Paris :D

Day 16 February 11th, 2011

Ah Paris the city of love… or something like that lol. Paris at first was not what I was expecting at first. After being in London for so long I had gotten use to the language, the city itself, and the people. But once we got to Paris things changed a lot, at least in my view. The language is obvious because I don’t know any French at all besides Borjour, though after being here awhile I know more. The city itself is huge! Not only huge but not the cleanliest I’ve ever seen. I thought London had its bad parts but all over Paris there is graffiti and tags, and much more garbage even though they have garbage cans almost on every block. The culture here is much different also; not as friendly as I had expected. The men are very forward (hitting on me a lot made me realize this lol) and not so nice looks whenever I didn’t say something correct or when I was with someone and we like took too long to order or something. And not everyone is like this but there was enough for me to be like, why? You are just another huge city ya know? And yes they have amazing scenery and who knows how many museums, but they didn’t have to have the attitude they did. Our first day in Paris was an early one at 8:00 meeting at the Opera house and going on a walking tour! And I wasn’t completely excited for me up this early and having to walk about 5-6 miles but after it started I was very interested and glad we did it. My tour guide had a great attitude and seemed to know a lot about the city. We started at the Opera house learning about how and when it was built and different things about it. It had three main purposes while it was being used; for performing arts, choreography and music but also the more secret thing that went on there which was congratulate the dancers with gifts such as expensive jewelry and receiving sexual favors in turn. It wasn’t a sort of prostitute house but it was just something that happened and only a few rich men were able to be a part of it. I really wish we could have gone inside because just seeing the outside with statues of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart made me so jealous that I couldn’t see the inside where they had played one day. We learned about Napoleon the I and III, King Edward the 8th? I think, and got to see Notradam Cathedral was absolutely gorgeous, and went to the Latin quarter of Paris. We walked all over Paris all day and weren’t finished there!

After our walking tour a group of girls and I went to Sacred Heart and a place where these artists paint and draw all day. And oh my gosh are they good! First we go up hundreds of steps, see this beautiful basilica, looking out over Paris from the tallest point of the city, and see artists painting pictures I would pay lots of money for was surreal and amazing! I was totally wiped but didn’t care at all haha. On our way back to the hostel we found Moylan Rouge and the street that has too many sex shops, but I guess every city has its issues lol. We made it back for dinner, which was a huge step up from the Generator’s food which was nice, and slept in a bed already made for us in the great city of Paris!

Bordeaux Adventure!

Days 11-15 February 6-15th, 2011:

While planning this trip I would have never thought of coming to such a beautiful place: Bordeaux, France. It is filled with culture, college kids, amazing food (though most of France is), and very nice people or at least the ones I was with ;). I went on this adventure with two other girls on our trip Charlee and Ally and we were on our way to meet and stay with Charlee’s friend Loïck, very French name I know! On our way to Bordeaux was one of the more... difficult parts. We had to catch a train from St. Pancras in London to Paris then transfer to a different station to get on another train to Bordeaux. First, while going through security in London, being dark and tall or something, I had a full search of my things and self, I don’ t know why haha. But once we were on our way it was fine. The chunnel goes so fast it didn’t seem like 2 hours even. Then while traveling to the next station, Monparsse (I don’t know if that’s spelled correctly though) the train we wanted to get on, we missed because we had to activate our eurail passes and the guy at the booth said all the trains were full up until the 7:00 pm! And we had told Loïck we would be on the 2:50, well that didn’t happen. We waited till the 3:50 and even though it ‘was full’ we went to the conductor of the train and asked if we could get on anyways. He let us on no problem, only had a pay I think… Euros? And the best part of all, he was so nice to us we got to go to first class. Talk about good luck! Once we got to Bordeaux there was a little wait time trying to figure out how to find Loïck since we had to phone to contact anyone with but using the internet at a café and the very helpful Skype we found him and made it back to his small but adorable studio apartment in the middle of the city! He even made us crepes right when we got there! And I can assure you I will be making many of these when I get home because he taught me and I’m pretty good at it!

