Exactly one week from now I will be boarding a flight to Amsterdam, with my semester of study abroad in London completely behind me. Right now I am saying good riddance but that is only because I have a 40 page paper to write and 2 final exams to study for. Ah procrastination at its finest. Of course I am kicking myself now for not working on my dissertation throughout the entire semester but I am sure it will all turn out fine. I only have one week of hell to endure, after spending nearly 3 months in a sort of heaven. Not to mention, I get to travel all around Europe for 3 weeks starting on April 1st.
Since the last time I updated my blog, Cole has visited me. He got here on Tuesday night of last week. I thought I was going to have to call my parents and tell them that he just didn't show up, because he must have been the last person off his flight. After waiting around for a couple hours for him, we made the journey back to my flat, nearly an hour away, in Central London. We didn't do anything that night because it was past midnight by the time we got back and I had work the next morning.
While I was at work on Wednesday, Cole managed to entertain himself by walking around the market on the street parallel to mine, getting himself a nice classic English breakfast, and just being lazy I guess, until I got home in the early afternoon. By that time, the sore throat I had the night before had turned into a fever and what I later found out was tonsilitis (which I am still suffering from). But i didn't have any time to be sick, as we had to make our way to the House of Lords for a wine reception in the honor of the Hansard Scholars Programme. Cole was pretty amazed that he was able to take wine and hor douvres in Parliament. And yes, he did enjoy his red wine. He was actually in the background of quite a few pictures, since he was standing next to the Lord Speaker (the equivalent of the Senate Majority Leader in the US) as she was delivering her speech. He will most likely be on the Hansard website once they post the pictures, so I will be sure to post the link when I find it.
After the reception I took him to a local pub so he could have some proper British fish and chips. We stayed for a bit and had a beer or two but I had to go home early since I was feeling so sick.
The next day we did our London sightseeing. First we went to the the Tower of London, which has some of the remains from the Roman Empire when they occupied the area nearly 1,000 years ago. Inside the castle is the exhibit of the Crown Jewels, which Cole and I were equally amazed by. I tried to serve as his tour guide as best I could, but I haven't exactly become an expert on British history and politics since I've been here. You can only learn so much in 3 months, but I hope it was enough to give him a bit of culture while he was over here.
After leaving the castle, we took a couple pictures in front of Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is the one that everybody thinks is called London Bridge. London Bridge is actually just a normal looking bridge about 1/2 mile up the Thames River, where most pictures of Tower Bridge are taken from.
After that we walked along the Thames since it was such a nice day and we then walked across Millenium bridge, which is a suspension bridge built for the Millenium celebration back on NYE 2000. After a few pictures there we took the Tube (subway) down to Parliament so that Cole could meet the girls I work with. We had lunch with them and then I did some work for about half an hour while Cole nearly fell asleep on the couch in my office.
We were going to take a ride on the London Eye, which is the gigantic Ferris Wheel overlooking the city, but the line was too long and I wasn't feeling very well. Instead, we walked over to Westminster Abbey, where most of the Kings and Queens, as well as other historical figures, are buried in tombs throughout the Church. The architecture in that building is simply amazing. I knew that Cole would love seeing it, as he has always loved that sort of stuff.
Later that night, we met up Mary and James for dinner at nice Italian restaurant in Notting Hill. Cole not only drank more red wine (yes he is of legal drinking age in London for all of you who were just collectively gasping), but he also had carpaccio for his appetizer. Talk about cultured!
The next morning, we were supposed to go on a bus tour of Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, but I felt terrible when I woke up. My fever still had not gone away so I hadn't gotten any sleep. Cole was perfectly fine with just staying in and being lazy all day. It was his vacation after all, I'm sure he didn't want to wake up at 7 am each day. We went to a 3 level brewery/bar later that night and I stayed for a drink or two then pawned him off on a couple of my friends. I still wasn't feeling well but I didn't want Cole to have to suffer. He came to London to have a good time, and sure hope he did.
