Rolling Around Normandy

Hey look everyone! This is me catching up with my blog. How, you ask? Because I am on a train to Paris... and then a train to London. The end of my foreign travels, soon to return to lovely England. 

Anticipating my return to bad weather, Normandy has given us a fair expectation of what's to come. Cold, breezy, and the mingling of rain with sunshine. Just the way I like it. We got off the train in Caen two mornings ago to a chill in the air and non-committal sunny skies. Tyler picked up the rental car, which we piled into and headed via Bayeux to Mont Saint Michel. We could see it from afar, a strange cone rising over the expansive lush green fields. Even as we approached, we were unable to see the water above which the hill rose, yet there it was; a perfect cone with spiraling ramparts leading up to the hill top abbey.  Have you ever had a scoop of ice cream with so many various toppings that they all threaten to tumble off the now-unseeable dairy to each side? That is what the Mont Saint Michel looked like, and who knows if there was actually any rock underneath.

Well, given the sudden onslaught of proper wind and rain, we elected to take the tram across the now visible sand flats instead of walking. Even the exposed walk from the tram stop to the city gates left us soaked from the wetness. We soggily climbed the ramparts straight up to the abbey, leaving the narrow, winding street below. The abbey and cloisters were extensive, confusing, and dark. Since the complex was built atop a hill over centuries, the components all intersect in mysterious ways. All types of archetecture were visible among the cloisters, cathedral, dining facilities, and rooms. Somehow all the rooms seemed to be stacked in an offset manner, all with towering columns and high vaulted arches. Perhaps the weirdest part was that we started (and ended) on the same level, but it felt like we kept going down 'underground' into rooms with windows. I imagine it would be quite easy to get lost if you're alone in the dark...

That took several hours, so we only had a couple hours to waste in the feeble sunlight/rain before the galloping tide came in. We walked through a couple shops, watched the full moon rise (behind many clouds), and grabbed dinner, now only able to hear the gushing water in the darkness. At last, the clouds dissipated and the moon's reflection on the water showed us what we had been hoping to see: an entirely filled basin of water. The cone was now truly an island once more. 

After a great night's sleep at a semi-secluded country b&b, we got an early start yesterday  on hitting a selection of D-Day sights. Our first destination was the German Cemetary, which we incidentally entered just as the sun came over the horizon. We were the only ones there, and the effect was stunning. Silent rows of five short, black pumice crosses indicated the blocks of graves. Gray leafless trees stood scattered about the cemetary. A stone pathway led straight from the entrance to a tall mound in the center of the site. It was adorned with a tall black pumice cross which sheltered a pair of 9ish-foot pumice women in robes, perhaps Mary and Mary Magdalen. These figures looked down the slopes of the hill in peaceful watch over the dead below. The understated graves were made of flat red granite stones, such that they could not easily be seen from a distance. Each grave contained two bodies, whose names (if known) were engraved on the stone. The black and gray of the path, trees, and crosses contrasted greatly with the firey sunrise, blue sky, and vivid grass. It was peaceful, sobering... and very understated, as if to say, "We may not deserve it but don't forget, we suffered too." I found it to be a powerful introduction to the day.

Contrast this with the American Cemetary, which - while covering a significantly greater area - contained half the number of bodies. Similar to Arlington, the US Cemetary of Normandy was arrayed in perfect rank and file with thousands of gleaming waist high white marble crosses (and Stars of David, as applicable). Each provided the name, rank, and company of the serviceman buried there. The front of the cemetary had a semi-circle colonnade with a statue in the middle and the inscription, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." The middle also had a chapel for both Christian and Jewish faiths. Where the German cemetary was small, understated, and next to a highway, the American cemetary was large, grandiose, and next to Omaha Beach. Both were solemn and paid rightful tribute to their fallen. Both seemed to echo the pain and sorrow felt on these fields. Yet the character of each was different, exemplified by the contrast between the innumerable white headsones versus the distributed black markers. Whether portraying heads held high or hung in shame, the two cemetaries complimented each other; they depicted two sides of a grim war that returned millions to the dust from which they came. And further, we noticed that the same sun rises each day, not just over the white headstones, but the black markers as well. Humans do seem to be funny creatures.

Between the two cemetaries, we went to the shore to see Point du Hoc. This was where the Rangers scaled the cliffs early on D-Day, following a multi-month barrage. 225 rangers started the climb but only 90 were effective (i.e. not seriously wounded/dead) at the end of the day. In spite of taking heavy fire from above, their rope ladder climb was successful in allowing them to drive the Germans away from this key battery. The landscape is still riddled with artillery holes from the barrage, in addition to the rubble from the partially ruined structures. Thanks to rain off the coast and the rising sun behind us, we also had the benefit of seeing a complete rainbow, a sign of peace. 

Failing to recognise the sign of coming rain, we also managed to get soaked again. This led to a chilly and soggy remainder of the day. To evade the chill for a bit, we grabbed lunch in a tiny port town (Port-en-Bessin) at a joint called La Marina. Most of us had pancakes (European style, like a crepe), but dad had an omlette, which was apparently the best he's ever eaten. The waiter was also really friendly, which went along swimmingly with the modern artistic decor. 

The afternoon, which started rather late, ensued from the Longues-Sur-Mer Battery, four near in-tact turrets on the cliffs looking over the English Channel. The guns apparently had a range of 12 miles, so it was important for bombers to neutralize the guns. Even though the bombers were quite accurate, it took a naval barrage to finish off the job. Hoorah! The best part about many of these sites was that one could climb in and around the abandoned equipment and structures.  That made it much more interesting to envision what it was like to participate in the invasion. 

Our last site, the beaches at Arromanches, revealed the marvels of British engineering. The mulberry harbour consisted of a long stretch of deployable breakwaters that were used as docks to off load massive amounts of supplies to support the troops in the months following the invasion. Like something from Star Wars, the massive docks were floated and then anchored into place. From these docks, pontoon bridges stretched to the shore; trucks drove around the clock to offload the supplies from the 'temporary' docks to the shore. Seventy years later and the deployable harbour remains, a lasting testament to the strength of the engineering undertaken. Now, a small humble monument has been erected at the top of a hill outside town, with a long but faint text to recognize the efforts of the hundreds of thousands of Royal Engineers that were involved in the war, including the 6000+ who died. 

In the evening, we found practically the only open restaurant in Bayeux, a cheap local diner. It was a good cultural experience but a weak culinary one; Tyler's hot dog 'sausages' were pretty pathetic and my onion soup was merely sufficient. But we walked the empty streets and went home early in preparation for today.

Yes, today. I don't talk about today very often, but here I am, on the aforementioned New Years Eve Eurostar. This morning we arose early to check out the Bayeux Tapistry, an 800 year old embroidery that - over 60 continuous meters - tells the story of William the Conqueror's invasion of England. It's pretty cool to see a 60-meter long tapistry, and the accompanying audioguide explained each important event frame by frame. It seems the artists were quite creative, even depicting details like wading out into the water without footwear to push boats of towards England. 

Well, that is about all from France. It will be good to speak the right language again, drive on the left again, and get back to my tea and scones (the only good food in England... just kidding!). We certainly have adventures ahead, however, from New Years Eve celebrations at the London Eye tonight to the return to beautiful Oxford next week. Hooray England!

Paris Frenzy

Do you ever find yourself doing things faster than you can keep track? Well here I am. In a perfect world, I am about to tell you about three days in Paris and two days in Normandy. In this more likely world, I will just write about Paris and go to bed when I finish in two hours. Bets anyone?

Well slept from our Christmas amusements, we hit Musee d'Orsay early on Boxing day. Tyler and Rachael utilised a Rick Steves audio guide (I will save my rant on Rick Steves for another blog) while my parents and I took a slightly more natural approach. Recalling from my previous visit (2008), I took hem around this extremely peculiar gallery; the railroad station-shaped layout, the massive clock, the strange conglomeration of Louvre rejects... but this time I found a much greater understanding of the works owing to my expanded knowledge. Naturally, Van Gogh's self portrait and studio were two great works, but this time I also recognised 'Whistler's Mother' and Detaille's 'Le Reve.' I also had a better appreciation for the sculptures and was happy to see my parents take a liking to Impressionism. 

Moving on from the odd museum, I took my parents along the Seine (Tyler and Rachael had a significantly more complex itinerary than we, so we parted ways) up to the Pont du Arts, where thanks to a little foresight, I was able to produce an engraved lock for them to add to the literal thousands that adorn the bridge. Of course the story is that a couple who puts a lock on the bridge and throws the keys into the water will have a lifetime of happy marriage, or something like that. Playing the role of 5th wheel, it's not my job to know these things... only to provide locks engraved with T&R and R&E to respective couples. Anyway, this led to sauntering through the Latin Quarter accompanied by a pair of crepes, as we approached the Pantheon.

Wait, another Pantheon? Indeed, my second in just a week, but it was oh so good. I had never been inside in my previous trips, so I was enamoured to learn about the world's first Foucalt pendulum (a pendulum that keeps time) and the many people buried in the crypt - Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, the Curies, Alexandre Dumas, among others. Who knew? So head to head: architecture- Roman pantheon win. History- again Rome. Science- Paris. Cool dead people- Paris. Mom is still getting both confused with the Greek Parthenon. Unrelated much?