Our first official day in Bordeaux was a little lazier one because we were very tired and had stayed up to watch some of the super bowl the night before. Loïck didn’t mind and just wanted to show us some pretty areas in Bordeaux anyway. So after a great breakfast of crepes and Nutella we went around looking at shops, monuments, and other things Bordeaux was known for such as the sea of mirrors. It was a bunch of small fountains with a small amount of water; only a couples inches that reflects the buildings and other things around the area. It was very cold water but we had to go in it anyway, it’s not every day you’re in Bordeaux walking around in a pool in winter ;). That night we met up with some of Loïck’s friends Sara and Charlotte at a wine bar! I don’t remember the name of the place but it was adorable! It had velvet walls, a random assortment of chairs, and even trees and other plants in the building just hanging over you. It had a lovely atmosphere and we spent about 3 hours there only having a glass of wine, some small cakes and chocolate and just talking to each other. In France, that is the thing to do when you are out to eat. It is a very social thing not to just come, eat, and leave. You are there to enjoy your food and drink and talk about thing with the people you are with, which I have noticed I have changed a little in my eating habits and have been taking more time to eat than I normally would have. One of the biggest differences that I have noticed in most of Europe is the coffee sizes because coffee is usually offered after every meal as part of the custom. You usually get just a shot or two of espresso and some sugar to add and milk if you want. But it is a cute, tiny cup that people could take an even a half hour to enjoy – just because they can! It’s awesome!

Our second day in Bordeaux we had plans to go to Archecon and to the beach because it was in the upper 60’s and free to get there so why not! And I’m so so so glad we did because I had a great time walking along the beach and in the sand. Just thinking that if I was home I’d be inside in a blanket and here I was walking in sand and in the sun all day. The water was a little cold to be walking in but I had to try. Other than enjoying some pizza and coffee at a restaurant we were on our way home and very tired once again. It was this night I actually got to talk to some family members and friends back at home.

One of the best days of being in Europe so far was on Wednesday, the day before we had to leave. We had plans for lunch at Sara’s house, who lives with her grandma, then dinner reservations at an authentic French restaurant. (Once I find where I put the business card I will give the name of the place because it was incredible food!) But first, lunch at Sara’s! We did not know what to expect besides that her grandma didn’t speak English, at all. But once we got there we saw what a great lady she was even if we didn’t know what each other was saying! Frist we had some raw salmon with lemon, and different spreads on small pieces of bread – caviar, a pâté that was quite salty but good, and another one with crab on it. Along with this of course there was a very good dessert wine which I should’ve got the name of but didn’t want to take a picture of during lunch lol. After this we had a dish with another type of fish in it, another course that was a sort of a small lasagna crab cake, then some cheese and bread, then crepes were brought out for dessert with ice cream, and coffee after. I was SO full I thought I wasn’t going to be able to fit anything else in my stomach that night! It was one of the best meals I have ever had and he was so sweet about it and later that night we were told she had a great time so I’m so glad we were invited! It is truly a gift to meet some of the people I have like Sara and her grandma. That night was still around the corner and although I had eaten so much earlier by 11:00 when we were eating I was ready for more anyway! I wasn’t going to get that chance again anyway. This small but adorable restaurant is hidden in some alley somewhere and you need reservations because it is sought after and not that large. Sara had been there before and got a big table for us 6 to have a wonderful night! The owner is also the waiter and part of the culinary work. I didn’t see who else was in the back but his wife. For my appetizer I had an amazing salad, and I know ‘it’s just a salad Katie’ but no, this cook/owner/waiter is amazing and I have never had a better salad. It had some sort of balsamic mixed vinaigrette with greens and beef or port hash (my mouth is watering right now it was so good!) For my main course I had some of the best filet minion ever with more salad and in a cranberry/date sauce with some cheesy potatoes on the side. I wasn’t sure if I could eat it all but I did and it was amazing lol. But wait there’s more! After that was a beautifully arranged type of cheese with caramel. I didn’t get any but almost everyone else couldn’t eat there so I was able to try it and loved it anyway! You’d think that is a strange mix but it was really good! And for the best part – dessert!! I was debating between getting crème brule and some other amazing dessert . I went with the second one and was soo glad I did. Since I was dumb and didn’t bring my camera that night to take picture of everything this is just a picture off Google but damn it is good!! I didn’t get the coffee because my stomach felt like it was about to burst but I didn’t care because I had eaten some of the best food in my life and had a great time with new friends! We walked back around one in the morning and slept very well to say the least. We left with a few tears the next morning on our way to Paris and our next stop on the adventure around Europe!

Welcome Collect!

