goodbye british isles

i'm taking a quick break from packing my bags to officially bid adieu to the british isles, via blog. i'll be back to my regular blog once i'm home, where the internet is fast and free, and perhaps i'll debreif on the trip when i don't have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to catch a flight. for now, though, i'll just say goodbye. goodbye british isles! and isle be seeing you...

london! [day twenty]

one last day in europe! we spent the morning at st. paul's cathedral. it's big and beautiful, but i've been spoiled by seeing st. peter's basilica in rome--the biggest and the most beautiful church the whole world--a few years back. so i thought it was great, but i couldn't help be reminded of how much greater st. peter's is. ...sorry st. paul's.

st. james. the dome of the cathedral is 365 feet tall, and we climed 526 steps to the top of it.the doors
the dome from inside. see that tiny circle at the top. no, not the small circle...the speck that's inside of it. yeah, that's where we climbed to.the view from up there. that's the millenium bridge, and behind the trees on the left is the old globe theater.

we then grabbed some coffee and croissants and headed for abbey road. abbey road is known for the recording studio on the street, where the beatles recorded their album "abbey road" and took this famous cover shot:

we attempted to take the same picture, but the cars going by made it a little bit difficult.we also signed the wall outside the studio, where thousands of others have done the same over the years.

then we went over to baker street, where the fictional detective sherlocke holmes lived and where the beatle's store is. we grabbed lunch while we were there, and then headed back to the hotel to pack our bags, rest up a bit, and get ready for our very last night on the town.

well hey there sherlocke

we then ended our time here in london in queen's theater, watching the longest running musical of all time: les miserables. it was my fourth time seeing it--the most i've seen any show. but it's one of many things in life, for me, that never gets old. i love love love the story, and all that it portrays about the power of redemption. not to mention i'll be singing the songs in my head all the way home.

gotta love super duper discounted student seats

how fitting that the play ended with the line, "tomorrow comes." tomorrow will, in fact, come. and when it does i will be on a plane, leaving the british isles behind me, and headed home for the rest of the summer...

london! [day nineteen]

well, i'm glad to say that i did all the things i set out to do. i found the chips, i fed the squirrels, and i read the book. i also went to the national portrait gallery, spent some time in trafalgar square, and walked around st. james green park. it was a good day, and i enjoyed every minute i had to myself.

the chips! they sell them at a cafe called pret a manger. if you ever come to london or go to new york, get some. your tastebuds won't regret it.one of the squirrels i fed. i couldn't get them to hop in my lap, though; that must only be for advanced squirrel feeders. i also shared the experience with a cute little french couple, who were just as amazed as i was the other day when i saw mr. squirrel man. it's fun to think that i'm miss squirrel girl to someone now...harry and me, bonding in st. james

three things to do on my day off

today is my day off. it's a day off from a schedule. a day off from people. it's a day all to myself. like yesterday, it's a free day. only today, my friends went to france to see the eiffel tower and the arch de triumph and all the rest of paris you can see in a day. but i've been to paris, and so am spending the day on my own here in london. i get to do whatever i want to do, when i want to do it, without anyone else's input. and i can't even begin to tell you how amazing it will be. in fact, it already is amazing, because for the first time in three weeks i got to sleep in. but now, the day has begun and it's time to do some stuff. here are three things i hope to do:

1. read harry potter in the park.
either green park or hyde park, i haven't decided. whatever strikes my fancy, i suppose, once i walk out of the hotel. i've never read harry potter before, and today i'm giving in. the other day i got a copy of the british version of harry potter and the philosopher's stone, and what better place to start the series than in london itself.

2. feed more squirrels.

i brought a bunch of food with me on this trip, and one thing i brought was nuts. lucky for the squirrels here in london, i have some left over. i'm hoping that i'll get one to hop in my lap. we'll see how it goes.