The next day I was feeling much better, which was convenient because we spent the day in Cambridge with James. He was a great tour guide and seemed to know all there was to know about Cambridge. The obvious highlight of our trip was punting. In case you aren't aware, punting is very similar to riding in a Gondola in Venice. We were in a long, unstable boat and the method of steering was to stand on the flat part of the boat in the back and push along the bottom of the river with a 10 foot pole. Cole and I got up there for a few minutes each and it was obvious that we were Americans. Not only because we were struggling with directing the boat, but because James was sure to tell everyone that we passed that we were Yankees and that we might fall in at any minute.
After a long, but fun day in Cambridge, it was time to go out for Hayley's birthday. Hayley is one of my good friends from Northeastern who is also in the Hansard program (I'm not sure if I mentioned her before). After a successful session of early drinking, the few of us who managed to make it out went to a club down the street. Cole had never been to a club before and I am sure that he will tell all of you he was a bit overwhelmed and completely surprised. European clubs aren't like the ones in the States. This place was huge and Cole's eyes grew just as big as he walked through the doors. He seemed like he had a great time and to finish off his London trip we got some authentic Bratwurst at a local food stand at 3 am.
Since he has left I still haven't been feeling much better. I don't have a fever anymore but the tonsilitis is still lingering. Not to mention I woke up the other morning with pink eye. I guess it's better to get sick now, than when I am traveling starting next week. Let's hope all this clears up in time for me to leave on April 1st. And let's also hope I survive with my sanity through this paper and finals.
Oh yeah, and GO 'CUSE!!!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
A busy month
I can't believe it has been a month since the last time I posted something up here. I'm sure my dad is not too happy with me by now, as this is my only way of communicating with most of you. So for that, I apologize. But at least I have a lot to tell you this time.
The last time I posted something was just after I returned to Paris. Since then I have done a bit more traveling.
About a week after I got back from Paris I went on a study trip to Edinburgh, Scotland with the whole Hansard group. We had lectures a couple of the days that we were there but the rest of the time we were free roam the city. It was a very small city so it was easy to walk from one side to the other. It is also a very old city. Edinburgh Castle sat on the top of a huge hill in the middle of the city so on one of our free days a bunch of us walked up and took a tour. They have turned parts of it into a museum, where you can walk through and the Scottish Crown Jewels and the history of the monarch and the army. It was amazing seeing the architecture from centuries ago. Unfotunately I didn't take many pictures in Scotland because my camera died half an hour into the first day and of course I forgot to bring the charger. I will be sure to steal some pictures from my friends though.
Other than the castle we spent some time in the European Parliament office there, where we had a lecture. Right next to the EU builing was a set of cliffs that overlooked the city, I think it was called King Arthur's Way. I got some great pictures from the cliffs that I will be posting online for you guys to see.
I have said since coming to Europe that I do not want to experience these cultures through a camera lens. Although I have taken quite a few pictures (because my mom would have my head on a platter if I didn't), I prefer to experiences different countries through their food and drink. This may be a major contributor to my dwindlying bank account, but I think it is well worth it. In Scotland, one of their traditional dishes is called Haggis. It's basically ground sheeps intestine with a bunch of spices thrown in....and of course I tried it. Surprisingly I liked it.
The next country that we went to was Ireland. This wa a leisure trip rather than one for school. Instead of going to Dublin like every other tourist does, some friends and I decided to go to Galway, which is a small city on the west coast of Ireland. After getting into our hostel at 3am the first night we went on a bus tour of the area around Galway. They took us past a couple castles and through a lot of farmland until we reached our final destination...the Cliffs of Moher. If you remember back to my last post, I said that Chateau Versailles was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Well, that is now the most beautiful man-made landscape I have seen. The Cliffs of Moher are the most breath-taking natural landscape. They hundreds of feet down to the ocean below, and I actually managed to get some pictures within a few feet of the edge. I know, it surprised me too that I was able to get over my fear of heights. I have a lot of pictures of the Cliffs on the website that I posted a link to at the bottom of this post.
