Shakespeare and Such

Two days in a row last week, I got a chance to see Shakespeare in theater. A chance that most people cannot pass up.

We are about half an hour from the Globe Theatre and tickets are as cheap as 5 pounds. Hint: there will a few entries about the plays I see at the Globe.




The Globe season was kicked off with Mid-Summers Night's Dream. The company was amazing!!! The actors brought the characters to life; their facial expressions and body language translated the Shakespearian language where you didn't even have to know English to know what is going on.


The next day we took a day trip to Warwick castle and Stratford-Upon-Avon.



Warwick Castle was awesome!!! We got to walked around on theses steep stairs to go up this tower and had this awesome view of the grounds.

We also went into a haunted house which was pretty creepy. They jumped out of nowhere and things you thought were still really weren't. There was a lot of French that day.





I wish we had more time at the Castle, but were quickly whisked to Anne Hathaway's (Shakespeare's wife) house. We got a quick view into Victorian life. Did you know they used ash to clean there teeth and to make soap ... talk about counter-intuitive.

We were then bused to the tiny town of Stratford-Upon-Avon. We visited Shakespeare's house and museum that talked about life in Victorian time and Shakespeare's estimated time line.

By the time we left the house, it was pouring outside. We took refuge in a pub. After the rain died a little, I walked around. My friend Emily noticed a electronic store with huge clearance and sale signs. Sparing the boring details, I walked out with a camera that was probably cheaper that it would have been in the states.

Later that night we saw Taming of the Shrew by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The girl who plays Rita in Darjeerling Limited played Bianca. The show wasn't bad. The company did this "evolve the play through time" thing where the dress and the scenery changed as to the quote "Shakespeare is Timeless". It was weird until we figured out what was going on. Overall, not bad.

Honestly, I can't get enough. I already am planning to see a few other Shakespearean play within the month.

Shout outs: Maleeha and Aneesa wish you where there you would have enjoyed the plays. Emily thank for the help with camera shopping. Kit, the phone camera done me well and will not forget its awesomeness. The pictures so far have been taken from my phone.

Modern Art and Salads

First of all I want to apologize, I haven't updated the blog for awhile. I will try to stay up to date with the blog as much as I can.

The day after Spamalot, which last Saturday and the first real Saturday we spent in London, we went to the Tate Museums: Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Tate Modern was having Bank Holiday celebrations so decided to check it out.

My flatmate Laura Beth told us about this thing called Tate to Tate: You can go to Tate Britain then take a ferry down the Thames and go to Tate Modern. So thus we planned our day.

Tate Britain had works from British artist and went through art history in Britain. It had a hall full of sculptures designed like pieces during the renaissance; however, the style was adapted by British sculptors to create their own work. However, my favorite piece was the one I saw going up the stairs.
We headed to Tate Modern around 3:40ish. I remember the time because we wanted to see something that was being done at Tate Modern at 4:30: The Giant Salad!!!

This woman, Allison Knowles, made out of fresh ingredients a 100 KiloGram salad. And yes we did get a chance to eat it.
It was pretty impressive. They threw ingredients over this ledge above the auditorium, then poured dressing on top and finished by tossing the salad by waving the piece of trap the ingredients fell on.

The rest of the museum houses Modern works of art from artists like Pollock and Matisse.
Something I learned about my self: I really enjoy Modern art, mostly because you can eat it!!!

Shout outs: Maleeha this Matisse sneak shot is dedicated to you, also my phone took all these pictures . . . I'm still impressed.

Are you saying coconuts migrate?

We spent our first Friday night in London properly, a night in the West End. It was one of those last minute decisions that played out brilliantly.

We got to Leicester (pronounced Lester) square and sought out some half price ticket booths (there are many, so "some" is appropriate). After some heartbreaking attempts, we found a booth that fit our price: 24 pounds (still haven't figured out where the pound could/would be found on my keyboard) for Spamalot starring Alan Dale as King Arthur.

We were excited!! We had an hour before the show so to kill time so we grabbed a bite. A half an hour before the show we headed to the theatre.


