Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Stonehenge and Old Sarum

       This is my last week in London before the big trip to Northern Europe and then to Lancaster. Despite papers and presentations we've actually had a good amount of free time and took some trips. This weekend we went to Trafalgar Square, a busy intersection where the National Gallery is located as well as a big fountain and a fair number of shops and pubs. There was some sort of robotic display going on that I couldn't really figure out, but otherwise there were statues and a bunch of street performers.

Phase 1 of the takeover

       The National Gallery was excellent. Obviously it had the standard Italian Renaissance painters including some unfinished Michelangelo's and a couple really excellent Da Vinci pieces (they have another version of the Madonna of the Rocks). They have some great Impressionist stuff too, Degas, Monet, etc. The best though was their Northern European stuff, specifically Dutch painters. They have a good number of Rembrants and his constituents, and some Vermeers as well. The Dutch are a little overlooked when you aren't talking about still life but this was definitely one of the strongest couple of rooms in museum. The British section was again, obviously strong and also interesting since Brits aren't the most talked about painters but they did have some really good landscapes.
      Later in the week was a trip to Stonehenge. The little town of Salisbury that you take the train into to get to Stonehenge is a really small, countryside village with a lot of charm. We went to a pub right by one of the many small rivers that run through the town and it was nice and relaxing. The bus cost about 15 pounds to get to Stonehenge but that included our admission to see the stones as well as admission to the ruins of an old castle nearby. Stonehenge was impressive, its still mind boggling to think about how people actually moved those huge stones so far without power tools. We had perfect weather and the whole place is surrounded by plains and farmland, making it seem isolated and as if the lanscape hasn't changed. Near the site are a few scattered burial mounds that are a nice walk, but they were closed off to prevent erosion. The trip included these little audio devices that really didn't offer much information, especially for someone who knows a thing or two about Stonehenge anyway. Also they just offer speculation, and kind of ruin the whole feel of the place if you choose to listen to them

      The next stop was Old Sarum, a castle and cathedral that has roots to even before William the Conquerer. It's closer to Salisbury than Stonehenge and was the original site of the town. The ruins were really cool, there was a good amount of the older foundations left and its all on the top of a large mound with steep ditches surrounding it, offering a great view of the little town down the valley. It was less touristy that Stonehenge, and offered more freedom to walk around (at Stonehenge you're on a little track). Down from the upper levels of the castle lie the remains of a cathedral. You can see where the pillars would hold the whole place up and there is a really well preserved part of the old treasury left over as well.

      I really like the older history, so this week was a blast. Its our last in London and we finally made the trip to the Icebar as well. It was really cold in there, so we didn't mind that our cover charge only let us in for forty minutes. Not something I would do again because of the cost, but definitely worth visiting.

Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace

     So the past two days have been Royalty charged starting with the Changing of the Guard on Thursday followed by Westminster Abbey that same day and then touring Buckingham Palace today.
     The Guards at Buckingham Palace change every other day with a big parade and ceremony with horses and trumpets, the whole nine yards. Its odd to think they do that 4 times a week the entire year through but tradition is tradition. It was cool to see the march and all the guards decked out in regalia and in some cases armor, but the crowd was a little too big.

Pretty sure they trade those for guns when they get inside

Don't mess

      From Buckingham Palace its only a three minute walk to Westminster Abbey, the place where every British king or queen since the time of William the Conqueror has been coronated. Its a beautiful gothic church built by St. Edward the Confessor, one of the rulers of England before the Norman conquest, so the place is old, however the facades that are seen today are additions to the old church from subsequent monarchs, as are the large towers at the end. One of the biggest draws to Westminster Abbey is the celebrity of the people buried there. I walked past the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Darwin, Chaucer, Lewis Carroll, Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Henry VI, William and Mary, Queen Anne and countless other nobles. Standing so near these people is quite an experience, especially for any history buff, the figures from textbooks and worldwide household names (globally known before even the telephone was invented) are suddenly right there in front of you, brought down to earth. Subtract the overwhelming number of Asian tourists and it was actually a pretty personal experience. Even if you aren't excited by the names on the coffins the architecture and grandeur of the place are enough. The Pope just gave mass there today as part of a four day long tour of the UK.

Pope Tour Venue 2010

     Today we went on a tour of Buckingham Palace. As the residence and offices of the Queen it is only open for public visitors a few weeks in the summer, and this tour was added on rather hastily and was probably one of the last of the season. The whole walkthrough was a rather strictly regimented audio tour and only covered a small, albeit grand portion of the palace. It was like walking through a combination fancy hotel and museum without the labels. We were only allowed to walk through the State Rooms and each had its own color scheme (Green Drawing Room, Blue Silk Room, etc.) and we also saw the ballroom, a dining room and the throne room. Every inch of the place was covered with gilded carvings and moldings, the ceilings particularly were really impressive. One room was all white walls with gold accents, as in gold lamps, chairs, candlesticks, you name it, it was gold. The monarchy also houses a large number of artworks which were on display in a few galleries. The whole place screamed opulence and had that royal air we were all craving. No pictures were allowed inside the rooms but that was alright since the real treasure was outside.

