Second Star to the Right: In Which I Hear the People Sing

I just got back from seeing Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre here in London. It was absolutely amazing! I had goosebumps for almost the entire time! But now I am getting ahead of myself, as I did many other things throughout the day too. It was a very wonderful Monday.
In the morning we had classes, which were surprisingly manageable today. In Frank's class we began talking about the Romantic period and read some poetry for that. In Wade's class (history) we have been discussing Henry II and his role in history. I have been so fascinated by all that we have been learning about these crazy royals. The fights that they have had through history with the common people, barons or their own family over the power of the throne have been crazy. It's these struggles for power that have led to some of the more crazy stories in history.
After class (and Nutella sandwich munching) I went out to adventure with Shelby, Kristen, Becca, Haley and Rob. We rode the tube over to see if we could get tickets to Les Mis. They didn't have any tickets that we affordable at the moment, but the told us to come back and try later in the afternoon. We then decided to adventure through London some more. We went to a very large sporting goods store to look for jerseys. I seem to keep getting lost in these giant stores. It doesn't help that in London the first floor that you enter in on is called the ground floor, and then the floor above THAT is the first floor. It has cause many problems already. Sure, I can navigate the tube and the streets fine, but stick me in a store with more than one floor and I am in trouble.
I made my return to Camden market today. My first adventure there wasn't too impressive, but I was told by people that I had not walked in far enough to see the good stuff. I am happy to say that this second go was much more fun. It felt like walking through the markets in Mexico. There were stands everywhere with all the things that tourists could want. There were also many different places selling some excellent food and giving out samples like crazy. A Turkish man and his buddy from Spain managed to convince me to buy their Chicken Kabob wrap. It was delicious! We started having a fun conversation with the guy from Spain and he was hilarious. We asked him why he came to London and what his favorite part about his home was. He said, "You want to hear the truth? Spain is s***" It made us all laugh really hard. I had been told by so many people that I would encounter a lot of rude people here, but I think I can honestly say that I have met more friendly people than unfriendly, which has been amazing. There are so many people from all over that have so many stories to tell, and I so glad to hear them. Plus I think that as long as you are kind to people, they can't help but be kind back. A guy even gave me a thumbs up today because I did not walk in front of his car when everyone else did. Bwahaha.
We later made our way over to the British Library. I knew that it was going to be a great experience the second I saw them handing out maps. A library that needs a map! (And no, I actually did not get lost). We had an assignment to go and see some of the many amazing treasures located in the library. Inside their "exhibit room" I was able to see the Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible, notes written by Da Vinci, the handwritten score of Handel's The Messiah, Beethoven's music and tuning fork, Jane Austen's writing desk and some of the Beatles' lyric manuscripts. My mind was blown by all the valuable documents available there! It was amazing! While looking at the manuscripts by the Beatles, I couldn't help but laugh as I saw that the song Michelle had been written on an envelope, Yesterday had goofy doodles all around it drawn by John and another song was written on the back of a birthday card. I guess when inspiration comes you write with what you have. There were also many lyrics that were crossed off, and it was interesting to see what their chain of thoughts may have been like when writing. There were also so many other things that I didn't even recognize but now want to look up. I think I shall be retiring to the library soon. (No photos allowed unfortunately).
Before heading back to the Queen's Theatre we stopped by King's Cross station to pay a visit to Platform 9 3/4. It's located write before the actual departure gate (you need a ticket to go to the actual platform) and has a cart that is already partway through. We took many pictures and I had to resist buying all the British versions of the book that were being sold in the bookstore next door.
Back at the theater we were actually able to get ahold of some tickets for £35. We were so stoked! We ran back to the center to have a very quick dinner and then made our way back to watch a wonderful production. The whole cast was relatively new and they were amazing. (The name I recognized was Sierra Boggess who played Fantine. She was previously Ariel in the Little Mermaid on Broadway and played Kristine in the 25th Anniversary of Phantom). Our seats were towards the back but we could still see and hear everything really well. It was probably the best performance of it I have seen, and I have seen quite a few (Three times at Tuacahn and twice in Salt Lake). We were all ecstatic and happy to finally be there. It's such a wonderful show not only because of the music, but because of the incredible story. There is a line in the show that I love so much, and I think it really says a lot about what is really important in life. It's something that I have been discovering here through my adventures as well. Though sometimes people might expect you to act unkindly or uncaring, we need to remember what's truly important. "To love another person is to see the face of God."

Rob and I enjoyed food at Camden Market.

The unusual stands at the library. For those that aren't fond of sitting but are too tired to stand I suppose. I guess no one else got the "pretend to sleep" memo.