Well, even though I told myself I wouldn't, I stopped blogging for another few months. I went to Europe in May and then stopped blogging ... then updated in July and stopped blogging again ... and now here I am, at the tail-end of October, adding a new post. This was supposed to be a somewhat comprehensible "let's follow my life" diary kind of thing, but alas. Anyway, though, all of this is not what I wanted to blog about, so I'll let it go.
It's finally cooling down here in Logan, and we've had a few days of rain. The forecast says snow next week, but for some reason this doesn't bother me. It will, though. Once it snows. :) Next week should be overall relaxing, though. My students are giving presentations, so there's not a lot I have to do to prepare for class, other than a bit more grading. This will be a nice break for me.
Brendan and I have also been working on a play together, which has been fun and stressful all at the same time. Memorizing lines and music when you already don't have enough time in the day to breathe is a bit daunting, but it's been worth it. We were both cast in "A Christmas Carol" at the Old Barn Community Theatre. Yes, it's true ... after nine years off the stage I decided to start auditioning again. And, to make matters more interesting, the show I'm doing now is also the last one I did back when I was nineteen (not the same version, but the same story). And I've been cast in the same part (nine years ago I was "Isabel," and now I'm "Belle" -- go figure).
Brendan, though, after auditioning for the first time, was cast as Tiny Tim! He's ecstatic, and he's got all his lines memorized. The tough part for him is learning a British accent. When he rehearses, I wonder if it might be better for him to leave the accent out altogether (yes, it really is that bad), but hopefully it will come together. He's having fun, which is what's important.
I've also been doing a lot of thinking lately about what I want to do with myself once I finish my master's degree here at Utah State. Yes, in roughly six months (or so) I'll have a graduate degree in English literature and writing. So there's a huge decision to be made, as to what will come next. There are a few ideas that I've been throwing around for the past year -- apply to doctorate programs, find a program to certify me to teach high school, apply for jobs, etc. -- but I think that I know exactly what I want to do now.
Unlike many of my fellow grad students at USU, I've decided not to pursue further education at this point (at least not right now). I'm done with school. This is actually a refreshing feeling! I'm going to pursue a career now, in a few different areas. There are some amazing prospects out there that I'm looking into, and I'm really excited (if you want more info on this, e-mail me).
The biggest thing, though, is that I've decided to pick where I want to live first. This next move I'm making will be the last one until I'm done raising Brendan. I want to start building foundations for him, and establish a home for us. I eventually want to look into buying a house, and so rather than choosing a program or a job, I'm choosing a city. Of course the job market will play a role in this, but I know I have a job with Dixie State College teaching online classes, so I have some leeway with this. The important thing is that I'm going to go where I want to go, where I know that Brendan and I will be happy for at least the next twelve years. I have it narrowed down to a few places (again, if you want info on this send me an e-mail).
All right, that's enough life update for the time being.
The (Hopefully) Last (Movie Filmed for This Franchise) Airbender
I knew this was going to happen. I blogged my way through Europe, and then stopped once I returned home to the United States. That was not my intention -- I had meant to continue blogging in order to maintain a journal of sorts, but it just didn't happen. The good news is that I have something to blog about now, so maybe this will kick-start my blogging activities again.
The other day, my boyfriend and I went to see The Last Airbender, the long-anticipated, live-action version of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon series. This was no ordinary event -- I have been waiting for this movie for two years now, along with some family and friends, and I was so hopeful about this film that I made my boyfriend sit down and watch the entire series before we saw the movie. By the time it was released, he was excited to see it, too.
Before I continue, I should back up a bit. It's worth stating that the controversy surrounding this film was alive and well far before the release date was even announced. In fact, over a year ago, during the film's casting, there was already a huge boycott being set up by some Airbender fans, because M. Night and crew decided to take a story based on Asian mythology and folklore and cast white actors in all of its leading roles. This had some people really upset ... but I was more than willing to at least try and trust that these people were professionals, and probably knew what they were doing.
I am going to come right out and say that those in charge of this film did not know what they were doing, in any way, shape, or form. What they did was take a story with so much promise and potential, and transform it into a confusing mess of incomprehensible, lazily slapped together scenes stitched together by poorly delivered expository speeches.
The script writer for this movie didn't know how to show anything. Everything was "told," and it was told quite sloppily. And it's not that they were pressed for time, either -- the entire film was only about an hour and a half long, so they had more than enough time to work with so that the movie wouldn't feel so rushed. Let me give you a few examples of some of the cringe-worthy, expository dialogue:
Gran-Gran: "I think he may be the Avatar -- frozen for a hundred years!" (Something we come to know about Aang over the course of a few episodes in the series.)
Katara (as voice-over): "We made it to the Northern Water Tribe ... my brother and the princess became friends straight away!" (The relationship between Sokka and Yue was complicated but endearing when seen over the course of time in the series.)
Commander Zhao: "I think the Blue Spirit may be Prince Zuko!" (Just ... just ... sigh.)
Commander Zhao: "Your son died during the raid on Ba Sing Se, didn't he?" (In the series, we don't come to know about Iroh's son until a few seasons in, and it becomes a very heart-wrenching episode.)
In short, everything that should have been shown through scene was basically told. The audience is left feeling that the writers had absolutely no faith that they could follow anything or put two and two together. This script was written for a dumb audience.
And while I'm on the subject of the movie being rushed, I'm also confused as to how M. Night decided which parts of the series to keep and which ones to toss. There were some parts that were kept and given considerable screen time -- saving Haru's Earth Kingdom town, for example, and the Blue Spirit scene -- while others were simply glossed over or left out all together. There were certain things, such as the gender bias in the Northern Water Tribe that leaves Katara so passionate about being trained to be a master, that were very important, but not touched upon at all. In fact, Master Paku was also left out entirely -- it seemed as though Aang and Katara were trained by Yue's father, though there really weren't any training sessions shown. Both of them pretty much go from being waterbending amateurs to masters with no explanation as to how or why.
Master Paku wasn't the only character left out, either. No Bumi, no Suki, no Jong-Jong. No cross-breed animals. In fact, they could have left Appa and Momo out, for all of the necessity and screen time they were given.
While we're on the subject of characters, let me go a bit further into the casting. Beyond the original controversy over casting white actors in Asian roles, I felt this movie was one giant mis-cast. (Well, I'll go back to the controversy for a moment and point out that, for some reason, Katara, Sokka, and Gran-Gran were all white, but the rest of their tribe was Inuit. Nice choice, M. Night.) And, before I go into the acting, I'll also point out that the characters who were in it were obviously not researched at all. Aang was pronounced "Ahh-ng," Sokka was "Soe-ka," and Iroh was "Ee-ro," just to give a few examples. I couldn't figure out if this was some strange creative decision on M. Night's part, or if they just really didn't know any better. (UPDATE: Down the line, I did discover that M. Night researched the names and discovered that the original, cultural pronunciation of them did not match the series, so he changed those pronunciations. I can see the drive behind wanting to do that in order to give the film more authenticity, but it really didn't work out -- especially when you take your "authentic" Asian characters and make them white.)
