Look, I'm in Europe!

Hmm...

2006-12-11T11:42:00.000-08:00

Even though I'm back in the states (and have been for a week now!), I will continue to post pictures and stories as the time becomes available to me. For now, I give you this point to ponder and consider...
The only sense of return shock I've received up to this point was when I purchased a 20 ounce bottle of soda...it was SO MUCH BIGGER than the bottles you get in Europe...for less than HALF THE PRICE.

Now THAT, my friends, is intense.

kmf 12/06

a parting shot.

2006-11-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

So, tonight is my last night in London before I depart for Amsterdam (no, I'm NOT going to smoke weed, sorry guys), so I thought I'd leave some photos behind.

Yes ladies, he's single. And unimpressed by Harrod's.

Ice cream sunday part 1...

DOMINATION!

The Natural History Museum...ice skating rink? It's true.

Ask me about the London Film Festival if you get a chance.

A pretty good night landscape.

Here it is...the Ruben and Potato Salad of High Cost.

More about my galavants around Europe as they happen. Cheers!

kmf 11/06

ps-Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it-and may the Lord bless and protect those not fortunate enough to have a thanksgiving.

Independent Travel part 1

2006-11-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

So, the academic component of the trip is officially over. People have said their goodbyes, Ned and I had to move 3 floors up into a sketchy room, and the independent travel portion of the trip has started. A quick recap:
Friday-With a pretty large number of folks still around, not much seemed different on Friday. A group of us to see Casino Royale, which is the very first Bond movie I've ever seen...I liked it quite a lot. I can explain why if you're curious-but just know that it rocked hard. A pretty chill round of Texas Hold em followed, and I had what I would later discover to be the last night in my hotel room.
Saturday-Instead of simply extending my stay in my room, Ned and I had to move several floors up, which wouldn't have been a problem if I didn't have the souvenirs I was mailing and books I was donating sitting in the room-not to mention the cans of coke, bottle of bailey's and other foodstuffs...a hassle. Then it was post office to lunch to oxfam (charity shop) to hotel...then Ned and I got dinner and met up with Amanda and her sister-AWESOME! It was VERY refreshing to see new faces and hang out with really awesome folks...all in all a successful day.
Sunday-Got off to a slow start, since we were meeting Nort and his sister for lunch, and hairdryer misdemeanors caused a delay. We went to Harrod's for lunch...photos of the most expensive meal I've ever eaten coming soon. But go big or go home as they say. Then Ned and I explored Harrod's, I got in trouble for trying to take a picture of the 22000 dollar watch (I'm not making that up), and then we went to the Victoria Albert Museum, which was pretty cool, followed by a viewing of the animatronic dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. A trip to the arcade was followed by a screening of the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D, and so the 3rd ended as a success. Anywho-more pictures and details soon!
kmf 11/06

The trip's almost over...sad I know...

2006-11-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

I'm never out of pictures. But class is almost over so I thought I'd give you some more to look at. This is the 1st part of a series entitled "Yes the trip was funner than this suggests" Sims Anderson posing.

Part 2-Elizabeth is REALLY concerned about Conway Castle, while Ned and Dr. Cummins don't seem to mind that much.

Repeat this picture about 20 times and you've got an idea what the Tower of London was like (although the crown jewels were pretty amazing to see, if a little decadent and wasteful imo)

Everyone in this photo was having too much fun. Nuff said.

Look at those calfs! We've become walking studs.

Part 3-The Tower of London had Meg perplexed.

What the hell time it is? (I'm standing on the prime meridian in this picture, though you can't see it.)

Harrison and I posed in Greenwich near the Meridian.

The Millenium dome (right), where Justin Timberlake will finally bring sexy back next summer.

Big Ben and the London Eye, overexposed sweet style.

Look at the sky! It was prettier in person.

Part 4-Yes, it's really that exciting.

Windsor Castle.

Big Ben and a statue of a woman who totally pwned some n00bs...or the Romans.

I hope you enjoyed this round. More to come later.

For those interested, here's my independent travel itinerary (I probably misspelt that-and the word misspelt):
Saturday-Wednesday: Ned and I party hard in London
Thursday (thanksgiving!)-Monday: Tagg and I relax in Amsterdam (Tagg being my youth minister)
Tuesday-Friday: Paris. Heck yes.
Saturday: Frantically packing in London with one last party for good measure.
Sunday: Leaving London Gatwick at 1:30ish in the afternoon...get back to the states at about 4:3oish in the afternoon...too bad the flights actually 9 hours.
See you soon.
kmf 11/06

some more pictures Part 1

2006-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

The first of several night views.

