Paris: Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, Musee D'Orsay, Louvre

Friday, 3/21/03
Most of what I wrote yesterday is rubbish. But there are, I think, a few lines semi-worthy to be called poetic. Most of all I was trying to scribble down a way to remember the images.

Well, our fears about Paris seemed to be ill founded. They obviously didn't deny our passports; they didn't even ask any questions. We easily caught a bus to central Paris and once we got there, some nice French men (they spoke English) showed us where the Metro Station was and how to get to our stop, and one man walked us to our hotel. When we were on the subway a group of street musicians, two accordionists and a tambourinist got in our car and started playing and singing. I felt it was a perfect welcome to the city. They played one song I even recognized. I think it was an Operatic song Pavarotti sings.

We were afraid our hotel would be scary because it was cheap, but all turned out very well. The front hall looked dark and narrow from the street. It's old, but the room is nice (our own room!), it has wallpaper, a wardrobe, and our own (clean!) shower and sink. The toilet is in the hall. On one wall we can tell there used to be a fireplace. This must have been an old house or something. There's only a curtain in front of the shower room and the sink is literally lodged behind the shower. Only problem: the cars in the street are a little loud, and Carmen and I, on our double bed, have a long, jelly roll-like pillow that is thin and hard. But what are the cons--we have our own room! It is clean! Now I want to see Paris!

*********************************

What a packed day! I went to four buildings today: Notre-Dame, Ste. Chappelle, Musee D'Orsay, and the Louvre. The funny thing is that my least favorite was the Louvre, just because it was so massive I couldn't visualize its organization in my head. It was confusing, with steps that went up, down, around again, halls one after another until you had no idea where you were. But there were a few things I really enjoyed seeing, which I'll describe later.

This morning we walked to Notre Dame, supposedly a 20 min walk but it took us longer because we went the wrong direction at first (there are at least 3 rues with "Temple" in them in Paris) then we had to get breakfast. Notre Dame, I think, is the only thing in Paris that is free. The cathedral didn't disappoint or exceed my expectations. What I liked best about it was that the stone walls, arches, vaults, etc. were left bare and not caked with frescoes or other paints. The decoration was minimal when compared with Italian cathedrals. The ribs could be admired for their own marvelous merit.

I went through the cathedral a total of four times: first to get to know the space, second to take pictures, third to look closer at the sculptures, and fourth to look frantically for Valerie and Carmen. I really wished we could go up into the gallery, but in no cathedral I've seen have they allowed that. I actually think the Duomo at Pisa was the only Italian cathedral I've seen with a gallery.

Next, I went to Sainte Chappelle. I went alone because V & C didn't want to pay the money (€3.50). That chapel, which wasn't going to miss for the world, didn't exceed or disappoint my expectations either. It was absolutely gorgeous. The painting is very bright and rich, but to me it's more acceptable because it's a small chapel. And, of course, the stained glass on the second level is marvelous.

When I met my two companions outside in the square again, we didn't have any definite place to go except the Louvre, and couldn't go there until 3 because it was cheaper. So I suggested the Musee D'Orsay, another no-miss because it has a ton of impressionist art. Carmen wanted to go too because of Degas' Dancers, but Valerie didn't want to.

The Musee D'Orsay was amazing. Some of Monet's best known paintings and my favorites, were there, as well as Renoir, Van Gogh, and many many others. I now appreciate the other impressionists aside from Monet a lot more. I still prefer his style the most though. It's the most representative of impressionists in general, dabs of color here and there to create a beautifully coded composition.

Carmen told me something funny in the museum. In Clueless, Tye asks Cher if she thinks Amber is pretty and Cher says, "No, she's a full Monet! From a distance she looks fin, but up close she's a complete mess." That reminded me of "Lucy as a work of art" in A Room With a View.

I noticed that Renoir's style is more polished, his colors more smoothly mixed, and his painting features more distinct. And it's fitting because he paints more portraits. Another painter, was it Cezanne? His paintings almost seem like patchwork quilts in their coloring. His landscapes are breathtaking.

Then there is Van Gogh. His trademark is the swirls of color, the curves, the almost cartoony scenes. But his paintings have a character and charm that none of the others do. I think his colors are the least blended of all the artists I know, but they complement each other so fascinatingly.

Carmen and I almost ran through the rest of the museum. I remember little of it. I would rather have spent that time staring at the paintings I loved, but we didn't want to miss anything. The architecture of the museum was great too. I loved the glass vault of the main room.

After the Musee D'Orsay we hurried over to the Louvre (we made it through D'Orsay in 1 1/2 hours) to meet Valerie, not having a clue where we should meet her. Luckily she was in the courtyard of the main entrance, Pei's Pyramid. She came running up to us in quite a fright. A French Arab man had been making the moves on her. He followed her around, then told her she was so beautiful and would she like to go into the museum with him. She told him no, that she was waiting for some friends. When we got there she was still afraid he was hanging around. But we didn't see him again. Carmen and I were there to protect her!

So we went into the museum. First, of course, we went through the long painting gallery to get to Ms. Mona Lisa. Valerie didn't see what the big deal was. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about why she was so revered until I attempted to explain it to Valerie. See, we were brought up knowing about the Mona Lisa's fame and so we can't look at her with an impartial eye. Seeing her in person, however, it really struck me how much she does appear to be looking at you (or something over your shoulder_ and is trying to smother a smirk. Other portraits in those days just weren't like that. Her eyes are looking to the side, which makes it seem as if they would follow you as you walked past her. I wouldn't really see the smirk if it weren't for the laugh lines under her eyes, in addition to the one mouth corner turned up. And then there is the question of "Who was the model?" No one knows, though some suspect it was Da Vinci himself. I think the main thing is that it was revolutionary for an artist to show such a subtle yet superior sense of humor. Valerie still didn't get it.