But, okay, the casting. As Aang, Noah Ringer was given a heavy load to carry as the leading character in his first (and probably last) film ever. This kid, I've read, is a Tai-Kwan-Do master (and I'll give him credit for this -- his martial arts were pretty damn good), but his acting skills were close to nonexistent. His range of emotion never expanded beyond the slightly anxious, "how will I ever save the world" seriousness that you see in all the trailers. You never really see anger (at the death of his people), you never really see a developing interest in Katara, you never see frustration, you never see happiness ... you never really see much of anything. All of the quirky humor, early immaturity, and light-heartedness that Aang possessed in the series is completely absent. In short, you know the whole time that you aren't watching Aang -- you're watching some kid trained in martial arts who is dressed like Aang.
Moving on, Sokka had a similar problem. Jackson Rathbone has had more acting experience, but Sokka's entire demeanor -- the funny, always-trying-to-be-macho comic relief that he is -- is just not there. Rathbone tries to deliver some of Sokka's well-known, amusing one-liners, but all of them, without exception, fall flat. You could tell he knew what his character was about, and he was trying to get the job done, but unfortunately just couldn't do it.
As Katara, Nicola Peltz was one of the worst casting choices, as she possessed all of the problems I just mentioned, and then some. She obviously didn't know the character, she couldn't act (which was a problem, seeing as how most of the expository speeches delivered came from her), and her range of emotion never seemed to vary much.
Commander Zhao and Firelord Ozai never seemed to have any motivation for what they were doing -- they were just evil bastards who hated the world -- and Iroh, while encompassing the wise-old-man motif, had none of the humor and nuance you come to expect from him. One reference to tea managed to get a few chuckles from the audience. And Dev Patel didn't even come close to reaching the depth of Zuko's character. His portrayal of Zuko was a back-and-forth game of angry shouting and Robert Pattinson-esque ("I'm so troubled") pouting.
I honestly can't think of one character who was portrayed really well.
Beyond the acting, though, the characters had no development. As most Airbender fans know, the character development was part of what made the series so good. But nobody matures in this film -- nobody seems to move beyond were they were right at the beginning, including Aang. And because of the rushed nature of the film, you don't feel like you know anyone at all by the end. By the time Yue became the moon spirit, I was in more of a "hurry up and die already" mindset than a mourning one, and it was mostly because her character wasn't developed (she was only given a few minutes of screen time, but still). I felt no grieving for Sokka, either, despite his attempts at crying for her loss -- again, had we been given any time to see their relationship progress (beyond one small conversation), I might have felt something other than boredom. But I didn't. And, believe me, I felt that way about the entire film and all of its characters.
I think that has to be enough for now, but only because I've got a paper to work on. I might feel the need to gripe some more later, but for now let me just say that I hope they don't continue making the rest of this movie franchise. It's not worth it. With the reviews it's getting (I haven't read one good review, not one), I doubt they'll even try to go for the second and third, but for everyone's sake I really hope they don't. If you were a fan of this series, do yourself a favor and consider skipping it. Then, at least, you won't have to worry about trying to erase it from your mind like I do.
UPDATE:
Now that it's been years down the road, and the ever-memorable "Honest Movie Trailers" people have made quite a name for themselves over on YouTube, I thought I'd leave their Honest Trailer for The Last Airbender here for you to enjoy after my scathing review. It pretty much says everything. You're welcome.
The other day, my boyfriend and I went to see The Last Airbender, the long-anticipated, live-action version of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon series. This was no ordinary event -- I have been waiting for this movie for two years now, along with some family and friends, and I was so hopeful about this film that I made my boyfriend sit down and watch the entire series before we saw the movie. By the time it was released, he was excited to see it, too.
Before I continue, I should back up a bit. It's worth stating that the controversy surrounding this film was alive and well far before the release date was even announced. In fact, over a year ago, during the film's casting, there was already a huge boycott being set up by some Airbender fans, because M. Night and crew decided to take a story based on Asian mythology and folklore and cast white actors in all of its leading roles. This had some people really upset ... but I was more than willing to at least try and trust that these people were professionals, and probably knew what they were doing.
I am going to come right out and say that those in charge of this film did not know what they were doing, in any way, shape, or form. What they did was take a story with so much promise and potential, and transform it into a confusing mess of incomprehensible, lazily slapped together scenes stitched together by poorly delivered expository speeches.
The script writer for this movie didn't know how to show anything. Everything was "told," and it was told quite sloppily. And it's not that they were pressed for time, either -- the entire film was only about an hour and a half long, so they had more than enough time to work with so that the movie wouldn't feel so rushed. Let me give you a few examples of some of the cringe-worthy, expository dialogue:
Gran-Gran: "I think he may be the Avatar -- frozen for a hundred years!" (Something we come to know about Aang over the course of a few episodes in the series.)
Katara (as voice-over): "We made it to the Northern Water Tribe ... my brother and the princess became friends straight away!" (The relationship between Sokka and Yue was complicated but endearing when seen over the course of time in the series.)
Commander Zhao: "I think the Blue Spirit may be Prince Zuko!" (Just ... just ... sigh.)
Commander Zhao: "Your son died during the raid on Ba Sing Se, didn't he?" (In the series, we don't come to know about Iroh's son until a few seasons in, and it becomes a very heart-wrenching episode.)
In short, everything that should have been shown through scene was basically told. The audience is left feeling that the writers had absolutely no faith that they could follow anything or put two and two together. This script was written for a dumb audience.
And while I'm on the subject of the movie being rushed, I'm also confused as to how M. Night decided which parts of the series to keep and which ones to toss. There were some parts that were kept and given considerable screen time -- saving Haru's Earth Kingdom town, for example, and the Blue Spirit scene -- while others were simply glossed over or left out all together. There were certain things, such as the gender bias in the Northern Water Tribe that leaves Katara so passionate about being trained to be a master, that were very important, but not touched upon at all. In fact, Master Paku was also left out entirely -- it seemed as though Aang and Katara were trained by Yue's father, though there really weren't any training sessions shown. Both of them pretty much go from being waterbending amateurs to masters with no explanation as to how or why.
Master Paku wasn't the only character left out, either. No Bumi, no Suki, no Jong-Jong. No cross-breed animals. In fact, they could have left Appa and Momo out, for all of the necessity and screen time they were given.
