Oxford, July 22, 2010

I apologize for the infrequency of my updates, but this has been a week of work. I had to write and edit my papers for my classes, and now that they are turned in, I am free to party in Oxford!

Sunday, as I mentioned, was a day for writing. I did not finish my paper on Samuel Beckett, but I did get a good start. Ben, Sam, Kyle and I had a good lunch of pies and pints in The Eagle and Child Pub, where "The Inklings" literary group (C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien...) hung out and talked about stuff. We also talked about stuff!

Monday was another double-class day. I turned in my Shakespeare paper, and that's about it.

Tuesday I finished off my Beckett paper, and Ben and I decided to celebrate having our papers done. So, it was time for water pong in the common room with Rachel and Emily. Eventually, we got to teach water pong to a lady who is also attending the summer school. I think she was from South America, so now she can take this classic American game back to share with her country!

Wednesday was the final day of classes. To celebrate, Emily and I rushed out of dinner before dessert to get to the 7:30 showing of The Taming of the Shrew. The show was put on by the Oxford University Dramatic Society in the Magdalen (pronounced Maud-lin) College President's garden. The show was very funny and misogynist, so everybody had a great time. The college and gardens themselves were beautiful, so with the play on top it was a great evening. We headed back to play cards with Ben, Rachel, Jordan and Shelby. During a card break, we took a trip to Hassan's Chip Van, which has now become an almost-nightly ritual.

Today has been nice as well. After a terribly dull lecture in the morning, I gave some books to Oxfam, and Emily and I split a delicious Terry's Chocolate Orange milkshake from Moo-moo's, in the Oxford Covered Market. Then, as I tried to nap, Exeter was hit with a brief but powerful thunderstorm. One lightening bolt hit so hard, Ben still swears that it went into the Great Hall while he was eating lunch. But, as with all English rain we've had so far, it cleared away immediately. So, after lunch, Emily, Rachel, Shelby, Kyle, Sam and I went to the (free) University of Oxford Natural History Museum. The museum only has two rooms, but these rooms are HUGE and have A LOT of stuff in them. We got to see dinosaurs (cool), early Neanderthals (ugg), meterorites (old) and shrunken heads (AAAAAAHHHHH). Yeah, the shrunken heads kind of freaked me out a little. We plan on going to the Ashmolean art museum tomorrow. Hopefully there will be no shrunken heads.

After that I took another nap, and then took a solo walk around Oxford. I went some places I hadn't been before, such as the Westgate shopping centre (mall), Christ Church meadow (cows), and the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin (beautiful). It has been wonderful here. Oxford truly is the city of dreamy spires. There is so much history and yet so much life in this little town.

Tomorrow is our last full day, and then Jordan, Shelby, Ben, Emily and I go to London. Wish us well.

Oxford, July 18, 2010

Today is a paper day. I have had a great two days of fun, and now I must write. I have one paper on Shakespeare done. On to Beckett for Critical Reading.

Friday was a date day for Emily and I. After being frustrated by the Post Office ($50 to send something to the US?) we wandered around Oxford trying to find a place to eat lunch. We decided on The Red Lion pub for some delicious (and surprisingly cheap) fish and chips. Emily got some traditional English cider. Because they have both sparkling and still water here in the UK, I asked for "Still Water" which apparently sounds like "Stella" as in Stella Artois, the beer. So, I got my first pint at a pub by accident. It was better than expected, and so we made our way to the movie theater to see Inception. It was real great, and blew our minds out. However, the movie theater took half an hour took get the projection thing working. Good times.

After all that we made our way back to dinner, which was fish and chips. Well planned, us.

That evening, I hung out with Ben, Sam, Kyle, Patty, and James of Oxford University who has been serving us dinner these two weeks. We went to a pub IN OXFORD CASTLE which was very classy.

