Back to the UK

Wow, weird to be writing on this blog again!

My journey started off right after my sister's great wedding. I headed to London for one day to drop off one bag before I headed to Rome. I am writing this fast, so forgive the typos! Luke Boga Mitchell, my former Hansard supervisor, was more than willing to take me in for the night. He lives in this fantastic split level flat in Brixton, just south of Clapham Common. I had never been to this area before, but it was absolutely fantastic. Luke and his roommates showed me around the neighborhood, I went to bed early, and got a taxi to heathrow for my flight to Italy.

I headed from Heathrow to Rome, than a connection to Pisa. In Pisa I encountered views of the wonderful Tuscan countryside. I got a train from Pisa to Firenze, where I would be staying the next few days.

First and foremost, Florence was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been too. The only city I can compare it to is Victoria, but that really does not do it justice. Beautiful Churches, amazing cobble stone streets, and fantastic architecture greeted me at every turn. I got into my accomadations and went out to dinner next to the duomo. Had a lovely conversation with the restauraunt owner. Saw the Palazzo Vechhio and other sites that night. So amazing.

The next day I headed early to the Uffizi gallery. It was incredible inside and out. Great art collection, probably one of the best  I have ever seen. Roman statues in a Renaisasance office building. It also had great views of the Piazza Signoria. Florence started becoming even more beautiful than I imagined it would be.

That afternoon I went to the Basicilica in Santa Croce. This is where most of the famous florentines are buried. My favorite church in the area. It also had this little opera attached that had no one there and some of the best pieces in the town. That afternoon I met up with other GU members, specifically Bridget Braley and had dinner with them.

The next day I saw the David and the Archaeological museum in Florence. The David was incredible. I also saw the museo borgello which has the best collection of statues in the area. That night I went to dinner with GU students and spent the afternoon walking around the amazing area with some great new friends. I felt the triteness of Rick Steves in the area, but it was all incredible.

I left the next day on a train for Rome. That afternoon I met a venezualan guy at the Colloseum and went there, the trevi fountain, the basilica of of St. Augustine, Piazza Navona, and the Spanish steps. I also had cool hostel mates from Wales and Lancaster.

The next day I went to trajan's market, the imperial forums, and the forum romanun. I also went to the palantine hill. I was amazed by the roman engineering. Really incredible stuff. I also had dinner in one of the famous piazzas. I ate with a Frenchman who was also eating alone at a great pizzeria. The next day I went to the Museo of Balbica Crypt which is one of the best archaeological sites in Rome. The next day I went to Ostia Antica, which is one of the best in situ Roman sites in the world. When I came back I went to the massive baths of Carcalla. I took in the sun at this hill top perch, looking at over Rome. The next day I went to the Roman suburb of Cerveti and the Etruscan graves there. I was literally the only person there and it is the greatest archaeological site I had ever been too. I headed back and went to the baths of carcalla and the Spanish steps. My final day I went to the baths of Dioelcition, trastevere, and Castle St. Angelo. Mixed in where countless sites within Rome.

I then took the train down to Naples, reading the great book Gamorrah about the Camorra in naples. I took the train from Naples then to sorrento, which is incredible. I had to find my way 1800 feet up with all my gear to this convent I was staying at. It had incredible views of the bay of naples. The next few days involved the amalfi coast, pompeii, and herculaneum, as well as museums in NAples. Naples is perhaps my favorite city in Europe. It sparked a cultural twinge in me that Italy had yet to so far. More on that later. My final day I flew to London. More tomorrow about my orientation in London.

Ireland

I had a fantastic time in Dublin. Too be honest, I was only really looking forward to go because it was dirt cheap to go and my friends were also going. But it ended up being an exceptionally good couple of days.

I had no background history or idea of Ireland other than some basic historical things I learned through studying British history. Ireland is a very unique place that is trying to establish its identity. For me, it gives an idea of what Scotland would potentially be like if it was independent.

