The Little Red Raven Went Across the Pond

Pomegranates and Lace of Stone, Granada the Beautiful

10/20-10/22

On the way to Granada, we stopped at Córdoba. It was amazing seeing the mosque/cathedral and everything in it. I couldn’t get over how huge it was and how I was getting to be in a building featured in all of my art books. How this was so famous for so many reasons. There was a sense of reverence even amidst all of the tourists. 

The light was beautiful, there were stained glass images dancing on many of the walls from the light streaming in. It was soft, low lighting, quiet even with the echoing halls. Lots of beautiful statues and images in the cathedral part of the building. So beautiful.

We left afterward generally very happy with the experience and went on to an olive oil factory where we got to learn and see how olive oil is made and how lovingly it is done by many of the olive orchard owners here. We bought bottles of extra virgin (the best of any oil you can get) olive oil, and by this company is was very cloudy. I had never seen it like this before, but from the way they talked, this was the best olive oil you could ever get. I paid 10 euro for two bottles of it, not so bad. I found out that this was REALLY a good deal because it actually IS some of the best olive oil you can ever get, and bottles in markets sell for upwards of 40 euros. What a steal!

We went on to Granada and got in late-ish. I went to dinner with some friends, but ended up just getting an ice cream cone instead of a real meal. We snuggled down pretty early that evening.

(10/21) I got up early the next morning and watched the sun rise over the Alhambra from the balcony of my hotel. It was really beautiful and peaceful. I had breakfast and went with my dad on a walking tour from a Rick Steve’s book around Granada’s Old Town, which happened to be part of where we were staying. We stopped at an oasis where traders would rest their camels. It was a really beautiful and peaceful place with lots of hanging vines and trees everywhere. We also walked around the market places that were still closed at the early hour we were wandering, and ended up seeing some real gypsies. Not the kind that would shove sprigs of olive branches at you and give you phony palm readings, but the kind that would have children hiding under their skirts to pick pocket you blind. They were spooky and we ended up dodging away from them to avoid any kind of interaction. We investigated some fruit stands and went around the outside of the cathedral nearby. I took pictures of all of the pomegranate motifs I saw, because there are SO many and there’s such a wide variety of different images and ways to show a pomegranate. Being an art person, of course I find this interesting.

We headed back to the hotel to get Mom to show her around the tour we took. When we went back to the oasis, there was a man playing guitar there and it was absolutely perfect. It was the most appropriate background music I have ever had and it made the experience at the oasis so much better than before. We also stopped and looked at a fountain displaying Christopher Columbus asking for Isabella’s backing for his excursions to find better trade routes. I got to flex my art muscles looking at this because I noticed two women holding up the scroll of Columbus’s proposal on the bottom part of the fountain were personifications of the Old World (a soft looking woman with extremely european features, and very modest) and the New World (a hard looking, wild woman with her breasts exposed and a crown with a sunflower on her head of dreaded/matted hair). I pointed this out to my mom and one of our professors with us. They were impressed and I was pleased with my ability to notice these things.

We bustled through the market places and Dad and I went up to where I would be going to the Arab Baths later that night, and then walked back. I did some shopping and took photos of jewelry of pomegranates, when it was time to go up to the Alhambra.

We walked up a very steep hill to get up to the Alhambra and I was panting and my legs were burning the whole way, but it was lovely. There were several kitties running around, feral cats that lived at the Alhambra, but only one tolerated petting and I didn’t get to pet it for very long before we went in. Dad and I decided to do the Rick Steve’s tour from the book about Granada and the Alhambra and this really ended up being great for us. 

The architecture is absolutely beautiful. Everything looks so delicate but it’s so strong. The stone literally looks like lace. The tiling was beautiful and the geometric shapes were mind blowing. The calligraphy and delicate look of all of the carvings was just… so amazing. And that’s without the original paint it once had. I can’t even imagine how spectacular that would have been with paint, and how long it must have taken to paint such beautiful works.

Dad and I were sneaky and ended up taking photos of the Fountain of Lions when we weren’t supposed to, and ended up jumping some ropes and going where we shouldn’t. No one was watching us and we ended up getting a great experience out of it, really. 

We saw some amazing gardens and amazing sights. I loved the Alhambra and it was just stupendous.

We also got to go to an M.C. Escher gallery that was within the Alhambra area near the Charles IV palace. This is one of the few times Dad elected to go see an art gallery, but he also really likes M.C. Escher because he does symmetry art. So we got to see some very beautiful pieces and a fun audio/visual display of his works as well. When we left, there was a little boy and his mom waving to his dad up on a balcony above us. The little boy didn’t see his dad right away, so being silly like I am, I came up right by him and waved at his dad. The little boy looked surprised but he started waving at his dad and he let me pick him up to wave some more. I set him down and he went running about, laughing and playing, and I talked to his mom and told her about my niece and nephew and how I was really used to kids his age and size and loved playing with them. I apologized for being so forward, but she seemed pleased, especially since she was a fellow American. The little boy ran up and ran away from me, then looked back and held out his hands to me. I ran and picked him up and played a little with him, then sent him back to his mother. His mother laughed and said he really was reaching for me, which I thought was sweet.

We went on and I ran into a French woman who I thought was beautiful. I went through a fun process of switching between 3 languages to explain to her that I thought she was gorgeous and I wanted to take her picture. She was so flattered by the compliment of how beautiful she was, that Dad saw her after my encounter with her and told me how bubbly looking and happy she was. I was so pleased I could make her day and I could take the picture of such a beautiful woman and her two gorgeous girls.

We sat out in the courtyard waiting for mom and I bought food to feed the kitties with, hoping they would let me pet them (they didn’t). And then we headed back after a while.

I did a little bit more shopping around (buying very little, mostly postcards) and then went back to the hotel to rest and change to go to the arab baths that evening.

