The Time I Finished My Study Abroad and Saw Westminster Abbey

After two solid days of studying biological profiling, trauma analysis, and bone cell histology, we took our final on Thursday morning. It was a relief to be done with our test, but I was sad to think it could be a long, long time before I ever return to the classroom in the Botany Building of Regent's College where we held lectures. 
Though I'd spent five weeks in London, I still hadn't seen Westminster Abbey. What better way to spend my last day in London then to see the famous, historic landmark? Between instinctively knowing which Tube line and stop to get off for the Abbey and not feeling the urge to take pictures of Big Ben when I passed it, I felt like a real Londoner. Entering Westminster Abbey, however, that feeling passed. Entering the Abbey completely takes your breath away. Grand, imposing, and lavishly decorated, these walls have seen a thousand years of English history: it has seen monarchs be crowned and wed (some more than once), and many, many, important people be interred in its floors and walls upon their deaths. Similar to St. George's Chapel in Windsor but on a greater scale, Westminster Abbey feels in many ways like a giant mausoleum. We saw the final resting places of Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary I, Mary, Queen of Scots, many Edwardian kings, and James VI of Scotland and I of England. We saw the graves and memorials of poets from Chaucer to Keats to Shakespeare; of composers such as Handel; of actors the likes of Sir Laurence Olivier; and of the famous scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Everywhere you look in Westminster Abbey, there are inscriptions, tombs, and monuments to the dead. Some are plain and simple stone, others are gilded and brightly painted. Many of the coffins and tombs bear death masks of the people inside them. In every corner and on almost every inch of ground you can step on, there are plaques in memory of the individuals buried there.
It wasn't only famous dead people; we also saw the grand, mosaic-tiled stage where monarchs of England have been crowned for hundreds of years. It was a sobering moment thinking about how many centuries of history this building had seen and wondering how many more it would see in the future.
In the afternoon, all of us on the program met up for the last time in London at the Larrik, the pub around the corner from our flats where Mallory, Holly, and I had eaten dinner our first night in London so many weeks ago. We all got our grades from the final (all my studying paid off, I 4.0'd the class!), bought the professor a pint, and reminisced about our summer abroad in London. I couldn't believe it had gone so fast and that it was time to say goodbye to all my new friends until the fall.
On our last outing in London, some of us went to Hyde Park to wander around the scenic Serpentine and listen to the concert that was being thrown in honor of the Olympic Torch finally making it to London. The sun was just beginning to set as we waded through the Princess Diana memorial fountain, snapped pictures of the swans floating serenely down the Serpentine, and sang along to the concert in the distance. It was a perfect last night of an amazing summer in London. I hope to be back soon, but at least for the next two weeks I'll be able to live vicariously in London through watching the Olympics!

The Time I Sailed Down the Thames and Followed in the Footsteps of Jack the Ripper

Our last week in London turned out to be a week of excellent weather. It was finally warm and sunny, and we were thrilled when we got out of our Monday lecture early to take a river cruise down the Thames. We got on near Big Ben and the Parliament building, and enjoyed the sunshine on the top deck of the ship as it sailed to the Tower of London. On our way down river, we saw the London Eye, London Bridge, the original location of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the glass monstrosity that is the new Shard building, and, according to the tour guide, "Christopher Wren's last erection": a comically tall and shiny monument commemorating the Great Fire.
For dinner, some of us had the brilliant idea of going back to the Westfield Mall at Olympic Park for sushi. Little did we know, not only was it the rehearsal for Olympic Opening Ceremonies, one of the two Tube lines going to Olympic Park was shut down. The Tube, the Mall and the Park were beyond crowded, and we were seriously concerned about getting crushed in the throngs of people. The only plus was that it was impossible to get lost on the way. At every Tube station near Olympic Park, as well as at every corner above ground, there were police men and volunteers with megaphones and neon jackets pointing everyone toward the Park. That was in addition to the hundreds of bright pink signs that with arrows pointing "OLYMPIC PARK THIS WAY." Our efforts were rewarded with a Monday sushi special - every plate only 2.40! Score.
After dinner, we made our way to the East End of London for a Jack the Ripper Tour. Although it wasn't quite dark yet, it was still a little creepy as we followed our tour guide through back alleys and narrow streets to the locations where the bodies of four of the five Victorian-era prostitutes viciously murdered by the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, were found. Our tour guide projected the gory police photos of each of the women's bodies onto the sides of buildings, and we became aware that there are people in this world creepier than budding forensic anthropologists: some of the lovely people who were also on our tour snapped a worrisome amount of pictures of the disturbing crime scene photos.
After that tour, it was dark in the East End, and we were happy to travel home by Tube in a large group with our classmates.

