The MOST Terrifying Experience of my Life: Lost in the Louvre

 Before I begin detailing my Paris adventure. Here's a note for our Director Mark Simmons: I realize this blog is rather long. I like to write and be very descriptive. Therefore, if you don't want to read absolutely everything to find what I have written about the assignments, I will write about them using this bold and underlined orange text. Happy reading! :)

PARIS!!

So after classes on Thursday I made my way over to St. Pancras train station to take the Eurostar chunnel...all by myself. I've never traveled completely alone before, well...there was that one time...but I still had someone to see me off and make sure I got to the correct place. So I was a bundle of nerves that my printed ticket wouldn't be accepted...or they wouldn't let me through security...or I would get on the wrong train....yea...
But it was fine. Of course.
Except for that lady taking everything out of my purse and scanning my phone and camera separate... and swiping the inside of my purse with a thingermajig and scanning THAT....and basically making a big deal out of nothing. I don't get why...no one else had this special treatment. She did it to freak me out...I'm certain.
I was actually there super early so I had to wait at least an hour 1/2. Better than late I suppose.
The train-ride was only two ear-popping hours long.
If you don't know what the chunnel is...it's a train that basically goes underneath the mass of water separating the British Island from the rest of Europe.  A channel/tunnel. Get it? Chunnel! :)
I was also afraid that I wouldn't find Kelsey when I got off because I wasn't able to check the computer before leaving to get her phone number. But luckily she was right there at the end of the platform waiting for me. :)

My was a I a chatterbox...unusual for me. I guess it comes with being excited to see a friend I haven't seen in awhile, who also lives in a big city...things in common to discuss. :)

slice of heaven right there!!

We took the metro to her foyer and then she took me to her favorite cheap pizza place. :)

they love Kelsey!!

My first meal in Paris: mushroom, chicken, green pepper, and cheese pizza! Delicious! The cheese, as you can see from the picture, was very stringy...the best way to eat it (lol, reminds me of the Goofy movie). Apparently Kelsey eats at this pizza place every Friday night...so when we walked up they were already waving at us from the window and chatted with Kelsey while we were inside. They loved her! After I took a silly picture of Kels, this guy insisted I take one of her and him together. lol. They gave us superb service too because we were the only ones in their shop eating. The pizza was huge...I could only eat a bit before I was full. :) mmm

After pizza it was Eiffel Tower time!! Hopped back on the metro.
Little side note on the metro in Paris: while it's more spacious than the tube trains...it seemed dirtier to me. Homeless people were sleeping in the stations and there were often performers on the trains themselves who would walk around asking for money after they did their little show. People were also more social on the metro and made more eye contact (sometimes in a creepy way). You would not see that in the London tube. (Maybe in the station, but not on the actual train). Paris in general seemed dirtier to me as well, which is a shame because it's such a beautiful city. People smoke as much there as they do in London, however, I feel like people in London make more of an effort to not leave their cigarette butts all over the sidewalks like Paris. Also, the techniques people used to make money, whether homeless or street performers, was shocking to me...the lengths some of them would go! I'll never forget that old man curled up with two adorable puppies squished together on his chest. It made you feel so sorry for the dogs that you wanted to give him money...but that was the act. I saw him a couple of times actually...in the same area by the Notre Dame...

We walked to the tower (avoiding all the guys selling the same cheapy souvenirs trying to get us to buy their stuff).
Finally, we passed the last building and there it was, a clear, complete view of it all lit up like the 4th of July.

I started jumping around and squealing like a little kid hyped up on candy. lol

I've always dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower.
Just to see it once.
And there it was in front of me...more amazing than I had imagined.
The architecture of the structure...so modern. Steel, criss-crossing...not something I would normally like. But put it all together and add lights to it...AWEsome!! The detail of it can be missed...around the arches there is little curly patterns and on the outside is writing. Not sure what it said though...when we saw it in the daylight it was rather foggy.
We walked to the grassy area so I could get a full view of it to take a picture. Kelsey told me that it sparkles every hour after dark...which I didn't know and didn't know what to expect.
I think I screamed a little when it started!!!
"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew...I was enchanted to meet you!!!" (sorry...sparkling = this song).
So I ooo-ed and I ahh-ed and I'm sure Kesley was very entertained by my raw excitement. I told her it was "better than fireworks"...to which Katy Perry's song made it into my head for the rest of the night. :)
Mm Mm good! Wow! is all I can say. I don't have the capability to describe how I felt about it in any more detail other than...I was "wonderstruck." :)

the Sparkling tower

 So that night I actually had a mattress to sleep on!! YAY! lol. And that pillow smelled very nice...thank you Kelsey's foyer. :)

Friday:

Get ready to hear about one of the most TERRIFYING experiences of my life!!

The morning was pretty chill (chill as in relaxed...but it was actually a little nippy this weekend in Paris, as well). We got ready to head out. Stopped at a bakery for coffee and pain au chocolats (crescents filled with chocolate...mm). Then hopped on the metro.
Kelsey had class until 11:00, so she got off and I just stayed on for a couple more stops to go to the Louvre on my own.
I found the Louvre just fine. It's a giant castle, you can't exactly miss it....and the picture taking began. :)

the Louvre is giant! Those were only two of the four wings of the castle.