That wasn't enough activity for one day, so I grabbed street chicken and roasted potatoes on our way to the Louvre. Oh yeah, we also took a walk through of Notre Dame,  decked out for Christmas. We were pretty knackered by the Louvre, which made it tricky to keep our focus. Thus we pretty much hit highlights (though I decided that my third visit made a guide book worthwhile for details). Winged Victory, Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast at Cana, Venus de Milo, and Hammurabi's code completed the standard repertoire. I also quite enjoyed 'The Coronation of Napoleon' by JL David. Having met up with Tyler and Rachael and lost the fight to exhaustion, we quit the Louvre in favour of dinner (Onion Soup; some call it 'French') and sleep.

Another reason for the 'early' quit was our impending day at Versailles. Located outside the city, we caught the train out before walking up to the guilded gates. Unbelievably shiny, yes, but somehow surreal, and almost fake. They were strange. And that is a perfect word. The building and rooms were grand, but certainly strange. The chapel was the best looking room (though they had the in-palace opera house closed off), and the others were just... there. Actually, I did enjoy the hall of battles, full of massive paintings depicting major French military victories (Did you mean, 'French military defeats'?) including Charles Martel, Yorktown, and myriad Napoleonic conquests. I think the best part of the estate was the gardens, in spite of all the statues being covered and the fountains still. The main concourse was massive, and we walked almost endlessly to get to Marie Antoinette's two summer retreats, the greater and lesser trianons (which were palaces in their own right). Louis XIV was clearly reckless with half of France's GDP; it's no wonder why the people rebelled against the later, weaker Louis XVI. Surprise of the day: The Treaty of Versailles (settling negotiations between axis and allies after WWI) was signed in the Hall of mirrors. No mention of this fact is made is

on palace grounds. Anyone know why?

So that basically took a whole day. Friday was back to the Paris madness. At the Rodin museum - or should I say 'Ro-Dan' - I successfully imitated almost all of the master's displayed works, including 'The Thinker.' In my excitement to see the 'Gates of Hell' however, I failed to make an impersonation. Interesting that I have now seen Gates of Paradise and Gates of Hell in consecutive weeks. What does it say about the two that the first are in gold and the latter simply bronze?

Once again, Tyler and Rachael chose this time to part company for the day in an effort to complete their ambitious itinerary. My parents and I walked across to Invalides in order to see Napoleon I's tomb. The Invalides has a gleaming gold dome that can be seen aceoss town. The emperor is laid in what seems to be a 'humble' two-story red granite coffin adorned with almost zero decoration. Nonetheless, it sits on a pedestal in the crypt with an open ground floor above, such that it lays immediately below the brilliant frieze in the top of the dome. It is an amazing sight, and hard to believe that this man was worth such adornment. 

As we soon walked north with baguettes in hand, we crossed the Alexander III bridge, which I think is the city's most splendid. Since it was on our way and we had a bit of extra time to play with, we stopped by the L'Orangerie gallery, home to Monet's 'Water Lillies.' These two pastels fit within a pair of large elliptical rooms with no beginning and no end. Blues with a few oranges and greens fill the continuous band of each painting. Though I had not heard of (nor therefore included) this gallery before the trip, it was a pleasant surprise to visit, a definite highlight of the Paris leg! 

Speaking of definite surprises, our last major stop was the Opera Garnier. The National Opera is, of course, the inspiration for Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera. I came last year with Kalli to marvel at its corridors (its hall of mirrors is actually much more splendid than Versailles'), but this time the loges were open and I could gaze around the marvellous theatre. Unique modern ceiling art, guilded everything, lush red velvet seats... mark my words, I will see an opera there some day. I insist!

Finally, we went out for a nice dinner at La Coupole. I went with roasted duck served with glazed apple and mango. I also opted for Crepes Suzette, a sugar crepe, flambeed in Grand Marnier. It was very orangy, but very very tasty. Alas, good bye Paris. An amazing week gone so soon, and as yet so much still to see and do. Good thing there's always a next time!

And as for the real world, I am 90 minutes in and falling asleep. So good night, sleep well, and see you soon for Normandy!

Joyeux Noel de Paris!

Buon Natale, Joyeux Noel, and Merry Christmas!

I am of course writing from Paris, the middle leg of our excellent adventure, here to fill you in on all the adventures we have undertaken thus far. 

Having joined my parents at our short term rental apartment next to the Seine and the Trocadero, we settled in ahead of Tyler and Rachael's arrival. Taking off on our own, we visited the Sainte Chapelle constructed by Sainte Louis (King Louis IX of France) in the early 1200s. It contains 15 floor to ceiling stained glass panels, which depict the entirety of Genesis through Christ's ascension. Marvellous is an inderstatement, but it took us quite a while to get oriented to the tiny glass scenes that filled the panels. Speaking of churches, we also climbed the 387 steps to the top of Notre Dame Cathedral, which I hadn't done since my trip with Marjorie in 2008. It (and the gargoyles) were every bit as good as I remembered, plus I am now able to spot important landmarks on the horizon. On the downside, mom wasn't exactly thrilled about climbing all those steps, but she caught her breath while taking in the views.

Next up, we took the Metro down to Denfert-Rochereau stop in the south in order to see the catacombs. Again, it was my first visit since '08 and I quite enjoued it. There is nothing like millions of 500 year-old bones arranged in decorative patterns! This time it was dad who was a bit less than thrilled (something about low ceilings and floor-to-ceiling bones being weird), but he pushed through the 2 km underground necropolis. Welcome to Paris mom and dad! :-)

Since it was late-ish on Sunday, we grabbed croque monseurs (lit. 'Mr. Crunch') - grilled ham and cheese - before relaxing and awaiting Tyler and Rachael's arrival. Yum!

Monday brought about a plethora of fun. We started by climbing the Arc de Triomphe, providing us with splendid views allaround town. It sits in the middle of a 12-entrance roundabout, so we enjoyed watching the chaos of vehicles flying in and out of the circle. Tyler pointed out the oddity that automobiles on the roundabout always yield to entering vehicles, something I found quite strange. With beautiful weather, we all also enjoyed viewing Sacre Coeur, the Champs Elyses, La Defense, and the Eiffel Tower. There are now many pictures.

From there we headed down the Champs Elyses for some *ahem* Christmas shopping at the best Christmas markets. In truth, we all just gorged on sweets and lunch foods, which was ok with me. I found tartiflette, a quasi-new French treat for me, in addition to a variety of sugary items. A couple macarons turned out pretty bad though..

After that, we split from Tyler and Rachael who went to look at some impressionist water lillies at L'Orangerie museum, while my parents and I hiked around Montmartre - artistic oasis and hilltop home of the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. My route taken this time, from the west, was much less dodgy and disappointing than the direct route taken in '08. Nonetheless, the church and its immediate surroundings were still packed solid with tourists and - worse - cheap souvenir salesmen. Overall, my impression of the place improved slightly, but I still find the setting to be extremely disappointing. 

Following a quick nap at the flat, we met with Tyler and Rachael and headed off to Christmas Eve service at the American Cathedral. It was packed and long, but beautiful. I really enjoyed singing some verses in French! From there, it was off to late dinner, a proper French Christmas dinner at a friend of Tyler's...

How proper? Starting at 9:30 pm...

Hors d'ouevres (salmon, caviar dip, olives, chorizo, crackers)

First course (foie gras (!), cherry jam, and dried figs with crostini)

Second Course (seafood gratin [mussels, shrimp, cod, onions in cream under cheese])

Third Course (quail, sauteed mushrooms, and olive polenta)

Cheese board (goat, cow, roquefort, etc etc)

Dessert (buche de noel! hooray!)

Ok, so we ate a lot and left really late, but it was REALLY good :-) European hospitality is fantastic, and they sure know how to throw a dinner party!

Finally it was Christmas! Tyler and Rachael put gifts in everyone's shoes and mom had brought table gifts from the States. We had some raisin bread and almond croissants for breakfast before beginning our busy itinerary of sitting around all day. It was excellent! We had dinner at 1500, consisting of chickens, potatoes, carrots, and cran-blackberry sauce. This was followed up with fresh eclairs and Italian grappa before we bundled up and headed to the Eiffel Tower. The tower was rammed with like minded tourists, but it was still excellent to look out over Paris on Christmas night. Perhaps we were a bit wind swept, but I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas in Paris. I am so grateful to my parents and Tyler and Rachael for spending the holidays here! 

And of course they aren't the only ones. While I can't be everywhere at once, I often think of my family and friends abroad; to my grandparents and extended family, my Herndon and PBC friends, my NC State crew, and my housemates, lab partners, and Keble/Dancesport friends in Oxford, thank you all for making 2012 a special year! I miss you all!

With that, in the words of Tiny Tim, merry Christmas and 'God bless us, every one!'

Firenze, et al.

Laying in bed a stone's throw from Le Tour Eiffel with a bedroom window view of Sacre Coeur, I suppose it would be good to wrap up Italy by sumarising our lovely time in Tuscany.

Arriving at a clearly Soviet era train station in Florence, I was first put off about the impending days in Italy's city of arts, an impression that swiftly dissipated. We dropped our bags, grabbed some tasty pastries (nutella pie takes the cake) and hit the museums. First: the Accademia, Florence's former school of arts, and present home to the magnificent 'David' by Michelangelo. Fifteen feet tall, gleaming white, and unabashedly naked, the statue of David reveals a calm and even suave hero, much different from the action pose struck by the David in Rome's Borghese gallery. The statue was brilliant.

