The Art of Tipping

To Tip or Not to Tip?

Tipping is not expected in the UK, as in the States, but it is, of course, much appreciated.

Tip are normally not added to a restaurant bill, but some have begun the practice, especially when you are in a large group of 6 or more. Look carefully. If it is not added, the amount most people leave for good serivce is 10% of the total cost.

If you are in a pub, and you ordering "rounds," it's not uncommon to include any performers on stage by shouting, "get them in." More common is to include the bartender by saying "and one for yourself" after you have finished your order. You are actually inviting them to have a drink on you, but in most cases, they will thank you and take a discretionary amount - anything from 20 pence to 2 pounds, depending on the size of the order. You're not expected to do this every time.

To be honest, I never personally tipped in pubs this way. This routine is for a real pro! Our group, however, did leave nice tips at the end of an evening on several occasions.

A good first impression, even in a bar, is important. And if you want to be welcomed back, get good service, even make a few short term friends, it's best not to treat people like strangers you'll never see again.

It is not necessary to tip cab drivers, but their expenses are high and many do work long and lonely hours. I actually tipped drivers very well. My cab drivers in Scotland were exceptional, and I really appreciated them, especially.

To compensate for any nasty thought that I was just another rich American brat on holiday, I always made it a point to say how much I enjoyed their service and acknowledged their friendly helpfulness.

A Snow Day!

Monday (Day 29): Let it Snow!

Heaviest Snow Recorded in 20 Years.
Class cancelled. Public transit suspended.

My three roommates and I woke up surprised to receive e-mails cancelling class for the morning! After we had gone to bed abandoning the Super Bowl at halftime, it had snowed four to six inches. Back home, such a snowfall might lead to a two hour delay, but in England, this is the most snow they’ve gotten in the past twenty years!Because snow is such a rare occurrence and because many of the roads are so narrow, many go unattended. Tube lines were either closed down or delayed, AND my internship interview with the Camden People’s Theater scheduled for today was cancelled. Despite these set backs, Tuche and I trudged to Piccadilly hoping that at least movie theaters and West End shows were still open. We were so excited to see Che Part 1, but no such luck!At least the Pizza Express across the street remained open, allowing us to go back to South Ken feeling like we’d done something fun! Regardless, it was a great day without classes that gave us a beautiful view of the city in the snow!

Back From France!

The Fearsome Foursomes!

Saturday (Day 27): The City of Paris in One Day

We woke up bright and early the next morning to start our whirlwind tour of Paris, trying to see everything in the span of one day. We started off by taking the tube to the Louvre, an AP art history student’s paradise. As with Versailles, I had been to the Louvre before, but before I had the chance to take AP Art History, making this trip even more special.

The minute we walked into the main lobby, my mind started reeling, thinking of all the essays I wrote about the works of art housed in that very museum. Before I knew it, I was again face to face with one of my favorite sculptures: the winged victory statue from the Hellenistic period of Grecian art. Since there was no translated English description for this statue, I was happy to share my knowledge with my friends, describing how the statue used to be a fountain, creating the first documented piece of dramatic art, involving all the senses to evoke emotion. I can’t exactly say why it’s one of my favorite pieces, but I think it’s absolutely beautiful.

We moved through a gallery of religious paintings and icons before reaching one of the most famous pieces of art in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa. In my opinion, the painting is rather anticlimactic, much smaller than many imagine. It is almost as if her iconic smile is one of taunting, watching the faces of semi-disappointed museum patrons as they realize her portrait isn’t as glamorous as they had expected. Regardless, it’s an incredible feeling to stand so close to such an important part of Art History; perhaps it is true that great things come in small packages.

After seeing the Mona Lisa, our team split up into smaller groups and Tuche, John and I worked our way through the rest of the paintings on the first floor, seeing Art History favorites - Medusa’s Raft and The Coronation of Napoleon. We spent about an hour and a half navigating the rooms of the rest of the museum: Greece and Roman art, Egyptian artifacts, French, German and Flemish paintings, before joining the rest of the group back at the Starbuck’s in the lobby to take some exterior shots of the Louvre and continue our tour of Paris.

Our next stop was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. I was especially looking forward to this, since the first time I had been in that cathedral, I was traveling with Chester County Voices Abroad. It was my first tour with the choir, and an incredible experience that I won’t soon forget. Because we were focused on the performance, however, we weren’t able to spend much time touring the church. We sang right here!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a beautiful clear day outside, and we were able to get some amazing pictures of the group before going inside, where we walked around looking at the amazing architecture and stained glass. After making our way around the entire building, and stopping in front of the altar, remembering my concert experience there and the friendships made on the CCVA tour, the group decided to climb up to the top of the church.

Despite the fact that my legs were still killing me from the day before walking around Versailles, I made it up the near 345 steps to the top, with the occasional stop to look out the windows carved into the stone, exclaiming “look it’s pretty!” as an excuse for a momentary break.

Just when I was thinking that we had tried to cram a little too much into our weekend, we reached the top, and a breathtaking view of the city: definitely worth it. From there, we found the door leading to the belfry, to see the famous bells of Notre Dame, where the memories of watching the musical Notre Dame de Paris with my French class at NDA were fresh in my mind. Our hike back from the top reminded us just how hungry we were, so we stopped at a café near the church where I ate two of the most important French vocabulary words ever learned.

