I got lots of sleep last night and today went to Covent Garden to do some shopping. I realized I didn't have very many short-sleeved shirts here and I needed a green one for St. Patty's day anyway. First I went to Rokit (my trusty hand-me-down store), but the t-shirts were pretty expensive actually, then I went to H&M and they did not fail me! I bought a green v-neck t-shirt for £5 and a salmon and dark salmon flower print scoop neck shirt for £5. Yay! I also bought some socks since the dryer here has eaten some of mine. Then I walked into the heart of Covent Garden and watched a magician and other street performers for a while. There were stands selling fruit and I bought blueberries for £1, a bowl of 7 plums for £1, and 7 bananas for £1. I did very well! :)
A bit later I went to the grocery store to stock up on cereal, bread, and milk, and otherwise have just been reading Bleak House.
Tomorrow and Monday are going to be very exciting! I'm going to Canterbury and/or Dover tomorrow (I'll check the weather) and then to Oxford onMonday. Look for updates! :)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury
Pictures: 1) the countryside out the bus window, 2) Bath Abbey, 3) Me in the gardens with the abbey behind, 4) a tree in the gardens just starting to bloom, 5) in the gardens again - abbey in background, 6) Avon River with the bridge of shops over top, 7) Stonehenge, 8) Me with Stonehenge - freezing my butt off, 9) Salisbury Cathedral, 10) In the Salisbury Cathedral Cloister (biggest in Britain)
I woke up at 6:40 today so I could be ready to go with everyone at 7:40 for our 8 am bus pickup. I was just thrilled about that! The bus we got on took us to the Victoria Coach Station where we then boarded the bus that would take us on our tour. We found out that we were supposed to be back in London by 7 pm, which I was happy about since last time it was such a nightmare getting
home! There was about a 2 hour or so ride to get to Bath - I slept most of the time (after the tour guide finished talking about what was "on our left" and "on our right"). I donned my eye mask and earplugs and I was pretty much out until he came back over the intercom and banged it a few times to wake everyone up to announce that we'd soon be in Bath.
They took us there via back roads and the view of the countryside was just lovely! We even saw the hills of Wales in the distance. We also saw fields of wheat growing (which I'd never seen with my eyes before!) and fields of sheep, pastures of cows, pigs, and in one field I saw a couple deer standing in the middle. I rather wish I were driving though so I could've stopped and explored some of the lovely landscape. One hill in particular I really wanted to climb - the view would have been phenomenal.
We arrived in Bath, going around a roundabout called the Circus (circle in Latin) which has three buildings around it that are curved around the circle. We got to see the row house where Nicholas Cage lives - number 8. :) That was pretty cool. Apparently only the most posh people
can afford to live there.
From there the bus took us to our drop-off point which was right by the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. The Baths were £9 each and since I've been before, I chose not to go to that. I went to the Abbey (which I'd also been to before, but it is free and quite beautiful). It was built in 1499 but largely destroyed in 1539 so it was mostly rebuilt in 1611 (though it was damaged in 1942 during the Baedeker Blitz that I talked about in my blog from Exeter). The tower of Bath Abbey is 49 meters (or 161 ft).
From there I walked to the Avon River and this park that is right on the river. I took some pictures and then my camera died, so I went a bought a 20 pack of AAs for £5.99 which wasn't bad, but my camera went through 2 of those and started on 2 more before the day was over - it pretty much eats batteries like M&Ms. lol There were some stands with jewelry, scarves, etc. in the main square and I looked at stuff
and then walked back toward the river and to this market that sells everything from food, jewelry, handbags, pet supplies, hangers, and you name it, they have it. It was cool looking around, but since I'd already bought the batteries and something for mom (that's a secret ;)), I didn't purchase anything at the market. I proceeded to walk across the bridge going across the river that has shops lining it. The view from inside the shops down the river is really amazing - the rent must cost a fortune there!
From there I made my way back to the park and ate the lunch I packed, watching the ducks and swans. We had to leave an hour and half after we
arrived, so that is pretty much all I got to do. I plan to go back on a lovely sunny (warmer) day to visit the wonderful parks and the Royal Crescent which I loved so much last time.
After Bath we went to Stonehenge. I am fairly sure I've never been so cold in my life. The wind was absolutely howling and it's been so much warmer here lately I didn't have my long johns on or a high pair of socks. By the end I had a head ache and a jaw ache from the cold - which I didn't think was possible. However, the stones were cool, though a bit smaller than I expected and you can't actually get near them anymore, so that's a bummer. We had audio guides, but I was so cold I didn't want to take my hand out of my pocket to hold the thing to my ear, so I didn't listen to most of it. haha (And I had gloves on!). We were only there for 45 minutes thank goodness, and then we headed for Salisbury.
In Salisbury we visited the Salisbury Cathedral which features the highest spire on this side of the Alps (Germany has a higher one). It is 404 feet high (compare to the tower in Bath). Anyway, the Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. Inside it has Europe's oldest working clock (1386) which doesn't look like a clock at all - looks more like a weird invention with cogs. It also houses one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta and the one in the best condition. I saw another one in the British Museum and this one was so much better! The writing was just phenomenal - it looked like it was printed, but indeed it was not - it was all written by hand in 1215. Obviously this is a very important document since it is the basis for our Constitution. This cathedral also has the largest Cathedral Close in Britain (if you recall from the Exeter blog, this is the area owned by the church surrounding the cathedral). The stained glass windows were also something to see and the organ was playing while we were inside...overall just lovely!
On the way out some of us stopped by the cafe and I bought a white chocolate raspberry muffin which was delicious but I am still feeling a little nauseous from how rich it was. haha
We were supposed to be back on the bus by 4:30, and everyone was there except Professor Selassie. Finally the tour guide went searching for him, and came back empty handed, so Travis called the Professor and found out that he had gotten lost on the way back to the bus, so Travis went and somehow found him and brought him back. They did not arrive until 5 p.m., so we left a bit later than we planned to. When we did arrive back in London (about 7 pm), Professor Selassie literally ran off the bus and to the tube station (we think he was embarrassed to face us). As I said previously, he is a very smart man and actually wrote the constitution for Eritrea (a country in Africa) and was imprisoned for three years for trying to liberate the country. He's also met/worked with all kinds of famous people, but he is getting on in years and seems to sometimes lack common sense (and obviously a sense of direction).
So now we are back and I'm exhausted so I think I shall make dinner, read, and go to bed. Sunday I think I'll take a day trip on my own somewhere - Cambridge or Dover or Brighton perhaps. We'll see about the weather. Then on Monday we're going to Oxford with the class. I rather hope this one isn't another guided tour, because I hate feeling rushed for time. I would've liked to spend much more time in Bath, for example, today. I also get more motion sick on buses than on trains.
I woke up at 6:40 today so I could be ready to go with everyone at 7:40 for our 8 am bus pickup. I was just thrilled about that! The bus we got on took us to the Victoria Coach Station where we then boarded the bus that would take us on our tour. We found out that we were supposed to be back in London by 7 pm, which I was happy about since last time it was such a nightmare getting
home! There was about a 2 hour or so ride to get to Bath - I slept most of the time (after the tour guide finished talking about what was "on our left" and "on our right"). I donned my eye mask and earplugs and I was pretty much out until he came back over the intercom and banged it a few times to wake everyone up to announce that we'd soon be in Bath.They took us there via back roads and the view of the countryside was just lovely! We even saw the hills of Wales in the distance. We also saw fields of wheat growing (which I'd never seen with my eyes before!) and fields of sheep, pastures of cows, pigs, and in one field I saw a couple deer standing in the middle. I rather wish I were driving though so I could've stopped and explored some of the lovely landscape. One hill in particular I really wanted to climb - the view would have been phenomenal.
