missing the great city of london

So here I am a week after my wonderful trip. I have learned so much and have been exposed to art, theater, music, culture and so much more. I am so blessed and humbled to have experienced my summer in London (and other cities). I am creating a scrapbook/photo album to capture the picture moments and I have this blog to come across time and again to refresh my memory. Thank you for reading.

And onwards to my fall semester in NY- to blog or not to blog? that is the question!

Last 2 days. Please stop time, I don't want to leave. I've been living the life!!

Saw the best two shows this past week. 1: Earthquakes in London was definitely my favorite show I have seen, in general, in my whole life. Its "spectacle" was just one of its fantastic elements, but contributed to its overall greatness. A certain mood was created as soon as you stepped into the theater. I knew I was in for a different experience. I felt like the show was catered to my generation, another aspect I enjoyed. The plush red stools, the walkway stage and two opposite side stages was so creative and new. The flashing images on the walls help create a vibe of a consuming culture. The intimacy of our seats to the performance was another wonderful element. The intensity and roller coaster of emotion and plot was sure to keep everyone entertained and captivated. The acting was incredible and I could see the emotions pour right out of the actors’ faces. The set up of the staging also really worked for me. The pace of the show was great as we were able to effortlessly watch the play unfold without any set change interruptions. The fast, chaotic pace on the floor stage contrasted well with the slower pace on the side stages. I loved the plot itself, without any of the extra fluff, but surely enjoyed and think the performance (the spectacle) brought the already great plot to a higher level to create a masterpiece. If you're curious to know what it's about google it- Earthquakes in London, Mike Bartlett. Still teary eyed over its beautifullness.

I would also give an award for best performance of the summer to Benedict Cumberbatch in After the Dance. What a name!!! He brought life and realness to his performance. I felt like he really listened and had a range of emotions to share throughout the long and dark play. Yet his realistic acting helped me appreciate his character. He cried more than I’ve ever seen a man cry. I give him this award because I hated him, but loved him. I wanted him to succeed in the end and was heartbroken when he poured that drink for himself resorting back to his old ways as the curtains were closing. I could see a man struggling with emotions.

Falling asleep in my chair. Trying to not catch a cold after tonight- sitting outside in the Open Air Theater for Into the Woods. Cute concept. Not such a cute night (drunk people, freezing cold, outside distractions, bad singing...)

night xoxo

5 days of the program left. noooooooo...

Saw Windsor Castle on Friday with the group on a field trip. Lovely. The state apartments (seeing where the royal family hosts dinner parties, where previous royalty has lived and currently lives) and St. George's Chapel were the two highlights for me.

Saturday saw the Great Game- 12 short plays about Afghanistan. Glad I got through the day- but it was definitely a new experience. Theater from 11:30 AM- 10 PM. Favorite part was the dinner on Duke- had these amazing fry like potatoes and super sautéed veggies. And love having Duke provide us with wine, always a plus haha

Sunday- today- went to Windsor castle (Again) but with Matt this time (this trip was pre planned prior to knowing about friday's field trip!). We walked around the very nice town, got amazing coffee and chocolate and fudge! Than we went to Stonehedge- and saw stones. And went to Baths and saw some hot springs/baths and a cute town. And went home on a 3 hour bus ride. Was it worth it? Well HEYY I SAW STONEHENGE AND BATH. But, maybe not worth a trip back again... highlight of day: edamame from M&S and Britney Spears biography book for only 4 pounds. yup.

Sorry this blog is kind of incomprehensible... very exhausted.

My favorite plays I saw last week- afterall, I'm here for shows right? The Prince of Homburg at the small Donmar Warehouse- great acting and interesting story. Billy Elliot was a letdown- the cast was not up to par. Sister Act was just pure entertainment, glitter and show. LOVED Enron- really made me think out of the box. The Habit of Art back at the National- a play within a play, always a cool concept... ermm yes. That was week 5 of theater.

