Yesterday we had to wake up super early for breakfast at the hostel- there is a group of 50 french middle schoolers who were eating at 8am so we had to sneak in before them in order to get some food.
After that we had a busy day scheduled. We went around to a lot of the different colleges here: King's, Queen's, Trinity, St. John's etc. I think I like this better than Oxford. The schools are bigger and all have beautiful courtyards and parks that go right up to the river Cam. The gardens make the river more accessible and all the bridges over it make you feel like you're in Venice. There is a sport called punting here- basically it looks like you're the person taking people on a gondola ride- DuPuy wants us to do that today but it is frigid outside so we may opt out. The streets are great here too- lots of cute shops and cafes. Plus there is a lot of chocolate shops with easter candy- I decided in lieu of my parents giving me one I'm going to make myself a basket :)
DuPuy is trying tolock up the computer so I;ve got to go. Not looking forward to the 6 degree weather today. ..
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
3.29.10
We left London today- I'll see you in a month. Drove to Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth. Saw some great communities. Its interesting to se the precedents for places like Greenbelt and Columbia. Ended in Cambridge- very nice. The colleges here are epic. I want to go! Its very similar to Oxford, but I think I like the greens here better than Oxford. Going to go running tomorrow to explore the waterfront!
We left London today- I'll see you in a month. Drove to Welwyn Garden City and Letchworth. Saw some great communities. Its interesting to se the precedents for places like Greenbelt and Columbia. Ended in Cambridge- very nice. The colleges here are epic. I want to go! Its very similar to Oxford, but I think I like the greens here better than Oxford. Going to go running tomorrow to explore the waterfront!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Our home away from our home away from home...
3.26.10
Made it through security without having to pay any extra money for my bag! Whoop whoop. That was way too stressful. I almost wish we had just payed a little more for Jet Blue or another airline where we wouldn't have had to stress out for every flight about our bags. Live and learn.
But we're back in London now! Back in the good ole YHA with the familiar beds and showers! We had the evening off after meeting with DuPuy. I finally ran!! It was raining a bit when we first got back, but it let up and I could finally run. I was feeling so guilty when we were in Frankfurt because everyone was biking and running and rollerblading- if only I had room for my shoes! We cleaned up and went out to dinner at a pub. Some of us went back a little early- I had to present the next day on the London shopping arcades so I wanted to read up a bit. Exhausted.
3.27.10
Woke up early to run- I'm trying to bring back the good habits. Met downstairs at the hostel and followed DuPuy around, just like old times. We went to Hyde Park, Regents Street, the arcades, Piccadilly Street. Basically we went to a lot of the important landmarks around and to the east of our hostel that we hadn't been able to visit yet. I really like some of the urban design John Nash did (Regents Street and incorporating some of the arcades as other modes of transportation through the city)- not so much the architecture. Hyde Park was great- I already had seen a bit of it though with my morning runs. We passed by a lot of shops during the day- such a teaser.
After he let us loose we went back to rest up a bit: we are all going to see 39 steps tonight at the theatre. Sara researched an Indian restaurant near Piccadilly where we would be watching the play. I got something different than my go-to's, Chicken Tikka or Rogan Josh, bad decision. Not as much flavor as some of the other dishes. That's ok- I tried.
39 steps was AMAZING! I had no idea it was going to be that good- I had my reservations. It was funny and extremely well done. It helped that I didn't have any expectations going into it- good or bad. I literally had never heard of the play before so everything was new. Definitely recommend it.
I was exhausted- again. This running is killing me! I've got to build up my endurance again. I went back and read for a bit then went to bed. Sucks we're loosing an hour tonight- I could use the sleep.
3.28.10
Free morning! I woke up to go running then went out with Sara to shop- need to test out my new debit card :) Turns out stores in London don;t open as early as we expect them to in the States...Sara and I were there by 10:45 and the earliest stores opened was 11:30. And that was a very small percentage. We walked around a bit then got a cappuccino to pass the time and headed out caffienated and ready to shop.
Then I messed up. DuPuy changed the plans like 10 times for where we were supposed to meet and the final decision was made ~11:30 the night before while I was reading downstairs at the hostel. I forgot where it was. Sara forgot her phone. Bad combination. I THOUGHT it was St. John's wood. I was wrong. Then we went to the Marble Arch because we knew we were supposed to meet at an arch/monument and that was the recommendation from a man on the street. Eventually we just went back to the hostel and got got Sara's phone and met them at Hyde Park. My bad. We walked around the park and looked at the memorial for Princess Diana then walked along the canal.
A few of us went back to Oxford Circus to shop- stores were closed. We just went to dinner at the Slug and Lettuce (we had been wanting to go for a while) and went back to the hostel. Leaving for Cambridge tomorrow morning, and I have to present on Letchworth on the way there. More reading to do.
Made it through security without having to pay any extra money for my bag! Whoop whoop. That was way too stressful. I almost wish we had just payed a little more for Jet Blue or another airline where we wouldn't have had to stress out for every flight about our bags. Live and learn.