Opulence, I has it

        Buckingham sits on 30+ acres of land, right in the middle of London. The gardens feature exotic trees that have been gifts to the crown from dignitaries as well as a large lake. The grass was immaculate and with the shade from the trees as well all we wanted to do was hop the little fence and lay down. That would have been bad though since the whole place is patrolled by a small army of cloaked individuals who act as guides as well as sheep herders, making sure we went along the route.

     All in all it was a great couple of days seeing how one of the few active monarchies in the world goes about its business.

The VnA, Jack the Ripper and Arsenal

       Yesterday started with a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum focuses in the decorative arts and has a good amount of sculpture but clothing and architectural pieces as well. There were a lot of interactive games and things to do there, making it seem like being in a kids museum again. I made my own monogram and coat of arms, as well as tried on a Tudor period collar ruffle, a Victorian neck tie and two different types of Medieval gauntlet. At the price of, well, free, there really isn't a reason not to go there. They also have a impressive Medieval and British collections.

Style.

       After that was a Jack the Ripper tour with the whole group. It was a little cold and rained right up until the tour started, making it the perfect night to hear a creepy story. Our tour guide was brilliant, he definitely knew what he was doing and didn't exaggerate anything, he told the stories with eerie precision but kept it less than flat out scary. I didn't realize how gruesome the murders were and he told us what made Jack special wasn't that he was a crazy murderer but that he had a good brand name and the press made him famous. At the end of the tour he offered three different theories (out of hundreds) as to who Jack the Ripper was, all of which have their good points and their holes.
       Today we went to Camden, the punked-out market to the North of the city. Everything was pretty cheap and could be easily bargained down. We found a little sandwich shop right outside the Tube station that offered basically a Philly cheese steak but with ethnic flair that was delicious albeit hard to eat since it wouldn't stay together there was so much meat. After that it was on to the Arsenal game. The Tube was packed with people headed out to the stadium and once during the match the screen flashed saying that close to 60,000 people were there. This was a Champions League match, which is between European nations and is not taken as seriously as the Premier League, between British teams. We sat close to the grass and the opposing team's side. It was S.C. Braga, out of Portugal and their fans were few in number but very serious about their team. At one point one of the British guys on our side got up and chanted "It's Champions League, we're all havin a laugh" which only made the Braga fans cheer louder since now they knew this game wasn't being taken seriously. Arsenal destroyed Braga 6-0 and I've realized the best part of a football match in Europe is the fans. Some of the best cheers were:

-Whooooo are ya? (whenever an opposing player was named)
-We love you Arsenal, we do! We love you Arsenal, we do! We love you Arsenal, we do! Aaaaaarsenal we love you!
-We have Fabregas, We have Fabregas (they have Fabregas, a Spanish World Cup team player)

As we left two of the guys sitting behind us told us to bring football and Arsenal back to the States and we definitely will.

Because I don't think we have a choice...

Paris

    First trip outside of London, Paris. Its a quick Chunnel ride, and while the tickets are expensive we got an ok student/youth discount on them We got in late on Thursday and after wandering around Gare de Lyon we passed out in our tiny hostel room. We were up bright and early on Friday to get to the Louvre by the time it opened at 9:30. The Louvre is a little overwhelming, it has a lot of stuff, but its not as cluttered as the British Museum. Getting there early in the morning was a good call, we skipped the line and was almost a block long by noon. The Mona Lisa is a lot smaller than you would think and you can't get very close to it, in fact a lot of the other paintings might be considered more impressive until you take into account DA VINCI painted the thing. The Venus de Milo was also really cool, and had less of a crowd around it than the Mona Lisa. The other galleries are equally impressive, especially their French paintings which have some really good Delacroixs. 

Then we, you know, solved the Da Vinci Code

     After the Louvre we went up the Champs Elysees to L'Arc de Triomphe, then south from there to the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. We walked the whole thing, the city is really pedestrian friendly but we still walked close to 15-20 miles between the two full days we were there. The Eiffel Tower is everything its cracked up to be. It was cheap to take the stairs up to the 2nd "floor" meaning the second level that you can stand on and that is 43 stories high. Really great views of the city, and walking up means you dont have to wait in three hour long line for the lifts. Pictures really don't capture whatever it is that makes the Eiffel Tower so impressive, all the crisscrossing beams make it look hollow but its really solid. Every time you get a view of the city the Eiffel tower is there somewhere and it weaseled its way into probably half the pictures I took that weekend.

