April 12: Frankenstein! (And the Wallace Collection)

This morning's Contemporary Britain class was all about the Kray twins, gangsters who ran London's East End till they finally got jailed. The professor had done quite a bit of sociology research and had written an article on the twins, so he really knew what he was talking about. For Museums class, we walked through Hyde Park over by Oxford Street to see the Wallace Collection, which is basically one family's amazing art and artifact collection housed in their old mansion. It was pretty incredible. It's best known for it's Rococo art, and it did not disappoint. There were frills and crazy flourishes everywhere! The collectors really liked that strange "peasant farmer"-style of still life painting. In one room, I counted 11 paintings of dead animals on one wall alone! For some odd reason, every other painting seemed to have at least one or two dead lobsters in it! It was a lot of fun to walk through the rooms and see the different themes and styles. I loved the beautiful re-done wallpaper in bright colors. Rococo art is just fun to look at and kind of giggle over all the insane details and extra flounces and curlicues. On the walk back, my friends and I stopped for Belgian waffles drizzled in creamy milk chocolate which we ate as we strolled back through the park. I am so going to miss this city!!!

Tonight was the looooong-awaited production of Frankenstein! Unfortunately for me, the first thing I learned upon arriving at 7 was that my favorite actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, who was supposed to be playing the Creature, had lost his voice at the matinee. The other actor that shares the role (the two are both famous and they switch off between being the Creature and Dr Frankenstein), Jonny Lee Miller, was getting his Creature makeup on last-second and the show had to be pushed back till 8 for him and the understudy to get ready. When we got into the theater, I was amazed at how they had changed the space from when we had seen Hamlet there just a few months ago. The walls were all covered with gray painted rough fabric, which we had seen being made on our back stage tour back in January. The director of the production is Danny Boyle, who is really famous and really good, and he went all-out on the minimalist yet intricate set. Above the stage was hanging a big light-fixture for lack of a better word. It was a big elongate triangle-shaped mirror hung flat-side down, with different shapes and styles of light bulbs dangling from the surface of the mirror. When we first got there, they were lit up with a red light so they looked really sinister, almost like dripping blood. On the stage, they had the center part turning round and round, with a strange object on it. It was a probably 7 ft square frame suspending a round semi-transparent buckskin-colored balloon-like thing, except where a balloon is spherical, this was like two circles that bulged out but were sewn together all around. We eventually realized that inside the shape was a man. We could only see his silhouette and later we realized that it was supposed to be like an artificial "womb" structure. This rendition of Frankenstein started with the Creature's "birth" scene, which is not how the book goes, but I guess they took some artistic license. The Creature burst from his "womb" and onto the floor where the poor guy writhed around on the stage for at least 15 minutes, naked and made up to look like he had been grotesquely sewn together, trying to discover how to use his limbs. The actor, Jonny Lee Miller, was really incredible. He flopped around like a newborn giraffe, unable to get his legs to work. He played the Creature as very child-like, which made the rendition even sadder. The understudy for Dr Frankenstein did a pretty good job. He did very well at the mad scientist bits, but not so well expressing emotion, especially when he's supposed to be sad when the Creature kills his little brother in a bid for attention, and during the romantic parts with his fiance Elizabeth.