After that we kind of drifted around, so overwhelmed we didn't know where to go. Valerie and I wanted to see an Islamic and Asian ancient art exhibit but it was closed for the day. Then Carmen wanted to see the sculpture of Cupid & Psyche. It was beautiful, the position beautiful, though it didn't have near the detail as Bernini's sculptures, and not quite the theatrical vitality. It was by Cavor.

Next we went to see the crown jewels of Louis the XIV. The main crown I didn't like; it seemed rather clumsily put together with multi-colored jewels that didn't match. Probably just because it's so old. But there was a tiny blue gem-set crown and jewelry that I liked. My favorite was a divine emerald-set-in-silver crown for a female. It was so beautiful that I want to use it in my Fantasy tale. I was bitterly disappointed when at the end they had postcards of the other crowns, but not of that one.

The last thing we set out to see was a Vermeer painting shown on the brochure map. I was disappointed that they only had two Vermeers in their collection. Valerie said most of them were probably in Amsterdam.

I forgot to mention that on the other side of the crown case, there was the biggest diamond any of us had ever seen. It was 140 carats. On either side of it were two smaller diamonds, but each still large enough to make your fingers fall off. One was pin and apparently pink diamonds are extremely rare and expensive. Valerie and Carmen said that J.Lo has a pink diamond ring from Ben Affleck. No wonder she sang that son, "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still Jenny from the block".

We took the long walk home, stopping at a grocery for water and fruit, then a patisserie for dinner. We each got a looong chicken sandwich (mostly bread, but the chicken bologna was good) with a drink and a pastrie for €5. Good deal. So with my sandwich for dinner I had, without intending it, apple juice, apple pastry, then an apple afterward. Yum.

Stirling, Glasgow, and silly gushing over Scotland

Thursday, 3/20/03
Well it seems to be a beautiful morning, but I'm sad because we're leaving Scotland today. Paris should be fun, though. I'm also a little worried because I haven't finished my studio project yet. I have simply been too tired to work on it. Hopefully the hotel in Paris will be inviting enough that I won't mind working there. I tried the first night in Scotland, but I got really hyper and started singing and dancing about the room with Carmen, so all my energy left me.

It's about 9 in the morning. Val & Carm are still asleep but I've been awake for a while, thinking about a silly medieval story I might write about a stone spiral staircase. I went to sleep before 10pm last night, so I got a good 10 hours.

I'm a little concerned. I didn't mention it before, but Tuesday evening American time (the middle of the night here) President Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to disarm and leave Iraq or they would go to war. It's been 48 hour and Saddam, of course, has no intention of backing down. The problem is that the French are totally against the war and anti-American right now. In America they've even renamed French fries "Liberty" fries. So if they even let us into the country (which they better, because we have plane reservations), we'll have to keep a low profile. Maybe Carmen can speak Spanish to the French people rather than us trying to speak English. [In retrospect, these worries were paranoid and stupid]

Yesterday we got up, and got our raisin scones and milk at the Elephant's Sufficiency. Then we hopped on a train to Stirling. It took us about 15 minutes to walk up the hill to the castle and we caught the beginning of a walking tour. I believe I liked Stirling Castle even more than Edinburgh Castle. There was a statue of Robert the Bruce out at the front (I need to figure out how exactly I'm related to him). There isn't as much as far as museums, less information, but a ton more to explore. When I went through the Palace I kept having trouble deciding which hall to turn down, but everywhere I went, I always ended up coming back the way I hadn't seen, so it was all right. I love the wood ceiling of the Great Hall. The kitchens were neat, with models of food and people working, and when there were other tourists in there it was impossible to tell how many people were in the room, it was so crowded.

Then there was the Nether Bailey, a huge terrace on a lower level than the rest of the castle complex. The grass was so green and the rocks so appealing that I had to climb them from one level to the next. Then I walked around the sidewalk at the edge of the cliff until I came to a dead end at the wall up to the rest of the castle. I just walked along that wall, on a steep grassy slope, until I came back around to the main entrance of the Nether Bailey (I had to jump down a small stone wall).

The guide at the beginning told us that Douglas Gardens were haunted by the eighth Earl of Douglas, who was killed by James II. "But what goes around comes around," he said, "for James II was killed a few years later when he stood too close to one of his own cannons."

When I was at the castle I left Carmen and Valerie to explore on my own, but we met back up and ate lunch on a ledge that sloped down to overlook a beautiful graveyard below. Next we hurried out because we thought we would have to walk the 2 miles to the Wallace Monument. We passed by the Argyll's Lodging on the way down and since we got in with our castle tickets, we walked through the house quickly. It was a neat house and would have been quite interesting had we not been in such a hurry. The nice lady in the shop there gave us directions to the Monument, but recommended we take a cab so we would have time to enjoy ourselves. The cab ended up being only £3, less than what a bus would've cost for the three of us.

The Wallace Monument is a tower (278 steps) on top of Abbey Craig, a steep hill near Stirling. Between the monument and the city is Stirling bridge, where the Scots under William Wallace beat the crap out of the English. 1297. Then in 1314, of course, was Bannockburn, where the Scots finally won independence under Robert the Bruce.

So we climbed the road and panted a lot, up to the Wallace Monument. Once inside the tower, there is a shop on the ground floor (I've really grown to love tourist shops) and a tiny spiral staircase up. I figured that 3 revolutions of the staircase take you up one floor. The first room up was a display of William Wallace's life (what they know of it), and his 5'5" sword was in a glass case there. The next room up had the busts of many Scottish heroes (including Scott, Robert the Bruce, and many people I hadn't heard of). There were stained glass windows of William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and two anonymous Scottish Soldiers. The third room was a timeline on all four walls about the history of Stirling. Finally, above that, was the roof, with great views in all directions, and a beautiful stone rib up above with four base points.

