friday was another trip to london with the art class. we went to the tate modern and the tate britain, which are two separate galleries of the same museum. once again, we were hustled past the interesting exhibits (specifically a huge section of pop art a la andy warhol) and instead had to spend an inordinate amount of time reciting what we learned in class about those paintings. however, at the tate britain we were play with the art trolley and make tissue paper flowers. it was also interesting to see some images that i really liked from class, mainly Samuel Palmer and the sublime paintings by Turner, despite the fact that we really hate him and do not like the majority of his work.
saturday we went to cardiff, which is in wales. it was a long bus ride to get there, which meant more time to nap for me! my group wandered around for a while, and saw some really interesting buildings and shops. the castle cost too much money to go in, so instead we just walked down the street and found this really beautiful park. we took a million pictures near the lake, and near the mini stonehenge that we found. after that the film kids did some work for beowulf, so jason, jess and i just pretended to be homeless people sitting on the side of the street eating pasties.
today just a few of us went on the trip, which was a tour of cotswold villages. that basically meant we stopped at 5 different town centers for varying amounts of time. most of the towns had secondhand stores, bookshops, various restaurants and tea rooms, etc etc. in one of the villages there was a craft fair that we spent a lot of time in, and also had a lot of ducks and ducklings along the river. our second stop was at a really beautiful river with really scenic bridges and a cute little gift shop attached to a fish hatchery. it was just a really nice day, despite being long and all of us being exhausted.
06 April 2008
all you need is love...
and in the end
the love you take
is equal to the love you make
we went to abbey road! it was amazing. we took a bunch of pictures of the street, the signs, and the graffiti. i added my own signature, and someone had spray painted a rose really similar to my tattoo on the wall, which was incredible! this afternoon we saw a production of blood brothers by willy russell. it was basically a play with music, as opposed to a musical. the characters were very well portrayed, and their voices were lovely. however, sara gelpke got really sick about a third of the way through, so i went outside with her where a really nice supervisor sat and helped us out. they ended up moving us up to the balcony level as opposed to front and center on the floor.
the love you take
is equal to the love you make
we went to abbey road! it was amazing. we took a bunch of pictures of the street, the signs, and the graffiti. i added my own signature, and someone had spray painted a rose really similar to my tattoo on the wall, which was incredible! this afternoon we saw a production of blood brothers by willy russell. it was basically a play with music, as opposed to a musical. the characters were very well portrayed, and their voices were lovely. however, sara gelpke got really sick about a third of the way through, so i went outside with her where a really nice supervisor sat and helped us out. they ended up moving us up to the balcony level as opposed to front and center on the floor.
02 April 2008
TRAVEL BREAK 2008
alright, so sara gelpke and i went together on travel break. we flew out from gatwick airport to barcelona on the 21st, and back on the 25th. then we flew out to dublin for the 26th-29th. this is our story:
our travel break started off pretty crappy. our flight ended being delayed almost two hours because of problems, and then when we finally started moving we had to stop because of a passenger who was too nervous to fly and had to get off. so, we ended up leaving gatwick at 9, which is when we were supposed to land, and we didn't land in barcelona til midnight. the buses had stopped running, so we had to take a cab to our hotel, which was expensive. however, the hotel was absolutely beautiful. we were at the catalonia aragon, and our metro station was named clot. we went to pretty much every site imaginable: placa catalunya, the museu de la xocolata (chocolate museum), las ramblas (the main walkway, with tons of shops, restaurants, statue-people, street vendors, etc), parc de la cuitadella (beautiful place with palm trees, perfect for napping), la mercat boqueria (the biggest market of fresh produce, fish, nuts, wines, etc), the arc de triomf (again with the palm trees), barceloneta beach (where we met american boys from new jersey who are doing a semester abroad in liverpool!!), la ribera (another main walkway), and so much more! we ate some incredible local foods like paella and tapas, and drank some really incredibles wines and sangrias, and i actually got a little bit of sunburn from the beach!
the interval between the trips is worth mentioning. we spent fourteen hours in the airport. i really don't recommend this to anyone. it was worse for sara, because i was at least able to sleep for a bit. we ended up storing our suitcase with all our summery gear, but we still had backpacks and purses with us. we spend a few hours sitting on the floor near the check-in stations where i managed probably an hour of sleep. then we moved upstairs and found some semi-comfortable chairs in a coffee shop, where i got a few more. around this time, sara realized that her camera wasn't in her purse. we checked all of our bags, and the suitcase, and finally decided that it had been stolen in barcelona. we think it was in the metro when we were heading to the airport. so that's why i have pretty much no pictures of myself in barcelona :(. we were able to check in for the flight really early, so we got into security and just hung out til the flight for dublin was called around 10am.
