I am warning you. This post will really only interest nerds. So if you do not like nerdy things, abandon this post right now. Because it is all about big-time nerdy interests. You have been warned.
Me in front of the LEGIT Hogwarts - this is where they shot all of the exteriors of the castle - amazing! (Note - extra nerd points for wearing a BBC Sherlock shirt!)
I want you to realize that, as a librarian, I have automatic nerd cred. This is pretty much like street cred ... but possibly not so violent. Or maybe it is, I don't know. I have not been to San Diego's Comic-Con, after all. However, much of my nerd cred comes from reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Scratch that. Almost everyone has read the Harry Potter books. My nerd cred comes from hosting Harry parties and knowing all the trivia and dressing up as various Harry characters. (Harry, note, not Hairy). So it shall come as no surprise to you when I tell you that I (along with all the other grownup library people getting their masters degrees and their teachers) almost peed on myself when I found out that we were going to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour where they shot all the films! I mean, this is the place where Hogwarts lives! No, it isn't like the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. I think it's actually better! Granted, I have not been to the theme park in Orlando but the people who have and went with me on this said this was better. I don't really care. I just know it was extremely cool. This is the studio where those three little actors (and the hundreds of other cast and crew members) lived for TEN years while making those movies! It was amazing. Once again, I am not going to tell you about it so much as SHOW you via photos. Click here to look at all the photos from the real sets, props, costumes, effects, and sound stages that were in the Harry Potter films.
Just one of the many buildings on this huge film studio lot
Me in front of the Grave Marker for the Riddles!
Oh, I had to stick this in here - I am such a Potter nerd that when I went with friends to Edinburgh, Scotland, we visited this coffee shop/restaurant. It's one of the main places where J.K. Rowling wrote ...you guessed it!
Yes, Harry Potter nerd supreme - I actually mainly got this shot for my two HP uber nerd nieces, Britt & Min
The next biggest nerd thing I did was take a trip to Cardiff, Wales with other nerd friends. We went to the amazing, incredible, brilliant, fun, funny, goofy, campy, insert adjective here, BBC Doctor Who Experience! If you like the show, you'll like this tour. If you love the show (like we all did), your mouth will drop open, you will stare around during the tour (we're helping The Doctor in the Tardis, for goodness sakes!), and grin the whole time. It. was. brilliant! The most fun I have ever had on anything remotely like this - better than a fun house, better than an amusement park ride, better than ... well, I've run out of superlatives. We all were so happy we went. And Cardiff! Now, Cardiff was hopping! It totally reminded me of New Orleans during a festival weekend - that kind of hopping!
What it says
Creepy Weeping Angel getting me!I am NOT Blinking!
me outside the Tardis
me INSIDE the Tardis - yes, it's bigger on the inside!
My final nerd moment - well, possibly you could call it a fan girl moment. Yes, kids, even old people have movie star crushes. And my movie star crush is Martin Freeman. Yes, he of Fargo, Sherlock, The Office, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and some little movies series about A HOBBIT! (Don't worry, I'm not going to stick up posters of him or write him fan mail or anything - I'm too lazy to be a stalker ... or a really dedicated fan, for that matter).
Anyhoo, my big fangirl moment came when I went with a fellow student to see Richard III onstage starring Mr. Freeman. I know I am a fangirl because I found out about him performing this when I was back in the states and his wife TWEETED it. (Aha! There's my social media nod of the day, please note). She's a really brilliant actress in her own right (Amanda Abbington) and a totally hilarious tweeter. So back to the play. We got to actually SIT ON THE STAGE. Much of the time, I was less than 5 feet from Bilbo himself! He was marvelous - played a mean, mean, and totally crazy Richard III. It was a great production by superstar theatre director Jamie Lloyd. I must say there was lots and lots and lots of blood. Some of the audience were given tshirts after the production because their clothes were spattered with fake blood. Bloody lucky bastards (Leener!!!!) Anyway, it was amazing. I am not going in to it here. If you really want to know, I will break out the program and tell you about it. I never much cared for Richard III (Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play) but I did love this production. Possibly because of Dr. Watson but I really did enjoy this play tremendously. Highly recommend it.
Okay, I know that Olé is not a French word. Oui, I do. But I am trying to convey a feeling here! We went to Paris as part of our class (not complaining, mind you). However, temperatures reached over 36 degrees Celsius while we were there. Yes, get your Celsius to Farenheit converters out. Let me help you - that's over 97 degrees Farenheit! Ay, caramba!