I got there early Friday morning...shortly before it opened. So the line wasn't super long outside the Pyramid. Thank heavens.
The second I got in and found out where to leave my coat, I made a beeline for the Mona Lisa.
Not really because I was so eager to see her...
But because I knew that if I waited, it would be extremely crowded later in the day.
She was in the wing with paintings from the Italian Renaissance. :) ...stuff I learned about in my art history class last semester...and a style I particularly love. So that was cool getting to see them. (especially "Pastoral Symphony"...I love Venetian art!)

Mona.
"Weren't you disappointed when you saw her?"
No, actually. I knew what to expect...yes, it's a small painting with rather dull-ish colors. But it's what the Mona Lisa, and Leonardo in general, offered to art history that makes it so important. Sfumato (smoky painting technique) and portraits of ordinary (rather than extraordinary) women. Thank you da Vinci. :)
I almost had more fun "people-watching" than looking at the artworks. lol.
It seems to be a cultural thing for Asians to take pictures with the artwork. haha! With either a very serious non-smiling face, or the ridiculously overused and meaningless peace sign...they stand (usually individually) in front of a painting and have someone take their picture.
Here are some prime examples:

well...she's rather small. But she's doing the peace sign

My hero. haha

I had a good chuckle at...ahem...one in particular. lol!
So this is me mocking them....

yes, anyways...
I made my way through part of the ancient Greece and Egypt section before meeting Kelsey for lunch.
I started taking silly pictures just because I thought of captions or random songs to go with them. :)
...Like the Hercules songs that played through my head in the Greek vase room...yup.
It took Kelsey and I awhile to find each other. We had planned on meeting in the ticket area under the pyramid...but, well, that place is rather large. It didn't help that for some reason when we tried to call each other...our calls wouldn't go through. Paris doesn't like me, I guess.
I finally spotted her in the very center and we went off to get some grub.
We decided on a reasonably priced (for the Louvre) Chinese place and had some tasty noodles with four different kinds of chicken kabobs. We looked in some shops before going back to the museum.

Here is where it started.

Since Kelsey had just gotten there, she still needed a ticket (even though the Louvre is free for students). The ticket booth lines looked quite long, so I looked around for a place to sit and wait for her. It was rather crowded in the central area under the pyramid and I didn't see any benches nearby.
Earlier I had told her what floor I wanted to see next, so I looked for the entrance to those exhibits.
I said, "Okay, I'm going to go up that elevator and find a spot to wait for you at the top"
This is what Kelsey heard:
"Okay, I'm going to go up that elevator and start looking at the stuff on the floor I told you about earlier."

*shakes head at the terrible miscommunication and listening...on both our parts...I could have explained myself much better*

So there I was, not even going into the wing yet, at the top of the elevator...waiting for Kelsey.
I looked at the little gift shop...in open view in case she walked by.
I sat on the ledge of a large potted plant and watched the top of the elevator.
I walked to the edge and looked down at the pyramid center to see if I could see which ticket line she was standing in.
Hmm...I don't see her in any of the ticket lines...but maybe she's around a corner I can't see.

the view from my waiting spot at the top of the elevator

.....
Gee, surely she's gotten through that line by now.
.....
Dang it Kelsey! Where the heck are you!!
.....
After waiting for at least half an hour I finally accepted the truth that Kesley had misunderstood me...
I figured she thought I had gone ahead to look at the artworks on said floor. However, how was she going to know which direction I went once I got to the floor?....which is why I just wanted to meet at the top of the elevator first before going in!!
Not gonna lie...I was angry. Not rightly so...because it was just as much my fault as hers. But the anger preceeded fear. I needed someone to blame.
I marched down to the payphones. French French French. I knew I should have taken French in High School...but mom and dad said Spanish was more practical. WELL...It would have been VERY helpful at this moment! The instructions on those phones were all in French.
Somehow I discovered a collect number to call and they spoke to me in English....I entered Kelsey's number...which, wouldn't you know...no one answered.

So, in anger I thought "Heck, I'm in the Louvre!!...I came here as a once in a lifetime experience...SO, I'm going to do what I came here to do...look at art!!!"
I set off to the floor that I said I wanted to look at earlier, desperately hoping that I would run into Kelsey somewhere along the way.
At this point I wasn't too worried yet. I was just frustrated.
I was still sweeping the looming fear into the corner...denying it room. Plus, I was faithful that God would pull through for me...that we would find each other. I don't think I even prayed much at the time...because deep down I had a peace that I would run into her and everything would be fine.

So I went into the exhibits...taking the wrong turn and walking around the Medieval Louvre section before finding the floor I intended on going to in the first place.
I tried to take my time...not worrying. Took lots of pictures and admired Napoleon's apartments. Once I finished this floor...still not running into Kelsey....I had a decision. "I can either go to another floor and take my blessed time, or I can go back to the ticket area and see if she's waiting for me there."
I decided to go to another floor.
However, I was only there for a short time....
Because at this point...Kelsey and I had been separated for at least 2 hours...and I was beginning to panic.
I couldn't focus on the art...my mind was starting to race.
So back to the ticket center under the pyramid I went.

