Paris, France
So as I get farther into this adventure the keyboards keep getting weirder and weirder. Anne just left me to go back to geneva, and I'm hanging out still. At 6:30 tomorrow morning I'm getting on a plane to go to Cairo...and I thought going to Italy was like jumping off a cliff. And by the time I get there I will have had less than 12 hours of sleep in 3 nights
The Paris Marathon (no running involved)
I had the ticket time wrong, so we got to the station at 6:45, for a 7:51 train. I think I slept most of the train ride. Then we figured out the metro system and got to our hotel only to find out that the web site is crap and they had overbooked. At least they reserved us a room in another hotel. First stop...the eifel tower. We couldn't go all the way up because it was overcrowded, but we did get to the second floor which was high enough for me. Next the arch de triumph where they were having some kind of parade thing. It's way hard to find the tunnel over to the arch instead of ending up back in the metro. We went to ile st. loius and walked around and had yummy french crepes and galletes. There was a funny mix up when seperate checks became green salad. It was a very good green salad though.
We went to notre dame and it was still open which was odd and there were lots of candles light and a picture of the pope, and there was some kind of mass going on. It's a lot nicer and it feels more like a religious spiritual place with a ceremony going on instead of hoards of tourists shoving. Take a deep breath before continuing the marathon. Then hike up to the top of momortre and get harrased by scary guys and go to mass at sacre cour. They said the pope's name a whole bunch of times and kept talking about his message. And so it turns out I went to mass on the day of the pope's death (in case you weren't sure, I am not catholic).
But it's not over yet. Today we got up way early and went to the louvre and had the best pain au chocolat I've ever had. Since it's the first sunday of the month the louvre was free. We saw the mona lisa which has amazing eyes. It makes me so mad, almost everyone looking at it felt like they needed to take a picture, and they couldn't even turn off the flashes on their cameras. Buy a postcard...you're damaging the art and the picture won't be great anyways. Turns out there's more to the louvre than the mona lisa (shock). We saw a lot (this is marathon) including stuff by rafiel, michelangelo, el greco, rembrant umm I forget. Oh yeah, and hamarabi's code which is so so cool. It brings me back to Gilgamesh and the english class of Ms. Brooks.
Anyways, now Anne is on the train and I am in the internet cafe. I wonder what the keyboards in egypt will be like.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
Happy Easter!
Florence, Italy
Florence is a very exciting place for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's my middle name. The train on the way here from Venice was insane. I guess that everyone wanted to travel to get home or to get somewhere else for the easter holiday but the train was jammed. There are compartments that are supposed to fit 6 people...well, we had 9 in ours, and the hall way was so full that you couldn't even walk through it.
It's been a very arty weekend. I'm here with Anne (yay!) and yesterday we stood in line for three and a half hours to get into the Uffize museam. It has the most famous collection of any museam in Florence. It has stuff by all the ninja turtles that painted (michelangelo, rafael and leonardo) as well as lots of other famous italian artists like Fra Angelico and Boticelli. My favorite paintings where the birth of venus and the allegory of spring, both by botecelli. You see pictures of them in books and they don't look like anything special, but when you see them up close, they are incredible. I think it's a combination of they're size (big) and the fact that someone painted them 500 years ago, and the fact that they're actually real. I don't think I've ever been that impressed with a painting before.
Today the art continued, and we waited (only an hour and a half this time) to get into the academia. That's where THE david is. The one that michelangelo sculpted. In the hall leading up to him are 4 of michelangelo's unfinished sculptures. Because they're unfinished you can kind of see how he was making them which is really cool. And THE david is amazing! That's one good looking guy (yes I know he's 5 meters tall and made of marble). His hands are a bit too big I think though.
The coolest thing in florence is San Marie del Fiore which is the big cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is decorated in white and pink and green marble (not the colors I would have picked) but it's amazing looking nonetheless. And on this cathedral is the dome designed by brunalleschi, which happens to be the biggest masonry dome in the world. I read a book about it over christmas break. He made the whole thing without any wooden centering, and to get the 2 ton blocks of marble up to the top he invented some completely new machines like an ox hoist. It's actually two domes, the inner and outer shell. And I'm going to climb it tomorrow! I get to climb in between the domes and see how it was actually made! I'm really exicted if you can't tell. Anyways, we went to easter mass in the cathedral this morning which was all in italian. We missed the fireworks for the festival of the exploding cart though because daylight savings time started this morning.
Florence is a very exciting place for many reasons, not the least of which is that it's my middle name. The train on the way here from Venice was insane. I guess that everyone wanted to travel to get home or to get somewhere else for the easter holiday but the train was jammed. There are compartments that are supposed to fit 6 people...well, we had 9 in ours, and the hall way was so full that you couldn't even walk through it.
It's been a very arty weekend. I'm here with Anne (yay!) and yesterday we stood in line for three and a half hours to get into the Uffize museam. It has the most famous collection of any museam in Florence. It has stuff by all the ninja turtles that painted (michelangelo, rafael and leonardo) as well as lots of other famous italian artists like Fra Angelico and Boticelli. My favorite paintings where the birth of venus and the allegory of spring, both by botecelli. You see pictures of them in books and they don't look like anything special, but when you see them up close, they are incredible. I think it's a combination of they're size (big) and the fact that someone painted them 500 years ago, and the fact that they're actually real. I don't think I've ever been that impressed with a painting before.
Today the art continued, and we waited (only an hour and a half this time) to get into the academia. That's where THE david is. The one that michelangelo sculpted. In the hall leading up to him are 4 of michelangelo's unfinished sculptures. Because they're unfinished you can kind of see how he was making them which is really cool. And THE david is amazing! That's one good looking guy (yes I know he's 5 meters tall and made of marble). His hands are a bit too big I think though.
