Arts
Abroad – London, 4/26/2012 blog
Here
in London on “Day Five” we have taken one of the most productive ventures we
could have possibly taken. Meaning, the entire day seemed to teem with such a
vast wealth of knowledge that I could scarcely take it all in. We met up with
the tour guide, Barry, and started with a bus tour early in the morning. As the
day progressed we took a tour of Oxford and several sites in the surrounding
area. The architecture of Christ Church Cathedral was absolutely beautiful. The
ornamentation and detail in the carvings, walls, and sculptures was rather
unbelievable. I tend to favor gothic architecture more than some of the other
movements like Baroque or Rococo. Perhaps it may just be so for the fact that
it is more recognizable. I never have to guess at Gothic architecture as I do
Federalist architecture. The architecture seems to vary dramatically within a
very short amount of space. It’s amazing how just a look across the urban
landscape from a high point of view, you could easily see all periods along the
horizon line.
We then travelled to
Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of the late, great Shakespeare. We visited his
home (a replica, of course) and gathered some great information on him. I
didn’t realize how valuable a profession glove-making was at that time. I
suppose today’s ready availability of such articles of clothing has nearly made
them superfluous. That, and there is the fact that the work of that day was
much more strenuous on one’s hands than most of the work of today. We visited
Shakespeare’s garden where we were treated to a few performances of Shakespeare’s
works. Afterward, they asked me to recite one of my Dogberry monologues from Much Ado about Nothing. This was fun to
bring back such a memorable character, but I had forgotten most of the lines
unfortunately. The countryside was breathtaking and a nice break from the urban
streets of London. The rolling fields with the traditional Shakespearean
households made of oak and other local materials were truly a sight to behold.
Afterward, we visited Warwick Castle. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the
whole thing. The castle almost seemed to lose some of its majesty from being
changed into more of an amusement park attraction – At first I wasn’t even sure
if it was a real castle. I can understand they are targeting a younger juvenile
audience, but the respect of the castle seems to be detracted from this
renovation. The view from the towers of the castle was very broad and really
gave a sense of what archers would have to face in battle. The cross-shaped
windows seemed to provide the perfect limited opening for such battles. The
narrow spiral staircases were encroaching and would certainly not bode well for
those in bulky armor trying to get up in a hurry. The roaming peacock was an
interesting attraction for us all.
It was a great experience that I
will not forget about anytime soon. It was certainly one of the most visually
stimulating days of the trip.
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