“Oh that I were a man…” London Walks # 7: Bloomsbury

Today was a great day. A wonderful, mixed-weather, jam-packed day. I loved every part of today, except…sorry Professor Miller, my history class this morning. But hey, we were talking about the scientific revolution and inventions and such, and we all know science is at the bottom of my favorite subjects list. I don’t think it quite makes it on the list, actually. After class, I went on a nice run through Kensington Gardens. I love including a quick run around the Albert Memorial in my route. I go there first, and do the rest of my run on the trails through the park. I love how massive and ornate it is, and I am always a sucker for the romantic love story between Albert and Victoria. It was rare for a royal couple back then to be as in love as they were. I try to ignore the fact that they were first cousins…that kind of puts a damper on the romance. So I pretend it’s just not true, and I admire the Albert memorial, which was built after his tragic death from typhoid.

The "Americas" corner of the Albert Memorial

A couple weeks before I left for England, my boyfriend’s mom, Susan, told me about a chef named Yotam Ottolenghi, who was featured on Martha Stewart. He has restaurants in London, so I decided to try one today. It’s mainly a take-out restaurant, with salds, meats, and deserts displayed. You tell them which things you want and they fill up a box and charge you by weight. Everything looked incredible. I had lots of different vegetable dishes, including egg plant (which they call aubergine here), broccoli, carrots (my favorite!), bell peppers, and yam. I had a tiny piece of seared ahi with chili jam. And for desert ( I could NOT pass it up here), I had the most delightful chocolatey thing I have ever consumed. Flourless chocolate cup with sour cream and cherries. Need I say much else? It was the best food I have had in London. I highly recommend this place. It’s a bit pricey, but worth every pence! I honestly haven’t been so satisfied since I have been here. I was amazed at the spices and flavor! And the chocolate…was heavenly. Since it was such a beautiful day, we took our treasures (the food) to Holland Park and had a sort of a picnic. Usually our days are go-go-go, so it was nice to sit, relax, and enjoy our food, the weather, and the beautiful green park.

My new favorite restaurant! Thanks Susan!

At Holland Park with my delicious meal.

Next, a few members of the picnic crew realized that time is ticking and we have to start fitting walks assignments in wherever we can. So Sarah, Scott, and I embarked on the Bloomsbury walk. I really liked the areas we covered on this walk. I had never been to most of the streets before. Most of the streets were very quiet, probably because today was a bank holiday. We passed Charles Dicken’s home, where he finished three of his books. They are Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, and Pickwick Papers. We also passed the British Museum, which I MUST explore before I leave London. It has EVERYTHING! The Rosetta stone, real Egyptian mummies, and more. I loved the gardens that are throughout the city. They are nice breaks from all the busy streets and buildings in London. This walk had a couple, including Brunswick Square and Russell Square.

Sarah and me in front of Charles Dicken's home turned museum

About half way through our walk, the sun disappeared behind clouds. By the end of our walk it was raining mist. It was still a pleasant experience, and I enjoyed it.

But wait, the pleasantness doesn’t end. After dinner (which wasn’t so pleasant…shepherd’s pie, ick.) a group of us hopped on the Tube to the Globe Theatre to see Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. So I know I said I loved As You Like It, which I did. But, tonight’s play was absolutely hysterical! We were all dying laughing! The actors are all amazing and hilarious and really play with the audience. I would definitely recommend seeing a play at the Globe for anyone who is going to visit London. It is a must do. And I love standing in the front, where you can actually see their facial expressions. You get more of an authentic experience too, because the ground is where the peasants watched the plays. Although today, thank goodness, it isn’t stinky and grotesque down there. Just fun. And tiring, but worth it. Geoffrey the Butler, from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air acted in the play. He was great! It was fun to see him in such a different role. Is that what all actors do when they get too old to play their old characters? They retire to Shakespeare? Beatrice and Benadic, the two haters of love, were hilarious, and I loved all of Beatrice’s many soliloquies and monologues. “Oh that I were a man….I would eat his heart in the marketplace!” She was crazy funny. She used to star on some British tv show apparently. It was raining throughout the entire play. But it was a light rain, so it didn't bother me. Plus, the play was so entertaining, I probably wouldn't have even cared if it was pouring!

