Anu Timple Travel Journal

(London 1)

The first day of the trip consisted of driving to Down House to see where Charles Darwin had lived. We had gone to the George and Dragon Inn where we stopped for lunch that I enjoyed as it was the first time I had a chicken and leek shepherd’s pie and finally got to try leek for the first time. We then looked at the cemetery where some of the Darwins were buried and then drove to Charles Darwins house where you could tell by the spacious landscape how important nature was for him. I liked the drive as it really displayed the landscape of smaller suburbs in London and gave a little bit of an idea of how it would feel to live there. After the tour, we then drove to the heart of London where I got to finally see famous buildings in person like the parliament building and Big Ben (kinda). Finally later that night, I left and found an Indian restaurant with Indian food that you will not find anywhere in America that was also very good and quite inexpensive.

(London 2)

For this day we first stopped at the British Museum that I enjoyed a lot as a lot of the artifacts were quite beautiful like the statues from Greece and the Museum itself was gorgeous as well. It was very interesting to see the Rosetta stone in person and real sarcophagi from Egypt as well. Later, I spent the day wandering around London just to admire the layout of the city more by also taking time to eat in a cafe and to go around and see the bridges and Trafalgar square. I additionally went to the National Museum and got to see a lot of beautiful paintings that night. Later that night I joined a group of people to eat at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, which I was quite excited about because I have watched a lot of shows by Ramsay and really wanted to try dishes that he had created and was not disappointed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(London 3)

For this day, I woke up and went to look at the bridges further down from our hotel and saw the London Bridge and then went on a tour of the really impressive Tower Bridge. I also got to go on a tour to see how the draw bridge of it actually works and got to walk along the top of it. I also got to ride a double decker bus which was more fun than I expected it to be. I then met up with some friends in Europe where we went exploring and found a bar where you had to enter through a bookshelf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(London 4)

This day we had gone to Westminister Abbey which I was really happy about because I got to see where Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawkings were burried, two scientists who I admire greatly. I also like seeing the other famous people buried there from various writers to political figures. I additionally thought that much of the stonework and stained glass was beautiful to look at as well. Then we went to the London Eye and even though it was raining, I still thought it was a really nice view. After the group dinner we went to the Royal Society, which I thought the ancient books they showed were fascinating because of how long they have survived.  In the afternoon, I tried to find a shop to buy some tea but then ended up lost and walked around and went to a lot of little stores. I then later joined for the group dinner at a different Indian restaurant and later spent the night roaming again where I went to Trafalgar square at night and wandered into places like Chinatown. 

(London 5/Paris 1)

This day we went to the train station to go to Paris which made me a little sad because I didn’t want to leave London quite yet. Paris was completely different compared to England in layout and architecture and was actually nothing like I thought it would look or feel. Touring Notre Dame was incredible as just the sheer size of it combined with its stonework and stainglass was more beautiful than the pictures of it that I had seen online. Later that night I joined a group of people and we walked everywhere for sight seeing with first the Sacre Coeur then to the Arts district where we ate in a shop with a very talented piano player who sadly didn’t get tipped and then to the top of the Arc de Triumph for another pretty view of the city at night. We also saw the Eiffel tower at night and finally the Flame of Liberty.

(Paris 2)

This day we visited mainly museums where we first went to the Musée de Paleontology. My favorite part of the museum was seeing the whale skeletons which reminded me how massive they could be and impressed that creatures that size still exist. I later went to the zoo and saw animals that would not be thought of in America . Then I ate lunch at the Grand Mosque de Paris where I had the best tea in my life. Later I just explored the other various museums and also found some Banksy graffiti. That night I went to the group dinner in Au Pére Louis where I got to try stereotypical French food like snails.

(Paris 3)

Then on this day we went to the Eiffel tower and got to see a really nice view of the city. Then we went to see the Museé de l’Homme which I didn’t find that interesting due to the lack of actual artifacts there. Later we went to the Pasteur Institute where my favorite part was seeing Pasteur’s tomb. I also did think that the Musée des Arts et Metiers would have been more interesting if we were allowed to explore it by ourselves as there were a lot of interesting artifacts in there that the tour guide spent little to no time on. I also tried to go shopping later that night but didn’t have much luck as I didn’t realize how early stores closed in Paris. I did manage to go to eat at an outside patio places and then wandered around looking at the architecture for the remainder of the night.

