Monday, December 17, 2012

THAT'S ALL FOLKS.

I am back in the USA.

Goods times in London. It's all over.

Below are some pictures of where I spent the last 3.5 months of my life.

Thanks for coming along for the ride and being somewhat interested in my adventures! Hopefully I have more interesting times that are blog-worthy!

BADA

Nice little Christmas tree in the lobby.

BADA lobby.



One of our classrooms.

Monday, December 10, 2012

This has nothing to do with London but it made me laugh... and laughter is the best medicine, especially when you're knee deep in finals and just want to be enjoying your last week in London.

I can't express how much I miss my family...

A conversation on Facebook with Jillian (who goes home for break today): 

Me: What time is mom supposed to be there?

Jillian: Well I just talked to her and she was already stopped at a rest stop. Resting her back. And eating McDonalds.

Me: OMG. You're totally going to have to drive home.

Jill: And apparently the dog is trying to eat her French fries.

Me: That's amazingly funny. She brought the dog with her?

Jill: Yes. I died when she told me that.



4 days and 18 hours until I'm on the plane.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Rounding up the 7 shows in 7 days...

"In The Republic of Happiness" -- The first 20 minutes was like an extended Saturday Night Live skit, and I really enjoyed the show... until the whole thing switched and then the next 1.5 hours were absolutely, dreadfully painful. I felt like there was this huge meaning that I was too unintelligent or too young or too American to understand. I am positive there was a TON of stuff going on in this show, but I just completely missed the point.

"A Clockwork Orange" -- Honestly it was the best play I have seen in London. I loved every single second and was blown away. The lead who played Alex was the best performer I have seen on stage here, and I was mesmerized by his performance. I have never seen the movie or read the book, so this was the first time I encountered the story and I really liked it. If you want to know more about this show, ask me in person... I have to finish sorting out in my mind why it was so amazing =]

Thursday, December 6, 2012

RAGE AND LOVE

Oh hey there... you know that musical I really really really like? Yeah well I saw it tonight at the Hammersmith Apollo Theatre.

I mean what is there to say... it was the 4th time I've seen the show. I can tell you every moment where they changed or added choreography. Oh and there should not SHOULD NOT be an intermission in this show. It's specifically built to be a 90-minute rock opera. So that was the only real big issue I had with anything.

The cast was great. I was super impressed. There was a standing ovation so obviously Brits don't mind spending 1.5 hours hearing about the problems of being an angsty young adult in America.

It made me homesick for America and for NYC, but it was really interesting to "in the know" and the minority because every time I saw it on Broadway it was an American audience who could identify with everything. Like I might not need to buy a bus ticket and leave home to go become a drug addict and have my life fall apart before realizing I made a mistake in order to identify with these characters. This show is telling the story of a generation -- my generation -- and I think that we can all see parts of ourselves in all the characters.

Everyone thinks it's funny/weird that I love this show so much because it doesn't seem like me... but you ask my flatmates what I did when I got home and they'll tell you that I flipped out and (attempted to) rage. I did a lot of head banging and hair tossing. Good times.

On the tube on the way home a lady said "It was brilliant. The best thing I've ever seen."

HELL YEAH.





Wednesday, December 5, 2012


"The Changeling" -- So before I went to see this, I read a bunch of reviews that basically scared me to death and made me feel like it was going to be as bad or worse than "Trojan Women" in terms of visceral reactions... I asked four ushers where to sit if I wanted to be really removed and I ended up sitting high up and definitely removed. I'm so mad at myself for that decision because it was TAME. It was definitely bizarre, but it was fabulous. Instead of blood they used pudding and jello... gross squishy foods was the theme. 


"War Horse" -- SO GLAD I SAW THIS. Absolutely amazing amazing amazing. Worth every Tony Award it won. I got day/rush tickets and sat in the front row... and that was incredible.



Sunday, December 2, 2012

After agonizing over a final paper (which I literally finished five seconds ago) all day, I needed a really epic homework break. And that's what I got.

If you know me at all, you know I am completely head over heels in love with this new trend... musical theater composers writing songs that are a little indie, a little pop, and a little musical theater. Then they get awesome people to sing the songs, record them, put an album out, and musical theater nerds like me go nuts. Names like Pasek & Paul, Jason Robert Brown, and Kerrigan & Lowdermilk come to mind...

