Paris

Just came home from an amazing weekend in Paris. Six friends and I took the Eurostar, stayed in a hotel from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday morning, and managed to survive in a country where none of us knew the language (fortunately some of the French are more worldly than us). Without a doubt, I ended up going over budget, but it was well worth it. I'll post some pictures for now, but I'll probably follow up with a post or two about the experience in words.

A heated towel rack in our hotel bathroom. A nice touch that works wonders. I had a good impression of France already.

The Notre Dame Cathedral. The interior was astounding, and the architecture intricate the entire way around.

A view of Paris from the Notre Dame Cathedral. Not sure where I was pointing lol.

The quintessential inverted pyramid of the Louvre. It was raining that day so I didn't get a picture of the outdoor pyramids. Now there's an Apple and Virgin store on either side of this pyramid. Interesting juxtaposition, as Jack Martin would say.

The Mona Lisa, duh. She was her own wall in the middle of a room of spectacular art, including The Wedding Feast at Cana, and her own three bodyguards. High maintenance, if you ask me

The people around the Mona Lisa. I apologize to any art buffs that I'm going to offend, but I personally found this aspect more interesting than the painting. Someone in the art world said this was one of the greatest paintings in the world, and now everyone has to have a picture with her. Of course, the painting was well done in that I could never make it even in a lifetime, but what makes it the greatest?

The Arc de Triumph. It's in the middle of a traffic circle, and there's a tunnel that goes below the street so you can access it. We didn't know that little fact so we ran across all 8 lanes of traffic. My friends were stopped by the police when they made it to the Arc, who just shook their heads and pointed at the tunnel. I saw oncoming traffic as my friends ran so I waited for my own clearing. A couple was laughing as I waited for my opportunity, and they promised they'd videotape me as I ran across (they probably knew about the tunnel, those jerks). Anyway, we weren't the only clueless ones since five people followed my friends, which meant there were over ten people running at once, which is why the police saw them.

The Champs Elysses from the Arc de Triumph. We went into the Louis Vutton store (think six guys with jeans) and were blown away by the decadence. We found a watch that cost 65,000 euros. Anyway, I'm sure when the trees have leaves, this shot makes for a nice view. They had the same squared-off trees here as the Luxembourg Gardens. I still can't understand why squared-off trees are appealing, I guess we have our squared-off bushs so I shouldn't be talking.

The Eiffel Tower, another duh. We waited in line for nearly 2 hours (?), but the view from the top was well worth it.

The Seine River from the Eiffel Tower during the evening. It was so cold that everyone's hands were shaking after the long wait. This picture is only one of two good ones that I got.

I took over 200 photos in Paris in four days. I've only taken around 75 photos in London in the three weeks I've been here. Granted, I haven't visited the West End and Big Ben yet, but London's got some catching up to do. Ohh geeez, as Carl would say

Tate Britain

It wasn't drizzling today! See in London, that's the sign of a good day. Most days I wake up to a gray sky and an ubiquitous chilly mist. In New York, you're happy when it's sunny, but in London, your standards are much lower; you're happy as long as it's not drizzling. It can be cold, overcast, earthquaking, but as long as it's not drizzly, consider yourself lucky.

Anyway, seizing this once-in-a-week phenomenon, I went to Tate Britain, apparently one of the best collections of historical and contemporary British art. I woke up at 10:00, and no one seemed to be awake, so I decided to enjoy the excursion alone.

The historical art was excellent, with an extensive exhibit on J.M.W Turner along with noteworthy pieces by William Hogarth and John Everett Millais. I'm sure the others were good too, but they weren't worth remembering (just kidding!). The contemporary art was eh; I'm not a big fan of it anyway, and it didn't do much to convince me otherwise.

The museum didn't allow pictures so the only shot I got was the exterior. Although I think the sign at the top ("Everything is going to be alright") is awesome, especially juxtaposed with the elaborate architecture.

I hate the people who are so steeped in their life goal - whether it be art, finance, fashion, whatever - that they can't step back and take themselves less seriously, even for a minute. I'm sure the director of the Tate has devoted his whole life to studying art and to obtaining that prestigious position, but he still felt comfortable "dirtying" (as I'm sure some art connoisseurs would say) the museum with that sign. Nonetheless, it's awesome. It's similar to the time on the Daily Show when Tim Gunn of Project Runway said something to the effect of "Fashion is my life, but for some people, it's nothing more than putting clothes on your back every morning, and I understand that." Unless you're the President or the prime minister (I suppose I'm in the UK now), the world will be fine without you and your mediocre accomplishments. I hate the people who don't realize that lesson. Sorry for the rant. It came out of nowhere; as hard as it may be to believe, I'm in a pretty good mood right now lol.

