National War Museum && War Horse

The national war museum is home to some of the greatest world war I & II artifacts.  They have relics ranging from clothing to tanks.  They even have a model of the atomic bomb dropped on Japan in WWII on leave from the United States.

One very interesting exhibit is the Life at Home exhibit.  It is dedicated to showing the life of those who where here in England during WWII.  I has on display house and replicas of the Anderson forts (small bomb shelters) that were built to protect people.  It has old videos about how to put out fire bombs and put on gas masks.  It is an amazing exhibit.

Just up stairs is the Holocaust exhibit. It follows the time line of Hitlers reign.  It was very unsettling and amazing what they did.  Two of the most interesting points that i found were first, the superstitions that surrounded the Jews in all countries, second, the pseudo science of dominant race that permeated every country including the United States.  The Jews were believed to practice magic and performed all kinds of dark rituals including child bleeding.  This just gave an insight as to how a nation could easily turn on the Jews.  They had a pseudo science of measuring eye color, head size, extra to determine if one was of a good design and should be allowed to procreate.  There were even restrictive laws in the states.  It is no wonder then how Hitler came up with some of these ideas and just carried them off the cliff.

After the War Museum we went to War Horse that night.  This is a great production about the horrors of war through the eyes a horse and his boy.  It shows some of the tension world war I cause and how it really was a stupid war.  The hall mark of this play is the main character(the horse) is played as a three man puppet, which is all-together captivating.  In the end, though separated and changing sides, the horse and his boy finally meet up and return safely home.  It was a great production.

A Walk and a Play

Mrs. Dalloway is one of the most interesting novels that i have ever attempted to read.  It is written in a completely different style of writing which take some work to understand.  The novel is set here in London and through out the book she walks through part of it.  Yesterday we retraced Mrs. Dalloway's steps through London.  That walk is one of the most beautiful walks and take one through a beautiful part of London.

After we went to the Prince of Pagotus which is an amazing mix between Kind Lear and The Princess and the Frog.  It was an amazing ballet.  The performers were truly out of this world.  It was quality that one only sees in the movies and set in a venue that one only sees in the movies.  It was a glorious theater.

Diamond Jubilee Mon/Tue

Monday night found us in Hyde park watching what was intended to be one of the greatest concerts of the year.  Indeed i haven't seen anything like it.  They had hit stars for two hours solid.  Each star however would only sing one maybe two songs, so you can look up the line up.  It was a fun atmoshpere as people from all over came to be together and to celebrate with the Queen.

Tuesday was one of the most interesting history classes that i have sat in...we covered WWI.  There is something completely different about covering WWI and WWII while in Briton.  These street still echo with monuments and memories from these times.  After class lead us to the Churchill War Rooms, were Churchill and leaders lead the war efforts during WWII.  This was a top secret building full of phones maps and left just as it was in ~1945.  When the war ended they literary just left everything and locked the door and so what is there is riveting to see.

We then headed home and thanks to Matt Mason enjoyed traditional English scones with jam and curdled cream.  While eating we watched the Queens parade on TV. I felt very English.

Latter that night found us and the Queen's favorite play War Horse. The horses in the play are created using puppets and they did an amazing job.  The play was fascinating and moving.

Diamond Jubilee Sat/Sun

Welcome to Briton's 4th of July: the Diamond Jubilee--the 4th being celebrated around American independence and the Jubilee around the monarch.   I tell you want i thought Americans were proud--the English have had hundreds of year more practice!  But seeing all this festival had been so much fun!--it's a great time to be in the UK.  However, seeing all this country pride has made me burn to see my flag and country.

Saturday began in Jubilee style: we went down to Borough Market for a picnic.  I got an amazing chicken sandwich, traditional soda bread, cheese, raspberries, amazing pastries, and Turkish delight (rose and pistachio flavored) -- it was all to die for!  Borough market is amazing!

After the market we headed down to Forbidden Planet which in essence is the biggest geek store in all of London.  They specialize in anything geeky, such as movie paraphernalia, comic books, figurines, and anything dealing with a movie.  They have Harry Potter wands, cards, and Doctorwho muffin tins, it was crazy.