But we're back in London now! Back in the good ole YHA with the familiar beds and showers! We had the evening off after meeting with DuPuy. I finally ran!! It was raining a bit when we first got back, but it let up and I could finally run. I was feeling so guilty when we were in Frankfurt because everyone was biking and running and rollerblading- if only I had room for my shoes! We cleaned up and went out to dinner at a pub. Some of us went back a little early- I had to present the next day on the London shopping arcades so I wanted to read up a bit. Exhausted.
3.27.10
Woke up early to run- I'm trying to bring back the good habits. Met downstairs at the hostel and followed DuPuy around, just like old times. We went to Hyde Park, Regents Street, the arcades, Piccadilly Street. Basically we went to a lot of the important landmarks around and to the east of our hostel that we hadn't been able to visit yet. I really like some of the urban design John Nash did (Regents Street and incorporating some of the arcades as other modes of transportation through the city)- not so much the architecture. Hyde Park was great- I already had seen a bit of it though with my morning runs. We passed by a lot of shops during the day- such a teaser.
After he let us loose we went back to rest up a bit: we are all going to see 39 steps tonight at the theatre. Sara researched an Indian restaurant near Piccadilly where we would be watching the play. I got something different than my go-to's, Chicken Tikka or Rogan Josh, bad decision. Not as much flavor as some of the other dishes. That's ok- I tried.
39 steps was AMAZING! I had no idea it was going to be that good- I had my reservations. It was funny and extremely well done. It helped that I didn't have any expectations going into it- good or bad. I literally had never heard of the play before so everything was new. Definitely recommend it.
I was exhausted- again. This running is killing me! I've got to build up my endurance again. I went back and read for a bit then went to bed. Sucks we're loosing an hour tonight- I could use the sleep.
3.28.10
Free morning! I woke up to go running then went out with Sara to shop- need to test out my new debit card :) Turns out stores in London don;t open as early as we expect them to in the States...Sara and I were there by 10:45 and the earliest stores opened was 11:30. And that was a very small percentage. We walked around a bit then got a cappuccino to pass the time and headed out caffienated and ready to shop.
Then I messed up. DuPuy changed the plans like 10 times for where we were supposed to meet and the final decision was made ~11:30 the night before while I was reading downstairs at the hostel. I forgot where it was. Sara forgot her phone. Bad combination. I THOUGHT it was St. John's wood. I was wrong. Then we went to the Marble Arch because we knew we were supposed to meet at an arch/monument and that was the recommendation from a man on the street. Eventually we just went back to the hostel and got got Sara's phone and met them at Hyde Park. My bad. We walked around the park and looked at the memorial for Princess Diana then walked along the canal.
A few of us went back to Oxford Circus to shop- stores were closed. We just went to dinner at the Slug and Lettuce (we had been wanting to go for a while) and went back to the hostel. Leaving for Cambridge tomorrow morning, and I have to present on Letchworth on the way there. More reading to do.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Frankfurt!
3.24.10
Got to the airport in time- they made me check my bag though!!! For RyanAir flights you can have a carry-on for free so long as it only weighs 10 kilos and fits a certain dimension. The lady asked me to put my bag in this contraption they have which is the max allowed dimension. I put it in and out no problem. She lifts it up and decides it 'might weigh too much' and made me go weigh it. it was 12 kilos instead of 10 and they made me check it for 40 euros!!! I was livid. Still not really over it, mainly because then I had to borrow money from jenny because I have no debit card. What a bitch.
ANYWAY- the flight was nice and short- only an hour, the kicker was that our airport is 1.5 hours outside frankfurt and we had to take a 12 euro bus ride to get there- one way. The day was amazing though- at least 65, sunny, no clouds. Frankfurt is good to us. I walked around on the waterfront- it is amazing. You can bike and walk and run along the river and their are gardens lining it plus a few nice pedestrian bridges. I am burning the design in my memory so I can reproduce it everywhere int he states- seriously amazing. I wandered around and went into a few churches then met up with everyone on the waterfront for a nice nap. Then Jenny, Allison and I wandered the city a bit and had a conversation with some man in broken english about how when the weather is nice the economy goes down because no one wants to work- he kept saying something about a sun ticket. He may or may not have escaped from an insane asylum. Later we met up at the hostel with everyone. We hung out then split up for dinner and met to get dessert for Zach's birthday- gelato of course. I went back and everyone went for a drink at a sports bar- I still don't feel well, but I think I'm coming out of it.
3.25.10
Feel much better in the morning- I guess I just needed a good nights sleep. My voice is still husky though, everyone is loving my new persona. We had bagels for breakfast and found an excellent farmers market and decided to meet there to get supplies for a picnic on the water for lunch. Jenny and I went in search of the design and architecture museums. The architecture one was closed until November- figures- and we couldn't exactly find the design museum but we went into a communications museum because it was only a euro and the building was amazing. Totally worth it.
I went back to some of the squares and sketched then met up for lunch. Cheese, bread, tomato, and grapes- I feel like I'm in Paris again. We just hung out and were lazy int he sun for a bit then tried to find tea- then gave up because it was like 4 euro. Now back in the hostel, might go wander around the train station later before dinner. Great day to end spring break with, very relaxing.
