My time in London is almost over. Today I pack and tomorrow I attempt to soak up every last bit of the city that I can. It seems weird to think that I am packing to leave; I feel like I am just to continue living here forever. It also seems weird that the summer itself is over--that I have actually passed two whole months while here, and now they, too, are gone. How fast it went...
With the past few weeks I have been squeezing in everything I could--seeing the friends I have made here as much as possible, picnicking, museums and even just walking around, as that is also an activity in London. One of the most memorable things I have seen lately was the Imperial War Museum, which has exhibits on the 1st and 2nd World Wars, all conflicts and wars since then, the Holocaust, and Crimes Against Humanity. All exhibits were really incredible, eye-opening, educational. This may be one of the best museums I have seen (and there are a lot of amazing museums).
Last evening I went to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, the pub where Yeats, Twain, Dickens, and others drank. It's one of the oldest pubs in London and it looks it. There are several rooms with a bar in each; it's hot and a bit uncomfortable. It's great. I also went to Ye Olde Cock Tavern, where Eliot was a regular, though I think they have done more to modernize that than the Cheshire.
The other day we had a picnic in St. James' Park, which was really fun (the park is beautiful, too). After that we went to Koko, a sort of Indie-rock club that used to be an opera house and thus is quite amazing inside.
Not to pass quickly over this:
Paris!!
Paris was really fun, exciting, a bit wearying, beautiful. We spent a lot of time trying to find one another (everyone's phones stopped working), and we were unfamiliar with the place so saying "meet at Les Halles" seemed like a fine idea to us Londoners before we realized that Les Halles is about the size of downtown Columbia. Otherwise, though, we had a good time. I stuck with Lacey for most of the trip, as we wanted to do the same things pretty much. I was even able to use French while I was there, and was understood! (And sometimes not even laughed at!) In seriousness, though, almost everyone I met was accommodating to the fact my attempts at their language were pretty poor, and that I couldn't understand more than a few words spoken in a sentence back to me. I tried to speak French to everyone--the man at the front desk at our hotel (though trying to explain "our wireless isn't connecting" sounded more like "her computer no work. the internet? we don't find the name of the hotel...here"), serveurs, the ticket people at the metro stations, the men selling crepes, a French tourist that I wanted to take my picture in front of the gates at Versailles (she did a poor job, but I felt too shy for "can you take another? this time with the whole gate?"), the guy at the cheese shop, the guy at the wine shop. All were kind, and many had to ask a question in return, to which I usually answered, "...what?" after which they switched to English (except for the hotel desk guy, who, after I asked him in French to please speak more slowly? he waved his hand and said something that I'm not even sure was French at all.)
Still though, with all the troubles, it was quite amazing to say, "je voudrais dix billets, s'il vous plait?" and actually get ten tickets; to ask, "combien ce coute?" and receive the answer, understandable, " deux trente." In all the time of French class, nothing ever made the language so real.
The best part perhaps were the museums, particularly the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay, and Musee Rodin was great as well. It was exhausting but amazing to see everything that I saw in the Louvre, and I barely saw any percentage of it at all. My favorites were th large format French paintings, these enormous, beautiful paintings with incredible detail and life to them, dramatic but tastefully so. Actually, those were my second favorites; the best pieces were the ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. I mean really. Wow.
The food was incredible. Obviously. So was the cheese, and the wine. But I don't need to tell you these things. In that way, at least, Paris is what you think.
In the way of architecture, beautiful sights, slightly more laid-back people, Paris is what you think, there, too. But, in thinking that Paris is preferable to London, well, I might argue otherwise.
Speaking of, it awaits me as I tyoe, even if just to pack (and then maybe get to Primark, where I can fight gladiator-style with the other shoppers and hopefully come out with some cheap articles of clothing).
Random things I have seen/done:
-Saw a squirrel fall out of a tree and hit the ground with a thud. He was okay, though he looked a little embarrassed.
-Had a scone with clotted cream, and it was awesome.
-Saw wheat beer here (!!!) but was too tired for a second pint; I chose cider before seeing that they had it.
-Had fish and chips in a Christopher Wren pub. The guy was really a genius.
-Picnicked in Hyde Park and then in St. James' Park, also lounged in Regent's Park.
-Had Mexican food at Camden Market.
-Finished up my class except for one final paper.
-Saw Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and most importantly, Cupid and Psyche.
