Midsummer Madness

                 So Thursday was my second and final trip to Stratford Upon Avon.  I haven't been feeling well for the past few days, a minor head cold, so I took some decongestant and conked out on the bus. I can't even begin to tell you how many tissues I've gone through. But the good news is that I am feeling much better today. Not to worry!

                Anyway, Stratford. This time I made sure to do the things I didn't get a chance to last time. Since we were slightly hungry, our first stop was actually a milkshake shop called Moo Moos. Man alive do I wish they had Moo Moos in the US. Essentially any flavor you can think of is made into a milkshake. I went with Snickers. I assure you it was delicious.

                We then walked by the site of Shakespeare's birthplace. There is a period style building with a plaque but this place is not actually Shakespeare's home. Many  years ago, the owner of the original Shakespeare birthplace got fed up with people coming by seeking out Shakespeare's first home that he tore it down. Quite misguided don't you think? So since it wasn't original and was ridiculously expensive we took pictures of the exterior and moved on.

                We wandered around, stopping in bookstores and other Bard themed shops. We decided to find the church where Shakespeare was buried. It only cost us fifty pence to enter the chancel where Shakespeare and his family were interred. From there we had dinner at an Italian place called Carluccio's and then walked back to the Royal Shakespeare Comany's theater.

                The performance of the evening was Midsummer Night's Dream. This was another modern interpretation, set in the 60's, and though I had my doubts it was thoroughly enjoyable. One of my favorite elements is that they had Titania and Oberon  and Hypolita and Theseus as the same actors so that the human couple and the fairy couple were direct foils to one another. It created a really interesting dynamic that I've never seen in any other production of Midsummer. At the end of the first act not everyone was sold though. A rather loud and crotchety old man stood up at intermission and said, "This isn't Shakespeare. This is a mockery!" He and his companion didn't return.

                 It really picked up in the second act though. Bottom the Weaver completely stole the show. We were all bent double in our seats. I laughed hard enough that tears came to my eyes. I think if I lived anywhere near Stratford I would have season tickets to the RSC. They're shows are never boring. They might not always be to your particular taste but they always provide interesting interpretations of classic Shakespeare.

Edinburgh aka The Land of Castles and Kilts

Day 1

                I hate the feeling of wet socks. The squelching sound and squishy dampness in my shoes is disgusting. So naturally on the Thursday we leave for Edinburgh it's raining, the cobblestones mutating into small ponds. My shoes are instantly soaked through. And this is the one trip where I neglected to pack my umbrella. Go figure.

                It's a trek to the bus and once inside safely nestled into the leather seats I strip my still dripping socks off and grab my flip flops from my backpack. As a side note this is the second time I've managed a long weekend with nothing more than my backpack for packing supplies. That may mean nothing to you but to me that's pretty  freaking impressive. Next I grabbed my travel pillow and promptly conked out. It's a seven hour drive from Cambridge to Edinburgh and though we were making a few stops along the way, that amount of time in a moving vehicle is synonymous for naptime.

                True to form, I didn't wake up until we stopped for food three hours later at a rest stop.  Forty-five minutes later and we were back on the road and I was back to dreamland. Our other major stop, two hours later, was at Sir Walter Scott's mansion Abbotsford. It was pouring rain when we first arrived but not even the gloomy rainclouds could detract from the jaw dropping beauty of Abbotsford. Apparently, Walter Scott was like a literary rock star of Scotland.  He made being Scottish cool again. Scott was the first true international bestseller with his novels translated into several languages. As a result, his house is huge. Abbotsford looks more like a castle than a regular mansion, and it overlooks a vast expanse of greenery leading down to a river. Scott's garden's surround the house and, while not in perfect shape, are absolutely beautiful.

                We were given a brief tour of Abbotsford which included his library (the proportions of which every English major aspires to have one day), his study, where a writing box crafted from the wreckage of the Spanish Armada stands prominently on the desk, and his dining room, still set as if expecting visitors. One thing I was surprised about was that Scott collected little bits of paraphernalia from famous people; he was a fanboy. Among his collection is a ring worn by Lord Byron and the cross that Mary, Queen of Scots is supposed to have held prior to her execution. The man liked his armor too. Suit after suit of armor and large swords on the walls of a single room. In the midst of all this is a ornate golden clock that was rumored to have belonged to Marie Antoinette. FANBOY!!!

Abbotsford and Some of Its Gardens

                After the tour we were set loose to enjoy the grounds for about half an hour, and blessedly it had stopped raining. I took a ridiculous amount of photos of the Abbotsford gardens. All the flowers were in bloom and every hue imaginable was represented. It was absolutely beautiful.  Scott, it turns out is a national hero even today. He appears on Scottish money, and later on in the trip we discovered that Scott is responsible for rediscovering the long hidden crown jewels of Scotland. So the quite like him up there in Scotland.

                From Abbotsford it was another three hours before we arrived in Edinburgh. Driving through rural Scotland is like being in another world altogether. There are picturesque stone walls, crumbling from centuries of use, that still corral sheep. And there are an obscene amount of sheep to be seen. Any field you pass is guaranteed to have those little fluff balls munching grass, cows are another common sighting. As the bus maneuvered up and down the narrow hills it felt like we were on a roller coaster. Seeing a bustling city after all this was a bit of a shock.

                We checked into the conference center at Pallock Halls and were incredibly excited by the fact that not only did we each have our own showers but we had TV's. Our primary goal at the time though was food. We walked down a few blocks and found a great gastro pub called Steamie. Michaela, Nathan, Michael, Jess, and myself were in heaven. Best burger since setting foot on this island. Hands down. Four out of five of us agree. Jess couldn't agree because she ate pasta, but had she ate the burger she would have raved about it too.

                When we got back to our rooms around eight p.m. our group decided to check out the lounge area. Inside we found another T.V. and an inexplicable VHS of Silence of the Lambs. Evening made.