we landed in dublin and took a bus straight to the hotel because we were so exhausted. we stayed at the mespil hotel, which was about 15 minutes outside of the city center. once again, an absolutely beautiful hotel. i absolutely recommend going to a travel agent, especially when they don't charge commission for customizing a package deal. in dublin we went to: st stephen's green (this beautiful park right near our hotel), the guiness brewery (INCREDIBLE!), grafton street (local and well-known shops, as well as gift stores), the gardens of remembrance (for the war), the james joyce statues and museum (because he's one of my favorite authors), fleet street and the market area (tons of vendors, amazing nightlife), the castle, various examples of really amazing architecture, and so many things that i can't even remember! we flew back to gatwick and were able to catch an earlier bus back to banbury so we didn't have to spend another night in the airport. got back at around 3am, and i slept for 16 hours.
our travel break started off pretty crappy. our flight ended being delayed almost two hours because of problems, and then when we finally started moving we had to stop because of a passenger who was too nervous to fly and had to get off. so, we ended up leaving gatwick at 9, which is when we were supposed to land, and we didn't land in barcelona til midnight. the buses had stopped running, so we had to take a cab to our hotel, which was expensive. however, the hotel was absolutely beautiful. we were at the catalonia aragon, and our metro station was named clot. we went to pretty much every site imaginable: placa catalunya, the museu de la xocolata (chocolate museum), las ramblas (the main walkway, with tons of shops, restaurants, statue-people, street vendors, etc), parc de la cuitadella (beautiful place with palm trees, perfect for napping), la mercat boqueria (the biggest market of fresh produce, fish, nuts, wines, etc), the arc de triomf (again with the palm trees), barceloneta beach (where we met american boys from new jersey who are doing a semester abroad in liverpool!!), la ribera (another main walkway), and so much more! we ate some incredible local foods like paella and tapas, and drank some really incredibles wines and sangrias, and i actually got a little bit of sunburn from the beach!
the interval between the trips is worth mentioning. we spent fourteen hours in the airport. i really don't recommend this to anyone. it was worse for sara, because i was at least able to sleep for a bit. we ended up storing our suitcase with all our summery gear, but we still had backpacks and purses with us. we spend a few hours sitting on the floor near the check-in stations where i managed probably an hour of sleep. then we moved upstairs and found some semi-comfortable chairs in a coffee shop, where i got a few more. around this time, sara realized that her camera wasn't in her purse. we checked all of our bags, and the suitcase, and finally decided that it had been stolen in barcelona. we think it was in the metro when we were heading to the airport. so that's why i have pretty much no pictures of myself in barcelona :(. we were able to check in for the flight really early, so we got into security and just hung out til the flight for dublin was called around 10am.
we landed in dublin and took a bus straight to the hotel because we were so exhausted. we stayed at the mespil hotel, which was about 15 minutes outside of the city center. once again, an absolutely beautiful hotel. i absolutely recommend going to a travel agent, especially when they don't charge commission for customizing a package deal. in dublin we went to: st stephen's green (this beautiful park right near our hotel), the guiness brewery (INCREDIBLE!), grafton street (local and well-known shops, as well as gift stores), the gardens of remembrance (for the war), the james joyce statues and museum (because he's one of my favorite authors), fleet street and the market area (tons of vendors, amazing nightlife), the castle, various examples of really amazing architecture, and so many things that i can't even remember! we flew back to gatwick and were able to catch an earlier bus back to banbury so we didn't have to spend another night in the airport. got back at around 3am, and i slept for 16 hours.
15 March 2008
09 March 2008
being unable to communicate is not a fun experience
6 march:
so our weekend in paris began in the most delightful way: leaving the abbey at 2am on thursday morning. it was actually well planned in that we would be able to fall directly asleep on the coach and nap until we got to paris. however, being on a coach with 50+ other people isn't exactly silent, so i didn't sleep enough at all. we stopped at several WWI sites on the way to paris, which was hard to manage because everyone was exhausted. we were supposed to get to our hotel, the grand hotel du havre on rue d'amsterdam, at 3:30. however, the coach got lost and we didn't get there til closer to 5...not cool. i was rooming with lisa, which was awesome, so we moved all our stuff in and just bummed out for a bit. french cartoons are hilarious, especially pokemon and inspector gadget! we went walking around the area looking for dinner, and ended up at this amazing place, Pizza Firenze, where i got a delicious margherita pizza. after that we sort of wandered around, learned that most shops and supermarkets close at 9pm, and got a beer from the local bar before turning in.
