A Magical Day in London!!!

Yesterday was my last Friday in the UK (internal sobs), so to celebrate me and three of my friends went to London.  Our destination was Watford to go to the Warner Brothers studios to see where the majority of the Harry Potter movies were filmed and we figured, "what the hell, let's make a day of it"!  So we go to London early, walked around Picadilly, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square for a bit, went into the National Gallery then grabbed some lunch in Covent Gardens.  When we were in covent Gardens we went to Lush because it smells good in there and I love all their products.  For those who don't know what a Lush is it's essentially a bath/body store but everything is homemade and/or organic, it's great!  But while we were there we got talking to a couple of the workers.  One guy was a huge Harry Potter fan (like me) and we decided that a Hogwarts Hotel is loooooooong overdue to be built!  When I'm a rich writer (Ha!) I'll build it myself.  Then we ran into a friend of his who worked there and I knew I would friends with her right away.  She had a Harry Potter, Doctor Who AND Benedict Cumberbatch pin on her apron so naturally, she was awesome!  We talked for at least twenty minutes about Sherlock and feelings associated with Sherlock and our love/hate relationship with Sherlock and places to go in London for Sherlock fans and our love of all the actors/characters and alllllll about John/Martin's new mustache!!!  It's so nice how one tiny TV show can bring people together from all over the world, thanks BBC!
On the subject of Sherlock, we went to Speedy's Cafe for a late lunch/early dinner.  For non-Sherlock fans, Speedy's in an on-location scene for 221B Baker Street.  It's actually located on North Gower Street in North London but I made sure to find it.  When we found it I was a complete giggly mess I was so excited!  Just the thought that some of my favorite actors had filmed my favorite show where I was eating a corned beef sandwich was almost too much to handle.  The inside of the restaurant is super tiny but they have pics from the show and pics of the cast and crew eating there all on the walls so, for my blogs sake, I can say I had dinner with Benedict Cumberbath and Martin Freeman!!!

Here I am :)

Our tour of the Harry Potter studios was at 6pm so after linner (a mix of dinner and lunch) we high-tailed it over to the train station to head to Watford Junction...

Ta-Da!!!

I started crying in line for our tour and I didn't really stop throughout the whole 2.5hr trip.  The worst (or best) was when we walked into the Great Hall, I just lost it- tears, laughing, jumping, the whole shebang.  I was getting some very strange looks from small children.  From there, we saw so many of the sets like the Gryffindor common room, the boys' dormitory, Hagrid's hut, the Ministry, Dumbledoor's office and SO MUCH MORE!!!  I got butterbeer (yummy) and got to see a miniature replica of Hogwarts which they used in filming for the wide shots of the castle.  When I finally left the tour I was balling because I just kept thinking "this is my childhood and these stories and books touched so many people across the world".  It's just so amazing to me that one book, one author was able to affect so many peoples' lives, it's incredible to me.  Overall, I had a magnificent, geeky day.  Thank you to Sherlock, Harry Potter, BBC, JK Rowling, Warner Brothers studios, Speedy's, London and my fantastic friends for making my day yesterday so so amazing (if not a little emotionally exhausting).

To Ham or not to Ham? Is there even a question?

