Friday, May 4, 2007
Last Few Days in London
I don't remember exactly what I did on each of the days, but I do know that I enjoyed my time with my flatmates, packed my belongings, cleaned the flat, went to Westminster Abbey, ate at Las Iguanas on the Thames (amazing happy hour), and took a final. I got almost no sleep before I left because I was up cleaning until 3am, and then had to wake up at 5am for my taxi to Heathrow Airport. It was a bit of a wait at the airport before leaving, but I spent some time eating and shopping with Eugene. On the flight I watched The Illusionist (so good), Catch and Release (ok), and half of Happy Feet (not the target audience). It was the quickest and smoothest flight I have had in a long time, if ever. The 7 hours really flew by (heh). Anyway, if I begin to remember more details about the last few days I will update it here.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Eating Out & Kews Garden
My last weekend in London is finally here, although I hope it will not be the end of my visits but rather the beginning of a new-found confidence as a traveler. For now, I will give way too many details about our meals because that it what we have spent most of our time enjoying.
On Friday, Betsy, Liz, Marilyn, Christine and I went to Tartine in Chelsea for dinner. Tartine is a type of bread for which they are famous, and so we all ordered variations of this. Liz, Betsy and I had the shredded duck with plum sauce, rocket and crisp ginger. Marilyn had the tomato and mozzarella, Christine had the BLT. We all had salads as well, and it was the best lettuce and dressing salad I've had. For desert, Liz and I both had the Banoffi pie which is slices of banana with toffee in a crumble crust. Betsy had the chocolate fondant which took 20 minutes to make and was amazing. We spent 3 hours there and it was such a great atmosphere and so much fun to spend time together.
Yesterday, Betsy, Liz, Marilyn and I tried to eat at Cecconi's at Green Park for brunch but they were already full. We made reservations for today, and decided to eat at a local cafe. Afterward, Betsy and I came back to South Ken to pick up her flowers from Mike before heading out to Kew Gardens.
The Gardens were beautiful and covered 300 acres. We began by squeezing onto the Kew Explorer tram tour around 8 major sites. It was a good tour and helped us to get an idea of what we wanted to walk to afterward. At the end of the tour, we stopped at the Victoria Plaza for cake and water. Then, we walked in the opposite direction past the Palm House, Palace, Climbers and Creepers, Azalea Garden, Minka House, Rhododendron Dell, Bamboo Garden, Thames River, Queen Charlotte's Cottage, down the Cedar Vista to view the Pagoda and then walk to the Waterlilly Pond, Temperate House, and back to Victoria Gate.
Afterward, Betsy, Marilyn and I went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen to get salads for take away. We ate at home and then hung around here the rest of the night.
This morning, we all went back to Cecconi's for our brunch. Marilyn and I both got the french toast, which was amazing; and Betsy and Liz got the salmon and scrambled eggs. We were confused because they do not take walk-ins very much, and they limit reservations, but the restaurant was half-empty at all times. Do they think a bus load of celebrities and models are suddenly going to walk in for brunch? And as Betsy pointed out, it's not like they would eat anyway.
I felt sick at the end of my meal, so I came back to rest. Hopefully, I will feel better throughout the day.
On Friday, Betsy, Liz, Marilyn, Christine and I went to Tartine in Chelsea for dinner. Tartine is a type of bread for which they are famous, and so we all ordered variations of this. Liz, Betsy and I had the shredded duck with plum sauce, rocket and crisp ginger. Marilyn had the tomato and mozzarella, Christine had the BLT. We all had salads as well, and it was the best lettuce and dressing salad I've had. For desert, Liz and I both had the Banoffi pie which is slices of banana with toffee in a crumble crust. Betsy had the chocolate fondant which took 20 minutes to make and was amazing. We spent 3 hours there and it was such a great atmosphere and so much fun to spend time together.
Yesterday, Betsy, Liz, Marilyn and I tried to eat at Cecconi's at Green Park for brunch but they were already full. We made reservations for today, and decided to eat at a local cafe. Afterward, Betsy and I came back to South Ken to pick up her flowers from Mike before heading out to Kew Gardens.
The Gardens were beautiful and covered 300 acres. We began by squeezing onto the Kew Explorer tram tour around 8 major sites. It was a good tour and helped us to get an idea of what we wanted to walk to afterward. At the end of the tour, we stopped at the Victoria Plaza for cake and water. Then, we walked in the opposite direction past the Palm House, Palace, Climbers and Creepers, Azalea Garden, Minka House, Rhododendron Dell, Bamboo Garden, Thames River, Queen Charlotte's Cottage, down the Cedar Vista to view the Pagoda and then walk to the Waterlilly Pond, Temperate House, and back to Victoria Gate.
Afterward, Betsy, Marilyn and I went to Gourmet Burger Kitchen to get salads for take away. We ate at home and then hung around here the rest of the night.
This morning, we all went back to Cecconi's for our brunch. Marilyn and I both got the french toast, which was amazing; and Betsy and Liz got the salmon and scrambled eggs. We were confused because they do not take walk-ins very much, and they limit reservations, but the restaurant was half-empty at all times. Do they think a bus load of celebrities and models are suddenly going to walk in for brunch? And as Betsy pointed out, it's not like they would eat anyway.
I felt sick at the end of my meal, so I came back to rest. Hopefully, I will feel better throughout the day.
Horseback Riding in Wales
Horseback riding at Parc le Breos was amazing. We took the train in to Swansea and then a shuttle late at night. It was so dark we could barely see where the van was going because there were no lights down the long, windy path through the woods to the cottage where we would be staying. We were greeted by an older woman who directed us to our rooms and gave us a late night snack. I shared a room with 5 other girls, including Michal, Joi and Katie who I already knew. The other two girls were from Wheaton College. I had hay in my bed, surprise surprise, and so the woman had to change my sheets. Jonah was given his own huge bedroom in the private area because he was the only boy.
The next morning we woke up early for a large breakfast followed by instruction and riding. My horse was named Rag, and he was a small, white horse typically used for small children. Yes, I am a short, scared horseback rider. In the first few minutes of riding he decided to trot around a corner that dipped. I bumped up and down and up and down violently, my feet nearly fell out of the stirrups and I almost lost the reigns and slipped off the saddle. It was a great experience... Anyway, after about 45 minutes the instructor was able to teach me how to move up and down on Rag as he trots. This was much less painful on my butt, and surely Rag's back. We stopped at the Heritage Centre for lunch. It also has a museum, a puppet show, bumper cars, and various entertainment primarily for children.
After lunch we continued by crossing the street and going down and up a huge hill along the beach. It was very nervewrecking to ride on all the rocks, but Rag was a good sport and didn't trip at all. I tried my best to lean in the right directions so it would be easier on him.
We came back for a big chicken and potato dinner with rhubarb crumble pie and ice cream. Then, we walked back to the beach and played around in the water and sand.
The next morning we decided to walk out to the ancient castle ruins up on a cliff overlooking the beach. It became clear to me at this time that it truly does have the 2nd highest change in tide in the world, at about 30 feet I believe. I barely recognized the beach at high tide because the day before we were so far out. The view from the ruins was beautiful, it was something you would see in a music video. We split in half as some walked down the side of the cliff to the beach and some of us walked back the way we came to see the ancient tomb and cave. Unfortunately, there was a mean dog growling and barking at us as we tried to pass, so some of the girls were brave and walked through, but I was too nervous. Michal waited with me until I saw that the next door neighbors were home. One guy came out with a big stick up to the dog as we walked by.
The tomb and cave were really neat, although I was concerned about wandering around on ancient open tombs and through an old cave. I only walked in a little bit, and we took some pictures.
We walked back to get the shuttle to Walkabout in Swansea for lunch, then we took a bus to Cardiff and switched to the train to London. It was a very different weekend from my others because it was not the sort of rushed tourism that I am used to. There were few sites to see, so we could really take them in. Overall, it was a very peaceful weekend and a wonderful way to (nearly) end the program.
The next morning we woke up early for a large breakfast followed by instruction and riding. My horse was named Rag, and he was a small, white horse typically used for small children. Yes, I am a short, scared horseback rider. In the first few minutes of riding he decided to trot around a corner that dipped. I bumped up and down and up and down violently, my feet nearly fell out of the stirrups and I almost lost the reigns and slipped off the saddle. It was a great experience... Anyway, after about 45 minutes the instructor was able to teach me how to move up and down on Rag as he trots. This was much less painful on my butt, and surely Rag's back. We stopped at the Heritage Centre for lunch. It also has a museum, a puppet show, bumper cars, and various entertainment primarily for children.
After lunch we continued by crossing the street and going down and up a huge hill along the beach. It was very nervewrecking to ride on all the rocks, but Rag was a good sport and didn't trip at all. I tried my best to lean in the right directions so it would be easier on him.
We came back for a big chicken and potato dinner with rhubarb crumble pie and ice cream. Then, we walked back to the beach and played around in the water and sand.
The next morning we decided to walk out to the ancient castle ruins up on a cliff overlooking the beach. It became clear to me at this time that it truly does have the 2nd highest change in tide in the world, at about 30 feet I believe. I barely recognized the beach at high tide because the day before we were so far out. The view from the ruins was beautiful, it was something you would see in a music video. We split in half as some walked down the side of the cliff to the beach and some of us walked back the way we came to see the ancient tomb and cave. Unfortunately, there was a mean dog growling and barking at us as we tried to pass, so some of the girls were brave and walked through, but I was too nervous. Michal waited with me until I saw that the next door neighbors were home. One guy came out with a big stick up to the dog as we walked by.
The tomb and cave were really neat, although I was concerned about wandering around on ancient open tombs and through an old cave. I only walked in a little bit, and we took some pictures.
We walked back to get the shuttle to Walkabout in Swansea for lunch, then we took a bus to Cardiff and switched to the train to London. It was a very different weekend from my others because it was not the sort of rushed tourism that I am used to. There were few sites to see, so we could really take them in. Overall, it was a very peaceful weekend and a wonderful way to (nearly) end the program.
Portfolio Break in South Kensington
I intended to take a short walk before beginning to work on my portfolio again, but instead took a 2-hour tour around South Kensington. I stopped quickly at the V&A Museum on April 15th or 16th, I don't remember which, and it was very different from any other museum I have seen. It is very artifact-driven, and there were large plaster replicas of architecture and artifacts from around the world. I went into the Europe rooms on the first floor to the Cast Courts, Medieval 300-1500, and Renaissance 1400-1600. I went into the John Madejski Garden and then I walked through the Materials and Techniques sculpture rooms. There were some beautiful scupltures of busts and people in here, particularly one of a sculptor's daughter. There was also a striking statue of Truth tearing out the tongue of Falsehood.
Then, I walked up Queensgate to Crussh where I got a banana smoothie, went into multiple stores, and then did some food shopping in Marks & Spencer (I got the best breads, natural gummies, chicken, potatoes, etc.) Finally, I returned to Manson Place to attempt writing my portfolio.
Then, I walked up Queensgate to Crussh where I got a banana smoothie, went into multiple stores, and then did some food shopping in Marks & Spencer (I got the best breads, natural gummies, chicken, potatoes, etc.) Finally, I returned to Manson Place to attempt writing my portfolio.
Easter with Brad :-)
When Brad first got in, we napped for about 5 hours. This was good because we had a long night planned ahead of us. We began the night by going to Wagamama's for some good Asian food. I got my usual chicken tama rice and coconut ice cream with mango sauce; Brad got noodles and ice cream too I think.
Then, we headed out of South Kensington for Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus to Ice Bar :-) We walked around the area and Regent Street for a while before going to Ice Bar, which was so cool (hehe). We wore these big silver capes and gloves. Our drinks were in ice glasses, mine was called something like Icy River and it was yellow and blue. They had a lot of cool London-ish ice sculptures like a tube map in the wall, a large telephone booth, etc. After 45 minutes of freezing, we finally left and went on a walk before heading back to South Ken.
The next morning, we began at Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and then walked down the Thames Path past the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Borough Market, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We walked through the City past Lloyd's of London, Leadenhall Market, and the Royal Exchange :-) to get lunch but the City was shut down for Easter weekend. After a full day of walking, we napped almost the entire evening and then stayed in at night.
On Saturday, we began at the London Eye. It took a while to wait in line and get tickets, but ultimately it was a good time. Since the day was clear, we could see a lot of the city. I got one of those little books that tells you what everything is, so I learned about some new places. The next exciting part of our day was Monty Python's Spamalot at the Palace Theatre. The show was hysterical, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone in the audience sang along to that song about being happy. I forget how it goes. After the show, we walked over to Trafalgar Square and through the gates and past St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace. We were exhausted at this point from all the walking again, so we went home to freshen up for the night.
We went out to Embankment for a comedy show that we had bought tickets for earlier in the day. It was really funny, and he really talked a lot with the audience. It was highly awkward at times, but still good, especially because he didn't specifically pick on us. The ticket came with free admission to Zoo Bar, so we went over to check it out but left after a few minutes.
On Sunday, we took a trip out to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian. We also went into the National Maritime Museum while we were there, and the museum that the Prime Meridian goes through. We got to see the origin of the green laser that shoots out across the Thames River marking the line. It was really neat to stand on both sides of the world at once, and Brad and I also stood on opposite sides of each other. On the way back, we stopped in Canary Wharf for a few minutes to see the buildings. We relaxed the rest of the night, and the next morning woke up early to get Brad out to Heathrow. It was sad to see him go, but this marked a big milestone in the program because it was only one more month until I was home again.
Then, we headed out of South Kensington for Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus to Ice Bar :-) We walked around the area and Regent Street for a while before going to Ice Bar, which was so cool (hehe). We wore these big silver capes and gloves. Our drinks were in ice glasses, mine was called something like Icy River and it was yellow and blue. They had a lot of cool London-ish ice sculptures like a tube map in the wall, a large telephone booth, etc. After 45 minutes of freezing, we finally left and went on a walk before heading back to South Ken.
The next morning, we began at Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and then walked down the Thames Path past the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Borough Market, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We walked through the City past Lloyd's of London, Leadenhall Market, and the Royal Exchange :-) to get lunch but the City was shut down for Easter weekend. After a full day of walking, we napped almost the entire evening and then stayed in at night.
On Saturday, we began at the London Eye. It took a while to wait in line and get tickets, but ultimately it was a good time. Since the day was clear, we could see a lot of the city. I got one of those little books that tells you what everything is, so I learned about some new places. The next exciting part of our day was Monty Python's Spamalot at the Palace Theatre. The show was hysterical, and I really enjoyed it. Everyone in the audience sang along to that song about being happy. I forget how it goes. After the show, we walked over to Trafalgar Square and through the gates and past St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace. We were exhausted at this point from all the walking again, so we went home to freshen up for the night.
We went out to Embankment for a comedy show that we had bought tickets for earlier in the day. It was really funny, and he really talked a lot with the audience. It was highly awkward at times, but still good, especially because he didn't specifically pick on us. The ticket came with free admission to Zoo Bar, so we went over to check it out but left after a few minutes.
