The Final Countdown

     Sad post time. We are down to the end of the Centre in London program. And this has absolutely been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Monday and Tuesday are finals, Tuesday night is our last group dinner. And on Wednesday morning we all go our separate ways. Deanna, Olivia, and I will actually be traveling around the continent for a while, but it still is really hard to think about. I'm ready to get back to good ole America, but I am going to miss London very much.

     In going out with a bang, Friday morning began with a walk around the area. Dr. Keffer led us in the last walk where we walked next to a canal about two blocks from where we live. After that, Warren, Andrew, Paige, Anna, Monica, and myself headed to Camden. I had two goals: eat falafel and buy a ring from this awesome ring guy. Sadly, the ring stall was closed so now I have to try to figure out another way to get said ring. But the falafel was incredible! It is a Mediterranean food of deep fried vegetables and chickpeas with other delicious things in a wrap. So good! I really could have just made this blog a food diary, couldn't I? After wandering around Camden for a very short time, we headed to Parliament for a tour. This was really cool. We actually saw a Lord and several Members of Parliament whose names I couldn't begin to tell you. National secret? No, I just don't know who they are. But our tour guide was wonderful and full of stories and facts. Seeing this along side of the British Politics class was really cool because when she would bring things up I knew what she was talking about. After the tour, Warren, Anna, Monica, Paige, and I headed to the London Coffee Festival. Coffee, teas, chocolates, yogurts, fruit juices, and so much more was everywhere! I think I was highly caffeinated in about thirty minutes tops. It was super cool. We wandered around sampling everything for hours. It was super cool!

BEN WHISHAW!!!!!!!!

   Saturday I worked on some homework before heading to the Shoreditch area with Anna and Monica to wander around and look at street art. We then ended up meeting up with Warren, Paige, Olivia, and Mackenzie (who goes to Centre but is studying at Rose Bruford, a London theatre school) and went to an Indian restaurant near Covent Garden. Warren, Paige, and I then headed to the Noel Coward Theatre where we met up with Mariele to see Peter and Alice. To name drop for a second, this is a play that DAME JUDI DENCH and BEN WHISHAW are currently in. And besides the fact that the play itself was incredible, these two actors absolutely blew it out of the park they were so fantastic. It was a great play to end on because it is easily one of my favorite plays from this semester. And I've seen a lot....eighteen to be exact!! Bookending this trip with Our Country's Good at the beginning and Peter and Alice at the end was super incredible. Just one more example of the amazing experiences I've had here!!

   Today I have been a boring person because I literally have been inside almost all day. I went to my last mass at Newman House then crossed the street to snap a picture of of 187 North Gower street. This is the filming location of 221 Baker Street for BBC's Sherlock. If you haven't watched this show you need to go change that right now. This is also the last regularly scheduled post I'll be doing. I will try to post as we travel around Europe, but that will be dependent on internet and our travel schedule. Thanks for reading these last few months! Now back to living it up in London because it's The Final Countdown.  Also let's take this moment to appreciate the fact that the Netflix premier of Season 4 of Arrested Development is now less than a month away so this song is even more appropriate. Also I've now endorsed two shows in this post, think I'll get a cut of the profits?

Sherlock filming site

Nerd Alert

***WARNING*** This post will contain excess amounts of exclamation points and overuse of the CAPS lock button. Proceed with caution.

Waiting to be Sorted!!! 