The Arab Baths were amazing. It was the most relaxing experience. You got to switch between 3 large (ish) baths, a very small ice cold bath, a very shallow but very long hot bath, and a moderately sized but very deep warm bath. There was also a tea room and a sauna where you could relax and detox. During the two hour spa stay, you also got a massage. I was one of the lasts, which I preferred. I was able to loosen my muscles, stretch, and relax a great deal while enjoying the baths, and then was nearly put to sleep by the massage (I got a good masseuse who did a deep rub). Afterward, I got to swim some more and relax more and then it was time to go. I jumped into the cold bath last to close up pores (I had been in it before, but it is literally near freezing so when my toes went numb, I decided I didn’t need to be in it that much), and then we all headed out for a relaxing tapas dinner and I headed home for bed.

The next day (10/22) we got to have the morning to enjoy the market place again, and I did. I made sure to buy a few things I had my eye on but had not gotten and bought more postcards. Dad and I even went to a very early morning mass, and I got to admire the inside of the cathedral (which was amazing). I packed up and readied myself to leave. It started raining just as I went to get ice cream and poured while I waited for everyone else to gather before we left.

The flight home wasn’t long, but it was emotional after being so tired and exhausted by the trip. By the time I got home, extremely late (nearly 1 or 2AM), I realized I was so homesick. 

The visit to Spain and Portugal was amazing, but very exhausting. I loved it, and Spain easily became my favorite country.

Sevilla’s Spectacular Spending Sticker

10/18-10/19

The bus ride from Lagos to Sevilla was long and we stopped for lunch along the way, for which we took far too much time. It was a great lunch, but we were just sitting around afterward and there was no reason to do that. But, we also stopped at La Rabida, the monastery that was closely associated with Christopher Columbus, and the Columbus museum. It was a great experience there and I absolutely loved the art dedicated to the events. It was a beautiful monastery, and at the museum we got to climb all over recreations of the Santa Maria and Niña that sailed over. Naturally, we all pretended we were pirates. I fed some kittens at the square there, and we all took pictures around the mock ups of Ferdinand and Isabella.

We finally got into Sevilla late afternoon and were shown where we would be staying and the Cathedral nearby which was beautiful. My friends and I went walked around the market places and a park called the Maria Luisa park, where we saw an amazing building and got to feed birds. It was really quite a fun adventure.

We headed back and met with my Dad for dinner and ice cream, and I went out with a friend afterward to have some personal time that evening. We ended up drawing all over paper place mats where we were sitting, which was rather pleasant. We headed back fairly late that evening, which was even better since we got to experience a little bit of the night life in Sevilla.

We got up very early the next morning and went shopping all over the markets nearby. It was beautiful getting to see so much and interact with others so much. I ended up buying a few things for my family and boyfriend. Everything was so cheap there that it was hard to not buy several things. I limited myself but felt I did well, and also got the leather bracelets I had been wanting.

We got to have some delicious tapas for lunch and relax for a bit in the sun that afternoon. I started getting a headache so I headed back to the hotel while others went to tour the cathedral. I had a much needed nap and got up that evening to go see a Flamenco dance show. I ended up buying a leather bag I had been eyeing all day, just before I actually went to the show. It was 30 euros but real weather-treated leather and frankly… Best buy I’ve made. The dancer was a world renowned dancer who had several professional teachers in the crowd that were watching to learn from her. It was fantastic. She was beautiful and so full of emotion. I’ve never been to a show like that, but it was wonderful.

We went to bed extremely late, but got up very early the next day for our next adventure over into Granada. 

Let Me Lay In Lagos

I think I’ll try to handle the week in Portugal in Spain in three segments for the three locations that we visited.

So, let’s start at 10/16/11, although we arrived in Lagos 10/15… extremely late at night.

10/16 was a Sunday. We woke up early and had a breakfast similar to what was in France, mostly a baguette or bread of some sort, but there was cheese and thinly sliced meats. I learned to really enjoy these types of breakfasts. I went with a few people to walk around outside before we went to church together. We ended up walking down to a shop where I saw a Peacock feather shirt that I squealed over and… ended up buying immediately. I was a little ashamed, but surprisingly this does NOT set a precedent for the rest of the trip! I didn’t buy all that much in the end.

We went back to the hotel and I put up my purchase, and we headed to church together. There were kitties and kids on the way there, and according to one of the professors with us, the kids were commenting about how super white all of us were… This just made me laugh. 

After church, since we were right on the coast, we headed off to the beaches. It was a great, and beautiful afternoon. I borrowed sunscreen from a nice Finnish woman who ended up helping to rub it on me. She was very motherly, and her daughter was the one who gave me sunscreen. They were wonderful. I ended up swimming in the ocean with Maegan quite a bit and got a LOT of sand in my swimsuit. I ended up finding an secluded spot on the beach and proceeded to rid myself of the sand stuck to me as best and unflatteringly as I could. Luckily no one went looking for me. 

The rest of the afternoon was lazy. We went to another cove to explore, then started heading back to the hotel. I did stop and get some postcards, though.

You know, they say that Portugal and Spain have a great night life, and I know that they do have a much more appealing time schedule than Oxford does, but I was in bed by 9pm every day in Portugal. I never was out late, and I blame the time at the beach. Not that it bothered me, it was the most relaxed and happy I had felt in quite a while (it seemed). We had great desserts and dinners there, and I had the most amazing Paella I have ever had. It was so good and I’ll probably recreate it sometime soon since it was a fairly simple thing but so good.

The next day, we went to A Rocha, a environmental group and center with a focus on Christianity that taught that man’s dominion over nature was given to them by God so that they could care for God’s earth, for who knows if this will become our Heaven. It was fun, since we got to watch them tag a couple of birds and then we went and observed some flamingos and talked about the surrounding landscape and the conservation efforts that were being employed at that time.

