Athena Sobhan

***Hello friends!! First off, I have to apologize for missing two weeks of blogs!! Honestly, I was slacking off on it and kept putting it off before realizing that two weeks had passed and I still hadn’t posted.  But, I’m here now and ready to update you all on these past two weeks!  I will be posting each weeks separately so this doesn’t become one massive post***  

It’s so surreal to think back on this week and realize that I have been in London for officially a month.  So much happened on this week!! On Sunday, I went out with a friend out to Westminster in the evening and walked around the area, admiring Big Ben and the London Eye at night (though we didn’t go on it that night).  The weather was a warm and comforting 57 degrees fahrenheit, which is so odd for me to say, with being used to that kind of whether to be cold.  The streets were pretty empty that evening since everything closes early on Sunday (earlier than they usually close, and everything closes pretty damn early anyway).

After class on Thursday, I decided to take a spontaneous trip to the Tate Modern before our class trip to The Globe.  I went though the exhibits quickly since I was on a time crunch, but I really enjoyed the pieces that I did take time to stop and really look at and admire.  I actually was able to see one of Picasso’s works, which was really cool since he is one of the many artists that we are studying in my art class. It really is a different experience to see the actual painting in person compared to just looking at it on Google Images.  

After my visit at the Tate, I went to join my class for our trip to the Globe theatre.  After learning about Shakespeare for so many years, especially with being here in London, talking about him in my theatre class and British Life and Culture class, it was surreal to be able to go inside the theatre that his plays were performed in and the type of experience that the audience would have (well sort of… since the current Globe Theatre is not the original.  Fun fact: the Globe was rebuilt three times AND is the only building that has a thatched roof in London).  Though the Globe itself was really cool, the coolest part of our trip was the random sighting of LEONARDO DICAPRIO!!! Yes, thats right, we saw Leo subtly checking out the Globe with us (though,everyone knows he was just there to admire the Goddess AKA me ;)).  

Friday was our day trip to Oxford.  As usual, I was passed out on the bus ride there.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, which made the whole day that much better.  We got a walking tour of the city, which was absolutely lovely.  After the tour we got time to grab some lunch and buy souvenirs, which turned out to be an interesting experience for myself and my friend.  There was an elderly man in front of the door of a shop I wanted to go in and i tried to ask him politely to move and he needed up snapping at me, which I ignored and we went in.  The women in the store were watching him, since he apparently stood there everyday for a smoke, but suddenly the man decided to urinate on front of the door, out in broad daylight and walked away as if nothing happened.  One of the women calmly boiled water and cleaned off the door and came back in and we all just burst out laughing from the shock and the ridiculousness of the whole situation.  We collectively agreed that we formed an unbreakable bond that day from the events that unfolded.  After the incident, we ended our day trip with a tour of Christ College, the part of Oxford where Harry Potter was filmed and their Great Hall actually inspired the Great Hall in the films.  Walking though it was pretty magical and that day, I was truly convinced that Oxford University is secretly Hogwarts.  

That was pretty much my fourth week in lovely London, I will be posting week 5 and 6 sometime this weekend and I will be caught up on my posts.  Cheers!!