Last night was our last trip to Stratford (insert sad awwww noises here).  We went to go see Hamlet, the last play I had to read for my Shakespeare in performance class. A lot of people on the trip are getting kind of sick (think healthy thoughts Emily!) so it was a bit quiet without my friends Yesenia and Sarah.  Also, on the way to Stratford, our bus broke down.  I didn't really mind though, we had a little break and got to Stratford around 5pm.  This gave us time to only eat before the 7pm show but that was OK because Stratford's the kind of town where once you've seen one Shakespeare memorial/pilgrimage, you've seen them all.  We did go to this nice restaurant for dinner called The Garrick.  It's supposedly the oldest pub in Stratford!  It was pretty good (I just got a burger and chips) but a little on the pricier side- like a lot of things in Stratford, actually!  The play itself I thought was great!  It's a long play and I was exhausted from, I don't even know what I was just tired, but the acting was superb.  The actor who played Hamlet was melancholy, funny and temperamental all at the same time, everything a Hamlet should be in my opinion.  We all slept on the bus ride home (weird that Cambridge feels like home know and I'm leaving next week) because we were all pretty beat.  I'll be saying this for the next six or seven days but I still can't beleive I only have ONE WEEK left, aaaahhhhhh!!!  I feel like it was just last week that I went to Stratford for Titus Andronicus then gotup early to go to Bath the next day, craziness!  Like Stratford last time, I also had to get up early this morning for an awesome-exciting and emotionally, physically and electronically draining day in London/Watford.  I won't go into details now because I'm super tired and need to go to bed but a lot of geeking out was involved and I may or may not have cried several times today (out of joy)!      

Adventures in Scotland...

Hello folks!  It's been a while since my last post, pretty much because I've been super busy with classes and life in Cambridge.  But this past weekend I went to Scotland.  I remember way back in June and July when I was gearing up for my trip I thought "oh, the Scotland trip isn't until the end of the summer" and now it's already happened and I can't believe I have less than two weeks left in this wonderful place.  But, enough reminiscing and back to my Scotland trip.  We left early Thursday morning after an insane night out where we just randomly walked around Cambridge, occasionally stopping from pub to pub.  I didn't even crawl into bed until 4 and I had to get up at 7 the next day... to say the least, I slept soundly on the bumpy and winding road to Scotland!

Driving to the border was absolutely beautiful.  It felt like I was driving through Middle Earth (which was perpetuated by the fact my friends and I were listening to the soundtrack in the back of the bus).

  We didn't even get to Edinburgh until 5 or 5:30 even though we left at 8am! Where we were staying was about a mile outside the center and right at the base of Arthur's Seat, which is the mythical location for King Arthur's Camelot.  We essentially just walked around Edinburgh the first night, exploring the winding roads, back alleys and cobble-stoned streets.  It's such a puzzle of a city that folds back in on itself and winds this way and that, up and down around the hills of Scotland.  Also, while we were there The Fringe festival was going on, which is a worldwide festival for artists, musicians, comedians, street performers and entertainers.  The streets were crazy with buskers which was fun for us because there was near constant entertainment.

 We had an early night after a very busy day and got up early on Friday to go see Edinburgh Castle.   It was built in the 1100’s and towers over the city and the lower town.  It was really beautiful and in great condition but the best part was the view from the top- you could see all of Edinburgh and even to the sea!  After the castle we stopped at the Scotch-Whiskey Experience on a suggestion from none other than my Grandmother.  I learned all about how scotch-whiskey is made, the different kinds of whiskey in Scotland and (most importantly) how to do a proper tasting.  There are 5 regions of distilleries in Scotland- the lowlands, the highlands, speyside and isaly.  I tried a whiskey from the highlands which is characterized for having a distinct vanilla taste.  To taste it properly you first hold your glass up to the light to see the color of your whiskey.  A lighter color means it was probably stored in a bourbon cask while a darker color indicates it might have been aged in an old sherry cask.  Then you swirl your drink around to look at the legs of the whiskey.  If the legs drop quickly the whiskey will be lighter and easier to drink.  If it takes a while for the legs to drop it means the whiskey will be heavy.  Then you get your nose all up in there, take a big whiff and have your nostril burnt off with the powerful alcohol scent.  Once you have regained your ability to smell, you go back and take another whiff, and another, until you fully appreciate the smell of the whiskey.  Then, finally, you take a sip.  I drank all my taster but I still don’t like whiskey- it just burns everything on the way down.  I do have a deeper appreciation for whiskey now though so we’ll call it a success!

