plan well before hand!
people are generally helpful, but you have to be patient
know the language! at least a little
pop hostel (madrid) is awesome!
when in lisbon, know where the beach is first, or find people who do. don't assume it's right there. there may be a train in the way.
never ever ever go to irun train station for 6 hours. (only grumpy gnomes go to irun)
eurail passes require reservations that need to be paid for on each train. they don't tell you that part.
you don't have to do touristy things to have fun
bread is good
don't accept anything from anyone in paris if they claim it is free
talk to people you don't know- other travelers, people in the train stations, planes, etc. you might make a new friend.
don't forget to drink water! don't forget to eat!
make sure you have a little cash on you cause atms aren't always reliable...
it is possible to walk everywhere in france, even if it looks confusing and long. the metro is dirty anyway
the metro in madrid, though, rocks
marlboro reds smell terrible (and according to tucker taste even worse)
sign language!
keep a supply of cookies on hand for stressful moments.
stay longer than 2 nights in each place. 20 kilograms equals 50 lbs.
be flexible
keep a journal
everything is better at 4 am
nothing is better than a friend when you are in a strange place
Monday, June 23, 2008
finale
well, we're home. it was an adventure, but we're home. as soon as we got out of madrid, everything went well, so we knew it had to be the right choice. but right now, i'd rather be back in london. i miss it so much! and i miss being with tucker all the time. i'm kinda not looking forward to having a room to myself tonight. :(
anyway, after leaving pop hostel, we headed to a new hostel for the night in madrid (until we could find a flight). unfortunately we walked about 10 blocks in the wrong direction. it was not one of my better moments. it was my closest point to breaking down. but we turned around and walked 18 blocks to get to where we were supposed to be, found the hostel, and relaxed a bit. it was hotel quality for hostel price. so nice. showered, took care of some email stuff, tucker talked to his mom and she tried everything in her power to get us home. she's so cool!
we went to the airport that night, found out that there was a flight leaving that night that we could afford, so we hurried home, grabbed our stuff, and went back to the airport to get on the plane to london. got to london about 1 am, spent the night there waiting for Delta to open at 6 am, but of course we didn't sleep. who does that, really? we ate some mcdonalds (kinda gross), did some sketching, read some books, and camped out in the airport. once 6 o'clock rolled around, we got in line, talked to the guy, and he did everything he could to help us get our tickets changed to leave as soon as possible. and it cost $100 less than we hoped, so we were happy. waited around a couple more hours for that flight, then took off for connecticut. delta is so great, good food all the time, 3 good movies, slept a bit but not enough, and got off on american soil. it felt good. then we had about a 6 1/2 hour layover. called everyone we could think of to tell them we were in the states, read some more, at good mcdonalds. discovered that it is probably written into the airport employee contracts to be rude and unhelpful to people who haven't slept properly in 48 hours. went into a british style pub to make things better, and it helped. got on a teeny tiny plane that was freezing cold, and took off for sioux falls. got into sioux falls, saw britta (our friend who picked us up), and basically tackled her with hugs and kisses. a familiar face! it was happy. talked the whole way home (as in orange city), where britta dropped us off at the movie theater so that tucker's friend emma could take us to her place to crash for the night. picked up some snacks and watched fantasia. well, sort of. tucker and i were out before the dinosaurs died. oh well.
slept in til gma betty and tressy called to pick me up at caseys, and drove home. it was sad saying goodbye to tucker. we've spent so much time together the past week, plus all the time in london, that it feels strange not to have him here. i should call him.... tomorrow. we need to sleep. it's only 9pm but i'm ready to crash. i was ready for bed about 3 hours ago.
okay, that is basically the end of my adventure. short lived, not as planned, but it was good. learned a lot and had some fun. met great people and tried lots of new things. i miss it, and i want to go back. i'm not ready to be home. but i know that it is better this way. with everything that went wrong, this is better. seeing how happy tucker was to be back made it all worth it. i know it was much harder on him to be away from home. but it is all okay now, i hope.
so yeah. next time (hopefully there will be a next time) we will know what to do differently, how to do this thing better and get the most out of it.
anyway, after leaving pop hostel, we headed to a new hostel for the night in madrid (until we could find a flight). unfortunately we walked about 10 blocks in the wrong direction. it was not one of my better moments. it was my closest point to breaking down. but we turned around and walked 18 blocks to get to where we were supposed to be, found the hostel, and relaxed a bit. it was hotel quality for hostel price. so nice. showered, took care of some email stuff, tucker talked to his mom and she tried everything in her power to get us home. she's so cool!
we went to the airport that night, found out that there was a flight leaving that night that we could afford, so we hurried home, grabbed our stuff, and went back to the airport to get on the plane to london. got to london about 1 am, spent the night there waiting for Delta to open at 6 am, but of course we didn't sleep. who does that, really? we ate some mcdonalds (kinda gross), did some sketching, read some books, and camped out in the airport. once 6 o'clock rolled around, we got in line, talked to the guy, and he did everything he could to help us get our tickets changed to leave as soon as possible. and it cost $100 less than we hoped, so we were happy. waited around a couple more hours for that flight, then took off for connecticut. delta is so great, good food all the time, 3 good movies, slept a bit but not enough, and got off on american soil. it felt good. then we had about a 6 1/2 hour layover. called everyone we could think of to tell them we were in the states, read some more, at good mcdonalds. discovered that it is probably written into the airport employee contracts to be rude and unhelpful to people who haven't slept properly in 48 hours. went into a british style pub to make things better, and it helped. got on a teeny tiny plane that was freezing cold, and took off for sioux falls. got into sioux falls, saw britta (our friend who picked us up), and basically tackled her with hugs and kisses. a familiar face! it was happy. talked the whole way home (as in orange city), where britta dropped us off at the movie theater so that tucker's friend emma could take us to her place to crash for the night. picked up some snacks and watched fantasia. well, sort of. tucker and i were out before the dinosaurs died. oh well.
slept in til gma betty and tressy called to pick me up at caseys, and drove home. it was sad saying goodbye to tucker. we've spent so much time together the past week, plus all the time in london, that it feels strange not to have him here. i should call him.... tomorrow. we need to sleep. it's only 9pm but i'm ready to crash. i was ready for bed about 3 hours ago.
okay, that is basically the end of my adventure. short lived, not as planned, but it was good. learned a lot and had some fun. met great people and tried lots of new things. i miss it, and i want to go back. i'm not ready to be home. but i know that it is better this way. with everything that went wrong, this is better. seeing how happy tucker was to be back made it all worth it. i know it was much harder on him to be away from home. but it is all okay now, i hope.
so yeah. next time (hopefully there will be a next time) we will know what to do differently, how to do this thing better and get the most out of it.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
huzzah!
okay, here is for real what's happening. we are coming home. we are having too many things go wrong here in europe, we're stressed, the good days are outweighed by the bad, and we're sick of it. mostly tucker is, but i'm not staying unless he is. we've decided, and we're sticking to it. we have to, we just bought plane tickets to london, leaving at 10 tonight. yeah, it's all happening fast. went to the airport in madrid, talked to a couple airlines, found one cheapish. cheaper than what we found online anyway. so we are getting to london in a few hours. then we will change our tickets home to leave as soon as possible. that'll cost us another $300-600, but i did my best to figure out how much i have left in my account and i'm pretty sure i have enough.
anyways.... when we get back to the states, i'll call family peeps to pick me up somewhere. i don't know where or when yet, but i'll call when i do know.
i realize that we wasted a lot of money on this trip, for the eurail passes and everything, and i'm sad we have to end it so soon. but with everything going wrong it's clear europe doesn't want us here at this time.
