DA JETLAG

      It's been two days at home now and I am still so jetlagged! It's 8:30 at night and I am exhausted! But it has been nice to see family and be in easy contact with friends again! This weekend I got to see Uncle Larry (and gave him his hot air balloon from scripthum!) and Uncle D, two of my very favorite people. We decided to celebrate Halloween late and all our decorations are out, complete with half price Halloween candy. I love having my dogs and cats around me! Wesly in particular cannot get enough love, though the dogs have seemed extra attentive as well. My own bed is so comfortable! Chick-fil-a is so delicious!
     

           I have also created several delicious meals. Who knows what other skills I'll acquire in this long period at home!

Ah, London

       It was hard to bid farewell to Europe, but it made it a little easier to know that we still had an afternoon and evening in my favorite international city, London! We Eurostarred back at 11, again with very smooth transportation, and got everything safely back to our hotel above Fuller's pub. How long it felt since we'd been there just a few days before! We happily partook of their fish and chips once more before mama and I set out on our adventures around town. First stop was the Courtauld Insitute of Art again, because mama was wanting to see it! They were putting an ice rink up in the courtyard of the Somerset House which was fun to see, and we went in the shop and looked around. It is a lovely place and I have to say that I did enjoy seeing it one last time before we came home--you never know, right? It will be time to apply there only one year from now!

View up the Thames from near the Temple Tube stop (right near the Courtauld!) 

        We then decided to make the long trip back to St Pancras Station stop to visit the British Library, which has a collection of illuminated manuscripts as well as hand-written Beatles lyrics! That was a real trip to see. They had "Michelle" "Hard Day's Night" "Yesterday" "Ticket to Ride" as well as two unfinished songs in George and John's handwriting. The manuscripts and Tudor documents were also wonderful, though Sally was right that the English manuscripts were a bit pushed aside to make room for other cultures' stuff, particularly Eastern manuscripts, which I found a little irritating. Marginalizing their own local heritage for the sake of political correctness did not enhance the exhibit. But there were still many wonders to see!
         Hurrying through rush-hour Tubes, we made it back to Westminster just in time to pick up Daddy and set out again for Leicester Square. The night before we had last minute booked tickets to see the musical Once on the West End. It is the most award-winning show of the year and based on a 2007 film that Daddy in particular enjoyed, so we thought it was a perfect choice! The Phoenix Theatre is very intimate, and the stage itself was set up as a Dublin bar that literally became a bar for the audience before the show and during intermission, which was a lot of fun. Our seats were in Row B so we were nice and close, though the theatre was so small I don't think there was a bad seat. The performers and staging were wonderful--with minimal props and set changes they really brought the story to life. Most of the actors stayed on the stage the whole time! At the end it was a well-deserved standing ovation.
        On Leicester Square there was a slightly dodgy Halloween Party going on, and the costume of the year seemed to be to wear your normal clothes and just paint your face white--who knows why.
       With my suitcase thoroughly taped up to survive the trip home and everything stowed away, we were ready to board the plane in the morning. It was hard to go--certainly a bittersweet departure. But it felt like time to go home. As I said goodbye in my heart to Europe, I knew I'd be back.

p.s. on the plane on the way home I got a whole row to myself!

Real Last Day on the Continent!

        The last day before we took the Eurostar back to England was spent in Paris! We woke early and had a traditional French breakfast at a nearby Boulangerie (I actually had a chocolate tarte) on the way to Notre Dame. This time when I went in, Mass was not going on, so it was much less crowded and I could walk down the nave itself. It was beautiful. The light was shining in the windows and creating colored, glowing reflections on the stone floor of the chancel.

           We walked along the Left Bank, enjoying the ambience of the Latin Quarter and seeing some famous sights, like Shakespeare and Company (Hemingway's Paris address and a very nice English bookshop), the Sorbonne, the Cluny Museum, and the Pantheon. Also randomly, a French comic book store!

          Our goal was the Luxembourg gardens, which feel very intimate and French, not totally invaded by the gypsy/tourist combination which frequents many other parts of Paris. It was the best weather of the trip that day, and families were sailing little boats in the pool in the center of the park. Much like the gardens of Versailles, the garden is very carefully landscaped with shaped hedges, walkways, and vases filled with different colored flowers. It was absolutely beautiful!

      For lunch, we returned to Le Relais d'Entrecote, the steak-frites place I went with European Studies. Though I had a slightly awkward French encounter with our tablemates, our waitress was so friendly and efficient and the food was (once again) magnificent! We all had two helpings.

