So it's been two more weeks and so much has happened. Only three weeks into my time abroad and every day has been jammed packed with new adventures. Two weekends ago, not only did I travel to Edinburgh, Scotland, I had my first survey class where we went to Greenwich. There I was able to tour the Queen's House at the Maritime Museum. The town itself is quaint and beautiful, while the grounds look like something out of a storybook. The house itself has been turned into a museum and still holds its original charm. In my European cities class, we were introduced to the types of projects we will be covering this semester which includes an in depth report and analysis of a major European city.
This past weekend was Love London Weekend! This is an event that the school puts on from Thursday night to Sunday night with events held all over the city from tours, to theatre, to sporting events and more. Thursday night, I had the opportunity to see Disney's The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. The show was phenomenal! Though I cannot compare it to Broadway as I haven't seen it there, I'm sure it holds up expectations. From the costumes, to the life size puppets, to the scenery, everything was perfect in bringing together the ma
gical world of Disney.
Friday afternoon, I met a group of other students at the Royal Opera House for a backstage tour. For only 5£ I had an insider look at how the theatre makes its productions a reality. This is the third theatre, as the first two burned down, but parts of it have been completely refurnished to mimic the original construction. Also, the building is huge! Most people only ever see the auditorium itself which seats 2,256 people and looks reminiscent of a Greek Amphitheatre, however there is so much going on behind the scenes which allows for the company to produce both ballets and operas simultaneously! Behind the stage is a network of hydraulic lifts and space double a football field which accommodates eight fully constructed set pieces at one time! On the other floors they have everything an in house theatre company would need. From rehearsal space where we were able to watch the ballet dancers practice, to a wood shop with giant pieces of Alice in Wonderland currently constructed, to the costume department which takes up almost an entire floor, to a full restaurant and bar in the old glass flower market, the tour was amazing and the opera house even more so! If you are ever in London and you are a connoisseur of fine arts I highly recommend spending the 5£!
Saturday I had my first solo excursion on the London Underground (better known as the Tube). I rode to London's South Bank, an area I surely want to explore some more as there were a lot of interesting restaurants and events going on, to the National Theater, another of London's treasures. Here I saw the musical Peter Pan. While it followed the original story there were some creative liberties taken which made it extremely interesting and highly entertaining. Gender-bending some roles, such as Hook being played by a woman and Tinkerbelle being portrayed by a man instead of a flashlight, led to moments of intense humor. The costumes and sets were also modernized to reflect a more hipster and punk rock theme as opposed to the original storybook fantasy. Because I also saw this production on closing night, I'm sure they pulled out all the stops to make the show memorable, which it was.
Sunday night finally meant the end to Love London weekend but it was the event that I had been most looking forward to...the Warner Brothers Studio Tour of the Making of Harry Potter!!!!! Here me, along with about 40 other students, travelled to Leavesden, about an hour away, to the studio where all of the Harry Potter films were produced. The tour started with an introductory video by Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. From here the screen rose to show the actual doors to Hogwarts! We passed through the doors and into the great hall which was featured in all of the movies in some way or another. Original costumes from the cast were displayed under their house banner. From here we were on our own to explore and take the self guided tour. I cannot even begin to describe all the incredible things I saw...all the portraits that were hung around Hogwarts, pieces of the moving stair, the sets of the potion room, boys dormitory, Gryffindor common room, Dumbledore's Office, and so many more! You could see all of the flying cars and motorcycles that had been driven through the sky, and hop aboard the real Hogwarts Express! From platform 9 3/4 we saw the creature making where they had the head of the basilisk and a full version of Hagrid's pet Buckbeak. Creatures lead into the real Diagon Alley where you walked through to set design. Models and sketches of the sets were displayed on a path to a large room with a built replica of Hogwarts Castle. Reminiscent of the large sandcastle, the structure was amazing and took up the entirely of the room at least the size of a HS Gym. Along the way you could also stop for some Butterbeer before continuing outside to see the Night Bus, The Potter family home in Goodricke's Hollow, and the house where Harry was raised by the Dursleys. Finally, you passed through the wand shop with hundreds of replica boxes to the actual gift shop with everything a true Potter Head would want to buy. This was a fantastic experience!
On a final and more mundane note for this week, so much has happened and this port it too short to explain it all. I went on a tour for my Advertising group of the area of Shoreditch which is known for its street art and famous spot of a Beatles Album cover. For my survey class, we discovered the Inns of Court, a series of complex spaces which is entirely occupied by people in the field of law. This ended us at a Templar Church on Fleet street (and yes we did see the Sweeny Todd house!) which was modeled after the one in Jerusalem and had a fascinating history and architecture.
I'm still learning the ropes of London but getting more and more adjusted every day.
