dramaturgy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dramaturgy) wrote2007-02-03 09:08 pm
dramaturgy) wrote2007-02-03 09:08 pm
Friday - The Romans, The Museum of London, Wandering Around, and PHANTOM
Friday was, perhaps the best day I've had here yet.
We had London as a Visual Text class again, meeting at the Roman Wall near the Tower Hill stop. It's a bit of the original Roman wall built in AD 200.
This is a fun section of the wall. If you walk around to the other side, you are no longer in the City, but Tower Hamlets. When we did so, it was really neat because if you stand right along the wall and look towards the river, you can see how the White Tower (if you didn't read my last post, built by William the Conquerer in the 1070's) lines up with where the wall once extended to.
Also, for those of you who think I'm computer obsessed:
(I'm sure it was for business or work or something, but come on. Throw me a bone.)
The Tower from where I stood.
From there, we got on the Tube to Barbican where we moved on to the Museum of London:
Right out front, there was a... scroll, I suppose, for lack of a better word, with a quote from my very own Protestant, John Wesley.
Inside the Museum we looked mainly at the Roman exhibits, and then class ended from there. I stayed after and looked at the later exhibits, medieval, Tudor, Stuart, and so on. I got to see some really cool stuff, like Nelson's sword:
And Wellington's dueling pistols:
Once I finished in there, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was a little reluctant to head back to the hostel just yet but by this time everyone else had moved on to whatever they were doing, and so I was alone. Which I thought was awesome. I decided to decide whilst making my way back to the Barbican tube station, but then I simply got lost. I pulled out my A to Z (which has a lot of street maps that sometimes prove useful and sometimes not so much), and determined that I would just wander around. I had a map, a brain, and am not too proud to ask for directions, so I'd be okay.
Imagine my amusement when I found this pub, not too far into my wanderings:
Yes. My geekery knows no bounds.
I wandered a bit more and discovered that I could see St. Paul's Cathedral. Having nothing but the wind to direct me, I decided that I would visit. What thehell heck.
This nice little garden, I believe, is Greyfriar's garden, and what wall there is used to be a church.
Just down a pedestrian alleyway from the cathedral. (And in front of a bar called The Paternoster.)
I took a little detour into the square that's right there, and saw this little beauty. From what I was able to discern, this is the memorial to the London Fire that took place in 1666. I understand that not too many people died, but 4/5 of property in the City (that 1.1 square miles) was destroyed.
I stepped into the garden of the cathedral and who should I find staring back at me but John Wesley. My second run in with him today!
As for the cathedral itself... I have no words. It's a gorgeous building, and it's so massively huge, it just dwarfs absolutely everything. I also went inside but they asked that pictures not be taken inside so I didn't but the ceiling is so far up there. I... I was awed. I guess God needs a lot of room.
I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
(They're doing renovation work.)
That's the visitor's entrance, I sort of approached it from the back way.
By this time, I didn't really know where I was. I was all turned around and had my A to Z out and was looking at the streets, but since I didn't really know which way I was facing it wasn't that big of a help. Then I found a bus stop across the street that went to Trafalgar Square. I figured a) I haven't been there yet, let's go! and b) I know how to get home from Trafalgar Square. So I hopped on, and then hopped off at the appropriate stop, looking around.
One of the two fountains in the square.
The view south from the square. That's Big Ben in the distance, The equestrian Charles I statue in the foreground, and the Bank of Scotland is on the right. (Perhaps even further right? The placque wasn't very clear.
I crossed the street to get a good view of the Nelson column, commemorating Horatio Nelson, of course, everyone's favorite one-armed admiral. (Well, do you have another favorite?) Kicked Napoleon's ass, he did.
One might think that the memorial is compensating for something.
On this little island in the middle of a few streets I also encountered the equestrian statue.
As you can see on the engraving there (or maybe can't), the statue was ordered to be destroyed by Cromwell, but it was saved. And now we get to enjoy it!
This struck me the most. This country has a really long memory, and I don't know. I just find that really great.
This is a statue of George III (yes, that George III) that isn't too far from the Square. I stood there and regarded it for awhile, and did some thinking. I've taken Dr. Buckaloo's class, after all, and, I don't know. I didn't think on anything in particular, I just thought that it deserved a moment. Here I am in the country that we broke away from 230 years ago in an act of treason. If we'd lost, it would've been bad.