We had lunch there, homemade by the people currently living up at A Rocha, and had some discussion, then headed back to our hotel. Of course, we headed back the beach, but we picked a new beach that was much closer to us than the coves we had gone to the day before. The ocean was much calmer here and we swam out pretty far before the waves got too big and rolled us back onto shore. The rest of the time was spent sunbathing. However, sunbathing for me meant sitting in the sun with sunscreen on and changing maybe a shade darker. And that shade is only noticeable right after getting the “tan” (if it can even be called that). The next morning, there’s no evidence of it. I’m not even joking, I’m as white as I’ve always been. Anyway, there was a dog at the beach that I ended up petting, and it ended up following me all over the beach, digging a hole and making a nest to lay in when were laying in the sand, and running through the water with me when I decided to go soak my feet. It was a sweet dog, but when we had to leave, it was still following me and it broke my heart that I couldn’t do anything for it… Luckily, we passed a restaurant and she ran off there. I hope she was fed. There was also an orange kitty like my Theo there, but it didn’t want to be pet. Such a tease to see a kitty like my baby but not get to love it… 

We had dinner at a place that my parents really enjoyed, and got dinner at the same dessert place we had gone to the night before. I got ice cream this time instead of the amazing molten chocolate cake I had previously. But, I ate my ice cream before everyone else got their desserts, so the waiter thought I didn’t order anything. He ended up bringing me a couple of chocolate covered strawberries on the house. He was so sweet and a very funny waiter who teased us and complimented us. I left him a nice tip when we left. When we got back, I was once again asleep before 10pm. And I slept rather hard. 

The people in Lagos were very friendly and very kind. Everyone had been helpful and willing to tease us gently when we had trouble with the few Portuguese phrases we knew. I would have tried to speak more of it, but it was so different from French and Spanish, it was hard to pick up. I could pick up more by reading it, since it seemed to have a more recognizable Latin base than French or Spanish have at all, but speaking it was hard since I didn’t have a reference point and had never grown up hearing it (I listened to enough Spanish growing up that I knew more than I thought I did, and I spent two years listening and learning French that it was easier to learn even more by listening to others than it was for me to try to learn any Portuguese by listening). The beaches were amazing and beautiful, the weather was really just perfect, and the food was great. 

The next morning, we started a long bus ride to Spain.

The Oxford Lull

(10/04-10/14)

The Internet was up and back on when we returned from Paris. Thank goodness, because it was driving some of us crazy and it was stressing me out since I never felt I could do the work that needed to be done. So that was the first bit of good news to which we came home.

There was a second bit of good news, too. Remember that mention a while back of how I lost the water bottle Carlos’s mom gave me? Well, a while after we got back, it was a pretty lazy week as far as getting out and about went (due to school commitments), until I got a message that I had a package at the Royal Mail office. It was quite a walk down there, but the Elephant House in Edinburgh mailed me my water bottle! I was so happy. It seems silly, but I really like the water bottle and I really appreciate Carlos’s mom. I headed back and washed out the bottle and filled it up to enjoy having it around again.

That Sunday, 10/09, Dad and I walked to Wolvercote to go to an apple festival. It was a long, beautiful walk and the apple festival was so fun in their small, town owned apple orchard. We walked around, had fresh squeezed apple juice, and took some great pictures of the band and kids there. I bought a little cake and a jar of Apple Rosé jelly. It is delicious. When we headed back from Wolvercote, we came across some cows along the Thames path and Dad and I decided to imitate Temple Grandin and we lay down in the grass and stayed very still. The cows, doing as cows do, came over and started staring at us, but Dad decided to scare a cow and it headbutted him, so we ended up standing up really fast before the cow got mean. They were steers that we were messing with, it turned out. But it was a fun experience, and Dad walked away snickering like a kid. 

I call this the Oxford Lull because there was a trip to Spain looming in the distance for the entirety of our study abroad group. We spent the time after Paris mostly laden with a lot of school work (it seriously never felt like it was stopping), mid terms, essays, presentations, and other various and stressful bits of work. I got into a slump and was depressed I had so much to do and it started to feel like no matter how hard I worked or how far ahead I got, I still had a mountain of work before me. I ended up sleeping when I felt really overwhelmed (which was a lot), but I did eventually get through a lot of it. Aside from the stresses of school, there was also an anticipation for Spain. Anticipation either excited to go or ready to go and get back as quickly as possible. And no one was ever completely committed to one sense or the other of the Anticipation, but it was there.

The Three Stooges of Notre Dame (and the Paris Adventures)

(09/30-10/03/11)

We left early Friday morning and walked to the train station, suitcase in tow, and boarded our first train. We took it to London and then the tubes to St. Pancras (if memory serves me right) station where we got to sit and hang out for a while. This is the first travel center I encountered that actually had free WiFi. In all of the traveling I have been able to do, I will never understand why stations, ports, and other places that are a hub from which you travel do not have free internet. It makes no sense to me. But I was pleased and checked messages and played around on my phone until we were able to board the Eurostar. It was a pretty comfy ride! Although, riding up to the Chunnel and then through it was a killer on our ears because of the pressure differences. I popped my ears more in that single setting on the train than I have ever popped my ears in my life total. We arrived in Paris in the late afternoon and took the tubes to our hotel. It was really fun for me to see all of the signs as soon as we stepped out in French. I guess it never seems like you are really somewhere new in the world until you don’t immediately recognize the words on the signs. Luckily, I have some pretty mediocre high school French that was ACTUALLY helpful. And my Dad told me it would be useless when I was taking it! Boy, wasn’t he… kind of right. But, it did benefit me as I will describe for the adventures here.

