Friday, 15 April 2011
First stop: Barcelona
Just a quick update. Hilary and I flew to Barcelona on April 2nd and had an absolute blast there. We stayed with an awesome host named Paloma who we found on couchsurfing.org. She was so gracious and kind and showed us what Spain was all about. Our first night there she took us out with her friends and we met another couchsurfer, Miguel, from Madrid. They taught us a lot about the Spanish culture which was awesome. Our second day we went to Park Guell, where I had gone 4 years ago. We walked there and it was quite the hike up a fairly steep mountain but made for a fun adventure. It was a hot beautiful day and Hilary and I were snapping pictures left and right. Miguel called us and we took the Metro to meet him at La Rambla for lunch. It was a busy day there and he showed us around and what was good. Hilary and I walked to Casa Batllo after saying goodbye to Miguel and also saw Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi on our walk home to Paloma's. That night we went out to eat with Paloma's good friend Carlos who also had a couchsurfer with him named Kayla. We had tapas at a nice restaurant and then they took us out salsa dancing at one of their favorite places. They are both SO good! They go multiple times a week and it was so awesome to watch. Carlos tried teaching me but I don't think I was born with that Latin feel. The next day we just knew we wanted to see the beach so we started walking there. On the way we saw the Arc de Triomf which was pretty cool and stumbled upon a nice park. It was another gorgeous hot day and we laid around the palm trees for awhile. We saw the Barcelona Zoo but didn't go in and walked around it to get to a bridge that crossed the train yard. The bridge was awesome and had a concrete park on top of it! It had a river running through and awesome playground equipment including a teeter totter Hilary and I could not get enough of. We finally made it to the beach after that and laid out for awhile in the sun and people watched. We ate at a little cafe on the water and it was delicious. We walked back around the harbor to La Rambla where the Christopher Columbus statue was and walked down the crowded street another time. The market was open that day so we took a stroll through the yummy looking fruits and vegetables and bought a very delicious fresh strawberry smoothie. After that we were tired and decided to take the Metro back to Paloma's instead of walking. We just chatted and hung out that night and made friendship bracelets for our gracious host. The next day Hilary and I were off to Marseille France! I'll post about that later, in the meantime check out my pictures on facebook of our recent travels!
Monday, 4 April 2011
London´s Farewell
I did a lot after coming back from the Netherlands but don´t quite remember it all.
I recall going to Paige´s art exhibit which was awesome! She did a great job. I met her dad and he graciously took us out to dinner at Jamie´s Restaurant which is Jamie Oliver´s, the british chef TV star, it was absolutely delicious!
I had a couple days to work on my projects from Hilary and Nikki arrived back in London, coming from York. They came on a friday and we took a small little tour around London to all the tourist hot spots that night. We ate at Garfunkels which is always a good choice. Saturday we tried walking to Buckingham Palace but came across a small road block, literally. Westminster bridge was closed and lined with policemen and there were numerous helicopters flying overhead. One the policeman asked if we were going to the protest and we said no so he suggested we go to the other bridge. It was a massive protest about the government cutting funds for services and there were huge amounts of policemen on every street. It was interesting to see but annoying because it took us a really roundabout way to Buckingham Palace. We got to the Palace and snapped a couple pics before heading back so we could get ready to go see the Oxford vs Cambridge boatrace. It took us awhile to get there and we literally walked up to the bridge seconds before the boats had already passed. It was devastating because I really wanted to see it. The crowds were insane and the actual race only lasted a matter of minutes. It was disappointing to say the least. We headed back to my place where we met Paige and Kinne and made dinner together. That night we went on an organized pub crawl which was a lot of fun and a good way to see London´s nightlife on a budget. Sunday we walked all over the place. We briefly saw the Street Photography exhibit at the Museum of London which was really cool and then we headed to Westminster Abbey for the evening service. That night we were pretty tired so we just watched Tangled in my room. Monday morning Nikki left to fly back to the states and Hil and I hung out watching Chuck.
That week I spent trying to finish up my projects and getting everything done for the last day of school. I eventually made it and Hilary and I also saw some last minute sites. We went to Abbey road and took the classic walking Beatles picture which was really fun. Hilary went to see Les Miserables by herself because I was too cheap to buy a ticket to see it again but I think she enjoyed it very much! The last night in London we spent walking around eating fro yo and seeing as much as we could. It was a beautiful night, very lively too, and was unusually warm. London knew I was leaving and wanted to say a proper goodbye :)
I recall going to Paige´s art exhibit which was awesome! She did a great job. I met her dad and he graciously took us out to dinner at Jamie´s Restaurant which is Jamie Oliver´s, the british chef TV star, it was absolutely delicious!
I had a couple days to work on my projects from Hilary and Nikki arrived back in London, coming from York. They came on a friday and we took a small little tour around London to all the tourist hot spots that night. We ate at Garfunkels which is always a good choice. Saturday we tried walking to Buckingham Palace but came across a small road block, literally. Westminster bridge was closed and lined with policemen and there were numerous helicopters flying overhead. One the policeman asked if we were going to the protest and we said no so he suggested we go to the other bridge. It was a massive protest about the government cutting funds for services and there were huge amounts of policemen on every street. It was interesting to see but annoying because it took us a really roundabout way to Buckingham Palace. We got to the Palace and snapped a couple pics before heading back so we could get ready to go see the Oxford vs Cambridge boatrace. It took us awhile to get there and we literally walked up to the bridge seconds before the boats had already passed. It was devastating because I really wanted to see it. The crowds were insane and the actual race only lasted a matter of minutes. It was disappointing to say the least. We headed back to my place where we met Paige and Kinne and made dinner together. That night we went on an organized pub crawl which was a lot of fun and a good way to see London´s nightlife on a budget. Sunday we walked all over the place. We briefly saw the Street Photography exhibit at the Museum of London which was really cool and then we headed to Westminster Abbey for the evening service. That night we were pretty tired so we just watched Tangled in my room. Monday morning Nikki left to fly back to the states and Hil and I hung out watching Chuck.
