London Musings

Apart from a very long week of travel, I wanted to share what I've been up to in London.

As part of my goal of seeing more of London before I leave, I've been taking walks in new areas and exploring. I've also just been enjoying some of my favorite things that the City offers.

I took in three performances. 

I finally got to see Les Mis live. 

Miss Saigon returned to the West End for the first time in 15 years. This was an amazing performance and well worth opening prices. 

Handbagged is a parody play on the relationship between the Queen and Margaret Thatcher when Thatcher was Prime Minister. I was on the floor laughing the entire time. 

Last week, I went and had high tea with my friend, Chelsea, at Bond and Brook. 

The MPA had a picnic last week as a study break. Alyssa and I were fully enjoying the sunshine! 

And, my friend and sorority sister, Steph, was in town. She just graduated with her masters from Syracuse. I hadn't seen her since we graduated in 2012, so it was a fun evening!

Being a Tourist & Traveling

As I wrap up my last few months in London, I've got a lot of things to see and do...both in London and outside.

Over the next two weeks, I'm seeing three different plays/musicals. This week, I'm starting with Les Mis. Next week, I'm catching Miss Saigon which just opened back up on the West End as well as Handbagged.

For fun this weekend, I'm headed to Stockholm for a quick overnight trip.  The majority of my friends have their finals at the end of May/beginning of June whereas I don't. Mine besides the papers due this past week are in the middle of June, and I've already started studying. So, as a huge advocate of traveling by yourself, I'm excited to try out another country in Eastern Europe, take in the cultural sights, and just relax!

My friend, Alex, and I are taking a day trip to Burghley! It's heralded as England's Grandest Elizabethan House. Plus, it's been used in films such as Pride and Prejudice!

I'm headed to Bulgaria from May 18th-20th. It will be my last solo trip in Europe.

And, at the moment, my friend, Nicola, and I are researching a trip to either Slovenia or Croatia at the end of the month. Nicola and I interned at the Embassy together in the fall, and we traversed around Munich in November. There are a ton of day trips from either location, and Croatia stands to give us a chance to see three additional countries. Lots of planning as we narrow in on what we want to do!

If you have any tips regarding any of these places, leave a comment! 

Seeing Angela Lansbury!

Before I kicked it into overdrive and wrote a final essay this week, Monday was a day of fun.

I started out by spending my birthday discount at Anthropologie...picking up a few new essential pieces for spring! Sorry about that, bank account.

I, then, met my friend Ellie for dinner in Soho. Ellie and I met in our 'US Legislative Politics' class, but through Facebook friending, we learned that we have quite a lot of mutual friends in the States. It really is a small world. We went to Jackson and Rye which had a twist on some American classics. 

Our stomachs full, we went down the street to see 'Blithe Spirit.' 

I usually go and see musicals, so I was excited to change it up for a bit and see a play. Plus, Angela Lansbury is staring in this production of 'Blithe Spirit!'  She was returning to the West End after almost 40 years. The entire performance was great, and Angela nailed her part! For those Downton Abbey fans, the actor who plays Edith's missing boyfriend also starred in the play! 

After the show, Ellie and I attempted to get a selfie with her. We failed, but we had a few laughs trying to take one!

Angela Lansbury

It was a perfect way to start off spring break and a nice distraction from paper writing! 

Weekly Recap!

Besides my birthday happenings over the last week, I also completed another term of graduate school. Yes, you've done the math correctly! That leaves only one term left! Before we get to what I have planned over spring break, here's what else I've been up to over the past week!

Before my birthday party last weekend, I wandered through the Victoria and Albert Museum! I hadn't been inside to check out the exhibits since I studied abroad in 2010. 

Inside the V & A

I wondered around and checked out the fashion exhibit which showcased British fashion through the years. 

From there, I discovered the exhibit about theatre and concerts in London. I spent the majority of the rest of my time, there.

Costumes from the Lion King 

Vivien Leigh Archive 

War Horse 

On Sunday, the Pi Phi UK Alumnae Club and the KKG UK Alumnae Club hosted a Sunday Roast at a beer garden in Camden. Both of our sororities were founded at the same college in the US.

Tuesday was the big capstone presentation! My capstone group and I are officially done!

Capstone Team Post the Presentation 

Wednesday evening was full of excitement as Susannah and Nathan surprised Alyssa and I with birthday tickets to see 'Once' the musical! We both had no idea, and I had never seen the musical! It was an awesome performance! 

Once

Before the Musical

The rest of this past week was spent preparing for the ball and wrapping up another semester! Stay tuned for most posts!

My Selfie with John Travolta!

Yesterday, I met John Travolta. And, I took a selfie with him. 
I know, I know…just a normal Sunday.
Kidding! It was an awesome way to meet a celebrity.
Earlier last week, I got an email from Ticketmaster about last minute tickets to attend a "Conversation with John Travolta." Now, I'm more of a concert and musical person. But, I jumped on this chance as every other event I've attended that has been a conversation has turned out to be awesome. 
(We can discuss the Laura Bush story in a future post!)

So, last night, the event happened! Bu,t before I got inside the theater, I ran into the BAFTAs Red Carpet or the British Academy of Film and Television Awards! Talk about luck! 

John Travolta was amusing as ever during his discussion with Barry Norman. 

He discussed the highs and lows of his career, his personal life, and what he could be doing in the future. Playing a future Bond villain came up numerous times…
 He brought several audience members on stage and danced a few numbers with them. And, at the end, the entire audience sang "Happy Birthday" to him!

