So here's my update because I've been horribly busy with midterms....but they're over woohoo!!!
So last week (October 6th week) my field trip was to the old theater district of London in Southwark (pronounced So-work). We talked primarily about how in the 17th century theater was originally thought of as being just as 'wicked' as prostitutes. So although once playing in local bars they were moved south of the Thames to Southwark. There the playwrites and theater company owners would perform in local Inn Yards for people passing through. Many heading to Canterbury on pilgrimages. We started at Monument Tube station where there is a large monument dedicated to the great fire of 1666. We then walked past pudding lane, the origin of the fire, and saw children's art on display of their depictions of the fire.
robert hoWell anyhow we walked the route of the Inn Yards, stopping at the "St. George' one of the oldest Inns in London and then heading past the original site of Shakespeare's Globe. Unforunately excavation isn't possible because the appartments on top of the land are protected by the state (which is ironic). So they can't break down the buildings to find the full site...but from what they did find it is now marked with colored brick where parts of the building were found around the 'now protected apartments'. The theaters originally burnt down several times because of the thatched roofs which is why in 1997 an American had the idea to build a reconstruction. It is to the best of their ability what they think it would have looked like. They were allowed to used thatch despite the fact that it is banned in London (this is because they installed a full sprinkler system off the top of the roof. Today the Globe puts on plays in the summer almost as authentically as they were put on 300 years ago. The inn yard is where people stand, it fits around 700, but in the old days would have accommodated around 1000 (today there is fire code). The theaters were a roudy place for the poor and middle class to go for entertainment. They were allowed to bring alcohol and food (as you still can today) and were encouraged to get roudy and involved with the action of the play...for example becoming outraged during Romeo and Juliet when Mercuccio is killed. The sides were where the wealthy would sit as it was considered the best view...you would show yourself off by dressing very well. When the Queen has attended plays in recent years she sits one level up on the sides.
We also went past the original 'Clink' prison, very interesting. Here are some pictures of my trip:
In order
*Pudding Lane where the great fire of 1666 began.
*A child's dipiction of the great fire hanging nearby
*View of tower bridge while walking over London Bridge
*End of london bridge: note the dragon that marks the edge of the city of London
*Also my professor in the glasses in the far right.
*The reconstruction of the Globe
*The stage from upper seats.
Note the real trap doors on the stage in lighter colored wood.
On Thursday I went to Wicked, again! It was just amazing, almost the same cast...then went out with friends to a study abroad students 22nd birthday...being on a guest list is cool...you get to cut long lines and not pay cover charge!
On Friday I went to Windsor with Tim. Windsor is creepy familiar to me. I remember my way around....it's odd. Also I know the location of McDonald's and Pizza Hut in Windsor...they are still there....tragically Haagen-Dazz has closed up shop. It was a beautiful day. We got an audio tour of Windsor which took us about 3 hours to do the entire castle. We saw Queen Mary's Dollhouse. In the 1920s Queen Marys cousin had the idea to make a dollhouse at 1:11 scale. It is over 3 feet tall and has working plumbing and electric! I wasn't allowed to take pictures so I grabbed one from offline.
We saw all inside the royal appartments which has far too many histoical items to name a few include: a cape from Napoleon, coats of arms for knights dating back hundreds of years and suits of armor dating back hundreds of years. Again pictures weren't allowed but there were beautiful rooms. My favorite was the grand dining room dedicated to the battle of Waterloo where Napoleon was finally defeated. There were large portraits of the men involved with this battle and his defeat: from politicians, to generals to the pope (the artist had to travel to Rome to get the Pope's portrait as he was old and too frail to travel). In the middle of the 3-4 story ceiling room is a long dining table. I laughed thinking that there actually is a table that could fit our entire family. It had somewhere around 60-80 chairs. We had to 'evacuate' at one point for a 'fire-drill' I am unsure of the truth of this because as we exited we realized the flags on top of the round tower had changed. When the queen is not there they fly the union jack (British flag) HOWEVER....when the Queen is in residence at Windsor they fly the royal families coat of arms...WHICH WAS FLYING when we left the royal apartments...really cool. The fake fire drill was cool though we got to use secret staircases that the Queen uses...or so they told us. So finishing up our tour we saw the abbey in the castle and headed out to check out some of the local shops.
