Borough Market, Last day of Class, Roxy, Regent's Park, Pub Crawl, and Chocolate Festival

On Thursday I met up with Curtis in the morning to get lunch at Borough Market. I met him at his place and then it was about a 30 minute walk to get there. It was a very nice walk along the Thames River. When we got there I showed him around a little because he had not been before. He ended up getting an omelet and I ended up getting the potatoes and cheese again. Later that day I had my final class in London with Lyndon. I got my portfolio back and got an A so hopefully I end up doing well in the class! Lyndon left us with some final words, which were kinda interesting. He described how America is now declining as a superpower just as the British Empire decline as a superpower. After that we went to meet up with Philippa and did some graffiti at Waterloo. I created an American flag with some other girls. That night I went out with some girls from my program to a club named Roxy. They were playing some very good music that night!!

On Friday I met up with Curtis again to go to Regent's Park. It was a very nice day out! We were trying to rent some bikes to ride around there. Unfortunately it took us a long time to find the bikes and then after we rented them we found out that you can only ride them on one main path throughout the park. We stopped and got some really good organic ice cream though! We were there earlier in the year when it was really cold, but this time all of the flowers were blooming in the Gardens! We headed back together to Curtis' flat. His friends from school were all visiting in London. We made them tacos for dinner and then we hung out until we did a pub crawl. We went to a place called Doctor Inks which had 2 or 1 cocktails. Then we went to another pub where they had some board games available. We played Connect Four and Guess Who.

On Saturday I went back over to see the guys. I uploaded Curtis', Ryan's and Tony's photos from Spring Break for them. No one probably would have seen them if I didn't :) We also went to a chocolate festival where I got a fudge and a chocolate, strawberry, and whip cream crepe. It was delicious!

Alice in Wonderland Ballet, Tower of London, the Cheshie Cheese Pub, Hyde Park, and Singin in the Rain

On Monday I went to see the Alice in Wonderland Ballet at the Royal Opera house. IWe all got dressed up. Philippa came with us too. I went to dinner with a group of people beforehand and we ate at a place called Wok to Walk, which is a stir fry place. It was really good! The Royal Opera House is a beautiful and huge building! When we got there most of us went to the Champagne room where I got a glass of wine with some of the other girls. The show was pretty good. I especially like the set and its design. I have never seen the movie so I think I would have liked it better if I knew a little about what was going on.

On Tuesday I had my last class with Rob. Class started at 9. We didn't actually start talking about anything related to class until 10:15! Rob is hilarious! I also had my last class with Nora. We talked about our final paper and then she took our class of 7 to the Cheshire Cheese Pub. This is the oldest pub in London. She bought us all drinks and we talked for awhile. There is a book in the pub where you can sign your name and if you ever come back or have children that do then you can go back and look up your name. We all signed our names and then we were looking at some Americans that signed the book back in 1916. The pub was rebuild in 1667 after the great fire of 1666.




Raven at the Tower of London

White Tower of London

Elizabethan Regina

Philippa

The Old Cheshire Cheese Pub

In the Champagne room at the Royal Opera House

Inside the Royal Opera House


On Wednesday we all met at the Tower of London with Philippa. The Tower of London is actually a castle in the middle of a giant city, but it is called the Tower of London because it consists of 22 towers. I saw the Crown jewels and they were amazing! There was a lot of bling in the room. They had many crowns, robes, and swords. A couple of things I learned about the Tower:

- When people were beheaded at the Tower if you had enough money to tip the executor then he would sharpen the blade. Sometimes it took up to 5 times to behead someone and if the blade was sharpened it did not take as long.
-The Tower of London really does still have Ravens. They are really big and mean. There are signs all over the place saying beware the ravens do bite. There are some cages that they keep some of the ravens in if they are bad and bite.
- One time the crown jewels were stolen. Back in the day the guards were not well paid so they would let people come and touch and hold the crown jewels for money. One man came and saw the jewels. He told the guard that he wanted to come back tomorrow and bring a friend. The guy and the friend beat the guard up and removed all the jewels from the crown and left. They didn't make it all the way out of the Tower though before they got caught.
-About 200 people who work at the Tower of London live in the Tower of London

