valerialondon

[valerialondon]

journal entry #14 — 1.17.2023

It’s only been a few days since I arrived back home in Los Angeles, but I already miss waking up in a new city and exploring different things everyday. The days on our trip felt very long and exhausting yet it feels like we were there for a short amount of time. I think there’s still lots more to explore so I’m hopeful I’ll return someday and continue discovering new places in England.

Since returning, I’ve started to see things with a new perspective. Something as simple as pricing here versus in the UK has made a huge impression on me. I hadn’t realized how differently things are throughout the world until I discussed those kinds of minor things with my family. Learning these sorts of things has left me feeling enriched and eager to travel to new places.

I appreciate that we weren’t solely confined to the city of London during our trip and explored far off places like Stonehenge. I wish we could have spent more days dedicated to sticking around an entire place like that rather than just visiting for one to two hours.

[valerialondon]

journal entry #13 — 1.16.2023

It was a privilege to meet today’s guest speakers and hear what they had to say about their experience in the entertainment industry. I enjoyed our conversation and felt they had a lot of wisdom and insight into their respective departments.

I felt really connected to Paul Cripp’s story which gave me a newfound appreciation for production design. I especially loved hearing about his process when designing a set. The way he described “layering” really demonstrated his dedication to bringing characters to life. The entire conversation got me thinking about my upcoming thesis and reminded me of all the small details I should make sure to take notice of.

Though I wish we had more opportunities to meet working professionals in London, it was nice to get a taste of the business as we wrapped up our trip.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #12 — 1.15.2023

Every day so far has been packed with lots of fun and enjoyable activities, but today’s free day has been my favorite. It was nice to sleep in and take things at our own pace after a week of nonstop moving.

A few of us had breakfast together at a nearby cafe called Drury which has been the best food I’ve had during my stay here. Unfortunately, I felt the food selections in London have been pretty underwhelming so I was happy to find a place I genuinely enjoyed.

Afterwards, we explored Greenwich which had a lovely park and another nice market. This one was much different than the rest because it had unique vendors that didn’t sell the typical overrated tourist souvenirs. Although Greenwich Market is now predominantly an arts and crafts market it was historically a food market that was established on its present site in 1831.

We had dinner at Patty&Bun which was one of the restaurants a local friend of mine had suggested. The food was fantastic and we were impressed to have lucked out with two great foods for the day. We ended our night by meeting up with the rest of the group for a fun night out in the town.

[valerialondon]

journal entry #11 — 1.14.2023

Today’s hour long train ride went smoothly and felt much shorter than I expected. I like the four seat tables because they allow for some nice conversations with friends. I also thoroughly enjoy them because they remind me of the train rides Harry Potter took with his friends to Hogwarts.

I was surprised Oxford was primarily a college town with few residents that are non-students. I enjoyed our tour and liked the enthusiasm from our tour guide. I thought she had lots of fun things to share and made it really engaging. I liked hearing the stories of how iconic childhood characters came to be. I didn’t know the story of the White Rabbit’s clock being five minutes behind so that was a fun thing to discover

On our free time we visited Blackwell, the most famous bookstore in the UK. The shop had three floors and had so much to explore. It’s one of the most notable bookstores in the world. Blackwell was established in 1879 and holds over 250,000 volumes, it’s oldest text is from 1470.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #10 — 1.13.2023

Was pretty upset we weren’t able to visit Buckingham Palace, but I was glad we could see Kensington Palace instead. The exterior didn’t look as flashy as some of the other royal places, but the inside was huge. It was wild to think that such grandiose rooms with high ceilings and elaborate artwork was reserved for the children’s playrooms.

I found the employee’s stories about each room to be very insightful and enriching. I admire how Queen Victoria was the one who decided to open the palace up to the public. However, I was most interested in how the palace was once home to Princess Diana, too. After further research I learned that she moved into apartments eight and nine when she was twenty and lived there for fifteen years. She brought up her two boys William and Harry in the palace and would often walk them to nursery school in the mornings.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #9 — 1.12.2023

Although the weather was very aggressive this morning, it was nice to see Stonehenge in person. I never imagined I would ever visit the stones so it was very surreal to see something I only ever saw in textbooks. I might’ve enjoyed the trip more if the wind wasn’t literally pushing me away, but at least I can say I’ve seen one of the wonders of the world.

Bath was a nice little area to explore, but it was unfortunate that most places closed early. Throughout my stay in London, I’ve noticed this is a common trend. Most places don’t stay open for long, which makes me miss the convenience of America. Apparently a big reason for these early shut downs is because of licensing. It’s cheaper to maintain the place if the hours are shorter.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #8 — 1.11.2023

I’ve only ever been to one costume warehouse for film and television before and though it was quite small, I thought the whole process was fascinating. That being said, I was beyond impressed by the Angels Costumes tour and loved getting an inside scoop on recent projects. Though a lot of it was kept under wraps, there were some things I had a feeling belonged to very anticipated films – including ones I was looking forward to.

The Camden Market is probably the fourth market we’ve visited so far, but I’ve enjoyed all of them. I love getting to see the different things on display and try food from various pop ups. Street markets seem to be never ending here, so I looked up how many are in the area and London currently has approximately 162 markets!

I ended the evening by watching the Back to the Future musical with some people from the group. I usually steer clear of classic movies that were turned into stage musicals, but since everyone was raving about it I decided to join. I’m a huge fan of musical theater so I was happy to go, anyway.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #7 — 1.10.2023

Despite the 500+ steps it took to get to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral, I thought it was a cool experience. The view was great and made for some fun photo ops.

I spent the rest of my evening visiting a friend who lives here and we saw Heathers together. I absolutely loved every second of it and was so happy to finally see it realized on stage after only hearing the soundtrack on Spotify. It was also nice to catch a show in the West End and see how London’s stretch of theatre compares to New York City’s Broadway. The show was significantly cheaper but still had great performances and design. I learned that Broadway shows are more expensive because the West End has weaker unions and subsidized theater.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #6 — 1.09.2023

The Tate museum was a nice introduction to the kind of galleries in London. I’m interested in exploring more museums and seeing the different collections around the city. I hope to explore London’s Natural History Museum and see how it differs from other nature science museums I’ve visited.

Despite not being the biggest potterhead, the Harry Potter tour was incredible. I was mostly excited to learn as much as I could about the franchise and share my newfound knowledge with my sister who is a huge fan. It was hard to believe that some of the small sets like Hagrid’s Hut were the actual sets used during production. I enjoyed how the tour was set in a way that followed the growth of the main character’s from the first movie to the final one. Seeing the models transform from kids to adults made me realize just how the series has captivated audiences over the years.

[valerialondon]

[valerialondon]

journal entry #5 — 1.08.2023

Though I was familiar with a lot of the musicians on today’s tour, I wasn’t very acquainted with their history. It was interesting to see the places they came about and how the places they frequented have been honored with memorial plaques. I appreciate how dedicated London is to the arts, I think it’s beautiful how they commemorate the legacy of such iconic figures. After doing further research I learned that there are over 900 plaques, which aren’t always blue. Different shapes, including squares and rectangles, have also been used.

Brick Lane Market has been my favorite stop so far. It was a lovely way to spend our Sunday. It was fun to try different street food from around the world in a small area and then browse through the different vintage clothes and electrical equipment the local vendors were selling.