The coolest thing in florence is San Marie del Fiore which is the big cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is decorated in white and pink and green marble (not the colors I would have picked) but it's amazing looking nonetheless. And on this cathedral is the dome designed by brunalleschi, which happens to be the biggest masonry dome in the world. I read a book about it over christmas break. He made the whole thing without any wooden centering, and to get the 2 ton blocks of marble up to the top he invented some completely new machines like an ox hoist. It's actually two domes, the inner and outer shell. And I'm going to climb it tomorrow! I get to climb in between the domes and see how it was actually made! I'm really exicted if you can't tell. Anyways, we went to easter mass in the cathedral this morning which was all in italian. We missed the fireworks for the festival of the exploding cart though because daylight savings time started this morning.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
sick
Venice, Italy
I'm sick. I think I might have the flu. I hate being sick! I've been drinking orange juice out of a juice box (the 1L size). On the bright side the guy at the farmacia gave me some drugs to take which seems to be helping some.
I'm staying in Foresteria Valdese which is a hostel that's connected with some church. It's a really old building right on a canal and the room that I stayed in last night had a fresco on the ceiling. Well, as it's such a small world I met this group of people staying in my hostel from Raleigh who work at the cheese cake factory. They had all decided that they needed a trip to italy. So I kind of joined their group and hung out with them all of yesterday. We went to murano which is the island that the glass blowers got put on after they started too many fires in venice. There was a guy doing a demonstration, and he made it look so incredibly easy. But it takes 15 years working under someone before one becomes a master glass blower.
Venice is an amazing city! There are no cars at all, or even bicycles in the city. The streets are all narrow and it's really easy to get lost. And the public transportation is all boats! I got a pass for all the boats for 3 days, so I've done a lot of riding around on them. They only go around the island or down the grand canal though which is kind of dissapointing. And I did go on a ride in a gondola (across the grand canal which took about 2 minutes but I did ride in one). We also fed the pigeons in San Marco. They're so tame that they will jump up on your hand and eat out of it. Such a hard life they lead.
Last night I saw the most amazing street performer ever. It was a guy playing yesterday on the water glasses! And then he moved on to classical stuff. It was the coolest thing ever to watch. I don't think they were actually filled with water, I think it was something clear and solid to make for easy transportation. But it was still really amazing.
I'm sick. I think I might have the flu. I hate being sick! I've been drinking orange juice out of a juice box (the 1L size). On the bright side the guy at the farmacia gave me some drugs to take which seems to be helping some.
I'm staying in Foresteria Valdese which is a hostel that's connected with some church. It's a really old building right on a canal and the room that I stayed in last night had a fresco on the ceiling. Well, as it's such a small world I met this group of people staying in my hostel from Raleigh who work at the cheese cake factory. They had all decided that they needed a trip to italy. So I kind of joined their group and hung out with them all of yesterday. We went to murano which is the island that the glass blowers got put on after they started too many fires in venice. There was a guy doing a demonstration, and he made it look so incredibly easy. But it takes 15 years working under someone before one becomes a master glass blower.
Venice is an amazing city! There are no cars at all, or even bicycles in the city. The streets are all narrow and it's really easy to get lost. And the public transportation is all boats! I got a pass for all the boats for 3 days, so I've done a lot of riding around on them. They only go around the island or down the grand canal though which is kind of dissapointing. And I did go on a ride in a gondola (across the grand canal which took about 2 minutes but I did ride in one). We also fed the pigeons in San Marco. They're so tame that they will jump up on your hand and eat out of it. Such a hard life they lead.
Last night I saw the most amazing street performer ever. It was a guy playing yesterday on the water glasses! And then he moved on to classical stuff. It was the coolest thing ever to watch. I don't think they were actually filled with water, I think it was something clear and solid to make for easy transportation. But it was still really amazing.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Warm and Sunny
Rome, Italy
I felt a bit like I was hurling myself off a cliff as the plane landed in Rome. Because in case you didn't know, I don't speak Italian. Not even a little bit. So after landing, getting a bus, a train, the metro walking a very long way, and taking a bus I got to my "hostel" also known as a camping village way the heck outside the center of town. The map they showed me lied. However, since because it's winter it's half off. I have this little bungalow thing, number 92. And it's just me, no company, although there are 2 empty beds.
Yesterday was one of those bad days. I guess it's one of the first bad days I've had. The city seemed dead (maybe because it was sunday), I couldn't find a sim card, I couldn't talk to anyone...and the metro closed way early for a little while I was stuck. I did end up in a church at the right time though and I heard this random opera/organ concert
Today was much better though. It's warm (compared to the UK) and sunny! There were these two women speaking in english on the metro, so I talked to them. And after they discovered I had no guide book and didn't speak Italian, one woman handed me a phrase telling me that she had two. Then, in front of the coliseam, this guy who was trying to get me to take a tour an I started talking, and he started telling me where to go, and then circled everything he thought I needed to see in the city on my map for me. He's been traveling for over 4 years. He even told me I could get a job with his boss and start tomorrow if I wanted. I saw the circus maximus...it's crazy walking where you know there were chariot racers driving a couple thousand years ago. The neighborhood on the other side of the river, Trastevere, is really amazing. It has narrow coblestone streets and lots of old churches and piazzas and lots of people walking around! Not that I could talk to most of them, but there were still people. And can I just say the Italians really know how to make gelato (ice cream).
