Well, I woke up sick today. Fever, congestion, aches, the works. Oh dear. I stopped at a drug store for some Sudafed and that helped a lot. I booked a hotel for Mom, Dad and Erin's visit in March. I did some last-minute grocery shopping for granola bars and chocolate, and I've spent the night packing and getting ready. This is going to be a big trip! My friend Amanda and I are leaving the house at 6am to catch a 9:30 flight to Milan, where we have a few hours to kill before our flight to Rome. We'll be getting to Rome around suppertime to check in at our hostel. We stay in Rome till the 28th, when we'll take a train to Florence. On the 2nd, I have a day trip booked to Siena and San Gimignano. I then go back to Rome late on the 3rd. On the 4th I have a day trip to Naples and Pompeii, then we leave for London on Saturday the 5th of March. Should be lots and lots of fun! I've just got one backpack and a purse, so I'll be travelling very lightly. While I'm there, I'll keep a hand-written journal in the pretty red book Nana sent me, then type it up and put it on this blog when I get back. I know exactly one Italian word (well, two if you count "pizza"):
Ciao!
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Tuesday 22 February 2011
February 22: I think I'm sick
I think I'm getting sick, and I'm not happy about it. Everyone I live with is sick (and I really do mean everyone. I think I'm the last to get it), so I knew it was coming, but I was hoping that I would be spared before Spring Break. Oh well, nothing I can do now but blitz it with oranges and zinc and tea and sleep. Today was pretty uneventful except for the sick thing. I had class all day long, though I went to the National Portrait Gallery in the afternoon to work on an assignment where I had to recreate drawings of famous portraits but replace the faces with my friends'. It was weird, but kind of fun. Now it's bed time!
February 21: "A Flea in Her Ear"
Today was a pretty nice day. I had class in the afternoon, but it's my favorite, Theatre, so we don't do much really. I came home for spaghetti and then headed out to the Old Victoria Theatre to see a play called "A Flea in Her Ear." It's an old turn of the century farce about a lady who thinks her husband is cheating on her, but of course he's not, so she tries to catch him but it turns out there is a man running around who looks identical to the husband so everything ends happily (of course). The actor who played the husband, Tom Hollander, is a very well-known actor (I know him as Mr. Collins in "Pride and Prejudice" and as the bad East India Trading Company guy from "Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Man's Chest") so he was really fun to watch. He played both the husband and the lookalike, and he did an amazing job. The play isn't supposed to be cultured or deep. It's just a silly farce that ends happily, which I loved. All the other actors did wonderfully as well, and it was an engaging and hilarious production that made everyone laugh. A very good night!
Monday 21 February 2011
February 20: Sunday
I decided to sleep in this morning and go out shopping by myself in the early afternoon. Literally as I walked out the door at 1pm, it started to rain. Good thing I had brought my trusty umbrella (or, as they pronounce it here, my "um-ber-ell-er"). I walked down Kensington High Street (a big shopping district just blocks away) and browsed a few stores, looking for shoes that I can wear in Italy for Spring Break, which is just days away. I had no luck, but I saved the most promising for last, a place that some friends had said was a decent place for well-priced clothes and shoes. I got very lucky in the clothes, and found a few things that I really liked, and just as I was walking over to the shoes, a lady trying on a pair of super-high heels stood up, tripped, and slammed straight into my back, sending me careening into a boot display with boots hung on metal hooks coming out of a portable display wall. It hurt. A lot. A whole lot, actually. I had hit the display head-on, and knocked most of it down. The metal hooks had hit me all over as they came crashing down on me, so I have bruises in weird places. The worst damage was to my left knee, where I had landed, and to my chest, where one of the metal hooks hit me like a lance. Everyone in the store came rushing over saying "Oh my goodness! Are you ok? Did you hurt your head? Did it poke your eye?" At least, everyone except the lady who had shoved me. She just looked at the mess with me on the floor in the middle and the nice ladies trying to extract me from the metal hooks which had tangled with my hair and scarf and coat, and said "Oh" and walked away, took the shoes off and left. I hope a pigeon poops on her.
Anyway, I was pretty banged-up so I came straight home and iced my knee. I'm disappointed because I really do need new shoes before Italy, since I ruined my boots walking through puddles in Dublin a few weeks ago. Hopefully I'll be able to go later in the week. On the plus side, I stopped in at Marks & Spencer (which has a ridiculously good food hall) just before the store where the nasty lady pushed me, and I had a whole package of wonderful Marks & Spencer cookies, which was a perfect pick-me-up (somewhat literally).
Anyway, I was pretty banged-up so I came straight home and iced my knee. I'm disappointed because I really do need new shoes before Italy, since I ruined my boots walking through puddles in Dublin a few weeks ago. Hopefully I'll be able to go later in the week. On the plus side, I stopped in at Marks & Spencer (which has a ridiculously good food hall) just before the store where the nasty lady pushed me, and I had a whole package of wonderful Marks & Spencer cookies, which was a perfect pick-me-up (somewhat literally).
February 19: A very nice day
I had big plans for today, but nothing huge ever materialized. I had wanted to go to the Portobello Road street market, but it was very rainy this morning, and that just didn't seem too fun. So, instead I stayed home and watched American TV shows on my computer. Oh, how I miss being able to just channel surf. Here we have 3 British channels on a tiny television and the clickers don't have any batteries, so obviously none of us ever bother turning it on much. Later in the day I went shopping with some friends. I just didn't bring enough clothes with me, so I really need to enhance my wardrobe. I got a pinkish-orange colored top and some slate-gray leggings to go with it, and a black cardigan because I just can't live without one. I had some wonderful leftover spaghetti for supper and hit the sack early. Woo-hoo!
