Final Thoughts on London

I’ve been home from London for a week already, so I think it’s time to share my final thoughts on the past semester. ‘Cept, I don’t know where to start. This past semester was something else… I can’t thank everyone who helped make the semester in London the best it could possibly be; My mother and father, the family and contacts I met while in London, the Ball State and City of Westminster College course directors, and the friends I gained over the past twelve weeks. I look forward to the day we can get together back at school.

My flatmates at the final send off last Monday.

Our group of friends after soccer one evening in Paddington park, just down the block from our flat.

Living and being with these friends for the past twelve weeks has me really looking forward to living with Jordan, Ben, and Zeyne in a house next school year.

Other than that, things have been pretty tame since being home. Easter was great. I was able to start working at LT on Monday on the second shift (3:30 PM – 11:30 PM), so I’m staying busy between that and the gym earlier on in the day.

OH! The Lollapalooza lineup was released on Tuesday night, much to my delight and apparently many people’s dismay. My Facebook feed was a mixture of emotions as friends made ecstatic posts about the (bumpin’) lineup and others who seemed ready to be put on suicide watch. This is how I see it. Lollapalooza is a festival which showcases emerging and relevant artists that have made waves over the past twelve months or small-time groups that merit exposure. That’s what Lolla is though. It’s a festival that introduces to audiences to bands they may have never heard of before. Sure, you want to see some familiar artists on every lineup, but what happened to reading a lineup and saying, “Who is ____? They sound interesting.” We have the Internet at our disposal, good people. The ability to discover music is literally a click away. On Facebook you’ve friends post music all the time, and now with Spotify/Facebook integration, you can see what everyone’s listening to. We’ve got Twitter, where SO many artists attract a following nowadays. For those without Twitter, Facebook, or Spotify, we’ve got iTunes and Wikipedia, where we can see an artist’s entire discography, listen to it in seconds, and determine what we do and don’t like.

So when I read that people are upset with the lack of well-known artists at festivals like Lollapalooza, I’m disheartened. As I mentioned earlier, I feel Lollapalooza strives to bring RELEVANT artists to Chicago. Obviously, I’m not going to go through the lineup one by one and dissect exactly how they were selected to be at Lollapalooza…

I’ll make it quick. The headliners? Okay. Each headliner has earned that closing time slot. They each bring something new to the table.

While we all may not go see Black Sabbath, it’s the original lineup, and it’s Sabbath… When’s the last time they played a show? Let alone a festival?

Avicii? The dude has been EVERYWHERE over the past twelve months. It would have been a crime for him not to be there. If there was a festival which featured any variety of artists, you can safely bet Avicii was there, and played to a massive crowd.

Justice? A good call on Perry’s part. Let’s bring a huge name, relevant in both the electronic scene as well as the popular music scene.

Jack White? Jack White’s a badass. The man does whatever he wants and people always dig it. He recently put out some solo material, and had an album with Insane Clown Posse earlier this year.

The Black Keys? Another great play by Perry. A band that was everywhere this year. The band’s follow up to “Brothers”, “El Camino” was such a massive success. They manage to capture an audience through mainstream radio play as well as through fans who’re into the genre of “independent music”, whatever you choose to call it.

But then you’ve got such a rich mix of artists (per usual), from Bassnectar to the Tune-Yards (Pitchfork’s favorite of 2010), Wale to M83 (Pitchfork’s favorite of 2011), and Sigur Ros to Knife Party… There were a lot of people who were upset with the increase of electronic/dance artists on the lineup this year… RELEVANT MUSIC, good people, is what Lollapalooza is all about. There’s still such a diversity in the lineup in addition to the electronic/dance artists. You’ve only got a select few well-known hip-hop artists, Wale, J.Cole, Santigold, Frank Ocean (Perry couldn’t bring all of OFWGKTA. He didn’t want people to die), and Childish Gambino. Plenty of well-known rock/indie sounding groups such as The Temper Trap, Big Pink, Passion Pit, The Shins… The list goes on and on. There’s so much more than that, though, and it’s easier to just peruse the lineup to take in the healthy variety. While I am NO critic, in my opinion, if you’re not seeing anything that’s catching your eye, I feel it’s better to look at the lineup, and go into the festival with an open mind. Listen to some of the tunes from artists you’re not familiar with before the first weekend in August! I promise you, there is such a variety of great music on this lineup!