-Spent too much time updating my blog in an effort to delay packing and taking a shower.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Goings on and the like
Well it's been so long since I have updated that I MUST have been doing some sweet things, right? To that I answer: this is London. Of course!
This past weekend our classes took a tour of the Globe, which was even cooler than I expected. The guide showed us the theatre and talked about how it was made, and all of that, but then gave a lecture about Shakespearean acting in Shakespeare's time. It was really enlightening; I think what I learned from it is a good example of the kind of experiences that one gets while studying English literature in England; it's something I can take back with me and will sort of change the way I read (and watch) Shakespeare from now on. After the tour I went with a classmate over to Westminster Abbey and went in and looked around, did the audio tour. Westminster Abbey is where all the kings and queens have been coronated since 1066....that's pretty incredible. So I got to look on the place where Queen Elizabeth I sat, where James sat, where Victoria sat, etc, etc, up to Queen Elizabeth II sat. The same chair, the Stone of Scone underneath it (which I saw while in Scotland--this really completed the picture), scepter, crown, ring--the people have all looked on, the same place, almost a thousand years of reigns.
I saw the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I (and others of less importance). That was pretty incredible.
Several poets are also buried in Poets' Corner, such as Tennyson and Robert Browning (I was sad to find his wife is buried all the way in Italy...), Edmund Spenser, Dickens, even Chaucer. There are also several plaques commemorating poets and authors, and some statues, including one of Shakespeare, who is buried in Stratford-on-Avon.
The structure of the building itself is amazing--wholly gothic, and kept that way even though there have been add-ons and repairs through the centuries, big and varied stained glass windows. Vaulted ceilings and incredible, elaborate stonework.
Friday I got to hang out with some of the French friends I have made at the university. They are all really, really nice and funny, and quite helpful with my questions about the language and the culture. I also met someone from Spain. It's kind of funny, but my flatmate Nicole and I predicted that the closest friends we would make while in Britain would probably be not British. It is looking that way...
Saturday I went to Portobello Road market in Notting Hill, which is, I *think* where the scene from the move Notting Hill is shot, where he is walking down the road and there's a market and the seasons pass while a song plays...I think that's Portobello Road market? Either way, it was quite amazing--food, mostly from Britain but also from all over (I had some British raspberries), clothes (not as huge a selection as Camden Market), and sooooo many antiques. So, so many. I got a little Victorian-looking pillbox and a necklace pendant and a hat (which some characters from The Winter's Tale on sunday seemed to have as well, just in a different color...), and spent most of the day walking up and down, looking at everything.
I then had plans to get to the Tate Modern that evening, but stopped to sit in front of Big Ben and Parliament, realizing quite suddenly and wholly that I had made it to London, and there I was. While on the phone with Alex, Big Ben struck the hour (8); this was the first time I heard the 'leaden circles dissolve in the air,' and Alex was even able to hear them with me. It was wonderful.
After that, I had a striking, amazing stroll along the north bank. The sun was setting so the city became silver and gold and the river sparkled and everything looked real, like I was there, like I am here. I crossed to the south bank and saw an exhibit commissioned by the V&A called "Volume". It's really neat; it's interactive and hard to explain. Best to look it up, I think.
Sunday was an interesting trip to Kent (not "Kent House", by the way, which is totally different...just so you know...) to see a traveling production of The Winter's Tale at Leed's Castle. I was really glad to be able to see both a tragedy (King Lear, a few weeks ago) and a comedy while here, not to mention that I got to see one at the Globe, then this little one on the castle grounds with some actors doubling roles, close enough to the show that Autolycus handed my friend next to me his guitar-like instrument while he was meant to be hiding from another character. I really, really loved The Winter's Tale and enjoyed actually seeing it. The poetry between Florizel and Perdita was really beautiful and more alive this way too. Florizel was really good.
Other than this weekend, a few other things I have been doing:
Celebrated l'anniversaire de mon copain Sebastien. They had foie gras (fattened duck liver...gross!!) but I abstained for obvious reasons (1.vegetarianism; 2.gross) and had cheese pizza instead. Oops, I mean pizza du fromage. I got to ask mes copains lots of questions about France and their healthcare and government and things like that.
