Stratford Upon Avon a.k.a "The Epic Roadtrip"

Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 6:45 am: we got on a coach (private bus) and began our journey.  Everyone wanted to just sleep in the bus, it had nice reclining seats and it was 6:45 after all but that was not to be, because our coach driver named Tony was a wanna-be tour guide.  He talked long and loud about who knows what, but it all sounded very knowledgeable and accurate and I'm sure if I hadn't been delirious I would have really appreciated it.  The idea of taking this road trip was so that we could hit multiple sites on our way to and from Stratford.  The first place we stopped at 10:30 am was Coventry Cathedral.  For those of you who don't know what that is it is a very historic site because it was a medevil cathedral that was bombed during WWII and basically turned into a ruin in one shot.  Normally it would have been cleared away and a new cathedral build where the old one had been destroyed but in this case they decided to keep what was left of it as a memorial.  The new cathedral was instead built right next to the ruin and connected by an annex.  The old cathedral has all the outside walls standing and it is beautiful in a haunting kind of way with its gothic arches gaping windowless and bare.  The new cathedral by it is built in an extremely modernist way and almost the exact opposite of the old one.   It has modern art huge paintings of Jesus and different saints and the stained glass windows are more angular and patternistic.
We went back to the coach after taking our fill of pictures and continued on our journey.  The next stop we made was Kennilworth Castle.  This is one of the most intriguing castles I have ever been to.  It is a ruin now, but its most famous owner was Sir Robert Dudley the favorite and alleged lover of Queen Elizabeth the 1st also known as the "Virgin Queen."  The Castle has all these crumbling walls and arches and is surrounding in a panoramic countryside of bliss.  Again I lack the vocabulary to express exactly what it looked/felt like but luckily I also have pictures (thanks Facebook!)  to help me convey at least some of the experience.  Let me just say this images and passages from the books and movies of: I Capture The Castle, The Princess Bride, The Court Jester, A Knights's Tale, Ever After, Monty Python and The Holy Grail and Robin Hood are all true.  That medevil magic, that unearthly beauty, the feasting and the splendor was all real.  True that was all fettered with no indoor plumbing, illness, and vermin but that isn't the point, the point is that I stood amidst those walls made of ancient stone and my senses went wild.
Next on the Agenda was Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  Anne Hathaway was of course Shakespeare's wife, and it is where she grew up. It is the cutest little thatched cottage, white Tudor style with a flower and vegetable garden.  Very picturesque and quaint.  The cottage is in the village of Shottery and it is pretty near Stratford.  She was 26 when she married William Shakespeare.... he was 18, and their daughter Susana was born six months later! Interesting coincidence? Haha.
Mary Arden's Farm was next... Mary Arden was Shakespeare's mom. We got to see a falconry show there and all the animals that are present on a working farm, because it IS a working farm.  Complete with staff in time period attire, it has sheep shearing, mild cows, chickens for the eggs, pigs for the pork, a garden and orchard.  It was cool but not as cute as Anne Hathatway's cottage.  The house was made out of waddle and daub... yeah look that up I don't want to explain it. haha.  The house was severely crooked though, and I found out this wasn't just because of their primitive carpentry skills it was also because they built with green wood, they didn't let it dry out first so as it dried and warped it totally wonked out the house.  Inside it was hard to walk because the whole room would be tilted like a room in a fun house.
We got to Stratford finally at about 5 pm and checked into our different bed and breakfasts.  The program had us split into three different b&bs.  I and my normal roomates stayed in one called Green Haven Guest House and it was very comfortable and quaint.  After checking in we went to go find some dinner quickly before we had to go to The Merchant of Venice that night done by the Royal Shakespeare Company.  We decided to eat at David Garrick's Inn.  Why he is significant is because he was an actor that told the world that Stratford Upon Avon was important.  He is the one that made it significant as the birthplace of the Bard.  The food there was delicious, I had a Beef and Ale Pie and it tasted like a huge delicious pot pie.  Then we went to the play.  It was Merchant of Venice.... set in Vegas, in present day.  It was a creative concept.... but pretty much a flop.  They made the search for Portia's husband a reality TV show reminiscent of The Bachelorette, and they had lots of evidence for Antonio and Bassanio being in a gay relationship... which totally killed the vibe with Portia at all.  The only good part was Patrick Stuart as Shylock the Jew.  He gave a good performance.  The rest was very forgettable.
The next day we woke up in our extremely comfortable beds with the sun shining in our bay window and we smelled our breakfast being cooked.  We had a lovely cooked English breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausage, baked beans, fried tomatoes, toast, and cereal.  And on that full stomach we were off to Shakespeare's birthplace.  It was the home and workshop of Shakespeare's father John Shakespeare who was a glover, and rather well to do at one time... although he lost it.  Anyway the coolest thing about this place was the fact that many, many, MANY famous people have been there and lots of them have scratched their names into the windows of the supposed "birthroom."  We then went to the location of New Place, Shakespeare's big fancy house that he bought in Stratford after making it rich in London.  It isn't even there anymore it got torn down hundreds of years ago but it is an archeological dig now.  Kind of boring honsetly.
We went to Hall's Croft next.  John Hall married Shakespeare's daughter Susana, he was a doctor and evidently a super good one for the day.  His meticulous medical notes are the reason we know so much about medical practices of the day.
Me and Ellen and Katie went to dinner at this little Indian Resturant in Stratford and I had the best Chicken Balti I have ever eaten.  Stratford, by the way, is quite the small village.  Everything except the theater closes at about 5pm.  After we ate we went to the Holy Trinity Church.... and (drum roll please) that is where Shakespeare was BURRIED.  That's right.  I saw his grave! I saw the place wherein the hand is laid that held the quill.  I was in awe.  There is a bust of him above his stone crypt in the church and it is said to be one of the few likeneses of him made by someone who actually knew him.
After more exploring of Stratford and a brief naptime we went back to the Royal Shakespeare Company to see their production of Macbeth.  SO INCREDIBLY AMAZING.  It freaked me out, creeped me out, shocked me, showcased acting in a much higher sphere, and forced me to love it.  I have never seen a production of Shakespeare that I so admired.  They took a lot of liberties and changed some stuff up, super risky, but it worked. Instead of opening with the witches they opened on the Captain reporting on the battle.  And the witches weren't even women... they were creepy little ethereal CHILDREN who were lowered into the scene on ropes and at first I thought they were dummies... until they twitched! The killing scenes were done so skillfully with so much power and suspense, and LADY MACBETH WAS SOOOO GOOD.  Her eyes alone conveyed cruel ambition and slight insanity all the while looking uncertain and scared, it gave me chills.
After the show we all wanted to talk more about it so we walked down to the river Avon and sat on the dock looking at all the twinkle lights on the water and talked. To be perfectly blunt it was a truly romantic setting, and very peaceful.
The next morning we got on the coach, and headed to Blenheim Palace... a living, working palace, and home to The Duke of Marlbourough.  It was exorbitantly wealthy looking and historic.  We got to go on a tour of the inside and most of the intricately carved ceilings were covered in 22 carat gold leaf.  That and the portraits and the gardens were the very best part of the palace.  And the fact that the Duke still lives there with his Duchess as his private residence just adds to the splendor.
There is more to tell, much more, but it is late and my wrists are cramping.  I'm going to eat some pineapple and go to bed, but you get the gist of the trip.  Right? It was a road trip in England... how could it be bad? I loved it.

Markets galore!

