Anon is a Knight!

Yesterday Candace and I woke up very early to head into London to meet the Arcadia group for a little field trip. The event, which we signed up for in January, was a trip to Rochester, Kent for a May Day festival.

It was a rough morning, but once we arrived in the little town it was like the super nerd inside me woke up. I have this thing about revels, mummers, medieval festivals, re-enactments in general, caroling, and funny fat kings eating turkey legs that I find hilarious and too good to be true. Not that I like making fun of this sort of thing - it's more like I want to take part. Badly. In fact, there's a part of me that wishes I was born a peasant in a tiny village so I could get good and drunk and silly and sing songs and dance around the may pole.

But this is the next best thing I suppose. The town, Rochester, is absolutely beautiful itself. Set side the Medway River and at the bottom of a hill holding a real life castle, you couldn't have asked for a better setting. The buildings on the street are also very old so it really was like stepping back in time.

After we walked through the visitor's center, we immediately stumbled upon a troupe of Morris dancers in the street. Complete with live musicians, crazy costumes, face painting, and - literally - all the bells and whistles, it was shocking at first. I couldn't stop squealing with joy and saying "What the hell is going on?!". As we wandered down the street, we saw more groups like this with their own traditional costumes and style. It was almost like a street dance-off. Only Morris dancing.

On top of that, there were food stalls lining the sidewalks and antique stores up the wazoo. A huge portion of the day was spent just walking around, relishing in the sights, sounds, and smells and just enjoying spring.

Eventually we arrived at Rochester Castle on the hill. We couldn't go in, but the grounds surrounding the castle were taken over by a carnival. More food, music, and now lots of kids and families were up here. It reminded me of June in middle school at the Ridgefield Fireman's Carnival. But what a place to have a carnival! There was a gorgeous view of the river as well.

And I have to talk about the food. If you've been reading this blog at all, you'll probably know that a lot of my best experiences abroad have been somehow based around food. Now, even though I didn't try any of the beer, and therefore did not get to be a jolly peasant, I did have other exceptional treats. I had a pork and apple burger with onions and every sauce available, and I think it was honestly the best burger I've ever had. And for only £2.50! I later found the Hog Roast and had the most incredible sandwich - roast hog meat off the spit with home made stuffing and apple sauce on bread. Before we left, of course, I ducked into the local pastry shop and got not one but 3 scones. I'm still working on those.

We were there so early that by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, it felt like 8 pm. I felt like a kid again going to this festival. Not only was it just a great atmosphere, but for really the first time I felt very in touch with the history of England. There is nothing really like the Sweeps Festival in America, and since it was outside of London in a tiny historical town, there were hardly any tourists besides ourselves. I didn't feel out of place though. Just very happy to be in a small, lovely town, enjoying the history and culture of England.

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Candace matches the tree!

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Sir Cloudsley Shovel

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The happiest picture I think I've ever taken

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Paris Holds The Key to your Heart

On my last day in Prague, Ashlyn, Brianna, and Eren and I went to see "Threepenny Opera" at Narodni Divadlo (the National Theatre). It was a pretty good deal for only around $5 USD. It's my favorite musical so I really enjoyed it, but it was a bit confusing since it was in Czech. Still, they seemed to capture the essence of Brecht's message and used the space and props interestingly (at one point, Mack's gang came from beneath the floorboards and used power tools to rip out the wood). I'd really like to be in that show again or maybe direct it one day.

Afterward we got KFC for dinner... not sure why, but it felt right at the time. Then we got dessert at Cafe Louvre since I hadn't been there yet. Finally, we walked over the Charles Bridge. It was really pretty despite the fact it was under construction.

Here are some pics from my last day:

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Inside the National Theatre (spray painted on that drop is "Open Your Heart" in Czech as part of the set for Threepenny Opera)

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National Theatre from the outside

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Walking towards the Charles Bridge

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View from the bridge

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Last glimpse of the castle

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Ashlyn, Brianna, and Eren are over there

I have to thank the girls in Plavecka 12 for having me. If you guys ever read this, I love you and I miss staying with you in Prague!!


And now... I've successfully landed in Paris! (I'm kind of terrified of airports now)

This is how I feel right now:







Or something along those lines.

Lakshmi housed me for a night (thanks again girl!) and then yesterday I opened up the apartment. Makes it sound like we own it or something - my dad and I are renting it for Christmas (...but we should own it I think). Cute and tiny and right in the heart of Paris. Pretty much everything is within walking distance and about every 5 feet is a charming little restaurant, bakery, or shop. In other words, I'M IN LOVE!!

I'm saving all the touristy stuff to do with my dad, but for now I've been strolling around just trying to let it soak in that I'm in Paris! It's one of those places that I've always dreamed about and seen pictures of in my head. Albeit, most of those pictures were from movies... but did you ever think about how often the city itself is portrayed as a character? I was worried that it would be nothing like I imagined, but it is! And much more.

Like Prague, the architecture here is just beautiful. In this area at least, there are no sky scrapers and all you see are darling little windows and shops. And as for the people, so far everyone has been nice and mostly polite about my being American and only knowing a couple phrases in French ("je ne parle pas francais" = "I don't speak french"). Also, everyone seems to walk around here with a different attitude than I've seen before... It's like they all got dressed up just to walk. The way they cross streets with such confidence - but it's not like they're in a hurry like in New York. They're definitely going somewhere, but they're enjoying the walk as well.

Here are pictures from my walks so far:

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Chocolate trees

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On the gates of Jardin du Luxembourg were these photographs and captions about problems facing Vietnam right now. I thought it was interesting that people stopped at this fence to learn about another culture, while if these pictures weren't there, they'd be looking at a part of their own culture.

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One person stopping while another keeps walking

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I hate how damn cars and trucks get in the way

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Or how ridiculously bright fluorescent windows distract from another beautiful building

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Hunchback!

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He's up there

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Ok so I thought it was really neat that these two girls were drawing at this table, but when I went and asked them if I could take a candid picture, I realized I was being really creepy. Are you not supposed to ask? Haha which is more creepy - asking or not asking? Oh dear

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Me not asking...hah. Ordering yummy crepes!