London Eye (EEEEP!) Sept. 10th

As if this morning's events at the Globe weren't enough, this afternoon we had tickets to go on the EYE!! I was seriously jumping up and down and so giddy all day.  In classic Haley/Rachel/Larissa fashion, we basically had to sprint all the way from the Globe to the Eye (A LOT FARTHER THAN YOU THINK!) so we wouldn't be late.  We showed up nice and 'winded' shall we say…

And of course everyone was already there, but not to worry!  We had to gather, get organized, pass around tickets, get in line….and then WAIT in line (the longest wait for the most exciting event, OY), so it was really quite fine.  I kept looking up at all of the activity-did you know there is a marriage "car" on the Eye?  It's red, and you're allowed one go-around to seal the deal.  If that's not a destination wedding, then I don't know what is.  How amazing would it be to get married surrounded by London and all of its glory??  Adding that to my list of dream weddings, for sure.  

Once we got to the front of the line (after taking an obligatory photo), we SOMEHOW all managed to fit inside one car-thing (I feel like they have more official names, but that's what I'm calling them?) for our ride.  Spoiler alert: IT KEEPS MOVING while you are trying to get on!  Wut?!  Needless to say, I was freaking out and thought I was going to fall into the Thames.  As if.  Pretty sure I leaped from the platform into the car faster than anyone else…and then proceeded to run all the way across to the other side.  I needed to claim my place, after all!  (I was on the side closest to the river). Totally pushed my way in front of everyone, very prepared to stand in that spot the whole time.

 

BUT it is way better if you move around the car the whole time of course!  I know I keep describing things as "magical", but going on the Eye was the definition of that.  It was so cool to see everything we have visited from the air, and realize just how expansive London really is...Basically vanished off into the horizon, which made me realize just how much traveling around the city we've been doing!  

Once again, I was like that annoying little kid running around, trying to take everything in, snap a bunch of photos, and of course take an excessive amount of selfies.  No one was surprised about that…

I was genuinely sad when we came to the end…but lucky for us (thanks, Dickinson tuition!), we got to go around a second time!  So, while we waited for it to get a bit darker (to see a 'different' view), Haley, Rachel and I explored around the area and scouted out a place for dinner.  We got kind of tired, so we had a caffeine break and called our parentals before heading back over to the Eye.  The line wasn't as long this time, and we didn't have nearly as many people in our car (shocker, I know..)! 

So glad we got to go again.  Everything looked BEAUTIFUL in the sunset light (talk about magic hour!) and I took another round of photos.  I have quite the collection going now! It was honestly so peaceful to just hang out up there and look around, observing people and places.  I think I would go once a month if I lived in London full-time!  (I say that now--I would probably get tired of it in real life.) 

Talk about a bird's eye view of the city-I can't wait to go with my family when they come in November!

xx

 

Globe Theater Tour (Sept. 10th)

In typical dorky English-major fashion, I was super anxious to visit the Globe Theater and pay homage to Shakespeare-I don't particularly like him (shocking, I know…sorry), but I felt like this was a right-of-passage I needed to comply with.  And I am so glad I had the opportunity to do so!  I don't think you can fairly assess the genius that was William Shakespeare until you have sat (STOOD) in the Globe.  While I don't like most of his writing, I still had my fangirl moment(s) while we were on our tour today.  

First of all, who knew there was a museum inside the Globe?? Not me!  We spent about 45 minutes walking through at our own pace, audio-guide in hand (love me an audio-guide!!!) and look through artifacts, original writings, sketches, costume production, and all sorts of historical information about the Globe.  While we were waiting for our tour to leave, we watched a sword-fighting demonstration.  Yes, that happened.  Casual..and then I got to hold one of the swords!  Who let that happen?!  Felt like I should have been in the Hunger Games (hay Katniss)…

Our tour guide was AWESOME!  She was so spunky and knew so many great facts.  Her passion for the subject definitely made a difference in my appreciation of the space and place.  Totally cracked up when she told us that one time an audience member was texting throughout an entire performance, so finally one of the actors-still in character!-went up and took his phone away! That's hilarious.  I hope we see that during our show tomorrow night.  She also said that beer has been thrown in people's faces before to get their attention….a classy establishment for sure.