While we're on the subject of characters, let me go a bit further into the casting. Beyond the original controversy over casting white actors in Asian roles, I felt this movie was one giant mis-cast. (Well, I'll go back to the controversy for a moment and point out that, for some reason, Katara, Sokka, and Gran-Gran were all white, but the rest of their tribe was Inuit. Nice choice, M. Night.) And, before I go into the acting, I'll also point out that the characters who were in it were obviously not researched at all. Aang was pronounced "Ahh-ng," Sokka was "Soe-ka," and Iroh was "Ee-ro," just to give a few examples. I couldn't figure out if this was some strange creative decision on M. Night's part, or if they just really didn't know any better. (UPDATE: Down the line, I did discover that M. Night researched the names and discovered that the original, cultural pronunciation of them did not match the series, so he changed those pronunciations. I can see the drive behind wanting to do that in order to give the film more authenticity, but it really didn't work out -- especially when you take your "authentic" Asian characters and make them white.)
But, okay, the casting. As Aang, Noah Ringer was given a heavy load to carry as the leading character in his first (and probably last) film ever. This kid, I've read, is a Tai-Kwan-Do master (and I'll give him credit for this -- his martial arts were pretty damn good), but his acting skills were close to nonexistent. His range of emotion never expanded beyond the slightly anxious, "how will I ever save the world" seriousness that you see in all the trailers. You never really see anger (at the death of his people), you never really see a developing interest in Katara, you never see frustration, you never see happiness ... you never really see much of anything. All of the quirky humor, early immaturity, and light-heartedness that Aang possessed in the series is completely absent. In short, you know the whole time that you aren't watching Aang -- you're watching some kid trained in martial arts who is dressed like Aang.
Moving on, Sokka had a similar problem. Jackson Rathbone has had more acting experience, but Sokka's entire demeanor -- the funny, always-trying-to-be-macho comic relief that he is -- is just not there. Rathbone tries to deliver some of Sokka's well-known, amusing one-liners, but all of them, without exception, fall flat. You could tell he knew what his character was about, and he was trying to get the job done, but unfortunately just couldn't do it.
As Katara, Nicola Peltz was one of the worst casting choices, as she possessed all of the problems I just mentioned, and then some. She obviously didn't know the character, she couldn't act (which was a problem, seeing as how most of the expository speeches delivered came from her), and her range of emotion never seemed to vary much.
Commander Zhao and Firelord Ozai never seemed to have any motivation for what they were doing -- they were just evil bastards who hated the world -- and Iroh, while encompassing the wise-old-man motif, had none of the humor and nuance you come to expect from him. One reference to tea managed to get a few chuckles from the audience. And Dev Patel didn't even come close to reaching the depth of Zuko's character. His portrayal of Zuko was a back-and-forth game of angry shouting and Robert Pattinson-esque ("I'm so troubled") pouting.
I honestly can't think of one character who was portrayed really well.
Beyond the acting, though, the characters had no development. As most Airbender fans know, the character development was part of what made the series so good. But nobody matures in this film -- nobody seems to move beyond were they were right at the beginning, including Aang. And because of the rushed nature of the film, you don't feel like you know anyone at all by the end. By the time Yue became the moon spirit, I was in more of a "hurry up and die already" mindset than a mourning one, and it was mostly because her character wasn't developed (she was only given a few minutes of screen time, but still). I felt no grieving for Sokka, either, despite his attempts at crying for her loss -- again, had we been given any time to see their relationship progress (beyond one small conversation), I might have felt something other than boredom. But I didn't. And, believe me, I felt that way about the entire film and all of its characters.
I think that has to be enough for now, but only because I've got a paper to work on. I might feel the need to gripe some more later, but for now let me just say that I hope they don't continue making the rest of this movie franchise. It's not worth it. With the reviews it's getting (I haven't read one good review, not one), I doubt they'll even try to go for the second and third, but for everyone's sake I really hope they don't. If you were a fan of this series, do yourself a favor and consider skipping it. Then, at least, you won't have to worry about trying to erase it from your mind like I do.
UPDATE:
Adventures in Rome
Okay, I know that I was going to do a blog on French food, but writing about Italy simply has to come first. I will probably do a blog on both French and Italian food in the near future, but for now I need to write about my experiences in Milan and Rome ... it has been very exciting, to say the least!
Admittedly, I did not get to see very much of Milan. My flight to Milan (from Bordeaux) was canceled, and so they put me on a different flight the following day, but I did not even get there until around six in the evening, and I was due to fly out to Rome the following morning. So there was not very much in the way of exploring Milan, and I did not get to take a small trip to Verona as I had planned, but what I can say is that my flight to Rome took off without any problems ... and it has been amazing!
The first day I got here, I had a few problems finding the monastery I was staying at. It was a bitch getting to the bus station (because of the 200lb -- yes, I am exaggerating, but it certainly feels that heavy -- bag I was carrying), and then the taxi dropped me off on the wrong street, leaving me to wander narrow alleys with a what-feels-like-200-lb bag in tow.
This, though, is where I get to the part about Italian people being so kind. When I was in France, the people were kind enough, but it seemed as though whenever I opened my mouth and English came out, an air of disappointment and even antagonism tainted the rest of the conversation. Not so in Italy. I have met very many really nice Italians, two of whom were women that I met in one of those narrow alleys while trying to find my monastery. They not only pointed me in the right direction, but helped me carry my bag. Really, if it were not for them, my first day in Rome would have sucked much more.
But it did not suck! I got to my room, dropped off my stuff, and then headed down to the Colosseum, which was about a five minute walk away. At first, I could not find it. I knew it was supposed to be close, but I looked down this street and that street without knowing which way to turn. I felt kind of dumb, because I thought that something like the Colosseum really should not be that hard to find ... and then, low and behold, I turned again and saw, in the distance, the huge and breathtaking image of the Colosseum.
So I went that way.
I arrived there and took my time going through it. By this time, I have seen my share of ancient ruins, but this one was unlike any other. It is really difficult to describe something like this ... all I can say is that it is something you have to see for yourself to really understand what Im getting at (sorry for the lack of apostrophes in this post ... Im at an Internet cafe here in Rome, and I cannot for the life of me find the apostrophe key). Though some of the structure has been rebuilt time and again over the centuries, there are parts of it that are still in their BCE ruins ... a few staircases that I saw, and also the underground corridors where the gladiators used to roam before battles.
After the Colosseum, I wandered for a bit and then settled in at a little outdoor cafe to sip espresso, enjoy the sunset, and write postcards. Yes, those of you who are reading this have postcards coming. :)
On to day two. On my second day in Rome I decided to go see the Vatican. Thanks to Will, I had a good understanding for how the underground metro systems work in most European cities, so I had no trouble taking line B to line A and getting off at the right stop for the Vatican. And once there, I had no trouble following the mass crowds to the Vatican itself.
