The Twentieth and Twenty-First Days: Movie Quotes and Song Lyrics, Brunch, Chris's Camera Catch-Up, Stockholm

I'm combining two days into one post. Know why? Because I didn't do much.
Know why I didn't do much? Because I've been getting a cold, and Chris said I need to stop running around a rainy city and take it easy for a few days. Fair.

I'm also doing a Camera Catch-Up from my phone and Chris's Camera.

And then I'll post about Chris's work trip to Stockholm. Sound good? Good.

Wednesday, February 26th

I literally did not leave the flat on this day. I wasn't feeling awesome, so I took the opportunity to rest, like Chris said. I wrote the last blog post, you're welcome.  I FaceTime'd with my mom. I chatted with some friends on FaceBook. And I spent a lot of time finding links to post right now, so you'd better appreciate them. Here they come.

When I walk around London, I'll see a street sign or landmark, and a song or movie will automatically pop into my head.

Prime example. I see this:

and I start singing this:

Pretty obvious one, right? Well there are more.

I see this:

The Royal Albert Hall

And I start singing this. "Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall."

I see this:

The British Museum

And I sing this. "I viewed the morning with alarm, the British Museum had lost its charm."

When I see this:

I sing this. "From Kensington to Billingsgate, one hears the restless cries!"

I see this:

Buckingham Palace

I think this. "That's Buckingham Palace. You plan on livin' there, you're going to have to marry the queen."

This is happening to me all day, every day. I'll post one more, but we'll make a game of it, eh?
When I see this:

I think of a quote from this movie. Whoever knows the quote gets... I don't know, a high five.
I'll probably post more of these, because let's face it, I've got about a million more.

Thursday, February 27

This morning, I went to a fantastic brunch at Raoul's in Notting Hill with some ladies from my ward. I had an awesome Eggs Benedict. SO awesome.

I stole a child because Amy had an extra. She doesn't need two.

That hilarious four-year old in front? She hijacked my phone and took this series of portraits. (Among many others)

But let's talk about Chris, because he spent yesterday and today in Stockholm, Sweden! I didn't go with because I went to Norway, and let's face it, it was pricey.

But look! Look how pretty this place is.

"Chris? What the heck is this bundley badger?" "I don't know, but it has urine on it..."
"I'm not putting this on the blog." "YES, that's why I took the picture" "Gross."

Well, it's just lookin' real nice in Stockholm, I must say.

Camera Catch-Up:

From that kid's tour of the Science Museum that we sneaked into. 

Cool art at the Science Museum

Bayswater Station 

Arancina, an Italian Restaurant in Notting Hill we went to.  

Remember that ice cream I was raving about on facebook? I bought some.

Look at that caramel core. Thank you, Ben & Jerry. You're my best friends.

Cheers!

Kami & Chris, the Pseudo-Londoners

The Nineteenth Day: British Museum, Matilda

Tuesday, February 25:

GUYS. I discovered the best thing. I call it "Day of Tickets for West End Shows." This is the best thing to happen to me. You don't understand. Let me explain.

This morning, I went to Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden at 9:00am, and stood in line with 6 other people for about an hour. Turns out, the theatre holds 16 tickets each performance, and you can buy them the day of for CRAZY cheap. I'm talking £5 a ticket, guys. FIVE POUND. This is like... unheard of. That's paying $8.35 for a Broadway Show. Ridiculous, right?

So, I'm standing in line, but I'm a bit worried. The rules on their website are as follows:

£5 TICKETS FOR 16-25 YEAR OLDS

16 tickets are reserved for every performance. Available on the day of performance in person from 10am at the Cambridge Theatre Box Office. This offer is for individuals aged 16 to 25 who must make the booking themselves. Maximum of 1 ticket per person and proof of age ID will be required. Tickets will be allocated entirely at the discretion of the Box Office.

I'm worried because A) Chris is over 25. B) He's working and not at the theatre 'in person.' But where they have 16 tickets, and only 6 other people in line, I feel like they'll probably give me two.

It's 10:00am, they open the doors. I step up to the box office window, and say "two tickets, please?" "I'm sorry," he says "It's one-per-person."

Dang. "Okay, just give me a second."

I run outside, and turn the corner to the closest cafe, I grab the first guy I see outside. "Excuse me? I'm wondering if I can ask a really strange favor. I'm trying to get 'day of' tickets for Matilda for my husband and I, but he's not here. It's only one-per-person. Would you mind walking in with me so I can buy two of them? Is that weird? If it's weird, I understand, but I was just wondering..."

"Okay, sure. So, what do I have to do? Just stand by you?"

"Um... yup."

"Yeah, okay."

"Okay, great! Thank you. Sorry to bother you. I'm Kami, by the way."