Friends, don’t be upset with this lineup! Perry just wants you to have a good time.

The Last Weekend in London

It’s really unbelievable that I’m leaving for home tomorrow morning. I’m all packed up, and want to get one last post written before I get home. The past weekend was a lot of fun. I’ll pick up where I left off in my last post.

Thursday night, a majority of the group stayed in the flats and just hung out. The nights we all remained in the flats always turned out to be a blast. We all got to know each other more, and these nights typically proved to be memorable.

On Friday, A.J., Chad, Andy, and I went to Borough Market, just off of the London Bridge underground stop. I had never been up until Friday, so I was excited to see the diverse variety of food being sold there. You could spend all day there simply taking in the food on display. We were lucky to have great weather on Friday, which made the afternoon even more enjoyable.

Borough Market

This fresh juice stand would mix freshly-squeezed fruits into combinations unheard of… Like, black chokeberry and pawpaw juice.

Wheels of cheese as big as a wheel on a bus.

I bought this sandwich from one of the vendors… It was so good. Peep how the greens peek out the sides of the sandwich, teasing you.

This chicken, bacon, humus, and lettuce sammich though…

Borough Market was a good time. On Friday night, the other three guys and I went to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) pub in London. Like a dungeon on the inside, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese as dimly lit with small, narrow stairwells and hallways. We had a drink or two and just talked. A more laid-back evening, but still cool.

At one of the bars.

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

On Saturday, my flatmates minus Shelby and a few girls from Flat #2 went to this amusement park called Thorpe Park, which was just under two hours outside of London. Thorpe Park, man… Where the people stink of fast food and try to pass off fairground size rides as roller coasters. We made the best of it though. Of the, like, seven coasters, my favorite was this one themed around the “Saw” movie. Right next to the “Saw” ride, there was a “Saw” house, where you could walk through different rooms with actors in Saw-esque rooms and traps. While terrifying, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. “Saw” is a good film, and I liked the first two… But I don’t know what’s happened with the last fifteen films in the “Saw” franchise…

On Sunday, Andy, Chad, and I went to Platform 9 and 3/4 at King’s Cross. It’s a cool little tribute in some wall in the main entrance of the station. Don’t know why I was so surprised when I saw just how many tourists were there to take photos. We managed to get back to Covent Garden later in the afternoon to walk around and take a few more photos. On Sunday night, we went to Blackfriars pub, just next to the Blackfriars station. Two pubs in such a short span of days… It was a personal record.

Covent Garden

On Monday, the group went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. We had another beautiful day, although it was bittersweet, for this was our last guided tour with Phillipa, who has been leading us around London and England since the very first day.

A shot of the London Shard from the top of St. Paul’s.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

After St. Paul’s, Andy, Chad, A.J. and I walked along the Thames one last time before the group got together at Tiger Tiger later that night for the final send off party.

The Final Week

It’s unbelievable to think that I’ve only got another five full days left in London. These past eleven weeks have just flown by! So… What’s been going on this week…

On Monday evening, the group headed to the Royal Opera House (where the BAFTAs were held this year), where we watched the ballet, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I can’t recall having seen any ballet before “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, however, I vaguely remember going to see “The Nutcracker” in Chicago many, many years ago. I really, really enjoyed “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I thought the costumes and sets were absolutely beautiful. The Royal Opera House has a much larger stage than the venues we’ve been at during the past eleven weeks, so the performance could afford grandiose sets, complete with massive stack card towers, screens dozens of feet high, which would display extraordinary visual effects which enhanced the entire performance.

You guys, it was great. The way the actors told the story, and the effects used were incredibly clever and I was thoroughly impressed. Chad, Andy, and I were sitting in front of this older gentleman, who turned out to be there by himself, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, who was just having the time of his life and would giggle and guffaw at the most inappropriate moments. Chad would turn to me and ask, “Am I missing something?”. We had a good time though.

