Feed the Birds...

Visiting St. Paul's Cathedral was one of those experiences that I've dreamed of for years.  Ever since I watched Mary Poppins as a little girl and heard Julie Andrews' petition to "buy my bags full of crumbs,"  I knew there was something special about St. Paul's.  My recent visit simply confirmed that St. Paul's that.  It is the heart of London, the symbol of the British people's survival, resiliency, and hope.

The current St. Paul's is actually the 4th, possibly even the 5th, cathedral to stand on the site.  Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, it dates back to the 17th century.  I was impressed when I learned about the recent cleaning of the building, which was a staggering job to undertake.  They left one small patch of the wall uncleaned to show just how dirty it was-it was so cool to see what centuries of grime had done to the church!

When I entered the cathedral, I was awe-struck by the immensity of the cathedral. It is HUGE.  I was also impressed with the style of the architecture done in the neoclassical style, which seems a little unusual for an Anglican church.  As I moved down the nave and came under the dome, I was flabbergasted by its size.  It is 365 feet from the top of the dome to the floor, a length to remind people of the time it takes for the earth to orbit the sun.  Needless to say, the dome, with its wonderful monochrome paintings of scenes from the life of Saint Paul, left an impression.

The quire is so exquisitely decorated with mosaics that just shimmered and sparkled in the low light.  One of my favorite parts of my tour through St. Paul's was seeing the American Memorial Chapel, which lays right behind the high altar.  I teared up when I saw inscribed on the floor, "to the American dead of the Second World War from the people of Britain," and as I picked out the different state insignias in the stained glass windows, I was so proud of my country and so happy that St. Paul's had given such a nice tribute to America.

I conquered the monstrous number of stairs up to the Whispering Gallery in the lower part of the dome, which was a cool view of the cathedral.  I continued my journey up the dome, finally coming out in the Golden Gallery at the very top of the dome.  My physical efforts were all worth it however when I reached the top, where I was rewarded with one of the best views of the city.

I finished my tour down in the crypt, which contains some really nice memorials and tombs many people, including the Duke of Wellington, Lord Nelson, and the architect of the cathedral himself.  Sir Christopher Wren's tomb was particularly touching, because it was very simple and modest, tucked into the corner of the crypt with a simple inscription.  His son had inscribed, "If you seek his monument, look about you."  I agree that St. Paul's is a fitting tribute to the man that built it and the city that holds it dear.

Louvre and Orsay Museums

While in Paris, I had the privilege to visit the Louvre and Orsay museums.  Both experiences were highlights of my short trip to the City of Lights, and I have an even greater appreciation for the priceless works of art that they contain.

The Louvre is immense.  Unfathomably immense.  And it has so much artwork!  On the Seine cruise that I went on, the tour guide said that if you spent a minute or two in front of every piece of art in the museum, you would be there for over four months!  So, after hearing that, I wasn't too stressed about seeing everything, because I knew I couldn't see it all.  But I did see a lot!  And my experience at the Louvre was incredible.

I started in the Richelieu wing with the Northern European painting galleries, where I saw numerous Rembrandt,  Durer, and van Eyck.  I then moved into the middle wing, the Sully, where I saw countless works by the celebrated French artists, such as Poussin, Watteau, Chardin, Boucher, Fragonard, David, and many many more.  One of my favorite galleries was one that houses all of the important French national pieces, all of which were larger than life both in size and in the overall aesthetic effect.  It was incredible to see so many works that I have studied in class.  It was easy to see with some of them why they are so revered and celebrated, because it was much more powerful seeing the real painting up close.  You could not only see the texture of the paint and canvas better, but the colors, figures, and lines were just more alive.  

I was in awe of the Denon wing of the Louvre, which houses "Winged Victory of Samotrace", "Venus d' Milo," and of course of the "Mona Lisa," which was actually bigger than I expected it be.  I also loved seeing the works of the Italian masters, such as Raphael, Caravaggio, and other works by da Vinci.  I loved the Louvre and I'm so glad that I walked away with an even greater appreciation for the art of centuries past.

