Days 7-10

Hello!

Well, we have been here over a week now, and I am starting to get immersed and comfortable here in the city. Every day brings a new adventure -- it is truly the trip of a lifetime.

On Monday after class we went to Westminster Abbey, and there is no word to describe the Abbey but breathtaking. It is just so huge and majestic, and walking over the graves of Dickens, Newton, and Handel, just to name a few, was amazing. Of course, William and Kate will be getting married there shortly, which will be exciting. Monday night we saw Birdsong, which most of us agree was the weakest show we have seen so far. My review has been posted.

On Tuesday, we had Michael Billington, the chief theatre reviewer for The Guardian, come and talk to us, which was great. He talked to us about what he thinks makes London theatre unique, the challenges some theatres are facing with budget cuts, and what he thinks of the shows we've seen and will see. In the evening we saw The Rivals with Peter Bowles and Penelope Keith, which was one of my favorites that we've seen. The review of that will be posted shortly.

Yesterday we moved into new apartments which are really nice, and then had a backstage tour of the National Theatre, which was so cool. I really discovered the importance Londoners place on theatre, and how critical the National Theatre is to the arts life here. I would highly recommend checking out the website here. We then saw Season's Greetings at the National in the evening. The review of that will be posted tomorrow.

Today we had class and then all split off and went to various museums for the afternoon. I went with a few other people to the Tate, which was fun. I took a nap after we got back, and then had dinner at an excellent Indian restaurant before going to The 39 Steps, which was hilarious.

We are having a great time, and I'm savoring every minute!

Cheers!