Day 10 Feb. 5, 2011:

One of my favorite days in London, and my last day sadly, was the Welcome Collect Museum dedicated to Henry Collect and his random collections of things. It had three parts that I went to at least. The exhibits were High Society, Medicine Man about Henry and his collections, and New Medicine which was very cool. High Society was about all different kinds of drugs and their history, how and why they were used, where they came from, and many examples of different ones through videos, pictures, and other things. It was very very interesting. One of the things I really enjoyed learning about and trying was called the ‘Dream Machine’ where you would close your eyes for a few minutes and after a while you were supposed to have the feeling like you were hallucinating. I didn’t sit there long enough to see if it really worked or not but it tied in with our studies because one of the only reasons it works it because you are suggested that you will feel ‘high’ or like you are hallucinating. If you believe and think you will be, then more than likely you will. It is a pretty simple concept and we use it every day without even realizing it sometimes.

In the Medicine Man exhibit there were different items that Henry collected including vases, chairs, phallic objects and statues, a few pieces of skin with tattoos on them still, Napoleon’s tooth brush, old paintings, drawings, writings, other different statues or gods or deities from different parts of the country or world, tools, and many more things. Off to my favorite exhibit though! I really enjoyed being in the New Medicine Exhibit. It talked about the human genome and genetic makeup, how societies have changed food intake and body size, and other random things for evolution and prescription drugs. It amazes me how someone went through the whole human DNA sequence and found out every little ribosome. I was looking through one book and just thinking that they found this, but everyone is still completely different. It’s pretty humbling! There were two interactive things we could do also in this exhibit, which who doesn’t want to do! One was comparing your face to other people’s faces that had gone through the exhibit before. It would show you the average face and warp yours, usually turning out to make you into a gargoyle or something and then adding your face to a conglomeration of faces creating one that resembled a man and a woman to say the least. The other was creating your own bio-identity symbol, which I have a picture of below. It takes your age, height in cm, finger print, and eye color (which was so hard to actually get I feel with the camera they had) and they put all those things together to create a symbol, no ones being a like! One of the other things I did was draw a picture for the wall; it was just coloring random things so nothing worth taking a picture of lol. If anyone ever goes to London this is a must see museum! I had never even heard of it before but I really enjoyed learning about all the things I did and could’ve spent much more time there. Plus they have a kick-ass book store; I need to invest in a nook or something because there are too many interesting books in the world. :)

Bedlam Royal Hospital

Day 9 February 4, 2011:

Sorry it has been so long! It has been hard keeping up, more than I thought it would be. On February 4th was a very nice day traveling all the way to Bethlehem, or Bedlam, Royal Hospital for the mentally unstable. It is out in the middle of nowhere compared to most of our other visits for school, located on Monks Orchard Road in Beckenham, England. This is the 4th location of the hospital that is different from all the others because it is more spread out than the other hospitals that were previously built resembling large palaces and having corridors of female and male wards and large dining and entertainment rooms. The old locations are located at Bishopsgate, Moorefield, and where the Imperial War Museum is now located. I think all the information we have been learning and the places we have been going for Mad Europe has been very interesting. Learning about the different techniques they use to do to cure people such as trying to balance out the four humors of the body (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and flem) and other more modern techniques like just talking to the patients and changing the environment they are in. While we were at the hospital we had a tour of the art museum they have there; they are just small works that are done by the patients who are admitted into the hospital.

We also had a presentation about Bedlam on how it started, why they wanted to build it, and the development of it through the years. And one of my favorite parts was we got to look at an entry in some of the first volumes ever made of the patients that were admitted there from the 17th century and read about their condition, what the doctors thought was wrong with them, what the patient’s life was like at home, age and other stuff about them. My patient was a 40ish old male who worked as a lawyer and whose name is not coming to mind at the moment but he was admitted because he had mood swings and threated to kill himself and his wife. Without going too much into detail, my diagnosis and mine alone is that his wife cheated on him and he was angry and wanted revenge but everyone thought it was crazy and went with his wife’s story. I think this because he also wanted to kill another man whose first name I remember was John, so it’s the most logical explanation and I’m sure back then they didn’t look into things on a more personal level and talk to the patient like they should have. He was admitted because he was ‘over worked’, which I guess can make people go sort of mad but not enough to go to a mental institution.
After that very intellectual day I didn’t feel like doing anything else but later on I went to the Generators basement where the dancing and bar was and had a good time with the I.T.C. people and meeting people from other countries. It was our last night to really be out before we had to leave London so it was bittersweet dancing till two and then waking up at three in the morning to some loud bang in my bed. I was ready to leave the loud hostel, but not London; although, I will be back some day. I like it to much there!

My apologizes!