On Sunday, we took a trip out to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian. We also went into the National Maritime Museum while we were there, and the museum that the Prime Meridian goes through. We got to see the origin of the green laser that shoots out across the Thames River marking the line. It was really neat to stand on both sides of the world at once, and Brad and I also stood on opposite sides of each other. On the way back, we stopped in Canary Wharf for a few minutes to see the buildings. We relaxed the rest of the night, and the next morning woke up early to get Brad out to Heathrow. It was sad to see him go, but this marked a big milestone in the program because it was only one more month until I was home again.
Canterbury (Like the Tales!)
After visiting Leeds Castle, we went to the town of Canterbury. We went to the cathedral, ate lunch, walked around aimlessly, then found the Canterbury Tales wax museum and tour.
Here are some notes from BU... The main site is Canterbury Cathedral. This is the successor to the church St. Augustine built after the conversion to Christianity in 597. After the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170, the cathedral became the center of one of th emost important medieval pilgrimages in Europe. This is the basis for the stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales.
The town had a lot of cute shops and was bustling with tourists. We stopped at a place called Hotel Chocolat where they sell slabs of chocolate and truffles. I really like the wax museum a lot because it is completely automated and in sync with your headset, so you all listen in whatever language you need and the tour tells you when to go to the next room, the wax figures move around and tell the stories. It was a really neat experience, and I loved listening to the stories.
Here are some notes from BU... The main site is Canterbury Cathedral. This is the successor to the church St. Augustine built after the conversion to Christianity in 597. After the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170, the cathedral became the center of one of th emost important medieval pilgrimages in Europe. This is the basis for the stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales.
The town had a lot of cute shops and was bustling with tourists. We stopped at a place called Hotel Chocolat where they sell slabs of chocolate and truffles. I really like the wax museum a lot because it is completely automated and in sync with your headset, so you all listen in whatever language you need and the tour tells you when to go to the next room, the wax figures move around and tell the stories. It was a really neat experience, and I loved listening to the stories.
Leeds Castle
Sunday, April 1st, 2007
Leeds Castle was absolutely beautiful. The driveway winds through an enormous garden full of flowers, trees, peacocks and ducks. The inside of the castle wasn't as fancy as I expected, and it seemed like it fit into its original time period which is believed to be as early as 856-860. Here are some notes that BU gave us before we went..
Lord Conway once described Leeds Castle as "The Loveliest Castle in the World." Over a millennium old, this ancient palace is still regarded as one of the most beautiful and romantic in England.
It is on a 500-acre estate in southeast England. The original structure is vanished, but it was rebuilt in stone by the Normans and has since been home to six medieval Kings and Queens of England. Henry VIII, the mot famous of all owners, extended large sums in enlarging and beautifying the whole range of buildings.
You actually enter the castle through the cellar and come up a staircase to get into the main castle. We went into Queen Catherine's bedroom, widow of Henry V at the age of 21. After marrying in secret Owen Tudor, she gave birth to their son Edmund and through his son began the Tudor dynasty. She was the last queen to hold the property to Leeds Castle.
Leeds Castle was absolutely beautiful. The driveway winds through an enormous garden full of flowers, trees, peacocks and ducks. The inside of the castle wasn't as fancy as I expected, and it seemed like it fit into its original time period which is believed to be as early as 856-860. Here are some notes that BU gave us before we went..
Lord Conway once described Leeds Castle as "The Loveliest Castle in the World." Over a millennium old, this ancient palace is still regarded as one of the most beautiful and romantic in England.
It is on a 500-acre estate in southeast England. The original structure is vanished, but it was rebuilt in stone by the Normans and has since been home to six medieval Kings and Queens of England. Henry VIII, the mot famous of all owners, extended large sums in enlarging and beautifying the whole range of buildings.
You actually enter the castle through the cellar and come up a staircase to get into the main castle. We went into Queen Catherine's bedroom, widow of Henry V at the age of 21. After marrying in secret Owen Tudor, she gave birth to their son Edmund and through his son began the Tudor dynasty. She was the last queen to hold the property to Leeds Castle.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Edinburgh
Caitlin and I left for Heathrow Airport on Friday afternoon after class in the rain. I tset a worrisome tone to our trip because it would b eunfortunate if our only day in Edinburgh was rainy. We got to the airport and through security very quickly, and to my surprise, they do not check passports when traveling within the UK. I was nervous about my e-ticket but it worked perfectly. The plane ride went smoothly and it was beautiful above the clouds. I took a decongestant during the day, and this was the first that my ears were not in horrible pain during and after a flight.
It was easy to tell from the aerial view that Scotland is simply beautiful. I say simply because the green and brown rolling hills and mountains look so peaceful around the small patches of farmland.
Anyway, we took an easy bus ride from the airport to our hotel, which was right in front of Princes St. Gardens and the Scott Monument! The Castle was also just across the gardens and it was absolutely beautiful, seated up on a cliff above New Town. (Edinburgh is split by the gardens as Old Town and New Town). The other most captivating part of Edinburgh is the majestic Arthur's Seat above the Palace. The sun just beamed down on it, and it was a rich green. It is amazing to see nature so close to city life.
We stopped in our room for a little bit to drop our stuff and look through the binder of brochures for something to do that night. We decided to find the ghost tours that started a little later on a street that we had passed on our bus ride. When we got to eh top of the street, we saw a ghost tour company by a different name, were confused, and then decided to take it. The tour guide was about our age, totally done up in a black suit with a top hat and cane, and adopting a very loud, obnoxious (familiar to me) character. Naturally, we were ridiculed for being Americans, and then made friends with the Canadians.
On the tour we walked through small alleyways and learned about being yelling something like "tallyhoo"? and then throwing their "buckets of nastiness" out the window into the middle of the street. The out-of-towners usually got a mouth full because they would look up when they heard someone yell. He brought us over to St. Giles' Cathedral and he yelled at me for following him up the steps where he would be speaking and demanded that I stand on the ground level with the other peasants. After this tiff, he decided that I would be the witch that the mob would hang. He brought us through the mob mentality of framing someone for causing your problems. For instance, oh no my puppy died, it must have been Lara because she was muttering something in the street the other day. Anyway, they put me through various tests i.e. nailed my thumbs to opposite knee caps, made me swim but I stayed afloat because my dress, then tortured and burned me. Quite the pleasant tour group.
Then, we went into the underground vaults of Edinburgh. By the way, I should mention that Edinburgh is known as one of the most haunted, if not the most, city in the world. We went into level 1, 2 and 3 vaults. Level 1 means that spirits are present but are unaware of you and cannot interact. Level 2 means that spirits are present and are aware of you but cannot interact. Level 3 means that spirits are present, aware of you, and can interact with you. The underground vaults are where the homeless used to live if their home collapsed in from weather conditions. THey moved here without any light to live in small, crowded rooms, where your neighbor may become your toilet, because it was illegal and punishable by death to be homeless. Historians estimate that the average healthy male could survive up to 18 months. The vaults were very creepy, and the spirits were harmful according to the tour guide and a specialist. We were forced to stay around the edge of the room because in the centers of the level 2 and 3 rooms is where teh most "activity" has occurred. In one room there is a circle of large stones and whenever someone is inside they come out covered in scratches. One person on a tour put their arm in, and on the way out of the vaults tripped and broke his wrist. Another story is that a daughter swore her mother took her hand and led her to the other side of the vault, only to find when the lights were turned back on that her mother was on the other side. It was very creepy, and one couple didn't enter the Level 3 vault.
After the tour we walked down the Royal Mile and saw a Faneuil Hall-like area where there was a stage filled with over 20 people throwing fire. Apparently they do this every night? And there was a circle of men playing drums.
The next day we ate scrambled eggs on toast at the Elephant House cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter with a view of Edinburgh Castle. We then went inside Edinburgh Castle and through various submuseums like military, crown jewels, POW bunks, etc. The POW bunks were my favorite part! There were 3 doors that had been carved on in the 1700s by American "rebels" of the American flag, ships, their names and dates. It was amazing. The people who founded our country were held there and experienced those bunks as a result of the war for independence. Soo neat. [P.S. At Leed's Castle they celebrate the 4th of July - maybe they were happy to get rid of us?]
We then walked down the Royal Mile and ate at a pub where I got my first shot of 'neat' Whiskey at Mr. Hayes' suggestion and steak and ale pie. Mmm good. We continued to walk down the Royal Mile while doing tourist shopping when suddenly we heard bagpipes! Marching down the street were building dressed in kilts, playing bagpipes, followed by people carrying the Scottish flag. We then walked to Holyrood Palace and learned that one of the Vanderbilt daughters lived there after being forced to marry into British aristocracy. He wanted to marry her because he was losing his fortune and she was still rich. They had two children whom she referred to as "the heir and the spare", they divorced after about 10 years and married people they actually loved. Out the back of the Palace is an old abbey, and I saw a baby bat! At first I didn't know what it was and thought I saw some sort of mole thing on the side of the building, and when I got close I saw wings tucked under the fur ball, which is when I freaked out and walked far away.
After the Palace we walked across the bridge toward Princes St. and stopped at the gardens. They were beautiful, bright green and the small hill up to the street was lined with bright yellow flowers. Oddly, this is what used to be the pit of Edinburgh where they would throw dead bodies, waste, etc. After our stroll through the gardens we had to get back to our hotel and leave so that we could make the next day at Leed's Castle and Canterbury. It was sad to leave, and I hope that I will go back there sometime soon.
It was easy to tell from the aerial view that Scotland is simply beautiful. I say simply because the green and brown rolling hills and mountains look so peaceful around the small patches of farmland.
Anyway, we took an easy bus ride from the airport to our hotel, which was right in front of Princes St. Gardens and the Scott Monument! The Castle was also just across the gardens and it was absolutely beautiful, seated up on a cliff above New Town. (Edinburgh is split by the gardens as Old Town and New Town). The other most captivating part of Edinburgh is the majestic Arthur's Seat above the Palace. The sun just beamed down on it, and it was a rich green. It is amazing to see nature so close to city life.
We stopped in our room for a little bit to drop our stuff and look through the binder of brochures for something to do that night. We decided to find the ghost tours that started a little later on a street that we had passed on our bus ride. When we got to eh top of the street, we saw a ghost tour company by a different name, were confused, and then decided to take it. The tour guide was about our age, totally done up in a black suit with a top hat and cane, and adopting a very loud, obnoxious (familiar to me) character. Naturally, we were ridiculed for being Americans, and then made friends with the Canadians.
On the tour we walked through small alleyways and learned about being yelling something like "tallyhoo"? and then throwing their "buckets of nastiness" out the window into the middle of the street. The out-of-towners usually got a mouth full because they would look up when they heard someone yell. He brought us over to St. Giles' Cathedral and he yelled at me for following him up the steps where he would be speaking and demanded that I stand on the ground level with the other peasants. After this tiff, he decided that I would be the witch that the mob would hang. He brought us through the mob mentality of framing someone for causing your problems. For instance, oh no my puppy died, it must have been Lara because she was muttering something in the street the other day. Anyway, they put me through various tests i.e. nailed my thumbs to opposite knee caps, made me swim but I stayed afloat because my dress, then tortured and burned me. Quite the pleasant tour group.
Then, we went into the underground vaults of Edinburgh. By the way, I should mention that Edinburgh is known as one of the most haunted, if not the most, city in the world. We went into level 1, 2 and 3 vaults. Level 1 means that spirits are present but are unaware of you and cannot interact. Level 2 means that spirits are present and are aware of you but cannot interact. Level 3 means that spirits are present, aware of you, and can interact with you. The underground vaults are where the homeless used to live if their home collapsed in from weather conditions. THey moved here without any light to live in small, crowded rooms, where your neighbor may become your toilet, because it was illegal and punishable by death to be homeless. Historians estimate that the average healthy male could survive up to 18 months. The vaults were very creepy, and the spirits were harmful according to the tour guide and a specialist. We were forced to stay around the edge of the room because in the centers of the level 2 and 3 rooms is where teh most "activity" has occurred. In one room there is a circle of large stones and whenever someone is inside they come out covered in scratches. One person on a tour put their arm in, and on the way out of the vaults tripped and broke his wrist. Another story is that a daughter swore her mother took her hand and led her to the other side of the vault, only to find when the lights were turned back on that her mother was on the other side. It was very creepy, and one couple didn't enter the Level 3 vault.
After the tour we walked down the Royal Mile and saw a Faneuil Hall-like area where there was a stage filled with over 20 people throwing fire. Apparently they do this every night? And there was a circle of men playing drums.
The next day we ate scrambled eggs on toast at the Elephant House cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter with a view of Edinburgh Castle. We then went inside Edinburgh Castle and through various submuseums like military, crown jewels, POW bunks, etc. The POW bunks were my favorite part! There were 3 doors that had been carved on in the 1700s by American "rebels" of the American flag, ships, their names and dates. It was amazing. The people who founded our country were held there and experienced those bunks as a result of the war for independence. Soo neat. [P.S. At Leed's Castle they celebrate the 4th of July - maybe they were happy to get rid of us?]
We then walked down the Royal Mile and ate at a pub where I got my first shot of 'neat' Whiskey at Mr. Hayes' suggestion and steak and ale pie. Mmm good. We continued to walk down the Royal Mile while doing tourist shopping when suddenly we heard bagpipes! Marching down the street were building dressed in kilts, playing bagpipes, followed by people carrying the Scottish flag. We then walked to Holyrood Palace and learned that one of the Vanderbilt daughters lived there after being forced to marry into British aristocracy. He wanted to marry her because he was losing his fortune and she was still rich. They had two children whom she referred to as "the heir and the spare", they divorced after about 10 years and married people they actually loved. Out the back of the Palace is an old abbey, and I saw a baby bat! At first I didn't know what it was and thought I saw some sort of mole thing on the side of the building, and when I got close I saw wings tucked under the fur ball, which is when I freaked out and walked far away.