We got to the aiport and took a taxi to downtown Dublin. A river splits the city in half. Where I was staying was right across from Christ Church, one of the oldest chruches in Dublin. Down the street was saint pats directly south, while the Guinness Brewery was directly West. Trinity College was West about two blocks.

We went to the Guiness factory that afternoon. I had never done a full brewery tour and it was super cool. It went through all the processes of creating Guiness draught, as well as Guiness brand history. Along with various testing pints along the way up, you get one free pint at the top in a gravity bar that overlooks all of Dublin. You can basically see every monument and it was a great way to see general stuff about the city.

That afternoon some friends and I went to Saint Patricks, the oldest Anglican church in Dublin. In it was various memorials to famous Irish persons, military groups, and events. My favorite part was the grave of Jonathan Swift, the famous writer. They also had his skull there, along with several death masks and originals of some of his works. Later we went to Dublin castle, which we could see from our hostel.

That night we went to the famous temple bar district. Temple bar itself was amazing. It was like a pub, but more rowdy, obviously magners, and amazing live music. One of the top five bars I have been in here so far.
The next day we went to see the Prime Minister's office and Cabinet rooms, which was really cool. Got a first hand lesson in Irish History and famous leaders. The office itself was very pleasing architectually. I than went to St. Stephen's Green which had a lot of memorials and takes up a good chunck of the city. Afterwards, I wandered around Trinity College and went to the library to see the Book of Kells. Afterwards, they showed off their old books collection which is in a massive hallway at the top. One of the my favorite things i have seen here in Europe.

That afternoon some friends and I went to see a Gaelic Hurling and Gaelic Football match, the all-county games, at Croke Park, sight of the famous the Tipperary Massacre during Bloody Sunday. I have to say both of the sports are amazinginly fun to watch. I also got a good sense of how Ireland is trying to seperate itself culturally from the UK. It really is a national pride thing.

Once I got back, I had a great last week at Parliament. I got to say some words to Jack Straw, who did not respond (it was right after his PMQ disaster), meet up with a represenative of Cancer Research UK for ovarian cancer, and I got a chance to kind of run the office. I had a great time with my lads at work, and got a chance to eat in Strangers with Nadine, as well as see some private quarters that showed an entirely different side of Westminster. I actually heard someone in the area who needed to leave a message with Lord Ashcroft. Amazing.

This weekend I went to the British Libary which was incredible and less than ten minutes from me. I also got a chance to revisit the British Musuem. Got a chance to see a lot of artifcacts I had not seen.


All in all here is a list of all the things of significance I have seen in London and Europe, partly so I do not forget and partly so you know where I have been and maybe want to see them in the future, somethings on the list will be things I am doing this week.

Service at Westminster Abbey
Play at the Globe Theater
Edinburgh Castle
Arthru's Seat in Edinburgh
Saw David Hume Grave
Saw Adam Smith's place of residence
Saw Hollyrood Palace
Visited Scottish Parliament
Saw Scottish Monument
Walked across Tower Bridge
Went to the Top of Monument
Kings Cross 3/4
Went to Brick Lane
Went to Portobello Market
Tour of Notting Hill sights
Buckingham Palace
Belgravia Tour
Saw the Ritz
Went to Bath and Stonehenge
Saw Roman walls of original city
Ate on Fleet Street
Went to LSE lectures
Went into House of Lords and House of Commons
Walked in each special area for each part of the house
Saw David Milliband, Caroline Flint, David Cameron, Jack Straw, Kenneth Clarke's Office, David Gauke's office, Gordon Brown's office, Alistair Darling, Nick Clegg, and Andy Burnham
Ate in most bars in Westminster
Saw Catedral Mallorca
Visited Oxford-Went up the Tower
Christ Church, many colleges, Bodelian Libary, Oxford University Press
Saw the incomplete monument in Edinburgh, saw the famous Dog
Trinity College Library
Prime Minister's office in Ireland
LSE library
British Libary
British Museum
Hampstead Heath
Hyde PArk rowed on the Serpentine
Green PArk
Parliament Hill
Met Jon Bercow
Saw lectures in Parliament
The opening of the house with the mace
Westminster Hall
UK Supreme Court
Trafalgar Square
Camden Town
Stamford Bridge
Wembley Stadium
Emirate Stadium
China Town
Saw Billy Elliot
Saw Les Miserables
Gaelic Football and Hurdling
Bank of England
Bank of Ireland
Went to Soho
Big Ben tour
Parliamentary Archives

