Week Three: London

Monday 13 September 2010
 
The plan for today was to go to classes, spend an hour at Primark (a crazy cool store) and then come back and do homework.

Primark was pretty awesome. It was absolutely packed with people but the clothes are really quite nice and at reasonable prices. (You can find great stuff for a pound, etc.) So Katy, Julie, and I were walking around. I walked away to look at a shirt. I didn't think I was turned away that long, but when I turned back they were gone! What? Where were they? I walked all over the store multiple times, both floors. It felt like an age to me. Finally I concluded to return to the center. If we get separated from the group we're supposed to head back, right? I took the tube home by myself and arrived safe, expecting Julie and Katy to already be there.

But they weren't. Whoops. I spent the next 20 minutes or so (but it felt so much longer) in a state of anxiety. Were they looking for me? Were they worried? Had I done the right thing? What else could I have done better? (besides getting lost, obviously) Finally, they came through the door. I felt terrible. They had spent an hour and a half looking around the store for me. I should have stayed longer. I feel so bad about it. But, we all found each other at home. I'm actually quite glad that day is over.

Skyping right now!! I love my family.

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Today was a good day. Got a lot of homework done. Why? Because I'm industrious and fabulous and I didn't leave the center for hours and hours. I also got to talk to mom on Skype.

But the highlight of today actually occurred at night. We got to all get out of the center and went to War Horse together. It's a play (loosely) based on a kid's book about a cavalry horse in WWI. It wasn't the greatest play I've ever seen, with some pretty cheesy parts, but it wasn't too bad either. The best part were the puppets. The puppet they used for the horse was life-sized! It was worked by three people, was actually quite realistic, and could actually hold the weight of a rider! It was excellent.

Time for bed. It's late at night and we've got a field trip tomorrow. It's the latest we'll ever set out for a trip but it's still earlier than our normal day starts.

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Today was a great day! After breakfast we all loaded up on the coach and headed off to see the world! Or at least one little part of it. First we went to Bodiam castle. What historic even happened here? Well, I'll tell you...nothing! This castle isn't the sight of any major battles or even any minor ones. The reason it is so famous is because it is the quintessential romantic castle. A moat actually filled with water, a large bridge to enter the keep, round towers at each corner and towers over the gate houses. It was fun to look around and take pictures. One fun actual historical thing that happened here was it was one location of a WWII pillbox. A large gun was kept out in front of the keep in case of a German invasion from the south. Kind of a neat little claustrophobic bunker.

After that we headed to Bateman's. This is Rudyard Kipling's house in Kent (Mr. Collins) and it was built during the mid 1600s. Beautiful. Words cannot describe how beautiful it was. The house itself was a wonder of architecture and there were so many amazing artifacts like copper etchings Kipling's father did of Mowgli and other Jungle Book characters it was really neat to walk around. But, my favorite part was definitely the gardens. After Kipling won the Nobel prize for English Literature he put his monetary winnings towards a miraculous English garden. The beauty of an English garden, to me, is that it's organized without being truly tamed. There were exploding flowerbeds and wide stretches of lawn, a pond with a miniature fountain, rows of trees, and if you know where to look beyond the manicured hedges the garden opens onto a wooded space (a pretty sort of wilderness on one side of his lawn--if you will).

The next stop was Battle Abbey. Can you say 1066? First we watched a movie to introduce us to the epic story of the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold, and William I. Then we had a crucial decision to make. In order to have ample time at our final stop before they closed for the night, this visit was only 45 minutes long. The walk around the actual battlefield of the actual Battle of Hastings (which did not take place in Hastings) was supposed to take between 30 and 40 minutes. However, the abbey built by William the Conqueror to commemorate the sight--with the high altar standing supposedly in the exact spot where King Harold fell--was also supposed to be quite amazing. We decided to do the full walk around the battlefield--for the experience. Katy and Julie walked at a regular speed. But, Andrew Tate, Beno, and I decided there was no reason we couldn't do both. So, we ran. Actually, at first I stayed with Katy and Julie but then I took off to catch up with the boys. We did the whole thing in a little under 20 minutes (we had to stop to read the signs every once in a while) and then we were able to walk through the Abbey. It was very excellent. Plus, we found an ice house that looks like an upside down beehive in a remote part of the Abbey. Awesome. Side note--the town near this site is called Battle. I want to live there just so I can say I live in Battle.

Our final sight was Monk's House. This is the country house of Virginia Woolf and her husband. It was very small but lovely. It's down a country road with now signs or house numbers--just house names--and I loved it immediately. The art and decoration of the house were done by Virginia's sister Vanessa and other artists that make up the Bloomsbury Group (art deco-esque). Not really up my alley style-wise, but very exciting to see in real life. Actual everyday objects in a specific 20th century artistic style! My inner geek couldn't help but come out. My favorite room of the house was definitely "a room of one's own." Even the roofing of this room was different from the rest of the house. It was such a restful place, I could understand why Virginia liked it. Back a little ways in the garden was the shed where Virgina did most of her actual writing. Marvelous. But, my favorite part of the visit was still the garden. Wow--amazing. Paths and trees and flowerbeds and ponds and sculptures and a rope swing and a large vegetable garden and a secret. I was just wandering the gardens, and making a goal to have something like that when I grow up, when I saw some hedges that formed a tall wall, with a small opening in it covered by a stick gate. Being sneaky, I moved the gate aside and stepped into a perfect square of open lawn. There were clothes lines stretching between the hedges on either side but it was still exciting. The sun was nicely shining and I had found the Secret Garden. Of course, Julie, Katy, and I took pictures. Gates and off-limits areas are for lesser mortals. Actually, I think Katy already knew about this space from a previous visit, but it was still exciting to me.