(Paris 4)

On this free day I went to the Pantheon which I really like because of its interior and the fact that many famous people who lived in France were buried there. Next I went to the gardens nearby our hotel to explore a little. I later finally made it to the Lourve and got to see paintings and sculptures that I have read about and marveled at for such a long time. The rest of the night I did a lot of shopping that night from going into book stores to finding pastry shops and buying macrons.

 

 

 

 

Travel Day 1

Travel day. I started off packing. Yes I was a late packer. When I went to China I had to carry around a 50lb bag and there were clothes I never wore. I vowed after that day that that would not happen again. The second reason was that my mom had only given me her suitcase the night before so packing late was my only option.  I decided to pack really light and buy clothes if I had to. My reasoning? When would be the next time I would be able to buy clothes from Europe. (Hopefully soon, but I never know).

 It turned out we traveled on international woman’s day so I had to take the obligatory selfie.

 

 On the plane to London, there was the archaic looking remote/phone complete with a land line cable in the  headset jack I feel like I had stepped a decade in the past

 

For the dinner/lunch meal, I had the curry chicken. It was surprisingly good. I had airplane food before and it rarely disappointed. It was definitely much better than the campus food I’ve had.

 

I exchanged $100 each for pounds and euros  (at the time I thought it would be enough. Boy was I mistaken.) it was my first time holding European money  so I was fairly excited to see the differences.

 As we landed into London, I was listening to the lovely music of Andrea Bocelli, it was such a euphoric feeling that I was nearly brought to tears.

 

>>see my happy face

Saturday, March 16th

The last day in Paris was our free day, so I tried to take full advantage of the day. We started the day bright and early. We made our way to Versailles. It was extremely beautiful. It was so extravagant. I could not imagine actually using that palace as a home. It was nice to explore and walk around. We did not explore the gardens just because of their sheer size. After taking our time walking around, we headed back to Paris. I split off from the group, and decided to enjoy some art museums by myself. I went to both Museé D’Orsay and Museé de l’Orangerie. My favorite was experiencing the Monet masterpieces. I ended walking all the way back to the le Louvre because everything was blocked off from the protests. It was eerie walking around with no cars driving and the noises of police sirens zooming past me. In the hindsight to limit the eerie feeling, I should have charged my phone just so I could stay up-to-date with everything. I worked my way back to the hotel, and I then took this time to do some souvenir shopping near the hotel. I found when I was by myself people spoke to me more in French. I ended up shopping and making my way towards the Pantheon which was absolutely stunning. I made my way back to the hotel, and caught up with Caroline. I tagged along with Caroline, and went to a fromage and chocolat store. I really enjoyed walking around, and exploring more of Paris that I had not seen. We got dinner at a cafe and sat outside like true Parisians. We went back to the chocolat store and purchased some pastries for dessert. After walking to the hotel, we found the Banksy graffiti around the corner of the hotel. Jenna and I decided we did not yet want to end the night, so we grabbed a bottle of wine and our treats to share in a court yard near the hotel. It was a great way to end a beautiful trip. This trip has affected the way I perceive other cultures and ideas. I can’t wait to hopefully travel other places and go back to experience more of England and France.

Friday, March 15th

The next day had a bunch of fun things to do in Paris as a group  . Before we left, I had a wonderful buttery croissant and coffee. I also packed a croissant sandwich for a snack later on. First thing in the morning, we went to see La Tour de Eiffel. I was disappointed to hear we could not climb to the top due to the wind. It was still beautiful to take in the sights of Paris from a different view, and experience the tower in the day time. After spending some time at the Eiffel Tour, we ventured on to the Museé de L’Homme. I really enjoyed this museum. It was interactive yet informative even though most information was in French. After this museum, I went to a local bakery to enjoy some coffee and pastries. It is nice to know that coffees and pastries are similar in France, England, and the US. I can still manage to order things I would like! It was fun to sit outside and feel French for a second. As a class, we traveled over to the Pasteurs museum. I found it very interesting to see all of Pasteurs experiment equipment. I liked learning more about the s-shaped flask and how he actually did those experiments. Obviously, this has directly affected how we live day-to-day with the discovery of microbes. It is great that they have managed to save and preserve so much of this history. We then went to another guided tour at Museé de Arts et Métiers. It was great to hear what the guide had to say about the museum, but I did wish we had more time to explore. We then made our way back to the hotel. We stopped and ate a yummy meal with gelato and wine as dessert.

 

The Story of Louis Pasteur

I greatly enjoyed this film, much more than the Creation film. It was really eye opening to learn that doctors, nurses, and midwives at the time did not agree with the idea of washing their hands before surgery or childbirth. Sterilization of the medical equipment was a foreign subject as well. To me, a young adult living in the 21st century, this is a barbaric thought. People are so germ conscious that a lot of people carry around sanitizer and wear face masks when sick.