One thing I really love about this city are all the different things there are to do for free, museums and parks but most of all the markets!  This Saturday I went to Portabello Road and Bourough Markets and they were so much fun! I intend to go back every Saturday I'm here.  There are just such interesting things to see and bargain for and eat.  Portabello is mainly merchandise, vintage stuff, imported things, and near the end it gets like a quirky garage sale with "everything and anything a chap can unload." And if you get that reference I'll love you forever.  Bourough Market is an all food market! Talk about a dream come true!  They have produce, and cheeses, and all kinds of meat including ostrich and wild boar, there are whole booths devoted to different flavored olive oils and gourmet vinegars.  They give out samples of nearly everything, and one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted is apricot balsamic vinegar with a little mellow extra virgin olive oil.... dip some crusty-delicious bread in that and you won't know what hit you.  They also had stalls with all sorts of confections like baklava and chocolate covered fruit and Turkish delight, they also had every kind of pastry imaginable from croissants to tangerine cheesecake.  I wandered around these markets all day.  For part of my time at Portabello I was with this girl Amberly from my group and we had a good get-to-know-you hang out and I felt like we were actually friends instead of just acquaintances by the end.  Oh and there was this amazing sale on peaches 8 for a pound and so Amberly and I each paid 50 pence and each got four peaches, they were delish!  I love just wandering the city alone, is that weird? I have learned something very important about myself, if I spend too much time with the same people I start getting annoyed and cranky, but if I spend too much time alone I disappear into my melancholy thoughts.  Not to get too philosophical on you guys but I've realized there must be balance in all things.
On Sunday, after Stake Conference where President Monson spoke to us, I went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey number one because I was curious, and number two because you can get into the Abbey for free if you go to a service on a Sunday.  So we went and it was a very interesting experience.  Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or "mormon") myself it was cool to see how a different church service is conducted.  When we first walked into the ancient Abbey there was organ music playing, but it was in a minor key so it gave more of a haunted-mansion feel than a church feel.  Everything in that place is so old!! I could just picture monks shuffling about the halls and lighting the candles.  The service included a lot of singing from the men and boys choir and it was beautiful, the acoustics in the Abbey are ridiculously good.  The rich deep tones of the men and the clear bell-like voices of the boys blended into a gorgeous mixture that bounced off all the stone walls and vaulted ceilings until you didn't know where the sound was coming from.  Who needs surround sound?  There was a lot of standing and sitting involved with the service and they had a handout to tell us when and what we were supposed to say/sing.  After we got done with the service we decided to go over to St. Paul's because there was an organ recital going on there.  St. Paul's is VERY different inside than Westminster, first off it is HUGE,  easily three or four times the size of the Abbey, and it is much more modern inside.  It has a black and white marble tiles on the floor and everything is done in marble and gold and the ceilings are higher and there are hardly any stained glass windows (All the windows at the Abbey were stained glass) but it has a lot more paintings, the whole ceiling is covered with paintings of Christ's life and the apostles.  I wasn't supposed to take pictures in either the Abbey or St. Paul's but I was very sneaky and got a couple anyway. It was just too beautiful, I couldn't resist.  All in all a wonderful, peaceful day full of beautiful music and beautiful architecture.

España pt. 3 and then back to life in London.

Sorry these have been so long in coming but I have been doing so much lately and trying to fit in homework, sleep and blogging is hard when your days are already full! So on the morning of the third day the first thing we did after having breakfast was check out of our second hostel an into our third one, which was just down the street and still in the same neighborhood.  This third hostel was the nicest one we had stayed in yet, it was like a nice Hotel not some cheap hostel, but it was cheap!  We each had our own beds, not even bunk beds, and we were the only ones in the room and we had a super nice bathroom, and a big flat screen TV and it was just wonderful!  So after we checked into that hostel and left our stuff there we went on a free walking tour of the city with this guy named Pedro.  He could speak English pretty well and he spoke it the whole time so I actually got something out of the tour, which made me happy.  One of the first places we went on the walking tour was the Plaza del Sol and there was this huge political rally/protest going on.  Our tour guide explained a little bit of what was going on, and basically the people protesting didn't even know what they wanted they just wanted change.  The unemployment rate was the highest its ever been and they don't feel like their two party voting system serves them very well, so they were trying to convince everyone not to vote in protest of the current system.  This was on Friday and elections were to be held on Sunday so it was kind of intense.  There were thousands of people in that square and they all had signs and were giving speeches and there were tents set up and it was kind of crazy.  After we were done at the plaza del sol we walked by the Royal theater, which actually didn't look very royal on the outside, and Pedro said the reason for that was at the time it was built no building could compete with the royal palace, they all had to look worse than the palace.  Also in front of the royal theater was a stature of Queen Isabella and he told us a funny story about herr. So it seems that Isabella was a very powerful queen but she wasn't married and so every eligible man in Europe with any royal blood  at all wanted to marry her so he could become the King of Spain.  She had lots of suitors but she didn't want to marry any of them because she was in love with her cousin.  So of course when she told her cousin that she loved him and  wanted to marry him he said yes, because he would have to be stupid to turn down being the King of Spain.  Here is the problem though, her cousin was gay.  So on their wedding night.... yeah she found out... and she threw him out of the palace... and out of Madrid! There was no divorce at that point in history so they stayed married, but the King always had to ask the Queen's permission to be able to enter the city.  The even funnier thing is that Queen Isabella had 12 children, and the entire time she never lived with the King. Ha! So I just thought that was an interesting tid bit from history.  After the Theater we went to the Royal Palace and we got a bunch of history on why it was built where it was and the events leading up to its being built, but I won't tell all of that.  So it was a big group of us from several different hostels all going on this free walking tour and we met these super cool guys from New York that were travelling around the world and we had a lot of fun talking to them while all this was going on.  Next we went to this vantage point where you could look out over the valley and seen the mountains in the far distance, and he told us all about the old Islamic rule before the kings took over and for centuries the mountains served as the boundary between the Christians and the Muslims.  Then he took us to the oldest part of town, and we got to learn some interesting things about the buildings there.  When Madrid became the capital the city was only about five blocks by five blocks, really small.  And supposedly the Madridians were kind of losers back then, behind the times etc.  So Pedro told us all about how Madridians have had an inferiority complex forever, and they are always trying to be "European" but they never think they are and all this stuff.  Then he took us down the Grande Via and told us all about that, and by this time we were pooped, and starving so as soon as the tour was over we headed over to this place where we heard the food was cheap and good. It was a beautiful little spot and I ordered Paella and Gazpacho and we ate it outside and took our time and relaxed.  It was delicious, and it is a good think I am adventurous because there were some sea creatures in that Paella that I had no idea what they were.  After that we just walked around and explored, we went to a few more shops and talked to some random people it was really fun.. That night we went back to the Gelato place because we just couldn't stop thinking about it it was that good, and then we wandered around listening to all the live music being played in the streets and then we went back to our nice hostel ad went to sleep.  The next day we all took showers and that was WONDERFUL, when you are travelling so light, a shower is the best thing that can happen to you. After we were dressed we found this little bakery call the Peter Panederia and it had so many unique pastries.  I ended up getting a triangulo which is kind of like a stuffed croissant and I had an apple custard tart, both were delicious. After that we had to go back to this one shop so that Ari could return something and we ran into the guys from New York that we talked to on the walking tour... they were very good looking by the way, and we talked to them for a minute.  then we went back to our hostel, packed up our things, and checked out.  Then we went to the park to relax until we had to catch a bus back to the airport, it was a beautiful sunny day, very warm, and we all took naps on the grass.  The trees in the park were so interesting because there was a mix of conifers and palm trees.  There would be a pine tree growing and then there would be palm trees right by it and it would be surrounded by deciduous trees of all kinds and it was just odd to see that mix of trees growing together.  Well the time came and we caught our bus to the airport and got on our flight without any trouble.  When I stepped off the plane into England again my first thoughts were, "Yay, I'm back!" and "Brr!" haha.  I love London and it feels like my reality now.  To get back to my flat and sleep in "my" bed again was nice, and to be able to shower whenever I want is a definite plus.  And everyday this week I have gone to a show and that is just to my liking! On Monday night I went to the ballet Manon done by the Royal Ballet Company and performed in the Royal Opera House.  It was so beautiful! For anyone who knows anything about Ballet This was the cream of the crop, the talent was incredible and the choreography was innovative while still staying true to the classical motif.  On Tuesday we went to Much Ado About Nothing in the Globe Theater, and it was definitely the BEST SHAKESPEARE play I have ever seen.  I know I am being effusively positive right now, but believe me... it deserved it.  The Beatrice and Benedick pulled you in immediately and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.  They were perfectly witty while retaining the sexual tension, and keeping the audience in the loop.  Extremely well done production.  On Wednesday we went to a show at The National Theater called One Man Two Governors, it was based on an old commedia del arte play titled Servant of Two Masters that was originally in Italian.  It was one of the most effective comedies I have ever seen! It was meant to make you roll around in your seat laughing and it did!! IT DID!! One girl literally fell out of her seat! I can't explain the whole plot that would be useless but look it up online sometime. So funny.  So finally we get to yesterday, Thursday, we went to Kew Gardens yesterday! Kew Gardens are the Royal Botanical Gardens here and they have plants from all over the world!  We arrived at 10 o'clock in the morning and didn't leave until about 4 in the afternoon there was so much to see and do!  They had huge Victorian glasshouses with plants from Africa and South America and Asia.  There was a waterlily house with all different varieties of water plants.  There was a Japanese serenity garden that was very specifically crafted, and there were ponds and little groves of trees and a road called Rhododendron Dell.  Kew Gardens is huge, there are about 300 square miles. So that was lovely and i enjoyed it probably more than I should have, I just love gardens ok? And even though the whole time we were there there was on and off torrential rain I brought an umbrella and it added to the experience.  One part that was a little scary though was when were were walking around the tree-top walkway and the wind was blowing hard the the walkway (about 50 ft off the ground) started swaying, my friend Amber started freaking out.  That night we went to go see the experimental play Silence at the Hampstead theater, and it was filled with sound. It was basically a sound designer's dream come true! It is about a woman who has constant ringing in her ears, and her love affair with this Russian guy who has to go into the military and so she gets married in England... and yeah I'm not going to give it away but it was lots better than I thought it was going to be... I have developed an aversion to any plays with Russian things in them, we have already seen three of them and they have been very depressing, but this one wasn't so.... I liked it a lot better. haha. Well, now we are all caught up and I will do a lot better about keeping on track! Thank for reading!

