From 5/28:
Today I woke up and my first pain au chocolate (chocolate croissant) for breakfast. Well...make that my first three. Viva la France!
It was another rainy day. I left my hotel for the train station under a misting of rain. I found a bus stop that I thought would take me where I wanted to go but after waiting for half an hour I lost patience. Wouldn't you know it, 10 minutes after I started walking the bus passed me. But it was a good walk and I always feel hard core when carrying my pack.
My plan was to go to the D-day memorial then catch a train to Mont St. Micheal where I would spend the night. A nice gentelman helped me navigate the tram/bus network to the memorial. I'm finding that if I try to speak French and fail, almost everybody knows a little English and we get along.
The memorial was very powerful. They had two films going, one about the invasion of France and one about what happened during the rest of the war and after. Niether had much speaking since they are playing to a very international crowd, but that made the images more powerful. If there is one lesson to take away, it's that even a war for a good cause has terrible consequences. So what does that say about wars for no/bad causes...
They also had an exhibit titled Worlds of Peace. It was very well done. As you walk you follow a dialogue between "The Philosopher" and "The Skeptic". I wish I had a copy of it because I can't remember everything they talked about. They also had an exhibit that was all in French called "Life without Oil?". It was pretty much Integration in large type. They had stuff about why you should eat local food, where most clothing comes from, and how we know we are already past peak oil.
Then I hopped a train and went to Pontorson. Pontorson is a very smal town 10 km from Mont St. Micheal. By small I mean I walked down every street in less than an hour, while stopping to take pictures. But it is beautiful. Not much night life though, so I think I'll go to bed early.
Good night from France!
5.30.2007
Leaving England.
From 5/27
Today was a lot of travel which was actually restful after several days of sight seeing. I took the train from London to Portsmouth. On the tube to the station I meet a very nice man who was actually interested in astronomy. We laughted over the commanding voice reminding use to "mind the gap". I'm going to miss hearing that. The train ride was rainy but it is beautiful to see the green country going by.
In Portsmouth the rain got harder, but I'm glad I got the true English weather experience before I left. I got to the ferry port and hour and a half before I was to leave, so despite the rain I decided to explore. It took most of my time to walk the 1.5 km to the city center with my pack, but I did have time to grab a meat pasty before heading back. I was surprised at the number of people out in the weather, but I guess you get use to it.
The ferry was pretty swanky with shops, cabins, several resturants, and a bar. I met another knitter on board and turns out it was a very good thing. When I got off the ferry the buses to the town I was staying had stopped running and the hotel I booked was a 40 euro cab ride away. But the wonderful knitter and her husband (Mary and Bob) gave me a ride into town, even drove me around trying to find the hotel. Yea for awesome people and knitting! And now I am in my nice little hotel room. It is great to have quite after the London hostel. I look forward to exploring France tomorrow!!
Today was a lot of travel which was actually restful after several days of sight seeing. I took the train from London to Portsmouth. On the tube to the station I meet a very nice man who was actually interested in astronomy. We laughted over the commanding voice reminding use to "mind the gap". I'm going to miss hearing that. The train ride was rainy but it is beautiful to see the green country going by.
In Portsmouth the rain got harder, but I'm glad I got the true English weather experience before I left. I got to the ferry port and hour and a half before I was to leave, so despite the rain I decided to explore. It took most of my time to walk the 1.5 km to the city center with my pack, but I did have time to grab a meat pasty before heading back. I was surprised at the number of people out in the weather, but I guess you get use to it.
The ferry was pretty swanky with shops, cabins, several resturants, and a bar. I met another knitter on board and turns out it was a very good thing. When I got off the ferry the buses to the town I was staying had stopped running and the hotel I booked was a 40 euro cab ride away. But the wonderful knitter and her husband (Mary and Bob) gave me a ride into town, even drove me around trying to find the hotel. Yea for awesome people and knitting! And now I am in my nice little hotel room. It is great to have quite after the London hostel. I look forward to exploring France tomorrow!!
5.26.2007
Rainy day in England.
I experienced England's infamous weather today as I rode the train to the university town of Cambridge. It was actually a welcome break from the hot, humid spell they were having.
I actually got up at a reasonable hour today so that I could make the 1 1/4 hour trip and make it time for lunch. Okay, so maybe I wasn't up that early compared to you morning people, but it was early for me :) I spent the day exploring Cambridge. The architecture is unbelievable. Everywhere you turn there is an ancient building, and if not, there is a large grass park! The weird thing is that there are more tourists packed on those tight streets then I saw all day yesterday in downtown London. I guess universities are hip...
