cheers to coins, goblets, and antique busts

Today would be another day of fine museums and churches; seems to be the norm around here. We started it out with a small trip to the British Museum which has a fabulous glass ceiling designed by Norman Foster. To be honest it was just full of coins and goblets. The only three things that were worth seeing are here in mentioned below:
The Rosetta stone, which may or may not have been a fake. To be determined. Although the reality of its integrity is in question it still was cool to see some semblance of how things were written down and translated.
Statuary from the frieze of the Parthenon, this was the highlight for me. I love the human form and to see these pieces represented so anatomically perfectly for their historical time was so impressive and moving. I loved the drapery that forms to the female bodies displaying the beauty of our bodies.
The lions from the Ishtar Gate, these are Assyrian man beasts that are shown standing from the front and running from the side, therefore they have 5 legs. Also way ahead of the times.
The rest of the museum was basically things used for coins, jewelry, platters, and Egyptian papers. Pretty ok, but nothing I was super interested in.
Next we went to the Sir John Soane Museum which was a collection of artifacts that he had collected in his travels. It reminded me of a grandma’s home because there were things in every nook and cranny; vases, plastered designs, coins, books, mirrors, pictures. The architecture of the home was fabulous because it had all these great skylights with stained yellow glass which made the home just glow. It also had inventive cabinets tucked into walls, mirrors on the ceiling to make it look bigger and open gardens and courtyards mixed in. Pretty modern for his time.
Next we had lunch in the museums café. It was nice to just sit and eat a cute little sandwich and cake.
The entire group headed to St. Paul’s Cathedral which is the biggest church for the Church of England. It has a single dome and two towers in the front. It’s very similar to the catholic cathedrals we’ve seen previously, the only difference is that the Church of England’s décor was more simplified and not so gotty. We walked up baby stairs that had a rise of like 2 inches so it took like 3 years to get to the top. The dome is famous for being able to whisper into the wall and someone being able to hear it on the other side. We could not get it to work so it was disappointing; the only voice we heard was this little Oriental man who kept saying sexy beast, real appropriate for a church. Some of us continued to the next level which was an outside balcony on the dome. The sites were pretty but obstructed. We continued the spiral stairs upward to the inner dome, also on the outside. These views were much better than the level below. I love climbing these domes even though it almost kills me. I thought I was in shape with running everyday to prepare, yeah that was all in vain.
After this we walked through the crypt and saw all the dead bodies underneath the floor. Interesting technique there, but the best one was Sir Christopher Wren’s tomb who actually rebuilt the church after the London fires. It was a simple black stone slab that took us forever to find because it was in the corner and so plain. I thought it was a bench. I used the bathrooms which were total Harry Potter style with the sinks in the center.
I went to H&M found some finds, did some deeds, and came home for some dinner of homemade spaghetti and sat down to blog. We have to get up at 4:30 so off to bed!









