The University of Blog

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy ” Giuseppe Verdi.

After Athens, we took a flight to Rome and had three days there. Once again we started with a walking tour which took us to the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable since her background was in archaeology. To be in the Coliseum was unparalleled. You see it everywhere, but it’s so different when you are actually inside. This was especially true when we turned the corner of a winding street to see the Trevi Fountain. We said “wow” and our guide just gave us an understanding look.

Trevi Fountain

Some highlights of Rome included a walk though the Borghese Gardens and seeing Bernini’s masterpieces in one of the largest private collections of the Borghese Gallery. The movement and details of the sculptures in a museum made for an enjoyable afternoon. We did a lot of museum hopping. We went to see the sculpture of the She-wolf with Romulus and Remus at one of the National Museums in Rome. The most impressive collection was the Vatican. This museum had an unparalleled collection. We saw Rodin’s The Thinker as well as many ancient sculptures. What I really enjoyed of course was the Sistine Chapel. I spent the most time there, craning my neck to get a good view. Being in that room and imagining Michelangelo painting flooded back memories of fourth grade. We would get under our desks and draw a picture that was taped on the underside of our desk. Not sure how Michelangelo could do it. By that point, we are really on cultural overload so we decide to have a stroll about the city.  Even just walking around, you see such architecture and statues that are simply amazing. I’m sure if you’re reading this all the way through, I will use the word “amazing” too many times. But that’s really how Italy is.

Our hostel was less than desirable. Avoid STA. My advice: always use Hostelworld.com. The lovely 2 Ducks hostel lacked hot water, had bed bugs and the breakfast was a joke. Not the best place to stay, but that encouraged us to never be there. We decided to go on a pub crawl to various bars around Rome. I knew that we weren’t going to meet many Italians this way, but it was still a good way to have a fun night. I understand why we didn’t stay out too late on any day of our trip since we had a lot to see. But after the crawl, we were still up by ten and ready to explore more of Rome.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We ate gellato every day of the trip. I mostly went for the different chocolate flavors, which were always spot-on. We also tried the pizza. It was simply divine. When we were in the Traverse district, we walked a distance looking at each menu for the most delicious, authentic expereince. We found the best place we could. Never go for the tourist menu if you can help it. It’s always better to walk a bit further and find something better. Next stop: Florence…

The trip was amazing. Athens. Rome. Florence. Venice.

The first city was Athens. The Acropolis was closed. Go figure. We are there for 2 days and the guards are on strike. We still go on a walking tour and get a good idea of the history of the city. We walked through Plaka, or old town, as well as a hill to get a good view of the city and the Acropolis. We visited Hadrian’s Arch as well as Zeus’ temple.

The food was awesome. We found this inexpensive place with lots of locals and delicious lamb kebabs. Come to think of it, there really weren’t that many tourists since it’s not the best time to visit Greece (too cold to Island hop). However, that was fine because we were able to meet a lot of locals. It was Carnival. On Saturday night after dinner, we searched for a fun place and settled on a small bar with loud music and dancing folks. We had a lot of fun throwing streamers, dancing and meeting some Greeks.

To be among such history is really overwhelming. Just walking through a museum and thinking, hey I’ve seen that before, is really fun and doesn’t happen unless you are in a museum of a large city. Even then, it’s usually only one or two pieces that I recognize. At the National Archaeological Museum and saw the famous Kore, Agamemnon’s Mask and the bronze sculpture of either Zeus or Poseidon. I appreciate my Greek Culture class immensely.

For sunset, we climbed the mount that St. Paul spoke to encourage the Grecians to follow one God. While climbing up the hill, we found some dog friends. In Athens, there is a city program to have dogs. They drop them off at parks and feed them, and the population takes them as their pets. We even named them. We had Delphi, Zeus, Nike and Poseidon.

Athens was not a particularly beautiful city nor did we have the best weather.  Not as clean as I would have hoped, but the ancient history made up for it. Then we headed to Rome…

I feel like the once a week blog is probably an appropriate goal. It’s so hard to be sitting in front of a computer all day and then go home to sit in front of my laptop to blog about me sitting in front of a computer all day. However, for those that are interested in what I’m doing at MSN and my travels, a once a week update is probably what you can expect. And they become even more interesting when you’ve had a weekend like this past weekend.

Wales=gorgeous.

