How Time Flies

Today is Monday. My second to last full day in London! Last Monday began my hurried scramble to see everything I have wanted to, but not had the opportunity to visit in London. Sunday I met up with the girls for a picnic in Regent's Park. From there, we headed to 221b Baker Street to the infamous Sherlock Holmes residence. I am not sure it was worth my £6, but considering its three block proximity to my house, it was something I needed to do before leaving London. We wrapped up the day with a visit to Abbey Road, where we upset traffic with recreating the iconic pose of The Beatles crossing the street. I spent last Monday at the Tate Britain. It is an impressive museum that houses centuries worth of art. My favorite piece was a painting of Queen Elizabeth I from around 1575. I find anything concerning the Tudors to be mesmerizing and fascinating.

On Tuesday, Amy and I visited the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, which was epic. I loved the first hand video accounts from the employees who manned the British government from underground. I could imagine how stale the air must have been with a constant bloom of cigarette smoke. In the Churchill Museum, I learned many new tidbits about Churchill’s life that I was previously unaware. For example, that his mother was American or that his opposition to India’s independence almost cost him his political career. In the afternoon, we headed for the Wallace Collection. The Wallace Collection is a smallish assorted gallery that was collected over several generations by a single family. This included everything from eighteenth century paintings to antique armor and weaponry to Victorian furniture. I really enjoyed the fireplaces in each room, along with various clocks from grandfathers to mantel clocks.

Wednesday was reserved for Oxford with Amy, Bri and Mary. The town itself is very cute. Our first attempted stop was the Christ Church part of the university. However, unfortunately we were unable to visit due to a visit from a more important American, Michelle Obama. Instead, we wandered around the town and through the covered market. We had lunch the famous Turf Tavern, apparently famous for its “education in intoxication.” In the afternoon we went through the Magdalen College area of Oxford University. The grounds are beautiful with lovely old buildings. The grass was gorgeous and inviting, but the sign that reads, “Keep off,” maintains its pristine beauty. Next, we rented a punt to float around on the small river Cherwell (more of a canal). Punts are these flat bottom boats that the closest thing I can compare them to are the gondolas of Venice. They were a highlight of the day.

Thursday I hibernated to avoid the off and on monsoons of the day with the occasional thunder and lightening. I spent Friday at Kew Gardens, which is a massive botanical garden on the outskirts of London. Everywhere is something beautiful whether it is evergreen trees or blooming seasonal flowers. I had five favorite areas inside the garden. First was the Princess of Wales Conservatory, where I experienced multiple controlled climate zones from the humid rain forest to the arid desert. Next was the Palm House, which is only a tropical rainforest environment. The last greenhouse was the Temperature House, which is apparently home to the world’s tallest indoor plant and the largest surviving Victorian glasshouse. I loved the Xstrata Treetop Walkway where I walked along a bridge that was constructed eighteen meters into the air so you are able to walk among the treetops. My last highlight was the Japanese Garden. It was gorgeous and from what my untrained eye can discern it is authentic to ancient Japanese architecture and garden styles.

Friday was Mary’s last night, so we went to see Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe. They play itself was well done and entertaining, but the true focus of our attendance was based on the actor who played Leonato, Joseph Marcell. All four of us grew up watching the television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Joseph Marcell played the English butler, Geoffrey on the show! The following evening was Bri’s last night so we went to a local pub, the Gunmakers. It was an interesting evening based on the company we acquired of a group of blokes from Manchester who had come to London to watch the game of Manchester United versus Barcelona. British culture at its finest!

Home to Horwich

I arrived in Horwich on a late evening train from London on Friday, May 13. Dad, Uncle Colin and Chris greeted me at the train station for a brief hello before calling it a night. Saturday I was reunited with Amy and Paige! While Grandma Renee was not turning ninety until Wednesday, we celebrated her birthday on Saturday. Emma planned a wonderful party of friends and family with lovely decorations and a cute cake. The party’s highlight was a WWII singer who entertained the crowd with wartime songs of love and patriotism that Gran Renee sung along to for every song. Sunday was a low-key day with a brief trip to an indoor market with many stalls to wander between.

On Monday, our group went to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. We saw old locomotives, early nineteenth century textile machinery and did children’s science experiments. Tuesday we went to Smithill’s Hall and Coaching House. We ate lunch in the coaching house that has since been converted into a restaurant with Ivy and John. Following lunch we toured the stately home that now serves as a museum. I have multiple memories of eating at Smithill’s from previous trips to Horwich, but the tour of the hall was new and highly interesting. Our guide spoke to us about the home’s history and explained the significant of woodwork all the way to additions made to the hall from the Middle Ages to Victorian times.

Wednesday began with a walk from Rivington Barn up to the Pike. The Pike was originally part of a communication system dating from the Normans. It is a large stone tower that stands alone on a hill and would be set on fire as a warning to everyone of an impending threat. The watchman on a neighboring pike would see the blaze and lite his own post as part of the communication chain. After making it to the top of the hike to see the views of Horwich and surrounding fields, we headed down to Rivington Barn for lunch hungry and muddy. In the afternoon went to Bolton’s Museum and Aquarium. The museum consisted of three smallish galleries of Egyptian artifacts, paintings and sculptures and finally an exhibit on Bolton’s development with an upstairs of various taxidermy animals. The “aquarium” was a rather pitiful room of tanks that reminded me of the fish section of Petco. As Wednesday was Gran’s birthday, we went to dinner with the entire family at a British carvery (equivalent of an American buffet).