Throughout the show, the light fixture above the stage was used to show changing time of day, mood, and season. The lighting and sound effects were incredible. There was one strange, incongruous moment that happened just as the Creature was rejected by a horrified Dr Frankenstein and ran away into the world. As we were watching the poor Creature get beaten and screamed at, suddenly a train burst from the back of the stage. Problem was, it was weird. The play is, I believe, supposed to be set in the late 1700s, but this train was done in what I'd call "Steampunk" style. It was made of gears and chains, spewing fireworks, and the people riding it were wearing Steampunk-style goggles and clothing. It was really odd and only lasted long enough for the people to jump off and beat up the Creature, but it definitely did not fit. I don't know what the heck Danny Boyle had been thinking. The rest of the play was pretty much how you'd expect a beautifully done rendition of Frankenstein to be: sad and mesmerizing. The acting on the part of Jonny Lee Miller was phenomenal. I was sad for the Creature, but also recognized the wickedness it had decided to embrace. The Frankenstein understudy was ok, but I wanted Cumberbatch. The girl who played Elizabeth, Naomie Harris, who is a famous British actress (she also played Calypso in Pirates of the Caribbean), was really good. The guy who played the old blind man who befriends the creature was really good. The only bad one was Frankenstein's father, who has a decently large minor role. The actor was just awful. Like, embarrassingly awful. We could not imagine how they could have cast this guy, but when we got home we found out he shares the last name of the actress who did Elizabeth, so hopefully that's why they cast him because he was bad. I just about died of fright when the Creature lept from the bed in the scene where he kills Elizabeth. As he jumped, we realized that he had been concealed in a man-sized cavity in the mattress and covered with the sheet so we had had no idea that he was in there. It was super scary!

All in all, I'm kind of glad I didn't see Cumberbatch in the role of the Creature. It's just such a sad, grotesque and heart-breaking role. Plus the Creature does have to flop around naked for awhile, and well, that's just awkward. Anyway, I immensely enjoyed myself but now I'm going to find something happy to read before I go to bed.

April 11: I don't want to leave London yet!!!

I can't belive how fast this semester went!!! I am really, really sad to be leaving London in just 11 more days. Today in class we went over the plot and different adaptations of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in preparation for seeing it tomorrow. I'm super excited to see the actor Benedict Cumberbatch play the Creature. He's one of my favorite actors and seeing him live will be, I'm sure, amazing. After class I hopped on a tube to Leicester Square to see if they had any lower-price tickets for Mamma Mia (they don't discount but they do occasionally put their prices down so instead of 67 pounds, a ticket is 35), but the guy at the booth said they didn't get many that day and they were gone already but to try back on Tuesday or Wednesday, so I'll come back Wednesday. Instead, I caught up on some homework and ate popcorn.

April 10: More Markets and More Chocolate!!!

This morning we decided to head to Up Market for an early lunch. My friend/roommate Lauryn had been there before and promised us amazing foods. She did not disappoint. There were ethnic foods there from literally the entire world! I ended up going with Chinese/Thai fusion, Lauryn went with Ethiopian, Mandy with Mexican, and Katie with Tibetan. It was all so good! After our lunch, we explored Sunday Up Market, which has a lot of vintage clothes and jewellery. I ended up getting a pretty gold-tone necklace made of three layers of chains hung with shaped leaves separated by little gold pearls. Then we went over a few hundred yards to Spittalfields Market, which is more mixed in its vendors. I found a pretty little painted ceramic Turkish plate made by two brothers from Istanbul in dark blue with pink and red and green floral patterns. I was hoping to find some heavy silver earrings but I just wasn't loving the silver options.

The odd goat statue that greets visitors to Spittalfields Market

Afterwards, my friends were all too tired to go to the chocolate festival again so they went home and I soldiered on alone. It was even better. Because it was the last day, they were giving out even more free samples so I was stuffed with chocolate. I also realized that we had missed a little tent-lined avenue that led to a whole other area of tents, making the festival twice as big as we had thought yesterday! I ate sooo many samples! There were also dishes made with chocolate. I really, really wanted a bowl of the chocolate chili with tortilla chips/crisps, but I just would have exploded! After doing the grand tour, I decided to get a bag of the mixed flavored white chocolate buttons, and a bag of cappuccino-flavored buttons from a stall called "Cocopod," then several more bags of the fancy mixed chocolates from "Artisan du Chocolat," as well as a bag of chocolate-coated caramel honeycomb. Mom, Rin and I will certainly enjoy in a few weeks. Then it was time to come home and rest my poor blisters. This could not have been a more perfect weekend! I am going to miss this city!!!

Bridge across from the Festival Hall

Royal Festival Hall (That's not the Chocolate Festival in front of it)

Chocolate Festival!!!

Yummy bunny!

These were screen-printed with beautiful patterns. The strangest were the animal print patterns like cheetah and zebra!