BUT Kooman & Dimond is my favorite. And tonight I got to see them. This concert (which was in a church with amazing acoustics), was the London debut of Kooman & Dimond, so that's super exciting that I was there. Basically there was a small band (piano, cello, guitar, cajon/drum kit), and a myriad of West End performers. They got up and sang songs while Kooman and Dimond watched contentedly along with the audience.

The second the first note was sung I was totally lost. Every song from their album, "Out of Our Heads" was performed except one. They also previewed three songs from a musical they're writing (we were the first audience to ever hear the songs), and a couple other songs from other random things they've done. The guys stood up after intermission and introduced themselves. Chris Dimond thanked London, on behalf of America, for giving us the good version of The Office.

The show ended with Dimond performing a rap he wrote... "Def Ass Musical Theatre Gangsta Jam"... that was epic.

The crowd was really interesting too. It was pretty obvious that most of the people there were family/friends of the performers or someone involved in some capacity. It was definitely what I would consider an industry event, so that was pretty neat even though I felt like a fish out of water.

I'm beyond glad that I was able to go. Someday when I see them again I will be able to say that I was at their London premiere concert. Now that's exciting.

Perfect end to the weekend.


Saturday, December 1, 2012

Today I went to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park with a few friends. It was a carnival with tons and tons of rides and it was ginormous.

I'm deathly afraid of rides... so naturally I was not going on anything major. But they had the adult version of the tea cups where you're in that little half circle and you spin around. I figured that'd be fine since I've done it before... let me tell you it was intense. I was screaming the entire time, which only egged on the guy who was helping make the cars spin faster. So much fun. I was proud that I didn't puke after that one. After walking around for a long time, eating french fries and cotton candy, and drinking hot chocolate with Bailey's (best thing ever)... we went on the bumper cars. Let's just remember that it's been 4 months since I've been behind the wheel of a car. It was fabulous. I drove while Amanda just sat in the car and pressed the gas pedal. And I rocked that. I bumped into so many children... let's be real, that's the whole point of bumper cars, giving the children whiplash.

Approaching.

I went on that ride.

So festive.

So fun.
After the carnival I met up with Colin. You guys remember him, right? We went to SoHo and walked around, then had dinner at a great restaurant. Afterwards we got frozen yogurt and walked around a bit more. He goes back home this week so we had to meet up once more before we're back in the US!
Let's catch up on shows I've seen... I've kept every single ticket, but taking a picture of each one was getting annoying. Thus explaining the lack of pictures...

Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor"(Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon) -- This show was absolutely fabulous. I loved every second of it. The production was updated, set in November 2012, and for the first time ever I found myself relating to characters in Shakespeare.

"The Orphan of Zhao" (Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon) -- Not good. Just kind of ridiculous actually. There was no sense of respect for the Chinese culture and the ritual that is Chinese theatre. The set was interesting and some of the effects were good. One actor was great.

"Scenes From An Execution" -- Fiona Shaw was exceptional. I really enjoyed the show. Not much to say about that one.

"Loserville" -- The dumbest lyrics you will ever hear, but the music was actually great. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Because it's not selling well, we got bumped from crappy seats to row E in the orchestra, which was fabulous.

"Billy Elliot" -- Not my favorite. I have a lot of respect for the show and the kid who played Billy was OUT OF THIS WORLD... and the dancing was as well. However, I am not enthralled with the music, and it's a musical. Definitely worth seeing.

"Richard III" -- Mark Rylance played Richard. I didn't like the show and my seats were dreadful (in a bad way), but seeing Rylance is always worth it.

"Carmen" -- SO GOOD. This was at the same place as "Don Giovanni" had been, so I was worried because that had been so bad... but this show was great. I really enjoyed the concept and thought all the performances were remarkable.

"The Effect" -- Absolutely amazing. There isn't much to say except it was a great great great show.

"La Boheme" -- Funky, fresh take on the opera. It was in English and the second act when they're at the bar was promenade style around the auditorium. The singing was incredible. Opera at it's most casual.

