swimming in space

Jameson and Cork, I love you

2009-05-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Jameson and Cork, I love you

So I'm always trying to find faster and better ways to upload pictures onto blogspot. It's kind of a bitch, I will admit. So I've had a flickr account for some time but never used it because I didn't want to sign up for the pro account. I did today, and it made uploading my pictures about 5 hours faster. Unfortunately when I am moving my pics from flickr ONTO blogspot it doesn't take my comments with it, so if you want to see what picture is what, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/26386088@N02/sets/72157618098671413/
and look at the album that has the comments. Sorry, but I just don't have the time to sit and upload and re-write descriptions. I have the WORLD to see!

Bye

London Day 45

2009-05-07T10:38:00.001-07:00

This is the 2nd post in one day! Not much to this one, I've been focusing quite a bit on school this week, I had a paper due, and I've been taking it easy since returning from Sweden and Denmark.

Erin and I went to the British Museum on Wednesday. We saw Egyptian sculptures and Intimate portraits.

Erin being fierce with the Egyptians.

This is so cool. Remember that part in The Neverending Story when Atreyu has to walk through that passageway in between those huge statues? This reminds me of that! SCARY!

We went to a gallery called Intimate Portraits. It was really fine paintings and drawings. I didn't get a picture of the actual paintings, because they probably wouldn't have turned out, but this woman Dorothea Graff was my favorite! Look her up if you want to see some really amazing stuff.

Then we went to the gallery on Japan. I took a picture of the tea house.

Today we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was AMAZING. I can't even begin to describe. It's Sir Christopher Wren's most prized work. Just look it on if you are interested. We were not allowed to take any pictures indoors which is a shame because it truly is not to be missed. We walked to the top where you can look out on the city.

This made me feel like something out of Sweeny Todd. The clouds are so dark, it's pretty spooky.

We had to look through these little bars. I imagine they weren't always there but some smarty pants must have tried fitting in between the pillars and fell at some point. Just a guess. Sorry I don't have more faith in you humanity, but you have to admit you're mildly destructive.

These were the narrow stairs we had to walk up and down. Kinda made you dizzy.

That's it! Like I said I didn't do a whole lot this week. The things I did do weren't photographic moments. But tomorrow I am heading out to Cork, Ireland. So I assume I will have lots to share by Monday evening!

Oh, and since I'm posting this it will probably archive my post from earlier today. So if you haven't seen my Copenhagen pics or the last days of Stockholm, including Cambridge, then just click older posts to check those out. I just posted those today as well.

Bye!

3 days of Kobenhavn: Last days of Stockholm: Cambridge & Back to the London grind

2009-05-01T13:06:00.001-07:00

I have to apologize for taking so long getting these pics up. During the times where I DID have time to get on my laptop and update my blog, I didn't have internet or I didn't have my laptop or some other excuse. Also, because I've been so rushed I haven't been as picky when going through the pictures as I normally am.

- CAMBRIDGE -

The first set of pictures here are from Cambridge. So the pictures here are all new to old. The ones from Kobenhavn at the end are the oldest. I got back from Stockholm on Saturday May 2nd, and on Sunday rather than do laundry or homework for the week, Erin and I set out for Cambridge. The campus of course is really beautiful. If I had to decide between Oxford or Cambridge (which would never be a real-life decision I would have to make, but if I DID) I would probably choose Cambridge. It seemed a bit friendlier than Oxford, less pretentious maybe? The colleges seemed more welcoming and I'm sure the beer helped me feel that way.

We met Megan at a little pub, and chatted and everybody made the decision to go punting. Punt, from dictionary.com: a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by poling.

Boom. So we got to the river and it was 6 of us girls. Half wanted to take the guided tour and half wanted Megan to do the punting. I personally, really enjoyed the idea of being punted around by somebody who's never done it before. I thought it would be fun, especially since the water was full of other punters.

We set off. I regret that I don't really remember the name of all Megan's friends. The one on the right here is Hanah, and I think the one on the left is Becks? Forgive me if I'm wrong.

Megan punting in her new kicks.

Erin.

The water got really crowded at times. A clusterfuck of punters if you will. I think that's what the great minds of Cambridge refer to it, a clusterfuck.

Side shot.

Some of the bridges were really low.

Chillin while Megan does all the work.

Despite all concerns in the beginning, Megan did a really awesome job! We thought that we were going to be the embarrassing boat on the river but we were far from it! In fact we saw two people fall into the river, and it wasn't any of us, YES!

So naturally we celebrated with Tequila.

Yay to Cambridge!

- STOCKHOLM LAST DAYS -

I had this really amazing idea to take the sleeper train from Kobenhavn to Stockholm so that I weouldn't have to spend money on one more night at a hostel. Bad idea.

I got into Stockholm at 5:15, NOTHING opens until at least 8. I was lucky to find a 711 that was open so I got a much needed coffee. But here I'm in the train station, wishing I had internet so I would have something to do, no luck.

I didn't really have a lot planned for my last days in Stockholm. I did most of the stuff that I REALLY wanted to do in the first days I was there. But it was REALLY sunny out, really warm, so I rented a bicycle for two days and I just rode around the water until I found something to do.

- STOCKHOLM AQUARIUM -

Sea horse.

These fish were so weird. They would stay in these little self-made caves and pop their heads out only to move the rocks around with their mouthes. It was so weird.

They had a rainforest exhibit. And it would actually go from light to dark and have thunderstorms. It was pretty cool. And they had huge catfish.

Riding around Stockholm. I went around the coast and just stopped and sat around for awhile, took a few pics.

It was May 1st, and they had a mayday parade. I couldn't read any of the banners obviously because they were in Swedish but somebody told me that they are basically people for both sides of Govt promoting their candidates etc.

Swedish police.

The little girl had a sign but I don't know what it said. I assume something like "Cookie monster for Mayor," or "Vote yes for dessert before dinner."

My trusty steed in front of my hostel.

- KOBENHAVN -

The kitchen of my hostel.

Stairs up.

My little private room.

National Museum.

Hans Christian Anderson Museum, which I didn't go in because I heard it was crap. But we can all appreciate what H.C. Anderson has done without going to a lame museum.
If you don't know who he is go here: H.C. Anderson, Wikipedia

Helligandskirken Church.

The Helligandskirken Church dates from the early 1400s. My book on Copenhagen tells me the date of the church but you can also tell by looking at the windows, they are all small squares, which, in the 15th century what they could make. No big pieces of glass yet.

I walked into something that looked sort of interesting and it ended up being the Rundetarn (Round Tower) It was built in 1642 during Christian IV's reign. He built it to be an observatory for the university. The cobbled spiral walkway that you see here, winds seven-and-a-half times round its core for 209 metres (686 feet) almost to the top of the tower, 34.8 metres (114 feet) above the city.

Old bell chamber that used to hold the library but since has been moved.

View of Copenhagen from the top!

After the cobblestone you walk up these narrow stairs.

Resting and representing Hellgate in Copenhagen.

This is Christian V being depicted as a Roman general astride his horse. It sits in the middle of Kongens Nytorv, one of Copenhagen's large squares of shops and restaurants.

I went on a boat tour. Line and I end up having drinks around here, I love the different colored buildings.

Across the way is the Royal Theatre, Copenhagen's mose modern building.

This is the Opera House.

This warship is the pride of the Danish army, even though it's never seen battle.

This building is called the house with blue eyes. You can see why.

House boats.

Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Savior) 90 metre (205-foot) copper and gold spire. The church was built by architect Lambert van Haven for Chirstian V in 1682.

Black Diamond.

This used to be a brewery.

Part of Christian's original palace.

LUNCH! I went to a place called Riz Raz. It was mediterranean buffet. It was decent.

The canal.

Outside of my hostel.

New day! What shall I do today? OH I KNOW, I'll go check out Roman sculpture before I go to the amusement park, awesome! I'll have some coffee and a pastry before I start my day.

Outside of Thorvaldsens Museum.