The next morning, Saturday, I was awakened by this sound, EEEEEE OOOOOOO EEEEEE OOOOO EEEE OOOOO EEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, at 6:40 am. So I rushed out the door pulling on pants and swearing under my breath. The crowd gathered outside of the fire-emergency gathering point at the chapel, expecting to see the smoke billowing from one of the buildings. I should point out that we have already had the only fire drill we were supposed to have last week, so we all thought this was an actual fire. Instead, it turns out some nice old lady had been curious about seeing the chapel and opened the door, setting off the burglar/fire alarm. So we all went back to bed, and the alarm went off about three more times. At that point, I just went ahead and got up, because I had to get ready to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Shelby, Rachel, and I rode the coach bus with the rest of the gang to Stratford-Upon-Avon (which is called upon-Avon because it is upon the Avon river...) in anxious anticipation. And by that I mean we slept. When we got there, we began with a walking tour led by our Shakespeare tutor, John O'Conner, to various sites around Stratford, such as the Gower Shakespeare memorial, the Dirty Duck actors' pub, the river, the new Royal Shakespeare Company house, and the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptised and now is interred. After seeing Shakespeare's grave, Shelby, Rachel and I tried to find food, but most places did not open until 12. We eventually found a little sandwich and cake shop next to Shakespeare's house, and ate with Louiza, Jenny, and Bonnie from our Shakespeare class. Our restaurant was one of the only ones that wasn't cheesily-named, such as "The Food of Love" (Twelfth Night), "The As You Like It Cafe" (As You Like It) "Mistress Quickley's" (Henry V), etc. Almost immediately after eating, we had to make our way to the Courtyard theater, which is a temporary theater the RSC is using while their new one is being renovated. Essentially, the Courtyard Theater is a giant tin box. Inside, however, it is a great theater space. We saw the play The Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's last four, and one of his most tragic comedies. It includes one of the most famous lines of Shakespeare's stage directions: "Exit, pursued by a bear." The bear was awesome, the play was great, and two huge bookshelves and a giant chandelier crashed on stage (intentionally) to symbolize the tremendous fall of a ruined king. It was epic, with all the books flying out onto the stage and papers blowing everywhere and chandeliers crashing. Man, it was great. After the play, we spent the little time we had trying to find our Dean Dr. Todd a souvenir, because she wanted one for her son. I also got a "William Shake" at the As You Like It Cafe. It was the worst milkshake I've ever had. Still, when we headed back, we agreed it was a great day.

After dinner, Emily and I took a long walk around some of the University parks, and I went to sleep at 10:30, and did not get up until 10:30. I am now quite well rested for my paper writing, and I should probably get started, though I may go to lunch instead...

Oxford, July 15, 2010

Alas, my friends, I fear it's been too long

Since I have been online to update life

But I will gladly remedy your strife

And narrate in Elizabethan song

For I have viewed four versions of Macbeth

And written my fourth paper on that play

And that is why, to update, I've delayed

(And I am lazy, i'faith, I must confess)

Monday saw my classes recommence

And Hamlet was discussed in Shakespeare class

I began my paper (hope I pass)

And I bought a Yorkie (60 pence)

Some English rain was had on Tuesday morn

Some sweatshirts were acquired really cheap

The chip van visited for late-night eats

I won at cards (the other team forlorn)

On Wednesday we had planned on writing more

But laziness convinced us otherwise

In Shakespeare class, poor Sam was circumcised

Long hours of cards and laughter we adore

Today I find I'm updating this site

Instead of writing papers as I should

Thus, if I flunk from Oxford, then I could

Blame all of you for asking me to write

Oxford, July 12th, 2010

Saturday was a very fun, busy day. Around 9:30 a big group of us left campus to go to the History of Science museum, which was pretty interesting, although it was all artifacts, with very little text. They had a lot of astrolabes and microscopes, but also had Einstein's blackboard (with some equations still on it) and the original penicillin cultures. Two of the exhibits that I thought were the most interesting were a collection of items from the Ashmolean museum/school of Natural History (which had been founded in the 1500s or 1600s) and that explained how the items were presented there. For example, there was a manatee bone that had been labeled as a mermaid's hand! Another interesting exhibit was on Islamic astronomical devices, which also showed the development of European technology and how they borrowed from each other.