Day 2

                We had one perfectly nice day in Edinburgh and I thank God it was Friday. We went up to the castle and walked around, exploring the museums and the glorious views. The real fun began when we left the castle and walked along the Royal Mile. Just outside the castle was vast shop and museum to wool and kilts, the name of which escapes me. Essentially if it's plaid and wooly you can find it there. I splurged and bought a legitimate kilt. My spending from then on during the trip was seriously curbed but hey, you're only in Scotland once, right?

A Small Portion of the Whiskey Collection

                After that we walked all of five feet to a place called The Scotch Whiskey Experience. For £9.50 we got to ride in a huge barrel and learn the basics of whiskey making. The barrel ride then dumped us out into a guided video of all the types of whiskey made in Scotland. The tour explained that each different area had distinct flavors to their whiskey and to really hit the point home they provided us with a scratch and sniff card that let us sniff the major flavors of the varying bouquets. The flavors ranged from smoky, to citrus, to floral. At the end we walked into a room where three thousand bottles of whiskey were housed, the biggest collection in the world. We were then given a dram of whiskey from whichever region we chose in our very own glasses (which we got to keep). I chose the Highland whiskey which is the more floral flavor. You can't tell at all. It just burns on the way down. Delicious though.

                We continued walking down the mile, entering random shops to look around, and were accosted on the streets by people advertising shows for Scotland's Fringe Festival. Unfortunately, we didn't take in a show while we were there, but it was fascinating to see everyone walk around in costume trying to attract the tourists. At the end of the Royal Mile is Hollyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when she is in Edinburgh. Most of us clamored back on the bus and back to Pallock Hall so that we could grab a few quick hours of sleep before going to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo that evening.

KILTS!

                Sweet Lord the Tattoo was amazing. So many men in kilts playing bagpipes! It was a thrill to see them all march out of the castle gates the pipes' noise filling the air. I couldn't stop wiggling in my seat; it was so exciting! The show was more than just bagpipes though. Several different countries were represented as well including Brazil, Germany, and the Dutch. The excess of uniforms was glorious to behold. But nothing tops the Scottish pipers in their kilts. Incredible!

Day 3

                Saturday was entirely our own. A group of us decided to go to the Edinburgh zoo, and let me just say that it was a brilliant choice. Some of my favorites were the buff-cheeked gibbons. We literally staid by their towering cage with its many ropes for over twenty minutes. The gibbons were so active, performing high flying feats and tussling to our amusement. There was a little baby gibbon being bullied by its siblings and we would root for it as it climbed around the ropes evading capture. I'm sure we were quite obnoxious. At one point a gibbon actually launched himself at us and hung suspended by a rope face pressed against the glass. He stared at us with the same curiosity that we had for him. There was literally a thin pane of glass between me and a teenaged angst ridden gibbon.

                We also got quite close to a jaguar as it paced back in forth in front of the glass prompting Megan to say, "Sir or Madam, could you please sit still?" The jaguar eventually complied. Unfortunately my camera battery was dying so I have no pictures of this but it was an awesome experience. We came across a tiger the same way, pacing back and forth in a side enclosure separate from his main cage. Steel bars, bamboo poles, and a brief amount of space. That's what separated us this time. The tiger let out a growl and stared us down with his glowing amber eyes before he stalked off into his primary enclosure. Beautiful and absolutely frightening.

                But the best moment of the day was the penguin parade. This feature is unique to the Edinburgh zoo. At feeding time penguins line up and are let out of their enclosure and the march under the guidance of zoo officials to a special feeding pen. Visitors line up along the path and can take pictures, but children are advised to stay out of flipper slapping range. Yes, that is a real thing. It was beyond cool to see a penguin waddling literally five feet from me. There's a picture that captures the "OMG penguins" moment I was having. I'll share it because it's delightfully embarrassing.

OMG PENGUINS!

                After the zoo we took a bus to the city centre and had hot chocolate at The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote the first several Harry Potter books. I completely dorked out. And the little coffee house was a welcome respite from the rain that splattered everywhere after we left the zoo. Edinburgh was beautiful but it was incredibly cold and rainy. I was grateful to return to Pallock Hall and snuggle in bed. We ate at Steamie again and piled into my room to watch The Mummy Returns on my T.V. It was a very laid back but wonderful night.

Day 4

                We left Edinburgh and Pallock Hall by nine a.m.. And shock of all shocks it was raining. My feet were not happy. But I slept again through the majority of the trip, this time we only stopped for lunch. It was such a relief to return to Cambridge. It feels like our little home and it's sad to think that in a few short weeks we'll be gone for good. I was so exhausted when we got back to Gonville and Caius. A warm bed is such a beautiful thing.

London Town

                Sweet Lord, I have a ridiculous amount of stuff to tell you all! There is no way I'll be able to recount everything but I'll certainly try. I just spent the last two and a half days in London. And for anyone who has been to London, you know it's impossible to see it all in such a short time span, but I gave it my best shot!

                We left as a group on Friday morning at eight o'clock. I slept for most of the drive but as we were entering London I was able to catch a glimpse of some of the newly constructed Olympic buildings. All very much in the modern style of architecture. Our bus driver made the statement that one of the buildings looks like a big potato chip...he's not wrong. Mark my words, you'll see that building next summer and you'll think big potato chip.

                My friends Michaela, Jess, and I decided to get off the bus at the Tower of London. We spent most of the day exploring the Tower and all its history. The armory was really interesting. I saw the armor of Henry VIII which proved that he was indeed a big man. There was also a full suit of armor for a seven year old. It was ridiculously small. The executioner's block and axe were also on display. And in a small outbuilding were old torture devices. Very eerie.

                I also got to see the crown jewels. So much sparkle in such a small space! There is a diamond on one of the crowns that is over 3,000 karats. That is one gem on a single crown, and there are close to a dozen crowns on display. Awe inspiring sparlklies. My favorite was Queen Victoria's small crown that she had made so she could wear it with her mourning veil after the death of Prince Albert. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures of them but they crown jewels were well worth seeing!

