ninety-two days

Day 39...

I haven't had internet in my flat for several days now, so I apologize for the tardiness of my update. I've also been super busy. This is my next to last week in London, and I'm finally starting to feel less like a tourist and more like I'm settled here. I suppose that's the way things go; I get settled in just in time to uproot to New York.

This weekend was a lot of fun! Saturday during the day, several of us went for afternoon tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace and then out to the opera at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. The opera was great; it was actually two short operas and an intermission. The first was Bartok's "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" and the second was Schoenberg's "Erwartung". Not exactly toe-tapping, and we certainly didn't leave humming the theme song, but they were both really interesting. The Schoenberg was like watching the embodiment of paranoia on stage. Afterward, we had dinner outside in a courtyard where a guy was playing guitar and singing the kinds of songs you sing along to (Billy Joel, James Taylor, the Beatles, etc.). It was a lot of fun.

Sunday I went with another summer associate to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Not spectacular gardens, but really very pleasant. And, some of the things they have there are amazing. Like, for example, the oldest glass building (older than the crystal palace) in England, which houses the palm collection. Also, a really neat little glass house that held waterlillies of all shapes and sizes, including several lilly-pads that were maybe six feet in diameter! I'd never seen such a thing. A life-size Kermit could certainly take up residence on one of these. We saw some wallabies and climbed the 11-storey pagoda and enjoyed the rose gardens which are in bloom. I'd love to go back sometime when their lilac garden is in bloom.

This week, I went for an english breakfast (this morning at 7:30am!!! can you believe I was awake and out at an event at 7:30am???) and have caught a couple of the World Cup matches. I'm going to see the new Tom Stoppard play this weekend, which I'm very excited about.

posted by jess. @ 4:54 AM