Bloomsday

Statue of James Joyce in Dublin

This past Sunday - June 16^th was Bloomsday in Ireland which is a celebration of the writer James Joyce and his epic novel Ulysses. The day receives its name from Leopold Bloom the main character of Joyce’s book in which all of the events take place in Dublin on June 16, 1904.  Joyce and his famous novel are so beloved by the people of Ireland that his devotes created the celebration to honor the writer with pub crawls, marathon readings of the book, bike rides through Dublin following the specific paths of characters, and re-enactments from the book complete with period costumes. The first Bloomsday celebration in Dublin was held in 1954 – the 50^th anniversary of the events of the novel.

Here are a few facts regarding Joyce’s masterpiece:

• The novel Ulysses Is about 265,000 words in length
• The entire novel takes place in one day - June 16^th 1904
• Ulysses is a parallel to Homer’s poem Odyssey
• Parts of Ulysses were written in the stream of consciousness style
• The book is divided into 18 episodes
• Joyce wrote the novel from 1914 to 1921
• It was banned in several countries including the US for years over obscenity rulings 

I was in Dublin in 2004 for the 100^th anniversary of Ulysses and visited the Dublin Library and their phenomenal exhibit on Joyce and the book. Though I had to abandon reading the novel for Spark Notes is was an amazing experience to see his original notes and how he plotted the book. Ulysses is truly an amazing piece of work, and I had a wonderful day in Dublin celebrating Bloomsday. Here are some of my pictures.

Celebrating in period costumes at the James Joyce Centre.

Biking around Dublin

A grand parade through Dublin - what an entrance! 

The Trooping of the Colour

This Saturday June 15^th, 2013 is the annual Trooping of the Colour in London. I bet you are wondering what exactly this Trooping thing is.  Well, every year on a Saturday in June London celebrates the official birthday of the Sovereign. Although the actual birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is April 21^st - a day in the summer has been set aside to celebrate the Monarch’s birthday in the hopes of better weather. Also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade the Trooping is a fabulous passing of marching troops and military bands in all of their glory. This is a military ceremony dating back to the 18^th century where the colours (flags) were carried (trooped) so that a particular division could be recognized.

The public can stand along the Mall to watch the procession of troops while the majority of marching and performances take place inside Horse Guards Parade in a grand stand area.

Click here for a lovely example of the Grenadiers Quick March on Horse Guards Parade during the Trooping of the Colour.

Interesting facts:

• Since Edward VII the Sovereign has taken the salute in person
• Queen Elizabeth II has attended every trooping except for 1955 when a rail strike cancelled the event
• Queen Elizabeth II rode a mounted horse during the trooping until 1987 – she now goes by carriage
• In 1981 on horseback the Queen’s horse was startled by someone firing a gun with blanks at her during the ceremony

The last time I was in London I happened to catch the Colonel’s Review – which is the dress rehearsal for the actual trooping ceremony. This happens one week before the actual Trooping of the Colour. I stood along the Mall as the participants marched down to Horse Guards Parade. Here are some of my pictures!

Happy Birthday Your Majesty!

Royal Alert! That's Prince Philip! 

Stockholm and a Swedish Royal Wedding!

There’s nothing like a Royal Wedding! Interestingly though most people don’t realize there are other European families besides those wonderful Brits. For example this Saturday June 8^th Princess Madeline of Sweden will marry her fiance Christopher O’Neill who has dual US and UK citizenship. Here is a brief rundown on the upcoming royal nuptials.

Image provided by The Swedish Royal Court http://www.kungahuset.se

Princess Madeline is the youngest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. She currently splits her time between the US where she works for the World Childhood Foundation and Sweden when she is required to perform royal duties.

Her banker husband-to-be was born in London and will retain his dual citizenships forgoing any royal titles and will keep his job in the US.

The Royal Wedding will take place in the Royal Chapel of the Royal Palace of Stockholm on Saturday June 8th.  The reception will be held at Drottningolm Palace. You can learn more about the royal couple and the wedding here.