Then we proved once again that the world really is small - out of the crowd stepped a friend from the dance team, Naomi, who I was quite excited to see on this chance encounter! Recalling my 2008 travels, this wasn't the first time I accidentally met a friend in front of a famous work of art, but nonetheless it is amazing all the same. And yes, Naomi and I both recognized that David's settled hip put him in a perfect position for cha cha. Ah, dance.

Next stop was the Museo dell' Opera Duomo, the museum for Florence's medieval cathedral. Aside from the amazing 'Gates of Paradise,' a 10 paned, gold plated pair of doors depicting old testament scenes, I was only moderately impressed with the museum. I suppose the gleaming silver cross and mantlepiece were pretty good too.

For lunch, we dined at Verrazzano, where we enjoyed a tasty board of mixed foccacias, such as proscuitto with parma and savory roasted onion with olive oil. I also enjoyed a thick, rich drinking chocolate, which is much thicker and chocolatier than hot chocolate. I need to have that more often :-) Tyler went for a glass of red and Rachael stuck to water, but we collectively destroyed the foccacia. Go to Italy. Eat foccacia. Experience a new culinary world.

We spent the afternoon at the famed Uffizi Museum, which was founded in the late 1700s. In addition to the large collection of Raphaels, The museum houses 'The Birth of Venus,' (Botticelli painting), 'Venus of Urbino' (Titian painting), and 'Medici Venus' (Ancient Greek sculpture). Having seen these works in photos, it was actually much more interesting to see them in person. I wonder how much of their fame is bred in itself - surely these works would hardly be noticed today if some people centuries ago hadn't promoted their supposed brilliance? Nonetheless, the works were still impressive and I am glad I had the chance to see them.

Finally, we meandered through the freezing cold up to the Piazza de Michelangelo, a hilltop plaza across the river. It afforded us some beautiful night time views of the city, and especially the Duomo (cathedral) which towered above the rest. With a few clicks from the camera (ok, more than a few), we marched back down the hill and had a chic dinner on the Arno (gnocchi in gorgonzola!). The free jazz (and post dinner gelato) made the evening complete.

On the second day, we began the morning by climbing the Duomo cathedral dome. The cathedral's exterior was white marble with elaborate green marble patterns and rose marble highlights. The inside, in contrast, was very plain; Florence had a lot of money - thus the fancy exterior to show off to the world - but wanted worshippers to focus on God instead of decor while attending mass. The dome and the accompanying bell tower dominate the Florentine skyline, so the views were fantastic. Sure enough, the soviet train station stuck out in comparison to the yellow stucco walls and red tile roofs.

We also hopped over to their covered market for a lunch of their local specialty, ribolleta - a mushy mixture of bread bits, canneloni (white beans), spinach, a mysterious yellow stew base, and topped off with a dousing of olive oil. We quite enjoyed it, but I can see where others wouldn't.  Of course, this brought about a cheeky mid afternoon nap. Post nap, we meandered out into the cold again to view Pitti Palace, home of the Medicis turned art gallery. I think this was my least favorite- it seemed to go on for interminable length. The art could barely keep me awake, but I think the best part was the building itself. Rachael and I particularly enjoyed the 'White Room,' with almost a dozen  diamond-laden chandeliers sending rays of light bouncing off the mirrors, white walls, ceiling, and carpet.

Anyway, another fantastic pizza destroyed (this time at Yellow Box) and we meandered the streets strung with decorations and lights back to the hotel.

And that brings us to Friday. The fateful day when we rented a car to drive around Italy. Of course, we knew we were in for it when we literally got lost pulling out of the lot. 20 minutes later, after a stop at a gas station for a map and broken-English directions, we were finally on our way.

The first stop was a quick one in Pisa on the coast. The leaning tower was the whole point of the day trip, but we did not see the need to spend long in the city. The lean of the tower is more surreal in person than in the pictures, and it was interesting to see a structure that (unlike all other old structures in Italy) wasn't perfect. Of course, its imperfection has made it all the more popular through the years. From Pisa, we drove northeast to Lucca, a medieval town known for its fully in-tact city wall. We wandered the tiny city streets for a bit, almost failed to express our lunch order to an Italian waiter, and bought a few of the most delicious oranges (we saw olive and orange trees throughout our Italian travels; we were ready to give them a try!). I also convinced Tyler and Rachael to rent bikes with me for an hour so we could make a couple laps around the wall. Our one-hour rental allowed us two laps plus a stop to explore some of the ancient Roman fortifications. The city was very quaint and I would love to go back! Turning south east, we drove through tiny towns on country roads as the clementine-orange sun drooped behind the rustic hills. We rolled into Siena shortly after dark (maybe 5 pm?) and walked straight to the center of town. Their medieval city hall sat dramatically at the center of a half-bowl shaped plaza lined with restaurants and overlooked by a facade of buildings. The large, enclosed plaza was a sight to behold at night, so we sat down for dinner to prolong our stay. For my last Italian meal, I chose a tasty, rustic risotto served - as always - with bread and a glass of wine. The quaint shops gave me the opportunity to purchase an original sheet of 'original' (random) medieval music (buried under a stack of art), but I hesitantly decided that 42 Euros was a bit expensive for my tastes. Sigh...

The next morning, I went back to the Florence market for some real olive oil and pasta before checking out Dante Aligheri's house. The 'Casa di Dante' museum was quite poorly laid out, but it still portrayed that the circumstances surrounding Dante's life in Florence were very confusing. The political factions amoung the guilds and ruling classes provided a spectrum of motives as people vied for power. No wonder Dante's 'Divine Comedy' is so full of references, distributing the good and bad of Florentine society to the three heavenly realms. I am quite keen to read the trilogy again... though my reading list is way too long.

Alas, I reached the end of my time in Florence. Parting with Tyler and Rachael (who would follow a day later), I flew north to Paris, France - the land of baguettes, the Eiffel Tower, and..... my parents! In the next episode, I will outline the run up to Christmas.


Ciao, Grazie.... and Bonjour!

20 Tuscan Tidbits

So. We're in a car driving ambiguously around the Italian Countryside. It's the perfect time to tell you about fun cultural things.

Fact number one. Italians do wear togas. Frequently. Ok, maybe not... but they are quite fashionable, pulling out the scarves and tobaggins all the time.

Two. Especially in big cities, the Italians love their motor scooters/bikes. They fit in narrow streets, evade pedestrians, and are much cheaper to power than cars.

Three. The broad countryside is dotted with umbrella pines, olive trees, and cyprus; otherwise it's open, rolling, and golden. Beautiful!

Four. Almost everyone speaks some English. sigh... Nonetheless, my Italian vocab now includes great words such as grazie (thank you), pane (bread), uscita (exit), and olio (oil). 

Five. The food here is as good as its reputation... and better. The handmade pasta (gnocchi, ravioli, spaghetti, conchiglia, etc), pesto, bread, pastries (occohio di bue, canolli, nutella pies, chocolate dipped anything), and gelato are glorious. We ate more than our share :-)

Six. Public toilets typically have an ante chamber with a sink. A place for people to queue? Dunno.

Seven. An unreasonable amount of good art resides here. Period.

Eight. If you can't build it in marble or brick, why build it?

Eight-a. If you build something it WILL be buried. It will be built over. Maybe twice. If you're lucky, it will then be unearthed. 

Nine. Italians are extremely friendly, even if they don't always show it. Grazie goes a long way.

Ten. As a tourist, someone WILL try to sell you a laser pointer, an umbrella, a cheap purse, a scarf, a light up toy helicopter, or a squishy goo ball on the streets. Sometimes the same item by two people within 50 feet of each other. No time of day is safe.

...And a few things I have learned about us...

Fact number one. Italian has a million different sounds for c, cc, ci, ce, ca, etc. We have spent a week screwing up words like 'sausicce' and 'Lucca.'

Two. Tyler has a thing about setting off alarms in museums. It happened twice. (The second time happened here in Florence; see next blog.)

Three. Rachael has a thing against cheap Italian leather... but 5 Euro jeans are ok.

Four. I ate everything. Always. Time to get back to the dance floor...

Five. Tyler apparently can't manage to go through doors the correct direction, inevitably pulling everytime it should be a push and vice versa. 

Six. Upon first showing me a famous work of art, it is apparently 

likely that I will not only imitate the work of art, but I'll imitate it all across town in front of other masterful works of art. See: 'Discobolus' by Myron 460 BC.

Seven. Rachael packed a battery powered string of Christmas lights. Guess what was blinking merrily through a backpack as it came down the luggage carosel? The most festive luggage in Rome.

Eight. I like stairs and walking. In 'excess.' Yup, I'm doing a good job making sure T and R get their daily exercise. Today I even got them to rent bikes for an hour with me. Tyler < thrilled.

Nine. In addition to foccacia-gate, we have also failed to figure out D.O.P. It is written on all cheese and we have no idea what it means, until now: Denominazione di Origine Protetta. This apparently means that certain products (parmagian, proscuitto di parma, balsamico di Modena, etc) may only come from a specific city in order to be authentic. Dan di USA, D.O.P.

Ten. The world didn't end, in spite of the fact that we rented a car, drove to Pisa, Lucca, and Siena, all on the power of a four function calculator. Well, almost. Looks like I'm off to Paris tomorrow after all!

Ciao Grazie Ciao. Prego.