Things have been SUPER busy over here in Europe the past like 2 weeks or something. Not being in Paris for very long and having class almost every day has been a lot to handle and trying to see all the sights I want to get to plus studying for my first test on Wednesday before I'm off to Switzerland for a few days! So I'm writing you all letting you know I'm still alive, though after tomorrow we'll see. We are going to Ghent, Belgium for a class and it is an all day adventure starting at 7:30 in the morning till about 8:00 at night (thankfully not midnight which was its original time!) The sucky thing is we have that test I told you about on Wed morning.. so we'll see if I live. Stress or tiredness may overtake me! And I don't wanna miss out on the Eiffel Tower Wed because I haven't gotten to see it yet! So hopefully everything goes smoothly and I will be updating you once I am in Switzerland! Some of my posts will be from like.. a week or more ago but I still wanted to share them with you because they are mostly written but not completely done.
Ta-ta for now!

Catching up on Blogging!

Day 7 February 2, 2011:
Freud is one of the most well-known psychologists in the world and influenced how people would look at education in psychology. Almost everyone in the world knows his name and at least one thing about him and what he did; and we got to go to the Freud Museum on the 2nd which is actually in his house that he lived on for the last year of his life in London!! He was moved out of his house in Vienna in 1938 by the Nazis and moved to London with all of his things for the last year of his life. It was a very cool experience to be in the same place as he was and kept pretty much in the same condition. Definitely a place I will remember forever, partly because the walk is up this huge hill. After the visit some girls and I went to get some tea at a little shop near the train station. After we got back I didn’t think I would be doing anything else but homework but instead we went out to The Rocket for some drinks! And some more drinks lol. It was a really good time and it was the first and time I had been down in the Generator’s bar/dance room also so it was a fun night dancing with people and meeting some guys from Australia to buy us drinks. Literally, cheers!

Day 8 February 3, 2011:
Being our day off on Thursday we got to sleep in for once! It felt amazing and a half! There wasn’t much going this day besides some shopping, walking around London and taking pictures and going to the National Gallery just for fun! Having sushi on the steps was great because it felt like I could really live there and just enjoy a snack near a national gallery of art! Otherwise it was a relaxing day and got a little homework done in the afternoon.

Something for Everyone

Day 6 February 1, 2011:

Continuing on our adventure we got to go to the British Museum! I was very tired from the night before because I couldn’t fall asleep with the party downstairs so I know I didn’t get the most out of it which I was disappointed in. Though, after two hours I really did try to see as much as I could. They have artifacts dating back to B.C. is some of the exhibits. There were things from Africa, the Islamic countries, around England, Greece which was my favorite, China, Egypt, and probably even more places than that. They also had the Rosetta Stone which was a treat to see in my opinion! They have tombs of mummies, old tools that they used; jewelry which I thought was pretty interesting to see what they use to adorn themselves with, some cloths, statues, shrines, books and other documents, and tons of other religious things and some stuff I probably didn’t see. I want to go there again sometime and spent a day just by myself looking at it all because its hard with a group when not everyone wants to take the time. After moseying around the museum for a couple hours some of the girls, Scott, and I went to Camden Town the area I talked a little bit about in one of my previous blogs for some shopping and just to check it out. The scene of this place is a mix of hippy, punk rock, goth, and other random styles; which I thought was awesome. You can pretty much find anything you want around Camden and for not an awful price but it also will be pretty original if you have the guts to wear some of those cloths. I know no one at home with have my dress or jacket which I’m pumped about! One of the stores I walked by but really should’ve went into was Cyberdog, just looking at the outside of the place was neat! But I don’t think I’ll have time or the energy to walk back up there but check out the website it pretty much describes whatever you want to know about their style of cloths and other things they sell there! Ta-ta for now!

Catching up

Day 5 January 31th, 2011:

Monday. Our first day of Mad Europe class. We had to meet back at the Imperial War Museum and listening to guys, because guys always know where they are going don’t they, we got lost and we were a little less than 10 min late but thankfully not enough to hurt our grade in the class. After a very long class period of two hours, Rik our leader of the trip, Leah, and I accompanied Ally to the doctor because she wasn’t getting better. We went to a walk-in clinic and it was all free which was awesome the wait is the only thing you have to put up with. We were there for about 3 hours total but it was a good thing we went and experienced it because she did have strep! So hopefully no one on the trip gets it though sickness is going around already; cross your fingers, I don’t want it to be me! Once we were done Dan joined us girls for some pizza at Bloom’s pizza café which was amazing. I had a tomato and mozzarella personal size pizza and we all shared some olives with garlic bread. Mmm… I could eat both any day! After that we made our way over to the Victoria Theatre for Wicked!! This was my first professional music that I got to see and I loved it! It was a great show and I would totally see it again someday. Other than this it was a slow day but still an experience going to a hospital and clinic. Definitely something I will remember about this I.T.C. trip!

