Americaines en Paris

Warning: Long Post

So Nekol and I spent two and a half wonderful days in Paris, France. It was everything we hoped it would be and more! However, it being the two of us together...it was no less than interesting for sure.

Our trip started at eight pm last Thursday night. Nekol and I had booked a coach to take us to Paris because it was only 40 pounds return. Fantastic deal. Unfortunately, we had booked it so that we had to check in at 9:30 and were leaving at 10:30. Nekol and I had to sign up for classes Thursday night at 9:30 and 9 respectively. So we decided to leave early to get to Victoria Coach Station way ahead of time. Of course it takes us forever to leave (forgetting stuff, getting stopped by people we know) and so we get to the Coach Station around 8:40, after much walking around senselessly.

I pull out my laptop and see if I can catch any wireless. I manage to pick up some slow internet and close my laptop so it'd be easier to move and go to sit down. When I opened my laptop again, the internet did not pop up nor did it pop up when I moved to stand where I had stood before. I go to ask a lady in a food shop to see if VCS had any wireless internet or internet hubs. She stared at me blankly and so I asked for a Starbucks or a Pret A Manger. She said there was one if we left the station and took a left but she believed they were closed. Starbucks closed at 8:45 at night? Ridiculous.

Nekol and I grab our stuff, I break a nail in the process, and we hurry off to find this Starbucks. We walk the city block and cross two streets before getting to this Starbucks. I'm walking a brisk pace because I have to sign up for classes in ten minutes time. I see the lights are on at Starbucks but there is no one inside. I look at the times and they closed at 8:30 pm... What Starbucks, in London, closes at 8:30 pm on a Thursday Night?! I see a Pret a Manger right next to it and, remembering they have free wifi, go to see if they are open. They are closed as well, having closed at 8 pm. I stand in front of Pret a Manger a tad desolate, not really knowing what to do. I slowly look around me before Nekol calls my name.

I yell to her that Starbucks closed at 8:30 and she says to pull out our laptops to try and grab bleed off wifi. I nod and we go around the corner of Starbucks, sit down on a ledge of a building, and pull out our laptops. I nervously sit on the ledge as Nekol and I realize there are several "unlocked" wifis but that doesn't mean anything. As we go through the list quickly, I find that a lot of them aren't working. I start to freak out a little but Nekol moves to sit on the ground right infront of Starbucks' side window and tells me to sit down next to her. I move all of our stuff over to her and I see that she has signed into the Starbucks Reward Cards. I am so amazed that we actually have working internet. Little did I know that it had been a gift from God that Nekol had such a sign in.

`Nekol will tell you a bit of her story and how we were so lucky to attain internet`

I gear up my My.TCU and let the cursor hover over the "continue" button to sign up for classes. 8:59 had never been such a long minute in my life. I just stared at the clock, my vision blurring from not blinking, until it turned to 9:00 and Nekol said loudly, "Go!" I clicked on the screen and she quickly gave me numbers I needed for classes. I quickly signed up for my classes, having a small hiccup with a business and a theatre class that are all straightened out now, and pumped my hands into the air triumphantly.

Next I handed Nekol's laptop back to her and she began to sign up for classes. She quickly got into the ones she was most worried about, as students are want to do, before signing up for the rest of her classes. Again, small hiccups that have mostly been sorted out now. It was an hour of furious emailing and button clicking for the both of us. We didn't realize how hard it would be to sign up for the classes we wanted. It wasn't like we could drop into an office and say hello to the people we needed things from. Nor was it as easy as running across campus to get signatures or approvals.

While sitting on the pavement, looking at Nekol's computer, an older man walked by and asked us if we were lost. We looked at each other and said no, we knew what we were doing. We felt bad that we were kind of awkward to the man, for we knew it must've looked strange with two young females sitting on the pavement, luggage all around them, on a laptop. He walked off after a bit and Nekol and I quickly finished up our time on the internet and hurried back to VCS to get checked in to our coach.

It didn't take long to get back to VCS nor did standing in line take forever either. Normally English people know how to queue properly but maybe because there were other nationalities thrown in, there was a mob to get onto the coach. Nekol and I dealt with it cooly enough and got on the bus in good time, managing to grab rather good seats. We hunkered down for our long trip to Paris.

Everything was fine and dandy until the border patrol. The coach stopped on the other side of the Channel and the French BP came on to take our passports, go away to stamp them, then bring them back. Then we had to get off the bus, with all our belongings, and wait in a massive queue outside a small building to get our bags checked and to have our passports looked at once more. It all seemed very convoluted and I was not ready to stand outside in the cold at one am in the morning. I was shivering, freezing, while Nekol made small talk with the older man who sat behind us.

We eventually made it through, which took a long while, and were able to get back on the bus. However, we had to wait longer still because there had been an unclaimed bag...never have an unclaimed bag, it creates a long waiting period for EVERYONE. So really, pay attention to what's yours and don't leave anything behind unclaimed.