We arrived in Bath, going around a roundabout called the Circus (circle in Latin) which has three buildings around it that are curved around the circle. We got to see the row house where Nicholas Cage lives - number 8. :) That was pretty cool. Apparently only the most posh people
can afford to live there.From there the bus took us to our drop-off point which was right by the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. The Baths were £9 each and since I've been before, I chose not to go to that. I went to the Abbey (which I'd also been to before, but it is free and quite beautiful). It was built in 1499 but largely destroyed in 1539 so it was mostly rebuilt in 1611 (though it was damaged in 1942 during the Baedeker Blitz that I talked about in my blog from Exeter). The tower of Bath Abbey is 49 meters (or 161 ft).
From there I walked to the Avon River and this park that is right on the river. I took some pictures and then my camera died, so I went a bought a 20 pack of AAs for £5.99 which wasn't bad, but my camera went through 2 of those and started on 2 more before the day was over - it pretty much eats batteries like M&Ms. lol There were some stands with jewelry, scarves, etc. in the main square and I looked at stuff
and then walked back toward the river and to this market that sells everything from food, jewelry, handbags, pet supplies, hangers, and you name it, they have it. It was cool looking around, but since I'd already bought the batteries and something for mom (that's a secret ;)), I didn't purchase anything at the market. I proceeded to walk across the bridge going across the river that has shops lining it. The view from inside the shops down the river is really amazing - the rent must cost a fortune there!From there I made my way back to the park and ate the lunch I packed, watching the ducks and swans. We had to leave an hour and half after we
arrived, so that is pretty much all I got to do. I plan to go back on a lovely sunny (warmer) day to visit the wonderful parks and the Royal Crescent which I loved so much last time.After Bath we went to Stonehenge. I am fairly sure I've never been so cold in my life. The wind was absolutely howling and it's been so much warmer here lately I didn't have my long johns on or a high pair of socks. By the end I had a head ache and a jaw ache from the cold - which I didn't think was possible. However, the stones were cool, though a bit smaller than I expected and you can't actually get near them anymore, so that's a bummer. We had audio guides, but I was so cold I didn't want to take my hand out of my pocket to hold the thing to my ear, so I didn't listen to most of it. haha (And I had gloves on!). We were only there for 45 minutes thank goodness, and then we headed for Salisbury.
In Salisbury we visited the Salisbury Cathedral which features the highest spire on this side of the Alps (Germany has a higher one). It is 404 feet high (compare to the tower in Bath). Anyway, the Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. Inside it has Europe's oldest working clock (1386) which doesn't look like a clock at all - looks more like a weird invention with cogs. It also houses one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta and the one in the best condition. I saw another one in the British Museum and this one was so much better! The writing was just phenomenal - it looked like it was printed, but indeed it was not - it was all written by hand in 1215. Obviously this is a very important document since it is the basis for our Constitution. This cathedral also has the largest Cathedral Close in Britain (if you recall from the Exeter blog, this is the area owned by the church surrounding the cathedral). The stained glass windows were also something to see and the organ was playing while we were inside...overall just lovely!
On the way out some of us stopped by the cafe and I bought a white chocolate raspberry muffin which was delicious but I am still feeling a little nauseous from how rich it was. haha
We were supposed to be back on the bus by 4:30, and everyone was there except Professor Selassie. Finally the tour guide went searching for him, and came back empty handed, so Travis called the Professor and found out that he had gotten lost on the way back to the bus, so Travis went and somehow found him and brought him back. They did not arrive until 5 p.m., so we left a bit later than we planned to. When we did arrive back in London (about 7 pm), Professor Selassie literally ran off the bus and to the tube station (we think he was embarrassed to face us). As I said previously, he is a very smart man and actually wrote the constitution for Eritrea (a country in Africa) and was imprisoned for three years for trying to liberate the country. He's also met/worked with all kinds of famous people, but he is getting on in years and seems to sometimes lack common sense (and obviously a sense of direction).
So now we are back and I'm exhausted so I think I shall make dinner, read, and go to bed. Sunday I think I'll take a day trip on my own somewhere - Cambridge or Dover or Brighton perhaps. We'll see about the weather. Then on Monday we're going to Oxford with the class. I rather hope this one isn't another guided tour, because I hate feeling rushed for time. I would've liked to spend much more time in Bath, for example, today. I also get more motion sick on buses than on trains.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tomorrow
So there has seriously been nothing but school related and studying stuff going on this week, however, tomorrow we are going to Stonehenge and Bath so I will have lots to write about on Saturday.
Also, if you like Taylor Swift and/or Twilight watch this video on Youtube. I am obsessed with both Taylor and Twilight so I loved this and I feel like the song is quite relevant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SYg_kUwjys
Love to all!
Also, if you like Taylor Swift and/or Twilight watch this video on Youtube. I am obsessed with both Taylor and Twilight so I loved this and I feel like the song is quite relevant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SYg_kUwjys
Love to all!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Lots of studying!
I've been doing very little since I got home from Stratford besides studying. I have a presentation and a paper due in WWII class on Wednesday (I finally finished both!) and I also need to read several books for various classes. Last night we went to see "Taming of the Shrew" for our Shakespeare class and I did NOT like it. I can't believe Shakespeare would be so anti-feminist! I am supposed to read the play by Wednesday, but I think I will just read the Cliff's Notes in sheer protest!
This morning my class went to the Cabinet War Rooms where we met Professor Mann (our WWII teacher). I have been there before, but they are really cool! The rooms are still exactly as they were during the war, as if (and in many cases this is true) they turned off the lights and walked out the day the war ended and never went back. I got to see Churchill's office and sleeping quarters, the room where his speeches were broadcasted to the BBC, the map rooms which were covered in maps and when you looked close you could see tiny pin pricks all over them where there were once pins representing a ship of one sort or another. There were typist rooms and telephone rooms, a private dining room for Churchill, bunkers for the lower class people (like the typists) and small, individual rooms for the important people. All of this was under ground beneath a 6 foot thick steel and concrete contraption. It is unlikely this would have done any good in the event of a direct hit by the bombs, but luckily they never hit the site directly. These are the rooms where the Nazi code was deciphered and where Churchill found out that Coventry would be bombed. He had to make a decision then - warn Coventry and evacuate, clearly alterting the Nazi's that they'd cracked the code - or let Coventry take it. He decided to let them take it, and watched in sorrow as many people suffered that terrible night of the blitz.
Anyway, it was really neat, but I didn't sleep well last night so I was quite tired and just came home and finished my WWII paper. Now I think I shall do some other reading, if I don't fall asleep. lol
This morning my class went to the Cabinet War Rooms where we met Professor Mann (our WWII teacher). I have been there before, but they are really cool! The rooms are still exactly as they were during the war, as if (and in many cases this is true) they turned off the lights and walked out the day the war ended and never went back. I got to see Churchill's office and sleeping quarters, the room where his speeches were broadcasted to the BBC, the map rooms which were covered in maps and when you looked close you could see tiny pin pricks all over them where there were once pins representing a ship of one sort or another. There were typist rooms and telephone rooms, a private dining room for Churchill, bunkers for the lower class people (like the typists) and small, individual rooms for the important people. All of this was under ground beneath a 6 foot thick steel and concrete contraption. It is unlikely this would have done any good in the event of a direct hit by the bombs, but luckily they never hit the site directly. These are the rooms where the Nazi code was deciphered and where Churchill found out that Coventry would be bombed. He had to make a decision then - warn Coventry and evacuate, clearly alterting the Nazi's that they'd cracked the code - or let Coventry take it. He decided to let them take it, and watched in sorrow as many people suffered that terrible night of the blitz.