I kept changing my position....
From my overhead lookout at the top of the elevator,
to the center of the floor under the pyramid....in plain view in case Kesley was looking for me,
to the coat area...because she would surely need her coat before she left.

No Kelsey
And I finally let the monster loose....the thought thundered through my head...that deafening cry of doom, clawing at my sanity.
Lost!

When I say I "was lost"....I mean that I "lost" Kelsey.
I knew exactly where I was in the Louvre...and I could figure my way around with the map in my purse.
No.
I had lost my only guide to Paris
...and if I couldn't find her before the Louvre closed...well, then I WOULD be LOST....in Paris....alone! Stranded! For two days until Sunday when my train leaves....I think I can find my way to the station....I hope.
My mind raged with all of the possible courses of action...in case I couldn't find her.
I could try to find her foyer...it is near the Arc de Triomphe and fancy purse store....easy enough to find. Once I got there though, I would have no idea what street her foyer is on or the name of it.
Maybe I could call the Vandon House and they could get a hold of the Paris program and leave a message for Kelsey...
But I COULD NOT leave the Louvre until it closed. Because my best chance of finding Kelsey was to stay put. I was partly her responsibility...so she couldn't just leave me there, could she?
Kelsey had to still be in the Louvre.
If worse came to worse though...I'd have to find a hostel to stay in.

I tried the pay phone one more time...this time adding the area code Kelsey told me that I might need.
It rang and rang and finally some woman spoke in French and there was a beep...
crap, well, I hope this is voicemail....
so I left a message and hung up the phone feeling sick to my stomach.
Not knowing if the call even went through.
I went back to my balcony lookout.

Are you surprised to hear that I wasn't completely sobbing yet?
I am.
So panicked you can't even cry.....yea, that's where I was.
My eyes simply became misty as visions raced before them.
I had been praying throughout this whole thing...but my prayers kicked in hardcore at this point.
Out of options.
Only faith.
Isn't that how it always works?
My eyes swept over the crowds...gee, I don't know how many times....never resting.
God, I know you'll come through for me and I've been patient up until now. But I lost Kelsey around 12:30 and it is now 3:30....Lord, help me!!
My knees were just about on the ground.
Quite honestly, if there weren't so many people in the Louvre, I probably would have curled up in the fetal position and started rocking back and forth.

I walked back down to the center of the ticket area....turning this way and that...always looking.
My lips were licked raw (I tend to do this when I get nervous).
Come On! I've never even lost my parents in a grocery store as a kid!
And there I was...a different country, different culture, different language that I only know TWO words of, my phone couldn't call Kelsey, and I didn't know my way around Paris...at all.

I had one more available option at the time....
I could go to the information desk and fill out a missing person form.
I didn't think they could do much for me, since the Louvre doesn't have an intercom system...just guards with radios in each room.
But I had to try.
"Do you speak English"
"A little" (great....)
She asked me questions to fill out a missing person form...half the time she didn't know the word in English and we had to use arm and hand motions like charades to understand each other. It was rather ridiculous.
After a few minutes of that and only getting halfway through the sheet she suddenly realized that the form was only for missing children.
GAH!
But she turned the sheet over and said I could leave a message for my friend.
As she handed the sheet to me, I felt someone close behind my right shoulder lean close to my ear and say:

"When we go to Italy together, we are holding hands!"

My knees about gave way.
I swung around! My eyes didn't focus on her face but I knew it was Kelsey...and I basically collapsed on her.....my form of a hug after having lost someone for over 3 hours!
I promptly thanked God as well. :) :) :)

So...we proceeded to explain our individual stories, emotions, and thoughts from the past few hours.
This took quite some time. And every time we thought we had covered everything....we talked about it some more...SO traumatizing!
We even went to get coffee just so we could chat and have time to calm down.
Apparently, it had only taken her a few minutes to get through the ticket line and then...yup...she thought I had already gone in to look at paintings and so she went into the museum....and SOMEHOW walked RIGHT PAST me.
We did this the whole afternoon...just barely missing each other.
She walked swiftly through the floor she thought I was on...thinking I'd be in the next room, or the next....and well, that's how it continued for Miss Kelsey.
Except her story includes buying a calling card and trying to call me...but even that didn't go through to my phone...so she called her mom and cried instead. :( aww!
I discovered that the second time I used the pay phone...it actually went through to her cell! However, she had gone to sit at a cafe and calm herself down...and just barely missed it!! She couldn't call the number back, of course. But when she saw that she had a missed call, that's when she knew I must be close to a phone...so she came to look for me.
And spotted me at the information desk.
THANK GOD I HAVE BRIGHT RED HAIR....and I also wore a plaid shirt that day....easy to spot from a distance.

