It Was Only Just a Dream

As I now sit here in my living room home back in the States I cannot fathom that I underwent this experience. But, before I blubber on and on about how wonderful it all was in a tiny summary that will never do my trip justice, I'd like to say a word or two about the B.I.G's last few days in England.
   The last night in Liverpool the majority of the group spent it rocking out to a great live musician in The Cavern Club. The acoustic guitar soloist, Jay Murray, had a splendid voice, as well as a hilarious, raunchy sense of humor. He strummed out numerous well known Beatles songs, and a couple of modern day covers, including the theme song to the hit TV show, The Big Bang Theory. Jay sang a happy birthday dedication to one of our girls, and then picked me out of the crowd to sing a love song to. It was fun to not only have the group there, but to have our wonderful leader, Tim, along with us, rocking out to the 60's songs with.
   Our short spent one night stay in Manchester was the perfect amount of time. I may have wanted to stay longer given we go to a different hotel, but I cross my heart in saying that this hotel had to be haunted. My first clue was the fact that there were candles lit everywhere in the very dim lit building. Secondly, according to the staff members it was built back in the 1800's and used as a proper insurance agency for a very long while. Now rumor has it that working for such a prestigious place was of the highest honor one could have way back when, and stepping out of line for any little reasoning caused the employees to get canned, and if you lost your job from that insurance agency it was almost impossible to get hired somewhere else. And not being able to find a job meant no income, and meant there was no significance to your life anymore... I'll let you figure out what happened from there. After the hotel concierge enlightened me with this story, she took myself and a few others down into the hotel basement and gave us a very dim lit tour of where the less fortunate workers would slave away, and mind I say she did not turn the lights on when we came to the large ballroom which was also a good couple of degrees cooler than the rest of the establishment. The B.I.G's were probably playing a fair amount of mind games with ourselves, but I did not sleep a wink our last night because that place gave me the heebee-geebee's!
   Awaking bright and early the next morning was no issue for me due to me being oh-so ready to get out of dodge as fast as possible, but upon arriving at the airport we discovered our flight had been delayed by about four hours giving us plenty of free time to kill. As I sat there in the Manchester airport, I spent my last few hours in Europe smoozing over all that I had participated in and had witnessed within my past two weeks.The significant historical locations that I saw, the interesting international people I got to chat with, the delicious foreign food I was able to taste, the music my ears embraced, the stylish fashions that others wore, I'd like to think I let it all sink in. This trip was a one of a kind journey that I will carry with me always, cherishing the friendships I created and the memories that I made. The rest of my summer shall be interesting because I know nothing will be able to live up to the experience I just had, an experience that feels as though "it was only just a dream."

A Day in the Life

   Alas, the time has come for the B.I.G to arrive in Liverpool, England, a coordinate on the Earth in which many consider to be the birthplace of The Beatle’s. Monday, bright and early, we set off for Oxford, because what better place for college students to visit than, well, a college. I felt significant treading upon the grounds of Oxford University knowing how many influential people have also stood there before my time such as Albert Einstein, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R Tolkien, as well as the impact that Oxford has had on my personal favorite, the film making of Harry Potter. We grabbed panini’s from an adorable little take-away café, and strolled along doing a little shopping, as well as studying the people. One person really stood out to me as well as one of the girl’s in the group (who was also the birthday girl). In larger cities it is not uncommon to see a homeless person, and sad to say after spending quite some time in big places, passing by people asking for change does not phase me as much as it used to, but there was something different about the site of this man sitting on the side walk, simply just watching the people pass him by. So, long story short, the birthday gal and I ran into a café and took him back a croissant as a simple wish to him to have a happy bank holiday.

   Once we hopped back onto the charter bus, and after about a three and a half ride, we completed the journey to Liverpool. The first observation I made was the dreadful weather in comparison with what we had been dealing with while in London. Our hotel is located right along the Mersey River, which flows into the Irish Sea, so being this close to a body of water automatically adds a rather damp, chill into the air. For the cherry on top of the English weather, it was raining, but not enough to put a hold to our outdoors tour. After seeing the sights that were a must, we made ourselves right at home with the Liverpool locals and dined at an authentic Italian restaurant that made the most delicious ethnic food I have yet to taste, but probably far from the best service I have actually received in Europe. And, to top it off, after booking it away from our oh-so charming wait staff, as I heard a sound of what I thought to be rain drops pluttering not so delicately once again, it was anything but rain. I had not heard the sound of precious rain drops, but of bird doo-doo, plopping on, not the ground, but me. At least it was a seagull from Europe... But anyways, that was my first day in Liverpool.

    My second ran much more smoothly as we rode along on the Magical Mystery Tour, viewing many of the significant places in which is everything and anything Beatle’s related in Liverpool. This included the birthplaces of two of the members, schools that the boys attended, the church where John and Paul met, the first club they played at, and childhood homes. This was quite neat to see how such significant members of musical society all started out as just another average Joe living just another “Day in the Life.”

Westminster and Wembley Wackiness

   And the tours continue! The B.I.G. had a jam packed Saturday of events. It started off with a tour of the Handel House, which also happens to have been Jimi Hendrix place of residence at one point in his life. These two artists are complete opposites of one another, but the tour made the tie how all musicians are related in a twisted sense one way or another. Then we headed off to the Academy of Music Museum, which was unique in two ways: a.) the museum houses one of the few Stradivari Violins of the world, so being able to lay my eyes on such a gorgeous instrument was quite opportune. And b.) the madness of the Wembley futbol game going on (but I will get to that later). Last of the days tour was of Westminster Abbey, now that was WOW. I still have a hard time fathoming that I was in such a beautifully, architectured church. Not only that, but the significant people that are resting there. People like Charles Dickens, Sir Issac Newtwon, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, all of whom I have been studying in school since I can remember. Being in Westminster Abbey just made all of those historical figures much more real to me, and put them into a perspective that although they impacted the world greatly, they are just as much of a normal person as I am.
   Switching gears into the wackiness of the Wembley yesterday.. whoa! The tube stations were all extremely packed with cheering fans dressed in their teams colors, so either red or yellow. When I thought the underground was a hot mess, getting back to surface level was a whole other story. These futbol fans were parading around, bearing all the pride they could summon from their souls, singing songs, waving flags, taking pictures, and of course there were many drinks being consumed by all. Futbol, or soccer, has been a sport of importance to my family for as long as I can remember, so for me to be here and witness this kind of sporting event (well the crowds at least) far surpasses any Super Bowl that I have watched (yeah, kind of anti-American of me to say). Even after the game had long ended, there were fans out and about screaming and singing for hours in either celebration, or pitying themselves. I would love to sometime experience such an international event as one of this sort actually in the stadium, but being a passer-byer was pretty neat if I do say so myself.

Observations and Nonsense

   People watching is fun, especially people watching in a place filled with someone from a different country every time you spin your head around. I had tried to mentally prepare myself to the best of my ability for this trip, so I would not go into culture shock. It is not so much the city itself that is culturally shocking, as it is easily compared to a large U.S. city such as Boston, but it is the assortment of people within that remind me I am in a foreign land.

   When touring around the streets, I could very easily pass five people in a row, and they all not speak the same lick of language. I attempt to not make it as obvious as possible, but my subtle gawking gives away the fact that I am indeed a foreigner to the country, but the funny thing is when people come up and ask where I am from, but not usually pegged as an American girl. Up to this point in the trip I have been questioned on being Slovak, Australian, Norwegian, and German which humors me every time.

   Also, when touring around the streets, I can tell the difference between having lived in a Western culture versus the Eastern culture here in Europe. The distance of personal space is one indicator. People of Europe have a much smaller gap of personal space, lean in much closer to have conversations, and the one that does irritate me is the whole bumping on the street deal, without as much as an excuse me. Apparently it is normal to run right into someone without evening glancing back to sympathize with the person you just so rudely ran into. My experience in American “bumping” is you bump, apologize, and get on with your day as it is the courteous thing to do. Call me old fashion, but I believe in politeness.

   When the group is not touring, we are most likely eating. The food here is so delicious I cannot even being to go into detail about all of the striking flavours my palette has had the delight of interacting with. But, aside from the yummies in my tummy, the service here is different than that in the States. First off, I have not been as impressed with the wait staff. They are not always the friendliest of people and jump at every chance they can to serve you like waiters do in America. I think this is due to the tipping factor. It is extremely rude to not tip in the States, but in England it is not expected, and if eating at a “tipping” place then usually the most to tip is about ten percent of the meal, and that is considered generous. Also, when sitting down to wine and dine, expect to really be sitting down for a while to eat. The food establishments here serve slow, not because the staffers are lazy (although, I question that a bit), but because when out to eat you are to enjoy yourself, your food, and the people you are with. You are not to be in a hurry, but sit back and relax, which is quite the opposite of American dining where everybody is rushing around like a headless chicken.

