Dover and France

On July 27th, my friend and BYU roommate Alex came to my place as his first stop on a trip through Europe. I had decided to go on part of the trip with him, through France and Italy. We decided to take the train to Dover, England, and cross the English Channel to Calais, France, on the ferry, then trains from Calais to Paris. We had been told it was cheaper than taking a train or plane straight to Paris, but I checked before online and because of all the little travel parts it came out to nearly the same price. Anyways, in Dover we saw Dover Castle on the white English cliffs overlooking the English Channel.



The tallest, 4 turreted part of the castle was built in the 12th century. We didn't have long in Dover so we didn't actually go up to the castle. The sea is just to the right in the picture above. In the next picture you can see part of the castle above the white cliffs and if you look on the left you can see entrances to part of the secret tunnels built for World War 2.



The harbor from the ferry as we left. You can see the tunnels on the left, the castle on the far right, and just to the left of the castle is something else I hope to go and see some time, the Roman lighthouse (just to the left of what I think is an old church).



Leaving England.



The trip on the ferry was good and I'm glad I went that way. It was also very short , and as soon as we began to lose sight of England, we saw France.



We landed in the town of Calais. Alex and I saw all that remains of a 13th century castle and couldn't help but notice that on the plaque next to it (in English and French) it is noted being partially destroyed many times, and that the French announced their surrender from that tower in the 1300's.



We went to the train station from there to get our tickets to Paris. Unfortunately it was a lot of slow trains that made a lot of stops. We met some cool people at the train station, Lisa and Pam and their kids. Lisa and Pam had promised to take their daughters to Europe when they turned 12 and they had just come from England, too. We all missed the same train to Paris because the platform number wasn't listed, and we asked but got no help (this was very, very common in France). Lisa even spoke French, but it didn't matter. Still, she managed to get all our tickets changed for free to the next train which at least wasn't too much later. And they had a lot of luggage, so Alex and I were able to help out with that, especially since we had to change trains a couple times and move around a lot.

We got to Paris late that night and set out in search of our hostel. Unfortunately I hadn't looked at a map of Paris or seen how we'd get there, so when we got in we got a map and eventually made our way there. It took some doing, trying to ask for directions, and eventually we found the first helpful person in France who was really nice to us, and we found our place.

Some things to keep in mind about hostels: free breakfast usually means a croissant, and is not free, but is 5 euros of your stay. Ask for no breakfast if you can. Also, some of the hostels we stayed at over the trip didn't actually have 6+ person rooms, but lots of 2 person rooms with showers and toilets. And the times when you could get a room with a bunch of strangers you would only save 4 euros each, get a bathroom shared by 10+ people, and not be able to lock your room or know if you and your stuff is really secure, though you can lock stuff in lockers sometimes.

The next day Alex and I set out for Normandy and the D-day sites. We had a little time after we bought our train tickets so we went to the Champs Elysees.



And me at the Champs Elysees. I figure I should put some in every now and then.



Then it was back to the train station and on to Normandy and the D-day sites. We arrived in Bayeux and took a bus from right next to the train station to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. This trip had so many amazing highlights, and this was definitely one of the best.



Just from walking onto the grounds around the parking lot, before you can see the cemetery or anything, it seemed like being in America. They had nice bathrooms with water fountains! Second time I've seen those in Europe. And it was clean water, which was great because you have to drink bottled war in France, since the locals don't even drink the water. Then we walked into the visitors center. From the moment I entered it felt very peaceful, humbling, and sacred. I felt that way the whole time I was there. They had displays up about many of the men who fought, plus a lot of displays about the war in general. We watched a short movie about some of the men who died there that had interviews with their families. And then we walked out of the visitors center and into the cemetery. It was amazing to see.



Looking to the right of this picture is Omaha Beach. The assault of this beach was the one they use in movies and video games because it was the most intense and well-fortified of all the beaches. I took this picture standing at the top of the hill overlooking the beach. It just seems so covered, long, and well fortified that it is amazing that they took it at all. Just to the right of the picture are the remains of some of the German fortifications.



The cemetery and the sea.



The grave of a soldier whose identity is still unknown. A few of these are scattered through the cemetery.



We walked down to the beach from the cemetery. We waded in the water for a little bit and took some pictures. This picture is of the beach while standing in the water, and you can see the German bunkers in the picture.



Omaha Beach today from near the front of the first fortification.



One of the German bunkers up close. They were open, so we walked through them.