We walked from the tube to our hotel/hostel sort of thing for the stay. There was WiFi, which was good for me. I ended up paying for it only to find out it didn’t work up in my room so I had to come down stairs to use it. That was quite annoying, but at least I was able to be in contact with Carlos regularly. I laid down for only a little bit before we all left for the Eiffel Tower and to go on a night bike tour around Paris. Mom and I walked about half way there before we realized it was an extremely long walk from our hotel to the tower, so we caught a taxi for the rest of the way and that was when I first got to exercise my French speaking powers… to ask if our taxi driver spoke English (it was taking a little bit for my vocabulary to come back to me). He said he did, but then chastised me for asking him to take us to the Eiffel Tower in English (I was a little flustered and could not remember “tour”). I shrugged it off, we were going to pay him and at least I asked in French first. When we got there, we took a lot of pictures and considered going up the tower, but decided not to today. We realized we were hungry since we hadn’t eaten much since earlier that morning, and with all of the travel it was starting to set in just how hungry we were. We ended up getting some sandwiches and eating under the tower while we waited for everyone else to show up. When they did, it was just about time for the bike tours to meet up.

We got sorted into groups, ours being the biggest, and we walked to the bike tour offices where we got neon vests and our bikes for the evening. Mine was named The Cat in the Hat. I was thoroughly pleased. Mom had a difficult time with her bike… I won’t go into details, but she fell before the tour even started. Oops. Not a good sign.

It started out really fun. I forgot how much I love riding bikes and just enjoyed the ease. When we got into Paris traffic, that’s when it stopped being very fun… Mom fell at one of the stops, and again at another. She was okay, not scraped up yet, but I started to hang back and ride with her. We stopped and took a short break on a bridge near looking out at the Notre Dame. It was beautiful all lit up, and the bridge we were on was covered in lover’s locks (literally locks that couples come and put on the chain link fence over a bridge, then throw the key off the bridge into the river below together). We parked our bikes and walked past a 1920s jazz street band (I was excited by this) and to an ice cream shop (that turned out to be very close to our hotel). I had the best ice cream I have ever tasted from there. It was really gelato, but wow… Seriously. Wow. It was so good. We came back, got on our bikes, and headed to the Louvre. We parked our bikes for a moment there and took some photos, watched some of the kids and merchants playing with these need light up toys that you launch into the air and I swear they looked so much like when fireworks are shot off just before they burst. I kept expected the bursts when I saw them at first, then realized they were toys. It was a pleasant stop, and then we went on. That was when Mom took a pretty hard fall. She hit her face on a pole and bruised up her arm and leg pretty badly… I ended up taking a cab back to the bike tour’s office with her, iced her swollen spots for a while, and bought both of us shirts of the bike tour to try to cheer her up. We eventually left after sufficiently icing down her injuries and got a taxi back to the hotel (which I was able to communicate with the driver so much better this time). We were done for the night and I went to bed fairly early, completely exhausted. Paris was HOT while we were there and it didn’t help.

The next day, my friend Maegan and I began quite an adventure around Paris. We started with looking around a neighborhood of shops nearby and bought a few things, such as Macarons, some strawberries, and some chocolate sauce (…just me… I bought chocolate sauce. I regret nothing). I got hit on by a weird French man in a small shop when I was buying some batteries for my camera. He helped talk to the teller for me since I was like, “… JE VOUDRAI BATTERIES.” I was shy in my French, so maybe that’s what was preventing me from communicating very well. But he told me I owed him a date for his help and I just laughed and quickly left the store with Maegan. We then, using a series of tubes (thanks Al Gore!) made our way to an area of town where we could go to Sacre Ceour. We got lost a few times, but the one thing I know very well in French is asking for directions. We stopped at a restaurant that Maegan had found out about from reading about where she wanted to go called Au Bon Coin. We ordered chicken and potatoes from a wonderfully kind woman who knew English even when I ordered in French. She was the sweetest woman ever and took great care of us. When we got our food… It was heaven. Seriously. The chicken was the best chicken I have ever had in my life. Maegan and I couldn’t talk because of how good it was but we would look at each other and know both of us felt the same way. This was the most amazing chicken. When I tried the potatoes, I could have asked this for my last meal. They were crispy and crunchy but soft and savory. Everything was absolutely perfectly seasoned. I felt so good and so happy with every bite. I’m really not exaggerating this story, it was seriously THAT good.

When we were done, we got to know our waitress a little more and she was the sweetest thing. When we went on our way, she told us to have a nice life. It’s probably one of the few times you’ll hear that phrase without any sarcasm or bitterness in it. We will probably never see her again, but I hope she also has a nice life. She was wonderful to us.

We left and went to Sacre Coeur. The way there was the worst.The streets were crowded and we climbed up so many steps. When you thought the stairs were done and you thought you were okay, you would look across the street and behold. More stairs. But once we were there, it was a beautiful church and offered the most amazing view of Paris (nothing like the Eiffel Tower’s view, but I didn’t have that for comparison yet). We headed back down and started heading to the next tube station when two men stopped us exclaiming, “YOU AH SO BEEYOOTIFUL,” with large hand gestures for emphasis. They asked us for our phone numbers and I told them I was in a very committed relationship. Maegan stuttered and was caught in a lie when she said she also had a boyfriend. They pressed and were very pushy trying to get our numbers. I grabbed Maegan by the arm and we hurried away in the next moment. We caught the tube over to the Moulin Rouge and took some pictures there, then headed to a cemetery to see Oscar Wilde’s grave. From there, we caught a tube over to the Arc De Triomphe, which was quite impressive. It’s huge and it never looks huge in photos. But it really is. We then hurried back to the hotel for dinner and made plans to go visit the Eiffel Tower that evening to see it lit up and to try to go up to the top.

We walked to the Eiffel Tower which is quite a long walk, but got ice cream along the way. About an hour or so later, we arrived. When we got to the Eiffel Tower, the sparkling lights had just turned on and we were greeted with a lovely little light show. However, when we checked to see if we could ride up to the top, we found that the ticket booths were closed. So we headed back, and I fell asleep pretty fast. It had been an exhausting and hot day. We had walked 12 miles all over Paris.