so yeah. thanks for the prayers and support and listening to my ramblings on this blog, and i'll probaby see ya in a few days!
love you all
anyways.... when we get back to the states, i'll call family peeps to pick me up somewhere. i don't know where or when yet, but i'll call when i do know.
i realize that we wasted a lot of money on this trip, for the eurail passes and everything, and i'm sad we have to end it so soon. but with everything going wrong it's clear europe doesn't want us here at this time.
so yeah. thanks for the prayers and support and listening to my ramblings on this blog, and i'll probaby see ya in a few days!
love you all
i don´t know what´s going on...
we may be coming home soon. how soon, i have no idea. how we´ll get there, i have no idea. how much it will cost, i have no idea. i don´t even know what to write right now. nothing is set. if anything changes, of course i´ll let you know.
love you all
love you all
Friday, June 20, 2008
quickie
alright, so planes and trains are ridiculously expensive to paris and london, so we´ve decided (i think) to take a couple days in barcelona, probably meet up with the canadian girls we met her, and see what happens after that. still a bit stressed. watching a lot of football. we´re kinda homeless after tonight, cause the hostel is booked but they said they´d help us find some place. and if we are still here after tomorrow night, there are openings, so we can come back before we go to barcelona. at least we like madrid....
checking out a hostel in barcelona that looks amazing, but i´ll have to discuss it with the man first to be sure of dates and important things like that.
sorry this wasn´t too informative or exciting
lots of love
checking out a hostel in barcelona that looks amazing, but i´ll have to discuss it with the man first to be sure of dates and important things like that.
sorry this wasn´t too informative or exciting
lots of love
well well well
*sigh* okay, here´s what´s new. there are strikes in the train station in madrid (or something) and so we waited forever and a half to get to the window to reserve our tickets to paris, just to find out that the only seats available are the expensive sleeping car ones. new plan: fly directly to london and pay for at least one more night in madrid. new problem: expensive. cheapest flight found so far is $315. but it´s non-stop, only 2 1/2 hours. still looking though. we´re a bit aggravated, so i want to get that part out of the way before i start talking about our experiences in madrid thus far. it´s stressful at the moment, so blowing off steam and eating cookies is good. but money may be needed from home if we don´t figure something out.
*deep breaths* okay...
anyway, we got on the train from lisbon, talked to this really cool girl from California- Veronica. sat near her on the train, too, and had similar destinations so we were together awhile. the train was kinda sucky at first. we sat down, and our chairs moved. we tried to look out the window, and we weren´t next to one. the coach was full of people. but then the attendant guy came and fixed our seats, and as he left he almost got hit in the face by the door. our entire car erupted in laughter. the spanish lady behind us offered to spray us in the face with an unknown orange spritz, and it felt good. just for fresh air as opposed to train car stuffiness. then sleep. or something like it. slept more than usual, i guess, but it was a longer train. 10 hours. and kinda bumpy. and for awhile, we were stopped at a station for a very long time, for no apparent reason. but we made it. finding the hostel was fairly easy. it´s kinda tucked away and we almost passed it. actually, tucker did. it´s small, the bathrooms are rediculously tiny, but the atmosphere is incredible. the people are helpful, speak decent english, there are a lot of people our age here, a lot of americans, and they are all interesting people. met a guy from new zealand who is traveling the world in 6 months. he´s half done. a couple girls from canada. a couple from australia.
basically, tucker and i hung out in the tv room (where smoking is allowed, but there is a vent so it doesnt smell at all) all day watching movies with random people. then at about 12:30 am about 8 or 9 of us went out to a bar nearby. for some reason we got free shots of vodka and caramel. it was pretty good, and it was free. the people we were with aren´t the type of people i usually hang out with, but i´m glad i did. they were a blast! when the bar closed, we didn´t really want to go to bed, so we hung out at this tiny park (it had a 3 foot slide and some springy animal things) until almost 4 am. it was great. we named the rabbit springy Javier Pablo. we were with the candadians and the australians and a few people from the US so we compared/made fun of each other. talked a bit of politics. one girl from canada was into theatre, one guy from california loves street art and painting. mostly we laughed at nothing. people on the streets were selling beer, so others kept drinking. it was fun to watch them. i had the shot of and half a lemonade without spending a dime, so i was happy just to see the others get dizzy on the playground.
we haven´t even explored madrid yet, but it´s great. we may be here longer anyway, though, because of the whole travel thing. still working on it, though. it´s not working out so well. i´m getting a bit irritated.
paris is stupid. trains are stupid. tucker thinks it will be easier and cheaper to just go home. i´m not ready to give up! maybe we could continue backpacking like originally planned, and get or God help us figure this out!
*deep breaths* okay...
anyway, we got on the train from lisbon, talked to this really cool girl from California- Veronica. sat near her on the train, too, and had similar destinations so we were together awhile. the train was kinda sucky at first. we sat down, and our chairs moved. we tried to look out the window, and we weren´t next to one. the coach was full of people. but then the attendant guy came and fixed our seats, and as he left he almost got hit in the face by the door. our entire car erupted in laughter. the spanish lady behind us offered to spray us in the face with an unknown orange spritz, and it felt good. just for fresh air as opposed to train car stuffiness. then sleep. or something like it. slept more than usual, i guess, but it was a longer train. 10 hours. and kinda bumpy. and for awhile, we were stopped at a station for a very long time, for no apparent reason. but we made it. finding the hostel was fairly easy. it´s kinda tucked away and we almost passed it. actually, tucker did. it´s small, the bathrooms are rediculously tiny, but the atmosphere is incredible. the people are helpful, speak decent english, there are a lot of people our age here, a lot of americans, and they are all interesting people. met a guy from new zealand who is traveling the world in 6 months. he´s half done. a couple girls from canada. a couple from australia.
basically, tucker and i hung out in the tv room (where smoking is allowed, but there is a vent so it doesnt smell at all) all day watching movies with random people. then at about 12:30 am about 8 or 9 of us went out to a bar nearby. for some reason we got free shots of vodka and caramel. it was pretty good, and it was free. the people we were with aren´t the type of people i usually hang out with, but i´m glad i did. they were a blast! when the bar closed, we didn´t really want to go to bed, so we hung out at this tiny park (it had a 3 foot slide and some springy animal things) until almost 4 am. it was great. we named the rabbit springy Javier Pablo. we were with the candadians and the australians and a few people from the US so we compared/made fun of each other. talked a bit of politics. one girl from canada was into theatre, one guy from california loves street art and painting. mostly we laughed at nothing. people on the streets were selling beer, so others kept drinking. it was fun to watch them. i had the shot of and half a lemonade without spending a dime, so i was happy just to see the others get dizzy on the playground.
we haven´t even explored madrid yet, but it´s great. we may be here longer anyway, though, because of the whole travel thing. still working on it, though. it´s not working out so well. i´m getting a bit irritated.
paris is stupid. trains are stupid. tucker thinks it will be easier and cheaper to just go home. i´m not ready to give up! maybe we could continue backpacking like originally planned, and get or God help us figure this out!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
going to madrid
so today is our last day in lisbon, and we wandered around looking at the city, finally. we´ve been here for two days, and we just decided to let go of our grudge of no beach and walk. and it was good. there are a lot of bakeries, a lot of interesting buildings with graffit, a lot of interesting people. we sat in a park thing and talked a lot about books and movies and the history of middle earth (cause i´m a nerd and know middle earth history better than american history...). walked some more, ate lunch at the snack bar we always go to, walked some more, talked about graphic novels and good stuff. we saw an Indian (as in Native American, but not american?) street band playing in a plaza-ish place, listened to them for awhile. i miss music like that, it was so good. then we sat near a fountain for awhile, took some pics.
