I should have woken up at 6am...

Disclaimer: This blog includes some personal info-- don't read if you don't want to get to know me better :P

So I had to majorly wash on Wednesday because I had totally run out of clean underwear. I realize that this in itself is something that is not shocking and probably has happened to a lot of people ( I had a friend from college that would just buy new underwear instead of washing haha) But, I'm pretty good about always having clean underwear. I didn't even have clean underwear to go to the launderette to wash my underwear, so I decided to wear this skirt that has spandex shorts attached to it ( I guess they work like a girdle.) I always wear underwear with it, but I figured that the shorts sort of were like long underwear.

I should have woken up at 6am, so that I could be at the launderette by 7am. I didn't get out of bed until 7:42 am. Booooo #1.

Although I didn't have my entire heart set on it, I was inclined to take two London Walks. One to Little Venice at 11am and another on The Beatles at 2pm. What I did have to do, was buy Chuggington trains for my nephew Matthew. I had found out online that Hamley's located inside St. Pancreas train station sold them. It has been my experience that I have to leave the house 2 hrs before I have to be anywhere in London. Most times, I'm there with at least 30 minutes to spare, but there have been times I get lost, or trains aren't running like they're supposed to, etc.

I finished my laundry by about 9:30, so I decided to RUN home drop off my laundry and back to the train station and try to make it to the Little Venice walk. (Note: no time to put proper knickers (underwear) on-- the spandex shorts were doing so well after all.) I imagined Little Venice would be fantastic. I imagined being in a gondola, and having the guide sing a bit (why I thought I could take a walk on a gondola, I don't know.)

So, I exit Warwick train station in London at about 11:05 am, and I see a group of people across the street. It was the London Walks people, and I was downright smug I woke up late, did my laundry, and made the walk on time.

My glee was short lived. Soon after we started the walk, the guide said there was a particularly beautiful garden, but that the owner wouldn't let us stop in front of her house so we had to quickly glance at it as we passed by. I got my camera ready and snapped a pic of the house from the outside. I wanted a picture of the garden as well. I had been on so many tours by now that I had experience on snapping a pic quickly as I walk by whatever I'm taking a picture of. I had the camera ready and just as I turned to look at the garden (just a glimpse out of the corner of my eye) I FELL DOWN. The hateful garden of the beautiful house and garden had just moments before finished watering their lovely roses, and left the pavement (sidewalk) completely wet and muddy.

The fall didn't hurt, and I was too stunned to feel embarrassed, but my entire backside, legs, and feet (wearing flip-flops) were covered in mud.

The ladies in the group came to my rescue and handed me the packs of tissues they had, and one lady even tried to help me get the mud off me.

I spent most of the walk trying to get the mud off of me, and WE NEVER GOT IN A GONDOLA. Little Venice looks nothing like the pictures I've seen of Venice, Italy. It has no gondolas, and that's not even it's real name. The most exciting bits of information the guide gave us were the place Alan Turing (father of computing) was born, and the house Madonna almost bought. Wow. :/

I still had to buy Matthew's toy trains, and I still wanted to make The Beattles walk at 2pm. I had one hour to get to St. Pancreas Station and then to Tottenham Court Station in one hour.

I was feeling a bit sticky from the mud, so I wanted to buy some cleansing wipes. Also, I was afraid the mud had seeped through my skirt and I imagined my behind covered in caked mud.

I got to St. Pancreas, and my first stop was Boots pharmacy. I got the wipes and headed for the bathroom. Well, the good news was that mud had not seeped through. The bad news was that my monthly friend had decided to pay a visit. Now, despite my sharing this with you (didn't one of my professor say I have to write about things that make me feel uncomfortable? The roses and urine thing Pablo Neruda said and all) I am an old-fashioned kind of girl. I can't accommodate my guest without proper underwear, now can I???
Luckily, St. Pancreas has a shop called Senza (a cheap and cheery version of Victoria's Secret.) I bought underwear for 3 quid (remember cheap and cheery) at Senza and went back to Boots for girly things, and back to the bathroom (also, lucky St. Pancreas doesn't charge for the use of toilets-- patron saint of those who have to go? most stations charge 30p to be paid with one 20p coin and one 10p coin-- no variation is accepted!)

