A foggy day in London town...

Well, the fog and somewhat wet weather settled over London for a few days this past week. I have come to appreciate the 300 or whatever days of sunshine that Denver gets a year. Although, my European experience would not be the same without the typical weather of London. However, they seem to contend that they have more sunny days and less rain then New York.

My second week in London brought me to many more locations around London I missed on my previously short trip a few years back. This past week I visited (of notable remarks) the globe theater to see the Merchant of Venice, Borough Market, and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Globe Theater - Merchant of Venice

As a requirement for my new London Theater class (the class that replaced Devising London) I will be attending at least 4 (possibly more) theater performances throughout London. Majority of my experience in theater prior to this past week was trips to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, or other similar "blockbuster" type venues, to see mainstream and popularized theater. The first week in class I was surprised to learn about a variety of different venues and settings that theater takes place. For example, London boasts interactive theater performances where the crowd meets at a certain location and travels with the performers to a dark alley or similar "back roads" venue where the show takes place. A few of the recommended performances for the class will explore theater in these settings which should be an interesting break from the normal "West-End' and "Broadway" theater I often associate with.

At the recommendation of the class syllabus, I met Bart after my Tuesday class for the matinée (2 p.m.) showing of the Merchant of Venice at the Globe Theater. The Globe, as an open air theater in the round, is finishing its summer season this week and this was our only opportunity to see the show this week. We purchased standing tickets, the preferred viewing location of the common man (or budget minded college student), and found a spot near the rear of the round with a spot to lean against the wall and avoid the slight mist from above. Standing for the three hour show was not nearly as bad as it seems.

The performance was great, although, I still struggle (like others I hope) to make sense of the language and voice employed through Shakespeare's style. Without much background on the plot or story line it took me awhile to catch onto the premise of the play. The show began very slow but developed quickly. Overall, I think I still enjoy the comforts and "showiness" of the big box theaters but was glad to have had the experience at the Globe. We will return this week for a tour of the Globe and Rose with the theater class, I will report on that in the coming weeks.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The second week of our Art and Society class found us exploring St. Paul's Cathedral. Just a quick note on the professor of this class. He is brilliant, passionate about London, and knows how to keep a three hour class entertaining. As such, I am greatly enjoying our visits to various locations around London that have an influence on art, architecture, or history. The highlight of our trip the St. Paul's was the climb to the top of the cathedral dome (an impressive 64,000 tons) up 530 stairs with stops at the Whispering Gallery, Stone Gallery, and Golden Gallery.

The Whispering Gallery provides an astounding perspective of the magnitudes of the cathedral's construction and provides and excellent viewing location for the works of Thornhill on the dome above. Having recently undergone a 4 year restoration, the works of Thornhill are an al fresco representation of the life of St. Paul. Having been covered in the late 1800's, the works were recently restored to their original grandeur. It is claimed that you can stand on either side of the gallery and whisper into the wall and be heard by those opposite of you. However, it must require precision placement of your mouth for whisper and ear for listening as we were not able to complete such task.

Further above the Whispering Gallery we made our way to the other two galleries above (each about 150 steps higher than the one before) which provides and outside view of London. From either platform (the uppermost which is just wide enough for 1 - 2 people) you can see stunning views of London. From this point we were able to identify the top of the Westminster Cathedral (which is a mere 200 yards from my flat), the old building center of London, and many other points of historical and geographical reference. While the clouds were still settled in over the city the view was spectacular. If you make it London and need a "budget" means to see the city from above (this is much cheaper than the very touristy London Eye), I highly recommend the vantage point from St. Paul's.

Borough Market

To spare you the boredom of my description of the most amazing food market I have ever seen, I will try and keep this short and will get picutres next time I go. Continuing the European presentation of their food and adventurous tastes I have documented in previous entries, the Borough Market near the London Bridge tube station is no exception. While not only a leisurely Friday activity, a visit to the market provides the opportunity to taste many rare cheeses, spreads, jams, meats, and much more. On my most recent visit to the market I stumbled across a beer stand selling the full range of Flying Dog Ale's from Denver, Colorado. In future posts I hope to explore some of the prepared foods sold by the vendors of the market. Do not be surprised if I come home with many gifts from this or any of the various markets around London. Also, they have free samples, what more is there to love?

Well, that concludes the highlights of week two in London. In my next post look forward to: a weekend with Chelsea in London, a London Walk exploring Shakespeare and Dickens, a visit to the Tate Modern art museum, and much more. I hope to write before I head to Dublin this upcoming weekend to visit Jess. And once again, thanks everyone for keeping in touch with me through comments and exploring London and Europe through this blog.