Visiting the Orsay was also an awe-inspiring experience.  The old train station in home to mainly French paintings from the 19th century.  I loved seeing the works of the French masters, and it was so amazing to see their works in person.  Impressionist works are so much more impactful when you can see the brushstrokes and vivid colors as they were meant to be seen.  All of the art in the Orsay had a huge impact on me, and I left the museum uplifted and with a deeper love for the art of 19th century France.

An American in Paris

Last week was our whirlwind, jam-packed trip to Paris!  It was such a wonderful and enlightening trip for me, one filled with awesome learning experiences and great memories.

We arrived in France in no time thanks to the Eurostar train, a non-stop service from London to Paris.  The only roadblock for me was a fever that I was fighting off the morning that we left, but luckily I had lots of people looking out for me that helped me carry my bags up and down stairs in the Underground and at the train station.

After a hop, skip, and a jump over the Channel, we arrived at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Tuesday afternoon.  I spent the rest of the day cruising down the Seine, dining on the Champs Elysees, and looking out upon Paris at night from the tippy-top of the Eiffel Tower.  It was such a great introduction to Paris!

On Wednesday morning, we made our way out to Versailles (after a slightly circuitous and industrially scenic route to the train station.  Haha).  Versailles was mind-blowing!  I've seen my fair share of elegant palaces since being in Europe, but the opulence of Versailles was incredible, and at times a little overwhelming.  

My favorite part of the palace was wandering through the unfathomably huge gardens, which are exquisite, even at the end of autumn.  After returning to Paris, I ate the best onion soup of my life, wandered around the Latin Quarter, and finally ended up at the Musee du Louvre, which was one of the highlights of my trip.  I have so much to say about the Louvre (and the Orsay), so you'll have to wait for another blog post. :)  Needless to say, I loved the Louvre!

On Thursday, the last day in Paris, I started off with a visit to Musee d'Orsay, which showcases mostly French paintings from the 19th century.  I could have stayed in the Orsay all week.  It was incredible, and I left the museum definitely uplifted.  I then made my way to Sainte Chapelle, a church I have wanted to visit for some time.  My jaw dropped when I entered the upper chapel, for I was so impressed with the architecture and exquisite stained-glass windows.  It really does feel like you're trapped in a giant jewelry box! 

 I then moved onto another symbol of Paris, Notre Dame.  I conquered the killer stairs and enjoyed a gorgeous view of Paris up at the top of the bell tower.  After hanging out with the gargoyles and the great bourdon bell, I made my way down and inside the church, which was a great moment for me.  It seems that I was trying to get my fill of churches on Thursday, because I finished my trip to Paris by going to Sacre Coeur, a basilica at La Butte Montmartre, which is a hill overlooking the city.  Sacre Coeur was beautiful and unique both inside and out, and it reminded me a lot of many Byzantine-style churches, something I didn't really expect to find in Paris.  As I looked out at Paris from the top of Montmartre, I was so thankful for the opportunity to experience this amazing city!

Poem for Honors 260 - Darwin's Down House Assignment

Confession

One flint marker.
Theories and questions buzz like
Flour-dusted bees,
Chalky-white in the sunlight,
Buzzing and whizzing through my brain.
How do I destroy the world's
One desperate hope?
How do I extinguish the divine spark?
It feels like murder.
Two flint markers.
I try to hide my crime,
Desperately scrubbing my blood-stained hands,
But the fossils, finches,
Mockingbirds and tortoises
Gave me away. The evidence is
insurmountable.
Three.
The world is not a haven; the wind
Whispers not peaceful melodies,
But war cries,
Telling of each organism's struggle
For survival.
Four.
And yet, man will yet draw closer
To perfection
In the midst of the toil and struggle and hard reason
Shines sympathy,
That noblest part of our nature,
Somehow transcending
Life's toil, warming others and ourselves.
Five flint markers.

More Power To You: Seats of Power Walk for IAS 201

This walk was both informative and intellectually stimulating.  Not only did it help me form a more cohesive map of London in my mind, but it also helped me to realize the enormous roles that the military and their campaigns of war have played in Britain’s history and how their extensive experience in battle have molded their government and national identity. 

