Quick Week

I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged in almost a week. What a bad habit I have gotten into! But in my defense, these few days have really flown by. ☺ I will begin where I left off last time. On Saturday, I stayed in and did a lot of my work for classes. There is quite a bit due around this time of the semester, but I was able to get a lot done.

Sunday was incredible! I was a bit apprehensive about spending Easter away from home and family, but we had such an incredible day. Jordan, Amanda, Megan, and I went to an amazing church service at Holy Trinity Brompton. It was the family service, so there was an abundance of super cute British children everywhere! Plus, the music and service was fantastic, so it was a fabulous day to start out the Easter Day. We even got to meet Sam and his parents there, so that was an added bonus. After church, we went back to the flat and met up with everyone else before heading out to Hyde Park. There was an annual roller blading event where people dressed up like bunnies. It was hilarious, especially the grown man in a yellow tutu trying to be a duck. The entire flat, plus Michael, went out there, so we were able to do a lot of great pictures together. We also got a lot of great Easter portraits in front of the gorgeous flowers. We even got to wear Natalie’s bunny ears in some! After we got back from Hyde Park, we worked together to make a huge and glorious Easter feast. It was so great to have all 8 of us sitting at 1 table to eat a meal that we all pitched into. It was really nice to have a taste of home.

Monday was a fun-filled day at Windsor Castle with Natalie, Jordan, and Chelsey. We got there right before the Changing of the Guards, so we were a stuck in a large group of people, but it improved over time. We weren’t able to see it, but we were able to find our guards later on. We went and saw the guards who were playing in the band. We learned that the queen was actually there! We got to see Queen Mary’s Doll House, which is famous for being so large and ornate. This dollhouse even has running water. Windsor has a special exhibit on Henry VIII, and I got really, really excited. I even got to see a letter that he wrote. It gave me chills to see how he formed his letters and wrote his sentences – it reminds me how passionate I am about history. Once we went through the portrait room where this exhibit was, we went into the State Apartments. In case you don’t know, this castle has been a residence for royalty since the late 1000s, so there is a massive amount of history within these walls. These rooms were so grand and decorated – I was immediately blown away. I believe that my favorite object throughout these rooms would have to be Henry VIII’s armor. It is the closest to the man that I will ever be – I was able to see the curve of his huge belly, the size of his feet, and the width of his shoulders. I can’t describe the feeling that I had standing in front of his armor. There are a lot of really nice rooms where the queen entertains guests and such. Afterwards, we went and got lunch at a Wagamama, which is an Asian food restaurant. We went back into the castle to see St. George’s Chapel, which was incredible. Not only was the Queen Mother buried here, but Henry VIII is also here with his favorite wife, Jane Seymour. We saw the flowers on the altar that was there for the Easter service for Queen Elizabeth II. We were just a day late! ☺ We were also able to take our tourist pictures with the guards. After we were done at Windsor, we walked down the road to Eton College. Eton is where the Prince Henry and William went. It was really pretty and Eton looked like Elon! After exploring Eton, we went back to the train station and went on back to London.

Tuesday was a boring day that started with classes. I had quite a bit of work this week, so I came back here and got a lot of stuff done. Unfortunately, I had to prepare for a big presentation that I had this week.

On Wednesday, I met my art class at Tate Britain to see the Triennial exhibit called Altermodern. There was a lot of interesting work there, but I didn’t really fall in love with any of the pieces. It was a bit too edgy for me. After going through the gallery, I went to meet Sam and his parents for dinner in China Town. It was a great dinner and it was nice to see the Jennings. After dinner, I came back to the flat to get ready for our presentation.

Today got better once class was over. We had our final presentation today, and I think it went pretty well. I’m just glad that it is over. After class, I met Natalie and we got Thai from Boonchoo. We went to the British Library – it was incredible!! I was able to see original works by Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, and Emily Bronte. It was so neat to see their actual handwriting. I saw some writings from the Beatles – even some lyrics from Yesterday. I was able to see music by Handel and Beethoven. I got chills to see a letter that Elizabeth I wrote to the Houses of Parliament. There were incredible illuminated sacred texts from all sorts of religions. Some were from as early as the 1200’s and they look like they were brand new. I can’t believe how ornate their artwork was. The best part of this collection had to be what was waiting for me in the next room. I got to see an original copy of the Magna Carta!! That is from 1215 when the people were tired of King John. I was so amazed to be in the presence of such an influential document that paved the way for the Declaration of Independence and such. I was really impressed with the entire collection. Next week, a huge exhibit opens about Henry VIII and I am definitely going back! We came back to the flats after spending quite a bit of time in the collection to enjoy a relaxing night. I’m not sure what I will be doing tomorrow, but I hope it will be something fun!