Playing Tourist

Last Sunday my flatmate and I went to visit Holyrood House, the 'official residence of her majesty the queen.'  However, the queen is rarely here, so mostly it's just really cool to visit.  It's also one of the palaces in Scotland that was used by Queen Victoria, and was Mary, Queen of Scots' residence where her husband Lord Darnley murdered David Rizzio.

my flatmate Ailsa in the courtyard

the outer gate

listening to the included audio guide

into the inner courtyard.  yes, the guards were wearing tartan pants.

obligatory tourist photo, courtesy of Ailsa

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was a really interesting look at the royal history in Scotland, and also a bit about how the palace is used today.  The queen was here to greet the pope on his visit in the fall.  He brought a replica of a really famous book, and that was on display with pictures of the reception.  On the grounds are also the ruins of Holyrood Abbey, which was built by King David and was the original structure on the land.
Apparently the site (Holyrood) gets its name from the 'holy wood' that resided in the abbey-a piece of Jesus's cross.  The ruins were beautiful, and I can totally understand why Mendelssohn was inspired by the surroundings to write his Scottish Symphony.

I'll leave you with a bit of the symphony.  This is the second movement, inspired by Scottish folk dance music.

Spring Break: London (part 1)

So it's been a while since there was anything of substance up, for which I apologize.  I'm done vacationing, though, so it's back to work for a couple of days until my parents get here!! I am so excited.

After Luxembourg, I was off on an early-morning train for London.  My friend met me at King's Cross station and off we went!  It was exciting to be in a big city again for a couple of days, and also to see so many amazing museums!
We started by heading to Trafalgar Square, home of the National Portrait Gallery, and National Gallery.

 The galleries were incredible, and I saw some beautiful works by Degas, Monet, Sisley, and Turner in addition to portraits of Jane Austen, Gilbert and Sullivan, and an exhibit of the Russian Ballet.  We even got into trouble!  There were tons of people in the impressionist rooms, and there was a huge school group surrounding the Turner's.  May Alcott, who I portray at work and who's letters I've been transcribing over the past couple of summers lived in London for a while as a Turner copyist, so I was really excited to see those.  My friend and I were discussing them, and trying to figure out if we recognized any as matching Alcott's copies when the tour leader shushed us!! That hasn't happened to me in years.  oops.

Trafalgar Square was neat, but really crowded with tourists.  I know, I know, I am a tourist, but working in the industry for so long has taught me several things about being a good tourist:

1) research in advance the places you want to visit.  Know the opening/closing times, nearby attractions or places to eat, and vaguely how to get there (knowing the address is also very helpful).

2) Try not to stop aimlessly in the street to take pictures.  If you are going to take pictures, try to stand out of the way or wait for a clear moment.  You are not more important than the traffic.

            2a) Also, if you are in an area full of other tourists, be aware of other people's pictures.  Walk around them if you can, which I recognize is not always possible.

3) If you wish to walk slowly to look around you, do so on the outside edge of the sidewalk in the correct direction of travel.  Actually, this just applies to everyone.  I walk fast, and that death glare I'm giving you as I move into the street to get past your slow-moving, hand-holding set?  Not a joke. I am actually that annoyed.

But anyways.  Something that appealed to me about the area of London I was visiting was the literary historical charm.  For example:

This is an entire street of antiquarian book shops.  We popped into some of them, and they were fantastic.  Also, out of my price range.  But very cool.  One of them also had one of the original prop Daleks from old (pre-2000s) Doctor Who.  Like, a real one.  It was extremely cool.

a clothing shop we walked past.  I wish I knew more people who dressed like this.

 We also saw a book shop which had been the home of Randolph Caldecott, the illustrator the Caldecott Medal is named for.  The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to a new American children's book with original illustrations.  Some of my favorite books as a kid, including Make Way for Ducklings, Where the Wild Things Are, The Polar Express, Mirette on the High Wire, and Officer Buckle and Gloria, are all previous medal winners.  (and if you haven't read these, do so immediately.  They are all fantastic and will brighten your day.)

Next we popped into the British Museum to see the Rosette Stone and the clock room.  The Rosetta Stone was neat, and reminded me of how cool learning about hieroglyphics was in elementary school.

 We were there until closing, and afterwards went back to dinner and the UCL dorms for an early-ish night.  Plus Black Swan, which I still hadn't seen.