During the bus trip we stopped at a local Irish pub and got lunch. So keeping in mind what I said before, I obviously ordered lamb and a Guiness. This was the first Guiness that I have ever had, and how fitting that it was in Ireland. The next day, some of my friends took a day trip to Dublin, but I didn't want to go because I figured it would be too touristy. Instead, I went to the Aran Islands with some of the girls. We rented bikes for the day and rode about 20 miles around the island. We got a beautiful day so the pictures came out great and the riding went very smoothe. On one side of the island there was a fort built on top of a cliff at the edge of the sea. The first was apparently built over 4000 years ago. All in all, Ireland has definitely been my favorite trip so far... but I have many countries to go.
The other day I made a schedule with a couple buddies, Rob and Joe, for our travel plans after we finish with classes. We will be traveling for about 3 weeks and we will be going to Amsterdam, Berlin, Krakow (to see Aushwitz), Venice, Rome, Florence, Nice (southern France) and Barcelona. I'm sure I will be exhausted by the time I finish that but it will be well worth it, and the experience of a lifetime I am sure.
Other than traveling I have been very busy with schoolwork and my internship in Parliament. I'm at the library right now working on my 40 page dissertation due at the end of March. And as many of you have heard, I just got assigned a very important project at work. My MP has just proposed a bill to Parliament that deals with the objectifiation of women in British media. She is worried that the naked women pictured in free daily newspapers (called Page 3 girls) are sexualizing young children and exposing them to adult material far too early. So rather than work on monotonous casework for my last few weeks, I will be doing research for the bill and helping her write the 10 minute proposal speech that she will be giving in Parliament on March 31st. I have tickets to watcht the Prime Minister Questioning that day so I will get to watch her deliver the speech that i worked on, which will be a great experience. Working in Parliament has provided me with amazing opportunities that I don't think I would have gotten anywhere else. I will be sure to keep you updated on my work and I think I will be able to get a DVD copy of the speech for the family to see.
I really appreciate all the support everyone has given me while I've been away for so long. As much as I love being over here, I do still miss all of you. Knowing that you read this and are keeping up with my travels through my parents as well definitely makes everything better for me over here. I hope to write again fairly soon, it certainly won't be a month before my next post.
-Chase
PS: Cole will be here in a few days so I am very excited about that. I'll be taking him to a wine reception for the Hansard Society at the House of Lords in Parliament his first day here. So he will be thrust into posh British society immediately upon his arrival. We have an eventful week planned while he is here so I will let you all know how it went after he leaves.
PPS: here is the site for my pictures. http://www.webshots.com
I think you can search for a user (mine is CBent88) and look at their pictures. if not just email me and I can give you my account info so you can see them. My email is bentley.chase@gmail.com
The last time I posted something was just after I returned to Paris. Since then I have done a bit more traveling.
About a week after I got back from Paris I went on a study trip to Edinburgh, Scotland with the whole Hansard group. We had lectures a couple of the days that we were there but the rest of the time we were free roam the city. It was a very small city so it was easy to walk from one side to the other. It is also a very old city. Edinburgh Castle sat on the top of a huge hill in the middle of the city so on one of our free days a bunch of us walked up and took a tour. They have turned parts of it into a museum, where you can walk through and the Scottish Crown Jewels and the history of the monarch and the army. It was amazing seeing the architecture from centuries ago. Unfotunately I didn't take many pictures in Scotland because my camera died half an hour into the first day and of course I forgot to bring the charger. I will be sure to steal some pictures from my friends though.
Other than the castle we spent some time in the European Parliament office there, where we had a lecture. Right next to the EU builing was a set of cliffs that overlooked the city, I think it was called King Arthur's Way. I got some great pictures from the cliffs that I will be posting online for you guys to see.