That week I spent trying to finish up my projects and getting everything done for the last day of school. I eventually made it and Hilary and I also saw some last minute sites. We went to Abbey road and took the classic walking Beatles picture which was really fun. Hilary went to see Les Miserables by herself because I was too cheap to buy a ticket to see it again but I think she enjoyed it very much! The last night in London we spent walking around eating fro yo and seeing as much as we could. It was a beautiful night, very lively too, and was unusually warm. London knew I was leaving and wanted to say a proper goodbye :)
Thursday, 31 March 2011
The Motherland
A lot has happened since I last posted, it's been a busy month! After the Swierenga's left I had a few days to myself before Allie, a girl from the York program, and her cousin Lindsay came to stay with me for the weekend. They were lovely to have here and I think saw a lot of London. They even got me a box of Ben's cookies from Covent Gardens, SOO good and so generous of them! That weekend Paige's friends were also in town so it was fun to hang out with them. I got to go see Vivaldi's Four Seasons at St. Martins-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square with Paige's friend Liz who had to go for her music class. It was beautiful.
The next week on St. Patrick's day I met the girls from York at the London Bridge station to go to Gatwick airport. We tried to sleep there to no avail. Our flight left at 6:15 to Amsterdam where we were going to meet Nikki and Hilary who had got there a day earlier from the States. Running on pure adrenaline, we traipsed around Amsterdam wide-eyed. It wasn't how I pictured it, and the dreariness probably didn't help, but it was still pretty awesome. We were starving for some Dutch pannekoeken (pancakes) and poffertjes, the most delicious thing in the world, so after plenty of walking we happened upon a cute little cafe along a canal. After satisfying our appetites we made our way to Anne Franks house. There was quite the line but we stood in it graciously as we reminisced about the Calvin days. The museum was really interesting. Otto Frank, Anne's father, was the only one in the family who survived and the exhibits were made according to his orders. The the house was not to be furnished so it was easier to walk through. We saw Anne's actual diary's so that was cool.
Nikki, Kaitlin, Jessie and I went off to Den Haag after that to stay with Nikki's cousin. I really enjoyed walking through that city. The next day we went to Leiden which was the cutest and most quaint Dutch town. It had tons of canals and little alley ways with shops. We also got to walk through the very busy market running through the streets full of scrumptious treats, fresh vegetables and fruits, and all sorts of interesting fashion. I, of course, had to stop at the candy and get a bag of Dutch treats for myself :) Stroopwaffles were also purchased by almost everyone in our group. Sean, a Calvin grad getting his masters at Leiden University, was our tour guide and we got to rest up at his place for a bit. Grace, Karie and Jessie resided there for the weekend. We went on a small walking tour and got to see Rembrandt's house and place of birth. The house led us to the Rhine river where we of course had to take a picture "Over the Rhine". That in turn led us to a beautiful little windmill that we got to climb up into and peer out.
We also surprisingly encountered a small parade that was for the International Day Against Racism. After meandering about the city we got some groceries and had a lovely picnic in the park. That wrapped up our glorious day in Leiden and ended the night takin it easy in Den Haag.
The next day was spent in Delft. It was Sunday so not much was open, especially as early as we had gotten there. But it was wonderful to walk lazily around in the sunshine strolling along canals and admiring old Dutch architecture. We went the the center square of the town and did some souvenir shopping and got some beautiful Delft gifts for the parents :) I went to the Vermeer museum by myself and that was educational yet lacking in any of his original work. I joined the girls at a outdoor cafe and we bathed in the sunshine while eating toasties and pannekoeken once again.
We headed back to Den Haag and regrouped at Nikki's cousins house. We decided that 3 of us would ride bikes to the beach while the others took a tram. Hilary, Jessie and I decided to try and conquer this task which started off a bit rocky. We may have almost gotten ran over by cars and yelled at by Dutch natives but once on the right road it was practically smooth sailing. Their very different street signs and rules were difficult to navigate and follow to say the least. Great experience all in all! We met the other girls and Hilary's distant relatives joined up with us to show us around. We walked down the boardwalk at Scheveningen beach which was quite enjoyable and nice to feel the North Sea breeze. We all tried pickled herring which was disgusting because I hate fish.. and had some gelato to wash it down. After the beach walk we headed back to where Hilary had been residing at her relatives house to have a traditional Dutch meal. While it was being prepared the girls and I were trying to learn Dutch from the oldest daughter but all failed miserably which she found hilarious. It was sausage, mashed potatoes with cabbage, another dish with sausage, cheese, vegetables, and mashed potatoes, and much more. It was soooo very good and had a delectable dessert, homemade by the youngest daughter.
