Ava’s (A)musings
Ava Stoller moved to Colorado in 2007, with her military family, and calls Falcon her hometown. She is a senior at CU Boulder; majoring in communication and leadership studies. Ava enjoys reading, music and binge watching TV shows and movies — of course, never in procrastination of school work! Ava is taking over for her dad, Mark, for the summer.
London’s calling
By Ava Stoller
Greetings from London! I am studying abroad for a summer semester to study the works of one of the greatest playwrights, William Shakespeare, and immerse myself in the London he knew.
The syllabus requires us to read and discuss four specific plays and then we get to go to the theater to see the performance of each. We watched two at the Globe Theater (which is the third rendition of the theater in London where Shakespeare’s plays were first performed), one in the West End and then one play in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.
If you’re going to see a play at the Globe Theater, be certain to purchase a ticket for a seat in the theater. Otherwise, you stand on the ground floor of the theater in front of the stage for the entire three-hour performance!
We saw “Player Kings,” an adaptation of Henry IV part one and two with Sir Ian McKellan (“Lord of the Rings,” “X-Men,” “DaVinci Code”); a creative take on “Taming of the Shrew” in the Globe Theater, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in Stratford-upon-Avon; last, we are back in The Globe to see “Richard III” (sitting this time).
The motto for our trip was, “I don’t know when I’ll be back in London, so let’s see it all!” We took this to heart and went almost nonstop for two weeks straight to where my feet felt like they were going to fall off each night.
The motto for our trip was, “I don’t know when I’ll be back in London, so let’s see it all!” We took this to heart and went almost nonstop for two weeks straight to where my feet felt like they were going to fall off each night.
Highlight reel:
Trafalgar Square: my favorite spot in all of London. It backs up to the National Gallery, looks out toward Big Ben, has huge lion statues and fountains — what more could you want?
The Tower: So much history has passed through those walls, including beheadings, royal prisoners, a menagerie of animals and the White Tower in the middle of it. It was one of the most interesting places I have seen so far, and it only took four hours to go through it.
Anne Hathaway’s (Shakespeare’s wife) Cottage in Stratford-upon-Avon: Gorgeous garden with flowers in full bloom. The cottage is kept how it would have looked in Shakespeare’s time, including a thatched roof, stone floors and even some of the original furniture.
Victoria and Albert Museum: the most organized museum I have ever seen. They have everything, including a column that was so tall they had to break it in half because the 100-foot ceilings weren’t tall enough. I also had the privilege to see three palaces and one castle in and around London. There is a difference between them, mainly that castles are fortified buildings designed to protect and palaces are meant to be a lavish show of wealth. My favorite was Hampton Court Palace because it was evident how three different monarchs renovated to match the trends of their time. It was also the most expansive and immersive of all I have seen.
I was not nervous for my three weeks in London, which for me is quite the accomplishment. I was more anxious for the trip over, as I have never flown overseas by myself and didn’t know how to get to my flat from the airport. However, my dad fixed the problem by hiring a driver to pick me up from the airport (in a Mercedes) and take me to the place I would be living. Despite a nine-hour flight in economy, all travel went smoothly.
I had so much fun in London! The proximity to everything was so nice — food from all over the world, theater performances, and historical palaces all via a short ride on a variety of public transportation.
