London and Bath: Thanksgiving in England

After an early morning flight that got delayed an hour, I arrived at Stansted Aiport on the outskirts of London. As I stepped of the plane, I was greeted by a cold gust of wind that made those around cringe and wrap their scarves tighter around their faces. The temperature was right around the freezing point. I just smiled. It may seem weird but I was happy to finally experience some real cold. I don't mind the warmer temperatures of Rome, but for someone whose favorite season is winter it was nice to finally get a little bit of real winter weather. The weather wasn't the only reason way I was smiling, though. I had just landed in England, and would be spending the next four days exploring a country I've always wanted to visit.

After a bus ride from the airport of London's city center, I set off to explore and immerse myself in one of the world's most important cities. Even from the bus, I was fascinated by London's complex and diverse urban structure as long rows of town homes on the periphery gave way to office towers, train stations, and other urban building types in the city center. I ventured past many different buildings and structures I had learned about over the years. Some of the places I went to included the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Millennium Bridge, the Bank of England, and St. Paul's Cathedral. No matter where I go, I always get a kick out of seeing buildings that I used to see in all my textbooks freshman and sophomore year.

View of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge

Like Rome, London is a maze of turning streets, large thoroughfares, small alleys, and humble lanes. It was an experience in itself trying to navigate the cities organic street layout. Over the course of the day this led to many wrong turns, but also led me to go places and see buildings I might not have ran into had I taken another route. The architecture of the city was also very mixed. There were many buildings built in a traditional manner, whether Gothic, Romanesque, or Classical, that stood right next door to a new modern office building. The combination of different architectural styles created a very interesting blend of old and new that had something new in store around every corner.

The Tower Bridge at night.

I spent Thanksgiving and the following Friday exploring all London had to offer, seeing the aforementioned buildings along with many other well-known and some not as well-known structures. I went and saw the Houses of Parliment, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace like everyone else who visits London, but I also went and saw a couple other buildings that don't get as much attention.

Two of these buildings were Westminster Cathedral along with Sir John Soane's House. Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and has to be one of my favorite churches I've seen in Europe. Built a little over 100 years ago, the church looks very Byzantine both inside and out and has striped stone coursing much like the Duomo I saw in Siena only a few days earlier. I spent a good amount of time looking around the church and also got the opportunity to go to the top of the bell tower and get a panoramic view of London, which was a real treat. Sir John Soane's House was the residence of one of England's most famous architects, Sir John Soane, who was responsible to designing many buildings, churches, and homes throughout England, most notably the Bank of England. He also designed his own house and filled it with all sort of casts and statues. Basically, the house was a gigantic storage facility for architectural precedent. Exploring the house was an interesting experience. The walls were full of casts and moldings and no two rooms were the same.

Westminster Cathedral, one of my favorites.

The real highlight of the trip came on Saturday when I decided to take a day trip to Bath, a two hour train ride outside of London. I hopped on a train early in the morning at Paddington Station and hurried off towards the city famous for its classical architecture and having the only natural hot springs in all of England. Bath was originally settled during Roman times and has just as much Roman ruins and artifacts as many cities I've visited in Italy. The main highlight of the city is the reconstructed Bath Complex and the adjoining museum, but I spent coutless hours walking around to see many of the other incredible urban developments built in the 18th century.

Bath was an incredibly beautiful city, with its white stone buildings occupying the valley and hills along the River Avon. That day, Bath was even more beautiful because everything was covered with a thin layer of snow that continued to build as more snow fell throughout the day. I walked the streets seeing many of the famous structures like Bath Abbey, the Circus, the Royal Crescent, and many more. It was amazing to walk through such a small city (80,000 residents) and see beautiful architecture on literally every corner. Imagine of South Bend was like that...

Robert Adam's incredible Pulteney Bridge over the Avon.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in England, and I wish I had more than just four days to explore it. I could have easily spent another week in London and still not seen everything that I'd want to. There are also so many other cities, Liverpool, Oxford, and Cambridge just to name a few, along with tons of cathedrals in other places that I would have loved to visit. There is only so much you can do in one trip. Hopefully, I will find my way back to England in the future to further explore its cities and countryside.

Rainy Tuscany, Sunny Florence

Our three day field trip to Tuscany was a wet, rainy mess. It rained almost continuously the entire time we were traveling, leaving us soaked and soggy day in and day out. Luckily, after experiencing the rain that comes with any trip to northern Italy in the late fall during our trip to Venice, we were ready for any thing Mother Nature could throw at us. Even with the rain, I got to experience nearly half a dozen Tuscan towns and cities, climb multiple tall buildings, and enjoy some of the most spectacular landscapes Italy has to offer.

It rained even when it was sunny. Seriously.

The first town we saw was Montepulciano, a town settled high above the valley on top of a hill similar to many towns we had visited on previous field trips. The town had beautiful architecture. As we walked its winding streets up and down hills, we got a glimpse of what life is like in a small, quite place where you can see miles off into the distance from your second story window. Humble houses balance on the edge of the hill with only a small garden and a persimmon tree separating the house from a 30 foot drop down the hill. Beyond these gardens lay the beautiful Tuscan countryside with its lush green fields set against a beautiful yet foreboding dark gray sky. Even as we walked through puddles and wiped the cold rain from our faces, we couldn't help but be amazed by the simple beauty of this place.