       Then we made our fateful mistake of the day: we decided to go to Sacre Ceour. It took forever to get there by metro and then we were met with about a million stairs before we even got near montmartre itself. Though it was a beautiful area in many ways, it honestly felt so fakey and transformed by the tourist presence that it was basically ruined for us. No charm left, really, except in a short little walk up the side of the hill to the church (we well avoided those main stairs and took the more gradual route).

      That night, nursing our sore feet, we drank the Normandy cider we'd purchased the day before and packed, leaving the room only briefly to be "creped" by a very rude crepe seller down the street... ah well! Overall it was a truly wonderful last day!

Bayeux

       I must admit that my mom seemed a little bemused when I told her that when we were in France I really wanted to go to Bayeux and see the Bayeux Tapestry (it's an embroidery, really), but she booked the tickets and made the plans because she's so sweet. I think we were all pleasantly surprised at what a wonderful day it was! Certainly a highlight for me, maybe my favorite thing of this portion along with Stratford.
      The transportation was very smooth unlike when we went to Versailles, and though the train ride was pretty long (about two hours and twenty minutes) it passed peacefully. It rained along the way, and we saw several beautiful rainbows! As we walked into town from the station, one greeted us from over the cathedral itself, which was breathtaking. What a tower!

The clouds look so different in these but it was like a five minute lapse!

       Our first mission was lunch. We had two options, a fancy one and a casual one, and today we opted for the casual one. It ended up being very fun! Daddy and I had pasta dishes and mama had chicken, which we accompanied with a local, hard Normandy cider! It was bright pink and tasted just like kool-aid!
       Then on to the Tapestry (embroidery)! The woman at the museum desk told me I spoke French very well, which made me feel so happy I almost floated off the floor--how generous of her, as my French is struggling at best. But I did get by! They gave us very nice audio guides that told the story of the Norman Conquest as you walked along the Tapestry. It feels endless in how long it is, stretching down the room and around a corner. The colors and pictures are so vivid and alive. I am particularly interested in the margins, so took lots of pictures of them! Once the narration was finished, we went back and studied each segment in more detail.

        There was a little exhibit attached with a reproduction of a viking ship, models, and an explanation of how the embroidery was made, which I really liked. They also had the most wonderful video! I thought I'd post one to go with this entry, though this is not the one we saw the museum. Also there was a great gift shop and I got a poster :)

      After we finished in the exhibit it was a deluge outside! We raced up for sanctuary at the cathedral. Inside it was a typical melange of Romanesque and Gothic but I particularly liked this one, especially the linear patterning along the Romanesque arches of the nave and the tower. The linear designs in this part of Normandy are very similar to those in Durham, reflecting the relationship between England and this part of France (another result of the Norman Conquest, like the Bayeux Tapestry!) Daddy was particularly interested that a man was created a 3D image of the cathedral's interior while we were there.

       During our last few hours in Bayeux, we took some time to explore the town itself. It was quaint and very charming, with rows of shops along cobbled streets. We went into a epicerie where I helped my parents buy some cider and the on to have tea in a very cute little tea shop!

      By the time we made it back to Paris it was late and we were pretty worn out, so we just grabbed some chicken kabob from a turkish place right down the street, but they were tasty!

We meet again, Paris

     The day after Versailles we had a well-deserved lie-in after several days of travel and early mornings. We breakfasted at Breakfast in America where I had another Obama instead of normal food... I couldn't help it!
      That day was our Batobus day! After my wonderful experience the first time, I couldn't wait to take my parents onboard to see Paris from the Seine. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time riding along. We got off at the Eiffel Tower stop for some pictures and then made the long walk to the Arc de Triomph. Then back on the Batobus! We got off briefly at Saint-Germain but then made the last circuit at 7 to watch the city light up and even got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle!

       That night, mama and I walked a short distance for a wonderful dinner at the Fourmee Aille (the winged ant). We had a short wait to get in, but it was worth it! The decor was adorable and the food was delicious! We got a little caraffe of wine to share and just had a really great time!

      I had a hearty beef stew with gnocchi while mama got the veal with rice. Both were so wonderful we couldn't pick a favorite! 

Versailles!

        The day after our play was a train-day, as we travelled back to London from Stratford-upon-Avon and then on to Paris via the Eurostar. There was a very charming Frenchman in our fourth seat around the bench, sporting a fashionable scarf and an adorable family across the aisle. Our first experience on the metro was fairly hectic as one of my tickets didn't work! But we made it finally to the Cardinal-Lemoine stop where our hotel, the Hotel Familia, was. We were on the 6th floor with a FANTASTIC view of Notre Dame! The Latin Quarter is a really fun and vibrant area to stay, and very near to the Marais (just across the River) where I stayed only a month before with the group.

