February 7/2010 :: London!

Day 16
Mood: Well slept but sore
Weather: Overcast, yesterday was overcast as well with periods of sun.
Word of the Day: "Wicked" as in "That play was wicked!!"

Yesterday, Day 15 of my stay here in Oxford, 5 of us went to London. Yes, London. We went in order to try and catch a showing of Wicked and perhaps see what else there was to see.

We woke at 5:30 am in order to catch the bus for 7:00 by traversing to the bus stop for 6:30. I had my lunch packed, my student card in my hand and butterflies in my stomach. We got on the bus, £10 for a two-way ticket. We didn't sleep much on the bus ride there. Too excited!

We arrived in London two hours later, 9:00 am, and went to have a bit of breakfast. I had eaten at home so I was basically fine. Then we joined the line for Wicked tickets. We hoped we would get some. Our International Student cards would offer us major discounts...if only we weren't stuck in a long line. Turns out we didn't need to fret. The evening show of Wicked at 7:30 pm wasn't sold out...not even close! We were able to get seats in the dress circle (regular £60) for an astonishing £25! All because we were students!!

We now had from 10:30 am - 7:30 pm to amuse ourselves. So we walked from Westminster to the National History museum. Admission was free so we stepped inside a rather awesome world.


Here is the sight you walk into the museum to see (This is the science museum attachment to the Natural History Museum)


There's a lot of fossil displays in the museum. Here is a Giant Sloth.


We waited in line to see the dinosaur exhibit and though it was cramped...it was quite amazing!


Giant stuffed anteater! I want one!!

When the Natural History Museum was over and we were getting tired we decided to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum down the street and see the Medieval and Renaissance artwork and displays. Part of Prince Albert's legacy to London which he had built in the wake of the Great Exhibition. Lots of gorgeous displays, one of which being this:


If this looks familiar to any HNMers you're right! There's a copy of this woodcarving in the Royal Ontario Museum. We had to examine it several times as history students when we went on trips to the ROM. This is the original woodcarving and it brings back a lot of good memories.

After the V&A Museum we left to grab some food and then took a trek to the river Thames to see the sights there. There was a massive protest going on with people dressed up as cows, Marmite and ladybugs (among other things). I do believe I saw a male blow up sex doll being passed around. Awkward. But we saw some gorgeous things before the camera batteries I had were killed by the cold.

Most of those photos can be found on my facebook cause they need rotation. But...

Eye of London!

Anyway, after this we went to Pizza Hut for dinner and then proceeded to the show. Wicked was amazing. I am so glad I got to see it. Very impressive stage and technical effects. The chemistry of the characters was fantastic and the singing was absolutely amazing. Not to mention the jokes being hilarious. It was a great time. An absolutely great time.

Took the bus home at 11:00 pm and got home at 12:30 am. Oh yes, a full day indeed and I'm sore from all the walking. But totally worth it!

::Julianne::