I arrived safely and uneventfully in Dublin. I was greeted here by rain (yesterday) which has since cleared up and I enjoyed a beautiful day today. I spent a good portion of the day on a free walking tour offered by New Europe. It lasted about three and a half hours and we got to walk all over Dublin. Trinity College is beautiful, and we got to cross Ha'Penny Bridge, but my favorite part was St. Stephen's Green, where we ended the tour. Beautiful! Technically, anyone is allowed to graze livestock here but I forgot to bring my sheep.
Staying here, I have been reminded of one of the immutable laws of hostel-staying: the rules of the dorm room are determined by the person who seems the least mentally/emotionally stable. In this case, this is the woman who has one of the bunks in my room who insists that the lights be kept off and the curtain drawn AT ALL TIMES. She doesn't seem to leave the room, and the only time she has ever spoken to me is to introduce herself ("Marianne") and once, randomly, to ask if I am Catholic. One of the other girls in the room, Cathy (from South Carolina) and I were discussing this woman in the bathroom when our other roommate overheard us and asked, "Ze woman?? JE DETESTE." so at least we've come to some sort of international consensus about her.
This evening, I went on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl. Not having a costume, I eschewed the myriad "Halloween" pub crawls and felt that this would be a fun alternative. I was right - it was quite enjoyable, featuring scenes and recitations from a variety of Irish authors. My favorites were a scene from Waiting for Godot (I now feel confident that I will NEVER have to see that play), and a recitation of a letter written by Oscar Wilde about his experiences in America. I met a 4th year med student from Indiana University who is a visiting student in Dublin for the month and chatted with him while walking from bar to bar. (I told him where I was staying and my planned itinerary for the next several weeks in case he needs to find me JUUUSSTTT KIDDING) It was good he was there as we consistently outpaced the rest of the group - I had imagined this outing as a boisterous group of young literary fans but actually the average age was around 50. I shall mark this in my journal as the only pub crawl I have ever been on where TWO people were walking with canes.
Tomorrow I head down to Cork, and from there likely to Galway. I am hoping once I get out of Dublin this country will get slightly cheaper - although discussing how expensive this city is has been a wonderful conversation topic with other tourists, much like discussing the weather.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sitting in Stockholm
I have just arrived in Stockholm and am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Dublin. A short layover - a little less than an hour.
Since my last update, I had one last day in New York and then flew here. I mentioned before that one of my missions for Wednesday was to get discounted tickets to a Broadway show. I waited in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square (that place is awful) and came away with 50% off tickets to A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Abby met me downtown after she got off work and we headed over to the theater.
The show was great! We had good sits - orchestra level, but way off to one side. I OF COURSE was sitting behind a man with an absurdly large head, which he was fond of tilting to the side. Tilted like that, he managed to block fully half the stage. Luckily he got tired in the second act and slumped down in his seat and I had a perfect view.
The production itself was wonderful. Getting to hear Bernadette Peters sing "Send in the Clowns" was probably the high point of the show, but all the lead actors were very strong. After the show ended, we waited by the stage door and got our programs signed. I got all of the lead actors except Elaine Stritch. While we were waiting for actors to come out, I happened to be standing next to Marni Nixon, who I didn't know was a person until someone else standing nearby said, "Aren't you Marni Nixon?" and she said, "Yes," and then when I got home I looked her up on Wikipedia. She was waiting to say hello to Bernadette but then got sick of waiting and instructed her granddaughter to "tell Bernadette that Marni Nixon says hello." (This was the actual moment I resolved to Google this person when I got home. My resolve was strengthened when the granddaughter dutifully repeated this message, and Bernadette looked around hopefully and said, "Is she here? Did she see the show??")
So that was a fun conclusion to my time in New York. Yesterday (Thursday), I got packed up, went to the post office, ate lunch, and then went to the airport. I flew SAS (Scandanavian Air) here to Stockholm. Our flight was delayed in taking off but arrived on time so no complaints. I had a window seat and no one in the aisle seat so lots of space to stretch out. I watched a Harry Potter movie and wrote some postcards and tried to sleep. SAS helpfully puts small mirrors in their seat backs so you can monitor your appearance in real time: slowly morphing from "dynamic world traveler" to "greasy haired hobo". The food was pretty alright. Dinner was shredded chicken in some sort of gravy, which born a closer resemblance to cat food than anything I have ever eaten, but it was hot and tasty so I can't complain too much.