Pizza. What IS pizza? Is it a disk of flatbread coated in herbaceous red gloop, topped in white shreds? A geometric conundrum even pythagoras would be intrigued by? Or have we allowed ourselves to be limited in our definition, failing to explore the full potential of this ancient culinary marvel? Enter Rome, where pizza and foccacia are merely fifty shades of beige; where pizza is served in the form of a rectangular sauceless foccacia-like flat bread sandwich and foccacia comes as a crispy, round disk over-laid with proscuitto and goats cheese. But this is only one of Rome's many marvels.

Sunday, sunny Sunday began with a trip to the colosseum. Like so many before, we were eager to check out what surprises the stadium had in store. Huge marble facade outside, innumerable (collapsed) brick arches inside, the five tiered structure was a marvel of civil engineering like none other. On the tour, we walked down to the basement, amomg travertine marble supports and broken down staging areas for the now-absent floor above. Slaves, gladiators, and starving beasts would all wait in the smelly, hot, dark corridors while listening to the cheers of the crowd, the roaring of animals, and the pounding of the wood floor overhead. Of course, Rome would be in decline soon enough; the last games were held in c. 563, and the towering structure (like everything else in the city) was partially buried and dismantled for scrap-marble (much of which went towards building the Vatican!).

Passing by the Constantine arch (made prominent by Musollini...yawn) we headed to the incredible Roman forum. A funny thing happened on the way to the forum (sorry, couldn't resist): I bought a drawing of the colosseum from a street vendor for my collection. The forum was in its own right spectacular. The home and burial sites of Julius Caesar sat next to a small rock strewn grassy plaza, surrounded by monumental columns and the remnants of gigantic temples. One can only imagine the splendour of even this fragment of the ancient forum, with the colosseum beyond and Palantine Hill above; and that's not even at the peak of the empire 2000 years ago. My only regret is the fact that I came across a project being researched by one of my Oxford engineering compatriots; the magnicent Basilica of Constantine, longer than a football field and as high as the colosseum. Sigh... to think I could have worked here...

After lunch (we made a habit of eating at 2:30) we climbed the Palantine hill and Capitoline Hill in succession. The views leading up to sunset were only marginally less spendid than the broken buildings we were standing around, and I felt a bit like Nero watchingRome go up in the flames of twilight. If only I had my cello.

The day's fun wasn't done yet. We walked the length of Via del Corso - think Champs Elysee Rome - stopping for an outdoor Christmas acapella concert, a market, and finally dinner at a pizza place. Then we went to a choral concert of Italian Christmas carols. Somehow Jingle Bells translates to Italian as 'Ding ding ding,' leading to continuing humour for us... 

Sunrise the following day was colder and clearer, and given that Rome shuts down on Mondays, we used this day to go church hopping. 

Basilica di San Clemente- church on a church on a church from the I, IV, and XII centuries. The marble mosaic in the 'modern' church was quite nice (Jesus Sheep!) but the highlight was walking around the two churches in successive underground levels.

Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli - aside from the giant marble Moses, one could not miss St Peter's chains, located in a shiny windox box on the alter.

La Basilica di Sta. Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri - with a name so long, it wasn't surprising the building was massive. The unfinished and now ruined complex lies on top of ancient Roman baths. I think the architects' eyes were bigger than their stomachs...and wallets.

Basilica di Sta. Maria Sopra Minerva - a church with a magnificent vivid blue ceiling with gold and red detail that actually out-shone Michangelo's 'Cristo della Minerva' sculpture. Definitely worth a look in pictures!

Basilica Di Sta Cecilia - Believe it or not, the most 'normal' church in the set. Nuns setting up for mass... beautiful outside facade with piazza and fountain.

Sta Maria in Trastevere - Another gorgeously mosaiced floor under a chocolate brown, red, green, and gold rectangular roof. Massive columns provided the wow factor, but a curious dachshund was not intimidated, and scampered around the back of the nave.

And on the 7th day (ok, church), we rested... skipping St Ignatius among others.

But wait, there's more- we also visited the tremendous Pantheon, ancient Rome's only temple open to all classes and religions. It definitely left me to wonder how such marvels of engineering (and art!) could be lost over the span of the dark ages. How could so much splendor evaporate entirely with the fall of Rome??

Like the Borghese Gallery, the Pamphilj (pronounced pamfeely) Gallery is an art- filled palace. Without all the details, the best works were Velasquez's 'Pope Innocent X' and Carravagio's 'Rest on the Way to Egypt.' Rachael and I also scrutinized a copy portrait of Giovanna of Aragon by Raphael... the original is apparently in the Louvre; we'll get back to you next week after we have confirmed! I also really liked the ballroom of the palace... I think Jenna would have loved it too. I was sorely tempted to bust out in a spontaneous waltz, but decided the guards might not appreciate my enthusiasm.

That evening, we ended up in Trastevere for a pretty nice dinner. When I ordered a foccacia with goat cheese and proscuitto (SO much proscuitto this week), I was exceedingly surprised when a circular flatbread showed up. uhhh... pizza? Well, Rachael and I decided that foccacia is a subset of pizza, thus redefining our prior conceptions. That's what international travel is for. By the way, we're still investigating whether Italians eat, bread with olive oil. So far, it doesn't seem like it, but we're still seeking an authoritative source.

So that takes us to Tuesday when it was all Vatican, all day! St. Peters Basilica is the largest church in the world. I found it so big that I could not even grasp its scale until I saw a worker rapelling down the alter canopy to dust it! The columns were much bigger than any other that I had seen in a church, but since the church's proportions seemed normal, the overall space seemed quite reasonably sized. Anyway, the capacity of the basilica is over 60,000 people, so that gives you an idea of how big the space is.

Next, we climbed the 500+ steps to the top of the basilica. It was incredible, but there are so many things to say that I'll just leave you with the mental image of us getting wedged between the two sloping layers of the inner and outer roof :-)

So after the awesome views of the dome, we grabbed pizza (i.e. salami and cheese in foccacia sandwich. huh?) and headed back to St. Peters for the excavation tour. This limited tour took us below the basilica to explore the crypt and the 1st century mausoleum below. Most importantly, we were shown St. Peter's original tomb, the buried monument erected by Emperor Constantine, and the alters erected in the 4th and 16th centuries. We also saw some small relics and bones believed to belong to St. Peter himself, which are all directly below the aforementioned modern alter and the largest basilica in the world. It was more than cool; try mind-boggling.

Lastly (ha!) we toured the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel, a lengthy undertaking. The building was in its own right spectacular, but we were legitimately impressed by Raphael's 'School of Athens' and 'Transfiguration.' These two works were incredible, but not as cool Michangelo's Sistine Chapel. I was surprised that the famous 'Creation of Adam' was a very small portion of the Sistene ceiling, but nonetheless quite prominent. Really, it's hard to believe that he spent four years on the work, but clearly it paid off! Behind the Sistene alter, his 'Last Judgement' -in my opinion- was as or more impressive than the ceiling. I was particularly struck by his self portrayal as a flayed skin, evidentally an indication of self doubt over his worthiness for salvation. 

Overall, the Vatican is amazing and unbelieveable; every Christian, art enthusiast, and perhaps every human should find a way to visit this influential city in the center of modern civilization. You will NOT be let down. 

With that, we called it a successful first leg of the trip. Vienna used to be my favorite city, but that may have just been supplanted by Rome, a city of growth, empire, peace, decline, rebirth, enlightenment, artistry, and religious importance. Its influence from 2000 years ago persists even today. If nothing else, the people are friendly, the food delicious, and the language ... well ... stunningly romantic. 

Next step: Florence.

S.P.Q.R

Buongiorno from Italia!

It's midnight and I am typing on an iPad, so I reckon this will be pretty short... so here's a synopsis of our trip so far!

We came in yesterday and after quickly realizing we knew no Italian (I have been laughed at more than once!) we dropped our bags at the hotel and swiftly made for an evening walk across town. after passing the moonlit Forum and winding our way to the Campo de Fiori, we popped into a local joint for our first pizza. Success! An antipasti platter followed by a pair of paper-thin pizzas made us happy... but not as happy as when we followed up with an armful of fresh Italian pastries (literally the best connoli I have ever had) AND some fantastic gelato. 

We also walked through the Christmas market at Piazza Navona (So many Piazzas...) which was an ancient racetrack (from 80 AD). A fountain in the middle had statues representing four rivers and an obelisk taken from Egypt. 

From there we walked up past the Pantheon, which was truly stunning at night. I was blown away by its old-ness... I suppose I was expecting the facade to be all shiny white marble, but instead it was pock marked and yellowed; stark Greek letters stood out nonetheless. Very excited to go back tomorrow for a tour inside! 

Heading north, we passed an obelisk stolen by Marcus Aurelius after overthrowing Antony and Cleopatra.... we took some pictures by the Trevi Fountain, a massive, gushing cascade with obligatory marble  superhumans... Finally we ended up at the Piazza Spagna, and the Spanish Steps. Most notable... lots of streets decked for Christmas and dozens of peddlers selling laser toys; yummy food to kick off the grand adventure; and best of all, spending time with my amazing friends Tyler and Rachael from NC State! (awww...)

This morning we woke up exhausted, but pushed ourselves wearily to breakfast in order to make our 8:30 entrance at the Borghese Gallery. Borghese was a patron (indeed, discovered)of Bernini, thus building a villa to showcase the artist's work. The sculptures "Apollo e Dafne" and "David" were particularly striking to us, especially the intense focus captured in the latter subject's slingshot-ready face. As far as paintings go, I really liked "Amor Sacre e Amor Profano" by Titian and "La Bottega di un Antiquario" by Fracken Il Giovane. Some of Raphael's work was also there, but we were less enthusiastic.