One this is for sure...I grew up a lot in one day!!  It was terrible while it happened...but it makes for a good story and we can just laugh about it now. I'm sure Kelsey and I will talk about it for years to come...."remember that one time when we lost each other in the Louvre!!??" Part of me feels like it never happened because of how quickly it took for the fear to disappear and things to return back to normal. But it did happen, and it was very unpleasant...and we learned A LOT of big lessons that day. We will always have an emergency plan and meeting place from now on.
I think I might even write and illustrate a children's book similar to this experience someday....Lost in the Louvre (a traveler's tale by Ami Holcomb)
haha!

I didn't really feel like it anymore, but since we were in the Louvre...we had better look around.
I got to see Aphrodite (the famous woman sculpture without arms)
and an awesome sculpture of Mary Magdalene that I never knew about!!
We walked briskly through the Egypt and Greece section...because a lot of that stuff can start to look the same.
It was kind of sad...by the time we got to the room with all the marble sculpture, some of my favorite art...the room was dark, because we neglected to think about the fact that the room is lit by windows in the ceiling...and the sun had already set. The sculptures were still neat, just not as pretty as they would be if the sun was shining brightly on them...

After a long day at the Louvre, we left and went to the Arc de Triomphe and paid the admission fee to climb the stairs to the top. Probably not the best idea, since my feet were already so sore from walking around the Louvre all day.

therefore, we kind of collapsed once we got up the stairs

But the view from the top of the Arc...over Paris at night....STUNNING!!! and totally worth it! :)

The Arc de Triomphe at night...from the ground. :)

After that it was time to eat!!! My was I hungry!!
Kelsey took me to an Italian street...which was cool in itself...it was narrow with brightly lit shops, restaurants, and lot of people walking about.
And this is the gyro that I ate....cheap, but huge and delicious! I could only eat about half.  I think mine had lamb meat, and piled fries on the top...kind of interesting, but very tasty!

And if our day wasn't busy enough, we then walked over to see the outside of the Notre Dame at night. Totally worth it...it's gorgeous. Kelsy and I had fun singing Disney songs from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. :) lol

On the way back to her foyer, Kelsey pointed out a hotel with a roof that used to sparkle like the Eiffel tower. Right next to this hotel was a two-story adorable carousel and a skating rink where a small hockey game was going on (no big deal...lol). :) Oh, Paris...

The end of Friday. SLEEP! I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares that night...but I did have visions of painting upon painting swimming before my eyes as I laid in bed before finally drifting off.

Saturday:

We tried to beat the crowds by getting up early and going to the Eiffel Tower to take the elevator to the top.

But this wasn't exactly necessary. lol

It was rainy and foggy and there was no line....go figure, just our luck.

I still wanted the experience though, so we got our ticket and up the elevator we went.

You could still see a little bit from the first level...

But then we got up to the very top...and just laughed!

Because we couldn't. see. a. thing.

We were in the middle of a thick white cloud. haha!

I mean, it kind of sucked that we didn't have a good view of the city...but after what happened at the Louvre...we didn't really care anymore.

So we spent less than five minutes there before going back down. Hands and ears frozen and shivering.

I haven't really had to use my umbrella  in Europe until I went to Paris. lol!

This is our "really?" face

I can't see a thing!!! yay!

After that we went to warm up at a cafe and ended up getting coffee in a pub instead. lol!

Then we went back to the Notre Dame to walk around inside...again, singing Disney songs.

The inside wasn't as big as we thought. And compared to some other cathedrals I've been in...it was actually not as impressive for being such a famous church. :/

There were a LOT of people in there and it was hard to walk around...

plus the floor was super wet and muddy from the rain outside and the amount of people coming and going. Bleh!

I thought it was interesting that there were candle stands spaced every so often....people could buy a candle and put it on the stand, light it, then say a prayer. However, for some this was just a tourist attraction and people were taking pictures with their candles and just making a joke out of something that was supposed to be a sacred tradition (I'm not Catholic, but I'm sure that's what it is).

And then Jesus stormed through the Cathedral and knocked over the money trays. lol, okay, no...but there was a part of me that was disturbed at how much marketing was happening inside those walls.

Granted, I wasn't there to pray or sit in quiet reverence, I went to see the architecture...so I don't have much say on the matter.

After leaving, we went back down the Italian street so I could get my Banana Nutella Crepe!!!

She made them right in front of me fresh....spread the batter over the hot pan and used a tool to even it out in a circle. Nutella...and a whole banana....folded....HEAVEN!!

Oh. my. goodness! Probably my favorite food...well...since I've been in Europe really. :) :D :D 

SO GOOD!!!

One of those foods that I closed my eyes to eat so my sense of taste could get the full effect.

Like a party in my mouth...mmm!

with my crepe in front of the bakery

Then we went over to the shopping area near the Louvre so I could find some "I was in Paris" souvenirs. But the store Kelsey planned on taking me to....oh you'll never guess.....had moved. Yes. Surprised? I'm not. lol.

So we just looked around at other shops nearby and then went to the Musee D'orsay to see the impressionist paintings and other such works. I was excited to go in but when we got there the line...ugh....was so long, outside, in the rain. No thanks.