Finally, our bus headed off and we drove inside a crate of some sort, which was attached to a train which took us through the Chunnel...it was kind of really neat. It didn't take long at all to get through and was quite peaceful. The next thing I knew, we were driving through Callais and were in France. Nekol and I slept for the rest of the ride until we were in Paris. We found out where to get Cartes from and found the Metro stop we needed to get to our hostel.

Well, it all seemed easy enough. When Nekol and I got off the Metro, I was rather turned around and so we walked around a bit, trying to find our hostel. We went West and then North, not knowing that's the directions we were heading at the time. Finally, we found a city map that told us where we were and I realized we needed to go East and South. So heading back to the Metro, we headed South East and soon enough found our hostel which was rather cool looking. Hostel d'Artagnan had a cool sign of the musketeer d'Artagnan hanging outside its front door and we went inside. We got our keys but told our rooms would not be ready until three pm and so we put our stuff away in a locker, had breakfast, and planned out what we wanted to do for the first days events.

Nekol and I are actually really proud of ourselves because we sat down with a map, circled the areas on the map where we wanted to go, and plotted our course via Metro. Here are the places we went to!

Cimetiere du Pére Lachaise where we saw the graves of Moliere, Chopin, and Oscar Wilde.

Sacre Coeur which is one of the tallest points in Paris

The view from Sacre Coeur

Moulin Rouge, celebrating 120 ans just like the Eiffel Tower

Cimetiere Montmartre, which has the grave Alexander Dumas' son

l'Arc de Triomphe

Pantheon, erected to Saint Genevieve, the Patron Saint of France

After the Pantheon, Nekol and I went to the Louvre but we found out admission was cheaper after 6pm, so we decided to wait a bit and went off to a restaurant. We both had water and sandwiches before sharing a hot slice of chocolate cake. After this fantastic meal, we headed back to the Louvre.

The Louvre, where we found out it was free to those under the age of 26 no matter what nationality. The man at the information desk, "As long as you smile and are nice!"

Where else was there to go after the Louvre but the Eiffel Tower? Nekol and I went to the very top where we took many fabulous photos and video. The wind was at full force but it didn't deter us from staying up as long as possible.

After the Eiffel Tower, it was late, and so Nekol and I dragged our weary selves back home and curled up into our beds and fell sound asleep. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when I heard Nekol from the other side of the room and we had this short conversation:

Nekol: "Dre, do you want to sleep for another thirty minutes? It's only eight o'clock."

Dre: "Sure, we do what we want..."

-Time Passes-

Nekol: "Dre...it's 9 o'clock."

Dre: "Uuhhhh...ok."

We both dragged ourselves out of bed, Nekol being way more honorable and having been up and moving around before me. Moving slowly, we dressed ourselves for a lovely day of strolling. We were hoping to take it easy that day because our bodies were sore from the going and going we did the day before. Having been walking around Paris from 9:30 am-11:30 pm, we felt as if we had been hit by huge lorries. Eventually we made it to breakfast then to the Metro to get to Versailles via the RER.

By and by, the Paris Metro is absolutely ridiculous. There are no real stops right near anything, you've basically gotta get off to one that's "nearest" and take a hike. Pretty sure they meant to do well but I feel as if it's all a bit too jumbled for my tastes. That and it didn't seem really easy to learn, even Parisians seemed to have to always check where they were going on maps before heading off. I've been in London two months and had the tube map down pat in three weeks.

Anyways, we eventually make it out to Versailles where we don't know exactly where to go but just keep walking North since it's where the general group is head, but break away from the group to take a different street North so we aren't walking with the big tourist crowd. A couple dozen steps in front and to the side is an older Asian man, holding a small camera, and with a colorful backpack on his back. Nekol and I begin our conversation on how we believe Asians, not English Asians or American Asians but Asian Asians, are Professional Tourists.

There are some things that certain nationalities are very good at. English know how to Queue and the Asians know how to be proper Tourists. They know in "general" where their next stop is so they're never really lost. They always have their cameras out and ready to take shots. They can wear their backpacks on their frontside and not look dumb, just smart about not being pick pocketed. Also, they travel in groups which makes it harder to lose somebody because you always know where your people are. Oddly, our man was by himself, but we followed him and not long after we were heading up to Versailles and followed him all the way to the ticket queue. It was like magic.

When Nekol and I were almost inside the ticket office, two American girls (22 maybe?) came out of the building. I wouldn't have known they were American except when one said, "Can we get Starbucks now? No, really." A Spaniard three behind me heard this and laughed, when questioned by his gf/wife/significant other as to what he was laughing about, he told her and repeated the girls words in what I guess he thought they sounded like. The woman laughed and said, "The next thing you know they'll be asking about McDonalds." Nekol and I joked about how King Louis XIV wanted nothing more than Starbucks and McDonalds in his palace but we also talked about how it's horrible that is how some nationalities perceive Americans.

