Travel day
Our wake up call came bright and early at 4am, and we stumbled downstairs with our luggage to get some bread and honey before walking down the street to the bus. We had to split up to fit, but we're all grown up now, so that's not a big deal. I was surprised by how many people were on the bus so early; a lot of them on the way to the airport, but still. That's early in the morning.
Our first flight wasn't all too exciting; Lufthansa always gives a lot of stuff away, so we had a nice breakfast. I didn't sleep much, and worked on some journaling. It did take about an extra hour before it left the runway, so I dozed off a little then.
We expected to have a nice layover before our 8 hour flight- not too long, but not rushed, either. We lost that when we got an hour behind with the last one, so I wasn't able to get my stock of milka bars like I had hoped :( sad times. I did grab an apple and some water though, and have done an excellent job at staying hydrated thus far.
The ride was typical- long, but doable. Travel days aren't nearly as exciting now either, since they all sort of run together regardless of how long any one trip is. I knocked back some Xanax and was able to sleep for a little bit, I was told (I don't remember sleeping that much, but everyone is always impressed with how I am able to twist into tiny contortions and sleep on planes and trains. It's a gift.). I also got to watch the new muppet movie, since they had it offered as one of the selections on the little screen we each had. We also got a warm lunch and later a snack, along with refreshments every hour at least- they work hard to keep you hydrated. If anyone is traveling internationally, I would definitely recommend Lufthansa. Although not from the London heathrow airport, because it is way too overcrowded, and flights never seem to be on time, according to Marc.
We had a nice layover in Newark, but it was then that we started to realize the trip really was over. I can already tell I'm going to have a problem going back to using my phone- even though I was in the states, I just didn't want to be bothered with it and weighed down while I was trying to do other things.
Customs went smoothly- I was expecting something scary and time consuming, but it was actually no problem at all, and everyone working was incredibly friendly. I realized sarcasm was another thing I missed- it isn't easily translated, even in British English.
Now I'm on my last flight to Cleveland, where I have no idea what to expect or how to feel- I do know that I'm not ready to see a bunch of people yet and answer questions about the trip. I'm still busy digesting what happened; even at home, I'll still be in it, doing it, but when I start reminiscing and reselling stories- its over. Done. And I'm not prepared for that. So with the exception of Doug, Maggie, and my parents, I just need to hide out and figure out what exactly just happened in my life the last few weeks.
I have to write a reflection paper for the course before I can officially get my grades... I think I'll post it as my last entry, once finished.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thursday
We started our day by getting our luggage into the coach so we could check out of our hotel. We're spending our last night at a hotel closer to the airport, since we need to be there at 5am. Another example of our fearless leader looking out for us.
We went to the Anne Hathaway cottage, which is one of the Shakespeare trust houses. We learned about her family and how after she and billy shakes got married, she moved out into his parents house with him, but still stuck around near the family. There are still Hathaways in Stratford now, but have obviously since given up the house.
Everyone is so eager to talk about how she was so much older than Shakespeare and 3 months pregnant when they were married, and on top of that they had to rush the ceremony because it was too close to Christmas. I think we should just leave her alone and let her be his wife, without always needing to add some comment about how scandalous they were. Although it does make some of his plays a little more irnonic, like the tempest, when monologues about keeping a virgin knot are so passionately written. Message received, William.
Next we went to the church Shakespeare was baptized and buried in. His birthday was fairly recent, and there were flowers EVERYWHERE in honor of him. In the baptismal font, on his grave in the church, all over the altar...flowers from all over the world. It was very pretty.
Our last show, a matinee, was "the tempest". It was Shakespeare's last play, and there's a lot of speculation about him projecting himself into the main character and dealing with retirement, essentially. It had the same actress I didn't care for last night, which womped, but the play itself was still good. Not one of my favorites, but it's kind of intense and really long, so you have o be in the right mood.
It's a 2 hour coach ride to London from Stratford, but we couldn't find our hotel and the very Scottish bus driver was all sorts of riled up. He made every trip a colorful one, that's for certain. It took an extra hour to get to the hotel, so everyone was a little surly, but then we had our final pep talk from Marc and parted ways. It was weird, being so close to the airport and hearing the planes that eventually I would be joining tomorrow.
I don't do ends very well, so even though I should have gone to bed early, Meghan and I ended up just staying up and fretting until we passed out for what could only fairly be called a nap, since shortly after we got our wake up call at 4am to get downstairs and off to the airport!
We went to the Anne Hathaway cottage, which is one of the Shakespeare trust houses. We learned about her family and how after she and billy shakes got married, she moved out into his parents house with him, but still stuck around near the family. There are still Hathaways in Stratford now, but have obviously since given up the house.
Everyone is so eager to talk about how she was so much older than Shakespeare and 3 months pregnant when they were married, and on top of that they had to rush the ceremony because it was too close to Christmas. I think we should just leave her alone and let her be his wife, without always needing to add some comment about how scandalous they were. Although it does make some of his plays a little more irnonic, like the tempest, when monologues about keeping a virgin knot are so passionately written. Message received, William.
Next we went to the church Shakespeare was baptized and buried in. His birthday was fairly recent, and there were flowers EVERYWHERE in honor of him. In the baptismal font, on his grave in the church, all over the altar...flowers from all over the world. It was very pretty.
Our last show, a matinee, was "the tempest". It was Shakespeare's last play, and there's a lot of speculation about him projecting himself into the main character and dealing with retirement, essentially. It had the same actress I didn't care for last night, which womped, but the play itself was still good. Not one of my favorites, but it's kind of intense and really long, so you have o be in the right mood.
It's a 2 hour coach ride to London from Stratford, but we couldn't find our hotel and the very Scottish bus driver was all sorts of riled up. He made every trip a colorful one, that's for certain. It took an extra hour to get to the hotel, so everyone was a little surly, but then we had our final pep talk from Marc and parted ways. It was weird, being so close to the airport and hearing the planes that eventually I would be joining tomorrow.
I don't do ends very well, so even though I should have gone to bed early, Meghan and I ended up just staying up and fretting until we passed out for what could only fairly be called a nap, since shortly after we got our wake up call at 4am to get downstairs and off to the airport!
Wednesday
Wed. 4/25
So, still waking up ridiculously early, but at least it was a better nights sleep. I also got to partake in some holiday inn style breakfast, which was delicious and nourishing. In case anyones curious, your body can only survive 3 days on pita bread and peanutbutter before you just cant function.
We went to coventry cathedral, which was a cathedral that was bombed and then the remains left as a memorial to the church, with a rebuilt modern church beside it. You can see the structure and a few of the windows and sculptures through this huge window in the back of the new church, so it feels like they're connected
The new church was very modern, something I hadn't seen before- most newer churches I can think of just look like big fire halls, but this one had modern sculptures and huge engraved wooden plaques- the pictures can explain way better than I can.
We got in an exciting little tiff with a truck driver- we were going through the intersection and had stopped, but this truck was coming straight for us (on my side, I might add) to t-bone our coach. Instead, he swerves, parks in front of our coach so we can't move, and jumps out to bang on the bus door and yell all sorts of obscenities that our very Scottish feisty driver was all too happy to engage in. It made us thankful, once again, that Marc and Ted and Jeff have all been so level headed through everything.
We were supposed to see cotswold sites to take our pictures, because apparently its really pretty, but it was raining way too much for us to enjoy that so instead Marc took us to the park wood house, which just happened to be on the way home. It was an old mansion with a garden in the back, but it had "yew" trees, which was a big deal, I think. Sometimes we just get thrown into stuff we never learned about and I just assume everything they tell us was because it was a big deal at some point. Meghan John and I were more ingerested in the Ewes, actually.
Finally, we saw our second Shakespearean play- "twelfth night". If anyone has seen "she's the man", it's loosely based off the play (loosely, I emphasize). I didn't love the actress playing the main character, but it was still done very well otherwise. I stayed up late the night before, so I'm going to bed early to get ready for another big day of exploring!
So, still waking up ridiculously early, but at least it was a better nights sleep. I also got to partake in some holiday inn style breakfast, which was delicious and nourishing. In case anyones curious, your body can only survive 3 days on pita bread and peanutbutter before you just cant function.
We went to coventry cathedral, which was a cathedral that was bombed and then the remains left as a memorial to the church, with a rebuilt modern church beside it. You can see the structure and a few of the windows and sculptures through this huge window in the back of the new church, so it feels like they're connected
The new church was very modern, something I hadn't seen before- most newer churches I can think of just look like big fire halls, but this one had modern sculptures and huge engraved wooden plaques- the pictures can explain way better than I can.
We got in an exciting little tiff with a truck driver- we were going through the intersection and had stopped, but this truck was coming straight for us (on my side, I might add) to t-bone our coach. Instead, he swerves, parks in front of our coach so we can't move, and jumps out to bang on the bus door and yell all sorts of obscenities that our very Scottish feisty driver was all too happy to engage in. It made us thankful, once again, that Marc and Ted and Jeff have all been so level headed through everything.
We were supposed to see cotswold sites to take our pictures, because apparently its really pretty, but it was raining way too much for us to enjoy that so instead Marc took us to the park wood house, which just happened to be on the way home. It was an old mansion with a garden in the back, but it had "yew" trees, which was a big deal, I think. Sometimes we just get thrown into stuff we never learned about and I just assume everything they tell us was because it was a big deal at some point. Meghan John and I were more ingerested in the Ewes, actually.
Finally, we saw our second Shakespearean play- "twelfth night". If anyone has seen "she's the man", it's loosely based off the play (loosely, I emphasize). I didn't love the actress playing the main character, but it was still done very well otherwise. I stayed up late the night before, so I'm going to bed early to get ready for another big day of exploring!
Tuesday
We got into our lovely private coach and left for Oxford around 8, although I like always woke up at around 6:30. I'm hoping when I get home I'll be able to knock that off, because I'm not going to bed early enough for that to be ok.
We got to Oxford university (which is actually not a university. It's more like the administration building for a bunch of other independent schools, and it just does the big standardized tests) and all the different universities and branches are all over the city. It was a huge college town. It was cool, but we were originally going to see Ted's daughter, who went to grad school here. Instead we were just given maps and told to explore, which, I am just kind of tired of. I know it's partly me being lazy, but I am tired of being dumped in an area that I'm not sure the significance of or what I should see, and then cut to Paige spending a few hours wandering around. I miss seeing museums with art we studied, or architecture we learned about, or now, plays we've read.
So I got a manicure.
Kind of lame, but at the same time it felt so so so nice to pamper at least one part of my body. Plus, it gave me one on one time with a local who then told me the places I should visit, like a church part of Harry potter was filmed in (I didn't go). Her idea of small talk started directly with "so how's the job situation over there? We here it's quite poor", which Marc and ted totally prepared us for, so I got to talk politics and economics for a while. Then we talked about different school systems, and how college means more liked 2 year program, but a university was where you got a degree (I assured her that my school would be changing their name to university next year. Haha). It was interesting times for sure,and I think I learned a lot more with her than if I had wandered with my map.
We were supposed to see Charlecote Mansion and Gardens, but they lost our reservation so instead we went to ???. It was a big mansion with huge tulip gardens. The staff was really helpful and nice about telling us little bits of information, and the backyard was really pretty. The weather had just brightened up too, so that was a nice change of pace.
We got to our holiday inn, which is huge and lovely with multiple pillows and big squishy beds. We couldn't be happier. Stratford itself is surprisingly large; there are a LOT of little shops all over the place. They have a "lush", which is this homemade cosmetics store that i really like; its against testing on animals,and they have petitions and you can sign the window of their store front...just really fun.
Tonight we saw Shakespeare's "comedy of errors", and it was fantastic. Th directing was really clever, the actors were funny, and it was just very fresh without being too dorky. I loved it. It was a modernized set and costumes, but they kept all the original words and just emphasized certain things a little more or less. I thought it was hilarious. I still need to write my academic journal entry for it though, so that's what I'm off to do next.
Internet here is ridiculously expensive, so I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to post these blogs. Maybe at the theater. But if they don't show up until after I'm home, or Thursday night when we're at the airport hotel, that's why.
We got to Oxford university (which is actually not a university. It's more like the administration building for a bunch of other independent schools, and it just does the big standardized tests) and all the different universities and branches are all over the city. It was a huge college town. It was cool, but we were originally going to see Ted's daughter, who went to grad school here. Instead we were just given maps and told to explore, which, I am just kind of tired of. I know it's partly me being lazy, but I am tired of being dumped in an area that I'm not sure the significance of or what I should see, and then cut to Paige spending a few hours wandering around. I miss seeing museums with art we studied, or architecture we learned about, or now, plays we've read.
So I got a manicure.
Kind of lame, but at the same time it felt so so so nice to pamper at least one part of my body. Plus, it gave me one on one time with a local who then told me the places I should visit, like a church part of Harry potter was filmed in (I didn't go). Her idea of small talk started directly with "so how's the job situation over there? We here it's quite poor", which Marc and ted totally prepared us for, so I got to talk politics and economics for a while. Then we talked about different school systems, and how college means more liked 2 year program, but a university was where you got a degree (I assured her that my school would be changing their name to university next year. Haha). It was interesting times for sure,and I think I learned a lot more with her than if I had wandered with my map.
We were supposed to see Charlecote Mansion and Gardens, but they lost our reservation so instead we went to ???. It was a big mansion with huge tulip gardens. The staff was really helpful and nice about telling us little bits of information, and the backyard was really pretty. The weather had just brightened up too, so that was a nice change of pace.
We got to our holiday inn, which is huge and lovely with multiple pillows and big squishy beds. We couldn't be happier. Stratford itself is surprisingly large; there are a LOT of little shops all over the place. They have a "lush", which is this homemade cosmetics store that i really like; its against testing on animals,and they have petitions and you can sign the window of their store front...just really fun.
Tonight we saw Shakespeare's "comedy of errors", and it was fantastic. Th directing was really clever, the actors were funny, and it was just very fresh without being too dorky. I loved it. It was a modernized set and costumes, but they kept all the original words and just emphasized certain things a little more or less. I thought it was hilarious. I still need to write my academic journal entry for it though, so that's what I'm off to do next.
Internet here is ridiculously expensive, so I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to post these blogs. Maybe at the theater. But if they don't show up until after I'm home, or Thursday night when we're at the airport hotel, that's why.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Monday
Today was our last day In London, but since we didn't actually stay in London... It was kind of rushed at the end to fit in what we wanted to do. Since we're leaving for Stratford tomorrow I think we all felt like we would still be here, and then we realized being in England didn't mean we would still be in London.
Exciting news time, I finally killed my memory card the other day, so I put the third one in! Sad news time- my adaptor/fuse box melted, so I'll have to go the rest of the trip borrowing someone's. A girl was borrowing my hair drye and I forgot to mention that it gets hot- then when she went to take it out of the wall, the prongs warped because the plastic around it melted. Oopies. One less thing to carry around in the (still unnamed) suitcase.
First we went to Stonehenge, which I know Doug really wanted me to like but it was so cold, and raining really hard, and I just wanted to be war and dry. We got an audio guide too, but It was too cold to hold it to my ear. I hear it snowed at home too, so it must have just been everywhere. Anyway,we mutinied against marc and just got back on the bus so we could leave after we took some pictures.
Next was Salisbury cathedral, which had the manga carta in it, which is kind of like the British version of the declaration of independance. We were supposed to go to some gardens and mansion next, but Marc called it off because it was so cold and wet, and he knew we were just not having it. Instead we went to Winchester chapel, where Jane Austen is buried. There's also a cute little town with a little shopping street. I didn't bring my purse, do I didn't have much,but I was able to get some fun jewelry for a few pounds, so that was a success.
When we came back Meghan and I wanted to go shopping,but our oyster cards didn't work anymore so we had to buy tickets for the tube, which was incredibly expensive (I suspect we did something wrong). We went to top shop, which is the awesome clothing store here, but I didn't find anything I liked because I have gotten so fat on this trip, and I hate dressing rooms. So instead we went and found a stupid touristy store so I could get some stickers and dumb presents. Maggie needs everything here, but I already get her her presents. If I could go back and do it over, Doug would just get things from Germany, Maggie from England, and my family from Italy. I didn't really see anything in France for anyone, except crepes for myself.