The Kaylee and I headed down to the Diamond Jubilee celebration at the Royal Albert Hall--this was something that i will never forget!  It was in one of Briton's iconic building, one that has deep ties to them as a country because of the monarch it was build after, and it was a complete celebration of what is Briton.  They played some of my all time favorite songs with a glorious choir, a celestial orchestra, a golden soloist, and an majestic organ, with a full visual component (They used the center lighting facilities to their fullest extend).




They played: Fantasia on Greensleeves, Nimrod (Wow, i had chills all over!), Danny Boy, The White Cliffs of Dover, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Hallelujah Chorus, Bring Him Home, Sailing By, Abide With Me, Amazing Grace, We'll Meet Again, By the Sleepy Lagoon, You'll Never Walk Alone, and Rule Britannia!

There were stunning bag pipes, guest military wive women, and every audience member had a British flag they were waving the entire time.  Some of my favorite moments:  when the director surprised the audience with his British flag inner vest, the directors bejeweled directors coat with flag on back, his fat jokes (came when he tried to race the  audience with his orchestra), and the amazing light show with Rule, Britannia!  It was amazing--i hope they have something like this for the 4th it would be unforgettable.  It was also fun because i sat next to a British man that shared some fun stories about meeting the Queen and going to her garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Sunday came with its usual: i taught the Teacher quorum and i think it went very well.  After we tried to go see the barges floating down the Thames.  We got off at Embankment and were headed like cattle up away from the river to the main street.  Ended up being headed again across Waterloo bridge, one in which they closed and after being trampled on we headed back to the center and just watched it on TV ;)

Kew Gardens

Almost all of yesterday was spent touring Kew gardens, i would swear that the gardens are about the size of Blackfoot itself...ok, maybe not that big--but pretty close!  Kew is the worlds largest botanical garden and holds the worlds largest glass house.  They have gardens ranging from desert to tropical rain forest.  It was truly a sight to behold.  We arrived at Kew at ~10 and left about 1 and only saw about a quarter of it.  It was so amazing.  My favorite part of the gardens was the pond in the middle of the garden.  It was a beautiful pond with a bridge in which one can cross.  Just up from the pond is a tree walk which was also my favorite part.

After Kew we headed home for a couple of hours.  On the way home we passed the coolest little bread stand and bought a loft of bread and an apple fold.  The best apple fold and bread i have ever had!! I love London.

We then headed over to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe in Hyde park.  The play was set up in a tent, much like circus with a round stage in the center.  They had amazing sound and used the top part of the tent as a projection screen to help depict the changing areas.  It was an amazing performance!  My favorite part of the show was the way they depicted trees, they had actors on stage on huge stilts and acrobats flying from the ceiling.  It was really cool.  Aslan was a three person puppet, which was extremely well done.  It was a great performance.

Tired of London

A man who is tired of London is tired of life! That is so true, the more i'm here the more i have done, the more i do the more i realize i haven't done and yet want to do! This is one of the coolest cities, with an unlimited amount of stuff to do!

Yesterday began with an amazing adventure.  This has been interesting to travel unscripted in London it is the first real time that i have been in charge of traveling and making things work.  Because up till now i have always just deepened on someone else, but now its just up to me.  So yesterday we took off on an hour trip to Windsor castle.  The tube was nothing new but the train was a new experience on our own.  There is nothing more fun that a majestic adventure on train.  We bought tickets and within a few moments after eight we were on are way across the majestic country side of Briton.  If you want to know how it felt: think rolling hill, all green with lush dark trees, majestic rivers, old ancient towns, ocean, and a sparse fog: then through a lulling rocking rail car picture Hogwarts up on the hill.  It was amazing.

We spent the entire morning in Windsor.  It had amazing brick walls with a small town almost inside.  We went through St. George Cathedral with its amazingly painted organ, and bold vaulted walls.  Here is buried Charles I, Henry VIII, his wife Catherine, and more.  The choir held a dazzling display of wood work and craftsmanship.

