Keep Calm and Travel On!

When Dickinson pays to have monkeys jump on your head…

In the British university system, everyone gets a longer spring (or “Easter”) break that is about three weeks long. During this time, most people go home to be with their family and work on coursework that may be due after the break. However, Dickinson did one better and decided to take us to Gibraltar. If you don’t know where Gibraltar is, go get a map, find Spain, and then find the most southern point, THAT’S IT! Our program director decided to take us to Gibraltar because it’s a “British Overseas Territory” also known as a Colony. While we were there we studied the "identity" associated with Gibraltar since it's British but very diverse!

I was loving Gibraltar because they were more into the Jubilee than anywhere in England!

The airport we had to fly into. See the thing that looks like a road on the far right side? Yes, that is the road to Spain that shuts down when a plane takes off or lands.

When we first got to Gibraltar, we found our hotel and did a little exploring. It’s only 6 square miles but has an adorable Main Street. We walked up Main Street to the Cable Car that takes you to the top of the rock. We had the most BEAUTIFUL views of the Bay of Gibraltar and Mediterranean Sea. We also had out first encounter with the Gibraltarian monkeys. The story behind the monkeys is a little confusing but basically, Winston Churchill brought them over from Africa to “build sprits” since Gibraltar was being used purely for military purposes. Since we were without a tour guide, we didn’t get too close to the monkeys as we were told they were “wild animals”. This proved to be correct as one student had a monkey jump on their leg and when he tried to get it off, it bit him. But it’s ok, it was only through the jacket (meaning he hasn’t turned into a monkey… yet). Later that day, just the students (there are only 8 of us) found somewhere to eat and spent the rest of the night talking over several pitchers of Sangria!

Out for Sangrias!

The Rock of Gibraltar.

Dickinson College Humanities in England 2011 - 2012!

The town of Gibraltar!

On the cable car on the way to the top of the rock. My face is because the car just started swaying back and forth.

The next day, we had our “academic day” where we visited the Museum of Gibraltar and had a lecture with two employees of the museum about the “Identity of Gibraltar”. We discussed how it became such a mix of people and why Gibraltarians want to still be ruled under the Queen. We then had some more time to walk around Gibraltar and had dinner together at this GREAT Brazilian Restaurant. It was the last time that the program was going to be there all together. I can’t believe that the program is almost over!

The next morning, Todd scheduled us a van tour of the rock. Our first stop was the monument to the “Pillar of Hercules”. Greek mythology says that Hercules travelled to Gibraltar and has his 10^th task, had to separate Europe and Africa and the other pillar is there. We then saw St. Michaels Cave, which is a whole cave system inside the Rock of Gibraltar. There is even an auditorium inside for musical performances. We continued driving up the rock (with no rails on the side of the road, just the Bay of Gibraltar) and stopped to see the monkeys. However, this is where they are all fed and are used to the tourists. Our tour guide had nuts and was able to get the monkeys to jump on our backs. They were a little scary and some of the group was actually freighted by their presence. The last stop on the tour were the tunnels that were built as fortification. These are literally tunnels that were built inside the mountain with cannons poking out of them. In WWII they were expanded again for military purposes and are 32 miles long.

Pilar of Hercules.

The monkeys steal food and shiny things... and bite.

I don't even have the words...

Performing inside the Rock of Gibraltar? Yes.

I was a little afraid of the monkey on my head.

A little skeptical.

We were hoping for some better weather but it was raining on and off the entire time we were there. We really wanted to go hang out on the beach but it just was not sunny enough. Still, we ventured over to the Eastern side of the rock and visited Catalan Bay. The Mediterranean Sea was beautiful but very cold. We then took a bus to Europa Point, which is the most southern point in Europe. After the rain cleared, I was actually able to see the outline of Africa!

Dickinson Humanities in England 2011 - 2012 on the Mediterranean

Touching the Mediterranean Sea.

Africa is somewhere behind me.

