Greetings! When we landed in London from Ireland, I went straight to my mom and friends hotel. I was so excited to see them! We all were quite exhausted from our travels, but regardless we hit the ground running and didn't stop until they left. We left the hotel and headed to drop my bag from the weekend off at my flat. I also wanted to show mom, Dianne and Kathy my flat and how clean it was. They were very impressed by the clean state they found it. I made a quick change and headed to get lunch around the corner. We ate at a little sandwich place then went to the tube and headed to the London Eye. This was the number one thing my mom wanted to see when was here. I made sure to do it first. It wasn't a very pretty day, but the view from the eye was still great. The que (line) wasn't very long either, which was a change from the first time when I went with Amber. We got our tickets and headed to get in another que for the actually Eye. Since the Eye is ran by British Airways, they call each trip in the Eye a flight. It was very interesting trying to get on the eye. The tricky thing is that the Eye never stops moving. Its rotates the entire time, which means you get on and off while its moving. Obviously, its not going that fast, but you definitely have to mind the gap. We got in safely and saw some great views of the city. The best view in my opinion is of Parliament (Big Ben). Its by far my favorite building in London. Its just incredible at a distance and close up. We finished our flight and decided to walk around some more. I walked them towards Big Ben to get a better/ closer view of the magnificent building. We walked past it, Churchill and Abraham Lincoln's monuments, and Westminster Abbey. Since its all right there together, I figured I show it to them. After a small walking tour, we headed back to the tube to go back to their hotel. An entire day of travel with no sleep really took it out of them, which I completely understand. (Just a tip if anyone does travel overseas, no matter how tired you are, make yourself stay up that first day. It will help with the adjusting). We got off at their tube stop and I got a loaf of Paul's bread and the rest of them got some coffee to keep their eyes open. We walked back to their hotel and waited for their room to get cleaned. Once they finally finished cleaning it, I helped them take their stuff down and hung out a little bit before I headed back to the flat to get ready for dinner. I needed a shower to get that travel feeling off me. When they got hungry, they made their way to my flat and the four of us and Ellie went to eat at Bella Italia. Its just right around the corner from my flat and has really good food. We also have coupons because the girls and I signed up for their fan club. My dad may be on the other side of the world, but he's still rubbing off on me. We had a great dinner. Everyone seemed to enjoy what they got, and we headed back to our resting places. It'd been a long day and everyone needed some sleep. A big day/week was ahead of them.
Monday, March 30
I woke up and headed to class at around 10:30, but mom, Dianne, and Kathy had other plans. They found their way to Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. After their experience there, they went to Kensignton Palace in Kensington Gardens. It is a really cool museum I went to when Amber was here, but recommended it to Mom and them. It was built in the 17th century and has been a royal residence ever since. Princess Diana lived there after her and Prince Charles divorce. The museum in it now is more of a social history museum. It has a lot of Princess Diana's dresses in it as well as the life a debutant would live and other events in history that are along the same lines. I was in class while they did these things but met up with them after and headed to shop and eat! Two of my favorite things! If you're in England, you can't leave until you do one thing. Eat fish and chips in a pub. Naturally, that's where I took them. It was this nice pub on High Street Kensington. The food was great, but I haven't found a pub yet that I didn't enjoy the food or beer for that matter. We enjoyed our dinner and then hit the shops for a while. We went to TK Maxx, a Clarks store, and H & M. I successfully found something in every store. Not that that's unusual though. I definitely haven't shopped as much as I thought I would, which is a good thing, but definitely made an exception when my mom arrived. We shopped until they closed down the stores and happened to find an ice cream shop on the way back to their hotel. We stopped and enjoyed some ice cream before going back to their hotel to settle in for the night. It was another long day for everyone. They settled in and I headed back to my flat.
Tuesday, March 31st
Tuesday's are always my busiest days. I have class practically all day long. Mom, Dianne and Kathy were on their own again. I think they made it a couple places that day China town, Piccadilly to pick up our play tickets, the Natural Science Museum and more I'm sure. I met up with them for dinner at Garfunkel's, and then I was off to one more class for the day. I met them back at the hotel for a quick trip to Starbucks. It was nice to be able to sit, relax and spend time with family and friends. I didn't care about doing anything because I finally had a piece of home with me. We sat and chatted for a while and then I headed back to my flat for the night.
Wednesday, April 1st
This day began with a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum with my school group. Mom, Dianne, Kathy, and I headed to the museum and waited for our tour guide to show up for our tour. It was a great museum with lots of art from different countries. The museum actually has its orgins in 1851 at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. After the exhibition, they built the museum in 1852, but was not known as the V and A Museum until 1899. The tour guide took us through the museum and showed us the highlights. Once we left the museum, the four of us plus my friend Kendall went to Harrods. Its so huge in there we only saw about 1/8 of it and then headed to eat lunch in a pub around the corner. Actually around any corner there is a pub, but we found a nice one and enjoyed some great food. Kendall left us for a nap and the rest of us got on the tube to go to Oxford street for some more shopping. It is by far the craziest street in London and it stresses me out to go there, but not going to lie, there is some good shopping. Anything you could possibly want is there. We went there and browsed around some of the stores and then left to go back and change for the play that night! Once we changed and freshened up a bit, we went to Piccadilly to eat dinner and see the play.
Let me just say how amazing Mamma Mia was! I had seen it once in New York with Monique and her family and the movie, but seeing it again was amazing! We all LOVED it. It was a perfect end to a great day. We headed straight back to their hotel and hung out for a while before I went to my flat for the night.
Thursday, April 2nd
This was my nephew Ryley's 4th birthday! Mom and I missed out on the festivities, but I'm sure he had a great day regardless. He had plenty of toys to keep him occupied. I began this morning with sleeping in and getting up to do homework because mom, Dianne and Kathy had an all day tour of the city. They went to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, lunch at a pub, Tea at Harrods, and maybe more that I'm forgetting! They had a full day ahead of them. I had class at 230 and got out early which was lovely. I went back to my flat to wait on them to get back for dinner. Once they were ready to go, they met at my flat to go to Bella Italia once again because it was so good. We ate dinner and then went to the pub for a quick drink because you can't visit London without trying the beer. Dianne tried the Fruli's strawberry beer, Kathy had the sweet cider, and mom and I a Peroni. (half pints for them, full for me). They really enjoyed it, but went straight back to the hotel after only one because, thanks to Lynnsey, we had a 530am train to Paris in the morning. I crashed at their place for the night to make sure we all got up to catch our early train. We made it to the train station in plenty of time and hopped on the Eurostar to take us to Paris! We got there in no time and found a taxi to take us to our hotel. It was quite a bit away, but he found it. We arrived but couldn't check in until 3 so we dropped off our luggage and headed out to explore.
Following the advice of the lady at the desk of our hotel, we headed to Sacre Coeur (The basilica of the sacred heart). It was a little walk up a big hill to get there, but we made it. It was very beautiful. We walked around the inside and stood and enjoyed the view of the city. It was a foggy morning though, which somewhat hindered the view. It was still impressive. We left and walked through this area with a ton of local painters and artist selling their work. It was neat to get to see different people's interpretation of Paris. There were also a lot of people walking around offering to sketch your picture. Mom wanted my picture sketched so we stood there while this lovely lady sketch my picture in pastels. It ended up looking really cool. Its especially nice to have because at the bottom of the picture she put the date and Paris. Its something to always have to remind me of a great trip. We left Sacra Coeur and headed to Notre Dame.
The building was beautiful. It was massive, and the detail was incredible. We walked through the Gothic Cathedral in awe. We couldn't take pictures of course, but it was absolutely beautiful. It was similar to Westminster Abbey because they both used flying buttresses in the architecture. The use of the carved gargoyles and stain glass made the Cathedral different than the other ones I had seen. The construction of Notre Dame took 200 years! That definitely explains how there is so much detail in the Cathedral. We left the Cathedral and our next stop was the Eiffel Tower!
We rode the Metro to go see the Tower. It was definitely a short visit because once we got there and saw how long the line was, we decided we were too exhausted from our 5 am train ride. Regardless, it was amazing to see for the first time! I couldn't believe how huge it was! We took some pictures and looked around, but then headed for a late lunch and then the hotel. We were able to move our stuff from the luggage storage area to room. Needless to say, I passed out for a couple hours. Mom claims she didn't sleep, but I'm pretty sure she got some shut eye in as well. It was a full day of traveling and walking around so it was nice to relax for a while. Once everyone regained some energy, we sat in our room and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour. It was awesome to see, especially from our room! The rest of the night was very chill, and we called it a night for an another full day on Saturday.
Saturday, April 4th
We woke up early to hit up a store called Long Champ and then headed to Versailles. It took me a while to find out the store on the map, but we finally found it and browsed around. Once we realized that we weren't going to buy anything, we headed to the train station, and we had quite an eventful time boarding. We had already purchased our tickets and headed down to the right station. As we are putting our tickets through, we see a train approaching. I thought it may be the one we needed, but didn't have time to check the boards, instead, I asked if anyone spoke English. A nice man shouted yes and I asked if this was the train to Versailles, and he said yes! I jumped on and turned around for mom, Dianne, and Kathy to get on. As I did this, the beeping noise starts to sound which means the doors were shutting. The problem being not everyone was on the train! I stood in the door way and held the doors open as they jumped on! While this was going on, the nice man that knew English was shouting hurry hurry hurry! It was successful because we all got on, but not without our hearts beating a lot faster. It was about an hour train to get to Versailles. Once we got there, we followed the crowd to the Palace, and I can't stress enough how LARGE the crowd was. We stood in line for at least an hour to get our tickets to get into the place. As I was off trying to figure out things with the tickets, mom, Dianne, and Kathy met a couple ladies from Michigan celebrating their 40th bdays. They offered them some good advice for things to do in Paris. They decided to just do the Gardens and went to a different line before I got back to meet them. Mom, Dianne, and Kathy seemed to enjoyed their company to pass the time in line. We finally got our tickets and entered the Palace. It was extravagant. Louis XIV knew how to decorate in an over the top manner. Not only was it incredibly beautiful, but it was HUGE! We only saw 1/4 of the palace, and it took us about 2 and half hours to get through it. The ticket we bought included an audio guide tour, which was so helpful. When we walked through the Hall of Mirrors or Hall of Battles, it would give brief descriptions and history of the rooms. We were all in awe as we walked around. We finished up in the palace, turned in our audio guides, and headed back to the train station to try to board uneventfully. After our lunch at McDonald's, we boarded our train and headed back to Paris. We stopped at the hotel for a quick freshening up and headed back to the Eiffel Tower and to our River Boat Cruise.
When we got to the Eiffel Tower, it once again was crowded. We decided to wait and take our River Boat cruise first. The port for it was right beside the Tower and was convenient to go to first. We walked down to the port and hopped on a boat for a tour of Paris from the River Seine. It was a lot of fun. We had an audio guide of what we saw as well. We saw the Musee d' Orsay and Notre Dame. Seeing these places from the river, gave me a completely different perception of those places. It was nice to just relaxingly float down the river and see the sights of Paris. We docked about an hour later and grabbed a bit to eat before the Tower. We found a place a couple blocks away and sat down to enjoy some good food. Kathy and I enjoyed an omelet while mom and Dianne enjoyed a grilled cheese with ham. We all thoroughly enjoyed the meal, but this was the first experience we had where the service wasn't that great. The waiter definitely didn't give the Americans the best service, but everyone else in the restaurant was very well treated. It wasn't a big deal though because we still enjoyed our meal and then headed to the Eiffel Tower! We got there and there was a shorter line. It was still about a 45 minute wait to get our tickets and then even more lines once we went up. When we finally got up to the very top floor, it was breath taking! It was dark by the time we got to the top and the lights of the city were awesome. We were up so high that Dianne would only stay in the enclosed part, but mom, Kathy, and me went to the part that is only caged it. The part Dianne stayed had windows go u could see out, but underneath the window was a guide that showed u what you were looking at. We even stayed at the top to see the it sparkle on the hour! It was really fun to see it. After it sparkled, we waited in some more lines to head back down. It had been quite an exciting and tiring day. It was past 12 when we got back to the hotel room and crashed. It was great sleep! The next day was going to be our last and we needed to be well rested for another full day!
Sunday, April 5th
We slept in a little later than Saturday morning and got our bags packed. Once we were ready, we walked down to enjoy our breakfast. We figured out our plan and headed to the Arc de Triomphe then the Champs Elysees. We got out of the tube right in front of the Arc. I wasn't exactly sure what it was when I was looking at it but looked it up once I got home. The Arc was a monument to honor those who fought for France, especially during the Napoleonic Wars. We took some pictures then strolled down the Champs Elysees. It was a great day in Paris. The best day we had all weekend. It wasn't cloudy and there was plenty of sunshine. A nice way to spend our last day. We windowed shopped all the way down the the Champs. We got to go into the original Louis Vuitton store. Dianne was memorized while being in there. LV is her favorite, and all of us couldn't get over how much stuff there was in the store. We also couldn't get over how much stuff everyone was buying! Right and left people were getting stuff off the shelf and taking it to the cash register. We got our fill for Louis and headed the rest of the way down the Champs and onto the Louvre.
The road from the Champs leads straight to the Louvre. We decided to walk since it was such a beautiful day. We walked through the lawn of the Louvre, which was a lot of fountains and cafes. There were a ton of people there! Not surprising though because the first Sunday of every month offers free entry into the museums. I knew the crowds would be bad, but there were people everywhere! We made it to the back of the LONG line to get into the museum and waited for about 40 minutes to get in. The crowd inside was just as insane as outside and we decided to only see the Mona Lisa. It wasn't a day that you could spend just walking around and see everything. It was a day where you had to know what was where and bee line to that particular spot. I wasn't sure of anything else I wanted to see, and after the Mona Lisa, we left. The ladies that mom, Dianne, and Kathy met yesterday recommended this great ice cream in a small area near Notre Dame. The ice cream place was Berthillon. If anyone goes to Paris, get this ice cream! Its in a little area called Saint Louis en l'ile. We took the tube there and grabbed lunch near the ice ceam place. We ate at this amazing restaurant! It was the best lunch I'd eaten in forever! Salmon and rice with this amazing sauce on top. Everybody enjoyed their meal a lot. Next was dessert! There was once again a line, but totally worth the wait. I got raspberry and then salted caramel peanut butter. A weird combination I know, but the lady serving recommended it. The two flavors were great separate, but not mixed. The consistency of the ice cream kept the ice cream from mixing though, which was good. It was either the consistency, or I just ate it entirely too fast to allow it to mix. We walked around some stores as we ate our ice cream. There were a lot of cute boutiques. It was the first actually shopping we got to do in Paris. We spent a lot of time in this area and then tried to go see another cathedral that ended up being closed. After this, we went back to the hotel and headed to the train station.
It was a great weekend! Actually, it was a great week having mom, Dianne, and Kathy there! They enjoyed themselves as well. I definitely wore them out though. We walked and walked and walked. We rested up in the hotel for a bit then took our luggage to the train station and boarded our train back to London.
Mom, Dianne, and Kathy caught their flight the next morning and headed back to the states! If anyone sees them after reading this blog, make sure to ask them about losing their rooms. Its a story that just can't be explained in a blog. They would love to share the story with anyone so be sure to ask!!
More to come later.....
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #10
Three Days of Rain starring James McAvoy, Nigel Harmon, and Lyndsey Marshal was a production I went to see last week that has actually become one of my favorites thus far. It’s hard to compare it to the other shows because this was a play and the other shows were musicals, but I absolutely loved it. It may have something to do with how good-looking James McAvoy is, but regardless of that, the entire two hours I spent watching the play I was entranced. The entire play consists of only those three actors, and the set is in the same apartment throughout the entire play. Initially, you would think that would be boring, but that would be the last word I would use to describe this play. The story line is kind of complicated to explain because even though there are only three actors in the play, they each play two different roles.