After touring the cathedral we watched the changing of the guard and saw the doll house.  This is a huge doll house that hold an unreal amount of detail, including working pluming and lighting.  After the doll house we saw and exhibit of photographs of the queen--which reminded me of my grandma.

After wondering for a few minutes we toured the state rooms of the castle.  They were as grand as ever with the most impressive being the grand hall--impressive just because of its size and the fact it was filled with amazing portrait of everyone that fought during the victory of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.  Also of a grand nature was the Knights hall were a table of over 168 people is place for royal dinners.  It was an amazing castle for sure.

Finishing with the castle we got lunch at Eat and then walked around the town.  It too was filled with amazing shops down every street.  After we headed back home.

Once in London we toured the Soane museum, which is a very crazy house of a very exotic collector.  He collected all kinds of crazy things stuck them in his house and then when he died they turned it into a museum.  Crazy!

We then came home got some dinner and headed back out to see Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  It was an amazing play because of the theater. The theater is in the east end of London literally under a rail road.  The audience is only about 30-40 and you site almost literally in the stage with the pit right next to you.  One of my favorite numbers was 'if someone like you found someone like me'.  The girl who sang this was amazing! Another one of my most favorite part was the war between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, they used choreography with mirrors and an amazing song.  You could tell which one he was playing just by looking at him, no the less the dialog.  It was awesome.

And with all good nights it ended with ice cream.

Just a great Day!

Well after one crazy day of class it was free for all the city of London.

We raced out of the door to visit a couple amazing museums just in our back yard, the Victoria and Albert museum and the National History Museum.  The V&A had artifacts from all over the world, some of my most favorite pieces were the Greek and Roman sculptures.  They had a little bit of everything.  One of the most interesting parts of this museum is in the fact the very building that it is build in, it is a great mansion and castle.  It is truly as beautiful as everything that is housed there in.

After at the National History Museum we saw an amazing display about the earth and the changes that it has experienced since the dawn of time.  There were all kinds of informational exhibits from the earths core, to volcanoes, to earth quakes, and what causes each and how they work.  They also had an extensive collection of minerals and rocks that are found in the earth.  One interesting display was a 237 caret diamond.  They also had an extensive exhibit of dinosaurs. Located in the museum is also an amazing exhibit about the Charles Darwin research lab that is on site.  Over all it was way cool.


We ended up outside headed toward Leicester Square to get tickets for the opera Madam Butterfly.  On the way there we got caught in the most torrential rain storm i have seen.  It wasn't raining that fast but the rain drops were the size of ice cubes.  I was soaked in seconds.  It was so cool!!

After getting socked we ended up at Leicester Square.  There we got tickets and wandered around the area looking for a good place to eat.  I have never seen a cooler place!  Amazing shops line the streets!  We decided to eat at a little pizza place called Pizza Express, it really was a lot of fun!  However, i thought i was going to die from heat stroke as i changed into pants and shoes in the bathroom in order to get ready for the opera.  The pizza was great, it reminded me a lot of California pizza kitchen.

After dinner we continued to wonder around the area.  We found the theater and movie theater square.  It was so cool.  There in the square is a tribute to the freedom of the people give by Shakespeare and his memory.  In the same square is the coolest M&M shop i have ever seen.  You can get anything with M&Ms on it!  We also saw the red carpet for the movie premier of ILL.  We wondered all through the area through shops and gift shops and stores.  It was a lot of fun.



We then finished the night with Madam Butterfly.  It the coolest theater i have ever seen.  It was dedicated to the Coliseum.  It was rich, red, ornate, and beautiful.  The play and music were amazing!  It was a deeply interesting play about an Americans affair in the culture of Japan. The themes were love, loyalty, tradition, religion, honor, and hypocrisy.  One of the most interesting moments is when she blind folds her ~5year old son, he stands a little ways off, and she with her father's ceremonial and sacrificial blade kills herself as her son hold up the American flag and her cheating 'husband' comes over the hill just in time to see her last breath.  It was a interesting moment, statement...as if to say the American dream, with its freedom: has killed her and her culture.  And it has done so blindly, ignorantly.  It was a powerful moment, and over all the singing was amazing, these actors filled the whole stage and the pit with their voices.

