London (A Slightly Late Update, I Know)

Well, I have promised myself that I would complete my blog entries before I arrived in the States. I will begin more than a week ago, and shall hopefully encapsulate everything that has happened since then without dragging on too much.

I believe I left you with an account of Sunday's adventures. The next day, Monday, I woke up and went with Ashley and Mr. Underwood to Leicester Square. This is an area in the heart of London which has a great many retailers of discount theater tickets. London, home to one of the most well known theater scenes in the world, has a huge number of musicals and dramas. Half of their family chose to see "We Will Rock You" and the other half "Dreamboats and Petticoats." Now, you can imagine which one I immediately crossed off my list (you can't judge a book by its cover, but I choose to judge this play by its name). Unfortunately, seats for both the Queen musical and the other play i wanted to see, Les Miserables, were more than I wanted to pay, so decided not to go.

From Leicester Square Ashley and I took to the tube to the Imperial War Museum, which I found fascinating. They had exhibits as well as retired implements of war - tanks, missiles, airplanes, etc. - and we wound up staying for almost three hours without realizing it. We ate a late lunch at Panzer's again, and I also tried a Chocolate Dreamcake doughnut, which Krispy Kreme only offers in the UK.

For dinner we went to Ping Pong, a Chinese restaurant serving dim sum. These are little samplers of fried dumplings and spring rolls. I had never tried them before but really liked them. That evening they went to see their respective plays and I returned to the hostel and tried to catch up on some journaling.

On Tuesday we went to Covent Square Garden and browsed through the shops and stalls. It was much smaller than Portobello Road, though, and Madison and I quickly abandoned the market in favor of watching a street performer; it was Madison's ardent wish that she see a "good street performer" while in London, and this one wasn't bad. He was a performer with a showman's air about him, and did things like driving a nail into his nose, followed by balancing on the top rung of a ladder for at least ten minutes while telling jokes and catching bowling pins that were thrown to him.

This was followed with a walk to the British Museum, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It reminded me of the Night At The Museum film, and was maybe the most interesting museum of them all. It had the Rosetta Stone. It had three thousand year-old Egyptian mummies. It had a stone head from Easter Island. We only stayed for an hour and I had already decided to see it again by the time we left.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at several department stores, including Selfridge's again, this time for a less frenetic visit. We rejoined the Underwoods, who were very kind in allowing me to tag along with them for part of their vacation, at the Haagen Dazs restaurant near Piccadilly Circus for dinner. Yep, it was a sit-down restaurant that only serves ice cream. I chose a tray with scoops of Belgium chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, caramel and praline, and creme brulee. It was delicious, obviously.

Before heading home we stopped in M&M World, which was a big store on Oxford Street devoted exclusively to, you guessed it, M&M's. London has everything it seems. 

Omaha beach and tour eiffel

Hello again,

Yesterday I had one of the coolest experiences ever - I too the train to normandy for a day trip to the d- day beaches. Before I even got there, though, I had a two hour stop in the town of bayeux, which was the first French town to be liberated by the Americans. I walked to the town cathedral, which dAted from the 12 th century and had a combined Norman and gothic architectural style. The village was very small and quaint, but the church was easily my favorite part. Incredibly elaborate arches, buttresses, recessed statues all around, etc. And that was just a side trip.

For the main venue, I took a busverts bus from bayeux to colleville - sur- mer, the location of the American military cemetery. The whole site was incredibly well taken care of, with immaculate lawns, beds of flowers, and the like. At one end of the complex was a wall with a stAtue representing liberty as well as some battle diagrams. By far the most striking scene, however, was the rows and rows, and more rows, of white crosses. When I stood on the center they stretched almost as far as I could see. It was a little difficult to comprehend the enormity of it all. I have been to Arlington cemetery, but this was different. This was just one invasion.

After a while I decided to walk down to the beach. It was low tide, and the sands easily covered 600 feet from the cliffs to the water's edge. I immediAtely thought how difficult it must have been to charge across such a wide expense while under attack from the Germans above. Omaha beach was divided into Ten sectors; I walked from easy red to easy fox. Up the bluffs of easy fox I climbed, only to discover the ruins of a Nazi bunker, buried in the hillside. I continued up the bluff, only to find a dozen or more similar artifacts: trenches, pillboxes, gun case mounts, and more. It was a little boy's (and a twenty year old boy's too) dream to wander across the cliff, climbing inside the few intact bunkers and imagining myself there on that fateful day, almost 67 years ago exactly.