Soon we had our tickets in hand and our audioguides around our necks. We headed off through the palace where we saw so much grandeur and excellence that our breathes were taken away multiple times only to be given back to whisper exclamations of wonder. The architecture and gardens were gorgeous. We were able to walk where so many women and men of great height had walked before us. Of course I'm just blathering and you'd prefer to see photos!

The Golden Gates of Versailles

One of the many ceiling masterpieces

A cool and scary water feature

Pathways in one of the many gardens

Nekol and I bought snacks for ourselves, a nutella crepe and a nutella waffle respectively. We munched away as we strolled through the gardens, admiring their beauty in the fall. We saw many happy puppies, families, and all just leisurely walking through the grounds. After a while, Nekol and I made our way back to the RER to go take pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower (across the bridge).

Going to the where the magnificent fountains are across the bridge of the Eiffel Tower, I snuck in amongst the fountains to take photos...little did I know they increase in water pressure every so often and was quite drenched. I was a tad cold but decided to ignore it and continue taking photos. Nekol and I were waiting on a friend of mine to arrive so that we could have dinner. While waiting, Nekol and I were able to watch the Eiffel Tower's light show.

The Eiffel Tower light show

After a while we met up with our friend who we grabbed pizza with and took it to the Seine and sat down to eat. We caught up and just watched as tour boats passed by, waved to them, and caught up with each other. It was a beautiful night to behold.

The Seine River

After a while, we parted ways and Nekol and I headed back to our hostel where we found some new items in our room. Now, Nekol and I had been bunked in a three person room but had been the only ones in our room the night before. Now there was a backpack, a toiletry case, and a book in the room. I said the stuff looked rather manly, the patterns of both backpack and toiletry case being male oriented. So I shamelessly unzipped his backpack, pulled out his datebook, and opened it to the first page to confirm that it was male. I quickly placed the book back to its original spot, zipped up the backpack, and Nekol and I went down to request for a new room. Stuart could have the room to himself.

After being assigned a new room, Nekol and I went to bed to be ready for Mass at Notre Dame the net morning...only to wake up at 5:45. Nekol sat up and said, "If we want to go to Mass we should probably leave now." She flashed her phone at me, blinding me temporarily, for me to see the time. I blinked at it wearily as we sat there for what seemed forever before I sighed, replying, "We should get up now." We both began our routine to get ready for Mass. Soon we were heading out the door and onto the Metro in the wee early hours of the morning. We got to Notre Dame around 7:30, only to realize Mass was not at 8 but at 8:30 so the doors were not yet open. Nekol and I took photos and video before taking a small walk around the block, amazed at the sun not being up yet, before heading back to the cathedral to see the doors finally opened a little before 8 am. 

We rushed inside to get warm and picked our seats out towards the front of the church. We sat down and  talked about the church in great detail. Mass was in French and Nekol picked up bits and pieces while I knew the routine well enough to know what was being said when. Funny thing about Notre Dame, tourists can walk through while there is Mass still going on and it's ok...I was a little dumb struck by this because it kind of seemed irreverent but the church has to make money somehow to keep itself up and running. 

Notre Dame before sunrise

Inside Notre Dame

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Where we had Mass

After Mass, Nekol and I walked around the church before heading out to go to Notre Dame's Quasimodo, a cute little cafe where we had a cappuccino and hot chocolate, sandwiches, and water. The water was given to us free by the waiter who thought it was cool that we were Texans, which he found out when he asked us point blank where we were from. It was a fantastic luncheon, followed by a quick shopping excursion, before heading back to the hostel to change and check out. We left our hostel feeling absolutely happy about our trip and glad that we had stayed at that hostel.

Hotel d'Artagnan

We checked in to get our boarding pass and got on the coach and had an easy ride back home to London. It wasn't long, it seemed, before we were pulling into Victoria Coach Station and Nekol and I were able to grab our stuff and get onto the Tube and head home to International House...it was a most fantastic trip and I believe our favorite side trip so far.

<3,

Dre

Filled Up

This week has been full...and yes it's ONLY Wednesday night!

Monday should have been slow with me only having two classes but I had my morning class at ten for Renaissance Literature and Culture...I had to RUSH there because the train was delayed at Charring Cross. So climbing up four flights of stairs I manage to make it to class just before the teacher starts and have a happy hour while we talk about Sex and Gender during the Renaissance in England. Fantastic.

After that I rush home to try and finish homework that has been needing to be done for a while. I get really tired and decide to lay down...only to realize that I am really sick. I am pretty much bedridden for the rest of the day which makes for no fun at all but for a lot of catching up on homework.

Oh! And an interview for an internship at Circle Theatre in Fort Worth for general administration...guess who might just be getting an internship there? MOI! Yes, fantastic, I know!

And yes I know that doesn't sound busy but me being sick kind of filled up my entire schedule.


Tuesday I am feeling a little better and Nekol and I head over to the library to try and print off papers for a presentation for me and to get books checked out for her. Her books take forever and it turns out that apparently you have to format your documents on your usb a certain before being able to print them off of the copier printer the library in our borough has.