Anyway, it was really neat, but I didn't sleep well last night so I was quite tired and just came home and finished my WWII paper. Now I think I shall do some other reading, if I don't fall asleep. lol
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Stratford-upon-Avon
Pictures: 1) A Stratford Street, 2) me with the Guild Church - built in 1269, 3) "crying flowers" as I call them with Anne Hathaway's cottage in background, 4) Close up of me with the cottage, 5) me and cottage, 6) me sitting on a tree in the yard of Holy Trinity Church, 7) eight of us with Professor Selassie on the Avon River, 8) me with Holy Trinity behind
Sorry it's been a few days - but honestly, there wasn't a whole lot to tell until yesterday. Wednesday I just did homework until class that night. Thursday my class met our art teacher at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea (a really nice area of London). The gallery's exhibition was on Middle Eastern Art and many of the pieces dealt with the oppression of women and the impact of war and terrorism on cities and people in the cities. It was interesting, but after two hours of walking around looking at one piece after another, it gets a bit tiring.
After that the flatmates and I went to lunch at EAT, then I came back to our area and stopped by Winston House (our UNC location) to print off a graduation application. I had been going crazy because I kept emailing people in the Journalism School and the English Department trying to make sure all my credits would transfer seamlessly and asking whether I had to fill out a graduation application if I wasn't participating in the commencement ceremony. I finally got an email from the J-school and the lady sent me the form to fill out and asked me to mail it in. SO, after I printed it, I went to the ULU and bought some envelopes, came home, filled out the application and mailed the thing.
At 7 I had drawing class, so I left here about 6:30 for that. The kid who sat next to me this time was from Atlanta, GA and went to UVA for undergrad and is now at LSE (where the art class is) for his graduate degree in history. The guy's name was Alex and he asked me if we were supposed to bring our own drawing materials to the class, and I said yes, but told him I'd loan him some this time. I think he was a bit shocked when the nude model came out - he thought that it was a still life drawing class (as in plants and stuff). He'd only done architecture drawing before, but for all that, he wasn't terrible. He paid my £3 fee for letting him use my expensive materials, which was nice of him. It was nice to talk to an American who I didn't live with 24/7. lol The model was another woman this week, but she wasn't a professional like the last lady and thus didn't do the best poses (as far as making sure everyone in the class had a good view and such).
Friday morning I got up at 8:45 and we all left the flat by 9:35 to take the tube to Marylebone Train Station. Here we met Dr. Selassie (the professor who came to London with us from UNC) and he gave us our train tickets for the 10:54 departure for Stratford-upon-Avon. The ride was about two hours (with all the stops) which was a bit long since it's really not that far away. Dr. Selassie appointed me "official tour guide" for the day since I'd been there before, which was kind of funny since I didn't remember the specifics of where everything was or anything like that. When we arrived I bought a £1 map of the town and led us toward the center streets. Everyone was hungry so we found a Chinese restaurant for lunch (after being turned away from two Italian restaurants who did not have room for a group of 10).
I had packed my lunch, so I just had my sandwich and some fruit and ate a little bit of left overs from Lennon and Ashley. By the time we got out of there it was about 3 pm. We decided to walk to Anne Hathaway's cottage (she was Shakespeare's wife), and on our way to the trail head we stopped into the town hall and got a little tour of that. It is approx. 400 years old (and that is after the original burnt down). It was really pretty inside. When we finally got to the trail head it was still a mile+ walk to the cottage, but it was such a lovely day and the walk was pleasant. We went through open fields of people playing soccer, and past quaint houses and school yards. When I saw the soccer fields I really wished I had a Frisbee.
Once we made it to the cottage Dr. Selassie paid the £5 per person to get us in and we were given a brief history of the place. This is the house where Shakespeare would have come to call on Anne before they got married, and Anne's family had lived in that house from the early 1500s. Parts of the house were added on, but the original 2 rooms are still there and there are still many pieces of furniture from all the centuries within. In the kitchen of the house there was a man dressed up like Shakespeare reciting the sonnets. He was pretty cool, and the ones we heard him say were all ones we had just studied. Outside there are also gardens and orchards and a hedge maze. Obviously none of the flowers were in bloom, but we did go to the maze and sculpture garden.
Once we walked all the way back to Stratford it was after 5 pm, and I really wanted to see Holy Trinity church (where Shakespeare and Anne were buried) before it got dark. Of course since it was after 5 we couldn't go inside the church (and they are buried inside) but we did get to enjoy the beauty of the architecture and the very old graveyard. The church is right on the river Avon as well, so that was our glimpse of the river.
After that we walked toward the center of town and five of us went to a coffee/sandwich shop called Costas for dinner and the other five went to McDonald's. My group picked up the McD's group after dinner and we walked to the Courtyard Theatre where we were to see "The Tempest" at 7:15. The production was really quite amazing - the acting was just delightful and I was so excited that I totally understood what was going on (granted I'd just read the play a week before, but still, it can prove difficult to understand Shakespeare if the text is not directly in front of you).
We got out of the performance at 20 till 10 p.m. We were supposed to catch an 11 pm train back to London, but everyone was wanting to leave earlier than that, so Dr. Selassie said there was probably a train every hour so if we booked it we could probably make the 10 p.m. train. SO, we booked it all the way across town and made it to the station with 5 minutes to spare. And alas, there was a train there, but it was the 11 p.m. laying dormant for it's departure the next hour. That was disappointing since we had hurried so much. It was also an outdoor platform, so we had to wait out in the cold for the next hour. We all started entertaining ourselves with cell phone games or thumb-war-esque games and a few charades. I was getting chilly so I finally put on my iPod and just started dancing. I figured it was good aerobic exercise and since I didn't get to go to salsa that night, I thought I'd get some dancing in. My flatmates probably thought I was crazy, but nobody really said anything and I had a lot of fun.
The train finally
started up around 10:45 and we got on, arriving in Oxford at 12:15. From oxford we switched trains and took a 12:19 train to London Paddington. We arrived in Paddington about 2:15 am. ICK! We were all so tired and finally managed to hail 2 cabs to take us back to our flat. Each cab fits 5, so it was perfect and about £3 each. Dr. Selassie was in our cab and he said we could pay him back later. We all filed up the stairs and got ready for bed. I finally hit the sack about 3:30 a.m.I woke up at quarter to 12 today and don't have plans for today except for homework and grocery shopping. I think I shall look up a low-fat banana bread recipe to make.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
National Gallery, Big Ben, Argentine Tango
Pictures: 1) National Gallery (notice all the people), 2) Trafalgar Square (notice Big Ben in back middle), 3) London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, 4) Me with Big Ben, 5) Me ready to go to Tango
Yesterday was a busy day! First I met Ashley and her friend Sean at the British Museum for a little under an hour, walking through some ancient Egyptian rooms and Mesopotamian rooms. We saw the preserved body of a person from 3,400 BC! It still had skin! They had to go meet a friend of Sean's at 2 pm, so I just started walking in the general direction of Trafalgar Square.
It was a beautiful day, and warmer than any day we've had so far. I was wearing a 3/4 length sleeve shirt and a unbuttoned cardigan sweater without a scarf or jacket! I managed to walk all
the way to Trafalgar Square without getting lost or looking at my map (though I'm sure I took an indirect route). There were people everywhere - probably a combination of the good weather and the fact that kids across Britain have a school holiday this week.
When I got to the square it was simply teeming with people and street performers. I decided to revisit the National Gallery and thus walked through probably 20 rooms of paintings. I don't like the way the gallery is set up because there are so many doors off of each room, each opening into another room that has more doors that go to other rooms. It is such a maze and it is hard to keep straight where you've been and what you've missed. I wish you could just start in gallery 1 and
follow it through all the way. That way, when you were tired, you could know you'd already seen 1-20, and come back next time and do 20-40. Anyway, I did see a lot of wonderful paintings that I loved, including some of Haarlem which is the city in the Netherlands that Lieselotte is from. It looks just lovely - I can't wait to go there with her and see it in person!