I felt a bit like I was hurling myself off a cliff as the plane landed in Rome. Because in case you didn't know, I don't speak Italian. Not even a little bit. So after landing, getting a bus, a train, the metro walking a very long way, and taking a bus I got to my "hostel" also known as a camping village way the heck outside the center of town. The map they showed me lied. However, since because it's winter it's half off. I have this little bungalow thing, number 92. And it's just me, no company, although there are 2 empty beds.
Yesterday was one of those bad days. I guess it's one of the first bad days I've had. The city seemed dead (maybe because it was sunday), I couldn't find a sim card, I couldn't talk to anyone...and the metro closed way early for a little while I was stuck. I did end up in a church at the right time though and I heard this random opera/organ concert
Today was much better though. It's warm (compared to the UK) and sunny! There were these two women speaking in english on the metro, so I talked to them. And after they discovered I had no guide book and didn't speak Italian, one woman handed me a phrase telling me that she had two. Then, in front of the coliseam, this guy who was trying to get me to take a tour an I started talking, and he started telling me where to go, and then circled everything he thought I needed to see in the city on my map for me. He's been traveling for over 4 years. He even told me I could get a job with his boss and start tomorrow if I wanted. I saw the circus maximus...it's crazy walking where you know there were chariot racers driving a couple thousand years ago. The neighborhood on the other side of the river, Trastevere, is really amazing. It has narrow coblestone streets and lots of old churches and piazzas and lots of people walking around! Not that I could talk to most of them, but there were still people. And can I just say the Italians really know how to make gelato (ice cream).
Saturday, March 12, 2005
My Theater Addiction
London, England
I realized today that I've been traveling for a month...exactly. That's pretty crazy. It seems like I can't possibly have been gone that long, and yet when I think back to oxford that seems worlds away. Anyways, I've been on a big theater kick. Not like that's much different than normal or anything. Tuesday I went to see the producers. It was brilliant and so so funny. The costumes were great, especially the chorus girl that was wearing a big sasage on her head. He (mel brooks) managed to make fun of everyone possible. It was disturbing though that as I walked out I was humming one of the songs and then I realized it was "springtime for hitler."
Wednesday I decided to have an upper crust brittish experience and had tea (the meal) in Kensington gardens in the orangery. It was built for Queen Victoria in the mid 1700s and it's all white on the inside with ornate ceiling trim and big windows. The gardens were really nice, although I imagine they'd be even nicer in spring when it's warm. There were a lot of dogs out running their owners though. So back to tea. There was of course tea, in a little pot with a tea cup and a little pitcher of cream. Then the food part...a cream cheese and cucumber sandwich on white bread with no crust, a scone with clotted cream and jam, and orange cake with frosting. It was all very cute, and yummy.
Thursday I returned to the theater because I can't stay away. I even got up way early to wait in line for tickets. I went on a tour of the Royal National Theatre which is an amazing space!! They have 3 theaters, and the mid size one has 800 lights!! The stages also have side and rear stages so they can have 3 sets on wagons, and theoretically they can do 3 different shows in a day. They also have a huge paint workshop, set construction area, and props workshop. You have to have at least 5 years of professional theater experience before they'll even consider you for a position. Later that evening I went back to see His Dark Materials: Part I based on the phillip pulman novels. It was absolutely amazing! They had puppets for the daemons and the people operating them wore all black. The set was amazing. It's a circular stage and the outside ring rotates, and the inner part rotates, and then the two halves go up and down (it's called a drum revolve). Oh it was so cool.
I also wandered around brixton which is the afro carribean neighborhood. They have this big market with butchers with whole chickens including the head, and whole sheep hanging from the ceiling, and fish mongers, and people selling vegetables some of which I had never seen. The butchers kept trying to hit on me which was a little dodgy (good brittish word). And I think I was the only white person in the market. I got food from this little stand and I was standing inside (there were no chairs) eating it as the guys working there were watching a football (soccer) game. And when a goal was stored guys than I thought should fit came out of the dish washing alcove, and more came in off the street and they started yelling and jumping around and getting all excited. It was pretty funny. The're really into their football here. Wow this is long. I'm going to stop now.
I realized today that I've been traveling for a month...exactly. That's pretty crazy. It seems like I can't possibly have been gone that long, and yet when I think back to oxford that seems worlds away. Anyways, I've been on a big theater kick. Not like that's much different than normal or anything. Tuesday I went to see the producers. It was brilliant and so so funny. The costumes were great, especially the chorus girl that was wearing a big sasage on her head. He (mel brooks) managed to make fun of everyone possible. It was disturbing though that as I walked out I was humming one of the songs and then I realized it was "springtime for hitler."
Wednesday I decided to have an upper crust brittish experience and had tea (the meal) in Kensington gardens in the orangery. It was built for Queen Victoria in the mid 1700s and it's all white on the inside with ornate ceiling trim and big windows. The gardens were really nice, although I imagine they'd be even nicer in spring when it's warm. There were a lot of dogs out running their owners though. So back to tea. There was of course tea, in a little pot with a tea cup and a little pitcher of cream. Then the food part...a cream cheese and cucumber sandwich on white bread with no crust, a scone with clotted cream and jam, and orange cake with frosting. It was all very cute, and yummy.
Thursday I returned to the theater because I can't stay away. I even got up way early to wait in line for tickets. I went on a tour of the Royal National Theatre which is an amazing space!! They have 3 theaters, and the mid size one has 800 lights!! The stages also have side and rear stages so they can have 3 sets on wagons, and theoretically they can do 3 different shows in a day. They also have a huge paint workshop, set construction area, and props workshop. You have to have at least 5 years of professional theater experience before they'll even consider you for a position. Later that evening I went back to see His Dark Materials: Part I based on the phillip pulman novels. It was absolutely amazing! They had puppets for the daemons and the people operating them wore all black. The set was amazing. It's a circular stage and the outside ring rotates, and the inner part rotates, and then the two halves go up and down (it's called a drum revolve). Oh it was so cool.
