"Well, I'm back."- Samwise 'the Brave' Gamgee

What other quote would I possibly use to announce that I am once again state-side? Actually, I've been here for two months now, and shamefully haven't completed by final blog page. So here it is. As you've probably guessed, I completed my Masters dissertation, and I am pleased to report that it was relatively painless (at least as painless as 80-some pages can be). I actually already received my grade as well, and I am very happy with it. While here in the US a 78 is not ideal, in the British grading system it is an excellent mark, and my dissertation supervisor has encouraged me to try for publication, something that would be incredibly helpful for my future career and education goals, and which I will begin as soon as my paper is mailed to me from Durham.

Here I am with my two final copies of my dissertation. 

I did manage to squeeze in a bit more travel before I came home, with a ten-day trip to Italy. Honestly, it would have been a bit silly to go all the way to Europe to study Roman history and not see Rome, wouldn't it? Although interestingly enough, Rome was not my favorite part of my journey. Of the three cities I saw (Venice, Florence, and Rome), it is Florence of which I have the fondest memories. Nevertheless, all three were wonderful experiences, and I will try to recall a few details from each.

Perhaps my favorite part of my arrival in Italy was not actually being in Italy, but the plane trip there. One of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen is etched in my brain from that flight. Imagine, if you will, mountains, covered in snow even in September, rising out of the clouds with a tremendous sun behind them, glinting off the white peaks. This was my first view of the Alps. I have a very dear friend who comes from Austria, and though she often spoke highly of where she grew up, I confess I had not imagined anything so beautiful as what I saw that day. Unfortunately because we weren't allowed to have electronics powered on I have no picture, so I encourage everyone to go see this amazing sight for themselves.

St. Mark's Square at twilight. 

Venice from the Water Bus. 

The rest of Venice after that was a bot of a letdown honestly. It is a beautiful city, and my first evening there Lucas and I took a wonderful walk through the streets, exploring and seeing St. Mark's square lit up in the twilight. The architecture (as in all of Italy) was amazing, and there were so many people! That is the one thing about Venice which isn't too appealing: it is extremely touristy. Of course, I have no right to complain about that as we were tourists, and I'm sure everyone else visiting there felt the same.

Classic Venice scene.

The best thing we did in Venice, which I highly recommend to everyone, is to take a boat tour of the Venetian Islands. It isn't too expensive, and on a beautiful day, completely worth it. I spent the better part of an afternoon lying on a wall overlooking the Mediterranean, surrounded by the smell of dusty pines.

Me on the Venetian Island tour. 

Two days is plenty of time in Venice, and we continued our journey to Florence by train. Our first morning there, we saw David. THE David. Again, I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but I will say this, Michelangelo did a good job of making sure no Goliath would ever tower over his David. This statue is huge! And while I feel a bit odd writing this, I have never seen such a gorgeous image of a man as that figure.

A David, not THE David. But you get the idea. 

That afternoon we saw the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Ponte Santa Trinita, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio, and the Basilica di Santa Croce. Of these, the Palazzo Vecchio was definitely my favorite. For those who don't know, it is a courtyard full of statues, most of which depict great characters and scenes from classical mythology. Needless to say I was very in my element there.

Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori

Ponte Vecchio

Four statues at the Palazzo Vecchio: Lapith and Centaur, Poseidon/Neptune, Perseus with the head of Medusa, and Achilles the abduction of Polyxena.















The next day started as the Mercato Centrale, a sort of farmer's market, though much bigger than anything we have here. There are numerous butcher shops, grocers, pasta venders, and bakers, and everything was so colorful! After that we went to the Piazza Michelangelo, from which one can see all of Florence, including the famous dome, and then journeyed on through the Belvedere Gardens. The evening was spent at the Grotto di Leo, hands down the best restaurant I went to abroad. They have the most amazing food for wonderful prices. The service is great, and you can watch their chefs cook pizza and calzone from your seat. I highly recommend it to anyone who goes.

Calzone from the Grotto di Leo. No lie,
this thing was bigger than my face. 

Fruit stand at the Mercato Centrale

 Of all my amazing times in Florence however, I think the best was the simplest. It was late afternoon, and I was sitting in a plaza somewhere, and the sun was low enough that the entire square was in shadow. I just kicked back and watched as people passed by, listened to the numerous languages around me, and enjoyed the best gelato I have ever tasted. One scoop dark chocolate. One scoop lemon cookie. Heaven.