We got to walk around and sit in the various levels, stand up and experience groundling-status (on the floor), and see a sneak peak of a new show that was being rehearsed.  The passion of every single employee we had an encounter with was so clear and present, I'm pretty sure I had (yet another) big goofy smile on the entire time I was there.  I'm not even sorry about it, and I'm sure my friend Willy Shakes wasn't either!  

Fun fact: a groundling ticket is only 5 pounds, and in the original days of the globe, people used to rub goose fat on themselves.  Glad we don't have to do that this time around, but then again, it's all about the authenticity of the experience as far as I'm concerned!  Can't wait to come back tomorrow night for the performance.  

We couldn't resist the jumping group-shot outside the globe this morning…snaps to perabo for capturing this gem.

xx 

Billy Elliot (Sept. 9th)

I was so excited to see Billy Elliot today!!!  I love a good musical, and I hadn't been to one in a while-I think the last one was Mama Mia for Hope's birthday?  Can't say for sure.  But anyways, I had heard SUCH great things about Billy Elliot, and when I saw it on our syllabus, I was of course looked up some info to get ready-I can't stand going into things blind. 

We headed over to Victoria Palace Theater tonight, and met the rest of our class there.  Got to be a little bit fancy tonight (not required, honestly, but I just love to dress up!) and go out on the town.  I don't hate it. So first of all, this is a BEAUTIFUL theater. Warm and cozy feeling inside, and not too big that you feel far away from what is going on on stage, no matter where you are seated.  We were on the upper level, but towards the front-center area, so we had a great view of the stage.  

Now, let me tell you: this kid who played Billy Elliot was SO TALENTED!! He sang, danced, and delivered his lines with so much passion, I was totally hooked.  There were definitely a couple of cringe-worthy moments (take a look at the plot if you want to see what I'm talking about), but I'm also really sensitive to what I'm watching, so there's that…but I absolutely loved this musical!  The songs were catchy and all of them helped further the plot in some way, which was quite pleasing, because sometimes random bursts of songs drive me crazy.  

I would GLADLY go see Billy Elliot again to experience the passion and emotions of the cast.  So lucky that our program plans all of these awesome excursions for us to experience the "culture" of London!  

And obvi ending with a photo of the trio.  The three of us went on a nice little dinner-date before BE tonight!

xx

HARRY POTTER BRIDGE (aka Millenium Bridge-Sept. 8th)

Oh happy DAY!  I have only been talking about walking across this bridge for, say, 5 months now…every girl wants her Harry Potter fantasy to come true.  I dragged Haley and Rachel across with me when we were done with lunch after the service at St. Paul's.  I can't even imagine how annoying I must have been...I'm not even sorry about it.  There was a whole lot of build-up to this moment, and this chick was SERIOUSLY geeking-out.  

Remember in HP and the Half-Blood Prince when the Death Eaters took down the bridge in London? Here is the link in case anyone wants a refresher (thanks Youtube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo-U5iOinM8.  This was one of my favorite scenes in the movie-I think it's so well-done, and the fear is captured really well.  The muggles have no idea what hit them (literally), and then everyone in Diagon Alley is freaking out.  A nicely-done contrast of the two worlds being terrorized at once.

But anyways, YUP!  This was the very same bridge!  So naturally I pranced across and took an excessive amount of photos and had a grand ol' time.  I even made a phone call to make it official (sorry world).  I made us walk all the way across and then back again before I was satisfied.  And even so, I can't WAIT to walk across again!  Tomorrow hopefully??  So giddy!

Fun facts about the bridge: it is a footbridge and was originally opened on June 10, 2000 (two months late..) to celebrate the new millennium (as you could probably guess by the name).  BUT, it closed for reconstruction just TWO DAYS after it opened because pedestrians were complaining that it was shaking and vibrating.  So that's kind of concerning and embarrassing for those who were involved in the construction…but not to worry, it's totally safe now!  Thousands of people cross the bridge every day-commuters, tourists, harry potter fans (hai) and the like.  Got to love London!

xx

St. Paul's Cathedral (Sept. 8th)

This morning on the agenda was a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a service with the rest of the class. To be honest, I was only excited to see the architecture and art in the cathedral-not to much observe and participate in the service.  Especially after visiting Westminster Abbey and experiencing that service, I was kind of checked-out on the church front.  However, I was definitely looking forward to going inside the cathedral and seeing everything up-close and personal!  Tourist Larissa was in full-force this morning.