Denmark's greatest sculpture, Thorvaldsen, was born in Copenhagen on November 19th, 1768. His scholarship sent him to Rome, where he lived and studied for 40 years. He was influnced by Graeco-Roman mythology. Before his death in 1844 he gave all of his work to the city of Copenhagen, and was buried in this very museum.

Cupid and Psyche.

Cupid and the Graces.

The ceiling!

Venus.

Jason with the golden fleece. This is Thorvaldsen's breakthrough piece.

Briseis and Achilles.

Hebe.

Mars and Cupid.

Hector and Andromache.

The goddess of hope.

Vulcan.

He was not a warrior but a blacksmith.

Mercury about to kill Argus.

Venus, Mars and Cupid in Vulcan's Smithy.

Andrew.

Christ.

So huge!!

His disciples are by his side.

Apostles.

Thorvaldsens self portrait.

Again a beautiful ceiling.

Ganymede and the eagle.

Original before it was cast in marble.

You might know a man named Copernicus?

Pope.

Maximillian.

Hercules.

On the way to Tivoli.

- TIVOLI -

Tivoli is an amusement park but it's unique from other ones. It is supposed to define the Danish experience, and said to be the ultimate expression of 'hygge', the unique type of cosiness that the Danes strive to create is all aspects of their lives. There are thrill rides but none is too extreme. And there are of course the things that make amusement parts unique, hot dogs, beer, cotton candy, etc. They have a huge stage where every summer a big act will usually play on. In the past it's been the Beach Boys, Sting, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, and Jimi Hendrix. Michael Jackson tried to buy Tivoli, same with Disney, but the Danes weren't keen on the idea of selling their park to Americans who would ruin the basic idea of the place.

Tivoli is Denmark's number 1 tourist attraction, something like 4.5 million visitors pass through every Summer. In all 300 million have visisted in over a century.

Tivoli was built by King Christian VIII so that the Danes would have something to distract them, during a period of civil unrest. During building, it was a place where architects could basically go crazy, creatively letting loose all of their ideas into the park.

Peacock Theatre. The oldest building in the park is the Chinese-style Peacock Theatre. It was designed by Vilhelm Dahlerp. During the course of the day I saw several interesting plays here.

In the background here is one of the world class restaurants located inside Tivoli. Think about these pictures by day, and down below there are pictures when the sun goes down. Tivoli really transforms into something magical when the sun sets.

Stage.

One of the rides.

Love cotton candy.

This is a little walk through that takes you through all of H.C. Anderson's classic tales with characters.

Rollercoaster.

Really sad my cotton candy is gone. Pissed actually.

Mirror.

The gardens were my favorite thing about Tivoli. They were gorgeous and serene. The flowers were amazing.

Cute little mill next to a restaurant.

Restaurant boat.

Adorable baby ducks! Lil ducklings.

The orchestra played a lot while I was there. It was nice sitting in the warm sun listening to them play.

Yes ice cream!

BOO! I ate it all!

The aquarium at Tivoli. This weird eel kept opening it's mouth.

Hangin out watching the fish.

One of the plays/

Nighttime! Everything began to GLOW!

This is the restaurant I shot earlier and said to remember how it looks in the day. What a huge difference! It's so pretty.

I had an irish coffee while I was waiting for the light show to begin.

Light show!! They do this every night on the water. It only lasts for 10 min tho, lol. The guy next to me was trying to take pictures of it with his flash. It made me laugh. There are a lot of pictures just because it was fun shooting it.

- CHRISTIANA -

I wish I could have gotten more pictures of this place but they had HUGE signs posted everywhere "NO PHOTOS". Basically in the 70's this place was a mess of left over military houses and buildings. Basically these hippie types came in and took over the buildings that were no longer used, and they built a community that is OUTSIDE of Danish law. COMPLETELY. I don't know how they get away with it still, but basically they don't pay any tax on the land, or the houses. Nothing. They seem self sustaining. A lot of the houses it's very obvious that they were hand built by somebody who wasn't quite sure what they were doing. But some of the houses are quite nice. It used to be that anybody who had the same 'ideas' and morals of these people could come in and live, but now they've closed the door on membership (hypocritical i should say) so nobody can come in. As of now the govt is trying to reclaim the land. I can see why, it's build overlooking a lake!! There was a street called pusher street, where you could buy or sell marijuana or shrooms but they police have been cracking down and now people aren't so open about it anymore. It was really interesting in the town though. It kinda reminded me of Mexico.

This is a picture of the lake that all the houses are build next to.

Just so more random Copenhagen.

Line and I having a drink by the canal.

Mexican food! How I miss you!

Marmorkirken. Marble Church. Work began on the church in 1749. Wasn't finished until the late 1880's.

Royal palace.

This is Ny Carlsbern Glyptotek. Houses a lot of Carl Jacobsen's art collection, (son of the founder of the Carlsbern brewery).

Spent a lot of time in this train station.

Phew! I'm glad I finally got these pictures up! There are many more to come I'm sure. Tomorrow I head to Cork, Ireland.

Stockholm Day 2 & 3 & Last Days of London before Sweden

2009-04-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to write about the shows that I went to before leaving for Stockholm, so I'll do that now before I get into more Stockholm pics.

- PJ Harvey & John Parish, Shepherd's Bush Empire, 4/21/09 -

Incredible. Polly Jean never missed a note, not that we would ever expect her to, but the sheer flawlessness of her performances is still awe inspiring. She took the stage barefoot in a well fitted little black dress. Sometimes I would look down and see her big toe curl over the toe next to it. It was really cute. The stage seemed set up in quite a particular manner. The two amps on the end, the bass amp and a larger Vox, were the same height. In between those, two matching Vox amps, and a Lanzer all matched up in height as well. On the middle amp, she had a small bag of kleenex, and a glass of water with a bottle for refill. She sang songs mostly from her and Parish's new album, A Woman A Man Walked By. But she sang an older song by her and Parish, and just once John sang a song of his own. I didn't take my camera, because Shepherd's Bush had a posting on their website that "professional cameras" are not allowed. I know from past experience that that refers to any camera that you can take the lens off. Below are some of the better pictures I found online by user p a h on flickr.com. These are taken from the balcony. I was front center of PJ, right against the rail in the standing section. I was so lucky to find a last minute ticket on ebay, as the show was sold out for 4 months by the time I got here. The guy was asking 40 pounds and I bartered down to 32 with first class shipping. Boom.

See the guy right in front of PJ, with the long hair, I'm just a little to his right and behind. I was looking through the space in between him and his girlfriend during the show.

- Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ The Roundhouse, Camden Crawl, 4/24.09 -

Insane is the best word for this show. By this time I've already figured out the art of queueing (waiting in line) in London. Londoners queue for EVERYTHING. For Camden Crawl, I had a physical ticket. I had to queue about 20 min to hand my physical ticket in for a wristband. I did that. THEN, I had to queue for 2 hours, from 12:30-2:30, to get my wristband for the headliner, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. To top it all off, I came back at 5, and had to queue to get INTO the venue. Fun.

I get in, and I am about 4 people back from the stage. Bad idea. Camden Crawl is sorta like Sasquatch Festival, but it's in a city not in the middle of nowhere. So people had been drinking ALL day. By 7:15, it's insane. The girl next to me couldn't even stand up straight by that time, and kept leaning on me so that she wouldn't fall over. My point is, that by the time Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the stage, people went CRAZY!!! I had to get outta there ASAP. I forced myself toward the back. It took me a good 20 min to get to the back of the extremely packed room. I underestimated the size of the room and the mass of people. Whoa. Anyway of course it was an amazing show. Karen O was fantastic. It was great watching them with the new setup, with the keys. They pulled off the new addition no problem. Again I didn't have my camera but here is a video of the show.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zero

Here is an article about the show.

Mtv.co.uk

Mtv sponsored the event, and recorded it as well. I am curious about when we could see some live footage on their website.