from the front

from the top of St. Pauls

norman foster= brilliant ole chap

the drapery. looks like wet clothes fit to the bod

the 5 legged beast man

We’ll call today the day of Museums and walking. We started by going to the Victoria & Albert Museum, which was full of jewelry, theater pieces, textiles, furniture, and cool modern pieces. The best part was this temporary exhibit called telling tales and it displayed these modern pieces of art that had a fantasy like feel, but they also had to deal with a natural aspect. They had this armoire that had fig leaves on the outside for doors and as you opened the doors the inside hanger was a tree, so as a whole it was an entire tree. They also had this chair that was covered in tulle and lace like a wedding dress. Loved it! Along this exhibit was another part that was entitled heaven and hell, and all these pieces were gruesome. The one I paid most attention to was a plastic rug shaped in two circles. The artists discussed how the rug displayed two lovers (the two pools) amount of blood bled when the body dies. Interesting, morbid, and somehow fabulous. Our main purpose for all these museum visits was to find patterns so we were placed in groups. We have to present our designs Friday so I better get them done.
Next we walked around sites of London such as the London Bridge and the London Tower where Anne Boleyn was beheaded. It pretty much just looked like a huge fortress but that was the medieval times. It was so interesting to see the juxtaposition between the Tower of London against the New London town hall by Norman Foster. The walls are curved and all glass, kind of shaped like a head, sorry best way to describe it. We walked through in a circular ramp. Along the ramp were these old pictures of London events such as wars, parades, and daily life. I loved seeing the clothes, buildings, and fashions presented. Pretty hip design by Foster I’ll admit it. We took a little walk over to the Tate Modern Art Museum which was a huge factory looking building with a tall stack right in the front. The pieces inside were so hip and trendy slash bizarre. I think after visiting so many churches and museums I’m falling more in love with modern art. Some people would argue that it isn’t art and easy, but obviously it’s not because you didn’t think to do it. J
After this we planned for our Harry Potter movie, or didn’t plan at all which leads to my next story. Basically our entire group was going so we all planned to meet at our flats at 7 for the movie at 8. Naturally everyone did their own thing and Michelle and I were left by ourselves. We headed down to the square where the movies are playing. No one could be found and we had no way of getting in touch with people. Luckily we knew where Brady, Ali, Kaitlyn, Ashlee, and Lindsey were headed so we went to that theater and it wasn’t even showing there. Needless to say we were stranded and frustrated that no one would wait for us. To our great need, we ran into the five mentioned above and heard that their tickets weren’t valid. We ran in to the other cinema and asked for tickets to Harry. The seats were scattered and it was 10 pounds, which equates to 15 dollars. Outrageous right! The cute lady was so helpful though, she gave us a student discount and saved seats for us to sit in. We walked in the theater and it was gigantic. Probably the size of… Kingsbury hall? Anyway, just huge! The movie had already started so we missed the first part, but when the movie started it was so good! I loved all the special effects and funny jokes. The style was so different and seemed to focus more on being funny and selling the movie than what’s in the book. A little disappointing if you ask me. I still loved it though and totally don’t regret being able to watch Harry Potter in London, where it was filmed. We laughed because we had seen many of the sights in the movie that day. Good times. Well Cheers! london town hall

at the tate modern museum

tower of london

dancing in the theater room

artichoke lamp prototype

pete towns first smashed guitar

piano keys in the v & a museum

This day would be the last in Paris, but on to new and better things I suppose. I wish we would’ve had more time in France to explore because there are TOO many things to do in so LITTLE a time period. This just means I’ll be back… right parents? So I woke up and packed, amazingly I fit all my things in to a bag or three and headed to the bus which took us to the train for the Chunnel. We had to haul our huge bags on and off the trains. I swear mine weighs about 70 pounds now, not very easy. Also did I mention that we had to hike up stairs? Our group got drilled when passing through customs into the UK. Luckily Susie took over and told them what was up. It was intense because we had to pass through the French security and two steps later we were on the UK customs. We made it to London and had to transfer once again on to the tube, or underground trains. It must be destiny because we landed and the first sign I saw was Kensington, this is the name I love for a baby girl that someday I hope to have. I guess it’s the nicest part of London where people will pay millions of dollars to stay in these flats. Our cute little RA man, James, came and met us told us the rules and gave us our keys. It is a law in this area of town that you can’t talk on the streets after 11 at night. Surriously you could be fined thousands of pounds. Ridiculous right? Yeah, yeah it is. It’s totally like living in the dorms again. We have to hike four sets of stairs to get to our room. I live on the top bunk bed and have a little dresser. We share bathrooms with 2x2’ showers. Good thing is we have a fully furnished kitchen and commons room. Ashley, Julia, Amanda, and I live in a little room and share the floor with Brady, Scott, Erika, Mark, Kaitlyn, Ashlee, Ali, and Lindsey. It’s quite the party. Which we had in honor of Harry Potter. Harry Potter 5 was rented by Amanda, which is quite a story actually, she had to sign all these papers, document an address, and give two credit cards, but we got Harry and were so stoked to watch it in preparation for the 6th movie. We even had chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott’s every flavor beans. Before this we took a walking tour of London and saw the London Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the river. It was a quick little trip that covered a ton of things. The night lighting was so pretty illuminating all the sites. Before this we went to the super market to stock up on goods. I think our total was 18 pounds each for a whole weeks worth of food. I’m so excited to eat real meals! I also did laundry in the basement, so nice to have clean clothes! Now I’m going to bed on my loud creaky bunk bed. Night. me and my chocolate frog at our harry potter party

