Favorites

Favorite things about Paris:
The art galleries! (I saw the Mona Lisa)
The history
The food (I was expecting it to disappoint and it didn’t.)
The gardens at Versailles
Sans Chapelle: it’s my favorite church in Europe (architecturally speaking)

Favorite plays in London:
Ivanov starring Kenneth Brannagh. It was extremely thought provoking and a well acted production.
Hamlet starring Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. It seriously changed my life and how I think about Shakespeare. I saw it twice.
War Horse. No stars, just an enchanting play.
Les Miserables was stunning. Not only was it a great musical, but the production I saw was fantastic as well.
I also saw 6 characters in search of an author with Ian McDiarmid– It was a good production, but very VERY disturbing.

Favorite places in London:
Hampstead Heath
The national gallery
Millennium Bridge looking up to St. Paul’s cathedral
Kensington Gardens
The Southbank
The V&A Museum
The tube
Covent Garden
Little Venice

Favorite Places to Eat in London:
Gelato Mio
The Hummingbird Bakery
Nandos
Bella Italia

Favorite Places in the UK:
The lake district
Stourhead
London (obviously)
Cambridge
Porthcuro Beach
Edinburgh
Tintern Abbey

Favorite parts of Salzburg (Michele and I went on holiday there after the semester)
The sound of music sights
The Christmas festivals
The beautiful snow
The amazing Haunsburger I had (and still have no clue what kind of meat was on it)

Favorite Parts about being home:
Mexican food
Egg Nog
Family
Not working at Pier 1 again
Not having to deal with a ridiculous exchange rate

And now I’m back in Provo, and it’s really cold here. But otherwise I think it’ll be a good semester. I’m excited for my Early British Literature Class and I have a great apartment so those are good signs. I'll keep you posted.

Goodbye Europe

Here are my last batch of pics and a virtual tour of the centre.

The Theatre

How on earth am I going to live without this? I really just don't know. Everyone knows that during finals week if you study non-stop your brain will actually explode- it's a proven fact. So I choose to break up my centre isolation periods by seeing a bunch of amazing shows. Here are their run downs.

Mama Mia:
Surprisingly good. I would have to say that they had the cleanest dance routines out of the 7 musicals I've seen this year. And their vocals were relatively solid as well. Overall, it was just a fun show.

The RSC's Hamlet:
Probably the best show I've ever seen or might ever see. First of all, I was so lucky. I was able to see Tennent's last night of performing Hamlet before his back injury was too much. If he comes back, it'll be after Christmas, so basically if I hadn't gone Saturday, I wouldn't have been able to see him in it and that would have been very sad.
So the play- why was it so good. It was a more comical interpretation than is normal, but the comedy was a done as a dark sarcasm. There were amusing elements but you never forgot that the play is essentially rather depressing. It was really just little things. Like how Ophelia brushes Hamlets hand as she walks by him in the second scene, and the masterful bumbling by Polonius, and the cut to intermission as Hamlet is about to kill Claudius as he's praying. It was pure brilliance. And oh my gosh, the bedroom scene with his mother. I don't even know what to say. His violent emotions pushing him towards the edge of madness exhibited by pulling her about the room. It was so powerful. I'm hopefully going to see it again tomorrow with the understudies because I loved the production so much and I'm such an RSC groupie.

Twelfth Night:
Well in it's defense, I saw the RSC three days beforehand, and I doubt any company in the world can compare. But it wasn't the most impressive production I've seen. I'm not exactly sure what era of dress they were going for, but it was rather confusing. And at times I consciously felt like they were speaking a Shakespearian dialect, which is not so when you see his plays done by a really good company. However, Derek Jacobi did quite a good job as Malvolio and it was enjoyable. And it certainly helped when I took my Shakespeare final.

War Horse:
Totally enchanting. The two horses were done even better than the animals in the Lion King and that's saying something. They were beautiful and the story was touching. The production in general--- the musical narration at the end of every scene. The "ripped paper" backdrop that is connected to the officer's notebook. It was really a very impressive piece.

Les Miserables:
for the second time. And let me tell you, it doesn't get old. I was still blown away by the production and the voices. Oh they were so good. They get my vote for, best vocals in a musical in London, best use of a rotating stage, and best musical of all time. :)

And that's all. I mean I did have to write three papers and study for tests this week too. So there's my highlights of the london theatre this week. Hope you enjoyed it cause I certainly did.

