The Mind Misadventures

Alright, let's try to review. :-)

Yesterday I went to London again. I toured the Tower of London first, which was pretty crazy. I think I climbed and descended around 700 stairs throughout that thing, but it was well worth it. The medieval instruments of torture were so eerily fascinating. The thumb screws, the pulleys, the cuffs- all crazily real and amazing. The crown jewels were dazzlingly beautiful. Of course some idiot was taking pictures on his phone (which is not allowed) and about five guards swooped upon him, confiscated the phone, and threatened to arrest him. :-) They don't mess around with those things.

After that I saw "The Merry Wives of Windsor" at the Globe Theatre. And I don't think I have had a better time as an audience member. I was standing about 15 feet from the main stage, and was leaning on a platform walkway that ran through the "groundling" area and connected to the main stage. Needless to say- I had a great spot! I'm going to upload some videos I've taken to facebook soon- and there's one of the pre-music at the theatre. But the play was hilarious! I had never read or seen "The Merry Wives of Windsor" so I was surprised and overjoyed, really, at the plot. And the acting was phenomenal, of course! The audience was SO participative (is that a word?). They oo-ed when a pretty girl came out, boo-ed when the "villian" came out, cheered when there was sword-play and whistled at the "couples" made by the end of the play. I loved loved loved it. People were banging on the walls instead of clapping, and - when there was music- everyone clapped and danced. It was SO merry and so fun. I would be content seeing plays there all the time. Just lovely.

This morning, I took a ride on the London Eye- the huge ferris-wheel type thing that takes you over 135 meters into the air above London. You sit in these glass orbs that rotate ever-so-slowly and you get to see almost all of London. I took a video of this as well.

This afternoon, I took a bus back to Oxford and met my class to visit University College- the college that Lewis attended. There was a beautiful shrine to the poet Shelley in there. With naked sculptures on it. Because, of course, naked figures are appropriate burial shrines. :-)

After that, we had high tea at the Eastgate Hotel, which is where Lewis met Joy, who would later become his wife. Tea here is quite an experience. It's a meal unto itself! We had salmon sandwiches, cheese and onion sandwiches, spicy ham sandwiches, brownies, sponge cake with caramel bourbon sauce, scones and around ten different kinds of jams and honeys- all in tiny little glass containers. Plus there was the tea, of course. Very yummy and very filling. I probably won't eat again today. 

Class was over after that, and I headed with Em to the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments. It's basically this tiny building with masses of historic instruments, some dating from the late 1600s. There was a piano in there believed to have been owned by Handel. Very amazing. Unfortunately, I was only allowed to take pictures there after agreeing not to post them on the Internet, so you'll have to visit me to see those. :-)

After that, we went to Alice's Shop. Which is all Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass stuff. I bought a coffee mug with the cheshire cat on it- all but the grin disappears when you pour hot liquid inside! I love all Lewis C things so this shop was very fun.

And now I'm at the house, washing clothes and packing for tomorrow. After class tomorrow, I head to Liverpool and then from there to Stratford-upon-Avon. I'm excited, and amazed at how much money I'm spending. Seriously, England is expensive.

Look for pictures on facebook! I have some time to upload right now. :-)