Change of Plans

I promised to add more details about my trip to Italy, but I fear I won't be able to get it all down, and it really seems like a daunting task right now, both for me to type and for you to read, so I suppose I'll just have to tell you all the stories in person. If you do want to read some now, Maike's done a good job in her blog: http://mtillen.blogspot.com. She's also linked a bunch of pictures for you, which I think I will try to start doing. Maybe that will spice things up a bit.

In other news, Andrew and I hung out all day Tuesday. My late afternoon class was cancelled, so we went to the Cutty Sark, a tea clipper of old, and the National Maritime Museum, which was really rockin'. I LOVE ships, but I don't have a lot of nautical knowledge, so the museum was really helpful. It was also very inspiring, especially the parts about exploration. I learned a lot about British history that intrigued me. For example, their slave trade was ended almost completely through activism and political protest. Then, when they abolished slavery, the government took such a strong stance that people caught perpetuating the trade would be jailed, while their slaves were set free. Also, I learned about the two opium wars between Britain and China, which I had never heard of. And, there's a HUGE cruise ship called the Grand Princess that made for an interesting exhibition. Even after spending three hours in the museum, we had only covered half of it, so we'll have to return at a later date.

This weekend we've decided to stay in London to rest, and I'm so very glad. I have a great book to read, I have yet to go to the British Museum, and I have free tickets to see a production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child tomorrow night at the National Theatre. Maike and I are still on a quest for shoes too.