Hello, all! I do hope you've not missed me too terribly much since the last time. This has honestly been the busiest week for me ever. Trying to fit homework and everything I've not done yet in London in 24 hours is hard work, but somehow, I've been able to manage homework and fun - now I'm having more fun than doing homework, which is as it should be. I love London!
So, I supposed, once again, I should start where I left off...
4 November 2007: Church and a movie
Sunday = church as always and this week we went to Wembley. Although, it was very awkward. How? I'll see if I can explain. We got to church as usual and the people are so nice, but apparently, there had been some disputes during class that I really don't know the details of. Halfway through service, some guy walked up the little aisle, said something to the preacher, and then the preacher got up and made an announcement - he asked that all visitors please leave because the church family had something they needed to discuss. We, being guests, left - though we felt like we shouldn't, but we thought it might be something they really didn't want very many people to know about. So we all went home, confused and worried. What had the aisle guy said to the preacher? Later that evening, we all found out. A friend of Dr. Tullos's knows someone in the States who knows someone that goes to Wembley very closely. He told us that his friend had talked to the Wembley member and the church was talking about a split. Keep in mind, this is the biggest Church of Christ in England - with a top attendance on Sunday at about 60 people. A split in a church like that is a VERY big deal, as it would in any other church. But because Wembley is so small and need so much encouragement, we were very disheartened. Please everyone keep them in your prayers. We do not know hardly any details, but they need encouragement.
After church, I went to ASDA, then the flat, did some homework and watched John Tucker Must Die and The Holiday with Courtney and Liz. Good girl time - serenaded by the Guy Fawkes fireworks in the background. It was heavenly! What a great night! And then I went to bed because sleep is a very good thing.
5 November 2007: A guy, some fireworks, and a walk
So, for all of you who don't know, November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day. This is the only holiday the English have between Halloween and Christmas, and it's kind of a big deal. Guy Fawkes, Catholic, was one of over 10 men who plotted to blow up Parliament at the opening. However, they made a mistake. There was one man in Parliament that the plotters were friends with, so they sent him a letter telling him not to go to the opening of Parliament. He found this suspicious and showed the letter to other members of Parliament. They figured that someone was going to try something, so they set out to search the Parliament Building and found Guy waiting for the exact right time to light 36 tons of gunpowder and blow the Protestant Parliament to Kingdom Come. They arrested him, tortured him, he broke a few names, hung just before he died, drawn and quartered, beheaded, and then burned. His head was placed on the Tower Bridge to remind people NOT to mess with Parliament. Cool, huh? So the English celebrate the the Catholics did not overcome the Protestants. Thus, an amazing holiday weekend with bonfires, fireworks, and the burning of Guy in effigy. SOO much fun! Unfortunately, I was not able to see any bonfires - apparently they do not to bonfires on the actual 5th of November which made me sad, but I did see a pretty good fireworks show. I went with nearly my entire flat and we had so much fun! There was a parade with paper lanterns from an elementary school in the area who wanted to put on a show. It was about the cutest thing I've ever seen!
After the show, a few of us didn't want to go back to the flat, so we walked the Thames River...at night...in the cold. But it was amazing!!! Walked across the Golden Jubilee Bridge, which is the funny looking bridge - almost a suspension bridge, but not. It looks like a clipper on top of the water. Pretty cool. Saw Big Ben at night again. I love him at night. Tried to get another video of him bonging, but my camera died...sad day. Then we took the tube back to the flat because it is not a good idea for girls to walk down Tottenham Court Road at night - pretty scary stuff. But I had a great time! I love Guy Fawkes Day!
6 November 2007: The Queen's home, Diagon Alley, and a bunch of dead guy's paintings
This was a Tuesday, which means FIELD TRIP!! Except, this time, we stayed in London and went to the Opening of Parliament. We did not actually see the Opening persay, but we did get to see a wonderful parade that walked down the Mall from Buckingham Palace. That's right - I saw Buckingham Palace!! We got there about 2 hours before anything started to get a good seat, and man, did it get crowded. Why was this a big deal? As you could probably guess, Buckingham Palace is the Queen's home. There was a parade down the front of her home - who wouldn't want to see that?! I saw the funny guards with their mink hats, but in grey coats instead of their usual red costumes. But they were pretty sweet. The horses I saw were ALL so GORGEOUS!! The Queen takes VERY good care of her horses. They're all big and beautiful - some of the prettiest I have ever seen. So the parade went in front of the Palace and then, it happened. Why was everyone there? Because the Queen was going to Parliament to open in and everyone wanted to see her. That's right. I saw the Queen of England!! Wahoo! She was in her pretty gold and red carriage, dressed in white, but looking absolutely goregous in her old age. The princes did not make an appearance, which probably saddened every girl in the audience, including myself. They're just too cute. But I got to see her, and the Prime Minister, but I didn't really care about him that much. Dude, I saw the QUEEN! Then, there was a 41 gun salute in Green Park that I did not know was going to happen so I only go to see the smoke the cannons were setting off in perfectly round circles. I can only imagine what war must have sounded like way-back-when because just one of those cannons was almost deafening and shook the ground - and we were pretty far away from them.