By this time I had abandoned the hope of seeing Abbey Road or Abbey Road Studios. My dream of being in a picture with another 3 random London Walkees with arms extended at an awkward angle were abolished.

I grabbed a sandwich at Pret a Manger, and I headed in search of Hamley's, the toy store.

The clerks at Hamley's had no idea what Chuggington trains were, but they suggested I visit the main store in Regent Street. It was two stops away on the Victoria line train. I needed to get off on Oxford Circus station and it was a four minute walk from the station. Oxford Circus was CLOSED. I had to get off on the next station which was Green Park station. Never mind-- I used the opportunity to have my sandwich at Green Park. I sat next to an Indian family, who were conversing in their native language. When I dropped my coca-cola, the girl asked me in a perfect British accent if I was okay. She sounded beautiful in both languages.

Because I had no idea where I was, and how to get to Hamley's on Regent Street, I bought yet another London map. I had to cross through all the posh shops. Gucci, Prada, Rolex and model/designer looking people surrounded me (haha!) The Abercrombie and Finch actually had shirtless, real, live models as you went into the store.

Hamley's was an experience in itself! Six stories high, and fun, games, and performers everywhere. Hamley's is older than the U.S.A.! I got Matthew four trains. :)

I think I walked for five or six hours straight that day.

And… I had my second bike riding lesson when I got back to Harold Wood. I was promoted to a bigger bike. I'll post pics later. Ian says I did better on this lesson. I had pizza for dinner and watched Saun of the Dead. I laughed soooo much. First zombie movie I like. :)

I heart London :)

Salisbury and Stonehenge

Last Tuesday I got to visit the legendary Stonehenge. Because it doesn't actually take very long to see this pile of rocks, the people from London Walks have coupled the Stonehenge excursion with the city of Salisbury.

For the past seven weeks I have lived in history, beautiful architecture, and picturesque scenery. Before my study abroad experiences, I could count on the fingers of one hand the times I had been inside a Catholic church. Now, I have visited SO many cathedrals (and I still take pictures of them because they are so elaborate… amazing truly.) On the one hand, I enjoy every moment I spend here. Even the simplest task or experience is elevated because-- well, I'm in the U.K. Even just sitting here in the park typing this blog has me in a near euphoric state (maybe the writing process, or the beautiful weather, or the fact that I feel myself enjoying the outdoors more and more-- whatever the case-- it's effing awesome.) On the other hand, because I've been around so much beauty, I'm not easily impressed anymore.

Although Salisbury and Stonehenge aren't any more beautiful than any other place I've visited in England, I rate it as one of my best excursions because -- well, (hello!) it's STONEHENGE.

