It occurred to me that I haven't blathered senselessly for a while now. I figured I should get on the ball. :)
I guess the biggest news of late is that in about two weeks I'll be heading off to Paris for a few days. The university here has this really cool thing called Reading Week where most classes (at least all the honours classes) don't meet and there are no seminars either. This works out doubly well for me since it coincides with a really cool deal on RyanAir. Basically, I get to fly to Paris and back (from Glasgow) for around $80. Not too shabby. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to this. I probably won't leave the city too much as my main goals are to hit up the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Latin Quarter (where I may actually be staying if all works out accordingly), and the Arche de Triomphe (sp?). I would like to swing by the palace at Versailles though and my dad told me I should see Azincourt if at all possible though so I may be doing a little moving about. More will be posted on this as the time approaches.
As of this coming Sunday, Zach and I should have acquired tickets to the Evanescence concert here in Glasgow (also during Reading Week actually). This also makes me exceedingly happy as I've wanted to see them live for some time now. The venue is supposed to be really good also. . .should make for an awesome event.
There's currently a kind of flame-war (basically people shooting insults at each other) developing between Bo Lancaster's and Zach's blogs. Bo posted on the art of being pretentious and all but named Zach as being a pretentious turd for ending his Wittenburg Door posts by saying he was simultaneously drinking Guinness. Zach responds by calling Bo a wanker (in classic Leprechaun style) and Pnut and ColeSlaw have also chimed in. This one could get interesting, though strangely it might actually turn into an argument about beer.
I have to say, I really love the beer here. Overall my experience has been that British food is crap. Everything is either deep-fried or frozen and with the exception of the beef (which is REALLY good) it is all more expensive and cheaper quality (read: cheaper = worse). For example, I went to a Fish and Chips shop (EVERYTHING is Fish and Chips and Kebabs. . .no variety whatsoever) and ordered a hamburger. What could be more basic than a hamburger with chips (fries)? When I think hamburger I think of a nice piece of grilled meat put between two pieces of bread with lettuce and tomato and maybe some mustard. Apparently people in the UK have a different mental image. My 'hamburger' was a piece of fried meat (it didn't even look like beef), still contained in the batter, placed on a pile of chips, slathered in salt and vinegar, and then wrapped in brown paper. No bread. No lettuce or tomato. Nothing. I was very depressed.
But the beer. . . Mind, I'm by no means an expert on American beer. In fact, being underage I've only experienced American beer in very small (and highly specific) quantities. That said, the few times I've had American beer I really was not impressed in the least. Coming over here the obvious choice for first drink was a Guinness. I really enjoy Guinness, especially on-tap (to my mind the only proper way to consume it), but I find it to be a hard drink to have frequently. For one thing, its really heavy. I don't really consider it to be a beer. I know it falls under the 'beer class,' but there really aren't any other beers which can be compared to it. That said, I've really latched on to Belhaven over the course of my stay here. The beer of choice for most Glaswegians is Tennet's (or Carling), but I've found that to be a little bitter for my tastes. Belhaven is really smooth and I have a great respect for it.
Wow. . .I can't believe I just posted that much about beer. If anyone has actually read this far, you should be ashamed of yourselves :) There are far too many more important things you could be reading, like articles on the growing violence in movies these days. I'd really recommend going here and reading what Mesh has to say. I found this essay (I suppose that's what it is) to be extremely insightful and very well-written. Its worth a look.
And finally, have any of you ever wondered why classic arcade games (as in, Sonic or Mario or anything else in that vein) are always filled with things like moving walkways or platforms which just hang in mid-air? I know that may seem random, but its a question which goes along with this. I found it to be very amusing.
Posted by steele at October 23, 2003 07:13 AMActually Murphy's and Beamish are two Irish stouts that are pretty similar to Guinness though Guinness is still the king in my humble opinion.
