Second Star to the Right: Traveling to Rivendell

Sometimes you decide that you are sad that you never visited Westminster Abbey, so you put aside a day to do just that. And then sometimes that doesn't work out and you end up discovering Rivendell. Sort of. This morning a group of us met up at the always lovely Gloucester station to travel to Westminster Abbey. For those who may not be entirely familiar, it's a giant cathedral just across the street from the British Parliament. It is well known for it's beautiful architecture as well as the many people that have been buried there. Oh, and you know, coronations and royal weddings also happen there. Somehow during the duration of my last trip I never went inside! I think I just decided at one point that it was too expensive and didn't ever go. That was a decision that I regretted. Anywho, we show up at 10:00 because the website says that they open up the doors at 9:30 for tourists. What the website did not mention is that they were offering a special service today for military persons, and general admission would not become available until 12:30. That was a fun surprise.

We stood there in a stupor for a little while trying to figure out what to do. It should not have been as difficult as it was, considering we were standing in the middle of what is arguably one of the most touristy locations in London. We attempted to go and see a Rodin piece that they usually have in a local park, only to discover that on a "rare collaboration" it has been moved to an art museum outside of the country until August. It's a struggle.

At this point we had a few hours to spare until the doors to Westminster opened, so we ended up walking around randomly and stumbled upon Archbishops Park. While at first it seems like your regular park, we actually discovered Rivendell. There was this....structure is the only word we can really think of to describe it. Just inside the park is this big wooden structure that looks like parts of a tree that have mangled together and have seats all over the place to sit upon. Amy ran for it right away and the rest of us sort of trickled over and took our seats in the tree-structure. It sounds totally bizarre, and it kind of was. We ended up sitting there for forty minutes! We just talked and rested and it was surprisingly wonderful, all the while gazing at what we have now named Rivendell. It's ridiculous how in love with this place we are now. I've posted some pictures below and I know that it won't do it any sort of justice, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

When it was finally time to head back to Westminster Abbey we were greeted with a horrendous line to go inside that stretched around the block. Apparently everyone else that had also shown up this morning to go inside decided to wait around to gain entry as well. That many people waiting for two or so hours really adds up I suppose. In the end we decided against going inside, and separated into different groups to do our own things. I choose to go back to the flat and work on the two essays that are due tomorrow (totally crushed both of them, and now I don't have to stay up late doing them like everyone else).

After doing some homework and making some mean sandwiches, our group met back up to take Sarah out to dinner for her birthday. We went to a restaurant that is really close to our flats called Memories of India. We were drawn here because they advertise a nice 20% of deal for students! We love getting discounts! The restaurant was a lot nicer than I was expecting! It was a sit down place and the service was great. We actually got frequent refills on our drinks (tap water, lest you think they have started giving out soda), the silverware was all really nice, and when they brought out our food they placed them on little plate warmers that they positioned on our tables. I ordered their Sheeks Kabob (their spelling, not mine) and it was delicious. It was lamb cooked up with onions and spices, all of which I am fond of. Despite it looking slightly....peculiar, it tasted delicious. I think we all agreed it was a successful venture.

The show we had scheduled tonight is one that we read beforehand for George's class. It was a production of A Small Family Business. It's a comedy about a man named Jack that inherits a business from his father-in-law. Jack is a very honest man, but comes to find out that the dealings within this business and his family are not quite what he expected. It's quite a funny play, but it does play with some darker ideas towards the conclusion of the play. Let's just say that some of us called it a spiritual sequel of sorts to The Godfather. The production was great and I think it played with some of the text really well. The set was a giant house that they pushed onto the stage, and the rotated around with their circular stage so that we could see inside the house through the back. The way the play is composed is that the whole story takes place within this house set, but it is actually presented as the home for the different characters. So you will have one person standing in the kitchen talking on the phone with their brother, and then brother would be standing in the next room over, but in his own house. Yet in the next scene that very room is then incorporated into someone else's house. I don't know if I am making any sort of sense, but it was a fun way to play with the space and use a fun set doing so. It was a very fun production and it was nice to see something a little more comedic after a few of the more dramatic pieces that we have been seeing lately!

During interval I snuck out and walked onto the balcony that they have at the National Theatre for guests to visit while they get their interval drinks. The sun was just going down and the city looked gorgeous.

Picture outside of Westminster Abbey, before we realized it was closed