A Couple of HighLights

Well i'm a little behind on the whole journal thing, a week without internet will do that to you.  But i will get the rest of the lake district up soon.  There was too much there!

Changing of the Guard
   On Saturday we went to changing of the guard.  We got there way early, like and hour and a half, but the lines were already beginning to form out side of the gates.  I met two awesome ladies right next to the fence and began talking with them.  They were form the states as well.  We became friends and i ended up sitting next to them the whole time.

The guard came in, in all their glory, and style.  It was truly fun to behold.  However, my favorite part of the entire ritual was when they stood just in front of us and performed some amazing musical numbers.  Most of the numbers were popular pieces.  My favorite number was the Imperial March there is just nothing like watching the British guard play the Imperial March.  It just one of those things!




Wicked
   This show hold my favorite musical number yet!  Wow! Talk about blow your socks off!!!  Both of the two main stars of the show were out of this world deva! The sound would almost pin you to the back of your seat! There were no show stopper or regrets!!  So my favorite musical number of all time Defying Gravity!!  One of the fun notes, half way through the show we noticed that there were seats further up on the balcony that were unoccupied so after intermission we moved up.  That is the first time that i have done that but i highly recommend it!

One of the cool things as well was to watch all of the girls come out of the theater crying, its just fun and moving to see those around you so moved and so touched.

I must admit i truly love London and the longer i'm here the more i realize the more there is to see.  Just when you think you have seen it all you turn a corner and there is something even more grand that blows your socks off.  Truly a man who is tired of London is tired of life!

Lake District Day Two

I woke up to a knock on my door...i had agreed to go with Jared to the lake and see the ruins, but i slept in.  In a flash however i found myself ready and at the lake with Jared.  We wandered around and watched the sun continue to rise over the water, the view was truly breath taking, but i must admit i wish i had had my boat and water ski!  

By 8 we were back at the B&B for some poached eggs and toast and then met up with our group at the river house.  We then proceeded to hike up to one of the tallest mountains in the area.  The walk was glorious the entire way and so HOT.  Once on top we enjoyed the view from three amazing summits.  The final summit was my favorite as it looked out over the entire lake.  The is no view quite like it!  Trent and i talked about how for our honey moon we would like to come up there and camp on the side of the mountain and then be up to watch the sun rise.  While on the mountain we read some of William Wordsworth's most famous poems, it was a time always to be remembered and never to be forgotten.

After the hike we took a few minutes for lunch, i on the other hand bought some shorts and sandles instead, i can't tell you how hot i was.  I wore those shorts the rest of the trip!  After lunch we headed off for a night at Dove Cottage.  It was a small quaint little home.  The history so exciting that at one time it used to be a pub.  However this little cottage head one amazing view of the lake and hill side.  One of the man features of this cottage is the garden in the back, with the gardens culmination being a wooden bench at the very time over looking the area.

After touring the Cottage we went over to the Cottage Library and handled some of the earliest copies of Wordsworth's works.  Including the 1st edition of his poetry and the 1st edition of Frankenstein. We also read some of Wordsworth letters and so forth.  It was really a cool experience.  While there a bought a book of his poetry and read it through out the trip make notes of all the places i was when i read them in the book.

Then we took off across town a little ways and visited Wordsworth's grave and church.

Getting back to Dove Cottage we enjoyed dinner there in his home.  It was one of his known dishes with real lemonaid.  It was a great dinner.  After dinner we headed back to Ambleside and i found a great new foot path through the middle of Ambleside that lead down to the lake.  It was another great night at the lake. While at the lake i heard a loud group across the way...i thought they were a bunch of drunks because of how crazy and loud they were being...turns out it was our group...go figure.  

We ended up back at my apartment -- Jared, Evin, and I...we stayed up till midnight talking about our professors and their kids and everything else we could think of...it was a lot of fun!