After the Palace we walked across the bridge toward Princes St. and stopped at the gardens. They were beautiful, bright green and the small hill up to the street was lined with bright yellow flowers. Oddly, this is what used to be the pit of Edinburgh where they would throw dead bodies, waste, etc. After our stroll through the gardens we had to get back to our hotel and leave so that we could make the next day at Leed's Castle and Canterbury. It was sad to leave, and I hope that I will go back there sometime soon.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace was a gift to a duke Churchill after winning the Battle of Blenheim against the French. The Queen was unable to give him anything other than a house because he already had the highest title. She commissioned 240,000 pounds, which quickly turned into 260,000 pounds: a lot of money for three hundred years ago. Eventually, Winston Churchill was born there, and was said to dictate while in the bath. He would then get up from the bath and into a towel, which in one case fell down and he continued to pace while dictating. Suddenly, the door bell rang but he did not hear this as FDR walked into Blenheim Palace to find a naked Prime Minister. Churchill responded without the least bit of embarrassment, “You see Mr. President, I told you I have nothing to hide.” I imagine that FDR did have something to hide, however: his eyes. Anyway, he was known for being a very quick-witted man, whom always won the battle of words. One woman said to him “If I was were wife, I would poison your tea.” To which he responded, “If you were my wife, I would gladly drink it!” One actor sent him two tickets to the opening night of his show saying, “Here is a ticket for you and a friend… if you have any.” Churchill responded, “Unfortunately, I am busy that night. But if you make it to the second night, perhaps I will attend.” An interesting fact we learned inside the Palace, is that Consuela Vanderbilt once married one of the dukes because he needed money and her parents forced her to marry a European aristocrat. Consuela was not very happy with this because he was in 5’10” or so, and she was over 6 feet tall. They had two children, and 11 years of marriage, which fortunately ended in them finding people they both actually loved and married. They had the most faded tapestries I have ever seen. They were Flemish and took 10 years to sew (and only from the back, so that they could never see their work as it progressed, which was a great risk – and ultimately, one of the dogs had hoof-like paws.) Now, significant portions of the tapestry are white, likely from exposure to sunlight in the bright room and flash photography. I have never seen the effects of such things to this great of an effect, and I now see the importance of not taking pictures when museums say not to. One friend of mine mentioned that the Mona Lisa is already becoming deteriorated, not even from flash photography, but because of people even breathing near it. I hope that I see it before it ever loses a lot of quality. Throughout the Palace, a lot of furniture was from Versailles after it was invaded. Bright royal red and gold furniture in one room was made for Louis XIV(?). The Palace also had Chinese, German and French china on display. Some, or perhaps all, of it was from a fellow that lived down the street but could not fit it all in his house anymore. He asked the duke if he could move into a small area of the Palace, and in return keep the china displayed in the Palace and after his death it would belong to the duke. The man died at only 37 years old.
During our free time, we decided to go into the café for tea and cake. This was my first time drinking afternoon tea at a café, and it was very good. I got Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla. I also got an apple and blueberry cake, but it was somewhat dry. We got lots of great pictures throughout the afternoon; the grounds and Palace were beautiful. Although, I must say I don’t believe I am the hugest fan of the honey-colored stone that made up the exterior of the Palace, and also much of the buildings in Oxford. Perhaps that was the most available stone in the area.
During our free time, we decided to go into the café for tea and cake. This was my first time drinking afternoon tea at a café, and it was very good. I got Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla. I also got an apple and blueberry cake, but it was somewhat dry. We got lots of great pictures throughout the afternoon; the grounds and Palace were beautiful. Although, I must say I don’t believe I am the hugest fan of the honey-colored stone that made up the exterior of the Palace, and also much of the buildings in Oxford. Perhaps that was the most available stone in the area.
Oxford
Oxford University was honey-colored buildings scattered all through the town, around the market, shops and churches. The tour guide gave us a short tour around the area by St. Giles’, through the crossroads, past the Oxford Shop where you sit in desks for a multimedia tour, the Oxford Campus Store, to the Museum of the History of Science, Sheldonian Theatre, the Bridge of Sighs, Radcliffe Camera, The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and Brasenose College gardens/dining hall/chapel. If you are interested in some more history, I have put information at the bottom of this post.
She then directed us to the Christ Church Cathedral, the market and pubs to spend our free time. My friends and I decided to first go to Christ Church Cathedral, primarily because it is Hogwarts from Harry Potter. Unfortunately, that area of the Cathedral was closed today, so we decided to see the rest of the church anyway. It was beautiful, and they gave us a map of key artifacts throughout the chapel. These included the Jonah Window, St. Frideswide Window, the Shrine, the Bell Altar, the Chancel Vault, St. Catherine Window, and the Becket Window. At this end of this post I put more information on each, these blurbs were given to us on a map of the interior.
After walking around, we went to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Shop, The Old Sheep Shop “…full of all manner of curious things…”, across the street. It was really cute and I bought a few gifts. Then, we ate at the Eagle and Child pub (aka Bird and Baby) where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien frequently met to discuss their respective books, Alice in Wonderland and Lord of the Rings. It was my first time trying sausage and mash (or bangers and mash), and it was really good.
After lunch, we tried to go to the Sheldonian Theatre so we could walk to the top for a view of the city, but it was closed. We decided to go to the Oxford Campus Store to buy some Oxford gear, so I got a khaki and blue hat and a blue and white shirt. After this adventure, we were off to another at Blenheim Palace, the home of the Churchill family for 300 years.
More Oxford Information
a.) On St. Giles’, “at the south end lies the recently restored Martyrs' Memorial which commemorates Archbishop Cranmer and Protestant Bishops Latimer and Ridley who were burnt at the stake in Tudor times by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. A cross in the road outside Balliol college marks the actual spot of the execution.”
b.) Sheldonian Theatre was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the university at the time and the project's main financial backer. The theatre is used for music recitals, lectures (such as the annual Romanes Lecture), conferences, and for various ceremonies held by the University (such as graduation and matriculation). Handel performed here, including the first performance of his third oratorio Athalia in 1733. The building seats 800–1,000 people and is situated in the grounds of part of the Bodleian Library adjacent to Broad Street. To the left at the front is the Clarendon Building and to the right is the Old Ashmolean Building. Behind the Sheldonian is the Divinity School.
c.) Hertford Bridge in New College Lane, Oxford, England is often referred to as the "Bridge of Sighs" because of its supposed similarity to the famous bridge of the same name in Venice. However, Hertford Bridge was never intended to be a replica of the Venetian bridge and many believe it looks more similar to the Rialto Bridge in the same city. The bridge links together the Old and New Quadrangles of Hertford College. (The bridge does not link Hertford College to New College, as is stated by some inaccurate city tourguides.) The bridge, and much of its current architecture, was designed by Sir Thomas Jackson. It was completed in 1914, despite its construction being opposed by New College.
d.) The Radcliffe Camera (often abbreviated to "the Rad Cam" in Oxford), is a building in Oxford, England, designed by James Gibbs in the English Baroque style and built in 1737–1749 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. The building was funded by a £40,000 bequest from John Radcliffe, who died in 1714. Nicholas Hawksmoor proposed making the building round. After the Radcliffe Science Library moved into another building, the Radcliffe Camera became home to additional reading rooms of the Bodleian Library. It now holds books from the English, History and Theology collections, mostly secondary sources found on undergraduate reading lists. There is space for around 600,000 books in rooms beneath Radcliffe Square. The term "camera" translates from Latin as "room" or "chamber."
e.) The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew. It is situated on the north side of the High Street, and is surrounded by university and college buildings. St Mary's has one of the most beautiful spires in England and an eccentric baroque porch, designed by Nicholas Stone, facing High Street.[1] Radcliffe Square lies to the north and to the east is Catte Street, pedestrianised since 1973. The 13th century tower is open to the public for a fee and provides good views across the heart of the historic university city, especially Radcliffe Square, the Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose College and All Souls College.
f.) Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which includes the City of Oxford, England, and the surrounding countryside as far north as Banbury. It is also, unusually, the chapel of Christ Church, the largest college of the University of Oxford. Some artifacts within the Christ Church Cathedral are:
1. The Jonah Window by Abraham van Linge 1630s. This window is of great interest because only the figure of Jonah is made of stained glass. The rest of the window consists of small panels of painted glass, showing the city of Nineveh in minute detail.
2. The Shrine, built 1289, destroyed 1538, rebuilt 1889, 2002. The oldest monument in this cathedral, the shrine is covered in fine carvings of plants and faces. It once held the relics of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, but was destroyed at the Reformation. Firdeswide was then buried beneath a nearby gravestone.
3. St Frideswide Window, by Edward Burne-Jones 1858. If you look at the very top center circular panel, it shows a ship of souls carrying St. Frideswide to heaven. The brilliantly coloured lower window panels tell the earthly story of this 8th century local saint.
4. The Bell Altar (look closely at the center bottom), by Jim Partridge, 2000. This altar was made to mark the millennium and is dedicated in memory of Bishop George Bell, who courageously opposed the bombing of the German cities in WW2. A cross which stands near it, was cut from the underside of the alter.
5. The Chancel Vault, by William Orchard, c.1500. This remarkable stone vault is made up of intricate star-shaped patterns to create an image of heaven. Twelve beautiful pendants hang gracefully from it.
6. St. Catherine Window, by Edward Burne-Jones, 1878. The face of the central figure, St. Catherine of Alexandria, is a picture of Edith Liddell. her sister Alice was the inspiration for the bool 'Alice in Wonderland', and a portrait of Alice may be seen in a window in the Great Hall at Christ Church.
7. The Becket Window, c. 1320. This beautiful medieval window is the oldest in the cathedral, and contains a rare panel (a diamond in the middle - see next photo for closeup) showing the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket, who died at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. Beck is kneeling between a monk and the four knights who murdered him. The panel was defaced in the sixteenth century, and the original face of Becket is now missing.
British Museum, Knightsbridge
After class on Friday, I shipped a few gifts home. It has taken me a while to get this done, and so I am happy to have finally sent them on their way. I then went to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone. It was marvelous. I loved it. It was so powerful. It literally unlocked a few thousand years of previously “lost” history. It was really cool too, because the plaque explained how to read a bit. At first, the Stone was a blur of Hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek. Then, the plaque urged me to find the circled hieroglyphs. Circled groups of images indicate a name. In this case, the name Ptolemy came up multiple times. The plaque broke down each character as a letter. It was also interesting to learn that hieroglyphs used a combination of characters and images. For instance, after spelling out the word “cat” there was an image of a cat. This was on a different artifact in the museum. It was interesting to find all the circled hieroglyphs on other artifacts throughout the museum, as well. Anyway, I am so happy to have seen the Rosetta Stone. I cannot really articulate how it made me feel, but it was truly captivating, and it made me want to sit all day trying to solve the puzzle of translating the languages. It was also interesting to see that along the sides of the stone, the date it was captured and the name of King George I are written. In addition, the piece that we have of the Stone is only a portion of the original stone.
I also walked through the scattered remains of the Parthenon, and some of the Persian and Assyrian artifacts. The Parthenon was essentially reconstructed in the room so that one can walk around and see what the edges of the ceiling looked like. I read almost every plaque in that section of the museum. I plan to go back another day to do another section. Perhaps it will be a gradual learning process, because there is way too much to see in one visit.
My hands were very dry, so after getting on the tube at Holborn, I got off at Knightsbridge. Earlier in the day, I looked up locations for The Body Shop, and saw that there was one near Harrod’s. I shopped around a few stores, and went into The Body Shop to buy the smaller Hemp hand lotion. The night before, I had stopped at a Body Shop counter at Waterloo but they had sold out of the small lotions, and the guy was not very helpful. I tried on a dress at H&M that was designed by Madonna, but it didn’t fit quite right. It was different though, and slimming. I really liked that it had a lot of cinched fabric at the empire waist.
After shopping, I walked home through Russell Square I think it’s called. It was a new perspective coming up from the north side of South Kensington. Anyway, there were a number of nice restaurants along the way. When I got home, I ate some dinner and collapsed for the rest of the night, knowing that I had to wake up the next morning for Oxford and Blenheim Palace.
I also walked through the scattered remains of the Parthenon, and some of the Persian and Assyrian artifacts. The Parthenon was essentially reconstructed in the room so that one can walk around and see what the edges of the ceiling looked like. I read almost every plaque in that section of the museum. I plan to go back another day to do another section. Perhaps it will be a gradual learning process, because there is way too much to see in one visit.
My hands were very dry, so after getting on the tube at Holborn, I got off at Knightsbridge. Earlier in the day, I looked up locations for The Body Shop, and saw that there was one near Harrod’s. I shopped around a few stores, and went into The Body Shop to buy the smaller Hemp hand lotion. The night before, I had stopped at a Body Shop counter at Waterloo but they had sold out of the small lotions, and the guy was not very helpful. I tried on a dress at H&M that was designed by Madonna, but it didn’t fit quite right. It was different though, and slimming. I really liked that it had a lot of cinched fabric at the empire waist.
After shopping, I walked home through Russell Square I think it’s called. It was a new perspective coming up from the north side of South Kensington. Anyway, there were a number of nice restaurants along the way. When I got home, I ate some dinner and collapsed for the rest of the night, knowing that I had to wake up the next morning for Oxford and Blenheim Palace.
Great Week of Work
On Tuesday morning, I walked in to work, put my coat on my chair, washed my hands from the tube, and then the Fixed Income Managing Director asked what I was doing today. Responding cautiously, I told him that I was still working on my written project. He asked if I would like to go to a Fund Management Conference hosted by the International Economic Association… in 20 minutes, for the rest of the day. I immediately remembered that I had lunch plans with Claire and Lauren at 12pm, and so my boss agreed to walk outside to let them know that I wouldn’t be able to go with them. After I was assured I wouldn’t be rude to my friends, off I went to Whitehall. Ironically, I had only discovered the night before while out with Claire and Lauren where exactly Whitehall was – it is the huge complex of ornate buildings across from the London Eye, and down the street from Big Ben. It took me a bit to find where it was once the cab dropped me off, and I was a few minutes late for the first speaker, which the MD wanted notes on. I slipped into the back row of seats and began furiously writing notes because I had no idea what the speaker was talking about. That was the general theme of the day. I met 4 really nice business people throughout the day, and was fortunate to get three of their business cards. I have yet to email them. I am thinking of doing it tomorrow; I hope it is not too late. They know I am a student, so perhaps they will forgive me as I discover how to be a more effective businessperson. Anyway, I learned a ton throughout the day, such as what are derivatives (which I didn’t realize I already knew) and synthetic hedge fund replication (which I definitely didn’t already know). Basically, synthetic hedge fund replication is the practice of observing the basic characteristics of a hedge fund and applying those while developing a portfolio that is not a hedge fund. The name is daunting, but it is a rather simple concept. Ultimately, I loved the day so much that I asked my boss if I could go back with him the next day. He said that his only concern was that we had only paid for one spot, and we do not want to risk being charged for a second spot. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for him, he was ill the next morning again and so I was able to go through lunchtime. I met him out front and handed him the binder of materials, and off to the office I went. When I arrived at the office, I spoke with his boss who had just returned from a 2-week vacation. We discussed my project and how to improve it to be a more effective tool for the group. I also asked her if I could come in on Friday so that I may take off the Thursday before Easter when Brad is here. She said that as long as I make up all the hours, it isn’t a problem at all. Obviously, it would be ideal to just the time off, but whatever, it wasn’t a big deal to go in on Friday morning. However, this also means staying late a few days this next week.