Anyway, let me end with today's highlight, or actually low point. I was talking to the tour guide at the Tate before her tour, and I told her I was from New Jersey. In response, she did her best New York accent, scrunching her entire face to pronounce "coffee". Granted when I try a British accent, people say it sounds half-Jamaican so I shouldn't be talking, but then she proceeded to ask if everyone in New Jersey is like the Sopranos. I immediately said "No" before the tour started. However, as we started walking, I realized that people from other states think NJ is as stupid and vain as the Jersey Shore characters while people outside the States think it's as swaggering and lawless as Tony Soprano. At this point, McGreevey makes our state look good.

Greenwich

Yesterday we went on an NYU-sponsored trip to Greenwich. We saw the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House, and, of course, the Prime Meridian. We started off with an hour boat ride on the Thames (which, after two weeks in London, I realized is pronounced the "tems", not the "thames". Good job Pratik).

I was pleasantly surprised by all the history of Greenwich from John Harrison's maritime clocks to Christopher Wren's baroque architecture at the Royal Naval Hospital (now the Old Royal Naval College, which I think is part of Greenwich University) to Inigo Jones's classical construction of the Queen's House. According to Wikipedia, the Queen's House, now only used as a museum, will be a VIP center during the 2012 Olympics.

It's interesting to note that the Prime Meridian is only a convention. It was agreed upon in 1884 since over two-thirds of ship maps used it as their longitudinal meridian. This phenomenon related to the Greenwich Observatory and the fact that some guy (I forget his name, possibly John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal) spent most of his life studying the stars and making maps from Greenwich. I'm supposing that in these maps Greenwich is the reference point. Basically because King Charles II commissioned an observatory in Greenwich and some guy used it a lot, we now consider Greenwich to be the center of universal time. Nonetheless, standing on the Prime Meridian was ridiculously enjoyable.


Eastern Hemisphere on my left, Western on my right.


The Queen's House with its classical architecture. Interesting, but I'm always a bigger fan of baroque. There are interesting paintings and historical explanations inside.


The red ball tells time for Greenwich. For 55 minutes each hour, it lies at the bottom, but for the last five minutes it rises to the top. At the top of every hour, it falls. Since the building is on a hill, it was used by the ships on the Thames to tell when the top of the hour came, to calibrate their clocks, and to set sail.

This building is part of the Old Royal Naval College, designed by Christopher Wren. The architecture is simply amazing. The columns on the bottom of the picture stretch for an entire block on both sides with domes, bells, and benches aplenty.

This painting depicts William and Mary and lies on the ceiling of the Painted Hall in the Old Royal Naval College. Again, simply amazing. The entire hall, from floor to ceiling, is covered by similarly detailed and vivid paintings. The tour guide was explaining the history and politics shown in all the paintings, but I couldn't get over just the artwork to even start listening to him.

The Hawley Arms

Tonight I went on a walking tour of Camden Town, known for its large weekend markets and musical history. Though I hadn't signed up for the NYU event, Natalie and I endured the 35-minute walk from our dorm. I was creepily standing to the side, pretending I was on the phone when they were taking attendance. Thankfully Sabira checked that they didn't care and called me over. Imagine trying to explain yourself to an angry Londoner, I don't even know what an angry Londoner looks like.

Anyway, the tour was semi-interesting but mostly cold. I learned that I am completely unaware of British music. The tour guide was talking about Blur and Madness practicing in a couple buildings, but absolutely no one in our 30-person group recognized either band. However, we did nod our heads when he said Oasis, The Clash, and Led Zeppelin played in many of the same venues.

The highlight of the night came when, after the tour, Natalie and I went to The Hawley Arms, a bar that the tour guide had introduced as one of Amy Winehouse's stomping grounds. Obviously we didn't see Winehouse, but we did see two live bands - Euphoria Audio and Isaac's Aircraft.

I am no music connoisseur by any means, but Euphoria Audio reminded me of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Mayer (I think Gravity by them on YouTube is a cover). Isaac's Aircraft is more extensively covered on YouTube so I won't even try to classify them. In person, I liked Euphoria Audio much better with their lyrics and passion, but listening to the music again on YouTube, I think I'd be more likely to have Isaac's Aircraft on my Ipod. Both were good bands, definitely worth a listen if you have some free time on your hands.