Our last day in the Netherlands was spent in Amsterdam. We had a quick lunch upon arrival and went on a delightful canal cruise. The house boats we saw were cool to look at and the architecture was awesome to see from canal as well. We did some short souvenir shopping and hung out in Dam's square for awhile. Then we relaxed at a corner pub and had a Heineken as the sun set. That concluded our wonderful trip to our very own Motherland :)
The next week on St. Patrick's day I met the girls from York at the London Bridge station to go to Gatwick airport. We tried to sleep there to no avail. Our flight left at 6:15 to Amsterdam where we were going to meet Nikki and Hilary who had got there a day earlier from the States. Running on pure adrenaline, we traipsed around Amsterdam wide-eyed. It wasn't how I pictured it, and the dreariness probably didn't help, but it was still pretty awesome. We were starving for some Dutch pannekoeken (pancakes) and poffertjes, the most delicious thing in the world, so after plenty of walking we happened upon a cute little cafe along a canal. After satisfying our appetites we made our way to Anne Franks house. There was quite the line but we stood in it graciously as we reminisced about the Calvin days. The museum was really interesting. Otto Frank, Anne's father, was the only one in the family who survived and the exhibits were made according to his orders. The the house was not to be furnished so it was easier to walk through. We saw Anne's actual diary's so that was cool.
Nikki, Kaitlin, Jessie and I went off to Den Haag after that to stay with Nikki's cousin. I really enjoyed walking through that city. The next day we went to Leiden which was the cutest and most quaint Dutch town. It had tons of canals and little alley ways with shops. We also got to walk through the very busy market running through the streets full of scrumptious treats, fresh vegetables and fruits, and all sorts of interesting fashion. I, of course, had to stop at the candy and get a bag of Dutch treats for myself :) Stroopwaffles were also purchased by almost everyone in our group. Sean, a Calvin grad getting his masters at Leiden University, was our tour guide and we got to rest up at his place for a bit. Grace, Karie and Jessie resided there for the weekend. We went on a small walking tour and got to see Rembrandt's house and place of birth. The house led us to the Rhine river where we of course had to take a picture "Over the Rhine". That in turn led us to a beautiful little windmill that we got to climb up into and peer out.
We also surprisingly encountered a small parade that was for the International Day Against Racism. After meandering about the city we got some groceries and had a lovely picnic in the park. That wrapped up our glorious day in Leiden and ended the night takin it easy in Den Haag.
The next day was spent in Delft. It was Sunday so not much was open, especially as early as we had gotten there. But it was wonderful to walk lazily around in the sunshine strolling along canals and admiring old Dutch architecture. We went the the center square of the town and did some souvenir shopping and got some beautiful Delft gifts for the parents :) I went to the Vermeer museum by myself and that was educational yet lacking in any of his original work. I joined the girls at a outdoor cafe and we bathed in the sunshine while eating toasties and pannekoeken once again.
We headed back to Den Haag and regrouped at Nikki's cousins house. We decided that 3 of us would ride bikes to the beach while the others took a tram. Hilary, Jessie and I decided to try and conquer this task which started off a bit rocky. We may have almost gotten ran over by cars and yelled at by Dutch natives but once on the right road it was practically smooth sailing. Their very different street signs and rules were difficult to navigate and follow to say the least. Great experience all in all! We met the other girls and Hilary's distant relatives joined up with us to show us around. We walked down the boardwalk at Scheveningen beach which was quite enjoyable and nice to feel the North Sea breeze. We all tried pickled herring which was disgusting because I hate fish.. and had some gelato to wash it down. After the beach walk we headed back to where Hilary had been residing at her relatives house to have a traditional Dutch meal. While it was being prepared the girls and I were trying to learn Dutch from the oldest daughter but all failed miserably which she found hilarious. It was sausage, mashed potatoes with cabbage, another dish with sausage, cheese, vegetables, and mashed potatoes, and much more. It was soooo very good and had a delectable dessert, homemade by the youngest daughter.
Our last day in the Netherlands was spent in Amsterdam. We had a quick lunch upon arrival and went on a delightful canal cruise. The house boats we saw were cool to look at and the architecture was awesome to see from canal as well. We did some short souvenir shopping and hung out in Dam's square for awhile. Then we relaxed at a corner pub and had a Heineken as the sun set. That concluded our wonderful trip to our very own Motherland :)
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Friends and Family
The week after my last post was spent mostly desperately trying to come up with ideas for my projects and working on different approaches. Paige was in Paris visiting her boyfriend so it was a little more quiet around here. Last Thursday I was nervous to show a rough video for the Acme project but it thankfully went over well and I am just tweaking things now to make it even better. We also got 2 new briefs which means more work, even a paper to write! I wish I had known about them when I first came so I could've gotten a jump start on it seeing as I had not a lot to do for a month. That night I was excited to pick Kaitlin up from Kings Cross and welcome her to lovely London and my apartment on the south bank. We went into central London that night just to give her a feel of the place and see Westminster lit up at night.
Friday she went to meet her family at Heathrow and then went straight to Bath for two days. Grace, Jessie, and Karie arrived at at Kings Cross Friday night and I picked them up also and brought them back to my humble abode. We also took the bus into central and walked around for awhile, got some food and called it a night.
Saturday I showed the girls around London some more. We walked to the Tate Modern, across Millennium bridge, over to St. Paul's, down Fleet Street to The Strand, and through to Covent Gardens where we picked up lunch at Benito's hat, a nice little Mexican restaurant. We then made our way through Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace where I ran into Joe and Cassie! (my old neighbor from back home in Lombard) Talked with them for awhile and glad to hear they're settling into their new place, hopefully going to get dinner with them sometime soon. We continued on to Westminster Abbey and attended Evensong at 3:00. It was absolutely beautiful and the choir sounded angelic with the acoustics of the cathedral. We wandered through the gift shop afterwards and eventually met up with the Aussies that are also international students at York with the girls. We took the tube to Shoreditch where we went to a Queen Tribute exhibit. It was pretty interesting and I learned a lot about the band. I also saw some graffiti by Banksy in the surrounding area which was cool. We headed home after that, ate some dinner and hung out with Paige and Kinne in the kitchen for awhile before going out to the bar. It was a busy day but I loved hanging out with the girls again!
