London Adventures 2012 - A Shutterfly Photo Book

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It's been grand, folks.  While I hope to post a few more stories here on Blogger, I would hate to make promises I might not keep.  For now, I hope you enjoy my little photo book I've put together on Shutterfly.  It was a great chance to look through all my 1,000 pictures from Ireland, England, and Paris.  It also made me miss London all the more... I may have looked up airline ticket prices for transatlantic flights in January... but I should practice more patience.

I'll get back there one day.

How to Make a Museum - with some help from Prezi

While experimenting with the new presentation software (cloudware?) Prezi, I explored three of the most innovative museums we visited in England. These institutions featured interactive exhibits that were highly immersive and artistic. I hope my pictures do them justice!

 A small warning: Prezi is known as the "zooming" presentation; it's been known to cause motion sickness in those predisposed to it. No joke. I tried to make mine as non-zoomy as possible.

How to Make a Museum on Prezi

Museum websites:
The Museum of London
The Story Museum
"House of Cards" at Kensington Palace

How to Share

I've been home for a little less than 24 hours now.  I had very little ambition about this day, so I ended up watching all of Downton Abbey, season 1, and working on my cross-stitch.  I didn't want to tackle the heat today - 100 degrees is daunting when one is used to 60s and 70s - and I also had no idea when the jet-lag would kick in.

Finally rousing myself around 4:30pm to take a shower, I started thinking about integrating back into everyday life.  What struck me was that I now had this thing, this great big experience, in which no one around me took part.  I think a very large part of friendship is shared experience, which is why I know I'll always have a bond with those 11 other women - we shared London together.  But how can I share my time in London with everyone back home?

I see a choice in front of me.  I can either let this study-abroad experience alienate me from my friends - "No one knows the things I've seen!" - or slowly and deliberately try to share it with them.  Anybody who asks me, "How was London?" is simply asking the wrong question (and I may tell them as much).  Since I'm not a Vulcan, I can't just mind-meld with you.  I have to accept that there's no way to communicate an entire memory.  What I do have are stories.

This is obviously a reason for keeping a blog when you travel.  But there's oh so much I haven't written about here.  Since I'm not a particularly good storyteller, I think I'm going to force myself to get to a library or coffee shop (or maybe one of the local tea shops, just for some good tea!) and write stories of our travels.  Nothing fancy, just a more intentional time to write and organize my thoughts and memories.

I daresay that I have begun a love affair with England that I'll be pursuing my entire life.  I must stop myself from dramatically declaring that I'll spend my whole life trying to get back there, because I know there are many other things in life that I will pursue.  But England - it's almost unfair how you've stolen my heart.

A London Invasion

Last night and today, I've almost felt I'm in a different city.  I hate to be pretentious and say that this isn't my London, but it really does seem like London has changed completely over the weekend.

Up until this point, if someone asked me, "Are you seeing all the preparations for the Olympics?", my response would have been, "No, actually, except for the posters everywhere warning about increased traffic, you'd have no idea the games were happening."  But oh, it's a different story now.  They put short info spots down on the sidewalk next to our flats, they've replaced some artistic telephone boxes with artistic Wenlocks (one-eyed Olympic mascot, with his Paralympic buddy, Mandeville), and the crowds have tripled at least.  We took a stroll past Trafalgar Square, where the huge screens are being set up for games viewing, down past the Houses of Parliment to the London Eye (for a spin around the Eye!), then up to a park close to Buckingham Palace.  So yeah - we saw ALL the newly-arrived tourists.

I'm really excited to watch the games from home, and I'm sure they'll make me miss London like crazy.  But I also hate crowds and tourist environments, so I'm actually surprisingly willing to get out of town while I can.  It makes leaving a little bit easier.  Just a little.

As a wrap-up to my trip so far, here's a look at all the panoramic pictures I've taken.  It's very easy with my camera, and I just love them.  I'll continue blogging when I'm home - we have a few more assignments before our class is officially done - and there's so much more that I haven't talked about.  So stay tuned!

London Skyline - taken from the London Eye

Atlantic Ocean - taken from a beach near Tully Cross, Ireland

Kylemore Lough - taken from Kylemore Abbey grounds

London Skyline - taken from the golden gallery on top of St. Paul's Cathedral

Olympic Park - taken from the closest train station

Regent's Park - taken in... Regent's Park

The Royal Crescent - taken in Bath, England

Paris Skyline - taken from the top of the Arc de Triomphe (the real thing curves a lot more!)

Paris Skyline - taken from the front of Sacre Coeur

Paris, I love you... especially your food

Paris.  What can I say?  Where do I start?

