Home at Last

Well, my days as Melissa, London Adventurer, are over.  I'll admit, I miss my adopted home and my new family a lot.  It's great to be home, sleeping in my own bed, hanging with my family, but I miss having a new adventure every day.  I guess I need to plan some Long Island adventures for myself!  

My last day in London was great.  Brandy and I toured around the city some more and then met up with Callie Ann for dinner at a Greek restaurant next to the Globe.  It was a nice relaxing way to end my month abroad.  I'll admit it, I got teary-eyed saying, "so long for now" to them at the end of dinner.  

I am so grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip.  It was a life-changing experience, and I have new memories that will last a lifetime! I met some great people, that I will hopefully see again soon!  Reunion anyone?  

I leave you with some of my last sights in London...

My favorite Wenlock statue - Pirate Wenlock!

My last sunset :-(

View from my hotel room

I So Don't Do Goodbyes

View of Parliament from the London Eye

So today is the last official day of the FSU Multimedia London Program and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. It was a fun day with everyone, we went to the London Eye and the ORIGINAL Hard Rock Cafe.

There were lots of silly pictures taken and there was more singing than the other patrons of the Hard Rock wanted to listen to. However, if you don't want us to sing, don't play such singable songs at such a loud volume! Desserts and spoons were shared - we have definitely become family in the last 3 weeks.

The Original Hard Rock Cafe opened in 1971

I'm going to miss my new library family. I won't say goodbye to anyone because, as I said, I don't like goodbyes. I'm also hoping to see my new friends again! I have learned so much in this class, both from Dr. Everhart and from all of my classmates. I am a better person for having come on this trip - so THANK YOU to everyone that was here with me. I will miss you and I hope our paths cross again!

I am sad to be leaving my new home, and believe me I have come to think of it as home.  However, I can not wait for the following:

-my people (you know who you are)

-my cat

-Stella, my wonder car

-a shower that I do not bruise myself in because it is made for Lilliputians

-my Keurig machine

For those of you that I am coming home to, here is a dictionary so you can understand me:

Cashpoint - ATM

Tube - Subway

Takeaway -Take out

Chips - French Fries

Crisps - Potato Chips

White Coffee - add milk please

Ice & Slice - add ice and a slice of lemon to whatever drink I order

Bin - Garbage

Lift - Elevator

I will also refer to everything in terms of pounds and pence.  

Also expect me to walk on the wrong (left) side of everything.  I have adapted well to London and I do not plan on re-adopting my American ways until you are all sick of me. Cheerio!

What Happens in Paris...

...stays in Paris.  Mostly because we did so much I'm not sure I can remember it all! I'm not sure I even have the words to describe the weekend, I'm still so overwhelmed by it all.  This is the first thing I saw when I came out of the Metro into the Paris sun, yes you heard me...SUN!

Arc de Triomphe

Our first day in Paris was a whirlwind.  After the Arc de Triomphe, we visited (not in order) the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre, walked the Champs Elysees, and had a fantastic lunch.  It was exhausting and by 8:30pm we headed out of the Louvre and back to our hotels.  Interestingly enough Brandy and I had Italian for our first dinner in Paris - all the restaurants by our hotel were Italian! It was some of the best ravioli I have ever had, who knew I'd have to go to Paris to get it?!

View from our boat tour

Guess what this is?!

Round One

Saturday was another crazy day - we spent 16 hours wandering Paris and seeing all that we could! My meals rotated between Nutella and banana crepes or onion soup and french fries. It was 57 hours of healthy eating! Saturday night ended with us waiting over an hour to find out that we could only get to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. However, after waiting in line for that long we took what we could get. I'm a little disappointed that we couldn't get all the way to the top, but I'm choosing to believe my guidebook when it said that the best views of Paris were from the 2nd level of the Tower.


One of the more interesting tours we took was of the Catacombes de Paris. In the 18th century, it was decided that several cemeteries worth of bodies should be relocated to old quarries. The Catacombes hold the bones of almost 6 million dead people! It was definitely creepy, but what an experience!

Sunday was a nice relaxing day.  After starting off with more crepes, we headed over to Montmarte to see Sacre-Coure and spend the day wandering the streets.  We had a lot of fun wandering in and out of little shops.  We eventually worked our way down to the Moulin Rouge.  We wanted to see a show there, but in addition to being pricey, we didn't have the appropriate attire - it was "elegant attire" only.  Travelling with only a backpack does not allow one to bring clothes that fit that description!  