In the first half, the actors are two siblings, Walker and Nan, and a family friend, Pip, who are brought together in 1995 in a run down loft in lower Manhattan to divide up the legacy of their late fathers, Ned and Theo, who were partners in an architect firm. There are a lot of problems within these families because Walker and Nan’s mother, Lina, is mentally unstable and their father, Ned, had a very bad stammer that caused him to be a withdrawn person, especially towards his children. Even though Nan turned out well, Walker on the other hand has inherited his mother’s mental stability and his fathers stammer. A combination of all these things made life on Nan difficult. She was constantly taking care of both her mother and brother. Throughout the first half, Walker reveals to his sister their father’s journal that they thought would finally be a passageway into the life their father lived. Unfortunately, Walker misinterprets his father’s journal as still being a withdrawn person; however, in the second half, you realize how much the journal does reveal about his life.
The second half of the play the male actors switch to the roles of their father, Walker/Ned and Pip/Theo, and Lyndsey becomes her mother, Lina. Ned is an obviously more shy person than Theo and Lina initially is dating Theo. Ned and Theo are at the being of their partnership and struggling to get started with a project that Ned’s parents are going to commission. This half of the play reveals to the audience how the relationship between Theo and Lina dissolves and Ned and Lina forms. The audience also realizes the role the journal plays and which of the two partners actually designed the house Ned’s parents commissioned.
The most important part of this play for me was the journal that Walker finds. Ned was a very reserved type of person, but in the second half, he reveals why he is this way. When Lina finds his journal, she reads his first entry and teases him about it because it only says “three days of rain.” Ned replies that it’s sufficient because he can’t afford to waste words. He wasn’t a quiet person because he did not have much to say, but rather he chooses his words carefully because his stammer was so bad he made his point with few words. When Walker read these entries, he did not realize that those four words meant the time his father meet his mother feel in love, and he was truly happy. Ned and Lina reveals this information in the play because the first time they meet is in the pouring down rain, and they spend the next three days inside out of the rain. Ned was revealing that because of those three days of rain he finally felt happiness and fulfillment.
I found this aspect of the play very profound because as Walker looked at those four words and felt nothing, his father can look at those words and find happiness. This play revealed to me the importance of words and how wisely we should choose them. Sometimes a few words can mean more than many.
In the first half, the actors are two siblings, Walker and Nan, and a family friend, Pip, who are brought together in 1995 in a run down loft in lower Manhattan to divide up the legacy of their late fathers, Ned and Theo, who were partners in an architect firm. There are a lot of problems within these families because Walker and Nan’s mother, Lina, is mentally unstable and their father, Ned, had a very bad stammer that caused him to be a withdrawn person, especially towards his children. Even though Nan turned out well, Walker on the other hand has inherited his mother’s mental stability and his fathers stammer. A combination of all these things made life on Nan difficult. She was constantly taking care of both her mother and brother. Throughout the first half, Walker reveals to his sister their father’s journal that they thought would finally be a passageway into the life their father lived. Unfortunately, Walker misinterprets his father’s journal as still being a withdrawn person; however, in the second half, you realize how much the journal does reveal about his life.
The second half of the play the male actors switch to the roles of their father, Walker/Ned and Pip/Theo, and Lyndsey becomes her mother, Lina. Ned is an obviously more shy person than Theo and Lina initially is dating Theo. Ned and Theo are at the being of their partnership and struggling to get started with a project that Ned’s parents are going to commission. This half of the play reveals to the audience how the relationship between Theo and Lina dissolves and Ned and Lina forms. The audience also realizes the role the journal plays and which of the two partners actually designed the house Ned’s parents commissioned.
The most important part of this play for me was the journal that Walker finds. Ned was a very reserved type of person, but in the second half, he reveals why he is this way. When Lina finds his journal, she reads his first entry and teases him about it because it only says “three days of rain.” Ned replies that it’s sufficient because he can’t afford to waste words. He wasn’t a quiet person because he did not have much to say, but rather he chooses his words carefully because his stammer was so bad he made his point with few words. When Walker read these entries, he did not realize that those four words meant the time his father meet his mother feel in love, and he was truly happy. Ned and Lina reveals this information in the play because the first time they meet is in the pouring down rain, and they spend the next three days inside out of the rain. Ned was revealing that because of those three days of rain he finally felt happiness and fulfillment.
I found this aspect of the play very profound because as Walker looked at those four words and felt nothing, his father can look at those words and find happiness. This play revealed to me the importance of words and how wisely we should choose them. Sometimes a few words can mean more than many.
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #9
As Easter Break rolled around, I found myself looking for stuff to do in and around London. I weighed my options and decided to take a day trip to Brighton. Once I arrived in Brighton, it was not exactly what I was expecting. Since I had been in Windsor the day before, I thought it would be similar to that area. Windsor was a typical British town. There were some tourist, but for the most part it just seemed very quaint and comfortable, but Brighton turned out to be quite different. It wasn’t a bad different though because both cities were unique in their own way. What struck me the most about Brighton was the number of tourists. I did not realize how populated the city was with tourists. When I began to explore the city, I found out one of the main reasons Brighton is the popular tourist attraction it is today.
Most people have heard of Mad King George III, but I never realized that his son, George IV, got a lot of attention as well for how eccentric he was. George IV became Prince Regent in 1811 because George III was not mentally stable to be king anymore, and George IV would become King George IV once his father passed away. During his regency years, he built a palace in Brighton that was known as the Pavilion. This palace was where George IV’s eccentricity came into play. The palace was not an ordinary palace because he decorated the whole Pavilion in an oriental theme. George IV decorated so elaborately because he loved to host parties and made the pavilion the place to be in the 1800’s. Before the Pavilion was built, George IV lived in a small cottage on that same plot of land, and that was what Brighton was solely made up of, little cottages. The town was a small fishing village that was quiet and peaceful. The Prince Regent definitely shook up things for the people of Brighton. He changed this small quiet town by building this palace and having large parties there quite often in his younger years.
After visiting Brighton, I realized the differences one person can make in a small town. The Pavilion being built in the early 1800's along with the railroad in 1841 had a lasting effect on Brighton because in 1961 the population of Brighton actually reached its highest peak at that time of 160, 000. The 20th Century Brighton town would not be the place it is today without the help of George IV. Many people can now enjoy the beauty that George IV saw in Brighton. With his joy of hosting parties, I’m certain he would have enjoyed the company of the tourists here in Brighton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton
Most people have heard of Mad King George III, but I never realized that his son, George IV, got a lot of attention as well for how eccentric he was. George IV became Prince Regent in 1811 because George III was not mentally stable to be king anymore, and George IV would become King George IV once his father passed away. During his regency years, he built a palace in Brighton that was known as the Pavilion. This palace was where George IV’s eccentricity came into play. The palace was not an ordinary palace because he decorated the whole Pavilion in an oriental theme. George IV decorated so elaborately because he loved to host parties and made the pavilion the place to be in the 1800’s. Before the Pavilion was built, George IV lived in a small cottage on that same plot of land, and that was what Brighton was solely made up of, little cottages. The town was a small fishing village that was quiet and peaceful. The Prince Regent definitely shook up things for the people of Brighton. He changed this small quiet town by building this palace and having large parties there quite often in his younger years.
After visiting Brighton, I realized the differences one person can make in a small town. The Pavilion being built in the early 1800's along with the railroad in 1841 had a lasting effect on Brighton because in 1961 the population of Brighton actually reached its highest peak at that time of 160, 000. The 20th Century Brighton town would not be the place it is today without the help of George IV. Many people can now enjoy the beauty that George IV saw in Brighton. With his joy of hosting parties, I’m certain he would have enjoyed the company of the tourists here in Brighton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #8
In my art appreciation class, we went to see Le Corbusiers’ exhibit at the Barbican Art Gallery. I thought it was going to be a completely different exhibit than the other ones our class had been to because Le Corbusier was an architect; however, after spending some time in the exhibit, I realized that he his work was just as elaborate as the other artists exhibits we had been. The title of architect in my mind, essentially limited his range of creativity, but Le Corbusier did everything from architecture to furniture and even painting. His ideas were new to the 20th century and ultimately ended up influencing future architects as well as society. Le Corbusier had just as many critics as he did supporters, but regardless of which side you fall, he made an impact of 20th century Europe and possibly even the world.
Le Corbusier’s ideas were very much influenced by the places he surrounded himself with. His time in school, Switzerland, and Paris all gave him quite a unique spin on his designs. Traveling made a huge difference in his career because when he would go to these places, he would sketch what he saw. This was where being a multi talented artist would be very useful. In his early life, Le Corbusier was focused more on designing villas, which consisted of “an open floor plan consisting of concrete slabs supported by a minimal number of thin, reinforced concrete columns around the edges, with a stairway providing access to each level on one side of the floor plan.” This was a type of house he created for about ten years, but later on in his career, his ideas changed toward urbanism. There was a lot of need at this time for houses that could hold large numbers of individuals, and lot of these individuals would fall into lower poverty levels. These individuals were living under harsh conditions because of how overcrowded the city would be, and the city was constantly looking for someone to put together a plan to make the city better as a while. Le Corbusier wanted to “provide a new organizational solution that would raise the quality of live of the lower classes.” He thought people should be organized in buildings according to family size instead of based on class level. Le Corbusier would then design a city based on those ideas; however, city officials often rejected his plans. This architect looked past status and had ideas that were before his time even in 20th Century.
I think that Le Corbusier was a pivotal person in the 20th Century because of his ideas. He put what he believed out there regardless of it was going to be rejected. He was one of the few people who could ignore the label people were given based on their social class. It says a lot about him as a person as well as an artist. I think it even shows how people of different backgrounds and interests can make a difference. One doesn’t have to be a politician or priest to make a difference in culture or society. A person should take Le Corbusier’s example and find a way to use his or her talents to make an impact on the world. Even if the ideas they have are shot down as Le Corbusier’s were on numerous occasion, one day they will eventually make a difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier
Le Corbusier’s ideas were very much influenced by the places he surrounded himself with. His time in school, Switzerland, and Paris all gave him quite a unique spin on his designs. Traveling made a huge difference in his career because when he would go to these places, he would sketch what he saw. This was where being a multi talented artist would be very useful. In his early life, Le Corbusier was focused more on designing villas, which consisted of “an open floor plan consisting of concrete slabs supported by a minimal number of thin, reinforced concrete columns around the edges, with a stairway providing access to each level on one side of the floor plan.” This was a type of house he created for about ten years, but later on in his career, his ideas changed toward urbanism. There was a lot of need at this time for houses that could hold large numbers of individuals, and lot of these individuals would fall into lower poverty levels. These individuals were living under harsh conditions because of how overcrowded the city would be, and the city was constantly looking for someone to put together a plan to make the city better as a while. Le Corbusier wanted to “provide a new organizational solution that would raise the quality of live of the lower classes.” He thought people should be organized in buildings according to family size instead of based on class level. Le Corbusier would then design a city based on those ideas; however, city officials often rejected his plans. This architect looked past status and had ideas that were before his time even in 20th Century.
I think that Le Corbusier was a pivotal person in the 20th Century because of his ideas. He put what he believed out there regardless of it was going to be rejected. He was one of the few people who could ignore the label people were given based on their social class. It says a lot about him as a person as well as an artist. I think it even shows how people of different backgrounds and interests can make a difference. One doesn’t have to be a politician or priest to make a difference in culture or society. A person should take Le Corbusier’s example and find a way to use his or her talents to make an impact on the world. Even if the ideas they have are shot down as Le Corbusier’s were on numerous occasion, one day they will eventually make a difference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #7
Pablo Picasso was an exceptional artist of the 20th Century from Spain. I came to this conclusion after my Art Appreciation class went to the Picasso exhibit at the Nation Gallery. The exhibit’s title was “Challenging the Past” and devoted each room in the exhibit to a different style of work he produced. Picasso was an artist of many styles and techniques and even introduced another style of painting into the art world. Not only was variety a part of Picasso’s work, but also the life he lived was through many years of world tragedies such as WWI and II. His whole life was not only influenced by the 20th century, but he also impacted the 20th Century Europe with his unique paintings and techniques.
The different styles of art that Picasso produced were divided into periods. The periods consisted of Blue, Rose, Cubism, and more. The cubism period was the one that impressed me the most because he and another artist by the name of Braque created this style of painting by observing objects by their shape and painting them in that form. It was amazing to me that a person can create a completely new form of painting and make it popular. Most people have a hard time making ordinary art popular, much less creating a whole new type of art and making it popular. There were eventually two types of cubism that were known as synthetic and analytic. The analytic form was the first kind of collage that made it into a fine art category.
The first impression I received when I observed a cubist painting of Picasso’s was that it seemed almost distorted because everything has such harsh lines due to the geometric shapes. I do not necessarily think that Picasso wanted his pictures to look rough or harsh, but instead by using the geometric shapes he was able to show two aspects of a person’s appearance. For instance, the painting looks like a straight on perception as well as a profile view. It’s a very unusual concept that Picasso perfected.
The unique and original style of Picasso is very true to the person he was. He was a man who enjoyed many women as well as a pacifist to three wars (WWI and II and Spanish Civil War). He was a man that lived without much thought of what others wanted or thought. This was probably the main reason he is the famous painter he is today. He did not want to do work that other people liked, but instead, he did the work that he believed in.
Regardless of his moral decisions he made, Picasso was a painter that was highly talented. He created works of art that varied so drastically that one would have a hard time believing the same artist produced both works. His style and technique left an impression on the idea of art in the 20th Century and presently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso
The different styles of art that Picasso produced were divided into periods. The periods consisted of Blue, Rose, Cubism, and more. The cubism period was the one that impressed me the most because he and another artist by the name of Braque created this style of painting by observing objects by their shape and painting them in that form. It was amazing to me that a person can create a completely new form of painting and make it popular. Most people have a hard time making ordinary art popular, much less creating a whole new type of art and making it popular. There were eventually two types of cubism that were known as synthetic and analytic. The analytic form was the first kind of collage that made it into a fine art category.
The first impression I received when I observed a cubist painting of Picasso’s was that it seemed almost distorted because everything has such harsh lines due to the geometric shapes. I do not necessarily think that Picasso wanted his pictures to look rough or harsh, but instead by using the geometric shapes he was able to show two aspects of a person’s appearance. For instance, the painting looks like a straight on perception as well as a profile view. It’s a very unusual concept that Picasso perfected.
The unique and original style of Picasso is very true to the person he was. He was a man who enjoyed many women as well as a pacifist to three wars (WWI and II and Spanish Civil War). He was a man that lived without much thought of what others wanted or thought. This was probably the main reason he is the famous painter he is today. He did not want to do work that other people liked, but instead, he did the work that he believed in.
Regardless of his moral decisions he made, Picasso was a painter that was highly talented. He created works of art that varied so drastically that one would have a hard time believing the same artist produced both works. His style and technique left an impression on the idea of art in the 20th Century and presently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #6
My Winston Churchill class with Dr. Gall went on a field trip that explored damaged caused during the Blitz. A tour guide walked us around parts of central London that were bombed by the German during WWII. It was a great field trip that I was able to gain a lot of knowledge and apply it to my Churchill class, but I was also able to relate it back to my Politics and Culture in 20th Century Europe class.
The tour guide emphasized the impact that the bombing had on the citizens of London. She even referred to the war as the “people’s wa”r because the people were just as much effected by it as the soldiers were. Citizens lived in constant fear of a bombing raid. Most families even had bomb shelters put into their gardens. The simplest task of walking through the city was hindered because rubble from the buildings that were bombed were still lying on the road and sidewalks. It was an everyday challenge that everyone had to go through. The amazing thing was that the people of London’s spirits weren’t broken and a large reason being the Prime Minster, Winston S. Churchill. He encouraged the people of London to go about their daily lives and not let the German’s take that away from them. Churchill’s speeches would sound through the radio and motivate his people to be strong and not give in to the Nazis. Churchill saw what the German’s did to the French and knew his people could overcome the Nazis if they would fight this war together. The German bombs weren’t simply actions to try and physically destroy everything in London, but they were also trying to bring the British morale down. If the morale was down, the better chance Hitler had to win the Battle of Britain. Churchill was aware of this strategy Hitler was using and encouraged his people to keep going with their business as usual. Instead of the bombs disrupting everyday life for the civilians, the citizens walked through the rubble and didn’t let Hitler’s plan get the best of them. This was one of the main reasons that the Battle of Britain was won.