Butler Geoffrey from Fresh Prince! He was grand. Pictures were strictly prohibited...good thing I had my phone so I could sneak this one!

Tomorrow, I go to Windsor. Maybe someday I will blog about my time in Lincoln, York, Edinburgh, and the Lake District. That is where I’ve been for the past week! But time is ticking and I don’t know how I will fit everything in before I leave London! I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep from now on…

London Walk #6: Soho to Trafalgar Square. Also..Courtauld Gallery

Today, after church, we decided we’d better do another London walk as due dates are approaching. Macy, Sam, Taylor, and I walked through Soho to Trafalgar Square. I actually loved this walk. I wished it wasn’t Sunday, because we passed dozens of adorable vintage shop and other cute clothing stores, and lots of yummy looking restaurants and gelato shops. Maybe it was a good thing it was Sunday…

There weren’t really any beautiful nature sights, but it was fun to see such a busy area of the city. And of course, since I love the buildings here, I can always appreciate the architecture I see. This mural is 5 stories high and was painted in 1980, depicting characters and scenes of the local Fitzrovia community.

This is the French Protestant Church near Soho Square, that has been around since before the 1550s. Soho Square used to be royal hunting grounds and “soho” was a hunting call, which is why it is now called Soho.

Isn't this teeny tiny car so cute? It was parked outside of Soho Square.

I enjoyed today’s walk very much and I plan on returning, when it isn’t Sunday, and my wallet is full…Just kidding mom! Maybe just a cute vintage dress and that’s all!

Last Note: I teach a Sunday school class to 6 girls from age 15 to 17. There is Amowa, Antoinette, Josephine, Jesintha, Fredriesha, and Shaneise. And Audrey, Shaneise’s two year old daughter. She joins us for class too and she is adorable! (That is definitely not how you spell their names. But that's how you say them at least.) After the lesson, I asked them what their favorite place to shop was, and Antoinette said H & M. And I said, “Oh I just bought pants from there!” And they all laughed at me and said, “You mean TROUSERS! Pants are underwear, here. Say Trousers!” How embarrassing. Then I told them about Trevor (my precious 4-year-old nephew) and his old obsession with the word “panties” and how he used it as an adjective for every word and even used to call me “Panties Lindsey” instead of Auntie Lindsey.

Also I think I should mention that I think a man fell in love with me on Monday at the Courtauld Gallery, a small art museum with mostly French Impressionism, but many other things too. Van Gough’s self portrait is here and they have a lot of Monet too. Anyway, his name is Daryl and he is probably at least 90 years old. I was sketching a my favorite painting, a gorgeous seascape called “Antibes,” by Claude Monet for my art class and he just started talking to me. He told me about how when he looks at this painting, “and you may think I’m strange for this,” he said, but he feels the breeze and can smell the salt in the air when he looks at this painting. And then he wouldn’t stop talking to me! The good part is this: He asked, “And where do you come from? You’re obviously British.” He thought I WAS BRITISH! What a complement. I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb as an American! Everyone told me that Brits just know when you are American. How? Why? They just do. I guess I shouldn’t be too flattered. He was a bit senile. But anyway, he continued to tell me about his American friend that he met in the war, and how they went to school together in France after the war, and then he told me about more paintings. Then he wanted to show me some of them upstairs. So we shuffled to the elevator, him with his cane, and me hoping he could make it. The poor guy is going blind. He goes to Courtauld every Monday because it is free admission on Mondays. One painting he showed me was “La Ciotat,” by Othon Friesz, which is an abstract landscape. Daryl thinks it’s hilarious because CLEARLY the artist is having a joke with the viewer because the hills really look like a lady with “ginger hair” laying on her side. It made me think of that lady Dad always showed us in the hills on the way to Grandma’s house. I always secretly laughed when Dad would say, “And there are here breasts.” Ha ha immature little kid I was. So Daryl took up all my time that I should have been sketching. He kept saying, “I really must go have my lunch now, but wait, let me tell you one more story.” I bet he said that at least 5 times. But I really enjoyed talking to the guy. He was very nice and very smart and you could tell the poor man just really wanted someone to talk to about his passion for art.