It was up there that the three of us got into our crazy moods and decided to have nicknames. Valerie is "retard" stemming from her exclamations the night before of "seriously, why am I retarded?" Carmen is "dork" because Valerie always calls her that in fun, anyway. I am "idiot" which fits with my "idiot's day in Verona. Together, we are the three nincompoops, all for one and one for all! This morning we had our first episode of "The three nincompoops." We were at Food inc., enjoying our second delicious meal there (vegetable soup, chicken tikka sandwich, and carrot cake) and were trying to figure out if we could pay all together without anyone needing change. Valerie was the banker, telling Carmen, "If you give me this, I'll give her this and she'll give you this." Carmen was confused, holding onto her money and calling it "my precious." I said if we could figure out an efficient way to pay for this meal while sitting at a cafe table, the three nincompoops could really create their own bank.

Anyway, our plane from Glasgow was earlier than we thought, six o'clock, so we had to get our breakfast scones to save for later and had an 11 o'clock brunch at the Food inc. before leaving Edinburgh. Now we're out of Glasgow, on our way to Prestwick airport. It is 2pm and I'm finally caught up in this book for the first time in 2 weeks!

The train honks every once in a while and sounds like it's saying HaHa! with the seesaw intonations. As we left Glasgow we saw some storm clouds approaching. It's ironic that the first British storm since we've been here is right when we're leaving. Even the Scottish clouds are more interesting than American ones. They have a fierce look to them, the white and the dark look as if they're about to attack each other.

We just hit the ocean. We didn't realize this, but Prestwick airport is just as far West of Glasgow as Glasgow is from Edinburgh. I'm so excited--we're seeing the Scottish coast! It's flat here, but there are mountainous islands just off in the distance.

Glasgow, a more industrialized city than Edinburgh, and the largest city in Scotland, still has its own charm from what I've seen of it. The buildings are tall but colored. Of course I only saw the city for about 5 minutes as we walked from the Queen St. Station to the Central Station. Edinburgh, on the other hand, has an almost 18th century feel to it, with cobblestone streets, and shops lining the way. I wanted to explore every building I saw. I could live in any part of Scotland I've seen, from city to country, to town, to industrialized city. I think Stirling was my favorite, and next would be Edinburgh.

Goodbye Scotland? But hopefully not forever.The sea is a streak on my right that disappears into mist in the distance, and the land I'm above looks like the pieces made by cracks in dried mud, only greens and browns, and now blacks, are the colors. We're now over a snaky lake, a beautiful dusty blue. The cotton clouds seem to be setting on the ridges of the hills. There are small lakes all over, and now they are connecting to another bay on my left as I look sideways out the window.

Now we're on the edge of the bay and the fingers of land reaching into the ocean seem to be floating in midair, so close is the color of the water to the dusk. I can't see the horizon between water and sky; a thin veil of mist coats my view. The land even is dimming.

I forgot to mention earlier that at the Wallace Monument shop at the bottom of the hill, I bought a book of Scottish fairy tales for only £2.50. I'm reading it now. They are, so far, nice stories but they lack purpose. I may have to retell some of the, or create visualizations for my children.

I love it how the lights below
make the land glow with the fire
of volcanic rocks.

There's a sea of clouds below me, bundled into rolls, but every so often they thin a little and I can catch a glimpse of golden lights of mortal life. They seem to say, here sits a happy home, where with open arms we welcome our own, wherever they chance to be.

What makes the tire tracks in the clouds? The finest jewelry of the earth is civilization from the sky.

I seem to be looking at a layered earth. The surface is the last blue light of the sunset, then the thick gray clouds to dig through, then boring deep down I see the gold veins intertwining in the deep black dirt. The city below seems a world apart from my sunset, a light blue above, dark gray cloud, and line of red underneath. The world below is already black. One is night and one is day. Though now in the distance the thin red line seems to draw the gold to it. Is a volcano erupting? Are those just pools of lava on charred ground? Is this the land of Mordor? I want a painting of this sight.

The volcano settles, but the pools still glow. The pools end abruptly with the coast and there is nothingness. The tip of the plane wing breaks the fading red streak.

We're approaching France and all the light is gone. Just the charred earth with small swipes of gold here and there. Gone is the familiar; here is the unknown, but it can be more exciting, if not as settling.

Edinburgh

Mo Dhith, Mo Dhith, 'smi gun Tri Lamhan,
Da Lamh 'sa Phiob is Lamh 'sa Chlaidheamh.

My loss, My loss, without three hands,
Two for the pipe and one for the sword.

~Brosnachadh Catha Chlann Dughaill (Clan MacDougall's incitement to battle, c 1299)

The sceptre and the sword came to Scotland as papal gifts to King James IV (1488-1513)

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labour." ~R.L. Stevenson

"I'm what I always have been--a Scot, a bit introspective. I don't tell lies and I prefer straight dealing." ~~Sean Connery

"Of all the small nations of this earth, perhaps only the ancient Greeks surpass the Scots in their contributions to mankind." ~~Winston Churchill

"Had Wallace fought for Greece of old, His urn had been beaten of gold; The Children of his native land Had hewn for him with a cunning hand A mountain for a monument." ~~JM Davidson

Even on the bus at night I was instantly in love with Edinburgh. I will not forget that night, seeing the quiet houses streaming by, nestled in the green, exotic, but comfortable at the same time. Out of all the places I've been to in Europe (which haven't been many) I feel like I could live here. I don't want to leave Scotland. I'm not homesick for Santa Chiara as I was in London, and I'm not homesick for Texas as I was in Italy. I want to visit every shop, explore every building, and sit, marvel, and live. Three days just isn't enough. I want to see the highlands, the lakes, the sea, the heather, etc. It's the riches green of grass I've ever seen, and it grows soft, the ground soft. The hills beckon, the fog entices, the homes invite, no matter how cookie-cutter some of them are.

