Monday, December 17, 2007

Home Again

After a 7 ½ hour flight to New York, a three hour layover, and a 1 a.m. landing in Syracuse, I finally made it home early Friday morning. This past weekend has been spent reflecting on my semester and basking in the familiar comforts of Baldwinsville. My time in London has affected me greatly, but the experience is hard to put into words.

Let’s be honest. I really didn’t go to London just to study. Getting credit for classes while there was like an added bonus. I went to London to learn about the world, and ended up learning even more about myself.

London taught me about different cultures, different ideals, and different values. It showed me that these can coexist, and that these differences should be celebrated, not ignored or rebuked. This lesson is one I will always remember, and will apply to all aspects of my life.

In London I learned that I could survive in a big city far from home. Before this trip, I had never been away from Central New York for more than two weeks at a time. Being away makes home much more special and comforting. I learned that I can manage my budget and negotiate a rent. I learned that I’m not a horrendous cook, but that I do have a horrible sense of direction.

I learned of all these things while making London my own. To me, London is my city, although I’m sure all of my peers feel the same way. It was my route that I took to school each day, where the store fronts became landmarks and countless tourists asked me for directions as if I was a local. It was my grocery store where I went to the same cashier each week because she was the fastest. London is my city, just as it has been the city of millions before me and will be the city of millions to come.

This weekend I relished in everything I had missed – seeing my family and friends, playing with my dogs, watching the Buffalo Bills and Syracuse basketball, driving my car. Although I could not have imagined a better first weekend home, I have to admit I was a bit torn. Part of me still longed for London, for the hustle and bustle of the big city where there was always something to do, for my own flat.

I suppose that’s the mark of a good trip; I wanted to stay and to come home simultaneously. I hope to go back someday and re-visit all of my favorite haunts. London was the best experience of my life, and I have hundreds of pictures and memories to prove it. Please forgive me if it’s all I talk about for the next, oh, five years or so.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

La Vie en Rose

J’adore Paris.

Monday was my much anticipated trip to Paris with Rick. With wonderful memories and very sore feet, I’ll now describe our day.

For anyone who doesn’t know, I’ve been to Paris before in high school with my French class. This trip was about revisiting my favorite spots in the short amount of time we had, and also making sure Rick got to see the major sights. But mostly it was about just being in a city I fell in love with almost three years ago.

We woke up at 4:15 a.m., which no one in their right mind should ever do unless it involves a trip to Paris. We caught one of the very first Tube trains to St. Pancras International, the new home of the Eurostar. This is not to be confused with St. Pancreas, the patron saint of insulin. Anyway, the Eurostar is the train which travels under the English Channel through the Chunnel. It reaches speeds of 186 miles per hour, which is faster than an airplane goes on land while it is taking off. The price of trips varies depending on the day and time, but since we went on a Monday we spent only $104 each for roundtrip tickets (which is very good compared to flying).

Our train left at 6:30, and we slept almost the entire way. A few of our friends had taken the Eurostar already, and said that the pressure in the Chunnel made their ears hurt much worse than any airplane. It couldn’t have been that bad, because both of us slept right through it. The trip took just about two hours and 15 minutes. France is one hour ahead of London’s time, so we got there just before 10:00 a.m.

The weather in Paris did not seem to want to facilitate our need to be outside a lot that day. It was quite cold and rained on and off all day long. But even that could not dampen our spirits.

We headed first up the hill to Montmartre, the artsy neighborhood. There, on top of a huge hill, sits Sacré Cœur, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It is a huge white structure that is beautiful both on the inside and out. The hill overlooks the entire city of Paris. It’s really too bad it was cloudy, because I’m sure the view would have been fantastic in the sunshine.

We then hiked back down the hill, heading toward the Louvre but making a few stops on the way. First we walked through La Place Vendôme, which features a huge column of...I don’t really remember. Madame Guillet is going to kill me. Anyway, from there we went to La Madeleine, the church of Mary Magdalene. This church is very unusual in that it looks like an ancient Roman Temple with grand pillars from the inside. We also got to go inside, something I didn’t do last time I was there. It was very different from the outside; it looked much more like a Catholic church or cathedral. The highlight was a gorgeous marble statue of Mary Magdalene and angels behind the altar.

From there we walked straight to La Place de la Concorde. This square has a giant Egyptian obelisk and some very intricate fountains. Standing on one side we caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. I could also make out the Musée d’Orsay, the museum which has many paintings by the Impressionists (unfortunately, I didn’t have time to make it back there). There was also a Ferris wheel set up, although not many people were on it due to the weather.

Directly leading up to the Louvre is a large garden, le Jardin des Tuileries. It has a lot of marble statues of Greek or Roman figures, along with various fountains which were at the time full of ducks and seagulls.

We then arrived at one of the main points of contention among Parisians – the glass pyramid entryway of the Louvre. It was designed by I.M. Pei, the same architect who designed Newhouse I and the Everson Museum in Syracuse. My feelings on it are mixed. On one hand, it is cool in and of itself. On the other, it seems out of place in the middle of the Louvre, a grand horseshoe-shaped building which used to be a palace.

