A Much Needed Rest

18/19 May 2013
    This weekend was a fairly uneventful one, but I think that was okay in a lot of ways. I've been running low and steam since I've been so busy and active recently. So a breather was nice. Although a spent much of Saturday by myself, since my roommates and the rest of my group went to the Temple. I would have gone in a heartbeat - had I had my Temple recommend with me. Honestly I was kind of heartbroken by it, especially hearing about how it was in the beautiful English countryside, but that might be okay. I can always look back at how I was feeling that lonely Saturday and remember how I don't want to feel like that again. Hopefully it will help keep my priorities where I want them. It reminded me just how important the Temple is to me. A nice reminder if you ask me, even if it did come in a sour package. I'm sure there will be another opportunity. And if not I will make one!
   While they were away I did a bit of lounging, cleaned up and organized my side of the room, and took a loooong hot shower. I also did a fair amount of Downton Abbey viewing as well. It was a Downton day. :) After my roomies got back, we all had a quick bite to eat and headed off to see a production of King Lear.
My dear friends - let's just say that after talking about it on class on Monday, I shall not be speaking much of it again. It was very interesting, to say the least. I think I would have preferred the Ian McKellan version myself. But such is life, you win some and you lose some. I'm sure my teachers will enjoy picking it apart. And I must admit, it was super entertaining watching everyone's reactions to it. Afterwards this is how my roommates and I felt.

The set before the show started. Looks promising, right? This may have been the most atmosphere the audience felt throughout the entire production.

Hooraaaay.

The roomies. 

   

    After a very long day for all of us, we decided as roommates that ice cream was in order. It was about midnight at this point, so we settled with the Burger King across from the tube station. Although it wasn't so much settling because the ice cream was so very delightful. Hit just the spot. But we were all exhausted by that point - which is ironic since I didn't do a ton, but I was still exhausted, so we went to bed. 

    Today was stake conference  so we got to sleep in some and head over to the Hyde Park chapel instead of trek across England. To my surprise  it was being broadcast from Salt Lake, and we had General Authority speak to us! My favorite talk was probably Richard G. Scott's on the importance of women. I must say that stake conference was really good - I felt that all of the talks were very relevant to my life right now. I felt very spiritually fed. And I still love walking and being in that building. It's always worth going there. 

    After church we came home and lounged, did some homework (SOME), and did some laundry, which was an adventure in itself  When we opened the door to leave the flat, we saw a guy in the street, smoking a cigarette and taking pictures of what looked like the dumpsters. Nothing else was facing that direction. But almost immediately afterwards, he whipped around and started taking pictures of us! Or at least held his finger on the button and looked through the camera at us for a long time. After an awkward 10 seconds, he looked another direction and we all went our way. We thought it was pretty random and hilarious - especially since we were just discussing how we weren't about to dress up to go down the street to do laundry. Hahaha We thought of it like paparazzi! (Though honestly I wonder if the guy was trying to take pictures for/of one of the embassies that surround my flat.) You know you're in a posh neighborhood when....

    Once we made it to Metrogate, where the laundry is, I had my first battle wound of the trip. I was trying to grab my clothes when I accidentally knocked off Melissa's laptop from a low chair. I knew dropping a laptop was a really bad idea so I tried to catch it with my foot...which was also a really bad idea. I started bleeding and it got all over my shoe which was gross. And it hurt a fair amount. But it was still pretty funny - especially while I hobbled around the entire labyrinth of a building trying to find the bathroom to wash off the blood. Nailed it. But then we waited for what seemed like an eternity for our clothes, conversing with friends and doing some homework in the computer lab. But now we're back home, and I am super exhausted. Tomorrow should be exciting though - we're seeing Helen Mirren as the Queen in The Audience!!! I finally got around to watching the film The Queen today on Netflix and I've got to say, I'm extra excited now. She is a fabulous actress and that movie was just as fabulous. Tomorrow should be a good day. Here's to hoping!

   

    Sweet dreams my sweet London. Ciao!

"Honey, you should see me in a crown."