Night! xoxo

PARIS :)

Oh, how I loved Paris. It's just gorgeous. Two complaints I have- We got to see everything, but didn't get to immerse ourselves in it (which is hardly a complaint). Just means I HAVE to go back! And second, once it's sundown, the city goes to bed. Matt and I could not find much to do at night other than walking around- which of course was perfectly great. It was just shocking (we must of been in the wrong area?).

I loved the Eiffel Tower- it really is huge. We went on a Saturday, in the summer, so of course it was packed. We didn't get to climb up it. But, we kissed under the Eiffel Tower (I know, sooo romantic). Check off the list! Dinner, if you care to eat on top of it, will cost you on average over 70 Euros per plate (even for a plate of grilled veggies). We next-ed that.

We did an awesome walking tour... for free! This very funny, educated college student from London who was living in Paris for the summer took us and about 30 others around Paris's top attractions for 3.5 hours. We heard about the history and interesting facts about everything Parisian. It was great! Though at one point I was much more interested in the MOVIE being filmed right in front of me. It was so cool. They just planted the set in the middle of a crowded square- put up a green screen, the actors in this beautiful red card, a whole crew- amazing. I'm still not sure what it was!!

For dinner we went to Amelie's cafe, right near where Moulin Rouge is. It was amazing. I got this great dinner of olive oil soaked bread, grilled veggies and melted cheese on top- delicioussss! It was a real French place, it was great and so cute. We felt like we were in the movie.

On Sunday we went to the Lourve. It's free the first Sunday of every month and it so happened to be August 1st on the Sunday we went! We got there at 8:15 AM, yup- woke up at 7 AM to go to a museum. Who AM I?! It was so cool though. That museum is incredible, like a mile long and full of history. Saw the Mona Lisa and it was so surreal, I really enjoyed the painting. It's on its own wall, covered with a bullet proof shield and like 4 different bars to keep us at a distance. If you go at any time during the day its packed in there with photos flashing. Mona Lisa is probably the most famous person in the world! Constant paparazzi!! We go there right when the museum opened, so we got pretty close to her and to the Venus statue. :)

Can't wait to go back to Paris!! Merci for reading. xoxo

Amsterdam, Paris...

Someone pinch me. Is this a dream? I just came back from Amsterdam. I'm going to Paris tomorrow. Two dream places to travel... in under a week? Wow. My life pretty much can't get any better than this.

Update later when I regain my senses.

xoxo

Edinburgh, Scotland

The most beautiful city. Edinburgh, Scotland. Like every other blog, I wish I could talk about it more. But do to other circumstances- like my charger just blew out on me (ah), my theater paper is due in like 2 days and I have yet to start, and I am cooking dinner for 2 before our show tonight (The Tempest, back at the Old Vic, directed by the great Sam Mendes)... I again have lack of time. Check out my facebook pictures if you care.

Edinburgh was perfect. Minus the coldness, which I wasn't prepared for!!

Where to begin? How did we choose Scotland in the first place? Funny, I was actually persuaded into it. I didn't think I wanted to go. But Matt insisted. He had to see the Open, this world renown golf course and tournament. I really couldn't turn him down and I guess I was curious about Scotland and all I've heard about it. So I agreed, but told Matt the planning was up to him... So here goes- The hotel was sketchy, but cheap. I'm glad I had Matt to at least make me feel safe. We were on an off-streets and we got in late at night, so it was a bit scary finding our way to our little hole in the wall room. We didn't even know which room was ours (the room was about 3 miles away from where we picked up the key) so we had to guess, trying to open up different doors! We eventually found our room, and for the price, only 65 pounds per night, it was pretty sweeeet. A bit of a walk into the city though.

The next morning we woke up at 7:30, off to find our ways to St. Andrews. We found the train out of Edinburgh that directly took us to the course (they had a Golflink bus set up for us), so it was very convenient. We got there around 11 am and It was actually fun going to The Open Championship. We saw Tiger haha. And it's a fun event. The course is amazing, massive, and beautiful. They made us check our phones and cameras before going in!! So we only have memories. I would of even stayed there longer, it was fun!

