London: Saturday-Monday

Saturday:
Last day of class! We got to class at 9:30 and discussed Aladdin (with the help of one of the cast) and Nation. Thankfully, we had free time from 12-7:30, during which Aunt Jude took Erica, Eric, and me to the lunch for the best fish and chips I've ever had, the Tower of London (where we saw the Crown Jewels and the chopping block and ax used for beheading people), then to Tower Bridge
to view the city from the top, and then to dinner at Spaghetti House (where we split a bottle of wine and all had delicious entrees). After saying our "thank you"s and goodbyes to Aunt Jude, we made our way to SoHo to see our last show: Midsummer. It was a greatly-entertaining show, consisting of two actors and was just light enough and comedic enough to end our trip on the right note. Only problem: the guy behind us decided that he wouldn't mind sharing his cold or the disruptiveness of his sneezing and blowing his nose with us. And when I say he sat behind us, I really mean that he sat over us, and despite three people turning around and glaring at him (Erica, Eric, and me) didn't seem to mind literally leaning over us and coughing and sneezing and blowing his schnoz. After the show, we immediately made our way home to delouse and take nice showers. Everyone was pretty pooped from the long day of sightseeing, so we hit the hay early.
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Midsummer
The playwright was trying to show two people living in everyday life, and what the struggles they deal with everyday, and also their interaction when they come together. The play, consisting of two actors, was done marvelously and was well-worth doing. Although I was seated in the back row, I could see, hear, and understand everything that was happening on the stage. The stage was small, but the theatre didn’t overwhelm it. The only thing that interrupted my enjoyment of the show was the guy sitting behind me who had a cold and chose to literally lean over my row to sneeze and blow his nose. The dramatic structure of the play was linear, which made the story easy to follow. The playwright was definitely able to manipulate me emotionally, especially with the use of the actors playing and singing to convey a point or feeling. The play left me feeling light-hearted and at ease. Although there were only two actors, both were extremely successful in acting, singing, and playing a variety of other characters. Both were dynamic performers because no matter which character they were playing, they both seemed to have no inhibitions about how to portray a certain character. The casting was traditional, using a girl for the girl role and a guy for the male role, although the girl would sometimes portray guy characters, but this wasn’t confusing as she added male clothing and deepened her voice for the roles. There weren’t many spectacles in the performance, and all of the props and everything that happened on stage were visible, so I don’t think they were trying to cover anything up. I think the spectacles, such as the playing of live music, only enhanced the production. I really liked the set design, how there was a bed in the middle, then one side was the girl’s side and the other the guy’s. The costume design seemed appropriate, as the clothing was simple and mundane with nothing too flashy, and there weren’t many costume changes. Like I’ve said, the music design was nice and simple and contributed positively to the production. I thought, also, that the sound design was done nicely. If the actors were micro phoned, I couldn’t even tell. The design of the production supported the intent of the play, and if it had been different, would have taken away from the meaning and quality of the production. The one thing that impacted me about this play was the realness of it. Whether it was the sex scenes or the hang over scenes, all of the play had a hint of real life with it.
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Sunday:
We met the group at Kensington Palace at noon. There, we each got a ticket and were admitted to the Palace. There wasn't a lot to see; the only thing catching my eye was Princess Di's dresses. Other than that, the rooms were empty, and I was actually kind of put of by the gaudiness of the place. Erica and I made the tour last about 20 minutes (including the time it took us to Waltz and look in the over-priced gift shop. We didn't have anything to do until 2, so we made our way to Waffle House, where we each ordered a milk chocolate waffle, which was delish, by the way. Afterwards, we made our way to the Orangery, where we had reservations for High Tea at 2:00. Everyone was dressed nicely, and we had a whole room to ourselves. The tea was delicious (the food, not so much) and everyone was happy about being together and also going home the next day. After tea, Erica and I went to a tanning salon and paid ten pounds for ten minutes in a tanning bed. I must say, the light and the warmth were just what I needed after two weeks in what seemed like the Arctic Tundra. We then ran to the flats to get our electronic receipts for our airline tickets, and made our way to an internet cafe to print our boarding passes. When we found an internet cafe that actually had internet and a printer, we got on and saw that we could get three seats beside each other, so we moved our seats to a row in the 50s, and printed our boarding passes. We thought we were clever, and that everyone from the group would be in the 30s. Turns out, the group was split in the 30s and 50s. But no biggie. On the way home, we stopped at a Chinese Restaurant for a buffet dinner. Then proceeded to go back to the flat to finish all of the drinks in the fridge and pack. It felt like Christmas Eve though, and sleep didn't come as easily as I'd expected it would. But when I got to sleep, I slept like a baby.



Monday:
I woke up at 9 AM, seeing as we had to be out of the flats at 10. Turns out, Acorn decided to cut the heat and hot water before 10, so a shower wasn't an option. We took our stuff to one of the flats at Crawford House, and then went to breakfast at a place around the corner. Turns out, England doesn't know what a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich is. After receiving some sort of sausage with a slice of cheese thing, and having Eric ask them to redo my order, we left (with the sandwich I didn't eat in hand). On the way to Crawford House, I looked for someone I could give the sandwich to, but didn't see anyone, so I left it on a stoop. Unfortunately we couldn't find the cider we had left near the flat, but I'm sure we made two people really happy. We got back to Crawford, hung around for about 20 minutes, then met back at Bakers Row where the bus met us to take us to the airport. After successfully checking in there, we walked around the place that was more like a mall than an airport, taking sample shots of Smirnoff and Bailey's. Finally, it was time to board. This plane was slightly smaller than the 747 we came to Europe on, but was way more comfortable. After taking off an hour late, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. After an hour of jerking my head up from falling asleep with nothing to rest my head on, the two seats in front of Erica and me were still unoccupied, so I got my stuff, got comfy, and spread out. I passed out, and with the exception of about the last two hours, slept the whole way home. And before we knew it, we were back on US soil, and my phone had service again! The group made it through Customs, way faster than it took in London, and waited on luggage. Finally, I had my bag, and I was making my way to the waiting area to find my ride :) And there he was, jeans, tee, and a suit jacket, waiting on me. So we loaded my things up and hit the road. After getting to Brewster, we ate at Eveready Diner, and then came back so I could take a shower and play Call of Duty. Finally I fell asleep: warm, home, and with a full belly.
Today, I slept all day. I have a list of errands I need to take care of, and I will tomorrow, but my body needed to rest. I've done all of my work for the class, with the exception of one last tiny assignment that I'll post when I do it.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed adventuring with me!