Highnesses and Headbanging

Thursday, June 27th

On Thursday, we went on a guided tour of the financial district. The first thing I noticed in the area was how everybody was dressed. I felt so out of place. The attire was so professional, yet so stylish. We told our business teacher that he needed a tie. He proceeded to pull one out of his pocket and responded, "You never know when you might need to go into a meeting."

The most interesting building to me was Lloyds. It made me feel like I was in the setting of some futuristic movie. The architecture was very industrial. All of the modes of transportation were placed on the corners of the building, so if there was maintenance to an elevator needed to be done it wouldn't interrupt a business meeting going on inside. In the heart of construction and grandiose modernization is Leadenhall Market - very different than its surrounding area and also the site of Harry Potter's wand shop. The market was scattered with businessmen and women catching a drink on their break.

Juxtaposition of old/new

Lloyds

Leadenhall Market

The whole gang

Friday, June 28th

Friday was Wimbledon. I could talk for hours but I will try to keep it brief. At 8:00 AM Friday morning, the chances of seeing a tennis match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships were very slim. Grey clouds consumed the sky and general admission spectators were left in a large grassy field, standing in The Queue for up to three hours (some had camped out all night) in the consistent, medium to heavy rain, waiting to enter The All England Lawn Tennis Club. While queueing, guests without umbrellas were shielded by plastic ponchos sold by various publications along with a copy of their daily newspaper. After the initial queueing, we finally entered the green gates with our queue cards in hand, passed numerous sponsor tables, and approached the ariport-like security checkpoint. Once through, the historic Club was finally in sight. Twenty pounds later, we had out first glimpse of the flower-lined Centre Court surrounded by the zoo of people we call Wimbledon.

With all matches on hold due to the unyielding rain, the Grounds was packed tight with eager spectators with not much more to do than have a drink - or ten. Top of the line restaurants, such as The Wingfield Restaurant, were filled to capacity with guests, and the queue for the food court stretched long and wide. Along with slightly overpriced pizzas, fish and chips, and sandwiches, the timeless classics were made readily available. Champagne flowed without end, ripe strawberries and cream were eaten on the hill, and you couldn’t go more than six feet without seeing a Pimm’s in someone’s hand. Despite the lack of sport action and the dampness in the air, fun and laughter could be heard in every direction. There was a Wimbledon spirit in the air that could not be tampered with.

Other attractions included the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum (a 12 pound entry fee), The Wimbledon Shop, and a display of all the past champions found in the corridor of Centre Court. The museum didn’t seem too busy, but the shop, like every other part of the Club, was packed tight. In the shop, guests were able to purchase a plethora of official Wimbledon products including: clothing, rackets, tennis shoes, balls and accessories, toweling products, key rings, bags, jewelry, gifts, and souvenirs. Like the food, most of the items available were sold at steep prices. 

Surprisingly, the walk-by Wimbledon history lesson hung on the walls outside Centre Court was FREE. Dating back to the first Championship in 1877, life size artwork lined the walls with portraits of the Gentlemen’s Singles, Gentlemen’s Doubles, Ladies’ Singles, Ladies’ Doubles, and Mixed Doubles winners with their respective years. Portraits included the United States’ Williams sisters and last year’s Men’s Singles champion, Roger Federer of Switzerland.

In fact, there were quite a few portraits of Roger Federer lining the walls. His first being in 2003, Federer has won seven Wimbledon Championships. But he won’t be winning one this year. Last week, Federer experienced his earliest exit from Wimbledon since 2002, when he was defeated in the second round by Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine.

With upsets so far including Sharapova, Williams, Nadal, and Federer, guests attending Wimbledon on Friday were excited to see what the day had in store. Finally, around 2:00 PM, the roof opened on Centre Court and matches commenced. 

I was able to see a match between Alexandr Dolgopolov, 24, top-ranked Ukrainian male tennis player (although he may have some competition due to Stakhovsky’s defeat over Federer), and Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, 25. The match had been rained out the day before and after hours of waiting, the pair was finally given the chance to prove their talent. 

On Thursday, the standings were at  6-4 3-0, favoring Dolgopolov. The break allowed a tired Giraldo to rest, but on Friday he couldn’t catch his breath. Just when we thought Giraldo was on a roll, tricking Dolgopolov with drop shots and pulling ahead, Giraldo would repeatedly fail to serve his ball over the net, making it easy for Dolgopolov to regain his lead. At one point, Giraldo even shouted out in anger when his opponent came back near the end of the game to win both the game and the set. The match ended 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, with Dolgopolov defeating Giraldo and moving on to play No. 4, David Ferrer. 

