Week 13 Florence

July 25 – 31

25th We traveled to Italy on RyanAir. When we arrived, we were disappointed by the lack of ink on the passport stamp. We had barely legible proof that we had arrived in “Paradiso” as one of the characters in the play insists on referring to Italy. The hotel was cozy and remarkably close to the Duomo. Laura and I shared a room with two other girls from the program.

26th We (including Logan, though not in the same room) slept in until 9:30 which is actually remarkable considering the blasting bells of the Duomo’s bell tower at eight o’clock every morning. We hurried to breakfast upon learning that Lynda wanted us to join the other classes in a tour of the Duomo. When we arrived, we were just in time to enter with our group without the hassle of waiting in line. The building is amazingly empty, but the Dome is exquisite. We decided we would climb the dome early in a few days to beat the crowds.
We then separated from the group to walk the Ponte Vecchio. On the way, we stopped at Mercado Nuevo where the famous boar statue/fountain watches over the market and drools. The Ponte Vecchio shelters a massive crowd, so we made our visit short and planned (as we did many times) to try to come back when there weren’t so many people. Then we walked to Pitti Palace where we took a nap at in the large shadow of the palace. I have decided that the best way to feel as if you have really been somewhere is to take a quick nap there; then you haven’t had to rush the whole time. Rejuvenated, we walked along the walls of old Florence heading towards Piaza San Michelangelo. We didn’t make it up, though, because we had to get back to the hotel for rehearsal. Afterwards, we ate at a place with Dante in the title and had an amazing meal including gnocchi. Once full, we wandered the city to find some good gelato. We ate our ice cream on the street so we could see the parade going by, evidently a celebration of a saint’s birthday.

27th We got to the Academia early and saw the David with a small crowd that built as the minutes went by. The statue really is perfect. His hands are so muscular, as is the rest of his body, but his hands are the most impressive. We also saw unfinished statues by Michelangelo known as The Prisoners because they were not released from the stone. Once the crowd got to be too much, we headed to Boboli Gardens in Pitti Palace. There we walked through the greenery, took pictures of the cityscape, drew flowers as part of one of Lynda’s mindless assignments, napped (though I think Laura is not included in this we), and searched for the statue of Bacchus – ugly thing, that statue. We were late to rehearsal because the gardens are not equipped with exit signs.
For dinner, we ate at one of the many restaurants that boast a three course meal for 10 euros. We traveled to a gelarteria by bus because Logan’s friend, who served a mission there, said it was the best. It was good, but maybe not the best. It depends on your preference of texture.

28th We got to the Dome early and were one of the first to get to the first tier. Of course, we lagged behind a bit to get a good look at the fresco. It depicts the last judgment which includes some very miserable people being tortured by hell’s minions. We climbed the spiral staircase to the top and rested for a while. My pictures of the city from that height are remarkable. I could see everywhere I had visited.
Next, we walked through the market set up around the San Lorenzo Basilica with the famous Medici chapel. Later, we met with the group and explored the Uffizi. We sat for a long time in front of Botechelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera. Our favorite, though, was Davinci’s Annunciation. The paint is eerily smooth. We also took some time to mourn the art and books sacrificed to Savonarola in Piazza Del Senoria where the insane leader was later murdered for his crimes. After rehearsal, we made our favorite trek; we visited Fiesole, a small town in the hills. We ate dinner, gelato and some decorative candy before witnessing the sun set over Florence.

29th Though we started out late and the tardiness of the train made us even later, we made it to Venice for a day trip. We took a water bus – gondolas are inordinately expensive – along the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco. There, we climbed the tower (by climbed I mean we took the lift) to get a full view of the city as we had done on the Duomo. It was lovely, but didn’t mean as much since I didn’t really know what I was looking at.
We left P. San Marco in a hurry because there were too many people and even more pigeons. We got away, but also got lost. The streets are like a huge hedgerow meant to keep you from escaping Venice. We considered giving up and just staying lost, but Logan got us back on track as we followed a path set out by the guide book we secretly borrowed from the hotel bookshelf. Once we looped back to P. San Marco, we bussed it back to the station. Not without completely losing each other first. Luckily, we had been together long enough to be able to guess where the other people would logically end up. We quickly ate at a Chinese restaurant, the rumor being that Chinese was best in Italy because of Marco Polo’s escapades, and ran to the train.
You would think the adventure ends there, but you would be wrong. We had a run-in with a Fanta of questionable origins. The flavor: chinotto, its translation: chinotto. After gagging on the drink and banishing it from our presence, we asked what chinotto was and all we were told was: chinotto – we figure it’s some kind of root, like ginger. Blech.