The next day was Sunday, and I went to Mass in the Notre Dame with my family and my friend Katelyn. I understood a bit of the service and could read it well enough that I was able to follow along in our bulletins through the service. We took communion and were quite pleased with how beautiful and amazing the service and experience was. I mean, Mass is a relaxing experience, and to have it in such a stimulating environment was lovely. When the service finished, we walked around and toured the cathedral. I ended up buying some medallions for Carlos’s grandmother of the church. I hope she enjoys them. When we left, Katelyn and I decided we should find the steps that you see in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame up to the church doors. Spoilers: They don’t exist. Disney made them up just like they made up the ending (which I feel that’s fine, otherwise the Hunchback of Notre Dame is a very sad story). While looking for those stairs, we went around the back and when we walked into the courtyard, three French men began speaking loudly and started describe a nonsensical story of how the architect of Notre Dame did not have enough glass to build the cathedral, so God came down and provided him with all of the glass he would need. This was complete with the storyteller (whose name is Bruno), his friend who pantomimed his descriptions, and their other friend in the background filling in with the real facts when Bruno could not remember parts of his own story. They were very funny and took our bulletins from Mass and started singing the opening hymn. Katelyn teased them and said, “Oh so now you’re singers?” And they proceeded to sing some Beatles songs and Champs Elyseé at my request. They were quite funny and very kind. They told us that we were “good tourists” and started chatting normally with us. They were very nice, and invite everyone from Texas to come visit Paris since they enjoyed us so much. Katelyn and I walked away laughing and feeling good because of how great these three stooges were.

We got around back to the front of the Notre Dame where Mom and Dad were waiting for one of our staff to come join us to go to the markets. While we waited, a man was feeding sparrows and they would all fly and land on his hand to eat the bread. I asked him (in broken French) if I could try and he gave me some bread. I enjoyed feeding those little birds and he was a very kind man. Children started coming up and he started helping them feed the birds and it was just a very sweet and special thing to witness.

We eventually met with our other prof and took the tube to the markets where we poked around for a little bit before heading to the Museé Rodin, which involved me asking for directions there. We also ended up having to ask people in the tubes to make sure we were headed the right way still, so it was fun, albeit stressful, exercising my French to get around. Katelyn and I did get there eventually, got lunch there and walked around the statue garden and Rodin’s house. It was beautiful, and I loved the pieces I saw there. We then headed to the entrance to the catacombs and walked through them for about an hour or so. It was really interesting and really made one reflect on life and memories. We headed back to our hotel for dinner at that point and then got dressed to go swing dancing that evening.

We headed out and went to a jazz club. At first there was only one couple dancing while the band played, but after we arrived, Katelyn started teaching me swing moves so we danced awkwardly away. But, that caught the eye of the couple dancing and one of them asked Katelyn to dance with her for fun. The next song came on and Katelyn and the other girl (whose name is Addie!) did an amazing Charleston and Lindy and who knows what else together. Soon, people were asking Katelyn to dance with them, and she was amazing to watch. She had so much fun and was just glowing. It was such a fun evening. It helps that I love 1920s and 1940s jazz, which is what was being played that evening. I was just fascinated with swing dancing, though. I may have to pick it up. We headed back very late that evening, close to midnight or later, and snuggled into bed, exhausted by another hot day. We would be leaving the next day, but not until later in the day, so Maegan and I had some fun last day plans ready to go.

We headed out the next morning to the Eiffel Tower and climbed up to the second floor. It was an incredible work out and we were drenched in sweat at the top by the time we were finished. The views were completely worth it, especially with this neat morning fog that was drifting over the city. It was beautiful. We then made our way to the Louvre and found a few key pieces we wanted to see. For me, my goal was the Nike of Samothrace. She is my favorite statue that I have studied since Freshman year and I always wanted to see her in person. No matter what anyone says, it was the best experience ever. I was so overcome by her. I was floored when I first saw her as it was a very unexpected sight when I whirled around and saw her at the top of the stairwell. I shouted, I was so surprised. I walked up reverently to see her and circled her slowly, soaking in her image completely. I had tears in my eyes just staring at her. Time was very rude and I had to leave, but man… It was amazing. We looked at several other pieces, including some Da Vinci’s and the other members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle gang. We headed back toward our hotel and stopped at some shops along the way to pick up postcards and posters, and look at the Shakespeare Company bookstore. I also picked up a big box of Macarons and shared them with mom and others, later. We headed back to the hotel and got ready to leave. I was exhausted and irritable at this point. By the time we got on the train back home, I was pretty solidly out for a good bit of the ride.

We got back late that evening, but it was a great trip. I really enjoyed Paris.

Paris Preparation

9/26-9/29/11 (Monday-Thursday)

Apparently my phone has not been backing up, so all of the short notes I took since August about my days were erased. Unfortunately, my long term memory is much better than my short term, and I’m having to go by the various blogs, journals, assignments, and records of other aspects of my life to remember what on earth we were doing.

There is nothing truly remarkable about this week, as far as I can remember, aside from the internet being out still and would not be fixed until we would be gone again to France. I spent a fair amount of time with my parents due to this and was often at their flat to use their internet and work on studies and eat.

The week itself was fairly regular but still stressful due to the lack of internet, but I did sleep very well since I couldn’t distract myself when I wake up in the night (which I do frequently) by looking at messages. I could only note the time and go back to sleep. However, Dad and I did walk along a new route to the train station on Tuesday of this week (27th) and walked along the canals. We followed it a round about way and found it led to the Train Station. We were rather pleased with ourselves for finding a much less stressful route to the trains and then followed the canals back home.

I decided that I would take my carry on suitcase since we were taking the trains to Paris in a couple of days and were not limited on luggage. I still packed lightly, but much more organized than I would have been able to with a backpack. I did this Thursday evening before we left the next morning. 