Here are some of the things I learned from our guide Richard:
SALISBURY
• Salisbury dates back 2500 yrs. There was no roads, but some trading routes
• Iron age fort- top of the hill then became village of traders with accommodations for them and food
• Sarum was the original name of the town which means dry and desolate ( there was no drinking water at the top of the hill)
• 2000 years ago the Romans came to England and built first roads in England- they made Sarum into Roman fort
• William the Conqueror set up small power bases dotted around the country and he knocked down Roman fort but kept the stone tower which was 5 stories tall
• His nephew built a Cathedral with accommodations for clerics then villagers and a wall were added. Sarum had lots of soldiers and lots of clerics.
• The soldiers would make catapults to break the cathedral windows
• Bishop Poore moved church away from Sarum .. Built present cathedral and finished it in 1258 AD- this cathedral claims to have tallest spire in England.
• In Salisbury there is a tributary of the river Avon ( Avon = river)
• It was a bit risky to build the church where it is because it was so close to the water but unederneath the church there are granit chippings which stabilize the church
• Close= a church surrounded by houses
• It is still a fortified close at 11:30 pm at night the gate closes to city
• The close has houses built between 13th and 18th century
• It used to have a sheep/wool industry and by 1400s it was a wealthy city
• Cathedra - a bishop's chair
• Inside close there is a house for widows of clerics - it was built by a man who in his youth loved a young girl who married someone else , a cleric. When the cleric died, the girl (now an oldish woman) was destitute. In order to help the love of his life without taking away her dignity, he built a grand house for widows of clerics.
• The ladies who live in the house now complain love living there except that they have a 10pm curfew and the pubs don't close until 11pm.
• The oldest house in Salisbury was built in the 13th century and was later named The King's house because James I sometimes stayed there.
• There used to be a college for training teachers and Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure" is set in Salisbury and involves a student of the teaching academy. Thomas Hardy wrote about people he knew and things he'd seen.
• All churches in England are built east to west and the high altar faces the east. The cathedral in Salisbury has a floorplan that resembles a crucifix
• An architect named Wyatt removed all the tombstones when he was commisioned to remodel the cathedral… so we were basically walking over a bunch of dead people as we walked on the lawn :/
• A crusader is buried in the cathedral. His wife was the Countess of Salisbury. He had initially plan to go on a crusade and be back in one year, but he didn't come back. After a few years, he was presumed dead. Because the Countess was wealthy she had many suitors pressuring her to remarry. One man went as far as to organize a huge feast in order for the Countess to marry his nephew. The crusader returned in time for the feast, and the man throwing the feast changed the reason for the feast to a welcome back party for the crusader. Unfortunately, the crusader died a week later. It was rumored that he was poisoned at the banquet, but nothing was ever proven. The coffin (is that's what it's called) where the crusader lies inside the cathedral is made of wood at the bottom and stone at the top. After a flood in the 19th century (I think) they opened up the coffin to assess damage the flood caused. The found a dead rat with all its fur on the head of the skeleton. They couldn't figure out 1) how the rat got there because the coffin was very well sealed 2) how the rat had been so well preserved. They did an autopsy on the rat and found the rat had died from arsenic poisoning. Further investigation found a chunk of human brain in the rat, so this proved the crusader had in fact been poisoned.
• The Cathedral also house one of six copies of the Magna Carta ( signed by King John and states no one is above the law and the initial idea for due process

STONEHENGE
• Saw Sting's weekend house on way to Stonehenge. His wife was the producer of "Lock, Stock, and Two Barrels" which was directed by Guy Ritchie. Sting and his wife introduced Guy Ritchie and Madonna during a party and the new couple honeymooned in Salisbury.
• 7,000 years ago the ice melted and this turned England into an island
• 4,000 BC people in England were hunters/gatherers
• 3,000 BC they started planting/harvesting and communities start to form and they start to domesticate animals: dogs, goats, cattle
• 3,100 BC they start making henge - they dig ditch and creat 6ft bank around it-- it used to have a wood structure -- wood henge
• Henge = ditch + bank
• 2500 BC - new inhabitants of area brought stone
• Bluestone first to be moved from 240 miles away; larger stones are from 18 miles away
• Inside the henge there is an altar stone
• This henge is unique because the stones have been dressed (basically been made into a rectangular shape.) This is amazing because this was before the Iron Age and so they didn't have very good tools. They probably used a stone hammer made from a stronger stone than the stones they were shaping :/ They used animal antlers and shoulder blades to dig holes to make stones secure.
• Stone henge was probably a place to worship people who just died and ancestors
• Because of Stonehenge the inhabitants learned about periods of time (from the shadows the stones made and the path of the sun in relation to the stones) and were able to make a calendar ( spring equinox = equal day and night 21st of March, summer solstice = sun hovers, autumn equinox, winter solstice) They learned how far the sun/moon moved-- sun/moon crossed middle of circle
• It also has 56 holes equally spaced
• DRUIDS DID NOT BUILD HENGE! They told some man they built it and the man published the diary where he said the Druids built the henge, but carbon dating of the rubbish used to stabilize the stones shows it was built way before the Druids got to the area.
• Stonehenge area was also used as a burial ground for leaders of the community. Large mounds containing the leaders' remains and objects to be used in the afterlife lie throughout the area.
• Things that have threatened Stonehenge: Christianity wanting to get rid of pagan symbols, railways that brought tourists, and--
• A man who lived near Stonehenge actually started to rent out miniature pick-axes so that tourists could take a piece of Stonehenge with them!
• Stonehenge has a sacrificial stone as well. Although it is thought that there was never any human sacrifices in Stonehenge, they did find the remains of a 26yr old male near the sacrificial stone dating to about 400 AD. It is thought that money will soon be raised for further excavation of the area to find more remains.