On my one full day in the city we hit the two most exciting parts of my trip: the Freud Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The Freud house was his residence and office for the last year of his life, from the family's escape from Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 until his death in 1939.  The Freuds were lucky enough to have help getting through border control, and so were able to take many of their belongings with them to England.  The museum is able to display Freud's famous couch for psychoanalysis, some of his massive antiquities collection, his library, and many other belongings.  They also have a collection of his daughter Anna Freud's belongings--she lived there until her death in 1982.  Also a psychoanalyst, Anna specialized in child psychology (and the relationship between development and parenting) and founded Hampstead War Nursery, a foster care center for children affected by the war.  Several years later (1947) a children's clinic was added. Anna Freud said: "I don't think I'd be a good subject for biography...not enough 'action'!  You would say all there is to say in a few sentences - she spent her life with children!" I actually think she's awesome.  

Both Freuds are really interesting as people, even if I don't agree with the most famous parts of Freud's theories. The museum was a really special, really dorky treat.

We were awarded these on the way out!

   We spent the afternoon at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was founded as a museum of art and design, displaying marvels of craftsmanship and engineering.  It has amazing collections of my favorite museum items: table services, jewelry, theatre costumes, and fashion.  I had such an amazing time it will have its own post later on! 

 Plus, I love Queen Victoria (we would so have been best friends), and it was really interesting to learn more about British pop culture during her reign!

Busts of Victoria and Albert

Imitating one of my favorite historical figures :)

The guards actually had to kick me out-I was so not leaving until absolutely necessary! At that point we were both museum-ed out for the day, so we headed over to a different kind of institution: Harrods!

Totally unaffordable but very very pretty...especially the shoes.  I really need to get over my love of rhinestoned shoes-it's such a problem.

My final day in London we woke up early to see the 'treasures room' of the British National Library.  It was amazing!  There were works from all over the world, but my favorites were the ones about famous works--some of the earliest mentions of the Hamlet story and journal entries by authors such as Austen and Bronte.  There was also a really neat display of different publications of Alice in Wonderland, including the original Dodgson copy for the real Alice and his journals/letters.  I was especially fond of the Dali-illustrated version.

Dali's interpretation of the caterpillar scene

The rest of the day was spent doing traditional site-seeing: walking along the Thames, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey.  In the evening we caught a train to Edinburgh.  A whirlwind couple of days, but a wonderful trip!

the 'London Eye' from across the river

me with Big Ben

Westminster Abbey with some artsy-looking trees

St James Park 

a war monument near Buckingham Palace

outside the palace gates!

Marginally Related and About Clothing...but Not Tartan!

Ok, so I still need to write about London but I'm heading back tomorrow for a Vogue Magazine event and am exhausted, so instead here's a sneak peak.  My one thing I really wanted to do in London was go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which we did and I was thrilled with it.  I kept walking around corners and freaking out about stuff...which it seems is turning into a really bad habit of mine (oh, well).
One of the things I had a conniption about was a costume on display in the Performing Arts section of the museum, which had been worn by Adam Ant in the music video for Prince Charming.  I LOVE Adam Ant.  As he describes in one of his songs, he's an "eighteenth century brain in a twenty-first century head".  Fabulous.  Prince Charming is actually one of my least favorite songs, but the music video for it is awesome.  Here it is:


Love the ridiculous 1980s-ness of the whole thing.  Here's the costume from the V and A:

 I was really pleased.

And just because I've got you now:

Melrose Abbey

So in my post about Refreshers' Weekend I mentioned that on Sunday we visited the ruins of a twelfth century abbey.  It was flurrying a bit while we were there an pretty cold, which seemed perfectly gloomy and atmospheric for wandering around the ruins.  The site was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, and the abbey was built in different sections between its founding and the sixteenth century.  The Cistercian monks who lived there were a silent order, and were very involved in local production and sheep farming.  The town of Melrose grew up around the abbey during the years, and was a target of many attacks during wartime from the 13-1500s.  It ceased to function as a monastery in 1590, and was afterwards used as a community church.

 Due to the many attacks on the place, very little of the original structure still stands.  Most of the site is full of foundations from earlier parts of the buildings that were destroyed.

 Melrose Abbey also holds a graveyard and various memorial plaques on the walls throughout the structure.  I was really excited because a lot of the writing is in Latin-I had an easier time deciphering that than I did the bits in Scots!  One of the most famous supporters of the Abbey was Robert the Bruce, who was king from 1306-1329.  He's a legendary hero in Scottish history, and led the Scots during the War of Scottish Independance.  Before his death, Robert requested that his heart be removed from his body when he was dead and taken on crusade (which he had failed to do during his lifetime) and then buried in Melrose Abbey (his body is buried elsewhere).

