This will have to be a short entry because I've got to get to bed!  Three exciting things happened today:  1)  I attended a fancy, three-course London Rotary Club luncheon as an honored guest.  2)  I visited the Tower of London.  3)  I watched "The Boyfriend" (a darling musical set in the 20's) at the London Open Air Theater in Regent's Park.  Oh--I also found out that my brother Dylan is going to fly over to visit me for a week in August, and I couldn't be more thrilled!   London had better watch out; we're going to take the city by storm!

The Rotary Club meeting was a lot of fun although I was sorry to have to leave class early in order to make the luncheon (we were discussing "Evalina"--one of my favorite required reads for this class--and we hadn't even reached the meaty part of the discussion yet).  The meeting was held at the Radisson Hotel.  The whole thing was very ritzy!  The Rotarians treated us like honored guests, and we met a lot of new people who seemed very interested in us.  I spoke with a woman from Atlanta who has a degree in English Literature, and she suggested some good literary spots to visit around London (she loved touring the Bronte home and Heaver Castle). 

Crystal, Uven, Nick, and I were seated at a table together with a Middle Eastern man wearing a headdress and several jolly old British gentlemen.  The man sitting just next to me was very sweet; he asked me all sorts of questions about my major and such, and then he asked me if I was getting used to the English accent.  When I said I was, he asked if I could understand Scottish accents (the President of the Rotary Club has a delightfully thick Scottish accent!).  "Sure--it's not bad!"  I responded.  That sent the entire table into gales of knee-slapping laughter.  I just sat there looking confused, which only made them all guffaw harder.  "It's not bad; nothing wrong with it!" gasped one man through his laughter.  "Well done, Erica!" said another.  Whatever!  :-)

I can't move on to section two of my day without mentioning the delicious food served at this affair.  We had a full, three-course meal complete with salad, chicken, cous-cous, vegetables, and chocolate cake/ice-cream for dessert.  Mmm.  I haven't eaten such a meal in a long, long time!

After that, I headed to the Tower of London, eager to take the tour of the inner grounds after having read all about the Tower's history and having explored the museum the week before.  I entered the gates around 3:00 and didn't leave until almost 6:00 (when they kicked me out), but I still didn't have time to see everything within the walls!  I had no idea that the Tower of London is basically a little village with all sorts of displays and museums inside. I always pictured it as a single tower, and I didn't know that the Beefeaters actually live there with their families, an on-call doctor, a minister, and a preacher.

As I stood beside the front gate waiting for my tour guide to arrive and trying to snap a photo of myself with the Tower in the background, the woman standing next to me offered to take the picture for me.  We started chatting, and when she found out that I was from Arizona, she cried, "I am too!"  I mentioned that I was originally from Utah.  She asked if I was LDS, and when I said yes, she cried, "I am too!"   What are the chances of two Arizonan Latter-Day Saints meeting up at the Tower of London?!?  How fun!  She's staying in England for a week, visiting a British lady that her brother baptized fourteen years ago.  I stuck with her and her British friend for most of the tour.

Our guide was absolutely marvelous!  He was an honest-to-goodness Beefeater with all sorts of military honors and a grandfatherly face.   His narration was fascinating and well-phrased and, above all, FUNNY.  He cracked all sorts of spur-of-the-moment jokes, and his descriptions of the horrors and atrocities that took place in the Tower made my spine tingle and my head swim.  (As I heard him describe a couple of executions gone wrong, I felt a bit light-headed--just like I feel when I try to give blood!).  I learned so much just from listening to him speak.  In fact, I probably retained more from that 50-minute tour than I retained from months and months of high school British history!  Somehow, history seems so much more interesting when you're actually standing on historical ground.  There was something so incredible about looking at a structure built one-thousand years ago, seeing the tower where Sir Thomas Moore was kept, and passing over the spot where Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey lost their lives.

After the tour, I got to wander around a bit by myself.  I explored the museum that houses the crown jewels (I couldn't even begin to describe such rich extravagance!), descended into the tower that holds the torture chamber displays (shudder!), walked through prison cells where prisoners had etched carvings and quotes, and toured the White Tower which contains the Royal Armory.  (A funny note:  I discovered, while browsing the armory, that King Henry VIII had to wear a corset in order to fit into his royal armor!)  I never made it to the Medieval Tower, though, and I really wish I'd had more time to look around and just let all that history soak in.   What a place!

After the Beefeaters shooed me off the Tower grounds, I waved goodbye to my new friend from Arizona and headed to Regent's Park to watch the musical, "The Boyfriend."  I had a bit of trouble finding the Open Air Theater (located in the center of the park), but in wandering around, I discovered that the Inner Circle of Regent's Park is ten times more beautiful and intimate than any of the other parks I've visited in London so far.   I'll definitely have to go back when I have time to just enjoy the flowers and fountains.

I finally found the theater and made my way to my seat (WAY in the back but with an excellent view).   A friendly British lady sat next to me.  She seemed absolutely delighted to make my acquaintance (I love people like that!).  She asked if I was on "holiday" here, and when I mentioned that I study music in the US, she gave me all sorts of cheap concert tips.  We chatted during both intermissions (yes, there were two!), and we agreed that the show was completely delightful.  "The Boyfriend" reminded me a lot of "Thoroughly Modern Millie;" the music was written in a catchy, 20's jazz style, and the show was full of spectacle--revolving around elaborate costumes and set changes and huge, flashy dance numbers.  The actual plotline was nothing but fluff, bubble gum, and cotton candy, but I loved the show for not trying to be anything other than what it was:  Utterly silly and utterly fun.

Every seat in the audience was full and it was easy to see why.  As we all filed out of the park after the show had ended (with a BANG and plenty of confetti, I might add), teens were humming the songs, and elderly couples were dancing--20's style--down the sidewalks.  I love the musicals!   What else can make you throw worry and care out the door and tap dance down the street?  Watching all that energy onstage invigorated me at first, but now I'm completely exhausted!  It's bedtime.  :-)