"The Trojan Women" -- If you want to know about the experience, ask me in person. It's too much to write about here. Let's just say I had quite a visceral reaction to the whole experience, a panic attack might have been involved. It was an incredible show. Any piece of theater that can make me feel like this production did, is doing its job.

"Les Miserables" -- Well I can walk away from London having said that I saw this show three times in the span of four months. It just never gets old...

"The Seagull" -- It was a nice updated version of the classic Chekhov. I liked the play a lot better than "Three Sisters" because the characters were not as whiney. Some of the acting wasn't all that great, but the second act was a million times better than the first so it ended on a positive note.

Friday, November 30, 2012

ITALIA


For midterm break I spent nine days in Italy with my roommates/friends Amanda and Kelsey. I've tried to include as many details about the trip as possible. 

ROME
            Saturday: Flew from London to Rome and arrived around 5:30pm just as it was getting dark. We checked into our hotel and found a place to eat dinner by the Spanish Steps. Then we went on a pub-crawl… I have a t-shirt to prove it. The back of the t-shirt says “I came, I saw, I crawled.”  It was surprisingly a lot of fun and definitely an interesting experience.

            Sunday: Kelsey has a family friend who is a tour guide in Rome, so we arranged for a private tour of the ancient ruins. We met Francesca outside the Coliseum and started the tour there. From the Coliseum we went to the Roman Forum and then from there we ended up at some giant white building that the locals call the “wedding cake” because it looks hideously like a giant cake… I don’t remember what the building actually is. From there we went to the Pantheon and then Trevi Fountain. We literally got all the big sights out of the way on the first day! For dinner we went to a restaurant close to our hotel that our host recommended and her friend owned it.
Coliseum


Roman Forum

"Wedding Cake"


Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps
            Monday: Took a tour of Vatican City. We bought tickets for a tour in advance so we didn’t have to wait in the ridiculous lines. The tour started in the museum – the biggest attractions in the museum were the hallways of tapestries that used to hang in the Sistine Chapel, and the Rafael Rooms. From the museum we made our way to the Sistine Chapel. You’re not allowed to take pictures but everyone does anyway. I don’t care what religion you believe in or if you’re an atheist… you have to feel something when you walk into the Chapel. I literally just stood there staring up at the ceiling. From the Chapel we went to St. Peter’s Basilica. This was my favorite part of the tour – the building was beautiful and I loved the sculptures. I was really looking forward to the Vatican, but unfortunately there were too many people. It was actually ridiculous. I was beyond frustrated. The experience of being there was so impersonal because you were packed in like sardines. Every room was overflowing with tourists and you couldn’t even move. As much as I’m glad I got to experience the Vatican, it was a rather horrible experience. After getting lost trying to find our way out of the city, we were starving so we tried to find a restaurant that Francesca had recommended. Alas, it was closed on Monday, so we found something else nearby. After lunch we wandered around and slowly made our way back to the other side of the river. For dinner we went to a restaurant down the road from our hotel. It was hopping. So many locals.

Musei Vaticani

Famous Rafael painting

SHHHH! (Sistine Chapel ceiling)

Sistine Chapel wall - "The Last Temptation"

St. Peter's Basilica

            Tuesday: By this time we had conquered Rome and had seen pretty much everything. So we went shopping and found a cute market to putz around in. For lunch we had absolutely epic pizza. The last thing we had to see was the Mouth of Truth (famous from the scene in the Audry Hepburn movie, “Roman Holiday”). Amanda, Kelsey, and I all took turns taking our picture with the mouth. Then we went across the river but it was dark by that point and it was kind of sketchy-seeming. To end our Roman holiday we went back to the restaurant we had been to on Tuesday night… and it was just as delicious. We sat in the same table and they remembered us and it was fabulous.

Some real good pizza.

Some real good gelato.

            Wednesday: Woke up, packed, went to the train station.