Got to the airport in time- they made me check my bag though!!! For RyanAir flights you can have a carry-on for free so long as it only weighs 10 kilos and fits a certain dimension. The lady asked me to put my bag in this contraption they have which is the max allowed dimension. I put it in and out no problem. She lifts it up and decides it 'might weigh too much' and made me go weigh it. it was 12 kilos instead of 10 and they made me check it for 40 euros!!! I was livid. Still not really over it, mainly because then I had to borrow money from jenny because I have no debit card. What a bitch.
ANYWAY- the flight was nice and short- only an hour, the kicker was that our airport is 1.5 hours outside frankfurt and we had to take a 12 euro bus ride to get there- one way. The day was amazing though- at least 65, sunny, no clouds. Frankfurt is good to us. I walked around on the waterfront- it is amazing. You can bike and walk and run along the river and their are gardens lining it plus a few nice pedestrian bridges. I am burning the design in my memory so I can reproduce it everywhere int he states- seriously amazing. I wandered around and went into a few churches then met up with everyone on the waterfront for a nice nap. Then Jenny, Allison and I wandered the city a bit and had a conversation with some man in broken english about how when the weather is nice the economy goes down because no one wants to work- he kept saying something about a sun ticket. He may or may not have escaped from an insane asylum. Later we met up at the hostel with everyone. We hung out then split up for dinner and met to get dessert for Zach's birthday- gelato of course. I went back and everyone went for a drink at a sports bar- I still don't feel well, but I think I'm coming out of it.
3.25.10
Feel much better in the morning- I guess I just needed a good nights sleep. My voice is still husky though, everyone is loving my new persona. We had bagels for breakfast and found an excellent farmers market and decided to meet there to get supplies for a picnic on the water for lunch. Jenny and I went in search of the design and architecture museums. The architecture one was closed until November- figures- and we couldn't exactly find the design museum but we went into a communications museum because it was only a euro and the building was amazing. Totally worth it.
I went back to some of the squares and sketched then met up for lunch. Cheese, bread, tomato, and grapes- I feel like I'm in Paris again. We just hung out and were lazy int he sun for a bit then tried to find tea- then gave up because it was like 4 euro. Now back in the hostel, might go wander around the train station later before dinner. Great day to end spring break with, very relaxing.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Berlin is amazing!
3.21.10
Walked around our area for breakfast- the area by the way is amazing. very eclectic and the best kebabs and falafal you could every imagine. After we walked to the Jewish museum by Libeskind. It was meant to be a linear building and procession through the exhibits- but it was really confusing. So far Libeskind hasn't made too great of an impression on me. I feel like he is always trying to do something wild and crazy out there architecture, but he misses the basics- like circulation and clear modes of egress. The museum was just confusing- the content was excellent however. I learned a lot about Judism and the prosecution its undergone.
We met up and split into a few groups. Justin Allison, Chris and I went to see the part of the Berlin wall that is still standing. We had to run for part of it because it was pouring (!) and we stopped to get kebabs and made a pit stop at the hostel to blow-dry our clothes. On the way to the wall we saw a movie being filmed- it was part of a chase scene- I had never heard of it. 'The last white man' look for it in a year. Anyway, the wall is awesome. Artists from all over the world did paintings on it- its weird to think this was so recent! The wall came down when I was 1! I bought a piece of the wall too. I couldn't help it. I'm helping the economy...we just walked around in that area after and went back to the hostel to watch the UMD game on the computer. Such a let down! We were so close!! At least we could watch a game- we were deprived of sports. Can't wait to play soccer and run again...
3.22.10
Went to the Eisenmann Holocaust memorial before our tour of Berlin at 11. The memorial was amazing. It was cement blocks at different heights on a sloping surface. You walk in it and at some points you are completely surrounded by the pillars and you can hear footsteps but not know where they're coming from and you see people walking out of the corner of your eyes- you never know if you're going to run into someone around the corner. Effective. The tour was excellent as well- and Adam was hot. Good ole Georgian boy. We saw the hotel Michael Jackson hung his baby out the window (!) and it ended on Museum Island. A few of us sketched the Altes Museum and went into the Pergamon- it has the Ishtar gate!! Then we went to see the Reichstag during the day and to an amazing new train station nearby. Technology/structure overload! The circulation was amazing though. I liked it a lot. We had dinner at a place the man at the hostel told Zach and I about- it was ok, good atmosphere but a bit pricey. I tried this beer called Duvel- really good. High alcohol content (whoops) but really good. We met up with the others and decided against a pub crawl and just went back into the same place for more drinks.