The next morning, on Thursday, the MD asked if I had any plans for that night. I said no, accepting that I would have to miss out on Thai Taste with Liz and Marilyn. I ended up going to the London Aquarium from 6:30-9:45pm for the celebratory opening of Euronext’s and iTraxx’s Credit Futures product. It was great. We first walked into a room with a huge circular tank with sharks looming in the bottom, and a school of fish circling around the top. There were a few arcade games that businessmen, professionally dressed, enjoyed. Also, there were two ribbon twirlers, and two masseuses. Let’s also not forget the catering staff. Everyone was dressed for a luau. My favorite people, however, were the divers in the tank. Our “host” diver, held up ads from iTraxx and Euronext, and held up a clipboard against the tank to speak with us. There were clipboards all along the edge of the tank that we could write on to ask them questions, like “Are you concerned that the sharks may eat you?” After a while of feeling shy and having difficulty breaking into a group, I finally made my way into a small group of people from Lehman Brothers. They were really nice, and there was an American girl from the New York office in London for a week. She graduated from Wellesley last year, and did their training program for two months. We chatted about her sister in Asia, worldly travels, how to speak Mandarin, Boston, MIT boys, etc. She was also very nice to let me in on the nickname of another Lehman employee so that I wasn’t horribly confused when I saw him referred to with two names. This other Lehman employee spent a lot of time helping me to know where I should travel while I am here, and also talking about his family’s private tour of Westminster Abbey and how his daughter played Go Tell it on the Mountain on the organ. He was extremely nice, and later emailed me to remind me of all the names of places he rambled off to me. I also met someone who lives in Japan, although is originally from England, and helped to develop the Credit Futures product that we were celebrating. Throughout the evening, we were moved to a petting area with stingrays that were extremely friendly, and I had no idea how personable and interactive they could be! We were then moved to a room lined with fish tanks and with a large bar in the middle. The entire evening they handed out drinks from the open bar and hors dourves, including these little bowls of rice and chicken/pepper kebabs. Finally, I went home and was very tired, knowing that I had to get up the next morning to go to work and class. Overall, it was a great week of work, and it was a nice change of pace from the previously quieter week… all thanks to the Fixed Income Managing Director, and my sick boss.
The next morning, on Thursday, the MD asked if I had any plans for that night. I said no, accepting that I would have to miss out on Thai Taste with Liz and Marilyn. I ended up going to the London Aquarium from 6:30-9:45pm for the celebratory opening of Euronext’s and iTraxx’s Credit Futures product. It was great. We first walked into a room with a huge circular tank with sharks looming in the bottom, and a school of fish circling around the top. There were a few arcade games that businessmen, professionally dressed, enjoyed. Also, there were two ribbon twirlers, and two masseuses. Let’s also not forget the catering staff. Everyone was dressed for a luau. My favorite people, however, were the divers in the tank. Our “host” diver, held up ads from iTraxx and Euronext, and held up a clipboard against the tank to speak with us. There were clipboards all along the edge of the tank that we could write on to ask them questions, like “Are you concerned that the sharks may eat you?” After a while of feeling shy and having difficulty breaking into a group, I finally made my way into a small group of people from Lehman Brothers. They were really nice, and there was an American girl from the New York office in London for a week. She graduated from Wellesley last year, and did their training program for two months. We chatted about her sister in Asia, worldly travels, how to speak Mandarin, Boston, MIT boys, etc. She was also very nice to let me in on the nickname of another Lehman employee so that I wasn’t horribly confused when I saw him referred to with two names. This other Lehman employee spent a lot of time helping me to know where I should travel while I am here, and also talking about his family’s private tour of Westminster Abbey and how his daughter played Go Tell it on the Mountain on the organ. He was extremely nice, and later emailed me to remind me of all the names of places he rambled off to me. I also met someone who lives in Japan, although is originally from England, and helped to develop the Credit Futures product that we were celebrating. Throughout the evening, we were moved to a petting area with stingrays that were extremely friendly, and I had no idea how personable and interactive they could be! We were then moved to a room lined with fish tanks and with a large bar in the middle. The entire evening they handed out drinks from the open bar and hors dourves, including these little bowls of rice and chicken/pepper kebabs. Finally, I went home and was very tired, knowing that I had to get up the next morning to go to work and class. Overall, it was a great week of work, and it was a nice change of pace from the previously quieter week… all thanks to the Fixed Income Managing Director, and my sick boss.
Claire and Lauren Visit
After work on Monday, I walked into my house to find Claire and Lauren in my livingroom. J I was really excited to see them, and so after changing/eating/them showering, I took them out on the town. First, we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We crossed the bridge to the Thames Path and walked under the London Eye. We went over the walkway bridge down the street to Trafalgar Square. We then walked through the gates to Buckingham Palace and walked for 20 minutes down to see it. It was great to see it at night, since I have already seen it twice during the day. We then walked back, by which point we were very cold from the wind. After going through Trafalgar Square and by the National Portrait Gallery, we went to Leicester Square. We were going to eat at the Hamburger Union, and then I spotted Wagamama’s! The food and dessert were great, as usual. Oddly, though, I had some sort of weird frostbite thing going on with my ear, and once we walked into the warm building, it swelled up. In addition, my other ear couldn’t hear well, perhaps leftover ear problems from the plane. Anyway, this subsided in a few minutes. After dinner, we quickly walked through Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus and hopped back on the tube to South Kensington. It was a very successful night of tourism.
On Tuesday, I went to a conference during the day and ate lamb that didn’t sit well with me. Later that night, Claire and Lauren went to visit some Princeton friends at a friend’s house who lives a few blocks from here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go because I didn’t feel well. They said it was a beautiful home and a lot of fun, and I learned that Hugh Grant lives very nearby. We stayed up chatting for a bit after they got home because Claire and I realize that it will be quite a long summer apart again. We were lucky to have time together this week.
On Wednesday, we ate at Giraffe on High Street. It was very yummy, but unfortunately we got there a bit late and Claire and Lauren had to switch their orders a few times. It tasted great; I love their falafel burgers. I chose not to get dessert, but after trying theirs, I am quite certain to get it next time. J
Claire and Lauren left for Heathrow early Thursday morning. I woke up to say goodbye to them, and it was sad to see them leave. Hopefully, I will be able to join them at lawn parties when I am home in early May.
On Tuesday, I went to a conference during the day and ate lamb that didn’t sit well with me. Later that night, Claire and Lauren went to visit some Princeton friends at a friend’s house who lives a few blocks from here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go because I didn’t feel well. They said it was a beautiful home and a lot of fun, and I learned that Hugh Grant lives very nearby. We stayed up chatting for a bit after they got home because Claire and I realize that it will be quite a long summer apart again. We were lucky to have time together this week.
On Wednesday, we ate at Giraffe on High Street. It was very yummy, but unfortunately we got there a bit late and Claire and Lauren had to switch their orders a few times. It tasted great; I love their falafel burgers. I chose not to get dessert, but after trying theirs, I am quite certain to get it next time. J
Claire and Lauren left for Heathrow early Thursday morning. I woke up to say goodbye to them, and it was sad to see them leave. Hopefully, I will be able to join them at lawn parties when I am home in early May.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Harrod's and St. Patrick's Day!
I started off St. Patrick's Day by waking up at 1:30pm. It was wonderful. Although, I was quite disappointed after I lamely pulled open my curtain a few inches and got a peek at the amazingly beautiful weather that I had been missing. Waste of a day? Perhaps, but at least I had my sleep. Michal and I decided to walk down to Harrod's so we could accomplish another big tourist site. It is beautiful inside, grand escalators/stairs that are lined with small balconies. I bought a really cute tin with a man next to a fire engine red phone booth that had triple chocolate chunk biscuits inside. Suddenly, we heard Ave Maria filling the escalator area and went on a hunt to find the source. There on one of the balconies was a woman singing, across from which stood a small audience. She gestured to the shoppers at Harrod's with open arms and took us from a shopping mall to a concert hall. Then, she stopped and Michal and I continued our walk elsewhere through all the various floors and departments. We heard another song again, this time Carmen's Habanera, so we walked out to see a different woman singing from the same balcony. She finished and so we continued to shop, until I heard what I believed to be O mio babbino caro. We ran back just in time to hear the end. I was excited to finally have Michal hear the song I had talked about when I dragged her to Porta Rossa and back to Ponte Vecchio and the Arno when we were in Florence.
When I got back to my house, the St. Patrick's Day party had started in full swing. I made myself a falafel pita for lunch, and bought some cheap wine from Tesco's. We all partied throughout the house, and made it a complete mess, but it was a lot of fun. There were a number of people here I didn't recognize but I met most of them throughout the party. Christine and I decided that we didn't have quite enough to drink, so made a run out to Odd bins and Tesco's for Smirnoff vodka and cranberry juice. We had a funny run-in with the guys at Odd bins and told them they should sell plastic cups and straws and cranberry juice so they could be a one stop shop. They said they'd be willing to sell plastic cups but not straws, and they do have cranberry juice. He pulled up a box of cranberry juice from behind the counter and said "It's made from concentrate." To which Christine replied, "Does that mean we have to add water?" The guys laughed at her and said, "No, you just have to drink it." I was also confused because I didn't know why it was significant to tell us it was made from concentrate. Whatever. We went to Tesco's and found they sell the same thing, but Christine needed dinner and we bought dish detergent so it was still worth the stop. We came back and drank a bit more as everyone started to file out to other parties/eat dinner/get ready for bed. Mind you this was only about 8:30pm. However, most people began drinking sometime between 11am and 3pm. I hung out with Marilyn and Liz in their room and watched Monster-in-Law on Betsy's bed while she and Mike were out. They have the comfiest bunk beds! Michal and Leor randomly walked in while I was watching but then left after seeing I wasn't going to move very far in my pj's... on st. patrick's day... at 10:30pm. Yes, it was rather pathetic. But now I'm going to bed so I can hopefully wake up on time tomorrow for the festival and parade downtown, research for my team business strategy project, and go to a 3 1/2 hours team meeting. Goodnight!
When I got back to my house, the St. Patrick's Day party had started in full swing. I made myself a falafel pita for lunch, and bought some cheap wine from Tesco's. We all partied throughout the house, and made it a complete mess, but it was a lot of fun. There were a number of people here I didn't recognize but I met most of them throughout the party. Christine and I decided that we didn't have quite enough to drink, so made a run out to Odd bins and Tesco's for Smirnoff vodka and cranberry juice. We had a funny run-in with the guys at Odd bins and told them they should sell plastic cups and straws and cranberry juice so they could be a one stop shop. They said they'd be willing to sell plastic cups but not straws, and they do have cranberry juice. He pulled up a box of cranberry juice from behind the counter and said "It's made from concentrate." To which Christine replied, "Does that mean we have to add water?" The guys laughed at her and said, "No, you just have to drink it." I was also confused because I didn't know why it was significant to tell us it was made from concentrate. Whatever. We went to Tesco's and found they sell the same thing, but Christine needed dinner and we bought dish detergent so it was still worth the stop. We came back and drank a bit more as everyone started to file out to other parties/eat dinner/get ready for bed. Mind you this was only about 8:30pm. However, most people began drinking sometime between 11am and 3pm. I hung out with Marilyn and Liz in their room and watched Monster-in-Law on Betsy's bed while she and Mike were out. They have the comfiest bunk beds! Michal and Leor randomly walked in while I was watching but then left after seeing I wasn't going to move very far in my pj's... on st. patrick's day... at 10:30pm. Yes, it was rather pathetic. But now I'm going to bed so I can hopefully wake up on time tomorrow for the festival and parade downtown, research for my team business strategy project, and go to a 3 1/2 hours team meeting. Goodnight!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Mum in London!
Thursday
My 'mum' came to London from Thursday night to Monday morning. We walked absolutely everywhere and it was great. The first night, I gave her Chardonnary and Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Chianti vineyard that I visited in Tuscany. We chowed down with Jen and Jenny, and tried to get some rest for the next day.
Friday
I had to go to class from 9:30am-1:30pm, so she walked down to Kensington Palace through Hyde Park siteseeing and searching for breakfast. When we met up, we walked over to where I have class and down Gloucester Road to the tube. We decided to first go to the "City" where I work at the Royal Exchange. We to had trouble choosing where to eat and just ate at Starbucks before we walked by the Bank of England, the house of the City's Mayor, the Swiss Re Gherkin, through Leadenhall Market (Harry Potter's Diagon Alley) and past Lloyd's of London to the Tower of London. It was a beautiful day so we got great pictures at the Tower and along the Thames in front of the Tower Bridge. We went up into the Tower Bridge exhibition to get a great view of the city along the Thames, and then into the pump rooms for the drawbridge. Later, we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. After touring that area, we walked along the river, from which we could view the London Eye lit up at night, to Trafalgar Square spotted Renoir's Landscapes which we knew we wanted to go back to see later. We followed that down to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.
Saturday
On Saturday morning, we walked up Queensgate to Kensington Palace and through Hyde Park to go to Portobello Market. It was a bit crowded, and a long walk so we decided to trek back to the Notting Hill tube stop and go to Oxford Street for theatre tickets. We started on Argyll for Sound of Music, then walked down to Guys and Dolls and finally Avenue Q. We got great tickets for a 5pm showing so we ate late lunch at a nearby pub for an hour or so before walking back over. The show was amazing and we laughed hysterically almost the entire time. Since it was a relatively early showing, we went searching through Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus for another show, movie or comedy club. Spontaneously, we chose to go to 99 comedy club and see 3 comedians. We got center seats on a sofa in the back; although we didn't have a view we were close enough to hear it really well and the comedians were good. The first was the best, then the other 2 were alright. There was an argument between this one big drunk guy and the people sitting right next to us, so we were a bit concerned but it was all okay. After the show, we went back to South Kensington and rested up for the next day.
Sunday
We began Sunday very early at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards and marching band. They played a lot of modern and classical tunes like the Star Wars theme and I think something from Don Giovanni or some opera. The website listed the start time earlier than it actually was, so we waited for quite some time before it began. However, we enjoyed the walk around the Palace and near St. James's Park because it was such a beautiful day. We left during the band to see the Globe Theatre.
We took the tube to the London Bridge stop on the south side of the river, and walked the Thames Path until we stopped at Pizza Express (and had the best fungotti [stuffed mushroom on garlic bread] ever! We passed the Southwark Bridge, the Golden Hinde ship, and the Clink Prison Museum on the way to the Globe.
It was absolutely amazing, and that was greatly to the help of our tour guide. She truly enjoyed telling us about the reconstruction and redevelopment of the Globe by Sam Wanamaker, as well as the details of the historic behavior within the seating/standing areas, use of the inflexible stage during shows due to the lack of a curtain and high balonies, costumes, etc. The audience is very interactive with the actors, and actually some of the action occurs where the "groundlings" stand i.e. sword fight. Almost the entire stage is wood painted with elaborate scenes and marble. The theatre is not an exact replica of the original due to modern fire and safety regulations i.e. sprinklers on top of the thatched roof. Also, when a character dies they must lie motionless on the stage for the remainder of the show due to the lack of curtains. Romeo and Juliet had difficulty on the stage when they pass a rose because the balcony is very high.