7 march:
we woke up in the morning and ate breakfast at the hotel before getting on the coach tour of paris. i saw a whole lot of sights including the obelisk, the musee d'orsay, the eiffel tower, and so many more that i can't even think of to name! the coach dropped us off at notre dame, which was great. we had a lot of fun wandering around the side streets in that area and exploring some of the shops and whatnot. i got a cheese crepe for lunch, and while it was delicious, it really wasn't what i was craving and i didn't end up getting more while in paris. we walked along the seine toward the district of st. michel's, where we looked at the pantheon, the sorbonne, and then escaped to the jardin du luxembourg. the gardens were absolutely beautiful despite the fact that it was winter, and there were kids racing toy boats in the fountain, and ponies, and so many other cool things despite the beauty of the flowers themselves. we walked back up the seine toward the louvre, since it was free for under-26s after 6pm. we saw the mona lisa (somewhat disappointing) but jason and i had a great time in the egypt exhibit. we took the metro back to the hotel's area, and got sandwiches for dinner.
8 march:
the longest day of our trip, i did so much! we started off the day by walking to montmartre, which is also known as the red light district. it was full of the seedy sort of stores and bars and whatnot, but also several classier establishments. we stopped at a street vendors to buy scarves (mine is a blue-green silk with embroidered flowers) and i also bought a pin in the shape of france for my bag. then we walked up the neverending stairs to Sacre Coeur. i felt very awkward walking around this church during services, and they said it was perpetual worship, but i still worried that we were being disruptive. anthony got yelled at for taking a picture, because no photography is allowed in the church. we walked through the artists corner, where a lot of artists were at work painting, sketching, making silhouettes, etc. if they weren't so expensive, i would have had one done, but they were ridiculously out of my budget :( we bought paninis off the street for lunch, mine was supposed to be chicken and ended up only cheese but it was still good. the weather was beautiful so i bought an ice cream cone and ate that as we walked around. we went to the dali exhibition which was incredible. he's definitely in my top 5 favorite artists. on the way back through montmartre to the hotel in the afternoon we stopped for a bit at the musee l'erotisme which was...interesting, to say the least. we rested for a bit at the hotel because everyone was tired, then we met up and looked for dinner. however, we were interrupted because there was a demonstration by a large group of Palestinians about the shooting in Israel this weekend. i'm talking full, armed police escort blocking off the streets to all cars. we were a bit freaked out so we continued moving. we found this cute little italian restaurant, where sara and i split an amazing four cheese penne dish. afterwards, we walked to the arc de triomphe to see it all lit up at night, which was incredible. then we took the metro up to montmartre again to see the moulin rouge. i wish we'd been able to see a show, but again, they were like 100 euro a seat or something equally ridiculous. then we got back and anthony and i watched cartoons until i fell asleep.
overall, i think i like london a lot more than paris.
so our weekend in paris began in the most delightful way: leaving the abbey at 2am on thursday morning. it was actually well planned in that we would be able to fall directly asleep on the coach and nap until we got to paris. however, being on a coach with 50+ other people isn't exactly silent, so i didn't sleep enough at all. we stopped at several WWI sites on the way to paris, which was hard to manage because everyone was exhausted. we were supposed to get to our hotel, the grand hotel du havre on rue d'amsterdam, at 3:30. however, the coach got lost and we didn't get there til closer to 5...not cool. i was rooming with lisa, which was awesome, so we moved all our stuff in and just bummed out for a bit. french cartoons are hilarious, especially pokemon and inspector gadget! we went walking around the area looking for dinner, and ended up at this amazing place, Pizza Firenze, where i got a delicious margherita pizza. after that we sort of wandered around, learned that most shops and supermarkets close at 9pm, and got a beer from the local bar before turning in.
7 march:
we woke up in the morning and ate breakfast at the hotel before getting on the coach tour of paris. i saw a whole lot of sights including the obelisk, the musee d'orsay, the eiffel tower, and so many more that i can't even think of to name! the coach dropped us off at notre dame, which was great. we had a lot of fun wandering around the side streets in that area and exploring some of the shops and whatnot. i got a cheese crepe for lunch, and while it was delicious, it really wasn't what i was craving and i didn't end up getting more while in paris. we walked along the seine toward the district of st. michel's, where we looked at the pantheon, the sorbonne, and then escaped to the jardin du luxembourg. the gardens were absolutely beautiful despite the fact that it was winter, and there were kids racing toy boats in the fountain, and ponies, and so many other cool things despite the beauty of the flowers themselves. we walked back up the seine toward the louvre, since it was free for under-26s after 6pm. we saw the mona lisa (somewhat disappointing) but jason and i had a great time in the egypt exhibit. we took the metro back to the hotel's area, and got sandwiches for dinner.