3. find these chips.

croxton mannor: cheddar & red onion. when i was here two years ago, i got these chips. my friend shea, who was with me, can testify that they are probably the yummiest chips ever made. they only have them in new york and london, and since i'm in the latter i simply have to get them. where they sell them i can't quite remember, but my goal is to find out.

london! [days sixteen, seventeen, & eighteen]

thursday. we spent the afternoon in bath, a place where jane austen spent many a vacation and lived some of her life. how perfect, then, that this is where i finished reading pride and prejudice. the latest film adaptation of the novel (directed by joe right, with keira knightly and matthew macfayden) is my favorite movie of all time. the sound track, the actors, the cinematography, every little scene and detail is fantastically fantastic. it's my idea of the perfect story illustrated in the most perfect way. but the point is, jane austen is an incredible story teller, and i really enjoyed reading the story as much as watching it. so, of course i was excited to spend some time in bath and learn a little more about her life and her works. we also visited the roman baths, which the town is named for. we walked through the baths and through the city, got some lunch and hopped back on the bus. next stop? stonehenge! i've seen the colossium and the leaning tower of pisa, and i was so looking forward to seeing another of the wonders of the medieval world. so we're all on the bus, ready to go. until we look around and notice that two people are missing. oh no. ten minutes go by...thirty...fourty-five. an hour goes by and they finally show up. just in time to nix our visit to stonehenge. that hour we spent waiting for them was the hour that we were meant to spend at stonehenge. so instead of getting to see the monument up close and take in all its wonder, we got to drive right past it. people were literally crying out of disappointment. i wasn't among them, but i was definitely bummed. really bummed. but, i'll take it as another excuse to come back to the british isles again some day.

hanging out with jane mmm, who wouldn't want to take a bath in there? hey look, the window of my bus. oh, and that little thing in the corner? yeah, that's the glimpse i got of stonehenge.

and, with that, we made it to our final stop on the trip: london! now, i've been to london before, which has brought about some definite pros and cons in the past few days. the benefit of having been here just two years ago is that i remember very well how to get around the city--how to work the tube--which lines will take you where, and how to change from line to line to get to the place you want to go--and where everything (or at least the main stuff) is. so i have acquired the title of tour guide within my group of friends here. it's been nice to have some confidence in an area that many do not. the cons, however, are that i've been to and seen many of the places that we've been visiting. but then, i've gone to some new places and experienced some new things, so it hasn't been all bad. and i don't really mind seeing the city again, i just wish a little bit that the city was newer to me, making it more exciting. but like i said, i have done some new things and seen some new sights. so let's talk about those things, both old and new.

we got to the city and took a "flight" on the london eye--the largest ferris wheel in the world. it's nearly 450 feet tall, and when all of its 32 capsules are full, 960 people can be on it at once. once you're on top, you get a pretty incredible view of the city. it was a great way to start the trip, and gave everyone a good idea of where things where and what london really looks like.

after taking our spin about the eye, we all split up and went to explore the city and eat some dinner. some of us were walking along st. james park when all of the sudden we see a man with squirrels on his lap. we were, of course, a bit taken back and amazed. we asked him how he got them to do that, and in response he opened his hand to reveal a palm full of peanuts. he then offered us some and invited us to have a go at feeding the squirrels, and whatayaknow, they came right up to us and ate right out of our hands.

the squirrel man katie and her new squirrel friend

we continued on towards the picadilly circus, similar to but not as grand as new york's time square--just sort of a center of the city--when we ran into some police men, who offered to let us sit on their giant police motorcycles. so, of course, we did. and by this point, how could i not love randomness of our first evening in london?

fighting crime, one photo-op at a time

after some more walking, we made it to picadilly. by this point our tummies were a-rumbalin'. so we were determinted to eat at the first place we found, which hapend to be pizza hut. but don't be mistaken, this is not the pizza hut you're used to back in the states. pizza hut here is a classy place. people were dressed up and sipping whine and whatnot. we couldn 't help but laugh at the sight of a fancy pizza hut. oh how i love little foreign oddities like this. i didn't take a picture, so you'll just have to trust me. and if you don't, come to london and see for yourself.