I feel that the modern world owes a great deal to Pasteur and I am glad that his ideas were accepted and utilized over time. It is amazing to think that if he had continued with just a philosophy degree or even as a painter, we might not have many of the advancements we have now.

 

It makes me wonder what ideas are novel and facing a lot of scrutiny in the present time that would be paradigm shifts that end up changing the course of life as we know it.

Creation Movie

Darwin’s ideas of natural selection and evolution seem like common sense and widely know in the modern times. Even pigeon farmers understood the concept…if they bred a strong wing flapper with another strong wing flapper, then there would be a pretty good chance that the offspring would have the desired trait. At this point in history, flora farmers of produce even understood this concept; in order to keep plants with high yields or good flavor, it would beneficial to plant seeds from that plant.  This concept was understood, even if it wasn’t explained properly prior to Darwin.

When using this same thought to explain the progress of man, there were a lot of issues that sprang up. Questions like: “was this going against God?”, “what impact will it have on Charles Darwin’s soul” etc. were one of the main points of the film. Charles’ religious beliefs differed from his wife’s and her struggle with his work was one of the main issues of the film. This religious struggle combined with the loss of his first born daughter, and hydrotherapy for his illness were the main conflicts of the film.

I can sympathize with the loss of a loved one impacting daily life, however I thought it was a bit tedious how his daughter’s ghost was a focal point of the film.

Wednesday, March 13th

We spent the better half of the day traveling to France on the underwater train and this calm was needed because I think some sickness was starting to set in. As soon as we got to Paris we set our belongings in the hotel and walked to Notre Dame. My family was so jealous to see these pictures and see that I had this experience without them because this is something that they all have wanted to do for so long. After walking through the church I went with a group of people to the Bastille and then the Shakespeare bookstore. I loved walking around Paris, it looks like no place that I had ever been to before. The buildings were so unique and antique looking definitely not something that I would find in Ohio. We finished the night with a French group dinner and although it took a whopping three hours it was so delicious and gave me time to talk to and get to know some of my peers on the trip that I hadn’t talked to before. 

Dr. Conklin

In the speaker Alice Conklin, we learned more about Paris and the topic of “scientific racism”. Specifically how in the past, people tried to collect human remains from around the world and measure the size of the skulls to look into racial science. I am interested in learning more about this topic when we are abroad.

 

Emily Bopp’s Commentary on Dr. Alice Conklin

I appreciated that Dr. Alice Conklin came and spoke on this subject matter.  This presentation made me excited to visit the Museum of Man.  Additionally, the museum is stunning from the outside.  I had not previously known that France did not look at race the same way that we do, that it is not a part of their normal dialogue.  I think this can play out in both positive and negative ways and will likely spend some time reflecting on the impacts that might have.  Furthermore, I think it is fascinating how that plays out in present day current events in both France and US.  This is definitely a relevant issue today, particularly with immigration in Europe.  I am excited to be there during the current climate.  Also, I found it interesting that this museum was established in the 1930s.  When you think back on history, that was a both dense and intense part of history with many things going on culturally and politically around the world.  It is neat to reflect on things that were valued at particular times in history.  Due to the complexity of the topic of mankind, this museum will likely always remain relevant and interesting.  And finally, she brought forth an important question regarding letting go of a flawed hypothesis.  This is a critical part of science and the history of science that has been faced many times.

Claire Lavoie | Alice Conklin

In France there was no legal segregation based on race (besides a little bit during WWII) but they consider themselves a society that doesn’t pay attention to race – i.e they don’t collect that information from people.

Native American and African objects (Ethnographic objects) are now being promoted as art objects.

This museum has one of the most spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower.

The Musee de L’Homme is like a parent/mother to the Museum of Natural History.  When it was first made, the pieces were arranged in a more artsy manner instead of being organized.  Now it’s far more organized, labeled well, and a more scientific and modern organization.

The modernist movement began in Paris with Picasso’s paintings, inspired by African masks.

Surprisingly, there’s a whole physical anthropology section, including a “race gallery” with skulls of people of particular races.

It’s really interesting how important the arrangement of a display is.  Like the one with the brass models.  You can sell a particular message just by the placement of objects.

It’s funny that people continue to try to use pseudo science to defend their person (racist) beliefs.

As a scientist, why is it hard to let go of flawed hypotheses?