Today was less sobering but no less eventful. I started off with a metro ride to the Eiffel tower. Which was really a neat sight. It is huge, and dominates the skyline. It wasn't my favorite though, especially with the hordes of tourists and the annoying people trying to sell Eiffel tower keychains.

A visit to the church of st sulpice was more relaxing, but I was a little surprised to see such a Italian- style church deep within Paris. I then walked to the pantheon, where Voltaire, curie, Hugo, etc. Are buried. My favorite parts of the day were tied between the cathedral de notre dame and...the jardin du Luxembourg. So much has been written about notre dame thAt I won't try to improve on it. I think the only way to truly experience its grandeur is to visit in person, for it really is an awesome spectacle. No less beautiful were the Luxembourg gardens. It was a wonderful park in the heart of Paris, incredibly peaceful and filled with children playing and parents reading. The focal point was the broad lawn in front of the Luxembourg palace. Statues and a ring of flowers surrounded the grass, and I wish I could have spent more time there.

I am planning on visiting the louvre tomorrow, and hope to update y'all soon.

Please Don't Give Up On The Blog!

Hey yall,

So sorry for the long absence of posts. Between my flight back, my birthday, a week-long bike ride, etc., things have been pretty busy. No excuses though.

Also, I have several long-overdue posts on my ipad and am planning on doing a massive update when I return home from Chapel Hill.

After a couple of suggestions that I continue my blogging even though my Europe trip is over, I decided to try and keep the posts coming.

Keep checking!

Josh

The Fun Continues

I woke up the next morning to a beautiful day, almost a repeat of the day before. The Underwoods had invited me to go to their old church, Holy Trinity of Brompton, which was within walking distance of my hostel. I got there early, and began to grow a little alarmed when the first song began with no sign of the Underwoods. The band played a second song, and then a third, and finally I saw Ashley and her family come into the parking lot. As it turns out, the tube took longer than expected; I was just glad to hear that I hadn't gotten churches or times confused (my previous train record wasn't unblemished, so that would have been a definite possibility). 

The church service itself was really good. It was held in an old Anglican church building dating back over one hundred years. However, the format and sermon were very relevant and much more contemporary than I would have expected.

After church we walked down the street to Harrod's, but they were still closed for another hour. We then took a short bus ride to nearby Hyde Park, which was huge. It was very different from Regent's park, though, containing more open fields and less of Regent's garden spaces. At one end of the park was Speaker's Corner, which was where locals gathered to grandstand and debate each other. Apparently the rhetorical quality varied a fair amount, and personally I think many people went just for the entertainment value.

From Hyde Park Mr. Underwood took us along a slightly meandering walk to Buckingham Palace. We stopped along the way to eat in one of London's many small parks. Buckingham Palace was very impressive-looking. The roundabout in front of it was cordoned off for just pedestrians and it was cool to see such a grand and famous building close-up. Oh, and the bearskin helmets of the redcoat guards were neat too, though nothing spectacular.

I still wanted to see Harrod's and so Ashley and I took the tube to Knightsbridge, where I embarked upon a five-storied journey of wonder (alright, so that sounds a little hyperbolic, but it was an amazing store). The best way I know how to describe Harrod's is as a megapalooza extravaganza. Coming from tiny Southern Pines, the biggest mall I had ever shopped in was in Raleigh. Harrod's was incredible. It made Selfridge's look wimpy.

Every single thing anybody could want you could find in that store. In fact, Harrod's prides itself on being able to obtain whatever its customers want (e.g. an elephant was procured for one gentleman). High-end electronics, a bookstore, an umbrella department, fashion labels of the highest sort, equestrian gear, hiking apparel, a pet store, interior decorating, luxury candies, and a chandelier section comprised just a fraction of what Harrod's had to offer. At one point I wandered into the cartography department and was quickly greeted by a salesman who asked what type of map I was looking to purchase. I told him, "honestly, I am not looking to buy anything, but was wondering if you had any maps of North Carolina." 