Visibility was very good yesterday and from the steps of the National Gallery one could see all the way to Big Ben quite clearly. I decided that I would walk to it since I hadn't been in that area so far this trip. I took pictures of Big Ben, the London Eye, Parliament and Westminster Abby up close and simply enjoyed the weather. I tried to take a bus home so I could see the sights on the way, but I couldn't find a bus that was going where I wanted it to, so I ended up taking the tube instead. (By this point my feet were hurting a good bit and I couldn't walk home, especially if I wanted to dance that night).
After I got back and had dinner, watched Grey's Anatomy online, and talked to Tiffany and Krystle on the phone, it was time for Argentine Tango. I found out about different tango venues online the other day, and Monday nights they have "practicas" from 9pm to 11:30pm in a
building not 10 minutes walk from my flat. Practicas are just open dance floor time to practice moves in a less formal setting than a milonga (which is a formal Argentine Tango dance). It was £5 (currently about $7), which is sort of a lot just for a practica, but I am finding out that a common saying in London is "Nothing is free in London." Great. Anyway, I did get to dance with several good dancers, and one guy in particular who was from Florence was quite good and was very into the dance. He reminded me of my tango partner back home and I liked the fact that he was very interested in perfecting the steps and trying out new steps instead of hitting on me. He spoke English all right, but I could tell it was hard for him to understand me - I think I talk faster than he could keep up.
I danced from 9:15 until 11:15, and then my feet were in such pain that I had to stop and limp home. lol I was kicked/stepped on several times throughout the night and my toenails were certainly worse for the wear. The dance floor was really good though and I look forward to going back again.
Today I'm having a down day - catching up on picture uploads, blog, maybe some TV shows, and some reading. Don't know what I'll do tomorrow before class...
Yesterday was a busy day! First I met Ashley and her friend Sean at the British Museum for a little under an hour, walking through some ancient Egyptian rooms and Mesopotamian rooms. We saw the preserved body of a person from 3,400 BC! It still had skin! They had to go meet a friend of Sean's at 2 pm, so I just started walking in the general direction of Trafalgar Square.
It was a beautiful day, and warmer than any day we've had so far. I was wearing a 3/4 length sleeve shirt and a unbuttoned cardigan sweater without a scarf or jacket! I managed to walk all
the way to Trafalgar Square without getting lost or looking at my map (though I'm sure I took an indirect route). There were people everywhere - probably a combination of the good weather and the fact that kids across Britain have a school holiday this week.When I got to the square it was simply teeming with people and street performers. I decided to revisit the National Gallery and thus walked through probably 20 rooms of paintings. I don't like the way the gallery is set up because there are so many doors off of each room, each opening into another room that has more doors that go to other rooms. It is such a maze and it is hard to keep straight where you've been and what you've missed. I wish you could just start in gallery 1 and
follow it through all the way. That way, when you were tired, you could know you'd already seen 1-20, and come back next time and do 20-40. Anyway, I did see a lot of wonderful paintings that I loved, including some of Haarlem which is the city in the Netherlands that Lieselotte is from. It looks just lovely - I can't wait to go there with her and see it in person!Visibility was very good yesterday and from the steps of the National Gallery one could see all the way to Big Ben quite clearly. I decided that I would walk to it since I hadn't been in that area so far this trip. I took pictures of Big Ben, the London Eye, Parliament and Westminster Abby up close and simply enjoyed the weather. I tried to take a bus home so I could see the sights on the way, but I couldn't find a bus that was going where I wanted it to, so I ended up taking the tube instead. (By this point my feet were hurting a good bit and I couldn't walk home, especially if I wanted to dance that night).
After I got back and had dinner, watched Grey's Anatomy online, and talked to Tiffany and Krystle on the phone, it was time for Argentine Tango. I found out about different tango venues online the other day, and Monday nights they have "practicas" from 9pm to 11:30pm in a
building not 10 minutes walk from my flat. Practicas are just open dance floor time to practice moves in a less formal setting than a milonga (which is a formal Argentine Tango dance). It was £5 (currently about $7), which is sort of a lot just for a practica, but I am finding out that a common saying in London is "Nothing is free in London." Great. Anyway, I did get to dance with several good dancers, and one guy in particular who was from Florence was quite good and was very into the dance. He reminded me of my tango partner back home and I liked the fact that he was very interested in perfecting the steps and trying out new steps instead of hitting on me. He spoke English all right, but I could tell it was hard for him to understand me - I think I talk faster than he could keep up.I danced from 9:15 until 11:15, and then my feet were in such pain that I had to stop and limp home. lol I was kicked/stepped on several times throughout the night and my toenails were certainly worse for the wear. The dance floor was really good though and I look forward to going back again.
Today I'm having a down day - catching up on picture uploads, blog, maybe some TV shows, and some reading. Don't know what I'll do tomorrow before class...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Day Trip to Exeter
Pictures: 1) Part of the castle connected to the old wall, 2) me on the trail walking up to the castle, 3) my little robin, 4) the Exeter River, 5) Swans swimming, 6) Exeter Cathedral, 7) the longest uninterrupted vaulted ceiling in Europe, 8) St. Martain's Church from pre-1050 (the brick building on left), 9) me inside the tunnels~ remember, you can double click to see the pics big, then use the back arrow to return to the blog
On Saturday I woke up at 8 am and packed a lunch and fruit, then headed to the Paddington train station. I was worried that I'd have to wait in a long line to get my BritRail pass validated, but I walked up to a customer service desk that had no line and got it validated in about 10 seconds. I was so glad I didn't have to buy an actual ticket since the lines were atrocious! Even though I got out of the flat later than I wanted to, I still had to wait around for about 25 minutes at the station for the 10:06 train to Exeter to arrive. I decided to go to Exeter because on my way home from Hampton Court Palace the other day the man sitting across from me suggested it as a good place to go for a day trip.
With my BritRail I can use the train as much as I want for any 15 days within a 2 month period. This was day one. The train ride to Exeter took about 2 hrs 15 mins, although I wish I'd known about the "quiet coach" before I boarded because all the children in my train car were quite loud. However, I had a window seat and the views were spectacular. I passed fields still covered in snow, and green grass with grazing sheep, and meandering rivers - all under a blue sky with white clouds. However, the closer we got to our destination, the more the cloud cover increased.
It was cloudy all day in Exeter and fairly cold, however I didn't mind as long as it wasn't raining! When I got to the train station at "Exeter St. David's" I had to hop on another train (about 1 min ride) to Exeter Central. From there I just started walking toward what I gathered to be the city center. Luckily there were information boards all over the place with maps on them so I walked up to one and realized there was a park not to far from where I stood, so I started to walk in that direction.
Everything was very green (I guess that's what happens when a country has nonstop rain), and I walked up this path that followed beside part of the City Wall and up to Rougemont Castle. The City Wall was built between 58 and 200 AD when the Romans invaded and the Celts were pushed out and into Wales. 3/4 of the wall is still standing and while parts have since been rebuilt, a good chunk is still the original Roman workmanship. You can look at the wall and tell which is which (if your tour guide is really cool and explains it to you ;)). Anyway, the castle is less like a castle now and more like the shell of a castle that really only has some towers left. I believe that was built around 1077 for William the Conqueror. The view from the top of the path (you couldn't actually go up into the towers) was very pretty.
Exeter is on a ridge between two valleys which makes it a natural place to build a fortress since it is easily defensible. As I walked the path I could hear birds everywhere and all of a sudden this little robin landed on a branch right next to me and started singing at the top of his lungs. I was so close I could have reached out and touched him, and I stood, mesmerized, as I watched his orange breast flutter and heave in joyful song. I have a thing for robins (blame it on watching The Secret Garden a few too many times), but really it was quite amazing. I took pictures of it, with and without the flash, and it never moved. These animals are seriously something out of a storybook! At Hyde Park the other day I watched several people feeding squirrels by hand.
