France

Walking around in Paris is like moving through a picture. The city is beautiful. I have one day left here. And I am ready for home.

Cambridge and College Pizza

Following the suggestion of my Uncles, I visited the Albert and Victoria museum for my last memory of London. This link tells about the museum's collection. http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/d/discover-the-v-and-a/ . This museum was free but was really worth paying very much for. Taking a short train trip to Cambridge, I am currently writing from my room inside Clare College, Cambridge. This private room is a nice change from the public one I shared yesterday. And the architecture here is the best I've seen in the world. Very ordered, very complicated designs, and crisp lawns are just outside my window. English gardens, one called the Scholars garden lives next to the canal that runs through the center of the Colleges. The town is larger than I thought, but the weather reminds me of perfectly of Nantucket. Checking into my room, I asked the desk if tomorrow will be sunny weather for exploring the countryside tomorrow. The desk-man replied "This is England. We can only promise you that you'll get weather."

Putting on a sweater I bought in London, the streets here are much narrower, and I get this preppy vibe from maybe the students and professors that I don't like very much like at Harvard---Hm Cambridge, MA, Cambridge UK, are compliments. But despite the elitism, I can understand why students might have a stuffy image of themselves--the grounds are georgeous--and the alumni impressive--Oliver Cromwell, Issac Newton, William Wordsworth, Charles Darwin, CS Lewis, Watson & Crick, and Team America's very own, Hans Blix! Still even with the assumtive pride, I took advantage of the college-town scene and found a cheap Pizza shop. After ordering, the assistant there asked me if I would like the whole pizza cut into six pieces or twelve. Of course without a prestigious Cambridge education I said  "Six please. I surely could never eat twelve!"

I will explore Cambridge this evening and in the morning before heading up North to Derbyshire or South-East toward the Cotswold.

                                                                 

Last Day in London

Taking in the city yesterday, I decided not to use the rail system. Walking everywhere, I figure I must have walked 12 miles--From the London Eye East to the Tower of London and then West from the Tower of London to St. Paul's Cathedral, passing the National Gallery and Bank of England, and stopping in at Harrod's at Knigthsbridge. After a very quick "I've-done-that" around Harrod's, I walked South into Chelsea, perhaps my favorite part of London, before turning back toward Westminster. As a result, I saw much of the city I would otherwise miss.

With seeing much more of London yesterday, I now can describe the city better for you today. First, London is a charming, modern city mixed with very old buildings and cathedrals. For being the center of the Industrial Revolution, the city is surprisingly clean (perhaps because I'm in the right district). The city girdles the Thames, and the roads meander around the relatively flat river banks. Consequently, there is no clear view of what is coming--like in Chicago, New York, and hilly San Francisco. Buildings block the upcoming view. So, every turn is a refreshing discovery. For instance, I would be very excited to see an old building, used as an office and inaccessible, only to take a turn and find an inviting bread-shop or monument.

One bread-shop I discovered absolutely served the best bread I have every eaten. An artisan baker shop, the place is called DeGustibus near St. Paul's Cathedral (http://www.degustibus.co.uk/). Tucked away inside a cobble-stone alley, potted flowers dangled from the wooden eaves by its front door. A very attractive stone building was next to the shop with an ornate carving of lines that resembled tree branches. This building was also surrounded by what you expect London to be like--yellow brick and clay chimney's with wooden-boxed shingles windows at the top. Of course, flower boxes were placed on them. And the contrast was quite pleasant to take-in. The inside of DeGustibus was warm. Decorated with yellow and white bricks, globe lanterns lowered into the cafeteria by wires. The cafeteria had old, uneven wooden tables and the smell of food overwhelmed everything inside, since the kitchen was in front of you, and you could watch everything being cooked. I had a delicious Pan Au Raisin--the best bread I have ever eaten.

With no mountains or large plain to serve as a drainage basin, the Thames is remarkably wide--as wide as the Snake river from home. Also, perhaps because of the soil, I am surprised about how many of the buildings are made from either white or a yellow brick. Finally, the financial district in the City of London is very modern--with weird, futuristic buildings growing up from the very old ones that surround them. Being inside this district, I saw a lot of men in business suits, running to make international deals or meet up at a local pub. After around 2 or 3 p.m. these relaxed workers spilled out into the streets with pints in their hands chatting with co-workers and enjoying London like me.

Hostel Hell and Tower of London

 I managed to fall asleep last night, despite being 6 hours ahead of my normal routine. I had one of the strangest dreams I remember--one of those outer-body dreams that don't seem real, however, are so disturbing that they startle you with their grotesque reality. I sensed something was pulling me away from my bed, and so I think this hostel has a pultergist--with the history and bleak morning air around me, I would not be surprised.

Shortly after this awkward experience, a group of Bulgarians came into the hostel room and turned on all the lights around 3 a.m. Adding to the strangeness, I met these Bulgarians earlier in the day when they asked me directions to some unknown place outside a coffee shop. I said I wasn't from around here, but I think they were looking for the Hostel.

The Hostel I am at is similar to a college dorm room but with more people sharing roughly the same amount of space. As a result of the tight quarters, the room is as noisy as a London bus and as compact as British jam. I stuffed my book-bag inside the top sheet of my bed and rented a locker to store all my electornic equipment. However, I was not careful. I failed to note where I took off my shoes, and I am unable to find them despite looking. I think they are somewhere buried underneath everyone elses' luggage. And I am waiting for there to be more light to spill through the windows to illuminate where they are. The Hostel surprisingly serves a Contenial breakfast in about an hour. I will eat and then take whatever step, even if bare-foot, to find them.