Moving on, we marched north in the lame drizzle to the Catacombe di Priscilla, where we walked among the now empty tombs of 2nd to 5th century Romans. The catacombs originally housed 40,000 bodies in the soft but stable earth; The first two of three levels are now empty but the lowest remains unexcavated. We were only allowed to stay for 30 minutes because the ground emits radioactive radon, but it was still enough to wind among the labyrinth of barrack style clay bunks and see some of the few remaining decorations. 

After a lunch of pizza bread in a park (we were the only ones there!) we walked and walked back past the Borghese Gallery, through the accompanying gardens (Extra credit for translating Ασκληπιωι Σωτηρι, the text on a mini-temple), we made it to the Piazza del Popolo. A weak exhibition of over 100 nativity scenes left us drowsy, so we hopped on a Metro, grabbed a bite, and recollected before taking on the National Museum of Rome. Yes, our 2nd museum in a day... but we have to make the most of our city passes! To be honest, it was a bust. Get it? haha... anyway, Tyler set off a security alarm while Rachael and I meandered slowly behind. Aside from the great mosaics, I was excited to see an old replica of the discus thrower. I may have imitate it too...

Have you ever wondered if the Romans were actually as toned and fit as they are in the statues? If so, we have a lot to live up to. It makes me want to throw on a shield and grapple with a lion or something. 

Instead of grappling with beasts, we finally went to grapple with dinner: a nice meal at Il Brillo Parlante. We made quick work of a 7-flight cheese platter before homemade pasta arrived. Personally, I think my pasta and (fresh homemade) pesto was the best. We decided to let dinner settle at the table, which gave us each an appetite for dessert. Again, I won with what we decided was an upscale moon pie: crispy wafer layered twice with fresh chantilly cream, topped with rich chocolate and served along side those fancy sugar lattices they always make on Food Network baking competitions. The meal was delicious and the service friendly and great. I highly recommend it. 

Tomorrow we are off to Ancient Rome. My gladiator match is at 9:40, so perhaps I will have the chance to take on that lion after all!

No-time-vember

Only in Oxford can you feel good about a Christmas carols service before eating a (second) Christmas dinner in college on the 30th of November... but perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.

Shortly after my last post, Liam, Ellie, and I realised that we had a habit of sitting in our living room every morning at breakfast. We would begin the conversation groggy and miserable, obligatorily discussing the bleak weather (back to that later) and our boring lab work ahead. After a few minutes, all hell would let loose and we found ourselves laughing at each other uproariously. Such laughter before 8:30 am is simply unnatural, so our realisation of these recurring events meant that banter breakfast was born. Over the ensuing weeks, banter breakfast became such an institution that we even invited our housemate Rebecca (<-- example of banter, for the non-British). In addition, we started to branch out by moving banter breakfast to Keble hall once a week, allowing non-housemates to partake in small doses of our unnatural hilarity.

An event that has returned a more natural amount of hilarity has been the ongoing Shakespeare group, headed up by our dear friendly Irish giant, Luke. For the avid readers, Luke is the guitarist whom I have played with on many a music night, so it has been fun to collectively broaden our artistic horizons with Shakespeare. In the two sessions since my last post, we have powered through Romeo & Juliet, much to the enjoyment of the dozen readers who have participated. In the first of these, I learned that I am particularly suited for the role of Nurse, but I also had the opportunity to profess my undying love as Romeo to Juliet. In the second session - before a soothing fire in the MCR fireplace - we witnessed the tragedy of best-intended strategy gone awry. If you've never actually read Romeo & Juliet, read it. It's even better than West Side Story.

It is hard to believe that almost a month has passed since the US election. Even more hard to believe is the amount of attention given to it by the international community leading up to Election Day. Everybody followed the race a little and many followed it quite closely. Yet unsurprisingly, the views expressed to me ranged from "Well, at least Romney is good for economics" to "I cannot understand why anyone would even consider voting for the Republican Party!" To be fair, I was impressed with how most people were willing to have a civil discussion with me about the Presidential race; they were typically open to hear my views, and even conceded some viewpoints from the standpoint that political structures vary on a country-by-country basis. It goes to show that evaluations made about another country/government are best made in the context of that country's history, culture, economics, and social climate; not in the framework of the person making the value judgements. By the way, I also get the impression that the British are much less personal about politics than Americans are.... Americans could do well by taking notes.

Having turned this blog a bit serious in the last paragraph, it's time to return to current events. I have been totally thrilled by dance over the last month. It was a bit of a frantic ride to get routines in time, but competitions were quite successful! Emma and I decided to compete at a Novice level for Ballroom and an intermediate level for Latin. What that meant was that we only had to learn two routines (waltz & quickstep) with beginners-level footwork for Ballroom while we concentrated on more challenging, intermediate level footwork in three Latin routines (cha, rumba, jive). Thanks to our early start learning the cha, our routine was quite good: it had attitude and character... and several fantastic components. We started our jive a fair bit later than the cha, and the significantly increased complexity of the jive from beginners meant that we struggled to pull it together. I wouldn't say it was near to polished, but at least we more-or-less had the footwork down! Finally, the rumba (known as the "dance of looooove") is quite a slow dance, so we actually learned our routine on the Wednesday before the competition. Similar to performing slow instrumental works, slow dances are quite challenging. We did alright (we have an awesome dip) but I have a lot to learn as far as smoothing out my technique.

So, the competitions? Last year, if you recall, Nottingham and Warwick were on consecutive weekends. This year - due to a scheduling faux pas - the two comps were in consecutive days. Thus, we went as a full team to Nottingham last Saturday and took a smaller, hard core team to Warwick on Sunday. In part one, Emma and I hit the square Nottingham floor for ballroom and realized that our routines were not quite as polished as they needed to be. Our waltz was ok, but we struggled to get the quickstep going. The crowded square floor also resulted in an unregulated flow of dance traffic, leading to frequent collisions and crowds in corners. In spite of the difficulties, we battled our way to the quarterfinals, where we bombed our quickstep and made our exit.* Given the challenging standard of our Latin routines, it was good that we had reasonable expectations in the afternoon... we did not advance past the first round. We got a couple tips from our coaches and prepared for the evening's team match while cheering on our Oxford teammates. The evening team match ended up being great fun, as always. My team (Oxford E team) advanced a couple rounds (even lasting longer than Oxford D! :-P ), which was all we had hoped for. The highlight of the night was when Oxford A team won the competition. Go Oxford!

After the competition, the component returning to Oxford (~10 main team couples plus all the beginners) crammed onto one coach while the remaining 14 couples spread out luxuriously on the other coach. We were dropped off at a motorway Travelodge in Birmingham for the night. Down at midnight and up at 7, I was stoked for another day on the dance floor. Much more relaxed on Sunday, Emma and I were nigh unto unstoppable during the ballroom. Our form was good, the footwork was clean, and I was cautiously optimistic we would make a final. Except one minor detail... since the dances are in heats, we typically have a break between waltz and quickstep. In the semifinals, however, where there is only one heat, everyone is to remain on the floor after the waltz to immediately dance the quickstep.* WELL... somehow we three Oxford couples didn't remember that; we sauntered off of the floor only to realise that our heat was still on the floor doing the quickstep! Frantically, we ran back on, but in our rattled state, nothing fell into place. Game over. Fingers crossed, we'll pull it together for Sheffield in February. On the bright side, Latin in the afternoon was fantastic! Again, more relaxed, we actually made it to the third round, which was the quarterfinals! The standard may have been a little easier than Saturday, but we were also a lot looser and performing much more confidently. I have high hopes for the spring when we actually get our Rumba and jive working! As with Saturday night, the team match on Sunday was really fun. Our reduced team meant that we danced cha on the Oxford C team, where we made it to semifinals before bowing out. Returning to Oxford after two full days of competition, I was very content and a bit tired too!

By the way, before I move away from dance related updates, I will also mention that we had our semi-annual dancesport ball at the beginning of November. Sporting a fancy masquerade mask, I realized that I'm finally able to lead in four dances - and I had an incredible time! So if anyone wants to waltz, quickstep, cha, or jive, I'd be happy to go for a spin :-)

*(Side note: as a beginner, competitors compete each of the four dances (W, Q, C, J) individually so that couples can choose to focus on just one dance. In novice, intermediate, and advanced levels, the dances are in sets. That is, a couple is graded on both their waltz and quickstep together to determine whether they move on to the next round of novice ballroom. Intermediate ballroom couples were graded on waltz, tango, and quickstep together. Novice Latin consisted of cha and jive; Intermediate added rumba. Advanced ballroom and Latin are four dances each: WTQ and Viennese Waltz; CRJ and paso doble. For the record, a 10-dance couple has routines in waltz, tango, quickstep, Viennese, foxtrot, cha, rumba, jive, paso doble, and samba. Occasionally, competitions feature these ballroom and Latin five-dance sets.)

Back in MCR land, I think the time is ripe to update the Dan Zagat ratings. This term, I have eaten in a trifecta of other halls: Harris Manchester (HMC), Brasenose, and Green Templeton (GTC). Here are the high and lo-lights of each.

