All In The Golden Afternoon

This past week was paramount of English perfection. We had just switched classes so our work load was not terribly heavy and the weather was not speciously beautiful nor was it dismally gloomy. Wednesday was one part sun and two parts cloud for our trip to the Trout for one part Pimms, two parts lemonade. Stevens led us all the way out of Oxford, through a kissing gate into the countryside where we were traipsing along the River Thames, dodging among cow patties. The further we walked, the more the sun seemed to shine, and by the time we reached the Trout we were quite out of breath beginning to break a sweat. We sat around picnic tables next to the river relaxing, and watching a single peacock strut around the lawn. The pitchers of Pimms were delicious and absolutely refreshing. It is a lovely honey colored drink made from a British liquor called "Pimms", flavored with lemonade and garnished with strawberries, oranges, cucumbers, and fresh mint. I can't wait to make it when I return home. Hopefully Pimms is sold in American liquor stores!

The Trout Inn on the River Thames

The next day, we were all welcome to a reception preceeding a talk by Shakespearean actor Patrick Knox, before High Table dinner. Mr. Knox was a very entertaining speaker who explained to us the differences between acting in modern-day theaters as we know them, and acting in an open-air theater such as The Globe in London. He invited a few of us to the front of the room to read lines and play parts as he demonstrated his points. He was a truly engaging speaker and I had the pleasure of sitting next to him at High Table that night. Prompted by my questions, he said that his favorite character to play was Puck from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" though he also enjoyed playing Hamlet very much. "Though he is so often depressing..." he added in an afterthought. I agreed and also said that I quite dislike Hamlet's whiny attitude and that if it is truly necessary for him to kill his foul uncle, it oughtn't take him a whole play to do so. Of course, Hamlet is one of my favorite plays by Shakespeare. I love it when the characters get under my skin so much. Hamlet and Macbeth. Ohhh, Macbeth, how I despise you so...We also discussed books, my English major, etc. I told him about how I've read a lot of older classics such as the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost, and I'm looking forward to modernizing my studies in the upcoming semesters. We talked about Hardy, Conrad, and Keruoac. He had written a thesis on Keruoac! He told me about his book club and their current project: Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, about Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Trotsky. Mr. Knox was rather unfamiliar with Frida Kahlo and listened as I described her horrible medical condition and agonizing emotional instability with a husband such as Rivera. It was the longest intellectual conversation I had had in awhile and my head was spinning by the end of it, but it was such fun!

We traveled by bus to London on Friday morning to spend a few hours in the city before a showing of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" that afternoon. Mary Frances Dunlap and I wandered around Burrough Market for hours sampling cheeses, and olives and just enjoying the bustling atmosphere of the market. For lunch we ate veggie burgers and salads (once again taking advantage of the plethora of available vegetables), and I also bought some olives to snack on later and some olive leaf tea to bring back home.

Produce at Burrough Market

The production at the Globe was fantastic! The wives of Windsor were very merry indeed and had the audience laughing the whole time. It was really neat to be in a bright, open-air theater, able to the audience members, the set changes, etc. The actors must really project to be heard throughout the entire theater. At one point a helicopter flew over The Globe and the players were practically shouting! At least in Shakespeare's time they did not have to worry about aviation disturbing the show. I am quite glad I invested in a cushion at the beginning of the show as three hours is a long time to sit on a hard wooden bench.

Inside Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

We returned to Lincoln College for an amazing pizza dinner in the Junior Common Room. Many of us hadn't had pizza in months and we ravenously devoured fifteen boxes of pizza in a half hour. Although it was a Friday night, some of us were not really in the mood to go out to pubs and clubs so we stayed in the JCR and watched Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Watching two and a half hours of the Colisseum, Mouth of Truth, and gelato made us so excited for our visit to Rome on the continental tour!

"Good Craic, Eh?"