- Echo and the Bunnymen -

The night ended at a bar called Koko. It was really cool inside. It had at least three floors of bar that wrapped around with balconies that overlooked the stage. Echo and the Bunnymen took the stage at about 10pm with 2 of the original members, one of the guitarists, and of course the singer, Ian McCulloch. It was a solid show. Not much for eye candy or fancy moves like I had just experienced with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This was just a straight up rock show. Ian McCulloch seemed agitated a lot though, and had two guys running across the stage to fill his water, beer, get him a new towel, or pick up stuff that had been thrown on the stage. At one point one of the photographers in the front row was being shooed off the stage by Ian while he was singing. When he didn't leave, Ian looked back at one of the guys and made hand gestures implying that he wanted him to get the photographer the hell away.

Echo and the Bunnymen, Lips Like Sugar

- Stockholm Day 3 -

Not sure where to start here. My third day in Stockholm I did a little wandering on my own and I took a boat tour which was nice. It's been sunny and warm and being on a boat sounded good.
The first few photos here are when I was wandering on my own, I'll try to explain what everything is to the best of my memory lol.

I should say, for those who might be familar with Stockholm, there are 14 islands that make up Stockholm. The hostel where I was staying is on the island of Norrmalm & Vasastaden.

This building here is St Clara Kyrka. It's a brick 16th century church located across from Central Station. It was built during the reign of Johan III. Dutch architect Willem Boy designed the church, and Carl Harleman redesigned its roof and spire after a fiew in the 18th century.

Interior of St Clara Kyrka, painted with biblical scenes.

Ahlens department store takes up an entire block and has no windows.

Kulturhuset was designed by architect Peter Celsing, in the early 1970's. The upper floors contain temporary art galleries. The top floor has a cafe that overlooks the square. Kulturehuset is also home to Sweden's only comic book library. I went in there the other day to check out exactly what a comic book library would look like, but it was already closed.

NK is Sweden's most exclusive department store. Across from it is Gallerian, which is less expensive.

The other night I was walking around the city, it must have been about 9:30 and I heard a lot of music coming from one direction. So I walked in that direction, only to find the music coming from a VERY busy TGIF! LOL. It made me laugh so hard. I came back the next day to snap this pic. Swedes must think TGIF is the shit.

Here I am walking from Norrmalm toward the Grand Hotel, which is where boat tours are launched.

This is St Jacobs Kyrka. It was commissioned in 1588 by King Johan III.

Across the water is the National Museum, which I have close up pictures of below of as well.

19th century iron bridge.

Launching point for ferries headed to the Archipelago.

In the distance there is the vasamuseet, where the famous vasa ship is displayed. I have more pics below.

Junibacken. Mini outdoor theme park. It's devoted to Pippi Longstocking and other characters created by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Man I used to LOVE Pippi Longstocking when I was growing up! She's such a badass.

This is a bar / club called Patricia. We tried to get in the night before but my friend wasn't old enough. In Stockholm the bars decide what the minimum age is. Some bars I've seen it's 20, some I've seen it's 27. Anyway it looked cool, it's on a ship.

One of Stockholm's 2 locks that takes you from Lake Malaren into the Baltic Sea.

Grand Hotel again.

On the tour I learned a few interesting things. One thing that is amazing is that the water in Stockholms canals are clean enough to swim in, which is not the same for us in Seattle. They pride themselves on how environmentally friendly they are. When I was walking in the morning you could see a bunch of people fishing off the pier. Once a year near Gamla Stan, which I have pictures of below, they release Salmon into the water. Sweden has the longest life expectancy, 77 for men and 82 for women. Out of 41 European countries, Sweden covers the 1/5 largest area, so it is the least densily populated, especially for a capital. During the viking crusades, out of a 200,000 person population, 90% were farmers, 9% were free traders, and 1% were vikings. I'm pretty sure my ancestors were that 1%. YAH!

This is also something I didn't know. The Nordic Region consists of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. The Scandinavian countries are Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. I do recall from my Sociology of Religion class that Scandinavians are the least religious people, and that's in part due to the fact that they are so well taken care of. They have a great medical insurance program, expecting fathers get 1.5 years PAID paternal leave, retirement is 61-65.

Modern Museet.

This is a boat that has been turned into a youth hostel. It's pretty cool. It's called the Af Chapman. I have one more night in Stockholm when I return from Copenhagen and I checked on prices here but you have to be a member of some youth hostel society or it's too expensive. Blech.

On the island of Skeppsholmen looking over at Norrmalm.

Again National Museum.

I took this picture from the island of Gamla Stan. Gamla Stan was the original Stockholm. That was more than 3 quarters of a millennium ago. The streets are very narrow. Gamla Stan itself is extremely tiny. It's hard to imagine that ANYBODY lived on such a small piece of land. It would be like if Seattle was just the area that makes up Pike Place Market, but circular. It took me no time at all to walk from one side of the island to the other. Gamla Stan is referred to as "the city between the bridges".

Kungliga Slottet. Was once a fortress, Tre Kronor, which was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1697.

It was time for an ice cream pit stop.

In Stockholm you can throw some change into these machines and grab a bike and go, it's really cool. Haven't done it yet though.

Narrow streets of Gamla Stan.

This is Parliament. It's tucked away in a little space between Gamla Stan and Norrmalm. I believe the older building is on the right and newer on the left.

There was a demonstration going on in front of Parliament, which lots of shouting and bloody pictures.

Here I am looking at the oldest part of Gamla Stan. This is roughly 13th century. There are cast iron bars on the windows that are meant to depict those found in Paris at the time.

Gamla Stan had a lot of touristy shops with Viking stuff.

This street name is Kakbrinken, it dates from 1477. Kak means 'pillory' and brink means 'steep hill.' Traffic has always been a problem on the narrow street so they put in clever little things to keep people from hitting the walls, like a cannon, and an iron gate.

This is what they call steep? Geez. This is a cake walk.

This square here is called Stortorget. It used to be the central meeting place with the main market, and courthouse. Stortorget is where the famous Stockholm Bloodbath took place in 1520. Look it up, it's a really crazy story.

Here in the square is the Nobelmusset. It opened in 2001 to commemorate the centenary of the Nobel Prizes. Because Arthur Nobel, who invented the Nobel Prize, was Swedish.

This is the Tyska Kyrkan, German Church. It used to be the guildhouse for German merchants and in the 1570's was converted into a church.

Gargoyles on Tyska Kyrkan.

In front of this building the poet Lasse 'Lucidor' Johansson was killed in 1674. He was stabbed to death.

Where Lasse Johansson died.

This pub, Den Gyldene Freden, opened in 1772 and became the most popular tavern.

Again the Kungliga Slottet, from another angle.

Storkyrkan, 'The Great Church.' Oldest congregational church in Stockholm. Site of many royal weddings.

Obelisk in front of the church. Designed by Louis Jean Desprez. Erected in 1799. Memorial to those who fought in Gustav III's war against Russia in 1788-90.

Dinner! After all the walking I went to a little Pizza and Kebab place.

Getting ready to go out.

New friends! Yuri on the left is from Italy. Yeoh-Hee on the right is, FROM SEATTLE! No kidding. She is studying abroad as well through the University of Washington but in Sweden.

The courtyard of the hostel, where every morning we would come out and drink coffee and plan our day.

- Stockholm Day 2 -

Yeon-Hee, Yuri, and I are headed to Djurgarden to go to Skansen and Vasamuseet.

People were fishing off this pier.

Jet Skiers, SO FUN!

Just pretty.

Boats.

The bridge over to Skeppsholmen.

National Museum.

I am so jealous of all the house boats on the water. God, the life!

Swedish flag hanging there being all prideful.

Looking over at Djurgarden.

Nordiska Museet, the city landmark. Designed in the style of a Nordic Renaissance palace. Holds historical and cultural objects from all over Scandinavia.

Skansen!!

150 plus traditional buildings, homes, churches, shops, barns and workshops make up Skansen. It's a huge open air museum and also home to many Scandinavian animals, such as the Lynx, Brown Bear, Wolverine, Eagle Owl, European Bison, and more. Nearly all of the buildings are original and were moved to Skansen whole or piece by piece from all over Sweden. The staff dress in folk costumes and do traditional work of the time.

Miniature map.

View from the top of Skansen.

Real rune stone!!!

Viking rune stone!

Traditional Swedish fences.

Reindeer.