It was our last time on the tube, which was sad. England public transportation, while being a little harder to navigate, I thought, was the friendliest. It wasn't like France, where the doors would crush small children and take no prisoners, or Italy where everything was a little shady and no one was there to help. Here there are fun posters and video screens everywhere (look up mayor of London posters on google- its like their psa here, but they're kind of fun) and people at each terminal to make sure if you need help someone can assist you. I felt London, in general, was more concerned with making things convenient and easy. Not in a McDonald's, American way, more like a very hospitable mother kind of way. Like when I bring home rats over the summer, and she doesn't necessarily love them,but she will be polite and make sure their needs are met.
So that's London! Hopefully in Stratford there are still signs on the street that say "look left" to remind tourists not to step out in traffic, because I still haven't gotten the hang of which direction a car will come from here.
I think Stratford is going to fly by- I can't wait for the Shakespeare stuff,and then 3 days later I'll be on my way home!
Exciting news time, I finally killed my memory card the other day, so I put the third one in! Sad news time- my adaptor/fuse box melted, so I'll have to go the rest of the trip borrowing someone's. A girl was borrowing my hair drye and I forgot to mention that it gets hot- then when she went to take it out of the wall, the prongs warped because the plastic around it melted. Oopies. One less thing to carry around in the (still unnamed) suitcase.
First we went to Stonehenge, which I know Doug really wanted me to like but it was so cold, and raining really hard, and I just wanted to be war and dry. We got an audio guide too, but It was too cold to hold it to my ear. I hear it snowed at home too, so it must have just been everywhere. Anyway,we mutinied against marc and just got back on the bus so we could leave after we took some pictures.
Next was Salisbury cathedral, which had the manga carta in it, which is kind of like the British version of the declaration of independance. We were supposed to go to some gardens and mansion next, but Marc called it off because it was so cold and wet, and he knew we were just not having it. Instead we went to Winchester chapel, where Jane Austen is buried. There's also a cute little town with a little shopping street. I didn't bring my purse, do I didn't have much,but I was able to get some fun jewelry for a few pounds, so that was a success.
When we came back Meghan and I wanted to go shopping,but our oyster cards didn't work anymore so we had to buy tickets for the tube, which was incredibly expensive (I suspect we did something wrong). We went to top shop, which is the awesome clothing store here, but I didn't find anything I liked because I have gotten so fat on this trip, and I hate dressing rooms. So instead we went and found a stupid touristy store so I could get some stickers and dumb presents. Maggie needs everything here, but I already get her her presents. If I could go back and do it over, Doug would just get things from Germany, Maggie from England, and my family from Italy. I didn't really see anything in France for anyone, except crepes for myself.
It was our last time on the tube, which was sad. England public transportation, while being a little harder to navigate, I thought, was the friendliest. It wasn't like France, where the doors would crush small children and take no prisoners, or Italy where everything was a little shady and no one was there to help. Here there are fun posters and video screens everywhere (look up mayor of London posters on google- its like their psa here, but they're kind of fun) and people at each terminal to make sure if you need help someone can assist you. I felt London, in general, was more concerned with making things convenient and easy. Not in a McDonald's, American way, more like a very hospitable mother kind of way. Like when I bring home rats over the summer, and she doesn't necessarily love them,but she will be polite and make sure their needs are met.
So that's London! Hopefully in Stratford there are still signs on the street that say "look left" to remind tourists not to step out in traffic, because I still haven't gotten the hang of which direction a car will come from here.
I think Stratford is going to fly by- I can't wait for the Shakespeare stuff,and then 3 days later I'll be on my way home!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday -free day!
For my free day I planned on doing the Magical Mystery Tour, a 6 pound walking tour of Beatles sites. We saw clubs and theaters they played in, Paul's offices, the building they performed on the roof of (abercrombie and Fitch just bought it) and other little areas in Westminster. It ended at Abbey road and the studio. I did NOT take a picture walking across it, because it isn't even a cross walk anymore and the people that do it are just running out in front of traffic. There's even a fence around it to try and discourage people. I'm such a grouch about this, and I know I'm no fun, but I hate touristy pictures like that, especially when I'm inconveniencing other people that don't want to stop for the stupid tourist in the middle of the road. I can just imagine driving to work everyday and watching people standing at the side of the road every time, waiting to run out and pose.
End rant.
It was a little sunny out still, so I walked to Hyde park and stopped at the palace to take some pictures. The London marathon was today, and though I couldn't get close enough to see the runners I was still in the middle of the crowd for a while. The park was lovely, but by the time I got through all the other stuff it had started to rain again, so I took the tube back to the hotel.
Meghan and I found each other, and we hadn't caught up on what had been going on for a while so we went to a cafe and did some journals and chatted. It was nice, since we're in the same place for a lot of things on the trip, and have some of the same worries. We got some journals done and talked about what we expected of Stratford, which we leave for on Tuesday.
I got back to the hotel and did some laundry in the sink, which proved easier than finding a place to hang the clothes to dry. Our room is looking pretty ridiculous right now, but at least I won't run out of socks and underwear before next week. Now I'm chowing on some noodles I over-microwaved and watching the French elections. I've packed and unpacked my suitcase a few times, and I can fit everything in it easily, but I'm not sure about the weight for the flight back. It seems unlikely that I've accumulated 20 pounds, but you never know...
Tomorrow is our day trip to Stonehenge, and well have lots of time on our private coach,which you all know is my favorite way to travel :) I'm looking forward to an easy day that someone else has planned for me. Im currently busy planning my time at home, but I bet I'll get burnt out much before I think. I know I'm getting ahead of myself with things, but I just want to keep this momentum!
Saturday
Happy 86th Birthday to the queen today! There was a 62 gun salute at the tower of London, but we ended up leaving before it happened.
I don't know what I was expecting for tower of London...I think just a single tower, or turret, or something, which goes to show how much I was paying attention to architecture class before we left (I was struggling with art history). It's more like a castle, so I got way more towers than I bargained for.
We got to see the crown jewels, which was just as impressive as you might imagine. I learned a lot about the coronation ceremony, and how each monarchy's crown is different/special. The room has one of those flat escalators, like the moving floors in the airport or penguin exhibit at the zoo, so no one could crowd around too much.
We saw the ravens, which are caged there because one king (I don't remember, again. Womp.) was under the impression that if the ravens left, he and the castle would fall. There also used to be all sorts of zoo animals that were really poorly cared for because they didn't know what to do with them. Animals from different continents being housed together and eating each other, stuff like that.
We saw the bloody tower and learned about some scandals. There was the torture tower, which was kind of creepy, especially with the interactive audio system of screaming people. There was also a barrel that someone was drowned in, but it had this video screen on it that if you look on top there was a face in it being drowned. Grody.
Alex and Dominique and I were going to see Sweeney Todd, it we had some extra time so we stopped at Baker Street and found the Sherlock Holmes museum. We didn't actually go in, but we stopped at the gift shop to see if there were any goodies. Most of it was really expensive, but still fun.
I'd never seen Sweeney Todd live before, just the movie. It was surprisingly similar, just a little darker and more gruff. Helena Bonham carter and Johnny Depp are both incredibly beautiful people, and Michael ball and Imelda Staunton (prof. umbridge from Harry potter) played characters that were harder to sympathize with. The result is me caring a little less how it ends, and not being entirely sure what side I'm on. I guess the characters were just a little less likable. It was still a brilliant performance though, and I'm so glad I went.
I had a hard time figuring out to do with my day after that, though. We played pretend April reign and kept updates on how things were going at home, but I was in a weird mood from the show and was feeling pretty disassociated from what was happening at campus. I did finally get to Skype Doug though, which was the first time since Rome, so that was really nice. I got to see Maggie too. I miss them both like crazy, so it was nice to have that for a little bit.
Shout out to my alpha sig brothers at home- April reign champs 2012! I'm such a proud sister. Wore the letters the next day to represent :)
I don't know what I was expecting for tower of London...I think just a single tower, or turret, or something, which goes to show how much I was paying attention to architecture class before we left (I was struggling with art history). It's more like a castle, so I got way more towers than I bargained for.
We got to see the crown jewels, which was just as impressive as you might imagine. I learned a lot about the coronation ceremony, and how each monarchy's crown is different/special. The room has one of those flat escalators, like the moving floors in the airport or penguin exhibit at the zoo, so no one could crowd around too much.
We saw the ravens, which are caged there because one king (I don't remember, again. Womp.) was under the impression that if the ravens left, he and the castle would fall. There also used to be all sorts of zoo animals that were really poorly cared for because they didn't know what to do with them. Animals from different continents being housed together and eating each other, stuff like that.
We saw the bloody tower and learned about some scandals. There was the torture tower, which was kind of creepy, especially with the interactive audio system of screaming people. There was also a barrel that someone was drowned in, but it had this video screen on it that if you look on top there was a face in it being drowned. Grody.
Alex and Dominique and I were going to see Sweeney Todd, it we had some extra time so we stopped at Baker Street and found the Sherlock Holmes museum. We didn't actually go in, but we stopped at the gift shop to see if there were any goodies. Most of it was really expensive, but still fun.
I'd never seen Sweeney Todd live before, just the movie. It was surprisingly similar, just a little darker and more gruff. Helena Bonham carter and Johnny Depp are both incredibly beautiful people, and Michael ball and Imelda Staunton (prof. umbridge from Harry potter) played characters that were harder to sympathize with. The result is me caring a little less how it ends, and not being entirely sure what side I'm on. I guess the characters were just a little less likable. It was still a brilliant performance though, and I'm so glad I went.
I had a hard time figuring out to do with my day after that, though. We played pretend April reign and kept updates on how things were going at home, but I was in a weird mood from the show and was feeling pretty disassociated from what was happening at campus. I did finally get to Skype Doug though, which was the first time since Rome, so that was really nice. I got to see Maggie too. I miss them both like crazy, so it was nice to have that for a little bit.
Shout out to my alpha sig brothers at home- April reign champs 2012! I'm such a proud sister. Wore the letters the next day to represent :)
Friday, April 20, 2012
A foggy day in London town.
But seriously. They aren't joking about this weather.
Today was a boring day (but in an excellent way. I needed it).
We walked around a church that was too expensive to go in, and then walked around to enjoy the nice weather. On our way to the next museum we crossed the millennium bridge- for a frame of reference, the walking bridge that the death eaters twist to shit in the 6th(?) Harry potter movie to scare all the muggles.
We went to the Tate modern, which is the modern and contemporary art museum of London. I just don't get it. Some of it was closer to pop art though, so I wasn't completely lost, and there's also interactive computers to help you out.
After that... Shopping, wandering in the rain, and an Americanized lunch led me eventually to the hotel, where I've spent most of the day finishing journal entries and watching British reality tv. I'm just tired of being in the rain. I went grocery shopping and have some nice snacks for the next few days (I am currently obsessing over digestive biscuits).
Basically nothing to report, other than I bought my ticket to see Sweeney Todd tomorrow, which I am so so excited for. I want to see Chicago, but it's just going on my list for when I'm home; it doesn't make sense to see it anywhere but in Chicago. But Sweeney Todd in London?
My life just keeps getting cooler.
Today was a boring day (but in an excellent way. I needed it).
We walked around a church that was too expensive to go in, and then walked around to enjoy the nice weather. On our way to the next museum we crossed the millennium bridge- for a frame of reference, the walking bridge that the death eaters twist to shit in the 6th(?) Harry potter movie to scare all the muggles.
We went to the Tate modern, which is the modern and contemporary art museum of London. I just don't get it. Some of it was closer to pop art though, so I wasn't completely lost, and there's also interactive computers to help you out.
After that... Shopping, wandering in the rain, and an Americanized lunch led me eventually to the hotel, where I've spent most of the day finishing journal entries and watching British reality tv. I'm just tired of being in the rain. I went grocery shopping and have some nice snacks for the next few days (I am currently obsessing over digestive biscuits).
Basically nothing to report, other than I bought my ticket to see Sweeney Todd tomorrow, which I am so so excited for. I want to see Chicago, but it's just going on my list for when I'm home; it doesn't make sense to see it anywhere but in Chicago. But Sweeney Todd in London?
My life just keeps getting cooler.
Thursday
Thursday
Today we went to the Tate Britain, which is another of britains many fine free museums. Nothing was in it we had studied though, except for a small exhibit on turner.
Next we went to the part of town with the Victoria and Albert museum and the national history museum. The sun came out finally, so instead we walked down the street to Harrods, which was like a huge department store but for incredibly rich and fashionable people. A clothing museum. It had at least 4 floors and took up the entire block. It was like the place the brats on 'my super sweet 16' would fly out to get dresses for their party.
We stopped at a much cheaper area and I got a dress for graduation that I love, and was on sale, so now I officially have my England purchase.
Stopped at kings cross, and dound platform 9 3/4, which is NOT between platforms 9 and 10. Its actually just outside if platform 9, so you can take a picture with it even if you dint have a train ticket or an oyster card. It was fun, because true to the book, it was hard to find and just kind of unnoticeable.
Then we came back to the hotel and Megan made a grilled cheese sandwich in our tiny kitchen while I had some microwaveable popcorn. Comfort food for all.
Then we went to our final play at the national theater, "mister man". It was bizarre. Very disturbing, and unsettling, but so so good. It's a one man show from the perspective of a ?crazy? man/child who is doing gods work by spreading the word in his small town, but is also kind of a psychopath. I forget the actors name, but he did an amazing job. He was in inception, if that helps anyone. You would have to see it to even imagine what it was like; it was very different. There were a bunch of recordings and he would carry through life like he was reliving what happened the first time he recorded it, but he would leave parts out when he was thrust back into the present and then you would find out what you missed from the first time... Bizarre.
Tomorrow is pretty clear in the schedule, which is great.. I'm ready to catch up on my journals and get everything reorganized. Maybe even get back to a little reading!
Today we went to the Tate Britain, which is another of britains many fine free museums. Nothing was in it we had studied though, except for a small exhibit on turner.
Next we went to the part of town with the Victoria and Albert museum and the national history museum. The sun came out finally, so instead we walked down the street to Harrods, which was like a huge department store but for incredibly rich and fashionable people. A clothing museum. It had at least 4 floors and took up the entire block. It was like the place the brats on 'my super sweet 16' would fly out to get dresses for their party.
We stopped at a much cheaper area and I got a dress for graduation that I love, and was on sale, so now I officially have my England purchase.
Stopped at kings cross, and dound platform 9 3/4, which is NOT between platforms 9 and 10. Its actually just outside if platform 9, so you can take a picture with it even if you dint have a train ticket or an oyster card. It was fun, because true to the book, it was hard to find and just kind of unnoticeable.
Then we came back to the hotel and Megan made a grilled cheese sandwich in our tiny kitchen while I had some microwaveable popcorn. Comfort food for all.
Then we went to our final play at the national theater, "mister man". It was bizarre. Very disturbing, and unsettling, but so so good. It's a one man show from the perspective of a ?crazy? man/child who is doing gods work by spreading the word in his small town, but is also kind of a psychopath. I forget the actors name, but he did an amazing job. He was in inception, if that helps anyone. You would have to see it to even imagine what it was like; it was very different. There were a bunch of recordings and he would carry through life like he was reliving what happened the first time he recorded it, but he would leave parts out when he was thrust back into the present and then you would find out what you missed from the first time... Bizarre.
Tomorrow is pretty clear in the schedule, which is great.. I'm ready to catch up on my journals and get everything reorganized. Maybe even get back to a little reading!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday; Harry Potter day!
Found out this morning that the Tube workers are going on strike on Tuesday, which is the day we leave for stratford via coach. We just barely avoided that inconvenience, thank goodness. I can't even imagine trying to deal with that.
We went to the British museum for our day activity, but I didn't know anything in it and was really just over it. Don't get m wrong, the museums have been cool, but now that we're getting into the plays that's what I'm interested in. Plus, today was Harry potter day, so I was a bit proccupied.
I wandered around down near the museum before it was time for us to leave, and found a subway (like, the sandwhich restaurant) and a grocery store. It gave me a chance to pick up some lunch, since we wouldn't have time between Harry potter at 1 and our play at 7.