España pt. 2!

Hey Hey! So You have only heard about the first day I was in Spain... there is more... lots more!  So in my journal it starts with an entry about the atmosphere of the neighborhood we were in so here is a little description. The colors there are very vibrant with houses that are rose colored, tan, orange, or sunshine yellow.  And there is lots of graffiti, also in vibrant colors  If you get up on the roof and look out all you can see for miles is the reddish tiled roofs sloping out in all directions.  I didn't see one building that didn't have tiles on the roof except for the palace and museums.  Everyone's windows are always open, and most of the time their doors are too, and everyone just sits in their doorways or on their terraces.  Ok, so on the second day we woke up in our nice hostel and got up and dressed and went down and had breakfast (just cereal and fruit) and then we went out to find some shops and brows around.  We shopped forever and I really didn't buy anything but this super cute pair of sandals because I didn't have any and they were a really good deal. Then we walked over to the Atocha train station which was just down the main road a ways and we got really confused trying to figure out which train to take to get out to Alcala de Heneres.  Alcala is a smaller town outside Madrid, and it is where Desi's cousin Ricky is living with her study abroad group.  We wanted to go out there and see her one more time and explore Alcala a little.  We finally got the ticket situation figured out and by the time we got to the right terminal and bought our tickets we had to sprint all out to catch the train in time because it was starting to leave, but we did make it.  Then we all sat on the train and watched the scenery go by for about 40 minutes.  The scenery was a strange mixture of different kinds of foliage on rolling hills and massive amounts of graffiti on everything that had a flat surface.  You would think that would kind of ruin it... but it didn't it was still pretty and still pleasant to look at, Spanish graffiti is more artisit and colorful than graffiti back home I think.  When the train finally pulled into Alcala we got off and found Ricky and we all  started exploring this cool little town, which coincidentally was the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, you know... the author of Don Quixote. Yeah! That guy!  We got to see the church where he was baptized in and his house.  Also in the town square which was lined with perfectly pruned trees and filled with the most beautiful rose garden, there was a big statue of Cervantes himself.  We stayed and sat in the courtyard for a while and people watched and then Ariatna (the girl from Mexico with us) started a conversation with these three old ladies sitting near us.  Pretty soon we were all trying to talk to them and we had a fun little interaction, they kept calling us "so young and beautiful" in Spanish.  Their names were Victoria, Carmen and Josefa and two of the three didn't have basically any teeth. They were adorable and I wish I had gotten a picture of them.... but I didn't.... so moving on... we next went to this little cafe where Ricky said we HAD to try their churros and chocolate.  Churros in Spain are not like churros in the US or in Mexico, they are loops of fried dough with no sugar or cinnamon or anything on them and then they serve them with a teacup full of the richest, thickest chocolate in the world.  You dip the churros in the chocolate and eat it.  IT WAS LIKE HEART ATTACK HEAVEN.  Yes I ate it.  Sue me.  It was worth it.  Have you ever seen the movie Chocolat?  Well that is the kind of chocolate they served you in the tea cups.... yep... absolutely amazing.  After we were all full of saturated fat and sugar and feeling very happy we decided to go back to the main street and go to a park we saw but on the way we saw a music shop and decided to go in.  We were all looking at guitar picks and stuff and then some of the other girls decided to buy some of them and the guy was  SO NICE he gave them to us for free! All of us! It was a wonderful surprise he was so generous.  Afterwards we found the park and explored that a little and then it was time to go back to Madrid.  We caught the train and rode back and then walked back to our hostel to change because we wanted to go out for the evening and see a flamenco show.  Problem was, all the flamenco shows around were really expensive, so we heard about this show that was going on in a bar and would be cheap but we couldn't find it so we stopped to ask this guy sweeping the sidewalk near us.  Ariatna talked to him for a while and then translated that he had never heard of the bar we were looking for but he offered to sneak us into the flamenco show going on in the theater he worked at right at that moment.  We were shocked and didn't know what to expect.  He told us to be really quiet and follow him up the back stairs, and Ariatna was freaking out and kept saying she had a bad feeling, but none of the rest of us did so we kept going.  And lo and behold we were sneakily ushered into this big beautiful old theater with ornate carvings and about 200 people already in there. On the stage was the most intense woman I have ever seen surrounded by fog with a spotlight right on her.  In the background there were guitarist and singers, clappers, and drummers providing music and she was dancing her feet off.  She exuded anger and passion and focus, and I have never been so entranced by someone in my life.  We thought it would just be her the entire time but after she was done there was a number by some different dancers and then a solo by this Spanish guitarist and then there was this man who it seemed was the whole focus of the show.  He came out and danced with incredible energy. He wasn't as intense as the girl but he was more skilled with his footwork, and he would stop and talk to the crowd at different times.  All the older Spanish women in the audience were yelling things at him like, "Vamos aqui!"  "Guapo, guapo!" and "Quite la ropa!  And would laugh and shake his finger at the audience and say something that would make everyone laugh.  I don't know exactly all of what he said, because he said it all in Spanish but he seemed very at ease and conversational.  after it was all over and we were walking away we realized he was on all these huge signs with flashing lights all around the city and we got into his show!!! FOR FREE!! We felt pretty lucky, but we also felt hungry so we went to a tapas bar for a snack and we got fresh mozerella and tomato with basil on toast and it was muy delicioso! After that it was again almost two in the morning and so we all headed back to our hostel, which was really close actually.  Oh one note about the night life in Madrid, everyone comes out at night.  Literally the streets are teaming with people, and not just young people either there are old people and even families with kids! Everyone just stays up really late and like to go out at night! It is kind of cool actually, especially because the nights are so comfortable and nice.  So that was the end of the second day!  More to follow stay tuned! :)

