Snow Day! And a trip to London

This past Sunday the snow began to dust the rooftops of Oxford. I returned from Durham just in time to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play in the Super Bowl. When I first arrived in the Junior Common Room (JCR) at Regent's Park there were about 5-6 English students watching the game. I was a bit disappointed at the turn out, but glad for the company none the less. I stayed up until 4:30 am to watch my team win! Hurrah!


The snow continued to fall throughout the night and i woke up the next day to a winter wonderland! The snow had a truly magical effect on Oxford and somehow augmented the already fantasmical nature of the place.

After going to a lecture I headed into London for a Yale reception that was held at 2 Temple Place (A gorgeous late 19th century home built by a very wealthy American Family- it looked like the first class cabin of the Titanic with Tiffany stain glass and dark panelled wooden rooms). The event was marvelous and very fancy. They wined and dined us to say the least and I once again came to appreciate what Yale has to offer! While at the party I met up with some Yale students who are taking the Yale-In-London semester abroad. I stayed at their apartment that evening in Covent Garden (which was right next to the Lion King Theater in the West End). We ended up baking chocolate chip cookies and watching a chick-flick.

The next day I woke up and headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum which was huge like all the museums I have encountered in London. The collections were spectacular! I particularly enjoyed "the history of fashion" exhibit. I also went to Harrods and did a bit of shopping. It was not crowded because the snow kept most of the tourists at bay. Apparently it was the worst snow storm to hit London in the past 20 years. It was actually quite precious that they got so excited about 6 inches of snow. As I was passing Marble Arch and speakers corner I saw all these school boys having snowball fights and families making snowmen. It was straight out of "its a wonderful life".

All of these jewels are real diamonds and precious stones at the Victoria and Albert Museum

That evening I met up with my friends from Oxford to go see Phantom of the Opera. We were so lucky because my friend Sarah knows someone who works behind the scenes of the show and he gave us a backstage tour of the theater! I got to walk on stage amongst the elaborate set, see the chandelier, see the Phantom's boat and organ. We also got to go into the depths of the theater and see where the mist comes from and where all the trap doors are. Then we headed up to the fly space of the theater where all the 100 year old pulleys are that operate the curtains etc. Sarah's friend was also nice enough to have our programs signed by all of the cast. The show itself was amazing! It was one of the most heart wrenching performances of Phantom I have ever seen! The acting was at a level that was far beyond local theaters and in my opinion better than Broadway!


After the show we went for a drink at a local pub and we met up with Ali's friends who are currently the leads in the musical Grease (they play Danny and Sandy). They invited us to come see their show next week and offered to get us discounted "friends-of-the-theater" tickets! So I am going to head over next wed or Thursday with some Oxford friends in celebration of my 21st birthday!