Next stop: DUBLIN. And bed.
UPDATE: I just checked my e-mail and there was an add for Groupon: Stockholm. I wish I could have read what it was. Oh, also, they sell reindeer skins in the gift shop here. Given how tired I am at the moment, it is taking all my willpower not to purchase one, wrap myself in it, and go to sleep on the floor. Luckily, to get the reindeer skin, I would have to walk all the way back to the gift store, and I can't convince myself that walking the 40 feet is worth it, so I'm just gazing at the pelt from afar.
Since my last update, I had one last day in New York and then flew here. I mentioned before that one of my missions for Wednesday was to get discounted tickets to a Broadway show. I waited in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square (that place is awful) and came away with 50% off tickets to A Little Night Music with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Abby met me downtown after she got off work and we headed over to the theater.
The show was great! We had good sits - orchestra level, but way off to one side. I OF COURSE was sitting behind a man with an absurdly large head, which he was fond of tilting to the side. Tilted like that, he managed to block fully half the stage. Luckily he got tired in the second act and slumped down in his seat and I had a perfect view.
The production itself was wonderful. Getting to hear Bernadette Peters sing "Send in the Clowns" was probably the high point of the show, but all the lead actors were very strong. After the show ended, we waited by the stage door and got our programs signed. I got all of the lead actors except Elaine Stritch. While we were waiting for actors to come out, I happened to be standing next to Marni Nixon, who I didn't know was a person until someone else standing nearby said, "Aren't you Marni Nixon?" and she said, "Yes," and then when I got home I looked her up on Wikipedia. She was waiting to say hello to Bernadette but then got sick of waiting and instructed her granddaughter to "tell Bernadette that Marni Nixon says hello." (This was the actual moment I resolved to Google this person when I got home. My resolve was strengthened when the granddaughter dutifully repeated this message, and Bernadette looked around hopefully and said, "Is she here? Did she see the show??")
So that was a fun conclusion to my time in New York. Yesterday (Thursday), I got packed up, went to the post office, ate lunch, and then went to the airport. I flew SAS (Scandanavian Air) here to Stockholm. Our flight was delayed in taking off but arrived on time so no complaints. I had a window seat and no one in the aisle seat so lots of space to stretch out. I watched a Harry Potter movie and wrote some postcards and tried to sleep. SAS helpfully puts small mirrors in their seat backs so you can monitor your appearance in real time: slowly morphing from "dynamic world traveler" to "greasy haired hobo". The food was pretty alright. Dinner was shredded chicken in some sort of gravy, which born a closer resemblance to cat food than anything I have ever eaten, but it was hot and tasty so I can't complain too much.
Next stop: DUBLIN. And bed.
UPDATE: I just checked my e-mail and there was an add for Groupon: Stockholm. I wish I could have read what it was. Oh, also, they sell reindeer skins in the gift shop here. Given how tired I am at the moment, it is taking all my willpower not to purchase one, wrap myself in it, and go to sleep on the floor. Luckily, to get the reindeer skin, I would have to walk all the way back to the gift store, and I can't convince myself that walking the 40 feet is worth it, so I'm just gazing at the pelt from afar.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
First Post
When I was creating this blog (45 seconds ago), I named it after a Robert Louis Stevenson quotation which I like a lot (it's above), but then couldn't get either thegreataffair.blogspot.com or greataffair.blogspot.com because they were already taken. I went to check those blogs out and they are BOTH underused travel blogs - one has four entries from 2008, the other has a single entry in 2009. So, I guess now I have to update this regularly - just to prove I'm better than those jerks.
At the moment, I am sitting on my friend Abby's couch/futon, which has been my home for the past several nights. It's a cute place in Brooklyn - she has two roommates as well. It's a block from the subway, so I have a Metropass that I have been using to explore the city.