Outside the Globe, we stopped for a quick snack at a food stand and looked down the wall to a small patch of sand where people were standing near a sculpture of a man covered by an octopus, over which a man was drinking an entire bottle of wine. We continued our walk along the Thames Path past the Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, Blackfriar's Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Hungerford Bridge and human statues to the London Eye. After some consideration, my mom was nervous about the height of the London Eye (which, I admit was rather daunting) and so we walked by Dali Universe where we saw a large statue of the warped clock before turning back to the Hungerford Bridge.
We walked down Northumberland Avenue to Trafalgar Square where we remembered how we wanted to see Renoir's Landscapes. We rushed in to see them in the last 45 minutes the National Gallery was open, and it was absolutely amazing. There were 64 paintings, along with which I read a blurb in a booklet. I am very disappointed that I did not have more time to spend staring at these hypnotizing paintings; you truly feel like you are a part of them. My mom discovered that "Wheatfield" painted in 1879 was her favorite of them all. The blurb reads:
I had a much more difficult time choosing a favorite painting, although I frequently like paintings that seemed to join people with nature. After Renoir's beautiful works of art, we considered eating in Trafalgar Square and then decided to turn back to South Kensington for a more relaxing meal. We rested here for a bit, and then walked down Queensgate to High Street where we ate at Giraffe. We had Mango Mama smoothies and fresh hummus with vegetables and warm naan bread. For dinner, she had a colorful vegetable stirfry and I had a falafal burger.
Monday
The following morning, we woke up very early and I walked her back to South Kensington to make sure she got to Heathrow alright. Thus was the end of our weekend in London.
My 'mum' came to London from Thursday night to Monday morning. We walked absolutely everywhere and it was great. The first night, I gave her Chardonnary and Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Chianti vineyard that I visited in Tuscany. We chowed down with Jen and Jenny, and tried to get some rest for the next day.
Friday
I had to go to class from 9:30am-1:30pm, so she walked down to Kensington Palace through Hyde Park siteseeing and searching for breakfast. When we met up, we walked over to where I have class and down Gloucester Road to the tube. We decided to first go to the "City" where I work at the Royal Exchange. We to had trouble choosing where to eat and just ate at Starbucks before we walked by the Bank of England, the house of the City's Mayor, the Swiss Re Gherkin, through Leadenhall Market (Harry Potter's Diagon Alley) and past Lloyd's of London to the Tower of London. It was a beautiful day so we got great pictures at the Tower and along the Thames in front of the Tower Bridge. We went up into the Tower Bridge exhibition to get a great view of the city along the Thames, and then into the pump rooms for the drawbridge. Later, we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. After touring that area, we walked along the river, from which we could view the London Eye lit up at night, to Trafalgar Square spotted Renoir's Landscapes which we knew we wanted to go back to see later. We followed that down to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.
Saturday
On Saturday morning, we walked up Queensgate to Kensington Palace and through Hyde Park to go to Portobello Market. It was a bit crowded, and a long walk so we decided to trek back to the Notting Hill tube stop and go to Oxford Street for theatre tickets. We started on Argyll for Sound of Music, then walked down to Guys and Dolls and finally Avenue Q. We got great tickets for a 5pm showing so we ate late lunch at a nearby pub for an hour or so before walking back over. The show was amazing and we laughed hysterically almost the entire time. Since it was a relatively early showing, we went searching through Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus for another show, movie or comedy club. Spontaneously, we chose to go to 99 comedy club and see 3 comedians. We got center seats on a sofa in the back; although we didn't have a view we were close enough to hear it really well and the comedians were good. The first was the best, then the other 2 were alright. There was an argument between this one big drunk guy and the people sitting right next to us, so we were a bit concerned but it was all okay. After the show, we went back to South Kensington and rested up for the next day.
Sunday
We began Sunday very early at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards and marching band. They played a lot of modern and classical tunes like the Star Wars theme and I think something from Don Giovanni or some opera. The website listed the start time earlier than it actually was, so we waited for quite some time before it began. However, we enjoyed the walk around the Palace and near St. James's Park because it was such a beautiful day. We left during the band to see the Globe Theatre.
We took the tube to the London Bridge stop on the south side of the river, and walked the Thames Path until we stopped at Pizza Express (and had the best fungotti [stuffed mushroom on garlic bread] ever! We passed the Southwark Bridge, the Golden Hinde ship, and the Clink Prison Museum on the way to the Globe.
It was absolutely amazing, and that was greatly to the help of our tour guide. She truly enjoyed telling us about the reconstruction and redevelopment of the Globe by Sam Wanamaker, as well as the details of the historic behavior within the seating/standing areas, use of the inflexible stage during shows due to the lack of a curtain and high balonies, costumes, etc. The audience is very interactive with the actors, and actually some of the action occurs where the "groundlings" stand i.e. sword fight. Almost the entire stage is wood painted with elaborate scenes and marble. The theatre is not an exact replica of the original due to modern fire and safety regulations i.e. sprinklers on top of the thatched roof. Also, when a character dies they must lie motionless on the stage for the remainder of the show due to the lack of curtains. Romeo and Juliet had difficulty on the stage when they pass a rose because the balcony is very high.
Outside the Globe, we stopped for a quick snack at a food stand and looked down the wall to a small patch of sand where people were standing near a sculpture of a man covered by an octopus, over which a man was drinking an entire bottle of wine. We continued our walk along the Thames Path past the Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, Blackfriar's Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Hungerford Bridge and human statues to the London Eye. After some consideration, my mom was nervous about the height of the London Eye (which, I admit was rather daunting) and so we walked by Dali Universe where we saw a large statue of the warped clock before turning back to the Hungerford Bridge.
We walked down Northumberland Avenue to Trafalgar Square where we remembered how we wanted to see Renoir's Landscapes. We rushed in to see them in the last 45 minutes the National Gallery was open, and it was absolutely amazing. There were 64 paintings, along with which I read a blurb in a booklet. I am very disappointed that I did not have more time to spend staring at these hypnotizing paintings; you truly feel like you are a part of them. My mom discovered that "Wheatfield" painted in 1879 was her favorite of them all. The blurb reads:
"In this frieze of wheat, which registers the movement of the wind, Renoir's
handling of paint is particularly bold. Hatches of olive green, brown and yellow
punctuate the expanse of gold. Precise strokes, applied at speed, convey a sharp
focus that softens to the rear of the scene. This is the purest of landscapes: a
composition that relies neither on figures, buildings, nor unusual geographical
motifs."
I had a much more difficult time choosing a favorite painting, although I frequently like paintings that seemed to join people with nature. After Renoir's beautiful works of art, we considered eating in Trafalgar Square and then decided to turn back to South Kensington for a more relaxing meal. We rested here for a bit, and then walked down Queensgate to High Street where we ate at Giraffe. We had Mango Mama smoothies and fresh hummus with vegetables and warm naan bread. For dinner, she had a colorful vegetable stirfry and I had a falafal burger.
Monday
The following morning, we woke up very early and I walked her back to South Kensington to make sure she got to Heathrow alright. Thus was the end of our weekend in London.
First Week at Work
Last week I had 3 days of work, and 2 days of class. I like the team I am working with, and everyone else has been very welcoming as well. They let me spend a morning at a few FX desks on the trading floor, and another morning with the transition management team. I learned a ton about both areas, and have been writing notes during the day so that I may more easily write my portfolio diary for the final project. After work on Monday, I met with some 85 Broads members who ironically were mostly from the US. We met at the George Pub by the Liverpool station near RBS. Some were nicer than others, but overall it was a good experience. The next day was a FX intern's 21st birthday and so a bunch of us went to Prohibition to celebrate. I was there until 8:30pm and met some other interns, a transfer from Sydney, and some more senior employees. I'm really excited to continue working there, and this upcoming Wednesday I will be back at transition management for a bit. One guy in my team showed me around the building and introduced me to a lot of people, a few of whom were interested in letting me shadow them in their roles. We will see how it goes..
Monday, March 5, 2007
Italy!!
Rome
After a 2 hour flight, 5 of my flatmates and I took a shuttle van to Hotel Romae. The driver was really nice, and we spoke Spanglish with him as he gave us a mini-tour of the Coliseum, St. Peter’s etc. It was amazing to see this at night, and he told us to eat at the restaurant a block from our hotel where his friend Massimo worked. The restaurant was AMAZING and I loved my penne with vodka sauce. The hotel was really clean, and all 6 of us fit comfortably. We had a view out on to the street, and this is when I discovered that nearly every window in Italy has real shutters. We woke up early and got tickets for a 24-hour hop-on/hop-off bus, and then went to the Coliseum. It was beautiful, ancient, and massive. We took a tour, meaning that we didn't have to wait in the enormously long lines. Afterward, we discovered our tickets gave us access to the Palatine Hill next to the Roman Forum. This gave us a rather aerial view of Rome, the Forum, and Coliseum. Also there was the Arch of Titus that commemorates the capture of Jerusalem. We then went to steps that I believe Michelangelo or Raphael made? I will find out exactly who it was. After, was the Pantheon and it was beautiful inside, had the tomb of Raphael, and was in the middle of a plaza. The Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain were definite highlights, and very busy. The Spanish Steps are at the end of a high-end shopping street. The Trevi Fountain is a huge, beautiful wall of sculptures where people could sit and eat. One of the Basilica’s we saw was Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. It was very open and grand inside, and located across a circular road around a fountain and across a nice hotel. The next day, Vatican City was free from 8:45am – 1:45pm, and the Pope was speaking at 10am. We tried to do it all, but were quite shocked when we arrived to a line of thousands of people for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We paid for a tour, and got in to the Museum in about 45 minutes from our arrival. The Museum had a lot of interesting artwork, including an exhibit of Laocoonte which depicts a father fighting off snakes that are killing his sons. It was interesting because it was on a circular platform so we were able to walk all the way around it. There was a very long corridor fully painted that was a particular highlight as well. After this we saw the Sistine Chapel which initially I was not impressed by because I was not very interested in so many separate paintings, until our tour guide explained the stories it told about the creation of Earth and religion. At the end of the tour I wanted to climb to the top of St. Peter’s because it is the highest point in Rome, but we were tight for time and my flatmates did not want to wait in line. We walked through St. Peter’s, it was magnificent, and we saw the statue of Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion. It began raining when we were taking pictures in front of St. Peter’s, and so it was time to get on the train to Florence.
Florence
We arrived at the Santa Maria Novella "stazione" late at night and in the rain. Luckily, Liz was able to figure out where we had to walk to get to Corona D'italia and we were there soon since it was only 2 blocks away. The hotel was really nice and clean, and the employees spoke English :-) They directed us to a restaurant on the street that was still open that late on a Sunday, and we were happy to finally sit down and eat. Oddly, there was a couple perhaps gypsies fighting on the street hitting each other and yelling. Then, we randomly stopped in a local convenience store for some essentials. I shared a room with Marilyn and Christine overlooking the San Lorenzo Market. That night we all met up in our room and brainstormed on places to spend the next day since we heard that not many places are open in Florence on Mondays. Liz, Marilyn and I decided to go Pisa the next morning, and meet the rest of the group at 2:15pm for a bus tour and wine tasting to a vineyard in Chianti.
Pisa
Liz, Marilyn and I arrived around 10am to Pisa Centrale, and it was a beautiful clear day in a pretty city (although some streets smelled). We bought our tickets and had about a 30 minute wait to walk up the Tower, so we took perspective shots. Liz had random Italian men ask her to take pictures with them and they gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was kind of weird, but I guess the Italians do not think it is out of the ordinary. The climb up the Tower was somewhat nervewrecking because you can feel yourself pulling toward the low side. When we got up to the top we were nervous to let go of the railing but also afraid to go near the railing because it was not very much support near the edge of the Tower. We got over this quickly though as we discovered the view of the beautiful mountains and the city of Pisa in the valley.
Castello Il Palagio and Greve in the Chianti region of Tuscany
Fortunately, we made it back from Pisa in time for the tour bus at 2:15 to Tuscany. We took a bus ride for about 45 minutes through the rolling mountains and hillsides lined with rows of ungrown vineyards. The castle was perched above and amidst the vineyards from which its employees handpick grapes for wine and olives for 100% Italian olive oil. Everything related to their products is done inside the castle, including bottling. We first went down into the basement to see huge barrels of wine each dated and named for its contents. This was followed by a walk through the inside courtyard where wedding receptions are held, a few blue pieces of artwork as preferred by the owner, and a private chapel. There were two levels with rows of arches delicately draped in with rich green plants. After touring the castle and taking pictures in front of the vineyard, we all went in for a wine tasting. There were about 10 tables for 8 people each, with 3 glasses, 2 red wines with salami and bread with olive oil, and 1 white and pecorino cheese. The woman who works at the castle told us how to spin our glass and judge the strength of the wine based on the arches left on the side of the glass. Also, she said to sip the wine through your teeth and let it sit in your mouth a second before swallowing. The point is to taste the wine, there is water for drinking. This was followed by a small, goldish-colored dessert wine and almond biscotti. We then placed orders to bring some home and piled back onto the bus to go to Greve. This was a small hill town nearby that had a huge black iron rooster, the symbol of true Chianti products. There was an original group of Chianti vineyards, and after proving commercially successful other producers moved nearby and began advertising as Chianti products. Thus, the original group was given the legal right to put the black rooster in order to differentiate itself.
Florence
The next day I stayed in Florence and saw the main tourist sites like Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, the Uffizi, outside of the Uffizi was a row of famous peoples' statues like Leonardo DaVinci, and San Lorenzo Market. We then checked out and headed off to Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre (Monterroso, Vernazza, Corniglia?, Manarola?, Riomaggiore)
We had a difficult journey to our hotel in La Spezia because we did not realize it was not within walking distance. I decided to walk into a pizzeria and ask for directions. They spoke very little English and eventually the rest of the group followed in and we tried to communicate. They were extremely nice and called 2 cabs for us at the corner of their restaurant. It was a very long drive up the hill, and without their help we would have likely spent the entire night trying to find out hotel unsuccessfully. The hotel seemed nice when we arrived, it had a large restaurant, living room and breakfast area. Then, I found a little bug in my bed which freaked me out. I decided to just suck it up and hope the best for the following day.
We began by taking the local train up to the northernmost town, Monterroso. We walked down to the Mediterranean and I touched it! We had a lot of fun playing around, and then began our 1.5 hour hike to Vernazza. Later, we realized that we should have visited the actual town of Monterroso but perhaps another time.. The hike was rather difficult and hot, and we were not well prepared for it i.e. Marilyn wore flats and I brought my Coach bag. The views were beautiful though, although the walks upstairs were rough, and we met a man working in his mountainside vineyard and selling his wine. We knew we couldn't carry anything, so we stopped to say hello and catch our breaths before continuing. We only passed 1 couple the entire hike; it was very obvious that it was off-season. Vernazza was a beautiful town, and we stopped there to sightsee and eat. Betsy became ill and so left early, later on we found out that we should have sent someone with her because she almost did not make it back safely to the hotel. She believes it is because she drank some of the water, "Montezuma's Revenge". We then went to Corniglia(?) which was another beautiful town carved into the cliffside. The waves crashed and sparked high, and I wanted to take a video on my camera but moreso wished to conserve my batteries for the rest of the walk. We ended up skipping Manarola(?) and going to Riomaggiore due to one hike being closed and us being tired. It was the smallest of the cities, but we entertained ourselves down the main drag until the train back to La Spezia arrived. That night we all played a game in the hotel, and the next morning I left early to meet Michal in Florence.