Saturday 19 February 2011
February 18: Hotels and a Musical
I spent today searching for a suitable hotel for my family for when they come to visit me. I walked all over the Kensington area. I wish I'd had something to measure how far I walked, becuase I bet it was several miles. It was colder outside than it looked, so when I got too chilly I stopped by the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaurs and get Erin a present I'd seen there the last time I'd visited. I found a few places that seem worth looking in to, and a few that I wouldn't return to if someone paid me. I decided to make another "quick" stop at Sainsbury's since I was walking past it anyway, which became a very long trip when the checkout lines got crazy. For some reason the English haven't discovered an efficient way to check out at the grocery store. There was a gentleman who wanted to use a coupon that took 10 minutes to get through the checkout, then a lady whose milk carton was leaking so she demanded a new one but the employee kept telling her he'd just put her leaky one in a bag and it would be fine and she kept explaining that that was unacceptable and she needed a new one that took a good 15 minutes while I stood there with my jar of cinnamon, bag of brown sugar, box of tea and clump of bananas waiting and waiting and waiting. After half an hour of waiting in the checkout, it was so late when I got home I didn't even have time to make the wonderful new tea I'd just bought. Oh well, dinner time.
I made spaghetti for supper, which turned out great. I had half a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer, so it turned out to be a fantastic meal. After supper I decided I wanted to do something fun besides go out to a club like my flatmates were planning, so my friend Mandy and I headed to Leicester Square to find the half-price theater ticket booth. We got there at 7 because of horrific traffic, which was later than we had hoped (we'd left at 6 and the shows mostly start at 7:30). The nice men at the TKTS booth (the only official one) were very helpful, but the tickets they had available all seemed relatively expensive, with nothing lower than 35 pounds. We really didn't want to pay so much, so just as we were resigning ourselves to a night at the movie theatre, the guy told us to try the theatres themselves, because they often sold really cheap tickets just before the shows started. He even gave us a map to find the Prince Edward Theatre, where a musical called "Jersey Boys" was playing. I've seen the show before, but it was back in high school and I was sick, and I loved the music and my friend really wanted to see it, so we decided to run. By some miracle, we got there at 7:10 and were able to get to the box office. We had decided if they had anything for 20 pounds or under we'd buy tickets, and the lady said she had "obscured view" seats for 20 pounds, which seemed fine to us. She said there was a railing in the way, but we figured oh well, we'll take it, but then two perfect seats became suddenly available for 20 pounds so we took those instead. It was PERFECT! We had gotten there just in time! We found our seats, which were in the farthest back row, way the heck above the stage (I suddenly understood why the lady had asked us if we were afraid of heights before we could buy the tickets), but dead center and we had a great view. I love this musical so much! It tells the story of Frankie Valli and the band "The Four Seasons" through its music, so it's great fun because you recognize every song. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the show, and the songs will be stuck in my head for a looooooooong time!
I made spaghetti for supper, which turned out great. I had half a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer, so it turned out to be a fantastic meal. After supper I decided I wanted to do something fun besides go out to a club like my flatmates were planning, so my friend Mandy and I headed to Leicester Square to find the half-price theater ticket booth. We got there at 7 because of horrific traffic, which was later than we had hoped (we'd left at 6 and the shows mostly start at 7:30). The nice men at the TKTS booth (the only official one) were very helpful, but the tickets they had available all seemed relatively expensive, with nothing lower than 35 pounds. We really didn't want to pay so much, so just as we were resigning ourselves to a night at the movie theatre, the guy told us to try the theatres themselves, because they often sold really cheap tickets just before the shows started. He even gave us a map to find the Prince Edward Theatre, where a musical called "Jersey Boys" was playing. I've seen the show before, but it was back in high school and I was sick, and I loved the music and my friend really wanted to see it, so we decided to run. By some miracle, we got there at 7:10 and were able to get to the box office. We had decided if they had anything for 20 pounds or under we'd buy tickets, and the lady said she had "obscured view" seats for 20 pounds, which seemed fine to us. She said there was a railing in the way, but we figured oh well, we'll take it, but then two perfect seats became suddenly available for 20 pounds so we took those instead. It was PERFECT! We had gotten there just in time! We found our seats, which were in the farthest back row, way the heck above the stage (I suddenly understood why the lady had asked us if we were afraid of heights before we could buy the tickets), but dead center and we had a great view. I love this musical so much! It tells the story of Frankie Valli and the band "The Four Seasons" through its music, so it's great fun because you recognize every song. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the show, and the songs will be stuck in my head for a looooooooong time!
February 17: Banqueting House and Portrait Gallery
For History class today, we went to see the Banqueting House. I knew literally nothing about this place before we went, but the professor gave us a good tour. The house had been part of the Whitehall Palace complex that burned down a long time ago. The Banqueting House was the only building that survived. It's apparently another architectural marvel, like Queen's House in Greenwich, done by the same architect. It's neo-Classical design "revolutionized" English architecture. Personally, I like the Gothic and Tudor styles just fine. Anyway, it's basically just a big rectangular building. It's function was just to hold banquets and masques and other royal entertainments for foreign dignitaries. It has a very ornately painted roof by Rubens depicting cherubs crowning James I, who had a bit of an obsession with the concept of the "Divine Right of Kings" (the idea that God made kings into Gods on Earth, so they were special), comissioned by his son Charles I, who got into some pretty darn serious trouble for his and his father's notions of kingship. The Banqueting House was the site of Charles I's exectution. I had always assumed he'd been beheaded at the Tower, or Marble Arch, or some other traditional execution place, but turns out they build a scaffold on the outside of the Banqueting House just for the occasion. The other interesting thing about the Banqueting House is it's where Mary and William of Orange were formally crowned in 1689.