Bath, Inception, Sunday Dinner

The days are escaping me, and I don't know how to stop them! I've been much more consistent about my journaling, but now my blogging has suffered. One of my professors said aspiring writers (and really all writers) have to write everyday. Some days it comes so naturally. I have so much to say. And other days, I have to make myself put my thoughts to paper.

I've been talking about the excursions I've been taking, and really they have been quite enjoyable. They are with a company called London Walks, and I recommend them if you are ever in the London area on holiday. I don't recommend the walks within the city as much as the excursions. My favorite guide so far is Richard because he has great customer service skills and a great posh accent. :) Oh and he saved me from an unpleasant man who was crowding me on the train during one excursion. Of the excursions I've been on, I would rate them from best to worst as follows:

1) Bath
2) Stonehenge
3) Cambridge
4) The Cotswolds
5) Oxford
6) Bleinhem Palace
7) Winchester
8) Salisbury
9) St. Albans and the Verulamium

I went to Bath last week (the pics have been up on my Facebook page for a long time now :/ ) and the reason I enjoyed it the most was because it was absolutely beautiful to see. I didn't take any notes (I've learned taking notes during the tours helps to blog about it later… I'm such a nerd :p) and so I can't remember all the details of how the city was established and such.

Basically the Romans discovered the hot springs and built the baths. The Saxons, who didn't like to bathe, built over them. Eventually, the baths were rediscovered, and Bath became a holiday spot for the English.

Also, Jane Austen lived in Bath for a while and the city is featured in her books "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey". Everywhere we walked was beautiful. My favorite houses were built in a circle, but I forget what it was called -- boooo-- (and the guide said the dimension of the circle was the same as Stonehenge-- and we've come full circle :p.)

If you'll notice in my Bath album on Facebook, there are several pictures of lion sculptures. Apparently, for the past few years, artists make sculptures of animals (a different animal each year) and auction them for charity. I took pictures of the ones I saw on our walk.

All of this history is starting to snap together for me. Although I had read about all this history in school, I never really understood it until now that I'm seeing all the different cities and structures where the history took place.

Last Friday, I went to see the movie "Inception." It was brilliant. :) I really enjoy thinking about how I think, and I definitely enjoy dreaming. I usually remember my dreams, and I have had some random dreams come true. These dreams were of the predicting-the-future sort, and I think there was no possible way I could have known something was going to happen. I'm not sure if my subconscious picks up on things and my brain puts two and two together, but it has been freaky to be able to know something was going to happen because I dreamt it. It wasn't the plot of "Inception" that I was thrilled about, but rather the idea of it (how appropriate.) I loved the different levels of dreaming, and shared dreaming… and I liked the kicks that woke you up… and the visual beauty of the movie. Oh, and I loved the fight seen in Level two of the dreams that takes place in the hotel hallway with the kid from Third Rock as they're simultaneously tumbling inside a van in Level one of the dream. Anyway, great movie.

On Sunday, I had dinner (only it was at lunchtime-- they call it dinner here) with Ian's family. It was his father's 72nd birthday, and I had a lovely meal in the company of a lovely family.

The Cotswolds and Verulamium

On Sunday, I went to the Cotswold. I have decided that if I'm every a millionaire or billionaire I want to have a flat in London and a house in the Cotswolds. You can see pics I took on my facebook page and I am sure you will agree it is breathtaking.