The man proceeded to show me their oldest map of the Carolinas, dating from the 1600's and priced to sell at $35,000. And there are people who can actually afford to pay that much. I have much to learn about such things.

After stopping to rest at a pastry shop across the street, we left Harrod's and walked to the Museum of Natural History. Both of our feet were very tired by this point and so we limited our stay to the bird and dinosaur exhibits. The bird display was really neat as it was mainly a showcase of stuffed extinct and exotic specimens. I liked the dinosaurs even more, though. It is incredible to think that animals that big could ever roam Earth. They had a good number of interactive displays and fossilized remains, both of which I enjoyed.

After leaving the museum we met the rest of the Underwood family near the Tower of London and collectively journeyed to Abbey Road. I think the Beatles singlehandedly immortalized that crosswalk, or zebra crossing as it is called in the UK. Well, we joined several other reenactors attempting to recreate the famous album cover, though the pictures didn't quite turn out so well.

I went and saw the Underwood's old apartment, or flat as it is called in the UK, and it was a literal walk down memory lane for them, I think. We also passed by Ashley's high school, and I could tell that she sort of missed it. For dinner we ate at one of the Underwood's old favorites, Cafe Rouge. I thought it was fine, but Mr. Underwood declared that, "it wasn't as good as he remembered."

After dinner we finished the evening with a stop back at Abbey Road in order to hopefully have better luck at picture-taking. These came out slightly better, but the fading light made things a little dark.

Ah yes, and we did have a small diversion that day. After dinner, we had paused in front of a bakery and observed a very eccentric person get out of a grandmother-type Jaguar across the street. After a little discussion among ourselves we determined that it was a man, and moreover he appeared to enjoy celebrity status. Several people stopped to take their picture with him and he also granted some autograph requests. Mrs. Underwood was bound to find out who this unknown celebrity was, and so she went to ask two of the people who had taken their picture with him. As it turns out, they were just as unsure as we were, and had only asked for his picture because they assumed that, as other people were doing it, he must be famous. Oh boy.           

Just the tip of the iceberg, the iceberg being London

The next day, Saturday, we woke up and headed to Portobello Road, with its famous market. I was fortunate to be able to go as the market only occurs on Saturdays, and so we joined a great deal of other deal-seekers and tourists as we made our way down the street.

It was a gorgeous day. There wasn't a cloud in sight and it was cool but just warm enough to not get chilled. I was a little disappointed by the Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam. This, however, made up for it. The market stretched on and on for at least a mile, probably more, and there was almost every sort of item imaginable. 

At the beginning were all types of antiques; it was hard to get a feel for just how large the place was because behind many of the street stalls were actual stores, many of them multiple-storied and with long hallways filled to the brim with trinkets. There were typical antique stores here, but some specialty stalls too. Two of my favorites featured vintage sporting goods and antique maps. I thought about buying a map, but couldn't find one that I was exceptionally fond of and so contented myself with "just looking" instead. After all, that costs less, as a salesman in Italy had reminded me a few weeks ago.

After several blocks the antique vendors petered out and the market transitioned to more conventional wares. There were a good many booths for jewelry, t-shirts, and hard-to-find novels, as well as leather goods and the occasional random guy selling things like electro CD's. This section of the market ended with a large number of food vendors. Unlike Amsterdam, these folks mostly sold food that had already been cooked; this was definitely an improvement over the raw fish odor that pervaded the former market. Ashley recommended a booth selling spicy chicken burgers. They were of a German style, pretty cheap, and very good. 

The market died down - and died off - after the food area, for all that was left were flea market type vendors who weren't able to obtain a stall in the nicer areas of the market. Other than this, the market was really a fine experience. I was amazed at the mind-blowing array of so many different things all in close proximity: everything from old telescopes, clocks, rings, toy soldiers, a plethora of necklaces and more was displayed here. I have been to several street markets, a few estate sales, and have more than had my fill of garage sales. The Portobello Road Market, however, trumped them all.

We had done quite a bit already, and it was only just past noon! From Portobello Road we took a bus to St. Paul's. It was a fairly long ride and I was thankful to find a bathroom once I got off (too much information?) There was an admission fee to go inside so we only stayed a few minutes walking around its perimeter. It was very pretty and definitely a landmark. From there, we walked on the pedestrian-only Millennium Bridge across the Thames. It had a nice view of the city and I was able to see the iconic London Bridge to the East. I have found that i really like bridges. The bridge ended at the Tate Modern Gallery. Like almost all of London's museums, this one was free. Perhaps they feel a tinge of guilt for having "acquisitioned" so many treasures from other nations, or maybe they want to attract more tourists. Either way, I wasn't going to complain.