30th We slept in til 8:30 then sleepily headed to Marcado Centrale, an indoor market of some fame. There we shared a watermelon half and some beef with potatoes from the restaurant that Logan’s 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die book recommended – actually, several more places than that were visited because of the book, but the book’s involvement has been underplayed until now. (Don’t worry, Laura only tasted the potato and is not included in the We of beef-eating). Then we spent a stint at the Post Office and took turns souvenir shopping and waiting in line. We walked to Santa Croche Basilica then to Santa Maria Novella (Logan is not in the latter we due to exhaustion and lack of interest) before dragging ourselves to rehearsal.
That night, we finally made it to Piazza San Michelangelo, though this time by bus, and saw the city just after sunset. It was a little more romantic than I needed it to be, but still worth the venture.

31st We had to be to the airport at 8:00pm, so we crammed as much as we could into the morning and afternoon. We took a train to Pisa (where the airport is located), made a cursory visit to the leaning tower and its accompanying church – by the way, there is nothing else in that little city - and traveled on to Livorno. We went to a beach resort that seemed to only have six songs in its DJ’s repertoire including an anti-love song that must be edited when played in the States. We swam (this We does not include Laura who did not bring her suit and stayed shaded on the rocks under an umbrella) in the Mediterranean, and climbed rocks that appeared to have been arranged by a colossal child with no sense of how to sort things according to color or texture. We all napped under the umbrella, but I became completely un-shaded from the waist down and did not reapply sunscreen during my hour and a half nap (and, no, I didn’t plan to sleep that long. The sea just relaxes you beyond any other sleep aid). I was severely burned, but didn’t feel the pain until we were waiting in the airport. I was really red and ached all over. I could feel myself dehydrating.
The rest of the experience is all a little blurry since my only thought was to get home and borrow Elicia’s aloe. We did make it back safe though, and luckily weren’t part of the group that lost their bags for a few days because of flight mix-ups. My only complaint of the trip was that the exit stamp for our passports was just as light and illegible as the first. Hopefully, you can all take my word for it and not need the irrefutable proof of a legible passport stamp to validate my Italian adventure.

Week 12

July 19 -24

We did not have a good time working on this show, so rather than using this journal as a platform for my frustration I will just remind you that we were in at least three hours of rehearsal every Monday - Thursday.

The next weekend, 23rd - 24th, we went to Stratford-upon-Avon. FRIDAY we went with the UCN group. Luckily we only had to see them for the travel portion of the day, so we went off to meet Joe and Irene, Logan’s friends from BYU-Hawaii. We tracked them down at the town’s only cheese shop.
The cute story behind this job goes as follows: Irene finds work at cheese shop, Irene comes home smelling like cheese - stinky cheese, Joe buys her perfume so as to gently try to protect his nose, Irene still smells like work, Joe gets part-time job at cheese shop, Joe and Irene live stinkily ever after.
Joe took us on an insider’s tour of the town since he has been living there to complete his masters at the Shakespeare Institute. After making plans to meet Joe the next day, we visited Trinity Church and had to wait for a wedding to finish so that Laura could pay her respects to The Bard. We read D.H. Lawrence poetry which I had acquired early that day, played the ABC game and 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. We then ate quickly and hurried to our shows.
The group languished through Romeo and Juliet while I thoroughly enjoyed myself seeing House of Desire. It is a Spanish Golden Age comedy about love and mistaken identity.
We returned home with the group only to return the next morning with Lynda (the crazy director), Gail and Susan. We met up with Joe and finished the tour of town. He showed us the Shakespeare Institute and the Dirty Duck pub where the actor’s always meet after the show.
That night we saw Dog in the Manger, which I had already seen, but not like this. The RSC calls these shows “Girls on Top” referring to the fact that the men were on the lower level and the women were seated on the upper tier to separate them as they would have been during the Spanish Golden Age. It was outrageous. The audience responded a lot and it brought a whole new energy to the show. Another interesting thing in the audience was the actor who plays Romeo. At the end of the show Laura and I hurried to meet up with Logan, so we took the staircase behind us. We soon realized that it must have had a sign telling us not to use it since two actors started coming up as we were going down. We (remember Logan is not in this we) walked past them and made sounds of apology as we hurried on. They just laughed and made some comment about the strange choice of exit. We went with the group to the Dirty Duck and witnessed several of the actors carousing. We left relatively early to that Lynda could drive home safely and she did, for the most part. We almost caused an accident because of her indecisiveness, but we got home in one piece.

