The last two days here in London have literally been a whirlwind. I have gone so many places and done so much! Yesterday was my first real day in London. My uncle and I took the underground down to the Thames and then boarded a boat. Seeing London from the water gave me a different perspective of the city and was also pretty fun! We got off the boat right by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and walked over to the Tate Modern Art Museum (which I loved!). I saw tons of andy warhol, some picasso, henri matisse, a couple jackson pollock's, roy lichtenstein, and some other artists that I can't remember. Because the museum is free it was pretty crowded but we managed to see every exhibit except for the featured futurism because you had to pay. After we left the Tate we grabbed a london cab and went to piccadilly circus to see the play "The 39 Steps." Piccadilly Circus is like the Time Square equivalent in London. But the big lit up billboards seem very out of place on buildings that are hundreds of years old. The play was great! It was a comedic adaption of the hitchcock film (which uncle michael had me watch the night before). The actors were fantastic and even though they stayed almost word for word with the film it was hilarious! The theatre was also absolutely beautiful! After the play we rushed onto the tube back to the car because uncle michael had a magic show to perform in rochester that night....which i was needed for.
After getting stuck in traffic and getting totally lost in rochester (which looked like a very nice town...had a castle and everything) we made it to the hotel that the performance was at. my uncle wanted to do a trick that he had done with my sister stephanie when she was here. I won't give away the exact details of the trick but it involved me appearing out of nowhere as a lost american tourist "looking for harrods" with the card that had disappeared from a card trick he had done previously. However I did find myself faced with some serious drama while waiting for my cue in my uncle's truck. A few minutes before my cue I saw someone with a flashlight shining it into the van...alarmed I quickly got out. There I was faced with a cop who was getting ready to put a ticket on my uncle's car. He told me that I could just take 60 pence and get a parking ticket from one of the machines but as I rummaged through my purse (knowing very well that i only had american money) I couldn't find any british coins. I told him this as well as the fact that I did not have his keys and I stood there getting pretty worried and stressed. Thankfully after a couple minutes of watching me frantically searching he told me he'd let me off "because I was American." As soon as this happened I ran into the hotel and said my lines....luckily I wasn't too late and the audience greatly appreciated the trick!
Today we had another very full day. We took the underground to Covent Gardens and wandered around. I saw a tightrope walker and we went into a church were many famous actors and actresses have been buried (charlie chaplin was the only name I recognized). We walked from covent gardens to Trafalgar Square. Here we went into the National Portrait Gallery. After this we walked down the mall towards buckingham palace. We also saw where Prince Harry and William live as well as a number of memorials, statues, and monuments. Then we walked over to where the royal cavalry is. After this we passed where the Prime Minister lives and then walked over to Westminster and Big Ben. After this we too the tube again to Tower Hill so that I could get a good look at the tower of london and tower bridge. Both of these places absolutely amazed me. The Tower of London dates back to the 12th century! We didn't go inside but it was still very interesting to know that this is where Henry the VIII among others did their executions...including that of Ann Bolyn. Tower Bridge was also great to see because it is one of the most amazing and regal bridges in the world!
After leaving tower hill we took the tube back to piccadilly square and walked over to the theatre district where we checked out some of the other plays. We finally decided to go see Avenue Q. While waiting for the play we went into a very authentic British pub for a drink and walked through chinatown and soho. Finally we went back to the theatre for the show. Unfortunately after waiting for almost an hour they cancelled the show because power was out in the theatre :( Perhaps we will go tomorrow!
Long post....but I guess I've been busy.
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