How to check the color of whiskey:

For lunch we went to The Elephant House, the infamous place where JK Rowling began writing Harry Potter.  Although crowded, it wasn’t a tourist attraction.  I got a great lunch and was so inspired sitting where JK Rowling wrote my favorite books of all time.  It’s a very unassuming Harry Potter hot-spot, until you go to the bathroom.  The walls and mirrors are completely covered with quotes and thank you notes to JK Rowling.  It was so overwhelming to be surrounded by all these praises, all these lives that were made different by a book, that I got a little bit teary eyed.  I did make my mark upon Scotland and left a note in the bathroom.  “Words are our most inexhaustible form of magic, capable of inflicting injury and remedying it.  Thanks for all the magic in my life”.

That evening we went to the Royal Military Tattoo, which was fun and enjoyable but definitely not my favorite part of the trip.  It reminded me a bit of Fantasia or the Epcot parade in DisneyWorld, complete with fireworks at the end!

On Saturday we took a day trip to North Berwick to go on a bird tour and see some puffins then came back for naps and I took a walk outside to the base of Arthur’s seat.  After dinner and a pub, Sarah, Jenny and I went on a haunted tour of Edinburhg.  We went into the suffocating and damp, subterranean vaults and the black mausoleum in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard.  It was very interesting although I didn’t have a paranormal experience- I just liked learning all the macabre history of Edinburgh.  From satanic rituals to concentration camps, the Scots really know how the handle themselves, let me just say that!

The next morning I got up at the ungodly hour of 5:30am after 4 hours of sleep to hike up Arthur’s Seat and see the sunrise.  The hike up wasn’t that bad even though I was exhausted.  When we got to the top, though, it was totally worth it.  On one side was the ocean and the sun rising over it.  It shed rays onto the water, kissing the crests and shoreline and casting everything else in shadow.  On the other side was Edinburgh, cloud covered except for a perfect rainbow beginning at the castle and stretching into the far off hills.  It rained on us a bit but we had this glorious view and 6:30am mimosas to brighten the mood.  Sitting there I could definitely see why people call it the mythical spot of Camelot- it’s so beautiful and majestic, truly fit for a warrior king.  As you can probably tell from this insanely ling post, I loved Scotland and can’t wait to go back, I’d love to explore the highlands and moors someday and maybe get a glimpse of Nessie!             

A Merry day in London!!!

Yesterday was out excursion to London. Although I have been there several times before I still stopped by all the obligatory tourist stops because it's fun and great for new profile pictures on Facebook!  We saw Parliament, Buckingham Palace (no new baby sightings yet), some WWI memorials, Westminster Abbey, the Tower, the eye, the Millenium Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral and The Globe Theater. Geesh, we had a busy day, with a lot of walking! We stopped at Wagamama for a noodle lunch and I was so hungry but that time that I basically inhaled my lunch before I could take a picture of the lovely noodle dish and sparkling elderflower water :( After we went to the Tower, we stopped at a pub for dinner then walked along the Thames down to the Globe so we could go see Macbeth.  It was a nice walk but really hot in the sun and I was very close to jumping in and going for a swim despite the grossness of the murky, brown-green water! When we got to the Globe there was a buzz among people in our group. Apparently Billy Boyd (who played Pippin in The Lord of the Rings) would be playing Banquo!  That's exciting in itself and I would have been so happy with just seeing Pippin, live, on stage.  But it gets better. 

When I was returning to my seat after going to the restroom I noticed the short man in front of me had a very distinct nose and looked familiar... hobbit like you could say.  It was Dominic Monaghan, who plays Merry in LOTR and he sat a few rows in front of us. Now I've been obsessed with LOTR since I saw the first movie when I was eight. New Zealand is my dream destination, I have to watch at least one of the movies once a moth to get my fix and I re-read The Hobbit like it's my job.  My roommate and I equate ourselves to Merry and Pippin (I'm Pippin, she's Merry) so, to say the least, I was freaking out!!! I got a group picture with him but that still wasn't enough. Throughout the whole play I was talking to myself in my head, "Emily, just go talk to him, he's just a person". "Yes," I responded, "but a person who has been in all your favorite movies and has been in an Oscar winning film and a person who I admire so much for making my childhood awesome"!  I could barely focus during the play.   When the play was over I finally sucked it up and asked for a photo with him and I got it!!!