_ _ _ _ _

friday. we woke up early to grab some breakfast and a double decker bus. our first stop: westminster abbey, a great big church where kings and queens are ordained, married, and buried. other people are buried there too, like charles darwin, isaac newton, and geoffrey chaucer. across the street from westminster is big ben, which is actually not big ben. that is to say, the clock tower's name isn't big ben, but it's the giant bell's that's inside. either way, though, we saw the giant clock tower up close, as well as some statues and a park full of protesters who were protesting pretty much everything that could be protested--war, capitalism, injustice, etc.

on top of the buswestminster abbeyfun fact: that minute hand is forty feet long

the protest park, also known as "democracy village"

we then hopped back on the bus and got a tour of the rest of the city from a very strange and creepy tour guide. also, it was a very warm day, and with the sun beating down on us and the wind blowing in our faces, it wasn't the most pleasant of rides. in fact, it pretty much wiped everyone out. needless to say, we were all glad to get off of the bus, away from the tour guide, and out of the sun. we ended up at the tower of london (which is not really much of a tower at all), took a brief jaunt through the inside, and picnicked on the outside.

the tower bridge

one of the "towers" that make up the "tower of london"a guard!

next was a boat ride up the thames, the river that runs through the city. we eventually made it back on the land and back to our hotel. even though most of us would have very much liked to lay down and take a nap, we only had ten minutes to change into something a bit warmer and head back out for a group dinner at ye old cheshire cheese where more meat pie and fish and chips were eaten, a definite motif of the trip. to end the day, we all headed over across the millennium bridge to the old globe theater for a production of macbeth.

walking into the theater, the first thing we see is this sign....awesome.

here's the view from our seats. now, see those black sheets down on the floor, with heads popping out of them? those are seats. or well, stands? i mean, those people had to stand for the entire three hours with their heads poking out like that.
from the very moment the play started, the sign in the beginning rang true. men, covered in blood, popped out of the stage and out of slits in the sheets, screaming and writhing in agony. and so macbeth began...

having read the play some years ago, i knew that it was going to be dark, i just never realized the extent until i saw it. it was gruesome and brutal, but the whole thing was actually very well done, and this time everyone enjoyed it as much as me. in fact, most people enjoyed it more than me; i happen to have liked romeo and juliet better. but what was cool about seeing macbeth in the old globe theater is knowing that i was watching the play performed on the stage where shakespeare himself pictured it being performed. it's an experience that i am very thankful to have. i was also thankful when the time came to lay my head on my hotel pillow that night and finally go to sleep.

_ _ _ _ _

saturday. it was a free day, meaning that we weren't do anything as a whole group, we could go off and do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted with whoever we wanted. so, we started the day off at the portabello market--the largest antique market in the world (go ahead, mom, you can be jealous). it was way bigger and way more crowded than any of us were expecting, but still so much fun. i love flee markets and i love antiques, so it would have been really hard not to love this. i got a watch that i'm really excited about; it's sixty years old and so cute. and while i wanted to buy everything, my watch will definitely do.

the market and the crowds

we then continued on with the theme of shopping at harrods, the largest department store in the world (yeah i know, they have a lot of "largest" things around here). harrods was ridiculous. if i were wealthy, and i mean really really wealthy, i wouldn't have to go anywhere else to buy anything. furniture, pets, food, instruments, books, cosmetics, clothes, electronics. you name it, they sell it at harrods. they also had museums and even a live opera performance going on while we were there. and there was a whole room (and the rooms at harrods aren't small) of chocolate. so, of course, i got some. and it was SO yummy. if you ever go to harrods, buy chocolate.

here she is, takings up an entire block

after making our way through some of the department store--seeing all of it would take hours--we set off for an afternoon out of the city center. we took the tube and a bus and a long walk to a giant park to watch a rugby game. my friend katie has a family friend on the team, so we went to cheer him on and take in some english culture. we had no idea what was going on the whole time, and the game was absurdly violent and strange. it's some sort of strange mix between soccer, football, cheer leading, and wrestling. after the game, matt (katie's family friend) tried to explain the rules and whatnot, but i never really caught on. oh well. it was a relaxing afternoon, laying in the grass, eating a sandwich and watching the game. i enjoyed myself, even if i didn't really enjoy the rugby so much.