I arrived via train on Saturday. On Sunday, we started our day by going to Our Lady of Czestochowa - St Casimir, a nearby Polish Catholic Church. The entire Mass was in Polish, but it was a beautiful church with gorgeous stained glass, and it was reassuring to hear that people mumble and mutter their way through the Nicene Creed in other languages, as well. After Mass, we stayed and watched a production put on by a children's group honoring the life and commemoration the death of Father Jerzy Popieluszko. Again, all in Polish but it was pretty easy to get their overall message.
Then we went home and made cinnamon rolls.
In the afternoon, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge - it had some great views, and, like most of this city, we ridiculously crowded. After this, we went to a "steampunk" fashion show. For anyone not familiar with "steampunk", it's this style that some people like which is based on Victorian fashion, but is crazy. That's not the actual definition, but it will really tell you all you need to know. So, we went to this crazy fashion show. We decided later that the show was really just a confirmation all peoples' worst fears about New York City. It really had it all. The show opened with a modern/interpretive dance which involved the dancers being tied together while someone read T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock over a soundtrack of techno music and seagulls. Then a number of designers showed a bunch of clothes which were really cool but completely unsuitable to ever be worn, complete with more techno music. Then the dancers came back. Then the show ended and everybody used big and overdramatic words to claim that these fashions were significant and groundbreaking. Overall it was pretty fun.
On Sunday night, we went to Kettle O'Fish, which is a "Wisconsin" themed bar in the East Village. EVERYONE was there to watch the Packers/Vikings game - it was packed shoulder to shoulder. Most people had on Packer jerseys, one group of guys was wearing t-shirts from their high school in Prairie du Chien. Luckily I have my "best state ever" shirt with me, so I wore that. It was a really exciting game, and the Packers won, so a great experience. Afterwards we all went out for pizza.
On Monday, I was on my own - Abby had to go to work. I decided to go to the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens, but I spent all day at the zoo and had to head home before I could go to the gardens. We had Annie's mac and cheese for dinner.
Yesterday (Tuesday), I spent all day at the Met. I paid $10 to get in (the student rate bwahahahaha) and then discovered that all their tours are FREE!!!. So, first I joined "The Old Masters" and had an excellent tour. There were about 8-10 people in the group and the docent was excellent. We looked at A LOT of "Madonna and Child" paintings and saw how they evolved from the end of the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, and also looked at a variety of other paintings, as well (including works by Rubens, Raphael, El Greco, and Giotto, among others. Oh, and some Dutch masters as well!) That tour ran a bit long, and though I hurried, I didn't make it back in time for "Fashion in Art", so I killed time by eating a cupcake. Then I went on a "Museum Highlights" tour, which was actually my least favorite - the docent was the weakest of the three I had, and it must be a tough tour to give because there isn't much continuity between the pieces. Also, I thought she chose bad pieces. The only part of her talk I liked was a segment on Edward Hopper. Oh, and she also gave an interesting talk on a Rembrandt self-portrait, and a brief portion on Vermeer. Maybe she wasn't that bad. After that tour ended, I went on my own over to the 19th and 20th century painting wing and managed to latch on to the "Impressionists and Post-Impressionists" tour. This was another excellent docent, and though I only managed to join in from Renoir onwards, I really enjoyed her talk - she talked quite a bit about Seurat and Pointillism and their interest in the science of color. I also listened to her portion on Cezanne, and then she ended with Van Gogh. I looked at Monet and Degas on my own and then left the museum so I could go sit on the subway a while and rest my feet!
I went over to Julliard for a free piano concert which was excellent, and then down to NYU to have dinner with Rob. We had some great pizza and then more cupcakes! And then I came home. WHEW - long day!
So, today is a relaxing day. My mission(s) for the day:
At the moment, I am sitting on my friend Abby's couch/futon, which has been my home for the past several nights. It's a cute place in Brooklyn - she has two roommates as well. It's a block from the subway, so I have a Metropass that I have been using to explore the city.