                From the Tower we made our way to King's Cross. Michaela and I were questing for a Harry Potter themed picture. They've actually created a little stretch of wall with half a cart stuck out of it and a Platform 9 and 3/4 sign overhead so that the great abundance of Harry Potter fans can fake a Hogwarts Express moment. It's so touristy but beyond worth it. We had so much fun and were absolutely giddy about our pictures.

                We wandered about the city with Jess as our guide since she had visited London before. We ended up eating at a place called Little Frankie's in Trafalgar Square. One thing I will say about England in general is that the wait staff is never rushed; everything is leisurely. Don't expect your food to come to you quickly or your waiter for that matter. Not that it bothered us at the time. We'd been walking all over the place and were glad for a rest. When our food came we were thrilled by the American-Italian cuisine and the diner-like atmosphere. They even had Oldies playing overhead.

                Eventually we left Little Frankie's and walked over to The Globe where we were meeting the rest of the people from our program. We got to cross the Millennium Bridge, which had beautiful views of London and the Thames. At The Globe we were lucky enough to be in the seats and not among the groundlings. The view was amazing from up high, and since I paid a pound for a seat cushion I was actually quite comfortable. This time around we saw All's Well that Ends Well and it was done in the classic Shakespeare style. It was definitely a contrast from The Merchant of Venice that we saw in Stratford. I enjoyed both plays though. It was nice to see a show done the way it would have been done in Shakespeare's day; there was even a traditional song and dance after the show. I've never seen All's Well that Ends Well before and I really enjoyed the production. There was definitely a lot of laughter. It was a great way to end the night.

Our Hostel in London

                Now officially the program's London trip was only supposed to be for the day, but a group of ten of us got together and decided that we wanted to stay for the weekend. We booked a room at a hostel called The Steam Engine in central London. It took us forever to find the place after the show. I think it's fair to say that there were some cranky people as we trekked up and down the London streets searching for our hostel. But when we did find The Steam Engine we were thrilled. It was like being in summer camp with a 24 hour bar downstairs. The room we booked had four sets of triple bunk beds, and since we had the room to ourselves we had two extra beds to store our luggage on. We were usually up late laughing long into the night. The showers were awful though. The one in our room had no warm water and after one cold shower I decided it wouldn't be happening again. There were common showers too but those were usually full up. The downstairs common area was nice too with mismatched chairs and a jukebox. We had good fun playing songs late at night after coming back from our adventures. I'll admit, I was initially terrified about staying at a hostel but because of the people I was with I couldn't imagine it being a better time.

                We woke up on the Saturday and split up into groups based on who wanted to see what. Britney, who had lived in London for four months on an earlier study abroad program, took up to Borough Market, a great open air place with all sorts of food options. I bought some iced tea, the first I've seen in England, and a croissant for breakfast ( I also bought a slice of cake but shhhhhh). Our group further split up at the market promising to meet up outside of Westminster Abbey at 5 p.m. to go to Evensong. Our group of Nathan, Megan, Lauren, Angel, Jordan, and myself took a quick trip to see the London Bridge, but then quickly headed over to The Tate museum of modern art. The Tate is actually right next to The Globe and the building itself was once a power plant.

Roberta Construction Chart #1 by Lynn Hershman Leeson

The photo is super blurry since I couldn't use a flash. Much better in real life.

                We had so much fun at The Tate. Lauren, Jordan, and I were definitely more into the slow examination approach than the others. They ended up taking off for Buckingham Palace and our little group of three continued to explore The Tate for several hours. We got to see a Lichtenstein and Monet's Water Lillis.  My favorite piece though was Roberta Construction Chart #1 by Lynn Hershman Leeson. The altered photograph showed a young woman's face diagramed with every layer of makeup she puts on to "create" herself. I thought it was a beautiful commentary on society's ideas of femininity and I really want to look into the artist and the rest of the series.

                After The Tate, the three of us grabbed some coffee to give us a boost and then headed over to Oxford Circus to browse all the famous shops. I didn't buy anything but it was so much fun to look! I've actually been really well behaved during this trip in terms of shopping. The last time I went abroad I bought every little knick knack and locale related t-shirt I could get my hands on, but this trip I've been more reserved. I did pick up a London sweater and a few little gifts but I've been on my best behavior.

                We maneuvered around the London Underground and were a tad late to Evensong but still being in Westminster Abbey was such a strange experience. I was surprised by how crowded with statuary the place was. I mean, I've always known there were tons of statues and memorials in Westminster but the place looked down right cluttered. Still the stained glass was beautiful and as the service went on I tried to imagine what it must feel like to be married in such a place. I couldn't manage to wrap my head around it. Everywhere you looked there was intricate detail. Beautiful. Cluttered as all get out but beautiful.

                A few of us went out to a nice restaurant near Baker Street after Evensong. More Italian. If we're not eating American in our free time we're eating Italian. It's the most prevalent foreign form of cuisine in England in my estimation, which suits me just fine because I love it! Again, I don't want any judgment from you all because they are serving us traditional English dinners five nights a week. Trust me I'm experiencing English food in all its glory...there might be some sarcasm there. After dinner all ten of us met up and decided to go out to one of Britney's old haunts, a pub called The Rocket. We didn't stay long because most of us were exhausted and we ended up back at the hostel.

Our Signature On Abbey Road

                Sunday our group splintered off early after checking out of the hostel at ten-thirty. Several people returned to Cambridge but I stayed with Erin, Megan, Nathan, and Lauren to do some more exploring. The big trip of the day was to Abbey Road. Lauren and Erin were hell bent on recreating the famous picture of The Beatles walking across Abbey Road. It took us a few tries and a few bungled shots due to excessive laughter and excitement, but we finally got it. Since there were five of us we rotated the group so everyone could be in the shot at least once. The residents were remarkably understanding of the constant flux of people carefully walking across the street just so. The best part was we signed the retaining wall outside of Abbey Road Studios. Hundreds and hundreds of people have come here and signed their names, some with messages of peace others with Beatles lyrics and still more simply write their names. We found a small patch of unmarked wall space and wrote "Come Together" and signed our names under it. It's going to sound corny but that is really what this trip has all been about. I have bonded with these people so quickly that we all feel as though we've known each other for years. It's a great feeling and that sense of connectivity was strong for the five of us at Abbey Road.

