Comedy of ERRORS (And Other Happenstances)

The pictures above shall be explained below.

After the nothing of Tuesday (we went shopping for a bit and then headed back, most of us really tired from staying up to write reviews; though I tried my first Vietnamese dish--Pho) Wednesday came with a lot of surprise activities. Originally we were going to go to St. Paul's Cathedral--we've actually planned this several times but put it off because it involves climbing over 500 steps to the top, and doing anything else involves plenty of walking as well. Our legs have gotten a lot of work. A LOT.

As I predicted, during class I heard my professor read a line from my review on War Horse, though luckily this was because he liked what I wrote rather than in a fit of criticism. Then he suggested that as our play for that night, Comedy of Errors, would take place a bit further from the center of London than we were used to, in the region of Hampstead, that we should go early to explore what the area, apparently home to some of the most expensive living in London, had to offer.

We took the tube to Hampstead and climbed out of the underground onto a pretty looking street with cool shops and cafes. We made the mistake of pausing outside of a bakery and had to go in to have chocolate croissants, which were very good, and thus it is no longer considered a mistake that we went there. Then we found a tea shop with adorable mugs, an assortment of wonderful smelling teas, and a variety of 'luxury' hot chocolate including the wonderful white hot chocolate I bought and have already taken to drinking.

We then walked to poet John Keat's house, through a neighborhood of lovely houses with excellent gardens. The actual house was nothing special, just rather cute and with some fun facts. Then we had a fifteen minute walk through Hampstead through some of the most beautiful houses we have seen--mansions in the style of brownstones but so much more, all made of brick or, in some cases, entirely white. Even the schools looked like old mansions of rusted red brick. Trees lined the streets and the CARS. There were many nice cars. And probably many rich people to go with them. The cars were also nicer, letting us cross the street rather than speeding up upon seeing us in the road.

We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the Hampstead Theatre, which was really good. Now, whether this was exceptional Chinese food or we were just starving, or both, we cannot tell. But it worked for what we needed. And well fed we went to the theatre.

Comedy of Errors was...well...trippy. I walked out of the theatre feeling like I'd been put on acid and made to watch Shakespeare. As I wrote on Facebook (a condensed version of my 9 page review for class written last night): "First of all it was set in Mexico. When the script calls for it to be set in Ephesus (and this play mentions that place a LOT). And then there was a LOT of slapstick to the point where it got tiring, and a lot of over-the-topness. And the icing on the cake was the man who ran into the audience naked with, I kid you not, a sparkler up his ass."

Today was a bit more calm. I'm tired from staying up till sunrise to write the review (a lot of people pull all-nighters though). I personally needed that 4 hours of sleep I got. I'm feeling it today. Most of my flatmates went to a concert in Hyde Park for Mumford and Sons, Beirut, and Arcade Fire, which sounded awesome but cost $90 and I wanted to save money for travel.

I went to the Doctor Who store instead, in Upton Park, which is in East London. Which is more run down than central/west London. The area was full of vibrant culture--a lot of Asian ethnicity in particular, with Indian and Chinese food places lining the streets. There was also a cool looking outdoor market. The area is also home to the West Ham Football Team's stadium. However, the area did have a run-down, slightly sketchy look. So I didn't stay long and didn't wander off since I don't know the area as well as central London and was alone. So I went back.

I've been in the flat ever since, pondering why I can't get Parmesan cheese from any grocery store, eating some cookies I got and drinking hot chocolate. And trying to figure out how the washing machine works. It seems to want to beat the dirt out of my clothing and then steam them dry. Hopefully that just means my clothes are damp and not shrunken beyond recognition. But most people have done well with the washer, even if it has taken hours.

Food Porn: A Guide to British Food Thus Far

I've been told time and again that the English don't make good food. And with the exception of fish and chips, this is largely true. However, in a city as diverse as London there are plenty of good opportunities to find food worthy of inducing a 'foodgasm'.

Most places make a really good fish and chips. Particularly the chips pretty much never disappoint. Somehow the British also manage to make pretty good gourmet burgers, which are different to regular burgers and a bit more expensive but apparently worth it. Bangers and mash are also really good. I've yet to have a proper British breakfast.

For some reason the British also excel at making hot chocolate. Most places make it the right sipping temperature to prevent burning. The absolute best hot chocolate uses Cadbury's hot chocolate mix, but nearly every place I've been to has had an excellent presentation of the hot drink (as you shall see below, the best one I've come across).

Foreign food is also really good in London, especially because there are so many different nationalities of people living in the city. My favorite example of this is the crepe food truck that operates outside the entrance of the British museums. You can buy a crepe, sit outside the steps of the huge British Museum and take a bite of deliciousness while feeling smart at the same time.