Than around 5, we got back and went over to the Royal Mile. A veryyy fun street- street performers, shops, restaurants. We then walked over to Grassmarket- the hostel/club streeet and had dinner in a pub there. We were so tired and far from our room that we didn't stay out. But we tried getting back, and ended up walking about an hour and right when we got in a cab we realized we were finally only 5 minutes away!

On Sunday, we got on a hop-on hop-off bus which was interesting to hear about the history of Edinburgh and be driven around for once! We hopped off at the castle and explored for about 3 hours. We saw the prisoners of war room, about 3 Scotland history/battle museums, some royal rooms, the oldest church in Scotland, the memorial, etc. It's very cool up there. I love how it's a castle on top of rocks. It's amazing.

We than went to the Whiskey Factory and instead of spending more money on a tour- it was getting to be a very expensive weekend- we ATE! We ate at the restaurant there and I got the traditional Scottish dish Haggis! But vegetarian. It was amazing. I can't believe what's in the real haggis dish. GROSSSSS! We also tried a glass of whiskey= and it was so strong, it was also gross haha. Check out the menu here- http://www.amber-restaurant.co.uk/pdfs/amberbyday05_2010.pdf

Back to London. Wish I could go back to Scotland, it was great. A very tiring weekend. No time to rest though, off to AMSTERDAM friday. I've always wanted to go the Netherlands since I was a little girl. I can't wait. Till then.

xoxo

Sorry for such a long delay. I literally have been busy every second. There isn't any break coming up anytime soon either!

The plays to catch you all up on--> Thursday the 8th: King Henry the Eight at the Shakespeare Globe. Very long and boring play haha. It was awesome being in the Globe, we'll be back there on Friday, but it's a bit torturous out in the heat and on the uncomfortable benches. Than that night we saw Hair! It was such an energetic play. We got to go up on the stage after the performance and just stepping on the stage and we were sweltering with heat. I can't imagine how the actors do it, and that was their second show of the day!! We met the lead actor after in the play, his name is Gavin Creel, he plays Claude in the show. He was wonderful and very inspiring. Friday the 9th: We had a night off!! I went to this club called Fabric with Matt and his friends and the music was so loud I had to wear ear plugs (that gave me a wonderful ear infection). Some of Matt's friends didn't leave till 7 am, but we left around 1:30 am. It was definitely a fun night out.

On Saturday we went to Hamsptead area, Swiss Cottage region, to see Salome the play. Before, Matt and I visited the Sigmund Freud Museum. It was really cool, we even saw his original chair where he would have patients sit on and do the "free association" and all that awesome stuff. He had more books in his house than I could ever imagine. The key to success is definitely all about reading, thanks Freud! Salome, the play, was CRAZY!! The actress was a bit overdramatic and very annoying. Our professor told us that this director doesn't really direct his actors so that could be the reason she didn't have a very dynamic character. However, the star of the show was her father, Herod. He was incredible. He had this raspy voice and got so into it he spit out every word. The whole play was wet- bloody, wine, water, tar. Very cool.

Sunday I hung out with my parents. We saw our relative and had a very traditional English meal. We had to leave early to go visit the V&A (victoria and albert museum). We saw the theater and performance exhibits, the grace kelly exhibit, the jewerly exhibit, and some ancient pieces like a bed that Shakespeare referenced to and Coco Chanel's classic little black dress. Than we trekked over to Harrods. It's AMAZING. I want to go back ASAP. But it was the last day/hour of the sale so it was crowded beyond belief.

Monday night we saw Salome, the Opera. Yes, I'm being exposed to everything around here!! It was interestingggg... Than Matt and I went to this club called the Zoo Bar. It was really fun, they played great music there (unlike Fabric haha).

Well time to go, I will hopefully update soon.

SCOTLAND ON FRIDAY :)

Sorry this has become more of a diary entry. Not enough time to post real poetic lines anymore! Tootles. xoxo

quick thought

Wish I had more time to update. I don't right now but I have so much to tell, not enough time. Keeping myself very busy, only 5.5 more weeks left and SO much to do! Therefore, I'm just jotting some things down and hopefully will come back to this blog.