John, his sisters, and Barry Norman

Now, I'm not a huge John Travolta fan. If Ryan Gosling wants to hold one of these chats, we'll be talking about how I got front row seats. But, I wanted to capitalize on this event. 
 If you don't know, I had a knack of meeting the SU basketball team quite a lot during college. My best friend, Katie, and I even got Jim Boeheim to stop and take a photo with us in the middle of a crowd with a few clever lines. 

Meeting Jim Boeheim in 2010 

So, last night, I was prepared for how I was going to meet John Travolta. 
Staking out the stage door, I made friends with a few older women. The four of us strategized to avoid the outstanding number of older men that wanted to meet him! 
Two hours post the show ending, he finally emerged. Now, I've never been in a crowd like this before. 

I described it to one of my friends as a mosh pit!

At one point, I was next to one of the security guards behind John. Tried the "hey, it's my birthday line too." 
That didn't work. 
And, then I had my moment of inspiration. I touched John's hand, and said "let's take a selfie." 
And, he just stopped.  
Unfortunately, as you can see below, others did not stop and bumped us. 
It's a half selfie. But, it's a selfie. Plus, he touched my hand. 
Mission Accomplished. 

What a way to start a week off! 

101 in 1001 Update

It's been a bit since I last checked in with an update on my 101 in 1001 list! Of course, it's always posted on the blog with updates as frequently as I can make them. Yet, it's nice to sometimes just recap quickly! 

As I enter 2014, I have less and less time to complete my to-do list before May 2015.  This past year a was amazing in terms of travel, reunions, and life experiences. Thankfully, all of those experiences helped cross a few things off. Take a peek!

Visit 15 New Cities (Amsterdam, Prague, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Berlin, Arras, Verona, Venice, Caen, Bucharest, Brasov, Portsmouth, Munich, Luxembourg City)

Visit 5 New Countries  (Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Luxembourg City)

See 5 New Musicals (Singing in the Rain, The Bodyguard, Stephen Ward) 

Cross off 5 Things on the 1001 Things to See Before You Die (Combination of My Personal Travels & My Trip with my Dad this past year!)

Do you have a 101 in 1001 list or a bucket list? What's on yours? 

Jammed Recap

The end of another semester results in a constant flurry of events, extra coffee, and a lack of sleep. I'm adding a lack of consistent blog posts to this list as well.  In this post, I'm trying to essentially recap a bunch of things I've been doing on and off over the past two weeks in order to be back in the present!

About two weeks ago, I heard Alec Ross (@AlecJRoss) speak at LSE on power in the information age. Alec Ross formerly worked on the Obama 2008 campaign and was Senior Advisor on Innovation for Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. 

I've had  a  bunch of Pi Phi Alumnae events and meet ups over the past few weeks as well. One was a farewell as my friend, Michelle, and her family moved back to the States. Michelle was the first Pi Phi that I met in the UK. She and I met randomly on the streets of London near Holborn in 2010, and from there, we both found out we were Pi Phis! 

Michelle and me

The Pi Phi Alumnae Club also hosted a small Thanksgiving potluck the weekend after turkey day!

Other events over the past few weeks included the MPASA pub quiz (2nd place team!), a UK Panhellenic Alumnae Club Luncheon, a few holiday parties, enjoying the West End, and plenty of Christmas themed treks around London! 

1st Winter Wonderland Trip of the Year

Sorry again for the lengthy catch-up post! More frequent posts are coming to an blog reader/email inbox soon!

Upcoming Adventures

Apart from schoolwork, internships, and the social world surrounding the MPA program, I've got a few other adventures in the works for the next few weeks!

Next weekend, I'm headed to Bucharest, Romania! Translyvania and I will be bonding for a few days as I have Veteran's Day off my internship. My fellow intern, Elaine, and I are headed over to check out the city but also taking a day trip to Dracula's Castle.

The following weekend besides doing homework, I'm attending "Fantasia: Live in Concert" at the Royal Albert Hall. Surprisingly, I still have never been inside the Hall despite having lived in South Kensington and having numerous bus routes currently that drive past the building. 

For Thanksgiving, a few interns and I are looking to take the hop west to Iceland! We should be booking out trip to Reyjeviack this week!

In early December, I snagged a cheap ticket to see Andrew Lloyd Weber's new musical, "Stephen Ward." For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge fan of ALW especially "Phantom of the Opera." 

Musicals!

One of my favorite things about London is the fact that so many musicals are constantly on. 

I'm a huge lover of musicals: always have been, always will be. 

But, last semester, I did not get a big change to see anything musically. I know I saw Mumford and Sons at the end of the term, but that was just one concert. And, no musicals. None. Zero.

When I lived in London for four months in 2010, I saw more than I can even think of right now. One musical that I got to see in 2010 was the sequel to "Phantom of the Opera," "Love Never Dies." 

This semester, and well for the rest of my time in London, I am determined to see more musicals. 

I saw two this past week alone. See, I when I get determined about something, I make sure it happens.

On Friday night, as my sickness was settling in, Jenny and I went and saw "Singin in the Rain." A fan of the classic movie already, I was excited to see how the stage show would be...especially with the rain effects! I was not disappointed. The rain scenes were amazing, and I left singing the songs in my head. A feel good family fun night out!

And, on Wednesday this week, Nicole and I went and saw "Phantom of the Opera."  Now, this was my sixth time seeing the live performance of the show.  Phantom is one of my favorites. It always will be. I wish the sequel was still on as I had to listen to the sequel soundtrack on my bus ride home. It was Nicole's first time seeing the stage show, and I know she was singing on her way out as well. I may still have to go back and grab those cheap tickets a few more times before I leave London....good thing I've got till June 2014. 

Her Majesty's Theatre

As for the next musicals on the list, I'm hoping to make it to see "the Bodyguard" soon. I've got a few plays on the list to see before they close as well.