I also wandered around brixton which is the afro carribean neighborhood. They have this big market with butchers with whole chickens including the head, and whole sheep hanging from the ceiling, and fish mongers, and people selling vegetables some of which I had never seen. The butchers kept trying to hit on me which was a little dodgy (good brittish word). And I think I was the only white person in the market. I got food from this little stand and I was standing inside (there were no chairs) eating it as the guys working there were watching a football (soccer) game. And when a goal was stored guys than I thought should fit came out of the dish washing alcove, and more came in off the street and they started yelling and jumping around and getting all excited. It was pretty funny. The're really into their football here. Wow this is long. I'm going to stop now.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
I love to walk
London, England
I walked around for almost 5 hours straight today. I went all the way down charging cross road (great name) and to leicester square and covent garden and soho and fleet street and other places. It's great, since it's england there's a twinnings store just full of different kinds of tea. There was also an entire store devoted to peter rabbit. I visited scenes from at least two musicals, My Fair Lady and Sweeny Todd. And there is a hair cutting place on Fleet Street, but it's not a barber and it looks like it's much cleaner. It seems as though most of what I do in London is walk. Oh, and yesterday I saw the Tate Modern, which is brilliant. I'm not sure I understood a lot of what I saw though.
So this was a few days ago, but it's so crazy that I have to write about it. Mattheaus (my random roommate) wanted to go dancing I guess it was Friday night so I went with him. And we were standing in this crazy long line in the cold waiting to get in and who should walk by but Jennine Heiser!! I used to be on the farm swim team with her back in the day. It was absolutely crazy! She was going to the same club that we were going to. It really is a small world.
I walked around for almost 5 hours straight today. I went all the way down charging cross road (great name) and to leicester square and covent garden and soho and fleet street and other places. It's great, since it's england there's a twinnings store just full of different kinds of tea. There was also an entire store devoted to peter rabbit. I visited scenes from at least two musicals, My Fair Lady and Sweeny Todd. And there is a hair cutting place on Fleet Street, but it's not a barber and it looks like it's much cleaner. It seems as though most of what I do in London is walk. Oh, and yesterday I saw the Tate Modern, which is brilliant. I'm not sure I understood a lot of what I saw though.
So this was a few days ago, but it's so crazy that I have to write about it. Mattheaus (my random roommate) wanted to go dancing I guess it was Friday night so I went with him. And we were standing in this crazy long line in the cold waiting to get in and who should walk by but Jennine Heiser!! I used to be on the farm swim team with her back in the day. It was absolutely crazy! She was going to the same club that we were going to. It really is a small world.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Random roommate
London, England
Lesson 1 - find a hostel and get a room in it before you show up in a city at 6pm
Rachel has even showed me how to do it online. Oh well. So I got to London and followed Anna's directions to the hostel that she had stayed in, Ashlee House. However they were out of rooms. So they sent me to another hostel. However, me being one of those people with a very bad sense of direction I couldn't find it and went back for help. As I was trying to look at my bad map the guy in front of me that also couldn't get a room walked up. So we asked for directions and tried again. Either we both have a bad sense of directions, or the directions were bad, and after asking for help again we still couldn't find it. But we did walk past this inexpensive hotel. And so I slept with (you dirty minded people, in the same room as, not in the same bed with) this random guy. He's german, but his family is from the syrian turkish boarder, and he also speaks this language that might be aramaic, but I'm not sure. His name means mathew. He's very nice but he snored.
I think I've fallen in love...with camden town. It's the coolest place ever!! It's where all the punks and hippi people hang out. There are all these crazy stores with great clothes and jewlery and other random stuff. And they also have really cheap indian, chinese, vegetarian, etc. food. I also went on the london eye which is like a huge ferris wheel, but you stand in these little capsules that have clear sides and ceilings. It goes way high and the view is good. It was a little nerve wracking when I thought about how high up I was, so I tried not to think about it. I got a day pass for the underground and the busses, so I've also spent a lot of the day just riding the busses around and looking out the window. Can I say again how much I like the top level of double decker busses? Well, I said it anyways
Lesson 1 - find a hostel and get a room in it before you show up in a city at 6pm
Rachel has even showed me how to do it online. Oh well. So I got to London and followed Anna's directions to the hostel that she had stayed in, Ashlee House. However they were out of rooms. So they sent me to another hostel. However, me being one of those people with a very bad sense of direction I couldn't find it and went back for help. As I was trying to look at my bad map the guy in front of me that also couldn't get a room walked up. So we asked for directions and tried again. Either we both have a bad sense of directions, or the directions were bad, and after asking for help again we still couldn't find it. But we did walk past this inexpensive hotel. And so I slept with (you dirty minded people, in the same room as, not in the same bed with) this random guy. He's german, but his family is from the syrian turkish boarder, and he also speaks this language that might be aramaic, but I'm not sure. His name means mathew. He's very nice but he snored.