Now I could leave it at that, but more detail is necessary. My roommate (or flatmate, as they call them here), went to Pembrookshire, Wales for the weekend to participate in high adventure activities. Now, they probably should have mentioned that you would be sore for a week after attempting these feats. Even if they did, however, I still would have gone. Friday started out as less than desirable since we missed our coach to the pickup location in Wales. The next one didn’t leave until that evening and after the seven hour busride, we wouldn’t be getting into Wales until 2 a.m. Not desirable. We rushed to get the coach (which we could have made if we had done a few things differently), then we rushed to catch a train from a different station. After shelling out £41 for the coach we didn’t use, and another£73 for the train, this was adding up to be an expensive weekend.

When we arrive and were picked up by Preseli Adventure, we were happy to arrive with everyone else. Yes, we did pay a bit more (or a lot more) for transportation, but it was worth it to enjoy some delicious lasagne and drinks with the entire group at the lodge. After a good night’s sleep, we woke up to a filling breakfast… and off for some adventure. Our first activity was coasteering. This is basically gearing up to climb on the coast and jump off cliffs into the water. The water was absolutely freezing but the sun offered some respite. Our kit (or gear) included a winter wet suit, a buoyancy aid, a helmet and tennis shoes. What a fun activity! When we first hopped in, we enjoyed bobbing up and down in a cove as the water levels went up and down. It was a bit nerve-wracking to climb on the rocks knowing that one wrong step could have me either in the ocean or on the rocks below. Quite a successful outing.

We warmed up with some soup and then off again for another adventure. This time it was kayaking. We were fitted for our kayaks and drove to a small village, hopped in the water and practiced kayaking by first a game, some coastal exploration and then by venturing into a cave. The seal added the nice ambiance to the nature we were actually a part of. Being in nature added some much needed relaxation from the busy London weeks. We got out of the cold water for the last time (no one tipped over), took some warm showers and ate some delicious curry. When dinner was over, we all played some card games and later headed out to a bonfire. The bonfire certainly reminded me of the Midwest: memories of someone strumming a guitar around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and camping all flooded back to me.

Sunday we participated in a seven mile hike along the coast. Well, the first four were good, but then the trail turned into fields and was less scenic. By that point we were all exhausted, but still had another 3 miles to go. We all successfully returned, ate some lunch and said goodbye to the Welsh landscape. I still have some great photos to remember the trip by, but nothing will compare to all of the fun that I had actually going out there and doing it all. And like I said, it offered some much needed refreshment from the hustle and bustle of London.

Next stop: Italy and Greece

I am about a month into my study abroad experience and that has allowed me the opportunity to reflect on my experience so far.  Coming to London has given me so many more opportunities that I would have been able to receive doing a regular semester in Columbia. I believe I’m in the comfort stage now. It feels familiar. I go to work. The tube is not daunting. I’m able to find my way around and know what drink to order at a pub.  I’m trying to branch out to meet people when I can.

Last week, there was a bit of upset when my travel card and my phone were stolen. Initially, I was pretty heartbroken. It wasn’t the money or the phone (it was only £5). However, I did lose the numbers of some of the people who I had met here. And we weren’t facebook friends yet, so there’s little way to recover those numbers again. However, I’ve moved past the experience and learned from it. Being a smart traveller is good all the time, not just when you are travelling to another country. This skill will help me a lot when I’m going to Italy over spring break.

I’ve gone clubbing. How many people can say they went to a foam party? After this Friday night, I can now say that I experienced that. Would I return? Probably not. After getting soaked in the night club, we then had to return home while we were all wet. Not the most comfortable return, but I took the night bus  and got home safely… with my phone and travelcard.

Soaked post-foam

I’ve shopped. This was the weekend of markets as well. There are so many! In Lawrence or Columbia, markets like this might happen once a month or you’d have to go to specialized antique malls to find treasures. Here, all of the cheap treasures are open 7 days a week… and very busy on weekends. I found some really funky rings and other jewelery items. I wanted to buy a lot of items, but I am constantly reminded of my budget as well as the fact that it all has to come back with me in two suitcases.

We checked out the Camden Market, which is an area known to be full of Goths. We heard a club with music blaring, which was quite intriguing. We walked inside where there was a dancing girl and they were sporting neon, space-age outfits. After continuing through the store, we kept seeing ridiculous clubbing outfits. I’m not sure what clubs these people are going to, but I’ve never seen such outfits outside of a Disney movie set on a different planet.

On Sunday, The Up Sunday Market and Spitafields are the markets to attend. They are within walking distance to one another. At Up Sunday we tried some delicious Moroccan food (you could have tried anything really. The Ethiopian food looked good as well)… Then we headed for a chocolate brownie at Spitafields. Sometimes I feel like I am eating my way through London. We saw some really fashionable items. I did splurge to buy a top shop dress for £2.50. I’m not quite sure where those dresses come from, but I can’t pass up a dress for under a fiver.