Hyde Park Chapel

I would venture to say that the Hyde Park Chapel, located on Exhibition Road right by the V&A and Royal Albert Hall, is among the church's most visible meetinghouses in the world. With its amazing location, come great responsibility. The chapel has regular musical recitals and a permanent Genealogy Center; both of which allow investigators and curious passers-by to stop in and learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Little did the first missionaries to the great city of London know that not far from Hyde Park Corner where they were persecuted and heckled, there would stand a central feature of the Church in Great Britain. This would be a beautiful and imposing building where the saints could meet and worship in peace, and a location that would allow the building itself to function as a missionary tool to forward the work.

Our visit to the neighborhood synagogue

Living in the society we do, mostly people learn snippets about many different religions, even if it is from the popular medium of movies. Judaism is one of these religions that is frequently portrayed, though often with stereotypical practices. But it is a very different matter to actually talk to a member of a congregation, such as the one right around the corner from our home. What I thought of most of the time during our visit was the many similarities we share (understandable considering Christianity is a sort of break ofr of the Jewish faith, and if not that, the culture) such as: strict sabbath worship, diet guidelines, and the central feature of a temple in religious practices, though theirs is more in memory of previous temple.

But in addition to this, I thought of how much of their religion, and religion in general, functions as a preserver of culture. In the Jewish faith it includes learning the Jewish language and practices that set them a part from the rest of the world. It's easy to see how people are still able to have so many of the cultural characteristics frequently showcased in film, they're cultivated as a part of practicing their faith. Just as the new wave of Mormon film showcases our little quirks.

Walk Among the Scholars

My photo essay for the Scholars walk documents one of my favorite quirks about London. Because the homes here are generally all Victorian or Georgian they look relatively the same. However, the British people in an attempt to express their personality, have painted their doors in many different shades of many different colors. Blue, Green, Black... whatever they felt would suit them best. And seeing these doors just makes me happy as I walk by them and is another little thing that I love about London.

Sherlock Holmes

I'm not going to lie, I didn't spend an exorbitant amount of time at the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I found a little bit creepy and didn't feel like sticking around. Although I did stick around long enough to take a picture with Dr. Watson.

A couple of things that I did take note of:

First of all, how bustling Baker Street is. For some reason I imagined it to be a tucked away back road, or even a mew style of street. But in reality it's quite busy and the museum at 221b looks out over all the action. It actually would have been a very noisy location.

It also spoke leaps and bounds about the cult that is Sherlocktonia. The people all in period dress and all of the little details gleaned from nuances in Connon-Doyle's inconsistencies. It would have been any one of these anonymous fan's dreams to ramble around the lodgings of the character that's almost become alive in their imagination. Though eerie to me, I'm sure a true fan would love all of the wax figures throughout the upper rooms and be able to identify each of them from their particular short story.

It was also interesting to see so well restored the home of a more middle class individual. So often through the program we've been to visit the great houses of Britain and the luxury that the aristocracy live in; however, the Victorian era witnessing the birth of the middle class, it was fun to see the conditions they were likely to live in.

National Portrait Gallery- Romantics and Victorians

Though many of the other portraits were done with a great amount of skill, because I didn't know who they were and what their lives had been like, they remained a row of anonymous face, while the arts and literature rooms were like meeting some of my heroes. It was actually quite enjoyable to wander through the National Portrait Gallery because I discovered that over the semester I have truly come to know some of our authors. For instance, I went into the Romantics section first and recognized Mary Wollstonecraft immediately. In addition to Mary I was also able to pick out the Brontes and Queen Victoria, but several others were new to me. It was great to be able to finally connect a face with the names printed on the covers of our texts. I must say-- Lord Byron was nothing like I expected. There were definite elements of his time living abroad and I never thought of him with a mustache. Elizabeth Barret Browning was quite an unattractive woman, so much so that the contrast between her appearance and her poetry was almost jarring. I must add that I developed a new respect for Robert Browning for loving her purely for herself and her mind. And lastly, I've decided that Tennyson is officially my literary crush. He's a brilliant poet and quite an attractive man if the painting is any likeness.