- Vasamuseet -

One of my favorites sites so far!

The Vasa, the largest and best preserved shop of its kind in the world. Built in the 1620's when Sweden was at war with Poland. The Vasa had 2 gun decks and 64 cannons, making it the mightiest ship in the fleet. Unfortunately, the gun decks and heavy cannon made the ship top-heavy. The maiden voyage went ahead, and after only a few minutes after the Vasa had set sail from the near present-day Slussen on 10 August 1628, she began to list to one side. The gun ports filled with water and the ship sank after a voyage of only 1,300m. Of the 150 people on board as many as 50 died. The reason the Vasa was so well preserved at her recovery in 1961, 95% of the ship is original, is because the Baltic Sea is insufficiently saline to contain the tiny shipwork which destroys wood in saltier seas. SO COOL! This ship is HUGE!

Mini scale of the Vasa.

A suit they wore when going down to retrieve the ship.

This is a display that shows how colorful the Vasa was painted.

From the skeletons that they found in the Vasa they recreated what they thought that the sailors would look like.

Only 2 women were on board the Vasa.

Dinner!! Most amazing cheeseburger.

All gone.

Where we ate.

Stockholm is an amazing city. I can honestly say it's been my favorite European city so far. Before this I've been to Germany, Holland, and Austria.

Stockholm is gorgeous, it's laid back, the people are friendly and pretty, lol. It's amazing!

Today is my first day in Stockholm. I took the train over at 6:10 this morning, arrived at my hostel around noon. I have pictures to share when I get more time to upload them. From what I've seen Copenhagen is pretty damn cool too. But more about that later. I just might need a pint before bed :) Tomorrow I'm thinking about heading over to Tivoli, Denmark's largest and most famous amusement park.

Night.

AGAIN my usual disclaimer. Ignore any spelling or grammatical errors. I really only have time to post my blogs, not usually re-read and edit them to perfection.

Stockholm Day 1 - relaxing and roaming

2009-04-25T10:23:00.001-07:00

This morning I woke up at 7am, showered, stuffed my backpack until it was about to pop, and by 8 o'clock I set out to make the bus. After a bus ride, a tube ride, requiring me to transfer once, and the train ride (Heathrow Express) to Heathrow, I arrived at 9:45, terminal 5, ready to board my flight.

By 11:45 or so we were in the air, and two hours later I landed at Stockholm, Arlanda airport. I purchased my ticket for the Stockholm Express into Stockholm and was in Stockholm by, 3:30? Now the fun part, or maybe not so fun, finding the Hostel that I booked my stay at.

Not bad! The maps that I got really paid off, and I found it in no time. Just a 15 min walk away from Central Station. Paid my 675 SEK, (sounds like a lot right)? NO about $88 for 3 nights with linen (I don't want no bed bugs so you have to rent clean linen).

So first things first, food. I am trying not to spend too much money eating and drinking out, even though by the amount I've already spent in London , you wouldn't believe what I just said. So I went to the grocery store up the street. I haven't really figured out the credit / debit card system in the UK or Europe yet. Some places require that you have a pin card, which I assume means that you have a pin to type in. The woman who rang me up at the grocery store ddn't speak very good English (which surprised me a bit), and I of course cannot speak ANY Swedish (not surprising), so it took 3 or 4 swipes before she realized it wasn't debit, I didn't have a pin, and she required picture ID with my credit card. They ALWAYS require picture ID, even in London if you use your credit card. And not just that, but your signature better look pretty damn similar to the one on the back of the card or you might have to show more proof that the card belongs to you.

So it's already close to 8. I'm not doing much else today. I came in pretty late, things close pretty early. I am planning on getting a really eary start tomorrow so I can start doing my walks around the city.

Here is the hostel I am staying at. The bed on the top left is mine. So far I've only met 2 of my roommates. Two girls from the Czech Republic, really nice. They are studying in Norway but vacationing this week. It made me want to have a travel buddy :(

Made my bed first and foremost. That's as good as it'll get I'm afraid.

The outside of the hostel. It's called City Backpackers.

I didn't plan on doing siteseeing today but I read about this in my Stockholm book. This is the blue concert hall. It was designed by a famous architect, Ivar Tengborn and is supposed to represent what he believed to be neoclassical architecture. So yah, I can go into more detail about it later, but I bumped into it today and recognized it so I took a pic.

Big shopping street. Good to know that American Apparel, H&M, and Urban Outfitters are in every foreign city I've been in so far. Ya know, just incase I need to buy something that I can get in Seattle.

A statue to promote safety in schools or something, I think that's what it said. It was in English I just can't remember what it said exactly.

Something random I stumbled upon. Not sure what it is.

Before venturing out into the city for the first time. Do I look like I might know what the hell I'm doing? I don't. And I probably won't for the next week. That's okay, I'll try to figure things out as I go. Peace out for now :)

London Day 30

2009-04-21T03:31:00.000-07:00

- The Dublin Castle-
(no not a castle in Dublin)

Last week I went to see Royksopp and Fever Ray at London's Southbank Centre. The show was huge, and it was at a huge venue. This week I had my mind set on hitting up a pub show, so I started searching online.

Unless you know where to look, it's hard to find small shows. Even in Seattle, unless you know the name of the venue or bar, it's really hard to find the smaller gigs. Here you can't just google "pub shows on April 17th London." Nothing really turns up. What does turn up is a list of the big shows going on in London, the ones that have publicists who actively post the shows. What I'm trying to say is that it took me a little while to find a smaller venue. I finally found a place called The Dublin Castle. It's in an interesting area of London called Camden Town. If you've ever been to London, I'm sure you're familiar with it. It's an area rich with bars and interesting but strange punk kids and shops. An eclectic scene to say the least.

I did some research on the bands playing and I decided on The Dublin Castle because of a band called The Kull. First off the guy plays the same guitar as I do, Epiphone Sheraton II. Also I checked out one of their videos and it was very stereophonic meets the cure, in a way. The guy had a great voice live. I wouldn't buy their CD based on what I heard but it was a good show. Here is the video.

The Kull, 18 x Again

There were 4 bands in all but the only other notable one in my opinion was a band from Scotland called The Lost Generation. The lead singer had an amazing voice and was also an amazing guitarist. They reminded me a lot of the Eagles of Death Metal. After they got off stage I talked to the lead singer for awhile and he told me that he really likes the guys from Eagles of Death Metal and they've hung out a couple of times. Anyway it was a fun night, I didn't take any pics inside but here's a pic of the outside of the pub.

- The Imperial War Museum -

My Contemporary Britain class went to the Imperial War Museum this week. It was really an eye opening experience. It was just so interesting to see the effects of the war from a perspective different from ours in America. The Holocaust especially had a different impact on Britain than America. You weren't allowed to take any pictures in the Holocaust exhibit but I snapped a few of WWI and WWII sections.

Imperial War Museum
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Section of the Berlin Wall.

They had a little thing you could walk into that was supposed to simulate a real trench.. It smelled so awful in there.

Map. If you want you should be able to click on these pics and zoom in on them. They had these maps all over to show the allies and the enemy during different times of the wars. They were helpful.

They had this computer that you could look for people who died in WWI and WWII. There were 2,969 Harrison's who died in WWI and WWII.

- Stonehenge, Stourhead, Avebury -

We went on a little field trip on Thurs.
Erin hangin in the coach.

Sleepy time.

Stonehenge! Because I don't feel like explaining word for word everything my teacher told us about Stonehenge, I will copy and paste what Wikipedia says about it.

One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and sits at the centre of the densest complex of NeolithicBronzeAge monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Archaelogists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. However one recent theory has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC, whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC (see phase 1 below). The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.

Our teacher did say that they aren't exactly sure what Stonehenge was used for. They think it might have been a doctor's clinic or a place where they did amputations, because archaeologists dug up a lot of skeletons without limbs in the interior of the stones. The stones were placed so that the midsummer sun would come through them and also so that the winter sun would.

Drew and Colleen at Stonehenge.

In the far distance you can see that the grass has little lumps in it. These are burial mounds. They form a circle all around stonehenge.