Sunday the Swierenga clan arrived and I met up with them at their hotel right next to the London eye. It was so good to see everyone! They wanted to go to Evensong also so walked to Westminster and went to the service at 3:00, this time the service had a sermon since it was Sunday. We then walked to Buckingham Palace and walked around the area and St. James park. We walked to Trafalgar Square and into Leicester Square to eat dinner at Garfunkel's. It was delicious and nice to warm up seeing as the temperature was unusually cold that day. After dinner we made our way to the London Eye and stopped to take some pictures at 10 Downing Street, the prime ministers house. We strolled along the river and made it to the Eye right before it closed. It was a gorgeous view at night and I'm proud of everyone in our group who are wary of heights, it was really fun. We walked around the corner to the hotel afterwards and had a lovely evening in the bar/restaurant of the hotel.
Monday I met the group at the hotel to go on the Big Bus Tour. We enjoyed the ride to the Tower of London where we got off and took a tour of the Tower. It was really cool inside and there is so much history there. We listened to a Yeoman Warder/Beefeater and heard all about the royal family, the executions, and everything the tower has been through. We saw the execution site where Anne Boleyn was beheaded and went into the chapel where numerous figureheads are buried. After that we went to see the crown jewels which were absolutely amazing. I saw the Cullinan Diamond which is the largest rough cut diamond ever found at 3,106.75 carats. The crowns were gorgeous and just dripping with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones. We wandered into the White Tower after that and saw the armory of all the kings and their horses. We walked around the grounds some more and eventually left to go have some lunch and continue the tour.
Friday she went to meet her family at Heathrow and then went straight to Bath for two days. Grace, Jessie, and Karie arrived at at Kings Cross Friday night and I picked them up also and brought them back to my humble abode. We also took the bus into central and walked around for awhile, got some food and called it a night.
Sunday the Swierenga clan arrived and I met up with them at their hotel right next to the London eye. It was so good to see everyone! They wanted to go to Evensong also so walked to Westminster and went to the service at 3:00, this time the service had a sermon since it was Sunday. We then walked to Buckingham Palace and walked around the area and St. James park. We walked to Trafalgar Square and into Leicester Square to eat dinner at Garfunkel's. It was delicious and nice to warm up seeing as the temperature was unusually cold that day. After dinner we made our way to the London Eye and stopped to take some pictures at 10 Downing Street, the prime ministers house. We strolled along the river and made it to the Eye right before it closed. It was a gorgeous view at night and I'm proud of everyone in our group who are wary of heights, it was really fun. We walked around the corner to the hotel afterwards and had a lovely evening in the bar/restaurant of the hotel.
Monday I met the group at the hotel to go on the Big Bus Tour. We enjoyed the ride to the Tower of London where we got off and took a tour of the Tower. It was really cool inside and there is so much history there. We listened to a Yeoman Warder/Beefeater and heard all about the royal family, the executions, and everything the tower has been through. We saw the execution site where Anne Boleyn was beheaded and went into the chapel where numerous figureheads are buried. After that we went to see the crown jewels which were absolutely amazing. I saw the Cullinan Diamond which is the largest rough cut diamond ever found at 3,106.75 carats. The crowns were gorgeous and just dripping with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones. We wandered into the White Tower after that and saw the armory of all the kings and their horses. We walked around the grounds some more and eventually left to go have some lunch and continue the tour.
The group split up here and Kaitlin, Aunt Ginger, Josh, and Megan went to St. Paul's and Becky, Mike, Megan, Kim and I went to ride the bus for awhile and go to Harrod's. It was quite an experience seeing Harrod's and it felt more like a museum than a store. I can't imagine what the people do who can actually afford to shop there. Unfortunately the bus tour was being incompetent and running very late supposedly because of traffic so it was hard to plan and get places. After Harrod's I met Grace, Jessie, and Karie at the V&A museum right down the road and the others took the bus tour and tube back. The girls and I came back to my apartment where we hurriedly made pasta and changed to go see our musicals. Grace and I met the Swierenga's at Queen's Theatre to see Les Miserables and Jessie and Karie went to see Billy Elliot at Victoria Palace Theatre. Les Miserables was absolutely AMAZING! This was my third time seeing it and it was definitely the best, I was so giddy and basically cried through the whole second act. I could see that musical a hundred times over.
Today I said goodbye to the girls and Kaitlin and them headed back to York. The Swierenga's went to the Churhill War Rooms Museum this morning and I met them at their hotel at 1:30 to send them off to Edinburgh. It was so great to see everyone and be able to experience London with them!
Monday, 21 February 2011
Past Events
Since the last time I updated a few things have happened. Awhile ago I went to Chinatown with Paige and Kinne for some Chinese food which was absolutely delicious. The next day I went to a place called Mahiki's which is a bar where Prince William and Harry have been! It was a pretty classy place and even wearing a dress I felt a little underdressed. The cheapest drink there was £9 and the most expensive I believe was £5500 for a bottle of wine, not even joking. The atmosphere was enjoyable though with everything having a tiki sort of feel, waitresses in nice beach dresses and playing surprisingly good music. I split a drink that came in a pineapple! So we could've eaten it afterward. We danced for awhile and called it a night. Couple days after that I went to a little Mexican restaurant with Paige and Sam that was quite nice, cheap too, in Covent Gardens.