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

It easily made my list of top three favorites out of all the other theatre we’ve experienced during the semester. Which, if I had to compose that list, would look something like this…

1. The Phantom of the Opera

2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

3. Jersey Boys

Honorable Mention: Moswell Hill or One Man, Two Guv’nors (Too close to rule one out, so why don’t we have both?)

If there wasn’t such a deep-seeded affection for “The Phantom of the Opera”, then “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” might have taken that number one spot.

On Tuesday evening, I met Uncle Archie and Pat at the Royal College of Pathologists, where he works and teaches (and is temporarily living until he can move into his new house), and headed just around the corner to the club where RCP members relax. I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, I’ll find out though. But it was in this magnificent building, with a large lounging area upstairs, complete with libraries full of priceless books you can’t find anywhere else. Archie, Pat, and I shared a drink upstairs in the lounge before the three of us headed to the restaurant downstairs where we ate.

Pat was meeting co-workers, while Archie and I shared a table to ourselves. He’s heading to Cape Town for business on Thursday, and Pat will be in Venice for the remaining days of the week and into the weekend, so Tuesday evening was the last time I was able to see them while in London this semester. I can’t thank Archie and Pat enough for the kindness they’ve shown me since I’ve been in London. I know Pat has a picture of the evening on her phone, so once she sends it my way, I’ll be sure to throw it up here.

On Wednesday, the group was up early and met just outside the Tower of London, where we spent the rest of our morning. Being inside Tower of London during the day was cool. We’ve been inside during the evening for Ceremony of the Keys, but we were able to see more of the castle, including the crown jewels, which were breathtaking. Wednesday was an educational day. Not our last field trip though, for we’ll be at St. Paul’s on April 2nd.

Outside Tower of London

Inside Tower of London, looking down Water Lane.

We finished up at Tower of London, grabbed some lunch, and headed to spend a few hours in Hyde Park, as it was a beautiful day outside. We had spotless skies with temperatures, pushing 80 degrees for the better half of the day. We brought a soccer ball along, Chad brought a his guitar, and the group had a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon before we headed back to the flats.

Cigars & Guitars – A tradition Chad and I will continue back at school next semester.

As of today, I am finished with the classes here at City of Westminster College. We finished up with History of British Pop Music on Tuesday, and finished with Introduction to Theatre and British Life & Culture today. Andy and I performed our final, which consisted of a performance of a short script, which we’ve been practicing for the past week or so. We were able to get a good video recording of it in just one take, so hopefully I’ll be able to get a copy and see how it looks… Before I determine whether or not I should put it online… British Life & Culture ended with a few final grades being returned to students and just some general information about leaving the flats provided by the Ball State instructor here with us, Dr. Pierce. I’m going to try to write one more time before I leave for home on Wednesday morning, because I feel the last few days here will merit a separate post.

As always, thanks for reading, everyone! Can’t wait to see you all in a matter of days!

Another Week

Although Paris was one of my favorite places I’ve been to this semester, it was good to be back in London. We started the week with the stage production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the Adelphi Theatre featuring Michael Ball (Recognized British musician and actor) as Sweeney Todd and Imelda Staunton (Professor Umbridge in the Harry Potter series and well-known actress who’s appeared in numerous films and theatrical productions) as Mrs. Lovett. I enjoyed the stage production of Sweeney Todd, yet, I made the mistake of seeing the Tim Burton adaptation for the screen staring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter when it came out in 2007.

Per usual, it can be tough to view an adaptation from a book to the screen, or from the stage to the screen because you may have preconceived notions and expectations which will be unreachable. This was the case for me. I knew I had to go into the performance with an open mind, fully knowing it would not be the same. However, I just couldn’t get on board after having seen the film… Which is rare, because there’s only so much Tim Burton I can stomach. Burton’s “Sweeney Todd”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and “Beetlejuice” are some of the few movies that I could probably watch if they popped up on TV.

But that’s neither here nor there. The stage performance was good. I thought Michael Ball made an intriguing Sweeney Todd while Imelda Staunton brought an unusual sense of humor to the dark, sinister story. I didn’t think the humor quite fit in… But that’s simply another consequence I faced having seen the film before the stage musical.

The collaborative philosophy of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp.

Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Since we saw Sweeney Todd on Monday night, we didn’t have any theatre to attend on Tuesday evening. So Tuesday was pretty laid-back, as I organized my portfolio to turn in on Friday. The only class I have on Tuesday is History of British Pop Music, which, as you’d imagine, is a blast. Over the past nine weeks, we’ve explored the bands and the music of Britain since the 1950s. The class on Tuesday and even the week before was dedicated to the 80s. These were the classes I had been looking forward to since the beginning of the semester. This past class went into detail about the history behind Joy Division, New Order, and The Smiths.

I’m not too familiar with Joy Division, having only listened to a few singles, but I’m definitely going to pick up some of their music when I head back home. I’ve only listened to The Smiths’ “Meat Is Murder” and “Strangeways, Here We Come”, but I hope Dennis and Vivian will let me get some of their respective Smiths collection when I get home. Finally, you can never have enough New Order. And you know what? Rob only played “The Beach” during class that day. One New Order song is better than none, though. I’ve got my work cut out for me in terms of what tunes I need to pick up when I return home. Rob did recommend listening to New Order’s “World In Motion”, which New Order recorded for England’s 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign. I dig it, ‘cept for the terrible verse towards the end performed by England footballer, John Barnes… Just ruins it for me. Next Tuesday, I expect we’ll continue on to the 90s and discuss Oasis, The Prodigy, Blur, and Radiohead. We could always throw New Order in the mix… They had an album or two in the 1990s, didn’t they?

On Wednesday, the group took the overground to Richmond, where we rode bikes along the Thames to Hampton Court Palace. We had gorgeous weather – Clear skies and blazing sunshine – for our 8 mile ride.

Post lunch nap. (Tell ’em I just want my naps! Naps on naps, on naps.)

A shot of some homes on the Thames.

A small portion of the group along the Thames.

Standing on a lock just off the Thames.

We stopped for lunch at noon and continued just up the trail to Hampton Court Palace, which was beautiful. It was an impressive building for its time period and exemplified just how wealthy the royal families were. We were lucky to have the gorgeous weather that we did, because it always makes the Wednesday trips even more enjoyable.

Hampton Court Palace

The main entrance to Hampton Court Palace.

So here I am writing this post at the BBC Broadcasting House at Portland Place, just next to Oxford Circus. I was presented with the opportunity to go behind the scenes at Radio 4 and was able to sit on an editorial meeting for “You And Yours”, a consumer affairs program, which I will watch go out live at noon. So far, it’s been an incredibly exciting morning as I was briefly shown the inner workings of one of the world-renowned media outlets. The editorial meeting consisted of the “You And Yours” team sitting down with an outline of the program and making any last-minute alterations to the segments, switching out news stories, and running through how the show will be executed. It’s a humbling experience listening to, and being around professionals who speak about their work with such vigor. After I watch the show go out live, I’ll update on how the rest of the morning went and be sure to include some pictures of the day’s adventures.

A view of the brand new floor which will serve as BBC’s base of operations when it opens in the near future.

Radio 4’s office space located in the Broadcasting House.

Inside the on-air studio with Peter (The host of “You And Yours”) getting ready to record a podcast.

Back at school to finish this post and get started on some final assignments. Watching “You And Yours” go out live was fascinating. The studios and facilities I was able to see were beautiful, and only rivaled by the equipment I’ve used at IPR and WCRD. Inside the production booth was a flurry of activity as producers organized the guest callers for their respective segments while other employees ran in and out of the studio handing everyone a copy of the script for the next segment, containing cues for cutting to audio clips and the on-air phone calls.

Watching Peter (The host of “You And Yours”), Jon (My contact at Radio 4), and the rest of the Radio 4 team work was both impressive and inspiring. Watching how professionals move so seamlessly throughout the preparation process and executing the program was certainly an exciting learning experience. Being in the studios at Radio 4 made me miss my shift and my fellow employees and friends at Indiana Public Radio and WCRD, and had me really looking forward to returning come next semester.

The original entrance to the Broadcasting House.

The new entrance on the recent addition to the Broadcasting House.