I'd love to go back to Normandy some day. I'd love to see the other beaches. One thing we didn't see was Point du Hoc, also part of Omaha Beach but farther down. It was a fortress on a cliff overlooking the beach that was stormed by Army Rangers who climbed straight up the cliff and into the fortress.

We headed back to Bayeux and ate at a cafe there, which was good. And I should mention that the people in Bayeux were nice and helpful. It was way different from Paris. Maybe it's because they made all their money in Bayeux off of tourists, or maybe because it was a smaller town, who knows, but they were nice. We didn't make it to the train station in time so we spent the night there next to the train station. It was just as good as any other hostel and only 32 euros total---the cheapest place all trip. We would have gotten in to Paris to late to do anything anyway so it wasn't a big deal, and we got the first train out at about 6 in the morning the next day so we didn't miss out on anything. The first thing we did in Paris was go to Notre Dame, which was very impressive.



After that we headed to the Eiffel Tower. I wasn't that impressed by it, though it was still worth seeing. The top of it was different than I remembered from seeing it in pictures.



From there we split up. I went to the Louvre, and Alex walked to the train station we needed to take to Italy.



Inside, the Louvre was a very impressive building. I know it is a palace, but it seemed more focused on the building than on the objects. I felt like there were just not very many things on display, which seemed odd for a museum of this popular. But I think it's just because it does such a good job with what it has that it's so popular. The British Museum easily has more and is also very well displayed, but it seems more focused on the objects than the building (but I suppose that could be argued too after the most recent renovations). I looked it up, and the Louvre only displays 35,000 objects, compared to hundreds of thousands at the British Museum. Still, I would have liked to have had more time in the Louvre but I at least got to see the Greek and Roman sections, including this statue room.



From there I went to the train station to meet Alex. We tried to get train tickets to Italy. Now, I had been told by many people that it's best to wait to buy tickets until you're ready since you don't need to book in advance and it only sometimes saves you money and the trains, even the overnight trains, usually never fill up. There was one problem. When we got to the train station they said, "normally they don't fill up, only in the last week of July and the first week of August." And it was July 30th. The next day's trains were full, too, so we got plane tickets online for a little more than we would have spent on the trains, so it ended up ok. We spent the night at the airport, taking turns in the sleeping bag, since our flight left pretty early. Then it was on to Italy!

Oxford and Utah

Oxford Castle:



It took me a while to get this post up because I went to Oxford two days before flying to Utah. I recently got permission to use the libraries at the University of Oxford to do my research, so I went to get a card and look around.



After the library, I headed to Oxford Castle, which I'd been hoping to see but hadn't had time the other times I'd been to Oxford. This is the view from Castle Mound. The tower of Oxford Castle is one of the oldest buildings in Oxford, built around 1000 AD. The rest was added over time, and can you believe this was an actual prison until 1996??



And here's the view of Castle Mound from the top of Oxford Castle's tower. Castle Mound used to be an earthen fort.



And the view of much of Oxford from the top of the tower, with many churches and colleges visible.



One of the cells. At one time, these cells could hold up to 30 prisoners each. Our tour guide packed our group of 20 people in just to show us how cramped it was, and we hadn't even reached the limit yet.



Our guide then took us down to the castle crypt. In the back right corner in this picture is where a ghost is commonly seen by workers and visitors.



Before I went home I had some dinner and ate with a this view of the oldest building in Oxford, a Saxon church built slightly before the tower of Oxford Castle. It was closed by then, but I'll be back.



A couple days later, I flew back to Utah for my brother Matt's wedding. I got there on a Friday, so about a week before Matt and Whitney's wedding. I spent my time between them and seeing friends before my family got there on Monday, then I was just with them. It was great to have everyone together and do a lot of fun stuff. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have the whole time I was there, but I do actually have one with me in it at Stewart Falls, with my sister Tamara and two of her kids, Sara and Sicily.



The day after Matt's wedding, my brothers and I (except Matt, of course) went shooting with Mark's father-in-law. One highlight was that I finally got to shoot an AK-47, which doesn't seem to kick as much as people had told me, but it is as inaccurate as I had heard. I won't write too much more, but I'm glad I got to spend some time with my old friends for almost two weeks after Matt's wedding and my family all had to get back to work and responsibility...

But, there were a few great things I have to mention. I drank root beer. A lot of it. And creme soda. One day Kevin and I suddenly decided to make a zombie movie, so we made one the next day. It's terrible, but we got out of it what we wanted. I played basketball and ultimate frisbee. I discovered with my friends that "How I met your Mother" is amazingly (awesomely) hilarious. I played laser tag at the nickelcade (and played other games at the nickelcade, sorry Andrew). And, of course, walked around BYU a couple times.

