Last Day in London (Day 5)

Our last day in London we took our time in the morning to repack our things so we'd be ready to leave for our very early flight. Then around noon mom and I headed to Westminster Abbey for a communion service which meant we got to see the nave of the abbey for free (like I did when I went to the organ recital there in December). We did look around a little and saw where Charles Darwin is buried in scientists' corner. Too bad poets' corner isn't in the nave. All I really want is to see Shakespeare. :(

The service was fine, I like the sharing of the peace. Telling people "peace be with you" seems like a good thing to do. During the communion, since we don't normally take communion, we got a blessing from the (fairly young) priest instead, and I'm down with the whole "light and love of God be with you" idea, too.

After the service we took an unfortunately roundabout way of getting to Harrods and therefore didn't have much time there, but we got to see some expensive clothes, the memorial to Princess Diana, and in the windows outside there were lots of crowns designed by famous designers as well as a replica of Queen Elizabeth's coronation dress (again for the jubilee). Very sparkly.

Then it was time for tea! We had made reservations the day before for us and Kerry to have afternoon tea at St. Paul's because we planned to go to evensong at the cathedral. We ended up having lots of problems with the underground because of signal delays, so we ended up taking a cab and still being 15 minutes late. On the way we got to see some parts of London we hadn't been to though, so it wasn't too bad.

Tea was awesome. Mom and I both had peppermint tea while Kerry had chamomile (bit of a stressful day, she had). They brought over a tiered platter with three kinds of finger sandwiches (cucumber and butter, egg salad and watercress, and salmon and cream), biscuits with clotted cream and jam, and for dessert some little ginger cookies and custard tarts with berries and grapes(?) on top. Three of everything, a mini serving for each of us, and it was all delicious. While we were eating a group of five clergymen came in - among them the young priest from St. Paul's. Crazy.

Crazier still was that all of the sudden we were rushed out at 4:30 - half an hour before their tea times end, because of a function happening in the crypt, where the restaurant was. We weren't asked to pay or told how much we owed or anything, and we kind of hesitatingly walked to the door, but no one stopped us so we left. Three free teas for the price of one taxi ride wasn't so bad. Thanks, St. Paul!

Turns out the priests or whatever and the function were part of the service we were going to - not a regular evensong service at all, but the installation of the very reverend David John Ison as the dean of St. Paul's. We made it through over an hour of long hymns we couldn't sing along to and a sermon and a parade of church officials (and I know what a virger is now) before we respectfully left during the stat of yet another hymn, which wasn't the last.

Mom and I thought about going to the Victoria and Albert museum, which is open late on Fridays, but we were all tired so instead the three of us went to a pub by Kerry's for dinner and a pint. Despite being a traditional
English pub, the place served Thai food, but it was very good and we were hungry, so no complaints for sure. Kerry and I had originally planned to go out dancing that night, but both still being tired, we decided to buy a bottle of Bailey's continuing our tradition and drink at home and take a nap before leaving at 2 am to head for the bus to the bus to the bus to the airport. Yep.

So much thanks and love to Kerry for all her hospitality and for making us laugh and thinking we're funny instead of absolutely nuts. Can't wait to see you in NYC next time!

And then, we were on to Madrid...

Wait, There's More London (Day 4)

After the very exciting day full of walking at the studio tour, we spent the evening relaxing in Kerry's apartment, still trying to catch up on sleep from the week before, and making plans for Thursday and Friday, our final two days in London.

Thursday we went first to get tickets to One Man, Two Guvnors, which has recently come to Broadway but has been playing in London for over a year. The Theatre Royal Haymarket is right near Trafalgar Square, where we got off the tube, so after getting tickets we stopped in at the National Gallery. Mostly we wanted to see the works of van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Gaugin, so we didn't spend too long there before heading out to make our way to the Tower of London.

Trains were a bit of a mess that day and it turned out the two lines we could have taken from that stop to Tower Hill were both not running, so we had to brave the bus and hope to get off in the right place. We made it to the Tower of London and before heading in stopped outside for fish and chips, which I didn't try the last time I was in London, even though I'd wanted to since I saw Spice World when I was seven.

Turns out Mom and I aren't big fans.

So we headed to the tower, which is actually much less tower-y than I expected. None of the towers are very tall, and there's actually twenty of them. So the name is quite misleading. We did a walking tour in the hot sun, learning from a yeoman warder (a beefeater, as they're better known) about executions and tortures and all sorts of gruesome things. Mom's main interest in coming to this particular tourist attraction, however, was to see the crown jewels, so as soon as our tour was over, that's what we did.