The day that I chose to see the Vatican was, to put it mildly, extremely crowded . The reason for this, though, is because I just happened to go on a day when the Pope was appearing to speak to the public. Needless to say, even though Im not Catholic, I thought to myself that since I was at the Vatican and the Pope was appearing, I might as well get a good look. After all, how often does a person get the chance to see the Pope in person at the Vatican? So, being a relatively small person, I wiggled my way to the front of the crowd and, squashed like a sardine into hoards of other sweaty bodies and overstuffed backpacks, waited for the Pope to arrive. Sure enough, a few minutes later Pope Benny rode right by me in his Pope-mobile, waving to the masses. I got a few pictures, but for the life of me could not stop Elton Johns song, Benny and the Jets, from repeating itself in my head throughout the entire event.
Okay, so I saw the Pope and then decided to see the Vatican museums. This meant that I got to see many of Raphaels works, as well as the Sistine Chapel (among other things), and a good view of the Vatican Gardens. And then I went to see St. Pauls Basilica (the queue just to get through security for this was absurd, but how could I go to Vatican City and not see St. Peters Basilica?). The inside of this church was amazing ... by far the most extravagent and breathtaking cathedral I have ever seen (and this includes Notre Dame de Paris). Being there kind of makes you understand why Catholics choose to be Catholic. Well, at least the ones in Rome.
I then took the metro back to my area of the city and explored the Roman Forum ruins. This took quite a bit of time, as the ruins are huge. I saw the remains of old houses (ones that were burnt during the time of Nero), too many ancient arches to count on one hand, temples dedicated to Saturn and Delphi, among others, and so much more. Not to mention great views of the city from areas high up. By the time I reached the end of my self-guided tour here, I was in a completely different part of the city, and I then had to find my way back. You know me, though -- I got lost during this process. It did not, however, bother me. I enjoyed taking in all of the different parts of the city as I found my way back to the monastery.
Today I slept in a bit and then went to see the Pantheon. It was originally a pagan temple, and then, during the medieval days of Rome, was turned into a church. I had a hard time finding it, as there is no metro station close by, but I took the metro anyway and then walked the fifteen minutes to get to the actual Pantheon.
Well ... no, not really. It should have taken me fifteen minutes, but it took me close to an hour to find it because I kept getting lost. I asked for directions multiple times, stopped for a coffee (which was given to me as what tasted like warm, fudge-flavored ice cream, and required a few units of insulin), and then finally found the damn thing. It was really beautiful from the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside. There were various things I saw in this small little temple, including the tombs of the first and second kings of Italy, and also the tomb of the artist Raphael.
I have pictures of all of these things, and will upload them to Facebook when I get a chance to. But for now, let me just say that Rome has been amazing. Let me put it this way: I loved Paris with all of my heart and soul, and loved London even more than that, but I can honestly say that Rome comes before even London for me. The city is just beautiful and awe-inspiring. I have absolutely no gripes about it (except for having to cover my shoulders to get into St. Peters and the Pantheon. If you ever visit Rome and you are female, do not forget that if you want to see some of the sacred sites, you will need to be dressed modestly. They are very strict and serious about this). And, of course, I am missing Will. Rome is amazing, for sure, but there is something lonely about visiting by ones self, especially when I have been seeing everything else with my partner. But individual time has also been nice, for both of us I am sure, and tomorrow I fly back to London.
There is so much more to say, including everything about the food (mozzarella, tomato, and pancetti sandwiches; gnocchi and cheese; thin-crusted pizza; salad with green olives and fist-sized mounds of soft, real mozzarella), but I am getting ahead of myself. I will close now, and do my best to contain myself until my next post.
Arrivederci, my loved ones.
Admittedly, I did not get to see very much of Milan. My flight to Milan (from Bordeaux) was canceled, and so they put me on a different flight the following day, but I did not even get there until around six in the evening, and I was due to fly out to Rome the following morning. So there was not very much in the way of exploring Milan, and I did not get to take a small trip to Verona as I had planned, but what I can say is that my flight to Rome took off without any problems ... and it has been amazing!
The first day I got here, I had a few problems finding the monastery I was staying at. It was a bitch getting to the bus station (because of the 200lb -- yes, I am exaggerating, but it certainly feels that heavy -- bag I was carrying), and then the taxi dropped me off on the wrong street, leaving me to wander narrow alleys with a what-feels-like-200-lb bag in tow.
This, though, is where I get to the part about Italian people being so kind. When I was in France, the people were kind enough, but it seemed as though whenever I opened my mouth and English came out, an air of disappointment and even antagonism tainted the rest of the conversation. Not so in Italy. I have met very many really nice Italians, two of whom were women that I met in one of those narrow alleys while trying to find my monastery. They not only pointed me in the right direction, but helped me carry my bag. Really, if it were not for them, my first day in Rome would have sucked much more.
But it did not suck! I got to my room, dropped off my stuff, and then headed down to the Colosseum, which was about a five minute walk away. At first, I could not find it. I knew it was supposed to be close, but I looked down this street and that street without knowing which way to turn. I felt kind of dumb, because I thought that something like the Colosseum really should not be that hard to find ... and then, low and behold, I turned again and saw, in the distance, the huge and breathtaking image of the Colosseum.
So I went that way.
I arrived there and took my time going through it. By this time, I have seen my share of ancient ruins, but this one was unlike any other. It is really difficult to describe something like this ... all I can say is that it is something you have to see for yourself to really understand what Im getting at (sorry for the lack of apostrophes in this post ... Im at an Internet cafe here in Rome, and I cannot for the life of me find the apostrophe key). Though some of the structure has been rebuilt time and again over the centuries, there are parts of it that are still in their BCE ruins ... a few staircases that I saw, and also the underground corridors where the gladiators used to roam before battles.
After the Colosseum, I wandered for a bit and then settled in at a little outdoor cafe to sip espresso, enjoy the sunset, and write postcards. Yes, those of you who are reading this have postcards coming. :)
On to day two. On my second day in Rome I decided to go see the Vatican. Thanks to Will, I had a good understanding for how the underground metro systems work in most European cities, so I had no trouble taking line B to line A and getting off at the right stop for the Vatican. And once there, I had no trouble following the mass crowds to the Vatican itself.
The day that I chose to see the Vatican was, to put it mildly, extremely crowded . The reason for this, though, is because I just happened to go on a day when the Pope was appearing to speak to the public. Needless to say, even though Im not Catholic, I thought to myself that since I was at the Vatican and the Pope was appearing, I might as well get a good look. After all, how often does a person get the chance to see the Pope in person at the Vatican? So, being a relatively small person, I wiggled my way to the front of the crowd and, squashed like a sardine into hoards of other sweaty bodies and overstuffed backpacks, waited for the Pope to arrive. Sure enough, a few minutes later Pope Benny rode right by me in his Pope-mobile, waving to the masses. I got a few pictures, but for the life of me could not stop Elton Johns song, Benny and the Jets, from repeating itself in my head throughout the entire event.
