To Norway And Back Again

London is an incredibly diverse place filled with all kinds of incredible art, music, history, and culture.  I often find myself thinking that I don't need to rush to see this or that because I have time, in an effort to avoid adopting the mindset that I have to squeeze everything in all at once.  The down-side of this attitude is that I often forget to take in my surroundings.  On a daily basis, I walk passed any number of parks, statues, houses, museums, libraries, auditoriums which are centuries old.  So I've made it a point in the last few weeks to be present and conscious of what is around me, to take in all I can.  I've also been given wonderful advice from several people, namely Suzie, to "Take every opportunity and make the most of my time away."  This has been the most useful advice I've been given, well, besides Merilyn's, which was mainly about not talking to strange men! :)  So with that I share with you one of two incredible adventures I have been fortunate enough to take, thus far,  while living abroad. 

Norway

Julia and I flew in to Stavanger, Norway on Wednesday night.  I was so excited, namely because it was the first time I'd ventured out of London and also because I was officially "traveling" Europe, something I'd always wanted to do.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I actually got a stamp in my passport!!!  I had been told by numerous people that they don't stamp passports anymore, THEY TOTALLY DO! Yes, the trip started off on a high note, and considering a stamp in my passport as a high note, things could only get better.  Julia has traveled the world, so mostly she just shook her head and smiled at my ridiculous grin and giddy elation over some paper and ink.  We were only in Norway for two nights, so we had to make things count.  The next day we wandered around the city taking in the street art, which was beautiful and EVERYWHERE!  We eventually found the Nuart show and several fun shops, in which we bought gifts for friends and a few things for ourselves.  We also found an incredible restaurant where I had THE BEST HAMBURGER I've ever eaten in my life, no joke, and a seriously large cheese selection that could constipate a mouse.  I'm seriously considering going back to Norway just for the burger and cheeses.  We also took a ferry ride to several of the small islands off the coast of Stavanger, which were unassuming and quietly beautiful; covered in pine trees with freshly painted homes in bright shades of reds, yellows and greens which peaked through the trees in striking contrast.  It reminded me of McCall and I felt very at home.  

Julia and I 

THE MOTHER OF ALL HAMBURGERS
...it changed my life!

Nuart

Street art is often not considered art because of it's subversive, anti-establishment nature and because it is accessible to anyone and tends to be the voice of a marginalized minority.  Poignant in it's content, it is often a blatant commentary on social and political issues of the day.  The street art exhibition we saw was housed in an old brewery near the water.  It had been converted into artists' studios and work spaces which are then rented by artist for reasonable prices.  The show itself was sponsored by the Arts Council and brought in well known street artists from all over the world.  Each artist was given a separate space to display their work and as we walked around the city, the artists works would also pop up in large scale all over. The best part is that the city welcomes them and their art wherever they would like to create it!

Below are pictures of my favorite artists' and their work as displayed at the Nuart exhibition:

The Nuart studio

The movement of these is incredible.
Took up an entire wall. By Dal East of China.

One of my favorite artist, 
Martin Whatson of Norway.
I love his use of color.

This was the entire back wall of the room by artist Hush from the UK another of my favs!

Martin Whatson

Hush

Artist Toyz as you can see.

One of Julia's favorite artists Ernest Zacharevic of Lithuania.
Incorporates objects, like the tire, into his work.

Incorporating half of a car into his work here.  If you look closely, you can see the kids inside the car too!

Little girl pushing on the trunk of the car.

Loved his use of light and shadow, very interesting.
By artist Strok of Norway.

Same artist outside.

I believe this is artist c215 of France.

Again c215

c215

c215

Artist dot dot dot of Norway.  His work was very large scale and was kind of menacing, but still beautifully done.

This was a building on our way back from the show.
I've never seen this technique used before; the plaster has been removed
to reveal the brick, which creates the portrait. This is so beautiful and by far my favorite artist of the entire show.  His work is incredibly sophisticated and creative in its execution.
This is done by artist Vhils of Portugal.

There are more pictures to come.  Look up these artists and the work they are doing, it's pretty incredible!  :)  Enjoy!

My Humble Abode

Settling In

It has been a busy last few weeks and I never anticipated settling into my flat would take so long.  However, I am so incredibly thankful to have a place I can call home.  The longer I'm here, the better it feels.  I am living in a place called Maida Vale, which is also referred to as Little Venice because of the canal that runs through the city. It is nestled amongst other places such as Notting Hill and Paddington in the City of Westminster.  For the most part, it's a quiet area and it's quite picturesque, as in, when you think about where people live in London, that's what it looks like.  I live on the top floor of an Edwardian/Victorian style building, which has no lift.  But, I'm over it, as it is great exercise and...okay, I can't think of another reason, but I just keep telling myself it's a good thing, while simultaneously cussing myself as I climb the stairs.  And the higher you climb, the steeper they get....so, the Thigh Master can suck it!!! 

