MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL: CHRISTMAS IN IRELAND, LILLE, FRANCE, AND LONDON

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

This is the last blog from London. I leave tomorrow morning for Rhode Island. Hopefully, the weather holds out. We had a great semester this year and I am looking forward to coming back with next year's group. There are a lot of photos in this blog which has a holiday theme to it. Enjoy!

This blog is comprised of many of the Christmas images that we have encountered in Ireland, London, and Lille, France.

IRELAND

Shopping Center in Galway

Grafton Street, Dublin

Outside the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin where the panto Jack and the Beanstalk was playing

Inside the Dublin Post Office

LILLE, FRANCE

Jonathan Kennedy, Executive Director of Tara Arts where we performed Vanities and I went to Lille, France for four days. Travelling with Jonathan is always an adventure. Usually things are closed when travelling with Jonathan or something always goes wrong. This trip did not disappoint. First of all, I overslept and just barely made the Eurostar train! Made it from my flat to the train in a half an hour from waking up. That started us off. Lille is a great little town. Lots of shopping, a Christmas market, and a lot of good restaurants with great french food. On Monday morning we got up early to have breakfast and go shopping. We went outside and it was like a ghost town. None of the stores were open. Come to find out they do not open until 2pm on Mondays. Great idea where everyone sleeps in on a Monday! We need to do this in the States. Some interesting things you will see in the photos are the Christmas market, amusement rides in the town center, store windows with black and silver Christmas decorations. One day they were piping the theme song from Scheindler's List out onto the sidewalk in the shopping area. The buildings all have a Belgium influence in their style. I guess we had a successful time in Lille. I just heard on the TV that trains were stuck in the tunnel of the Eurostar for 15 hours yesterday. Maybe Jonathan' luck is changing. We just missed that disaster!

A sculpture outside the Eurostar station in Lille

Lille's version of Stonehenge

Interesting that the windows are held up with masking or duct tape

The Christmas Market. Lots of food and gifts

Lille Opera House and tower

Opera House during the day.

Jonathan

Inside a church we came upon while wandering when all the stores were closed on Monday.

Ferme....Closed! Typical Jonathan trip

Funny sign on a shop window

Mask above a theatre bookshop

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Decorations around the Ferris Wheel

Windows kept changing colors

A lot of windows had black and white decorations. Here is Santa's Chair with no Santa inside one of the shopping centers in Lille.

The worst decorated tree in Lille.

An orange tree!!!!

Some color finally!

Colorful hats!

Back to morbid Black!!!

Even the presents are black!

Black Snowflakes!

LONDON!

CARNABY STREET

REGENT STREET

Regent Street window.

Another window

Hamleys Toy Store -- Regent Street

Hamleys Windows:

Some of the theatres in London!

More Regent Street windows. This ball is made of used tea bags!

Marmite tree on Regent Street...yuk!

Covent Garden with Andy and Steve

National Gallery. Polar Bear made of ice melting which will just have an iron skeleton left.

Leicester Square

Piccadilly Circus

Eros Statue as a snow globe!

An arcade off of Piccadilly Street

More Theatre Marquees

Lindsay and Jo reuniting after Vanities at TARA ARTS Christmas Party last Thursday. A good time was had by all. We met many of the cast members of The Black Album which just finished touring.

Tara Lobby all festive

Jonathan with some cast members of The Black Album

Outside in the snow...

Dancing in the studio.

Studio Theatre

Pauline (Front of House) and me.

Jonathan, Lindsay, Jo, and I

Out in the Snow!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

Thank you everyone for a wonderful semester! Enjoy the holidays!