walking back from the game

and that is that. the main events of thursday, friday, and saturday. that means i only have two days left here in the british isles, which means only two more posts for you to read. so, enjoy them while you can while i enjoy the rest of my time here. and in the mean time, isle be seeing you...

tisk tisk tisk

i know, i know. shame on me for not blogging the past three days. but not to worry. a post on the past few days will be coming your way before the day is done. and in the mean time, take a look at the city i've been frolicking in and around.

i spy with my little eye a double decker bus & big ben...

oxford! [day fourteen & fifteen]

after a detour to shakespeare's mother's farm (it was awesome. there was a giant owl and ginger pigs, as well as the normal things like cows and goats and horses and sheep. i didn't take any pictures, but just know that it was cool, and made me kind of wish that i lived on a farm), we made it to oxford. before coming into the city, though, we spent the afternoon at blenheim palace, which some call the versailles of england. it is the current home of the duke and duchess of marlborough and the birthplace of sir winston churchhill. we got a tour of the palace, and my oh my was it luxurious. however, i'm not really one for tapestries and portraits and intricate furniture and those sort of haughty expressions of a lavish lifestyle. there was one tapestry that cost the same amount as a battleship in its day. a battleship. all i could really think of was how many lives that money could have saved, how many mouthes it could have fed, or the homes that could have been built to shelter hundreds of families, or how many kids it could have put through school. so the palace itself was gaudy and silly, but i did my best to enjoy it. on the grounds of the palace was a butterfly garden and a maze--the second largest in the world, in fact. we took a cute little train out to see both. we gandered at the giant butterflies and made our way through the maze just in time to hop on the bus and head into town.

a piece of the palacethe tiny train on our way to the giant butterflies and giant mazeone of many of the monstrous butterfliesand the one monstrous mazethis is just a quarter of it

once we finally made it into the city and into our apartments it was dinner time. we have kitchens again which meant dinner was to be made rather than bought. i whipped up some tortalini and garlic bread and relaxed the night away in my pjs. i have a room to myself here, and so took in some much needed "me time" and called it a night.

this morning we woke up bright and early and headed for c.s. lewis's house. we got a tour of the place along with a bit of his biography and took part in a traditional comunion service at the church he attended as an adult (it was an interesting and enlightening experience), and went to both his and j.r.r tolkein's grave. it was only fitting, then, to have lunch at the eagle and child (also known as the bird and baby) where the inklings (a group made up of c.s. lewis, j.r.r. tolkein, and other writers) frequently met up at to share and discuss their latest ideas and writings.

a pond behind his house, with a ducky and her baby duckiesand his church"here sat and worshiped clive staples lewis"sitting where he sat

we then strolled the streets of oxford, popping in and out of book stores and whatnot. the buildings of oxford are beautiful, the city is big and clean, and the people are really nice. i've gotten such a good vibe from this place. and after seeing some of the colleges and the city, and especially while i was by myself, walking with my groceries, slowly making my way back to the apartment, i found myself imagining myself here for much more than just a day. had i come to oxford earlier in life, knowing how much i like it, how much it feels like a fit, i think i might have studied abroad here for a semester or two. who knows, i still have two years of college left, and maybe by some miracle it may still happen. and if not, i bought a sweatshirt and can wear it, pretending to be an oxford alum.

here's a glimpse of the city:

one of the oldest book shops in the world

we cooked dinner again tonight. more pasta and garlic bread. ...what? it's the easiest thing to make. and now we're hanging out, playing snaps and would you rather, and listening to music that brings us back to yester-year. we have to be up early early early in the morning for a day of adventuring and traveling. bath, stonehenge, and finally london! and until i get there, isle be seeing you..