Week 11

July 12 – 18

MONDAY the 12th marked the first day of rehearsal. We sat in a forever-long meeting talking about hopes for the show and tentative plans for our weekends. We ran out of there as soon as humanly possible and went to the cinema so Logan could take Laura to Fahrenheit 9/11 while I finally saw Harry Potter 3. All was well until we tried to get home. We were informed, by a Sainsbury’s worker who often had to break such news to waiting pedestrians, that the bus had stopped running. We tried to catch another bus which he referred us to, but after 45 minutes of waiting, we started to ask around again to be sure we could get home. Luckily, we asked a man who took pity on us a drove us back to campus. May he be forever blessed.

Besides seeing Spiderman 2 on THUSDAY, nothing much happened until we traveled to Oxford on Friday the 16th. As should always be done when visiting a new area that has a tower, we climbed up the tower. We saw one of the three covered bridges in Europe as well as the room used for the infirmary in the Harry Potter films. It’s inside the Bodleian Library where the Bible was first translated. We also went into the Ashmolean Museum for a bit before heading to Blenhim Palace with our cast. We went to this colossal home because it is known as the Versaille of England, and it’s where the exteriors of Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet were filmed. We also, as one must do when there is one available, traversed the big hedge maze on the grounds. Lastly, we saw the butterfly garden and stood on the sundial that uses one’s shadow to indicate the time.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY the 17th-18th, we returned to London. We saw Old Times with Jeremy Northam, who was very gracious when we met him after the show. We then hurried over to Oleanna just as it closed to try to meet Aaron Eckhart. We had heard he was a jerk and he didn’t disappoint. He was probably just sore because his show was closing early. Just goes to show that star power cannot carry a show without talent (Julia Stiles was his costar). After eating our fill at Wagamama’s, we met up with the cast to see Journey's End. It was a mediocre show set in the British trenches of WWI. We were meant to use it as character motivation since Enchanted April takes place just after the war.
That night, the group left and we made our way to the hostel. Having expected towels to be provided, we had to dry off with extra sheets. I slept better there than back at the dorms since the constant sound of drunken Americans and rowdy teenaged Italians had been escaped. In the morning we went to church for the only time we were able to make it in the five weeks we were on the program. We then attended evensong at Westminster Abbey, after which Laura and I promptly lost Logan on the way to Macky's (Londoners’ name for McDonalds). He had gone across the wrong street to the other Macky’s when Laura and I went ahead. After an hour of searching the streets and various Macky’s and knowing we could all get home alright, Laura and I caught the next train home. Logan made it home and we all laughed about the incident.

Logan and Laura then awoke the next morning rather sick. I would have to wait a few more weeks for my turn at the bug.

Week 10

July 5 - 11

Finally, my last five weeks in England. I couldn't get my computer to communicate with the campus computers, so I couldn't update. All the corresponding pictures will have to wait until I have wireless internet access again. I understand if you just skip all this since it's no longer current. Because of its length, this travelogue will arrive in at least three installments.

MONDAY, for my last day in London, I had to go to the BUNAC office to meet my appointment for my National Insurance number. As it turns out, I may never need it since I didn’t make enough money to have to pay Nash Insurance or taxes. It’s my number for life, though, so it may one day come in handy. After I moved my stuff to Kristen’s room, I dashed to the National Gallery. I loved the varied displays. I was able to see several of the pictures I had been taught about in classes. I then rushed to the Victoria coach station to catch the bus to Northampton.
[written at time of arrival rather than in retrospect] The bus ride was quick. The area is lovely. Since I stepped off the bus I was reminded of why it's so great to be petite and female. A man who had just gotten off his shift showed me to the right bus to get to the campus and made sure to find someone who was headed there as well. This young man is a student here named Benny. He helped me with my suitcases and showed me to my building, which is of course the furthest from the road. He then ran around to find someone to help me move in. I went to the reception desk where they gave me my key as well as a doughnut, a strawberry and lots of tea. I then dropped all my stuff off in the room and called around to let everyone know I was safe. Then I headed back to the reception desk, which if I haven't mentioned is in the center of campus and has 24 hour service, where they directed me to a pub. It was no longer serving food, so they are now going to help me order take-away. I am so glad for everyone's help. Actually, I need a UCN number to get on-line; the office to get that number is closed, so I am writing to you from the reception office. There is no end to their help.