We went to lunch at "The Oldest Coffee House in Europe" (1654) althogh the one across the street claimed to be the oldest in Europe (1650). Whether or not it was true, the food was good. Then we went to the botanic gardens, where a big band was playing. A lot of families were picnicking there. After the gardens, we tried our hand at punting. A punt is a long, thin box-looking boat that you manoeuvre with a great big metal pole. We had a guy boat with Ben, Ian, and Jordan, and a girl boat with Rachel, Emily, and Danielle. Danielle is from Canada and is in Emily's Jane Austen class. She is very nice and has been hanging out with us a bunch. The girls were very bad at punting, and Emily fell down a few times, but managed to avoid falling in the Thames. The girls also managed to lose (but eventually recover) Danielle's hat, the punting pole, and our paddle. Emily also ran them into thorn bushes twice. The guys had far greater control of their boat, and were able to do some "bridge-jumping." When approaching a low bridge, a person at the front of the boat grabs the bridge, pulls themselves up, crosses the bridge on top, and jumps back in the boat as it goes under. Ben and I had great success, but Jordan opted out, probably because of the large "no climbing" signs on the bridges... It was a lot of fun, though, and a popular way to spend the afternoon.

Yesterday was another fun day. A group of us went to Christ Church Cathedral for Eucharist. It is a High Anglican church. Jordan, our resident Catholic, said it was fairly similar to a Catholic service. They sung almost everything, including the prayer responses and the Nicene Creed. There was a visiting choir who was incredible. It was interesting though uncomfortable to kneel when praying, because the centuries-old hardwood floors are not great on the knees.

For lunch, Emily and I went to an Indian place (4500 Miles from Delhi) which was excellent. The buffet had small amounts of 9 main dishes (meat and vegetarian) and they had chapatis and naan. I had never heard of, and can't remember, most of the dishes, but one of my favorite was a little fried patty made of different types of vegeables. Besides leafy greens and potatoes, I'm not sure what was in it, but it was delicious. Om nom nom.

After lunch, we went to Oxford Castle, which is a big tourist exhibit that ended up being very interesting. Some of the site was pre-Norman Invasion, but most of the building had been added on to for years. It was actually a functioning jail until 1996! Apparently that's where they put the people who illegally climbed bridges! Just kidding...

Even in 1996, when the prison closed, none of the rooms had toilets, because they weren't built with plumbing. I am glad I was never in prison there! Or anywhere else, for that matter. The tour was very interesting and then we got some time to wander around. From the top of the tower you could see lots of Oxford, including Exeter's steeple.

After dinner we watched the World Cup. We Holland fans were severely out-numbered by the Spanish supporters, but avoided getting beat-up, probably because Spain won. Oh well.

Today classes have resumed after a really great weekend. I hope to get started on one of my papers tonight, having watched 4 different performances of Macbeth as research. My thoughts are starting to become iambic...

Oxford, July 9th, 2010

It is a truth universally acknowledged that JANE AUSTEN ROCKS!!! And by that I mean Emily and I went to Chawton in Hampshire today to see the house Miss Austen lived in for several years. It has been 201 years since she moved in. We first visited the manor right down the road, where her rich brother lived. At that time, Jane and her sister and mother (along with a friend) were not doing so well financially. Such is life without men... The brother allowed them to move into a cottage for free for life on his estate. We only got to visit the library within the manor, but the collection of books there was impressive. They specialized in books written by women between 1600-1830. Also, Emily and I strolled about the grounds and saw some of the most beautiful gardens ever. We also saw a chicken. Emily almost ran straight into the electric fence that housed said chicken, because said fence was inadequately labelled. The house itself was loaded with Jane Austen goodies, such as paintings and sketches done by her sister, her original writing table, a lock of her hair? and other fun paraphernalia.

That trip took up most of the day. After dinner Emily, Ben, Rachel, James of Michigan State, and I went to get more milkshakes, because they are delicious and dinner was sub-par. We have been playing lots of Euchre (card game) with Jordan and Shelby, and might continue that trend tonight.

