:: Pedantic Platitudes ::

:: Saturday, August 27, 2005 ::

Last week, we went to Down House, where Charles Darwin lived and where he wrote The Origin of Species. It was neat to get a more personal view of the man whose discovories we're studying. You could see everywhere in his house his love of finding out more about the wonders of the natural world. Later in the week, we went to the Oxford University Natural History Museum. I studied for and took a final exam on Friday, and then we partied into the night since it was the last night in England for many of us.

Well, my time at Oxford has come to an end. The course was amazing. Our professor was quirky and hilarious and knew so much about the subject. The field trips were amazing, too, from Cambridge University to North Wales to great museums in London.

Now, it's time for a grand tour of Europe! I'm spending the last weeks of my summer before school starts traveling around Europe and seeing the general tourist-y sights there are to see. I'll have limited internet access during this time, but once I get back to school, I'll give a review of my trip (with pictures)!

Quote of the Day: "An aerial view of a Princeton reunion must look like pools of vomit merging into each other."

:: SL 5:01 AM [+] ::
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Augh! Too many happenings, too little time to write about it!

A few things happened in the past few weeks:

We went to Wales! We climbed a steep 1,500 foot mountain to observe the geological results of glaciers, to see the same geological observations Charles Darwin made in the 1800s. The climb was quite strenuous, but at least there was a trail. The very next day we climbed another mountain that was even steeper and there wasn't even a trail! We just walked through heavy brush and on unstable boulders. The view from the top was incredible, though.

We also got to stop by a couple of towns in Wales, one of which was Llangollen (pronounced "thangothlen" because the spelling of "ll" in Welsh denotes a "th" sound), and it was cool to experience a bit of their culture. All the signs were in Welsh and English. I think it would be cool to learn Welsh.

We visited Shrewsbury, where Charles Darwin was born, and where our professor went to high school. We saw some of Charles Darwin's notes and random doodling as an elementary school student, as well as the house in which he was born.

We visited Stratford-Upon-Avon and saw the house in which Shakespeare was born. We also saw a Shakespeare play: As You Like It, which was, well, Shakespeare. The play was a bit long, but they did add some song and dance to keep things interesting. In Stratford-Upon-Avon, we also saw the Harvard House, which was the birthplace of John Harvard (Harvard University is named after him). The plaque on the house was wrong, though, because John Harvard was not the founder of Harvard University; that was done by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John Harvard only donated a bunch of books to the institution... we had to have dinner before the play, so we didn't get to see where Shakespeare was buried... but it's in the town as well.

Our class went to London again, and I got to ride the London Underground! It was an interesting experience, and I liked how there were warnings to "Please mind the gap" between the train and the platform. We visited the Natural History Museum, as well as the British Museum, where I saw a bunch of mummies as well as the Rosetta Stone, which was the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs.

A bunch of us stayed in London for the weekend before the class field trip, and we got a special tour of the Tower of London, which is really a castle. It's beautiful, and inside are many exhibits and displays about British history. The monarchy's crown jewels are also stored there, so we saw exhibits with glittering crowns, orbs, scepters, and other amazing objects made of gold and decorated with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and every other gem you can imagine. We also saw the famous Tower Bridge. We had dinner (Chinese food, yay) near Picadilly Circus and then wandered about that area at night. When it got dark, we wandered near Big Ben, which is stunning at night, and it reminded me of the scene in Disney's Peter Pan when Peter, Wendy, John, and Michael fly over London and then pause briefly on the big hand of Big Ben.



We then walked along the Thames, past the London Eye, and towards our hostel. The walk along the river was so amazing at night because the trees are all lit up with blue and white twinkly lights. Such a sight.

We also passed by St. Paul's Cathedral, which is in the movie Mary Poppins where the old lady is telling people to "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag." It's a particularly poignant scene in the film, and the song (which happens to be Walt Disney's favorite) reminds us of the power of simple charity and the need to be kind, especially to those less fortunate than us.



