A trip to Edinburgh

This past weekend I had the chance to travel with Katherine up to Scotland to visit Edinburgh, one of the cities in the UK where I may live next year. Before heading up to Edinburgh, however, we first had a formal dinner at Queens College in Cambridge to attend.

Formal hall dinners are events that take place regularly at Cambridge and Oxford colleges. They typically involve dress from anywhere between black tie, full gown, or for the more casual... full suit. The meals are several courses in length and involved pre-dinner and post-dinner drinks, as well as a few interesting traditions throughout. Each college has a different formal hall and different rules. My college (King's) has relatively casual formals, where gowns are not required and students typically wear full suits (or men do, I have no idea what girls do for dressing up). For other colleges, gowns are required at all formal hall dinners.

Our formal at Queens was a swap with King's College, and Katherine was my guest. The meal began with pre-dinner drinks at the College Bar followed by a walk into the main dining hall where a ceremonial gong triggered everyone to simultaneously stand and await the fellows entering the dining hall. After the fellows are seated, the students then take their seats and the first of four courses was served. During the first course, a choir sung several Christmas songs from a balcony overhead. Before desert the gong sounded again and everyone stood as the fellows left the dining hall. After a great dinner we left for post-dinner drinks in the college bar. The formal hall style of dining is certainly something that is always awe-inspiring and leaves me in disbelief that multiple formal halls occur every night throughout the Colleges at Cambridge.

Katherine and I in formal hall at Queen's College

Leaving early Friday by train, Katherine and I arrived at Edinburgh in the afternoon (2pm) which quickly became dark (3:30pm) because Edinburgh is very far North, and similar to Alaska, gets dark very, very early. No matter, we really enjoyed going out to the Christmas market and seeing the Christmas decorations around Edinburgh.

Edinburgh at night

Me in Edinburgh Christmas market

Edinburgh looked like the most beautiful city in the world at night with the Castle and other historic, ancient buildings all with unique holiday lighting. After touring around the city Friday we watched a musical performance in a cafe/pub, as Edinburgh is known for its breadth of musical events.

Edinburgh Castle at night

Katherine and me in Edinburgh at night

On the second day at Edinburgh Katherine and I met up with another Marshall from my year studying at Edinburgh, Josie, and had a great time touring the University of Edinburgh where I may study next year for public health. We were able to tour the Christmas market again and the entire central area of Edinburgh.

Edinburgh from atop a small hill

Katherine and me standing in the castle with Edinburgh in background.

Katherine flew back to Spain Sunday and I returned by the long train ride to Cambridge, where I caught up on some lab work that I missed to prepare for a few busy weeks in the lab so I can get ready for a two week vacation towards the new year. More to come soon!

Katherine and me with the castle in the background

Another trip to Spain

Last weekend I took my second trip "to the continent" (as the British would say), going to Spain again to visit with Katherine. I'm trying to work a little on my Spanish, which Katherine has been helping me with. Although, she probably didn't think she'd be teaching English by day, and Spanish to her English-speaking-only boyfriend by night. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll be able to do a little more than order a coffee and ask to go to the bathroom (granted, the two most important things in my day).

I arrived on Thursday evening, and all day Friday we went to Toledo, the historic capital of Spain and only a 45 minute bus ride from Madrid. Toledo was beautiful with amazing buildings and a town still behind a reinforcing wall centuries old. We first went by the Alcazar fortress, a building at the highest point in Toledo that is now a military museum.

First building on our way into Toledo

Northern Toledo, notice the wall surrounding the city

Alcazar of Toledo

Me with the military academy in the background

Katherine in Toledo

During the afternoon we walked around to see other old churches and tourism shops, ordered sandwiches from a nice Spanish man, and ate Marzipan, Toledo's most famous desert. This desert is mix of sugar and concentrated almonds, and my first bite (half the Marzipan candy) was a big mistake, as foods with concentrated almonds are very intense and should be eaten slowly (I was later told).

Toledo's main cathedral

Toledo's just before sunset.

Alcazar lit-up at night

On Saturday Katherine and I went to downtown Madrid, visiting the palace and the famous Almudena Cathedral before heading off to coffee at a cafe with a vibe that made us feel like we were back in Oregon. Unfortunately there was a lot of rain Saturday afternoon and evening, so we had quite the rain storm walking home after visiting a few bars in the popular La Latina district of Madrid (another reminder of Oregon).

Me with Madrid (and the Almudena church) in the background

Almudena Cathedral in Madrid

Me in front of the palace of Madrid

Inside the Almudena Cathedral

For Sunday, Katherine and I went to the local park and walked around before cooking tofu, rice, and vegetable stir fry for dinner - another reminiscent dish of Eugene. I was very happy to have the chance to cook a little again, as in my dorm-style living at Cambridge it can be difficult.