 It was so wonderful and I got to talk to him a bit about how he and Billy still see each other, which is adorable. At the end of the play when the cast was bowing, Billy gave Dom a cute little wave and a happy/surprised smile that was oh-so Pippin-like… they have such a bro-mance, it’s great!  It was so surreal seeing a person who you've only seen on screen sitting next to you, I still haven’t really gotten over the fact that I got to meet Meriadoc Brandybuck.  In a few weeks I’ll be back in London for the day and I plan on stopping by Speedy’s, where they film some of the BBC show Sherlock. Now, the cast is currently on a summer hiatus but they should be back filming towards the end of the summer. I’m hoping for a little glimpse of filming (fingers crossed) and to meet Martin Freeman and/or Benedict Cumberbatch.  It’s a long shot but my hobbit interaction has made me hopeful!!!

Bend it like... Kwesell?

So my professor's son is 11 and really into soccer (although, because I'm in the UK I should probably say football). And when I say really into I mean obsessed with it.  Like he has 12 soccer jerseys, follows nearly ever team in the world, knows all the players and their stats, practices nonstop and can tell you anything about the game anytime, anywhere, kind of obsessed! I've learned a lot from him so far. He mostly just shows me youtube clips of attractive football players scoring goals and taking their shirts off though, so the only thing I've really learned is that I need to watch more football! But, because he loves soccer so much he decided to organize a tournament for all us study abroaders.  Now I have never been good at soccer. When I was younger I played a bit but I'm told I preferred to play on the sidelines and look at dandelions, and there goes my soccer career. So when the kids placed me on their team for the tournament I was more than a little intimidated. I was not alone, however. We have some athletes on the trip but I think the majority of the group prefers reading to sports! The tournament was actually really fun though! We got a bunch of food and had a picnic with everyone and ate food and played soccer (some better than others). A bunch of people bought Pimm's to make Pimm's and lemonade and would release their "Pimm-dorphins" when they scored a goal... the games got progressively shorter and more entertaining as the evening continued! The sad thing is, I'm a bit sore and exhausted right now even though I played goalie for the majority of the time. Looking forward to showering, chugging a water bottle and going to bed before an early morning and London tomorrow!

My crazy-fun-awesome-exhausting weekend!!!

So this weekend has been a whirlwind of trains, travel, pictures and lots of fun!  Let's start with Thursday night, shall we?  On Thursday we went to Stratford Upon Avon to go see the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Titus Andronicus.  Stratford was a little bit touristy but we did get to walk around and see Shakespeare's grave which was pretty cool.  We had about 5 hours to kill when we were in Stratford between the time we got off the bus and the time the play started so some of us grabbed food (I got fish and chips for the first time on this trip!) and then sat by the river and watched the swans and ducks.  I don't know if you've ever been up close to a swan before but they're kind of terrifying.  They look all beautiful from a distance but when you get up close they just look really fierce and sometimes they hiss at you and ruffle their feathers if you don't give them food, which I can understand, we all get hangry sometimes!  But back to Shakespeare... Titus was in a small theatre anfd we were sitting in the second row back from the stage.  Because I had read the play for class and discussed it I knew what was coming and was a little bit nervous about it.  Titus is one of Shakespeare's bloodiest plays, I mean when it starts the Roman warrior Titus Andronicus has already lost 21 of his 25 sons.  The body count just goes up from there, as does the amount of gore.  I had never seen an RSC production before but I thought it was spectacular!  It was a two and a half hour play but I was so entranced it seemed to be over in 20 minutes.  It was stressful, unnerving and also ridiculously hilarious if you have a good sense of morbid humor, which I'm glad to say I do!  We didn't get back to Cambridge until around midnight and we had to get up at 6am the next morning, ugh!

