August 4

Day 9 - Putney Bridge to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
The Final Day of the Shakespeare's Way Walk

We were determined to finish the Walk today!  Which is why I have no pictures for the first three miles - it was raining.  We had to have at least one day of dreary English weather, I guess.

There wasn't really anything to photograph though...lots of construction going on in this area of London.

"...bear slightly right passing bronze statue of man, woman, and child by John Ravera..."

The Battersea Bridge, which we crossed and..."then bear left to go down steps between bronze sculpture of two impressive flying geese..."  Really?  Someone wasted time sculpting geese?

"Good views ahead of the elegantly designed and ornamented Albert Bridge..."  Except it is under construction right now and the directions in the book are useless.

With a little help from a local, we were able to get by the construction and back onto the path ..."before veering left and entering Battersea Park..."

"Pass the impressive and entirely unexpected London Peace Pagoda on right.  It is over 100 feet high and has gilded statues on Buddha in niches on its four sides."

A pleasant view of Battersea Park beside the Pagoda.

"...with Chelsea Bridge just ahead, bear right..."

Before the next bridge we passed the Battersea Dogs' and Cat's Home - founded in 1860 as 'a temporary home for lost and starving dogs'.  They have been taking cats since 1882.

"...keep along pavement beside A202 towards Vauxhall Bridge..."

We are getting close to the good stuff - see the London Eye in the distance?

The Lambeth Bridge, with Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament just behind.

My best pic of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament - just past the bridge.

Big Ben - we heard the Westminster Chimes when the clock rang at 4pm.  I tried to tell Karen so she could record it, but she was too distracted by free wi-fi at the Zen Cafe.  :)

St. Thomas's Hospital - founded in the early 12th century, this famous hospital moved from Southwark in 1856 and it was soon after this that Florence Nightingale established her School of Nursing here.

Big Ben and Westminster Bridge - a lovely cityscape.

The London Eye!  I know I am terrified of heights, but I told Karen if the price wasn't bad that I would ride it.  I'm here, right?  I shouldn't miss out on these things, right?  No, it was 18 pounds for a single rider!  So...I skipped this one.  Besides, this area was full of tourists and way too crowded.

The statue of Laurence Olivier in front of the National Theatre.

Another skyline - see St. Paul's Cathedral on the left?  We are approaching Blackfriars Bridge.

Just past the bridge (after another construction detour...), a better view of St. Paul's.

"Now go beneath the dramatic Millennium Bridge, a footbridge leading across the Thames..."

"Just beyond...turn right at the entrance to Shakespeare's Globe, thus completing our 146-mile journey from Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon."  Here is the lobby of the Globe, near the box office.

WE MADE IT!  WE FINISHED THE WALK!

I purchased a few (ahem) items at the Gift Shop, including this rather appropriate tote bag.

Karen and I decided to toast our victory at the Swan Bar in the Theatre...with a shot of tequila.

And it was good.

I meant to take a pic of this pirate ship when we first visited the Globe but didn't because we were in a hurry.  This is a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship that is used for parties, photo shoots, etc.  It was just outside a hotel restaurant.

We crossed London Bridge in search of Monument Station to take us back to King's Cross.  Here is a better picture of The Monument - I had to stop in the middle of traffic to get it!  :)

And, alas!!!  The book of directions did not fare so well.  It has been folded, rolled up, sweat into, rained on, and used as a weapon for there are many dead bugs within the weary pages.  Tonight it can be put to rest.  It completed its mission - it got us to London from Stratford.

Tonight we plan to go out to dinner and celebrate the end of the Walk.  Tomorrow we plan to go a City-SightSeeing bus tour and visit Chinatown...and perhaps Picadilly Circus...among other things!

Final Totals:

120 miles (of the 146) = 82%
253,652 steps taken
10,845 calories burned
1 bruised ankle
1 squished toe
2 bruised toes
4 blisters
9 callouses
37.5 bottles of water
Not having to break out the Charmin...priceless

August 3

Cambridge/ travel back to London

After checking out of St. Cat's, we set up at Starbucks to get some coffee and wi-fi.  Sure they can split the atom at Cambridge University but you can't get wi-fi in your dorm room.  Really?

