J'adore Paris

Paris était meilleur que j'ai désiré.

The first thing I did when I got to Paris (well, besides getting a metro pass) was to buy a mini-baguette (which was not called a baguette) and walk around and eat it.

The hostel that I stayed in, St. Christopher's was the nicest hostel I have ever seen.

It was a new, clean, and funky hotel for young travelers and backpackers.

There was a bar on the ground floor and there were free tours of the city through the hostel!

I met a girl named Peggy from Singapore and a girl named Alana from Sydney, Australia who I ended up spending a lot of time with.

When I walked down the Champs-Elysées and saw the Arc de Triomphe at the end standing proudly with a French flag hanging from the middle, I felt oddly like I was home.

I was able to climb the Eiffel Tower at sunset and then see it light up and sparkle while eating a banana and chocolate crepe at the bottom. The Eiffel Tower was more massive and beautiful than I had expected it to be.

I saw the Pont Neuf bridge, l'Opéra, the building where the French revolution started and many of the places that the Impressionists painted. I went to the Louvre, of course, but I was more excited and impressed with Le Musée D'Orsay, whichholds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings in the world. The Mona Lisa was at the Louvre, and it wasn't that great. If you want to have a conversation with me about that, you can let me know. I did really love the sculpture of Cupid and Psyche and Venus de Mélo was exciting as well.

I did not see the Moulin Rouge, and it really does not bother me. I did see Jim Morrison's grave at Le Cimetiere Pere-Lachaise, but that was a bit of a disappointment, because after a long search for it, it was a small, hidden, and ordinary grave. The cemetery itself was impressive, though, with some of the most unique and creepy graves I have ever seen. The Notre Dame was lovely, but I found it disturbing that after the walk-through, there was an actual merchandise stand in the church. I just don't think that a church and a market should be combined--it seems somewhat sacrilegious and irreverent.

I honestly ate the most unhealthily than I have probably ever in my life. I don't think I had even one actual meal. I ate bread, cheese, pastries, lattes...and one plate of nachos.

The reason I haven't gone into that much detail on this post is because my experience in Paris was beyond words. Cliché, right? I don't care; clichés are often true. It has been one of the most enriching experiences in my life to meet people from all over the world, who are traveling for different and similar reasons, and who have dropped everything to find something new and adventurous. I'm coming to the end of my adventures with only one week left, and I know I will understand things much more clearly in retrospect. But I am sure I've said that several times throughout this blog. I'm sure I'll write a farewell blog, so stay tuned for that.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Katherine, a graphic design student at RISD invited me to go to the Duchamp, Man Ray and Picabia exhibition that was taking place at Tate Modern in London. I of course obliged, considering that I missed my chance to go for free; but that is another story of its own. On the way, we walked across the Millennium Bridge, and it was a beautiful, sunny day. This was a welcome change from the rainy, windy, cloudy, cold weather we have had for the last few weeks. Just walking outside in London made me feel alive and content. The exhibition was interesting, and I saw some fairly famous pieces by Duchamp like Fountain, The Large Glass, and the bicycle wheel on a stool, which I cannot remember the name of. Many of the works were replicas, though, which was a little disappointing.

Afterwards, we met up with Joel and Michael and took the train to Greenwich. We first stopped at a little antique and vintage market, which I wanted to stay at for much longer but the others seemed to be done. I really want to go back because I was enthralled with the hats, lacy gloves, and pumps. There was even a little instrument booth where I got to try out a ukulele.

We left and went to the Prime Meridian of the World, which is 0° longitude. The National Maritime museum was also up there, along with the Royal Observatory. I stood over the official line, which means I was standing in the Western and Eastern Hemispheres at the same time! It was an exciting experience, considering I just finished a physical geography course in the winter. I spoke with a few people from here, though, and nobody seems to know about it! I was really surprised.

When I got home I had dinner with Debs, her friend and Immie and then I went to a pub called The Ram with Immie, her boyfriend and a few of her friends. I have been feeling kind of down lately, but I think the change in weather (because it is finally warm and sunny here) and the activities lifted my spirits.

p.s.

this is me having fun.

hope has a way of turning its face to you just when you least expect it.

this is not my photograph.



the study abroad group plus a couple of English girls.


yes, the fried Mars bar.

