November 2007

November was a busy month. Classes are in full swing, the work schedule has filled up a bit, and I have finally done some real traveling. I won't bore you with the details of classes or work, as most responses haven't been too keen on either of those, but there is plenty to share about travels!

PARIS:
With a few trips to cities around Madrid under my belt and a bit of a friend network here in Madrid I finally scheduled a few flights around the rest of Europe. In the first half of the month I traveled to Paris with a couple friends for 5 days and had a chance to see a few of the big sights. Without having to cram it all into a short weekend we were able to enjoy several walks along the Seine, pastries, wine and cheese, fall weather, and good company throughout the day between some of the sights. We also tried (for the first time) staying with locals rather than paying for the customary hostal. After searching a site called CouchSurfing.com we wound up finding several nice Frenchmen who offered us a couch or floor to sleep on. So we spent nights 1 and 2 with a couple guys to the north of the city and nights 3 and 4 just a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower. Of all the things we saw, the Louvre was by far and away my favorite. For those who haven't been, the museum is comprised of three wings, each with three to four floors, offering the most comprehensive display of world history in the world. Outside the Louvre, while visiting the Sacré Coure, Notre Dame, and Eiffel Tower were all impressive, the company really topped things off. The third night of our stay we started the night off with a classic French meal: potatos, melted cheese, and an assortment of meats all served together over a few bottles of French wine with our hosts Philippe and Fred. Then we headed across town to an Irish pub before grabbing crepes at 5 in the morning. Sunday we headed out to Versailles for a few hours to tour the Palace and gardens. Passing through the Hall of Mirrors was a neat experience, and learing a little more about French history was interesting as well. We capped off the trip with a few bottles of my very favorite Hoegaarden beer and a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Paris is definately a city still near the top of list to visit. What a place!

LONDON:
In the back half of November I ventured up to London for a few days, where I met friends John, Jen, and Maggie (very nice to meet that weekend), from high school who are studying abroad this semester, and caught up with my friend, Charlie, who came in from Bristol for the weekend. After much anticipation (most of which coming from Uncle Tom!), we got a taste of London, kicking things off with Stephen Schwartz's, Wicked! While it was bitter cold, we also enjoyed seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye. Without much time (or motivation from those of us who had traveled to a different country every weekend of the semester), we enjoyed St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London from the outside. After crossing the Tower of London Bridge on Saturday and losing feeling in our fingers the two girls demanded we stop for a cup of coffee. Completely turned off by the prospect of drinking Starbuck's in Europe, John and I opted to tour the HMS Belfast, a battleship commissioned into the British Navy in 1939 that led the naval bombardment off Normandy in support of the Allied landings of D-Day, before being retired to where she is permantly docked on the Thames. That night we enjoyed our first taste of England's famous Fish & Chips while walking along Oxford St., two kilometers of shopping (although we wisely started toward the end). Later that night, after exploring the Soho and Picadilly Circus districts, I had a chance to see Mizzou's football team defeat #2 Kansas and take the top seed in national rankings. A few British ales at 4 in the morning made the victory all the more sweet! On our final day, the boys all took a trip to the British Museum, where we saw the Rossetta Stone among the best collection of Egyptian artifacts I have yet to see. After a few minced pies and normal pasteurized milk (none in Spain) for lunch, Charlie and I took a peek at a few works by Rembrandt and Monet in the National Gallery before calling it a night. Like Paris, London is a city I would love pay another visit soon. The theatre is great, national museums and historic sites are many, and the Fish & Chips are addictive!

I'll follow this entry with some of the photos from the trips! And I have also added a few videos (see right pane) from a bull fight I saw here in Madrid a couple months back.