    Hey there friends. This week has been pretty awesome. Monday started as a normal class day, sitting though presentations as five different groups basically talked about propaganda during WWII. But AFTER class is where the real fun started. Anna, Brent, and myself headed off to Euston Station to catch a train to Watford Juncion to take a bus to the HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR!!!!!! This is where sets, props, costumes, filming secrets, and so much more are kept after they finished filming out of this studio at the wrap of the movies. As a not so secret Harry Potter lover, I may or not have been freaking out a little. Well, all three of us were freaking out. A little on the pricey side, this tour is necessary for fanatic fans. We walked through the Great Hall, saw the Gryffindor Common Room, Boys Dormitory, the Burrow, Umbridge's Office, Dumbledore's Office, miscellaneous props, miscellaneous costumes, major things such as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, the Mirror of Erised, statues from the Ministry of Magic, and so much more. And that was just in the first room!!! This area also contained a section where you could ride in a Ford Anglia (the Weasley car) with a group and RIDE A BROOM!!! This was set up so that you sat in the car/on the broom WHILE wearing robes in a green screen compartment. Wind then started to blow and you watched a camera as you flew through streets, over the lake, and other cool stuff. Attendants told you to touch the water or wave or dodge cars and let me tell you, it was just super cool. The outside portion of the tour contained outdoor sets, such as Number 4 Privet Drive, the Potter home, the Knight Bus, and more. The next big room contains creatures. This shows some of the behind the scenes on creating the different magical creatures or moments during the films. It then goes into a room with all of the designs for every single building used. Makes you appreciate it a lot more. Then, unexpectedly, you walk into a room with the model of Hogwarts that is about a floor and half tall. This is the model they used when filming outdoor far away shots of Hogwarts, basically. And it is incredible. The final room of the tour (before the extensive gift shop that is!) is a room like Ollivander's Wand Shop. Every person who was part of creating the Harry Potter films has a wand box with their name on it. It's really pretty cool and once again shows you how many people were involved in this. Basically this day was fantastic and super cool for all three of us.

the door to the Great Hall!

     Second Nerd Alert. Didn't think you could get away that easily, did you? April 23rd is St. George's Day in England. But it also is the day acknowledged as Shakespeare's birthday. So. On this day, the entire group went and saw The Tempest. Opening Night. Opening the season. At the Globe. On Shakespeare's birthday.  Pretty cool. The show was also verry good although hard to follow at times when I forgot the plot line. But it was really cool to be able to see it at the Globe among such talented actors. Plus Colin Morgan (known from BBC's Merlin even though I've never seen it) made a freaking FANTASTIC Ariel. And Roger Allam, who played Javert in the original London production of my favorite musical was pretty great as Prospero.

   Yesterday was our last day trip as a class (SO WEIRD!!) and we went to see the White Cliffs of Dover. Except we didn't actually see them because the fog was so thick. Sadly. But we did get to explore Dover castle and go through some tunnels where WWII Operation Dynamo to save Allied troops in Dunkirk was planned. That was pretty cool. We then went to see old WWII planes and weapons and that was a little much for me because I don't know anything about any of that.

   Today was the last real day of classes because tomorrow we just have an Art of Walking walk (how fitting). And after class Hope, Deanna, and I set off for the Southbank to the British Film Institute (BFI) to see the 1942 propaganda film Went the Day Well? for the WWII class. We also enjoyed the sunshine for a little which is always nice.

  It is SO SO SO crazy to think that this time next week I will have started my backpacking tour of Europe. This program has flown by and has seriously been some of the greatest months of my life. I just have a few days to pack in the last few London adventures into this spectacular trip!!

The Right to Roam

I have just had one of the best weekends ever. Friday morning began with a 6:00AM start as the entire group boarded a bus up to England's gorgeous Lake District. We specifically stayed near the town of Ambleside. Once we arrived there, approximately six hours after leaving London, all of us students found rooms inside the house we had and then grabbed lunches the place we were staying had provided us. This was the only downside of the weekend...my sandwich was a baguette with cheese and caramelized pickles or onions on it. Not exactly the most tasty of sandwiches. We then divided into three groups and headed to the Kit shop where we were outfitted for hiking. Jeans are apparently the biggest cause of death in these hills/mountains because weather changes rapidly and if it rains then the jeans stick to your skin which leads to hypothermia. So waterproof pants are the solution to that. We also were given hiking boots. And then we hit the trail!! Friday's hike was around four miles over absolutely beautiful terrain! It was hilly and rocky and grassy. Sheep were everywhere. We had a guide and walked to this lake then took a bus back to homebase. The hike probably lasted a few hours and it was perfect. Weather was gorgeous and it was just so fun. After dinner provided by the place (including THE BEST sticky toffee to date...not surprising since it originated from that area!) we relaxed for a little. I then headed into Ambleside with Hope, Monica, Paige, Anna, and Maddie. We walked around the town, met up with Deanna, Warren, and Olivia, and then stopped at a pub where there was live music. After being there for about thirty to forty five minutes we left to try to find the rest of our group...which we found in a karaoke bar. I think one of the absolute best things about this program has been the people. The group I am with just gets along very well as a whole, which made this trip all the more worth it. There were probably at least 25 of us together and we had a blast. Even though they didn't let my group sing because the place closed and locals were given first priority. They missed out on some great T Swift and the Spicegirls. We might have been the next big thing. You never know.