The bus let us off at Waverly bridge, just past a Gothic steeple structure with no church, which I later found out is the Sir Walter Scott monument. We weren't sure about how to get to the hostel, but we met with a nice German guy who had stayed there in the past, and he took us there. Castle Rock Hostel! It overlooks Edinburgh Castle, and it is clean clean clean! There are murals on the walls, the people are nice, the rooms cheerful and inviting, there's a game room with internet access, a lounge where they show movies, it is altogether a place I want to be! There are 12 beds (6 bunks) in our room, but it is all girls, students from Wisconsin, who were really friendly. Or should I say "Wiscansin"? We're in the "Whiskey" room, and I'm in the "Talisker" bed. We have label plaques on the walls next to our beds. And they even have free storage for valuables, unlike the London one where we had to pay for it. But, ironically, we don't even feel the need to store our luggage here. This is a palace compared to the other hostel! I never mentioned the name: never go to Bayswater International hostel in London.

I almost didn't want to leave the hostel the next morning. But we went out, I received an assurance email from Daddy that he had transferred some money into my account so I withdrew some pounds, then we got breakfast. We went to a little place right across from the Hub (a church converted to shops inside) called Elephant's Sufficiency and got rolls and milk. That was the best roll I've tasted in my life [it was actually a scone]. It had the delicate biscuit flavor, but also that of raisin bread, a true delicacy. The milk kept us full for a while, as it did in London. And together they were only £2.

Next we went to Edinburgh Castle, which was amazing. We went to the military museum, saw the one o'clock gun fired, saw the Royal Honors (scepter, sword, and crown), and the Scottish National War Memorial, and everything else.

Then we saw the Stone of Destiny. I thought it was funny how the text about it said that England had taken the stone for 700 years, when in Westminster Abbey we read that the stone was supposed to sit under the throne but had been removed to Scotland and was only borrowed for future crownings.

After we went through the castle (it took 3 hours--I was enthralled, though I don't remember very much anymore). We just strolled down the Royal Mile, stopping in tourist shops here and there. We went to "The Writer's Museum", which was a house with rooms dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Burns. I so want to read Ivanhoe now. I'm craving Treasure Island, and I really want to get into poetry. Of my earlier quotes, 3 were from the caslte and one was Stevenson from this museum. I'm also interested in reading his poetry now.

As we continued down the mile, we stopped at the Tron Kirk, a church that sort of burnt down and is now an exhibition space, then we ducked into a children's museum for 5 minutes before it closed. It was full of toys.

Last we went to The Poet's Library, which is a normal library with just poetry of all kinds. I looked through a book of Robert Burns' love letters and am interested in reading them, as well as the Brownings. Today I decided: forget Venice! Who cares about Venice when you can have Scottish poetry?

Yesterday afternoon we had our late lunch at Food inc, behind the Tron Kirk. It was just a tiny sandwich bar and very cheap, but the food was EXCELLENT! I had a delicious tuna and sweet corn sandwich, lentil soup (the lentils were ground up), and a toffee muffin, all for £2.50. Valerie had an egg salad sandwich, and Carmen had a chicken salad sandwich. We're definitely going again tomorrow. I'm going to have carrot cake (I tried a piece of Carmen's and it is to die for) instead of the muffin. Who'd of thought we would hit two cheap bull's eyes in Scotland?

I'm not going to write about Stirling until tomorrow morning. It won't be as fresh in my memory but, not being so exhausted, I'll be able to make it more entertaining.

London

Tuesday, 3/18/03
I forgot to mention that when we boarded the Ryan Air plane we didn't go through a tunnel. We ran out onto the runway and climbed up the steps! It was so exciting, just like they do in the movies.

About our London hostel I will only write that it was NASTY! The room was gross, the mattresses sagged, we shared a room with a weird guy who actually lived there, the bathrooms were disgusting, we actually felt dirtier after taking a shower.

"Why am I retarded?" ~Valerie

So, to get back too...last Saturday! We got a rather late start. The "breakfast" they served at the hostel was two disgusting pieces of toast. We did not repeat the honor. The first thing we went to was Kensington Palace. The red brick exterior was nice, but nothing astounding (especially because the front was covered with scaffolding). The tickets cost £7 but it ended up being very worth it. The first part of the tour (audio guides were included in the ticket price) was a detailed look at the clothing of the early 1900s, and how they made things, put them on, etc. Then it went into a display of Queen Elizabeth's dresses, wedding dresses of royal weddings, and Diana's dresses. Those were the best part. Then we went through various rooms used by the nobles previously.

Next we made our way to Buckingham Palace, but just saw the outside. Then we went to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, but the Abbey was closed so we determined to come back.

We went next to London Bridge, which was very ordinary (the old one we know as London Bridge is actually in Arizona) but it had great views of the Tower Bridge. We tried to get into the London Tower but weren't going to have enough time to see it all before it closed, so we left.

Since everything was closed and we didn't want to go back tot he hostel, we went to the movies. We were lucky enough to meet some girls on the subway who directed us to a theater that was a little cheaper, being away from central London. We had a magazine we poured through to try to find a place that had movies we all wanted to see. Valerie and Carmen had seen pretty much everything I wanted to, so they went to see The Life of David Gale and I saw Catch Me if You Can.

By the way, the tube system in London is the bomb. It's so efficient. Even when you have to change lines it'll get you to your destination in twenty minutes or less. Once we learned how to use the maps, we went wherever we wanted with our day passes.

The second day, Sunday, we got another late start and went to the British Museum. We feasted that morning on peanut butter and bread. Grocery store food for saving money. But the peanut butter was divine! No PB in Italy.