April 9: Markets and CHOCOLATE!!!

Today I got up early to go with my friends Lauryn, Paige and Mandy to Portobello Market. It was an absolutely incredible day. We walked across Hyde Park to the market which was absolutely exploding with activity. We were on a mission to find t-shirts with the goofy Wills and Kate engagement pictures. I really love the Portobello Road Market. It's fun and vibrant, and even the houses on either side of the road are brightly painted and full of flowers. The wisteria vines crawling up some of the houses were already blooming. They were also about as big around as my waist near the ground, so I imagine they are incredibly old. We stopped at the infamous Hummingbird Bakery for red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Sooooo good! I looked at some silver, but decided I really need to do some research before I buy any. I got 4 scarves in bright colors, because I don't have any solid color scarves at home, and I know Erin's just going to steal them anyway. I found a postcard with the "Keep calm and carry on" phrase, which I'd been looking for, and a simple Union Jack magnet for our fridge collection here at the flat. I went back to a seller of antique prints I'd seen the last time I was there and selected a Beatrix Potter print with two scenes from Peter Rabbit, as well as a beautiful "Dandelion Fairy" print from the 1930s for Brooke. All along the way I took pictures, but I realized half way through the morning that I had forgotten to put my memory card in my camera so none of them worked. I'll steal my friends' pictures in the next few days and post those.

After the Portobello Market, we took a tube over to London Bridge, where the Borough Market was in full swing. This market is more about foods. You can buy really amazing cheeses, fresh meat of all sorts, odd-looking fishes, honey, fruit preserves, strange mushrooms, fresh herbs and every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable, plus put-together meals. We roamed the market, searching for curry, but found none. Then Mandy spotted a booth that she had eaten at before and we just had to try it. The line was huge, but it was well worth it. They had rounds of sweet, nutty white cheese cut in half that were placed on special stands underneath a heat light. The top of the cheese would bubble and melt and turn just barely crispy while the men at the stand mashed up some tender potatoes and threw a handful of sweet gherkins and pickled onions on the side. Then they would scrape the top layer of melted cheese onto the bed of potatoes. It was indescribably good. Like, life-changing good. Best meal ever! We also had seen some people walking around with iced tea, so while I stood in line, Mandy found us our own glasses. It was truly wonderful iced tea, probably the best I've ever had. She said it was called something like "Ceylon" tea, and was made with lemon and spearmint and had the perfect balance between sweet and bitter. Perfect to cut through my plate of cheesy potatoes on a super hot day!

After we had all eaten our fill, we took off for something we'd heard about called the "London Southbank Chocolate Festival," which we were pretty excited about. We walked there from London Bridge, which was a pretty good walk and of course I had to get blisters, but it was very pretty and the light wind from the river was nice on the hot day. We found our way to the Royal Festival Hall, where the festival was being held in the courtyard and oh my goodness. There was chocolate EVERYWHERE! And not just chocolate, but good chocolate! First we stopped for a chocolate beer, which I liked a lot, then for a chocolate strawberry, then mixed fancy chocolates with elegant flavors like "black cardamom" and "coffee and star anise," then flavored white chocolate in orange, lemon, and strawberry, then dark chocolate-covered coffee beans, then super dark, bitter, chocolate, then chocolate in little shapes like Easter bunnies and ducklings. It was heaven. I only bought one bag of mixed fancy chocolates that had been "factory rejects" for 2 pounds (amazing deal) because I was so stuffed with chocolate by the end. But when I got home, I decided I'll just have to go back tomorrow for more. Mostly that decision was made by my mother, who, while I was skyping her, gave me a good lecture about how I needed to bring some home for her. So now I'm looking forward to tomorrow even more! Tonight is Wine and Cards night with my friends, which is always wonderfully fun.

April 8: Kew Gardens, Take 2!