In the crown jewels exhibit are several crowns dating back to at least the 17th century and probably earlier. We also got to see the royal regalia Queen Elizabeth II wore to her coronation in 1953. (This year, next week in fact, is the celebration of the Queen's diamond jubilee, the beginning of the 60th year of her reign. She's just four years shy of tying Victoria for longest reigning monarch of England.) Everything is shiny and gold and gilded, brocaded, etc. We watched a video of her coronation. It looked like mostly it involved sitting a lot and holding things - two scepters and an orb - and looking somber while people talked. She didn't look very happy, but I think she was about my age when she became queen, and I wouldn't have been happy about having to act all proper on behalf of an entire country either.

Once we finished with the crown jewels (which also included looking at a lot of really ridiculously fancy gold plates and punch bowls and what have you) we caught a brief theatrical display of two women arguing over whether a judge who had been loyal to King James (can't remember which one) should be hanged for all his decisions to kill people, since James (a Catholic) was no longer king. The acting was pretty bad and the situation hard to relate to though, so it was a little disappointing when the description had sold us on something about betrayal and the war not really being over.

A little more walking around (in which we saw a bunch of crown settings with no jewels, oddly enough, because they frequently reuse them when they make new crowns), and we were both exhausted and ready to go back to Kerry's to relax before the theatre. (6 hours of walking around at Harry Pottor follows by several hours of walking on cobblestones at the Tower of London did our feet no kindnesses.)

After an hour to collect ourselves and rest our feet at Kerry's apartment, we set out again for the theatre. After we were already on the train we found out the station we had used that morning to get to the theatre was closed. Luckily I knew enough to get us to the theatre from the next stop, and we made it to the show with a couple minutes to spare.

When we got to our seats (front row center, oh yes) a band was playing on stage. It seemed to be country music, but British, which thoroughly confused me, and I wondered why that, of all aspects of American culture, was what had made it to Britain. The lead singer had an infectious smile though and the guitarist looked like a young Leo DiCaprio, so I was content despite my confusion. I'm not quite sure how to explain the show - it borrows some plot elements of Twelfth Night, some traditional slapstick comedy, some audience participation that resulted in the lead actor never being able to keep a straight face, and more British country music during scene changes, occasionally with various actors coming out to play random instruments like steel drums or xylophone. At one point the woman sitting next to me got brought up on stage for a lengthy scene and... Well I don't want to spoil it for people who may go see it in New York. In fact I may go see it again to try and figure a few things out.

During intermission the band played some more (numbers sometimes included a harmonica, a washboard, and spoons) and then the show resumed. At the end of the show there was inexplicably a musical number performed by the whole cast. I have no idea why; it had nothing to do with the band. Overall it was one of the weirdest shows I've seen (and I've seen a lot of weird things) but we had a good time and laughed a lot.

Gelato on the street, a man playing a traffic cone like a trumpet, and home again home again, jiggity jig.

Hogwarts Will Always Be There to Welcome You Home (Day 3)

