The week after spring break- faster than LIGHTNING

Italy wiped me out- I spent the day after I got back sleeping and once I woke up, I did some laundry. Since laundry and dryer tokens aren't sold on the weekend, I got mine before I left (smart move, Amanda!). I didn't, however, get a dryer coin (not quite a smart move, Amanda). So I did the only thing I could have and hung up my wet clothes all over the room. It worked, and thankfully my roommate wasn't there to see my socks and underwear all over the place! On Monday in architecture class, our professor puffed in at least 10 minutes late, red-faced and could not stop coughing! He had been to Cuba during the break and announced that he thought he might have been bitten by an "interesting bug" and was also feeling feverish! We thought he was going to pass our or die, or at least cancel class- but no, he wheezed thru the lecture and even managed to let the class out late! In my acting class, we decided on the play we are going to perform at the end of the semester as our final. We are doing a bunch of scenes from A Doll's House in pairs and I got the character of Nora and mine is the first scene of the play. T is going to play the other guy in the scene and we've already started practicing (since neither of us is really an actor).

The weather in England really threw me off. It has been spring-y and cloudless some days and on others, snowing! Some days, it's both. The weather really is strange...

My Italian Spring Break - part 4

Day 7

Today Megan, Corey, Lindsay, Sarah and I woke up early and caught the 8:30 train to Florence! Since I booked my ticket separately from the other girls, my seat was in a different carriage. When I got to my seat, some lady was already sitting there, next to her husband and after a few confusing minutes I finally got what she was trying to tell me (in Italian) and switched seats. I loved the ride there; the countryside was beautiful- lots of hills and mountains and everything was green! Once we got to Firenze (that's Italian for Florence) we bought some maps and decided to head towards the big cathedral (Duamo) then find some tower that we heard about. We ended up climbing the dome of Duamo and the view was definitely worth the 463 stairs to see it!

Megan, Sarah, Lindsay, me, Corey

Florence

"Pondering Florence"

After that slightly sweaty and cramped little walk, we got some lunch then went and saw the famed statue of David. We were lucky enough to have practically no line and once we bought our tickets, turned a corner and there was David. It was a really impressive statue- I was not expecting it to be so huge! The odd thing we noticed was that his hands seemed a little bit big. We passed thru the rest of the museum then walked around looking for the replica statue that's outside in a square with a lot of other statues, as well as a famous bridge.





The highlight of the day, and perhaps the entire trip to Italy was being HIT BY A MOPED. Yes, it's true. We were on our way to see David and I (unfortunately) wasn't paying very much attention while we were crossing the road and out of nowhere this lady on a moped ran me over! More like, I tripped over her front wheel, but it was still kind of scary! I was uninjured by the moped incident, thankfully.

the fake David

Day 8

I spent our last day in Rome sneezing and mopping up my runny nose. We took the Metro to the Vatican and I waited at the exit of the Vatican museum while the rest of the group saw the Sistine chapel. (I plan on seeing it later when I go back to Rome in May.) When the group came out, we headed back to St. Pete's Square and 2 girls went in to see the Basilica while the rest of us basked in the sun. Interesting factoid- you are not allowed to lay down in St. Peter's Sq. Some police man in a police golf cart rolled by and told us not to lay down!

Once the girls got back, we Metro-ed back to the hotel and picked up our luggage then headed to the airport. Our flight was delayed AGAIN! so we waited in the airport, tired and cranky then finally got back to London at 12:30. We jumped on a bus back to the city which dropped up off at Liverpool St which meant we had to take 2 more buses back to the college. I didn't get into bed until 3:30 AM.

My Italian Spring Break - part 3

Day 4

We checked out of the hotel around 10 and left our bags there, then had the day to just wander and be on vacation. We strolled around Venice and basked in the sun. For lunch, I got this huge calzone which was awesome- the bread was so good! We decided to head over to the airport (destination: Rome) a little bit early, so got our huge backpacks and walked back to the bus station. We went over no less than 8 bridges (I counted them to take my mind off the enormous weight I was lugging around). We arrived at the airport, along with about 10 more Regent's students who had the same flight, and this time there were no problems checking my bag. The problem occurred when our flight was delayed for 2 hours... I read up on Rome and watched the shenanigans of the other bored people. Finally, we got on the plane and an hour later we landed in ROMA. We had to take another bus into the city and we got dropped off by the train station. The hotel was two streets away. It was the scariest hotel ever. We eventually found the sign (it wasn't lit up) then went into the lobby (it was pretty dark and creepy). Now, to the left and right were these two Tower of Terror elevators - they only fit 2 people, they had cobwebs all over them and you had to manually shut the doors. I decided to skip the elevator and climb up the 5 flights of stairs to the room. The room was not bad, though there was no view at all. And the "shower" was a curtain around a shower head next to the toilet...