España!

I just got back from a four day trip to Spain and THERE IS SO MUCH TO TELL!!! Let's start at the very beginning.... a very good place to start... It was a Tuesday, Tuesday the 17th of May in fact when the journey began.  We packed our back packs with everything we could fit and we took the Tube to Victoria station, where we caught the Gatwick Express to Gatwick Airport.  Our flight left at 8:40pm and so we actually got into Madrid at about 1 am because we lost an hour and the flight was about three hours long.  When we got off the plane and through customs we all got euros out of the ATM in the airport and we hailed a taxi.  We showed him the address and he just put it into his dashboard GPS and we were set.  Driving on the highway towards the heart of Madrid my first thought was, "This looks a lot like California!" my second thought was "AH!!! He is driving on the wrong side of the road!!!"  Which was actually the same side of the road they drive on in America weirdly enough. Well the driver took us to this sketchy looking part of town, and when he dropped us off he even told us that it was a bad part of town, so we got out and into our hostel really quick.  Reception was on the third floor and we could smell the incense burning way before we got there.  The man at reception looked like a doppleganger of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, no joke, complete with shoulder length black wavy hair, short beard and leather bracelets.  And he only spoke Spanish.  Luckily one of the girls on the trip is from Mexico and speaks both Spanish and English so she was able to be a BIG help.  We got settled into our hostel room which was the perfect amount of beds for just our group so we didn't have to share with anyone else.  We got our own bathroom too, and it was fairly clean so it wasn't that bad, but I still felt a lot better when the door was locked.  After a fairly restful nights sleep we got up and had breakfast at the hostel which was free at least.  Then we got our stuff and split.  Oh, P.S, we flew to Spain with 8 girls but 4 of them were going to Barcelona after the first day, and the rest of us were staying in Madrid  for the whole time.  So we said goodbye to our other girls and Desi, Ariatna, Megan and myself struck out on foot to get a feel of the neighborhood.  But remember it wasn't a GOOD neighborhood.... so mostly what we saw was graffiti and people whizzing by on scooters.  We were basically just trying to kill time until 12 when we were supposed to meet Desi's cousin Ricky who was there in Spain doing a study abroad, and she was going to show us around.  We did find a really cool leather shop in our wanderings in that part of town.  It had the most ornately crafted leather bags I've ever seen, absolutely beautiful.  The guy who worked there was really interesting he was actually Greek, and we had a fun little chat with him.  We also found what looked like a ruin of some sort of old castle or fortress right in the middle of a neighborhood, but it was actually a functioning Bibliotecca underneath, so that was a neat discovery.  We made our way back to meet Desi's cousin and after we met up we all decided to go to our second hostel and drop our stuff so we wouldn't have to lug it around Madrid all day.  Our second hostel was in a totally different part of town.  It was in a really central location in a cute street with all these shops and restaurants.  It felt very safe and very fun.  The inside of the hostel was very brightly colored with oranges and reds and pinks and purples and had lots of woodwork and modern paintings, it felt very homey and young and active.  There were tons of kids our age there and the staff was so nice and helpful.  We got electronic keys to the front door, our room door, and lockers to keep our stuff in.  They were able to be strapped to our wrists and we would just beep them against a door or our lockers to open them, it was super high tech and actually a really brilliant idea.  After we dumped our stuff we set out to get lunch first of all so we got tortillas espanas which is actually just like an omlette with big chunks of patatoe in it and it is served like a sandwich on some crusty bread.  It was a little bland, but otherwise ok.  Then we went to the Reina Sofia which is a modern art museum and we saw all these original Picasso paintings and lots of others by equally magnificent artists.  I'm not going to lie at this point and say that I love modern art.... because I have discovered that I do not.  I'm much more of a classical art girl, so our next stop The Prado was much more my style, they had Raphael and El Greco and just gorgeous depictions of greek myths and historic battles and great love stories and my eyes nearly exploded from all the beauty I forced them to digest at the Prado.  The Prado is actually the second biggest museum after the Louvre, so that's cool.  We could have spent days at The Prado but alas there was a whole city calling our name outside so eventually we had to leave.  While we were walking to our next destination, which was an Archeology Museum, it started to POUR.  I have never been in such a violent rain, and remember I'm from Oregon, so I know something about rain.  In a matter of seconds we were drenched.  So we ran under cover and waited it out, but it was actually rather refreshing.  It was hot in Spain.  Shorts and a T shirt still felt like too much clothing.  It wasn't disgustingly hot, in fact it was pleasant but it was much warmer than London has typically been.  One thing I noticed right away about Spain was that it has a culture that is centered very much around the out of doors.  There are all these courtyards and plazas where everyone will just go to sit and talk and just be outside.  Also every window of every house has little terraces and most of the terraces have vines and plants galore growing on them.  These little terraces often have some Spaniard leaning on the ornately sculpted iron railings surrounded by foliage and smoking a cigarette while watching all the people below.  Everybody smokes there, all the time, while they eat, drink, ride their scooters, and probably while they sleep. They are pretty easygoing and friendly, and the night life is ridiculous... but I will tell you more about that later.  After we went to the archeology museum which had artifacts from Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt we all went to a Tapas bar, and let me just say that going out for tapas is the THING TO DO IN MADRID.  Everyone does it, every day, possibly multiple times.  Tapas are just like a light meal, usually people have them with their drinks, and they can range from a snack to an actual dinner like meal.  At this particular tapas bar we had one of the most delicious and unhealthy things I've ever eaten it was called papas rotos and it was thin slices of potatoes fried with fried eggs on top and chunks of ham and cheese and some kind of sauce.  SO YUM.  We also got gazpacho which is a cold tomato herby soup type of thing and that was exquisite.  I'm totally going to make that when I come home, it is an explosion of flavor in your mouth.  After that tapas bar, we decided a treat was in order so we all went out for gelato, and Desi's counsin knew of the COOLEST PLACE. It was very elegant with tall tables and white slender stools and drapings all around and it was completely lit by candlelight.  Each table had multiple tea candles in glass containers.  I knew that I was going to indulge so I wanted it to be good, I therefore tasted a bunch of flavors before I chose Straciatella.  I am convinced that Straciatella is the Lord's gift to the righteous in this world.  It is honestly the most delicious thing I have ever tasted.  It is like a light coconutty vanilla, but with fruity undertones and the most amazing consistency and creaminess, then add to that whole raspberries and flakes of chocolate and it was celestial pleasure to savor.  I'm not usually a fruit-with-chocolate kind of girl but all the flavors were so mild they melded into one flavor that had different layers within the one flavor, and I don't have the words to tell you exactly how delicious it was.  After that it was about 1:30 in the morning and we were exhausted so we went back to our hostel and crashed.  This story will continue with Espana Part 2 tomorrow! Be excited!

