The Enchanted Palace

Yesterday I visited Kensington Palace. Much of the palace is closed off because it's undergoing restoration of sorts. The experience was far different from any other visit to other palaces across Europe. You are given a booklet that explains that your mission is to find the seven princesses who have lived in the palace and to find out their stories. There's a map that is marked with crowns which indicate that a princess has lived in the room. The first room is known as the 'Room of Royal Sorrows' where Queen Mary of Modena died of smallpox. She's supposed to be the hardest to find, but I was able to figure it out rather quickly. What was interesting about how the palace was decorated is that it was not left the way its previous residents left it. Photography was forbidden, so I have to rely on Google Images for further explanation:

If I'm honest, I would've preferred it not to look the way the presented it, but it was a great way to learn the palace's history. Out of all the palaces I have visited, this has been by far the most 'family friendly' and 'hands-on' palace. In the 'Gallery of War and Play' you can make a 'Cabinet of Curiosities,' which I did, and you can play with toy soldiers, which I did not. The staff at the palace is very kind and appear to be dedicated to making your visit a memorable one. Furthermore, throughout the palace you find the seven princesses and their stories. At the end you enter the 'Gallery of Dancing Shadows' which blares Duran Duran's 'Hungry like the Wolf.' Why? I don't know, but it's quite a site and portraits of all the princesses hang on the walls. 

After the scavenger hunt at the Palace I went to the infamous Orangery on the palace grounds. Multiple travel guides have suggested that this is a 'must-see,' but I failed to see what was extravagant about it. Sure it's situated next door to a palace but really, the service is awful. I was seated immediately and my server took my order nearly 10 minutes later. I ordered a raspberry meringue, but was told that they were sold out, and so I opted for the Orangery Cake and a hot chocolate. Immediately after I ordered my server went to the table next to me: an American girl with her British boyfriend. The American girl ordered the raspberry meringue and they were magically no longer sold out. I was really irritated by this, but I ignored it. Aside from the service, the cake and hot chocolate were fantastic. After waiting nearly 20 minutes for my cake and hot chocolate, it was brought to me and I quickly forgot about my terrible server. Once I had finished my delicious snack I felt it was time to proceed to the next stop on my journey. After waiting another 20 minutes, I discovered that my server was nowhere to be seen and so I had to flag down another server. She treated me like a third class citizen when I asked for my bill and had the attitude of 16 year-old spoiled brat (she was in her mid-late twenties). Once I paid, I was out of there and on my way to the Museum of London Docklands. Below is a photo of the Orangery:

The City of Dreaming Spires

Today I went to Oxford and it was no different from Oxford, Ohio with the exception of Chipoltle, Coldstone, Miami University, and several more traffic signals.  Oxford had that same unwelcoming vibe that Oxford, Ohio gives off. Sorry, dad, but it's true: Oxford, Ohio is filled with chavs, or as you like to put it 'Buffy and Chads.' Oxford, England was just the same. Not a single soul there was pleasant. In fact, one museum employee followed me around because I 'seemed suspicious.' I left that museum and went to another. At the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology I fell in an even more unwelcoming position with the staff at the museum. I walked in and they greeted me with warm smiles. I began to walk around and they told me I had to remove my backpack because it seemed 'suspicious.' There were plenty of others who were left alone, admiring what the museum had to offer but, no- I was the unsavoury character looking at the museum's artefacts that was probably about to kill everyone. With what, though? Well, I suppose I could throw Nutella sandwiches and blind everyone and then strangle those who hadn't gone blind with my mobile's charger as well as knock everyone unconscious with my paperback edition of London Lore. Feeling more insulted by the second, I thought I may as well take advantage of the free toilets the museum had before I headed out. That, too, went wrong. There was no indication that they were single-stall toilets and naturally, the woman who was about to use the toilet thought I was about to violate her. Mind you, she had just closed the door and like me, she was a woman. I'm not sure how I would violate her, but never mind that one.