Day 5

What's the first thing you do when in Rome? Visit the Colosseum, of course! We got up at 9AM and hit the streets with our complimentary tourist map of the city. It ended up being a short walk and once there, Rachel, Sarah and I decided to skip the 21 euro tour everyone else did and just go right in. It ended up being a good choice because the line wasn't bad at all and we were our own tour guides. Rachel read aloud the little info signs (no doubt made for tour groups like us) and we had a grand old time adding to the history of the Colosseum and Rome as well as posing as ancient statues on the many pedestals that lay about (that is what we decided they were there for).

After the Colosseum, we mosied on over to the Pantheon/ Forum. We found this little field absolutely covered with wildflowers and decided it was a great place for a nap. We ended up meeting more Regent's kids in the field and after a while, headed back to the meeting spot with the rest of the group. From the Colosseum, we decided to visit the Trevi Fountain. There were so many people there; I was not expecting such a huge crowd! We got some gelato (I got black cherry, cookies and cream and chocolate- SO GOOD) then headed over to see the Spanish Steps. I think we were all disappointed when we got there and all it was was a lot of people on a lot of steps. We climbed to the top anyway and watched the sunset.

the fieldthe fountain
the sunset

It was Megan's birthday, so we took her out to dinner! We found some tiny restaurant and they put us in a tiny room (it had cool color changing lights) and then we had a really great meal. (Italian food is always so good!) After dinner, we walked back by the Trevi Fountain to see it at night, then it was back to our hotel.

Day 6

I saw the Pope! As you might be able to guess, our travels on day 6 took us to the Vatican. We got up nice and early, had breakfast in the hotel (they had pre-packaged toast, surprisingly tasty) then hopped on the Metro. The Metro is an experience- they are not afraid of jamming on the breaks and don't care if people get thrown to the ground in the process! It was also very crowded and a little smelly. (I prefer the tube in London.) We emerged from the Metro all in one piece, then made our way to the Vatican which has huge, huge walls around it. We got thru the metal detectors and into St Peter's square joining about a million other people! Pope Benedict finally drove out in this little golf cart thing (he didn't drive it, he stood in the back and waved). Some priests read from the Bible (in 6 different languages) then the Pope spoke for a LONG time.

Next we got some lunch at a little restaurant that was recommended to us and was right around the corner from the Vatican. The dessert was strawberries- but they must have added sugar or even magic to them, because they were the best strawberries any of us had ever tasted!

After, we traveled to a castle, but since it cost money to go in, Rachel and I were tour guides again and told everyone else the story of the castle. Then we headed over to the Pantheon, took some pictures then rested for a while in by the fountain. Once we were all set with resting, we went back to the hotel, stopping for dinner. We bought train tickets to Florence then went to bed.

My Italian Spring Break - part 2

Day 2

We got up nice an early and strolled down the streets, window shopping and taking pictures. Venice sells two main products: glass and masks. We headed towards the Grand Canal and Sarah, Rachel and I decided to go ahead to San Marco's square, since the other girls were still shopping. We simply followed the signs that pointed to San Marco down these twisty, narrow allies, over countless bridges and canals until we found ourselves on an enormous bridge- the Rialto!

A few more streets away, we emerged into the sunlight in St. Mark's Square! It was filled with crowds of people, but there might have been just as many pigeons (if not more)! We decided to get a closer look at the birds and ended up spending over an hour feeding them and naming the ones that landed on us. Rachel was the official photographer for Sarah and I- we had probably too much fun with those birds.

We took a peek into St Mark's Cathedral (the floors were amazing marble tiles) then decided it was a good idea to go up the huge bell tower. After a super quick elevator ride to the top, we found ourselves with a great 360* view of Venice!

After the bell tower, we wandered along the water and ended up finding this little tree-lined walkway/park. We took a stroll thru it and decided to watch the sun set over the water.

Then we picked up dinner (I got a tasty cheese sandwich on great bread) and headed back to the hotel, where we met up with the other group. We played cards had some fun and laughs, then bedtime.

Day 3

We "slept in" til 10 and met the other group for brunch (I got this loaf of salted bread with olive oil. It tasted like a soft pretzel and lasted me practically til dinner time). The group decided to head down to St Mark's and perhaps find a gondola. Rachel and I decided to skip the expensive boat ride and explore a bit instead. We headed for the peninsula we saw from the bell tower the day before and so off we went! On the way, we discovered a mini outdoor gallery of sorts and in the middle was this giant face. Obviously, we had a photo shoot posing with the face:

We got onto the peninsula and walked along the water (which was an amazing color) and got to the tip at which there was a church. We went inside and rested for a little then headed back, meeting up with the other 6 and getting dinner near the hotel again. Everyone was tired, so we had an early night.