Last week I mostly worked hard on my projects trying to figure out how to proceed with my book project and painfully thinking about this viral campaign project I have. We had our tutor group on thursday and we all talked about our ideas and just how hard it is to come up with something entertaining, smart, and fun. Christian, my new tutor, is the one who gave us the brief for the project so it's nice to work closely with him but I feel it's also more pressure because he expects more from us. I presented an idea about an animation I had made but it didn't go over too well because he thought it would be too comical and not relate to the show, but he did enjoy my illustrations. Now I'm starting back at square one and am losing time, we'll see what I come up with.
This past Saturday I went to Cambridge! I met up with the girls from York so that was really fun to see them all again and explore the city. Cambridge is only about 45 minutes away from London by train so it made for a nice day trip. The architecture was absolutely fabulous and it was everywhere you looked. We first went into the library at King's College which i unfortunately could not take pictures of but it was gorgeous and had original works by Isaac Newton on display, plus the original manuscript of Winnie the Pooh. All the books were like the fake books that people use to decorate their homes except they were real. They had rolling ladders like in Beauty and the Beast and beautiful high ceilings. After that we headed to lunch at a quaint little place called Tattie's and had some panini's to keep us going. We walked down the main street after that and into the center market where I bought the most delicious marshmallow flump covered in powdered sugar, most people were disgusted by it because its looks were similar to a pig intestines and it became a running joke. We then went to King's College chapel which was absolutely breath-taking. I'm sure I studied it it Art History. The fan-vaults were gorgeous and the stained glass windows were beautiful. The chapel took centuries to be completed and you can see the evidence of different periods by looking at the stonework. After taking it all in there, we walked around the rest of the campus grounds. It was beyond any College I've ever seen, everything looked like a castle or it was identical to Hogwarts.
After being jealous of everyone that went to King's College and had wandered around their grounds we continued down the main street of town. We ended up going to The Fitzwilliam museum which was full of paintings and sculptures, I saw a few Monet's and Cezanne's that I recognized. Sadly when we were through with that I had to make my trek back to the train station and come back to London. It was a short day trip but enjoyable none the less.
This morning I had a meeting with Sue at school, who's there to help us with all the book making we are doing. I think I have a pretty solid idea of what I'm doing now and just have to execute it. I may even get to use the laser cut printer we have, we'll see. I'll post pictures when the work becomes a little more developed.
I'm going to add some videos from Cambridge soon so check those out if you want!
Last week I mostly worked hard on my projects trying to figure out how to proceed with my book project and painfully thinking about this viral campaign project I have. We had our tutor group on thursday and we all talked about our ideas and just how hard it is to come up with something entertaining, smart, and fun. Christian, my new tutor, is the one who gave us the brief for the project so it's nice to work closely with him but I feel it's also more pressure because he expects more from us. I presented an idea about an animation I had made but it didn't go over too well because he thought it would be too comical and not relate to the show, but he did enjoy my illustrations. Now I'm starting back at square one and am losing time, we'll see what I come up with.
This past Saturday I went to Cambridge! I met up with the girls from York so that was really fun to see them all again and explore the city. Cambridge is only about 45 minutes away from London by train so it made for a nice day trip. The architecture was absolutely fabulous and it was everywhere you looked. We first went into the library at King's College which i unfortunately could not take pictures of but it was gorgeous and had original works by Isaac Newton on display, plus the original manuscript of Winnie the Pooh. All the books were like the fake books that people use to decorate their homes except they were real. They had rolling ladders like in Beauty and the Beast and beautiful high ceilings. After that we headed to lunch at a quaint little place called Tattie's and had some panini's to keep us going. We walked down the main street after that and into the center market where I bought the most delicious marshmallow flump covered in powdered sugar, most people were disgusted by it because its looks were similar to a pig intestines and it became a running joke. We then went to King's College chapel which was absolutely breath-taking. I'm sure I studied it it Art History. The fan-vaults were gorgeous and the stained glass windows were beautiful. The chapel took centuries to be completed and you can see the evidence of different periods by looking at the stonework. After taking it all in there, we walked around the rest of the campus grounds. It was beyond any College I've ever seen, everything looked like a castle or it was identical to Hogwarts.
After being jealous of everyone that went to King's College and had wandered around their grounds we continued down the main street of town. We ended up going to The Fitzwilliam museum which was full of paintings and sculptures, I saw a few Monet's and Cezanne's that I recognized. Sadly when we were through with that I had to make my trek back to the train station and come back to London. It was a short day trip but enjoyable none the less.
This morning I had a meeting with Sue at school, who's there to help us with all the book making we are doing. I think I have a pretty solid idea of what I'm doing now and just have to execute it. I may even get to use the laser cut printer we have, we'll see. I'll post pictures when the work becomes a little more developed.
I'm going to add some videos from Cambridge soon so check those out if you want!
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Catch Up
It's been awhile, my apologies! I've actually been busy with school believe it or not. Last week I had a group film project that I was working on. My group liked to joke that we were the international group because one girl is from Bermuda, one from Kenya, two from China, me, and an English girl who was off to Paris for the week. We got the brief on Monday and had to pitch an idea on Tuesday. The pitch was a little shaky but we talked it out and settled on something to shoot. After countless shots that we didn't take at locations like Aashni's house, Buckingham Palace, China town, and my room, we finally settled on a park right next to the London Eye. China town was fun to walk through seeing as it was Chinese New Years when we did. Our film was taken from the child's perspective so after a lot of shoots my thighs had had quite the work out. The project was supposed to be about choreography, design, and sound and had to be taken in one shot, not cuts. I posted the video on my vimeo site if you want to know more about it and see what we ended up with. We basically worked on it all day every day last week so it was exhausting. The video below is me documenting the video we made.
