Thank God for Shannon and her French skills. She will no doubt refute this as soon as I pass her the keyboard, but she is far too modest about her impressive foreign language abilities. Many a time I have stared blankly at some gent or other who has decided to accost me with rapid-fire French. At times like this it is quite lovely to have someone to close the language barrier and keep me from looking like a total dolt.
As Lauren said, I refuse to say that my French was spectacular, but I did okay. I think my Italian skills are much better so we'll have to compare after we go there. Anyway, Lauren and I have been having a fabulous time in Paris and have managed to survive so far. It has been so beautiful here; sunny and warm and wonderful. The first day we did a free walking tour as we tend to do in a new city. It wasn't the best we have ever experienced, but it helped us get our bearings in this huge city. We are staying in Montmartre which is in the quieter, northern part of Paris and is an easy Metro ride into the big city centre. Back to the tour...we saw the big sites like Notre Dame, the Seine river, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower bien sur (of course). However, it was the lesser known trivia that interested us. First there was the Artist's Bridge where there are artists (crazy logic I know), but more interesting are the locks that cover the iron railings. The theory is that you and your love buy a lock and lock it to the bridge and throw away the key into the river so that your love will stayed locked in Paris forever. Awwwwww.... The other fun fact was the French Institute which is a special group whose purpose is to preserve the French language, especially against English. Stupid English. So we heard the story about how they refused to accept that the French word for computer was going to be un computer and so came up with a new word, l'ordinature, which is what is used. They also have the fun task of deciding a word's gender since nouns are either masculine or feminine in French. After three months of debate, they decided the iPod is masculine.
Hay Hay Hay! Back again! What would an adventure in Paris be without a description of the food? Every morning the hostel provides us with croissants and many crepes have been ingested, mostly of the chocolate variety. Pan e fromage is a daily staple as it is cheap and everywhere. Why, I grabbed a cheese sandwich at a kiosk the other day on my way to the most amazing bookstore. Horrible segueway, but whatever. I'm tired. And writing on a French keyboard...which is difficult. Soooo...the bookstore. Right. It is GROOVY! It's called Shakespeare and Co. and sells only English books. It has played a prominent role in a few films and its charm lies in its complete individuality. There are books from floor to ceiling with ladders used to get at the particularly musty ones up top. Very reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, and I must say that I'd like to emulate Belle's example and start singing lovingly about the written word while swinging wildly about on a ladder. Anyhoo, there are random nooks and crannies that contain beds where aspiring artists are allowed to bunk for free. Way cool, huh? And in a fort-like area there is a typewriter for those overwhelmed by their creative muse. A piano available for anyone to play provides a perfect soundtrack to this lovely store.
Ze Eiffel Tower. Hoh hoh!! Shannon and I arrived at this incredible monument just as the sun was setting. This provided the perfect backdrop for overzealous picture taking as well as truly profound (and by that, I mean mundane) conversations. I was fully expecting Shannon to propose her love to me under the brilliant glow of the tower, but she forgot the ring. A sad night for me, no?
As a quick note to Lauren's comment, I would have proposed had we gone to the top of the Tower.
Yeah, right. You jilted me. It's fine. It's not like I'm hurt or anything...
Well then, you should have proposed to me. But no, I have to do all the work....like leading you around the city as the fearless leader once more.
Whatever Shannon. You're in the doghouse. We'll discuss our domestic issues later. Just talk about the museums, ok?
Fine. We went to four museums and got into all of them for free. Hells to the yes. This is because if you are between 16 and 25 and are a student in the European Union you get into museums free and we had our London student cards. Awesome. Anyway, we of course went to the Musée D'Orsay and the Louvre. The Musée D'Orsay is really cool as it used to be a train station and they just left it as it looked before and put some art on the walls and sculptures in the middle of the room. Lauren and I liked it because it is mostly Impressionists paintings, so Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, and Renoir. The Louvre was also really cool albeit enormous. We spent about 3 hours in there seeing the big masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory and the Rubens Room. Lauren dragged me to the Napolean apartments which were very pretty and also much quieter as they were far from the Mona Lisa.
However, our favorite museums were the two smaller museums we went to. The first was the Musée de Cluny which was by my insistance as it houses the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. I read a historical fiction book about them and have wanted to see them ever since. So I was hyperly excited while I'm sure Lauren was rolling her eyes at me. But she liked them too. There are 6 tapestries of the Lady and her Unicorn and although they were made in the 1400s, they are in wonderful condition and have always been kept together as a set. The first 5 depict the 5 senses while the 6th one is called Mon Seul Desire (My soul's desire) which is supposed to show the 6th sense, the sense of the heart and emotions. I loved loved loved them and Lauren loved that they were housed in an old monastary complete with secret, winding staircases. The last museum was Musée de l'Orangerie which was in a greenhouse in the Jardins des Tuileries behind the Louvre. It is known for having Monet's Waterlilly paintings (and it does) but it also has more Impressionist paintings that made us love this collection as much as we loved the Musée D'Orsay's collection.