As I sat down in my seat and looked at the program, I hate to admit that I sighed when I saw that the service would be over an hour long….I do not have the attention span required for attending a church service.  I'm usually like that annoying, fidgety kid (you know the one) who is constantly distracting everyone from what is going on at the front of the room-I get antsy, what can I say!  

Why then, at the end of the service, was I completely awestruck and wishing I could stay for another service?  This I do not know, but what I do know is that St. Paul’s is an amazing place, and somehow being surrounded by so many other worshippers from all over the world, from all different religions made me weirdly emotional.  There were several points throughout the service when I just sat there looking around, amazed, and feeling like I actually belonged.  I don't even feel like this when I go to my own church at home! 

I sat there feeling a bit baffled the whole time.  From the young boys singing in the choir, to the history of the cathedral, and the fact that I am so far away from home, I couldn't keep still-typical-but this time, it was so I could take everything in and be in the moment.  I'm surprised my neck doesn't hurt from looking up at the ceiling!  Talk about majestic.

***NOTE: you are not allowed to take photos inside, which is why they are lacking in this post.

I am still really confused about my experience this morning, but I am trying to just go with the flow and view it in a positive light.  I definitely had a big ol' smile when we left at the end!  I find it so interesting to hear about the ways in which people are moved and touched by all types of religion, even though I myself have never really felt this movement or excitement until this point.  I do think this was an important experience for me, because while I was expecting a “touristy” moment in an international cathedral, I was touched by more than that, in ways that I truly cannot understand-almost in an overwhelming way.  

Even though I can't quite put my finger on it, I am really glad that I had such a positive experience at St. Paul's.  Maybe because it is such a significant place, I felt like I had to have some kind of special feeling there?  I don't think I will ever know, BUT, I do know that I am getting more and more excited about this trip every day.

xx   

Proms in the Park (Sept. 7th)

Today was a busy, busy day!  Tonight we went to Proms in the Park (in Hyde Park) which was just amazing.  Such a special experience, and not at all what I was expecting.  Making Professor Pound proud all the way across the pond! 

When I first found out that we were going to Proms in the Park from our class syllabus, I honestly had no idea what it was--so obviously I googled it.  After some quick research, I found out that it was a essentially a big, outdoor concert that thousands of people attended each year.  WAIT, I thought, does that mean I get to see a British orchestra performing (probably) some of my favorite pieces?? Why yes, Larissa, yes indeed! And that was just the start of it.

I had no idea so many people would be in attendance, or what a patriotic event it was.  I don't think I have ever seen so many Union Jacks in one place-in the air, on trees, on PEOPLE…everywhere.  Talk about festive!  Walking around the park before the event started, you could physically feel the excitement and energy from everyone who was there.  People were genuinely excited to be there, and their enthusiasm was contagious-all I wanted to do was run around and dance! (not that that is unusual for me…)  

 

[SO many people!!!]

We had a little picnic for dinner (so much happiness!!) with our whole group, and sat around waiting for things to pick up.  Haley, Rachel and I walked around for a bit creeping on people and trying to figure out what was going on…I wish I had been wearing more festive attire!  I did wear blue though, so I guess that counts for something-more patriotic than most of the group could say for themselves, anyways.   

 

How could Amanda and I NOT kite the flag-clad tree??  It had to be done.  Once the music got started, we wandered up closer to the stage to get a better look-people were going crazy.  I'm talking flag waving, sitting on people's shoulders, drinking like there was no tomorrow….quite the event.  I loved it!  I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time, and I was totally jamming out by the end of the night.  No shame.