    Saturday was a breakfast and then breaking off for more adventure. Tony led a group to a waterfall, Keffer a group towards Wordsworth things. Did I mention this is the region that enchanted all of those British Romantic poets? Gorgeous. Realizing that when will I ever have the chance to say I hiked in the Lake District and feeling invigorated by Friday's hike, I joined a student only group to do another more intense hike. It was so much fun. We traveled around the same area I had the day before, but it was so gorgeous and there was so much to take in I missed some of it! We eventually abandoned the path we planned and basically just wandered a little and climbed random high hills/mountains/rough terrain. We knew how to get back and had all day to explore. It was great! Two of the guys tried to capture some sheep nearby, but unsurprisingly the sheep succeeded in getting away. Something that is really cool about England is this "right to roam" rule. Basically it means you have the right to walk wherever you want. It doesn't matter if you are walking through someone's pasture, you are allowed to walk there. Think of all those Jane Austen stories where they just sort of wander around everywhere. You are still allowed to do that. It really is cool. This day was fantastic even if I did step in the one marshy spot that made me sink to my calf. Good thing it didn't rain, right? I may have been the next case of hypothermia (it was too warm for those oh so stylish waterproof pants). The temperature actually changed a lot, within five minutes you could go from being hot to having to put on a sweatshirt. After we finished our hike and had collapsed on the stairs for a while, the token girls on the trip (myself, Leah, Courtney, and Ashley) walked to the lake and sat there for about fifteen to twenty minutes. It was so peaceful. Familia, you would have absolutely loved this area. I also highly recommend it - this is easily one of my favorite places in England. A five-ish hour bus ride got us back into London around 11:30PM. Needless to say we were all exhausted.

    It physically hurt to get out of bed this morning. Walking to church was a bit more of a hassle than normal! My limbs decided that two days of intense hiking was enough! Worth it? Absolutely! I would do it again in a heartbeat!! Today is St. George's Day, a big deal for England. The entire group headed to the Royal Albert Hall to hear a concert full of very British tunes. Although a little hard to stay awake at times due to my exhaustion, the concert was great. It was so patriotic with all of the English flags (red cross on white, not the Union Jack which is all of Great Britain) being waved during on the British songs. Although when they referenced the good ole red, white, and blue my thoughts were turned a couple thousand miles away to the USA. The concert began with "God Save the Queen", which is the exact tune of "Our Country Tis of Thee." So basically it was an English concert that made us all think a lot of our good ole homeland.

   This post turned out a lot longer than I expected! I'm not even procrastinating anything right now!! The Lake District was just amazing enough to deserve lots of words! We are down to our final week (TEARS!!!) in London so here comes a crazy week of so much to do!! There are two mottos of this trip, You Only London Once (YOLO) and Everyday is an Adventure. Both have been so true. Pardon the sentiment, but this trip has been the experience of a lifetime. This last week will be the best ever!

Keep Off The Grass

Centre Court!!

    Wow it has been a packed few days!! On Monday, class ended a little early so Anna and I jumped onto the tube and headed out to this little part of London known as Wimbledon to visit the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. This was so cool and I was so excited!! I played tennis in grade school and at the beginning of high school before I became sucked into the world of theatre. I also watch the tournament every single year so actually seeing Wimbledon in real life was pretty incredible. The 2012 London Olympics also held the tennis portions at this location. We began with a tour, where we walked around the facility, seeing highlights such as Court #1, Centre Court, and the site of the longest match  ever between John Isner and Nicholas Mahut.  It lasted for three days with the time of 11 hours and 5 minutes. Crazy! The process for getting the courts ready is really interesting and includes tearing up the grass to plant new seeds. For those reasons, no one is allowed onto the grass.  Naturally this only made me want to touch at least a single blade of grass. Don't worry, I resisted temptation. Getting kicked out of Wimbledon didn't exactly make it onto my  to do list.   We also toured the museum which had some facts about early tennis as well as the history of  the tournament at Wimbledon. There were also various interactive games that were quite fun.  Basically the entire day was great!!

