I leave in a matter of hours. All my bags are packed, my leftover food redistributed amongst the scavengers more commonly known as starving college students, and my belly full from my last pub meal at the Dickens Tavern.
The end is bittersweet. I love this city and all that it has gracefully shared with me. But, then how can one start a new adventure if I never draw the exclamation point at the end of this one? I am ready for a new adventure. But I sure have loved this one.
My last night in London I went to the HardRock Cafe with a big group of the friends I've made here. That was the first time it truly hit me that I would be leaving.
After dinner I went to see Lion King with my flatmate Jasmine. It was the perfect way to end my time here. I saved the best musical for last. I was sobbing within the first 5 minutes as the elephants and giraffes walked down through the aisles, embracing me with the Circle of Life.
Today I walked through the park and saw my last London dog party. I just stood there for a few moments, at the edge of the path, gazing out onto the open field, realizing that soon I would not belong here anymore, that this scene of canine bliss would continue on without me. But I smiled with joy as I gazed at the trees hiding the cityscape, listened to the birds sing their song of spring, smelled the fresh green smell of new flora, and felt London penetrating my being.
Writing this is bringing me to tears. I am so happy. Thank you for going on this journey with me. Be blessed and now go out and have your own adventure!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Always Love
To make a mountain of your life is just a choice
But I never learned enough to listen to the voice that told me
Always love
Hate will get you everytime
Always love
Don't wait 'til the finish line
--Addison Road
I think that message really speaks to me right now.
This semester has been an interesting one as far as living situation goes, and I've learned so much about people and social dynamics. And, I think the biggest lesson I've learned is that when you get upset with someone for the way that they are, then really you are only hurting yourself. They will never change, and so why not just love them for who they are?
It is strange to be wrapping up my time here. I am ready, but at the same time I'm not. I know that as soon as I'm gone there will be things that I yearn for. Like running through Regent's Park, or walking 200 meters to Tesco at 10 pm to get a treat, or watching the dog parties, or going to the theatre twice a week, or AllSouls Church.
Sheesh now I'm getting sad.
Saturday I went with Ginny and Helon, two girls who live upstairs, to a used book fair along the southbank of the Thames and got a book for the plane ride home. Yippee!
Then I went to see the musical called We Will Rock You, and obviously it has all music by Queen. It is one of the most popular West End shows, it has been running for 8 years, and the Brits love it. And, it has never been to Broadway, so I was like "Well, I wanna see this show cause it is uniquely British." Well folks... it was WEIRD. Just as an example... it took place in the year 2300 and it was in the land of Gaga. A lot of the British humor was lost on me and so were a lot of the pop culture references. It was fun though, and of course I loved the music.
Saturday night Linda and I went to the Dickens Tavern for dinner. I am gonna miss that place!!! Veggie Fish and Chips YESSSSS. I am gonna have to go one more time before I leave. Then I came back to another night of sleeping over upstairs and another night of delicious baked goods. BAKED APPLES. My new FAV dessert.
Yesterday was my last Sunday at church, which was another sad goodbye. After church I came back to work on my final for Beatles class. After a good 5 hours of it, I was almost totally fried, and needed a serious break. It was FREEZING AND RAINY AGAIN CAUSE LONDON IS BIPOLAR and so I didn't want to run outside, but my gym membership expired Friday. But, I decided I would go and just pay for an individual session.
Well I get there and my friend Khadija (who is from Kenya and her dream is to move to the United States and be a pharmacist (she already has all the degrees, she just needs to take her exams)) was working. She is the sweetest woman and I told her that I wanted to pay just for the day and she said "no, you cannot pay, you just train and come in tomorrow to train too, I work from 6:45 to 2:45." She was very sad to hear I would be leaving because she loved seeing my smiling face in aa city where it is rare. I went back this morning and took a picture with her after I trained.
Today Linda and I went to the Museum of London and I felt cool cause I already knew loads of the stuff. I guess I've learned a lot about my city in 3 months. :) That was the goal.
Tonight I am watching "Glee" for the first time with Linda and Kathryn as we make dinner.
Three nights left here....
This could be my last entry while in Londontown.
Whoa.
But I never learned enough to listen to the voice that told me
Always love
Hate will get you everytime
Always love
Don't wait 'til the finish line
--Addison Road
I think that message really speaks to me right now.
This semester has been an interesting one as far as living situation goes, and I've learned so much about people and social dynamics. And, I think the biggest lesson I've learned is that when you get upset with someone for the way that they are, then really you are only hurting yourself. They will never change, and so why not just love them for who they are?
It is strange to be wrapping up my time here. I am ready, but at the same time I'm not. I know that as soon as I'm gone there will be things that I yearn for. Like running through Regent's Park, or walking 200 meters to Tesco at 10 pm to get a treat, or watching the dog parties, or going to the theatre twice a week, or AllSouls Church.
Sheesh now I'm getting sad.
Saturday I went with Ginny and Helon, two girls who live upstairs, to a used book fair along the southbank of the Thames and got a book for the plane ride home. Yippee!
Then I went to see the musical called We Will Rock You, and obviously it has all music by Queen. It is one of the most popular West End shows, it has been running for 8 years, and the Brits love it. And, it has never been to Broadway, so I was like "Well, I wanna see this show cause it is uniquely British." Well folks... it was WEIRD. Just as an example... it took place in the year 2300 and it was in the land of Gaga. A lot of the British humor was lost on me and so were a lot of the pop culture references. It was fun though, and of course I loved the music.
Saturday night Linda and I went to the Dickens Tavern for dinner. I am gonna miss that place!!! Veggie Fish and Chips YESSSSS. I am gonna have to go one more time before I leave. Then I came back to another night of sleeping over upstairs and another night of delicious baked goods. BAKED APPLES. My new FAV dessert.
Yesterday was my last Sunday at church, which was another sad goodbye. After church I came back to work on my final for Beatles class. After a good 5 hours of it, I was almost totally fried, and needed a serious break. It was FREEZING AND RAINY AGAIN CAUSE LONDON IS BIPOLAR and so I didn't want to run outside, but my gym membership expired Friday. But, I decided I would go and just pay for an individual session.
Well I get there and my friend Khadija (who is from Kenya and her dream is to move to the United States and be a pharmacist (she already has all the degrees, she just needs to take her exams)) was working. She is the sweetest woman and I told her that I wanted to pay just for the day and she said "no, you cannot pay, you just train and come in tomorrow to train too, I work from 6:45 to 2:45." She was very sad to hear I would be leaving because she loved seeing my smiling face in aa city where it is rare. I went back this morning and took a picture with her after I trained.
Today Linda and I went to the Museum of London and I felt cool cause I already knew loads of the stuff. I guess I've learned a lot about my city in 3 months. :) That was the goal.
Tonight I am watching "Glee" for the first time with Linda and Kathryn as we make dinner.
Three nights left here....
This could be my last entry while in Londontown.
Whoa.
Friday, April 30, 2010
A Good Old Fashioned Sleepover
I'm 13 again.
I keep looking at my watch. What time is it 12:30. Ok, focus. 2 more assignments to finish.
What time is it? 3. One more assignment.
What time is it NOW? 6. Homework's done and it is Friday night! I rush up to my room, pack up my backpack with my toothbrush and overnight clothes, and head down to the kitchen to pull out my last batch of homebaked m & m cookies and carry them piping hot up to the flat above me for a night of girl filled fun.
Instead of playing truth or dare however, we played "lets bake as many delicious goodies as we can".
The games we girls play have changed in 8 years, but the effect is still the same. The giddy, happy feeling of a sleepover never grows old with age.
So many goodies including lemon squares, brownies and cookies made their way into the pit of my stomach tonight, causing it to light up in flame and angrily yell at me in the way that stomachs do. Tummmmmmy ache! But, Ginny (who is a master chef and crazy ninja) set me up with some ginger tea and my tummy went soundly back o sleep.
Sitting here listening to the rain outside my window, and enjoying the warm feeling of a Friday night with no responsibility makes me appreciate my life.
I keep looking at my watch. What time is it 12:30. Ok, focus. 2 more assignments to finish.
What time is it? 3. One more assignment.
What time is it NOW? 6. Homework's done and it is Friday night! I rush up to my room, pack up my backpack with my toothbrush and overnight clothes, and head down to the kitchen to pull out my last batch of homebaked m & m cookies and carry them piping hot up to the flat above me for a night of girl filled fun.
Instead of playing truth or dare however, we played "lets bake as many delicious goodies as we can".
The games we girls play have changed in 8 years, but the effect is still the same. The giddy, happy feeling of a sleepover never grows old with age.
So many goodies including lemon squares, brownies and cookies made their way into the pit of my stomach tonight, causing it to light up in flame and angrily yell at me in the way that stomachs do. Tummmmmmy ache! But, Ginny (who is a master chef and crazy ninja) set me up with some ginger tea and my tummy went soundly back o sleep.
Sitting here listening to the rain outside my window, and enjoying the warm feeling of a Friday night with no responsibility makes me appreciate my life.
A Week with the Folks (FINALLY!)
So.. I know this is delayed, but I had a great time with mom and dad here. Momma said she would do another guest entry (back by popular demand) so she is going to write about the weekend we spent in Cornwall together. So I'll give the highlights starting with last Tuesday, April 20th and going through Friday, April 23rd.
Tuesday- I had class, and while I gained intelligence, mom finished doing laundry for me, and dad worked. It is sooo nice to have a mommy cook for you and do your laundry. After class I came back and mom and I packed a picnic lunch to take to the park while I was at the gym. Mom and dad ate and fed the pigeons and afterward dad went back to work while mom and I went and booked the tickets for the sequel to Phantom, “Love Never Dies” and then to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V and A is maybe my favorite London museum. It has such an eclectic collection of goods. I loved the fashion exhibit. Wish I coulda worn some of those vintage clothes (especially the flower child clothes from the 60s.)
We ate at a Pret (cheapo sandwich shop… but the food is real good) on Trafalgar Square before going to Love Never Dies. I won’t spoil the plot for any of you, but it was a good production. The technology was prettttttty intense and the performers were all solid. The girl who played Christine was Sienna Boggess, who was Ariel in Little Mermaid on Broadway.