FLORENCE
            Wednesday: After nearly missing our train from Rome and then almost not getting off at the train station in Florence (because we don’t speak Italian!!!), we finally made it to Florence. Our hotel was centrally located and after checking in we wandered around. Knowing we only had about five hours to see all of Florence, we got to work. We went to the Duomo, which is basically a Cathedral. You can climb to the very top of the dome… and we did that. It was the scariest time of my life. To get to the top you have to climb something like 500 stairs, which I guess wouldn’t be bad if we hadn’t been climbing through small cement corridors. Did I mention I’m extremely claustrophobic? I also hate spiral staircases. Oh and I’m deathly afraid of heights. But I dealt with my fears and the views from the top were totally worth it. Next (after a terrifying climb down) we found the museum where Michelangelo’s David is… so we saw him and Amanda got a sneaky picture of his butt. Then we went to find all the fake David’s throughout Florence. There’s a pop art one in the garden of the museum… he’s flesh tone with blonde hair. AWKWARD. We found the other one in a square outside the really famous (I’m not doing good with the Italian names) museum – Uffizi? – and all the tourists think this is the real one, but you actually have to pay for the real one. Then we met up with some BADA peeps, who were in Florence too, for dinner.

I survived "Duomo 2012"

The view.

Fake David.


            Thursday: A full day tour of Tuscany! We started out at the train station in Florence and got on the bus. The first stop was Siena, where we got a tour from a local guide and then had a little time to walk around. Siena has the third nicest square in the world and it’s shaped like a seashell. After Siena we went to lunch at a family owned farm/winery. Then we got back on the bus and went to San Gimignano, another town like Tuscany. This town was home to the world’s greatest gelato… so obviously we got some. Here we were free to walk around for an hour or so. And then the fun started. Our next stop was supposed to be Pisa. In San Gimignano, we were all back in the parking lot waiting for the bus at 3:45. The bus wasn’t there and neither was our tour guide. After like 20 minutes someone called the tour company and was told that the bus was held up and would be there soon. So we waited. When the bus didn’t come, the same woman called the company again and was told the police were searching the bus. Umm okay. Then the bus showed up (it had been about an hour)… our tour guide got out and was just about in tears. She got on the microphone and told us she couldn’t say what was happening, but we weren’t going to Pisa and we just had to follow along. Then the bus pulled in to another parking lot… filled with police. Turns out a couple on the tour had lost a cell phone and decided to call the police because it would make sense that one of us stole it. STUPID STUPID. One by one we had to get off the bus and be searched by the Italian police. The couple sat in the back of a police car looking out the window mournfully as we were searched. It was basically a big joke to everyone except them. We were giggling and the police were laughing with us after the search was over. The bus driver was laughing. The tour guide was in tears. It was a mess. Obviously the police found nothing. So then we were on our way to Pisa… in the dark… without our tour guide because she had to stay back and fill out the police report with the stupid couple. When we got to Pisa everyone was exhausted and pissed off. Ten of the 60ish people on the tour were from New Jersey – a couple of families there for a huge Italian family reunion. They were super entertaining and almost like a parody of themselves, if you know what I mean. The two mothers in the group were not happy. We get to Pisa and we have to take this little bizarre and unsafe train/trolley to the actual monument. Our new tour guide was Steffano. I don’t even know how to describe him. He was absolutely hysterical. We were all in such bad moods and he was trying to keep us somewhat happy, but we were all just annoyed. Steffano asked us how long we wanted to take our pictures with the Leaning Tower of Pisa and we all said 30 minutes because we just wanted to go home. Finally we went home. It was an epic day and we have stories that we’ll be able to tell forever. And the company refunded us some money because of the debacle. Definitely worth it.

Siena.

Wine tasting.
Tuscany.
           


It's pretty.

World's best gelato... yup.

Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Friday: After a crazy whirlwind two days in Florence, we got on the train to Venice.

VENICE
            Friday: First things first… after checking into our hotel we took a gondola ride. Well first we had to figure out how to get to Venice, because we stayed on the mainland (Mestre), so we had to take the train to and from the island. But when we finally figured it out, we took a gondola ride. It was so worth it. We then spent the rest of the day wandering around -- I think we went into EVERY Venetian mask shop on the island. Walking and shopping was the theme for the day and we spent a lot of time near the Rialto Bridge.

            Saturday: Today we did all the big sights in Venice. The number one most amazing and beautiful square in the world (remember we saw number three in Siena) is in Venice, so we spent some time there. A graduation of some sort was going on. We went to the top of some church right in the square and had a great view looking out over the graduation celebration. Let's just say, the Venetians take their college graduations seriously. For the rest of the night there were groups of graduates and their friends/families walking through the streets singing. Our last night of our Italy trip we got pizza to go and ate in our hotel room. Amanda had pizza with French fries on it. Classic. 

