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| A lovely little replica key chain of the Queens Coronation carriage that I got at Buckingham Palace. |
Hello, hello to all my lovely readers :)
Sorry it has yet again been far too long since I made a blog post. I always sit down with the aim of writing and then I hear a "knock knock" on my door and off on another adventure I go! Even as I sit here now, I can hear my flat mates in the kitchen preparing for another night of shenanigans.
Now comes the difficult part of back tracking in my past week. Where to start....
Well how about with Buckingham Palace!?!
Not this past Thursday, but the Thursday before I made the conscious decision that I was not exploring my touristy side quite enough and needed to go on a proper London adventure. With the knowledge that that Sunday the Queen would be returning to the palace and touring of it would no longer be allowed I knew I had to make a decision right then and there. So on a whim I bought a ticket and prepared my self for a solo venture out into the streets of London.
The next day I came to find out this girl named Jessica, who I met in the airport and was lucky enough to bump into again, was looking for an adventure herself so she quickly snagged a ticket and joined me on my venture.
Getting to the palace wasn't too difficult. We got on the right tube line right for the get go, it was just walking from the tube to the Palace that was a little complicated. But we quickly figured it out and made it just in time to start heading into the palace.
I was very sad to discover cameras weren't allowed inside of the palace but in a way I guess it was a blessing. A camera probably would have taken me out of the moment and this is not place you would want to forget a thing about.
When it comes to breaking down the majesty of the palace, I mean I really wish I could put it into words. I was aw struck, dumb founded, amazed, enchanted. I fell in love with the walls, and the architecture, the grand stair case, the hall of baroque paintings, the history. With every room I walked in, I got chills. I am a total history buff, especially for European history, and I just could not believe that I was in a palace where all of these incredible people walked, lived, made life changing decisions. With every step I took, I could feel how incredibly special I really was for even having this opportunity.
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| The Back of Buckingham Palace |
My friend Jessica took quite a few pictures as well and once she sends them to me I'll make sure to make a blog post of those.
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| Part of the grounds at Buckingham Palace. |
After our tour, I looked at Jessica and asked "What next," and she responded with one of the most British statements I've heard an America say yet:
"Screw it, lets just get fish and chips and a pint."
And that's exactly what we did.
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| My fish and chips and a good 'ol pint of Guiness |
My weekend was then wonderfully eventful with all kinds of adventures with my flatmates. Monday announced the start of a new school week and I had my Theater Management class. Though I was a little upset that I had to take this class at first because I was hoping for all performance classes, I have met some really incredible people through it and think it's going to be really exciting learning experience. That night followed with a Theatre Society Pub Crawl where I got to meet and bond with a bunch of different drama students. The week flowed by with some bonding time with the flat mates, homework, a flatmate scary movie night on Wednesday and of course preparations for RJs birthday celebration on Friday!
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| We watched the possession. It was pretty awful. But we watched a British comedian after to make up for it :) |
On Friday morning I had my beyond acting class which I have to say I am absolutely IN LOVE with. Experimental theater is pretty much the main focus of study in the theater program here at Queen Mary which I find very interesting. Even though we do some experimental work at Purchase it is certainly not the focus of study and I don't think I've ever really had an opportunity to explore it all that much. This acting class focuses on the general idea of no longer being an actor on the stage but rather trying your best not to perform at all. My professor is continually bringing me to interesting realizations about the presence of my body on the stage and I am so excited to see how this class will influence my acting in the future.
After class I headed back to the flat and dragged RJ out on a shopping trip with me so the rest of the flat could get everything ready for his birthday celebration.
Upon returning to campus there were balloons in the window and a lovely sign reading "Happy 19th RJ!" Filled with excitement we ran up to the flat to see if everything was done but everyone was a little behind schedule so RJ had to hide in his room until all preparations could be completed.
When we were finally done, the kitchen was spotless, we were all in our party hat attire and there was a little cupcake birthday cake burning brightly on the table.
I was the one to retrieve RJ and I brought him into the kitchen with his eyes closed where he was then greeted by Ben on guitar and the entire flat singing Happy Birthday. Lets just say, for someone who doesn't enjoy fuss on his birthday, he was very pleased with the sight of it all.
We then did presents where he received from me a cake baking pan, a lovely mug that stated his queenship in our flat and this fantastic card:
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| It's perfect, I know. |
The night was just as exciting as the initial party it self with a trip down to the Pub down the road for some drinks and plenty of music and good cheer.
Oh! I also forgot to mention, I went to my first London Club! It was the final official Freshers event at this club called Fabric. I was slightly reluctant consdiering I'm normally not a clubbing type person but I had a blast and honestly can't wait to do it again!
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| In the tube station on our way to Fabric! |
And now we have reached today, which I must admit has been quite uneventful. A lot of my flat has gone for the weekend so I spent most of the day cleaning up from the party and catching up on American television. So many things are coming up though! I'm currently in the process of hunting down tickets for some shows on the West End, scheduled a trip to Ireland in early November to see the family, and I just made plans with my cousin Klaus to meet up for the first time ever on Tuesday. All and all, I'm very excited to see what other adventures London has in store for me.
Much Love,
Caitlin