This past Thursday night at 11:00 p.m., a friend and I boarded a National Express bus headed to Edinburgh, Scotland. It was a long and tiring ride, and it was difficult to sleep. We were surrounded by cuddling couples and snorers, but we managed to get there eventually, sleep or not. The weekend was filled with fried Mars bars, ukulele playing, and haggis-eating. On a side note, haggis is the belly of a lamb with oats and spices. My friend, Graham, from Connecticut lives and goes to the University there.

On the way to his flat, we got somewhat lost, but it was worth it. We were on Princes Street and although it was in the middle of a shopping area, over to our left was a huge green mountain of a hill with Edinburgh Castle standing atop it. While of course visiting museums, galleries, the writer's museum, and a monument to Sir Walter Scott, it was not the most exciting of places. For its beauty, though, I was left in awe.

The first evening, Graham took us to a crepe party, where I met his friends from the United States, France, Denmark, Lithuania and England. It was explained to me several times that there weren't many Scots at the University. I had a crepe with Nutella and bananas, as well as one with cheese and a martini. I thoroughly enjoy meeting people from all over the world. It seems that it's easy to find many international students congregated in the largest cities. These people also tend to be more exciting, adventurous, and open than the locals (but I don't take this as a rule).

There is a story of a dog who stayed by his master's grave until his own death, and there was a statue made of him there. I was also able to see the cafe in which J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. The last night, Graham took us to Arthur's Seat, which is the main peak of a group of hills in Edinburgh. It was nighttime, and it was a serious hike, but at the summit, it was worth it. We could see out to the North Sea and to the highlands. On the way down, we saw the heather on the hill, which I have heard much about.
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I have recently made friends with the daughters of the lady I am lodging with and it's been refreshing to get to know some real English people. For a while, I was spending most of my time with Americans and I strongly desired to acquaint myself with some people from other countries. I was able to bring one of the daughters, Charlotte and her friend to a friend's birthday celebration, which ended up being fantastic!

I have traveled to several places, which has been quite a blessing. A lot of the American students here did an entire tour of about 7-10 European countries, but I am content with my travels. I would rather not rush around to every country and spend money I don't have because I know that I will come back to Europe someday. Besides, I found a friend to travel with me to Paris and I have bought the tickets, so we are officially going to Paris in early May as my last traveling adventure outside of the United Kingdom. I have always wanted to go to France, and there is much anticipation to see the artwork and countryside, as well as the city. As an artist and a French speaker myself, I know that I am realizing a dream. I am going to try to go to Bath and Stonehenge, as well as Greenwich, where the Prime Meridian is, before I return to the United States. I am going home in about five weeks, which I am overjoyed about.

Au revoir.

when eyes can't look at you any other way

It snowed today in Surbiton. It did not last more than five minutes, but it was long enough to remind me of home. It was like a long, cold breath and then it was gone. This kind of weather seems unusual for England, since it hasn't been too cold this month, and in fact hasn't even rained much. But, maybe the fact that it was cold and rainy this week was a cruel way of welcoming Max to England. It's like it had to prove its own stereotype to a visiting American. But he's on a plane on his way home to New York now, and on my walk home from the bus stop, my toes felt as if they were miniature ice cubes clanking together inside of my canvas zebra trainers. Needless to say, I immediately changed into warm pajamas and my L.L. Bean slippers as soon as I got home.

This week wasn't real. It was here and now it is gone, and it feels bizarre to go back to the way things were before Max got here. I am of course sitting in the house sipping on red label fair trade tea from a slender cup and eating any kind of food that I can find in the refrigerator.

Rewind seven days. I stayed at a friend's in Kingston and woke up at 4:15 a.m. to catch a train to London and then a tube to Paddington and a connecting train to Heathrow Airport. I waited excitedly at the arrivals gate with a sign reading, "MAX." My heart pounding harder than I had felt in a long time, I recognized his kind, beardless face and his slender body immediately. That didn't feel real, and neither does any of this. Am I tired?

