Second Star to the Right: Much Ado about London

Every now and then I worry that I will grow tired of London and be ready to leave, and then I am continually shown that there is so much offered in this beautiful city, and I suddenly know that I couldn't possibly run out of things to do. We returned again to classes and discussed our feelings on the show Warhorse and our reading of Much Ado About Nothing, like one does when taking classes about theatre and Shakespeare. The adventures continued when class was finished.

I joined up with Emily, Sarah, and Dallin again as we went to the Tate Modern. Initially the building was a huge power station, but it has since been converted to display a plethora of fascinating artwork. We crossed Millennium Bridge to get there, and while crossing encountered a man who was painting on some canvases. He was selling paintings of London for only £10, and they were gorgeous. We all decided that we wanted one and purchased them from the friendly French man. However, upon further inspection I found that the art was not actually painted onto the canvas, but had been printed instead. It was a little sad, but at the same time the print is quite beautiful and I am glad to own the image regardless. Those street vendors are rascals sometimes.

At the Tate Modern they had an exhibit on the exterior of the building in Matisse and his cut-outs. They had large pieces of colored paper on the ground for passerby to use and hang up on the exterior of the building. Sarah stopped briefly to show off her art skills. Inside the museum we saw some great exhibits! I saw some work done by Picasso and Dali, which was amazing! There were also several paintings and displays that really baffled me. I try my best to understand modern art, but there are some weird things out there! It's fun comparing these offerings to what you'd see at something like the National Gallery!

Borough market called out to us again, so we made our way over there to buy some food. The market is a lot smaller during the week as most the booths only open on weekends, so the pickings have been a little slim, but there is always delicious food to be found. This time around I purchased a meat pie. Don't ask what kind it was, because I really couldn't tell you. I could hardly pronounce the name (gulp)! It was served up with mash and gravy and it was delicious (It was also cheap, which was definitely a plus).

After eating some delicious food and wandering the bank of the Thames a little bit, we made our way over to the Globe Theatre and met up with the rest of the group. We had tickets for Much Ado About Nothing for the 7:30 show, but started lining up around 5:00. We have the really cheap "groundling" tickets, which means that instead of getting a seat, you stand in the area in front of the stage. It's first come first serve with where you stand, and the best possible spot is right in front of the stage. Partly because you get to lean on the stage for support, and partly because you are right in front of the action. We had to wait quite a while for the gates to open, but we were the first in line! Fortunately we managed to keep each other company! We visited, played some cards, watched tourists, and actually had a pretty good time for just sitting there.

As for the show: It was amazing! I had seen Richard III and Henry V at the Globe before. They were both great, but this show is my favorite of the three. Most of our group got to stand right at the stage because we had arrives so early. I was resting my arms on the stage the whole time! It was such a fun experience! The cast was so energetic and the play was hysterical! I enjoyed reading the text earlier this week, but it really is so much better to watch it performed the way that it was meant to be. We were all laughing hysterically. It was also really fun because the actors interacted with those of us close to the stage. Benedick came over and reached for the girl's hands only to pull away as he gave his monologue about never loving a woman. There was a scene where they spilled a cart of oranges that rolled over to us. Then the Leonato looked right at me and signaled for me to toss him the orange I had in my hand! I don't quite know why but it made me very excited that I took part! I tossed that sucker! Don Pedro also came by us and when we were laughing at his tomfoolery, he kept leaning over to us and saying, "Shut up. Shut up!" It was just so much fun! I don't know if it was because I was leaning on the stage or if I was so absorbed in the performance, but my feet were not hurting at all. It was just incredibly well done and I think we all enjoyed it very much.

We shared our joy with others as we rode home on the tube. I was talking with Jennifer and Jessa on the ride home, and there was this older English gentleman that was sitting next to Jennifer who was trying his hardest not to smile as we talked and talked. He would glance at us and smile, and do his best to remain composed. Our happiness is just too contagious methinks.

Quick flashback to yesterday when a squirrel crawled on me