Europa Point: the southernmost point in Europe!

Cheers!

Norfolk Broads Cruising

Our wonderful program director and his wife are always so welcoming to all of the students on the program. We have dinners together and always have fun travelling. Recently, they bought a “timeshare” on a boat that goes on the Norfolk broads and they invited us to spend a night! They picked us up near the train station and seeing Norwich from the river was a completely different experience.

The boat was wonderful and we had so much fun just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. We had a wonderful dinner on the boat (it has an extensive kitchen… for a boat) and played card games! All in all, it was a great experience and I would have never had the opportunity to do it if it wasn’t for our program director!!!

I don't know why, but Todd let me drive the boat for a while!

Relaxing on the boat.

Just call me captain.

Our room on the boat.

The living room.

Beautiful sunset on the broads!

Cheers!

Bruges: Chocolate, Waffles, and Frites!

Since Lille is so close to Belgium, we decided to venture across the border and visit Bruges for the day. The town was quite small but enormously picturesque. We spent much of the day just waling around the city. We did visit a couple of museums filled with Flemish art and took a boat around the city’s canals! And of course, we couldn’t leave Belgium without trying some local beer at a Beer Garden and getting some chocolate, waffles, and frites!

Right before our river cruise!

We had to...

SO. MUCH. BEER.

At the beer garden with some local beer!

On the boat!

Cheers!

Bonjour Ya’ll!

As the end of the term came to an end, the busier and busier I became. And not only because of all the assignments and end of tern celebrations, but also things back in the states such as housing and internships. However, I’m glad to say that as I embark on my European adventure, none of these will be a worry. I’m living with two great girls next year in an apartment on West Louther Street and I officially accepted an internship to work at the Public Theatre for the summer which includes Shakespeare in the Park! Honestly, it makes me a little more excited to come back to the states!

Anyway, before I leave for Gibraltar, I’m going to catch you up on my latest trips. A good friend of mine from High School is studying in Lille, France for the semester and I really wanted to make it down there for a visit. On a Friday, I “trained” from Norwich to London King’s Cross to catch the Eurostar to take me directly to Lille. It was really odd taking the train under the English Channel and I couldn’t believe that suddenly, I was in France.

When I arrived in Lille we went exploring and Hannah showed me around! It was a beautiful city and it’s always interesting to compare different school’s abroad programs.

On Saturday we woke up early and headed to Paris! I had never been to Paris so I was quite excited. Our first stop was the Arc du Triumph and then we walked to the “Tour Effiel”. The first thing I noticed when I was in France was the fact that I knew more French than I thought I did. In high school, my French was not very good and I was always frustrated by it. However, when I got to actually speak French, it came much easier to me and I almost enjoyed it. But I digress. We then had some crepes at the “Tour Effiel” and then walked to the Metro to head over to the shopping district. I’d always heard that the shopping was great but I couldn’t believe my eyes! Of course, I made my way quickly to the Longchamp store and found that all of the bags were SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than in the states. Needless to say, I bought a new backpack to use while travelling in Europe.

As we were heading to the Louvre, I stumbled upon an outdoor exhibit of Louise Bourgeois’ “The Welcoming Hands”. Louise Bourgeois is one of my favorite artists and I’ve seen several of her pieces of work. I had heard of this exhibit but somewhat forgot about it since I never thought I would be casually walking around Paris in the near future. We then got to the Louvre to get a “classic tourist” picture with the Mona Lisa and yes, it is as small as everyone says and pictures are very awkward to take.

Then, we headed across the Seine to the Museé d’Orsay. I was much more excited to see this museum compared to the Louvre as it houses so many of the pieces of art that I’ve studied in Art History. I especially enjoyed seeing the George Serat pieces and Van Gogh’s “BEDROOM?”. I was also amazing at how beautiful the actual museum was.

Towards the end of the day, we visited the Notre Dame and went to the top of the Montparnese Tower! We had a great dinner and headed back to Lille for the night!