I'm also adjusting to the fact that it takes me more time than it use to, to get anywhere.  I have to leave my place an hour in advance in order to get to school on time.  This isn't due to the fact that I live incredibly far away, I'm relatively close to the school, but due to the fact that the tube system isn't the most reliable.  If a train is there, that doesn't mean that it will leave anywhere in the near future.  Mainly it means that the driver has to pee or switch ends of the train, or the two members of the cleaning crew will, at the mind blowing speed of a snail , go through every car and pick up discarded news papers that are handed out for free at the entrance of every tube station.  Apparently they cannot do this while the train is moving, so we wait.  Because of this, I've decided to start reading on the tube.  No, not the newspaper, okay, sometimes I pick one up, but I'm going to start taking a book with me on the Tube.  I'm pretty sure I could get through the unabridged version of War and Peace in a month, easily.  Thank you London Public Transit for bringing leisurely reading back into my life!!! 

Flat Hunting

To say that I hunted for a flat may be an overstatement, it sounds much to civilized.  What I did was more like, pounce on it, wrestled it to the ground, and beat it to death with a rock.  If you have an image of Gollum in your head, you're about there.  It was a Monday and I was finishing up notes for a class and decided to get online and look for a flat.  I found a few and had sent some emails when I came across, the PERFECT flat!!!  I called the number immediately and a man named Dan answered.  I told him I was interested in the flat and asked if I could see it.  He told me he was surprised because he had only just posted the ad 30 minutes ago.  He told me I could see the place that evening or the next day.  I told him I'd be there at 8:30 that night.  I had no idea where it was, but the idea of actually visiting a place made me hopeful.  My good friend Julia was down to come with me, and I'm glad she did because without her I would not have been able to find the place.   

An aside about Julia:  I often refer to her as New York, mainly when we're walking and I can't seem to locate her except for the trail of dust she has left behind her.  It's like a game of Marko Polo when I yell into the crowd, "New York, wait up!"  She's from New York as you might have guessed and is a FAST walker.  She literally has to make a conscious effort to walk at my pace, think sloth running team and your about there.  I tell her that she walks with a purpose.  I often joke that I'm only walking slowly for safety reasons, because my thighs would rub together and spontaneously combust if I walked as fast as she does.  As I've said before, she has an uncanny sense of direction and navigates the city and the tube lines with ease.  Thank you Julia.

She found the place and we rang the buzzer (okay a few buzzers, oops) and Dan let us in the front door.  We climbed the stairs and came into the apartment. There were two other people in the space and I got a little nervous.  Mainly because I looked like I was being paid to do trials for clinical strength anti-perspirant because of a glandular disorder.  Maybe I should start carrying an inhaler, not because I need it, but because I think it would make people feel more at ease when I come wheezing in all pink-faced and sweaty.  (Love to my asthmatics!) 

I digress.  When we got there, there was another person looking at the flat...play.it.cool.  Don't start just start shouting out numbers, cause let's be honest, I'm living on a budget and it can only stretch so far.  Seeing as how I've never played anything cool in my life, I decided to look around and asked some questions, rather than have a panic attack on the stairs.  When I walked into my house for the first time I had this overwhelming sense that it was my home, and I had the same feeling when I walked/crawled into this place too.  It may have been desperation or wishful thinking, but I just knew.  

I had brought the deposit just in case I needed to put it down that night.  POUNCE!  I also threw in the fact that I was willing to pay five months up front.  WRESTLE! While talking with Dan (and his fiancé Lizzy) I mentioned that I was currently living in a hostel as my accommodations had fallen through last minute.  ROCK!!!  It turns out that Lizzy works for the Save the Children organization and she couldn't bear the thought of my living in a hostel while starting school.  Needless to say I payed the deposit that night and moved in two days later.  The apartment is fully furnished and between Dan and Lizzy there are doubles of several items, so they left almost everything I need in the apartment including pots, pans, a 40" flat screen, dishes, utensils, washer/dryer, vacuum, kettle etc.  I have been provided for ABUNDANTLY!!  Not only that, but it also provides a place for me to house guests in a way that gives them privacy or at least their own space!  I didn't realize how much I enjoyed having people over for dinner or coffee until I wasn't able to do it anymore.  So, this is a standing invitation, you are welcome in my home anytime! 

The entry, complete with IKEA shoe storage! YES!

Stairs to the flat leading down to the entry.

The left side of the kitchen, complete with dishwasher (middle cupboard), again, thank you IKEA!

Right side of the kitchen, oven, fridge, freezer (a whole one too, not just a little guy!).

Living/Dining room, it's very sparse, but I'm sure I'll find something to put on the walls!

Bathroom, it goes farther in to the left and in the cupboard is where the washer/dryer combo sits.

Bedroom, closet on the left and the rest of the dresser.

One of my favorite things about the space, this giant skylight spans almost the entire length of the room!

Celebrating the move-in and Andy's Birthday!  (L to R) Marco, Nils (white shirt), Andy and Me!

Toasting Andy on his Birthday! (L to R) Sam, Avi, Andy, Emily, Julia and Marco.