Brugge, Belgium

On the way back from Amsterdam, we stopped in Brugge for about an hour. Long enough to have a small lunch and a BIG Belgian Waffle which I had to take a picture of because it was incredible!!! Of course, how couldn't it be covered in Chocolate sauce and ice cream! Brugge is beautiful, just wish we had time to check it out more throughly. It really reminded me of Italy, very small and narrow streets and cute little shops. We even happened upon a marrionette workshop. So that was the tour. Don't you just feel like you were there?!

Heineken

Can't go to Amsterdam without drinking some Heineken and we took a tour of the brewery. It was pretty good, just like any other brewery, but this one came with rides and 2 bars along the tour for drink stops! It was fun, but we spent way too long there and didn't have a chance to do much more in Amsterdam. We made it to the Anne Frank Museum with a half hour to rush through it, I definately don't recommend that. But now I have an excuse to go check it out again. I met some really great people on the trip who are all doing this same program I am, working for 6 months in London and will be traveling back to Amsterdam with them soon.

Clogs and cheese, cheese and clogs...

So this is what Holland is known for (at least in the countryside!) and we got a tour of a 2-in-1 factory. They made cheese and clogs, I know, strange combination. But it was interesting! The guy on the bottom is giving us a demonstration on how to carve a wooden shoe and that is me on the top - just the right size, don't you think! I even bought a pair, shoes are my downfall after all! But not like the ones you see on the left, they are normal shoes with blue leather tops and a wooden sole. Very comfy! I have been wanting some, and figured while in Holland, why not???

Laban Center

Last week I got to go and visit the Laban Center, a building that I studied in Grad School, that was right now the street from where I am staying, it was so great! So that is me on the left, taking pictures of the building in typical architect fashion! And then obviously the building on the right. It is a center for Contemporary Dance in Europe, attracts students from all over the world. It was a great building, and I even got to go on a tour. And as you can see, the weather was typical London, grey skies and raining.

Ah, the Brits...

I have decided that the Brits are very straight forward people, they say exactly what they think. I guess I thought that was true of Americans before I came here, but I now know that is not true. We are much more likely to beat around the bush and be polite, whereas the Brits don't bother with that, they get to the point, and I am having to figure out who is being rude, and who is just plain getting to the point. Oh yes, cultural differences...

Fun-filled weekend in the city!

I felt like a true London-ite this weekend. My roommate from Maryland, Sarah, put me in touch with a friend of hers that lives over here and on Friday night I joined her and her friends at her birthday party in Islington. It was great hanging out with people my age and they were all so friendly! And then on Saturday, James and I went Museum hopping, it was a very cultured day. We went to see an exhibit by Dan Flavin, who I learned about from my Professor, Ronit, and we saw a few pieces when we went to New York to see the Gates. It was really fun, lots of people where there and the exhibit was great. Then we browsed at a book market down below the Waterloo Bridge, and took in the sights of the London Eye and the Thames River. We headed over to the National Gallery where I had intended on seeing the Cezanne Exhibit, but when we got there, realized that the exhibit was in the National Gallery in DC, not London. So we decided to stay and see the permanent exhibit which was great, Degas, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and a few Cezanne paintings.

So then on Sunday, it was rainy and dreary, but I went over to the local shopping center to buy a new hairdryer, after i had fried mine in the outlet. I knew that the outlets would be different, but I totally forgot about the different volts of the outlets. So needless to stay, it was dead quickly. Then James and I went to see Brokeback Mountain. It was a great movie, I totally recommend it. And after we got home, we saw the BAFTA's, the British version of the Oscars and Brokeback Mountain won best picture and best movie, it was great!

My tube stop-

So this is the tube stop right around the corner from James's flat. And you can even see that his building is on the wall of the underground stop, it is famous i suppose! It is the dark thing in the center of the picture with the yellow colored band in the center.

James's Building in Rotherhithe-

So this is where I have been staying in London. James bought a flat on the lower level of this building, a very nice 1 bedroom place and i have made good use of his couch! It is nicely updated, with exposed beams and such that makes the architect in me happy.

It was a beautiful day!

View of the Thames River from the neighborhood where I am staying with James in Rotherhithe. This is a great neighborhood, very residential but very close to the city on the Tube. In the center of the pict is the Tower Bridge, and the city is on the right, you can barely see the Gherkin Building, designed by Foster and Partners, the tallest one on the far right.

Underground Map-

If you look at the link to the right, and see the dark blue tube line, called the Picidilly Line, and follow it up to the right, you will come across the Caledonian Road station, which is where I will hopefully be living.

So i might have found a room today...the pickings here are slim to say the least. At one point in the search, I was wondering where all of these thousands of people live! I have searched in every corner of this city, probably seen 20 places, and out of those I have seen 2 that I could imagine living in. So I have attemped to take 1 and went out for a beer in the local pub with them last night, and they are really nice. I will have 3 flatmates, and we will share 1 bathroom, a very small lounge and a kitchen. My requirement have taken a tumble since i started this whole process.

Oh and in the process, i got totally chewed out by this really obnoxious guy yesterday. I told him I was an American, which up to this time has not been a problem, in fact people seem to be very open to it. But not this guy, he was horrible. He was a rental agent, and the way he makes money is to show people flats, then if they like them, he takes a cut of the rent when you move in. But specially for me, he told me that I had to pay him to just see the place, after he told me that his services are for free until i move in. So after i questioned him on it, he started yelling at me how americans only take advantage of people and that i was only going to use him and then not pay in the end. It was horrible!!! I told him that I didn't appreciate being yelled at and started to leave and he just continued yelling as I walked out of the office. It freaked me out, but luckily nothing bad happened, he was just a royal pain the ass. I couldn't believe his assumptions, I guess that is what discrimination feels like, never had to deal with that before. Strange stuff...i guess i have been lucky.

Don't mind the postings at the bottom, this site was developed for my Professional Practice class at school. Thank god that class is over!

Having left Grad school and flown across the pond to London, I thought I would start a blog site to keep up to date with my friends and family back in the States. Please let me know if there is any thing that I should add to my new site! Love to all! Laura