We saw everything we needed to see, and we enjoyed each other. It was the perfect combination of sightseeing and just hanging out. We saw some amazing things at the British Museum and the British Library like the mummy of Cleopatra, the Rosetta Stone, original manuscripts and diaries of Beowulf, Shakespeare, Hebrews, the Beatles, the Magna Carta, Da Vinci, Newton, Galileo, and so many more. I showed Max all of the things I've seen before, and he especially liked Buckingham Palace. I enjoyed it more the second time, and it was a perfect transition to walk from there to St. James's Park.

I was just getting used to this independent, new lifestyle and now it seems I'm back at the beginning. I have been proud of myself that as a country girl from Connecticut I am able to use public transportation and navigate my way around the city, as well as being confident in airports. All this to say I am glad to know that I can be independent and be alright but I desire to have my companion by my side. As soon as he got here, it is a cliche, but it felt like the puzzle pieces came together.

::EDIT::

I forgot to mention that Max and I went to Hampton Court Palace (King Henry VIII) and met up with Nathan Scharoff, my friend from high school. What a blast from the past.

crank that

This was the night that Soulja Boy was performing live at Oceana in Kingston.
We thought we couldn't miss it, but when we found out it was ten pounds, we had to pass.
Instead, we listened to Crank That and had a photoshoot with Rascal the cat.

it's true

I have forgotten to mention to anyone really that crumpets are delicious. Right now, I am sitting down to a cup of tea and two warmed, buttery crumpets. Are they sold in the United States? If not, that is a shame. I know that I never made an effort to look for them before.

All Things Ordinary

Today, I sat outside with a caramel latte with cream and a moist raspberry white chocolate muffin at Caffe Nero in London. For a few minutes, I remembered to truly breathe in where I was and just relax. After a look in Topshop and Urban Outfitters, I went to the Hillsong Church in London. It was really refreshing and uplifting, so I am really glad I attended. The music was fantastic and people were just excited and there was joy in the air. People seemed friendly too. I still want to attend a service at Westminster Abbey before I go back to the States.

After that, Lauren and I went to the Hayward Gallery to look at an exhibition called "Laughing in a Foreign Language" for our Contemporary Issues in Fine Art II module. Some of it was interesting, and some was not, like museums often are. None of it peeked my curiosity. I suppose I should not say "none," since there was a series of photographs and stories about a traveler purposefully trying to get security to notice him in airports that I took to.

Getting home from the city was a bit of a nightmare, however; involving hopping on and off tubes and trains because one or the other was shut down. Apparently, the government workers for Transport of London do most of the mechanical work on Sundays, so none of the trains in and out of Kingston or Surbiton Stations were running. One of the only things I found amusing during the whole process of making my way out of the city was being mistaken for a Canadian. The lady I live with, Debs, told me that she honestly cannot tell the difference between the accents. Anyway, after finally arriving at Clapham Junction, I caught a replacement bus to Surbiton. It was kindly familiar to get on the K3 bus home to Thames Ditton.

None of this is that interesting, so for that I apologize. Something more interesting is that Max will be arriving in London at six in the morning on Saturday! It really does not feel like he is coming here. I never understand the full gravity of big events until they are much closer in time, like a day away. I will be taking Max to the best places I know here in Kingston and London, but I think we will go to a few new places like Bath and Stonehenge. We may meet up with a high school friend of mine, Nathan, who is coming out to London for a week.

I traveled for so long today that I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so I just stuffed myself on walnut and Gorgonzola tortellini...which reminds me that I am running out of groceries. I need to go and work on my paper on classical architecture that's worth 50% of my grade in a class. I've been procrastinating of course, and it's due Tuesday. That's all for now.

Au revoir.

food

Tonight, I stayed in and cooked cous cous with coconut, fried spinach, apple, and red pepper with a touch of cinnamon and cane sugar.

And I drink an average of three cups of tea per day.

I made a cinnamon-sugar apple dessert with coconut topping and I give it an A+.

barcelona mi amor

After getting up at 3:30 a.m., taking a night bus to Clapham Junction, taking a train to London Victoria, and boarding a plane departing for Barcelona, Spain, I realized I knew nothing about this destination. Both the time I went to Dublin and the time I went to Barcelona I made few plans ahead of time and did not get too excited beforehand. On the way there, we flew over the snow-capped Pyrenees in France and it was breathtaking. I literally felt that it was so beautiful it could not be real.