- Stourhead -

This is Stourhead Estate. Stourhead Estate was built under the direction of the new owner, Henry Hoare I. The Estate is part of the Stourhead gardens, now all owned by the National Trust.

Stourhead is interesting because all of the gardens used to be completely flat and undeveloped. Hoare wanted a huge beautiful garden that looked "natural." So he tore up the ground and creating flowing hills. He put in trees and shrub from all over the world. He built streams, a cottage, and monuments to add to the natural feel. Stourhead is a completely manufactured garden. Everything you see in these pictures was planned and planted, which is kind of insane because it's gorgeous and seems like it's just been there since the dawn of time. lol.

Flowing hills, all manufactured. Notice the monument in the distance meant to catch your eye. In all directions there are these monuments.

They had a lot of little caves, some you could walk into and other like this one, would try to pull you in if you stuck little limbs in.

Adorable manufactured cottage.

If you've seen 2005's Pride and Predjuce then you've seen this.

Manufactured caves. This is the first time I've used my flash since I've been in London.

Church.

Cemetery.

- Avebury -

This is much like Stonehenge but not as famous. It too has the huge stones placed in specific order. It has the valley cut AROUND the stones. Here is a picture of the valley. It would have been very very deep, and cut out using antlers. How long do you think it took? Geez. It's interesting to note, and you can see from the picture above, that unlike Stonehenge, the people that put the stones up in Avebury dug triangular pieces out of the ground and THEN stuck the stone in. Stonehenge wasn't like that. Stonehenge the stones were placed above ground, not dug in. You can see how the grass is forming around the stone above.

The white you see along the path here is what the valleys used to look like. The ancient peoples would take the antlers and scrape the sides of the valleys until they sparkled white. Then they would sacrifice a virgin so that they could grow more crops.

Rapeseed, also known as canola oil. the yellow in the distance.

Ancient church. Has windows that date back to the Norman Conquest, 1066.

Inside the church.

- BRIGHTON -

Beach on the south coast of England.

Krista and Rio! We all went on a little weekend excursion to Brighton, it's only 45 min by train from London.

The view from our hotel.

Royal Pavilion, built in the 19th century.

They had little shops all up and down the beach. They sold little knickers and pouches lol! wtf?

Krista and I went here for a cold cider. We sat in the sun and listened to some music.

Krista!

Cheers!

Another week, come and gone! I'm already excited to tell about THIS week because last night I went to see PJ Harvey, and it was amazing! BUT, I can't spill it yet, I have to wait until the weekend, or maybe I'll post early this week since I leave on Sat for Stockholm. We'll see. This week I have a relatively relaxed week so I might be able to get it posted before I leave for Stockholm.

London Day 21

2009-04-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

- KENSINGTON PALACE, HYDE PARK -

A random pic of my classmates and I.

I wandered into Hyde Park and Kensington Palace, it was SO beautiful! Unlike in the states, London built the city AROUND the parks. So they have this huge patches of green, so beautiful.

Gardens at Kensington Palace.

The Orangery, where we had high tea.

I am going back here to get more pics, because I can't remember exactly what this place is. It's a memorial of some kind to King Albert. I will have to go back so I can expand on this.

On each side of the memorial they had these really beautiful statues, each representing a country.

- ABBEY ROAD, ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS -

The wall outside Abbey Road Studios.

Neat! His handwriting sucks.

Tag that shit. Harrison was here, check it or wreck it, .04.09.09.

Ju

m

o

Is says HARRISON, but I wrote it in highlighter, so you can only see it if you use a blacklight. That's my way of being sly.

In front of Abbey Road Studios.
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- HAMPTON COURT -
Home of Henry VIII and many others. During the trip we looked at the architecture of Hampton Court and how it's changed over the centuries. Most notably it changed with the arrival of Henry VIII, who wanted to expand. After Henry VIII his heirs didn't really do much to the palace. It wasn't until William and Mary's arrival that the court would be revamped again, with the help and hiring of notable architect Sir Christopher Wren. I'll explain more as pictures come up.

The palace as you're walking up to it.

The opening of the palace. Built in 1514.
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Here you can see the Henry VIII expansions on the side. I didn't get a good picture of the windows, but you can tell the new parts from the old by the windows. The original windows are very small, as they couldn't manufacture and cut huge pieces of glass at this point.

First court you walk into. The openings were huge so you could pull your horse and buggy right up to the rooms on the sides.

One part of the kitchen. At this time fruit and vegetables were very hard to grow, due to the seasons, and in this part of the country probably weren't grown at all. People lived on meat pies. My teacher told me that at one time in the country most people were dying due to constipation more than anything else. That sucks.

More kitchen.

This is the outside of one of the courtyards. This is some of the Henry VIII expansion. This is the outside of the Great Hall.

Ceiling of the Great Hall. I took lots of pictures of ceilings because they are really beautiful, well crafted.

Huge stained glass ornaments filled the walls. On the far sides Henry VIII is engraved into 1 small glass piece in the middle window, to watch over his hall.

Another ceiling.

I tried to get a good picture of the detailed chimneys. The original chimneys were all different, so if you see two next to each other that are the same, you know it's a newer one that is replicating the original.

Ceiling.

Henry VIII's boot.

Another ceiling.

This was one of my favorite rooms. This is during the reign of William III and Queen Mary II. William and Mary hired Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild parts of Hampton Court. This changed Hampton Court from the gothic tudor style to more of a Boroque style. Sir Christopher Wren hired men to redesign the insides of the building, and under Mary's request, the gardens were built. This is one of the rooms that was redesigned under William's request.

Weapons fill the walls.

One of the tapestries. These took a few people at least a months to sew. I thought it would have taken years, as it filled the entire wall, but I guess when you have nothing else to do but sew, it only takes you a month.

Ceiling.

William's bed chamber.

You know the song, Mary Mary Quite Contrary. These are the maidens all in a row. No kidding.

Ceiling.

Courtyard.

Mary's gardens! Mary Mary quite contrary, how do your gardens grow. With hershey's kisses trees.

The Orangery.

Ceiling.

Ceiling.

Ceiling.

Ceiling. This room was just recetly rediscovered.

Mary's bed chamber.

Gardens!

Grapevine!

The roots of the grapevine! Enormous.

Housing of the grapevine.

Okay so this is the entrance to William's apartment. This is one of the changes that Wren made. You can see the white part is different from the brick. He built this, with the ionic pillars and built those white windows on the sides in order the help blend the new with the existing facade. I think it looks like crap.

I'm trying to be like American's Next Top Model of Hampton Court, but I just look weird.

Stuck in the maze, OH SO SCARED. Little goblins of the forest, don't eat me.

I told Erin to look scared and this is how she posed. LOL.

Now we are truly frightened. What if we can't find our way out and we miss supper.

- RANDOM PICS FROM THE WEEK -

A pic Erin took of me when we were on the canal walk. And no I didn't just get done with a game of Cricket, Phil. :)

On the way to Oxford.

I can't remember where I am here. But I'm cute none the less.

In Oxford. We sat in the grass awhile and pondered things like, education, books, and boats. (sure).

I love this picture of Krista and I. This is after the football game, when the Queens Park Rangers chant is still ringing in my ears:

Whatever the season,
We follow our team,
We're Queens Park Rangers,
We rule supreme,
We'll never be mastered,
By no, by no Chelsea bastards,
And we'll stick the blue flag,
Up your arse!

- ROYKSOPP & FEVER RAY -

This week I experienced my first show abroad. I went to see Norwegian electro duo Royksopp and Karin Dreijer Andersson, one of my favorite artists with her new band Fever Ray. If you don't already know this, Karin and her brother had another band, The Knife, which I think is on hiatus right now. By this time Sweden has already distinguished itself as a leader in the music industry during the last couple of decades, especially since Abba emerged from the scene. In my opinion, The Knife and Fever Ray are setting a whole new standard for electronic / goth / pop music. It's no surprise that she collaborated again with Royksopp on their latest album Junior.