I truly enjoyed Paris, but I am very happy to be home in London!  There is only one more blog post to go before I leave this wonderful city.  Here are a few more pics from my Paris weekend.  Just know that there are 414 from Paris, so these are definitely highlights!

Line at Berthillon for ice cream

Eiffel Tower at dusk

Shakespeare & Company Bookstore

Even in London...

you can still have issues getting what you want at the library. Our class went to the British Library this morning - think Library of Congress to get an idea of the impressive collection they have.  Of course, since England is older, they have way a way older collection.  

I chose three items to have put on reserve for my visit.  I figured I had a chance for two out of the three, and I was right.  When I checked my account last night, it said my two items were waiting for me in "Maps" and "Manuscripts."  I was excited for my trip to the library, especially to see the item I had reserved in the map room.  It was a print by a local artist showing the maps of some of my favorite childhood stories - Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, you get the idea. However, when I got to the map room, it wasn't there!  I was asked to come back in a few minutes so they could call and find out where it was.  

I decided to spend my time in the Manuscripts room reading the biography of Queen Elizabeth that I requested.  What was special about it you ask?  It was published in 1903!  I was allowed to sit in a room and read an almost 100 year old book, it was amazing!  The book, by Edward Spencer Beesley, is much different than the biographies we read today.  There was so much editorializing and personal commentary by the author that it was funny to read.  Some comments were so outlandish that I had to struggle not to laugh out loud.

After browsing the book for a while, I decided to head back to the Map room to ask about my print.  They still hadn't found it!  I told the librarian not to worry, and said I would go back another day.  I did not want them spending time looking for something that wasn't required for serious research.  So, I did what every other person on the planet does - I came back to the flat and "Googled" it.  So I still got to see my print, just an online version.  However, I did find out that for the small fee of 450 pounds, I could own my own copy!  

Well dear readers, that is all for today.  Look for your next report on Sunday evening when I get back from Paris.  

Today's group photo - All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

Passed this on my way back from the library.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital

Today was an interesting day because we spent it doing something that is unusual in the US. Brandy, Callie Ann, and I spent our morning touring The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and its Museum & Archives across the street.  

The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children opened as the Hospital for Sick Children in 1852 with 10 beds.  The hospital quickly became popular and Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, and J.M. Barrie (just to drop a few names) were some of the first "celebrities" to pledge their support of the hospital.  

J.M. Barrie was a supporter of the hospital for many years, and in 1929 he gave all the rights to Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital.  Upon his death in 1937 this gift was confirmed. Even though the copyright has expired, the hospital continues to recieve royalties from the production of plays and sale of Peter Pan products.  Barrie requested that the hospital never reveal how much money is raised from the royalties, something they continue to protect to this day.

Across the street from the hospital is the Museum & Archives.  You need an appointment to visit, but it is well worth it.  The space is tiny, but the information is overwhelming!  

Thank you to Christine de Poortere and Nicholas Baldwin for our tour of the hospital and archives. We were unable to video record at the hospital and archives, but we were allowed to take photos of certain items and displays. Enjoy!

Check out our video here:

Stonehenge Rocks

At least according to the t-shirt I bought there.  We had an indescribably wonderful tour guide today, Pat.  I think some of us had our doubts, like when we had to walk through the thistle and sheep poo riddled pasture in order to follow an "avenue" that would have been taken thousands of years ago.  It was so beyond worth it when he turned us around and we saw Stonehenge from a magnificent angle. 

I wasn't kidding about the sheep.

It was amazing to think that this is the way my incredibly distant ancestors would have approached Stonehenge.  Pat explained that anyone with UK descendants can trace their genealogy back to the people who built Stonehenge.  We eventually did make it to the other side, insert joke here, "Why did the librarians cross the road?" We were able to walk around Stonehenge in its entirety, which was really neat.  I can't even imagine building something like this with 21st century tools, never mind only using stone tools. 

The little nub on top of that big stone would fit into a concave dip in the stone that sat on top of it, making the structure very strong.

Prior to arriving at Stonehenge, we spent our morning in the nearby city of Salisbury. We toured Salisbury Cathedral, home of one of the four remaining exemplars of the Magna Carta.  The Magna Carta was created in 1215 as a way to re-balance the power between the king and his subjects.  The Magna Carta is housed in the Chapter House of the Cathedral.  I couldn't take any pictures of the Magna Carta, but here are a few of the Cathedral that I really like.

A Story in Five Pictures