Ignoring chronology, let me tell you about Thursday. After the daily morning lecture, Shelby, Rachel, and I joined three of our classmates, our Shakespeare professor and his wife for coffee in the famous Blackwell's bookstore / coffee shop. There, we discussed books, football, Shakespeare, American football, possible papers, differences in British and American (and Brazilian) education, politics, anti-Semitism, and all sorts of fun groovy things. We were there for two hours, and it was a great treat. I also watched a DVD of Macbeth as performed at the Folger Shakespeare library and directed by a magician, so it had loads of cool magic in it.

So, that's the last two days. Tomorrow's plan is to visit the (free) History of Science museum down the street, tour the Botanic Gardens, eat fish & chips (or Indian food if we feel inclined), and maybe go punting (which is riding on a boat, not punting a football?) Sunday is the World Cup Final, so I will proudly be wearing my Holland jersey.

Oxford, July 7th, 2010

Sorry I didn't write about classes last time, but dinner was calling. Every night we've had a different delicious dessert which I've never heard of (Eton mess, Melting heart...). Scrumptious.

Anyway, classes. My classes are very... chill. I'm very excited and relieved about that, because I was kind of nervous about what these classes might require. My Shakespeare class (which is actually Monday and Wednesday, not Tuesday and Thursday) is taught by Dr. John O'Conner, who lives about an hour south of me in Montgomery County, Maryland! He is British, but lives in the States now and teaches primarily at Cornell, though he travel-lectures all over the world. He's very nice, insists that we call him John, and refuses to teach from notes. Thus, his "lectures" are the group of us (11 plus him) talking about Shakespeare movies and performances we've seen. Yesterday's syllabus planned for us to be introduced to Shakespearean performance and discuss Henry V in detail. We were more or less introduced to Shakespearean performance. We might learn about Henry V at some point... Still, we have learned quite a lot, even on the first day. I am anxiously anticipating the excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon, because John is giving a guided walking tour of the major sites (Shakespeare's house, the Holy Trinity Church where he was baptised...) and then we are seeing The Winter's Tale by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I am psyched.

So, that's Shakespeare class. Critical Reading is also cool. Our tutor, Dr. Roger Dalrymple, is a fairly young guy (late thirties) who obviously knows his stuff. We learned quite a bit about the history of English Monday, as well as how words change semantically. For example, "ho" has undergone both lexical obsolescence in its Elizabethan sense, and deterioration in its modern usage. The fellow students in my class all seem very cool/interesting. I have the same classmates for Shakespeare and Critical Reading, because the classes are one right after the other. Five of my peers are Yeagers (Shelby, Sam, Kyle, Rachel, and Patty). The other five I met Monday. One guy, Leon, is from Northern Virginia, and goes to George Mason University. There's a huge group from there. The others are girls. Three of them are born in the US, one lives in Texas but was born in the Philippines, and one, Louisa, is from Rio, Brazil. She speaks incredible English and has a Portuguese/British accent, because her English teachers in Brazil were British. Interesting person.

So, those are the classes and classmates. Our assignments are a paper each for our classes. For the Shakespeare class, we have to write something about something dealing with Shakespeare and performance. Anything. For Critical Reading, we have to write something about some sort of text. And read that text closely. So, it's safe to say the assignments are very broad.

Monday after class I ate dinner and then watched the movie Titus with Shelby and Rachel. John has a huuuuge collection of Shakespeare movies (like, an entire suitcase and a half) and invited us to watch any of them in the evenings. Titus is Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, and it's crazy. Even the play is crazy, let alone Taymor's interpretation of it. The end involves killing two sons and feeding them in a pie to their mother. Shakespeare meets Sweeney Todd. Oh, and Anthony Hopkins plays Titus. Go figure.

Yesterday was a fun day of exploration. Since I didn't have classes besides the daily lecture in the morning, I decided to explore a little. We students are very privileged to be able to read in the Bodelian library. This is Oxford University's main library, and visitors have to pay quite the price for a tour, and are still not allowed in many of the rooms to which we have access. It was very cool passing the tourists and gaining admittance to such a classy place. The architecture is beautiful, and the works they have include many books where only one copy exists in the world. Obviously, I don't get to see those, but to be there is still excellent.

