It starts small. A little orange glow ar on the horizon, like embers of a dying flame. Is it real? Or do I imagine it? It is too early for sunrise; perhaps it is only the lights of streetlamps far away, so affected by the weather that the color remains like jack o'lanterns on Halloween.
And then, the sky seems to retreat - only slightly - as the embers stretch in to flames, flexing its muscles to reveal color just the hint of dandelions, bleeding into the sky a dangerous green blood. What just moments before was a faint glow promising a new day has now begun to overtake the darkness with a fervor, an ever growing intensity that will threatens to strike the black from the sky.
The horizon burns red - darker, more intense, as the orange flames shift grow, clawing at the dark night as it desperately tries to put up its last defense - a buffer of blue to preserve the indigo that swallows and embraces the stars.
But those petty diamonds have hidden their faces in fear. The fire continues to swell, flames higher and brighter with each passing moment. No fire could extinguish it now; it's gone for too long, too high. The frigid cloak of night has fallen. All that remains is the illuminative promise of a new day as the sky burns, brightens, and clears.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Blair is: Supporting Falling Towers and Staring at David (Assisi, Pisa, and Florence)
Assisi, Florence, & Pisa
November 16 – 18
Assisi was quite idyllic, overlooking open Tuscany and fields from a hill. In Assisi is a basilica, a beautifully painted basilica holding the remnants of Saint Francis (San Francisco, which explains why it was sister city to San Francisco!) I loved the night sky painted on the ceiling, and the view was incredible.
Soon we were in a town called Firenze to see the David. I was very confused, because I thought he was in Florence. Half the group got lost (including me) and we were soon found. It wasn´t until we passed Ghiberti´s Doors to Paradise that I realized Firenze was Florence!
We arrived at the galleria and entered. After walking around the “Rape of the Sabines” to see it from every angle, I stepped through the door and gasped – he was a hallway away and still huge! I stalled, looking at Michaelangelo´s unfinished works, which seemed as though they were trying to break free of the marble. Finally, I stood before the most perfect figure I have ever seen. His face, intent on the unseen challenger, and his posture to his perfect anatomy – he was beautiful, and I never wanted to leave.
I explored the rest of the museum, before going back to the David for a while. I soon left with Madeline and Vanessa, wandering the streets and picking up a strawberry whipped and pena cotta ice cream. Yum! We soon met up with the rest of the group and headed onwards to dinner. I sat with Avani, Ashley, Rachel, Ryan, Lindsey, Laura and Jasmine, enjoying a meal of salad, pesto pasta, turkey, and wine. Lots of wine. We all sat at our table long after everyone else left, just chatting and enjoying each other´s company. We took a cab back to the hotel, since the bus had stopped running.
The next day, we went on our walking tour of Florence. I was a tad upset because 3 minutes into the tour my camera decided to die, even though I had just charged the battery the night before. But actually, not worrying about having to take pictures gave me the freedom to just look at everything, really examine everything I saw with my own eyes instead of through the viewfinder of my camera. I enjoyed seeing Brunelleschi´s dome and the tower where the two church officials were pushed out of, beginning the reformation.
November 16 – 18
Assisi was quite idyllic, overlooking open Tuscany and fields from a hill. In Assisi is a basilica, a beautifully painted basilica holding the remnants of Saint Francis (San Francisco, which explains why it was sister city to San Francisco!) I loved the night sky painted on the ceiling, and the view was incredible.
Soon we were in a town called Firenze to see the David. I was very confused, because I thought he was in Florence. Half the group got lost (including me) and we were soon found. It wasn´t until we passed Ghiberti´s Doors to Paradise that I realized Firenze was Florence!
We arrived at the galleria and entered. After walking around the “Rape of the Sabines” to see it from every angle, I stepped through the door and gasped – he was a hallway away and still huge! I stalled, looking at Michaelangelo´s unfinished works, which seemed as though they were trying to break free of the marble. Finally, I stood before the most perfect figure I have ever seen. His face, intent on the unseen challenger, and his posture to his perfect anatomy – he was beautiful, and I never wanted to leave.
I explored the rest of the museum, before going back to the David for a while. I soon left with Madeline and Vanessa, wandering the streets and picking up a strawberry whipped and pena cotta ice cream. Yum! We soon met up with the rest of the group and headed onwards to dinner. I sat with Avani, Ashley, Rachel, Ryan, Lindsey, Laura and Jasmine, enjoying a meal of salad, pesto pasta, turkey, and wine. Lots of wine. We all sat at our table long after everyone else left, just chatting and enjoying each other´s company. We took a cab back to the hotel, since the bus had stopped running.
The next day, we went on our walking tour of Florence. I was a tad upset because 3 minutes into the tour my camera decided to die, even though I had just charged the battery the night before. But actually, not worrying about having to take pictures gave me the freedom to just look at everything, really examine everything I saw with my own eyes instead of through the viewfinder of my camera. I enjoyed seeing Brunelleschi´s dome and the tower where the two church officials were pushed out of, beginning the reformation.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Blair is: Crusing through the Med on the Aegean Pearl
September 19 – 21, 2008
Cruise Aboard the Aegean Pearl
We were up early the next day following the magnificent sunset at Cape Sounion to take our cruise through the Mediterranean. We passed many a grand ship before arriving at the Aegean Pearl, a decent sized vessel in my opinion but by no means a Carnival Cruiseliner. Upon seeing it, I immediately thought, “it doesn’t look any bigger than the Mauritania!” as I clasped a hand around my Titanic charm necklace, and had someone snap a picture of me “paying my respects” to the boat, as my dad insisted I “respect the boat” prior to leaving Madrid. (Do no horse around. Do not play near the railings. Do not fall over said railings. Respect the boat, Blair!)
Our room was TINY, like half the size of an AU dorm room but with four people sleeping in it! I was paired with Sarah Block, Jasmine, and Kathryn. Our luggage could barely fit in the room! I put on my bathing suit and cover up before realizing we had to do a lifeboat drill (again, thank you Titanic!). I put on my orange life preserver and headed up to the dining room with Sarah. There we encountered a Canadian business man at our table who was here “on business.” We chatted with him and told him about our program. We asked, how much business are you actually doing here? Without missing a beat, he replied, the same amount of school work you are doing! After the drill, I laid outside on the deck with Ashlee and Rachel, reading and relaxing, watching the shore slowly drift away and the wind pick up. After a buffet lunch, I got lost on the boat, read in a nice corner, ran into Ryan some hours later and we began to play cars. We learned this really bizarre game from an elderly Englishman that I totally forget now, it was so complicated.
We landed at the dawn of twilight in Mykonos, a tiny little island famous for its white buildings and villages and windmills. I swear, it looked like a Disney town resort! Madeline, Vanessa and I spent a while sitting by the bay before meandering further inwards. We found the cutest little outside restaurant where flowering trees hung over the patio roof in a pinky-purple shade, illuminated by the dancing flicker of candlelight. We continued to lose ourselves in the narrow white streets and budding overhangs. Before long, it was time to head back to the boat, and we said goodbye to the picturesque little island, illuminated by the moon, soft candles, and Christmas lights. After catching the ferry back to the ship, I ate dinner with Sam, Ashlee, Lauren Renner and Kathryn, enjoying my meal and especially the dessert. Knowing that we had an early morning again tomorrow, I went to sleep early – early being around midnight, as I had wanted to read some of my book and that one of my roommates refused to turn off the light.
The next day, we received our wake-up call at 6 AM. Breakfast began at 6:30, and we were scheduled to disembark no later than 7:30 AM to the island of Kusadasi in Turkey. This disembarkment was completely different from that of Mykonos. We walked down a plank as the sun gently rose in the eastern sky, the music of Turkey washing over us as we saw Turkish dancers. Behind them, I could see the Turkish flag, a darker red than the morning sky. We went through Turkish customs before exiting the ort, meeting our bus driver and tour guide shortly. We first went to the House of the Virgin Mary, where she supposedly lived out her last days on Earth. Her house was converted into a church, and several Popes have visited there. I was fine until I walked through the house, when upon seeing the constructed altar and the bowed heads of the faithful I began to tear up. It was like an overwhelming wave of emotion. This place was considered Holy. I wondered what my grandmother would say if she could be here; for her I took a sip of Holy water from Mary’s fountain and left a prayer there as well. But I couldn’t help but be offended by the laughs and complaints of some of the Jewish kids, especially the snide remarks of one. I couldn’t help but say and think, is it impossible for you to respect another religion? Can you not honor a place for its historical significance even though it doesn’t fit into your particular religious beliefs? I want to visit Israel someday, simply to hear and see what it is about. I am not Catholic, so this place doesn’t resonate as deeply with me as it does with others. But could they not at least leave a moment to those who truly did want to be here? This is history, or possible history. Last time I checked, we were all from American, the land of religious freedom and tolerance. It upset me to see people writing this place off, knowing how much it means to so many.
