www.nd.edu/~afleck
The new place for all things me. Except my blog. That will stay here. To be helpful, I've linked back to my blog from my new home page. You're welcome.
So I'm back in Americaland for the foreseeable future. Scary. Time to do a run down of my past four months:
(By the way, I always like to get the bad out first)
Cons:
Worst travel day(s) ever.
A big pile of rocks that we drove 2 hours to. Whoops, I mean Stonehenge.
O'Boyle. Not his class (which was fun), just him.
Being really, really bad at keeping my blog current.
Being sick/having health issues (read: losing a contact in Dublin) every trip away from London.
Foreign Languages. C'mon, just speak English already. Selfish Europeans.
Sports Cafe, the most average place in London. For that matter, the line at Walkabout on Monday's sucked too.
Felling like I was 17 all over again (not being able to vote), wasting my new 21-year oldship (18 to drink in the U.K.)
Dollars and Pounds, not one and the same. Not even freaking close.
Having to come home.
Pros:
Sunrise the first day in the flats.
Having the best roomate ever.
Pubs!
Italy...I can still taste the gelatto.
The Vatican. I'm holier than thou.
Bradshaw's Theology Class/Mark's Philo Class
Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Shakespeare!
Parental Visit...happy Easter to me!
Wong Kei...best 4 pounds ever. All 7 times.
Hollywood? Bollywood? Mollywood.
Game night. Woot family/Taboo!
Maid day...mmm, so fresh and so clean clean.
Rereading books and realizing they take place in your backyard (i.e. Hitchhiker's Guide...well, before the Earth is destroyed, that is).
Spain!!!! Bocadillos, Sun, the beach, and a whole lot of partying. So much for a relaxing break...
Doner Kebabs.
Dublin my pleasure...and my Guinness intake.
Getting through Paris while only getting hit by a Parisian once.
Having more stamps in my passport than I know what to do!
Safe (and smooth) travels home.
An amazing opportunity, an amazing semester; thank you to those I met, befriended, and shared this with. I love you all.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
This is it...
This is my last post from the fine city of London.
It is currently 3:00 am Wednesday morning. We leave at 6:00 am. Guess I forgot to sleep.
The last days in England have been amazing...our Shakespeare performance went great, the Callaghans party was fun afterwords, and I even went to the Star Wars premiere in Leicester Square (didn't get to see the movie though...)
More to come when I get home :(
It is currently 3:00 am Wednesday morning. We leave at 6:00 am. Guess I forgot to sleep.
The last days in England have been amazing...our Shakespeare performance went great, the Callaghans party was fun afterwords, and I even went to the Star Wars premiere in Leicester Square (didn't get to see the movie though...)
More to come when I get home :(
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Non!
An important word to understand in Paris. Also important is the proper, indignant pronounciation of the word. An upturned nose helps.
Aside from the Parisians, Paris was breathtaking. In all seriousness (and surprisingly), we didn't have any real problems with French people. Aside from a lady hitting me. But that'll come up later.
The first night in Paris we had pizza for dinner (of course....) and walked from Montmarte (where our hostel was) to the Arc de Triumphe and the Eiffel Tower. A lesson to those travelling to Paris: just because you can see the Eiffel Tower does not mean that it is close. After an hour and a half walk, we experienced the Tower at night, in all its sparkling glory (they have flash bulbs all over the thing).
We woke up bright and early on Saturday to meet up with one of Phil's friends, and went to the Musee d'Orsay, which is an amazing impressionism museum. Some great stuff, including Whistler's Mother, Van Gogh's Self Portrait, and Monet's Waterlilies (some of which I had already seen at the Tate Modern Museum here in London). It was here that I was assaulted though. Flash photography isn't allowed in the Museum, but some guy wanted me to take a picture of him and Van Gogh together (I'm not sure how much Van Gogh wanted it, but I digress). So I aimed the camera, snapped the picture, and pop! went the flash bulb. Immediately, a French lady (who didn't even work there!) slapped my arm and yelled, in a hilarious French accent, "No Flash!!" Before I could even explain myself, the guy grabbed his camera and ran, and the lady was gone, babbling some crap about it "being annoying." Man, the French have a high opinion of themselves.
Next stop was the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is just as impressive as the English pronounciation of the same place. The place is big and impressive, but alas, no gypsies or people with poor backs. Lots of gargoyles though.
That night we explored more of Montmarte, and ate outside at a great cafe. And, sure enough, French Onion Soup in France is just 'Onion Soup.' Makes sense.
Sunday we went to mass at Sacre Coure, which is a large, domed, white church at the top of Montmarte. Great views of the city, and a very hard-to-follow mass (seeing that it was in French). We then Metro'ed to the Eiffel Tower (we had learned our lesson) and went to the top. Brilliant thing to do when you're afraid of heights.
But they had a cage (thank the Lord), and the view was phenominal from the tallest structure in Europe. After taking the lift back down, we wandered around and grabbed dinner in a cute cafe with a great view of the Tower.
That night we went to a great bar where the drunk-off-his-ass owner gave us a free round of drinks. Sweet stuff.
Monday we did the Louvre. For four hours. And I feel like I still haven't seen most of it. We saw all the big stuff (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, etc), most of the medium stuff (Napolean's Coronation, Hammurabi's Code), and a whole bunch of well-known but largely ignored stuff at the museum (its hard to get press when that damn smiling woman attracts so many visitors). Honestly, its probably the best museum I've ever been to. Definitely worth the 9 euro, and definitely not the Uffizi (thank God).
After we got Louvred, we took a nap. In the park outside the Louvre. In the dirt. We felt homeless, but it was good times (and a good nap!).
All in all, I would definitely love to go back to Paris, maybe with money next time. That way I could buy even more crepes. Man those things were good.
Pictures up soon, and yes I know I missed the week before Paris. So here's what happened: not much. I had my job interview, which went well, but still no word. I did go to the British Library though, and saw their impressive exhibit. They have the original Magna Carta, the second Bible ever printed, the first King James' Bible, Shakespeare's first Quarto, Handel's Messiah score, and even the original Alice in Wonderland. Very cool to see.
And then there was the week following Paris. Again, not too much. I finally got to St. James's Park (the one by Buckingham Palace, and literally 2 minutes from our classroom building), but it rained on me and Molly. So much for our picnic plans.
I should be hearing about my job on Monday, so there's a chance I may be in London for two more months. If I don't get it though, I'm out of here in just over a week (May 18th). Ahh!! Its been fun, and fortunately there's not too much left in London I feel I need to do. I know my bank account appreciates that.
Aside from the Parisians, Paris was breathtaking. In all seriousness (and surprisingly), we didn't have any real problems with French people. Aside from a lady hitting me. But that'll come up later.
The first night in Paris we had pizza for dinner (of course....) and walked from Montmarte (where our hostel was) to the Arc de Triumphe and the Eiffel Tower. A lesson to those travelling to Paris: just because you can see the Eiffel Tower does not mean that it is close. After an hour and a half walk, we experienced the Tower at night, in all its sparkling glory (they have flash bulbs all over the thing).
We woke up bright and early on Saturday to meet up with one of Phil's friends, and went to the Musee d'Orsay, which is an amazing impressionism museum. Some great stuff, including Whistler's Mother, Van Gogh's Self Portrait, and Monet's Waterlilies (some of which I had already seen at the Tate Modern Museum here in London). It was here that I was assaulted though. Flash photography isn't allowed in the Museum, but some guy wanted me to take a picture of him and Van Gogh together (I'm not sure how much Van Gogh wanted it, but I digress). So I aimed the camera, snapped the picture, and pop! went the flash bulb. Immediately, a French lady (who didn't even work there!) slapped my arm and yelled, in a hilarious French accent, "No Flash!!" Before I could even explain myself, the guy grabbed his camera and ran, and the lady was gone, babbling some crap about it "being annoying." Man, the French have a high opinion of themselves.
Next stop was the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is just as impressive as the English pronounciation of the same place. The place is big and impressive, but alas, no gypsies or people with poor backs. Lots of gargoyles though.
That night we explored more of Montmarte, and ate outside at a great cafe. And, sure enough, French Onion Soup in France is just 'Onion Soup.' Makes sense.