At the beginning of the walk, we came upon a memorial for the Battle of Britain, which took place in 1941.  The memorial has a really unique design with high relief sculptures of soldiers and scenes from the battle done in bronze.  I liked how they included the quote from Winston Churchill, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Every walk I go on helps me to put a mental map of London together in my mind, and it seems like Trafalgar Square is the center of London.  I always feel as if I’m running into it.  If it does act as the sort of center of activity, it seems very appropriate that it commemorates one of Britain’s most celebrated battles—the Battle of Trafalgar.  As we moved out of the square and down Whitehall, I was surprised to find so many historical landmarks on that street—including Scotland Yard, which I now know the origins of.  Before this walk I had little idea of the historical significance of the Banqueting Hall.  As the sight of Charles I execution and the location of the official offering of the throne to William and Mary, it seems that it has always been an important building to the British government, even though the exterior is rather unpretentious.

As we came upon the Cenotaph shooting up through the center of the street, I really could see Britain’s preoccupation with war, especially WWI.  The monument is clearly very important, both because of its location in the middle of a major thoroughfare but also because of what takes place there each year.  Britain’s remembrance of WWII was also made obvious a little further along the walk by the activity that was taking place around the Cabinet War Rooms.  They were allowing anyone to sidewalk chalk something to commemorate Churchill and his extraordinary efforts during WWII.  It’s obvious that even today they still love and respect Winston Churchill here in England. 

It was interesting to see how important the monarchy still is to Britain.  Although the Queen may not hold very much direct governing authority, there is still a lot of ceremony with regards to the monarchy.  This was evident to me as we passed Admiralty Arch, which constructed only within the last century.  The importance of the monarchy was clear looking at the arch, for only the monarch is allowed to pass through the center archway.

As I completed the walk and reflected upon all of the dozens of war and military memorials I had seen, I realized how significant Britain’s military history is to who they are as a people and a government.  

Theatre Review for English 382: The Winter's Tale

The role of memory is a significant one in The Winter’s Tale.  In a production of the play, a director might choose to emphasize or deemphasize the remembrance of past events in the play.  It might be that a specific production will have Leontes, during the last two acts, constantly reminded of his past mistakes through the staging, costuming, and blocking.  It might be that there are very few mementos of the tragic events of the first three acts, simply recitation of the lines that mention the disasters without any particular emphasis. In the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Winter’s Tale, directed by David Farr, reminders of the past show themselves in the set design, especially in the recurring visual motif using books and papers. 

This production of The Winter’s Tale, performed on October 3 at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, was miraculous.  Every actor played their role not just convincingly but with a great deal of appropriate fervor and emotion.  Some of the actors portrayed their characters in a way that helped me to believe certain events to be more probable.  I was especially impressed with the actor who played Leontes and his ability to play the part of a jealous and vengeful tyrant while at the same time seeming so vulnerable.  This helped to believe in his change of heart more and made the moment when he is reunited with Hermione very powerful.

The motif dealing with books and papers played a dominant role in the set design.  Act II ends with a dramatic cascade of books, falling off their shelves in a swirl of dramatic chaos as the chandelier crashes to the floor.  The bear that chases, or in the case of this production, drags Antigonus offstage is made of pages from a book.  Rather than sweeping the destruction off the stage, the production leaves the books on stage, and they become part of the scenery for the second half of the play.  The wreckage of the cold, blue books and disheveled shelves starkly contrasts with the vivid colors of the set design and costuming Acts IV and V.  However, the Bohemian setting still has hints of the falling books: the stage is littered with papers and each tree branch is covered by page-leaves, as if the trees were growing out of a story. 

Although the motif dominates the last acts of the play, books also have a significant role in the beginning acts as well.  Before their dramatic demise, the neatly organized bookshelves loom over the set.  In the beginning of a scene, after having accused his wife and best friend of adultery, Leontes is seen thumbing through one of the volumes.  At the end of Act III when the Shepherd discovers the baby Perdita even he ties in the book motif: “Though I am not bookish, yet I can read waiting-gentlewoman in the scape” (III.iii.72-73).  And Time, who begins Act IV by setting the scene sixteen years later, held a book in his hand.

