Liverpool and Manchester

Liverpool, UK

My friend Danni and I had quite the adventure this weekend.  We took a whirlwind trip to Liverpool, Manchester, and Lyme Park.

Friday afternoon we took the four hour train to Liverpool.  It was a long ride, but pleasant.  I love traveling by train.  It's a great way to see all that a country has to offer.

We spent all of Saturday there just exploring the city at a leisurely pace.  We started our morning off in Liverpool Cathedral which is supposed to have the oldest church bells in Europe.  It was a massive place, and like all the others, breathtakingly beautiful.

Liverpool Cathedral

Next we went down to Albert Dock and did "The Beatles Story" museum.  I'm not a huge Beatles fan, but I learned a huge amount in that short hour.  I left the place with a newfound appreciation for the legendary band.

The Beatles Museum

Our hotel room in Liverpool.

Liverpool was a very historic city, but it was rough around the edges.  The buildings, although pretty, were old and run down.  It seemed no one had taken the time or money to restore the damage leftover by the wars.  I struggled to find a very nice upscale neighborhood downtown, or really, anything that didn't look like rough neighborhood.  It was an eye opening experience seeing the raw side of England.  This once grand city is a ghost of the past lingering on the docks.

The rest of the afternoon was mainly just spent wandering around the city.  We visited the Liverpool Museum, the Liverpool Central

Library, the Royal Liver Building, and saw the Cunard Building at Pier Head.  The day ended by looking for a coffee shop, which didn't end well.  Right when I was beginning to think Starbucks was taking over the world, I found myself in a neighborhood with only one coffee shop that was completely full. Tired and only slightly bitter, Danni and I hiked our way back to Lime Street station, grabbed a coffee to go, and hopped our train to Manchester.

In a short forty-five minutes we were in a brand new city.  Our walk to the hotel was longer than it should have been--we exited from the wrong door at the train station--but it was okay because we saw hundreds of Manchester City fans making their way to the stadium for a game.  Everyone was decked out in light blue and white.  I couldn't help but think of UNC's Tarheel games.  Momentarily it felt a little like home.

I like Manchester well enough.  It's odd, I was warned by many people how rough the city was, but I didn't find it particularly unseemly.  It had the air of an industrial powerhouse with a streak of modernity.  Like Cardiff, the old buildings were mixed with tall glass sky scrapers and apartment buildings.  It appeared that in this city, someone took the care to rebuild and repair the old decaying buildings.  I only passed through the city on a tram en route to Old Trafford, the Manchester United stadium, but what I saw seemed pretty normal for a city.  Manchester is a good deal larger and busier than Liverpool was.  It was more of a working city.  There weren't as many touristy things to do there, but the eternal hum of electricity that you get in a big city was there in the background, energizing its inhabitants.


Saturday morning we caught an early train out to Old Trafford.  Danni had booked us a museum and stadium tour.  This place blew me away!  I wasn't terribly excited at first.  Admittedly, I'm not a football (soccer) fan, and I knew very little about the team except that David Beckham once played for them. But after this tour I was proud to walk out of the "Manchester United Megastore" with my red and yellow t-shirt and support the team.

The stadium holds around 75,000 people, which in comparison to some of the mega-domes back home in the States isn't much, but standing next to the grass pitch being warmed by things that looked like the huge industrial crop irrigation contraptions with sun lamps attached, I realized how much time, effort, and money goes into each game.  We got to see the dressing rooms, directors' box, press rooms, and all of the cool back stage areas typically only seen by staff and players.  We learned a ton about the team's history, and Old Trafford itself that's been there since the early 1900s.



The afternoon was spent at Lyme Park, the home of Pemberly, from the 1995 A&E adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.  Despite some rather foul weather, it was a wonderful afternoon.

Danni and I stepped off the train into what appeared to be in the middle of nowhere.  I pulled out my iPhone to pull up my Google Maps only to find a dreaded "No Service" message.  My heart sank as it dawned on me that neither one of us knew where we were going, and had stupidly planned to rely solely on technology.  Well, technology had failed us.  After a few seconds of panic, we noticed the sign that said Lyme Park.  "Well, I guess we're going to do this the old fashioned way."  Off we went. We only walked for about a half a mile, although, allow me to point out, that when you're walking in a seemingly random direction with only one sign to go off of, no cell service, and practically by yourselves, a half mile feels like an eternity.

Front Gatehouse

Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the gate of Lyme Park.  I was quickly beginning to realize exactly what the true meaning of a "country estate" was.  It's a euphemism for I have a enormous house and lots of land in the big middle of nowhere.  We found a shuttle bus to take us from the front gates up to the house.  Our driver was very nice, and gave a short background story on the property itself.  He told us about the hunting lodge on the property as well as the house.  Apparently, they several types of deer in the park.  In a few minutes, he dropped us off, we went exploring in the house.