Not only was I taken back by the spirit of the Britain’s during the Blitz, but I was also taken back to see how history repeats itself. Although September 11, 2001 was a different situation, America was still under attack by an outside force that left civilians deceased or in danger. It was a similar situation because citizens of New York were told to go about their days business as usual. It had to be tough for them to do this because their city was attacked and people were killed, but just as the people in Britain came together as one, so did the citizens of New York and America came together as one unit to prove that an outside force can’t control the world they live in. The Battle of Britain and 9-11 were defining moments in both counties history.
The tour guide emphasized the impact that the bombing had on the citizens of London. She even referred to the war as the “people’s wa”r because the people were just as much effected by it as the soldiers were. Citizens lived in constant fear of a bombing raid. Most families even had bomb shelters put into their gardens. The simplest task of walking through the city was hindered because rubble from the buildings that were bombed were still lying on the road and sidewalks. It was an everyday challenge that everyone had to go through. The amazing thing was that the people of London’s spirits weren’t broken and a large reason being the Prime Minster, Winston S. Churchill. He encouraged the people of London to go about their daily lives and not let the German’s take that away from them. Churchill’s speeches would sound through the radio and motivate his people to be strong and not give in to the Nazis. Churchill saw what the German’s did to the French and knew his people could overcome the Nazis if they would fight this war together. The German bombs weren’t simply actions to try and physically destroy everything in London, but they were also trying to bring the British morale down. If the morale was down, the better chance Hitler had to win the Battle of Britain. Churchill was aware of this strategy Hitler was using and encouraged his people to keep going with their business as usual. Instead of the bombs disrupting everyday life for the civilians, the citizens walked through the rubble and didn’t let Hitler’s plan get the best of them. This was one of the main reasons that the Battle of Britain was won.
Not only was I taken back by the spirit of the Britain’s during the Blitz, but I was also taken back to see how history repeats itself. Although September 11, 2001 was a different situation, America was still under attack by an outside force that left civilians deceased or in danger. It was a similar situation because citizens of New York were told to go about their days business as usual. It had to be tough for them to do this because their city was attacked and people were killed, but just as the people in Britain came together as one, so did the citizens of New York and America came together as one unit to prove that an outside force can’t control the world they live in. The Battle of Britain and 9-11 were defining moments in both counties history.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Luck of the Irish
Greetings! I got back to London Sunday morning (March 29th) at around 10 a.m. and was greeted in South Kensington by my mom, Dianne, and Kathy! I was so excited to see them. Its going to be a great week with them visiting, but for now I'll tell you about my weekend in Ireland.
Thursday, March 26
After class, I ran to check my mail and to my surprise there was a huge package with my name on it. It was the best way to start my trip, combos, cheezits, and Cheetos! Yummmm. Once I finished opening my package, I waited for the girls to get back from class. I had packed the night before and was so glad for it! Once the other girls in the flat got back, we rushed along to the tube to catch the bus (gosh, I miss driving!). We got to the platform in the tube stop just to wait and wait and wait for our tube to arrive. We realized it was taking way longer than we thought, which as you may guess, was going to make us late for the bus. We arrived in Fulham Broadway about 7 minutes after our bus departed. We were slightly concerned, but knew that bus runs every thirty minutes. We patiently waited for the next one to arrive and crossed our fingers that it had open seats! When it arrived, there were plenty of seats and we were off to the airport! We got their in plenty of time and boarded our plane to Dublin! It was the shortest flight we've had yet. It felt like we had just gotten on the plane when they announced to turn off everything we were landing. We are yet to have a smooth landing, but as long as we land, I'm happy. We got a bus into the city and attempted to find our hostel. Needless to say, after countless directions and 20 minutes of walking, we got a cab that took us around the corner from where we were. I guess you could say we kind of got suckered out of 7 Euros, but oh well, we got there. We settled in for a bit, but went right back out to the Porter House for a porter and live music. (When in Rome, right?) It was a lot of fun and we settled in early for a full day in Dublin tomorrow!
Friday, March 25
Since we had preplanned a little bit for this trip, we knew we wanted to spend one day in the city and one day in the country, which meant we had one day to cram in all the sights in Dublin. Our first destination was the Dublin Castle. We showed up and got our tickets for the guided tour. We had some time to kill so we popped into the gift shop and definitely made a mental note to stop back in after the tour because they had some good stuff. The tour of the castle was a lot of fun and very interesting. The tour guide was very easy to understand. Sometimes people's accents are thick and hard to understand, but this guy was very well spoken and smart. The tour lasted about an hour and then we were off to find trinity College. It was a very pretty campus, but the reason we went was because some of the girls wanted to see the Book of Kells in the library. I didn't participate, but waited for them to finish up so we could grab some lunch. We all ended up eating Subway (very American of us). I've tried really hard to stay away from stuff I can eat in the states, but sometimes with our schedules its the most convenient. We walked to find a Hard Rock Cafe for a girl in our group that wanted to buy something, and then the Jameson Distillery. We walked in and got our ticket, but had about 20 minutes to kill before our tour started. Once again, he went to the gift shop and found some goodies. The smart thing would have been to wait until after the tour to buy something so I wouldn't have to walk around with a bag the whole time. I unfortunately didn't make that decision, but that was just a brain fart on my part. We had a guided tour that started with a ten minute video of John Jameson's story. It really caught my attention and our tour guide did too! We walked from room to room learning the process that the whiskey goes through to become Jameson. The rooms were set up to make you feel like you were really in the distillery many years ago. Some of the girls in the group even got to volunteer at the end of the tour to try different types of whiskey from around the world, including Jack Daniels. It was a fun tour and at the end we all got a mixed drink. We couldn't stay and relax for very long though because next was Guinness! All seven of us left and walked to find the Guinness plant. It was a slightly different experience than Jameson because it was a self guided tour through five floors of stuff! It started off with the ingredients and then the process and even the business side of Guinness. Every floor was fun, but my favorite was the very top level. It was the Galaxy Bar, but all the walls were made of class and gave a beautiful view of Dublin. It was super crowded though. We got to enjoy another drink, which was a pint of Guinness. The girls and I finally found a small space on the floor and crammed most of us into it so we could enjoy the view and the drink. A little relaxation was needed after a full day of sight seeing. Next, we were off to dinner. We stopped at a local pub and enjoyed a great dinner before we settled in for the night. It was a great day. We got to see so much! The city was very pretty, and we had awesome weather. It was a great day for walking and sighting seeing, and we did plenty of both!
Saturday, March 27
Saturday was our day in the country side! I knew if we were going to Ireland I had to see the country side because everyone talks about how beautiful it is. I can definitely say I wasn't disappointed. The tour bus we booked picked us up from our hostel around 9:45, and we were off to the Wicklow Mountains. Our tour guide would tell us stuff while he was driving, but he would also pull over on the side of the road and tell us even more about certain landmarks. Some of them were interesting and some were kind of creepy. He would also let us get out at the most beautiful places to take pictures. I must say that I was quite chilly up on the mountain, but thankfully it didn't rain. I can handle cold, but cold and rainy is a different story. Our first stop we made looked over the Ireland port. It was super foggy so we couldn't see it that great, but it was still gorgeous. Our bus driver had hot tea and coffee for us as a little pit stop. He was the nicest old man and knew his stuff, too. We all got back in to warm up and headed to a lake for another great view of Dublin's countryside. We stopped on the side of the road and walked about 20 yards through some rock and mud (didn't realize we would be off roading it). Once we got through that stuff you could see this beautiful lake in the valley of the mountains. It was an awesome sight to see. We spent some time soaking in the scenery and headed back to the bus for our next stop. We stopped at another lake, but this was the Guinness Lake. The Guinness family owns a lake house right beside it. It was an absolutely beautiful place. Probably the coldest too! It was sooooo windy! We took some pictures but headed back to the bus before the wind knocked us over! Our bus driver was pretty experienced at this so our next stop was a place with a bathroom and also happened to be the highest town in Ireland. There was also a church there so the girls and I decided that those church goers have to be the closest people to God in Ireland. We didn't stay there very long and loaded back into the bus and headed to a beautiful waterfall. Our bus driver let us out to walked along the side of the waterfall. It wasn't necessarily what I was expecting for a waterfall because it was so small, but a phenomenal view. There were sheep on the hill with a sheep farm below. It was very Dublin. We walked back to where our bus was and headed to one of our last stops which was LUNCH! It was definitely a monopoly though! They took us to this little town to eat and of course we are pretty tired and hungry. They tell us you can eat in this restaurant or you can have snacks at this coffee house. We definitely went in for the real stuff, but it was 15 Euros a plate! (like $20!) I mean don't get me wrong it was really good, but the price was so steep. We finished up eating and went to a little souvenir shop then back to the bus for our last stop in Glendalough.
Glendalough in Irish means city between two lakes, and that's exactly what it was. It was founded by Saint Kevin as an early medieval monastery in the early 6th century. It was destroyed by English troops in 1398. There were a ton of grave stones everywhere with some remains of their churches and the only one completely still standing was Saint Kevin's Church. Our bus driver toured us through this area (on foot that is). Once he told us a little about it, he let us loose to go explore the area. He told us how to get to another water fall and a walking trail that would take us along the lakes. We took off and explored for a couple of hours. I just couldn't get over how incredible this place was. The beginning of the tour was a slight let down because everything was brown (still beautiful, but brown). I should have expected the brownness because that weekend was the first day of spring, but once I got to Glendalough, I got a dose of exactly what I was expecting. The weather was beautiful as well. We could have asked for better weather for that time of the year. It seemed to be very rare that we didn't get rain either. The bus driver was pretty much shocked. We told him it was because it was our friend Dawn's birthday. After exploring the area for a while, we headed back to the bus and went back to our hostel. I was going to try enjoy the scenery on the way back, but my eye's had different intentions. I definitely slept the entire way back (anyone who has traveled in a car with me, isn't surprised). We got back to the hostel at 5:45 and chilled out for a while. It was quite a long day in the mountains, but no complaints at all! I loved it. Since it was Dawn's birthday, we headed to dinner. We found out pretty quick though that if you don't have reservations, the restaurants won't seat you until like 9:00. We had worked up an appetite by that point so we decided to do the tourist thing and eat at Thunder Road Cafe (pretty much like a Hard Rock Cafe). The food was good, and we got them to sing happy birthday to Dawn. We all really enjoyed our entire day.
It was a great weekend in Dublin. I definitely wish it could have been a longer trip, but it was nice to be able to see it for the amount of time we did. I want to come back in the summer time though! I think it would be 10 times prettier in the summer, and I can't hardly imagine that because what we saw was so gorgeous. It would be unbelievable.
We packed up our stuff that next morning and headed to the airport. It was another short flight back, which I was thankful for becuase I was so anxious to see my mom, Dianne, and Kathy!
more to come later........
Thursday, March 26
After class, I ran to check my mail and to my surprise there was a huge package with my name on it. It was the best way to start my trip, combos, cheezits, and Cheetos! Yummmm. Once I finished opening my package, I waited for the girls to get back from class. I had packed the night before and was so glad for it! Once the other girls in the flat got back, we rushed along to the tube to catch the bus (gosh, I miss driving!). We got to the platform in the tube stop just to wait and wait and wait for our tube to arrive. We realized it was taking way longer than we thought, which as you may guess, was going to make us late for the bus. We arrived in Fulham Broadway about 7 minutes after our bus departed. We were slightly concerned, but knew that bus runs every thirty minutes. We patiently waited for the next one to arrive and crossed our fingers that it had open seats! When it arrived, there were plenty of seats and we were off to the airport! We got their in plenty of time and boarded our plane to Dublin! It was the shortest flight we've had yet. It felt like we had just gotten on the plane when they announced to turn off everything we were landing. We are yet to have a smooth landing, but as long as we land, I'm happy. We got a bus into the city and attempted to find our hostel. Needless to say, after countless directions and 20 minutes of walking, we got a cab that took us around the corner from where we were. I guess you could say we kind of got suckered out of 7 Euros, but oh well, we got there. We settled in for a bit, but went right back out to the Porter House for a porter and live music. (When in Rome, right?) It was a lot of fun and we settled in early for a full day in Dublin tomorrow!
Friday, March 25
Since we had preplanned a little bit for this trip, we knew we wanted to spend one day in the city and one day in the country, which meant we had one day to cram in all the sights in Dublin. Our first destination was the Dublin Castle. We showed up and got our tickets for the guided tour. We had some time to kill so we popped into the gift shop and definitely made a mental note to stop back in after the tour because they had some good stuff. The tour of the castle was a lot of fun and very interesting. The tour guide was very easy to understand. Sometimes people's accents are thick and hard to understand, but this guy was very well spoken and smart. The tour lasted about an hour and then we were off to find trinity College. It was a very pretty campus, but the reason we went was because some of the girls wanted to see the Book of Kells in the library. I didn't participate, but waited for them to finish up so we could grab some lunch. We all ended up eating Subway (very American of us). I've tried really hard to stay away from stuff I can eat in the states, but sometimes with our schedules its the most convenient. We walked to find a Hard Rock Cafe for a girl in our group that wanted to buy something, and then the Jameson Distillery. We walked in and got our ticket, but had about 20 minutes to kill before our tour started. Once again, he went to the gift shop and found some goodies. The smart thing would have been to wait until after the tour to buy something so I wouldn't have to walk around with a bag the whole time. I unfortunately didn't make that decision, but that was just a brain fart on my part. We had a guided tour that started with a ten minute video of John Jameson's story. It really caught my attention and our tour guide did too! We walked from room to room learning the process that the whiskey goes through to become Jameson. The rooms were set up to make you feel like you were really in the distillery many years ago. Some of the girls in the group even got to volunteer at the end of the tour to try different types of whiskey from around the world, including Jack Daniels. It was a fun tour and at the end we all got a mixed drink. We couldn't stay and relax for very long though because next was Guinness! All seven of us left and walked to find the Guinness plant. It was a slightly different experience than Jameson because it was a self guided tour through five floors of stuff! It started off with the ingredients and then the process and even the business side of Guinness. Every floor was fun, but my favorite was the very top level. It was the Galaxy Bar, but all the walls were made of class and gave a beautiful view of Dublin. It was super crowded though. We got to enjoy another drink, which was a pint of Guinness. The girls and I finally found a small space on the floor and crammed most of us into it so we could enjoy the view and the drink. A little relaxation was needed after a full day of sight seeing. Next, we were off to dinner. We stopped at a local pub and enjoyed a great dinner before we settled in for the night. It was a great day. We got to see so much! The city was very pretty, and we had awesome weather. It was a great day for walking and sighting seeing, and we did plenty of both!
