mmmmm

So I've realized I have this fear that I will be cut in half by the doors on the tube. Yes. Irrational. BUT I've already seen this happen to many people..well..not cut in half, but squished! In other news, the London Eye is friggin sweet. For those of you that may not know, it is this HUGE ferris wheel type deal made and owned by British Airways. It is so neat, you are up so high and get to see pretty much the whole city. It's quite beautiful, I got some really nice pictures, hopefully I will be able to post them soon.

After the Eye the other day, we went out and walked around Westminster and it finally hit me just how beautiful this city is. Well ok..I already knew it was amazing, and beautiful, and wonderful, but for some reason it REALLY hit me then. I am a very lucky girl. When I am not sitting back and admiring the beauty of LDN or in class, I am in rehearsal for our show! The show starts in a few weeks and it is finally coming together. I'm getting pretty nervous, I've heard the British crowd is a little less response than most crowds but who knows, I hope it goes well!

In other news, we are planning a trip to Paris! We will hopefully be heading across the channel on Halloween. I definitely need to brush up on my French for that. I'm also hoping to head on over to Luxembourg to visit the family at some point. I also want to go to Spain, and Italy and everywhere! Thats the problem, once I'm in Europe...I want to go everywhere. Oh goodness. So much to do, so little time.

Well...love from the UK!

~ali~

Favorite things..cinnabons in Trafalgar Square

London is starting to feel like home finally! Although it will never be as wonderful as my actual home :). This past week my friend Tim was here and it was soooo great to see him again. He's been in Germany for..forever doing a run of "Porgy and Bess" there, and he's finally on his way back to good ol' Mpls to work at the Guthrie. Tim is so great, he showed us a few of the places that he used to hang around when he was here. The last night he was here, Shannon and I roamed around Piccadilly Circus trying to find food. We ended up getting delicious Cinnabons and walking to Trafalgar Square, for some reason things taste better there. After a delicious meal Tim met up with us and took us around town, trying to find a pint. We found our pints of delicious hard cider and decided it was time to dance. He took us to this club called the "Zoo Bar", which was exciting. It was my first club experience! Tim had to leave the next morning so we called it a night. We got on the N9 bus (my first double decker experience!) but had to transfer because someone threw up on the bottom floor. By this time it was around 2 in the morning and they had us get off and transfer buses all because someone spewed. Although very gross, I would've been fine staying on the puke bus just to get home. Anyway...we got off the bus, had to wait another half hour and then we accidently got off too early and walked another 30 mins. So all in all, buses are very exciting useful and helpful, but not when someone throws up. Enough of that, London is great. I saw Kenneth Brannagh on stage the other day, it was pretty AMAZING! I'm sure I'll have more exciting stories soon. I love it here, but I do miss home. I miss fall in Minnesota, especially in Winona. SO. Pretty. Anyway...love from the UK

<3
~ali~

Curry

I love Indian Food. I love this city. Sorry its taken so long to post again, the internet is unfortunately not up in the flats yet so I am currently in the office building where we have our classes. London doesn't feel quite like home yet, it still feels like a vacation but I think that will pass rather quickly. This past weekend we took a day trip to Cambridge which was absolutely gorgeous and charming. Then on Saturday Caitlin and I went to Notting Hill and wandered around Portobello Road. It was really cool just being in that area, lots of people, lots of cool stands with fresh fruit, artwork, gas masks, you name it. ALSO delicious cheap Indian food. SO. GOOD. I have already set up a personal goal for myself. I am going to try and find a day every week to go sit in Trafalgar Square. That is probably one of my favorite places in the city, it is just so gorgeous and open and a perfect place to go sit and people watch. Also, I love Covent Garden. Covent Garden is right next to Trafalgar and has the open markets and cute shops, record stores, and delicious restaurants. OH I almost forgot, my dear friend Tim Markus is here this week so there is definite debauchery that awaits us. Last night he took us out for pints and DELICIOUS kebabs. We went to this place that is apparently the best place in LDN for kebabs...they were delicious. Tomorrow is Tim Schmall's 21st so we will probably end up somewhere in SoHo or who knows where. Alright that is all for now, I miss you all terribly and send my love from across the pond!
xoxoxox
~ali

Finally

Greetings from foggy London town! I have finally arrived...well...I arrived a week ago but we still don't have working internet in the flats so I am updating from an internet cafe! London is pretty amazing. We've been here only a week, yet we've done so much already! The first night we just settled into the flats, met with the playwright of the play we're doing here (Radium Girls) and then went out to dinner in Leicester Square. Sooooo cool. I forgot how sweet London is. The second day we just went out and walked around the neighborhood. The West Kensington area is really cool, I've found many adorable cafes and patisseries. My favorite patisserie so far is called "Maison du Moulin" they have amazing food and its so cheap! The next few days to follow were just filled with classes, becoming familiar with the town and going to shows. We went to the Globe on one of the first nights we were here to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which was very cool. We were on the ground floor, some would refer to us as the "groundlings", it was really neat to watch a Shakespearean show the way people would have back in the day! The other days have been filled with a lot of wandering around, becoming familiar with the area and drinking. mmmm screw drivers and gin and tonics that come in a can. delicious. This weekend we went to Camden town which is AMAZING. So many different people, so many clothes, shops, cafes, great place for people watching. SOHO is amazing as well. We went roaming around there the other night, went to a couple bars and I had strawberry beer. delicious. absolutely brilliant. There has been so much going on and I realize this post is kind of scattered but I promise once the internet works I will update more often and it will be a little more...cohesive. Anyway, that is all for now. Thanks for reading!
Much love from Auriol Road!
~ali~

The eve of the eve

It's 5:48 in the PM on this eve of the eve of my departure. I'm very excited for London. I've been there before and it is quite possibly one of my favorite cities, I can't believe I will be there for 3 1/2 months. Unreal. For now I must say goodbye to all the wonderful comforts...and people of home. I know I'm definitely going to miss my family, they are just too great (that includes the dog). I'll miss being with friends as well, although many are coming to LDN it won't be the same without all of them! One thing that I know I will miss is fall in Minnesota, there is nothing like it. BEST season ever. All in all there are a TON of little things that I will miss for sure, but I cannot wait to be a british woman! Or at least a woman among the brits..thats it. Thats all for now. I'll update soon from the UK!

<3
~ali~