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!

Phantom of the Opera / Stonehenge & Bath

I figure I should get a post out before I leave for Paris for the weekend, because I’m sure that will deserve its own individual post.

On Tuesday night, the group went to see The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Piccadilly. The Phantom of the Opera was one of the theatre nights I had been looking forward to since the beginning of this semester. My parents took my brother and I (I can’t remember if Ellery was with us or not) to see The Phantom of the Opera in Chicago when we were very small. I think we even went a few times after that, but according to my parents, it had been about 13 or 14 years since I’ve seen The Phantom of the Opera. It was just as enjoyable as I remember it back in the day. The tunes were great, I thought the actors did a great a job, and we had decent seats for one of the most popular shows on stage in London. I’ve made a point to check out the 2004 Joel Schumacher  film with Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, and Patrick Wilson, simply to see how it stacks up against the stage performance.

The Phantom of the Opera leading Christine Daaé to his lair in the cellars.

We had an early start on Wednesday as the group departed from the flats at 7:00 AM. We drove up to Lacock first, a small village in Wiltshire. We had a short breakfast of pastries and coffee at the Red Lion Inn and explored the village for an hour before we headed off the Bath. Lacock is recognized as being one of the few villages that has remained virtually unchanged by development.

The main street in Lacock.

The Lacock Abbey. Scenes from the Harry Potter films have been shot inside.

After Lacock, the group got back on the coach and continued on the short drive over to Bath, which was absolutely beautiful. Despite the cloudy weather, I still had a great time touring the Roman Baths and had a delicious lunch in a nearby pub with a small group of good friends. The Baths were quite fascinating. The man-hours and level of engineering and planning that went into the construction of these facilities is baffling. The fact that some of the smaller structures are still intact is beyond impressive.

A view of one of the baths.

These stands were used to support floors and would help circulate heat throughout the room.

One origin of the water that emptied into the baths.

After Bath, we proceeded on to Stonehenge. Stonehenge was much smaller than I imagined it would be, nevertheless, it was certainly a spectacle to behold. Seeing Stonehenge up close and personal was one of those experiences where I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. For me, Stonehenge was something that I remember learning about in grade school, and now, here I was looking at it. The skies cleared up for our time at Stonehenge, which ended the trip on a high note.

A view of Stonehenge.

The open countryside at Stonehenge.

Wednesday was a great time, and I’m glad the group was able to experience everything we did that day.

I’m sitting at school writing this now. The Introduction to Theatre class just ended, and the class was rehearsing our short scripts for the final “performance” in two weeks. My friend and flatmate, Andy and I are working together to perform a scene from Five Visions of the Faithful (I am the Knife) by Torben Betts. Here’s a description from the script…

“Five Visions of the Faithful is a series of short plays which explore the concept and applications of cruelty. I am the Knife is set within a prison and the Inmate (Andy) is an enemy of the state who has been sentenced to death. He is visited by the Priest (Me) who tries to persuade him to sign a confession in order  to save his life and be freed.”

We present our scene to the group on March 29th and I think these performances will indeed be recorded… So I’ll try to get a copy of ours and put it up on the blog.

If I can’t get a post up while I’m in Paris, I’ll be sure to write as soon as I return to London.

Thanks for reading! See you all 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.

Has It Been A Month?

Yes, yes it has been a month already. If it wasn’t for this blog, I don’t even know if I could remember what we did the first week here. We’re doing so much, it can get overwhelming at times. Another busy week has flown by… We went to the Lyceum Theatre to see The Lion King on Tuesday evening, which brought back countless memories of watching the Disney movie on VHS in the late 90s with Sam and Ellery. I find it hard to dislike The Lion King. It’s such a great story and as I mentioned, it brings me back to the evenings when the VHS tape just would’t rewind fast enough so we could watch it again. The costumes were intricate and stunning, to say the very least. I knew it wasn’t going to be the same exact rendition of The Lion King that Disney produced just under twenty years ago… Yet, the music that accompanied the performance was (noticeably) not the Hans Zimmer score. The music was enjoyable, for I always find it fascinating to watch the musicians in the orchestra pit, yet it was not the same music that won the Academy Award for “Best Music, Original Score” in 1995. Also… Mufasa… The actor that portrayed Mufasa was no James Earl Jones. He was good. But no James Earl Jones. All and all, I still enjoyed the production and am very glad I was able to see it here in London. (My favorite Hans Zimmer scores come from “Inception”, Chris Nolan’s “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”, “Gladiator”, “The Thin Red Line”, and “Black Hawk Down”. Check ’em out if you get the chance. He’s definitely got a signature sound.)