It was quite the adventure getting to harry potter. We had to take two metro switches to the overground, where we had to pay on our oyster card to get into the further districts.we were lucky that we got there 10 minutes before the next train. It took about 45 minutes, but we got to leaves don, where the Harry potter bus picked us up and brought us to the studio.
It was amazing. I saw EVERYTHING. Costumes, props, sets. The people working there were mostly extras in the movie that were huge Harry potter buffs. I got butter beer, which was delicious, and the whole thing last about 2 hours, but I could have stayed longer. You start in a theater, watch an intro movie, then go straight into the great hall. They give you a Mini guided tour, then set you free into this huge room of everything you could ever want to see. Then as you come out of there, about an hour later, you're in the backlot where you see the houses and the night bus and some snack shops. Then you walk into another studio where you see even more stuff.finally, you turn the corner and go into diagon alley, and walk through to the huge model of Hogwarts. It was at this point I was so overwhelmed I cried, which is probably the reaction I should have had for Michelangelo. But this is my childhood.
Went to the gift shop, got some stuff I don't need- it was expensive though, so i wasn't able to shop for anyone else,which made me sad. I didn't get myself a ravenclaw shirt, but I figured that's something I can get anywhere.
We booked itback to the train, which I jumped on and then the doors shut before the other three got on. I just turned around and saw them still on the platform, and my eyes got huge. I went back to the theater alone then,and made it in time- the next train didn't leave for a while, so they ended up having to rush.
We saw "moon over a rainbow shawl", which I hated. I'm kind of curious to hear what Thomas or uncle Peter think of it, but to me it was just an unrelatable winey poor person show. Wah, my husband is a drunk,and I'm poor, and the mean land lord makes me pay for my apartment,and my daughter got a scholarship but can't afford a uniform. Wah, I'm pregnant and the dad is leaving town. Wah, I'm a prostitute and my fiance doesnt like that. It just seemed really formulated. Also, any show that just ends with two crying people hugging each other is lame. You aren't lofty and artistic,you're just lazy. Make a damn conclusion.
So, getting gradually more and more homesick. Ready to keep moving and get to the end of this marathon. I don't mean to complain, and this is a great opportunity; but you can only go without sleeping and eating and so many overwhelming opportunities. I'm officially starting to drag.
We went to the British museum for our day activity, but I didn't know anything in it and was really just over it. Don't get m wrong, the museums have been cool, but now that we're getting into the plays that's what I'm interested in. Plus, today was Harry potter day, so I was a bit proccupied.
I wandered around down near the museum before it was time for us to leave, and found a subway (like, the sandwhich restaurant) and a grocery store. It gave me a chance to pick up some lunch, since we wouldn't have time between Harry potter at 1 and our play at 7.
It was quite the adventure getting to harry potter. We had to take two metro switches to the overground, where we had to pay on our oyster card to get into the further districts.we were lucky that we got there 10 minutes before the next train. It took about 45 minutes, but we got to leaves don, where the Harry potter bus picked us up and brought us to the studio.
It was amazing. I saw EVERYTHING. Costumes, props, sets. The people working there were mostly extras in the movie that were huge Harry potter buffs. I got butter beer, which was delicious, and the whole thing last about 2 hours, but I could have stayed longer. You start in a theater, watch an intro movie, then go straight into the great hall. They give you a Mini guided tour, then set you free into this huge room of everything you could ever want to see. Then as you come out of there, about an hour later, you're in the backlot where you see the houses and the night bus and some snack shops. Then you walk into another studio where you see even more stuff.finally, you turn the corner and go into diagon alley, and walk through to the huge model of Hogwarts. It was at this point I was so overwhelmed I cried, which is probably the reaction I should have had for Michelangelo. But this is my childhood.
Went to the gift shop, got some stuff I don't need- it was expensive though, so i wasn't able to shop for anyone else,which made me sad. I didn't get myself a ravenclaw shirt, but I figured that's something I can get anywhere.
We booked itback to the train, which I jumped on and then the doors shut before the other three got on. I just turned around and saw them still on the platform, and my eyes got huge. I went back to the theater alone then,and made it in time- the next train didn't leave for a while, so they ended up having to rush.
We saw "moon over a rainbow shawl", which I hated. I'm kind of curious to hear what Thomas or uncle Peter think of it, but to me it was just an unrelatable winey poor person show. Wah, my husband is a drunk,and I'm poor, and the mean land lord makes me pay for my apartment,and my daughter got a scholarship but can't afford a uniform. Wah, I'm pregnant and the dad is leaving town. Wah, I'm a prostitute and my fiance doesnt like that. It just seemed really formulated. Also, any show that just ends with two crying people hugging each other is lame. You aren't lofty and artistic,you're just lazy. Make a damn conclusion.
So, getting gradually more and more homesick. Ready to keep moving and get to the end of this marathon. I don't mean to complain, and this is a great opportunity; but you can only go without sleeping and eating and so many overwhelming opportunities. I'm officially starting to drag.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tuesday in London
So, I knew I loved London, but when I got up for breakfast and they served me bacon and eggs with toast, it solidified the union. We are going to live happily ever after.
We started with Westminster Abbey, which was completely different from what I expected but still very cool. We got little walking tour buddies, these hand held Walkman type things that give you and audio tour as you walk through. I learned a lot compared to if I just stumbled around trying to find things. Poets corner was easily my favorite.
Then we went to the banqueting hall, which was super lame in comparison. Basically it was the first example of baroque story building in London, but really not very flashy baroque compared to what was going on in Italy. So it was just a sad comparison. Like "this is what they were doing when the Italians were making all those awesome churches". Sorry London.
We went to the national gallery, which was free, and saw some more art. Meghan and I walked around and adventured, until it started raining and hailing . Silly London weather. Then we stopped for lunch, I grabbed some groceries, and ran back to the hotel for a little nap before our play.
We saw "she stoops to conquer" at the national theater, and I loved it. Way funnier than when we watched the video during class, although s lot of people were surprised that it was 3 hours long. I'm so happy though; I went through all the art galleries for all the art history people, and now we finally get to get into the theater and English parts of the trip.
I'm getting gradually more home sick, but only 8 more days after today. I'm deffinitely ready to come home, but I'm not sure about the adjustment from going to constantly moving and carrying my suitcase to staying in one space. It sounds so nice and comfortable, but I was also getting used to this too.
But, no. I'm ready for home.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Monday in London
Monday
I am in London, and quite possibly never coming home. But seriously, I love it here and can't wait to figure out how I'm going to pay for a summer semester of classes.
We got here via tube, under the English channel. Not much to report there; it just felt like any other train ride, which just makes me sleepy. When we got here we found our hotel which is tinnnnyyyy, but only enough that climbing up two flights of stairs with luggage was a serious challenge. It's kind of jank and falling apart, but it has character, and will give us some for staying here.
We went on our walking tour of London, and stopped in Green Park to sit in the grass and just talk about our experience. It was nice to just sit back with everyone, and talk about our different worries and what we expect when we come home.
Then we walked through Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, The Strand, Whitehall down to Westminster Abbey. There is just so Much here! Shops and restaurants and performers and anything else you could ever hope for. Live shows I would love to see, if I could afford it (Chicago being one) and huge monuments...this is the place I will not have enough time for. Hopefully going to 21 Baker St and Fleet St while I'm here, too.
We found a store that was full of amazing things I wanted... There was a yellow submarine tea diffuser, which Maggie totally needs but I couldn't afford, and the funkiest painted toasters. Ellie Golding was on the radio, which just made it all perfect. I love you, England.
Alex, Dominique, kristen, Kaitlin and I went to a pub for dinner, where I got this really good
Pear and apple cider and a sandwhich. Then we found this comedy club in this tiny hole in the wall that was free, and had cheap drinks. It was really fun, and deffinitely not touristy, which was cool. They cracked some American jokes but most of them rang true, and there was an abundance of British humor, which is not for everyone but we all liked.
Then we came back to the hotel, satisfied with our day and ready to pass out on the cardboard mattress. I slept so well though, I was too tired to even care,which is the whole point of the trip.
I am in London, and quite possibly never coming home. But seriously, I love it here and can't wait to figure out how I'm going to pay for a summer semester of classes.
We got here via tube, under the English channel. Not much to report there; it just felt like any other train ride, which just makes me sleepy. When we got here we found our hotel which is tinnnnyyyy, but only enough that climbing up two flights of stairs with luggage was a serious challenge. It's kind of jank and falling apart, but it has character, and will give us some for staying here.
We went on our walking tour of London, and stopped in Green Park to sit in the grass and just talk about our experience. It was nice to just sit back with everyone, and talk about our different worries and what we expect when we come home.
Then we walked through Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, The Strand, Whitehall down to Westminster Abbey. There is just so Much here! Shops and restaurants and performers and anything else you could ever hope for. Live shows I would love to see, if I could afford it (Chicago being one) and huge monuments...this is the place I will not have enough time for. Hopefully going to 21 Baker St and Fleet St while I'm here, too.
We found a store that was full of amazing things I wanted... There was a yellow submarine tea diffuser, which Maggie totally needs but I couldn't afford, and the funkiest painted toasters. Ellie Golding was on the radio, which just made it all perfect. I love you, England.
Alex, Dominique, kristen, Kaitlin and I went to a pub for dinner, where I got this really good
Pear and apple cider and a sandwhich. Then we found this comedy club in this tiny hole in the wall that was free, and had cheap drinks. It was really fun, and deffinitely not touristy, which was cool. They cracked some American jokes but most of them rang true, and there was an abundance of British humor, which is not for everyone but we all liked.
Then we came back to the hotel, satisfied with our day and ready to pass out on the cardboard mattress. I slept so well though, I was too tired to even care,which is the whole point of the trip.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Friday- I'n catching up, I swear
I let myself sleep in a little bit today, but then it occurred to me that 8:30 has become "sleeping in", which feels like a very grow up accomplishment. My 9am sign language class isn't sounding so bad next semester.
Laundry day means hauling everything in plastic bags down two blocks to the tiny laundromat and relearning how the machines work- these ones were easier than the ones in Italy, and I could understand the directions a little better as well. There was a woman who kept coming in and muttering to herself, then she would go play with the dryers and get frustrated and yell at them, then leave while talking to herself about something upsetting, having to do with dryers. A little unnerving, but hardly exciting.
I went on the metro to make an excursion to northern Paris to see moulin rouge. We were instructed to not go far north, because it was shady (kind of like the elephant graveyard). I wanted to see it though, and so little Paige got herself into the red light district of Paris. I've probably never been sexually harassed more in my life, but it was daytime and I am here to tell the story. Moulin rouge, kind of disappointing. Not really a big deal at all.
I wanted to get myself a nice pair of earrings, but apparently this is an impossible task. I found a comic book district; thought about getting something for Harry, but most of it was English stuff anyways. Sorry brudder. The whole day was just a lot of that; wandering around and not finding what I wanted. I found a store in the 3rd district, but it was more like a pawn shop, and I gave up.
I wanted to go to musee d'orsay since I wasn't into it when we went the first time, but it was closed. Then it started to rain, and I ran into a little boutique to hide, where I found some stupid souvenirs for people. So even though the day was a failure as far as my goals, I did successfully get some gifts, and proved my metro mastery.
Now meghan and I are spending the night in, talking about what we've seen so far and how the rest of our lives could possibly compare. I don't know how to hold on to everything I've learned and the changes in myself, but still adapt to being back home. Something to consider. It's like a bigger version of when I left for college; I changed, but nothing else at home did.
Laundry day means hauling everything in plastic bags down two blocks to the tiny laundromat and relearning how the machines work- these ones were easier than the ones in Italy, and I could understand the directions a little better as well. There was a woman who kept coming in and muttering to herself, then she would go play with the dryers and get frustrated and yell at them, then leave while talking to herself about something upsetting, having to do with dryers. A little unnerving, but hardly exciting.
I went on the metro to make an excursion to northern Paris to see moulin rouge. We were instructed to not go far north, because it was shady (kind of like the elephant graveyard). I wanted to see it though, and so little Paige got herself into the red light district of Paris. I've probably never been sexually harassed more in my life, but it was daytime and I am here to tell the story. Moulin rouge, kind of disappointing. Not really a big deal at all.
I wanted to get myself a nice pair of earrings, but apparently this is an impossible task. I found a comic book district; thought about getting something for Harry, but most of it was English stuff anyways. Sorry brudder. The whole day was just a lot of that; wandering around and not finding what I wanted. I found a store in the 3rd district, but it was more like a pawn shop, and I gave up.
I wanted to go to musee d'orsay since I wasn't into it when we went the first time, but it was closed. Then it started to rain, and I ran into a little boutique to hide, where I found some stupid souvenirs for people. So even though the day was a failure as far as my goals, I did successfully get some gifts, and proved my metro mastery.
Now meghan and I are spending the night in, talking about what we've seen so far and how the rest of our lives could possibly compare. I don't know how to hold on to everything I've learned and the changes in myself, but still adapt to being back home. Something to consider. It's like a bigger version of when I left for college; I changed, but nothing else at home did.
Thursday- versailles!
Today was our day trip to Versailles! I feel like this is what I've been looking for the whole trip, and it was at the end- the end of Paris, which was tHe end of the trip. We even learned about it towards the end of the mini ester of classes. So it was a weird point in time to reach, this end of ends. I'm certainly excited for London, too, but this was big on the timeline.
The palace was made by king Louis, the sun god, and Marie Antoinette. Basically they wanted to be away from Paris, but to still make themselves important they just built this huge palace and grounds area that they had other important people live in. Inside the palace someone made e comment that "it looked like all the other palaces we've seen"- which is totally true- but how cool/bratty is it that it's a statement I have the authority to say? "Oh, you know. It was cool, but once you've seen ones lace, you've really seen them all".
The hall of mirrors was the highlight of the indoor portion- we had studied it in class, and it was cool to be there in person. It has so much history, and for whatever reason I dig the French revolution.
The main attraction, however, is the huge garden and outdoor area. There's a canal you can row boats in, and the whole thing is so big that they also have golf carts and bike rentals. We opted for bikes, since you had to be 24 to rent a golf cart (another luxury I was used to relying on Doug for. I don't remember the last time it crossed my mind that I wasn't old enough).
It was SO beautiful. The weather was perfect, and biking worked some muscles that hadn't been doing as much work with all the walking, as well as giving some of the blisters a break. We got to see this little town Marie Antoinette made- a little creepy, but still super pretty. It was basically a fake town she played pretend in to act like she was in the real world. Except it also had a petting zoo and fairy tale like cottages. Whatever makes you happy, I guess.
After our day in Versailles (I'm not going to do much more explaining, it's all about the pictures for this one. Unfortunately I don't have a bunch, since I was biking), we went to the Museo d'orsay for the impressionist art. I didn't stay long because my feet were all swollen again, so I nt back to the hotel and cleaned up and did everything to get ready for my free day.
I'm not sure what's going on with my feet. I don't want them to feel under appreciated; they're doing some tough work. But I don't feel like anyone else is having this much of a struggle. Everyone has a blister or two, but mine are legitimately making me gimpy and unable to walk, like the time I broke out in hives and couldn't go to school because my feet were too swollen to hold me up.
Hopefully by tomorrow they will be well rested, but if anyone has any suggestions for taking care of them- I'm open to anything. I've tried propping them up, bandaids, lotion, massage, and prayer. Snake oil is still a consideration.
The palace was made by king Louis, the sun god, and Marie Antoinette. Basically they wanted to be away from Paris, but to still make themselves important they just built this huge palace and grounds area that they had other important people live in. Inside the palace someone made e comment that "it looked like all the other palaces we've seen"- which is totally true- but how cool/bratty is it that it's a statement I have the authority to say? "Oh, you know. It was cool, but once you've seen ones lace, you've really seen them all".
The hall of mirrors was the highlight of the indoor portion- we had studied it in class, and it was cool to be there in person. It has so much history, and for whatever reason I dig the French revolution.
The main attraction, however, is the huge garden and outdoor area. There's a canal you can row boats in, and the whole thing is so big that they also have golf carts and bike rentals. We opted for bikes, since you had to be 24 to rent a golf cart (another luxury I was used to relying on Doug for. I don't remember the last time it crossed my mind that I wasn't old enough).