Also really fantastic is the food in Chinatown, located near the theater district. Not only can you find a cheap meal, but it'll also be really good and really large. I had a vegetable noodles which tasted surprisingly fantastic.

Despite all the lovely food I've talked about, and the even more lovely pictures of food below, I'm not quite done food porn hunting in the city of London. Just today I had even more amazing food and took more pictures to remember it. There will be more food porn blogs in the future. But for now, enjoy these pictures.

War Horse

Ended the day seeing War Horse. I will say this about the show: go see it. For the puppetry, which is amazing. The horses are incredibly life-like and just beautiful, the music is beautiful, and a lot of the scenery and settings are really well done.

The acting for most of the people parts left quite a bit to be desired--the actors were not up to the task of playing against the puppets. Actually, compared to most of the actors in most of the productions I've seen, they fell below the high standard set by most of the actors I've seen in plays mentioned on this blog (with the exception of the production of All's Well That Ends Well).

But for the touching story and the spectacle of the horses, War Horse is well worth watching.

Bringing the Eternal Note of Sadness In

The title of this post is in reference to the poem "Dover Beach" which is fitting, considering that is where a few people and I journeyed yesterday.



Above is what the view of Dover cliffs looks like from a boat. (One day I'll have to do a bunch of photo posts to complement all the writing I've done because I have a LOT of photographs.)

We took a bus to and from Dover--it was relatively successful getting there and back but very tiring. When we arrived in Dover we could see the cliffs, white and looming over the town and the ferry port. But the sky and the ocean were no where to be seen, because they were covered in a dense fog. We were lucky--on some days the cliffs themselves can't be see and, apparently, when the day starts off like that it usually ends that way as well.

We climbed up one of the cliffs to the park service center and poked around their store a bit, ate lunch, and then poked around the cliffs. One of the staff members told us to be careful since we weren't wearing hiking shoes because of slippery conditions and previous cases of people falling off the cliffs. So we edged to the edges as carefully as possible to look down the shear drops.

Then we decided to go to Dover castle, situated on another cliff top. We got very helpful directions: walk down the cliff, turn right at the leisure (pronounced "laysure") center, then turn right again, then right again, then walk up. Luckily there were also signs pointing the way, so we climbed yet another cliff and eventually reached the top.

Dover Castle is a huge medieval site, which was also used as a fortress during World War II. Because of this, not only does it have medieval weaponry and kingly beds and stuff like that, but there are also more modern military items present. It was fascinating to hear about how the castle was used as a base during WWII for rescue missions from France, and particularly interesting was the tunnel tour. There are four miles of cliff tunnels under the castle. We saw parts of the ones used as bunkers during World War II, which also doubled as a trauma center--where wounded soldiers were sent to be stabilized before heading off to proper hospitals to be better treated.

The castle also offered great views, being on top of a cliff situated right over Dover, and luckily the fog cleared, so not only could we see the town of Dover and the other cliffs, but we also got to see the English countryside stretching back away from the ocean (with sheep dotting the green fields) and the actual ocean, a surprisingly tropical-looking bright blue.



Above is the beach and the rest of town that isn't under cliffs. And you can also see a bit of the fog rolling out into the ocean.

We visited those beaches later that day and they really were, as the poem "Dover Beach" suggest, made of pebbles. Lots of pebbles and rocks, and really good looking ones at that. Some people took some home because they looked so pretty. Not only that, but after a long day of walking and climbing up steep roads and pathways, walking on the pebbles of the beach had a very massage-like effect on our feet. A few people tested the water--a bit chilly but not salty at all which was strange. And then, after a dinner with a LOT of sea food, we had to head back to London.

The hardest part about traveling in London, at times, is the fact that the city can seem to have an overpopulation problem. Never has this been more obvious than when taking the underground at peak times. However, last night was a Sunday at 11pm. Most places are closed. So this didn't really explain the sheer hundreds of people crowding all the tube stations and trains we needed to use to get back to our flat. It seemed like everyone had been out partying or something.

I suppose that's how people like their Sundays here. Or perhaps there was an event we didn't know about that we were unlucky to catch the end of.

Either way, it doesn't matter too much. The trip to Dover was exhausting but well worth it just because of the sheer beauty of its white, incredibly tall cliffs.

Though I did have to wonder just how often people falling off the cliffs is a problem.

Portobello Market

Today food happened. As did shopping.

We decided to go to London's Portobello Market today to do some shopping for hopefully a cheap amount. Portobello Market is located, predictably, on Portobello Road. Which was too far for us to walk, so we took the Tube. Which really helped us prepare for what we were going to put ourselves through.