Some facts I learned from our guide:
• meaning of name -- Cots: sheep's pen; wold: hill ; so Cotswolds means sheep's pen hills
• Beginning of villages: 11th century William the Conqueror gave land to the church and built lots of monasteries in the cotswolds
•  The villagers main source of income was from sheep: Boys cared for the sheep, men sheared the sheep, women graded the wool, and girls spun the wool  (also, the wool was treated with stale urine :/)
• 1500s Henry VIII -during the Reformation he took over the monasteries and sold them to private citizens that converted them into homes.
•  1600s Charles I - Oliver Cromwell - the final battles of civil war are in cotswolds
• 1700s industrial revolution - no coal in cotswold so cloth industry moves out - they take sheep as well - no industry in cotswolds

We passed through several villages on the coach and walked through several villages. Best walk ever! I had seen one in Oxford, but there was loads more in the Cotswolds- kissing gates. It's a gate that only one person can pass through at a time. It's supposedly to keep animals from going through gates cos they can't figure how to maneuver around the gate. It's called a kissing gate because boys would trap their dates in the gate and wouldn't let them go without a kiss.

On Monday, I went to St. Albans and more specifically the site of Verulamium which was a Roman Britain colony. It blows my mind that it existed 2000 years ago.

Facts I learned from guide:
• St. Alban was the first Christian martyr in England. A young man came to his house asking for refuge, and it turned out that the young was a Christian priest. He converted St. Alban and St. Alban helped him escape Verulamium. When St. Alban was asked to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods, he refused, was tried, and executed.
• St. Albans was founded during Medieval times
• Cardinal Wosley (The Tudors!) was an abbot in the Abbey in St. Albans
• Verulamium was the 3rd most important town in England during Roman times
• Verulamium is at the bottom of the hill and over the centuries they moved it to the top of the hill which is now St. Albans
• Golf fact: Samuel Ryder of the Ryder Cup lived in St. Albans and started seed packeting business
• Henry VIII sold monastery to Bacon family (Francis Bacon)
• Pudding Stone: gravel stuck on some other stone-- unique to St. Albans -- called "witches' or devils' stone because you can never get rid of it. People who live there have to keep clearing it out of their gardens over and over again. also, St. Albans doesn't have any stone natural to area to use to build.
• St. Albans is site of proto-Thames - during evolution the river changed course
• Roman emperor Claudius - 43 AD ish - wasn't respected very much and thought of as not very intelligent. Decided to conquer England to have a conquest to his name.
• Michael's Lodge right outside Verulamium - made in a Victorian style out of flint.
• Roman theatre was used a place of worship. Probably the spot was already a place of worship in pre Roman (Celts) time. Celts used water in their worship
• Theatre linked with religions festivals and probably to goddess Minerva
• Time of theatre is around 140 - 160 AD
• The men used brown masks and the men playing women used white masks (sad masks were bad guys, smiling masks were good guys)
• Romans would have real death scenes- they used criminals
• After 313AD theatre considered pagan by Christianity (eventually filled with rubbish)


My favorite part of this tour was the mosaic that was discovered and left in same place. It's fascinating to see how the Romans lived-- they even had central heating!

Cambridge

I went on an excursion to Cambridge yesterday. I enjoyed it the best of the excursions I’ve taken so far. I used to think I would have loved to be a student at Oxford University, but after visiting Cambridge University, I changed my mind. The list of names of students who graduated from there is soooo impressive (John Milton, Charles Darwin, Christopher Marlowe, Thandie Newton, John Harvard, William Woodsworth, Lord Bryon, Isaac Newton, on and on and on the list goes.) They discovered DNA there and just one of the colleges has had 30 Nobel Prize winners. The caliber of learning and student is absolutely extraordinary I imagine. Their brains probably feed off each other! The place is also beautiful. The city is basically taken over by the university. The university is made up of 30 colleges. Like at Oxford, students have to apply to and interview with an individual college to become part of the university. An undergraduate degree takes 3 years just like Oxford as well. Tuition is the same as any university in the UK -- £3,000 a year. Unbelievable. It’s cheaper to go to an elite school in the UK than a state school in the US. Visited the college Henry VII established (still amazed how much history I have learned from Showtime’s ‘The Tudors’. Also, saw a tree that grew from a sliver of the apple tree responsible for Sir Issac Newton’s discovery of gravity. I visited the church with the pulpit that witnessed the first ever Protestant sermon in England. Visited Emmanuel College from which many Pilgrims that travelled to Massachusetts graduated. So much history.