Sunday we went to mass at Sacre Coure, which is a large, domed, white church at the top of Montmarte. Great views of the city, and a very hard-to-follow mass (seeing that it was in French). We then Metro'ed to the Eiffel Tower (we had learned our lesson) and went to the top. Brilliant thing to do when you're afraid of heights.
But they had a cage (thank the Lord), and the view was phenominal from the tallest structure in Europe. After taking the lift back down, we wandered around and grabbed dinner in a cute cafe with a great view of the Tower.
That night we went to a great bar where the drunk-off-his-ass owner gave us a free round of drinks. Sweet stuff.
Monday we did the Louvre. For four hours. And I feel like I still haven't seen most of it. We saw all the big stuff (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, etc), most of the medium stuff (Napolean's Coronation, Hammurabi's Code), and a whole bunch of well-known but largely ignored stuff at the museum (its hard to get press when that damn smiling woman attracts so many visitors). Honestly, its probably the best museum I've ever been to. Definitely worth the 9 euro, and definitely not the Uffizi (thank God).
After we got Louvred, we took a nap. In the park outside the Louvre. In the dirt. We felt homeless, but it was good times (and a good nap!).
All in all, I would definitely love to go back to Paris, maybe with money next time. That way I could buy even more crepes. Man those things were good.
Pictures up soon, and yes I know I missed the week before Paris. So here's what happened: not much. I had my job interview, which went well, but still no word. I did go to the British Library though, and saw their impressive exhibit. They have the original Magna Carta, the second Bible ever printed, the first King James' Bible, Shakespeare's first Quarto, Handel's Messiah score, and even the original Alice in Wonderland. Very cool to see.
And then there was the week following Paris. Again, not too much. I finally got to St. James's Park (the one by Buckingham Palace, and literally 2 minutes from our classroom building), but it rained on me and Molly. So much for our picnic plans.
I should be hearing about my job on Monday, so there's a chance I may be in London for two more months. If I don't get it though, I'm out of here in just over a week (May 18th). Ahh!! Its been fun, and fortunately there's not too much left in London I feel I need to do. I know my bank account appreciates that.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Another Week...
...Another poor attempt at blogging. Although below this post, new pics are up!!
The last week has been amazing.
Last weekend (i.e. over a week ago), I spent the whole time hanging out in London and taking it easy, since a lot of people were out of town.
Monday, I went to Los Locos with Molly, Mike, and Margaret. It was fun. Chill at first, but it crowded and the dancing was rockin'.
Tuesday I studied up for a test I had Wednesday, so it was kind of a 'blah' day.
Wednesday, after my final, we took our professor out for a couple drinks, which was fun. I didn't get a chance to talk to him too much, but he's off to Australia to teach Econ for about 6 months, and then hopefully back here to teach Notre Dame kids again in the Spring. Great guy, but an unfortunately boring class. Oh well.
Thursday we had a substitute prof for my theology class. He was a little dry, but very knowledgeable about world religions, and we learned how diversity has impacted the Anglican Church. Neat stuff.
That night, I finally got a chance to hang out with Bill and Belatti again, as it had been too long since I had seen them. We had a great dinner and hung out afterwards....over all a good time, even if I didn't exactly make it out that night...
Friday, we began work with our new directors for our Shakespeare scenes. Mine is really interesting. He's young (about 28) and a method-style director, which means he concentrates on applying a set of actions and efforts to each scene, rather than direct in an ad hoc manner. Different to me, but nonetheless pretty cool. And we still got to play fun acting games :)
That evening, Phil and jetted off to Dublin!! After probably the best flight ever (I LOVE BMI! We got free sandwiches and soda!!), we arrived into a rainy, hazy Dublin. It really is London Lite.
We met up with our friends Mike and Chris, who took us out to Temple Bar, a famous pub area in the city. We got turned away from the first bar Porter House (VERY weird bouncer), but hung out at the one across the street until the Porter House switched bouncers. The second one was much more normal, and we had no problem getting in. They had a guy playing guitar faster than anyone I've ever seen before, singing pop songs and the like. Good times.
Saturday, it was rainy again, so Phil and I did mostly indoor stuff. We checked out the Spike first. It really is just a massive spike. 120 meters tall, 3 meters wide at the base, 15 centimeters wide at the top. Best and worst monument at the same time.
We then walked to the Guinness Storehouse, but first stopped at Christ Church. Its an Anglican Cathedral, and its gorgeous. It also houses the tomb of Strongbow (He was a Nordic leader who helped found the Cathedral. However, its also the name of a cider here in London).
We got the Guiness Storehouse, and it was indeed brilliant. I learned a lot about how the black stuff is made, and got to enjoy a pint on the top level of the brewery, known as the 'Gravity Bar.'
That night we went out to a couple Irish Pubs. We chatted with the locals and heard some great live Irish music. Much less reserved than London!
Sunday was a gorgeous day, so Phil and I enjoyed St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street (a neat shopping area), and Merrion Square (a great park where the Oscar Wilde statue is located). We then flew back (with another courtesy sandwich) and returned to the craziness that is London.
Today was another Philo class, although we did presentations and group stuff, so it went by quickly. At the end of this week, it looks as though I will be having an interview with Morningstar UK about a London internship over the summer. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Cheers!
P.S. The pictures below are (as you scroll down) first from my Spain adventure, and then from this past weekend in Dublin. Enjoy!
The last week has been amazing.
Last weekend (i.e. over a week ago), I spent the whole time hanging out in London and taking it easy, since a lot of people were out of town.
Monday, I went to Los Locos with Molly, Mike, and Margaret. It was fun. Chill at first, but it crowded and the dancing was rockin'.
Tuesday I studied up for a test I had Wednesday, so it was kind of a 'blah' day.
Wednesday, after my final, we took our professor out for a couple drinks, which was fun. I didn't get a chance to talk to him too much, but he's off to Australia to teach Econ for about 6 months, and then hopefully back here to teach Notre Dame kids again in the Spring. Great guy, but an unfortunately boring class. Oh well.
Thursday we had a substitute prof for my theology class. He was a little dry, but very knowledgeable about world religions, and we learned how diversity has impacted the Anglican Church. Neat stuff.
That night, I finally got a chance to hang out with Bill and Belatti again, as it had been too long since I had seen them. We had a great dinner and hung out afterwards....over all a good time, even if I didn't exactly make it out that night...
Friday, we began work with our new directors for our Shakespeare scenes. Mine is really interesting. He's young (about 28) and a method-style director, which means he concentrates on applying a set of actions and efforts to each scene, rather than direct in an ad hoc manner. Different to me, but nonetheless pretty cool. And we still got to play fun acting games :)
That evening, Phil and jetted off to Dublin!! After probably the best flight ever (I LOVE BMI! We got free sandwiches and soda!!), we arrived into a rainy, hazy Dublin. It really is London Lite.
We met up with our friends Mike and Chris, who took us out to Temple Bar, a famous pub area in the city. We got turned away from the first bar Porter House (VERY weird bouncer), but hung out at the one across the street until the Porter House switched bouncers. The second one was much more normal, and we had no problem getting in. They had a guy playing guitar faster than anyone I've ever seen before, singing pop songs and the like. Good times.
Saturday, it was rainy again, so Phil and I did mostly indoor stuff. We checked out the Spike first. It really is just a massive spike. 120 meters tall, 3 meters wide at the base, 15 centimeters wide at the top. Best and worst monument at the same time.
We then walked to the Guinness Storehouse, but first stopped at Christ Church. Its an Anglican Cathedral, and its gorgeous. It also houses the tomb of Strongbow (He was a Nordic leader who helped found the Cathedral. However, its also the name of a cider here in London).
We got the Guiness Storehouse, and it was indeed brilliant. I learned a lot about how the black stuff is made, and got to enjoy a pint on the top level of the brewery, known as the 'Gravity Bar.'
That night we went out to a couple Irish Pubs. We chatted with the locals and heard some great live Irish music. Much less reserved than London!
Sunday was a gorgeous day, so Phil and I enjoyed St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street (a neat shopping area), and Merrion Square (a great park where the Oscar Wilde statue is located). We then flew back (with another courtesy sandwich) and returned to the craziness that is London.
Today was another Philo class, although we did presentations and group stuff, so it went by quickly. At the end of this week, it looks as though I will be having an interview with Morningstar UK about a London internship over the summer. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Cheers!