Hamlet the Hobbit among other Adventures.

So here is the deal, on Thursday I went on a boat tour of the Thames with Katie and Ellen, we got to see all the famous sites from the river.  The boat let us off at Greenwich which is where the Prime Meridian is, and we went to Greenwich Market, which is like a mix of a vintage sale and a flea market. I got three pairs of vintage earrings there for 3 pounds!  It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining and we walked along the river bank and took in the scenery.  Interesting fact, people think the Thames is a dirty river because it appears brown, but that is because it is a muddy river, not because it is polluted.  It is actually one of the cleanest rivers in Europe.  Well, Thursday night after our day on the river we went to go see Hamlet in the Globe Theater.  It was being put on by a travelling troupe so it was a little bit different than most shows we have seen in the Globe so far.  The used eight people for the cast of Hamlet, only 8! Each person had three or four different roles, except for Hamlet he only had one.... and good thing too, I don't think his tiny frame could have supported the strain of more than one character.  Imagine Pippen from Lord of the Rings.... that was our Hamlet.  He was TINY! It was actually rather off-putting, and Ophelia was about a head taller than him.  He also ran around in his underwear for the majority of the play... so that was interesting.  I guess he IS supposed to go crazy by the end...  Anyway so on Friday a group of girls, and Patrick, decided to go to the sea-side town of Brighton.  So we got up and went at about 10o'clock.  We went to Victoria Station and bought our round trip tickets (called a return ticket here) to Brighton and then we hopped on the train and we were off!  When we got off the train we had no idea where we were going but we saw the ocean and just started walking towards it.  When we got to the beach, which was full of rocks rather than sand, we all just started prancing and running and jumping we were so happy.  I can now say that I have touched the Atlantic Ocean from the other side of the world.  So we wandered around and there were lots of shops along the beach so we got fish and chips at one of them and it was pretty good.  I smothered mine in malt vinegar and salt and just enjoyed eating fish and chips on the beach.  After that we took a nap on the beach, lying in the sun.  After our rest we went to Brighton Pier which is like a little amusement park and we wandered around there for a while.  Then we went to the Royal Palace in Brighton, it was built by Charles the IV I think and it looks like a palace from India.  Evidently that architecture was "the thing" back then, very fashionable and all that.  Then we went and wandered around down town Brighton and they are having this music festival thing going on right now so we got to listen to this girl perform songs she had written and she was really good! She played guitar and sang and her voice was so unique, it had a rough and rich quality but then when she went up higher it was clear as a bell.  So after that Katie said she would die unless she could have a crepe, so we searched high and low and finally found a little creperie and Ellen and Katie got hot fresh crepes.  We got to watch the lady make them and she was so skilled, crepes are tricky and I've never quite been able to do them right.  So then we went back down to the water's edge and walked some more, then we went back to the train station and got on a train back to London.  I got really red, and everybody thought I was going to be extremely sunburned, but by the next day it had turned into a little tan and that made me happy.
Saturday Ellen, Katie and I went to Portabello Rd market.  It is HUGE, probably 10 blocks long, and it took us forever to see everything but I got a scarf for 50pence so I was happy.  When we got home from Portabello which was at about 4 I hunkered down to do homework.  I read the whole play Much Ado About Nothing, and wrote a paper.  Super exciting Saturday night right? haha
So on Sunday I went to our ward way out in White Chapel and I worked in the Nursery.  It was actually really easy and fun, there were only two little kids in there this time.  That evening we had a fireside from single adults that are LDS and doing theater stuff here in London, and they brought up some really interesting points, and shared their testimonies.  I loved it.  It proved that it is possible to be in theater and be successful and still have standards.
So yesterday, Monday, we had class, and that night we went to this Anton Checkov play at the National Theater called The Cherry Orchard and I thought it was SO GOOOD.  Their set was amazing and they used light to make it seem like natural lighting from outside and the acting was amazing.  Zoe Wanamaker was the lead role, look her up and I'm sure you will recognize her from several movies.
We are now up to date and I'm sorry to say that I won't be bloggin for a couple days because I'm going to Spain in about ten minutes and I will be there for a couple days, but I'll write all about it when I come back! Adios!
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The entry in which I see a lot of things and get kissed by a Frenchman.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty right away.  Monday I had class in the morning and Phil (my Shakespeare teacher) was in FINE form.  I think he got over excited and shouted at least three times.  He just really loves Hamlet I guess.  All the while Rodger(my theater teacher) sat in the corner and chuckled at him.  After class our whole group went to the tower of London, which as most of you know is actually more of a castle with lots of towers rather than just one tower.  Also the Tower Bridge, which is SUPER famous and everyone thinks is London Bridge, is right there and looked beautiful in the sunlight.  In the Tower of London there are several different things of interest, mainly the large museum of Armour and weaponry of past monarchs (and may I say that King Henry the VIII was a very large man...) the exhibit of the crown jewels used for coronations (HUGE GEMS!) and the Beauchamps Tower where the walls are covered in ancient graffiti from famous prisoners. I just couldn't believe that so many ancient and tragic figures walked the same halls, and touched the same walls as I did, Anne Boleyn was killed there, the two young princes were murdered there, and kings roamed the grounds.  One thing that is legendary are the Tower crows.  There are these extremely large crows that are always in the grassy courtyards of the Tower of London and according to legend if they ever leave the British Empire will fall.  As we were leaving the Tower there were two Knights in full Armour that were preparing to do battle out on the front lawn area of the Tower so I decided to stay and watch.  They first fought with broadswords and then with these spear things.  In between rounds they would rag on each other and shout things out to the crowd, I loved it!  That night I went to go see the Agatha Christie play Moustrap, and I felt that it was ok, but I already knew the end so there was no suspense in it for me.
Tuesday morning we all woke up bright and early and left for the Victoria Station at about 8:30.  From the Victoria Station we took a train out to Linfield which is on the country outskirts of London.  It was about an hour train ride, and we accidentally left one of our classmates behind because she was in the bathroom when the train left.  When we got to the Linfield station we all took taxis to the Temple Grounds.  They were so beautiful! They had fountains and lots of flowers and little walkways.  After we finished at the Temple, (which was so refreshing) we caught taxis back to the train station and rode the train back.  It was a very pleasant train ride we all sat together and laughed and talked and I wrote letters and looked out the windows at the stunning countryside we were riding through. When we got home we all got ready to go to our play that night. The play was at the New London Theater and it was called War Horse, SPECTACULAR! Literally filled with visual spectacle.  This was a play about WWI but the main character in it is a horse named Joey and the boy who raises him named Albert.  The horses in the play were done by large and intricate puppets operated by three men, they were so life-like in their movement and sounds that by the end of the play I forgot that they weren't real horses! There were explosions and music and gun-fire and a tank.  It was touching and frightening and exciting all at the same time.  Look it up on YouTube sometime and check out the crazy cool puppets.
That brings us to today.  Whew! What a day.  First of all I had class this morning until about 12.  After that a small group of us decided to go do the Big Bus Tour, which our program issued us tickets for.  It runs all around London and points out the important sights.  It was very enjoyable/educational.  We sat on the top of the bus in open air and listened to our tour guide Joe tell us funny and informative things.  We were probably on there for a good four hours. After getting off and grabbing a quick sandwich at Pret A Manger we decided to do one of the many walking tours offered here in London.  We settled on the Ghost Tour, which took you around to different sites and pubs and told you the ghost stories associated with them.  Something interesting happened while waiting for the tour.  We were standing in line and this Frenchman (who was evidently a tour guide with the buses) comes up to us and starts talking to some of my friends saying, "You can all go on this tour, but SHE is coming on a different tour with ME."  He grabbed my hand and held it for a good ten minutes after that while haggling with my friend Lauren about how much she would sell me for.  He was like 45 years old and all over me! It was hilarious and awkward and I didn't know how to react!  He asked me if I liked it over here and if I would like to stay forever... with him! He was very complimentary and funny.  Then he asked my friend Patrick to take a picture of us together so we could always remember when we fell in love, and right before Patrick was going to take the picture he wrapped his arms around me and planted a huge smooch on my cheek and wouldn't let go! I'VE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD IN MY LIFE! I was freaking out! There are pictures on Facebook, and oh my word.... It was so unexpected and crazy.
After that whole drama, we actually did go on the ghost tour which was fascinating.  We went around to all these odd little alley ways and spots and heard a lot of cool old ghost stories.  One place she took us was where Benjamin Franklin lived while he was in London and she told us that years later 10 dead bodies were found buried in the back yard of the Franklin house.  What they think happened was that the Landlord-lady's daughter was involved with this medical student, and in those days the medical field was changing in leaps and bounds and dissecting dead bodies was all the rage.  Problem was, only criminals who were executed were allowed to be dissected because they felt it was disrespectful.  So medical students would hire grave robbers to dig up fresh bodies for them to experiment with.  They think they were using Benjamin Franklin's house as a kind of trading house for these bodies.  Gross but intriguing huh? Another story was about an artist that used to paint nudes, and back in the Victorian days that was quite looked down on.  Any way story is that he fell in love with one of his models, but she met a tragic end.  People say they see her running down the stairs at his house often. The tour guide also took us to a spot in this weird little courtyard down a very skinny alley off of fleet street that was supposedly where Sweeny Todd the demon Barber of Fleet Street would commit his murders.
After the tour I was exhausted but I had to grab a few items at the grocery store because I was seriously low on food, but now I am good for a while. So now you know all about my recent adventures.