"You're girls in London, what else would you go do?"

The past few days have gone by way to fast and it is already been a week in London! With only a few more days to go I figured I should keep updating you guys on what is happenin.(Oh and that quote as my title is by our doorman Michael from Australia, he's a hoot and a half!)

Over the weekend besides going to Tate Modern and Westminster Abby for a church service on Saturday, Sunday was my first day off of class related things. And what does a girl do when she gets a day off… shopping of course! And no it wasn’t intense or anything but a few people and I went to Covenant Square. Shopping in London is different than the U.S. in that there aren’t malls like we have, where a bunch of shops are located all in one spot. The shops are all close but you walk to each one and things are more intimate and original than the malls we have. Malls are very convenient but shopping here is an experience that you can make a day out of just because of how things are set up. You can watch a magician on the road, stop in a coffee shop while exploring different stores along the streets!

Another place I went to on Tuesday was Camden Town for some shopping. I want to go there again because of how interesting the shops are there and at the market you can find original things that you can barter to get a lower price on. I found a coat that was, “sixty dollars, but for you I’ll give you a special price,” and I got it for 40pounds. Tried for 30-35 but no success, “it’s even lined for the winter,” was his excuse.

The last shopping experience I have had was today, Thursday. We were trying to find out way to National Gallery, taking our time, stopping along the way on Regent Street at some shops. Mostly just looking around at what they have. At one of the more department stores/Pharmacy like places we stopped at I wanted to compare prices on fragrances, make-up, and hair products. And the pound is more expensive regardless but the only huge significant difference I saw in these prices was with the fragrances. Some of the more expensive ones at home were only for 13-15 pounds! Otherwise I need to look more closely at make-up and hair things. Only salons sell the salon products which is good, unlike Target that sells Bedhead and isn’t exactly suppose to; so I haven’t stopped in one of those yet. They have certain chains of shops just like at home, and a little too close together sometimes but each store does have its own style which I really enjoy. The have brand name stores where you can spend hundreds of pounds and dollars at or other little stores than aren’t so bad. H&M has been my personal favorite having things from 1 pound and up but nothing really above 60 pounds than I looked at. One thing I’m been searching for is boots. They are THE thing to wear here. They seem to make or break outfits that women wear. Coats, scarves, and shoes are the things they seem to really accentuate here. Their cloths are awesome as well but being that it is still winter they have great accessories and shoes to help still look fashionable. So having big feet is one issue but finding a store with semi-decent prices is another. In one of these counties I will find some :). I have to say London and probably Europe in general will turn out to be MUCH more fashion forward than the U.S. My boss Shawna mentioned a few days before I left for Europe that they are ahead of the United States by 7 years in things like fashion and hair styles; I believe her. Things here are much more people friendly in that I think more than one body type, size, taste can wear their cloths. The styles at home are you have style or you don’t; if it is a brand name or not. Here, it doesn’t matter if its brand name. They put together outfits to look good no matter if they find it at the market on the street or in an expensive store in Soho. I really like the cloths here if you couldn’t tell.

So concluding this blog that seemed to be mainly on shopping another place I want to try and get to is Herrods. It is a huge shopping mall, one of the biggest in the world, and I hope to get there to see what it is like before I leave London on Sunday. I’m pictures Ikea like but apparently they sell like yachts and other very large items also so it sounds exciting! I also stopped in a 5 story toy store today! They had probably any toy or game you could think of! Plus a sort of build-a-bear place! A brief thing on their grocery stores and coffee shops now… Waitrose seems to be the place to go to for any kind of food or drink that you could want. They have “Food and Wine” shops all over the place also that sells just random assortments of food items and, obviously, wine and other alcohol. The cafés and coffee shops are the best! You can go in, get something, and stay there all day or just sit and enjoy your coffee tea or food! It is so relaxing and time doesn’t seem to matter a whole lot which I like also. Anyway enough about shopping if you even read this far, Good Job! Haha. I’m sure I lost some but that’s okay. My other blogs will be more about other things than just this but it is just interesting to me :)