6.12.09

Because this was the first Sunday of the month, most of the museums in Paris are free to the public. We decided this would be our museum day. I couldn’t wait to show Rachel the Orsay (my favorite museum). We asked the front desk of the hostel about the museums and a woman told us that the Orsay was closed because the workers were on strike. Disappointed, we decided to head to

the Louvre and then walk by the Orsay, just so Rachel could see the building (an old train station). We took the metro to the Louvre and were met with the LONGEST LINE EVER. It was quite ridiculous. We contemplated waiting but then headed over the Seine to the Orsay just to kill some time.

To our surprise, it was open AND we got in free! I was thrilled. After walking around for a little, we splurged and ate an amazing lunch in the museum cafe, right under the giant clock. I had fantastic carpaccio and Rachel had a giant, delicious salad.

We walked around a little more, before heading back the Louvre. I absolutely adore the Orsay. Not only is the art amazing, you could take it all out and the space itself is beautiful. They had a really cool exhibit about art nouveau which we both really liked. Here are some pictures of my favorite pieces:

The line at the Louvre was still ridiculous so we abandoned that dream and started to walk through the Tuileries Gardens. Unfortunately, it began to POUR. Not just rain, but ABSOLUTELY POUR. Rachel and I were both soaked in a matter of seconds even though we did have our umbrellas. We took refuge on the ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde (10 E). The views of the city would have been amazing if it had been clear, but we still got to check out the lay of the land and stay dry for a minute.

After madly dashing across the Place de la Concorde, we discovered all the Christmas markets on the Champs Elysees! It was different than I had expected. I thought the markets would be a lot more touristy, but it seemed as though there were more locals than tourists. The shops sold more goods like hats, trinkets, and jewelry, than Paris souvenirs.

It was around 2:30 and I knew that the Opera Ganier was having a performance at 3. We dashed to the metro and ran to the opera house hoping to get tickets, but alas, non for us. At least Rachel got to see the opera; the building is very impressive.

We took the metro back to the Latin Quarter and had coffee and crepes. On the previous night, while we were aimlessly walking through the city, we came across a little chapel that was advertising classical concerts (15 E). We decided to go as we were not able to make it to the opera. The chapel was tiny and pretty cold (unfortunately for our still soggy selves) but the concert was great.

The cellist was a French student (I think) in his early 20s and he played Bach’s cello suites (my favorite). The music was beautiful and as an encore he played a piece by a Spanish composer that reminded me of Pan’s Labyrinth (great movie).

Back to the hostel and Thai food for dinner. Yum!

BONJOUR, PAIR-EE!!!

5.12.09

Rachel and I embarked on our magical, impromptu journey to the city of lights and crepes. Our flight out of Luton was early so we left Oxford before the sun came up (I was not pleased). We took the bus to the airport where we had the worst food ever (almost inedible mocha and sandwich for me) and then played 20 Questions until we boarded. Our flight was only an hour! We landed in Charles de Gualle on time, found the RER B train into the city (8,5 E), transfered metro lines, and made it to our hostel unscathed and very proud of our traveling abilities. The hostel was fantastic. It was called Oops and was right at the start of the Latin Quarter. We got complementary breakfast, too! There was a metro stop literally 10 seconds away and it turned out to be in walking distance of a lot of the things we wanted to see. Our roommate in the 4 person room we shared was a girl from Fordham, who was really nice but we didn’t talk to her too much.

It was late afternoon, but we were both tired from traveling and little sleep, so we decided to take it easy and not try to tour anything. We went out on a little walk and wound up seeing the Latin Quarter, an adorable fruit market, the Pantheon, the Eiffel Tower in the distance, Notre Dame (complete with Christmas tree, organ service, and nativity), the Seine, and Hotel de Ville. Not bad for a little stroll. However, it started to rain once we left Notre Dame, so we were a little bit wet and very hungry. We headed back to Oops to eat at the restaurant next door and went to bed.

My Apologies

Dearest fans,

I apologize profusely for my lack of postings. I am, I hate to admit, an inadequate blogger. However, I have decided to change my blog into a travel blog, chronicling my journeys outside of Oxford. Daily life here is a bit mundane, and I am a bit lazy/ busy, so this should work out well for everyone. Enjoy the details of my adventures. Comments are welcome!

Au revoir,

Robin

[At this point I have only been to Paris and Istanbul. I will attempt to post my musings and recollections as soon as possible, which might take a little longer than I would like since I am currently without internet in my room. I'll post each of my trips separately to get up more postings faster. Good luck to me!]

Matriculation!

Ok, I kind of lied in the title. Today was Matriculation, but as a visiting student, I was not allowed to participate in the actual ceremony. However, we were included in the freshers' photo and the ridiculous amount of photo taking afterward so we didn't feel too left out. As one of the shorter/est people in the college, I was in the last section of people to be fit onto the risers and wound up almost directly behind the Master in the front center. I will be easy to spot! We got some amazing Tufts in Oxford photos as well. Here are pictures:

There's the Master! We can purchase the official photo later and I think I might. It's every one of the freshers plus most of the visiting students. Hopefully a good souvenir! We are all wearing "sub fusc" which means robes plus black and white nice clothes. For formal hall we only have to wear the robes over whatever we have on. I tend to dress up a little more for Sundays because it's the fanciest dinner and we get served wine!