 His wished were carried out, and the embalmed heart of Robert the Bruce is now interred at the abbey.  It was excavated during restoration work in the 1990s, and reburied with this commemorative stone.  It says A noble hart may have nane ease  Gif freedom failye.

 The construction of the abbey is really beautiful, and a lot of the intricate work around the windows and inside alcoves is still in pretty good shape.

At the corners of each window arch were faces, and each one was making a different expression:

 Throughout the ruins of the other wings of the complex were little signs about life as a monk and what each part of the building would have been used for.  I listened to an audio guide provided by Historic Scotland, which preserves the abbey, which was really interesting.  This section of foundation was for the abbey kitchen--my favorite room!

 One of the sixteenth century buildings has been converted into a museum about the place, so we explored in there as well.  This sign was on the fence as we went inside:

 I thought it was funny, because it's not often one needs to be warned about medieval culverts.  It was an actual warning though-the culverts weren't roped off or anything.

one of the culverts

In the museum I learned that before the abbey was built, the area had been the site of a Roman military fort from when Britain was part of the Roman Empire.  During excavations many artifacts from the Roman era of the place have been discovered, and we got to see a few of them, like these stones.

 The fort was under the control of Governor Agricola, which I was really excited to find out.  When I took Latin we used the Cambridge Latin Course, which uses a soap-opera-esque series of stories to teach vocabulary and grammar.  In the later textbooks, the main character goes to Britain and Agricola is featured in the story, as is his successful conquering of Scotland.  Naturally, this had to be explained to everyone I was with because otherwise the jumping up and down I was doing looked a little nuts.

a plan of the Roman fort

the workings of a sixteenth century abbey clock

The museum was interesting, and the ruins as a whole were really beautiful.  It was a nice break for my calves from all the dancing, too!  We never did find the gargoyle that's supposed to be shaped like a pig, though...
I'll leave you with an excerpt from The Lay of the Last Minstrel, written by Walter Scott:
f thou would'st view fair Melrose aright, 
Go visit it by the pale moonlight; 
For the gay beams of lightsome day 
Gild, but to flout, the ruins grey. 
Where the broken arches are black in night, 
And each shafted oriel glimmers white; 
When the cold light's uncertain shower 
Streams on the ruin'd central tower; 
When buttress and buttress, alternately, 
Seem fram'd of ebon and ivory; 
When silver edges the imagery, 
And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die;
When distant Tweed is heard to rave 
And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave 
Then go—but go alone the while—
Then view St. David's ruin'd pile;
And, home returning, soothly swear, 
Was never scene so sad and fair! 

Exploring Rotterdam

My cousins live about 30 minutes from the city of Rotterdam.  Lynn and I both love art museums, so we were able to take a trip to Rotterdam to poke around.  The collection at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen was incredible-but the art around the city was a great modern addition to the museum!

outside the museum

quick PSA:  I don't have any pictures from inside the museum, because like many museums the Boijmans Van Beuningen requests that no pictures be taken inside the collection.  This is because modern cameras can damage and destroy the artifacts and paintings on display.  Also, pictures taken in museums can be a security risk. You can read more about the specifics here, and general museum etiquette here.
Ok, enough ranting.  I've worked in the museum industry for eight years, and it drives me nuts when I see people blatantly ignoring rules.

The museum had an amazing collection, spanning from renaissance art all the way to modern works.  My favorite sections were the Impressionists--which had works by some artists I already love (including Monet and Degas) and some I was unfamiliar with (like Alfred Sisley)--and the Surrealists.

La maison du pêcheur, Varengeville, 1882 by Claude Monet

Orchard in Spring, by Alfred Sisley

  I discovered I really enjoyed the sculptures by Salvador Dali-I hadn't known he worked in other mediums besides painting!
Here was one I really liked:

Lobster Telephone 1938, by Salvador Dali

There was also a lot to see outside the museum.  Walking to the central shopping area of Rotterdam there was a lot of great street art.  Here are some of my favorites:

on the side of a building.  it says "We're all freaks Be Superman!"

outside the Museum Boijmans

in an alley to a parking lot

There were also a few flower shops, with tulip bulbs even though it was winter!

 In the main shopping area there was a kiosk selling all different type of fries (or chips, as they're called here) with different sauces.  Lynn wanted to introduce me to "pindu sauce," which is a peanut sauce.  It was actually really yummy, and perfect for a cold day!

Ok, time to get back to healthy food.  Good thing art goes with everything!