Florence from the Piazza Michelangelo

The following morning saw us boarding a train for Rome, where we spent the bulk of our time. Entering Rome was so surreal, and a bit like meeting your hero or a famous celebrity; the romance of your mind seldom equals the reality. It was of course silly of me to hope that Rome would have been unchanged in two thousand years, and I truly didn't expect it, but it is still a disappointment to see the litter all over the ground, the smog, and the cars that go by. Rome is a big city; a bit too big for me to be honest. However, it is still wondrous to behold. Mixed in amongst the modern churches and McDonalds' are ruins that have stood the test of time. An old fortification, temple, or market is just there, on the side of the road, unchanged and unmoved for centuries. That mix of modern and ancient is so striking, and yet somehow seamless, it could only exist in Rome, the place that truly deserves the title of the Eternal City.

Inside St. Peter's

Trajan's Column

The Vatican and St. Peter's Needle

Our first day there started out at Trajan's Column/Forum. There is no other way to describe it except by saying it's fraking cool! Trajan was Rome's warrior-emperor, and his column commemorated his victory over the Dacians. The detail that went into the carvings on it are just astounding. From there, we went to the Vatican. I wasn't sure what I expected to be honest, and I really just went there on the first day to get it out of the way, as it is one of the things you have to see while you're there, thought it really didn't hold much interest for me. That being said, I was completely blown away by the interior of St. Peter's. The amount of statuary there, the various chapels and alcoves. It feels more like a city than a building. From there we headed back to the BnB, and had a nap. I woke however, to the sound of torrential rain, as a huge storm swept through the city. We went outside after it had stopped and watched huge bolts of dry lightning streaked across the sky.


Our second day was spent doing the touristy stuff. The Forum, the Colosseum, Pantheon, and the Palatine. All were amazing, and extremely crowded. I enjoyed them though, and loved the feeling of walking on the same ground that the people I have so thoroughly enjoyed studying for the past five years walked.

Colosseum

Palatine Hill; home of the imperial family

The Roman Forum; hub of the ancient city with the Senate House
(aka Curia) on the right

The Pantheon

The following day was even better though, because we spent it in Pompeii. It truly is a city frozen in time, and there you're not just walking the the footsteps of the historical dead, you're walking their streets, their shops, and through their homes. To make the experience even better, the weather was pretty wacky and had that apocalyptic glow to it, making Vesuvius look all the more awe-inspiring. I definitely recommend going there and seeing the city, and having a good look at the plaster casts of the bodies they recovered and keep there. They are so moving, and even after all this time, you can almost see the facial expressions of people who knew they were going to die long ago on a day in 79 AD. However, skip Herculaneum. It is sketchy. Enough said.

Plaster cast of one of the Pompeiian bodies

A gorgeous, stormy day in the Pompeiian streets

A local dog posed for me in front of the
ruins of a Pompeiian shrine

Villa of the Mysteries

Vesuvius and the remains of the city of Pompeii

Our last days in Rome were spent closer to the city. The next day we saw the Spanish Steps and the Res Gestae and the Ara Pacis Augustae (something I have written numerous papers on and got very nerdy over). That evening, we went out to dinner in the Theatre of Pompey, where the assassination of Julius Caesar took place. I suppose it was kind of macabre to eat there, but it was such an amazing piece of history to experience! Usually people can't eat downstairs in the original theatre, but we begged enough and the head waiter said that since there was a private party downstairs and it was already in use, we could have a corner table. Thank goodness that happened! It was the one thing I had really wanted to do in Rome. After dinner we walked back to the BnB via the Trevi Fountain, which really does look lovely at night.

A beautiful day at the Spanish Steps

The Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace)

Enjoying a glass of wine in the Theatre of Pompey

The Trevi Fountain

Our next-to-last day in Rome was a bit more laid back. We went on the Via Appia to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, and got to wander down in the catacombs themselves. Of course, when I say wander, I mean have a guided tour with a bunch of other people so that we don't get lost and join the permanent residents. We got to see where the Christian families would hide from Roman persecutors, and the tiny slits in the walls that held the bodies of infants and children. It was haunting, and incredible. That night we took a look walk under the full moon through Rome. We saw the Trevi Fountain again, the Capitoline statue of Lupa and the twins, Romulus and Remus, the monument to Vittorio Emmanuel, first leader if unified Italy, and ventured over the Tiber to the Tiber Island. It was a lovely way to spend our last night in Rome.