Let me just say that when I get back to home, I'm watching Paris, je t'aime (seriously, rent it or watch it on Netflix - it's great!), Midnight in Paris, Amelie, in addition to the excessively long list of British movies I'm making.

It took awhile to get to know Paris - we were doing touristy things, because, well, you've got to prioritize when you only have a weekend.  Instead of a blow-by-blow (which would be LONG and probably boring at some point), let's go to the bullet points.  Scroll down for the FOOD.

Also, I'm lazy, so you won't get any fancy emphasis letters from me.

Friday

• Arc de Triomphe
• Champs-Elysees (big, fancy shopping street)
• AMAZING LUNCH
• Eiffel Tower
• The outside of Notre Dame
• Boat ride on the Seine
• Shakespeare & Co. (really famous English bookstore)
• The Louvre

Saturday

• Catacombs
• Latin Quarter (Notre Dame area)
• The Conciergerie
• Saint-Chappelle
• Tour of the Latin Quarter by a Parisian
• The INSIDE of Notre Dame
• Gelato!
• The Opera House & Gallerie Lafayette
• The Eiffel Tower at night

Sunday

• Sacre Coeur for mass!
• Wandered around Montmartre for the rest of the day

Food

Somebody mentioned this weekend that after eating in Paris, no food tastes as good.  I'm really worried that this is going to prove true.

I wish I had taken pictures of our whole lunch on Friday - a salad of bitter greens with thin flakes of Parmesan on a bed of thin meat (prosciutto, maybe?), followed by a plate of chicken & gravy, the creamiest mashed potatoes ever, and a bit of lettuce with pesto.
And then came the creme brulee - oh. my. heavens.  I never want to have creme brulee again, or I fear I would sully my experience.  I had my full plate and half of someone else's, even though I was stuffed.


Saturday's breakfast was a pain au chocolat on the go - a pastry with bits of dark chocolate wrapped in crispy, flaky dough.

 For lunch, we stopped for crepes and coffee.  The crepe was Nutella and banana - the French, they love their Nutella - and the coffee was a cafe au lait, since the regular "coffee" is espresso.  It came with a packet of sugar, and though I usually put a few packets in my coffee, this was perfect with just the one.  Why can't I get coffee like this in Madison?  Maybe I can, but I need to find it.  There's also a creperie in Madison, and I may just have to make that a habit.

 Crepes aren't really filling for long, so we needed a gelato in the afternoon.  We waited in line for about 35 minutes for a treat from the oldest gelato place in the Latin Quarter (maybe all of Paris).  I got a double scoop of praline amaretto and chocolat blanc - white chocolate.  If you can see how firmly I'm holding the cone, you can guess how excited I was to eat it and how much I didn't want to drop gelato into the Seine as I snapped a picture.

Dinner for me was boeuf bourguignon - beef stew - and oh, was it tender.  A friend once made Julia Child's boeuf bourguignon, and I almost want to say it was more flavorful.  But after a day of walking miles and a few hours since that gelato, food just tastes so much better.

I was on my own for Sunday breakfast, and I was able to order "deux pain au chocolat, s'il vous plait".  Yes, I am fairly proud of myself.  No, I have no idea what the lady said back to me.  They were just as delicious.

A few of us wandered in Montmartre until we found a creperie/sandwicherie (no kidding, that was the sign).  I ordered a simple sandwich with chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

Good Lord, why can't every sandwich taste like that?  So fresh, perfect bread, just the right blend of flavors.  We sat at the little place for an hour or two, so a strawberry ice cream soon followed.

Paris, I will miss your food.  I will not miss your different language (it's beautiful, just not one that I know), your dirty metro, your panhandlers, your smelly people (they really don't use deodorant often), or my lack of home there.

Coming back to London felt like coming home in so many ways, but the knowledge that I'd be leaving in two days meant that it was a bittersweet return.  I loved my weekend in Paris, but it meant less time in London.  Some decisions are difficult, and will always be difficult.  It is comforting to know that I'm much more likely to return to England than to France... so perhaps this was my one shot at Paris.  And I will certainly remember it!

The Beauty of Yes

One of those great life lessons that I've heard is that the key to a happy life is to say 'yes'.  Some people - those who want most to please people - benefit more from knowing that they can say 'no' to requests.  This helps them not overstretch themselves.

I'm not gifted with the natural inclination to please people.  It's just a temperament thing; I have other good, natural inclinations.  I know my limits in taking on responsibilities well enough, but I also tend to play my life pretty safely.  I normally stick to what I can control.