After that, I decided that I really didn't want to go back to the flat, even though I had homework that I had to do (me being the amazing student that I am....*cough* not *cough*....I wanted to pat myself on the back for going to have fun! Wahoo! So, what did I do? I went on a Harry Potter scavenger hunt. That's right - I went to several of the places that appear in the movies. It was so cool! I saw Diagon Alley (which is Ooo so cute decorated for Christmas!), the Leaky Cauldron, the inside of Gringotts, but I couldn't take a picture of that, and the front of the Leaky Cauldron (which is actually a pub in the Burough Market). I don't think I have time to see the suburb that was used for Privet Drive and I have yet to see the Great Hall, but I know exactly where it is. I want to go back!! But that hunt was SOO much fun!! I felt like such a nerd, but i felt like a good nerd. Yay for Harry Potter!!!
After that, Sasha, Kerri and I went to the Tate Britain which houses the famous paintings of dead painters I've never heard of. But they were all really cool. I saw the painting of The Lady of Shalott, which is my most favorite Tennyson poem of all time. It was so gorgeous!! I really liked this museum. I love the fact that all the best museums in London are free - that way you don't have to spend a lot of money doing some really awesome things.
After that, I went to the flat and did...nothing. Just palled around in the flat and had a good time doing NO homework. Wahoo!
7 November 2007: The Center of 0º, clipping, and Japanese food
After classes today, we headed to Greenwich, England via the Tube. The ride was really nice. For those of you who might not be aware, Greenwich is where 0º longitude is and it runs right through the little city. We went to the Royal Observatory at the top of a very steep hill, took a short tour of the surroundings, saw the very first clock that work on the sea (Harrison's clocks) and his first "pocketwatch" that didn't run with a pendulum but with all wheels. It wasn't as large as I had pictured, but it wasn't small. It was so pretty! I got my picture taken at the Prime Meridian overlooking the city. It was so cool! I stood in two hemispheres at once! Yay!!
After that, those who wanted to took a ferry down the Thames back to Embankment (near Big Ben, the next stop would be Westminster except the ferry didn't go that far). I took the ferry. We all stood on the back of the boat, but I walked all the way along the railing to the very end of the boat and just stood there embracing the magnificent airy feeling of the Thames River. I really enjoyed that. Very relaxing. The boat we took was one of those that skimmed along the top of the water, so we were going really fast and that made it even better.
Following our wondeful ferry ride, the Tullos's, Christina, and I went to Wagamama's, a Japanese restaurant. It was kind of expensive, and a good experience with Japanese food, but I don't think I will go back again...and if I do, I will get something different cause I didn't really like what I got. There was not much flavoring and nothing I could really do to change it. But I enjoyed eating with chopsticks. Yay!!
After Japanese, I went and did homework for the first time in about 3 days. I was up until all hours of the morning and both my presentations were crap, but I had a great day and I really didn't care.
8 November 2007: Winston Churchill slept in the Circle of Life
After classes (and my terrible presentations...), we went to the Cabinet War Rooms from WWII. This bunker was almost unknown to everyone in London at the time. This was the place where Winston Churchill and his cabinet members met to discuss the War, etc. Whatever important people like that talk about. I saw where the Prime Minister ate, cooked, sat at meetings, and slept. It was so cool! Everything was left exactly as it was found when the bunker was discovered in the 1970's. It was very interesting and I bought stuff for my classroom. Wahoo!!
Following a visit to the gift shop and buying stuff for my classroom, Courtney and I decided to go to Twinings. That was adventure in itself. We were on our way and it started to drizzle as we were making our way down Strand Street. No big deal. It drizzles a lot and it's just gross. Well, we continue on our way and then it starts to pour. I'm not talking just straight rain, im talking soak you to your skin (when it's already cold), make you sick kind of pouring down rain. It was nasty. We got stranded inside a shop that was devoted entirely to Doctor Who merchandise. It was kinda creepy cause we were the only girls among many guys in a strange shop....awkward. Anyway, the rain did not let up, so we went back to the flat - sopping wet. It was great!!