Welcome to the Lake District

Well can i just welcome you to one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Over the past week i have been in Amableside, Edinburgh, and York.  The trip started in Amblesdie.  One of my favorite parts of this trip is the fact that it didn't just arrive.  The entire way to Amableside was lined with rolling hills and trees and lakes.  It was the most beautiful view from the time we headed out, it only got better when we arrived in Amableside.  When we arrived in Ambleside we stayed all over the city.  All 40 of our were scattered in different Bed and Breakfast hotels.  It was truly a treat.

Jared and Evian stayed in the same B&B as me, they were on the top floor and i was on the ground level.  My room was truly out of this world.  It was be a great place to have a honey moon ;)  One thing that made the B&B's hard was the fact we were all scattered and our schedules for Amableside were divided into two groups; therefore, the two i was staying with (Jared and Evian) were in a different group, so i had to scramble the town looking for people in my group.

In the end i found some girls that were in my group and headed out with them to get dinner.  As we literary wonder through town we came across one of the restaurants that our professor has suggested...it was some of the best food that i have ever eaten--even though it was some split pea thing!

After dinner we raced off meet back up with our group and spent the evening hiking the force (water fall).  It was one of the most beautiful hikes that i have ever been on.  We went up through the trees near sunset as the sun permeated the thick forest canopy.  It was very warm, after reaching the top we hiked down the other side.  A little bit down the trail we found a great place to go and stand in the water fall, as it pooled in one spot.  The pool was shallow at one end and about check deep in the middle.  Now, let it be known that it has always been a dream of mine to swim in water fall and well you can most likely guess what is coming next.  I jumped it!  The shirt was thrown and i swam in the falls.  It was so much fun..you only live once right!  The water was cold on my feet but really i felt it nowhere else...i was too hipped up!  Check that off my bucket list.

Walking down the mountain in wet jeans wasn't the funnest thing that i have ever done, but the falls was worth it.  We continued to enjoy a bunch of bridges and glorious views the entire way down.  After the falls we walked down to the lake.  At the lake side contains more glorious views and the ruins of an ancient Roman fort.  I wondered around with a small group for a while but then when back to my apartment to change into some dry cloths.

After drying off i went back down to the lake and climbed out over the lake on a tree that was suspended over the water.  There i met up with Kaylee, Loren and Alisa.  We sat and talked over the late as the sun finished setting and the night set in.

The night ended with a great walk up to my apartment and a warm shower ;)

Sunday

Just another day.

Church was great and the weather a little bit colder again.  One of the interesting things about living in London is the fact that getting to church requires public transportation...but one fun thing we ended up with an entire tube car to ourselves, for a bunch of college students in London--its just fun ;)

After church did some reading for school and then a couple of us got together and messed around on the piano and the guitar.  It was just fun.

Parliament

If i remember correctly the formal name for Parliament is Westminster Palace.  It was originally one of the kings palaces but fell into disrepair of the years and then was given to Parliament.  Not to long thereafter the Palace was destroyed by the war and by fire.  It was then latter rebuilt specifically for Parliament.

Parliament is very similar to USA, because the USA copied Britain in many respects.  Their government is divided up over three powers: House of Lords, House of Commons, and the Royalty.  The royalty over the years used to be the ruling power over the three but now most of the power resides in the House of Commons.  This is because the House of Commons members are elected by the people.  The number of representatives that one has in the House of Commons is determined by population.  There is still a lot of pomp and circumstance that happens with regard to the queen and parliament but i'm of the persuasion that it help remind them of their past and therefore make better decision now.

Some of the rooms in the palace are out of this world.  The have huge vaulted ceilings with the most intricate detail of decoration on ever square inch.  Every inch is therefore cover with reds, golds, paintings, carpet, and all manner posh.  One is truly blown away by the detail and money that went into building these palaces.  

After touring parliament we set off down town to the Sherlock Holmes pub.  The walk there was almost as fun as eating at the pub.  There was a beautiful garden along the way as well as a great view of the river Tames.  Upstairs, in the pub, they have a fun little display of what his apartment might have looked like.  The food was good but overall it was just a fun experience.