Saturday, March 27
Saturday was our day in the country side! I knew if we were going to Ireland I had to see the country side because everyone talks about how beautiful it is. I can definitely say I wasn't disappointed. The tour bus we booked picked us up from our hostel around 9:45, and we were off to the Wicklow Mountains. Our tour guide would tell us stuff while he was driving, but he would also pull over on the side of the road and tell us even more about certain landmarks. Some of them were interesting and some were kind of creepy. He would also let us get out at the most beautiful places to take pictures. I must say that I was quite chilly up on the mountain, but thankfully it didn't rain. I can handle cold, but cold and rainy is a different story. Our first stop we made looked over the Ireland port. It was super foggy so we couldn't see it that great, but it was still gorgeous. Our bus driver had hot tea and coffee for us as a little pit stop. He was the nicest old man and knew his stuff, too. We all got back in to warm up and headed to a lake for another great view of Dublin's countryside. We stopped on the side of the road and walked about 20 yards through some rock and mud (didn't realize we would be off roading it). Once we got through that stuff you could see this beautiful lake in the valley of the mountains. It was an awesome sight to see. We spent some time soaking in the scenery and headed back to the bus for our next stop. We stopped at another lake, but this was the Guinness Lake. The Guinness family owns a lake house right beside it. It was an absolutely beautiful place. Probably the coldest too! It was sooooo windy! We took some pictures but headed back to the bus before the wind knocked us over! Our bus driver was pretty experienced at this so our next stop was a place with a bathroom and also happened to be the highest town in Ireland. There was also a church there so the girls and I decided that those church goers have to be the closest people to God in Ireland. We didn't stay there very long and loaded back into the bus and headed to a beautiful waterfall. Our bus driver let us out to walked along the side of the waterfall. It wasn't necessarily what I was expecting for a waterfall because it was so small, but a phenomenal view. There were sheep on the hill with a sheep farm below. It was very Dublin. We walked back to where our bus was and headed to one of our last stops which was LUNCH! It was definitely a monopoly though! They took us to this little town to eat and of course we are pretty tired and hungry. They tell us you can eat in this restaurant or you can have snacks at this coffee house. We definitely went in for the real stuff, but it was 15 Euros a plate! (like $20!) I mean don't get me wrong it was really good, but the price was so steep. We finished up eating and went to a little souvenir shop then back to the bus for our last stop in Glendalough.
Glendalough in Irish means city between two lakes, and that's exactly what it was. It was founded by Saint Kevin as an early medieval monastery in the early 6th century. It was destroyed by English troops in 1398. There were a ton of grave stones everywhere with some remains of their churches and the only one completely still standing was Saint Kevin's Church. Our bus driver toured us through this area (on foot that is). Once he told us a little about it, he let us loose to go explore the area. He told us how to get to another water fall and a walking trail that would take us along the lakes. We took off and explored for a couple of hours. I just couldn't get over how incredible this place was. The beginning of the tour was a slight let down because everything was brown (still beautiful, but brown). I should have expected the brownness because that weekend was the first day of spring, but once I got to Glendalough, I got a dose of exactly what I was expecting. The weather was beautiful as well. We could have asked for better weather for that time of the year. It seemed to be very rare that we didn't get rain either. The bus driver was pretty much shocked. We told him it was because it was our friend Dawn's birthday. After exploring the area for a while, we headed back to the bus and went back to our hostel. I was going to try enjoy the scenery on the way back, but my eye's had different intentions. I definitely slept the entire way back (anyone who has traveled in a car with me, isn't surprised). We got back to the hostel at 5:45 and chilled out for a while. It was quite a long day in the mountains, but no complaints at all! I loved it. Since it was Dawn's birthday, we headed to dinner. We found out pretty quick though that if you don't have reservations, the restaurants won't seat you until like 9:00. We had worked up an appetite by that point so we decided to do the tourist thing and eat at Thunder Road Cafe (pretty much like a Hard Rock Cafe). The food was good, and we got them to sing happy birthday to Dawn. We all really enjoyed our entire day.
It was a great weekend in Dublin. I definitely wish it could have been a longer trip, but it was nice to be able to see it for the amount of time we did. I want to come back in the summer time though! I think it would be 10 times prettier in the summer, and I can't hardly imagine that because what we saw was so gorgeous. It would be unbelievable.
We packed up our stuff that next morning and headed to the airport. It was another short flight back, which I was thankful for becuase I was so anxious to see my mom, Dianne, and Kathy!
more to come later........
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Roma
Greetings! Once again I am still reporting on the same week in Italy. It was an intense week. We arrived late Monday, March 2 in Roma! We checked into our hostel and went to grab a bit to eat. We choose a really small mom and pop restaurant that was just around the corner. The food was great, but when it came time to pay, the language barrier became an issue. The waiter kept telling us we didn't pay enough, but we couldn't figure out why because he didn't speak English and we didn't speak Italian. We finally figured out we didn't include the service charge, but it was an honest mistake because the check he gave us was handwritten and illegible. We finally got it worked out and went back to the hostel and went to bed. It was a long day for all of us. I know I was starting to wonder if we crammed too much into a week. Regardless, Roma awaited us tomorrow!
Tuesday, March 3
We woke up and got ready for an exciting day in Roma. The hostel we were staying at didn't have breakfast, but gave us coupons for a place around the corner that served us cappuccino and a croissant. It was a good way to start off our day. Once we finished that, we broke out the maps and started exploring. Since all the girls had different departure days and times, we spilt up for the day. Some of us traveled to the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and Pantheon.
The Coliseum was amazing. Three of us decided to do a guided tour of both the Coliseum and the Palatine Hill. It was well worth it. Being inside the Coliseum made you feel so small. It also made me think about how gross it must have been inside it many many years ago. The guide told us about how the high class women that sat on the top section would use the bathroom in bags and then drop it over the ledge behind them (talk about look out below). The guide also told us how many men and animals died as a result of the gladiator games held inside it. Roughly 500,000 men were killed and 1 million wild animals died. Even though the architecture of the building was amazing those numbers were disturbing. One thing that the tour guide told us that wasn't disturbing was that the reason part of the coliseum is missing was because of earthquakes. I found that pretty interesting because all the pictures you see of the Coliseum are with the the missing part.
Since the other three girls we were with decided not to do the tour with us, we waited for them after the tour to try and decide where to meet up after our tour of the Palatine Hill. While Ellie and I waited, we had a slight ordeal. These men outside the coliseum were dressed up as Gladiators and taking pictures with tourists. Without us even going up to them, they approached Ellie and I and put helmets on our head and insisted to take our picture with the other gladiators. He took my camera and proceeded to take pictures of us. Me and Ellie were just laughing and having a good time. Once he finished taking our picture, I went to get my camera back and he demanded 5 Euros. I thought he was joking so I laughed, but he wasn't. He just kept saying 5 Euros, 5 Euros, this is my job 5 Euros. I told him NO and for him to give me my camera back. He wouldn't give me my camera back until I deleted the pictures he just took. I was extremely angry at this point. I of course deleted the pictures and wanted so badly to say get a real job! I didn't, but wanted to very very badly. That ordeal could have easily put a damper on my day, but Ellie and I made sure we didn't let that happen. Next, was our guided tour of the Palatine Hill.
I enjoyed this tour thoroughly! We had a different tour guide than the Coliseum. He was a Scottish man that really knew his stuff. He took us around the ruins telling us about the history of the Romans. It was very interesting. The Palatine Hill was the center of the Seven Hills of Roman and one of the most ancient parts of Rome. From a mythological standpoint, it was the hill where the she-wolf found Romulus and Remus and kept them alive. The hill gave us a great view of the whole city of Rome. It was beautiful up there. It almost seemed like a tropical place because of all the green plants everywhere.
People have lived on the hill since 1000 B.C., but the palace wasn't built until later. The hill was the place where emperors of Rome would live. It was so amazing to see the ruins of a structure that was built around the birth of Christ! (can't remember an exact date, but sometime give or take around then). The tour guide even told us that more of the structure would exist if they hadn't removed stones to use on another structure in Rome. The people who built those palaces and buildings were brilliant. It was definitely a highlight of my trip I wasn't expecting.
After our tour, we ate lunch outside. It was a beautiful day with only a couple drizzles of rain every now and again. We weren't able to meet up with the other girls we were with earlier because our tour lasted so long. We finished lunch and then headed to the Pantheon. It was pretty funny though because when we showed up, we actually ran into our friends! Rome is such a huge city, and we still managed to find each other without using a cell phone or anything. Its a small world sometimes. We didn't spend much time in the Pantheon. It was just nice to go inside and see because its a very pretty structure. It was built in 125 A.D. and was originally a temple built to all the gods of Ancient Rome. Now, it is used as a church. The building is huge and has a huge hole in the ceiling. It was very interesting. We had a quick look around and left to head back to our hostel. It was quite a full day of activities.
We didn't do anything exciting the rest of the day. We ate dinner and called it a night. Italy was wearing us out!
Wednesday, March 4
We woke up and had a repeat of the previous morning. Cappuccino and croissant for breakfast and then headed out for another full day in Rome. We headed to Saint Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. It was too far to walk so we headed to the Metro station to catch a train out there. (This was the only time we used public transportation in Italy, quite an accomplishment. I've got the holes in my shoes to prove it. ha) The metro in Rome was awful compared to London's underground. I was glad we only had to use it once. We got off the train and started walking to St. Peter's, but not without a hundred people offering us tours and tickets to beat the line that was ahead. We all realized once we got to the Basilica that they were all just trying to scam you. Luckily, we didn't trust them and got into St. Peters without a line or any trouble. It was a very big and beautiful. St. Paul's has the largest interior of any church in the world and holds 60,000 people. Tradition says that St. Peter was buried below the alter and now many Popes after him have been buried there as well. We got an audio guide for the basilica and learned a lot while we were walk through . I can't say I remember a lot of it now, but it was interesting to listen to all that history while taking in the beauty of the basilica. We spent a couple hours in there, and then headed to lunch just a little bit down the street. Next, was the Vatican Museum.
We got into the museum, and I made sure to get an audio guide there also so I would know what I was looking at. There were many different museums within the Vatican museum. It was HUGE! We definitely didn't allow ourselves enough time in there. I won't bore you with everything I saw in there but I will let you about the Sistine Chapel!
It was so breath taking to see it for the first time. I couldn't tell you what the floor looked like because I was staring at the ceiling the entire time. I was so glad I got the audio guide too because looking at the painting was great, but hearing the explanation of everything was even more moving. Michelangelo was commissioned in 1509 to repaint the ceiling. He finished in 1512. Next, he painted the last judgement over the alter between 1535 and 1541. I'm surprised that it didn't take him longer to paint them because of how amazing they were! Its hard to put it into words and describe it.
We stayed in the museum as long as we could before it closed down for the night. We left and went to grab a bit to eat before heading back to the hostel. The girls and I just stayed in the rest of the night chatting it up in the common room of our hostel. It nice getting to know the girls more and more especially when we travel.
Thursday, March 5
We started off our day with another Italian breakfast of cappuccino and croissant. It really grew on me and I found the best croissant! It was filled with a marmalade and goodness! Today was a chill day so we just walked around Rome exploring the city. We had to take one of the girls to the train station so she could catch her bus to her plane. The rest of day we took it upon ourselves to relax and enjoy. The large amount we did in a short amount of time was quite exhausting. We had a nice relaxing day that was much needed. We also tried to find some shopping. We followed our guidebook's advice to go to this great "department" store. We ended up finding it, but it was NOT what we were expecting. It was quite a hilarious experience. It was almost as old at the coliseum and had nothing to our liking. We had fun walking around and making fun of some stuff we found inside, but left very soon after arriving and began to roam around again. We were very good at finding gelato places and thoroughly enjoyed another very large cone of it with whipped cream on top!
Friday, March 6
This was mine and Ellie's last day in Rome, and we definitely took it upon ourselves to have a relaxing day. I think by this point we were pretty done with traveling and ready to be back "home" in London. Don't get me wrong, we definitely realize what an amazing opportunity we had in front of us, but we are also human and eventually get tired. We tried to take complete advantage of our trip and did SO much but also wanted to take some time to relax because it was our vacation from school. I think we had a good balance of both. Our last day started off again with another Italian breakfast. We made sure to enjoy it because it would be our last one. Our first destination was Trevi Fountain. We all took our pictures and made our wish! It was a very beautiful fountain. Some background of the fountain. The construction of it started in 1732 and completed in 1762. There is a coin throwing tradition too! I found a detailed description of it on Wikipedia. I copy and pasted it below.
"A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins" of Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.
Approximately 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain."
I didn't know this whole tradition prior to throwing my coins in, but hopefully it will still bring me good luck! After the fountain we walked around and found a small market and more gelato! (we successfully ate gelato everyday while we were in Italy, ha.) We ate our gelato at another fountain, but I'm not sure what the name of it was. Once we did these things, we slowly made our way back to the hostel for me and Ellie to get our stuff and head to the airport. It was a great trip to say the least!
More to come later......
Tuesday, March 3
We woke up and got ready for an exciting day in Roma. The hostel we were staying at didn't have breakfast, but gave us coupons for a place around the corner that served us cappuccino and a croissant. It was a good way to start off our day. Once we finished that, we broke out the maps and started exploring. Since all the girls had different departure days and times, we spilt up for the day. Some of us traveled to the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and Pantheon.
The Coliseum was amazing. Three of us decided to do a guided tour of both the Coliseum and the Palatine Hill. It was well worth it. Being inside the Coliseum made you feel so small. It also made me think about how gross it must have been inside it many many years ago. The guide told us about how the high class women that sat on the top section would use the bathroom in bags and then drop it over the ledge behind them (talk about look out below). The guide also told us how many men and animals died as a result of the gladiator games held inside it. Roughly 500,000 men were killed and 1 million wild animals died. Even though the architecture of the building was amazing those numbers were disturbing. One thing that the tour guide told us that wasn't disturbing was that the reason part of the coliseum is missing was because of earthquakes. I found that pretty interesting because all the pictures you see of the Coliseum are with the the missing part.
Since the other three girls we were with decided not to do the tour with us, we waited for them after the tour to try and decide where to meet up after our tour of the Palatine Hill. While Ellie and I waited, we had a slight ordeal. These men outside the coliseum were dressed up as Gladiators and taking pictures with tourists. Without us even going up to them, they approached Ellie and I and put helmets on our head and insisted to take our picture with the other gladiators. He took my camera and proceeded to take pictures of us. Me and Ellie were just laughing and having a good time. Once he finished taking our picture, I went to get my camera back and he demanded 5 Euros. I thought he was joking so I laughed, but he wasn't. He just kept saying 5 Euros, 5 Euros, this is my job 5 Euros. I told him NO and for him to give me my camera back. He wouldn't give me my camera back until I deleted the pictures he just took. I was extremely angry at this point. I of course deleted the pictures and wanted so badly to say get a real job! I didn't, but wanted to very very badly. That ordeal could have easily put a damper on my day, but Ellie and I made sure we didn't let that happen. Next, was our guided tour of the Palatine Hill.
I enjoyed this tour thoroughly! We had a different tour guide than the Coliseum. He was a Scottish man that really knew his stuff. He took us around the ruins telling us about the history of the Romans. It was very interesting. The Palatine Hill was the center of the Seven Hills of Roman and one of the most ancient parts of Rome. From a mythological standpoint, it was the hill where the she-wolf found Romulus and Remus and kept them alive. The hill gave us a great view of the whole city of Rome. It was beautiful up there. It almost seemed like a tropical place because of all the green plants everywhere.
People have lived on the hill since 1000 B.C., but the palace wasn't built until later. The hill was the place where emperors of Rome would live. It was so amazing to see the ruins of a structure that was built around the birth of Christ! (can't remember an exact date, but sometime give or take around then). The tour guide even told us that more of the structure would exist if they hadn't removed stones to use on another structure in Rome. The people who built those palaces and buildings were brilliant. It was definitely a highlight of my trip I wasn't expecting.
After our tour, we ate lunch outside. It was a beautiful day with only a couple drizzles of rain every now and again. We weren't able to meet up with the other girls we were with earlier because our tour lasted so long. We finished lunch and then headed to the Pantheon. It was pretty funny though because when we showed up, we actually ran into our friends! Rome is such a huge city, and we still managed to find each other without using a cell phone or anything. Its a small world sometimes. We didn't spend much time in the Pantheon. It was just nice to go inside and see because its a very pretty structure. It was built in 125 A.D. and was originally a temple built to all the gods of Ancient Rome. Now, it is used as a church. The building is huge and has a huge hole in the ceiling. It was very interesting. We had a quick look around and left to head back to our hostel. It was quite a full day of activities.
We didn't do anything exciting the rest of the day. We ate dinner and called it a night. Italy was wearing us out!