We continued on to Ephesus, an ancient city. It was constructed at total of 3 or 4 times. We visited the third site, which was abandoned due to plague and famine, I believe. But it was glorious, constructed under the influence of the Roman style. We could see the remains of the sewer system and the statues of heroes past. It was astounding to think about what the city once was only because of the remnants. What it must have been like in its glory! Statues, sewer system, constructs in honor of Nike, Hadrian and other important people. However, the most well preserved and most demanding view was that of the Celsius Library. What now is a façade resembling the front of the Temple of the Lost Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was once the 2nd largest library of the ancient world, nest to Alexandria. The destruction of these 2 great libraries meant losing all but 2 works of the ancient world – Homer’s Odyssey and Illiad. We then walked towards the stadium of Ephesus, a marvelous and humungous structure that could hold 250,000 people! It was so cool. We walked then along a road lined with empty pedestals. Madeline, Ashlee and I felt it our duty to take a picture as Roman goddesses. Jess, Sarah, and Kaitlan noticed helmets sitting on a bench on the hill behind the pedestal. Cool, they say, and start heading up the hill. Ten seconds later they turn screaming down the hill, followed by an army of Ancient Romans! It was all set up for a play … in English! What?!?! Turkish people playing English-speaking Romans? We watched for a while before realizing it was time to head back. On the way back, my bag got stuck in the X-ray machine, and none of the security guards would help me get it. So I climbed into the X-Ray machine and probably have permanent brain damage. I know my spelling has not been the same since!
We ate lunch on the ship (again, so many good desserts! Half my lunch was dessert!) before I decided I need a nap. Living in such close and rotating quarters, I had caught the disease I had coined my freshman year: “first you cough, then you die.” I was awoken at 4 in anticipation of our departure to Patmos. So, we boarded the boat to the tiny rocky island to see more ancient things in Greece. First stop – the Cave of Revelations, where God spoke to John about the apocalypse. Primarily, I was surprised at the building and stairs I had to walk through to get to the cave. I lit a candle out of respect and saw a Bible placed in a high location of honor as well as the hole God’s voice made in the wall when he spoke to John. The hole was much smaller than I thought it would be. But then again, I didn’t expect golden alter panels either. It was a very enigmatic place.
We then headed up to the monastery at the top of the island, which had a fabulous view of the sunset and the bay in addition to beautiful gothic art inside. All golden tin the room of prayer were images of Jesus, Mary, and splendor, from the floor to the intricately adorned ceiling. I left the building with Mari Carmen, Jasmine, Lauren, and Tracy, walking through the village for a good 20 minutes before realizing….we were lost! MariCarmen calls Rafa, and the conversation goes like this:
MC: Estamos perdidas!
R: Pregunta la gente.
MC: No hay gente, Rafa!
Because it was true, there was no one around. So we just followed the road we were on until we finally saw something that looked familiar on the other side of this hill. There we found Rafa and the rest of the group, hopping into taxis back down the rollercoaster of a hill to the bottom, where we were promptly escorted to the boat. Ashlee and I had a fabulous dinner which included mandarin orange salad, lobster bisque, steak, and red velvet cake. Yum! After dinner, I joined the others upstairs for a karaoke party. It was fun – Paul and Ryan sang, we all danced, and it turned into a sing off between us and a group of Australians. I went to bed (comparatively) early, and was now fully experiencing the effects of the cruise cold.
The next day we were up early and docked at Crete. It was cold and rainy, and on the island there was initially not a sight to behold – the buildings were gray, and I felt like I was in North Philadelphia, not some mythical island. We saw the old palace of Knossos, where the ancient Myceneans lived. However, due to the cold, rain, and bad health many of us were in, it was not an extremely pleasant experience, especially when Ephesus was so much better preserved. I did enjoy seeing the throne room, perfectly preserved and exhibiting paintings that we had been shown in art history. The main reconstruction was neat too – however, it also seemed a tad Disney unreal. Everything seemed unreal! Then we went to the museum before being allowed fee time, where I bought myself a beautiful Greek key bracelet that the man made into an anklet for me, a replacement for the ankle bracelet that was lost somewhere in Granada.
We soon left, boarding the Aegean Pearl once more, and I took a nap, exhausted. However, during my rest, Ryan entered the “Mr. Aegean Pearl” pageant and WON! I would have LOVED to see that – I think I would have been so amused.
We soon arrived to Santorini, the island I had been waiting to see. I could see the white buildings steeply ascending the high altitudes of the islands, which were much steeper than I had envisioned. The island jutted upward at like a 70 degree angle! We explored the lower part of the island for a bit, and then Mari Carmen broke the news – we were taking a boat out to the Caldera to see the volcano AND go swimming in the Aegean Sea! Ahhhh we were stoked! The boat trip in and of itself was so much fun, hair blowing everywhere, our group crowded at the bow, headed for the caldera. Shortly, we landed, and went trucking up the hill to see the caldera – a pit of black rock. It was pretty neat to be on a volcano! Shortly after, we returned to the ship, and Mari Carmen asked: who’s going in? a lot of the others were hesitant, but I was like, ME ME ME! I didn’t care how cold I might be in the future, because honestly, how many times do you have the chance to swim in the Aegean Sea?
I was one of the first ones in. It was brisk, at first, but soon I felt fine, like a slightly lukewarm bath. Below, it was dark. Finally about 15-18 of us were in the water, swimming and splashing. But the sun started to dip and Mari Carmen was like, vaminos chicos, it’s time to ride the donkeys!
Yes. We rode donkeys. There are only 2 ways of getting up the hill – cable car and donkey. All of us except for Tony (who thought it smelled bad), Mari Carmen, Rafa and Paul rode them. I waited my turn, breathing through my mouth, and then was put on a donkey. I was petrified! My donkey stopped off the first incline and the guy running the operation led Madeline’s donkey to mine, tied them together, tied us both to a bar and went back to the group to finish loading the others. Madeline and I were confused. He came back up the incline with a little white donkey, told me to get off, and to hop on this sprightly thing. So I did, he hit it, and the donkey went charging up the hill! Following the zig zag back and forth and back and forth he was the little donkey who could, passing all the other donkeys. I looked up from petting his main ad waved at my classmates as I rode by, seeing another beautiful sunset, reflected off the water and striking to look down upon. I was bouncing up and down, up and down, going ever higher as the sun slipped below the waves.
I rounded the last ramp and saw donkey heads. Never have I ever seen so many donkeys in my life! Someone offered me his hand to help me off, and, smiling, I petted the donkey one last time (I called him Trucker). Only a few arrived at the top ahead of me, but there was a roadblock of donkeys! Avani was a few paces in front of me, and was like, “get me outta here!” as she tried bushing a donkey and scooched around it. I waited for someone to clear a path, watching my step. I walked around with Madeline, finding a donkey charm for her bracelet and earrings for my relatives before heading back to the meeting space. We tried to find the famous blue domed buildings without success. We took a skycar to the bottom of the hill, seeing the island all lit up high above the lights of the cruise ships.
The next day, we said good bye to the Aegean Pearl at the bright and sunny hour of 7:30 AM and were greeted by Danae! We saw the excavation site of Mycenae, where the golden heads of lions over the gate were missing. Once the domain of Agamemnon, all that remain are graves and walls. We explored the top (what a view! Green rolling mountains in all directions!) and the museums before heading on to our next destination: the tomb of Agamemnon (I think). Its high ceiling was certainly impressive. We had lunch at a local restaurant (wonderful lamb and French fries) and Sarah Block accidentally broke a glass, to which the entire establishment replied “Opah!” The owner came out and starting smashing dishes with a smile, to which we responded with cries of OPAH! It was thrilling.
Next was a Greek theater, used for healing purposes and having an occupancy of 25,000. It is a great example of acoustics. From inside the center ring, your voice could be heard anywhere in the stadium without a microphone! The funny thing is, none of the other tourists seemed to realize this until our tourguide yelled at everyone to please be quiet for an experiment. She spoke, ripped a piece of paper, dropped a coin, and clapped in the circle and outside of the circle. Paul was the first brave soul to decide to sing, singing Ray Charles’ “Georgia on my Mind.” Pauline and Carenn sang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” two Frenchmen sang, and several vets sang “God Bless America,” something I’m sure my grandfather would do. Deciding I would regret it either way later, I decided to sing, choosing the first verse of “Goodbye Until Tomorrow” from the play The Last Five Years. I only cracked once, and afterwards everyone was like, you have a beautiful voice! I said thank you, and I appreciated it (but I couldn’t help but thinking you should hear my sister – she’s sang in Carnegie Hall!) and I was proud of myself for mustering up the courage to sing, brief as it was in retrospect. We then headed back to Athens, in preparation for Istanbul. Outside of the Hotel Stanley, Danae wished us the best of luck in everything and a good trip. She was fabulous, and will remain an intricate part of the memories of Greece due to her spiritedness.
Cruise Aboard the Aegean Pearl
We were up early the next day following the magnificent sunset at Cape Sounion to take our cruise through the Mediterranean. We passed many a grand ship before arriving at the Aegean Pearl, a decent sized vessel in my opinion but by no means a Carnival Cruiseliner. Upon seeing it, I immediately thought, “it doesn’t look any bigger than the Mauritania!” as I clasped a hand around my Titanic charm necklace, and had someone snap a picture of me “paying my respects” to the boat, as my dad insisted I “respect the boat” prior to leaving Madrid. (Do no horse around. Do not play near the railings. Do not fall over said railings. Respect the boat, Blair!)
