London 2103

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Dear London,

It is hard to believe I left you almost a week ago. I still miss you all the time. Yes, I am happy to be with my family and friends. And yes, I am getting back into my routine here. But I keep thinking that I am only back here in the States temporarily, and that is not exactly true. I miss your energy, your tube system, your food, your lifestyle. I miss walking everywhere and climbing 5 flights of stairs to get to my flat. I miss my flat and my flatmates. I miss my friends. I miss wandering around and exploring. I miss having everything be new and exciting.

And so London, I must say thank you. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to remember that the world is big. And despite living a hop, skip and jump away from New York, I live in a very small part of the world. There is lots of exploring left to do, and lots of new people left to meet. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.  It has been a slice of heaven.

One of the biggest experiences in London was getting used to the flow of traffic. I relied on this lovely little green man who would tell me when it was safe to move on. And so, here he is, the green man telling me to go on to new adventures.

Good-bye London. See you soon!

Well. It is here. My last day in London. I have spent the past week valiantly trying to convince my loved ones to come here instead. Considering the amount of stuff I have acquired, I could easily set up at least part of flat here. And, I do really, really like it here. But, it appears I must go home tomorrow. And so, it is see you later to London.

It has been said by a very wise, unknown person that, "travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer." I could not agree more. Traveling makes you realize the size and scope of the world. And your place in it. Paris was the first place I have traveled to where I really and truly did not speak the language, and was not in a large group with someone who did speak the language.  And it was hard. It was sometimes a little scary. But it was also a good experience, and a reminder of the international language of smiling. London was a city where I immediately fit in. This blog has documented all that will come home with me from my time in London. And Dublin was a lovely, amazing trip that came at a perfect time. For even though I am in love with London, there is lots more exploring to do.

I tried new foods, I met new people, I kayaked down the Thames and had fish eat the dead skin off my toes. I even went up the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye, and down to the Catacombs in Paris. Everyday was an adventure, and different than the day before. I had no cell phone or internet at my disposal, and I managed just fine.

I have been lucky to have amazing classmates for this journey. Our flat was like a little home. My travel buddies were the best. I know I am not saying good-bye to them, because we are already planning for ALA in Vegas!!

And so, as I say good-bye to my little British Life, I leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the trip. See you on the other side of the pond.

Weekend update-Dublin edition

Ruh-roh. I may have cheated on London a little bit this weekend. Thanks to the advice of my neighbor, I took a short flight to Dublin for an overnight visit. I had heard that Dublin was quite charming and easy to manage in a short amount of time. Well, while it is true that Dublin was easy to manage in a short amount of time, I didn't expect to love it quite as much as I did.

Dublin is kinda like Oz. You can't believe that the people are that nice (and witty), that the city is that clean (they were street sweeping the sidewalks. On Saturday!!) or that it is that easy to manage. There is no worries about being obviously not from the area. The locals take great pleasure in pointing out the way, especially if it is right down the street. I should have known I was in for a good time when I saw the Irish passport stamp was huge and bright green. I am still recovering from the fact you can't really see my Paris stamp.

It took us a little longer to maneuver from the airport than it probably should have. I'll take a time-out here to talk a little bit about map scale. In Paris, I was under the impression that my hotel was right near Notre Dame (thanks to the hotel website.) In real life, I was probably closer to Germany. Dublin, I thought we were well out of the city limits (thanks to the map and the hotel website.) In real life we were 10 minutes away and well within taxi ability. But either way. We successfully navigated the public transportation (for those of you counting, I can now navigate three countries public transportation system better than New York City. And one of those is Paris, where I don't speak French.) And then found our way to the Guinness Factory, which is probably the one must-do I had in mind. It was so much fun!! There is a local brewery by our house on the Cape, and it was interesting to see that the beer is brewed the same way! Guinness does a great job of showing the process, and at the end you get a free pint! We chose to go to the Gravity Bar on the top level, with amazing views of Dublin. However, most of the other people on the tour also chose to go to the Gravity Bar, so it was a little crowded.

Saturday was spent wandering around the streets of Dublin, getting in some shopping, and having the most amazing lunch ever!! It included pickled bananas!! Who would have thunk it?!?! While it may not sound super glamorous, it was exactly what I wanted to happen in Dublin. It was great to wander without a schedule or any real expectations. While many of my trip companions were ready to move to Dublin, I am still holding out for living in London. But Dublin comes a close second.

 

                     

  

Getting my ducks in a row

You may remember my fascination with the rubber ducks around London. What are these ducks? Why are there themed ducks in every gift shop? I am sad to say I missed the Sherlock Holmes duck at the Sherlock Holmes museum, but my roomie assures me there is in fact a Sherlock duck. I did some research on the ducks, thinking there are too many of them for this to be a coincidence. And this is what I came up with. Apparently, in December, a giant rubber ducky floated up the Thames to encourage Britons to have more fun. You can click here  to see pictures of the duck under Tower Bridge. Now, I am not sure if that is what the connection is, but either way it got me thinking.

