At the moment, I have secured a desk for myself in the Radcliffe Camera with stacks of books around me. If I look up, there is a spiral staircase. If I look left, I see the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin with all its spires through the window. And the sun is shining. If I look right, I see a statue of Johannes Radcliffe and people working away diligently. If I look down, I see a paper full of scrawls which will be a 5,000 word paper by next Wednesday. Sounds simple, right?
We came back from London Saturday night after three packed days. Thursday: 8.35 am train, which we thankfully all made. Two hours later, we had left our bags at the International Student House (ISH), our sleeping accommodations for the next two nights. With the weight off our backs, we headed off to the Tower of London. The history that is there is so incredible. Exhibits of armour which dates back to William the Conqueror, names scratched into the walls of chambers, the biggest diamond in the world, rooms that are still inhabited to this day.
It's a good thing we had a schedule to keep or else we could have stayed there for quite some time longer. We went back to the hostel in order to unpack. Us girls were excited because we all were in the same room. The downside: it was the basement of the basement. I'm not kidding. It was like the forgotten dungeon that didn't exist in present memory. The nearest "loo" was up two flights of stairs to the main lobby. The nearest showers were on the third floor.
Dinner was also an adventure. Some of the girls had a copy of "London: Free or Dirt Cheap" so we scouted out a cheap fish and chips restaurant. Except we couldn't find it. Deciding that it might be a good idea to take the tube to find a local eatery close to the theatre, we jumped aboard. A group of ten is hard to feed on a tight schedule, so we split off. Some of us got lucky with good sandwiches while others landed a nice little Italian restaurant which had a cover charge (which we didn't realize until we had sat down).
Like a good day in London, it ended with a play. "An Ideal Husband." Unfortunately, perhaps due to being tired or completely missing the humour, we weren't overly enthusiastic about this one.
Tube home. For most of us. Some of us were still hungry and wandered to the nearby McDonalds. I know. In London, and we resort to cheap food which is too easily found in North America.
Friday morning greeted us with grey clouds and a whisper of rain on the horizon. Marion and Gill, the coordinators, had a full day planned for us, starting with a tour of the Globe Theatre bright and early. Ish. The current Globe Theatre is actually the third one to have been built. Personally, I am very sad because Hamlet opens at this theatre a mere four days after I leave this country.
Once the tour was over, we were let loose in London. We walked by St. Paul's Cathedral (unfortunately, Disney was playing in my head the entire time), and then some of us went to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for lunch. Now, this isn't just your standard English pub. Ok, maybe it is, but this one is really cool. This one was rebuilt in 1667 after the Great Fire of London and Charles Dickens ate here. Yup. It's true. There's even a plaque on the wall.
Parliament was next at 3.10 in the afternoon. (Oh to have had the chance to see Westminster Abbey!) Nonetheless, Parliament was amazing. We followed the path of the Queen and saw the room where she gets ready to meet with parliament, where she puts on the crown (which we had just seen the day before). Parts of that building have been there over a thousand years. The man who designed parts of the building was about our age when he submitted his ideas. Yes, this is about the time to get cracking and get something accomplished.
Dinner was less of an adventure because we met up with Louise, one of our tutors/academic coordinator, at a place called Nando's and were given a little cave to sit in cozily together.
"The Rivals" came next, which we found to be much more engaging.
Since it was our last night in London, we decided that something should be done to commemorate the event. Across the street from the hostel was a little pub/club/who-knows-what which remained open past 11. Securing a table and stools enough for those who did come was a bit of a feat, but once again, we came, we saw, we conquered.
By ten o'clock the next morning we were supposed to be out of our room. As we were clearing things up, a woman walked into our basement suite, opened the fire exit door at the opposite end of the room, and then headed back to the main door. A girl stopped her and asked if she needed anything, but she didn't speak English. We think she worked for the hostel, but are not certain.
We all headed off to Trafalger Square, and then split up there. I went with some girls to Covent Gardens, then met up with Bethany, the girl who stayed with Lee a number of years ago, and we went to Camden Market, Kensington Gardens where I walked where J. M. Barrie walked (and definitely stopped to photograph the Peter Pan statue), and made a pit-stop at 221B Baker Street which is not at 221B Baker street at all.
It was the Green Man, an Irish pub, for dinner (about three minutes away from ISH) and conversation while waiting for the rest of the group to reconvene at the hostel so we could all travel back together. Estimated arrival home: 11.30. Going away for a few days definitely makes Charlbury feel more like home now.
Sunday I went for a four mile walk with Gill around Charlbury's countryside. The mud is definitely coming as spring is rapidly approaching. Sorry, Canada, the flowers are already popping up here.
Monday night was girl's night with Colin Firth. Need more be said?
And now it's the library for me. If you'd like to find me, I'll be in the Upper Camera.
the train station this morning
my home for the next week
this is a picture of where I am staying