It was another early Friday morning as we loaded onto the bus that would take us to Heathrow for our flight to Dublin, Ireland. That's pronounced "Err-lahnd," by the way, not "Eyre-land." We arrived with plenty of time for Willie, the bus driver, to take us on a quick driving tour of the city. Unfortunately, I was exhausted still from our travels in Amsterdam the previous weekend, the inordinate amounts of schoolwork we had during midterms week, and the post-dinner cocktail party with Dr. Catto in Will Finney's room the night before. This conglomeration of sleep-inducing activity plus the easy rolling of the bus allowed for the perfect mid-morning snooze causing me to miss Willie's colorful description of his native city. I awoke when the bus stopped at Phoenix Park, where we unloaded to see a large herd of deer that had been dozing in the uncommonly warm air. The deer had huge moose-like antlers and have apparently occupied the park for many years as men used to go there for stag hunting. We also passed by the President's house and the residence of the United States ambassador. Though we did not see the house, Willie says that it is beautiful and on very extensive grounds next to Phoenix Park. The property was given to the U.S. ambassador because we were the second country to acknowledge Ireland as an independent Republic, also liberated from England. Sounds like Err-lahnd caught the freedom bug!

The deer in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

After our adventures in the park, Willie dropped us off at the Guinness Storehouse for a morning tour and a tasting. Apparently, it's never too early for a Guinness. We learned all about the ingredients that make up Ireland's famous beer: barley, hops, yeast, and water. Fun fact: the first Guinness was actually a mistake! They accidentally burned the barley, unintentionally producing the signature coffee-like taste of Guinness. Lucrative oops, right? After munching on sample of burnt barley grains and admiring the advertisements designed by John Gilroy ("My Goodness, My Guinness!"), we took escalators up to the top of the world's largest pint glass (that's right, the Guinness Storehouse atrium is shaped like a pint) to enjoy a real pint at the Gravity Bar.

Gravity is right. The Gravity Bar is at the tip top of the factory and musuem and is completely glass. It's like being in a transparent bubble overlooking Dublin with a 360-degree view. I sat down next to one of the windows with some of the other girls and my purse accidentally slipped behind the chair. I quickly turned to grab it and my breath caught in my sternum as I looked down and saw the entire heighth of the Guinness museum beneath me. For one split second I was on the verge of tears thinking I had dropped my purse off the top of this huge skyscraper and I would have to run down seven flights of very elongated escalators to retrieve it before someone else did! Good Grief, Good Guinness.

You'll never find more charming advertising than that of Guinness.

The rest of the afternoon was enjoyable as well. We had no plans until dinner, so Mary Frances Dale and I wandered around the streets by Trinity College where we were staying. Our explorations were extensive and we made it back with no time to shower and change before following Stevens to Dobbins Wine Bar where we had a most delectable meal. It was difficult to choose what to eat from the menu since all of the options looked amazing. I decided on smoked haddock risotto to start, followed by a salmon tournedo with spinach, dill cream and poached egg, ending in creme brulee for dessert. All of it was to die for except I would have changed my dessert to a mixed berry pavlova that you just don't come across everyday.

A salmon tournedo. So amazing. Oh my goodness...

On Saturday we went to the National Gallery of Ireland, excuse me- Errlahnd- for lunch and a browse through the exhibits. First of all, lunch was delicious (not to mention covered by European Studies). My system feels starved of all vegetables and the nutrients they provide so I decided to take advantage of this healthy opportunity by loading my tray with vegetable soup, green salad with pesto dressing, as well as vegetable quiche. Sorry, Lincoln College, but your mysterious split pea/broccoli/cabbage/celery/spinach-green soup is dismal compared to this serving of vegetables. Completely satisfied, Cecily Millen and I explored the diverse collection in the Gallery, finding some Impressionist pieces, medieval polyptychs, and Caravaggio's renowned "Betrayal of Christ." This painting had been in the possession of a group of Jesuits in Dublin, though it had been painted over and no one realized its value. The Jesuits asked the National Gallery to restore the painting that they had and upon examination, experts at the Gallery realized it was this incredible painting by the Italian master! After this revelation, of course, it lives in the National Gallery.