South side of the house.

The house itself wasn't nearly as large as I had imagined.  Don't get me wrong, it was still huge, after seeing it in the movie, I assumed it was all house, but it actually was square shaped with a courtyard in the middle.  The north side of the house is where the main entrance was.  It was pretty, with a big circular driveway and another beautiful gate.  The inside of the house was lovely, but we weren't allowed to take pictures.  My favorite, however, was the south side of the house that starred in the movie.  It was beautiful and everything I imagined.  The pond behind the house was enormous, but since the film they had erupted an awful statue of a giant Mr. Darcy emerging from the pond like in the movie.  It kind of ruined the mood.  That small complaint aside, the whole afternoon was fantastic.

We caught our train home and arrived safely back in Swansea for another week of classes and real life.

I feel so blessed to be able to see all that I have in these short few weeks.  Yesterday marked the beginning of my fifth week of classes, and my sixth week here in Wales.  It's been a wonderful adventure that is only just beginning.

I promise, my post on Paris is coming soon.  The pictures from that trip as well as this one is already on Flickr, accessible via my photos link.  More later!

Au Revior, Paris: Day Three

Montmartre

We spent early Sunday morning wandering around Montmartre, the art district of Paris.  The neighborhood was once home to Pablo Picasso.  It was only a ten minute walk from where we were staying, so we thought we'd save it until the last minute.  I love cities in the morning when they haven't quite woken up yet.  Paris was still sleepy when we looking around that morning.  We witnessed the shops slowly opening and the city beginning to come alive.  

Our last and final stop before returning to our tour bus was the Sacre Coeur.  We didn't go inside, but we hiked up the hundreds of steps to see the famous church.  The morning sunlight lit up the beautiful, old white building.  It was like it glowed against the perfect blue sky.  We didn't spend too much time there, but it was a great end to a very good trip.

The bus ride home was long.  It felt like it took a lifetime just to get out of France.  We took the ferry from Calais to Dover, UK.  Since it was daytime this time when we took the ferry we could see the White Cliffs of Dover as we pulled into the port.  It was such an interesting sight.  I've never seen anything like it.

We got home after eleven that evening, and I quickly crashed into my bed.  Class started at nine Monday morning, but the weekend was well worth lost sleep.

That concludes my adventures in Paris.  My next upcoming trip is Bath this Saturday.  Stay tuned for updates!

Dernier Jour: Day Two

#wavetheflag at the Eiffel Tower!  Go Cougs!

The girls and I got up first thing on Saturday morning and took the metro to the Eiffel Tower.  It was absolutely massive, but wasn't what I was expecting.  Maybe it's because we see it all the time in pictures, but it didn't take my breath away.  It's an iconic monument, no doubt, but I didn't think it was as impressive as everyone kept saying.  Nonetheless, it was a wonderful opportunity to experience something famous.

Musee d'Orsay

After taking dozens of photos, we hopped the metro to the Musee d'Orsay.  We got let in for free because we were all on UK visas which was cool.  We wished we'd known that the day before so we could have avoided paying the rather expensive entry to the Louvre.  Oh well.  I actually liked the Musee d'Orsay a bit more than the Louvre.  It wasn't as intimidating.  The building was beautiful.  Previously, it was a train station, so it has the tall foggy glass ceilings and iron supports that train stations of that time usually did.  The glass ceiling tiles allowed for a lot of natural sunlight.

Inside the main room of the Pantheon

We stopped into a little cafe for lunch then went on to the Luxembourg Gardens.  We walked through the gardens and over to the Pantheon.  I love old building like this.  They were doing construction on the dome, so I didn't get any good outside photos, but the inside was really pretty.  In their crypt is the final resting place of Voltaire, Marie Curie and her husband, and many others.

Continuing on our journey we trekked over to Love Lock Bridge and then Notre Dame.  We got a little turned around in the Latin Quarter, but followed the sight of the steeple on the horizon all the way down to the Seine.  Love Lock Bridge is actually several bridges in Paris where lovers come to place a lock on the railing of the bridge and toss their key into the river in hopes that their love will last forever.  What they don't tell you is that there are so many locks that they have to be removed once every seven months.  The Love Lock Bridge we visited is on the bridge just behind the cathedral.

Danni, Molly, Caylyn, me, and Olivia at Love Lock Bridge with Notre Dame in the background

Notre Dame was my favorite stop that weekend.  When I first walked in I was hit with this sudden overwhelming awe and reverence for the place.  It was a powerful experience.  The place was packed with tourists and worshippers alike, but their presence didn't take away from the experience.