Today I plan to explore the Tower of London, visit the Albert and Victoria museum, visit St. Paul's Cathedral, and walk around the city, absorbing its scences and looking for surprises--a good candy shop would be nice. I just hope the store doesn't have a sign that says 'No shoes--No service.'

Blog from Piccadilly Circus

After a remarkably smooth flight, I have just found an Internet cafe in Piccadilly Circus. Being London's version, I guess, of Time's Square, Piccadilly is a highly commercialized, touristy area. Getting here from the more quite parts of London, this city reminds me vaguely of Boston and parts of Georgetown; yet London is a place all its own and very new to me.

Arriving here from Heathrow, I took the Underground, the transit rail of London, which is quite clean and easy to navigate. Approaching the downtown area from the airport, I deligthed in the patches of wild flowers and trees that seemed to greet me in the swaying breeze. With the clacking rails lulling me to sleep, I was very happy to finally be here.

I quickly woke up listening to the rail-system's computer-intercom announce the entertaining names of stops along my way: 'South Ealing, Northfields, Knigthsbridge, and, hilariously, the end of the line at Cockfosters.'  --?-- Once downtown, I explored London quickly. Today I viewed Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Piccadilly Circus. With speed to spare, I incidentally forgot just how far I have travelled, and I got the first impression that I am somewhat exotic to Londoners at a side street cafe near St-James Square. For a cashier asked me 'Where is your accent from?' As the black boxy taxis and London's red buses rushed by on an outside street, a sudden feeling came to me that I am indeed a very distant stranger in a very exotic place myself.

So, as a Yankee, I wondered out into the London streets and found something very British--Westminster Abbey. Westminster has already made my trip worthwhile. Its gilded roof and colossal nave houses more kings, artists, and merchants than perhaps any other place on Earth.  Yet, by far the most outstanding part of the Abbey is the dedication to the Unknown Solider. Embroidered with roses, the simple tomb reads in gold:

Beneath this stone rests the body of a British warrior
unknown by name or rank brought from France to lie among
the most illustrious of the land and buried here on Armistice Day
11 Nov: 1920, in the presence of His Majesty King George V
his ministers of state the chiefs of his forces and a vast concourse of the nation
Thus are commemorated the many multitudes who during the Great
War of 1914 - 1918 gave the most that Man can give life itself
For God for King and country for loved ones home and Empire
for the sacred cause of justice and the freedom of the world
They buried him among the kings because he
had done good toward God and toward His house

Reflecting on this time in Westminster, I started toward Buckingham Palace, a short walk away. Crossing underneath the Australian gates that mark Buckingham Palace, I was quick to mark the differences between Americans and our cast-away ancestors. Proudly American, I felt somewhat like an insecure traitor in front of this Palace. All part of my imagination, I took a British women's stare to be a scornful reproach and a police guards disapproaving stance, in front of the gate, to be the proof that I am a rebel in this country. Ironic, since as I turned to leave the grounds, I saw a giant bus with a Captain America advertisement plastered across its haul. Thanks Captain America; so much for me being humbled in Westminster!

And We're Off!

I start my first blog today, given my second trip to Europe is less than a week away. So, the following blogs, I don't know how many, will cover the two-week span of my life where I travelled to Southern England and Northern France. The following blogs will cover the activities I do and the impression I have there about these places. And they are an experiment, since I will depend on finding internet cafes on my trip to create new ones.

So before I begin, I first thank my Uncles for helping me organize my trip -- their countless times in Europe illuminated how attractive this area is and how limited I am by time to see it. Second, I thank my Dad for inviting me on so many of his business trips that I could purchase a ticket with my frequent flyers. Finally, I thank any reader that follows this blog. I have no friend to directly share this experience with, so the idea that someone is sharing it greatly increases my happiness.

With less than week left, I am surprised of how much  writing and planning this trip has already taken. Usually, I have winged most trips with little effort. After all, I have visited every state in the U.S and believed by this I was skilled in setting up this excursion. Yet, most of my domestic trips were centralized, or I went from point A to B. At other times, professionals in offices booked everything. This trip, in contrast, I have planned: setting up hotels, trains, bike rentals, plane-tickets, buses, checked maps and museum web-sites, and I feel exhausted: point A to point Z-364.

So with my plans half-baked, what do I expect England to be like? An interesting experience--perhaps strangely foreign, somewhat wacky, but deeply historic and worthwhile. I am fascinated by a place that invented the English language, fought the colonies for their independence, and created Newton, King Henry the VIII, and notoriously bad British food. I am also torn between the robustness of London and the gentleness of the English countryside, something I also identify here by having lived in the North-East corridor of the United States and the open, endless expanses of the West. So, I plan to roam a few days also. In this way, I am eager to meet with English and possibly Scottish people, which I understand, I have some common heritage, and also with other young, naive travelers like me! And with less time in France, who do I expect France to be like? ---beautiful, cultured, and relaxed. When I visited Lyon in 2009, I felt that way.

Finally, what do I expect Paris, the city of lights, to be like? -Hm.... I hope pretty damn romantic: "The Paris" Las Vegas Hotel certainly wasn't!