I could get used to this.

I have been here for almost two weeks now, but it feels like much much longer!  That is a good thing though because 8 weeks really isn't that long, so if everything feels longer than it is maybe I won't feel so sad when I have to leave. I need to tell you some things that have happened since I last wrote.  I will list them off and then elaborate. I have: Toured the National Theater, Seen Wicked, Toured the Globe and Rose Theaters and seen their adjacent museums, eaten at a restaurant named Wagamamas, read Hamlet, written three large papers, done a load of laundry by hand in our bathtub, gotten lost in a ghetto, taught a Sunday School class with three wiggly little boys (one of which peed his pants badly during class), attended a fireside about WWII and London, and explored some thrift/vintage shops with Ellen.  Yeah.  I'm really that busy. Sometimes, while I am riding the tube I just stare out the windows into the underground blackness and wonder how more has happened to me in the past week and a half than I ever thought was humanly possible.  Every experience is valuable and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but often I fall into bed at the end of the day completely exhausted. 

So to touch just a little bit more on some of the significant things that have happened lately, Wicked was like pouring liquid cocaine into my brain.  I have never abused any illegal substances or gotten "high" but I would imagine that it feels like how I felt immediately after watching that show.  The music was amazing, the acting was superb, the writing was fantastic, the spectacle incredible and the plot touching.  In other words it was A MASSIVE WINNER!!!  There is a reason that it has blown up in every professional theater around, and that is because it is the perfect storm of excellence.  

Moving on, I would just like to say that the tour of the Globe was very educational and interesting. They rebuilt it exactly as it would have been, right down to using wooden pegs instead of nails, and using animal hair in the plaster, cashmere to be precise.  This is very cool, but it makes me wonder a little about the structural integrity of the building. Haha.  The "tour" of the Rose theater, or what is left of it, on the other hand was weird, and I felt a bit of a waste of time.  Yes it was one of the rivals to the Globe, and yes Shakespeare produced his first two plays there, but it isn't even a theater.  It is the stone foundations that are buried beneath a layer of sand and then concrete and flooded with water to preserve them.  You can't even see anything! So that was weird and disappointing. But the tour of the National Theater was very satisfactory. Built in the 1970's and championed by Laurence Olivier it is one of the most practical, useful, yet comfortable theater spaces I have ever been in.  It is huge first of all, and the architect talked to actors, directors, audience members, and members of backstage crews to see what was most needed and most desired in theaters, then he visited Greece to view the theaters there, and he combined all of the best elements of existing theaters and that is the National Theater.  Pretty impressive.

Next.  I have decided that my motto when it comes to reading all these Shakespeare plays within such a short amount of time is "skim to survive."  I cling to that for my very life.  

Today was our first day in our assigned wards and I am in the White Chapel ward, which takes about an hour to get to. We ride one line on the tube, and then transfer to another line and ride until the end of it and then we walk for about ten minutes and there we are.  My ward is predominantly African, with people from Nigeria and Ghana mainly, and the cutest little kids ever.  The little boys in my primary class today were named Sames, Ceaser, and Efa, and WOW were they active!  The primary president was at her wit's end when we got there, lots of her teachers just didn't show up I guess so we got to jump right in with both feet.  There are only about 10 kids in the whole primary and I can tell there hasn't been a lot of consistency for them, but then again about 80% of the people in the ward are recent converts and it is very transitional.  They were very friendly and welcoming and I think we will be able to be of service to them. 

I am not going to skip any more days of writing on here so I won't have to play this catch up game anymore haha... it just is too hard to remember things from two days ago! Seriously though, every day seems like a week! In a good way. :)  

Theater Everywhere!

I have seen three plays in the last 24 hours! Whew! Yesterday I had class in the morning, and after I felt rather under the weather so I came home and took a nap. Then the most wonderful thing happened to me, I went to go see Les Miserables for the first time in my life. IT WAS AMAZING! I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.  It is no wonder that it has been running for so long.  All of the actors and singers were top quality,  Jean Valjean had one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard from a human being.  When he sang Let Him Live tears streamed down my face and I didn't even care that the grumpy old man sitting next to me could plainly see it.  Eponine was also amazing and the songs were so powerful that I couldn't believe I hadn't seen it before.  After the play I went home and wrote my review of All's Well That Ends Well and then went to bed.  This morning I was still feeling a bit yucky so I slept in.  When I did get up I submitted my papers online to my professors, and then my roommate Amy and I went to go buy our tickets for a show called Clyborne Park that we wanted to see a matinée of, they sell a certain number of ten pound tickets but when they are gone they're gone, so it is first come first serve.  But by the time we got there all the ten pound tickets were gone, so I had to buy a 20 pound one.  After we bought our tickets we went back to our flat and I took a shower and ate something and then we actually went to the performance.  It was a very interesting play, all about racial issues and family drama and political change, but the thing was it was all done HILARIOUSLY.  It was very funny.  And I was very impressed by the accents.  The actors were all British but they did American accents very well, I couldn't find anything the matter with them!  After Clyborne Park Amy and I went to the grocery store and got some things and then we went home.  After putting away the groceries and eating something again it was time to go to the next play, one that was for our theater class called Little Eagles.  I don't really want to talk about that play, I didn't really like it, and some parts of it offended me.  But one thing I will say, the set was beautiful.  The aesthetics of it were very clever and artistic.  And now here I am, back home in my flat and exhausted but it has been a very happy sort of busy I've been.  Oh and one thing you all might like to know is that my toilet flushes by pushing a button.  A button! It is strange.  