My grandpa Bob was a Fulbright scholar at Cambridge way back when. We have a picture of him and my grandma JB in front of King's College Chapel (I think?) hanging on our wall at home. So I went to Trinity College, the college he was in, and tried to imagine what it would have been like to attend a place like this. It was hard. I love the tradition of it all; I hope that at Cornell I can get a taste of it. I went to the Evensong service they had at King's College, pretty soon I'll have these services memorized. It was beautiful and the congregation was packed.
Oh, and my other England experience today was the "full English breakfast" including toast, an egg, bacon, sausage, beans, and a tomato. The beans were the only weird part for me, the rest was delicious. And I skipped the Cambridge ice cream due to the chilly weather in favor of a pippin' cup of hot chocolate. A pretty good trade under the circumstances.
Tomorrow I am leaving for France. England has been great, but it will be exciting to move on to wilder places where I don't exactly speak the language. Wish me luck!
I actually got up at a reasonable hour today so that I could make the 1 1/4 hour trip and make it time for lunch. Okay, so maybe I wasn't up that early compared to you morning people, but it was early for me :) I spent the day exploring Cambridge. The architecture is unbelievable. Everywhere you turn there is an ancient building, and if not, there is a large grass park! The weird thing is that there are more tourists packed on those tight streets then I saw all day yesterday in downtown London. I guess universities are hip...
My grandpa Bob was a Fulbright scholar at Cambridge way back when. We have a picture of him and my grandma JB in front of King's College Chapel (I think?) hanging on our wall at home. So I went to Trinity College, the college he was in, and tried to imagine what it would have been like to attend a place like this. It was hard. I love the tradition of it all; I hope that at Cornell I can get a taste of it. I went to the Evensong service they had at King's College, pretty soon I'll have these services memorized. It was beautiful and the congregation was packed.
Oh, and my other England experience today was the "full English breakfast" including toast, an egg, bacon, sausage, beans, and a tomato. The beans were the only weird part for me, the rest was delicious. And I skipped the Cambridge ice cream due to the chilly weather in favor of a pippin' cup of hot chocolate. A pretty good trade under the circumstances.
Tomorrow I am leaving for France. England has been great, but it will be exciting to move on to wilder places where I don't exactly speak the language. Wish me luck!
5.25.2007
Towers, bridges, and theaters.
Hello again!
If it is possible, I think I might be more tired today than I was yesterday. But today I am tired because I have done a lot instead of just sitting on a plane. It feels much better.
I spent a good part of the morning finding places to stay while I am in northern France. Necessary, but kinda tedious. Turns out most places are already in top tourist season and are all booked up. But I found places, even with my minimal french, and I think it will work out.
Then I took the tube () to the Tower of London. First off, the London skyline is very peculiar because you have things like St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London which are just as tall as all the modern and funky office buildings. I walked around the Tower of London (didn't stand in line to see the Crown Jewels) then crossed the Thames on the Tower Bridge. Hmm...I wish I could upload pictures.
There is a beautiful path all along the south side of the river called the Queen's walk. I followed this and stopped at the rebuilt Globe Theater. I was just in time to see a matinee of Othello so I joined the groundlings. It was a blast. You are just feet from the actors and it is totally worth standing still for three hours to see. I had read Othello in high school, but I'm pretty sure my essays would have been a lot better if I had seen it like this before writing them. At the end all the actors came out and did a little dance to a medieval type band's music. Hilarious...
The Tate Modern museum was next on the river walk. Sometimes when faced with modern art I either feel like I'm not cool enough to get it or like the artists are just lazy and trying to get away with painting a red circle on the middle of a white canvas. This experience cured me of some of this. The split up the exhibits by style-ish. Each room has a description of the art and a background of the artists. It helped me understand about the post-world war anger many of the artist were dealing with. They were breaking away from the systems that were causing so much pain in the world. The names of galleries I visited were Material Gestures, Poetry and Dream, Idea and Object, and States of Flux. My favorite was the Material Gestures exhibit. They have Monet's Water Lillies on display. Tamie had once mentioned that for a class at a museum they were required to sit with a painting for a while. Stealing this idea, I sat with the water lillies and felt like I could reach my hand down into the water. The sense of depth is incredible. Hanging opposite this painting was a Jackson Pollack. Believe it or not, these two paintings actually have a lot in common. On a different note, I'm still not a big fan of the minimalist movement. Red circles on blank canvases will never be my thing :)
I continued down the Queens walk and saw a very short but beautiful sunset (it doesn't get dark here till almost 10:00!). I stopped to take a picture of Big Ben; the man I asked to take a picture of me in front of it must have been a professional photographer because he took several shots (with and without flash) before he was satisfied. I wish I had run into him several times today.