Nekol and I then head to Little Titchfield to go to our school's library there. We head to the Basement and wait forever for a computer to become free and when one does I have to figure out Vista Microsoft Word and how to print things out. Then the printer wouldn't recognize any of the documents I sent to it, kept telling me it missed several jobs and I was like, "Yes, you have." So I find out that there is a computer room on the fifth floor so we head up there and find an empty computer and instantly I can print off anything I need. Nekol and I then head over to Sainsbury's for snacks, eat, and head up to class in Wells Street. I give a bamf presentation and am happy for the rest of class.

After class is over, Nekol and I head back home and go grocery shopping. By the time we're actually home, we don't have much time before we head out to see Hairspray. This is another trip sponsored by the Study Abroad and Foreign Exchange office to give us a taste of London, i.e. it's free. I have enough time to make a tiny frozen pizza before I head out to the musical.

Hairspray is absolutely fantastic! We laughed so hard especially during "Timeless to Me," because the two broke character and yet didn't break character...there were a lot of lines I felt were thrown in that aren't normally said that worked so well with them that the entire audience was laughing harder than they had through the rest of the show. Anyways, at the end the cast invites you to get on your feet and dance, which we all do. It's beautiful.

The musical ends a little after ten and Nekol and I have to run back home. I have a phone interview with Housing and Residential Life for TCU to possibly be an AHD or RA next semester so I have to get home to do it in the privacy of my own room. We get on the Northern Line heading south easily enough but when we go to make the jump at Charring Cross to get on the Bakerloo Line heading south...there are some issues.

First off, Charring Cross has long long hallways that takes you ages to walk down. Also, these are not wide hallways so people tend to fill them up quite nicely and only walk two abreast. Nekol and I had to weave our way around people artfully before running up the escalators to get to our line.

Secondly, I head down the stairs to get to the Bakerloo line and a train is there. As soon as I get to the train, the doors close. I, being frustrated, shout an obscenity and slam my hand against the train. The doors open. I am beyond ecstatic that I hop on. I hear Nekol behind me, "Dre! That's the northbound train! We need the southband!" I curse again, hop off the train before it closes its doors again, and run across the platform to the other train. Its doors close right infront of me, yet again, and I just turn away this time...deflated and ready to just give up. Nekol shouts at me again, "GET ON!" and I turn around to spy that the doors are open. We get on at opposite ends of the car, meet in the middle, and both sit down.  I put my head in her lap and just laugh/cry. So much adrenaline in such a little time left me shaking.

We rush home and I head for the lift, it's on floor four going up, I say screw it and awkwardly push past Nekol to run up the stairs. HRL calls right as I'm about to go up the stairs, I apologize for the echoing nature about to happen, go up to my room, and close the door. I have to put all my energy into not speaking really fast and sounding very calm because they hop right into the interview once I'm in my room. It takes me about fifteen minutes before I can even think of sitting down, I am shaking so much. Overall though, I believe I had a really good interview.

However, children, don't try what I did that night because I was very lucky. Someone above was looking out for me : )

Today has been much slower, actually.

I bought tickets to go see Endgame with Nekol for the evening performance. Did homework. Stayed inside because the weather was gross. Then went to see Endgame with Nekol.

Endgame is...a Beckett play...that's really all I can say.

After the play was over, nearly two hours and our bums hurting from bad seats, we start walking towards Charring Cross. We pass a street and hear chanting and just accredit it to a pub. We then talk about how we'd love to see some pub behavior that is connected to American bars just to see if it is just Americans but our conversation is cut short as we near Trafalgar Square. There is a loud den, a chanting noise of sorts, that's filling the air. I look to Nekol and tell her that we should go check it out and we do.

Crossing the street and getting to Trafalgar Square, the west side towards the Canadian Embassy is filled with people. Nekol and I try and figure out what's going on. We see this massive crowd, waving flags, and the police walking around. We think it is one of three things: riot, protest, victorious game. No one is being violent so not a riot...and the protest doesn't really seem to match the current protest, Tropics to Trafalgar, so we thought it was a victorious game except we hadn't heard anything about matches. I took a few photos and wanted to ask a police what was happening but then a firework was set off into the sky. Nekol and I promptly turned around and went into the Subway. Survival of the fittest.

Turns out Algeria beat their big rivals in football Egypt to make it to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years. They're such big rivals that they had to play in a neutral area...Sudan. Go figure. Anyways, it was pretty epic...just to see how epic, here's a photo:

Tomorrow will be epic too because we leave for Paris and sign up for classes...will the fun never cease?

<3,

Dre

Roman Holiday

I know have been rather remiss in blogging and for that...I extremely apologise! But here's my weekend and in an hour or two I'll create another post for my week so far because honestly, who likes loooong posts?

