In Which Shakespeare Tells a "Your Mom" Joke.

Hello again! Before I get into my adventures in England, I just wanted to note that I have one week before I fly back to America. I have to tell you, I have severely mixed feelings about this. I am stoked to see my family and friends again, and exactly one month from today I'll be turning 21(woot woot!). I can absolutely not wait to give everyone hugs and spend time with them, because I have really truly missed their presence in my life; it hasn't been the same without them, and I'm looking forward to restoring balance to the world.

At the same time, though... it's just... it's Ireland okay? I was driving to a museum with my host family the other day and gazing out the window on some rolling green hills full of sheep and crops and it's one of the pretties places I've ever seen. Not only that, though, I actually feel at home here, which is saying something because it took almost an entire school year for me to feel at home just on the other side of the state when I went to college. But it's true- I've been living here, I know the town, the people, the land, I have a church, I have a routine, and at the same time there is an outrageous beauty to the country and the culture that even after four months hasn't dulled for me. I'm happy I'm going to see my loved ones, but I'm not necessarily happy to be leaving, you know?

Okay, I know that's not what you all signed up to hear (sorry) but I'm sitting at my kitchen table looking out at a river and some hills and it kind of just... happened. But onward! To the land of landmarks, beautiful countryside, and world domination- England.

As I mentioned before, I was finding myself again in the capital of the UK, London. So, upon my second London arrival I was again kind of a grump. I hate to say that because it sounds like I just didn't like it or appreciate being there and that is so not true. London is a spectacular city, with so much to do and see, and so much history, as well as having the added perks of being the setting for some of my favorite shows. I was excited that this time I was going to get to go museum hopping and see a show at the Globe(I'm sorry, I'll get back to this but I can't even mention it without adding OH MY GOSH!) and see some places I hadn't before.

I think the problem was that I was kind of ragged and needed sleep in a proper bed. That, and I'm not really a "city" person in the first place. When I say that too, I basically exclude every UK city I've visited except for London, since London is very much like a European version of New York, while every other city, well, isn't. Now, I wasn't nearly as dead as I was when I'd been there a week or so previously, nor was I as hungry. I had, however just come from a 10 hour bus ride, which wasn't the worst ride or anything, but still, it's ten hours on a bus. We also had the misfortune of not really knowing how to get to our hostel and not wanting to take public transportation since it's London and everything's expensive, especially when you don't know how far you actually have to go. Oh, and I just really needed a shower. I think my recollection of rain and sore feet from my last visit might have played into my mood, too.

We started heading in what we thought was the correct direction, though, and stopped a jogger part way, and he checked for us on his smart phone (bless you, sir). It took us a while, but we finally made it there. Instead of heading right out on the town, we thought it was a good idea to take a shower and then a nap. The hostel itself wasn't very hostel-y actually, more like a hotel except that there were 10 people staying in one room. It had very comfy mattresses, and I felt so much better after I had some time to rest up.

Then, we were out! We waited until later to head out so we could see the city by night. We headed to the river, to Big Ben and the London Eye. That was a longer walk than expected- an hour each way- but it was quite a view. I don't know what it is about Big Ben, but it just looks really cool all of the time. The London Eye, too, is really neat at night, all lit up in blue. That was my favorite, actually, I have to admit, is thanks again to the BBC. Kudos, guys.

Kind of daunting at night, actually

Half-expected to see Peter Pan, but alas not this night.

Not being used as an Auton transmitter tonight. 

So Westminster looked pretty epic by night, too.

After that we went back for a satisfying night's sleep before spending our first full day museum-hopping. London has some of the most wonderful museums. You could spend days in each one, and there were ones that I dearly wanted to do just that. There were actually three museum smack next to our hostel, and one of those ones, the Natural History Museum was our first stop. There was lots of stuff about geology and natural disasters, how they have/can affect the earth's crust and people and everything, which I have to admit isn't really my thing. I did really like seeing all the pretty rocks though. Lots of shiny pretties for Amber to oogle. There were also fossils, which are more my thing, and dinosaur skeletons! I have this thing in museums where if I'm allowed to take pictures, I do, of basically everything that catches my attention as well as their little info-cards so later I can refer back to them. Even not being my primary type of museum, this was not an exception

Just a small sample of the pretties.
Needless to say, there were some very stern looking guards hanging around.

