Beatles, Bowie, & Bond

Another afternoon to fill…

I decided on treating myself to the Beatles to Bowie exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.  I again traveled via bus and stumbled upon a Ghost Forest in Trafalger Square!  The exhibit was one I was looking forward to for quite a while, despite the £9 entry fee…with a student concession, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.  The best part had to be reading all of the curator cards and recognizing not only the faces and song titles, but also the London locations where the photos were taken.  It was a great reminder that I am currently living in the city where so many of the musicians and pop icons I idolize got their inspiration, their start, and their iconic image.

After making a quick pit/tea stop at home, I enlisted Mike into heading to the Bond Noel Christmas celebration….and good thing we actually mobilized, since it ended up being one of the most surprisingly ‘worth it’ trips in London yet.  The star of the West End’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Anna Friel, was this year’s “Bond Girl” (so clever), and we inadvertently snagged a spot near the Tiffany & Co. store where she made her entrance.  The street was transformed to a winter wonderland thanks to fake snow, fir trees, and reindeer!  Besides the ridiculously aesthetically appealing high-end retail we strolled through after the switch-on, almost every store was giving away free booze and treats.  Now that’s the festive frugalista spirit!

Published in: on November 19, 2009 at 11:52 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday: back to British

We decided to follow up our day in Paris with a very British day in London.  We crossed the Thames on Southwark Bridge and headed to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  We looked around the exhibition, caught an Elizabethan clothing/costuming demonstration, and took a guided tour.  There will always be a special place in my heart for Shakespeare (I love studying and performing his works!) and it was great to spend the afternoon expanding my knowledge of him, his works, and his time.

Realizing we could make the 5pm evensong service at St. Paul’s, we quickly headed across the Millennium Bridge to the Cathedral.  Attending service is the easy, free way to see the Cathedral’s interior, and doing so while a spectacular choir is singing hymns was perfect.

Our stomachs were speaking to us, and I decided the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese would be our next stop.  Located in the heart of Fleet Street, the pub is a famous institution rebuilt after the Great Fire and preserved to this day.  It was packed with the after-work on Friday gang, but we grabbed some authentic British grub and lager in the reserved dining room.

We continued walking down Fleet Street and the Strand to Trafalger Square, stopping in at the National Portrait Gallery, open late on Fridays, to see their exhibit on Bob Dylan.

Movie-going is a Dugo gal tradition, so we obviously decided experiencing it the London way would be a worthwhile conclusion to the evening.  We headed to the entertainment-centric Leicester Square to see “the best British film of the year” Harry Brown starring Michael Caine at the Odeon Theatre.  The media studies and film students in me were in heaven!  Culturally, it was interesting to see how different movie-going is here as well.  The Leicester Square Odeon was converted from a stage theatre to a cinema but still retains a full bar and assigned seats.  Although very violent with intense social commentary, Harry Brown was very enjoyable to see and continued the true-British theme of the day!

Published in: on November 16, 2009 at 10:09 pm  Leave a Comment  
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London via Coach Bus

FIE arranged a coach bus tour of London for us on Saturday (5-Spet) afternoon.  Driven by Paul and narrated by Pamela, I was lucky enough to snag my choice seat in the front so I had front and side window view!  (Being in the front not only served well for soaking it all in, but also for listening to P & P bicker in British, and get my inquiries answered!)

It was a great way to see all of the sights…for a brief, fleeting, glass window/tree obstructed second.  I tried to take the best pictures possible, but a lot of the moments passed and many of the identifications and information went over my head.  Above all, it was overwhelming…but in a good way — I saw how much there is to see and explore, and there is a ton of it!

The route:

The tour’s absolute aim was to see as many of the quintessential landmarks as possible while hitting the least amount of traffic.  The Thames served as our guide as we zig-zagged across it and followed its banks, weaving through the West End and the City of London.

The photos below are being documented as my first glances at the city.  I can guarantee improved images and captions in the future when I return to the areas!

Although the coach bus medium wasn’t ideal for taking pictures of the city, it was for mapping it.  I definitely feel like my conception of London has improved.  It was a prime pace and flow to see how the city is planned.  Many striking similarities emerged with New York, from infrastructure to attractions to tourists, and it definitely got my brain working in the Urban Studies grove.  A native New Yorker and isolated traveler, my only previous first-hand comparisons to draw were between the Big Apple and Walt Disney World; I am thrilled to be able to add London to my repertoire and look forward to exploring it more–for pleasure and for analyzing–throughout the semester.  This grand-scheme approach has been serving me well; I am finding that I like to survey areas at large before diving into their intricacies.

Published in: on September 7, 2009 at 11:05 pm  Comments (2)  
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