Shoot dang! I was bummed. :(

So we went to a macaroon shop to eat some more sweets and feel better about all of our weekend failures. haha!

My lemon and mojito (lime and lemon...not alcoholic..promise) The mojito was my favorite! mm

Before going back to Kelsey's foyer, we stopped at the Disney store so I could have a look at the Tangled displays. :) Ah, yes. :)

We just chillaxed in her room for awhile, researched on the internet and talked about plans for Spring Break in Italy...and then got cleaned up and dressed fancy for our fancy dinner. :)

Most of my outfit consisted of Kelsey's clothes. lol

French onion soup appetizer....it was SO cheesy. yum!

I ordered smoked salmon, being adventurous. However, I was expected cooked salmon like what our family gets annually in Wisconsin, not this raw looking stuff. haha! Just one more thing! It tasted alright...I couldn't finish all of it though. :)

Didn't really know what this said in French on the menu, even Kelsey didn't know...so I ordered it only knowing it had caramel. Well, it was flan with caramel sauce. Not a huge fan of flan.

We found a nice place on a local street away from the center of Paris.

I tried white wine for the first time at our fancy dinner.

lol....couldn't stand it. yuck!

Also, I was reminded how dainty Europeans eat...

I've heard that they think it's rude when people cut their food with their right hand and then switch the fork and knife continually to eat their food. This is interesting to me...and I've never been self-conscious about how I eat before until I ate with Kelsey. lol

Kelsey and I didn't really talk much because we were so exhausted.

Sunday:

I wanted to go see the outside of the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur, but when I woke up I was so tired that we just decided to skip it to sleep an extra hour. I was okay with missing the Moulin Rouge, but now that I've seen pictures of Sacre Coeur (cause I didn't know what it was before then), I'm kind of sad that I didn't just suck it up and go see it...because the architecture is gorgeous. Oh well.

Instead we just went to a cafe and got coffee and pastries (cause that's the thing to do in Paris). 

Then Kelsey accompanied me back to the train station and I took the chunnel back to London.

Arc de Tiomphe during the day

Eurostar chunnel

WOW! That was probably my longest post.
But really...it was my most eventful weekend in Europe thus far...so I feel like that's a good excuse.

Bravo if you read all of that!
Cheers friend,
~Merely Mortal~

Eve

Monday Feb 14th:
Well...V-day came and went again. I didn't do much except Photoshop tutorials at my internship...then I discovered this that night:
http://owlcitymusic.com/vday/
http://owlcityblog.com/2011/02/14/dear-taylor/
and I may have screamed a little.
and I may have listened to the song five times (or more).
and I may have become a little jealous
because I may or may not have a thing for the unashamed Christian, writer of amazing music, creative, silly, and insightful Adam Young of Owl City.
and the cuteness of the whole ordeal was too much. :)
haha! Yep, that's how I spent my Valentine's Day. Kind of lame, huh? But it's okay...I made up for it by going to Paris over the weekend. :D

Tuesday at the internship James had a slightly different project for me to do.

He had an imitation sculpture that needed repairs and maybe some new pieces added.

The sculpture was based off of work done by Daisy Boman....something like this:

Little white square men helping each other over a canvas.

Sculptures like that + kids = broken sculpture. :)

So my job for the day was to glue the pieces back on and create new little men. 

I even made a ladder for them to climb up! It was nice to spend my day working with my hands. :D

Today James showed me the finished product after he sprayed it white...pretty cool. I'll have to put a picture up next week.

Wednesday:

Day of Museums.

And Sore feet.

Assignment 3: Making Sense of it All: The Museum of London

So as the title of this assignment says, I needed to go to the Museum of London. I found my way there after getting off at St. Paul's tube station. The entrance to the museum was a little different. I went up this escalator in a separate building and then did this walk about thing to the building. But on the walk I could see down into a "courtyard" (?) with the old wall (Barbican?) remains. They were working on the gardens at the time, so it looks like it will be really pretty when it's done. When I got inside I was struck by how contemporary or modern technologically the museum is. It was really attractive to the eye as well and they made even mundane exhibits seem interesting. I liked how it was really interactive, too. The museum was very easy to maneuver and was not confusing to get around. I like that it started at the beginning and took you chronologically through the history of London. Art museums, in comparison, normally have artworks from all different periods all clumped together. They started with the first remains and tools that they have found in London. I'm wary about these kind of exhibits because normally it's all about the Big Bang, "we evolved from apes" rubbish...I believe we were created intimately by the greatest Artist of all. :) But nonetheless, the bones and weapons were cool to look at. Further through it took us through the age when Romans ruled, the Middle Ages, the Great Fires of London, and the rebuilding/industrial period of London until now.  I'm always intrigued by Roman times and Medieval stuff...I guess it fulfills my desire for adventure and fantasy. :) So it was really cool to see the exhibits and models of what things were like in those times. I particularly liked seeing what they wore (fashion!) and a model of a room they may have lived in. To be quite honest, I didn't have a lot of time to spend in this museum because I had to get to my art class...so I didn't spend much time reading everything. I liked this museum, it was very well organized. :)

Now for what you've all been waiting for:

Eve.

haha! okay, maybe not.