The question is raised: why are books such a prominent element in the production?  The book motif effectively reminds the audience of the past events of the play, particularly the dramatic falling bookshelves that can be interpreted to represent the falling apart of Leontes’ world with the death of his wife and son.  The first time the audience sees Leontes after the sixteen years have passed by, at the beginning of Act V, he is sitting among the rubble of books, talking about how he remembers the virtues of Hermione.  This suggests that the books somehow act as a reminder to Leontes of his past misdeeds. 

Also, the book theme is reminiscent of the title of the play.  As the viewer contemplates the importance of tales in the plot, he or she is reminded of the scene when Mamillius begins telling a tale of “sprites and goblins” in Act II scene 1, and while dwelling on Mamillius, is reminded of his tragic death and absence for the rest of the play.  Although the rest of his family is eventually reunited, Mamillius is markedly missing.  With this interpretation in mind, the book and paper motif casts a melancholy shadow over the play, stirring the viewer’s memory of the tragic loss that occurs.  Even after Leontes, Hermione, and Perdita are together once more, the soldiers’ jackets are still covered in dust from the destruction at the end of Act II, reminding the viewer of the falling of the bookshelves, the demise of family relationships, and most sadly, the death of a little boy who isn’t restored to the arms of his parents.

Because David Farr’s production strongly emphasized the remembrance of past events in the play, the poignancy of the hopeful redemption of Leontes and the sadness of the missing Mamillius are made more potent. Not only does memory play a significant part in the remorse and redemption of Leontes, but because of David Farr’s production contains the books and papers motif that makes memory an important factor in the viewing experience.  

Country Walk

The Country Walk has been one of my favorite excursions in England so far.  Although we had to walk several miles through the driving rain and rising mud, up steep, thigh-busting hills and down slopes slippery with wet leaves and fallen trees, I still really enjoyed this experience that had given me a greater understanding of this nation’s love for the beautiful English countryside.

            We started the walk—led by George Chittock and his two brothers, John and Ron—in the Kentish village of Shoreham.  I was immediately impressed at how fast we got into the countryside after leaving London—it only took us about an hour to get to Shoreham by train.  After walking through a damp field we came to a quaint churchyard, one that George said has been around since the 11^th century.  I loved walking inside, smelling that familiar old wood scent unique to old buildings, and seeing the fall decorations that brightened up the cold interior.  We continued walking through several beautifully picturesque fields and stretches of forests, eventually coming to a small country store that was exactly how you would expect a small country store in rural England to be—sponge cakes, shortbreads, and ginger beer, lavender soap and potpourri, handmade scarves, teapots, and just about every variety of jams and jellies imaginable.  As we moved on into more picturesque landscapes, I felt like I had just stepped into a Jane Austen whenever we came to a stile to go over a fence or encountered a “kissing gate” that we had to pass through.  After a few hours of walking, we stopped to eat our packed lunches at Eylesford Castle, an old Norman fortress that is now in ruins.  Here a few people decided to go back to London, but I, being the budding adventuress that I am, wanted to finish the walk. It started to rain, but I was just fine (at least for the present time) with my handy dandy umbrella.  We eventually came to a steep hill, one that took a little extra exertion to conquer, but all of the huffing and puffing was worth it when we reached the breathtaking meadow at the top, which was beautiful even in the pouring rain, perhaps more beautiful because of it.  However, the way down the hill required a little more concentration and skill to descend due to the many felled trees and slick leaves blocking a straight path down.  By some miracle, I managed to make it all the way down the slope without any major embarrassments.  After walking crossing a few more streets and train tracks and trekking through a few more muddy fields, we finally completed our walk/hike back at the Shoreham train station, drenched and mud splattered, having enjoyed a satisfying day in the English countryside and very English rain.

            This walk not only gave me an enjoyable day outside of the hustle and bustle of London, but it gave me a greater understanding of why the English so enjoy walking through the country.  Yes, it is beautiful, but it also possesses a unique rejuvenating quality that I have felt in few other locations.  One can come here and escape the busyness of life for a while.  I am so glad that England has preserved its rich countryside for so many years; I for one thoroughly enjoyed it.