Phew, this is a long post! If you're still reading, you get a gold star!
Perhaps my favourite part of France has been reveling in the Parisian atmosphere. I love walking along the bank of the Seine or sitting in one of the many gardens observing Parisians at large.
Today Shannon and I are off to Le Sacre Couer and the Moulin Rouge before taking a train to Amsterdam. Who knows what adventure this next locale will bring!
Lots of love,
Lauren and Shannon
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
London Goodbyes and New Adventures
Gosh, I cannot believe that I am leaving London today. While absolutely trembling with excitement about my European backpacking adventure, it will be hard to say good-bye to this wonderful city that I love.
In order to combat the overly-sentimental and misty-eyed rambling in which I am close to indulging, I will instead reminisce about my favourite adventures of the past two weeks:
1. Borough Market - LOVE IT! This market is covered, displays all sorts of deliciously amazing food and is the most reminiscent of the farmer's markets in Minnesota. Needless to say I felt right at home there, sampling all sorts of lovely fair before paying a pound for a roll of cheesy bread stuffed with roasted veggies. Deeelicious! It was one of the first truly fine days, and Alex and I soaked up the sun on our walk from the market to St. Paul's - stopping in a flower garden on the way to inhale the lovely scents.
2. St. Paul's Cathedral - Alex and I were crafty with this one. Not wanting to pay the heavy fee to get in, we told the ticket man we wished to attend mass. Which we did, of course, or else our guilt complexes would have plagued us mercilessly. After a short mass (one of the perks to the Anglican church) we strolled around the main area admiring the absolutely awe-inspiring mosaics before heading down into the crypt. The crypt, full of dead people as they are, was rather ironic as right near the tombs and effigies was a gift shop and cafe. You know, so you could have tea next to your favourite martyr and then promptly buy a commemorative postcard of the event.
3. Ain't Nothin' But the Blues Bar - Followed by our groupies, my chum Damien and I made our way to the Blues Bar for a little jam session at open mic night last Saturday. It was a crazy good time for me. Not only did I get to listen to some really great artists, but I got to test out my improvisational skills in a fairly low-pressure environment. It was definitely novel playing with poor posture, not having to analyze all 500 aspects of my technique at once and not having to worry about certain Romanian violin teachers screaming that I have no personality on my violin. I must say, I'm a fan. Although Damien and I agreed we didn't play our best we had a really good time, and it inspired me to perhaps do something similar in the States.
4. Frisbee in Hyde Park - Yup, all you doubters. Lauren played frisbee. Twice. And threw out her arm. Ah well. Having never really played before I was a bit nervous, but it is actually quite a fun game! And I found that I can throw equally as well with my left hand as with my right, which is to say, not well at all. When we got tired of frisbee we played a game of tag until we were so exhausted that we collapsed on the grass. It was another truly spectacular day and we enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and the embrace of the breeze. I must say, I'm beginning to understand why the British always talk about the weather. When it's nice out, it is such a rare occurrence that one can't help but to remark with great joy on the beauty of the day. When the weather is terrible, people feel inclined to mumble their complaints. So you see, this one socially-acceptable subject actually does make sense.
5. The British Library - On my way to said library I was accosted by the St. George's Day Parade (the patron saint of England) in the City of London. It was quite fun with the various regiments represented (and swoon-worthy!) and various lords and ladies attired in medieval clothing. I honestly don't know how they managed to get full-grown men into tunics, tights and armor, but they bore the humiliation well. Once safely ensconced in the library, I was in heaven! Gosh, I don't even know where to begin. Well, for starters, they had a new exhibition up about Chopin and among various items of interest were his death mask and a cast made of his hand. You will not believe this but his hands were as small as mine! They were tiny! As if to make up for their size, his nose exceeded all other noses in length...accept, perhaps, for Pinocchio. Among the musical manuscripts I viewed were works by Beethoven, Mozart, Vaughan Williams, Handel and the Beatles! The Beatles exhibit was especially groovy as they had assorted pieces of paper that John and Paul had scribbled their lyrics onto. I believe it was Ticket to Ride that John had composed on the back of Julian's one year birthday card. I began forcibly freaking out when I viewed the first published folio of Shakespeare's work, his supposed handwriting, an un-published story by a young Jane Austen, and Charlotte Bronte's early writings. To view their original script, and the books in which they wrote, to actually read (with difficulty) the very words which they had, themselves, penned was absolutely incredible. There was no shortage of treasures at the British Library, but with regret, I had to tear myself away after three hours.
As aforementioned, in a few hours time I will be embarking on the first leg of my adventure, Paris. While rather apprehensive about the language barrier, I was assured by a lovely couple in a pub the other night, that the French absolutely adore Americans. Having heard the contrary all my life, I suppose I shall just have to discover this for myself.
Posts will be as sporadic as they have been the past few weeks as internet access will be scarce. However, I will do my best to convey my adventures in a timely fashion.