I loved the British Museum. I realized when we got there that we studied the building in one of my classes. They had a huge Egyptian exhibit, including the Rosetta Stone. Then there was a Parthenon exhibit with all the sculpture from the metopes and friezes of the Parthenon. The Egypt exhibit was so elaborate. There were mummies, and it went through the whole process and purpose of mummification. By the time we got out, we were an hour late to Trafalgar Square for the St. Patrick's Day parade. We sat on the monument and ate bananas and PB sandwiches (mine had Nutella too). We next headed for the Tower of London, but I wanted to see the St. Patrick's festival, so we got sidetracked a while. It was a bit of a disappointment, just a bunch of stands. Finally, after a fiasco in searching for a Tube station, we arrived at the Tower of London.

Wednesday, 3/19/03
What a glorious morning! I'm full of happiness. Today we go to Stirling. But before I go off on how much I love Scotland, I must finish about London.

We got into the Tower of London, which is actually 20 towers. First were some apartments where various royalty had lived, etc. My favorite was the Crown Jewel tower. It described and showcased all the crowns in British history, and their jewels (or copies of their jewels). I regret to say that I really don't remember specifics very well. One thing I do remember is passing through a room where they had a big screen showing the crowning of Queen Elizabeth. That brought tears to my eyes.

When we were on our way to one tower (it might have been the Bloody Tower), Carmen went up to a guard in a stand and said, "Your uniform is too cute. Can I take a picture with you?" It didn't hurt that he also looked like a Leprechaun. He answered, "You can do what you want with me." So I took a picture of them. Then the guard pointed to another guard, one of those in the funny big black hats who doesn't move, and said, "You see that guard over there? He's single. He's looking for a girlfriend. He's seventeen and a half years old." We had a good laugh, and I told Carmen she probably wouldn't be a widow.

The central building was, if I remember correctly, a war museum, lots of artillery. There was one room with a fantastic display of guns, spiraling around pillars, and radiating designs on the walls.

After the tower we, again, had nothing to do because everything was closing. So we went to the cinema again.We found one playing both Daredevil (which I wasn't too excited to see) and Chicago (which I was). We had a little trouble figuring out where it was. After a few Tube delays we weren't sure if we would make it. Then when we got off the Tube we had to catch a bus to the cinema. So we didn't save any money by getting out of central London that time. We got there in the nick of time for Carmen and Valerie to see Daredevil. Afterward they said that Daredevil was really silly, but the kind of film that makes you want to attempt moves from The Matrix.

I liked Chicago, but because of its artistry, not its story. It's hard to identify with shallow murderesses, but you're not supposed to. That was our last night in our hostel Yay! The last night we had to deal with the weirdo that never slept in his room, just came in at 6 in the morning and shuffled around (to take a shower, we supposed), then left. He must have a night job or something. He had a nude poster up, and we turned it around the first night when he wasn't there, but by the next morning he had put it back the way it was. That made me mad, but it's over now.

The las day we went straight to Westminster Abbey, a little upset because it cost £3 to get in. Valerie and I both had money emergencies and had to appeal to our parents. But the abbey, again, was worth it. At first I wasn't sure if I liked it. It was so crammed with sculpture, and noble graves, and the like. But the chapel at the end of the nave (Henry VII's Lady Chapel) was marvelous. It had the most intricate fan vault ceiling, and there was a mirror table in the center of the chapel that reflected the ceiling, making it even more beautiful.

My favorite part was the poet's corner. A few literary figures were buried there, but most of them just had tributes (stone plaques on the walls). There was Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the 3 Bronte sisters, Hardy, James, and a whole slew of poets to name a few. And later, on the other side of the nave, I saw the gravestones of Charles Darwin and Ralph Vaughn Williams!

After the abbey we went across the street and had someone take a picture of the three of us crammed in a phone booth.

We went to St. Paul's Cathedral and when we got off the Tube and were walking there, Carmen and I, sillies that we are, sang "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. Valerie refused to go in because it cost £5 (one pound is 1.5 dollars). I went in the entrance, one of the side aisles, before you come to the pay desk, and snuck a few pictures of the opposite side aisle. It was being renovated and I suspect that the view of the dome was obstructed anyway.

Our last stop in London was the Covent Garden, which turned out to be a market and not a garden. But I loved it! There was an Asian guy sitting on the street with his keyboard. First he played "Yesterday", my favorite Beatles song. He not only embellished it with tons of runs all over the keyboard, but also was able to give it background chords in the synthesized vocal setting, while the melody was on the piano setting.

Back to the Covent Gardens. As we were leaving we saw two African men, one pounding a drum. The other lit matches, 5 of them, put them on the ground under a limbo stick, and limboed under the stick and over the fire. It was amazing. We skedaddled out of London with no further incident except that at the airport the x-ray read my scissors and so I had to check my backpack in. I couldn't give up my scissors.

Verona, Vicenza, and getting to London

Friday, 3/14/03
It's actually Saturday morning, 3am. We are in a scary hostel.

Monday, 3/17/03
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Kate, Dixie, and Marty must be living it up right now. How cool would it be to have your 21st birthday on St. Patrick's Day, in Dublin? We're on the Gatwick Express, leaving London for Gatwick airport. I can't believe I let myself get 5 days behind.

Okay, so Thursday was our proclaimed idiot's day. We did so many stupid things, I just have to call that day dumb. In order to have fond memories, I just have to make a joke out of it.

Carmen, Valerie, and I went to Verona. We didn't have too much of a hassle catching a train, but Verona was a much bigger city than we anticipated. We had to catch a bus to the old part of town where the arena, Juliet's house, and the other sited were located. The problem was that we didn't understand the bus system. We got on the route we thought was right, but it took us all through the residential part of the city. We knew something was wrong when we wasted an hour and ended up back at the train station. We got on another bus and it took us to Piazza Bra, where the arena is. I finally figured out that the bus routes were linear and not circular, the station was in the middle of the route, and we had just gotten on the bus that was going the wrong way. How were we to know when there wasn't a sign anywhere?