It was SO beautiful. The weather was perfect, and biking worked some muscles that hadn't been doing as much work with all the walking, as well as giving some of the blisters a break. We got to see this little town Marie Antoinette made- a little creepy, but still super pretty. It was basically a fake town she played pretend in to act like she was in the real world. Except it also had a petting zoo and fairy tale like cottages. Whatever makes you happy, I guess.
After our day in Versailles (I'm not going to do much more explaining, it's all about the pictures for this one. Unfortunately I don't have a bunch, since I was biking), we went to the Museo d'orsay for the impressionist art. I didn't stay long because my feet were all swollen again, so I nt back to the hotel and cleaned up and did everything to get ready for my free day.
I'm not sure what's going on with my feet. I don't want them to feel under appreciated; they're doing some tough work. But I don't feel like anyone else is having this much of a struggle. Everyone has a blister or two, but mine are legitimately making me gimpy and unable to walk, like the time I broke out in hives and couldn't go to school because my feet were too swollen to hold me up.
Hopefully by tomorrow they will be well rested, but if anyone has any suggestions for taking care of them- I'm open to anything. I've tried propping them up, bandaids, lotion, massage, and prayer. Snake oil is still a consideration.
Wednesday
Ok, so I'm writing this on saturday night, and have almost no recollection of this day other than what I have in my notes. I fell behind, whoops.
We went to the jardin des plants (literally garden of plants) and spent some time there. It was pretty, the weather cooperated, and that's all I remember. There are some cute
Pictures of flowers on my camera. I think we also went to jardin de Luxembourg, which was a similar experience.
We went to the Louvre...but it was crowded, and I was dealing with stuff that was making me cranky, so Meghan just looked at me and said "does your brain not want to go to the louvre today?" so instead we left and wandered around a shopping area, where I found some cute clothes I didn't buy. We can go back during our free day (to the louvre, not the stores).
Anyway, the big exciting part of today was the Eiffel tower! John Meghan and I walked there from a metro stop not nearly close enough for my little legs to like, and then we got our tickets to walk to the second floor. I forget how many steps, but it was a workout, and definitely uncomfortably high, if you aren't a heights person. We opted to go to the top, which required the lift. I'm so glad we did it though; it was SO pretty, and we could see all of the city. We probably stayed up there for almost an hour; we came back down when it was dark. You have to walk the bottom floors (well, you can pay extra for the lift, but we didn't) and my knees were pretty shaky by the end of it.
I sprinted to the bottom though, because st every hour for 5 minutes the tower lights up and sparkles, but it's prettier from further away. I ended up getting myself a stick of cotton candy bigger than my head, and after the five minutes were up we walked back to the hotel. Only we didn't, because we ended up in a circle...and then an hour later, we watched it light up again.
On our way home we crossed a bridge that has all sorts of graffiti on it. I told them to wait, I wanted to read it p, and Meghan replied with "it says megha. Wants cheesecake, let's go!". Turns out it was the bridge princess Diana died under, and it was covered in notes of remembrance to her. Very cool to stumble upon.
So that was as much as I remember about Wednesday! Sorry to keep everyone waiting
We went to the jardin des plants (literally garden of plants) and spent some time there. It was pretty, the weather cooperated, and that's all I remember. There are some cute
Pictures of flowers on my camera. I think we also went to jardin de Luxembourg, which was a similar experience.
We went to the Louvre...but it was crowded, and I was dealing with stuff that was making me cranky, so Meghan just looked at me and said "does your brain not want to go to the louvre today?" so instead we left and wandered around a shopping area, where I found some cute clothes I didn't buy. We can go back during our free day (to the louvre, not the stores).
Anyway, the big exciting part of today was the Eiffel tower! John Meghan and I walked there from a metro stop not nearly close enough for my little legs to like, and then we got our tickets to walk to the second floor. I forget how many steps, but it was a workout, and definitely uncomfortably high, if you aren't a heights person. We opted to go to the top, which required the lift. I'm so glad we did it though; it was SO pretty, and we could see all of the city. We probably stayed up there for almost an hour; we came back down when it was dark. You have to walk the bottom floors (well, you can pay extra for the lift, but we didn't) and my knees were pretty shaky by the end of it.
I sprinted to the bottom though, because st every hour for 5 minutes the tower lights up and sparkles, but it's prettier from further away. I ended up getting myself a stick of cotton candy bigger than my head, and after the five minutes were up we walked back to the hotel. Only we didn't, because we ended up in a circle...and then an hour later, we watched it light up again.
On our way home we crossed a bridge that has all sorts of graffiti on it. I told them to wait, I wanted to read it p, and Meghan replied with "it says megha. Wants cheesecake, let's go!". Turns out it was the bridge princess Diana died under, and it was covered in notes of remembrance to her. Very cool to stumble upon.
So that was as much as I remember about Wednesday! Sorry to keep everyone waiting
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Ok, seriously
I'm not slacking on my posts, I just can't get Internet on my iPad and my iPod doesn't have the blogs typed up on it... So to tide you over, here are some pictures from visiting Monet's house in Giverny, and from inside Notre Dame.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Rain, churches, and mnm overload
Another rainy day in Paris!
We started at Chateau de Vincennes, which was a huge medieval castle. It also had a chapel, but for the most part we just wandered around being not entirely sure what to look at. It was pretty off the touristy path.
Next we went to Montmartre (mountain of the martyrs) where St. Denis carried his head after he was martyred. On top was the Sacre Coeur (sacred heart) chapel, which was another church for all the martyrs. For over a lot of years, there has been someone praying 24/7 in the church, so it was another one of the no photos, dress appropriately kind.
I have mixed feelings about that. I understand being reverent and not treating it like a tourist stop; it sucks that you can't get people to respect a sacred area. But at the same time, if you want it to be treated like a church... Why do you have a gift shop and a pressed coins stand inside the chapel?
We ran around the little square for a while for lunch, and I looked at dorky souvenirs before we left for st. Denis (another chapel). Its a reliquary that used to be the burial place for all the royalty in France, but during the revolution they pulled out all the bodies and dumped them in the river, so now it's just a bunch of memorials and the heart of king Louis the 17th in a glass box.
We were supposed to go on a boat ride on the seine river a few days ago, but we finally made it happen today. It was pretty cold and rainy so everyone was kind of grumbly, but we were pleased to find it was a boat with an indoor structure. It was nice, to just relax and look at Paris but not get rained on.
I got my crepe on the way home (this time from a different crepe man) and then came back to the hotel and ate my weight in peanut mnms. I wasted tonight staying in, I know, and I feel guilty about it, but I'm still working on my list for our free days.
We started at Chateau de Vincennes, which was a huge medieval castle. It also had a chapel, but for the most part we just wandered around being not entirely sure what to look at. It was pretty off the touristy path.
Next we went to Montmartre (mountain of the martyrs) where St. Denis carried his head after he was martyred. On top was the Sacre Coeur (sacred heart) chapel, which was another church for all the martyrs. For over a lot of years, there has been someone praying 24/7 in the church, so it was another one of the no photos, dress appropriately kind.
I have mixed feelings about that. I understand being reverent and not treating it like a tourist stop; it sucks that you can't get people to respect a sacred area. But at the same time, if you want it to be treated like a church... Why do you have a gift shop and a pressed coins stand inside the chapel?
We ran around the little square for a while for lunch, and I looked at dorky souvenirs before we left for st. Denis (another chapel). Its a reliquary that used to be the burial place for all the royalty in France, but during the revolution they pulled out all the bodies and dumped them in the river, so now it's just a bunch of memorials and the heart of king Louis the 17th in a glass box.
We were supposed to go on a boat ride on the seine river a few days ago, but we finally made it happen today. It was pretty cold and rainy so everyone was kind of grumbly, but we were pleased to find it was a boat with an indoor structure. It was nice, to just relax and look at Paris but not get rained on.
I got my crepe on the way home (this time from a different crepe man) and then came back to the hotel and ate my weight in peanut mnms. I wasted tonight staying in, I know, and I feel guilty about it, but I'm still working on my list for our free days.
Monday in Paris
Today we finally got our metro passes, which means we can get around a lot easier and more flexibly. Marc gave us a speech about how he had to wait in this line only to be told to go somewhere else, and no one knew what they were doing and it was all very slow, and he explained that as much as he loves France, French bureaucracy has its faults.
According to our itinerary we went to place des vosges, but it's probably not a good sign that I'm already starting to forget what was there. I'm pretty sure it was the building that was an old palace so we could see how fancy people used to live, with an orangerie (green house for oranges) and a fancy courtyard.
Next we went to the Conciergerie, the place that Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before being executed. I thought it was really interesting because I'm all about the French revolution, but it was kind of fun too because you could walk through the building and they had wax figures with little posts describing what happened. I just feel bad for Marie Antoinette; the whole thing is very dark. It put me in the mood for a Tale of Two Cities.
It was rainy and cold and miserable, but we were in Paris, so we pressed on. That's our cheerful thought every time something sucks; you may have had to carry your luggage down multiple flights of stairs and then back up again... But you did it in Paris!
We went to sainte chapelle, which is a church that holds the crown of thorns placed on Christ's head. They only show it every year or so, but if you go to the second floor it's this amazing hall of stain glass windows. It was SO pretty. If someone wanted to email me the mini bio of St. john's windows I would love that, so I could be thinking of it when I'm in ll these other places.
Next was Notre Dame, which is without a doubt, hands down, my all time favorite church of the trip. I almost didn't go, because I had already seen it at mass yesterday and I didn't feel like I needed to. I'm so glad I did though. I love how simple the rest of the church is, and it just lets the architecture and stained glass take over. It feels like a real place of worship, not just a museum; partly because the gothic architecture is so similar to my church at home, and probably partly because my first experience with it was just as a service.
We had already taken our luggage to the new hotel, which involved a lot of huffing and puffing and pulling suitcases through small turnstiles, so we just had to go back to get it and get settled into our rooms. This one isn't much bigger, but it's nice to have somewhere to belong for a little bit longer. A mini home. We got some free time to find a snack and take a nap, then we met back up for one last activity.
The Pompidou center is the modern art museum of France. It looks crazy, because the building is inside out; the heating and cooling and water and everything else is in colored pipes outside the building. You also went up the escalators on the side of the building...mind of like the water slide at splash lagoon, only less like a theme park and more like a sight seeing extravaganza. I really liked the museum, but I think contemporary and modern art is cool. Some people in our group liked the more traditional stuff, but I thought it was fun. They had signs up that said "warning: This exhibit my offend the public and hurt some small children's feelings" which I thought were funny. Some of the stuff was pretty risqué, others were more like a trippy colorful dream. But, fun.
We got our obligatory crepes on the way back (seriously. I can't go a day without one. Cinnamon and sugar and egg and cheese for the win),and then got back to the hotel. My new roommate Kristen and I watched silence of the lambs, but in French, so silencia de ageneux, or something similar. It was still just a creepy, but it made us feel like we weren't just sitting in our room ignoring the France around us. It's just so cold and rainy and out days are so busy, it's hard to want to go back out again.
I need to make a list of all the things I should do on my free days, so I don't feel like I'm wasting time. I'll start working on that now!
According to our itinerary we went to place des vosges, but it's probably not a good sign that I'm already starting to forget what was there. I'm pretty sure it was the building that was an old palace so we could see how fancy people used to live, with an orangerie (green house for oranges) and a fancy courtyard.
Next we went to the Conciergerie, the place that Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before being executed. I thought it was really interesting because I'm all about the French revolution, but it was kind of fun too because you could walk through the building and they had wax figures with little posts describing what happened. I just feel bad for Marie Antoinette; the whole thing is very dark. It put me in the mood for a Tale of Two Cities.
It was rainy and cold and miserable, but we were in Paris, so we pressed on. That's our cheerful thought every time something sucks; you may have had to carry your luggage down multiple flights of stairs and then back up again... But you did it in Paris!
We went to sainte chapelle, which is a church that holds the crown of thorns placed on Christ's head. They only show it every year or so, but if you go to the second floor it's this amazing hall of stain glass windows. It was SO pretty. If someone wanted to email me the mini bio of St. john's windows I would love that, so I could be thinking of it when I'm in ll these other places.
Next was Notre Dame, which is without a doubt, hands down, my all time favorite church of the trip. I almost didn't go, because I had already seen it at mass yesterday and I didn't feel like I needed to. I'm so glad I did though. I love how simple the rest of the church is, and it just lets the architecture and stained glass take over. It feels like a real place of worship, not just a museum; partly because the gothic architecture is so similar to my church at home, and probably partly because my first experience with it was just as a service.
We had already taken our luggage to the new hotel, which involved a lot of huffing and puffing and pulling suitcases through small turnstiles, so we just had to go back to get it and get settled into our rooms. This one isn't much bigger, but it's nice to have somewhere to belong for a little bit longer. A mini home. We got some free time to find a snack and take a nap, then we met back up for one last activity.
The Pompidou center is the modern art museum of France. It looks crazy, because the building is inside out; the heating and cooling and water and everything else is in colored pipes outside the building. You also went up the escalators on the side of the building...mind of like the water slide at splash lagoon, only less like a theme park and more like a sight seeing extravaganza. I really liked the museum, but I think contemporary and modern art is cool. Some people in our group liked the more traditional stuff, but I thought it was fun. They had signs up that said "warning: This exhibit my offend the public and hurt some small children's feelings" which I thought were funny. Some of the stuff was pretty risqué, others were more like a trippy colorful dream. But, fun.
We got our obligatory crepes on the way back (seriously. I can't go a day without one. Cinnamon and sugar and egg and cheese for the win),and then got back to the hotel. My new roommate Kristen and I watched silence of the lambs, but in French, so silencia de ageneux, or something similar. It was still just a creepy, but it made us feel like we weren't just sitting in our room ignoring the France around us. It's just so cold and rainy and out days are so busy, it's hard to want to go back out again.
I need to make a list of all the things I should do on my free days, so I don't feel like I'm wasting time. I'll start working on that now!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter!
Today marks the first holiday I have ever spent away from my family (not including new years, of course) and the theme has mostly been a lot of under whelmed Paige. It seems dealing with a holiday away from home is a lot easier when you mostly just don't act like its a holiday.
We left for mass at 10, to be ready for the 11:30 service. Honestly, I don't know how you go in there with a Christian attitude. You stand in line, and people push you around, and there's a lot of line jumping and yelling and frustration. It felt more like I was waiting to get into a concert than a church service (although, maybe that's how it should be. I didn't like it, but maybe god did...something to think about later). Obviously I was raised with a very different way of worshipping, and I'm sure other people got a lot out of it, but it wasn't for me.
Yes, the church is BEAUTIFUL. And they had the incense going, which made it feel like home. I could follow where we were in the service, but not because I speak any French; i could just tell by habit. But everyone was crushed in there, and you had people just going to take pictures, and I had to watch the whole thing on a video monitor because I was behind this big pole. I'm not complaining, just explaining why I prefer my small church at home. Also, not being able to take communion just sucked. It normally wouldn't bother me much, I don't think, but the combination of feeling like an outsider to this country and then not even totally welcome in the catholic church kind of stung. I wanted some Jesus, and they were just waving him around in my episcopal face.
The whole experience was kind of like prom. Not really as big of a deal as you had hoped, but you would always wonder what you missed if you didnt go.
We had some free time, so I came back to the hotel for some packing. We switch hotels tomorrow, so everything needs to be ready to move again, like a mini travel day. Supposedly the new hotel is supposed to be only a 20 minute walk, and hopefully no cobblestones, so it shouldn't be bad.
We met up for group time, and we talked about the weeks plans, how everyone was doing, and our reflections on Germany. Then Greg made some comment about how we were all away from home on Easter, and pulled out a bag of chocolate bunnies for everyone. I almost cried, and this is when I learned the value in pretending it wasn't really a holiday. Marc and Kristie had also gotten us chocolate, which was nice.
We went to the Pere leChaise cemetery, which has lots of cool famous people and is just generally huge. Dad would have loved it. I saw Chopin's grave,but got lost trying to find Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. I'll probably go back on our free day, because one hour was definitely not enough time.
We were going to go on the boat ride we were supposed to do yesterday, but it started raining again so we just bought tickets for Tuesday, which we'll do rain or shine. Then we broke for dinner.