       The next morning--very early--we began our trek out to Versailles to tour the chateau and gardens. Or at least, that's what we thought would happen. Just as we got on the RER train to go out there, a uniformed woman came onboard: "Get off!...please." So we were all marched off and sent to the larger, much more complicated metro route with no explanation. This meant we missed our 9:30 guided tour and greeted Versailles with long faces and hard rain. But no worries--we had a wonderful breakfast at Helio's Pub down the street and by the time we were done, the rain had stopped! We toured the vast gardens for most of the day and waited until just before closing to go inside the Chateau itself. My favorite thing was Marie Antoinette's artificial but oh-so-charming Hameau, a tiny Disneyworld like village where she kept her farm. The fall weather was glorious! (if a little windy...brr!) We took a break at a little cafe for hot chocolate and macaroons then took the petit train back up to the chateau for walk through which was crowded but fun!

         That night after fighting the ticket-buying machines at the station and making our return journey to Paris, mama and I had dinner at Breakfast in America. Yes, I know what you're thinking. Why eat American food while in Paris? Well I had been in Europe for 11 weeks but then by golly, I wanted a cheeseburger! It was fabulous. Also they had a peanut butter shake they called the Obama (haha) which was pure heaven.

Sad Stories of the Death of Kings

     

       The day had arrived--we were going to Stratford-upon-Avon to see Richard II with DAVID TENNANT, the only true Doctor Who and one of my favorite actors! Before the semester began I had read the play and watched several other versions including the masterful Ben Wishaw one (the Hollow Crown--you can watch it on YouTube) so I was really ready to get into the Shakespeare, not just stare open-mouthed at David leaping around on the stage.

       After a really nice breakfast in Fullers and a fairly hectic departure, we boarded the Tube with our belongings and made our way to Marylebone Station to catch the train to Stratford. It was a good length train trip passing through English countryside (lots of sheep). Once we got there, my eyes were peeled all day hoping to catch sight of the Doctor or maybe just the TARDIS parked somewhere, but our inn owner let us know that he has to stay out of town mostly to avoid being mobbed ("poor man") 

      Our bed and breakfast was on Grove Road, very near the town center and convenient for sightseeing and play-attending. It's called the Adelphi Inn and I actually had helped pick it out months ago, and it was absolutely adorable! It was run by a charming older couple and the wife made delicious homemade gingerbread, which she served while telling us about the town. She and her husband have gone to all the Royal Shakespeare Company productions and have seen all the greats including David Tennant when he was Hamlet in 2008, Judy Dench, and Patrick Stuart. Our room was on the very top floor and the decor was lovely!

        In the afternoon we ventured out to explore the town, which was wonderful. When we went to Canterbury years ago it was very touristy and had lost most of its charm, but Stratford was nothing like that. It still feels very authentic, embracing its Shakespeare heritage while still remaining a vibrant, real-life English town. Mama and I took a super fun two hour walking tour with a Welsh transplant named Wendy, an older lady wearing a gold jacket in honor of Shakespeare's coat of arms. There was a very nice couple from Lincoln (whoop whoop represent) who were thrilled to be talking to Americans and wanted to know all about our studies. When we got to the church where Shakespeare is buried (right under the high altar with his family) I didn't have enough change to go in, but they just laughed and ushered me in in a very typical, slightly scornful but oh so nice British way. Wendy gave us all the details, both Shakespearian and modern, jumping from "this is where his house was..." to "this used to be a chinese restaurant but its changed now, see?"

          We collected Daddy from our room, I stuck my contacts in and we went to dinner. At first we tried to eat at a little actor's hangout called the Black Swan or "Dirty Duck" right by the theater, and for a second I was convinced a hooded figure on the deck was David Tennant, but it wasn't and the place was busy, so we went down the street for indian food at Thespian's. It was great! 

          It was finally time for the show. I was so excited and our seats were very close! David was a wonderful Richard II and very David-y. High energy and drama, just as we expect from him. I'd say he and Ben Whishaw are a perfect tie for me in that role. Honestly nothing can beat his performance as Hamlet, but to see him in person was awesome and Richard II has a lot of great scenes for him to play with. It was mesmerizing!

 The Set

David at the curtain call

      After the show, mama and I raced around to the stagedoor to see David briefly greet the fans, sign stuff and take some pictures. At first I was unsure if I wanted to go, worried he'd be harrassed, but it was very civil and good hearted! He was scottish and adorable, and his hair was back so he looked for like himself and less like Richard II. Very cool!