This has been a fantastic year for me. All of my ducks are in a row. I have a job which I love and allows me time to do things like spend three weeks in London, I have a fantastic, supportive family, a boyfriend who makes everything easier and better, and a great group of friends. Not only are my ducks in a row, I am one lucky duck.

Now, I know that this may not always be the case. Situations can change, and quickly. However, for now, I am taking a moment to appreciate how my ducks are cooperating, and to remember that should my ducks stray from their row, it is still important to enjoy life and find fun and happiness where you can. And just in case I ever forget, this guy is coming home with me...

Embracing your inner tourist

I get the idea that when you travel, you are supposed to become a part of the culture. I do. And to a large part, that is exactly what has happened while I have been in London. Now, granted, I have spent three weeks here, so I had a lot of time to become familiar with my surroundings. And my routine here has been well documented. Today, we are going to talk about the other stuff. The stuff you have to do because you are someplace new and different. Someplace where no one knows you. And then, my friends, you need to embrace your inner tourist.

This means taking goofy pictures and having others take goofy pictures for you. This generally involves stopping in the middle of the street to get the PERFECT picture. Ignore the guy looking at you funny. He goes on vacation, too.

This also means trying new foods. I have loved being able to wander around and find new restaurants and food stalls and eating the way the locals do. The other night we couldn't find a place to eat that we all agreed on and so we meandered for 45 minutes before finding the most delicious Indian restaurant.

Embracing your inner tourist means trying things you would have never tried before, or at home. Before coming to London, I went to Chicago where my boyfriend convinced me to do a Segway tour of the city. I would have preferred the kayaking, but I did it! I have the goofy pictures to prove it. So far in London I have kayaked down the Thames, went on the London Eye, and had a fish pedicure in Camden Markets. All of these are out of my comfort zone and all of them have given me memories I will never forget.

And so my friends, I say to you, take funny pictures, eat yummy food, stay off Segways, oh, and buy that goofy souvenir.

We made a video!! And I didn't throw my computer out a window!!

Digital Story

Mom? Can I bring London home with me?

I know that I am not saying good-bye. I am saying see you later. I am already plotting, er planning,  for my next trip. London and I have a future together. However, it is hard not to be sad about the fact that I am leaving. To say that I have had a good time is an understatement. I have loved every second of my stay here. I have come a long way from accidentally setting sparks off in the flat my first day. I keep looking at my pile of stuff coming home with me and think it may actually be easier for my other life to come to me. But in this pile of stuff are mementos. And along with them are aspects of British life I will be taking home with me.

For example, the people here are simply lovely. They are warm and friendly. Some of them I see on a regular basis, like my friends at the coffee shop. They just opened their shop the week before I arrived in London, and have been a great way to start my day. Every morning when I walk in they ask where I am off to today and give suggestions when they hear of my itinerary. I will truly miss them. Some of the people I have met just briefly, like Harry, our kayak tour guide. Harry will live in infamy in my mind. You could not have asked for a better tour guide on the Thames. His sense of humor and wit made our three mile trek that much easier. Even briefer, I had a run in with the most lovely man at the shoe store. Despite not being their for very long, his enjoyment in his job has made me think of him fondly three weeks later. What do all these people have in common? A genuine kindness and happiness to them. And these are just examples. People here are lovely and amazing. They are happy with what they are doing. They do not rush. And way they say "cheers" or that something is "lovely" or "brilliant", you know that they mean it.

Which leads me to my next point. I am bringing home some British language. It will go lovely with my New York accent (do you see what I did there?) Thinking about this now, I am not sure if it is the kindness of the people (see above) that makes the language so enjoyable, but the dialect is just so much nicer than what I usually hear at home.

I have heard much of this language while touring around museums and other cultural landmarks. And here is what I have noticed about the British and their culture and history. They love it! And they are proud of it! And they know it! So, I asked myself how is this possible? And then I started to notice the way that museums and displays are organized. They are hands-on. Museums aimed at children provide lots of opportunities to touch and play. They are child-sized. Museums aimed at grown-ups have child-friendly aspects to them, a separate tour to follow, child-friendly plaques that make the information interesting and relevant to them. Even some of the grown up museums have hands-on elements to them. This concept is definitely coming home with me.

Also amazing about London? It's close proximity to other countries. I know this is true throughout Europe, but I have really taking advantage of this while I am here. For about the same amount of time it takes for me to get to Cape Cod from New York, I can go round-trip to Paris. The flight to Chicago takes a little longer than the flight to Dublin. And so, I am coming home with stamps in my passport and brief introductions to two additional cultures.

