our revels now are ended.

so now i'm here. 

it's 3pm on sunday, may 10. 

the day i thought would never come. 

i'm going home. 

it's bittersweet, of course, as all these things are. as much as it saddens me to leave london and europe and thus close the book on this small chapter of my life, it overjoys me to be jumping into the arms of the people i love all too soon. i learned a lot this semester. about myself, about acting, about life, languages, literature and the english monarchy. though i may never come back in such a capacity, i know i will return. i have to. i'm just not finished yet.

as of now, i have dipped my toes in the mediterranean, sampled viennese chocolates thrust into my hand, oogled the david, learned military time, gotten a tan on the banks of the arno, studied the rise and fall of many english monarchs, lusted after the crown jewels, eaten a crayfish, stumbled drunkenly down the cobblestones of too many european capitals, been kissed atop the eiffel tower, drank wine with as many meals as i could stand, learned pub lingo to the best of my ability, held a conversation in 4 different languages at once, worn down my black boots, leaned on the edge of the stage at the globe theatre, taken a siesta (or 12), slipped on the rock beaches on the coast of the english channel, and ruled france, taken my vows, and defeated joan of arc.

i'm tired. it's time to go now. i have more to do, more to see, and the traveller within me has been awakened. now i want to see everything. i just can't look at everything hard enough.

time to go. trudge through heathrow one last time. cheerio, london. it's been a great run.

mambo italiano.

after new york, i decided i hadn't gotten enough sun and good food this semester. so maggie and i headed off on our little romantic getaway to italy!

first stop: rome.

first stop in rome: trevi fountain (after pizza, of course).

oh hey. that's important.

yes i will eat gelato everyday and all the time, thank you for asking.

trestevre, where we imbibed nothing but wine, tomatoes, cheese & bread.

technically, you can't take pictures of the sistene chapel. technically.

from the top of st. peter's.

then one day, we ended up in florence.

nightfall on the ponte vecchio.

basking in the boboli gardens.

last day, last stop.. i had a very important job to do.

things i learned in italy: 

i like white wine, a lot. 

i spend far too much money. 

i can eat pasta for 2 meals every day and not get sick of it even a little bit. 

i need to learn italian before i ever try going back. 

if i never see another ryanair plane for the rest of my life, it will be too soon.

life is beautiful.

en why see?

way way back in february, jenny donheiser came to me with a stupid idea. of course i took part in it. then i ended up in new york for 3 days at the end of april. 

but oh was it worth it!

we came for this.

but we stayed for this.

and these.

i especially stayed for this one.

the pancakes were pretty good too.

strike.

home improvement. starring caitlin ackerman.

sometimes, when you're young, you do silly things. like get a tattoo, or an inappropriate piercing. and sometimes, you fly to new york for 72 hours, just to remind people how much you love them, and remind yourself how much you love everything and everyone in your life.

heaven take my soul, and england keep my bones.

so to break up all of that ridiculous international jet-setting (it was getting boring), i did a bit of frolicking around merry olde england.

sharon & amy.. my hosts in manchester.

the lowry gallery.

ascending to dover castle.

white cliffs of dover. no big deal.

it had to happen.

seaside loving.

opening night at the globe. shakespeare's birthday.

we love theatre.

yes, they were beautiful travels all. i'm going to sorely miss the thought process of, "oh, i have saturday off. what historical, beautiful, interesting local shall we hop a train to this week?"

the end of an era again.

recap? recap.

so after barcelona happened, 'measure for measure' happened. we toiled long and hard for 2 whole weeks to put the bitch up. it went.. okay. it got much much better, and it was nice to kind of be in a show. plus i dressed up as a nun every night, which is always hilarious to see.

and then all of a sudden, it was over.

RADA spring 09.

but we didn't mourn long. we peaced out of chenies street and headed to regent's park for a well-deserved picnic in the sunshine.

we even played a full 9-inning game of baseball.

the amazing spidermen

vs. the scrumpy jacks.

so. that ends this strange, eventful history. what we had come to do had now concluded. so what now? oh that's right. 

we play.

whatcha thinking? barcelona. oh.

i suppose the beauty of my weekend in barcelona can only be expressed through pictures with witty (or decidedly non, as the case may be) captions about our adventures.

"isn't abroad awful?"

-john betjeman

the church near the sea where we attended easter mass. in catalan. us, and a bunch of old spanish women. catholic alliance 09.

friday night, following tapas and sangria, we drank ourselves ridiculous on the beach.

saturday was beautiful, despite the fateful weather predictions.

maggie, tommy & i enjoyed a walk along the boardwalk.

isn't it the best feeling when, in another country, you hear the music perfectly suitable for your surroundings? in paris, we had an accordion. in barcelona, we had this man.

barcelona loves street art.

el mercat de la boqueria. so epic.

i spared you all the pictures of the giant eel, and the tongues for sale.

on la rambla, i got a bit of a surprise. 

from all the way in nyc, a happy 11-monthaversary greeting via ms. cummings.

la rambla. wanna buy a chipmunk?

la segrada familila. 1909-2026. epic drip-church.

view from the gaudí park.

our easter feast!

on sunday we rented bikes for our picnic/general amusement.

proof that i can actually still ride one.

the weekend echos of shouts for more sangria, broken spanglish, and strains of the stephen sondheim ballad with the appropriate title.

i love españa. siempre.

when i was home, i was in a better place.

my weeks are wonderful and filled with shakespeare.

my weekends are wonderful and filled with travel.

then i combined them.

maggie, kevin, tommy, nathaniel, val & i all set out for stratford-upon-avon. shakespeare's home, and our mecca. nerdalert. it was.. awesome. a "shakespearience," if you will. there were statues and tributes, and shakespeare quotes EVERYWHERE. and anyone who knows me knows how much i love a good shakespeare quote. we spent the day on saturday navigating the train system, gift-shopping, rowing down the river avon, and exploring the countryside. we took in the winter's tale (my absolute favorite shakespeare play) that evening, to mixed reviews by the boys. i was enthralled.. it was beautiful and did total justice to the story that i adore.

sunday morning we did more exploring, got to see the grave, had some ice cream and some delicious treats at shops cleverly named after shakespearean characters. establishments such as "othello's pub," "iago's jewlers," "mistress quickly's bar and restaurant" lined the little cobblestone streets. i liked it because i got all the references and inside jokes. 

again i say: nerdalert.

i made it.

prince hal.. and his biggest fans.

a sad tale's best for winter.

somehow, i just don't think this is a good idea.

foolery.

holy trinity church. shakespeare's final resting place.

springtime in stratford.

i like this place. 

and willingly would waste my time in it.

- as you like it