Our room was TINY, like half the size of an AU dorm room but with four people sleeping in it! I was paired with Sarah Block, Jasmine, and Kathryn. Our luggage could barely fit in the room! I put on my bathing suit and cover up before realizing we had to do a lifeboat drill (again, thank you Titanic!). I put on my orange life preserver and headed up to the dining room with Sarah. There we encountered a Canadian business man at our table who was here “on business.” We chatted with him and told him about our program. We asked, how much business are you actually doing here? Without missing a beat, he replied, the same amount of school work you are doing! After the drill, I laid outside on the deck with Ashlee and Rachel, reading and relaxing, watching the shore slowly drift away and the wind pick up. After a buffet lunch, I got lost on the boat, read in a nice corner, ran into Ryan some hours later and we began to play cars. We learned this really bizarre game from an elderly Englishman that I totally forget now, it was so complicated.
We landed at the dawn of twilight in Mykonos, a tiny little island famous for its white buildings and villages and windmills. I swear, it looked like a Disney town resort! Madeline, Vanessa and I spent a while sitting by the bay before meandering further inwards. We found the cutest little outside restaurant where flowering trees hung over the patio roof in a pinky-purple shade, illuminated by the dancing flicker of candlelight. We continued to lose ourselves in the narrow white streets and budding overhangs. Before long, it was time to head back to the boat, and we said goodbye to the picturesque little island, illuminated by the moon, soft candles, and Christmas lights. After catching the ferry back to the ship, I ate dinner with Sam, Ashlee, Lauren Renner and Kathryn, enjoying my meal and especially the dessert. Knowing that we had an early morning again tomorrow, I went to sleep early – early being around midnight, as I had wanted to read some of my book and that one of my roommates refused to turn off the light.
The next day, we received our wake-up call at 6 AM. Breakfast began at 6:30, and we were scheduled to disembark no later than 7:30 AM to the island of Kusadasi in Turkey. This disembarkment was completely different from that of Mykonos. We walked down a plank as the sun gently rose in the eastern sky, the music of Turkey washing over us as we saw Turkish dancers. Behind them, I could see the Turkish flag, a darker red than the morning sky. We went through Turkish customs before exiting the ort, meeting our bus driver and tour guide shortly. We first went to the House of the Virgin Mary, where she supposedly lived out her last days on Earth. Her house was converted into a church, and several Popes have visited there. I was fine until I walked through the house, when upon seeing the constructed altar and the bowed heads of the faithful I began to tear up. It was like an overwhelming wave of emotion. This place was considered Holy. I wondered what my grandmother would say if she could be here; for her I took a sip of Holy water from Mary’s fountain and left a prayer there as well. But I couldn’t help but be offended by the laughs and complaints of some of the Jewish kids, especially the snide remarks of one. I couldn’t help but say and think, is it impossible for you to respect another religion? Can you not honor a place for its historical significance even though it doesn’t fit into your particular religious beliefs? I want to visit Israel someday, simply to hear and see what it is about. I am not Catholic, so this place doesn’t resonate as deeply with me as it does with others. But could they not at least leave a moment to those who truly did want to be here? This is history, or possible history. Last time I checked, we were all from American, the land of religious freedom and tolerance. It upset me to see people writing this place off, knowing how much it means to so many.
We continued on to Ephesus, an ancient city. It was constructed at total of 3 or 4 times. We visited the third site, which was abandoned due to plague and famine, I believe. But it was glorious, constructed under the influence of the Roman style. We could see the remains of the sewer system and the statues of heroes past. It was astounding to think about what the city once was only because of the remnants. What it must have been like in its glory! Statues, sewer system, constructs in honor of Nike, Hadrian and other important people. However, the most well preserved and most demanding view was that of the Celsius Library. What now is a façade resembling the front of the Temple of the Lost Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was once the 2nd largest library of the ancient world, nest to Alexandria. The destruction of these 2 great libraries meant losing all but 2 works of the ancient world – Homer’s Odyssey and Illiad. We then walked towards the stadium of Ephesus, a marvelous and humungous structure that could hold 250,000 people! It was so cool. We walked then along a road lined with empty pedestals. Madeline, Ashlee and I felt it our duty to take a picture as Roman goddesses. Jess, Sarah, and Kaitlan noticed helmets sitting on a bench on the hill behind the pedestal. Cool, they say, and start heading up the hill. Ten seconds later they turn screaming down the hill, followed by an army of Ancient Romans! It was all set up for a play … in English! What?!?! Turkish people playing English-speaking Romans? We watched for a while before realizing it was time to head back. On the way back, my bag got stuck in the X-ray machine, and none of the security guards would help me get it. So I climbed into the X-Ray machine and probably have permanent brain damage. I know my spelling has not been the same since!
We ate lunch on the ship (again, so many good desserts! Half my lunch was dessert!) before I decided I need a nap. Living in such close and rotating quarters, I had caught the disease I had coined my freshman year: “first you cough, then you die.” I was awoken at 4 in anticipation of our departure to Patmos. So, we boarded the boat to the tiny rocky island to see more ancient things in Greece. First stop – the Cave of Revelations, where God spoke to John about the apocalypse. Primarily, I was surprised at the building and stairs I had to walk through to get to the cave. I lit a candle out of respect and saw a Bible placed in a high location of honor as well as the hole God’s voice made in the wall when he spoke to John. The hole was much smaller than I thought it would be. But then again, I didn’t expect golden alter panels either. It was a very enigmatic place.
We then headed up to the monastery at the top of the island, which had a fabulous view of the sunset and the bay in addition to beautiful gothic art inside. All golden tin the room of prayer were images of Jesus, Mary, and splendor, from the floor to the intricately adorned ceiling. I left the building with Mari Carmen, Jasmine, Lauren, and Tracy, walking through the village for a good 20 minutes before realizing….we were lost! MariCarmen calls Rafa, and the conversation goes like this:
MC: Estamos perdidas!
R: Pregunta la gente.
MC: No hay gente, Rafa!
Because it was true, there was no one around. So we just followed the road we were on until we finally saw something that looked familiar on the other side of this hill. There we found Rafa and the rest of the group, hopping into taxis back down the rollercoaster of a hill to the bottom, where we were promptly escorted to the boat. Ashlee and I had a fabulous dinner which included mandarin orange salad, lobster bisque, steak, and red velvet cake. Yum! After dinner, I joined the others upstairs for a karaoke party. It was fun – Paul and Ryan sang, we all danced, and it turned into a sing off between us and a group of Australians. I went to bed (comparatively) early, and was now fully experiencing the effects of the cruise cold.
The next day we were up early and docked at Crete. It was cold and rainy, and on the island there was initially not a sight to behold – the buildings were gray, and I felt like I was in North Philadelphia, not some mythical island. We saw the old palace of Knossos, where the ancient Myceneans lived. However, due to the cold, rain, and bad health many of us were in, it was not an extremely pleasant experience, especially when Ephesus was so much better preserved. I did enjoy seeing the throne room, perfectly preserved and exhibiting paintings that we had been shown in art history. The main reconstruction was neat too – however, it also seemed a tad Disney unreal. Everything seemed unreal! Then we went to the museum before being allowed fee time, where I bought myself a beautiful Greek key bracelet that the man made into an anklet for me, a replacement for the ankle bracelet that was lost somewhere in Granada.
We soon left, boarding the Aegean Pearl once more, and I took a nap, exhausted. However, during my rest, Ryan entered the “Mr. Aegean Pearl” pageant and WON! I would have LOVED to see that – I think I would have been so amused.
We soon arrived to Santorini, the island I had been waiting to see. I could see the white buildings steeply ascending the high altitudes of the islands, which were much steeper than I had envisioned. The island jutted upward at like a 70 degree angle! We explored the lower part of the island for a bit, and then Mari Carmen broke the news – we were taking a boat out to the Caldera to see the volcano AND go swimming in the Aegean Sea! Ahhhh we were stoked! The boat trip in and of itself was so much fun, hair blowing everywhere, our group crowded at the bow, headed for the caldera. Shortly, we landed, and went trucking up the hill to see the caldera – a pit of black rock. It was pretty neat to be on a volcano! Shortly after, we returned to the ship, and Mari Carmen asked: who’s going in? a lot of the others were hesitant, but I was like, ME ME ME! I didn’t care how cold I might be in the future, because honestly, how many times do you have the chance to swim in the Aegean Sea?
I was one of the first ones in. It was brisk, at first, but soon I felt fine, like a slightly lukewarm bath. Below, it was dark. Finally about 15-18 of us were in the water, swimming and splashing. But the sun started to dip and Mari Carmen was like, vaminos chicos, it’s time to ride the donkeys!
Yes. We rode donkeys. There are only 2 ways of getting up the hill – cable car and donkey. All of us except for Tony (who thought it smelled bad), Mari Carmen, Rafa and Paul rode them. I waited my turn, breathing through my mouth, and then was put on a donkey. I was petrified! My donkey stopped off the first incline and the guy running the operation led Madeline’s donkey to mine, tied them together, tied us both to a bar and went back to the group to finish loading the others. Madeline and I were confused. He came back up the incline with a little white donkey, told me to get off, and to hop on this sprightly thing. So I did, he hit it, and the donkey went charging up the hill! Following the zig zag back and forth and back and forth he was the little donkey who could, passing all the other donkeys. I looked up from petting his main ad waved at my classmates as I rode by, seeing another beautiful sunset, reflected off the water and striking to look down upon. I was bouncing up and down, up and down, going ever higher as the sun slipped below the waves.