Florence
I checked back into Corona D'italia because I couldn't get a hold of Michal, almost immediately after which she called and we decided to meet at the Duomo. Ironically, she was staying on the same street as me with a friend. She had already climbed the Duomo, so we decided to walk to Porta Rossa since I hadn't had a chance to do it earlier. We continued down to Ponte Vecchio, and walked the other side of the river to a high view of the city within the valley. We stopped at Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, which is supposedly a big tourist site, and overlooks the Boboli Gardens. Apparently, my friends and I had gone to the wrong entrance of the Boboli Gardens earlier in the week and it indeed was open. So, I was happy to at least see it from a more aerial view before I left. Michal and I walked back to check in with her friends and make plans for the night. It was nice to go see where students take classes there; her friend had a bellydancing class still though so we left without her until later. We ate at Zaza's early evening because I really wanted to try the ravioli with the mushroom truffle sauce (I had eaten it with the walnut truffle sauce earlier in the week). I also had their Zaza's pudding/custard. It was good, but different and somewhat warm. We went to her friend's flat while they ate dinner and then walked out to Very Good near the Duomo for gelato. Afterward, I came back to get some sleep and get ready for the next day in Venice.
Venice
We left early for Venice, although our train was delayed we still made it there noonish. We ran around to find our hotel quickly because we wanted to make it to San Marco by public boat in time for the 2:30pm tour of the three islands, Murano, Burano, and Torcello. After frantically searching for the boat, we made it on in the last possible minute and took a risk by paying them on the street. Fortunately, they were honest and we took the boat ride to Murano's glassmaking factory, then to Burano which is known for lacemaking and where children played in the square, and then the quite Torcello with only 12 residents. We spent the rest of the night walking around and exploring while trying to find reasonably priced food.
The next day, we woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and kept our luggage in the corner of a dark open room for the afternoon. I spent most of the day searching for the perfect mask, which I found to be a pink, white and gold one with a stick and fringe. Unfortunately, it broke in my luggage on the way back, but that is another story. We ran into my flatmates at 12pm in San Marco Square and we all went to lunch at a pizza place. We then walked along the Rialto Bridge back north while shopping and somewhat hoping to end up at the crepe place that Michal and I ate at the night before. I left early since my flight was earlier than Michal's (and my flatmates left the next day), so I ran back to figure out how to take the bus to the airport, etc. It ended up getting me there 2 hours early, and I was the first person. It was a tiny airport, and I know for the future that there is not a great rush to arrive on time. Overall, it was perhaps the best week of my life, and I would give anything to live it again.
After a 2 hour flight, 5 of my flatmates and I took a shuttle van to Hotel Romae. The driver was really nice, and we spoke Spanglish with him as he gave us a mini-tour of the Coliseum, St. Peter’s etc. It was amazing to see this at night, and he told us to eat at the restaurant a block from our hotel where his friend Massimo worked. The restaurant was AMAZING and I loved my penne with vodka sauce. The hotel was really clean, and all 6 of us fit comfortably. We had a view out on to the street, and this is when I discovered that nearly every window in Italy has real shutters. We woke up early and got tickets for a 24-hour hop-on/hop-off bus, and then went to the Coliseum. It was beautiful, ancient, and massive. We took a tour, meaning that we didn't have to wait in the enormously long lines. Afterward, we discovered our tickets gave us access to the Palatine Hill next to the Roman Forum. This gave us a rather aerial view of Rome, the Forum, and Coliseum. Also there was the Arch of Titus that commemorates the capture of Jerusalem. We then went to steps that I believe Michelangelo or Raphael made? I will find out exactly who it was. After, was the Pantheon and it was beautiful inside, had the tomb of Raphael, and was in the middle of a plaza. The Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain were definite highlights, and very busy. The Spanish Steps are at the end of a high-end shopping street. The Trevi Fountain is a huge, beautiful wall of sculptures where people could sit and eat. One of the Basilica’s we saw was Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. It was very open and grand inside, and located across a circular road around a fountain and across a nice hotel. The next day, Vatican City was free from 8:45am – 1:45pm, and the Pope was speaking at 10am. We tried to do it all, but were quite shocked when we arrived to a line of thousands of people for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We paid for a tour, and got in to the Museum in about 45 minutes from our arrival. The Museum had a lot of interesting artwork, including an exhibit of Laocoonte which depicts a father fighting off snakes that are killing his sons. It was interesting because it was on a circular platform so we were able to walk all the way around it. There was a very long corridor fully painted that was a particular highlight as well. After this we saw the Sistine Chapel which initially I was not impressed by because I was not very interested in so many separate paintings, until our tour guide explained the stories it told about the creation of Earth and religion. At the end of the tour I wanted to climb to the top of St. Peter’s because it is the highest point in Rome, but we were tight for time and my flatmates did not want to wait in line. We walked through St. Peter’s, it was magnificent, and we saw the statue of Mary holding Jesus after his crucifixion. It began raining when we were taking pictures in front of St. Peter’s, and so it was time to get on the train to Florence.
Florence
We arrived at the Santa Maria Novella "stazione" late at night and in the rain. Luckily, Liz was able to figure out where we had to walk to get to Corona D'italia and we were there soon since it was only 2 blocks away. The hotel was really nice and clean, and the employees spoke English :-) They directed us to a restaurant on the street that was still open that late on a Sunday, and we were happy to finally sit down and eat. Oddly, there was a couple perhaps gypsies fighting on the street hitting each other and yelling. Then, we randomly stopped in a local convenience store for some essentials. I shared a room with Marilyn and Christine overlooking the San Lorenzo Market. That night we all met up in our room and brainstormed on places to spend the next day since we heard that not many places are open in Florence on Mondays. Liz, Marilyn and I decided to go Pisa the next morning, and meet the rest of the group at 2:15pm for a bus tour and wine tasting to a vineyard in Chianti.
Pisa
Liz, Marilyn and I arrived around 10am to Pisa Centrale, and it was a beautiful clear day in a pretty city (although some streets smelled). We bought our tickets and had about a 30 minute wait to walk up the Tower, so we took perspective shots. Liz had random Italian men ask her to take pictures with them and they gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was kind of weird, but I guess the Italians do not think it is out of the ordinary. The climb up the Tower was somewhat nervewrecking because you can feel yourself pulling toward the low side. When we got up to the top we were nervous to let go of the railing but also afraid to go near the railing because it was not very much support near the edge of the Tower. We got over this quickly though as we discovered the view of the beautiful mountains and the city of Pisa in the valley.
Castello Il Palagio and Greve in the Chianti region of Tuscany
Fortunately, we made it back from Pisa in time for the tour bus at 2:15 to Tuscany. We took a bus ride for about 45 minutes through the rolling mountains and hillsides lined with rows of ungrown vineyards. The castle was perched above and amidst the vineyards from which its employees handpick grapes for wine and olives for 100% Italian olive oil. Everything related to their products is done inside the castle, including bottling. We first went down into the basement to see huge barrels of wine each dated and named for its contents. This was followed by a walk through the inside courtyard where wedding receptions are held, a few blue pieces of artwork as preferred by the owner, and a private chapel. There were two levels with rows of arches delicately draped in with rich green plants. After touring the castle and taking pictures in front of the vineyard, we all went in for a wine tasting. There were about 10 tables for 8 people each, with 3 glasses, 2 red wines with salami and bread with olive oil, and 1 white and pecorino cheese. The woman who works at the castle told us how to spin our glass and judge the strength of the wine based on the arches left on the side of the glass. Also, she said to sip the wine through your teeth and let it sit in your mouth a second before swallowing. The point is to taste the wine, there is water for drinking. This was followed by a small, goldish-colored dessert wine and almond biscotti. We then placed orders to bring some home and piled back onto the bus to go to Greve. This was a small hill town nearby that had a huge black iron rooster, the symbol of true Chianti products. There was an original group of Chianti vineyards, and after proving commercially successful other producers moved nearby and began advertising as Chianti products. Thus, the original group was given the legal right to put the black rooster in order to differentiate itself.
Florence
The next day I stayed in Florence and saw the main tourist sites like Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, the Uffizi, outside of the Uffizi was a row of famous peoples' statues like Leonardo DaVinci, and San Lorenzo Market. We then checked out and headed off to Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre (Monterroso, Vernazza, Corniglia?, Manarola?, Riomaggiore)
We had a difficult journey to our hotel in La Spezia because we did not realize it was not within walking distance. I decided to walk into a pizzeria and ask for directions. They spoke very little English and eventually the rest of the group followed in and we tried to communicate. They were extremely nice and called 2 cabs for us at the corner of their restaurant. It was a very long drive up the hill, and without their help we would have likely spent the entire night trying to find out hotel unsuccessfully. The hotel seemed nice when we arrived, it had a large restaurant, living room and breakfast area. Then, I found a little bug in my bed which freaked me out. I decided to just suck it up and hope the best for the following day.
We began by taking the local train up to the northernmost town, Monterroso. We walked down to the Mediterranean and I touched it! We had a lot of fun playing around, and then began our 1.5 hour hike to Vernazza. Later, we realized that we should have visited the actual town of Monterroso but perhaps another time.. The hike was rather difficult and hot, and we were not well prepared for it i.e. Marilyn wore flats and I brought my Coach bag. The views were beautiful though, although the walks upstairs were rough, and we met a man working in his mountainside vineyard and selling his wine. We knew we couldn't carry anything, so we stopped to say hello and catch our breaths before continuing. We only passed 1 couple the entire hike; it was very obvious that it was off-season. Vernazza was a beautiful town, and we stopped there to sightsee and eat. Betsy became ill and so left early, later on we found out that we should have sent someone with her because she almost did not make it back safely to the hotel. She believes it is because she drank some of the water, "Montezuma's Revenge". We then went to Corniglia(?) which was another beautiful town carved into the cliffside. The waves crashed and sparked high, and I wanted to take a video on my camera but moreso wished to conserve my batteries for the rest of the walk. We ended up skipping Manarola(?) and going to Riomaggiore due to one hike being closed and us being tired. It was the smallest of the cities, but we entertained ourselves down the main drag until the train back to La Spezia arrived. That night we all played a game in the hotel, and the next morning I left early to meet Michal in Florence.
Florence
I checked back into Corona D'italia because I couldn't get a hold of Michal, almost immediately after which she called and we decided to meet at the Duomo. Ironically, she was staying on the same street as me with a friend. She had already climbed the Duomo, so we decided to walk to Porta Rossa since I hadn't had a chance to do it earlier. We continued down to Ponte Vecchio, and walked the other side of the river to a high view of the city within the valley. We stopped at Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, which is supposedly a big tourist site, and overlooks the Boboli Gardens. Apparently, my friends and I had gone to the wrong entrance of the Boboli Gardens earlier in the week and it indeed was open. So, I was happy to at least see it from a more aerial view before I left. Michal and I walked back to check in with her friends and make plans for the night. It was nice to go see where students take classes there; her friend had a bellydancing class still though so we left without her until later. We ate at Zaza's early evening because I really wanted to try the ravioli with the mushroom truffle sauce (I had eaten it with the walnut truffle sauce earlier in the week). I also had their Zaza's pudding/custard. It was good, but different and somewhat warm. We went to her friend's flat while they ate dinner and then walked out to Very Good near the Duomo for gelato. Afterward, I came back to get some sleep and get ready for the next day in Venice.
Venice
We left early for Venice, although our train was delayed we still made it there noonish. We ran around to find our hotel quickly because we wanted to make it to San Marco by public boat in time for the 2:30pm tour of the three islands, Murano, Burano, and Torcello. After frantically searching for the boat, we made it on in the last possible minute and took a risk by paying them on the street. Fortunately, they were honest and we took the boat ride to Murano's glassmaking factory, then to Burano which is known for lacemaking and where children played in the square, and then the quite Torcello with only 12 residents. We spent the rest of the night walking around and exploring while trying to find reasonably priced food.
The next day, we woke up early and had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and kept our luggage in the corner of a dark open room for the afternoon. I spent most of the day searching for the perfect mask, which I found to be a pink, white and gold one with a stick and fringe. Unfortunately, it broke in my luggage on the way back, but that is another story. We ran into my flatmates at 12pm in San Marco Square and we all went to lunch at a pizza place. We then walked along the Rialto Bridge back north while shopping and somewhat hoping to end up at the crepe place that Michal and I ate at the night before. I left early since my flight was earlier than Michal's (and my flatmates left the next day), so I ran back to figure out how to take the bus to the airport, etc. It ended up getting me there 2 hours early, and I was the first person. It was a tiny airport, and I know for the future that there is not a great rush to arrive on time. Overall, it was perhaps the best week of my life, and I would give anything to live it again.
Monday, February 19, 2007
February Update Pre-Italy
Since I haven't posted in a few weeks, I would like to update on everything I have done in February so far.
Leicester Square
Natalie, Geoff, Freda and I went exploring through one of the main nightlife centers of London: Leicester Square. Since we went on a Thursday, it was somewhat uneventful and quiet. We went to a place that I can never remember how to pronounce and split a jug 4 ways. It was very tasty, I love girly drinks. :-) We suddenly decided to leave, and out the door Freda ran into a friend from home in California who did not know she was in London. It was extremely random, and reminded us what a small world we live in. After walking around we were hungry and went to Burger King. Fast food chains are surprisingly nice, clean and large here; typically, they are two floors.
Kavanagh's
I finally went to the bar that is literally behind my building. We went just before 10pm so there was no cover, and we got a table for a group of the guys, Michal, and me. We were there for hours singing to American music (killing me softly!), dancing, and laughing at those dancing around us. I love Kavanagh's, it is a great local pub.
Stratford-Upon-Avon
I went on a daytrip to see where Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays. The main center where you buy tickets to get into various buildings around the town is also a museum. It was a great summary of his works, including a miniature Globe Theatre. We went to his birthplace, his daughter and son-in-law's home, where he retired, and the church where he and his family is buried. Their graves are inside the church, including his famous tombstone "Good frend for Jesus' sake forbeare, to digg the dust encloased heare. Bleste be ye man yt (who) spares thes stones, and curst be he yt (who) moves my bones." Perhaps a ploy to not let people know Shakespeare did not exist and the grave is empty...
Warwick Castle
The castle was not far from Stratford-Upon-Avon. We walked the entire perimeter, inside the castle, on the high walkways, and up the towers. The towers were very difficult to walk in and sometimes there was no light at all. However, the view from the top was magnificent. Inside the castle was a "Kingmaker" area where there were wax figures from Madame Tusseaud's (yes, I'm butchering the spelling). There was a funny recording playing in one room with the voice of a little boy about someone being killed, then he would say "Kingmaker" in this creepy whispery voice... we could hear it from the gift shop too, so we heard it about 10 times. Also, the Peacock Gardens and grounds were beautiful. The mill in the river was nice too, and inside there's an explanation on the technological evolution of the mill through time.