Anyway, from there I took the path back down and into the Rougemont & Northernhay Gardens. They were pretty as well, and another robin did the same as the first. In spring the gardens will be absolutely lovely for I could see the beginnings of tulips and daffodils everywhere.
From there I walked to the Quayside (which is the riverside). The Exeter River runs through one of the valleys and alongside it former warehouses have been converted into antique and craft shops. They are build into what is basically the side of the hill, on top of which is the edge of the city wall. The area was very quaint and I wished I had more time to explore it. There were, again, dozens of swans and I got some amazing pictures of the beautiful birds.
I thought that Exeter was on the seaside, but it is actually 10 or 12 miles away. However, there were seagulls flying overhead all day long, squawking. I know they are rather annoying birds, but I can't help but like to hear them for they remind me of Miami.
I walked back up the steep hill to the city's center and to the Exeter Cathedral. I walked through (warming up a bit) and listened to choir practice, which was just lovely. The inside of the cathedral was quite impressive and according to the tour guide (will tell you about that in a minute) it has the longest uninterrupted vaulted ceiling in Europe. The founding of the cathedral at Exeter, dedicated to Saint Peter, dates from 1050, when the seat of the bishop of Devon and Cornwall was transferred from Crediton because of a fear of sea-raids (i.e. - pirates). The cathedral wasn't actually started until 1133, but part of that original structure still stands (though part was destroyed in WWII by the Germans).
During WWII the RAF (Royal Air Force) bombed a town in Germany (Lubeck) that had no industry or war supplies - it was just a quaint little town and apparently very beautiful. To this day we still don't know why the RAF bombed them, but it really pissed Hitler off so in retaliation he had some of his men do research and find five comparable towns in Britain. In mid 1942 the Baedeker Blitz targeted five historic cities with no military or strategic importance: Bath, Canterbury, Exeter, Norwich, and York.
In the church yard I met up with a free tour guide for a 2pm tour of the "Cathedral Close" - this is the area immediately surrounding the cathedral. There were about 10 of us on the tour, and I was by far the youngest. The tour guide was a volunteer in his 60s who totally impressed me with the amount of information he remembered! Exeter is the first place in the UK to call a hotel a "hotel." Before this, all hotels were called inns or boarding houses or something. The man who built the hotel didn't want it to seem like a low-class place, so he found the word hotel (from French perhaps?) and called it the Royal Clarence Hotel. Many famous people have stayed there including queens, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and more.
On the corner near the Clarence Hotel was St. Martin's Church, the building of which has been dated to before 1050. This is probably the oldest standing building in Exeter. At one point in history it was a pub and it was famous for giving drinks to beggars and poor people, so it had an outdoor tap which is still there today. Underneath the ground in the Cathedral Close there are ancient Roman Baths. They are apparently amazing and huge, but the church owns the property and has declined public access to view the baths, which is quite a shame. The baths weren't even discovered until the 1960s when something else was being build and they had to dig down to make foundations for it.
After that tour I walked around the new shopping area (which is really strange because it is right behind the Close which is so old). I bought a dark chocolate-raspberry chocolate bar from a place called Hotel Chocolate. It is amazing. After I looked around a bit I went to the entrance to the Underground Tunnels which I had booked a tour for earlier. It was only £3.90 for students, so I was happy with that. My tour started at 4:30 pm, and it takes you into the tunnels that were built to house the lead pipes that would ship water from a fresh spring to the Cathedral Close for the clergy to have fresh drinking water. Lead poisoning wouldn't have been a problem because if you didn't die from the plague first, the average life span was still only 35, and it would take longer than that to build up enough lead in your system from the drinking water to die from lead poisoning. The tunnels were build so the men could fix the pipes when they leaked without having to dig up the roads. The original tunnels were built by the stonemasons who worked on the sculptures for the front of the Cathedral in the 1300s. Thus, the original parts of the tunnels are from that time period. Interestingly enough, these parts are much sturdier and need much
less upkeep than the tunnels built in the 1500s which they started when the upper class business men also demanded clean water.The tunnels were really small - not much wider than the width of my shoulders and usually shorter than me. In one section you have to crawl through the tunnels since the highest part is only 1 meter high. Clearly, if you had problems with claustrophobia you could not go on this tour. It was pretty cool though. Interestingly enough, during the Baedeker Blitz I mentioned earlier, hundreds of people went into these tunnels for shelter from the bombs and would have to stay in these cramped little tunnels, huddled together for hours at a time.
In one section we could hear the traffic overhead, even though we were 7 meters below ground. All the tunnels are between 3 and 7 meters underground. The tour guide reminded us that though it sounded loud, we were actually very safe. She then said "Imagine how the people in the tunnels would feel as they heard the bombs overhead." That would have been scary.
By the time that was over it was 5:15 so I ran to the train station since my train back to Paddington left at 6 pm from Exeter St. David's. I didn't need to rush however since I made it to Exeter St. David's by 5:30. lol Exeter is a very small town and easily walkable, so I wasn't far from the central station when I left the Underground Tunnels.
I found the "quiet coach" on the way back and sat at a table (there are a few parts of the coach that have tables with 4 seats around them). Across from me a little boy and his dad sat down. The little boy was playing his game boy and I asked him how old he was (to be able to play that by himself so well) and he said four. He and his dad were going to meet his mom and older brother in Reading (pronounced Redding) and then going to London for a couple days to see Big Ben and the Tower of London (at least those were the things the boy told me he most wanted to see). This kid, let me tell you, was amazing! He was so smart and well-mannered. When his dad gave him a bag of some sort of snack I said to him "What are those?" and he said "Chocolates - you want one?" then he handed me the bag and let me pick (with my own fingers) the first one. So I tried the animal cracker dipped in chocolate and it was good, of course. Later his dad gave him a little tub of Cadbury mini chocolate eggs and the little boy said "Would you like one?" and again let me choose first before he had any. I said to him, "Are you supposed to suck on them or bite them?" and he said "Both, but I like to suck on mine to make the flavor last longer." Then he was asking me about where I lived and about London and my trips etc. He started saying "So we're going North right now, then we'll be going East and then on the way home we'll be going South.." and I'm thinking "What freaking four year old knows nautical directions!!??" I asked the dad what age school became mandatory and he said 4, but preschool is from 2 to 4. I think we should do this in the US because our country would be better if our kids were all that smart.
From there I took the tube back to my flat and that was the end of my journey. It was so lovely and I'm so glad I went - even if I was alone on Valentines Day. lol
Friday, February 13, 2009
Hyde Park and V&A Museum
Pictures: 1) Me on rock in Hyde Park, 2) with the Serpentine, 3) in the gilded room in the V&A, 4) the Prince Albert Memorial, 5) picture I drew in art class
Thursday we met our art teacher in Hyde Park at the Serpentine Museum. They currently have an exhibition of Indian art (art from artists from the country of India). Most of the art dealt with the way India is handling the transition from a mostly rural, poor country to an industrialized, largely urban country. The globalization of India is hard on many people who are not sure where they belong and how to handle customs and a way of life that seem to be slipping away. Some of the art I found very interesting, and other exhibits I didn't really get. However, there was this one piece that looked a bit like a child's
fort/castle made out of rusty oil drums and you could actually crawl inside it and even though the outside was really ugly, inside the roof was poked with an ice pick and the light shone through the metal like stars and reflected off internal mirrors. It reminded me of my bedroom at my old house in Charlotte with hundreds of glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. So that was pretty cool.
