AmsterDam it's nice here!

Just in case there is anyone who still swings by now and then to wonder if I have disappeared off the face of the planet, the answer is no. Rather, as the quarter draws to a close, the "study" section of study abroad becomes slightly more pressing. That is, I cannot cut out my adventures and I can no longer cut down studying, so it is blogging that trickles out a bit.

Amsterdam was extraordinary. That is really all there is to it; it is a beautiful, unique city full of lovely canals, interesting buildings and excellent museums. It also is dank with sin and vices, prostitutes decorating the windows in the red light district and the powerful odor of marijuana wafting down certain streets. It is a genuine city, a city that has its good points and bad points, and yet it is so difficult not to love it for all that. So, of course, I took the easy route and love it.

I also have some pictures from the week. Namely from Thursday.

Catacomes:

Why not have a little castle statue in a giant collective grave?

The hallways are sometimes quite lofty...

But generally not.

The whole thing is full of walls like this. You have to wonder who spent so much time arranging bones like this. "Hey, honey, what did you do today?" "Well, I stacked bones for hours…"

What I will be in (hopefully) a long while

Lovely skull, isn't it? Looks a bit like a planet!

We went to Coeur de Blé for lunch, and I finally got my free sandwich!

My last moments with my used-up carte de fidélite

My free sandwich! A new one, and not as good as my favorites, but tasty nonetheless!

Next, after a meeting for final paper editing, was a trip to the banlieue Saint-Ouen for a street art tour.

By the flea market.

Because some talented people somewhere spend their lives putting seas on walls.

Octopi, too.

And pandas.

Cleaning up.

There will always be space for more stuff.

My friend Natasha and I left early so we could catch our train to Amsterdam. We arrived with plenty of time at the Gare du Nord, so we went across the street for a snack.

Snack

We had a nice train ride, if a bit slow (we were delayed almost two hours because of track troubles, so we took the slower track). Luckily, after quite some time, we arrived!

Amsterdam Centraal 

It turns out the canals aren't a lie.

Canal that exists

Because it was after 21h30, and therefore quite late, we searched for dinner on our way to the hostel. After a long search for something affordable and tasty, we settled on pizza. It was not bad.

Pizza. With tons of vegetables!

Shared banana split for dessert.

More real canals

Fountain.

We arrived at last at the hostel, by Vondelpark behind the Marriot. It was a lovely place, and we checked in and got settled (it was around 12h30 by this point) and got our hostel for Venice as we waited for our friend Martin to arrive. (I have begun to include names as it has been too confusing for people and, anyway, I don't think it's a problem.)

In the morning, we got up and, after many adventures with showering (we had one pair of shower shoes, two towels, and two sets of soap/etc. between the three of us. Martin brought everything he needed. I was the most negligent, having brought nothing), we headed down to our free breakfast!

Toast. With cumin cheese or jam or nutella (which I got by accident, but that's fine)

Really, really good museli/granola, with yogurt (because no skim milk because it's Europe)

Unlimited coffee, including espresso, double espresso, black coffee, white coffee, latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate...

We went to the Van Gogh museum first. On the way, we passed by a really cool building, a supermarket that I studied when I worked on green roofs; this filed you see is really a slanted roof of a grocery store! It had quite a moment of fame, and is really cool!

Long lost friends and playing catch-up

If you are wondering where the posts have gone, please do try to remember the "study" portion of "study abroad". It has gradually become that all-too-familiar portion of the quarter during which everything is due but nothing is done. Traveling every weekend certainly does not help matters, on the computer-related time-constraints issue. Wifi in Europe is not nearly as available as wifi in the States (except perhaps in London, where it's better!) and so this has become a problem. Finally, I have begun to take many photos on my phone rather than my camera; advantage: it takes them faster/better which means jittery hands don't ruin things; disadvantage: a LOT harder to get them onto the blog!

Less time + more pictures + harder to get pictures up = fewer pictures

That said, here are all my pictures from today, and a few random ones from England! You don't need pictures from yesterday. I just had classes and napped (after arriving late from my bus ride from Hell, that is).

Le Mur des Justes. Commemorates people who helped Jews escape the Nazis/hid them

With a friendly military man to guard the memorial, of course

Then a lovely lunch from Chez Hanna, enjoyed at Place Saint-Louis (the western tip of the island)

Musée D'Orsay happened. For class, we studied Degas, Renoir, and a dollop of Monet. Then, I met up with a friend whom I have not seen in years, but who is also studying in Paris, and we got café (me)/lunch (her). Afterwards, I rushed off for my stage to meet with the professor.

Outside the Issy campus, for my stage

Also outside that same window. It was a lovely late-afternoon.