Inside the Catacombs of St. Callixtus

Rome at night from the top of the Capitoline Hill

Lupa and the twins under a full moon

The Theatre of Marcellus

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The following day we prepared to leave, but we still managed to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing. We returned to the Vatican, but this time to the museum, which I enjoyed much more than St. Paul's. I had no idea that the Vatican had so many ancient artifacts, though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. We got to see the Sistine Chapel as well, after winding our way through what seemed like hundreds of galleries with ubiquitous pictures of Christ dying. Truth be told I was very glad when we got the the Raphael section, and I got to see his painting, The Academy. Surprise, surprise, it has to do with classical history. I am so predictable. After lunch we took a walk back to the Capitoline, but didn't go into the museum as it was a bit expensive and time was short. After that there was a bit of time for gift shopping, and then we were back on a plane for London.

Trajan in the Vatican Museum

Augustus in the Vatican Museum Courtyard

Claudius as Jove; Probably unrealistic but awesome

Laocoon! I had no idea the statue was in the Vatican but I was so excited!

Inside the Vatican on the way to the Sistine Chapel. It is so ornate. I honestly believe that if the Vatican auctioned off one of its art pieces it could feed and heal every person outside their doors who is begging for help. 

The Academy by Raphael. 

After that I spent another week in England, going between Canterbury and Bury St. Edmunds. My last few days there were relaxing and enjoyable, and spent lounging in what was left of summer sunshine and drinking tea. Finally, on October 3, I headed into London for the last time to board my flight home. It was very difficult to leave, and the flight was so long, but it was a really nice homecoming. Customs and immigration took FOREVER, but rounding the corner and seeing my parents, having my father yell WOOOOOOOOOO extremely loudly in his Jerry fashion, made it all worth it. It was an amazing year, and I dearly hope only the first in a long line of adventures in which I shall partake during my lifetime.          
  

Marcus Aurelius salutes you and thanks you for reading this blog.

Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)

Well, here we are. August. I can't believe it, but I will be home in under seven weeks. How do I feel about that? Mixed emotions galore! On the one hand, I am so incredibly excited to see my friends and family again, sleep in a bed wider than three feet, and live in a place where pickles are pickles, NOT gherkins. On the other hand, I will miss the greenery, the fresh air, walking outside and seeing a thousand year old cathedral, and the family I have made here. I'll probably be laughing and sobbing as I board that flight. -Sigh- but let's not dwell on that shall we? These posts are for recording the past, not worrying about the future.

Academically there really isn't anything new to report. I've been working on my thesis, and I should be done in about three weeks. That can't come soon enough, let me tell you. It's gotten to the point where I get on my computer in the morning, check my email, move on to the dissertation, and just stare at it like, what the heck am I supposed to do with this now? Thankfully I have some people who are willing to read through it for me so that I don't have to (thanks parents and boyfriend!). So when the editing is done then all I have to do is make a table of contents, write a conclusion, and print 140 or so pages. Woohoo!

Famous Sutton Hoo helmet.
Want to see the real one?
 Go to the British Museum. 

In terms of fun stuff what have I been up to? Well, I did my first big round of traveling before I leave England, which was wonderful. I got to put away the books for a few weeks and see some more of this beautiful world. First was a trip back down to Bury St. Edmunds to see Lucas. We managed to do quite a bit of sightseeing in just a few days. We went to Sutton Hoo, one of the most important Anglo-Saxon burial sights in the world. And get this...IT WAS THE MOST BORING PLACE EVER. I mean it might have been okay, if we hadn't been charged eight pounds per person to see a one-room museum full of facsimiles, and a burial hill we couldn't approach. Tourist tip: don't go. Read about it. It's honestly much more thrilling to imagine then to see.

Reconstruction of the Burial Ship;
probably the coolest part of the display

This stag decoration was pretty.
I don't even know what it was.

Burial Mound.  

 Okay, so now for some more exciting times. Lucas and I also spent a beautiful day in Ely, which is a lovely place in East Anglia. Ely is famous for its cathedral, and we were lucky enough to go on one of the most beautiful days of the year and see it in all its splendor. We also went to Oliver Cromwell's house, but unfortunately no pictures were allowed.

Front of the Cathedral 

The Side of the Cathedral

The locals

 We also went for a nice walk in Ickwith Park, where we got terribly lost and theatrically frightened.

Oh yeah, I totally know a shortcut.

Completely lost in the dark woods where people were probably murdered.