                We didn't stay too terribly long after we got our shots and signed the wall. We were trying to get back to Cambridge by dinner at six thirty so we quickly headed off to our next stop,  221 Baker Street. The great thing about being with a bunch of English nerds is that we all get excited about literary figures and memorials. We quickly perused the Sherlock Holmes museum and tried on plaid caps and pipes in the gift shop. I found a Sherlock Holmes rubber duck. Words cannot describe how pleased this makes me. Naturally he'll be returning home with me.

                After Baker Street we went to Buckingham Palace so I could snap some pictures. We were there for maybe fifteen minutes before moving on because of the time constraints. I would have liked to see Kate Middleton's dress since it's currently on display, but it just wasn't in the cards. Sigh. We ended up having a late lunch at Little Frankie's again. Such good food but it took forever!

                We then raced back to the hostel to collect our baggage, which we had stored in their luggage room. We stopped again by the makeshift Platform 9 and 3/4 so Erin and Megan could take their pictures, then we boarded the train to return to Cambridge. I am completely and utterly exhausted. My feet are absolutely killing me after running around London for what feels like three days straight. But it was absolutely worth it! There is so much more to this story but I hope that you've enjoyed the nutshell version! I hope one day I can return to London to continue the exploration that has only just begun.

Everyday Extraordinary

             I finished my first big paper for my study abroad program here in Cambridge last night. I wrote 2,000 words on Thomas Hardy's poetry talking about nature's indifference to man. I'm a bit nervous about it. I always hit a certain point in my papers when I just want to get it done. You can always tell. The paragraphs get shorter and I get increasingly sassy. I'm hoping that all of that doesn't show through. We'll have to see how that goes!

                As a result yesterday was very low key. I hid in my room only coming out to grad a loaf of bread from the market around noon for a makeshift lunch. 2,000 words felt like such a struggle after all this time at ONU teaching me to be extremely concise. I also had high table last night, which is when you dress up and eat with the professors and program coordinators at the table on the dais. Most unfortunate meal of my life! We don't get choices at dinner; we're just served what we're served. Last night was salmon. Due to this trip, I have decided that salmon is not my thing. So in the three courses we were served, I ate next to nothing because not a morsel of it tasted good to me. I felt awkward to say the least. Ah well, what can you do?

                Today for travel writing our professor forced us out into Cambridge, saying that we needed to get out more. The challenge was an hour and a half to explore Cambridge and come back with three pitchable ideas for a travel piece. He wanted us to do brief research and talk to people. Go!

                After a moment of sheer panic, I enjoyed the challenge. I ran all over the city. And discovered several great places I want to return to including the Sepulcher, a round church built by the Templar Knights, and an apple tree rumored to be from the seeds of Isaac Newton's. I'll definitely be returning to these sights!

                My poetry class was a relief after I turned my paper in. We're now moving on to reading W.B. Yeats. I'm pretty excited because there's such a magical quality to Yeats' poetry. And I'll never get tired of listening to Caveliero just reading poems in his gravelly British accent. My favorite quote from him thus far (beyond the Harry Potter quote on Day 1) is, "Poets are all liars. Liars that tell the truth." Some of my classmates dispute this but I quite like it.

                Dinner was nice today too. I have become a major fan of duck. I've had it twice since we've been here and both times it has been delicious. There was also au gratin potatoes. Creamy scrumptiousness. And while I've been sitting here my friends, and I have been sipping sparkling wine in the JCR and laughing together. Not every day is a large scale adventure here in Cambridge, but that doesn't mean these adventures are any less grand.

Tripping Over the Cliffs of Dover

                We had quite the adventure yesterday. We all dragged ourselves up in order to have breakfast at seven and left for the bus by seven forty-five. I would like to add that on my way down the stairs from breakfast in the hall I twisted my ankle. I don't even know how I do these things but somehow I manage on a regular basis. Those of you who followed my winter fall record will probably enjoy this post.

                Anyway the bus ride to Dover was a few hours long but I brought my travel pillow this time so it was phenomenally more comfortable. I cannot even begin to describe how beautiful Dover is. The water of the English Channel is a stormy blue that rises and falls over a brown pebble beach; the white chalky cliffs emerge slowly over the city and the emerald greenery grows up until it forms the grass that blankets the hills of Dover; and the brilliant blue sky stacked full with crisp white clouds dome overhead. This was the beautiful landscape I found myself in, the gray slabs of stone rising from hill. And as we're walking towards it I tank it on the cobblestone.

                Yep, that's me. I gash open my right knee and rip a small hole in one of my favorite pair of jeans. Luckily, Gayle, our Culture liaison/Etiquette mistress, had a bunch of band-aids in her bag. I kind of limped for awhile but I was still able to enjoy Dover.

                There's so much history in Dover Castle. Initially it was a Roman settlement, an ancient  lighthouse still stands on one of the hills, it's rock walls crumbling. Brendan our resident history buff was like a kid at Christmas when we explored the Roman ruins. We were all enraptured by different parts of the castle. I loved standing on top of the castle keep; all of Dover lay before me, the ancient history and the modern movements of the city below. But my far the best part was being able to explore the nooks and crannies. I felt a bit like I was playing princess.

Me on top of Dover Castle

                This was my first real English castle, and though I should have known better, I was surprised by the immense amount of stairs. England likes to remind me how out of shape I am by continually having me climb a profuse amount of stairs. I literally had to stop and catch my breath on a little landing after five flights of steep spiral stairs. But it was worth it to get to the top of the castle.

                We also went through a twenty minute tour of some of Dover's tunnels. Originally the tunnels were built to defend from Napoleon, but received most of their use during World War II when the city of Dover was bombed. We went through the portion of tunnels that was originally designed to be a hospital. I  wasn't allowed to take photos but I do believe I had an experience down there. I'm still a bit skeptical but I may have seen a ghost. There was an audio overlay to the tour about a young mosquito pilot who was shot down in the ocean and brought to the hospital for surgery. As we're walking from the triage center we enter a long hallway, several doors lead to wards or barracks, but at the very end are large green locked doors.