This past weekend I was in Rome for two days, visiting some friends. I left my apartment around 2:30 a.m. and was in Rome and talking with friends eight hours later. It's rather marvelous how you can travel so easily over here. I've been to Wales, Ireland, and now Rome. It's not even this easy to travel to different States from where I live.

Can we talk about how it seems everyone but England drives on the right side of the road and not left? After spending five/six weeks in England, I've grown accustom to having to dodge traffic coming from the "other way." So it threw me for a loop. Also, when people say that you are taking your life into your own hands whenever you are crossing the road...they really mean it. Italians are even crazier drivers than England because they just don't care! Which bleeds into the fact that them queuing up is a mass of people who can slip in front of you without you really noticing unlike Europe where they queue up in an orderly fashion...not complaining, just very different from what I'm used to.

On Friday, my friend Parker showed me all the sights of Rome. We went to the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and much much more. It was pretty much like a hit and run for all these sights but that didn't diminish their beauty one bit. Juxtaposed against a modern city that's full of hustle and bustle, these strong monuments of time stand strong and keep remembrance of a time long past. Oh what am I babbling on about? You want to see pictures!

View from Parker's balcony

         

The Colosseum

The Spanish Steps

This is where I came across my first set of Rose Sellers. What they do is tell women they're pretty, give them a rose, and expect the guy to pay for it...I mean, it's a neat idea except they get rather belligerent if you tell them no.

Trevi Fountain

I believe of all of Rome, the Trevi Fountain was my favorite part of it all. I took so many pictures there and I made Parker stay there through Sunset so I could see the lights come on. It was absolutely fantastic, I'll remember it forever.

Later that night I got to really know the roommates and friends of theirs through a game of Apples to Apples. I had never played but this was one of the best card games I have ever played. We had things like Corrupt Italy, Lazy Europe, Natural Puke, and many other fun combinations. The night was an absolute blast. I know of a couple of girls I met that night whom I hope to continue to be friends with because they were beyond fun to be around. Of course, a lot of us could barely keep our eyes open (namely me) and soon passed out in order to be ready for a fun day the next day.

On Saturday, Parker, Greg, their roommate Shelby, and I went to a wine tasting in Tuscany. Yeah, you heard that right, TUSCANY! It was so cool to leave the city and see the countryside. I think it's rather important not only to see the big cities of a country but also to see the countryside and the smaller places because then you get more of an idea of what the country is like. As we left the city, the rolling hills and mountains stood tall in the mist and there was so much greenery that it was kind of weird having just traveled from England where Autumn is in full swing.

The wine tasting was wonderful. The owner of the vineyard we visited took us through the entire process, let us take a look at his land, before heading over to his storefront and tried different wines and ate beautiful food. I made several friends from the Rome school and it was more fun than I could have ever imagined.

The countryside

The owner and the fermentation process

The Vineyard

The Cellar

The Wine

It all looks absolutely fantastic doesn't it? Oh, those smaller bottles at the very front are dessert wines...want to know what dessert wines are made of?

Moldy Grapes...yum!

We were in Tuscany for a while before heading back to Rome where I was able to watch a beautiful sunset going down behind the hills.

Gorgeous

After we got back home, everyone got ready and we went out and enjoyed the Roman nightlife. The cities were absolutely packed with people which confused Greg and Parker who had never seen the streets so packed in quite a while. It just reminded me of England. We met up with a couple of Parker's friends, a couple of American guys and several Swedish girls. They were all fantastic and made my night even more fun. Getting to know cool, new people from all over the world (even if they are from the States) is exactly why I came to study abroad.

Well, that was my Roman Holiday. Full of fun, education, wine, pasta, and friends. I couldn't have asked for a better time in Rome.

<3,

Dre

Woman discovered fire...

Today my creative writing class met at the Tate Modern and we were set on three different exercises. There were two suggested paintings to look at and then a huge Turbine Box through which we had to take a walk. I followed with the first painting but not with the second because honestly...just didn't feel that attached to the painting.

But before I get to far I need to mention something. Nekol and I walked to the Tate Modern because it's only about a 30 minute walk from the Lambeth borough. It's just slightly past Blackfirars so I decided it'd save us time than having to jump a lot from the Bakerloo and Central lines. It's actually a good thing we walked too because apparently there was a cause for fire alarm on the Bakerloo at Baker Street this morning. Anyways, we got there a little late (10:05) and couldn't find anyone at the entrance that faced the Thames. So we decided to walk around, hoping to maybe round a corner and find our class. Finally, we bumped into our teacher around 10:20 and she chided us and no one else about being late...even though we definitely weren't the last ones to show up. This kind of shut me down and I went through the rest of the class not too happy with life.

Anyways, the first exercise was to set on creating Plot from a painting. Is it the ending or beginning of a story? Why and where did it all come from? The painting given to us was The Beached Margin by Edward Wadsworth.

My story is based partially on reality and partially in fiction. It tells of a mother who has a starfish from her childhood and how she found it...partially true to my own self and partially not. I rather enjoyed the story I created.