Bagpipers, Haggis, and Heights

Friday (9/23/11), 10 of us, including me, took an early train to Edinburgh. I brought lots of granola with me and some of the Indian food I had left over from the night before, which I ate for lunch on the train. The entire trip over, I was knitting. I wanted to finish my boyfriend’s scarf as soon as possible, as I had been itching to use my new blue yarn so badly. In any case, others asked about it and it’s always a great conversation starter. 

When we got to the hostel, we took a look around and it was actually a pretty decent place with free wifi… that wasn’t working when we got there. How annoying. In any case, we settled in, refreshed a bit, and left to explore the city. We visited a cemetery where we could see Edinburgh Castle without any problem, and then visited a beautiful church with a tiffany stained glass window and a stone carving of The Last Supper. We went on from there to look at the Scottish monument and to explore a little more. We then went on to try to meet some of our other friends who came up separately for Pizza Express. We ended up eating there, but never saw them. They had told us about a free ghost tour, though, so we left and headed toward where they claimed the ghost tour was, armed with a map. We eventually found another Pizza Express off of the Royal Mile and close to where the ghost tour would be, which ended up being the one that the others had eaten at. We eventually all found each other, and went on the tour.

You really get what you pay for. It wasn’t much of a ghost tour, nothing like others in Edinburgh I had been on the last time I came (in 2007). It was amusing, but not as informative or fun as others. We left together afterward and went to explore some pubs to occupy us for a while, but a couple in our group didn’t bring their IDs with them, and the pubs wouldn’t even let us stay because of this. So we went on, and finally find a fun place that was a lively crowd and enjoyable. We headed to a grocery store for snacks afterward, and sat in our room together, eating and chatting late into the night, and then got into bed. 

The next day (9/24/11), we went to the Scottish Monument and only a few of us went to the very top. It was an incredible view of Edinburgh and completely worth the few pounds we paid to go up. I loved it and took a few nice pictures there. Some of our friends down below took pictures of us at the top. We came down and continued to explore the city. We came across another cemetery where we looked around, and then went on to Calton Hill. It was quite a trek to the top, but once there, the view was beautiful. The grass was soft and the sun warmed us up, and there were romanesque columns towering on top of part of the hill. We could see King Arthur’s seat from where we were and just stood admiring the countryside for quite a while. We eventually went back down and headed toward Holyrood Palace. We ended up passing Queen Mary’s Bathhouse when we did and I thought it was a pretty little place. We didn’t go in to Holyrodd because it was quite a bit costly and we wanted to save money to go into Edinburgh Castle. So we looked around Scottish Parliament nearby and then found some pubs to have lunch in afterward. I ended up having haggis and soup for lunch, out of curiosity. It was surprisingly good. It had a fairly creamy texture and reminded me of corned beef. One of my flatmates was rather grossed out by it when I told her what it was. It doesn’t matter, one should be open to trying new things.

After lunch, we headed up the Royal Mile and looked around at the shops and vendors, and then eventually made our way to Edinburgh Castle. We went in and explored and I enjoyed all of the memories I had of being there years before, and had a better appreciation of what I was looking at now. When we were done, we headed back to the hostel to rest a little and get changed. I checked messages and caught up with friends and boyfriend. Then we all walked down a long way (part of which we were lost and in a sketchy looking neighborhood) to the docks and bay. We found a really neat boat restaurant where we chose to eat called Cruz. The meals were fairly priced, and I really enjoyed my Caprese, Lasagne, and ice cream. We ended up taking a bus back to the hostel. I ended up going to bed early, but I think the others were out for a while afterward.

On Sunday (9/25/11), we packed up and made sure we would be ready to leave later that day, and went out to get food for lunches at 10AM. We planned on going to the top of the Crags and King Arthur’s seat and having lunch while we were there. By the time we got there, it was a little later than we planned, so we all kind of agreed on a time to meet and went our own ways. I tried to keep up with a couple of the guys, but I simply could not. However, once I slowed down and decided to enjoy the walk up, taking in everything, I really enjoyed the journey. It was beautiful going up, the valleys looking so soft and green, and being able to see further and further out onto the city. I chatted to a few people along the way up, and helped an older women over some harder places. Eventually, I got to the top, and a nice girl took some pictures for me, and I took more of the view. It was quite amazing, and incredibly windy. I touched based with the guys I had been following, and then only went a little further down to eat part of my lunch. I sat and looked around at the view of the city, soaking it in. It was beautiful and so peaceful at the top, although cold and windy. I took more photos, and eventually started my way down, but I chose a different path so I could see more of the area.

I was so glad I chose this path. It was beautiful, and I had amazing views and photo moments. When I got further down, I found this little ridge sticking out from the mountain that was covered in soft, soft grass. I laid down in it and I could have fallen asleep there. It was warm and as soft as any bed. It was like being in the fantasy books and faerie tales I have always loved. I decided to eat the rest of my lunch there, and to rest a while, watching some dogs and their owners play in the valley down below. 

I eventually decided to get up and finish my path down the mountain. When I was close to the bottom and on a paved walk way, there was a father with his little girl (about 2 years old) and two young sons walking ahead of me. The little girl was veering rather close to the edge of the path where she could fall down the hill, and the father was distracted with the boys causing some disruptions. I started to walk beside the girl to keep her from going off the edge when she grabbed my hand and started holding it while we walked. I started laughing that she had done this and her father noticed me then, and thanked me for helping. We walked and talked together, all the while the little girl kept a fast grip on my hand. It was pleasant, and he was very kind, and his little girl was such a cutiepie. She made me miss my niece so badly, but it was nice to get to be with some kids and help watch over them.

When we got to the bottom, we parted ways, and I went and got myself an ice cream while I waited for the others, and looked around the park near King Arthur’s Seat and Parliament. When we all met back up together, we went to Elephant House, the café where J.K. Rowling started the Harry Potter books. It was a beautiful and cute little coffee shop. We took photos, went in and looked around, used the restrooms (where I spent more time than necessary reading what people had written to Ms. Rowling and about Harry Potter on the walls), and then we headed back to the Hostel. By the time we got there, I realized I left my water bottle that Carlos’s mom gave me at Elephant House and we had no time to go back and get it :[ I was pretty bummed, but I figured I would try contacting them later and asking if they could send it to me, and if not, I’d just buy a new one. I tried not to be too upset over it.