Au revoir,
Lauren
In order to combat the overly-sentimental and misty-eyed rambling in which I am close to indulging, I will instead reminisce about my favourite adventures of the past two weeks:
1. Borough Market - LOVE IT! This market is covered, displays all sorts of deliciously amazing food and is the most reminiscent of the farmer's markets in Minnesota. Needless to say I felt right at home there, sampling all sorts of lovely fair before paying a pound for a roll of cheesy bread stuffed with roasted veggies. Deeelicious! It was one of the first truly fine days, and Alex and I soaked up the sun on our walk from the market to St. Paul's - stopping in a flower garden on the way to inhale the lovely scents.
2. St. Paul's Cathedral - Alex and I were crafty with this one. Not wanting to pay the heavy fee to get in, we told the ticket man we wished to attend mass. Which we did, of course, or else our guilt complexes would have plagued us mercilessly. After a short mass (one of the perks to the Anglican church) we strolled around the main area admiring the absolutely awe-inspiring mosaics before heading down into the crypt. The crypt, full of dead people as they are, was rather ironic as right near the tombs and effigies was a gift shop and cafe. You know, so you could have tea next to your favourite martyr and then promptly buy a commemorative postcard of the event.
3. Ain't Nothin' But the Blues Bar - Followed by our groupies, my chum Damien and I made our way to the Blues Bar for a little jam session at open mic night last Saturday. It was a crazy good time for me. Not only did I get to listen to some really great artists, but I got to test out my improvisational skills in a fairly low-pressure environment. It was definitely novel playing with poor posture, not having to analyze all 500 aspects of my technique at once and not having to worry about certain Romanian violin teachers screaming that I have no personality on my violin. I must say, I'm a fan. Although Damien and I agreed we didn't play our best we had a really good time, and it inspired me to perhaps do something similar in the States.
4. Frisbee in Hyde Park - Yup, all you doubters. Lauren played frisbee. Twice. And threw out her arm. Ah well. Having never really played before I was a bit nervous, but it is actually quite a fun game! And I found that I can throw equally as well with my left hand as with my right, which is to say, not well at all. When we got tired of frisbee we played a game of tag until we were so exhausted that we collapsed on the grass. It was another truly spectacular day and we enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and the embrace of the breeze. I must say, I'm beginning to understand why the British always talk about the weather. When it's nice out, it is such a rare occurrence that one can't help but to remark with great joy on the beauty of the day. When the weather is terrible, people feel inclined to mumble their complaints. So you see, this one socially-acceptable subject actually does make sense.
5. The British Library - On my way to said library I was accosted by the St. George's Day Parade (the patron saint of England) in the City of London. It was quite fun with the various regiments represented (and swoon-worthy!) and various lords and ladies attired in medieval clothing. I honestly don't know how they managed to get full-grown men into tunics, tights and armor, but they bore the humiliation well. Once safely ensconced in the library, I was in heaven! Gosh, I don't even know where to begin. Well, for starters, they had a new exhibition up about Chopin and among various items of interest were his death mask and a cast made of his hand. You will not believe this but his hands were as small as mine! They were tiny! As if to make up for their size, his nose exceeded all other noses in length...accept, perhaps, for Pinocchio. Among the musical manuscripts I viewed were works by Beethoven, Mozart, Vaughan Williams, Handel and the Beatles! The Beatles exhibit was especially groovy as they had assorted pieces of paper that John and Paul had scribbled their lyrics onto. I believe it was Ticket to Ride that John had composed on the back of Julian's one year birthday card. I began forcibly freaking out when I viewed the first published folio of Shakespeare's work, his supposed handwriting, an un-published story by a young Jane Austen, and Charlotte Bronte's early writings. To view their original script, and the books in which they wrote, to actually read (with difficulty) the very words which they had, themselves, penned was absolutely incredible. There was no shortage of treasures at the British Library, but with regret, I had to tear myself away after three hours.
As aforementioned, in a few hours time I will be embarking on the first leg of my adventure, Paris. While rather apprehensive about the language barrier, I was assured by a lovely couple in a pub the other night, that the French absolutely adore Americans. Having heard the contrary all my life, I suppose I shall just have to discover this for myself.
Posts will be as sporadic as they have been the past few weeks as internet access will be scarce. However, I will do my best to convey my adventures in a timely fashion.
Au revoir,
Lauren
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Edinburgh
So this past weekend, Lauren and I took the beautiful train ride up to Scotland and wandered about Edinburgh for a few days. The weather was absolutely gorgeous the entire time we were there. We went on a walking tour shortly after we arrived. I've decided that although this is a very touristy thing to do, it also extremely smart. We took one in Barcelona too and I also really liked that one. It is a great way to learn about the city you are staying in and both times I've done it, I've learned so much I never would have known otherwise. Plus, you know, they were free tours. Anyway, our tour guide was this Scottish guy about our age who was born and raised in Edinburgh and clearly knew a lot and really enjoyed telling us about it. He was very humorous. So we learned about how the Scottish hated the past English monarchs and how they took over Scotland anyway; we saw where Scottish people get knighted (including Sean Connery); we saw the cafe where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter and the school that was the inspiration for Hogwarts; and once again heard why the Scottish hate the English. Honestly, they have good reason for it. The tour provided Lauren and me a good list of places we wanted to visit over the weekend.