It was brilliant. There was a souvenir stand "Ole Rippe Offe Shoppe", which spoke the truth of its prices, no thank you. We got to our seats on the second floor. The seats weren't bad, plus you could hire binoculars for 50p, which I did because it helped during the solos.


The show was awesome same Monty Python Humor, but better. They kept the best parts from the movie and added things for the stage that worked really well. I was rolling ... maybe a little loudly .. .. but still rolling.

The killer rabbit rocked my world LOLOLOLOL

The best part, it was still cheaper to watch it here than in the states because tickets are usually about $50!!! (still know where the dollar sign is)

Oh Football

Yesterday was the big Euro Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United (Beckham's former team) in Moscow.

Guess who we were rooting for . . . Chelsea. We live in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: It was a choice of safety nothing more.

To watch a football game properly without going to a game is to go to the pub. The flat mates and I went to Fuller's on Earls Court.

It was funny, the pub was divided in half - one side the Manchester fans and the other side Chelsea fans.

The game was exciting enough. It went into double overtime shoot outs. The fans at the pub were way more exciting. Anytime there was a close up of a player, there were cheers from the fans and boos from opposing fans.

The flat mates and I were cheering with the Chelsea crowd. I think a lot of the people knew we were Americans and a little confused at why we were so involved with the game.

I have to say, when Man U's keeper deflected the ball, we were equally crushed. Chelsea fans somberly emptied the pub as Man U fans continued to celebrate.

I always tell myself not to give my heart away to a team because the loss is always to hard to handle.

A proper look at London (continued)

So here are some pictures from the sight seeing tour.











A view of Big Ben as we drove past. It was bright and sunny, a rare occasion in London.













A view of Parliament as the bus trotted along (big ben is attached to Parliament almost exactly where the picture cuts off on the right.)


















Westminster Abby: we went on a Sunday so there were people actually going for services (or touring the church). This is where Newton is buried.








So as we went to see the changing of the guards these four red Ferraris and Lamborghini's pulled along side each other. Like a minute later there was a three by four set-up of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and a few Astin Martins Just chilling on the road. It was about 3 million dollars worth of cars. It was weird and random and nobody actually knew what was going on. A little bit more interesting than the changing of the guards.



So these pictures were taken from my camera phone. Surprised? Me Too!!

Shout out: Dad thanks for packing the extra sheets and towels they came in handy; Kit, thanks for the phone it saved me a great deal of hassel and has great picture quality.

Sorry about the delay for getting these up.

A proper look at London

The program set up a tour for us to take around London. It was pretty cool. I realized that a lot of places were closer than they seemed. Our tour guide had to be on crack. . . we were up at 845am and alive as dead people and she was chipper as a 4 year-old.

She talked faster than she drove so I really didn't see it all, but I know where things are which is nice. I'm kinda getting a hang of this place, sort of.

Random discovery: I went to dinner with my flat mates and I didn't need a re-fill (new record for me the least i've drank was a glass and a half). My flat mate pointed out to me that re-fills aren't free in the UK. I was so happy they didn't ask because I would have been charged double. So i have a london resolution out of necessity. . . not to drink more than one glass of tea/soda at restaurants. Water is a good substitute (i just keep telling my self that).

I got the hang of the tube system here . . . its pretty much like the cta. So we used that to get everywhere today. I got a chance to visit the national history museum (there are over 200 free museums in london) which was pretty cool. I didn't see all of it so i might go back to see some of the other exhibits.

Shout out: mom the randomness of the scott wipes came in handy bc we ran out of toliet paper this morning and the stores didn't ope until 11.

Day 1- The flat

So I had nightmarish visions of the flat we were supposed to stay at, it wasn't as bad as I invisioned (but still not the best place in the world).

As our lunch ran late, and we straved to death, our RA's warn us about RATS. Basically they said, if you have food, you have to clean up after yourself and make sure there is no trace of food smell in order to avoid having rats. I'm scarred of making food in the flat eekk.

On a lighter note: I met some awesome people on the plane and, as luck would have it, we are roommates. So the roommates situation is pretty awesome and it will be fun living with four other girls and sharing one bathroom.

Oh yea, I unpacked a little.

Shout out- Batool your way of wrapping the shampoo and such worked like a charm . . . no spillage!!!