I rounded the last ramp and saw donkey heads. Never have I ever seen so many donkeys in my life! Someone offered me his hand to help me off, and, smiling, I petted the donkey one last time (I called him Trucker). Only a few arrived at the top ahead of me, but there was a roadblock of donkeys! Avani was a few paces in front of me, and was like, “get me outta here!” as she tried bushing a donkey and scooched around it. I waited for someone to clear a path, watching my step. I walked around with Madeline, finding a donkey charm for her bracelet and earrings for my relatives before heading back to the meeting space. We tried to find the famous blue domed buildings without success. We took a skycar to the bottom of the hill, seeing the island all lit up high above the lights of the cruise ships.
The next day, we said good bye to the Aegean Pearl at the bright and sunny hour of 7:30 AM and were greeted by Danae! We saw the excavation site of Mycenae, where the golden heads of lions over the gate were missing. Once the domain of Agamemnon, all that remain are graves and walls. We explored the top (what a view! Green rolling mountains in all directions!) and the museums before heading on to our next destination: the tomb of Agamemnon (I think). Its high ceiling was certainly impressive. We had lunch at a local restaurant (wonderful lamb and French fries) and Sarah Block accidentally broke a glass, to which the entire establishment replied “Opah!” The owner came out and starting smashing dishes with a smile, to which we responded with cries of OPAH! It was thrilling.
Next was a Greek theater, used for healing purposes and having an occupancy of 25,000. It is a great example of acoustics. From inside the center ring, your voice could be heard anywhere in the stadium without a microphone! The funny thing is, none of the other tourists seemed to realize this until our tourguide yelled at everyone to please be quiet for an experiment. She spoke, ripped a piece of paper, dropped a coin, and clapped in the circle and outside of the circle. Paul was the first brave soul to decide to sing, singing Ray Charles’ “Georgia on my Mind.” Pauline and Carenn sang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” two Frenchmen sang, and several vets sang “God Bless America,” something I’m sure my grandfather would do. Deciding I would regret it either way later, I decided to sing, choosing the first verse of “Goodbye Until Tomorrow” from the play The Last Five Years. I only cracked once, and afterwards everyone was like, you have a beautiful voice! I said thank you, and I appreciated it (but I couldn’t help but thinking you should hear my sister – she’s sang in Carnegie Hall!) and I was proud of myself for mustering up the courage to sing, brief as it was in retrospect. We then headed back to Athens, in preparation for Istanbul. Outside of the Hotel Stanley, Danae wished us the best of luck in everything and a good trip. She was fabulous, and will remain an intricate part of the memories of Greece due to her spiritedness.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Blair is: falling into the Valle de los Caidos
The Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial
October 16, 2008
In the distance I could see a small cross, gradually getting larger and larger. As the bus climbed the hill and stopped in front of the large stairs, I could not believe that actually size of the structure. So domineering and gray, with a picture of an agonizing pieta above the door, this was a place of pain, or a place to be respected. That was just the outside.
Upon entering the structure, I was surprised by the darkness and plainness of the interior. Arches after arches down a plain corridor, I was torn between walking slowly to let the prickling sensation overcome me and walking fast to escape the feeling. I lingered, meandering deeper in Franco’s domain, where religious art loomed over the observer. Continuing onward, I found myself in the center of the Basilica, facing a tomb that was not Francisco. Around me, at each corner, stood figures twelve to fifteen feet tall, dark, commanding, powerful. They reminded me of the Ringwraiths from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Slowly I circled around the central structure, where a Christ in agony hung from the cross. At the back was the tomb of Franco: plain, simple, and surprisingly adorned with fresh flowers. I wandered in and out of the candlelit chapels, and became even more creeped out upon reading that la Valle de los Caidos was constructed using the bodies of the dissidents as part of the foundation. The entire place held an aura of imposition, and I couldn’t believe people would actually go here to pray. It was so … isolating that wandering the monument by myself gave me goose bumps. Yet ironically, I was not pleased to leave, feeling that I was missing something here. I slowly made my way back through the corridor, past two statue guards I hadn’t noticed earlier that reminded me of Harry Potter’s Dementors. I passed through the doors and into daylight, still slightly overwhelming on such a cloudy day. With one last glance at the view, where I felt I could see everything for fifty miles, we headed back to the bus and onward towards el Escorial.
On the bus, my friend Sasha (who was visiting me) and I could not get over the Valle de los Caidos and how surreal a place it was. We prepared ourselves for something just as nerve tingling at el Escorial.
I was surprised. Through a pleasant color-changing row of trees emerged the palace of el Escorial. True, it was no Palacio Real, but it wasn’t as polarizing as the Valley of the Fallen. Actually, it reminded me of any colonial house tour I’ve taken back in the US – only 200 years older and much bigger.
The only thing that may have been considered creepy were the tombs of the monarchs in the basement. Having already seen Columbus’ tomb in Sevilla, this did not unnerve me. I actually thought it was cool to see the legendary Charles V! The cool marble was appropriate for the room, and seemed to reiterate the fact that no warm blood pumps through these remains to keep them alive. The room was so ornate and beautiful compared to the rest of the palace, save the library. It was kind of sad that the dead are given greater luxuries than the living.
How do these represent the role of dictators? Both placed heavy emphasis on religion and used austerity to intimidate the populace. Both appeared to use religion and might as a means of legitimizing their rule. And yet, I believe the modern horrors to be a million more powerful and impacting than those of hundreds of years ago.
After el Escorial, we headed to the restaurant MariCarmen picked out for a preemptive celebration of Paul’s jazz gig. I sat with Sasha, and we had fun catching up and chatting over our paella, steak, and dessert (yum!). We soon headed out to the Jazz Bar, where Paul played phenomenally. I chatted with my friend Tom for a while, and enjoyed a drink and the music with Sasha. As it grew towards the time when the metro closed, Sasha, Alex, Tony and I headed towards the metro. I was sad to see Sasha go, but was glad there could be such an uplifting end to the day.
October 16, 2008
In the distance I could see a small cross, gradually getting larger and larger. As the bus climbed the hill and stopped in front of the large stairs, I could not believe that actually size of the structure. So domineering and gray, with a picture of an agonizing pieta above the door, this was a place of pain, or a place to be respected. That was just the outside.
Upon entering the structure, I was surprised by the darkness and plainness of the interior. Arches after arches down a plain corridor, I was torn between walking slowly to let the prickling sensation overcome me and walking fast to escape the feeling. I lingered, meandering deeper in Franco’s domain, where religious art loomed over the observer. Continuing onward, I found myself in the center of the Basilica, facing a tomb that was not Francisco. Around me, at each corner, stood figures twelve to fifteen feet tall, dark, commanding, powerful. They reminded me of the Ringwraiths from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Slowly I circled around the central structure, where a Christ in agony hung from the cross. At the back was the tomb of Franco: plain, simple, and surprisingly adorned with fresh flowers. I wandered in and out of the candlelit chapels, and became even more creeped out upon reading that la Valle de los Caidos was constructed using the bodies of the dissidents as part of the foundation. The entire place held an aura of imposition, and I couldn’t believe people would actually go here to pray. It was so … isolating that wandering the monument by myself gave me goose bumps. Yet ironically, I was not pleased to leave, feeling that I was missing something here. I slowly made my way back through the corridor, past two statue guards I hadn’t noticed earlier that reminded me of Harry Potter’s Dementors. I passed through the doors and into daylight, still slightly overwhelming on such a cloudy day. With one last glance at the view, where I felt I could see everything for fifty miles, we headed back to the bus and onward towards el Escorial.
On the bus, my friend Sasha (who was visiting me) and I could not get over the Valle de los Caidos and how surreal a place it was. We prepared ourselves for something just as nerve tingling at el Escorial.
I was surprised. Through a pleasant color-changing row of trees emerged the palace of el Escorial. True, it was no Palacio Real, but it wasn’t as polarizing as the Valley of the Fallen. Actually, it reminded me of any colonial house tour I’ve taken back in the US – only 200 years older and much bigger.
The only thing that may have been considered creepy were the tombs of the monarchs in the basement. Having already seen Columbus’ tomb in Sevilla, this did not unnerve me. I actually thought it was cool to see the legendary Charles V! The cool marble was appropriate for the room, and seemed to reiterate the fact that no warm blood pumps through these remains to keep them alive. The room was so ornate and beautiful compared to the rest of the palace, save the library. It was kind of sad that the dead are given greater luxuries than the living.
How do these represent the role of dictators? Both placed heavy emphasis on religion and used austerity to intimidate the populace. Both appeared to use religion and might as a means of legitimizing their rule. And yet, I believe the modern horrors to be a million more powerful and impacting than those of hundreds of years ago.