8 march:
the longest day of our trip, i did so much! we started off the day by walking to montmartre, which is also known as the red light district. it was full of the seedy sort of stores and bars and whatnot, but also several classier establishments. we stopped at a street vendors to buy scarves (mine is a blue-green silk with embroidered flowers) and i also bought a pin in the shape of france for my bag. then we walked up the neverending stairs to Sacre Coeur. i felt very awkward walking around this church during services, and they said it was perpetual worship, but i still worried that we were being disruptive. anthony got yelled at for taking a picture, because no photography is allowed in the church. we walked through the artists corner, where a lot of artists were at work painting, sketching, making silhouettes, etc. if they weren't so expensive, i would have had one done, but they were ridiculously out of my budget :( we bought paninis off the street for lunch, mine was supposed to be chicken and ended up only cheese but it was still good. the weather was beautiful so i bought an ice cream cone and ate that as we walked around. we went to the dali exhibition which was incredible. he's definitely in my top 5 favorite artists. on the way back through montmartre to the hotel in the afternoon we stopped for a bit at the musee l'erotisme which was...interesting, to say the least. we rested for a bit at the hotel because everyone was tired, then we met up and looked for dinner. however, we were interrupted because there was a demonstration by a large group of Palestinians about the shooting in Israel this weekend. i'm talking full, armed police escort blocking off the streets to all cars. we were a bit freaked out so we continued moving. we found this cute little italian restaurant, where sara and i split an amazing four cheese penne dish. afterwards, we walked to the arc de triomphe to see it all lit up at night, which was incredible. then we took the metro up to montmartre again to see the moulin rouge. i wish we'd been able to see a show, but again, they were like 100 euro a seat or something equally ridiculous. then we got back and anthony and i watched cartoons until i fell asleep.
overall, i think i like london a lot more than paris.
02 March 2008
CONTACT!...london, BCFC game, and warwick castle
this was the most intense weekend ever, which was not a good thing considering how much work i have to do right now. week 7 essays are right around the corner and i need to be done all those before MEG GETS HERE!!! between that and regular work for tutorials i'm slowly going insane. but this weekend's trips were pretty fab for the most part.
friday was a trip to the national portrait gallery in london with the art class. again, it was a long day of listening to the teacher drone for about 4 hours with a little bit of free time to explore. however the rain made us not want to be outside and instead we got tea and browsed around this cute little bookstore for a bit. it was a nice small trip which meant i had the entire seat to myself on the way back and i took a nap :)
saturday was the birmingham FC football match that everyone had to go on for inter. it was so much fun!!! despite the fact that we knew absolutely nothing at all about either team, everyone at least wore the colors in support (blue and white for BCFC). at least 20 of us bought jerseys from banbury, and some of the boys painted their chests to represent. originally the bus was going to let us off in the visitor lot because they hadn't planned on us dressing up (apparently we're the first ones ever to do so!) which would have been a bad idea and ended up with all of us dying. i ended up in a front row seat, A36, and i was basically eye level at the field the entire time. we took so many pictures because the entire thing was so amazing! i wish i could go back to another game....
today we went to warwick castle. the entire place was so incredibly beautiful i ended up taking over a hundred pictures! i ended up walking around with sara and jason and it was really nice to be in a small group. we went up on all the walls and were able to look out over the surrounding town and forest. there was a large peacock garden with a few dozen peacocks, male and female both. we even got to see the males try to entice the females into mating. we also got tickets to go on the ghost tour. it was only about 10 minutes which was kind of pathetic, but they definitely managed to scare us a few times. we were originally supposed to leave at 5, but as a group decided we didn't need that long and could leave at 4. i was upset because i had planned in time to walk around the grounds of the castle outside the walls, but we got a call at around 3:40 that everyone was at the bus and wanted to leave. so we ended up leaving without getting that chance :(
friday was a trip to the national portrait gallery in london with the art class. again, it was a long day of listening to the teacher drone for about 4 hours with a little bit of free time to explore. however the rain made us not want to be outside and instead we got tea and browsed around this cute little bookstore for a bit. it was a nice small trip which meant i had the entire seat to myself on the way back and i took a nap :)
saturday was the birmingham FC football match that everyone had to go on for inter. it was so much fun!!! despite the fact that we knew absolutely nothing at all about either team, everyone at least wore the colors in support (blue and white for BCFC). at least 20 of us bought jerseys from banbury, and some of the boys painted their chests to represent. originally the bus was going to let us off in the visitor lot because they hadn't planned on us dressing up (apparently we're the first ones ever to do so!) which would have been a bad idea and ended up with all of us dying. i ended up in a front row seat, A36, and i was basically eye level at the field the entire time. we took so many pictures because the entire thing was so amazing! i wish i could go back to another game....