The one picture I snagged in the hospital

                The tour was leading us to the right towards the kitchen, but as people filed past I looked down the corridor for some reason. Just in front of the green doors was a tall man with close cropped brown hair in what I thought was an green airman's jumpsuit. He stood quietly with his hands behind his back and then suddenly walked with clipped steps into what I later found out was the surgery ward. Believe me, I have tried to rationalize this. I thought perhaps it was a hologram as part of the tour (we later discovered a hologram in the castle but it spoke and was clearly serving a purpose), but when we got to the part of the tour where I thought the hologram would show up nothing happened. I stared at the ceiling looking for potential cameras but nothing I could find looked out of place; the ceiling and walls were bare steel and rock with sparse lighting overhead. I later asked everyone if they had seen the man and got strange looks in response. I'm not above admitting I got duped, but I'm also not above believing in ghosts. A place with that much history has to have a few.

                Still, we only had limited time in Dover and my group of friends--Sarah, Michael, Brendan, Jordan, Michaela, Julia, and Jessica--walked down the hill and found our way to the beach. The sky was so remarkably clear that you could actually see France in the distance, which is incredibly rare for Dover. The water of the Channel was cold! I squeaked when it first hit my toes. But it felt good to dip my feet and ease my tired muscles. Whenever I travel to someplace with a nearby body of water, I try to take a picture of myself in it.  The English Channel is no different.

Our feet in the ocean

Clockwise: Sarah, Jessica, Julia, Michaela, and Me

                Shortly thereafter we had to get back on the bus and head to Canterbury. It was a short, thirty minute journey, and we arrived just in time to attend Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral. The architecture of the cathedral is so beautiful. During the service I couldn't help but gawk at everything around me. Marble and granite carvings of angels and saints. The panoramic rainbow of stained glass. Canterbury Cathedral is most certainly visually stimulating. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures when Evensong was over. Gayle even told me that the stone chair behind the altar is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leading religious power of the Anglican church world-wide, and the chair is supposedly a thousand years old. At least that's what I was told. Very impressive.

                Our group was allowed to go on the audio tour and many of us took that opportunity to learn of the extensive history of the church. Of course some of the most fascinating parts were about Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury who was martyred in the Cathedral. Many of you have probably heard the famous story in history class about how Henry II was rumored to have said, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?", which four knights of the realm took as permission to murder Becket. The whole story is actually quite dramatic. You should look up the details (but not on Wikipedia!).

The place where Thomas Becket was martyred

                The Black Prince of Whales is also buried in Canterbury, and of course the actor from A Knight's Tale immediately comes to mind. I hope the historical man was that handsome. But they had his actual helmet and tunic on display as well as replicas. Naturally, I took a great abundance of pictures.

                We had to be back at the bus by six p.m. so we had roughly and hour for food by the time the audio tour was done. And being burned badly by my experience so recently at The Encore in Stratford, I went to Pizza Hut for takeout. Now I want no judgment from any of you! You're probably thinking my God Caitlin, you're in England shouldn't you be trying English cuisine. Trust me, they serve us high quality English style food nightly at hall table. When they leave us to our own devices that is my time to chow down on something I am sure my stomach will like. I essentially shoveled down a nine inch pan cheese pizza in twenty minutes. My group was shocked. But it was soooooo good.

                It was about eight o'clock when we got back to Gonville and Caius, and we all seemed to congregate in The Buttery. Michaela and Julia convinced us all to dress up and go out karaoking at a pub called Quinn's. So I got all dolled up and headed out with the rest. We had a great time! We sang and danced to everything that played including Michael Jackson and the Spice Girls. Of course three of our group got up and serenaded the group with Sir Mix A Lot's classic Baby Got Back. Lots of laughter was had by all. Eventually some of us made our way over to The Regale, which was only about a block away. We danced some more but shortly thereafter called it a night. May I just say that the cobblestone streets and wedge sandals do not mix. I turned my ankle several times as we headed to the pub. I believe there's now a phrase among the group about "pulling a Caitlin" which covers any bit of clumsiness from falling to tripping. Yep, just brought this blog full circle.

The Merchant of Vegas

                Yesterday was one of the most exciting days and it was also one of the busiest. I had classes until one o'clock and had to rush up the spiral stairs to my dorm room to drop off my backpack since we were leaving for Stratford-Upon-Avon at one-fifteen. We met outside the Porter's Lodge and walked through the scenic gardens of Claire College to get to our coach.

                As we settled into the bus's velour seats one of the program's officiates passed out tickets from the Royal Shakespeare Company. We were headed out to see The Merchant of Venice featuring none other than Patrick Stewart as Shylock. My excitement mounted with every roll of the bus' tires. My nerdiness once again rears its head. I was about to be in the same theater with Jean Luc Picard and Professor X, you've got to be kidding me!?!

                When we arrived we were told to meet outside a Italian cafe in order to hear the actor Scott Handy speak about Shakespeare and his craft. Scott was to play the part of Antonio in The Merchant of Venice. But most of you would probably recognize his face from A Knight's Tale as the servant to Count Adhemar. I stared at him for the longest time as he spoke to us trying to place him. When the light bulb went off I about had a heart attack. He told us that the play was to be set in Las Vegas. I'm fairly certain that the entire room of students gaped at him. The Merchant of Venice in Vegas? And then he told us the most depressing news: the play would be done in American accents. Patrick Stewart speaking American English. I don't get to hear the brogue? Horror. Scott himself opened his mouth and spoke the Ohio brand of English with which I have become so familiar. It was the strangest thing to hear the sounds of home from a Britt's mouth.