Posted by: zachtodd at October 23, 2003 09:11 AMactualy it's Beamer's, sorry
Posted by: zach at October 23, 2003 09:11 AMParis is the BEST!!! My comment on museums. The Louvre is overrated. I got lost in Napolean's dishes and thought there were better ways to spend my limited time in such a fabuluous city. Thankfully, you can get a map that shows you just where the famous stuff is (like Mona Lisa and the Code of Hammurabi) so that you get the biggest bang for your buck (or france or euro or whatever). I enjoyed much more the Musee d'Orsay (wh. is near the Louvre, I think) for traditional painting and stuff. they have a lot of the famous impressionist stuff there. If you like medieval stuff there's the Cluniac Museum in an old monastery with lots of cool medieval artifacts. And the Musee Rodin is fabulous, with not only his sculptures, but some of his contemporaries, too. If you're in to modern art, the Pompadou Center is reportedly excellant, though I didn't get a chance to see it when I there, due to its being closed for renovation. Definitely go up everything...the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe. I didn't, and that is one my biggest regrets with Paris. When you go to a cafe for dinner (something you should do at least once), order steak frites. The French version of the "fish and chips" staple. Only yummy steak and fabuluous fries that you eat with a fork. (I know it LOOKS like the kind you eat with your fingers, but you eat them with a fork in France). Order a glass of red wine with it, and prepare to sit back, take your time, and enjoy your meal. I also recommend getting a crepe with Nutella on it. There are crepe stands along the streets all over. and the crepes are huge, warm, and delicious. For breakfast, pop into any bakery (boulangerie) and get a pain au chocolat (pronounced pan oh shock-oh-lah) (basically a rectangular croissant sort of thing with dark chocolate in it). If you're lucky, it'll still be warm from the oven. The word for coffee is cafe. It's perfectly respectable to take a break, plop down at a cafe and signal to the waiter "un cafe!" while you read a volume of Proust. Or just people watch....wh. is a tireless hobby in Paris. *sigh* Wish I could be there. Paris is my favorite city.
Posted by: Jeannette at October 23, 2003 05:41 PMYou know, I was going to go and get some sort of travel guide so that I would at least have some semblance of an idea of what to do there, but after that comment I really don't need to.
Thanks for the wonderful advice. Those were all things I could not possibly have known. Anything else I should know?
Keep this good stuff coming :)
Posted by: steele at October 24, 2003 10:30 AMWell, the travel guide might be good for prices and directions and stuff. The metro is wonderfully simple, but having a decent map of it is essential to its being wonderfully simple. I think you can purchase one at the metro station? I'm not sure. You can also purchase a whole stack of metro tickets, which is definitely a good idea. (These are things a travel guide might help you with). Guide book might also help with basic linguistic barriers.
Another nice thing about France is that when you buy a sandwich at a little sandwich stand/shop, they always come on little mini-baguettes. And often you can request that they be heated. "chaud"=hot.
Also, if you're hungry, just eating a plain baguette from a boulangerie is really yummy. You can eat the whole thing in one sitting. They don't last overnight, either. Don't even try. French bread is unlike anywhere else!!! You'll eat WAY better in France than in the U.K.
There's also a really cool cemetary, which is advertised as where Jim Morrison is buried, but tons of other famous people are buried there, too. I went to it to see Chopin's grave, for instance. You can get a map of the place that shows where famous people are buried. (Can't remember what the cemetary is called.)
Something that's also fun, but really quintessentially touristy (who cares, though, you're a tourist!) is to take one of those night boat rides down the Seine. All the buildings, including Notre Dame, wh. is stunning, are lit up, and people are making out on the banks of the river. It's SO paris.
Oh, yea, and when I said be prepared to take your time at a cafe, i meant. You could easily take 2 hours. They believe in taking your time and enjoying your meal. Your waiter will basically leave you alone to do so. I've been to cafes where there were just awful Americans who were complaining rather loudly that it was taking so long, but that is just the French way. And they wonder why the Parisians are rude back??! If you take France on its own terms, it will be lovely to you. Also, when you want your check, signal to the waiter and ask for "L'addition, s'il vous plait" (check, please) (pronounced lah-dis-ee-ohn, sih-voo-play). It is not "billet" as many people think. A "billet" is like a ticket for a concert.
Posted by: Jeannette at October 25, 2003 10:19 AMYes, I am currently in the market for a Lonely Planet guide to Paris (going to pick one up from the downtown Borders in the next few days).
Right now my plan is definitely to try and visit the major sites. . .and that cemetery sounds really cool. I'm also intrigued by the catacombs they have open for visitations. Kind of morbid though. . . :) I think I'm going to bring a book with me so I can do as you advise. . .soak it all up as I enjoy some real coffee (that's actually exactly what my dad told me to do also). Zach was telling me about the boat trips. I'm definitely going to look into that as well.
Thanks again.
Posted by: steele at October 25, 2003 10:38 AM