On Saturday, we were going to go on a tour of the highlands of Scotland that would have been about 12 hours of being in a van, but seeing all of the countryside and lakes and stuff. However, the driver was not nice when he heard that Lauren has problems with motion sickness. She had taken some medicine for it, but we could tell that he was not at all sympathetic and he basically talked us out of it. Although it probably would have been cool, I'm glad we didn't go because it was such a beautiful day, that it would have sucked being in a van hurdling along twisty roads for the entire day. Lauren and I had a much more relaxing day, but still packed full. We wandered around the city for awhile enjoying the sun. Edinburgh is not as big as I thought it was going to be and it was easy to figure out where we were. Especially because there is this giant castle right in the middle of the city that makes a pretty nice landmark. I now understand where Peter Jackson got the inspiration for Rohan because it honestly looks like it: a giant castle perched precariously upon a huge rocky, hill. Well, technically it is a dormant volcano. Anyway, Lauren and I paid the ridiculously overpriced ticket to go in and look around. We saw the crown jewels of the Scottish kings and the Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny has some good stories around it, so I will tell you about it. It is also known as the Coronation stone and the English stole it during the reign of Edward the Conqueror cause, you know, he liked to conquer. Anyway, the Scottish have always wanted it back, even though England and Scotland are now under the same monarch and the stone is placed under the throne any time a new monarch is crowned. So of course, some college kids in the 50s decided to steal it out of Westminster Abbey and believe it or not, they did it. They broke it, but they managed to get it into two Ford Anglias and across to Scotland. They ended up turning themselves in but couldn't be prosecuted for stealing because, get this, the court couldn't prove who owned it because England had stolen it originally. Ha. Irony. Anyway, Scotland got it back in 1996 when the Conservative government was trying to win the Scottish vote. It didn't work as Blair and his Labour government ended up giving them their own Parliament which was more appealing than the stone, but they got that too.
After that, we went to The Elephant House which is the cafe where JK Rowling started 
writing Harry Potter. She lived right above it and from the window you can see both the castle, but also this school that is pictured. The four turrets are supposedly the inspiration for the four houses of Hogwarts. There is also a graveyard behind the cafe and there are several names on gravestones that JK borrowed for her books including Potter, McGonagall (who was actually a really, really bad Scottish poet), Moodie, and, our favorite, Thomas Riddell (spelled differently, but still!). It was really fun wandering around the graveyard examining each one trying to find the names.
On Saturday, we were going to go on a tour of the highlands of Scotland that would have been about 12 hours of being in a van, but seeing all of the countryside and lakes and stuff. However, the driver was not nice when he heard that Lauren has problems with motion sickness. She had taken some medicine for it, but we could tell that he was not at all sympathetic and he basically talked us out of it. Although it probably would have been cool, I'm glad we didn't go because it was such a beautiful day, that it would have sucked being in a van hurdling along twisty roads for the entire day. Lauren and I had a much more relaxing day, but still packed full. We wandered around the city for awhile enjoying the sun. Edinburgh is not as big as I thought it was going to be and it was easy to figure out where we were. Especially because there is this giant castle right in the middle of the city that makes a pretty nice landmark. I now understand where Peter Jackson got the inspiration for Rohan because it honestly looks like it: a giant castle perched precariously upon a huge rocky, hill. Well, technically it is a dormant volcano. Anyway, Lauren and I paid the ridiculously overpriced ticket to go in and look around. We saw the crown jewels of the Scottish kings and the Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny has some good stories around it, so I will tell you about it. It is also known as the Coronation stone and the English stole it during the reign of Edward the Conqueror cause, you know, he liked to conquer. Anyway, the Scottish have always wanted it back, even though England and Scotland are now under the same monarch and the stone is placed under the throne any time a new monarch is crowned. So of course, some college kids in the 50s decided to steal it out of Westminster Abbey and believe it or not, they did it. They broke it, but they managed to get it into two Ford Anglias and across to Scotland. They ended up turning themselves in but couldn't be prosecuted for stealing because, get this, the court couldn't prove who owned it because England had stolen it originally. Ha. Irony. Anyway, Scotland got it back in 1996 when the Conservative government was trying to win the Scottish vote. It didn't work as Blair and his Labour government ended up giving them their own Parliament which was more appealing than the stone, but they got that too.After that, we went to The Elephant House which is the cafe where JK Rowling started 
writing Harry Potter. She lived right above it and from the window you can see both the castle, but also this school that is pictured. The four turrets are supposedly the inspiration for the four houses of Hogwarts. There is also a graveyard behind the cafe and there are several names on gravestones that JK borrowed for her books including Potter, McGonagall (who was actually a really, really bad Scottish poet), Moodie, and, our favorite, Thomas Riddell (spelled differently, but still!). It was really fun wandering around the graveyard examining each one trying to find the names.