-Fever Ray -

Fever Ray was amazing. They had some incredible lighting and lasers, lots of fog. Their whole shtick is covering their faces during live shows. The Knife is known for wearing masks that form birds' beaks, much like the Venetian Medico Della Peste masks worn during Carnival. I was on the top balcony, and the lasers came out in long streams below the balcony, and mixing with the fog, it covered the stage entirely so I couldn't see them at all. When the lasers subsided, they had 9 lamps set up around the stage that would flicker on cue with the loud beat of the electronic drum. Much to my dismay I didn't see their faces once during the set, but I respect their artistry. I'm just glad they are touring, The Knife refused to play live shows for the longest time.

- ROYKSOPP -

Royksopp really blew me away. Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge, the genius behind Royksopp, stood near the back of the stage, propped at their keys and electronic drums and cymbols. They danced around and never missed a beat. The beats kept rolling while Karin Dreijer Andersson, Anneli Drecker, Lykke Li, and Robyn took turns gracing us with their presence and vocals. Anneli, Lykke, and Robyn, all Swedish or Norweigan singer song writers, collaborate with Royksopp on their latest album, but Robyn was not expected to be singing at the London show, so it was a surprise when she ran out and the crowd went crazy. Karin of course was my favorite. During her three songs (1 from the former album, Melody AM, and 2 from Junior), she came out in a gold cape wearing an owl mask. During her last song, Tricky Tricky, which is my absolute favorite, she was wearing some sort of bird suit.

I was looking for some live footage of the show but I couldn't find any with good sound. So here is Fever Ray's video:

If I Had A Heart

Here is an article from NME that talks about Robyn's special performace at the Royal Festival Hall in London (the show I was at).

NME

And finally, if you are interested, here is the official video for What Else Is There? It's a song that Karin sings on.

What Else Is There?

- TEA PARTY -

The week ended with a tea party. On Easter Erin and I wandered around Rough Trade Records for a bit. I was looking for the new Band of Skulls album but had no luck. I was also searching for new Whitest boy Alive because they are touring the UK now, even though it seems as though I might be too late, all the shows are sold out.

So Erin and I went to Kensington Palace and had high tea. I had peppermint tea and a fruit scone, it was really good.

The tea made us feel philosophical. So we pondered.

Then I felt proper, so I posed.

It made my belly feel good, so I smiled a bit.

All the tables had these adorable little orange plants on them. Hmmm, is that why . . . is that why it's called, the ORANGERY? No it's called that because back in the day the rooms were used to grow fruit all year round - stupid. Seems as though all of the royal courts here have orangeries, at least the ones I've been to.

Here is the low-down on Orangeries: 17th century

Merchants began to import orange trees, perhaps as novelty to show off their wealth, from Southern Italy together with other citrus trees, banana plants and pomegranates. None of these would survive a Northern European winter so gardeners had to find ways of protecting the plants and in due course the first orangeries were constructed.

The orangeries were built with south facing glass windows to let in the maximum amount of afternoon sunlight. The windows would have been made with leaded glass and as glass was still blown by hand, the largest flat pieces that could be made would have been approximately 4 inches by 6 inches (10 cms x 15 cms). These windows were set into brick walls while those that faced north were thick and solid to protect against wind and cold. Learning is fun.

So before tea we stopped at a place called Gail, in Portobello Market. They had some amazing sandwiches. I am enjoying one here.

Erin had grains at Gain, some rabbit food of sorts.

It was a good week. As usual it really flew by. Everyday I am learning new things. So far it's been an extremely gratifying experience. Today Erin and I bought our tickets to Cork, Ireland. We're going for 4 days in May. We also purchased our tickets to Paris, for the end of May, we'll be there for 5 days I believe. I'll keep the blog updated each Sunday. It's time consuming but the best way to share my experiences with friends back home, and also to keep a journal of the trip. I have a feeling years from now I'll be looking back on this experience. Again, if there are grammar or spelling errors just ignore them. I am posting this without editing it, just so I can get the pics up.

London Day 13

2009-04-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

This week I wandered through the city a little bit more with Erin and some of my classmates.
This dragon statue lies at the Temple Bar monument. It marks the boundary between the city and Westminster.

This is Covent Garden. I had pictures of it in my last blog. We went back this week to do some shopping. It's a huge tourist area with stores like Diesel, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, Bench, along with a lot of cute little boutiques.

Apple Market @ Covent Garden. Inside this building there are a bunch of street vendors.

This is the pillar that Audrey Hepburn sits on after she spills her flowers in the opening scene of My Fair Lady.

We went on a canal walk with the class. The British canals played a vital role in water transportation during the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to acquire a nationwide canal network. We went on a 3.5 mile walk up the canal and it was really interesting to see how the house boats and the houses changed from really small and simple to huge and luxurious million dollar houses.

This picture was taken at the beginning of the walk, so this is the simplest of houseboats.

The houses start growing further down the canal. These ones are just being built. The finished parts are very modern.

The houses changed into something very post modern, like something out of star trek.

Here we are getting into more swanky house boats. There is a gate around them so you can't get in unless you live there.

And the million dollar houses on the canal.

Erin @ the canal.

The news stands usually have really entertaining headlines. This is the day of the G20 Summit.

This is another Victorian building. It's the St. Pancras train station.

I was walking around Piccadilly Circus and there is a REALLY swanky shop called Fortnum & Mason, and they hade HUGE displays of candy and elegantly placed chocolates and fruit. Irene these pics are for you. :)

We found this adorable cupcake place. This is a blueberry chocolate cheesecake cupcake.
Be jealous. Before and after of Erin. I ate some too.

We went to see a play called 3 Days of Rain with James McAvoy (he's the guy who was in Last King of Scotland and also in Wanted). More about that below.

Oh boy!

After the play we went to the stage door to be creepy stalkers. I was there to support Erin. So I most definitely do not have a future with the paparazzi, because my pictures turned out looking like crap. I was on the outer edge of a mass of people trying to hold my camera over them. James McAvoy is in the center and the other actor is on the right with a hat on. After people starting backing away I convinced one of our classmates to ask James what it was like kissing Angelina Jolie (in the movie Wanted). He said "Ohh I don't even want to go into that." Not sure what that means, but I translated it as: "It was amazing thanks for asking."

No where near paparazzi standards. I fail. Poor me.

Coming home. Our daily ritual, the tube. Takes us about 45 min to get home usually. Damn tube.

- OXFORD -

We spent a day in Oxford. We only visited 2 of the 25 schools but that was enough for me. I'm sure they are all quite similar.

This is Balliol College.

This is a bike in a river. I dunno. I had nothing else to shoot at the moment.

Not sure what building that is in the background.

Kay, Erin and Elizabeth, Oxford.

This is inside Trinity College. Really pretty. It is not illegal to walk on the grass in most parts anymore.

Chapel @ Balliol College.

Information on the Trinity College Chapel. Quite interesting.

Sanctuary @ Trinity College.

Ceiling of Chapel @ Trinity College.

Courtyard @ Balliol College.

Trinity College.

Balliol College.

Christ Church! The Meadow Building.

Christ Church.

Canal running through Oxford. Probably my favorite part of Oxford. It was so peaceful sitting by the water. The whole concept of Oxford sounds so nice, study and get smart, race your little narrow boat around the canal, and sleep on lots of grass. That's oxford-edy.

Cemetary near St. Giles St in Oxford.

Lewis Carrol, the genius behind Alice in Wonderland, got his idea for Alice during a picnic with his the Oxford headmaster and his daughters, one of which was named Alice. This is Alice's Shop in Oxford!

The Eagle and Child is a pub where we stopped for a pint before getting on the train back to London. The bar is owned by St. Johns College, Oxford, and was the meeting place of The Inklings. The Inklings were an Oxford writers club which included J.R.R Tolkein and C.S. Lewis. They used to sit and drink and talk in the back room which is known as the Rabbit Room.

The Rabbit Room @ The Eagle and Child is where I purchased and enjoyed a green beer. Yes green. I've been seeing green beer in every pub since I'd arrived so I had to try it. It was good.