Me and that big Eiffel Tower thing
Ah but it's Paris. To quote Cole Porter: I love Paris in the spring time I love Paris in the fall I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles
Notre Dame Cathedral - nope, not a hunchback in sight
Well, maybe not quite as much in the summer, but it is an absolutely gorgeous city. It is the most beautiful city I have ever visited, anyway. And I would like to point something out - every time I have come to France (granted, it has only been three times), the people have been absolutely wonderful. Very charming, gracious, and kind to a poor, lost, non-French speaking hick like me. So there's my two cents on that. But onto the blog.
Yep, another shot of ME! In front of the Louvre Museum
There is a book entitled French Women Don't Get Fat. It talks about how to eat with balance, control, and pleasure. That might be true. But let me show you the BIG reason French women don't get fat. STAIRS.
STEPS
I have a wonderful classmate who has a fitbit activity tracker that she wore everywhere we went and it would record the number of steps we walked. We averaged about six miles per day (good on us!) The first day in Paris, we went 10 1/2 miles. Up stairs. Both ways. Paris' subway - The Metro - stairs. The Eiffel Tower (gorgeous!) - lots of stairs. The historic and breathtaking Montmartre section of the city - STAIRS EVERYWHERE!
MORE STEPS
AND SHOOT ME NOW, EVEN MORE STEPS!
Okay, enough of the whining. Although I just about passed out from the combination of exercise and heat, I was quite proud of myself and persevered on with my friends. We visited gorgeous museums (honestly, you can sling a pickle in any direction and come up with a picturesque outdoor cafe, amazing architecture, or a world-famous museum.
I love the Metro - great subway system
Even after all the whining about the heat and the stairs, was I happy to be in Paris for a "working" school weekend? You bet. I would go again at any time. So, if you want a pretty good (but tired) guide and you're willing to pay my way to Paris ... just give me a shout!
HONESTLY, I don't believe the reason I love London so much is because I am so very pale and these people are also mostly very pale. I think there is way more to it than that! Well, I hope so anyway.
Me doing a SELFIE at Harrod's Big. Expensive. Store. FIVE ACRES
Now I'm catching you up on Week 2. It has been: wonderful - hectic - tiring - fun - enjoyable - hectic - hot - tiring - incredible - hectic - tiring ... well, you get the point. Have I mentioned to you that London is a WALKING city? If not, let me make sure you understand that. A WALKING city. As in, the citizens walk EVERYWHERE. If you ask one of them for directions, they will tell you, "Oh, it's just a brisk 5-minute walk from here." Don't believe them. They are either insane, taking the piss (Leener!), or can honestly walk there (briskly) in 5 minutes. You need to translate their speech into American English. It's 30 minutes. It's just like exchanging Pounds (money) into Dollars. It will drive you crazy so just don't do it. Our dollar is only worth 59 cents per pound here. Our minute is obviously only worth 15 seconds here. Don't do the math (they say maths here) - just don't believe them. Tricky wankers (Leener! but you might not know that's a British bad word so scratch that).
See how everyone is walking? This is why they're all more fit than us!
This post is not going to be as detailed (mainly because I'm rushed) but here's the stream of consciousness that is coming out of my brain. The Museum of London is WONDERFUL - first time I've ever been there! Wish I could take more time and revisit it. A must see.
Fantastic FREE Museum
I loved St. Paul's Cathedral (again) and elected not to take the 528 steps up to the Golden Gallery (been there, did that, did not buy a t-shirt - I remember it fondly from my 30's). I revisited the golden city of Oxford again (did not hook up with Queen Kathleen, King Peter, Princess Martha, nor Prince Pip, unfortunately) but had a great tour and went to the amazing Bodleian Library.
This is actually the The Radcliffe Camera which is adjacent to the Bodleain Library
If you are a librarian, you want to be a librarian, you like libraries, you like books, you like old buildings, you like history - WHATEVER YOUR CUP OF TEA - you need to visit the Bodleian Library. It is amazing. They shot bits of the Harry Potter movie here, it's so amazing. Better than building a set! Unfortunately, photos are not allowed so you'll have to go to this website to make do (yes, while sacrificing the beauty of my photos and looking at some crappy "professional shots"). (And, no, Leener, crap is not a bad word). Then on Friday, we visited the British Broadcasting Corporation aka the BBC aka the Beeb aka my favorite television channel.
THE BEEB
ME WITH A TARDIS! (if you don't watch Doctor Who, this will not excite you in any way)
I just wanted to share with you that I am writing this blog post on a train
bound to Edinburgh – I feel so extremely European! Or, at the very least,
tourist supreme.I want to stress to
every American that this Scotland city is pronounced Ed-in-burrow … you do not say
Burg at the end. If you want Brits & Scots to take the piss (look, Leener <aka my curse vigilant sister>!), then go ahead and pronounce it as Burg.
St. Pancras Station NOT PANCREAS!