I’m getting ready for a couple of trips. The first is this weekend to Wales. It’s an all-inclusive stay at a five-star high adventure resort. I’m going coasteering and kayaking in a winter wet suit. The trips to cities such as Amsterdam and Edinburgh are great, but cities are similar to one another. I’m ready for something completely different.  It’s a seven hour coach to get there, but once I am hitting the ice cold water and jumping off cliffs, it will be worth it. We also booked our Spring Break trip in two weeks. What a price! We are going to hit Athens, Rome, Florence and Venice. It will be a very full week, but there is no better time to do it. We have ten days and I’ve never been to any of these places. A couple of the other students are going to Morocco. So, this was a long entry, but a lot of thoughts have been ruminating lately. I want to do London to the max because I’m not quite sure when I’ll be back again. I love it here and could see myself living in the international capital (of the world) some day. That’s the excitement about travel though. Each city is more spectacular than the next. While I still love London the best out of all the trips that I’ve taken, there seems like a possibility just to stay. It’s inspiring. However, even while I feel like I could stay and work here, I know in the back of my mind that it just might not happen thus reminding me that I need to make every experience count.

I’ve realized that many of my posts are about the traveling that I have done lately. This may give the impression that this is all that I do (I wish!) However, from 9 until 6, I’m working at MSN as the video intern. Work has been going really well so far. I edit videos that come in from the staff like when the Life & Style editors went to the Elle Style Awards. I film as well, which I really enjoy. I met Paris Hilton during her press junket to find her new British Best Friend. The most fun I had was this week was working on this Valentine’s Day Vox Pops video. We filmed in the rain asking questions about people’s Valentine’s Day experiences. Once I added some music and cut it together, it came out quite nicely.

Here are a couple more videos that I’ve edited for your viewing pleasure.
Skateboarding Video
Paris Hilton Interview

Another weekend trip, another crazy 48 hours with very little sleep and a lot of fun. This weekend it was Amsterdam, known as the Venice of the North. When we first arrived,  I noticed how different it felt from London. A canal ran through the city with many bridges. Near Central Station there were thousands of biked parked outside. They had bike lights, bike police traps, and bike lanes. It was great to see bikes as such a part of the lifestyle there.

After finding our hostel (which actually turned out to be more like a bed and breakfast), we were free to explore. The best thing about our hostel was that it was on a boat… or what I like to call a botel. After hitting up a few flea markets, we then went to The Heineken Experience, an interactive museum to learn all about Heineken. On the tour, complete with a “ride” through a bottling factory, we were able to taste the beer, learn how to pour a tap and taste the hops that go into making the beer.

After our tour we explored the city a bit more and had some delicious falafels. There is a whole street of really unhealthy, delicious food items. We did partake in many of them. We then danced to some Dutch tunes. After awhile, it got a bit draining because there would be a siren and the bartender would ring a bell every half hour just to add to the party environment. We went to quite a few places where they would do this.

The next morning, after having the best sleep in my boat bed, we headed out to the Zaanse Schans so see some authentic windmills. There was a tiny Dutch village there complete with sheep, an authentic cheese-making store and delicious hot chocolate. After exploring the area and capturing some unique Holland photos, we took the train back to go to see the Van Gogh museum. This is such a place to see! Van Gogh is so familiar, it was interesting to see something up close that you just see in books or put on your wall. Van Gogh will always hold a special place in my heart because last year my apartment had a Van Gogh mural painted in the living room. At the museum, these works really came to life.

It was a very full, very fulfilling weekend. One of my most interesting experiences there (besides accidentally taking a turn through the red light district), was my last, unhealthy delicious item. I tried a Turkish pizza. I can’t only tell you briefly what it includes  (lamb and vegetables) all in some seasoned bread with some garlic sauce. The man who made it kept coming up to me to improve it. He said that people drank Yogurt milk with it so he brought some over. He came over again and said that he liked his with some lemon so he brought that over as well. It was a very delicious item indeed and a very interesting man.

Snow took over London on Monday. So much so that I couldn’t take the tube to get to work giving me a full day to play in the snow. However, rather than spending it having snowball fights (which I could have joined in easily), I baked myself a chocolate cake since yesterday it was my 21st birthday. However, while London would seem like the most superb place to celebrate, I did miss all of my friends back home. Since entering this country, I have been able to join in on pub culture so turning 21 was no big deal here. After a full day of work and then our British Life and Culture Class, I didn’t get home until about 8:30 p.m. My mom had sent me a glittery package making my birthday feel more festive. Also, she had lovely delivered flowers to work, which was really sweet and made working on my birthday more bearable. So, after class, I enjoyed some cake, sparkling wine and opened a few presents.

