My history senses are tingling.

The past three days have been a whirlwind tour of historic places and fantastic theatre. Monday started off pretty quiet; English class (I am pleased to inform you that we are done discussing "The Waste Land"! I love it, but three weeks is a little much), Tate Britain with Kristin and Kaitlin (sp), dinner, FHE, then bed! Monday was one of those days where you wake up tired and the rest of the day kinda drags. So it's a good thing it ended when it did. I also started reading The Absence of War, a play by a British author whose name I've forgotten now. It was really good though; it totally made more sense now that I have a better idea of how Parliament and the British government works. It was written a few years before the Labour Party came into power, so it was interesting to get this playwright's take on the whole deal before they beat the Tories in the late 90s.

Tuesday was a little more exciting. Kristin and I walked through Hyde Park, starting at Speaker's Corner and ending up back at the Centre. It's such a beautiful park, and a lot more manicured than Kensington Gardens. It really reminded me of Central Park in NYC.

The Serpentine in Hyde Park

After the walk I went to history lecture, which was all about the late medieval era--such a messy period of time, especially when you try to figure out the line of power. But it works out in the end. After lecture, I went to the Tower of London. ! Loved it. I mean, so much drama and history happened there that it's hard not to be excited. I didn't even mind shelling out the 14-pound student rate for a ticket. One of my pet eras in history is that of Henry VIII, and if you know anything about his story then you know the importance of the Tower. We took a guided tour with a Beefeater (retired Royal Army guy), who was hilarious, and the most moving place he took us was the chapel inside the grounds that Henry built for his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and in which Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey are buried. We were set loose to wander around at will after the official tour, and we went inside the White Tower built by William of Normandy in the 11th century. It was a little too museum-y for my taste, but they had wicked displays of weapons and armour that I know Derek would have loved. After the White Tower I went over and checked out the crown jewels; they were cool. I don't know, at least I saw them, yeah? Haha...so I loved the Tower, mostly because of the Henry VIII connection, but it was all pretty impressive.

The White Tower



The chapel inside the White Tower--not the one where the two wives are buried though


Kristin and I outside the Tower of London


The axe that beheaded Anne Boleyn, and a chopping block that was also used in the Tower.


After the Tower, we booked it home just in time for dinner. After dinner I went with James, Carlos, and Arica to a play (not a musical, yay!) called God of Carnage. It was really good--the set was awesome, and it was interesting to see Ralph Fiennes in a non-Lord Voldemort role. After the play we walked home in time to make it for curfew, going through the Times Square-esque Piccadilly Circus. Carlos pretty much summed up my feelings at the moment when he commented, "How cool is this city? We just saw a great play with a famous actor, and are now walking down a historic street with buildings from every era of history surrounding us." Um, exactly. And that's not even half of it. This city never ceases to amaze me.

Wednesday was another historic treat for me. We went to Hampton Court Palace, which is about ten miles southeast of London and overlooks the Thames.
One side of Hampton Court facade

Henry VIII took it from Cardinal Wolsey when the Cardinal fell out of favor after not taking the king's side in his bid for a divorce from Katherine. The Tudor section of the house is gorgeous; the remodeled Georgian part is interesting, but I guess I'm just a sucker for the oldest things. What also interested me about the palace is that the site was originally used by the Knights Templars before Cardinal Wolsey built the building that stands there now. It was one of those places you go into and just get the chills because of all the energy and people that have come and gone; I absolutely loved it. One of my favorite parts was an exhibit on the young Henry VIII. Apparently he was a pretty amazing person--I think at one point he was called a prodigy.

The gardens were really beautiful too; we had fun getting lost in the maze and wandering around the rose garden. After getting our fill of the amazingness of Hampton Court, Kristin, Josie, James, and I took the train back to London, ate dinner, and then Josie, Jenny, and I went to the West End to see the operetta The Merry Widow at the Coliseum. It was so good, especially when you consider that we payed only ten pounds for front row seats on the Upper Circle. The seats aren't recommended for anyone over 5'6" since there's limited leg room, but it didn't matter as we were all under 5'5"! Yay for my shortness! The music was beautiful, the singing gorgeous, and the sets were fun. I am determined to see more operas from now on. We made in back just in time for curfew, and I headed to the library to get another book. This time I settled on H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. I haven't had a chance to start it yet, but I'm sure it will be good. Carlos and James were in the library so instead of going to bed I stayed and talked with them, and we talked about the play we're going to see tonight, which is based on a true story. I'll probably talk about that later after I've seen it. So it's been a great three days, and I'm sure it'll only get better. I love this town.