big ben in all his glory

amanda and our harry potter

our new home

free opera mornings turn into imprisoned moated nights

Due to the fact that there are innumerable sites to see and things to do, we had a free morning and decided to take full advantage of all time and do as much as we can. We, meaning Beccah, Mal, Whitney, Jenna, and I headed on the metro to the Paris Opera House. This is the one featured in Phantom of the Opera. Luckily not many people were there so early on a Saturday morning so we got to explore and take full advantage of the space. I can’t even begin to explain the grandeur and beauty of this space. Out of all those I’ve visited thus far this one seems to be the most decorated and golden. It too has a hall of mirrors like Versailles. The balcony hangs right off of this hall. A cool feature that I noticed were these two small domed rooms on either side of the mirrored hall, one represented the sun and the other the moon. The sun greeting room had gold leaf on all details and the moon room had silver on all details. It was a nice contrast and attention to details. The actual amphitheater wasn’t as big as I suspected but what I didn’t expect was the modern Chagall looking painting on the dome roof. It was nice to see a modern twist on something so classical and traditional. Red silk damask lined the walls and the lighting was so mood and picturesque. Definitely a good trip to make. We just hit up souvenir shopping after that.
We met up with our group at 2, and we were running a little behind thanks to me having to go last minute shop at the Eiffel Tower with ten minutes left. Beccah and I ran and totally made it in time. I was so proud to get my errand done and be back on time. The group boarded the bus and headed to Fontainebleau for an audio guided tour. It definitely was no Versailles. To be fair though it was really gorgeous just more of the same fancy schmancy décor, but it was nice to hear facts in our ear and not just shouted from a distance. I did learn, promise. I just can’t remember details right now other than the fact that everything was monogrammed and I mean everything. Regardless, we got back on to the bus and headed to a super market. I walked in and it smelled like Smith’s, looked like smiths, and I was in heaven! It was so nice to not have to eat out, I felt like I was on supermarket sweep though because we had to run around fast. It was so nice to just have that back.
We headed to Vaux le Vicomte which is the palace of Nicolas Fouquet who happened to be the minister to Louis the king. He built this grand palace and story goes that the king came to a dinner party, decided that it was too lush and that he must be stealing money and had him imprisoned for life. So I guess don’t ever have a nice house. Honestly, this house was incredible, the gardens were magnificent, the rooms elegant, and the moat just iconic. The best part of this entire tour was the candle lit paths. No lights were on and it made it so much more real, oh and the fact that they had mannequins that lit up. It definitely added a special uniqueness to the trip. We took lots of pictures but what happened oh yeah… rain. Like always. The bus trip back was incredibly long and uncomfortable but it was a good time. Out of the three palaces we went to I definitely loved Versailles the most. It was so magical and most ornate. Time for bed. Toodles.

candle tunnel

candlelit vaux

being a rich snobs at vaux, naturally with a finger mustache

fountainbleu

in the opera

grocery time, true polygamist style

moon room

huge mirror of life

paris opera house, isn't she pretty?