Waiting for the procession

   I had a typical Tuesday night of procrastinating homework. During the afternoon walk we saw the area that next year's London program may be staying at.  Our current location isn't going to be used next year because the company can make more money if they rent rooms for a full year rather than just the few months we are here.  It's weird to think of the London experience without King's Cross so close but I guarantee it will still be amazing! This potential location is close to Liverpool station which is really beautiful. It has grassy areas that you are not allowed to walk on. Dr. Keffer found this out firsthand when he tried.  I guess England's Right to Roam excludes random grassy patches in train stations.

    Wednesday morning Anna, Hope, Deanna, and myself attempted to go to Margaret Thatcher's funeral procession. Unfortunately we misunderstood some information. We thought that the procession started at 11...the funeral started at 11 so the procession began earlier. We were able to see the returning procession of military, bands, and what her coffin was placed on. That part was still really cool. We then found a burrito restaurant (Chipotle is still a million times better even though these were pretty great), then we went to Pret to get coffee to wake up a little. Pret (actual name Pret A Manger) is the most fantastic place ever, a sort of cross between Starbucks and Panera but oh so good!! And reasonable prices! I'm going to miss it so much! We then crossed the river and headed to the Young Vic theatre to meet up with the rest of our group to see A Perfect Mind. One of these days  I'm going to list all the shows I've had the privilege of attending while here! The night was filled with British Politics paper writing so lots of enthusiasm here.

   Today I went with Caitlan, Krissy, Deanna, Anita, and Lily to a fringe play for our Contemporary British Theatre class. It was interesting because we actually went to a cafe. Just a regular old cafe. However, it was also a play because the owners decided it was a fringe play of running a cafe. Basically we were just at a cafe but that was somehow also a play. If you think you get it than you probably do. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it was fringe and it counts for the requirement PLUS the food was delicious! On the way back home it began pouring and hailing and I heard thunder for the first time in two months. It was exciting.

    Although I am far away in good ole London town, my thoughts and prayers have very much been with my homeland these last few days. The explosions at the Boston Marathon on Monday and the recent fertilizer plant explosion in Texas makes me very sad. Thoughts and prayers to all who have been affected by these tragedies.



   

Crazy Little Thing Called Sun

Braving the rocks and cold water!!

    I am sunburnt. Normally this is not an unusual thing at all. However England doesn't exactly normally have warm weather let alone a lot of sunlight. It's considered warm when it hits about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Today, however, was an actually incredibly warm day (in the 60s, what is life?). AND this weather is supposed to continue which I am very happy about. I had forgotten what warm weather felt like.

   It's been another busy week! Thursday night a lot of Centre friends who are studying in Strasburg, France came over to visit for the weekend which was a lot of fun! On Friday I finally went to Camden Market with Monica, Paige, and Martha Grace. We were probably there for about four hours and it was incredible! Easily my favorite market of them all. Saturday I went to a political event for my British Politics class and then went to Borough Market (I think I've been there 7 times now? No shame) with Olivia, Andrew, Martha Grace, Kat, Parker, and Strasburg Olivia. It was as delicious as always. I bought more of the best pears in the world and splurged a little to buy some Turkish Delight (after the Narnia books who doesn't at least want to try this candy??). I tried some at Harrods a while ago (!!!) and bought my favorite, the rose flavored one. It is definitely delicious!! A few of us went to a pub that night and just hung out.

   Today Olivia, Deanna, Paige, Monica, Warren, Hope, and myself went to Brighton for the day. It was amazing. We sat on the beach for 2 1/2 hours. Explains where the sunburn came from, right? It was so nice to be out of London and to smell salt water and hear sea gulls. See? I don't hate all birds. Just the London pigeons. I also have now stood in the English Channel. We went to the pier and walked around and ate so much food, like ice cream and crepes and seafood. We also wandered around Brighton a little and sat outside the Royal Pavilion. Dinner was fish and chips and then coffee/dessert at the most hipster cafe I have ever been to in my entire life. It was great. If you are ever looking for a day trip outside of London, Brighton is yet another place you should look into going. It was a really nice, relaxing day at the beginning of a busy hectic week full of laughter and a million jokes.