Wednesday, March 4
We woke up and had a repeat of the previous morning. Cappuccino and croissant for breakfast and then headed out for another full day in Rome. We headed to Saint Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum. It was too far to walk so we headed to the Metro station to catch a train out there. (This was the only time we used public transportation in Italy, quite an accomplishment. I've got the holes in my shoes to prove it. ha) The metro in Rome was awful compared to London's underground. I was glad we only had to use it once. We got off the train and started walking to St. Peter's, but not without a hundred people offering us tours and tickets to beat the line that was ahead. We all realized once we got to the Basilica that they were all just trying to scam you. Luckily, we didn't trust them and got into St. Peters without a line or any trouble. It was a very big and beautiful. St. Paul's has the largest interior of any church in the world and holds 60,000 people. Tradition says that St. Peter was buried below the alter and now many Popes after him have been buried there as well. We got an audio guide for the basilica and learned a lot while we were walk through . I can't say I remember a lot of it now, but it was interesting to listen to all that history while taking in the beauty of the basilica. We spent a couple hours in there, and then headed to lunch just a little bit down the street. Next, was the Vatican Museum.
We got into the museum, and I made sure to get an audio guide there also so I would know what I was looking at. There were many different museums within the Vatican museum. It was HUGE! We definitely didn't allow ourselves enough time in there. I won't bore you with everything I saw in there but I will let you about the Sistine Chapel!
It was so breath taking to see it for the first time. I couldn't tell you what the floor looked like because I was staring at the ceiling the entire time. I was so glad I got the audio guide too because looking at the painting was great, but hearing the explanation of everything was even more moving. Michelangelo was commissioned in 1509 to repaint the ceiling. He finished in 1512. Next, he painted the last judgement over the alter between 1535 and 1541. I'm surprised that it didn't take him longer to paint them because of how amazing they were! Its hard to put it into words and describe it.
We stayed in the museum as long as we could before it closed down for the night. We left and went to grab a bit to eat before heading back to the hostel. The girls and I just stayed in the rest of the night chatting it up in the common room of our hostel. It nice getting to know the girls more and more especially when we travel.
Thursday, March 5
We started off our day with another Italian breakfast of cappuccino and croissant. It really grew on me and I found the best croissant! It was filled with a marmalade and goodness! Today was a chill day so we just walked around Rome exploring the city. We had to take one of the girls to the train station so she could catch her bus to her plane. The rest of day we took it upon ourselves to relax and enjoy. The large amount we did in a short amount of time was quite exhausting. We had a nice relaxing day that was much needed. We also tried to find some shopping. We followed our guidebook's advice to go to this great "department" store. We ended up finding it, but it was NOT what we were expecting. It was quite a hilarious experience. It was almost as old at the coliseum and had nothing to our liking. We had fun walking around and making fun of some stuff we found inside, but left very soon after arriving and began to roam around again. We were very good at finding gelato places and thoroughly enjoyed another very large cone of it with whipped cream on top!
Friday, March 6
This was mine and Ellie's last day in Rome, and we definitely took it upon ourselves to have a relaxing day. I think by this point we were pretty done with traveling and ready to be back "home" in London. Don't get me wrong, we definitely realize what an amazing opportunity we had in front of us, but we are also human and eventually get tired. We tried to take complete advantage of our trip and did SO much but also wanted to take some time to relax because it was our vacation from school. I think we had a good balance of both. Our last day started off again with another Italian breakfast. We made sure to enjoy it because it would be our last one. Our first destination was Trevi Fountain. We all took our pictures and made our wish! It was a very beautiful fountain. Some background of the fountain. The construction of it started in 1732 and completed in 1762. There is a coin throwing tradition too! I found a detailed description of it on Wikipedia. I copy and pasted it below.
"A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin into the fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins" of Three Coins in the Fountain were thrown by three different individuals, a reported current interpretation is that two coins will lead to a new romance and three will ensure either a marriage or divorce. A reported current version of this legend is that it is lucky to throw three coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.
Approximately 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy. However, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain."
I didn't know this whole tradition prior to throwing my coins in, but hopefully it will still bring me good luck! After the fountain we walked around and found a small market and more gelato! (we successfully ate gelato everyday while we were in Italy, ha.) We ate our gelato at another fountain, but I'm not sure what the name of it was. Once we did these things, we slowly made our way back to the hostel for me and Ellie to get our stuff and head to the airport. It was a great trip to say the least!
More to come later......
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Florence and Pisa
Greetings! I know it’s taking me a while to write about my trip, but we did so much in a week! I have also been busy with a visitor last week. My friend Amber came to visit! It was so nice to have a piece of home here in London. I can't wait for my other visitors in one weeks!
I'm picking up on my trip in Florence...
Saturday, February 28
The train ride to Florence was awesome. The trains were very nice with outlets to plug up things to charge. It was so nice. I think it was only about a two-hour train ride, but I could be mistaken. We arrived in Florence and went to find out hostel for the night. We booked one before we left Venice to save ourselves the worry once we got there. The guy in charge of the hostels name was Marco. He was very helpful and carried our bag to our room. There was a restaurant down the street that has a connection with the hostel and we got free water (yes, b/c you have to pay for water everywhere) and no service charge. The people at this restaurant loved us! We went there twice while we were there and got free stuff both times. It was wonderful. We finished up with dinner and settled in for the night and prepared for our day tomorrow.
Sunday, March 1
We woke up the next morning around 9 and got ready to head out. We gathered all 9 of us girls up and left the hostel for the day. We had a market right next to our hostel so of course we went there first. It was such a change from the Venice markets. In Venice there were glass trinkets everywhere, but in Florence there was leather all over the place. It immediately gave me a different vibe than Venice, and I wanted to go back! We walked around and figured out a game plan. We ended up splitting up into 7 and 2. Two girls in our group wanted to experience a Catholic worship service in Italy. The other part of our group was not as interested and went to explore.
We found a church (of course) and went inside to look around. It was very impressive on the inside, but very plan from the outside. That was definitely something we weren't used to. The city wasn’t impress us very much, and then we found out we were on the wrong side of the bridge. Apparently, one side of the river is like the city part and the other side is the old Florence part. It was much prettier and more of what I was expecting. (It still wasn't Venice though!)
The day was very dreary and a little cold. There was an overcast as well. It doesn't help when we just came from perfect weather in Venice, but we still enjoyed our day. We left the church and made our way to the other side of the bridge. It had more of that Tuscan feel.
On the other side we found a palace that was too expensive to go into and walked up this huge hill to get a nice view of the city. The walk was pretty intense, but it was worth it because of the view we got to see. Even on a cloudy day, the view was pretty. We never actually got to where our planned destination because we couldn't find it and the locals only spoke a little English, but we still got to see a lot on our literal scenic route.
After the intense walk, we made our way down to have lunch. It was another great meal in Italy. Have I mentioned how amazing the food is? Because, if I haven't, its amazing! I wasn't disappointed at all. The next thing on our agenda was another intense walk, but instead of a mountain, there were 414 stairs awaiting us! The Duomo is the biggest Cathedral in Florence and the fourth largest in the world. We went inside cathedral first and then climbed the 414 stairs. As we are walking up there are different levels to stop and take pictures. Me and Kenny are stopped at the second highest level taking pictures while the other girls already went up to the top. All of a sudden, these bells starting ringing! It was so startling that I screamed. Kenny and I immediately covered our ears and started hysterically laughed because we were so caught off guard! Not only did it startle us, but it continued for at least 5 minutes, which doesn't sound long, but it is a lifetime with these huge bells are ringing right above your head. It finally stopped, and with our ears still ringing, we made it to the top and took pictures of the beautiful view. The rooftops were pretty cool from up high. The Tuscan feel was truly apparent. We were absolutely exhausted and made our way back to ground level. It was quite an exhausting day. We wanted to make it to see Michelangelo’s David in the Uffizi Museum, but our budgets won out. A bunch of college girls weren't too quick to drop 15 euros to see it. We called it a night. Went back to the hostel to rest up for dinner and pack up for our next day of travel!
Monday, March 2
The next morning consisted of me waking up before everyone else because I needed a new suitcase since my was broken. Dad would have really come in handy since he's so handy, but I was at least able to talk the guy at the market down to a good price. Once I had my new suitcase, I went back to the hostel to pack up and check out. Pisa and Roma were awaiting us!
We arrived at the train state without any major concerns. The only thing was that when we arrived, we literally had minutes to make it to the train. Nine of us girls running through the train station was quite a hilarious sight. The thing that almost pushed us over the edge was that we weren't aware that we had to validate our tickets in this machine that punches a whole in your ticket. We realized this almost too late, but a couple of grabbed everybody's tickets and went and did them all at once. We hopped on the train and it started moving about two minutes after we got on. It was a close call. I know some of you are probably thinking, "That Lynnsey is always late" but actually it wasn't my fault because our tickets had open times and a train comes about every hour. We just weren't sure which part of the hour though. Regardless, we made it and were on our way to Pisa.
Once we arrived, we found a place to store out luggage for the day, which was so nice! We walked out of the station and immediately went to find a map to find our way to the tower. It was literally a straight shot off the train. We walked straight through the town to find it. It was incredibly easy to find, which was a great change from the other Italian cities we visited. I’m glad we only stayed an afternoon in Pisa though. There is nothing besides the tower to do there, but the tower was pretty cool. We took the typical holding up the tower or pushing the tower over pictures. It was a lot of fun because there was a lot of creative people there doing their own interpretation. We spent a couple hours just taking pictures and hanging out in Pisa. Once everyone got their pics and souvenirs, we went back to the train station gathered our luggage from storage and once again ran to our platform. Little did we know though, we were getting on the wrong train. Not the wrong train as in the wrong direction, but apparently there are different speeds of trains (go figure) that no one cared to fill us in on. The gentleman in Pisa told us we had an open ticket that we could get on any train two hours before and two hours after our scheduled time, but not once did he mention which kind of train. Once we are on and finally relaxing, the conductor came around to punch our tickets and gave us the bad news. All nine of us owned 20 more pounds b/c of our mistake! To say the least, we were upset. We finally got the conductor to go down on the price because we were such a large group and ended up paying 12 extra pounds. This was yet another bump in the road, but we managed and ended up making friends with a guy from Arizona because the same thing happened to him. We decided that they could pretty much make bank off us if they wanted to because we don't know if what they are telling us is legit or not. Either way we were still on our way to Roma!
More to come later........
I'm picking up on my trip in Florence...
Saturday, February 28
The train ride to Florence was awesome. The trains were very nice with outlets to plug up things to charge. It was so nice. I think it was only about a two-hour train ride, but I could be mistaken. We arrived in Florence and went to find out hostel for the night. We booked one before we left Venice to save ourselves the worry once we got there. The guy in charge of the hostels name was Marco. He was very helpful and carried our bag to our room. There was a restaurant down the street that has a connection with the hostel and we got free water (yes, b/c you have to pay for water everywhere) and no service charge. The people at this restaurant loved us! We went there twice while we were there and got free stuff both times. It was wonderful. We finished up with dinner and settled in for the night and prepared for our day tomorrow.
Sunday, March 1
We woke up the next morning around 9 and got ready to head out. We gathered all 9 of us girls up and left the hostel for the day. We had a market right next to our hostel so of course we went there first. It was such a change from the Venice markets. In Venice there were glass trinkets everywhere, but in Florence there was leather all over the place. It immediately gave me a different vibe than Venice, and I wanted to go back! We walked around and figured out a game plan. We ended up splitting up into 7 and 2. Two girls in our group wanted to experience a Catholic worship service in Italy. The other part of our group was not as interested and went to explore.
We found a church (of course) and went inside to look around. It was very impressive on the inside, but very plan from the outside. That was definitely something we weren't used to. The city wasn’t impress us very much, and then we found out we were on the wrong side of the bridge. Apparently, one side of the river is like the city part and the other side is the old Florence part. It was much prettier and more of what I was expecting. (It still wasn't Venice though!)
The day was very dreary and a little cold. There was an overcast as well. It doesn't help when we just came from perfect weather in Venice, but we still enjoyed our day. We left the church and made our way to the other side of the bridge. It had more of that Tuscan feel.
On the other side we found a palace that was too expensive to go into and walked up this huge hill to get a nice view of the city. The walk was pretty intense, but it was worth it because of the view we got to see. Even on a cloudy day, the view was pretty. We never actually got to where our planned destination because we couldn't find it and the locals only spoke a little English, but we still got to see a lot on our literal scenic route.
After the intense walk, we made our way down to have lunch. It was another great meal in Italy. Have I mentioned how amazing the food is? Because, if I haven't, its amazing! I wasn't disappointed at all. The next thing on our agenda was another intense walk, but instead of a mountain, there were 414 stairs awaiting us! The Duomo is the biggest Cathedral in Florence and the fourth largest in the world. We went inside cathedral first and then climbed the 414 stairs. As we are walking up there are different levels to stop and take pictures. Me and Kenny are stopped at the second highest level taking pictures while the other girls already went up to the top. All of a sudden, these bells starting ringing! It was so startling that I screamed. Kenny and I immediately covered our ears and started hysterically laughed because we were so caught off guard! Not only did it startle us, but it continued for at least 5 minutes, which doesn't sound long, but it is a lifetime with these huge bells are ringing right above your head. It finally stopped, and with our ears still ringing, we made it to the top and took pictures of the beautiful view. The rooftops were pretty cool from up high. The Tuscan feel was truly apparent. We were absolutely exhausted and made our way back to ground level. It was quite an exhausting day. We wanted to make it to see Michelangelo’s David in the Uffizi Museum, but our budgets won out. A bunch of college girls weren't too quick to drop 15 euros to see it. We called it a night. Went back to the hostel to rest up for dinner and pack up for our next day of travel!
Monday, March 2
The next morning consisted of me waking up before everyone else because I needed a new suitcase since my was broken. Dad would have really come in handy since he's so handy, but I was at least able to talk the guy at the market down to a good price. Once I had my new suitcase, I went back to the hostel to pack up and check out. Pisa and Roma were awaiting us!
We arrived at the train state without any major concerns. The only thing was that when we arrived, we literally had minutes to make it to the train. Nine of us girls running through the train station was quite a hilarious sight. The thing that almost pushed us over the edge was that we weren't aware that we had to validate our tickets in this machine that punches a whole in your ticket. We realized this almost too late, but a couple of grabbed everybody's tickets and went and did them all at once. We hopped on the train and it started moving about two minutes after we got on. It was a close call. I know some of you are probably thinking, "That Lynnsey is always late" but actually it wasn't my fault because our tickets had open times and a train comes about every hour. We just weren't sure which part of the hour though. Regardless, we made it and were on our way to Pisa.
Once we arrived, we found a place to store out luggage for the day, which was so nice! We walked out of the station and immediately went to find a map to find our way to the tower. It was literally a straight shot off the train. We walked straight through the town to find it. It was incredibly easy to find, which was a great change from the other Italian cities we visited. I’m glad we only stayed an afternoon in Pisa though. There is nothing besides the tower to do there, but the tower was pretty cool. We took the typical holding up the tower or pushing the tower over pictures. It was a lot of fun because there was a lot of creative people there doing their own interpretation. We spent a couple hours just taking pictures and hanging out in Pisa. Once everyone got their pics and souvenirs, we went back to the train station gathered our luggage from storage and once again ran to our platform. Little did we know though, we were getting on the wrong train. Not the wrong train as in the wrong direction, but apparently there are different speeds of trains (go figure) that no one cared to fill us in on. The gentleman in Pisa told us we had an open ticket that we could get on any train two hours before and two hours after our scheduled time, but not once did he mention which kind of train. Once we are on and finally relaxing, the conductor came around to punch our tickets and gave us the bad news. All nine of us owned 20 more pounds b/c of our mistake! To say the least, we were upset. We finally got the conductor to go down on the price because we were such a large group and ended up paying 12 extra pounds. This was yet another bump in the road, but we managed and ended up making friends with a guy from Arizona because the same thing happened to him. We decided that they could pretty much make bank off us if they wanted to because we don't know if what they are telling us is legit or not. Either way we were still on our way to Roma!
More to come later........