A lot of people went out for a fancy sit down meal, but that was not following my denial of a holiday plan, so i ended up going back to the hotel alone and stopping at Quick, which is like a French mcdonalds. I make it a habit to try and find my way home alone a few times in every city, because then I feel like I really know what's going on and where things are instead of just following people around. And the chicken nuggets were perfect; I'll be having my Easter dinner when I come home, and in the meantime, I needed the ease and simplicity.
Now I'm back at the hotel, where I was going to try and FaceTime people but since the Internet isn't working it looks like I'll just call mom and dad and spend the extra money. I think I've racked up $70 worth of calls since the beginning of the trip, but it's been worth it to have my phone during emotional emergencies. Hopefully I'll have a chance to read more of the virgin suicides tonight; our metro card isn't active until tomorrow, so I can't really go anywhere. I think staying in for a night wouldnt be all bad anyway.
So good night, happy Easter to all my friends and family in America, and save me some Reese's eggs! (you could get them on sale tomorrow and I wouldn't know the difference, hint hint.)
Saturday night
This is going to be another short one, just because I'm not entirely sure what all we did, and I keep thinking maybe no one reads the long ones anyway, so I'll be brief.
We got up, had breakfast (I'm learning to like tea to try and get rid of this cold, Maggie should be so proud) and headed to the Eiffel tower, which was so busy we didn't actually go down to it, but saw from a platform. Then we went to Walk to Trocadero, the Arch of Triumph, and Champs Elysees. We spent a little time at Jardin des Tuileries, but it was cold so we skipped having lunch there.
We broke for lunch, and I had the most delicious omelette ever. The person beside us had this huge margarita glass with an inner cup filled with champagne, all with flower petals floating around it and a fire cracker sticking out of the top. It was very exciting, and I wish I had taken a picture, but now that I'm thinking about it maybe I'll just go get one. Meghan and I seem to be having one romantic moment after another on his trip, and rose petal firework drink sounds like another we could handle.
I bought myself a dumb touristy hoodie because it was cold and I need more warn clothes. Now I can't decide if I will just give it to someone or keep it, but I think i might just keep buying what I need and then pass it on when I get home. All I have is my ASIg hoodies which is great, but dark blue and matches nothing. Anyway, buying the hoodie ended up being a waste because we just went back to the hotl anyway. Originally we were supposed to be going on a boat down the Seine, but we can do it another day.
I came back to the hotel and just collapsed. I felt sick, I missed home, and I was just frustrated and tired and grouchy. I called Doug and pouted, and while I was doing that he was talking to mike ullinger, one of our brothers studying here, and telling him how to find me. I walk down in the lobby a little bit later to get something and he surprised me by being there! I cried a little, but it was a happy cry. It was so nice to see someone from home.
We went back to his apartment which was about 20 minutes away, and just relaxed a little. It was exactly what i needed; a house, where people actually lived and felt like a real home rather than a hotel; someone who understood the value of wifi to find home; and finally, the ease of getting a glass of water without having to pay for it or refill another pop bottle with water from the bathroom sink. Hanging out with him was definitely a nice boost of energy for the next 3 weeks.
Then I ventured back to the hotel (all by myself! I'm finally getting the hang of public transportation) and went to bed at like 11. I ended up getting about 9 hours of sleep, which is exactly what i needed to get a fresh start in Paris the next morning.
We got up, had breakfast (I'm learning to like tea to try and get rid of this cold, Maggie should be so proud) and headed to the Eiffel tower, which was so busy we didn't actually go down to it, but saw from a platform. Then we went to Walk to Trocadero, the Arch of Triumph, and Champs Elysees. We spent a little time at Jardin des Tuileries, but it was cold so we skipped having lunch there.
We broke for lunch, and I had the most delicious omelette ever. The person beside us had this huge margarita glass with an inner cup filled with champagne, all with flower petals floating around it and a fire cracker sticking out of the top. It was very exciting, and I wish I had taken a picture, but now that I'm thinking about it maybe I'll just go get one. Meghan and I seem to be having one romantic moment after another on his trip, and rose petal firework drink sounds like another we could handle.
I bought myself a dumb touristy hoodie because it was cold and I need more warn clothes. Now I can't decide if I will just give it to someone or keep it, but I think i might just keep buying what I need and then pass it on when I get home. All I have is my ASIg hoodies which is great, but dark blue and matches nothing. Anyway, buying the hoodie ended up being a waste because we just went back to the hotl anyway. Originally we were supposed to be going on a boat down the Seine, but we can do it another day.
I came back to the hotel and just collapsed. I felt sick, I missed home, and I was just frustrated and tired and grouchy. I called Doug and pouted, and while I was doing that he was talking to mike ullinger, one of our brothers studying here, and telling him how to find me. I walk down in the lobby a little bit later to get something and he surprised me by being there! I cried a little, but it was a happy cry. It was so nice to see someone from home.
We went back to his apartment which was about 20 minutes away, and just relaxed a little. It was exactly what i needed; a house, where people actually lived and felt like a real home rather than a hotel; someone who understood the value of wifi to find home; and finally, the ease of getting a glass of water without having to pay for it or refill another pop bottle with water from the bathroom sink. Hanging out with him was definitely a nice boost of energy for the next 3 weeks.
Then I ventured back to the hotel (all by myself! I'm finally getting the hang of public transportation) and went to bed at like 11. I ended up getting about 9 hours of sleep, which is exactly what i needed to get a fresh start in Paris the next morning.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Bonjour! (Friday night)
Today was THE travel day. We had to get on our train, and then make a 7 minute switch onto the next to get to Paris. It was super stressful and there was a lot of general agitation, but luckily it was a small station and everyone helped each other out, so we made it. There is a certain level of teamwork involved that only a group of 30 college kids who have been through what we have can accomplish. We all grew up really fast, but we did it together.
Once we got to Paris we had to ride the metro to get to our hotel, and one of the guys got pickpocketed. He was lucky, because his id and passport along with his extra credit card were all in his money necklace. We were able to call and cancel the card within 10 minutes, partly because Marc is just on the ball with this stuff. It just didn't start us off right though.
We got to our hotel, which is very fancy other than the room being SO small. Marietta and I share a bed, but it's really the only thing that fits in the room. My suitcase doesn't even fit; we can't open the bathroom door open the whole way with it in here. But we make do. It's clean, and they feed us breakfast!
We went on our walking tour of the city, and it was then that we realized Paris is not going to be the warm and balmy temperature we were used to in Italy. I'm going to have to buy myself a hoodie tomorrow.
We saw notre dame, and Marc showed us a little eating area and oriented us to where our hotel is. I had a crepe, my first ever, which was good but i now know to get salt and pepper.
we found a really pretty bridge with a lovely view of the moon... A bunch of rats playing, but I was told I wasn't allowed to get near them... And a bunch of live music again, my favorite.
Bad news though; it looks like Ted and Mary beth aren't coming back after all. They both were dealing with some medical issues, and just found out that Ted won't be able to return. Right now we have kristie from study abroad, but we don't know who is replacing her while we're in England.
Moral of the story- I'm in Paris!
Once we got to Paris we had to ride the metro to get to our hotel, and one of the guys got pickpocketed. He was lucky, because his id and passport along with his extra credit card were all in his money necklace. We were able to call and cancel the card within 10 minutes, partly because Marc is just on the ball with this stuff. It just didn't start us off right though.
We got to our hotel, which is very fancy other than the room being SO small. Marietta and I share a bed, but it's really the only thing that fits in the room. My suitcase doesn't even fit; we can't open the bathroom door open the whole way with it in here. But we make do. It's clean, and they feed us breakfast!
We went on our walking tour of the city, and it was then that we realized Paris is not going to be the warm and balmy temperature we were used to in Italy. I'm going to have to buy myself a hoodie tomorrow.
We saw notre dame, and Marc showed us a little eating area and oriented us to where our hotel is. I had a crepe, my first ever, which was good but i now know to get salt and pepper.
we found a really pretty bridge with a lovely view of the moon... A bunch of rats playing, but I was told I wasn't allowed to get near them... And a bunch of live music again, my favorite.
Bad news though; it looks like Ted and Mary beth aren't coming back after all. They both were dealing with some medical issues, and just found out that Ted won't be able to return. Right now we have kristie from study abroad, but we don't know who is replacing her while we're in England.
Moral of the story- I'm in Paris!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Last night in Germany
Today was our day trip to the Bavarian alps, and Neuschwanstein Castle. We had to get up pretty early for the two hour drive, but we took a private coach, which is so nice. You can sleep and not worry about anyone stealing your stuff, there's lots of room, you don't have to wait for a certain stop; everything is just simple and done for you. It feels like royalty. Plus, inside the bus, is America- even if the bus is in Germany. Everyone is from home, and theres a weird comfort in that.
The alps were not what I expected- still very pretty, but the ones we saw weren't nearly as big as mt Washington, or even some of the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. We had a 30 minute hike up to the castle, which was pretty intense,but the weather in Germany has been a lot colder (like 50 degrees) so it wasn't as bad. I can't imagine doing it on a hot day. Whe you get to the top it's mostly fog, but the castle is right there waiting on top next to these big cliffs with a river way down at the bottom, and then on the other side you see where it becomes a pond in this little countryside. So cute.
The castle was never finished; king Ludwig died before they did the 2nd floor, so we only saw the first and third. Everything just seems rediculously huge. Like, it's all very impressive, but not at all home-y. This is the castle that cinderellas castle in Walt disney world is modeled after, but there was a bunch of scaffolding on the side where they were doing renovations, so it didn't come off as quite as magical. The pictures in the gift shop were very cool though. I would have liked a snow globe, but that sort of thing just does not travel well.
We had a mini scare when we stopped at a cafe for lunch and realized there were
Pistachios in the muffin Alex was eating, and she's allergic. Her throat closed up but she was still breathing, so not super emergency room reaction, but that stuff still makes me nervous. I realized I only knew how to help someone with a severe allergy, the normal ones I'm at a loss for.
We stopped at a church on the way back that no one really knew anything about- not much to report there. Slept on the way home, which left us all kind of groggy and un-ambitious once we got back. I was trying desperately to find the milka chocolate store, because I wanted to get a huge box to bring back to the states, since it is delicious. I think Doug's dad is going to have to bringme some back everytime he flies out there. Anyway, I found the address, mapped it, and then talked to Alex, the bartender, about getting there.
None of that helped me. I had the most frustrating night, getting lost in a bunch of different ways before finally finding the area the shop was supposed to be in, and never discovering it. I spent an hour going up and down back streets, circling around- everything I could think of. I even saw a woman holding a bag from the store,but when I tried to ask her for help she ignored me. Cold shoulder, ouch. So I was starting to get a little worn down.
I got lost on the way home, and I knew everyone was waiting for me to go to dinner, but I got stuck in the subway system and lost in a department store that I suspect had no real way out. then when it started raining I decided I earned ice cream, but then I couldn't read any of the flavors and there were no pictures, and I just gave up. Struggle bus central. Normally I've been flying by pretty well with the language barrier and picking up what I need to know, but today was just the last straw, I guess. It's officially 3 weeks since being home, and I think i just stretched myself out too far.
At some point the group back at the hostel found a way to text me because they started to get worried. Luke kept saying that he should have gone with me, and that if I were lost Doug was going to kill him, to which katie replied they would just have to find me then. I didn't mean to scare anyone, it just took longer than I expected, and it's nice to have some alone time. I told them to go to dinner without me though; I didn't want to rain on their parade, and I was deffinitely in a rain cloud mood.
I had some toasties for dinner, and now I'm sipping water and in bed early to try and fight this sore throat. I really just don't have time to be sick. But tomorrow we are on our way to Paris, so I made it through Munich!
I would have liked more time; I honestly don't feel I even scratched the surface as far as the culture, and there was so much more I would have liked to see. I don't know that I would ever come back on my own though- Barbara Greene, how would you feel about a cousin trip to Germany? :)
The alps were not what I expected- still very pretty, but the ones we saw weren't nearly as big as mt Washington, or even some of the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. We had a 30 minute hike up to the castle, which was pretty intense,but the weather in Germany has been a lot colder (like 50 degrees) so it wasn't as bad. I can't imagine doing it on a hot day. Whe you get to the top it's mostly fog, but the castle is right there waiting on top next to these big cliffs with a river way down at the bottom, and then on the other side you see where it becomes a pond in this little countryside. So cute.
The castle was never finished; king Ludwig died before they did the 2nd floor, so we only saw the first and third. Everything just seems rediculously huge. Like, it's all very impressive, but not at all home-y. This is the castle that cinderellas castle in Walt disney world is modeled after, but there was a bunch of scaffolding on the side where they were doing renovations, so it didn't come off as quite as magical. The pictures in the gift shop were very cool though. I would have liked a snow globe, but that sort of thing just does not travel well.
We had a mini scare when we stopped at a cafe for lunch and realized there were
Pistachios in the muffin Alex was eating, and she's allergic. Her throat closed up but she was still breathing, so not super emergency room reaction, but that stuff still makes me nervous. I realized I only knew how to help someone with a severe allergy, the normal ones I'm at a loss for.
We stopped at a church on the way back that no one really knew anything about- not much to report there. Slept on the way home, which left us all kind of groggy and un-ambitious once we got back. I was trying desperately to find the milka chocolate store, because I wanted to get a huge box to bring back to the states, since it is delicious. I think Doug's dad is going to have to bringme some back everytime he flies out there. Anyway, I found the address, mapped it, and then talked to Alex, the bartender, about getting there.
None of that helped me. I had the most frustrating night, getting lost in a bunch of different ways before finally finding the area the shop was supposed to be in, and never discovering it. I spent an hour going up and down back streets, circling around- everything I could think of. I even saw a woman holding a bag from the store,but when I tried to ask her for help she ignored me. Cold shoulder, ouch. So I was starting to get a little worn down.
I got lost on the way home, and I knew everyone was waiting for me to go to dinner, but I got stuck in the subway system and lost in a department store that I suspect had no real way out. then when it started raining I decided I earned ice cream, but then I couldn't read any of the flavors and there were no pictures, and I just gave up. Struggle bus central. Normally I've been flying by pretty well with the language barrier and picking up what I need to know, but today was just the last straw, I guess. It's officially 3 weeks since being home, and I think i just stretched myself out too far.
At some point the group back at the hostel found a way to text me because they started to get worried. Luke kept saying that he should have gone with me, and that if I were lost Doug was going to kill him, to which katie replied they would just have to find me then. I didn't mean to scare anyone, it just took longer than I expected, and it's nice to have some alone time. I told them to go to dinner without me though; I didn't want to rain on their parade, and I was deffinitely in a rain cloud mood.
I had some toasties for dinner, and now I'm sipping water and in bed early to try and fight this sore throat. I really just don't have time to be sick. But tomorrow we are on our way to Paris, so I made it through Munich!
I would have liked more time; I honestly don't feel I even scratched the surface as far as the culture, and there was so much more I would have liked to see. I don't know that I would ever come back on my own though- Barbara Greene, how would you feel about a cousin trip to Germany? :)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
2 for the price of 1
Because we're only in Germany for 4 days, and everything is so crunched for time, I havent had a chance to write much for my blog- so I'm just going to sum up the last two days as best I can, and then hopefully when I come home I'll remember enough to go back over in detail.
Tuesday we started with the alte pinakothek the Glyptothek, two museums; one with statues, the other with paintings. At the alte pinakothek there was SO much that I recognized, which makes me feel like I'm learning a lot; the Rubens were very cool. Peter Paul is my man. Also, the people here are just generally so much friendlier, which we first noticed when my flash accidentally went off and instead of yelling "no flash!" from across the room, the woman came over and politely asked me if i knew how to turn off my flash. The day was full of culture shocks.
Ted and Mary Beth had to go back to the states this week, so Christie from the study abroad office is here helping out. One of us had to go to the hospital for bronchitis, we think, and it sounds like a really horrible experience that is not at all the same as the luxurious American system. I'm hoping the sore throat I'm nursing either goes away, or waits until we're in Paris so Marc can take me to the doctor and streamline the process (he's from Paris).