Played badminton. Saw some more (still not even close to all) of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Took a guided tour of the British Museum that was pretty interesting, though when it was over, most of the Greek & Roman galleries were CLOSED again. They really don't want me to see them...Attempted to see Keats' house today, which my classmate Isaac and I finally got to after a long, rocky walk, then found out it was closed for refurbishment, to be opened again in fall of 2008. So that was a bit disappointing. Instead we took pictures of outside the house, and amused ourselves suspecting Keats saw this and that tree, this pond and that wall he walked by, probably was inspired by that shrubbery. The area is really beautiful, though--Hampstead Heath area, a little more wildlife-like and wooded than other parks in London. It does seem just right that he lived there.
Sorry again for the lack of photos, but if I wait long enough for the photos to upload, I'd never post.
Now (if you've made it this far, dear reader) for an exciting bit of news:
I LEAVE TOMORROW FOR PARIS!!! Holy moly...I am pretty thrilled. Now, to be fair, I won't get the experience of Paris that I have gotten of London, but to be able to not just live in this, the best city in the world (in my rather limited experience), but to also see Paris, as I always dreamed but didn't think was actually possible. But it is, and at 6am I will leave here for the Eurostar station (refer to first post, which is my itinerary, which I think should still be correct) and take it to Paris, France. :)
Which reminds me, I have to wake up at 5:30 am, which is not too long from now at all.
This past weekend our classes took a tour of the Globe, which was even cooler than I expected. The guide showed us the theatre and talked about how it was made, and all of that, but then gave a lecture about Shakespearean acting in Shakespeare's time. It was really enlightening; I think what I learned from it is a good example of the kind of experiences that one gets while studying English literature in England; it's something I can take back with me and will sort of change the way I read (and watch) Shakespeare from now on. After the tour I went with a classmate over to Westminster Abbey and went in and looked around, did the audio tour. Westminster Abbey is where all the kings and queens have been coronated since 1066....that's pretty incredible. So I got to look on the place where Queen Elizabeth I sat, where James sat, where Victoria sat, etc, etc, up to Queen Elizabeth II sat. The same chair, the Stone of Scone underneath it (which I saw while in Scotland--this really completed the picture), scepter, crown, ring--the people have all looked on, the same place, almost a thousand years of reigns.
I saw the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I (and others of less importance). That was pretty incredible.
Several poets are also buried in Poets' Corner, such as Tennyson and Robert Browning (I was sad to find his wife is buried all the way in Italy...), Edmund Spenser, Dickens, even Chaucer. There are also several plaques commemorating poets and authors, and some statues, including one of Shakespeare, who is buried in Stratford-on-Avon.
The structure of the building itself is amazing--wholly gothic, and kept that way even though there have been add-ons and repairs through the centuries, big and varied stained glass windows. Vaulted ceilings and incredible, elaborate stonework.
Friday I got to hang out with some of the French friends I have made at the university. They are all really, really nice and funny, and quite helpful with my questions about the language and the culture. I also met someone from Spain. It's kind of funny, but my flatmate Nicole and I predicted that the closest friends we would make while in Britain would probably be not British. It is looking that way...
Saturday I went to Portobello Road market in Notting Hill, which is, I *think* where the scene from the move Notting Hill is shot, where he is walking down the road and there's a market and the seasons pass while a song plays...I think that's Portobello Road market? Either way, it was quite amazing--food, mostly from Britain but also from all over (I had some British raspberries), clothes (not as huge a selection as Camden Market), and sooooo many antiques. So, so many. I got a little Victorian-looking pillbox and a necklace pendant and a hat (which some characters from The Winter's Tale on sunday seemed to have as well, just in a different color...), and spent most of the day walking up and down, looking at everything.
I then had plans to get to the Tate Modern that evening, but stopped to sit in front of Big Ben and Parliament, realizing quite suddenly and wholly that I had made it to London, and there I was. While on the phone with Alex, Big Ben struck the hour (8); this was the first time I heard the 'leaden circles dissolve in the air,' and Alex was even able to hear them with me. It was wonderful.
After that, I had a striking, amazing stroll along the north bank. The sun was setting so the city became silver and gold and the river sparkled and everything looked real, like I was there, like I am here. I crossed to the south bank and saw an exhibit commissioned by the V&A called "Volume". It's really neat; it's interactive and hard to explain. Best to look it up, I think.