Sneaky...

     That night, instead of going to an expensive bar or club we decided to get wine and drink along the Seine. There are walkways right on the Seine everywhere and we just happened upon this one that was really well lit and full of people. There were guys with drums, a guy with a guitar and some people with stereos on different parts of the quay. We sat by these people who played swing music and danced near the river. When we ran out of wine we ran over to the nearest group of French people and asked where we could buy some more and they invited us to join them. My highschool French actually did really well and the Parisiens aren't as nasty as they're made out to be. They gave us French wine and even brought out some cheese for us to try and we swapped stories and talked about what French people thought of Americans and vice-versa.

Right by the Seine

    The next day we took the Metro up north to the Sacre Coure church. The church was pretty but up a big hill, and the Metro is terrible in Paris. It's slow and smells really bad. They don't give you a lot of information either. We were all excited when we got back to London for the British public transportation. Anyway, the church was great and the views worth the hill climb. We were assaulted by these men calling themselves artists who would make a bracelet on your wrist and wait till its done to charge you. They got us on the Champs Elysees so we knew to avoid them at Sacre Coure but they were stubborn and a little rude. From there we went down to Notre Dame and waited in line for an hour to take a tour up the towers. It was worth the wait and really cheap for students. The gargoyles are really cool up close and there are parts of the church you can't see from ground level. The inside is Gothic medieval architecture at its finest, the windows are beautiful and the ceiling crazy high.

    That night we went out for a fancy French dinner, I got a starter of duck pate and my entree was tomatoes stuffed with beef, rice and as a table we shared a cheese platter and a bottle of wine. It was delicious, also the girls all got desserts so I got to try those as well. Then we saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night and then we hit Notre Dame again to see it all lit up. The city is gorgeous at night, everything is well lit and people are always walking around.
Glad to be back in London though, especially to a place where I can shower and have a much more comfortable bed. When you hostel you really get what you pay for, not much.

Catch up time

I realize it's a little late to start writing about my travels since I'm already three weeks in, but better late than never. We arrived in London for our month long seminar class on August 24th and we're here until classes start at Lancaster University in October. We're living in a small dorm-like complex on the corner of Manresa and King's Road, Chelsea, right in the West End. Our first full day was tour de force of London and its sights. We took a walking tour with City Walks of London that had us taking the Tube east towards Tower Hill, then a boat ride back west to Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
First impression of London, I couldn't be happier. The city is clean and the Tube is a really hassle free way to get around. We only get 50 pounds a week for food but luckily there is an Asda (British Wal-Mart) not too far from here. Despite the famous London rain most of our time here has been full of sun and warm weather. My room is tiny, probably half the size of my double back at Gettysburg but still supposed to function as a double. We have our own bathroom though, and a kitchen stocked with cookware.

Of course one of the first events on our list was a pub crawl which didn't turn out as we had planned. Dinner and drinks here happen much earlier than in America, so pubs close around 11 at the latest except on weekends. We managed to have a good time though, and through the weeks we've come up with some regular spots. King's Road is extremely expensive but just a block away from the Thames is Fulham Road with a ton of bars and good nightlife.
The river itself is only a bock away from where we live and is a good place to go jogging in the morning. Right across the bridge is Battersea park and in the mornings its empty.
We saw a show at the Royal Albert Hall of a symphony from BBC Proms. The tickets were only 5 pound for standing room only and it was easily worth it just to see the inside of the theatre.
We have a lot of time to ourselves to explore the city and do what we want so I've been to the Tower and the British Museum as well as a tour of the Tower Bridge, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and Canary Wharf.

The Royal Albert Hall

The Tower of London was awesome. We spent close to four hours walking around and soaking it all in. Getting there ten minutes before it opened helped beat the lines and every cultural place here is either free or offers a large student discount. We met yeomans who made cracks about how women can't read maps, took pictures with a woman dressed as a 16th century queen and of course saw the dungeons. The little chapel located there is an interesting place, you don't realize it until you look closely at the signs but just being there you are standing over Thomas More, Anne Bolyn, Katherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey to name a few.
That night we went to Piccadilly Circus which was lit up and full of people. It was way too expensive and to be honest the club scene isn't really worth the high cost. As Americans we stick out a little bit, especially in a club. We've traveled to Brighton and Canterbury and saw a show at the Globe as well. They did "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and for being one of the lesser known plays it was really well done.

That's basically London so far in a nutshell. Our seminar class on global cities has been ok, a lot of repetitive information and sometimes it gets in the way of seeing the sights but with the school paying for shows, a football match and travel to certain sights, I can't complain. We just got back from Paris which I'll write about later and have booked our tickets to Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague, so there are more stories to come.