This was the day I had been waiting for since we booked our tickets in March. I think we may have booked these tickets before we did anything else. WB Harry Potter studio tour in London(ish). The Making of Harry Potter is at Leavesden studios, which is about 20 minutes outside of central London by train. The tour website said the tour lasts approximately 3 hours but is mostly self-guided so you can go at your own pace. Clearly, we knew this meant it would take way more than 3 hours, since I raced through the Harry Potter exhibition in 1.5 hours when it was only supposed to take 45 minutes. (I'm gonna switch tenses a lot. Sorry. I'm exhausted.) We arrived at Leavesden via double decker shuttle bus, which is decorated on the outside so there's no doubt it's the HP bus. Very cool. Our entry time was noon, and we got there around 11:30, ready to go. I picked up my digital guide and souvenir guidebook that came with my deluxe package (it's got to be done right, right?) and we queued to enter, beginning with Harry's cupboard under the stairs outside he main entry. It's actually even smaller in person than one might expect. Upon entering, there is first a video in which David Heyman, the producer, and some other film people talk about bringing the books to life and the phenomenon that has touched millions around the world. I had tears in my eyes right from the beginning. This is my childhood they're talking about. David Heyman is a pretty awesome guy. He sure cares about the books a lot. The next room was a theatre with another film, this one featuring Dan, Rupert, and Emma, talking a little bit about what we're about to see and what it was like for them to grow up at the studios, where they spent ten years of their twenty-something lives. A little bit of me continues to mourn their rule of only casting British actors. I still remember how angry I was at age ten that I couldn't audition for Hermione. And then the screen goes away, the doors to the Great Hall appear, and we're about to begin. The set is still there in its entirety, flagstone floor, wooden benches, Dumbledore's owl podium, the fireplace, and various costumes from each of the houses. At the front stand the costumes of many teachers, including Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Flitwick, Trelawney, Moody, and Filch. We eventually had to leave that room because the next tour group was coming in, but all I wanted to do was sit down at a table (RAVENCLAW) and stay forever. From the Great Hall we enter the rest of J Stage, where tons of sets can be seen, all with informational placards and more audio and video on my guide (the battery will die before I finish). Tom Felton narrates at each stop and then there are additional video clips and galleries of concept art or behind the scenes photos as well. I look at, listen to, and read everything. There is a scale model of the ceiling, a 1/8 which is the largest version of the ceiling that ever existed - there was never a real vaulted ceiling above the Great Hall, the model was used and then CGi magic was added. There are dozens of wigs and bits of facial hair from the makeup department. Tom Felton had a wig but for some reason still had a 3 hour appointment every week to keep his hair freakishly blonde.  The directors each talk a little in a video about what being involved in the movies meant to them and what it was like at their particular stage of the series. There's a Yule Ball table and a table of chocolates and cakes and ice cream from a feast in Chamber of Secrets. One of the best things about this tour is it celebrates all the unseen work of thousands of people who made the movies possible, from the art department to builders to set decorators to makeup to the creature shop. And I loved the opportunity to stare at the detail and intricacies of all their proudest work. Costumes showed four versions of the same outfit Dan wore in Deathly Hallows, a jacket, tshirt, and jeans, in different stages of destruction during the battle of Hogwarts. I know not everyone cares about all the details as much as I do, so I'll try not to ramble on too much. Sets: Gryffindor common room and boys' dormitory, bits of the leaky Cauldron, Dumbledore's office, a cage full of props, a display of wands, defense against the dark arts and potions classrooms, a portrait gallery, the Burrow, the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge's office, Hagrid's hut, and so many bits and pieces of things. There was a sp evil effects and visual effects area that showed how a lot of the green screen bits came to life. By the time I finished this part (rushing through the last quarter because based on someone's estimate of the second half I wasn't going to finish in time for the last bus at 7:30), I had already spent over 3 hours in the tour. Yep. Outside on the backlot were vehicles: the Knight Bus, the Ford Anglia, and Hagrid's motorbike. We took pictures in all of them, after a brief rest for sandwiches and butterbeer. That's right, I've now been to both of the only places in the world that sell butterbeer. Also on the backlot were two Privet Drive houses, Tom Riddle Sr.'s grave statue, and several chess pieces from the first movie. They're massive. From the backlot we moved to K Stage, which started with the creature shop. Tons of masks of individual goblins, mockups of infieri, a life size Buckbeak that moves, models of Dobby and several of the actors (for times when they're dead-like, I suppose, such as in the second task of the triwizard tournament). Warwick Davis (Flitwick/Griphook) leads several videos in this area that explain how lots of prosthetics and animatronics work. It's amazing how much stuff they built so that it could be digitally scanned and manipulated, and so that the actors had something real to work with as much as possible. (Things you would never expect are green screen, like shots of Harry walking alone in the snow outside Hogwarts, and yet there is a real Basilisk and hippogriff. Right.) Next came one of the hardest rooms to leave: Diagonal Alley, a set still so complete and lit that you could essentially still film on it right then, they said. Again here the detail was unreal, and it wasn't too hard to imagine really walking through the shops. One of he signs had the quote from the first book about Harry wishing he had about eight more eyes. Well, that was me. I wanted to look at everything and be everywhere at once and never leave. There was a crooked scale model of Gringotts, and a full size everything else, with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes at the end, the 20 ft. Fred of George still perpetually lifting his hat. Both my mom and I had a really hard time moving on here too. This was another place where I teared up. Because the thing about being in the sets, as someone so devoted to the detail of the books, is here outside of the films, there were no incorrect plot points or changing of lines to ruin things. I got to just be in the world I had grown up in in books for so long and always wanted to visit. It really was a dream come true. The next few stops were displays of concept art and architectural drawings and white card models of all sorts of things. It was kind of interesting, but nothing compared to seeing real sets, and it was getting late, so we moved on pretty quickly and finally came to the grand finale: an incredible full scale model of Hogwarts, used for all those sweeping shots of the grounds. I got to walk all the way around it, see the layout in detail, study the bridges and stairs and grounds and just generally marvel at the majesty of the whole thing. One more teary moment. It was so breathtaking and so real, to be able to see the whole thing, knowing that in the minds of the filmmakers and of course JK Rowling and now anyone who sees this, Hogwarts isn't just cobbled together shots at Oxford and Cambridge and castles in Edinburgh and green screens and sets. It exists as a structurally sound, realistic place, and I can picture it now. It was like coming home, like seeing a childhood best friend who is al you remember them to be. And that's why Harry Potter will always be important to me, and always keep my inner child because "The stories we love never truly leave us. Whether you return by age or by screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."