palatial paris

We woke up for a full day of fantastic events starting with a train ride to Versailles; the hunting lodge of Louis the 13th which became a royal palace for many years. It is the place where Marie Antoinette lived and raised her kids just before she was beheaded. I can’t even begin to tell you how freezing cold it was, hence my cute jacket in all my pictures. The clouds could tell you how are day went. Our tour guide’s name was Sid, short for Sigmund I decided. My favorite thing about Sid beside his crazy great accent of Louis the 14th every ten minutes was his rat tail braid tucked into his shirt. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it was about 2 feet long. Incredible. Other than these small defects Sid led us through the palace with grace and knowledge. I learned about each small salon, which are all dedicated to the planets and the gods that represent tributes as love, war, and passion. It seemed to me that the Apollo was the most favored by the Louis’. After all the small salons down the first side of the U, we came to the famous Hall of Mirrors. Let me set this up for you. Seventeen huge arch windows overlooking the gardens and balcony opposite seventeen huge mirrors which reflect the sunlight. Each side is decorated with gold and a chandelier down each side. The lighting and reflections off the mirrors are breathtaking. After this you walk through the King’s chambers which are centered right in the middle of the palace, naturally. The Louis kings were very self- centered and made sure their busts and photographs and initials were plastered everywhere. After our tour we followed Sid out into the gardens for some lunch. I had packed some things from the market so I sat in the grass next to the mile long Grand Canal. There were boats and topiaries, fountains and flowers, vines and trees, and also bugs. I could not handle it but the picnic was fun and cute with all my girlfriends.
Our group continued into the gardens, the size I can’t even describe, and to the Trianon. The Grand Trianon was a small palace for Louis to use in the summer, for his summer lovers. Marie Antoinette was fully aware of this habit that the king had and built her own Petite Trianon next door. Her style is so elegant and classy; it’s the modern traditional look that you would see in Government buildings and such. I look at it as the French country palatial look. Grandeur simplicity. Definitely something I would consider. Her favorite color was a pale green and she used that all around the place with wall patterns in silk, and chairs, and even her portrait. She also hated the rich lifestyle and forced the king to make her a hamlet home that was extremely French country, windmill, pond and all. It was so adorable! The geraniums were potted in every corner, the water lilies were beautiful, and the whole idea genius. Pictures to follow.
After our long visit to the grounds we took the train back to Paris and hustled our buns up to Sacra Couer which is French for the sacred heart. Only Susie, Megan, and I went up because it was such a quick turnover. Inside the chapel itself were these funky modern windows with green, oranges, and purples. They almost looked like sketches in the glass. The asymmetrical and unbalanced look totally added this unexpected flair which I loved. Not to mention the greatest sites of Paris can be seen from on top of the hill. We proceeded down the stairs to these few little shops that were funky and fabulous. It was totally an artsy part of town and I totally felt at home. You may say I dropped a few Euros here. Due to our lateness of the evening we had to hit up the McDonald’s. I ordered chicken nuggets, I think. The man couldn’t understand my English and had to do actions. My favorite was the question for sauce, BBQ or sweet and sour, which was completed with an eye slanting motion. I laughed my butt off (I wish). Next we saw this lady who had split personality disorder or something. She ordered like 12 things, and 3 different drinks, all for herself. She then started talking to herself and doing weird hexes. Michelle kept staring at her and when she noticed she did a hex on Michelle. Great night. Despite the rain we walked back to the hotel and you know what’s next, bed for now, Salut!


sacra couer

on top of the city

marie antoinette's hamlet

hall of mirrors

sid, our tour guide with a rat tail, the length to be determined

one of the salon ceilings

versaille front gates and such

the best of's list... thus far

Things necessary to make me happy in a hotel

no holes in the wall
a bed, not a cot with a foam pad
a mini fridge
a shower curtain
more than one plug that works
easy to understand light switches, and more than one light
a happy concierge who speaks English
working air conditioning
an elevator
more than mirror
a door that shuts
space to place luggage
outlets by mirrors
fire alarms that function


Top Gelato flavors
pineapple
coconut
lemon
pistachio
strawberry
raspberry
crème de grom (cookie dough)
black cherry
stratcialla, chocolate chip
vanilla