We didn't spent too much time at the Tate Modern. As expected, it was filled with a lot of pieces that we thought were rather questionably labeled as "art." I was, however, interested with a floating staircase that was made from fabric but very realistic.

After leaving the Tate Museum not much inspired, we walked along the South Bank of the Thames. This was much more inspiring. The weather was still every bit as beautiful as before, and we joined a crowd of Londoners who had the same idea of enjoying the afternoon there. There was a main sidewalk dotted with benches (most all of them full) and we walked all the way to one of London's newer attractions, The London Eye. At the base of this giant ferris wheel was a skatepark as well as a temporary street festival, with young musicians, food, and booths with (more) knick-knacks. Also, there was a group of aspiring teenage hip-hop dancers who were talented but even more enthusiastic and so we spent a little while watching them. 

Ashley's family had planned to be in London for their own vacation and so we had arranged to meet them that evening at Carluccio's, an Italian restaurant. We took the tube from the London Eye to the restaurant and met the Underwoods for a nice dinner. I think her family really enjoyed seeing her again, and I too was glad to be able to meet up with them.

After dinner we parted ways: I was determined not to let Topshop get the best of me and so Ashley and I went back for a redemption round while the rest of her family checked out another department store. This time was a 100 percent improvement. The very first pair of jeans I tried on were an excellent fit, and Ashley bought me a sharp-looking shirt to go with it. I really like it and it made for a very nice early birthday present.

From Topshop we took a short walk to one of London's biggest department stores, Selfridge's. It was almost closing time and so I didn't have much time to take it in but the little I did see was amazing. They had an entire bottom floor devoted to food, and several additional floors of men's, women's, and children's clothing. I was awed, to say the least. 

After going with Ashley to take her luggage to the hotel where she would be staying with her family, I headed back to the hostel and crawled into bed.  
  

A Fantastic Day in London!

I must apologize for not having posted sooner. Between dicy Internet service and a whirlwind of spectacular, fun-filled days, I honestly have not had time. Here is what I did on my first day in London:

We woke up at around 5:15am to catch our 6:50am Eurostar train to London. It is a good thing we left when we did, because we almost didn't make it in time. I had forgotten that Britain is not part of the Schengen Agreement, so the boarding process was more like going on an airplane than a conventional train. Once we had rushed through customs and completed entry forms, we sprinted to the train and got on with barely a minute to spare.

We passed under the English Channel, but it seemed no different than any other tunnel, only longer. London is one hour behind continental Europe, so we arrived at St. Pancras station before 8 o'clock. Ashley and I purchased a seven day tube (metro) pass and by the time we checked into our hostel we still had the entire day ahead of us.

We decided that the best way to get a feel for the city would be to see some of the major landmarks, so we set off for Parliament and Big Ben. I learned that Big Ben is actually not the name of the tower, but rather of the bell inside the tower. Next stop was Westminster Abbey. It was massive and very ornate, at least from what I could see of the outside. Excepting services, there is an admission charge, so we didn't go inside. It was still a very cool sight though. 

Afterwards, we walked West past no. 10 Downing Street (a very unremarkable residence if you ask me) and stopped a little further down the street to see the changing of the Queen's Life Guard and their horses. Every day at 11 o'clock, the troop stands at attention for over 20 minutes while the ceremony is carried out. Both the mares and guards were dressed in fancy regalia, and this definitely provided me with a sense of British atmosphere. We finished our walk down the street at Trafalgar Square, which has a large traffic roundabout and a towering column topped with a statue of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson. The pillar was bordered by four large, bronze lions, and I may or may not have climbed up the back of one.

At one end of Trafalgar Square was the British National Gallery, which housed a collection of paintings rivaling the Louvre's. We only travelled through one of the wings, and this alone took at least an hour. The paintings were varied but mostly consisted of realist still lives, landscapes, and portraits. They were not all as magnificently spectacular as the Louvre's, but were still good. Our feet were fairly tired by this point and so we took one of London's famed double-decker buses to the St. John's Wood borough. The bus fare was included in my tube pass, and while it was slightly slower than the underground, it afforded an excellent view of the city, especially from my vantage point in the front row of the upper level.

