Wonderful Walking

Well. It is pretty late right now and I am tired because of all my walking but I am going to punch this entry out. I woke up late today (5 minutes before class started, which is always fun) but still got there like 5 minutes late which was a pretty good achievement. We learned that, because a TON of people are going back earlier, the price for storage is a lot shorter. I only have to pay 6 pounds. WOO! Then we read an example of Theatre of the Absurd called "Embers". It was about a guy sitting on a beach talking to himself basically. It was interesting. Then we talked about Merchant of Venice because we had reviews due today. Interesting and stuff. Next week is going to be all Morals discussion... Um. I am not looking forward to it. Oh well.

After class, I was sitting in the computer lab, eating lunch and it was super warm and sunny out. I didn't like being inside so I decided to walk up to Hampstead. It's a neighborhood that still maintains a very "village atmosphere" even though it is very within London. I walked through Hyde Park and up to Abbey Road again because it was on the way. They had repainted the wall outside the Studios so I couldn't see my message. They do this every week so I wasn't offended, I knew it was going to happen. I took a picture of the crosswalk like on the cover of the album (picture 1). I also wanted to walk by again because I wanted to buy some souvenirs. Abbey Road made a big impression on me so it was important for me to buy just a little something from it. I went to the gift shop located in a coffee shop next to the Tube station. I spend probably 10 minutes just staring at the selection because I couldn't decide. A pretty cute girl came over and asked if I needed help. I said, "Is it that obvious?" She laughed and offered that a lot of people buy magnets or key chains because they are small and cheap. Also, you see them everyday so you are constantly reminded. I took her advice and bought them. I also bought a postcard. After that I continued my walk up to Hampstead. I should mention that it is 5+ miles from my flat to Hampstead. That's a hike. The last part of the walk was totally uphill which was fun.

I got to Hampstead and started the walking tour in my Eyewitness Book that I always have with me. The start of the walk was Church Row (picture 2). I think I have said this before but this road is also one of the most complete Georgian streets. It is super nice and all the metal work is from the 18th century as well. At the end of the road is the Hampstead Parish Church. This church was constructed in 1749. The graveyard has a bunch of famous Hampsteadions. The most famous grave of all (and the one I wanted to see) was John Constable (picture 3). To refresh your memory, he painted a lot in the early 1800s and I walked around the area that he grew up in last January. Anyway, it was cool to see his grave. The inside of the church was prototypical English 18th century. From the church, I walked past Fenton House. It contains a large selection of old keyboards. It also has a very pretty garden. I walked through some more very pretty houses including one called Admiral's House (picture 4). It was so named because it reminded people of ship. It was the inspiration for that ship house in Mary Poppins. I continued on until I got to Whitestone Pond. There is stone nearby that marks the distance of 7 km from Holborn. Why that is necessary I don't know. From there, I entered the park known as Hampstead Heath.

I walked into Hampstead Heath. This is a HUGE park but different from every other park in London. It is not organized or specially landscaped like Hyde Park or Regent's Park. It is wilderness basically. There are mostly dirt paths through woods and giant hills (picture 5) and lakes. Really beautiful. My first main objective was Kenwood House (picture 6). I walked through some woods, almost lost, but made it there ok. Kenwood House is a Palladium mansion at the edge of the Heath. It contains a bunch of art work and period got furniture. I felt bad because they were closing everything up (I was the last person to enter before it closed) so I was rushed through the house. It contains "The Guitar Player" by Vermeer (picture 7) who is one of my mom's favorite artists. I wish she could have seen it with me. It also contains a really cool painting by Constable. While he lived in Hampstead, he did a bunch of paintings trying to work with the sky. This house contains one of them. There was a self portrait of Rembrandt, some Turners, and a bunch of paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds. I continued on to my next objective, Parliament Hill. I walked by a string of lakes (picture 8). They were very beautiful and pleasant. There were a ton of dogs around. It was so nice to walk around with the sun shining and a little breeze and the quiet. Parliament Hill is the highest point in the Heath. It offers a great view over London from afar (picture 9). It is sometimes called Kite Hill because kites fly on it all the time (it is almost always windy at the top). From there I walked back over to Hampstead.

In Hampstead, I wandered around and saw Christ's Church. Don't know much about it though. I made sure I walked past the house where Constable lived. Very nice looking. I think it is interesting that I am sort of book-ending my stay in London with trips to see the beginning and end of Constable's life. It was an accident but kind of cool to me. I walked down Well Walk and Flask Walk, two streets with nice houses and quite a few quaint pubs. Then I came upon the Tube station.

I got on the Tube and sort of collapsed in that passive, vegetable state that I usually get in after a hike or walk like this. I love that feeling. It is just so darn peaceful and realaxing. I would estimate I walked 9-10 miles today. I basically walked for 5 hours straight. It was highly enjoyable. Anyway, I walked back to the flat and ate a toasted bagel as kind of a snack/dinner. Then I walked over to the play I saw tonight, "Billy Elliot" (picture 10). It is the story of a boy in Northeast England in the 1980s during the Thatcher era. Billy is the son of a miner and the miners are on strike and Billy decides to do ballet while his masculine dad and brother try to cope. Anyway, a really good story, really good music (written by Elton John), really good dancing, really good singing. Basically, really good everything. The spectacle of seeing a big-time musical (which I had not done yet here) was amazing. Completely different from the Shakespeare play I saw last Saturday. Words cannot explain how different they were. Then I took the Tube back and talk to my Mom on Skype. My uncle, Jim, in Switzerland emailed me back so it looks like I will be spending a few days with him in May sometime. That should fun. I bought my plane ticket to Milan from Athens. More and more of my trip is coming together. I am now pretty much set on where I am going to be from April 26 until May 23 (I still need to figure out the last 8 days. Um, that's about it. There is a guy down here in the computer who has his music playing so loud I can make out every word through my own music. It is insane. However, it doesn't matter because I am going to go to bed. I am super duper tired.

Till next time!