Day 22-24: Farewell to Europe!

Day 22-24: Monday-Wednesday, January 25-27, 2010. Location: London (overcast, some sun); Exam 3; Major sites visited: Excursion day; Meals together: breakfasts and farewell dinner.

The last two days have been our first two free days of the trip. Other than plays in the evenings we had both days to do as we pleased. For some this consisted of navigating the train system to go on a journey to Cambridge (another university town that makes us feel thoroughly uneducated), while for others it was a great day to see all of the sights we could soak up before our departure on Wednesday. I was in this latter group, and due to the odd nature of these days (freedom? What does that even mean?) this blog is really just going to be about my days.

Monday began with breakfast as usual before hitting the Tube for an adventure back to the British Museum. You may be wondering why we would ever choose to go to yet another museum, but you must understand that when we first came to the British Museum we spent about one hour running through the highlights of this vast museum and there were whole centuries we did not even peek at. We had been told that the museum had an awesome history of money exhibit so we decided it was worth a meander.

The money exhibit began with money from long before the year 0 and showed the progression to the plastic we now use as money. What I found the most interesting was the progression of tools that have been used for making money, and the ways that counterfeit money have been found since the founding of coinage. The various sizes of coins were also amazing: they ranged everywhere from as small as the tip of my littlest finger to about the size of my head.

After the museum we headed out to lunch near Trafalgar Square and then to a lunch-time concert at St. Martin-in-the-fields. The concert was a pianist and a clarinetist, both of whom were beautiful musicians. After being on the move for 20 straight days it was wonderful to take a moment to sit back and enjoy the music.

We then headed to Oxford Circus to explore little shops, people watch, and appreciate the sounds and smells of London. We then went to Hamleys, a colossal toy store similar to F.A.O. Schwartz. This was 7 floors of joy. We played with toys, oood and ahhhd at the newest and shiniest, and told stories about the ones we remembered playing with when we were little.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at a coffee shop studying for our final exam. Around 6 we got dinner at an Indian place (which there are a surprising number of in London) before heading to Oliver!, this evening’s play. Oliver! Is the musical version of Oliver Twist. The set was mind blowing, and the play was enjoyable, but not the best play I’ve seen. Really it was all about the incredible set!

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Tuesday began with a final cramming and then our final test. Celebration echoed through the halls as one at a time we handed in the test and successfully completed Core 250. This meant our last afternoon was one of jubilation! We headed out to celebration lunches or to weekday markets or to do last minute souvenir shopping. This was a day of last minutes: last minute returns to favorite museums; last minute window shopping; last opportunities to eat at a restaurant; last minute picture ops., etc.

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As the sun began to set, we all returned to the hotel to beautify ourselves for our first real fancy outing. To fully understand the excitement of this occasion you must go through and look at all the pictures from the trip. Notice that, for the most, we look the same in everyone. Most of us only brought one coat, and only jeans for pants. This was our opportunity to wear fancy outfits and to take off our sneakers. Dinner was a fancy event with Italian flare. We all got awards that managed to sum up some of the best moments of the trip as determined by Annie and Andrew and key chains complements of Forrest and the Catholic Costco. Anticipation built throughout dinner for what I believe was the most awaited for part of the trip: Les Miserables!

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Where Oliver! was lacking, Les Miserables was not! The singing was superb, the acting wonderful, the storyline moving, I could go on and on! I was worried beforehand that we had all talked up this play so much that those of us who hadn’t seen it before would be let down. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I would go again tonight if I could.

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I now sit on a train to the airport. The last minute scramble to return clothes, and to shove souvenirs in bags is over (whether or not they will pass the weight restrictions we will soon find out). Our tests have been graded and returned and a bittersweet feeling is in the air. This trip has been a wonderful combination of class, culture and friendship all interwoven into what we can now call Core 250.

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--Chelsea Zink

Day 21: A Sunday in London!

Day 21: Sunday, January 24, 2010. Location: London (overcast); Major sites visited: London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Harrod’s; Meals together: breakfast.

Only a Whitworth study abroad student could say she went to a nightclub and two church services on the same day! For half of us, January 24 started at midnight while we were dancing enthusiastically to American pop music, enjoying a taste of London’s nightlife in the Theatre district. After a one am bus ride back to the hotel, we were grateful for a morning that started at 9:30 (a late start for travelers, which perhaps describes us better than “students” these days!)