We also hit up two museums: the Writers' Museum and the National Art Gallery. The Writers' Museum is dedicated to the great writers of Scotland: Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Robert Burns. Honestly, it wasn't the best museum I've ever been too, but still interesting as I didn't know a lot about any of the writers. The National Art Gallery was really good though. They had a great collection with a lot of Titian (who I especially love) but also a nice array of Impressionist paintings.
Overall, I liked Edinburgh, but it wasn't my favorite city ever. I definitely like London better and we are all getting extremely sad that we have less than two weeks left. However, Lauren and I have our Europe trip almost completely planned out and booked, and I'm so glad that I'll be coming back here this summer for my internship.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Bane of the Bard
Poor, poor Will. Shakespeare, that is. He would have committed a highly dramatic and eloquent suicide if he had watched the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Romeo and Juliet.
But let me start at the beginning.
Saturday last, Shannon, Alex and I journeyed forth to Stratford-Upon-Avon, which is known for being the home of one William Shakespeare. Upon arrival, we found our way from the train station, through the quaint town and down to the River Avon. As I walked through the village I truly felt that I was on the set of Shakespeare In Love...only there was no Bard hottie with a six pack rushing manically around. It appeared that some of the architecture from the 1500s still stands, adding to the antiquated air present in town. After reaching the end of the cobble-stoned street, we intrepid explorers started off onto the muddy path along the Avon. Many pictures were taken, ancient houses with miniscule doors were cooed over and a general sense of excitement pervaded the party. It must be said that Stratford is among the more cozy and homey villages I have visited thus far, and with the budding trees, the infant flowers, and the quaint vistas it seemed a charming locale in which to live. Never fear, dear reader - I promise not to set root there! Well...not yet.
But, I digress. As I was saying, we adventurous lot made our way down the Avon and ended up at the church in which darling Will's bones lie. Apparently the playwrite gave specific instructions against his bones being moved to Westminster Abbey...they were carved in his tombstone and were something to the effect of, "Whomsoever moves my bones shall be cursed." Ok, it was far more eloquent than that, and I do believe it rhymed...but that was the main sentiment expressed. Later, we walked back to town and saw Shakespeare's house, and the school he attended...needless to say there was much uncontained excitement in the form of clasped hands, gasps of delight and prancing in the streets.
And now most loyal reader, we reach the low point, the disaster, the eye-gouging pain if you will. A little background into the Views of Lauren would indicate an impatience for Romeo and Juliet in the first place. Romeo's emo and childish behavior as well as his fickle personality make me hard pressed to take him seriously or become emotionally attached to his well-being. While less annoying than her male counterpart, Juliet is the epitome of a naive teenager. Not only does she decide it would be a good idea to marry a boy a couple hours after making his acquaintance, but she adds to this stupidity by taking a roofie from a priest. Ummm....Juliet....darling? I know teenagers are supposed to make stupid mistakes, but yours are...well...they're fatal, now aren't they?
Despite my cynical views on "the greatest love story ever", I sat down in my seat expecting to see a great performance. My dahlings, it was horrendous. While some of the actors were truly abominable, I believe most of the performers would have done better had the direction been anywhere close to decent. At one point, the director felt it necessary to have the messenger sing his lines to Romeo in an extremely high and out of tune falsetto. Why, you ask? I don't know. I just don't know. After the initial shock wore off, I found it necessary to stuff my fist in my mouth to keep from loudly guffawing. As it was I was forcibly shaking with laughter. Now it wasn't going to do at all that the messenger should sing only once; oh no! He was called upon to do so again during the death scene. I must say that I never before envied Romeo and Juliet their deaths, but at that moment, I was a bit jealous.
Speaking of the deaths, they were so awkward I didn't know whether to cry with mortification or laugh outright. Alas, it did bring tears to my eyes, but for all the wrong reasons. Romeo felt compelled to drink his pint (yes, pint) of poison out of a water bottle that took a great while for him to chug - it rather ruined the intensity of the moment. He then proclaimed, "Thus, with a kiss, I die!" but he didn't kiss Juliet. Apparently the director felt that the need to match words with their indicated action was overrated and unnecessary. A brave choice on his part I must say. Then Juliet, not to be outdone, gave three long, piercing screams that ended with a gurgle as she stabbed herself, and collapsed in a truly Acting 101 fashion.
In conclusion, when a play is three hours long, and you catch yourself looking at your watch every two minutes, you come to realize that it doesn't hold much merit. Poor, dear Will. What did he do to deserve his art being butchered thus?