Oxford had disappointed me. I had visited the city in 2009 and did not have a single issue with anyone, except one of the university bookstore shopkeepers who despised Americans. She was still there and happily didn't recognise me. She was still talking to everyone about her degree and how amazing it is. Well, ma'am, you work at a university bookstore so cut the crap.

Don't let it get away

It's a beautiful day. I decided to take some photos across campus. Here are a few of them:

All of the photos above are from Froebel College here at Roehampton University. Out of the all the colleges that make up Roehampton, this one is my favourite because of its landscape. My college, Digby Stuart, is basically a car park with some grass, if I'm honest. It's not hideous or anything, but Froebel has the most foliage. After my walk it was becoming close to dinner time and so I thought I'd make some cornish pasty for dinner. Well, that didn't happen thanks to the kitchen having the entire nation of not the UK in it. See, we've been having some issues with a certain group of students from another country (No, not America) and well, there was no way I'd be able to make myself some dinner within the next two hours because of them. Enraged and quite hungry, I figured I could head out to Richmond and find something and I did: Pizza Express. 

Pizza Express is not some takeaway pizza joint that smells of tomato sauce and dough. Its name is a bit deceiving, but the atmosphere is semi-posh meets modern gone middling. The prices are very reasonable and the staff are very friendly. In fact, they remind me a bit of Jimmy John's back in America. Below is what I had for dinner:

Perhaps I should thank these students for their obnoxious behaviour, as it gave me the opportunity to have a delicious meal. 

Whale vomit protects you from the plague

Today I went to the Museum of London, but mainly because it was free. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it, but truthfully, I enjoyed it the most out of any other museum I have visited (unless you count the Royal Historical Palaces). I'm currently taking a class on eighteenth century London and I can honestly say that it is the most interesting course I have ever taken in my entire life. I was a bit bummed when I found out the Tudor dynasty module wasn't offered this term and that because I needed one more class to fulfil my visa requirements, I decided to suck it up and take the eighteenth century London module. It probably won't transfer back, but that's fine with me because I just love it so much! Anyway, enough about that- more on the Museum. The Museum of London had a very modern feel to it and everything was neatly organised.

My favourite bit about the Museum of London was the seventeenth and eighteenth century exhibits. The seventeenth century exhibit mostly focused on the plague and the eighteenth century exhibit had the Vauxhall Gardens. I found this to be interesting about the plague:

Below are images of what the Vauxhall Gardens looked like in the eighteenth century:

 Concerts would be performed in the Gardens by composers like Handel.

Above is the layout of the gardens and below is an image of what the Gardens looked like:

Since the Gardens are no longer around, the Museum recreated (well, not really) something that would be a bit like an evening at Vauxhall Gardens. A film was rolling and focused on several people who were spending their time at this pleasure garden. The Museum also had clothing on display of what would have been worn to the pleasure gardens.

Being seen at Vauxhall Gardens was a good thing, as polite society tended to visit these pleasure gardens for socialising and for entertainment.

After my visit to the Museum I walked over to St Paul's Cathedral:

I learned at the Museum that St Paul's burnt down in the Great Fire in 1666 and was finally rebuilt in 1710. After walking around the Cathedral I headed over to the Globe Theatre:

I wasn't able to go in because it was too late. Maybe next time. 

English isn't your first language.

Nope, English isn't my first language. I thought it was, but I guess not. I have this one professor (his first language isn't English) who always chooses me to read out loud to the class. It's a French class that is taught in English (I was disappointed by this) and there are some passages we read that do have French words in them. I've never had a problem pronouncing any of them (he corrects students who do) and maybe that gave it away that English isn't my first language. After all, how could an American possibly know another language? Well, it's part of Ohio's education curriculum for public schools to teach a foreign language in high school. Anyway, the professor always makes sure we know what words mean, and they're usually ones that you would learn in high school ('SAT vocabulary'), but if English isn't your first language, you may have not come across any of them until university. The word on which he paused was 'contingent.' He asked if I knew what it meant and I guessed correctly, but before he asked here's what was said:

'You, would you like to take a guess at the word?'

