THE BUS IS MOVING!!!

Saturday, 19 April 2008

Much has happened since I last wrote. I’ve hardly had a minute to think, let alone update this blog. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I traveled to Hatfield (about 20 minutes north of central London) to visit the University of Hertfordshire and met with many people about a student exchange program with Bemidji State. It was fascinating; among other things, I learned there are three different kinds of universities in the UK now – the old (such as Oxford), the traditional (I know of no examples) and the new, exemplified by Hertfordshire. The government is pouring money into these new universities, and it shows. Hertfordshire has very high quality facilities with technology that far surpasses any institution I’ve visited in the U.S. However, as one of my hosts admitted, it’s in the midst of a “cultural desert.” It’s located on the site of an old military airfield, at which portions of Saving Private Ryan were filmed. But it definitely doesn’t have the charm of Oxford.

Pictured are Ian Mitchell and Christina Fairhead. The other photo is of Michael Rosier, all of whom took me to dinner at a delightful country pub called the Crooked Chimney. (Yes, it actually does have a crooked chimney.) They and all the faculty and staff I met were so kind and helpful; and the students seem extremely diverse and engaged. Great Britain has become quite a melting pot these days.

What impressed me as much as the campus was, once again, the public transport. For £9.50 (less than $20), I had round-trip coach service. I caught my ride about six blocks from Wycliffe Hall, rode the 2-1/2 hour journey in complete comfort on scenic country roads and was dropped off in the middle of the Hertfordshire campus. The coach was clean, equipped with a toilet; it was absolutely punctual, the driver was pleasant and insisted on seat belts for everyone. How that would change our lives if we had service such as this! Ian mentioned that he, his wife and three children recently traveled to Barcelona because the children were all performing in a concert in a cathedral there. They walked two blocks from their home in a small town halfway between Oxford and Hertfordshire, boarded a coach, which took them to London, where they caught the EuroStar, which took them through the Chunnel all the way to Paris, where they changed trains to go to Barcelona. Sounds good to me.

Thursday morning, we all left for Paris. We took a coach to Dover, where we boarded a ferry (see photo). It was a long day – 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. We would have arrived earlier, but our temporary coach driver got lost once we arrived in Paris. He drove aimlessly around for close to two hours looking for our hotel. Tempers were getting short by the time we finally pulled up to the Mercure Montmartre. But a 9 p.m. French dinner helped a lot. Then the French buffet breakfast put broad smiles on everyone’s faces: bacon, eggs, sausages, French yogurt and cheeses, breads, rolls, juices, etc., etc. Several students said they would like to just stop here! But I think they will be saying that about almost everywhere we go.

Yesterday we took our bus tour of Paris with a VERY French, very sweet tour guide named Veronique. We ended at the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral. John Sobieck and a few others accompanied me to the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore across the street to look for new books to read along the way; I chose The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I just finished The Other Boleyn Girl, which I had to read for my book club. Everyone loved the tiny, cramped store, which had been the hangout of the American expatriots in the 20s, such as Hemingway. We then ate gyros sandwiches on pita bread at one of the many little shops in the Latin Quarter. After that, everyone dispersed to seek their pleasure, whether it was a museum, shops or just walking around and enjoying the sights.

At 6 p.m. we all met at the Louvre because admission is free for students at that time. Even for non-students, admission is only 6 euros, or about $9. That’s beginning to sound like a real bargain about now. The sticker shock is mind-numbing after awhile. Some students went to a McDonald’s, thinking it would be cheaper, but it ended up being even more expensive. Pat Donnay, our other trip leader, and I are going out to dinner tonight with the trip leaders from the Moorhead group. We’ll see how much a bit more upscale dinner costs us. Last night’s “medium” dinner (about what we might get at Tutto Bene in Bemidji) ended up costing us about $40 each. In general, most things cost about twice what they would in the States right now. It certainly makes one think twice about what one spends money on.

Today, I think I’ll visit the Pompideau Center, which houses modern art. I hear reports of it being atrocious, but I want to see for myself. I’ll give a report. I know the building itself was much criticized when it was built. (See photo)

We’re hoping for better weather. We have yet to see the sun, and it poured last night. If we don’t get a clear day by the time we arrive in Lucerne, we probably won’t take the cable car up to the top of Mt. Pilatus, which would be a pity. We’ll see.