Caravaggio's "Betrayal of Christ," now in the National Gallery of Ireland.

Cecily and I eventually wandered over to a nearby park where we found the statue of Oscar Wilde sitting lounging on a giant rock wearing a green and red smoking jacket and clasping a pipe. We spent a very long time reading his insightful and witty quotations that had been inscribed on a couple of pillars across the path. My favorite, I think, is "I find it harder and harder everyday to live up to my blue china." Though sounding absurd at first, I believe it encapsulates a fascinating dichotomy that though Man is capable of creating so many beautiful and seemingly perfect things, Man by nature is imperfect and will never exceed art though it is his creation. Of course, it is Oscar Wilde and I could be seriously over-interpreting it.

Oscar Wilde.

We decided to go to the elegant Shelbourne Hotel for a cocktail before our dinner on Saturday. It was outrageously priced, hence the single drink, and it was very crowded making it difficult to find service. While waiting to place our order at the bar, we met a group of middle-aged golfers from Detroit who were asking about our program and telling us about their own children who had just been accepted to college, etc. etc. etc. They were very friendly and despite our protests placed our first round of drinks on their tab.

We returned to Trinity College to meet up with Mary Frances' boyfriend's friends (whew!) from University of Dublin (he studied there for a semester) who took us out on the town. I talked to all of them, but I particularly remember a conversation with Vinny (short for Vincent) during which I told him about European Studies and where we had been so far.

"So it's been good craic, so far eh?"
"Excuse me? No, no, I don't do crack..." I feebly reply preparing to run away.
"No, no (sounds like 'nay-o'), good CRAIC ('cray-ick')! It means 'fun!'" He explained eagerly.
"Oh, right. Well then, yeah, it's been really good craic so far!"

On Sunday morning we piled back onto the bus to drive out to Glendalough (pronounced "Glenda-lock") for a tour of monastic ruins and a nice little hike around a lake. It was very foggy and drizzly but it charming as it is at Sewanee and the landscape was so vividly green that I was only more excited to be there. Mary Frances Dale and I explored the ruins and on our way around the lake we met some Irish wool vendors from who I bought an adorable driving cap and Mary Frances purchased a big comfy wool sweater that smelled like a barn so we knew it was fresh off the sheep. Afterwards, Stevens took us to a nice country hotel where we ate a huge three-course Sunday lunch. Carrie Bories and I ordered Bloody Marys to accompany our (yet again) delicious meal. I had sliced honeydew and raspberries to start, lamb and vegetables, followed by a decadent Baileys torte. [I have sat here for three minutes trying to think of synonyms for delicious, amazing, incredible, etc. and I can't find one that isn't overused or trite, but I think you understand what I mean.]

The cemetery and mountains in the fog at Glendalough.

Powerscourt Manor and lake.

After lunch the bus took us to Powerscourt a huge country estate with gorgeous gardens. It was here that part of the film "The Count of Monte Cristo" was filmed. Despite the rain, we were all so excited to tromp around the gardens that Stevens bought us tickets despite the dreary weather. There were elegant and colorful rose gardens, a lush, mossy grotto, and a charming Japanese garden. We walked around a large pond where there was a perfect view of the manor behind a majestic statue and fountain in the middle of the pond. The lawn of the house was perfectly tiered into proportionate levels like enormous green stairs. We eventually climbed back up a channel of stone stairs that cut through the green to the edge of the lake. We climbed back on the bus in good spirits and headed back to the airport after a lovely and relaxing day.

In the Japanese garden at Powerscourt.

We returned to Oxford by midnight and have now begun the second half of our term here. We are now taking a history class of Tudor England, a Renaissance art class, and a class on Shakespeare and his contemporaries. I like them all very much and look forward to the next three weeks now that I'm more in "school-mode!"





"Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple and the simple thing is the right thing." - Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde quotes: "I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china," and "I have 'nothing to declare' except my genius."