Gibraltar

12/10/2010

Today I got on a bus and went to Gibraltar in order to get a couple days out of the Schengen area. When I arrived I bought a shwarma, bought my return ticket, and headed for the border. After dropping off some stuff at my hostel I went out exploring. At the Mackintosh Culture Center I met a guy who's family moved to Boston for a generation and then back to Gibraltar for some reason. After that I met some locals and we all went to a club called “The Rock on the Rock” where they play, you guessed it, rock.

People in Gibraltar are really friendly, a guy named Alexis bought me a couple drinks because I didn't have any British pounds on me. Out on the street one of the locals let me ride his £3000 motorbike. One of the guys offered to show me around the town real quick on it and I didn't think twice. Three things I neglected to find out beforehand 1) if he was sober 2) if he could drive 3) who he was. Turns out he was sober but as it turns out he's a street bike racer. He took me flying through the narrow streets at 75 kph, everything was a blur... would have been nice to know he wasn't just on a suicide mission. After the bike ride from hell, we all headed for a club, but I didn't still didn't have any money. No problem though, the biker kid knew the bouncer and got us in for free.

12/11/2010

Today I woke up and went to Alexis' house from the night before. Alexis took me to the top of the rock on his motorbike and showed me all the best views as well as the Barbary Macaque Monkeys. 

After playing with the monkeys a bit it started getting dark so we went back down to the border so I could exchange some euros for British Pounds. On the way we stopped to look at some cannons. 

Gibraltar is famous for the Straits of Gibraltar; the British used the ten and one hundred pound guns to control the sea lanes in and out of the Mediterranean. After I got some money we went to the Star Bar (recommended by Rick Steves) and I had and English breakfast which is a lot of food for only £5. Afterward I bought some tax free stuff at Safeway and we headed to the beach for a bit. Later I finally found free Wifi at a bar called Fresh right outside Castlemates Square.

12/12/2010

Today I missed my bus back to Granada… 20 euro down the drain. I had to catch a bus to Algeciras for 2.50 followed by a bus to Granada for another 22 euro. 

THE ROCK POI:
-People only really go out Friday nights.
-American stores (Safeway, Shell, etc.)
-They call themselves Gibs.
-Mix of people (English, Gibs, Spanish.)
-Apparently it's legal to drink up to two pints and still drive.
-It’s windy.

Greenwich

09/18/2010

Today we all went to Greenwich and saw the Royal Observatory where we stood on the world-famous Greenwich meridian line. Then we went back and all had dinner at Pizza Express after which I ran off to catch my bus for Paris!

Bath

09/16/2010

Today Annie and I went to Bath where we saw the Roman Baths and I drank bath water. The Roman Baths seemed a bit more like a museum than the real thing, but I was still pretty impressed with the site and it’s scale. After the baths I ran over to the Royal Crescent and back to catch the bus.


09/17/2010

Today Annie and I went to the Globe Theater where I got “Picadilly Whip” Ice Cream and waited outside until we could get free tickets to see “Bedlam”.

More London

09/12/2010

Today I walked to the National Portrait Gallery where they had photo, oil, marble, etc. portraits featuring many different types of subjects. Then I walked over to the British Museum and finally to Tate Modern.

09/13/2010

Today we went on the typical path of pilgrimage through London. We went to Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s and to the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great where a few movies have been filmed for the dramatic environment. The Church had a wooden cieling unlike most that we had seen which have stone ceilings. On the way to Southwark Cathedral we stopped at a wall with obituaries of people who died saving others.

09/14/2010

This morning we went to St. Paul’s again, this time to go inside for a “super tour” (no pictures allowed). During the tour we heard a lot about the history and culture of the cathedral and the architect, Sir Christopher Wren. In the end I went up to the whispering gallery where one can be heard whispering from the other side of the dome.

09/15/2010

Today we went to the Sir John Soane Museum where we saw use of a lot of “light, space, and invention.” Soane is one of my favorite architects because of his dynamic use of light and his overall boldness and ecentricity. A lot of his architecture is playful with hidden displays and themes reminiscent of the Temple of Doom. Since Soane passed a bill to preserve the museum it has been left how he had it – with a few mysteries to be solved by visitors.

Museum of London

09/11/2010

Today Ross and I went to the Museum of London, the Barbican Art Gallery, the Ten Bells pub, and ended up in Brick Lane - a place where a bunch of Indian restaurants bid for your business with discounts and other deals. We ended up getting two pints and a four course meal each for 10 pounds! After dinner we crossed the Millennium Bridge and went down to the river bank looking for souvenirs.

Temple Church

09/10/2010

Today my group presented on St. Paul’s Cathedral and we went to the Temple Church. On the way we saw a bicyclist and his bike pinned fully under a bus. At the church we saw many interesting sculptures of goofy and tortured looking faces. The church itself is Gothic influence with rib-vaulting and was built for the Knights Templar in the late-12th-century.

Oxford

09/09/2010

Today we went to Oxford where Morgan, a student and our guide, showed us around. We went to the world's first university museum, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology followed by the Sheldonian where students at Oxford begin and end their three years of nonstop study.

Next we checked out Christ Church, home of the famous Harry Potter dining hall and the Tom Quadrangle.

Edited in the movie to look a lot bigger...

After we finished our tour of the college I went to Starbucks and took a nap on their couch. When that wasn't enough I finally decided to just get a coffee on which they spelled my name T-R-E-B-Y-S. I guess they don't have a lot of people named Travis in Europe.

Spark of… something

09/07/2010

Today the tubes were down because of the strikes so we all had the day off for working on our stuff. I went to hang out with Bruce and we walked around London. We revisited many places I had already been such as Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye. We also went to The Churchill War Rooms and The Walkabout – an Australian pub where I had a Kangaroo burger.