I think I've fallen in love...with camden town. It's the coolest place ever!! It's where all the punks and hippi people hang out. There are all these crazy stores with great clothes and jewlery and other random stuff. And they also have really cheap indian, chinese, vegetarian, etc. food. I also went on the london eye which is like a huge ferris wheel, but you stand in these little capsules that have clear sides and ceilings. It goes way high and the view is good. It was a little nerve wracking when I thought about how high up I was, so I tried not to think about it. I got a day pass for the underground and the busses, so I've also spent a lot of the day just riding the busses around and looking out the window. Can I say again how much I like the top level of double decker busses? Well, I said it anyways
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Findhorn
Findhorn, Scotland
I'm now at Findhorn visiting my Anna. It's great to see her. Findhorn is a really cool place. It started out as a spiritual community in the 60s, but in they've also gotten interested in sustainability and other environmental stuff. As far as I know everyone in the foundation does some kind of work for it. So you can work in a garden or a kitchen or in maintanance or something else. The work is 3 a day, and Anna works two days a week. I'm here as a working guest which means that I get to work every day. They told me I could either work in the kitchen or the garden and since it's winter I decided to work in the kitchen. They start all their work shifts by tuning in and introducing themselves and focusing I guess. I got to chop lots and lots of onions, carrots and broccoli. I also got to use this cool pealing machine that peeled the carrots. They have a tea break in the middle of the work shift, and everything just stops for twenty minutes.
This morning I was wandering around and went into the weaver's building. I made a friend there who is short and has black hair and decided that I was okay after jumping up on my and licking my face. She told me that she wanted to go for a walk, and which was fine by me since I had planned on walking anyways. We walked up through the woods, past the wind mill and over the dunes to the beach. Findhorn is on a bay of what I guess is the north sea. Yafa went into the water, and looked at me, but I told her it was too cold and I wasn't going in. In case you hadn't guessed Yafa, my friend, is of the canine variety. It was very exciting to meet her since I haven't walked a dog in a very long time.
I'm now at Findhorn visiting my Anna. It's great to see her. Findhorn is a really cool place. It started out as a spiritual community in the 60s, but in they've also gotten interested in sustainability and other environmental stuff. As far as I know everyone in the foundation does some kind of work for it. So you can work in a garden or a kitchen or in maintanance or something else. The work is 3 a day, and Anna works two days a week. I'm here as a working guest which means that I get to work every day. They told me I could either work in the kitchen or the garden and since it's winter I decided to work in the kitchen. They start all their work shifts by tuning in and introducing themselves and focusing I guess. I got to chop lots and lots of onions, carrots and broccoli. I also got to use this cool pealing machine that peeled the carrots. They have a tea break in the middle of the work shift, and everything just stops for twenty minutes.
This morning I was wandering around and went into the weaver's building. I made a friend there who is short and has black hair and decided that I was okay after jumping up on my and licking my face. She told me that she wanted to go for a walk, and which was fine by me since I had planned on walking anyways. We walked up through the woods, past the wind mill and over the dunes to the beach. Findhorn is on a bay of what I guess is the north sea. Yafa went into the water, and looked at me, but I told her it was too cold and I wasn't going in. In case you hadn't guessed Yafa, my friend, is of the canine variety. It was very exciting to meet her since I haven't walked a dog in a very long time.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
In search of water
Edinburgh and other places, Scotland
There has been sucess in downloading my pictures and putting a few online! Yay!
Today and yesterday have been full of driving around Scotland. I've discovered that Rich really likes to drive and I like to sit and look out the window, so it works quite well. The coolest thing we saw yesterday was the Falkirk wheel. It's kind of hard to see in the picture but there's a gondola on the top and one on the bottom. They both have tons of water and a boat can sail into one either at the top or bottom and because of Archimedes and his principle the weight will stay the same as long as the water level is the same in both gondolas. So then the wheel turns and the boat can go to the other part of the cannal. That means they don't have to use locks.
Today things got even weirder with the electric brae. It's this hill and balls and cars roll up hill on it!! Or that's how it looks. In reality it's an optical illusion and it's actually going down hill. My eyes still don't believe that. We also drove around in the dark, through construction sites to get close to loch lomond. I think we took the low road.
I made an apple pie last night. It was a pretty funny experience. I wanted to make a pumpkin pie, however they don't really have pumpkins over here. In fact for a long time they carved turnips (they have big turnips) for halloween. So I decided I could make an apple pie. And then I couldn't find a pie pan so I used a cake pan. But the funniest thing was having to convert all of the measurements into metric, because there are no cups or tablespoons over here. It really mae me feel like I was far away from home. It worked out okay though. I've been told it was bloody good.
There has been sucess in downloading my pictures and putting a few online! Yay!
Today and yesterday have been full of driving around Scotland. I've discovered that Rich really likes to drive and I like to sit and look out the window, so it works quite well. The coolest thing we saw yesterday was the Falkirk wheel. It's kind of hard to see in the picture but there's a gondola on the top and one on the bottom. They both have tons of water and a boat can sail into one either at the top or bottom and because of Archimedes and his principle the weight will stay the same as long as the water level is the same in both gondolas. So then the wheel turns and the boat can go to the other part of the cannal. That means they don't have to use locks.
Today things got even weirder with the electric brae. It's this hill and balls and cars roll up hill on it!! Or that's how it looks. In reality it's an optical illusion and it's actually going down hill. My eyes still don't believe that. We also drove around in the dark, through construction sites to get close to loch lomond. I think we took the low road.
I made an apple pie last night. It was a pretty funny experience. I wanted to make a pumpkin pie, however they don't really have pumpkins over here. In fact for a long time they carved turnips (they have big turnips) for halloween. So I decided I could make an apple pie. And then I couldn't find a pie pan so I used a cake pan. But the funniest thing was having to convert all of the measurements into metric, because there are no cups or tablespoons over here. It really mae me feel like I was far away from home. It worked out okay though. I've been told it was bloody good.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Trousers not pants
Edinburgh, Scotland
So it's been snowing, but I had no idea that it was actually serious snow. So yesterday I took the bus across the city to go walking in the hills. When I left it was sunny and crisp, but by the time I got there it was snowing again. There was also a foot of snow in the hills. It was more of a trudge than a walk, but the view was still really good once I got up to the top. There were also a bunch of kids sledding, and so after lying under the trees and looking up at the branches I gathered my courage and asked a mom if I could use the trash bag she was holding. The best way to sled in a trash bag she told me is to step into it and then sit down and away you go. On the bus ride home I thought I might never be warm again.