it was a nice warm day and we are probably going to be red tomorrow, but it´s okay. now we are checked out of our room but still hanging out in the hostel, our train leaves at 10pm tonight, and then it´f off to madrid!! we´ll be there 2 nights, probably partying all the time, but not really. we´ll find something fun to do, though. then paris for a night (if we can find a good cheap hostel), and a short train and ferry back to the UK.
it was a good day today, we can leave lisbon without the feelings of regret we had when we got here. tucker and i just spent a lot of time talking about whatever. more of that will be good. i guess that´s it for now, i´ll talk to you next from madrid!
love you all, peace out
it was a nice warm day and we are probably going to be red tomorrow, but it´s okay. now we are checked out of our room but still hanging out in the hostel, our train leaves at 10pm tonight, and then it´f off to madrid!! we´ll be there 2 nights, probably partying all the time, but not really. we´ll find something fun to do, though. then paris for a night (if we can find a good cheap hostel), and a short train and ferry back to the UK.
it was a good day today, we can leave lisbon without the feelings of regret we had when we got here. tucker and i just spent a lot of time talking about whatever. more of that will be good. i guess that´s it for now, i´ll talk to you next from madrid!
love you all, peace out
Monday, June 16, 2008
some beautiful moments
*meeting molly and peter
*when all the people in Aloha Hostel lobby sang along with American Pie
*Winged Victory
*sketching Tucker while he sleeps- it's really adorable
*napping under the eiffel tower
*talking to random americans or people who know english on the trains, outside the louvre, in the stations
*playing 80s music in the otherwise silent/dead Irun train station
*using towels as blankets on the train
*being happy with our decision to go back to london
*taking a shower after being sweaty on a train all day
*watching the clouds go by outside our window
*watching small children who aren't screaming
*when all the people in Aloha Hostel lobby sang along with American Pie
*Winged Victory
*sketching Tucker while he sleeps- it's really adorable
*napping under the eiffel tower
*talking to random americans or people who know english on the trains, outside the louvre, in the stations
*playing 80s music in the otherwise silent/dead Irun train station
*using towels as blankets on the train
*being happy with our decision to go back to london
*taking a shower after being sweaty on a train all day
*watching the clouds go by outside our window
*watching small children who aren't screaming
alright, here is the deal...
so, left paris, spent all of sunday either on a train or in a train station. uncomfortable, sleepy, sore, stressed... we tried to make the best of it, but a six hour layover in Irun station- well, we survived anyway. made some lists about the place though (why it sucks), slept some more, to pass the time. now we are in lisbon. it´s kinda dirty, kinda smelly. there are some interesting looking buildings around, so i hope to explore sometime. we saw the bay/ocean but we couldn´t see any beach. it´s nice and sunny, but pretty humid. the room in our hostel is okay sized, the rest of the building is small. the lady who greeted us didn´t speak english (like most everyone else here...), but we got things figured out. once again, we had that feeling of being in way over our heads. plus tucker is extremely homesick and stressed. we don´t know the language, we don´t know where we are most of the time, and it is getting to be a bit much. plus tuck´s got a lot of things at home going on. i´m mostly okay with it all, it´s adventurous and new, but i also know that if i were on my own for this, i´d be freaking out way more.
so our new plan is to stay in lisbon for two nights, take an overnight train to madrid, stay there a couple nights, then back to paris (staying?) and then spend the majority of our time left in london. we´ll probably go to ireland for a week, too. at least then we will know the language, london is familiar, and there is plenty to do. i´m a bit sad that i won´t be going all the places i´d hoped, but i´d rather be with tucker in a place where we can both be happy. plus, i wouldn´t be here if it weren´t for him anyways. and london is pretty great, i know we´ll have an amazing time there. we can go to stonehenge, london bridge, tower of london, back to all of the museums (which are free, unlike other places), back to hyde park for hours and hours. we can eat cheap from grocery stores. it will be a good thing.
prayers would be helpful, so would cash if anyone felt so inclined. tucker did get is debit card figured out, so that´s one less thing to worry about. so yeah. i think that´s it. we are checking out hostels in london now, so that we can get that taken care of. tomorrow we should get our trains reserved.
love you all, will see you soon!
so our new plan is to stay in lisbon for two nights, take an overnight train to madrid, stay there a couple nights, then back to paris (staying?) and then spend the majority of our time left in london. we´ll probably go to ireland for a week, too. at least then we will know the language, london is familiar, and there is plenty to do. i´m a bit sad that i won´t be going all the places i´d hoped, but i´d rather be with tucker in a place where we can both be happy. plus, i wouldn´t be here if it weren´t for him anyways. and london is pretty great, i know we´ll have an amazing time there. we can go to stonehenge, london bridge, tower of london, back to all of the museums (which are free, unlike other places), back to hyde park for hours and hours. we can eat cheap from grocery stores. it will be a good thing.
prayers would be helpful, so would cash if anyone felt so inclined. tucker did get is debit card figured out, so that´s one less thing to worry about. so yeah. i think that´s it. we are checking out hostels in london now, so that we can get that taken care of. tomorrow we should get our trains reserved.
love you all, will see you soon!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
more paris
okay so yesterday- we woke up, ate breakfast, talked to a guy at the hostel from zimbabwe, and left for the day. we did a lot of walking. walking to the train station to reserve our train to lisbon, walking back after we left the station because the one person we found was closing, walked to the eiffel tower and did some sketching/resting/making fun of other people, walked back to the train station, talked to a different guy who directed us to the correct place to be, walked there, felt lost in the huge station, got what we needed taken care of, and walked back. really, that was our day. bought lunch at a bread store, dinner (and next day's lunch) at the grocery store. lots of bread, but it's so good! we spent a lot of time on the computer, trying to get the next week figured out.
today was fun. before we left, we met a girl named molly and her friend (boyfriend?) from san fransico and are also backpacking. we talked a lot about our adventures so far, where we plan on going next. we exchanged tips, and things to find/look out for. they are pretty cool people. we may end up in germany at the same time so we might find each other and hang out.
we walked to the louvre, which was quite a walk but pretty. walked along the river. the louvre was great, but a lot of people were there (of course). but we saw all we wanted to. our favorite was Winged Victory. we kept coming back to it randomly in our search for other pieces. the whole thing was worth the money we paid for it, and we didn't even go everywhere.
we walked back and napped at the eiffel tower for awhile, then back to aloha. tomorrow we leave for lisbon, and when we get there i have no idea what internet situation will be like. you might not hear from us for awhile, but don't worry. we should be fine. i hope.
oh, and the ring trick has been played on us a total of 7 times, and we saw it happening to someone else and warned them. but then we did get swindled by a couple guys making bracelets.... oh well. at least we have the bracelets as a warning to be more assertive in saying no to anyone trying to sell or "give" stuff away.
well, i think that's all i have. tucker needs internet again...
love to all
today was fun. before we left, we met a girl named molly and her friend (boyfriend?) from san fransico and are also backpacking. we talked a lot about our adventures so far, where we plan on going next. we exchanged tips, and things to find/look out for. they are pretty cool people. we may end up in germany at the same time so we might find each other and hang out.
we walked to the louvre, which was quite a walk but pretty. walked along the river. the louvre was great, but a lot of people were there (of course). but we saw all we wanted to. our favorite was Winged Victory. we kept coming back to it randomly in our search for other pieces. the whole thing was worth the money we paid for it, and we didn't even go everywhere.