Okay, so I saw the Pope and then decided to see the Vatican museums. This meant that I got to see many of Raphaels works, as well as the Sistine Chapel (among other things), and a good view of the Vatican Gardens. And then I went to see St. Pauls Basilica (the queue just to get through security for this was absurd, but how could I go to Vatican City and not see St. Peters Basilica?). The inside of this church was amazing ... by far the most extravagent and breathtaking cathedral I have ever seen (and this includes Notre Dame de Paris). Being there kind of makes you understand why Catholics choose to be Catholic. Well, at least the ones in Rome.
I then took the metro back to my area of the city and explored the Roman Forum ruins. This took quite a bit of time, as the ruins are huge. I saw the remains of old houses (ones that were burnt during the time of Nero), too many ancient arches to count on one hand, temples dedicated to Saturn and Delphi, among others, and so much more. Not to mention great views of the city from areas high up. By the time I reached the end of my self-guided tour here, I was in a completely different part of the city, and I then had to find my way back. You know me, though -- I got lost during this process. It did not, however, bother me. I enjoyed taking in all of the different parts of the city as I found my way back to the monastery.
Today I slept in a bit and then went to see the Pantheon. It was originally a pagan temple, and then, during the medieval days of Rome, was turned into a church. I had a hard time finding it, as there is no metro station close by, but I took the metro anyway and then walked the fifteen minutes to get to the actual Pantheon.
Well ... no, not really. It should have taken me fifteen minutes, but it took me close to an hour to find it because I kept getting lost. I asked for directions multiple times, stopped for a coffee (which was given to me as what tasted like warm, fudge-flavored ice cream, and required a few units of insulin), and then finally found the damn thing. It was really beautiful from the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside. There were various things I saw in this small little temple, including the tombs of the first and second kings of Italy, and also the tomb of the artist Raphael.
I have pictures of all of these things, and will upload them to Facebook when I get a chance to. But for now, let me just say that Rome has been amazing. Let me put it this way: I loved Paris with all of my heart and soul, and loved London even more than that, but I can honestly say that Rome comes before even London for me. The city is just beautiful and awe-inspiring. I have absolutely no gripes about it (except for having to cover my shoulders to get into St. Peters and the Pantheon. If you ever visit Rome and you are female, do not forget that if you want to see some of the sacred sites, you will need to be dressed modestly. They are very strict and serious about this). And, of course, I am missing Will. Rome is amazing, for sure, but there is something lonely about visiting by ones self, especially when I have been seeing everything else with my partner. But individual time has also been nice, for both of us I am sure, and tomorrow I fly back to London.
There is so much more to say, including everything about the food (mozzarella, tomato, and pancetti sandwiches; gnocchi and cheese; thin-crusted pizza; salad with green olives and fist-sized mounds of soft, real mozzarella), but I am getting ahead of myself. I will close now, and do my best to contain myself until my next post.
Arrivederci, my loved ones.
Hopefully I'll be in Milan Today
Deja vu.
Yesterday my flight to Milan was canceled, leaving me stranded in Bordeaux for another night. I have another plane scheduled for today, which will hopefully take off as planned, but for now I still have another four and a half hours until that flight is supposed to leave. For me, that means a relaxing morning and time to write about France.
The rest of my time in Paris was so amazing. We did a lot of walking (and Paris is huge, so believe me when I say that three days in Paris made my muscles much more sore than five days in Disney World ever did), but we also did some cycling. It was really neat -- you're able to rent bicycles in most French cities, for only a Euro a day, and so Will and I cycled around Paris like the locals.
Keep in mind, though, that this cycling experience was also a bit frightening for me. Unlike Will, I'm not used to riding a bicycle through large cities. And we were weaving in out of traffic (and Parisian drivers are absolutely crazy) and around pedestrians, and so these bike rides weren't always relaxing. They were fun, though, and a great way to get around Paris.
I guess now I'll just write a brief overview of what we did in Paris.
1) The Louvre. On our second morning we went to the Louvre, which, I learned, used to be a royal palace. It was a great experience, and I got to see the glass pyramid, the Mona Lisa, the medieval Louvre (which is the basement, still in medieval ruins), and sections on ancient Greece and Egypt. We wandered for hours, but the thing is that the Louvre is so huge that you have to accept the fact that you're not going to see it all. We saw a very small portion, and I think it would probably take three whole days of non-stop Louvre to see it all (and even then, you probably wouldn't be able to take it all in).
2) The Eiffel Tower. It was, by far, the most crowded area in Paris, but I'm really glad we went. We cycled down by the river and then, when we arrived at the tower, took the elevator to the top. The view was amazing, and then we decided to take the stairs back down. The Eiffel Tower was so crowded that you had to queue for everything, including the elevator rides up and down, and so the stairs were a much better option (on the way down, of course -- stairs going up might have been a bit more intimidating).
3) The Pere Lachaise Cemetery. This, like everything else in Paris, is really, really big -- there are over 800,000 people buried there. Most of the graves, as such, are therefore really old, with house-like structures serving as tombstones (think the cemetery in the Haunted Mansion, for all of my Californian friends). This was another place where we wandered for hours. We saw some interesting grave sites, though, including Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, and Jim Morrison.
4) The Catacombs. We didn't actually get to go down, though, as they were flooded and closed for a few days.
5) The Seine. We saw the Seine River many, many times, but worth noting is that for dinner on two nights Will and I bought dinner and wine and ate it down by the Seine. We got to watch the sun setting over Paris and the river while eating bread, cheese, and tarts, and this was by far the best dining experience(s) I've had yet on this trip. It was incredibly beautiful and romantic.
6) Notre Dame de Paris ... again. We had gone on our first day to see the cathedral, but we went back on our last day to climb up the bell towers. There were too many people on our first day, but the line wasn't too bad on our last day. We walked up 400 stairs that wound in a circular pattern up one of the towers, and from there we got to see not only the famous bell tower gargoyles, but also one of the bells up close and another great view of Paris.
Then we went down to Bordeaux, where we saw the Aquitaine Museum and went on a wine tour. This region of France is very well-known for its wine-making, so Will and I have been drinking quite a bit of it as of late. I'm not complaining. On the tour, though, we not only got to do some wine tasting, but I learned a bit about the vineyards and how the different types of wines are produced (Will had to translate for me most of the time because our official translator sucked).
Yesterday Will and I parted ways so that he could begin his research and I could head off to Italy ... but, as you know, I'm still in Bordeaux. Hopefully by tonight I will be in Italy, but I guess you never know with these things.
That's all for now, but I do intend to do a blog in the near future on French food. For now, I'll tell you that it's been amazing -- on our last night in Bordeaux, Will and I had some fondue, but we've also done seafood and other really nice things. I will try to write more in Italy.