Upon arrival, Alex, Lauren and I navigated our way to Catalunya Plaza to meet Alex's friend Grace. Grace is from West Hartford, Connecticut and she is studying and working in Barcelona. Her name fits her perfectly. We stayed in a hostel on Las Ramblas called Hostal Maritima. It was a ten-person room, but it was only ten Euro a night. On top of that, we had a balcony which overlooked street performers, mopeds, horse-drawn carriages, and the statue of Christopher Columbus. There were Moroccan dancers who were in perfect physical condition and did all kinds of acrobatics. There was a Michael Jackson impersonator who actually danced quite well. Barcelona is said to be the number one pick-pocketing city in the world, but we just watched our purses and we were fine.

I met a French girl at the hostel named Manue, short for Immanuelle. She spoke little English, so I tried to talk to her in French. A lot of it ended up being Frenglish, and speaking French in a real conversation was harder than I thought it would be. But, as we continued to converse, I got better at it and I think we really connected. I also met three Israeli girls who were on the tail end of a six-month vacation in South America to celebrate the end of their three years serving in the army. They are from Beersheba. I pretty much freaked out when I found that out because that is the place that Moses made and an oath with God and named it Beersheba (pronounced Bell-sheh-vuh). We talked about old testament stories, and they explained that at Passover in Israel, Elijah is like Santa Claus. They leave wine and unleavened bread for him overnight, which the father usually eats and pretends that Elijah ate it.

Grace took us under her wing, so to speak, and showed us the best places to go. She was very helpful since she is fluent in Spanish. I went to the market and had homemade coconut and ferraro rocher gelato and a fresh kiwi coconut pineapple smoothie. I had several "bikinis," which are sandwiches (bocadillos) with jamon y queso. In the mornings we had cafe con leche, and on a couple of different nights we had paiella and tapas. Paiella is a typical Spanish dish with rice and usually seafood. I ate a little creature that I had not ever seen before. I had to peel the shell off, and he still had his legs and eyes, but I just kept telling myself that it was similar to lobster. Tapas are just little appetizers.

We made good friends with a Brazilian guy named Felipe who is friends with Grace and works at the hostel. On the last day he took us to a Brazilian restaurant where I tried all kinds of fruit juices and ate a fish and rice platter with vegetables and coconut sauce. Afterwards, he secretly bought us this coconut candy and gave it to us upon our departure. It was amazing and similar to the kind of candy that my sister, Kimberly brought us years ago from the Dominic Republic.

We went to a few bars, one of which was called the Black Sheep. I really liked it there because they gave out free popcorn and it was a relaxed environment. Girls in Spain didn't look like they tried as hard to primp themselves and wear hardly anything like they do in England and the United States. Another bar we went to had fake trees, rocks, faces in the trees, a fountain and stars on the inside. Grace had explained in the beginning that sangria flowed "like water" there, and it was true. Sangria was everywhere, and having a glass with most dinners was a tasty treat.

We went to Park Guell, where we saw the Gaudi bench and lizard, as well as a view of the entire city. The way up reminded me of San Francisco because the streets were winding and steep. We went to Sagrada Familia, a cathedral also designed by Gaudi. It was the most massive and unique cathedral I have ever seen, with a sculpture of a green tree with doves right on the front and center. We went to the top and looked out over the city.

Friday, we went to the beach and admired the sights and sounds of the Mediterranean Sea. We walked along the shore and collected seashells as well.

Lauren danced in the streets with strangers.

Alex slept with three stuffed bears: "Ted covers my eyes, like a sleep mask..."

On the last night, Alex, Lauren and I sat on the balcony and breathed in the culture of Barcelona. Coke dealers stood on the streets with cans of beer yelling, "La cerveza!" Apparently, they sell beer, but if people ask, they sell cocaine. We saw prostitutes as well, and we saw government workers washing the sidewalk clean. Las Ramblas is the most famous street for tourists, and the day is much different from the night. Life was good. Life continues to be good. And I know that this is experience is beyond these feeble words.

art is love

I went to the National Gallery in London on February 22 to look at the work of the French Impressionists from the 19th century. I had to go for my Parisian Art World module, but nobody had to drag me there. These guys are my favorite. I was blown away, and my brain felt like it was overloading because of how much I saw and how much I liked it.