Don’t know what the plans are for the weekend, yet. Definitely going to take advantage of the warm weather while we’ve got it! I’ve got a fair amount of work due next week, and I’ll probably end up getting started on those projects this weekend, that way, I’ll be able to enjoy the final weekend here without any additional pressure of finishing schoolwork last minute.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Weekly Recap

It’s been a fairly low-key week, seeing as everyone is just enjoying being back in London from their respective mid-semester breaks. On Monday night, we took a “Jack The Ripper” tour around the Whitechapel area. On the tour, we visited locations where the bodies of Jack The Ripper’s victims were found, and learned about the history of the killings. Aside from the gruesome details, the group was recommended a film about Jack The Ripper to check out if they felt so inclined – “Jack The Ripper” (1998) staring Michael Caine. Following the Jack The Ripper tour, half of the group headed to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London – A tradition which takes place every night and has done so since the 14th century.

On Tuesday evening, the entire group went to one of our professor’s homes here in London. Phillipa, our tour guide on our Wednesday trips and the professor of the Art History course on the London program, had the group over for some dinner. I was requested to read the opening paragraph from “Bleak House” by Charles Dickens, and sat on the staircase as I read to the entire group. I’m sure there was photographic evidence, and I’ll be sure to get it up as soon as it surfaces online…

Wednesday was one of the more laid-back traveling days we’ve experienced so far. On Tuesday evening, our program director, Dr. Pierce and Phillipa agreed to make Wednesday and optional day. However, the weather was projected to be enjoyable and a trip to Hampstead Heath would be a lot of fun. There was about half of the group that showed up to Hampstead Heath on Wednesday and we walked around the entire park, and the men stood by as the women went to jump into the small swimming hole for a quick dip. We spent the better half of the afternoon in Hampstead Heath and had a great time.

Two of my flatmates picked up soccer balls on Thursday afternoon, so after class on Thursday, six of the girls from flat two and four guys from my flat went to the park just down the street and played a great game. While I haven’t played soccer since the AYSO days, it felt great to be playing and getting some exercise again. While we sustained some minor injuries, we agreed that we’ll have to do it regularly in the last month we have in London.

I forgot to bring a camera along this week, but once I see some photos uploaded on Facebook, I’ll throw ’em on here. Thanks for reading, everyone. See you all very, very soon!

Mid-Semester Break

Nearly six weeks down… And it’s been a busy past couple of days. So what have I been up to since the last time I wrote? On Monday evening, I went to the Prince Charles Cinema, one of the independent theaters in London, located in Leicester Square. I went to the showing of the film “The Room” which included a Q&A session with the director/star as well as one of the actor’s from the film. As I mentioned earlier, “The Room” is one of those movies that’s so bad, it’s good. I had never been to an independent theater such as the Prince Charles Cinema before. The cinema frequently plays older, cult movies such as “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and fan favorites such as “Fargo” and “Grease”.

With Greg Sestero (left) and Tommy Wiseau (right).

On Tuesday evening, the group attended the Southampton VS West Ham United football match, which was a blast. After watching a few soccer games on television back in the United States, I thought I had seen it all. However, being in the stadium (West Ham’s in Upton Park) surrounded by fans who feel that their territory is being encroached on by the visiting Southampton is a whole new beast. The game itself was very fast paced and only kept picking up momentum as the fans as they launch into chants so vulgar I can’t even begin to reproduce them here. Definitely an experience in British Life & Culture.

On Wednesday, the group took the train out to Rochester where we spent half a day. Located in Kent, Rochester was the setting of many Charles Dickens books. We visited Rochester Castle, Rochester Cathedral, as well as The Six Poor Travelers House – The inspiration for Dickens’ “The Seven Poor Travelers”. Rochester was very beautiful and we very fortunate to have much better weather than our previous Wednesday trips.

Inside The Six Poor Travelers House

Inside Rochester Cathedral

Inside Rochester Cathedral

On Thursday, I went up to Belsize Park where I joined Archie and Pat for dinner at their beautiful flat. All of my flatmates left for their respective spring break trips on Friday morning, so I’ve got the flat to myself until I leave for Scotland on Monday evening. On Friday night, I was at the Electric Brixton for the Alvin Risk/Skrillex/Zane Lowe after party, which was a lot of fun. I’ve never been to a show where the crowd is unresponsive and generally uninterested in the show happening right in front of them until last night’s show. I’m heading to the O2 Academy in Brixton tonight for the actual show, so I hope it will be a better atmosphere. I’m leaving for Inverness on Monday night, and I’ll be there until Thursday morning, when I’ll head down to Edinburgh until Saturday. I’ll be sure to take some photos and have plenty to write about.