I arrived via train on Saturday. On Sunday, we started our day by going to Our Lady of Czestochowa - St Casimir, a nearby Polish Catholic Church. The entire Mass was in Polish, but it was a beautiful church with gorgeous stained glass, and it was reassuring to hear that people mumble and mutter their way through the Nicene Creed in other languages, as well. After Mass, we stayed and watched a production put on by a children's group honoring the life and commemoration the death of Father Jerzy Popieluszko. Again, all in Polish but it was pretty easy to get their overall message.
Then we went home and made cinnamon rolls.
In the afternoon, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge - it had some great views, and, like most of this city, we ridiculously crowded. After this, we went to a "steampunk" fashion show. For anyone not familiar with "steampunk", it's this style that some people like which is based on Victorian fashion, but is crazy. That's not the actual definition, but it will really tell you all you need to know. So, we went to this crazy fashion show. We decided later that the show was really just a confirmation all peoples' worst fears about New York City. It really had it all. The show opened with a modern/interpretive dance which involved the dancers being tied together while someone read T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock over a soundtrack of techno music and seagulls. Then a number of designers showed a bunch of clothes which were really cool but completely unsuitable to ever be worn, complete with more techno music. Then the dancers came back. Then the show ended and everybody used big and overdramatic words to claim that these fashions were significant and groundbreaking. Overall it was pretty fun.
On Sunday night, we went to Kettle O'Fish, which is a "Wisconsin" themed bar in the East Village. EVERYONE was there to watch the Packers/Vikings game - it was packed shoulder to shoulder. Most people had on Packer jerseys, one group of guys was wearing t-shirts from their high school in Prairie du Chien. Luckily I have my "best state ever" shirt with me, so I wore that. It was a really exciting game, and the Packers won, so a great experience. Afterwards we all went out for pizza.
On Monday, I was on my own - Abby had to go to work. I decided to go to the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Gardens, but I spent all day at the zoo and had to head home before I could go to the gardens. We had Annie's mac and cheese for dinner.
Yesterday (Tuesday), I spent all day at the Met. I paid $10 to get in (the student rate bwahahahaha) and then discovered that all their tours are FREE!!!. So, first I joined "The Old Masters" and had an excellent tour. There were about 8-10 people in the group and the docent was excellent. We looked at A LOT of "Madonna and Child" paintings and saw how they evolved from the end of the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, and also looked at a variety of other paintings, as well (including works by Rubens, Raphael, El Greco, and Giotto, among others. Oh, and some Dutch masters as well!) That tour ran a bit long, and though I hurried, I didn't make it back in time for "Fashion in Art", so I killed time by eating a cupcake. Then I went on a "Museum Highlights" tour, which was actually my least favorite - the docent was the weakest of the three I had, and it must be a tough tour to give because there isn't much continuity between the pieces. Also, I thought she chose bad pieces. The only part of her talk I liked was a segment on Edward Hopper. Oh, and she also gave an interesting talk on a Rembrandt self-portrait, and a brief portion on Vermeer. Maybe she wasn't that bad. After that tour ended, I went on my own over to the 19th and 20th century painting wing and managed to latch on to the "Impressionists and Post-Impressionists" tour. This was another excellent docent, and though I only managed to join in from Renoir onwards, I really enjoyed her talk - she talked quite a bit about Seurat and Pointillism and their interest in the science of color. I also listened to her portion on Cezanne, and then she ended with Van Gogh. I looked at Monet and Degas on my own and then left the museum so I could go sit on the subway a while and rest my feet!
I went over to Julliard for a free piano concert which was excellent, and then down to NYU to have dinner with Rob. We had some great pizza and then more cupcakes! And then I came home. WHEW - long day!
So, today is a relaxing day. My mission(s) for the day:
- do a little laundry
- go downtown and find discounted day-of Broadway tickets for tonight
- go to Best Buy because I stupidly brought the wrong charger for my camera battery and now my camera is dead
- eat some falafel
The two places I wanted to go that I haven't been yet are Ground Zero and the New York Public Library, so maybe I will fit those in this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon I leave for Ireland!
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