I can't believe I've been in London for only two weeks.  I've seen so much that I feel like I've lived here for months!  For days on end, I have dashed from museum to theater production to historic sight without a break, and sheer excitement has kept my motor running smoothly.  Today, however, everything finally caught up with me.  I had trouble even staying awake during class!  We were discussing some pictures, song lyrics, and poems from London's Romantic Era (including a poem by Wordsworth).  Each presented a slightly different view of life in 18th-century London, and I was genuinely interested in the material.  I kept having ideas, but I was too tired to develop them properly!  It was awful--especially since only five people showed up to class today and all of them refused to speak.  I felt obligated to say whatever entired my tired, tired brain just to fill the silence, and I don't think the result was especially pretty.  :-)

After class, I visited the school library, answered some e-mails using the university's computers, and then curled up in a ball and slept.  Literally!  I napped for a half hour between two rows of dusty, unused volumes.  After that, I headed to the South Kensington station where the University of Westminster was supposed to be sponsoring a student tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum (just beside the LDS chapel).  The Victoria and Albert Museum ("V and A") is located on Exhibition Road--a very fitting name since four or five museums run along the road. An underground walking area takes you all the way from the station to the last museum, and I've walked there many a time.  It's so pleasant; although there isn't much to see, there are always buskers playing a well-known classical favorite ("Pachelbel's Cannon," "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," "The Four Seasons," etc.)  Yes, that's right--subway musicians actually have a title here in England!  They have to apply for "busking" licenses, too.  Performing with an open instrument case isn't considered a lower-class occupation here in London at all; in fact, many university graduates busk as a full-time job!

When I arrived at the museum, I found Crystal and Jill (also known as Stinky 1 and Stinky 2!), but we couldn't find our university group anywhere.  We decided to conquer the museum ourselves!  The V and A is absolutely massive (several stories high), so we just selected the most interesting exhibits to explore.  First, we went through a 60's fashion exhibit, complete with paper dresses which were actually made and sold in London during the 60's, crazy shoes, and short dresses.  Then we made our way to the modern art and photography sections (Jill enjoys that sort of thing), the stained glass exhibit (Crystal took a stained glass class in high school), and the Renaissance art and architecture galleries (I chose these!).  I wanted to go to the musical instruments section, but it was closed for the day.  Boo!  The Renaissance galleries were really impressive, but the only originals on display were a some beautiful Raphael paintings.  Everything else was merely a replication (plaster casts of Michelangelo and Donatello's "David"s, etc.).

By this time, it was 5:00, and I was exhausted again.  I had meant to browse the Natural History Museum after conquering the V and A, but I decided instead to go back to the apartment with Crystal and Jill.  Jill and I went shopping at Sainsbury's before dinner, and I bought some more wheat rolls, apples, and nectarines.  Fruit is saving my life these days; it takes no preparation, and it's so easy to throw an apple or banana in a backpack for an after-class or between-historic-sights snack.  :-)  

Crystal, Jill, and I all cooked and ate our respective dinners in the 5th floor kitchen and watched a British version of "The Price is Right."  As we were eating, a wet girl in a towel pranced in and stole the dish detergent to use on her skin in the shower!  What sane person, may I ask, does that?

It was so hot and stuffy in the kitchen that Crystal and Jill and I finally broke down and rushed to Sainsbury's for frozen Italian Ices.   They tasted absolutely delicious in the day's relentless heat!  Mmm. . .   After that, I retired to my room to answer e-mails and nap a bit, and here I am now!  How was that for an uneventful day?

P.S.  I really didn't give last night's show the justice it deserved.  I've been humming the musical numbers all day today!  The venue was absolutely delightful, too; the theater is completely open air and is surrounded by an enclosed park (with trees and gardens) and a huge cafe.  It seems like the perfect place for a fun romantic or family evening out.