today we went to warwick castle. the entire place was so incredibly beautiful i ended up taking over a hundred pictures! i ended up walking around with sara and jason and it was really nice to be in a small group. we went up on all the walls and were able to look out over the surrounding town and forest. there was a large peacock garden with a few dozen peacocks, male and female both. we even got to see the males try to entice the females into mating. we also got tickets to go on the ghost tour. it was only about 10 minutes which was kind of pathetic, but they definitely managed to scare us a few times. we were originally supposed to leave at 5, but as a group decided we didn't need that long and could leave at 4. i was upset because i had planned in time to walk around the grounds of the castle outside the walls, but we got a call at around 3:40 that everyone was at the bus and wanted to leave. so we ended up leaving without getting that chance :(
29 February 2008
friendsss
so when we went out to arabesque two weeks ago i met this kid mike who was very cool and very fun to talk to. then when we went out last thursday i got a chance to meet up with him again and hang out some more which was nice. he's a really awesome person and he has this gorgeous tattoo on his arm inspired by the early november and he recommended a good place to get a tattoo done in banbury. and he said that if we go there, he'll come with and hold my hand! and if i'm lucky, he's going to try to stop by wroxton sometime before we leave for paris this thursday morning :) xx
27 February 2008
you shook me all night long
so last night at wroxton we had an earthquake. according to BBC it was "the biggest earthquake in the UK for nearly 25 years." it was a 5.3 on the richter scale, which is pretty intense. it hit the campus around 1:40, when a large group of us were hanging out in my room. it was a 10 second quake with a depth of 15.4km (9.6 miles).
literally, the entire building shook. at first we thought it was the wind. then we thought it was a stampede of sheep or something equally ridiculous. then we sort of looked at each other and wondered aloud if it was an earthquake. we stood up very slowly and pulled on shoes and coats. as soon as it ended we ran down the stairs and huddled in the great hall. no one in the basement felt anything, but there were at least 15 of us that did, so we knew it wasn't a group hallucination or anything.
literally, the entire building shook. at first we thought it was the wind. then we thought it was a stampede of sheep or something equally ridiculous. then we sort of looked at each other and wondered aloud if it was an earthquake. we stood up very slowly and pulled on shoes and coats. as soon as it ended we ran down the stairs and huddled in the great hall. no one in the basement felt anything, but there were at least 15 of us that did, so we knew it wasn't a group hallucination or anything.
23 February 2008
weekend trips - brighton and bath
22 Feb, Brighton - an absolutely beautiful city! we went into the royal pavillion, which was incredible. the rooms were incredibly luxurious, and there were dragons everywhere...i'm planning to get a tattoo while i'm here so i think i might get a dragon now, i'm not sure about anything more than that but the idea is stuck in my head so i'm going to run with it for now. afterwards, we split up and walked around for a while. my group stumbled upon a £3 lunch special at an italian restaurant, so i got a margherita pizza and had more than enough in leftovers!! then we walked around and stopped in a few shops before heading toward the waterfront. we went onto the pier, which not only had food but also games. i was so proud that i held back on how much i gambled with because it could have been a lot. we spent an hour or so there, then we walked on a backstreet until we found a teahouse. ashley and i got this really yummy fruit tea and it was exactly what we wanted. then we walked along the beach for a bit, picked up a few pretty stones to use as paperweights, and got back on the bus to school.
23 Feb, Bath -our first stop was obviously the roman baths. the architecture of the whole building was incredible, and also very old. it was so interesting to see all the ancient structures. there were a lot of inscriptions for the roman pantheon which was super-cool. a large chunk of the main pool was under construction for repairs, so i had to work around that for picture taking opportunities. after we were done with the baths, we still had several hours to kill in the town. our first stop was lunch of course! i got a bacon and cheese pasty that was more potato than anything else :( but it was still delicious. after that we picked a direction and started walking. sara and i found a second hand store where i found a book for £1.25. now i have almost a complete series in my room here! we wandered around some more, finding various stores to walk into (a sweet shop, a music store, etc). we stumbled on this really pretty park so we sat and rested for a bit before sara went and picked some daffodils for everyone. we walked along the river for a while, but it started to drizzle so we went into a few more stores. i bought a little soapstone dolphin that's a beautiful marbled indigo color, and now i need to think of a name for him. we went for teatime at this little restaurant, and just wandered for a bit. there were several groups of street performers - we saw a man playing a violin, a man playing a pipe of some kind, two guys in thongs who played with fire, and a silver statue man who squeaked. such a fun trip!
