I didn't post yesterday, so I felt obligated to post today, even though it will be small. Rest assured, I have been very busy the last couple of days, but I was honestly not in the mood to update.
Yesterday I took a guided tour of London, navigating the train and Tube systems quite successfully, I might add. The tour was two hours, outdoors, and freakin' cold! We visited Westminster Abbey, saw the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Downey Street, Buckingham Palace, and other sights. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the little nuggets of history imparted by our tour guide, especially regarding the scandalous reign of Henry VIII, as well as the Gunpowder Treason Plot. For those of you who have seen V for Vendetta, which I love, you know that the Gunpowder Treason Plot was an attempt by a Catholic resistance group to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was one of these resistance leaders, and definitely the most famous. I particularly enjoyed when our tour guide recited the famous lines: Remember, remember the fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot; I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot. I was less thrilled, however, when the tour guide proceeded to describe, in distrubingly descriptive terms, the form of execution that Guy Fawkes and the other resistance members faced. That was not something that I wanted to be picturing in my head all day.
Today was the field trip to Brighton for the British Life and Culture class. Now, I knew very little about Brighton beforehand. All I really knew was what I'd picked up from Pride and Prejudice: it was a town on the coast, very popular for sea bathing, British regiments would sometimes encamp there, and Lydia Bennett ran away with Mr. Wickham from...oh right, that's delving a little too far into the fictional parts. Anyway, the history of Brighton is pretty fascinating, but what I truly enjoyed was...my first meal of fish and chips! I don't think you could find it at any better place than by the sea. It was in a newspaper and everything, and I put both malt vinegar and ketchup on it and it tasted SOOOO GOOD! I was able to explore the pier boardwalk, and some friends and I took some beach pictures reminiscent of Across the Universe.
Yesterday I took a guided tour of London, navigating the train and Tube systems quite successfully, I might add. The tour was two hours, outdoors, and freakin' cold! We visited Westminster Abbey, saw the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Downey Street, Buckingham Palace, and other sights. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the little nuggets of history imparted by our tour guide, especially regarding the scandalous reign of Henry VIII, as well as the Gunpowder Treason Plot. For those of you who have seen V for Vendetta, which I love, you know that the Gunpowder Treason Plot was an attempt by a Catholic resistance group to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was one of these resistance leaders, and definitely the most famous. I particularly enjoyed when our tour guide recited the famous lines: Remember, remember the fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot; I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot. I was less thrilled, however, when the tour guide proceeded to describe, in distrubingly descriptive terms, the form of execution that Guy Fawkes and the other resistance members faced. That was not something that I wanted to be picturing in my head all day.
Today was the field trip to Brighton for the British Life and Culture class. Now, I knew very little about Brighton beforehand. All I really knew was what I'd picked up from Pride and Prejudice: it was a town on the coast, very popular for sea bathing, British regiments would sometimes encamp there, and Lydia Bennett ran away with Mr. Wickham from...oh right, that's delving a little too far into the fictional parts. Anyway, the history of Brighton is pretty fascinating, but what I truly enjoyed was...my first meal of fish and chips! I don't think you could find it at any better place than by the sea. It was in a newspaper and everything, and I put both malt vinegar and ketchup on it and it tasted SOOOO GOOD! I was able to explore the pier boardwalk, and some friends and I took some beach pictures reminiscent of Across the Universe.
I was disappointed by one thing, though...I forgot Dodo! I've let you all down, because now you'll never see Dodo standing on the Brighton beach, and you'll have to content yourself with this boring picture of me instead.