Kings Cross, British Lib, Les Mis, and Windsor Castle!

Still chugging away in London and loving it! In the last two days, we marked off several of the "musts" on my list for London. I can't believe we are leaving in less than a week! Part of my heart will always stay in London I think. Anyway, here's just a taste of what we've done since my return from Paris on Sunday.

Yesterday, Dr. Elzinga kept class to a short 2 hours, which was so nice! It gave us extra time to explore the city and to do fun things. We did three things:

1. Kings Cross Station & Platform 9 1/4

Yes, it's true. Platform 9 3/4 does exist! Although we had to wait in line for an hour, it was worth it to get some good pictures there. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera this day, so all of the pictures from our adventure that afternoon are on Bonnie's camera which I will have to acquire at a later date. Until then, you can get the idea from this stolen internet photo. 

2. British Library

I love, love, love, this library! I say this everyday, but going to this site was a highlight of London for me. The British Library isn't really a library, it's more of a museum. It holds many of the ancient texts written by fundamental people in the world's history. I made a list in my notebook so I wouldn't forget all of the cool things that I saw there. My favorite ones are bolded. 

• Jane Austen's writing desk & Volume of the 3rd (her notebook of stories from her teenage years)

• Michaelangelo's letter to his father after finishing the Sistine Chapel ceiling

• Shakespeare's earliest plays

• Handel's Messiah

• Mozart's marriage contract

• Beethoven's Violin Sonata in G Major

• Napoleon's letter to another monarch

• Prayerbooks of English monarchs, such as Queen Victoria

• A telegram from Winston Churchill upon the completion of WW2

• William Tyndale's Bible

• The Beatle's first scratches on scraps of paper for the lyrics of their songs Yesterday, Ticket to Ride, and Hard Day's Night

• Gutenberg's Bible

• Aesop's Fables

• Magna Carta: This was the most powerful document to see in person for me, and probably for everyone else who goes through here. The Magna Carta was written at the Battle of Runnymead in 1215 and it limited the king's authority over England and regulated feudal customs. What I found most interesting is how this document's written words established that law = power, and that the king is just as much subject to the law as anyone else. It's amazing to me the power that the written word has to carry meaning and establish law for the world. Overall, it was really powerful to see this document in person! 

After we finished up looking at the exhibits, we headed to the bookstore where I got two items that I love. After studying the life of CS Lewis in depth for one of my classes while I'm here, I decided that I wanted to buy and read a copy of Mere Christianity while I'm here and read it. I'm only a little ways into it now, but I already love all that he has to say in it. I also bought a postcard that I'm going to frame when I get home. It has a silhouette of an 18th century girl near a tree and it reads:

"Find your own kind of happiness." 

-Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

It's simple, and that's why I love it. 

3. Les Miserables

This was my absolute must for while I'm in London--see Les Mis on the West End on stage. It was so worth it too! We got there and discovered that our tickets were actually on the last row in the very back corner. But, we could still see everything and it didn't effect the splendor of the show. 

The story of Les Miserables is absolutely incredible and catchy to me. Each of the characters are wonderful and the actors who play them are incredibly talented. Probably some of the best singing voices I've heard in my life. Even the children--Cosette and the little boy in the barricade-- were talented and perfect for their roles. The set is amazing too--the stage rotates which creates a very dramatic effect for many of the scenes. The barricade they used was mechanical and rotated in all sorts of directions to fit each of the different scenes. They were flawless with their lines, costume changes, songs, and everything in between. 

I was able to hold my tears back until the very last song when John Val John dies and goes to the other side with Fontaine and they sing, "To love another person is to see the face of God." I completely lost it and had tears streaming down my face for the rest of the show. It was seriously almost a spiritual experience to watch this musical live. It was an experience I hope I never forget! And I was so happy I got to share it with these lovely ladies:

Lastly, today we went to Windsor Castle/ Palace. Again, I think this was a highlight of London for me. Windsor Castle is where the Queen spends her weekends and sometimes also goes there during the week. The flag was up today, so apparently that means that she was there. She might have gone to the hospital to see the new baby or out to get her hair done or something, but supposedly she is currently residing there. I already blogged about how the bells chimed a song for the new prince while we were there, and that was a really cool thing to witness. They don't allow pictures inside the palace, but I'll try to steal some from the internet so that you can get an idea. 

Windsor Palace is ancient--it has been used as a residence for something like 800 years, making it the oldest residence of royalty in the world. In Windsor Palace, there are three main attractions--St. George's Chapel, Queen Mary's doll house, and the Royal apartments. St. George's chapel is amazingly ornate and full of beautiful detail. It has heads, shields, and swords for all of the current knights lining the wall:

My favorite part of the entire palace was the room that holds Queen Mary's doll's house. In the early 1900's, Mary's cousin had this massive doll's house built as a gift for her. It is amazingly detailied, miniature, and ornate. The plumbing and electricity inside the house are real and it contains real valuables such as miniature silver for the dining room. There was also a room that holds the dolls and doll dresses that her little girls would play with. The little girl inside of me came alive and wanted to play with all of these doll things. I have always loved dolls, and I think I always will!

The building of the doll's house & Queen Mary

The royal apartments were also really amazing to see. I can't believe that I walked where so many monarchs and ancient worldwide leaders walked. And that I walked through the home of the Queen of England! It was more ornate and beautiful than I ever imagined it would be. The ceilings are painted, there's crystal chandeliers everywhere, there are beautiful portraits everywhere you look, and gold in every room. 

And now here's a few of my pictures....

 Panorama from outside the castle. 

We saw the rooms on the left. The queen's main residence is on the right...and the big entrance in the center straight ahead from where I stood to took the picture is where the Queen enters her castle. 

The queen's statue outside the castle on the street..notice the blue ribbons for the new royal prince?

All in all, Windsor Castle is amazing. And I'm completely ok that I won't be able to go inside of Buckingham Palace (it's closed) because I've seen this. I think I've always had a secret love for and extra interest in English royalty, so this was right up my alley.

The two weeks we've spent in London have had the hottest days the city has seen in 17 years...at least according to the news. Yesterday marked the very hottest day in 17 years. I think it got to be about 95 degrees...add humidity to that and you'll kind of want to die. Today was also really hot but not as bad. There are signs outside of all the tube stops with warnings to not ride if you're effected by the heat because on there it's usually about 10 degrees warmer than outside. You can see from these pictures that the lawns around the castle that are usually green are dead from lack of water and extreme heat from the last few weeks. We are dealing with the heat, but it's not easy! Ok, that was my little complaining sesh for the day. I'm in London and I'm loving it, and I refuse to let the heat put a damper on my visit! Ok, that's enough blogging for tonight. Goodnight, all.