Needless to say, this London trip has been a big step for me.  I don't think there's any better experience of not being in control of things than when you travel.  Now, I haven't really kept this roll-with-the-punches mindset my whole time: as I learn more about London, I'm more in control.  And I'll be back in control when I return home.  Preparing for a weekend in Paris, however, I notice this anxiety of the uncontrollable creeping in again.

This picture is from an art piece at the British Library - a whole wall of YES.  It was a good reminder today that saying yes and going with the flow... well, it makes your whole experience so much better.  It's an openness to life.

Heck - sign me up for that!

I'll be leaving my laptop in London this weekend, so the soonest I can post is Sunday evening.  I look forward to sharing my Paris adventures with you, and returning home shortly after (next Tuesday! whoa!).  Talk to you soon!

Just for Fun

A few videos that feature Britain at her best.

Sadly, this bookstore is WAY in the north, so I won't be visiting

We cooked! And made a video!

Three of us were tasked to create a video showing how studying abroad was a different experience than simply traveling.  We loved the fact that we could cook in our flats, so a trip to Borough Market and a dinner menu were decided.  Enjoy!



Music credit:
"FM" by Jahzzar from the album "Traveller's Guide"
"Montmartre" by Jahzzar from the album "Paris, Lisboa"

A Love Letter

I admit I've fallen in love.  And no, it's not to Henry the Fifth, nor is it Richard, the handsome young man from Kensington Palace who played a game of Go Fish with us.

I.  Love.  The Tube.

Otherwise known as the Underground.  It runs underneath all of London, and the best part about it is that it's incredibly reliable.  During peak daytime travel hours, you don't need to know a train departure time so much as you just need to go to the appropriate platform and wait a few minutes.  The longest I've had to wait was 5 minutes before a train showed up.

This is great for me, since I'm eternally late for everything.  When there's no schedule to keep track of, there's no such thing as late! You just need to make sure to leave enough time for travel.

Of all the things about London that I'm going to miss, the dependability and ease of the tube is going to be the biggest.  I wish I could take it home with me.

Most Londoners have what's called an Oyster card (no idea where the name came from).  It's an all-in-one travel expense debit card that works for your tube, bus, boat, and National Rail rides.  You just put money on it, and you're good to go.  The drawback is that the tube is more expensive than other modes of transportation - they gave us 70 pounds on our Oyster cards when we got here, and I'm down to 15 pounds after 2.5 weeks.  Then again, we do travel a lot.

The really strange thing is that the people on the tube are so quiet.  There's not a lot of talking - everyone keeps to themselves, but are also very aware of what's going on around them.  That observation alone greatly contributes to my respect for Londoners.

And yes, they do have these adorable reminders to "Mind the Gap" everywhere.  Those Brits - so courteous.

If I had more time (and more money on my Oyster card), I would love to collect pictures of all the tube stops around the city.  They're all so unique (see my picture of the Baker Street station in my post about Sherlock Holmes); our "home" station is Tottenham Court Road, and the walls are covered with bright, abstract mosaics.

While I wish I could take advantage of the Tube back in the States, but I have to say, I'm also really looking forward to getting on my bike again.

Going to See Sting's House - A Story in Five Pictures

More visual storytelling examples can be found here - I do love a storytelling challenge.


Obviously, going to see Sting's house was not the sole purpose of our journeys today.  We took a day trip to Salisbury and Stonehenge.  Aside from giving its name to delicious steaks, Salisbury seems like a lovely place to live.  We visited the cathedral (I think that brings my Anglican church count up to 4), had lunch, then drove out to Stonehenge.

I'll admit it - it's very impressive.  We had an incredibly informative tour guide who actually helped with an excavation dig in the area within the last 10 years.  If you're in the States, you can watch this NOVA feature for more information.

One of the sad things about being in London is that so very many websites or services are restricted to the States: Pandora, Hulu, any TV station sites that play video.  What a hardship.

Our guide often referred to the main purpose of Stonehenge as a place of trade, not only of goods, but also young people between communities.  I had never thought about this necessity for ancient peoples - I daresay everyone had some sense of the dangers of inbreeding the human race.  I can just imagine the courtship that would happen in this area... just like the Assembly Rooms in Bath for Jane Austen.  Exact same thing. :-)

Second Star on the Right and Straight on 'Til Morning

Neverland.  It was everywhere today.

 The Princess Diana Memorial Playground is directly modeled on Peter Pan and Neverland - there's a pirate ship, teepees (we did our best to be politically correct while playing in them), and so very, very many things to play with or on.  We could only be in the playground for 30 minutes before it opened to parents with children.  They literally don't allow you in if you don't have children.  But we sure did have fun for those 30 minutes!

