Showing posts with label SLC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SLC. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Feed the Birds

This weekend I went into London to do a bit of exploring. My plan was to spend all day Saturday going to museums, but I didn't actually get into the city until 3pm and by the time I was anywhere near a museum, it would have been closed.

I ended up roaming around the Waterloo station until I finally found Westminster Bridge. I walked across the bridge and then headed straight into St. James' Park. It's full of birds! I watched as people (including myself) gawked at these ridiculously huge pelicans. Then I slowly started wandering over towards Buckingham Palace since I didn't have my camera the last time I was there.

I then walked along Green Park towards the Memorial Gates and Wellington Arch. My plan was to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, but by the time I got to Knightsbridge it was too late... So I went to Harrod's :-)

That place is too marvelous for it's own good. It was too lush to simply walk through. I was pretty overwhelmed, so I left. But I plan to come back again and spend hours and hours in there...

After browsing through some shops nearby, I walked along Hyde Park to visit some BADA friends up on Edgware. Seeing Nora, Joanna, and Jesse again was so nice. We got to do some SLC catch-up. They live in an amazing flat and they made a really great dinner for us.

The next day I actually made it to the Victoria and Albert museum. That place is also full of lavish goods, but in a far more substantial way. It's a design museum, so it's jam packed with fabulous objects - art work, pottery, furniture, statues, fashion, etc. from all over the world, covering a huge span of history. I'm really glad I went. Now I just have to get to the Science Museum, British Museum, and Portrait Gallery to take full advantage of the free admission.

Pics from my London weekend!

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Wandered into a tunnel near the Waterloo station. There were tons of guys spray painting in here! I wanted to try it :-) This guy is spray painting the words "Little Sister"
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I ran into a group of teenage boys who looked like Lyle and his friends. I asked one of them, he was like 13, what he painted and he explained that this was his first time tagging. He showed me a little blue patch that he did, but then told me that his friend was way better haha.
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Big Ben from the Westminster Bridge
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These pelicans were at least 3 feet tall!
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Buckingham Palace from the park
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Amazing black swans
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Wellington Arch
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The palace that is Harrod's
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Hyde Park on Sunday morning
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The Serpentine
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Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain
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Fashion at the V&A
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Islamic design
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Floor rug from the 16th century. The lights are on it for 10 minutes every half hour.
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Japanese Noh theatre mask
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Reflection of a digitalized reflection of me
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I never knew when I'd see a sunset in London!
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Pretty Egham streets in the evening
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Privet Drive?
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Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Painting of the World

...Another "Light in the Piazza" lyric. It's hard to resist because when I first arrived in Florence on friday, I had the score stuck in my head while taking in the beauty of the city. I love the fact that Florence is such a small city, but is so jam packed with history and art you could wander around for hours and days and years and never be able to take it all in.

I traveled with two friends from Accademia and we stayed at a hostel in Piazza de Pitti, located just beyond the Ponte Vecchio. The first night we just strolled around and had a wonderful dinner. It was great to explore the city without a map and stumble upon beautiful piazzas and monuments at night. Saturday we went to the Duomo and saw Michelangelo's David. My parents would be excited to know that there was an incredible Mapplethorpe gallery at the museum that was placed carefully to echo the art that he was inspired by, such as the David.

More on the Mapplethorpe exhibit

Later that day I met up with Jessica from SLC and saw a few more people from home. It was great to see people that I've missed from SLC and to also meet new people who go to college in the states. We ate more good food and went to some pubs. We had an especially hilarious waiter who made fun of Jessica and gave us free limoncello :-)

The only downside of Florence was that it was flooded with tourists. Especially young American students studying abroad (guilty as charged). It was difficult to find authentic anything - all of the stores and restaurants were about making a buck off of us. Once you look beyond that though, you can see the architecture and atmosphere that makes the city more than worthwhile. Can't wait to go back.

Here are some photos!

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A building we thought was the Duomo... we were wrong. Still pretty!

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River

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At night

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Tristan and Josh

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Carousel in Piazza della Repubblica

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From Ponte Vecchio

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THE Duomo.

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Hillary inside the Duomo

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Back wall of the Duomo

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Candles

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Piazza della Santissima Annunziata

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Another view of the Duomo

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Ponte Vecchio at sunset

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Another

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Piazza near our hostel

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At night

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il mio latte

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Cute little girl eating a chocolate croissant