The second exercise was to create Character. We were supposed to tell of desires, flaws, wants, and obstacles of people. The suggested painting was of an old couple that looked rather crochety. As soon as I laid eyes on them I wrinkled my nose and turned to look for something else before landing on my new subject. Burdened Children by Paul Klee became my new muse.

                                             

I told how these children had lived through World War II and just wanted their parents to be happy again. Their father a soldier of war and their mother almost a ghost of the woman she once was, having had to set aside her gentility to work for their family. They live in London near St James Park, where they sometimes run off to because it's peaceful there. I rather liked it because I could see their story having a happy ending.

The final project was creating Space/Location. We had to walk into a huge Turbine Box, completely black on the inside, close our eyes, and just imagine our surroundings without using visual imagery. In our Western society, we place a heavy amount of our time on visuals and not so much on our other senses.

                             

This is pretty much what you're walking into. You don't know where the back of it is. You don't know if anyone is standing in there or if there are any other objects in there. It is a black void. It smelled of steel, cold, and musty fabric. Noise reverberated like thunder in the sky but it still felt so lonely at the same time. The wall is covered in soft velvet and the floor scrapped against the bottom of my shoes, sounding rough and corse, like sandpaper. After a while, I opened my eyes and I could see everything inside the box clearly because my eyes had adjusted. It blew my mind how monochromatic grey/black everything was. I was thinking that was how it was like to be in The Giver at nighttime.

That was the interesting part of my morning but later this evening Nekol, Claire, and I went to Sketchville, London, England to go see a fringe show. A fringe show is basically like off off Broadway. The show is called The Origin of the Species and is about an archeologist who finds the missing link, names her Victoria, and is taught where humans got it all wrong. It was a two hour show that made me laugh, think, and almost cry. I thoroughly enjoyed it but the area couldn't have been sketchier.

Also, we arrived two hours early just because Tuesday is "pay what you want," which is technically a five quid minimum but apparently that didn't start until 7 and we had gotten there at 6. We decided to get a drink and snack so that we could whittle away the waiting hour. I ended up getting an organic cola which wasn't too bad. The theatre was definitely very trendy hippy. Normally I'm pretty cool with those kinds of things, I even want to learn more about the place and get in with them, but the front house crew just seemed so snobby it put me off. After a long wait, we got our tickets, and began the second hour of waiting before going to see our show.

The show was two hours of awesomeness. If anyone is in London and brave enough to go to the Kingsland/Dalston area to get to the Arcola theatre, then they totally should. If you don't have the nerve to go see it then that's fine too.

<3,

Dre

Canterbury, Hever Castle, and Comedy...they all fit

So this weekend has been absolutely busy!

Went with the University of Westminster Social Programme on Saturday to Canterbury and Hever Castle. Technically, we were supposed to go to Leeds Castle instead of Hever but they closed Leeds due to fireworks. They didn't tell UofW until THREE DAYS before so they did the best they could which was Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn...I think that's a good replacement as any.

The first stop was Canterbury and it was absolutely gorgeous. The Cathedral was even more than I could ever have imagined and the town was absolutely adorable. Nekol and I spent almost two hours in the Cathedral just going through it. We walked through the front Worship Hall, which has beautiful light streaming through the plain windows. The Martyrdom of St Thomas of Canterbury is right after the front Worship Hall. We then went down into the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral which actually has a place set up for Mass down there as well. They had a table set out where you could write a prayer to be said in Mass the next day, which I used. The Crypt was particularly interesting for the fact that one of the tombs had angels and guardians with their heads and hands cut off a long time ago. It was rather disturbing. Going back out into the main Cathedral, we went to the second Worship Hall where we were able to see the original spot for St Thomas' monument...until King Henry VIII tore it down. There was also the Achievements of the Black Prince of Wales along with Stained Glass Windows that stole my breath away. I wish I could go on and on about the Cathedral but I will post several photos instead.

After Canterbury we headed over to Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Now, Hever Castle is known for other things besides Anne Boleyn; it was a consolation prize to Anne of Cleaves for divorcing King Henry VIII nicely and then became a home for the Woldorf-Asters. Now, it's a lovely house museum with the gardens kept in well groomed and a nice cafe/shop area. We spent about half an hour there just going through everything. The house was split into medieval and modern. We were able to see where Anne Boleyn slept, her Book of Hours, where King Henry VIII slept whenever he stayed over, and then all about the Woldorf-Asters living arrangements. Most time was spent in the Italian Gardens which weren't in full bloom but still in full glory. There was even a lovely, huge lake at the end of the walk path that Nekol and I just gazed at for a long time. Overall, a really good second choice instead of Leeds Castle. Here are some photos so you better know why....

That was all for Saturday because by the time we got home, Nekol and I were absolutely exhausted. That and we had to save our energy for Sunday!

TODAY!