I'm Connected to the World Again! Here is Monday and Tuesday

Hey so our internet is back up and running, and I have a bit of catching up to do.  So on Monday we had class in the morning at 9:30 and we discussed All's Well That Ends Well that we had to read.  I never knew there were so many hidden themes in Shakespeare plays and I can't help but wonder if he was really that sophisticated,or if he was just trying to write "best-selling" plays.  Either way they are still fabulous so it doesn't really matter.  After class Katie B and Ellen and I went to this clothing store called Primark... CRAZY.  It was like Forever 21 on steroids! Lots of super cute clothes and shoes and jewelry for  really cheap! I two pairs of earrings and each was only 1 pound.  But it was so crowded, the line for the fitting rooms went half-way across the store, and the store is pretty big! I felt like I was in one of those markets in Turkey, where you can barely move much less shop.  But I love it, and any store that can offer such fashionable things at such low prices deserves my heart. I am definitely a fan of that store. Then after that whole Primark experience we went to Westminster Abbey just to see it because we hadn't gotten over there yet.  It was amazing! Parliament has the most intricate Gothic architecture that I have ever seen I was struck with it even more than the Abbey which is beautiful by the way! After we looked around there a bit we went back to our flat to get something to eat and rest a little.  Then Ellen and Katie went with some other kids to a play and I stayed home to do homework.  We have crazy amounts of homework! It is really kind of a bother, but I know it is a necessary evil
So, on to Tuesday! What a busy day.  I got up at 7:30 determined to use the beautiful park right across the street for some exercise.  Ellen and Katie also said they wanted to go so I woke them up.  We all started off running, but I didn't last long with THAT so  I ended up power walking for most of it while they ran. But it felt good to move my body in a way that was not purely for transportation.  I have done a lot of walking since I've been here but it isn't the work out kind of walking that you feel invigorated after, it is the sidewalk-thumping foot after foot, just trying to get somewhere walk that hurts your feet by the end of the day. After the walk/run I came home and stretched and ate and showered and then we were off to the British Library.  We had a little trouble finding it and by the time we were there most of our group was inside already but it was alright.  We spent the majority of our time in the Treasure Room, and oh what treasure it had!! Just to name a few it had: The first compilation of Shakespeare plays called the First Folio, Jane Austen's writing desk and notebook in her own hand, a copy of Jane Erye in Charlotte Bronte's own writing, Handel's Messiah, a Gutenberg Bible, The Magna Carta, The song Help by the Beatles written in John Lennon's hand, Verginia Woolf's notebook, original Terrance Rattigan works, and some of Leonardo Di Vinci's notebooks and there was more! Lot's MORE!! It was incredible!! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures, but you get the idea.  After the British Library we all wen to Trafalgar Square and took pictures and so forth, and then we went to the National Portrait Gallery with painted portraits of nearly everyone important in England EVER.  All the old Monarchs and lots of politicians and celebrities.  Just the thought that one of those paintings would be worth far more money than I would probably ever have in my life made my head spin.  They were beautiful.  After that we went home for like an hour to eat and then we were off to the Globe Theater.  THE GLOBE THEATER.  Yeah, you know, the one that Shakespeare's theater company performed in, not a big deal. False! It is a really big deal.  True that it is only a replica because the original burned down but it is pretty dang accurate. It is across the Thames via the Millennial Bridge  So we went to a lecture about the play All's Well That End's Well in the basement of the Globe by this professor, and then........ We went to the actual play All's Well That End's Well..... in the globe.  Yup, we watched a play in the Globe theater.  And we will watch 2 more there before the trip is through! Yay! All the history here makes me feel rather insignificant but also excited to be a part of something so old and so important.  Wow, by the end of yesterday I was exhausted, but it wasn't quite over.  On the tube ride home after the play I saw... Lucius Malfoy and Belatrix Lastrange. NO JOKE.  There were two people who looked exactly like them.  the man was dressed all in black, black dress shirt and tie and coat with a suuuuper long blond blond pony tail (which was real) and a cane.  The woman was wearing a long black coat with floral weave in the cloth and ties in the back like a corset and she had long black curly hair and was wearing bright (I meant BRIGHT) red lipstick and her skin was super pale.  So that was exciting.  Oh and fun fact there is legit porn in all of the phone booths here.  So don't use a phone booths if you come here and you can possibly help it! Haha. Well this was an insane couple of days but All's Well That End's Well I suppose! Heh Heh :)

Internet Failure!

The Internet in our basement flat has been down for a day and a half now that is why my post is late in coming, but never you fear there is a huge post and pictures in the near future!

First Saturday in London = Fun!

I'm not going to lie... it started out strange.  I awoke to the fire alarm going off at 3:30 in the morning and jumped out of bed in a panic.  I was in the middle of throwing on a sweatshirt and putting on my shoes so I could run outside when my room mate Amy ran in spouting a vehement chorus of, "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" and told us that she had been making a grilled cheese sandwich and burned it and it had set the fire alarms off and there was no real fire.  So all of us got back into bed and left her to handle the RA who had come down to make sure we were evacuating, and to call our apartment managers and explain the situation.  All the while we heard worried voices, pounding feet, and slamming doors above us, and because it was 3:30 in the morning we found their needless panic hilarious. And anyways who makes a grilled cheese at 3:30 in the morning???  So that was an adventure.  The next day we all woke up between 11 and 12 which was also weird, but we made very good use of the rest of the day. First of all we all took showers, which is a trick because our bathroom is tiny!! You literally can't bend over in our shower to get something off the ground it is so small.  But after we all got showered we decided to go to the area of London that the play we were seeing that evening was in and explore a little, and I'm glad we did it was very fun!  It was a cute little down townish area with lots of shops and restaurants.  We found this on Mediterranean place that served kabobs and falafels and we got some food there  (I had the most delicious falafel I'd ever eaten and it was cheap too!) and we took it to this nearby churchyard that was also a little park to eat. It was a very pleasant day sunny and mild, and as we ate in this churchyard/park we talked about life, and The Tempest which is the show we were about to see.  The theater we saw it in was Little Angel Theater which is a children's theater that involves puppets in their productions.  I have to admit looking at the theater I didn't know what to expect it was quite small and looked kind of primitive, but the show was AMAZING.  They implemented singing and instruments into the performance, and puppets for Ariel and Caliban and the other island spirits and it was beautifully and skillfully done.  The use of puppets (that were mainly life size) added to the magical quality of the Isle and the acting was supurb.  Most of the actors were also musicians, and puppet masters, talk about multi talented!  After the show the performers came out and we congratulated them and talked to them for a bit.  Then after that we went to this bar/theater/pub called The King's Head because we had seen earlier that there would be live music playing there at 9:30 that evening.  So we went and there was this cool bluesy band playing, and everyone was dancing and drinking, but of course we didn't drink.  Here is a fun fact though, The King's Head was established in 1543.... and it is still a functioning bar.... that is England for ya!  History out the wazoo!  While we were there (having a super fun time)  this guy comes up to me and starts talking to me and the other girls I was with and started asking us all these questions for where we were staying and what our plans were, and we totally lied to him... just to be safe... haha... but he was actually very nice and suggested all these places that we might like to go, and things we might like to do while we were in London.  So we stayed there until about 11 and then we started heading back.  We took the tube and only had to transfer once, and in both tube stops there were these street performers that were going to town!! I've never heard such good jazz.  And the night was warm but a little windy, and we walked down the street laughing and talking and soaking up London. What a deliciously fun day!