Royal Pavilion in Brighton

Four Days, Four Plays

Punting in Oxford!

This week has been awesome! It was my big West End productions week which made it slightly hectic but so much fun!! The day to day has been pretty standard, but the plays...

   Monday: Once Winner of the 2012 Tony for Best New Musical (and based off of a movie by the same name), this show was fantastic. I went with Monica, Olivia, and Deanna. In England, one of the big things is to have ice cream at intermission. Although a bit on the pricey side, this was the performance I decided to get ice cream and I got a Treacle Toffee ice cream. It was delicious. It was such a fun evening!

    Tuesday: Les Mis This show has been my favorite since I grew up on the soundtrack. Finally actually seeing it was a fantastic experience. Definitely cried, it's fine. I'd like to see you make it through that show without tearing up at least once!!

    Wednesday: The Misernthrope (at Oxford) A hilarious evening of Moliere after an incredible day at Oxford (more later)

   Thursday: The Phantom of the Opera which was as great as I had heard. It was a great ending to this crazy theatrical week!

    As I said above, on Wednesday the whole Centre group bused it out to Oxford for the day. The weather was beautiful...I was actually able to take my coat off the whole day!! For the first half of the day, Hope, Monica, Paige, and myself wandered through the covered market and then through the streets of Oxford. We went through some of the courtyards of the colleges which was really cool. We also tried to go to the Botanical Garden, but turned away when there was a price involved. After meeting up with Dr. Keffer for a quick meeting, I set out with twelve others to go punting!! This was so much fun! I actually got to do the punting a little too! This was a little nerve wracking because I thought I was going to fall out of the boat when I stood up AND I was afraid of dropping the pole used to move the boat...but I succeeded!! After that, Hope, Martha Grace, Warren, Olivia, Deanna, and I wandered around the streets ducking into shops and just experiencing Oxford. If I had had more time, I would have found the places where the shot the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies, as well as certain staircases and other awesome sights. I sadly missed these, but the day was still incredible! I also ate sticky toffee again, which is always a plus. These day trips are fun because we get out of the city and have free range to explore.

Album cover...because we're that cool!

Don't Feed the Birds

     I'm going to take a minute to address a certain avian problem that London has. Pigeons. There are literally pigeons everywhere you look. And they are the fattest birds in the entire world. Many times I will see a pigeon fail at flying a few times before it manages to get more than about two feet off the ground. They also have a great tendency to fly right at your face as you walk by. I've taken to ducking when I see a pigeon because I don't exactly want feathers in the face. And while I have never been the biggest bird person (I'm lookin at you familia, with all of your Ohio Bird Books), I've always at least appreciated them. Until now. So please don't feed these birds. They do not need any extra food. Their young ones are not hungry, their nests are not bare. Save your tuppence.

Abbey Road!..of M&Ms!

    Hello! Friday began as any normal morning full of procrastination and then heading to class. After class, my friend Hope and I headed to St. Paul's to meet up with her friend Shelly who is studying in a manor house in England, but was in London for the day. It was so much fun! We walked across the Thames and wandered around Borough Market sampling different foods before crossing back over the river for dinner. We ate at Ye Old Cheshire Cheese pub. I had steak and kidney pudding (a kind of pie) and definitely avoided the pieces that qualify as the kidney part of that dish. Even so, it was delicious! I also finally had sticky toffee again, which I haven't had since the first full day in London. We then wandered around the Trafalgar Square area. We walked to Buckingham Palace and then headed up towards Leicester Square where we stumbled upon M&M World. This may be a huge tourist trap but it also is pretty cool. It is a large building with five floors dedicated to selling M&Ms and t shirts and such. They even had a mood indicator. I was Orange, which meant I was apparently nervous because I was afraid someone was going to take my peanut M&Ms. It was a great day!

so many feathers!