We then went to the National Portrait Gallery to browse. We didn't have much time there, since it was getting close to dinner time and I was starving, so I went straight to the Tudor rooms with a friend to see the paintings. I will definitely be coming back, because there is no way I could see it all in such a short time. Just in the half hour or so I was there, I learned that a painting of Edward VI, Henry VIII's son, had been recently put through an x-ray type machine, and they had discovered that it had probably been started when he was a prince, then changed once he became king to show him as taller and more manly (even though the kid was all of nine). I also learned that some of the most famous pictures of Henry VIII's wives were done after their deaths and that there was a horrific and unfortunate fashion trend for nasty little pointy mustaches somewhere in the 1700s. Obviously I will need to explore that further.
I came home to make myself stir fry. I had a big bag of mixed veggies that I threw in a pan with soy sauce, lots of ginger and lots of garlic, a bag of pre-cooked noodles that only needed to be warmed up in a pan and I pan fried a chicken breast with more ginger and garlic. It was an absolutely heavenly meal, and I can't wait to eat the leftovers!
We then went to the National Portrait Gallery to browse. We didn't have much time there, since it was getting close to dinner time and I was starving, so I went straight to the Tudor rooms with a friend to see the paintings. I will definitely be coming back, because there is no way I could see it all in such a short time. Just in the half hour or so I was there, I learned that a painting of Edward VI, Henry VIII's son, had been recently put through an x-ray type machine, and they had discovered that it had probably been started when he was a prince, then changed once he became king to show him as taller and more manly (even though the kid was all of nine). I also learned that some of the most famous pictures of Henry VIII's wives were done after their deaths and that there was a horrific and unfortunate fashion trend for nasty little pointy mustaches somewhere in the 1700s. Obviously I will need to explore that further.
I came home to make myself stir fry. I had a big bag of mixed veggies that I threw in a pan with soy sauce, lots of ginger and lots of garlic, a bag of pre-cooked noodles that only needed to be warmed up in a pan and I pan fried a chicken breast with more ginger and garlic. It was an absolutely heavenly meal, and I can't wait to eat the leftovers!
Wednesday: "Vernon God Little"
Today was a big day. I had lots of work to get done in the morning, then class in the afternoon, and I decided I needed a big trip to the grocery store. That means going all the way to Sainsbury's, which is quite a hike but cheaper than the closer grocery, Waitrose. I brought my empty backpack and a big grocery tote with me and got all the essentials I'd need for the next week. I came home and made a wonderful dinner for myself: pan-fried chicken breast marinaded with garlic and ginger, and mini portobello mushroom caps with the same marinade. It turned out amazing! SUCH a good meal!
After dinner we had a play to go to at the "Young Victoria Theatre," or the "New Vic" as it's called (as opposed to the "Old Vic," which we'll be seeing next week). The theatre was really interesting. At first I didn't know what to think, but after awhile I really liked it. It had long padded benches with backs instead of individual seats, but the benches were comfy and well made, so that wasn't a problem. The stage juts out into the audience on three sides, so the actors get up close and personal, and we were in the first three rows, so they were really close. The funnest part was that patron's names had been inscribed into the backs of the benches, and etched into the one in front of me was "Patrick Stewart, OBE" (Order of the British Empire), who is my all-time favorite actor. He's well known for being one of THE best Shakespearean actors of this time, as well as starring in several popular movies and of course my favorite of all his roles: He plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise in "Star Trek: Next Generation," the best of all the Star Treks.
I was not excited to see the play. Our theatre professor had given us a plot summary ahead of time so we knew what to expect, and it was about the aftermath of a fictional high school shooting in Texas. The plot basically revolves around a 17-year-old whose best friend was the gunman who had killed a bunch of classmates and then himself, and now the best friend, the only survivor, is thought to be an accomplice, and must clear his name, but no one will believe that he is innocent. I have to say, I appreciated the quality of the play, but I did not like it one bit. It was full of pain and suffering and I just don't like that. It's billed as a "dark comedy," so a lot of the reviews talked about how funny it was, but personally I didn't find making jokes about horrible, tragic events to be funny in the least, and the vast majority of my classmates agreed. Maybe we also were slightly offended by the American stereotypes the play presented. It showed all Americans as being gun-toting rednecks who swear constantly and aren't smart enough to see the truth or compassionate enough to care. It was a very disturbing play. On the other hand, it used music in a very interesting and compelling way. The dead shooter friend would come on and sing a lot, and the actor was absolutely incredible. He did a lot of popular American songs, everything from Johnny Cash to bluegrass gospel. I think the wonderful music made the play palatable for me. I won't go into the details of the show, because I don't really want to remember it long-term, but the talent was good, I just didn't like the show. Also, it was pretty funny to see Brits attempt Texas accents. The bad guy got his spot-on, but the main character, his mother and other main characters really messed up a lot.