In the evening, Emily and I did some walking around Oxford. The city is absolutely gorgeous at sunset. We roamed around some of the residential areas and looked at the pretty houses. I had been craving a milkshake all day, so we found a little ice cream place (rated best ice cream in the UK) and I got a milkshake made of Bailey's and Sweet Cream ice cream. Delicious.

We've had good times here, and the people are all very friendly. More updates later.

Oxford, July 5th 2010

After the first day of classes, I am much less nervous and much more excited about my stay in Oxford. Understandably, coming here was sort of intimidating; after all, I'm studying English where English was invented. However, the lecture this morning was enjoyable, and was given by my critical reading tutor (the Oxford word for professor) on Beowulf. It was very brief and accessible. Then I had the morning to shop with Emily, Shelby, Patty, and Rachel (which sounds really strange, but it's not) for alarm clocks, books, pens and paper.

We kind of went crazy in Blackwell's bookstore. Not only were their Oxford University Press books all 3 for the price of 2, but most of them were only around 6 pounds to begin with! Emily bought 9 books, and I bought 3. I figure it was an educational expense...

After we got back from all the shops, Emily and I explored the chapel on campus. It was really beautiful, with a large organ. They have choir/organ services three times a week, and I'm hoping to go at least one. While we were there, a tour group went through. It's strange having tourists take pictures of your university, where you're eating breakfast, going to class. It is a very beautiful campus, though, so I can definitely see the appeal.

Lunch was a strange affair, featuring several kinds of cold meat, pasta salads, yogurt, and fresh fruit. I think that's pretty much what they serve everyday, so I might have to check out the bar where you can get soups and sandwiches (for free!)

Almost immediately after lunch were my classes. More on them later...

Oxford, July 4th 2010

At last, we have arrived in Oxford. This beautiful town is to be our home for three weeks, until we travel with Shelby and Jordan to London for two nights.

After a scrumptious breakfast in an English coffee shop, we took a brief walk around the St. Paul's area, with a primary objective of finding hangers for suits, which we had more or less ironed the night before. Also, Ben needed a little needle and thread to replace a button. We found the needle and thread, but the hangers remained elusive, because not many shops were opened. Maybe they were celebrating Independence Day?

After checking out of the hostel, it was time for our journey to Oxford. We undergrounded our way to Victoria coach station and got on the bus without a hitch. The passing English countryside was quite serene and pastoral. However, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, which is often disconcerting. Still, we arrived in Oxford and took a short walk to the college.

Let me tell you about Exeter college. First, some dates. The newest, I repeat, newest building in Exeter is the chapel, dated about 1860. The oldest part is probably the underground room under the dining hall, now functioning as a hang-out/bar area, dating around 1100. The rest is in between. The dining hall is 1600s, as are many of the buildings. The entire (very small) campus is beautiful. Let me also give two names: J.R.R. Tolkien and Philip Pullman. These two graduated from Exeter. In fact, if you've read the Golden Compass by Pullman, Jordan College in Lyra's world is based on this college. I even got to see the door to the back room she sneaks into! (though obviously I wasn't allowed in.) If you've seen the movie, I apologize, but the college bits were filmed here. I'm really excited about it.

So, Oxford feels very old, because it is. This unfathomable sense of tradition is also oddly coupled with instances of bizarre modernity, especially as I type this in a computer lab.

Here are some more details about the classes and such:

I have guest lectures everyday at nine in the morning surveying English literature more or less chronologically. My impression is that I do not get a grade for that class, just an attendance certificate. Then, I have Critical Reading 4:15-6:15 every Monday and Wednesday and Shakespeare every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00-4. That's all very nice, but what I'm really excited about are the excursions. Excursions are the British way of saying field trip! I plan on going to Chawton on Friday to see Jane Austen Land, even though I'm not in the Jane Austen class. It's cheap, and sounds very interesting, actually. The third Saturday, 17th, I am definitely going to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit Shakespeare's birthplace and church, and see A Winter's Tale by the Royal Shakespeare Company. I'm very excited. I might go to Bath too, but it sounds kind of lame.