In the Early evening, Marc took us to visit the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kultur for a special exhibition on Georgia O’Keeffe. He's friends with the curator there, so once we finished with the exhibit we got to go meet with him and he told us all about how he has traveled the world and eventually found this job. He originally studied Dutch art, but became more and more flexible. He talked about the difference between having a collection and constantly matriculating different works, and trading and borrowing art from other museums, and all sorts of other cool things. It was like a backstage pass with the celebrity in charge.
Then we just got dinner at the train station and came back to the bar under the hostel,where I met a lot of really really interesting people and had my first German beer (also, the first time ordering a beer at a bar. Way more fun than taking the order).
The next morning we went to Dachau, the first concentration camp created that paved the way for everything else. It was truly horrifying. Marc didn't come with us, because he said he had been there before and once was enough. It was hard goimg without our fearless leaders, and i think it made it seem that much scarier to everyone.
It started with a video, and then through a memorial museum, and then finally into the camp itself. I'm not going to try to explain everything I saw; just that it is still sticking to me, and I'm not sure when or how you shake that awful feeling. I'm counting on nightmares. Two things struck me while I was there; first, that I was taking pictures not for myself, like most of the others I had collected, but specifically to show people, because it needs to be seen. Second, there was a sense of pride in my country; when you first walk in, there are two plaques dedicated to two American troops that liberated the camp. As awful as seeing what happened, knowing we were the ones that stopped it made me feel a little better. A little.
We went to the royal apartments, but I don't think anyones heart was really in it anymore. Meghan and I really just scooted through and took a few pictures; palaces are very cool, but this one had been bombed during the war and was completely remade, so it seemed more like a museum than going through a piece of history like we just had.
We went back to the hostel for some quiet time and reflection, then wandered through the town just taking it all in. We found more plaques commemorating the war, and things that had happened; Marc pointed out the college Sophie scholl distributed anti war papers at and was eventually killed for. It makes you very very aware.
So, Germany. Not quite as light and happy as Italy; way more rule following and structure, not that it's a bad thing. But definitely some heavy material today, and we are in much need of our hiking trip through the alps tomorrow (Thursday).
Tuesday we started with the alte pinakothek the Glyptothek, two museums; one with statues, the other with paintings. At the alte pinakothek there was SO much that I recognized, which makes me feel like I'm learning a lot; the Rubens were very cool. Peter Paul is my man. Also, the people here are just generally so much friendlier, which we first noticed when my flash accidentally went off and instead of yelling "no flash!" from across the room, the woman came over and politely asked me if i knew how to turn off my flash. The day was full of culture shocks.
Ted and Mary Beth had to go back to the states this week, so Christie from the study abroad office is here helping out. One of us had to go to the hospital for bronchitis, we think, and it sounds like a really horrible experience that is not at all the same as the luxurious American system. I'm hoping the sore throat I'm nursing either goes away, or waits until we're in Paris so Marc can take me to the doctor and streamline the process (he's from Paris).
In the Early evening, Marc took us to visit the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kultur for a special exhibition on Georgia O’Keeffe. He's friends with the curator there, so once we finished with the exhibit we got to go meet with him and he told us all about how he has traveled the world and eventually found this job. He originally studied Dutch art, but became more and more flexible. He talked about the difference between having a collection and constantly matriculating different works, and trading and borrowing art from other museums, and all sorts of other cool things. It was like a backstage pass with the celebrity in charge.
Then we just got dinner at the train station and came back to the bar under the hostel,where I met a lot of really really interesting people and had my first German beer (also, the first time ordering a beer at a bar. Way more fun than taking the order).
The next morning we went to Dachau, the first concentration camp created that paved the way for everything else. It was truly horrifying. Marc didn't come with us, because he said he had been there before and once was enough. It was hard goimg without our fearless leaders, and i think it made it seem that much scarier to everyone.
It started with a video, and then through a memorial museum, and then finally into the camp itself. I'm not going to try to explain everything I saw; just that it is still sticking to me, and I'm not sure when or how you shake that awful feeling. I'm counting on nightmares. Two things struck me while I was there; first, that I was taking pictures not for myself, like most of the others I had collected, but specifically to show people, because it needs to be seen. Second, there was a sense of pride in my country; when you first walk in, there are two plaques dedicated to two American troops that liberated the camp. As awful as seeing what happened, knowing we were the ones that stopped it made me feel a little better. A little.
We went to the royal apartments, but I don't think anyones heart was really in it anymore. Meghan and I really just scooted through and took a few pictures; palaces are very cool, but this one had been bombed during the war and was completely remade, so it seemed more like a museum than going through a piece of history like we just had.
We went back to the hostel for some quiet time and reflection, then wandered through the town just taking it all in. We found more plaques commemorating the war, and things that had happened; Marc pointed out the college Sophie scholl distributed anti war papers at and was eventually killed for. It makes you very very aware.
So, Germany. Not quite as light and happy as Italy; way more rule following and structure, not that it's a bad thing. But definitely some heavy material today, and we are in much need of our hiking trip through the alps tomorrow (Thursday).
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Germany!
Germany bound
I'm in Germany!
Easier said then done. First the hostel tried to con us into paying for new furniture, but we found out they were trying the same think with another group here...long story short, Marc and Ted are no pushovers, and Marc doesn't intend to come back to Firenze 2000 agai .
The train station was about a half hour walk, on very narrow cobblestone sidewalks. (another thing I need to remember to appreciate- flat, easy walking ground. I shouldn't have to play leap frog on a walking path). My suitcase is probably edging up to the 40lb mark, and I'm definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but I feel accomplished. Even though my wonderful brother Luke offered me help, I did it all on my own. I probably will be ditching some things for the next train ride though; my shoulders are going to need some work in the meantime, and it'll be worth the sacrifice of a pair of shoes and maybe a sweater. But like I said, I'm both tough and stubborn, and I made it.
The train was only a half hour to bologna,and then we had 20 minutes to find out next train and get loaded up. A little scary, a lot of teamwork, and some serious determination, but we made it happen. The next train ride to Paris has a 7 minute space between switches,and I know everyone is dreading it, or just deciding we won't make it. So we had something to prove for this changeover, and I think we did pretty well.
The 7 hour ride to Munich wasn't bad; the quarters were a little cramped, but we had our own little carriages, so it was more like the Hogwarts express experience a few of us were looking for. I got a little restless towards the end, but in a way, it's like we're making the trip home now; were slowly going further north! Going through the alps was SO pretty, and the girl in our car told us about her great aunt, who had climbed them to escape Germany during the war. So cool. Climb every mountain, the hills are alive, etc etc.
Our hostel was only like a 5 minute walk from the train station, which was great. it's SO nice. The top floors are hotel rooms; we even have a tv! The bottom floor is a basic hostel set up, but we also have a breakfast room and a bar in the basement. The bar is the main attraction right now, but apparently they have something called a "toastie" that's like a grilled cheese sandwhich with salami, which I could totally get into.
We did our walking tour of the city- from what I can tell, everything seems cleaner and more modern, but the language barrier seems way more daunting. We ended up eating at the haufbraus house (I know that isn't how to spell it, but i don't have anything to look it up with) which was not at all what I needed. It was a complete 180 from Italy.
It was exactly what you would think of a beer hall. Lots of wood tables, loud people, servers running around and taking orders from a room away, a band of old men playing live music, and people up on the tables, dancing on their chairs, or singing drinking songs. Basically, just really, really loud. It was probably fun, but I was just ready for bed and completely not interested in the shenanigans. Hopefully we go back a time I can appreciate it,because it was so authentic and fun. We sat next to a man from Spain who lived in Germany for the last three years, but spoke English. It was very cool, and it would be great to meet more people,which is way easier to do in that kind of environment- but I missed the quiet intimacy of Italy.
Now I'm in my down comforter typing this while Jacque and katie, my new roommates, work on their journal entries for our academic journal. Starting the virgin suicides tonight, and taking advantage of our later start to tomorrow to sleep in!
I'm in Germany!
Easier said then done. First the hostel tried to con us into paying for new furniture, but we found out they were trying the same think with another group here...long story short, Marc and Ted are no pushovers, and Marc doesn't intend to come back to Firenze 2000 agai .
The train station was about a half hour walk, on very narrow cobblestone sidewalks. (another thing I need to remember to appreciate- flat, easy walking ground. I shouldn't have to play leap frog on a walking path). My suitcase is probably edging up to the 40lb mark, and I'm definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but I feel accomplished. Even though my wonderful brother Luke offered me help, I did it all on my own. I probably will be ditching some things for the next train ride though; my shoulders are going to need some work in the meantime, and it'll be worth the sacrifice of a pair of shoes and maybe a sweater. But like I said, I'm both tough and stubborn, and I made it.
The train was only a half hour to bologna,and then we had 20 minutes to find out next train and get loaded up. A little scary, a lot of teamwork, and some serious determination, but we made it happen. The next train ride to Paris has a 7 minute space between switches,and I know everyone is dreading it, or just deciding we won't make it. So we had something to prove for this changeover, and I think we did pretty well.
The 7 hour ride to Munich wasn't bad; the quarters were a little cramped, but we had our own little carriages, so it was more like the Hogwarts express experience a few of us were looking for. I got a little restless towards the end, but in a way, it's like we're making the trip home now; were slowly going further north! Going through the alps was SO pretty, and the girl in our car told us about her great aunt, who had climbed them to escape Germany during the war. So cool. Climb every mountain, the hills are alive, etc etc.
Our hostel was only like a 5 minute walk from the train station, which was great. it's SO nice. The top floors are hotel rooms; we even have a tv! The bottom floor is a basic hostel set up, but we also have a breakfast room and a bar in the basement. The bar is the main attraction right now, but apparently they have something called a "toastie" that's like a grilled cheese sandwhich with salami, which I could totally get into.
We did our walking tour of the city- from what I can tell, everything seems cleaner and more modern, but the language barrier seems way more daunting. We ended up eating at the haufbraus house (I know that isn't how to spell it, but i don't have anything to look it up with) which was not at all what I needed. It was a complete 180 from Italy.
It was exactly what you would think of a beer hall. Lots of wood tables, loud people, servers running around and taking orders from a room away, a band of old men playing live music, and people up on the tables, dancing on their chairs, or singing drinking songs. Basically, just really, really loud. It was probably fun, but I was just ready for bed and completely not interested in the shenanigans. Hopefully we go back a time I can appreciate it,because it was so authentic and fun. We sat next to a man from Spain who lived in Germany for the last three years, but spoke English. It was very cool, and it would be great to meet more people,which is way easier to do in that kind of environment- but I missed the quiet intimacy of Italy.
Now I'm in my down comforter typing this while Jacque and katie, my new roommates, work on their journal entries for our academic journal. Starting the virgin suicides tonight, and taking advantage of our later start to tomorrow to sleep in!
Final Italian thoughts
Ok, instead of making an organized easy to read post, I'm just bullet pointing things I've noticed in Italy worth mentioning.
1. Dogs are treated so well here. They roam around everywhere; it seems everyone walks a lot more, so it makes sense that dogs would too. However, the country has accommodated this to the next level; pretty much any store is dog friendly, and restaurants will even bring your dog a water dish while you have your meal (usually just for outside patios). They're in the trains, and busses,and tied to little doggie posts (like bike racks) outside of the rare stores that don't allow dogs inside.
2. Driving is crazy. Not only are there not really any specific rules regarding lanes, as far as we can tell, but it seems totally ok to park people in and even bring your Vespa up on the sidewalk when there's no room anywhere else. I'm not even totally sure about speed limits, at least not for the previously mentioned. The cars that are around are usually very small and Eco friendly, but I was also surprised to see a few Fords mixed in with all the other italian cars.
3. Reverence is a learned behavior. I was lucky to be raised in church all my life, and to serve as an acolyte. I know how to show respect and act accordingly. Not just crossing myself, or bowing at an altar, but the general habit of keeping yourself mindful of where you are. It's easy to get caught up in the tourism, but even when it's not my religion, I still know how to be reverent. This isn't really discussing Italy, but they really do try to keep their churches sacred and some people are just completely unaware that their behavior isn't cutting it. But you still have to dress appropriately and stay silent, so they keep what control they can, but some people really miss the point, and it's usually groups of Americans.
4. Learning to enjoy pleasure. Specifically food, but it's all inclusive. I thought it would be less pronounced, and that it was a part of the culture that was romanticized, but it's completely true. When you go out to dinner, you are t just eating; you're tasting. When you sit and sip wine with friends, you aren't just hanging out; you're in discussion, and creating real connections. Envy thing is taken slower, and that helps you to stop and smell the roses- only in this case, it felt like they sat me down, handed me the rose, and told me to spend 15 minutes smelling it. And after that, just keep on smelling if I enjoy it, because there's no reason to stop. Taking 3 hours to eat is completely normal, and I love it. It may be one of the biggest things I miss when it's time to go home.
5. Kind of with number 4... Ordering food at a restaurant is like a box of chocolates. You can usually be pretty sure you'll like whatever you end up with, but you never really know what's going to end in your mouth by the end of the night. You learn a few key words and decide if you want to be adventurous or stick to pomodora. The best meals I've had we're the ones where I told my waiter to pick for me.
So that's the end of Italy! Now I'm on the train to Munich, about to start the blog for Monday's adventures...
Monday, April 2, 2012
Last day in Italy
Last day in Italy!
We got up this morning to go see the piti palace and boboli gardens. The palace was built kind of to spite the Medici and have something even better than theirs, but they ended up buying it and making it theirs too. Now it's a big museum; actually, more like 7. There's a modern art museum, and a costume museum, and a royal apartment museum. Just a whole lot of stuff that was pretty cool.
We went outside to the boboli gardens, which is 125 acres of beautifulness. It was a little hotter than we anticipated, so we walked up some steep hills and then just sat and watched for a little while. It was really pretty,but it was early and the day and I had things to do, so we didn't stick around as long. It'd be nice to go back, but everything is so inconvenient distance wise.
We went into the city so we could go to academia and see David, which was pretty cool. We just flashed our special passes, and we got to cut this huge line and go through the red ropes. Very cool. There were some of Michelangelo's unfinished statues, and then you turn the corner and there david is, looking huge and pensive. Theres no denying the detail and everything else was very impressive, but honestly, I like Donatello's better. The whole point of the story is that he was an underdog, which is why the people of Florence love him, so making him this huge muscular man as opposed to a feminine boy just seems like it misses the crucial part of the story.
We tried to find the peanutbutter store again, but it was closed. I thought I would go back today, but it looks like Munich might have more than I'm anticipating, and I don't really want to stock up on it and have to carry around. Plus, it's more for comfort food and ease anyway.
On our way back to the hostel I stopped at my pastry shop to get my final eclair. The man gave me a big hug when I came in, and when I told him that it was my last day he told me I would just need to come back. I will definitely miss my Italian pastry guy.
I went outside by the river with Meghan and we read and enjoyed the sunshine for a while. It was nice to get some quiet time, but the birds kept hovering in the trees above us and it made us nervous. Plus it was starting to cloud up and get chilly, so we went home.
Next adventure was laundry time; it was a hot mess, but we figured it out. The machines were tiny, and everything was expensive. We lost some change in the process and not everything is clean, and I'm a little worried about the colors my clothes will be when they come out, but it's a learning process. At least we tried.
The final adventure of Italy was our last dinner; we wandered into the swanky part of town,and then past that into the part of town we probably shouldn't have been at night. We had a lovely dinner outside though, and even though it was expensive ish, it was worth it to say good bye. I tried tiramisu, since it seemed wrong to leave Italy without tasting it, but I hated it a lot. We wanted to feed it to tony the Italian turtle (there was a turtle beside our table, in a little garden area) but he was sleeping. I did get the best wine in Italy though, and some very good spaghetti.
Then we scurried out of the city and got into a safer area, and had our final thoughts on the country. Meghan and I have some pretty great conversations, and it makes writing journal entries for Marc and Ted a lot easier. I'll do a final blog entry on the Italian experience next change I get.
Once I got back to the hotel it was time to pack up for the 7 hour train ride to Germany and get some sleep before our next big travel day! Next time you hear from me I'll be posting with German wifi!