From there I just came back to the flat and watched Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters online, then I went to my drawing class at 7 pm. It was a woman model this time, probably in her early 50s, but had a pretty good body for her age. I think my 25 minute sketches turned out fairly well, so I'll post one.
Today Ashley and I went back to Hyde Park and walked through more of it since it was sunny. We took pictures in Kensington Gardens (part of Hyde Park) and just strolled along the Serpentine (which is a lake I guess) talking and enjoying the day. Again, it was cold, but pretty. From there we walked down to the Victoria and Albert Museum and explored a lot of that. I love the fact that most all of the museums here are free! There was this one room in the museum that was all gilded and looked like the ballroom from the sound of music - I was pretty much in heaven.
After that Ashley and I came back to the flat and I just made dinner and now I'm going to watch Dirty Dancing. I was so upset with the quality of acting in the stage performance I saw of it the other night that I was really wanting my DVD to watch, so my friend Tommy sent me one which is quite exciting!
Thursday we met our art teacher in Hyde Park at the Serpentine Museum. They currently have an exhibition of Indian art (art from artists from the country of India). Most of the art dealt with the way India is handling the transition from a mostly rural, poor country to an industrialized, largely urban country. The globalization of India is hard on many people who are not sure where they belong and how to handle customs and a way of life that seem to be slipping away. Some of the art I found very interesting, and other exhibits I didn't really get. However, there was this one piece that looked a bit like a child's
fort/castle made out of rusty oil drums and you could actually crawl inside it and even though the outside was really ugly, inside the roof was poked with an ice pick and the light shone through the metal like stars and reflected off internal mirrors. It reminded me of my bedroom at my old house in Charlotte with hundreds of glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. So that was pretty cool.From there I just came back to the flat and watched Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters online, then I went to my drawing class at 7 pm. It was a woman model this time, probably in her early 50s, but had a pretty good body for her age. I think my 25 minute sketches turned out fairly well, so I'll post one.
Today Ashley and I went back to Hyde Park and walked through more of it since it was sunny. We took pictures in Kensington Gardens (part of Hyde Park) and just strolled along the Serpentine (which is a lake I guess) talking and enjoying the day. Again, it was cold, but pretty. From there we walked down to the Victoria and Albert Museum and explored a lot of that. I love the fact that most all of the museums here are free! There was this one room in the museum that was all gilded and looked like the ballroom from the sound of music - I was pretty much in heaven.
After that Ashley and I came back to the flat and I just made dinner and now I'm going to watch Dirty Dancing. I was so upset with the quality of acting in the stage performance I saw of it the other night that I was really wanting my DVD to watch, so my friend Tommy sent me one which is quite exciting!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Banana Bread, New Friend, Dirty Dancing
Pictures: 1) with my banana bread, 2) close up bread, 3) ready to go to the show with the scarf grandma made me, 4) pretty building on the way to the show, 5) outside the theater
Sunday night I decided to make banana bread because I had a bunch of overly ripe bananas on hand. SO, I looked up a recipe online, went and bought the ingredients I didn't have, and started cooking. Unfortunately the recipe was in cups and the measuring cup we have is in liters, but I sort of guessed/looked up rough conversions online. I also made it with walnuts and currants (which are dried black grapes - sweeter than raisins and smaller). I was so delighted with the results and
the bread was delicious!! One may be wondering why I'm so excited about this, but I have never made banana bread by myself or any recipe that was as complicated as this one, so I'm quite pleased.
Monday I did homework most of the day and then met my friend Matthew's cousin Catherine at the National Theater on the Southbank of the Thames. I was going to catch a bus since it was raining, but it ended up not being a very far walk, and despite the rain, it wasn't too cold. Catherine and I met in the theater lobby then went to Wagamama (a noodle place) for dinner. She gave me a whole list of stuff to check out while in London and helpful websites. She also gave me a list of cities she recommends that I visit. She was very nice and hopefully we can hang out again soon. Interestingly enough, she is in the advertising business and has recently been working on a public safety campaign that sounded really cool. If I do go into advertising I'd like to do something for the good of civilization.
Today I read a lot for my
WWII class and then I walked down to the Aldwhych Theater where they are showing Dirty Dancing Live. I passed it on the way home from Wagamama last night and thought I'd try to catch the show tonight. I arrived to buy the tickets at 6:15 and bought a £15 "restricted view" seat (which was the cheapest thing available). It was the very top, very last row of the theater, but I figured I could move down once the show started because the seats never fill up. After I bought the ticket I walked to a coffee shop nearby and read my novel until 7 when the doors opened.
The seat wasn't so bad, but once people sat in front of me I couldn't see very well unless I stood up and leaned against the wall next to me. At the half-way point I moved several rows down and had a perfect view of the stage. The girls sitting near me were from Seattle (which is where my old roommate Casey lives) and so we chatted quite a bit. One of the girls had been here for 6 months and is about to move back and she told me about some shows she'd seen and suggested.
Apparently there is a "Rainman" musical that stars Josh Hartnett on the stage. I think I'm going to have to see that! lol
This is how I felt about the show: great costumes, great props, good singing, good dancing, TERRIBLE acting!! They used almost all exact lines from the movie and they sounded so phony! I don't understand why they couldn't watch the movie and act it the way it is supposed to be acted! I was sitting there thinking "I could do this so much better - it isn't supposed to sound like that, it's supposed to sound like this." But, I suppose it wasn't so bad for £15. Now I really wish I had my version of the movie to get that acting out of my head. lol
Tomorrow is class so I best get to bed.
Sunday night I decided to make banana bread because I had a bunch of overly ripe bananas on hand. SO, I looked up a recipe online, went and bought the ingredients I didn't have, and started cooking. Unfortunately the recipe was in cups and the measuring cup we have is in liters, but I sort of guessed/looked up rough conversions online. I also made it with walnuts and currants (which are dried black grapes - sweeter than raisins and smaller). I was so delighted with the results and
the bread was delicious!! One may be wondering why I'm so excited about this, but I have never made banana bread by myself or any recipe that was as complicated as this one, so I'm quite pleased.Monday I did homework most of the day and then met my friend Matthew's cousin Catherine at the National Theater on the Southbank of the Thames. I was going to catch a bus since it was raining, but it ended up not being a very far walk, and despite the rain, it wasn't too cold. Catherine and I met in the theater lobby then went to Wagamama (a noodle place) for dinner. She gave me a whole list of stuff to check out while in London and helpful websites. She also gave me a list of cities she recommends that I visit. She was very nice and hopefully we can hang out again soon. Interestingly enough, she is in the advertising business and has recently been working on a public safety campaign that sounded really cool. If I do go into advertising I'd like to do something for the good of civilization.
Today I read a lot for my
WWII class and then I walked down to the Aldwhych Theater where they are showing Dirty Dancing Live. I passed it on the way home from Wagamama last night and thought I'd try to catch the show tonight. I arrived to buy the tickets at 6:15 and bought a £15 "restricted view" seat (which was the cheapest thing available). It was the very top, very last row of the theater, but I figured I could move down once the show started because the seats never fill up. After I bought the ticket I walked to a coffee shop nearby and read my novel until 7 when the doors opened.The seat wasn't so bad, but once people sat in front of me I couldn't see very well unless I stood up and leaned against the wall next to me. At the half-way point I moved several rows down and had a perfect view of the stage. The girls sitting near me were from Seattle (which is where my old roommate Casey lives) and so we chatted quite a bit. One of the girls had been here for 6 months and is about to move back and she told me about some shows she'd seen and suggested.