Degas was incredible. I stared at After the Bath, Woman Drying for several minutes. It was realistic, but if you looked closely, you could see little squiggles in colors like orange and blue everywhere. He creates such a soft yet electric image, stimulating the aesthetics of the mind.

Let's not even get started on Claude Monet. I bought a little waterlilies journal for five pounds. The guy working at the museum shop told me to go to the Somerset House if I like Impressionists. He said it's on The Strand.

Pissaro's Boulevard Montmartre at Night was magical, with color and depth and imagination. What I like so much about the impressionists is that they brush work is wild yet tame, realistic yet cloudily stylistic. Those deliciously obvious brush strokes and foggy depth continually cause me to wonder what is beyond the painting. I immediately feel like I am part of their world. I enjoy the use of unlikely or "unpretty" color in landscapes like mustard yellow, or pasty Pepto-Bismol pink or greyish yellow-green.

Among my favorites were Cézanne's Landscape with Poplars, Van Gogh's A Wheatfield with Cypresses, Renoir's The Umbrellas, Seurat's Bathers at Asnières, and of course Monet's The Water-lily Pond. Even the paintings of that Japanese bridge at his home in Giverny as he was going blind are fantastic. I keep saying that he had so much vision and even faith in himself to dash blobs of unusual color and shape and size in order to create a pond. If I tried the same process, I would fear I was ruining my painting, but I guess sometimes I try to oversimplify things. If only I could be Claude's apprentice.

You can find some of the images I'm talking about at the Nation Gallery London website: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/collection/features/impressionists/default.htm .

am i breaking up?

Last weekend, February 23-25, I went to Dublin, Ireland. From Wednesday, February 27-March 1 I went to Barcelona, Spain. Both were beyond what I could have hoped for. But, I am going to have to put them into separate blogs because they both deserve their own.

My friend, Lauren and I decided to couchsurf in Dublin. Couchsurfing.com is a website where you can find people from all over the world who you can stay with for free, for a cultural exchange and a friendship! There are verified members, references, and ratings, so it is very legitimate. Anyway, a girl named Una decided to let us stay with her in Dublin!

People in Dublin are friendly. I was sitting on the side of a road in Dublin with Lauren and people kept talking to us. People really just wanted to say hello and be nice. It was shocking to me, but there was such a warm sense of community there. Old Scottish men roamed the streets in kilts to celebrate the rugby (or football, I can't remember) game. The first night, we went to a club with Una in the city center called Dicey Riley's. It had a beer garden with hanging heated chandeliers so that it wouldn't be cold. There were also hanging changing fluorescent lights. There was a private 30th party for a friend of a friend of hers that we spent some time at in a separate room. We wandered around and met many fun and strange people, namely Liam and Fergel, who were the favorites. We danced for hours. Lauren and I tried to dance as weirdly as possible, coming out with moves like the "lobster," "dying polar bear," the typical "shopping cart," etcetera. These guys were ridiculously cool, especially since they were not the creepy type and did not hit on us. It seemed that people there just wanted to be friends, which was exactly what we were looking for!

My brother, Marc would be jealous to know that Una and her friend Carole were actually at the Slane Castle U2 concert which he has the dvd of: "U2 Live at Slane Castle." I was excited to hear about it, since I have seen that dvd, along with many others, thanks to the influence of my older brother. Una knows someone who is good friends with Larry Mullen. She also explained that celebrities are not elevated in Ireland like how they are in the United States. She said she saw Colin Farrell in a pub and no one was bothering him. That's just the way people are, and I like that.

I of course tried a sip of the Guinness. I don't like it at home and I don't like it in Ireland. I just had a Kilkenny's, which had a plastic ball at the bottom. I assumed that that was the way it was supposed to be.

The next day, Una brought us to Glendalough. Before we left, she made us coffee in a french press and we had Special K, which was crunchier than American Special K. She says it has more sugar. We also had soda bread with orange marmalade homemade by her mother. It was at least an hour drive to Glendalough, which was generous of her! On the way, we saw boglands, which she explained are a source of fuel and are preserving. Perfectly preserved bodies from the iron age have been found there. There were views of mountains and fields of long grass in shades of brown. I have never seen anything like it before, and we continued on to a waterfall and the the main site. At Glendalough, there was a monastery and graveyard. I did not expect a grave yard to be so beautiful. We walked along a path in the woods to see a lake and mountains.