Pre-Raphaelite- Tate Britain

I absolutely fell in love with several of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings at the Tate Britain, two of which are Saint Euralia by Waterhouse and Hope by George Fredric Watts.

In Saint Euralia the contrasts are what set it apart. The scene at first glance appears serene because of the fallen snow and disinterested people, but when the true subject matter is brought into context, it is actually about the violent death of a saint. The stark contrast between he hair and the the whiteness of the snow is intriguing. And the fact that her body does not lie straight down the center of the frame, but instead torques to the left expresses the rebellion of the Pre-Raphaelites against classical forms as well as jarring the viewer of the painting further.

Hope is one of the most simple and profound painting I've ever encountered. The figure is centered in a humble and vulnerable position and yet it remains valiantly firm in its conviction not to give into discouragement. The piece is set off by the deep palate of rich blues Watts uses. But the overall message is mainly portrayed in the symbolic attributes of the piece. That hope continues on blindly through all circumstances, and that she attempts to create beauty with what she has-- even if it's only the music produced from the one string left on her instrument.

James Bond Exhibit the IWM

Going to the Ian Fleming exhibit focusing on his authorship of the James Bond novels was especially enlightening already knowing a bit about the subject. I particularly enjoyed the set up of the exhibit because it highlighted the inspiration Fleming gleaned from his work with the government by juxtapositioning some of the missions he was involved in planning and those that 007 accomplishes in the novels. I also found interesting the many hobbies and interests of Fleming's that found their was into Bond's character. There was a good balance between discussion of Fleming as a person, the books, and the movies which I felt all contributed to a well rounded view of the topic as a whole.
Although the books and movies do focus on military exploits, it was interesting to me to find the exhibit at the Imperial War Museum. James Bond has always represented a romanticized military figure created purely for entertainment value, rather than having any connection to the horrible reality of war. However, with Fleming's inside knowledge into the secret service activities of the British government, I will concede that there are probably some insights into this subject that can be gained from the James Bond novel.

Turn of the Season

I've been away from my beloved England for 5 days and it's already changed during that time. The wind now bites as it rushes past you, the last leaves have fallen from the trees, and the shopping centers are now into full fledged Christmas decorating mode. I'm sad to see fall pass away and with it most of my stay here in London, but as I rambled around Little Venice and Chelsea this afternoon, I realized that I love this city more than ever. Leaving it will truly be like leaving a good friend and so I'll attempt to enjoy every blessed second here.

But you were probably wanting to know a little bit about my trip to Paris.

We basically walked around all day (no exaggeration there) and so there would be a lot to describe. Therefore you just get my favorite parts.

The grounds at Versailles were stunning
Sants Chappel was my favorite cathedral by far (out of the entire trip)
Crepes everyday (and sometimes two)
The salad I had at the Pizzeria by the Louvre
Doing the polka down the gallery at the Paris opera house
And number one on my list goes to all of the museums.
The Louvre, The Rodin, The Orangerie, the Orsay, the National Gallery of Modern Art. It was mind blowing to see real life Micheal Angelos, and Picassos, and Van Goghs, and Monets and so many others. Seriously so awesome!

You can check out my pictures to see what else I did.

Little Venice

Little Venice really is a quiet little secret hidden away amid the hubbub of London. I was amazed by how close it really was to central London and yet, how serene and picturesque the location was. It really is a unique feature of the city that a lot of quick tourists don't know about. It was really quite lovely, but like all of London it too is in a state of constant renovation and this feature is what I choose to photograph. I think it’s a matter of pride. They love the fact that their houses are over 100 years old, and many far more than even that number; however, with that distinction come the responsibility to keep it up. Even the best built building fall apart over time, and so in order to keep the characteristic London streets lined by Georgian and Victorian architecture scaffolding is a must.

Walk Among the Superstars

Maybe it’s because I’ve just returned from a week in Paris, but I didn’t feel like the Chelsea area held up with it’s reputation of the lower income area of London. Either Princess Diana and her friends did a fantastic job, or I just have really high standards for my sketchy neighborhoods. But somehow I feel it can’t have been too bad even 100 years ago, considering so many intelligent independent people choose to live there. It has been fun to see a few blue plaques as I’ve explored different parts of London, but very few areas have quite so many in concentration.