“La Ciotat,” by Othon Friesz. Can you see the ginger-haired lady?

Me and Van, no big deal

Outside the Courtauld. Me and my favorite, a piggy. Or me and me. However you want to look at it.

We also went to the Globe to see the Shakespeare play, "As You Like It," and it was wonderful. Our professors got us seats, but they were basically behind the stage, so my friend Sam and I stood in the front, like peasants. For the second half, my professor's kids joined us, and they said it was so much better. It was a lot of fun, and I can't imagine having to listen to the play without seeing all the hilarious facial expressions and subtle jokes and gestures. We had a blast. We stood for a long time, yes, but nothing really compares to the 8 hours we stood to see the Royal Wedding. We weren't complaining. We had a blast. The next day, we went back with our class to have a tour of the globe. Our guide took us inside to watch a few minutes of the dress rehearsal of the next play they are showing, “Much Ado About Nothing.” We loved what little of the play we saw AND the guy who played Geoffrey the Butler from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was an actor in it! There he was, right before our very eyes, acting and dancing, dressed in Shakespearean clothes! So obviously, we bought tickets to see the play next Monday. Only 5 pounds to stand. Wonderful deal.

Tomorrow we leave for Lincoln, York, the Lake District, and Edinburgh, Scotland. I am so excited! Hiking, castle ruins, medieval towns, and more coming up! Not excited for having breakfast at 6 am and embarking on a 9 hour bus ride….But so excited for the trip in general! So warning, I’ll probably be MIA from the internet for a few days.

Cambridge and Oxford

The FAKE Platform 9 3/4. This is at King's Cross Station on our way to Cambridge. A lot of the station was under construction, including the orginial Platform 9 3/4. We had to pose with this stupid fake one down some dumb alley at the station! When we asked one of the workers where the "real Platform 9 3/4" is, he looked at us funny and said, "You, know there isn't a real one, right? You know that it's just a figment of imagination, right?" Haha duh, we aren't stupid. Just enthusiastic Harry Potter fans.

My hair is a little crazy in this picture. I like to think it looks like Hermoine hair. It makes me feel better about it being all over the place:)

Cambridge, outside the library. I later found out that we aren't allowed to TOUCH the grass. Only fellows are allowed to walk on the grass, as a way to show off that they are fellows. They are brilliant, and therefore are allowed to walk on the grass.
Punting. Someone stands on the front of the boat and punts, but there needs to be someone in the back steering.

Last week, we spent a day with the whole group in Cambridge, and it was beautiful. The university was founded in 1209, which makes it the second oldest university in the English speaking world! The buildings ranged from gothic to baroque to neo gothic to rennasiance architecture. Yet again, the architecture amazed me. The students were taking their exams the day we were there, so it was really lucky that we even got to see it. We had to have special permission. Luckily, BYU and Cambridge have a really good relationship. More BYU students are accepted to grad school at Cambridge more than any college in the U.S. We got to see the library at King's College. It was designed by Christopher Wren, the same man who designed St. Paul’s Cathedral. Detailed wood work covered the bookshelves. There were glass cases with artifacts such as Sir Isaac Newton’s walking stick and A.A. Milne’s original transcripts for Winnie the Pooh. And we saw another really cool cathedral…although, I don’t know how many more cathedrals I care to see. We’ve been to so many! It was beautiful though. And we toured it with Brother and Sister Tanner, (the former General Young Women’s president and her husband). It was cool to meet her! Especially because she was president while I was in Young Women’s.

After all the academic touring, we all went punting in the Cam River. Punting is when you get on a long flat-ish wooden boat with a few passengers and you stand at the back with a long pole, sticking it into the river bottom and pushing off. It is quite difficult. And embarrassing when you aren’t very good at it. That was a lot of fun though. And we got to see the backsides of all the college buildings by going down the river.

Today, we finally had a free day, so a few of us decided to go to Oxford. Oxford was also very beautiful. I liked it better than Cambridge. Again, the architecture was incredible. Oxford is the oldest university in the English speaking language!