On Friday we hopped on train number 1 en route to Bath.  Bath was really beautiful.  It was crowded with graduates and tourists but it still felt out of the way.  I got to go to the Jane Austen center, hang out in a park and see the Roman Baths.  The Baths were used as a sort of social place where people could go, hang out, relax and feel a more spiritual connection to the Goddess Minerva for whom the monument was built.  A lot of the architecture is still in tact which is really incredible to think about considering they haven't been fully used in centuries!  I also finally got my ice cream in Bath!!!  I'm an admitted ice cream addict and have been going through ice cream withdrawals in Cambridge.  There's not that many shops to buy ice cream in Cambridge which is surprising considering the amount of tourists here.  Every time we've gone out to get ice cream, the shops have been closed, booooo!  But, in Bath I got a delicious scoop of blackcurrent ice cream and a scoop of honeycomb, here I am with it super happy :)

That night we stayed in a hostel which was a little grimy and a little loud but, hey, we had cheap beds, which is really all that matters.  Saturday morning we got up early again (after a later-than-expected night out in pubs and out dancing) and hit up train 2 for Cardiff.  Cardiff was much more of a city than Bath was but once you made it down my the water, it was really pretty. The weather in Cardiff was so perfect and I got to see the ocean again!  I have never lived far from the water and this trip is the longest I have ever been this far away from the ocean so it was nice to see waves again.  I'm also a HUGE geek and Cardiff is a Doctor Who hot spot.  I really enjoyed going to the Doctor Who experience and seeing all the places where parts from the show were filmed.  By yesterday afternoon though, we were all so exhausted that we just wanted to lay in a park then hop on a train and go back home (weird how after only two weeks here Cambridge feel like home).  We were greasy haired, un- showered and had layers of sweat and dried sweat on our bodies.  Our feet hurt and we were sunburnt and just beat.  The trip from Cardiff to Cambridge seemed to take forever because we all just wanted bed.  When we finally got back and saw familiar streets and landmarks and crawled into our beds which were unfamiliar to us two weeks ago, I know I was relieved.  Happy, exhausted and relieved to be back in such a great place after an amazing weekend with friends!

Let's go on a Pic-a-nic!!!

The weather here has been uncharacteristically warm for Britain.  It has been an average of 80-85 degrees and beautifully sunny with bright, clear, blue skies every day.  Today a group of us went on a picnic by the river Cam and the weather was just as gorgeous.  A light breeze tousled long hair and the branches of the sweeping, weeping willows.  The only thing we had to worry about was the cow poop... yup, cow poop everywhere!  Cows in Britain are kind of like squirrels, they just sort of roam around where they may and are not afraid to get near to people.  You can walk up to a cow, press your nose against its and it will just stare at you like, "hiya, what's going on?!" So when we went on a picnic today we had to carefully select a spot poop free.  We found a really perfect spot by the river in the shade of a big tree.  It was so lovely sitting with good friends and lots of yummy bread, cheese, fruit and wine.  We have a really small group this year (there's only 14 of us) so we are able to do lots of fun group get togethers like wine nights, picnics and movie nights (tonight we're watching A Very Potter Musical).  I always find myself laughing hysterically when we are all together and everyone seems to get along so well.  After a beautiful afternoon of wine, cheese, bread, dates and good company all I wanted to do was take a nap.  Unfortunately I had to go to my Shakespeare class which is in a small, steamy, sauna-hot room.  It was not easy trying to focus on the specifics and nuances of Titus Andronicus with a belly full of good food.  Ah, the life of a Cambridge student is rough!

 Pretty ladies :)

 Cheers Michael!!!

 Woah there Aubrey!

 Happy grass antlers!

  Sad grass antlers :(