Spain continued

After a weekend of the beach and topless Spanish women, I came back to London on the fourth. Not quite the same holiday in Britian. Most people did not even know what the significance of the day was. This in a country where they go crazy for Canada Day. Absurd.

That week I had a young schoolboy doing his work experience. Got to show him around. Nadine took us on a special tour to both houses. We also went to Oxford that week. It is an amazing city. A really cool collegial style as well.  It is a really neat city, and we got to see two famous speakers. They are the kind of people that right the textbooks. I also got to see all the tourist attractions in the city. Also got to go to the Bodelian library, absolutely the msot amazing library I have ever seen. Simply fantastic.

That next weekend Erica came by. On Friday I took her to Parliament and showed her every inch of the place. We then went to Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace and took a boat ride on the Serpentine. We finished up with a stop at Kings Cross.

On saturday we spent all day the Portobello Market. One of the coolest things in London, and I got some awesome stuff.

This week so far has been busy. A lot of meetings I have got to go to, both for Nadine and just academic and policy lectures in Parliament. It still is a crazy cool place. I try never to take it for granted.

Well I am off to Dublin tonight and finishing my dissertation next week. Can't wait to see you all soon.

Long Time since posting

There have been a lot of events since I last posted. They primarily revolve around three events-going to spain, having my friend visit me in London, and visiting Oxford.

Spain was a fantastic experience. I went and visited my friend from back home named Erica who had been studying there. The week before that had been pretty eventful in the office since Nadine's daughter had to take a week off for personal reasons, so I got to manage the office at Westminster. It  was a lot of fun, but pretty stressful.

Majorca is a beattiful place. The only place I could compare it to is Mexico, since it was really touristy and sunny and they all speak Spanish, but that comparison is an insult to Spain. Spain culturally is an amazing place, the architecture brilliant, and once again I was wondering if I could live here the rest of my life.

I primarily spent the weekend watching football matches and going to the beach, as well as catching up with my friend. The first beach I went to was equivalent to a mini germany. They call it Germantown since it is where all of the German tourists visit. The water there is picture perfect and it made me miss the ocean quite a bit. I also vitisted a cathedral that day. It was massive and absolutely amazing and I found it was cool that the Cathedral overlooked the water. You normally do not see that.

The next day Erica and I went to a Spanish beach on the west end of town. The beach was amazing, I got to go diving, and the women were absolutely fantastic. I am in love with Spanish women. I am considering moving to Spain just to meet the women. My Spanish was better than I thought it would be. I could understand most conversations, but I struggled speaking. Give me two weeks and I would have it back.

Erica took me to two spanish bars that were really cool, especially the third night since it was the quarterfinal against Paraguay. The fans outdid English fans by a longshot, and after they won the streets went mad with people honking and dancing in Spanish flags.

To be continued

Danmark

I had a really good week and a half since I last wrote. I had a busy week in parliament and got a chance to go see the lords in action. Niels took me minigolfing with his friend Janus. It was amazing to observe another culture and to reconnect with someone who had played such an instrumental role in my life.

Niels also took me to his parent house that evening. They were exactly the same since I last saw them in Denmark. His Grandmother came as well. Also, his brother philip. We had a barbecue, and as always, the Danes offered me everything in the kitchen. They are such moderate, mellow, yet sophisticated people. I absolutely love Denmark.