We saw a few Harry Potter film sites...

Outside where they filmed the Great Hall scenes.

This is the door through which Albus Dumbledore comes in to see Harry at the infirmary. It is also where Professor McGonagall teaches the students how to dance in preparation for the Yule Ball.

This is the staircase where the first years meet Professor McGonagall in the first movie. Harry Potter dorks waving their wands (or pens, or lip gloss).

Walking around the city was fun. There were lots of fun little shops. Every time we go to a town outside London, there is this Fudge Shop that gives free samples of huge fudge chunks. Of course we made a stop there! Today it was toffee. No one liked it.

These innapropriately dressed men where collecting part of some kind of children's fundraiser! Very strange...And yes, what you see there is a man in nothing but a thong and some tennies. And a tutu in the back. And a cheerleader? Yeah, weirdest fundraiser I've ever scene. Pretty funny though.

Oh and I left out the most important part of the day: the pub we had lunch at! We ate at Eagle’s Child. Weird name, but lots of history! This is the pub that C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien would hang out at and share their stories and ideas with each other. I am not a pub food lover, so my meal wasn’t spectacular or anything, but it was fun to be there! (And that was my first British pub experience, so I guess that is kind of exciting?)

I wanted to see C.S. Lewis’ house, The Kilns. The grounds of that house is what inspired Lewis to create Narnia. The pictures show a woody area with a big pond and it looks magical and very much how everyone pictures Narnia. BUT, it was a pretty far walk, or an expensive bus ride, and we didn’t have much time, so we decided to skip it. I paid my tribute to him by eating at his pub. I think that’s enough.

I am exhausted, as usual. I can’t wait to rest my head on my NEW pillow tonight! The other day, I was joking with my professor’s wife, Kelly, about the horrid pillows they give us and how mine is flat as a pancake! I told her how I miss my thick, soft, curvy pillow at home, and she said, “hey, we have one of those in our flat! And no one uses it. You can have it.” She is wonderful. She brought it to me a couple nights ago, and it has made a world of difference. Kelly is the greatest.

Last Week continued

The best part of last week’s trip was going to Durdle Door Beach. The view was unlike any I’ve ever seen before. I have been to a lot of beaches before, but never one like this. Durdle Door Beach is in Dorset, England (southern). I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was beautiful. ...ok internet is not letting me load pictures. Sorry. You can always see them on my facebook.

We had to hike about a mile to get to the beach. That’s where we saw the most beautiful view of the arch in the rock and the big blue sea and the bright green rolling hills that drop in white cliffs to the shore. Absolutely gorgeous.

A few of us decided it would be a good idea to walk along the pebble beach barefoot. We got pretty far before we realized that it was actually a horrible idea. Our feet hurt! I did find lots of green sea glass and one tiny piece of bright turquoise sea glass.

This week I saw Les Miserables for the first time. It played at the Queen’s Theater. I loved it. The music was incredible and fun. Jean Valjean had the most beautiful voice and such a wide range of notes he could hit perfectly clearly. Our seats weren’t the best. We had the overhang of the next level over us, covering the top half of the stage. We were very worried when we first arrived. But we didn’t miss much. Only when people stood up on scaffolding. 3 musicals down. A few more to go! Billy Elliot is next on my list.

On Tuesday, we went to Hampton Court Palace, which is where Henry VIII lived. It was huge! It divided into sections of William and Mary’s apartments, Queen Anne’s apartments, Henry’s, and someone else…I forget. But it was decorated pretty elaborately, just like it was when they lived there beginning in the 1500s. One of my favorite rooms was a large room where the guards would sleep and hang out, just guarding the front of the king’s apartments. The walls were covered in weapons all arranged in beautiful patterns. There were guns, swords, armor, shields, and more and they were all really beautifully placed. I also loved the Queen’s bedroom and bathroom of course. And the gardens…the gardens were spectacular!