After lunch we walked around Charing cross for a little bit, which is know for its book stores.  They have some of the largest collection and some of the oldest books in these little book stores.  In some of them we found ancient copies of The Lord of the Rings, Jane Austin, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare. It was kind of fun looking through these ancient books.

After our perusing was done, we wondered back the center to finish home work, papers, and everything else that we have to do.  It was a fun and crazy day.

A Day in D Minor

It has been a homework heavy few days.

A couple of days ago we went and toured from a distance the Olympic sights here in London.  It was a lot of fun to see the east end of London.  It was really different from the west end of London.  As per tradition the east end of London is the slums and the poor, you can still see this fact today.  It is still very run down and dirty.  It was such an interesting notice to see that part of the city and to realize why it is that way.

Yesterday we went to a Bach violin concerto by candle light.  It was a wonderful night in classic Briton, talk about skill in order to play those pieces.  They performed

Bach - Violin Concerto in A minor
Bach - Violin Concerto in E major
Handel - Harpsichord Concerto
Pachelbel - Canon in D
Bach - Concerto for 2 Violins

My favorites were Pachelbels Canon and the 4 Seasons which is not listed.  After the concert in a majestic hall we travel to a gelato house called Scoops.  It was a kick just to hang out and get something sweet.



I went to bed at 11:00....whoot that is so early! Booya!  Really, my current schedule is 12:30 to 6:30 its a little rough! I've got figure out this whole school/London thing, tell you what it sucks trying to figure out how to balance the two. Currently London is winning...
 

Just when you thought you had seen it all!

Wow, just when i thought that it couldn't get any better it does! Yesterday, despite the early morning was literally out of this world!

The day started on the bus with a trip to Jane Austins living quarters.  It is in a quiet little town.  We went out to the church were her mother and sister are buried and then to the cottage were she publish and or wrote her 6 novels.

The church was truly old and the grave yard ancient.  This is just stuff that looks made up in the movies.  It was rustic and beautiful.

The cottage was quaint and inspiring.  It is no wonder she had a great time writing here.  While at the cottage we wrote with a quill and smelt lavender.  I also played on an ancient piano.  It was just fun, after reading Sense and Sensibility it was interesting to see the sights that possess her books and writing, as well as to learn in many cases she lived the life captured in her novels.  It was so interesting to walk where Jane had walked to see first had some of the things that surly filled her novels.

After Jane's home we traveled to Stourhead to tour the gardens there.  Upon arrival we grabbed a small lunch, i bought a loaf of sun flower seed bread and a small chunk of mature cheddar and had a great Europe lunch.  After lunch we went into the gardens, I have never seen anything like this in my entire life.  They have literally taken a mountain rang and turned it into a garden.  The Garden of Eden is the only thing that comes to mind.  It is glorious and beautiful.  The entire garden is full of pavilions, water attractions, flowers, every kind of tree, shaded pathways, Lillie ponds, a lake, caves, pavilions, bridges, and grass hills.  The every corner holds a new picture and it looks so glorious that one cannot help but think it is made up.

This is also the place were parts of Pride and Prejudiced were filmed, and yes we stood in the exact spots! It took us three hours just to walk alone one of the condensed path ways.  I have never seen anything so breath taking.

We then traveled to Bath.  We walked all through the ancient Roman bath. I never realized how truly large these were.  They were extensive, very comparable to the fitness centers that we have today.  It was really cool to see this ancient building and see the systems that they designed to use this ancient spring.  These baths were a series of pools with complicated drain systems and supplementary heating systems.  While there i got to try some of the bath water, much to my surprise it tasted a lot like home! Everyone else disagreed with me though.

We finished our tour of bath by walking up the city to see The Circus and The Crescent these were truly cool.  After seeing these ancient building we got some dinner and headed home.  While traveling home i saw some of the most beautiful country that i have ever seen!  Wow England is glorious and awe-inspiring.