Regent's Park

Hi ya, pal! (Home Alone criminal voice). On Friday (yes, almost a week ago - whoops), I went out and explored Regent's Park. When I say "I went and explored", I mean I crossed the street and brought my camera. Regent's College is located between the Inner Circle and Outer Circle along the York Gate (see map). The map is very simple though. The green spaces are actually different gardens and there are rivers running through it.

A waterfall in the middle of the park.

The main pathway in Queen Mary's Gardens.

An ivy covered bridge.

It was so pretty walking around the park. Warm, too. I had just a sweater on all day! The birds were chirping and you could hardly hear the noise of the city. It's nothing like the Boston Common. Much more of a peaceful park than the Common, better uses than a pathway for commuters. 

Statue in the middle of St. John's Lodge Gardens. St. John's Lodge in the background.

Pathway to St. John's Lodge Gardens.

After exploring, I found it a good idea to go for a run through the park. My downfall was choosing to go around 4 pm when people like to go for an after work walk. I did quite more maneuvering than running, but it was still gorgeous! Maybe next time I'll try a different time of day. 

Queen Mary's Gardens.

I can see myself bringing my homework to one of the many park benches in the park on a nice day in April. Or, even a blanket and lay in the sun. Loving London! 

London Theatre

My friends in theatre classes are always going to great shows generously paid for by Regent's. Each class offers between 6 and 8 shows through the semester that they then discuss in class. Unfortunately, I'm a Marketing student and don't have the opportunity to take the theatre classes. But, from all the reviews of shows in London, I've already been to two in the three weeks that I've been here.

My first theatre experience was a great one. It was a Wednesday afternoon when my roommate, Gretchen, and I headed to the West End and popped in from theater to theater until we found one with decently priced student tickets. Mamma Mia and Matilda were both way too expensive for us, 35 pounds each! We were about to give up when we decided to try out The 39 Steps. It was 2:30, so we were aiming for the 3:00 matinee. Luckily, they had seats available, AND a student discount AND they were only 15 pounds. DEAL! The theater was small, but we ended up getting second row seats in the center, couldn't get much better! Although I had no idea about this show prior to 2:30, it was really good! All I knew before it started that it was a mock mystery. It was about a man on the run because a woman was killed in his apartment, and he was being accused for murder. The man had to try and find a man to help him out, he turned out to be an enemy, as well as many other characters. The play had a lot of references to Alfred Hitchcock, which I loved. In comparison to the few plays I've see in the states, this was a great value. It was unexpectedly good and made me laugh all through the play. I feel as though London is such a popular theatre city, that every show that makes it here will be great.

My latest theatre experience in London was also a last minute thing. I had a long Friday full of laundry and homework when I ventured down to the Refectory for some dinner. I ran into my friend Rachel and we decided to go to a show that night. We looked up shows that were playing and decided we both would love to see Shrek: The Musical. I know, sounds dumb. I threw on a jacket and we were out the door around 6:30 for the 7:30 show. It was unfortunately really rainy on our walk to the Baker Street Tube Station, which slowed us down. We would've been on time to the show if we didn't get lost finding the theater, whoops! We got there on the dot at 7:30, which turned out to be a good thing. We asked for a student ticket but found out they don't have student discounts on Fridays. The manager came over to the window and told us since the show was about to start and no one else would be coming, she would give us the student price (20 pounds) and the best seats available. Awesome! We sat in the front row of the balcony, which ended up being level with the stage. Best seats in the house if you ask me! Shrek was an amazing show. They had a live orchestra and singing all throughout the show. The sets were unbelievably detailed as well as the costumes resembling story book characters. My favorite was Lord Farquad because it was a man of normal height who had to walk on his knees the whole time with fake legs attached to his thighs. The fake legs were so funny to watch, I kept giggling. I felt it was a real Broadway quality show for such a good price. I left the show feeling like a kid again, happy as can be.

My favorite thing about the theatre here in London is how they treat their customers. In the US, people get punished for waiting until the last minute to buy a ticket like this. Over here, the British won't buy the tickets if the prices are hiked up like that. Ain't nobody got time fo dat. The theaters here want to fill up as many seats as possible. It's a great business technique in both cases; the audience is the only difference between countries. I can't wait to see another show! Thanks for reading!

Isle of Wight

Well hello! Hope you're all enjoying my blog! My trip to Isle of Wight, like Stonehenge, came about last minute. The tickets were sold out until a few days before the trip when they added seats, in which I made sure to get one!

The bus picked us up outside of Regent's at 8 am and then a two hour bus ride to the ferry. I was ready to get off the bus when we arrived at the ferry dock in South Hampton, but we never did. I didn't realize the bus would go ON the ferry! That ain't no ferry to Martha's Vineyard! After the bus was parked, we were able to get out and go up to the top levels where there was food and a comfortable lounge area. The ferry was very slow moving, so it took about an hour to get to the Isle of Wight. 

P.S. The ferry left from South Hampton, a major port in England. It's like the Port of Miami for the United States: full of cruise ships and barges. A few days after my trip, I was just casually watching The Parent Trap when I realized that's where the Queen Elizabeth II docked! Loves it. 

The ferry pulled into East Cowes, and then we were off to see The Needles in Alum Bay, Yarmouth. The island has one fast road with a speed limit of 70, but the rest of the roads are small and winding - the fun roads for those not driving a big coach (bus). 

 The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that stand up straight out of the sea. The bus parked and let us out to go walk to where we could see The Needles from a nearby cliff. We had to walk through a deserted amusement park to get the good view. I'm sure this was because the island is a summer destination. Picture walking through Bowen's Wharf in Newport, but with literally no people. 