The Time I Finally Went to Stonehenge

I've been waiting all summer to go to Stonehenge, and on the last Sunday of the program, my wish finally came true. After two long days of train stations, queues, and sightseeing, I was overjoyed to be taking a lovely air conditioned, tour guide-ed, bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath. Our tour guide, Lucy, pointed out significant buildings our entire way out of the city and gave us some historical background on Stonehenge, Bath, and random factoids about London, the British monarchy, and English expressions. Having her point out buildings of interest - Harrod's and the hotel where Kate Middleton spent the night before her wedding, for example - and explaining the significance of various statues and landmarks was so much nicer than our usual method of sightseeing: take pictures first, figure out what the heck it was we just saw later. We arrived at Stonehenge at about 10:30 in the morning.  For once in our entire English experience, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, the fields were green, and the sheep were grazing. It was almost even warm out; I commend the sun on making a valiant effort. What struck me about the site as I looked around was the vast emptiness around it. The stones look small and almost out of place in the center of a landscape of highways and hilly, brown and green fields that go on as far as the eye can see. It was a bit surreal to see the crowds of tourists with cameras and headphones snapping pictures as they wandered slowly around the still, stone circle.  
After about an hour of admiring Stonehenge and pondering about the ancients who built it, we were back on the bus and off to Bath. The lovely Lucy informed us we had three hours in Bath - plenty of time, we thought, until we got there. There is so much to do and see in Bath: the ruins of an ancient Roman Bath, an imposing, medieval church in the center of town, a Georgian circus at the top of the hilly city, several small museums, and a sizable shopping district. We went first to the Roman Baths, where we got to see the ruins of what was once an impressive spa, heated by the natural hot springs that run beneath the city of Bath. The main bath was the largest, a huge, rectangular pool still running with hot water. Surrounding the pool were columns and archways made from the same yellowish-tan Bath stone the entire city is built from. We even stuck our toes in the water just to check the temperature - perfect for a bath, even if the water's slightly murky, greenish appearance made it a bit unappetizing. After the baths, we ran to the other side of town to visit the Jane Austen Center. The author lived in Bath for several years, and even used the city as the setting for two of her novels. We had a great time walking through the museum and looking at mannequins dressed in the fashions of Jane's time, sitting rooms set up according to scenes in the novels, and reading about the life of the famous author. We even got to have our pictures taken as we tried on bonnets and parasols, and had some almond cookies that would have been served with tea in Austen's time.
Between the Roman Baths, the Jane Austen Center, and wandering through the beautiful stone city of Bath, we had used up our three hours of sightseeing time and it was time to go back to the bus. Although it was easier and more relaxed to take a scheduled bus tour where we didn't have to worry about transportation or directions, if I came back to England, I would definitely go back to Bath and spend an entire day there. I wish I could have explored and seen more of what the city has to offer - especially the Georgian circus and the wide and varied shopping areas.  
When I got back to London, my busy weekend didn't end. I met up with my good friend Craig at the Shakespeare pub near Victoria train station. Over some delicious chicken and mushroom pie, I got to have a great conversation about school, life, and England with Craig, who was visiting London on a day off from his summer classes at Cambridge.
After such a long day, I was glad I knew the Tube system well enough not to have to think about how to get home. Maybe I'm almost a Londoner after all.