However, I digress and this blog continues. When last we left our
intrepid adventurer (me), she had departed the safe haven of dear friends in
Oxford and had continued her journey via train to London. Blah blah train
stations blah blah picturesque countryside blah blah arrival at St. Pancras Station (yes, the beautiful train station where Harry Potter movies were filmed along with King’s Cross because St. Pancras is much prettier on the outside). So I know you’re
saying to yourself, “Where is the social media aspect she is supposed to
introduce? That is, of course, the ONLY reason I am reading her damned (<Leener>!)
blog anyway!” Fear not, gentle readers, here it comes.
Hey! Let's go to Europe & visit really old castles so we can look at our phones constantly!
Who cares about history? Let's check FB!
So, everywhere I look, I
see … cell phones, tablets, and laptops, oh my! Are these people actually talking on these pricy little phones?
Not so much. I see a lot of Facebooking (yes, America, little Mark Zuckerberg
may be one of ours but FB definitely belongs to the world), tweeting all round,
and, in a clear sign of the impending end of civilization, lots of cat videos
being watched and shared. All in all, it seems that social media is becoming
the great world equalizer. (Oh, that was actually a good thought – must
remember that in my culminating paper!) One last observation about social media
and its worldwide explosion. From the time I left Clementsville, KY (population possibly 50), through my journey to Lexington, KY airport, onto Chicago’s
O’Hare, over the big pond known as the Atlantic, to Oxford, to London, etc…
So historical but. I. Must. Finish. This. Tweet!
There
has not been one single time that I have not been in contact with any other
human beings, that observation of social media in one form another has been
missing for over twenty-two minutes. (Yes, I counted and yes, some of those
times have included me). Social media revolution indeed!
Okay, I’m getting quite excited on this train. I’ve seen about a
zillion sheep in gorgeous countryside but now I’ve seen an actual LOCH! It
wasn’t Loch Lomand nor Loch Ness – and just now the very nice man I pestered
asking what it was informed me it was actually the North Sea. So it was not
even a Loch … but it will always be a Scottish Loch in my heart. The names of the towns are wonderful - Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, Galashief. And the accents! Even better than Mike Myers with his Scottish burr.
But back to my blog. So I’m not really going to go into detail about arrival in London (also
known as the land of a billion stairs – anyone who has been to Europe and gone
on the trains and who has been told their flat is on the 3rd floor
but then soon realize that the 2nd floor for us is the 1st
floor for the sneaky bastards (<Leener!>). Suffice it to say I met up
with my fellow classmates & teacher Jane Barrager IN PERSON (quite nice to
see and hear them live instead of
through computer screens), found that my four other flatmates were all quite
nice and, to a person, much neater than me (this will so shock anyone who knows
what a stickler for neatness I am!), and began my series of classes/interviews and
continued my role as social media manager for the FSUlibIT Facebook and Twitter
accounts where I find and post items daily for the Florida State University School of Information (aka iSchool) for my Directed Individual Study (DIS) course for my MSLIS that I'm pursuing over here. Incidentally, that would be called "reading Library Sciences" over here. Nice, eh?
I've gotten a few interviews (working on more), taken thousands of photos (and, no that is NOT an exaggeration, sad to say), and am working on a paper. I am stressing a bit but it will all be worth it - plus I am in LONDON so what am I doing complaining??? In between the class work, we've visited the Tower of London, seen the West End musical Wicked, gone to the British Library, visited some of London's amazing parks & markets, and still have a ton of other things to do. Gotta say thanks to FSU for this opportunity. Once again, if you want to, click here to visit my Facebook page for many more photos - they are totally worth 1,000 words from this blog!
Tower of London - one of my absolute favorite places on the planet
Class in front of the Tower Bridge
Me & flatmate Jill from Michigan at Wicked
View of Amazing King's Library Collection at British Library
Hunched-over statue of Isaac Newton outside the British Library
Ahhhh.... Nothing quite like seeing a good friend after a long time. I love love love harassing my dear friend Kathleen Soriano (over here it's called "taking the piss" - I quite like that term - plus it serves to make my older sister Eileen angry since her job description seems to include "make Kat quit cussing"). However, it's not really nice to "take the piss" from?/of?/off? a friend who drives hours to pick you up at Heathrow, puts you up in a simply gorgeous room with your own bathroom, feeds you wonderfully, and sees to your every comfort. So I decided not to do it. And then failed spectacularly.
Marvelous Martha on her Mac, Precious Pip in foreground(ps - Martha liked the shirts)
I was joined in tormenting her by her lovely 16-year-old daughter, Martha (Marvelous Martha for the entire name, if you must know), and her husband, Personable Peter (why yes, I do love alliteration in all forms, however did you guess).