we walked back and napped at the eiffel tower for awhile, then back to aloha. tomorrow we leave for lisbon, and when we get there i have no idea what internet situation will be like. you might not hear from us for awhile, but don't worry. we should be fine. i hope.
oh, and the ring trick has been played on us a total of 7 times, and we saw it happening to someone else and warned them. but then we did get swindled by a couple guys making bracelets.... oh well. at least we have the bracelets as a warning to be more assertive in saying no to anyone trying to sell or "give" stuff away.
well, i think that's all i have. tucker needs internet again...
love to all
Thursday, June 12, 2008
here goes!
so.... sunday came and went and no post was made. sorry about that. it's here now. everything started happening very fast and i ran out of time i guess. anyways...tucker and i are now in france (!) but more on that later. i need to finish updating on london. i don't remember what i all said last week so if something gets repeated, deal with it.
free weekend:
fri- mostly just hung out at hyde park w/ tucker, sylvia, and hannah. met a playful squirrel and did some sketching. i'm working on marker art and tucker is working on watercolor. not much else accept eating, and that was spaghetti house and pizza express. good but not too unique.
sat- saw phantom of the opera this afternoon! it was pretty good, even if the girl who played christine had an annoying grating voice. the phantom was good and raoul was too. some tried to be the movie and that got annoying, but... design was really cool, with skeletal candelabra rising from the ground and an angel statue that dropped and hung from the ceiling during my fav part of movie (the part where phantom sings, "you will curse the day you did not do all that the phantom asked of you on the gargoyles). and the music was fantastic to hear live
sun- went to portabello market, walked thru the shops. they aren't really my thing though: too many people. hannah found and bought some old keys though and they made her really happy. then a bunch of us went to this really awesome production of Hamlet. it is done by a company of actors called The Factory (check them out at seehamlet.co.uk) in a different venue every sunday, only advertised online, the audience brings props for the actors to use and are often part of the show themselves.
it was so cool- we saw it in this old chapel that was part mentally disabled rehab halfway house thing. the director gave them different directions for each act (kiss everyone your in a scene with, sit down when someone claps, etc.), one act was outside, tucker got hit on by ophelia during the show, the props (some) were a stuffed animal sheep, an inhaler, a watermelon, a Frisbee thing, a ladle, and a bunch of sunglasses. The duel between laertes and hamlet at the end was a piano duel. Awesome. One of the best experiences yet.
Mon- this was The best day during the trip. No question. Went to the Courtauld institute gallery: a pretty impressive personal collection- with a monet, some van gogh, telouse letrec, Seurat, degas, etc. and behind the building they were in, was a fountainy thing, where the water sprays up from the ground in a grid rectangle. Tucker and I, and poe, all had a blast playing in it. We got soaked but it felt so good. Annabelle took pics, and others watched us from the windows apparently. It just felt really good to let go, and then dry off in the sun.
after that some of us went to the chocolatier in chiswick. They have the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Mine was rose flavored. And the rest of the chocolates were really good too, though kind of expensive. When we got back, I went off by myself to Buckingham palace, and was kind of disappointed. It wasn’t that impressive, and there were no guards in fuzzy black hats and red suits. L oh well. Got pics anyway, and poe is in one.
The show tonight was …Sisters, and avante garde improv show loosely based on Chekhov’s (spelling?) Three Sisters. Each night it’s different, six actors (5 women, 1 man) play different parts that change throughout. Sometimes two are one character, or one just repeats the lines of everyone else that she hears, or one writes on a chalkboard bits of lines being said. It was a very small space, and had a lot of Brecht qualities to it, but I think it was unintentionally done. Not the best improv, but it was really interesting to see. Plus they had a live rabbit on stage at the end, just running around to show them being in a garden. Even if almost all of the story line was gone and no real plot was evident, you could still catch the themes in the three sisters.
After the show, some of us more adventurous sorts went to an Arabic coffee shop thing. All of the furniture was cushions and couchy things. Hannah, Sylvia, Tucker, and I, and Cody a little bit, sat outside, though, because we were smoking hookah. Don’t worry mom, it’s legal even in the states and better than cigarettes. It was so cool, kind of made me dizzy but when that happened I slowed down for awhile. But they lasted a long time. We had a strawberry and a grape one. A bunch of English guys, high school age, got one two and were sitting next to us for awhile. We talked with them until the shop closed, comparing England and America. They were pretty cool.
And it still doesn’t end there. When we got back to vandon house, tucker, noel, Sylvia, and elise joined Hannah, and I in our room, and we talked and laughed and hung out for awhile. Elise and Sylvia went to bed. But the rest of us stayed up til 4 am talking. Not one of our wiser choices but I don’t regret it.
Tues- an actor (making a living acting) came to speak to us during class this morning. He was really cool, named Charlie. He’s 28 and working with the factory (but he wasn’t in hamlet- he did a different show that night). Mostly he just talked about his life becoming an actor, and how it’s all he ever wanted to do, and how he did it. My favorite thing he said was, ‘why entertain the notion you’re gonna fail?” in reference to only going to college to have a fall back plan in case acting doesn’t work out. I think it is a great message to anyone pursuing a career in fine art, or anyone with a dream even. Do what you love, and do something else to support yourself if you have to, but don’t give up on your dream.
Today’s gallery was free choice. I wanted to go back to the tate modern but we had to pick something new. So I chose the national portrait gallery. 3 floors dedicated to portraits of all kinds. I loved it. Mostly just the first floor, though, cause that’s the modern stuff. Though there was some good stuff on second floor, too. but there were photos, paintings, airbrushings, sculpture, some digital work. I like faces a lot, so it was cool.
Spent a lot of time with tucker today, trying (and failing) to get things organized for backpacking. It was stressful at times, but we stopped outside the theatre and sat on this cool turf lawn with giant furniture made out of turf. All the couches were filled, though, so we lied down and sketched/painted, like we do. I’m not sure how I feel about the show we saw. It was called Afterlife, and it was about a man directing a morality play, and his real life ended up mirroring that play, with Death following him. It was kind of funny and kind of depressing and I liked the story enough but… I don’t know.
Wed- today we saw merry wives of Windsor in the globe during the afternoon. And it was awesome. I have a ribbon from the show, like a nerd. It was fun, being a groundling again. That night we saw 2000 Feet Away, which is based in Iowa and about pedophiles. It was a very small theatre, the smallest one we were in, in a sketchy part of town. It was an interesting show, not like I thought it was going to be. They did a decent job on the accents. Actually, there was a young girl in it who sounded just like Lacey (aka my little sister). She even had blonde hair and braces. It was kinda creepy. The show was pretty good, even if all the yelling and talking over each other got annoying. I’m not too sure about this one either, but I liked it better than Afterlife. It had a lot of deep things to think about, like the treatment of pedophiles and how they aren’t all the same creepers you think of.
Well, that’s basically London. After the show, we hopped on a bus to Gatwick, spent the night in a hotel, got up early this morning and went to the airport. Tucker and I said goodbye (a bit earlier than expected), went back to London, got on the eurostar (EXPENSIVE!) to france, had *fun* trying to figure out the metro, found the Eiffel tower, and spent a long long time trying to find a hostel. Then we did and they were full. They called another one, which had 2 beds left. So we walked there. It’s called Aloha, and is also expensive. but that is where we are. We have a room to ourselves, which is nice. The Eiffel tower is 15 mins walk away. We’re tired and sore. We were stressed, feeling like we were in way over our heads b/c we don’t speak French and our maps don’t have all the streets. Plus the atm was being stupid and tucker couldn’t get money out. It took me 3 times doing it for it to work. Hopefully, the rest of the trip gets easier. Now we’ve got plans, and know that it is better to make reservations for hostels, and find them beforehand so you can get cheaper ones. Well, this was long, and I’m tired. Don’t know when I’ll get pics up again. But I’ll try.
and if anyone ever feels inclined to put $ in my checking account (hint hint), that would be awesome. i'm not afraid yet for the amount in there, but if we keep running into hostels like this one and eurostar suckiness, than it might become a problem. just saying.