Classes start tomorrow, but I should be able to blog regularly, assuming I do anything interesting here. Keep in touch!

London, July 3rd, 2010

We have made it safely to our hostel in London. We are in a building that was formerly a choir building for the cathedral (which is RIGHT THERE,) so the hostel has a very old-Londony feel to it. However, it is a bit old fashioned, and Ben and I are sort of sleeping in caves. You'll have to see the pictures to understand. We leave for Oxford by bus around 12 tomorrow, and then it's time to move in and meet and greet the rest of the day. Classes start Monday. It's been an awesome trip so far; time for the actual work to begin. Sort of.

Amsterdam, Friday July 2nd 2010

Hup Holland!
Today is our last full day in Amsterdam. The city is covered in orange, as Holland plays Brazil today in the World Cup. Ian is appropriately garbed in his new Holland jersey, and the hostel gave us free orange leis to support the orange players.
Ben’s birthday was Wednesday, the 30th, so we went to the Heineken Brewery experience to check it out. It was very impressive. Music video to follow relatively soon. Afterwards, we went to one of the million Argentinean steakhouses (in Amsterdam?). We explored Amsterdam a little more than we wanted to after becoming briefly lost, but we eventually found our way to a delicious pizzeria in Leidsplein and the Bourbon street blues club we went to the night before. There, Ben (and Ian and Emily) were treated to some excellent blues by a trio of young, talented musicians for free! Good stuff.
Yesterday was our day at the beach. We took the Fast Flying (and cheap) Ferry to IJmuiden beach. IJmuiden was beautiful. This is one of the widest, prettiest, least-crowded, least polluted beaches in Europe. It was a little overcast at times, which occasionally made the weather chilly, but the water of the North Sea was surprisingly not freezing. Actually, it was pretty warm after you got used to it. Emily had a particularly great time splashing around in the admittedly small waves. However, there were crabs in the surf, and she will tell you that was not ok. We saw some cool kite-flyers and sail-dune-buggy drivers. We also got to see some of Europe’s famed topless beach babes, most of which were large old ladies. Still, we had some delicious ice cream at one of the pavilions and headed off after a great afternoon. When we got back to Amsterdam Centraal, we had a nice walk back to Leidsplein for dinner. Then, we joined the nightly party in Vondelpark. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people every night, go to Vondelpark to cookout, play football, Frisbee, a little American football, and swing dance? It was a lot of fun.
Today we checked out the Van Gogh museum. It was very impressive. Vinnie was a very insightful, talented painter, and the inclusion of works by his peers and influences was both helpful and interesting. We especially enjoyed the museum because it was air conditioned, as it was a sweltering 37 degrees. Emily mentioned the fact that it was hot and awful several times. Many times.
After a frozen margarita each at the Hard Rock Café- Amsterdam to cool us off, it was back to the hostel to nap/chill out/ watch the game. We plan to take an evening canal cruise tonight, as a goodbye to Amsterdam before we leave for London tomorrow. As I have been writing this, the men in orange have just beaten Brazil. Hup Holland!