Best foods in Italy
cheeseburger
gnocchi
spaghetti
pizza
ravioli

Cities that smell the worst
Paris
Florence
Venice
Rome
London

Best foods in France
Éclairs
Crepes
Cheeseburger
Omelet
Poulet Sandwiches

so it has been a few days

The day began with a quick little train ride, bus ride, and walk to Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. So… for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s his self proclaimed best work because it covers his five values of architecture, one of them being a free floating façade which he accomplishes with a large horizontal level raise by simple white posts. He also heavily believed in simple style and rooftop gardens. My favorite architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, despised architects like Corbusier and referred to them as ‘glass box boys.’ I find this to be interesting because FLW used many of the same design principles such as long horizontal bands and use of nature completing the design. Needless to say I loved his spiral staircase and rooftop gardens, but I mostly loved the master bedroom’s bathroom which posed a tub with a side tiled seat. It was totally rad and modern. I loved that we walked through a little grove and there was this architectural giant in the middle of nowhere. I filmed the design because I couldn’t resist not referring to it later on for studio work. We had the opportunity to sit and sketch the house; you’d be surprised how hard a simple building was for me to draw. Ridiculous. We proceeded to the train for our ride back to Paris.
One of the best dining experiences I’ve had came next. We rode the elevator up to the 5th floor to Kong, a chic restaurant designed by Philippe Stark (designer of my favorite chair, that’ll come soon). I loved the elevator menu which had a graphic video of an elevator zooming up and down and opening to pictures of each floor. Little things like this make a huge difference in the appeal of a space. Our waiter promptly greeted us and we sat down in nothing less than my favorite chair, the ghost chair. Now you may be saying, what the heck is that let me describe its grandeur. Stark takes a classic oval back chair, turns it into a plastic mold, and then the appeal… turns it translucent. Sexiest piece of furniture. Look it up. Not only was it beautiful but so comfortable! Refer to my picture for further details. The chairs had these women’s’ faces in the middle, there was cool little lamps on the table, leather seating, a Japanese woman pictured on the ceiling, and incredible views of the river. Not only was the design cool but the food was incredible. Best food I’ve had in Paris, sorry crepes and croissants, you’re overrated. I ordered a salad with fruit; the mixture was so different and delicious. Melon, apple, orange, pepper, and tomatoes. SO good… and expensive.
I, Susie, Ashley, and Megan headed over to Notre Dame while everyone else went to the museum. The interiors were so beautiful, stained glass everywhere, rib vaulted ceilings galore, and an incredible dome. Our trip was quick due to the fact that they were closing, unfortunate.
We proceeded to meet up with everyone else at the Musee D’Orsay which is a smaller version of the Louvre. It held incredible paintings by Van Gogh, Mary Cassat, Renoir, Rodin, Monet, Manet, and so many more. They even had sketches and pastels that blew my mind; it was so simple and elegant that I can’t figure out why I can’t produce artwork like that. Then I realize I don’t have that gift imbedded in my system. Maybe I should consider an art major? Jokes.
We left Susie and Megan at the museum to wander some more, while Michelle, Ashley, and I had an agenda to meet at the Eiffel Tower. After two nights of attempting to get up the iron we were going to do everything we could to get there. After twelve metro transfers and 80 stops, we walked up to an hour long line realizing that we only have ten minutes before they closed the top level. Disappointed we stayed in line to at least get an experience, and that it was. As soon as we rode the elevator to the second level, lighting started to appear in the distant sky. We thought sweet, we can get some sick pictures, oh no two seconds later a tempest arrived with horrendous winds, floods from the heavens, and lightning close. So there I was standing with my camera, money, and everything else in the pouring rain. Naturally everyone started screaming and squatting for cover. Due to the fact that I had a skirt on, I had to stand and shelter my fellow mates. Not pleasant. Some ran into the gift shop, we got that memo far too late. I had to hope the fence and get covered. No way I was gonna pull my camera back out of my bag now. The security guards wouldn’t let us up to the top level, or down because the stairs and elevators were closed. Naturally this would happen to us. Stuck on the Eiffel tower in a tempest (That’s what our worker called it). Finally we got into an elevator for the ride down and the doors wouldn’t open up because of the wind pressure. So here I was trapped in an elevator for about 20 minutes with a huge group of black women from Maryland. Famous quotes from them during this time…
“Is that a baby dinosaur?” referring to a child screaming. “Jurassic Park Paris!”
Me, “no, it’s a baby.” Lady, “oh it’s not even the baby, that’s a big baby.”
Also… trying to get the rest of their posse all on the train, “Lisa, Lisa! Help Lisa!”
Other woman, “I can’t help the sister!”
Needless to say you needed to be there to experience this marvelous moment in my life. Hilarious. We finally got down to a deserted ground and walked cold, wet, and miserable back to the hotel. Quite the time we had. Experiences all over the place.


the eiffel tower lady who gracious saved our lives

eiffel tower=disappointing

musee d' orsay with Ash

inside with the rose window

notre dame from the outside

lunch at Kong, a Phillipe Stark restaurant

lovely spiral staircase.

the iconic master bathroom, love the sitting tile bench.

this is villa savoye by corbusier. pretty gorgeous right?