Sabrina's London Diaries- The End of an Era ~ The End of Part 1

Dear Reader of Sabrina's London Diaries:

I went to London in September 2008 just for a 3 week vacation. I was in my third semester of Graduate school, getting my MFA in Creative Writing at Goddard College and writing a Musical.  On the first night I arrived, the man I went to visit,  told me, " I'm sorry your not the one !"  I decided to not go home with my tail between my legs and decided to make the best of a bad situation and live there. Being what I laughingly, call, " dumped upon arrival", was the best thing that ever happened to me, I took my feelings of rejection and remorse and turned things around for the better. I realized this man was not my enemy, but my manivater ( a man that motivates) and catalyst for making me do my Human Revolution ! I ended up living in London  for two years and it was the best two years of my life ! 


 This blog is part travel journal, part personal memoir, sometimes private and sometimes not. I write about my initial culture shock of living in London, in articles, such as: My Initial Impressions of the Drinking Habits of the English and Some Language Differences I find Funny.

I also write about my Dating conundrums and mishaps in a self-deprecating blog (blog series within this blog),called, "Finding Mr. Darcy"---- a serious Austenite my dating blogs look at the romantic life of a single girl through a 18th century lens looking backwards, but then racing towards the future with exuberant optimism.   Having the opportunity to date and experience men from all over the globe, I write as a Romantic Anthropoligist, in blogs such as: Are Italian Men Really Great Lovers ? Israeli Soldier vs. English Gentleman, The Rugged vs. The Refined, and Dating in London: American Cowboy vs. English Bloke

Being absolutely nutty about History and it's great people, I also write about some of History's greatest people: Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, and of course, Harry Potter

This blog evolved from someone telling me that I should write about my experience in London. One year and a half later, I am still writing about my experience in London. I came back to Los Angeles in 2010, after a 2 years sojourn in London, and I found that it has changed so much. But, it's like in the movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Benjamin Button, says in the movie as he narrates his story, after he comes home for being gone so long and traveling all over the world, " It's not that Tenessee has changed it's that I have changed."  And, so, it's not that Los Angeles has changed so much, or even America, it's that I had changed. My views and perceptions of life and the world have changed along with that and I will never be the same. Living in London has changed the way I see the world, and now the way I see myself in the world and that is why I must share what I learned !


Living in London for me, was an absolute dream come true. In my blog, I live to tell the tale and I am still telling it after all these years, and plan to publish my memoirs.



affectionately,

Sabrina Grace~
p.s. This is the End of the First Part of Sabrina's London Diaries. In the future, I will be publishing more blogs on Jane Austen, Book Reviews, Dating in Los Angeles, Culture in Los Angeles, Food,  and Green Living.  As well as, anecdotal commentary on society in English society and my new perspective on the world, living and thriving again in Los Angeles, California as a Language Instructor, Chef and Writer.











All blogs are written by Sabrina Rongstad-Bravo More Tales and Adventures in Sabrina's London Diaries

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Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the Groundlings

A View from the Balcony

CHECK OUT THE GORGEOUS CEILING

ME AS A HUMBLED GROUNDLING

Shakespaere Globe located in South London very clsoe to the Tate Modern.
It's easy to get to just take the London Bridge Tube and exit on Borough High Street.You can walk easily for about 5 minutes under the bridge pass Borough Market and past the old Clink prison.

Shakespeare’s Globe Trust is dedicated to the experience and international understanding of Shakespeare in performance. Uniquely its work celebrates the fact that the greatest dramatic poet in the English language lived and worked in London and that the cradle of English theatre was on Bankside by the River Thames.

The Theater is also dedicated to other live theater including the works by Shakespeare's contemparies like Marlowe and other Greek dramaturgs like Euripedes.When I went I saw As You Like It last week. The play are often consistent in acting, costume and stage and true to the the time period they portray. The next play to be seen is Love Labour's Lost.

At SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE you can sit in the balcony section tickets range from £20 - £35 pounds,it's nice if you just want to relax, take in the elegantly painted frescoes and cuddle with your date ( especially in autumn it gets bloody cold).You must see the plays once as a groundling, tickets are remarkeably cheap, only £5. Back in Shakespeare's time you would have had to pay just a pence. Get your tickets early in the season online or at the box office, because tickets will sell out and if you're a bit of a sissy and don't enjoy standing up for 2 hours straight(kills your feet)you'll have to resort to be a humbled GROUNDLING

The Globe Theatre Groundlings stood in the Yard, or pit, to watch the plays being performed. This was the cheapest part of the theatre, there were no seats and the entrance price was 1d which was equivalent to about 10% of a days wages. The members of the audience who stood in the pit were often referred to as 'Groundlings'. I actually enjoyed Seeing Shakespeare's plays (Trollius and Cressida and then As You Like it), as a groundling more fun than in the balcony, because you are right in front of the actors and often they come off the stage and interact with the audience, which only adds to the heightened excitement and drama!!

The Shakespeare Globe season runs from April until October. Do try to see a play in the summer when the weather is still warm and balmy. Grab a picnic, bring some fried chicken or your veggie pasties and a pint, stash it all in your back pack and take in the rich language and poetry of Shakespeare, you won't regret it.


Shakespeare's Globe
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org
Bankside
21 New Globe Walk, London, SE1 9DT
020 7902 1400

Southwark London- The London of Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe

This is my favorite village of all the villages in London. Southwark is replete with old world charm and has the oldest Market, Borough Market that goes back to the 13th Century. Southwark Cathedral used to be the old church of Shakespeare and his contemporary Christopher Marlow. Many films have been shot in these alleyways and bypasses. The cobble stone streets remind me of another era. St Pauls Cathedral was built in 1677 by the Architecture Christopher Wren. You can see it from London's south bank. A hot humid August day is the best time to see it from along London's southbank.


Besides all these great historical riches Southwark has, one of the best thing about this side of town is the Fresh Cut Chips (No frozen chips here)
near the Borought Market!! More in detail about the charms of Southwark.



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