The City of Canals and Bicycles

Holy crap, I am far behind. I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a profound and heartfelt apology to Mr. Jesse Goldman, whose many night of drunkenness have been in vain for, alas, there was no updated blog to read. Sadly, after my return from Amsterdam I had school work to do in preparation for midterms, then I left for Ireland, then I actually had midterms upon my return. But, thankfully, that’s all over with now, so let’s pick up right where we left off, traveling to Amsterdam.

Friday, February 9

While there are a fair number of budget airlines that fly in and out of London’s remote airports which offer good rates, getting to these small airports actually takes longer than the flight itself. So, although our EasyJet flight was not until 9:30, we had to leave the IES Residence hall at 5:30 in the morning in order to catch the night bus to Victoria Coach Station to catch the 6:30 Green Line shuttle to Luton Airport, which takes 75 minutes, on a good day. Given how much I love the morning, I was clearly psyched about this plan, although everything did work itself out. There was a bit of chaos when Lauren’s alarm failed to go off and the night bus was severely delayed, but nevertheless, at 9:30 Lauren, Ashley, Sarah, and I took off for Amsterdam!

We got into the central airport and took a train to the central bus station where, after a great deal of confusion and a trip to the tourist information booth, we finally figured out which tram to take to Leidseplein Square. The trams that run throughout the city are really neat, although they are virtually impossible to understand unless you know the city well, which we clearly did not. At last, we found our way to the Hans Brinker Hostel, which is where we staying and after waiting for an hour for a high school group of at least 100 to finish checking in, we got the keys to our room: an eight person room with lockers and a private bathroom and shower. Not bad for €15 per night.

The first thing I noticed about Amsterdam was how many bicycles there are. It’s really incredible: parking lots have been constructed for bikes only, and the majority of people you see in transit are on bike. Since it’s not a large city, this works out well and, it’s really cool to see a bunch of Dutch families biking around like it’s their job. The rules of the road and right of way system is quite confusing (I think bikes have a permanent right of way?) but more about that later.

Once we dropped off our backpacks at the hostel we realized how hungry we were, and set off to find a café recommended in the ‘Let’s Go!’ travel guide, which is an absolute bible (and written by Harvard students, so you know it’s got to be good). Seriously, if you are traveling you should have a ‘Let’s Go!’ book. We strolled around the city for a while and made our way over to Vondelpark, a huge garden/park in the city which the café sat on the edge of. On a random guess, I led the four of us down a dead-end street only to literally bump into Lainie and her friends, who were also in Amsterdam for the weekend! Although we were never able to actually hang out, it was wonderful to see her for a few minutes. We ate lunch at Café Vertigo, a very cute little café/bar/restaurant. It’s attached to the Film Museum and consequently, the décor was quite fun: the walls were covered with shots from famous films as well as portraits of actors. It was here that we discovered the wonder that is a Dutch sandwich: an open-faced, toasted visual masterpiece. Ok, maybe that’s too strong of praise, but you must keep in mind how hungry we were and the fact that we expect your ordinary rull-of-the-mill sandwich.

Anyways, after our delicious lunch it was pretty late into the afternoon so we walked around Vondelpark for a bit then headed over to the Van Gogh Museum, one of the things I was most anxious to see. Friday nights the museum is open until 10:00, and they have local musicians performing in the lobby and drinks and small snacks for sale. People just come to chill out and watch the performances and browse around the museum. In addition, the entire lobby is covered in blue carpeting, which I thought was odd at first, but later discovered was actually a blue screen, displaying all the acts on the walls of the museum superimposed over Van Gogh’s work. It’s a pretty neat set-up. Ironically, as soon as I walked into the museum lobby I spotted Adam sitting with his friends on a couch! (Seriously, what are the odds of bumping into the two friends I knew were going to be there without any planning!) They had already looked at the exhibit, so we exchanged numbers and decided to meet up later that night.

The museum itself was incredible- one of the best art museums I’ve ever been to. They had an exhibit which highlighted the direct and indirect ways that Van Gogh’s work influences more contemporary expressionist movements, and included some amazing works from artists like Schiele and Kandinsky. There was also a floor dedicated to modern art, housing some amazing paintings from the Stedelikj Museum of Modern Art while it undergoes construction. And then, there were the floors dedicated to Van Gogh himself. More incredible than his actual works was the fact that he had no formal art training, and literally woke up one morning and decided he was going to be an artist and just happen to revolutionize the entire world of art. It was really surreal to be able to stand in front of famous painting that you see prints of everywhere and the progression of his work over time was quite interesting to witness. Wonderful museum- if you are ever in Amsterdam you should make sure you save some time to check it out.

After we were done in the museum it was already after 7, and we’d been up for well over 12 hours. Understandably, the other girls were tired, so we split up and I went to find Adam. However, this proved to be a much more arduous task than I had initially imagined. Feeling the effects of the Amsterdam’s most famous product he had no idea where he was when I called, and I literally spent the next two hours following him and his friends around Amsterdam, as they kept moving from place to place each time I call. Not going to lie, this was probably the most frustrating evening I’ve had abroad so far. As this was my first day in Amsterdam I admittedly did not know the city that well, and as a result moving from place to place was a bit of an ordeal. One good thing I learned- most tram stops have city maps in them that very clearly mark where you are, so that helped a whole lot. I stopped at a bar to warm up for a bit (it was really cold out!) and talked a bit with a very cute bar tender, who, coincidentally was from London, but being a girl sitting alone in a bar has its negative aspects, so I left right after finishing my beer. Finally, I tracked them down in the Red Light District, which is amazingly and wonderfully sketchy in it’s own right, with half naked women in windows lit by red florescent lights, men trying to coral drunk individuals into sex shows, and more people trying to sell crack, coke, and any other drug you can think of in the middle of the street. It was an area I had wanted to visit, but I have to admit, I was a bit nervous walking around alone. I met up with Adam and his friends from IES Dublin, who were very nice, and we went to a coffee shop, then to a bar (which had the most overpriced drinks I’ve ever seen), then to another coffee shop. I had a really good time while we were hanging out, and it was great to see Adam and catch up a bit. After a while, the guys, Adam in particular, decided they were going to see a sex show and not interested in paying €30 or seeing a sex show, never mind the both together, I did not accompany them. Thus began my least favorite hour- trying to get out of the red light district and navigate my way back to the hostel, all while high and, in all honesty, a bit paranoid. Leaving the district was by far the hardest part, and after dodging a very persistent man who was hell-bent on selling me crack, I decided to simply find my way to the central bus station and take one of the trams back to the other end of the city. I had been talking to Lainie all evening, and was initially trying to meet up with her and her friends. But, after the stress of finding my way back to my hostel, I wasn’t all that comfortable with trying to fine another random place, so sadly we weren’t able to hang out. Lainie understood though, and I’m still really glad I got to see her, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Saturday, February 10

We woke up early in order to get our free breakfast at our hostel, which disappointingly turned out to be just bread and an assortment of spread. Still, it was free, and despite my dislike of breakfast in the morning, we all took advantage of it. After getting ready for the day, we decided to split up, and Ashley and Sarah set off for a canal tour, while Lauren and I went to rent bikes and tour the city ourselves, under the guise of locals. Luckily, right next door to our hostel was a great bike rental shop, Mike’s Bikes, which was surprisingly cheap and run by some really chill people. They showed us how to work the bike lock, gave us a map, and we were on our way. Thanks to my wandering the night before, I had some idea of how the city was set up, and we biked around going up and down the canals. I was stuck by how gorgeous Amsterdam actually is: with its beautiful canals, its quaint houseboats, just the whole overall atmosphere was enchanting. We did, however, run into a few complications with the way traffic works and the right-of-way etiquette, and were yelled at by an elderly Dutch woman waiting to cross the street, but since she yelled in Dutch I have no idea what we did wrong. On our travels we came across a cathedral, which looked admittedly out of place, and decided to check it out. Typically, when I think of Dutch religion I think of austere Protestants, but the interior décor was the complete opposite. Everything was brightly painted and statues and carvings adorned the majority of available space. The highlight of this stop was ‘chatting’ with the sweetest old Dutch woman, who proceeded to give us advice about something- of course, she spoke to us in Dutch. She was so cute and friendly, that Lauren and I just smiled and nodded, praying the she wouldn’t ask us a question and force us to revel that we had no idea what she was saying to us. Luckily, she did not, and we made our escape, only to spend the next 5 minutes trying to figure out how to unlock my bike with the wrong key…I’m so smart.

We biked around for a few hours, and once it started to rain a bit we decided to stop for lunch, ending up at this funky Asian fusion restaurant (I know, very fitting for Amsterdam). We had an amazing lunch of fruit and cucumber salad with had a delicious dressing, then some rice and vegetables, topped with peanut sauce and paksoy- no idea what the hell it was, but it tasted amazing. It kind of resembled the texture of veggie crisps, but not…I don’t know. After lunch it was time for desert, what else?! We found an adorable bakery and Lauren got herself a bonbon truffle while I chose a rice pie topped with berries, which was unlike anything I’d ever eaten, apparently it’s a Dutch recipe, and was quite tasty. We rode our bicycles for a bit longer, and then headed back to our hostel to meet up with Sarah and Ashley.

We rendezvoused (I think that’s a word), only to promptly split up again due to time constraints. Ashley and Sarah headed for the Heineken Factory, while Lauren and I went to see the Anne Frank Huis. We stopped at an adorable Dutch delftware shop near the house that Lauren’s aunt had recommended, and spent longer than we intended looking at beautiful tea sets, plates, and jewelry, and finally making a few small purchases.

Then, we went to the Anne Frank Huis. It was, by far, the most moving museum I have ever been to, and surprisingly well set-up and curate. [Becca, I wish you could have seen this- I thought about you for a good amount of time while we were there, and soon we shall have to be wicked cool and chat about museum layouts.] The museum takes you through the secret annex where Anne Frank, her family, and another family, hid during the Holocaust, and give a detailed history about the Frank family, the take-over of Amsterdam, the construction and implementation of the annex, the individuals who assisted those in hiding, and Anne herself, as a writer, an individual, and the impact her diary has made worldwide. The rooms themselves were interspersed with photographs and film clips of interviews, but the most telling room was Anne’s. The walls, which she covered with newspaper clippings, postcards, and pictures of movie stars, have been partially preserved, with original decorations still there. It was an extremely sobering experience, as all Holocaust museums are, but incredibly powerful, and my favorite experience of the trip.

We met up with Ashley and Sarah and went to Barney’s Coffeeshop, which is fairly well known, and an extremely chill and laid-back place. Ashley and I got some delicious and legal marijuana and space cakes, and we generally just hung out and chatted for a bit. After our detour, we were ready for food, and went back to the Anne Frank House area to the aptly named Pancake House, which came highly recommended by Mr. Andy Holte. Ate some incredible Dutch pancakes, which are nothing like American pancakes- they are almost like a cross between a crepe and a pancake, covered with dinner toppings. Mine was Thai themed, and had chicken, vegetables, lots of bean sprouts, and was covered in a peanut sauce, I guess I was really feeling the Asian peanut thing. After dinner we went in search of some ice cream for Ms. Eriks, and ended up at an extremely large and really nice Häagen Dazs café, where we hung out and ate some delicious ice cream and hot chocolate. Perfect low-key evening after a pretty long day.

Sunday, February 11

Got up early, and after our free breakfast headed to the train station to catch our train to the airport. Our flight was a bit delayed, but we made it back to London safe and sound. Wonderful trip, wonderful city- I really hope I am able to go back in the near future, and hopefully for a longer period of time.

Theater in London

As you may or may not know, London has an incredible Theater District and countless theaters, both small and large, across the city. There are so many unbelievable shows here ranging from huge musicals, to one person dramatic productions, to Shakespeare, to a show in which Harry Potter is naked... Anyways, London also has a lot of discount ticket offices and some very good student deals, so we've been able to take advantage and see quite a few productions, especially last week.

Monday, February 5
As you may recall, this was the incredibly stressful morning that we arrived back from Paris. However, before we went, Lauren and I found out about an incredible deal the Novello Theater (Home of the Royal Shakespeare Company) has. Every morning beginning at 10:00am the box office puts a set number of student tickets on sale for £5, on a first come first serve basis. Now, at this time, the company is putting on a production of Antony and Cleopatra staring, wait for it, Patrick Stewart. That’s right, as in Star Trek commander Patrick Stewart! As soon as our Eurostar train got into Victoria Station I hurried over to the theater and Lauren and I got tickets for that evening at 7:30.

After making our purchase we stopped at a café to get some much needed espresso shots and catch up and tell stories about our respective weekends (Lauren was in Nantes, France, where hopefully I will be able to visit with her when we travel after our program is over!)

Fast-forward a few hours, and we arrive at the theater psyched up to see Mr. Stewart and become friends with him and have all of our life concerns put to rest as a result of the deep friendship we are certain will ensue. Our plans look more and more promising when we take our seats and realize we are in the front row, literally 3 feet from the stage! As it was the front row and a £5 seat, they weren’t the best in the house, and it was difficult at time to see action that took place upstage and on the ground, but being that close to the actors and being able to see their facial expressions so clearly made it entirely worth it. The play itself was beautifully orchestrated, the set was terrific, and both leads did an amazing job.

Wednesday, February 7
Another play that is in London for a short run is Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie with Jessica Lange (of King Kong, Big Fish, and Broken Flowers fame, to name a few) in the role of Amanda, Laura and Tom’s mother. Luckily, the Apollo Theater has a student ticket policy in which they give the best available seats to students for the lowest ticket price, and Lauren, Emma, Saul, Lance, and I got wonderful seats for only £20.

Since we had to get to the theater an hour early to pick up the tickets and we were in Soho we all went to Café Amato (where else?) for tea and dessert before the show. Sadly, Emma and Saul are vegan and couldn’t share any of the wonderful cakes with us, but we may have a new life plan pertaining to the opening and running of a vegan bakery/coffee shop/ bookstore.

The production itself was very well done, and the acting was incredible. I haven’t been this moved by a play yet. Although ‘Tom’ struggled a bit at times with the Southern accent (we’re pretty sure he was actually British) he was my favorite actor and completely captured the character.

It’s times like this that I feel so lucky to be in such a vibrant and assorted city!

Excusez-moi, je voudrais une carage d’eau, s’il vous plait.

Our Trip to Paris
Excusez-moi, je voudrais une carage d’eau, s’il vous plait. (Translation: Excuse me, I would like a pitcher of tap water, please.)
There it is, my first official real sentence in French. The first one I was able to come up with on the spot without practicing or looking at Lauren's guide for- it was a very exciting moment! But, I suppose I'd better backtrack.

Friday, February 2
Ashley, Sarah, and I left for Victoria Station around 7:30 in the morning and caught our 9:05 Eurostar train to Paris! If you're ever going from London to Paris, you need to take the Eurostar: it's a £55 return (round) trip if you go during non-peak hours, and the view of the English and French countryside is beautiful. Once we officially crossed into France, all the announcements switched from English to French, and thus began the beginning of the confusion. When we arrived at the Nord Gard and the signs were all in French I think I was hit with a bit of culture shock. Nevertheless, we eventually maneuvered our way, though not at all gracefully, through the currency exchange, Serbian beggars, the ticket machines that would not accept American credit cards or Euro bills, and, after a confusing array of maps and many repetitions of "Parlez-vous anglais ?", we found the correct metro line to connect us to our desired metro line.

The metro system in France is decent, but it is very difficult to switch from line to line. In addition, the cars are always crowded, and it was here I had my first encounter with the famed French rudeness. We all boarded the metro with our large hiking backpacks, and in trying to twist myself into a seat I bumped a French woman with my backpack. I had no idea until I heard an exceptionally loud and horrified gasp from behind me, and turned around to see this woman glaring at me. I tried to apologize in Franglish the best I could, but the woman just gave me a stare of death so hilarious that we all burst into laughter as soon as she got off the train. Once we arrived at our stop we still needed to find our hostel, and this presented a bit of a problem: asking for directions. I tried my best to ask inside small shops where we could find Barrone street, but my pronunciation was abysmal, and I had to resort to pointing at the address. Finally, we found the Aloha Hostel with our friend Jordie (who had to take an earlier Eurostar) passed out in the lobby. Since we couldn't check in until 5:00, we dropped off our luggage and set out to explore Paris!

Our hostel was about a 15 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, and we could see if over the skyline, so we simply headed toward the landmark. Even though it was a cloudy day, it was an amazing sight to see. I had to literally pinch myself to try and realize that I was in Paris! The Peace Memorial there was also beautiful, and the two modern structures contrasted beautifully with the 18th century architecture of the city. After hanging around and taking a fair number of pictures we decided to walk over to the Louvre, which is free on the first Friday of each month. Anyone who has been to Paris will understand how little we knew about the city, and we soon discovered that the Louvre is a good hour or so walk from the Eiffel Tower. Nevertheless, it was a nice walk along the Seine and we got to really see the city and orient ourselves.

We finally arrived at the Louvre, which is absolutely beautiful, and all split up with an agreement to meet up in 2.5 hours. I wandered off the the Dutch and Flemish galleries, and then saw some ancient Roman sculptures before heading off to 18th century Italian paintings. Within the last half hour I flew through and saw the famous stuff: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. Still, I was no where near as impressed with that as I was with some of the smaller galleries. An incredible museum that I would absolutely love to go back to.

By that time we were starving, so we set off to find a crêperie that Lauren recommended to us. After a few wrong turns and complete disorientation, we finally retraced our steps back to the St. Michel metro stop and eventually found la Crêperie des Pêcheurs. It's an adorably tiny and crowded restaurant with a great maritime decor. Anyone who travels to France should go here: the majority of the patrons are French and the food is to die for. Apparently, no one in France waits for a table- the concept is a novelty to them, but we were more than happy to. Since there was no where to stand, the four of us sat on the staircase heading up to the second floor, and the girl who was working as the hostess/waitress/bus-boy/cashier kept coming over and apologizing, eventually bringing us each a free cup of cidre (delicious French cider). Once we were seated we ordered a bottle of white wine and a dinner crêpe (none of us really knew what we actually ordered). Right before our order came out a large party of French students came in, and the waitress asked us in French if we would mind moving, and hinted that we would be compensated for the inconvenience. How I understood this, I have no idea, but body language conveys a lot more than you think it will. The idea of private tables is not seen as necessary in Europe, and we were placed next to a very affectionate French couple on a date. Still, the PDAs did nothing to damper the meal, which was incredible. I ended up with a spinach and cheese crêpe with a fried egg on top, and I would not have wanted anything else, even if I had known what I was ordering. After we devoured out meals were each given a free desert crêpe with butter and melted chocolate...mmmm!

Once we were finally done with our extensive meal it was after midnight, and, exhausted, we headed back to the hostel, stopping to pick up some tasty beverages as it was Jordie's 21st birthday. We hung out for a bit and chatted and made plans for the following day. A wonderful first day in Paris!

Saturday, February 3
The four of us woke up early today (and by early I mean we left at 10) and headed out to the Notre Dame Cathedral. After wandering around the Latin Quarter we finally turned a corner and there it was- Notre Dame. The church is absolutely breathtaking- more gorgeous than any building I've ever seen. After taking in the facade for a good half hour, we finally headed inside, where we were once again rendered speechless. Every inch of the cathedral is detailed with an ornate carving or sculpture, and the stained glass windows are beautiful, especially the famed Rose window. After walking around and watching part of a service performed in French we headed outside to wait in line to go up the tower. While we waited in the freezing cold, Sarah and I bought a beurre-sucre (butter and sugar) crêpe from a street vendor (delicious). The three of us (Jordie decided not to come up) each paid €4,80 (student price) and climbed the millions of stairs up to the top of the tower (no exaggeration). Given that Sarah’s MCL is most likely torn, this proved to be an arduous task. Nevertheless, we made it up, and the view was worth it ten times over. I know I can’t describe this justly, except to say that it was better than any city view I’ve ever seen. Paris stretches as far as the eye can see, and the landmarks seem to spring up at you: the Eiffel Tower, San Chappelle, Sacré Coeur, Musée d’Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe- you can see them all over the stone buildings. Up that high we were also afforded an incredible view of the cathedral itself and it’s infinitely detailed exterior. Even that high up the carvings and sculptures are done to perfection, and the gargoyles next to you are better than any picture. We continued to climb upward to the bell tower and the absolute top of Notre Dame, and despite the freezing wind, I never wanted to leave.

Finally, we went down to find Jordie napping inside the cathedral (that girl can sleep anywhere!) and headed over to San Chappelle. Although it’s exterior is under construction, its phenomenal stained glass windows more than made up for it. Each window depicts a chapter in a biblical story, with the overlying theme being the comparison of the French monarchs to the Catholic saints. Simply beautiful. It really makes you stop and think about how much time and man power went into the construction of all of these monuments.

From there were walked over to the Palais de Justice, took some silly pictures, and then wandered across the river to Le Marais, a funky gay community and Lebanese area, with some great shopping. Although I stayed mostly in the outdoor market, I dared to venture into Zara briefly, which turned out to be a frightening experience. In France, the sales are government regulated, and only allowed to happen twice a year for two weeks each. As this was the last day of the sale, women were crazed (think Mean Girls style in the animal scenes…yeah) I was looking at a shirt on a rack and a women pushed me aside and snatched it up. Looking around, people were grabbing clothes from one another’s’ hands, and tearing through piles of shirts looking for the right size like they were in a box of tissue paper. Way too much for me. Luckily, I found a poncho/jacket at a market that I absolutely love!

We all met up and headed back to the hostel to shower and take a nap. I, however, was the only one who showered, and that was quite an experience in itself. The shower is simply a room with about 1 foot outside a 2 inch “shower rim” and a button that dispenses freezing water for 10 second intervals…loads of fun, but I suppose it cuts down on water consumption.

After our nap we decided to walk back down the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night. It was so beautiful, much more so than during the day, but really just a tourist attraction. The tower just doesn’t fit with the feel of the rest of the city at all, but I’m still glad we saw it. The four of us finally found a restaurant that wasn’t ridiculously expensive and got to eat dinner with a view of the Eiffel Tower, which was horribly romantic. Walking back to the hostel we got pretty lost, but after awhile and frequent map checks we figured it out and made it back safe and sound!

Sunday, February 4
Our last full day in Paris! Slept in a bit and then headed out to a huge out-door market all the way at the end of the 4 line, towards the top of the city. We split up and I browsed for a bit, determined not to spend any money. However, after meeting up with Sarah we both remembered an amazing bakery we had passed earlier, and went back there to get a treat for breakfast. We each got a delicious tart (mine was lemon, hers raspberry) and remembered to take a picture for Lauren about half-way through. Found a little bench to sit on and ate the rest of our tarts, which tasted better than they looked, and that’s saying a whole lot.

When we all met up again, Jordie decided to stay at the market and shop for antiques, so Sarah, Ashley, and I headed back into the heart of the city to go see the Arc de Triomphe, but not before stopping back at the bakery to pick up some lunch! We found a bench right across the rotary from the Arc and ate while admiring the view and the weather. Each of us got a baguette sandwich, and I just had brie on mine, which was scrumptious. I think I could live in France for the rest of my life and grow fat in peace! Once we were done we walked through the underground tunnel to the Arc and emerged from below ground to a beautiful sight: the sun was streaming through the arc, casting beautiful shows on all the sculptures. We hung around the arc for a bit, taking in the structure, the view, and the weather, then decided to go amble up and down the Champs Elysée. Passed some ridiculous stores, such as Cartier and Dior, and generally took in the ambiance.

After our walk, Ashley headed out to go see the Moulin Rouge, and Sarah and I headed back toward the river. We took a lovely romantic stroll along the Seine, and arrived in view of Notre Dame just as the sun was setting. The sky around it was beautiful shades of pink and purple, and this was, by far, my favorite moment in Paris. We walked around a little bit, then went to grab dinner at the other crêperie Lauren endorsed, which is right next to the one we went to on Friday. This one, the Crêperie des Arts, has a fun Mediterranean décor, which, although not as cute as the first one, was still adorable. We got some more cidre and decided that desert crêpes for dinner was a great idea! Sarah ordered a crêpe with banana, raspberry and chocolate sherbet, and melted chocolate, and I got a crêpe with crème anglaise, pineapple, caramel, and coconut ice cream…as Rachel Ray would say, “YUM-O!” It was here that I got the attention of the waitress and uttered my first spontaneous French sentence, asking for some water (yay me!)- we were pretty excited.

We headed back to the hostel, stopping to pick up a bottle of cidre, and prepared to watch the Superbowl, which was playing in the bar in our hostel. Since Ashley and Sarah are both Bears fans and I hate the Colts there was a lot of emotion riding on this game, and we felt that it would be worth it to watch. In the meantime, we goofed off in our room, and I played hairdresser washing Sarah’s hair in our sink so she wouldn’t have to shower. Since the game didn’t start until 11:45 in Paris we had some time to kill, and in those few hours Sarah got a little ambitious with her wine consumption, which resulted in a few hysterically drunk escapades and conversations. Ashley, Jordie, and I went down to watch the game, and after the first quarter I went back upstairs to hang out with Sarah and try and force her to drink more water. The other girls came upstairs at halftime, and we all fell asleep very soon after since Sarah’s dad was taping the game to mail to us in London.

Monday, February 5
Since Sarah technically has a lecture at 10:00am Monday mornings we booked our return Eurostar for 7:16am. By chance, I woke up Monday, and climbing down from the top bunk and checking my phone discovered it was 6:45- our alarm had not gone off. Realizing there was no way we were going to make our train, we still had to hurry as the next one left at 8:09 and the station was about an hour away. In a frantic rush we packed and practically ran down to the metro station. [In our rush I barely noticed it, but I later realized that even though it was 7:00am, the city was dead. One of the best parts about Paris is, unlike London, it stays open all night, but because they have 35 hour maximum work weeks, most businesses are closed on Sunday and don’t open until 11:00 or so…I think I could do worse than live in France!]

When we got to the station we had to try exchange our tickets, which you’re allowed to do once. Still, we got chastised by an angry French woman for missing our train, although it turned out not to be an issue as there were plenty of available seats on the next train. However, if meant that our tickets had to be punched in manually at the gate, and luckily I was in a different line from the other three. It was 8:00, and the clerk who was handling my ticket was completely incompetent. True, it could have been the fact that she was flirting like the world was going to end with one of the security guards and talking on the phone while entering my information, but after several minutes she concluded that my ticket was fake and I was trying to illegally sneak onto the Eurostar (keep in mind, my passport and everything had already been cleared…). Ignoring her instructions, which were in French, to go back and buy a new ticket I simply went to the other clerk who entered my information while the other woman continued to yell at me. She cleared me, and I took off running down the escalator, making it onto the train literally a minute before it left.

So that was it- au revoir Paris! All in all, I have to say the city does not quite live up to all of its hype. It was a beautiful city, don’t get me wrong, but on the whole it’s not as picturesque as everyone always makes it out to be. I suppose I’d have to go back in spring or summer to make this claim definitive. However, the food is far better than I could even imagine, and the museums and history are fascinating! I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to come. I am also quite glad that Lauren wrote us up her “Wonderful Guide to Paris”! Seriously, if anyone is traveling to Paris you should ask me to send it to you- it’s amazing and gives a great overview of major attractions, basic phrases and pronunciation, and, of course, food!

Bloc Party and Twelfth Night

Hello- I apologize for the serious delay in entries (please don't be mad at me Jesse!). So much has been going on, and I promise I'll stop keeping you in suspense and catch you all up to date! Let's see, where to begin?

Wednesday, January 31
Started out as a normal day of classes. Then, at lunch break, a kid in our program came into the lounge area and asked if anyone wanted to buy tickets to the Chelsea football game off of him since he got free tickets to the sold-out Bloc Party concert through his internship. No one did. On my way to class, I passed him on the stairs, and asked if he'd found anyone to take the tickets, and then he asked me if I wanted to go to the concert! (It ended up working out so that I paid £20 for the ticket, he sold the football ticket for £20, and then he was only out £20.) Very exciting. Bloc Party is a really fun band (even though their new album sucks) and the concert was awesome.
My new friend's name is Mike, and he's interning for a company called Traffic, which deals w. music promotions and publicity. So, to get the tickets, we had to work a bit first, which was kind of fun. We hung up posters all around the venue- The Astoria, which is an awesome music club, but is sadly being torn down soon, and then walked through the que handing out pins, which the British call 'patches', and getting people to sign up for the fan club mailing list. We had to do this a bit more once inside, but overall it was a fun time. Mike is a really nice kid as well, so it made the experience a lot of fun.
The band that opened for Bloc Party, well, sucked. They were horrible and seemed to think that playing as loud as they possibly could would make up for the fact that all their songs sounded the same. Thankfully, they only played for about 40 minutes. Apparently, Bloc Party is a lot bigger in the UK than in the US, and as soon as they came on, the place went crazy. The British, as we soon discovered, love to mosh, and the entire floor became one giant mosh pit. Being pushed up against a lot of sweaty, drunk people was actually a lot more fun than it sounds, and I had a blast. Music was decent, but the atmosphere they created was great, and the entire crowd was so into it that the place was one giant dance party.
When the concert ended I emerged absolutely disgusting and covered in sweat, beer and smoke, but very happy. Found Mike (we got separated during the first song) and made our way back to the res hall where I immediately showered. A very fun and unexpected evening!


Thursday, February 1
Thursday night our Shakespeare class went to see a production of Twelfth Night at the Old Vic Theater. I headed over there with Ashley, Lauren, and Emma, and we decided to take the tube part of the way and walk across the Thames via footbridge to get to the theater. The walk was beautiful, and in the middle of the bridge we got a perfect view of Parliament and Westminster Abbey lit up for the evening. Although we had to briskly walk (that may be an understatement) to make it there on time, we did, and had wonderful seats on the floor.
The production itself was brilliant and the actors were absolutely amazing. In the tradition of Shakespeare, it was an all male cast, and if you are familiar with the play you'll realize it only added to the humor. With the exception of one scene, which was horribly misinterpreted, the play was fantastic- the best I've seen in London so far.
Came back to the res hall after to pack for Paris!

Alicia goes to Church?!?

That's right kids, yesterday, Sunday, January 28, I, Alicia Wickham Green, voluntarily attended church. Lauren, Ashley, Sarah, and I woke up early and took the #11 bus to St. Paul's Cathedral for the 11:30 mass. (Note for anyone coming to London- the #11 bus is even better than a sightseeing bus. It takes you past all the major attractions: Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's...pretty amazing ride.) Arrived at the cathedral a bit early, but since it was freezing outside we went inside and were able to sit down and take the whole thing in. It's an incredible building- I can't even fathom how it was constructed. The entire interior and exterior is decorated w. elaborate carvings and sculptures and artwork; the stained glass windows and paintings are beautiful as well- it's fairly difficult to describe such a building, but it was gorgeous.
The mass itself was beautifully orchestrated as well: everything was performed perfectly, with five priests and about five alter servers all dressed in a manner that can only be described as elegant. The choir that performed was incredible- it was a boys' and mens' choir, and the sound that came out of some of these 10 year olds was enough to give you goosebumps, although part of that may have been that fact that it was almost as cold inside the cathedral as it was outside. The choir boys were absolutely adorable in their robes and neck ruffles, and were the best part of the service by far.
After mass we headed back to the residence hall to get some reading done (yes, Melissa and Daryn, reading for school!) and cook yet another pasta dinner.
Later that night, the four of us headed out to Ain't Nothing But the Blues Bar, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's an adorable little hole-in-the-wall bar, and it is the only place in London which has live blues music seven night a week. The band that played was really quite good, and I had a great time! The good news is that there's no cover on Sunday nights, as well as Monday-Wednesday, so I am definitely going back.


Today, Lauren and I went back to our favorite cafe in Soho, Amato, for some jasmine tea. I was able to resist their amazing pastries in a valiant attempt to save money for traveling, but it was still lovely. Had to go to a film screening for my philosophy class, which was interesting, as usual. Then, we went out to the cinema where we saw 'The Last King of Scotland'. Although not a terribly uplifting movie (but what movie about Ugandan genocide can be?) I thought it was really well done, and I would definitely recommend seeing it- great acting, and a really important story.
So, here I am, procrastinating and not reading about metaethics. I'm going to Paris on Friday, and I can't even begin to describe how excited I am! I'm a bit worried about only knowing roughly 3 phrases in French, but Lauren has promised to write out a couple key sentences for us, and it's a touristy city, so I'm sure we'll be fine. I can not wait to see all the museums and I've heard stories of amazing food- crepes and baguettes to be specific. I'll let you know all about it soon!

Hampstead/Keats

Ok, I lied. I did not, in fact, go to Jane Austen's house today. Sadly, Lauren was not feeling well and couldn't accompany us, so Sarah and I decided to wait until we could all go to make the trek out to Winchester. However, being up so early, we figured that we might as well make the best of a strangely sunny day! After checking out the bus schedule for when we do go to Jane's former abode, we jumped back on the tube and headed out to visit John Keats's house. After a few minor confusions due to track work, we arrived in Hampstead, which is a very cute little town at the edge of zone 2. Not being prepared for this trip, we really didn't have any idea where to go, so we wandered around for a bit, stopping to have a cup of delicious French hot chocolate in Maison Blanc, one of the many pastries.
After stopping and asking for directions several times, we finally stumbled upon Keats's house, which is directly next to a public library. Somehow, we found an open gate, and hung out in the gorgeous front yard, sitting on the stoop until the house officially opened at 1:00. The Keats House is really well managed, and has student admission for a pound seventy-five, which is valid for an entire year, so if you're in London, you should definitely go check it out. Each room in the house was explained and designed with artifacts to simulate its appearance when Keats lived there with Charles Brown during the time period where he wrote virtually all of his poetry. Originally two separate houses, Fanny Brawne, his love and finance, lived 'next door', and the house had a lot of very interesting information about her as well as Keats.
After spending a significant amount of time there, Sarah and I went for a walk through the enormous public park nearby, Heath Dairy, where Keats and Shelley used to go walk and write. It is an incredibly beautiful open space, with paths, ponds, wildlife, woods, and open meadows. I know I'm not describing it well, but it's incredible and breathtaking. On our walk/hike we saw tons of families with adorable children (one little girl reminded me of Hannah- she was chasing pigons trying to kick them and screaming and laughing rather maniacally...), old couples feeding the birds, and countless individuals walking dogs- I think everyone in Hampstead has a dog, and it just made me want to move here, buy some galoshes, and get a puppy! We ventured off the path a bit and found a beautiful oak tree, which we climbed and just sat and thought in.
After a few hours the sun started to set, so we headed back to the tube, stopping at another amazing French bakery, Paul's, to buy a loaf of bread for dinner. When we got back, Sarah, Lauren, and I cooked dinner together and then, after failing to get enough tickets to see a movie in the cinema, watched some Arrested Development- a nice quiet night after a very long day.

High Tea and Other Adventures

Today, Sarah, Lauren, Ashley, and I went to Kensington Gardens for High Tea at the Orangery. The site of the Orangery was built for Queen Anne in the early 18th century in the middle of her extensive gardens and next to Kensington Palace. So, essentially, we were able to have a very posh tea where royalty used to have theirs. It was such a beautiful building and an extremely sophisticated tea. I ordered a pot of Deereling tea and a fruit scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream- in the words of Rachael Ray, 'yum-o'! Plus, at 5 pounds, it didn't even break the bank. (Some local stranger must have pointed it out to me in a dark alley [that's for you Jesse and Melissa!])
After our classy tea time we headed to Neal's Yard in Covent Garden to get Sarah a chic little European haircut at a trendy little place call the Hair Fairy. Contrary to popular belief, they do not dye every customers' hair bright pink, and Sarah got a cute trim and some angles- adorable.
By that time, it had been about 3 hours since we had last eaten, so we wandered into Soho and found a cheap all-you-can-eat Thai buffet.
After another detour at the best pastry/coffee shop in London (Amato) where Lauren and Sarah could not resist the chocolate croissant, we split up and Ashley and I headed to Brick Lane for the Hookah Lounge. Eric, when you come to visit, I am taking you here- best hookah bar I've ever been to. It's an adorable little one room hookah/tea/middle eastern food/bar shop filled with comfy chairs, couches, and footstools. The owners dog perpetually naps, blocking the bathroom door, and everyone is comfortably packed in, fogging up all the windows. I loved it! Ashley and I got some peach hookah and a bottle of red wine and had an amazing talk. (Cheesy sidenote: I am so amazingly lucky that I have met such incredible people in this program- I could not have asked for better friends after two weeks, and I really am thankful)
After hanging out for a bit we stopped by Beigel Bake, a 24 hour beigel (bagel) shop with delicious, homemade, cheap bagels on Brick Lane- I chose cream cheese and chives. We ate our little treats riding back on the Number 11 night bus, which took up by Big Ben and Parliament, all lit up for the evening.
Can't wait for tomorrow- we're going to visit Jane Austin's house and museum!

Vintage Clothing

Today we went on a vintage clothing tour through Covent Garden and a bit of Soho led by Tim, one of our IES coordinators. He took us to several different shops and showed us some really cool areas of the garden, Soho, and Seven Dials. Sadly, vintage clothing has apparently just come back into fashion in the European club scene, so things were not as cheap as I had hoped. Still, we had a great time poking around and found some adorable shops and areas to come back to. We also found an amazing vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Neal's Yard where Lauren, Ashley, Sarah, Jordie, and I grabbed some lunch. I had a delicious spinach quiche and salad with the best homemade dressing I've had in a long time! Continued to wander around a bit and look in both shops and stores- went into H&M for the fun of it- it's really funny to see how different department stores are over here and the variety of clothing they carry.
Early day tomorrow- we're off to Oxford!

Ballers

Last night I met up with Rachael, who is studying at King's College this semester, and we went out for a lovely dinner/night on the town. Strangely enough, our evening began with dinner at Walkabout, of all places. Having only really been there on the premise of pound beers, we were pleasantly surprised with their burgers- I even got to try a burger made of kangaroo meat! Dinner was lovely-lots of catching up and sharing stories, and a very strange encounter with a drunk man who stopped by our table, winked at me, then took some of my french fries off my dinner plate (thank goodness I'm sticking to that resolution and wasn't eating them). We then got a bottle of rose wine and headed into the main room of the bar to listen to a guy play his guitar and watch his two friends try and dance.
Entertaining though it was, we soon headed to another pub to get a drink, and Rachael learned the gin and tonic is not just a drink for old men. I attempted to break a bottle in a trash can (the bar tender told me to, but he should not have) and we began to feel as though chivalry may be dead (more about that to come).
Since pubs close at 11, we decided to make use of the 1/2 price cover coupon we had and we went to Roadhouse in Covent Garden, an endearingly sketchy club with overpriced drinks. Thankfully, there was a band there that night, so the music and dancing and singing was a lot of fun. The crowd somehow incorporated individuals from about 16-56 and let me tell you, the British can not dance. Period. End of sentence. First we met some kids from North Carolina, who bought us shots of cheap vodka- ewww. Then we hung out with a group of Indian kids, although the one who could dance might have been from Germany (?). Had some sketchy interactions with some middle aged men in suits, and escaped to the bar where we met the funniest individuals ever- gangster British kids, complete w. a gold tooth and chain.
Although it was a bit of a struggle to find the correct night buses, we both made it back to our respective abodes at around 5am. Such a fun night- I'm so glad Rachael is here too!

The Study Part of Study Abroad...But Don't Worry- We Can Still Party

I knew there was a catch...and here it is: classes. Granted, they are not as difficult as back at GW, but still, I did not anticipate, or rather I had hoped that it was be a complete joke. Alas, this is not to be. Still, I have to say that I think I'm going to enjoy the courses. Luckily, I managed to consolidate my schedule, so I only have classes 2 days a week (plus a film screening some Monday nights) which is a pretty sweet deal. On those two days, however, it's going to be difficult to keep my attention span alert. Here is my schedule:
Tuesday
10:00-12:30 London Women's Social History
1:30-4:00 History of London
4:30-7:00 Intro to Current Moral Philosophy

Wednesday
10:00-12:30 Women Writing in English
1:30-4:00 Government and Politics in Britain

Overall, great, but those two days are tough. Nevertheless, I'm sure I'll make it.

After class today, Lauren, Ashley, Sarah, and I went to STA and officially booked two of our trips! Ashely, Sarah, and I are going to Paris February 2-5, and the four of us are going to Amsterdam the following weekend (February 9-11)! I'm so unbelievably excited: never having traveled anywhere before, this is going to be incredible!

Later that evening, Sarah, Jordie, and I went out to Walkabout. In search of one pound pints, we made the unfortunate mistake of going to the incorrect location. However, I feel that this was indeed fate, as our evening was pretty entertaining regardless. Planning on just having one drink then leaving, Jordie got distracted by some movie on the tv, and was staring at it. A very drunk man, thinking she was staring at him, wanted to know why and came over. Upon discovering that we were from America, he launched into a diatribe against our nation and the wrongs inflicted upon his that day by the LA airport. Apparently, he had been attempting to fly home to New Zealand from London for his mom's birthday, and had a layover in LA. However, since his grandfather was Scottish his passport didn't have a certain bar code (since Scotland sucks) and they wouldn't let him into the country. After spending 6 hours in the airport bar he had to buy another ticket back to London and decided to just keep drinking. It is here that we entered the story. Soon his roommate and female friend came over to chat as well. His roommate, being a great friend, decided that one more drink would probably put him over the edge, so we should have a chugging contest with cider. He bought us each a pint and then we chugged. Actually we just drank, apparently chugged means to boot, so you don't want to confuse the two. I am pleased to report that my years on the ultimate team have served me well, and I finished 2nd. Our friend told me that I was "really quite good for a girl" which according to his friend was actually a high compliment. I then alluded to a friend from back at school who could kick his ass, so Maggie, Mark would like to meet you. It was then that our New Zealand friend indeed became over the edge and while he left to 'chug' in the 'toilets' Mark began inquiring how we knew his friend. Only then did he realize that he had just bought 3 pints for complete strangers and that we had met his friend about 10 minutes before. Awkward turtle definitely was swimming.
We then met a group of boys on the way to the tube (actually they informed up that it's pronounced "chube") who were taking a year off in between high school and university. We were, in fact, the first Americans they had ever met, and after figuring out that Sarah was drunk because she quickly imbibed alcohol rather than vomited, they just wanted to know if all Americans drove pick-up trucks and had guns. They were also curious if all the girls were really plastics and all the boys were jocks. Sadly, we had to burst their bubble, and their shocked response was, "but that's what we see in the movies!" We had an entertaining ride back full of conversations about American Hollywood and Family Guy- some things really are universal.
Went back to Sarah and Jordie's room and we had some great conversations for the next few hours.
It's really just shocking that so much of what people outside of American perceive about us is just wrong, yet we still perpetuate these stereotypes all the same. I have never, before this trip thought of myself, let alone introduce myself, as an American, and I really dislike doing it. I always this of myself as a Bostonian or a New Englander- never and American. But here, I'm stuck w. the stereotype of having people immediately associate me with our President and his policies or the picture Hollywood paints, and I'm really not a fan. Just some food for thought- I'm sure I'll come back to these musings again. But for now, I'm off to sleep.

A Recap to Catch Up

Since I've been in London for 5 days now, I'm going to attempt to recap the past few days so I can begin writing about the present and cease living in the past. Feel free to skim, as some of this may be boring. Let's begin:

DAY TWO: Orientation Day
Wake up bright and early and learn how to take the Underground/ the Tube to the IES Center where we have classes. However, thanks to my 5 hour nap, I have only gotten about an hour of sleep all night, and am feeling the effects of jet lag severely. My roommate and I, having slept through orientation the previous day, have not yet secured the Oyster Cards required to take the Tube, so we run ahead of the group w. our new friend James to purchase the cards w. the intention of meeting back up with the rather obvious group of 70+ Americans who have no idea how the underground works. Yet, but some twist of fate, we lose the group and are left with a horribly photocopied map of London to find our way there ourselves. We manage to figure out the Tube somehow, but upon emerging from underground, have no clue how to find the townhouse we are looking for. After walking/running in circles and making may wrong turns we finally meet up with the group. Good first adventure in London!
After that it was very boring classroom and London orientation with a quick break for lunch. Somehow we managed to find a Quaker bookstore/meeting house/ cafeteria restaurant and I got some beef stew type-food for only 2 pounds! I've definitely noticed that the food here is a bit bland, so I need to get on top of purchasing some spices for myself.
After the boringness myself and a few of my new friends: Ashley, Sarah, Lauren, and Jordie met up w. the one and only Peter Hoffman, who was still here for winter break. We went to a very strange Mini Mall/Arcade/Pool Hall place, where I was promptly carded, despite being 4 years older than the minimum drinking age...typical. Here we were introduced to my new favorite beer: Kronenburg, which is a light French beer- delicious and much more potent than say, Natty Light? We had a few drinks then headed home since we had to be up early again the next day. One the tube ride back we walked by an amazing performer in the tube playing Greenday's 'Time of Your Life'- pretty standard: all the people coming back from the pubs are appreciating it, but one little Asian man w. a briefcase was standing right next to the microphone completely rocking out- amazing!
One strange thing about going out in London is how early you need to get to the pub. Since most places close between 11:00 and midnight, and the Tube shuts down at 12:00 or 12:30 on weekends, everyone starts going out around 8 or 9. After the pubs close there are still bars and clubs to go to, but I don't think I'm quite in that stage yet...maybe later. Learned today about a club in East London that's open from 1-9am and then has an after-party/ chill-out from 9-1. Definitely will have to work my way up to Euro-clubbing.

DAY THREE: Class Registration, Bus Tour, Museum Tour
Made the 30/45 minute commute to the IES Center to register for courses bright and early this morning, and I still didn't get all the classes I wanted! Oh well- looks like this semester I will be taking: 300 Years of London Women's Social History, History of London, Intro to Current Moral Reasoning, Government and Politics in England, and Women Writing in English Worldwide. Not bad at all.
At 1:00 the entire IES program took a bus tour of London. The tour was two hours long, and I admit, I did end up taking a 5 or so minute nap during. However, we saw all the major sites in London, including the perpetual rush hour, and I'm now able to put the city into a better perspective. Stopped quickly at St. Jame's, which is gorgeous- definitely will have to go back. Note to self: if you attend mass first, you can get inside for free!
Ended the bus tour at the British Museum, which is only a short walk from where I take classes (!) and had to take a "quick overview tour" of its highlights. Possibly one of the most frustrating experiences. As most you know, I like museums, I like details, and I go slowly...this was the exact opposite, and our pushy tour guide was perpetually rushing us along. I NEED to go back on my own time. Did see the Rosetta Stone though, which was excellent, and the original British Museum Library where everyone whose everyone has done research.
Later that night, Sarah and I met up with Ashley, who had been to a very 'posh' restaurant bar to have a drink w. her uncle, at Leicester Sq. However, Ashley had on a pair of adorable black heels which she needed to wear for her fancy drinking, and literally could not walk anymore (girls, you know how this goes). Luckily, every 10 yards in London there's a pub, so we scrapped our plans to go to Waxy O'Conors, and went to Brewmasters to recoup. After a pint we were ready to move on, so, with my tube socks, I put on Ashley's heels (they were only a couple sizes too big! haha), she took my Crocs ("like walking on clouds"- that's for all you Croc haters!) and we headed off to Picadilly Circus. Found a pub close to the tube: St. Jame's Tavern, where we were by far the most sober individuals there. We all grabbed a pint of my new favorite beer: Kronenburg, and sat down to revel in the absurd awesomeness of the musical selections. Over the course of the evening we listened to absolutly every sort of music imaginable, from Queen, to the Killers, James Brown, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aretha Franklin, techno, etc. all accompanied by a fair sized disco ball. Sarah, after finishing her pint, did her part to help us fully experience these fine songs. Met a mildly sketchy French man named Ariel who decided he wanted to come sit with us and offer us cigarettes (very French of him). While we couldn't understand his English through his accent Sarah speaks Spanish and I can converse slightly, so the rest of our conversations about god-knows-what were in drunken Spanish.
We left around 12 in order to catch the tube back before it closed, but Sarah decided she had to used the 'toilets'. Upon finding the bathrooms in the underground closed we headed for our only remaining option: Burger King. This, however, is not just any Burger King. Picture two floors full of well-dresses respectable drunk people wolfing down Whoppers...interesting, to say the least. Once inside the tube and waiting for the next train we notice large numbers of mice running around on the platform and track. I decided to start trying to take picture of them, and it was then we met Filip and Ryan: two cute British men. They feel that we should name the mice, and proceed to do so. We get to talking and inevitably the question about what I study at school comes up and I tell them history and women's studies. With an look at Ryan Filip lets me know that it's alright- we'll like them (that sounded much more sketchy than it was) and implied that they were gay. Of course...I can't escape the GW curse! Kidding, but not really. We chat on the tube ride and ask them for suggestions of places to go out. They ask what we're looking for and unanimously we reply "cheap". Kindly, they suggested a few "cheap and cheerful" pubs to go to, they take my number and we leave. Naturally, as we are leaving the tube station, we come across another Greenday wannabe...'Time of Your Life' certainly is the drunken anthem here! Later that night our new buddies text: "It was great meeting you guys. Give you a buzz should we plan anything "cheap and cheerful"- Filip and Ryan"
Cheap and Cheerful, I think that should be our motto for this semester.

DAY FOUR: Greenwich trip
We met the group at 10am at an Underground station about 30 minutes away from the hall where we live. Once there, our program had arranged to take us on a ferry boat down the River Thames to Greenwich, England. The boat trip is absolutely amazing, and being 1 of 4 students from our group willing to go up top, the view is stunning. We are able to see every historic site along the river including the Globe Theater, London Tower and bridge, the docks, pubs which Shakespeare frequented, Parliament, Big Ben, and St. Paul's until we arrived in the tiny town of Greenwich. Upon arrival, we were first drawn towards some beautiful Victorian architecture including a large building which turned out to be an old retirement home of sorts for ex-sailors in the navy, the Maritime Museum, and the Royal College of Music. We took a walking tour of Greenwich, which is an absolutely adorable little town right on the river. The wind and freezing cold did take away from the experience, but, in retrospect, only minimally. We then walked up a very large hill to the Royal Observatory and took the obligatory touristy photo straddling the prime meridian. The view from up there was breath-taking and even though it was cloudy (shocking) the skyline was clearly visible. Really just a beautiful location. After, Sarah, Ashley, Jordie, Lauren, and I went to the Queen's House (originally built for Queen Anne, wife of James I [Tutor family]) which is now an art museum filled with all genres of paintings about the sea, navy, and English persons of these areas.
Took the train back from Greenwich and got to see an adorable view of the suburbs of England and figured out how to take black and white photos on the train. Came back to the room to take a quick nap, and slept for 3 hours...these are really long days. Luckily, I woke up refreshed and ready to go out!
That night was Pete's last night in England, so Sarah and Lauren came with me to meet up w. him and say bye. We went up to 'his area' (St. John's Wood) which is apparently near Abbey Rd. (we have to go back!) and to the pub him and all his friends used to go to in high school (I think it was called the Ordnance). It's my favorite pub in London thus far- fireplaces, candles, and 2 pound pints! Definitely "cheap and cheerful"! Sadly, we were unable to join the after pub festivities as we had to leave the next morning at 8, but it was a really good time. We learned many valuable things, including the fact that the essence of spaghetti lies not within the noodle itself, but in the tomato sauce.

DAY FIVE: Market Tour and Hyde Park exploration
We got up very early and at 8:00 took a bus to Columbia Rd. to the outdoor flower market there. First, England is freezing- the actual temperature wouldn't be horrible, but the ridiculous wind-chill really makes it a bit unpleasant. Nevertheless, the flower market was , well, for lack of a better word, adorable. It's one road lined with beautiful flowers in a surprising number of varieties. The vendors themselves are almost more interesting than the flowers- apparently East London is home to the infamous Cockney accent, and Columbia Road is most certainly in the East. Mostly older men and women, clad in large quantities of flannel and wool, they spoke with the thickest accent imaginable- at times, I highly doubted if it was still English. Off of the main road there were alley-ways and little shops selling everything from homemade olive oil, to English breakfasts, to mulled cider, to olives, to cheese...you get the idea. I loved the market, and can't wait to go back.
Next, we walked over to the covered market in Spitalfield, which was awesome. The closest I can come to describing it is to compare it to Eastern Market back in DC, but probably 4-5x larger. It was a lot of fun poking around looking at jewelry, clothing, and fresh produce, and Lauren, Sarah, and myself bought a delicious loaf of organic homemade rosemary onion bread for dinner!
After browsing through the market, the three of us went over to Hyde Park to do some exploring. Hyde Park is legitimately one of the most beautiful parks I've even seen, despite being in the middle of a large and extremely urban city. Apparently it's the largest open space in London and is more than 350 acres. It also has a pretty interesting history, and while I won't bore you with all the details, it was originally a the king's hunting forest, which he acquired from the monks of Westminster Abbey, and was extensively renovated in the 18th century by George II's wife, who ordered the creation of Lake Serpentine, which lies in the middle of the park. We walked around stopping in a few of the gorgeous gardens and as beautiful and it is, I can't even imagine what it must look like in spring. Around the park, on the perimeter, is a dirt path, which we later saw was for horseback riding (typical British). We also found an entire stretch full of roller-bladers doing tricks and choreographed routines- it was cool, but a bit odd.
After our stroll, we walked back to the residence hall, stopping by the Royal Albert Hall, which is beautiful, and a music school located right behind it.
Came back and made a nice cheap dinner of spaghetti, sauce, and bread (mmm carbs). However, we may have overestimated the amount of noodles needed, so there are going to have to be a few more spaghetti nights to finish it all up! After dinner, Sarah, Ashley, and I went down King's Road to a pub called the Chelsea Potters to hang out for a little bit, which was very nice. All in all, a very good day.

The Begining: A Brief Synopsis

The date is January 9. The time is 7:00pm. The location: Logan Airport, American Airlines, gate 32. In a day filled with high school classmate sightings (refer to Maderin restaurant in Reading earlier in the day) I am on the same flight as Pete Heitz, whom I haven't seen since we graduated in spring 2004, which was a surprisingly pleasant shock. Although we leave at 7:10pm we are scheduled to arrive at 6:30am, Greenwich Mean Time, so jet lag was eminent. Flight was alright- not much to speak of. Read What is the What, a new book by Dave Eggers until dinner, which was an experience within itself. Note to self: never eat airline food again- it is absolutely miserable. Attempted to nap a bit, but was largely unsuccessful so I landed at Heathrow airport bright and early, and utterly exhausted.
I had to figure out the Heathrow Express train that took me to Paddington Station, and after a couple circles around the airport with my massive hiking backpack and suitcase I found the correct platform and made it to the train station. From there I took my first London/British cab to my residence hall, which also serves as a youth hostel, about 10-15 minutes aways. The ride was nice, but weirded me out to no end- I have to work on getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road. Every time we took a turn I though we were going to die for the first few seconds! Got to my building, which is on the corner of Manresa Rd. and King's Rd. in Chelsea, London and found out a day to late that apparently it is not customary to tip cab drivers, waiters, or anyone for the matter. (I also discovered that cab drivers in London study for four years and then have to take an exam, out of which only about 1/2 pass, so they are paid quite well and really know the city [we should implement this system in DC!]. ) I came inside, checked in, and went to my room. My roommate wasn't there yet, so I unpacked and set up my home for the next 3 months. The rooms are cute, but extremely small: think bunk beds, 2 desks, 2 small closet-like things, a bathroom the size of a closet, and no room to walk around- but it serves its purpose and will be absolutely fine. As soon an I unpacked I immediately collapsed on one of the beds (around 11) where I slept for the next five hours. Missed the "mandatory" orientation and my floor meeting, but I think the nap was well worth it.
My new roommate and I woke up at about the same time and got to know each other a bit. Her name is Ashley, she goes to school outside Chicago, and we're both interested in NGOs, nonprofits, and gender studies- perfect! We hung out for the rest of the day and then went exploring to find some basic essentials: food and blankets. King's Road is an adorable, albeit rather 'posh', area, which has more shops than is healthy for me to be within a 10 mile radius of (no idea how many km that is yet...I'm working on it)! We went to a British department store: Peter Jones, where we purchased pillows and towels, then went to their version of a grocery store called Waitrose. Unfortunately, there are some blatant differences between American and British grocery stores beginning with size. Store here are tiny with a much more limited selection than I'm used to. In addition, the pound (lb.) is not used here, and I looked very much like a stupid American when I tried to order turkey from the deli. I ordered 50 grams of meat, which essentially equates to 1-2 slices, and then had to revise my order (I may just stick to prepackaged sandwich meat for the time being). Also, eggs, for some reason, are not refrigerated and just sit out on the shelf, so I am very skeptical to try eating them. And while cheap poultry was the staple of my diet at school, the chicken and turkey here is far more expensive than any of the red meat- the majority is free range (wonderful, but not cheap) and the rest is still fed on organic grains resulting is extremely expensive meat of a much higher quality. Money is also another area in the stores where I look like a complete foreigner. Instead of having lots of bills, English money is comprised of quite a few coins: pence (penny), twopence, 5 pence, 10 pence, twenty pence, fifty pence, 1 pound (dollar) coin, and a two pound coin. I'm still finding this a bit confusing and I have to read the backs of the coins before I hand them over, which can be a bit time consuming.
After our adventures we returned to the hall where we went back to sleep almost immediately. However, after the 5 hour nap, I woke up around 2am (although not having a working clock yet I had no idea what time it was) and could not fall back asleep for the next few hours. Oh well, I feel as though I finally have a grip on the jet lag now, and I'm definitely getting used to being 5 hours ahead of home.
Well that's all for tonight, but I will get caught up quickly (and hopefully in a less verbose and detailed manner!)

Ahoy!

Hello All,
If you know me at all, which if you're reading this I'm sure you do, then you'll know that this was a rather difficult feat to accomplish (setting up a blog) for me, especially while mildly intoxicated by fine English brews. Nevertheless, I've been in London for three days, and decided it's high time I join the trend and start a blog of my own. Granted, my stories and antics may not quite live up to those of our dear friends who've been abroad in the past, but hey, it's a start. First point of order, beer in the UK, and potentially all of Europe, is quite a bit stronger than back in the U.S. which makes for a wonderful night out, no matter the day of the week.
I feel as though that's all I am capable of right now, but never fear: I shall update to include the particularly humorous and alicia-like tales of the past couple of days.
If you are reading this, then it's almost 100% guaranteed that I miss you, and I hope that you will keep in close touch.
Love you.

P.S. I want to take this moment to dedicate the title of this, my first blog, to Miss Casey Dalton, without whom the phrase Foggy London Town (meant to be spoken quickly and with a strong Boston accent) would not hold any significance.