'Yes,' I replied.

'I cannot tell if English is your first language because of your accent, but have a go at it.'

'Random,' I replied as I thought to myself how he could not tell by my American accent if English was my first language or not. Maybe my English teacher in high school was American? He was, actually. Imagine that: an American teaching a high school English class in America. 

Aside from that, one of the students thought I was English this entire time; however, one knew right away that I was not English. What a lovely person she was, but aside from that, maybe I haven't got the 'American stereotype.' 

WARWICK, O WARWICK

Yesterday I went to Warwick Castle in the town of Warwick, Warwickshire. It's about an hour and a half from London, but you can get a direct train there from London Marylebone.

When I arrived there were only a handful of people there, which was nice compared to the time I was there in July 2003. I came during the week because I saw online that if you come to the castle during the week until about the 19th February you get into the dungeon for free. When I was waiting to buy my tickets the two men in front of me were fighting with the man at the till about how today couldn't possibly be sold out. For some reason it wasn't sold out when I bought mine! Since my tour of the dungeon was about to begin, I headed over to the dungeon and was greeted by a man with blood on his face. He was wandering around, checking tickets, sniffing people, and trying to scare them.

The tour of the dungeon was factual, but it was also funny. The guides made sure everyone in the tour participated, whether it be picking someone to make sure the doors were shut behind them to ensure the 'creatures' wouldn't get out, or being demonstrations for how people were tortured back then. My favourite was the guide who made a grandma sit in a cage. The woman was this sweet, innocent looking grandma who was all smiles as she sat in a cage next to instruments of torture and faux body parts drenched in 'blood' hanging on the wall next to her. After the tour of the dungeon I wandered around looking for the Nestle Toll House that was there all those years ago. Well, it was gone. But I did find flowers and peacocks!

I bet Ohio hasn't got flowers right now! And it's probably too cold for peacocks to roam around:

If I ever decide to have a pet, I want a peacock.

As I took a stroll on the castle grounds I had remembered one of the reasons why I came here: to learn how to joust. My dream was short lived when I discovered jousting is in the summer. I kept wandering and admiring the English countryside and thought about how fortunate I am to be in such a beautiful (and warm) place right now whilst friends and family are left in Ohio.

 You just don't get views like this in Ohio. Especially views of castles.

I headed to the castle apartments to see if the wax figure of Princess Diana was still there and it wasn't. She was replaced by William the Conqueror, Henry VIII and his six wives.  Below is the Great Hall followed by the Green Drawing Room where Henry VIII and his six wives are:

I really had a nice afternoon at Warwick Castle. I strongly encourage anyone who has the time to head out to Warwick. It's not like the Royal Historical Palaces where it's more education-based, but rather educational with interaction. There are plenty of things to do for children as well as adults at the castle. 

12 Pennies to a Pound

Today in lecture I gave up. I just had to know how much a shilling was in comparison to a pound. When we did our group discussions I decided to ask my classmates, one of whom is an older woman who is pushing 65. The look on her face was one of those 'How can you not know? Are you an idiot?' look and quite frankly, I didn't appreciate it. She arrogantly told me that there are 12 pennies to a pound, straightened her posture, stuck her nose up in the air, and told me that there are 20 shillings to a pound. The other students didn't seem annoyed by my question, but she clearly did. I swear I've got an American accent, so wouldn't it be obviously that an American would question something like this? Obviously I wasn't educated in England if I sound like an American and am questioning this. I can assure you that during my schooling before university the word 'shilling' was never uttered in the classroom (although it has been mentioned on the History Channel, a channel I frequently watch when I've got the time). Maybe she felt superior because she knew the answer? Well, sweetheart, I grew up in Ohio where most kids haven't even heard of Wales and think the Pilgrims crossed the Pacific so don't get your knickers in a twist.

Somebody Failed Geography

Today I went to the aquarium here in London because it's one of those things you just can't do in Cleveland. As I looked around at all the fish I noticed that somebody had made quite an error with one of the maps:

Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?

