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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.