09/08/2010

Today we went to Tate Modern and Tate Britain via boat. I liked the “States of Flux” and “Energy and Process” exibits at Tate Modern and I enjoyed the “Coral Reef” exibit at Tate Britain. The “Coral Reef” exhibit was especially strange with disorienting passages and a musty odor…

Stonehenge

Today on the way to Stonehenge we stopped at Avebury and West Kennet Long Barrow where we saw standing stones and burial tombs. At Avebury many stones were missing because they were removed by the churches; this notably halted around 1300 AD when a surgeon was crushed to death by one of the stones. Surgeons were rare and very important, so it is assumed that they stopped because of this. 

We saw some houses with thatched roofs which last for up to 100 years and are very expensive – you have to win a lottery in order to live in them.

Arriving at Stonehenge we pretty much witnessed nature’s fury, but were able to find shelter behind some of its gigantic posts.

Apparently the site was constructed in three stages; the first in 3100 bc with a circular trench, the second in 2100 bc with a outter ring of posts, and finally the third in 2000 bc with an inner ring and lintels. It would seem that many people pilgrimage to the site just to make their mark, others were probably just passing by and thought some graffiti would be fun.

Digging into London

09/03/2010

This morning we went back to the British Museum for a special presentation by the curator. Around noon I went back and used the internet; on the way I noticed a clever sign on a bus that said "Polo for $2,900 (Watch the road please)." At 5p I went to hang out with Holly from Australia, we went to a pub and had a couple drinks then went to Yo Sushi.   

09/04/2010

Today Annie and I went to the Tower of London, the Bank of England and St Paul's Cathedral where we saw a statue of Thomas Becket - the martyred archbishop from Canterbury Cathedral.  Next we went to Belgo Centraal where I had some really good chicken with chili sauce. Finally we went to buy some craft supplies at the London Graphic Center - London's largest art store.

09/05/2010

Today Annie, Jessica and I went to Buckingham Palace, Marble Arch, and Kensington Palace. These places probably speak more to British pomposity than anything. With the statues of warriors, Greek gods and, of course, the lion - one could certainly get the impression that the crown is compensating for something. At Kensington Palace, on the other hand, we had "tea time" - a cultured, dainty lunch with finger sandwiches and treats.. maybe a bit emasculating but I suppose it could have a balancing effect on the brash colonial image ;)

Next we went to a Christian Rock Opra which was theatrical to say the least. During the after party we met Guami from Gana, David from London, and John-Wilson from Columbia. Finally we headed back and I made eggs and crumpets for dinner. 

Canterbury

09/02/2010

This morning we took the tube to the coach station during which time Judy and I both managed to get ourselves stuck in the train doors... After arriving in Canterbury we met up with our guide and headed into the cathedral.

Canterbury Cathedral was rebuilt in 1070 and still holds services three times daily.

The cathedral's reputation is due to unusual circumstances. In a power play against the church, King Henry II appointed his trusted Chancellor, Thomas Becket to the position archbishop. The king imediately tried to use Becket since he himself was not actually authorized in matters having to do with the church. Becket stood with the church against King Henry II and, as the king complained, he "accidentally" ordered his knights to murder Becket. Since then Canterbury Cathedral has been recognized as a pilgrimage site.

After touring all of Canterbury Cathedral we went into the town, ate, and looked around a bit.

Wandering off

09/01/2010

Today we went to the Victoria & Albert Museum, an art and design museum where we still managed to find pilgrimage related artifacts. During our break I visited the Science and Natural History Museums which might as well be called the "History" and "Outdated History" Museums. The science museum was basically a collection of scientific artifacts and the Natural History Museum was like a collection of show and tell items from geology class. Oh well, at least it gave me something to do with the time.

When I got back I still had 25 minutes, so I went for a Kebab… which took them 15 minutes to make. I wasn’t going to make it back in time so I decided to head straight to the British Library. Upon arrival at Kings Cross I looked for everyone else, but they were already at the British Library. At the time I didn't know where we were supposed to be so I asked some local officers where the closest Museums/Cathedrals were. They told me the National Gallery and sent me to a square near the British Museum at which point I went ahead and made the trip back to my room to check the day's agenda for myself. I arrived at the British Library just in time to look at the maps and manuscripts for a while. Apparently the tour I missed had actually been extremely annoying anyway due to a guide who insisted on testing everyone on stuff she was supposed to be teaching...

Lost in London

08/28/2010

Today I made my first breakfast in the flat kitchen then went out to get a Vodafone wireless device. Turns out the device was useless, so I returned it and went to a Chinese buffet. Then I ran into Annie and Tiana and we went out to get drinks but got lost for three hours in the Soho area looking for Michelle.

08/29/2010

Today I went to Camden Market with some of the girls before stopping over at my friend Ross’ house in Wandsworth.

After checking out his terrace and having a drink with his roommate James we went to the Cat’s Back Pub for Bangers and Mash.


08/30/2010

Today we went to the Notting Hill Carnival where I had a dumpling with rice and beans and watched human floats walk around with massive contraptions attached to them. Next we went to Harrods and saw some of the most ridiculously overpriced junk I’ve ever seen including a £3000 teddy bear... Later I headed for Wagamama (recommended by Rick Steves) but stopped on the way for the Fruily strawberry beer that James recommended. I ended up hanging out with some guys from Chicago and New York talking about the Yankees.

08/31/2010

Today we went to Trafalgar Square and voted for the fourth plinth. The choices were a mountain with a footprint shaped like Great Britain, a guy on a horse covered in jewelry, a blue cock and an ATM that rings bells every time someone makes a withdrawal - alarming the pickpockets of viable victims... 

We also went to the St. Martin-In-The-Fields Church and later some of us went to Wagamama and Tower bridge.