After the stage, I rushed back home for dinner. A tasty beet and carrot salad was followed by the boudin-blanc I love so much (with olive oil, potatoes, and apples), and then some fromage frais de chèvre and then some fromage blanc à confiture for dessert.

Ever since, I have been studiously laboring away, but here are some England photos. Just an arbitrary selection, really.

Tree in Hyde Park, morning, the odd occasion of sunlight in London!

A perfect English breakfast: greasy, not so delicious, but gets the job done! There was no cheese and spinach omelet on the menu, but there were other things with spinach and there was a cheese omelet so I asked. How kind of them!

Big Ben, in real sunlight!

Westminster Abbey, morning

Parliament in the sun…now THIS is a unique picture.

This is London. There were more cranes than I have ever seen in my life.

We strolled around the National Gallery and found some old favorites

Saint Pancras in the late-afternoon sunlight was lovely. Just before King's Cross, of course, for the obligatory Platform 9 3/4 photos!

In Covent Garden, these musicians were dancing around playing. It was quite good.

My delicious sandwich on the way to Poole. Aubergine, tomato, sweet pepper, chèvre, balsamic glaze.

Hengistbury Head, Poole. When I climbed the hill, the wind nearly blew me off!

Still by the sea

Roads in England are just better

How to keep your children in check in England...

Hello, bird. It was extinct, but is coming back (from Siberia…) Such an admirable creature, the heaviest flying bird would be an excellent pet (if not for the remarkably sharp beak)

That is all. Perhaps later the rest of the many pictures I have will follow, but then again, maybe I will touch them up and sell them all on Etsy and make a killing, and use my profits to come back and take more pictures…in that case, I can't just be giving them away for free!

Tomorrow night in Amsterdam...

Puttering around Poole

London, as I will explain if I EVER catch up on a) work and b) sleep, was phenomenal. After a fantastic breakfast at a little Turkish café near my friend's house, where we had wonderful pastries and good coffee, I took the tube to Waterloo for my train. It turned out to be quite simple, and I got to Poole with no trouble. THe train even had wifi! Still, I did not catch up on work. I'm trying!

My cousin met me at the train station and drove me to their house, where my other cousin, a bit sick and not able to go around much, was waiting. We had tea and conversation, and then went out to Bournemouth to visit the coast (since I have seen the coast by Poole, but not that far east). We went to Hengistbury Head which was a really beautiful park on the sea side with a hill that overlooked the Isle of Wight. It was lovely, and incredibly windy. I thought I would blow off the top of the hill for sure!

Just as we got to the car, it started raining, and it escalated to a torrential downpour, then hail, as we wound our way along the coast back home. We had tea time with lemon drizzle cake and then hung around conversing and cooking. Dinner was a delicious roast lamb with gravy and mint jelly, roast potatoes and parsnips, and asparagus and green beans, all followed by a freshly baked apple crumble. My cousin is one of the best chefs I know, and, needless to say, it was fantastic. With a great bottle of Grenache-Mourvedre to accompany the meal, it really was lovely.

We played a game called BrainBox after dinner, which essentially a memorization/observation game. You have a card with information and pictures, and 20 seconds (10 for me) to observe it before rolling a die and answering whichever question the number corresponds to on the back. If you answer correct, you hold on to the card; otherwise, you put it back. Whoever has the oat cards at the end is the winner.

We had more tea afterwards, and conversation. Then, it has been time to work. I have pages to go before I sleep, so I think I will gt on that. Good night! Pictures to follow!

Loving London

Well, I am in London. THe rest of Barcelona and London will come as this weekend progresses; if anything, you can rest assured that I am so busy enjoying my adventures that I do not have time to transcribe them! Or, at least, not with the midterms and other papers I have to write on the side! Don't worry, though, more is on its way!

Barcelona Day 2!

Well, here come the next several pictures, along with stories galore! First thing Sunday morning, of course, I had breakfast! It's the most important meal of the day, you know! I re-checked in again, and then left for a nice walk. I walked all over Barcelona. Miles. I started out with a plan to visit the art museum via the park Montjuïc. This took ages, as the park was quite a maze and very beautiful, but steep as well! I did a lot of climbing, picture-taking, and general admiring of my surroundings.

Right outside the hostel. 

Already, I have been climbing!

And it did not stop there!

And then I was higher.

Climbing stairs like these

I almost made it to the museum, crossing through a lovely park with this fountain...

and these lovely columns...

And this nice fountain, too! Unfortunately, the gate was locked, so I had to retrace my steps and find another route!

Fortunately, the other route resulted in this view.

And outside the museum, I found this view!

I visited the art museum, the MNAC, which was quite good. I spent more time than I meant to, exploring the rooms and reading all the signs. I was surprised to be able to understand the Spanish! I could read all the signs with relative ease, which was a relief, because the curation was quite good. I could not, however, read the Catalan, which was the first language on everything!

