Gardens, Shows, Music and Time

I'm back! I know it's been a few weeks since I've written. It's like the past two months have been this trek up a mountain, and before I knew it everything snowballed. Momentum caught me unprepared! So let me catch you up.

After Paris, we had a week filled with all kinds of treats. I tagged along with Natural History class to Kew Gardens. Apparently it's older than America, and even though that's hard for me to fathom it's true. Being in Kew Gardens was a breath of fresh air. Literally and figuratively. It's located on the outskirts of London so we were away from the noise and hustle an bustle. All the flowers weren't quite in bloom yet, but it was still gorgeous, green and colorful.

At the top of the Rhizotron and Xstrata Treetop Walkway

The Japanese Garden

Syon Vista 

Swan love!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights were busy! Hay Fever first, then Phantom of the Opera, concluded by the London Symphony Orchestra. Hay Fever is a comedy of embarrassment set in the 1920s about a dysfunctional and neurotic family. I absolutely loved it. The costume and stage design was gorgeous, and I was laughing the whole time. With Phantom I had no idea what to expect. I had seen the movie, but that felt like ages ago. And the show blew me away! The costume and stage design was so complex and intricate, the music was, well, spectacular. I mean there's a reason the show has been running continuously for over 25 years. But the voices were UNREAL. Singing is definitely something I wish the Lord had blessed me with. But He didn't, so I'll just have to settle with being envious of all the singers. The London Symphony Orchestra was great. Ok, well the symphony really isn't my thing, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to hear and see one of the leading orchestra's in the world. What I was so amazed by was the conductor. The man who conducted the orchestra that night, Robin Ticciati, is under age 30! That is impressive. He is so young to have been standing before a packed audience conducting the LSO. 

Taken with the handy iPhone.

On Friday we went to Greenwich, which is a part of London, but also the home of the Prime Meridian and the Beginning of Time! It's where the Royal Observatory is located. I'll go ahead and tell you...Yes, I stood in two places at once! The Eastern and Western Hemispheres. 

Yep, that's the Prime Meridian Line!

Harrison's Fourth Timekeeper. One of the most important watches, because it solved the Longitude Problem. What that problem was, I can't say. 

View of The Queen's House from the Royal Observatory...where Anne of Denmark would stay.

I've gotten to the point where I feel like my brain is on overload with all the information and history. It's never ending!