P.S. The pictures below are (as you scroll down) first from my Spain adventure, and then from this past weekend in Dublin. Enjoy!
Friday, April 15, 2005
Only 5 Weeks To Go!
Scary thought...I'm going to have leave London soon! Ahh!
The Real - Barcelona match was amazing...Real Madrid won 4-2, with great goals all around.
This week has gone by quickly, but it was nice being back in England again. Monday we had a great Philosophy class...mostly because the second half of class was just a discussion. Monday night I just stayed in and chilled...my body still hated me from the night life of Barcelona.
Tuesday O'Boyle was in an especially chipper mood for some reason, so that was nice. That night I stayed in to work on a paper that was due on Thursday.
Wednesday we had our last Econ class (our final exam is next week...way early, but less classes!). That night we went out the Notting Hill Arts Club, which is an indie rock club in Notting Hill...but you could have probably figured that part out yourself... It was a fun place though. Live music Wednesday nights, but the band sucked this week. Oh well. The DJ was good, played some rockin' tunes.
Thursday we had a really great Theo class...Professor Bradshaw was also in a really good mood, and let us out early. Seems to be the theme of the week. I was going to go out last night, but I overslept in my nap. I had a really bad dream during it too. Bleh.
Today we got out early for my Shakespeare class (I told you it was a theme), and I've just been chilling around the flat. Going out tonight though, but a lot of people are out of town. I was going to go to a pub that's mainly outdoors, but the weather here sucks today (as usual), so I'll probably end up somewhere else. Good night all!
The Real - Barcelona match was amazing...Real Madrid won 4-2, with great goals all around.
This week has gone by quickly, but it was nice being back in England again. Monday we had a great Philosophy class...mostly because the second half of class was just a discussion. Monday night I just stayed in and chilled...my body still hated me from the night life of Barcelona.
Tuesday O'Boyle was in an especially chipper mood for some reason, so that was nice. That night I stayed in to work on a paper that was due on Thursday.
Wednesday we had our last Econ class (our final exam is next week...way early, but less classes!). That night we went out the Notting Hill Arts Club, which is an indie rock club in Notting Hill...but you could have probably figured that part out yourself... It was a fun place though. Live music Wednesday nights, but the band sucked this week. Oh well. The DJ was good, played some rockin' tunes.
Thursday we had a really great Theo class...Professor Bradshaw was also in a really good mood, and let us out early. Seems to be the theme of the week. I was going to go out last night, but I overslept in my nap. I had a really bad dream during it too. Bleh.
Today we got out early for my Shakespeare class (I told you it was a theme), and I've just been chilling around the flat. Going out tonight though, but a lot of people are out of town. I was going to go to a pub that's mainly outdoors, but the weather here sucks today (as usual), so I'll probably end up somewhere else. Good night all!
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Back where they speak English
Spain was simply brilliant.
While we weren't able to see any Bullfighting in Barcelona (it's been banned in the city for some time apparently), we were able to have a few amazing days in the town. Sean, Mark, and I rolled into town a couple hours ahead of Dan because of a train mix-up, so we went to Camp Neu, which is F.C. Barcelona's football stadium. It holds 100,000 people, and is very impressive (much bigger than Bernabeu, Real Madrid's stadium). Once Dan got in, we hung out in the hostel (which was one of the nicer ones I've stayed at) before grabbing some quality Spanish cooking at a local restaurant.
After some card games, Dan, Mark, and I hit the town. We went to a bar for shots of rum (as convinced by some random Cuban guy) and met two girls from San Diego State University who are studying in Preston, a town outside of Manchester. We ended up going to an Irish Bar with them and just talking to them and hanging out. Neat girls, and nice to be able to converse in English with random people!
The next day we went to Ghoti's Temple of the Holy Family which is an unfinished, impressionistic cathedral. It is massive. They started building it in the late 1800's, but stopped after Ghoti's death in the 1920's. In the 60's they resumed work, and continue to work on in to this day. We were able to climb one of the eight 100 meter tall towers, and a central tower is planned that will be twice the height. Very impressive, although at this point it's essentially become one big construction zone.
After scrambled eggs and cheese for dinner, we hung out with some people in our hostel. Vito was from Glasgow, Scotland, Adam was from Brighton, England, Paul was from Oxford, England, and Mike....was from somewhere stateside. We played cards and then went on a pub crawl, with six of us going out. We each picked a cool bar we saw and bought rounds. Mike picked a hard rock club, I picked a bar built around trees, Vito picked some random techno place, Dan picked an Irish Pub, Mark picked the London Bar, and Sean ended our trip by buying us Guiness in another Irish Bar. All in all, a great night, albeit a late one...we got home around 5am.
The next day, after a very late rise (read: 3pm), Sean and I chilled in the Hostel watching Spanish TV while Dan and Mark went to check out Olympic Park. We decided to go to a nice place for dinner, and ended up at 'Quixote's,' which was really nice, but overpriced. I spent 25 euro for water, wine, roast duck (which was actually very good) and cactus sherbert (....interesting). But it was our last night, so a little splurging isn't so bad.
To cap off our crazy Barcelona trip, we met up with Mike and Vito again, along with four girls from the University of North Carolina (two of which are from Charlotte...yay!). After some more cards, we went back to the tree bar and then to Club New York, which was a blast. Instead of the usual mix of hip hop and dance music, the club played a sort-of jazz/Spanish fusion all night long. It was a ton of fun, and we stayed nearly until the club closed at 5am.
At 6:30 am, Sean, Mark, and I caught a train back to Reus (so no, we didn't sleep last night...unless you count sleeping on the train, plane, and bus). The flight back was ok, but there were tons of loud kids, and apparently disciplining your kids isn't cool anymore. We had no problems with customs or baggage, and got home in good time, safe and sound.
And now I'm getting ready to go watch the Real Madrid - Barcelona football match at a local pub. I'm out for now. Cheers!
P.S. Pictures soon....most of them are on Mark's and Dan's cameras...
While we weren't able to see any Bullfighting in Barcelona (it's been banned in the city for some time apparently), we were able to have a few amazing days in the town. Sean, Mark, and I rolled into town a couple hours ahead of Dan because of a train mix-up, so we went to Camp Neu, which is F.C. Barcelona's football stadium. It holds 100,000 people, and is very impressive (much bigger than Bernabeu, Real Madrid's stadium). Once Dan got in, we hung out in the hostel (which was one of the nicer ones I've stayed at) before grabbing some quality Spanish cooking at a local restaurant.
After some card games, Dan, Mark, and I hit the town. We went to a bar for shots of rum (as convinced by some random Cuban guy) and met two girls from San Diego State University who are studying in Preston, a town outside of Manchester. We ended up going to an Irish Bar with them and just talking to them and hanging out. Neat girls, and nice to be able to converse in English with random people!
The next day we went to Ghoti's Temple of the Holy Family which is an unfinished, impressionistic cathedral. It is massive. They started building it in the late 1800's, but stopped after Ghoti's death in the 1920's. In the 60's they resumed work, and continue to work on in to this day. We were able to climb one of the eight 100 meter tall towers, and a central tower is planned that will be twice the height. Very impressive, although at this point it's essentially become one big construction zone.
After scrambled eggs and cheese for dinner, we hung out with some people in our hostel. Vito was from Glasgow, Scotland, Adam was from Brighton, England, Paul was from Oxford, England, and Mike....was from somewhere stateside. We played cards and then went on a pub crawl, with six of us going out. We each picked a cool bar we saw and bought rounds. Mike picked a hard rock club, I picked a bar built around trees, Vito picked some random techno place, Dan picked an Irish Pub, Mark picked the London Bar, and Sean ended our trip by buying us Guiness in another Irish Bar. All in all, a great night, albeit a late one...we got home around 5am.
The next day, after a very late rise (read: 3pm), Sean and I chilled in the Hostel watching Spanish TV while Dan and Mark went to check out Olympic Park. We decided to go to a nice place for dinner, and ended up at 'Quixote's,' which was really nice, but overpriced. I spent 25 euro for water, wine, roast duck (which was actually very good) and cactus sherbert (....interesting). But it was our last night, so a little splurging isn't so bad.