After The Needles, we got back on the bus and drove down the entire west coast of the island. The views and cliffs were awesome! I tried my best to get a good picture from the bus.

Next stop, Ventnor! We had forty minutes to explore the seaside village of Ventnor. The area was very hilly and the buildings were built into the hills with beautiful views of the English Channel. 

Next stop, Shanklin! Shanklin is a village with thatched roof houses and many stores and restaurants to explore. The problem is, nothing was open. The island lifestyle of slow moving without a care in the world is definitely in effect at Isle of Wight. Aka, it's where rich English chaps go to retire. We ate lunch at the only restaurant open, called Chubby's; health food galore. 

Next stop, Godshill! This was my favorite village we visited. It may be because of the view we had and the sunset was perfect timing. Godshill was named because of a story from when the village was being built. Many years ago, a group of men were laying the foundation of a church for the villagers. They would leave the construction site after a long day of hard work, but return in the morning to find the foundation moved to the top of a very steep hill. This happened three times when they finally decided it was an act of God and built the church on top of the hill. So we were running a little late on our tour, and only had twenty minutes to explore Godshill. My friends and I decided we really wanted to see the top of the hill so we told ourselves if we weren't almost there after 10 minutes of walking up the hill, we should turn back to catch the bus. Turns out, we may have overestimated the walk up the hill because we made it there in 2 minutes. Drama queens! To be fair, we bolted up the very steep steps. The church at the top of the hill was beautiful as well as the graves surrounding it. We also had an amazing view of the surrounding hills and homes.  

Next stop, home! After Godshill, we got back on the bus and onto the ferry. It got very cold on the ferry, especially with the doors open for people coming inside. Then it was a two hour bus ride home. A full day in the beautiful Isle of Wight came to a close with pizza and salad for dinner and a good nights sleep. Thanks for reading! 

Hogwarts

Hey guys, I took a trip to Hogwarts! Kind of. I apologize ahead of time for my Harry Potter jokes.

My journey to Hogwarts. It all started with a 9 a.m. walk from Regent's to Euston Station. At Euston Station, a group of eight friends and I took the 15 minute Hogwarts Express train from Platform 9 3/4 to Watford Junction, then the Knight Bus (shuttle) to the studio. When we arrived at the studio, I was amazed at how big it was! Like it's own little warehouse town. It makes sense, though, because when they filmed the movies, they must have needed a lot of room for the different sets, props, and crew.

We waited in a long twisting queue (line) to get into the studio tour. It was a busy day for little English school fielld trips! I may or may not have eavesdropped on the kids speaking in their cute little accents. Once all nine of us shuffled in, we were put in a sound proof room with TVs lining the walls. They showed us a short video on how the adaption of the Harry Potter stories started. Apparently, the script writers saw the potential in Harry Potter before it became a popular book.

Then, we were shuffled again into a larger room with a big Imax looking screen and comfy seats. I actually fell into mine because it was more of a cushion than we have in movie theaters in the states. Then, the tour guide told us to put our seat belts on. I got nervous because I couldn't find mine, someone then explained it was a joke... oop! In the theater, we watched a more in depth introduction of what it was like on the set of Harry Potter. The last scene was Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in front of the Great Hall doors telling us to enjoy the tour. They disappeared behind the doors, the Imax screen went up, and there were the actual Great Hall doors! We all jumped out of our seats and rushed to be in the front of the crowd. They invited the people celebrating birthdays to come to the front and open the doors, buncha liars.

The doors opened to the Great Hall set. The Great Hall is where all four houses of Hogwarts ate while the professors lined up in the front. On the set, they had two out of the four rows of tables so that we could easily walk in the middle of the set. The tables were set as if they were going to have a meal, while robes from each house were displayed around the hall. At the front, they had the costumes of many of the professors, Dumbledore included!

After the Great Hall, we were free to roam the big open room containing partial sets and important props. This is where the warehouse type feel came into play. they were set up in sections that you could go around to each one and observe.

After the spacious room, you could go outside and see the bigger iconic sets. Outside was the flying car, Knight bus, Potter's cottage, those big chess pieces, and 4 privet drive. This is also where you could get Butter Beer! It tasted like butterscotch and was really sweet.

After the outside section, you could go into the next and last building of the tour. The first room was full of the creatures they used in the films, and all about how they made it happen. THEY HAD A REAL LIVE BUCKBEAK. He was only featured in about 10 seconds of the movie because he was built to lay down. They also had the Hagrid head. Did you know Hagrid wasn't real? Could've fooled me! His head was on a platform and moved very human like. One of Doby's heads was also displayed in this section.

Next up, Diagon Alley! The full set had every shop the movies used in the film, but the rest was green screened. The stores were all so detailed; very well done!

After Diagon Alley, we walked into the White Room. It was modeled after the drawing room where the artists designed what the sets would look like. This room also had scales of many important sets from the movies. An informational video explained how they went about designing the ins and outs of the sets.

After the White Room, you turn the corner, and there's Hogwarts! It was a scaled replica of the Hogwarts castle and grounds, and it was simply amazing. Every inch of the castle has such detail and architecture. The pathway went all the way around the castle and sloped down to the bottom floor. The lights changed slowly to represent day and night in which there were lights inside the castle at night.

The last but not least room was the room of wands. There were 7,000 wand boxes labeled with names in which each was someone who worked on the film in some way or another. The famous actors were mixed in with the rest of the crew. They say it was like one big family on set. Wish I could be in Rupert Grint's family!

Thanks for reading!