As I get ready to pack up (oh, sweet baby Tebow, let it all fit), and head home, I am excited to bring home some of London with me.  I know that the remnants of this trip will last for a lifetime. What else could I ask for?

Get the wand! You will use it more!

So said a very wise mom to her child at the Making of Harry Potter studio tour today. Given all of the magic that was surrounding us, I think she made the right choice. A couple of years ago, there was a Harry Potter exhibit in New York. Props and costumes were displayed. I went and was suitably impressed. I also noticed that the actors and actresses are not that much taller than I am, which did surprise me. I sort of assumed that this studio was the end place of that traveling exhibit. My lovely roomie Jessica thought this was an amusement park, like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. Turns out we were both wrong. This is the actual set used to film the movies. It is a sort of behind the scenes tour. You can see props, costumes, conceptions, and even some of the special effects. They even had a giant model of Hogwarts. As the lights went down in the room, the lights in the castle came on!

This tour gave us an appreciation of not only how many people were behind the scenes, but the incredible amount of detail and imagination that went into creating Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. One of my favorite parts of the exhibit was the fact that they would display a quote from the book, and then show how that quote had come to life. It is fun to imagine what it would be like to live in a world of magic. 

I wonder which house I would be in. I know I would have an owl. 

Roomies on the Hogwarts bridge. Very symmetrical, guys. 

I am beyond sorry to say that we are nearing the end of our trip. While the beginning of this trip seems like a long, long time ago, I feel very much at home and could stay for quite a bit longer. I have been busy tying up loose ends, both for my class and for me. Tomorrow is going to be a fun day. In the morning, I am heading to Harrods and Camden for a special surprise, and then we are going to the London Eye and the Globe tomorrow night. Friday I am off to Dublin, and Sunday is our last day together. Buckle your seat belts. It is going to be a busy 5 days.

In which we find out I would make a terrible royal...

You may have heard, either from me or other places, that London is in the middle of a heat wave. In fact, London is about the same temperature as the sun, give or take a few degrees (the temperatures here are reported in Celsius, so my math may be off a bit, but you get the idea.) This has meant a couple of things. 1- I am coming with an amazing tan. People are going to think I was in the Caribbean for three weeks, not London. 2-My very cute rain coat, brought specifically for this trip, has sadly sat in my closet with no use. 3- It has been entirely too hot for tea. Until today. Today, we went to Kensington Palace, where we toured the open part of the Palace and then went to have High Tea in the Orangery.

You may also have heard that there was a royal baby born yesterday. Said baby's home is also Kensington Palace, and so this was the scene outside of the Palace.

 This was a little surprising because there is actually nothing happening at this entrance, since this is where the tourists go. Either way, it was very cool to see where the baby will grow up. The palace is home to so much amazing history, but I was again so impressed with the way that the information and the history is presented. So much material is hands on, with costumes to try on, quotes written on walls, and a box of toys traditional to the time of Victoria for children to play with. It is again a reminder of the importance of engagement and hands-on exhibits when teaching.


To that end, when you first came in to the Palace there were four chairs (one in each corner), for each of the exhibits that are taking place at the time. These chairs matched the tone and theme of the exhibit. I decided to take the opportunity to practice my royal portrait pose. Take one:

Not bad. But it was pointed out that royal portraits are usually very formal. No smiling. Maybe some smirking. Right, I saw that the Portrait Gallery yesterday. No smiling, smirking. Ok, got it. So this is what my no smiling, smirking photo looks like:

Thank goodness I am good at being a librarian. 

Now, once we finished touring the Palace, it was off to high tea in the Orangery. There are few things in life that I am certain of. However, one of those things is: if you go to high tea at Kensington Palace, it is perfectly acceptable to wear a fascinator. And so, here I am, with my lovely, lovely flatmates and our fascinators: 

The tea was exactly what I expected it would be. The china alone was quite pretty, and worth 8 million photographs. 

And while wearing my fascinator, I, Melissa Iamonico, had high tea at Kensington Palace. Bazinga. 

What do you mean I only have one week left in London??

This has been my first time staying somewhere for three weeks. Not exactly a vacation, more like setting up a little home. As I have said before, I have a routine which includes a yoga class, a coffee house, flatmates who have become a little family...a routine. And when you spend three weeks in one spot, you think you have all the time in the world. So my first week was spent galavanting around London. Looking through shops, meandering around. Not a care in the world. I had lots of time!! Week two= oh. Well. I still have a lot of time. I'll see it next week. Week three =AHHHHHHHHHH!! I am going home soon!! I have so much to do!!! So, this week will be spent in a blur, getting last minute visits, shopping, and planning done. There is homework to be finished, packing to be done, and Dublin to be visited. 