Anyway.
So, I left Trafalgar square and headed in a general western direction, because I knew somewhere in that direction laid Piccadilly Circus. I walked. And I walked and I walked and I walked and it couldn't have been all that long but it felt like it had been. I did find, however:
I sighed and walked on. I got so turned around and decided that I would pull out my A to Z again and was looking up the street I was on (Charles II Street) when I heard a voice ask, "Where do you want to go, love?"
My AHH DON'T HURT ME instinct kicked in but finally I was able to stammer out, "I'm looking for Piccadilly Circus."
"Oh!" he said and directed me... in the direction that I had just come from. It figured, right? Well I thanked him, and he invited me to walk with him. So off we went, and he asked about me and where I was from, obviously not being British. I told him I was American, studying here for two months. He said, "Oh, Americans! I love Americans. Except for Bush." Uh, yeah, you and me both on that one. He said his son had done some studying in America, in Minnesota (I've never understood why people come to the Midwest when they study abroad, I just don't get it), and told me the name of his three daughters. It was a short conversation since we only walked a block before our paths diverged, but it was nice. My first friendly conversation with a total stranger. :]
So then I kept walking and wham, there was Piccadilly just as he'd said.
Told you I'd come back when it was light. :D
So my hands were cold after being outside practically all day, but I need something that would still allow me to write. What's my solution? Cute, fingerless gloves!
They match my coat and were on sale and are really cute and have a mitten part that comes over my fingers and - why am I trying to justify myself? XD
(I must confess, I also started buying presents for people last night.)
I found some more theatres:
The Prince of Wales theatre, where Mamma Mia is playing (in case you couldn't tell).
Another show that I'm going to have to see while I'm here. The theatre said, "A record breaking 21 years!" Which is sort of like me, in a way. :) It premiered the day after I was born (October 8). I saw a touring company when I was ten and it was awesome, but I'd love to see it here, too.
Just beyond that was Leicester Square, and the box office there. I cocked my head one way, then the other, and impulsively approached. I asked about anything for the Phantom matinee since I thought I was going to be a good girl and work last night, but they didn't have anything. On another impulse I asked, "What about tonight." WHAM THERE WERE TICKETS. I was so excited I thought I was going to pull something. I paid, and then I had a ticket. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD.
That was about five o'clock, and the next two and a half hours were a blur. I ate some dinner, and was lucid enough to notice the Burberry location across Haymarket street from the theatre:
(Thought you might like that, Steph.)
The theatre from across the street.
I got a golden ticket... *sings*
Okay, right, the show. I think it really hit me, because I have been basically waiting for my entire life to see this on stage. Phantom and Lez Miz are the two shows that I have been listening to since I was a very little girl. I've seen Les Miz but Phantom has always eluded me. I was too excited to do much of anything before the show except to sit in my seat and try not to bounce like a little kid. They did the opening scene with the auction and then WHAM the overture began and they began to lift the chandelier, and I began to cry. Yes, I'm totally embarrassed to say that, but I began to cry. Periodically throughout the first act I did this, and in the second act of course because that's where the denouement is. I pushed aside my obsessively OMGNESS long enough to admire some stagework. It was all beautiful, and everyone was great. *dies* The framed moments were nice, and... as much as I do love the movie, it can't compare. My only complaint is that I could have stood for All I Ask Of You to be a little bit slower. Other than that... wow.
I am blown away.
After the show, I decided that I was going to do the stage door thing. I'd never waited at the stage door before, but it paid off. I got a couple autographs, the Christine (who was the understudy and just awesome) and Raoul. He was GREAT. I'm always afraid that the people on stage won't be as good as the originals... but this guy was. He was awesome. And from where I was sitting he looked a little like Chase from House, which was sort of unnerving. He was very nice, and gracious, and the people waiting with me were also wonderful. I got a couple pictures, a pair of sisters took them in exchange for letting them borrow my pen.
This is me being awesome and telling him why I'm here and OMG HOW MUCH I ENJOYED THE SHOW and trying not to come across as a freak. (My knees were shaking, I'm pretty sure it was because everytime I see or am part of an awesome piece of theatre, I get an adrenaline rush. Some people ride bikes down mountains or jump out of airplanes. I go to the theatre.)
Obligatory nice pic. Ignore my demon eyes and observe the wonderfulness that is him, instead.