One more angel.

Our team using the Tube to get to the cemetary.

The hooka.

Amy rocked it like it was her job.

I ended up looking like a dragon...but it was black cherry tobacco.

The crazy sculpture at the Absolut Icebar!

It was brutal.

Yes, the cup is made of ice.

Heck yes.

More pictures later...the place I'm using the internet at is closing.

peace-kmf 11/06

News is good food...for your mind. But I want food...for my mouth.

2006-11-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

So, my dad asked me the other day what kind of food I was eating, so I thought I'd take a moment to touch on the "fine dining" of the tour and London. By far the sweetest and best eating of the entire trip happened in Stratford. The bed and breakfast fed us freshly cooked breakfast and dinner, and it was paid for! Lunch was pretty much always Subway's sub of the day (for 1.99 pounds, you get a predetermined sub each day...sort of a magic deal by London standards), and hence we lived for under 150 pounds in 2 weeks, which is a pretty good deal when you get down to it. However, this calm and relaxing break is the exception, not the rule, so I'll take a moment to hit the highlights of our dining:
*Pubs-this is the heart of dining in Ireland and the UK. All the best and cheapest food that isn't American (more on that later) happens in the pubs. From fish and chips to burger and chips to chicken bacon and cheese and chips to cheese chips (notice a pattern?), all the sweet food action happens at pubs. And the drinking too. Except drinking is EXPENSIVE, although a small and stalwart group of us managed a pub crawl for under 10 pounds last week...we weren't particularly drunk by the end (too much walking and eating), but it was still really fun. Some pictures from a particularly sweet pub coming soon.
*Burger King-yeah, you read that right. BK lets us have it our way for SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than most of the sit down restaurants...besides, it's more filling.
*McDonald's-see above.
*Pizza Hut-still more. At Pizza Hut, you've got 2 sweet deals: either the 4 pound lunch buffet (usually crowded but good), or the 4 person feast for dinner...6 pounds a person for 2 pizzas, 4 appetizers, and 4 desserts...it's MASSIVE.
*Grocery stores-the 2 grocery stores that are pretty close offer a wide range of tasty premade sandwiches and wraps, which make a cheap alternative if you're not interested in hot food...plus you can buy bread and meat there for an even cheaper meal, but the bread started to make me nauseous...not cool.
*The desperate quest for Mexican-you wouldn't think that London would be lacking good Mexican food, but it's pretty much one of the hardest things to find in town. It took 5 weeks of searching to finally find a place that serves tacos for under 5 pounds...but man it's good.
*The hotel-finally, the hotel food. Some of it is good (the heated ham and cheese croissant, the fish and chips) and some of it not as much (the blt), but it's close, so there you go.

Anyway, more on my independent travel plans and pictures soon.
kmf 11/06
ps-Stone Sour was pretty much amazing. The end.

Some pictures for your consumption...

2006-11-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from London/Stratford...a post about food soon.

A cemetary out near Kenwood.

These make good desktop wallpapers I think.

That monkey is as close as he looks...I didn't use the zoom.

Another oddly exposed cemetary shot.

Dr. Aarnes sports the latest Gymbox ad.

St. Paul's cathedral chills with Queen Anne.

Blenheim Palace.

Isaac wasn't impressed.

Murdock and I at John Shakespeare's house...we weren't that impressed.

Meredith and I at the same. Still kinda wooden.

Also look for a post outlining my free travel soon too. Stone Sour concert tonight-sweet.
kmf 11/06

Top 10.

2006-10-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here it is. The top 10 things about being in London:

10. We've stopped moving-for all intents and purposes, we're done moving every few nights, and it's been nice to be actually settled in one place for more than 5 seconds.

9. The city-it's a little dirty, but it's safe, comfortable, and full of variety. I feel like everyday I find something new to appreciate in London, and that's always exciting.

8. The quiet-you wouldn't think this would be on here, but it can be VERY quiet in London. I've had all of my best quiet moments on the trip in London, in parks with headphones and a good book, or in my room. After all the moving and shaking of the tour and Stratford (although i MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer Stratford to London), it's nice to have some alone time.

7. Wandering-London is GREAT for wandering. I'll get on the Tube and go to a random stop and slowly work my way back, which leaves me finding all sorts of new and exciting things. Which should become clear in a minute.

6. The People-if I had to sum up this trip in one word, it would be drama. Almost nonstop drama, which is draining after more than 5 minutes. But outside of all the drama are some great people. People with big hearts and bigger souls, which make this whole experience a little easier.