There are no pictures, since I forgot my camera in a moment of absentmindedness surely brought on by a lack of sleep and the shock of noticing the sun rising every day at 4am. So words will have to do. We got to the train station and noticed that as the train pulled in it was packed full of people who insisted on staying on the train rather than getting out. There was no way we, a group of 6 at the time, could all fit in, so we waited for the next train.

The next train also had a lot of people on it. So we fought our way for a crappy spot crushed against the walls of the train and as we got closer to our destination, only a few people got off. And then we arrived to our destination. And everyone got off.

Now, we didn't know how exactly to get to Portobello Road from our stop--the guidebook we looked at just said to get off the train and "follow the crowd". As it happened, the whole crowd---what looked like the whole city of London--was walking in one very specific direction. Even if there had not also been signs saying "Portobello Market This Way" we would have found it.

And found it we did. The market runs the length of Portobello Road, which is long. How long I don't know, because we got too exhausted to finished after having been there for hours. The market had a ton of people that required weaving in and out of to move at a relatively acceptable pace. There were several sections: antiques, food, clothing, modern stuff, ect.

The antique section was full of fascinating things, from jewelry to ornate clocks, watches, and compasses, to certain items of clothing. They sold a lot of gas masks for some reason. As well as military uniforms. There was no shortage of tea pots and cups. And scarves. Not antique, but really pretty. I got a few as well as a lovely looking pocket watch with which to tell the time.

Then there was the food section. Which not only had warm food to eat right there but also produce--fruits and vegetables and bread and cheese, all fresh and cheap and good. Ready to buy for cooking. I got a baguette. And then came the clothing section. I got a dress. There was more fantastic jewelry. Including this company (poke around, it's awesome): http://www.typicalfreaks.bigcartel.com/

Then, seeing that we still had quite a ways to go but having already been there for hours, and feeling exhausted, we backtracked all the way back to the tube station, got on the train, and headed to the general area of our flat. We ended up passing by an Italian deli which had some really good hams and salami for really cheap, as well as great cheeses and gelato. Our minds in food porn mode, we jumped on the chance to buy some good fresh food. I got some smoked ham and mozzarella cheese to go with my baguette. And then some orange gelato.

We also managed to find a grocery store with the largest selection thus far, since most of the stores we've been to have been lacking in one or two or all areas. It looks like we're finally figuring out shopping for food in London. I hope. Now to figure out how the washer/dryer works.

Tonight should be relaxing unless we go out. At least for dinner, we're all planning to stay in and make lovely meals. I'm making a warm sandwich out of my baguette and smoked ham and mozzarella and trying some apple cider. And then for dessert, chocolate cookies. Because today is a food porn kind of day.

Eternity Is a Terrible...Nevermind

London is a wonderful place I've noticed. Last night I met David Tennant and today, well, I had an amazing day. In London you can do anything and I certainly did.

Today we took a trip to Leicester Square to get cheap tickets for one of the West End shows. We wanted Wicked but Wicked didn't want us and remained full price, so instead we got tickets to the Hamlet spin-off Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. If you haven't read it, you should. And if you have read it and want to see it, you should.

The performance was in the ornate Royal Haymarket Theatre, whose interior had intricate decorations along the wall emphasized by gold and a deep, black stage with minimalist set pieces that was perfect for the production. And what a fine production it was. Just hilarious and so well done the whole way through. Jamie Parker and Samuel Barnett in the lead roles of Guildenstern and Rosencrantz worked so well together, playing off of each others' words and actions and emotions effortlessly. Particularly, Barnett as Rosencrantz stood out as not only hilarious, but also a more worrysome and attached character than his counterpart, as well as adorably confused most of the time. Also standing out was Chris Andrew Mellon as the Player, hilarious as a man who takes his profession far too seriously. Everyone had excellent comic timing. And seeing the play performed really emphasized the hilarity of the piece, the genius of the wordplay, and the irony that is the very play itself. All and all, very worth seeing.

In addition to seeing one of my favorite plays produced, we ventured into the British Museum to look at the Islamic, Egyptian, and Greek sections for a bit. I also had a strawberries and cream crepe, which was one of the best things I've had all week. England seems to be lacking in dessert a bit at least where I'm concerned, but this made up for it (and I'm sure it's all my fault for not looking, anyway).

On the way back from the play we also got sidetracked by a HUGE gift shop. Two floor. Ridiculous! I got a bunch of stuff. And will probably regret it. But mostly it's for other people, with one scarf to keep myself warm since I didn't bring any warm clothes. I thought summer meant it would be warm. Apparently 'warm' here is 70 degrees. I still need a raincoat because it rains every time I go out.