The Lion King – Lyceum Theatre

“I write some of the best music for the best action movies of our time, what do you want from me?”

On Wednesday we headed to Oxford where we spent a half-day touring some of the buildings and getting a chance to talk to two students who were friends of the children of our tour guide. One, studying Geography and playing lacrosse, the other studying Engineering and playing “how much can my liver actually take?”. Oxford seems to be on par with schools such as Princeton, Yale, and Harvard in the United States. I don’t have my camera on me at the moment, as I’m writing this from the college, I’ll upload some photos upon returning to the flats. While we were in Oxford, we stopped by a pub where both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (I’m going to start going by S.J. Prentice, although it doesn’t have that ring to it.) both frequented. History is everywhere. In addition to the famous pubs, we visited a location where some scenes from the Harry Potter movies were either filmed, or had set replicas made in the image of these rooms. 

Thursday was another full day. We started the day in the “Introduction To Theatre” class, which is an enjoyable course. We’re learning about some of the works of Harold Pinter as well as Allen Aikborn and will be eventually putting on short (2-3 minute) performances of portions from plays. Following Theatre, we had “British Life & Culture”, which upon hearing I’m taking a course titled “British Life & Culture”, many people assuming it’s “taught” at the nearest pub with the football match on. Contrary to this, we viewed a Karel Reisz film “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” starring Albert Finney (see “Miller’s Crossing”, “Erin Brockovich”, or the unreleased “Bond: Skyfall” among dozens and dozens of other films.), which describes the life of the working class man in the late 50s/early 60s. A film made during the British New Wave years during the 60s, paved the way for films such as “A Kind of Loving” and “Billy Liar” which provided an accurate description of the life of the British working class and were unique to cinema during those years. Originally, “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” was banned from cinemas for obscenity by the local authority in Warwickshire. Despite this, the film was nominated for 6 BAFTAs and picked up 3 wins including “Best Actress” – Rachel Roberts, “Best British Film”, and “Most Promising Newcomer to Film” – Albert Finney. Maybe not a film to add to the immediate collection… But perhaps down the line.

A throwaway design for one of the buildings from Nolan’s “Inception”. (Only joking)

Now we arrive at Friday. I only have British Life & Culture on Fridays from 09:00-11:00 AM. So I sit here at school where I have access to Internet. I figured I’d download some updates to my computer and Skype my dad while I had the chance. Big props to Chief for waking up at 6:00 AM only to Skype for a continually disrupted 20 minutes. The Internet here isn’t as reliable as I would have liked it to be. I’ve never really just sat in the school and watched the students and faculty mill about. I’m normally in and out, having to leave to get to the next destination, whether it be a theatre or on a bus to get back to the flats. After sitting here for about two and a half hours, I’ve noticed that the students here at City of Westminster College are considerably younger than myself and the other students in the Ball State program. It’s like being back at high school. After talking to some other Ball State students, the consensus seems to be we’re surrounded by kids ages anywhere from 14-? There’s no age cap. Granted, the Paddington Green campus, which opened in January 2011 is beautiful and very modern, but, man, these kids! I originally thought we’d be in classes with other British students, and upon arriving, I was bummed to hear we wouldn’t be. But now, I couldn’t imagine being in classes with any of them. Our “History of British Pop Music” instructor hit the nail on the head when describing the students at City of Westminster College…

I’ll be sure to get a post up going more in depth about the classes (only 3 of them at the College, not including my independent study) I’m taking while in London. Nothing on the radar for the weekend, yet. The six young women from flat two, with whom we normally hang out with, went to Barcelona for the weekend, so we’ll be left up to our own devices. As class started this morning, our professors decided it was important to regale the students about just how frightening of a place Barcelona can be for tourists. Tales of Rohypnol, couples waking up separated, undressed in parks and hotel rooms with no recollection of the previous night were tossed about at the beginning of class.

Our reaction upon hearing these stories so early in the morning.