Drottiningholm Palace

Sweden last saw a royal wedding in 2010 when Madeline’s older sister and heir to the throne Princess Victoria married her personal trainer Daniel Westling.

If you are a royal watcher or just want to peek in on some Swedish pomp and circumstance and gawk at other European royals attending the ceremony you can check out this page of the Swedish television station SVT. They streamed Princess Victoria’s wedding online, bust since Madeline is fourth in line to the throne the coverage may not be as intense. 

Also The Local: Sweden’s News in English has updated their website with plenty of information.

Stockholm:

Stockholm is a lovely and exciting city. Any tour of Scandinavia is not complete without a stop in the Swedish capital.

What you should see and do:

The Vasa Museum – this large ship sank on its maiden voyage.

Gamla Stan (The Old Town) -twisting cobblestone lanes, stores and cafes add to the old world charm of this part of Stockholm.

Gamla Stan

The Nobel Museum – see why Alfred Nobel started the legendary prize.

Changing of the Guard at the Royal Palace

City Hall – beautiful building where the Nobel Prize banquet is held. Climb to the top for an amazing view.

Skansen Open-Air Museum – see how the Swedes lived in the olden days.

Drottningholm Palace – the royals ‘other’ palace.

What you should eat and drink:

Herring, herring, herring – it’s everywhere you go. Available pickled, smoked, fried, marinated and in just about any sauce you can think of it really is quite tasty. Reindeer, elk, salmon and Swedish meatballs are also popular. Wash it down with some vodka or akvavit – an herb flavored schnapps.

I found the food in Sweden to be delicious and the Kryp In was my favorite restaurant in Stockholm! 

Interesting Facts:

The city of Stockholm is made up of 14 islands

Often referred to as the Venice of the North

Stockholm became the capital of Sweden in 1634

Sweden was neutral during WWII

85% of Stockholm’s residents work in the service industry

Since 1980 the Swedish monarchy has observed absolute primogeniture – meaning the first born child regardless of gender will inherit the throne

Crown Princess Victoria is second in line to the throne while her daughter Princess Estelle is third

60th Anniversary of the Queen's Coronation - Fun Facts

I'm a sucker for anything royal. After last year's lovely Jubilee celebrations Queen Elizabeth II is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of her coronation this weekend. Here's some interesting and fun facts I found while researching that eventful day back in 1953.

Princess Elizabeth ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 after the death of her father, King George VI. For the next 16 months there was a period of mourning and planning so that the coronation could take place on June 2, 1953. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the first ever to be televised (with many people in Britain buying their first television set to watch the ceremony) and millions of people lined the streets of London to see the new Monarch. Her Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was against the coronation being televised, but the Queen overruled him. There were 750 commentators speaking 39 languages and it is estimated that more than 20 million people around the world watched the coverage.

• 8,000 guests were invited to Westminster Abbey.
• During the ceremony she was handed the four symbols of authority - the orb, the scepter, the rod of mercy and the royal ring of sapphire and rubies.
• She is the 39th sovereign and the sixth queen to take the oath at Westminster Abbey.
• Because there was a shortage of footmen for the event businessmen and country squires dressed as servants to help transport dignitaries.
• Norman Hartnell designed the Queen's dress which included embroidered floral emblems from the countries of the Commonwealth including: the Tudor Rose of England, the Scots thistle, the Welsh leek, Irish shamrock for Northern Ireland, the wattle of Australia, the maple leaf of Canada, the New Zealand fern, South Africa's protea, two lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.
• The Queen walked up the aisle of Westminster Abbey to the hymn 'I Was Glad' which is the same hymn Kate Middleton walked up to the aisle at her wedding at Westminster Abbey.
• Because the anointing oil that is used in a sacred part of the service was destroyed in World War II during the blitz more was needed. The company that made the oil no longer existed. Luckily someone knew the recipe and created a batch with the oils of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk, and ambergris.
• Future Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards was a nine-year-old choirboy at the coronation.
• The people of Britain celebrated their new Queen with street parties and fireworks.
• On the morning of the coronation it was announced that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay had reached the summit of Mount Everest causing more joy for the nation.
• After the ceremony, the Queen hosted a coronation luncheon at Buckingham Palace and the recipe of Coronation Chicken was devised specially for the occasion.
• Acorns from oaks in Windsor Great Park were sent to Commonwealth nations for planting. These trees are known as Royal Oaks or Coronation Oaks.
• By tradition other foreign Royals do not attend coronations so many were represented by members of their royal family.
• During Elizabeth's reign there have been 12 US Presidents. She has met all of them except for LBJ.
• Also during her reign there have been 12 UK prime ministers.
• Frankie Laine's  'I Believe' was the number one song in the UK the week of the coronation.
• The best-selling book of 1953 in the UK was the Kinsey Report.
• The average house price in the UK in 1953 was £2,750.

