Saturday started off with a bang... Sarah, my roommate, was running across the street when she turned her ankle or foot in the same place that she broke it last year. So she had to take a cab home from the Tower of London and eventually went to the hospital. Thankfully, she is ok-- just hurt some soft tissue. Walking is harder for her, but she should be gradually getting better at walking on it.
Meanwhile, we had a guided tour of the Tower of London, the fort that was constructed in the 11th century to protect William the Conqueror.
best place for hide and seek since 1066.
It's right on the Thames, next to Tower Bridge (which many people think is London Bridge). As expected, I got a little queasy thinking about all the murders that occured there... and went gaga over the crown jewels. The biggest 2 diamonds IN THE WORLD are in the scepter and Imperial State crown. Gorgeous. We walked to the Tower Green where Anne Boleyn and others were beheaded.
heads rolled there.
We saw the Yeoman Boarders who protect the Tower of London (derogatorily called "beefeaters"), who live there and are allowed to have their children baptized in the St. Peter ad Vincula church (who can then marry there and be buried there). We also saw the ravens, the center point of a big legend of the Tower. King Charles (II? I think?) was told that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London then it would fall. So far they haven't left on their own accord, although they were moved during WWII for their own safety. We also saw replicas of three torture instruments that were used in the Bloody Tower.
Following lunch at the cafe in the Tower, we embarked for the East End. At first, I absolutely hated it. Pretty much because it's the antithesis of where I live in Bloomsbury. It used to be as pretty, but it was also the industrial and immigrant area for years. It got even worse after the air strike in WWII that brought down a lot of buildings. We walked to the Royal Hospital, where the Elephant Man lived until his death and the new Elephant Man lives there now. It didn't help that it was burning hot, we were all tired and that the streets were super crowded with Bengali immigrants shouting their wares in languages I don't know. We cut the tour short and Dr. Butt cancelled the outing for the next day (which was a visit to Hyde Park to see Speaker's Corner, which is an area where anyone can talk about whatever). YAY DR. BUTT! So the guide pointed us in the direction of the only 2 Jewish stores left from when it was a Jewish immigrant section. BAGELSSSSSS FINALLY. And too bad the tour guide didn't take us down to the market, because that was actually really cool, and looked like an artist community. We got back, finally, and I made dinner and talked to Tina on skype, then went to bed.
Day 10 aka first free day (kind of)
Sunday was the first day I got to sleep in (and by that I mean I was awake by 11) since getting to London, so I finally feel caught up to the time zone (although after a long 4 hours of class I still do want to nap). I stayed in my pjs and did homework for most of the day. At 4:30 we left to go to dinner at Dr. Butt's house, which is about 30 minutes away in a more suburban area. It was a lot quieter than my area. And it reminded me of Harry Potter houses. They ordered really great Italian food for all of us. After dinner, we all crammed into their living room and shared each one story that we felt explains who we are from our childhood. I talked about how when I was little and I made Alla, Tina and Maria do plays and ballets in the basement, and how one time when we performed The Nutcracker, I got tired and asked for a drink of water right in the middle, at which point the dads said, "I'll get it!" and went upstairs to watch a Giants game. This is where I think I get my directorial aspirations (the making them do the plays, not losing all male audience members to a football game). I learned a little bit about each member of my group. Then we took the tube home and settled down for more homework.
Day 11 aka who knew i liked politics this much?
Monday is my two class day. Catherine and I gave our presentation on the issue of privacy and freedom of the press. Then we went to the British Library, which is next to King's Cross Station (haven't gone to platform 9 3/4 yet, Harry Potter fans, but I will soon). We saw the Magna Carta and some other very cool documents, such as some original handwritten Beatles lyrics and the original libretto for Handel's Messiah, and Beethoven's tuning fork, and some Shakespeare folios, some very old Bibles, Torahs and Qurans, and early English alphabet books. I really enjoyed it. Catherine, Allison and I stopped to get Chinese take out on the way home. Big mistake. This woman was really rude and the take out selection was a lot different from the menu (aka almost non existent). The food was good and very cheap, but I won't go there again. At 3 I went back to FSU for London Theatre class. It turns out that Sheila worked at the Royal Court Theatre at the same time that Timberlake Wertenbaker was the resident playwright (Wertenbaker is the playwright of Our Country's Good, the play I am co-assistant directing in the fall at JMU). We discussed the play we saw on Thursday, Betrayal, and talked about Robert Sheridan, the playwright of the play we're seeing on Wednesday, The School for Scandal. At 6:30 we had a group meeting, where I tried a bit of my first meat pie. I don't know how I feel about it yet.
Monday is my two class day. Catherine and I gave our presentation on the issue of privacy and freedom of the press. Then we went to the British Library, which is next to King's Cross Station (haven't gone to platform 9 3/4 yet, Harry Potter fans, but I will soon). We saw the Magna Carta and some other very cool documents, such as some original handwritten Beatles lyrics and the original libretto for Handel's Messiah, and Beethoven's tuning fork, and some Shakespeare folios, some very old Bibles, Torahs and Qurans, and early English alphabet books. I really enjoyed it. Catherine, Allison and I stopped to get Chinese take out on the way home. Big mistake. This woman was really rude and the take out selection was a lot different from the menu (aka almost non existent). The food was good and very cheap, but I won't go there again. At 3 I went back to FSU for London Theatre class. It turns out that Sheila worked at the Royal Court Theatre at the same time that Timberlake Wertenbaker was the resident playwright (Wertenbaker is the playwright of Our Country's Good, the play I am co-assistant directing in the fall at JMU). We discussed the play we saw on Thursday, Betrayal, and talked about Robert Sheridan, the playwright of the play we're seeing on Wednesday, The School for Scandal. At 6:30 we had a group meeting, where I tried a bit of my first meat pie. I don't know how I feel about it yet.
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