Thao Takes On Europe: February 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

Insomniac

The Archives.

Demon Host

Timber Timbre, Timber Timbre

Tiny Circle

Wolf People, Steeple

Ten Cent Pistol

The Black Keys, Brothers

Lotus Flower

Radiohead, The King of Limbs

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

This past weekend, we had our first excursion with the CUEF students from the other API program. We only spent one day and one night in Dijon, so there wasn't enough time for the city to leave me with a lasting impression, but one thing's for sure, the food is spectacular.

So much MOUTARDE!

Boeuf bourguignon - specialty dish of the region

Cassis de Dijon - mixed with white wine to make Kir

Burgundy wine tasting in an ancient wine cellar at 11AM

Monday, February 14, 2011

The City of Saints, Scholars, and Guinness

Dublin: the happiest place on earth.

Pubs galore.
Bar Crawl: Temple Bar
Peadar Kearney's
The Purty Kitchen
The Porter House

Delicious food.

O'Neill's Restaurant and Bar

Good drink.
Guinness Storehouse St. James's Gate

Friendly folk.
O'Connell Street

Good times in Ireland.

Pub crawl

Pillow Fight Night @ The Purty Kitchen Club

Scottish Countryside

One word: SHEEP.

baaaahhhhhh

So cute. I just want to squeeeeeeze one.

Glasgow and Edinburgh

I was surprised by Glasgow...in a bad way. There wasn't much to do, but the Kelvingrove Art Museum was really nice. The galleries displayed an interesting melange of works and interactive exhibits. Also, the Necropolis was a worthwhile place to visit. We went at dusk, which lent the enormous cemetery an eerie feeling. The antique tombstones were beautiful in the setting sunlight.

Kelvingrove Art Museum and Gallery

Array of human facial expressions

Glasgow Necropolis

Tombstones from the 1800s

Wednesday morning, we took the train to Edinburgh (pronounced ed-in-bur-ah to my dismay) and met up with Sally's friend along with her two friends. The views of the city from every hilltop were absolutely spectacular. We ate lunch at the Elephant House Cafe, the "birthplace of Harry Potter." Supposedly, J.K. Rowling was sitting at a table in this very cafe when she documented her first ideas of Harry Potter and Dumbledore on a napkin. Wild. We also took a tour inside a barrel ride at a whiskey distillery. I can now say that I've seen the largest collection of Scotch whiskey in the world. Oh, and of course we drank some whiskey while we were at it.

Glowing golden cavern of whiskey bottles

National Monument: "Athens of the North"

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Spot On

What a blur. The week went by so incredibly fast. From the moment we boarded the bus at Grenoble Gare Routiere, everything that happened afterward seems like a mere blink of the eye. We arrived at London Stansted around 10PM, rushed onto the bus into the city, and caught a taxi to Jackie's friend's apartment in Kensington. Apparently she was taking us to the biggest rave in London, and she had bought us advanced tickets so we could beat the lines before 1AM. Time check: 12:43. Before I could catch my breath, Lizzy was shoving a liter of Jack and Coke into our hands as we ran down the boulevard trying to flag down a black hackney. The cab pulled onto a street, and one of the last things I remember seeing was an endless line of people wrapped around the building behind velvet rope. That didn't phase Lizzy, though. She paid the cab driver and led us right to the bouncer at the entrance of the club. It only took thirty seconds of sweet-talking before he let us bypass the hundreds of people waiting outside. Star status.

Before I started swaying to house techno

I guess this guy bought all our drinks...

and this guy let us sleep in his roommates bed.

The first night was really crazy, so we toned it down during our last two days in London. After we checked into the Green Man Inn (highly recommended - good service, cheap rooms, ask for the Brazilian bartender downstairs), we spent the afternoon exploring the Westminster and St. James area. I finally stood under Big Ben, and crossed the Thames, and walked around the monstrosity that is Westminster Abbey, feeling smaller than ever. Didn't see the queen at the palace, though. Shame.