In contrast with the great men and women who lived there, as I wandered the streets today I couldn’t help but realize that there is a thriving active community that are building their own lives there everyday. Some might be the next great author or painter, but every one of them creates their own masterpiece in the interesting lives that they live and characterize it with the everyday things that they choose to do. To show a little part of that I documented the commuter times: Pedestrians, bicycle riders, bus passengers, and sardines on the tube. What we do with this “empty” time is a true defining characteristic.

Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Cathedral was really interesting because it was in many ways very similar to the Anglican Cathedrals that we've visited. There is a knave which leads down to a front alter surrounded by smaller chapels in honor of saints; the golden ceiling reminded me of St. Paul's Cathedral, and the alter was likely the inspiration for the panels that were present in Canterbury and Kings College. While more highly decorated than most of the other churches, I found the geometric pastel stained glass refreshing. However, the main decorating difference was the colored marble used throughout. It gave the entire place a sense of rich grandeur that contrasts with the motif of the others we've visited. I must say that I really agree with what was said in class: Westminster Cathedral was a statement to everyone that the Catholic church was back, because they certainly didn't hold back when they were building it.

Another week bites the dust

Well, it's been another week here in London-town and I really don't feel like doing more homework for at least a little while so here I am writing in my blog.

What have I been up to...
Well I went to Wales last Monday and Tuesday. It was beautiful and wonderful. Even though it's not very far removed from England, it really has kept a lot of it's own culture. Everywhere you go things are written in both English and Gaelic. We were able to go into a coal mine and really grasp the reality of the mining. We spent the night in Cardiff, the capital, and a few of us went to the Doctor Who pilgrimage locations, namely the Millennium Center where the Tardis generally lands and which is the secret headquarters for Torchwood. But my all-time favorite thing about our trip, was Tintern Abbey (the inspiration for one of Wordsworth's famous poems). It's an abbey ruin that's absolutely gorgeous. We were able to walk around it and then the group decided to sing in the old knave. It was a really powerful experience.

I spend the rest of the week discovering the V&A which is one of my all-time favorite museums. They have the British exhibit that is fascinating and then also a fashion through the ages gallery and a sculpture room that is unbelievable. That's all that I was able to see in my two afternoons, but I'm sure I'll visit it a few more times before I leave.

Monday we had a Fireside on the London Blitz from a man who lived by the docks (kind of by Canary Warf) during the second world war. I think I forget how much this country was affected by war in this century. I mean they lost a tenth of their male population in the Great War, and then finally turned around and made a stand against Hitler before they'd completely recovered. And everyone was directly involved in the war that lived during that time, even if they were only a child, they remember.

Tuesday was Remembrance day. It was wonderful to see the somber consideration made by everyone. There were little red poppys that you would receive when you donated to the veteran fund and pin to your lapel. For the last two weeks, wherever you go, everyone has them. And then yesterday at the Imperial War Museum I was able to go their In Memorium gallery commemorating the war and it was unbelievable. I actually got teary eyed just reading the men describe their experiences. The Great War is unique because it was a very literary war. The way people talked about it was beautiful and terrible at the same time. Very touching.

I think it was Tuesday of this week, but I finally did Portobello Road. It was really cool. They had such a variety of goods and an amazing cupcake shop called the hummingbird bakery. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon just window shopping. Plus, in getting there I got to know my neighborhood a little bit better (that's my euphemism for getting lost multiple times).

Wednesday I went to Hampton Court Palace which was pretty cool. I got to stand on the ledge that Shakespeare first performed Macbeth before James I. However, I think my favorite part were the Palace Gardens. We just walked around them for over an hour. Because Hampton court is so close we were able to get back relatively early, and so that night I got to go to Les Miserables! It was the best musical I've ever seen, granted I've only seen two others. But oh my gosh I loved it sooooo much. I don't even know how to describe how good it was. The stage was often circling and so it made the play really fast paced, but not rushed. And it was just so well done. I'm so glad I got to see it.

Unfortunately seeing Les Miserables the night before I saw Lion King made me not enjoy it as much as I think I might have in another situation. That being said, I loved Lion King too. I thought they did some interesting things with both Zazu, Rafiki and Scar's characters. And like everyone says, the costumes were unbelievable and the music was spectacular.
Earlier that day I was able to got to the Imperial War Museum. I walked right in and thought of Scott and Joshua and how cool they would think it was. I was there to go through the James Bond exhibit for my mystery class, but my favorite was the In Memorium room. It was amazing.