This morning the program took us all to Kew Gardens. We left at 10, and I split from the group once we got there. This time, I went the opposite direction I'd done the last time. I started with the alpine house, which was even better than it was before. I soooo want one of my own! I made sure to visit the bonsai house, which I'd missed the last time, and wow was that incredible. They didn't have a huge collection but what they had was just unbelievable. The house had a motion detecting alarm system installed to protect the trees, which I'm sure are worth more than I could even guess. I made sure to take more pictures of the magnolias we're interested in. I've decided I want one that has a good fragrance, and is preferably bright pink. The trick is finding one that will grow in the frozen North! Some of the lilacs have just started opening. Kew had a decent selection of old heirlooms, but nothing as extensive as the Arboretum's. There was one tree I saw from the back and wondered, is that "Beauty of Moscow" and yep, it was. It wasn't even flowering yet. I realized I must be a serious nut case if I could identify a lilac by leaves, shape, and baby buds. Wow. The rhododendrons were blooming, so I drooled over those. Some that I saw were tree-sized, which surprised even me. I didn't know they could get that big!!! It was so warm out today that I was walking around in just a tank top and jeans and I was waaaay too hot! I may have even gotten a little sunburn on my shoulders! Yay!

It's probably going to take me a few days to sort through all my pictures, but I'll get them up eventually!

April 7: Chicago...in London!

Today was a Good Day. I went shopping on Kensington High Street with some friends this morning, and got a new pink flowered skirt to wear this summer as well as a bright red pencil skirt that I'm guessing Erin will steal the moment I get home but for now I'll enjoy. I had History class this afternoon, which was incredibly, indescribably boring. We spent over an hour on the Suffrage movement alone, when we were supposed to hear about it for only 15 minutes. Ugh. We learned, in detail, all about this one Suffragette who was a bit radical and threw herself in front of a horse during a race and got smushed. It really helped the cause, giving them a martyr, but apparently she had bought herself a return train ticket, so it seems it was a publicity stunt gone wrong, not an intentional martyrdom. They now think she was trying to put a Suffragette banner around the neck of the King's horse. Apparently she didn't think about how the race-crazed thoroughbred would react to a lady waving a banner in front of it. Oops. Anyway, moral of the story: I learned lots of strange little facts about the women's rights movement.

After class, I decided I wanted to do something fun, so a friend and I took the tube to Leicester Square to find some theater tickets. I was able to get an amazing seat for Chicago, in the third row from the front, for 30 pounds. My friend had seen Chicago (in Chicago, coincidentally), so she got a ticket to Jersey Boys, which I saw a while ago. We went to dinner at the Italian place my family and I had gone to before we saw Les Miserables. It was just as amazing as the first time. I had a linguine in white sauce with sauteed mushrooms that was heavenly. After dinner, we had some time to kill, so we stopped at an ice cream place we'd seen. I had a scoop of fresh strawberry frozen yogurt that was heavenly. Chicago was incredible. I was 10 feet away from the all the action, so that made it even better. It was a really fun show to see live. The actors/dancers were all incredible. The two leads were especially amazing. The Velma was an older actress (probably in her 40s), which is pretty rare, but she obviously was picked for a reason. She could dance even better than the young girls around her, and apparently does the choreography as well. She kind of looked like Carol Burnett but she was a very good singer. The Roxie was beyond awesome. She just nailed the role. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job. I really, truly enjoyed myself!

April 6: The Red Shoes

Today for Theatre class, we went to see a play in Battersea called "The Red Shoes." To get there, we had to take the tube to Victoria, then a train to Clapham, then walk to Battersea Arts Center. It was worth it. The play was based on Hans Christian Andersen's story about a girl who wears a sinful pair of red shoes to church and is cursed to dance in them forever. It's a pretty dark story, and ends with the girl cutting off her feet to stop the dancing. She gets a pair of wooden feet, but the red shoes with her cut off feet in them won't stop dancing in front of her. In the end I think and angel comes and somehow she kind of dies and goes to Heaven, but at least she's happy and not dancing. It's not exactly a nice sort of fairy tale, but the production was really, really good. This adaptation of it was weird as all heck but I really liked it. It was very different and strange but still fun and the actors danced and played instruments as well and they were amazing. I'm just crossing my fingers I don't get nightmares!