spectacular

Before I start, I would like to say: HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! And a very Happy Birthday to my wonderful Grandpa! I hope he has a wonderful day and enjoys every moment of it!

So, not to sound cheesy but it was an amazing week.  I did quite a bit of homework in the first few days and managed to get it all done so I was at liberty to do whatever I wanted the rest of the week.  Tuesday night we saw "War Horse" which was incredible.  The movie is based off the play and so I was excited to see how they changed the play for the movie.  As the title suggests, the story is about a horse named Joey and to play him, they had three guys, each in charge of a different part of the horse, to move him like a puppet.  At times I forgot that it was a puppet, it acted like a real horse thanks to the maneuverings of the actors.  The entire cast did an amazing job and I was blown away by how perfect it was.  I also had a good seat so that helped!

Wednesday afternoon I went to the Orangery in Kensington Gardens with some friends and we got some tea as well as a cheese plate.  I got lemon and ginger tea which tasted amazing with a little sugar. The cheeses were pretty good though we had a blue cheese that I did not like at all.  Afterwards I did some shopping and finally found a pair of oxfords that I love as well as some new nail polish.  That night I watched "Midnight in Paris" with some girls in preparation for our trip to Paris.  I am SO excited for Paris, I just know I will love it.

There's the icky blue cheese (just behind the chutney)

The other exciting events this week were a guided tour of St. Paul's which was fun but rather disappointing as the very top gallery was closed and so we could not take photos of the London skyline as I had planned and a concert.  That night we went to the Royal Albert Hall for their "Classical Spectacular."  They were celebrating 25 years of the show and it involved lasers, light shows, fireworks (sparklers), rifle shots and cannon.  It was incredible!  The cannons were a bit surprising, one girl in our group shrieked/screamed when they first went off.  It probably didn't help that one of the cannons was literally just above us.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the music; because it was all popular classical music, I actually recognized nearly all the pieces.

I finally got more souvenir shopping done on Saturday when I decided to brave the crowds and the drizzle at Portobello Road.  It was crazy busy but it was also kind of fun once I accepted the fact that I would have to walk slowly and keep an eye out for the stop-and-go tourists and their umbrellas.  I found some lovely stalls of old books, vintage tea china and antique jewelry.  I ended up buying a few tea plates and saucers as well as a three-tiered tea tray.  I can't wait to host a tea party when I get home! Now all I need are the tea cups...

 P.S.  On Thursday I popped over to the V&A to see some art nouveau which we had just finished studying in class.  I found I really love that style and so had quite some fun looking at some posters by Mucha.

the north

Fountains Abbey

We took a longer trip up north this last week with multiple stops.  Our ultimate destination was Scotland, Edinburgh to be exact, but before we got there, we stopped first at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire.  The grounds contain the ruins of the abbey as well as multiple other buildings including a mill and a former home that is now apartments.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We encountered much foggy and wet weather which made our explorations of the castles and ruins that much more memorable.  After the Abbey we went to York and saw the cathedral there before heading on to Edinburgh where we spent two nights.

the castle

Our first day there, we saw the Castle and the National Gallery and then I had lunch at the Elephant House Cafe which was pretty good.  I then proceeded to spend three hours shopping for various gifts.  It was so tiring but I did finally find everything that I needed to! After I rested for a bit I went back out to explore the University of Edinburgh campus a little and then went to Waverley Bridge.  The next day a group of us hiked to Arthur's Seat which was quite tiring but totally worth the views of the city.  It was beautiful and a fun experience.

view from the hike

ruins on Lindisfarne

From Edinburgh we headed to the island of Lindisfarne which houses more ruins and a church.  The ruins were closed (we don't know why) but we found a way around the gate so we still got to explore a little bit.  It was really cool going to the island because we had to wait for the tide to go out so that the path would be usable.   It reminded me of "The Woman in Black" and the house that he goes to except this was not creepy at all.  We spent that night in Newcastle but didn't do any sightseeing there.  Instead we got up early and went to see part of Hadrian's Wall.  This was really great and I had lots of fun the first five minutes we were there.  Then I fell backwards and proceed to slide down the hill a bit.  Luckily (or unluckily) I landed on an area covered in snow so I didn't get dirty, only freezingly cold and wet.  My pants weren't completely dry until late afternoon.  It was a miserable morning.  From the Wall we went to Durham to see the Cathedral there and get some lunch.  It was a beautiful building but we weren't allowed to take pictures.

my very wet backside and makeshift hood
(my real hood wouldn't stay up)

Our last stop was home! It was a fun few days and in spite of the rainy weather, I loved it.

greenwich

This last week went by so quickly it is hard to believe it is already Sunday.  On Tuesday we saw "The Phantom of the Opera" which was quite fun and a good experience to see another musical that we had discussed in class.  It was amazing to see what they were capable of on stage, especially in terms of the fantastic sets.  It really felt like I was there in their world, experiencing the drama between Christine, Raoul and the Phantom.

old ruins

Wednesday we went to Canterbury where we explored the Cathedral, some old ruins and the town.  It was a rather miserable day for sightseeing so some friends and I spent the better part of our time in a little cafe called "Tiny Tim's Tearoom."  It was quite a perfect afternoon.  Thursday night we had the chance to attend a candlelit music concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.  It was lovely though the hard seats made it hard to be comfortable.  But they did keep me from falling asleep.

Canterbury Cathedral

Our Friday and Saturday agendas were switched so on Saturday we did our exploring of London which meant a trip to Parliament and Greenwich. We got a tour of the Houses of Parliament which is actually named Westminster Palace.  It was quite extraordinary to see the two houses and hear some explanations of how British politics works.  It's a bit confusing and doesn't seem terribly effective but that is tradition and they hold to it very strictly.  Following our tour we took a ferry to Greenwich where some friends and I got lunch at the market and then stopped at some museums.  We saw the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory where we took pictures on the Prime Meridian.  It was fun and a perfect day for exploring; the sun finally came out!

National Maritime Museum

Standing on the Prime Meridian