To cap off our crazy Barcelona trip, we met up with Mike and Vito again, along with four girls from the University of North Carolina (two of which are from Charlotte...yay!). After some more cards, we went back to the tree bar and then to Club New York, which was a blast. Instead of the usual mix of hip hop and dance music, the club played a sort-of jazz/Spanish fusion all night long. It was a ton of fun, and we stayed nearly until the club closed at 5am.
At 6:30 am, Sean, Mark, and I caught a train back to Reus (so no, we didn't sleep last night...unless you count sleeping on the train, plane, and bus). The flight back was ok, but there were tons of loud kids, and apparently disciplining your kids isn't cool anymore. We had no problems with customs or baggage, and got home in good time, safe and sound.
And now I'm getting ready to go watch the Real Madrid - Barcelona football match at a local pub. I'm out for now. Cheers!
P.S. Pictures soon....most of them are on Mark's and Dan's cameras...
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Warm Weather! Sunshine! Spain!!
Wow, Spain is amazing.
However, my intial reaction the country wasn´t exactly a positive one. We arrived into a small city outside of Terragona called Reus, and immediately experienced the language barrier when we couldn´t even convince our waitress to give us menus at a local deli. In the end, though, we got some great sandwiches, learned the invaluable word ´bocadillos´ (a type of sandwich), and she got a great tip.
That Friday night wasn´t too great either however. We had an overnight, seven hour train ride to Madrid, and we had a very weird Asian lady in our cabin who woke us up nearly every hour. In the end, she even asked us if we knew where 'Any good hostels, cheap hotels, monastaries, asylums...' and we stopped listening at that point.
We got into Madrid at about 7am, and our Hostel wasn´t ready yet. To kill time, we went to the Prado Museum, which is a pretty good art museum. Its no London, but it was still good, and cheap (take that, stupid Uffizi Museum). Once our Hostel was ready, we threw ourselves into the culture and grabbed a siesta (which actually does exist here...most stores close between 1pm and 5pm). That night we hung out in the hostel, ate some good Spanish buffet, and met some crazy Aussies who were rooming with.
The next day we used the metro to get around the city, and saw the Real Madrid (a local football...that´s soccer for you North Americans...team. The team is arguably the best and most successful team of the 20th century). The stadium tour was great, and the tropy hall was impressive. That night however, the team wasn´t in town, so we went to another local team´s game...Atletico Madrid. While that team isn´t as good (10th in the league compared to Real being 2nd), they did manage to whomp on Mallorca, who is 19th in the table, 4-0. So at least we say some good goals. And some crazy Spanish fans. They actually chant the 'Ole, Ole ole ole' Zahm-type song here. Who knew...
The next day in Madrid was our last, so we went to the Royal Palace where King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia live (Madrid is, after all, the capital of Spain). On our tour, we got to see 22 impressive rooms...out of the 2800 (yes, that´s two thousand eight hundred) that are in the palace. Needless to say, its a big place. We then got a train to Valencia, where I sit now.
Valencia is amazing the same way Venice is amazing compared to Rome. There´s not all that much to see, but the atmosphere is hard to find anywhere else. Our first day here we got in pretty late, so we had some pizza for dinner and just chilled.
The next day (yesterday, actually), we spent the entire day at the beach, building sand castles, reading, laying out, and playing on a sweet rope jungle gym that they had. I miss the sand, and it was a pretty nice beach.
Last night we made pasta for dinner...so cheap! Even the beer is cheap...one litre for about a euro (about $1.33 USD). After dinner, we hung out with some Iowa State girls that were staying in our hostel as well, and after playing some drinking games with them, us guys went out to a local bar. It was a typical movie-esque, dirty Spanish bar. And it was awesome.
Today we walked around the city and saw some of the sites. We climbed up some towers, went to the market (more on that later), and wandered through the huge park that runs around the city. In the park, we tried to find the zoo, but instead stumbed upon the third annual Valencian Open tennis tournament. And it was a big deal.
After getting into the tourney, we realized that this was no small local fare. We saw Costa beat some Austrian guy, and Nadal (currently 4th in the world...ahead of Roddick and Agassi) beat Ferrero (a former world number 1 player). We were quite impressed with our find, and the tennis was amazing.
After the tournament, we got some taco stuff for dinner from the store (which ended up being really good), and just hung out in the Hostel. However, it was no ordinary hanging out...
As previously promised, I´ll bring up the market again. While there, we got a bottle of Absinthe for 25 euro (which is pretty good considering it's decent stuff). For those who don't know, Absinthe (or the Green Fairy) is 140 proof alcohol, and has wormwood extract in it, which some argue provides hallucinagetic effects. That´s also why it's banned in the US...I don't know though. I didn't see anything weird. It definitely tastes weird though. Think of black licorice candy...that's on fire. Man, that stuff burns.
But now I sit about to go to bed. We head out to Barcelona tomorrow, and hopefully we'll catch some bullfighting. Oh, and Bryan, I went to a huge Spanish comic book store for you today. I have a couple surprises...hope you like Ultimate X-Men number two in Spanish :)
Good night all, and Adios!
However, my intial reaction the country wasn´t exactly a positive one. We arrived into a small city outside of Terragona called Reus, and immediately experienced the language barrier when we couldn´t even convince our waitress to give us menus at a local deli. In the end, though, we got some great sandwiches, learned the invaluable word ´bocadillos´ (a type of sandwich), and she got a great tip.
That Friday night wasn´t too great either however. We had an overnight, seven hour train ride to Madrid, and we had a very weird Asian lady in our cabin who woke us up nearly every hour. In the end, she even asked us if we knew where 'Any good hostels, cheap hotels, monastaries, asylums...' and we stopped listening at that point.
We got into Madrid at about 7am, and our Hostel wasn´t ready yet. To kill time, we went to the Prado Museum, which is a pretty good art museum. Its no London, but it was still good, and cheap (take that, stupid Uffizi Museum). Once our Hostel was ready, we threw ourselves into the culture and grabbed a siesta (which actually does exist here...most stores close between 1pm and 5pm). That night we hung out in the hostel, ate some good Spanish buffet, and met some crazy Aussies who were rooming with.
The next day we used the metro to get around the city, and saw the Real Madrid (a local football...that´s soccer for you North Americans...team. The team is arguably the best and most successful team of the 20th century). The stadium tour was great, and the tropy hall was impressive. That night however, the team wasn´t in town, so we went to another local team´s game...Atletico Madrid. While that team isn´t as good (10th in the league compared to Real being 2nd), they did manage to whomp on Mallorca, who is 19th in the table, 4-0. So at least we say some good goals. And some crazy Spanish fans. They actually chant the 'Ole, Ole ole ole' Zahm-type song here. Who knew...
The next day in Madrid was our last, so we went to the Royal Palace where King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia live (Madrid is, after all, the capital of Spain). On our tour, we got to see 22 impressive rooms...out of the 2800 (yes, that´s two thousand eight hundred) that are in the palace. Needless to say, its a big place. We then got a train to Valencia, where I sit now.
Valencia is amazing the same way Venice is amazing compared to Rome. There´s not all that much to see, but the atmosphere is hard to find anywhere else. Our first day here we got in pretty late, so we had some pizza for dinner and just chilled.
The next day (yesterday, actually), we spent the entire day at the beach, building sand castles, reading, laying out, and playing on a sweet rope jungle gym that they had. I miss the sand, and it was a pretty nice beach.
Last night we made pasta for dinner...so cheap! Even the beer is cheap...one litre for about a euro (about $1.33 USD). After dinner, we hung out with some Iowa State girls that were staying in our hostel as well, and after playing some drinking games with them, us guys went out to a local bar. It was a typical movie-esque, dirty Spanish bar. And it was awesome.
Today we walked around the city and saw some of the sites. We climbed up some towers, went to the market (more on that later), and wandered through the huge park that runs around the city. In the park, we tried to find the zoo, but instead stumbed upon the third annual Valencian Open tennis tournament. And it was a big deal.
After getting into the tourney, we realized that this was no small local fare. We saw Costa beat some Austrian guy, and Nadal (currently 4th in the world...ahead of Roddick and Agassi) beat Ferrero (a former world number 1 player). We were quite impressed with our find, and the tennis was amazing.
After the tournament, we got some taco stuff for dinner from the store (which ended up being really good), and just hung out in the Hostel. However, it was no ordinary hanging out...