Porgy & Bess
Eugene, Natalie and I went to see the famous Gershwin musical "Porgy & Bess". I really only knew "Summertime" before I saw the show, so it was really interesting to actually learn about the full plot and the rest of the music. It was a great performance, but rather sad because it is about an African American community during the Great Depression. Porgy and Bess fall in love, but Bess cannot refuse her old whorish ways, and while he is being held as a witness for a murder he himself committed, she leaves for New York. There is much more to the story, but that is the basic idea.
Camden Market
I finally went to a market! Camden Market is absolutely enormous. It is basically an entire town. I bought a really cute keychain of a bright red phone booth and a shot glass with the Union Jack. We got a little lost as we were wandering through the maze-like buildings, and it was kind of creepy, but we found our way out. There is a ton of Asian food and treats; I bought the freshest sugar doughnuts possible. They came off the rolling oven, he dumped them in sugar, and handed them to me. There is also a lot of clothing and some outlet stores, like Aldo. I definitely want to go back there again, although I would like to see Borough and Portobello Markets, first.
City Tour
My European Capital Markets class had a tour through the City of London. Fortunately, the tour began at the Royal Exchange where I work, and gave me a chance to learn my way around the entire area. We went through all the hidden alleyways to all the biggest banks. There are many places that have changed from their original purpose. For instance, there is an old church that now has lunchtime orchestral music. One large, old bank is now a huge restaurant/pub and has a large TV screen high up on the wall with financial news. Most importantly, we went to Diagon Alley! This is from a scene in Harry Potter, and it is literally a block behind my building. We also went to Lloyd's of London, which is essentially an inside out building. The Gherkin (basically, a large phallic-shaped glass building) was really neat to see, and apparently it is eco-friendly and structured with a bulge to minimize wind on the ground. We saw many other famous banks, but there are too many to list. London has more banks than New York, shocking but true. This is perhaps why it is the largest foreign exchange market, with about $750B daily turnover, as opposed to New York with $460B. I can't wait to begin working there in a few weeks so that I can really get to know more about the area and London as a financial market.
Canary Wharf Tour
In my European Union: Institutions and Enterprise course, we went to Canary Wharf. It is absolutely amazing, perfectly clean, beautiful, and I would love to work there. The only catch is that it is significally further from me than the City, and outside Zone 2 so more expensive. Something that surprised me is that it is less expensive than real estate in the City (perhaps that is why everyone is moving to Canary Wharf - not to mention all the shopping.) It shouldn't be much of a surprise though because the City is famous for its history as a world leading financial district. We started our tour at the Docklands where there are upscale hotels, restaurants, offices, a floating church and a museum. This area is also perfectly clean and nice. We saw an interesting video in the museum about the bombings of the Docklands, and how London recovered the area to what it is today.
Leicester Square
Natalie, Geoff, Freda and I went exploring through one of the main nightlife centers of London: Leicester Square. Since we went on a Thursday, it was somewhat uneventful and quiet. We went to a place that I can never remember how to pronounce and split a jug 4 ways. It was very tasty, I love girly drinks. :-) We suddenly decided to leave, and out the door Freda ran into a friend from home in California who did not know she was in London. It was extremely random, and reminded us what a small world we live in. After walking around we were hungry and went to Burger King. Fast food chains are surprisingly nice, clean and large here; typically, they are two floors.
Kavanagh's
I finally went to the bar that is literally behind my building. We went just before 10pm so there was no cover, and we got a table for a group of the guys, Michal, and me. We were there for hours singing to American music (killing me softly!), dancing, and laughing at those dancing around us. I love Kavanagh's, it is a great local pub.
Stratford-Upon-Avon
I went on a daytrip to see where Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays. The main center where you buy tickets to get into various buildings around the town is also a museum. It was a great summary of his works, including a miniature Globe Theatre. We went to his birthplace, his daughter and son-in-law's home, where he retired, and the church where he and his family is buried. Their graves are inside the church, including his famous tombstone "Good frend for Jesus' sake forbeare, to digg the dust encloased heare. Bleste be ye man yt (who) spares thes stones, and curst be he yt (who) moves my bones." Perhaps a ploy to not let people know Shakespeare did not exist and the grave is empty...
Warwick Castle
The castle was not far from Stratford-Upon-Avon. We walked the entire perimeter, inside the castle, on the high walkways, and up the towers. The towers were very difficult to walk in and sometimes there was no light at all. However, the view from the top was magnificent. Inside the castle was a "Kingmaker" area where there were wax figures from Madame Tusseaud's (yes, I'm butchering the spelling). There was a funny recording playing in one room with the voice of a little boy about someone being killed, then he would say "Kingmaker" in this creepy whispery voice... we could hear it from the gift shop too, so we heard it about 10 times. Also, the Peacock Gardens and grounds were beautiful. The mill in the river was nice too, and inside there's an explanation on the technological evolution of the mill through time.
Porgy & Bess
Eugene, Natalie and I went to see the famous Gershwin musical "Porgy & Bess". I really only knew "Summertime" before I saw the show, so it was really interesting to actually learn about the full plot and the rest of the music. It was a great performance, but rather sad because it is about an African American community during the Great Depression. Porgy and Bess fall in love, but Bess cannot refuse her old whorish ways, and while he is being held as a witness for a murder he himself committed, she leaves for New York. There is much more to the story, but that is the basic idea.
Camden Market
I finally went to a market! Camden Market is absolutely enormous. It is basically an entire town. I bought a really cute keychain of a bright red phone booth and a shot glass with the Union Jack. We got a little lost as we were wandering through the maze-like buildings, and it was kind of creepy, but we found our way out. There is a ton of Asian food and treats; I bought the freshest sugar doughnuts possible. They came off the rolling oven, he dumped them in sugar, and handed them to me. There is also a lot of clothing and some outlet stores, like Aldo. I definitely want to go back there again, although I would like to see Borough and Portobello Markets, first.
City Tour
My European Capital Markets class had a tour through the City of London. Fortunately, the tour began at the Royal Exchange where I work, and gave me a chance to learn my way around the entire area. We went through all the hidden alleyways to all the biggest banks. There are many places that have changed from their original purpose. For instance, there is an old church that now has lunchtime orchestral music. One large, old bank is now a huge restaurant/pub and has a large TV screen high up on the wall with financial news. Most importantly, we went to Diagon Alley! This is from a scene in Harry Potter, and it is literally a block behind my building. We also went to Lloyd's of London, which is essentially an inside out building. The Gherkin (basically, a large phallic-shaped glass building) was really neat to see, and apparently it is eco-friendly and structured with a bulge to minimize wind on the ground. We saw many other famous banks, but there are too many to list. London has more banks than New York, shocking but true. This is perhaps why it is the largest foreign exchange market, with about $750B daily turnover, as opposed to New York with $460B. I can't wait to begin working there in a few weeks so that I can really get to know more about the area and London as a financial market.
Canary Wharf Tour
In my European Union: Institutions and Enterprise course, we went to Canary Wharf. It is absolutely amazing, perfectly clean, beautiful, and I would love to work there. The only catch is that it is significally further from me than the City, and outside Zone 2 so more expensive. Something that surprised me is that it is less expensive than real estate in the City (perhaps that is why everyone is moving to Canary Wharf - not to mention all the shopping.) It shouldn't be much of a surprise though because the City is famous for its history as a world leading financial district. We started our tour at the Docklands where there are upscale hotels, restaurants, offices, a floating church and a museum. This area is also perfectly clean and nice. We saw an interesting video in the museum about the bombings of the Docklands, and how London recovered the area to what it is today.
Charlotte Church (and Gwen Stefani!)
Tonight I went to Charlotte Church's TV Show at the BBC. It was amazing to finally see my operatic idol live for so many hours, and also to see Gwen Stefani as a guest. Although it was great to finally see Charlotte Church, it was a great example of British inefficiencies. It seemed that she didn't really know what was going on for much of the show. We had to watch the theme song twice, the band McFly twice, and her repeat her lines multiple times (granted, she didn't always have the teleprompter). Overall, it was a great experience and I don't really have any complaints about watching these extremely talented people repeat their performances (for free!). My flatmate, Christine, and I were lucky to get the seats we did. We were in the first row and to the right in the regular seat section, which is directly across from where they had the guest interviews. The people running the show were a lot of fun, and kept us thoroughly entertained during breaks. It was also really interesting because topics on the show are very crude and controversial, not to mention all the swearing. F- this, F- that, the Queen's "bush", and Harry Potter's "magic wand with a lightning streak". (For those of you who don't understand the last comment, Daniel Radcliffe is naked in a freaky horse-sex-loving play called Equus.) They also sent one man's wife to Brazil without him knowing, and he found out on the show. Gwen Stefani looked more perfect than I have ever seen a human being. Every last detail of her look had been addressed, although I must say she looked rather frumpy. Christine preferred to call her "reserved"; perhaps she's getting older, especially considering she is married and has a baby. Anyway, a huge goal of mine has been achieved: I have seen Charlotte Church. It may not have been in the opera-singing fashion I had hoped, but perhaps it was best for me to see that she is not quite the little angel she once was...
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
State Street
Today I left class early for my interview at State Street about interning this semester. This past summer a manager in the office extended me an offer; however, I went today in order to find out exactly the position entails. The human resources staff was very nice, and to my great surprise there were many managers from the Boston office there on a retreat. The human resources employee and I searched for a few people who I knew, and then on the way out the door I saw them entering the building. We spent some time catching up, discussing London and internship programs, eating lunch, etc. It was great to see a piece of home that hadn't traveled through the program with me. I'm feeling very optimistic about my role at State Street in London, and Boston.
Royal Exchange & Bank of England
Yesterday after class, Eugene and I ate at a small cafe near the South Kensington tube stop. Then, we went to the old banking district, pre-Canary Wharf. After some searching, we found the State Street offices in the Royal Exchange so that I would know where to go for my interview. The central area of this building is a large open area lined with high-end jewelers i.e. Cartier, Tiffany's, Bvlgari, Omega, etc. and the center is full of tables around a large circular bar. It is a very "posh" area, and everyone's in their suits appearing to discuss important business matters (or at least we decided it was more fun to make this assumption).
After the Royal Exchange, we took the audio tour at the Bank of England. Much of the bank was preserved in historic condition, although it has been expanded upon and rebuilt multiple times in the past. The most interesting or notable piece of history that I learned at the Bank, is that George Washington held money there that he paid taxes on, thus funding his direct opponent during wartime. An order that he wrote to have dividends released for his wife is on display, among other important figures' letters to the Bank. It was really neat to be in the old banking district because all of the buildings are at least a few hundred years old. I say "at least" because some were rebuilt in their original form and locations after fires.
Afterward, we walked to the Royal Bank of Scotland where Eugene will be working. It will be nice to know someone nearby.
After the Royal Exchange, we took the audio tour at the Bank of England. Much of the bank was preserved in historic condition, although it has been expanded upon and rebuilt multiple times in the past. The most interesting or notable piece of history that I learned at the Bank, is that George Washington held money there that he paid taxes on, thus funding his direct opponent during wartime. An order that he wrote to have dividends released for his wife is on display, among other important figures' letters to the Bank. It was really neat to be in the old banking district because all of the buildings are at least a few hundred years old. I say "at least" because some were rebuilt in their original form and locations after fires.
Afterward, we walked to the Royal Bank of Scotland where Eugene will be working. It will be nice to know someone nearby.
Bath & Avebury
This past Saturday, I went to the countryside towns of Avebury & Bath. Avebury is very small, and likely very similar to how it appeared for the last few hundred years. Its claim to fame is that it is amongst a large ring of stones similar to Stonehenge, which is nearby. The stones act as a calendar, and were dragged from 10 miles away with "sheer brute force" to their current locations. For lunch, I tried an English stew in the local pub and it was pretty good. My favorite part about Avebury was that it was so quiet, old, and absolutely beautiful. The English countryside is not a sight to miss; it is truly remarkable in the simplicity of its sheep-spotted, rolling green hills.
We then drove to Bath, where the ruins of a Roman bath still stands from when the Romans first adopted England as part of its empire. This was essentially a recreational center, and strategic way of immersing the English with the Roman culture. The Romans believed the baths they discovered had religious significance, due to a lack of knowledge about hot springs. As a result, they would write curses (mostly against theives) on small rolls of paper and then throw them into the hot spring to be answered by the Gods. Some of these rolls of paper lasted through time, and are still on exhibit in the museum that now surrounds and completes the ruins.
After visiting the baths, a small group of us walked to the top of the town to view its famed architectural feat, which is a very large building on a hill overlooking the town nestled in a hill. On the walk to the top of the town, we passed through a collection of buildings referred to as a "circus" (I'm not positive of the formal name), and it is four curved buildings that face a central grassy area with large trees. The streets in Bath are bustling with tourists, and are full of shops and cafes.
We then drove to Bath, where the ruins of a Roman bath still stands from when the Romans first adopted England as part of its empire. This was essentially a recreational center, and strategic way of immersing the English with the Roman culture. The Romans believed the baths they discovered had religious significance, due to a lack of knowledge about hot springs. As a result, they would write curses (mostly against theives) on small rolls of paper and then throw them into the hot spring to be answered by the Gods. Some of these rolls of paper lasted through time, and are still on exhibit in the museum that now surrounds and completes the ruins.
After visiting the baths, a small group of us walked to the top of the town to view its famed architectural feat, which is a very large building on a hill overlooking the town nestled in a hill. On the walk to the top of the town, we passed through a collection of buildings referred to as a "circus" (I'm not positive of the formal name), and it is four curved buildings that face a central grassy area with large trees. The streets in Bath are bustling with tourists, and are full of shops and cafes.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Class, Kavanagh's & Buckingham Palace
This week has been calmer than last week. The coursework picked up a bit, the weather's been cold and rainy, and I've had a weird migraine for 3 days now.
Last night, I went to Kavanagh's with my flatmates for a few hours. It was a really great place, live American music, dancing, free before 10pm, almost no smoke, plenty of tables, and quite literally around the corner.
This morning I went to Buckingham Palace with Liz, Marilyn and Christine. We saw the procession and some parts of the changing of the guard. Unfortunately, we got there too late to get a good view, so we decided to leave early.
We met up with Michal and Betsy at STA Travel at Imperial College to book our airfare to Italy. I'm so excited that our airfare is finalized. :-) Now, we have to book hotels, and over the next few weeks we can plan what sites to visit. Lindsey was nice enough to give me a detailed guide of places to visit and logistical tips about Rome, Florence and Venice. Also, I referred to her blog for more information on other places. It is definitely very helpful to know someone who has already been to Italy.