The bar's atmosphere was awesome. On the first floor was traditional rock music and bar while on the second floor were the live bands. I was surprised by the ranges of ages of the listeners. Natalie and I were probably the youngest ones there while I'm sure some of the others were in their mid-forties to fifties. Everybody was enjoying the music, and no one, at least on the second floor, seemed to be drinking to get drunk. It was a very peaceful and conducive environment for chilling out and just enjoying the music. Of course, I'm sure Winehouse doesn't come only for the music. Nonetheless, I'd still be up for visiting The Hawley's Arms another night, and maybe even spotting the hot mess herself.

Romanian Club

As Ian pointed out, the British Museum wasn't exactly the most un-academic thing to do on our last free weekend. So we finished the day (last Saturday 01/16) by going to an NYU event at a bar called Smithys in Islington (?), quickly returning home for a few rounds of Flip Cup, and going to a Romanian club called the Arc between Islington and Angel.

Though we didn't stay at Smithys for long, it looked like a fun place to hang out. We came home, and I played my first rounds of Flip Cup ever (This was the second night I'd ever drank. James recorded my misadventures of the previous night on his blog, lifeafterarc.blogspot.com). I managed to hold my own, even as we used cheap Tesco vodka and white rum instead of beer.

A bit before midnight, we made our way to a club. As we were walking, I irreverently added to the rainwater drenching London's streets (another first for the night). Anyway, upon spotting the Arc, we decided the other club was much too far. Much to our surprise, the Arc turned out to be a Romanian club, with neither music nor a DJ that we could understand.

Nonetheless, we spent the next two hours there, avoiding the advances of the older, mid- to late-20s crowd. Unfortunately, some of my friends weren't so lucky. Kevin found himself trapped by a girl who fancied him and her guy friends who encouraged her advances. I for one thought he was enjoying himself and pushed him into her arms, not realizing the unwanted spanks that would soon come his way.

We even formed a conga line and played limbo (two more firsts for a club). As you can see, this was not your typical Romanian club (if for some reason you have a typical Romanian club). As Yuha said it, "It was one of those nights you'll never forget, but one of those nights you'll never want to repeat." Actually I wouldn't mind repeating it. Any thoughts, Kevin? Just kidding

British Museum

Classes started yesterday so this weekend we waged our last stand against the oncoming siege of academia. On Saturday, we went to the British Museum. Putting the ethical implications aside, the selection was simply incredible; as an orientation leader had reminded us earlier "Britain had centuries to loot the greatest treasures from all over the world." Exhibits included Chinese ceramics, statues from Indian temples, African canoes, a replica of a Korean home, Middle Eastern bowls, etc. We didn't have time to take in everything (our stomachs led us elsewhere), but the museum is a must-see if you come to London. Below are some pictures.

I don't remember where this piece was from, but looks cool.


I loved the blue and white Chinese porcelain. There was a roomful of Chinese ceramics, all collected by a private Englishman.


Some of the amazing African art. Notice the artificial tree in the background. I think it's made from scraps of wood.

A statue of Mahavir, I think, in the India exhibit. The exhibit was so extensive, they even had sections on Buddhism and Jainism!

Vampire Weekend

It's been a while since my last post, but I'm finally in London! The past day and half has been crazy. I've been laughed at by an elderly British couple, been invited to play Flip Cup in the communal kitchen (could you imagine the field day RAs would have in the States?), and, most impressively, seen Vampire Weekend at a free concert in Somerset House. Yes, I did just refer to the US as the States. I've deluded myself into thinking I can be mistaken as a native Londoner (is that the word?) by the end of the semester. To that end, I've started to refer to the bathroom as the toilet, any attractive outfit as glamorous, and putting money on a gift card as topping up. I'm still working on perfecting the "Cheers".

The Vampire Weekend concert was awesome, and it was completely accidental. Three girls on the street asked us where to buy phones, and an hour later, we (Adam, Phil, and I) found ourselves accompanying them to a free concert. It was a outdoor concert surrounded by gorgeous buildings that looked like British palaces from movies (they may have been the Royal Courts of Justice) and located above an ice rink. Despite a technical glitch that blew out the speakers for the keyboard and ended their show early, the lead singer (Ezra Koening, according to Wikipedia) was hilarious in his dry wit, and the band was great. They played Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, Oxford Comma, Walcott, and three or four songs from their new release, which they were promoting with the free concert. Unfortunately, I wasn't as big a fan of the new songs as I was of the old ones, but they were more high-energy and concert-friendly.

Anyway, I've forgotten to carry my camera around since I've been to London so I couldn't take any pictures of Vampire Weekend (even though we were really far away). I'll have to start doing so, and I'll keep you updated on the rest of orientation.