23 Feb, Bath -our first stop was obviously the roman baths. the architecture of the whole building was incredible, and also very old. it was so interesting to see all the ancient structures. there were a lot of inscriptions for the roman pantheon which was super-cool. a large chunk of the main pool was under construction for repairs, so i had to work around that for picture taking opportunities. after we were done with the baths, we still had several hours to kill in the town. our first stop was lunch of course! i got a bacon and cheese pasty that was more potato than anything else :( but it was still delicious. after that we picked a direction and started walking. sara and i found a second hand store where i found a book for £1.25. now i have almost a complete series in my room here! we wandered around some more, finding various stores to walk into (a sweet shop, a music store, etc). we stumbled on this really pretty park so we sat and rested for a bit before sara went and picked some daffodils for everyone. we walked along the river for a while, but it started to drizzle so we went into a few more stores. i bought a little soapstone dolphin that's a beautiful marbled indigo color, and now i need to think of a name for him. we went for teatime at this little restaurant, and just wandered for a bit. there were several groups of street performers - we saw a man playing a violin, a man playing a pipe of some kind, two guys in thongs who played with fire, and a silver statue man who squeaked. such a fun trip!
21 February 2008
boys :)
so his name is david, he's 23, and he works at a ski shop in banbury...
and he is adorable!
and i'm seeing him again tonight!
ok so i really like him and he's a sweetie, but i'm here to have fun and i don't want to get too involved and be heartbroken when i come home in three months. we're still talking all the time, and i haven't told him this, but i will when or if he brings up the idea of something more serious.
went to the priory and arabesque on thursday with jess, nancy, sara gelpke, sonnier, rachael, brenna, and allie. had a blast. met some friends. danced and had a blast. life is good!
and he is adorable!
and i'm seeing him again tonight!
ok so i really like him and he's a sweetie, but i'm here to have fun and i don't want to get too involved and be heartbroken when i come home in three months. we're still talking all the time, and i haven't told him this, but i will when or if he brings up the idea of something more serious.
went to the priory and arabesque on thursday with jess, nancy, sara gelpke, sonnier, rachael, brenna, and allie. had a blast. met some friends. danced and had a blast. life is good!
19 February 2008
museums and Britons and castles, oh my!
so this past weekend the trips were to oxford, manchester, and kenilworth castle. i ended up not going to manchester because i had no real interest and because i was hopeful i would get a lot of work done on saturday.
friday's trip was to oxford. we had to go because it was required for the art class. we visited the Museum of Modern Art first, which was really interesting. i took down the names of a whole bunch of images that i loved, and if they'd been cheaper i would have bought one. however, all the ones that i liked were super expensive. i really want to look them up online to see if i can buy a print, but i keep forgetting to. a performance artist did a piece for us in the main gallery, which was basically a combination of dance and yoga while wearing camping gear. he did the entire performance in a frame that was about 4 feet square. afterwards we walked over to the Christ Church, which i didn't enjoy at all. firstly, i obviously don't feel any spiritual connection to the paintings. secondly, we were all very hungry because we got there late and that made lunch later. we had free time for two hours in the afternoon, so we walked over to the market square to eat lunch and do some shopping. after that we went to the Ashmoleon Museum, which was both good and bad. the teacher led us through an exhibit that i didn't really like with an intense lecture. we got done a few minutes early, so jason and i made a quick run through the egypt exhibit. then we ran to the bus and came back to school.
sunday we went to kenilworth castle in the afternoon. it was a beautiful day; all sunshine and bright sky. it was a bit windy but not too cold, the perfect weather for walking around. the ruins were so interesting to wander around because you could climb up some of them and go down into the dungeons of others. we spent over an hour just exploring the ruins of the castle before moving on to the exhibit of what the history of the estate was and what it used to look like. we all met up and got a cup of tea at the cafe, which was great because we missed teatime (which is probably my favorite meal here).