Matches continued throughout the day, on and off due to the starting and stopping of rain. At the end of the Day 5, losers included Sharapova-defeater, Michelle Larcher de Brito, and Federer-defeater, Sergiy Stakhovsky. Winners included Britain’s own Andy Murray, 26, and Laura Robson, 19. 

Saturday, June 29th

On Saturday, I went with some friends to the Portobello Market, an enormous outdoor street market in Notting Hill. It took us about three hours to get through one side and we still left with unseen territory. The market included fresh food, handmade jewelry, and lots of creative screen tees. There were many vintage clothing shops lining the streets as well that we loved getting a peek inside of. The market was a great place for souvenirs and a great place to enjoy the sunny weather in general. One of the coolest parts of the market was an old VW bus that had been transformed into a coffee shop. Couches had been set up on the street and with the graffiti backdrop it was a perfect spot for young people to hang out.

Sunday, June 30th

Sunday was tourist day. We decided to get all of our sight-seeing out of the way. Starting with Buckingham Palace, we saw the changing of the guards. Well, we tried. It was so crowded that there wasn't very much to see so we left halfway through. We then continued on to Big Ben, took some photos, and headed to lunch. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and some caesar salads before getting back on the tube and heading to the Tower of London. Once there, we were told that we should come back another day due to the amount of people in line to see the Crown Jewels. It was 3 PM, but with the tower closing at 5:30, we would have been standing in line for so long that we wouldn't have made it in before closing.

Monday, July 1st

With no class on Monday, we woke up determined to make it to the Tower of London at a decent time. We left the dorms around 9:30 AM and planned to be inside the tower by 10. All did NOT go according to plan. After going out of the way on the tube to be able to switch lines, we finally boarded the Circle line and headed toward our destination. Three stops away, the tube broke down. We departed the tube and after some initial struggling, eventually figured out what bus route to take. We took the bus a couple stops then got off to change to our final bus that was to take us directly to the tower. We waited. And waited. The bus wasn't coming. About 12 other buses had stopped, though! Time went on... still no bus. At this point, we had NO idea where we were and our surroundings weren't exactly comfortable. After a little bit longer of worrying, we found another tube station, got on a functioning line, and made our way to our destination. It was now 11:30 AM. After walking across Tower Bridge, we finally made it to the Tower of London - the fortress, palace, and prison -  around noon.

It was definitely worth the wait! 

A short building history (from their website): In the early 1080s, William the Conqueror began to build a massive stone tower at the centre of his London fortress. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. Through the centuries that followed, successive monarchs added to the fortifications. 

I kind of felt like I was in a theme park. The building didn't seem real. The place was massive. There was even an exhibit featuring all the animals that had once lived there. What do you give someone who has everything? Wild beasts. Kings and Queens were often given exotic animals as gifts and the lower classes would pay money to come see them. 

Locked in the animal cage

While walking through the grounds, I often had to remind myself that real people had actually lived and suffered here. We walked through kings' sleeping quarters, torture chambers, and finally the exhibit of the Royal Crown Jewels. It was surreal. I have never seen so many shiny objects in one place. The net worth of the jewels is more than what all the people I've ever met in my life will ever make combined! It was beautiful - yet oddly uncomfortable seeing them directly after seeing the room (right across the street) where men had been tortured to their death.

Where the Crown Jewels are kept 

Torture device

Tuesday, July 2nd

After class on Tuesday, we went on a backstage tour of the National Theater. We learned all about the history of the theaters inside and how the changing of the sets work. We got to see where all the props are held and learned about how they are made. The tour wasn't very long, but passing the actors in the hallways backstage definitely got me excited for our return there next week to see Strange Interlude. 

Wednesday, July 3rd

On Wednesday evening, we had the opportunity to go see Hofesh Shechter Company's "Political Mother: The Choreographer's Cut" at Sadler's Wells. Initially, with a line of string instruments I was worried that I would be a distraction with my persistent cough I've yet to rid of. I soon learned that would not be a problem. This was no ordinary modern dance. After a few minutes of violins and cellos, the stage lit up with an ear-shattering heavy metal rock band. I can honestly say I have never seen or heard anything like this. I cannot put an emphasis on how loud it was. Though I was thoroughly entertained with the production and the idea as a whole, I wasn't entirely impressed with the choreography. No doubt, it was a very good performance and the dancers executed it with perfection. However, with such potential both with the story and the music, I expected the choreography to be right in line. Nonetheless, it was an experience I will never forget. Both the band and the audience were head-banging while a group of modern dancers were performing in front of us simultaneously. My hat's off to the guy who had this brilliant idea. The more I think about it, the more I loved it.