We walked down to the Thames and across to the college town of Eton. Both William and Harry attended college, 'high school' there as have 18 prime ministers throughout history.
Below:
*approaching Windsor by train (if you click to enlarge you can see its the British flag)
*Inside the castle overlooking Eton
*NOTE: the change of flag!
*Alone the Thames with the bridge crossing to Eton in the distance.
So Saturday was studying mostly and then that night went to a tapas bar with friends. Sunday was beautiful! I want to say it got near 70. I was hot walking around in a t-shirt and jeans. I decided to take a walk around Hyde Park with Tim. It was jam packed with people, I think there may have been a marathon or event in the city because it was a little crazy. First we went to the Princess Diana memorial. This is the first picture below. Now at first I was shocked that there were children and people walking around the loop of the memorial in the water. Children were swimming in their underwear and others were just cooling off their feet. But once you sit there a while you realize what a piece of beauty it is bringing people together and creating community. It was lovely to see the children playing and having fun on a hot October day. Then we continued around Kensington Park, as you can see Kensington Palace in the picture below. Lastly I wanted to find the Peter Pan statue which we did! Right before we got there i felt a passing shove on my shoulder....I thought I was getting robbed....it was a friend jogging and trying to scare me....haha, very funny. (well it kind of was).
So carrying on this week was really really really really tough with papers and midterms but I'm sitting 9 hours away from a flight to Barcelona so I won't carry on too much about how sleep deprived and miserable I was...it's midterms...not Christmas, oh well. Speaking of there are already Christmas decorations up and Christmas themed candy, cards etc. They don't really have Thanksgiving and Halloween to break apart the fall. HOWEVER, Halloween has just started to be celebrated...I saw 3 little witches walking around with bags of candy today...a little early? They now sell costumes and candy for the occasion.
Anyhow Wednesday this week we took a trip to Westminster Abbey for our Trip. It really was so beautiful! I plan on trying to make it to a mass while I'm here. I thought of Nana while inside, if she didn't see it I'm sure she would have loved it. Inside are buried almost the entire monarchy as well as Darwin (who has my birthday), Sir Issac Newton (Da Vinci Code readers will know this) and Lewis Carrol. When there is a coronation in Westminster it takes 6 months to prepare, truly crazy pre-planning goes on. Inside there are many side rooms with knights coat of arms, many many many more tombs, and the original meeting place of the House of Commons....parliament is made up of the House of Lords (noble) and the House of Commons (elected) I forgot my camera but here are some pictures.
I'm really excited I'll hopefully be able to see you all at Thanksgiving, given there is a computer with Skype and internet!!!
Okay, by now I may be back from the cruise...
Maybe not...anyhow I'll leave you off with some pictures from my neighborhood and the area that I live in:
*my street
*my dorm
*Builder's Arm, pub at the end of the street
*Whole foods which is my second home
*High Street Kensington and tube stop.
And finally some pictures on recent (and not so recent because I don't update often enough) weekends out with friends:
*The Underground
*Me and Ashley with a tube map....tube maps rule our lives
*Britannia Pub....Stu, Tim, Me and Ashley.
*At Oneil's with Tim....no idea who the creeper on the right is.
*Oneils with Ashley and Brad
*Term Party with Stu and Matt
OH and I forgot....I went on a spree this week all in one night booked Dublin, Amsterdam and a trip back to Rome (because I decided I cannot possibly see the eternal city in one day) :o)
Lots of love...missing you all so so much.
-Kate
(Map of where I'll be in Wales....its part of the Pembrokeshire National Park Region...supposedly beautiful)