At MNAC, I saw art like this...

and art like this...

And some art like this...

and even something I would swear is Ingres due to the position, if not for the fact that it was by a Catalan artist.

They even had a nice collection of Goya furniture. I think he tried hard to make sure nobody would stub their toes on the corners.

Afterwards, I made my way to the Miró foundation, which was fantastic. Even though it was getting late for lunch, I knew I had to go! It was well worth it.

A Miró statue and a view. Not bad for a museum.

Then, I made my way down to look for lunch. This was quite an endeavor, as the park going down is just as much a maze as the park going up! I found several nice places, some of which took me the wrong way, but it was well worth it!

I descended this lovely staircase, with water running down troughs on the bannisters. 

And only in Barcelona would ALL the sidewalks be decorated. Everywhere. With different designs!

Back in the city, I had a bit of a hard time finding something that was both tasty and affordable. Eventually, desperate at 14h30, I stopped for paella. It was affordable, and not bad, although if I had wanted to pay twice the price, around €14 minimum, I could have found better paella. Honestly, I was happy to have something warm in my stomach! I burned my tongue, and it was still worth it.

My paella.

I headed back to the sea side, where I strolled through the antique market on my way to the seaside. I wandered a bit, then headed through the Barri Gothic to the hostel to put some stuff down and get water (because it is impossible to find water in Barcelona!). After walking all morning, I was quite thirsty.

I found beautiful copper pots. A bit above my price range, alas!

View from my hostel window. Plaça Real. 

I then set off to walk to the Sagrada Familia. I was quite tired by this point, so the going was slow, and I stopped several times to look at architecture. Barcelona is one of the most gratuitously decorated places I have ever seen in my life, so there was no shortage of interesting buildings to admire.

A building.

The Sagrada Familia, complete with cranes!

It was quite nice in the evening light!

I was quite hungry as well, but unwilling to spend money. Luckily, I chanced upon a bakery that was selling 5 fartons for €1, so I partook. I walked a bit and sat down on some lovely benches outside a nice little church to enjoy them. Afterwards, I continued along the street, enjoying the sights. I ended up by the Arc de Triomf, and then headed into the labyrinthine neighborhood to search for the church Santa Maria del Mer.

A farton. I think that was the name. I could be wrong.

The church I sat before. It was lovely.

These benches are great. Grass grows between the tiles, which means that it is a permeable surface; there should be more of these!

I found the Arc de Triomf (yes, it's int here. At the end)

People hang their laundry on balconies. Hooray for sustainability! I am in favor. Oh, and the Catalan flags are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

I found the church eventually, and entered. It is one of the most incredible examples of gothic architecture I have ever seen. Exhausted, I spent half an hour resting on a pew, admiring the church and listening to the organ pump out a chorale every few minutes.

Talk about lofty.

This was huger in person.

My french guidebook told me there were a couple good tapas places nearby. I found one of them, and was skeptical, but the book recommended it, and so far I had shared the writer's taste in sites, so I figured I would go with it; it was cheap! Let's just say that, afterwards, my confidence in my guide's gastronomic expertise was greatly diminished.

My tapas, take 1

Tapas take 2 (still hungry…)

Then, I went back to the hostel. They give free dinners every night, so I had that (because free food is good food) and it was actually quite tasty. I sat with a medical student from Argentina and a psychology student from Greece who now lives in Toulouse named Natalia. We had a great time and Natalia gave us several recommendations since she had been here since Tuesday. She recommended pinxhos, which will be important tomorrow, for a cheap and delicious lunch.

I then went to my room to work and was woken at 1h30am, on my computer, by the Brazilian man who was messing around noisily with his locker, the light glaring in my face.



Today, by the way, is worthy of note; there is no use getting further behind! I spent the morning at home working, and then left in time to meet my friend for lunch near ISEP. However, her mère d'accueil insisted on feeding her, so I bought myself a baguette. She had gotten me a bar of cognac dark chocolate as a gift, so I couldn't be mad!

We walked over to the Musée D'Orsay for our class, where we studied Manet, tramping across the museum from side to side and from bottom to top. Afterwards, my friend and I walked back, stopping for cheesecake at the nearby boulangerie because, after all, it was a long day! We then spent the entire afternoon working, which was quite useful, especially since we are going to London tomorrow! We left around 19h30 to go to the Cinéma Balzac just off Champs Elysées for our French class. We watched the film "Timbuktu" which was extremely disturbing with its violent imagery, but fantastically well-executed and certainly worth seeing. On that somber note, I went home, had the same dinner as last night (because I am not above leftovers when I have work to do!), and have been working ever since. Pictures exist. However, it requires huge amounts of effort to insert them. It is 2am. Tomorrow.