   Stay tuned for more quirky observations by yours truly!

Oxford Street Galore

   As a long time thespian myself, I had a great appreciation for the tour on today’s itinerary. The B.I.G had a look-see at the London Palladium, a very well known theater in all of England. The group did not have to meet up until a half past ten in the morning, which was a wonderful opportunity for us all to catch up on some much needed sleep. It does not seem like much, but after walking around day after day and then sitting for a moment your legs break out into Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

   When the twenty-four of us arrived at the Palladium, a short ways from Oxford Street, we were greeted by a plethora of musical theater belongings. There were numerous lines for the current show, A Chorus Line, our lovely tour guide, and the original London Till Girls (who are quite similar to the Radio City Rockettes of New York). The theater was built in a similar architecture to much more of the gorgeous England buildings, in a Victorian Gothic style. Beautiful red carpeting everywhere, sparkling gems covering the ceilings, and golden banistery winding around the rooms.  I loved getting this inside look at what it takes to put on a show of the equivalent to America’s own Broadway productions. We saw where the cast keeps props, the orchestra pit, and even the royal box where the Queen herself has sat.

   After the insightful tour, being as close to Oxford Street (thee place to do all major shopping... for days) as we were, a few of us headed out to continue on with more shopping. I have found this to be the case with frequency actually. Being the girly girl that I am, this is very much so one of my favourite activities, especially in a chic city like London. Somehow a few B.I.G’ers manage to make our way toward the main shopping points during our free time, and we have all found a love for the store Primark. Primark is this little God send we oh-so thankfully stumbled upon. It is four floors of sheer magic to any shopper, holding all of the latest trends inside and accessories of one’s wildest imagination, all for an extremely reasonable price. One of the many times while riding on the tube, I overheard an older English gentleman talking to a couple of tourists, helping them map out places to hit up, and he went on and on about Primark being a must see. This struck me slightly funny due to the fact that even an older man is in the know of the dos and do not’s here. I suppose that everyone in this city is up to speed with what is “in” especially living right around the corner from Oxford Street.

Nothing But Blues

   As I hope most of you have figured out, the main objective of my trip is studying the music of the era of the British Invasion. Yesterday evening, a group of us had the chance to do such a thing. Near Oxford Circus right along Kingly Street, there is this quaint bar called "Ain't Nothing But" and it is the home to anything and everything blues related. The bar itself was about two of my living rooms back home, so it gave for a very packed house, but everyone fed off of one another's energy while listening to the fabulous live band. Performing last night was the "Living Legends" which I thought were absolute gems! It was neat to follow along with my ears and notice the twelve bar blues rhythms we have learned in class and guitar improvisations! This bar was also a place were only locals hang because it is tucked away within the city, so it was refreshing to not be surrounded by annoying tourists (yes, I've been here for a week, I can call others tourists, right?).

Privately Parliament

   This trip is nothing short of opportunities. The B.I.G has seen more influential and historical places within the past week than most people could ever dream of visiting within their lifetime.Not only does the group have the chance to view these locations, but majority of the time we head behind the scenes for an even more in-depth look to understand the importance of what we are viewing.
   One of the priests himself of St. Martin's Church set aside time during his busy schedule to give us a walk around of the church. He was the jolliest, elder gentleman, and he was not expecting a young group of adults which I think added to the spontaneity of the church tour.
   The Royal Opera House is the most majestic theater I have yet to lay my eyes on, and the B.I.G took a backstage tour, which in my opinion helped me to further more appreciate the beauty of the performing arts, and the way that even opera music itself has had influence on the music of Rock'n'Roll (which is the main component of our study of The British Invasion).
   Lastly, I want to point out how fortunate our group is to have not only toured Parliament, but be guided through an even more behind the scenes look by Senior Staff members for an MP (member of Parliament). Thanks to the generosity of our group leader, Professor Tim Gerber, during their trip to the States last year, Tim was able to set up this personal tour with his friends for us. We had an inside look from somebody who actually works in the building for the English Government on a daily basis. Now, this may not be significant to some, but this was not an opportunity available to all. These truly are opportunities of a lifetime.