Next stop: The Down House, where Charles Darwin lived. The English class just finished reading Charles and Emma, which is about Darwin and his wife. Since I am not in this class, it wasn’t as exciting for me, but it was still a very cool place. The home is huge, as they had lots of children. The entire downstairs was set up how it was when the Darwins lived there and the upstairs had exhibits of things from his travels and such. It was very interesting. Of all science, my favorite is learning about the evolution of life. I love seeing the history of how things have changed over time and what animals are related. Again, my dad would have loved this place. The Darwin’s back yard is gigantic with lots of different kinds of plants and gardens growing. There is a path called the Sandwalk that Charles and Emma would always walk on. This is where Darwin thought about his discoveries and ideas, so it was very important. It was a beautiful walk. Someday, I would like enough land to have a giant backyard, big enough to go on long walks through, please.

Bristol, Bath, Wales, Cottswalds

I just finished a wonderfully busy week and I was out of London for most of it. We left for our class trip on Tuesday morning. The first day we looked at Stonehenge and Avebury Circle. Stonehenge was obviously incredible , but so was Avebury Circle, which most people have never heard of. It is also an ancient rock formation. It consists of two big circles inside of one giant circle. A small village has been built around and in it. We had a tour around these stones. It was pretty impressive. How in the world did these people move several ton pound rocks around? And how did we get the detailed information we have about it now? My favorite Stonehenge theory is that giants placed the stones there long ago...haha.

We continued on to our hostel after our stony adventures. We stayed in a really nice youth hostel in Bristol, right on the Avon River. Our room had a shower and a bathroom. Not bad for my first hostel experience. But I know not to ever expect that from a hostel, from what I hear at least. My friend, Sam, and I woke up early the next morning to go running. It was fun to be able to explore the town a little bit and run up the river. We got a little bit lost, which kind of stressed us out. We had to be back and ready at a certain time to catch our bus. Then, to make matters worse, I fell down some old stony steps and got pretty scraped up on my knee and hands. Poor Sam felt horrible for me, and so we’d stop and she’d ask for directions every so often, while I’m gushing blood out of my knee, probably grossing people out! It was kind of a funny experience. The story ends well. We make it back in time for a complimentary breakfast and we catch the bus to Bath!

I had been looking forward to Bath for a while. Bath is what Jane Austen always writes about in her books. It’s the place all the posh people go to for vacation. I wanted to know why. After visiting, I’m not really sure why it’s such a resort town. There are natural hot springs, but did Jane Austen character-like people actually swim in them? I picture them eating out, shopping, and attending dances. I can’t really think of much else to do there. The town was charming. There were hardly any modern buildings, except for the mall and the new Spa building. The famous Royal Cresent and the Circus are in Bath. These are both residential areas with unique architecture, because they are built in the shapes of circles or half circles. They were fun to see. The best part about Bath was something I didn’t even know Bath had. The Roman Baths. The whole reason Bath is called Bath. Duh, Lindsey. They found several Roman built Baths and foundations, artifacts and temple remains. When the Romans occupied Britain 2000 years ago, they found this natural hot spring and channeled the water into several swimming pools and baths. This was a place to come and worship the Goddess Minerva (who they believed created the spring), to be healed (some baths had special healing powers), ask Minerva for help or for revenge or for anything, or even just to recreate and play. The foundations are all still there. It was crazy to walk on ground that people walked on 2000 years ago. Ancient sites are impressive and I can never quite comprehend how old they really are. It all feels so unreal. I feel like I’m at Disneyland half the time.

After Bath, we went back to Bristol for dinner where we found an incredible Thai food place, called Yum Yum Thai…does that remind anyone of another of my favorite food places?? (Yo Yum Yum frozen yogurtJ!) Four of us got two plates to share and let me tell you: Green Curry is amazing. So amazing that we went back the next night and I ordered the exact same thing. And I was just as impressed and happy with my meal the second time. Kelley…can I request a meal for your CA blog? A green curry dish? It had mange tout, which is a type of pea, I guess? coconut milk, sweet basil, chicken, some other veggies, and I don’t remember what else, but Kelley, you would have loved it. It was the perfect combination of spicy with a hint of sweet. Yum.

Next day: Wales and the Cottswalds. The only thing we saw in Wales was Tintern Abbey. (And the awesome bilingual signs. Everything was written in Welsh and English!) Tintern Abbey was absolutely beautiful. It is a ruin of a chapel that was founded in 1131. We spent a while just walking around and exploring the beautiful stony ruins in the amazing green area. This place inspired one of Wordsworth’s poems. I loved it.