Amsterdam, June 29, 2010

Haallo from Amsterdam!
We have successfully arrived in The Netherland’s largest city, and it’s a party. I mean really, a party. Essentially, Amsterdam is a party in city form. But more on that later.
Sunday was our last day in Paris. We got a late start, but were able to take the train to Versailles and see the palace. On the way, Ian got a special treat; not one but two accordion players and a saxophonist jumped on board the train and played a few French songs. Heavenly. Anyway, after a kebab lunch in the Town of Versailles, we visited the estate of Louis XIV. The architecture was beautiful and dripping with gold and satin. The grounds were beautiful, and many of the ceilings were gorgeously decorated. We came back and had yet another (now daily) nap before going out to meet fellow Yeagers Patty, Kyle, and Sam, along with their friend. We had a delicious dinner in the Latin quarter, and they gave tips and anecdotes about Amsterdam as we shared tips and stories of Paris.
We had a great time in Paris. The city of love was very good to us. We were glad to be there for four full days, because we got to know the city (and the metro and the food) really well. Merci, Paree.
Monday morning was rough. We got up at 6:30, ate our breakfast of stale baguettes, Nature flavored yogurt, and sickeningly-sweet orange juice (it was free), checked out of the hostel, and went to the EuroLines bus station. Our bus left at 9 am and drove pretty much straight through to Amsterdam, making a few stops in Belgium and the Netherlands. We really enjoyed the “Engrish” signs on the bus, such as “No pique-nique” and “No ring” (meaning, no food or cell phones).
Let’s talk about the Belgian and French countrysides—they are really boring. It was mainly flat farm-lands with some scrubby trees and occasional windmills. The cities, however, were much more interesting. Brussels was really pretty, as was Utrecht. We were excited to get to Amsterdam, although we didn’t get to our hostel until about 7 pm. Our first dinner in Amsterdam consisted of pancakes: mine were topped with peaches, but Ben and Emily got a little more adventurous and tried shoarma and Indonesian chicken, respectively. They were really like big crepes, but they were delicious and filling. That night, we walked around Vondelpark (which is adjacent to our hostel) and watched all the people celebrating Holland’s victory. It was a huge party; someone in the park had a speaker on his bicycle and played some Ray Charles. Hearing Dutch people sing along to “Hit the Road Jack” is pretty entertaining. So, was it strange that someone had a speaker on his bike? Not terribly. There are bikes everywhere here! There are very few cars and most people get around on bikes. It’s not uncommon to see 2 or 3 people on one bike, somehow balancing, or to see a child seat attached to the handlebars, where they put their children. The bikers here are also pretty aggressive. We saw a lady get smashed in the elbow by a fellow biker, and I think that kind of thing is not uncommon.
We are in a six-person room in the hostel, and we had the pleasure of sharing a room the first night with Bernard (“Bernid” as he said it) and James, who were from New Zealand. They had been travelling around Europe for a few weeks. Since they were just starting off at gainful, full-time employment, they ONLY had 4 or 5 weeks of vacation. We felt really sympathetic… Today (Tuesday) involved an incredible amount of walking. We had to be out of the hostel by 10:30, so we hit the streets in search of the Poezenboot (the cat boat). The Poezenboot is a cat rescue/ sanctuary that houses close to 20 kitty cats. They were all adorable minus the enormous Maine-Coon (approximately the size of Massachusetts) that came close to ripping Ben’s face off. Lunch was an obscene amount of delicious Greek food, and then we went to the Amsterdam zoo. Artis was a lot of fun, but the best part was LEMURLAND, where we got to walk through an area where several ring-tailed lemurs were chilling. Other fun animals included Seals, Penguins, Elephants, Giraffes, false advertising for cheetahs that didn’t exist, and a lot of monkey shenanigans. During our extensive wandering through Amsterdam, we unknowingly stumbled into a corner of the Red-Light district, where Beckel was quite amused/appalled by the hookers. The world cup games are quite the craze here, so people watching is very entertaining. Currently heading out the door to go hear some awesome Dutch blues at a bar with statues of the Blues Brothers on its roof.

Paris, June 27th, 2010

Bonjour once more! Today is our last full day in Paris, and then we leave for Amsterdam via a eight-or-so hour bus ride. Paris has been very good to us. The people (except a few unavoidable jerks) have been extremely friendly and helpful, the food has been delicious, and the weather has ranged from a little hot to perfect, mostly perfect. Saturday was a busy day. We warmed up with the National Marine Museum, which Ben particularly enjoyed. Then, it was a crowded walk across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, which is HUGE! None of us was expecting the tower to be so big. We had seen it from the Pantheon, but still it was intimidating. Having gotten a 360 view of Paris from the top of the Pantheon, we decided not to wait in very long lines to go up. Instead, we sat on a bench in the park with our baugettes, our croisonnets, our fromage, and our vin, and had a classic Paris lunch. Then it was off to Napoleon's tomb, which was a beautiful impressive building. It certainly gives a certain respect for the emporer. Connected to the tomb is the Army museum, so we took a brief look at the swords and armor as well. Connected to that was the Museum of Plan-Relief, which was tucked away in the attic of the Army museum. Intersting stuff. After stopping at the sewers (smelly) we made our way back to the hostel for the nightly hostel party in the basement.