Last night I went to the folk club to hear this band named Flook. They were amazing, absolutely brilliant!!!! You should all find their music and listen to it. Their drummer played this one traditional drum that's held vertically. He could get maybe 20 different sounds out of that one drum.
After mixing up trousers and pants in conversation several times since Joy warned me about the difference I'm finally starting to get it right. In fact, I had to go buy some trousers today because I accidental brought a pair that was holey. The new trousers are purple and corduroy. I don't know why you all needed to know about my trousers, but oh well.
So it's been snowing, but I had no idea that it was actually serious snow. So yesterday I took the bus across the city to go walking in the hills. When I left it was sunny and crisp, but by the time I got there it was snowing again. There was also a foot of snow in the hills. It was more of a trudge than a walk, but the view was still really good once I got up to the top. There were also a bunch of kids sledding, and so after lying under the trees and looking up at the branches I gathered my courage and asked a mom if I could use the trash bag she was holding. The best way to sled in a trash bag she told me is to step into it and then sit down and away you go. On the bus ride home I thought I might never be warm again.
Last night I went to the folk club to hear this band named Flook. They were amazing, absolutely brilliant!!!! You should all find their music and listen to it. Their drummer played this one traditional drum that's held vertically. He could get maybe 20 different sounds out of that one drum.
After mixing up trousers and pants in conversation several times since Joy warned me about the difference I'm finally starting to get it right. In fact, I had to go buy some trousers today because I accidental brought a pair that was holey. The new trousers are purple and corduroy. I don't know why you all needed to know about my trousers, but oh well.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
SNOW
Edinburgh, Scotland
The weather here is crazy. One minute it's snowing and five minutes later it's sunny. None of the snow is sticking, but it's really pretty. And drivers here don't freak out when they see it. I'm staying in a flat with this guy Rich who is a friend of Margaret and Peter. It's very nice and I have a very pink room.
Edinburgh has a castle! So today I went to see it. It's way up on castle rock and it's a bit of a walk to get up there. But from up there the view of the city is really great. The castle has been around for about 700 years, and it has a very colorful history including numberous seiges. It's also where Mary Queen of Scotts was born. There's a chapel to St. Margaret which they almost knocked down numberous times to renovate, but fortunatly they never did. The castle is also home to the Scottish Honors which include the crown, sword, sceptor, and rock. The rock was used in the corrination of the first kings about a thousand years ago before they had a crown or anything. Then England stole it and kept it under their corrination chair for many years. The scotts only got it back about 50 years ago. It's a great castle!
I also visited the camera obscura. Good view can be had from up there too. In the upper most room is a white dish and there are lenses and a mirror in the ceiling. When you turn out the lights you can see a view of Edinburgh on the plate. And it's a hundred and fifty years old. You can also rotate the mirror to see different parts of the city. You can see people walking around and cars driving by, it's like spying on them. And if you get a white piece of paper, you can lift the people up off the ground and "throw" them. Those poor people walking around down below.
The street that goes from the castle to the Queen's palace is a mile long and is called the Royal Mile. The catch is that it's actually a mile and an eighth, or a scotish mile. It's a nice walk though with lots of stores selling warm looking sweaters and kilts. I was actually almost warm today, and was wearing almost everything I had and some clothes that are borrowed.
The weather here is crazy. One minute it's snowing and five minutes later it's sunny. None of the snow is sticking, but it's really pretty. And drivers here don't freak out when they see it. I'm staying in a flat with this guy Rich who is a friend of Margaret and Peter. It's very nice and I have a very pink room.
Edinburgh has a castle! So today I went to see it. It's way up on castle rock and it's a bit of a walk to get up there. But from up there the view of the city is really great. The castle has been around for about 700 years, and it has a very colorful history including numberous seiges. It's also where Mary Queen of Scotts was born. There's a chapel to St. Margaret which they almost knocked down numberous times to renovate, but fortunatly they never did. The castle is also home to the Scottish Honors which include the crown, sword, sceptor, and rock. The rock was used in the corrination of the first kings about a thousand years ago before they had a crown or anything. Then England stole it and kept it under their corrination chair for many years. The scotts only got it back about 50 years ago. It's a great castle!
I also visited the camera obscura. Good view can be had from up there too. In the upper most room is a white dish and there are lenses and a mirror in the ceiling. When you turn out the lights you can see a view of Edinburgh on the plate. And it's a hundred and fifty years old. You can also rotate the mirror to see different parts of the city. You can see people walking around and cars driving by, it's like spying on them. And if you get a white piece of paper, you can lift the people up off the ground and "throw" them. Those poor people walking around down below.
The street that goes from the castle to the Queen's palace is a mile long and is called the Royal Mile. The catch is that it's actually a mile and an eighth, or a scotish mile. It's a nice walk though with lots of stores selling warm looking sweaters and kilts. I was actually almost warm today, and was wearing almost everything I had and some clothes that are borrowed.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Rachel!