Apparently there is a "Rainman" musical that stars Josh Hartnett on the stage. I think I'm going to have to see that! lolThis is how I felt about the show: great costumes, great props, good singing, good dancing, TERRIBLE acting!! They used almost all exact lines from the movie and they sounded so phony! I don't understand why they couldn't watch the movie and act it the way it is supposed to be acted! I was sitting there thinking "I could do this so much better - it isn't supposed to sound like that, it's supposed to sound like this." But, I suppose it wasn't so bad for £15. Now I really wish I had my version of the movie to get that acting out of my head. lol
Tomorrow is class so I best get to bed.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Hampton Court Palace
Pictures (double click on photo to see big then press back button to go back to blog): 1) Arial view of Hampton Court Palace (half circle shape are gardens with The Long Water flowing to it), 2) a little finch in the gardens, 3) me in the gardens, 4) in the gardens with the palace to the right, 5) with The Long Water behind me, 6) looking back on Hampton Court Palace from behind the gates leading to the heath, 7) facing the Long Water with palace behind, 8 & 9) the roe deer, 10) the Long River - notice the moon above
Today was AMAZING! I woke up at 9:15 and Ashl
ey, one of the guys, and I left for Hampton Court Palace at 10:15. We took the tube to Waterloo train station and bought round trip tickets to the palace (about a 30 min ride). They were £6.50 ($9.62 with today's exchange rate - ick, it's gotten worse lately). Anyway, we took the 11:06 train and we thought it went straight to the Hampton Court stop, but apparently we were supposed to get off at Surbiton and switch trains. Well, we went one stop too far before we figured out our mistake, so we had to get off and wait for another train going back the direction we came from which was another 20 minutes. *sigh* But we passed the time pleasantly despite the freezing cold and the outdoor station. Once we got back on the train we switched at Surbiton and didn't have to wait very long for the next train to Hampton Court.
Ashley had already bought us tickets for the palace online the night before
for £10.50 each which was quite a good deal because they were several pounds more at the ticket office there. And, our passes came with full garden, maze, and palace access as well as free audio guides and any tours. Too bad we were later than we expected or we may have actually had time to utilize the audio guides. However, we did go on a tour at 1pm (we arrived about 12:20)and it was pretty good. The guide told us all about the Tudor lifestyle (the palace was lived in by Henry VIII (the one who had 8 wives)) and his decedents - all together, the Tudors.
There is this society called the historians or something like that who come and live at the palace now and then in 100% authentic garb, living conditions, etc. They even make food exactly the way it would have been made in the Tudor times, eat it that way, have it served that way etc. They were there yesterday and we got to watch them preparing meals. They aren't allowed to serve it to the public because of very specific laws about how food must be prepared when catered. However, when they sit down for meals the public is allowed to observe the way they eat, the way the food is brought in and out, and other customs. Unlike the things you hear about Renaissance way of life (like using lots of spices to cover up the taste of rotten meat) that sort of thing never happened in the Palace. King Henry would have only the best for his guests, and he had fresh meat year-round (which was quite rare). It also only took the servants 40 to 50 seconds to pick up the food from the kitchen and have it delivered to the table which means the dishes were never cold.
Water was not safe to drink in the 1500s because of disease, and though they didn't know why, they knew that the process used to produce beer and wine made them safe; therefore, people drank only those beverages. However, they weren't inebriated morning to night because with meals like breakfast one would have "small beer." Beer we drink today is beer after the first stage of fermenting, small beer was the 3rd or 4th stage and had so little alcohol content that by the time you drank enough to even get you tipsy you'd have exploded from too much liquid intake.
We also got to see a tapestry that Henry VIII had commissioned. There are 25 total, all still
surviving, and they are called the Abraham tapestries. They are made out of silk, gold, and silver thread and considered one of the chiefest collections of worth owned by the Queen (things like this technically get passed down to monarchy after monarchy and thus technically belong to the queen). Anyway, these tapestries may be worth a large portion of the royal jewels. I think the guide said at the time of Henry you could live quite comfortably off of £5 a year and these tapestries cost Henry about £3,000 (or maybe it was £300,000...I don't remember - but a lot!).
Before the tour the three of us went to the gardens and there aren't words to express the sheer beauty of them! I felt like I had stepped into a scene from a Jane Austen movie - with perfect, huge, cone shaped green trees and acres of green grass and flowing fountains and swans. I was in absolute awe. That is when I decided I was born for that life. lol After the tour we went to the hedge maze, though it was a bit of a let-down since in winter you can sort of see through the hedges. Then we went to a cafe that was located next to the maze and I ate my prepacked lunch
and they ordered some food. I brought cookies for everyone though since we are still eating that batch Grandma B. sent me. Mmmm.
After that we went back inside and saw some rooms lived in by King George II and Queen Caroline when they were there. When their son was 10 he was given his own "apartments" (i.e. - a set of rooms for himself) and we saw all of these. All the beds we saw looked so short but in fact they were all between 6'5" and 7'2" yet because of the width and huge tapestries hung above them they looked like midget beds.
The palace first created and lived in by Thomas Wolsey, then Archbishop of York and Chief Minister to the King, who took over the lease in 1514 and rebuilt the 14th century manor house over the next seven years (1515–1521) to form the nucleus of the present palace. Wolsey spent lavishly to build the finest palace in England at Hampton Court, which he was later forced to give to Henry as he began to fall from favour.
The palace was appropriated by Wolsey's master (Henry VIII) in about 1525, although the Cardinal continued to live there until 1529. Henry added the Great Hall — which was the last medieval Great Hall built for the English monarchy — and the Royal Tennis Court, which was built and is still in use for the game of real tennis, not the present-day version of the game. This court is now the oldest Real Tennis Court in the world that is still in use. Also, the Great Hall was used by Shakespeare to put on performances for the royals and is also believed to be the first place where Macbeth was staged. (A warder, a person who lives and works in the palace, told me this when he heard I was studying Shakespeare). The warders were all very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions - the trick was getting them to stop talking!
After that I stayed while the other 2 went back home because Ashley was going to see a stand-up comedian and didn't want to be late. I went back to the gardens and by this time the skies were very blue with white fluffy clouds and sun just streaming down. While it was still very cold, I was so unbelievably happy and could not stop smiling. I shall never take advantage of good weather again!! I walked over to the Long Water which is basically a really long and narrow man made lake that butts up to the palace gardens. It is very pretty. I attached a google satellite image of the palace and you can see the Long Water butting up to the half circle shaped gardens.
There are gates behind the gardens and I behind the gates a giant heath (a tract of open and uncultivated land)with trees here and there. I didn't realize you could go past the gate, but these two women came through so I realized it was unlocked. There was no one around and it was such a beautiful day so I kept walking. In the distance I thought I saw some animals, and the closer I got I realized that they were deer - and they weren't behind a fence or anything. I kept
walking toward them expecting them to bolt, but they didn't. I ended up getting so close I could have touched them and I walked right through them. I was a little scared because I'd never been so close to wild creatures before and I guess if they'd had a mind to do so, they could have charged me. I later asked a guard what kind of deer were back there and he said the ones who let me get close were probably the roe deer because the red deer are more skittish. They had antlers that looked a bit like moose antlers. Anyway, I couldn't believe it - getting closer to deer than I ever had in London of all places!
Once I got back into the gardens there were a bunch of students taking pictures and I heard
their American accents so I asked where they were from and they said California. They were absolutely freezing. When they left California it was 75 degrees. I think they must have just arrived in London because if you still aren't dressing warmly after a month here, you're just an idiot. I was wearing 2 pair of socks, 2 pair of long johns under my jeans, a silk long-sleeved undershirt under my sweater which was under my peacoat. And I never walk out without gloves! I also had my ear-flap hat. Anyway, I took some pictures for their group and one of them took a picture with me standing in front of The Long Water.
On the train ride home an old gentleman was sitting across from me who was out in London for a special church service and was going all the way home to Plymouth in the county of Devon in the SW of England. We talked about the beauty of the day and his daughter in Germany who he's going to visit this year. He also told me a few places he thought I should go see while I'm here. He said many people go to Land's End (yes, it's a real place) to see the sunset over the water there. It looks like a lovely coastal town. Maybe I'll go there for a day or two at some point.
