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.