The next day, after visiting the museums, I saw Mary Poppins, the new musical. I liked it so much. It had elements from the movie, but it also had so much more. They rewrote some of the Sherman Brothers' classic songs and added new songs, but it all worked so wonderfully well together. It still had the magical feel of the movie, more so because it was all live onstage. There were also a lot of special effects, including the title character flying over the audience with her umbrella! They even got the scene where Mary Poppins pulls a tall lamp and plant from an empty carpetbag. At intermission, I moved up to some empty seats in the second row from the stage, and it made the rest of the show so much better. Yay, I love this musical. Better than any other Disney stage musical because it's not just the movie onstage... it's so much more. I can't wait to see it again if/when it arrives in the US on Broadway.

OK, now I'm off to play Mafia the card game, which my classmates have recently become obsessed with. It's quite a fun game... I've grown quite fond of it myself.

Quote of the Day: "She's playing you like a friggin' fiddle!"

:: SL 4:38 PM [+] ::
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Photo update!

Instead of studying for my exam like I should, I decided I would post photos from my recent trip(s) to London (I went again this past Saturday).


Buckingham Palace


Palace Guards with big fluffy hats!


The park near Buckingham Palace. It looks just like a fairy tale with view through the trees.




One of the most famous symbols of London: Big Ben


Across the river


Built for the millennium celebration in London, the London Eye has become another symbol for the city


Picadilly Circus is a famous area in London. It's like Times Square in New York with big billboards, retail stores, and nearby theaters with musicals playing.


Big neon signs


We went to see Guys and Dolls starring Ewan McGregor


Someday I will see this show!!! I hear the stage production of Mary Poppins is quite good.


The inside of the British Museum has an amazing indoor courtyard. I got there right after it closed, so I couldn't see any of the cool exhibits, but it's something to look forward to in a future visit (The Rosetta Stone is on display there).

:: SL 2:00 PM [+] ::
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So much has happened, and I haven't had much time to write about it! We have a lot of reading to do each night, and I want to make the most of my time here in England doing sightseeing when I have free time, so I haven't been updating. Plus, it was a bad start that I didn't get my internet access working in my room until three days into the program.

In my first week in Oxford, my classmates and I went out often to socialize. There are a lot of pubs around here, and they are great social gathering places. We were taken on a grand walking tour of Oxford and saw a bunch of the colleges that make up Oxford University. They are so grand, and it was neat to see how the setup and traditions of the colleges here influenced some US universities, like Harvard or Princeton.

On Friday, we went to Cambridge to visit Cambridge University. We got a great tour from the author of one of the Darwin biographies we read, and he took us around the city, pointing out sights Darwin would have seen. We saw the pub where Watson and Crick realized the double helix structure of DNA, as well as Charles Darwin's residence and college dorm. It was neat to see where Darwin lived as an undergraduate in college.

On Wednesday, we went to London. It was the first time I've ever visited London (not counting being there briefly when arriving in England two weeks ago). The city is so busy! It reminded me of being in New York, where the cars are loud, the people crowd the streets, and everything you could ever want is available.

We visited the Geological Society, where we saw a famous map that charted the geological features of England. We then went to the Linnean Society, where we saw the actual collection of Carl Linnaeus, known as the "father of taxonomy" for creating the organizational system for animals that scientists still use today. It was neat seeing his personal books and collected specimens of fish, insects, and plants, all nicely preserved.

We finished in the late afternoon and were welcome to stay in the city for the rest of the evening, so a couple of my classmates and I decided to see a show in the West End, London's version of Broadway. We had some time before the show, so we walked in London's famous Hyde Park. It's an amazing park. The pond is so beautiful and the gardens are flowering during the summertime. There are a lot of birds and squirrels, too, interacting with the people who are enjoying a stroll in the nice weather. At the end of the park, we saw Buckingham Palace. The guards are really cool, especially with their big furry hats.

In the evening, we went to see the musical Guys and Dolls, which is currently starring Ewan McGregor. He's a great singer, and was as good live as he was in the movie Moulin Rouge. The show was really funny and lively. The cast members were energetic and really got into their parts. It's great that a show from a while ago can still be as entertaining today.

Quote of the Day: "Trivial Pursuit?!? Is that a sex game!?!"

:: SL 1:59 PM [+] ::
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