5. Disturbed-so the 3rd day in London, Ned and I were wandering when we found the Astoria, a music venue...and who was playing but Disturbed. Needless to say we were giddy to get tickets for the second night, and it was AWESOME. The space, the heat, the energy, and the vibe were just totally on target. Hopefully the other shows I see will be as good.

4. Mulholland Drive-Jeff Heinzl and I went to see Mulholland Drive at the independent cinema in town...on the big screen, David Lynch films are at times terrifying and sublime and beautiful and gruesome...we were shaking after it was all over. And it was only 3 pounds for a ticket.

3. The Zoo-Meredith, Murdock, and I went to the zoo last weekend, and IT WAS AMAZING. We saw animals I've never seen before-Kangaroos, penguins from 2 feet away, and LOTS of fish and birds. And then there were the monkies. We could've touched them-no fence, no nothing, just a sign saying not to touch them. You'll see the pictures. I have to go back there was so much.

2. The arcade-Yes friends, there is a 3 story arcade in London. It has fighting games. It has shooter games. It has a bowling alley and a movie theatre. It's ridiculous. I love it.

1. Learning, growing, all that jazz-God has shown me how much more growing I have to do, and how much there is to learn about life and our planet while I've been here. It's hard to verbalize, and you might not be able to tell the difference when I get back, but it's there baby.
Anyway.

Pictures to come (I know that means "In a few years" at this point, but I still want to say it.)

God bless,
kmf 10/06

In London!

2006-10-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry to those of you waiting with baited breath for posts about the rest of Stratford and my time in London...it's been up and down, that much is for sure. I'll be doing some MAD posting/picture posting tonight after the performance of Moon for the Misbegotten with Kevin Spacey, which should be good. Sorry to keep you waiting, and I miss all of you more than you know.
kmf 10/06

Not now, but soon.

2006-10-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of things to write about, but sadly I'm tired and not particularly in the mood :-P
But I will tell you that I'll be in London on Saturday, and I'll post a lot of stuff then. Until then know that I am well and that I hope the same befalls you :-)
kmf 10/06

Some more pictures.

2006-10-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Here's another batch of pictures. More later. I hope you enjoy.

Jesus.

Titanic featuring Maryanne and Whitney.

Meredith with Harrison in a facial expression competition.

What a view. King's College Chapel.

Trippy 60's stained glass.

Something's wrong with this epitaph.

Stained glass.

I'm walking away. It's pretty emo.

Some folks doing Charlie's Angels at Hadrian's Wall.

Whitney and I at Hadrian's Wall.

Meg attempted to jump into my picture.

I LOVE these ladies. They're very awesome.

If you can guess the focus of this picture, you win a prize.

Meredith and I posed at the location of my presentation.

Sarah and Maryanne were coloring at Avebury.

This was our televised greeting in Bath.

Words. About Stratford.

2006-10-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Well I've been in Stratford for exactly one week. Here's a brief breakdown of what I've seen:
Lots of houses that maybe-sorta-kinda-almost-mightaswellhavebeen Shakespeare's house. It seems that some folks are fascinated even by the almost. Unfortunately we've done most of them, with the exception of Anne Hathaway's cottage (she was his wife), at the end of our long discussion and lecture days, so interest is usually not enough to sustain the group. Although seeing Charles I's copy of the 2nd folio was really sweet-that and the "elephant folio" that was as the name implies quite large.
Lectures. Lots of lectures. Dang we have a lot. BUT-they are some of the world's foremost experts on the plays, so it's totally cool. I'm contemplating studying in Stratford after I graduate, and to that end I'll be meeting one of the lecturers next week, which is very exciting to me. I don't know if scholarship is the direction my life's really taking, but I can't be here and ignore the possibility.
Voice class. A member of the RSC came and lectured on and led a voice workshop, a lot of which I've heard, but it never hurts to hear it again...that and I got to deliver some of Talbot's lines...heck yes.
Plays. We've seen 5 shows so far, not counting seeing Waiting for Godot in Oxford, which was quite awesome. Romeo and Juliet was a great production of a play I don't particularly care for, which was refreshing. The replacement of fighting with elaborate dance was a good choice, and the performers were on target. The version of The Tempest we saw with Patrick Stewart was both intriguing and highly frustrating. The director made a lot of choices that I took issue with, and it felt like I was watching an interesting essay about Prospero's relationship with Ariel, and not The Tempest. Still, Ariel's performance was a work of brilliance, both chilling and perfect for the world they created. The highlight for me was by far the productin of Cymbeline that we saw. It was a very loose adaptation of the script, but it didn't bother me like I thought it would, as the show was funny, high energy, clever, and ultimately honest. Allison and I went and saw it again out of adoration-and the music was quite good...I have a cd of it that I'll be bringing back. Then it was Julius Caesar, which was acted VERY well, but overall it didn't leave the impression I was expecting. The other highlight was to see Henry VI part i, directed by Michael Boyd, who directed an award winning production of the same plays in 2001. The staging was inventive and fresh, and the acting was compelling and appropriate-easily the most balanced of the shows that we saw. We're now halfway done with Stratford, and almost halfway through the trip...it's kind of harrowing to imagine that we're already halfway done. The whole thing is just speeding past me. Anyway, I'll post some pictures in a minute.
:-)
kmf 10/06