Once at our destination we stopped for lunch at a grocery-delicatessen called Panzer's; Ashley used to eat here as she lived in this neighborhood when she was staying in London. I think she really enjoyed revisiting some of her old roads and shops. Anyways, I ordered a toasted turkey, tomato and Gouda panini and I must say it was delicious. From Panzer's we walked down St. John's Wood High Street (every borough has a road called High Street) and it reminded me of Southern Pines' Broad Street with its local boutiques, pastry shops and community-oriented feel.

High Street led us to Regent's Park, which is not as famous as its sister, Hyde Park, but much nicer. There were several sporting fields, walking paths, a lake with paddle boats, and my favorite, Queen Mary's Garden. It had sort of a naturalistic feel while also retaining an extremely manicured appearance. I don't know how many gardeners are employed there, but regardless they do a fantastic job.

We stayed for at least an hour and a half; all the while it was growing increasingly chilly so we went back to the hostel via the Baker Street tube station. For the Sherlock Holmes fans among you, you will recognize this as the street occupied by the world's most renowned detective. It was not particularly interesting by itself, though it was quite fun to walk along the road where I had joined my fictitious friend many times before.

After putting on warmer clothes, we took the tube once more to the Soho district in search of Bodean's BBQ. Soho is London's cultural center and is home to countless bars, restaurants and several theaters. Bodean's exact location remained a little hazy in Ashley's recollection but we finally found it after an hour of searching. We were not the only ones wanting to eat there, however, for there was a one hour wait. I decided that we had invested too much time to not eat there and so I spent the interim at one of London's department stores, Topshop. Ashley convinced me to try on a few pairs of jeans and I reluctantly agreed (to be frank I only have one pair that really fits me well). 

Let's just say that the changing room experience was traumatic. Either Londoners have a rather feminine sense of fashion or they just do not have leg muscles as both pairs of jeans I tried were more like hosiery than denim. I hightailed it out of there and though still a bit flustered, was quickly put at ease by a delicious pulled pork sandwich with a side of French fries. I cannot say it was as good as a North Carolina pig pickin', but by European standards it was pretty tasty (the restaurant owners were American, after all).

It was past 10pm by the time we finished dinner and so we ended our first night in London with a visit to Picadilly Circus. For those of you with visions of human cannonballs and performing elephants, you must know that this is not an actual circus, but rather a circular area that forms the epicenter for much of London's shopping areas. I think it can be compared somewhat to Times Square in New York, though this is less hectic. On several of the surrounding buildings there were bright, attention-grabbing advertisements and in the center, a statue with steps to sit upon.

What a packed day we had. I had been in London for less than 24 hours and already I knew I was going to love it.                

The surprising city of Brussels

After a three hour train ride to Belgium, we arrived in yet another city: Brussels. We got to our hostel a little later than expected due to our train's failure to stop at its advertised station; instead of getting off at the central station as we had intended, we had to take the metro from the more distant South station. It was not a major deal, but it served as a good reminder of how much more laborious a walk is when carrying luggage.

That afternoon, we walked to the Galleries St. Hubert, which was a series of fancy restaurants and gourmet chocolate shops on either side of a glass-roofed street. We stopped at two separate chocolatiers: we each tried a piece at the first store and by the second, decided that they were so good we needed to buy a whole box. After all, we were at Neuhaus, the inventor of the praline! After careful selection, we each choose eight and boy, were they amazing. My favorite was a tie between a plain caramel and a praline and caramel filled chocolate. Believe me, they were worth every penny, or rather euro(s). 

After my exposure to chocolate heaven, we walked to the nearby central square which was called the Grand Place. My first impression of the city was that Brussels was mostly drab, boring, and even a little ugly. Imagine my surprise, then, when I walked into the central square and found myself surrounded by old, elaborate buildings covered with flower boxes, decorated with a good number of statues and with some appearing almost Bavarian. It was certainly a marked change from the rest of Brussels. By this point, it was close to dinner time and so we set off for the Mannekin Pis. You have undoubtedly seen him, even if you don't immediately recognize the name. It is the statue of the little peeing boy, and is Brussel's most famous icon, though I must say that it is not extremely imposing. 

