London: Day 3 (May 15, 2012)

Today we did a walking tour of a few places in London.  We started out by going to the Noel Coward Theatre where we will be seeing Noel Coward’s Hayfever this evening.  Then we walked to Trafalgar Square, which is the considered the center point of London.  

Just off Trafalgar Square is the road that leads to Buckingham Palace.  We walked to the road and Charmian, our program director, pointed out the way to the palace so that we could go another time.  Then we walked down to the River Thames and crossed the river on the Waterloo Bridge.  We got great views and picture spots for Big Ben, the Parliament Building, the river and The Eye of London which is a gigantic Ferris wheel right on the river’s edge.  

We had lunch on the east side of the river near the National Theatre (an important landmark for our trip).  After lunch we got on a double decker bus (yay!) and road to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  We all rode on the top deck of the bus.  

We got excited when we realized that we were driving down Fleet Street.  You may or may not be familiar with Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.  Penn State is doing this show in the fall and we are seeing it tomorrow night here in London.  (I don't think this is a picture of Fleet Street, but it is a cool intersection).

We did not go into St. Paul’s Cathedral, but I did pause for a moment on the steps to sing, “Feed the Birds.”  If you don’t know what I am talking about you must reacquaint yourself with your childhood and watch Mary Poppins again.  

We then walked from St. Paul’s to the London Wall which is an excavation site found after a fire that was started by a blitz in WWII.  It is believed to be the wall around the city that dates to 200 AD when the Romans occupied and ruled England.  

We ended at the Museum of London and spent the afternoon learning about the history of London – you know, the Black Death and the Great Fire of 1666 and Henry VIII tearing down churches, and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show came to England for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and that was her first public appearance after Albert’s death 25 years earlier. Just a few facts I remember from the large amount of information that passed through my head. 

Tonight we saw Hayfever, our first show.  It was British comedy about a quirky upper class family in the 20's.  It was an all-star cast including Jeremy Northam (Mr, Knightly- the G. Paltrow Emma), Lyndsey Duncan (Lady Catherine in Lost in Austen) and a guy that had Downton Abbey in his bio but he must have been a small part because I don't recognize him.  Anyway, it was fun and funny.

Tomorrow, we actually have classes so it will feel more like school...