All in all, like I said, definitely my best day here so far. I may (and I really hate to say this) have to see Phantom one more time before I head out of town. I should see something else, but... come on.
We had London as a Visual Text class again, meeting at the Roman Wall near the Tower Hill stop. It's a bit of the original Roman wall built in AD 200.
This is a fun section of the wall. If you walk around to the other side, you are no longer in the City, but Tower Hamlets. When we did so, it was really neat because if you stand right along the wall and look towards the river, you can see how the White Tower (if you didn't read my last post, built by William the Conquerer in the 1070's) lines up with where the wall once extended to.
Also, for those of you who think I'm computer obsessed:
(I'm sure it was for business or work or something, but come on. Throw me a bone.)
The Tower from where I stood.
From there, we got on the Tube to Barbican where we moved on to the Museum of London:
Right out front, there was a... scroll, I suppose, for lack of a better word, with a quote from my very own Protestant, John Wesley.
Inside the Museum we looked mainly at the Roman exhibits, and then class ended from there. I stayed after and looked at the later exhibits, medieval, Tudor, Stuart, and so on. I got to see some really cool stuff, like Nelson's sword:
And Wellington's dueling pistols:
Once I finished in there, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was a little reluctant to head back to the hostel just yet but by this time everyone else had moved on to whatever they were doing, and so I was alone. Which I thought was awesome. I decided to decide whilst making my way back to the Barbican tube station, but then I simply got lost. I pulled out my A to Z (which has a lot of street maps that sometimes prove useful and sometimes not so much), and determined that I would just wander around. I had a map, a brain, and am not too proud to ask for directions, so I'd be okay.
Imagine my amusement when I found this pub, not too far into my wanderings:
Yes. My geekery knows no bounds.
I wandered a bit more and discovered that I could see St. Paul's Cathedral. Having nothing but the wind to direct me, I decided that I would visit. What the
This nice little garden, I believe, is Greyfriar's garden, and what wall there is used to be a church.
Just down a pedestrian alleyway from the cathedral. (And in front of a bar called The Paternoster.)
I took a little detour into the square that's right there, and saw this little beauty. From what I was able to discern, this is the memorial to the London Fire that took place in 1666. I understand that not too many people died, but 4/5 of property in the City (that 1.1 square miles) was destroyed.
I stepped into the garden of the cathedral and who should I find staring back at me but John Wesley. My second run in with him today!
As for the cathedral itself... I have no words. It's a gorgeous building, and it's so massively huge, it just dwarfs absolutely everything. I also went inside but they asked that pictures not be taken inside so I didn't but the ceiling is so far up there. I... I was awed. I guess God needs a lot of room.
I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
(They're doing renovation work.)
That's the visitor's entrance, I sort of approached it from the back way.
By this time, I didn't really know where I was. I was all turned around and had my A to Z out and was looking at the streets, but since I didn't really know which way I was facing it wasn't that big of a help. Then I found a bus stop across the street that went to Trafalgar Square. I figured a) I haven't been there yet, let's go! and b) I know how to get home from Trafalgar Square. So I hopped on, and then hopped off at the appropriate stop, looking around.
One of the two fountains in the square.
The view south from the square. That's Big Ben in the distance, The equestrian Charles I statue in the foreground, and the Bank of Scotland is on the right. (Perhaps even further right? The placque wasn't very clear.
I crossed the street to get a good view of the Nelson column, commemorating Horatio Nelson, of course, everyone's favorite one-armed admiral. (Well, do you have another favorite?) Kicked Napoleon's ass, he did.
One might think that the memorial is compensating for something.
On this little island in the middle of a few streets I also encountered the equestrian statue.
As you can see on the engraving there (or maybe can't), the statue was ordered to be destroyed by Cromwell, but it was saved. And now we get to enjoy it!
This struck me the most. This country has a really long memory, and I don't know. I just find that really great.
This is a statue of George III (yes, that George III) that isn't too far from the Square. I stood there and regarded it for awhile, and did some thinking. I've taken Dr. Buckaloo's class, after all, and, I don't know. I didn't think on anything in particular, I just thought that it deserved a moment. Here I am in the country that we broke away from 230 years ago in an act of treason. If we'd lost, it would've been bad.
Anyway.
