June 4th
Class two days in a row. I feel bad for Brett. George's, British Contemporary Theatre, is always before his, Shakespeare. He is a good teacher, but by the time we get to him everyone is done with listening. The computers and phones all start to come out and switch from notes to Pinterest or Facebook. Maybe it is especially difficult to tune in since I am not one of the English majors. I just want to enjoy and perform Shakespeare. Analyzing the plot line and why it is written the way it is never seems to make it to the top of my to do list. Anyways, I went home for lunch and to print out tickets to Kew Gardens. I went back to Hyde Park Chapel to see if Tracy, Amy, and McKenzie were done with practice for the fireside in Brighton (I'll save that explanation for another blog post). I couldn't seem to find Brittany at home. We had all bought tickets together for this trip weeks ago. Amy and McKenzie still had to print off tickets, were planning on paying for an extension on their oyster card instead of taking the bus, and I had the feeling they would prefer to walk the gardens in a smaller group... so we split up.
On my way back to the Hyde Park Chapel I thought I would try a shortcut. It did not work. I was led to a dead end and had to turn around. I found Churchill's house though!
Crispy M&Ms?!?! I loved them when I was little, but they stopped selling them in the states. I found them in M&M world and then in random convenient stores all around London. British candy is based more on cereal fillings than nuts so they are popular here. British chocolate is different too. Honestly, I like our chocolate better. The M&Ms tasted a little weird. I might just be used to American ones though. Tracy got pretty defensive about Cadbury and British chocolate. She thinks it is much, much better. Chocolate is chocolate. I don't have a strong opinion about what makes it the best. The more the merrier.
Kew Gardens is in Zone 3 for the tube. We only buy passes for 1&2. Tracy and I took the tube to the edge of Zone 2 and then hopped on a bus. It was only three or four stops away and dropped us practically right next to the gate. You can get onto a bus in any zone with your oyster card. There were some light showers when we arrived at the gardens. I did not mind at all. It meant they were empty.
Kew Palace. All of the workers here were dressed in period clothing. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a royal and have so many houses around the country. This one is only used for history tours now dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
We really enjoyed the garden behind the Kew Palace.
Standing in the Rose Garden next to the Palm House.
Not all of the flowers were in bloom, but the roses surely were.
Underneath the rain forest room was a small aquarium. There weren't a plethora of fish, but the did have few cool ones like the upside down jellyfish, fish that swim on their head, and puffer fish. I was so tempted to knock on the glass to try to get it to pop up. I decided it was better not to pull a Dudley Dursely.
Me and Tracy.
This grand building is only used for school tours and sciency things, but it was breathtaking to see. Nobody pinch me. I don't want to wake up from the London dream.
The great stone dragon?!?! Someone tell Mulan he is still alive.
This peacock walked right in front of me when Tracy was in the bathroom. Well, hello there.
The Treetop Walk was windy. I will fess up to the fact that we took the lift up and the stairs down. We walk a lot on this trip. I thought it was okay to cheat this once.
Gotcha. Touched the tip of the pagoda.
Many of the different gardens have these little structures denoting which part of the planet the landscaping comes from. This rock garden is Japanese.
I don't know how Kew Gardens does it. One moment I think I am in California, the next I am back in Britain. We walked through several different forests and gardens that could convince me I was anywhere else in the world.
Lily Pond. Precious.
....this random table? I waiting for a group of knights or hunters to emerge from the woods for a feast.
The gardens back up along Thames River. It is prettier when surrounded by this more natural scenery. I am not sure what the castle behind it is though. Who are these people?
Waterfall gardens behind the Princess of Wales Conservatory.The Conservatory had at least five different biomes inside. It started off as ferns and then went to a desert similar to home. However, the plants were much too close together to be the true Sonoran desert. I wanted to laugh as I passed a British family examining a prickly pear cactus and an aloe verde plant. Then it was thick tropics and different water plants.
By now we were short on time since Tracy and I wanted to catch a movie. We sped through the secluded garden and the final areas that looked very similar to the other royal parks. Kew Gardens is cool. We there for nearly three hours and I feel like that was enough time. It isn't a must see if you are only in London for a short amount of time since it is out of the way and kind of expensive. Our price was almost cut in half since we found a deal online. If you go, commit almost four hours there and bring some food. There are lots of different sites to see.
I. Love. Gates.
We found a showing of Malificent at 20:10 at a Odeon Theatre close enough to walk to from our flat. That was much better than the 19:00 showing we were going to try to run to somewhere else. Movies in London can be expensive. DO NOT go to a cinema in the West End. You will end up paying way too much money if you hit up Leicester Square. Justyne and I were talking about movies while waiting in line for Matilda the other day with the girls from Kent. One whipped out her phone and gave me a code to use to get a two-for-one deal on tickets. It was too nice of her. Justyne wasn't interested in going to the movies, but they expired on the fourth so Tracy and I went. Colette, Emily, and Dallin decided to come too. We arrived at the theatre maybe forty minutes before to work out tickets. Student tickets are just under nine pounds. That is $16. I feel like that is about right for an evening show of a movie in its first week. Getting them half price was excellent. If we went before five or on a Tuesday they might have been even cheaper.
Tracy, Dallin, and I volunteered to save seats for Emily and Colette while they went down the street to get snacks. Funny thing is, theatres do not open until five minutes before here. Emily and Coletter were back with plenty of time. It was strange how chill everyone was with strolling into the theatre and sitting down. I am not sure if it was just the theatre we went to, but seeing a movie was a different experience here. The weirdest was at 8:10 when the previews didn't start, but commercials did. They played for awhile too. No need to show up early to this British cinema. They give you plenty of time to get in your seat.
I liked Malificent, but this isn't a movie blog so I won't discuss it. On our way home Tracy, Dallin, and I stopped at Tesco for snacks. The store had two levels and was connected by the movie sidewalk at an angle called a travelator. Hilarious. Digestives were on sale so we had to stop. I think I have tried all the flavors, but I came up with the idea to have an English cookie party and try all the treats we haven't yet. It would be fun if that happened before the end of the trip, but I think most of the girls have been eating lots of candy and treats the whole time. I am not sure if I have ever felt so pressured to try all the sweets.
~Emily
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