After dinner we had a play to go to at the "Young Victoria Theatre," or the "New Vic" as it's called (as opposed to the "Old Vic," which we'll be seeing next week). The theatre was really interesting. At first I didn't know what to think, but after awhile I really liked it. It had long padded benches with backs instead of individual seats, but the benches were comfy and well made, so that wasn't a problem. The stage juts out into the audience on three sides, so the actors get up close and personal, and we were in the first three rows, so they were really close. The funnest part was that patron's names had been inscribed into the backs of the benches, and etched into the one in front of me was "Patrick Stewart, OBE" (Order of the British Empire), who is my all-time favorite actor. He's well known for being one of THE best Shakespearean actors of this time, as well as starring in several popular movies and of course my favorite of all his roles: He plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise in "Star Trek: Next Generation," the best of all the Star Treks.
I was not excited to see the play. Our theatre professor had given us a plot summary ahead of time so we knew what to expect, and it was about the aftermath of a fictional high school shooting in Texas. The plot basically revolves around a 17-year-old whose best friend was the gunman who had killed a bunch of classmates and then himself, and now the best friend, the only survivor, is thought to be an accomplice, and must clear his name, but no one will believe that he is innocent. I have to say, I appreciated the quality of the play, but I did not like it one bit. It was full of pain and suffering and I just don't like that. It's billed as a "dark comedy," so a lot of the reviews talked about how funny it was, but personally I didn't find making jokes about horrible, tragic events to be funny in the least, and the vast majority of my classmates agreed. Maybe we also were slightly offended by the American stereotypes the play presented. It showed all Americans as being gun-toting rednecks who swear constantly and aren't smart enough to see the truth or compassionate enough to care. It was a very disturbing play. On the other hand, it used music in a very interesting and compelling way. The dead shooter friend would come on and sing a lot, and the actor was absolutely incredible. He did a lot of popular American songs, everything from Johnny Cash to bluegrass gospel. I think the wonderful music made the play palatable for me. I won't go into the details of the show, because I don't really want to remember it long-term, but the talent was good, I just didn't like the show. Also, it was pretty funny to see Brits attempt Texas accents. The bad guy got his spot-on, but the main character, his mother and other main characters really messed up a lot.
February 15: National Gallery
This morning I got up at 8 as usual and got ready for my 9:30 class. I think I'm getting the nasty cold that's going around. When I got to the classroom at 9:15 though, I found out that the professor had called in sick. At least it was a pretty day, so I was able to have a nice walk. In the afternoon, we went with the Museums class to the National Gallery, where lots of pretty paintings are kept. I was feeling pretty sick so I'll have to go back some time when I'm better, but it was fun to see all the famous paintings, like Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and "Wheat field with cypresses," Delaroche's "Execution of Lady Jane Grey," several of Monet's "Waterlilies," Michelangelo's "Manchester Madonna," Seurat's "Bathers," and many others. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed.
My favorite painting of all was JMW Turner's "Ulysses deriding Polyphemus." It's just lovely, done in the bright colors of a sunset, showing Odysseus/Ulysses on his ship, taunting the cyclops Polyphemus, who is represented as a dark figure in the clouds. I wish I could have taken a picture! I found a postcard of it but the colors are horrible, looking drab and grayish instead of bright and vibrant. I Googled the painting, but as you can see, the colors just don't show up as well as they should. In real life it's just stunning.
My favorite painting of all was JMW Turner's "Ulysses deriding Polyphemus." It's just lovely, done in the bright colors of a sunset, showing Odysseus/Ulysses on his ship, taunting the cyclops Polyphemus, who is represented as a dark figure in the clouds. I wish I could have taken a picture! I found a postcard of it but the colors are horrible, looking drab and grayish instead of bright and vibrant. I Googled the painting, but as you can see, the colors just don't show up as well as they should. In real life it's just stunning.
"Ulysses deriding Polyphemus," JMW Turner, 1829
The National Gallery from the outside
February 14: Monday
Today was a very pretty day. I was surprised to see sun when I opened the windows this morning. Unfortunately for me, I had lots of homework to get done, so I couldn't go for more than a short walk in the park. Oh well, its supposed to stay at least a little sunny for most of the week. Crossing my fingers for more sun!
February 13: London Aquarium
I didn't want to waste this wonderfully plan-free day, so I decided to take myself to the London Sea Life Aquarium. Since I knew the tickets were expensive at the door, I went online to see if I could get any deals, which was smart. At the door an adult ticket is something like £19, but buying an online student ticket for after 3pm only cost £11. I was a little worried about crowds and children, but I figured by afternoon they would have thinned. I was very, very wrong. There were screaming children everywhere. I hate to say it, but the British kids are the worst I've ever seen. Their parents just seem to let them scream and throw tantrums and cry in public. In the States, at least most parents tell their kids to shush or will even take them away if they're being unruly, but here the prevailing parenting idea seems to be just let them be as obnoxious as they want. It's really horrible, and not an isolated incident. Apparently it's one of the main complaints of Americans who visit the UK and Europe. I guess we just have different parenting styles or something, but wow is it obnoxious. One little girl literally screamed everything. She was yelling at the top of her lungs in a close, dark space filled to the brim with other people and her parents never even shushed her. I got bumped and stepped on and pushed by all the crazy people trying to gather round tiny little 4x4ft aquariums filled with seahorses or jellyfish or stingrays.
I had a lot of fun at the aquarium, and I'm glad I went, despite the nasty children and their pushover parents. Next time, I just will NOT go on a Sunday!