This is a link to tucker’s blog, specifically for our backpacking: tuckshelb-adventuresineurope.blogspot.com
Plus we have a shared email account, so if you want to send us some messages of love and encouragement and stuff, that’s where you can do it. : tucker.shelbi@gmail.com
hugs and kisses to all,
bubye
free weekend:
fri- mostly just hung out at hyde park w/ tucker, sylvia, and hannah. met a playful squirrel and did some sketching. i'm working on marker art and tucker is working on watercolor. not much else accept eating, and that was spaghetti house and pizza express. good but not too unique.
sat- saw phantom of the opera this afternoon! it was pretty good, even if the girl who played christine had an annoying grating voice. the phantom was good and raoul was too. some tried to be the movie and that got annoying, but... design was really cool, with skeletal candelabra rising from the ground and an angel statue that dropped and hung from the ceiling during my fav part of movie (the part where phantom sings, "you will curse the day you did not do all that the phantom asked of you on the gargoyles). and the music was fantastic to hear live
sun- went to portabello market, walked thru the shops. they aren't really my thing though: too many people. hannah found and bought some old keys though and they made her really happy. then a bunch of us went to this really awesome production of Hamlet. it is done by a company of actors called The Factory (check them out at seehamlet.co.uk) in a different venue every sunday, only advertised online, the audience brings props for the actors to use and are often part of the show themselves.
it was so cool- we saw it in this old chapel that was part mentally disabled rehab halfway house thing. the director gave them different directions for each act (kiss everyone your in a scene with, sit down when someone claps, etc.), one act was outside, tucker got hit on by ophelia during the show, the props (some) were a stuffed animal sheep, an inhaler, a watermelon, a Frisbee thing, a ladle, and a bunch of sunglasses. The duel between laertes and hamlet at the end was a piano duel. Awesome. One of the best experiences yet.
Mon- this was The best day during the trip. No question. Went to the Courtauld institute gallery: a pretty impressive personal collection- with a monet, some van gogh, telouse letrec, Seurat, degas, etc. and behind the building they were in, was a fountainy thing, where the water sprays up from the ground in a grid rectangle. Tucker and I, and poe, all had a blast playing in it. We got soaked but it felt so good. Annabelle took pics, and others watched us from the windows apparently. It just felt really good to let go, and then dry off in the sun.
after that some of us went to the chocolatier in chiswick. They have the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Mine was rose flavored. And the rest of the chocolates were really good too, though kind of expensive. When we got back, I went off by myself to Buckingham palace, and was kind of disappointed. It wasn’t that impressive, and there were no guards in fuzzy black hats and red suits. L oh well. Got pics anyway, and poe is in one.
The show tonight was …Sisters, and avante garde improv show loosely based on Chekhov’s (spelling?) Three Sisters. Each night it’s different, six actors (5 women, 1 man) play different parts that change throughout. Sometimes two are one character, or one just repeats the lines of everyone else that she hears, or one writes on a chalkboard bits of lines being said. It was a very small space, and had a lot of Brecht qualities to it, but I think it was unintentionally done. Not the best improv, but it was really interesting to see. Plus they had a live rabbit on stage at the end, just running around to show them being in a garden. Even if almost all of the story line was gone and no real plot was evident, you could still catch the themes in the three sisters.
After the show, some of us more adventurous sorts went to an Arabic coffee shop thing. All of the furniture was cushions and couchy things. Hannah, Sylvia, Tucker, and I, and Cody a little bit, sat outside, though, because we were smoking hookah. Don’t worry mom, it’s legal even in the states and better than cigarettes. It was so cool, kind of made me dizzy but when that happened I slowed down for awhile. But they lasted a long time. We had a strawberry and a grape one. A bunch of English guys, high school age, got one two and were sitting next to us for awhile. We talked with them until the shop closed, comparing England and America. They were pretty cool.
And it still doesn’t end there. When we got back to vandon house, tucker, noel, Sylvia, and elise joined Hannah, and I in our room, and we talked and laughed and hung out for awhile. Elise and Sylvia went to bed. But the rest of us stayed up til 4 am talking. Not one of our wiser choices but I don’t regret it.
Tues- an actor (making a living acting) came to speak to us during class this morning. He was really cool, named Charlie. He’s 28 and working with the factory (but he wasn’t in hamlet- he did a different show that night). Mostly he just talked about his life becoming an actor, and how it’s all he ever wanted to do, and how he did it. My favorite thing he said was, ‘why entertain the notion you’re gonna fail?” in reference to only going to college to have a fall back plan in case acting doesn’t work out. I think it is a great message to anyone pursuing a career in fine art, or anyone with a dream even. Do what you love, and do something else to support yourself if you have to, but don’t give up on your dream.
Today’s gallery was free choice. I wanted to go back to the tate modern but we had to pick something new. So I chose the national portrait gallery. 3 floors dedicated to portraits of all kinds. I loved it. Mostly just the first floor, though, cause that’s the modern stuff. Though there was some good stuff on second floor, too. but there were photos, paintings, airbrushings, sculpture, some digital work. I like faces a lot, so it was cool.
Spent a lot of time with tucker today, trying (and failing) to get things organized for backpacking. It was stressful at times, but we stopped outside the theatre and sat on this cool turf lawn with giant furniture made out of turf. All the couches were filled, though, so we lied down and sketched/painted, like we do. I’m not sure how I feel about the show we saw. It was called Afterlife, and it was about a man directing a morality play, and his real life ended up mirroring that play, with Death following him. It was kind of funny and kind of depressing and I liked the story enough but… I don’t know.
Wed- today we saw merry wives of Windsor in the globe during the afternoon. And it was awesome. I have a ribbon from the show, like a nerd. It was fun, being a groundling again. That night we saw 2000 Feet Away, which is based in Iowa and about pedophiles. It was a very small theatre, the smallest one we were in, in a sketchy part of town. It was an interesting show, not like I thought it was going to be. They did a decent job on the accents. Actually, there was a young girl in it who sounded just like Lacey (aka my little sister). She even had blonde hair and braces. It was kinda creepy. The show was pretty good, even if all the yelling and talking over each other got annoying. I’m not too sure about this one either, but I liked it better than Afterlife. It had a lot of deep things to think about, like the treatment of pedophiles and how they aren’t all the same creepers you think of.
Well, that’s basically London. After the show, we hopped on a bus to Gatwick, spent the night in a hotel, got up early this morning and went to the airport. Tucker and I said goodbye (a bit earlier than expected), went back to London, got on the eurostar (EXPENSIVE!) to france, had *fun* trying to figure out the metro, found the Eiffel tower, and spent a long long time trying to find a hostel. Then we did and they were full. They called another one, which had 2 beds left. So we walked there. It’s called Aloha, and is also expensive. but that is where we are. We have a room to ourselves, which is nice. The Eiffel tower is 15 mins walk away. We’re tired and sore. We were stressed, feeling like we were in way over our heads b/c we don’t speak French and our maps don’t have all the streets. Plus the atm was being stupid and tucker couldn’t get money out. It took me 3 times doing it for it to work. Hopefully, the rest of the trip gets easier. Now we’ve got plans, and know that it is better to make reservations for hostels, and find them beforehand so you can get cheaper ones. Well, this was long, and I’m tired. Don’t know when I’ll get pics up again. But I’ll try.
and if anyone ever feels inclined to put $ in my checking account (hint hint), that would be awesome. i'm not afraid yet for the amount in there, but if we keep running into hostels like this one and eurostar suckiness, than it might become a problem. just saying.