We met at the Victoria and Albert Museum...and to start off I was actually a bit late (misjudged how long it would take to get there from the Museum of London...oops). And they had already started walking through. So another girl and I frantically ran around trying to find the rest of the group...and eventually just called our prof because, well, those museums are rather large. :)

So to start off we were in a room full of Victorian things. I laughed that they had a hoop skirt and other garb that you could try on for fun...because I own a hoop skirt at home. lol. We then overlooked a room with reproductions of famous artworks from Italy. The room was being renovated, so we couldn't go in. But from another floor we could look in and there I saw him. DAVID!! I knew he wasn't the real one, but being able to see his actual size was really cool. I can't wait to see the real one in Florence. :) He's kind of my favorite male statue...those strong hands. :) :) They had some Raphael works, which was cool to see as well. 

My favorite room while walking around was the one will all the marble statues. It made me feel like Elizabeth Bennet walking around Mr. Darcy's gallery at his home in Derbyshire (or is it Pemberly?...I should know this stuff) from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice! lovely. :)

When were were looking at The Muse, I saw a statue of a nude lady that particularly struck my attention by her beautiful simplicity and graceful pose, as well as how pure white and smooth marble she looked (compared to the others). However, I didn't get a look at her up close until we got free time later.

You might not understand the importance of the fact that this statue caught my eye. Do you know how massive these museums are? If you were to try to look at absolutely everything, you would be utterly exhausted with aching feet. There are thousands of pieces in these museums...it's really overwhelming. So Instead...I have gotten used to just browsing through the rooms...looking for famous work, of course, but also things that jump to my attention so that I don't spend hours in just one room.

She was absolutely breathtaking!

I had to smile when I saw that the title of this statue is "Eve." 

I've been reading a book called Captivating that is all about how God created women: their passions and their desires...and why they are essential in this universe.

In a recent chapter it described Eve's story: She was the last to be created... the climax of creation in a manner of speaking. 

And she wasn't just created as an afterthought...a tag-along for Adam.

She was his helper, lover, mother of creation (well, humankind anyway), fleshly beauty, and absolutely necessary to this world.

Females in general are noted for their beauty as the fairer sex. And think about it! The top desires of the woman's heart are to be beautiful...

...to be found captivating...

...to be desired

...and loved unconditionally.

Eve, the 1st woman was just that. A reflection of her creator: Beauty.

And this statue spoke all these things to me loud and clear.

Beauty

Grace

Elegance

Humbleness

Purity

Youth (young flesh as the 1st woman)

They say a picture can say I thousand words. But to get the full effect, you must see her in person.

She hangs her head with her hair softly draping down. The sign said that her thoughts are inward in shame, but at the same time she radiates with a fierce courage and wisdom. 

I LOVE THIS STATUE!!!

I stared at her, walking around to different angles for a few minutes. Did I mention that the marble that she is made out of sparkles slightly?

Have I described her well enough? haha! I feel that I need a much more divine, colorful language to do so. She is captivating, mesmerizing, enchanting, and almost hypnotizing.

I do believe I have found my favorite female statue. :)

Intimate experiences like this with artworks are rare...but wonderful. :D I hope everyone experiences this sense of awe and connection with an art piece sometime in their life. 

Artist was Thomas Brock. 1847-1922

"Eve is self-absorbed...her left arm placed protectively across her breast."

I found this quote about her:
"I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity,
and her flaming self-respect, and it's these things
I'd believe in even if the whole world indulged in
wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be...
I love her and that's the beginning of everything."
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Stunning. Simply Stunning.

I walked around the museum some more and found some other very cool paintings. Mmm, that was a GOOD museum trip. :)

Beatlemania!!!

It's been a long and eventful week!!
So...naturally...this post is going to be very long.
I guess that's nothing new though. :)

fried tomato, bacon, sausage, beans, and egg

Tuesday was a day full of amazing food!! When I arrived to my internship, James and Suzy asked if I would like an English breakfast. (and even though I already ate...how could I turn that down???)
O my goodness...so GOOD!! Breakfast is kind of my favorite meal...so it was really nice to have hearty eggs, sausage, and bacon rather than a muffin and banana (my usual breakfast at Vandon). The fried tomato wasn't my fav...but have I mentioned how divine England's bacon is!!! It's much thicker and not as fatty as American bacon.
That night we went on a program trip to Tayaabs...an Indian restaurant (actually...Pakistani...but we all called it Indian food). I don't remember how many courses they had for us...but it was like a buffet. Super spicy! (just like me....*wink*). Sauces with crispy tortillas (for lack of a better name), loads of meat, including lamb, flat bread, mango lassi (the smoothie-like drink...so good!), and bowls of curry covered chicken, veggies, lamb, etc. It was good...but almost burned my insides as spicy as it was. Also...we discovered that our clothes reeked of curry when we got back to the hotel...not pleasant.

Wednesday was our first Art in London class where we actually met in the museums.

We went to the National Gallery next to Trafalgar Square.

I was really excited to see the paintings...but almost as soon as we stepped into the first room...excited was traded for overwhelmed!!! 