We got up this morning to go see the piti palace and boboli gardens. The palace was built kind of to spite the Medici and have something even better than theirs, but they ended up buying it and making it theirs too. Now it's a big museum; actually, more like 7. There's a modern art museum, and a costume museum, and a royal apartment museum. Just a whole lot of stuff that was pretty cool.
We went outside to the boboli gardens, which is 125 acres of beautifulness. It was a little hotter than we anticipated, so we walked up some steep hills and then just sat and watched for a little while. It was really pretty,but it was early and the day and I had things to do, so we didn't stick around as long. It'd be nice to go back, but everything is so inconvenient distance wise.
We went into the city so we could go to academia and see David, which was pretty cool. We just flashed our special passes, and we got to cut this huge line and go through the red ropes. Very cool. There were some of Michelangelo's unfinished statues, and then you turn the corner and there david is, looking huge and pensive. Theres no denying the detail and everything else was very impressive, but honestly, I like Donatello's better. The whole point of the story is that he was an underdog, which is why the people of Florence love him, so making him this huge muscular man as opposed to a feminine boy just seems like it misses the crucial part of the story.
We tried to find the peanutbutter store again, but it was closed. I thought I would go back today, but it looks like Munich might have more than I'm anticipating, and I don't really want to stock up on it and have to carry around. Plus, it's more for comfort food and ease anyway.
On our way back to the hostel I stopped at my pastry shop to get my final eclair. The man gave me a big hug when I came in, and when I told him that it was my last day he told me I would just need to come back. I will definitely miss my Italian pastry guy.
I went outside by the river with Meghan and we read and enjoyed the sunshine for a while. It was nice to get some quiet time, but the birds kept hovering in the trees above us and it made us nervous. Plus it was starting to cloud up and get chilly, so we went home.
Next adventure was laundry time; it was a hot mess, but we figured it out. The machines were tiny, and everything was expensive. We lost some change in the process and not everything is clean, and I'm a little worried about the colors my clothes will be when they come out, but it's a learning process. At least we tried.
The final adventure of Italy was our last dinner; we wandered into the swanky part of town,and then past that into the part of town we probably shouldn't have been at night. We had a lovely dinner outside though, and even though it was expensive ish, it was worth it to say good bye. I tried tiramisu, since it seemed wrong to leave Italy without tasting it, but I hated it a lot. We wanted to feed it to tony the Italian turtle (there was a turtle beside our table, in a little garden area) but he was sleeping. I did get the best wine in Italy though, and some very good spaghetti.
Then we scurried out of the city and got into a safer area, and had our final thoughts on the country. Meghan and I have some pretty great conversations, and it makes writing journal entries for Marc and Ted a lot easier. I'll do a final blog entry on the Italian experience next change I get.
Once I got back to the hotel it was time to pack up for the 7 hour train ride to Germany and get some sleep before our next big travel day! Next time you hear from me I'll be posting with German wifi!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Sleeping, shopping, and high school teachers
Not much to say for today; we had a free day, so it was nice to sleep in. I almost forgot what a Saturday was like; sitting around in pajamas and eating breakfast at 10am? Getting on Facebook and reading in bed? Even when we have free time it feels like you need to take up as much time as you can and just soak up the traveling. But today, I decided I would chill out, and that's what I did. I finished The Fault in our Stars a few days ago, and now I'm onto The Lucky One- I'm not sure why, but I'm in a nick sparks kind of mood, and I need a good junk food book. On the way to Germany on Monday I'll be moving onto the Virgin Suicides. Always looking for more suggestions from the peanut gallery- even though I'm enjoying all the sites, I'm also taking the opportunity to do more reading and having me time. This is one of the last times I will ever have a complete lack of obligations, so I need to take advantage of that, too.
After I got up I went shopping on my own, which is a liberating experience in itself. I used to hate it, but now I'm seriously loving the me time. I look at what I want, skip what I have no interest in, and just enjoy some Paige. I bought myself some leather boots for 75 euros- I got a deal for being a student, and then for buying shoes for my last day in Italy (I exaggerated) and then I bartered down some more for the final price. Originally it was 145, so I was pretty pleased. My father taught me well. Also, I used all the Italian I knew, which got me some bonus points. Parla englese?
I bought some presents for people back home, and got myself a really nice leather journal- Florence is to leather as Venice is to glasswork. I was feeling satisfied with my purchases, and I think I have everything I need before leaving Italy, but I got another gelato just to be certain. Then on my way back to the hostel, I stopped at my pastry shop, where the man asked me if I wanted a white eclair like yesterday. In less than a week I've managed to make myself a regular :) The man at the counter rang me up for 4.50, but then the guy I usually talk to said something to him in Italian, and he brought it down to 3. I love Florence.
After more lounging (I love free days, seriously) Meghan and I went out and about for an errand for her,and then stopped at a restaurant we liked, but it was closed. Everything here opens for lunch, and then closes usually between 2-6, and then reopens for dinner. Most retail stores close during lunch, then come back in about an hour. On our way back, we saw a very drunk man pushing around a woman. It was kind of scary, but other people got involved and we didn't feel like it was our place to do anything.
After we went back for pizza when it was open, we came back and had some journal time out on the patio. Now we're inside, drinking wine a high school math teacher brought with him. He's a little eager to hang out with the coeds, but he brought red wine and interesting stories. It makes for an interesting end of the Italy trip.
After I got up I went shopping on my own, which is a liberating experience in itself. I used to hate it, but now I'm seriously loving the me time. I look at what I want, skip what I have no interest in, and just enjoy some Paige. I bought myself some leather boots for 75 euros- I got a deal for being a student, and then for buying shoes for my last day in Italy (I exaggerated) and then I bartered down some more for the final price. Originally it was 145, so I was pretty pleased. My father taught me well. Also, I used all the Italian I knew, which got me some bonus points. Parla englese?
I bought some presents for people back home, and got myself a really nice leather journal- Florence is to leather as Venice is to glasswork. I was feeling satisfied with my purchases, and I think I have everything I need before leaving Italy, but I got another gelato just to be certain. Then on my way back to the hostel, I stopped at my pastry shop, where the man asked me if I wanted a white eclair like yesterday. In less than a week I've managed to make myself a regular :) The man at the counter rang me up for 4.50, but then the guy I usually talk to said something to him in Italian, and he brought it down to 3. I love Florence.
After more lounging (I love free days, seriously) Meghan and I went out and about for an errand for her,and then stopped at a restaurant we liked, but it was closed. Everything here opens for lunch, and then closes usually between 2-6, and then reopens for dinner. Most retail stores close during lunch, then come back in about an hour. On our way back, we saw a very drunk man pushing around a woman. It was kind of scary, but other people got involved and we didn't feel like it was our place to do anything.
After we went back for pizza when it was open, we came back and had some journal time out on the patio. Now we're inside, drinking wine a high school math teacher brought with him. He's a little eager to hang out with the coeds, but he brought red wine and interesting stories. It makes for an interesting end of the Italy trip.
Growing pains
I am really struggling to keep up with my blog while I'm in Florence. I think some of it might just be the repetition; I'm still in Italy, so there are still a lot of similarities, and I'm not going to keep describing the churches and art galleries because I need to leave you with some mystery or no one will want to look at my pictures when I go home. So I'll try and stay interesting, but brief.
We started our day at the monastery of San Marco, which I thought was really cool. The bottom floor showed how the monks used dyes to write the manuscripts. The top floor showed all the monk rooms. Each one had a painting on it, usually pretty graphic, that sometimes monks would faint from meditating on the violence. Most of them are some type of crucifixtion scene, but I saw one that looked like cartoon Jesus throwing open a door and stomping on devils who were flattened by it. Silly monks.
We wanted to go to the academia to see David, but the man working there was super salty and didn't speak much English. We have the fancy card that's lets us through all the gates, but he didn't understand that, or something was lost in translation, and we ended up just leaving and being angry. Now we are supposed to just go by ourselves, which I hope to do on Sunday. Marc and Ted did take us to a gelato place and bought us all gelato, which was so nice. They're the best.
We went to Santa Croce and saw the Pazzi chapel. We were also there in time to hear the bells chime, which I managed to catch some video of. The bells here are so pretty- I can't wait to get to Notre Dame and hear them. We ended up sitting out in the sun for almost an hour and just enjoying the really nice scenery; almost all of the buildings open up in the middle to a small outdoor area with a fountain.
Since we spent all our free lunch time in the sun, we skipped right on to Santa Maria del Carmine to see Masaccio frescoes (specifically, tribute money and expulsion from the garden). Everything here seems peach and orange and beige; the buildings, the paintings, the ground. Everything. It will be interesting to see the color schemes of other cities. It's not something I'd ever thought of before.
For dinner we went to a place down the street that did pizza to go, and so Meghan and I split the four cheese. Then we all just bonded outside on the patio and had quiet time, which is so valuable here. A few hours later we had some sloppy sallys, so I went to help take care of that and tried to find Doug before ASIg initiation.
It just reminds me of little things I'm missing; if I were at school, I would have gone overboard with cupcakes and cookies all showering my favorite men on campus with baked goods. But then again, if I weren't in Europe I would be in Franklin, cheering on my brother and Alec and Tyler and everyone else at broadcast. This is the first one ive missed since elementary school, and it seems even worse that it's harry's senior year and he's half the show, from what I've heard. I know everyone will do so great, and I'm so proud of all of them, but I am a little homesick and sad that I can't be there.
Karimah says every time things get hard while we're here, it's just a growing pain. She couldn't be more right.
We started our day at the monastery of San Marco, which I thought was really cool. The bottom floor showed how the monks used dyes to write the manuscripts. The top floor showed all the monk rooms. Each one had a painting on it, usually pretty graphic, that sometimes monks would faint from meditating on the violence. Most of them are some type of crucifixtion scene, but I saw one that looked like cartoon Jesus throwing open a door and stomping on devils who were flattened by it. Silly monks.
We wanted to go to the academia to see David, but the man working there was super salty and didn't speak much English. We have the fancy card that's lets us through all the gates, but he didn't understand that, or something was lost in translation, and we ended up just leaving and being angry. Now we are supposed to just go by ourselves, which I hope to do on Sunday. Marc and Ted did take us to a gelato place and bought us all gelato, which was so nice. They're the best.
We went to Santa Croce and saw the Pazzi chapel. We were also there in time to hear the bells chime, which I managed to catch some video of. The bells here are so pretty- I can't wait to get to Notre Dame and hear them. We ended up sitting out in the sun for almost an hour and just enjoying the really nice scenery; almost all of the buildings open up in the middle to a small outdoor area with a fountain.
Since we spent all our free lunch time in the sun, we skipped right on to Santa Maria del Carmine to see Masaccio frescoes (specifically, tribute money and expulsion from the garden). Everything here seems peach and orange and beige; the buildings, the paintings, the ground. Everything. It will be interesting to see the color schemes of other cities. It's not something I'd ever thought of before.
For dinner we went to a place down the street that did pizza to go, and so Meghan and I split the four cheese. Then we all just bonded outside on the patio and had quiet time, which is so valuable here. A few hours later we had some sloppy sallys, so I went to help take care of that and tried to find Doug before ASIg initiation.
It just reminds me of little things I'm missing; if I were at school, I would have gone overboard with cupcakes and cookies all showering my favorite men on campus with baked goods. But then again, if I weren't in Europe I would be in Franklin, cheering on my brother and Alec and Tyler and everyone else at broadcast. This is the first one ive missed since elementary school, and it seems even worse that it's harry's senior year and he's half the show, from what I've heard. I know everyone will do so great, and I'm so proud of all of them, but I am a little homesick and sad that I can't be there.
Karimah says every time things get hard while we're here, it's just a growing pain. She couldn't be more right.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Pisa
Day trip to Pisa
We were up and ready to go by ten of 8 (which took us a week to figure out meant 7:50) to walk to the train station to hop a ride to Pisa. It's about an hour ride, which isn't bad at all. I have a picture from us during the ride, but I'm not sure if it posted. The Internet is pretty sketchy here.
We walked about 30 minutes from the train station to get to everything we would see; it's amazing how long walks seem so much shorter when 1.theres a lot to look at 2. Youre in good company and 3. You're at this point completed used to this kind of walk. Seriously, after having to walk back and forth from the hostel all the time, it seems like nothing. Especially when you just don't have any other means.
The leaning tower of Pisa...leans. Really. It's only like a 3 degree tilt or something small, but it seems crazy. You have to see it though, because I'm sure my pictures look like all the other ones I saw before the trip. It's always different in real life.
We went to the Baptistry, which Is the largest one in Italy. It also is known for having great acoustics; while we were there, everyone got quiet so a woman could go out in the middle and just sing one note, and let it resonate, and then belt out another; it was so pretty, and as always, I wish I had gotten video. I'm starting to get better about that.
Next was the cathedral. It seems awful, but they're all starting to run together; honestly, this trip is like cramming for a test. You remember some really significant stuff,but a lot of it you forget a few days later. 4 churches a day for two weeks is a lot of remembering altars and frescoes. This one had the christ in majesty mosaic though, I can tell you that, and at some point during the 1600s there was a fire in it, but it's been restored.
Everything is all within this area called the "field of miracles ", which you aren't allowed to walk on. It was so nice to just see grass though; at one point there was a lawn mower going and you could smell the freshly cut grass, and everything was peace.
People were tromping through to take their tourist pictures, though. It was so funny, how many people were standing there pretending to be holding up the tower. I actually snapped a picture of a bunch of people doing it; the huge groups of people you find is comical. Meghan took hers, but I restrained myself. I'll probably regret it later.
Our last sight was the composanto cemetery. The whole thing was bombed during world war 2, and they never point any fingers, but it is weird to think that it would have been the allies doing the bombing on Italy. Actually, it was specifically the Americans on July 27 (my brothers birthday, that's how I remembered).
Anyway, its this huge monument with marble halls; but it all opens to the outside, where there's a stretch of grass that holds the dome for the background. It's hard to explain, but again, I'm sure you could look it up. The whole thing had these really great frescoes, but they're all gone now and in the process of being restored. The graves are there though; they just look like plaques, but they're on the ground. Some were as recent as 2009. When they built the monument, they shipped in a bunch of dirt from the middle east so that it could be built on holy ground, since many of the people buried there are Important church figures.
We broke for free time, and checked out the shopping. I ended up finally getting a blazer that was on sale. It's always flattering when a person working at a store comes up to you and starts speaking Italian, especially in touristy areas, because a lot of the time they can pick out Americans from miles away. When they don't immediately start with English (which happens a lot) it can be terrifying, but it also means you're starting to blend in, which just feels like a huge accomplishment.
When we came home we sat next to a British couple, and it was fun listening to the same language with different semantics (instead of "where did you put it?" the statement is "where have you put it?"...its probably just the accent, but it still sounds cool). It made me wonder what it would be like, to come to a country as an English speaker but without the stigma of being an American. I wanted to ask them about it, but I could always just talk to the obnoxious high school kids from London in our hostel. More like hostile... We have not been getting along.
We found this restaurant called Astor, which apparently the cast of jersey shore went to, but all I really cared about was the Americanized cheeseburger. It was like a nice night club, but all the food was very American. They knew who they were marketing to. It was so delicious though; and even in Italy, they use Heinz ketchup. It was nice comfort food to end the day with.
We walked around at night, which was really pretty. We hung out on the bridge over the river for a while, and it amazes me that even a year later and a continent away, I still can't really enjoy the beauty of a river since Molly. It's not that I can't stand being on one, but it just leaves me kind of sour and bitter. I know I can't go around being salty at every waterway I walk across, but for now I'm not going to deal with it.
Tomorrow is our last full day of scheduled activities; Florence is going by so fast! It's hard to believe that this is the 2nd week- each day goes by so slow, but the weeks go so fast. This time next week I'll be leaving Germany for Paris. Crazy.
We were up and ready to go by ten of 8 (which took us a week to figure out meant 7:50) to walk to the train station to hop a ride to Pisa. It's about an hour ride, which isn't bad at all. I have a picture from us during the ride, but I'm not sure if it posted. The Internet is pretty sketchy here.
We walked about 30 minutes from the train station to get to everything we would see; it's amazing how long walks seem so much shorter when 1.theres a lot to look at 2. Youre in good company and 3. You're at this point completed used to this kind of walk. Seriously, after having to walk back and forth from the hostel all the time, it seems like nothing. Especially when you just don't have any other means.