                We had about an hour to eat dinner. A group of us--Nathan, Jordan, Lauren, Angel, Erin, Britany, Megan, and myself--walked the short distance to a place called The Encore, the sign of which had a caricature of Shakespeare's face painted on it. We browsed the menu and asked if our food would be ready by seven-fifteen, which is when the show was set to start. They assured us that our food would be ready in time.  May I just say, LIARS! Our food was given to us at five-till-seven. We all shoveled in our various orders as quickly as can be, including Nathan who ate his hamburger in a record three minutes.  We bolted down the block to the theater and slid into our seats with five minutes to spare.

                Before the show officially started they had a tableau of a casino going, with craps tables and all sorts of clichéd American tourists. A man with a mullet and a Jack Daniel's t-shirt. A black man with golden chains and a sparkly suit. A tourist couple complete with green visors and star shaped balloons. Is this how they see us? We were four rows back from the stage, an unfortunate angle from which we could see up the waitress' skirts. As the music sped up the actors began a choreographed dance. At the climax of the song Elvis spurted out of the craps table singing Viva Las Vegas. This set the tone for the entire show.

                All of the characters spoke with a variety of accents. Every corner of American stereotypes were represented. Guido. Gangster. Southern Belle. Valley Girl. Everything. It was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. The play as a whole was magnificent though! Even being in Vegas couldn't throw off the wonder of being in the theater. And forget about it when Patrick Stewart walked on! He was amazing! You could even hear a bit of the burr, which made me incredibly excited! He even did a little two step dance. Made my night!

                The Elvis theme continued throughout the play, even Glee's rendition of Don't Stop Believing had a moment in the play. So funny! The set shone with vibrant colors and glowed with neon lights. I was so charmed by the show I forgot to be incredulous. The show closed to roaring applause.

                The drive down was ridiculously long and we didn't get back to Cambridge until one a.m. So I definitely slept in this morning! I've got to get up early so we can head off to Dover and then Canterbury. I'll be taking my travel pillow and crashing on the bus. I can't even begin to recount how much fun I had yesterday but I hope that you got a glimpse of it all. More tomorrow!

Birthday in Britain!

                So yesterday was my friend Lauren's twenty-first birthday. Now, in England that doesn't have the same significance that it would in the dear old U.S. of A. because their legal to drink at the age of eighteen. All the same we wanted to make her birthday special for her since it's a big deal to us Americans and she's far from home.

                My friends Brendan and Michael found the perfect birthday cake for Lauren at the local grocery store, Sainsbury's. The small round cake with Yoda leaping across the top, lightsaber at the ready, with the words Jedi Master raised in blue fondant. We all gathered in the JCR and sang her "Happy Birthday". Lauren was completely surprised, so mission accomplished!

Lauren with her Jedi cake

                We then went out to The Eagle, a famous pub here in Cambridge where Watson and Crick are rumored to have sketched out the double helix and it was also a RAF bar during the World Wars. There are tables crammed into every nook and cranny, the walls decorated with portraits of famous Britains.  The portion that used to be the RAF bar has emblems of different companies and brigades stuck all over the wall in neat little rows, wrapping around and around the room. I ordered a Vodka Lemonade, which might I just say was absolutely delicious, and spent the next few hours laughing and swapping stories with my friends.

The ceiling at The Eagle

                After The Eagle, our group moved on to a bar called The Regale, which turns out is right next door to the theater where we saw HP 7. It may be a bit early to say this, but The Regale is my favorite pub so far here in England. It's the perfect mix of dance hall and bar. The majority of the place is pub space with tables both upstairs and down, but music plays throughout and there is a small dance floor for whenever the spirit moves you. And it's ambiance is somewhere between the neon frenzy of Lola Lo and the relaxing comfort of The Eagle.

                We danced for well over an hour (we even taught the Brits how to Cupid Shuffle, it was awesome) before I had to call it quits since I had class this morning at nine a.m., and let me tell you getting up this morning was not easy! But I'm still glad we were able to give Lauren a proper birthday celebration for her fabulous twenty-first!

                Also a very special shout out to my mom, Paula McCann, whose birthday is today! Love you!

Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Something Potter, Something New

                Yesterday was an absolute riotous mass of fun.

                For starters I indulged in a four hour nap since it was raining and gloomy. I've just been an Energizer Bunny ever since I got here and once given the opportunity I couldn't resist the siren call of sleep; a recharging of my batteries if you will. But I set my alarm so that I could get up and go to dinner before our group went off for our last visit with Harry Potter.

                As I was walking down the stairs, I stopped mid-step, stunned by the amount of finery I was seeing. The lobby of Gonville and Caius had been transformed into a wedding reception. There was a Caitlin sized standing bouquet of lush white flowers on the landing, and several guest were milling about the lobby wearing their best feathered hats and tuxedo tails. I felt so clumsy and awkward in my jeans and pigtails as I tried to make an escape to the JCR (common room) in the hopes that that too hadn't been overtaken.

                My group of friends had all agreed to meet in the JCR so we could go out before the movie and most of us were there already. We all tried to look nonchalant as we peered out the windows looking at the passersby from the wedding. All the girls murmured their oohs and aahs as the bride walked by in a white sari. We hid out in the JCR until we figured it was safe to exit and not interrupt. But by the time we took off I was quite cranky, having devolved into a toddler, peckish after having slept through lunch.

                We decided to split up since we figured there was no way one of the little restaurants around the theater would be able to handle seating for fifteen at a time. I went to a pub called Revolution with my friends Jordan and Michaela. We all got burgers, but they were oh so good. While we were in the pub we encountered not one, not two, but three bachelorette parties. If you're sensing a theme then welcome to the club because we were all pretty shocked by how much wedding fodder we were dealing with here.

                In England they call bachelorette parties hen-dos and bachelor parties stag-dos. And these ladies were out to have a good time let me tell you. One group wore neon orange hats and had name tags on with their relation to the groom, presumably Bob. The bride-to-be wore a tag that said 'Bob's ball and chain' and her bridesmaids had on tags with 'Bob's former lover' (I'm hoping they were joking on that end because that would be one hell of an awkward wedding party); they even slapped a sticker on the waiter that said simply 'Bob'.  Another party walked by with pink sashes and bright cosmopolitans. But the coup de grace was the party that was setting up as we were heading out. They began by setting a giant inflated penis in a place of special honor next to the bride. Then each drink was adorned with a phallic straw. As we were leaving they were blowing up balloons. Three guesses as to the shape. Dinner was amusing to say the least.