Tomorrow I am going to get massacred at my violin lesson so if you hear from me no more, it is because I have died a truly gruesome death - most likely by being impaled several times with my bow. If I survive, I'll regale you with my adventures in Edinburgh in my next post.
Anon!
Lauren
But let me start at the beginning.
Saturday last, Shannon, Alex and I journeyed forth to Stratford-Upon-Avon, which is known for being the home of one William Shakespeare. Upon arrival, we found our way from the train station, through the quaint town and down to the River Avon. As I walked through the village I truly felt that I was on the set of Shakespeare In Love...only there was no Bard hottie with a six pack rushing manically around. It appeared that some of the architecture from the 1500s still stands, adding to the antiquated air present in town. After reaching the end of the cobble-stoned street, we intrepid explorers started off onto the muddy path along the Avon. Many pictures were taken, ancient houses with miniscule doors were cooed over and a general sense of excitement pervaded the party. It must be said that Stratford is among the more cozy and homey villages I have visited thus far, and with the budding trees, the infant flowers, and the quaint vistas it seemed a charming locale in which to live. Never fear, dear reader - I promise not to set root there! Well...not yet.
But, I digress. As I was saying, we adventurous lot made our way down the Avon and ended up at the church in which darling Will's bones lie. Apparently the playwrite gave specific instructions against his bones being moved to Westminster Abbey...they were carved in his tombstone and were something to the effect of, "Whomsoever moves my bones shall be cursed." Ok, it was far more eloquent than that, and I do believe it rhymed...but that was the main sentiment expressed. Later, we walked back to town and saw Shakespeare's house, and the school he attended...needless to say there was much uncontained excitement in the form of clasped hands, gasps of delight and prancing in the streets.
And now most loyal reader, we reach the low point, the disaster, the eye-gouging pain if you will. A little background into the Views of Lauren would indicate an impatience for Romeo and Juliet in the first place. Romeo's emo and childish behavior as well as his fickle personality make me hard pressed to take him seriously or become emotionally attached to his well-being. While less annoying than her male counterpart, Juliet is the epitome of a naive teenager. Not only does she decide it would be a good idea to marry a boy a couple hours after making his acquaintance, but she adds to this stupidity by taking a roofie from a priest. Ummm....Juliet....darling? I know teenagers are supposed to make stupid mistakes, but yours are...well...they're fatal, now aren't they?
Despite my cynical views on "the greatest love story ever", I sat down in my seat expecting to see a great performance. My dahlings, it was horrendous. While some of the actors were truly abominable, I believe most of the performers would have done better had the direction been anywhere close to decent. At one point, the director felt it necessary to have the messenger sing his lines to Romeo in an extremely high and out of tune falsetto. Why, you ask? I don't know. I just don't know. After the initial shock wore off, I found it necessary to stuff my fist in my mouth to keep from loudly guffawing. As it was I was forcibly shaking with laughter. Now it wasn't going to do at all that the messenger should sing only once; oh no! He was called upon to do so again during the death scene. I must say that I never before envied Romeo and Juliet their deaths, but at that moment, I was a bit jealous.
Speaking of the deaths, they were so awkward I didn't know whether to cry with mortification or laugh outright. Alas, it did bring tears to my eyes, but for all the wrong reasons. Romeo felt compelled to drink his pint (yes, pint) of poison out of a water bottle that took a great while for him to chug - it rather ruined the intensity of the moment. He then proclaimed, "Thus, with a kiss, I die!" but he didn't kiss Juliet. Apparently the director felt that the need to match words with their indicated action was overrated and unnecessary. A brave choice on his part I must say. Then Juliet, not to be outdone, gave three long, piercing screams that ended with a gurgle as she stabbed herself, and collapsed in a truly Acting 101 fashion.
In conclusion, when a play is three hours long, and you catch yourself looking at your watch every two minutes, you come to realize that it doesn't hold much merit. Poor, dear Will. What did he do to deserve his art being butchered thus?
Tomorrow I am going to get massacred at my violin lesson so if you hear from me no more, it is because I have died a truly gruesome death - most likely by being impaled several times with my bow. If I survive, I'll regale you with my adventures in Edinburgh in my next post.
Anon!
Lauren
The Good, the Bad, and the Really, Really Ugly
The Good
So here is a catch up of what I did this past weekend divided into how much I liked each thing. On Thursday, our history class went to St. Paul's Cathedral. Amazing. It is so beautiful inside that I was just blown away. I also climbed to the top and got a good view of the city. Then, on Friday, my friend Alex, her friend Helen, and I got up early and went to stand in line for a Van Gogh exhibition. You heard correctly. We got up at 8 am so we could get to the Royal Academy of Arts and get in line for a ticket office that opened at 10 am. Now who says young people aren't cultured? We got there at 8:45 and were the fourth group in line. By 10 o'clock, there were at least 100 people standing in line. So we got in right away and went through the exhibition which featured many of Van Gogh's paintings, but also his letters that he wrote to his brother and his artist friends. It was a really good exhibition and I'm really glad we stood in line for it. After that, we went to Fortnum and Mason and I got a chocolate cupcake that was pretty good. We then went for lunch at a pub called Ye Grapes. Now, here's a fun fact about pubs in London: the newest and most posh thing for them to do is to have a Thai restaurant within their pub. I've been to a pub near my flat called The Churchill Arms a few times for Thai food, but we'd heard this place was better, so w decided to check it out. It was good, but not as good as the Churchill. Finally, Alex and I went to the Wallace Collection. It is a private collection of art in a fancy house. Rococo art plus a beautiful, well-furnished old house equals perfection in my eyes. It was a really cool collection.