Found a sign pointing us to safety. Phew!

 After a lovely time at my home away from home, I had to head back to Durham. Of course, it's much easier to go back when you have one of your best friends coming to visit you. Less than 48 hours after I got to Durham, so did Christianna! Two days in Durham, and then we were off to Dublin!

O'Connell St. Dublin, Ireland

The Shannon (I think).
Honestly, it was a pretty gross river.

Customary drink in a Irish pub (O'Neill's)

We stayed in a very nice house close to the station. Below you can see one of our hosts. The humans were nice too, but let's be honest, they just weren't as cute as this kitty!

 After settling into Dublin a bit, Christianna and I set out on a bus tour to Powerscourt Gardens along the south eastern coast. It was a gorgeous day, and the beach looked just like Malibu! It's funny; no matter how far you go from home, you'll always find something that makes you feel as though you never left.

 The gardens were absolutely beautiful, and massive! We didn't have time to walk around all of it (though we made time to eat this gorgeous dessert. Priorities!)

Here is the house from the gardens. I don't really remember anything about the people who had lived there, but I am incredibly jealous of their view.

Christianna taking a picture of me as I take a picture of her. Classic.

Our best day in Ireland by far was our trip to the West Coast. We took a train tour and saw Bunratty Castle, the Burren, Galway, and my personal favorite, the Cliffs of Moher.

First up on our tour was Bunratty Castle. While not the most comfortable of castles (think really tiny spiral staircases), this stop was very special to me, since 30 years ago my mother and her friends went to the very same castle.

 The Castle Interior

From there is was on to the Cliffs. I cannot adequately articulate how much I fell in love with this place. Rarely have I seen things that take my breath away, and I felt like every time I got a look at the cliffs from a different angle I had to gasp and stare. It's like looking out over the edge of the world.

I took so many pictures of this place. It is impossible to choose which ones to post! 

 We then ventured on to the Burren. The Burren is a really eerie looking place, but beautiful. It's basically this large area of rock that grows in layers, and has wildflowers somehow pushing their way through into the sunlight.

 
After this amazing day, we headed back to Dublin. Quick story about our journey back though. So our train was delayed by about two hours because another station had caught fire. After finally getting on a train to take us east, we were told we could have all the free food we wanted from the dining car. Sweet deal! So supper was danish pastries, chips/crisps, and coke. Oh, and our tour guide decided it would be fun to break out the whiskey (Irish obviously), and share it with us. That made for a very interesting (and loud) trip back. When we finally did get into Dublin, it was past midnight and Christianna and I weren't thrilled about walking back to our BnB. Thankfully, we met a lovely couple on the train, who offered to fund our taxi back. It's a shame human decency comes as a surprise these days. Of course, we then got stuck in traffic, because a certain Mr. J Timberlake had to be in Dublin the same night we were. Some people have no respect.

Okay, done with story. On to final day in Dublin. We really didn't have much time for anything big, so Christianna and I went to Kilmainham Gaol. It's a very famous prison, where they held the Easter Rebellion rebels, and also shot a few films. See if you recognize it from anything.

One of the main cell blocks. 

Prison Cell. At least there's a window.

Plaque naming the members of the Easter Rebellion killed at the gaol.

After visiting the gaol is was time to do a final suitcase check and head off to the airport...to Paris! Now, I'm going to be completely honest, Paris is a bit of a blur. We did and saw so much, I know I'm going to leave something out. Oh well, here it goes. Our first big stop was the Museé d'Orsay. It's a beautiful museum, and had a lot of impressionist pieces, which I really like. I was definitely hyperventilating over the Van Goghs. Again, unfortunately, no photography allowed.

View from our Paris hostel

Tiny room, but pretty comfy. 

View of the Sacre Coeur from the clock tower in the Museé d'Orsay

That afternoon we went for a walk along the Seine. It really is a lovely river, and along a few bridges there are a bunch of locks attached to the fencing. Apparently, lovers who come to Paris buy a lock with the keys, attach the lock to the bridge, close it, and then throw the keys into the river. I guess it represents eternal love or something mushy like that.

Christianna also took me to Angelina's, a cafe where Coco Chanel spent a good portion of her time. We got white hot chocolate, and some sort of pecan dessert. I don't know exactly what it was, but I do know that my taste buds have been to heaven. It was AMAZING.