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Our first stop was a Ferris wheel of enormous proportions: the London Eye. Forrest scared us half to death by mentioning that for two years they could not take passengers, because in power outages the glass cells dangled upside down instead of remaining upright. Even that could not dampen our excitement for an incredible view of the city that did not involve climbing 500 stairs! The thirty minute ride was fun, but we still debated whether the four minute “4D” video experience before the ride was more impressive. It was a multimedia explosion of 3D glasses, smoke machines, snow machines, bubbles, and virtual fireworks to get us pumped for our impending “flight” up the London Eye.

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After a quick dash past Big Ben, we slipped into Westminster Abbey just in time for the high church Anglican service. It is still a strange experience to have soaring stained glass, marble sculptures, and gold trim older than our country as the setting for worship. Yet we certainly appreciated the English service and sermon after our recent church attendance in France. We stole glances at Newton’s tomb and Poet’s Corner on the way out of the cathedral, pausing to contemplate the prayer engraved on the outside of the building.

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The morning continued on a walking tour of the city. Annie and Morgan dashed off to see Freud’s house, while the rest of the group walked through the nearby parks to Buckingham palace, enjoying the quiet streets closed on Sundays. We oohed and ahhed at the queen’s residence, but mostly just appreciated the elaborate rituals of the changing of the guards with a few chuckles and a bit of envy for their warm, fashionable hats.

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After a quick lunch break at Piccadilly circus, we prepared ourselves for one of the most overwhelming experiences of the trip: a quick stroll through Harrod’s department store. Nothing quite prepared us for the impressive, slightly sickening luxury that made our shabby tourist clothes look worse than when we were in church services. The item that made me dash frantically out of the store was the plastic hair barrette for 415 pounds. I can only hope that the decorations were real diamonds to demand such a price. I’m not sure I could have handled seeing the 64,000 pound watch that Andrew reported!

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We spent the afternoon recovering in small groups, revisiting the museums we rushed through during our first visit to London: the Victoria and Albert, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum.

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The final event of the day was an evening church service at Holy Trinity Brompton, the church where the Alpha program began. Though it is also an Anglican service, there could not have been a more dramatic difference. The flamboyant gothic ceiling was painted orange, and we sat on cushions on the floor in the middle of the nave. The service felt like a combination of youth group, camp, and contemporary American services—complete with songs we knew and could sing along to. The powerpoint and guitar music felt a little more familiar, but the informal worship was a stark contrast to our morning service. The unexpected treat of the evening was the opportunity to hear the visiting speaker, Gary Haugan, the founder of International Justice Mission. I was moved to hear a message about being the representation of the body of Christ in the lives of those who have suffered injustice: especially because our message in Westminster Abbey this morning was based on Romans 12 and how we use our unique gifts to be the body. Though the crowds of the two services were made up of quite different types of people, they both heard the same message.

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The rest of the evening was for dinner (a grocery store conglomeration of goodies for the group I was with). A bit of studying for Tuesday’s exam and a low key evening to recover from our late previous night left us dozing early, dreaming of how we would spend tomorrow—our free day in London.

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--Heather Wallace

Day 20: An Outing to Oxford!

Day 20: Saturday, January 23, 2010. Location: Oxford (overcast); Lectures: Lewis; Major sites visited: C.S. Lewis’s house and church, Christ Church College, Oxford; Meals together: breakfast and lunch at the Trout Inn.

Today began slowly. Departing the hotel at 8:50 was the earliest we have had to been ready since getting back to London. The hour long bus ride didn’t help things either. By the time we got to Oxford, everybody was ready to get moving. After a little hike through the suburbs, we reached the home of one of the most prominent Christian thinker of the 20^th century: C.S. Lewis. His house was not the grand ordeal I had envisioned, but was much more reflective of the income one might associate with the everyday English professor. The house was quaint and cozy and personal. My favorite part of his property was the large pond behind the house that has been preserved by the city as a wildlife sanctuary. Lewis had visited this pond in order to calm his mind, and it was surreal to think that this I was standing where Lewis had once stood, pondering solutions to any rational opposition to the Christianity.

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After Lewis’ house, we walked across town to his church. We observed his grave for a moment, then went inside to have a lecture. The sanctuary was empty, so we made ourselves at home in the center of the pews, while Forrest stood up by the alter and preached Lewis’ philosophy to the class. This lecture was especially significant, since it was the last one of the trip! It’s a fantastic feeling to be done with lectures, but also reminds us that we still have our final paper and our final test to get through. Afterwards, we went over to the exact seat that Lewis would sit in every Sunday in church.

