It would appear that I am nearly as good at blogging regularly as I am about writing in a journal. Suffice to say that I have many journals that are 3/4 empty.
How to summarize the past several weeks?
Almost immediately upon our arrival in Spain, Kelsey and I decided we desperately wanted to be somewhere that everyone spoke English. It turned out her brother was going to be in London for work and we found some cheap tickets on Ryan Air, so off we went to Engand!
London was so wonderful. I've been fascinated by English history for a long time, and it was exhilarating to be in a city so full of the history that I had read about. Furthermore, English accents just make everything better. Seriously, if you are having a bad day, try speaking in (or even thinking in) an English accent. I guarantee your mood will improve!
We went to the Tate, walked by the houses of Parliament and Big Ben, over Tower Bridge, visited the Tower of London, drank copious amounts of tea, attended the National Portrait Gallery's evening hours, wandered around the British Museum looking at mummies , saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, walked through Hyde Park, and visited the lions in Trafalgar Square. I also went to an Evensong service ag Westminster Abbey that was truly incredible. The sermon itself wasn't anything special but the choir music was beautiful. As it echoed around me all the stresses and worry of travel began to seem rather insignificant. How could they not, when surrounded by hundreds of years of history? Just imagine all that cathedral has seen and there I was worrying about money!
At the National Portrait Gallery, I sat in front of Queen Elizabeth I's coronation portrait for ages. At a young age she inherited one of the most powerful kingdoms in Europe at a time when it was almost unheard of for a woman to rule in her own right. I imagine that we could all learn a lesson from her in sheer backbone and diplomatic savvy. If I could choose only one person, living or dead, to have dinner with, I think it would be Elizabeth.
Despite the cold and rain, I was quite reluctant to leave London. The more time I sound in Europe, the more convinced I am that I want to live here. London now tops my list with Paris as the two places I would move to in a heartbeat.
I don't feel Ike I "did" Madrid very well. I got the Prado and the Reina Sofia (museums) but I didn't see much of the city. It is easy to forget how exhausting constant travel can be, and I think I spent most of my time in Madrid recuperating a bit. Overall though, I seem to have bad luck in Spain. The last time I was there I was quite sick and an ATM ate my debit card.
This time, just 5 minutes after my arrival in Barcelona, my purse was stolen and my passport along with it. Looking back on it, I feel a bit stupid, I got out of the metro station at about 11:30 at night and immediately a man approached me to tell me I had something on my back. I thanked him and moved on. Then, just across the street, another man pointed out that I had something on my back and offered me a tissue and a place to sit. I thought that he had moved away down the street, so I took my purse off from across my shoulder and went to remove my jacket to see what was on it. I turned around for a second and my purse was gone. I didn't see anyone running so I couldn't definitely point to someone and yell for help. Two men did try to find it for me, but to no avail. Another man who spoke English happened to be walking by, and kindly walked me to my hostel.
At the hostel, people could not have been nicer. One of the employees immediately took my clothes to be laundered (the robbers really had sprayed something in a straight line down my back) and gave me € 20 since I had no cash or credit cards. Another girl offered to go with me to the consulate in the morning. I spent the next three days primarily in the consulate and at the police station making a report. I certainly could have gone and walked around Barcelona but after having my purse stolen I just didn't feel comfortable in the city. At the consulate, a nice couple, after hearing my story gave me €50 to make sure I could eat lunch and get back to the hostel and to a Western Union to pick up my money transfer. Another woman invited me to lunch at her house. So, in the end, although one bad thing happened, it really showed me how wonderful people can be. As for my passport, though I lost all my stamps, I did get to take a new picture, so on balance that one definitely comes out in my favor too!
Now I am in Paris staying with my host family and I truly couldn't be happier. The first day I got here I walked around with a grin on my face. I wandered by Notre Dame and spent a few hours reading in the garden, walked around Ile St. Louis, walked through the Marais and generally soaked up the joy I felt at being in one of my favorite places on the planet. Since then, I have eaten lunch in the Luxembourg gardens, spent some time in the world's second best bookstore Shakespeare and Company (Politics & Prose comes first but only by a hair, gorged myself on pain au chocolat and had a wonderful time catching up with Sophie and the girls. In short, I never want to leave. Like when I had to go after my study abroad was over, you will practically have to pull me kicking and screaming out of this beautiful, maddening city.
I wish you all could be here with me. Despite how happy I am here, after more than a month on the road I do feel a twinge of homesickness. It will be wonderful to sleeo in my own bed with a room all to myself when I get home in late November! I just realized I have an extra pain au chocolat here! Homesickness gone.
Bisous!
No comments:
Post a Comment