Monday after class I went to the British Library (another required site). We visited the Treasures of the British Library exhibit, which contained a lot of manuscripts from literary, musical, religious, and political texts. And some maps. Despite the lighting that made it really difficult to read the displays, I enjoyed this exhibit a lot! I saw another of the 4 original copies of the Magna Carta (that's 2 out of the existing 4 that I've seen now; the first was at Salisbury Cathedral), some of Shakespeare's manuscripts, and writings from Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and even part of the Nowell Codex, the only known manuscript of Beowulf.
As for the religious texts, I didn't spend a ton of time looking at them because by the time I got to them the other girls were ready to leave. I might go back if I get the chance, because there were texts from religions that I had never even heard of.
My favorite part of my British Library visit, though, was the Beatles portion of the exhibit. Yeah, it was neat to see Handel's Messiah and Mendelssohn's wedding march, but the Beatles just speak to my soul. In that part of the exhibit, along with photos of some of my favorite men, they had sheets of paper where those men had scratched down the lyrics to some of my favorite songs! On the paper where John wrote down the lyrics for Ticket to Ride, this is pretty much what I saw:
I don't know why she's riding so high
Maybe that's not cool to you, but it was to me. I just thought it was neat to see how it developed and how much better it really does sound the way that it is.
That evening we had a fireside with the Stake President who led us on the hike down in Kent our first week in London. He came to talk to us about his experiences as a child in London during WWII. He was 6 years old during the Blitz of 1940. He and his brother, along with around 650,000 other young children, were evacuated out of the areas that were considered more dangerous into the surrounding countryside for increased safety.
One of the most powerful things I remember from his talk was that he pointed out that, throughout the bomb raids, there was a lot of damage done to small buildings, homes, and certainly thousands of lives lost. Even so, many of the big buildings -- and I don't only mean "big" in terms of size, but in iconic status, like Saint Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, etc. -- were never hit. They could have been good targets to really hit the morale of the people, but they still stand today. I was reminded of the earthquakes in Chile a few months ago, and how our temple and the church meetinghouses were all intact, and I realized again how much a single building can be such a strong symbol of hope. Very cool.
After the fireside we had a tea party in our flat. So much fun! I had some really delicious peppermint tea and tons of yummy
Tuesday I wasn't really feeling up to doing much. I should have gone to Westminster Abbey again, to actually go inside and take the tour, but I was just too tired. Plus I hadn't talked to my family in a while and daddy had been to the hospital again so I wanted to just relax at home and talk with them. So that's what I did after class. I got the majority of my homework done, took a small nap, and finally got up with my family. I talked to daddy for a while (he sounded tired, but so much better than I've heard him ever since the stroke). I wanted to talk with Mama but she was busy so I chatted it up with Parles for a good 45 minutes or so, and I just can't believe how much he has grown up. He's going to be turning 16 in a couple of months, so I asked him who he was going to ask out on dates. He was all bashful about it, saying, "But Daddy's right here!" It was so cute. But then I made him leave the room and I squeezed a whopping 4 names out of him! Or was it 3? Either way, I loved every minute of his squirming. I miss him like crazy.
I finally got to chat with mama for a little bit, and Kelsey too. It was so good to hear their voices and know that even though we're going through a rough time, they're still full of faith and hope and happiness. My family is just so stinkin' awesome, and I love them.
Wednesday came, and most of the group left for Paris. Part of me is sad that I didn't go, but then I remember that I get four free days in London that they don't get, and I'm not so sad anymore. I do miss them though. It's weird how I've only known most of these girls for like a month, yet it already feels like they are an important part of my life. I'm learning all sorts of fun things from all of them, from history and language (specifically Portuguese) to "how to kiss a boy." hahaha . . .
For some reason, though, I didn't really want to do anything yesterday either. I felt like I was being a poopyhead but whatever. I stayed inside most of the day and got some more homework done (only like 3 more things to do until I'm done with the homework for the term!) and skyped with Kyle and mama for a long time. I've just gotta say it again: My family is the best.
Last night I just chilled around the flat, had some supper (I didn't eat ANY junk food yesterday, by the way, and I just had a small ice cream at lunch today. Take that, stomach fat!) and semi-planned today's adventures, starting with figuring out what show I wanted to see today.
See, I've been having this dilemma for a little while now. It is called, "Do I go see Wicked, or do I not?"
Looking back a couple of months ago, if I had heard myself asking that question I would've thought I was an idiot. "The answer," I would say to myself, "is 'Yes, DUH.'" I've wanted to see it for a long time, and I could get really cheap tickets if I wanted to go. Problem is, some of the other girls saw it and said it wasn't as great as they had hoped. That was coming from people who had seen it before as well as some who hadn't.
On one hand, it would be worth it to at least have some experience with it. Even if it's not the best ever, the music would still be great and it would be fun.
On the other hand, I hate spending money and being disappointed.
I don't know how much I would be disappointed if I saw it, but I just didn't wanna risk it. So I decided to go see Sister Act instead.
So this morning I got up and bought tickets to see Sister Act. I just wish it were a couple weeks later, because starting August 10th Whoopi Goldberg is going to be playing Mother Superior. THAT would be awesome. It's still going to be great though, and I'm so excited!
After buying the tickets, I made my way over to Warwick Avenue to check out Little Venice, which Aimee and Rhiannon had told me about. It's this little canal area where people can dock their boats for a while. There's a nice little garden nearby and a great little trail to walk along the canal. It is seriously one of the coolest places I've been yet! It is still part of the city, but it's kind of hidden from all the crazy stuff.
I grabbed some lunch and then (once it had time to start and stop raining again) went over to Trafalgar Square and thought about climbing on the giant lions, but I'll do that some other day.
Instead I went and spent some time in the National Gallery. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it a lot. I haven't been into a ton of art galleries in my life and I just did not know if I was going to like it. But man oh man I did! I only spent an hour or an hour and a half in there, so I didn't get around to very much of it. But I learned that I really, really love Italian painters' works. I spent most of my time in the rooms with art from the 1500s - 1700s. I was also feeling particularly drawn to all the paintings of Christ at various points in his life, from being adored by the shepherds after His birth, to His Crucifixion, to His post-Resurrection visit to the Apostles. Two of my many favorites were Altobello Melone's The Walk to Emmaus and Guercino's The Incredulity of Saint Thomas. (When I have a little more time I will post some of my feelings about them.)
After the National Gallery it was off to Drury Lane! I even bought a muffin there.
I eventually got around to Covent Garden Market where I saw a bunch of street performers and beautiful pocketbooks that I wanted to buy. Turns out they won't let you buy the performers. It's okay, it wouldn't have made it through customs.
Excuse the stupid joke, please.
Anyway, it's been a great day and I am certainly looking forward to seeing some disco power in the convent tonight!
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