The gallery was so huge...there was no way we could see everything during class time.

This frustrated me. 

Because if you know how me and art museums go...you also know that I want to see everything...even if only a glance. 

I'm already planning on going there during my free time to see the rest of the museum.

It's SO nice that the museums here are free admission!!

I could revisit the gallery every Monday night if I wanted. :)

I will be revisiting Leonardo, Titian, Turner, and Van Eyck again soon. :D :D

Thursday after classes we took our train from Euston to Bangor, Wales!!!

I went with the two Kristins, Matt, and Ashley.

We arrived to the station at the dark hour of 9 pm

...and I was greeted by Molly running down the platform to give me one of her rib-breaking hugs!

haha!

Her and Shawn took me up to their dorm...chatted for awhile before sleep overtook me.

Lovely bed made of a folded comforter on the hard floor, thin sheets, and a sweatshirt as a pillow...didn't exactly sleep like a rock...lol! Shawn was gracious to switch with me so that I could sleep on the bed...partly because I started to get a nasty cold.

Despite my sneezing attacks and stuffed up nose...Bangor was beautiful and I could still smell the fresh sheep-farm air. :)

Friday morning I got my first view of the mountains from Shawn's kitchen window. Breathtaking!!! 

I haven't seen mountains since my freshman year of high school!!

They weren't Colorado mountains by any means...but they were still mountains. :)

Molly had class, so Shawn and I met up with a group and walked down to the pier for scones. (stopping to see "Hogwarts"...Bangor University...on the way).

Bangor is much more rural than London, so there were virtually no tourists, and the pier was completely clear of people...a sight us Londoners are not used to. (as well as the open spaces...so refreshing!!)
The view from the pier of the mountains was...hmm, what's a good enough descriptive word....divine? magical? Knock the wind out of you gorgeous!??
It was cloudy, so we didn't get a perfect clear view of the mountains...but the sky looked amazingly blue...the crisp morning air and the water with boats on it...wow!

The tea room...resembling what I would imagine a sea/fishing shack to look like...was towards the end of the pier...with a view of water and mountains on every side! lovely!

We arrived early, so the old man working was not ready for us. But he was so nice!

The scones were DELICIOUS!! They came right out of the oven, so they were wonderfully warm and butter melted on them in seconds. Hot chocolate...combined with the best scones in the world....heavenly!!

The guy even passed out business cards with his number on them and let everyone know that the next time they plan to come to give him a call and he will have the scones ready. :) AWW!! 

Next we went to an old cathedral in Bangor. But after all these other giant old church's I've seen...I feel like this one was unimpressive. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable to walk around it, and there was an old lady that came over every so often to tell us about the history of the church. :) She was so sweet.

We then moseyed down a shopping street and Molly met me for lunch. 

We ate KFC. Yes, that's right....nice, cheap, Kentucky.Fried.Chicken. I was disappointed that they didn't have mashed potatoes with gravy and biscuits though. Just chicken and chips (fries).

Then Molly took me to the Bangor museum and we had a few chuckles about some of the old furniture and costumes they used.

Then I insisted they show me the library in "Hogwarts"...and I'm glad I did. It was so lovely and old. Wood decorations and old book on the shelves. It would be a nice cozy place to study with a cup of tea.

Next Molly and Shawn took me to "Roman Camp."

I had no idea what to expect...except (haha...expect, except...same letters...oh, sorry) that the view was amazing.  I thought there might be ruins or something.

So when they took me up a bunch of hills (have I mentioned how hilly Bangor is? Holy aching legs!!!)

...and then up a dirt path through some trees...

...I was a little suspicious. 

But then the trees cleared and I saw the expanse of green meadow spread before us...my heart did a little leap.

No people. No buildings. No cars. No noise.

Bliss!!!

I literally started running and twirling over the grass and lyrics from Disney's Tangled spilled from my lips as I sang a song of found freedom.

"Just smell the grass, the dirt, just like I dreamed they'd be!

Just feel that summer breeze...the way it's calling me!

For like the first time EVER, I'm completely free!...

I could go running...and racing...and dancing, and chasing

and leaping, and bounding, hair flying, heart pounding,

and splashing, and reeling and FINALLY feeling!!!

Now's when my life begins!!!"

Yes...I am a nerd. But hasn't everyone had dreams about their life being a musical? haha!

Anyways....

We went up a little grassy hill to where a log was to sit and stare at the wondrous view of mountains, water (Irish sea?), and town spread below us.

I started to take pictures when an older man walked up (from like out of nowhere!) and told me to save my pictures for a nice, non-cloudy day. He then asked me where I was from...to which I started babbling about how I'm studying in London but I'm from America. "No no no...where are you from?? That red hair has got to come from Ireland or Scotland." (btw...this man had an Irish accent...totally a leprechaun...the sneakiness, it all fits.)