Sunday, March 8, 2009
To Italy and Back- Venice
Greetings! Or as the Italians would say, CIAO! My trip was a trip of a lifetime! The things I got to see and do kept me in awe all week long. I'm so excited to finally get to write and tell everyone about it. Warning though- a week in Italy will probably require several long blogs! So prepare yourself. I want to thank everyone for their prayers because I could definitely tell they were with us!
Thursday, February 26
I actually started off my travel day with a midterm test in my Winston Churchill class. I spent the previous day in the library preparing myself and think it paid off. Once the stress of that test was over, the stress of traveling began. I got home and packed immediately, made sure to charge my camera, and hoped I didn't leave anything behind! There were 5 of us traveling that day. We met up at the bus stop and headed to the airport. The airport was very crowded. It must have been a popular day to travel. We got our boarding passes and through security with relatively no problems. The next stop VENICE! We arrived at the Venice airport pretty late and got a bus to the city. Once inside the city, I was blown away. It was dark, but everything was still BEAUTIFUL. It was everything I expected it to be and more. We took a water bus from the bus station to the stop where our hostel was suppose to be. One of the cool things about Venice is that inside the city there are no cars. Instead of having buses for public transport, they have water buses, which are just boats on the water that take people from stop to stop. It was so cool. The girls and I are trying to take pictures of everything, but of course they weren't coming out because it was pitch black, but it was so beautiful that we had to try. The water bus dropped us off at our stop, and we walked to our stop. Three girls had gotten there the day before and already reserved us a hostel. We walk up to our hostel and buzz, and no one answers. We start to get a little nervous, but continue to buzz with hopes that someone would answer the door. No one does. We all begin to look at each other worried, and then immediately start thinking about a plan B. As we are pondering, the nicest old Italian man walks by with his dog and asks us if we need help in very broken English. He tried to call our hostel and other hostel numbers we had, and then he told us to buzz our hostel one more time. We did and someone finally answered! The desk is 24 hours, but the guy working it had fallen asleep and finally woke up to the buzz. We were so grateful! We went straight to our rooms and crashed for the night. Tomorrow was going to be our first day in Venice and I almost couldn't sleep b/c I was so excited!
Friday, February 27
I woke up Friday morning a little tired from the day before, but once I remembered where I was, I jumped and looked out my window to a beautiful view of Venice! I mean we could see the city or anything, but it was a beautiful ally way! We got up and went down for complimentary breakfast, which I soon learned that all Italians eat a croissant and coffee. The croissant was amazing though! I really enjoyed my breakfast, well actually all my food in Italy. A much better change from London food. The morning began with finding a map and figuring out where we wanted to go. There aren't that many tourist attractions in Venice, but just walking along the streets and canals is way better than tourist things. We walked to a church (I know its terrible, but I can't remember its name. There have been many churches in the last two months). As usual, the church was gorgeous inside and out. The effort that went into making those churches is amazing. After that church,, we finally made it to our destination, Piazza San Marco(1). This Piazza has a ton of pigeons in it and people feed them to try and get them to sit on their arms or head. Its quite gross and needless to say I didn't participate in that. Although a girl in our group did, it didn't last long. Also in that area there is Basilica di San Marco. It is an amazing church. We walked all the way through and went up on the balcony to take pictures of view. The church inside had intricate mosaics. I have never seen so many mosaics in one church. The whole ceiling is covered in them! The light reflects and makes the church sparkle. We spent a large amount of time in the church and on the roof top. After the church, we walked along the water and tried to find some lunch. Real Italian food! I was stoked to say the least. We actually ended up walking around and doing a Gondola ride. There were five of us that day, and we all split the price. It was great. We rode around for about thirty minutes and got to see the city from a different angle. Not to mention it was so peaceful! I would say romantic, but I was in there with five girls. That wasn't necessarily the case for us, but any couple out there I am telling you now to GO TO VENICE! Its amazing and soooo worth it! So go ahead and mark your calendars for a trip.
After the ride, FOOD! We found a place near our hostel that was a good price and got to sit outside. The weather was that day was perfect. The sunshine and no rain was a great change! I ordered spaghetti and meat sauce, my favorite! I thought that would an appropriate first meal in Italy. It was so good!
We spent the entire day walking along the canals and roads. It doesn't sound like we did much, but we also had to figure out our hostel situation for that night because we had to switch to a sister hostel from the one from the night before. Regardless of that, we still got to see some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen! I just kept pinching myself because it didn't seem real. I was really in Italy!
Saturday, February 28
We woke up in time for breakfast and checked out of our hostel. That hostel we stayed in was very nice! We had a balcony and bidet! We only used one of the two. The hostel we stayed in let us leave our luggage there so we could continue to explore Venice one more day before we left for Florence. We went to the Rialto Market. It was a lot of souvenir and tourist stuff. Of course, we all stocked up. There glass items there were so beautiful. We stayed at the market for a while then walked up and down one of the canals and sat along the edge. It was so awesome. The locals will bring their lunch and sit and eat. Its so beautiful I could have sat there all day. Not to mention how entertaining the birds are! Once our time was up in Venice, we headed back to the hostel to get our bags and made our way to the train station. Not without some drama though. Another girl and myself had a wheel break off our luggage. It was a very long walk to the train station, needless to say, we both struggled with our bags. We got to the train station and got on our train to Florence.
More to come later...
1. Piazza San Marco is Venice's most famous piazza. What appears to be a rectangle is actually a trapezium, and when you look up at the basilica, the piazza seems enormous, although it is only 175 meters long. On both sides of the piazza are the Procuratie, which housed the procurators of San Marco. The centerpiece of the piazza is the Basilica di San Marco The oldest of these (probably built by Codussi) are on your left when you face the basilica; Longhena built the ones on the right later, in 1640. The most recent buildings, commissioned by Napoleon in 1810, lie behind.
2. Started in the 9th Century, this church's architecture shows an eastern and Byzantine influence: note the golden altarpiece and the 13th and 14th-century mosaics that illustrate the cycles of the Bible. The magnificent domes date from the 12th Century. The Basilica houses the Marciano Museum, which contains the original bronze horses, copies of which are now on the terrace. Other great artworks are located in the Pala d'Oro , along with masterpieces of Gothic goldsmithing, located just behind the altar.
Thursday, February 26
I actually started off my travel day with a midterm test in my Winston Churchill class. I spent the previous day in the library preparing myself and think it paid off. Once the stress of that test was over, the stress of traveling began. I got home and packed immediately, made sure to charge my camera, and hoped I didn't leave anything behind! There were 5 of us traveling that day. We met up at the bus stop and headed to the airport. The airport was very crowded. It must have been a popular day to travel. We got our boarding passes and through security with relatively no problems. The next stop VENICE! We arrived at the Venice airport pretty late and got a bus to the city. Once inside the city, I was blown away. It was dark, but everything was still BEAUTIFUL. It was everything I expected it to be and more. We took a water bus from the bus station to the stop where our hostel was suppose to be. One of the cool things about Venice is that inside the city there are no cars. Instead of having buses for public transport, they have water buses, which are just boats on the water that take people from stop to stop. It was so cool. The girls and I are trying to take pictures of everything, but of course they weren't coming out because it was pitch black, but it was so beautiful that we had to try. The water bus dropped us off at our stop, and we walked to our stop. Three girls had gotten there the day before and already reserved us a hostel. We walk up to our hostel and buzz, and no one answers. We start to get a little nervous, but continue to buzz with hopes that someone would answer the door. No one does. We all begin to look at each other worried, and then immediately start thinking about a plan B. As we are pondering, the nicest old Italian man walks by with his dog and asks us if we need help in very broken English. He tried to call our hostel and other hostel numbers we had, and then he told us to buzz our hostel one more time. We did and someone finally answered! The desk is 24 hours, but the guy working it had fallen asleep and finally woke up to the buzz. We were so grateful! We went straight to our rooms and crashed for the night. Tomorrow was going to be our first day in Venice and I almost couldn't sleep b/c I was so excited!
Friday, February 27
I woke up Friday morning a little tired from the day before, but once I remembered where I was, I jumped and looked out my window to a beautiful view of Venice! I mean we could see the city or anything, but it was a beautiful ally way! We got up and went down for complimentary breakfast, which I soon learned that all Italians eat a croissant and coffee. The croissant was amazing though! I really enjoyed my breakfast, well actually all my food in Italy. A much better change from London food. The morning began with finding a map and figuring out where we wanted to go. There aren't that many tourist attractions in Venice, but just walking along the streets and canals is way better than tourist things. We walked to a church (I know its terrible, but I can't remember its name. There have been many churches in the last two months). As usual, the church was gorgeous inside and out. The effort that went into making those churches is amazing. After that church,, we finally made it to our destination, Piazza San Marco(1). This Piazza has a ton of pigeons in it and people feed them to try and get them to sit on their arms or head. Its quite gross and needless to say I didn't participate in that. Although a girl in our group did, it didn't last long. Also in that area there is Basilica di San Marco. It is an amazing church. We walked all the way through and went up on the balcony to take pictures of view. The church inside had intricate mosaics. I have never seen so many mosaics in one church. The whole ceiling is covered in them! The light reflects and makes the church sparkle. We spent a large amount of time in the church and on the roof top. After the church, we walked along the water and tried to find some lunch. Real Italian food! I was stoked to say the least. We actually ended up walking around and doing a Gondola ride. There were five of us that day, and we all split the price. It was great. We rode around for about thirty minutes and got to see the city from a different angle. Not to mention it was so peaceful! I would say romantic, but I was in there with five girls. That wasn't necessarily the case for us, but any couple out there I am telling you now to GO TO VENICE! Its amazing and soooo worth it! So go ahead and mark your calendars for a trip.
After the ride, FOOD! We found a place near our hostel that was a good price and got to sit outside. The weather was that day was perfect. The sunshine and no rain was a great change! I ordered spaghetti and meat sauce, my favorite! I thought that would an appropriate first meal in Italy. It was so good!
We spent the entire day walking along the canals and roads. It doesn't sound like we did much, but we also had to figure out our hostel situation for that night because we had to switch to a sister hostel from the one from the night before. Regardless of that, we still got to see some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen! I just kept pinching myself because it didn't seem real. I was really in Italy!
Saturday, February 28
We woke up in time for breakfast and checked out of our hostel. That hostel we stayed in was very nice! We had a balcony and bidet! We only used one of the two. The hostel we stayed in let us leave our luggage there so we could continue to explore Venice one more day before we left for Florence. We went to the Rialto Market. It was a lot of souvenir and tourist stuff. Of course, we all stocked up. There glass items there were so beautiful. We stayed at the market for a while then walked up and down one of the canals and sat along the edge. It was so awesome. The locals will bring their lunch and sit and eat. Its so beautiful I could have sat there all day. Not to mention how entertaining the birds are! Once our time was up in Venice, we headed back to the hostel to get our bags and made our way to the train station. Not without some drama though. Another girl and myself had a wheel break off our luggage. It was a very long walk to the train station, needless to say, we both struggled with our bags. We got to the train station and got on our train to Florence.
More to come later...
1. Piazza San Marco is Venice's most famous piazza. What appears to be a rectangle is actually a trapezium, and when you look up at the basilica, the piazza seems enormous, although it is only 175 meters long. On both sides of the piazza are the Procuratie, which housed the procurators of San Marco. The centerpiece of the piazza is the Basilica di San Marco The oldest of these (probably built by Codussi) are on your left when you face the basilica; Longhena built the ones on the right later, in 1640. The most recent buildings, commissioned by Napoleon in 1810, lie behind.
2. Started in the 9th Century, this church's architecture shows an eastern and Byzantine influence: note the golden altarpiece and the 13th and 14th-century mosaics that illustrate the cycles of the Bible. The magnificent domes date from the 12th Century. The Basilica houses the Marciano Museum, which contains the original bronze horses, copies of which are now on the terrace. Other great artworks are located in the Pala d'Oro , along with masterpieces of Gothic goldsmithing, located just behind the altar.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Italy Tomorrow
Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well back home! I think the homesickness has set in big time the last couple days. My stress levels are quite high due to midterms and preparing for Italy, but once I get on my plane tomorrow, I know all those worries will melt away because I'm stoked about my trip to Italy. I just wanted to tell everyone thanks again for the thoughts and prayers. I know we will definitely need them tomorrow and throughout our travels. I'm excited to come back and let everyone know about the trip. I have a temporary camera so I will be able to take pictures, which I am so excited about! Everyone have a great weekend and week! Miss yall!
More to come later.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! LOVE YOU!
More to come later.....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! LOVE YOU!
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #5
There are so many different ways that people can learn about the society and culture of a time period. I have observed 20th century society and culture through museums and daily life, but another way I observed 20th century was through art galleries. One artist in particular who stuck out to me was Ian Breakwell’s The Walking Man Diary. I observed some of his artwork at Tate Britain and was really intrigued by it. The artwork didn’t impress me because it was famous or amazingly beautiful, but it was unusual and different from any other artwork I had observed. Breakwell observed this unknown man from his London apartment on a daily basis. Once he noticed this man so often, he began to document where he was going and what he was doing. He took pictures as well as written documentation. Although this sounds slightly like the work of a stalker instead of an artist, Breakwell did this because he realized that even though this man walked so purposefully everyday he never seemed to actually do anything. This is an excerpt from the display at Tate Britain, “Although we learn little about the man, Breakwell’s work represents his repetitive, yet seemingly aimless, route through the landscape of the city. This is measured against Breakwell’s static yet habitual recording of the man’s activity through the observational discipline of the diary form.” Breakwell documented this man’s journey from his flat for an extended amount of time until one day the man disappeared and wasn’t to be seen again for a whole year. The everyday redundancy of this individual was intriguing to me, especially with his sudden stop and sudden return. Although Breakwell could only documented this man from a small area out his window, the audience still realizes the importance of this man’s end destination. His artwork makes me wonder if he is trying to tell audience that their lives could be like the unknown man. Are they walking around very purposefully without actually going anywhere? It should make people who observe his work think about their destination, and if they are on the right path to get there.
The culture and society that is present during the 20th century allows artist like Breakwell to use different kinds of art form as art. The artist doesn’t have to produce art that is accepting to everyone else. There hasn’t always been a time when artists could produce their own art and have it accepted by the public. Some of the most famous artists weren’t even famous until they passed away. Breakwell is able to express his version of artwork and be accepted in the art world. Not only is the type of art more accepting, but the people who get to enjoy art have expanded as well. The upper class people aren’t the only individuals that get to enjoy art, but instead, it’s the public as a whole that can enjoy art. I think this says a lot about the society and culture during the 20th century because artists like Breakwell are able to produce a variety amount of artwork for many different audiences to enjoy.
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=256&searchid=12349&tabview=image
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ian-breakwell-512539.html
The culture and society that is present during the 20th century allows artist like Breakwell to use different kinds of art form as art. The artist doesn’t have to produce art that is accepting to everyone else. There hasn’t always been a time when artists could produce their own art and have it accepted by the public. Some of the most famous artists weren’t even famous until they passed away. Breakwell is able to express his version of artwork and be accepted in the art world. Not only is the type of art more accepting, but the people who get to enjoy art have expanded as well. The upper class people aren’t the only individuals that get to enjoy art, but instead, it’s the public as a whole that can enjoy art. I think this says a lot about the society and culture during the 20th century because artists like Breakwell are able to produce a variety amount of artwork for many different audiences to enjoy.
http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=256&searchid=12349&tabview=image
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ian-breakwell-512539.html
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #4
When I visited Norway this weekend, I visited the Norwegian Resistance Museum. It was by far my favorite museum I visited while I was there. The museum began with the April 9, 1940 German invasion to Norway and continued to show the next 5 years of occupation by the German Nazis. Each museum I go to I try to put myself in the shoes of the soldiers, nurses, or any individual directly effected by the war. As hard as I try, I am unable to be able to relate to the sacrifice of the men and women; however, the Resistance Museum put the sacrifice into perspective for me.