In the afternoon, I went punting! It’s basically riding in a boat along the River Cam. Cambridge students push the boat along with a long pole by hitting the stone bottom of the river. Relaxing, beautiful, and our punter was very knowledgeable. Told us lots of fun facts about the University (Saint John’s College students are the poshest and snobbiest, Lord Byron thought it clever to find a loophole in the no domestic pets policy by keeping a bear as a pet.. . and other fun facts like that.)
I got myself a Cambridge University rugby shirt. I can’t wait to wear it to college days at school . :D

Midnight Shakespeare and City of Wincester

I can’t believe an entire month has gone by! I spent three days of my fourth week here working on my thesis, and one day shopping. I brought very little clothes (I brought more books than clothes!) and I was getting tired of wearing the same thing over and over again. I visited a charity shop, Primark (a discount department store), Marks and Spencer (also has a food section haha) and Sainsbury (mostly a grocery store). I bought some tops, skirts, and bags. I don’t think I spent more than £4 on each item.
On Friday morning I visited the Victoria Albert Museum and Harrods. In the afternoon, I went to the Tate Modern Museum. Everything I see makes me think globally and also about my personal life. There are so many cultures colliding here in London. The area where the V&A and Harrods is located is very posh. I had a salmon and cream cheese sandwich for lunch! I saw a limo (the first I’ve seen since I’ve been here) and it was transporting two Muslim women. It’s weird for me to see Arabic (?) Muslim (?) women covered up to begin with, but then there are degrees of covering up. Some only cover their head and wear dresses or really long blouses over pants/jeans. Some cover their heads and faces showing only their eyes, but they wear modern clothes. Some are completely covered in black showing only their eyes, but they ride around in limos and shops at the poshest shop Harrods. I don’t understand it all. I suspect that a lot of these women are highly intelligent (I’ve seen some as students around the universities in town) and yet they conform to their cultural/religious traditions. Oh, I also saw two couples. The men had the long beards and little hats, and the women would walk several paces behind them… always… even on the escalator. One of the men would cheerfully turn back every so often and say something to his wife/girlfriend… he even called her babe. The women had heads covered up, but wore modern clothes (all covered up of course… only the skin of sandaled feet showing)

On Friday night, I attended a midnight showing of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at The Globe Theatre. The director made some interesting choices which included 1920s period costumes, a female Puck dressed in Vaudeville type costume including black garter belt, and having the actors play three parts each. I would have preferred the traditional interpretation complete with fairy costumes, but I liked being exposed to a different interpretation because it showed me once again how versatile Shakespeare really is. The fact that it was at midnight also added to the magic. The audience was very responsive (packed house) which also added to the experience.
On Saturday, I went on an excursion to Wincester. I got to see the Great Hall used by medieval kings. This is also the area where King Arthur would have lived (if he really existed.) I really should start taking notes when I go on these excursions because the guides give so much information, it’s hard to remember all of it. I visited the Wincester Cathedral where Jane Austen is buried. I learned that the difference between a town and city is that a city has a cathedral with a bishop. While we were at Wincester, they had their annual Hat Fair which dates back to the 19th century. At first we all thought it was a fair celebrating hats. We didn’t see many people wearing hats, and so our guide investigated further. Apparently, it’s a day for street performing. The street performers pass a hat around to collect money, and this is called hatting. In the afternoon, we went on a tour of Wincester College (an all male boarding school) which was established by the Bishop of Wincester, William of Wyckeham. He established it so that 70 poor boys could get an education. Today, it has 770 boys in attendance (70 on scholarship and 700 paying £30K a year in tuition.) Originally the boys would graduate from Wincester College and then continue their education at New College in Oxford University. I caught a glimpse of one of the boys on scholarship (they are the only ones who were black scholar gowns) as I took a wrong turn. Education in the UK seems to be very competitive.
On Sunday, I relaxed, gave myself a pedicure, watched Dr. Who, and visited with Ian’s parents. My first month here has been spectacular. I am indebted to all who made this trip possible. One more month to go!