We finally got to the arena, the third largest in Italy after the Colosseum, and the one in Napoli. I loved it, not having been able to go inside the Colosseum in Rome. Valerie and I fenced with sticks and wires and then Carmen ran across the floor yelling! A group of students on a field trip were up in the stands and they clapped for her. I felt like Roberto Benigni in La Vita E Bella, saying that you can yell and cream in the city and nobody cares, then you do it and suddenly your self consciousness says it isn't okay anymore.

We climbed to the top, laughed, then left. Next we walked to Giulietta's house, or the Renaissance house that someone decided to have represent Juliet. It isn't a must see, because of course Romeo and Juliet didn't really happen. But it still was a nice house, with wooden ceiling beams, 4 stories, little exhibits (my favorite was the renaissance costumes for R&J in glass cases) and of course the balcony.

Next we went to the Castel Vecchio, the local castle that's been converted into a museum. A lot of religious art. I've discovered my taste. Religious art and all that jazz is all and well, but it doesn't interest me overly much to see a picture of a person or story I already know. I like art that I can interpret, or question. Some earlier art I can do that, I don't need to stereotype, but in general I think I like impressionistic and on. If I learn more about the history of art (instead of architecture) I'm sure I'll love Renaissance and earlier art, though. I do like light quality in paintings like Caravaggio or Vermeer. We had a lot of fun imitating the expressions of the painting portraits.

At one point I remarked to Valerie that ---- would probably want to write a new interpretation of Romeo and Juliet where Juliet climbs the balcony. That stemmed from conversations with ---- earlier. She is obsessed with feminism. She was so excited about seeing the black Madonna in Santa Maria della Salute, then mentioned that Marco was "pretty good about giving the Madonna her due." First of all, we're talking about art here. How could Marco skip over her? She's in 50 million representations in every church we go to!

Anyway, after the castle we hopped on a bus, but IDIOTS THAT WE WERE, we got on the one that was going the wrong way. And this time it was obvious it was going to wrong way. It was on the wrong side of the street! So we wasted another hour and missed our train by five minutes. To make ourselves merry we went to the McDonalds (they have one in almost every big station). I got a milkshake (chocolate, because they didn't have strawberry), then I indulged anew in a fudge sundae!

A lot of our girly conversations have revolved around "old man crushes" stemming from Freud's reverse oedipal complex (we want to kill our mothers and marry our fathers). ---- has a crush on Marco. Almost everyone else is Dr. R. The funny thing is that as a psychologist Dr. R isn't even Freudian, he's Jungian!

So I forgot to write that after we left the Castel Vecchio I reached into my pocket to get something, but my ticket blew away. The only reason I needed the thing was to get my refund, but it blew in the moat! I didn't think it would be very smart to climb (or roll) into the moat, even if it was dry. So I fished another ticket out of the trash. Haha.

I'm going to try to sum up the last few days as soon as possible because it's late and some really important things have happened. In a little town outside Venice there was a cemetary that Carlos Scarpa, the architect we've been following with Peter, designed in the '60s. It was really neat, a lot of square geometrics in 3 dimensional patterns. But when Kate, Omar, Chase, and I went into a nearby cafe to find a restroom, the little old lady there started babbling really fast in Italian. We made out that she was asking if we were architectural students come to see Scarpa's work. Then she grabbed Omar's arm and made him sit down at a table, still chattering. Kate thinks she said that Omar looked like Scarpa and that Scarpa had sat there when he was 8 years old. We were weirded out so we left, confused.

Kate and I ended up paying €1 each for gross sandwiches so we could use the gross bathroom at another restaurant. It was the first time I'd used a hole-in-the-ground potty.

Next, we stopped at the Villa Rotunda outside Vicenza just to take pictures of the outside. Kate and I took the first train back to Venice once we got into the city of Vicenza. We had to have plenty of time to catch our shuttle. We visited San Giorgio and San Marco really quick then caught #1 to the Autobus statione (Piazza Roma). We had to run all over the square to find where to get our shuttle tickets, then where the bus was. Dixie and Marty weren't sure if they would make it by 7, and were freaking out. But all of us made it on time. Our shuttle, check in, and flight all went smoothly. While we were waiting, the airport played North by Northwest in Italian. We met two American girls who were studying in London and had gone to Italy for their Spring Break. Thank goodness. When we got to London Stansted, it was midnight and we had no clue how to get anywhere. Dixie, Marty, and Kate spent the night in the airport because their flight to Cork left early the next morning, but Valerie, Carmen and I had to get to our hostel. The two girls helped us find the Stansted Express train (the only train running that late), then a bus to Trafalgar Square, then we caught a cab to the hostel. It was a huge hassle, but at least we got there. To be continued...

Venezia #2: Vivaldi, Saint Mark's Square, Doge's Palace, Guggenheim

Wednesday, 3/12/03
I got some work done last night, but not a whole lot. This morning at breakfast several of us snagged food for lunch. I got a roll and made a ham and cheese sandwich. Then I took a croissant with peach filling. Right before we left I decided to go to the Vivaldi concert tonight. I hesitated because I didn't want to spend the money and because I needed to work, but I would kick myself if I missed Vivaldi in Venice. It was only €16, too.

Cady and I were the last girls out of the hotel due to buying our tickets, and we ran most of the way to the boat. When we got there I ran straight onto the boat, not knowing that it was the wrong one. I realized at the last minute and they let me off. That would not have been good if I'd been taken to the mainland or somewhere else scary.

So we got to the main island and were standing in a circle around Paolo to gather. He moved outside the circle leaving a cavity, and about a minute later a pigeon shot a poop that landed exactly in the middle of the circle. We all felt really lucky. Katie started ducking out of nervousness every time a pigeon flew overhead, but I told her that she was probably exposing more surface area that way than standing up straight!

To skip ahead, I am now in Love with Vivaldi in general and not just "Le Quattro Stagioni" (The four seasons). We're in the intermission of the concert and I can't believe I almost didn't come! The orchestra only has nine members but they are so good. The soloist for the last piece (it was actually Paganini, not Vivaldi) actually plucked his strings as well as playing chords for one of the variations.

