London: Days 2, 3 and 4

Getting internet has been a bit more difficult than I previously thought...Anyways, our second day in London we ventured to Hampton Court, most famously associated with Henry VIII. In honor of his 500th anniversary, Hampton Court had an entire special exhibition of him, including a reinactment of the day he married his last wife, Katherine Parr, and an exhibition of his six wives. Rarely viewed artifacts and portraits were displayed for our viewing pleasure in his apartments. We also watched a fencing and falconry demonstration where young children were invited to participate. It's too bad I or another member of our group wasn't younger because it would have made this a day to remember. One of the most interesting things we explored was the kitchens where servants prepared two meals for 800 people daily!! Not to mention a courtier of his court ate 4,500-5,000 calories a day!! I guess he may not have been the only one to turn out fat....

After our adventure at Hampton Court, by my special request we went to the world famous Harrods. Unfortunately, we only had 30 minutes to look at pretty things we couldn't afford, but we did buy a cute bracelet. Small, but at least we can say we bought something from Harrods! And accross the street, was my second favorite store in the universe, Zara! I first discovered Zara in Portugal a few years ago and have been enchanted since. Even though it originates in Mexico, there are few in California and the one that I have been to wasn't my favorite. But the ones in Europe are to die for! Walking out, I found a shirt with a, wait for it...diamond!!! Now, this may not be a big deal to you, but its a big deal to me since the ADPi symbol is a diamond and shirts are hard to come by. Oh, and yes, I bought it.

Yesterday, we went to Cambridge with London Walks on their explore day. London Walks is a fabulous way to get to know any part of London with detailed tours lasting around two hours. But once a week, they have an explore day and it's a great deal! Our first stop in Cambridge was the American Cemetery. Since it was Memorial Day in the U.S., the cemetery had a ceremony playing the national anthem upon our arrival. Ironically, I've never celebrated Memorial Day more appropriately, and who to think in England! Our next stop was the walk itself where we learned all about the university and the individual colleges. Quick fact: 80 Nobel Prize winners are associated with Cambridge and around 40 went to Trinity College. Trinity College was founded by our man of the hour, Henry VIII. I guess he wanted to leave a better name for himself. The highlight of the day was going punting down the Cam. It was a beautifully relaxing trip, even amusing when a punter was close to falling in the water occasionally!! We ended the night exhausted in our new hotel, Jury's Inn in Chelsea. A bigger hotel than we normally stay, but quite nice indeed.

Today, we started our day a bit later than normal waking up a quarter til 9. Who would guess sleeping in would be considered past 6 a.m., considering at home I don't get up until 10 at the earliest! As soon as we could we were at Leister Square buying tickets to Hairspray! On past trips, we went to multiple plays, but on this trip, Hairspray would be our first and last. Between buying the tickets and the show, my mom thought it would be a great idea to go to Winston Churchill's War Rooms during WWII. This was perhaps one of the most interesting museums I've been to because for me, it was history coming to life. We walked through the halls that Churchill himself commanded fighting the Germans. With about an hour to get to our play, we left the museum and Churchill. Neither myself nor my mother or grandma had seen the play. My initial thought was whether the actors would have British accents or try to master Baltimore accents...and they tried! I thoroughly enjoyed Hairspray, although I did have some problems with a few of the actors. I felt Tracy was played too old and Amber played too unsophisticated. On the other hand, Wilbur and Edna were absolutely hysterical!! Clearly the highlight of the performance!!

After the show, we met up with one of my sorority sisters, Marissa, who is finishing her study abroad program here. During dinner, my mom played a thousand questions because I will be participating in the same studying abroad program that she is completing. It was a nice break to see someone else! Well that was my trip to London and boy did it go by fast!! Next stop: Barcelona!!