 Further on in Hyde Park (check out the map/photo on Wikipedia - the park is HUGE) is a statue commemorating the character of Peter Pan.  J. M. Barrie lived just across the street from Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (which are inside the park) and would come often to write Peter Pan.  We saw his house, which is commemorated by the now-familiar blue plaque of distinction.

There's been a good deal of talk today in our group about growing up, i.e. declarations that we won't ever do it.  But I don't think I've ever been moved to say this.  Saying that you won't grow up (or didn't) means that you see a clear separation between childhood and adulthood.  I don't see this separation, perhaps because I grew up in a ridiculously creative household.  We were a community theater family, and I saw my parents and older sisters sewing costumes, making sets, climbing the rafters to hang lights, crawling beneath the stage to hook up equipment.  I mean, my mom and dad were in a performance of The Pirates of Penzance, with my dad as a pirate and my mom as a police officer.  I was raised by terrific parents who dressed up and played (why do you think they're called plays?) all the time.  So no, I don't think adulthood means putting aside the fun, imagination, and creativity of childhood.  I'm proud to grow up, because that means I get to play in a whole new way.

Thanks mom and dad - you're the best!

A Day's Worth of BATH

Right, it's quite late for me, but I've GOT to tell you about our day trip to Bath!  I went with Kristen, another student in my program, and we ended up talking the entire train ride there and back (which is saying something, since our ride there was delayed due to back ups).  Let's just say we have quite a bit in common. :-)

Our first order of business upon our arrival was to get to The Jane Austen Centre.  It was really neat, though there is a Jane Austen museum at a house in the country she lived.  The sum of the visit is that Georgian/Regency England was pretty cool, but Jane actually didn't like Bath a whole lot, being the country girl she was.  I wonder how she would feel about the Centre now...

 There were bonnets, fans, and parasols for us to play with.  You better believe we did.  (Keep reading for more dress-up...)

That lady is actually plaster.  Scared the crap out of me.

Ummm... I forget if this is the Royal Crescent or the Circus.  Both are curved rows of buildings built by the same architect around the same period.  They were very posh places to live.

After getting lunch at a cafe, we walked around for a bit, guided by a simple map and street signs.  While tours are great for concisely learning information and history, there really isn't anything better than wandering through the back streets of town.  Who knows, you might even come across several costumed characters on their smoke break (would have been a bit rude & awkward to snap a picture).

The VIEW!

Didn't I promise more dress-up?  I wanted to go see the Fashion Museum in Bath, and buying a combined ticket for that and the Roman Baths was a good deal, so we went for it.  The first exhibition was sport and fashion in honor of the Olympics, but no photography allowed.  Then, after some really old dresses, there was an honest-to-goodness dress-up area.  Hoop skirts, corsets (with snap buckles, not the real thing), a few dresses, hats, coats... Kristen's worked at Renaissance festivals, so she went straight to work on the complete outfit.  I got the hoop skirt on, but the corset was a no-go.  I settled for a bonnet.

Then I proceeded to pick everything up from the floor and put it back where it belonged.  Yes, I am my mother's daughter.

GORGEOUS antique dress.  Their storerooms were so. cool.

The line for the Roman Baths had been so long at lunch time, we decided to come back late afternoon.  It was a grand idea - we just walked right through the doors around 5pm!  As a clarification, you can't actually bathe in the Roman Baths (though it looks like there's a spa down the road).  The complex is part museum, part excavation dig.  There was so much history in this space, it was hard to take in.  We spent a good 2 hours there, and that was with skipping over bits.

You might be able to see how the plaster wall is cut exactly to the stone.  They've actually built this tour center right on top of the ruins, and you walk down into it.  I don't think I've seen anything like it.

Lounging by the baths.  Traditionally, there would have been a roof over the main pool, but the exposure to constant sunlight encourages the growth of algae, making the water green.  It wouldn't normally be this color.

The Roman Baths was a place of relaxation, healing, and worship.  Minerva replaced the local, Celtic healing goddess of the time when the Romans moved in, so there was also a Roman temple on this site.  I'm not sure about the history of the Baths after ancient Rome fell, but we do know that they were in use during Jane Austen's lifetime.  It would have been quite the outing to go to the Baths in Georgian times - and you'd better believe you were fully clothed when you got in.

Check out the steam that hovers over the water.

After a very full day of seeing the sights (and spending a pretty penny), Kristen and I caught a 7:45pm train back to London.  I'm so glad I got to see Bath, what with its ancient and not-so-ancient history.  The day felt so rich with experiences and meaning.  I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting England.

