After a month of silence, this blog will once more be brought up to date. Apologies to any readers (besides my mother) who have been waiting anxiously to know what I did to pass the time during Christmas break.
In short, my grandmother came for a wonderful 3-week visit. We spent time in London, Dorchester, Paris, and Oxford - not bad for just 3 weeks. To document everything that we did would be ambitious, so I'll just provide the highlights.
Best shows/concerts:
-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Christmas Concert: Brilliant.
-'The Phantom of the Opera' at Her Majesty's Theatre: The music of the night is never over.
-'Chicago' at the Garrick Theatre: Extremely well-done, love the music.
Best food:
-Paul cafes in London: Grandma likes the pastries. I love the paninis.
-Christmas Eve dinner at La Piazza near Embankment: Great company (happy group of friends livened up the place) and good meal.
-Christmas Day dinner at Le Bouchon Breton: Delicious turkey.
-Lenois Restaurant in Paris: Yum. The dinner was even better than the French bread and wine.
-Ed's Diner: An American diner in London. I didn't realize how much I missed having a good cheeseburger and shake.
-Melanie's Italian Restaurant: New Year's Eve Veal Spectacular. Unwisely ordered dessert. I've never been so stuffed with food in my life.
-A simple home-cooked meal at Norma's
Best flicks:
-'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows': Opening weekend in Dorchester. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law deliver once more.
-'Meet Me in St. Louis': Screening of the holiday classic at BFI Southbank. Judy Garland singing 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' makes Grandma and I cry.
-'Mission Impossible 4': Not a great script, but some really good action.
-'The Iron Lady': Meryl Streep will win the Oscar.
Best drinks:
-Rose wine: At dinner most nights, plus demolished 3 bottles in my flat.
-Gin and tonics: An English classic.
-Mulled wine: A seasonal favorite.
Best museums:
-National Portrait Galley: Special exhibit on 'The First Actresses'
-Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
-Sherlock Holmes Museum: 221B Baker Street.
Best coffee:
-COSTA. Hands down.
Best random places we visited:
-Fortnum and Mason department store in Piccadilly: Most spectacular window displays before Christmas.
-The bookstores: Foyles, Blackwells, Hatchards, Waterstones. I love them.
-Pere Lechaise Cemeterie in Paris: You've never seen a cemetery until you see this place.
-Opera Garnier in Paris: The Phantom choose quite an opera house to haunt.
-Regent Street: Shopping.
That gives you some idea of how we spent our holiday break. It really was lovely. Our visit to Dorchester was a nice weekend in the countryside, which allowed Grandma to recover a bit from jet-lag. Joan at the Aquila Heights Guest House once again adopted me (and Grandma too); she is the most generous lady and I'll make a point to return to see her once more before I return to the States.
Christmas (and New Years) were both spent in London and I've learned a very important lesson in the experience. I was so blessed to have family with me, but I will not be spending another Christmas and New Year away from home again in a long time. It was quite difficult for both of us to be away from our loved ones, and it was lonely just the two of us in the big city. Expensive meals and wine consoled our sadness only a little, and skype-ing with the rest of the family was by far the most wonderful part of the holidays. When I'm home next year, curled up on the sofa with my family all around the living room, moaning that we all ate too much and arguing over what film to watch - well, I'll be so grateful to just be there.
Between the holidays, however, Grandma and I enjoyed ourselves in Paris. We took the Eurostar to the City of Lights and spent 3 days exploring the city of Hugo and Hemingway. It was Grandma's first time in Paris (my second), so we made the most of our time there by pulling a few long days and making our way to our must-see sites around the city. We managed to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Pere Lechaise Cemetery, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre Dame, the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore, the Ile d' St. Louis, the Place de la Concorde, the Opera Garnier, the Arc d'Triomphe, the Champs-Elysses, and the Petit Palais, as well as take a lovely little boat ride down the Seine. Our final morning there, Grandma slept in and I ventured out early to climb Notre Dame. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The view of the city, the majesty of the cathedral, the brilliant rising sun, the gruesome gargoyles... Being up there makes you see Paris as Victor Hugo saw it. It truly is breathtaking.
After New Year, Grandma and I headed to Oxford for a few days. We visited a friend of my grandmother's, a lovely lady named Norma, who lives in Headington. Norma spent a good two days with us, visiting with us and showing us around Oxford. I was so blessed to have her celebrate my 21st birthday with Grandma and I. We had a lovely time together and I look forward to visiting her quite often in the coming months.
Some photographs from the Christmas break:
Grandma having her first fish and chips in Dorchester. She wasn't brave enough to try the mushy peas.
London Eye at Christmas
Covent Garden
Costa on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day Dinner
A foggy night in Paris.
Kissing Oscar Wilde's Grave at the Pere Lechaise Cemetery.
Pere Lechaise Cemetery - Grave of journalist Victor Noir. There's a superstition that if you rub Victor's, um.... yeah, it will cure infertility in women. Needless to say, neither Grandma nor I partook in that activity; though we were amused all the same.
The stained glass in Sainte-Chapelle. Awe-inspiring.
Notre Dame
Opera Garnier. Waiting to see the Phantom of Leroux's story.
Opera Garnier
Grandma in the Opera Garnier
'There are worse things than a shattered chandelier.'
Opera Garnier
After a dinner in Paris. Grandma sitting pretty.
View from Notre Dame
The famous gargoyle of Notre Dame.
A zoomed-in view of the Tower from Notre Dame.
Norma and Grandma in a pub in Headington. Pre-birthday gin and tonics for the three of us.
Back in London, the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
Last day in London with Grandma. Miss her!
We had some great adventures, her and I. We took buses and trains and undergrounds. We walked great distances. We saw amazing things and spent time with lovely people. So while I may have wanted to be 'home for Christmas,' this year's holidays will stand out in my memory as a wonderful time spent with my wonderful grandmother.
It's back to life in London as usual now. A new semester has started (2 new classes - Milton; Gladstone and Ireland) and there is a lot to look forward to. I'll be plotting my travel plans for the next few months but will also be focusing on spending time here with the people I've gotten close to.