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Again, the significance of this location in the history of Christianity was not lost on anyone. From the church, we took a half an hour bus ride up to the Trout Inn, which holds the record as the oldest pub in England (built in 1080). Lunch was sort of a disappointment though. We were all expecting an old pub atmosphere, but received a very contemporary restaurant that apparently had remodeled and redefined their image in the last year. It also took about an hour to get our food and we were really hungry…

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After lunch, we headed back towards downtown Oxford to see the university. Oxford University is renowned as one of the top three universities in the world. The school itself is actually composed of several smaller colleges that combine to make the official Oxford University. We got to tour two of these small institutions, Magdalen College and Christ Church College, the latter being the most famous and most influential college at Oxford. We then got to spend a couple hours looking around the city. Coffee shops and bookstores were scattered everywhere. It was fun to have time just to reflect on the day and the trip at large over a warm Starbuck’s grande hot chocolate. After another hour long bus trip, we were back at the hotel. Today might have begun slowly, but it ended just right. Cheers from London.

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--Jay Stahlman

Day 18-19: Back in London!

Day 18-19: Thursday-Friday, January 21-22, 2010. Location: London (partly cloudy, then rainy); Lectures: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Postmodernism and Multiculturalism; Major sites visited: Tower of London; Meals together: breakfasts and one lunch at Wagamama.

Today we awoke to a lovely London day, and had a breakfast that did not contain a baguette. After two more great lectures by Forrest we headed out to Leicester Square to see the musical entertainment of Stomp (if you don’t know what it is, I suggest a youtube excursion). It was pretty amazing watching the talent these guys had. Stomp finished around five, and the rest of the day was free to explore. Most of us (if not all), decided to see another play. A large group went and saw Mousetrap, which was a murder mystery that had now been running in London for 58 years. Nick, Andrew, and I however decided to traverse across town and see he musical Wicked. This show was absolutely brilliant, and probably the best show I’ve ever seen. For those of you who don’t know the plot, it retells the story of the Wizard of OZ from the perspective of Alfaba (The wicked witch of the west). If you have the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend that you do.

Today after two more lectures, we headed out in the drizzle and rain to see the Tower of London. This fortress was full of history, wealth, weapons, and even a little fun. We split of and went with our London guides to explore. Kara led Cody and I around and we hit the main attraction right away. The Crown Jewels were absolutely stunning. There was a diamond that was the size of my fist, it was over 6,000 carats and the largest in the world. There were crowns that almost blinded you to look at because the light would sparkle so brightly on all of the jewels. There were solid gold staffs, and dinner sets. The wealth inside that room was just astounding. After we left the Jewel House we went into the main stronghold in the center of the fortress. This building was full of the armor through the ages, swords used by knights, guns by the Red Coats, and everything in between. I’m a medieval fanatic, so this was amazing to see. There was also an area full of quizzes, and games, and facts, and this was a lot of fun. Cody dominated me in a shield bashing show of swordsmanship, although I was able to get the better of him in the archery test.

After spending a couple of hours there we headed back to the hotel to work on our papers until the show that night. We went and saw “a who donit?” mystery called An Inspector Calls. This was a good play with a very surprising plot twist. It’s one of those plays that you’re never quite sure exactly what happened, and leaves you looking back trying to figure out what the symbolism meant.

Anyways it was a good couple of days full of theater, Jewels, friends, and fun.

--Shane Shettler

Day 17: Mont St. Michel!

Day 17: Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Location: Mont Saint Michel (Sunny and windy); Major sites visited: Mont St. Michel; Meals together: breakfast.

After a wonderful French breakfast complete with fresh croissants and rich French roast coffee, our group took a 10 minute coach ride to Mont St. Michel. This massive abbey has both Romanesque and Gothic influences in the architecture. The whole abbey, church and mini town is built on top of a solid rock which turns into a high tide island. The whole place is just incredible. One thing that kept running through my head as we walked up the endless stairs was how did they build this in 708 without any modern day machinery?! It is absolutely mind boggling to think about it.

Up on top by the church there is an open courtyard where you can look out over the ocean and the mainland. We spent some time up here talking pictures. Morgan and Annie reenacted the famous Titanic scene, where Jack and Rose lean off the bow of the ship. It had rained before we got here so there was rain water coming out of gutters down below. The wind would whip up the side of the wall and spray the water over the wall to where we were standing. We decided that here at Mont St. Michel, it rains up instead of down.