After the Tower of London Philipa took us to a market, which was were they filmed part of Harry Potter. It was a very nice market and there were no tourists just all Londoners on a lunch break. I had Pizza Express with Amanda and Vikki. I went back to the flat and I grabbed my book so that I could go to Hyde Park and read for awhile. The weather was so nice! I left there and went to Trafalgar Square to continue reading and wait for Curtis to get out of class. When Curtis got out of class we went to the box office to get tickets for the show Singin in the Rain, which I have been wanting to see. After we bought the tickets we went to Wok to Walk. I had to show Curtis it because it was so yummy last time! After that we went to get ice cream at a place called Snog. It was organic, sugar and fat free ice frozen yogurt. We got it with brownies, cookies, and strawberries on it. Then we headed to the show! It was really good! It actually rained in two of the dances! It wasn't just a little drizzle either! They used a lot of water! People in the front couple of rows got wet! It was a very good performance. The singing and dancing were really good! Here is a preview:



After the show we found a piano bar and we went there and had a glass of wine. Great date night! And a great way to end our last dinner and show nights!


Snog Ice Cream

Singin in the rain at the Palace Theatre

Trafalgar Square

Hyde Park

Reading my book in Hyde Park

I can't believe how fast the time is going here and that I will be home soon! So little time and so much to do! I am already missing London!

Ireland!

This weekend I went to Dublin, Ireland. I left with Curtis after my class on Friday and we flew from Heathrow to Dublin. The flight was only 50 minutes long. Once we landed in Dublin we got on a coach bus to meet Luke at his school. Right away I could tell that everything in Ireland was really green! It is hard to describe how different the grass is. It is so green! Luke goes to UCD in Dublin and when we got there we met him and Ryan and Tony. It was about 5 o'clock by the time we got there and we all went into town. Luke showed us some of the main sites around Dublin including Trinity University. We also went to a Tesco to get some food for dinner. We went back to Luke's place and we all made our dinners. Afterward I experienced my first Gob. This is something that Curtis and all his friends do at school. They mix wine and beer is a big pot and apparently it is suppose to be pretty good. Then we went back into town and went to the pub called Porterhouse. The next day we got up pretty early to head to a town on the coast called Howth. The train ride there was only 4.70 Euros for there and back! And it took only about 30 minutes to get there. Howth is a small town on the coast of Dublin and use to be a small fishing village. When we first got there we stopped at a place to get fish and chips. We ate it out in a little green area by the boats. It was probably the best fish and chips I have had since I have been here. The breading on the fish was so good! We walked around by where the boats were for awhile. Then we headed up to take a hike in the cliffs. It was so beautiful! I took way too many pictures there! We spent a lot of time walking around in the cliffs and then we headed back into town. Curtis and I got some ice cream when we got into town. I got mint chocolate chip naturally to go along with the whole green theme. Curtis got some kind of blue ice cream, which was pretty good! We all walked around town for awhile and and saw the cathedral. It had green stained glass windows. Then we got back on the train to head back and went to a pub back in Dublin. The guys all got a Guinness and I had Jameson. We went to get food for dinner again to cook at Luke's place. We all decided to make burgers and Ryan got some food of his own. He made some sausage with some potatoes, onions, and garlic. Unfortunately after Ryan slaved over his meal, the sausage wasn't very good and ruined the meal. The next day Curtis and I left early to go back into town and explore some more before our flight. We walked around to try to find a piece of art work for awhile, but we couldn't find any. We got some Subway for lunch and then we went to a park in the middle of the city. It was probably the best part I have ever seen and it was even nicer because it was very warm and sunny! I am definitely going to have to make another trip to other parts of Ireland, because it was so beautiful! It was a great trip with great weather and great company!

Hampton Court and Les Mis

On Wednesday for our field trip we took a bike ride from Richmond to Hampton Court Palace. Philippa had a guy drop off bikes for us at Richmond. Philippa had to make sure that the guy had a couple of bikes for short people and I was one of them. The bike ride was 8 miles and was along the Thames River. Right before we got to Hampton Court we stopped for a picnic. I packed a bagel and some fruit and some Oreos! It was the perfect day for a picnic right by the river! It was really warm and sunny! Then we biked down a little ways and dropped our bikes back off to the guy who rented them to us. Philippa took us into the gardens inside the palace. It was beautiful! There were so many flowers! And they were everywhere! We went inside a maze, which we actually had difficulty getting out of. Then we went into the Palace. The palace is where King Henry VIII lived. At the time King Henry VIII was one of the richest people in the world. There were amazing tapestries and art work inside. There was also a huge kitchen that was authentic. They haven't messed with the kitchen area too much and sometimes they actually cook meat in the fireplace the same way they would back in the day for demonstration at the palace. After awhile in the palace we went back outside to see some more of the landscaping and then I got back on the train to get home. I had to hurry up and get ready to go out to dinner and see Les Mis with Curtis when I got back. I quickly changed and headed out to Piccadilly Circus to meet up with him. We ended up eating at a diner that is similar to something like Johnny Rockets. We both got burgers and shared a milkshake. From there was headed over the Les Mis to pick up our tickets and head in! It was a very good show! It has been running for 27 years and is the longest running show in London. Here is a preview once again of the show:

Sweeney Todd

In Art History Class I am working on a paper and presentation on a piece of work in London's Tate Modern Museum. The picture above is the art piece that I am doing, which is called Venus of the Rags. I went yesterday to give my presentation in Tate Modern. Philippa liked it a lot so hopefully I do well on my paper too. The main theme of Venus of the Rags is the collision between historical art and modern art. I really liked it and picked it because of the contrast (rough vs smooth, colorful vs white, permanent vs impermanent, historical vs modern).

Last night we went to see Sweeney Todd. The production was really good, but the story was not my favorite. The main actress was the woman who played professor Umbridge in Harry Potter. Once again here is a video preview:




Today I am trying to finish a lot of my homework. i have a lot of papers and presentations due the next two weeks. Tomorrow we are going to Hampton Court and taking a 8 mile bike ride. Then I am going to see Les Mis with Curtis.

Exploring some more and Saint Patrick's Day London Style

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On Friday I went to Borough Market with two other girls from my program. Borough Market is a huge food market right by London Bridge. I am a little upset that this is my first time there! All of the food was so fresh! Most stands let you sample things too. I got some potatoes with fresh melted cheese on it. The cheese was a huge round piece of cheese and the guy melted the top of it and scrapped it off on my potatoes! So good! I also bought some fresh strawberries to take home. From there I also wondered around Leicester Square. That night I watched Phantom of the Opera the movie with my flat after seeing the musical. It was very good!

On Saturday I went with a group of people from my program to do a pub crawl. The first pub we went to was called Filthy MacNasty's and was probably our favorite one. Some people got Guinness, but I didn't! Our next couple of pubs were in Covent Garden. They didn't celebrate as much as we do at home, which is probably because people here drink a lot more than we do so they don't need an excuse to do it.

Phantom of the Opera, Lacock, Roman Baths & Stonehenge

Over the weekend I tried to relax and write some of my papers. On Tuesday I went to see Phantom of the Opera. It thought it was really good! Here is a preview:




Yesterday we took our Wednesday field trip to Lacock, the Roman Baths, and Stonehenge. We left the flats on a coach at 7 and went to a very small village called Lacock. We stopped here to eat breakfast at an old pub called the Red Lion. We then had a little bit of time to walk around the village, which didn't take long because there were only about four streets in the whole town. The whole town is protected by the government to help keep the buildings the same way they have been since the village was built. It is one of the only true London countryside villages I have seen. A lot of films such as Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice have been filmed in Lacock.



After Lacock we got back on the coach and made our way to Bath to see the Roman Baths. The Baths contain rainwater that is over 10,000 years old. The rainwater fell between 9,000 to 14,000 feet below ground where it was heated by geothermal energy. When the Romans conquered England they discovered these hot springs and began to use them. Romans were obsessed with being clean and bathed at least once a day. This is kinda unusual for people during this time period. Anyways, I got to walk around the Baths and the museum. After that I went to a pub with a group of people before we got back on the coach.



From Bath we headed to Stonehenge. Stonehenge was in the middle of a bunch of farmland. Stonehenge is a circle of very large stones. Philippa told us that the stones weighed more that 4 or 5 elephants combined. The stones originate from the Neolithic Era and took nearly 200 men to move them to where they are now. Stonehenge is also the first form of architecture found in England. It is a mystery to why Stonehenge was built. Some people therorize that it was built because people thought it had heeling powers and others think that it was used as a calender with the sun. We stayed there for awhile and I took a lot of pictures then we got back on the coach to head home!




After I got back to the flats I went to a pub down the street with a group of people to play in a Pub Quiz. A Pub Quiz is basically trivia at the pubs. I went to the Westbury Pub, which has it every Wednesday. A lot of us were mad that this is the first time we have done a pub quiz. Usually the winner of the quiz gets money, which usually pays their bar tab. Our team did not do so well, but the guy at the pub liked our funny answers so much that he gave us some of the prize money. We got 10 pounds and the winners got 90 pounds. It was a lot of fun!