Last Wednesday I went out to YO! Sushi with Paige and Kinne. It was the cutest little place that had the food come on conveyor belts! So you could just sit down and eat right away. I got the most delicious dessert: Chocolate Mochi. It literally melted in my mouth. After that we went to the student bar at King's college just across the river. It was on the 4th floor and packed with students. It had a great view of the river and the skyline on the south bank.
Last Wednesday I went out to YO! Sushi with Paige and Kinne. It was the cutest little place that had the food come on conveyor belts! So you could just sit down and eat right away. I got the most delicious dessert: Chocolate Mochi. It literally melted in my mouth. After that we went to the student bar at King's college just across the river. It was on the 4th floor and packed with students. It had a great view of the river and the skyline on the south bank.
Thursday I tried teaching myself how to use Final Cut Express to edit the sound to our video. I learned enough to mess with it and get it somewhat to what we wanted. I bought a bus ticket to York and headed off the next morning to see my beautiful girls :)
The bus ride was about 5 1/2 hours but it went by pretty quick. There weren't many people on the bus and it was pretty silent most of the ride. I arrived around 6:40 where Grace, Kaitlin, and Jessie picked me up. We walked back to their apartments and hung out before we went to Professor Bratt's house to hang out with the rest of the group. Later we went to the student union where they had an Oompa band (I have no idea how to spell it but thats what it sounds like). They were a German band and had everyone dancing and singing, it was entertaining and I'll probably post the video I took of it later. After that we went to a little pub but didn't stay long and went back to catch up on life.
Saturday Kaitlin and I roamed the city of York and it's beautiful city walls. We walked on the surrounding wall and took pictures outside to the York Minster. We picked up lunch at the most delicious little bakery and both ate toasted sandwiches of mozeralla, tomato, and pesto. Then we got dessert at another bakery, a chelsea bun (basically a cinnamon roll, so good!). We walked past this fudge shop where we got called in to take samples, which we gladly did to our pleasant delight. We watched them make it for awhile and then continued walking around. Jessie and Grace met up with us later and we got sucked into H&M and later went to Caffe Nero. Jessie and I shared a Belgian Hot Chocolate that was to die for. We also walked through The Shambles, which is what Diagon alley in Harry Potter is based on!
We eventually walked back to the apartments to rest before we went to Evensong at the York Minster. It was stunningly gorgeous on the inside of the cathedral and we were seated in chairs that looked like thrones lined across the walls. It was three rows of stadium seating on either side with the audience facing each other. The boys choir paraded down the middle and lined up on both sides as well. Their voices were beautiful and even though it was very drafty I enjoyed it very much. The priest would pray and the choir would sing amazing sounding Amens and we finished by singing a psalm altogether. The intricacies inside the church was astounding and you couldn't help but look up. After Evensong we walked back to the apartments to shower and eat. The girls made really good pesto pasta and finished with a scrumptious chocolate cake. The rest of the night we hung out, played games, talked and were later joined by other members of the Calvin group.
Sunday Kaitlin was invited randomly to eat with the Bratt's and graciously took me with her. They apparently pick 4 random Calvin kids to have over every Sunday. They made us chicken, rice, salad, and beans and ended with apple pie with ice cream, SO good! I was very happy to have a home cooked meal and spend time with people from back home. After that it was time for me to say goodbye and head back to London. The girls walked me to the station and waved me off. I can't wait until they come to visit me!
Yesterday was a long day at school. We had another briefing for a really cool project. We have to design an advertisement for an online show that this guy is trying to promote about how everything is designed. It was really intriguing and hopefully I can come up with something good. Then I had lunch and we sat around and waited until the final critique at 3. We watched everyone else's videos and the documentaries behind them. Saw some very interesting stuff, cool to see how everyone takes a brief differently.
Today I went for a run outside because it was beautiful! Sunny, absolutely blue sky, and 50 degrees. I ran to and across Westminster bridge and ran along the Thames, simply gorgeous. Thanks for being patient with the redesign of the blog! I might be doing it again soon... we'll see. Don't forget to keep checking out my photos and videos because I try to update every now again :)
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Bare with me...
I got online expecting to post all about my busy week last week and my awesome time in York only to get sucked into completely re-designing my blog. So hopefully you can bare with me while I try to get everything in order! Thanks :)
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Past Week
This past Sunday I got to hang out with James all day. He came over and saw my apartment and then we walked to the Tate Modern to get some lunch and browse the museum. Very interesting exhibits I must say.. I'm not a huge fan of modern or contemporary art. I did see some art I recognized like that of Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol but most of the time it was kind of humorous for James and I to try and interpret some of the very ambiguous work. Eventually the museum started to close and we walked out by the river and crossed Millennium bridge towards St. Paul's. We got some coffee at Costa's and chatted until he had to go to his last dinner with his Calvin group. I walked back and it was nice to stroll along the river.
Monday I already posted pictures about the Letterpress which was pretty awesome. Such tedious work but I love it so hopefully I can go back again and print something more worth while.
Tuesday I meandered down to Westminster bridge just to get a feel for the area. I'm still trying to find a running route so I like to get my exercise by walking for now while scoping out safe places to run.