3.23.10
Jenny, Chris, Zach and I went to an OMA building int he morning- excellent- and met with Dave and Emma to go to a concentration camp. The one we went to was just north of Berlin called Sachenhausen. There was SO MUCH information there. There was basically 5 museums in one. You walked in and it freaked me out as to how planned it was- it reminded me of when I saw Salt Works last summer in France. There were architects who DESIGNED these camps. They kept most of it there for you to see. You could go in two of the barracks and the kitchen and prison. You could even walk INTO the execution trench and crematorium. Walking around the camp it was so arid and it just hung in the air that something terrible happened here. They estimaed about 20,000 people were killed there. Heavy for a Tuesday morning, but I'm really glad I went.
When we were back in the city Jenny and I went to a contemporary art museum designed by Mies van der Rohe- excellent building and it was my type of art so I had a good time. We met with everyone else on a street Allison's friend told her about. It was in East Berlin- very cool area. The amount of street life reminded me of Paris. Good vibes. We went for gelato before going back to the hostel. Early morning tomorrow- flying to Frankfurt!!
Walked around our area for breakfast- the area by the way is amazing. very eclectic and the best kebabs and falafal you could every imagine. After we walked to the Jewish museum by Libeskind. It was meant to be a linear building and procession through the exhibits- but it was really confusing. So far Libeskind hasn't made too great of an impression on me. I feel like he is always trying to do something wild and crazy out there architecture, but he misses the basics- like circulation and clear modes of egress. The museum was just confusing- the content was excellent however. I learned a lot about Judism and the prosecution its undergone.
We met up and split into a few groups. Justin Allison, Chris and I went to see the part of the Berlin wall that is still standing. We had to run for part of it because it was pouring (!) and we stopped to get kebabs and made a pit stop at the hostel to blow-dry our clothes. On the way to the wall we saw a movie being filmed- it was part of a chase scene- I had never heard of it. 'The last white man' look for it in a year. Anyway, the wall is awesome. Artists from all over the world did paintings on it- its weird to think this was so recent! The wall came down when I was 1! I bought a piece of the wall too. I couldn't help it. I'm helping the economy...we just walked around in that area after and went back to the hostel to watch the UMD game on the computer. Such a let down! We were so close!! At least we could watch a game- we were deprived of sports. Can't wait to play soccer and run again...
3.22.10
Went to the Eisenmann Holocaust memorial before our tour of Berlin at 11. The memorial was amazing. It was cement blocks at different heights on a sloping surface. You walk in it and at some points you are completely surrounded by the pillars and you can hear footsteps but not know where they're coming from and you see people walking out of the corner of your eyes- you never know if you're going to run into someone around the corner. Effective. The tour was excellent as well- and Adam was hot. Good ole Georgian boy. We saw the hotel Michael Jackson hung his baby out the window (!) and it ended on Museum Island. A few of us sketched the Altes Museum and went into the Pergamon- it has the Ishtar gate!! Then we went to see the Reichstag during the day and to an amazing new train station nearby. Technology/structure overload! The circulation was amazing though. I liked it a lot. We had dinner at a place the man at the hostel told Zach and I about- it was ok, good atmosphere but a bit pricey. I tried this beer called Duvel- really good. High alcohol content (whoops) but really good. We met up with the others and decided against a pub crawl and just went back into the same place for more drinks.
3.23.10
Jenny, Chris, Zach and I went to an OMA building int he morning- excellent- and met with Dave and Emma to go to a concentration camp. The one we went to was just north of Berlin called Sachenhausen. There was SO MUCH information there. There was basically 5 museums in one. You walked in and it freaked me out as to how planned it was- it reminded me of when I saw Salt Works last summer in France. There were architects who DESIGNED these camps. They kept most of it there for you to see. You could go in two of the barracks and the kitchen and prison. You could even walk INTO the execution trench and crematorium. Walking around the camp it was so arid and it just hung in the air that something terrible happened here. They estimaed about 20,000 people were killed there. Heavy for a Tuesday morning, but I'm really glad I went.
When we were back in the city Jenny and I went to a contemporary art museum designed by Mies van der Rohe- excellent building and it was my type of art so I had a good time. We met with everyone else on a street Allison's friend told her about. It was in East Berlin- very cool area. The amount of street life reminded me of Paris. Good vibes. We went for gelato before going back to the hostel. Early morning tomorrow- flying to Frankfurt!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Later today
in regards to the post I wrote earlier- the tour didn't happen. The 'nap' ended up being a minor slumber and we woke up at 5..whoops. We all woke up and went out for dinner. Emma and Dave had already been out walking for a bit so they had some ideas. Some of us went for sushi (delish) and it is so cheap!! Berlin is amazing compared to Dublin. I have no idea why it was so expensive but this is a dream in comparison. After dinner we went to the Reichstag and saw the Brandenburger Gate. We had to run around in the rain and wait a while but it was worth it. The Norman Foster insertion was amazing, and they had an audio guide that was really helpful- I learned a lot!!
We metro-ed back and had some amazing gelato!! I felt like i was in Paris again. Back at the hostel now. Hopefully I can sleep well tonight considering my massive nap...
We metro-ed back and had some amazing gelato!! I felt like i was in Paris again. Back at the hostel now. Hopefully I can sleep well tonight considering my massive nap...