Royal Wedding!!

So today is the Wedding Day for Prince William and Kate Middleton, and I was in the thick of the action.  While I did not actually see them in person I was quite close to Buckingham Palace, and saw a bit of the procession, and we were there in throngs of people!! There were incredible amounts of people all waving British flags with pictures of Will and Kate in the middle of them.  We were near Green Park where they had a huge screen set up and we got to see the whole thing, from the arrival of the queen to the actual wedding ceremony.  What a grand occasion!!! Pomp and circumstance galore! The music was so grand, there were royalty and celebrities and all in the most interesting hats!  Everyone is celebrating and partying and it is a very festive environment.  Westminster Abbey was decorated inside with lots of trees and flowers, and the cake cost 18,000 pounds! And of course the royal couple came out on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the procession and kissed in front of the huge crowds, it was very sweet.  What would it be like to be royal?!  Princes and Princesses still exist, and even though they may not have the power to behead someone they are still extremely important and are the height of extravagance, glamor and elegance.

Settling In

So it is day two of living in London and I'm starting to feel a little more confidant, that is probably completely unjustified considering the amount of time I have spent here, but nevertheless that's how I feel.  Today we had our first classes for the courses we will be taking while we are here.  We had our Theater class first and then our Shakespeare class.  In both classes we were introduced to the curriculum and given some assignments.  Homework ALREADY! In Shakespeare we discussed the Tempest (which we had already read before class per request) and we dissected it in detail.  Our classes are held in the LDS church just down our street, it is about a fifteen minute walk so not too bad.  After class we went back to the flats and dropped off our things and then went to the grocery store.  Attempt #1 at going to the store last night was kind of a flop.  We went to a store called WaitRose and it was massively expensive...granted that things are just a lot more expensive here anyway, but needless to say I didn't really get anything there. So today we went to a store called Sainsbury, and it was a little better.  Food is still exorbitantly pricey so I didn't get much, just some vegetables and lunch meat.  We have amazing produce in the US I'm realizing, it is super cheap and good quality for the most part.  Then after that we came home and ate something, and I bought my ticket for Spain. Yes, Spain.  that is where I have decided to go for the travel weekend.  I may regret it financially, but the ticket is now bought so I'm going.  The ticket round trip to Spain and back was only 60 American dollars and I wanted to go so badly.  But that was money that I really shouldn't have spent, especially because I got invited to go to Les Miserables tonight but had to refuse because I couldn't afford it.  I haven't ever seen Les Miserables which is a crime for a theater major, but hopefully I will be able to go sometime.  So instead of going to Les Mis with everyone else I walked around Hyde park for a couple hours, it is huge!! There were several different ponds, and lots of monuments.  I went with Ellie Capson from my group and another girl named Lauren.  It was a fun exploring trip, and after that we tried to go to institute at the church because I had read a thing that said it was held Thursday nights and I thought that might be a good chance to meet some British kids.  But Institute was cancelled tonight but there were a couple girls who had met there to do yoga, and we talked to them for a while.  They invited us to go to the singles ward FHE and I think I might go if there is nothing else scheduled for the program.  Then after that Ellie, Lauren and I walked about our neighborhood and explored more.  There are SO many little shops, restaurants and cafes.  We ate in one little Italian restaurant, and the waiter was really Italian, could barely speak English actually.  I just ordered the cheapest thing on the menu which was cream of spinach soup, and it wasn't that bad, it wasn't that good either though.  Even though it was only 3 pounds I regret it, 3 pounds is almost 6 dollars! I must not let myself eat out anymore if I want to have a prayer of getting through this whole trip with enough money. Can you tell I'm a little stressed out about that? haha But it really is amazing here and I'm having a fabulous time so far.  I'll update more tomorrow (which is the royal wedding by the way!)

I'm HERE!!!

I'm finally here safe and sound!!  I still can't believe it.  The flight here was about 10 hours, it wasn't so bad really, they had movies and they gave us dinner (which was a beef casserole thing, a little salad, a roll and a cake dessert) and we had our little pillows and blankets.  I really got no sleep whatsoever on the plane, but whatever.  Haha I'm here now and can sleep my life away... actually no I can't because we have stuff scheduled starting in like an hour, but that is a good thing so it is ok.  Well after I got off the plane I had to catch the Gatwick Express, that is a train out of the airport that goes to the big central Victoria Station.  Once I was at the Victoria I had to buy a tube (underground train) pass and figure out which line to take to get to my apartment.  It took me forever to figure it out, and in the interim I had my pass, which was like 35 pounds stolen right out of my pocket!!  I am definitely a country mouse in the city, but that will change.  So, I finally figured out which line to take and got on, and while on the tube this little band of celtic music players got on and said, "We are going to play some music for you, feel free to dance a jig if you wish, just try not to get too excitable."  And they started playing! In the middle of the train, it was awesome! People mostly ignored them, but I was delighted.  The fiddle player was especially good and it was top notch.  So I got off the tube at High Kensington Street and then walked about 6 blocks to my apartment.  Not too bad, but a big awkward with my luggage.  Everything is so green here! I haven't seen a fence or a wall without something growing on it, around it, or in it.  There is foliage everywhere, it is so very lush that it made me very happy to look out the window on the train ride. And the temperature is lovely and warm.  Also the houses here are much older than you would think, and they all have these ancient brick and clay chimneys.  Riding here I couldn't believe how many chimneys I saw! Well I'm extremely tired, and we are supposed to go on a walk soon so I'm going to go.  But I am here, and my adventures are just beginning, so fasten your seat belts folks this is going to be one wild ride.

Getting Closer!

So Far I have gotten about $400!! That is great! I leave in about 11 days and I'm so excited! It looks like I am going to be able to pay for the program due to generosity and a scholarship I received, but I still need money for food and transportation while I am in London. I appreciate all of your kindness! ALMOST THERE!!

This is my story!

Hey everybody! I have the chance to go on a study abroad to London, England through the theater program here at BYU. It is going to be amazing! We are going to be visiting Shakespeare's birthplace, going to tons of plays in the West End and a few at the Globe Theater. We will be learning all about British theater history, and reading a plethora of plays. All in all it will be an incredible experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity. But there is a problem. I am supposed to leave for London on April 26th, that is 14 days, and I still have $2,700 dollars that I need to get before I can leave. I have already bought my plane ticket, and put $1,000 dollars towards the program, and I planned on getting Federal loans, and if worst came to worst a private loan, but both of those options fell through due to technicalities, and I was left with only a few weeks to go and VERY limited financial options. I go to school full time and I also work as an early morning custodian everyday before school I'm doing everything I can possibly do. So I'm asking you, my friends/family/charitable strangers, to help me get to London. Even five dollars would help, and this is the opportunity for some awesome karma to come your way. Just use the "Donate" button on my side bar. And when I am living in London I will blog all about it and you will know that you were able to be a part of this adventure! Thank you all!