Winter Break

The French sure do love their time off, and I can't complain, since that meant this past week was filled with travel and adventure instead of classes.

I left Montpellier on Friday the 13th (scary?) on a short flight to London. After taking the train to Victoria station I met up with my friend Jamie with whom I would spend the next two days. We dropped my bags off at her flat and headed out in search of food. Walking past Trafalgar Square we saw a huge gathering of people; it almost looked like a protest. We asked a police officer and he said it had something to do with facebook... Never did quite figure that one out. We ended up walking through Leicester and Chinatown before finally deciding on pizza, and then getting ice cream later on. Those are two things I really can't find in Montpellier, and when I do they're quite different, so it was a nice treat.

Saturday we were constantly reminded that it was Valentine's day, a very awkward day for people like me. She made me a little card like we were in elementary school, and generally walking around there were some assumptions, but I am so not even bovvered. We wandered around London for a while, deciding to check out St. Pancras and King's Cross stations, both of which are reputed to have lovely architechture. King's Cross is also home to a secret platform that Jamie wanted to be photographed with... We took lots of pictures there and outside the stations then went to a sushi bar in St. Pancras station for lunch, followed by cupcakes (called "fairy cakes" here) in a nearby bakery. A few more pictures inside then we headed back to her flat.

I stayed in a hostel Saturday night because I had to wake up very early for my flight and didn't want to bother Jamie. Improvement works on the London underground meant about half the tube lines were down, including the Jubliee line on which the nearest station to my hostel was located, so I had figure out my way by bus. London buses seem confusing, but I think they're more straightforward than a lot of places I've been... Plus they're big, red, and have two levels. Awesome. The hostel I was staying at was cheap, but an odd format... The reception was inside a pub and therefore didn't open until 7pm on Saturdays, and I had gotten there aroung 4:30 - giving me a few hours to kill before I could get in. I took a bus back into town and decided to see Hyde Park since I missed it last time, and then wandered about near Covent Garden and Leicester square before finding a bus back to the hostel. I thought I would go to bed early since I would have to leave around 5am, but the rooms weren't too soundproof and there were a few people hanging out in the common area right outside my door playing guitars and singing. I thought I'd just try to sleep through it, but then they started playing "Hotel California", and couldn't seem to get through the second verse. I thought "hey, I know the words to that song!" and decided heck with it, and went out there to help them out. I ended up staying up with them until almost midnight, me with my knack for remembering lyrics and them with their guitars. It was a fun time, although I was quite tired when morning rolled around...

Because I couldn't take the tube, I had to catch a bus just after 5 to get to Gloucester, where I caught a coach bus to Stansted airport. I got to the airport with plenty of time to check in, and then I was off for Dublin!

Since I know it's the one thing I have from both my parents' families, I'm probably more Irish than anything. So I thought going to Ireland would probably be a really good idea, and really, it was. I got into Dublin around 11 am, took a bus into the city centre, then walked along the river Liffey until I got to the Temple Bar area, where my hostel was located. I dumped off my bags and wandered off in search of whatever first piqued my interest. In this case it was leek and potato soup. I went into a small café and had a bowl, every bit as good as I remembered from the Irish pub I used to frequent in Orlando... Better, of course, because I was actually in Ireland! I wandered around the streets of Dublin a bit more, taking in the sights. I decided to go back to the hostel for a shower and a nap, since I was still a bit exhausted... This turned out to be the best decision I could have made! When I woke up, a few other girls staying in the same room had arrived, and we got to chatting. One of the girls, Katy, was from Ohio and invited me to go to dinner with her and her friend Adam. I didn't have any plans, so I did. We went to a pub where I had a delicious Irish stew (lamb slaughtered that very morning, the menu claimed) and we listened to jazz music while just talking about our travels, they were on their way back from two months in Africa with a group from Ohio State. Seemed like a fun time. I told them about France, Korea, Japan... I'm not sure how it came up but I said something about the Critical Language programme I had done in Korea. Katy was intrigued, wasn't that what Theresa had done? ... It turned out that one of the people they had just been in Africa with was my roommate from my summer programme! We were all just so shocked at the sheer coincidence of it that we couldn't even talk. The number of factors that went into this happening... Well, it was enough to make my head spin. Thus I ended up with travelling companions for the next three days.