At first the echo in the church bothered me but I got used to it. This was a beautiful church, with oil paintings on the walls, and two statues on either side of the altar. One has a veil over her face that looks so real that Edit didn't even think it was stone. After the Guggenheim today I am a genuine art lover. I can now sit through a concert enthralled instead of pretending not to be bored for culturation's sake. And I can stare at an abstract painting instead of grazing through a museum.

I am so happy! All I want to do is sing! No, no, none of that! The only thing that could make it better is if I was in love. When I meet someone, I'm going to tell him, "Sorry, I can't fall in love here. I'll meet you in Venice."

I'm in my hotel room and I feel like my bed is swaying with the waves.

What a perfect day! After the absolutely incredible concert we went back to St. Mark's square...but first I must finish about the concert. I'm glad I decided to become acquainted with more Vivaldi instead of going to "The Four Seasons". It makes the experience more meaningful, not just "I saw so-and-so live." And live is a completely different experience, just as a painting is from a print. The last piece, by Camille Saint-Saens (it was mostly Vivaldi) was really exciting and I know I've heard it before. I'll have to go hunting for it when I get home.

So we went to St Mark's. Venice is a completely different experience at night. The square was lined with golden lights, there were very few people, and there was a piano playing in a restaurant nearby.

Edit started twirling. Then I challenged her to a race across the square. I thought she would beat me easily, but we tied. Then we linked arms with Karin and skipped toward the boat docks. Then we both twirled some more. When we were waiting for the boat, the three of us, had balancing competitions on the floating dock. It was so much fun. On the boat we let our hair blow in the wind and imitated our guides (I'll describe Guido later). This is truly the most romantic city in the world.

To get back to the day, TAMU group went through the Doges Palace this morning. We actually had a hired guide (Paolo took us through St. Mark's). His name was Guido and he was really good, but funny because he repeated certain facts over and over, like how the ceiling was 24 carat gold in a thin foil, and how the fresco technique isn't good in Venice because of the humidity, and how the doors in the Palace weren't made for groups. We went through the dungeons and over the Bridge of Sighs, which people attribute the name of to lovers sighing as they pass under in a gondola, when in actuality it's named after the sighs of tortured prisoners. There's a novel written about a man who escaped those dungeons, by Casanova. In the Doges Palace also, was a huge room (40' high x 80 x 120) with a huge depiction of heaven. Unlike other depictions of heaven in various Last Judgment frescoes (which Marco says are very boring compared to the "hells"), this one was interesting and beautiful. A man sitting on a cloud reading a book just won my heart.

Another room that I thought was interesting had paintings of wise men (I don't remember who they were), but on each wall a different century. In the 16th century the concept of wisdom is having a long beard. The 17th century was a mustache and long hair, like The Three Musketeers, then 18th century was a long curly wig.

After the Palace, Valerie, Carmen and I took off to find San Barnabas, the church that, according to Ken, had the X marks the spot in Indiana Jones. On the way we went to the Peggy Guggenheim collection museum. It was all cubist, surrealist, and other modern art. I now really like modern art. If I wasn't studying architecture I wouldn't be so fascinated by Mondrian's proportions, or wanting to count every geometric combination in Picasso's "The Poet". But what I loved best were the brilliant colors.

After the Guggenheim we went back to San Barnabas (it was closed earlier) and it wasn't the right church! We were quite upset, but gave up our search [I found out since then that it was the right church, only the outside of the church that was used, not the interior]. Oh, I forgot to write that I finally got my Venetian mask! I had wanted a colored one, but the one I got is a little better quality. It's painted silver with rhinestones on it. Next Halloween I'm going to wear my renaissance dress, paint my face and neck, create some kind of drape or headdress, and wear my mask so I won't even look like myself. I'll be a Venetian Carnivale player.

After that adventurous afternoon I came back to Lido to work for a few hours before the concert. I turned on the news, saw Newt Gingrich make a fool of himself on a talk show, and found out that the Serbian Prime Minister was assassinated today. I don't know what to think about this war business.

Thursday, 4/13/03
I forgot to write yesterday that before we left San Marco's square we went to a little baroque instrument exhibit that had text about the life of Vivaldi. Before that I didn't even know Vivaldi was a Venetian. There were some really funky instruments, and they played Vivaldi, which really set the mood for the place.

Back on Lido I passed on the street a musician who was playing some kind of Middle Eastern bagpipe. I loved it. It was like the fast paced snake charming music. If I had enough money I would pay a street musician to follow me around everywhere.

Ravenna, then Venezia #1: San Marco, Egyptian exhibit, Palladian churches

Tuesday, 3/11/03
How shall I start? I am, of course, in Venezia. Yesterday we left at 7:10 in the morning for Ravenna. I was too exhausted to pull an overnighter and finish my project. I brought it with me. As we drove in the city on the bus we passed some pretty whitish trees. We didn't know what they were, but they had sweet gum-like things on them. Cady and Kate named them spiky ball trees.

We went to the Church of San Vitale. I was blown away by the shimmering mosaics (frescoes don't come close) and the alabaster windows that let the light shine through. The church was round and gorgeous. Afterward I was with Omar, Morgan, and Morgan's sister. We got food at a pizza/sandwich place and sat down in front of a McDonalds, the only place where it's safe to sit without being charged or go to the bathroom without buying something. We had a good laugh when Omar saw a sign advertising a McMexican meal. The burger supposedly has guacamole on it!

We all joked about singing songs without thinking about it, because at 5am on Saturday morning when Omar and I were at the computer, Omar thoughtlessly started singing "Build me up Buttercup." Omar singing doesn't phase me, but his choice of song really cracked me up. I've had that song (one of my very least favorite oldies) stuck in my head on and off since then.