But today was for Westminster Abbey. And the Abbey deserved a day. What a spectacular piece of history. It is a toss up, but my favorite part of the day goes between Hugh our tour guide, and seeing the tombs of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. I couldn't take a picture of the tombs, but here is Hugh: 

After the Abbey we walked to the National Portrait Gallery. It was fun to wander through the halls and catch a glimpse of a famous painting. Also, we have a duck update! There was one in the National Gallery! With a beret and a palette! I got a little gun shy taking the picture, but here he is. Sad to say the National Gallery does not have him hanging out in a bathtub. Point, British Museum! 

Tomorrow will be an amazing day. I don't want to give away too much, but I will say there is a fascinator involved. Stay tuned. 

Weeked update- Paris edition

Yes, you read that right. I spent the weekend in Paris. No big deal. One lovely 2 1/2 train ride and POOF! You arrive in Paris. Paris is very, very different than London. It is loud, and busy, and crowded, and yes, a little stinky. It is also the first place I have been where I really don't speak the language, or have a passing understanding. However, once you get past the immediate culture shock, it is really lovely. Friday was a whirlwind, leaving London at 4:30 am. However, by the end of the day on Friday, I had seen the Mona Lisa, gone to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, seen Notre Dame, gone down the Seine, and had the most amazing cheese. I was very excited to fall into bed in a room that had air-conditioning and a full shower. Saturday was slightly slower paced, starting with breakfast at Cafe de Flore. It ended at 1:30 am, after I saw the Eiffel Tower twinkle. It was well worth the late hour. Finally on Sunday we went down to the Catacombs. Despite waiting on line for 2 1/2 hours in the incredibly hot sun, it was well worth the wait. What an incredible experience that was. After that, it was back on the Eurostar which whisked me back to London . The most incredible aspect was the speed and ease in which I could just skip between countries.

At first, it was slightly un-nerving the be somewhere where I don't speak the language or have an understanding of what is being said. Paris is definitely faster-paced than London and took a little bit of getting used to. However, I think it is really important to spend some time out of your comfort zone, even if it is just to appreciate what you have back home. 

In which I go shopping at the Tower of London

Well, we couldn't agree on a price, but I went to go visit the Crown Jewels. The nice people who work there were kind enough to pick my jaw up off the floor. The jewelry is really incredible, but I was also so impressed with the pomp and circumstance surrounding the monarchy. My favorite piece was the Imperial Crown of India. The Crown Jewels are not permitted to leave the country, and so a new crown needed to be created when King George was visiting India. The idea that the way to solve the problem of moving the Crown Jewels is simply to create a new crown is amazing. Mind you, this is not just a throw away crown. It is made with emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Gotta love it.

After I finished at the Crown Jewels, I joined one of the Yeoman Warders tours. The Yeoman Warders are more commonly known as Beefeaters. They give tours throughout the day, and have the amazing ability to have their voice project over large crowds. Their tours are often quite funny. Everyone, meet Peter, my Beefeater.

The tour tells of the interesting and bloody history of the Tower of London. I believe we were near Traitor's Gate for this picture. I am amazed by the dark history England has. The amount of people who lost their heads because a monarch didn't like them is shocking. Even more shocking is the way that executions were done (it was like going to a picnic) and the fate of the head after it was cut off (put on a stake on the the top of a bridge to discourage other "traitors".) I am also so fascinated in the fact that children were not immune to this treatment, hearing today of Lady Jane Grey and the Princes in the Tower. 

When I finished at the Tower of London, I walked across the Tower Bridge to go to the Borough Market. This is a fresh food market full of goodies!! I picked up some meat and cheese and bread for dinner tonight. This was a sort of light day, and will be an early night, because tomorrow morning we are going to Paris for the weekend!! Not only am I excited to see Paris and all that it has to offer, but I hear a rumor that there may be air conditioning in the hotel!! We are in the middle of quite the heat wave over here, and there is a- very little air conditioning and b-very little ice. Air conditioning I get. The lack of cold drinks I am still not really used to. You never really feel cool. And there seems to be no break in sight. Now, I am not really complaining, because it could have easily been raining the entire time I was here, but every time I open my closet and see my giant fleece and rain jacket, I snicker a bit.

I will not be back blogging until Monday. However, dear readers, on Monday I will have lots to show and tell about Paris. Until then, enjoy some more pictures from the Tower of London and the market. 

You may not be able to see it clearly, but those cages house the Ravens. Legend has it that if less than 6 Ravens are at the Tower, the monarchy will fall. There was also an amazing sign that said they bite. Who knew. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of that.