As for the rest of the Dickinson group: it's kind of hard not to stand out when there is such a large group sitting together, obviously out of place, kind of confused as to what is going on…not to mention the accents!  We got some stares for sure, BUT had a great time.  We all kind of lost it when The Beatles tribute band came out and started singing.  Hearing Hey Jude in that environment, with that crowd….it was honestly so magical.  We were all swaying together and singing-the people sitting next to us were laughing at first, but then they eventually joined in and it was AWESOME.  Such a great sense of community and spirit!   

xx

September 7th: Camden Lock & Market

So this morning we went on a boat tour that left from Camden Town-I was kind of wary because I remembered seeing a Samantha Brown (London travel) episode where she visited Camden Market, and the only word that came to mind when I thought of the episode was "sketchy".  As in, sketchy place, sketchy people--didn't really sound like my kind of scene.  But the boat tour was "class" for the day-ideal-so the trio hopped on the tube and made our way over to the right stop (and we got it on the first try--success). 

Once we finally got to our meeting spot, I was warming up to the place: lots of cool little shops that we ducked into, the area was filled with all sorts of interesting people (I love people-watching!), and I knew there had to be tasty food somewhere (duh, motivation).  This was our first look at the scene (note the "camden lock"-it will come back later): 

Unfortunately for us, it was cold, cold, COLD by the water, and of course no one had the proper clothing on, because who knew it would be freezing!  Off to a good start.  We all somehow managed to fit on this narrow little canal boat-yes, all 29 of us, PLUS Chilson, Perabo, Chase, and Brady-and we had a guide telling us what we were seeing along the ride.  Lots of water, tons of people walking and biking-it seems like everyone here is SUPER active all of the time-and some festive foliage:  

We  passed by a lot of house boats, as well as some CLASSY homes-read: mansions-(I'd happily take one, any day) by the canal, and learned some history about the area...but honestly, it was kind of a lame tour.  I'm not really sure how it related to our class at all, and the houses we saw reminded me of being in Newport (I know obviously not everyone has been there, but my mind was not blown).  Also, the freezing aspect did not really lend anything to the experience!  But it was nice to relax and people-watch, for sure.  Here's a boat similar to the one we were on:

Towards the end of the tour came the exciting part: we got to go through a lock!  Basically, the purpose of a lock is to help transport boats through different levels of water, and make canals, etc. easier to navigate.  Now this one in particular happened to be a "twin-lock" system, and has been around since the 1880s-not too shabby.  I was kind of freaking out because all of the sudden this water was rushing around us, and we were trapped in a small area (the lock) while our guide was moving some levers and things around outside the boat-we drew quite the crowd!!  Typical.  It was definitely cool to see and experience the process, rising up and down with the water levels, and taking a little trip back in time. 

We had lunch in the market and then hopped back on the tube to get ready for the rest of the afternoon. Proms in the Park later!

xx

Abroad: THE REDUX

So I think it's fair to say that I failed to live-blog while I was abroad...BUT,I still did manage to do a fair amount of writing while I was away-just not on here for everyone to experience alongside me.  I've decided that I want to put everything together in blog-form for myself (and everyone I experienced my trip with) to remember, and I've already done quite a bit.  I am making a few edits (spelling, really quite minor changes) before I post everything, and trying to gather photos to go along with each post. I am going to post them in chronological order, starting with the parts of London I skipped over, the move to Norwich, my time there, and all of my travels and excursions.  

A lot of people have been questioning my motives-why now? Well, my response is, why not?  Honestly, why not? I love talking about my abroad experience (as anyone who knows me can attest to…)and I love sharing my struggles and memorable moments.  Everyone always talks about how their abroad experience "changed" them-they aren't kidding.  I grew so much in four months, it's kind of hard to wrap my head around it: I overcame several personal battles, made amazing friends, traveled, slept at weird hours, learned to love writing again…I could go on for days.

I am obviously not going to be able to capture every moment, because some memories are too good (and sometimes personal) to share with the world, but I want to share as much as possible, and narrate the four months with my own voice.  

Everything I be will posting here has been taken from my travel journal, notes on my phone, notes I wrote to myself (all over the place), and my classwork from time-to-time (I will make it clear when I'm sharing writing from class.)  I am going to try to post a couple each day, and aim to be done by the time I head back to Dickinson at the start of September.  Some posts might sound strange because they will say things like "today we did this" or "I can't wait for.." and obviously all of these things have already happened--just try to keep in mind that these were all written months ago, and they are in no way a reflection unless I state otherwise.

SO, I now give you: ABROAD: THE REDUX (2014 Edition).

xx