Wednesday I went to the Science Museum which I really enjoyed. I always love science museums just because they show you how things are done and how they were made which is so intriguing to me. There was one exhibit called "Who Am I?" and it was all about the human body, its emotions, background, facial expressions, body language, orientation, pretty much everything. It was a really fun exhibit because it was so interactive with different games you could play and tests you could take. I also enjoyed an exhibit called Launchpad because it was basically a whole bunch of science experiment type things that were also all hands-on. The first picture is the view of the main hall of the science museum taken from the third floor. The picture to the right of that is the "Who Am I?" exhibit. The first one on the bottom is watching water crystalize and freeze. And the last one is me looking at myself through a thermal camera.
Thursday I went to class to watch some presentations given by people in my graphic design program. I didn't have to because it was reflecting on past projects and their process through everything. It was pretty informative to watch though and see what kind of things everyone was doing. That night I hung out with Paige and Kinne and we just hung at the apartment and made some delicious pasta and had wine. Quite classy.
Yesterday I worked on some projects and went shopping with Paige at the 99p store which we discovered we love because it's so inexpensive. Later on Kinne and Sam joined us to go eat Chinese and we brought it back and hung out here the rest of the night. Paige made guacamole and it was delicious.
Monday I already posted pictures about the Letterpress which was pretty awesome. Such tedious work but I love it so hopefully I can go back again and print something more worth while.
Tuesday I meandered down to Westminster bridge just to get a feel for the area. I'm still trying to find a running route so I like to get my exercise by walking for now while scoping out safe places to run.
Wednesday I went to the Science Museum which I really enjoyed. I always love science museums just because they show you how things are done and how they were made which is so intriguing to me. There was one exhibit called "Who Am I?" and it was all about the human body, its emotions, background, facial expressions, body language, orientation, pretty much everything. It was a really fun exhibit because it was so interactive with different games you could play and tests you could take. I also enjoyed an exhibit called Launchpad because it was basically a whole bunch of science experiment type things that were also all hands-on. The first picture is the view of the main hall of the science museum taken from the third floor. The picture to the right of that is the "Who Am I?" exhibit. The first one on the bottom is watching water crystalize and freeze. And the last one is me looking at myself through a thermal camera.
Thursday I went to class to watch some presentations given by people in my graphic design program. I didn't have to because it was reflecting on past projects and their process through everything. It was pretty informative to watch though and see what kind of things everyone was doing. That night I hung out with Paige and Kinne and we just hung at the apartment and made some delicious pasta and had wine. Quite classy.
Yesterday I worked on some projects and went shopping with Paige at the 99p store which we discovered we love because it's so inexpensive. Later on Kinne and Sam joined us to go eat Chinese and we brought it back and hung out here the rest of the night. Paige made guacamole and it was delicious.
Monday, 24 January 2011
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Getting Involved
I eventually made it to the top floor which is where the Holocaust museum is. I knew it was going to be tough to walk through and it was heart wrenching, but I got to see some footage I had never seen before of Hitler and Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. Maybe I wasn't paying attention in high school or something, but I never really knew why the Jews were so harshly persecuted. I watched a video describing how the early Christians persecuted them because they blamed them for Christ's death, it was quite disappointing to hear about the cruelty of people that call themselves Christians. What I really liked about the exhibit was hearing the stories of the survivors and what they went through and what got them through, it took courage to tell that to the world. It really makes me think about all the psychological studies they've done about the Nazi's and how they could have done what they did in those concentration camps, that really intrigues me. After an emotional roller coaster that was the exhibit, I wandered through the Secret War exhibit and then eventually I had to leave. All in all, the Imperial War Museum was very educational and interesting to me.Thursday I went to school for a meeting about the books we're making. My objective now is to make as many little mock up books as I can, different structures, different content, but still all revolving around London and it's skyline.
Friday I had a Letterpress workshop which was absolutely fabulous. I've always enjoyed typography and the sort so it was really cool to learn about using the original letterpress. Some fun little facts we learned: The saying "Out of sorts" comes from typesetting. A sort is a piece of type representing a particular letter or symbol. So if you were 'out of sorts' you would be in trouble because you wouldn't be able to finish whatever you were printing. Another little fact, the & symbol is supposed to be the combination of the letters 'e' and 't'. 'Et' means 'and' in Latin. Also the phrase 'mind your p's and q's' comes from typesetting, reminding you to be careful when writing something out with p's and q's because you're writing it backwards when you set your type. Anyhow, I stayed and ate lunch and then went back to the letterpress shop to work on making my own postcard which I am not quite finished with. Typesetting is very laborious but I find it really enjoyable! It took me almost 3 hours to just composite a single one sentence quote and I still have yet to print it. I'm going to take pictures of it tomorrow hopefully. Then last night I went to Shoreditch with my flatmate Paige and her friends which was really fun.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Museums
Today I visited Pollock's Toy Museum because it was something my course director Jim recommended. They had toys dating back to the early 1800s and neat little trinkets. Mostly the place kind of creeped me out to be honest hah. I hate dolls so I quickly sped by that room. I did enjoy the paper theatre sets which is why I went. Jim thought it would be good to look at because my book that I'm working on reminds him of them. The museum itself was in this little old house dating back to the late 1800s in the middle of the neighborhood Fitzrovia in central London. I think the structure and ambience of a museum sometimes intrigues me more than what's actually on display. I picked up a pretty awesome present for my niece Grace in the museums store so hopefully she'll enjoy that when I get back :) After the museum I found a place called London Graphic Centre and picked up some supplies. Then I strolled the streets of Fitzrovia and wandered into a book shop. I think I could sit in a library or book store for days on end. There are some many interesting things to read about! Alas I did not buy anything because I am already in the midst of Great Expectations which should take me some time.