As previously promised, I´ll bring up the market again. While there, we got a bottle of Absinthe for 25 euro (which is pretty good considering it's decent stuff). For those who don't know, Absinthe (or the Green Fairy) is 140 proof alcohol, and has wormwood extract in it, which some argue provides hallucinagetic effects. That´s also why it's banned in the US...I don't know though. I didn't see anything weird. It definitely tastes weird though. Think of black licorice candy...that's on fire. Man, that stuff burns.
But now I sit about to go to bed. We head out to Barcelona tomorrow, and hopefully we'll catch some bullfighting. Oh, and Bryan, I went to a huge Spanish comic book store for you today. I have a couple surprises...hope you like Ultimate X-Men number two in Spanish :)
Good night all, and Adios!
Friday, April 01, 2005
You would think that I would learn...
Man, this has to be my longest no-blog streak yet. Loyal readers, I'm embarrassed.
Here's a quick run down of the last two weeks:
Tuesday after my last post, we discussed Victorian pornagraphy in O'Boyle's class...pretty funny actually. Wednesday i had another boring Macroeconomics class, Thursday was a decent Bradshaw class, Friday was a really boring Shakespeare class...we didn't even act! Afterwards though, Mike and I went to the Tate Modern Museum, which is right next to the Globe theatre. It was...interesting, to say the least.
Last week was more of the same for the most part, except that my parents were in town for Easter! We did Oxford, The Tower of London, and Madame Toussard's. All except the last one were awesome. It was totally great having them here. They even cooked for me and my friends!
This week was paper were, with a 5 page philo paper and a 12 page history paper sucking my time. But they're both done, and now it's time for Spain! More updates to come after I visit Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona! Yay!!!
Here's a quick run down of the last two weeks:
Tuesday after my last post, we discussed Victorian pornagraphy in O'Boyle's class...pretty funny actually. Wednesday i had another boring Macroeconomics class, Thursday was a decent Bradshaw class, Friday was a really boring Shakespeare class...we didn't even act! Afterwards though, Mike and I went to the Tate Modern Museum, which is right next to the Globe theatre. It was...interesting, to say the least.
Last week was more of the same for the most part, except that my parents were in town for Easter! We did Oxford, The Tower of London, and Madame Toussard's. All except the last one were awesome. It was totally great having them here. They even cooked for me and my friends!
This week was paper were, with a 5 page philo paper and a 12 page history paper sucking my time. But they're both done, and now it's time for Spain! More updates to come after I visit Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona! Yay!!!
Monday, March 14, 2005
I'm getting bad at this
I swear I'll try harder.
The last week was a ton of fun! Lots of Notre Dame students from back home came over since it was their spring break. I hung out a lot with a few of Phil's friends that were in town.
Last Friday, I had my first Playing Shakespeare class in the Globe Theatre. What a great opportunity! My class is 8 students, and our professor is a professional actor. We're going to be eventually putting on some scenes for the whole London program (not on the actual Globe stage, alas), but I'm really looking forward to the opportunity.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty much blah days. Monday, class started up again for the week, as it usually does every Monday. Monday night we went to WalkAbout, and it was great to see all the ND kids in town visiting whom I haven't seen for a while from back home. Tuesday was usual fare; SportsCafe...except that it was actually fun! Very strange. Class on Tuesday wasn't too bad either...O'Boyle's entertaining.
Wednesday we went out to Los Locos, which is a smaller, fun club. We got in for free since we came before 11, and the ND kids pretty much brought the party, which is always fun. I also had a test Wednesday for my Finance class, which wasn't too bad...we'll see...
Thursday we went out to Callaghans (as usual) and had a blast. For Bradshaw's class that day, we went on a 'church crawl,' which professor Bradshaw likened to a pub crawl, only 'without the alcohol.' We saw St Martin's in the Field in Trafalgar Square (which I've been in about 6 million times already for concerts, food, and the like, so that wasn't exciting). We then went to All Saints on Margaret St (near Regent's Park) which was really neat...very classical, almost Catholic style. On the way home, I also saw my new favorite pub based soley on the name: The Cock.
Friday I had my second Playing Shakespeare course, in which we worked on scenes from MacBeth on the Globe Stage! While tour groups were coming through! It was awesome...and boosted my ego a little :)
That afternoon, Phil's parents (who had been in town) took me out to the Texas Embassy (which is a decent attempt at Tex-Mex food) and then to St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul's is the second highest Church dome in Europe; the first is St Peter's in Rome (check!) and the third is the Duomo in Florence (double check!). I feel like my life is complete.
Saturday I slept in, and took a sort of lazy day. For dinner though, Phil's parents took me out (again...they totally rocked) to a Chinese restaurant in China Town (of all places...) that was awesome. And inexpensive! I'm totally going back there. That night, a few of us watched 'From Hell,' a farily recent (2003 or so) Johnny Depp movie based on a graphic novel about Jack the Ripper. Great movie, although very gruesome. However, it did lead us to...
A Jack the Ripper walking tour Sunday night!! What a blast! We walked through East London and the Whitechapel area where the murders took place, and it was very informative. Unfortunately, the German blitz of WWII destroyed most of the original area, but it was still great to hear a bunch of the theories concerning the case.
And that leads me to...today. Whew! I had Philo of Law again today, and we actually talked about something I'm passionate about: Libertarianism (im or email me if you want an in depth rehashing of what happened...its more of a discussion based topic than a lecture one). Nonetheless, we basically covered Mill's 'On Liberty,' and discussed if morality should govern Government practices and if the state should be able to govern what goes on behind closed doors (hint: it SHOULDN'T). As apparently the only libertarian in the class, I had to talk a lot...hard to say what the reaction was though.
Tonight I wasn't feeling too great, so I stayed in and worked on some stuff (including, but not limited to, this blog). Tomorrow brings O'Boyle's class again...we're discussing pornography in Victorian London. Should be a riot. Cheers!
P.S. I'm sure you've seen, but I've put up a few pictures from my trip! If you really want some in-depth pics (read: lots more), see my friend and travel mate Liz's page at http://www.aradine.com/PhotoJournal/show_folder.php?usr=iW83KAIIql4=&fol=bvz7t8Th5dM=&alb=&img=&mode=
And yes, I know that link is ridiculously long, but the pictures are wonderful, and organized by folder. Enjoy!
The last week was a ton of fun! Lots of Notre Dame students from back home came over since it was their spring break. I hung out a lot with a few of Phil's friends that were in town.
Last Friday, I had my first Playing Shakespeare class in the Globe Theatre. What a great opportunity! My class is 8 students, and our professor is a professional actor. We're going to be eventually putting on some scenes for the whole London program (not on the actual Globe stage, alas), but I'm really looking forward to the opportunity.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty much blah days. Monday, class started up again for the week, as it usually does every Monday. Monday night we went to WalkAbout, and it was great to see all the ND kids in town visiting whom I haven't seen for a while from back home. Tuesday was usual fare; SportsCafe...except that it was actually fun! Very strange. Class on Tuesday wasn't too bad either...O'Boyle's entertaining.
Wednesday we went out to Los Locos, which is a smaller, fun club. We got in for free since we came before 11, and the ND kids pretty much brought the party, which is always fun. I also had a test Wednesday for my Finance class, which wasn't too bad...we'll see...
Thursday we went out to Callaghans (as usual) and had a blast. For Bradshaw's class that day, we went on a 'church crawl,' which professor Bradshaw likened to a pub crawl, only 'without the alcohol.' We saw St Martin's in the Field in Trafalgar Square (which I've been in about 6 million times already for concerts, food, and the like, so that wasn't exciting). We then went to All Saints on Margaret St (near Regent's Park) which was really neat...very classical, almost Catholic style. On the way home, I also saw my new favorite pub based soley on the name: The Cock.
Friday I had my second Playing Shakespeare course, in which we worked on scenes from MacBeth on the Globe Stage! While tour groups were coming through! It was awesome...and boosted my ego a little :)
That afternoon, Phil's parents (who had been in town) took me out to the Texas Embassy (which is a decent attempt at Tex-Mex food) and then to St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul's is the second highest Church dome in Europe; the first is St Peter's in Rome (check!) and the third is the Duomo in Florence (double check!). I feel like my life is complete.
