bldgs

OK so after I left Paris the internet decided to cost a pound for 20 min, and I'm like...no. So this livejounal is going to be especially long.

Versailles:

wow, so I guess one noble said to the other
"Hey you know what baroque needs?"
"I don't know Louis, what?"
"More cherubs, also flowers...you know what, let's just throw money on it and see what sticks."

so to sum up: Oppulence

 it was really extravagant, I can see why peasants revolted. This is not to say it wasnt beautiful, it was very, very beautiful. However unlike the gothic extravaganzas that were in Paris this style is'nt "for the people" this is just royalty being royalty. Also seeing Versailles allows me to understand Adolph Loos, ( a famous french-based german architect from the 1900s) who said that decoration was the tool of oppressors. Not that I agree, but at least now I get it.
The Palace itself had some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. A lot of them were very Italian colors (oranges, yellows, golds) but done in a very french style so it's like seeing the place i left behind through a different lens. But while the Palace had top-billing, the gardens stole the show. The go on for miles and can boast a hedge maze, a farm, an orangery, several canals, a restaurant, three cafes and that's right..sheep.

At the entrance to the Queen's hamlet there was a stand for Orange Juice and I was particularly thirtsy, so I indulged on what was a 3 euro dixie cup of fresh-squeezed oj. Now, I'm not an expert in orange juice, I did'nt go to agricultural school, nor have I kept up to date the fruit-related-current events but I'm going to put a bold statement out there and say that this orange juice was the best orange juice on the planet. It was amazing, I would kill for that juice, that's how good it was.

For those of you who don't know, this was not my first time at Versailles, I had been there only once before. It was many, many years ago when I was a little girl. I'm not going to tell the whole story but let's just say it involved myself, food poisoning, the anti-chamber of the queen and my father's jacket.

*spoilers*
I did'nt puke this time, so that was a huuuuuuuuuuuge plus.

When I got back from Versailles I drank with the people at the hostel, a french-canadian, a parisian (moving into a new apartment), an australian and a guy from northern california. The next morning I got up early, checked out and started the journey towards Glasgow.

Here's what's awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
Taboleh at the Cafe

Here's what's not awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
A snotty girl from Loyola who got all fussy when I asked her what the line she was in was for

pfftt...Loyola girl, you can't ruin my fall break with your crappiness.

Glasgow Prestwick is about an hour outside of the city-center, but it was really easy to take a train there, so once that was achieved, I checked into my hostel and pa-a-a-a-assed out.
The next day I took a day-trip to Edinburgh, which is my dad's favorite city and I can see why. On the trainride there a lovely scottish woman named "Norma" and I got to talking and she drew me a map of where I should go and what I should do as well as pointed me in the right direction after I got off the train. (Scottish people in general are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, plus it was nice to talk to some one who understood english for a change.) I  walked up to the castle first because It was the highest hill, which I didn't want to climb later in the day.

Edinburgh Castle:
* Scottish Crown Jewels
* Beautiful
*Cannons (that they fire at noon)
*Charming Chapel
*Cafe with a delicious hot chocolate
*Awesome exhibit about POW's at the castle during the Revolutionary War. This was complete with Scottish people trying really hard to do American accents. They went from a boston to a new york, oil and water people, oil and water.

Then I went into Thistle Church.
      *Elegantly understated
      *GREAT progression of arches, interesting arranged. They almost make the shadows dance.
      *Really interesting wood-cuts

I spent a couple of hours in the Edinburgh National Galleries and was really impressed with their collection. Edinburgh not being particularly famous for their collection but they had one of my favorite paintings of all time:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/4940?initial=G&artistId=3374&artistName=Paul%20Gauguin&submit=1

they also had some great pieces by scottish painters including:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/5327?initial=R&artistId=4399&artistName=Sir%20Henry%20Raeburn&submit=1

...nice garders.

Of course then I walked down the Royal mile to Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament building. A lot of the scots don't like this building, I like it however I'm not going to say it "fits in" with Edinburgh. The design is based off of Macintosh flowers and of course the Scottish symbol of the thistle. Which I guess gives it's architectural "rough edges", like the leaking roof. I can't believe I just wrote that.

The next day Charles R. Mackintosh and I had a date in Glasgow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh

I know it's touristy but I got on one of those busses with the open top that goes around the city and you get on and off and can take pictures from the bus. I usually think it's a little bit on the wussy side, but after walking everyday in paris and then in Edinburgh, I was ready for a break. On a side note, I'm never knocking on those busses again, they are a great invention they take you everywhere you want to go.
I got to see the Mackintosh House, The Glasgow School of Art , The lighthouse, The willow tea rooms and still a lot more great architecture in Glasgow. I was blown away with the variety, it was strange to see so much *NEW* after Rome, which has a tendency to hate anything after Baroque and Paris which holds the constant pressure of it "being in Paris".

The architecture in Glasgow has something that few European cities have, experimentation. Maybe not everything will work, but it's new and it's unique. It dosent have to be done by someone you've heard of in "Architectural Digest" it can be someone looking to prove themselves and I like it. Glasgow was one of those cities that expanded too fast during the industrial revolution and it left a few strech-marks that leads the city to try and reinvent itself now. The town hall in Glasgow, it should be noted, was too amazing for words on the inside.

My last stop was foggy London Town, which was an fast-paced and interesting way to end the trip. It was gray most of the week and a half I was on break, but finally when I got to London it cleared up into a beautiful day. So I guess, not-so-foggy London Town. I was really late comming into the city. The airport ran a bus into Victoria Station but the driver was Italian and about an hour into the supposedly "45 min" trip I heard her pick up her cell phone and ask "Dove e la stazione della Victoria?" (Where is Victoria Station?) which was most forboding.
Eventually I met up with Richard and we went out for dinner and drinks.

London was very, very cool. There's a dance that happens between old granduer and new granduer and the Sir Norman Foster building looks like it blast off at any second. I'm pretty sure it's the secret space ship for the queen in case of nuclear fallout.

http://www.uk-photo-library.co.uk/london/images/4741.jpg

Richard was kind enough to show me around the next day, we got fish and chips, walked along london bridge, went to the Globe theatre, found a sweets and cheese market and then spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern. My favorite thing about the Tate was that for several of the exhibits there was music that accompanied it. So while you're looking at a piece of art, you're hearing the art as well. There was another great series of videos that showed the same scene from differenent points of view. A dog accidentally trips a man, which I didn't know could be any funnier, but  seen from the Dog's point of view changed that thinking.

There was also an interactive section where you answer questions about artists, If you won you got to pick the next artist to ask questions about Richard and I won with our powers combined. We also licked the crack, I would'nt recommend, it tastes like oppression...and pinesol.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/10/08/ntate2.jpg

Finally I returned to Rome to a perfectly shining day. I was starting to get a little Rome-sick, and that was only for less than two weeks. I don't know what's going to become of me when I leave for good. All and all a great break. I'd never traveled by myself before which was an interesting expierence. It gets a little lonely at times, but you have the freedom to do whatever you want, so the give and take are pretty much in balance.

Now it's time to do the homework I should have been doing over break. Goodnight and Goodluck.