Friday

Love Is All You Need


"All you need is love" is a mantra commonly endorced by Shakespeare's foolish lovers that usually results in fatality. Romeo and Juliet are staple characters in confirming this idea...more on them later. I woke up at 6a.m. Thursday morning; a little earlier than I normally do. When I walked downstairs to the hotel lobby, I was greeted with a traditional English breakfast that consisted of the following:


toast with strawberry jam

bacon

sausage

a fried egg

a fried tomato

baked beans

a baked potato square

tea with lemon


Normally I am a bit finicky about meat but I did try everything and it was quite good. At 10:00 we got on a bus and took a tour around London. The tour was a good way to officially begin the trip, as it provided a nice overview of the city and its boroughs. During the course of the bus tour, we stopped off at the Royal Albert Hall which is mostly used as a venue for concerts and theatrical productions. The hall was named “Albert” by Queen Victoria as homage to her late husband. There was also a HUGE gilded statue of Prince Albert across the street. While visiting the hall, I saw a sign advertising the musical “The King and I”-- staring, none other than Daniel Dae Kim!!! (he plays Jin on the show “Lost”) The show opens on June 12th, so several students booked tickets for that afternoon. I did not get a ticket because I am still weighing that show with some others I want to see.

Other places from the tour include Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, the new Scotland Yard headquarters, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, the London Eye, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral and many more.


Thursday evening we went to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and saw “Romeo and Juliet.” I am fairly certain that it is the best theatrical performance I have ever seen. The most brilliant element of the play was the comedic execution. Specifically, many of the characters dramatized several phallic and yonic allusions that I had not previously read into the text. It was absolutely hilarious.


In short, every other Shakespeare play and movie adaptation pales in comparison to a performance at the Globe. More later on Thursday's outings at the Charleston House and the London Philharmonic Symphony.








Cheerio, y'all

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