This is a link to tucker’s blog, specifically for our backpacking: tuckshelb-adventuresineurope.blogspot.com
Plus we have a shared email account, so if you want to send us some messages of love and encouragement and stuff, that’s where you can do it. : tucker.shelbi@gmail.com
hugs and kisses to all,
bubye
Friday, June 6, 2008
free weekend
well, this weekend is our free weekend, so i have lots of time. originally planned on going to ireland but too expensive and will do that backpacking anyway. so i'm chilling in london, sleeping in, went sketching again with Tucker, Sylvia, and Hannah. tomorrow i'm going to see phantom of the opera or cabaret (depending on prices). sunday we're going to a fun version of hamlet where the audience brings props for the actors to use and we possibly choose who plays what role. other than that, i'll probably go to buckingham palace and westminster abbey for some touristy photos. and there is a chocolate store somewhere that i want to find.
anyways, here's the last couple of days:
dancing last week was pretty fun- a place called 101. Tucker, Noel, and I went. It was awkward at first cause no one was dancing. but once they did, we had a good time. except for the creepy albanian man who sat at our table and was convinced that tucker and noel were going to hook up. if only he knew! it was too funny. had a horrible time getting home that night, though. we weren't aware that the tubes closed before 1 am on sundays...so we walked around SOHO where the club is (near/in the red light district), got out of SOHO to find the right bus stop to get us close to home, waited forever for the right bus at that bus stop, (almost succumbed to getting a taxi), and then walked the last bit to vandon house. so that was fun.
(Monday) today reminded me why should never ever live in a city for a long period of time. there are way too many people, too busy, too noisy! everywhere you try to go there are more people going the opposite way faster. everything you want to look at and appreciate, a group of people with cameras push you out of the and block your path.
we went to the british museum today, full of ancient artifacts that don't belong to britain, but the brits won't give them back to Greece/Rome/Egypt/etc. some of it was really cool, but i couldn't get too interested because i was so irritated by all of the people. and the fact that everything in here would be better in its original context away from silly people taking pictures of everything (WITH FLASH!) and ignoring the 'do not touch' signs and not appreciating anything. i probably would have liked it more if there had been fewer people.
saw Into the Hoods today for our show. it was Incredible. an urbanized, hip hop dance paroday of Sondheim's Into the Woods. fairy tale characters from different stories interacting and realisng that happily ever after isn't always easy. that's the original. in the Hoods version, you have characters like spinderella and fairy gee and jaxx, etc. the music was from gorillaz, prince, black eyed peas, james brown, bob marley, etc. some swing, jazz, rock mixes too. the dancing was insane- so good, so energetic. all dialogue was prerecorded and it was narrated a bit. and it wasn't melancholy as sondheim. design was incredible, like only dance shows can be. check it out online, as well as ZooNation's website.
(tuesday) today was the victoria and albert museum- kind of a design type, made for others, casts of famous pieces, type of museum. there was some good stuff though. a lot of royal jewelry, sculptures, a cast of David, etc. sketched a beautiful statue of Eve. there was a lot to see and not much time to see it. oh well. i can come back if i really want to.
the show tonight was pygmalion- the show that the musical my fair lady was based off of. or if you've never heard of that- think pretty woman. it was pretty good, but not my favorite. higgins was too over-the-top. but eliza was incredible. design was simply functional. meh.
(wednesday) a free afternoon today, so me, elise, bekah, kailen, and hope went to see Les Miserrables. BEST EVER! it totally lived up to my expectations. there were some people we saw that i liked better than the original london cast. i'm glad that this cast didn't try to be that one. even though the set is pretty much set (and for good reason-cause it's awesome), the cast made it their own. eponine was my favorite, but gavrouche and little cosette were adorable, too. and jean valjean had some moments that made my heart swell with happiness b/c his voice was so surprisingly good. found an art supply store- it is amazing! (we went back today) Then we saw The Vortex. oh, Noel Coward. it took til the final act for me to decide that i liked it. it did have great lines, and great actors. i think it was the fact that i only liked one of the characters. or it could have been the roundabout way noel coward has of getting to the real story. again, design was functional. they made some decisions i didn't like, but i don't know why they made them either.
(thursday) tate britain today. all art made by british artists throughout history. some of it was boring portraits of aristocracy looking cross. but there was a lot of Turner, though, which is awesome. and the modern stuff was great. i was just so amazed at how much the modern art history class has changed my tastes in art. tate modern is still the best. oh, but while we were at the tate britain, a fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building. but there was no fire. don't know what happened, though. we weren't outside too long before they let us back in.
then we saw the good soul of szechuan by brecht. at it was very brecht. which means alienating the audience w/ jarring sounds and random songs and strangeness. it's kind of hard to explain... but it was very good. the water seller was the best- very very very good, in a delightfully insane, humorous, intense way.
food: a pancake cafe (nutella and bananas), hummus bros (3rd time!), indian (tandoori duck something and pashwari nan), wagamamma (japanese noodle dishes, lots of ginger).
okay so that's it. sorry to end ubruptly but we are going out to supper. don't know where yet. hopefully i'll be able to update again on sunday, with pics!
anyways, here's the last couple of days:
dancing last week was pretty fun- a place called 101. Tucker, Noel, and I went. It was awkward at first cause no one was dancing. but once they did, we had a good time. except for the creepy albanian man who sat at our table and was convinced that tucker and noel were going to hook up. if only he knew! it was too funny. had a horrible time getting home that night, though. we weren't aware that the tubes closed before 1 am on sundays...so we walked around SOHO where the club is (near/in the red light district), got out of SOHO to find the right bus stop to get us close to home, waited forever for the right bus at that bus stop, (almost succumbed to getting a taxi), and then walked the last bit to vandon house. so that was fun.
(Monday) today reminded me why should never ever live in a city for a long period of time. there are way too many people, too busy, too noisy! everywhere you try to go there are more people going the opposite way faster. everything you want to look at and appreciate, a group of people with cameras push you out of the and block your path.
we went to the british museum today, full of ancient artifacts that don't belong to britain, but the brits won't give them back to Greece/Rome/Egypt/etc. some of it was really cool, but i couldn't get too interested because i was so irritated by all of the people. and the fact that everything in here would be better in its original context away from silly people taking pictures of everything (WITH FLASH!) and ignoring the 'do not touch' signs and not appreciating anything. i probably would have liked it more if there had been fewer people.
saw Into the Hoods today for our show. it was Incredible. an urbanized, hip hop dance paroday of Sondheim's Into the Woods. fairy tale characters from different stories interacting and realisng that happily ever after isn't always easy. that's the original. in the Hoods version, you have characters like spinderella and fairy gee and jaxx, etc. the music was from gorillaz, prince, black eyed peas, james brown, bob marley, etc. some swing, jazz, rock mixes too. the dancing was insane- so good, so energetic. all dialogue was prerecorded and it was narrated a bit. and it wasn't melancholy as sondheim. design was incredible, like only dance shows can be. check it out online, as well as ZooNation's website.