On the way back, we stopped at a shoppe and pastry place called Avoca Weavers, where I had some of the best berry crumble and cream ever made. We passed the Sugar Loaf, a mountain which I am told is very famous. We heard Damien Rice there, who is of course huge in Ireland, considering he is Irish.

Una's parents cooked us a real Irish meal that evening. We had tender steak, baked potatoes, mashed turnips, mushy peas, rhubarb pie, ice cream, wine, broccoli and califlower, and black magic chocolate. I was very full especially because I had the berry crumble not long before the meal, but I could not refuse, considering the whole family cleaned their plates completely. I just kept thinking about how thankful I was for their generosity, kindness, and welcoming attitudes.

Our last day, we walked around the city and saw Trinity College, the Book of Kells (an 8th century translation of the Bible), Dublinia (a historic museum focusing on the vikings in Dublin), Dulbin Castle, and Christ Church. We took the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport) to Sandy Mount to see the sea, which was enjoyable, but caused us to miss our flight and had to catch a later one. I just see it as paying 75 Euro to go to the sea. That was not great, but being on a hill looking at the ocean and collecting clovers was wonderful.

the end.

nouveau nouveau

It's an incredibly interesting idea to be in a new place seeing new things like art, monuments, and churches, many of which are world famous. I think I expected each event to be life-changing in some sort of way, but I have found that although intriguing, the collective events in retrospect are
what make the experience. Either way, I know I will never forget this trip.

On friday, my friend from San Diego, Lauren and I went around London looking for artwork by this anonymous artist named Banksy. He does graffiti stencils which are usually either painted over or cut out of the wall to be sold by the town for as much as 400,000 pounds. That's almost 800,000 dollars. I've heard that Brad and Angelina bought one. Anyway, most of his work is mocking the police, or the government, or artists driven by money. He is anonymous, so he doesn't make anything on what he does. Some of his spray-paintings are illusions, like a seeming hole in a brick wall with a blue sky and a field. So, we found three of them that were still up, which was very exciting!

We also visited St. Paul's Cathedral and got a glimpse of the inside, but decided to wait for when Max visits to pay and get a tour, since it looks amazing. I'm including a photo of the revolving door which wrote, "This is none other than the House of God-This is the gate of Heaven."

Later, we went to see a band called the Rocket Summer for free because lauren is family friends with the lead singer, Bryce Avary, so we were on the guest list. We talked to him for a long time and he was a pretty nice guy. We also got to meet the guy who started the organization, To Write Love on Her Arms, Jamie Tworkowski. To write love on her arms is a, organization that helps people who are battling depression, self mutilation, and addiction (twloha.com). There is a story about it printed on the inside of all the shirts. I have a shirt and a sweatshirt, so I was ecstatic that I got to meet the guy who wrote the story! Lauren and I met and made friends with with Jamie and we talked for probably a half hour-45 minutes. After that, he gave us his number and email.

Saturday, the study abroad group went to Oxford. We got to see Oxford University and Christ's College, where Harry Potter was filmed. We also went to "The Eagle and The Child," the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein used to meet and talk.

I've seen your flag on the Marble Arch...

So, I have been living here in England for 2 weeks now today. It has been very exciting, and I have of course gone to London and seen the sites that everyone knows about: Big Ben (St. Stephen's Tower), Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye (which we actually rode), blah blah blah. The pubs around Kingston are fun, and I actually have liked them better than the ones in London. Anyway, it has been interesting adjusting. I went grocery shopping today and bought French brie cheese, which did not taste the same as it did at home. I did, however, try a crumpet for the first time and liked it very much. I went to the Tate Modern yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic. Seeing Monet's Waterlilies was seriously like a dream come true. I was in awe of his vision and talent. It was great to see works that I learned about in classes at home by artists such is Lichtenstein, Ernst, Mondrian, and many many more. My classes are turning out to be very interesting, also. I really like the material.

Anyway, that's enough for now.
Oh, and the first picture is of the Marble Arch, which I stumbled upon accidentally, but was in awe of.
Au revoir.