Well, tomorrow is looking to be a market shopping day in the morning, followed by trips to St. Paul's and the Tower of London. We shall see if I can climb the over 500 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. Hopefully I'm not weak enough to not be able to.

I Met David Tennant

That is all. And a picture. Not of me with him but of him at the stage door. For privacy reasons.



David Tennant at the stage door tonight for Much Ado About Nothing.

I also met Catherine Tate, but her picture was harder to get.

All's Well That Ends Well

A late night last night contributed to having a class that was hard to stay awake in, not necessarily because of the subject matter, though that might have contributed a little bit, but more so because of the lack of sleep. I ended up going to bed after the sun rose, at 4:30am, which made me toy with the idea of pulling an all nighter. That's how much it freaked me out. But I slept, for 3 hours, plus two mini-naps, adding up to 4 hours collectively.

And with not too much sleep I and a group of others on the program made our way to the river Thames, walked across the Blackfriars Bridge and had fish and chips for the first time this trip. And then we proceeded to the Globe Theatre to see All's Well That Ends Well, hoping that it wouldn't rain on us like it had earlier, and also hoping that the play was short.

It didn't rain, but it was cold and the play lasted long enough that we had been standing for 3 hours, which is a long time. Not so noticeable at a concert, maybe, but very noticeable at a play.

But the play was good! I have no idea what some of the plot points were because of, probably, the cold and the standing and the lack of sleep and also the fact that before that point I hadn't read the play. But most notably standing out was Colin Hurley as Lavatch and Will Featherstone as Parolles, both of whom had excellent comic timing. Featherstone even used a plane flying over the theatre (and making a LOT of noise) to comic effect. I wouldn't say the production was amazing or that I would watch it again, as I have wanted to with others. But it was good and entertaining.

Now I'm back in the flat, having been satisfied by fish and chips, which are very good. And wondering if our door will be fixed. The key latch broke and the whole door had to be removed and replaced again so we could get back into the flat. Only one of the key latches works.

So it's been adventurous. Tomorrow there shall be grocery shopping involving strawberries. And hopefully one day I'll figure out how to work the washer/dryer in the kitchen.

Much Ado About Many Things

This is going to be my writing exercise until I can find something suitable to write about. Well, I have something to write about, I just don't want to write it now.

Yesterday was the first day of classes, and as morning dawned we were still missing 30% of the students on this trip. No matter, we had class anyway and got some ground rules explained to us. For every play of Shakespeare's (and one not--this being "War Horse") that we read we see the accompanying production someone in London/Stratford-Upon-Avon (Royal Shakespeare Company)/Oxford. And then we discuss it at length for 2.5 hours.

Yesterday was a lot of work after class. I had to go get a phone, which serves not only as my way of contacting the world, but as a watch because all of my other devices are still on New York time and there are startingly few clocks (besides Big Ben) in London. Then we went grocery shopping. My diet will consist of a lot of bread, pasta, and nutella. And some pesto. The store was a lot smaller than an average Super Market in the U.S. and carried practically none of the same brands. It was a small grocery store in general, though, because I've seen bigger here. But still, it's interesting to see the difference in foods.

Then after walking around in the rain for a bit later in the day for unrelated stuff, we went to see Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant as Benadick and Catherine Tate as Beatrice, which was amazing. Especially Tennant, who in addition to serious stuff knows how to do comedy and to play to (and interact with) the audience. He is an expert and it shows. My favorite scene was the one where Benedick is overhearing the prince and Claudio talk about how Beatrice loves him. There was a creative use of paint and a rotating set that allowed us to not only see the conversation (which was meant to fool Benedick; they knew the whole time he was there) but also to see the startled reaction from Benedick. And then his following soliloquy where he asks why Beatrice loves him, and why he should love her, and then his final interaction with her for that scene were hilarious and spot on. That moment of the play was one of the best. There was also an interesting use of U.S. navy-looking uniforms worn by the young men that didn't go unappreciated by quite a lot of audience members.

Unfortunately I missed both Tate and Tennant at the stagedoor because they were there for a brief time, and so I will be going back sometime soon. I did lose the people I was with though, and so had to make a 40 minute walk back to my flat, which is in an abandoned area during the day and which I knew I wouldn't be comfortable walking to alone at night. What I didn't realize was that most of the streets I would be on would be deserted of people and/or cars, and every store would be closed. That made things a bit eerier and by the time I got back I was extremely stressed. But then a group of flatmates and I took a walk and came back to hang out until pretty late/early depending on how you look at it.