The crystal palace from the inside, at Retiro Park in Madrid.

The outside of the crystal palace and Madrid's Retiro Park in the fall.

Fall arrives

The time change has occurred, the leaves have begun to change color, and the temperature has started to drop... fall has arrived at Cambridge. Much like Oregon, the weather has been fairly cloudy and overcast, with spots of rain here or there. Although, it seems to rain half as much as Oregon does so far, but I don't want to get ahead of myself before I get through the winter. With the time change, it now gets dark around 4:30pm, and in the dead of winter that will be as early as 3:30pm, definitely the farthest north I have lived.

Work in my research laboratory towards my MPhil degree in Biology has gone well thus far. Everyone in my lab is absolutely fantastic, they are upbeat, happy, and friendly... just like my lab at the UO was. Things at King's College have slowed down a little, but I find myself still having more King's-related events to go to a week than I have time for, which has been great. On a typical week my outside the laboratory (9-6pm) activities involve playing poker with friends, going to King's grad-drinks, going to Salsa dancing, going to Zoology grad-drinks, a movie night here or there, a few nights out at the pubs, and many, many cups of tea. Of course there are several other activities that slip in and no week has been typical, especially since I have been out of town.

On the subject of being out of town, I just spent my first weekend in nearly a month at Cambridge (see Oxford, Bath, and Madrid trips). This past weekend Katherine came to visit me for a second time at Cambridge, and when she arrived Thursday night we visited The Eagle. The Eagle is a famous pub known for being the meeting place of Watson and Crick, who discovered that DNA was the molecule of inheritance, having the eureka moment over beers at The Eagle.

On Friday Katherine and I walked to Grantchester, where a light rain kept many tourists away, but not two Oregonians! Our walk to Grantchester was down a beautiful old hedge road on the way there and along the river Cam on the way back.

Hedge road to Grantchester

Katherine in front of the famous old Church at Grantchester

We enjoyed a night at a very typical old-English pub, complete with a wood fire, low ceilings, and luke-cold beer. The name of the pub, The Green Man, reminded me too much of a character's name on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so I had to take a photo.

Typical English pub in Grantchester

On our walk back we ran into a beautiful swan. Swans are everywhere on the Cam, but I am told you should avoid swans when you are punting or kayaking, as they can be pretty vicious.

Swan on the Cam outside Grantchester.

On Saturday Katherine and I went to the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge and walked around the campus to enjoy the beautiful fall scenery.

Fall at Cambridge with Katherine

On Saturday evening Katherine and I went to Bonfire night (5th of November), featuring tons of fireworks and a large fire. This is akin to 4th of July in the United States, with a great fireworks show. The 5th of November is celebrated for the stopping of Guy Fawkes and his plan to blow-up members of parliament on the 5th of November.

"Remember, remember the fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot..."

Katherine left early Sunday morning and I relaxed and enjoyed a much needed day off from traveling or laboratory work, catching up on my U.S. news and TV shows. Until next time, best wishes to my friends and family!

A trip to Oxford

A little delayed on my latest blog entry, please forgive me family and friends!

Last weekend I went to Oxford to visit with many of the 2011 Marshalls. This was also during Halloween weekend, so we had a great time at a party for Oxford graduates. I took the trip (3.5 hours on a bus!) with my friend from King's College Willie, who is studying as part of the Fulbright program.

Here are some great pictures from our morning at Oxford.

River in Oxford

Bodleian library

Radcliffe

University Church

Christ College entrance

Christ College (Harry Potter like) dining Hall

Willie and I at Christ College

After taking a tour around some of the Oxford colleges and sights, we went to the Ashmolean museum, which is Oxford's main museum that contains an overwhelming amount of natural history and art. The evening ended with a great Halloween party and Willie and I headed back home the next day. Overall, a great time in Oxford, I will definitely have to go back a few times this year to visit the city and the Oxford Marshalls.

King's College and Chapel Roof Tour

There are several perks to being a new graduate student at King's College, but none better than the option to have a private tour of the King's College Chapel roof. King's Chapel is one of the most iconic images of Cambridge, undoubtedly what appears when you see a photo that says "Cambridge." The Chapel is over 500 years old, with construction on it beginning in the 1400s. Still in use, the beauty of the Chapel makes it one of the bigger tourist attractions in Europe. During Christmas, the King's Chapel service is watched by an estimated audience of 100 million.

Now that I have said some of the facts, let's get to the photos from the day. I tried to take some pictures on my way to the tour, so I can finally post some of King's College.

King's College across the Cam

The southern part of King's College

Once I arrived to the chapel on such a beautiful day I had to take a few more pictures from outside.