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| Upside-Down Jellyfish |
Other than the people, it was a nice trip. The aquarium was fun, though not as nice as most US aquariums. They had lots of little tanks with little fish and sea creatures to marvel at, and one really big shark and turtle tank with a plexiglass walk underneath. The little tanks were great fun to look at. I loved the seahorses and shrimp, and there were lots of different kinds to see. There was one tank just for baby stingrays next to a bigger stingray pool, with huge rays swimming over giant orange crabs. My favorite little tank housed a group of "upside-down jellyfish," which I'd never even heard of. They were pinkish jellies with short tentacles, but instead of floating with their domes facing down, dangling tentacles, they rested on their domes and waved their tentacles in the water! They were really pretty, like living pink flowers nestled in bright green weeds. I watched them for a long time. One of the funnier fishes I saw was called a "lumpsucker." He was easily the ugliest fish I have ever seen! I also enjoyed watching the flat flounders and different types of colorful little fishes. One of the best parts of the day was when I saw a display labelled "Christmas Tree Worms," which doesn't sound too exciting, but I had seen these creatures on the Discovery Channel around Christmas time and become enchanted. They are little wormy-things that poke out of rocks and stuff, but they are the brightest colors imaginable and they look like little Christmas trees in shades of blue, red, yellow, pink, purple, and orange! I tried to get pictures, but they're hard to photograph because they hide when they feel threatened, and apparently my camera was threatening, but just type in "Christmas Tree Worms" on Google Images and see the pretty pictures. They're really cool little things.
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| Sea Turtle! |
The big shark and fish tank was fun to watch, with the scary sharks and colorful schooling fishes. My favorite moment was after I had had to stand in a long line (or as they say here, long queue) with screaming children for half an hour to get into the plexiglass walkway under the tank to see the fish up close. Just as I stepped into the walkway area, a huge sea turtle swam over my head! Then another one joined it! They were much bigger than I would have guessed. I don't think I've ever seen a sea turtle quite that close before. I wish I had been allowed to use my camera's flash, because it doesn't work very well without it so my pictures are a bit dark and fuzzy. It was a great moment, in spite of the noisy children.
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| School of glass catfish. They're clear and see-through, so bigger fish can't see them well enough to eat them. I've never understood how such a big group of fish could go invisible, but now after having trouble seeing them myslef, I understand! |
The aquarium also had a freshwater section, where they kept mostly Amazon fish. They were fun to see, because many of them are species I know a lot about from my own freshwater tanks. I loved their huge herd of glass catfish. I've never seen so many schooling together at once, so that was neat. They also had a giant L177 or L018 pleco (I think they're called "Gold Nuggets" as a common name) that was really pretty. I kind of want one for a future tank.
Lumpsucker
Can you see the fish to the right of the anemone?
Jellies
Stingray, shark and crab pool
BIG stingray!
This guy looked like he was napping
Here's the Christmas Tree Worms. You can just see the tips of the bright blue ones poking out of the rocks.
Some seahorses. There were lots.
L177 Pleco
GIANT Giant Gourami. I have a cousin of his in my tank at home, named Percival. Percival is about 4 inches. This guy was about 4 feet long.
February 12: Greenwich
Today we caught a tube to the Thames riverboat services area near Westminster. Our guide met us there, and we took a big boat on the river to Greenwich. It was a very nice way to see the city. I was able to get a very different view of lots of big landmarks, like the London Eye and Tower Bridge. The only problem was that it was freezing! The boat tour probably lasted about 50 minutes, and we disembarked at Greenwich village. Greenwich is one of the farther villages of London, kind of outside the big city part. It felt like a little town. We walked through the market and towards an area that was once Greenwich Palace, then a naval complex and now belongs to several collages. We went inside The Painted Hall, which is a big building were banquets were (and are) held with a beautifully painted ceiling, and saw where Horatio Nelson lay in state in 1806 after he was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar. We then went into a church on the other side of a lawn from the Painted Hall, which was commissioned by one of the more flamboyantly decorative kings. The place looked like a doll's house church, designed by an eight-year-old girl. It was all yellow and light blue and cream swirls and curly-cues, which was kind of funny because the stone outside was decorated with things like Neptune, the sea god, looking particularly fierce and fishy. At the end of a long path down a lawn from the two buildings is the "Queen's House," which is apparently a very important architectural masterpiece. I wasn't too impressed. The reason it's remarkable is that it's literally a rectangle with symmetrical windows, painted white. It was designed by Inigo Jones, a super-famous architect hereabouts, for Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, in 1616, to incorporate classical, simple, symmetrical design rather than the usual Tudor-style redbrick buildings. Instead of going inside, I went to the Maritime Museum, but some friends did and they said it wasn't much inside either, where it's been converted to an art gallery.
After wandering the Old Royal Naval College area, we hiked over a park that will be used for the equestrian events of the 2012 Olympics, and up the big hill where the observatory sits. The view from the top of the hill was pretty spectacular. In the distance, we could even just make out the outlines of the Olympic Stadium. I went inside the Observatory and stood on the Prime Meridian, which marks the boundary between the hemispheres. That was fun.
Then, we headed back to the market for lunch and shopping. I had packed a sandwich from a shop down the road, a chicken and avocado smushed up salad on a fresh baguette for £2, best deal ever! My friends all chose different stalls to get their lunches, so we had Caribbean rice, sushi, Thai, and a "Louisiana-style grilled sausage" (back home, we call those hot dogs). We wandered the market for awhile. I got a brightly-colored silk wrap-skirt to wear dancing when I get home, and some cheap dangly earrings for fun. I also found a lovely silver ring that matches a necklace Erin loves. I got a fresh, handmade churro from a vendor at the edge of the market. He filled half with caramel and half with chocolate. It was the best churro I've ever had. After the market, a friend and I found the National Maritime Museum, and explored for awhile. We were looking for the clothes Horatio Nelson had been wearing the day of his death, but they weren't on display that day for some undisclosed reason, which was incredibly disappointing, but we did get to see the waistcoat he wore during the Battle of the Nile, which he ordered never to be washed, so it still has grease stains from his ponytail wax. After that, we headed home by boat and were back in time for dinner.