Saturday I slept in, and took a sort of lazy day. For dinner though, Phil's parents took me out (again...they totally rocked) to a Chinese restaurant in China Town (of all places...) that was awesome. And inexpensive! I'm totally going back there. That night, a few of us watched 'From Hell,' a farily recent (2003 or so) Johnny Depp movie based on a graphic novel about Jack the Ripper. Great movie, although very gruesome. However, it did lead us to...
A Jack the Ripper walking tour Sunday night!! What a blast! We walked through East London and the Whitechapel area where the murders took place, and it was very informative. Unfortunately, the German blitz of WWII destroyed most of the original area, but it was still great to hear a bunch of the theories concerning the case.
And that leads me to...today. Whew! I had Philo of Law again today, and we actually talked about something I'm passionate about: Libertarianism (im or email me if you want an in depth rehashing of what happened...its more of a discussion based topic than a lecture one). Nonetheless, we basically covered Mill's 'On Liberty,' and discussed if morality should govern Government practices and if the state should be able to govern what goes on behind closed doors (hint: it SHOULDN'T). As apparently the only libertarian in the class, I had to talk a lot...hard to say what the reaction was though.
Tonight I wasn't feeling too great, so I stayed in and worked on some stuff (including, but not limited to, this blog). Tomorrow brings O'Boyle's class again...we're discussing pornography in Victorian London. Should be a riot. Cheers!
P.S. I'm sure you've seen, but I've put up a few pictures from my trip! If you really want some in-depth pics (read: lots more), see my friend and travel mate Liz's page at http://www.aradine.com/PhotoJournal/show_folder.php?usr=iW83KAIIql4=&fol=bvz7t8Th5dM=&alb=&img=&mode=
And yes, I know that link is ridiculously long, but the pictures are wonderful, and organized by folder. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Feels good to be home
Well it's been almost a whole week back in London after my trip, and this land across the pond has never felt this much like home. Just hearing English spoken as the primary language is great.
It was a pretty chill week, very relaxing and healing. Monday I was still sick (stupid Florence and its Uffizi museum...) so I stayed in bed and didn't accomplish much. Well, I did manage to get a bit of grocery shopping done, so that was nice. Monday night we did chicken and pasta for dinner, very tasty.
Tuesday I went to O'Boyle's class, and was going to stay afterwards in the classroom building to work on a paper. However, in true O'Boyle fashion, he took us on a walking tour and then to a couple pubs. After yelling at us for three hours about how ND student's aren't radical enough (apparently he thinks we should be the next Berkely or something), I headed back to the flats and hung out with people. At least the pubs were cool...in east London, which was a new experience.
Wednesday I went to the building early to work on my paper, and then had finance class...man, that class does not get any less boring week to week. After class I headed back to the flats and had hamburgers for dinner (so good...), and then watched 'Love Actually.' Pretty cute movie...its cool too because a lot of it takes place in London. I then finally wrote my paper and went to bed.
Today I had Bradshaw's class, which was strangely unexciting, and now sit in the computer lab in the classroom building waiting for rehearsal. I'm playing piano tonight for a reconciliation service, but I haven't even seen the music yet. Should be interesting...at least we have 45 minutes to warm up.
So that is my uneventful, but relaxing, week so far. On the plus side, I got an A on my philo paper and an A on my pop test for O'Boyle's class. So those were uplifters! But for now, I say goodday.
It was a pretty chill week, very relaxing and healing. Monday I was still sick (stupid Florence and its Uffizi museum...) so I stayed in bed and didn't accomplish much. Well, I did manage to get a bit of grocery shopping done, so that was nice. Monday night we did chicken and pasta for dinner, very tasty.
Tuesday I went to O'Boyle's class, and was going to stay afterwards in the classroom building to work on a paper. However, in true O'Boyle fashion, he took us on a walking tour and then to a couple pubs. After yelling at us for three hours about how ND student's aren't radical enough (apparently he thinks we should be the next Berkely or something), I headed back to the flats and hung out with people. At least the pubs were cool...in east London, which was a new experience.
Wednesday I went to the building early to work on my paper, and then had finance class...man, that class does not get any less boring week to week. After class I headed back to the flats and had hamburgers for dinner (so good...), and then watched 'Love Actually.' Pretty cute movie...its cool too because a lot of it takes place in London. I then finally wrote my paper and went to bed.
Today I had Bradshaw's class, which was strangely unexciting, and now sit in the computer lab in the classroom building waiting for rehearsal. I'm playing piano tonight for a reconciliation service, but I haven't even seen the music yet. Should be interesting...at least we have 45 minutes to warm up.
So that is my uneventful, but relaxing, week so far. On the plus side, I got an A on my philo paper and an A on my pop test for O'Boyle's class. So those were uplifters! But for now, I say goodday.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Wow
I'm done with my first week-long break.
And it was probably the greatest single week I have ever had in my life. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Salzburg, Austria, and I had a total blast. I'll do my best in the following paragraphs to do the week justice, and many pictures will be sure to arrive shortly.
Friday the 18th we arrived in Rome (as evidenced by my last post), and checked into our hostel, the Yellow Hostel. Nice place, free breakfast and internet, good location near the train station. We had a 6 bed room with a private bathroom, so that was nice too. Saturday, we met up with Phil's friend Cindy who is studying in Rome, and we went to Vatican City. It was amazing. The Sistine Chapel is gorgeous, and climbing to the top of St Peter's offers a great view of the city. After touring the Vatican, we got more gelatto (its the theme of the trip, I swear) and went to a great restaurant for pasta dinner (the second theme of the trip). But not before we stopped at the Spanish Steps and the Trivi Fountain. I was sure to throw a two pence piece in. Those things are useless anyway.
Sunday Cindy took us to the Collosseum, the Pantheon, and the Roman Forum. Pretty sweet. That night, we ate in Cindy's apartment...nothing like a home cooked meal for the taste buds and the bank account. After we said our goodbyes, we stopped for Nutella filled donuts, which were only 35 euro-cents. And they were awesome.
I noticed a few things interesting about Rome though: lots of grafitti, and lots of gypsies. Also, their public transportation is terrible compared to London's. The Metro (subway) only has two lines! And the busses were very confusing, so we just stayed off of them for the most part. Overall, Rome gets an 9/10.
Next stop on our whirlwind tour was Florence. We stayed at the Hotel Sampiaoli, which was quite nice. Two seperate rooms, both with full bathrooms made showers in the morning much less hectic. We rolled into Florence by train (it was about an hour and a half ride) midday Monday. After checking in, we went to the Duomo, which is essentially a smaller (but older) version of St Peter's in Rome. The view was again, magnificent.
The next day, we lined up early for the Accedamia Museum which houses Michaelangelo's David. Wow. Words cannot describe the beauty and awe of this piece. It was one of, if not the, highlights of my trip. After that great exhibit, we headed over the Uffizi museum (p.s. for those playing, I just lost the game), where we stood in line for three hours to see an over rated collection. It was neat to see Botacelli's 'Birth of Venus,' but otherwise...and there were no explanations...it just wasn't worth it. Not to mention it was SNOWING in Florence. Argh..
Florence had quite a bit of grafitti too, which was quick becoming noticed throughout Italy. It was a pretty city, but the Duomo, while offering a great view, was not all that pretty to look at, and the lack of night life (we went to a pub one night...because we couldn't find anything else) hurts as well. Oh, and it SNOWED. Only the amazing gelatto (best in Italy, I thought) and the Accedamia saves this town. Maybe its more enjoyable in better weather. It scores a 6/10.
Wednesday we left by train again to Venice. When we got there, we walked out of the train station to an amazing view of the grand canal. After dropping a euro in the hat of a street performer playing the piano (gotta support my own...and think how many bridges that guy had to push it over!), we took a water bus down the canal to our hostel. Our hostel there was AWESOME. It was bascially an apartment, completely with a living room, kitchen, iron, and cable TV (Italian MTV is pretty crazy stuff). I had fallen pretty ill by this point as had one other person, so that night, instead of going out, we followed Rick Steves' advice (Rick Steves as in the author of several European travel guide books) and got take away from a local pizza place. It was cheap, fast, and deliciious. Up there with that one slice of pizza I got in New York that one time.