And then I returned to the hostel. It is weird traveling alone like this. It is nice to be able to decide exactly what I want to do and when I want to do it, but I must admit that it is lonely. Yes, even I the super-introverted get lonely. But there are tons of people to talk to at the hostel and I am going to try to meet up with a friend from last summer in Paris, so it's not too bad.
That's all for now!
If it is possible, I think I might be more tired today than I was yesterday. But today I am tired because I have done a lot instead of just sitting on a plane. It feels much better.
I spent a good part of the morning finding places to stay while I am in northern France. Necessary, but kinda tedious. Turns out most places are already in top tourist season and are all booked up. But I found places, even with my minimal french, and I think it will work out.
Then I took the tube (
There is a beautiful path all along the south side of the river called the Queen's walk. I followed this and stopped at the rebuilt Globe Theater. I was just in time to see a matinee of Othello so I joined the groundlings. It was a blast. You are just feet from the actors and it is totally worth standing still for three hours to see. I had read Othello in high school, but I'm pretty sure my essays would have been a lot better if I had seen it like this before writing them. At the end all the actors came out and did a little dance to a medieval type band's music. Hilarious...
The Tate Modern museum was next on the river walk. Sometimes when faced with modern art I either feel like I'm not cool enough to get it or like the artists are just lazy and trying to get away with painting a red circle on the middle of a white canvas. This experience cured me of some of this. The split up the exhibits by style-ish. Each room has a description of the art and a background of the artists. It helped me understand about the post-world war anger many of the artist were dealing with. They were breaking away from the systems that were causing so much pain in the world. The names of galleries I visited were Material Gestures, Poetry and Dream, Idea and Object, and States of Flux. My favorite was the Material Gestures exhibit. They have Monet's Water Lillies on display. Tamie had once mentioned that for a class at a museum they were required to sit with a painting for a while. Stealing this idea, I sat with the water lillies and felt like I could reach my hand down into the water. The sense of depth is incredible. Hanging opposite this painting was a Jackson Pollack. Believe it or not, these two paintings actually have a lot in common. On a different note, I'm still not a big fan of the minimalist movement. Red circles on blank canvases will never be my thing :)
I continued down the Queens walk and saw a very short but beautiful sunset (it doesn't get dark here till almost 10:00!). I stopped to take a picture of Big Ben; the man I asked to take a picture of me in front of it must have been a professional photographer because he took several shots (with and without flash) before he was satisfied. I wish I had run into him several times today.
And then I returned to the hostel. It is weird traveling alone like this. It is nice to be able to decide exactly what I want to do and when I want to do it, but I must admit that it is lonely. Yes, even I the super-introverted get lonely. But there are tons of people to talk to at the hostel and I am going to try to meet up with a friend from last summer in Paris, so it's not too bad.
That's all for now!
5.24.2007
The first ice cream.
Well friends, I made it!
I am writing to you now from my swanky hostel in London! I can hardly believe I'm actually doing this! Unfortunately, even though it is only 9:00 here, I'm exhausted, so I think I might be the lame kid who goes to bed early.
It feels like I've lived three days since I left the El Paso airport but I'll try to give you a brief summary. Oh, and I have been taking pictures but I can't upload them here, so those will have to wait.
The plane ride was fine, it is nearly impossible to find a comfortable position but that is to be expected. I sat next to two nice British ladies. As we were landing, I looked out the window as we were flying over miles of green pasture. Being the southwestern kid that I am, I remarked to her how incredible the green was. She laughed at me...
Two hours after we landed, I finally left the airport. I guess three huge flights from the United States must have all landed at exactly the same time because the line to get through immigration was ridiculous. But the good news is I got some reading done while standing in line!
Then I spent the afternoon wander around London. This is the point were I have to tell you about my challenge for the trip. My goal is to eat ice cream at least once in every city I visit and have a chocolate croissant for breakfast when I'm in France. My dear friend Emily then challenged me to document this task and take pictures of the ice creams I eat. Maybe I'll publish a book: "The Ice Creams of Europe: A Review". But anyway, check London off the list! It wasn't the best ice cream I've ever had (it was soft serve) but they put a chocolate stick in the top which was a really nice touch!
The coolest thing I did today was going to an Evensong service at St. Paul's Cathedral. It is a beautiful building and the choir was amazing. It was hard to understand the words they were singing, but the melodies and chords were breathtaking. The President of the Methodist Community or whatever you call it was there because they were celebrating the conversion of their founder. He gave a short little homily about how the founder of the Methodist church (I've forgotten his name) wanted to bring Christ to the people and that priests should worship Christ with the people. It was a little ironic seeing as he was preaching at pulpit in front of a glided cross at least 100 yards away from where the other worshipers and I were sitting . But hey, I hadn't had my dose of irony for the day.