The next day was a spent driving around northwest England’s countryside on a mystery murder tour. In the 1600s, Pendle was an English village that hung several supposed witches. The mystery tour was based on the geographical region around Pendle stopping in church graveyards and going down footpaths. The drive was gorgeous with stunning scenery of Pendle Hill, sheep and cows and the villages of Newchurch, Barley, Barrowford and my favorite of Downham. Friday was another really enjoyable day of caves in Ingleton and the Skipton market and castle. In the caves, we walked about a mile into the earth to see calcified limestone and other geological scientific terms I have forgotten the names of! It was damp, dark and really cool. At some parts we had to fold in half to fit through the tunnel. Skipton market was nothing to right home about, but the castle was a highlight. It was built as a small residential castle, yet it was still fortified enough to hold off Oliver Cromwell in a three year siege during the English Civil War. We saw its kitchens, banqueting hall, dungeon, chambers and lookouts.

Today, Saturday, was my last day in Horwich. We went to Camelot theme park with the entire family and spent the day on rides with the occasional threat of rain. Today was bitter sweet. I said good-bye to my English side of the family for a period I know will at least be several years. It was great to get to know them as an adult, but disappointing to know it will be years before I have the opportunity to see them again. This is especially sad to me now that we have developed relationships separate from just the familial association of my dad. My eyes watered but I smiled saying, “see you in a few,” even though that "few" means a few years.

Back in London!

I have not managed to update my blog since I set foot in Paris almost three weeks ago. I spent a relatively uneventful two days in Paris wandering around the city and recuperating from my three weeks of spring break travels. I watched the Royal Wedding on a television screen in Paris, a decision I now regret. I returned to London on April 30th and celebrated a return to my city. London welcomed me back with open arms, although I think I missed London more than London missed me. The last two weeks I have been busy becoming reacquainted with London, appreciating the ability to speak English and dragging myself to prepare for finals. This will be a brief recap of what I have been up to.

My second night back in London, Amy and I attended a burlesque performance called the Hurly Burley show. It was an extravagant and tantalizing parade of beautiful women! My favorite performer was a fire-eater who set flame to her nipple tassels, while swinging them around and moving in a brilliantly choreographed dance. The next morning I was mischievous and spend a little too much time and money in Burberry’s outlet store.

The next week was full of museum I have wanted to visit since initially arriving in London in June. I spent Tuesday, May 3 at the Imperial War Museum. They have an incredible collection of retired war tanks, airplanes and submarines to peruse. Another favorite was (I will call it an exhibit for lack of a better word), but an exhibit that simulates the trenches of WWII. I cannot imagine living in such a hell and I wondered if my Grandpa Ronald had to spend much time in trenches. The most moving gallery was a large portion of the museum devoted to the Holocaust. I once had the opportunity to hear a childhood Holocaust survivor, but prior to this exhibit I was never so affront with the horrors through photograph and recorded video interviews of survivors. Awful.

Wednesday the 4th I spent at the Natural History Museum. It was fun to see the dinosaur skeletons, fossilized bugs and so much creatively displayed information about Earth’s history. My favorite was the “Sexual Nature” exhibit chronicling the reproductive habits of the world’s insects, marine life, mammals, all the way to barnacles and preying mantises. Thursday I went to the National Army Museum, specifically to see an exhibit devoted to the “Wives and Sweethearts” of army personnel. It was a powerful and moving display of the challenges of such relationships through love letters and photos. Friday morning I pretended to study before going to a stand up comedy show. HILARIOUS.

On Saturday, May 7 my friend Hannah arrived for a few days on her way to a summer study abroad program in Italy. She landed in the late morning giving us just enough time to race off to the Harlequins versus Wasps rugby game. I have no understanding of rugby’s rules. After the game all I have tell you is the stadium had delicious Cornish pasties and rugby players have large thighs. That Sunday (which was Mother’s Day), we went to an afternoon tea at the Sanderson Hotel that was themed like the Mad Hatter’s Tea of Alice in Wonderland. It was so cute and entertaining with brightly colored sandwiches, lovely scones, bottomless cups of tea AND lollipops that change from hot to cold in your mouth! We wrapped up the day with a dinner picnic in Regent’s Park.

Monday morning Hannah and I went to Westminster Abbey. It is a gorgeous cathedral. I have a morbid fascination with deceased English monarchs, especially the Tudors, so I was thrilled to see the graves of Elizabeth I, Mary I and Mary, Queen of Scots. It was captivating to see even the graves of non-Tudors like Richard II (better known as Richard the Lion Heart) and Charles Darwin. I had to finally submit to studying in the afternoon. After Hannah I celebrated my successful studying with pints and pub grub. I took my Rise of the Novel exam on Tuesday morning, which I am confident about. Wednesday Hannah was left to her own devices while I spent more time studying. We rendezvoused in the afternoon to have more pub grub and to see the play “All’s Well that Ends Well” at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. It is an experience just to go the outdoor theatre and attempt to imagine it in the Elizabethan era.

Hannah left Thursday morning, just in time for my second exam on early modern identities in Renaissance English literature. I feel like it went well. Friday was my final exam in cultural criticism, although it is the one I feel nervous about. Either way, I am thrilled to be done with school for the summer! Now I am up Horwich with the family for the next week!