Yesterday my flight to Milan was canceled, leaving me stranded in Bordeaux for another night. I have another plane scheduled for today, which will hopefully take off as planned, but for now I still have another four and a half hours until that flight is supposed to leave. For me, that means a relaxing morning and time to write about France.
The rest of my time in Paris was so amazing. We did a lot of walking (and Paris is huge, so believe me when I say that three days in Paris made my muscles much more sore than five days in Disney World ever did), but we also did some cycling. It was really neat -- you're able to rent bicycles in most French cities, for only a Euro a day, and so Will and I cycled around Paris like the locals.
Keep in mind, though, that this cycling experience was also a bit frightening for me. Unlike Will, I'm not used to riding a bicycle through large cities. And we were weaving in out of traffic (and Parisian drivers are absolutely crazy) and around pedestrians, and so these bike rides weren't always relaxing. They were fun, though, and a great way to get around Paris.
I guess now I'll just write a brief overview of what we did in Paris.
1) The Louvre. On our second morning we went to the Louvre, which, I learned, used to be a royal palace. It was a great experience, and I got to see the glass pyramid, the Mona Lisa, the medieval Louvre (which is the basement, still in medieval ruins), and sections on ancient Greece and Egypt. We wandered for hours, but the thing is that the Louvre is so huge that you have to accept the fact that you're not going to see it all. We saw a very small portion, and I think it would probably take three whole days of non-stop Louvre to see it all (and even then, you probably wouldn't be able to take it all in).
2) The Eiffel Tower. It was, by far, the most crowded area in Paris, but I'm really glad we went. We cycled down by the river and then, when we arrived at the tower, took the elevator to the top. The view was amazing, and then we decided to take the stairs back down. The Eiffel Tower was so crowded that you had to queue for everything, including the elevator rides up and down, and so the stairs were a much better option (on the way down, of course -- stairs going up might have been a bit more intimidating).
3) The Pere Lachaise Cemetery. This, like everything else in Paris, is really, really big -- there are over 800,000 people buried there. Most of the graves, as such, are therefore really old, with house-like structures serving as tombstones (think the cemetery in the Haunted Mansion, for all of my Californian friends). This was another place where we wandered for hours. We saw some interesting grave sites, though, including Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, and Jim Morrison.
4) The Catacombs. We didn't actually get to go down, though, as they were flooded and closed for a few days.
5) The Seine. We saw the Seine River many, many times, but worth noting is that for dinner on two nights Will and I bought dinner and wine and ate it down by the Seine. We got to watch the sun setting over Paris and the river while eating bread, cheese, and tarts, and this was by far the best dining experience(s) I've had yet on this trip. It was incredibly beautiful and romantic.
6) Notre Dame de Paris ... again. We had gone on our first day to see the cathedral, but we went back on our last day to climb up the bell towers. There were too many people on our first day, but the line wasn't too bad on our last day. We walked up 400 stairs that wound in a circular pattern up one of the towers, and from there we got to see not only the famous bell tower gargoyles, but also one of the bells up close and another great view of Paris.
Then we went down to Bordeaux, where we saw the Aquitaine Museum and went on a wine tour. This region of France is very well-known for its wine-making, so Will and I have been drinking quite a bit of it as of late. I'm not complaining. On the tour, though, we not only got to do some wine tasting, but I learned a bit about the vineyards and how the different types of wines are produced (Will had to translate for me most of the time because our official translator sucked).
Yesterday Will and I parted ways so that he could begin his research and I could head off to Italy ... but, as you know, I'm still in Bordeaux. Hopefully by tonight I will be in Italy, but I guess you never know with these things.
That's all for now, but I do intend to do a blog in the near future on French food. For now, I'll tell you that it's been amazing -- on our last night in Bordeaux, Will and I had some fondue, but we've also done seafood and other really nice things. I will try to write more in Italy.
Will Promised Me a Beer From McDonalds
Yes, apparently you can order beer at McDonalds in France.
That's all I'm going to say for now.
Well, no ... that's not all I'm going to say. I do think it's pretty explanatory about the differences between France and the United States, though, in that the French can say, "Let's go get some fries at McDonalds, and a beer while we're at it." I told Will that I absolutely had to have a beer from McDonalds, but the queue this morning was a bit long and we were running a bit late, so we haven't done it yet.
Why were we running a bit late? The simple explanation is that we had a planning fail. We got a flight from London to Paris without booking a hotel, and so we found ourselves wandering Paris from street to street, train stop to train stop, carrying heavy (and I do mean heavy ) bags, looking for a place to stay. The place we found last night was booked for the rest of the week, so we repeated this procedure this morning, which put us at later on in the morning before we actually started seeing the sights.
Before I continue, I want to express how fun it is hearing Will speak French to everyone else that I cannot communicate with. He's been taking French since he was eight years old, and his first degree was a combination of history and French, so he's quite fluent. But it's just delightful hearing him rattle off in French, and makes me want to work on my own language skills (so that, you know, the next time I come here I don't have to nod my head stupidly and act like I know what's going on). I do my best, but my weak attempts at merci and bonjour are usually met with expressions that roughly translate as, "I know you're American, and you suck at French."
So ... back to Paris. Last night, after sorting out our hotel situation, we went for dinner at a little French cafe. We had some wine, and had a lovely meal of duck, lamb, and potatoes au gratin. But as an appetizer (or entree , as I learned that an entree is not a main course, but rather a starter dish) we had escargot. Yes, I ate snails. They weren't bad, so to speak, but the particular restaurant prepared them poorly, and so they tasted like tiny shrimp cooked in butter, far too much parsley, and not enough garlic. It certainly wasn't a horrible experience.
Today (after the hotel adventure) we went to see Notre Dame de Paris, the cathedral that I've loved through literature, art, and history. It brought tears to my eyes seeing it up close and personal. Take my word for it -- it really is amazing and beautiful. As far as churches go, I've never seen anything like it. We went inside and saw the interior, which was also beautiful, as well as the tombs of some old men that I've never heard of (and when I asked Will, he only continually told me they were his grandfather), and some old relics (such as the crown of thorns that people seem to think is the actual crown of thorns that Jesus wore on his head some couple of thousand years ago). I would have loved to stay longer than we did, but I was having a blood sugar low (my second of the morning -- damn diabetes) and we needed to get lunch.
We ate lunch at a touristy place, and I had chicken with mushrooms and fries (yes, I ate French fries in France), and Will had steak and fries. It sounds too American, I know. But as a starter, I had French onion soup (it was really good), and Will had some pate that was also not too bad. The service was terrible, though. It's one thing I'll say about France -- the waiting staffs at restaurants seem to like to seat you, take your order, and then leave you to wait for an hour or so before visiting you again.