Ajay and I started off by "sharing" a Croque Monsieur, a delicious grilled ham and cheese sandwich followed by Nutella, banana, and Chantilly cream crêpes. I thought I had died and gone to heaven (which would have been appropriate considering we had a great view of Notre Dame from the café).

Even though we felt as if we would never walk again after our meal, we took a walk down the Seine before getting back on the metro to reach the Champs-Elysées. After walking the length of the street, and stopping in a shop or two, we took what seemed like many, many pictures with the Arc de Triumph. The guys attempted their own “human arch.” Tuche, always ready to be launched into the air for almost any reason, assumed his usual position. It was a valiant effort. Sorry to say the guys never really got it ... well, constructed completely.

Our next stop of the evening was the Eiffel Tower, and we got there just in time to see it sparkle for the first time of the night. At that moment, watching the tower sparkle, as if by magic, it finally hit me that a group of college freshmen were actually able to plan a weekend trip to Paris by themselves and not get hopelessly lost. It was something I never would have imagined doing until studying with the Global Citizens Program. It’s a great feeling.

Since Abby and I had both already been up the Eifel Tower, and didn’t feel like spending the extra money to do it again, we went to the Gallerie Lafyette to do some last minute shopping. For me, that meant picking up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in French. Last year, during my trip to Germany, I decided that it would be a cool idea to have a multilingual Harry Potter collection from the countries I visit in the order I visit them. Not only are the languages different, but so is the cover art, giving the collection even more character. Since France was my first trip out of the country, I had to go back and get the first Harry Potter book in French! After making our purchases, Abby and I went back to our hotel to wait for the Eiffel Tower group to return for a game of charades before going to bed.

Friday (Day 26): Returning to “La Ville-Lumière”

After a Thursday night with very little sleep, “the team” and I left London at 4:15 to catch our 5:30 AM train to Paris, our first cross-country excursion since being here. Three sleep-filled hours later, we were standing in Paris, ready to start our day!

After purchasing our weekend Metro passes, we found our hotel to drop off our bags before journeying to Versailles. It was surreal walking up to that Palace when I had already been there three years before; I could hardly believe I was getting to travel some place so beautiful and awe-inspiring for the second time. Since Krista, Abby and I had already done the tour of the inside of the palace, we opted to only buy a ticket for Marie Antoinette’s Estate and walk around the gardens while we waited for the rest of the group to finish their first tour.

The grounds of Versailles looked so different in the winter season than they did when I had been there in the summer months. Now fountains were empty, statues were covered, and there were no lush flowers planted as far as the eye could see. Somehow though, I didn’t seem to mind too much. It was still gorgeous even with the lack of color, the sparseness even highlighting its grandeur. After walking around for a while, we met up with the rest of our group who were just as impressed with the interior of the palace as I remember being when I was first there.

We attempted to take pictures of us jumping off the garden steps and after finally getting a couple of good shots, we took the long walk through the seemingly endless rows of trees over to Marie Antoinette’s Estate, a part of the grounds I wasn’t able to visit during my last trip. This smaller palace was just as incredible, and the girls were all thrilled to notice its pink exterior! After walking through the building and marveling at its decorations, we had dinner and went back to our hotel completely exhausted and ready for our day two of tourism in overdrive!

Dispatching the Post

How to Do Mail for London

Our mail doesn't come directly to Manson Place, but is handled at the EUSA administraion building. It's great since our classes are there, so we can check for mail before or after. If a package comes, and we do all love to receive packages, we get email notification from the EUSA staff. I've already received a couple! THANKS Mom and Dad.

International shipping does require some extra paperwork, and Mom and Dad have found out the hard way that the United States Postal Service is both the cheapest and the fastest. That's not to say that shipping is cheap. Regular shipping from the Villanova area takes about six to ten days.

The post offices in England are privately owned. I guess they are operated a little like UPS stores in the States, just not quite as fancy. Unfortunately, the husband and wife who run the South Kensignton Post Office weren't too helpful when I was there last.

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Trains, Buses and Cabs, Oh My!

The tube, while absolutely excellent, gets very crowded during rush hours. A tip to the wise - most people don't make the effort to walk to the ends of the station platform, therefore the cars at the front and rear of any train are the least crowded. Do yourself a favor!

There are seats designated for the elderly and handicapped, but none for passengers with baggage. Because people are coming in from airports at all hours, people with suitcases can have an especially difficult time. I have been surprised that many riders offer to help. Some will even give up their seats for those less capable of standing. Show a little class!

The tube does shut down at 12:30 am. When we're out late, a play at the West End (my preference) or a pub, club or bar, alternate transportation must be found. The Oyster Card works on buses, but stops are sometimes hard to find and service is less frequent than the tube. If you're in a large group so that searching for the most convenient stop is a little less of a task and a lot more fun, buses are a good option.

Otherwise, cabs are not too difficult to find, especially near hotels and popular night spots. Cash is required and they're not cheap. Cabs in London are large however, so the tab can be split among three, four, maybe more. Don't spend all of your cash at the bar. Pitch in your share!