London - Day 4

Today was a day of meeting! 

The first person we met, was Masha, who is one of Liz's best friends here. She is wonderful in every way imaginable. She is studying British Law at University College of London, where Liz goes to school. Masha is a lawyer back in Russia (originally from), but wanted to get more Law experience. 

Then Masha and Liz took me on a day long walk. We walked all over the place!!!! They wanted me to see the back side of London, the part that many tourists don't see! So I was feeling like a local walking around the areas. Our first stop was at Borough Market, but it was closed. We walked along the Southwark and got to see lots of different sites and buildings. The buildings here are really spectacular! There is so much detail into what goes into the buildings, that they are like artwork. 

"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady." It is really boring looking, and not that impressive. Anytime that someone said, "Oh the London Bridge!"  I thought it was some fabulous looking bridge with buildings and colorful and such. But no, it is a very ordinary boring bridge. Disappointment...

We walked down to see where the Lord Mayors Office is. Its really designed in a beautiful style. It is very contemporary structure, and is right on the water. I want an office that looks pretty!!!!!! Then we crossed the Tower Bridge, which is what I thought was the London Bridge, into the bank district. Totally different side of London, where buildings are all tall and bank like. Then camp began! 

We met Mike Lee at St. Paul's Cathedral and it was magical! I haven't seen Mike since camp ended, and of all places to see him...LONDON! He is in transit to China, where he will be studying for a semester. Then we did lunch, and crossed the Millennium Bridge and saw the Globe and the Tate. The Tate is a contemporary art museum...and I didn't understand any of it! I appreciate that type of art, but how is a square box worthy of being in an art museum? Or a crow with an arrow through it?! My 8 year old sister could do that! I don't know...weird!

Then we walked some more and walked some more down to Somerset House, and Convent Garden. All very beautiful views of London. We had some time to kill, so we decided to stop at Lamb and Flag for a drink. Lamb and Flag is possibly the oldest pub in London, with its opening in 1623! WOW!!!!! 

Then camp began again with meeting up with Andrew Varelas! We met him on the Underground at Leicester Square. He was supposed to meet us there at 4:00pm, but didn't get there until 5:30pm. So we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited on the platform. Every time a train would come, I would stand on the chair and look around for him to get off onto the platform. We had given up that he wasn't coming and that it was all a big lie. We started to play 20 questions, and I gave up standing on the chair the very next train. Not even getting through an entire round of 20 questions, we looked down the platform and there he was all smiling! Liz, Mike, and I ran down and jumped into his big bear arms! He gives the best hugs, and it was so awesome that we all were here together in London!!! 

We came back to the flat, and had a wonderful home cooked dinner with wine and beer. It was really nice cause we all could catch up and just talk with one another. We then met up with Masha again, and went to a pub called "The Worlds End" and had a few beers, and got drunk. It was wonderful in so many ways because I was with people that I care about so much, and we were all together in a whole new world, and with these people the World will never End! (Like how I used the name of the pub and put it into a tag?! HAHAHA!)

To be continued...

London - Day 3

Today I was royalty, and we visited one of my many Palaces that I own. As Liz asks, "When are you not royalty?!" But first we had to stop at Liz's campus to print out her study guide for her upcoming tests, in the pouring rain...YUCK! On her campus, they have the founder of their school on display...his actual dead body!!!! WTF?!?!?!??! Why in gods name would you want your body on display for people to see?! And to make it even worse...the guys head fell off, and was sitting on the ground of the display. They eventually made a fake head, because people kept stealing it! Why would you steal a dead head?! WHY?!?!? So the real story is, is that Jeremy Bentham was the founder, and is a famous Utilitarian. When he died, he wanted his body to be on display for all to see, and so the embalmed him. During the process, his head was not done correctly and it started to rott. YUCK! So comes the story of the stolen head.