Sunday was an interesting trip to Kent (not "Kent House", by the way, which is totally different...just so you know...) to see a traveling production of The Winter's Tale at Leed's Castle. I was really glad to be able to see both a tragedy (King Lear, a few weeks ago) and a comedy while here, not to mention that I got to see one at the Globe, then this little one on the castle grounds with some actors doubling roles, close enough to the show that Autolycus handed my friend next to me his guitar-like instrument while he was meant to be hiding from another character. I really, really loved The Winter's Tale and enjoyed actually seeing it. The poetry between Florizel and Perdita was really beautiful and more alive this way too. Florizel was really good.
Other than this weekend, a few other things I have been doing:
Celebrated l'anniversaire de mon copain Sebastien. They had foie gras (fattened duck liver...gross!!) but I abstained for obvious reasons (1.vegetarianism; 2.gross) and had cheese pizza instead. Oops, I mean pizza du fromage. I got to ask mes copains lots of questions about France and their healthcare and government and things like that.
Played badminton. Saw some more (still not even close to all) of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Took a guided tour of the British Museum that was pretty interesting, though when it was over, most of the Greek & Roman galleries were CLOSED again. They really don't want me to see them...Attempted to see Keats' house today, which my classmate Isaac and I finally got to after a long, rocky walk, then found out it was closed for refurbishment, to be opened again in fall of 2008. So that was a bit disappointing. Instead we took pictures of outside the house, and amused ourselves suspecting Keats saw this and that tree, this pond and that wall he walked by, probably was inspired by that shrubbery. The area is really beautiful, though--Hampstead Heath area, a little more wildlife-like and wooded than other parks in London. It does seem just right that he lived there.
Sorry again for the lack of photos, but if I wait long enough for the photos to upload, I'd never post.
Now (if you've made it this far, dear reader) for an exciting bit of news:
I LEAVE TOMORROW FOR PARIS!!! Holy moly...I am pretty thrilled. Now, to be fair, I won't get the experience of Paris that I have gotten of London, but to be able to not just live in this, the best city in the world (in my rather limited experience), but to also see Paris, as I always dreamed but didn't think was actually possible. But it is, and at 6am I will leave here for the Eurostar station (refer to first post, which is my itinerary, which I think should still be correct) and take it to Paris, France. :)
Which reminds me, I have to wake up at 5:30 am, which is not too long from now at all.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Home Sweet London
Ireland was...interesting. I can't say I know what people who rave about Dublin are talking about, but I think we had sort of an unfortunate (and possibly unfair) experience with it. Our flight was delayed a few hours due to weather, so we couldn't really do anything Thursday night once we got there, except for buying a surprisingly expensive Thai meal (yes, in Ireland) and go to sleep. The next morning we went to the James Joyce Centre, which was kinda neat, though not extensive. It did include Leopold Bloom's door, though.
Then at noon, for our 2-year anniversary, Alex hired a string quartet to play our song, First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes, which he arranged into sheet music for the four instruments, for me in this hotel in Malahide, right outside of Dublin. So I would certainly call that a high point of the Dublin trip :) :) :)
That afternoon we spent mostly trying to figure out how to get to the things we were planning on doing, though because we were leaving that evening on a bus to Galway, we couldn't really plan too much. So we decided to go to the Guinness factory, where they showed us in an elaborate way that there are 4 ingredients in Guinness, how the advertising has changed over th e years, what the bottles have looked like, etc, and gave us a "free" pint at the top, where you could look out onto gray, industrial Dublin. Quite an experience.
Galway, though, was very beautiful, full of things you think are supposed to be in Ireland: colorful houses right next to each other on pedestrian streets, wild swans, signs in Gaelic, pubs with fiddle music, you know, things like that. On Saturday we went to their market right by our hostel and got some (really) fresh mozzarella and partially sun-dried tomatoes and olive bread and had lunch. I think it was a Greek table at the market...but I guess we got our "Irish meal" at this place called The Couch Potato, where they basically put toppings and cheese in potatoes. It was pretty fantastic, in fact.