Once in the Louvre, we made sure to hit up some of the most famous works, namely the Mona Lisa and the Code of Hammurabi. I then dragged Rick around to see the French paintings I had learned about in high school. The museum itself is like a work of art. From the time it was a palace, the ceilings, walls, and even floors are intricately and lavishly decorated.

After a few hours in the Louvre, we walked along Paris’ river, the Seine, until we reached the islands in the middle of the river. We crossed onto them and veered toward Notre Dame. Before visiting the famous cathedral, we stopped and had Croc Monsieur for lunch, a French sandwich that is equivalent to the American peanut butter and jelly in its popularity. It consists of ham and cheese with a cheese sauce, grilled and covered with more cheese.

We ducked into Notre Dame just as the rain started to come down harder. After being in Europe and seeing many other cathedrals and grand churches, Notre Dame doesn’t seem quite as big as it did three years ago. I still like it very much though, and the outside is probably my favorite of all that I’ve seen. Inside was also the first chance we’d had to sit down all day long, and our weary feet and backs were glad for it.

From Notre Dame we retraced our footsteps almost exactly backwards: back along the Seine, through le Jardin des Tuileries, and through La Place de la Concorde. We then walked down the Champs Élysées, perhaps the most famous street in Paris and a big shopping street. At the end of the street is La Place des Étoiles, a hectic traffic circle with twelve streets radiating from it. In the center of the circle sits L’Arc de Triomphe, a grand arch built by Napoleon that now serves as a war memorial.

Our last stop was the Eiffel Tower. Just before heading up the Tower, we grabbed some crêpes from a stand. Crêpes are very flat, sweet pancakes. We had ours covered in chocolate, and the vendor folded them to make them easier to eat. Having crêpes while looking up at the Eiffel Tower kind of encapsulated our entire French experience.

We headed up to the top of the Eiffel Tower in giant elevators. The top floor of the Tower has an inside room that labels the views of Paris and also shows the distances to foreign cities. We were something like 5,000 kilometers from New York. The wind outside was ferociously strong and freezing, but we braved it for the view. Absolutely breathtaking. To top it all off, the Tower has lights that sparkle on the hour for ten minutes, and it started to do so when we reached the top. It was still going as we were walking away, and that was our last view of it.

Because we were very tired and short on time, we took the Paris metro back to the train station. It was pretty busy, but nowhere near as packed as I have seen the Tube at times. We grabbed sandwiches for dinner in the train station, and boarded the Eurostar for London. I was awake through the Chunnel this time (the pressure wasn’t too bad), but fell asleep shortly after. We got back to our flat a little after 11:00 Monday night. Needless to say, I slept like a rock.

I am so glad we had the chance to do this trip. We had considered staying in London, since it is our last week, but I don’t regret it at all. We had a wonderful day and it was a great way to cap off our time in Europe.

Make sure you check out the rest of my pictures!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Last Weekend in London

As the time to go home draws closer, the weather just seems to get worse and worse. Maybe it's a sign.

Thursday was the last official day of classes, so that night SU threw us a going away party, complete with prizes, photo slideshow, and chocolate fountain. They also fed us dinner, and people I haven't seen since the day we landed seemed to crawl out of the woodwork. It's funny who shows up when there's free food.

Friday night Rick and I headed to a Winter Festival in Hyde Park. There were stalls set up with vendors from Lapland (the Scandinavian area waaaaay up north) selling Christmasy and homemade items. The festival also had food stalls and carnival rides - there was even a Christmas-themed haunted house.

The highlight of the festival was a miniature version of the London Eye. From the top we could see the real Eye, Westminster, and many other highlights of London. It was very pretty all lit up at night.

We woke to a very rainy Saturday, so we headed to the museums for the day. We went to the Science Museum. I had hoped this would be like the MOST, but it was more about the history of science, especially engineering. They did have some interesting exhibits on medicine through the ages. We then popped next door back to the Natural History Museum to catch the exhibits we missed last time we rushed through.

Today (Sunday) we went to Buckingham Palace in the morning to see the changing of the guards. I'm glad we went to see the Palace, but the guard ceremony was not very impressive, especially after what we'd seen at the Swedish Royal Palace.

The remaining bits of the weekend were spent putting our flat back together for our departure. I can't believe it's come so fast. I have two finals on Wednesday, but that's it. Tomorrow Rick and I head to Paris for the day. Be sure to check back soon for details on that trip...

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Rainy Weekend in London

Wow. I’ll be home in just over a week. This semester has absolutely flown by.

The weather was very funny this past weekend. It was fairly warm, reaching as high as 50 at some points. However, it rained on and off – and when it rained, it poured. There were also some periods of winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour!

Last Thursday I met Rick at school after his class and we headed down the block to the British Museum. This museum is full of ancient and relatively modern artifact. Sadly, most of them were probably stolen from other countries at the height of the British Empire. Anyways, we saw everything from mummies to Greek statues to Islamic art to Victorian porcelain to china from a factory in Syracuse!