The other day I visited the Victoria and Albert museum (aka V&A) which is pretty gigantic. So gigantic that there are 7 miles of galleries in it. Again, it's a beautiful massive building just packed with all different kinds of art dating back from as early as 3150 BCE. There are plaster castes of Michelangelo's sculptures, including David, and of Trajan's column that's split in two to fit into the room. I found some paintings by Joseph Mallard William Turner that I really liked that were waterscapes, which I am always partial to. I also saw some gorgeous jewelry displayed in a beautifully lit room with a winding glass staircase in the middle. In the entrance hall a massive floating Chihuly sculpture intrigued me as it hung freely. Its blue and green dancing arms made it hard to take your eyes off it. What I really enjoyed in the museum was watching this short video on how they do or how they used to caste bronze sculptures, it was fascinating! And so much work. In the same hallway they had miniature ivory sculptures that of course I would like because I'm obsessed with miniatures. I would have taken pictures of them but my camera died :( The whole museum was so big that it also had kind of an eerie feeling. It may have to do with the fact that not many people were there and almost every exhibit I walked into it was empty but also some of their displays were just poorly lit and uninviting. All in all I enjoyed it though. They had a lovely little book store where I found an awesome book about making useful items out of every day objects. Unfortunately I did not buy it. Below is the Chihuly sculpture.
It was surprisingly nice today, not really warm, but sunny! Which as you probably know is quite unusual. I've been walking around my neighborhood trying to find a good running path but have yet to come upon a good one.
The other day I visited the Victoria and Albert museum (aka V&A) which is pretty gigantic. So gigantic that there are 7 miles of galleries in it. Again, it's a beautiful massive building just packed with all different kinds of art dating back from as early as 3150 BCE. There are plaster castes of Michelangelo's sculptures, including David, and of Trajan's column that's split in two to fit into the room. I found some paintings by Joseph Mallard William Turner that I really liked that were waterscapes, which I am always partial to. I also saw some gorgeous jewelry displayed in a beautifully lit room with a winding glass staircase in the middle. In the entrance hall a massive floating Chihuly sculpture intrigued me as it hung freely. Its blue and green dancing arms made it hard to take your eyes off it. What I really enjoyed in the museum was watching this short video on how they do or how they used to caste bronze sculptures, it was fascinating! And so much work. In the same hallway they had miniature ivory sculptures that of course I would like because I'm obsessed with miniatures. I would have taken pictures of them but my camera died :( The whole museum was so big that it also had kind of an eerie feeling. It may have to do with the fact that not many people were there and almost every exhibit I walked into it was empty but also some of their displays were just poorly lit and uninviting. All in all I enjoyed it though. They had a lovely little book store where I found an awesome book about making useful items out of every day objects. Unfortunately I did not buy it. Below is the Chihuly sculpture.
It was surprisingly nice today, not really warm, but sunny! Which as you probably know is quite unusual. I've been walking around my neighborhood trying to find a good running path but have yet to come upon a good one.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Sunday
I haven't found a church here yet but thankfully I can still listen to an awesome sermon by Rod. Thanks Crossroads! Rod's Sermon on Romans 6:1-18.
"The gospel is not achieved, it's simply received. We've been taught that any time theres a good thing to take hold of, we have to achieve it. But with the gospel you don't achieve it, you just receive it as God's gift. But that raises the question if it's all God, then why can't I just live any way I want? Chapter 6 answers this question."- Rod
"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." -Romans 6:13-14
"The gospel is not achieved, it's simply received. We've been taught that any time theres a good thing to take hold of, we have to achieve it. But with the gospel you don't achieve it, you just receive it as God's gift. But that raises the question if it's all God, then why can't I just live any way I want? Chapter 6 answers this question."- Rod
"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." -Romans 6:13-14
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Videos
Check out a new link I posted (vimeo.com) in the right hand column of my blog to watch my videos! Enjoy :)
Friday, 14 January 2011
London Learning
Today I learned that Oxford street is a very dangerous place. I only got the chance to go into two stores, Zara and River Island. Both classically London so I can get my own little European style :) I actually bought something and realized River Island is one of my new favorite stores, and a new weakness. I got new shoes, a shirt, and a jacket. (thanks mom!) I also learned some of my other weaknesses: nutella, shortbread, and Frosties (aka Frosted Flakes). Things I've learned about riding the tube: the Bakerloo line is disturbingly loud and old, the Circle line is always crowded, and the upside to millions of stairs is getting in shape!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Foreign Learning
Well the first week of school is almost over and I think I'm starting to understand what it's like over here. They teach a little differently across the pond. The way I explain it is that there are two course directors for my BA Graphic Design program and one of them acts like my advisor, his name's Jim. Jim gives me projects I have to do and I have to meet with him at least once a week. So during the day I am to work on these projects or attend seminars, lectures, or workshops they offer which are apparently all optional and some can only be attended if you sign up in advance. My project now is working on a book. Each project is pretty individualized unless it involves working in a group. So Jim suggested I design my book around something about London. I still have to think of an idea... any suggestions? I've been going to multiple museums so that's fun and I plan on walking around more this weekend and taking more pictures for inspiration. It's hard getting inspiration in the shady part of town where my apartment is hah but central London is only a 5 minute tube ride away. I'm meeting up with James and the Calvin kids tomorrow so that should be fun to see some familiar faces again!