I'll breeze over the 2 plays we saw. War Horse at the New London Theater. Go see it. Amazing. You can't help but to find yourself falling in love with the horse and the relationship between Albert and Joey. It makes use of your imagination- something you may have even forgotten you had. Though the show was adapted based from a kid book, this play intrigues everyone. You forget that the horse is, just a puppet (but handled by 3 amazing in-sync people who create real horse movements). I won't ruin the ending for you but I can say it was a REAL tearjerker!

Last night we saw The White Guard at the National Theater. The most magnificent sets I have ever seen! You felt as if you were in the house with them. The set covered the entire stage and was just so detailed and real. However, I didn't like the plot and I found myself hunched in my chair covering my eyes the whole second act. I didn't know what was going on and all I know is that there were the loudest explosions I have ever heard in my life. They were also too real for comfort.

This morning Jonathan Cullen came to our class to teach us how to read Shakespeare. It was one of the most fun classes I ever had. We just acted out the lines in a sonnet and acted and it was great. We are seeing him in Love the Sinner tonight!! How crazy.

After class I walked around the streets of London alone for about an hour, getting lost. I found a street with jewerly stores galore, and other streets with a ballet school, a mini street market and a very cute shoe store. It's so exciting that you never know what you will find when you walk the streets, each street has something new and different to be seen. But, I did get lost so I ended up getting back later than I planned.

Off to the Tate Museum with the group (those who want to come) and then we will be back at the National Theater tonight to see Love the Sinner. Hopefully, we'll stay out in that area and go to a pub with the group. So mom and dad, don't expect me on skype tonight (which means i'm out having fun).

Signing out, xoxo

The arrival

Hello darling. Here I am on day 1 of the Duke in London-Drama summer program. Arrived after an overnight flight with my boyfriend Matt, whose here for classes at the London School of Economics, quite jet lagged and very confused time-wise. We had our orientation walk around and chat, and then the group went to a dinner at the typical London pub. We finally found a restaurant that was 1) open on sundays and 2) served food with their beer. We all were carded- it was very exciting. I ordered what had to be the most typical food choice at a London pub... fish and chips! Which, turns out, is just overly friend fish (not sure the type, pray it wasn't catfish) and french fries. It was still enjoyable, though I was too tired to wash it down with a beer (as other duke in londeners chose to do).

Some differences arise than I expected. For one, the dorm is NOT air conditioned and this is one of the hottest summers in London. Open a window? Can't. They also aptly chose this time to do construction outside my window. Drilling started at 6 am this morning. Joy. Heat or noise? You let me know!

The showers are funny, very green. You must manually push the shower button if you want the water to keep flowing, every 10 seconds or so (if you're lucky). The dorm only provided us with one towel and one pillow, which is nice, but I guess that means I will have to do a bit more laundry than orignally planned- which means detergent, hangers (which there are none), and understanding the meaning behind each coin in pounds...eeeek! I miss luxury. Though, I am SO beyond excited for this adventure.

Today we had our first class, introductory of the course and of the shows we will be seeing this week...all 6 of them (we have a double header on thursday to give us a break on sunday). It all sounds so exciting! What I'm most looking forward to is seeing Hair on Thursday (the second show of the day) and we will be meeting the cast and going backstage after! We also will have in class workshops with a director and actor from the shows we will be seeing this week, how cool! :)

Our first show is War Horse tonight at the New London Theater. We will be treated to one of the finest meals at the Forge. Where frog legs, calves liver, duck leg among other "exotic" "authentic" London meals will be served. I think I'll stick with a salad please. Here's the menu if you're curious. http://www.theforgerestaurant.co.uk/menus/the_forge_menu.pdf

Anyways, must get dressed for our first official night on the town. Cheerio mates, and leave me a comment.

Signing off from Danielle's first blog in London xoxo