I have said since coming to Europe that I do not want to experience these cultures through a camera lens. Although I have taken quite a few pictures (because my mom would have my head on a platter if I didn't), I prefer to experiences different countries through their food and drink. This may be a major contributor to my dwindlying bank account, but I think it is well worth it. In Scotland, one of their traditional dishes is called Haggis. It's basically ground sheeps intestine with a bunch of spices thrown in....and of course I tried it. Surprisingly I liked it.
The next country that we went to was Ireland. This wa a leisure trip rather than one for school. Instead of going to Dublin like every other tourist does, some friends and I decided to go to Galway, which is a small city on the west coast of Ireland. After getting into our hostel at 3am the first night we went on a bus tour of the area around Galway. They took us past a couple castles and through a lot of farmland until we reached our final destination...the Cliffs of Moher. If you remember back to my last post, I said that Chateau Versailles was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Well, that is now the most beautiful man-made landscape I have seen. The Cliffs of Moher are the most breath-taking natural landscape. They hundreds of feet down to the ocean below, and I actually managed to get some pictures within a few feet of the edge. I know, it surprised me too that I was able to get over my fear of heights. I have a lot of pictures of the Cliffs on the website that I posted a link to at the bottom of this post.
During the bus trip we stopped at a local Irish pub and got lunch. So keeping in mind what I said before, I obviously ordered lamb and a Guiness. This was the first Guiness that I have ever had, and how fitting that it was in Ireland. The next day, some of my friends took a day trip to Dublin, but I didn't want to go because I figured it would be too touristy. Instead, I went to the Aran Islands with some of the girls. We rented bikes for the day and rode about 20 miles around the island. We got a beautiful day so the pictures came out great and the riding went very smoothe. On one side of the island there was a fort built on top of a cliff at the edge of the sea. The first was apparently built over 4000 years ago. All in all, Ireland has definitely been my favorite trip so far... but I have many countries to go.
The other day I made a schedule with a couple buddies, Rob and Joe, for our travel plans after we finish with classes. We will be traveling for about 3 weeks and we will be going to Amsterdam, Berlin, Krakow (to see Aushwitz), Venice, Rome, Florence, Nice (southern France) and Barcelona. I'm sure I will be exhausted by the time I finish that but it will be well worth it, and the experience of a lifetime I am sure.
Other than traveling I have been very busy with schoolwork and my internship in Parliament. I'm at the library right now working on my 40 page dissertation due at the end of March. And as many of you have heard, I just got assigned a very important project at work. My MP has just proposed a bill to Parliament that deals with the objectifiation of women in British media. She is worried that the naked women pictured in free daily newspapers (called Page 3 girls) are sexualizing young children and exposing them to adult material far too early. So rather than work on monotonous casework for my last few weeks, I will be doing research for the bill and helping her write the 10 minute proposal speech that she will be giving in Parliament on March 31st. I have tickets to watcht the Prime Minister Questioning that day so I will get to watch her deliver the speech that i worked on, which will be a great experience. Working in Parliament has provided me with amazing opportunities that I don't think I would have gotten anywhere else. I will be sure to keep you updated on my work and I think I will be able to get a DVD copy of the speech for the family to see.
I really appreciate all the support everyone has given me while I've been away for so long. As much as I love being over here, I do still miss all of you. Knowing that you read this and are keeping up with my travels through my parents as well definitely makes everything better for me over here. I hope to write again fairly soon, it certainly won't be a month before my next post.
-Chase
PS: Cole will be here in a few days so I am very excited about that. I'll be taking him to a wine reception for the Hansard Society at the House of Lords in Parliament his first day here. So he will be thrust into posh British society immediately upon his arrival. We have an eventful week planned while he is here so I will let you all know how it went after he leaves.
PPS: here is the site for my pictures. http://www.webshots.com
I think you can search for a user (mine is CBent88) and look at their pictures. if not just email me and I can give you my account info so you can see them. My email is bentley.chase@gmail.com
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