*roars* So, you know one's a T-Rex, obviously. The other one is a crocodile, I'm pretty sure.
Note that they are the same size. O_O

That museum, I will say, was actually a very informative experience, which museums really should be. I'm not saying most museums *aren't* but in the types of museums that I normally seek out, I, personally, do normally already know a lot about what's being shown, and my time is consumed primarily with gaping in awe and nerding out in a spectacular fashion. I feel like I was successfully taught something I didn't know here, though. I applaud thee, Natural History Museum of London.

After that museum, we were contemplating visiting the ones next door, but Anique had already seen them and I'd have a little bit of time the next day to visit them while she was shopping, so we headed instead towards Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery resides. I honestly can't even type the name up without grinning because it is just so wonderful. This is something that I really really recommend if you visit London and have the time, because you will not regret it. There are a few really exceptional things I recommend in London, and this is one of them. 

Before we went inside, we sat outside for a bit, gazing up at the statue of Nelson as well as, oddly enough, a blue rooster whose purpose I still don't understand (please feel free to tell me if you know). It was a very nice day out. Actually, most of the time we were in London it was quite pleasant. I managed to get a rather spectacular sunburn on the back of my neck and shoulders to prove it.  Anyway, in addition to the statues outside, there were some performers! We encountered this several times in London, some really talented performers putting on shows in tourist-ridden places. This one was riding on top of a rather large unicycle. When we came out there were people doing flips over each others heads, as well as some Spanish-guitar-playing musicians and a gentleman in a Spiderman costume. 

The Gallery and it's blue avian guardsman.

The other performers might have been more impressive to watch but this amuses me to no end.

Now, the museum itself. Just...aldighladjfaksjdljasdlkjlaksdhf. askdfhalsd. asdhf;ajsd,gbadif;sald.fnalf. And that is how to properly describe my feelings. There are just so many famous paintings there! In nearly every room I entered I immediately recognized one. Oddly enough, the first one that really excited me was "The Beheading of Lady Jane Grey." I don't entirely know why, and yes I do realize how morbid that is. My favorite though? The one that had me close to tears because I couldn't believe it was there and I totally hadn't expected to see it, but there it was and it was beautiful and by my favorite painter? Van Gogh's "Sunflowers." Yup. I stood there looking at it, able to see every brushstroke, doing my utmost to not do a little spazzy dance. <3 Yay. : ) 

After the Gallery, we went to the one I was really looking forward to: The British Museum. I had read multiple reviews that said you'd need a couple of days for this one. Those reviews were speaking the truth, which was disappointing for me since I only had a few hours. Those few hours were full, though. There is so much in that building and it's all so old!!!! I saw so many things up close and personal that dated back thousands and thousands of years!!!! Oh, and they have a tidy little collection of mummies too. There are at least eight and I'm pretty sure there's more than that. There are tons of Egyptian statues, Greek, Persian, and Roman ruins, artifacts from various Asian countries, and from every corner of the globe, rooms stuffed to bursting with incredible pieces of history that I was in complete awe of. That gaping and nerding out I mentioned earlier? Yeah, a whole lot of that took place here. 

There was also a good deal of biting my tongue, because there are just so many opportunities to apply Disney songs. Like, don't even tell me that walking into a room with hundreds of orange and black Greek vases don't make you want to sing "The Gospel Truth" from Hercules. I did actually look for a vase with the hero and/or the muses on it, but came up short; if I had found them, though, make no mistake- the museum attendant would have gotten a show.  

I will say, though, that as excited as I was to see it, it was a little...strange... to see them there. Like, don't get me wrong, I was beyond thrilled to see statues and large sections of designed panels from the Parthenon, as well as huge artifacts from Egypt and Persia, but, um... forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I would expect such large pieces of the Parthenon to be at, well, the Parthenon. In Athens, Greece. There they were, though, just chillin in London. While in London, though, whatever issue that particular topic might stir, I will say it was super cool to see. 