German...is hard
3/18/10
We all woke up relatively early considering we ended our dance party around 2. We all hiked over to the Western Union so I could get the money dad wired to me and to eat breakfast. Next stop was the bus station for our day trip to Howth. It is a nearby fishing town with excellent hiking and views of the coast. The wind there was unbelievable! When we were walking on the pier we literally were getting blown sideways- my hair may never be the same. We started on one of the many trails throughout the town and decided to take a detour to get to the top of an amazing cliff/rock. Well worth it. We had to make our way through some prickly bushes and steep climbs but it was some quality off-roading. The views from the top were beautiful. Green everywhere, very quintessential Ireland. We made our way back along one of the normal trails (how boring) and back to the town center for lunch. I had some amazing Irish stew and we were on our way back to Dublin.
At the hostel we all decided to take a short little nap…that ended up being 3 hours long. I could have kept sleeping too is Chris hadn’t of woken us all up! I guess we were tired. I forced myself to get up and we went in search of dinner. After wandering for a while (and after I bought myself a sweet Swatch- I will finally know what time it is!) we stumbled upon a great pub called McGrattons. It was full of old men in suits watching the soccer game after work- and excellent burgers. Not sure if it was because I was so hungry or if it was really just that good, but it could possibly have been one of the best burgers I have ever had. We went across the street to a local pub the guy at the hostel recommended to us and had a pint. It was great atmosphere- a bunch of men were singing and playing the guitar. Good times. Somehow I was still able to fall asleep that night- I’m worn out!
3/19/10
We had breakfast at the recommended place- a lot of food for not a lot of money- and it was basically the same thing we had everyday at the YHAs we had been staying at with DuPuy. After storing our luggage at the hostel me Allison, Jenny and Justin walked the streets until we had to meet up with everyone for the Guinness factory tour. I am a true convert- the tour was amazing! They let you taste the barley and smell the hops, then at the end they teach your how to ‘pour the perfect pint’ and then we drank our perfect pints with great views to the city. The first pint of Guinness I ever finished- delish. After some of us went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. It was a bit of a let down just because it was extremely small, but they had some interesting stuff in there. Emma and I walked over to our next meeting place- Dublin is large but pretty manageable to walk around- and it ended in the rain. We were getting so lucky with great weather it was bound to happen. We saw everyone at the Calatrava bridge (it was new and very awesome- in the shape of the Guinness harp!) and took a look at the new Lebieskind theatre that just opened yesterday. We followed Chris to dinner- amazing little Italian place- I finally had the caprese I had been craving! We got our luggage from the hostel and went to the bus station to get to the airport. We were there by 11 and I slept from then until 4am when we had to check in for our 6am flight. Luckily we found a Starbucks that had some great couches for us to sleep on so it definitely could have been worse- and this way we didn’t have to stress about finding a cab at 4am and paying for another night at the not-so-great hostel.
3/20/10
Made it to Berlin safe and sound! Talk about culture shock- I know absolutely zero German- this will be interesting. Took a bus and the metro to the hostel, which was conveniently right by a metro stop and checked in. Much nicer than our last hostel! Now- shower and nap time. Still raining so hopefully it clears up and we can do one of the free tours of the city- we all will need it!
We all woke up relatively early considering we ended our dance party around 2. We all hiked over to the Western Union so I could get the money dad wired to me and to eat breakfast. Next stop was the bus station for our day trip to Howth. It is a nearby fishing town with excellent hiking and views of the coast. The wind there was unbelievable! When we were walking on the pier we literally were getting blown sideways- my hair may never be the same. We started on one of the many trails throughout the town and decided to take a detour to get to the top of an amazing cliff/rock. Well worth it. We had to make our way through some prickly bushes and steep climbs but it was some quality off-roading. The views from the top were beautiful. Green everywhere, very quintessential Ireland. We made our way back along one of the normal trails (how boring) and back to the town center for lunch. I had some amazing Irish stew and we were on our way back to Dublin.
At the hostel we all decided to take a short little nap…that ended up being 3 hours long. I could have kept sleeping too is Chris hadn’t of woken us all up! I guess we were tired. I forced myself to get up and we went in search of dinner. After wandering for a while (and after I bought myself a sweet Swatch- I will finally know what time it is!) we stumbled upon a great pub called McGrattons. It was full of old men in suits watching the soccer game after work- and excellent burgers. Not sure if it was because I was so hungry or if it was really just that good, but it could possibly have been one of the best burgers I have ever had. We went across the street to a local pub the guy at the hostel recommended to us and had a pint. It was great atmosphere- a bunch of men were singing and playing the guitar. Good times. Somehow I was still able to fall asleep that night- I’m worn out!
