One of Those Days

   Do you ever have days where you just want to do nothing? I feel that everyone has those days. When on a study abroad you don't come by these days very often. And I wouldn't want to either. I want to enjoy the countries I am in, I want to go out and see the world. But today, I needed one of them. That does not mean I did not have fun though. We spent the morning in Liverpool so we explored the town a bit more. We went back to the Maritime Museum, did a little shopping, and went on a Ferris wheel. Yup, a Ferris wheel. This was a really split second decision. When you think Liverpool, you don't really think of going on a Ferris wheel. We had time to spare, so we did. I was checking my email and all the sudden Anne and Meg were like, let's go on it. Which is funny in itself because Anne hates heights. Then, I found myself up above the town while it started to rain outside. It was fun, beautiful, and random. Now, I am in Preston, England. Anne and I decided to hang out in the hotel after finding some food and recuperate and enjoy some more Olympics. Watching Micheal Phelps and Ryan Lochte is not a bad way to end the day. 

Liverpool Ferris wheel. 

Hey World

   We were are done with Shakespeare so off to the Beatles we go. A three hour drive later and we made it to Liverpool. Our first stop was not Beatles related though, we went to Maritime Museum. Basically, it was a museum about anything and everything relating to the sea. There was a special exhibit about the Titanic. It was pretty fascinating. I really enjoyed going through it and learning about the real facts surrounding the sinking and not just the movie version. (Though, the movie version has a lot of true facts in it.)

   Our group then went to The Beatles Story. Even if you are not a Beatles fan you would enjoy this museum. Not only are the Beatles a music icon but they became a part of the World’s history. There was a part in the museum that talked about "Beatle Mania". They scenes and stories were crazy! The police holding back crazy fans, people crying and screaming and pretty much being insane. Then I realized, it is a lot like Bieber Fever that has be going on these past few years. Not that I am putting Justin Bieber up to the same level as the Beatles because that would be outrageous statement. Just a thought.
   To end the night, we watched the opening ceremonies for the London Summer Olympics. THEY ARE HERE! Everyone as pumped as me? I just love the Olympics. It was fun to watch it with my friends, in a hotel room, in England. I mean, how unique! And during the boring parts (AKA all the teams walking in) we had a toga party! Normal right? What Olympic party wouldn't have a toga ipod dance party in the middle? A boring one at that! But I can say we watched it all, from the beginning with the scenes of the British farmlands to Hey Jude by Paul McCartney. Go World! And by that I mean, go USA. 

Anne and I started off our morning reading.

 Welcome to Liverpool.

 Maritime Museum. 

 The Beatles Story.

Toga ipod dance party. 

Shakespear, We Meet Again

  Welcome to the land of all things Shakespeare aka Stratford upon Avon. We visited, Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway's, cottage. My favorite part? The gardens. They were stunning. We walked, wandered, strolled through and saw beautiful flowers,  trees and butterflies. It felt like a beautiful summer day. And I guess, that's because it was! We then made our way to the birthplace of Shakespeare. I surprisingly, really enjoyed myself there. They had two actors that would act out scenes from Shakespeare's plays. You could name of anyone and they would know it by heart and start performing it. They did bits from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tame and The Shrew, Midsummer's Night Dream, Richard the III and others. It was a lot of fun to watch. They also had a little station for people to paint their own Coat of Arms. Okay, maybe it was meant for children but I went for it anyways. It was fun to paint in the sun.
   to end the night in a very Shakespeare way we went to see Twelfth Night. This was fantastic. It was set in a modern time but they still used the original script. They were so clever with the set and everything. All in all, it is hilarious. I was laughing the whole time. And I was able to follow the story (thank you She's the Man.) It was really well done.

 I told you Oxford was like Hogwarts. We had breakfast in the Great Hall.

 Anne Hathaway's cottage and gardens. 

 Romeo & Juliet.

 Arts and crafts time. 

 Where Shakespeare was born and lived.

 Cute bookstore.

Making wishes in the fountain before seeing Twelfth Night. 

Hogwarts? Oh wait, it is Oxford instead.

After Paris, finals, packing and saying goodbye to London it is safe to say the whole group was a bit tired today. And it was hot. (Though I am not going to complain too much because I have been wanting the sun this whole trip!) But today was not necessarily the best day for a walking tour around Oxford. This place is pretty sweet! Did you know the Oxford University is actually made up of lots of many colleges. Because that is some of the useful information I found out on said tour. And I saw some of the spots the filmed for Harry Potter. So that was pretty neat. During the tour I just looked around and could see that everyone was just so beat. It was funny to see people leaning against the wall and half listening to the tour. I am still glad we went on it. Oxford is great. I would go to school here. You know, besides it being super expensive. No big deal. The town around is pretty adorable too. I mean, I got a free fudge sample. That in itself made the day great! 

   Oh, I totally forgot. This morning we took a tour of the Oxford Printing Press. We learned a lot about the Oxford English Dictionary. Yup, that is all I have to say about that. 

 Bye bye London. I'll miss you.

 Oxford Printing Press.

Oxford University.

 This is my, "It's famous, will you take my picture?" pose. 

 This is for the Harry Potter fans.

   This is the dorms we are staying in at Kable College a part of Oxford. Pretty nifty if you ask me.

To Be or Not To Be

   Remember when I complained about my flat on the seventh floor? Well today we made the trek up 528 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. It was absolutely beautiful up there. You can see a 360 view of the city. And it wasn't raining. What more could I ask for? The cathedral itself has been my favorite one so far too. On the ceilings there are beautiful mosaics made from 1 inch glass pieces that  were painted. I was in awe that someone would have the patience to do that. I definitely couldn't. 
   After the tour in St. Paul's we rewarded ourselves with a little Starbucks and made our way to the Millennium Bridge. It is a fun pedestrian bridge across the river Thames. It was also featured in Harry Potter. So you know, it is kind of a big deal. We had a fun walking around and taking pictures. 
   To end the day we went and saw Richard III in the Globe Theater. I sat in seat B2 (hence the cliche title. Couldn't resist.) This is the second longest play of Shakespeare next to Hamlet. And it was, er, um. Long. Nearly three hours. British people must be a lot smarter than Americans or at least me when it comes to Shakespeare because I had no idea what was happening. Everyone would laugh and I would just be like, "oh, ha ha ha." I understood probably 10% of the plot. 9% of that from the synopsis we read before we left. I was really glad I went though. Such a cool experience. This is the kind of entertainment I would have enjoyed back in the good ol' days too. It was very authentic too, with an all male cast. The King was very funny and had anger management problems. My favorite part was the 2 minute fighting scene. The fact that is was at the end I am sure had nothing to do with it. 

 St. Paul's Cathedral.

Going to the very top!

London 360 view.

Hanging out with these lovely ladies and exploring the Millennium Bridge. 

My experience at Globe Theater. I am very cultured now.