After el Escorial, we headed to the restaurant MariCarmen picked out for a preemptive celebration of Paul’s jazz gig. I sat with Sasha, and we had fun catching up and chatting over our paella, steak, and dessert (yum!). We soon headed out to the Jazz Bar, where Paul played phenomenally. I chatted with my friend Tom for a while, and enjoyed a drink and the music with Sasha. As it grew towards the time when the metro closed, Sasha, Alex, Tony and I headed towards the metro. I was sad to see Sasha go, but was glad there could be such an uplifting end to the day.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Blair is: on a Roman Holiday
Rome
November 16, 2008
Wow, what a couple of days! I cannot believe that I have been in rome, eating pizza, geloati, and pasta for the past 3 days. It seems too short. It’s so warm here! The funny thing about rome is that, oh, look, it’s just the forum! Oh, look, it’s the Trevi Fountain, powered by 2000 year old acqueducts! You can walk up a street and see fountains and buildings in the classic style, and it is just gorgeous. The drivers there are a tad crazy though, because along with this the streets are extremely narrow, explaining the plethora of smart cars and vespas. Even with smaller vehicles, it’s impossible to walk down the cobblestoned streets (that destroyed my new boats) without fear of being run over or accosted. By salespeople at tourist attractions and in restaurants.
We are now on our way to see the David after a brief stop in Assisi, and the countryside is as or evern more beautiful than the city. Mountains, greenery, olivetrees, mist, it’s unlike anything ive ever seen. I could imagine this as Hicksville PA or maybe Kentucky, but otherwise I ‘ve never seeen anything like this.
The first night it rained, so we postpomned our city walk until the next day. We had a fabuous dinner, complete with bread, arribiata pasta for me, and tiramisu icecream. I also had strawberry gelati before dinner though. After dinner, I went out with Sarah Flak, her friends in rome, and some other girls form the program. Ashley wanted to try absinthe, as did Paul. We ran into Kathryn on the street who decided to tag along. That night in the bar, we ran into Alex and her friends in Rome! Small world, it was like all of AU was in this one bar. They told us that Kathryn vomited and they kicked her out, but of course she refused to go home like an immature bitch and she proceeded to drink absinthe!!! I had a bellini and enjoyed seeing some of Alex’s friends and hanging out with Ashlee. I went home rather early because I was exhausted.
The next day, we went to the Vatican. Again, I didn’t appreciate how some people were putting it dwon becaseu it did not pertain to their religion. It’s not my religion either, but I can admire the art and architecture! For instance, Madeline has a charm bracelet and found the cutest charm of the pieta, which I thought would be fitting as a work of art. She said, I don’t’ do religion. I don’t want it. It’s michaelangelo for christ’s sake!
The whole city was beautiful. It was refreshing to have a tour guide who told jokes, as this one did when he asked if we had our passports. The Sistine chapel was simply overwhelming. I was not expecting the ceiling to be so high up and for the altar art of the final judgement to be so huge! Standing there, I could only think that this was painted 500 years ago and we can still enjoy it today. 500 years ago! I just wanted to lay on the ground and continue to stare at it. I did take a few pictures illegally, because you cannot take pictures not for fear of preserving the art, but because Japanese and American businessmen hold the copywright! How crazy !
The basilica, the largest cathedral in the world, was incredible. Absolutely gorgeous. I , of course, was immediately drawn to the pieta, which was exactly ho I imagined it would be. I definitely just crash landed into Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons! I only wish we had a tad more time there.
Ashlee, Rachel, Vanessa, Madelin and I had lunch at a little bistro by the Vatican where you could get pizza, a drink, and gelato for only 10 euro. So, we did that, and I got a glass of wine with margherita pizza and straticella ice dcream. So good!
We met up at 530 in the Piazza del Popolo for our walking tour. The only issue I had with the waling tour was that our professors did not lead the way, and we would get lost. I mean, a 2 hour tour took actually 3, and when we’re all hungry and wearing uncomfortable shoes for going out it was not pretty. We saw the Spanish steps, the fountain of Triton, the Trevi Fountain (where stupid sellers were all over the place and tricked me into buying a flower. I was pissed because I didn’t want it, but no, I was stupid). We saw the pantheon,, and then crossed the river to our final restaurant location. We had the BEST dinner ever! I had croquets, garlic bread, lots and lots of wine, shrimmpl white pizza. Sooo good! After dinenr, I wandered with Kaitlin, Ryan, and Jess (again, Kathryn followed us) and we walked around. We got gelato again (cherry and raspberry this time) and as we’re sitting on the steps, Jess gets a call from Zach Green! We go to meet up with him in the same plaza wehre I was last night. While there, who do I run into but Alex Grabowski! Oh my god, I was so happy to see someone outside of the program that I’m friends with! So I go into a bar with him and meet his friends, and then we go outside to go to another bar and I see Zach talking to Sarah Block and Jess. So I just go up behind him and give him a hug. He’s like, who is this OH MY GOD! I can’t believe you’re here!
It was great.
We then all went to Scholars, another bar in the area, and we all hung out for a while until about 2 am, when we go back to the hotel. Still, it was the best night ever, and made me unable to wait until next semester.
So the next day, yesterday, we we explored Ancient RFome. First stop, the early Christian Catacombs. These were creepier than the Parisian catacombs because the aisles were so narrow and completely made of rock, and you can just imagine being shoved into one of the holes in the wall, bricked in, and forgotten. I was sorta happy to get outtta there.
We then went to the Colisseum. Again, people were there HARASSING the tourists to buy stuff. We went inside, and because we are American students and not European, it cost over 400 euros for all 25 students to enter! How ridiculous! But it was so cool to be there and dimagine what it must have been like once upon a time.
Nnext stop – the Roman Forum, badly preserved because the popes would have people ransack it for its marble. It was actually sad that this is all that remains of the ancient civilization. Our tour guide was rather bland today, but we overheard another tour guide who was fabulous – reminded me of Mr. Cherepko.
Sarah Flak, Rachel and I got pizza at a local place before getting gelato (banana and peach). I went shopping with Rachel, and then headed back to the hotel. I got dressed for dinner, and we had a dinner of pesto pasta, salad, and chicken. After dinner, I again hung out with sarah flak, her friends, Pauline, and tony. We sat on the Spanish steps, and enjoyed conversation with a few Spaniards from Cadiz (complete coincidence!)
We are now on our way to the Galleria. Assisi this afternoon was beautiful, completely idyllic European city.
Til later!
November 16, 2008
Wow, what a couple of days! I cannot believe that I have been in rome, eating pizza, geloati, and pasta for the past 3 days. It seems too short. It’s so warm here! The funny thing about rome is that, oh, look, it’s just the forum! Oh, look, it’s the Trevi Fountain, powered by 2000 year old acqueducts! You can walk up a street and see fountains and buildings in the classic style, and it is just gorgeous. The drivers there are a tad crazy though, because along with this the streets are extremely narrow, explaining the plethora of smart cars and vespas. Even with smaller vehicles, it’s impossible to walk down the cobblestoned streets (that destroyed my new boats) without fear of being run over or accosted. By salespeople at tourist attractions and in restaurants.
We are now on our way to see the David after a brief stop in Assisi, and the countryside is as or evern more beautiful than the city. Mountains, greenery, olivetrees, mist, it’s unlike anything ive ever seen. I could imagine this as Hicksville PA or maybe Kentucky, but otherwise I ‘ve never seeen anything like this.
The first night it rained, so we postpomned our city walk until the next day. We had a fabuous dinner, complete with bread, arribiata pasta for me, and tiramisu icecream. I also had strawberry gelati before dinner though. After dinner, I went out with Sarah Flak, her friends in rome, and some other girls form the program. Ashley wanted to try absinthe, as did Paul. We ran into Kathryn on the street who decided to tag along. That night in the bar, we ran into Alex and her friends in Rome! Small world, it was like all of AU was in this one bar. They told us that Kathryn vomited and they kicked her out, but of course she refused to go home like an immature bitch and she proceeded to drink absinthe!!! I had a bellini and enjoyed seeing some of Alex’s friends and hanging out with Ashlee. I went home rather early because I was exhausted.
The next day, we went to the Vatican. Again, I didn’t appreciate how some people were putting it dwon becaseu it did not pertain to their religion. It’s not my religion either, but I can admire the art and architecture! For instance, Madeline has a charm bracelet and found the cutest charm of the pieta, which I thought would be fitting as a work of art. She said, I don’t’ do religion. I don’t want it. It’s michaelangelo for christ’s sake!
The whole city was beautiful. It was refreshing to have a tour guide who told jokes, as this one did when he asked if we had our passports. The Sistine chapel was simply overwhelming. I was not expecting the ceiling to be so high up and for the altar art of the final judgement to be so huge! Standing there, I could only think that this was painted 500 years ago and we can still enjoy it today. 500 years ago! I just wanted to lay on the ground and continue to stare at it. I did take a few pictures illegally, because you cannot take pictures not for fear of preserving the art, but because Japanese and American businessmen hold the copywright! How crazy !
The basilica, the largest cathedral in the world, was incredible. Absolutely gorgeous. I , of course, was immediately drawn to the pieta, which was exactly ho I imagined it would be. I definitely just crash landed into Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons! I only wish we had a tad more time there.