Pictures part 2

2006-09-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here's another batch of pictures. This one is me in Viking gear dancing with Sarah.

This is York Cathedral-more of the inside later.

This is Wood Henge, cousin of Stone Henge.

This is the Knowth burial ground where Wood Henge lives.

A window at Chester Cathedral-more windows later.

Dr. Aarnes is king of the Welsh castle.

Isn't it always?

An overexposed shot of me making a wish at the Giant's Causeway.

A giant Irish deer...creepy.
More pictures later. Hope these help.

A taste of things to come.

2006-09-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

So it looks like this is all I can upload at the moment...frustrating. Here are some wall murals from Belfast, Laura Ann, Murdock and Harrison engaging in mortal kombat, and Meredith and I being cute. In any event, I'll try again in the next few days. Sorry.

Pictures soon...I promise

2006-09-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

So I'm in Stratford Upon Avon now, ready to begin 2 weeks of intensive Shakespeare study...and it's been like 3 weeks since I put any pictures on the blog. In any event, I will be putting them up in the next few days-I just wanted to let you know that I've taken roughly 600 pictures since the start of the trip, and you'll get to see them VERY soon :-)
cheers,
kmf 09/06

Text update part 2

2006-09-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm in scenic downtown Bath now, at the end of our tour of the United Kingdom. It's been so calming and amazing to get away from everything (well, almost everything-the trip hasn't been without drama and tears, but what is?) and I feel like the new direction my life has taken has really been confirmed by this trip. Hopefully it will only get better :-) I will try to do pictures after this post, but I wanted to at least keep the text up to date.
Cambridge/Oxford: After York we visited the 2 great universities, and even though my presentation was at one of them, I wasn't as blown away as I had expected, but they were both really fun cities...I'm not going to lie, I've been having lots of fun in ways I never would have expected, but I guess these experiences are all about change.
Bath: Here we are at the last stop, Bath. This is a great city, and the Roman baths were neat to see. Although of more note is the Abbey...
Cathedrals: I've been to the following: Chester Cathedral, York Minster, Durham Cathedral, King's College Chapel, St. Giles, and Bath Abbey, and it's been spiritually calming and beautiful at the same time. What wasn't either of those things was the hilarious Viking "roller coaster" we rode in York...it was pretty bad, but there's a GREAT picture of me in viking gear for you to see, when I get it online. Also my kilt. That's right, I have a kilt. Don't you wish you had one? I did, until I bought it. Boom.
The last thing I wanted to say was that I've met some VERY awesome people...these are folks I would have never imagined meeting and knowing, and I thank God that I went on this trip to see the sites and create some truly strong friendships...not to mention growing and changing with the AMAZING friends already here :-)
I'll try to get pictures up soon-sorry about the lack of them.
I miss you all. You'll hear from me again in Stratford. Peace.
kmf 09/06

Still here

2006-09-18T14:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. I've got a lot to say about my adventures in Ireland and the move to the UK, but it's pretty hot in this room, so it'll have to wait for tomorrow. But the pictures won't upload, so I'll tell you a little more.
Belfast: It was really interesting to see a city torn apart by civil strife, with a tour given by an expert working with the University in Belfast. We got to look at the detailed and VERY complicated interplay between the loyalists and the republicans in Ireland. It was a big change from the rustic peace of the Republic of Ireland, but it was an amazing place.
Dublin: Dublin was also quite different...it was the largest city we've been to so far on the trip, and from a drunken teen rampage to all the museums, it was quite a place. Perhaps the highlight for me was getting to see the jail where revolutionary prisoners were held in the morning, only to see the movie The Wind that Shakes the Barley that night, which was filmed in the jail. After spending so much time discussing Ireland's fight for independence, it was really moving to see a movie about the movement at the heart of Ireland. However, that was the end of our stay in Ireland, and by 7 am we were on a boat to Great Britain. Wales lasted maybe 3 hours for us, before we went on to Chester, which is probably my favorite stop so far. Free internet, a GORGEOUS cathedral, and peace and quiet were all welcome-that and a triple with Murdock, Ned, and myself, which needless to say was hilarious.
Edinburgh: Ah, Edinburgh. What an awesome city. Seeing a music service at St. Giles cathedral, seeing Scotland's crown jewels, drinking a little too much, exploring the town, and seeing another movie (this time it was Terry Gilliam's Tideland, which wasn't as good...it was disturbing), it was just an awesome place. I stayed busy and rocked out. Now we've moved on to the city of York, and from there it's time for Cambridge, where I get to present about Trinity College. I'll try to get pictures up soon. Talk to you soon.