Until Logan arrived on the 8th, I pretty much stayed to myself. We went into town and started the habit of renting 3 movies for 5 pounds for 7 days.

FRIDAY the 9th, Laura arrived and we went to a little gathering to meet the other people on the program. The important introduction was to Rob, the local man who would be playing my husband. He's really nice and friendly, which he would have to be to make a living as a pub DJ. Logan and I also saw Fahrenheit 9/11 which was a brutal examination of the Bush presidency's choices. And I will now move on so as to not offend the conservative persons potentially reading this.

SATURDAY, the 10th, we went to Althorpe, the home of the Spensers, of which Princess Diana is perhaps the most well known. Her body is buried in the island at the center of the lake on the property. There was also a museum commemorating her life. We (and by we I mean Logan Miller, Laura Sorensen and Me unless otherwise noted) walked to the village nearby via the never-ending avenue of trees. Once there we sat at a church and marveled at the local landscape. We were in the Shire, complete with a sign directing us to Long Buckby and Nobottle. We quickly returned to the group bus to go to the local fair dedicated to crafts and dog competitions. We - and this one doesn’t include Laura since she is a vegetarian - shared one of the renown pasties the size of a large paper plate folded on itself and filled to bursting with beef and potatoes. I like British food a lot more than I was prepared to.

Week 9

This is the worst journal entry of all. I forgot about it for months. I had listed all I did, but didn't flesh it out till a few days ago. I admit, It's a bit pathetic.

June 28 – July 4

MONDAY, I started the day off with the director’s commentary of In America. It has to be one of the best I’ve heard. It is so honest and appreciative. I then headed to Cancer Research for my three hour contribution. I made a big dent in the collection and priced several books to put out. Some of them were taken off the shelves within minutes of putting them out. It was especially fun day because Eleanor, the manager who seems to be in her late fifties, stayed in the back with me to sort clothes. She is a hoot. We talked about everything we could think of. After I was through for the day I went over to Lauren’s. We looked at some places for me to stay since a big group has taken over my hostel after Thursday. Nothing looks both safe and cost effective, so I will spend a few days on Lauren’s floor. I just have to keep telling myself that everything will be okay. Once I get into things, I am fine. It’s the transition time before things get going that is the hardest. Lauren went home to get a call and Emily and Kristen came over to finish the movie. They loved it too.

WEDNESDAY I volunteered at Cancer Research again. It’s great to spend time with Eleanor. Later, I hang out with Emily and Kristen. I did my laundry with a special whitening material that still left my socks pink.

THURSDAY, I took stuff to Lauren’s apartment bright and early Thursday morning. Kristen and I saw Mystic River at the Prince Charles Cinema. It’s the reduced price cinema on Trafalgar square. I wandered around town for a while before heading to Emily’s to spend the night on her floor.

FRIDAY was my last day to volunteer at Cancer Research. I found a 5 pound certificate to Sainsbury’s, so Eleanor let me keep it as gift for my time there. I spent the night on Laura’s floor.

SATURDAY I saw the Royal Ballet School with Lauren and Kristen. It was amazing and it was only the students. The most captivating piece was the modern dance with quick, angled movements between men dressed in black and a single woman dressed in white.

SUNDAY I went to Hampstead to see where my character lived. It was a nice area. Keats’ home is there along with a strange church that hosts a labyrinth walk. Really too weird to explain.
To celebrate the fourth of July, Emily, Kristen and I went on a party boat sponsored by BUNAC that floated along the industrial side of the Thames. After confusion about where to meet, we had a relatively fun time. It was a little hectic since there was a lot of drinking and carousing with no where to escape, but we stayed together to make out own fun. There was a photographer there for TNT magazine and we learned later that the picture of us was published in the spread about the party. Kinda cool.