                We had agreed to meet up with the rest of our group in front of the theater by 8:00 since the movie was at 8:30. It was starting to get chilly so we huddled together out of the way as our group began to re-form. As we were standing there waiting for the final members a bachelor party entered the pub nearby dressed as cowboys and Indians, complete with headdress, just as another bachelor party was stumbling out of the pub, one man dressed as a hot dog. One of the later party felt obliged to stop and talk to us and preceded to try to explain not only what his occupation was but why it was relevant to us Americans. He was holding his group up and every once in awhile one of them would scream out, "George!" or "They don't bloody care mate!" We were all just standing there trying not to laugh as George told us about the Murphy Bell of 1964, even stopping an old British man to confirm that such a thing did exist. He nodded emphatically and then toddled off. George continued to explain about stag-dos and it seems costumes or coordinated attire is even more of a big deal here than it is in the US. When asked which of the men was the groom, George calmly replied, the hot dog.

                After George left us and we had regained our group, we headed into the theater. All of us were extremely excited to see Harry Potter in an honest to goodness British theater. We had assigned seats but were all relatively close together. Unlike any other movie I've ever seen before you could really feel the tension and excitement of the audience. Now, I won't go into the movie much since I don't know how many of you have seen it, but I will say I thoroughly enjoyed it and that it was a very well done ending to a series that has been near and dear to my heart since I was about eleven. I wept for about the last twenty minutes of the movie. It was so very good!

                The movie let out at about 11:00pm and as we headed back our group splintered off to do various night time activities. Our little group of five walked back to Gonville and Caius but stopped at a liquor store so we could have a quiet night in at the JCR. I tried this beer called Hobgoblin. I really picked it up because the label was so cool and it claimed to be the unofficial beer of rock and roll (but aren't they all). My overall response was 'meh'. The bottle's coming home with me though! So we sat and talked and drank and laughed and nibbled on shortbread cookies late into the night. Time well spent, if you ask me.

                In the morning, the breakfast table had pitchers filled with white flowers from the wedding.

Greener on the Other Side

                Today was absolutely perfect. I had nothing better to do than explore Cambridge and meander around. I got up this morning for breakfast, one of only two meals we're served every day, so I don't ever want to miss it. Even if it is my fourth straight day of Frosted Flakes and OJ. There really aren't that many options for breakfast. But I was incredibly tired since I was up so late last night.

                Still I didn't want to go back to bed so I went down to the common room and tried to get some work done for a few hours and edited pieces for travel writing (I've got to start plotting my next one!). But today was actually one of the sunnier days since I've been here at Cambridge, the sunlight was calling to me and making me antsy. So a group of us decided to explore and find some place to eat lunch.

                The seven of us--myself, Julia, Michaela, Jess, Brendan, Michael, and Nate--stumbled upon this little cafe called Giraffe. They had a really nice deal going where we could get a soft drink and a entree for £6.95. For some reason I was wanting something quintessentially American, even though I haven't been away from home that long. So I ordered a hot dog. And when it came that sucker was the biggest hot dog I have ever seen! And I devoured the thing. It tasted so ridiculously good I can't even begin to tell you all.

                I'm going to take a moment and diverge from my day's story to tell you that I am a picky eater living in a land where I cannot choose what I have for dinner. There are three courses every night.  Appetizer. Entree. Dessert. None of you who know me will believe the things I have eaten or at least attempted to eat. Witness: Sheppard's Pie, Salmon, Roast Duck (my favorite thus far), Broccoli and Cheese Soup, Stuffed Turkey Roulade, Onion and Cider Soup, Pavlova, and Panna Cotta. I would pay good money to see the shock on some of your faces right now.

                After lunch our little group split up since several of them had class at two o'clock. Michaela and I ended up exploring more of the lovely clothing stores in downtown Cambridge. I was so excited to walk into a Topshop! We stuck mostly to the sale racks since neither of us are too keen on spending a ton of money. I bought a little knit hat that will suit me fine for the Ohio winters. It has cat ears. Soooooo thrilled! And the best part is that the hat, only £1.00!

                We then went to T.K. Maxx, the English bastard cousin of T.J. Maxx, so Michaela could find a simple black cardigan for the Opening Banquet tonight. We had been looking all day and were not terribly enthused with what we were finding. But T.K. Maxx came through for us! We then quickly returned to Gonville and Caius for daily tea.

                Before Opening Banquet we met for Sherry on the lawn. THE LAWN WHICH WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH. It felt so wonderfully forbidden even though it was a sanctioned event. It felt awesome for that hint of the illicit. I regret to inform you that the grass does not feel any more magical than American grass. Don't believe the hype.

                And the Sherry. It's like sucking down vinegar. Never again. I finished it for posterity's sake but I'm pretty sure some of my taste buds died in protest. We all took a bunch if pictures on the lawn, and everyone looked mighty fine in their fancy clothes. The Opening Banquet was being held in the Fellow's dining hall, which is almost never opened up to the average Joe, hence the fancy clothes. The Fellow's dining hall is decorated after the Greek acropolis. Mildly intimidating. Even more so considering that I was one of six who were shanghaied into reading a passage from a packet all about famous Cambridge experiences. I think it went well. And the people I was sitting with her good company. The whole banquet took forever though!

                After dinner, I changed out of my fancy clothes and a small group of us went out for a walk. It was nice to go for a walk for no other reason than to enjoy the city and the beautiful night. I'm back in the common room now. I'm not entirely sure what to do with myself tomorrow. Usually we'll have trips through the UNH program, but this Saturday, not so much.  Who knows? The only thing I've got pinned down for sure is that tomorrow is Harry Potter! A large group of us are going tomorrow night.  I'm so excited! You'll get all the details tomorrow I'm sure.

                Well once again, it's late. So I bid you a much overdue goodnight.

Dance, I Say!