Niels took me back to his apartment afterwards and I met his girlfriend Sophie. She is incredibly beautiful, as well as sweet and nice. Its funny in Aarhus, everyone rides there bike. They also use a bike lock that goes through the frame and the back tire so you can't ride the bike. That means the just leave bikes sitting on the sidewalk, not tied next to a bike rack. At first I just thought they were all unlocked.

The next day Niels took me ove to his friends house to watch some football. His buds were real cool, and again I felt more at home than I do in the UK. Denmark is a lot like the US, except they do everything right. They have such a high quality of life that it makes me wonder if their lives are too boring, that there is not much personality or character to the place, you just live life. Its a hard emotion to describe, but it feels like something is lacking there. Life is almost too simple and perfect in Denmark!

Niels then took me to his house where he had friends over and we watched Denmark Cameroon. It was fun to watch the game with people speaking another language. It was also funny watching people trying to speak to me in English and then to each other in Danish. I could tell it was a strange arrangement for them.

I talked to a lot of Niels' friends to get different perspectives on the Danish way of life. It is an intersting way of living.

Niels then took me to see the nightlife around the city. We did not return until 4:30 in the morning, and the sun was as bright as it is midday. That Sunday, Niels, Sophie, and her friend Tina showed me around surrounding villages near Aarhus.

They then took me to the airport. My visit to Aarhus was really cool. Niels went above and beyond what he had to do in showing me a good time. I absolutely love the country, and the city.

Some distinct cultural differences between our experience, and the Danish
-Smaller cars and a different set of brands
-A washingtonian would feel like they were in a rural area back home in the Danish countryside
-Denmark leads the world in windmill technology, Niels is soon getting a job there
-People live in the same town they grew up in, yet they travel to a lot more different places
Example Niels and all his twenty something friends have lived in Aarhus since birth, something most Ameicans do not do. The ties to family and the home city are more like Germany than in the United States. They also travel a lot more then we do. Niels girl friend was going to Africa in a week and his best friend was going to Indonesia and Singapore.
-They ride bikes everywhere, the actually have three levels of curbs, one for the road, one for bikes, and one for the sidewalk in descending order of height.
-Every girl here is a lot more fit. Absolutely beautiful girls everywhere
-At some points it felt like I was back home. I would go up to a counter and be shocked that they were not speaking english to me, i just reverted back to my normal standards without me even realizing it.
-Smaller dwellings, way more nicely decorated.

I headed back to London that night and had another week of class at the LSE (which is always surreal being there) as well as at the Palace and Portcullis. I got lunch with a girl named Brittany from GU who works right across from me. Neither of us knew the other was interning in parliament, nor did we actually know each other from back home. Watched the US game and the British game at the same time. It was fantastic.

I also saw a play at the globe theater, Henry IV. It was really cool. You have to stand for three hours, and I hate playsm but definitely something you have to do in London.

On Thursday I hiked around Parliament Hill in Hampstead Heath. It is an amazing park and it was fun to people watch and go get away from the city. I also got to see some surrounding neighborhoods, including Well Walk and Flask way. Really posh neighborhood around Hampstead, perhaps the poshest in London outside of Belgravia. From Parliament hill you can see every landmark in London, amazing views.

Wish everyone well and hope everyone has a great weekend

-Bryce

Second Week of Parliament

It is now done! I helped with a campaign for the chair of a commitee for my MP. I did a lot of letter to constituents about a whole lot of issues. It is really sad with some of the cases and my hearts go out to some of the people that are suffering.

It ends up being that the office where I work has Liam Fox's secretary in it. I am hoping to meet him some time, but unfortunately we are moving next week.

I went to PMQ's last week. It is an amazing theatrical experience. That night I also got to meet Jon Bercow. He was doing a lecture for Hansard at Parliament and we all got to go. It was an amazing experience.

On tuesday I went to a lecture for a new book about Russian oligarchs from a former BBC correspondent and on Thursday I went to a lecture about the philosopher Spinoza. In general it was a really busy academic week. My goal is still to meet David Cameron.

The game was really cool. Everyone was against the states and every vocally. I was so happy when we got that lucky goal. They got crushed here. On the way back home I gave crap to every English person I saw. All who were really drunk.