I Would Be Wooed by Henry V

 It was my great honor and privilege to be in the audience for the Friday performance of Henry V at the Globe Theatre on July 13th.  Oh my heavens, the experience was incredible.  I don't think I can use words to describe it...

... though I realize I say that a lot, and you've got to be saying, "Katie, what's the point of having a blog when you can't explain anything?"  Ok, fair point.

First, I should explain that I had a "groundling" ticket, meaning that I stood on the floor of the theatre through the performance (really close to the stage, though), and in true open-air theatre, we got rained on.  Not sure how many people would willingly put up with that for Shakespeare, but I so would.

I think every other performance of Henry V I've seen has cut this out, but there was an actress who acted as narrator - she conceded on behalf of the play that no, we were not in the fields of France, but we'll have to use our imagination.  Also, at various points in the play, we the audience were addressed as lords of the king's court or soldiers.  I mean, the amazing speeches that Henry gives were given to us, and oh, I would have been ready to fight a battle for him.

Plus, he was drop dead handsome and charming.  There's been quite a bit of hand-fanning myself when I talk about him, I'll be honest.

There was a lot of grittiness in this performance.  The actors would stumble out from backstage literally spattered and smeared with stage dirt and blood.  So cool.

And of course, the acting was mind-blowingly good.  As I exited the theatre, giddy with this more-than-usual Shakespeare high (see picture below), I could hear people (mostly American, I admit) saying things like, "It was pretty good" or "I liked it".  All fair statements in their own right, but I pitied these people who didn't know just how amazing it was.

I don't want to seem elitist and full of myself.  I think we all need to recognize that there are levels of appreciation to any form of art.  Those other audience members certainly enjoyed the play - it was exciting, there was battle, there was love - but then there are those who feel the words and rhythm and emotions deep down in that cavern of the soul.  St. Paul talks about the inexpressible groaning that comes with praising God, and I feel like that same idea applies to my love of Shakespeare - I can't truly express myself, so I just groan a little bit and say it was amazing.

The other reason I love Shakespeare so much is that it's different every time.  When I saw Wicked last week, it was pretty much the same as every other time I've seen it.  I have seen Henry V in the last few years, but this was almost like a whole different play.

Oh, and I almost forgot to explain this post title.  In Act V, Henry tries to ask the French princess Catherine to marry him, except he can't speak French and her English is very broken.  Henry bumbles around in his speech, and it's adorable.  I was pretty much squirming and giggling through the whole scene.

I also got some really sweet pictures of the Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's at night - wow.

Rich in Stories

The connections to literature are everywhere in England!  But sometimes I need my travel companion's help to find them. ;-)

Attributions for images taken from Wikimedia Commons or Wikipedia (complying with fair use guidelines):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Secret_Garden_book_cover_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_17396.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_Study_in_Scarlet_from_Beeton%27s_Christmas_Annual_1887.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hobbit_cover.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TheLionWitchWardrobe(1stEd).jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alicesadventuresinwonderland1898.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brock_Pride_and_Prejudice.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shakespeare.jpg

Mary Poppins dust cover illustration by Mary Sheperd taken from http://screever.org/2012/05/02/in-search-of-bert-1934-1988/, under fair use guidelines.

The Power of Narrative

I may have failed to mention this earlier, but we live about a block from the British Museum.  This museum holds many, many famous old things from all over the world, but most notably from Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Assyria.  Thousands of tourists and school groups come here every day.

It's also free - booyah!

I've been twice, but I feel the same thing every time: overwhelmed to the point of apathy.  There are rooms upon rooms of ancient sculptures, vases, carvings - and it all becomes a bit too much to handle.  However, there are a few things that stand out, mostly...

Friends, that's the Rosetta Stone.  THE Rosetta Stone.  Incredible.  And I think you can see the amazing amount of people in the reflection who come to see the Rosetta Stone.

There's also a very large room (half of which is pictured below) that houses a large amount of friezes and statues from the Parthenon in Greece.  Pretty cool.  I've always been fascinated by Ancient Greece, so you would think that you'd have to drag me out of these rooms.  But as I said, I sort of didn't care anymore because there was just so much.

Bits of the Parthenon

The trouble for me was that all these amazing artifacts were delicately placed in an orderly fashion... but with no story or narrative to follow.  I think the great potential of museums is the power to take you through a narrative, and, for good or bad, tell you the story of history.  The Museum of London did a really great job of this.  On the other hand, the British Museum would have to pack away many of its treasures in order to create this effect.  And really, no one wants to be there on the day when the Rosetta Stone isn't on display.  So I guess there's room for different types of museums.