I went to HMC on an exchange dinner between their MCR and ours. I was quite keen to visit, as it is one of the smaller MCRs in Oxford, and thus a bit challenging to obtain an invite to dinner. The hall was relatively standard in size with a high table in the front of the room and the standard assortment of portraits distributed around. The college president welcomed us to their hall (a very nice touch!) and we thus began dinner. The starter consisted of Caesar salad topped with anchovies, a fishy component that I have had for the first three times in my life this term. Overall grade: meh. They're salty. The main was a fine wiener schnitzel with potatoes and veg, followed up by a tasty (though apparently unmemorable) dessert and an excellent (and very memorable) cheese board. Overall the meal was quite nice (on top of the excellent hospitality), so I would gladly go again.

I enjoyed Brasenose college for the sake that I got to try out a new college's hall, but there were certainly some weird facets to it. There was no high table and some student presided over dinner; the outside tables (long, bench format) were up against the wall, so students had to scoot along the bench (and waiters had to pass food across the table!); one had to essentially enter the hall through the kitchen; and the massive wooden coat of arms overlooking the hall included a regal lion on one side and a less regal unicorn with a giant... uh... horn on the other. Totally unnecessary and a bit distracting too. To be fair, the food was alright, but aside from the bowl of anchovy pizza served as the starter, the meal was not overwhelmingly memorable. As with all halls, it's not that I wouldn't go again in a heartbeat... but it wasn't my first preference.

Green Templeton College probably deserves more discussion than I'm going to give it, but in a nutshell, I went to guest night / Christmas dinner there with a friend from NC State. The elaborate Christmas menu was also souped up for guests, meaning it may or may not have been indicative of typical GTC dinners. Nonetheless, Sindhu and I enjoyed our copious Christmas food (sauteed mushrooms on toast; nut roast with roasted veg, cranberry sauce, and stuffing; decadent chocolate yule log) at the center of what may be the only octagonal hall in Oxford - the heart of the Radcliffe Observatory. Perhaps the most iconic building in Oxford, its three-story octagonal roof is topped by a small statue of Atlas carrying the globe on his shoulders. The building is also a uniformly clean cream color, much unlike the rest of Oxford's buildings. With mince pies afterwards, it was a fine evening for sure... a great hall even in spite of the unfair advantage. Now the rankings:

-Hall design/functionality/architecture: Keble, GTC, Worcester, Balliol, Magdalen, HMC, Brasenose
-Formal Dinner Menu: Worcester, GTC**, Balliol, Keble, HMC, Magdalen, Brasenose
-Wait staff: GTC, HMC, Balliol, Magdalen, Worcester, Brasenose, Keble
-Cost (low-high): Keble (5), HMC (6), Worcester (8), Magdalen (10), Balliol (12), Brasenose (14*), GTC (**)
-Overall Experience: GTC, Balliol, Keble, Worcester, HMC, Magdalen, Brasenose
(And for completeness... Rank of Halls I've had lunch in: Sommerville, St. John's, Keble)

*Included reception before dinner; **Special Christmas formal; cost paid by friend

Having made these rankings, I realise how challenging it's going to be to keep the Dan Zagat ratings going across 3 years... hmmm... I also realised that I the uniqueness of certain experiences (eg Worcester) help it in the rankings compared to other colleges, which are apparently quite similar.

At last I come to one of my favorite parts about Oxford: Oxmas! This annual celebration begins as early as 15 November and lasts until the 'dead' of December. The merit? Let me count the ways!
1. Keble MCR Black Tie Dinner
2. Oxford Light Night
3. Keble Christmas Dinner
4. Keble Guest Night
5. GTC Guest Night/Christmas Dinner
6. Keble MCR "Nightmare Before Christmas" Bop
7. Sinterklaas (Dutch Christmas) celebration
8. Lab Christmas Dinner
9. Keble Founders & Benefactors Christmas Black Tie Dinner
10. House Christmas Party

.... All of which happened in a mere 17 day period! (of which 2 days were taken by dance competitions)

Since the list is too long for this blog, I'll highlight just a couple events for your festive pleasure. The Sinterklaas celebration (Roos, correct me if my spelling is lame) was an opportunity for us to casually exchange gag gifts and (mandatory) cheesy poetry in honor of 5 December. Roos, my housemates, and a few others met in the MCR and ate Dutch sweets (mmmm kruidnoten!!!) while learning about leaving one's shoes outside the front door in hopes that Santa will fill them with goodies. Apparently Sinterklaas has historically also been accompanied by Zwarte Piet - Black Peter - now an obviously controversial servant for a 21st century Father Christmas. Yet we all know that tradition dies hard, so apparently Zwarte Piet lives on in the Netherlands. With such a multi-faceted peek into a different culture's Christmas tradition, we had a great (and insightful) evening. PS - I got a musical tea towel and a baking dish :-)

The Founders & Benefactors Black Tie is affectionately known among Keble circles as "The Feast." I mention this first because I don't know if I've ever been to such a prolonged meal. Hosted by the college, the guest list included all students who received a First (think: summa cum laude) or DPhil last year, the fellows and staff of the college, notable old members (that's what they call Oxford alumni, no joke), donors, and friends of the college. As MCR President, I fall into this latter category :-)

Act I: The Senior Common Room, 7:15p - Prosecco & Canape reception. A lovely chat with the domestic bursar, senior dean ("So, is this [reception] the Warden's attempt to finish before midnight?"), sub-warden, and a pair of other gentlemen. I also greeted the JCR president.
Act II Scene I: The Hall, 8p - With fireplace lit, we (150-200 guests) sat down to starters in the front half of hall. I was sat with other engineers, including the President of the Keble Association (a group of old members... a major benefactor!), the senior dean (incidentally my college adviser), the sub-warden (incidentally a civil engineer), a few students, and a couple others. The starter: Saffron red mullet on vegetables a la grecque. Oh yeah, you know how most formal dinners have 3 glasses set out (red, white, and water)? This had four. Enter waiter. Fill white. Enter different waiter. Fill water. Delicious. More discussion. Finally the main: Roasted breast & confit leg of partridge with sweet potato fondant, beetroot, cavalo nero and honey-glazed pear with spiced plum chutney. Glorious. Enter waiter. Fill red. Savor every bite. Enter waiter. Re-fill red. WHAT?! It's going to be a long night... more discussion. Finally dessert: Clementine jelly, Cointreau ice cream and brandy snaps, spiced cranberry compote with orange dust. Enter waiter. Fill dessert white. More conversation (fascinating knowledge... but details shall be left out for the sake of those involved!). At last, the speech allowed us to head outside for a quick break before returning.
Act II Scene II: The other half of hall, 10:45p - Second dessert. Having run to the MCR to check in (I missed the MCR Christmas party for the college black tie! Tough life :-P), I returned to hall for the second seating plan. Fine china platters were set around with fancy fruit (figs, plums, clementines, strawberries all delicately arranged!) and an assortment of chocolate truffles. Looking down at the plate before me, I noticed something. Two more glasses?! You have to be kidding me. Sure enough, a few minutes brought a trio of crystal decanters down the table: dessert white, dessert red, and port. At least it was pick two of three! Imagine that. Getting tipsier and there I was, sitting next to a gentleman who evidently donated a building to the college. Incidentally also an engineer, we talked about my travels to China (relevant compared to some work he did in Hong Kong), the merits of hiring engineers, and some of my career aspirations. Believe it or not, the decanters were passed along the table three times but mercifully a waiter also came around to pour coffee after the second pass. After almost an hour, we cleared Hall a second time; many a student (and adults as well!) were a bit slower this time...
Act III: The Senior Common Room, 11:45p - After dinner reception. Fellows, students, benefactors, and staff alike piled back into the SCR to carry on the socializing. I finally reconnected with some other students whom I recognised. While some started to wind down the evening with coffee, others chose to hold serve with more dessert white, and alas, some stepped up their game with a bit of whiskey. I'm not sure if it was the alcohol or the company (ok, it was probably the former), but the reception lingered a long time. Eventually, one of the fellows stood up and - excusing the fact that he had quite a bit to drink - presented two witty quotes to suggest in an entirely non-subtle manner that it was time for us to leave. I looked at my watch, 1:30a.
Act IV: The Middle Common Room, 1:45a - Yeah, we didn't go home. One fellow even came to the MCR with us. The Christmas party was long gone, but the remnant cheese and crackers remained. Perfect nightcap. At 2am, I happily headed home.

When I awoke the next morning, aside from a little grogginess, I felt fantastic: perfect for our house Christmas party. I got straight to work on cake balls while Sam, Liam, and Ellie got to work on the main meal. We literally relaxed in the house all day, retelling Christmas party and Feast stories from the previous night. The only casualty was a blender, which apparently could not blend a sausage stuffing. This feast, which commenced at 2:30, included turkey, pigs-in-a-blanket (see below), roasted potatoes, carrots, parsnips, cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing, brussels sprouts, chocolate cake balls, and traditional Christmas pudding. My Christmas cracker (an amazing part of British Christmas) included a red cellophane fortune-telling fish. Apparently I'm fake... but the steaming Christmas pudding was fickle, judgmental, and independent! Anyway, when the meal concluded, we merely sat and gazed at each other in tryptophan-induced bewilderment for hours. I pondered finishing this blog (I didn't) and reading the Hobbit (I couldn't), and thus resorted to staring at the walls before starting the cleaning. I really enjoyed spending the time with my housemates, even to the point that I totally forgot it was a normal Sunday outside.

On that note, I'll wish you a Merry Oxmas, for in a couple days new, authentic, Christmas adventures await with friends and family!