            Sunday: We flew back to London. Our flight was delayed for an hour but other than that it was uneventful.

Gondola ride.

Venice. 
That's nice to look at.

Hey there.
            

Monday, November 12, 2012

Slowly over the next couple of weeks I hope to write all about my trip to Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice). So just keep checking back for pictures and stories. It was quite an eventful week.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Before I went to Barcelona, I saw two shows that I forgot to write about...

"One Man, Two Guvnors"

I saw this show in NYC last summer with James Corden who won the Tony Award for his performance. I never laugh out loud during shows, but this was something else. I adored this show. So I figured, since the ticket was 7.50, it would be fun to see it in London (it's original home) and compare. Honestly it was just as good. I still laughed even though I'd heard it all before and knew all the gags. The lead was no James Corden, but he held his own and I still enjoyed watching him perform!



"Don Giovanni"

I saw this at the English National Opera. It was opera for dummies. They tried to do something different and I didn't like it. The text was sung in English, which took away the beauty of the language. There were some beautiful arias and the singing was obviously wonderful, but the words just sound gross in English! Opera is clearly not supposed to be sung in English.

This show came at a rough time. It was Thursday. At 5:10 Amanda's debit card got eaten by an ATM and the bank had closed 10 minutes before. The opera started at 7 and we still had to get home and then leave by 6:15 to make it. Also we stupidly bought tickets for the night before we left at 3:30am to get to Gatwick and get on a plane to Barcelona. DUMB. We made it to the opera and had decent seats. We left at intermission. This was the first time I have EVER left a show at intermission. It was horrifying, but it had to be done. I still had to pack and prepare to leave the country for 3 days. Rough.

Also the show just wasn't all that great. For me, opera has to be over the top with amazing sets and costumes. This show was not grounded in a specific place or time and the sets were awful. It looked like a high school production. There were flats painted in fluorescent greens, pinks, oranges, and blues being wheeled around the stage! I understood that the director had a concept, but it did not come across well to the audience. Opera should never leave you feeling unsatisfied... this was bad. Also I fell asleep multiple times during the first 30 minutes (another thing I never do). Just a bad night.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

THE BARCELONA POST.

Things I learned in Spain:

1) "Marinated salmon" means raw salmon. Made that mistake in the first hour of being there... ordered marinated salmon for lunch and did not think that it might be sushi style.

2) Gypsies exist.

3) Sex shops are abundant.

3) Europeans are just better looking than Americans. I think it's because they've had thousands of years to perfect their gene pool.

4) Tornadoes occur over water... I saw it happen.

5) Good food is expensive but worth it. So worth it.



Now you get to hear about my weekend in Barcelona. First of all, I never in a million years thought i would go to Spain, so that alone was pretty exciting.

I'll do this day by day (musical theater joke. Comment if you get it.)

FRIDAY...

- Arrived at the airport in Barcelona around 9:30am
- Took the Aerobus to Playa Catalunya
- Got coffee
- Waited outside the Hard Rock Cafe for the guy who owns the hostel we stayed in to come "pick us up" and walk us to the hostel
- Went to the hostel
- Took a short nap
- Cable car ride up to the top of Montjuic
- Walked around the castle
- Walked back down the mountain

SATURDAY

- La Sagrada Familia. Epic. Most amazing thing ever. We took a guided tour and it was awesome. It's just so huge and the architecture is so impressive.
- Bought a ticket for the double decker tour bus that I never thought I'd actually do in my life because it's such a tourist thing to do. Got the bus from the park near La Sagrada and rode all the lines on the bus and got off at important/interesting places.
- Went up to Parc Guell to take pictures

SUNDAY

- We were confused about the time change for a long time. Daylight savings is hard to deal with when your mind is in three different countries at one time.
- Walking tour of the Gothic Quarter
- Went inside Gaudi house
- Had dinner at best tapas bar in Barcelona.

MONDAY

- Took Aerobus back to the airport and flew back to London!