Another thing about the people of France (or Parisians, at least) is that they don't like to be aware of other people on the sidewalks. Either you move out of their way or just run into various people throughout the day. It's just the way it is.
This afternoon after lunch we went to the old home of Victor Hugo (author of Notre Dame de Paris and Les Miserables ), which has been turned into a museum. It was neat seeing his old place, but the museum itself was kind of a fail. At least is was free.
I also saw the Seine river today (many times), and the Eiffel Tower from a distance. And I'm absolutely exhausted. Tonight Will and I are going to go out for wine and see the Moulin Rouge theatre, which should be exciting.
I'll say, in short, that Paris is absolutely beautiful and stunning, and I'm enjoying every moment that I'm here. Time to go for now though, before I rack up an extremely unreasonable bill at this Internet cafe.
'Till next time ... au revoir.
That's all I'm going to say for now.
Well, no ... that's not all I'm going to say. I do think it's pretty explanatory about the differences between France and the United States, though, in that the French can say, "Let's go get some fries at McDonalds, and a beer while we're at it." I told Will that I absolutely had to have a beer from McDonalds, but the queue this morning was a bit long and we were running a bit late, so we haven't done it yet.
Why were we running a bit late? The simple explanation is that we had a planning fail. We got a flight from London to Paris without booking a hotel, and so we found ourselves wandering Paris from street to street, train stop to train stop, carrying heavy (and I do mean heavy ) bags, looking for a place to stay. The place we found last night was booked for the rest of the week, so we repeated this procedure this morning, which put us at later on in the morning before we actually started seeing the sights.
Before I continue, I want to express how fun it is hearing Will speak French to everyone else that I cannot communicate with. He's been taking French since he was eight years old, and his first degree was a combination of history and French, so he's quite fluent. But it's just delightful hearing him rattle off in French, and makes me want to work on my own language skills (so that, you know, the next time I come here I don't have to nod my head stupidly and act like I know what's going on). I do my best, but my weak attempts at merci and bonjour are usually met with expressions that roughly translate as, "I know you're American, and you suck at French."
So ... back to Paris. Last night, after sorting out our hotel situation, we went for dinner at a little French cafe. We had some wine, and had a lovely meal of duck, lamb, and potatoes au gratin. But as an appetizer (or entree , as I learned that an entree is not a main course, but rather a starter dish) we had escargot. Yes, I ate snails. They weren't bad, so to speak, but the particular restaurant prepared them poorly, and so they tasted like tiny shrimp cooked in butter, far too much parsley, and not enough garlic. It certainly wasn't a horrible experience.
Today (after the hotel adventure) we went to see Notre Dame de Paris, the cathedral that I've loved through literature, art, and history. It brought tears to my eyes seeing it up close and personal. Take my word for it -- it really is amazing and beautiful. As far as churches go, I've never seen anything like it. We went inside and saw the interior, which was also beautiful, as well as the tombs of some old men that I've never heard of (and when I asked Will, he only continually told me they were his grandfather), and some old relics (such as the crown of thorns that people seem to think is the actual crown of thorns that Jesus wore on his head some couple of thousand years ago). I would have loved to stay longer than we did, but I was having a blood sugar low (my second of the morning -- damn diabetes) and we needed to get lunch.
We ate lunch at a touristy place, and I had chicken with mushrooms and fries (yes, I ate French fries in France), and Will had steak and fries. It sounds too American, I know. But as a starter, I had French onion soup (it was really good), and Will had some pate that was also not too bad. The service was terrible, though. It's one thing I'll say about France -- the waiting staffs at restaurants seem to like to seat you, take your order, and then leave you to wait for an hour or so before visiting you again.
Another thing about the people of France (or Parisians, at least) is that they don't like to be aware of other people on the sidewalks. Either you move out of their way or just run into various people throughout the day. It's just the way it is.
This afternoon after lunch we went to the old home of Victor Hugo (author of Notre Dame de Paris and Les Miserables ), which has been turned into a museum. It was neat seeing his old place, but the museum itself was kind of a fail. At least is was free.
I also saw the Seine river today (many times), and the Eiffel Tower from a distance. And I'm absolutely exhausted. Tonight Will and I are going to go out for wine and see the Moulin Rouge theatre, which should be exciting.
I'll say, in short, that Paris is absolutely beautiful and stunning, and I'm enjoying every moment that I'm here. Time to go for now though, before I rack up an extremely unreasonable bill at this Internet cafe.
'Till next time ... au revoir.
British Food
Okay, now that I've had a chance to sample some authentic British food, I thought I might as well blog about it. It's the same day as I wrote my last blog, but seeing as how Will and I are enjoying a relaxing evening at his dad's house, and he's on his computer as well, I think it's fine to take a moment and share these experiences.
I'll start out by saying that most of the food I've had here has been wonderful. The first night in Oxford we had some Thai food which was excellent, and we also had some Italian that I loved, and tonight Will's stepmom made some lamb stew with garlic and olives, which she matched with couscous and beans, and a bit of cabbage and peas, which was also just delicious. Will's mom, Jane, made us some leek pie a few nights ago which was also great, and last night I had the most fantastic brie-filled chicken breast with potatoes.
But ... this isn't to say that I haven't come across a few things that have been ... well ... different, or otherwise interesting, for lack of a better term.
1) Whitebait. Why not start with whitebait, as I think it'll stick with me the longest. This dish was served to us as an appetizer at the same restaurant in which I ate chicken and brie. Whitebait, to put it simply, is tiny fish (think about the size of your middle finger), but they're served whole. They have everything -- eyes, bones, guts, everything -- and then they're lightly fried, and you're meant to pop them in your mouth and eat them. You can see them staring at you from the plate. I politely tried one, felt bones crushing in my mouth, and didn't eat another.
2) Pork pie. Will's mother, Jane, insisted that I eat pork pie before leaving England, as she says that it's "traditional" British fare that dates back to the medieval and Tudor days. When Will told her that we weren't going to be around for more than one day (as we were going to his father's house), she brought it out for breakfast the morning we were leaving. Pork pie sounds fine, and it is ... but you have to get past the mystery goo surrounding the actual pork. This is a greasy gel-like substance, like clear jelly, that is made out of ground-up pig parts, and it's a bit difficult to forget about when you're chewing your pork pie. Also, pork pie is meant to be eaten with "pickle," a rather sour condiment that is somewhat like American relish, only ... different. And the pastry that pork pie comes in is really lard disguised as pastry. I had a small slice and called it good.
3) Marmite. Will has been wanting me to try Marmite for quite some time now, as his mom sent some down to America for him. To put it simply, Marmite is a yeast extract that you're meant to spread on toast, like you would butter. It has a very strong, very salty taste, though, and in my opinion can (and should) only be taken in small doses. If you like eating semen on your toast, you might try Marmite sometime.