The Time I Couldn't Take Pictures at Windsor Castle

After taking a train out of London to see a palace on Friday, I took another train out of London to see a castle. Windsor Castle, to be precise; I think you may have heard of it. This train ride, however, was neither as fast nor as empty as the one to Hampton Court. We were lucky to get seats at all as we journeyed from Paddington Station to Slough to Windsor/Eton Central. The theme of crowds continued as we arrived in Windsor, a cute, cobblestoned town full of shops and pubs, standing ever in the shadow of the enormous Windsor Castle. Maybe it's because the Olympics are next week. Maybe it's because it was a Saturday in the summer. No matter what the reason, I have never seen such a quaint little town juxtaposed by so many massive crowds of people. I'm not sure if cars aren't allowed to drive through town, or if they are too afraid to try, because the streets and all the sidewalks for a good two blocks were filled with people waiting to get in to see the castle. One of the police officers, whose sole job was to direct visitors into the correct queue, exasperatedly informed me that on that particular day, 586 language students were taking a field trip to see Windsor Castle. After almost an hour in the queue, we finally made it into the castle, where I made my next mistake: after seeing the daunting line for the free audio guides, I decided to be my own tour guide throughout the Castle. I really regret this, as there are few plaques or signs to tell you exactly what you are looking at once inside. Not much of Windsor Castle is open to the public, as it is still used as a place of residence for Her Majesty, the Queen. In fact, it is her favorite residence. According to the flag bearing Queen Elizabeth's coat of arms, the Queen was actually in residence while we were there, no doubt enjoying the relative solitude of her private apartments. What we were able to see inside Windsor Castle were: the beautiful flowered and waterfall-ed garden built where a moat once stood, the grenadier standing guard in the Lower Ward, St. George's Chapel, the State Apartments, and Queen Mary's Dollhouse. The State Apartments were, as with all the castles and palaces we have seen in the past few weeks, quite lavish and stunning. My favorite areas: the Waterloo room, a giant dining room featuring a massive wooden dining table watched by the portraits of famous men involved in the Battle of Waterloo; Queen Victoria's "nick room," full of exotic treasures, crowns and swords that were "presented to" (read: taken by) Her Majesty; and, my favorite, St. George's Hall. The ceiling of St. George's Hall features the coat of arms of every Knight of the Garter in English history. Since the shields are numbered and associated with names, we had fun picking out Sir Charles Brandon's (a friend of Henry VIII and a main character on the Tudors), Sir Thomas Boleyn's, and - of course - Prince William's coats of arms. Queen Mary's dollhouse was also a fun exhibit; the mansion of a dollhouse featured working electricity and plumbing, exquisite to-scale furniture, and more rooms than I have in my real house. The most exciting place we visited at Windsor, however, was St. George's Chapel. More a royal mausoleum/mini cathedral than a chapel, St. George's is the resting place of many Georgian Kings, as well as the Queen Mother and King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father. Probably the best part of the day was when I discovered I was inadvertently standing on King Henry VIII - and his beloved third wife, Queen Jane's - grave. Unfortunately for my camera-addicted self, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside any building in Windsor. Before we could even think about testing the seriousness of this rule, we watched a matronly tour guide roughly snatch the camera out of a rule-breaker's hands and scold him severely for trying to snap a picture of the statue of Queen Victoria inside the State Apartments. Guess I will be Googling pictures for my scrapbook. After a very, very long day of pushing and being pushed through crowds, we stopped for a bite to eat a local pub, the Carpenter's Arms. Apart from having delicious food (try the chicken and mushroom pie), the Nicholson is a historical building; from 1509 until the 19th century when it was bricked up, the tunnel in the basement of the pub led straight into the Castle. Links of the Day: Windsor Castle: http://www.windsor.gov.uk/things-to-do/windsor-castle-p43983 St. George's Chapel: http://www.windsor.gov.uk/things-to-do/st-georges-chapel-p45153 Mary's Dollhouse: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/berkshire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9101000/9101131.stm The Carpenter's Arms: http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thecarpentersarmswindsor/

