Week Four (June 2-7) Final Week in England

This post has been a long time coming! Sorry for the delay; I've been resting at home and recovering from some jetlag, but here it is!

Sunday June 2nd
Because I was sick the week before, I missed going through the V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum), so I went on my own. I had never been overwhelmed by a museum before. It was insane and HUGE! I only had time to go through a few sections, and I've heard from some Londoners that they've been 6 or 7 times and haven't seen it all, so I'll have to go back next time I'm in London.

Tapestry Room

Just a staircase that is a work of art

After the V&A, I went to the Wellcome Collections with Beck and we went through the magic and allusions exhibit. In the afternoon, I met up with Erica (one of my most bestest friends from high school) and went to see Henry V with Beck and some other UNL friends. It was quite odd and fun having my college and high school worlds collide.

Love these two!

And that's about it for Sunday. It was a nice day off, but I was ready for a week full of class and performance prep. 

Monday June 3rd
There wasn't any classes in the morning, so I went to explore the area near the area we were staying. I visited the Exmouth Market, some charity shops and the Islington Museum. A nice morning to myself, trying to take in my last few days in England.

We had a rehearsal for our performance and our final movement class. Beck and I went for a walk by the canal in the evening. Just a lovely Monday.

Tuesday June 4th
We went to our last museum as a group; The British Museum! This was actually one of my least favorite museums, even though there was so much to look at. There are many rooms dedicated to artwork and tradition with artifacts that seemed like they should not have been removed. There were Egyptian mummies, the Rosetta Stone, The Parthenon Sculptures and so many more stolen pieces of history. The British Museum is the oldest modern public museum in the world, and the Rosetta Stone has almost been there as long as the U.S. has been a country. When prodded to return some of the artifacts in recent centuries, those in charge of the museum claimed that if all museums gave back their artifacts, many international museums would be empty, and the British government made it a law in the mid-20th century that once an item entered the possession of a museum, it becomes their property. It was fascinating to see all the history, but there was something unsettling about the whole place.

From there Beck and I ran to get some food before our time in the Sky Garden. Just look at these pancakes!

The Sky Garden was amazing. Even in the rain, the views were breathtaking.

Then we rehearsed our performance at the Globe.

Wednesday June 5th

We had our final class with Wes in the morning, and then Beck and I walked to the Globe. There was a beautiful garden outside a Temple where many people were having lunch, so we walked around. We had our final rehearsal, and then Beck and I went to Mercado Metropolinto for dinner. Best veggie hotdog I've ever had! To top off the night, I went to watch Toast and it was one of my favorite shows I saw in London. After the show, I talked to Giles Cooper, who played Nigel Slater in the play, for about 30 minutes.

Thursday June 6th
PERFORMANCE DAY!!!
Before our run through, we had our final voice class. The dress rehearsal went well, and then they lit the candles while we were at lunch. There was something amazing about performing in candle light. The performance went SO WELL! We got to do our final debrief with the Globe faculty and say our thank you's. While there were so many amazing parts of this trip, I wouldn't trade getting to perform on that stage for anything.

Our final show as a group; Dead Dog in a Suitcase (And Other Love Songs).The only way I can describe this show is a rock concert musical that was funny and touching. If you can ever see this show, please do.

Friday June 7th
Last day in London! Beck and I took the overground train to visit the Olympic Stadium. It was rainy and chilly, but it was so lots of fun.

That trip took up much more of the day than we'd expected, so we got dried off and headed to the National Portrait Gallery for our farewell dinner with IES. The portrait gallery was interesting, but lots of pictures of old white men, so not too exciting compared to the other amazing museums we'd been to. The dinner we had was a three-course meal overlooking London, and it was one of the fanciest things I'd ever experienced.  

I went to see Ibsen's Rosersholm and while it was very conventional 'proscenium theatre,' I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and the ending image of a flooded stage was glorious. 

Then I headed back to my apartment and packed up to prepare for the final stretch of my trip.