After spending the first part of the day in Montepulciano we took a quick stop in the small town of Pienza. We went to look at a couple interesting urban interventions along the main road of the town that hugs the hill which the town is constructed on. These included a very interesting piazza in front of the main church and a rather interesting set of rowhouses; however, Pienza will forever be remembered in my mind for one of the most gorgeous views of a landscape I've ever seen. As we walked back down the main street towards the main church, the sun brilliantly broke out of the clouds and cast beautiful rays of sunshine over Pienza and the surrounding countryside. The pictures can barely do the experience justice.

Under the Tuscan Sun.

We then spent the next day and a half in the city of Siena, one of the most famous Tuscan cities, known worldwide for its annual horse race, the Palio, held in the main piazza in the center of town every summer. Siena continued the theme of beauty, epitomized by its Duomo and Palazzo Pubblico, a major building in the main piazza. The Duomo, the main church in Siena was a gorgeous and towing building, constructed of alternating black and white stone courses. We spent nearly 30 minutes looking at the interior and all the beautiful artwork and sculpture that accented the structure.

The Duomo in Siena.

You might have noticed the picture of the Duomo is an aerial shot. I took that picture from the top of the bell tower of Palazzo Pubblico. For a fee one can climb to the top and get sweeping views of Siena and the surrounding area. It was a truly incredible experience, climbing hundreds of steps in narrow cramped passages up to the very top of the 330 foot tall masonry tower. The people in the main piazza below seriously looked like ants and you could see for miles in every direction. While I was up there I had the unfortunate experience of having the bell ring while I was directly below it, signaling it was 1 o'clock it in the afternoon. I literally jumped out of my skin. I'm glad that I didn't go up there an hour earlier, as having twelve chimes instead of one would have been a lot worse. In the end it was a very worthwhile and rewarding experience. I was one of only a few people in the class to actually climb the tower.

Hey, let's climb the tower.

Right after climbing the tower and getting lunch in Siena, we got on the bus and shuttled off to the town of San Gimignano, most well known for its mutitude of tall, medieval towers. Back in the day there were over 120 of these towers in the relatively small town, but many of them either fell over or were torn down. Now, only towers 14 survive. It was very interesting driving towards the town and seeing the large gray towers looming before us through the rain. We took a stroll through the town, seeing many of the towers and a couple of churches before hurrying back to the bus as dusk began to set in.

An hour or so later we arrived in Florence, the final destination for a field trip. Sadly, we would only get to explore the city and all its architectural beauty for one day. Even with the short amount of time, and the multitude of things to see, I still thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Florence. One of the nicest things about our time in Florence was the absence of the rain that had plagued every leg of the field trip up to that point. In fact, it was sunny for almost the entire day. After spending most of the day walking around Florence seeing the various architectural sights and crossing over the River Arno via the famous Ponte Vecchio a couple of times I got the opportunity to climb yet another famous structure, the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore was and still is the largest masonry dome ever constructed. It spans a distance of 144 feet and rises 375 feet above the city, built entirely without the help of centering (there wasn't enough wood in Tuscany to build any). The dome itself is considered to be one of the most intuitive pieces of engineering ever and is one of Italy's most iconic buildings. Only one day after climbing the bell tower in Siena, I again paid a small fee to climb to the top of yet another extemely tall structure. After climbing up a spiral staircase through the drum that supports the dome, one has to walk around a balcony that overhangs the interior of the church, where people walk about nearly 200 feet below. From there, you enter back into the physical stucture and wind your way up the interior of the dome to the very top. Once emerging from inside, I was greeted by incredible views of Florence in every direction. Yet again, it was one of those once in a lifetime moments. It's not every day that you can climb to the top of a building you've been learning about since your freshman year of college.

Me and my roommates, Brian and Fabian, on top of the dome.

After climbing to the top of the dome and exploring Florence a little bit more, it was time to head back to Rome. Although we had only been away for three days, the entire class was exhausted and tired. The rain took a lot out of us, and everyone was ready to get back and sleep in our own beds back in Rome. Overall, Tuscany was a great time. I got to see some incredible architecture and eat some good food along the way, too. Not even constant rain can outweigh that.

We left Florence around 6 o'clock that evening. My flight to London for Thanksgiving Break was leaving in a little over 12 hours. It was going to be a quick turn around.

It's Been a While...

As you might have noticed there hasn't been a whole lot of activity around here in the last month. It hasn't been because I don't feel like writing. Instead, it's because I just haven't had the time to sit down and write. The combination of field trips, travel, and deadlines has kept me quite busy over the last couple of weeks.

No worries, though. Once I have my final project turned in and my final drawing assignments completed, I will type up a couple entries detailing my trips to Tuscany and London along with a reflection on my first semester in Rome.

Time to get back to work.