17 May 2013
     Today we visited the Tower of London. I had been relatively excited about this excursion since receiving the schedule, but I was in a weird mood today. I'm not sure what it was - but I feel like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, that is once I woke up. I was the last one up today (which is shocking since I'm usually the first by a long shot) and had less than 20 minutes to get ready. It's not that I was particularly crabby or anything, I just didn't feel I was very present. It seemed like I was a few steps behind the conversation and what was going on. I was seeing, not observing, and everything I heard seemed to be going in one ear and out the other. Which is kind of sad. But I suppose it's to be somewhat expected. Thinking about it, I truly haven't rested at all since I have come to London. So a slight breakdown from a constant going-about and information overload the past two weeks is to be expected. I just hadn't thought about it since I was having so much fun. but nonetheless - I forced myself to wake up after we explored the first tower and from then on it got better. At least I was awake! We got to see the crown jewels which of course was super exciting. I had no idea how much history and procedure was involved. I didn't really surprise me, but it was really cool. You got to ride the airport flat escalator things... hopefully you knwo what I mean, across the room past all the really significant articles and all I could think of was:

so that was really entertaining for me lol. Ironically enough, before that we went into the crown jewel shop (not after like it's set up to be) where I found a lovely gift for Grammie. But no spoilers - it's a suprise! <3 But I was pretty excited about it. We did a lot of walking around and it was very cold - much too cold for the dress I was wearing. Yahoo weather lied to me unfortunately. But it definitely kept me awake I'll say that much. 

   I must say Tower of London wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I was anticipating. Not that I didn't like it though. Who couldn't like a centuries worth of history in the form of an infamous castle?! 

Tower Bridge 

Roman Wall with Shard in the background

Beefeater

Tower and Gherkin - Old and the New

Catapult taken from the moat

The Racks

Manacles

     After Tower of London and great deliberation, we went to lunch at Garfunkle's. We all were starving and cold, so it was a very happy sight indeed. The food was all really yummy, and we were stuffed to the brim. Almost directly after, Tanner, Christie and I went to see what I've been waiting for for qutie some time. STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS. YAAAAAAAAY! Lol I was much more excited about it than I should have been, but then again it had my favorite Benedict Cumberbatch in it so what do you expect? I thought it would be fun too to go to a movie theatre in England. I like doing the smaller, more commonplace things in different countries to see where the real differences lie. I find it very intriguing.

    I'm not sure if it was just this particular theatre, the Empire in Lesicester Square, but oh my goodness!!! It was giant and kind of very fancy! There were actual curtains that opened and closed before/after the film. I kind of felt like we went back in time to the talkies - with curtains and appearances from the actors "Singing In The Rain" style. It was super neat! 

     And quite beautiful actually. The colors kept changing and I really liked the stars. P.S. What you're seeing is only half the audience. !!! But my anticipation for the movie and high-expectations were not all for naught. I absolutely adored the film - and geeked out pretty hard whenever Cumberbatch was on. He was so fantastic! But so was everyone. But him especially. I found myself not liking him by the end of the movie which is saying something (since I think I'm in love with him. Lol!) I imagine I'll see it at least two more times in America. Haha! But it was a really fun excursion and definitely snapped me back to normal. I'm so glad we did it.

   But time for bed now and much needed rest. Cheers!

"Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made Of"

16 May 2013
    One of my favorite days yet. Might possibly be one of my most treasured experiences to date. Today was the day we visited the renowned Globe theater. Not only did we visit, but we got a tour, went through the exhibition, and were groundlings at a show! We saw a superb production of The Tempest with just fantastic acting. Some famous actors were present but we'll get in to more of that later.
    The first thing we did was go through the exhibition while we waited for our tour. There were some interesting things in there! I was particularly found of all the information they had about music and Shakespeare. Here are some pictures:

Costumes made as they were in Shakespeare's day

Gate created with iron shaped as plants, flowers, and animals referenced in his plays

New Zealand work sent to honor the re-opening of the Globe

traditional wind machine

audio tracks at the exhibit

     I had just finished the exhibit when we were being rounded up for our tour. If you've never seen pictures, the Globe is beautiful. And even if you have seen pictures, it's much more beautiful and colorful in person. I have more pictures! 

Our lovely tour guide hearkening us over

     The tour was great with lots of great information. It was entertaining just being given the information by our tour guide; he dressed like an aviator and had a fantastic and very theatrical speaking voice. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he was a member of a Shakespeare cast somewhere if not at the Globe. But it didn't last very long (or didn't seem like it) and we were out on the street to wait for the doors to open for our matinee. 