After wandering the Old Royal Naval College area, we hiked over a park that will be used for the equestrian events of the 2012 Olympics, and up the big hill where the observatory sits. The view from the top of the hill was pretty spectacular. In the distance, we could even just make out the outlines of the Olympic Stadium. I went inside the Observatory and stood on the Prime Meridian, which marks the boundary between the hemispheres. That was fun.
Then, we headed back to the market for lunch and shopping. I had packed a sandwich from a shop down the road, a chicken and avocado smushed up salad on a fresh baguette for £2, best deal ever! My friends all chose different stalls to get their lunches, so we had Caribbean rice, sushi, Thai, and a "Louisiana-style grilled sausage" (back home, we call those hot dogs). We wandered the market for awhile. I got a brightly-colored silk wrap-skirt to wear dancing when I get home, and some cheap dangly earrings for fun. I also found a lovely silver ring that matches a necklace Erin loves. I got a fresh, handmade churro from a vendor at the edge of the market. He filled half with caramel and half with chocolate. It was the best churro I've ever had. After the market, a friend and I found the National Maritime Museum, and explored for awhile. We were looking for the clothes Horatio Nelson had been wearing the day of his death, but they weren't on display that day for some undisclosed reason, which was incredibly disappointing, but we did get to see the waistcoat he wore during the Battle of the Nile, which he ordered never to be washed, so it still has grease stains from his ponytail wax. After that, we headed home by boat and were back in time for dinner.
In front of the London Eye, just before the tour
Big Ben
We're on a boat like the one in the background
I really, REALLY hope it doesn't fall down! (By the way, the old London Bridge got bought by and American and re-installed in Arizona. This is the newer, ugly, utilitarian concrete bridge that replaced it.)
This is a new building called "The Shard." When finished, it's supposed to look like a shard of glass sticking into the sky. I think it will be the tallest building in Europe when it's done.
To the right is the painted hall, to the left the church, and straight ahead is Queen's House
Ceiling of the Painted Hall
Horatio Nelson
Greenwich Park and the Observatory on top of the big hill
General James Wolfe, with a pigeon on his head
The Observatory
Prime Meridian!
Both hemispheres!
Both hemispheres agian!
Some friends and I
The Olympic Stadium, between the big skyscrapers
View of the Queen's House and Old Royal Naval College area
Churro at the market!!! SOOO happy!
The crocuses are in full bloom here!
Wednesday 16 February 2011
February 11: Windsor Palace
This morning we met the bus and guide outside our door at 10am to drive to Windsor. The drive was pretty short, around 50 minutes. Driving down the smaller roads to get to Windsor was fun. We got to see the field of Runnymede where King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215. As a tribute to that event, the field is kept in its original uninhabited state. Oddly, the United States Bar Association is the group who erected a monument there, in honor of the ideas surrounding the Magna Carta. Glimpsing the castle for the first time was amazing. I had no idea what to expect, so it was exciting to see the stone castle on the top of a hill, surrounded by other buildings and walls and a large park with a path leading to the palace, lined by rows of trees. We drove through the pretty village, which is located right next to the castle, not far away at all, and up to the palace. The Union Jack flag was flying, so that meant that the Queen was not there. We walked past a statue of Queen Victoria wearing her little diamond crown, which was fun, since I had just seen it the day before in the Tower.
Our wonderful guide Britt took us around the outside area within the walls. I was amazed by the fantastic gardens, especially the ones at the base of the old tower, the center of the palace complex, which is up high on a hill. The gardens are planted right on the steep hill and where a moat would be if William the Conqueror had had any way to get the water up there. I could see lots and lots of blooming snowdrops, as well as some yellow and purple crocus and lots of bright yellow winter aconite and mutli-colored helleborus. I loved how the gardens had water features built into the hill. I wish I could come back in the summer to see all the bare-naked roses in bloom! Inside, the palace was breathtaking, of course. We were allowed to tour the State Apartments, where honored guests are housed and entertained. The rooms and furnishings are incredible, decked out in precious stones and metals and priceless artworks. We weren't allowed to take photographs, so I can't even begin to recall half of what I saw. Everything was gold and shining. There were lots of carved wood ornaments on walls. Specifically, I remember a dining hall designed by one of the kings with lavish tastes that had carvings of categorized food items hanging on the walls such as lobsters, clams, fish, and crabs, and quail, chicken, turkey and peacock, and venison and prime cuts of beef and lamb all surrounded by lots and lots of wooden fruit. The carvings had been done by some sort of master woodcarver, and you could tell! The ceiling of this particular room was painted with a scene of the Greek gods having a feast, with the King and Queen who had commissioned it front and center. The Queen, mimicking an ancient Greek Goddess, was draped in a toga-type garment that exposed half of her chest. The funniest part of my day was hearing a little British, uniformed school boy who was part of a field trip tell his teacher "Hey! She has her boob out!" and the embarrassed teacher explain "Yes, yes she does, but it's a classical painting so that's ok and anyway we don't talk about such things ever." Poor teacher!