So, I left Trafalgar square and headed in a general western direction, because I knew somewhere in that direction laid Piccadilly Circus. I walked. And I walked and I walked and I walked and it couldn't have been all that long but it felt like it had been. I did find, however:
I sighed and walked on. I got so turned around and decided that I would pull out my A to Z again and was looking up the street I was on (Charles II Street) when I heard a voice ask, "Where do you want to go, love?"
My AHH DON'T HURT ME instinct kicked in but finally I was able to stammer out, "I'm looking for Piccadilly Circus."
"Oh!" he said and directed me... in the direction that I had just come from. It figured, right? Well I thanked him, and he invited me to walk with him. So off we went, and he asked about me and where I was from, obviously not being British. I told him I was American, studying here for two months. He said, "Oh, Americans! I love Americans. Except for Bush." Uh, yeah, you and me both on that one. He said his son had done some studying in America, in Minnesota (I've never understood why people come to the Midwest when they study abroad, I just don't get it), and told me the name of his three daughters. It was a short conversation since we only walked a block before our paths diverged, but it was nice. My first friendly conversation with a total stranger. :]
So then I kept walking and wham, there was Piccadilly just as he'd said.
Told you I'd come back when it was light. :D
So my hands were cold after being outside practically all day, but I need something that would still allow me to write. What's my solution? Cute, fingerless gloves!
They match my coat and were on sale and are really cute and have a mitten part that comes over my fingers and - why am I trying to justify myself? XD
(I must confess, I also started buying presents for people last night.)
I found some more theatres:
The Prince of Wales theatre, where Mamma Mia is playing (in case you couldn't tell).
Another show that I'm going to have to see while I'm here. The theatre said, "A record breaking 21 years!" Which is sort of like me, in a way. :) It premiered the day after I was born (October 8). I saw a touring company when I was ten and it was awesome, but I'd love to see it here, too.
Just beyond that was Leicester Square, and the box office there. I cocked my head one way, then the other, and impulsively approached. I asked about anything for the Phantom matinee since I thought I was going to be a good girl and work last night, but they didn't have anything. On another impulse I asked, "What about tonight." WHAM THERE WERE TICKETS. I was so excited I thought I was going to pull something. I paid, and then I had a ticket. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD.
That was about five o'clock, and the next two and a half hours were a blur. I ate some dinner, and was lucid enough to notice the Burberry location across Haymarket street from the theatre:
(Thought you might like that, Steph.)
The theatre from across the street.
I got a golden ticket... *sings*
Okay, right, the show. I think it really hit me, because I have been basically waiting for my entire life to see this on stage. Phantom and Lez Miz are the two shows that I have been listening to since I was a very little girl. I've seen Les Miz but Phantom has always eluded me. I was too excited to do much of anything before the show except to sit in my seat and try not to bounce like a little kid. They did the opening scene with the auction and then WHAM the overture began and they began to lift the chandelier, and I began to cry. Yes, I'm totally embarrassed to say that, but I began to cry. Periodically throughout the first act I did this, and in the second act of course because that's where the denouement is. I pushed aside my obsessively OMGNESS long enough to admire some stagework. It was all beautiful, and everyone was great. *dies* The framed moments were nice, and... as much as I do love the movie, it can't compare. My only complaint is that I could have stood for All I Ask Of You to be a little bit slower. Other than that... wow.
I am blown away.
After the show, I decided that I was going to do the stage door thing. I'd never waited at the stage door before, but it paid off. I got a couple autographs, the Christine (who was the understudy and just awesome) and Raoul. He was GREAT. I'm always afraid that the people on stage won't be as good as the originals... but this guy was. He was awesome. And from where I was sitting he looked a little like Chase from House, which was sort of unnerving. He was very nice, and gracious, and the people waiting with me were also wonderful. I got a couple pictures, a pair of sisters took them in exchange for letting them borrow my pen.
This is me being awesome and telling him why I'm here and OMG HOW MUCH I ENJOYED THE SHOW and trying not to come across as a freak. (My knees were shaking, I'm pretty sure it was because everytime I see or am part of an awesome piece of theatre, I get an adrenaline rush. Some people ride bikes down mountains or jump out of airplanes. I go to the theatre.)
Obligatory nice pic. Ignore my demon eyes and observe the wonderfulness that is him, instead.
All in all, like I said, definitely my best day here so far. I may (and I really hate to say this) have to see Phantom one more time before I head out of town. I should see something else, but... come on.