The glow of the chandeliers against the ancient walls leading up to the vaulted ceilings created an atmosphere that was magical.  The stained glass windows added light and color, and prayer candles flickered against the stones creating movement in the light.  There were hymns playing softly in the background and the low buzz of the tourists whispering to one another and prayers being uttered.  I would love to go back one day to attend a service.  I'm sure it would be a great experience.

To finish off the day we took an evening river cruise.  It added a special something to be able to sum up all that we had seen in the past two days from a different perspective.  The sun was setting, casting a glow to all of the famous buildings and monuments.  The perfect way to end another great day.

Bonjour, Paris! Day One

Rooftops of Paris

I spent the weekend of Valentines Day in Paris with a large group of students from Swansea.  We had a wonderful time!  It was a very busy few days, but we managed to see everything we wanted to.

We took the bus Thursday night and drove all night to get to Paris Friday morning.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't sleep but two hours on the bus.  I was tired, but when we arrived in the outskirts of Paris, I hit my second wind.  After dropping our bags off at the hotel, my group of four Americans, a Canadian, and an Australian set off to sightsee.























First stop was the Opera Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in Paris and home to the National Ballet of France.  It was as breathtaking as its pictures.  The main hall was my favorite, with its grand double staircase with gilded accents on every surface.  I would love to go back some day and attend a show there.  The main theatre seemed a little bit small to me, but I think it was simply because I was standing in the back with a poor view of the upper decks.  The entire room was covered with red and gold velvet.  Next we wandered into one of the halls.  It had an enormous fireplace at one end, then glassy hardwood floors and gold chandeliers lining the the hallway all the way down to another enormous fireplace.  It was massive and reminded me of Versailles' hall of mirrors.

The Louvre courtyard

The Louvre was the next place on the list.  Overwhelming would be a very good word to describe it.  I knew it was big, but I had no idea how easy it would be to get lost amongst the thousands pieces of art displayed in the former palace.  We saw the two main must-see items, the Mona Lisa, and the Venus de Milo.  I was disappointed to find that the Mona Lisa viewing area was a chaotic mess.  The famous portrait is hanging on the back wall of a huge hallway.  There was no queue, no specified viewing area, nothing but about two hundred people elbowing their way to the front to take the obligatory photo and then push their way back out of the madness.  I was kind of hoping it would look like it did in The Da Vinci Code...not so much, but that was okay.

We walked through the Jardin des Tuileries on the way to our next stop, the Grand Palais, home of Paris Fashion Week.  The garden was pretty, but bare due to the winter weather.  I was surprised to find that rather than concrete walkways there was a light beige gravel mixture spread over the designated walking areas.  We passed this guy who appeared to be a pigeon whisperer.  He was catching pigeons mid-flight then literally handing them to the onlookers.  The strange things you see when you travel.  We made our way to the Grand Palais which is this enormous convention center with a glass roof that looks like an atrium garden from the outside.

Grand Palais behind Pont Alexandre III

The Grand Palais was in between conventions, so we couldn't go in.  Next up was Laduree on the Champs Elysees.  We all got macaroons from the store.  They were absolutely delicious!  By far, my new favorite treat.  We walked down the Champs Elysees, and grabbed lunch.  It is a street made for walking.  The sidewalks are about three times as wide as they are in the States.  All kinds of shops lined the streets, from Sephora and H&M to Louis Vuitton and Chanel.  I wish I'd gotten to see the trees when they had leaves on them.  The whole street is lined with these perfectly manicured trees and flower pots.  It made a lovely background to the cafes.



We continued down the street until we reached the Arc du Triomphe.  All I can say is wow.  There it was in all its grandeur.  What an amazing memorial to the victories of France.  It sits in the middle of a massive traffic circle.  Around eight different streets all merge at this point.  A while back, someone once told me that no matter where you are in Paris, somehow you'll always find your way back to the Arc.  I definitely understand what they mean.  Strangely enough, I found that I liked this monument more than the Eiffel tower.  Something about it is more understated and less gaudy and ostentatious.

It was a crazy first day in Paris, and by the time we hit our last stop, the Galeries Lafayette, I was completely exhausted.  The inside of the building looked like another opera or basilica.  It was beautiful.  I've seen pictures of the place at Christmas, and would love to return and see the enormous Christmas tree in person.  But even without the Christmas tree, it was awesome.  We somehow miraculously managed to see every main destination on the right bank of Paris in just one day.  We walked through almost ten arrondissements and past dozens of iconic sights. It was Valentines Day, so the six of us girls got bread, cheese, chocolate, and macaroons to eat in our hotel room and celebrate spending a wonderful day amongst friends in one of the greatest cities in the world.                    

Tales from day two can be found in the next post.  Pictures from Paris are all posted to the site, so check them out!  The adventures are to be continued!

A Weekend in Barry, Wales

I spent the weekend at my friend Alex's house in Barry, a small town about thirty minutes outside Cardiff.  We had a blast!  On Saturday she showed me her town, which used to be a bustling resort town in the fifties, but has since then slowed down to a more casual pace.

