J-Term in London and Paris: Day 5

DAY 5

Today we went to the Tate Modern and then I went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

At the Tate Modern, the first thing I saw was a piece by a visiting artist, Ai Weiwei. It was interesting, though I cannot say that I grasped the meaning. I was disappointed that we could no longer interact with the piece like it was intended. To be honest, I have never been a fan of modern art, and I have not been exposed to much either. It was nice to see more modern and contemporary art, and to broaden my horizons.

The highlight of my day was going to see the Globe Theatre. It was absolutely amazing. I went with another student on the trip, Jon Kopman, and it was a great experience. Unfortunately we were not allowed on the stage for safety reasons, but we were able to go right up to it. I learned quite a bit of information from our tour guide. I was aware that the Globe is just a replica, that the original burned down. I wasn't aware that it is actually the third. After the first burned down they built another, but that one was demolished when the Puritans came to power in England. Also, I learned that the Globe is not on the original site, it's about a minute away.

Journal Question: What did you do today that was not on the itinerary?

Today I went to the Globe Theatre. It was on the list of suggested sites, but it was not mandatory for the group to go there. It was right down the road from the Tate Modern, so it was easy to get to and seemed like the best choice. I love Shakespeare, and many of his plays were performed there and still are, and it has always been a dream of mine to see the Globe Theatre.

London and Paris: Day 4

On day four, we went to the Tate Britain and to the Imperial War Museum. It was difficult because I was sick, but I decided I wanted to stick it out and see the museums for the day.

At Tate Britain, the Eadweard Muybridge exhibition was wonderful. I love how the artist dissected the movements of people and animals, and then put them together to make moving pictures. His creations were not only incredibly creative, but they were also scientific breakthroughs in science with photography and motion pictures.

My favorite piece at the Tate Britain was a painting of an actress playing Lady Macbeth during one of her monologues. Her expression was riveting and I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. Macbeth is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and I love Lady Macbeth's scenes and monologues. The painting was gorgeous.

After spending the morning and early afternoon at the Tate Britain, we went to the Imperial War Museum. It was a great museum. It had tons of interactive exhibits, and a ton of objects. The three exhibits I saw were the submarine exhibit, the Secret War, and the Holocaust exhibit.

The submarine exhibit was really interesting. It had a ton of interactive aspects to it, and I really loved how I could crawl onto a replica of a bunk that would have been present in the submarines. It barely fit me, and I can't imagine how it could fit a full grown man. The Secret War was great too. It showed the reality of spies and it was very interesting.

The highlight of the museum was the Holocaust exhibit. It had tons of information, videos, and it even had a miniature replica of Auschwitz, the concentration and extermination camp. I had seen a few Holocaust exhibits before this one, and some movies, but this seemed so different. It not only talked about the history of what happened, but it also explored more analytical ways of looking at the Holocaust. It made the visitor think about how it could have happened, not what happened.

Journal Question: Describe in detail one object you have seen today as though you were explaining it to a person who cannot see.

Its a large rectangular painting. The woman is pale, and beautiful, yet desperate. She is standing, her hands thrust into the air holding a large gold crown above her head, looking forward but slightly up. She is wearing an ornate green dress, that looks Celtic like in design. It is adorned with gold. Her skin is pale, almost white and it contrasts so well with her hair, which is a deep red. Her hair is in two long braids that fall past her knees.

J-Term in London and Paris: Days 2 and 3

DAY 2

On our second day in London we Nelsons Column, West Minster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and after splitting up, my small group went to Buckingham Palace.

Nelsons Column was interesting to see. Since I had joined the class late I wasn't there for the original presentation, so all the information was new to me. I found it interesting that supposedly the statue is a very good likeness of Nelson. I also thought the story about people eating at the top of it after it was finished was hilarious. It was pretty gloomy at that part of the day, so visually, the gray column blended in with everything else, but it's sheer size was so impressive.

My favorite part of the day was when we stopped at Whitehall. We arrived, and some of us were getting our pictures taken with the guards when we realized we had arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard, and it was amazing to see. I love all the traditions and spectacle in British society.

Next, we went to West Minster Abbey. I have never been a huge fan of churches, but West Minster changed my mind. It had so many sculptures and tombs and artworks shoved into one space, it was absolutely mind blowing. The best part was seeing Queen Elizabeth I's tomb. I love learning about her, her reign, and her family, and seeing her tomb was like touching the history.

After that we went around the block and saw the Houses of Parliament. I had never realized that Big Ben was attached to Parliament, so I found that very interesting. The rest of the building was beautiful as well , and I liked learning more about the different houses and where they are located in the building.

Our final stop was Buckingham Palace. It was gorgeous, but I was a little disappointed that the guards in red were not there, and the guards that were there were inside the gate. I was able to get great panorama shoots of the palace and the surrounding square. I liked that fact that the gates entering the square were all named after British colonies.

Journal Question: How does it feel to be in a different country?

At first, when I got off the plane, it didn't feel much different, but after awhile it really sunk in. After it sinking in I had a strange mix of homesickness and excitement. I was stoked to be in a different country and have new experiences, but at the same time I missed being home and with the familiar. It was shocking to realize how much further back in time London is from. The United States hasn't been around nearly as long as England has, and its really apparent when you get there and see the really old architecture and cultural traditions.

DAY 3

Day three started off at the British Museum, then we broke off and my group went to the Tower of London and on a boat tour to the London Eye and West Minster.

At the British Museum I gave my presentation on the "The Younger Memnon," the colossal bust of Ramesses II. It was great to see my work of art up close and to stand right next to it giving my presentation. I also really enjoyed the Rosetta Stone, and being able to look at other pieces of Egyptian art.

Seeing my assigned piece was the highlight of my day, but going to the Tower of London was a close second. It was amazing to see all the rich history present there. They had a special room about torture, and they had replicas of what would have been used to torture those confined in the Tower. It was great to see the Crown Jewels as well. They were absolutely beautiful. The coronation robes were also there, and they looked like they were completely made of gold.

The day was finished off by a night boat tour on the Thames, from the Tower of London to the Eye of London and West Minster. During the day the boat tour has a guided talk, but nothing can compare to the beauty of touring the city at night. Right after we got off the boat I got a great panorama of the skyline with the London Eye in it. The city was all light up and seeing the mix of industrial and old architecture was made even better by being seen at night.

Journal Question: How do you feel now that you have seen the monument that you were assigned? Is it better or worse than you expected?

I feel just as excited about my monument after seeing it as I did before. Before I saw it, I was a little confused about how the sculptures made the top of the head pink and the rest gray, but after looking at the distinct line and change in color, it really hit me how skillful they were. I felt like a kid in a candy shop when I got to the British Museum, I couldn't wait to see my piece, and other Egyptian art. Mine did not let me down.

J-Term in London and Paris: Day 1

Today was the first day of my J-Term trip to London and Paris. We spent the night on a 6 hour flight from Newark, New Jersey and arrived in England at 6:40 in the morning. We spent the day relaxing, and caching up sleep (conquering jet lag).

My roommate and I spent the morning sitting at a Starbucks, very European of us, then spent a good three hours sleeping off the plane ride. After getting out of our sleep deprived stupors we got dressed and headed out to dinner. Down the road from our hotel is a nice little open air shopping center with restaurants. Our first dinner in London was at a place called Giraffe, and it was great. It was a "world cuisine" restaurant with all sorts of different food. I figured, since I was in England and they are big for tea, I had a tea to drink and ended up with a Quesadilla. It was delicious and the atmosphere was very eclectic.

Tomorrow starts the real trip though, with museum visits and sightseeing.