Day 2 (London)

We we're both up pretty late Monday night due to jetlag and Mom meeting Kerry and Kerry and I catching up. Tuesday we all slept until around 12:30 and after finally dragging ourselves out of bed and eating breakfast, Mom and I headed off to the Tate Modern for the afternoon, a pleasant walk from Kerry's apartment. Along the way we stopped at a few theatres to inquire for tickets for the evening, but the best result we got was to check back later for cancellations, so we continued on to the museum. We saw all of the permanent collection that was on display (unlike the last time I visited, all of the special exhibitions required paid entry tickets, which we felt defeated the purpose of a free museum, so we skipped those). It turned out to be a beautiful day, and I of course pointed out the Millennium bridge, every the Harry Potter tour guide.

On our way back to Kerry's, we stopped back at the Young Vic, the theatre right in front of her apartment, and received good news: available tickets! Also a selling point was that it was the second and final night of previews for the play, so tickets were much cheaper than normal. We bought some cheese and Mom adventurously decided we should try oatcakes to eat it with, and we snacked before heading to the play. A heads up: don't bother trying oatcakes. They're a Scottish mess of fiber and no sugar. You're welcome.

The play we saw was called The Suit, a new play that had its world premiere in Paris and was directed by Peter Brook (my studio class' favorite guy, not really) and some woman named Marie-Helene Estienne who has funny accents on her name so I'd guess she's French. I thought he production concept/design and the acting were quite good, though the play itself had a few problems. There were some slow moments that involved singing without any relation to the plot (often in an Aftrican language) and the ending was a bit of a dud, unfortunately. But overall it was a beautiful show and a cool thing to see. Many of the shows playing in London are also playing on Broadway, whether they've come to New York from London or vice versa, so it was nice to find something unique amidst Lion King, Wicked, and Phantom.

Ok, it's midnight here and we've had several long days, so we're sleeping in tomorrow but hopefully I can offer another update before we leave London early Saturday morning. The next thing to talk about is the Harry Potter studio tour, and I've got to do that right. Talk soon! Love from London!

Radio Free Europe (back again!)

So as most of you probably know, I'm back in Europe again already, lucky girl that I am. This trip comes on the heels of graduation from NYU Tisch (with honors), accompanied by visits from
My parents, brother, and grandparents, all in the city at the same time. We had a whirlwind four days of celebrations, eating in nice restaurants, and not sleeping enough, not to mention packing up and moving out of my last dorm ever, thank goodness.

Very quick recap for those who don't know: NYU graduation was Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. 5,000+ graduates, a packed stadium, Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke, absolute madness getting out. We block traffic, as usual. Tisch graduation was Friday at Radio City Music Hall, a building I'd never actually entered before and with which I fell in love. Our dean, Mary Schmidt Campbell, and our honorary speakers Michael Mayer (director of American Idiot and consulting producer on Smash) both gave great speeches.

I worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night at Fuerza Bruta (remember when I saw it in Madrid in October? Always good to be home.) and spent parts of Saturday and Sunday in New Jersey visiting family. Sunday afternoon my mom and I saw Potted Potter with my aunt and cousins (ages 12 and 9) and had a great time.

Monday morning, bright and early, Mom and I headed for JFK and boarded a flight to London, from which I write now! After we got off the plane (an uneventful trip in which I watched 21 Jump Street, The Iron Lady, and parts of Jeff Who Lives at Home) we got through passport control, got our bags, and headed to the underground. Two trains later, I navigated us from the tube stop to my friend Kerry's apartment (my friend that I stayed with last time I was in London) without any trouble, and we are now happily staying with her for the next few days.

Today we went to the Tate Modern and saw a play at the Young Vic, and tomorrow we go to the HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR!!!

Updates on all that later. It's been a busy week.

So happy to be back!