Anyway, it was an absolutely lovely day and I can't wait to go back to Hampton Court and see the things I didn't get a chance to see! Today is beautiful as well, but I think I will just stay in and get some homework done. *sighs* Oh that pesky school work ;)
Today was AMAZING! I woke up at 9:15 and Ashl
ey, one of the guys, and I left for Hampton Court Palace at 10:15. We took the tube to Waterloo train station and bought round trip tickets to the palace (about a 30 min ride). They were £6.50 ($9.62 with today's exchange rate - ick, it's gotten worse lately). Anyway, we took the 11:06 train and we thought it went straight to the Hampton Court stop, but apparently we were supposed to get off at Surbiton and switch trains. Well, we went one stop too far before we figured out our mistake, so we had to get off and wait for another train going back the direction we came from which was another 20 minutes. *sigh* But we passed the time pleasantly despite the freezing cold and the outdoor station. Once we got back on the train we switched at Surbiton and didn't have to wait very long for the next train to Hampton Court. Ashley had already bought us tickets for the palace online the night before
for £10.50 each which was quite a good deal because they were several pounds more at the ticket office there. And, our passes came with full garden, maze, and palace access as well as free audio guides and any tours. Too bad we were later than we expected or we may have actually had time to utilize the audio guides. However, we did go on a tour at 1pm (we arrived about 12:20)and it was pretty good. The guide told us all about the Tudor lifestyle (the palace was lived in by Henry VIII (the one who had 8 wives)) and his decedents - all together, the Tudors. There is this society called the historians or something like that who come and live at the palace now and then in 100% authentic garb, living conditions, etc. They even make food exactly the way it would have been made in the Tudor times, eat it that way, have it served that way etc. They were there yesterday and we got to watch them preparing meals. They aren't allowed to serve it to the public because of very specific laws about how food must be prepared when catered. However, when they sit down for meals the public is allowed to observe the way they eat, the way the food is brought in and out, and other customs. Unlike the things you hear about Renaissance way of life (like using lots of spices to cover up the taste of rotten meat) that sort of thing never happened in the Palace. King Henry would have only the best for his guests, and he had fresh meat year-round (which was quite rare). It also only took the servants 40 to 50 seconds to pick up the food from the kitchen and have it delivered to the table which means the dishes were never cold.
Water was not safe to drink in the 1500s because of disease, and though they didn't know why, they knew that the process used to produce beer and wine made them safe; therefore, people drank only those beverages. However, they weren't inebriated morning to night because with meals like breakfast one would have "small beer." Beer we drink today is beer after the first stage of fermenting, small beer was the 3rd or 4th stage and had so little alcohol content that by the time you drank enough to even get you tipsy you'd have exploded from too much liquid intake.
We also got to see a tapestry that Henry VIII had commissioned. There are 25 total, all still
surviving, and they are called the Abraham tapestries. They are made out of silk, gold, and silver thread and considered one of the chiefest collections of worth owned by the Queen (things like this technically get passed down to monarchy after monarchy and thus technically belong to the queen). Anyway, these tapestries may be worth a large portion of the royal jewels. I think the guide said at the time of Henry you could live quite comfortably off of £5 a year and these tapestries cost Henry about £3,000 (or maybe it was £300,000...I don't remember - but a lot!).Before the tour the three of us went to the gardens and there aren't words to express the sheer beauty of them! I felt like I had stepped into a scene from a Jane Austen movie - with perfect, huge, cone shaped green trees and acres of green grass and flowing fountains and swans. I was in absolute awe. That is when I decided I was born for that life. lol After the tour we went to the hedge maze, though it was a bit of a let-down since in winter you can sort of see through the hedges. Then we went to a cafe that was located next to the maze and I ate my prepacked lunch
and they ordered some food. I brought cookies for everyone though since we are still eating that batch Grandma B. sent me. Mmmm.After that we went back inside and saw some rooms lived in by King George II and Queen Caroline when they were there. When their son was 10 he was given his own "apartments" (i.e. - a set of rooms for himself) and we saw all of these. All the beds we saw looked so short but in fact they were all between 6'5" and 7'2" yet because of the width and huge tapestries hung above them they looked like midget beds.
The palace first created and lived in by Thomas Wolsey, then Archbishop of York and Chief Minister to the King, who took over the lease in 1514 and rebuilt the 14th century manor house over the next seven years (1515–1521) to form the nucleus of the present palace. Wolsey spent lavishly to build the finest palace in England at Hampton Court, which he was later forced to give to Henry as he began to fall from favour.
The palace was appropriated by Wolsey's master (Henry VIII) in about 1525, although the Cardinal continued to live there until 1529. Henry added the Great Hall — which was the last medieval Great Hall built for the English monarchy — and the Royal Tennis Court, which was built and is still in use for the game of real tennis, not the present-day version of the game. This court is now the oldest Real Tennis Court in the world that is still in use. Also, the Great Hall was used by Shakespeare to put on performances for the royals and is also believed to be the first place where Macbeth was staged. (A warder, a person who lives and works in the palace, told me this when he heard I was studying Shakespeare). The warders were all very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions - the trick was getting them to stop talking!
After that I stayed while the other 2 went back home because Ashley was going to see a stand-up comedian and didn't want to be late. I went back to the gardens and by this time the skies were very blue with white fluffy clouds and sun just streaming down. While it was still very cold, I was so unbelievably happy and could not stop smiling. I shall never take advantage of good weather again!! I walked over to the Long Water which is basically a really long and narrow man made lake that butts up to the palace gardens. It is very pretty. I attached a google satellite image of the palace and you can see the Long Water butting up to the half circle shaped gardens.
There are gates behind the gardens and I behind the gates a giant heath (a tract of open and uncultivated land)with trees here and there. I didn't realize you could go past the gate, but these two women came through so I realized it was unlocked. There was no one around and it was such a beautiful day so I kept walking. In the distance I thought I saw some animals, and the closer I got I realized that they were deer - and they weren't behind a fence or anything. I kept
walking toward them expecting them to bolt, but they didn't. I ended up getting so close I could have touched them and I walked right through them. I was a little scared because I'd never been so close to wild creatures before and I guess if they'd had a mind to do so, they could have charged me. I later asked a guard what kind of deer were back there and he said the ones who let me get close were probably the roe deer because the red deer are more skittish. They had antlers that looked a bit like moose antlers. Anyway, I couldn't believe it - getting closer to deer than I ever had in London of all places! Once I got back into the gardens there were a bunch of students taking pictures and I heard
their American accents so I asked where they were from and they said California. They were absolutely freezing. When they left California it was 75 degrees. I think they must have just arrived in London because if you still aren't dressing warmly after a month here, you're just an idiot. I was wearing 2 pair of socks, 2 pair of long johns under my jeans, a silk long-sleeved undershirt under my sweater which was under my peacoat. And I never walk out without gloves! I also had my ear-flap hat. Anyway, I took some pictures for their group and one of them took a picture with me standing in front of The Long Water. 
On the train ride home an old gentleman was sitting across from me who was out in London for a special church service and was going all the way home to Plymouth in the county of Devon in the SW of England. We talked about the beauty of the day and his daughter in Germany who he's going to visit this year. He also told me a few places he thought I should go see while I'm here. He said many people go to Land's End (yes, it's a real place) to see the sunset over the water there. It looks like a lovely coastal town. Maybe I'll go there for a day or two at some point.
Anyway, it was an absolutely lovely day and I can't wait to go back to Hampton Court and see the things I didn't get a chance to see! Today is beautiful as well, but I think I will just stay in and get some homework done. *sighs* Oh that pesky school work ;)
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