Ashlee, Rachel, Vanessa, Madelin and I had lunch at a little bistro by the Vatican where you could get pizza, a drink, and gelato for only 10 euro. So, we did that, and I got a glass of wine with margherita pizza and straticella ice dcream. So good!
We met up at 530 in the Piazza del Popolo for our walking tour. The only issue I had with the waling tour was that our professors did not lead the way, and we would get lost. I mean, a 2 hour tour took actually 3, and when we’re all hungry and wearing uncomfortable shoes for going out it was not pretty. We saw the Spanish steps, the fountain of Triton, the Trevi Fountain (where stupid sellers were all over the place and tricked me into buying a flower. I was pissed because I didn’t want it, but no, I was stupid). We saw the pantheon,, and then crossed the river to our final restaurant location. We had the BEST dinner ever! I had croquets, garlic bread, lots and lots of wine, shrimmpl white pizza. Sooo good! After dinenr, I wandered with Kaitlin, Ryan, and Jess (again, Kathryn followed us) and we walked around. We got gelato again (cherry and raspberry this time) and as we’re sitting on the steps, Jess gets a call from Zach Green! We go to meet up with him in the same plaza wehre I was last night. While there, who do I run into but Alex Grabowski! Oh my god, I was so happy to see someone outside of the program that I’m friends with! So I go into a bar with him and meet his friends, and then we go outside to go to another bar and I see Zach talking to Sarah Block and Jess. So I just go up behind him and give him a hug. He’s like, who is this OH MY GOD! I can’t believe you’re here!
It was great.
We then all went to Scholars, another bar in the area, and we all hung out for a while until about 2 am, when we go back to the hotel. Still, it was the best night ever, and made me unable to wait until next semester.
So the next day, yesterday, we we explored Ancient RFome. First stop, the early Christian Catacombs. These were creepier than the Parisian catacombs because the aisles were so narrow and completely made of rock, and you can just imagine being shoved into one of the holes in the wall, bricked in, and forgotten. I was sorta happy to get outtta there.
We then went to the Colisseum. Again, people were there HARASSING the tourists to buy stuff. We went inside, and because we are American students and not European, it cost over 400 euros for all 25 students to enter! How ridiculous! But it was so cool to be there and dimagine what it must have been like once upon a time.
Nnext stop – the Roman Forum, badly preserved because the popes would have people ransack it for its marble. It was actually sad that this is all that remains of the ancient civilization. Our tour guide was rather bland today, but we overheard another tour guide who was fabulous – reminded me of Mr. Cherepko.
Sarah Flak, Rachel and I got pizza at a local place before getting gelato (banana and peach). I went shopping with Rachel, and then headed back to the hotel. I got dressed for dinner, and we had a dinner of pesto pasta, salad, and chicken. After dinner, I again hung out with sarah flak, her friends, Pauline, and tony. We sat on the Spanish steps, and enjoyed conversation with a few Spaniards from Cadiz (complete coincidence!)
We are now on our way to the Galleria. Assisi this afternoon was beautiful, completely idyllic European city.
Til later!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Blair is in Paris [Land of Good Food, Good Wine, The Sun King, Napoleon, More Stairs than A StepaRobics Class Could Hope for, & the Time of Your Life}
November 5, 2008
So, how did YOU celebrate Halloween 2008?
I went to the Parisian Catacombs, meandering the burial site of where 6 million people’s remains are arranged in walls and rows of columns and other designs. It was creepy! Every 20 feet there was another inscription in French, which sometimes I could understand but others had no idea. We had run into Madeline’s friend Harris in Madrid last weekend, and met up with Harris in Paris. We are staying at the Peace and Love Hostel on the top floor in Jaures, close to Montemarte, which is incidentally where he lives. So we went to the Catacombs, waited in line for an hour before descending the 83 steps to the bottom. Through the dark and twisty caverns we went, Harris sometimes leaning due to the height of the ceiling, seeing some of the construction marks and memorials constructed. Finally, we reached the entrance to “the empire of death” and I saw the first skulls and bones. It was so surreal! And unnerving. After a while, it was downright creepy to think about what kind of lives these people lived and how their lives played out. Once upon a time, they had faces and names and were animated – now they are anonymous, detached, limb from limb, head from ribcage and pelvis to form patterns in walls under Paris. It was a 1.7 kilometer underground labyrinth that took us over an hour to make our way through.
We soon walked back up the 83 stairs to the surface, emerging like a vampire would after a long nights sleep. At this point, we said goodbye to Harris (he was meeting up with his friend) and we headed towards lunch. (I got a croissant sandwich with salad). After that, we hopped on the metro. Harris suggested getting off the metro 2 stops past the one recommended for the Eiffel Tower so we did – catching our first glimpse as we crossed the river. My reaction? OH MY GOD IT”S HUGE! We got off and began to walk, finding ourselves at this lookout over the Eiffel Tower. I just could not believe it, that I was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. IN PARIS. Not Disneyworld. Not Las Vegas. PARIS. THE REAL DEAL. And it just grew as we walked towards it until it was completely overwhelming, obscuring all. I could see the dark steel of the structure, the way the mechanisms worked and the sheer industrial nature of it hidden inside ornate curls and blocks. I could see why the Victorians hated it, but that didn’t stop me from appreciating it. I was so overwhelmed that I was actually here, standing in front of THE Eiffel Tower, that I literally jumped up in down with joy after a few moments of awed wonder and silence.
Although it was foggy, we decided to pay the 12 euros and go all the way to the top. While Harris had suggested walking to the first level, we took the tram – good for me because I am so scared of heights I would have turned back around! But we could see for miles, the arc di triomphe, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer – all visible as we walked around the level. And then the moment of truth – the ascent. I was so scared, and being in a glass elevator as it happened? NOT helpful. Then we entered the cloud, and could see nothing. We emerged on an enclosed observation deck, and then went up the stairs to see if visibility was better, and near the end of our visit it started to look better as the city lighted up. Suddenly, we saw lights reflecting on the clouds as the elevator descended – we were INSIDE the tower as it lit up! Oh man, it was sooooo cool! We spent a bit longer up on the lower level at the tower to now look at the city lit up before deciding to leave. We crossed the Seine, checked our watches, and realized we had a measly 20 minutes to wait until the tower lit up again. So we split a crepe and sat on the stairs of the lookout point waiting for it to alight. And it soon did, and was SOOOO beautiful! Like really, the white lights danced and contrasted with the blue of the tower and the black night sky, the tower light spinning – so surreal. After this, we decided to head to the Arc du Triomphe, and probably the WORST intersection I have ever seen, with 13 streets converging in the circle. We went underground to get to the arc, realized there was a museum, and went up the 295 stairs into the Arc. We went on top of the arch, saw the Eiffel tower light up again (!) and then decided to take a stroll down the Champs de Elysses. After a while, we ducked into a cheap(er) Franco Italian restaurante where we had fantastic red wine and penne pasta. After dinner, we headed back to our hostel, which is right above a bar of the same name. [A side note about our hostel: when we checked in, we encountered a toga party. Exhausted, we climbed the 128 stairs to the top level where our room was and went to sleep immediately.] This night, there was a Halloween party in full swing, with people writing on each other in marker and wearing trash bags. We were exhausted, and the following day was All Saint´s Day, so I checked what was going to be open online [slipping and falling down said ridiculously narrow and windy steps in the hostel so that I created lovely bruises on my elbows and back - yet my computer remained unharmed!!] and we created our game plan. We were going to Versailles.
We left the hostel at 8:45 AM to go to Versailles. We arrived at 10:15 AM amid the fog and rain. Still, the gold sparkled and we were excited to be there. We paid for the all-day pass, and saw the Hall of Mirrors, the bedchambers of the King and Queen and the apartments of the Princes and Princesses. We were in the palace for 4 hours! It was gorgeous and spectacular, but there was a modern art exhibit by Jeff Koonz in the rooms. I´m sorry, but statues of balloon figures as well as Michael Jackson and ¨Bubbles¨ do not belong in Versailles.
We then meandered the gardens, finding a food stand for lunch (Panini, yumm!!) As it started to lighten up a bit, we headed towards the Petit Trianon and the Domain of Marie Antoinette. Her little village was so cute in the autumn light! (It was also uber refreshing to see leaves changing color and not just on the ground). I was thrilled, it was almost like autumn in the US. The outsides of her village structures were quaint, with thatched roofs and stuff, but the insides were completely MARBLE. Reality check! Afterwards, we went to the Grand Trianon, which had become the quarters of Napoleon and his wife after the revolution. It was easy to see how the monarchs needed the escape outside of Versailles. Madeline became fascinated with Louis the XIV, because "he is the state!" and the Sun-King, but really, did he conquer half of Europe? I think not. Napoleon may have been short, but the guy had game. And style.
We left for the Latin Quarter, and had a fabulous Menú del día type dinner (I had salad, coq au vin, and crème brule with a lovely blush wine) before heading back to the hostel around 11.