Last night, I went to Kavanagh's with my flatmates for a few hours. It was a really great place, live American music, dancing, free before 10pm, almost no smoke, plenty of tables, and quite literally around the corner.
This morning I went to Buckingham Palace with Liz, Marilyn and Christine. We saw the procession and some parts of the changing of the guard. Unfortunately, we got there too late to get a good view, so we decided to leave early.
We met up with Michal and Betsy at STA Travel at Imperial College to book our airfare to Italy. I'm so excited that our airfare is finalized. :-) Now, we have to book hotels, and over the next few weeks we can plan what sites to visit. Lindsey was nice enough to give me a detailed guide of places to visit and logistical tips about Rome, Florence and Venice. Also, I referred to her blog for more information on other places. It is definitely very helpful to know someone who has already been to Italy.
Monday, January 22, 2007
European Capital Markets & Kensington Palace
Today was my first European Capital Markets Class, and I like my professor a lot. He admits that the class will be difficult, yet feasible. Also, he is very alert and animated, and this helps to make the class go faster. I have a ton of reading, and I'm having trouble finding time to do it.
After class, Eugene and I walked along the street of embassies to Diana's Cafe along Hyde Park. It was weird to see so many photos of her on the walls, especially because I have never known anyone who knew her. After lunch, we went to Kensington Palace where Queens Victoria, Margaret and Princess Diana lived. Queen Margaret kept one large section of the palace very plain and simple. However, the "King's and Queen's" sections of the palace were elaborately decorated. My favorite part was the beautiful gallery of Princess Diana's photographs taken by Mario Tostani, when she dressed in evening gowns and sat on a white couch in a white room. He explains in the audio tour that he encouraged her to be carefree and happy, and chat with him as if he was the only person who would ever see her in this moment. The result was a very honest and intimate depiction of Princess Diana, as if you were sitting there next to her. It was also great to see the display of her dresses.
Afterward, my flatmates sang Happy Birthday to my flatmate's boyfriend for his 21st birthday. Also, we are in the process of setting up spring break and travel plans.
Weekend Trips & Fun
On Friday, Natalie and I went to the Orange store to fix my phone and shopped down High Kensington Street. We finally ate at Wagamamas where I've been wanting to go. It was pretty good, although it has a weird atmosphere i.e. no music, long tables that you share with other people. Overall, it was a lot of fun and afterward we split up for a few hours. Later, Natalie and Desphina came over to relax and watch movies. We watched Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels which was really good and similar to Boondock Saints. It was a good way to end the busy week, and begin the busy weekend.
On Saturday, I went to Windsor Castle and Eton College. It was great to meet some new people, and re-meet old acquaintances. This is the castle where the Queen spends her weekends (and supposedly she was there this weekend), and it is absolutely amazing. Everything is perfectly ornate, even after a horrible fire in 1992 that destroyed a significant part of the building. It was really cool to know that this castle is still in use by the Queen for events. Down the main street and across the bridge is Eton College. This is the high school where the Princes went, and it costs 22,000 pounds per year (over $40,000). The coolest part is that they were penguin-looking suits with coattails and top hats (I actually saw some of them in the street and in a local sport shop!) After the day trip, I went to O'Neill's pub nearby with my flatmates. It was a relatively older crowd, but we had a good time. Unfortunately, my cell phone wasn't getting good reception and some of my friends tried to come but couldn't find the building.
On Sunday, I took the bus tour of London and toured the Tower of London. The Tower is in the square-mile City of London that was founded by the Romans 1,000 years ago. Most parts of the buildings still appear as they did when they were originally built; however, the moat has since been drained. The main highlights were the White Tower and Bloody Tower. The White Tower sits in the middle of the complex and stands tallest; it is where a King lived, arms were stored, etc. The Bloody Tower got its name after two young princes "disappeared" after being held in the tower. Many years later their bones were discovered hidden in the tower. There is uncertainty as to who did this, or who ordered others to commit these murders. I also walked along the Tower Bridge, and it was a beautiful bridge and a great view.
On Saturday, I went to Windsor Castle and Eton College. It was great to meet some new people, and re-meet old acquaintances. This is the castle where the Queen spends her weekends (and supposedly she was there this weekend), and it is absolutely amazing. Everything is perfectly ornate, even after a horrible fire in 1992 that destroyed a significant part of the building. It was really cool to know that this castle is still in use by the Queen for events. Down the main street and across the bridge is Eton College. This is the high school where the Princes went, and it costs 22,000 pounds per year (over $40,000). The coolest part is that they were penguin-looking suits with coattails and top hats (I actually saw some of them in the street and in a local sport shop!) After the day trip, I went to O'Neill's pub nearby with my flatmates. It was a relatively older crowd, but we had a good time. Unfortunately, my cell phone wasn't getting good reception and some of my friends tried to come but couldn't find the building.
On Sunday, I took the bus tour of London and toured the Tower of London. The Tower is in the square-mile City of London that was founded by the Romans 1,000 years ago. Most parts of the buildings still appear as they did when they were originally built; however, the moat has since been drained. The main highlights were the White Tower and Bloody Tower. The White Tower sits in the middle of the complex and stands tallest; it is where a King lived, arms were stored, etc. The Bloody Tower got its name after two young princes "disappeared" after being held in the tower. Many years later their bones were discovered hidden in the tower. There is uncertainty as to who did this, or who ordered others to commit these murders. I also walked along the Tower Bridge, and it was a beautiful bridge and a great view.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
First Day of Classes, Bunker Bar
My first class today was European Union: Institutions and Enterprises at 9am-1pm. It's 15 minutes away from my flat, so I left pretty early. Also, I haven't been sleeping well here, so I woke up at 4:50am before class. The professor is nice and from Edinburgh, Scotland; he is a bit quiet so hopefully he will become louder as he gets to know us. I put myself in a team of people who I don't know very well because I think this will be better than working with people who I already know well. After class it was so extremely windy outside that it literally blew me around, made me unable to breath at times, and obstructed the track on some areas of the tube. It also blew down the wooden fence along the corner of my street, so police had to come tape the area off and put up a temporary fence. I bought my books, and then realized that I forgot them at the bookstore. I was extremely worried, but was lucky to find that they had not moved from where I left them.
Later that night, I went to Bunker bar with everyone from the program, including a director. It included two "free" drinks and then my RA nicely gave me an extra voucher. Anyway, it was great to see so many people, and we met one British/New Zealand guy. I didn't believe his whole spiel about being a 28 year old lawyer, more like a 22 year old super senior. Afterward, some of us went back to South Kensington so that we wouldn't risk missing public transportation (we don't know the night bus well yet). We went to Cavanagh's, which apparently is on my corner, but there was a cover charge and a long line so most of us went home. Tomorrow there is no class, so I will try to sleep well for tomorrow afternoon and night.
Later that night, I went to Bunker bar with everyone from the program, including a director. It included two "free" drinks and then my RA nicely gave me an extra voucher. Anyway, it was great to see so many people, and we met one British/New Zealand guy. I didn't believe his whole spiel about being a 28 year old lawyer, more like a 22 year old super senior. Afterward, some of us went back to South Kensington so that we wouldn't risk missing public transportation (we don't know the night bus well yet). We went to Cavanagh's, which apparently is on my corner, but there was a cover charge and a long line so most of us went home. Tomorrow there is no class, so I will try to sleep well for tomorrow afternoon and night.
Being Noticed
During one of the first days of lectures, program director Robert Cummings made us aware that as citizens of the greatest country in the world we cannot go anywhere without being immediately noticed. Great Britain once had this privilege, or burden as it may be, when they were the greatest nation. Now, he says he can go anywhere and no one notices him at all. However, he remembers one important lesson that the British learned from their time of "being noticed", and that is to be worth being noticed. Tonight, my peers and I were extremely loud, obnoxious Americans on the London underground (tube). This is a quiet place for London, and we disturbed the peace after a loud night at Bunker bar. Halfway through our loud ramblings, two of us realized that we should all be quiet. Unfortunately, most were too drunk to take this seriously. To make matters worse, one student decided to proclaim that he hates America. After my friend covered his mouth to shut him up, I corrected his statement as directed toward the administration. To this he responded, "Bring back Clinton!" Needless to say, we were greatly relieved when we arrived to our tube stop shortly after. It was an embarassing night, and I'm afraid that we have greatly abused our privilege of being noticed. It was a hard lesson, some of were fortunate enough to learn it early, and I will never take part in it again.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
3 Days in London
On Saturday evening, I left from JFK with over 100 students in the group flight to Heathrow in London. It was great to meet new people and catch up with older friends, although the plane ride was rough at times. When we got off the plane we were sent to a line of a few hundred people at customs, and were soon told that as a travel group we may cut the line. So, I got through customs in under 30 minutes. :-) On the plane, I met a girl named Michal who lives next door to my flat, so we shared a cab and it was my first left-side-of-the-road experience.
The area is really nice here, there are beautifully restored buildings, and I have a single with a terrace (that I'm not allowed to use unfortunately). After settling in, I learned that my phone order didn't go through, my Oyster card wasn't accepted (meaning roundtrip tube costs $16), my adapter was European and not English, and my wireless could not be activated until the next day and I didn't bring an Ethernet cable. This has meant lots of errands for me over the past few days, but now almost everything is done except for the Oyster card.
Also, I have learned some lessons the embarassing way. For instance, when a deli asks you "Would you like salad?" They mean: "Would you like lettuce, tomato and cucumber on your sandwich?" Speaking of food, there are few similarities between here and the US. I have to buy food frequently because it goes bad in about 2-3 days. Also, almost all of the brands are different. However, Kellogg's is here but with different types of cereal (except for Frosties a.k.a. Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies).
Over the past three days, I have learned an enormous amount of information about London and I will try to remember some highlights now. The first day, we went on a tour of the local area and discovered the various stores, museums and important sites. Surprisingly, there is a Claire's here (the jewelry store). I can't think of another store that I have seen yet that is also in the US. Tesco Express is similar to 7-11 or WaWa. Waitrose and Sainesbury's are the grocery stores. There is also a catalog-based store called Argo's where you walk into a store of catalogs on high desks, you search and write down the desired product on a card, pay for the product, then wait in line for them to retrieve it from the back. I also learned that we live in a nice neighborhood with many young families and private schoolchildren.
The second day, we went on a boat tour down the Thames River (pronounced Temz). Here are some interesting highlights. The weird thing about London is that there are extremely old and new buildings right next to each other, this is somewhat related to wars. For instance, Canary Wharf is the first place that they decided to rebuild after a war, and thus is how it became such a nice financial area of London. Also, they built a bridge and the London Eye in celebration of the millennium. One of the reasons why the wealthy live west and the poor east is because the wind blows east. England is currently in a drought, and it would take 3 weeks of torrential rain to bring them back to a normal state. They do not get snow, and they get very little rain, it is just frequently overcast and there is a slight drizzle. Actually, for the first two days I had clear skies. London was founded by Julius Caesar and is actually very tiny, it is the City of Westminster that has gradually grown closer to London that most refer to as London. This contributes to the many boroughs that make it so that London has multiple theatre districts, shopping districts, etc.
The second night, they dropped us off downtown and a group of us walked to an italian restaurant. We also passed a really nice McDonald's with a bar, and a Pizza Hut. We then walked to Trafalgar Square (a general center for celebration, etc.) and Big Ben. We took the tube back only 4 stops costing $8 (without my Oyster card). We stopped in a local pub, but didn't stay late because the third day began early with orientation.
The third day began around 9am with orientation and a lecture about the political and economic history/current state of England and the European Union. The tutor (not 'professor' here) spoke about the British Empire's victories and defeats, and why it is resistant to uniting with Europe. They simply cannot decide where they stand, particularly with the US. After lecture, I walked around Hyde Park with some friends, grocery shopped and came back to rest for the night. Tomorrow begins again with 915am lectures until 4pm.
The area is really nice here, there are beautifully restored buildings, and I have a single with a terrace (that I'm not allowed to use unfortunately). After settling in, I learned that my phone order didn't go through, my Oyster card wasn't accepted (meaning roundtrip tube costs $16), my adapter was European and not English, and my wireless could not be activated until the next day and I didn't bring an Ethernet cable. This has meant lots of errands for me over the past few days, but now almost everything is done except for the Oyster card.
Also, I have learned some lessons the embarassing way. For instance, when a deli asks you "Would you like salad?" They mean: "Would you like lettuce, tomato and cucumber on your sandwich?" Speaking of food, there are few similarities between here and the US. I have to buy food frequently because it goes bad in about 2-3 days. Also, almost all of the brands are different. However, Kellogg's is here but with different types of cereal (except for Frosties a.k.a. Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies).
Over the past three days, I have learned an enormous amount of information about London and I will try to remember some highlights now. The first day, we went on a tour of the local area and discovered the various stores, museums and important sites. Surprisingly, there is a Claire's here (the jewelry store). I can't think of another store that I have seen yet that is also in the US. Tesco Express is similar to 7-11 or WaWa. Waitrose and Sainesbury's are the grocery stores. There is also a catalog-based store called Argo's where you walk into a store of catalogs on high desks, you search and write down the desired product on a card, pay for the product, then wait in line for them to retrieve it from the back. I also learned that we live in a nice neighborhood with many young families and private schoolchildren.
The second day, we went on a boat tour down the Thames River (pronounced Temz). Here are some interesting highlights. The weird thing about London is that there are extremely old and new buildings right next to each other, this is somewhat related to wars. For instance, Canary Wharf is the first place that they decided to rebuild after a war, and thus is how it became such a nice financial area of London. Also, they built a bridge and the London Eye in celebration of the millennium. One of the reasons why the wealthy live west and the poor east is because the wind blows east. England is currently in a drought, and it would take 3 weeks of torrential rain to bring them back to a normal state. They do not get snow, and they get very little rain, it is just frequently overcast and there is a slight drizzle. Actually, for the first two days I had clear skies. London was founded by Julius Caesar and is actually very tiny, it is the City of Westminster that has gradually grown closer to London that most refer to as London. This contributes to the many boroughs that make it so that London has multiple theatre districts, shopping districts, etc.
The second night, they dropped us off downtown and a group of us walked to an italian restaurant. We also passed a really nice McDonald's with a bar, and a Pizza Hut. We then walked to Trafalgar Square (a general center for celebration, etc.) and Big Ben. We took the tube back only 4 stops costing $8 (without my Oyster card). We stopped in a local pub, but didn't stay late because the third day began early with orientation.
The third day began around 9am with orientation and a lecture about the political and economic history/current state of England and the European Union. The tutor (not 'professor' here) spoke about the British Empire's victories and defeats, and why it is resistant to uniting with Europe. They simply cannot decide where they stand, particularly with the US. After lecture, I walked around Hyde Park with some friends, grocery shopped and came back to rest for the night. Tomorrow begins again with 915am lectures until 4pm.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Getting Ready
Tomorrow I will be leaving for London, just wanted to set this up beforehand. I will try to update this frequently throughout the semester. :-)
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