Cambridge, England
I arrived in Cambridge yesterday after a bus ride that stopped in every shopping center between Oxford and Cambridge to pick people up and let them off. Rachel met me at the bus station, and walked me to her house which is um way the heck out of town. There are 11 people living there, but they have a real kitchen. The house is owned by her college which is Claire hall but she has a department that has people from lots of colleges...it's all very confusing. Anyways we went to a public lecture on the orgin of conflict, and the guy giving the lecture had this idea that the only way to gain prestige in a society was through violence and conflict. Oh, and there was also Troy bashing. Afterward I went to the pub with Rachel and her fellow grad students and there was much discussion on his idea. And on many other ideas. They give you crisps (chips) when you drink. Very smart these brits. It was a very rocous (not really and I can't spell) evening with the grad students.
Rachel's floor is very comfy. I got up and walked back from way the heck out of town into the town and wandered about. It's something that I seem to be getting very good at. Kings college is beautiful. I can't really find words to describe it. And the chapel is amazing. There was an orchestra, probobly the college orchestra rehersing when I went in. I understand now why Duke needed a chapel, since every college at Oxford and Cambridge have chapels. It makes Duke's seem less impressive.
I have a phone number. It's very exciting. If you would like it you should email me and I will gladly give it to you. Off to think of something exciting to do tonight.
I arrived in Cambridge yesterday after a bus ride that stopped in every shopping center between Oxford and Cambridge to pick people up and let them off. Rachel met me at the bus station, and walked me to her house which is um way the heck out of town. There are 11 people living there, but they have a real kitchen. The house is owned by her college which is Claire hall but she has a department that has people from lots of colleges...it's all very confusing. Anyways we went to a public lecture on the orgin of conflict, and the guy giving the lecture had this idea that the only way to gain prestige in a society was through violence and conflict. Oh, and there was also Troy bashing. Afterward I went to the pub with Rachel and her fellow grad students and there was much discussion on his idea. And on many other ideas. They give you crisps (chips) when you drink. Very smart these brits. It was a very rocous (not really and I can't spell) evening with the grad students.
Rachel's floor is very comfy. I got up and walked back from way the heck out of town into the town and wandered about. It's something that I seem to be getting very good at. Kings college is beautiful. I can't really find words to describe it. And the chapel is amazing. There was an orchestra, probobly the college orchestra rehersing when I went in. I understand now why Duke needed a chapel, since every college at Oxford and Cambridge have chapels. It makes Duke's seem less impressive.
I have a phone number. It's very exciting. If you would like it you should email me and I will gladly give it to you. Off to think of something exciting to do tonight.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Blenheim Palace
Woodstock, England
As the title may suggest I visited Blenheim Palace today which is located next to the town of Woodstock. John Churchill was made Duke of Marlborough by defeating Napoleon and the french at the battle of Blenheim. That's how the english know it at least. It was fought on the Danube and I think they might have a different name for it there. Anyways he was given by the crown the land and money to build this palace. One cool thing is that this John had no surviving male heirs, so there was a special act of parliment passed so his daughter could inherit the title. And it is an amazing palace. It has lots of paintings of the dukes (they're now on their 11th) and tapistries and highly decorated ceilings and fancy furnature. All the things a good palace ought to have. It also has an exhibit on Winston Churchill, because he was born there. He was not destined to be a duke though because his father was the second son. But he was born there and I stood in his birth room. That makes two rooms famous men were born in three days.
The palace also has magnificient grounds. I did one of their walks which went past a temple to diana and a waterfall. Since that wasn't enough I went on another past the front of the palace. They have a flock of sheep grazing out on the grassy lawn of the palace...very interesting. There's also a secret garden with a sign pointing to it. Not so secret anymore, but lovely all the same.
Peter (margaret's special person) took Margaret and her mother and me to this lovely resteraunt called the boot for dinner. It has boots or shoes from lots of famous brits on the wall. I didn't know who any of them were though which was sad. It was the same way in the palace. An eight or so year old girl was looking at the paintings and identifying the historic people in them, and I had no idea who they were. Anyways dinner was really good. For dessert I had sticky banana pudding (cake) with hot fudge sauce which they tell me is typically brittish. I'm going to have to learn how to make it for all of you.
As the title may suggest I visited Blenheim Palace today which is located next to the town of Woodstock. John Churchill was made Duke of Marlborough by defeating Napoleon and the french at the battle of Blenheim. That's how the english know it at least. It was fought on the Danube and I think they might have a different name for it there. Anyways he was given by the crown the land and money to build this palace. One cool thing is that this John had no surviving male heirs, so there was a special act of parliment passed so his daughter could inherit the title. And it is an amazing palace. It has lots of paintings of the dukes (they're now on their 11th) and tapistries and highly decorated ceilings and fancy furnature. All the things a good palace ought to have. It also has an exhibit on Winston Churchill, because he was born there. He was not destined to be a duke though because his father was the second son. But he was born there and I stood in his birth room. That makes two rooms famous men were born in three days.
The palace also has magnificient grounds. I did one of their walks which went past a temple to diana and a waterfall. Since that wasn't enough I went on another past the front of the palace. They have a flock of sheep grazing out on the grassy lawn of the palace...very interesting. There's also a secret garden with a sign pointing to it. Not so secret anymore, but lovely all the same.
Peter (margaret's special person) took Margaret and her mother and me to this lovely resteraunt called the boot for dinner. It has boots or shoes from lots of famous brits on the wall. I didn't know who any of them were though which was sad. It was the same way in the palace. An eight or so year old girl was looking at the paintings and identifying the historic people in them, and I had no idea who they were. Anyways dinner was really good. For dessert I had sticky banana pudding (cake) with hot fudge sauce which they tell me is typically brittish. I'm going to have to learn how to make it for all of you.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Shakespeare!
