london

There has not been a day when I haven't been grateful at some point to sit down and rest. Each day has been physically trying, especially on my legs and feet. There has been much walking on hard (and often uneven) pavement. It's all been worth it, but with the trip at the end, most of us are relieved to have things slow down. Some of the grand plans for further explorations have been curtailed, but with our last day, a couple of students headed off to Oxford while others went to London museums. It has also been mentally taxing, as the students seem to have historical monument fatigue and have little response for the standard tour guide self deprecating humor. I share these sentiments. So, while we wind down, there have only been a few highlights. For all of us the best moment was Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe, maybe the best play most of us ever seen performed. The acting and directing were stellar, full of passion and slapstick. This despite the rain which began the play (then a period of sunshine) and returned after intermission. As groundlings we got soaked, but to little matter. On the same day we visited St. Paul's Cathedral, another example of England's contribution to the world's great buildings. We climbed to the top and saw the immensity of London. Another nice moment for us all was high tea at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens. Students have been busy, however, finishing up all their work. Lingering illnesses have made this hard. (I spent the day in a hospital yesterday with a student with an eye infection. All fine now.) Plus one student's computer crashed and has been using mine (that's one reason for no blog report lately). In these moments it's been a challenge to find the mindspace to capture and summarize the whole experience. I will try that in my next, and probably last, post.