   Saturday I woke up early to go to a political event for my British Politics class. After spending about 15 minutes searching around King's Cross Station for the event I returned home to realize I had the wrong day...it is NEXT Saturday. Oh well! Later Deanna and I headed to Trafalgar Square where World Pillow Fight Day was being held. Thousands of people were packed into the square to watch the air fill will feathers. The ground was literally covered. It was crazy and awesome. We then walked through the National Portrait Gallery before heading home. My night ended by watching The Princess Bride with Hope, Warren, and Olivia. It was fun! Today has been a day of actually really working on homework (I'm caught up on theatre reviews, what is life?). This evening Deanna, Krissy, Caitlan, and myself tried to go to a fringe play for class. When we got there we found out that the play had actually been four hours earlier. TimeOut had the times wrong. We'll just have to find another one!

   Tomorrow is the first "full week" of classes I'll have had in two weeks...and that is with class cancelled for Friday!

This post MIGHT be about Shakespeare

   

White Tower (Tower of London)

  Such a busy week!! On Monday, Andrew and I headed to the Tower of London. Just getting there was an adventure because since it was Easter Monday a lot of train lines were closed. What normally could be a two train/ one station change route ended up involving at least three station changes. We arrived around 11 and didn't leave until 3 it was so cool. We began with a tour by the Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters as they are commonly called). They actually still live in the Tower with their families, we were told. I later also found out that they have a pub there for them to access. Pretty cool. After this hour long tour, where we learned interesting facts about the Tower and went into the chapel that contained the bodies of people like St. Thomas More and Anne Boleyn. We then got in line to see the Crown Jewels. The wait was probably around 30 minutes but moved pretty consistently. I'm glad we went when we did because the line grew as the day continued! After seeing these beautiful crowns and other royal pieces, we went through the White Tower. This is the tower sort of at the center of the Tower of London.  This held a lot of armory from so many of the monarchs. It was pretty cool. We then went through the Wakefield tower, which held three torture devices. One thing that I have apparently always been wrong about when it comes to the Tower of London is the fact that relatively few people were tortured there. I had always been under the impression that torture was common here. Not the case. After the Wakefield tower we went on the Wall Walk, which took us through the palace portion of the complex. I had forgotten that monarchs and others had lived there in the past...after all it had begun as a fortress! We also saw graffiti from past prisoners and examples of weapons that were used to defend the Tower. It was absolutely an incredible day. 

19-20 year olds can still play dress up, right?

    On Tuesday we boarded a bus early in the morning and headed off to Stratford-upon-Avon. We began with a tour of the birthplace of Shakespeare. Many of the artifacts in these places are possibly Shakespeare's, but nothing can be proven. Therefore every sign says that "this <insert object> might have belonged to Shakespeare himself!". Although I understand and appreciate this from a historical stand point, it also was really funny and became a running joke of the day. And I obviously still find it amusing because I named this post after it. Oh well! We then wandered around Stratford, which is absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. Hope, Leah, Courtney, and myself split a giant scone and sat in a cafe for a while before heading to Shakespeare's grave. We then rejoined the large group to go through homes owned by family members of Shakespeare. At the first house our group (we were split into 2 groups to go through the homes) played a wonderful game of tag in the garden. Yes we are 19-21 year olds. It was so warm that we were all able to take off coats. Such a change from the snowball fight we had on the last day trip. It was the greatest. After touring the next house we sat in a room and dressed up in the costumes they had and colored pictures of people in period dress. We then ate at an Italian restaurant and headed to a Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of Hamlet. This was pretty exciting and very good despite the horrible seats we had! We got back to our home in London around 1:30AM. It was a great day. 

Tower of London

  

      Wednesday I went to the National Gallery with the Art of Walking class. We went through early art then discussed it, followed by lunch at the crypt of St. Martin's in the Fields. I then did grocery shopping and laundry and felt like a productive adult. Last night Martha Grace, Olivia, Hope, and I watched Pitch Perfect. Today was the first day of class in a week. Due to lines being down it was delayed an hour, something we all found out upon arrival in Russel Square. A bunch of us went for tea/coffee in a cafe in the square then joined the rest of the class watching Arrested Development while waiting for Tony to get there. I wish I had gotten to the classroom earlier to watch more! After class Martha Grace and I wandered through the blizzard (well..not quite. But quite a lot of snow. And 2 days ago we took of our coats because it was so warm!) to get groceries for dinner tonight. For our turn in the cooking group we made our most impressive meal to date: Greek wraps (pita bread and chicken with various add ins) and fruit wraps! It has been a great few days full of the many adventures that London study abroad holds!