Back in London. Rio & Krista took me to my first football game! I have to say I will be disappointed when I go back to the states and our crowds aren't singing and dancing and calling the players fuckin wankers, cunts, and bitches. You aren't allowed to bring anything (beers or food) into the stadium because the crowds end up throwing them on the pitch, the field. Despite their best efforts to contain us, we still managed to get a pamphlet onto the green after our disappointing 0-0 game. Fuckin wankers.

We went to a bar called the Queen Adeliade after the game.

Erin.

Rio & Krista! They are amazing people.

Soooo that's the end of Week 2. It's been exhilarating and busy. I'm continually lacking sleep, but I don't mind. This week coming up I see Fever Ray and Royksopp. That's going to be amazing. Tomorrow I see a play, Kafka's Monkey, I don't know how that will be. I am in the process of planning a trip to Edinburgh Scotland, as well as Cork Ireland. And yesterday I booked my trip to Stockholm Sweden and Copenhagen Denmark. So I have plenty of excitment coming my way. I'll keep you posted. And if there are any grammatical or spelling errors in this post I apologize-it's late. Goodnight!

London Day 6 - PICS

2009-03-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

I attended a talk at the British Museum about African artists. This was one of my favorite pieces. It's called the tree of life, and is made entirely of recycled guns!

Part of the tree of life.

Another one of my favorite pieces. It looks like something terminator vs preditor-esce.

This is the first room that you walk into at the British Museum.

Notice the amazing roof. This is the reading room, where Karl Marx frequented.

This is a pic inside of the Museum Tavern, a place where Karl Marx used to drink. It's right across the street from the British Museum.

My roommate Erin. Museum Tavern.

Colleen and Drew, two of the more awesome students in my program @ Museum Tavern.

Portobello Market on a very rainy and overcast morning. It's a famous street market much like Pike Place Market. I took this picture just as we arrived early in the morning, but by the time we left it was really busy, you could barely walk, and the dangerous umbrellas made it even more difficult to maneuver through the people.

George Orwell's house on Portobello road. The blue one in the middle.

Yum.

My roommate Erin! We stopped for coffee at a quaint litte cafe on Portobello Road.

Tower Bridge.

Side view of the Tower of London. Original stark fortress built by William the Conqueror. Fuctioned as a fortress, a prison, a royal palace. Served as a place for torture and imprisionment. Currently the home of the crown jewels of the United Kingdom.

Walking into the one square mile known as London City. The museum of London is here.

In the late 2nd century the Romans built the London Wall to keep intruders out. Only a few pieces of the old wall remain. This is one found by the London Museum.

This blue building was constructed recently in London City. In London once a building is torn down, archaeologists have 1 year to dig. I guess archaeologists were so close to uncovering early pre-Roman occupation but day 365 came around and the evidence was covered up by this ugly blue building. Good job London.

Monument built in London city to commemorate the great London fire of 1666, where nearly four fifths of the city was destroyed. I wasn't able to get a close up but there is a gold flame on top. You can walk up to the top, but it's 311 steps - f that.

One of the sides of the monument. Three sides of the monument contain inscriptions in Latin. This side illustrated the actions taken by Charles II after the fire.

Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great.

Gorgeous baptismal with a hat.

This little plaque shows that the painting of Madonna and Child by distinguished Spanish artist Alfredo Roldan once hung here in the Sanctuary.

Another picture of the Sanctuary and the Lady Chapel. From 1539 until the late 1880's the chapel was secularised, being used as a house, a printing works, where Benjamin Franklin worked. There is a medieval crypt beneath the Chapel, but it wasn't open to the public.

Leading into the Lady Chapel and Sanctuary

Ancient organ

The floors are lined with tombs. The tomb belonging to the founder, Prior Rahere, lies North of the High Altar. I don't have a picture of that one specifically. The tomb of Sir Walter & Lady Mary Mildmay also lie here.

Another Sanctuary

Beautiful piece of Victorian architecture, one of the few that bitch Thatcher didn't tear down.

London is full of parks like this where you can go on your lunch break and unwind.

This is the end of week 1. It's been a long one. My day usually starts at 7 and doesn't stop until like 8pm. I could have gotten more pictures, because we saw a lot more than I am sharing here. But I wasn't able to carry my camera at all times. More to come!!

London Day 6

2009-03-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I've been busy nonstop since I arrived in London six days ago. I have a lot of pictures to share and I'll try my best to remember all the facts for each because there was a lot of information being thrown at us during our eight hour excursions of London. For the most part now I'm on my own, no more guided tours. Although one of my teachers Peter, who is also one of the people who have coordinated the Spring in London study abroad program at UofW is extremely knowledgable about everything London.

So before I introduce a few of the pictures I've taken, I have to share a few things that have surprised me since I've been here.

The first of course is that mace is illegal, which I said in my last blog. The 2nd day of class, those of us who had mace were advised not to take it to the police, but to tie it to a rock and throw it into the river. Hardcore huh.

London is one of the most camera monitored cities in the world. This is what I've been told. And I'm not surprised because I see cameras EVERYWHERE.

TV shows in America, like American Idol for instance, are sponsored, and we see those sponsors all over the commercials and in the shows. But here, sponsorship is different. A lot of the American shows I've watched here have labels blurred out, like the judges coke cups on American Idol. Kinda interesting I guess.

Londoners honk (beep) more than any city I've ever been to. And they don't like to slow down if you're in a crosswalk. In fact I swear I hear car engines getting louder as they speed up toward me.

In the pub, Londoners like to buy rounds. It goes around until everybody has bought a round. Most of the beer I've had has not been served warm or room temperature as the guidebooks like to say. Also they like their lemonade. Vodka lemonade seems to be a popular drink here. As well as a beer that is mixed or made with lemonade, it's called a Shandy. Last night I had a beer called BitBurger, so good.

London - Day 4

2009-03-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Jet lagged, jet lagged, jet lagged. I never really knew what that meant until now. When I traveled to Germany when I was 17 I didn't really experience it, probably because I was young and full of energy. The last two days I've been tired and just wanting to sleep. Today is the 4th day and I am finally feeling normal, with the help of a ton of espresso.

Yesterday was our first orientation for class. We took a four hour tour of Central London, which was incredible! More about that down below. One of the many things I didn't know about London:

Mace is illegal! Did you know that?

Today a girl in my program got arrested when an officer asked to search her bag (I guess they are allowed to ask at anytime) and she had mace on her. They confiscated in and told her to move along. In the meantime they called backup and she was arrested by another officer a few minutes later. Intense! Innntense!

Needless to say, it didn't take me more than a minute to dig mine out of my bag and secretly toss it into the trash.

So I haven't taken any pictures yet. The weather has been extremely unpredictable, even more so than Seattle. One minute it's sunny and warm, the next minute cold rain is pelting you in the face.

We went on our first tour of central London yesterday. We saw everything--Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, Palace of Westminster, the British Museum where Karl Marx spent a lot of time in the reading room, and the pub across the street. We walked through the covenant gardens outside of the Actors' Church where Audrey Hepburn was filmed in My Fair Lady. We walked a few of the same paths as Virginia Woolf. We saw so much more but I'll have to write about it on another day.

It's been amazing! Today we're meeting with the class and then taking another walk around the city. I'm going to brave bringing my camera even though the weather is starting out like it did yesterday. But we'll see. Oh yeah, and so far the bus and tube are super easy to use. I thought it would be more complicated.

It's been a great trip so far. I'll have more to write and hopefully some pictures later today.

More Hungry Pines Pre EP

2009-02-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is the second song off of the HP Pre Ep.

You all should know this one, Me & The City? Right? Try to spot the differences between the full length version and this one. There are quite a few. Again, the player is in the top right corner, just hit play. Enjoy.

C

Three Piece Hungry Pines

2009-01-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

Not everybody had the great pleasure of seeing the Hungry Pines play as a three piece. It was different to say the least. Definitely more raw, but also still very melodic. I recently found these recordings, which were ONLY sold at one show, very long ago, at the Nectar lounge. They were recorded by Lucas Carlyle, hand packed, hand taped by Irene and I, and the cover boasted a picture of my brother and I in our bathing suits. I remember during that show my pedals went out and I spent almost an entire song trying to fix them. Needless to say I think it went pretty well. We sold all of what we called our "PRE EP" cd's, and that night we made our public shout out for a bassist. We had a few offers but the decision went to our friend Bryce. You all know the story from there.