We then walked around and saw the town a little with Nicole's friend, Michelle, who has been studying there for a month or two. We went out to some pubs and heard real Irish music in this pub that was so incredibly crowded, I can't imagine what anyone was thinking walking into it. It was cool though, very Irish in a stereotypical way. A little more so, anyway, than the Irish pub in Dublin, in which we heard a lot of covers of American and English songs (which were still fun to listen to, but not quite the same feel). The next morning Lacey and I went out to Salt Hill to see a little more of the "beach" of the bay that Galway is on. It was surprisingly pretty--very clear water, rocks and sand, cliffs in the distance. I took about three million pictures and walked around on the beach (and a little in the water!) barefoot, as though it were actually warm enough to do so (it isn't). After that we went back to Dublin (where our flight was from) and saw their National Gallery, which was ok except for the mislabeling of the rooms that a bunch of the paintings were in, as well as the suspiciously misnamed paintings that, on the map, appeared to be paintings quite famous, but in reality, the paintings that one found were named slightly differently but following the same subject. I'm not saying it was purposeful...just suspicious. They also closed a bit earlier than we expected, so we had some time to think more about how much Dublin really hated us. I don't even think it's Dublin's fault...we just didn't have much luck-o-the Irish while there, having a plane delayed almost 3 hours coming in, the bus taking longer than they said it would both to and from Galway, quite difficult and not entirely efficient public transportation (for those of us with no clue how to navigate it, especially being used to London's Tube). But again...Galway was quite pretty. And walkable.
I must say that I am quite glad to be back in London. This is really a great city, which was demonstrated to me yet again yesterday, when I went to St. Paul's cathedral. I got to see where William Blake, Sir Joshua Reynolds, J.E. Millais, J.M.W. Turner are all buried, and, best of all, John Donne himself. That was incredible. I am pretty sure that it's the death mask that he had made for himself before he died. The timeline of the church also told me that his was the only monument to survive the fire of 1666.
After walking around, I climbed several million stairs to the top (it is the 3rd tallest building in the city of London), where you can look out on all of London.
At the bottom, it was time for Evensong, and because I was there early (I guess?) I actually got to sit in the quire (with the choir...pronounced the same) so we were really close to the singing and everything (and got to sit in the tall wooden bench-chairs that they have, instead of folding chairs down on the floor of the cathedral.
Afterwards I went down to Waterloo and found a knitting shop, got some yarn, ate a terrible sandwich on the tube back towards our borough, and had a pint of cider with Nicole, our french friend Sebastien, and his friend Jillian (though I am not sure if that's how it's spelled).
Then at noon, for our 2-year anniversary, Alex hired a string quartet to play our song, First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes, which he arranged into sheet music for the four instruments, for me in this hotel in Malahide, right outside of Dublin. So I would certainly call that a high point of the Dublin trip :) :) :)
That afternoon we spent mostly trying to figure out how to get to the things we were planning on doing, though because we were leaving that evening on a bus to Galway, we couldn't really plan too much. So we decided to go to the Guinness factory, where they showed us in an elaborate way that there are 4 ingredients in Guinness, how the advertising has changed over th e years, what the bottles have looked like, etc, and gave us a "free" pint at the top, where you could look out onto gray, industrial Dublin. Quite an experience.
Galway, though, was very beautiful, full of things you think are supposed to be in Ireland: colorful houses right next to each other on pedestrian streets, wild swans, signs in Gaelic, pubs with fiddle music, you know, things like that. On Saturday we went to their market right by our hostel and got some (really) fresh mozzarella and partially sun-dried tomatoes and olive bread and had lunch. I think it was a Greek table at the market...but I guess we got our "Irish meal" at this place called The Couch Potato, where they basically put toppings and cheese in potatoes. It was pretty fantastic, in fact.
We then walked around and saw the town a little with Nicole's friend, Michelle, who has been studying there for a month or two. We went out to some pubs and heard real Irish music in this pub that was so incredibly crowded, I can't imagine what anyone was thinking walking into it. It was cool though, very Irish in a stereotypical way. A little more so, anyway, than the Irish pub in Dublin, in which we heard a lot of covers of American and English songs (which were still fun to listen to, but not quite the same feel). The next morning Lacey and I went out to Salt Hill to see a little more of the "beach" of the bay that Galway is on. It was surprisingly pretty--very clear water, rocks and sand, cliffs in the distance. I took about three million pictures and walked around on the beach (and a little in the water!) barefoot, as though it were actually warm enough to do so (it isn't). After that we went back to Dublin (where our flight was from) and saw their National Gallery, which was ok except for the mislabeling of the rooms that a bunch of the paintings were in, as well as the suspiciously misnamed paintings that, on the map, appeared to be paintings quite famous, but in reality, the paintings that one found were named slightly differently but following the same subject. I'm not saying it was purposeful...just suspicious. They also closed a bit earlier than we expected, so we had some time to think more about how much Dublin really hated us. I don't even think it's Dublin's fault...we just didn't have much luck-o-the Irish while there, having a plane delayed almost 3 hours coming in, the bus taking longer than they said it would both to and from Galway, quite difficult and not entirely efficient public transportation (for those of us with no clue how to navigate it, especially being used to London's Tube). But again...Galway was quite pretty. And walkable.
