A Sunny Day in London Town

Yesterday I went with a group of 40-50 students on an excursion of London. Ever the tourists (and American at that) we made our way through the city, cameras snapping at every photo opp. When you're with a group that large why not join in? With junior dean Jonathan Kirkpatrick (who I am convinced knows everything about everythiing) and fellow SCIO faculty Simon Lancaster (who has a whitty remark or comical fact to go with each piece of Jonathan's knowledge) leading the way I was well informed. I only wish I remember more of what we saw and the history behind it. I'll do what I can to summarize my time there.

We spent most of the morning hours getting to London itself. After walking to the bus (also called a coach) station and procuring tickets for the "Oxford tube" (which, deceptively, is the name of our bus and does not refer to an underground train system). An hour and a half (and three separate buses) later we alighted at Speaker's Corner - London's center of free speech. No soapboxes were being shared that morning.

We walked through Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James's Park, and through the swanky parts of town. We passed the Royal Mews, House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and a number of other points of interest before reaching Trafalgar Square - home to many pigeons and several notable statues.

During the brief 35 minutes that we were in the National Gallery a small group and I stuck to Jonathan like glue as he pointed out some the works of some of the greatest British paintiners that lived. I was excited to see a Caravaggio's The Supper at Emmaus, piece we'd studied in theology, as well as some Rembrant self-portraits, a stunning medeival dictych and Diego Velasquez's The Rokeby Venus to name a few. I am always awestruck by art and what it inspires in me. I must return to this place.

Next it was on to the east end of town for a brief history of London's burning, the Blitz, the Tower, and all other histories of the city. Getting 50 people through the tube was a bit of a hassle but we did succeed. Our historic walk took us to Tower Bridge and London Tower, a remarkable piece of work with quite a morbid history (aside from being a zoo). We ended up at St. Paul's Cathedral (think "Feed the Birds" from Marry Poppins) for Evensong. The building is absolutely amazing, a masterpiece that was only enhanced by the choir. The little choir boys in their robes and high colors were something else.

At this point my roomates and I decided to break off from the group and enter the realm of London theater. After a terrible time of trying to find tube stops, climbing over 200 steps to get out of the tube, and many failed attempts at navigating the city, we finally found the Theater Royal on Drury Lane (and no, I didn't see the muffin man), which is near Covent Garden (where Eliza was not selling flowers at the time). I marched up to the box office and we got three student tickets for 25 pounds a piece. I think they were orginally 50, so we don't think it was a bad deal. Being that it was already 6:45 pm we were have resigned to not getting to see a show at all. The spectacle that is the stage performance of Lord of the Rings was amazing. I can't describe how awesome the set was. If only that tall man's had weren't in front of me for most of the performance. http://www.lotr.com/ can give you details and photos if you're interested.

After the show the city was abuzz. Though tempted to go out and get a drink, my weary roomates and I proceeded to take very round about ways getting back to the bus stop where we had arrived. I'm so tired of being lost and without a decent map (which, of course, I had left in Crick).