We took an audio guide tour around the whole abbey, and then met up at noon for mass with the St. Michel monks and nuns. This was a very special experience. We went down under the main church into a small chapel. The hour mass included a cappella French hymns, communion and a short message; all of which we didn’t understand but could appreciate its beauty. A couple of us even went foreword to be blessed by one of the monks. After mass we split up for lunch. I went with Forrest to a small restaurant overlooking the ocean. I ordered lamb stew and it was wonderful! After walking around and window shopping we took our coach to the nearest airport. Ha! “Airport”? . . . more like a bump in the road. It has one airline, Ryanair, which flies to a whopping four cities. Here we were surprised that our check luggage weight limit was 15 Kg. Most of us were over, a bunch over. So imagine all of us sitting on the floor, suitcases spread out trying to stuff everything we could into our carry-on bags, which of course had to be 10 Kg.

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While I was going through security, I heard my name being called over the intercom. I have no idea what they wanted but Forrest and I ended up going into a small secure room where my suitcase was being held. The guy there didn’t speak English and we of course don’t speak French. After a few stressful minutes, we finally figured out that he wanted me to open my suitcase. He proceeded to search through it, which was of course half full because the other half is in my carry on. I still don’t know what he was looking for but the search was enough for him and he let me go. Hopefully my bag will end up in Stansted with us. As I am writing this our plane is rolling into place so we should be in the air soon. Next post will be from London . . . again.

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--Elizabeth Seccomb

Day 16: Bayeux and Omaha Beach!

Day 16: Tuesday, January 19, 2010. Location: Bayeux and Omaha Beach (Sunny and cool); Major sites visited: Bayeux Tapestry, American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Normandy; Meals together: breakfast and dinner.

This morning we hopped into our coach and embarked upon our journey into the north of France. As the cheery French countryside rolled by, we settled in for the day long trip. The first stop of the day was the medieval-feeling town of Bayeux. It was filled with stone-paved streets lined by half-timbered and stone buildings. After some lunch, we went to see the amazing tapestry depicting the victory of William the Bastard (he then took the title of Conqueror) at the battle of Hastings. The detail and creativity of the tapestry were incredible! Everyone refers to it as a tapestry but it really is a massive work of embroidery. Measuring about three feet high by some two-hundred feet long, the tapestry was housed in a long curving display that we walked slowly along as we listened to the audio program that explained each scene. The tapestry depicted the whole story of the seizure of England’s throne from William the duke of Normandy and his resulting advance on England. The story culminates as William’s army crosses the channel and prevails against Harold’s forces in the battle of Hastings in 1066. I loved how creatively the medieval artists portrayed the story in the difficult medium! I particularly noticed the unrealistic but effective use of the color. For example the horses were all diversely colored: one red, another green, a third yellow. The individual planks of the ships were similarly colored.

After viewing the tapestry twice, we continued on to nearby Omaha Beach. There we toured the memorial museum and walked down the steep hill to the beach below. The tide was high and the gray water calm as we quietly walked the beach, imaging the landing that had taken place there years ago. After climbing back up the same hill that soldiers once stormed, the met the director of the memorial who was good enough to give us a brief tour of the grounds and American cemetery. We stopped by a display of the invasion that overlooked the beach and the director explained some of the details to us. The cemetery was vast: thousands of neatly arranged white marble crosses. According to the director, the average age of those buried is a mere twenty-four years. He showed us a few graves in particular: one of the few women buried there and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. who lies beside his brother Quentin. The director let a few of us assist in retiring the memorial’s flags for the night. Cody and I folded one of the flags after it had been lowered. Chelsea and Aly got to fold the other. It was a special experience.

From there we climbed back into our coach and covered the remaining kilometers, finally arriving at the tiny town of Pontorson near Mt. St. Michel to eat and stay the night. At the hotel we had, in my opinion, possibly one of the best meals of the whole trip! Others, I gathered, weren’t so sure. We were the only group in the hotel dining room, and the table was set immaculately for us, though, after a long day, our appearance didn’t equal that of the table! The appetizer was a delicious pâté served cold with bread, current sauce, and wine. For the main course we were served extremely tender and flavorful leg of duck with creamy mashed potatoes. The meal was topped off with delicious crème brule.

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--Andrew Ritchie

Day 14-15: Versailles and a Museum Day in Paris!

Day 14-15: Sunday-Monday, January 17-18, 2010. Location: Paris and Versailles (Sunny! and foggy); Lectures: Marx and Freud; Major sites visited: Notre Dame for mass, Versailles, Paris-Story, Seine Boat Cruise, Museum day; Meals together: breakfasts and one dinner.