Wednesday- I took mom to the Tate Britain with me for art class. We were going to the Chris Ofili exhibition (he is a African British artist who focuses a lot on racial and gender justice) and it was really cool. A few years ago one of his works titled “The Virgin Mary” caused chaos in New York when the American public became outraged at the pornographic images and the elephant dung used on a religious piece. We saw that piece, and of course it wasn’t as huge a deal as the media and the extreme conservatives make it to be. The elephant dung was artistic, and the porno… well it wasn’t savory, but it made a statement.
We called up papa who met us in Green Park (by Buckingham Palace) for another nice picnic in the sunshine and then mom and I went to the Royal Mews to see if my favorite horse named Monarch was still around. When I was a wee little blond babe we visited the Mews and I boldly asked the caretaker of the horses if I could pet one. He graciously complied, letting me under the restrictive rope to stand in the stall with him and pet the horse named Monarch. The next year I was still a wee little blond with a bond to Monarch, and we went back in search of her, and again I was taken into a restricted area by a kindly caretaker and gave her sugar cubes.
In HIGHSCHOOL we went back to the Mews yet again, and inquired about Monarch to the right person, and this time we were taken into the private stables (much to the chagrin of the grumpy security guards) and I ran along the trotting Monarch while the caretaker explained that he had retired due to his age, but he was one of the Queen’s favorite because of his pink skin, and therefore he was still kept at Buckingham rather than being moved to the country.
This time around I told myself walking in that surely Monarch could not be alive any longer. I was “coming for closure” I told myself. But, even with my mental preparation, it did not soften the blow when the answer to our hopeful questions about Monarch came. I did cry. I cried for the beautiful horse that made a little girl feel special. And, I cried for another door to my childhood that had closed, leaving me to realize more strongly that I am growing up.
GOSH WHY DO WE HAVE TO GROW UP! Sometimes I wish I could be Peter Pan.
Ok, not really, but there are growing pains.
After the Mews we stopped by the Girl Guide office so mom could get some stamps and stalk the little brownies to get their pictures.
Wednesday night we ate at the Hard Rock Café. The one in London is the original. I have only eaten there once before, at the one in Cleveland on some indistinct birthday in my childhood. So, being a chain that is known for its Tshirts, I was not expecting the food to be that amazing.
…Well maybe it was the fact that I haven’t had American cuisine in awhile, but the food was amazing… so much so that we went back there for dinner on Thursday! Woops! The atmosphere was fun, too, and we enjoyed looking at the rock n roll relics and chatting to the people beside us who were stranded because of the volcano. The airline was paying for their meals… sheesh, I wouldn’t complain.
For theatre, my class was going to see a show called Posh, and mom and dad couldn’t get tickets for it because it was sold out, so we parted ways, and I sat through three hours of British upper class students partying and being destructive. Obviously, it was not my favorite of the shows we’ve seen.
Thursday- For Beatles class we went to the British Music Experience (quite similar to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland) and it was in the O2 arena, which is out near Greenwich, and is this giant dome sort of in the middle of nothing. It has a concert hall, lots of restaurants, a roller rink, and then this museum. It was basically like an indoor village. The BME was very interactive, you could record yourself singing or playing instruments, the exhibit was very “touch this touch that” and you could video yourself dancing and play it back.
We decided that we wanted to see Legally Blond, so we went to get tickets for it, arriving at about 2:20, to find that they were ushering people in for a matinee performance. “Oh no” I thought, “I hope we can still use the box office for tonight’s performance.” We tentatively walked up to the window, and the clerk told us we could indeed buy tickets for that night, but that they were rather full, and so we would be paying 65 pounds for orchestra seats. I turned to mom and told her that seeing Legally Blond for that much money was not worth it. As we were walking away the girl, eager to make a sale, said “I can get you in this afternoon for 22 pounds (she gave us all the student rate) each in the stalls (orchestra)” By this point it was 2:25, so we had to decide real quick for a 2:30 show. We took it, and after wrangling a very startled dad, rushed to our seats just in time. The show was so fun, and I loved the little dog, Bruiser.
After the show guess where we went? Yep, that’s right, the Hard Rock Café. Yummmmmmmmmm.
Friday- Oh my God, oh my God you guys. (Mom and dad couldn’t stop singing this line from Legally Blond. Oh dear) We took the tube partway out to Kew Gardens until the District line became suspended, so we took the bus the rest of the way. I love riding the bus, you get to see so much more.
Kew Gardens was GORGEOUS. It was perfect weather, and the gardens were enormous, with so many different and interesting flora and fauna. There was a rainforest greenhouse, a temperate forest greenhouse, an art gallery, a museum, a treetop walk, a bluebell field, a bamboo garden, and so much more. All of the cherry trees were in bloom and it smelled magnificent. We had fun just wandering around and enjoying the sunshine.
We came back in to central London and went to the Elephant Man museum for papa. The Elephant Man was a dude in the early part of the century (or late part of the 19th century) who had some disorder that morphed and distorted his body so much that he was ostracized from society until a surgeon rescued him and turned him into somewhat of a hero and let him live in the hospital for the remainder of his days. His story is a moving one, and I was glad to learn more about him.
That evening we went on a ghost tour that wasn’t so ghostly, but pretty historic. Took some photos, but no ghosts showed up. Sad.
Afterward we searched for my childhood favorite, Pizza Piazza, but we could not find it, so it must have closed. So, we settled on Pizza Hut instead.
And with the glowing image of warm cheesy pizza floating around in the space between your ears, I will leave you. I hope you are craving pizza as much as I am.
Tuesday- I had class, and while I gained intelligence, mom finished doing laundry for me, and dad worked. It is sooo nice to have a mommy cook for you and do your laundry. After class I came back and mom and I packed a picnic lunch to take to the park while I was at the gym. Mom and dad ate and fed the pigeons and afterward dad went back to work while mom and I went and booked the tickets for the sequel to Phantom, “Love Never Dies” and then to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V and A is maybe my favorite London museum. It has such an eclectic collection of goods. I loved the fashion exhibit. Wish I coulda worn some of those vintage clothes (especially the flower child clothes from the 60s.)
We ate at a Pret (cheapo sandwich shop… but the food is real good) on Trafalgar Square before going to Love Never Dies. I won’t spoil the plot for any of you, but it was a good production. The technology was prettttttty intense and the performers were all solid. The girl who played Christine was Sienna Boggess, who was Ariel in Little Mermaid on Broadway.
Wednesday- I took mom to the Tate Britain with me for art class. We were going to the Chris Ofili exhibition (he is a African British artist who focuses a lot on racial and gender justice) and it was really cool. A few years ago one of his works titled “The Virgin Mary” caused chaos in New York when the American public became outraged at the pornographic images and the elephant dung used on a religious piece. We saw that piece, and of course it wasn’t as huge a deal as the media and the extreme conservatives make it to be. The elephant dung was artistic, and the porno… well it wasn’t savory, but it made a statement.
We called up papa who met us in Green Park (by Buckingham Palace) for another nice picnic in the sunshine and then mom and I went to the Royal Mews to see if my favorite horse named Monarch was still around. When I was a wee little blond babe we visited the Mews and I boldly asked the caretaker of the horses if I could pet one. He graciously complied, letting me under the restrictive rope to stand in the stall with him and pet the horse named Monarch. The next year I was still a wee little blond with a bond to Monarch, and we went back in search of her, and again I was taken into a restricted area by a kindly caretaker and gave her sugar cubes.
In HIGHSCHOOL we went back to the Mews yet again, and inquired about Monarch to the right person, and this time we were taken into the private stables (much to the chagrin of the grumpy security guards) and I ran along the trotting Monarch while the caretaker explained that he had retired due to his age, but he was one of the Queen’s favorite because of his pink skin, and therefore he was still kept at Buckingham rather than being moved to the country.
This time around I told myself walking in that surely Monarch could not be alive any longer. I was “coming for closure” I told myself. But, even with my mental preparation, it did not soften the blow when the answer to our hopeful questions about Monarch came. I did cry. I cried for the beautiful horse that made a little girl feel special. And, I cried for another door to my childhood that had closed, leaving me to realize more strongly that I am growing up.
GOSH WHY DO WE HAVE TO GROW UP! Sometimes I wish I could be Peter Pan.
Ok, not really, but there are growing pains.
After the Mews we stopped by the Girl Guide office so mom could get some stamps and stalk the little brownies to get their pictures.
Wednesday night we ate at the Hard Rock Café. The one in London is the original. I have only eaten there once before, at the one in Cleveland on some indistinct birthday in my childhood. So, being a chain that is known for its Tshirts, I was not expecting the food to be that amazing.
…Well maybe it was the fact that I haven’t had American cuisine in awhile, but the food was amazing… so much so that we went back there for dinner on Thursday! Woops! The atmosphere was fun, too, and we enjoyed looking at the rock n roll relics and chatting to the people beside us who were stranded because of the volcano. The airline was paying for their meals… sheesh, I wouldn’t complain.
For theatre, my class was going to see a show called Posh, and mom and dad couldn’t get tickets for it because it was sold out, so we parted ways, and I sat through three hours of British upper class students partying and being destructive. Obviously, it was not my favorite of the shows we’ve seen.
Thursday- For Beatles class we went to the British Music Experience (quite similar to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland) and it was in the O2 arena, which is out near Greenwich, and is this giant dome sort of in the middle of nothing. It has a concert hall, lots of restaurants, a roller rink, and then this museum. It was basically like an indoor village. The BME was very interactive, you could record yourself singing or playing instruments, the exhibit was very “touch this touch that” and you could video yourself dancing and play it back.
We decided that we wanted to see Legally Blond, so we went to get tickets for it, arriving at about 2:20, to find that they were ushering people in for a matinee performance. “Oh no” I thought, “I hope we can still use the box office for tonight’s performance.” We tentatively walked up to the window, and the clerk told us we could indeed buy tickets for that night, but that they were rather full, and so we would be paying 65 pounds for orchestra seats. I turned to mom and told her that seeing Legally Blond for that much money was not worth it. As we were walking away the girl, eager to make a sale, said “I can get you in this afternoon for 22 pounds (she gave us all the student rate) each in the stalls (orchestra)” By this point it was 2:25, so we had to decide real quick for a 2:30 show. We took it, and after wrangling a very startled dad, rushed to our seats just in time. The show was so fun, and I loved the little dog, Bruiser.