Visual of how much I enjoyed Venice:

My Italian Spring Break - part 1

Spring break... I had a great time last week in Italy! I travelled with 8 girls from UNH and we stopped in Venice, Rome and Florence. We were lucky enough to have amazing weather- it was cloudless everyday and I got a sunburn (even though I put on sun screen, Mom). I kept track of what I did every day (and how much I spent- right on budget), so enjoy:

Friday, March 9 - Day 1

We woke up early and headed to the airport for the mid-day flight. Getting to the airport was no problem- getting through security was another story. I decided to carry on my backpack (which just barely fit into the carry on measurer) and they stopped it half way out of the x-ray machine while three guys stared at the screen. After a few minutes of trying to figure out what kind of dangerous weapon I was apparently trying to smuggle out of England, they asked me if they could search my bag. I said "absolutely not!" and put up a real fight before getting arrested! Just kidding (though that would have been exciting) of course I said yes, and obviously they found nothing in there. I think they were confused by my mini umbrella (which I didn't need to use after all). I eventually got onto the plane and then we were off! The flight was about 1.5 hours and we flew over the Alps, which were amazing.

We didn't catch the bus from the airport to the city center right away, so we waited out in the warm Italian air for about half an hour then napped for about 45 minutes on the bus until we crossed this long bridge and were officially in Venice! We grabbed our backpacks and hopped on a water taxi, then made our way to the hotel. It was in this little alley, right off a square with a giant bell tower. There was a slight problem checking in since another girl and I added ourselves to the group after the initial planning took place (I'm such a trouble maker), but it all worked out with much grumbling from the woman working at the desk. We were split up into 2 groups, and I ended up in a nice room that was not in the main building. We had to walk down to the next street to get to our room, and then we had to go up 2 flights of stairs and use 3 keys to get into it!

the view

We had a nice dinner at literally the first restaurant we saw- I got a plate-sized pizza and ate the whole thing! (I was hungry!) After dinner, we wandered around the streets of Venice, taking pictures and window shopping before calling it a night.

Venice from the water taxi and at night

The Great Bus Tour of England

Wow, yesterday was one long day of sight-seeing! I got to see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. I decided to walk to Victoria Coach Station this time, in order to minimize the chance of missing the bus again. It took me an hour to walk there, which is pretty much what I expected. I ended up getting there about 30 min early (whew!) and since I booked online, I was one of the last people on the bus. (I didn't know where I was supposed to get my ticket...) Anyway, at 9am we were off!


First stop- Windsor Castle! The last time I was in England (with the family, few years ago) we stopped at Windsor, but we didn't go in. This time, I got to go in! We walked thru a train station and all these shops and then at the end of a kind of tunnel, there it was! We walked up the hill to the entrance, admiring the aptly named Round Tower then were ushered inside the ticket place. Being with a tour has its perks- NO LINES. I got my audio guide then started my tour of the state rooms! The tour took me thru the public side of the castle, to the large entrance staircase, a huge dining room (there were actually 2 more dining rooms as well), a room where knights-to-be are knighted by the Queen (I liked this room because it was decorated in a deep blue), a room filled with weapons, rooms filled with paintings, rooms with china, and even more rooms with just magnificent, old, expensive furniture! I'd just like to say that I would not mind living at Windsor. The grass was an amazing green, the castle was really awesome and impressive, the flowers were blooming and the view was picturesque! There was also a large chapel (St. George's) in which King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour were buried, as well as the Queen's parents. By the way- the Queen was IN! Unfortunately, I didn't meet Her Royal Highness- this time!



Next, we took a drive to Stonehenge. Again, the family stopped off at this pile of rocks the last time I was here as well. So this time, I decided to try taking some artsy fartsy pictures. It was windy, like last time, but not as cold and not quite as windy! I also ended up taking a picture from almost every angle.



After a walk around the giant rocks, it was Bath time! Bath turned out to be a mini city, which I was not expecting. Since it was very sunny and nice, there were tons of people wandering around, shopping etc. But I popped into the Roman Bath house first thing and checked it out. The water is still running and it's still warm! There was steam coming off the surface of the Great Bath- and it was mid-afternoon, and not that cold out! The audio tour was not as good as either of the others (you went thru a museum and out to the baths, but there was not really any order, and the numbers were very random). My favorite part was the fact that they had little videos (no sound) that recreated the baths- complete with naked, bathing Romans! After that little trip, I walked around for a bit then it was time to head back to London.



On the drive back we passed thru part of the Cotswolds, which are cute little English towns. The drive to each of the stops was nice; the English countryside is beautiful! Lots of farms and green, rolling hills. There was one little town we passed by that the English Ministry of Defense practices attacking, apparently. There were signs by the road that said TANK CROSSING which was very unusual!! The tour guide, Deborah, was really funny. I sat up near the front and listened to her crack jokes and make comments to the bus driver, Martin.

