London Theatre Study Abroad Program 2011

After being on a plane for 8 hours and arriving in London at around 7:00 in the morning we were taken right into the heart of London to see all the famous sites. This photo is of “Big Ben”. Of course it’s not really Big Ben as we quickly learned that Big Ben is the name of the bell that is hidden inside this iconic clock tower.

The second day we all got up early for a scheduled morning of shopping. We were told that the best place to do so would be Portobello Road where every weekend they have a flea market of sorts where vendors lined the street to sell everything from souvenirs to antiques. By the time we left the streets were so crowded with people it was hard to walk back to the underground station. There was a lot of really interesting things for sale, I ended up purchasing a new vinyl record to add to my collection.

Later on that day we were given some free time. During that time my two roommates and I went to the iconic Abbey Road. Where the Beatles took the photo for their album “Abbey Road”. As a music production student and fan of the Beatles this was an amazing experience for me. I was able to get a photo of me walking the same crosswalk the Beatles walked in their iconic album artwork.

On the third day after waking up fairly early and taking a very nice walk through Hyde Park we arrived at the Victory and Albert Museum or V and A for short. This museum was massive containing millions of artifacts that spanned over two thousand years. This is where we were giving a scavenger hunt to accomplish as one of our assignments and a few of us may have gotten a bit lost looking for some of the items. I personally really enjoyed this museum because of the vast array of items they had to see.

On the fourth day we had to get up fairly early in order to catch a train to the Harry Potter Experience. Getting up early enough to catch the sunrise and see the silhouette of the London skyline over Hyde Park was quite a treat. Most morning we would wake up when the sun was already out, so I was happy to be able to take a minute this particular morning to enjoy the incredible weather we had all week.

Later in the day we were taken to the place everyone was most excited about going to, the Harry Potter Experience. The experience was incredible. Being able to walk on the actual sets used in a movie series I grew up with was amazing and to see how the did a lot of the special effects and whatnot that they did was really interesting. Above is a photo of a demonstration of how the made the candles float above the great hall during a scene in one of the movies. This was really interesting to me because I enjoy seeing how people creatively make different effects work. They could have just done all the candles with CGI but they decided to build a contraption that would make real candles appear to be floating.

On the fifth day we took a private tour of BBC studios. I was somewhat disappointed that the only bit of Doctor Who they had was in the front lobby in the form of a Tardis and a Dalek in the photo above. Of course, being a fan of the Doctor Who show, it was better than nothing and made my day to be able to take a picture with a real Dalek. The tour itself was very interesting as we were able to see the inner workings of one of the biggest news and television stations in the world.

On the sixth day we were given a good bit of free time. Being the music junkie that I am I decided to make a pilgrimage to find the home where guitar legend Jimi Hendrix lived and died. There wasn’t much to see other than a plaque outside the building, but it was still a cool sight to see and it was fun to explore the streets that he once called home.

Right next to Jimi Hendrix home was where George Friederic Handel lived a couple hundred years earlier. I guess that block just attracted amazing musical talent to have two different musical geniuses living right next door to one another. It was very interesting to see where one of the composers I had learned so much about in my music history classes lived.

On the seventh day we took an expedition to Stonehenge. I couldn’t stop referencing the silly scene about Stonehenge from the movie Spinal Tap. Once you see Stonehenge it really is just a bunch of rocks gathered in a field with a bunch of sheep. It was interesting to hear all the different theories about why the rocks were brought here and where they came from. With all the hype and attraction Stonehenge brings it was on my list of places I’d like to visit and I was happy to be able to cross it off.

The last thing we did before we left to head back to the states was have high tea at the portrait gallery. It was a fitting end to the trip to London one of the number one things anyone says you have to do when you travel to England is have some tea and we did just that. The view was incredible and the finger foods were pretty tasty. It was nice time to reflect on the week and get ready to head back home to school and reality.

