Wow, so it's been a little bit harder to get kept up with this thing every day like I wanted to. And of course, when it's been three days, it feels like a million things have happened. Friday was London, Saturday we got most of the day off in Oxford, and today we went to Woodstock.
The hi-lites of London were seeing the Globe Theatre and The Tower of London. Got to see the crown jewels and the biggest diamond in the world...as well as a whole bunch of really cool old castley stuff that goes right along with our class. I ate fish and chips for the first time for dinner that night...good...just greasy. The Globe was a really cool experience, because after taking the tour in the morning, we decided that we would come back that evening to watch a performance. The tickets were only£5, which is a really good deal...you just have to stand up the whole time. But that's just part of the authentic experience. Even though this building is only about ten years old, it was built using absolutely all of the historical specifications they had of the original Globe, with an open floor area where the 'groundlings' stand, and the balconies up above. We saw The Tempest, which I have actually seen before, but that was like 8th grade, so I hardly remembered it. It was a really interesting performance because three men played all of the characters. I was completely lost for awhile, but eventually figured out most of the plot.
Needless to say, by Saturday morning when we were in class at 9:00, we were exhausted. Luckily, we had the afternoon off, so almost everyone took a nap, and then I wandered around Oxford for awhile with a few from the group. We stopped by the Ashmoleon museum, shopped for awhile, and then went to Eagle and Child for dinner. It is the pub where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien often met together and wrote and whatnot. After giving up on going out, we came back and watched a movie, and ended up watching Elizabeth. We felt kinda nerdy, considering that we had just talked about Queen Elizabeth in class, and we were way excited to watch the movie, and we were constantly trying to figure out if it was accurate or not. It was actually very good, although I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much if I didn't know the history behind it.
Today, a few of us went to church at St. Aldates in Oxford. It is one of the only churches in Oxford that is actually thriving. I guess you could call it an Evangelical Anglican church. I really enjoyed the service. This afternoon, we went to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. It is the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough (who have some relation to Princess Dianna) to this day. Winston Churchill was also born there. The palace was absolutely beautiful, but the best part of the experience was all of the gardens and grounds around the palace. We didn't even have enough time to wander through all of them, but it was a great place to just stop and lay in the sun on the great lawn.
I would love to post some pictures, but so far I haven't used my digital camera at all. I have, however, used 5 or 6 roles of film so far....if I ever do pick up the digital, I'll definitely try to get some pictures posted.
Tomorrow, we take our 11 mile walk along the Thames River, so I need to get some sleep.
The hi-lites of London were seeing the Globe Theatre and The Tower of London. Got to see the crown jewels and the biggest diamond in the world...as well as a whole bunch of really cool old castley stuff that goes right along with our class. I ate fish and chips for the first time for dinner that night...good...just greasy. The Globe was a really cool experience, because after taking the tour in the morning, we decided that we would come back that evening to watch a performance. The tickets were only£5, which is a really good deal...you just have to stand up the whole time. But that's just part of the authentic experience. Even though this building is only about ten years old, it was built using absolutely all of the historical specifications they had of the original Globe, with an open floor area where the 'groundlings' stand, and the balconies up above. We saw The Tempest, which I have actually seen before, but that was like 8th grade, so I hardly remembered it. It was a really interesting performance because three men played all of the characters. I was completely lost for awhile, but eventually figured out most of the plot.
Needless to say, by Saturday morning when we were in class at 9:00, we were exhausted. Luckily, we had the afternoon off, so almost everyone took a nap, and then I wandered around Oxford for awhile with a few from the group. We stopped by the Ashmoleon museum, shopped for awhile, and then went to Eagle and Child for dinner. It is the pub where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien often met together and wrote and whatnot. After giving up on going out, we came back and watched a movie, and ended up watching Elizabeth. We felt kinda nerdy, considering that we had just talked about Queen Elizabeth in class, and we were way excited to watch the movie, and we were constantly trying to figure out if it was accurate or not. It was actually very good, although I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much if I didn't know the history behind it.
Today, a few of us went to church at St. Aldates in Oxford. It is one of the only churches in Oxford that is actually thriving. I guess you could call it an Evangelical Anglican church. I really enjoyed the service. This afternoon, we went to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. It is the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough (who have some relation to Princess Dianna) to this day. Winston Churchill was also born there. The palace was absolutely beautiful, but the best part of the experience was all of the gardens and grounds around the palace. We didn't even have enough time to wander through all of them, but it was a great place to just stop and lay in the sun on the great lawn.
I would love to post some pictures, but so far I haven't used my digital camera at all. I have, however, used 5 or 6 roles of film so far....if I ever do pick up the digital, I'll definitely try to get some pictures posted.
Tomorrow, we take our 11 mile walk along the Thames River, so I need to get some sleep.
2 Comments:
So as I watch the Mavs kick some tail and read your blog, I can't help but be really jealous! One of these days I WILL make it over to that side of the globe but until then I am living vicariously through you. I know you're having a wonderful time. I miss ya and I can't wait to pick you up from the airport and hear all about it! Do try and let me know when you're getting to DFW so I can plan and be there. Email me when you get a chance. Anywho, it's early Monday morning there and I'm headed to bed but I hope you have a fabulously blessed week! I'll talk to you soon!
By
wildlawman, at 5/15/2005 10:10 PM
i am jealous, jealous, jealous! i'm glad you're having a great time. Be safe! :-)
By
Julie, at 5/16/2005 8:01 AM
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