PS- I started a new blogette: www.weatherwinge.blogspot.com.... an opportunity for me to practice my Britishness by winging about the weather all the time. :-)

CULTURE CORNER
Words of the Day:
Winge, v. To complain in a whining manner about something petty or pointless.

Pig-in-a-Blanket, n. A sausage wrapped in strip bacon (as opposed to a bacon rasher) (not to be confused with a US pig-in-a-blanket, which includes that unnecessary pastry bit diluting the meatiness underneath. Next time I cook... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xc5wIpUenQ)

Learning to Banter

Mixed Nuts Episode 9.

Dan stands at hob (stove), Liam enters from back room, right.

Dan: How's it going?

Liam: Alright. (Looking into frying pan) ...You broke two egg yolks.

Dan: Yeah... and? I did it on purpose. (grabs another egg from carton)

Liam: Ah. Dan. The yolk will harden!

Dan: Yeah... and? We Americans like hard egg yolks. (cracks a third egg into frying pan, subsequently using shell to break the yolk)

Liam: Ah! What are you doing?! Ruining a perfectly good yolk! (storms out of kitchen, left)

Dan shrugs and continues frying the eggs. After a moment, Liam reenters, left, with Ellie.

Liam: Ellie, look what Dan did.

Ellie (looking slightly confused): What?

Liam: He cracked two eggs into the pan perfectly, and then he broke the yolks. On purpose!

Ellie: Ahh! What would you do that for? Ruining a perfectly good yolk!

Liam: That's what I said.

Dan: I dunno. Seems normal to me.

Ellie: Ugh! I can't watch this.

Cut. Cue Theme Music.

And such is the life in our house sitcom. The British are known for this sort of banter, a complex mix of witty humour, multi-layered biting sarcasm, and twisted inside jokes. It has taken me over a year to begin to get it because working with international students and living in the non-intimate Acland atmosphere has prevented me from getting a concentrated dose of banter. But now living with this lot, you had better watch out, for my banter will be free flowing and epic.

Learning to banter has been tricky on both sides. My housemates have admitted to being cautious with me, fearing that I won't recognize that their biting humour is, in fact, all in good fun. In the first two months living together, they have dealt it freely to each other but kept it lighter with me. Indeed, a non-housemate even (seriously?) accused me of something, saying, "But you're American. You don't understand British banter." But now... now I get it. And watch out, housemates; it's on!

So while the token American has been learning to banter, it has been an incredibly busy time. Somehow four weeks of term have already eluded me, and Halloween is suddenly upon us. The leaves have turned and fallen and, unlike last autumn, the dreary British mist-drizzle is constant. The weather has truly turned colder and the first signs of Christmas are upon us: decorations starting to go up in Cornmarket street, restaurants beginning to advertise Christmas menus, saving a date for a house Christmas party. I imagine mulled wine and cider will be making their comforting appearance in just a week or two. I even saw the first poppies yesterday, meaning that Remembrance Day is just around the corner. Strangely, I think I could be getting into the Christmas spirit really early again this year. I'm so excited.

Ah, but what else has been going on? Well, I have a new dance partner, Emma, a DPhil student from New Zealand. She was on the beginners team last year, so I am excited to be dancing with her this year. Our first competition, Nottingham, is on 24 November, so the rush is on to not only become familiar with each other (because everyone's hold and form is different, there's an acclimation period..) but to learn at least 3 intermediate level Latin dances (Cha cha, Jive, and Rumba) and 2 novice level Ballroom dances (Waltz, Quickstep). Depending how it goes, maybe we'll throw caution to the wind and try to pick up 3 intermediate Ballroom dances (Waltz, Quick, Tango) instead of the 2 easier ones... but we need to have a private lesson in Ballroom first! So much to do!

In addition to dance, the term has been busy busy busy with MCR events. I've been taking the time to join a new Shakespeare group with some other MCR members, so we have orally read through Othello and half of the Tempest together. I hosted an Acland Food Night early last week, cooking a delicious menu (balsamic, fig, and goats cheese toasts; chicken pot pie with waldorf salad; to-die-for chocolate cake balls) for freshers and 2nd years alike. I also joined with our Irish guitarist and an American Ukelele-ist during the MCR's first open mic night of the year and entertained the masses by hosting the traditional President's Port & Cheese night during freshers week (mmmm Cheshire Stilton). As you might be able to imagine, I've had something going almost every day (sometimes two activities!) so it's been exceedingly busy. Nonetheless, I still found time to introduce a card game to my housemates called Munchkin. Look it up online. It's hilarious and admittedly it took on better than I ever anticipated!

Well, I think that's a reasonable synopsis of the last couple weeks. Tomorrow I am meeting with a college fellow and two other musicians to try out a Mozart quartet. More on that later...

Mmmm homemade chocolate covered cake balls!

And now for something completely different...

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Swiss anecdotes for this important update:

Michaelmas Term 2012 has begun in earnest.

Yes, I wrote half of a blog about the amazing character of the Alps, but its conclusion was swiftly swept aside in favor of taking care of business. Shockingly, preparing and initiating the new school year has taken all of my time in the last... 2.. 3 weeks? I have even lost count.

Of course the important bit in all this is the fact that I had my long awaited Transfer of Status presentation and viva on Monday. I summarized my work to an audience of maybe 30 lab partners, professors, and miscellaneous individuals before being grilled by a pair of wary academics for an hour. Thankfully, it all went according to plan; the presentation was a snap (I even finished exactly at the 15 minute mark!) and my viva voce constituted of approximately 80% answerable questions and 20% questions that I needed help/prompting from my supervisor on. Believe it or not, I considered it quite a success. So the next step? Moving on to experimentation! Oh wait... first I have to submit my paper for the conference in February. So much to do!

On top of the Transfer, my Presidential duties have been unceasing! After seven straight nights of meet-a-greeters ("Hi, I'm Dan... where are you from?...what do you do?... Brilliant."), we opened the year with an exciting welcome dinner (oy, remarks to 170 in the massive yet oppressively lit Keble Hall. Intimidated much?) before a full week of activities. It has been a lot of fun to meet the new freshers while re-living some of the memories from my own freshers week last year. The "Legendary Keble MCR Pub Quiz" was, in a word, legendary, and the myriad social events have literally kept me on my feet all week long. Personally, I have been a bit taken aback in a good way by the logistical cost of putting on such a packed week, helping a fellow Caldwell Fellow move in to her new Oxford college, attending Keble's Governing Body meeting, working with the committee, helping freshers get settled, remaining organized (hellooooo email!), and....


"Oh, main team dance trials are 13 Oct? I have to be able to dance the big four (waltz, quickstep, cha, and jive) socially so that I can try out with different partners? Well then."

... and getting some practice and lessons in before next Saturday's trials. Yesterday morning I went to my first practice hall of term. It was fantastic to see (and dance with) most of the old crew again, though naturally it really felt like people were missing. I was impressed with how well everyone seemed to be dancing after a long break, and how - challenging though it was - I was able to pull back my Blackpool (Nationals) routines, the last set of moves Jenna and I more-or-less shared with the full beginners team.

So here we go with lap two. How will the perspective of a whole year change the second time around? How will my cultural, linguistic, social, and academic perceptions be altered through the lens of leadership and the self-induced intensity of the coming year's commitments? I have to admit, I loved making my second trip out to stunning Blenheim Palace yesterday; I seemed to see a lot more (and the weather was incredible... and the scone unparalleled), but it was also interesting to be there as a guide to others. Will my experiences this year thus all be in the context of leadership, or will I find the opportunity to separate myself from my responsibilities in order to examine my contextual relationship to this ever-unique Oxford environment? We'll see :-)

Time to gear up for a fun year, and (sorry guys) leave the summer behind. Here comes a roller coaster!

PS... I'll do my best to finish the blog about the Alps, in due time!

A Little Help From My Friends (A Ger-zerland Anecdote)

Perhaps you noticed in my overview of Germany and Switzerland that I had a lot of interaction with different people. I had certainly planned to meet a lot of first degree friends (i.e. my direct friends; think six degrees of separation), but what came as a delightful surprise was the number of second degree friends, family, and acquaintances (i.e. friends of my friends) whom I came into contact with. I don't know why it came as a surprise (Perhaps I was accustomed to Unnamed Person X who kept a visitor stowed secretly in his room, as if we Aclanders were savage beasts, not to be trusted.), but I had the opportunity to meet second degree acquaintances in every city. Here are some of the highlights.

IN REGENSBURG, I got to know Madeleine's family much better than I had upon their brief visit to Oxford several months before. Knowing Madeleine, I was unsurprised that her family's hospitality was extremely generous. In perfect English, Madeleine's mother welcomed me in and encouraged me to relax (I took a 2 hour nap, lol) while they prepared dinner. Later, we sat around the table on the patio under the cool, darkening sky, discussing Oxford, Bavaria, the merits of cakes and pies (Madeleine had baked, but apparently her sister Alina has a "structural problem" with such desserts), whether or not Madeleine and her sister look alike (a long-standing debate), and other assorted topics. Yes, it was perfect.