Then we hoped on a train and went to Hampton Court Palace, home to the Tudor Dynasty (most famously King Henry VIII), and the Stuart Dynasty. It is two different palaces in one palace. King Henry VIII, had added so many wings, and rooms onto this palace, and this architecture is considered "Tudor". When King William III, and Queen Mary II moved in, they wanted to rip down the Tudor Palace, and rebuild it in a Baroque style. But, without the funds, they did not and just added onto the Tudor Palace, thus making the Palace even bigger!! The gardens were beautiful, and was overall just an amazing place! There are over 1,000 rooms, and 300 chimeys which are all different, none the same! Can't wait to move into my apartment there, they are making the Queen Tim apartments.

Then the most important meal of the day, dinner! Liz took me to this amazing place called, "Gordons Wine Cellar". It was amazing!!! It used to be a wine cellar, and is now turned into a restaurant/wine bar. It is the oldest wine bar in London, established in 1890! WOW!!!!!The ceiling is really low, and curved, and just looked like an old wine cellar. It was really really really cool! We shared a bottle of wine, and a plate of cheese for dinner. It was delicious!!

A walk was accompanied by lovely conversation along to Thames, where we were able to see everything all lite up at night. It all looks so different during the day, than it does at night. We got to see The Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. They were all so beautiful, and so different then what we had seen before. Fun fact of the day: Westminster Abbey has these statues of 20th century marters. Here is a link that will explain it more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Westminster_Abbey_-_20th_Century_Martyrs.jpg

To be continued...

Day 2 - London

So I got over 12 hours of sleep...much needed!!!

The Natural History Museum was first on our list. Liz got to show, and tell me all about her primate friends! She was also studying at the same time, so I was helpful with sciency stuff. Who knew I could be a scientist?! I sure as hell didn't! We next went to the Victorian & Albert Museum, aka V&A. It was HUGE!!!!!!! So many things to look at, and so little time! They had sculptures, monuments, and exhibition on theatre & plays,  and jewelry. There were about 50 other exhibits that we could have seen, but we needed to get TEA!

We walked to Hyde Park, and saw the Princess of Whales Fountain, which is a little let down...its a circle with water...let down. But the Albert Memorial...not so much a let down! ITS GINORMOUS! The Queen Victoria built this monument, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert. She loved him so much, and wanted the world to see just how much! Well, it would cost today 10 million pounds to make! HOLY CRAP!!!! FIND ME A QUEEN THAT WILL LOVE ME THAT MUCH!!!!!

Then the estate of Queen Victoria, the Kensington Palace was next. Boy was that pretty! There are so many palaces here, that I am having a hard time keeping track of them all! This is the future residence of Prince  William and the Duchess Kate. Behind that is the Orangery where Liz and I had afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea was started by Duchess Anna Marie Stanhope so that she wasn't so hungry during the day. We had the Champagne tea, and I had Palace Earl Gray Tea. It was DELICIOUS!!!! I was so impressed with it, and I felt so fancy and British! So cool!!

After tea, we went to hunt down the Peter Pan statue and make a wish on it. Tradition is that you make a wish on it, good luck will come to you. Then we walked down to "Winter Wonderland" which is a carnival like thing based on christmas. It was really crowded but was really cool looking! Lots of beer, and fun houses = MY MIND! After traveling through my head, we went to the Marble Arch, and then to Harrods. Oh boy...its the expensive expensive expensive very expensive version of Macy's. They had every single designer named item in this store. People go in here just to look at the stuff, and there is more than 3 floors of it...its like a museum of things I can never afford!! Cry on the inside..

So to complete a british filled day, we went to see 'La Traviatta' at the Royal Opera House. It was amazing! The voices, were incredible and the opera house was just as beautiful. The singers filled the hall no problem, and it was a packed house. It was really nice to see a lot of young people there (my age), because you don't see a lot of young people going to operas. We were in the nose bleeder seats, but it was totally worth it, and I could see everything just as well. Its about hearing, and not seeing, but we got both of those!

To be continued...

A New Adventure - Day 1 London, England

This blog is a combination of Liz Casline, and myself.

A few months ago, I sent Liz an email containing some travel plans that I was taking. These plans were to visit her in London, come January 1, 2012. Liz was sitting in traffic on the Bay bridge in San Francisco. No later than, 15 seconds after I sent the email, I got a phone call from her saying "WTF?! IS THIS FOR REAL?!" Well, it sure was!

