Hey All!

I know it's been a while since I've last posted but I just got back from grand Paris yesterday evening and haven't had a moment to spare but I left off talking about my trip to Amsterdam. This past week we had a few really good and interesting days before the small excursion to Paris.

The first day we got back from Amsterdam, we had to rush on the train and head to class. If I'm not mistaken it was Tuesday May 26th. Our guest Lecturer Bob Craig was the one who talked to the class about the History of London. He went back to almost 2,000 years ago and explained how London came about. It was no major settlement but was founded by Cesar when he and his men crossed the what is now known as the English Chanel. The area known today as London was recorded by 60 AD by the Queen Boudica. She was unhappy with the taxes the Roman put on her people and when her kingdom was unable to fully pay the Romans off, they beat her and assaulted her two daughters. She then in turn raised an army and attacked London; her army killed 30,000 people.

Bob then went on to talk about many other very interesting things but there isn't enough time or energy to type everything into this blog ; ) but her talked about King Charles I and his war waged against his people and the Parliament. He wanted to arrest 4 Parliament men, London sided with Parliament and the King lost the war. He was put on trial and convicted of treason and sentenced to death.

Bob talked about a lot of things in the history of London lecture and it made me realize how young America is and how much further back English history goes more so then the U.S's. Compared to England and specifically London, the history is not as interesting but I think it is because I grew up hearing about the same things that happened to our country over and over and hearing about another country's' background really intrigued me.

After Bob's lecture we took a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It wasn't my favorite museum but it as or the most part interesting. There are seven corridors that make up the building and if one were to read every single plaque in the museum it could take up to six months. Our guide showed us many things in the exhibit including art and historical pieces from the Greek/Roman period, the Chinese and Arabian cultures and the most interesting the Egyptian time period. We got to see the mummy of Cleopatra and some Roman statues of Greek Gods and Goddesses.

Later on that night we all went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and saw the play " The Comedy of Errors" and it was fabulous! It was funny, it made you think and I didn't find myself board at all during the performance. I had no idea what the play was about going into this but i left feeling as if I had heard to story line before. It is about two brothers being separated as young boys and finding themselves in the same city when they are older. The dilemma come in when everyone including their wives and love interests keep confusing them for each other. They discover each other in the end and all returns to normal. i really liked the way the theatre was set up because it is an exact replica of how the theatre looked back in the time of Shakespeare. Some of the crowd stood while the rest of us got to sit in backless chairs which doesn't sound better but made all the difference.

All in all it was a jam packed day and a great learning experience. Cheers! More to come later!