We trod the boards looking for the best in British culture and art
The only event scheduled for this day was St. Paul’s Cathedral, one of the city’s premier landmarks and a significant center for religious life for over a thousand years in its various incarnations. Molly, the same woman who educated us during our bus tour, led us on an excellent tour of the church’s exterior, main …
Continue reading “May 28th: St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Struggle for Zorro”
Wednesday marked another day trip outside of the jolly old city of London, and this time I got to come along! After a pleasant, roughly thirty-minute-long train ride, our group disembarked in Richmond upon Thames and made the short walk to the beautiful Hampton Court Palace. Shawn discussed some of the history of this royal …
Continue reading “Blog Post June 8th: A Day at The Hampton (No, Not Like the Hotel)”
After what has somehow been both a swift and a slow five days, I am now permitted to exit quarantine in my hotel room! Granted, I am not off the hook just yet. I still need to wear a mask as much as possible while in public for at least the next five days, and …
Continue reading “June 7th: Free at Last! and The House of Shades”
Foodie Adventures Seven Dials is a shopping village in Covent Garden that was originally designed by Thomas Neale in the early 1690’s. This area is formed of seven streets all coming to a point, being incredibly easy to spot on a map as it is vastly different to the rigid grid pattern most of London …
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. This is a show that I have read and studied since middle school. Known for its autobiographical elements that are tested by the abstracted realism the play entails, this memory play was the show that launched Williams career. First premiering in 1944, The Glass Menagerie is about a family …
Life of Pi “I’m not really sure I want to go, I’ve seen the movie and I know the twist and stuff at the end, I don’t think I’ll enjoy it” These were the words that I spoke to the small group of us huddling in a small hotel room as we bought tickets and …
Continue reading “Life Of Pi- A Masterclass Showcasing Of Theatre”
Westminster Abbey This was the visit I had been most looking forward to on the trip. While I am naturally a fan of the neo-classical architecture that we saw at St. Paul’s Cathedral, I can’t pretend that I am not partial to the gothic aesthetics that are on full display at Westminster. While I couldn’t …
Continue reading “These Gothic Fan Vaults are Even Higher than My Expectations Were”
Hello again! Today was a pretty laid back day for me, but it also kicked off my free weekend of the trip. The day started with an outdoor class meeting. We all walked over to a nearby park and talked about The Glass Menagerie, The Corn is Green, and The House of Shades. Whenever we …
I knew nothing about Westminster Abbey before going. I knew it was supposed to be a beautiful cathedral with some buried people in it, but every cathedral we’ve seen has been beautiful and I think all of them have had people buried in them, typically old royals I’m unfamiliar with. You can imagine my surprise …
Westminster Abbey was consecrated and finished in 1269. This Abbey holds over 3,000 dead, around 30 of which were kings and queens. There are several wings inside that include one for scientists, poets, actors, the Royal Tombs, and most famously, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. One memorial in the Poets Corner that stood out …
Theatre in London U of A 