The Time I Went to Hampton Court Palace

On Friday, I made the trek from Waterloo station all the way to Hampton Court Palace. The train remained nearly empty throughout the entire half-hour trip, a pleasant change from the overcrowded Olympic Tube routes inside London. My experience at Hampton Court Palace was about as perfect as anyone could ask - besides my friend and I, there seemed to be no one else there, save for one tour group. We felt like we were on a private tour as we visited the historic palace where monarchs of England from Henry VIII to Charles I and II to William and Mary have resided. There was an extensive exhibit about Henry VIII's early life; we got to see where the Princess Mary once stayed, the great dining hall where the Tudors and their courtiers once feasted, even Henry's wine cellar and kitchens. We were literally the only ones walking through King William III's apartments, and the Lower Orangery, which now houses Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar. An interesting new attraction set up in Queen Mary II's apartments was an art exhibit called "The Wild, the Beautiful, and the Damned." The exhibit featured paintings of dozens of royal mistresses throughout history (particularly those of Charles II, the Merry King) and took two major approaches to the subject: the various manners in which artists portrayed the women (anywhere from explicitly promoting their sexual availability to painting them as Saints and Madonnas), and the social advantages and stigmas the kings' mistresses would have experienced. More impressive than anything we saw inside, however, were the vast and numerous gardens. We saw the formal gardens, with gray gravel walkways and pruned trees shaped cartoonishly like triangles dotting the green lawns. We saw the Tudor rose gardens, full of roses in every imaginable color, still mostly in bloom and cocooned from the outside world behind red brick walls. We saw the privy gardens, full of neatly arranged and manicured hedges and colorful flowers that geometrically complimented the fountain full of coy in the center. We also got to see the Great Vine, a gigantic grape vine that has been producing fruit since it was planted in 1769. The trip to Hampton Court Palace is worth going just to see the breathtaking gardens. Though we spent hours at the Palace, we didn't even see everything there was to see. Hunger soon got the best of us, and we ended up taking the train and the Tube all the way to Stratford, where Olympic Park and the new Westfield Mall are located. Now, I've been to various malls in various big cities in my life, but I have never seen anything quite like the mall in front of Olympic Park. There are touch screen maps located throughout the three-story shopping mall, which houses restaurants serving every kind of food you can think of, a grocery store, and every clothing and shoe store you can possibly imagine. That's not even including "The Street," the outdoor avenue of shops, restaurants and bars that separate the monstrous mall from the gateway to Olympic Park. There was even a movie theater on the very top floor with touch screen kiosks where you could buy tickets and pick out your own seats within the theater. Being the opening day of The Dark Knight Rises (and being curious about how the self-serve kiosks worked) we couldn't resist buying tickets to see it. Highly recommend the film, by the way. After the movie, we went in search for the best store from which to view Olympic Park. Because of security issues, you can't get very close to the actual park without special IDs or tickets, but from some of the department store windows you can get a pretty good view of some of the buildings. As it turns out, the best view is from the Olympic Merchandise store on the top floor. I guess we could have figured that one out... Finally, we finished off our long day with something sweet and familiar - Pinkberry frozen yogurt. Who says you can't have dessert for dinner? Links of the Day: Hampton Court Palace: http://www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace/stories The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned: http://www.hrp.org.uk/NewsAndMedia/hcpresources/TheWildtheBeautifulandtheDamned Westfield Mall at Olympic Park: http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Shopping/Westfield-Stratford-City/41b5a/