On the Tour, part 1

2006-09-11T11:28:00.000-07:00

Crosses-heck yeah.

Murdock is emo. Sarah is mocking him.

Isaac and I are too tall.

The group at the Aran Islands

That's a long way down.

Yeah, that should be me.

Hayley and Elizabeth on the ferry.

Ned and Harrison are breaking the law.

The first view.

These are the first rocks I've seen in Ireland. You'll see more. LOTS more.

Alright, now I have stable internet access, so I'll go over the first few days of the trip.

The plane trip: so I was clearly unprepared for how stressed I would be on the plane. 8 1/2 hours of no sleep and uneasiness was clearly rough to deal with, but we made it. God be praised.

Seamus McCarthy: We got on the bus as soon as we landed and met our bus driver Seamus. Besides winking at the ladies and cursing at odd times, he's basically the coolest (and most brutal) bus driver I've ever had. On the subject of brutality-every driver in Ireland is brutal-just brutal. They're fast and don't seem to mind if you die, but that's ok.

Galway, aka Asheville: Galway was the first city, and it was VERY much like downtown Verona, or Asheville. We had a good time exploring the city at night, and the sites during the day. We saw the Aran Islands on the second day of the trip, and it was just so serene and beautiful-that's when it hit me that I was really in Ireland. The next day we visited an Irish monastery and I took a little under 100 pictures of the high crosses there. It was pretty overwhelming to me, since I've admired Irish crosses for so long and never seen them-wow, in a word. To those of you who enjoy Yeats and Lady Gregory, we saw the home and grave of Yeats and the home of Lady Gregory, both of which were quite nice. However, Yeats wrote some mundane and hilarious stuff (my wife has painted the ceiling...I smell dinner). The next day I managed to get a rosary made of Connemara marble from the Abbey there, basically completing my Irish quest for crosses. A lot of the specific sites are a blur, but hopefully the pictures explain themselves. We're in Belfast right now, which is fascinating, but I'm excited to move on to Dublin and then Britain. I hope all is well with classes starting, and I'll try to post again/call soon.

I'm here.

2006-09-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I am here. However, consistent internet access seems impossible to find, and as it's 1 euro for 8 minutes, I find myself unable to post until rates improve. Don't worry though-you'll here from me soon.

kmf 09/06

Now you can show the love

2006-08-31T13:18:00.000-07:00

Interested in reading about my adventures in Europe, but not interested in checking my blog everyday (although I can't see why you wouldn't be...)? Well, I have the answer. You can now subscribe to get blog updates via email using the Feedblitz signup to the left of this text. I warn you, Furman students will need to check their spam filters since my blog posts will be considered spam. That's tragic. Also if you have facebook you can see my updated posts, although that's not as cool.

I leave RSN. Rock on.

Alabama is not Europe. But it was still fun.

2006-08-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

This was the theatre where I saw Snakes on a Plane. It was transcendental.

I was in B=Ham this weekend to see some of my graduated friends. They rock, and I love them bunches. Not only did we go to the Zoo and watch Snakes on a Plane, but we took lots of pictures. Actually, Chess and Murdock took lots of pictures. Here are a few of Chess's pictures.

It's true. Murdock does in fact bite.

Notice the world's largest pigeon in the background, aka "Pigeon of the Apocalypse". Ian doesn't seem to mind.

Allison needed only her charm to attract the birds...

But I needed nectar...it was heavy metal...

But I eventually ran out.

Ian's puppy Maggie was cute...

Too cute.

Here it is.

2006-08-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

So I'm not in Europe yet, but this will be where I post all of my wonderful stories and pictures. Also, some not as wonderful stories and pictures. I hope you enjoy :-)
kmf 08/06