The leaning tower of Pisa...leans. Really. It's only like a 3 degree tilt or something small, but it seems crazy. You have to see it though, because I'm sure my pictures look like all the other ones I saw before the trip. It's always different in real life.
We went to the Baptistry, which Is the largest one in Italy. It also is known for having great acoustics; while we were there, everyone got quiet so a woman could go out in the middle and just sing one note, and let it resonate, and then belt out another; it was so pretty, and as always, I wish I had gotten video. I'm starting to get better about that.
Next was the cathedral. It seems awful, but they're all starting to run together; honestly, this trip is like cramming for a test. You remember some really significant stuff,but a lot of it you forget a few days later. 4 churches a day for two weeks is a lot of remembering altars and frescoes. This one had the christ in majesty mosaic though, I can tell you that, and at some point during the 1600s there was a fire in it, but it's been restored.
Everything is all within this area called the "field of miracles ", which you aren't allowed to walk on. It was so nice to just see grass though; at one point there was a lawn mower going and you could smell the freshly cut grass, and everything was peace.
People were tromping through to take their tourist pictures, though. It was so funny, how many people were standing there pretending to be holding up the tower. I actually snapped a picture of a bunch of people doing it; the huge groups of people you find is comical. Meghan took hers, but I restrained myself. I'll probably regret it later.
Our last sight was the composanto cemetery. The whole thing was bombed during world war 2, and they never point any fingers, but it is weird to think that it would have been the allies doing the bombing on Italy. Actually, it was specifically the Americans on July 27 (my brothers birthday, that's how I remembered).
Anyway, its this huge monument with marble halls; but it all opens to the outside, where there's a stretch of grass that holds the dome for the background. It's hard to explain, but again, I'm sure you could look it up. The whole thing had these really great frescoes, but they're all gone now and in the process of being restored. The graves are there though; they just look like plaques, but they're on the ground. Some were as recent as 2009. When they built the monument, they shipped in a bunch of dirt from the middle east so that it could be built on holy ground, since many of the people buried there are Important church figures.
We broke for free time, and checked out the shopping. I ended up finally getting a blazer that was on sale. It's always flattering when a person working at a store comes up to you and starts speaking Italian, especially in touristy areas, because a lot of the time they can pick out Americans from miles away. When they don't immediately start with English (which happens a lot) it can be terrifying, but it also means you're starting to blend in, which just feels like a huge accomplishment.
When we came home we sat next to a British couple, and it was fun listening to the same language with different semantics (instead of "where did you put it?" the statement is "where have you put it?"...its probably just the accent, but it still sounds cool). It made me wonder what it would be like, to come to a country as an English speaker but without the stigma of being an American. I wanted to ask them about it, but I could always just talk to the obnoxious high school kids from London in our hostel. More like hostile... We have not been getting along.
We found this restaurant called Astor, which apparently the cast of jersey shore went to, but all I really cared about was the Americanized cheeseburger. It was like a nice night club, but all the food was very American. They knew who they were marketing to. It was so delicious though; and even in Italy, they use Heinz ketchup. It was nice comfort food to end the day with.
We walked around at night, which was really pretty. We hung out on the bridge over the river for a while, and it amazes me that even a year later and a continent away, I still can't really enjoy the beauty of a river since Molly. It's not that I can't stand being on one, but it just leaves me kind of sour and bitter. I know I can't go around being salty at every waterway I walk across, but for now I'm not going to deal with it.
Tomorrow is our last full day of scheduled activities; Florence is going by so fast! It's hard to believe that this is the 2nd week- each day goes by so slow, but the weeks go so fast. This time next week I'll be leaving Germany for Paris. Crazy.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
"Uffizi" makes auto correct unhappy
Today we started at he borgello museum, since we weren't able to go the day before. We saw Donatello's David, which is my favorite of all the Davids (except for David Greene, of course). We also have a fancy "friends of the uffizi" pass, so we don't have to wait in any lines.
Security here is weird. You have to go through a metal detector,but if it goes off no one really cares and you just keep going. Your stuff goes through the X-ray machine like at the airport, but even if the little red bulb goes on, they still don't stop you. Doug gave me this little Swiss army knife set that has been really useful, but I forgot I had taken it out of the room the night before, and it was still in my purse. No one stopped me,and I just waltzed right in. Granted, I wasn't going to be doing much damage with it, but still.
We went to the uffizi gallery next, which had a lot of the stuff we had studied. Megan enjoys herself and tells me all about the paintings I forgot we had learned; but when we get to London, I'm going to be the pro at Shakespeare. I'm pretty excited, even if it makes me a big nerd. There are 6 English majors and around 10 art history people, so we're a bit out numbered.
We had 4 hours of free time before going to the Piazzale Michelangelo, so I perused the clothing stores. I really want to get a cute blazer before we go home, but I also realize I could save my money and buy 5 european cute outfits at home, or 2 pieces of European clothing here. Plus, it was so hot today that it's just no fun shopping for jackets. I did get a nice leather journal though; it's tiny enough to fit in my purse, just so I can jot things down to remember to put them back in here.
When we finally reconvened, we walked up this super large steep hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which gives a great view of Florence. I might go back another day to see the sun set, if my feet will allow it. Seriously, this should be offered with hpe credits as well, but Marc and Ted said they tried and it was shut down, because there isn't enough structure. Either way, I'm going to get way more fit than I would in "art of relaxation" class. The other nice thing about being up there was that we finally got rid of the pigeons, which I now know are a universal problem. I just see puppy loving pigeons, but Megan is terrified of birds, and one brushed my face today (like, literally pushed my bangs with its wings during takeoff) so I was ready to get some time away as well.
Now I'm back at the hostel, after a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwhich :) I wish the milk here were satisfying, but it's more like drinking straight cream. Blah. Maybe I can find some and just water it down, but for now I'm sticking to orange juice and water. Everyone else is sipping wine- Ted asked us to be classy and stop drinking wine straight from the bottle in the lounge, so his wife bought us all orange plastic cups. They are too cute. Now the cups are hot commodities, but I've just got a juice box. I've always been the cool kid.
I have a hard time thinking of clever titles
On the itinerary, for our first day incflorence:
Visit Duomo, the Baptistery, Opera del Duomo, and Bargello Museum (closes at 2 p.m.) Afternoon visit of San Lorenzo (Medici tombs and Laurentian Library). Santa Maria Novella for Masaccio’s Holy Trinity fresco.
So we knew we had a lot cut out for us (especially since our hostel is a 20 minute walk away from everything, so there's a 40 minute walking time guaranteed every day).
The duomo was huge, and impressive, but there's an awful painting on the inside that makes the scale seem weird. Hopefully I'll get to climb up to the top on our free day, so then I can see how huge it is. We saw the baptistery, where every florentine is baptized up until a few years ago. I was able to take pictures in there, but I didn't do many- I think Florence is my favorite city, but I just haven't been doing too many pictures. Blogging, either. I'm just experiencing.
We didn't do Bargello museum because we started the day with Santa Maria novella, which took a while. Side note: we don't get continental breakfast in our hostel, so everyone went to the grocery store. I ended up getting these fiber bars that taste like churros. So delicious, and so lucky. Moral of the story, it packs easily, and that's pretty awesome. We had some free time to get lunch, and we ended up at this nice little diner on the top floor, so we could see everything from the patio. My lunch was expensive and awful, but the service was great. She was super friendly, and asked us where we were from, and even told us how to do things so we didn't have to be the dumb Americans- where to pay, if we should leave tip, etc. she even gave me a doggy bag, which they don't really do over here. Another thing I don't think I've mentioned; everytime you go out to eat, you pay a table charge for bread and silverware. You also can't get separate checks, so we're all getting really good at math.
I'll take this time just to talk about money, I guess. A euro is worth 1.3 American dollars, so when you buy a 5 euro sandwhich, it's 6.50 dollars. Stuff you need to remember. Also, they hate big bills here; they would much rather you spend a bunch of extra time looking for exact change rather than giving them a 10 or 20 (this is very inconvenient when the ATM gives you 50s. At the same time, you want to get as much out as you can at once to avoid mas many bank fees as you can.) euros come in cents, in a one euro coin, a two euro coin, and then bills- 5,10,20, etc. so you end up carrying a lot of change, which is pretty heavy and jangly. Also, it's just kind of an awkward dance when you're trying to fish out 2 euro and two twenty cent pieces to pay for your gelato,and then try to get the receipt back in and any extra change and get your gelato out of the way. Weird skills you learn to do as a team.
Anyway, after lunch we went to the Medici chapel and palace and their tombs. The Medici were the rich people of Florence that ran the show- maybe there are lots of good things to be said about them, but from the things I saw, they were mostly big duesches. The tombs were huge and ornate, with big scary statue versions of themselves by Michelangelo staring down from overtop of them. It was insane. There were no photos, or I would have gotten some just to show the ridiculousness of it all, but I'm sure you can find some online. I know they did a lot, but it just seemed way over the top.
We decided to go shopping after all the scheduled activities were over, and theres a cute
Little market where you can barter for nice leather goods and fruit and spices and anything else. We were just looking from afar, because they tend to get a little aggressively eager, which is exactly what happened. Katy ended up getting dragged down an alley so a man could take her to his shop and meet his sister so she could try on leather jackets. I have so many feelings and thoughts about the ordeal that I'll have to wait and share with everyone once I get back. He thought I was Ukrainian (shout out to my big, here!) and Megan was German, which she's been getting a lot. Basically after a lot of touching and hassling and fawning, he realized we weren't going to be getting a jacket, and got really rude about why we wasted his time and why we came to his shop, to which Megan replied that "we didn't, you literally dragged her down here." that was when she and I got thrown out. We had Katy's wallet though, so after some cussing and yelling she came out and he stormed off. His sister came back and apologized, but it was all just very bizarre.
We stopped at h&m for some retail therapy that was closer to home and what we were used to, but didn't find anything good. We decided to go to dinner at this cheap restaurant the profs had told us about. I got spaghetti and the house red wine, which was alright. The wine here knocks me off my ass, so I try to keep pretty light with it, but a quarter of a liter is still a lot. The spaghetti wasn't great either; I know this is probably wrong, but I'm in italy and all I want is my moms perfect spaghetti. Well, and the freedom to put my own cheese on. However, if anyone wanted to learn to make 4 formaggio spaghetti for me when I come back, there would be no complaints.
I forgot, my big news!! I was on the google machine looking up places to by sunscreen, and I came across a site with some important grocery stores noted. One of them was this ethnic cousine store, so that you old buy things that were common in other countries. I tracked it down, and it was a dumpy place in the middle of no where, but it was a dumpy place with PEANUTBUTTER. So I am the happiest of all the little American girls.
We comeback to the hostel for some quiet time, and ended up having a hair braiding party, which was cute. I met some of the new guys that moved into our hall- high schoolers from London that were here with a class to just tour. So cool. They werent particularly interested in us though- I'm learning a lot about style here, but there are still middle school girls that look more put together than most of us do. It's pretty intimidating, but fun.
So that was Florence! Supposedly the toughest day, I guess well see. It seems like this week is going to fly by though, and then well be back in Germany!
Visit Duomo, the Baptistery, Opera del Duomo, and Bargello Museum (closes at 2 p.m.) Afternoon visit of San Lorenzo (Medici tombs and Laurentian Library). Santa Maria Novella for Masaccio’s Holy Trinity fresco.
So we knew we had a lot cut out for us (especially since our hostel is a 20 minute walk away from everything, so there's a 40 minute walking time guaranteed every day).
The duomo was huge, and impressive, but there's an awful painting on the inside that makes the scale seem weird. Hopefully I'll get to climb up to the top on our free day, so then I can see how huge it is. We saw the baptistery, where every florentine is baptized up until a few years ago. I was able to take pictures in there, but I didn't do many- I think Florence is my favorite city, but I just haven't been doing too many pictures. Blogging, either. I'm just experiencing.
We didn't do Bargello museum because we started the day with Santa Maria novella, which took a while. Side note: we don't get continental breakfast in our hostel, so everyone went to the grocery store. I ended up getting these fiber bars that taste like churros. So delicious, and so lucky. Moral of the story, it packs easily, and that's pretty awesome. We had some free time to get lunch, and we ended up at this nice little diner on the top floor, so we could see everything from the patio. My lunch was expensive and awful, but the service was great. She was super friendly, and asked us where we were from, and even told us how to do things so we didn't have to be the dumb Americans- where to pay, if we should leave tip, etc. she even gave me a doggy bag, which they don't really do over here. Another thing I don't think I've mentioned; everytime you go out to eat, you pay a table charge for bread and silverware. You also can't get separate checks, so we're all getting really good at math.
I'll take this time just to talk about money, I guess. A euro is worth 1.3 American dollars, so when you buy a 5 euro sandwhich, it's 6.50 dollars. Stuff you need to remember. Also, they hate big bills here; they would much rather you spend a bunch of extra time looking for exact change rather than giving them a 10 or 20 (this is very inconvenient when the ATM gives you 50s. At the same time, you want to get as much out as you can at once to avoid mas many bank fees as you can.) euros come in cents, in a one euro coin, a two euro coin, and then bills- 5,10,20, etc. so you end up carrying a lot of change, which is pretty heavy and jangly. Also, it's just kind of an awkward dance when you're trying to fish out 2 euro and two twenty cent pieces to pay for your gelato,and then try to get the receipt back in and any extra change and get your gelato out of the way. Weird skills you learn to do as a team.
Anyway, after lunch we went to the Medici chapel and palace and their tombs. The Medici were the rich people of Florence that ran the show- maybe there are lots of good things to be said about them, but from the things I saw, they were mostly big duesches. The tombs were huge and ornate, with big scary statue versions of themselves by Michelangelo staring down from overtop of them. It was insane. There were no photos, or I would have gotten some just to show the ridiculousness of it all, but I'm sure you can find some online. I know they did a lot, but it just seemed way over the top.
We decided to go shopping after all the scheduled activities were over, and theres a cute
Little market where you can barter for nice leather goods and fruit and spices and anything else. We were just looking from afar, because they tend to get a little aggressively eager, which is exactly what happened. Katy ended up getting dragged down an alley so a man could take her to his shop and meet his sister so she could try on leather jackets. I have so many feelings and thoughts about the ordeal that I'll have to wait and share with everyone once I get back. He thought I was Ukrainian (shout out to my big, here!) and Megan was German, which she's been getting a lot. Basically after a lot of touching and hassling and fawning, he realized we weren't going to be getting a jacket, and got really rude about why we wasted his time and why we came to his shop, to which Megan replied that "we didn't, you literally dragged her down here." that was when she and I got thrown out. We had Katy's wallet though, so after some cussing and yelling she came out and he stormed off. His sister came back and apologized, but it was all just very bizarre.
We stopped at h&m for some retail therapy that was closer to home and what we were used to, but didn't find anything good. We decided to go to dinner at this cheap restaurant the profs had told us about. I got spaghetti and the house red wine, which was alright. The wine here knocks me off my ass, so I try to keep pretty light with it, but a quarter of a liter is still a lot. The spaghetti wasn't great either; I know this is probably wrong, but I'm in italy and all I want is my moms perfect spaghetti. Well, and the freedom to put my own cheese on. However, if anyone wanted to learn to make 4 formaggio spaghetti for me when I come back, there would be no complaints.
I forgot, my big news!! I was on the google machine looking up places to by sunscreen, and I came across a site with some important grocery stores noted. One of them was this ethnic cousine store, so that you old buy things that were common in other countries. I tracked it down, and it was a dumpy place in the middle of no where, but it was a dumpy place with PEANUTBUTTER. So I am the happiest of all the little American girls.
We comeback to the hostel for some quiet time, and ended up having a hair braiding party, which was cute. I met some of the new guys that moved into our hall- high schoolers from London that were here with a class to just tour. So cool. They werent particularly interested in us though- I'm learning a lot about style here, but there are still middle school girls that look more put together than most of us do. It's pretty intimidating, but fun.
So that was Florence! Supposedly the toughest day, I guess well see. It seems like this week is going to fly by though, and then well be back in Germany!
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