I'm sorry, is that a... do you... do you have a building in your building?

And that's the gospel truth...

Here, have a few sarcophagi. 

Honestly this just amused me because it reminded me of the sassy shabti in that one Rick Riordan book (Red Pyramid?). 

This was absolutely beautiful, and there were a bunch more too.

Turquoise Aztec mask!!!!!! 

So yeah, I mean it was alright. ; ) After that we met Laura and Robyn (again) for dinner before heading back to our hostel. The next day consisted of lots and lots and lots of walking, because guess where I went again? Yup, Tower Bridge, and yup, it was just as excruciatingly far the second time. We would have taken  the Underground, actually, except it was actually a really pretty day out, and we needed to stop by the Globe to get tickets for that night's show. That morning I also got to visit the Victoria and Albert museum near our hostel, too, since Anique wanted to do some shopping and I did not. This museum, too, was full of awesome, and like the British Museum, inspired several musical numbers for me.

If you don't know what "Tippoo's Tiger" is, Google it. Now. I'm not even kidding.

I can show you the world....

One jump ahead of the breadline, One swing ahead of the sword,
 I steal only what I can't afford (and that's everything)

 So, after that, fast-forward our walk because we've already covered "Amber at Tower Bridge" before, and come to "Amber at the Globe."

 *dramatic pause* 

IT. WAS. AWESOME. OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!!!!!

First, shout-out to the devastatingly handsome British gentleman working the ticket booth: you sir, are swoon-worthy, and I just thought that you should know that. Yes, I was sad not being able to have a "peasant" spot in the standing area, but frankly, hearing that from you made it so much better. 

Okay, now that that's taken care of:  OH. MY. GOSH. You don't even understand, okay? I love Shakespeare. I read Shakespeare for fun and I adore his work. He writes in the most beautiful language and does it in such a masterful way, and I won't even get started on how incredibly clever he is and that there is just so much in the depth and inherent meaning in even the structure of his work (seriously, Sonnet 116 is genius in ways that I am still geeking out about). And yes, the Globe is a reconstruction of the original. But I got to see Shakespeare. IN THE FREAKING GLOBE. So yeah, I was more than slightly stoked. 

The show we saw was Titus Andronicus, which was Shakespeare's first tragedy. So basically what that means, is that lots and lots of people die, and there is an exorbitant amount of blood. I think he was going for the shock factor when he wrote it, and boy did he accomplish his goal. There were quite a few moments where I just sat there slack-jawed like, "Did that... did that really just happen???" I won't go into details, but I counted at least 13 deaths, and that was only main characters, and there are limbs chopped off and throats slit on stage. These actors were very, very good; even though I'd never read this one, because of the way they deliver their lines I was easily able to understand what was happening. The show itself was a gore-fest, full of murder, revenge, lust, and deception, with just a dash of Sweeny Todd. This is why, when I was in London with Elisia and Sarah, I am so very glad that we didn't see the show. I am almost positive they wouldn't have appreciated it quite as much as I did, as well as the fact that I know I have a stronger stomach than my sister and there were moments I had to gag and put my hand over my mouth. 

But seriously. IT WAS SO AWESOME and I don't know that I'll ever get over it. 

I'm saving this forever and ever. 

THE INSIDE OF THE GLOBE GUYS

ALFLJSDLAKLLDKFDLFKGLSJKLFDKA;DASLFKJLASDFLK;SLK;JDKFSDJ
(an approximate translation of my thoughts at this moment)

After that incredible experience, however, we had to head back, which was about a two hour walk in the wind and drizzle of London. Plus side, on the way we got to stop by Piccadilly Circus, which is similar to Time Square, and so basically a big colorful, brightly lit bunch of advertisements. Then we got back, slept, packed up, and the next morning caught a bus to our next destination: Bath.

Wow, okay, London took up a lot more space than I expected. Well, for now that's that, I guess. Bath and all that follows will come very soon. Haha, oh right, the title.  So, there's this line in Titus that just... one of my slack-jawed moments in that play came in reaction to the dialogue following "Villian what hast thou done." Maybe Google that too. Haha, well I'll talk to you later! Bye! : )