Well, I made it. And by not writing about my adventures every day, they have piled up. I keep telling my roommates that I feel like I'm on a one week vacation and I have to get EVERYTHING done as soon as possible. Of course that's not the case, but by treating it as such, I've seen and done bunches!
My first day (after sleeping for three hours on the plane ride because my neighbor decided to watch Anchorman 2 and was laughing the whole time), I arrived at LHR at 6:30 am to meet Tim and get my Oyster Card to ride the tube. I felt so ignorant on the train. I sat down and put my HUGE suitcase right in front of me before realizing ten minutes later I was supposed to put it by the door. Luckily with it being so early and not having to travel through the heart of London, no one was really on the train but me and a few businessmen. I got off at Gloucester Station as Tim told me, met up with Jane, and Mandy took me to the flat.
I was the first roommate to check in so after unpacking and taking the bed of my choice (the top bunk obvs), I knew I needed to find something to do before jet lag hit me full force. Luckily, I didn't have to think too hard since I had made a list. ;)
Kensington Gardens is literally right across the street to the north of our flat. I thought I would take a quick stroll for an hour tops before going back to the flat, but every time I walked towards something, something else would appear on the horizon and I knew I HAD to see that next. Eventually I ended up at the Italian Gardens, found a bench, and wrote in my journal. I then walked to Hyde Park, just south of Kensington Gardens, to visit the Princess of Wales Fountain. Long story short, I ended up walking around the parks for two and a half hours.
When I went back to the flat, both Abby and Amanda were unpacking. When they finished, we went out to get lunch at Sandwich world and ate in the park (Kensington Gardens). Basically, Amanda and I stayed at the park until 5 to keep active and avoid feeling the exhaustion. At five we had a meeting with our RA and then Tim and Jane took us on a walking tour of Westminster. We saw the Houses of Parliament, the London eye, Westminster Abbey, Green and St. James Royal Parks, and even Buckingham Palace. We ended our trip at Fortnum and Mason. It was very fun, but too much walking when you're jet lagged!
Our second day, after sleeping 12 hours) Amanda and I went grocery shopping and then to brunch on our way to Little Venice for Canalway Cavalcade. I got some ice cream and flake (which tastes like whipped cream to me) and we saw all the decorated boats (we even watched a bit of a boat maneuvering competition.) Eventually, we made our way down to the more carnival side of the festival and watched a mime, who was great fun.
Monday we spent the whole day at Kew Gardens. I didn't know if it would be a long visit since I didn't know how large it was or how much there would be to do or see. Let me tell you. There is PLENTY to do and MORE THAN PLENTY to see. We spent two hours alone in the Kew Palace area. The whole place was incredible, especially for a flower lover like me!
Yesterday was our first day of class. We spent the whole class talking about contemporary drama since we had our first show today. Once class was over, Lizzie, Emma, Kaleigh and I went on a Sherlock geek round. We basically started at 221B Baker Street and took the circle line around London stopping at famous filming locations for the show including their version of 221B and St. Barts Hospital. We even saw the Sherlock phone booth where fans left messages to Sherlock and John and even Moriarty. It was mainly for after season 2, but since the release of season 3, most of the messages were funny quotes.
Today's adventures started with a trip to the Phoenix theatre to get student priced day tickets to Once (basically to get the cheapest seats for the night performance you go to the theatre the day of). The lady kindly informed us that they don't do student tickets, but we could get tickets for the near to back row of the balcony for 20 pounds. OR after apologizing that the front row was sold out, she told us we could get sixth row tickets for 25 pounds.
So, with our sixth row tickets in hand, we headed back through the tube to our first performance of the day. We attended The Believers at The Tricycle Theatre. It was a short 70 minute show with no intermission and we got to do a talk back with the actors afterwards. It was a pretty scary show. I read a review right before we went in that it was the scariest show since Woman in Black opened. We get to discuss it in class tomorrow, which I'm excited for because it was indeed scary, but it also didn't make a ton of sense.
After a short dinner break back at the flat, we headed back to the Phoenix for Once. We were a tad late for the pre-show, which was practically just an Irish rock concert and AWESOME (they also sold drinks on the stage / set bar)! The whole thing was just beautiful. All of the actors were fantastic including Arthur Darvil (naturally). I think Once may be my favorite musical I've ever seen live. I've been such a cheapskate this week, but as soon as the show was over (and I was almost done crying), I knew I had to buy a shirt or something. I ended up with a scarf. And I love it.
Heaven knows how many hours I spent on public transportation today. I'm exhausted! Class in the morning means bed for me now!
I'll try to keep up better.
~Jamie
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