    We decided to eat at Nando's, a great and relatively cheap chicken place. I had an awesome mango and lime chicken sandwich with chips (as in fries). MMMMM. It was really neat because where I was sitting I could see St. Paul's Cathedral across the Thames. And there was an Italian family in front of us. I did a fair amount of eavesdropping. 

We then went to Borough Market which was just on the other side of a tunnel for dessert. I had a delectable lemon tart. I could have gone for at least two. 

With deserts in hand, we walked back to the Globe so we could get in the queue for the doors. We had groundling tickets, which means that we stood in the open space in front of the stage and before the actual seats. This meant that if we wanted to see the actors well and lean on something - like the stage - we needed to get there early. We had pretty good spots in the queue since we got there about an hour before the show started. We sat down along the wall as we were waiting. Where I was sitting, I was directly in front of St. Paul's. The weather was beautiful at this time; the sun was out with some clouds infront of a blue sky, the wind blowing lightly, and a most regal cathedral sitting across from me. I was listening to Arrival of the Birds by Cinematic Orchestra 

and I was reminded just how miraculous my life is. It was a simple joy that I will cherish for a long time. 

   Then, the Bankside gates opened, and it was time. 

     This was my "seat". 

HOW AMAZING IS THAT. And I enjoyed the show SO. MUCH. Not only was it filled with phenomenal actors, but I was in the perfect place for actor/audience interaction. There were some great "woah!" moments too; there was a suprising amount of fantastic puppetry and the music was just splendid. There were a lot of songs! I was just to the left of the stairs and literally leaning on the stage. I was so close to the actors that I could see the black seams on the black cloaks  and the different colors in the dust on their boots. I could've counted Colin Morgan's eyelashes if I wanted. Oh yeah! Btw, Colin Moran - Merlin from BBC's Merlin and Roger Allam were in the production! Here they are as Ariel and Prospero 

I must say I REALLY enjoyed Ariel, as well as Ferdinand,

and especially Caliban. His physicality was exceptional. He was one of the best actors in my eyes. 

I thought it was fun that he blended in to the painted columns of the stage. But regardless, the production was exceptional. I had fake beer spilt on me and gratefully missed being spit on by Caliban. If I wasn't careful I would be in the way of the actors coming up the stairs and moving around on the edge of the stage. But it was really fun how much they interacted with us. The one "downfall" of the performance wasn't a downfall at all to me, but more of a great opportunity - it started raining on us. Hard. So much that I was dripping on to the stage and couldn't see sometimes, especially when it started hailing/sleeting. LOL. But I absolutely loved it. Today was such a fun time - and quite magical. I felt like I was rediscovering theatre for the first time. All of it was a great and most treasured experience. Very magical. 

     After the show we decided to head home - it had been an eventful, wet day and we wanted to dry off and warm up a bit. On our way back I almost died. We had stopped at a cross walk, crossing not a very busy street but it shot off a busy street. We waited a few seconds for the cars to pass. I looked both ways a few times and after not seeing OR hearing any cars, I took a step off the curb. That was when a cab came shooting around the corner in my direction. Before I had time to think, he had passed. We shared the same inch of cement, I am telling you we were that close to each other. I literally could have died had I been a few inches farther into the road. Why I didn't take a bigger step I don't know, but that reason whatever it was saved my life. I turned around and saw that one of my friends had seen me too, pretty sure his eyes were as big as mine. We both laughed it off - but I'm pretty sure my laugh was more of a "HOLY CRAP!" It was ironic since I'm usually the one who saves people from getting hit by cars. But oh my goodness. I was a bit shaky the rest of the day. Hahaha. It's really funny looking back though. 

That about sums it up for now. I'm quite exhausted - time for bed!

Cheers!