Stratford Upon Avon, England
I have now made the pilgramage to Shakespeare's birthplace. I've even stood in the room where he was born. As have many other important people, including Thomas Jefferson and many others whose names escape me. They were important though. The house is nice. There was a funny story about a Mrs. Hornsby who for a while rented the place and was the caretaker. When they increased her rent she had to leave, so she took all the artifacts with her. Then there was a large rivalry between her and the new caretaker.
I also got to see Two Gentlemen of Verona which was put on by the Royal Shakespeare company. They were sold out of all the regular tickets by the time I got there, so I got a ticket for standing. I feel as though that's a very historically appropriate way for a poor college student to watch a Shakespeare play even though my standing spot was on the first balconywhich is not historically accurate. They did an amazing job!! The lighting was fabulous and the costumes were brilliant. Oh yeah, and the acting was also amazing.
On the return journey (by train) to Eynsham I had a lovely conversation with an older american gentleman (whose very quit son was with him) and a brittish woman. Two trains and platform waits later we had managed a very thorough discussion of american politics and of finding one's spirituallity. The American, who was from Iowa was very liberal and was one of those people that inspires you with hope for the rest of america. We were trying to explain to the Brittish woman possible reasons for the way americans (or at least the ones that voted for bush) act the way they do. She thinks that the brittish do a better job of running their country because they're more cynical. The amazing people you meet late at night at train stations.
I have now made the pilgramage to Shakespeare's birthplace. I've even stood in the room where he was born. As have many other important people, including Thomas Jefferson and many others whose names escape me. They were important though. The house is nice. There was a funny story about a Mrs. Hornsby who for a while rented the place and was the caretaker. When they increased her rent she had to leave, so she took all the artifacts with her. Then there was a large rivalry between her and the new caretaker.
I also got to see Two Gentlemen of Verona which was put on by the Royal Shakespeare company. They were sold out of all the regular tickets by the time I got there, so I got a ticket for standing. I feel as though that's a very historically appropriate way for a poor college student to watch a Shakespeare play even though my standing spot was on the first balconywhich is not historically accurate. They did an amazing job!! The lighting was fabulous and the costumes were brilliant. Oh yeah, and the acting was also amazing.
On the return journey (by train) to Eynsham I had a lovely conversation with an older american gentleman (whose very quit son was with him) and a brittish woman. Two trains and platform waits later we had managed a very thorough discussion of american politics and of finding one's spirituallity. The American, who was from Iowa was very liberal and was one of those people that inspires you with hope for the rest of america. We were trying to explain to the Brittish woman possible reasons for the way americans (or at least the ones that voted for bush) act the way they do. She thinks that the brittish do a better job of running their country because they're more cynical. The amazing people you meet late at night at train stations.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Happy Valentine's Day
Eynshem and Oxford, England
Well, I'm here. Happy Valentine's Day to one and all. Oxford is a beautiful city. Oxford university is not like UNC though. There are lots, maybe 15 different colleges and they are all separate. However, there is one building for awarding degrees. I was disappointed to find out there isn't really a college called Jordan college, but the His Dark Materials books are featured prominently in all the bookstores. The first one is called the Northern Lights though. Speaking of books they have the most amazing book store. It's called Blackwell's and it is four floors. They have academic books, used books, fiction, kids books, everything you could possibly think of. There are also 2 other book stores on the street. These people are serious about their books.
I was definitely sure I was in a different country when I went with Margaret (my mom's friend that I'm staying with) and her mother to a pub for lunch. We had the wedding breakfast, or two eggs and chips, which is two fried eggs served over french fries. In addition there was a half a Guinness (my first legal alcohol) and tomato juice with wostesher sauce...the bitter and the salty. They put this brown sauce on their chips, it reminds me of barbecue sauce only not quite. I've also had some of the most amazing Indian food ever. Of course it wasn't better than Vimala's, but outside of that it was the best.
I'm staying in what used to be an old church. But they ran out of congregation and now it's a house. They say there's a picture of how it used to look somewhere, but I haven't seen it yet. It's in Eynshem which is a small village outside Oxford. There's a bus that goes into Oxford. My first night here I had a funny conversation with two drunk brittish guys on the bus. They weren't impressed with football (of the american variety). They insisted that rugby was a real man's game. They were also shocked that I didn't watch wrestling, as I was from america and all.
Well, I'm here. Happy Valentine's Day to one and all. Oxford is a beautiful city. Oxford university is not like UNC though. There are lots, maybe 15 different colleges and they are all separate. However, there is one building for awarding degrees. I was disappointed to find out there isn't really a college called Jordan college, but the His Dark Materials books are featured prominently in all the bookstores. The first one is called the Northern Lights though. Speaking of books they have the most amazing book store. It's called Blackwell's and it is four floors. They have academic books, used books, fiction, kids books, everything you could possibly think of. There are also 2 other book stores on the street. These people are serious about their books.
I was definitely sure I was in a different country when I went with Margaret (my mom's friend that I'm staying with) and her mother to a pub for lunch. We had the wedding breakfast, or two eggs and chips, which is two fried eggs served over french fries. In addition there was a half a Guinness (my first legal alcohol) and tomato juice with wostesher sauce...the bitter and the salty. They put this brown sauce on their chips, it reminds me of barbecue sauce only not quite. I've also had some of the most amazing Indian food ever. Of course it wasn't better than Vimala's, but outside of that it was the best.
I'm staying in what used to be an old church. But they ran out of congregation and now it's a house. They say there's a picture of how it used to look somewhere, but I haven't seen it yet. It's in Eynshem which is a small village outside Oxford. There's a bus that goes into Oxford. My first night here I had a funny conversation with two drunk brittish guys on the bus. They weren't impressed with football (of the american variety). They insisted that rugby was a real man's game. They were also shocked that I didn't watch wrestling, as I was from america and all.
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