After Ravenna, we came to Venezia and I slept the entire 3 hours. When we got to the coast of the mainland we were all raising our eyebrows at how ultimately ugly it was. It was fully of ugly busy streets, and enormous factories. We got on a boat and could see nothing. I'd been excited about coming to Venice, but wasn't really enjoying myself because I knew I had a ton of work to do. When we got to Lido (the island where our hotel is) we found out that we ought not to validate our 72 hr. boat passes until the next day, so they would be good through Friday. I was glad, because that meant there was nothing to see that night and I could work on my project.

I went to a Chinese restaurant with Carmen and Valerie for dinner. My pineapple chicken and wonton soup were satisfactory, but after seeing Carmen's spring rolls and tasting Valerie's sweet and sour chicken, that was what I wanted. Unfortunately, it wasn't cheap so I won't go again. I worked the rest of the evening (with a glue hunting interlude. I finally found scotch tape at a photo shop and that will have to do). I got a lot of work done, but still have more to do.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel. I ate a whole lot (a dry oatmeal based cereal, to rolls, one with honey and one with jelly, and my first banana yogurt, as well as good old OJ). I wanted to make sure I minimized my mid-day hunger, so minimizing how much I spent on food.

We got on the boat, couldn't see the main island until we were on the dock, then stepped up to St. Mark's square. It was so foggy that we couldn't even see the lion. Paolo said we were lucky, though; on some days you couldn't even see your own feet. When I was walking up to where the group was gathering, Cady was in front of me and suddenly her leg was up in the air with a pigeon flying! She finally kicked a pigeon, something she's wanted to do since she came to Italy. She also said her mom's theory is that the reason Venice is slowly sinking into the ocean is because of all the pigeon poop.

When we got to the square in front of the church, President Bowen was there! [former Pres. of TAMU] We all took group pictures. It was exciting. We went into St. Mark's and, again, the mosaics were amazing. Behind the altar was the Palad'oro, a golden altar piece. Paolo's father was actually a museum curator in Firenze and when he was a child they lived in the museum. Once the Palad'oro was taken apart int 7 pieces and stored under Paolo's bed. So he feels very acquainted with it, having slept on top of it. They go way back, Paolo and the altar piece.

When Paolo was talking a woman came up to him and snapped, "It is forbidden to speak so fast. You are not a guide. You cannot speak so fast." Paolo was like "Okay, I will try to speak slower. Who are you?" She said, "I am a guide!" and walked off. We all wondered what the heck she was talking about. I think she got her English mixed up and meant that he couldn't speak so loud, since he wasn't a paid guide. Not that he was really even loud. He was just talking above a whisper.

Later, Valerie told me this story. Carmen was admiring the cross shaped candelabra hanging in the center of the church, saying that it would be so pretty if it were all lit up. Valerie answered that Carmen's boyfriend would really like that, since he's black, and that would make it a burning cross. I wonder if anyone besides the KKK has used burning crosses?

Kate is always meeting people with cool accents. There was a Brazilian guy at St. Mark's who lives in New York. She loaned him €.50 because at the postcard desk the man wouldn't take a bill for €.60 worth of postcards. The funny thing was that Kate only had a bill but he accepted it because she was spending more money. Alex, the Brazilian New Yorker, also had with him a Spanish girl and Australian guy who lived in London. We took a picture with them, then they left. Isn't it funny how people can pass in and out of your life just like that?

After St. Mark's, I went with Valerie and Carmen to find the Palazzo Grassi to see the Egyptian exhibit. We found it without much trouble but it took forever to get inside, the line was so long. The museum was pretty neat. It brought to life the Egyptian culture in a way I had never thought about before. It started when Valerie pointed to a ring (I don't remember which Pharaoh it belonged to) and said "Can you believe he was actually wearing it?" All of the sudden he became a man instead of a mere profile with lots of eyeliner. It makes Egyptian culture more interesting, as reality instead of just a legend, but it's also quite scary, since it's so foreign. Any empire scares me at the thought of how people were repressed. And maybe the royal families were repressed as well. It makes me wonder if the Pharaohs really believed they had divinity in them, or if they just felt the burden of trying to live up to that reputation. The people were probably so uneducated that they believed what they were told, or else.

After the museum we were tired and hungry (it was after 3), and we set out to the island where Il Redentore is, to find something to eat then see the church. But we were trying to figure out which church was the one in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade with the X marks the spot on the floor. After we cruised around town on the ferry, we got off at one church to make sure it wasn't the one. It wasn't, and even more, we had to pay to get in. So we didn't do more than glance through the door.

By then the boat had left so we set out to find food there (that church was Il Gesuati). We walked down narrow alleys, but figured we were in a residential area because we couldn't find any food. We didn't want to eat on the water, of course, because there were only expensive sit down restaurants. Finally, we came to Santa Maria del Salute, which is a beautiful round church. We were at a dead end, with the water surrounding us, so we headed back and on the way we found a sandwich/pizza place. I got the best sandwich I've had in Italy there. It had lettuce, tomato, prosciutto, then sliced hard boiled eggs, and on bread that I think was seasoned with basil. It was so delicious.

We hopped back on the ferry and finally made it to Il Redentore, one of Palladio's beautiful churches. I love it because it was built as a result of a vow that someone made, that if the Lord delivered them from a plague that was sweeping through Italy at the time, they would dedicate that church. It is simple, not gaudy inside like so many other churches, and they hold a procession every July to celebrate that promise.

Next we went to San Giorgio, the other Palladian church. It was really big and beautiful, with the choir stand behind the altar. The choir was in a semicircle, marvelously carved wood. I really wanted postcards of the interior of the church but I couldn't find a gift shop anywhere.

After San Giorgio we hopped across the water back to the tourist stands by St. Mark's and I bought a cute Italian map on a cloth, and looked at a lot of Venetian masks, one of which I am determined to get before I leave. We came back to Lido, went to the grocery store, and came back to the hotel. Now I will work.