The Time I Had an Insane Sightseeing Weekend

As you may have noticed, I've avoided posting about this past weekend; not because it wasn't fun or exciting, but simply because I don't even know where to begin. In three days, I went to Hampton Court Palace, Olympic Park, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath, watched The Dark Knight Rises, AND I managed to have dinner with my lovely friend Craig, who is currently taking classes at Cambridge. How did I accomplish so much sightseeing in one weekend? My friends said I was crazy. I think they're right. With under a week left until our program ends and I leave London for the summer, I wanted to see and do as much as I could during my last weekend. I wish I had the time to write in detail about everywhere I went, but unfortunately time isn't something I have on my side. I'm actually writing this post while on a break from studying for our final exam (if you ever need to know the difference between perikymata and striae of Retzius, I'm your girl). I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing for my faithful readers - here's looking at you, Mom and Dad - but for now, I'll just be sharing the highlights of the weekend in the following three posts.

The Time I Touched a 350,000 Year Old Hand Axe and (almost) Sang Along to Sweeney Todd

People always say that one day in the British Museum isn't enough, and they're right. On Wednesday afternoon, our class returned to the British Museum to spend more time exploring its many exhibits. Since I, along with several of my classmates, work in the Nubian Bioarchaeology Lab at MSU, I decided to start with the Sudan and Nubia exhibit. At MSU, the remains we analyze are from the fourth cataract of the Nile, and date to the Medieval Christian Period of Nubia. Although we know and have been given some historical background pertinent to the society in our collection, the our focus in the lab is not primarily historical. Because of this, it was very interesting to find information that was familiar as well as new, as the exhibit spanned from prehistorical to Islamic Nubia. Some familiar things: when discussing burials in the Christian era, the exhibit displayed some of the shrouds that individuals were buried in. In cleaning the remains in the MSU lab, we have seen evidence of some of those shrouds. As for new information, it was interesting to learn about the history of Nubia (a region in southern Egypt and northern Sudan along the Nile River) before and after the period our collection comes from. Something I found particularly interesting was the Egyptian depiction of Nubian people. On display were several Egyptian paintings in which the Nubians were stereotypically identified by their dark skin, feathered headdresses, and kilts made of leopard skin. Apart from the Nubian exhibit, I explored several other areas of the British Museum. In the Mesopotamian exhibit I saw artifacts recovered from the Great Death Pit at Ur, where seventy servants had been killed, preserved, and dressed in finery to accompany their dead queen to the afterlife. In the Britain exhibit, which spanned from Roman to Medieval times, I saw Lindow Man, a first-century mummy pulled out of a peat bog in Northwest England. I also saw the world's most famous chess set, the Lewis chess set, carved out of whale teeth and walrus tusks and dating from the 1100's. Models of these pieces were even used in the Harry Potter movie when Ron and Harry play wizard's chess. At different points in the museum, British Museum employees had set up "touch stations" where patrons were invited to hold and touch some of the artifacts. I got to touch: a 350,000 year old hand axe, a necklace from the Solomon Islands containing the teeth of over five dolphins, and an ancient Egyptian cosmetic container. Not bad for one afternoon at the British Museum. Later that night, our group went to the Adelphi Theatre to see Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It was my second West End show in two nights, lucky me! For those of you who know the (rather gory) plot, the special effects employed in the stage production were amazing and completely did it justice. I'm not sure I want to know how many fake blood packets they go through in one show, but I imagine it's a lot. A special treat was that Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's accomplice and landlady, was played by Imelda Staunton. Some of you may have seen her as Professor Umbridge in the Harry Potter film series? The whole production was great, and I had to actively try not to sing along to the songs I knew. Well, not loudly, at least. Links of the Day: Lindow Man: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/l/lindow_man.aspx Lewis Chess Set: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/young_explorers/discover/a_closer_look/lewis_chessmen.aspx Imelda Staunton: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001767/ Sweeney Todd: http://sweeneytoddwestend.com/