Canterbury and other Tales

So, yesterday I took a day trip to Canterbury!  I was there to visit my friend Spencer, who was a theatre student who studied abroad at Penn State for a year last year!  My two friends who are currently studying theatre abroad at PSU also go to Kent Uni in Canterbury.  So first I woke up at 7 and finished packing up, as yesterday I moved here to stay with Rachael, my friend from Hairspray.  I went to breakfast at 8 with Kaitlin and Chuck and checked out of my room and checked my luggage around 9.  I then went to the tube to Waterloo East, and since I had bought my ticket the day before, went straight to the trains and thank goodness, the 9:15 was running 11 minutes late so I caught it!  The train ride was nice, and I arrived in Canterbury around 11, only to find Spencer waiting with his tiny seafoam green english car...I was so excited to have a ride in a car other than a cab, and in the front seat!  So that was exciting.  We stopped by his house to pick up something and then headed into town, which as Spencer made fun of me for, the only word I was using for everything in Canterbury was "cute" because oh my gosh howwww cute that town was!  After running some errands that Spencer needed to do, we went to the Cathedral, a really gorgeous one!  It started to rain a little, but we walked on anyway and back to the car to go to Kent University Campus.  There, I met some of Spencers friends and classmates.  They were working on a "show" which was a car turned into a sort of home that would be performed in a car park.  I went along with him to two production meetings for it and saw a bit of campus and the theatre scene shop on the way!  It was good, and I didn't really mind the fact that I had to sit through meetings, they were short and quite interesting to me.  Then we walked around and went to eat on campus at Origins and had burgers.  Get this: you can get a pint of alcohol anywhere on campus at all the food courts, etc!  This would be the equivalent of them selling alcohol all day at the HUB and dining halls!  I thought it was crazy but obviously they don't have the drinking problems that Penn State does!!! haha!  There are also bars and clubs on campus, also crazy!  So after that we headed to the bookstore and I picked up a tshirt and then Spencer and his roommate/friend Pip and him took me back to the train station around 3:45pm.  I caught at 4:04 train, which ended up being about 10 minutes faster than on the way in!  After getting on the tube and getting to Earl's Court, I went and picked up my luggage from the hotel and walked it back to the tube.  By this time it was half 6 (6:30) and I got on my way to Rachaels, and she lives at Hunslow East, which is on the Piccadilly Line towards Heathrow Airport.  I got here and got a 5 pound cab to her door!  It is a cute little house and I have a cute little room (there I go using "cute" again) and after helping Rachael straighten her hair, watching some Friends on TV and chatting we got ready to leave.  Her dad, who lives up the road, drove us to the tube stop since Rachael was wearing heels.  Rachael got a last minute invite to the Opening Night Party of "Love Never Dies" the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, and the show that Ros is ASM on, and my other friend Helen is the dance captain.  So I was left on my own, as no one was really free to meet up and it was too late for a show, and Kaitlin and Chuck, while without mobiles anyway, said they'd be really tired and not do much at night, and it was already a little past 10.  So I took the tube to Covent Garden with Rach and headed off to find some dinner, which of course I found at Pret.  Having no idea what the night would hold for me, after eating and drinking some coffee, I just started walking.  It was a gorgeous night.  I got to Trafalgar Square, kept walking and finally found the London Eye and bridge across the Thames, which I walked across.  I was excited because I never got to see this area at night because I was always at Hairspray (it gets darker later in Summer also) and so that was good.  I walked all the way across it and down a bunch of steps.  Thought about taking a river cruise, but had just missed it so decided against it.  Then just kept walking kind of towards Big Ben when I found what to me looked like an arcade.  Only the workers were there, it being a Tuesday night.  So I went in and probably, making a fool of myself asked really dumb questions like "So what is this, an arcade, casino?" Their reply "uhhh yeah arcade, you could call it that."  Subtext:  "stupid americans who knows what they're thinking".  Yeah so I found one game that was 10p and thought I might as well try it.  I think it was a slot machine but I didn't really understand at all, so after about 20p I stopped playing.  Good to know tho if I need to get rid of coins later!
Then I walked out and asked where the iMax theatre was.  They told me to go to the Eye and turn right, so I did and just kept walking till I hit Waterloo, and the iMax theatre.  (if you dont know, by now I've walked from Covent Garden to Waterloo and it's a little past 11...wow!)  It's this giant round building in the middle of a roundabout and I couldn't figure out how to get in!  So I asked some girl on a bike, also who had a similar subtext to the arcade workers, although she was nice about it, and pointed me down a ramp.  I got in and found that Avatar was playing at 11:45.  This would be perfect because Rachael would be until at least 2 and I had never seen the movie or any iMax movie!  So I got in for less than 10 pounds and let me tell you...my heart was beating for ages!  It was like I was IN the war with them!  The animation was fantastic though and I'm glad I saw it.  A little disoriented, I hurried out of the theatre after the movie.  Rachael had been calling and texting saying the party ended at 1 but they were continuing on.  I called myself a cab (called "BetterTaxi" in my phone) and waited for it in front of Waterloo Station. I met them at a place called Ballans on Old Compton Rd back near Leichester Square.  Ros was there!!!  As well as about three other Sprayers, one of whom was Ben Ellis who I'd seen now two nights in a row...odd of all people haha.  I had a drink and they ate and drank and it was really really lovely to see Ros and hang out with both of them.  We called a cab and split it three ways home (Ros lives quite close to Rach in Northfields) and just had a blast.  Got home around 4am.  I slept in til like 9:30 but Rach will probably sleep until 2 in the afternoon she said!  So I'm gonna venture out now and meet up with Ros at this giant shopping mall call Westfields, recently built since I left, and we are going shopping!  (...mayyyy have to buy another bag...ugh winter clothes take up so much space!)  :)  Also am seeing Michael in Grease tonight!  He usually plays Eugene, but this week he is on covering for Doody so that's good!
So I gotta go finish getting ready now, but more soon!
Cheers!
~Sam~