Liz is a student at The University College of London, studying Human Evolution and Behaviour (its the British spelling of the Behavior).

6 months later...

Day 1 - Arrival

After driving from Evansville Indiana all night, then getting on a plane and not sleeping, I finally got to see the beautiful Ginger Wife waiting for me at Heathrow Airport. Seeing her face in real life is so much better than over a laptop screen! Skype is now so over rated! We hugged for what seemed like 10 minutes, and then began to go to her flat in the city.

I unpacked a little, and then we were off to explore the city! We first walked down through Soho, passed Leister Square, and out into Trafalgar Square. What a site to see that was! "This is my favorite place here in London!" said Liz. She has a little coffee shop that she likes to go and study at in Trafalgar Square. We then went down to see Big Ben, Parliment, 10 Downing Street (The home of the Prime Minister). Walking through St. James park and over to see Buckingham Palace (The London Residence of the Queen!). A New Years Day parade was happening this day, so I was able to take a picture right in the middle of the street and get a cool shot of it! Its the picture that is in this blog!

After seeing the palace, we went through Green Park to go see the Queensbury Madrigal Singers sing at the St. James Piccadilly Church. The Madrigals was the select choir that I was in when I was in high school, so it was really cool to see my director and the group that I was in, sing in London. None of the kids knew that I was coming, and they were all SUPER surprised to see me there! After the service, we were able to go have a drink and lunch with Bryan Kirk, my former piano teacher from home. He was one of the chaperones, on the Madrigals trip. It was really nice because Liz had never met him before! They got along great, and we never had a quiet moment!

Then it was like typical London, and rained. So we decided to come home after lunch with Bryan, because 1. it was raining, and 2. I was exhausted!! Way over 48 hours of no sleep really can hurt at the last stretch of time! Liz made dinner when we came home, and it was delicious! We were in bed at 7:30pm, and I was passed out at 7:31pm. It was a great start to a great adventure here with the one in my life who understands everything that has happened in it!

To be continued...

Day 4 - Champagne

Today was an early day. We traveled to the Champagne region. It was about 2 hrs East of Paris. Most of us slept on the bus ride there, due to the early morning, and late night :-P

We got a tour of the G.H. Mumm champagne brewing company. It was so cool to see how champagne was made. I didn't know how much work there was into making good booze. We got a testing of two different kinds and it was amazing! They were both delicious. I got 2 bottles to give as gifts so they better like it or I will drink it!!


After the tour we went to Reims. We did a full concert at Notre Dame de Reims. This is where all the kings of France were coronated back when royalty ran France. It was massive! The length of this place was at least 3 football fields. The stain glass and just the detail of the whole thing was amazing. We all walked in and just stopped in our footsteps, and awed. It was really one of the most amazing expereinces that I have had on this trip thus far. We would be singing our songs, and reach the end. We would still hear our voices for another 10 seconds. It was incredible!!!!!!! Being in that church alone was just a feeling of excitement, and thankfulness.

We then drove back to the hotel, where we had dinner, and spent the night here. We were told to rest and relax for the evening. None of us have made it on the bus without falling asleep. Im loving being able to stay in the hotel tonight and just relax and rest!

Notre Dame de Paris, the Louvre, and then free time is tomorrrow!! Oh boy!!!!!!!!!

Day 3 - Paris

Today was our first full day in Paris. It still seems so unreal that we are here. There is just something magical and surreal about Europe and France.

Today we got a tour of the city on our bus. We drove around on the bus and all saw all the major sites. Seeing the Eiffel Tower up close was so spectral. Its so different seeing it up close and real, rather than in movies or pictures. It's so huge and amazing. It something you just can't stop looking at. This is a Phi Mu Alpha picture + PM.

While on the tour, we saw the Moulin Rouge. That was pretty cool. It was just funny seeing something that is so famous, and yet so raunchy. I thought it was pretty cool!