Today we were heading out to a femme metal festival that one of our favorite bands, Sirenia, was to be headlining at. Well, this place was all the way out in South West London, on the cusp of Zone 3 and 4, so it was going to take a while to get out there. Nekol and I don't bother with jackets because we're going to be inside most of the time. We get to The Peel after about an hour on the tube and thirty minutes on a bus only to wait an hour (as opposed to thirty minutes like we thought it'd be) for the first band to go on...who wasn't all that great. The singer had some real tonality issues and would go flat a lot but hey, at least she tried yeah? The second band kicked butt and I need to find out who they were but we had to leave before their set was over.

Ok, Nekol and I didn't like this concert really because the crowd wasn't into the music at all. No singing. No head banging. No nothing. They just stood there. Three people were maybe bobbing their heads to the music...maybe, that may be pushing it. This group was very English. Here's to hoping any more shows will be in Central London.

Anyways, Nekol and I had to leave early due to the fact that we had to get to a comedy show in Picadilly Circus. We got there a little before 5:30 and had to wait outside for the doors to open at 6:30. Remember when I said earlier that Nekol and I didn't bother with jackets? Yeah, this is where our stupidity smacked us in the face, hard. We were freezing so that when we got inside, we had to thaw out. Nekol and I grabbed a drink and sat down to eat dinner there. It was an ok grilled chicken sandwich on a bun that tasted amazing because I was so hungry. After that, we went and sat through an hour and a half of amazing comedy. It was absolutely fantastic. I think it's been a while since I've laughed that hard that I was crying from it. Brilliant, wonderful, awesome, fantastic, and fabulous are the only words I could think of describing it. Nekol and I may just have to go back on another Sunday or Wednesday night.

So that's all for this weekend...this week should prove to be fun. Nekol's parents come in Wednesday!

<3,
Dre

Shakespearean Knickers and Mousetraps, oh my!

Ohmigod photo post!

Monday saw me in Renaissance Literature and Culture class almost falling asleep. I felt so bad because I hit a slump around 4 and don't catch my second wind till 5. It's all like magic. And I know what people say, "Dre, just get more sleep!" That doesn't solve any problem because this is just how my body is naturally. The only thing that I could possibly do is pump myself full of caffeine right before class and hope I don't crash anytime soon after. My RLC class is really fantastic, which just makes it all the worse : ( Oh well, better luck this next Monday!

Later that night though, Nekol and I enjoyed ourselves and went to see Avenue Q which was absolutely fantastic. We hadn't laughed at a show in a while (all our previous shows had been rather serious with very little laughter required) and had decided we just needed something lighthearted and awesome. That and Nekol had never seen it before...I know! The Gary was a man instead of a woman, like it is in New York, and they changed a few of his lines but other than that everything was how I had remembered and it was just fabulous.

Tuesday was a busy day as always but this time it was even busier! On top of our normal five hour class day, Nekol and I partook in the Lighting Ceremony of London. We left Wells Street and headed over to Regent/Oxford street where we saw a fenced off area, stage, and a megatron. We came to the front where there was an opening to the fenced off area. Nekol and I looked at each other and quickly talked about whether or not we should go in and decided we should. This was about 4:15 and by 4:45 they had closed off the fence area and we had become VIP's. Fan freaking tastic! So we stood there till about five before the show began and listened to several music acts including from the musical Sister Act, singers Peter Andre, Taio Cruise, and music group The Saturdays. It was a fun filled night before Jim Carrey came out on stage and we saw Colin Firth on the big screen flip the switches to light up London. It was so amazing. It was definitely a gorgeous night.

Wednesday saw Nekol and I spending three hours in The Imperial War Museum which is just down the block from where we live. It was so awesome and we only were able to get through the Basement and Ground floors during that time. There were exhibits called Children of War (when children had to leave London in fear of being blitzed) and Trench Warfare (getting to see what it was like to go through a trench in the war.) It was all rather intense that made me want to cry at several points in time. It showed the frailty of humanity and how stupidity, greed, and fear determined how people lived back then and to this very day. It makes you more appreciative for sure.

Later that night we went to Chez Gerard where we saw the rest of our study abroad group for the first time in a long time. We ate wonderful french food, I had a lobster pancake that was brilliant, and we were able to catch up on each others lives. This week, a school official is visiting, which is why we could all afford french food in London. The official is brilliantly wonderful as is her daughter, who came along. We're enjoying their stay here as much as they're enjoying their stay here, I am sure of it.

Thursday was the day I have been long waiting for. Nekol and I traveled to our Mecca, to Bethleham, found the Holy Grail, and so many other names that could possibly encompass the deep rooted passion we have for The Rose and The Globe theatres. We stood where Marlowe, Shakespeare, Burbage, Alleyn, and so many others had stood. We felt the energy, took in the power, and stood in awe of everything. I nearly cried at each sight and took many pictures just to remember the day as it should properly be remembered. Nekol and I bought SO MUCH STUFF at the The Globe gift store...it was kind of ridiculous. We bought "Montague" and "Capulet" arrows through the heart pins that we can now wear and I bought a pair of knickers that have that on that as well...it was so much fun...I could go on but I don't want to bore anyone...I'll post a photo instead!