4) English sherry. Okay, not too exotic or strange, but very sweet and such. I didn't particularly like it.
5) Greek yoghurt mixed with lemon cake. Each on its own is fine. But I wouldn't recommend them together. It wasn't horrible, but a rather strange combination.
Like I said, most of what I've tried here has been great, and I've loved the experience. I fear that I'm not as adventurous with my food as I once thought, however. I guess the true test will be when we get to France. Will and I have a flight to Paris tomorrow, and he has promised that we will be ordering some escargot and possibly frog legs, among other things that I've never before tried...
So stay tuned for more information on interesting food from abroad.
I'll start out by saying that most of the food I've had here has been wonderful. The first night in Oxford we had some Thai food which was excellent, and we also had some Italian that I loved, and tonight Will's stepmom made some lamb stew with garlic and olives, which she matched with couscous and beans, and a bit of cabbage and peas, which was also just delicious. Will's mom, Jane, made us some leek pie a few nights ago which was also great, and last night I had the most fantastic brie-filled chicken breast with potatoes.
But ... this isn't to say that I haven't come across a few things that have been ... well ... different, or otherwise interesting, for lack of a better term.
1) Whitebait. Why not start with whitebait, as I think it'll stick with me the longest. This dish was served to us as an appetizer at the same restaurant in which I ate chicken and brie. Whitebait, to put it simply, is tiny fish (think about the size of your middle finger), but they're served whole. They have everything -- eyes, bones, guts, everything -- and then they're lightly fried, and you're meant to pop them in your mouth and eat them. You can see them staring at you from the plate. I politely tried one, felt bones crushing in my mouth, and didn't eat another.
2) Pork pie. Will's mother, Jane, insisted that I eat pork pie before leaving England, as she says that it's "traditional" British fare that dates back to the medieval and Tudor days. When Will told her that we weren't going to be around for more than one day (as we were going to his father's house), she brought it out for breakfast the morning we were leaving. Pork pie sounds fine, and it is ... but you have to get past the mystery goo surrounding the actual pork. This is a greasy gel-like substance, like clear jelly, that is made out of ground-up pig parts, and it's a bit difficult to forget about when you're chewing your pork pie. Also, pork pie is meant to be eaten with "pickle," a rather sour condiment that is somewhat like American relish, only ... different. And the pastry that pork pie comes in is really lard disguised as pastry. I had a small slice and called it good.
3) Marmite. Will has been wanting me to try Marmite for quite some time now, as his mom sent some down to America for him. To put it simply, Marmite is a yeast extract that you're meant to spread on toast, like you would butter. It has a very strong, very salty taste, though, and in my opinion can (and should) only be taken in small doses. If you like eating semen on your toast, you might try Marmite sometime.
4) English sherry. Okay, not too exotic or strange, but very sweet and such. I didn't particularly like it.
5) Greek yoghurt mixed with lemon cake. Each on its own is fine. But I wouldn't recommend them together. It wasn't horrible, but a rather strange combination.
Like I said, most of what I've tried here has been great, and I've loved the experience. I fear that I'm not as adventurous with my food as I once thought, however. I guess the true test will be when we get to France. Will and I have a flight to Paris tomorrow, and he has promised that we will be ordering some escargot and possibly frog legs, among other things that I've never before tried...
So stay tuned for more information on interesting food from abroad.
Norfolk: Home of My Boyfriend and ... Boudica?!?
Yesterday Will showed me around Norwich (a city within Norfolk), where he was born and raised. This involved not only seeing the city itself, but also a few really nice landmarks: first, the Norwich cathedral, an absolutely gorgeous church that was finished at the end of the eleventh century, and Norwich castle, which was finished a few years earlier. It was, at one time, home to a medieval court. Norwich actually has the largest number of surviving medieval churches in England -- there were seventeen of them that we could see from just one view from the top of the castle. Some of them are still used as churches, and some of them are now used for other things (we went by one that is now a performing arts school, and little girls in dance attire were going in and out).
Norwich cathedral, though, is the big one, and we went there first. There was a service going on, and I'll point out that I think it would be much more fun to be religious in England than it would be in America. Just being in the cathedral, surrounded by walls, art, and tombs that were nearly a thousand years old, and hearing the beautiful music, made me, a very non-religious person, feel more religious than I ever have in my entire life. There's just something particularly magical about the setting.
Norwich castle was similarly magical to be in. It's been periodically revamped and reorganized, but they've done well in keeping most of it feeling and looking rather medieval. It's a strange (but fascinating) feeling to stand in a room that has been around for so long, and that medieval Europeans once stood (and feasted) in. We went to the top of the castle to the battlements, and got a few really good views of the city from there.
What we also saw at Norwich castle, though, via the mini museums that they have going on there, is that Boudica came from Norfolk! I studied Boudica a few years ago, and for those of you who don't know, she was a pre-medieval queen who led a successful raid against invading Romans. She has a wonderful story. I was really moved to find out that I got to visit her homeland.
After seeing the city (and, of course, visiting a pub), Will's mom picked us up and drove us down to England's east coast, where I got to see the shore. The pebble beach was nothing like the white-sand beaches of California, but it was very nice and beautiful nonetheless. We went to dinner, too, but I'll wait until my next post before I go into traditional English food. :)
Today we're going to see Will's dad, and then tomorrow it's off to Paris. It's been lovely so far seeing the city where he grew up, and getting to stay in his old house.
Norwich cathedral, though, is the big one, and we went there first. There was a service going on, and I'll point out that I think it would be much more fun to be religious in England than it would be in America. Just being in the cathedral, surrounded by walls, art, and tombs that were nearly a thousand years old, and hearing the beautiful music, made me, a very non-religious person, feel more religious than I ever have in my entire life. There's just something particularly magical about the setting.
Norwich castle was similarly magical to be in. It's been periodically revamped and reorganized, but they've done well in keeping most of it feeling and looking rather medieval. It's a strange (but fascinating) feeling to stand in a room that has been around for so long, and that medieval Europeans once stood (and feasted) in. We went to the top of the castle to the battlements, and got a few really good views of the city from there.
What we also saw at Norwich castle, though, via the mini museums that they have going on there, is that Boudica came from Norfolk! I studied Boudica a few years ago, and for those of you who don't know, she was a pre-medieval queen who led a successful raid against invading Romans. She has a wonderful story. I was really moved to find out that I got to visit her homeland.
After seeing the city (and, of course, visiting a pub), Will's mom picked us up and drove us down to England's east coast, where I got to see the shore. The pebble beach was nothing like the white-sand beaches of California, but it was very nice and beautiful nonetheless. We went to dinner, too, but I'll wait until my next post before I go into traditional English food. :)
Today we're going to see Will's dad, and then tomorrow it's off to Paris. It's been lovely so far seeing the city where he grew up, and getting to stay in his old house.
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