I took a quick pic of my Birkenstocks that I bought yesterday...for not very much money.  You can get them really cheap over here!  :)

After a pleasant train ride back to London, we arrived at the Jesmond Dene to find that our room - now Room 9 (on the top floor) - was not ready, so we walked around to McGlynn's Pub to have a drink.  But the kitchen was closed.  So...

We walked around to The Boot Inn, which was Charles Dickens' favorite pub!  We sat in his booth!  We had more Pimm's!  We had to take naps!

After our spacious dorm at St. Cat's, our tiny room at the Jesmond Dene will take some getting used to.  A lot of getting used to.  At least we are close to the bathroom this time.  :)

We decided to walk down to O'Neill's for dinner and passed the glorious St. Pancras International Train Station...which also includes a hotel!  The building is beautiful, and here it is!

After a Creamy Mushroom Melt, Guiness Battered Fish 'N' Chips, and a bottle of white, we are ready to call it a day.  Back to the Jesmond Dene to catch up the blog and call our husbands, whom we miss dearly!

August 2

Cambridge

A continuation of the shopping...Karen in a large hat at a boutique called Sahara.  Indeed.

Me...in a much smaller hat...at the Cambridge Market.

Inside the mall called the Grand Arcade, I found a store called Schuh.  And what do they sell...shoes!

At Jane Norman's...we decided against this particular sweater...but did buy jeans here!

OMG!  We found authentic fresh Mexican food!  HALLELUJAH!!  We had frozen margaritas, nachos...

...and a steak quesadilla...and more frozen margaritas.  It was heavenly!

Uh oh!  A chocolate store?  Liza, guess who has a treat coming???

The entrance to the Grand Arcade, across from the Post Office.

A popular store...where Karen bought a couple of cute blouses.

Unfortunately, Jane Norman is going out of business!  Sad face.

And the Cambridge Market...lots of vendors - jewelry, purses, handmade soap, fudge, food vendors, fresh fruit, Cambridge clothing, hats of all types...like a huge flea market that is open every day!

Our final Shakespeare play of this year's Festival was Much Ado About Nothing - one of my favorites!  Beatrice was played by the same actress who played Adriana in The Comedy of Errors, and Verges was played by our favorite Dromio!  She is truly a gifted comedic actress!  Lots of comedy and liberties taken with this one...  I really enjoyed it - this would be my first choice if I were to direct a work of Shakespeare.  Aaahhhhh...gravity.

August 1

Cambridge

This morning we will go punting.  Which means riding in a small, flat boat up the River Cam.  It will look like this one.

From our boat, we got a magnificent view of King's College and the Chapel, which took over 100 years to complete.

These are the student accommodations of King's College - most of the student accommodations are along the river.  It makes for easier pranking of the first year students...

Here is our punt master, Peter.  He gave us all kinds of interesting history of the colleges.

Oh, a gaggle of geese on the tour as well!

I don't remember if this is Clare College or Trinity Hall...

This is the Wren Library of Trinity College, where some valuable manuscripts are held...like the handwritten first copy of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, the only sample of John Milton's handwriting, and some of Shakespeare's first plays.  There are no books on the first floor, as a precaution.  The River Cam wasn't always so predictable, so the books were placed on the second floor in case the river were to flood.

Trinity College, founded by Henry VIII - the most wealthy and largest college of Cambridge University.

This is the Bridge of Sighs, which connects the student accommodations to the academic buildings, where examinations would take place.  Students would "sigh" as they crossed it.  It is designed after a Bridge of Sighs from a prison that would take death row inmates to their deaths.

The ivy grows up the side of the student accommodations of St. John's College.

The Mathematical Bridge - it was originally constructed using only principles of mathematics instead of nuts and bolts.  Until...some students decided to take it apart as a prank...and were unable to reconstruct it.  :)

The tower of Great St. Mary's Church in the middle of Cambridge - it would be impossible to photograph all of the churches and colleges there are...they all look alike and would be difficult to tell apart!  This church, however, is an important landmark...as it directs us to the Cambridge Market!

We did A LOT of shopping today!  We found some shirts, sweaters, pants, shoes, and accessories!  We may have to ship some things home or donate some things before we leave London for Scotland - our suitcases will never close!  :)

Our Shakespeare Festival experience continues with MacBeth (that Scottish play) at Trinity College Gardens.  See how the set is covered with a pagan ritualistic symbol?  Spooky!  During the second half, the sky changed and the clouds made a huge cross just above the break in the trees - I looked at Karen and said, "Oh no.  Jesus doesn't like the play."  