Cymru: Cenedl heb iaith yw cenedl heb galon.

To spend my Saturday I decided to journey to Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Why on earth would I do such a thing like that? Well, I hadn't been there in nearly eight years and I fancied seeing it again. I took a train from London Paddington to Cardiff Central and from there walked to Cardiff Castle. At first, I was a bit distorted because the Welsh seem to find street signs rather unnecessary-perhaps this was a budget cut. I quickly found my way to the castle thanks to the small sign that had a drawing of a castle on it.

Above is a photo of Gorthwr Normanaidd and below is the Tŵr y Cloc:

Once I found the castle I went into the information centre to purchase my ticket. I have heard Welsh accents before as I have been to Wales, but the man at the till had an accent that was too thick for me to understand and spoke rather softly. I guess I looked like a confused foreigner when the man at the ticket counter asked if I wanted a tour or not (I'm assuming that's what he said) and so he booked me a tour. I thought the tour was mandatory, but I guess not. Anyway, I had an hour to kill before my tour and so I wandered around a bit. I had found complementary audio guides and decided to take advantage of this. The man had a thick Welsh accent, but it was very clear for me to understand. How was it easy? I have no clue, but I managed just nicely. When he asked me if I wanted English as my language of choice for the audio guide I told him I would. He questioned me and informed that other languages were available. I smiled and said that English would be fine. Perhaps this man also thought I was French like the waiter I had at Pizza Express the night before in Surrey. I took the audio guide and began with the Twnneli Rhyfel. Whilst wandering around the Twneneli Rhyfel, the audio guide malfunctioned and so I returned it just in time for my guided tour. What I discovered was Cleveland, Ohio plays a role in the castle's Victorian apartments. The man who painted the banqueting hall is actually from Cleveland. When I had walked into the banqueting hall I was mesmerised by its beauty and impressed by cakes and decorations that were awaiting the wedding reception that was soon to take place. 

As the tour guide was talking about the American who had painted this magnificent hall, I went over to have a look at the wedding cakes. If my parents are reading this, I would like cakes like these for my birthday:

I was very tempted to try the cakes, but I didn't want to ruin them. I have seen my fair share of wedding shows and I can assert that the brides are more like 'Bridezillas' than peaceful, happy women who are going to marry Prince Charming. I didn't want to spoil their day just because I fancied something sweet.

Below is part of the banquet hall where they were storing the cakes:

 Below is more of the banqueting hall:

Cardiff Castle has been by far one of the most unique places I have ever visited. The Victorian apartments have a fairytale-like theme to them and is almost something you would see at Walt Disney World. One of my favourite rooms was the Arab Room because of its unique design.

It's rather hard to tell in this photo, but the windows have crystal balls that will reflect the light from the sun to make the room appear this way to impress visitors and to show off the magnificence of the room. The sun was not shining when I visited, but happily there is electricity in the room and lights were able to show off the gold leaf that has been painted on the wood of this ceiling. 

After my tour I went to explore the National Museum of Wales and to the Cardiff Market. In the Museum I saw a bust that looked a lot like my former Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony director, Dr Ciepluch.

As much as I would like to say it is Dr Ciepluch, it's actually a bust of Thomas Johnes of Hafod who planted nearly five million trees in Britain and was devoted to improving local agriculture. After the visit to the Museum I went to the Cardiff Market.

It's a bit like Cleveland's West Side Market, but better and not quite as big. My main goal was to find a Welsh flag and something to take on the train home for dinner. I did find my flag and for dinner I had two cornish pasties, dried mango slices, and coconut Welsh cakes. The cornish pasties were phenomenal and I hope I will be able to find more in London that are just as good, if not better. Below is a photo of one of the cornish pasties I had. Just a side note: it's easier to not eat them with cutlery. 

I wish I had more time to explore Wales and try more of the foods the country has to offer. Hopefully in the future I will be able to do just that. 

Cymru Am Byth!