King's College Chapel (left) and the main entrance to King's

It took about 100 steps to reach the top of the chapel roof, where we crawled into a small attic above the ceiling to the chapel (500+ year old ceiling, I might add). I was absolutely amazed to be in such an ancient structure, and an area within it rarely seen. We could see on the walls and stone around us carvings from people over the last 500 years. The earliest date I saw in my quick search was 1600's, but you can see names throughout the 1700s and to the early 1900s carved everywhere in the attic. And no, they wouldn't let me carve "Josh was here, 2011"

North window of King's College Chapel Attic

We moved from the attic to the roof, where I had many photos of both the scenery and the roof itself. Despite being such an old building, it was very safe to be on top (no need to worry, mom).

Northwest Cambridge from King's College Chapel roof.

Northeast Cambridge from King's College Chapel roof.

Facing north on the King's College Chapel roof.

Southern Cambridge and King's College.

Panoramic of King's College Chapel roof, facing south.

Me on top of King's College Chapel.

After our tour concluded we headed downstairs and through a narrow corridor before being reunited with the ground.This was certainly a rare opportunity that I am very glad I took part in. I am also happy to finally put some photos up of King's College and Cambridge, all taken during a surprisingly beautiful day in late October.

A trip to Bath

This past Saturday half of the 2011 Marshall Scholars came together for a visit to Bath, an old city about 100 miles west of London. I hadn't seen any of the non-Cambridge Marshalls for over a month before this trip, so I was really looking forward to reuniting with everyone and catching up. Bath is one of the most historical cities in all of the United Kingdom, founded by Romans as a spa. The first site I saw when I arrived at Bath, on my way to meet up with the Marshall group, was the Bath Abbey - beautiful architecture reminiscent of the King's College chapel (both made from Bath stone and during a similar time period).

Bath Abbey

The 17 of us took part in a great free tour of the city of Bath, where we went to the circus area of homes built in a beautiful circle the exact diameter of Stonehenge. We traveled through Bath to many different sites, but then we were all a little bit tired and decided to relax in a park and catch up. The Marshalls are such a great group, and its very easy to feel like you have known each other for such a long time, thanks in part to our shared experiences and the intensive week of orientation we had together.

Bath Circus

Downtown Bath

Bath Abbey

The day ended with a bit of tea followed by a game of mini-golf for half of us, which had to leave that evening, while the other half went off to a spa treatment at the baths.

Mini golfing!

I arrived back to Cambridge late Saturday night, and had to wake up very early the next morning, because New Zealand was playing France in the Rugby world cup. My new friend Jake is from New Zealand, so he cooked everyone breakfast that woke up at 8am on Sunday to watch the game with him, which was great fun. Not sure I completely understand rugby, or that it would ever replace college football for me, but it was definitely fun to watch New Zealand narrowly defeat the French.

A trip to Madrid

After a few weeks settling into the U.K. I had the opportunity to travel to visit Katherine in Madrid! Keep in mind, I had never been to Europe before, so I was a little nervous about traveling to a country that speaks little English (and I know almost no Spanish). This is where it comes in handy to have a girlfriend that is fluent in Spanish.

Katherine lives near a great area of Madrid right by one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in the city, so that was our first destination on Friday.

Parque del Retiro - Rose Gardens

Retiro Park

Katherine and I in front of a sculpture by the Estanque lake in the Retiro

After walking around the Retiro we ended up at the center lake, called Estanque, where we rented a row boat for an hour around the lake.

Rowing on the Estanque in the Retiro

Katherine rowing on the Estanque in the Retiro

Once we finished rowing we moved on to one of the most famous places in Madrid, Plaza Mayor, where we had a late afternoon lunch. We spent the evening having dinner with other teachers in Katherine's program before heading back to Plaza Mayor under the moon-light for a relaxing evening.

Plaza Mayor

On Saturday, we went to the Royal Palace of Madrid, one of the largest palaces in the world! While we didn't tour the palace on this trip (maybe some other time), we were able to enjoy great views from the garden.

Katherine and I in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid

After the palace trip we went to one of the largest parks in Madrid, Casa de Campo, where we walked around to a small hill to get a great view of Madrid.

View of Madrid from Casa de Campo park

On way back from Casa de Campo

On Saturday evening we went to the Prado Museum, which is right near the center of Madrid. On Sunday we went to the Reine Sofia museum, which focused a little more on modern art.

Outside of the Reine Sofia museum with Atocha station in the background.

Overall a fantastic weekend and an amazing tour of Madrid for such a short time period. I may have even learned a few Spanish phrases during the weekend, but for that I definitely have to thank my tour guide, Katherine!