friday's trip was to oxford. we had to go because it was required for the art class. we visited the Museum of Modern Art first, which was really interesting. i took down the names of a whole bunch of images that i loved, and if they'd been cheaper i would have bought one. however, all the ones that i liked were super expensive. i really want to look them up online to see if i can buy a print, but i keep forgetting to. a performance artist did a piece for us in the main gallery, which was basically a combination of dance and yoga while wearing camping gear. he did the entire performance in a frame that was about 4 feet square. afterwards we walked over to the Christ Church, which i didn't enjoy at all. firstly, i obviously don't feel any spiritual connection to the paintings. secondly, we were all very hungry because we got there late and that made lunch later. we had free time for two hours in the afternoon, so we walked over to the market square to eat lunch and do some shopping. after that we went to the Ashmoleon Museum, which was both good and bad. the teacher led us through an exhibit that i didn't really like with an intense lecture. we got done a few minutes early, so jason and i made a quick run through the egypt exhibit. then we ran to the bus and came back to school.
sunday we went to kenilworth castle in the afternoon. it was a beautiful day; all sunshine and bright sky. it was a bit windy but not too cold, the perfect weather for walking around. the ruins were so interesting to wander around because you could climb up some of them and go down into the dungeons of others. we spent over an hour just exploring the ruins of the castle before moving on to the exhibit of what the history of the estate was and what it used to look like. we all met up and got a cup of tea at the cafe, which was great because we missed teatime (which is probably my favorite meal here).
16 February 2008
hair party 2.15.08
so last night we had a hair party. and by that i mean, we cut hair. first i gave sara gelpke the most adorable haircut. literally, i cut off about six inches. right now it's just at her shoulders and absolutely adorable and i'm slightly jealous of my own skill. then sara senter gave ashley some choppy layers and side bangs. then we were hanging out and i decided i'm sick of having this dark brown hair because the red is already shining through because it was red for so long its still underneath. but i don't want to go back to the solid red. so i'm thinking that in a month or two, when i run out shampoo and conditioner and need to buy more anyway, i might dye my hair. not quite sure what color yet, maybe a really deep auburn or light brown. but i have time!
then we sitting around in the saras bathroom, and chase wanders by. he bleached his hair and then we dyed it blue the other day, but it ended up looking a bit odd and it wasn't the shade of blue that he wanted. so we ended up shaving his head. and when i say shaving, i mean with a regular razor, not clippers or anything. so he is as bald as a cue ball, and it was so much fun. it seriously took us over an hour because we had to trim it with the scissors and then go over it with the razors about five times to get it all, but it actually looked really good when it was done. i think i may have missed my calling as a hairdresser....
then we sitting around in the saras bathroom, and chase wanders by. he bleached his hair and then we dyed it blue the other day, but it ended up looking a bit odd and it wasn't the shade of blue that he wanted. so we ended up shaving his head. and when i say shaving, i mean with a regular razor, not clippers or anything. so he is as bald as a cue ball, and it was so much fun. it seriously took us over an hour because we had to trim it with the scissors and then go over it with the razors about five times to get it all, but it actually looked really good when it was done. i think i may have missed my calling as a hairdresser....
15 February 2008
v dayyy
so my valentines day was fantasic, which is great considering i was worried it was going to suck because of the you-know-what. we all dressed up for dinner which was really fun, and sara curled my hair and i felt so pretty! it was actually a really nice feeling. so we ate dinner and then headed back to hang out in jason's room. we took tons of pictures, so that was definitely a good time. then we took a cab over to the priory in banbury. however, sara senter, ashley and i left our id's at school, so we came back and got them, and then were able to get into the pub. it was £ night at the priory, so pints were a pound (normally a pint is about £2.60). so we had a few more drinks and hung out. nearly everyone from wroxton was there which was nice, so i got to talk to a bunch of the girls that i hadn't had a chance to hang out with yet. we were dancing for a bit and had a smashing time.
ashley was hanging out with this group of british boys so i took it upon myself to go introduce myself....and ended up meeting a this really nice guy whose name i couldn't quite remember. it would be fun to have a real relationship while i'm over here, but i'm not sure if i really want to get into something serious when i know that i'm leaving the country in three months ♥
then ashley pulled me away when the pub closed and we shared a cab home with ross. then we had a photoshoot in her room, somehow managed to make tea without burning down the school or hurting ourselves, and hung out. jess and i fell over each other while hugging in the hallway, which resulted in a bruise on my leg. we came down with our laptops to the reading room and were there for a few minutes eating illegal cereal.
ashley was hanging out with this group of british boys so i took it upon myself to go introduce myself....and ended up meeting a this really nice guy whose name i couldn't quite remember. it would be fun to have a real relationship while i'm over here, but i'm not sure if i really want to get into something serious when i know that i'm leaving the country in three months ♥
then ashley pulled me away when the pub closed and we shared a cab home with ross. then we had a photoshoot in her room, somehow managed to make tea without burning down the school or hurting ourselves, and hung out. jess and i fell over each other while hugging in the hallway, which resulted in a bruise on my leg. we came down with our laptops to the reading room and were there for a few minutes eating illegal cereal.