Last week I also saw Nottinghill in Nottinghill. It was a surreal experience. The Polish girl got an apartment in Nottinghill.

Things that are substantially different here:

The toliets have a button to flush and have no water pressure

There is a hot water faucet and a cold water faucet, but they are never combined

Toilet paper comes in individual sheets

There are no dryers

Elevators are tiny and they have no close door buttons


Thats all for now

Parliament So far

I have been back from Edinburgh for about a week now, so I will give you a general run down of my activities.

Last weekend I came back and took a tour of stamford bridge in London. It is a really cool stadium and the neighborhood around it is awesome as well. Chelsea is so far my favorite place in London. The home dressing room was probably the coolest part and I wish they did tours back in the states like they do at stadiums here. I got to see where Lampard, Terry, and Malouda changed, got ready, and even took showers. A neat part of the tour was walking out onto the field from the tunnel, it definitely had an weird creepy feeling to it. Brought back some memories.

I went to soho later that night. A very independent and strange scene. Lots of gay clubs and bars, lots of indy bars. Not really my place but you have to go at least once in London. My preferred nightlife area is Camden Town, just northwest of where I am staying, though I have not been to Leceister Square at night yet.

I also visited St. Pauls and a Roman temple in the middle of London last weekend. A lot of Roman remains still exist beneath the city, just no chances at archaeologically finding them since the ground is still occupied.

On monday I went with a couple folks to Bath and Stonehenge. Bath was amazing. I just took a class on Roman archaeology so it was breathtaking to see the actual workings of a Roman bath. Also had a decent Roman archaeological collection from the surrounding area. Bath the city is super cool too. Very Georgian in architecture and more my size compared to London. It is in the base of a river valley with the Avon flowing through. It was close enough to the Welsh border to see Wales.

We later went to Stonehenge. It was not as impressive as I would have imagined. It was interesting to see another archaelogical site, but it was not as massive as Bath. Very much enjoyed how everything lines up with the sun, as well as the many ancient graves you can see for miles around.

I headed into work on Tuesday. Westminster is a truly awesome building. The palace structure is even more impressive on the inside then the outside. I got my security pass and met the daughter of my MP who is her main PA. We went to her office and she showed me around.

Their is a lot more interaction with local constituents in Parliament then I thought there would be. I assumed people voted based on party, not the actual MP, but it seems that a large factor for each voter is how well the MP represents the local constituency. It is a strange dyanmic between national and local, because at Parliament, MPs typically go along with their party, with very little indepedent voting. They are a lot less autonomous then our representation in the states, regardless of how the media tries to portray partisanship back home. Here they have a lot of communication with locals, yet at the national level, through a variety of mechanisms they are forced to vote along party lines.

Having a security pass is really cool. Just showing a badge and entering Westminster is awesome. There are multiple pubs within the palace, as well as lots of little historical sites. Food is ridicoulosuly cheep in there as well. Its fun just seeing randomn people on tv in person. It is strangel eery walking around the grounds in places that you would never have access to if I was not in this program. It is strangely surreal.

Today I went to Notting hill to go to portobello market. I bought a citizen watch and a couple of gifts for people back home. Unfortunately my camera has broken, so no new pictures. I also have a gotten a fishing pole, though the way they do it here is far different. I made sure to see the places where they filmed Notting Hill while there. Pretty cool to actually see it.

Next week I get to go to PMQs, watch it on CSPAN. I have had insider access to here and the scottish parliament so far and it is pretty amazing. Priceless experiences.

Musings about culture here so far

An amazing amount of pitbulls, by far the most popular animal

all of their newspapers are tabloids, the amount of objectivity is ridicoulous

David Cameron is massively tall.  I saw him and he is a good 6'3 or 4.

People here dress a lot more nice and I finally have seen some attractive women, it took awhile.

It is a very diverse area, but completely different blend. I like the islamic population here and I want to visit those areas in the future.