Perhaps the most famous artifact owned by the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone. This stone, which is about four feet tall, was the missing piece that allowed historians to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. It has the same thing written three times – once in hieroglyphics, once in a more modern form of Egyptian, and once in Greek.

Friday we went to another museum. This time it was the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. This gallery features art (I believe almost wholly European art) ranging in time from about 1250 to 1900. We packed a lunch and ate when we arrived at Trafalgar Square sitting on the steps of the gallery. Trafalgar Square is dedicated to the Battle of Trafalgar, when Lord Admiral Nelson beat Napoleon. The main feature of the square is the huge Nelson’s Column, which is flanked by four massive lions. There are several other statues and fountains, framed in the back by the massive National Gallery.

We headed into the gallery just in time to get out of the rain. My main purpose in visiting the gallery was to see the Impressionism exhibit, which featured painting by Degas, Monet, Manet, Morisot, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and others – bringing me wonderfully back to high school French class. We started with the Impressionists and worked our way back through time. As the paintings got older, the subjects got more and more monotonous. When Rick said that if he saw one more painting of shepherds offering gifts to baby Jesus he was going to scream, we decided it was time to leave.

We sprinted through the rain across the square to the St. Martin-in-the-Fields church. I could not honestly tell you what the church looks like – the whole building was covered in scaffolding and the inside was closed for a concert rehearsal. Rick was recommended the Café in the Crypt by someone from home, so we decided we would pop in for at least a cup of tea.

The café is literally in the crypt of the church – there are brick vaulted ceilings and the floor is made of tombstones. We looked at the menu and decided we would have a proper English High Tea, as we hadn’t done that yet (most hotels and other places that do it charge at least £15 – about $30). For £5.25 we got a piece of layered chocolate cake, a piece of sponge cake with cherries in it, a scone, jam, whipped cream, and a mini-teapot that had two cups of tea in it. I couldn’t eat it all, but wrapped up my scone and jam, which made a wonderful breakfast the next morning.

On the way home the rain was becoming steadily heavier, so we decided to duck back into Hamley’s (the huge toy store) to wait for the rain to pass and see the Christmas chaos. Okay, really Rick just wanted to play with the toys. Anyway, this might not have been the best idea, because when we emerged about an hour later, it was raining even harder. We returned home soaked to the skin, and spent the rest of the night huddled in about six layers of clothing over some intense Scrabble games.

Saturday started out, once again, as a gorgeous day. I looked out my window to see the beautiful sunshine and passers-by wearing nothing more than sweatshirts. However, looking closer I also saw that the signs and awnings of the stores and restaurants across from us were whipping around and their owners were frantically chasing them. The winds had started. Deciding it would be wise to not go too far, Rick, our roommate Jessica and I went to a Lebanese restaurant for lunch.

I have lived off Edgware Road, which is heavily populated by people with Lebanese (and other Middle Eastern countries) backgrounds, for more than three months. Practically every other store front is a restaurant, yet I had not yet eaten at one. We chose a restaurant only two doors down from our flat. I had hummus with lamb meat and Lebanese rice, Rick had falafel and rice with lamb meat in it, and Jessica had seasoned potatoes with fried vegetables. We all left with very satisfied taste buds and very full stomachs.

Saturday was a special day in the West End of London. Oxford, Bond, and Regent streets, the main shopping areas, were closed to all traffic. Hordes of people filled the streets and were entertained as they shopped by musicians, clowns, and other street performers.

With no real shopping to do, Rick and I headed out mostly just to watch the madness. We ducked into Selfridges, a posh department store which always has interesting window displays. There we discovered it was possible to spend over $1,000 on a sweater and $600 for a child’s winter jacket. Most major department stores here also have food halls, which are basically mini-grocery stores with cafés too. Selfridges seemed to have an extensive American food selection, where a homesick American could pay £4 for Jif peanut butter and £6.50 for Aunt Jemima syrup. I guess I don’t miss it that much.

While we were out walking around, (surprise, surprise) it started raining again. This time we ducked into the massive Apple store on Regent Street. The store in Carousel Mall ain’t got nothing on this. Two stories of gadgets and computers. We played with the latest versions of the iPhone, the iPod Touch (basically an iPhone without the phone – but you can still get online), and the iPod Nano. Maybe in ten years I will be able to buy an iPhone.

Sunday our grand plans to visit another of London’s parks and maybe the London Zoo were squashed by rain, gale force winds and a paper that took much longer to write than it should have. Rest assured, although the winds continued throughout the day, the rain and homework were finished by 2:00.

That’s about it. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is my last day of classes. I have one short paper and two final exams to go. And on Monday Rick and I are taking the Eurostar to Paris. The Eurostar is the need high speed train that goes from London through the Chunnel to Paris in just over two hours. We’re leaving at about 6:30 Monday morning (uggh) and will get back about 10:00 Monday night. I can’t wait!