We landed in London pretty early on Wednesday, May 28th, and headed straight for our lodgings. The hostel is actually much nicer than I expected and the staff is very friendly and helpful. The next morning, we took a bus tour around the city, driving by nearly all of the tourist and historical hotspots. We even hopped out for a bit to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. That evening we watched a great play called Jeeves and Wooster. It's very much a physical comedy and very much British. Well played, and with some interesting commentary on the Edwardian upper-class and theatre itself.
Skip forward a bit to last night... Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Dvorak Symphony No. 9 with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Royal Festival Hall. What an amazing orchestra! There's so much I could say. The orchestral sound was so warm and inviting; I just wanted to roll around in it all night like a big, squishy comforter. I think our seats might have been a part of that: our group was situated in the choir, behind the orchestra with a great view of the conductor. Since most of the instruments were projecting away from our seats, the sound came back to us after bouncing off other parts of the hall with time to blend into a beautiful, lush wave. It was by far the best versions of both pieces that I've heard.
Today I went to mass at a local cathedral and went exploring all the normal touristy things in the city like The Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc. I've taken so many pictures and have yet to sort through them all. I'll post them in the near future, and I promise to be a better blogger. Well I'll try... This place is just so much fun! Cheers! RK
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