3/19/10
We had breakfast at the recommended place- a lot of food for not a lot of money- and it was basically the same thing we had everyday at the YHAs we had been staying at with DuPuy. After storing our luggage at the hostel me Allison, Jenny and Justin walked the streets until we had to meet up with everyone for the Guinness factory tour. I am a true convert- the tour was amazing! They let you taste the barley and smell the hops, then at the end they teach your how to ‘pour the perfect pint’ and then we drank our perfect pints with great views to the city. The first pint of Guinness I ever finished- delish. After some of us went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. It was a bit of a let down just because it was extremely small, but they had some interesting stuff in there. Emma and I walked over to our next meeting place- Dublin is large but pretty manageable to walk around- and it ended in the rain. We were getting so lucky with great weather it was bound to happen. We saw everyone at the Calatrava bridge (it was new and very awesome- in the shape of the Guinness harp!) and took a look at the new Lebieskind theatre that just opened yesterday. We followed Chris to dinner- amazing little Italian place- I finally had the caprese I had been craving! We got our luggage from the hostel and went to the bus station to get to the airport. We were there by 11 and I slept from then until 4am when we had to check in for our 6am flight. Luckily we found a Starbucks that had some great couches for us to sleep on so it definitely could have been worse- and this way we didn’t have to stress about finding a cab at 4am and paying for another night at the not-so-great hostel.
3/20/10
Made it to Berlin safe and sound! Talk about culture shock- I know absolutely zero German- this will be interesting. Took a bus and the metro to the hostel, which was conveniently right by a metro stop and checked in. Much nicer than our last hostel! Now- shower and nap time. Still raining so hopefully it clears up and we can do one of the free tours of the city- we all will need it!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Spring Break!!
We made it out safe and sound to Ireland. First stop, Belfast. I was skeptical, but it was totally awesome. The hostel was so legit. It had great food, great atmosphere, plus we got breakfast in the morning. It was a hippies paradise. We walked around the city after we checked into the hostel and ended up in this giant globe/glassed indoor/outdoor shopping center and talked to Gerry- what a guy. He talked to us all about Belfast (the Titanic was built here, and it was where Jonathan Swift got inspiration for Gulliver's Travels!) and gave us tips for where to go out that night. Had dinner at our go-to, Whetherspoons, and went to the pubs: Robinson's and the Crown. The people were great. I love Ireland.
It was sad to leave in the morning- the hostel was great, but we had to be in Dublin for the parade. We left early and made it just in time to catch the bus to the city. Found our hostel nice and easy- not nearly as good as Belfast- and booked it to the parade. Apparently there were 650,000 people there!! The parade was crazy- some serious characters, and we were able to make it almost to the front so we could see a lot of it. After we wandered the city to get a taste of it- total madness. Everyone was dressed up and the streets were packed to the brim with people. It was nearly impossible to find a semi-non hectic street to turn down. Great energy. We had all agreed to meet up later with some alcohol to pregame before going out- Dublin is mad expensive- my group made it back first. We pushed all of the bunk beds to the center of the room and when the others got back we had a venue for some card playing. We went out in the area the guy at the hostel told us to go to (people love us b/c were Americans and love to talk to us about their American travels so we get lots of good advice as for where to go). We went to a place called The Globe- total awesomeness! It was one giant dance party, and we danced until 2am. We were so sweaty by the time we left- I feel like its ok that I didn't bring my running shoes because I'm still getting exercise!
computer battery is about to die- will update again soon.
Monday, March 15, 2010
whoops
I'm slacking on this whole blog thing- I forgot to mention what we actually did in Salisbury- minor detail. We stayed there one night and on Sunday before going back to London was explored the town a bit and saw the cathedral- its the tallest one in the UK (!). There is a copy of the Magna Carta there too- had to get some history in the trip.
We drove out to Stonehenge- the approach is so weird. I don't know why but I always expected it to be up on a hill or insanely tall, but you literally are driving down the road and...there it is. It still is amazing- how the hell did they get those rocks to sit so perfectly like that!? It was exciting to see it...with hundreds of other tourists. Definitely the most touristy thing we have done so far. Then we went to Old Sarun(m?), yet another Roman earthenwork. This one gets bonus points though because they had a tasting of gin, mead, and liquor. It was actually really interesting though- they literally dig a giant hole in the shape of a circle and dumped it in the center to make a fortress-like place and built on it. Impressive.
Anyhow- back in London now you can tell its Spring Break over here too because there are way more people out. Busy Busy. Excited for Ireland!!
Almost spring break!
Did our laundry at the University on Friday- gotta love colleges, everything is cheaper there. DuPuy met with some of us for meetings and everyone else wandered around the campus and played a bit of soccer. After we were let loose in Bath- I went to our new favorite cafe, Jika Jika, to read and chill for a bit then walked around and sketched until we met to watch The Hurt Locker. What an amazing movie! I highly recommend it- war is a drug (?) interesting topic...we walked around and had some dinner then went to a pub before we had to meet up with DuPuy to drive back to the hostel.
The next day we left for Salisbury and stopped at ___ to look at a suspension bridge. The engineers in us were all geeked out. Driving away from it was crazy because it literally looked like it was just resting on the two cliffs- like you dropped a ladder across them and could drive over it. Technology is freaky sometimes.
Next stop was Castle Drogo- the roads getting there were giving me a heart attack. It was a 1.5 lane road basically with tons of turns so at any moment you could turn the corner and ram into another car. Luckily we made it out without a scratch. The house was amazing though- from the outside, not so much, but the inside made up for it. The design that went into every space and entrance and light switch was phenomenal. Lutyens knew what he was doing.