After being full of chocolate cake, I then wandered around to find a fun place to celebrate and stumbled upon a fun place in SoHo with 50 percent of drinks. Not too bad. Wearing my tiara, prompted a man to come up to say to me, “This is my first time in London. Are you the Queen?” After disappointing him by saying no, he responded with, “Then I am partying with a princess.” Needless to say, this was an amusing evening, but I can’t wait celebrating again when I get back to the states where it matters a bit more.

Meeting some locals in Edinburgh
This was my first attempt at a weekend trip, and it was successful. Edinburgh may have been cold and windy, but it was still really enjoyable. After a full workweek, we woke up at 4:30 in the morning on Saturday to catch the first tube to the train station out of Kings Cross. All the train stations are attached to tube stations making rail travel really easy. The train ride was about five hours through the rolling hills of England and then into Scotland. To make the trip more interesting we called out each time we saw a herd of sheep (and we saw a lot of sheep). Once we arrived at the station in Edinburgh, we quickly found our hostel conveniently located on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Then it was off to explore.

Edinburgh Castle

Our first tour was of Mary King’s Close. Beneath the Royal Mile are what are called closes, or dwelling that the original population lived in with Edinburgh was built. Many of them were deserted after the plague, but we were able to see what a close actually looked like (short ceilings and very close quarters). This underground tour of Edinburgh gave perspective on what the day-to-day life was like back then. We saw where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night in the city and heard the stories of the real people who lived there.

Then we headed up the Royal Mile to pick up some plaid and postcards and went to learn about scotch. They were working on renovating the building so rather than seeing the barrels where the whiskey is stored, we learned about the process of making whiskey as well as the difference between single malt and blended. Afterward, we tasted the differences between them.

Saturday night we headed out for dinner and avoided haggis at all costs. After having a few pints and some cheap cocktails, we found a fun-dancing place called the Hive. It was much different than going out in London because there were so many specials and everything is much more affordable. We didn’t want to stay out too late, however, since we had a full day the next day. On Sunday, we went out for breakfast and I had the vegetarian Scottish breakfast. Vegetarian haggis was much more manageable and less scary. After touring the castle, we needed a break from being outside. The castle was wonderful: especially seeing the crown jewels and the dungeon. There was even a dog’s cemetery, but it was windy and chilly and we needed to go inside for a bit.

We found a comedy club with coffee and free improve. The show, Whose Lunch is it Anyway, was highly disappointing. I laughed a bit, but realized that we didn’t have much time left in Edinburgh. Thus, we snuck out and on the way out, heard them making jokes out of us. That was fine. As long as it was funnier than what they had been performing. The train back was snowy. I’m glad we got back when we did. Buses were canceled today and many tube lines were canceled. The others had severe delays. In fact, it is sill snowing outside and I wonder how I am getting to work tomorrow since I couldn’t get to work today.

This past weekend was full of new experiences, but then again, every weekend is full of something new. One adventure that I started with early on Saturday morning was trying to find a particular family friend in Acton. I had an address and knew to take the bus, but I took the bus too far. After getting off and finding my way, I was on the right track. We had a nice lunch and caught up. Then I found my way to Primark, which is the Wal-Mart of London: cheap clothes, shoes and accessories draw the entire population of London to the store on a Saturday. It was a less than desirable shopping experience, but I was able to get a couple of inexpensive tops.

Sunday was fairly low-key and extremely fun. We explored the Shoreditch area, which is an up and coming area that is very popular with a young crowd (has been compared to the Meatpacking District of New York). After getting off the tube stop, we checked out some Banksy graffiti. He is a graffiti artist that is really popular around the London, but very few people know his identity. However, many of his works have been covered up because it’s graffiti…even though it’s really cool, if the population allows some graffiti to stay, then it will give other graffiti “artists” ideas and permission to tag buildings.

After walking past art galleries, down brick lane and through some vintage stores, we hit up the Sunday Up market. I could smell the market from a block away and when I got in there, I saw all types of international cuisine. Since I had already eaten a salt beef sandwich, I will have to go back when I am hungry. There were all types of artists showing handmade jewelry, printed shirts and other types of creative works. It was well worth the trip, even in the rain.