The Bad
The weather here has been cold and rainy and we are about ready to kill anybody who tells us that it is 70 and sunny in the Midwest.
The Really, Really Ugly
On Saturday, Lauren, Alex, and I went to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. The town itself wasn't bad at all; we got some really good food and cake at the market, but we timed it wrong. We wanted to see a play of course, but to see an evening show means staying the night as there is no train that late at night. However, since it was Easter weekend, no one was booking for just one night. So we saw the matinee of Romeo and Juliet (which I will get to). This meant that the play was from 1-4:15 so by the time it was over, most of the attractions and stores and such were closed. We did see Shakespeare's grave and the outside of his house where he was born, but that was kind of it.
Now, the play. I don't even know where to start except to say it was just awful. I was so disappointed because I'd really been hoping that the Royal Shakespeare Company's version of Romeo and Juliet was going to be awesome. Unfortunately because they are so famous, I think they are expected to try new things and new concepts which is fair because if the RSC performed Romeo and Juliet the same way as it has always been played, they would probably get a lot of crap for it. Instead, they tried something new and I'm going to give it a crap review. It wasn't one of those plays where you could say, "Well, if only Romeo had been a bit better it would have been okay," EVERYTHING was wrong and bad. The directing, the costumes, the staging, and the acting. I don't think any of the lines were cut, not even speeches that are traditionally cut, so the play was really long. The director decided to put Romeo and Juliet in modern day dress (jeans, sweatshirts, and Converse) while everyone else was in Elizabethan attire. Lauren, Alex, and I put our heads together about this and decided that the director was going for a "they were ahead of their time" thing because at the end, everyone comes out in modern clothes. So everyone around R&J was so stuck in their ways that they seemed Elizabethan while R&J's love was modern. Right, because a 14 year old girl marrying some twenty-something year old would be totally accepted now a days. Please. Anyway, the acting was not good either. R&J barely looked at each other when they were talking to one another, let alone touch. Benvolio, Romeo's best friend, was one of the worst actors I've seen. And Mercutio. Oh my God, I don't even know what to say about him. To be fair, it was mostly the director's fault, because they decided to take him in a really perverse direction. Mercutio is the comedy in the play and is known for making some not very discreet speeches about love and sex. There was NOTHING discreet about his speeches in this version. I won't describe to you what he did because I do not wish to scar any of you and to be honest, I was cringing and not watching half of it and really really hoping that the young children in the audience were not getting it at all. Mercutio is one of the best parts of R&J for me, but in this version, I was literally thinking "Thank God he dies soon." The only redeeming factor was that the Friar and the Prince were both pretty good, but they have relatively small parts. So, really disappointing. :(
So here is a catch up of what I did this past weekend divided into how much I liked each thing. On Thursday, our history class went to St. Paul's Cathedral. Amazing. It is so beautiful inside that I was just blown away. I also climbed to the top and got a good view of the city. Then, on Friday, my friend Alex, her friend Helen, and I got up early and went to stand in line for a Van Gogh exhibition. You heard correctly. We got up at 8 am so we could get to the Royal Academy of Arts and get in line for a ticket office that opened at 10 am. Now who says young people aren't cultured? We got there at 8:45 and were the fourth group in line. By 10 o'clock, there were at least 100 people standing in line. So we got in right away and went through the exhibition which featured many of Van Gogh's paintings, but also his letters that he wrote to his brother and his artist friends. It was a really good exhibition and I'm really glad we stood in line for it. After that, we went to Fortnum and Mason and I got a chocolate cupcake that was pretty good. We then went for lunch at a pub called Ye Grapes. Now, here's a fun fact about pubs in London: the newest and most posh thing for them to do is to have a Thai restaurant within their pub. I've been to a pub near my flat called The Churchill Arms a few times for Thai food, but we'd heard this place was better, so w decided to check it out. It was good, but not as good as the Churchill. Finally, Alex and I went to the Wallace Collection. It is a private collection of art in a fancy house. Rococo art plus a beautiful, well-furnished old house equals perfection in my eyes. It was a really cool collection.
The Bad
The weather here has been cold and rainy and we are about ready to kill anybody who tells us that it is 70 and sunny in the Midwest.
