Thursday, July 23, 2009

Addie's Journey Into the Heart of Austen Country


"Bath is a charming place, sir; there are so many good shops here."
Catherine Morland-- Northanger Abbey






I heartily agree with Catherine!
I just got back a week ago from a 10 day trip to England, and it was honestly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We stayed in Bath for a week with our host families, and rehearsed and performed our show: "How I Became a Pirate." It was utterly fantastic. Then, Sunday the 12th, we took the train from Bath to London, and spent a couple of days in London sightseeing, and that was completely amazing.
So, pictures!
At the airport!

At the the egg theatre with the British kids
The Green running man exit signs! Instead of "EXIT" signs, they have Green Running Men-they are flat out amazing. :)
The outside of the theatre.

Two pictures of the lovely and awe-inspiring Bath Abbey- (note the American flag. Odd? I thought so too.)




The lovely ancient Roman Baths-where Bath got it's name from! :) Although the waters are supposed to have healing properties, you're not allowed to go in it anymore. Two boys in our group got scolded for touching the water. If you'll note the lovely green color, you'll probably conlude (correctly) that it's not the most sanitary water in the world! :)
My friend and I with an actor portraying an ancient Roman at the Baths. My friend wasn't sure for a second whether it was an actor or not! :D
My feet and the reflection of the Bath buildings in the water.
At the Roman baths-playing 'Titanic' :)

The Pump Room! Made famous by Northanger Abbey, in these rooms Catherine was courted by Mr. Henry Tilney, esq. Now, it is a tea room, and you can taste the Bath waters here-renowned for their healing properties.

P.S. The water tastes like sulpher. Yuuummy. :P :)

In Queen's Square park, with two delightful elderly ladies! I asked them if I could please take a picture with them. They looked so adorable sitting on the park bench, eating their sandwiches. :)

At the Train Station, on the way to London!

our London Hotel-near Hyde Park.


The London Eye-so cool! A giant ferris wheel that never stops, and gives you a fantastic view of the city.
The boys inside the London Eye-they were posing as their 'boy band' characters. :) Did I mention they were incredibly amusing and fun to travel with? We got funny looks from the locals, as well. :)

Street performer along the Thames riverbank. There were quite a few of them. We had a great time walking by them all!

London Traffic! :)

The Angel of Love-if you kiss your true love under this statue at midnight, your love will last forever! Pretty nifty. :)

Trafalgar Square! I could have spent hours there-so beautiful!

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We had a horrible view of the actual ceremony, but seeing the guards was fun. And Buckinham Palace and the gardens that we explored afterwards were sooo beautiful. We also enjoyed the pelicans that were wandering about.

Big Ben!

The Tower Bride

All of us squished into a telephone booth!


A pirate ship belonging to Sir Walter Raleigh. I think that's who it was, at least...

At Shakespeare's Globe Theatre-this is a replica of the original Old Globe-this particular replica was built in 1997. We saw a production of As You Like It there. Fantastic!




Two Pictures of St. Paul's at Night-absolutely gorgeous!




A view of London at night from the Milennium Bridge-lovely!



All in all, it was an absolutely amazing trip. I'm so thankful that God protected us all throughout our journey, kept us safe, and blessed our shows. The very fact that we got this opportunity is a total gift from God, and I'm again, so thankful! Thank you all for your prayers as well, and I hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures!
God bless!
xoxo-
Addie
P.S. The first picture in the post is actually the village mead of Norton St. Philip, which is a little village outside Bath where I stayed that week with my host family.

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like you had fun!

    You are quite lovely, by the way!

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  2. Looks like you had an amazing time!! England is now on my "List of places it is absolutely neccesary for me to visit before I die" list. ;)

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  3. lol, thanks, Rose! Good to know I can look presentable, even while covered in dirt makeup-that stuff's impossible to rub off. Ick. :P

    Yes, Trinah, England is fantastic-I definitely hope you get the chance to go!

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  4. sounds nice

    where does the "wife from Bath" come in?

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  5. You're a very lovely young woman, Addie :D And the pictures are gorgeous and you must have had an amazing time! Thank you for sharing them with us! :)

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  6. lol, Hans-I didn't see any pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, or else I would have definitely taken a picture of them. :)

    Thanks Lanta! :D

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Your comments make me smile!