Hello! No I didn't fall off the London Bridge or disappear down a pot hole. I am still in London, well mostly. This past week I've been traveling-everywhere. As I mentioned before I went to Ireland weekend before last for a couple days. After I got back from Ireland I went to Stratford-Upon-Avon for an overnight trip with the group as part of our theatre class. Then back to London for class and a couple of mini excursions around the suburbs. I will blog more in detail about these trips later when I have more time but for now I'll just talk about today. . .
Today we had class with Sarah and we met in Chiswick (pronounced Chis-ick, the w is just for show and to identify outsiders). Chiswick is the beginning of London suburbia, (about 15 minutes west of Earls court) only the wealthy kind. Where they have padlocked gardens across from their named houses (Cedar House, Eton House..etc) that look out onto the river. This is the top rung of the upper middle class, the thin line between being wealthy and being rich.
We were going to look at the Chiswick house, built by Lord Burlington in the 1800s in the Palladian Revival style. Following a Palladio Villa plan, like ones he had seen in Rome on his Grand Tour. However, the Chiswick house was in the center of the Chiswick Gardens (naturally) which are being "restored" and the entire property is fenced in.
Never mind that, we had a permit to see the house so Sarah figured that we would be able to get in one of the gates. We walked all the way around the property or estate rather, going up roads- finding locked gates, backtracking. Talking to construction workers in hard hats with chainsaws and orange vests. Finally, we found a foreman (who was wearing a hard hat AND a tie with a sweater vest) who told us the secret way in. I'm so glad I remembered to bring a bottle of water today.
The house was pretty amazing, it was smaller on the inside than I would have thought but the rooms were so beautiful, all different shapes. Round rooms connecting to octagons connecting to ovals. It's really nice out today, I could actually feel the sun on my neck but inside it was chilling. All that stone holding a winter chill that seeped into my bones.
After class, Emily, Art, Sara (my roommate) and I went to a pub by the river for lunch called the Black Lion. It was really neat and old. It had been there for 200 years and started out as a butchery with a distillery on the side but then ended up just being a pub cause the money from the ale was more than the meat. We hung out there for probably three hours eating and talking and soaking in the quiet stillness of suburbia.