I must say that I am quite glad to be back in London. This is really a great city, which was demonstrated to me yet again yesterday, when I went to St. Paul's cathedral. I got to see where William Blake, Sir Joshua Reynolds, J.E. Millais, J.M.W. Turner are all buried, and, best of all, John Donne himself. That was incredible. I am pretty sure that it's the death mask that he had made for himself before he died. The timeline of the church also told me that his was the only monument to survive the fire of 1666.
After walking around, I climbed several million stairs to the top (it is the 3rd tallest building in the city of London), where you can look out on all of London.
At the bottom, it was time for Evensong, and because I was there early (I guess?) I actually got to sit in the quire (with the choir...pronounced the same) so we were really close to the singing and everything (and got to sit in the tall wooden bench-chairs that they have, instead of folding chairs down on the floor of the cathedral.
Afterwards I went down to Waterloo and found a knitting shop, got some yarn, ate a terrible sandwich on the tube back towards our borough, and had a pint of cider with Nicole, our french friend Sebastien, and his friend Jillian (though I am not sure if that's how it's spelled).
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Next Stop: Ireland
Thursday, July 3, 17:30 Depart London Gatwick Airport via RyanAir
18:45 Arrive Dublin Airport, Ireland
Friday, July 4, 20:00 depart Dublin City via City Link
23:15 arrive Galway, Ireland
Sunday, July 6, 12:00 Depart Galway, Ireland via City Link
15:15 Arrive Dublin City
21:15 Depart Dublin Airport via Aer Lingus
22:25 Arrive London Heathrow Airport
18:45 Arrive Dublin Airport, Ireland
Friday, July 4, 20:00 depart Dublin City via City Link
23:15 arrive Galway, Ireland
Sunday, July 6, 12:00 Depart Galway, Ireland via City Link
15:15 Arrive Dublin City
21:15 Depart Dublin Airport via Aer Lingus
22:25 Arrive London Heathrow Airport
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
This is summer
Today was an incredibly beautiful day: warm, cloudless, the ideal summer day really. I think today is what one has in mind of a perfect "summer" day, not when it's 112 degrees outside and humid and such, but nice enough to sit in Hyde Park beneath a tree and read and write and exist in London without sweat or chill.
After sitting in the park and a strange half-sting from a bee (I'm not really sure...) I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is literally the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The whole thing is enormous: statues everywhere, painted ceilings evoking humility, the dome in the middle and gold on the ceiling around all the paintings. It was truly breathtaking. I went for evensong, so I got to hear their choir sing and the reverberating voices throughout the massive thing. Incredible. I didn't get to look around a lot (they are open for looking around during the day; evensong is in the evening), though I did see the plaque with the list of deans of the Cathedral since it was started (I think?), and I saw John Donne's name up there :) :) :) ( I also read some Donne afterward outside the cafe next to it).
I must say I feel pretty good about how well I at least know the Tube. While I have no idea about how the city is actually laid out (I saw the London Eye from Hyde Park today, thought, 'hm.'), I can get around to various places that I need to be. Also walking up and down the escalator instead of standing makes one feel as though one belongs here. And efficient...
Tomorrow, to the Victoria & Albert Museum with the whole group.
After sitting in the park and a strange half-sting from a bee (I'm not really sure...) I went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is literally the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The whole thing is enormous: statues everywhere, painted ceilings evoking humility, the dome in the middle and gold on the ceiling around all the paintings. It was truly breathtaking. I went for evensong, so I got to hear their choir sing and the reverberating voices throughout the massive thing. Incredible. I didn't get to look around a lot (they are open for looking around during the day; evensong is in the evening), though I did see the plaque with the list of deans of the Cathedral since it was started (I think?), and I saw John Donne's name up there :) :) :) ( I also read some Donne afterward outside the cafe next to it).
I must say I feel pretty good about how well I at least know the Tube. While I have no idea about how the city is actually laid out (I saw the London Eye from Hyde Park today, thought, 'hm.'), I can get around to various places that I need to be. Also walking up and down the escalator instead of standing makes one feel as though one belongs here. And efficient...
Tomorrow, to the Victoria & Albert Museum with the whole group.
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