For dinner we went to Tuk Tuk again. Really good Thai food. I didn't like the one I had tonight (Pad Thai) as much as the one I had last field trip night (beef and noodles) but it was still good. I don't know if I mentioned, we get 5 pounds each field trip day to spend on dinner when we get back home because the center doesn't provide food on those days. I'm coming to love the restaurant.

Thursday 16 September 2010

Today started out as an average day. Just homework and class. Julie and I got sick of writing papers so we went to Piccadilly Circus and ended up purchasing show tickets.

We saw Les Miserables. We were not on the front row. We were in front of it! Oh my goodness. There were three seats in front of the front row that were only 20 pounds each and Julie and I pounced. I loved our seats! At times we couldn't see the back of the stage--but only if someone was lying down. It was absolutely phenomenal. I never even knew the story before, and now it is the best play I have ever seen. I cried. The man playing Jean Valjean was incredible and the man playing (coincidentally he was black) Javert was miraculous. The girl who sang I Dreamed a Dream was amazing. You just get so caught up in the experience of the thing. Listening to the wonderful songs from those wonderful voices. We were so close! We saw every expression, every word. We could even see into the pit. At times the actors would run to the edge of the stage and I was sure some were looking right at me! It was amazing. Words cannot express. It is far and away my favorite activity so far here. And it certainly will be incredibly hard to top this!

Friday 17 September 2010

What a day! Today we did our London study on the Tower of London and it was excellent. We did the White Tower with the crown jewels, and then we saw where they kept the prisoners, where Anne Boleyn was executed, torture models, a mock up of a medieval castle, and a demonstration of how they make the crown jewels.

After that we (Katy, Julie, Kaitlyn, Bethany, and I) crossed London Bridge (no joke--it's called that. But, this one didn't fall down: the original London Bridge is in Arizona. Go figure.) into Southwark ("Su-thark") and went to Boroughs Market. So much amazing food!! Katy and I got lamb burgers with some really excellent grilled cheese on it. Wow, good. We met up with Sarryn at the market and all of us did Southwark Cathedral, found the George Inn where Chaucer's pilgirms (and most Canterbury pilgrims) set out from, we found John Keats' residence in London, we had a very embarrassing picture attempt and a local had to take it for us. Sooo embarrassing. We also found some very nice WWI monuments. It was all very lovely.

On the tube ride home Katy, Julie, and I ran into Primark just to look around. We were only there an hour and I didn't get lost! When we got home we were so exhausted. I was grateful that I didn't have any homework due until Saturday night at midnight (because it's dangerous and romantic) and I've already finished it.

Now I'm going to bed. We're going to wake up early tomorrow and watch the sun rise over Westminster Bridge!

Saturday 18 September 2010

Today was absolutely wonderful.

First we (Katy, Julie, Katilyn, Bethany, Katie, Mandy, and I) woke up super duper early and took the tube to Westminster Bridge where we watched the sunrise and spread across Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. On our way home we got hot chocolate at the local Starbucks. It was made with quite bitter chocolate--which I absolutely loved! Some of the girls weren't as big of fans, but I enjoy darker chocolate.

Then Katy, Julie, and I went to Portobello Road. Yes, the one from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Awesome. It's only a few streets over from Palace Court (down the street off Bayswater near Notting Hill Gate tube station--for those keeping score). We walked around and took in a real live street market. I bought some sibling souvenirs, so get excited.

After that we had a bit of lunch and set out again (Katy, Julie, Kaitlyn, Bethany, Me). We walked through the Rose Gardens at Regent's Park and they were beautiful. We had excellent weather with the sun shining so it was very nearly perfect. We headed from Regent's park to Baker Street and got a picture with Sherlock. Finally Katy, Julie, and I did the Wallace Gallery, which is in a house that has been turned into a museum, off Oxford Road and we saw some of my favorite artists there. Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Watteau, even Fragonard. I could go on and on and on. I spent way too much time on the top floor--where the majority of paintings were--and Katy and Julie were sitting for a while to wait for me.

Oh, Hyrum! At the Wallace Gallery they have a real Saumari sword. I took some notes on it--16th century. They also have a lot of armor,etc. I tried on chain mail. It is super heavy. How do they fight in that stuff? I felt like flying after I took it off--I was so light. If you ever get back to London you should check out the gallery. It has a good amount of stuff that would interest you and you can see some incredibly (INCREDIBLY) famous artwork. It's also quite small. Perfect for a one hour excursion. When, in my dream world, we got to London together we'll go.

Sunday 19 September 2010

Church was quite regular today. The circle line was closed so we had to be creative in our tube travels, but we got there in plenty of time. One thing, it is startlingly cold. It may be time to break out the jacket soon. My primary lesson went well, the kids are smart and it's fun because we make fun of each other's accents. The piano wasn't so good, but it cannot be helped. No time to practice. I did surprise myself with doing as well as I did with only one practice session. So I guess that's a blessing. Tonight we meet to prepare for Paris. Can you believe it? Tomorrow, I will be in France!!!!