11 February 2008
post-weekend in london
DAY 1 --> we got on a bus at 8am to go into london, where we got dropped off near trafalgar square, although we didn't know it at the time. we got on the tube and went directly to the hostel to check in and drop our bags. the place was kind of sketchy, but pretty much what we expected. so then we got on the underground and went into piccadilly circus to explore some and see what kinds of things there were. we all did a little shopping at the street, some people got new phones, and we picked up like soap and stuff for the hostel. we went back to the hostel to change and figure out what to do for dinner, since we had split into two groups in the afternoon. we ended up going to dinner at like 9, and nothing was open, so we ate at this weird restaurant where the food was good but super-spicy.
DAY 2 --> saturday we went on a free 3hour walking tour of a lot of the sites. we started off at the palace, where we got to see the changing of the guard. then we moved on around london to see some statues, trafalgar square, parliament, westminster abbey, the royal guards, and hyde park and much more! we lost anthony at the palace, and he was the only one who didn't have a phone so that was a bit worrisome. but we found him again at big ben, and life was good again. we split up again after lunch, and i went with a bunch of people into camden which is this really artsy, alternative, market-vendor section of the city. i bought legwarmers and two scarves. afterwards, we went back to the hostel to change because we were all kind of gross, and we went back to piccadilly for dinner. a bunch of us ate at this little italian place, and it was pretty good. afterwards, i got a call from nancy that camden was on fire, literally, some buildings were burning down. crazy! i'm so happy we got there earlier in the day. gelpke, angela and i were going to stay and go to a club, but we ended up heading back. the train broke down so we had to figure out the bus schedule (the system is down!). apparently because we ran out of the station some londoners though there was a bomb on the bus, which should not be as funny as it sounds. and then we went for drinks at the pub that magically appeared next door to the hostel.
DAY 3 --> woke up, ate, checked out of the hostel. then some of us explored the graveyard behind it. we caught the tube into london, however it broke down on the second stop. so we sat there for about an hour, before we had to walk down the tracks to get into the station. literally, we were walking down the tracks. it was so cool! then we waited for another 20mins for a train, and finally got into london proper around 12ish (after leaving at 10:30 on what should have been an 21 minute trip exactly). our group ended up eating lunch at subway because it was cheap. then we stopped at tesco (supermarket) to pick up some stuff. i got tea, honey, and some granola cereal for snacking on. trev got some tobacco because he bought a pipe in camden haha. then we just walked around for a bit before going back to the train station. we just sat in front of this building and did homework. the dean said he would take the bus and leave at 3:30 even if he was the only one on it, so that was incentive to get there early. back at school we just unpacked and hung out til dinner, and everyone went to bed early
02 February 2008
the inside info
So as everyone knows, I'm spending the semester abroad in England. I'm attending Wroxton College, which is owned and operated by FDU from January 31st through May 19th. We live in this amazing old restored abbey that's absolutely beautiful. I am in room 26, which is technically part of floor 2.5, and my primary exit method during a fire drill is through a fire escape out my window. We have close access to both the local town and several pubs, where I'm pretty much guaranteed to spend most of my money this semester. I'm taking five classes: Core 3, Art (The Development of British Painting), English (Modern Novels on the Screen), Sociology (Women & Race in Modern Britain), and Inter (The Anatomy of Contemporary Britain). Brian Swanzey and I are officially BFFs, and I've been to the pub with him nearly every night. The food here is pretty good, my room is huge/beautiful/MINE, and it's such a blast being here with all of my friends. We've inducted two girls from teaneck into our family: Jess & Nancy, who are cool enough to live on our floor. I've been starting to look into travelling around, and as far as I'm concerned, the semester can only go up from here!
For contact purposes, mail takes about a week and should be sent to:
c/o Rachel Gutin
Wroxton College
Oxfordshire, Nr. Banbury
OX15 6PX UK
OX15 6PX UK
Or if you want to call or text me, I can be reached at 001-44-079 756 33678. Please don't leave a voicemail since it costs me to check those!
I also got Skype the other day, and my name for that is "tocausemischief." But I don't regularly sign on, so if you want to talk that way, let me know :) That's also my screenname, and I'm often online, but remember Britain is 5 hours ahead of the USA (pretty much I eat dinner when you eat lunch)
oh yeah, and I got to fly a red-tailed hawk that Jason and I named Tobias :)
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