In any case, we left and headed to the train station where we misread the time and ended up taking a train an hour later than planned. But it ended up being fine, as I got to do more knitting and reading while we waited. It was only once on the train that I finished my scarf and ended up wearing it as it was rather cold, and then I spent the rest of that train’s ride reading. When we switched trains, I studied for some of my classes and midterms coming up, and ended up sitting close enough to first class that I was able to use free WiFi on the train. We got home late that night and walked home from the train station (which is a decent distance away).

Once we were home, I fell asleep rather promptly. But it was a lovely trip and I am so glad I got to see Edinburgh again.

The First Week of the IS-Pocalypse

Early Monday morning (9/19), and I’m talking like 4AM, I was able to use the Internet. I went back to sleep, woke up for class, got ready, did the normal scholarly things, then left class to do homework to find that the home network… was down.

Being the tech support person here, and having a tech support job back home, I did all that I could to reset the router and try to get the network box going again. Nothing worked. I was thoroughly upset, as I wanted to talk to my boyfriend and see his face, due to the upset and sadness from the passing of the kindest woman from the art department. I found out later that there was a fault in the media line that our ISP provided. I was annoyed, especially when they said that it would not be fixed until later that week. It seemed like shotty service to me. So instead of sitting frustrated and angry and upset, I went on a walk with my Dad. We came back and used the internet at a pub nearby, which I do love the pub and I was able to get a drink, but I still could not FaceTime with my boyfriend. I got caught up on homework and did what I could, and then went back home to prepare for worship service.

We had a great worship service, and it certainly made me feel better. I went to bed early, and slept fairly soundly. 

The next day (Tuesday, 9/20/11) was very similar, with class and a lack of Internet at the house. However, a group of us went out to use a café’s Internet, where there was more room and more power plugs. As we were going, though, I noticed a tail sticking out from a wall. It was a squirrel’s tail, and while it was starting to rain, I became concerned it might be dead or stuck. I nudged its tail and it wriggled it. It was alive, so thank goodness for that. But was it stuck? The image of the two girls on Youtube helping to wiggle a stuck squirrel out from a tree came to mind and I became very concerned I would have to perform their techniques to save this squirrel. But I tested it first. I pulled its tail a little. When it didn’t jump out to bite me, I pulled a little harder and saw that I could easily pull it from the wall. Its little bottom and feet came out without issue and I did see its head for a moment, but it wriggled back inside the hole in the wall. I suppose it was hiding there from the rain. Since it didn’t seem stuck and wasn’t crying, I carried on with one of my flatmates, who all the while was saying, “If it has rabies and bites you, I’m not helping!” It was rather funny from that perspective, but I was just happy I wasn’t going to have to wrench this little squirrel from a wall.

By that time, it started raining quite a bit, and the café was closed long before we got there. We searched around, and I ended up heading back in the rain home. I sat and read for a while, but I ended up going to bed fairly early and felt rather disconnected from my boyfriend and friends back home.

Wednesday (9/21/11), we had class at a different time today. Instead of having class in the afternoon, it was early in the morning, and I missed out on the farmer’s market, but I did go to the Natural History museum with our Biology class. We got a better tour and learned more about the building, its structure, its history, and we got to see “backstage” specimens, including a REAL Dodo head, which still has its skin on it. The whole building suggests the ribcage of a whale and it’s really interesting. We saw some neat birds behind the scenes, and it was just fun.

Afterward, I walked to a café with internet, and I sat for 5 hours writing an essay, reading for classes, and only watched Glee after I finished all that I could. I came home and had dessert with my family, and sat in their flat while I finished another essay. I ended up going to bed late because they let me use the internet at their flat. It was very kind of them.

Thursday (9/22/11), I took the time to actually blow dried my hair completely, so it was fluffy and kind of straight. I usually just let my hair dry naturally and blow dry just the front around my face. I decided to wear a skirt and a nice outfit. Carlos left me lots of sweet messages when I got to check my messages at my parents’ flat early that morning, and I was so happy. Dad ended up canceling the quiz for our class and the rest of our classes were pleasant. After class, I went up to my room to see signs on my door saying Happy Birthday and I walked into my room and I was greeted with singing, flowers, hugs, and a card signed from everyone. It was wonderful, and I was so grateful for everyone’s kindness and sweetness on my birthday. I was so happy. 

After everyone left, I went back to my parents’ flat to use the internet for the afternoon to finish an essay and to eat lunch. I had pasta and watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (don’t knock it, it’s wonderful) for quite a while and finished my last essay. My parents came home and gave me a chocolate cheesecake and we went out to Jamal’s, an Indian food restaurant, and had dinner. I ended up getting spicy Chicken Massala and was very pleased with that whole evening. I packed late that evening for a weekend in Scotland :] a great birthday gift.

Part II of the Emma Epic

9/18/11, Sunday

We woke up early today, and I have no idea why. It was seriously like 7AM when we got up. It was weird. In any case, Emma made me coffee and I took a shower. I spent way too long doing so, but it felt so good.

In any case, I came down and loved on the pets more, especially Treacle. We sat outside and I had another cup of coffee, when Treacle snuggled with us and we just talked. I pet Bonnie most of the time and she was a happy little piggie-dog. Mom cooked breakfast in the kitchen and there were eggs, toast, and bacon and sausage for breakfast. The bacon here is more like what we would have as ham, back home, but it was so good. 

Emma and I watched some silly videos on Youtube after breakfast and I loved on Myst as much as I could, because I wanted to soak up kitty snuggling since I missed mine so much. We went back outside and I had another cup of coffee (everyone was drinking tea! I don’t drink tea! So I was given coffee! It was really rather sweet, I enjoyed it), and we loved on Bonnie and Treacle more. while we had our drinks. We went back inside after this and Treacle followed and put half his body in my lap when we sat down. Emma laughed and told me that he hadn’t even done that with her. I loved it, and I was so happy Treacle went from growling at me to wanting my attention and snuggling me. We watched an episode of Doctor Who and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went on a seaside walk on the Eastbourne beach and chatted. It was really very pleasant and beautiful out. 

We did this until it was time for me to go to the bus and get on to go back to the train station. We hugged tight and promised we would meet up again soon. I really loved Emma and her family and all of her pets. It was such a wonderful meeting.

I rode the bus back to Brighton and figured my way out to the train station, took the next train to Oxford home. My train got delayed some, but not by much. I got home and took a taxi back to the Burroughs, and checked my e-mail to find out that one of my favorite people in the art department had passed away earlier that day. All of the joy I had from my trip and all of the things I felt like doing before going to bed that night (it was now 9pm) were sapped and forgotten when I read that. I let my parents know I was home and what happened, and then went up to my room, cried over losing this wonderful woman, and fell asleep.

Part I of the Emma Epic

As a reminder, I will not be inserting pictures in these posts, but posting them separately. They’ll also be uploaded to facebook.

I forgot to mention in my previous post from London that I had bought Internet at the Hostel. Keep in mind that I am extremely negative about buying Internet because I do not believe that a place in which I am already being charged for services should charge me to use their Internet. This goes for Hostels, Train Stations, Trains themselves, Airports, Hotels, etc. But I had to keep an eye on my e-mail and I tend to enjoy being able to communicate with my boyfriend. In any case, I bought internet, I chatted with my boyfriend, and I was able to keep up with my e-mail and keep an eye on things happening currently.

Also, someone sharing the room with us at the Hostel was stupid. Most of us were already asleep, and he came in and turned on the light around midnight. He did apologize and turn it off fairly quickly, but I had managed to give him a dirty look before he could shut it off. It woke everyone up and was very rude. So make sure you remember, if you are sharing a room with random people in a hostel, don’t make it your home. It is a place to sleep, and be considerate of others sharing this space.

In any case. This is now 9/17/11, a Saturday.

We woke up fairly early (unintentionally) and got ready. I wasn’t hungry so made no effort to get breakfast yet, but waited and finished packing in the hostel room while my parents readied themselves. Dad’s alarm clock on his phone went off and I had to hurry and turn it off, so now he shared the discourtesy of our hostelmate who turned on the light previously. Bad form. 

We made our way to the underground (subways) to go to King’s Cross, from which I believed I would be leaving to visit my friend Emma, but when we arrived, I checked my tickets over and I had no idea if I was to leave from there afterall, as there were no trains to Brighton from King’s Cross. So I asked an information desk person and he said, “You have to go to Victoria.” Keep in mind, I am extremely new to London and have only been here for a night. I don’t know if Victoria is a station or a town and I don’t know how to get there. I asked him for more help, but he simply kept repeating that I needed to go to Victoria. Finally, some kind woman with a mixed American-English accent came up and helped direct us and explained that we needed to take the underground Victoria line to Victoria Station. She pointed to where it was and I was so thankful for her help. She actually knew what she was talking about. 

In any case, we had quite a bit of time before my train was scheduled to leave, so since we were at King’s Cross, we decided to satisfy our silly inner Harry Potter fans and go to Platform 9 3/4. It was a little disappointing, because it was a wall inside of a shed, labeled, and with part of a cart sticking out from the wall. I was disappointed because I thought it might be in a more sectioned off area of the station as a full wall, instead of outside as only part of a wall. In any case, we still had fun taking pictures and pretending to go through. We left afterward and got to Victoria Station, where we had breakfast together, and my parents saw me off on my train.

I’ve been on a train before, but only from Belen, NM to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. This was different, a little bit, for me. It was fun and I loved seeing the countryside. I had a booth all to myself and rearranged some items in my bag and did my make up. I texted Emma along the way and we adjusted our final meeting times. I arrived at Brighton’s station before her, and went outside where I ate an apple and waited. When she finally came up, I was so excited. We hugged and took pictures, and she took me all around Brighton. We got to see the Pier which had rides and little shops, where I bought from clock/watch necklaces (a key with a watch and a wide up, circular watch). We walked a little bit along the beach and back through the city, where she showed me some neat shops, some beautiful buildings, where she would hang out “back in the day,” and all sorts of fun spots. She introduced me to one of her friends who does magic tricks, and it was so much fun with him. We also ended up having lunch at a coffee shop and chatted more. We were very comfortable together and enjoying ourselves. We decided to head to Emma’s home around late afternoon. She talked to me the way there about towns along the way and Eastbourne, where she lives. When we got there, I got to meet her brother first, and I went to love on one of her dogs named Treacle, but he growled at me :[ So I loved on her other pets, a piggie looking dog named Bonnie and a kitty named Myst.

Treacle slowly warmed up to me, especially when Emma’s mom came home and the whole family was there. We all chatted, joked, shared our differences and our similarities, and spent quite a bit of time together. Treacle started leaning on me and being comfortable with me. I was so happy because Treacle is such a pretty dog. I played with Myst as well and cuddled her up. 

Emma’s mom made dinner and it was this really yummy mix of potatoes, chorizo sausage, regular sausage, chicken, and other vegetables. It was so good and I ate quite a bit of it. Around after dinner, some of the Language Students renting rooms in the house came home and I got to chat and meet with them. 

When Emma and I got settled in for the night, we ended up falling asleep very early. I was incredibly tired from the day, so it felt good to get a lot of rest. But we did talk before we slept, and it was just so nice to be with Emma and to have her pets and family all around me. I felt really comfortable and really happy.