	After being on a plane for 8 hours and arriving in London at around 7:00 in the morning we were taken right into the heart of London to see all the famous sites. This photo is of “Big Ben”. Of course it’s not really Big Ben as we quickly learned that Big Ben is the name of the bell that is hidden inside this iconic clock tower.
	One of the last stops on our tour the first day we arrived was Buckingham Palace. This was one of the stops that I was already planning on making so it was nice that the tour stopped here so we could get out and take pictures. As most people know this is where the queen lives. An interesting fact we learned while on the tour was that we can tell that she is not home by the fact that her personal flag is not waving on the mast on top of the palace.
	The second day we all got up early for a scheduled morning of shopping. We were told that the best place to do so would be Portobello Road where every weekend they have a flea market of sorts where vendors lined the street to sell everything from souvenirs to antiques. By the time we left the streets were so crowded with people it was hard to walk back to the underground station. There was a lot of really interesting things for sale, I ended up purchasing a new vinyl record to add to my collection.
	Later on that day we were given some free time. During that time my two roommates and I went to the iconic Abbey Road. Where the Beatles took the photo for their album “Abbey Road”. As a music production student and fan of the Beatles this was an amazing experience for me. I was able to get a photo of me walking the same crosswalk the Beatles walked in their iconic album artwork.
	On the third day after waking up fairly early and taking a very nice walk through Hyde Park we arrived at the Victory and Albert Museum or V and A for short. This museum was massive containing millions of artifacts that spanned over two thousand years. This is where we were giving a scavenger hunt to accomplish as one of our assignments and a few of us may have gotten a bit lost looking for some of the items. I personally really enjoyed this museum because of the vast array of items they had to see.
	Later that evening after touring the Globe Theater the group decided to go take a ride on the London Eye. This massive ferris wheel takes you several hundred feet in the air for an amazing view of the city. This was one of the activities I was looking forward to doing during our free time and I’m glad we did it at night. The view was amazing and to come back from London without going on the London Eye would have really made me depressed.
	On the fourth day we had to get up fairly early in order to catch a train to the Harry Potter Experience. Getting up early enough to catch the sunrise and see the silhouette of the London skyline over Hyde Park was quite a treat. Most morning we would wake up when the sun was already out, so I was happy to be able to take a minute this particular morning to enjoy the incredible weather we had all week.
	Later in the day we were taken to the place everyone was most excited about going to, the Harry Potter Experience. The experience was incredible. Being able to walk on the actual sets used in a movie series I grew up with was amazing and to see how the did a lot of the special effects and whatnot that they did was really interesting. Above is a photo of a demonstration of how the made the candles float above the great hall during a scene in one of the movies. This was really interesting to me because I enjoy seeing how people creatively make different effects work. They could have just done all the candles with CGI but they decided to build a contraption that would make real candles appear to be floating.
	On the fifth day we took a private tour of BBC studios. I was somewhat disappointed that the only bit of Doctor Who they had was in the front lobby in the form of a Tardis and a Dalek in the photo above. Of course, being a fan of the Doctor Who show, it was better than nothing and made my day to be able to take a picture with a real Dalek. The tour itself was very interesting as we were able to see the inner workings of one of the biggest news and television stations in the world.
	Later that day we took a tour of the Royal Theater Drury Lane. I believe they said that it is the oldest theater in London and apparently it’s filled with ghosts. The photo above is of the king’s room where he would sit during intermission. The gold accents on the wall are covered with real gold. It was interesting to hear the history behind the room and how the since the prince and the king did not get along they were each given their own sitting rooms on opposite sides of the theater.
	On the sixth day we were given a good bit of free time. Being the music junkie that I am I decided to make a pilgrimage to find the home where guitar legend Jimi Hendrix lived and died. There wasn’t much to see other than a plaque outside the building, but it was still a cool sight to see and it was fun to explore the streets that he once called home.
	Right next to Jimi Hendrix home was where George Friederic Handel lived a couple hundred years earlier. I guess that block just attracted amazing musical talent to have two different musical geniuses living right next door to one another. It was very interesting to see where one of the composers I had learned so much about in my music history classes lived.
	On the seventh day we took an expedition to Stonehenge. I couldn’t stop referencing the silly scene about Stonehenge from the movie Spinal Tap. Once you see Stonehenge it really is just a bunch of rocks gathered in a field with a bunch of sheep. It was interesting to hear all the different theories about why the rocks were brought here and where they came from. With all the hype and attraction Stonehenge brings it was on my list of places I’d like to visit and I was happy to be able to cross it off.
	After visiting Stonehenge we traveled to Bath where we were able to take a tour of a real Roman bath. I thought it was very interesting to find this place so well preserved since the Romans have not occupied England in a very long time. I really enjoy seeing history preserved like this and being able to walk around some place that was created so long ago. It was really interesting to see that the hot spring that fills the bath was still in use and the water in the bath was still so hot you could see the steam coming off the surface.
	On the last day we were in London I decided to take one last pilgrimage to see the home of one of the most iconic singers in the entire world, Freddie Mercury. Like the other homes I saw I could not go in, but it was very cool to see all the note that people have posted outside the walls of his home. Most of which were song lyrics and nice notes about how Queen’s music will live on. As a musician it was incredible to be able to stand in the doorway of the home of one of the most influential vocalists of all time.
	The last thing we did before we left to head back to the states was have high tea at the portrait gallery. It was a fitting end to the trip to London one of the number one things anyone says you have to do when you travel to England is have some tea and we did just that. The view was incredible and the finger foods were pretty tasty. It was nice time to reflect on the week and get ready to head back home to school and reality.