So we´re sitting in the bar, using the internet when we are approached by a couple of slightly [we believed] inebriated Australians. They´re like, what are you doing on the computer? Party with us! We´re like, we´re un poco tired cuz we got up uber early. They were wearing trash bags like the night before. James and Joe (their names) ask us what we did, we told them, and then they showed us pictures of their adventures with a pumpkin called Pierre Francois. It was actually hilarious. They introduced us to some of their other friends, including two Canadians named Ian and Mitchell, and then we soon went to sleep, for the next day we were getting up at 7:30 AM:
SO: the big day: the Louvre, Musee de Rodin, and the Musee D´Orsay. The first Sunday of every month, the museums were free, so Madeline and I were determined to make the most of it – especially since most of the museums are closed on Mondays. We left the hostel by 8, and the guy working was like, why so early? So we told him our plan, he wished us good luck, and we were at the Louvre waiting in line by the little pyramid downstairs at 8:30 AM. We were let in at 9 and made a beeline towards the Mona Lisa. There was no one there! And it was beautiful. I couldn´t believe I was actually standing there in front of it! We wandered the Louvre for 4 hours before heading out, seeing other DaVincis, the Winged Victory, Venus di Milo, crown jewels of Louis XV and other works. The building itself was a piece of art, with its elaborate ceilings. However, it was HUGE and you could easily spend 2 weeks inside!
Next stop: lunch. I had ham on a baguette with wonderful raspberry chocolate cake and an Orangina. We soon found the Musee Rodin and saw the Thinker and the Kiss. Incredible! It took us an hour to see the whole museum, and actually had a line to get in as we were leaving. So we then headed to the Musee d´Orsay, which is a modernist museum set inside an old train station. We waited 45 minutes in line, but then got inside and just SAT for a while. After two straight days of walking, we were exhausted. We managed to see the Mask Exhibit on display (Medusa masks were so cool!) as well as some other masterpieces, including Monet´s waterlillies, Van Gogh´s self portrait, paintings and sculptures of Degas and some art of Toulouse Latrec, Manet, Seaurot, etc. We were in the museum until we were kicked out at 6.
Basically, we were at museums from the time they opened till we were kicked out. And we both never wanted to walk again.
We went back to the Latin district for a French dinner, again doing a set-menu type deal. Madeline and I split another jar of Blush wine (not as good as the previous night) and I had the BEST calamari rings as an appetizer (ughhh so buttery with the best French Onion dressing to dip in!), Steak in a wine and mushroom sauce, and sugar crepes for dessert. Yum! After a while, we headed back to the hostel.
We were greeted by our new-found-friends who in turn introduced us to more people, Australians named Cameron, Phil and Karin. It was Karin´s birthday. Tonight´s theme was cross dress. Madeline participated, but I didn’t! After calling my dad to wish him a happy birthday, we went back downstairs, danced a bit, drank a bit, and went to sleep around 2 as the bar began to shut down.
I had to get up at 5:30 to register for classes. I went downstairs and there were STILL people hanging out by the bar. The others left, I was registering and chatting with Jesper, the guy who we had returned our key to earlier. He was from Denmark, and living in France. At 6:30, after 4/5 success in registering, I chatted a little more with Jesper and then headed up to catch a few more hours of sleep before heading out on our next day of adventure.
We slept in the next day, and decided to go to several of the famous cemeteries, the Pantheon, and Notre Dame. It was a beautiful day, and the others in the hostel were going on a 4 hour (which became a 5 hour) walking tour of the areas we had already explored. We saw the tombs of Chopin, Georges Seurot, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. We then tried to see the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette, but it was closed, much to our disappointment. So we headed toward the Pantheon, stopping at a street vendor for lunch on the way. I had THE BEST Panini, bologn-something with cheese and it was incredible. We soon were at the Pantheon, a beautiful building reminiscent of DC. There, we saw the largest/longest pendulum in the world, as well as the tombs of Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Rosseau, and Voltaire. Sooo cool!
We made our way to Notre Dame, just missing the tower tour times. We walked around the inside, and it was incredible. The stained glass was just magnificent, more so because the sun was just beginning to set and the patterns could be seen on the walls. The candles illuminated the inside. It was fabulous! We sat outside the cathedral for a while, staring at it, and listened to some troubadours sing songs from the movie Once and a beautiful rendition of Wonderwall. We then meandered, I got a chocolate and banana crepe, and we headed to Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge.
The Sacre Coeur, we climbed a lot of steps to see, and it was beautiful. The view from it was beautiful too! Soon there after, we headed to that classy place the Moulin Rouge to see it lit up in all of its glory. We passed the famous Le Chat Noir, and it was in Montmartre that Madeline bought the Maginot Line (aka cannons she can line up) to bring back for a friend.
So we headed back to our hostel, ran into Cameron and Phil who informed us of tonight´s theme (pj party) and we had a nice Italian dinner with white wine. Cameron and Phil invited us for Kebab, but we wanted to celebrate our final dinner in style. We did party with them later, we were the only girls in the bar and it wasn’t as crazy as previous nights. Cameron got us fire shots, where you swish the alcohol in your mouth and the bartender (Julien) lights it on fire, Absinthe, where it is lit on fire, caught in a glass, and you snort the fumes through your nose before taking the shot with coffee beans that you chew, and then fire shots that are already on fire and you take with a straw. We all hung out (with everyone) and then went for kebab and met more people. We were up all night, and then went to finish packing at 3:30. Two of the guys, Carter and his friend whose name I never caught, carried our bags for us, really sweet. Everyone wished us farewell with hugs and words, and at 4 we got in our cab for the airport. There, we ran into Ashlee from school. We swapped stories, but as soon as I was on that plane I slept all the way to Madrid.
Weekend = so much fun, and one that I will never forget.
So, how did YOU celebrate Halloween 2008?
I went to the Parisian Catacombs, meandering the burial site of where 6 million people’s remains are arranged in walls and rows of columns and other designs. It was creepy! Every 20 feet there was another inscription in French, which sometimes I could understand but others had no idea. We had run into Madeline’s friend Harris in Madrid last weekend, and met up with Harris in Paris. We are staying at the Peace and Love Hostel on the top floor in Jaures, close to Montemarte, which is incidentally where he lives. So we went to the Catacombs, waited in line for an hour before descending the 83 steps to the bottom. Through the dark and twisty caverns we went, Harris sometimes leaning due to the height of the ceiling, seeing some of the construction marks and memorials constructed. Finally, we reached the entrance to “the empire of death” and I saw the first skulls and bones. It was so surreal! And unnerving. After a while, it was downright creepy to think about what kind of lives these people lived and how their lives played out. Once upon a time, they had faces and names and were animated – now they are anonymous, detached, limb from limb, head from ribcage and pelvis to form patterns in walls under Paris. It was a 1.7 kilometer underground labyrinth that took us over an hour to make our way through.
We soon walked back up the 83 stairs to the surface, emerging like a vampire would after a long nights sleep. At this point, we said goodbye to Harris (he was meeting up with his friend) and we headed towards lunch. (I got a croissant sandwich with salad). After that, we hopped on the metro. Harris suggested getting off the metro 2 stops past the one recommended for the Eiffel Tower so we did – catching our first glimpse as we crossed the river. My reaction? OH MY GOD IT”S HUGE! We got off and began to walk, finding ourselves at this lookout over the Eiffel Tower. I just could not believe it, that I was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. IN PARIS. Not Disneyworld. Not Las Vegas. PARIS. THE REAL DEAL. And it just grew as we walked towards it until it was completely overwhelming, obscuring all. I could see the dark steel of the structure, the way the mechanisms worked and the sheer industrial nature of it hidden inside ornate curls and blocks. I could see why the Victorians hated it, but that didn’t stop me from appreciating it. I was so overwhelmed that I was actually here, standing in front of THE Eiffel Tower, that I literally jumped up in down with joy after a few moments of awed wonder and silence.
Although it was foggy, we decided to pay the 12 euros and go all the way to the top. While Harris had suggested walking to the first level, we took the tram – good for me because I am so scared of heights I would have turned back around! But we could see for miles, the arc di triomphe, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer – all visible as we walked around the level. And then the moment of truth – the ascent. I was so scared, and being in a glass elevator as it happened? NOT helpful. Then we entered the cloud, and could see nothing. We emerged on an enclosed observation deck, and then went up the stairs to see if visibility was better, and near the end of our visit it started to look better as the city lighted up. Suddenly, we saw lights reflecting on the clouds as the elevator descended – we were INSIDE the tower as it lit up! Oh man, it was sooooo cool! We spent a bit longer up on the lower level at the tower to now look at the city lit up before deciding to leave. We crossed the Seine, checked our watches, and realized we had a measly 20 minutes to wait until the tower lit up again. So we split a crepe and sat on the stairs of the lookout point waiting for it to alight. And it soon did, and was SOOOO beautiful! Like really, the white lights danced and contrasted with the blue of the tower and the black night sky, the tower light spinning – so surreal. After this, we decided to head to the Arc du Triomphe, and probably the WORST intersection I have ever seen, with 13 streets converging in the circle. We went underground to get to the arc, realized there was a museum, and went up the 295 stairs into the Arc. We went on top of the arch, saw the Eiffel tower light up again (!) and then decided to take a stroll down the Champs de Elysses. After a while, we ducked into a cheap(er) Franco Italian restaurante where we had fantastic red wine and penne pasta. After dinner, we headed back to our hostel, which is right above a bar of the same name. [A side note about our hostel: when we checked in, we encountered a toga party. Exhausted, we climbed the 128 stairs to the top level where our room was and went to sleep immediately.] This night, there was a Halloween party in full swing, with people writing on each other in marker and wearing trash bags. We were exhausted, and the following day was All Saint´s Day, so I checked what was going to be open online [slipping and falling down said ridiculously narrow and windy steps in the hostel so that I created lovely bruises on my elbows and back - yet my computer remained unharmed!!] and we created our game plan. We were going to Versailles.