More on Sunday later...

Paris, June 25th 2010

So, we went to the Aquarium and Louvre today, but the day was really about food. We definitely took 2 hours for lunch and 2 hours for dinner. It was very Parisian. The Louvre was beautiful and huge, and after exploring it, we were quite pooped. After a brief nap, it was off to the Latin Quarter to see the city at night. After an excellent meal at the cafe (I had snails!) we explored the pedestrian areas south of the river. There were some interesting clubs (Latin Club- sexy bar for crazy night!) which we did not go to. I did find a cheap French music store and got some French Cds for a Euro each.

Paree, June 24 2010

So, today we got to experience Paris "social movements." Turns out that Parsians don't like to work, and Versailles workers, aquarium workers, and possibly railroad workers were all on strike. So we improvised. Today, we accidently visited the Jardin de Plantes, including the menegerie, otherwise known as a zooooooooo! Lots of cute animals. Then, we made our way to the Pantheon, which was a cathedral, but was rededicated to the great men of the nation. We saw the tombs of Voltaire, Jean-Jaques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie. Then, we climbed to the collande and got a 360 view of Paris! Good stuff. After a brief visit to the Jardin de Luxembourg (including the palais de Luxembourg, which is the French Senate,) we tried to go to the National Aquarium, only to find that the workers decided to go home early. Turns out the French have a five-hour work week, or something. Anyway, we tried to walk south to the Seine and find a cafe on the river, only to end up in a construction site. After we extracted ourselves from that, it was back to the Aquarium area for pizza. Oh, and I forgot, we had Fremage and Pain for lunch! Tres Bien! When we made it back to the hostel, we got some interesting French drinks, including Orangina and Peach Schweppes, and Fango with a mysterious flavor...

We might check out the nightly dance party in the basement of the hostel tonight, but we intend to go to the aquarium and the Louvre tomorrow, assuming the French don't decide to sleep in some more...

Paris June 23rd 2010

Bonjour de Gay Pareeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! We got to our hostel without a hitch, and did a good bit of walking today. The train and metro system here is fast and very efficient. We successfully picked up our Paris museum passes, though we were warned tomorrow is a "strike day," so who knows what will be open. The tentative plan is to try Versailles, but will see how lazy the locals are feeling.

That said, the people here (contrary to expectations / what we were told) have been extremely nice and extremely helpful. We found a nice little French cafe outside our hostel. I asked the waiter if he spoke English, to which he replied "a little." My next word, "tortellini?" didn't make a whole lot of sense, so the waiter replied "German?" Meanwhile, Ben stood behind and snickered. Emily then ordered her "Gratini de Momtes au Curry" through a series of pointing and saying "this one." Ben got his drink, and we enjoyed a lovely meal outside. After a failed attempt to find Jim Morrison's grave, we had a fantastic dinner of kebabs and pitas at a local place. Then, we wandered the local areas around our hostel, admiring the sweet architecture and cute little French cars. By the way, the French use the word "bumpers" quite literally, which we witnessed more than once. Now we are about to retire, because jet lag has still not released us from its exhausting grip, but by tomorrow we should be good. Baguette!

Baltimore, June 22nd 2010

To think about what Europe will be like is impossible. There is nothing with which I can compare it. Perhaps I'm being silly, but I feel like one of the crew of the Nina, Pinta, or Santa Maria, traveling to a new, unthinkable world. I'm excited, nervous, and awed.

I leave from BWI at 2:30, meet with Ben and Emily at 3:30 in Philadelphia, and then we take off around 6:30 for the Old World.