And today, I've been spending my free time getting caught up on some stuff that I didn't do on my last two musical nights. And that's it for now. London is amazing. Love you all.

Tracy

Wish List- Holland Park Walk.

Having gone to many different parks in the greater London area, there was definitely a marked difference between Holland Park and others. Whereas, Hyde Park and St. James Park were former Royal hunting grounds from medieval times, Holland park is a relatively new creation. This was visible in the more intimate pathways and civilian use sports areas. I felt like it was more of a neighborhood park (though nicer than any park I've seen in the states) where you can actually go to spend the day, as opposed to others where you walk around and admire them and then move on to other activities. Part of this might also be the abundance of shops right outside of other parks such as Bayswater Road, Queensway, the shopping near Marble Arch, and all of the touristy places in the Whitehall area. Granted one side of Holland Park does go onto High Kensington Street, but for the most part it is linked to the residential area surrounding it. What is remarkable is how unbelievably quiet and private this area is for being close to downtown London. And after spending a Sunday afternoon rambling through these streets, I've determined that if money were not an issue, and I could live anywhere in the world, I think I might choose one of the streets around Holland Park. These pictures are a documentation of some of my favorites.

Victorian exhibit at the V&A

It was interesting to learn about the Victorian era from the V&A because the British exhibits don't isolate the 1800s. They have information and extracts from society starting as early as the medieval ages and so you really get to see the Victorian period in the context of the times that surround it. These British Studies rooms are amazing because as you walk through them you can actually see the culture metamorphosize around you.
This was especially true with their room reconstructions. As you walked through you went from dark wood paneling of the Medieval ages, to light walls and molding in the Georgian times, and then the unique Victorian style that drew from all of these traditions but had some new features.The most surprising thing I learned from the gallery was how un-British the Victorian time was as far as decorating is concerned. Because of all the colonizing they were involved in, they became fascinated with the culture of these new lands and looked to them for new ideas in design. Because of this there were new colors and patterns that in many cases were very randomly matched together.
It also put into perspective how superfluous the developing Victorian practices were. The different sets of clothes for every activity--its a wonder people didn't waste their days changing their clothes, or maybe they did. After seeing their closets in comparison with those from earlier times, I can really understand Wilde's inspiration. And really all of our Victorian author's inspiration reacting against the strict societal rules that everyone secretly broke. It was an age of culture, but also an age where there were major social issues that were finally being addressed.

Mousetrap (Spoilers- don't read if you haven't seen the play)

A mystery play, like a mystery novel, is based upon the suspense of a murderer among the characters, and the attempt to discover who this is. A truly enthralling one successfully casts doubt on everyone of the characters' innocence and The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie certainly does that. Everyone is up for grabs, which is why I think she doesn't break "the rules" by having the detective be the culprit. Especially since she makes it guessable that he isn't actually a detective. She clearly establishes from the beginning that she isn't going to make discovering her secret plot twist very easy for us. And yet, because it's Agatha Christie, we know that the clues are in our hands to unravel the mess. These classic elements of a good mystery are undoubtedly what has made this the longest running theatrical show.

The performance we attended on Thursday was interesting for me because I had already seen a production of The Mousetrap, last fall in Cedar City, and therefore, already knew who the murderer was. This being the case, it was fascinating to see the play unfold and recognize each of the clues as they were laid out- some of which were red herrings, and some of which were given nonchalantly, but were actually of substantial importance.

Kensington Museums

To be honest, I haven't really spent any time in Kensington excluding the Gardens and the Hyde Park Chapel, but now that I know what it has to offer, I'm sure that will change in our last month here. Outside of the time I took for this walk I was able to wander around both the science museum and the V&A this week and was stunned by how interactive, interesting, and dynamic they were. I think the V&A is actually my favorite museum that I've been to... ever. There's art, sculpture, historic artifacts. It really has a little bit of everything and it's set up in a way that is conducive to learning. Not only are you admiring the beautiful furniture from such-and-such estate, they also include the fact that it is inspired by the french style which became very prevalent in the 1800s. So if you haven't noticed, I really enjoyed the discovery of this area only a short walk from our very own center. And was inspired to base my theme: houses of learning, on the experiences I've had there.

Pictures from the last little while