It is amazing how a little sun can make a difference! We woke up to a sunny Paris on Sunday the 17^th. We first headed to Mass at the Notre Dame. Although we had already had the chance to explore the building itself, having Mass there was a whole new experience! Upon sitting down, the youth choir began to sing. The voices echoed off of the stone walls and filled the massive building. Despite the fact that we could not understand the service, because of the sun shining through the large stained glass windows and the tall ceilings the presence of God was still felt. It was a reminder of just how blessed we all are to have such an adventure across Europe!

Immediately following mass, we walked to the Metro Station to head off to Versailles. Upon arriving, a short lunch was followed by a walking to The Chateau. The central palace was home to Louis XIV and his many workers. The extremely lavished rooms were brilliantly decorated with large chandeliers and of course detailed portraits of Louis himself. (Forrest was right, he did have amazing legs!) From there we wandered through the seeming never ending gardens. The perfectly kept grounds were quite elaborate and if you ask me over the top.

Back among the trees, a path lead to the play grounds of Marie-Antoinette. As a young girl raised in a lavished up brining, she longed to be a simple peasant girl. Her own personal town complete with animals was built to fulfill her desire while keeping her safe within the grounds of the palace.

Walking back from petting the donkeys and bunnies, we stopped in the park for…of course….Ultimate Frisbee. Bringing a little Whitworth flare to the gardens of Versailles we played among the trees. Although the Sun Kings beat the Legs in the actual game, the sun shining and blue skies were a welcomed break from the past weeks of snow, rain, and clouds.

Hopping back on the Metro, Forrest had us get off at a different stop than we normally get off at. As we climbed the stairs out the underground, we found ourselves in the middle of a Pr0-Life Rally. The square was full of young families, nuns, and the police in a peaceful demonstration. We followed Forrest to a small building and he bought us tickets to a show: The Paris Story. This was an hour long informative movie explaining the history of Paris. Although very educational, this was one of the cheesiest things I have sat through. We are still quoting the production now as I write this! From here we walked a short distance to “Quick.” This was the French version of McDonalds where we had a group dinner. As someone who doesn’t exactly like McDonalds in the States, I personally don’t think that Mickey-D’s has anything to worry about in France. The food was food….I suppose. Oh well, we’re making memories. Right?

After eating, walked down to the water to have the perfect ending to the perfect day. This was our evening boat cruise up and down the Seine River. The good weather created a great experience to see the city of Paris all lit up. As we backed away from the dock, the Eiffel Tower began to twinkle for its hourly light show. This was truly a moment when it was truly unreal that I was in Paris!

The next morning, we woke up to foggy skies once again but that certainly was not going to damper our Museum Day. Although we were to split up into our groups of three to go the different museums, most of us followed the same route throughout the day. My group, which consisted of myself, Aaron and Kyle, went to the Notre Dame to finally be able to climb the bell tower. (MORE STAIRS!) This historical building was truly incredible to be so intimate with. The steps themselves had been worn out in the middle where thousands and thousands have ascended the very path that we were taking. This climb took us directly next to the famous Gargoyles.

From there we traveled to the Holocaust Museum. After going through some pretty intense security, we entered to find the names of the 76,000 French citizens who were deported during World War II. It was so overwhelming to think that each of these names was not simply a name, but a human being with a story waiting to be told of the horror in which they were placed into. The black and white photos lined room after room throughout the Museum. Speaking for myself, this was truly a tug at the heart that reminded me of the grim realities of the past.

Upon leaving, we stopped for a quick lunch to let all that we had seen soak in before moving onto the next Museum. This Museum was the Pompidou Center of Modern Art. As we got closer to the building itself, the architecture alone was pretty overwhelming as huge blue pipes lined the outside. Now I admit, I am not I not the person to be blogging about the art inside of the Museum as the majority of it I just didn’t understand or appreciate as much as some of the others from our class (AKA Morgan) but I am certainly glad that I got to go into the Pompidou Center filled with some of the most influential and forward thinking art available. Someday I hope to understand how hanging a show shovel from the ceiling is art, but Morgan is working on me.

We all returned to the hotel for our lectures on Marx and Freud before having the evening off. I have dreamed of coming to Paris since I was a little girl and I cannot believe that it has become a reality. I have been so blessed to have such a dream made reality with such amazing friends to experience it with. So long Paris, I hope see you again soon!

--Annie Merriman