Southwest France: Day 1

    We started out the day with a nice hotel breakfast: baguette and jam! Then we caught the TGV ( a speedy train) to St. Jean de Luz. St. Jean de Luz is a nice holiday city right by the ocean:

    Because the train ride was 5 hours we were given the rest of the day to explore! The group of people I was with immediately headed for the beach!

   ...it was so beautiful! After all of the rain in England it was so nice to be in the sun! That's not to say that I don't enjoy rain, because I really do--it was just nice to have it feel like summer.
    Being on a European beach, we were instantly reminded of the differences between American and European culture. People were just so free with the way they expressed themselves i.e. they didn't have much on as far as clothing goes. It was fascinating to see the difference, the common attitude seemed to be: this is me. I feel like the common feeling on American beaches is: I am allowed to wear something skimpy because I look like an Abercrombie model. At least that seems to be the attitude at my city's local pool. So although there were definitely bits of people I'n not very interested in seeing again, it was almost beautiful--people accepted that they way they looked was...the way they looked, and that was it. That's the feeling I got anyway. It's the same sort of thing with a lot of classical art, it isn't explicit feeling because there's nothing sensual about it--it's just the human form--a celebration of living. So there's my thoughts about that...I probably wont be trying that out anytime soon myself, but it sounds liberating.
     After a nice walk along the beach we found some dinner at an over-priced cafe. I got a tuna salad sort of thing and then we did some night-alley-way exploring and turned in.

à Paris!

   So sadly, there are not many pictures to go with this tale, but it happened nonetheless.
   My cousins kindly dropped me off at Paddington Station where I took the train to Heathrow. All was going well until I tried to check my baggage. *Warning: beginning of a rant* Apparently the luggage requirements change significantly from UK to France as opposed to the U.S. to France...*sigh* So guess who got dinged 48 pounds (the currency, not the weight)? Uhuh. I am not happy. at. all. The lady was sUper grumpy about it (I had a similar problem way back when and the person was totally fine about it) and was rolling her eyes approx. 3 x's per min. She even weighed my hand luggage, and raised her eye-brows about it--a bit extreme don't ya think! So after I lost the money I was planning on living on for the next year, I went through security and as I was tapping my foot impatiently (because after my spat with the luggage lady of doom I was cutting it close to my flight time-wise) I got pulled aside to go and get screened in a private room...gahh...when it rains it pours, non? I was so irritated my frustration materialized and came out of my eyes--it was a very unique experience. The poor security guy was so frightened! He didn't know what to do with me and the only thing he could think of was that it was either his fault or that I was devastated to leave London, so he offered to let me come and live with him...which I declined...sort of not super awkwardly.
       I eventually got to my gate, somewhat consoled myself with some Matt and Kim, boarded the flight only to see some attractive muscly guy who had been allowed two pieces of hand luggage! Gah! Why!? I guess he just sort of smiled and flexed them guns when he was checking on. Lame.  Once on the plane I noticed that there was tons of space in the overhead compartments too! I was fuming. am still, actually, if you didn't notice.
    After I got into Paris I picked up my now "obese" suitcase and took a train to the hotel my study abroad group (from here on out known as SAG) which was fun...in a I-love-pulling-suitcases-up-flights-of-stairs-during-rush-hour kind of a way. I luckily found the hotel super easily and then got to go and meet the *SAG.
   We had a quick orientation and then we went out for a lovely dinner Parisian style. I started out with a vegetable tart (like a quiche) and then we had duck with plum sauce, and topped it off with pear tart. It was sooo yummy! I also got to chat with my group a bit and I am super excited--what a great bunch! Definitely an alls well that ends well sort of a day.

*This sounds like it has a somewhat negative connotation, but it doesn't at all--ok!

London Baby!

   To finish off my prelude to my study abroad I went to London. Which was absolutely fantastic! I started out my day by walking through Hyde Park on my way to meet some cousins for brunch.

After brunch, I mozied on over to Buckingham Palace.

Because I only had one day to explore I decided to just look at free things and get more of a feel of London instead of being super museum-oriented...so no, I did not go in to see Kate's dress. I heard that it was displayed in a somewhat eerie fashion (haha) in that the dress is on a headless mannequin with the veil floating above it. 

    I then went to Westminster Cathedral and walked around there as well as the Houses of Parliament.

   I heard Big Ben (contrary to popular belief Big Ben is the bell in the Parliament clock tower...not the actual tower--so now go and impress a local)

    Then I went on a nice looong walk along the Victoria Embankment to:

The Tate Modern

and Shakespeare's globe theatre! 

Again, there were admission fees and tickets and other nonsense, so I just looked and then moved on. 

   Then I went to Soho (the big shopping area) to go visit Liberty of London--which was almost more exciting than Harrods...I still can't decide which is best. It reminded me of Emile Zola's book Au Bonheur des Dames which is about how a clever business man seduces money from ladies by having an absolutely delicious clothing store (it's about other things to, but that's just the bit that Liberty reminded me of). The description of all of the clothing laid out in a place just so it will catch someone's eye and the idea to totally overwhelm the senses with finery--definitely felt that at Liberty.

   After that lovely place I went around some other shops, people watched and went to lunch at a lovely place called Joe and the Juice--amazing food! 

  Then I hung out in another cafe, wrote some letters, wandered around a bit more and then went back to my cousin's place to get sorted out for my flight the next day. 

P.S. sorry this (and all of my blogs in general) is so rushed--I don't really have time to make things pretty--too many other things to do :D Maybe one day I'll come back and expound on things and stop my laziness. Loves!

Reigate

    My first day in Reigate I went to watch my 9 year-old cousin's football (soccer) match. I have to say I'm not much of a spectator sport person, but kids matches are always more fun to watch than professional ones. They totally creamed the other team 11:1--ouch!