I had been smelling Belgium waffles everywhere and so we stopped so I could buy one covered with powdered sugar. Just the waffle and the chocolate alone made the trip to Brussels worthwhile. We had mostly seen the touristy places and so we returned to our hostel with a slight detour to a grocery for more chocolate. It was good, though admittedly of a lesser quality. And thus we concluded our short but productive afternoon in Brussels - next stop, London!

Amsterdam

 

Well, I was caught up. I'll do my best to bring you up-to-date again.

From Paris, Ashley and I took a train to Amsterdam and spent the afternoon walking along canals and exploring the Vondelpark. Like Venice, Amsterdam is full of canals. However, that is where the comparisons ended, at least for me. The canals in Venice form the backbone of the city: trash pickup, grocery delivery, etc. all occur via the canals. They are only a couple yards across in most places, and somewhat serpentine-like.

Amsterdam's canals, on the other hand, are arranged in a methodical, orderly pattern (they are man-made after all). They are bigger and there are plenty of roads to supplement the waterways passageways. I should mention, though, that bicycles seem to form the majority of road traffic there. Another major difference, and in fact, something unlike any other city I have been to, was that the houses almost all used the steepest staircases I have ever seen. Our hostel steps literally appeared almost insurmountable at first glance.

As I said earlier, after inspecting the nearby canals we headed to the Vondelpark. This is one of Amsterdam's largest outdoor parks, and I really enjoyed wandering through it. There were a lot of different birds there - parrots, swans, herons - and it was certainly a nice place to talk a walk or picnic. Oh, I almost forgot. We also were befriended by a funny looking little bird with a stocky body, long legs, a red and yellow beak, and a rear-end that looked as if it had been lopped off. He made a beeline straight towards me and really seemed quite attached to us. Ashley named him Wilfred. Dinner that evening was rather unexceptional, I must say. I found a pizza shop that claimed to be Napolian, but unfortunately it didn't come close to competing with the real thing.    

I woke up early the next morning to eat breakfast and left for the Anne Frank House Museum to try and avoid the long lines. I had read her diary several years ago, and while it was not especially fresh in my mind, I still remembered how impressed I was with her optimism, candidness, and her sad but all-too-accurate description of the Nazi regime.

I am glad I went, but it was not one the greatest exhibitions I have visited. Anne's father, Otto Frank, wanted the house to remain unfurnished, so the house was mostly just descriptions about the residents of the secret annex, summaries about their daily life, and so forth. There were several pages from her original diary which I really enjoyed seeing, but I was a little bored by the end of the tour.

I returned to the hostel and met Ashley (who slept in) and we decided to walk towards the central part of town to look at the Albert Cuyp market. It was billed as one of Europe's biggest open-air markets, but in actuality it was fairly junky and I did not find many of the stalls worthwhile. Lunch, by contrast, was very good. We found a cafe at the end of the market that served fresh paninis and had a late lunch there.

We next walked back to our hostel, stopping along the way for me to look inside an outdoor shop (Austria had whetted my appetite for these). I finished emailing Jeff about our rendezvous plans for the evening and took a little nap; Ashley made some delicious bruschetta for dinner and afterwards we walked North to Amsterdam's historical district to meet Jeff, Jimmy, Caroline, Emily, and Cayce at our prearranged spot near the train station.

They had already eaten dinner so we strolled up and down several of the nearby streets. Along the way, we popped into a bar and also saw the closing minutes of an amazing street performance featuring a man who specialized in the juggling of flaming batons while perched on a ten-foot tall unicycle. I should mention that Amsterdam's historical district is also home to its infamous Red Light District. This side of town was just beginning to wake up while we were walking through, but we saw enough to discern why the town is largely known for its lasciviousness and consumption of, shall we say, quasi-legal substances.

By the way, did I mention that we all got free admission to a bar as well as free drinks? A very generous South African fellow was our benefactor, and we made sure to tell him thanks. Jeff and I were able to represent America with pride as we successfully requested Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA," and it was an overall great night.  It was terrific to see the gang again, but I think it was good we only stayed two nights as there were not so many sightseeing opportunities (unless you happened to be a huge fan of the coffeeshops there).