So now here's me, with 4 hours of sleep and needing to read All's Well That Ends Well for tomorrow's production that we're seeing in the evening. The most tiring part (besides the no sleep) is the walking, especially to the flat, which is at least a 25 minute walk from any 'nearby' tube station. But it will put me in shape, I suppose.

Arrival

As one of the few people in my program whose flight took off with relatively little delay, I can honestly say I'm glad to be sitting in my flat typing this. Because even though the flight went off without much problems, the rest of the day was pretty stressful.

I left from New York's JFK International Airport yesterday on a 9pm flight that didn't take off until 10:45pm because the flight was overbooked and the people who manage boarding insisted on taking an hour to try and have people give up their seats. But finally we were airborn, and what a flight it was. I only got an hour of sleep for the whole night, but I got to see lightning at night from above, the moon, and upon landing, the city of London.

Seeing London while flying in got me extremely excited for what was to come. I loved London last time, after all. After a rather surprisingly quick immigration process I got my suitcase and took the tube into the Bloomsbury part of London, thinking that I would get the keys to my flat, drop everything off, and then go searching for a phone to have on me.

Instead, I got told that I could only get my keys after 2pm, a fact of which I was not made aware of in any of the trip paper work or during orientation, and it would've been useful to know. Especially seeing as I got into the city at 11am. I had to wander around on foot for most of the time. I tried to find a phone store to get a phone so I could tell time somehow and be connected with people, but the store I looked up wasn't there. Or it was closed. Either way I was unsuccessful. Then it started raining. Really I just wanted to call someone to have a bit of a rant before calming down and it's the first time I haven't been able to do that even if I wanted to. So I ranted to myself in my head. I don't recommend it.

Eventually I got to the flat, a 20 minute decent walk from where class is going to be, and also in a bit of a sketchy abandoned looking area. (There is a photography studio next to it, though). Not sure how I'd feel about that at night but I think I'll find out tomorrow after seeing "Much Ado About Nothing". Which I want to enjoy.

So far only two of us are in the flat that is supposed to be occupied by 5. A few people had their flights outright canceled. Some twice.

8 Days Left

I still need to get the rest of the Shakespeare plays I will be reading and the one non-Shakespeare piece of work. And then I actually need to pack, a process which involves me vacuuming rather large amounts of tea out of my suitcase from when a tea bag burst on the way home from North Carolina last month. Now everything going into that suitcase will smell like strawberry lemonade...but that's not such a bad thing.

I also have been slowly but surely coming up with a list of things I want to do in London and Oxford. These include:

-meet David Tennant, who used to be the Doctor in Doctor Who and is in one of the plays we're seeing, Much Ado About Nothing. I put this first because this play is the first thing we're doing.

-Visit the British Library. I walked right past it last time I was in London. I mean, to be fair, we were trying to catch a train. But I want to see it.

-visit museums. My class is literally right next to the British Museum, but there are also a good bit of art museums and museum-y museums around London, and they're all free! I also want to go back to the Imperial War Museum because I went last time and it was fascinating.

-visit a flea market in London.

-visit Cardiff, somewhere in Scotland (Edinburgh/Glasgow?), and Belgium. That last one probably won't happen.

-eat good food. Including fish and chips because I actually really like fish...and chips.

-become significantly better at using an English accent.

There are more things I want to do but I'm too lazy to think them all out right now. So I'll just leave them be for now and think about how annoying packing is but how much I'm going to love being in England once I get there.

10 Days to Go

So...this is my first study abroad experience and it's going to be a good one. I've always loved literature and in high school I really enjoyed the Shakespeare plays we read. However, I haven't read nearly enough of them. Some people might cringe at the thought of spending a summer doing nothing but reading and seeing Shakespeare's plays, but I think there's no better place to do such a thing than England. Also, I enjoy Shakespeare.

Luckily for me I can do such a thing and for my study abroad experience, I'm going to spend three weeks in London and three weeks in Oxford doing nothing but reading and watching some of Shakespeare's plays, among some other plays (War Horse, which is also playing on Broadway, being one of them). I also want to do a lot of exploring in my free time. It should make for an amazing summer.

Right now I'm at home, anxious to leave. It's also almost 3am. Preparations are being made. Passports and other documents are being checked over. Lists of things I need to bring are being prepared. I checked the weather for London today and realized it's actually quite cool, in the 60's and 70's, so my packing might change a bit. I'm also researching things to do and what to eat and how to get to different places. Luckily a trip to London a few years ago familiarized me with some aspects of the city but I'll still be learning a LOT.

There's still a lot to do before the trip. But it seems like 10 days is a pretty long time. Too long. I wish the trip were a lot sooner but it's coming. It just needs to come faster.