In the meantime, let's talk about what I like to call "parental units abroad." On Friday afternoon I left Sussex and took the train to London, where I then took a bus and walked to the hotel without getting lost and met my parents at the British Museum down the street. I'd been to the British Museum before, but since it's massive I went to exhibits that I hadn't seen before. Then I met up with the other Wash U students at Pizza Express for our "farewell dinner." The bill was on Wash U, so we got appetizers, mains and desserts. Unfortunately having about 25 people order pizzas at the same time meant that we had to wait awhile for our food, but it was delicious. For dessert I had banoffee pie, a British delicacy I had been wanting to try. (Banoffee is bananas and toffee, in case you were wondering.) Afterwards Deepa, Audrey and I met up with Maryse, who was visiting from Paris, and Stephanie, another Wash U-er who has been in London for the year, to go to a bar in SoHo.
On Saturday morning we went to Borough Market. I love markets in London. This one was outdoors and had pretty much any kind of food or drink you could want. We wandered around getting as many free samples as we could before deciding on our purchases. I got a veggie fajita, sweet potato and butternut squash fritter, and chocolate and banana muffin. Then we lounged around in the grass in front of the church next to the market and enjoyed our food, the glorious sun and each other's company. The rest of the day I spent with my parents, who had been at Westminster Abbey in the morning. We went to the Globe to see Romeo & Juliet, which was wonderful. My dad had bought seats so that we didn't have to stand for the whole performance, but he and I wanted to get some of the experience of being a "groundling" so we stood for the second half. I got pretty close to the front and was completely swept into the story, even though I'd seen the play. It was incredible to have the actors so close - they carried out Juliet almost right next to me - and I got such a rush during the curtain call. I have seen some amazing theatre this semester. It probably also helped that Romeo and Benvolio were attractive. I mean... what?
On Sunday we took the train to Stratford-upon-Avon, which is actually a lot bigger than I expected. We went to Willy's (William Shakespeare, for those of you who have a less personal relationship with the man) birthplace, gravesite, wife's house and... uncle's house? Actually, I don't know if the last guy had any direct relation, he was just a doctor and a lot richer. I think my favorite part was Anne Hathaway's house, because 1) it was beautiful and romantic, with a thatched roof and huge garden and 2) my middle name is after her! So, I have an entirely Shakespearean name (Olivia is after the character in Twelfth Night). There was a giant birthday card that people had signed for the Bard, and some of the comments people wrote were just hilarious, hence the title of this entry. (Note to person who wrote the title: Shakespeare didn't actually write any books, per se...) Unfortunately I was a little distracted and ended up dropping my camera and breaking the lens. Oops. Luckily, since my parents were there we just used their camera and then they left theirs with me when they went back to the States. Looks like I've now gotten my parents two new cameras. ;-) I also realized that if I can't be happy in a place without taking pictures of it, then it probably isn't worth going there, right? You can't capture everything in a photograph.
When we got back to London we had dinner in an awesome pub called (I think?) the Duchess of York. I tried Pimms for the first time, which is a popular summer drink here, and it was delicious. I also had VEGETARIAN bangers and mash, which was very exciting.
On Monday we explored London: Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, and Platform 9 3/4. There were some important-looking people processing out of Buckingham, but unfortunately none of them looked like Prince William. Covent Garden had some great street performers: a "wizard" who let you "make a wish" if you gave him money, another human statue who gave people bunny ears when they posed for pictures in front of him, a Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean look-alike, and a guy who rode a unicycle while juggling knives and eating an apple. What crazy lives those people must lead. Platform 9 3/4 was on my list of must-see things in London, so I'm glad I finally got there. For those who don't know, this is the site where Harry Potter and friends take the train to Hogwarts. Kings Cross Station is an actual train station in London, and in homage to the books they have "created" a Platform 9 3/4 - basically a plaque on the wall and a luggage cart that looks like it is "disappearing" into the wall. There were a surprising amount of people there taking pictures - as one guy declared, "It's irresistible!" If only it actually went to Hogwarts...
On Tuesday I did some work during the day and met my parents for dinner. We went to Wagamama, an Asian fusion restaurant that is really popular in the UK. We all really liked our food, and I would definitely go back. Afterwards I sang at an open mic night on campus, which was also on my study abroad to-do list. I sang a song that I had done for voice lessons called "Meadowlark," from a musical called "The Baker's Wife." I thought I did pretty well, and it was well received even though there weren't a lot of people there. Two of my flatmates came, which meant a lot to me. I feel like my flatmates are some of my closest friends here.
On Wednesday I took my parents to Rottingdean, where I insist on taking all of my guests. We rode on the top of the double-decker bus for the scenic ride there and then had cream tea, which was scrumptious as usual. We also walked around the town for a little while and sat by the beach, which was really nice though a little cold. Also, if you think I take a lot of pictures you should meet my parents. I'm pretty sure they could have put together a coffee table book about Rottingdean after just the few hours we spent there. We came back to Brighton and relaxed at their hotel for a little while before eating dinner at a pub and saying goodbye. :-(
Now it is work, work, work (I have three papers due in May and an exam the first week of June), coming to grips with the fact that I don't have a lot of time left here, and trying to decide how I want to spend that time, which is a LOT harder than it sounds especially given that I have to spend a significant chunk of time writing papers and studying. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I trust myself enough to make decisions and know that they will be the right ones instead of just feeling in limbo all the time. Here we go...
I really like this line: "Then we lounged around in the grass in front of the church next to the market and enjoyed our food, the glorious sun and each other's company."
ReplyDeleteVery reflective of how it felt.