A Blur of Days

I've been recovering from all my journeys these last few days, but I've made sure to get out of the dorm every day for something.

I got a particularly useless haircut near Kings Cross, but I picked up a very cool souvenir for my nephew:

I also visited Westminster Abbey. You can't take photos inside, but I was surprised to learn that Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Stephen Hawking are all there in the church. 

I was looking forward to seeing the Poets' Corner, but when I got there, I was overwhelmed. I sat in the chairs and used up all my tissues. If you've ever missed a loved one's funeral, but then visited their grave, you'll know the feeling I got here. And it wasn't just one loved one, it was many of my most beloved authors and poets whose work has been a huge part of my life any my career. Oscar Wilde, who was condemned by the church for his sexual preferences, even has a stained-glass window in his honor here now, as the church and England has come to recognize his genius and his worth as a human. I didn't stay long after that, because grief, even of the long-dead, is draining.

I had a ticket to go see A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I'd gotten the ticket because I just wanted to see Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) up close. Here she is in a box!

The play began with her in a box, staring at the audience. She was Titania, queen of the fairies. There were also these dancers throughout (they were the fairies).

It was a great play, and I've never laughed so hard in a Shakespeare play. The interacted with the audience, used the whole space, and had the standing audience be part of this dance and ball toss at the end. So much fun! This was one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip!