Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Check Mate--A Continuation of Exploration
I never thought it would happen, but for the past few days we have had temperature in the 70's!
Yeah. ENGLAND. With 70 degree temperature. I didn't even think that was possible.
The sky is cloudless, then sun beating down on us, and people are out in even less clothing than they usually wear: guys in City Centre are literally walking around topless and a girl I saw today was wearing shorts so short I could see her cheeks (not the ones on her face).
Being such a lovely day, I decided to walk to City Centre. It takes about an hour, but the sun was shining and I felt like being outdoors.
My first stop in City Centre was Cupcakes, as usual, to see if there were any new flavors out. As there weren't, I decided to show some restraint and not get one (I know! Me? Not get a cupcake? Maybe I was suffering from heat stroke.)
I went to the Leeds Art Gallery
They had some nice exhibits. My favorite room had paintings from 1800-1900, with huge canvases depicting different scenes: a guy in a fez being attacked by Nigerians,
an androgynous figure holding off a roaring tiger with his/her sword pointed right over the beasts' heart,
a mountain over a lake, reflected perfectly in it,
and, my favorite, The Temptation of Sir Percival:
I found this painting so intriguing I had to buy a postcard of it from the shop.
There were modern exhibits, with a lot of paintings that looked like something that should be in a pre-teen girl's bedroom.
Despite their cutesy appearance, I actually liked these painting because, in most of them, there was a space of darkness in them. It's like the stuff of Tinkerbell's nightmares.
I wandered around a bit, admiring the architecture of the building as much as the art in it.
After I'd gone around the entire gallery, I went outside to the shop.
I found some quotational stuff that I really liked.
One by Thoreau stuck out “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
I also found something I thought didn't exist: GOOD postcards of Leeds.
Most Leeds postcards I've found have been complete rubbish, ugly, or have nothing to do with Leeds.
But the gallery's shop had some good ones of buildings that I love to photograph anyway, so I got some to add to my massive postcard hoard.
Leaving the shop, I walked near the benches and saw people playing chess with enormous chess pieces on the plaza in front of the gallery.
I ended up watching chess games for a little over an hour. I learned some new things about chess: when your castle and king are beside each other, they can swap places.
And I thought the pairings were awesome. My favorite people to watch were these two:
It was this young, paunch bellied man taking swigs from a plastic Coca-Cola bottle and this old man with his cane. They would spend minutes sometimes thinking of their next move. The younger guy's friend was watching the game and they'd chat throughout it. At one point, some young, thin women in short shorts came up and watched the game.
"You girls play chess?" the young guy asked, his belly peeking out from under his shirt, they laughed and shook their heads and eventually ambled away.
The young guy won the game, despite my rooting for the collected-looking older gentleman, but when the young guy made his winning move, the older man laughed in appreciation. They shook hands and reset the board.
I moved over to the other game that was going between my next favorite players. These guys:
Both of these men were older, but they were equally entertaining. Their games took much longer than any others as they would extensively think their moves out. The darker skinned man was interesting to watch, he'd step right on to the board and wave his hands around in the possible moves he could make. He was bested by Victor, the yellow shirted man.
I must have looked very strange there. While occasionally passersby would stop and peer at the game, I was the only person that was not a tall, gangly, nerdy looking male/old guy that was sitting there watching the games. I got a few glances from the players and the men waiting to play, they all seemed more-or-less familiar with each other. You got the sense that they did this often.
As I was watching one of the games, an announcement made over a megaphone from a row of cars rolling down the street caught my attention. It was an advertisement for the Circus Vegas. Their little caravan of cars decorated in CIRCUS VEGAS-ALL NEW SHOW! rolled past the gallery. The roofs of their cars spangled with the American flag that made me internally groan.
About ten minutes later they passed by again, making the same announcement, going in the opposite direction. This time I paid more attention to the decorations on their vehicles: on the first one was Mickey Mouse, on the second was The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), and on the third was Elvis. While I was smiling to myself at how absolutely stupid and random that assortment of images were, the french man (I assume French by his accent) turned to me and said
"Isn't Elvis supposed to be dead?"
I agreed that he was, and he continued to talk about what a weird image it was to put on their cars, to which I also agreed. He was nerdy and slightly socially awkward, but we connected over the making fun of stupid advertising.
"All new show?" he said, "I haven't even seen the first one."
"I haven't even heard of Circus Vegas," I said.
Then he said something I couldn't understand with his heavy accent so I smiled vaguely and nodded.
Shortly after, I got up and went to Morrisons for some badly needed groceries: milk!
It was a really great day and although I didn't make it to the gym like I had intended to, I feel that this might have been the best way I've spent my time.
Yeah. ENGLAND. With 70 degree temperature. I didn't even think that was possible.
The sky is cloudless, then sun beating down on us, and people are out in even less clothing than they usually wear: guys in City Centre are literally walking around topless and a girl I saw today was wearing shorts so short I could see her cheeks (not the ones on her face).
Being such a lovely day, I decided to walk to City Centre. It takes about an hour, but the sun was shining and I felt like being outdoors.
My first stop in City Centre was Cupcakes, as usual, to see if there were any new flavors out. As there weren't, I decided to show some restraint and not get one (I know! Me? Not get a cupcake? Maybe I was suffering from heat stroke.)
I went to the Leeds Art Gallery
They had some nice exhibits. My favorite room had paintings from 1800-1900, with huge canvases depicting different scenes: a guy in a fez being attacked by Nigerians,
an androgynous figure holding off a roaring tiger with his/her sword pointed right over the beasts' heart,
a mountain over a lake, reflected perfectly in it,
and, my favorite, The Temptation of Sir Percival:
There were modern exhibits, with a lot of paintings that looked like something that should be in a pre-teen girl's bedroom.
Despite their cutesy appearance, I actually liked these painting because, in most of them, there was a space of darkness in them. It's like the stuff of Tinkerbell's nightmares.
I wandered around a bit, admiring the architecture of the building as much as the art in it.
After I'd gone around the entire gallery, I went outside to the shop.
I found some quotational stuff that I really liked.
One by Thoreau stuck out “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
I also found something I thought didn't exist: GOOD postcards of Leeds.
Most Leeds postcards I've found have been complete rubbish, ugly, or have nothing to do with Leeds.
But the gallery's shop had some good ones of buildings that I love to photograph anyway, so I got some to add to my massive postcard hoard.
Leaving the shop, I walked near the benches and saw people playing chess with enormous chess pieces on the plaza in front of the gallery.
I ended up watching chess games for a little over an hour. I learned some new things about chess: when your castle and king are beside each other, they can swap places.
And I thought the pairings were awesome. My favorite people to watch were these two:
"You girls play chess?" the young guy asked, his belly peeking out from under his shirt, they laughed and shook their heads and eventually ambled away.
The young guy won the game, despite my rooting for the collected-looking older gentleman, but when the young guy made his winning move, the older man laughed in appreciation. They shook hands and reset the board.
I moved over to the other game that was going between my next favorite players. These guys:
I must have looked very strange there. While occasionally passersby would stop and peer at the game, I was the only person that was not a tall, gangly, nerdy looking male/old guy that was sitting there watching the games. I got a few glances from the players and the men waiting to play, they all seemed more-or-less familiar with each other. You got the sense that they did this often.
As I was watching one of the games, an announcement made over a megaphone from a row of cars rolling down the street caught my attention. It was an advertisement for the Circus Vegas. Their little caravan of cars decorated in CIRCUS VEGAS-ALL NEW SHOW! rolled past the gallery. The roofs of their cars spangled with the American flag that made me internally groan.
About ten minutes later they passed by again, making the same announcement, going in the opposite direction. This time I paid more attention to the decorations on their vehicles: on the first one was Mickey Mouse, on the second was The Rock (Dwayne Johnson), and on the third was Elvis. While I was smiling to myself at how absolutely stupid and random that assortment of images were, the french man (I assume French by his accent) turned to me and said
"Isn't Elvis supposed to be dead?"
I agreed that he was, and he continued to talk about what a weird image it was to put on their cars, to which I also agreed. He was nerdy and slightly socially awkward, but we connected over the making fun of stupid advertising.
"All new show?" he said, "I haven't even seen the first one."
"I haven't even heard of Circus Vegas," I said.
Then he said something I couldn't understand with his heavy accent so I smiled vaguely and nodded.
Shortly after, I got up and went to Morrisons for some badly needed groceries: milk!
It was a really great day and although I didn't make it to the gym like I had intended to, I feel that this might have been the best way I've spent my time.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Shakespeare then Travel
I know that this is supposed to be about Study Abroad, but I need to take a moment to address the atrocity that has been inflicted upon the world.
You know what I'm talking about: NBC fired Dan Harmon, the creator & Head Writer of the show Community.
That might sound like a ridiculous thing to be upset about, but it's not just anger as a fan of the show, it's fear about the future. More particularly, my future.
I now know with certainty (thanks to my experiences studying abroad) that I want to become a writer for television. It's my dream, it's what I want to do, and I'm scared enough as it is trying to figure out how to break into that business (and everyone these days wants to be a writer, I've got loads of competition).
But let's pretend it's a perfect world, and I set out after graduation, write some spec scripts, manage to sell some, then I land a job as a writer for some television show. My career does pretty well, after a few seasons on the show, I come up with my own idea for a TV show, I write it, pitch it, and Bam! It gets picked up! Amazing, incredible! I'm a creator of my very own show at last! Everything I've ever dreamed of. And then we put the show out there, it's a success, has a nice devout following. And then, all of a sudden, three seasons in, the bosses at the TV station I'm with decides: we don't want Amanda anymore. So I get fired, and MY show gets given to some other writers I don't know.
Scary.
What the hell? Why don't writers have any rights in the business? Like...they can't HAVE shows or films if they don't have people to actually write them. And as far as I'm concerned, the episodes this past season have been good, so it's not like the quality of Dan Harmon's writing had deteriorated or anything.
My only slight hesitation is Dan Harmon's response in a blog post. While reading it, having first learned the news, I was with him every word, outraged, surprised, hurt. But I wonder now if his statement could end up hurting him. Having begun reading a lot of books about the film industry, most advice is, no matter how hurt you are when you get removed from a project/fired/don't get picked, you never never never burn bridges. I'm not saying Dan Harmon threw down and began cursing NBC to the heavens, I'm just saying the tone of his blog, while justified, was a bit on the accusatory side, and I wonder if it might prevent him from opportunities in the future. For all he knows, the men they hired to replace him could fail and they'd have wanted him back, but after his rant, they'd be too proud.
Just some thoughts. And, I admit, typing this up is a form (as always) of procrastination.
My Shakespeare midterm is on Wednesday.
And I feel unprepared. And I kind of don't care.
With the exception of Othello, I feel that the plays I must write essays on (The Winters Tale and Henry V) are IMMENSELY boring. I don't know what the expectations are here, but I'm concerned about how to write for 2 hours on these topics.
Right now, I should be re-reading Othello, but I'm lazy to the extreme. I know I'll get it done because I must. But these plays mostly bore me, and the exam questions can be as random as they like. With a TA this semester that had a tendency to digress a lot in class, I feel nervous about the expectations. Then there's the fact that I just don't like exams.
But once that's over, the fun begins!
I get to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London with my other International student friends and spend a few days in London. Then I come back to Leeds for a week, do a couple of day trips, Cambridge and York possibly, and then BZ comes to visit and we do another week in London!
And then....home.
Although, I don't know, Leeds is the only place in the entire world where I've been on my own, it kind of has become my home too.
You know what I'm talking about: NBC fired Dan Harmon, the creator & Head Writer of the show Community.
That might sound like a ridiculous thing to be upset about, but it's not just anger as a fan of the show, it's fear about the future. More particularly, my future.
I now know with certainty (thanks to my experiences studying abroad) that I want to become a writer for television. It's my dream, it's what I want to do, and I'm scared enough as it is trying to figure out how to break into that business (and everyone these days wants to be a writer, I've got loads of competition).
But let's pretend it's a perfect world, and I set out after graduation, write some spec scripts, manage to sell some, then I land a job as a writer for some television show. My career does pretty well, after a few seasons on the show, I come up with my own idea for a TV show, I write it, pitch it, and Bam! It gets picked up! Amazing, incredible! I'm a creator of my very own show at last! Everything I've ever dreamed of. And then we put the show out there, it's a success, has a nice devout following. And then, all of a sudden, three seasons in, the bosses at the TV station I'm with decides: we don't want Amanda anymore. So I get fired, and MY show gets given to some other writers I don't know.
Scary.
What the hell? Why don't writers have any rights in the business? Like...they can't HAVE shows or films if they don't have people to actually write them. And as far as I'm concerned, the episodes this past season have been good, so it's not like the quality of Dan Harmon's writing had deteriorated or anything.
My only slight hesitation is Dan Harmon's response in a blog post. While reading it, having first learned the news, I was with him every word, outraged, surprised, hurt. But I wonder now if his statement could end up hurting him. Having begun reading a lot of books about the film industry, most advice is, no matter how hurt you are when you get removed from a project/fired/don't get picked, you never never never burn bridges. I'm not saying Dan Harmon threw down and began cursing NBC to the heavens, I'm just saying the tone of his blog, while justified, was a bit on the accusatory side, and I wonder if it might prevent him from opportunities in the future. For all he knows, the men they hired to replace him could fail and they'd have wanted him back, but after his rant, they'd be too proud.
Just some thoughts. And, I admit, typing this up is a form (as always) of procrastination.
My Shakespeare midterm is on Wednesday.
And I feel unprepared. And I kind of don't care.
With the exception of Othello, I feel that the plays I must write essays on (The Winters Tale and Henry V) are IMMENSELY boring. I don't know what the expectations are here, but I'm concerned about how to write for 2 hours on these topics.
Right now, I should be re-reading Othello, but I'm lazy to the extreme. I know I'll get it done because I must. But these plays mostly bore me, and the exam questions can be as random as they like. With a TA this semester that had a tendency to digress a lot in class, I feel nervous about the expectations. Then there's the fact that I just don't like exams.
But once that's over, the fun begins!
I get to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London with my other International student friends and spend a few days in London. Then I come back to Leeds for a week, do a couple of day trips, Cambridge and York possibly, and then BZ comes to visit and we do another week in London!
And then....home.
Although, I don't know, Leeds is the only place in the entire world where I've been on my own, it kind of has become my home too.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Getting to Know Leeds
My time in England is coming to an end, which I find very disappointing, because I love it here.
The UK. England. Leeds. I love it.
I've now explored a number of different cities and countries while I've been here. I've been on tons of tours and have spent hours walking around museums, but one place I have yet explored thoroughly is my own backyard: Leeds.
It might seem a bit ridiculous that the bus stop I get off at stops directly in front of Leeds Art Gallery, yet I've never been in. Or that I live a 15 minute walk away from a mostly intact monastery near the river--heck!--I haven't even seen the river while I've been here. But now that my time in Leeds is running out, I'm learning to appreciate it more, and going beyond the limits of City Centre.
This previous Sunday, Maggie and I went to IronCupcake Leeds: the cupcake competition held monthly at the Adelphi hotel (conveniently located near Leeds' abysmally small gay bar area). We have been wanting to attend literally for months, but have always been busy/traveling/studying. But last Sunday, we finally got there, and it was A-MAZING! That was (coincidentally) the first time I saw the Leeds River in the five months that I've been here.
The theme for this month's Iron Cupcake event was Flower Power.
The bakers came with all of these beautifully crafted cupcakes that made you almost not want to destroy them by eating them.
They were cut into fourths and the judges (amongst them me!) got to go around to each table and try a bit, ranking them from 1-5 on appearance, and 1-10 on taste.
The absolute BEST cupcake in my opinion was one decorated with Sunflowers, that had chocolate chips in the bottom and chocolate icing on top!!
Maggie and I left giggly and sugar-high, and walked through the nearly empty streets of city centre. Everything closes around 5 on a Sunday, and it felt as though we were trespassing, or breaking the sanctity of Sunday Silence.
It was an awesome event, though I'm pretty sure I haven't that much sugar in one sitting in a very long time.
Another new thing I'm experiencing: the Edge facility.
The Edge is our gym with a high-tech computerized system that keeps track of your workouts.
All students that live in the dorms get basic membership, which means I can go from 6am-12Pm and 2PM-4PM Monday through Friday. I've recently begun working out (including the weight lifting machines!) and although I have to force myself to get up and go in the mornings (yesterday, laziness prevailed and I skipped) I always feel better after a workout.
My new plan, therefore, is to work out in the mornings, come back to Grayson Heights, eat lunch, and then go out to explore some new part of Leeds.
Today it was Kirkstall Abbey (that monastery I mentioned earlier).
This place was absolutely beautiful! I don't know what it is about old buildings, I'm obsessed. Churches, Monasteries, Chapels, Castles, whether still standing or in ruins, I love walking around them. Kirkstall Abbey is massive and falling apart in many areas so you can see through it. It was gated off so that you couldn't enter. I don't know if it's like that permanently or if you have to book a tour or something in advance, but it was something out of a book, and I was tempted to hop the gate (damn that CCTV!).
I also got to get up close to the river, which surprised me with how rapid it's current is.
The day was gorgeous, and I'd have loved to lay out and do my reading (Henry V) for my final, but one of the biggest drawbacks on England stopped me: the wind!
My GOD the wind is a freaking bastard over here! When it's strong, it pierces through your jacket and shirts with it's icy fingers and makes walking against it near impossible!! I don't know if this is just a Leeds thing, or all of England, but seriously! The wind! Nightmare.
I spent around an hour at the abbey and the Kirkstall Abbey Park that surrounds it, managed to get in ten minutes of reading on a park bench before the cold of the wind forced me to get up and begin my trek back to Grayson.
It was a really nice experience though, so I consider it time well spent.
Tomorrow, after lunch (and hopefully, the gym, if I can rouse myself) I plan to return to city centre and go explore the Art Gallery (I mean, really, it's FREE, how lazy am I?).
Friday I'm going to see some art installations around the city and then dinner at Nando's!! I've been trying to limit myself to eating meat once a week, but this is testing my strength, I might not be able to do it much longer, I'm a happy carnivore and it would only take cutting out yogurt and milk from my diet now to make me a vegan! (shudder)
My final exam is next Wednesday and after that things really start to pick up!
I'm going to London for a few days with some of my friends, during which, I will go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour!!! Be jealous!!! I also hope to see if I can get cheap day-of tickets to Wicked.
Then possibly a trip to Cambridge with Maggie.
Then (and I'm very excited about this!) BZ has decided to come visit me my last week!!!! She'll be here from June 9th-15th and we'll be doing a couple of days in Leeds, where I will get to show her the FABULOUS shop: Cupcakes by Charley, as well as bring her to my very last Iron Cupcake event! Then we'll be down in London for the remainder of her stay, hopefully seeing Henry V (see how these things happen?) at the Globe theatre!!!!
I've loved my time here, and I'm really thrilled that I get to share it with somebody from home. Although BZ is a world traveler and has been to London before, it'll be nice to be able to show somebody how I've been living and the country that I love so much.
And I'm not gonna lie, the fact that she's bringing a second suitcase ROCKS because now I don't have to throw away as many things as I thought I was going to have to and will make my life so much easier when going back home!
The UK. England. Leeds. I love it.
I've now explored a number of different cities and countries while I've been here. I've been on tons of tours and have spent hours walking around museums, but one place I have yet explored thoroughly is my own backyard: Leeds.
It might seem a bit ridiculous that the bus stop I get off at stops directly in front of Leeds Art Gallery, yet I've never been in. Or that I live a 15 minute walk away from a mostly intact monastery near the river--heck!--I haven't even seen the river while I've been here. But now that my time in Leeds is running out, I'm learning to appreciate it more, and going beyond the limits of City Centre.
This previous Sunday, Maggie and I went to IronCupcake Leeds: the cupcake competition held monthly at the Adelphi hotel (conveniently located near Leeds' abysmally small gay bar area). We have been wanting to attend literally for months, but have always been busy/traveling/studying. But last Sunday, we finally got there, and it was A-MAZING! That was (coincidentally) the first time I saw the Leeds River in the five months that I've been here.
The theme for this month's Iron Cupcake event was Flower Power.
The bakers came with all of these beautifully crafted cupcakes that made you almost not want to destroy them by eating them.
They were cut into fourths and the judges (amongst them me!) got to go around to each table and try a bit, ranking them from 1-5 on appearance, and 1-10 on taste.
The absolute BEST cupcake in my opinion was one decorated with Sunflowers, that had chocolate chips in the bottom and chocolate icing on top!!
Maggie and I left giggly and sugar-high, and walked through the nearly empty streets of city centre. Everything closes around 5 on a Sunday, and it felt as though we were trespassing, or breaking the sanctity of Sunday Silence.
It was an awesome event, though I'm pretty sure I haven't that much sugar in one sitting in a very long time.
Another new thing I'm experiencing: the Edge facility.
The Edge is our gym with a high-tech computerized system that keeps track of your workouts.
All students that live in the dorms get basic membership, which means I can go from 6am-12Pm and 2PM-4PM Monday through Friday. I've recently begun working out (including the weight lifting machines!) and although I have to force myself to get up and go in the mornings (yesterday, laziness prevailed and I skipped) I always feel better after a workout.
My new plan, therefore, is to work out in the mornings, come back to Grayson Heights, eat lunch, and then go out to explore some new part of Leeds.
Today it was Kirkstall Abbey (that monastery I mentioned earlier).
This place was absolutely beautiful! I don't know what it is about old buildings, I'm obsessed. Churches, Monasteries, Chapels, Castles, whether still standing or in ruins, I love walking around them. Kirkstall Abbey is massive and falling apart in many areas so you can see through it. It was gated off so that you couldn't enter. I don't know if it's like that permanently or if you have to book a tour or something in advance, but it was something out of a book, and I was tempted to hop the gate (damn that CCTV!).
I also got to get up close to the river, which surprised me with how rapid it's current is.
The day was gorgeous, and I'd have loved to lay out and do my reading (Henry V) for my final, but one of the biggest drawbacks on England stopped me: the wind!
My GOD the wind is a freaking bastard over here! When it's strong, it pierces through your jacket and shirts with it's icy fingers and makes walking against it near impossible!! I don't know if this is just a Leeds thing, or all of England, but seriously! The wind! Nightmare.
I spent around an hour at the abbey and the Kirkstall Abbey Park that surrounds it, managed to get in ten minutes of reading on a park bench before the cold of the wind forced me to get up and begin my trek back to Grayson.
It was a really nice experience though, so I consider it time well spent.
Tomorrow, after lunch (and hopefully, the gym, if I can rouse myself) I plan to return to city centre and go explore the Art Gallery (I mean, really, it's FREE, how lazy am I?).
Friday I'm going to see some art installations around the city and then dinner at Nando's!! I've been trying to limit myself to eating meat once a week, but this is testing my strength, I might not be able to do it much longer, I'm a happy carnivore and it would only take cutting out yogurt and milk from my diet now to make me a vegan! (shudder)
My final exam is next Wednesday and after that things really start to pick up!
I'm going to London for a few days with some of my friends, during which, I will go to the Harry Potter Studio Tour!!! Be jealous!!! I also hope to see if I can get cheap day-of tickets to Wicked.
Then possibly a trip to Cambridge with Maggie.
Then (and I'm very excited about this!) BZ has decided to come visit me my last week!!!! She'll be here from June 9th-15th and we'll be doing a couple of days in Leeds, where I will get to show her the FABULOUS shop: Cupcakes by Charley, as well as bring her to my very last Iron Cupcake event! Then we'll be down in London for the remainder of her stay, hopefully seeing Henry V (see how these things happen?) at the Globe theatre!!!!
I've loved my time here, and I'm really thrilled that I get to share it with somebody from home. Although BZ is a world traveler and has been to London before, it'll be nice to be able to show somebody how I've been living and the country that I love so much.
And I'm not gonna lie, the fact that she's bringing a second suitcase ROCKS because now I don't have to throw away as many things as I thought I was going to have to and will make my life so much easier when going back home!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
In Dublin's Fair City
I recognise that this posting is very late, but I'm lazy, and busy, and mostly lazy. This post is in fact, a procrastination method against writing my final essay. So here it is: my Dublin trip.
Dublin is supposed to be a very rainy city, so of course, it was sunny and lovely while I was there. There were moments throughout the rain where it would rain, but it wasn't a bother, and never lasted long. 'All four seasons in a day' our tour guide Kiel (pronounce Kyle) said multiple times.
I stayed at the Four Courts Hostel. The lift was broken so I got to walk up three long, winding steps of stairs to the third floor.
We were in a 12 bed room with the most obnoxious North American girls in Dublin. They went out every night and loudly came stumbling in around 3AM, giggling and whispering so loudly they may as well have been talking.
The night before we were due to leave, in fact, they woke me up at 3AM (one of them toting a drunk guy into her bed--thank God they were both so drunk they just passed out). We were supposed to wake up at 5AM to catch the shuttle to the airport, so I just stayed up the two hours until my alarm went off.
The days were fairly busy.
The first day I went on a four hour (free!) walking tour of Dublin. I got to see all the main sites and learned a lot of Ireland's sad (and sometimes embarrassing) history.
My favorite place was probably Trinity College. It had a beautiful campus and the most immensely gorgeous library I've ever seen. (George Lucas liked it so much he had it completely copied for Star Wars episode II)
Library:
Trinity College
Some of the impressive folks that attended Trinity are Bram Stoker (Dracula) and Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Also on the tour, we got to see the statue of Molly Malone, from the famous Irish song which I will now post the lyrics to:
In Dublin's Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel'd her wheel barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Chorus
Alive, alive o!, alive, alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
She was a fishmonger
But sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheel'd their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Chorus
She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Chorus
^ Molly ^
There was also just a lot of beautiful buildings.
For dinner I ate a legit Irish pub called O'Neil's. I split a fish and chips platter with Sarah.
Inside O'Neil's
I'm always so immensely surprised when I see Cuban stuff in countries so far from Latin America
Dublin also, apparently, loves President Obama. They were stoked that he came to visit.
Dublin's Answer to Fun Dip:
conclusion: good, but not as good as legit Fun Dip.
My second day I went to the Writer's Museum in Dublin.
My favorite writer 'quote' is the one Oscar Wilde supposedly said to a customs agent: 'I have nothing declare except my genius.'
Over the River
The rest of the day I spent in museums, wandering, having a general good time and buying gifts for family members.
I was really excited to find a flat cap with a shamrock on it, as it was the first thing I have ever in my life seen that I thought my grandfather would like as a gift. I spent a probably foolish amount of money on a mickey mouse shirt for my 2 year old sister from Dublin's Disney store, but I showed it to her when I skyped and her excitement confirmed that it was a worthy purchase.
I had amazing gelato, Snickers the first day, and something magical called Dark Forest the last day, which had some kind of awesome fruit that I do not know of.
I'm not saying I'm insanely in love with Snickers gelato, but I will say that if there was the last cup of Snicker's gelato about to fall off a cliff, and a human child about to fall off another cliff, and I could only save one...I'd have to think about it.
After our escapades in Dublin, it was back to the airport and home to Leeds.
Oddly enough, Leeds really has become home. I love this city, I love the people (who, of course, now that the semester's nearly over have actually begun talking to me) and I LOVE the Cupcakes shop. Lol.
I'll really miss England, I'll be home in less than two months. It seems to be coming too soon.
(I apologise for any grammar/spelling errors, I am really tired and will come back and revise when I next need to procrastinate.)
BREAKING NEWS: my flatmate's friends won't stop knocking on our door at all hours of the day! Won't miss THAT!
Dublin is supposed to be a very rainy city, so of course, it was sunny and lovely while I was there. There were moments throughout the rain where it would rain, but it wasn't a bother, and never lasted long. 'All four seasons in a day' our tour guide Kiel (pronounce Kyle) said multiple times.
I stayed at the Four Courts Hostel. The lift was broken so I got to walk up three long, winding steps of stairs to the third floor.
We were in a 12 bed room with the most obnoxious North American girls in Dublin. They went out every night and loudly came stumbling in around 3AM, giggling and whispering so loudly they may as well have been talking.
The night before we were due to leave, in fact, they woke me up at 3AM (one of them toting a drunk guy into her bed--thank God they were both so drunk they just passed out). We were supposed to wake up at 5AM to catch the shuttle to the airport, so I just stayed up the two hours until my alarm went off.
The days were fairly busy.
The first day I went on a four hour (free!) walking tour of Dublin. I got to see all the main sites and learned a lot of Ireland's sad (and sometimes embarrassing) history.
My favorite place was probably Trinity College. It had a beautiful campus and the most immensely gorgeous library I've ever seen. (George Lucas liked it so much he had it completely copied for Star Wars episode II)
Library:
Trinity College
Some of the impressive folks that attended Trinity are Bram Stoker (Dracula) and Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Also on the tour, we got to see the statue of Molly Malone, from the famous Irish song which I will now post the lyrics to:
In Dublin's Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel'd her wheel barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Chorus
Alive, alive o!, alive, alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
She was a fishmonger
But sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheel'd their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Chorus
She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!
Chorus
^ Molly ^
There was also just a lot of beautiful buildings.
For dinner I ate a legit Irish pub called O'Neil's. I split a fish and chips platter with Sarah.
I'm always so immensely surprised when I see Cuban stuff in countries so far from Latin America
Dublin also, apparently, loves President Obama. They were stoked that he came to visit.
Dublin's Answer to Fun Dip:
My second day I went to the Writer's Museum in Dublin.
My favorite writer 'quote' is the one Oscar Wilde supposedly said to a customs agent: 'I have nothing declare except my genius.'
Over the River
The rest of the day I spent in museums, wandering, having a general good time and buying gifts for family members.
I was really excited to find a flat cap with a shamrock on it, as it was the first thing I have ever in my life seen that I thought my grandfather would like as a gift. I spent a probably foolish amount of money on a mickey mouse shirt for my 2 year old sister from Dublin's Disney store, but I showed it to her when I skyped and her excitement confirmed that it was a worthy purchase.
I had amazing gelato, Snickers the first day, and something magical called Dark Forest the last day, which had some kind of awesome fruit that I do not know of.
I'm not saying I'm insanely in love with Snickers gelato, but I will say that if there was the last cup of Snicker's gelato about to fall off a cliff, and a human child about to fall off another cliff, and I could only save one...I'd have to think about it.
After our escapades in Dublin, it was back to the airport and home to Leeds.
Oddly enough, Leeds really has become home. I love this city, I love the people (who, of course, now that the semester's nearly over have actually begun talking to me) and I LOVE the Cupcakes shop. Lol.
I'll really miss England, I'll be home in less than two months. It seems to be coming too soon.
(I apologise for any grammar/spelling errors, I am really tired and will come back and revise when I next need to procrastinate.)
BREAKING NEWS: my flatmate's friends won't stop knocking on our door at all hours of the day! Won't miss THAT!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Many Men Snore--And Other Things I Learned in Barcelona
My week in Barcelona was something of a beautiful mess.
Gardens, museums, paintings, stained glass windows, sweets, and rain were all absorbed like my very absorbent Converse sneakers--which were only dry for 2 out of my seven days there.
There is a saying: It never rains in Barcelona. But for me, the weather made an exception. It rained every. single. day. (excluding my first and last days there). Wet socks, however, did not keep me from fun. Even beneath the grey drippy sky, Barcelona is a beautiful city, and, as if trying to make amends, the clouds cleared away nearly every afternoon or evening.
The trip began as most trips do: with stress.
Due to some rubbish cab driver in Norwich, Sarah missed her train and the later train was scheduled to arrive at the airport leaving little time to get through security. Sarah, relieving us both, arrived with time to spare.
Arriving in Spain, however, we realised our own foolishness in not having printed a map on how to get from our bus stop to our hostel.
After three confusing phone calls, we arrived at Backpackers BCN Casanova.
The hostel was nice and small, and it came as a surprise that the rooms were mixed gender. The only problems I encountered sharing the room with male strangers were that many hadn't learned personal hygiene, and, a bigger issue: many men snore. I am a light sleeper. Add to that the fact that some guests arrived after one in the morning, nearly every day, banging open the door and fumbling with lockers, and the nights were not quite serene. Thank God I brought ear plugs.
Sarah and I got to enjoy the living room area, where every other night snacks were laid out near the games (I lost at Connect 4, Uno, Checkers, Chess and Dominoes). One night, when Sarah and I had gone after the olives and cheese snacks, we found our space invaded. Not to be dissuaded from the snacks we had come to rely on, we sat down, played War, and eventually got into conversation with a soft-speaking German man and a charismatic, slightly vain Australian bloke. Funny and crazy stories were swapped (getting kidnapped: the fastest mode of travel in Bali). It was a fun way to pass the evening and self-righteously feel culturally superior "Oh yeah, I had cheese and wine while sharing funny stories with this German guy and Australian guy in Barcelona one time."
But the real fun was in the city.
Something some of you may not know--I surely didn't--is that Spanish is not the main language spoken in Barcelona. It's Catalan: a weird mixture of Spanish and French, it seems, with lots of words utilising the letter 'X'. That means that most signs around the city are translated into 3 languages: Catalan, Spanish, and English. Lucky for me, everyone also speaks Spanish, and I got by, although sometimes understanding their Spanish felt equivalent to an American understanding a Scottish person's English.
The main street (which I have walked up and down too many times to count) is called La Rambla. It's the kind of scene I love: vendors, street performers, bright colors and cheap souvenirs spread down the street. There were also men that sold some kind of abominably annoying squeaky toy. By the end of the week, Sarah and I were ready to commit murder. We couldn't imagine any sane parent that could be foolish enough (or have the grace and patience) to buy their children that annoying squeaking monster.
So I bought one for my sister, Natalie. JUST KIDDING PARENTS! =)
On La Rambla
There were also many street performers on La Rambla. All of them were human statues. These impressive folks dress entirely in one color, painting their faces and hair so that they really look like statues, until they decide to move.
Down one of the branching streets is the opening to the St. Josep market, which is home to the most brightly coloured, luscious looking fruit I've ever seen. There are vendors of fruits, fish, meat, nuts, peppers and vegetables to delight anyone.
My first day, my major successes were finding the Catedral Barcelona, getting a lay of the land, and trying for the first time--how had I never had it before?--churros con chocolate!
In fact, let me pause this narrative right now to list some of the AMAZING sweets I devoured in Barca.
-Churros con Chocolate
-Ferrero Rocher gelato
-Chocolate croissant
-Toblerone shake (think McDonald's McFlurry onliny with bits of Toblerone chocolate and caramel drizzled over it!)
I know, I know, that's a lot of unhealthy food In my defense: are you crazy? There's absolutely no defense necessary! When life (and Barcelona shops) offer you Rocher gelato, you don't turn that stuff down!
Similar to the amounts of chocolate, I also shoved in as much beauty as I could. Some of the most gorgeous sights:
La Sagrada Familia's beautiful stained glass windows
The view from Castell (Castillo for you Spanish speakers)
And the gardens near the Olympic Stadium.
There are also a lot of streetlamps, which I felt compelled to photograph.
Some of the cultural spots we hit were the Olympic Museum and Stadium, the Picasso Museum, the Barcelona Arc de Triumph and Casa Batillo.
DINNER
Moving on to meals. Trying to be financially smart (and also being too lazy at the end of walking around all day) 2 of the nights, Sarah and I cooked a frozen pizza in the hostel kitchen It was Spinach pizza, and it was pretty darn good.
The meals we had out, were also, obviously great.
Perhaps the most fun was eating at the Bar Estudiantil while watching the Barcelona football match against AC Milan (don't hold me to that, I don't know team names well and I'm too lazy/tired upon my return to double check it). The burger and fries were good, but the most entertaining part of the meal was watching the reactions of the locals watching the game. Victorious cheers and a foghorn was blown at each goal scored, the men inside sang a little ditty. Our waiter was exceptionally nice and placed our table directly in front of the TV screen in the dining area outside, so we had a perfect view of the game. Stuffed with good food and happy, victorious feelings, we walked back to the hostel.
Another night, being in Spain, Sarah and I went out for Tapas. Actually finding a place that sold appetizing tapas at an affordable price proved more vexing than we had anticipated. I didn't make things easier by saying I flat out refused to eat paella, the delicacy of Spain, as my olfactory memories of it were stomach churning, to say the least.
We finally found a place and I clumsily ordered (the whole menu was written in Catalan and, of course, the man at the register seemed to expect me to know that the word Truita obviously is pronounced 'tortilla') But we ordered and received out Tapas.
Quick Review:
-Patatas in garlic cream sauce and salsa picante=muy rico.
-Croquettas: weird consistency and not even close to as good as the one Yeya (my grandmother) makes
-Ruca Salad: never again.
-Truita/Tortilla/Whatever-the-hell-you-wanna-call-it: much like the breakfast casserole that BZ makes at home. Pretty darn good.
The major hardship when I first arrived was the total breakdown of Old Faithful, BZ's camera that she had let me borrow. It meant, however, that I got to buy my first new camera since I was fourteen years old. It's a Nikon Coolpix, for anyone that cares, and all the pictures posted above are courtesy of my kick-culo new camera.
I may add more another day. But now I am tired, I've been traveling all day, and am ready for a night's rest without any men's snoring to keep me awake.
Barcelona was absolutely fun, I leave for Dublin in a few days, which hopefully will be equally fun.
I leave you with a video of the penguins from the Barcelona Aquarium...mostly cause they're so cute.
Gardens, museums, paintings, stained glass windows, sweets, and rain were all absorbed like my very absorbent Converse sneakers--which were only dry for 2 out of my seven days there.
There is a saying: It never rains in Barcelona. But for me, the weather made an exception. It rained every. single. day. (excluding my first and last days there). Wet socks, however, did not keep me from fun. Even beneath the grey drippy sky, Barcelona is a beautiful city, and, as if trying to make amends, the clouds cleared away nearly every afternoon or evening.
The trip began as most trips do: with stress.
Due to some rubbish cab driver in Norwich, Sarah missed her train and the later train was scheduled to arrive at the airport leaving little time to get through security. Sarah, relieving us both, arrived with time to spare.
Arriving in Spain, however, we realised our own foolishness in not having printed a map on how to get from our bus stop to our hostel.
After three confusing phone calls, we arrived at Backpackers BCN Casanova.
The hostel was nice and small, and it came as a surprise that the rooms were mixed gender. The only problems I encountered sharing the room with male strangers were that many hadn't learned personal hygiene, and, a bigger issue: many men snore. I am a light sleeper. Add to that the fact that some guests arrived after one in the morning, nearly every day, banging open the door and fumbling with lockers, and the nights were not quite serene. Thank God I brought ear plugs.
Sarah and I got to enjoy the living room area, where every other night snacks were laid out near the games (I lost at Connect 4, Uno, Checkers, Chess and Dominoes). One night, when Sarah and I had gone after the olives and cheese snacks, we found our space invaded. Not to be dissuaded from the snacks we had come to rely on, we sat down, played War, and eventually got into conversation with a soft-speaking German man and a charismatic, slightly vain Australian bloke. Funny and crazy stories were swapped (getting kidnapped: the fastest mode of travel in Bali). It was a fun way to pass the evening and self-righteously feel culturally superior "Oh yeah, I had cheese and wine while sharing funny stories with this German guy and Australian guy in Barcelona one time."
But the real fun was in the city.
Something some of you may not know--I surely didn't--is that Spanish is not the main language spoken in Barcelona. It's Catalan: a weird mixture of Spanish and French, it seems, with lots of words utilising the letter 'X'. That means that most signs around the city are translated into 3 languages: Catalan, Spanish, and English. Lucky for me, everyone also speaks Spanish, and I got by, although sometimes understanding their Spanish felt equivalent to an American understanding a Scottish person's English.
The main street (which I have walked up and down too many times to count) is called La Rambla. It's the kind of scene I love: vendors, street performers, bright colors and cheap souvenirs spread down the street. There were also men that sold some kind of abominably annoying squeaky toy. By the end of the week, Sarah and I were ready to commit murder. We couldn't imagine any sane parent that could be foolish enough (or have the grace and patience) to buy their children that annoying squeaking monster.
So I bought one for my sister, Natalie. JUST KIDDING PARENTS! =)
On La Rambla
There were also many street performers on La Rambla. All of them were human statues. These impressive folks dress entirely in one color, painting their faces and hair so that they really look like statues, until they decide to move.
Down one of the branching streets is the opening to the St. Josep market, which is home to the most brightly coloured, luscious looking fruit I've ever seen. There are vendors of fruits, fish, meat, nuts, peppers and vegetables to delight anyone.
My first day, my major successes were finding the Catedral Barcelona, getting a lay of the land, and trying for the first time--how had I never had it before?--churros con chocolate!
In fact, let me pause this narrative right now to list some of the AMAZING sweets I devoured in Barca.
-Churros con Chocolate
-Ferrero Rocher gelato
-Chocolate croissant
-Toblerone shake (think McDonald's McFlurry onliny with bits of Toblerone chocolate and caramel drizzled over it!)
I know, I know, that's a lot of unhealthy food In my defense: are you crazy? There's absolutely no defense necessary! When life (and Barcelona shops) offer you Rocher gelato, you don't turn that stuff down!
Similar to the amounts of chocolate, I also shoved in as much beauty as I could. Some of the most gorgeous sights:
La Sagrada Familia's beautiful stained glass windows
The view from Castell (Castillo for you Spanish speakers)
And the gardens near the Olympic Stadium.
There are also a lot of streetlamps, which I felt compelled to photograph.
Some of the cultural spots we hit were the Olympic Museum and Stadium, the Picasso Museum, the Barcelona Arc de Triumph and Casa Batillo.
DINNER
Moving on to meals. Trying to be financially smart (and also being too lazy at the end of walking around all day) 2 of the nights, Sarah and I cooked a frozen pizza in the hostel kitchen It was Spinach pizza, and it was pretty darn good.
The meals we had out, were also, obviously great.
Perhaps the most fun was eating at the Bar Estudiantil while watching the Barcelona football match against AC Milan (don't hold me to that, I don't know team names well and I'm too lazy/tired upon my return to double check it). The burger and fries were good, but the most entertaining part of the meal was watching the reactions of the locals watching the game. Victorious cheers and a foghorn was blown at each goal scored, the men inside sang a little ditty. Our waiter was exceptionally nice and placed our table directly in front of the TV screen in the dining area outside, so we had a perfect view of the game. Stuffed with good food and happy, victorious feelings, we walked back to the hostel.
Another night, being in Spain, Sarah and I went out for Tapas. Actually finding a place that sold appetizing tapas at an affordable price proved more vexing than we had anticipated. I didn't make things easier by saying I flat out refused to eat paella, the delicacy of Spain, as my olfactory memories of it were stomach churning, to say the least.
We finally found a place and I clumsily ordered (the whole menu was written in Catalan and, of course, the man at the register seemed to expect me to know that the word Truita obviously is pronounced 'tortilla') But we ordered and received out Tapas.
Quick Review:
-Patatas in garlic cream sauce and salsa picante=muy rico.
-Croquettas: weird consistency and not even close to as good as the one Yeya (my grandmother) makes
-Ruca Salad: never again.
-Truita/Tortilla/Whatever-the-hell-you-wanna-call-it: much like the breakfast casserole that BZ makes at home. Pretty darn good.
The major hardship when I first arrived was the total breakdown of Old Faithful, BZ's camera that she had let me borrow. It meant, however, that I got to buy my first new camera since I was fourteen years old. It's a Nikon Coolpix, for anyone that cares, and all the pictures posted above are courtesy of my kick-culo new camera.
I may add more another day. But now I am tired, I've been traveling all day, and am ready for a night's rest without any men's snoring to keep me awake.
Barcelona was absolutely fun, I leave for Dublin in a few days, which hopefully will be equally fun.
I leave you with a video of the penguins from the Barcelona Aquarium...mostly cause they're so cute.
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