So, sorry this is so long, most of my posts probably wont be this bad. I hope that you all are doing fabulously and I'll post again soon!
P.S. British keyboards are funny...for instance, while trying to type one of these ", I typed this @ 5 times before I finally looked at my fingers. I'll blame it on the jet lag :)
I am writing to you now from my swanky hostel in London! I can hardly believe I'm actually doing this! Unfortunately, even though it is only 9:00 here, I'm exhausted, so I think I might be the lame kid who goes to bed early.
It feels like I've lived three days since I left the El Paso airport but I'll try to give you a brief summary. Oh, and I have been taking pictures but I can't upload them here, so those will have to wait.
The plane ride was fine, it is nearly impossible to find a comfortable position but that is to be expected. I sat next to two nice British ladies. As we were landing, I looked out the window as we were flying over miles of green pasture. Being the southwestern kid that I am, I remarked to her how incredible the green was. She laughed at me...
Two hours after we landed, I finally left the airport. I guess three huge flights from the United States must have all landed at exactly the same time because the line to get through immigration was ridiculous. But the good news is I got some reading done while standing in line!
Then I spent the afternoon wander around London. This is the point were I have to tell you about my challenge for the trip. My goal is to eat ice cream at least once in every city I visit and have a chocolate croissant for breakfast when I'm in France. My dear friend Emily then challenged me to document this task and take pictures of the ice creams I eat. Maybe I'll publish a book: "The Ice Creams of Europe: A Review". But anyway, check London off the list! It wasn't the best ice cream I've ever had (it was soft serve) but they put a chocolate stick in the top which was a really nice touch!
The coolest thing I did today was going to an Evensong service at St. Paul's Cathedral. It is a beautiful building and the choir was amazing. It was hard to understand the words they were singing, but the melodies and chords were breathtaking. The President of the Methodist Community or whatever you call it was there because they were celebrating the conversion of their founder. He gave a short little homily about how the founder of the Methodist church (I've forgotten his name) wanted to bring Christ to the people and that priests should worship Christ with the people. It was a little ironic seeing as he was preaching at pulpit in front of a glided cross at least 100 yards away from where the other worshipers and I were sitting . But hey, I hadn't had my dose of irony for the day.
So, sorry this is so long, most of my posts probably wont be this bad. I hope that you all are doing fabulously and I'll post again soon!
P.S. British keyboards are funny...for instance, while trying to type one of these ", I typed this @ 5 times before I finally looked at my fingers. I'll blame it on the jet lag :)
5.21.2007
Before.
Hi! Welcome to my blog. This is my first attempt at blogging so I guess we'll see how it goes together. The idea for this particular site is that I will update it and post pictures here as I travel across Europe for the next month. Not only will this give me a place to save pictures and write about my adventures, but if you are interested you can also follow my journey.
My rough itinerary is posted over there on the right. --->
I'm doing the backpacking/hosteling thing. I've talked to several people who have done this before and collected lots of good advice (watch your pockets carefully while in Rome) and some not so applicable advice (it's hard to take a baby stroller on the tube in London). So, armed with my passport and trusty backpack I go to explore.
I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous. I'm nervous that I will be worrying so much about getting from one place to the next that I'll forget to enjoy where I am. I don't have the best travel karma (as evident by the fact that I've spent 9 hour stretches stuck at random airports across the country) but I guess that is the great thing about having loose travel plans. I have two flights and a boat that I really need to be on time for, but everything else is chill. And I hope that throughout this experience I will practice relaxing and accepting that I am not in control of every single situation.
Oh, and I hope to keep this blog going when I get back. So if you ever want to see what is going on in my life you can check here (or call me, it would be great to hear from you too!)
Hopefully my next post will be from London!
My rough itinerary is posted over there on the right. --->
I'm doing the backpacking/hosteling thing. I've talked to several people who have done this before and collected lots of good advice (watch your pockets carefully while in Rome) and some not so applicable advice (it's hard to take a baby stroller on the tube in London). So, armed with my passport and trusty backpack I go to explore.
I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous. I'm nervous that I will be worrying so much about getting from one place to the next that I'll forget to enjoy where I am. I don't have the best travel karma (as evident by the fact that I've spent 9 hour stretches stuck at random airports across the country) but I guess that is the great thing about having loose travel plans. I have two flights and a boat that I really need to be on time for, but everything else is chill. And I hope that throughout this experience I will practice relaxing and accepting that I am not in control of every single situation.
Oh, and I hope to keep this blog going when I get back. So if you ever want to see what is going on in my life you can check here (or call me, it would be great to hear from you too!)
Hopefully my next post will be from London!
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