Q&A With The Director/Star Of The Best Movie Ever Made – The Room

Now, I’m genuinely excited about this. I just bought tickets to see Tommy Wiseau (Director) and Greg Sestero (Actor) introduce and do a brief Q&A before the showing of “The Room” in a few weeks at the Prince Charles Cinema. How to describe “The Room”… It’s so bad, literally, everything from the acting to the script, is so bad, that it emerges as one triumphant “YES. This is why humans were given eyes – To watch this film.”. I had the blessed fortune to have seen this movie with Viv, Murphy, Tim, and Ellyn last Christmas break, I think it was. When I discovered that this was going to be in London… I had to be there, no questions asked.

Greg Sestero and Tommy Wiseau in "The Room"

Check out the Prince Charles Cinema here – http://www.princecharlescinema.com/index.php

Here’s the website for The Room. After waching the trailer, only then will you begin to understand the never-ending game of Jenga going on inside of Tommy Wiseau’s head. – http://www.TheRoomMovie.com/

I’ll definitely have to head back to Prince Charles Cinema for some of the events hosted there in the very near future.

Parliament

On Monday, January 30th, the group visited Parliament at the Palace of Westminster, which is the meeting place for both houses of Parliament – The House of Lords and The House of Commons. The Palace of Westminster is a beautiful building located right across from Westminster Abbey, and is literally directly off of the Westminster tube stop on the Jubilee line. The architect of the Palace of Westminster was a man named Charles Barry, who designed the building in a Neo-Gothic style. The Gothic style was reminiscent of the buttresses in the Westminster Abbey. Due to the rules and regulations of Parliament, we were unable to take pictures inside the building. There were these two murals of the Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Waterloo, which were beyond impressive. The murals took seven years to complete, because the creator used a technique involving painting on wet plaster, which he could only do during two months of the year, for the conditions weren’t appropriate during the remaining ten months.

While we were in Parliament, our guide briefly touched upon the plot to blow up Parliament in 1605 – For we were in the Prince’s Chamber, where underneath the floor, 36 barrels of gunpowder were discovered. Thank goodness no one mentioned the James McTeigue film “V For Vendetta”… I went into the film determined not to like it because I expected it to be a great deal of Natalie Portman crying and another role Hugo Weaving maybe shouldn’t have done.. However, I begrudgingly enjoyed it. We saw the room where The House of Lords meets (decorated with gold, ornate jewels, and paintings) as well as where The House of Commons meets (much more modest). Overall, it was a fascinating tour, considering groups of our size aren’t normally allowed in while Parliament is still in session (scheduled to be in session at 2:30 PM later that same day).

Faces So Sad – I Can’t Take Them Seriously

Since I was only two or three stops away from Bond Street, I headed in that direction after seeing Parliament to check out what shopping what to be had there (simply a reconnaissance outing). Some great stores out there, and I’ll certainly have to go back, for a more in-depth… Look at how retail affects… My personal finances…

The (Seemingly) Never-Ending Weekend

After class on Friday, I went over to Bethnal Green to meet a friend my Uncle Joe had introduced me to via e-mail a few weeks ago. Annie is a student at the London College of Communication and was generous enough to show myself and two of my friends around Camden for a few hours on Friday afternoon. Camden was absolutely brilliant. Probably one of my favorite places I’ve been so far. The Camden market left me in awe and I can’t wait to go back next weekend and spend some serious time there. The music scene is still going strong in Camden, with bands at every corner handing out flyers for their next show. Definitely going to try to go to a show at the Electric Ballroom (right off of the Camden tube stop) for a show… I think Sleigh Bells is there very, very soon.

