Top o’the mornin’ to ya! I’m writing this, my entry after
I’m ‘home’, from a railway car speeding Mollie and I between York and Glasgow!
I can say with complete conviction that my multimedia classes have dramatically
improved my technological skills. I’d never before even have thought about using a computer while
traveling, let alone on vacation. I’m so glad Dr. Everhart convinced us all to
bring our own laptops. It’s like anything else: practice, practice, practice. Now
it’s become like a close friend, almost like how one feels about one’s phone
these days.
I never thought I’d say I missed our itty bitty teensy weensy
flats on Great Russell St., but I have to say that packing and unpacking in a
new hotel every other day is getting to be a wee bit old. (I ALMOST miss having
a laundry.) That said, I ADORED the Hotel Citizen M Bankside, even without a
bathtub. It was tiny but ultra modern, with lots of little quirky touches: art
books on display everywhere, primary color furnishings, and quotes on the walls.
The ‘rooms’ are apparently fabricated in Sweden (I think) and shipped complete.
The ‘bathroom’ is a semicircular enclosure IN the room, with ‘mood’ lighting
for the shower (kind of a hushed fuchsia), and an option to switch between a
regular hand held shower head, or an overhead rain shower. It was AWESOME! We
ate at a Greek place right on the Thames at dusk on our first day, and were in
heaven. Next day, we literally stumbled upon the site of the original Globe; I
was over the moon. That night we saw War
Horse, an excellent ending to our stay in London.
We cleverly took a tour trip that stopped at Salisbury and
Stonehenge before getting to Bath, where we simply took our luggage off the bus,
walked across the street and checked in to our hotel there. Bath is enchanting.
My only regret is that we were going to ‘take the waters’ (as they say) but my
semi-permanent red hair would have bled into the ancient springs and I didn’t
want to despoil them that way. (Thanks a lot, you guys!) However, I WAS able to
take a bath in Bath; I had a good soak and pampered my poor feet. AND we had
dinner at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant there on our last evening, which was
inspired.
Then on to York, where I collapsed! The timing was perfect;
I was wiped out from the prior four days, and needed to finish my photo story,
so I sat outside by Clifford’s Tower and alternately worked and watched. We had
a fabulous French dinner at Rustique – c’etait formidable!
The ride north is lovely; we lucked out and got seats on
either side of one of those big tables! Gorgeous scenery: wind power machines,
farms, forests, cities and just now even a glimpse of the sea to the east! The
porter told us to sit on this side for the best view.
We arrive Glasgow in
about two hours, get situated, then have a quick tour and dinner. The next two
weeks include Scotland: a cruise on Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, Nairn, Culloden,
and Edinburgh, Edinburgh, including
the Tattoo and the Fringe. Then in Ireland we’ll be goin’ ta Belfast, Dublin,
Blarney Castle and the Stone of Eloquence, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, Cliffs
of Moher, Bunratty Castle, Galway, and any other trouble we can find.
This cohort has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m
glad I’ve enjoyed meself, despite working me wee self ta death. For a strictly
online DL grad student, the opportunity to work with fellow students in person,
while taking in London, is especially meaningful. This will likely be the last
chance I have to interact with other grad students before I earn my degree. I
appreciate the diversity of people who accompanied us on our journey, and
suspect that many of us will be maintaining our long distance friendships via
our blogs and other social media, now that we’ve all become so acclimated to
using them. At the very least I can say that I have no qualms today about
experimenting with new technologies, because of the work I’ve done in these
classes. I will always remember this summer semester with FSU.