(tuesday) today was the victoria and albert museum- kind of a design type, made for others, casts of famous pieces, type of museum. there was some good stuff though. a lot of royal jewelry, sculptures, a cast of David, etc. sketched a beautiful statue of Eve. there was a lot to see and not much time to see it. oh well. i can come back if i really want to.
the show tonight was pygmalion- the show that the musical my fair lady was based off of. or if you've never heard of that- think pretty woman. it was pretty good, but not my favorite. higgins was too over-the-top. but eliza was incredible. design was simply functional. meh.
(wednesday) a free afternoon today, so me, elise, bekah, kailen, and hope went to see Les Miserrables. BEST EVER! it totally lived up to my expectations. there were some people we saw that i liked better than the original london cast. i'm glad that this cast didn't try to be that one. even though the set is pretty much set (and for good reason-cause it's awesome), the cast made it their own. eponine was my favorite, but gavrouche and little cosette were adorable, too. and jean valjean had some moments that made my heart swell with happiness b/c his voice was so surprisingly good. found an art supply store- it is amazing! (we went back today) Then we saw The Vortex. oh, Noel Coward. it took til the final act for me to decide that i liked it. it did have great lines, and great actors. i think it was the fact that i only liked one of the characters. or it could have been the roundabout way noel coward has of getting to the real story. again, design was functional. they made some decisions i didn't like, but i don't know why they made them either.
(thursday) tate britain today. all art made by british artists throughout history. some of it was boring portraits of aristocracy looking cross. but there was a lot of Turner, though, which is awesome. and the modern stuff was great. i was just so amazed at how much the modern art history class has changed my tastes in art. tate modern is still the best. oh, but while we were at the tate britain, a fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate the building. but there was no fire. don't know what happened, though. we weren't outside too long before they let us back in.
then we saw the good soul of szechuan by brecht. at it was very brecht. which means alienating the audience w/ jarring sounds and random songs and strangeness. it's kind of hard to explain... but it was very good. the water seller was the best- very very very good, in a delightfully insane, humorous, intense way.
food: a pancake cafe (nutella and bananas), hummus bros (3rd time!), indian (tandoori duck something and pashwari nan), wagamamma (japanese noodle dishes, lots of ginger).
okay so that's it. sorry to end ubruptly but we are going out to supper. don't know where yet. hopefully i'll be able to update again on sunday, with pics!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
excitingness!
okay, so the last real post ended just before The National Gallery and The Merry Widow.
(Wednesday) The Gallery was really good, got to see amazing art. the place is huge, you could spend a week there and probably not see everything. but i don't know that i could do that b/c it's not my favorite type of art. very little of it is actually from the movements i enjoy most- which is basically anything starting with impressionism. they did have Monet and van Gogh and Degas, Renoir, Pissaro, Picasso, etc. and it was all incredible to see. but most of the work before that is not my cup of tea, really. it's too representational, too realistic, too stiff. It doesn't leave much room for interpretation, and there's not enough expression in it. i know this doesn't apply to each piece, but as a whole, that's how i feel about it. it was a beautiful gallery, though, with decorated cloth on the walls. plus trafalgar square is gorgeous, with statues and fountains.
the merry widow was an operetta- which means it's like a musical (some dialogue between songs) but the music and singing are opera- which means it's hard to understand. they had the lyrics on an electronic sign thing, but then you had to keep looking back and forth, which got really annoying and i felt like i was missing a lot. the story was okay- fluff about aristocracy and their love affairs. it was kinda funny but most of the humor i think you had to be english to understand. but i ended up enjoying it by the second act, although i doubt i'll go to many operettas after this. designwise it was huge. the sets were grand staircases, lights were mostly functional, but the costumes were incredible! seriously, the budget must have been huge, to clothe that many people in such glorious dresses and suits, all period and beautiful.
walked back to vandon house today, passed big ben, parliament, and westminster abbey. also saw the london eye.
(Friday) the next day a top london theatre critic- Michael Billington- came and talked to us about being a theatre critic: what it's like, what you have to do, how to get there, etc. it was good to hear, even though i've no intention of getting into theatre after school. i was surprised by how personable he was, so polite and conversational. he didn't just talk at us. he listened to our questions, answered them fully, and then asked us questions. he gave us advice on what to see during our free weekend.
afterwards, i wandered around covent garden with hannah and sylvia, watched a few street performers but they weren't too interesting. checked out the market there. expensive, but they have some cool stuff. the best though was the guy who stopped us and asked if he could take our pictures. he was doing a photography piece where he had us write down our answer to the question, 'what do you think the world will be like in the future?' then he took our pics holding our answer, pulling together about 200 of these to form the letters asking the question. he was really interesting to talk to while we thought about our answers (mine was: 'hopefully better, but...').
we saw Small Change that night, and it was incredible! my favorite so far. a small personal found space (much better than the gold leaf and pink marble from the merry widow), only four actors- 2 mothers and their sons- neighbors. it's about the relationships of the mothers and the relationships of the sons, and occasionally of the relationships between mother and son. the script is so lyrical, when performed it was at times like a song, always like a poem. it was hard to understand at times b/c they had to represent themselves at different stages in life, it wasn't chronological, and there was a lot of ambiguity. but there is supposed to be. it's hard to explain, but i bought the script at intermission b/c it was so beautiful, so you'll all have too borrow it.
(Saturday) okay so here's the best part of the last couple of days---THE TATE MODERN! loved it loved it loved it! i could live there. this is where my type of art it- this is what i want to see. it's what i was most looking forward to and it definitely lived up to my expectations, even if some of the pieces i really wanted to see weren't there. jackson pollock made up for it. drew david you'll probably laugh, but i would have cried if pollock hadn't been there. i could have sat in front of that painting for hours. but there were more of his to look at, plus picasso, monet, richter, twobly, mondrian, francis bacon, giacometti and so so so many others! the building itself is as different from the national gallery as the paintings are. the outside looks like a factory- it was until about 10 yeas ago. there are still bits of factory left on this inside. plus the walls are all white, which works much better for such emotional pieces. best was being a nerd with tucker and inisha and freaking out about all of the names we knew and loved.
and it gets better- King Lear at the Globe as a groundling. an open air theatre, standing right in front of the stage (seriously, i was leaning on it. i could have touched the actors' shoes!) for 3 1/2 hours. it was painful after awhile, but we toughed it out. the show was pretty good, Lear was incredible, Goneril and Regan were perfectly diabolical, Edgar was gorgeous and amazing, especially during the fight scene. being outside was a bit distracting, and at times it was hard to hear. not all of the actors were up to par, but the main characters made up for it. and the traditional costumes were gorgeous.