I will post pictures at some point. You can see them all on my Facebook (if you have FB). I'm currently in Stratford-upon-Avon until Friday morning and then I leave for Italy on Saturday. This will be the last post for a week or two!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

So first of all, Colin (if you read my summer blog you know Colin) came to visit me this evening. He wanted a shout out... so here it is.

Below are a bunch of pictures of Regent's Park. I walk through there every day to get to school. The leaves are starting to change and it's pretty!







I'm taking this one class with only 5 people total and our teacher is epic. Today she emailed us and said class was going to start at 3 instead of 2 because she was running late. Then she emailed us again at 3:40 (we were all in the classroom waiting for her), and told us to call her. So we called her and she said to meet her outside. We did... and then she took us to her favorite pub and bought us drinks. And that was class. #goodtimes


Monday, October 22, 2012

It's Monday which is the worst day of the week. Especially when by the end of the week you'll be in Barcelona. 

I saw the musical "Wicked" on Saturday night. Some wonderful friends waited in line to get day seats (that's what they call rush tickets here). So we paid just under 30 pounds for front row seats. I'd only ever seen the show once before on the first US tour a few years back, so I was excited. It's not my favorite show in the world... but the orchestrations are amazing. If you just sit back and listen to the music itself you would be amazed. Also my seat was near the end so I could see backstage and, since I'm a total geek, I spent some key moments watching the fly crew rig the monkeys off stage right in the wings. Also, Fiyero was absolutely DREADFUL. Everything about him screamed he didn't care which is just disrespectful to the audience. I actually felt disrespected by him and his laziness. It was obvious in everything he did. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why he was cast. He had sleeves of tattoos and a pretty non-traditional look plus he used to be in a pop rock band, and all I can think is that he was cast because it puts a new twist on the character. But if you're going to be a badass you better be a badass... he wasn't.

Wicked.

On Sunday, Amanda and I saw "Flashmob" -- a dance show. If you've talked to me in the past few months, you know I'm obsessed with the TV show All The Right Moves which focuses on Travis Wall who won some season of So You Think You Can Dance and now choreographs for the show. He's now choreographing "Bare" off-Broadway which I'm seeing in December, but that's another story. Anyway I love this TV show and the dancing is just unreal (it's about Wall's dance company that he created with his best friends). So I went to this dance show... it was people who have won different dance competitions... for example the woman in the middle won the UK version of SYTYCD, and the group on the right won America's Best Dance Crew. I can't dance to save my life and it was insane to watch these people. It was contemporary, hip-hop, Latin, tap, and Irish step dancing. SUPER good. I'm so glad I went. It's these kinds of shows that you just have to say "yes" to and you'll be amazed. I was. The audience was pretty interesting... lots of families but then the guy in front of us was definitely on hardcore drugs because at the end he was dancing in a way that was literally dangerous to the people around him. Oh people.

Flashmob

Friday, October 19, 2012

Writing papers is gross. Especially when you're in London and you don't want to be doing homework. One more to go and I'll be home free for a few weeks. 

The first picture below is of the package my mommy and daddy sent me. Whippets are my absolute favorite thing in the entire world. Also the fact that my mother remembered to ONLY send me dark chocolate made me the happiest person in the universe. And dad sent me a copy of the new Mumford and Sons album, which I love.

The package my parents sent me. CHOCOLATE!

For school we went to see "The Enquirer" which was promenade style so the audience moved from place to place to watch the action. While it was sponsored by the Barbican, it was a site specific show in an abandoned warehouse kind of thing. It was all around a good show, but we moved too much and they let WAY to many people in as the audience -- so it was stressful because we couldn't move fast enough to get a good spot to stand. The show was kind of like a documentary... actors acting out anecdotes that came from real interviews from reporters. It was a little soap box-y because in the end it was all about how everything is going digital and the newspaper industry is dying, but it was enjoyable. And they gave us this FREE program/newspaper thing... so a free program gets an A+ in my book.

The Enquirer 

Saw my first Hitchcock film tonight (Friday, October 19). Silent film. Black and white. Everything I don't normally like in a movie, but there was a live orchestra playing music that was composed just for the premiere of the restored version we saw tonight. Very cool. We got to dress up too...

The Manxman