The next day we ventured on to some smaller museums, including one simply on local Paris history. Not really my thing, but there was some really cool stuff to see. Also, can you say gaudy? Holy toledo, I got a headache just looking at some of the ceilings. 

Girl in the Fireplace...in Paris. Get it?

Super fancy schmancy ceiling. 

Naturally what everyone wants to talk about in Paris is the food. Of course, since we're poor, Christianna and I couldn't really indulge (though macaroons made their way into our hands more than once). One really nice meal we had was in this indoor international food market.  

Indoor Food Market

Of course we made time for the bigger sites as well. We stopped by Notre Dame twice.

We also got to see the Bastille lit up the night before Bastille Day. That was pretty spectacular. 

The Bastille

 Then it was time for the big day. Bastille Day! For those of you who don't know, it's essentially the French Independence Day. It started out with a parade in the morning. It was the most boring parade EVER! It started something like and hour late, and after a few airplanes flew over, nothing else happened. A politician got booed, and some firemen walked by. Oh well. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring, and found our way to the Medici fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens. My picture does not do it justice. Search in Google Images if you want to see it properly.

Medici Fountain

Me at the Arc de Triomphe. 

The crowning glory of the day was the fireworks show. Christianna and I camped out on the hard Champs de Mars ground for about four hours after walking close to two miles to enter the park through security. It was a lot of effort to get there, but it was worth it. We were seated about 100 yards in front of the Eiffel Tower, and were treated to a wonderful concert as the sun set. I'm usually not one for opera, but when you are in an environment such as this, it really does work. We then enjoyed a massive fireworks show and a rock concert. It was so much fun. Unfortunately my camera kind of died at this point, so I don't have any images of the fireworks themselves, or the Museé de Cluny, which we went to earlier on. There are some pictures on my phone, but I'm tech challenged apparently and can't get the files over to my computer. I'll have Dad help me when I get home and hopefully update this then.  

 Our last day in Paris was nice and relaxing. We stopped by the Louvre, but didn't go in. That's for another trip I guess.

 We then grabbed our stuff and headed to the Chunnel. It's cool to say I've traveled underneath the English Channel, but honestly it's not that exciting. You're only under for about 15 minutes, and I had been thinking the whole trip was like a thrill ride in the dark. Oh well, check it off the bucket list I guess.

 Christianna and I wrapped up our time together in London. The first afternoon after getting in from Paris we went to the Harry Potter tour. Oh my gosh. So much nerdy awesomeness.

I was disappointed by the lack of John Hurt. 

Christianna and I in front of the model of Hogwarts!!!

We saw the big London sights, like Big Ben, but did some other cool stuff as well. We stopped in the British Museum (my favorite), and went to the Churchill War Rooms. That was incredibly interesting.

We also took a day trip to Brighton, and visited another friend of mine in the nearby town of Lewis. If anyone gets a chance to go to England, I highly recommend these places. They are very artsy and fun, and Brighton has a pier to rival Santa Monica. 

Since it's too small to see, the reason I'm so excited in this picture is because the two claw machines behind me have Star Wars and Doctor Who toys. 

Brighton

Christianna and I parted ways in London, and I headed back to Durham. I'm never alone for long though, because Lucas came up to visit for his birthday. While he was here I got more stuff done on my thesis, but we managed to do a bit of traveling as well. First up was day trip to Edinburgh.

Alexander and Bucephalus 

Edinburgh Castle

We heard the cannon go off from the castle at 1 pm, went to the national museum, saw a bit of the university, and just walked around the city. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

We also went on a day excursion to Hadrian's Wall. This was made all the more fun by the fact that we didn't go to one of the big touristy forts. Instead, we did public transport to a small town called Wall. 

The Hadrian. Aptly named. Lucas bought me some black licorice ice cream here.

This is what England is supposed to look like. 

From there we hiked through some forrest, climbed over some hills, traversed some fields, and braved some bulls, to find a piece of the wall out in the middle of nowhere.

 Touching Hadrian's Wall. Super exciting for Roman history nerds like me.

 We also went to a lookout turret a mile or so away from the piece of wall we found. It was so amazing to sit up there and think that almost two thousand years ago a Roman soldier was standing there, thousands of miles from home, looking north for invading barbarians.

My boyfriend, the centurion.  

Well that's pretty much it for now. Lucas has gone home and I'm here trying to finish up my dissertation. I'm so close! I will have one more blog entry (which I will probably finish when I'm back in Burbank) to record my last few weeks in Durham and my adventures in Italy!!!