After the show guess where we went? Yep, that’s right, the Hard Rock Café. Yummmmmmmmmm.
Friday- Oh my God, oh my God you guys. (Mom and dad couldn’t stop singing this line from Legally Blond. Oh dear) We took the tube partway out to Kew Gardens until the District line became suspended, so we took the bus the rest of the way. I love riding the bus, you get to see so much more.
Kew Gardens was GORGEOUS. It was perfect weather, and the gardens were enormous, with so many different and interesting flora and fauna. There was a rainforest greenhouse, a temperate forest greenhouse, an art gallery, a museum, a treetop walk, a bluebell field, a bamboo garden, and so much more. All of the cherry trees were in bloom and it smelled magnificent. We had fun just wandering around and enjoying the sunshine.
We came back in to central London and went to the Elephant Man museum for papa. The Elephant Man was a dude in the early part of the century (or late part of the 19th century) who had some disorder that morphed and distorted his body so much that he was ostracized from society until a surgeon rescued him and turned him into somewhat of a hero and let him live in the hospital for the remainder of his days. His story is a moving one, and I was glad to learn more about him.
That evening we went on a ghost tour that wasn’t so ghostly, but pretty historic. Took some photos, but no ghosts showed up. Sad.
Afterward we searched for my childhood favorite, Pizza Piazza, but we could not find it, so it must have closed. So, we settled on Pizza Hut instead.
And with the glowing image of warm cheesy pizza floating around in the space between your ears, I will leave you. I hope you are craving pizza as much as I am.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Macbeth Killed the Hippies
So yesterday I had my last art class at the Saatchi Gallery. Saatchi is this SUPER rich Indian Brit who just collects art and puts it on display in what is said to be the most state of the art gallery in the world and he doesn't charge! I wonder where he got all of his money... because he has thousands and thousands of works of art. He gives a lot of artists their beginnings, including Damien Herst, who is the richest artist alive today. You may know him from the dead animals in tanks (including a cow, a shark, etc) that were so controversial a few years ago.
The exhibit going on at Saatchi currently is Indian art, and the highlight piece of the whole semester was in this exhibit. The installation was a room, and as you walked into the room, you were under the illusion that you were walking out on a ledge that overlooked a giant room with extremely high ceilings and a strange looking floor. BUT, in reality, you are walking out onto an elevated floor that looks down upon a pool of oil that covers the entire room from wall to wall and thus reflects the room above it. It is so incredibly still that it is almost indetectable that you are looking at oil and not an extra large room. It was soooooooooooooo cool.
After art I had my last voice lesson here. It was sad to say goodbye to Ann, I had grown quite fond of her. If I had to think a person that fit the words regal, classy, and elegant, I would think of Ann. I learned a lot from her this semester, and hopefully I'll be able to use her techniques this summer in Nebraska!
THEN....and here is the juicy part (literally juicy... you'll find out soon enough.) Last night was our last play for my theatre class (SHEESH yesterday had a lot of lasts in it!) and we went to see Macbeth at Shakespeare's famous theatre, the Globe. The Globe is the only legal wooden building in London because the city has burned so many times, that the council does not want anything made of wood. But anyway, the Globe is this cool building with a thatched roof along the Thames river, and it is still in the tradition that it was in the 1600s, no roof around the stage, and minimal lights and sets. We got to stand in the yard, and for Macbeth, they had suspended this black drape so that the audience at the front of the yard, had to stand underneath it and stick their heads up through slits in the curtain. All excited, we rushed to the front and put our heads into the holes like little gophers.
Well, as soon as the show started I saw why it is a bad omen to ever say the word Macbeth in the theatre... because well the show was really dark and gruesome with lots of evil and violence. Within the first 5 minutes several men were killed, and one of them was an old man. But before the soldiers slaughtered the old man and spread his blood about the stage, they cut out his tongue. But... they didn't just cut it out and leave it at that, they proceeded to fling it into the audience. And, guess where it landed? MY FACE. Splat! bloody, juicy gel tongue all over my face and arm. Let me tell ya, they did a good job of making it look and feel the consistency of a tongue... goodness I hope it wasn't real!
Standing in Shakespeare's Globe was quite an experience, despite how violent and sick the play was.
TRANSITIONNNNNNNNNNNNN
Today I went to see "Hair" and it was so incredible. For the first time in musical history the original Broadway cast was imported to the West End stage. So I saw the real performance, including Gavin Creel. He stood within a foot of me. I could have reached out and grabbed him if I wanted to. While I am not really into the whole "lets do drugs and be a drop out" thing, I am a hippie at heart, and I wanted to get up there and dance for peace and love and flowers!
So, I know that to talk about one's meal is always like the most boring thing in the world, but I just HAVE to talk about my dinner tonight cause it was so good. I made organic cream of potato soup, organic steamed broccoli, and homemade Irish brown soda bread. Oh goodness it was delicious after a long day of running around and then a good hour long run.
Ok boring food description over... and so is this post.
The exhibit going on at Saatchi currently is Indian art, and the highlight piece of the whole semester was in this exhibit. The installation was a room, and as you walked into the room, you were under the illusion that you were walking out on a ledge that overlooked a giant room with extremely high ceilings and a strange looking floor. BUT, in reality, you are walking out onto an elevated floor that looks down upon a pool of oil that covers the entire room from wall to wall and thus reflects the room above it. It is so incredibly still that it is almost indetectable that you are looking at oil and not an extra large room. It was soooooooooooooo cool.
After art I had my last voice lesson here. It was sad to say goodbye to Ann, I had grown quite fond of her. If I had to think a person that fit the words regal, classy, and elegant, I would think of Ann. I learned a lot from her this semester, and hopefully I'll be able to use her techniques this summer in Nebraska!
THEN....and here is the juicy part (literally juicy... you'll find out soon enough.) Last night was our last play for my theatre class (SHEESH yesterday had a lot of lasts in it!) and we went to see Macbeth at Shakespeare's famous theatre, the Globe. The Globe is the only legal wooden building in London because the city has burned so many times, that the council does not want anything made of wood. But anyway, the Globe is this cool building with a thatched roof along the Thames river, and it is still in the tradition that it was in the 1600s, no roof around the stage, and minimal lights and sets. We got to stand in the yard, and for Macbeth, they had suspended this black drape so that the audience at the front of the yard, had to stand underneath it and stick their heads up through slits in the curtain. All excited, we rushed to the front and put our heads into the holes like little gophers.
Well, as soon as the show started I saw why it is a bad omen to ever say the word Macbeth in the theatre... because well the show was really dark and gruesome with lots of evil and violence. Within the first 5 minutes several men were killed, and one of them was an old man. But before the soldiers slaughtered the old man and spread his blood about the stage, they cut out his tongue. But... they didn't just cut it out and leave it at that, they proceeded to fling it into the audience. And, guess where it landed? MY FACE. Splat! bloody, juicy gel tongue all over my face and arm. Let me tell ya, they did a good job of making it look and feel the consistency of a tongue... goodness I hope it wasn't real!
Standing in Shakespeare's Globe was quite an experience, despite how violent and sick the play was.
TRANSITIONNNNNNNNNNNNN
Today I went to see "Hair" and it was so incredible. For the first time in musical history the original Broadway cast was imported to the West End stage. So I saw the real performance, including Gavin Creel. He stood within a foot of me. I could have reached out and grabbed him if I wanted to. While I am not really into the whole "lets do drugs and be a drop out" thing, I am a hippie at heart, and I wanted to get up there and dance for peace and love and flowers!
So, I know that to talk about one's meal is always like the most boring thing in the world, but I just HAVE to talk about my dinner tonight cause it was so good. I made organic cream of potato soup, organic steamed broccoli, and homemade Irish brown soda bread. Oh goodness it was delicious after a long day of running around and then a good hour long run.
Ok boring food description over... and so is this post.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Thomas Kinkade, a Marathon, and some good ole fashioned TV
There is huge gap in my blog between Friday the 18th and Saturday the 24th. BUT, do not worry, it will be filled... just slightly out of order.
Saturday, April 24= going back in time to a land before the United States existed. Mom, dad and I hired a car to take a day trip in to Oxford, Warwick, and the Cottswalds.
We arrived to Oxford mid-morning and I was immediately struck by the energy of the place. So collegiate, so vibrant, yet a pyramid of intelligence from hundreds of years of educational history behind the place. We stopped at the TI (tourist info) on our walk in to the town, and the very unhelpful and rude girl told us that most of the colleges were closed for the day because they were sitting exams. (oh by the way… common misconception about Oxford: many people think that it is one university, rather like our universities in the States, HOWEVER, Oxford is a village of smaller universities… 32 to be exact. Each one has its specialties and each was founded by different people at different times, and many are very small, Balliol College, the only one we were able to tour has 400 students!) The Great Hall of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies was filmed in Christ Church college in Oxford, and of course unhelpful-rude girl made a point of telling us Christ Church was certainly closed. Well, she lied. We were able to get in to the grounds and look around a bit, but the Great Hall (aka their dining hall) was not going to open until later that afternoon, and we had places to go and people to see, so we couldn’t hover.
I cannot imagine going to a college that dates back to the 1200s or going to a college where 13 Prime Ministers of England graduated, or a college where the buildings are so old and beautiful, that you feel more like you are in a book than a real place.
Back in the car: driving full speed ahead, 80 miles an hour, windows down, music blaring. Ok not really… it was more like this : dad driving our car with a dog of an engine that jolted and never really felt like it was in gear, mom with the map, and me in the back eating almonds because I had forgotten that breakfast was something that people sometimes do.
Did I mention that it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day? Cause it was.
At Warwick Castle in Warwick there was a food, drink, and craft festival happening this weekend. So naturally, I was pretty pumped. We arrived JUST in time for the Flight of the Eagles presentation on the lawn. Warwick is home to 8 eagles of different breeds and they were so majestic. What powerful, wonderful, beautiful creatures. I understood why they are such a symbol of power across the world.
We visited the food tent, which had an array of things ranging from jams, pastries, CHEESEY cashews, different curries, and homemade COOKIES ( I got Mars Bars ones.. oh my so good.) The craft tent had some pretty awesome photography that made mom and I drool… too bad it was much too much over our budget.
The castle itself was unique from others that I’ve been to in the sense that Madam Tusseauds furnished it with wax figures of people who had stayed at our lived in the castle. And, they talked and told their stories! It was cool hearing about all the draaaaaama that the wealthy are involved in. This one slept with that one, and that one backstabbed this one, etc.
We left at closing time after walking around on top of the castle wall, and drove to the Cottswald villages. Talk about PEACEFUL. No tourists. So refreshing. Literally, you felt like you were in a Thomas Kinkade painting. And… take note:
We stopped in one of the villages, Bourton on the Water, and ate at a little pub called the Kingsbridge that was along a little stream that ran through the center of town. It was a wonderful last meal with mom and dad.
After returning the car and getting mom and dad to their hotel by the airport, I sadly parted ways with them and took the tube home, getting home not long before the last train came in. It was a lonesome ride, knowing that I was leaving them behind, but I can’t be too sad cause I’ll be in Cyprus in less than two weeks!
Sunday, April 25= an athletically inspirational day. The Bakerloo tube line was down for maitenance, so I took the bus to Buckingham Palace to watch the finish of the London Marathon. I arrived about 10 minutes before the elite men were due to finish, and so I watched the last of the elite women (who started before the men) and the wheelchairs come through. Talk about ripped! I’m not sure what their times were, but since they were elite, they were probably all under three hours. The winner of the marathon overall was an Ethiopian guy, and his time was 2:03 something. He was MOVIN.
I had a great spot for a view of the runners as they came in for the last 300 yards. I saw the first Brit to finish the race too, and of course everyone cheered like mad for him. 36,000 people ran in the marathon this year. Wow.
Then last night Linda and I went to the London Symphony Orchestra, arriving a little late so we had to sit out the first act. But, no big deal, we could hear the music just fine from the lobby. They were soooo talented. It made me appreciate orchestras a lot more, because the only orchestral things I ever remember attending where high schools who should NOT have had an orchestra because they did not have a big enough pool of students or funding to make a quality production. But, the LSO was obviously of highest caliber, and quite a treat.
Monday=wish-I-drank-coffee-day. I got up at 5:30 to go to Bikram Yoga! AHHH. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it because it was so early, but I felt accomplished when I rolled myself out of bed this morning. I went to a yoga studio that was only 2 tube stops from me, which was pretty convenient. It felt so good to be back in class, and I was so rejuvenated afterward. I’m sure my body will be prettttty sore tomorrow, though.
When I was leaving yoga, I arrived at the tube station and RIGHT AS I GOT ON THE TRAIN, they suspended the line, and it was the only line that came into the tube, so I couldn’t just get on another line and do a transfer to get home. So… I took the bus. It felt good to be able to just find my way home without the tube from a place I had never been to. A month ago I probably wouldn’t have been able to, and I would’ve stressed out.
Linda, Brooke and I then left for a 10 o’clock tour of the BBC. Our tour guide was your typical lovely older British gentleman, and I found the tour fascinating! The BBC television building has 8,000 people working in it! They have their own hairdressers, dry cleaners, restaurants, gym, showers, and probably beds, though we didn’t see any. To rent a studio at the BBC it costs 40,000 pounds for one day, excluding any tech crew or dressing rooms. CRAZY. At the end you could be in a game show and so we played and I won a mug that says BBC Tours on it!
We came back and went to Ben’s Thai for lunch with Tim Pinn the Tube Man. Today was the last day he would be working while we are here, so we were all pretty sad. So, we decided to go to lunch as a last goodbye. It was WEIRD seeing him walking down the STREET towards us in pedestrian clothes rather than in uniform. We ate and made merry and then at the end he paid for all of our meals. It was so generous of him. I will have such fond memories of Tim.
So, that’s the London Life as it begins to wind down. I can’t believe how the time flies.
Saturday, April 24= going back in time to a land before the United States existed. Mom, dad and I hired a car to take a day trip in to Oxford, Warwick, and the Cottswalds.
We arrived to Oxford mid-morning and I was immediately struck by the energy of the place. So collegiate, so vibrant, yet a pyramid of intelligence from hundreds of years of educational history behind the place. We stopped at the TI (tourist info) on our walk in to the town, and the very unhelpful and rude girl told us that most of the colleges were closed for the day because they were sitting exams. (oh by the way… common misconception about Oxford: many people think that it is one university, rather like our universities in the States, HOWEVER, Oxford is a village of smaller universities… 32 to be exact. Each one has its specialties and each was founded by different people at different times, and many are very small, Balliol College, the only one we were able to tour has 400 students!) The Great Hall of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies was filmed in Christ Church college in Oxford, and of course unhelpful-rude girl made a point of telling us Christ Church was certainly closed. Well, she lied. We were able to get in to the grounds and look around a bit, but the Great Hall (aka their dining hall) was not going to open until later that afternoon, and we had places to go and people to see, so we couldn’t hover.
I cannot imagine going to a college that dates back to the 1200s or going to a college where 13 Prime Ministers of England graduated, or a college where the buildings are so old and beautiful, that you feel more like you are in a book than a real place.
Back in the car: driving full speed ahead, 80 miles an hour, windows down, music blaring. Ok not really… it was more like this : dad driving our car with a dog of an engine that jolted and never really felt like it was in gear, mom with the map, and me in the back eating almonds because I had forgotten that breakfast was something that people sometimes do.
Did I mention that it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day? Cause it was.
At Warwick Castle in Warwick there was a food, drink, and craft festival happening this weekend. So naturally, I was pretty pumped. We arrived JUST in time for the Flight of the Eagles presentation on the lawn. Warwick is home to 8 eagles of different breeds and they were so majestic. What powerful, wonderful, beautiful creatures. I understood why they are such a symbol of power across the world.
We visited the food tent, which had an array of things ranging from jams, pastries, CHEESEY cashews, different curries, and homemade COOKIES ( I got Mars Bars ones.. oh my so good.) The craft tent had some pretty awesome photography that made mom and I drool… too bad it was much too much over our budget.
The castle itself was unique from others that I’ve been to in the sense that Madam Tusseauds furnished it with wax figures of people who had stayed at our lived in the castle. And, they talked and told their stories! It was cool hearing about all the draaaaaama that the wealthy are involved in. This one slept with that one, and that one backstabbed this one, etc.
We left at closing time after walking around on top of the castle wall, and drove to the Cottswald villages. Talk about PEACEFUL. No tourists. So refreshing. Literally, you felt like you were in a Thomas Kinkade painting. And… take note:
We stopped in one of the villages, Bourton on the Water, and ate at a little pub called the Kingsbridge that was along a little stream that ran through the center of town. It was a wonderful last meal with mom and dad.
After returning the car and getting mom and dad to their hotel by the airport, I sadly parted ways with them and took the tube home, getting home not long before the last train came in. It was a lonesome ride, knowing that I was leaving them behind, but I can’t be too sad cause I’ll be in Cyprus in less than two weeks!
Sunday, April 25= an athletically inspirational day. The Bakerloo tube line was down for maitenance, so I took the bus to Buckingham Palace to watch the finish of the London Marathon. I arrived about 10 minutes before the elite men were due to finish, and so I watched the last of the elite women (who started before the men) and the wheelchairs come through. Talk about ripped! I’m not sure what their times were, but since they were elite, they were probably all under three hours. The winner of the marathon overall was an Ethiopian guy, and his time was 2:03 something. He was MOVIN.
I had a great spot for a view of the runners as they came in for the last 300 yards. I saw the first Brit to finish the race too, and of course everyone cheered like mad for him. 36,000 people ran in the marathon this year. Wow.
Then last night Linda and I went to the London Symphony Orchestra, arriving a little late so we had to sit out the first act. But, no big deal, we could hear the music just fine from the lobby. They were soooo talented. It made me appreciate orchestras a lot more, because the only orchestral things I ever remember attending where high schools who should NOT have had an orchestra because they did not have a big enough pool of students or funding to make a quality production. But, the LSO was obviously of highest caliber, and quite a treat.
Monday=wish-I-drank-coffee-day. I got up at 5:30 to go to Bikram Yoga! AHHH. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it because it was so early, but I felt accomplished when I rolled myself out of bed this morning. I went to a yoga studio that was only 2 tube stops from me, which was pretty convenient. It felt so good to be back in class, and I was so rejuvenated afterward. I’m sure my body will be prettttty sore tomorrow, though.
When I was leaving yoga, I arrived at the tube station and RIGHT AS I GOT ON THE TRAIN, they suspended the line, and it was the only line that came into the tube, so I couldn’t just get on another line and do a transfer to get home. So… I took the bus. It felt good to be able to just find my way home without the tube from a place I had never been to. A month ago I probably wouldn’t have been able to, and I would’ve stressed out.
Linda, Brooke and I then left for a 10 o’clock tour of the BBC. Our tour guide was your typical lovely older British gentleman, and I found the tour fascinating! The BBC television building has 8,000 people working in it! They have their own hairdressers, dry cleaners, restaurants, gym, showers, and probably beds, though we didn’t see any. To rent a studio at the BBC it costs 40,000 pounds for one day, excluding any tech crew or dressing rooms. CRAZY. At the end you could be in a game show and so we played and I won a mug that says BBC Tours on it!
We came back and went to Ben’s Thai for lunch with Tim Pinn the Tube Man. Today was the last day he would be working while we are here, so we were all pretty sad. So, we decided to go to lunch as a last goodbye. It was WEIRD seeing him walking down the STREET towards us in pedestrian clothes rather than in uniform. We ate and made merry and then at the end he paid for all of our meals. It was so generous of him. I will have such fond memories of Tim.
So, that’s the London Life as it begins to wind down. I can’t believe how the time flies.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Vicious Ugly Mean Volcano-Thurs., April 15, 2010
Ah! I'm so behind....
This is going to be short, but do look out for full updates to come.
On Thursday I woke up bright eyed and chipper in anticipation of my family arriving.... My how the day changed.
In class my friend Taylor was talking about how a volcano had erupted and made people nervous about flying, but that she didn't think it would affect us in London at all, and she was planning on traveling to Italy. Dismissing the thought from there, I called my parents after class and heard an edge under their excitement because...
Heathrow Airport had closed, blocking Marie and Calvin, and cousin Sally from making it in to England. That was alright though, we would just improvise... readjust our plans until they arrived.
Well, it is now MONDAY and UK airports MIGHT open back up tomorrow. But then again they might NOT.
So needless to say, Marie and Cal and Sally did not make it in, and the trip changed from being a blissful family reunion, to being the first trip EVER where it was just me, mom and dad.
After spending basically the full day on Thursday trying to rearrange flights and hotels, etc, we gave up with trying to find a plan b and c and d and left the rest up to mother nature. We headed out to grab dinner, and ended up at an Indian restaraunt in Paddington. It was soooo good! MMMMMMM I love Indian food.
Alright, that is all for now, but Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were packed full of entertainment, so look out for some guest entries!
Peace, Love, and Molten Lava.
This is going to be short, but do look out for full updates to come.
On Thursday I woke up bright eyed and chipper in anticipation of my family arriving.... My how the day changed.
In class my friend Taylor was talking about how a volcano had erupted and made people nervous about flying, but that she didn't think it would affect us in London at all, and she was planning on traveling to Italy. Dismissing the thought from there, I called my parents after class and heard an edge under their excitement because...
Heathrow Airport had closed, blocking Marie and Calvin, and cousin Sally from making it in to England. That was alright though, we would just improvise... readjust our plans until they arrived.
Well, it is now MONDAY and UK airports MIGHT open back up tomorrow. But then again they might NOT.
So needless to say, Marie and Cal and Sally did not make it in, and the trip changed from being a blissful family reunion, to being the first trip EVER where it was just me, mom and dad.
After spending basically the full day on Thursday trying to rearrange flights and hotels, etc, we gave up with trying to find a plan b and c and d and left the rest up to mother nature. We headed out to grab dinner, and ended up at an Indian restaraunt in Paddington. It was soooo good! MMMMMMM I love Indian food.
Alright, that is all for now, but Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were packed full of entertainment, so look out for some guest entries!
Peace, Love, and Molten Lava.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Fancy a crepe?
Literally, crepes are probably my favorite food. They are just soooo yummy. My new favorite is oeuf et fromage (egg and cheese.)Ok... so, here goes. This will definitely be a long post.
We took the Eurostar in to Paris, and it was such a smooth and quick ride, it made me never want to fly again. I was all smiles upon arriving in Paris. I have very found memories of the wonderful city.
Our hostel was comfortable and the room newly refurbished (smelled a little like new paint, but thats OK). It was possibly the smallest room for 4 people I have ever stayed in, however. There were 2 sets of bunk beds, with a foot and a half in between them, 3 feet between the base of them and the window, and a small area when you walk in. It was not possible for all four of us to be standing up at the same time. Haha.
The first night we walked down to the Red Light district and took a picture of Moulin Rouge. I did not realize that the Red Light district was still so hoppin' in Paris. So... that was interesting.
We ate dinner near the Louvre, and I ordered a croque vegeterien (a toasted cheese and veggie sandwich.) The Louvre is free on Friday nights to students, so we did not feel bad about only going there for about an hour and a half. We only hit the big things like Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, etc. It was cool, but I've seen it all before, and by this time after 14 hours of non-stop movement, I was pretty much dead on my feet. We had fun taking photos outside the pyramid afterward as well.
After a yummy breakfast of croissants and chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) we got started super early to Versailles on Friday, and had only one minor delay when a pigeon decided to take a giant poopy all over Linda's hair, purse and coat. Woops! Good thing we had just left the hostel and were able to turn around.
Versailles was pretty much as I remembered it to be. Beautiful, extravagant, CROWDED. There was not a single cloud in the sky the entire day and by midafternoon I was wearing a tank top! After being a vampire for two months, it felt so good to be out in the sun. We enjoyed the palace, but we loved the gardens much more. Flowers had not been planted yet, but the grass was green, the sky was bright, and the water was blue.
We walked around the gardens for a good four hours, the highlight being the Queen's Hamlets, on the back of the property. Marie Antoinette had the little farm estate built for her, and once it was built, she rarely stayed in the palace. It was her place of peace and escape from the stuffiness of being of royal blood. We felt like we were walking into an imaginary world.
Wilbur became my hero. Here is some photo documentation of his boredom-turned-mischief.
We walked around the gardens for a good four hours, the highlight being the Queen's Hamlets, on the back of the property. Marie Antoinette had the little farm estate built for her, and once it was built, she rarely stayed in the palace. It was her place of peace and escape from the stuffiness of being of royal blood. We felt like we were walking into an imaginary world.
At dinner that night we went around and shared our favorite part of the day. Mine was as follows...
Little Wilbur Pig grew bored of the lavish lifestyle of being the sole piggy in the pen of the Hamlet farm animals. As I made my rounds through the pastures, admiring all of the sheep, goats, pigs, birds, and bunnies, I noticed dear little Wilbur starting to fidget. He was a small little thing, about the size of a mid-age piglet. As I watched, Wilbur began to wag his little curly tail and the silly stupid sheep began to notice him. As he would walk toward them, they would all run away in fright. Well, being the smart little piggy that he was, Wilbur caught on and began to chase all of the sheep around the pasture. When one group would run away, he would begin to chase the next group. Even if this tiny, mischievious piggy even turned in these massive horned sheeps' direction, they would high tail it as far away as they could. It became a sport for Wilbur, and quite a spectacle for me. I laughed and laughed as the stupid sheep allowed a teeny pig to dictate their actions. Hm... sounds a bit like humanity sometimes, doesn't it? No wonder we are always compared to sheep.
Wilbur became my hero. Here is some photo documentation of his boredom-turned-mischief.
We ate dinner near the Louvre, and I ordered a croque vegeterien (a toasted cheese and veggie sandwich.) The Louvre is free on Friday nights to students, so we did not feel bad about only going there for about an hour and a half. We only hit the big things like Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, etc. It was cool, but I've seen it all before, and by this time after 14 hours of non-stop movement, I was pretty much dead on my feet. We had fun taking photos outside the pyramid afterward as well.
Saturday morning we took off to L'arc de Trioumpe and made the climb up to the top to enjoy the view of the city. Then we went to the Paris Sewers (not as gross as it sounds) and took a hike through the bowels of the city. 2,100 km of tunnels in the sewers make the Paris latrine system the cleanest and most efficient in the world. Despite this however, the river Seine is still pretty polluted. So here's a tip: Don't drink from it!
We grabbed lunch from a crepe stand next to the St. Michel fountain where we picked up our free walking tour from the Australian girl named Jacqueline who was in Paris learning to speak French. She was quirky and cute, and the tour was an interesting 3.5 hours of all the tourist sites and history behind them. There were two Dutch bankers on the tour who talked with us for awhile. They were very nice, and had perfect American accents. I told them they watched too much American TV. I'm not sure if they appreciated that. Oops.
After the walking tour we headed over the Sacre Couer (famous church on a hill in Paris) where Kathryn got her portrait done in Place Tertre and we walked around admiring the artists. We ate dinner in the square, but it was cheap with bad service. We did love the artists there though.
ALSO. At Sacre Couer there was a break dancing troupe. Check it OUT! They were awesome!
We misread the time on our Eiffel Tower reservations, so we showed up a half hour late and they would not let us up without paying again. So I decided since I've done it 3 times before, that I would pass and go sit in the park instead while they went up the tower. It really was beautiful to just sit there and gaze up at the architectural wonder of the world.
Sunday we started off by heading to Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle cathedrals, and on our way we watched the Paris Marathon runners as they ran along the Seine. It was so moving, I was crying behind my sunglasses. All of that energy and power in one place is really something else. I especially cried as a group of cheering young people ran out from under the bridge pushing a tricycle with a handcapped individual in it. They were all taking turns pushing this person the whole 26 miles. Now that is love.
We got crepes again for lunch, and then headed to the Paris Catacombs, which I had not been to since I was little. It was cool, but eerie, of course. There were thousands and thousands of people's bones down there. Talk about the plague. Down deep underneath the city, I was wearing my Elon hoodie to shelter me from the soggy coldness of the damp Parisian ground, and as we beginning our ascent, a gentleman with a soft southern drawl asked "Do you go to Elon?" Turns out two couples from North Carolina were vacationing in Paris for the week, and they had been to Elon only two weeks ago! One was from Burlington. It was sweet to have the close connection to home. They were typical North Carolinians... gentle and friendly.
Afterward Brooke wanted pictures of La Tour Eiffel in the daylight, so we went and sat in a little cafe and had a plate of cheese and tea while she took pictures. It was nice to relax for what I felt was really the first time all weekend.
Then, we packed up and headed home. I slept basically the whole trainride. We were all pretty physically exhausted.
One thing I was really surprised and pleased with, was the fact that my French really came back to me. I was able to communicate and understand people! One man in line for icecream had the cutest little doll baby for a daughter, and without even thinking about how to say so, I said "Elle est tres mingon." Which means she is very cute. The only problem was I did not turn mignon into mignonne which is the feminine form of the word. However, he understood me and got the point!
So moral of the story is: I love Paris (I know that isn't really a moral... guess I should use the word theme?)
EDIT: Theme of the story is: I LOVE PARIS!
Now... back to work.... lots to do, so little time (the family comes in on Thursday!!!!)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Contrary to Popular Belief, Easter Animals Do Not Crawl, Fly, or Hop
.... they skate.
Easter 2010: Waking up much too early filled with excitement. Put on my Easter Dress.... but Easter in London doesn't really feel like being warm enough, so grudgingly put on leggings, boots and a coat over my dress.
Church at All Souls which was great. Have I mentioned yet that I love that place?
Walked through Hyde Park to get to the Bunny Fun Skate. Even if it is cold, the trees are blooming beautifully!
It was funny to watch all of the roller bladers dressed in their Easter attire. Some costumes were cute, and some people had STEREO CARTS that they pushed in front of them and blared music down the street.
Some of them were really hardcore and were practicing skating through cones as fast as they could.
We then went off on a quest to find internet, and after an HOUR of searching, we finally stopped at an internet cafe and used public computers. So... obviously we did not get any of the homework done that we had planned.
Easter feast in Flat L: I brought the brownies and salad, Linda made mac n' cheese, Brooke mashed potatoes, Kathryn green bean casserole, and Kristin ham. Haha. Going back and re-reading that makes it look like their names are Brooke Mashed Potatoes, Kathryn Green Bean Casserole, and Kristin Ham. Those would be funny names, wouldn't they?
Yesterday we went to see "The Habit of Art" for theatre class. I am presenting on it next week, and so I was really crossing my fingers that it would be good. And, it was! There were parts that were slow, but it really speaks to artists AND Uncle Vernon and Madame Maxime from Harry Potter were in it. Uncle Vernon was an extraordinary actor, I loved watching him.
Tomorrow Linda, Kathryn, Brooke and I leave for Paris. J'adore Paris et je t'aime la cuisine! C'est Delicieux! (Remnants of my high school French... hope that I can use it! Haha.)
Until next week...
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Week of Wonderful West End Wonders
Now Showing: The God's Weep (starring the guy who does the voice of Scar in The Lion King! INCREDIBLE acting. Best I've seen here in London. Made the show for me.)
Now Showing: Wicked (in British accents! It threw me off at first, but I didn't notice it after awhile. Wasn't as good as the Broadway performance, but still... it was Wicked... meaning it was amazing.)
Now Showing: Billy Elliot (the dancing was AMAZINGGGG and I loved seeing the enthusiasm and energy of the kids in it. LOVED it. Sat in the front row on a stack of books so that we could see the stage. Our bums fell asleep, but it was so worth it.)
Don't miss the final performance of : Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (going to it tonight! AHHH can't wait for a car to fly over my head.)
I've been back in London for a week and seen four shows! I have to get them all in before I leave and I only have a month left! It is sooo crazy how the time has flown. There is still so much I want to see and do.
Due to a fire in our wireless provider's building on Wednesday of this week, our internet has been out, and will continue till at least Tuesday. So it has been an interesting week being disconnected. Right now I am sitting in a Starbucks in Wimbledon, hoping that Venus and Serena will run by my hitting tennis balls to each other across the road. Hmm.... am I dreaming too big?
Yesterday was Good Friday, and I decided to try fasting this year. It was difficult, but I succeeded on making it through the entire day on water and 2 pieces of gum. It was a great experience physically and spiritually and let me tell ya, I FEASTED this morning. Kathryn fasted with me, so we broke our fast together with a breakfast of omeletes, bagels, and fresh fruit. Let me tell you, no omelette every tasted so goooooood.
Tomorrow for Easter there is a parade in Hyde Park where people dress up as bunnies and rollerskate around the city! Yippeee! I'm gonna wear my Easter dress (so what if it's too cold, you only live once right?) and then we are preparing an Easter Feast afterward.
Happy Easter everyone! :)
Now Showing: Wicked (in British accents! It threw me off at first, but I didn't notice it after awhile. Wasn't as good as the Broadway performance, but still... it was Wicked... meaning it was amazing.)
Now Showing: Billy Elliot (the dancing was AMAZINGGGG and I loved seeing the enthusiasm and energy of the kids in it. LOVED it. Sat in the front row on a stack of books so that we could see the stage. Our bums fell asleep, but it was so worth it.)
Don't miss the final performance of : Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (going to it tonight! AHHH can't wait for a car to fly over my head.)I've been back in London for a week and seen four shows! I have to get them all in before I leave and I only have a month left! It is sooo crazy how the time has flown. There is still so much I want to see and do.
Due to a fire in our wireless provider's building on Wednesday of this week, our internet has been out, and will continue till at least Tuesday. So it has been an interesting week being disconnected. Right now I am sitting in a Starbucks in Wimbledon, hoping that Venus and Serena will run by my hitting tennis balls to each other across the road. Hmm.... am I dreaming too big?
Yesterday was Good Friday, and I decided to try fasting this year. It was difficult, but I succeeded on making it through the entire day on water and 2 pieces of gum. It was a great experience physically and spiritually and let me tell ya, I FEASTED this morning. Kathryn fasted with me, so we broke our fast together with a breakfast of omeletes, bagels, and fresh fruit. Let me tell you, no omelette every tasted so goooooood.
Tomorrow for Easter there is a parade in Hyde Park where people dress up as bunnies and rollerskate around the city! Yippeee! I'm gonna wear my Easter dress (so what if it's too cold, you only live once right?) and then we are preparing an Easter Feast afterward.
Happy Easter everyone! :)
Farewell my Bonnie Ireland
Excerpts from my journal: Final entry
“I am sitting here in the airport filled with sadness. I parted ways with my U.S. bound friends, fighting back tears the whole time. Being with them made me homesick for the first time since coming here. Hearing about life at Elon and being with people who I have a history with brought a subconscious ache to the surface. But… in this moment, there are people around me who are carrying on with their lives, there are giants in front of me created by man to shrink the world and thus I am reminded that my small world will continue to turn.
This trip was amazing. Truly. I don’t know how I could have had more fun. Here is a catch up…
Our first day in Killarney Michael and I woke up bright and early to go on a run and we ended up running to this fancy hotel called the Lake Hotel that had a castle ruins on its property that overlooked a beautiful lake in Killarney National Park.
We came back to a DELICIOUS buffet at the Woodlawn before heading out to the Dingle Peninsula. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Dingle Loop Scenic Drive. On the way we stopped at Inch Strand beach (recommendation of our gas station friend-man.) It was so beautiful. We ran along the beach laughing as Michael walked behind us like a dad. We asked some lovely British folks to take our picture and chatted with them for awhile. They told us this was their fourth trip to Ireland and the Dingle/Kerry area was the best they’d seen.
We drove the loop. What is an hour drive took us FOUR hours because we stopped so much. We saw ancient beehive huts, forts, monastic sites, abandoned homes from the potato famine in the 1850s, beautiful beaches and mountains, and of course SHEEP. We drove out to the tip of the peninsula, which is the westernmost point in Europe!
We were tired from all the driving when we arrived back to Killarney, so we got pizza from Four Star Pizza and decided to go to a movie! We saw Jackie Chan’s “The Spy Next Door.” It was TERRIBLE in the best way possible. The acting was awful, but Jackie Chan is just so cute and his movies are always fun. Michael said this was his first movie where he didn’t do all his own stunts. So sad. He’s getting old.
After the movie we played Rummy and Michael whooped us! Final scores…. Michael: 285 (smelly winner) Lisa: -5 (+30,000…. TRUE winner) Em: 120 (coolest winner)
Because we’d driven so much the past two days and were going to be driving all the way back to Dublin, we decided to take the next day to stay nearby. We took our time in the morning and then drove to the park entrance (2k away) where we hiked to the Muckross Abbey.
(DETOUR) The weather this whole trip has been perfect. Very un-Irelandy. When you think of Ireland, you think of rain, right? Well…. We had a lot of sunshine. And, Friday was no different. When the sun was shining we all shed our layers and were in t-shirts.
We hiked over to the Muckross House, which is a large Victorian country home where Victoria herself came and visited for two days. To prepare for her visit, the homeowners spent 6 years planning! While we waited for our tour of the house, we walked around the gardens and sat in a little gazebo and picnicked with our usual brown soda bread, peanut butter, and nutella.
After touring the Muckross House that had a set of 10,000 year old antlers found in the bogs…. Along with all the BOG BODIES AHHH) we hiked up to Torc Waterfall. I felt like I was in a dream because the trees and rocks were all covered in moss and you could hear the waterfall well before you saw it. It was a gorgeous hike.
When we finally made it back to the car we figured we’d hiked about 10 k through the diverse terrains from gardens to mountains to lakes, to tropical looking forests, to Lord-of-the-Rings-looking-moss-covered forests.
Directly from the park we drove part of the Ring of Kerry to Kenmare for dinner. The drive was another gorgeous one. It was just before sunset and the sun was peeking out of clouds and shining on the barren mountains. Lisa called them “burnt toast mountains.”
In Kenmare we found a little pub called Foley’s (recommendation of Rick Steves) where our waiter spoke English but for the life of us we couldn’t understand a single word he said. They had a different sort of bread there, and I asked him “what is sweet in this bread?”, because it tasted banana-like, and he replied with something and started laughing and stood staring at me for a reaction, so I laughed too, having no idea why I was laughing. When he walked away, Michael said, “I think he said ‘sugar.’” The food was very good there and we had fun. I’ve loved our dinners on this trip.
We drove home in the dark, which was kinda scary, but also satisfying.
YESTERDAY Michael and I rose early again for another run before another delicious breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, yogurt, fresh fruit, Muesli, scones, and soda bread. FULL FOR LIFE.
We checked out of our hotel and drove until lunch where we stopped to picnic along a lake. The drive consisted of traditional Irish music (thanks dad!) and some sleepy kids. The picnic consisted of feeding the fish our moldy bread and throwing it at each other at which point Lisa lost her shoe while chasing Michael. She screamed so loud and bloodcurdlingly that Michael and I didn’t know what hit us. Of course, when seeing that the bog had tried to steal her shoe, I laughed so hard I had to cross my legs to keep from peeing.
We stopped in a little town called Roscrea that was not too far outside of Dublin where we heard an ice cream truck and flocked like all the children to get treats. The town was another castle town and there was this cool old building we were walking toward, only to find it was an Irish department store called Dunnes. Dunnes was casually chilling in a castle. TYPICAL Ireland.
We made it to our Holiday in at the airport and returned our car. 1000 kilometers later and the car was fully intact and we were fully intact.
We walked the 3 k back to our hotel and watched the end of Harry Potter number two and an Andrew Lloyd Webber reality show casting a Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz on West End! I was appalled, intrigued, and instantly addicted. It was hard to pull ourselves away to go to dinner. But, we were so glad we did.
Noel and Grainne picked us up and took us to a local restaurant called Anderson’s where I prefaced the dinner with a “my treat” and they agreed. So we loaded up on food and a history lesson and lots of laughter. At the end the stinkers said, “Thank you for the offer, but we’re picking up the tab.” Just another sign of their old school generosity. They took us on the same scenic drive I’d gone on with them to see the lights of the city. Lisa and Michael were raving about them afterward.
And now here I am headed to…well I can’t really say the daily grind, can I? Because I’d hardly call living in London “the grind.” So I guess I’ll say I’m headed back to my other temporary and extraordinary world, poised and ready for the next adventure.”
“I am sitting here in the airport filled with sadness. I parted ways with my U.S. bound friends, fighting back tears the whole time. Being with them made me homesick for the first time since coming here. Hearing about life at Elon and being with people who I have a history with brought a subconscious ache to the surface. But… in this moment, there are people around me who are carrying on with their lives, there are giants in front of me created by man to shrink the world and thus I am reminded that my small world will continue to turn.
This trip was amazing. Truly. I don’t know how I could have had more fun. Here is a catch up…
Our first day in Killarney Michael and I woke up bright and early to go on a run and we ended up running to this fancy hotel called the Lake Hotel that had a castle ruins on its property that overlooked a beautiful lake in Killarney National Park.
We came back to a DELICIOUS buffet at the Woodlawn before heading out to the Dingle Peninsula. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Dingle Loop Scenic Drive. On the way we stopped at Inch Strand beach (recommendation of our gas station friend-man.) It was so beautiful. We ran along the beach laughing as Michael walked behind us like a dad. We asked some lovely British folks to take our picture and chatted with them for awhile. They told us this was their fourth trip to Ireland and the Dingle/Kerry area was the best they’d seen.
We drove the loop. What is an hour drive took us FOUR hours because we stopped so much. We saw ancient beehive huts, forts, monastic sites, abandoned homes from the potato famine in the 1850s, beautiful beaches and mountains, and of course SHEEP. We drove out to the tip of the peninsula, which is the westernmost point in Europe!
We were tired from all the driving when we arrived back to Killarney, so we got pizza from Four Star Pizza and decided to go to a movie! We saw Jackie Chan’s “The Spy Next Door.” It was TERRIBLE in the best way possible. The acting was awful, but Jackie Chan is just so cute and his movies are always fun. Michael said this was his first movie where he didn’t do all his own stunts. So sad. He’s getting old.
After the movie we played Rummy and Michael whooped us! Final scores…. Michael: 285 (smelly winner) Lisa: -5 (+30,000…. TRUE winner) Em: 120 (coolest winner)
Because we’d driven so much the past two days and were going to be driving all the way back to Dublin, we decided to take the next day to stay nearby. We took our time in the morning and then drove to the park entrance (2k away) where we hiked to the Muckross Abbey.
(DETOUR) The weather this whole trip has been perfect. Very un-Irelandy. When you think of Ireland, you think of rain, right? Well…. We had a lot of sunshine. And, Friday was no different. When the sun was shining we all shed our layers and were in t-shirts.
We hiked over to the Muckross House, which is a large Victorian country home where Victoria herself came and visited for two days. To prepare for her visit, the homeowners spent 6 years planning! While we waited for our tour of the house, we walked around the gardens and sat in a little gazebo and picnicked with our usual brown soda bread, peanut butter, and nutella.
After touring the Muckross House that had a set of 10,000 year old antlers found in the bogs…. Along with all the BOG BODIES AHHH) we hiked up to Torc Waterfall. I felt like I was in a dream because the trees and rocks were all covered in moss and you could hear the waterfall well before you saw it. It was a gorgeous hike.
When we finally made it back to the car we figured we’d hiked about 10 k through the diverse terrains from gardens to mountains to lakes, to tropical looking forests, to Lord-of-the-Rings-looking-moss-covered forests.
Directly from the park we drove part of the Ring of Kerry to Kenmare for dinner. The drive was another gorgeous one. It was just before sunset and the sun was peeking out of clouds and shining on the barren mountains. Lisa called them “burnt toast mountains.”
In Kenmare we found a little pub called Foley’s (recommendation of Rick Steves) where our waiter spoke English but for the life of us we couldn’t understand a single word he said. They had a different sort of bread there, and I asked him “what is sweet in this bread?”, because it tasted banana-like, and he replied with something and started laughing and stood staring at me for a reaction, so I laughed too, having no idea why I was laughing. When he walked away, Michael said, “I think he said ‘sugar.’” The food was very good there and we had fun. I’ve loved our dinners on this trip.
We drove home in the dark, which was kinda scary, but also satisfying.
YESTERDAY Michael and I rose early again for another run before another delicious breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, yogurt, fresh fruit, Muesli, scones, and soda bread. FULL FOR LIFE.
We checked out of our hotel and drove until lunch where we stopped to picnic along a lake. The drive consisted of traditional Irish music (thanks dad!) and some sleepy kids. The picnic consisted of feeding the fish our moldy bread and throwing it at each other at which point Lisa lost her shoe while chasing Michael. She screamed so loud and bloodcurdlingly that Michael and I didn’t know what hit us. Of course, when seeing that the bog had tried to steal her shoe, I laughed so hard I had to cross my legs to keep from peeing.
We stopped in a little town called Roscrea that was not too far outside of Dublin where we heard an ice cream truck and flocked like all the children to get treats. The town was another castle town and there was this cool old building we were walking toward, only to find it was an Irish department store called Dunnes. Dunnes was casually chilling in a castle. TYPICAL Ireland.
We made it to our Holiday in at the airport and returned our car. 1000 kilometers later and the car was fully intact and we were fully intact.
We walked the 3 k back to our hotel and watched the end of Harry Potter number two and an Andrew Lloyd Webber reality show casting a Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz on West End! I was appalled, intrigued, and instantly addicted. It was hard to pull ourselves away to go to dinner. But, we were so glad we did.
Noel and Grainne picked us up and took us to a local restaurant called Anderson’s where I prefaced the dinner with a “my treat” and they agreed. So we loaded up on food and a history lesson and lots of laughter. At the end the stinkers said, “Thank you for the offer, but we’re picking up the tab.” Just another sign of their old school generosity. They took us on the same scenic drive I’d gone on with them to see the lights of the city. Lisa and Michael were raving about them afterward.
And now here I am headed to…well I can’t really say the daily grind, can I? Because I’d hardly call living in London “the grind.” So I guess I’ll say I’m headed back to my other temporary and extraordinary world, poised and ready for the next adventure.”
REALLY, what is black pudding?
Hmmmmmm…..
Chocolate pudding? Maybe some sort of tasty Thanksgiving dish loaded with carbs? Licorice flavored cream? (That would be gross.)
Well…. It’s ANIMAL GUTS and blood mixed in to a little patty. YUM. There is also WHITE pudding which is seasoned differently, and not quite as dead looking…
Excerpts from my journal: Day 7
It is early. I woke up to go on a run before our breakfast scheduled at 8 am. All of us were going to go running, but it’s pouring rain and obviously cold, so none of us wanted to. We are going on a walk after breakfast instead.
So here I am sitting in a cozy lounge, next to an unlit fire, looking out at a drizzly dawn of the Wicklow Mountains. There is really something about this place. I don’t want to use the term “magical” because I feel that it isn’t a strong enough word. It takes the spirituality out it. I guess there is something spiritual about this place.
Peace. Serenity. Still. Safe. Love.
I am grateful for the rain.
I am grateful for the little rainbow (spray painted) sheep outside our gate.
I am grateful for the friends who are sharing this amazing experience with me….”
“After a long, long day of driving I am too tired to put much thought into this tonight. We literally drove across the entire country today! I didn’t get us into an accident! Here is the day in bullets…” (I’ve embellished these for blogging purposes)
“-Breakfast. Michael got black and white pudding and he and Lisa tried both. I was not brave enough for the black, especially because of the whole not eating animals thing. But I did break my vegetarianism for a teeny taste of white. It wasn’t bad if you didn’t know what it was.
-Walk in the rain to see St. Kevin’s church and the sheepies.
-Drive….
-Drive….
-Drive…. But it was scenic! We drove the long way along the coast, on scenic back-roads.
-Stopped in a village called Avoca where we visited a weaving mill. You literally could just walk in to the weaving area and watch how the factory worked.
It was so cool watching the hand weavers. What an art. All the beautiful colors laced through one another as the skilled human hands whipped the threads through. I got a ring here that is the Celtic symbol for the Trinity. For me it carries a double message, the three points are also me, Michael, and Lisa!
-Drive….
-Stopped at a gas station where Lisa and I pretended we were cars and walked through the teeny tiny car wash and made all the sounds and motions of being scrubbed down. I felt like a little girl again.
-Drive…
-Stopped at Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone!!!! It was very quiet here, and we were the only ones up on top to kiss the stone. It is quite an awkward endeavor…
-Pretended to be princesses and nymphs climbing trees and making human sacrifices of each other in the Rock Close garden around Blarney.
Drive… (this segment we got lost and then drove on the narrowest road yet driving RIGHT in to the setting sun.)
-Destination ACHIEVED! Our Bed and Breakfast, the Woodlawn house is the cutest, most comfy place.
-Dinner at Danny Man Pub with a live musician and a 9 year old traditional dancer. She was cute. The music was great and we bought his CD!
-Lisa and I laughed so hard at dinner that we cried and attracted many stares from the surrounding tables…. Oh dear… sometimes I really do fit the loud American stereotype, but it was worth it.
-Germans take our picture and tell us to say (sorry for the improper spelling) “Ahmeinen shitz” instead of “Cheese” and when we say it they all burst out laughing. We thought that they were insulting us, making us say something awful. The next morning they were at breakfast at our hotel! They explained to us then that we said (pardon my French) “rat shit.” Oops.
-We stopped at a little gas station on our corner and got ice cream. We made a friend. The owner of the gas station was an older Irish man who was the most gentlemanly guy ever. For the rest of our time in Killarney we went and bought whatever we needed from him. Bread, water, gas, ice cream, chocolate.
-Warm bedddddddddddddddddddddd……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Chocolate pudding? Maybe some sort of tasty Thanksgiving dish loaded with carbs? Licorice flavored cream? (That would be gross.)
Well…. It’s ANIMAL GUTS and blood mixed in to a little patty. YUM. There is also WHITE pudding which is seasoned differently, and not quite as dead looking…
Excerpts from my journal: Day 7
It is early. I woke up to go on a run before our breakfast scheduled at 8 am. All of us were going to go running, but it’s pouring rain and obviously cold, so none of us wanted to. We are going on a walk after breakfast instead.
So here I am sitting in a cozy lounge, next to an unlit fire, looking out at a drizzly dawn of the Wicklow Mountains. There is really something about this place. I don’t want to use the term “magical” because I feel that it isn’t a strong enough word. It takes the spirituality out it. I guess there is something spiritual about this place.
Peace. Serenity. Still. Safe. Love.
I am grateful for the rain.
I am grateful for the little rainbow (spray painted) sheep outside our gate.
I am grateful for the friends who are sharing this amazing experience with me….”
“After a long, long day of driving I am too tired to put much thought into this tonight. We literally drove across the entire country today! I didn’t get us into an accident! Here is the day in bullets…” (I’ve embellished these for blogging purposes)
“-Breakfast. Michael got black and white pudding and he and Lisa tried both. I was not brave enough for the black, especially because of the whole not eating animals thing. But I did break my vegetarianism for a teeny taste of white. It wasn’t bad if you didn’t know what it was.
-Walk in the rain to see St. Kevin’s church and the sheepies.
-Drive….
-Drive….
-Drive…. But it was scenic! We drove the long way along the coast, on scenic back-roads.
-Stopped in a village called Avoca where we visited a weaving mill. You literally could just walk in to the weaving area and watch how the factory worked.
It was so cool watching the hand weavers. What an art. All the beautiful colors laced through one another as the skilled human hands whipped the threads through. I got a ring here that is the Celtic symbol for the Trinity. For me it carries a double message, the three points are also me, Michael, and Lisa!
-Drive….
-Stopped at a gas station where Lisa and I pretended we were cars and walked through the teeny tiny car wash and made all the sounds and motions of being scrubbed down. I felt like a little girl again.
-Drive…
-Stopped at Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone!!!! It was very quiet here, and we were the only ones up on top to kiss the stone. It is quite an awkward endeavor…
-Pretended to be princesses and nymphs climbing trees and making human sacrifices of each other in the Rock Close garden around Blarney.
Drive… (this segment we got lost and then drove on the narrowest road yet driving RIGHT in to the setting sun.)
-Destination ACHIEVED! Our Bed and Breakfast, the Woodlawn house is the cutest, most comfy place.
-Dinner at Danny Man Pub with a live musician and a 9 year old traditional dancer. She was cute. The music was great and we bought his CD!
-Lisa and I laughed so hard at dinner that we cried and attracted many stares from the surrounding tables…. Oh dear… sometimes I really do fit the loud American stereotype, but it was worth it.
-Germans take our picture and tell us to say (sorry for the improper spelling) “Ahmeinen shitz” instead of “Cheese” and when we say it they all burst out laughing. We thought that they were insulting us, making us say something awful. The next morning they were at breakfast at our hotel! They explained to us then that we said (pardon my French) “rat shit.” Oops.
-We stopped at a little gas station on our corner and got ice cream. We made a friend. The owner of the gas station was an older Irish man who was the most gentlemanly guy ever. For the rest of our time in Killarney we went and bought whatever we needed from him. Bread, water, gas, ice cream, chocolate.
-Warm bedddddddddddddddddddddd……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Don’t Fleece the Snappers!
To be “fleeced”: to be overcharged or ripped off
Snapper: slang word for baby
Noel and Grainne taught me these Irish terms. I love that babies are called snappers, as if they aregiant turtles about to snap your head off if you don’t feed them every two hours.
Excerpts from my journal: Days 5 and 6
I woke up not feeling well at all. Too many cookies, Nutella, and junk mix yesterday, I think.
We hit the street bright and early to make the bus to pick Michael up at the airport. We became turned around looking for the bus stop because the directions we had told us that it was right next to the tourist information center. Well…. The T.I. was not in any normal old building. It was in a CHURCH. And, at 5:30 in the morning when the sky is still BLACK, one does not expect to walk by a church and have it be a tourist information center. DOINK.
But….. we found the bus and made it to the airport and the reunion with Michael was salty (He brought me wheat thins, not cookies…). I was so happy to see him. We boarded the bus and began chatting and before we knew it, we realized we’d never stopped at Suffolk Street and were driving farther and farther away from the city center. The bus driver GRUMPED at us and took us around the whole route again to get us back to where we needed to be, putting us on the bus for almost two hours. Oops.
We snuck Michael into the hostel. He was not checked in yet, and at this particular hostel they had a security measure where each guest showed their key as they walked in. So Lisa and I went up with Michael’s suitcases, and then I went back down, gave Michael Lisa’s key, let him go in, and then followed him about a minute later. We all felt so guilty as if we were committing some big crime. But REALLY, all we wanted was a NAPPPPP. So we took a small one and made it down for breakfast before heading out to adventure Kilmanhem (spelling anyone?) Gaol. The 18th Century prison was eerie, but its history was fascinating. When it reopened as a museum in the 1960s, the last prisoner to be released who was the current (or recent) Irish Prime Minister, was the one to “cut the ribbon” for the opening! Crazy, right?
After that we walked to the Guinness Storehouse which was very state of the art and interesting. We tried Guinness along the way and I thought it was NASTY, Michael didn’t care for it, and Lisa really liked it.
Snapper: slang word for baby
Noel and Grainne taught me these Irish terms. I love that babies are called snappers, as if they are
Excerpts from my journal: Days 5 and 6
I woke up not feeling well at all. Too many cookies, Nutella, and junk mix yesterday, I think.
We hit the street bright and early to make the bus to pick Michael up at the airport. We became turned around looking for the bus stop because the directions we had told us that it was right next to the tourist information center. Well…. The T.I. was not in any normal old building. It was in a CHURCH. And, at 5:30 in the morning when the sky is still BLACK, one does not expect to walk by a church and have it be a tourist information center. DOINK.
But….. we found the bus and made it to the airport and the reunion with Michael was salty (He brought me wheat thins, not cookies…). I was so happy to see him. We boarded the bus and began chatting and before we knew it, we realized we’d never stopped at Suffolk Street and were driving farther and farther away from the city center. The bus driver GRUMPED at us and took us around the whole route again to get us back to where we needed to be, putting us on the bus for almost two hours. Oops.
We snuck Michael into the hostel. He was not checked in yet, and at this particular hostel they had a security measure where each guest showed their key as they walked in. So Lisa and I went up with Michael’s suitcases, and then I went back down, gave Michael Lisa’s key, let him go in, and then followed him about a minute later. We all felt so guilty as if we were committing some big crime. But REALLY, all we wanted was a NAPPPPP. So we took a small one and made it down for breakfast before heading out to adventure Kilmanhem (spelling anyone?) Gaol. The 18th Century prison was eerie, but its history was fascinating. When it reopened as a museum in the 1960s, the last prisoner to be released who was the current (or recent) Irish Prime Minister, was the one to “cut the ribbon” for the opening! Crazy, right?
After that we walked to the Guinness Storehouse which was very state of the art and interesting. We tried Guinness along the way and I thought it was NASTY, Michael didn’t care for it, and Lisa really liked it.
The history of
We came home and rested before heading out to St. Patrick’s Cathedral which was closed sadly, but had beautiful gardens around it that we walked through.
Dinner was at the Brazen Head, which claims to be the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to the 1100's. It had a cool atmosphere, or maybe I should say a hot atmosphere because I sat with my back to the fire. MMMM, yes. It also had money autographed from customers from all over the world. Most were dollar bills, however…. Those Americans. We found one that was from Elon! CRAZYYYYY.
Next Day…
I was up at 6 this morning because we’d gone to bed so early last night. I just rolled around for awhile until the alarm went off and we started our long, long day. I can’t possibly write all that we did and the stories or details that went with, but thankfully we video blogged a 30 minute clip of a play-by-play of the day. (I think it is too big to upload to this, or I would just put it up instead of my journal!)
Quick summary of the video….
We went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and toured it, to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, and we went to the National Museum of History and Archeology where we saw BOG BODIES from HUNDREDS of years ago. Some were nearly perfectly preserved, looking like leather people. It was creepy, but interesting. Since they were found in bogs, most of them had met brutal ends and their captors had wanted to dispose of the evidence, so what better way than throwing the bodies in bogs? I won’t give you the gruesome details, but ALL of the bog bodies had been murdered. They became a bit of a mascot for us for the rest of the trip.
Trinity College was pretty awesome as well. The Book of Kells is an ancient manuscript of the Gospels, and it is elaborately scribed. The LIBRARRRRY there was soooo cool. Lisa and I walked in and BOTH of us immediately felt like Belle in
After touring we picked up the rental car... 
...and drove to a little village called Glendalough. We got into our Bed and Breakfast around 5, and immediately went out to this ancient monastic city on a hill that had hikes around it and the two lakes it was situated on. We basically had the place to ourselves because it was late and drizzly, so the experience was UNREAL. If I HAD to choose a favorite place in Ireland, it would be Glendalough. We hiked for 2 and a half hours, arriving back at our car in the dark.
We were sooo hungry, and since Glendalough was a small town, we did not have much selection… There was one restaurant and a gas station, so we went to the Wicklow Heather Restaurant and SPLURGED. It wasn’t SUPER expensive, but it was upscale for starving college students. But, the food was DELICIOUS and dinner was literally a two and a half hour food festival.
Ok… back to the written word of the day…
So, a few things not mentioned in the video:
I love how excited Lisa and Michael were about the hostel. Both came in with certain LOW expectations that were not met but well exceeded, and they were both a little bummed in a way to find that we would be in bed and breakfasts from now on.
Driving on the left side today was a bigger deal than I thought it would be. Renting the car, I had to put a gigantic deposit on my credit card for insurance.... which did not give me assurance (AHHHH). And, it was a big deal because it was my first rented car!!! I didn’t realize how much responsibility it was. It makes me appreciate my daddy.
Glendalough is unbelievable, and I’m so grateful to be here in this place that looks and feels like another world with my two good friends. God is so good. I can feel His peace here.”
Stay tuned.....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