I particularly liked the room that had all the personal coats of arms of each and every Knight of the Garter hanging from the ceiling. Seeing all those different badges was fun, and I wondered if maybe I'm related to any of them. It was also interesting seeing those shields that had been painted white: this was to signify a disgraced knight who had done something terrible and had been thrown out of the order, but the shield remained on display as a reminder of his misdeed. Throughout the building were constant reminders of the fire of 1992. I hadn't realized how bad it was, but it really did some serious damage. Most of the furnishings and all the paintings but one were saved, and the one that was lost was just too big to get out. After the fire, some rooms had to be entirely re-done, and most were just re-created the way they had previously been.
Walking out of the palace, I looked over my shoulder at the flag flying from the ramparts and noticed something different. It had changed from the Union Jack to the Queen's personal banner! That means that, while we walked inside Windsor Palace, Queen Elizabeth II had arrived through a back door! I was in the same castle as the Queen of England!
After seeing the palace, I went into St George's Chapel, where lots and lots of famous monarchs are buried. All over the church were reminders of its function as center of the Order of the Garter. Each knight gets a special seat at the front of the church, and their banner and helmet is hung above. On the back of the seats, each knight gets a brass plaque with his coat of arms, and these remain even after the knight dies, so there are lots and lots to look at.
This is going to sound kind of funny, but: there are famous dead people all over the church! The current Queen's parents and sister are buried in a sort of private room off to one side. Their modest area is in great contrast with other monuments around the area, particularly those of the pre-Victorian and Victorian era, where splendid, sentimental monuments were the norm. For example, one of the most moving monuments is for Princess Charlotte, who died at age 21 in childbirth in 1817. She was much loved by the country and would have been queen instead of Queen Victoria. Her monument shows her body, crumpled on a pedestal and covered in a cloth, surrounded by veiled mourners, with her beautiful soul draped in a clinging and revealing garment ascending to Heaven, flanked by angels carrying her stillborn baby. Everywhere you look in the chapel, you see dead monarchs and famous individuals.
The best part of my trip to Windsor, and perhaps even my trip to England in general, took place in the Quire of St. George's Chapel, when I, Noel Lawrence of Minocqua, Wisconsin, walked on King Henry VIII. He's buried at the front of the church, in the floor, so I sort of "accidentally on purpose" stepped on him. Oops. I can't say I'm sorry though. I trod on Henry the Wife-Slayer!
After visiting the chapel, we decided to eat lunch. My friend Amanda and I had both brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so we wandered over towards the big park we had seen from the road to eat our lunch. As we munched on our pb&js and ambled along the long path, I heard a familiar sound and looked into the trees on either side of the long path. Sure enough, there were several Indian Ringneck parrots squawking at each other just above my head. I find parrots everywhere I go here!
After our walking lunch, we met up with a few friends and roamed the town. The little town is smushed right up against the walls of the palace. It's a very nice town, with some touristy type stuff near the palace, but the farther away from the castle, the more normal it seems. We ended up walking all over the town, because we had time to kill. We stumbled on an amazing little ice cream shop, and we just couldn't walk away. I had Bailey's-flavored ice cream, and wow was it amazing. Soooo good!
Eventually, we met our guide by the Queen Victoria statue and walked over to Eton, which is just nearby. To get there, we had to cross a little bridge that my friends and I had explored before, where there are literally dozens of swans trolling for a handout. When we got nearer to Eton, it was easy to tell because some of the young men walking past were wearing formal black coattails and Edwardian collars. They still have to dress up for class. We couldn't go in any of the buildings because school was in session, but it was fun to see. The tour guide said that to send a son here costs about $60,000 a year (I think it was dollars, not pounds, but I'm not positive), and most attend from age 13 to age 18. Um, wow. But, on the flip-side, going to Eton pretty much guarantees you a place in whatever University you want to go to.
On the way back, our wonderful guide informed us that she had brought a big bag of bread to feed the swans!!! I was in heaven. The birds would take it right out of my hand, and I only got bit once, and that was an accident. There were SO many swans! Lots of my classmates, especially the girls but some of the boys as well, were freaking out over the "icky scary birds" which was pretty darn funny to watch. I loved every minute of it. After feeding the swans, it was time to go home and eat dinner and fall into bed. My legs are sore from all that walking!
Our wonderful guide Britt took us around the outside area within the walls. I was amazed by the fantastic gardens, especially the ones at the base of the old tower, the center of the palace complex, which is up high on a hill. The gardens are planted right on the steep hill and where a moat would be if William the Conqueror had had any way to get the water up there. I could see lots and lots of blooming snowdrops, as well as some yellow and purple crocus and lots of bright yellow winter aconite and mutli-colored helleborus. I loved how the gardens had water features built into the hill. I wish I could come back in the summer to see all the bare-naked roses in bloom! Inside, the palace was breathtaking, of course. We were allowed to tour the State Apartments, where honored guests are housed and entertained. The rooms and furnishings are incredible, decked out in precious stones and metals and priceless artworks. We weren't allowed to take photographs, so I can't even begin to recall half of what I saw. Everything was gold and shining. There were lots of carved wood ornaments on walls. Specifically, I remember a dining hall designed by one of the kings with lavish tastes that had carvings of categorized food items hanging on the walls such as lobsters, clams, fish, and crabs, and quail, chicken, turkey and peacock, and venison and prime cuts of beef and lamb all surrounded by lots and lots of wooden fruit. The carvings had been done by some sort of master woodcarver, and you could tell! The ceiling of this particular room was painted with a scene of the Greek gods having a feast, with the King and Queen who had commissioned it front and center. The Queen, mimicking an ancient Greek Goddess, was draped in a toga-type garment that exposed half of her chest. The funniest part of my day was hearing a little British, uniformed school boy who was part of a field trip tell his teacher "Hey! She has her boob out!" and the embarrassed teacher explain "Yes, yes she does, but it's a classical painting so that's ok and anyway we don't talk about such things ever." Poor teacher!