I love, I love, I love Peter Pan

15 May 2013
    Had another day of class today. It is starting to feel a bit like school - at least when I'm in class. So we'll get to more exciting things.
    Today was the day I finally gave in. I saw Wicked. It's not that I didn't think it was a good show - I've always thought it was well-written and defying gravity always gave me goosebumps... but I just thought it was overrated and could never compel myself to pay a bunch of money to see it. But I was peer pressured into it since all my friends were going, and I have NEVER seen it which I'm pretty sure is technically a sin in the theatre world. So I went. Which was probably for the best because a) We got student discount tickets so our tickets were for amazing seats at an amazingly low price, and b) I really liked it. :P Plus it was just fun with the group I was with. And it was funny, during intermission and after the show ended everyone in my row whipped their heads towards me in a "well, what did you think?!" sort of way. Haha It was entertaining. My friends and the show. Here's where I sat:
   

 Amazing, right?! It ended up being really fun. It made me miss dancing - I totally would love to be in the dancing ensemble for this show. And I must say - the music is so much greater and enjoyable in context. 

     We all went to a matinee and didn't have a show that night, so we improvd. My little group of friends discovered I had never seen Hook the movie so they took it upon themselves to, as they say, give me my childhood. So after the show we all came to the flat and watched Hook. (Well, before Hook a few of us waited for the others by watching funny youtube videos... oh man.) Can I just say that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. I can't believe I had never seen it. It was perfection. And it reminded me just how much I love the story of Peter Pan! I can't wait to go read the book under the statue now. (Not that I couldn't before, but now I'm extra excited.) And I also want to ride the Peter Pan ride at DisneyWorld - with Grammie of course :) And watch Finding Neverland... Yeah. Basically everything Peter Pan related. I was super vocal during the movie, completely enthralled. And afterwords I was flitting about like a 6 year old. I was feeling like a kid again. Or more so than usual I should say. It was wonderful. 

    I must say, today was a pretty big day for me. But off to bed. Who knows, maybe Peter will fly in my window!

Cheers from starry London.

Miracle

14 May 2013
    Today we went to the Museum of London. I didn't really know what to expect. Honestly I thought we were going to the British museum so I was a bit surprised as to what I saw. But it ended up being pretty cool. It had a slower start for me, but it got better the farther I went in. The museum literally went through the entire history of London, from prehistoric times to guessing the future. There were some really amazing and interesting things. I personally really enjoyed the roman stuff, pleasant gardens, Victorian walk and the 1900's. (As well as the Michael Cain exhibit! Pretty inspiring.)

Costume on right is original Peter Pan costume

World War memorabilia

Saw an identical bus on the street just outside the museum - about 70 years later

2012 Olympics

Michael Caine exhibit

What really made the day fun though was hanging out and growing closer to some of my fellow students. We had a lot of fun going through, laughing at the crazy elementary kids and little pranks (like scaring Melissa to death!) So it turned out to be a delightful excursion.
     After the museum, our little group made an impromptu mini grocery trip to Waitrose. For me this meant poking around and talking. It was much more entertaining than I had anticipated. After taking groceries back, it was time to go to our show for the evening - Matilda.

      I'm going to be honest - I wasn't looking forward to the production. But it ended up being quite entertaining. I'm planning on buying a few of the songs and would even want to be in the production, but I still had problems with the production and interpretation. Some of the songs were fantastic. And then others were terribly predictable. The spectacle and creativity that went into the making of it was phenomenal! And then there were opportunites - like the mother's ballroom dance - were sadly terribly under-performed and unfulfilled. Of course, the drag Mrs. Trunchball (which I totally called) was super entertaining. I doubt I'd see it again, but I would definitely be a chorus member in a production. My favorite numbers were the very first one - "Miracle", the first scene at the school called "School Song" fittingly. I also really liked the song "When I Grow Up." Everybody likes a pretty song with swings on stage. Oh - and there was also "I'm here." Honestly I felt bad for the performers in the production, the grown - ups I mean, because the children in the production were totally showing them up. They are the greatest performers I have ever seen. Watching them I was kind of going "Well, crap. Ten year olds are already passing me." Lol They were incredible. And our Matilda was perfect for the role. It was great to watch them. Here are some pictures.

This was my seat and what the stage looked like as I walked.

Miracle

School Song

When I Grow Up

    It was a nice surprise how I much I enjoyed myself. And as I'm listening to the soundtrack I'm remembering how much I really did like it. I still have a few eye-roll songs. (Most of Miss Honey's frankly) But some great stuff too. As I got home and was talking to family, I was reminded just how lucky I am to be here. Just how much of a miracle this is. I don't want to leave. Ever. 

Cheers from the new happiest place on Earth