Wed Nov 7
I went to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. I stood on the Prime Meridian. I waited in line to stand there and take my picture, and this old man just came up and kept reading the ground around me and wouldn't move out of the way for my picture. He clearly spoke English and was just being rude. They got a video of him walking around me. He even bent over and it looked like he was smelling my butt. I was kind of mad, but mostly just shocked and could not stop laughing.

http://harding.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=514703388831 (I don't know if this link will work or not)

After that we went to the park and took jump shot pictures, which was really fun. Those are on my friend's camera, so you'll just have to check them out under pictures of me on facebook.
I got to have Mexican food and it was amazing!
We came back on the ferry and it was awesome to see the city at night. All of the lights are so beautiful. I love it!
I went to Phantom of the Opera that night. There was an understudy for the Phantom and he was awful. Actually everyone was awful. I don't know what the deal was, but everyone seemed to be having an off night. The singing and acting were painfully terrible. We tried to get a refund at intermission, but they would not give us one, so we just left. I was so disappointed.

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057130&l=8c6f3&id=71005171

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057132&l=46245&id=71005171

Thurs Nov 8
I went to the Cabinet War Rooms that Churchill used during WWII. It was really neat to see them and learn more about Churchill. He is a very interesting and funny man.

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057144&l=f273a&id=71005171

We had a group chili dinner and it was yummy!

Fri Nov 9
Courtney, Jillian, Lolli, and I went to find Hard Rock Cafe and went on an adventure all over London.
That night we had a Medieval Dinner at Hatfield Palace, where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I held dinner parties. It was so much fun! We had a 4 course dinner served by wenches and there were actors playing the roles of Henry and Elizabeth. They sang songs and had audience participation. It was a great night!

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057240&l=34332&id=71005171

Sat Nov 10
I went to The Mousetrap! It was performance number 22898! The show has been running for 55 years! It was a great experience to see it and get ideas for my show.


Sun Nov 11
It was Remembrance Day. We went to a church service at St. Paul's. It is nice that they have a whole day dedicated to the memory of those who served in WWII and other wars.
The service was very British and proper, but it was nice. St. Paul's is beautiful!

Mon Nov 12
I went to Hairspray. I hadn't planned on going, but I am so glad that I did. It was so much fun! The cast was great and it was one of my favorite shows so far! We met some of the cast after the show as well.

Tues Nov 13
We went to Portsmouth and toured an old British naval ship, the HMS Victory. I was shocked to learn about what the sailors go through, sleeping and eating in such awful conditions and washing their clothes in urine. Gross! Jenn and I went to the Spinnacle Tower that overlooked the city, and it was beautiful to see all of the ports.
We went to Salisbury Cathedral, that has one of the highest spires in the England and maybe the world. I wish we could have climbed it, but it was too dark and the tour was over. I did see an orignal copy of the Magna Carta and the oldest working clock.

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057487&l=d74df&id=71005171

Wed Nov 14
I went to the British Museum for my last assignment and finished that homework. Then I went to the train station to pick up Michelle. We had some pizza and hung out.

Thurs Nov 15
We went to Covent Garden and did some shopping at the stores and markets there. We also went to what is Diagon Alley and Platform 9 3/4. That night we ate at Wagamama, which is a Japanese noodle place that is amazing! Then we went to Wicked! It was a great show! It was strange to hear it with British accents at first, but Elphaba was amazing and I'm so glad that I got to see it again.
On the way back, the tube station nearest us was closed, so we had to walk for a bit. But we saw Big Ben, the London eye, and Westminster, all in a line lit up at night. It was beautiful!

http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057677&l=8e4fe&id=71005171

Fri Nov 16
I took Michelle to Hard Rock, Green Park, and Buckingham Palace. We also went to Tate Modern and saw "The World as a Stage" exhibit. The concept sounded very interesting to me because it was artists exploring the relationship between visual art and theatre. It was a cool concept, but some of the pieces were very strange. I'm glad that I got to see it though. Many of them relied on the visitor being a participant in the art, which was a neat concept. One room was completely dark, but as I walked it, lights began to shine, so I was creating the artwork, which was really cool. One piece was just a pile of clothing. It was titled “Self-Portrait of a Businessman” and when the artist originally did the work in Berlin, he appeared dressed as a businessman and then took off his clothes and walked away naked, leaving his belongings there in the exhibition. This is rather odd to me, but it is a funny concept. I’m glad that he was not around leaving his clothes when I was there.
My favorite work on art in that room was a video of the artist Bodzianowski in a large rotating drum with one roller-blade on his hand and another on his foot. The whole video is him trying to keep balance and it is hilarious to watch.
That night I went to Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet. I enjoyed the show. I was surprised that they could hold my attention while sitting the entire first act, but the actors did a great job playing salesmen, and their dialogue and delivery held my attention.

Here are pictures from the shows that I have seen: http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2054106&l=485ac&id=71005171

Sat Nov 17
I went to the Portobello Road Market. It was so crowded, but I got some cool things and I'm glad that I got to go. We took Michelle back to the train station and then I planned my free travel.

Sun Nov 18
I went to church at Wembley again. They were actually friendly, which was a nice change.
I am starting to get sick, which is lame. Chris got some cough syrup for me because I had to go to class and it was raining and the store was going to close, so he went for me. The stuff looks kind of weird, so my roomies and I all took some in tea cups. It made us kind of loopy, but I did stop coughing, so that's good.

I can't believe that I only have a few weeks left! That makes me very sad!