After exploring the tiny little town of Chipping Camden, where all the doors were my height or shorter, we went on a lovely hike. One of our professors LOVES to walk and hike. (which I love) The hike had wonderful scenery of green fields, cute little farm cottages, horses with their babies, lambs with their lambies, running and jumping. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, even though we all grumbled at the beginning because of how tired we all were. The English countryside is beautiful and I fell in love with it last week.

Unfortunately, and largely due to this trip, I am totally bogged down with homework. There is so much more to tell! But since I haven’t blogged in over a week, I figured I better post something. So this is just part of the trip. And because the internet is so slow, I was able to post pictures on facebook, but not here, so visit my profile if you’d like to see pictures of this trip.

Today was great too…we visited Hampton Court Palace and the Down House, where Charles Dickens lived. Both were lovely.

To be continued….later…when I don’t have three art assignments due on Thursday and tomorrow I’ll be in Cambridge all day!

London Walk #5: Lambeth and the South Bank

This walk took us through some very touristy parts of town, some beautiful parts, and some sketchy and somewhat scary parts of town. We walked down some busy streets full of shops, restaurants, and people. We had to ask a lady for directions at one point, and she was very nice and led us in the direction of the park. It was a children's park with swings and a playground. We laughed at the sign on the gate that said, "No adults allowed unless accompanied by a child." Doesn't that seem a little backward?

The park was pretty and it led us past a beautiful old church looking building. It was the Museum of Garden History. Then we passed the ancient palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury. It was red brick and beautiful.

All of the sudden, we turned the corner, and there was Big Ben, right across the river! Along the river were lots of tourists and creepy street performers. There was this guy who was hiding under a box with only his face poking out pretending to be a cat...weird. There was another guy dressed like an iguana posed on a bike. Justing sitting there. With a miniature replica of himself: a fake iguana riding a bike next to him. Also weird.

I didn't like how crowded and touristy this area was. After walking the streets in London, cramming onto the hot and muggy tube, and trying to navigate safely through all the people at Tesco, I decided I hate crowds more than anything.

Overall, this walk was very nice. We saw some beautiful sights and it was a great way to spend a few hours in the hot and sunny London.

A skate park by the Thames. It reminded me of home. Not the grafitti, just all the little punks showing off their skate moves. haha so Carp.

Here is our walking group: Me, Amy, and Kristen.

Me and Kristen in front of the Garden Museum

Big Ben and Parliament! Doesn't this remind you of Robert Downey Jr. diving into the river from the Parliament building on Sherlock Holmes?

For the first time...I feel Wicked!

I actually do feel a little wicked...instead of doing homework tonight, which was my original plan, I went to see Wicked! Yes, I know what you are thinking. Why would I plan on doing homework on a Friday night in London? Well, because I have A LOT of it. I am not on vacation. I am going to school. HA! what a load of bologna. I am totally on vacation with a hint of school. But really, that hint of school is much more potent than I would like it to be. I shouldn't call it vacation. The work load has been challenging.

I am so glad I decided to go to Wicked instead of writing a paper. It was incredible. (I'm sure my parents love hearing that.) First of all, students get the best available seats at an amazing discount price. So we got to sit in rows 6 and 7. I was front and center. I have seen Wicked once before at the Pantages in L.A., but I almost completely forgot the story. And sitting so close, I was able to see the costumes really well. They were so detailed and beautiful and funky.

You know you are a theater nerd when you get all choked up several times throughout a show purely because you are overwhelmed at the talent and beauty of the performance. I felt like I was about to cry about ten times throughout the show! How embarrassing! I guess I truly am a theater nerd.

The dancing was really awesome. I don't remember much dancing in it before, but this time it really stood out to me. Fiyero was a magnificent dancer! He really knew how to move those hips! I can totally see my friend Zach playing him someday. It would be a perfect role for him.

There were seven of us, but this is Taylor, me and Kristen, and we couldn't wait for the show to start!

Our 7th row center seats