Later that night the Study Abroad group met again and we had tapas at La Tasca which was absolutely wonderful. I've missed Spanish food dearly and last night was what I needed to soothe my homesickness that was starting to creep around the corners of my consciousness. Having small things every now and then that remind me of home and remind me that I am having absolute fun here and am not completely removed from my culture makes me a very happy camper.

After that we went and saw the play Mousetrap which was so cool! The person who did it was not EVEN on my radar at all. Nekol didn't see it coming either, which is just the way Agatha Christie writes her books, making me happy that the play followed suit. I can't tell you who did it because at the end, one of the actors stepped forward and told us to keep the secret and I will. More than happily will too!

OH! There was an incident last night though. After the first act, as is accustomed to "who-dunnit?" plays, my three friends and I turned to each other to figure out who did was the murderer. In the midst of a rather educated, all in fun figuring it out, we were holding up ideas and shooting them down in one breathe saying they were all too obvious, the older man in front of me turned around and spoke to me. Now before I reenact this conversation, I have to tell you this man had to be the poshest and rudest man I had ever met in my travels in London, England.

"Excuse me, could you not talk about the plot and ruin it for the rest of us?"
"But sir, I don't know the ending."
"I'm sure you don't." and promptly turns around

My friends and I were stunned. As if we had been reprimanded by a mean Headmaster. We sat in silence awkwardly for a minute or so before talking about traveling plans. I should have said something back but I guess my polite nature ruled over my snappy one. However, I must keep in mind, if someone is going to talk to you then might as well have a conversation with them. : )

Today, Friday, is dedicated to High Tea at Harrods and Othello at Trafalgar Studios. It should prove to be a most eventful evening.

<3,
Dre

Tanks a Million!

Irish people really don't pronounce their h's...well at least they don't in Dublin.

I visited Dublin with Nekol on Friday and Saturday. We had an absolute blast for not only were we in Ireland but we were able to spend time with Lavinia and Jule. It was a fantastic weekend. I really don't believe any place celebrates Halloween as hardcore as America but Dublin was a good way to try and fill the gaps.

Let's start off that we flew on Aer Lingus which is a really cheap Irish airline. Fantastic. Except we had to leave at 6:50 from Heathrow which meant we had to leave super early from Lambeth to get there...which meant we couldn't take the Tube since most of them don't open up until way after the time we wanted to be at the airport. So Nekol and I had to take the night busses...awesome.

Anyways, sleep deprived, we get to the airport and hop on the plane for a VERY short trip to Ireland. The flight was maybe 60 minutes. Maybe. We land, no problem, and pay for a bus ticket to go to the City Centre of Dublin. Well, we're on the bus and people keep telling us we need "Mountjoy Square" even though the Youth Hostel Nekol and I are staying at is on "Mountjoy Street." But no no no, we need Square, not Street....Nekol and I wander around for about 30 minutes trying to find the Street only to find out we were no where near it. We were wandering around Mountjoy Square for quite sometime...oh well.

When we finally found the hostel, Nekol and I checked in, ate breakfast (because it was only 10:15) and took a slight nap before going to hang out with Jule. The weather was overcast and nasty but we at least got to walk around Trinity College to see inside the walls and just walk around Dublin for a bit. Lavinia got in super late but we still hung out and had fun. Nekol and I headed back to our Youth Hostel around two thirty in the morning to find out that the four girls in our room were already asleep...uh ok, Friday night but whatever, maybe they're saving their energy for Halloween.

Halloween day and the four of us are off and around Dublin! It was so much fun and we had a really busy day. We even went to Clontarf Road to go through a Dracula experience (haunted house) since Bram Stoker was born in Dublin. Did you know he and Oscar Wilde were besties? I sure didn't. At night, we got ready in our costumes and had a night on the town. The day was so eventful that Nekol and I could barely wake up at seven the following morning to leave. Two days in Dublin was not enough to fully appreciate it. I really enjoyed my time there and would love to go back...just note to self, everything is SO much more expensive over there!

Nekol and I got back around Sunday afternoon where we chilled for the rest of the day. Apparently, I stepped on a cobble stone wrong in Dublin and seriously bruised my right foot to the point where it hurt to walk on it for more than ten minutes. Like searing pain up my leg and into my abdomen. Me and cobblestone are sworn enemies now. Which isn't good considering Leicster Square and Picadilly Circus are pretty much made up of cobblestone.

Speaking of which, saw Avenue Q tonight at the Gielgud Theatre. It was really funny, like the first time I saw it in NY, except they changed some of the lyrics (interesting choice, not necessarily a bad one) and there was some accent slippage from American to British back to American...but still fun!

Tomorrow night they're having a lighting ceremony for the Oxford St/Regent St lights! Colin Firth and Jim Carrey are going to be there...as will I!

Well, gotta get back to homework then crawl into bed.

<3,
Dre