After that, I was back in the flat for about 15 minutes before I found out that some people were going to The Lion King that night. They knew I wanted to go, so they asked me if I wanted to join them. And of course I did!! The Lion King is (or rather was) the top spot on my list of musicals to see in my lifetime. We weren't really sure we could get tickets because it was supposedly sold out until the end of the season. But we decided to try anyway. About a hour later, we were on our way to the Lyceum Theatre off of Strand Street. We walked to the box office, all 5 of us, and asked if they had any more tickets left for the night. The lady asked if we were students so we could get the discount, and of course we were, so she looked and found 5 seats - together - on the floor - £36 cheaper than they were originally. What a deal!! So we sat in the stalls in abouut the most amazing seats ever and saw the greatest show known to man. I started crying in the first 10 seconds of it just because I had never seen anything like it in my entire life! The costumes were amazing and so was the set. I was so glad I decided to go. We were all prepared to pay £40 just to see it, but £20 is even better. Seriously, if you have ANY desire to see the greatest costumes on the face of the planet, GO SEE LION KING!! Words do NOT describe how incredible this experience was, just that I would go again in a heart beat and that I would have paid the full nearly £60 to see it if I had to. It was that good. No wonder it is ALWAYS sold out on Broadway.... AMAZING! We all bought shirts of course. Dude....
9 November 2007: Early mornings, a tea shop, cheap clothes, and a night with King Henry VIII
So apparently, this wonderful Friday was the last time we were really going to get a chance to see the changing of the guard (which I had not seen yet...), so several of us went. Actually, I got to Buckingham Palace a 9 in the morning and waited, staking out a good place to see the changing before everyone else got there about 10:30 - an hour before the event. It was so cold and I dont know HOW I FORGOT to dress warm, but I did - so I shivered for three hours. Fun.....But the changing was interesting. I dont think we stayed for the whole thing. The band started playing (Stars and Stripes Forever for some reason) and both Courtney and I were freezing so we decided to go to Twinings. This time it did not rain. It was a beautiful blue sky all the way! I bought boxes of the teas I had been trying and really liked. Now I have to ship them home. Yay!! I was so happy.
I got back to the flat and Megan was there. Liz had just gotten back from Primark and was showing off what she had gotten. I got the bright idea that I wanted to go to Primark, too and Megan wanted to as well, so went. I had been in the flat 15 minutes before I left again. What a busy week!
So, clothes shopping, which I NEVER EVER do. But I wanted a scarf and some PJ pants. So that's what I got. And let me just say, I know why so many girls here have so many clothes - it's because Primark is SOO cheap! Regular PJ pants that cost $15-$20 in the States...£4. Scarf - £3. So I bought 3 pairs of pants, a scarf and a shirt all for under £20. Isn't that amazing?! I love London. I've said that so many times, but it really is true. Yay London!!
After a wonderful hour of shopping, we got back and had to get ready for the dinner that night. Guess where we were going? A medieval dinner - 7 courses - in the hall that King Henry VIII had dinner parties in. Just think - I've eaten where the King has eaten and had a few laughs and fun times. Wahoo! I love England and their history. But the dinner was fun. I pounded the table a lot, drank a lot of coke and lemonade, ate wonderful food (the best baked chicken I have EVER had, and I don't like baked chicken) and some of the craziest games ever. It was a hoot. Henry came out, then he died and Elizabeth came to the throne. Got my picture with her. She looks good for being dead 400 years. Then we disco-ed. No really. They had a disco and we stayed for a bit afterwards, but our busdriver needed to get back seeing as it was 10:30 already and it takes a good hour to get back. Probably the most fun I've had in a really long time. I suggest everyone go to the medieval dinner if you EVER to go London. Go with a big group and it's even better.
I still got to bed later than I should have...oh well, perhaps I can make it up later...sometime...when I don't have to get up early and go places.
This past week has been the most fun packed, busy and tiring week, but I would not take it back for anything. I've enjoyed being out of the flat and exploring London and seeing more of what there is to see, going to the theatre, shopping, historical stuff. You know - the usual.
London is so amazing. I only have 3 weeks left and I plan to make the most of it in the short amount of time I have left. I have a nice list of places I still want to go.
The next week is going to be another adventure because it's another 4-day trip and Kaity, Jordan, and I are going to Cork, Ireland where the Blarney Stone is and I'm going to kiss it - and all the people who have kissed it before me. Yay!! That has to got be a world record....Hah!!
Hope y'all have a great week and I will re-post when I get back from my trip when I have the time, of course.
Cheers!
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