The actor who played MacBeth was also in The Comedy of Errors - I remembered him as the doctor with the magic ball.  He kept looking at the front row of the audience and saying "don't look at my ball!"  Also, Lady MacBeth was fantastic!  She really committed to the crazy, sleep-walking scene before her suicide.  Lots of blood too - a goodly play!

July 31

Cambridge

I am attempting "a trail of breadcrumbs...as it were" so we can find our way back to our dorm room.  We have to go up these stairs, through a locked door, up to the second floor, through a door marked "2", to our door, which is Suite 2...

We have to go around this stretch of building to get the previously mentioned stairs...or through a short hallway to the left...

We pass this small garden...of which Karen pinches a lavender bloom every time we pass...

Here is where we turn left to enter the area by the small garden...see the door directly across the green?  That is the dining hall where we enjoy chocolate croissants for breakfast!

The front gate and entrance to St. Cat's.

A view of St. Cat's College from the street.

The door to the Porter's Lodge, where we met the Porter, who showed us to our awesome room.  Ok, I think I can find it now.  :)

Today we decided to hop on the City-SightSeeing Bus to get an overview of the sights in Cambridge.  A great idea - then we knew exactly where we wanted to go explore!  This statue marks a World War I soldier returning from war, looking over his shoulder at the Cambridge Train Station and marking his entrance back into Cambridge.  He was the landmark we looked for when we walked back to the train station after our days in Cambridge.

We saw so many interesting sites on the bus tour, including many of the colleges that make up Cambridge University (there are 31).  We also saw the Microsoft Research facility, an orchard that had been in use for over 100 years, an award-winning veterinary hospital, and the Cambridge American Cemetery, which is owned by the American government.  England gave America this land to bury the soldiers who had died here in service during World War II, among them being the famous Glen Miller, the bandleader.

With our bus tour, we bought a punting tour as well.  We walked back through Cambridge...although it being Sunday, most of the shops were closed.  So...we went to a small grocery and picked up some snacks before heading back to our dorm room.  It was a lovely, unstructured day!

July 30

London/ travel to Cambridge

Today was the RADA test!!!  Aaaahhhhh!  Karen and I were up early, running lines at breakfast, and we left early to get to RADA to practice before the exam.  We had an hour to run lines before we were called.  Lucky for us, our sight-reading scene was from As You Like It...which we had just seen in Oxford!  We knew just what to do and we made the judge laugh!  :)  Karen said one of her lines twice but that was her only flub; I rearranged a couple of my lines!  I thought we did pretty well.

After the test, we had a lovely train ride to Cambridge.  It was only an hour, and then we took a taxi to Girten College Gardens to see a matinee of The Comedy of Errors.  It was really funny and easy to follow - very slapstick and over-the-top!  One of the actors was Daniel Wohlberg's British twin - why does everyone have British twins??

All of the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival plays are performed outdoors in a college garden or park.  This is the set for The Comedy of Errors.

After the play, we walked into Cambridge (since we are used to walking...) but stopped for food at Sir Isaac Newton's Pub.  Finally!  We found some nachos!  And we had Pimm's and fish 'n' chips, too.

We continued our journey into Cambridge and found St. Catherine's college...but no porter.  We had to go to our evening play with our backpacks!  Unfortunately for us, the Shakespeare Festival sites are not well signed, and we were ten minutes late for The Winter's Tale because we couldn't find it!  Apparently, Leontes is jealous of his wife, Hermione, who he thinks is unfaithful but she's not and he gives away her daughter and her son dies and she dies but not really and the daughter grows up with a shepherd and returns later to Leontes who has realized that Hermione WAS faithful and she comes back to life from a statue.  Really weird.  I guess you have to read it.  IDK.

Here is our spectacular dorm room at St. Cat's.  The porter told us it was the best room on the whole campus.  Sweet!  We had two huge windows and a monster view!  It really spoiled us :)

This is the sitting area by the window where we had tea and hot chocolate every evening.

Here's Karen...trying to find the "plugger-inner" to charge the IPAD and the IPHONE.

It's going to be a trick to find our way out of the dorm...and back in to the room!  It was a bit of a maze to get here!  :)