The only family member that stayed loyal to her was Precious Pip, the family schnauzer. However, she bore it all in good humour (ah - British spelling that!) and remained as lovely as ever. We went shopping at the local Sainsbury's (think Krogers or Winn Dixie) and got food. The Brits don't tend to grocery shop like we Americans. For one thing, they take their bags instead of using plastic bags. They are MARVELOUS recyclers! Another thing is that their fresh foods do not seem to have as many preservatives as ours. So they shop more often, many times just buying for the next few meals instead of the whole week.
Peter showing me the Thames after we went to the Trout Pub (seen in background) for drinks (as featured in Inspector Morse)
This is just one of the places Kathleen, Peter, Martha, & Pip took me during the short stay I had with them in Oxford.
Like I said, Kathleen was so gracious and seemingly oblivious to the atrocious teasing I gave her (much to the delight of her daughter).
Well, I thought she was over the provocations - at least until she invited several thousand BRITISH guests to a 4th of July Independence Day party at her residence. I was pretty sure there was going to be some sort of reprisal for the whole little 1776 incident ... and there WAS! The butchering of our beloved national anthem!
But all were great party guests and fascinating conversationalists. The Pimm's kept flowing (which may explain the fascinating conversationalists), we had Hot Dogs, Coca Cola, & Apple Pie, everyone seemed uber impressed with my red, white & blue candy theme, Bruce Springsteen could be heard playing in the background, and with the exception of fireworks, I felt rather patriotic. Well, maybe not patriotic but I did not "revolt" against them as I had threatened to do all night.
Lovely Brits chatting in lovely accents
Everyone was very gracious to me
It was a mixture of neighbors & artists - creative types all
Not sure if this is a disagreement about cooking or rapture about the Hot Dogs, Coca Cola & Apple Pie
I really did have a marvelous time in Oxford. Gorgeous house, gracious hosts, amazing city, fast internet (good to have if you're doing homework that's due in the states!) If you would like to see more photos, click here to look at my Facebook pictures. Next post - onto London! TA!
Not too busy anywhere at Lexington Airport (which is why I love it)
Having spent most of the night before I left choosing, discarding,
packing, repacking, and generally making a huge mess out of both my house and
my sister Sue’s living room, I hung out with family members until it was time
to go to the Lexington airport. I had plenty of time to kill and probably
visited the bathrooms about ten times along with buying yet a final t-shirt
(bedazzled with KENTUCKY) for my good friend Kathleen’s teenage daughter,
Martha. I just hoped she liked a lot of bling on her shirts. I just hoped she
knew what the word bling was.
From Univ. of KY (UK) to the United Kingdom (UK)
Blah blah blah – fast forward through more waiting, texting to see how
my brother-in-law Ronnie was doing (about the same – still not gotten a room in
a Louisville hospital), mods bathroom visits, conversation eavesdropping, etc.
– then I actually get to board and, after a bit, we’re off. Bye bye, UK
(University of Kentucky), hello, UK (United Kingdom).
Pretty O'Hare Terminal WHY did I have to walk so far????
Well, after a stressful
layover in Chicago that was about 30 minutes shorter than it was supposed to be
and where the terror level has been upgraded so that everyone going on
international flights goes through serious checks. I do love O’Hare
International with its mall-like atmosphere and amazing food smells (Chicago – Pizza
capitol of the world) but walking 3 terminals over to where I was instructed to
go and then finding out that the last British Airways shuttle stopped running
there 30 minutes earlier and I would have to go BACK (back!!!!), go outside,
catch a train to TERMINAL D and then go through security … well, let’s say
stressed was a very applicable word at that point.
I love watching clouds underneath me
After what was practically a full body cavity search (terror level was high - not sure why - could have been they knew my brother David drove me to the airport), I barely squeaked onto the British Airways plane bound for Heathrow. I watched the clouds underneath, ate a good chicken curry dinner, started watching a movie and promptly fell asleep. Had a pretty good snooze but I did get some photos while in the plane. I always think cloud photos are awesome and got about 100 but will not bore you with them. Please note, I told my nephew Zach
"Zach" gets his first view of Europe - Ireland!
Summers I would "take him along" with me so I'll have shots of his "Go Big Zach!" wristband throughout this blog. Check out his FB page for info on how Zach is doing in his fight against his brain tumor!
Flying over the Atlantic Ocean as the sun sets
Showing us the wonky flight pattern - we are backed up at Heathrow
Finally, I landed and was picked up by my good friend Kathleen Soriano (yes, I DO have friends, contrary to popular opinion!) and driven to beautiful, historic Oxford, the "City In Spires" (it is known as the city of "dreaming spires"). However, you will have to wait until tomorrow to catch up with that thrilling tale because I am fighting mightily with BLOGGER (yuck!) and am really tired and must go to bed to get up early for a class trip. TA!