We went to another pub afterwards and listened to the slightly more modern musical stylings of two guys on guitar and bass. It was still a nice cultural experience I suppose... Pubs in Ireland are different from anywhere else in the world, but that's true anywhere. The next morning we set out intending to see Dublin's museums, only to find out that most are closed on Mondays! We ended up walking to the other side of town to see the Bodies exhibit, which was a little pricey, but very informative. I don't think I would go again, since it made me twitch a little. It was still interesting, though. Then it was more walking around Dublin, seeing the buildings and statues, and the shops. After lunch we split up and I went back towards the hostel, after stopping to post a few cards. A few more people had moved into our room, including two English girls, Bryony and Christine, and another from Australia, Bel. Bel and I ended up going to the grocery store together for our dinner and the next day's meals - trying to save money and whatnot. Ham, bread, cream cheese... Perfect for cheap + filling. After getting back and eating it was getting late so we just sat in the lobby reading and chatting, making plans for the next day.

Tuesday we were sure to make it to the museums, since they were now open. Bel joined Katy, Adam, and me for first the archaeology museum and then the art gallery. The national museum was unfortunately closed for renovation. The archaeology museum was home to exhibits on the history of Ireland as well as ancient Egypt. There were also several human remains that were found mostly preserved in bogs in Ireland... A little creepy but still pretty cool! The art gallery was massive, and took quite a while to get through, so we finished there and went back for lunch, after which we headed toward St. James' Gate. This is where 250 years ago a 9000-year lease was signed for the property which is the home of the Guinness storehouse and brewery, which is a sort of museum in its own right. We toured it, learning about the history of beer, complete with samples of roasted barley and of course the brew itself. The coolest part was near the end - your ticket entitled you to a free beer in the upstairs bar which boasted a 360° view of Dublin from one of its highest points, OR, and this is what we did, you could use it for a free lesson in how to pour the perfect pint. We got behind the tap, where they show you how to hold the glass, when to tip it up and let it settle, and then how full to top it up. Then you wait until it's black and enjoy... (For those of you wondering, I did drink the whole pint I poured. It was only right, I wasn't going to pour one and make someone else drink it. For those of you wondering why this matters: as a general rule I don't drink. So it was a little odd for me, yes.)

Tuesday night was visiting a few more of the historic pubs in Temple Bar... More live music, and Bryony and Christine joined us for our pseudo-pub crawl. I left around midnight since I had to fly back the next day, but overall it was a good time.

Wednesday was pretty much just a day of travel - I started out taking a bus to the Dublin airport around 10, flew back to Stansted, took a coach to Victoria, then another up to Birmingham where I arrived around 9:30 pm and spent the night in my sister's flat.

Thursday I went with my sister to her one class (the professor was also her programme director who I had already met, so he didn't mind me sitting in) and then we went to the train station in city centre to catch a train for Liverpool. We got there about one and started walking from Lime street station trying to find our hostel... Took us a little longer than it should have since I missed the fact that Hunter and South Hunter are not the same street... But we made it and were lucky enough to be upgraded to a private room for the night, which made it easier for us to spread ourselves out a bit and rest for a little while.

We then headed toward the river Mersey and the Albert docks. We passed by Liverpool's Chinatown, which has quite the large impressive gate... Near the docks is an exhibition called the Beatles Story, so of course I had to check it out. We spent a good hour inside, just admiring all the history of my favourite band, which Sam has been known to tolerate on occasion... From there we headed towards Liverpool city centre, filled with shops and statues... Of course I had to find the Cavern Club, and get lots of pictures of anything Beatle-related... After exploring a bit more and having dinner, we headed back to the hostel and called it a night.

Thursday we went around Liverpool's museums mostly, and a full English breakfast at a pub, and pretty much took it easy until we caught the 20:48 train for London Euston...

When we arrived in London it was almost midnight, too late to get a room, but Sam had a plan.We took the tube to Victoria and spent the night outside the Apollo Victoria theatre, camping for the £25 front row tickets for Wicked. I do enjoy a good musical, but I can't say this was one that particularly called out to me. However, the price was much less than you would expect to pay for even a bad seat, and this was London's West End: only Broadway is better for seeing musicals. Besides, it wasn't as if I had anything better to do for the next nine hours... We got tickets as soon as the box office opened (we were first in line, but others did start showing up around 5am). We decided on the 2:30 matinee, and so we didn't stray far from the station. Jamie ended up meeting us for lunch as long as were weren't too far away, and then it was time for the show. It was absolutely amazing... I never imagined I'd be so close to the stage for a professional show. After the show I walked Sam to the coach station so she could get back to Birmingham, and I headed toward my hostel for the night. I ran into a group of girls from my programme there who had also been wandering around throughout break... We decided to meet up in the morning since we were all on the same flight this afternoon. Because again the tubes were under major engineering works (and one was suspended due to "a person under a train" - hmmm) we had quite a roundabout way to go to get to Gatwick airport. I've managed to figure out the underground system pretty well by this point, so I got us there on the shortest route possible... Nice to feel useful. We got back around 4 and shared a taxi back to the Comédie... Then it was a tram and walk home. It was a great week, but it's nice to be back to relax!