But in addition to family, I also had the opportunity to meet some of Madeleine's friends. First was a bit of cake with Lorenz at the cafe where she and her sister work. Sure, I ate the cake and eisschokolade (see future blog), but I had to focus so hard on the German language that was flying past me. I was able to catch words and phrases, but I sadly could not put it all together. Thankfully, with a bit of English recapitulation, I was sufficiently up to speed. On the last day of my Regensburg leg, Madeleine and I went to brunch with her friends Katharina and Anna, where - unlike the aforementioned dialogue over cake - I was entirely lost. Yes, they offered to speak in English... but how am I supposed to learn German if I am not exposed to it? Anyway, in spite of my disappointing language skills, I thoroughly enjoyed spending the time with all three of Madeleine's friends. Friendly and open, they seemed to welcome my presence and share a few good laughs (because laughter, don't you know, is an international language).

LEAVING BAVARIA behind, I was thrilled to meet up with my aunt and her close friend in Geneva. Similarly to Madeleine's family, my aunt's friend warmly welcomed us into her apartment along with giving us an insider's tour of the city. Each trying to be more generous and less of a burden than the other, the two friends frequently debated who was going to cover what. Naturally, my offered contributions were swiftly rejected by both of the warring factions, so I henceforth smiled, sat back, and enjoyed the city.

Needless to say, my aunt's friend went far out of her way for us. In addition to the walking tours, she pulled a few strings and arranged not only for a private entrance to CERN's Atlas Control Room (where the Higgs Boson Particle was discovered... or partly discovered... or sufficiently proved...) but also an opportunity to go sailing on Lake Geneva with some of her other friends. Apparently life is very good when you join the CERN Sailing Club! Her physicist friend (a third degree friend) was a bit burned out from the busy months leading up to the announcement of the Higgs Boson, but still happily showed us around the facility in a perfectly stereotypical Russian-physicist accent. He even asserted that CERN does need civil engineers.. perhaps I should work in Switzerland when I graduate?

Anyway, going out on the boat was very rewarding. The three of us joined up with four other third-degree friends, who were taking out the gorgeous Phoebus II, a 41-foot wooden sailboat (see video at bottom of: http://www.alpesmarine.com/gb-sailing-geneva.html). The skipper for the afternoon was Daniel, naturally spoken in your best French accent. The gentleman was a pro. Literally. Apparently he grew up sailing on Lake Geneva, established a sailing school on Lake Geneva, and now in retirement is still sailing in Lake Geneva. Don't get me wrong, he travels (he discussed with me the merits of spending four months sailing from the US to Brazil), but he sure loves his home lake. Of course as a teacher, he also gave me my first sailing lesson. In decent English (and quite pleased that I am an engineer), he explained how a sailboat is like an airplane wing. The front sails control the high pressure region on the downwind side of the mainsail, and the wind itself provides the low pressure region on the upwind side. Consequently, by keeping the boat at 30 degrees angle to the wind, you provide enough high-pressure to propel the boat forward (into the wind) without knocking the boat over. Oh, and yes, I did get to try my hand at the rudder. Supposedly I have a knack for it, but to me it felt like driving a manual transmission... which my friend Tyler from NC will tell you I don't have much of a knack for. At least I knew how to tie ropes. Regardless, the point is that our crew was extremely happy to have us aboard. It was an incredible afternoon under perfect sunshine. With the wind at our backs, we peacefully and joyously toasted our way back to shore (with tea, of course!)

AFTER GENEVA, Aunt Carolyn and I headed towards the lofty Alps. While we had interactions of all varieties in Wengen, our post-hike lunch break at the Restaurant Allmend outside of town was a really unique experience. The restaurant, like everything else in the area, is nestled into the mountain with an amazing view of Wengen below in the distance. Across the gravel road, an idle ski-lift patiently awaits the first snow fall. On this day, the restaurant's patio serves only five tables; inside is deserted except for the kitchen staff - waiters - owners, a husband and wife tandem. After a Berner Oberland cheese plate for me and a soup and sandwich tandem for my aunt, we sat and rested our feet, talking about the incredible views. After not too long, the lady came over to clear our plates and instead struck up a conversation. The other tables had cleared; it was just us and them. 90 minutes of bubbly discussion later, we had heard many of the benefits and drawbacks of living in Switzerland, and more specifically, the Alps. Apparently Wengen (Summer pop 3000) turns into Wengen (Winter pop 30,000) when the snow arrives. The restaurant thrives on skiers to the point where it is almost impractical to stay open over the summer. This sixth degree of separation (assumed) was fantastic. Perfect for weary feet, I would highly recommend the restaurant to any travelers. Not only did I enjoy the food and the time to sit, but the company was even better than the stunning vistas.

WHEN I ARRIVED in Zurich, I was excited to meet my NC State friend, Justin. With a student house just on the outskirts of town, I had nice views of the city and plenty of student-style hospitality (i.e. "yeah, yeah... do whatever! I have to get some work done but you're welcome to come and go as you'd like"). It's good to also see that student lifestyle is fairly replicable. I watched as Justin repeated my near-daily thought process. "Hmm. Nothing in the fridge. I guess we will have pasta tonight. Perhaps with some tomatoes thrown in, and some sliced cheese on the side." Ok, I exaggerate a lot, but it's the survival instinct that makes one exercise creativity. Creativity is delicious.

Perhaps the best part of my time in Zurich was an evening trip we took to the Oerlikon district on the north side of town. We checked out a Swiss playground, which we both assessed was significantly more rugged and adventurous than its American counterpart. I recalled my trip to Ecuador, where I flew around in circles on a rope jungle gym with Davy and Elizabeth, the start of a week of service work. It was fitting then, that upon climbing a tower to look over the glimmering city and the blood orange sunset, my conversation with with Justin took a turn towards home. We had met as team leaders for different spring break trips last year. It was fascinating how many similarities we found between Oxford and ETH Zurich, collective differences from NC State. Indeed, our alma mater in the States made it so easy to get involved. Easy to find interests, to pursue opportunities, to explore nonacademic pursuits. Not only that, but NC State encourages it: part of one's education is interacting with others, giving back to the community, and being an active citizen of the world. But alas, such is not the same view shared in Europe. College (and especially the postgraduate life) is generally a job. Put in your hours. Go home. Eat (maybe). Sleep (maybe). Repeat. Admittedly, it seems like the most common forum for networking is parties. Yes, this description is an oversimplification, but not by far. It is a different mindset in Europe, where you are more likely keep your head down and mind your own business than you are in the US. And service? Here in the UK, they call it charity work, but it's far from common. Similarly, in Zurich (where, by the way, there is no university housing, and therefore no common interaction), Justin says service is unheard of. Where's the big picture? Whatever happened to "Think Globally, Act Locally?"

Well even in Zurich, we went out to  meet some second and third degree friends. Naturally, it was in a bar where I paid for one drastically overpriced drink. The second degree friend was a guy from the UK who had met Justin a month before while buying a bicycle. That very day, he had met three ladies who had been born in Kosovo but raised in Switzerland. Collectively (with another third degree friend of Spanish descent) we sat there, alternating languages for clarity's sake (English, Spanish, English, German, English..). It was quite a unique assembly, really. Nonetheless, as travelers united, we enjoyed the short, casual evening.

MOVING OUT of Zurich, I headed farther east to Konstanz. Pippa, like Justin, welcomed me into her brand new student residence. Combined, I think Pippa and Justin had spent a total of two or three weeks in their current accommodation. Poor Pippa had clearly just moved in, and I felt a bit bad about intruding before she had even had a chance to get settled. Her stark concrete housing block may have been designed to be modern, but it was certainly minimalist and it's artistic warmth lacking. A strange way to design some apartments, but at least the student accommodation seemed robust.

The weather was the best it had been all trip (you'll probably hear me say that again), and I quite enjoyed Pippa's company walking around the quaint town. As is typical of the first week in a new school, she was busy trying to make new friendships; one night we joined in with a pretty high-octane group, and the next day with a slightly more relaxed group. Both groups were fun, and it was fun to connect in English over the German language. Somehow as the only guy with a group of five girls going swimming in Lake Konstanz, I wasn't surprised that the post-swim conversation swiftly turned to a Dutch copy of Cosmopolitan. Oh well, I suppose I should consider myself lucky. Not every guy gets to relax in the sunshine with five captivated females for an afternoon.... Too bad I had spent the previous two weeks eating cheese and chocolate instead of working out :-P

Anyway, I truly enjoyed my time in Konstanz, the people I met, and the opportunity to catch up with my friend from the dance team. The only downside is that Jenna wasn't along; she would have loved the opportunity to catch up with Pippa (and, probably, see the rest of Switzerland/Germany too). Who knows... perhaps a return trip is in the offing.

ALAS, my last stop on the continent was to Munich, where I had the unexpected surprise of running into another Kebleite, Sebastian. Like Madeleine, Sebastian is on the Erasmus law exchange program, and was thus in the midst of an internship in Munich. I met him for my final dinner on the continent: quintessential Bavarian food at Munich's famed Hofbrauhaus. Following the theme of the fortnight, Sebastian was exceedingly generous, paying for the meal, which included the supposedly quintessential "Mass." Mass is German for big. As I'm sure you have already guessed, that applies to beer. Consequently, after a Liter of (admittedly tasty) Weizerbier (Wheat beer), we happily talked the evening away, reminiscing Oxford and discussing Bavaria in the same manner I began my trip.



SO what's the point? The point is that I have some amazing friends and family who in turn have some more amazing friends and family. It's remarkable how traveling can cause an instant bond between people and cultures, provide opportunities to share experiences, and be an amazing chance to learn. The friendliness and hospitality of those around me is humbling; my gratitude immense. To those who have hosted me and shared in my travels, thank you for these two incredible weeks! I look forward to returning the favor somehow, in some way, sometime in the near future.