Basically, it was a great, long vacation and now I need to finish my masters thesis. And visit more of Europe.

More London

I really enjoy going to London for research because I get to spend a little time sightseeing. I went a couple weeks ago and made my first stop St. Paul's Cathedral. Like every other impressive building I've seen here, part of it is always undergoing some kind of repairs (despite not having any workers on them, ever), and whether or not it's true, I'm told that it's because it makes them tax exempt while they're being worked on, so why stop? Still, most of it wasn't covered by scaffolding. Here's a gate with the cathedral behind it.



Behind me is Paternoster Square, which means Our Father in Latin and is another name for the Lord's Prayer. My guess is that's where the square got its name.



And the square has a nice sundial that clearly showed that I was there at the end of May.



St. Paul's Cathedral is a very impressive building, and it's a shame I couldn't take pictures inside.



A closer look at the statue of Queen Anne outside:



I did manage to take one picture inside, but that was before I saw the sign at the desk further on that you can't take pictures inside.



From there I walked to the Museum of London, which is not as great or large as the British Museum, but it focuses on the history of London itself. It had lots of human and animal fossils from well before the Romans, but I found the Romans and the Middle Ages to be the most interesting parts. Here's a floor mosaic from an actual Roman home from London from between 200 and 400 AD. It is from a wealthy person's home and while most of the room is reconstructed, the small trinkets and pottery around the room are authentic.



The remains from inside a Roman temple in London are on display:



From there it was on to the medieval section. Here are the weapons and armor of a soldier.



From there it was on to the British Museum which is always, of course, my last stop before going into the Senate House across the street for more research. I was happy to see that the Assyrian section and another section of Greek statuary had been reopened finally. The Assyrian section had a lot of good stuff, including this one of a lion hunt by King Ashurbanipal which was on display since the 7th century BC in Nineveh. It was under very controlled conditions, though, as the king's soldiers corralled the lions into an enclosure surrounded shoulder-to-shoulder by soldiers. The lions were released them one at a time, and you can see the dead lions who had been shot by the king. The king is aiming at another lion that had just been released, while one he already wounded tried to attack his chariot but was fended off by guards on the back of his chariot with spears.



In one of the newly opened rooms are many panels commemorating the siege and capture of the important city of Lachish in the kingdom of Judah by the Assyrians in about 700 BC. The siege is mentioned in the Old Testament in 2 Chronicles 32:9 (also mentioned in 2 Kings 18). It was a precursor to the fall of Jerusalem and removal of the Jews in around 600 BC. There was a whole room of panels, but this one shows a lot of archers firing on the city during the siege. The panels are from a palace in Nineveh.



Then I went to the reopened Greek section and saw ruins of the Temple of Artemis from Ephesus. I don't remember who is in this picture, though.



After that I went to two sections I hadn't been to before, the Islamic World and Central America/Mexico. Here's some 17th century Islamic China:



The Central America/Mexico section was mostly Mayan with a little Aztec. This Mayan panel is from a temple and shows Lord Bird Jaguar in about 500 AD.



I still have some things to see in the British Museum, mainly the China section that I've only seen part of and probably some other obscure parts. It's always great and has lots to see.

Camping

On May 14-15 I went on the priesthood commemoration campout commemorating the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood (May 15, 1829) somewhere near Reading. The scouts have a small lodge (not for sleeping in) with a couple of open fields surrounded by farmers' fields. A thin line of trees separated our campsite from the fields. When we got there on Friday evening we started off by playing soccer. Then Steve Holmes and I set up our tent while waiting dinner. We had a good barbecue and got the fire going.



Matt Evans, the young mens president, put on a good program in the lodge about the restoration of the priesthood. After that we sat around the campfire for the rest of the night and the young men kept the fire burning.



In the morning after breakfast we played rounders (like softball) and had a competition that the ward has been holding for 11 years. The teams are usually teams of two and matches up fathers and sons, but we matched up by age group pretty well for the rest of us (one "older" married guy with a younger guy) and I was with Rob Perry. We had a relay race, egg toss, push ups, and brick throwing. Unfortunately the brick throw was only measured by how far your brick made it along the measuring tape in one direction so even though mine went quite a distance it went well off to the right and so only made it about 50 feet along the straight line. It was fun, though, and then we packed up and left. It was good to get out and go camping again. Definite highlights had to be having no rain and no mosquitoes. It seems like every time I go camping it rains, and everyone here said it's always weird because it rains a lot normally but their campouts are always dry.

