A Wickedly Good Final Day in London

Today was our last day in London before tomorrow's train trip to Edinburgh and our performance experience in Edinburgh!

We had a blissfully  unscheduled morning, allowing some folks to catch up on sleep and others to just slow down a bit - except for one group who went on a morning shopping expedition for Vidya's birthday and a few who took in the Tate Modern Museum, right across the street from Bankside House.

Bankside House, our home this Week

Our daytime highlight was our tour and workshop at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre!  The Globe is a reconstruction and replica of the original Globe, built by Shakespeare and his contemporaries in 1599 and again after a fire destroyed it in 1613.  Our group was split into two, with each group sharing some space with students from another AHSTF school.  I was in with the first group, and we had a terrific workshop on Shakespearean acting technique through Romeo and Juliet - our teaching artist was terrific at involving the whole group, and even some of our "techies" did a bit of acting!  The second group didn't report quite as positive experience - their leader was a pretty tough, no-nonsense kind of guy, I understand - but it was a valuable hour nonetheless!

Above photos are from our orientation outside the theatre

Inside the Globe, imagining theatre as Shakespeare would have known it

Workshop photos - Leah is being Juliet, I think

Saarah as Romeo ready to commit murder

Everyone was free to shop, walk or just hang out at Banskide for the rest of the afternoon.  Then it was on to WICKED at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, right outside the Victoria Station.   The walk-Tube combo was much easier tonight, and we had plenty of time to relax over a sandwich or slice of pizza before the show, which was terrific!  The show is in the process of installing new actors in both lead roles of Elpheba and Glinda, and they were both super!

Anticipating a great show!

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On the Tube after another great day!

Up EARLLLLLY tomorrow - 5am! to load baggage on the trucks and get to the train station!  My next report will come to you from (hopefully) cool, breezy Edinburgh!

All Over London Town

Today was another glorious London day - crystal clear blue sunshine, warm but not as hot as yesterday, and just right for a day of traipsing around London and discovering what the city has to offer.  After a hearty  breakfast, Our travelers teamed up and visited a number of great locations today - The British War Museum, Harrod's Department Store, Hyde Park, Baker Street, the British Museum, The Natural History Museum and more!

A perfect day along the Thames

Carolyn, Elspeth and Zoe relax in the Bankside Lobby after a long day of  London exploring

We had our first West End Experience tonight, with a trip to the London production of the Tony Award-winning ONCE..  Our journey there was definitely one to test the mettle of our team - after a beautiful walk across the Millenium Bridge we got to the St. Paul's Underground Station and then hit our first big challenge - - all but two of the entrance turnstiles to get to the very crowded station at rush hour were not operating - it was a crowd control procedure initiated due to escalator repairs in the station.  So we ended up splitting our group in two, with one getting through and going on ahead while a second held back and waited for everyone else to get through the turnstiles.  Thanks to the ever-watchful eyes of our chaperones, everyone finished the short journey on the Tube, got out of the station and found the theatre, and had at least a little time to get a bite to eat before  curtain time!

ONCE A Titan, Always a Titan

Lots of spirited discussion about the show and its pros and cons!  It was a big hit with our more singer -songwriter types, and less so with those who want a traditional romantic happy ending.  It was a  a much easier commute back (including a close-up walk by the exquisite St Paul's Cathedral);

Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little (unless the super-early morning sun wakes us up!) and then participate in  a tour and workshop at Shakespeare's Globe - a reconstruction of the original  16th century home of Shakespeare's greatest theatre creations.  Then in the evening it's the London production of WICKED - a favorite of many of our troupe!

So long until next time!  We are glad London is still standing after our invasion!  To check out a kid-centric take on the trip, look at Stina Rexford's blog at http://www.stinabea.blogspot.co.uk/!

17 Hours of Wonderment and Tired Feet

Writing this at 11pm after our first full day of touring - and a wonderful day it was!

The sun rose ever so early but our travelers were ready to hop to it!  Customs was a breeze with no lost luggage and no other trouble, and soon we were met by Alan, our tour guide for the day, and we were whisked off to the center of London (well, as whsked as you can be while stuck in rush hour traffic)!

We were treated to a knowledgeable, funny and very helpful day-long orientation to the city that included a morning photo stop at Buckingham Palace and a driving tour of many sights, incliuding Westminster Abbey and several Harry Potter related sites, leading to  a nice late morning meal at a pub close to the Tower of London. 

After we'd sat and rested our bones for a while we walked down to the Thames right  by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, and then back on the bus to go to a photo stop that included great views of Westminster Abbey and Parliament.  We walked all around the government district, ending up back at the bus with an hour to spare before check-in - a good thing since it took an hour to go the short way to our accommodations -  Alan's wonderful stories may have fallen on deaf ears given the number of sleeping passengers by that time!

Bankside House is baxically a dorm for the London School of Finance = comfortable but not much air flow - so the night will be hot tonight.  After a couple of hours rest we had dinner at Bankside and most chose to turn in.  One intrepid group took off with me to the London Eye and had a spectacular view - clear as can be!

Tomorrow kids have a choice of what to see that interests them - they will have tube passes and will be ablr to take in their favorite sights in smaller groups.  Then tomorrow night it's on to the West End for a perfornmance of ONCE!

Back tomorrow with another report!  All are safe, sound and happy!

WE'RE IN LONDON! Hot and sweaty but happy!

Day one in London is dying down - dinner in about a half hour followed by , for most of us I', sure, some down time.

Our airport experience at Dulles was smooth as can be! Everything from security to departure was efficient and easy.

Our flight over on Virgin Atlantic was smooth as silk - just crowded!

After I get back from dinner, I;'ll update you on our hot and sweaty day today!

SCOTLAND BOUND!

"Here I go and there's no turning back -
My great adventure has begun!"

Great words from Jo March in "Little Women", and an apt phrase to kick off our "Astonishing" trip to London, Scotland and the Fringe!  I'll do my best to check in here regularly to let you know what we are doing and what's happening "across the pond" as we prepare to spring "A Year With Frog And Toad" on the unsuspecting Edinburgh public!

Traveling mercies requested as our team of 36 heads to the UK!