(Sunday) today we went to church at St. Paul's Cathedral, part of the Curch of England. beautiful. the paintings on the ceiling are gold and sparkly and wonderful. not much stained glass, though. the service was long- full of hymns and liturgy and recitations, standing and sitting and more standing. plus the sermon and communion. but the boys' choir was lovely and it was interesting to experience a different tradition.
after that the day was ours. we came back to vandon house, tucker and i prepped for our preview of the show tomorrow, then we (tucker, hannah, sylvia, and i) headed off to Kensington Park to sketch. it took awhile to actually get to the sketching bit- there were artists showing and selling their work on the street outside it, so we had to ogle and comment and want them. then we stopped at the fountains for photos. then we had to find the statue of peter pan. then we sketched, and it was glorious. it felt good to sit in the grass and draw with pastels with friends. then we met up with cody and kelly randomly and we all went for supper.
speaking of supper, this is the amazingness i've had to eat in the past few days. some lunches have been from the grocery store b/c it's cheap, but i had thai (spicy panaeng curry), indian (lamb tikka mossala), gourmet burgers (jamaican with a mango and ginger sauce), and hummus twice (once with mushrooms and once with chicken). the hummus place is one of my favorites. it's not authentic anything, but it's hip and small and cool and tastey. mint and ginger lemonade or aloe vera juice to drink. a bowl of hummus with your choice topping. pitta bread. mmmm... that's where we had supper today, and it was awesome. the first time i went for lunch and the service was a bit different at supper. but it was really cool. we aren't sure exactly why, but we got free mint tea and a free dessert to share (delicious creme brulee type milk custard with date honey). it may have been b/c we were shorted one pitta bread, but we're not sure. we weren't going to complain!
so those are the main events that have been happening. other small things include jean trying to kill me by pullin me onto an elevator as the doors were closing and i got squished by the doors. there was a riot in the tube stations, b/c at midnight last night alcohol was no longer allowed on the tubes so of course everyone was drunk. some our group saw the riots and the police arresting people. happily i missed that, but the people i was with were on the tube with a bunch of drunks singing loudly. it was kinda funny. got irritated a few times with people, spending too much time with some of them i think. that's why i like meeting with others at different points.
gotta go, a few of us are going dancing! probably just gonna hang and NOT dance....
(Wednesday) The Gallery was really good, got to see amazing art. the place is huge, you could spend a week there and probably not see everything. but i don't know that i could do that b/c it's not my favorite type of art. very little of it is actually from the movements i enjoy most- which is basically anything starting with impressionism. they did have Monet and van Gogh and Degas, Renoir, Pissaro, Picasso, etc. and it was all incredible to see. but most of the work before that is not my cup of tea, really. it's too representational, too realistic, too stiff. It doesn't leave much room for interpretation, and there's not enough expression in it. i know this doesn't apply to each piece, but as a whole, that's how i feel about it. it was a beautiful gallery, though, with decorated cloth on the walls. plus trafalgar square is gorgeous, with statues and fountains.
the merry widow was an operetta- which means it's like a musical (some dialogue between songs) but the music and singing are opera- which means it's hard to understand. they had the lyrics on an electronic sign thing, but then you had to keep looking back and forth, which got really annoying and i felt like i was missing a lot. the story was okay- fluff about aristocracy and their love affairs. it was kinda funny but most of the humor i think you had to be english to understand. but i ended up enjoying it by the second act, although i doubt i'll go to many operettas after this. designwise it was huge. the sets were grand staircases, lights were mostly functional, but the costumes were incredible! seriously, the budget must have been huge, to clothe that many people in such glorious dresses and suits, all period and beautiful.
walked back to vandon house today, passed big ben, parliament, and westminster abbey. also saw the london eye.
(Friday) the next day a top london theatre critic- Michael Billington- came and talked to us about being a theatre critic: what it's like, what you have to do, how to get there, etc. it was good to hear, even though i've no intention of getting into theatre after school. i was surprised by how personable he was, so polite and conversational. he didn't just talk at us. he listened to our questions, answered them fully, and then asked us questions. he gave us advice on what to see during our free weekend.
afterwards, i wandered around covent garden with hannah and sylvia, watched a few street performers but they weren't too interesting. checked out the market there. expensive, but they have some cool stuff. the best though was the guy who stopped us and asked if he could take our pictures. he was doing a photography piece where he had us write down our answer to the question, 'what do you think the world will be like in the future?' then he took our pics holding our answer, pulling together about 200 of these to form the letters asking the question. he was really interesting to talk to while we thought about our answers (mine was: 'hopefully better, but...').
we saw Small Change that night, and it was incredible! my favorite so far. a small personal found space (much better than the gold leaf and pink marble from the merry widow), only four actors- 2 mothers and their sons- neighbors. it's about the relationships of the mothers and the relationships of the sons, and occasionally of the relationships between mother and son. the script is so lyrical, when performed it was at times like a song, always like a poem. it was hard to understand at times b/c they had to represent themselves at different stages in life, it wasn't chronological, and there was a lot of ambiguity. but there is supposed to be. it's hard to explain, but i bought the script at intermission b/c it was so beautiful, so you'll all have too borrow it.
(Saturday) okay so here's the best part of the last couple of days---THE TATE MODERN! loved it loved it loved it! i could live there. this is where my type of art it- this is what i want to see. it's what i was most looking forward to and it definitely lived up to my expectations, even if some of the pieces i really wanted to see weren't there. jackson pollock made up for it. drew david you'll probably laugh, but i would have cried if pollock hadn't been there. i could have sat in front of that painting for hours. but there were more of his to look at, plus picasso, monet, richter, twobly, mondrian, francis bacon, giacometti and so so so many others! the building itself is as different from the national gallery as the paintings are. the outside looks like a factory- it was until about 10 yeas ago. there are still bits of factory left on this inside. plus the walls are all white, which works much better for such emotional pieces. best was being a nerd with tucker and inisha and freaking out about all of the names we knew and loved.
and it gets better- King Lear at the Globe as a groundling. an open air theatre, standing right in front of the stage (seriously, i was leaning on it. i could have touched the actors' shoes!) for 3 1/2 hours. it was painful after awhile, but we toughed it out. the show was pretty good, Lear was incredible, Goneril and Regan were perfectly diabolical, Edgar was gorgeous and amazing, especially during the fight scene. being outside was a bit distracting, and at times it was hard to hear. not all of the actors were up to par, but the main characters made up for it. and the traditional costumes were gorgeous.
(Sunday) today we went to church at St. Paul's Cathedral, part of the Curch of England. beautiful. the paintings on the ceiling are gold and sparkly and wonderful. not much stained glass, though. the service was long- full of hymns and liturgy and recitations, standing and sitting and more standing. plus the sermon and communion. but the boys' choir was lovely and it was interesting to experience a different tradition.
after that the day was ours. we came back to vandon house, tucker and i prepped for our preview of the show tomorrow, then we (tucker, hannah, sylvia, and i) headed off to Kensington Park to sketch. it took awhile to actually get to the sketching bit- there were artists showing and selling their work on the street outside it, so we had to ogle and comment and want them. then we stopped at the fountains for photos. then we had to find the statue of peter pan. then we sketched, and it was glorious. it felt good to sit in the grass and draw with pastels with friends. then we met up with cody and kelly randomly and we all went for supper.
speaking of supper, this is the amazingness i've had to eat in the past few days. some lunches have been from the grocery store b/c it's cheap, but i had thai (spicy panaeng curry), indian (lamb tikka mossala), gourmet burgers (jamaican with a mango and ginger sauce), and hummus twice (once with mushrooms and once with chicken). the hummus place is one of my favorites. it's not authentic anything, but it's hip and small and cool and tastey. mint and ginger lemonade or aloe vera juice to drink. a bowl of hummus with your choice topping. pitta bread. mmmm... that's where we had supper today, and it was awesome. the first time i went for lunch and the service was a bit different at supper. but it was really cool. we aren't sure exactly why, but we got free mint tea and a free dessert to share (delicious creme brulee type milk custard with date honey). it may have been b/c we were shorted one pitta bread, but we're not sure. we weren't going to complain!
so those are the main events that have been happening. other small things include jean trying to kill me by pullin me onto an elevator as the doors were closing and i got squished by the doors. there was a riot in the tube stations, b/c at midnight last night alcohol was no longer allowed on the tubes so of course everyone was drunk. some our group saw the riots and the police arresting people. happily i missed that, but the people i was with were on the tube with a bunch of drunks singing loudly. it was kinda funny. got irritated a few times with people, spending too much time with some of them i think. that's why i like meeting with others at different points.
gotta go, a few of us are going dancing! probably just gonna hang and NOT dance....
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