Anyway for a limited time only, I am putting up the new (old) versions of the songs on my blog! Get em hot while ya can. The three songs are Bullring, Final Number, and Me & The City. I think they sound pretty different. Not only is Bryce's bumpin bass missing from the mix, but Irene and I have some guitar licks that aren't found in the new songs. Also her melodies have changed, and possibly some lyrics even. Anyway enjoy this little piece of the past. If it doesn't start on it's own, just hit that litte play button on the mp3 player in the right hand corner.
This week's feature - Bullring!

C

a little something i found, well, hilarious.

2008-09-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

Girls, listen to Palin and just don't get raped ok?

UPDATE

2008-09-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

I have officially begun the screen-printing process for the first ever CHOCOLATE DIPPED CAT EARS t-shirts!

I still haven't decided on the perfect picture but by Fri (tomorrow) I will have made my decision.

Last night I started the emulsion process, Friday I burn the screens, and as soon as my t-shirts get in, I'll start painting those bitches! Check back for more updates!

the latest and greatest - Hazel

2008-09-09T13:38:00.001-07:00

with great moustache comes great responsibility

2008-09-07T13:34:00.001-07:00

the importance of having a moustache.

peter is so smart . . .

and actually you should probably just watch the whole episode . . . There is a part where Peter has a stroke and drives while singing "it's the end of the world as we know it!!!" it's awesome. There's also some making fun of will smith.

children of the revolution

2008-09-07T08:50:00.001-07:00

storm game 08

2008-09-07T08:10:00.001-07:00

we successfully raided the storm game last night @ key arena. With bustaches on our faces and miller lites in hand we blew the minds of storm fans everywhere.

too bad we didn't make it on the big screen . . .

here are the pictures in no particular order. (because blogger makes it impossible to place pictures on here without screwing them up somehow) It's easier to just import them all at once and leave them where they fall.

recycling is fun!!

bustache game face

call me v. v for vendetta.

bustaches and miller lite go hand in hand. coors would have been better but they don't serve coors at storm games.

samantha and mel at phuket after the game. taking a break from the bustaches.

yah that's the stuff.

bustaches, let us shimmy up this wall and we'll get to our seats faster.

chrysti is vengence.

samantha and jamie

b b b ba bustache

mmhmm, hits the spot.

chrysti and mel.

yes! YES!

yah girl. drinking a beer with a bustache isn't as easy as it looks.

WHA!

samantha and jamie @ phuket.

wha bam!

gr.

serious game faces goin on.

mmm that's enough to scare all the little girls away.

BUSTACHES! HEY! where's the van??

more game face.

we had a lot of bustache meetings to discuss our next moves.

giving my face a little relief.

true bustache game face. don't you forget it.

thank you for following jamie, samantha, mel, irene and chrysti on our little journey through a storm game. remember, always wear protection--never leave home without your bustache.

BE SAFE WEAR A BUSTACHE!

2008-09-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

ladies . . . prepare your bustaches . . . because SATURDAY, we raid the Storm game.

Even Bolan is wearing his bustache.

watch this video it'll get you ready for the glam that is awaiting you, bustache style.

if you aren't familiar with the term "bustache," here it is defined by the urban dictionary:

Bustache	:
	In the great metropolitan city of Seattle we have an ever progressive bus system. But on our wonderfully convenient buses, bums like to wander. In and out they go, winter, summer, spring and fall. Often times they are loony, and speak peaceful gibberish words into your ear. When earphones, sunglasses, and a hood won't shield you from uncomfortable bus chatter and no longer keep you safe from these migrant babblers, you wear the cleverly fashionable BUSTACHE!! A bustache, is a mustache, that you wear in the bus. (Or anytime that you need to ward off crazies.) I'm glad I wore my bustache to the Seattle Storm game, it kept me feeling safe and confident during those awkward conversations. *chrysti h

BE SAFE BITCHES AND WEAR A BUSTACHE!

space needle from mi casa

2008-09-03T21:45:00.001-07:00

strawberry delite

2008-09-02T20:51:00.001-07:00

you asked for it, you got it. the latest in chocolate dipped cat ears. strawberry delite. eat it up.

also -- I have important news. I'm going to begin pressing t-shirts and sweatshirts of these adorable little cats who have been gooed up. How many of you people would be interested in purchasing a t-shirt or sweatshirt with your choice of flavor and cat? I'm serious.

home sick - taking a day trip

2008-09-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last week I had to take Thurs and Fri off because I had been feeling under the weather most of the week. It wasn't a lie. I really needed a day off, physically and mentally. Close to the weekend I started feeling really claustrophobic in the house so I grabbed the camera and took a day trip to a park in West Seattle called Jack Block Park.

It was really interesting. It was where industrial meets Puget sound. I try to take all of my pictures in Raw format, so they are really large. If you want to see the detail in the pictures click on them to make them full screen.

the pier.

as if I wasn't feeling crappy enough, it was a really dreary day.

there was this area where all of these octopus had gotten stuck into the fence. Seriously creepy. They were all dried out from the sun but their eyeballs were still visible. Gross. I am NEVER eating Octopus.

you could see the space needle on all of the trails. It was cool. Not that I don't see enough of the space needle from my house. But this is a new perspective.

the whole park was very rustic. Which was cool because you had these parts where the beauty of the water and the plant life of the park kissed the metal and the rust of the industrial.

tracks meet dinosaurs.

beautiful fall colors.

an anchor.

the city unanimous with the bars.

this is a picture I took near my work. I thought that it fit well here because the rustic is running into nature.

underside of those nasty octopus, floating all precarious like. without a worry in the world.

shore.

The same day that I took my day trip the cat was at the vet getting spayed. She got home and was totally drugged out but wanting to play. So I took some pics of her in her "stoned" state. Her eyes were REALLY
dilated. It was hilarious.

She couldn't run without falling sideways. I didn't capture her falling over in this pic but you can see her adorable sleepy eyes.

summer days of fun

2008-08-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Hallie, Jarod, Irene & I decided to take a day drip to Poulsbo and Port Orchard just to get out of Seattle and hang out by the lake. Irene secretly wanted to go to Poulsbo to go look at the RV's but the rest of us put the kibosh on that idea and instead we ate breakfast and then headed out to Wildcat lake in Bremerton to catch some rays. But before we left Poulsbo I snapped some pics of one of Irene's fondest treats-donuts and cookies. There was this adorable little bakery that had big ol' gingerbread donuts and these cute cookies with sad faces. The cookies had sad faces because we were all too full from breakfast to fit the cookies and gingerbread donuts into our bellies. So we left for Wildcat lake.

Whe we arrived at Wildcat lake Irene and I blew up our inflatable kayaks and paddled around in the water for a bit while Hallie tanned. Later there were kayak races and bit of frisbee throwing. See we were trying to work up our appetites in order to indulge in really, the main reason why we went to Bremerton in the first place, KING WOK'S BUFFET!! ALL YOU CAN EAT CRAB LEGS!!!! Jarod and I ate the shit out of some crab legs. All I had were crab legs and egg drop soup. Even though the have toooonnnnnssss of other good food, including sushi.

So we ate some awesome buffet, hung out and watched the Olympics at a bar, went to this strange pet store where I took pics of some weird fish, and then headed back on the ferry. All of the pictures from the trip are below.

the latest victim - the serial cat dipper, will your cat be next?

2008-08-28T14:57:00.003-07:00

Now available in Chocolate, Caramel & Vanilla!!!

warning, do not open if you are known to experience episodes of deep arachnophobia

2008-08-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

So in Tucson we not only survived some brutal monsoons but we also encountered some pretty nasty spiders. Here are a few pictures I snapped of the arachnids of Tucson.

You probably DON'T want to touch this one.

hmmm . . . I wouldn't touch this one either. Click on this picture, you can see it's eyeball, nasty.