London 3

I actually kept busy for the last month or so because of papers that were worth a lot of my overall grade, so I didn't travel around or have anything to update here. But, now that the papers are in, I have more time to travel around.

Part of my research for my dissertation can only be done in the Institute of Classical Studies in London, at King's College (part of the University of London). The head of the classics department here at the University of Reading got permission for me to use their library for research, although I can't check books out. So, I've taken a trip to do research once each of the last two weeks. My plan was to study and do a little sightseeing as well. Fortunately, the building where the Classical Studies Library is housed, the Senate House, is right across the street from my favorite place in London so far---the British Museum. So every time I go study I take some time to look around. I still haven't seen the whole thing but I'm pretty close now.

The main entrance to the British Museum:


The first time I went to the Classical Studies Library I checked it out first and did some research for a few hours, got my access card, and then headed back to the British Museum.

The Senate House:


Apparently the British Museum really does get its hands on everything from everywhere. They even have a chunk of the Sphinx that was part of the beard.



The doorway to the Egyptian tomb of Tjetji from about 2500 BC:



This two-part wall panel is from Assyria in 860 BC. It shows the god Ninurta on the right panel (not very clearly visible in the picture or in person anymore) and some monster on the left that he is fighting. There's no mention of a monster like this so they don't know what it is.



And here is what the entrance to another ancient Assyrian (castle or something) from around the same time looked like, at least part of it. The two horses with human heads were taken from their place guarding the entrance, and behind them is a replica of the ancient gate.



Something tells me this guy, Pavaya, was important and I think you'll agree (and that something is not historians, they aren't sure). It was taken from an ancient Greek colony from southwest Turkey, and they just know from the writings on it that it's from about 360 BC.



Well, I took a lot of pictures but there are too many to have up here, really. Still, the last I'll show you from the British Museum is an artifact that shows an ancient Roman chariot race with some related trinkets below it. I found this personally very interesting because I wrote my Capstone paper for BYU on chariot racing and how the factions (the Blues, Greens, Reds, and Whites) became political parties.



After researching and then visiting the British Museum, I went to the Tower of London because I hadn't been able to see inside the last time I went. This time, I got there while they were still open but after the guided tours had finished and, knowing I would be back the next week, decided to wait till next time. Some friends recommended the guided tour, and it's the same price whether you do a guided tour or not, and at the end of a guided tour, or before, you can look around all you want anyway. The next week I went to the Tower of London first and took the tour, which was well worth it. Very interesting and a very entertaining guide. The Tower of London is a castle that was first built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century after conquering England and kings and queens added more and more to it over the years, with most of it built in the 13th century. Here's the original castle of William the Conqueror, called the White Tower:



The tour guides are called Yeoman Warders, and their responsibility is to guard the tower and the crown jewels. They are basically just tour guides nowadays, but they are former soldiers. They are required to have served in the military for 22 years with an excellent record. This was our Yeoman Warder tour guide, and behind him is the river entrance known as "Traitor's Gate", because quite often the prisoners of the Tower were brought in by boat through this entrance.



The Tower is famous for its prisoners and its torture. While torture could have gone on anywhere, there was a part of the White Tower that specifically was for torture, and here's what it looks like today:



Yeah, they turned it into a gift shop. Weird.

On the tour we got to go inside the normally-locked church, seen here, where Anne Boleyn's ghost supposedly roams (she's buried there). In front, where all these people are standing, is where the executions took place inside the Tower. Only six ever happened here, though, because the executions almost always took place up on the hill outside of the Tower where the public could see.



This cell is famous because so many famous prisoners were kept here and etched messages into the walls. The messages have been left and are now protected behind the plastic around the room.



This part of the castle is the Bloody Tower:



A catapult in the moat of the Tower:



The base of an old entrance to the Tower:



And a monument to Emperor Trajan outside the Tower that sits in front of the remains of London's original Roman city wall. The top part was added after the Romans, but over half of it is original and has the characteristic layers of red brick mixed in with the regular.



After the tour and looking around some on my own, I went to the British Museum again (this time for a much shorter look) and then headed to the Classical Studies Library again for more research. It made for a couple of pretty good trips, and now I'm planning my trips, including trips to the towns that my ancestors came from.