Day 19

First thing on Tuesday was class. We had lecture in class again, and once again I can’t really remember what we talked about. We’re getting into the really modern times, the 19th and 20th centuries, which I can’t say hold that much interest for me. I like the really old history, right up until the mid to late 19th century. So class was boring, and then afterwards I came home and worked on my essay a bit more, and then at 1 we met up and left for Stately Homes. We went up to Hampstead Heath, which is in the north part of greater London, so still in London but a good 40 minute tube ride away. Once we got there we had to find a bus to take us to Kenwood House, the house we were going to see, and we actually ended up getting on the same bus our teacher was on, so that worked out quite nicely. When we got there we stopped first so our teacher could talk to this guy that was walking his dogs, she apparently has the same type of dog. I swear to you, these were the BIGGEST dogs I have ever seen. And I’ve seen Dusty. These dogs were easily like 6 inches taller and waaaay bulkier. I can’t remember what the breed is, but it’s some type of sheep herding dog. They were so cute! So we got to pet them while our teacher chatted to him about them, and then we went across the street over to the house we were going to visit. It was a beautiful place. I would love to have spent some time up there just lounging in the sun. It would definitely be a great place to go back to if I ever get the chance. Kenwood House was built in the Georgian era, and it’s very big and impressive. It’s definitely a man’s house, although the inside is a mixture. This was the time when art began to be collected for its beauty rather than as family portraits or whatnot, but now it was about beauty and grandeur, so inside the house was what’s called the Iveagh Bequest, an incredible collection of paintings. Kenwood House has free entry, which was very nice, but it seems to have been rearranged a lot. The whole upstairs was dedicated to the Suffolk Collection, another art collection, but you can tell they redid the rooms specifically to showcase the collection. I would have rather seen the original house. Downstairs was mostly original, though. There were some incredible works of art, and the house itself has beautiful architecture. The library was this incredible room with a domed ceiling ornately decorated with gold and blues and scenes of Greek gods and goddesses. I wish I could take pictures inside the houses so I could show you what they look like, but that’s definitely not allowed, although people still do. I think it’s rude to take pictures when it clearly says not to, but apparently that’s just me. So we did our tour of Kenwood House, and because it closes at 4 we got out of class a little early. It took us about an hour and 15 to get home, and I went straight to dinner.

Right after dinner I ran upstairs to get my ticket to Romeo and Juliet and grab a jacket, and then I was off to the Globe. I went by myself to get there because I knew two of my friends had left just before me, so I figured I could wait in line with them. I got there at about 6:20, and they got there at 6, and it turned out we were the first three people there. We sat on the steps in front of the main gate and when they came to let us in at 6:45 they said “Excuse me, but you’re supposed to cue around the corner, there’s a sign. If there’s people in a cue we’ll have to let them in before you.” That scared us, but she walked with us around the corner and they had forgotten to put the sign up, so there wasn’t anyone in line, thank god! We got in first and went over and were first in line at door 4, which opens first and opens into the courtyard. At this point the line started getting really long, and we were worried they were just going to cut in front of us, but a lady came out and told them to cue up behind us and around the corner, so we had our spots taken care of. Then when they let us in we rushed the stage and got the best spot in the house! Very front, dead center, leaning on the stage. Can you believe it!? I literally had the best spot in the entire Globe Theater. The actors were right in front of me, and in some cases I had to look straight up to actually see them, but that’s okay. When it finally started, it began with four guys and some musicians singing minstrel music, which was very entertaining. They played while the theater was filling up, so I guess that wasn’t the very beginning. But it was cool because they were interacting with us a lot. One of the songs they walked down off the stage and weaved through the crowd singing, and then two of them turned up literally right behind me singing to me and Peter and Juliet! Then they moved me aside and jumped up on the stage from right where I was standing! It was soooo cool. Then the play started, and it was fantastic. My feet did start to hurt a bunch during it, but at least I got to lean on the stage. There were a few parts during the fight scenes that we thought Romeo was going to fall right off the stage onto us, but he managed to stop in time. Oh, and Romeo and Tibult were black. It was kind of a strange leap from the normal, but they were great actors so in the end it didn’t matter. When Mercutio was killed he was standing right in front of us bleeding, and at the intermission we rubbed our tickets in his fake blood that was on the stage, so now I can say I have the best souvenir ever from the Globe! And the scene when Romeo buys poison from the apothecary, that was interesting because the apothecary popped up from the trap door in the stage that was literally a foot in front of us. It scared me half to death! The girls that were behind me told me I jumped pretty good when the trap door slammed open. So all in all it was fantastic. I would definitely go see another play in the Globe, standing or sitting, although if I were to do it standing again I don’t think I’d want a spot any less worthy than dead center. After the play I got home at about 11:30 and passed out. Love you guys!

Jaime