Thursday we wandered around Venice, near the Rialto Bridge (the main one over the grand canal) and shopped around for glasswares (Murano, a side island of Venice, is famous for its glass), and ate more gelatto. That night, we were going to out to a couple great bars we had heard about, but by that point, the plague that I was suffering had shut down my body and several of my travel mates' as well, so we stayed in and made dinner, and went to bed early.
Venice was absolutely gorgeous. The people were great, the canals fascinating, and there were no cars! Great hostel + great food + awesome environment + SUN = 10/10. Best city I saw.
Friday we left for Salzburg by way of Villach, Austria. It was a six hour trian ride, so once we got into our hostel, we just went to the hostel bar. It was pretty fun. The Austrian beer was a welcome vacation from the terrible Italian "beer" that still lingered on my taste buds, and the bar tender was a really cool guy. We also got to meet up with a couple other ND kids rounding out their trip as well.
Saturday we explored the city. We saw Mozart's birthplace and where he lived, and the Salzburg Fortress. The fortress was really neat. It was basically impenetrable during the time when penetrating castles was a cool thing to do. We also got a free (well, included in admission anyway) audio guide, and another really cool view from the top of the fortress (its on a really tall hill). After the tour, we wandered around some more, saw the main church in Salzburg (which was ornate like the Italian ones, but somewhat simpler and blander in color), and then went to a restaurant for some hearty Austrian food. And it was. I had roast pork with potatoes and sauerkraut. It was the best meal of the week, hand's down. After dinner, it was back to the hostel bar, where more and more ND kids were ending their trips, so we all chilled until bed time.
So Salzburg had one great site, great food, and pretty good beer. But after that, there wasn't all that much to do. Sound of Music was filmed there, and there's a whole tour that's offered that takes you to all the sites...for thirty euro. So we didn't do that. Also, it was COLD in Austria (duh...). So Salzburg scores a 8/10 on the scale-o-meter.
However, the overall rating of my trip isn't simply the average of the individual scores (which is an 8.25). Just having the opportunity to do this while still in college (with a little help from the 'rents from time to time...) adds at least 5 points. Add to that I feel holier for having visted the Vatican, and the fact that gelatto is the greatest thing on earth, and the trip scores a 22.675/10. Pretty impressive in my book.
Odds are I forgot some stuff. Check Phil's Blog once he updates to fill in pieces/verify my tales. If I realize a glaring error, I'll fix it. Once I feel like it.
But now, its great to be back where the national language is English, even if people do hate still hate me for my nationality. I've got laundry to catch up on though, so cheers!
And it was probably the greatest single week I have ever had in my life. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Salzburg, Austria, and I had a total blast. I'll do my best in the following paragraphs to do the week justice, and many pictures will be sure to arrive shortly.
Friday the 18th we arrived in Rome (as evidenced by my last post), and checked into our hostel, the Yellow Hostel. Nice place, free breakfast and internet, good location near the train station. We had a 6 bed room with a private bathroom, so that was nice too. Saturday, we met up with Phil's friend Cindy who is studying in Rome, and we went to Vatican City. It was amazing. The Sistine Chapel is gorgeous, and climbing to the top of St Peter's offers a great view of the city. After touring the Vatican, we got more gelatto (its the theme of the trip, I swear) and went to a great restaurant for pasta dinner (the second theme of the trip). But not before we stopped at the Spanish Steps and the Trivi Fountain. I was sure to throw a two pence piece in. Those things are useless anyway.
Sunday Cindy took us to the Collosseum, the Pantheon, and the Roman Forum. Pretty sweet. That night, we ate in Cindy's apartment...nothing like a home cooked meal for the taste buds and the bank account. After we said our goodbyes, we stopped for Nutella filled donuts, which were only 35 euro-cents. And they were awesome.
I noticed a few things interesting about Rome though: lots of grafitti, and lots of gypsies. Also, their public transportation is terrible compared to London's. The Metro (subway) only has two lines! And the busses were very confusing, so we just stayed off of them for the most part. Overall, Rome gets an 9/10.
Next stop on our whirlwind tour was Florence. We stayed at the Hotel Sampiaoli, which was quite nice. Two seperate rooms, both with full bathrooms made showers in the morning much less hectic. We rolled into Florence by train (it was about an hour and a half ride) midday Monday. After checking in, we went to the Duomo, which is essentially a smaller (but older) version of St Peter's in Rome. The view was again, magnificent.
The next day, we lined up early for the Accedamia Museum which houses Michaelangelo's David. Wow. Words cannot describe the beauty and awe of this piece. It was one of, if not the, highlights of my trip. After that great exhibit, we headed over the Uffizi museum (p.s. for those playing, I just lost the game), where we stood in line for three hours to see an over rated collection. It was neat to see Botacelli's 'Birth of Venus,' but otherwise...and there were no explanations...it just wasn't worth it. Not to mention it was SNOWING in Florence. Argh..
Florence had quite a bit of grafitti too, which was quick becoming noticed throughout Italy. It was a pretty city, but the Duomo, while offering a great view, was not all that pretty to look at, and the lack of night life (we went to a pub one night...because we couldn't find anything else) hurts as well. Oh, and it SNOWED. Only the amazing gelatto (best in Italy, I thought) and the Accedamia saves this town. Maybe its more enjoyable in better weather. It scores a 6/10.
Wednesday we left by train again to Venice. When we got there, we walked out of the train station to an amazing view of the grand canal. After dropping a euro in the hat of a street performer playing the piano (gotta support my own...and think how many bridges that guy had to push it over!), we took a water bus down the canal to our hostel. Our hostel there was AWESOME. It was bascially an apartment, completely with a living room, kitchen, iron, and cable TV (Italian MTV is pretty crazy stuff). I had fallen pretty ill by this point as had one other person, so that night, instead of going out, we followed Rick Steves' advice (Rick Steves as in the author of several European travel guide books) and got take away from a local pizza place. It was cheap, fast, and deliciious. Up there with that one slice of pizza I got in New York that one time.
Thursday we wandered around Venice, near the Rialto Bridge (the main one over the grand canal) and shopped around for glasswares (Murano, a side island of Venice, is famous for its glass), and ate more gelatto. That night, we were going to out to a couple great bars we had heard about, but by that point, the plague that I was suffering had shut down my body and several of my travel mates' as well, so we stayed in and made dinner, and went to bed early.
Venice was absolutely gorgeous. The people were great, the canals fascinating, and there were no cars! Great hostel + great food + awesome environment + SUN = 10/10. Best city I saw.
Friday we left for Salzburg by way of Villach, Austria. It was a six hour trian ride, so once we got into our hostel, we just went to the hostel bar. It was pretty fun. The Austrian beer was a welcome vacation from the terrible Italian "beer" that still lingered on my taste buds, and the bar tender was a really cool guy. We also got to meet up with a couple other ND kids rounding out their trip as well.
Saturday we explored the city. We saw Mozart's birthplace and where he lived, and the Salzburg Fortress. The fortress was really neat. It was basically impenetrable during the time when penetrating castles was a cool thing to do. We also got a free (well, included in admission anyway) audio guide, and another really cool view from the top of the fortress (its on a really tall hill). After the tour, we wandered around some more, saw the main church in Salzburg (which was ornate like the Italian ones, but somewhat simpler and blander in color), and then went to a restaurant for some hearty Austrian food. And it was. I had roast pork with potatoes and sauerkraut. It was the best meal of the week, hand's down. After dinner, it was back to the hostel bar, where more and more ND kids were ending their trips, so we all chilled until bed time.
So Salzburg had one great site, great food, and pretty good beer. But after that, there wasn't all that much to do. Sound of Music was filmed there, and there's a whole tour that's offered that takes you to all the sites...for thirty euro. So we didn't do that. Also, it was COLD in Austria (duh...). So Salzburg scores a 8/10 on the scale-o-meter.
However, the overall rating of my trip isn't simply the average of the individual scores (which is an 8.25). Just having the opportunity to do this while still in college (with a little help from the 'rents from time to time...) adds at least 5 points. Add to that I feel holier for having visted the Vatican, and the fact that gelatto is the greatest thing on earth, and the trip scores a 22.675/10. Pretty impressive in my book.
Odds are I forgot some stuff. Check Phil's Blog once he updates to fill in pieces/verify my tales. If I realize a glaring error, I'll fix it. Once I feel like it.
