Monday, February 18, 2013

'Ello Old Chap


Well hello there Internet,

It’s been a while! There’s a lot to catch up on, so I’ll start from the beginning. Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to have my wonderful parents come visit me for the weekend. While I wasn’t very homesick before, it was fantastic seeing them and be with some of the people who know me best. Plus it was nice to be taken care of ;)

We tried to divide our time equally between historic places, West End shows, and personal time. I took them to places like Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, and the Royal Mews. It was a great opportunity to flaunt my newfound knowledge. Kensington Palace had a great exhibit on Queen Victoria’s life, Hampton Court was nothing but beautiful, and the Royals Mews astounded me. The royals have a 1950 Bentley! Insanity.
The Royal Mews
Hampton Court

We also went to see Les Mis and Top Hat, two shows that are currently on the West End.
I had never seen Les Mis before (not even the movie) so I had to see what all the fuss was about. It actually wasn't my favorite! Sorry Les Mis fans, go ahead and burn me at the stake. I will admit that I found myself humming "Do You Hear the People Sing" more than I care to admit. Top Hat was amazing. It’s based off of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie, which means lots of dancing! We were near the front so we got to see all of the footwork in the tap numbers. Grandpa Sheep, you would’ve loved it! We saw the understudy for the main lead, but he was so fantastic I would’ve never known any better.
Such a good play!

The rest of our time was spent going out to our favorite restaurants, catching up on some Downton Abbey, sleeping (2 jetlagged and 1 sleep-deprived), facetiming my poor little sister left at home, and maybe even doing a little shopping. I was sad to see my parents leave but it was such a treat to be able to have them visit me especially because…
Happy Birthday to me!

IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! Yes, this past weekend I turned a whopping 20 years old. I really don’t feel that old so it shocked me a little bit. I may have had a moment of freaking out. Maybe. 20 marks the gateway of responsibility! It made me wonder if I was ready for everything that lay ahead of me. But, in the meantime, I partied! Kind of. I got brunch with my lovely friend, Tavia, did a little shopping, took a much needed nap, and then rounded up a big group of friends to go out to an awesome dinner. We went to a place called Meatliquor, and it was an experience to say the least. After a 30-minute wait in line, we finally got into this grungy, punk rocky restaurant filled with loud music, murals and hipsters. I ordered a plain cheeseburger and it was one of the best cheeseburgers of my life. Birthday made!
Coolest restaurant ever

One other thing worth mentioning: A few of us went to see a play called 39 Steps last Friday. It was the greatest thing ever! I am definitely going to see it again before it closes late in March. It was a 4-man cast, but 3 of the actors had to constantly switch roles. It was the funniest and most original play I’ve seen on the West End yet! Not to mention the lead looks and sounds like a young Cary Elwes.
One of the best plays on the West End

Well, that’s all for now folks. Sorry if that got a little long, but that was about 2 weeks worth of events rolled into one blog post! I hope you all are enjoying your lives and everything that it has in store for you. Don’t waste one moment!

Love,
Courtney

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

A Winter's Tale


Happy February Internet!

This last week, we left London to travel north again. First stop, Oxford! Right off the bat, we took a tour of Christ Church College that was unlike anything you’d ever see in the States. It’s like living in a movie, literally. Fun fact: A lot of scenes from Harry Potter were filmed there. The rest of our time in Oxford was spent wandering around. Some of the things we did: walked up a tower at a church and to see a panoramic view of Oxford, drank the best banana caramel milkshake of my life at a place called Moo Moo, visited the Botanical Gardens.

Later we drove to Stratford-upon-Avon, which is where Shakespeare was born. Everything we did there was devoted to Shakespeare, from visiting his former houses to watching his plays. Our last night was spent watching Life of Galileo. The Evil Emperor from Star Wars played the main character. Momentary fan girl freak out!

Warwick Castle was last on our stop. There was a peacock garden, lots of wax figures, dungeons, princess pictures, birds of prey shows, etc. I bet you could guess my favorite part…

While we weren’t gone for very long, it was nice to come home back to the Centre. I think I was more excited than normal to come home because my parents are coming to visit me in a few days! Wednesday they arrive in London and I can’t wait to see them. My only complaint is that my little sister couldn’t come with them. I hope you all are having a lovely week.

Love,

Courtney