read a little bit of Mansfield Park for the next class period, had dinner, and a few friends and I decided to go pub crawling through the Dick Whittington Ale Trail. Pub crawling is just going from one pub to another through the night. Dick Whittington is a legendary character who apparently came to London looking for streets paved with gold. During his search, he stopped at many pubs throughout the city, and these pubs are featured on the Ale Trail. The appeal is when you visit 5 of these pubs in any one neighborhood, and buy something to eat or drink in those places, you will get a t-shirt at the end of the night. We picked the Westminster to Piccadilly areas since they had the least number of pubs on their trail. We began with The Old Shades, right down the road from Westminster Abbey, then walked past the Abbey to The Marquis of Granby up the street to The Feather, and then took a tube to The Clarence before ending at The King's Head. It was a really fun night. I got asked to show my ID once, but being over the legal drinking age here, everything went smoothly. I made some good friends in the process, and experience London at night for under £15. I also got the t-shirt that says I walked the Ale Trail from Westminster to Piccadilly. We got back to campus right at around midnight, at which point I was too exhausted to blog, which is why I postponed it to this morning.
In another 20 minutes, I will be going on a field trip with the Jane Austen class to nearby Kenwood House, which was used as a filming location for some of the movies. The field trip shouldn't take long, which is good, because I have a long list of things to get done, mostly homework and laundry.
After class, I read a little bit of Mansfield Park for the next class period, had dinner, and a few friends and I decided to go pub crawling through the Dick Whittington Ale Trail. Pub crawling is just going from one pub to another through the night. Dick Whittington is a legendary character who apparently came to London looking for streets paved with gold. During his search, he stopped at many pubs throughout the city, and these pubs are featured on the Ale Trail. The appeal is when you visit 5 of these pubs in any one neighborhood, and buy something to eat or drink in those places, you will get a t-shirt at the end of the night. We picked the Westminster to Piccadilly areas since they had the least number of pubs on their trail. We began with The Old Shades, right down the road from Westminster Abbey, then walked past the Abbey to The Marquis of Granby up the street to The Feather, and then took a tube to The Clarence before ending at The King's Head. It was a really fun night. I got asked to show my ID once, but being over the legal drinking age here, everything went smoothly. I made some good friends in the process, and experience London at night for under £15. I also got the t-shirt that says I walked the Ale Trail from Westminster to Piccadilly. We got back to campus right at around midnight, at which point I was too exhausted to blog, which is why I postponed it to this morning.
In another 20 minutes, I will be going on a field trip with the Jane Austen class to nearby Kenwood House, which was used as a filming location for some of the movies. The field trip shouldn't take long, which is good, because I have a long list of things to get done, mostly homework and laundry.
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