                Sorry for the lack of update yesterday, guys! I was up quite late last night because I went clubbing for the first time last night! And it was in England. This fact is still enough to blow mind! I believe the club was called Lola Lo. Their trademark was Hawaiian pin-up girl and the interior was decorated like a tiki shack with random Easter Island-type statues in the halls leading to the various dance floors. Here is a poster taken from the dj's website (with a link below).

http://www.fatpoppadaddys.com/brands/lets-kill-disco/

                A group of seven of us went--my friends Erin, Lauren, Angel, Nate, Tyler, Jordan, and myself--with this British couple we met at Gonville and Caius' pub The Buttery. The couple (whose names I didn't catch) actually showed us where the club was, which is only a few blocks from the college. We met them as we were playing cards in the pub, rather loudly I might add; it's a good thing it was only us and the couple in there. They ended up playing with us for awhile and then they decided to show us to Lola Lo.

                I had such a good time! It was incredibly hot and crowded but it was wonderful to let off some steam after a day of classes. It would definitely be worth going back.

                I'll write back more later about classes and today's adventures later tonight, but at the moment, a nap sounds mighty fine.

Tea Time at Michaelhouse

                I'm going to adore Wednesdays. I have them all to myself, well at least for the most part. I've still got afternoon tea and homework to do, but the bulk of the day is mine to with as I will since I don't have any classes. These are the days I'm going to venture out more than a few blocks and truly explore. At least that's the plan for next week, since today I staid rather close to home this morning.

                See, I needed to have something to write about for travel writing tomorrow, and not just the kind of personal perspectives I'm giving here on this blog, but rather an experience that has meaning but can be well researched at the same time. And since the past two days have been wonderful but highly anecdotal, I needed to go out and have an encounter with Cambridge's rich history and not just their lovely clothing stores and book shops.
                So after breakfast (another round of Frosted Flakes and OJ, I thank you) I got on my computer and looked up some of the places that I absolutely cannot miss in Cambridge. That list is about a mile long now, but I hope that in six weeks I can cover most of it. In particular I'm excited about the number I found for a local ghost tour. I'll have to see who I can con into going on that little adventure. I have a feeling it will be Michaela and that there won't be any conning necessary.
                Michaela is a UNH student who actually is living right next door. She's delightfully quirky. Michaela is also the one who accompanied me on today's adventure. In truth there wasn't much venturing. I was determined to explore the Michaelhouse Centre which is actually right across the street from Gonville and Caius. The Michaelhouse Centre is this glorious little building that is half cafe, half church. Originally the St. Michael's parish church was the chapel for Michaelhouse College and it was built in 1324. It's gone through various remodelings and seen quite a bit of drama. Here's the brief rundown, the bulk of which made it into my paper for travel writing (sweet Lord was there a lot of research to be done in one day!)

·         It's the first college chapel in Cambridge and inspired the other colleges to follow its design where the nave is smaller than the Chancel (I know to many of you those words mean nothing but just go with it; one part is bigger than the other).
·         In 1546 Then Chancellor and Master of Michaelhouse, John Fisher, opposed the reforms of Henry VIII, which we all know is a bad idea because Henry liked to chop people's heads off. After Fisher was executed the church was seized by the crown. Go figure.

·         In 1643 Puritans destroyed all of the original stained glass. Boo, Puritans!

·         In 1849 the original roof caught fire while parishioners were still in church.

·         The 1960's brought about some very unpopular remodelings that were then fixed. i.e. they hid the stained glass with lower ceilings. Bad architect, no cookie.

·         And then finally in early 2000 they converted the nave into a cafe and left the Chancel a functioning church.

                I can't even begin to describe how beautiful Michaelhouse Centre is. It's a complete study in duality; light and dark, past and present. You come in and these beautiful stained glass windows, both vastly different, bookend the place. The window near the entrance is made of pastel diamond panes, each with their own little design in the center, that stack up towards pieces of marbled glass that look like oak leaves. Light absolutely pours in. The whole thing reminds me of the background of an Alphonse Mucha picture. Then on the other side, where the church is, is a more traditional rich, jewel toned stained glass window depicting biblical stories of St. Michael and The Angels. Equally gorgeous but in a different way. The light is more filtered and gives the chapel space a more dark secluded air.

Top photo: Window in the nave 

Bottom photo: Window in the Chancel

                So this is the place that Michaela and I explored and had tea in. Yes, that's right, I had my first official (not program sponsored) English tea time. We split a pot of Earl Grey and two sugar scones, what can be more English than that? The whole bit cost us about £6.10 for the both of us, not bad really. I took my first sip of the Earl Grey and found it to be a bit bitter, so I poured some milk and sugar in and found it much more to my liking. I had never had a proper scone before either. This one was just a tad sweet and had a dense cake-like texture. Overall very delicious. It was also good to bond with someone in the program.
                We lingered over tea but eventually got up to explore the church. Again, I cannot stress enough the contrasts of these places! Even though there is a doorway between cafe and church there is nothing to block the sound; everything is open. The cafe is bright and people are chattering, china is clinking, and silverware is being dropped. Stepping into the church might as well be stepping into another world. It's almost instantaneously quieter, darker, and more serene. St. Michael's parish is certainly not the grandest church I've ever visited, but it's soft beauty certainly had an impact on me. I was looking for an experience and I got one!
                Michaela and I essentially had the church to ourselves. We sat in the choir stalls, which I later found out date back to about the time of King Edward the IV. We read the stone markers of graves that surround the altar, some of which date back as far as the churches origin (some were in Latin and boy am I rusty!). We also took a bunch of pictures. Michaela was blessedly patient with me as I wrote down my thoughts and opinions about every little detail, peppered with the few facts I could find within the church. Between tea and exploration we spent about two-and-a-half-hours at the Michaelhouse Centre. I will definitely be going back again!

Note: Though this is posted on Thursday this is meant to be my Wednesday post. I wrote it late last night and didn't have wireless so I had to post it this afternoon. I'll try to get a Thursday post later tonight. Forgive me for being off!