But now, its great to be back where the national language is English, even if people do hate still hate me for my nationality. I've got laundry to catch up on though, so cheers!
Friday, February 18, 2005
I'm in Italy!
Just a quick one...
I'm in Rome right now!! Its pretty crazy. We had a great flight here, a really easy trip overall. We got in to our hostel at about 9 pm local time. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my cell phone...
Fortunately, our hostel is awesome (with free internet access no less!), and tonight we just went to a little square recommended by the Australian guy at the front desk. The area was neat. We had amazing pizza and Gilato (basically ice cream) and actually ran into some ND Rome kids at a bar! Unfortuantely, the bar wasn't all that great, and it definately made me miss my British beer...
But now its bed time. Busy day tomorrow! Goodnight all.
I'm in Rome right now!! Its pretty crazy. We had a great flight here, a really easy trip overall. We got in to our hostel at about 9 pm local time. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my cell phone...
Fortunately, our hostel is awesome (with free internet access no less!), and tonight we just went to a little square recommended by the Australian guy at the front desk. The area was neat. We had amazing pizza and Gilato (basically ice cream) and actually ran into some ND Rome kids at a bar! Unfortuantely, the bar wasn't all that great, and it definately made me miss my British beer...
But now its bed time. Busy day tomorrow! Goodnight all.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Tuesdays with Adam
hmm...I like that.
Yesterday I had a paper-seminar instead of my full Philosophy of Law class. It was far more boring than it could have been. Basically, 7 of us (out of about 22 that are usually in the class) sat with our professor for an hour, and he interviewed us individually about our papers. We didn't even speak to one another! So much for a seminar, although apparently later groups actually did have discussions.
Last night we tried to go to Walkabout again, but we left way too late (we got there at around 11:00), and the line was probably like two hours. Being the impatient Americans we are, we decided to head to the Covent Garden area where we had heard about some clubs. Unfortunately, we headed in the completely wrong direction. God must have been smiling on us last night though, because our friend Scott stopped to ask one man, who was alone, where Covent Garden was. Lo and behold, that man was going there. What are the odds?
We ended up going to Los Locos club, which was really fun. It's a lot smaller than Walkabout, and the happy hour only runs till midnight (lesson learned...we got there around 11:30). But during said happy hour, the best deal is a pitcher of 6 mixed drinks (Mai Tai's, Long Island Iced Teas, etc) for 8 pounds. That, and no cover for students on Mondays and Wednesdays equals a potentially great Wednesday coming up, now that we know where the place is. Plus, the people in the club were decidely less sketch than at Walkabout, which seems to attract a lot of old, sweaty Italian men.
Today I had class with O'Boyle...and we had a pop test. An hour long, unannounced, mid-term exam, with eight essay questions. Who does that? After that major surprise, we had an interesting discussion about adultery and marriage, and then called it a day.
I'm now in the classroom computer cluster, waiting to go to MacBeth (put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company) tonight. I had a sweet chicken samosa for dinner, and then decided to chill. But now...I'm out.
Yesterday I had a paper-seminar instead of my full Philosophy of Law class. It was far more boring than it could have been. Basically, 7 of us (out of about 22 that are usually in the class) sat with our professor for an hour, and he interviewed us individually about our papers. We didn't even speak to one another! So much for a seminar, although apparently later groups actually did have discussions.
Last night we tried to go to Walkabout again, but we left way too late (we got there at around 11:00), and the line was probably like two hours. Being the impatient Americans we are, we decided to head to the Covent Garden area where we had heard about some clubs. Unfortunately, we headed in the completely wrong direction. God must have been smiling on us last night though, because our friend Scott stopped to ask one man, who was alone, where Covent Garden was. Lo and behold, that man was going there. What are the odds?
We ended up going to Los Locos club, which was really fun. It's a lot smaller than Walkabout, and the happy hour only runs till midnight (lesson learned...we got there around 11:30). But during said happy hour, the best deal is a pitcher of 6 mixed drinks (Mai Tai's, Long Island Iced Teas, etc) for 8 pounds. That, and no cover for students on Mondays and Wednesdays equals a potentially great Wednesday coming up, now that we know where the place is. Plus, the people in the club were decidely less sketch than at Walkabout, which seems to attract a lot of old, sweaty Italian men.
Today I had class with O'Boyle...and we had a pop test. An hour long, unannounced, mid-term exam, with eight essay questions. Who does that? After that major surprise, we had an interesting discussion about adultery and marriage, and then called it a day.
I'm now in the classroom computer cluster, waiting to go to MacBeth (put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company) tonight. I had a sweet chicken samosa for dinner, and then decided to chill. But now...I'm out.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Back again!
Whew...I'm actually updating this thing within a week's time. I'm so awesome.
Friday night we tried to go to Zoo Bar as planned, since Jess's friend had apparently weaseled her way on the guest list. Unfortunately, apparently 'weasel' to her means 'to not get on the guest list at all,' because we sure didn't have free cover. We ended up at another bar in frustration, Digress, near Regent Street. It was ok, but drinks were still a little expensive, and the music was very strange...I'm really starting to think that '80's music is brand new over here or something.
Saturday we woke up bright and early and 12 of us went to Warwick Castle [pictures up when I get around to it. Get off my back already!]. It was an hour and a half train ride north, but it was gorgeous. Its a very large castle that has Victorian decorations in the great hall, actors portraying characters, a small dungeon and museum to look at, a peakcock garden (with real peacocks!) and some great photo ops.
Saturday night I stayed in to work on my paper, but ended up only getting part of it done because a whole bunch of us decided to play games. We played Taboo, which was fun, and we played a fabulous game called 'family.' Its essentially a party/ice breaker game, but its still a blast.
Sunday I intended to go to the Duke to watch the Manchester United - Manchester City match (which Man U won 2-0...yay!), but instead I had to go to the classroom building and pick up/work on some piano music for my Concert Life presentation on Thursday. I'm playing Gershwin's Summertime and Emily is singing. After that, I came back to the flat to work on more of my paper, and then helped make dinner for our flat and the girls next door. We had a penne/spinich bake with Marscapone and blue cheese, along with salad, baked brie, and cookies and ice cream. It was awesome. After dinner, we played more games (which were a hit with the newbies as well), and then I finished up my paper...at 4am. Whoops. Oh well, I got plenty of sleep. I love not having class until 2pm!
Which leads me to my next point...its time to go. Cheers!
Friday night we tried to go to Zoo Bar as planned, since Jess's friend had apparently weaseled her way on the guest list. Unfortunately, apparently 'weasel' to her means 'to not get on the guest list at all,' because we sure didn't have free cover. We ended up at another bar in frustration, Digress, near Regent Street. It was ok, but drinks were still a little expensive, and the music was very strange...I'm really starting to think that '80's music is brand new over here or something.
Saturday we woke up bright and early and 12 of us went to Warwick Castle [pictures up when I get around to it. Get off my back already!]. It was an hour and a half train ride north, but it was gorgeous. Its a very large castle that has Victorian decorations in the great hall, actors portraying characters, a small dungeon and museum to look at, a peakcock garden (with real peacocks!) and some great photo ops.
Saturday night I stayed in to work on my paper, but ended up only getting part of it done because a whole bunch of us decided to play games. We played Taboo, which was fun, and we played a fabulous game called 'family.' Its essentially a party/ice breaker game, but its still a blast.
Sunday I intended to go to the Duke to watch the Manchester United - Manchester City match (which Man U won 2-0...yay!), but instead I had to go to the classroom building and pick up/work on some piano music for my Concert Life presentation on Thursday. I'm playing Gershwin's Summertime and Emily is singing. After that, I came back to the flat to work on more of my paper, and then helped make dinner for our flat and the girls next door. We had a penne/spinich bake with Marscapone and blue cheese, along with salad, baked brie, and cookies and ice cream. It was awesome. After dinner, we played more games (which were a hit with the newbies as well), and then I finished up my paper...at 4am. Whoops. Oh well, I got plenty of sleep. I love not having class until 2pm!
Which leads me to my next point...its time to go. Cheers!
Friday, February 11, 2005
Some pictures for your viewing enjoyment...
The Prime Meridian...of the World!!
The Greenwich Maritime Museum
The Greenwich Royal Observatory
Westminster Abbey
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