February 5th

I apologize for not writing regularly the past few days. I’ve either been busy with school or it’s simply slipped my mind. We’ve done a lot since the last time I wrote. I just hope I can remember it all… Let’s see… Last Tuesday, we didn’t have any theater to attend, which we made up for on Wednesday. Wednesday, the 1st of February, may have been the longest day of all days. We took the train out to Windsor Castle, which plays host to state visits, a popular tourist attraction, as well as the weekend home of the Queen. Windsor was truly a sight to behold. Unfortunately for us students/tourists, we were unable to take photographs inside the actual castle, however I managed to get one or two photos. In addition to Windsor Castle, we also walked through St. George’s Chapel – Which certainly upheld the standards (in terms of sheer beauty) of churches I’ve seen so far while I’ve been in England.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

After Windsor, we walked down to Eton College, which is one of the most expensive and exclusive colleges in the United Kingdom (arguably the entire world). The buildings that made up Eton College were spectacular… Almost in the sense that it was a miracle they were still standing. After hearing roughly how prestigious this school is (students have to write musicals in Latin while be dunked in the Thames every 30 seconds, you know, real tough stuff), the feeling of inadequacy was mutual across Ball State students.

The View of Eton From Windsor Castle

After Eton, we got back on the train back to Paddington station, where we headed to Piccadilly to where we attended an improvisational comedy show at The Comedy Store. I was hesitant about this show. I never feel comfortable during improvisational comedy… It always feels so awkward. I am so glad we went though, because I came out of the show having enjoyed myself. After the show, we headed back to the flats, where we got in at around 11:00 PM (a total of 15 hours on the go). May have forgot a slight detail… It was about 25 degrees on Wednesday. Cold times, everybody. Cold times.

The Comedy Store

It was a fairly uneventful weekend, which started on Thursday night, since we did not have class on Friday. It was mostly recovery and catching up on any school work that needed to be finished. We went Camden on Saturday, which is definitely a location I could visit every week, simply for the exciting atmosphere. Not to mention there’s some great places to get movies and vinyl! If I keep bringing DVDs and vinyl back to the flat at the rate I am now… Packing everything up in April will certainly be a test of patience.

I headed to Harrods today, which was everything I had heard it would be. A massive department store that I was more than happy to get lost inside. The retail was diverse and the food halls were absolutely magnificent. I’ll definitely be heading back to Harrods in the future to enjoy a proper sit-down meal there.

My Reaction Upon Realizing The Menswear Was Right Next To The Food Halls

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.

London: Week 1

It’s almost difficult to believe I’ve already been in London a full seven days. It feels like we’ve been all over the city, when in reality, we’ve barely scratched the surface. We had beautiful weather on Monday for our four mile walk on the River Thames – Clear, blue skies, with temperatures in the low 40’s. I managed to get to the meeting point about 30 minutes early to walk around the area to get a feel for where we’d be walking, and managed to snap one of several photos to come of Tower Bridge (We met directly on Tower Bridge, facing West towards London Bridge).

Our walk took us along the South side of the Thames, from the London Tower to Saint Paul’s Cathedral, and over the Millennium Bridge (Seen in the beginning of the sixth Harry Potter installment), where we crossed to the North side of the Thames and proceeded. On the North side of the Thames, we passed the London Eye,  The Globe Theater, and eventually crossed over the Westminster Bridge (Some scenes in 28 Days Later), where we found ourselves at Parliament.

Tuesday was a bit more laid back in terms of group tours. I took the Bakerloo line from Kilburn all the way to it’s final stop at Elephant and Castle where I located the music venue, The Ministry of Sound, where some good acts will be later this weekend. Hopping back on Bakerloo, I took the underground back up to Queen’s Park, the last stop before I have to transfer to elevated trains, which my travel Oyster card does not cover. I wandered around (unintentionally) Queen’s Park for about 30-45 minutes before making my way back to Kilburn and the flats. The afternoon was an afternoon well-spent while exploring. Tuesday evening had us at the New London Theater to see the performance of War Horse, which was stunning.

On Wednesday, the 18th, the group took the underground/DLR to Greenwich, which was really fascinating. The “downtown” district there is nowhere near as tourist-oriented as, say, Piccadilly or Covent Gardens, but it was nonetheless enjoyable to walk around. I found a small record store in Greenwich where I was able to pick some excellent music and was clued in on where the hip record stores are located around the city. The one aspect of Greenwich that I found the most interesting was the Royal Observatory, the location of the Prime Meridian as well as the four original clocks developed by John Harrison used to tell time at sea. It’s located up on this massive hill that overlooks the rest of London, the Thames, and Greenwich. I’ll definitely try to get back to Greenwich when I’m able.

Tomorrow and Friday will be pretty standard. We start our Theater 100 course tomorrow, and will continue with our British Life & Culture class as well. It’s getting to be that time where I need to begin doing some research regarding my independent study, because I’ve been  pushing that back for the past few days. The sooner I get my first paper for that out of the way, the better. I hope to get another chance to write once the weekend is over.