Monday night, we saw our first play of the trip, The Winter's Tale at The Old Vic theater. It was a really surprising adaptation of the play, with more of a modern twist than what you expect from traditional Shakespearean productions. Instead of wearing flamboyant period costumes, most of the actors had on suits and dresses of solid colors; only during the "pastoral" scenes in the country did the costumes get more decoration with color and flowers. But I think it actually added to the play, because with the plain costumes you could focus more on the action and dialogue, rather than being concerned with what everything looked like.

After the play, on a whim, a group of us decided to walk back to our hotel rather than take a double-decker bus or ride on the Tube. It was going to be a bit of a long haul, but we stuck to it. After a few corners, we were passing the London Eye, lit up with blue lights. It was amazing to see ... but not as amazing as rounding another corner and being faced with Westminster bridge, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben! I literally screamed in surprise and happiness, finally being up close to one of the most familiar sites in London.

And at night, everything was lit up beautifully and there were no crowds at all, so we got to walk and take pictures at our leisure. We still want to return tomorrow in the day to explore more, but seeing it at night was something unexpected and more than worth the sore feet.