I had tickets to travel to Amsterdam with three other students on Friday evening (or so we thought), so we headed back to the flats to hang out until it was time to get on the tube to the train station. Upon returning, I thought I should double check the tickets, seeing as I did not book the tickets, I was still unsure of our travel arrangements. Looking at the tickets, I noticed we had to be at the station in an hour for our first train, instead of three hours like I was told from the other students I was traveling with. So we hurried to the first station to catch our first bus. It didn’t show. After waiting outside for an additional 15 minutes, we simply took the tube to Victoria Station where our next bus was supposed to depart from (probably what we should have done from the get-go…).

Our bus departed from Victoria at 7:00 PM. We found ourselves on a ferry over at 9:00 PM. We were scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at 8:00 AM on Saturday morning. We got in at 6:00 AM. Unsure of where to go next, we left the station and started walking. By some miracle, we found the central downtown area after about an hour of walking (without any backtracking, mind you). So we’re in town at 7:00 AM. Nothing opens until 9:00 AM. We were homeless for a few hours on Saturday morning… Before the sun was even up… It was around 35 degrees Fahrenheit. We saw most of the city in an hour as walked around aimlessly. We happened upon a grocery store that opened up at 8:00 AM (we found it around 7:56 AM), which we warmed up in for a little bit before we went to a bagel  store, which was just next door, which opened at 8:30 AM.

After an extremely mediocre cup of coffee and a very brief nap with my head down on the table, we headed back out on the streets at approximately 9:00 AM. Now things were starting to open up, and people were out and about on the Saturday morning. It was bone-chilling outside when the wind picked up, and a majority of the restaurant were not open yet. We did some more walking, and were able to grab lunch and sit for a while. After lunch we headed to a movie theatre, on the suggestion from two of my companions who thought that’s where they could close their eyes for at least two hours in a somewhat comfortable chair. I had no problem with this, but I wanted to see a good movie. We went to go see Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was beautiful. I came out of the theatre only angry at myself for having put seeing the film off this long. Everyone was out and about after the movie ended – The streets were PACKED. We grabbed some dinner and took a cab back to Amstel Station (only about a ten minute drive) without much traffic. We got back on our bus at 7:00 PM and began the 7 hour drive back to France where we got back on a ferry and upon docking in the UK, we proceeded on to Victoria station. We got into Victoria, found a bus home, and rolled into the flats around 6:00 AM. I have never been as happy as I was earlier this morning to lay down in my bed and sleep.

Overall verdict: Amsterdam is a beautiful place. But for the amount of traveling we went through to spend less that 12 hours there? Not worth it. We learned the hard way, and from now on (for me at least) we’ll be flying, or spending more than 12 hours in a location and get a hotel room. Kind of bummed that I missed out on College on Friday night. He was playing at a local venue just down the block and it only cost about 6 or 7 pounds to get in. This weekend was a learning experience, and I am glad I was able to visit. Will I head back for an extended weekend? Maybe. Probably not.

What A Week…

I apologize for not getting a post up around mid-week, when I usually mean to, but this past week has been absolutely hectic. So where to start… Probably from the beginning. On Tuesday evening we went to go see the production Jersey Boys. I preferred Jersey Boys over War Horse, which we saw two weeks ago. I simply enjoyed the stage production and  effects in Jersey Boys more than I did War Horse (although they are two entirely different entities). We’ve got a short reprieve from our Tuesday evening plays/musicals next week, however, we’ve got Lion King booked for the 7th of February.

Wednesday was another full day of seeing the sights of city. We saw the Westminster Abbey as well as the War Rooms where Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet would meet during World War II. Westminster Abbey left me speechless. The sheer size of Westminster Abbey, and the structure of this massive, rising ceiling was just stunning. I was unable to take any photographs of the inside of Westminster Abbey due to the rules and regulations. But, I was able to snap a few memorable ones from right outside, and from the small cloisters as well.

The War Rooms/War Cabinet was also very fascinating as well. As we went through the exhibit, we walked the exact hallways Winston Churchill walked. It included not only a walkthrough of the War Cabinet and their responsibilities during World War II, but also a large room focusing on the entire life of Winston Churchill. It was an educational experience, to say the least. However, the feeling that  I was walking the halls (Westminster Abbey included), immersed in such a deep history, was extremely gratifying. After walking through the War Rooms, I walked around St. James park for a bit – Which is one of the larger parks I’ve seen in London.