We left the hostel at 8:45 AM to go to Versailles. We arrived at 10:15 AM amid the fog and rain. Still, the gold sparkled and we were excited to be there. We paid for the all-day pass, and saw the Hall of Mirrors, the bedchambers of the King and Queen and the apartments of the Princes and Princesses. We were in the palace for 4 hours! It was gorgeous and spectacular, but there was a modern art exhibit by Jeff Koonz in the rooms. I´m sorry, but statues of balloon figures as well as Michael Jackson and ¨Bubbles¨ do not belong in Versailles.
We then meandered the gardens, finding a food stand for lunch (Panini, yumm!!) As it started to lighten up a bit, we headed towards the Petit Trianon and the Domain of Marie Antoinette. Her little village was so cute in the autumn light! (It was also uber refreshing to see leaves changing color and not just on the ground). I was thrilled, it was almost like autumn in the US. The outsides of her village structures were quaint, with thatched roofs and stuff, but the insides were completely MARBLE. Reality check! Afterwards, we went to the Grand Trianon, which had become the quarters of Napoleon and his wife after the revolution. It was easy to see how the monarchs needed the escape outside of Versailles. Madeline became fascinated with Louis the XIV, because "he is the state!" and the Sun-King, but really, did he conquer half of Europe? I think not. Napoleon may have been short, but the guy had game. And style.
We left for the Latin Quarter, and had a fabulous Menú del día type dinner (I had salad, coq au vin, and crème brule with a lovely blush wine) before heading back to the hostel around 11.
So we´re sitting in the bar, using the internet when we are approached by a couple of slightly [we believed] inebriated Australians. They´re like, what are you doing on the computer? Party with us! We´re like, we´re un poco tired cuz we got up uber early. They were wearing trash bags like the night before. James and Joe (their names) ask us what we did, we told them, and then they showed us pictures of their adventures with a pumpkin called Pierre Francois. It was actually hilarious. They introduced us to some of their other friends, including two Canadians named Ian and Mitchell, and then we soon went to sleep, for the next day we were getting up at 7:30 AM:
SO: the big day: the Louvre, Musee de Rodin, and the Musee D´Orsay. The first Sunday of every month, the museums were free, so Madeline and I were determined to make the most of it – especially since most of the museums are closed on Mondays. We left the hostel by 8, and the guy working was like, why so early? So we told him our plan, he wished us good luck, and we were at the Louvre waiting in line by the little pyramid downstairs at 8:30 AM. We were let in at 9 and made a beeline towards the Mona Lisa. There was no one there! And it was beautiful. I couldn´t believe I was actually standing there in front of it! We wandered the Louvre for 4 hours before heading out, seeing other DaVincis, the Winged Victory, Venus di Milo, crown jewels of Louis XV and other works. The building itself was a piece of art, with its elaborate ceilings. However, it was HUGE and you could easily spend 2 weeks inside!
Next stop: lunch. I had ham on a baguette with wonderful raspberry chocolate cake and an Orangina. We soon found the Musee Rodin and saw the Thinker and the Kiss. Incredible! It took us an hour to see the whole museum, and actually had a line to get in as we were leaving. So we then headed to the Musee d´Orsay, which is a modernist museum set inside an old train station. We waited 45 minutes in line, but then got inside and just SAT for a while. After two straight days of walking, we were exhausted. We managed to see the Mask Exhibit on display (Medusa masks were so cool!) as well as some other masterpieces, including Monet´s waterlillies, Van Gogh´s self portrait, paintings and sculptures of Degas and some art of Toulouse Latrec, Manet, Seaurot, etc. We were in the museum until we were kicked out at 6.
Basically, we were at museums from the time they opened till we were kicked out. And we both never wanted to walk again.
We went back to the Latin district for a French dinner, again doing a set-menu type deal. Madeline and I split another jar of Blush wine (not as good as the previous night) and I had the BEST calamari rings as an appetizer (ughhh so buttery with the best French Onion dressing to dip in!), Steak in a wine and mushroom sauce, and sugar crepes for dessert. Yum! After a while, we headed back to the hostel.
We were greeted by our new-found-friends who in turn introduced us to more people, Australians named Cameron, Phil and Karin. It was Karin´s birthday. Tonight´s theme was cross dress. Madeline participated, but I didn’t! After calling my dad to wish him a happy birthday, we went back downstairs, danced a bit, drank a bit, and went to sleep around 2 as the bar began to shut down.
I had to get up at 5:30 to register for classes. I went downstairs and there were STILL people hanging out by the bar. The others left, I was registering and chatting with Jesper, the guy who we had returned our key to earlier. He was from Denmark, and living in France. At 6:30, after 4/5 success in registering, I chatted a little more with Jesper and then headed up to catch a few more hours of sleep before heading out on our next day of adventure.
We slept in the next day, and decided to go to several of the famous cemeteries, the Pantheon, and Notre Dame. It was a beautiful day, and the others in the hostel were going on a 4 hour (which became a 5 hour) walking tour of the areas we had already explored. We saw the tombs of Chopin, Georges Seurot, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. We then tried to see the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette, but it was closed, much to our disappointment. So we headed toward the Pantheon, stopping at a street vendor for lunch on the way. I had THE BEST Panini, bologn-something with cheese and it was incredible. We soon were at the Pantheon, a beautiful building reminiscent of DC. There, we saw the largest/longest pendulum in the world, as well as the tombs of Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Rosseau, and Voltaire. Sooo cool!
We made our way to Notre Dame, just missing the tower tour times. We walked around the inside, and it was incredible. The stained glass was just magnificent, more so because the sun was just beginning to set and the patterns could be seen on the walls. The candles illuminated the inside. It was fabulous! We sat outside the cathedral for a while, staring at it, and listened to some troubadours sing songs from the movie Once and a beautiful rendition of Wonderwall. We then meandered, I got a chocolate and banana crepe, and we headed to Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge.
The Sacre Coeur, we climbed a lot of steps to see, and it was beautiful. The view from it was beautiful too! Soon there after, we headed to that classy place the Moulin Rouge to see it lit up in all of its glory. We passed the famous Le Chat Noir, and it was in Montmartre that Madeline bought the Maginot Line (aka cannons she can line up) to bring back for a friend.
So we headed back to our hostel, ran into Cameron and Phil who informed us of tonight´s theme (pj party) and we had a nice Italian dinner with white wine. Cameron and Phil invited us for Kebab, but we wanted to celebrate our final dinner in style. We did party with them later, we were the only girls in the bar and it wasn’t as crazy as previous nights. Cameron got us fire shots, where you swish the alcohol in your mouth and the bartender (Julien) lights it on fire, Absinthe, where it is lit on fire, caught in a glass, and you snort the fumes through your nose before taking the shot with coffee beans that you chew, and then fire shots that are already on fire and you take with a straw. We all hung out (with everyone) and then went for kebab and met more people. We were up all night, and then went to finish packing at 3:30. Two of the guys, Carter and his friend whose name I never caught, carried our bags for us, really sweet. Everyone wished us farewell with hugs and words, and at 4 we got in our cab for the airport. There, we ran into Ashlee from school. We swapped stories, but as soon as I was on that plane I slept all the way to Madrid.
Weekend = so much fun, and one that I will never forget.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Blair is: Thinking, Well Done America!
Before I update this blog, I must say = good week America.
First,
the Phillies won the World Series. THE PHILLIES. One-Thousand Losses Phillies, hailing from Philadelphia, which hasn't seen ANY championship since the early 80s. My sister went to the Parade and I've seen pictures and it looked INSANE. REd and White in the streets, and I was so surprised and happy to hear about it! yay!
Second:
Halloween. My favorite holiday of the year. No comment, you know what I will say [see previous entries].
Third:
Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the US. I can come home to history and change, and am so happy bout that. I found out and started to cry, I was so happy. Wish I could have been there to celebrate; I'll make up for it in January at the inauguration.
IN the meantime, I remain here:
First,
the Phillies won the World Series. THE PHILLIES. One-Thousand Losses Phillies, hailing from Philadelphia, which hasn't seen ANY championship since the early 80s. My sister went to the Parade and I've seen pictures and it looked INSANE. REd and White in the streets, and I was so surprised and happy to hear about it! yay!
Second:
Halloween. My favorite holiday of the year. No comment, you know what I will say [see previous entries].
Third:
Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of the US. I can come home to history and change, and am so happy bout that. I found out and started to cry, I was so happy. Wish I could have been there to celebrate; I'll make up for it in January at the inauguration.
IN the meantime, I remain here:
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