I'm hearing the bells at Christ Church ring for 1:00 (or 13:00 as they call it here). I like being so close to the bell tower; I can see it out my window. Actually, I think we're going to hall at Christ Church tonight for dinner. Pembroke does not have hall on Saturdays so they give us the option of going over to our neighbors'. I haven't been inside yet so I'm really excited to see it! Apparently the Great Hall in Harry Potter was based on their hall! I'll try to take some pictures, Mom!

Week 1 DONE (almost)

I am almost done with my first full week in Oxford. It has been an eventful one. I met my tutor and I am incredibly excited about my tutorials. I am taking Renaissance literature and

Milton. She assigned us our first papers for the week. I definitely had to buckle down and write them. It meant 2 nights of little to

no sleep but they are done! If anyone is interested (which I doubt unless you are an English major), I wrote my Renaissance one on power and self-destruction in 3 of Marlowe's plays and my Milton paper on the idea of conception and the womb in Paradise Lost. I was fairly pleased with the results and was excited about discussing them in class. Unfortunately, my tutorials were canceled because my tutor has the flu. We are going to reschedule.

I also have been going to some lectures at the EFL (English Faculty Library). We go to them to supplement what we are learning in tutorial. I loved the one I went to on Milton and it gave me some good ideas for my paper. The EFL is a little ways away, about a 15-20 minutes walk but it's been fine because the weather has been so nice. I was expecting rain every day but it

actually has been beautiful.

A group of us went out for Rachel's birthday on Monday. Happy birthday, Rachel!!! We went to the Duke of Cambridge which was a really nice bar. We were the only ones there for a bit but had a great time and took some fun pictures.

One of my favorite things I've done this week is join the Oxford archery team! I am SO excited about it. I'm going to have my first practice on Thursday or Friday. Wish me luck! Hopefully I won't be too awful/ shoot anyone.

Tomorrow we have the freshers' photo where we all get dressed up with robes and take a huge picture of all the new students at Pembroke. It's right before matriculation but visiting students don't get to take part in that because we are not actually getting a degree from Oxford.

I'm off to get started on some more reading!

'ello London! (and Oxford)

After a few great days in London, I am successfully situated at Pembroke College. My dad and I had a fantastic time in London (largely thanks to Michael) and were able to do a bit of sightseeing and British fun. The flight was fine and we arrived ready to go. On our first night, we went to La Famiglia and ate dinner next to Paul McCartney! It was a great start to my time in England.

The next day (Thursday), Dad and I stopped in at Michael's store (which was very impressive) and then made our way to th

e Tube. We decided to visit the British museum on a whim and it was fantastic! We were both really impressed by the architecture of the main lobby which is covered by a beautiful glass ceiling. Their Egyptian and Greek collection is amazing. We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin marbles. SO COOL. Right before we went in, we discovered a shop called "It's All Greek" which sells reproductions of Greek and Roman antiquities. I think I am going to have to go back there to get some decorations for my room. I have my eye on a Greek bronze helmet...

We then walked to Westminster Abbey, going by Trafalgar Square on the way.

We decided to go to Evensong at the Abbey which was really interesting. The abbey itself is beautiful and the service was attended by the high commissioner of Cyprus. We headed back to Michael's and had a great dinner/ club experience.

On Friday, we visited the Natural History Museum which was a lot of fun. The building itself was great. Then we swung by the Sherlock Holmes Museum which was a little weird but kind of quaint. I got my picture taken with Dr. Watson! We decided we still had some time left and headed to the Tower. They were having a Henry VIII exhibit which was very interesting and very well done. We then made it back to Michael's to change and headed out to dinner with some friends. Dinner was amazing and I had a wond

erful time and a lot of fun.

After a quick stop at Portobello Road, Michael drove us to Oxford on Saturday. We wanted to move my bags in early but the master's son was getting married so I decided I probably should avoid disrupting the wedding. We headed to the Tilbury Inn and then back to town. We walked around Oxford for a bit, said goodbye to Michael, ate an early dinner, and returned the the inn for an early night. Unfortunately, I have come down with a cold so I didn't sleep too well.

I finally moved

into Pembroke on Sunday morning! Dad helped me unpack a bit and then I walked him to the bus station. I'm glad we were able to have such a good time in London! I walked back to Pembroke and unpacked some more, met up with Tufts (and nonTufts!) people, met the coordinators of the Tufts-at-Oxford program, went shopping for bedding, had predinner drinks, and had dinner in the impressive dining room. But they weren't done with us yet! The JCR staff (orientation leaders) took all of us out to a local cocktail bar and we had a great time mingling and getting to know each other. Everyone is so nice here!

Today hasn't been that exciting. I'm about to go take a tour and go to a

talk or something. I'm trying to learn as much as possible about the way things work around here! It's going to be a very busy year!

"The time has come," the walrus said!

Tonight is my last night at home before I traipse over to England: the land of the Queen, proper comma usage, and crumpets. I am excited about the epic adventures I am bound to have, but less excited about the prospect of waking up at 4 AM, taking a 5:30 bus, running through the airport, probably not having coffee, and making an 8:20 plane. However, I shan't complain as I will be in London tomorrow night. The Sherlock Holmes museum awaits me!