The Week of October 1st

The Globe Theater!

On Tuesday (the 2nd) we got to see "Twelfth Night" and on Saturday (the 5th) we got to see "Richard III" at the Globe Theater! Both were done by an amazing all-male cast, with special effort to make it as close to the way it would have been performed in Shakespeare's day as possible. We were groundlings, which meant that we stood in a mob in front of the stage for the entire play (around 3 hours), and since there is no roof we experienced both the sun and rain. To most people this sounds like a terribly uncomfortable way to spend your afternoon or evening, but it was surprisingly much more entertaining because the actors could make a better connection with the crowd. We attended a Q&A session with some of the cast members afterwards too, which was also very informative and funny.

 

The Millennium Bridge with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background...watch out for dementors!

 

As a part of the "Biography of a City" class, we visited the Clink prison and torture museum during our walk around the South Bank. The Clink was attached to a church, and is all set up to display the horrible things that could happen to you if you broke the law in England hundreds of years ago.

 

On a happier note, afterwards we got to go see a performance by the Russian National Orchestra! It was excellent, but it made me miss my violin. Hopefully I will be able to find cheap tickets to some more concerts!

 

 

I'm back! I know that I haven't posted anything for almost 2 weeks (oops), but time is flying by so quickly that I haven't had time. So here is the speedy recap! There are more photos on facebook, but here are some of the highlights:

Weekend of September 28-29

Fishbourne Roman Palace

The remains of an ancient Roman palace have been excavated and preserved here-we took a train out of London, and got to see some lovely countryside. A bit drizzle-y and lots of sheep, but still nice. This palace was supposedly the largest one north of the Alps in it's time, and is known for the layers of intricate mosaics that have been found. This picture shows the remains of a hypocaust, or heating system for the floors in the guest suites.

 

Weald and Downland Museum

 

This giant outdoor 'museum' is supported by a non-profit organization that rescues historic buildings from being torn down and reassembles them on their large piece of property. The top picture shows a building that is being put back together-everything is done in the traditional way, so there are no metal nails or large pieces of machinery (such as cranes) used to rebuild it.

 

 

Brighton!

 

We were lucky to have a beautiful day in Brighton-it is definitely a very quirky, magical place. It was the perfect day to go to the beach, as you can see from my video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey25tpflGRk&feature=plcp We also toured the Royal Pavilion (commonly known as the Pleasure Dome), which was built as a lavish, oriental-inspired getaway for the Regent/King George IV. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos inside, but it was very overwhelming. It was also used as a hospital for injured Indian soldiers during World War I. The Lanes (bottom picture) were also very fun to explore-lots of fun little shops and street market stalls.