Last stop was Poundbury. It was an application of Leon Kreer's ideology on urbanism- he was working with Prince Charles to commission it. The urbanism I can appreciate, but the architecture and design of some of the buildings were sub par. It was all too similar and all of the buildings had to subscribe to a particular style- it could have used some variation. There were a lot of great episodes within it, but as a whole I didn't like it too much. Before leaving DuPuy got the energy out of us by taking us to an old Roman earthenwork we ran up and climbed all around. Good times.
It feels good to be back in London. After being on the road for a few weeks its nice to be back in a familiar place. We walked around a new section of London we hadn't been in before (up around Hyde and Regents Park and Oxford Circus). There is some extremely expensive shopping around there! Liberty scarves- the cheapest I saw was 110 pounds! Good thing I don't have my debit card yet...Is going to be a hectic night- leaving for Spring Break tomorrow so we need to get everything in order before the morning. We are going to have a lot of flights to get to over break so hopefully we can get all the local transportation to the airports figured out! I'm excited to be traveling around Europe without a chaperone- I have always been with a teacher or my family! Exciting but scary....hopefully it ends well :P
Thursday, March 11, 2010
So I realized in my last post I was dating everything as February- whoops!
MARCH 8, 2009
We all went out to Jamie's Italian (its owned by Jamie Oliver!) for dinner- not as good as we were all expecting, but definitely not a bad meal. We met up with DuPuy after to go to the Eagle and the Child: a bar Tolkein and C.S. Lewis used to meet at all the time (!) to have a drink. We went back semi early- leaving for Bath tomorrow morning!
3/9/10
Made a pit-stop at the Ashmolean Museum before leaving Oxford. Definitely a good call- not only was the addition to the museum amazing architecture, the exhibits were excellent! I wish we would have had a bit more time there but we had places to go! On the way to Bath we stopped at two random smaller towns that DuPuy thought we would find interesting: Bibury and another one I can't remember at the moment...they were both in the Cotswolds though which is quite amazing scenery- most of England is though. We made it to Bath and wow is the topography dramatic! I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this! It is all pretty monotonous and autocratic facades too, but I (surprisingly) love it! DuPuy took us the the College pub for dinner and a drink then back to the hostel. The hostel is...interesting. You drive up this ridiculous hill to a Palladian-looking building only out find out that your room is out back in some rando building. Definitely not my favorite one. Excited to wander around Bath tomorrow!
3/10/10
Drove down to the city center and started following DuPuy. The streets here are great- good feeling, right building heights, very pedestrian friendly. We trekked up to see the circus (very impressive) and the royal crescent (still not sure if I like it or not). Next we went into the Roman Baths- they were great but I can't believe they charge so much to go in them! We drank some of the water- it was warm! So weird, I couldn't drink all of mine. We were allowed to wander then we all met up for dinner at a pub (the Beau Nash, haha) to watch the Man U. game- they won 4-0. Back to the hostel and bed late. I have to present on Wells tomorrow, need to research!!
3/11/10
Drove to Stourhead first. Probably my favorite garden we visited thus far. It was extremely well maintained and it was an manageable size to walk around. There were these ducks that kept following us- mainly because the boys were feeding them though. AFter a coffee break we drove to Wells where I presented on the city. I was very impressed by the interior of the cathedral- the outside was a bit off- the scale was wrong for how detailed the sculpture was and the h/w proportion didn't feel right. It was recently cleaned and it was beautiful! Plus, there was a window of Jesse- so naturally I liked it :) The chapel house was very impressive though- 36 ribs springing from a single column to support the roof! We drove to the Cheddar gorge next- so cool, it was like a mini grand canyon! We were climbing around- a goat kind of started following me and I freaked out a bit. No cheese though, everything was closed by the time we got there! Went out for Indian with DuPuy in Bath and went back to the hostel early- a few of us are feeling a little under the weather (!) we need to clear it up before Spring Break. Laundry + free day tomorrow!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Harry Potter!!
2/6/10
Left Manchester today- off to Oxford!! We wandered around and tried to sneak into various colleges (there are 38!!) to have a look at them. There is a refectory and dining hall for EVERY college- that’s the life. The housing is amazing. They all have courtyards and beautiful brick architecture. We went up St. Mary’s church to have an aerial look at the town. It was so crazy though- when the bell struck for 2:00 we could feel the tower moving!! We went into Christ Church- they filmed parts of Harry Potter there!! I definitely recognized parts of it too- thats how you know I've seen the movies too many times. The night out was much more successful than in Manchester- there were people out!! We went to a cheap pub then went over to the Purple Turtle, but people didn’t want to pay cover so we just ended up at O’Neil’s. Fun day- I am definitely liking Oxford so far.