I particularly liked the room that had all the personal coats of arms of each and every Knight of the Garter hanging from the ceiling. Seeing all those different badges was fun, and I wondered if maybe I'm related to any of them. It was also interesting seeing those shields that had been painted white: this was to signify a disgraced knight who had done something terrible and had been thrown out of the order, but the shield remained on display as a reminder of his misdeed. Throughout the building were constant reminders of the fire of 1992. I hadn't realized how bad it was, but it really did some serious damage. Most of the furnishings and all the paintings but one were saved, and the one that was lost was just too big to get out. After the fire, some rooms had to be entirely re-done, and most were just re-created the way they had previously been.
Walking out of the palace, I looked over my shoulder at the flag flying from the ramparts and noticed something different. It had changed from the Union Jack to the Queen's personal banner! That means that, while we walked inside Windsor Palace, Queen Elizabeth II had arrived through a back door! I was in the same castle as the Queen of England!
After seeing the palace, I went into St George's Chapel, where lots and lots of famous monarchs are buried. All over the church were reminders of its function as center of the Order of the Garter. Each knight gets a special seat at the front of the church, and their banner and helmet is hung above. On the back of the seats, each knight gets a brass plaque with his coat of arms, and these remain even after the knight dies, so there are lots and lots to look at.
This is going to sound kind of funny, but: there are famous dead people all over the church! The current Queen's parents and sister are buried in a sort of private room off to one side. Their modest area is in great contrast with other monuments around the area, particularly those of the pre-Victorian and Victorian era, where splendid, sentimental monuments were the norm. For example, one of the most moving monuments is for Princess Charlotte, who died at age 21 in childbirth in 1817. She was much loved by the country and would have been queen instead of Queen Victoria. Her monument shows her body, crumpled on a pedestal and covered in a cloth, surrounded by veiled mourners, with her beautiful soul draped in a clinging and revealing garment ascending to Heaven, flanked by angels carrying her stillborn baby. Everywhere you look in the chapel, you see dead monarchs and famous individuals.
The best part of my trip to Windsor, and perhaps even my trip to England in general, took place in the Quire of St. George's Chapel, when I, Noel Lawrence of Minocqua, Wisconsin, walked on King Henry VIII. He's buried at the front of the church, in the floor, so I sort of "accidentally on purpose" stepped on him. Oops. I can't say I'm sorry though. I trod on Henry the Wife-Slayer!
After visiting the chapel, we decided to eat lunch. My friend Amanda and I had both brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so we wandered over towards the big park we had seen from the road to eat our lunch. As we munched on our pb&js and ambled along the long path, I heard a familiar sound and looked into the trees on either side of the long path. Sure enough, there were several Indian Ringneck parrots squawking at each other just above my head. I find parrots everywhere I go here!
After our walking lunch, we met up with a few friends and roamed the town. The little town is smushed right up against the walls of the palace. It's a very nice town, with some touristy type stuff near the palace, but the farther away from the castle, the more normal it seems. We ended up walking all over the town, because we had time to kill. We stumbled on an amazing little ice cream shop, and we just couldn't walk away. I had Bailey's-flavored ice cream, and wow was it amazing. Soooo good!
Eventually, we met our guide by the Queen Victoria statue and walked over to Eton, which is just nearby. To get there, we had to cross a little bridge that my friends and I had explored before, where there are literally dozens of swans trolling for a handout. When we got nearer to Eton, it was easy to tell because some of the young men walking past were wearing formal black coattails and Edwardian collars. They still have to dress up for class. We couldn't go in any of the buildings because school was in session, but it was fun to see. The tour guide said that to send a son here costs about $60,000 a year (I think it was dollars, not pounds, but I'm not positive), and most attend from age 13 to age 18. Um, wow. But, on the flip-side, going to Eton pretty much guarantees you a place in whatever University you want to go to.
On the way back, our wonderful guide informed us that she had brought a big bag of bread to feed the swans!!! I was in heaven. The birds would take it right out of my hand, and I only got bit once, and that was an accident. There were SO many swans! Lots of my classmates, especially the girls but some of the boys as well, were freaking out over the "icky scary birds" which was pretty darn funny to watch. I loved every minute of it. After feeding the swans, it was time to go home and eat dinner and fall into bed. My legs are sore from all that walking!
Inside the castle walls, looking at the tower, which is a separate structure, built by William the Conqueror and set high on a hill.
The gardens in the tower's dry moat
To the right is St George's chapel, with part of the palace complex all around
More pretty dry moat gardens
Courtyard
Just outside the gates, at the entrance to the park
The "park"
Queen Victoria's statue, outside the walls
Crooked pub. Apparently they made it with green timbers and they warped in the 1700s.
I thought this was a pretty funny name for a Chinese restaurant. Nell Gwynn was the mistress of
King Charles II
The town is pushed right up against the walls
Pigeon in a garden
Lots and lots and LOTS of swans!
Birdie
The Queen's banner!
Eton
One of the Eton boys crossing the street
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