I said that I didn't know much about my family history except that I have a lot of German in my blood. He just joked and kept saying how my red hair is NOT German...then he walked away. lol

This got me thinking...I really don't know a whole lot about my ancestors...do I? After working on those old photographs at my internship...being asked about my origins...and just being in a foreign country that my family just might have roots in....has made me really curious. I want to go home and do some research. I want to create an album/journal thing...piecing information all together. I don't know why this stuff was never this intriguing to me before. But I want to know about where I come from....where my red hair comes from!! Plus, it's like a quest to me...and I like quests. :) It's also the fact that we've learned so much history about these places and I wonder why we as Americans don't seem to treasure our history as much. Also, as the oldest sibling in my family...it's like my job to pass on the family history....our roots...to my children someday!!

Okay...musings interruption ending.

At the top of this hill we attempted to take a jumping picture off the log.  Complete fail. lol!

I think only Molly was caught in the air...and just barely...out of the, like, 20 photos we tried taking with self-timer. However, it was fun and we laughed pretty hard over some of them.

So after that we wound through the streets back to the dorms...seemingly handmade stone walls on each side. (they're everywhere in Bangor).

They took me through the dogpark and we saw a beautiful orange kitty with bold patterns on it's fur...so cute! (a.d.d. much?)

Back at the dorms we helped (or "watched", rather) Molly make fried rice and I met their friend Lydia. It was, well, an interesting experiment...but it turned out and was edible! :)

Fun conversation time...."what was your favorite childhood toy?" good times and good talks.

Went over to Megan Cain's room where Ashely and Grant were having an unmentionable contest of sorts. yea...lol. Had some good laughs, but unfortunately sleep deprivation and my stuffed up nose overtook me and we left so I could go to bed. :)

Saturday morning...Liverpool day!! 

I was so grateful that they let us go on their program excursion.  Hitting two birds with one stone in a weekend trip...Bangor and Liverpool!

We took the bus...about an hour ride....but that's okay, because it was yet another perfect way for me to see the country, Irish sea, mountains, and sheep....lots and lots of sheep. :)

The first thing we went to was the Anglican church.  Like usual, it was huge and beautiful.  Red stones and an emphasis on verticality. We were able to each have an audio recording with headphones that acted as individual tour guides...directing us to different areas of the church and describing the construction of the building. I liked this.  It was much nicer than other museums where you have to read everything...instead I could just listen and look and walk. :) I particularly enjoyed going up the stairs to stand on the bridge and listening to a recording of the choir boys singing. Angelic. :)

 After this cathedral, we went to a much more modern Catholic Cathedral just across the way. I still don't know how I feel about this church. It was definitely beautiful architecturally and artwise, but the modernness compared to the other took away that special awe. That's the best I can describe it.

After these churches we went to what I had been waiting for...the BEATLES STORY!
I think I was expecting more of a tour around Liverpool pointing out different sites related to the Beatles...but it was just a museum (underground?).
It was still cool...but I thought they may have preserved places where the Beatles formed the band and started performing together.
We got to use audio recorded tours for this as well.
I liked the room they had with a wall completely covered in a video screen with clips of screaming girls and fans of the Beatles going completely nuts!!! They gave this a name. Beatlemania! lol
I bought a mug and some postcards. I wanted to get a Beatles guitar strap for Milo (my guitar) or for my youngest brother...but they were super expensive.

After this we just had free time to walk around before meeting the bus for a dark sleepy ride home (you know the feeling...the drifting off without realizing it until your head jerks you awake...lol)

So we walked around some shops and the dock/port?, ate at a cafe, and saw the Royal Liver building.  haha, whatever that is!

I'm surprised we were still awake enough when we returned to play Grapes (I introduced this game to Molly and Shawn...haha! (Harry Potter did something to Molly's little toe in Timbuktu). 

We also met with a few other girls to play "name that tune" before hitting the hay.

Sunday morning Shawn and I walked down the street trying to find a gift shop with Bangor postcards and memorabilia but could find none. So while we waited for the rest of the group to join us, we went into Mike's and I order tea cakes (which ended up just being toast with butter..) and a mocha. Holy cats! Best mocha I've ever had! I got a large...and they put cream and sprinkled chocolate chunky goodness on the top. Delicious!! However, Shawn had to experience the effects coffee has on me...hello chatterbox. :)

I looked out the window of the train on our way back to London. Sigh...goodbye mountains. Unfortunately I got a bad headache on the three hour train ride. But I can now say that the "toilets" (bathrooms) on trains are like spaceships. (it's the doors...lol).

Finally arrived at Euston, my headache slightly disappearing. But I was a walking zombie. All I wanted to do was to go to bed immediately. And I tried...honest...I laid down for about 20 minutes.  But my head and my stomach would not shut up. So I got back up to make food. And like usual...my body pushed past the tired stage and even when I tried to go to bed late that night...it took me forever to fall asleep!! guh! (kind of like how I was super tired around 7 pm today...but pushed past it and am just now finishing this post at almost 1 in the morning...yea).

Okay...well that is enough for now I guess. (lol, long enough?)  I have a lot from this week...but I probably won't be able to write until Monday night or so. I'm going to Paris tomorrow for the weekend!!!

I cannot believe that on Monday...I will have been here a month.

And in three months today...we go home.

Time flies