The Really, Really Ugly
On Saturday, Lauren, Alex, and I went to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. The town itself wasn't bad at all; we got some really good food and cake at the market, but we timed it wrong. We wanted to see a play of course, but to see an evening show means staying the night as there is no train that late at night. However, since it was Easter weekend, no one was booking for just one night. So we saw the matinee of Romeo and Juliet (which I will get to). This meant that the play was from 1-4:15 so by the time it was over, most of the attractions and stores and such were closed. We did see Shakespeare's grave and the outside of his house where he was born, but that was kind of it.
Now, the play. I don't even know where to start except to say it was just awful. I was so disappointed because I'd really been hoping that the Royal Shakespeare Company's version of Romeo and Juliet was going to be awesome. Unfortunately because they are so famous, I think they are expected to try new things and new concepts which is fair because if the RSC performed Romeo and Juliet the same way as it has always been played, they would probably get a lot of crap for it. Instead, they tried something new and I'm going to give it a crap review. It wasn't one of those plays where you could say, "Well, if only Romeo had been a bit better it would have been okay," EVERYTHING was wrong and bad. The directing, the costumes, the staging, and the acting. I don't think any of the lines were cut, not even speeches that are traditionally cut, so the play was really long. The director decided to put Romeo and Juliet in modern day dress (jeans, sweatshirts, and Converse) while everyone else was in Elizabethan attire. Lauren, Alex, and I put our heads together about this and decided that the director was going for a "they were ahead of their time" thing because at the end, everyone comes out in modern clothes. So everyone around R&J was so stuck in their ways that they seemed Elizabethan while R&J's love was modern. Right, because a 14 year old girl marrying some twenty-something year old would be totally accepted now a days. Please. Anyway, the acting was not good either. R&J barely looked at each other when they were talking to one another, let alone touch. Benvolio, Romeo's best friend, was one of the worst actors I've seen. And Mercutio. Oh my God, I don't even know what to say about him. To be fair, it was mostly the director's fault, because they decided to take him in a really perverse direction. Mercutio is the comedy in the play and is known for making some not very discreet speeches about love and sex. There was NOTHING discreet about his speeches in this version. I won't describe to you what he did because I do not wish to scar any of you and to be honest, I was cringing and not watching half of it and really really hoping that the young children in the audience were not getting it at all. Mercutio is one of the best parts of R&J for me, but in this version, I was literally thinking "Thank God he dies soon." The only redeeming factor was that the Friar and the Prince were both pretty good, but they have relatively small parts. So, really disappointing. :(
one experience with the NHS
So I've been sick recently, and decided that I did not care to be so for the remaining 3 weeks of the semester. I went to the local walk-in clinic to get some answers, and hopefully some really good drugs.
After getting really lost, I ended up waiting for my nurse for about half an hour. He was nice, though a bit harried. He took my information really quickly, and sent me back to the waiting room. After waiting for another half hour or so, the doctor called me in. He asked a lot of questions, and did a basic examination. I thought that, given the amount of time and the number of patients he had, he was very thorough and did not try to rush me out. He ended up giving me a prescription, which could be filled at any chemist's.
Getting my medicine was really easy. There is a Boots (which is like a Walgreens) on most every street, and I walked to the nearest one and showed my prescription. The guy said I didn't need the exact number on the prescription, and I could have more or less depending on how much I wanted to spend and how bad I thought my pain was. Getting my drugs was really easy, and I get the feeling that if you know what you need, you talk to the chemist and they will give it to you. Obviously the good stuff (Vicodin and whatnot) is much more controlled, but for really basic things, it's really straightforward. It's a nice change from "you get three months of pills every three months. It's only been 2 months 3 weeks, so no pills for you".
Overall, I had to pay for the Tube ride there and back, and my pills. No copays, no insurance cards, no anxiety that I'll have to forgo groceries. I liked dealing with the NHS, for sure.
After getting really lost, I ended up waiting for my nurse for about half an hour. He was nice, though a bit harried. He took my information really quickly, and sent me back to the waiting room. After waiting for another half hour or so, the doctor called me in. He asked a lot of questions, and did a basic examination. I thought that, given the amount of time and the number of patients he had, he was very thorough and did not try to rush me out. He ended up giving me a prescription, which could be filled at any chemist's.
Getting my medicine was really easy. There is a Boots (which is like a Walgreens) on most every street, and I walked to the nearest one and showed my prescription. The guy said I didn't need the exact number on the prescription, and I could have more or less depending on how much I wanted to spend and how bad I thought my pain was. Getting my drugs was really easy, and I get the feeling that if you know what you need, you talk to the chemist and they will give it to you. Obviously the good stuff (Vicodin and whatnot) is much more controlled, but for really basic things, it's really straightforward. It's a nice change from "you get three months of pills every three months. It's only been 2 months 3 weeks, so no pills for you".
Overall, I had to pay for the Tube ride there and back, and my pills. No copays, no insurance cards, no anxiety that I'll have to forgo groceries. I liked dealing with the NHS, for sure.
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