The Best Building in London

Today I had a field trip with my English Architecture class. Our destination: Saint Paul's Cathedral. My friend and classmate Julia (we have 3 classes together) walked there this morning under a perfectly clear blue sky. It took us a little over an hour, but thankfully we were early- our professor tends to leave very promptly, so we were relieved to get there before him! St Paul's is pretty impressive, both inside and out. Our class got to go see a huge model of the church by the architect which was built in the 1600s! We had to go via a back staircase. But this was no ordinary staircase- it was unsupported! This just means that it looks very scary to walk up! (I snuck this picture). The tour guide who let us up to see the model was about 90 years old and his name was Morris. He was a really nice and funny old guy; we all wished he had given us a tour! After our class walked around the in and outside of the cathedral, we were given an hour lunch break. We spent most of it in the 3 galleries of the church. Now, this is what made St Paul's my favorite building in London- no only was it a beautiful building to look at, it also had great views of the city! The first gallery let you look down into the church itself. You climb 259 stairs to get to basically an observation balcony, which stretched all around the inside of the base of the dome, at about ceiling height. The next gallery was another 378 steps up, and this one was outside. But the next gallery was the best because it was even higher up and the views were that much more amazing! To get there, we had to march up these narrow spiral staircases (to each level) and they got more narrow and daunting with each level! The payoff, however, was definitely worth it. I think I took pictures from every angle!

Here you can see the London Eye...

as well as here. I call this photo "Contemplating London"

We had to book it back down the ~1000 stairs to meet our class at the next part of the field trip, and we were about 10 minutes late. Good thing our professor was also late... he was so late, in fact that after waiting around for him for a half hour, we all just said our goodbyes, and Julia and I were off to the Tate Modern! We crossed the river over the Millennium Bridge, this funky pedestrian bridge, which was handily enough, from St Paul's right to the Tate Modern (which is a museum of modern art). The museum has 7 floors, but essentially the art is only on 3. We decided to start at the top and work our way down. Julia kept getting yelled at, first for touching some "art" (I asked her if she thought it was chalk on the wall so she touched it (it was chalk)) and then for taking pictures (I took a picture and my camera flashed; Julia wanted to take my picture with the same painting so she took my camera, but some staff guy came over and told her "no photos, no photos!"). This is also the museum with the giant slides- which I actually had a dream about last night! The slides are another piece of "art" (some lady is actually suing the museum because a slide hurt her wrist!) Modern art is not for me- example 1) there was a framed, blank canvas with a slash thru it. Yep, that's it 2) there was a film of a 10yr old girl reading aloud a book about color. Yep, that's it for that one too! 3) There was a room with scribbled on paper on the walls and a little bit on the floor and ceiling. Only 5 people at a time were allowed into this one. How is that art?!

After a few hours in the Tate, we decided to call it quits. Here is Julia and I in a mirrored room- it was made by automatic sliding doors. We spent about 5 minutes in this room, waiting for people to stop walking thru so we could take some pictures.

A stellar shot from our impromptu photo shoot in this garden of a church on our way to the Tate

Welcome to March!

I've been doing lots of work this week, my most interesting homework assignment being "stalking." For acting class, my friend Julia and I followed a few people around and then imitated them for class! First we followed a woman we named Phyllis (mid 50s, widowed, enjoys romance novels) who walked very fast and then got on the bus. We followed her to Camden market where she bought some candy. I laughed a lot, especially when we sat on the bus (top level of a double decker, woo hoo!) and watched her stare out the window. Then in Camden, we followed some teenage girls who were both carrying red balloons, which turned out to be pretty handy since it was pretty crowded! After we were done stalking, Julia and I shopped around for a few hours in some crazy vintage clothing stores, and Julia even tried on this hideous, pouffy, 80s bridesmaid dress! It was awesome.

On Monday, my architecture class had another field trip, this time to Covet Garden. I don't have any Monday morning classes, so I got up early and went shopping on Oxford Street before class! I spent some cash on sweaters and other shirts (yaay!) but I still didn't find any boots (boo)! After shopping, I went down Regent St, thru Piccadilly Circus and over to Leicester Sq, where I ate my lunch, then thru Chinatown (which is still decorated for the Chinese New Year) and met my class. From there, we walked to the Embankment (the edge of the River Thames) and to the Somerset House. This was the MOST interesting part of my day, because there is a open courtyard at Somerset House that has a cool fountain (see pic). But even more interestingly... there was a woman with a thick, black, furry MUSTACHE! Not even joking! I thought it was fake because it was so bushy (and the fact that it was a woman...). I should have taken a picture, but unfortunately I did not. I don't know what the moustache lady would have done to me if I had!

The weather has been normal English weather: unpredictable and ever-changing - it starts out sunny, then rains, then clears up... today however, was just plain sunny and beautiful all day, so after classes, I walked around the park, fed the birds and snapped some pictures.

The fountain in Inner Circle