three, two, one?

"Save tonight, and fight the break of dawn,
Come tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be gone..."
-Eagle Eyed Cherry

Sunday continues to inch its way closer, and this last week has been a whirlwind of adventures in trying to live up my last few days here. Thankfully, I haven't had any more chemistry to worry about. The exam was difficult, but at least it's over and I've been exploring London and northern England instead of stuck in the library!

To celebrate the end of the semester, Maggie and I grabbed some pizza and cider and had a movie night at my house. We watched Billy Madison, one of the most pointless movies I've ever seen, but I couldn't help but laugh anyways. On Friday morning, I headed back over to Heathrow airport to pick up Morgan. She arrived safely, but her luggage didn't. Apparently it's the usual luck that accompanies her and her family on trips? Luckily she had packed some clothes into her carry-on, so it wasn't a major catastrophe. We spent the day around Kingston while I finished up some things at uni and she tried to beat the jet lag. We also cooked delicious chicken riggies for dinner, to give me a taste of good 'ol Utica cooking. Yum!

Then on Saturday, the whirlwind began. I'm not going to go into much detail, because it's already well past midnight and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. But here's a bit about what we've done:

Saturday was Morgan's first day in London, so we walked around central for her to see the major sites (Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, etc.). We were walking over to Westminster Abbey just as a Choral Evensong service was about to start, so we headed in. Last time, it had only been the Lay Vicars singing, but this time the choir boys were in attendance as well, and the music was amazing. I think I will always be fascinated by that church.

Sunday we hit up the Natural History museum for a bit of educational fun. Plenty of animals and birds, a bit of human biology, a few gems, and a pass on the insects made it a fun afternoon. Then it was off to the first of the shows, STOMP! The concept of the show is people using random objects to make sounds, rhythms and music, and it was incredible. Everything from brooms, trash cans, lighters, newspapers and even kitchen sinks were used. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go look up a youtube video, because it's quite interesting.

We headed off early on Monday morning to Manchester! The train station was a bit chaotic. Most trains were delayed or canceled because of a "fatality" earlier that morning. (It turned out that the guy had apparently alerted emergency services before trying to jump in front of a train, but they managed to save him. Yet it was still reported as a fatality?) The earlier train to Manchester had been canceled as well, so people on our train were arguing about seats and it was hectic in most of the cars. Luckily we found a car that was quiet (we were in first class!) and settled in for a peaceful ride. In Manchester, we rode their "eye", went to the cathedral, and did some shopping in their giant mall. The hostel ended up being pretty nice, we met a couple of nice Canadians who liked to say "right on!", and went to a comedy show that night. It was fun, but Manchester felt too much like a mini New York City, so it wasn't really my cup of tea.

I ended up liking York much better, which we went to on Tuesday. We started off with a bus tour around the city, which was beautiful. An old Roman wall goes around most of the central area, and York Minster is the largest Gothic cathedral in all of northern Europe. We climbed up hundreds of stairs to reach the top, and the view was definitely worth the exhaustion and sore muscles. We also went over to the JORVIK Viking Centre, which ended up being a ride through a re-creation of a Viking town. It was strange. But the city itself was cute, it sort of reminded me of Oxford or Bath in the architecture and setup. We took a train back to London that evening, and failed at finding Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters at King's Cross. I may be the only huge Harry Potter fan who spends five months in London without visiting Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. I guess I'll just have to return someday!

Wednesday was another day in London! We started off with a guided tour of the infamous Tower of London. It has a very interesting history, full of blood, torture and executions. It also holds the crowned jewels, which are the most lavish I've ever seen. I guess I haven't seen too many countries' crowned jewels though, hm? I got another picture with Tower Bridge, my favorite site in the city. After a quick lunch we went to the Science Museum. After a ride on the motion simulator, we bought tickets for the Dinosaurs IMAX movie. Of course, it was only after we bought the tickets that I realized it was 3D, one of my newly discovered fears. I survived though, probably because it was educational, and 3D dinosaur fossils aren't nearly as frightening as things popping out of the screen and talking to me. Finally, we met up with Laura back in Kingston for dinner, because she went to high school with Morgan. (Small world?)

And today was yet another busy day. We walked the stairs to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral, which outshined Westminster and York Minster in its lavish ceilings. One of the upper levels is called the "Whispering Gallery", so I heard Morgan whisper my name from across the dome. We walked across Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theatre, but no tours are currently going on because it's show season. So instead of a tour, we had ice-cream. Typical. Then we returned to the Science Museum, as we hadn't had time to explore it much before it closed yesterday. The interactive rooms were a lot of fun, despite being overrun by school kids. I always love a good science museum. And then after dinner it was off to our second show: Jersey Boys! It was absolutely positively amazing! First of all, we bought cheap tickets for the upper circle, but the upper circle was closed tonight, so we were upgraded to box seats! We had our own private room with a perfect view of the stage for only twenty pounds! (In NYC, this show is one of the most expensive musicals currently on Broadway.) And being the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, the music was so much fun that during the curtain call, the entire audience was on their feet clapping and dancing. I loved the entire show, and I can't wait to go buy a Frankie Valli album, or see the show again!

Tomorrow we've got a full day planned, including the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, Hard Rock Cafe, the Wax Museum, the London Eye, and a night out. Saturday may be just as busy, with a tour of Drury Theatre, and hopefully one last musical (or two!). I might as well take advantage of cheap West End tickets while I can, right? Morgan and I have been documenting our entire trip on her camera and her video camera, so hopefully I'll be able to steal all of her pictures and get a copy of our edited video. It's been an awesome week so far, and I can't wait to enjoy these next two days in London!

If only they weren't my last two...

See you soon, NY.