Status Update

Things have been busy and I haven't had time to download photos form the camera to give you a proper update. I home to do this over the weekend. For now, an overview of what's been happening.



Last Thursday we spent the morning at the London Tower. It is great museum. The White Tower, out in the middle, was built by William the Conquerer. It now houses some really great suits of armor. The display of the crown jewels was excellent. With it being January and the weather being bad, there were few people there. we're told that a more typical situation is that the lines to the crown jewels are very long and the wit may be hours. Inside, there are many amazing items of gold, including a solid gold punch bowl that holds 144 bottle of wine. At the jewels themselves, there are moving walkways to slowly slide you past the treasures so people don't stand and gape.

In the afternoon, we went to Westminster Abbey and as I noted before, it is a beautiful church and its contents are completely overwhelming. Again we benefited from the modest crowd and were able to really enjoy the smaller rooms that the audio guide noted would be crowded. If there is only one thing you do in London, make it a stop here. If you have time to for things, the second stop must be the British Museum. You can tour the last 1000 years of english history the abbey and travel the world in the museum. No need to book your 'round the world travel...just visit the British Museum.

Last Friday, we have a guided tour of Greenwich. Even though I've been there before, I got to see many new things. Our tour guide did an excellent job. We learned about the Cutty Sark, a cutter in dry dock there with a museum built around it. We visited the old Royal Naval College and saw the beautiful chapel and the glorious painted room. We walked through the Queen's House and hiked up to the top of the hill to see (the outside of) the observatory. Clearly, we need to return to visit the observatory/museum (again) and the National Maritime Museum. There is an exhibition of Turner's painting of the sea there that looks wonderful.

This week settled into what passes for routine here. The second week of classes. The spice this week is that from 9 pm Tuesday through Friday morning, there is general Tube strike and there is very limited service. Elizabeth and I are going to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (at the reconstructed Globe Theater) to see the Duchess of Malfi tonight. I have reserved a car to pick us up afterwards to ensure that we can get back to East Finchely without wandering the streets lost at 11 pm. The limited trains are scheduled to stop at 11, so it could be dicey getting home without a car scheduled.

This weekend we have three days off. Many of the students are heading to other places. We are heading home for some R&R. I'll try to get some photos posted here and on Flickr.

Next week, we have tickets to see Yuja Wang and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. In case you are not familiar with Yuja, check out this video and this one. What a talent. We are, of course, scheduled to have another Tube strike as well.