2/7/10
Oxford is freezing!! We woke up and drove to Stowe. I wasn’t completely blown away by it. It was essentially a mansion with thousands of acres of land with follies scattered around it. The follies were supposed to be laid out with references to one another, but I didn’t really feel it when I was there. Perhaps it was because it wasn’t maintained too well- not enough money. Such a shame. I bet it was beautiful when it was first completed. We drove back to Oxford to meet up with Nick at Magdelein College and explore. I was literally frozen to the core by the end of the day- we were outside for 7 HOURS! I was pissed- and I made sure to let DuPuy know. We stopped in for a beer at a pub close by and then went to an amazing Thai place for dinner. It was off this back alley- that’s how you know its good. I went back and pretty much fell asleep right away. Long, cold day.
2/8/10
I finally went running this morning! First time since we left Kiplin- it felt great. Plus now DuPuy can’t guilt trip me anymore for not running. We went to the Sheldonian Theatre first to sketch and then we drove to Blenheim to see the house and gardens. It reminded me of something you would see in Providence, RI like the Breakers or the Biltmore. We had a quick lunch and DuPuy dropped us off in town so we could wander around. I got an Oxford t-shirt just because I wanted to feel smart and have people question whether or not I actually went to Oxford when I wear it back in the states. Back in the Hostel now to try and warm up before going out for dinner. Leaving for Bath tomorrow.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Manchester
We left Kiplin on Tuesday. It was bitter sweet: I am happy to be traveling and seeing all of the country, but it was nice to have a home base at Kiplin.
The first place we drove to was Saltaire- I really liked it at first, but then as we were walking around it seemed almost unsafe. A lot off people had braces on their steering wheels so their cars wouldn't get stolen...not enough eye on the street! Jenny and I had a great lunch though- tomato and lentil soup with brie and crackers. We went to an art museum and I went a little crazy int he gift shop- there was so many amazing books and cards! After we drove straight to Liverpool and walked around the city a bit until dinner. It seems like a pretty cool town, but the Beatles thing makes it a little touristy.
The next day we were in Wales- what an amazing day! The sun was shining and the scenery was spectacular! The language is ridiculous though- can I buy a vowel!? We went to two Edward I Bastides- Conwy and Canaerfan- that were really interesting. Then we drove down to Port Meirian. It was literally a Disney World. This rich guy essentially bought a ton of land and designed buildings in every style imaginable. It was interesting to see though thats for sure.
Thursday we left for Manchester and stopped in Port Sunlight and Chester on the way. Port SUnlight was so picturesque! I felt like i was in Pleasantville. It was great to see how some people were reacting to all of the horrible living conditions in the cities at the time, I think it might have just taken it a little too far with the open space. It was literally sprawling! Chester was crazy- it was an old Roman Castrum and so we walked all the way around the city on the Roman Wall, and explored the actual city. I have never seen more Tudor style buildings in my life! It was weird though, most everything was shops- and we didn't even have time to shop!! There was an amazing movement system along the streets- there would be stores along the sidewalk with open almost porch-like walkways that stretched all the way across in front of another level of shops. Very neat.
Once we got to Manchester we went out to dinner as a group. There was a snafu with our room though because they hadn't cleaned it yet- we got two free bottles of Champagne. AFter we went out to get Indian food- it still hasn't let me down. I LOVE INDIAN FOOD. The meal was amazing plus Sara was able to get a free bottle of wine because it was her birthday. We went back to change and get ready to go out, but the night was a bit of a bust. There was literally nothing open! No one was out and everything had already closed for the night...not to great of a first impression.
Today (Friday) we walked around with DuPuy in the morning and then were set loose at 11:30. It was freezing so we went to get 'hot drinks' and then did some shopping. It is really expensive shopping around here- unfortunate- so I didn't get much. Then Sara and I went to the 23rd floor of the humongous new Hilton that is built here to get some arial views of the city and had coffee. Hopefully tonight will be a better outing than last- then were off to Oxford int he morning!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Farewell Kiplin!!
Yesterday was review day- wow was it long. We started at 2:00 and ended at EIGHT!! It was a great review though I have to say- Nick has a lot of great ideas, I'm glad he came for the review. After we drank and played Rook (Jenny's amish game, its a lot like pitch) and watched the Hockey game- poor US.
Today I tried to sleep in because we had a free day, but I still woke up on my normal schedule of 8:30- its really unfortunate. I finished packing..sort of...and we played soccer for about an hour. It was a beautiful day- sunny and 50, what more could you ask for!? I went on a farewell lap around the lake and then we went into Richmond for a few errands and food. We are going to try and go to the cheap monday night movie and watch Invictus, but there might not be any seats left- we shall see.
We're leaving for the road tomorrow- I have to say I will miss Kiplin Hall and RIchmond, but it is going to be so amazing to be able to travel around the country and see so many cities. The there is Spring Break- I'm so pumped!! We are trying to/ I am planning a trip to either ROme or Barcelona for the beginning of April- its relatively cheap to fly round trip and we are already in Europe we might as well travel to another country for a weekend!! Hopefully we can manage to get it together in time....
I decided I am not going to bring my computer on the road simply because of space- I have too many clothes!! SO picture posting on facebook might be few and far between. Cheers!
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