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Published: October 8th 2007
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My first impression of London as we left St. Pancreas Station was of construction. St. Pancreas and King's Cross are both under construction and the skyline is dotted with construction cranes. The construction, it seems, is never ending since there is always something to be restored, built, or updated. Following this theme, I feel that my mental picture of London, of the city's layout is also under construction because of the London Underground, or Tube. I feel I have a better picture of the Tube system than what lies above it. However, the Tube is the way to travel. You can be anywhere in the city in a matter of minutes. Storm bought us Oyster Cards which you scan in so that you don't have to buy a ticket for every ride and they have a daily cap so there is basically unlimited travel. We used the Tube at least 9 times on Saturday to get around.
We first went to Leicester Square to get discount tickets for a show that night but as most of them were 30 pounds and Wicked tickets weren't there, I decided not to go this time. Kia and I then inhaled our lunch, as it
Rosetta Stone
The key to unlocking Egyptian Hieroglyphics. took forever to get the food and then we only had 10 minutes to eat it, and as a group we went to the British Museum. The British Museum is huge and there is no way that one could take the whole thing in in one day. Kia and I saw the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman exhibits - or most of them - and that took almost 3 hours. The coolest parts were the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles that were once a part of the Parthenon.
After the museum, Kia and I went down to Westminster Cathedral, not to be confused with Westminster Abbey, and then Kia went to Caberet and Carrie, Andrea, Katie, and I went to the London Eye, which we didn't ride, and to see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. We ate at a reasonably good, cheap Chinese buffet and then had McFlurries for dessert. We then took pictures of Big Ben in the dark and wondered over by Whitehall. Then we headed back to the hotel for the night.
On Sunday we were off early to the Tower of London, making time for the Circle and District Tube lines being closed. We
took pictures on Tower Bridge - built in 1894 - and then got tickets for the Tower. Beefeater or Yeoman Warder Mitch was our tour guide and told the gruesome stories of the Tower with great relish. He got us involved when he made the crowd shout "God Save the King" when he pretended to hold up the "severed and still bleeding head" of a traitor. After the tour, we looked at the Crown Jewels, the torture equipment, and the armory before going to find a late lunch by St. Paul's Cathedral. St. Paul's was huge, under construction, and not open for tours since it was Sunday but it was great just to see it. There were a ton of pigeons on the steps but no bird lady saying "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag". Oh well, one can't have everything.
After lunch, we made our way over Millennium Bridge, a footbridge, to Southwark on Bankside to what was once outside city limits and to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. The Globe is about 200 or so feet away from the Thames and St. Paul's can be seen from outside it. The roof is a dark brown or black and the walls
whitewashed. It is round except for a tower on which there is a flag pole. If the flag is flying, there is a performance that day. Since we arrived about an hour before we needed to meet, Kia and I visited the gift shop where I found a groundling t-shirt imprinted with a quote from Hamlet Act 3, scene 2: "to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and noise" - I was so excited. We then went and found Storm and entered the Globe for the final performance, of the play and of the season, of Love's Labor's Lost. Inside there are 3 tiers of seating and the yard, which is now paved but would have been sand and rushes in the original. Electric lights have taken the place of torches. We entered a suspended reality as we entered the Globe. Although the smells and clothing may have been different and cameras (mine included) could be seen everywhere, it was as if we had stepped back in time, and then into the world of the play. Although I have become used to hearing the varying English/British accents around
Boudicca
Also known as Boadicea. Queen of the Iceni who led an uprising against the Roman Invaders. me, hearing them come from the stage was different, especially as Berowne had a very distinct Irish accent. But once I was able to lose myself in the play, it became the reality, and to be occasionally jolted out of it by planes flying overhead was annoying. They ruined the atmosphere by flying over about every 15 or 20 minutes. It wouldn't have been so bad if the noise didn't cover up what was being said on stage. It would be really nice if they would close the airspace over the Globe, but the chances of that happening are pretty slim. As a groundling, I got to stand for the entire play about 5 feet from part of the stage. My feet really hurt after awhile but it was great! During intermission, the six of us - Kate, Alex, Andrea, Carrie, Siri, and I - took a seat on the floor to give our feet a brief rest before the second half. The music, played on traditional instruments both before the show and during intermission, started and we stood back up and were given cheese by the actresses playing the Princess and her ladies. Cheese! One of the coolest things
things was the actor/actress-audience interaction. Because we were so close to the stage, it was so easy for the performers to use members of the audience to direct lines to or react to and use in their jests. There was one part where a couple of the actors jumped over the heads of the crown from one arm of the stage to the other - the arms were added for this play. The Globe was definitely the highlight of my trip to London. When the play was done, we headed back towards our hotel and ate a late dinner (fish and chips!!) before catching the 10:30 train back to Nottingham. We got back to the flat at about 1 am and I collapsed in exhaustion for 6 hours before getting up for class.
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Mom
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London
UNBELIEVABLE! I expected the Tower of London to be so much bigger. The Globe and St Peter's looked awesome! Sorry about the birdlady, I'm sure she would have to have a license to sell her seed now.