       We then tried out geocaching, which is kind of like a treasure hunt, but with a GPS instead of a motley crew of buccaneers. Also, the point is to find a cache and then write in a log book and if you feel like it take out a trinket and replace it with something else. In theory it sounded fun, but once we started we came across a few issues:

1. The GPS was only accurate until 20 meters away from the cache...then its guess was as good as yours.

2. We had small children who didn't like to walk.....

3. Dang GPS~!

The view from Box Hill was super pretty though!

   And, after a 2 hour search we finally found one!

'twas pretty exciting!

    On the way back we picked some blackberries (they just grow all over the place so it's the national past-time!), and I tried eating elderberries....bad idea. Not only did they taste like twigs but as I later found out that elderberries are only edible once cooked....I felt a bit green about the gills the rest of the evening.

     Sunday was super relaxing, we had a very traditional lunch: roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with runner beans followed by apple and blackberry crumble with cream. We then messed around a bit with hula-hoops and juggling, and admired their Roman snail they found. I then caught a train to London for the last leg of the journey!

Brighton days

   My first full day in Brighton one of my cousins took me to go and see The Seven Sisters which are a group of white chalk cliffs in South Sussex Downs National Park not too far from Brighton.

    We had tea then walked around for a bit and relaxed and enjoyed the scenery--it was absolutely stunning! The sheer drop of the cliffs to the ocean was so thrilling and  beautiful...

...it looked like the edge of the world.
    Because the cliffs are made of chalk England has had some major problems with large pieces just crumbling off! Luckily, there were no such catastrophic events while we were there.

We then returned to Brighton and had a relaxing evening at their bachelor pad.

    The next day we went down to Brighton Pier, had a little walk on the board walk and then lunched. After that I went off to do some exploring.

The Brighton Pavilon

    Brighton is a really fun city to explore and wander around--lots of little shops and twisting alleys. It appears to be the 2nd-hand shop capital of England, there were vintage and thrift stores everywhere as well as funky boutiques! It's probably good that I don't have any room in my suitcase, because if I did there would have been some major expenditures goin' on. 

    It kept reminding me of a mini San Francisco, lots of very artsy bits and a nice bohemian vibe. I really loved the time I spent there--lots and lots of fun!
   That evening I left to go to another set of cousins!

Brighton bound

      On my way to Brighton I stopped by London to see an old friend. I thought I would just pop by to say hello, but they graciously showed me around London. I love London. You don't even need to plan what to see or where to go, just let your feet take you somewhere and you'll be sure to end up in an interesting place. I especially love people-watching! There are so many different types of people and styles--lovely!

      We went to the Natural History Museum...

    It not only had educational things but some bling:

    We also visited Harrod's--sooo many pretty things to look at! Of course, it is quite over the top--so much excess and luxury...but I must say that although there are children starving in Africa...I really like designer things... Fashion is frivolous, but is such a nice art form! Oh Chanel and Dior *sigh* Although we did not go on any clothing binges, we did get some designer ice cream--YUM!

      I then went on to good ol' Brighton to stay with some more cool cousins! My cousin's band had a gig that night so I got to go and see them:

Please excuse the poor quality--pretend it's artistic?

   The band is called The Swing Ninjas, and they are definitely worth checking out. I don't usually like listening to "jazz" music, but I really enjoyed the more up-beat sunny swing music! Your feet start moving and next thing ya know you're jammin' out with the band.

     ....I think I may actually like jazz now. 

    The band was playing in a really cool pub called The Mesmerist that was decorated like some sort of illusionist/voodoo place--very funky and lively! Because the drinking age in the U.S. is 21(and I don't drink anyway), I have never gone to a pub/club place before, so it was really great to have my first night scene in a nice place instead of some seedy night club, or having some inebriated person vomit on me. 

     There were swing dancers who came from their dancing class to show off their stuff, and I am now definitely wanting to learn how to swing! It looks like so much fun--and a great skill to have! Now all I have to do is go to Soho and trade in my two left feet for some that will not leave my dance partner toeless....

    

Althorp and Tyringham

     My aunt and uncle took me to see Althorp, which is owned by Princess Diana's brother and is where she grew up. As far as stately homes go, this one isn't very impressive on the outside, but the inside was beautiful! There was also a very interesting display about the life of Diana, and a very nice collection of her dresses. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures of them, but it was very fun to see the change in fashion throughout her life.

      There's a very nice monument to Diana on an island in a pond, where she is supposedly buried. Can you keep a secret? Good, because I don't want to get in trouble for telling you this. According to the locals she is actually buried in the Spencer family church. I don't know if that's actually true, but when we visited the church a large portion of it was inaccessible to the public, so it could be possible. However, I didn't get to see it myself, so it could very well just be a local rumor.

     We then went back to Tyringham and I was kindly given a little tour of the lower part of the manor house. I've been around the whole house a couple of years ago, but I really didn't remember very much of it--so the tour was a great memory refresher!

  The inside is lovely, but my favorite bits are the fantastic sculptures throughout the grounds--and the grounds of course!

    There are lots of sculptures of Atlas which are incredible! The one above is my favorite.

   Like most estates, Tyringham has a lot of classical, Greek-looking architecture and little "temples". One of the "temples" is being refurbished right now, but is sooo pretty. It has been dubbed "the temple of music" and is so magical! I was humming as I went in and was absolutely stunned by the acoustics--wow, best place to sing ever! The shape of the building is such that sounds go all lovely and echoey, but are still clear--so it gives a very unearthly, haunting affect. 

  I then was sent on a blackberry-picking adventure through a smoky woods...

....only to find about 5 blackberries--lame! But the walk there was exciting, I kept expecting a Little Red Riding Hood sort of thing to happen.