After our bus tour we went to The Church of the Sacred Heart. We couldn't take pictures inside, but we got to view it. It was amazing!!! So old, and yet so beautiful. The amount of things that were in there was incredible. The Church is on top of a mountain in Paris, and it overlooks the entire city of Paris. It was so pretty!!!! We got to watch some street entertain, where MG, and Simon both got up and did a number. The picture below is The Church of the Sacred Heart. This is the Church of the Sacred Heart.

Sitting there overlooking Paris made me realize that I was in France now. Being here and having the experiences that I have had thus far, have been something that I will never be able to recreate.

We sat there looking at the city for over and hour. We then had to get ready for our 3rd full concert at Madeline Church. This is where Faure was the church music director for many years. His requiem was composed there, and it was amazing to sing in the same place that he had been. The church was very dark, and was made of mostly brown wood, and stone. But the church was huge!! It was so long! There was about a 6 second delay in the sound and we just grew in sound with the vibration of sound. It was a concert to remember that is for sure!! But they all are. These are two pictures: one of the Madeline Church, and then of the choir at the Altar during the concert.

After the concert, we got the rest of the night to ourselves. Myself and a few friends went shopping around the main shopping area, just to look around and such. I didn't buy anything just because I didn't find anything. We then came back to the hotel a little early, and went out to some bars and had a few drinks. Was another wonderful day, and I can't wait for the other days to come!!

Day 2 - Normandy

So today we went to Normandy. We were up at 5:45am, and that was rough!!! We got up and had a wonderful breakfast that I had way too much to eat at. But was totally worth every minute!!

We finished breakfast in Bayeux, and left our hotel to travel to Normandy. We stopped for our recital at Mont Saint Micheal. It was amazing. It was this cathedral that was built on a little rock that St. Micheal had said to build a church. It was beautiful. It was a little island that was jammed packed with old buildings, and the cathedral at the very top. The picture attached to this, is the Mont Saint Micheal. We got to sing in the little church there and it was amazing. The feeling of being in there was just unforgettable. After our recital, we got a tour of the cathedral from the inside out. Talk about a lot of walking, and ability to get lost!!!

While on the tour we got to sing in a place where the monks used to have their meals. The acoustics were the best I have ever sang in. There was at least a 7 second delay of sound till we ended. It was incredible. They made the hall that way because, while eating, the monks were not allowed to talk, but there was one monk who read from the gospel.

After we had the tour, we had lunch on our own. Kyle, Simon, and I made our way to a little hole in the wall place where we had a wonderful salami and cheese sandwich. Along with a nice cold beer. Wonderful lunch!

After Mount Saint Michael, we got back on the bus and headed for Poc du Hoc (Hock Point) where D-Day occurred on June 6, 1944. It was an amazing site to see. There were the bunkers from the Nazi Empire still standing. You wonder what the Nazi soldiers were thinking while sitting in those awful places? Were they praying for the men they were about to kill? Who knows! At Poc du Hoc, there were still the sites of bomb craters present. It was very hard to look at and take everything in. But the next site we saw was nothing compared to that.

The American Cemetery was nothing like I have ever seen. We sang “My Lord What A Morning” on the monument steps. It was one of the most moving experiences I have ever had. People stopped from far away because they heard music from the distance. People started to cry because of the emotions that were going on. Having that feeling, of thankfulness, praise, and pride was an amazing feeling while singing this song.

There were just rows, and rows, and rows, and rows of tomb stones. Some of them christen, some of the Jewish, some of the men, some of the women, some of them known, and others not. All of these people were in one place. We got to go down to the beach and collect some sand/water from there. It was very emotional, and also very rewarding. We now have a part of the place where soldiers gave up their lives, to help others and defend freedom.

After Normandy, we headed back to Paris to our new hotel. We got settled in, and then had dinner. The rooms here are a little small, but we will deal. After dinner a few of us went out for some drinks at a local bar. The bartender was very nice, and cute! He gave us way too much for what we paid for! It was a very nice ending to a very busy day!!!!

Paris exploration tomorrow!!! More to tell then!!!