Alex referred to this pond as a lake...for all of you Americans, this is most definitely a pond!

We walked down to this very pretty pond pictured above, which Alex called a lake, but it's just a pond.  The wind was blowing so hard I thought I had gotten caught int the middle of a hurricane!  I found out later there had been reported wind gusts over 75 mph.  On the other end of the pond there were all sorts of ducks and swans.  I suppose they were used to the wind, but I was worried I'd get blown away.

Pebble Beach

Next we went over to Pebble Beach.  It's not the kind of beach I grew up with in Destin, FL, but it is slightly reminiscent of Washington beaches.  The water isn't nearly as pretty though!  In the background of the picture sits Barry Island, which was the main resort attraction back in the day.

It's a lovely little town, and I had a great weekend eating Arabic food and playing tourist with Alex and her family.  I leave for Paris on Thursday night, so I promise, there will be a much more interesting update next week.

Until then!

American Football & Superbowl XLVIII

The day I flew to London was the same day the Seattle Seahawks were in the play-off game that would decide if they made it to the Superbowl.  The captain of my flight from Seattle to Amsterdam came on the intercom every few minutes and gave us updates on the score of the game.  The plane was full of Seahawks fans who went nuts when we got the call for the final score.

Fast forward to last night, a night almost any Washington resident will never forget, when the Seahawks shut out Peyton Manning's offense until the last few minutes of the third quarter, then brought home the game winning 43 - 8.  I experienced all of this crazy excitement watching the game live from a bar on campus at three in the morning with my flatmates.  

We arrived about two hours before the game started.  The place was already packed.  By kickoff time is was standing room only.  I had no idea that American football was popular among the Brits, nor did I realize that we had that many Americans on campus.  When the national began, like any good citizen, I solemnly put my hand over my heart and respectfully listened to the song.  Then suddenly, like a roar from behind me, I hear the Brits in the room start singing "God Save the Queen".  In response, there was a large, rowdy group of American boys who decided that the best counter attack was to sing our national anthem even louder.  Within two minutes the room had become a sing off between two countries.  I sat there a little stunned and incredibly amused.  I had no idea that our national anthem would illicit such a reaction from the locals.  I was told later, by a friend who is from Wales, that she found our national anthem rather annoying and hypocritical.  It's the little things, I guess.

I watched a rugby match over the weekend, and it made me increasingly aware of how long it actually takes to get through any college or NFL game.  In rugby, the clock doesn't stop, nor does the game.  Player gets hurt, his team mates and opponents just run around him.  No one challenges the referees, and there aren't as many timeouts.  A typical rugby game runs for 80 minutes, where as it took us about four hours to finish the Superbowl, not including pre and post game coverage.  Nonetheless, I wouldn't change anything about the way we play our games!  

It was a long night, but thoroughly worth the lost sleep!  I'll never forget the year I watched the Superbowl from a pub in Wales.  Go Seahawks!

Spanish Fiestas and Cardiff Part Two

Friday night I went out with my friend Molly and our Spanish friend, Patricia.  We were introduced to a huge group of Patricia's friends from Spain.  It was a blast!  It was really cool hanging out with this group that was all speaking a mix of Spanish, English, and Italian.  My spanish listening skills are definitely improving.

Ivan, Julia, and myself.

Yesterday Molly and I were up bright and early to meet our American and Australian friends to take a day trip to Cardiff.  There was a Six Nations rugby game going on in Cardiff so the streets were lined with Wales Rugby gear.  The city was packed with fans and vendors.  It was really a sight to behold!  It reminded me of WSU on game day when we have the Cougar Athletics people holding the signs coming into town welcoming people to Pullman, everyone's wandering around in Coug gear, and the energy is overwhelming.

Flag lined High Street the morning of the Six Nations game.

We spent most of the day wandering through Cardiff.  Eventually our large group split into two and ended up being led around by myself and another Taylor from Texas A & M--we are very similar in a lot of ways.  It was kind of like meeting my twin, but then my twin has the opposite personality as me.  Weird!--my group went to Bute Park which is right next to Cardiff Castle, then we found a pub and watched the last half of the rugby game.

Molly, the other Taylor, myself, and our friend Marina from France.

Cardiff is quickly becoming one my favorite cities.  There is lots to do, but it's not terribly spread out, so it's easy to get around.  The castle and the art museum were surprisingly fun the second time around.  It was also nice to spend some quality time with my fellow Americans.  We love all of our Australians too though!  We came back in the evening, all tuckered out from a busy day.  It was a blast!  More trips are already being planned for the future.

As usual, be sure to check out the photos page for more pictures--there are lots of them--and keep an eye on my page because there is much more to come!