Thank you, your Majesty for 60 glorious years!

God save the Queen!

For the Love of Postcards

I love that little square piece of paper. That unexpected little slice of the world that just plops right into the mailbox - surprising and thoroughly exciting!

I received a postcard today and it literally has made my day better.

Postcards are something I have been obsessed with since I was a child. They were the first clue there was something out there beyond the city limits of my hometown. Snapshots of a world out there waiting to be explored by me - eventually.

Since those lovely pieces of paper meant so much to me (and still do) I always arm myself with a postcard list as long as my suitcase when I head out on a trip. If those little guys brighten my day perhaps they will brighten someone else's.

Every once and a while I get a 'thanks for always sending a postcard' from someone here or there. But for someone who sends postcards - I very rarely receive them. So when I do I always cherish it. It goes right in the middle of my chalkboard along with inspiration photos and magnets from my travels. In fact I love receiving postcards so much that I have taken to mailing one to myself when I travel. It's something to look forward to when I arrive home and the euphoria of the trip slowly wears off.

And while still on travel the husband and I always look for vintage postcards when out shopping. I especially love the ones that have been written in large loopy foreign characters. Who wrote it? Did they literally say 'wish you were here'?

So to my lovely friend who took the time to say 'hello' while on her travels - I say thanks! And next time let's go together! I'll even send you (and myself) a postcard!

My London Playlist

I made some significant trip planning progress this week. It must be all the London/ British inspired music I had going in the background. He are some of the songs that fueled me while I continued to plan my upcoming trip to London, Oxford and the Cotswolds! Oh - and the cloudy and cold weather this past week was an added inspirational bonus! I think it was warmer in London yesterday than here in Atlanta!

Classics: These will get your Anglophile patriotic proudness pumping!

God Save the Queen 

Rule, Britannia  

Jerusalem

Nimrod

Soundtracks: Sit back and listen while the action takes places in a British fashion

Love Actually – fantastic movie that takes place in London during Christmas

Shakespeare in Love – about Shakespeare in love with Gwyneth Paltrow!

Doctor Who – he may travel time and space but he’s partial to Britain, loves a good cup of tea and a fez and a bow tie

Sherlock – the consulting detective sleuths through London 

British Bands/Artists: Love these artists because of their British heritage!

Adele – born in London

Mumford and Sons – the band formed in London in 2007

Coldplay – the band formed in 1996 at University College London

The Beatles – if I need to explain who these guys are…well…

Songs About London

LDN –Lilly Allen - a nice little video of Lilly riding around London (LDN)

London – The Smiths – Morrissey may be anti-monarchy but he loves London

A Day inthe Life – The Beatles – Listed as one of the greatest British songs

Cemeteries of London – Coldplay – who doesn’t love some Coldplay?

City of Blinding Lights – U2 – partly inspired by Bono’s first trip to London – plus I just LOVE U2.

St. Louis

This past weekend I attended a wedding in St. Louis. It was great to be back in the Midwest! Here are some non-wedding highlights!

The St. Louis Art Museum

Its always free and with lots of great art! 

The Boathouse in Forest Park

When museum fatigue sets in - just head for the nearest outdoor cafe to recharge!

The Gateway Arch

It's always neat to go back and revisit a site. The Arch is still as amazing in person as the first time I saw it nearly ten years ago!