"I'm Patrick."

We walk inside the theatre. "Okay, so... two tickets then?" And BAM! Just like that, I get both Chris and I tickets to the show for £10. That's less than we spent on one hamburger in Norway. Amazing.

I thank Patrick, and we head our separate ways.  

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I walk to the nearby British Museum. THIS PLACE, YOU GUYS! It's insane. I thought the Victoria and Albert was overwhelming. I feel like I could spend months at the British Museum, and still not see everything. The British Museum was opened in 1753 and the permanent collection holds over 8 million works. Here are a select few pieces from the very, very, VERY minuscule portion of the museum I ventured into. 

Colossal Bust of Ramesses II
Weighing 7.25 tons, this is one of the largest pieces of Egyptian Sculpture at the museum. 
"The sculptor has used a slight variation of normal conventions to relate his work to the viewer, angling the eyes down slightly, so that the statue relates more to those looking at it."

The Rosetta Stone
The most visited object in the British Museum,  so important because it was the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Marble Statue of a Naked Aphrodite Crouching at her Bath
Showing the Aphrodite naked was "an important innovation in classical sculpture, and subsequent Hellenistic sculptors created several new types of nude Aphrodite figures. This trend perhaps reflected both the rising social status of women and changes in male attitudes towards women: previously only male statues had been naked."

Colossal Statues of Maussollos and his Wife, from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos
The best preserved of the colossal dynastic figures from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  

Hellenistic Crafts
"Crafts flourished in the Hellenistic age, as the expansion of the Greek world opened new markets to artisans. Alexandria became renowned as a center of the production of luxury goods such as fine glass, metal work, and sculpture."

Fragment of Horse from Halikarnassos

Charles Newton, the first excavator of the Mausoleum in 1865, describes the sensation caused among the people of Bodrum by the finding of the hind-quarters of one of the horses: 

'After being duly hauled out, he was placed on a sledge and dragged to the shore by 80 Turkish workmen. On the walls and house-tops as we went along sat the veiled ladies of Bodrum. They had never seen anything so big before, and the sight overcame the reserve imposed upon them by Turkish etiquette. The ladies of Troy gazing at the wooden horse as he entered the breach, could not have been more astonished.'

6th Century Greek Black-Figured Amphora Wine Jar
Featuring a competitor in a chariot race. Equestrian sports were one of the few Olympic events that women and girls could compete in. Interestingly, in a chariot race, the award was given to the horse owner, not the rider. 

Nereid Monument
Named for the life-size statues of female sea-nymphs in wind-blown drapery. Eleven of these gorgeous figures survive.

From the East Pediment of the Parthenon - Dionysus (reclining male figure)
God of Wine and Theatre, and love-child of Zeus and mortal woman Semele. Dionysus was often fleeing from Zeus's wife, Hera, who saw him as a reminder of Zeus' infidelity and sought to have him killed. As a consequence, Dionysus was frequently uprooted. Each new place he traveled, he'd show the people how to grow grapes and make wine. Eventually, worship of Dionysus had spread so far and wide that the gods of Mount Olympus had to accept him - even Hera.

Marble metope from the Parthenon: Centaur and Lapith
"Here a young Lapith holds a Centaur from behind with one hand, while preparing to deliver a blow with the other. The composition is perfectly balanced, with the protagonists pulling in opposite directions, around a central space filled by the cascading folds of the Lapith's cloak."

From the East Pediment of the Parthenon: Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite
"They are remarkable for their naturalistic rendering of anatomy
blended with a harmonious representation of complex draperies."

Marble Statues in the King's Library
This room is the most fantastic place in the world. I walked in and audibly gasped. I literally thought "I could exist in here forever, and be completely happy." It's just gorgeous. Everywhere you look, you'll find books and artifacts. Heaven.

King's Library Buddha Seeing a swastika on anything is always somewhat jarring, though I know it was an ancient religious symbol, far before the Nazi's used it. The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit - "su" (meaning "good" or "auspicious") combined with "asti" (meaning "it is"), along with the diminutive suffix "ka." The swastika literally means "it is good." Sad how humans can take something beautiful and turn it into a symbol of hate.

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Chris and I headed to see Matilda, the show started at 7pm. It was AMAZING. The kids in that cast are so talented. The photos we took are on Chris's camera, so I'll include those later. In the meanwhile, check out these videos!

This was my favourite song in the show. I've been singing it all day.
(The little girl on the left is the Matilda we saw. So cute.)

And another good one, Revolting Children:

Unfortunately, I can't find good video of Chris's favourite, but here's a pretty good one with the lyrics.
Notice the clever bit with the alphabet.

Cheers!
Kami & Chris, the Pseudo-Londoners