There was a section of the museum that was devoted to the teachers in Norway who resisted the German regulations of what they were and weren’t suppose to teacher. Since I am a future teacher, it hit me hard to see the role I could have possibly played during WWII. The teachers were ordered to teach the students the Nazis theology, but they refused to follow the Germans orders. The Germans would send out letters telling the teacher these are the new requirements in the curriculum, and the teachers simply disregard there wishes. The German’s continued to push for the teachers to do what they wanted them to do, which lead them to withhold the teachers salaries and only released it if they signed the document agreeing to teach Nazi beliefs. The teachers still didn’t budge. The new order of government was fed up with the teachers’ resistance and had a mass arrest of teachers in 1942. They took these teachers to different German camps in extremely poor inadequate situations. They made them work in the cold without proper clothing. The ships that transported the teachers were over the capacity level as well as unclean. The Germans would treat the teachers like this in order to make them sign the document agreeing to teach Nazis theology. Some teachers who were ill would give in to the treatment and sign the document, but the majority of the teachers held their ground. I couldn’t imagine being in that situation. I would hope that I would be that teacher that held her ground and didn’t give into the Nazis, but the brutality of the treatment could easily be too much to bare. I think all the teachers and people who resisted the Germans during occupation were brave and courageous people. The society that people had to live in during WWII was difficult. Whether it was dealing with occupation or war on their own home front, it was a time that people made sacrifices and held their ground for what they believed. I hope that I would be able to sacrifice as much as the Norwegian teachers did.
http://www.infonorway.com/?norway=essay/war/diary
There was a section of the museum that was devoted to the teachers in Norway who resisted the German regulations of what they were and weren’t suppose to teacher. Since I am a future teacher, it hit me hard to see the role I could have possibly played during WWII. The teachers were ordered to teach the students the Nazis theology, but they refused to follow the Germans orders. The Germans would send out letters telling the teacher these are the new requirements in the curriculum, and the teachers simply disregard there wishes. The German’s continued to push for the teachers to do what they wanted them to do, which lead them to withhold the teachers salaries and only released it if they signed the document agreeing to teach Nazi beliefs. The teachers still didn’t budge. The new order of government was fed up with the teachers’ resistance and had a mass arrest of teachers in 1942. They took these teachers to different German camps in extremely poor inadequate situations. They made them work in the cold without proper clothing. The ships that transported the teachers were over the capacity level as well as unclean. The Germans would treat the teachers like this in order to make them sign the document agreeing to teach Nazis theology. Some teachers who were ill would give in to the treatment and sign the document, but the majority of the teachers held their ground. I couldn’t imagine being in that situation. I would hope that I would be that teacher that held her ground and didn’t give into the Nazis, but the brutality of the treatment could easily be too much to bare. I think all the teachers and people who resisted the Germans during occupation were brave and courageous people. The society that people had to live in during WWII was difficult. Whether it was dealing with occupation or war on their own home front, it was a time that people made sacrifices and held their ground for what they believed. I hope that I would be able to sacrifice as much as the Norwegian teachers did.
http://www.infonorway.com/?norway=essay/war/diary
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #3
The culture and society that exists in London is something that I am completely unaccustomed. The first day I arrived the culture shock hit me like a ton of bricks. I barely even know where to start because there are countless differences. Everyday life changed the first day I arrived. I even tried to prepare myself for this change, but nothing can prepare someone for this significance of a change. I do not think the shock is that great if the visit is short term, but the length of stay I am encountering definitely means making very large adjustments. Although the things I talk about may seem silly, the adjustment s needed for them is greater than one may anticipate.
The food in London isn’t what you would call very flavorful. There is definitely a lack of seasoning or just salt in general, as well as being smaller servings. The taste buds were feeling quite deprived for a while, but are getting used to the difference. Not only the seasoning in food and smaller portions, but also the lack of preservatives in food is ridiculous. You can’t buy in bulk or even stock up on food because the food goes bad within a week of buying it. There are weekly, if not more than that, grocery store visits to buy milk, beard and anything else I want to eat for the next couple days. Buying groceries in London actually becomes an art, and I’m still trying to perfect it.
The amount of walking that is required London, or any big city for that matter, is a large amount. I will safely say that my feet are constantly sore from the amount of walking we do in London and when we travel. The public transportation is available and easy to use, but as college students tend to be, we try to save money in certain areas to spend them in others. The walking isn’t something I hate to do, I actually enjoy getting more exercise in daily, but the adjustment my feet have to make is a great one.
The living quarters are what one would say is cramped. I haven’t lived in the same room as an individual since my first semester of college, but not only do I live in a flat of eight girls but there are four in my room. It is harder than I thought to share a room with multiple other people. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy my roommates, but trying to manage in such tight corners is a difficult task. There never seems to be a time when I can be by myself, but is just another adjustment I had to make.
The service you receive while in stores or restaurants is a very aggravated and limited service. At a restaurant, the server will ask for orders and bring the orders, but after and in between, the server will not be seen. They don’t give you refills or anything else extra. You get what you order, and that is it. I don’t want to stereotype and say all the people here are rude, but most of the people aren’t as friendly. I can definitely say that the majority of people will not remotely help you unless they are absolutely required.
The differences I have mentions are only the tip of the iceberg, but each of those differences are directly related from the differences of society and culture. In general, the London population is more health conscious. That is why the food is less flavored and smaller portioned than in American. Not only that reason, but also because the amount of storage in a typical flat is limited. You can’t expect a true Londoner to have space to stock up on food. That is something as American’s we aren’t used to because for us it is the bigger the better, and I don’t really tend to think one way is better than another. Londoners also have easier access to grocery stores on their way home front work, whereas, American’s in smaller towns have to go out of their way to get to a grocery store.
As I mentioned before, Londoner are more health conscious. The walking aspect of a Londoners live is something they grow up as a kid doing. I see kids along side their parents at a very young age, but instead of walking the kids have scooters. They know how slow kids walk, and to solve this problem, they allow their kid to have a scooter they ride with or without assistance. The walking and exercise is still a part of their everyday lives, regardless of on foot or scooter.
The living quarters are also something Londoners are used to because London is very old, and that’s how they did things back then. American’s have such a hard time realizing this because our Constitution was signed thousands of years after London had existed. Not to mention that not only does the time period of when the buildings in London were built, but also, any city is going to have those aspects of a smaller, cramped life. Its something I can adjust to for now, but not something I want to pursue in the future.
The services here are not as friendly because unlike the states, the workers here aren’t working for tips. Yes, at certain times or places, a tip is expected, but the waiter or waitress do not make his or her earnings solely off of tips. The drive to be friendly and helpful usually has an alternative motive behind it, and once that is removed, the above and beyond service is also removed.
Although I have mentioned many differences that I have experienced in London, the quote “if you’re always comfortable, you’ll never grow” pops into my head and makes me realize that adjusting to these situations will make me a stronger and more flexible person. I have and will learn a lot about London’s culture by these situations, which in turn will make me a more well-rounded and educated individual.
The food in London isn’t what you would call very flavorful. There is definitely a lack of seasoning or just salt in general, as well as being smaller servings. The taste buds were feeling quite deprived for a while, but are getting used to the difference. Not only the seasoning in food and smaller portions, but also the lack of preservatives in food is ridiculous. You can’t buy in bulk or even stock up on food because the food goes bad within a week of buying it. There are weekly, if not more than that, grocery store visits to buy milk, beard and anything else I want to eat for the next couple days. Buying groceries in London actually becomes an art, and I’m still trying to perfect it.
The amount of walking that is required London, or any big city for that matter, is a large amount. I will safely say that my feet are constantly sore from the amount of walking we do in London and when we travel. The public transportation is available and easy to use, but as college students tend to be, we try to save money in certain areas to spend them in others. The walking isn’t something I hate to do, I actually enjoy getting more exercise in daily, but the adjustment my feet have to make is a great one.
The living quarters are what one would say is cramped. I haven’t lived in the same room as an individual since my first semester of college, but not only do I live in a flat of eight girls but there are four in my room. It is harder than I thought to share a room with multiple other people. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy my roommates, but trying to manage in such tight corners is a difficult task. There never seems to be a time when I can be by myself, but is just another adjustment I had to make.
The service you receive while in stores or restaurants is a very aggravated and limited service. At a restaurant, the server will ask for orders and bring the orders, but after and in between, the server will not be seen. They don’t give you refills or anything else extra. You get what you order, and that is it. I don’t want to stereotype and say all the people here are rude, but most of the people aren’t as friendly. I can definitely say that the majority of people will not remotely help you unless they are absolutely required.
The differences I have mentions are only the tip of the iceberg, but each of those differences are directly related from the differences of society and culture. In general, the London population is more health conscious. That is why the food is less flavored and smaller portioned than in American. Not only that reason, but also because the amount of storage in a typical flat is limited. You can’t expect a true Londoner to have space to stock up on food. That is something as American’s we aren’t used to because for us it is the bigger the better, and I don’t really tend to think one way is better than another. Londoners also have easier access to grocery stores on their way home front work, whereas, American’s in smaller towns have to go out of their way to get to a grocery store.
As I mentioned before, Londoner are more health conscious. The walking aspect of a Londoners live is something they grow up as a kid doing. I see kids along side their parents at a very young age, but instead of walking the kids have scooters. They know how slow kids walk, and to solve this problem, they allow their kid to have a scooter they ride with or without assistance. The walking and exercise is still a part of their everyday lives, regardless of on foot or scooter.
The living quarters are also something Londoners are used to because London is very old, and that’s how they did things back then. American’s have such a hard time realizing this because our Constitution was signed thousands of years after London had existed. Not to mention that not only does the time period of when the buildings in London were built, but also, any city is going to have those aspects of a smaller, cramped life. Its something I can adjust to for now, but not something I want to pursue in the future.
The services here are not as friendly because unlike the states, the workers here aren’t working for tips. Yes, at certain times or places, a tip is expected, but the waiter or waitress do not make his or her earnings solely off of tips. The drive to be friendly and helpful usually has an alternative motive behind it, and once that is removed, the above and beyond service is also removed.
Although I have mentioned many differences that I have experienced in London, the quote “if you’re always comfortable, you’ll never grow” pops into my head and makes me realize that adjusting to these situations will make me a stronger and more flexible person. I have and will learn a lot about London’s culture by these situations, which in turn will make me a more well-rounded and educated individual.
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #2
A movie we watched in class called Mrs. Miniver. It was made in 1942 and depicted a typical family during World War II. The movie showed aspects of the war from the home front. It wasn’t just about the men who were off at war, but the people who stayed behind and still suffered from the war. The audience can pick out many details of the culture and society of the 20th century while watching this movie. Some of them were more significant than other; however, there were still many accurate portrayals of life during WWII.
The character in the movie that goes off to war was depicted as any soldier would be during that time period. The soldier was very happy to be serving and not negatively affected by the war. This was an aspect of propaganda that the movie used to encourage young men to go fight for their country. The future soldiers watching this movie were not shown the ugly side to war, but instead thought their lives wouldn’t be complete until they joined the war effort. This movie tried to hide the negative impact that war had on soldiers and the home front. Instead the movie showed how grand and hero like joining the war would be.
Another part of the movie that illustrated the society in the 20th century was the social class part of the movie. Besides the war, the movie had the town wide best flower contest. The winner of the Rose division was the same person whose family began the competition along time ago. During this year, a brave working class man decided to enter his rose into the contest. The woman’s rose he was running against was part of the upper class. The winner would solely depict the differences in class and status, but this time the working class man wins the completion. Not only does this show us how Britain was trying to break through the class barriers, but also, how life on the home front still tried to go on as normal even though there was actual fighting on their home ground.
Having a war fought on the home front is something that us as American’s do not know about because we haven’t had a home front war since the Civil War. We didn’t suffer from that in WWI as the French did or WWII as the British did. The citizens in Britain had their everyday lives changed because of the war. They had bomb shelters that they constantly had to rely on. Not only that, but having their houses greatly damaged or losing innocent lives young and old were part of their daily lives. That is something I never grasped until watching the movie and realizing how people in Britain dealt with the war first hand. Even though the movie did have propaganda included to keep up the spirits of the home front, the movie gives the audience an idea of how their lives would have been if they lived through WWII.
The character in the movie that goes off to war was depicted as any soldier would be during that time period. The soldier was very happy to be serving and not negatively affected by the war. This was an aspect of propaganda that the movie used to encourage young men to go fight for their country. The future soldiers watching this movie were not shown the ugly side to war, but instead thought their lives wouldn’t be complete until they joined the war effort. This movie tried to hide the negative impact that war had on soldiers and the home front. Instead the movie showed how grand and hero like joining the war would be.
Another part of the movie that illustrated the society in the 20th century was the social class part of the movie. Besides the war, the movie had the town wide best flower contest. The winner of the Rose division was the same person whose family began the competition along time ago. During this year, a brave working class man decided to enter his rose into the contest. The woman’s rose he was running against was part of the upper class. The winner would solely depict the differences in class and status, but this time the working class man wins the completion. Not only does this show us how Britain was trying to break through the class barriers, but also, how life on the home front still tried to go on as normal even though there was actual fighting on their home ground.
Having a war fought on the home front is something that us as American’s do not know about because we haven’t had a home front war since the Civil War. We didn’t suffer from that in WWI as the French did or WWII as the British did. The citizens in Britain had their everyday lives changed because of the war. They had bomb shelters that they constantly had to rely on. Not only that, but having their houses greatly damaged or losing innocent lives young and old were part of their daily lives. That is something I never grasped until watching the movie and realizing how people in Britain dealt with the war first hand. Even though the movie did have propaganda included to keep up the spirits of the home front, the movie gives the audience an idea of how their lives would have been if they lived through WWII.
Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #1
After visiting the Imperial War Museum, I got a better perspective of the culture during WWI. I knew that propaganda was a huge part of the everyday lives of people during the Great War, but what I didn't realize were the sacrifices people on the home front had to make.
One sacrifice in particular that was small, but stood out in the museum was a display that had a sign telling citizens that at anytime the trains could be delayed or out of service "without previous notice” if they were needed by the military. In this day and time I couldn't imagine seeing a sign like that in the underground or at a bus stop. People would be so angry their plans were disrupted. The undergrounds have loads of delays and closings on a daily basis, but are scheduled ahead of time. The citizens are well informed and prepared for these changes; however, during WWI the train could be shut down for solely military use. I obviously can't say that the people during that time didn't complain, but I wouldn't be surprised if they accepted the change without complaints. The home front gave everything they could to help the war.
Another aspect of the sacrifices citizens made on the home front were the women who worked in the munitions factories. The women's lives were seriously endangered every time they went to work. They were working at factories that produced shells for the military, and the need for the shells was crucial for the war. Either the poison from the mercury or the TNT actually exploding in the factory could kill the women. The contribution the women made to the war was great. Rebecca West said, "[t]here is the cold fact that [women] face more danger everyday than any soldier on home defense. The girls who take up this work sacrifice almost as much as men who enlist." The Great War in the 20th century greatly affected the culture of everyday lives of people on the home front. The sacrifices were as simple as changing transportation plans or as significant as putting one's life on the line, either way one looks at it the sacrifices on the home front were great.
One sacrifice in particular that was small, but stood out in the museum was a display that had a sign telling citizens that at anytime the trains could be delayed or out of service "without previous notice” if they were needed by the military. In this day and time I couldn't imagine seeing a sign like that in the underground or at a bus stop. People would be so angry their plans were disrupted. The undergrounds have loads of delays and closings on a daily basis, but are scheduled ahead of time. The citizens are well informed and prepared for these changes; however, during WWI the train could be shut down for solely military use. I obviously can't say that the people during that time didn't complain, but I wouldn't be surprised if they accepted the change without complaints. The home front gave everything they could to help the war.
Another aspect of the sacrifices citizens made on the home front were the women who worked in the munitions factories. The women's lives were seriously endangered every time they went to work. They were working at factories that produced shells for the military, and the need for the shells was crucial for the war. Either the poison from the mercury or the TNT actually exploding in the factory could kill the women. The contribution the women made to the war was great. Rebecca West said, "[t]here is the cold fact that [women] face more danger everyday than any soldier on home defense. The girls who take up this work sacrifice almost as much as men who enlist." The Great War in the 20th century greatly affected the culture of everyday lives of people on the home front. The sacrifices were as simple as changing transportation plans or as significant as putting one's life on the line, either way one looks at it the sacrifices on the home front were great.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Museums, Dover & Canterbury, and Norway
Greetings! I hope this finds everyone doing well! Its been so long since I've written in my blog, but I'll hopefully be able to catch everyone up! After Wales, everyone was pretty exhausted and took it easy for a while. Museums seemed to be the most popular item on the to do list the last couple weeks. I'll start with the Imperial War Museum.
On Monday the 9th, we were able to reschedule our field trip we were suppose to have on our snow day. Our class went to the Imperial War Museum, which was awesome. The class I'm in was focusing on the WWI portion of the museum, but the whole thing was huge and full of information. I stayed as long as I could, but had to make it to another field trip at the Serpentine Gallery for my art class. The gallery had an exhibit on Indian artists and the culture that surrounds India. It was very interesting because there were paintings, sculptures, and movies all being shown as art. I enjoyed the exhibit because I was able to learn more about the culture that India has now and the things that still need to be changed.
On Wednesday our BLC class went to the British Museum, which was enormous. There was so much to look at there. They had the Rosetta Stone as well as many parts of the Parthenon. We had a tour guide, who gave me a lot of information, but I can't wait to go back and explore more. There was so much to see that multiple visits will be in the works.
The weekend didn't hold much except homework, and I visited the Natural History Museum by myself. Its right around the corner, and I had been wanting to go visit. It definitely wasn't my favorite, but it was really nice and a lot of information. I will say that I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! The girls and I celebrated by going to see the movie "He's Just Not That into You." I enjoyed my vday except not being around my loved one's, which made me sad, but the cards and care packages were great! Thanks again.
On Tuesday the 17th, our art class visited the Saatchi Gallery. It had an exhibit on artists from the Middle East. There were a lot more pieces of art at this gallery than the one we visited the week before, but I don't think I had a favorite. I just enjoyed learning a lot about both those cultures that I'm not very familiar with.
Wednesday we got to visit Dover and Canterbury. As we drove to Dover, we drove through the heart of London and through the East side. It was interesting to see the dramatic difference between that side and the side I live. It was night and day. Much more poverty and lower income situations. I didn't realize the difference would be that great. When we arrived at Dover, all you could see was this castle with the morning fog surrounding it. It almost looked eerie but definitely beautiful. We didn't get to spend much time there, but the time we did spend was fun. We walked the grounds of the castle and down to the coast line. The tour guide told us that on a clear day we would have been able to see France from where we were standing. There were also World War II tunnels that the army used at the castle. Dover was also the place the soldiers in Dunkirk were brought. We didn't get to explore the tunnels that were still there from WWII, which I was slightly disappointed about, but regardless, enjoyed our trip to Dover very much. What girl doesn't dream of going to a real castle?
Canterbury was next, and we spent the entire afternoon there. We toured the Canterbury Cathedral, and then explored the town. The Cathedral was the place were Thomas Beckett was martyred. I knew about the story, but not in detail. It was nice to hear about it and actually see where it all happened. We were actually allowed to take pictures in the Cathedral. Ellie is still acting as my photographer until I get my camera in the mail, hopefully this week! The inside was gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of Westminster because of the Gothic architecture. The stain glass windows were so impressive as well. Once we left the cathedral, we went and ate lunch, pronto. We then just explored the town. They had a really neat market full of random items. We walked up and down that and then made our way back to the bus to head back to London. When I got back, I had to begin packing for NORWAY!
Before I get to my Norway adventure... The morning of the 19th I once again attended the Imperial War Museum for another class. I was glad I got to go back because even though I still focused on WWI, I still didn't get to see everything the first time I went. As soon as Kendall and I were done at the museum, we headed to catch the bus that took up the airport.
Trying to find the bus stop for Easybus (our ride to the airport) was an adventure in itself. We were running up and down this one street because we couldn't find the stop. Then when she and I saw the bright orange bus coming up the street we felt relieved until it didn't stop and kept going. We started running after it because we thought it was going to leave us. Thank goodness it stopped a little further up and the bus driver got out and laughed at us. We made it to the bus and now off to the airport. We got there with nothing too dramatic happening. The security went through my bag I brought. He took out everything I managed to shove into my small bag, and then tell okay its fine. Other than that we made it on the plane and more importantly on time! Travel time in the air was about 2 hours and then once we landed we had to buy a bus ticket into Oslo. The airport was about an hour and a half out from the city. It was snowing pretty hard and there was already a ton of snow on the ground. It was so pretty. When we finally made it into the city, we didn't know what to do. Between the four of us, mainly Kendall, we found our hostel and settled in for the night. It was a successful trip there. Thank goodness!
The next day we slept in a little and got up and explored Oslo on foot. It was a lot of walking, but we got to see so much. We walked to different museums, some of which were not in English. We didn't stay in those very long. We walked to the palace that had a gorgeous view of the town. We walked to parliament, but couldn't go in b/c it wasn't open to the public that day. We did see someone get arrested outside of Parliament. We walked to a park that was had sculptors of a famous artist (can't remember his name) and just walked and walked and walked. Oslo was very different from London. The people were super nice as well as the city in general was just quieter. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the city except for the wet feet from all the snow and slush. We bought a loaf of bread and some fruit to snack on for meals because everything in Oslo was terribly expensive. They use the currency Kroners. 10 Kroners equal 1 Pound and 1 Pound equals 1.5 USD. It was quite confusing trying to calculate what I was actually spending. It got easier b/c we just moved the decimal once to go to pounds. It was so weird because I would carry around 500 and 200 notes, which isn't really that big of a deal in Kroners, but it seemed like it.
The next day we slept in again and tried to make our way to the ferry that was going to take us on a water tour of Oslo, but since it was so cold, the water was frozen and the ferry was canceled. It seemed like a bad thing, but it turned out good. We saw a castle up on a hill next to the boat docks and decided to check it out. We made our way up the hill and noticed a statue of FDR!? Who would have thought? Of course I had to take a picture with him, and then we continued on to the castle. We walked around trying to make it to the castle and found this awesome view to take some pictures. Then we stumbled upon the Resistance Museum. It was by far my favorite museum we visited. The entire museum had information, facts, and artifacts from when the German's occupied Norway and the Norwegians resistance to the German's. It was so interesting to see a different side of WWII and what another country went through. We could have stayed in there all day, but needed to move along to the castle and most importantly dinner. We walked out to a 10 degree weather drop (not really, but it felt like it). We walked around the castle and made our way to go eat. We ate and then went back to the hostel for the night.
The next morning was Sunday and our last day in Oslo. Our flight wasn't until later that night so we were able to get up and do a lot of things before we left. We checked out of our hostel and went to the Edward Munch Museum. He is the artist who painted the Screamer and the Madonna. He was born in Oslo and when he passed away, he donated all his works to the city. This museum was really cool. It was close to beating the Resistance, but not quite. We spent a while there then headed to the Radison to meet a tour group to a winter walk around Oslo, but as our luck would have it, there wasn't a tour at the time the Internet said so we missed it. Once again we improvised and walked to the Operetta house and unsuccessfully tried to find a market. We were pretty worn out from walking around and proceeded to walk back to the hostel to get our bags and headed to the airport. Once again the bus situation made me very uneasy. We arrived at the bus station to catch our bus to the airport and it was full. So I'm freaking out! Thankfully, they got another bus ready for the extra twenty people who needed to get to the airport and loaded us up to head to the airport. The stress of traveling is quite high. Its a blessing, but definitely stressful. We got to the airport and said our farewell's to Oslo. Our plane got delayed by about 20 minutes, and we arrived in London at 11:45. The line to get through the border was FOREVER long and once we sat in that line for at least an hour, we got on our bus and came home. A long day of travel, but worth every second of it. The trip was a great one. I felt like we got to see so much and we did it all on our own, which helped us save some Kroners.
The next trip coming up is ITALY! Ellie and I leave on Thursday and get back the next Friday. I'm sooooo excited. I just have to get through this week of papers and midterms. Its my first time doing all this! Keep our travel in your prayers. There will be about 10 girls total traveling with us.
I will also be posting some assignments for class on my blog. You can just disregard those, but I will have 5 up before Thursday. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! You all are in mine as well! Miss everyone
More to come later......
On Monday the 9th, we were able to reschedule our field trip we were suppose to have on our snow day. Our class went to the Imperial War Museum, which was awesome. The class I'm in was focusing on the WWI portion of the museum, but the whole thing was huge and full of information. I stayed as long as I could, but had to make it to another field trip at the Serpentine Gallery for my art class. The gallery had an exhibit on Indian artists and the culture that surrounds India. It was very interesting because there were paintings, sculptures, and movies all being shown as art. I enjoyed the exhibit because I was able to learn more about the culture that India has now and the things that still need to be changed.
On Wednesday our BLC class went to the British Museum, which was enormous. There was so much to look at there. They had the Rosetta Stone as well as many parts of the Parthenon. We had a tour guide, who gave me a lot of information, but I can't wait to go back and explore more. There was so much to see that multiple visits will be in the works.
The weekend didn't hold much except homework, and I visited the Natural History Museum by myself. Its right around the corner, and I had been wanting to go visit. It definitely wasn't my favorite, but it was really nice and a lot of information. I will say that I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! The girls and I celebrated by going to see the movie "He's Just Not That into You." I enjoyed my vday except not being around my loved one's, which made me sad, but the cards and care packages were great! Thanks again.
On Tuesday the 17th, our art class visited the Saatchi Gallery. It had an exhibit on artists from the Middle East. There were a lot more pieces of art at this gallery than the one we visited the week before, but I don't think I had a favorite. I just enjoyed learning a lot about both those cultures that I'm not very familiar with.
Wednesday we got to visit Dover and Canterbury. As we drove to Dover, we drove through the heart of London and through the East side. It was interesting to see the dramatic difference between that side and the side I live. It was night and day. Much more poverty and lower income situations. I didn't realize the difference would be that great. When we arrived at Dover, all you could see was this castle with the morning fog surrounding it. It almost looked eerie but definitely beautiful. We didn't get to spend much time there, but the time we did spend was fun. We walked the grounds of the castle and down to the coast line. The tour guide told us that on a clear day we would have been able to see France from where we were standing. There were also World War II tunnels that the army used at the castle. Dover was also the place the soldiers in Dunkirk were brought. We didn't get to explore the tunnels that were still there from WWII, which I was slightly disappointed about, but regardless, enjoyed our trip to Dover very much. What girl doesn't dream of going to a real castle?
Canterbury was next, and we spent the entire afternoon there. We toured the Canterbury Cathedral, and then explored the town. The Cathedral was the place were Thomas Beckett was martyred. I knew about the story, but not in detail. It was nice to hear about it and actually see where it all happened. We were actually allowed to take pictures in the Cathedral. Ellie is still acting as my photographer until I get my camera in the mail, hopefully this week! The inside was gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of Westminster because of the Gothic architecture. The stain glass windows were so impressive as well. Once we left the cathedral, we went and ate lunch, pronto. We then just explored the town. They had a really neat market full of random items. We walked up and down that and then made our way back to the bus to head back to London. When I got back, I had to begin packing for NORWAY!
Before I get to my Norway adventure... The morning of the 19th I once again attended the Imperial War Museum for another class. I was glad I got to go back because even though I still focused on WWI, I still didn't get to see everything the first time I went. As soon as Kendall and I were done at the museum, we headed to catch the bus that took up the airport.
Trying to find the bus stop for Easybus (our ride to the airport) was an adventure in itself. We were running up and down this one street because we couldn't find the stop. Then when she and I saw the bright orange bus coming up the street we felt relieved until it didn't stop and kept going. We started running after it because we thought it was going to leave us. Thank goodness it stopped a little further up and the bus driver got out and laughed at us. We made it to the bus and now off to the airport. We got there with nothing too dramatic happening. The security went through my bag I brought. He took out everything I managed to shove into my small bag, and then tell okay its fine. Other than that we made it on the plane and more importantly on time! Travel time in the air was about 2 hours and then once we landed we had to buy a bus ticket into Oslo. The airport was about an hour and a half out from the city. It was snowing pretty hard and there was already a ton of snow on the ground. It was so pretty. When we finally made it into the city, we didn't know what to do. Between the four of us, mainly Kendall, we found our hostel and settled in for the night. It was a successful trip there. Thank goodness!
The next day we slept in a little and got up and explored Oslo on foot. It was a lot of walking, but we got to see so much. We walked to different museums, some of which were not in English. We didn't stay in those very long. We walked to the palace that had a gorgeous view of the town. We walked to parliament, but couldn't go in b/c it wasn't open to the public that day. We did see someone get arrested outside of Parliament. We walked to a park that was had sculptors of a famous artist (can't remember his name) and just walked and walked and walked. Oslo was very different from London. The people were super nice as well as the city in general was just quieter. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the city except for the wet feet from all the snow and slush. We bought a loaf of bread and some fruit to snack on for meals because everything in Oslo was terribly expensive. They use the currency Kroners. 10 Kroners equal 1 Pound and 1 Pound equals 1.5 USD. It was quite confusing trying to calculate what I was actually spending. It got easier b/c we just moved the decimal once to go to pounds. It was so weird because I would carry around 500 and 200 notes, which isn't really that big of a deal in Kroners, but it seemed like it.
The next day we slept in again and tried to make our way to the ferry that was going to take us on a water tour of Oslo, but since it was so cold, the water was frozen and the ferry was canceled. It seemed like a bad thing, but it turned out good. We saw a castle up on a hill next to the boat docks and decided to check it out. We made our way up the hill and noticed a statue of FDR!? Who would have thought? Of course I had to take a picture with him, and then we continued on to the castle. We walked around trying to make it to the castle and found this awesome view to take some pictures. Then we stumbled upon the Resistance Museum. It was by far my favorite museum we visited. The entire museum had information, facts, and artifacts from when the German's occupied Norway and the Norwegians resistance to the German's. It was so interesting to see a different side of WWII and what another country went through. We could have stayed in there all day, but needed to move along to the castle and most importantly dinner. We walked out to a 10 degree weather drop (not really, but it felt like it). We walked around the castle and made our way to go eat. We ate and then went back to the hostel for the night.
The next morning was Sunday and our last day in Oslo. Our flight wasn't until later that night so we were able to get up and do a lot of things before we left. We checked out of our hostel and went to the Edward Munch Museum. He is the artist who painted the Screamer and the Madonna. He was born in Oslo and when he passed away, he donated all his works to the city. This museum was really cool. It was close to beating the Resistance, but not quite. We spent a while there then headed to the Radison to meet a tour group to a winter walk around Oslo, but as our luck would have it, there wasn't a tour at the time the Internet said so we missed it. Once again we improvised and walked to the Operetta house and unsuccessfully tried to find a market. We were pretty worn out from walking around and proceeded to walk back to the hostel to get our bags and headed to the airport. Once again the bus situation made me very uneasy. We arrived at the bus station to catch our bus to the airport and it was full. So I'm freaking out! Thankfully, they got another bus ready for the extra twenty people who needed to get to the airport and loaded us up to head to the airport. The stress of traveling is quite high. Its a blessing, but definitely stressful. We got to the airport and said our farewell's to Oslo. Our plane got delayed by about 20 minutes, and we arrived in London at 11:45. The line to get through the border was FOREVER long and once we sat in that line for at least an hour, we got on our bus and came home. A long day of travel, but worth every second of it. The trip was a great one. I felt like we got to see so much and we did it all on our own, which helped us save some Kroners.
The next trip coming up is ITALY! Ellie and I leave on Thursday and get back the next Friday. I'm sooooo excited. I just have to get through this week of papers and midterms. Its my first time doing all this! Keep our travel in your prayers. There will be about 10 girls total traveling with us.
I will also be posting some assignments for class on my blog. You can just disregard those, but I will have 5 up before Thursday. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! You all are in mine as well! Miss everyone
More to come later......
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