One Night in Paris

Two weeks ago my friends and I boarded a train from Oxford to Paris. Why? We were going to see Beyonce and Jay-Z perform their last concert of the On The Run Tour! Were we crazy? Definitely! Crazy in love with these performers.

What one wears to a Beyonce concert is a huge issue in America. After much contemplation, I went with a backless fushia silk top over some Top Shop destroyed skinny jeans and chunky black heels (so as to be able to see over everyone. I packed some Doctor Scholls' jellies just in case. To say I stuck out like a soar thumb is an understatement. All the Parisians had decided to wear black and white, to compliment the tour merchandise.

When arrived at the stadium and I made a bey-line (get it?) for the merch booth, in hopes of buying a t-shirt. My dreams were crushed as I saw that least expensive shirt available was still thirty five euros, meaning, over sixty American dollars. This would be frustration number one of the evening.

Frustration number two correlated to an email the group received which put us under the impression that the concert began at 6:30pm. This was due to the filming of the concert by HBO! However, we waited in line for two hours just to enter the gates at 7pm. This was followed by running across the stadium to get as close the stage as possible. While we did manage to get an awesome spot (maybe twenty people away from the stage), we still had to wait an additional two hours for the concert to start! Needless to say, my heels were not on for the entirety of the waiting process.

The concert formally began with a video introducing the crowd to the theme of the concert, Bonnie and Clyde. This was a reference to one of the very first songs they recorded together back in 2003, also called Bonnie & Clyde. The two travel through desert towns in vintage cars and serve as paradoxical lovers. Beyonce and Jay-Z appeared between two panels, through a cross. As was the token of the tour promotion, Queen Bey appeared in a black robber's mask (but a couture one).

The concert consisted of seamless integration of songs by each artist (including those they did together), phenomenal dance routines and costumes, as well moving footage. One of the videos included was a reiteration of Beyonce's definition of feminism or "an individual who believes in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes". The crowd went wild.

One of the great surprises of the concert was a guest appearance by Nicki Minaj. Minaj appeared through the floor so sing her verses of the Flawless*** remix in a full body spandex suit. As if seeing two amazing artists was not enough, suddenly a third appeared!

The concert ended with the couple singing Forever Young while videos of their relationship through the years played in the background. This included snaps of their engagement and wedding, followed by a montage dedicated to their daughter's first moments. Truly, it was a tearful experience. The emotional overload countinued as the artists thanked one another for their experiences sharing a stage. Beyonce said to her husband that she was his "biggest fan" and Jay-Z shared that he thought she was "the greatest entertainer of our time". The crowd definitely agreed with this.

The entire concert can be seen online (probably from a sketchy website) because HBO's recording aired last week. It is worth the three hours, I promise.

Leaving Oxford for Paris in the morning, I cannot wait for my next Parisian adventure!

Weekend in Ireland

Greetings!

          This past weekend part of the group traveled to Dublin for some non-academic fun!

You know it was non-academic because our first stop on the trip was the Guinness Factory, which offers a free pint to any who go on a tour.



If I drank beer, I am sure I would have appreciated this tour much more! The factory itself was beautiful and systematically is arranged to take you through all of the elements of the brewery process. You are also taught how one is supposed to drink Guinness! The highlight of the factory, in my opinion, was the sky bar located on the very top of the factory which offers a 360 view of Dublin above the cityscape. What a treat!

We were staying at Trinity College in Dublin, which is the protestant university founded in 1592. The campus is extremely large and we were fortunate enough to be staying above the parliament square, which is the loveliest part of the college.



The college is also home to the exhibit on the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the gospels from c.800! The pages are covered in absolutely beautiful drawings and script. No photography was allowed in the exhibit, so you will just have to take my word on it. The exhibit was underneath one of the original libraries, which was a splendor itself.


The Long Room Library at Trinity College

Some friends and I also went to see Christ Church Cathedral, home to one the largest crypts in Ireland. The cathedral was once part of a priory, but little of the original structure remains excluding the crypt and some of the west end. The cathedral has a cat, Strongbow, who was sunning himself outside when we visited.



The crypt is home to many treasures...because it includes a treasury. Much to my delight they were exhibiting some of the costumes from the television show "The Tudors", because the site is home to some of the filming. Absolutely gorgeous.


Stonework inside Christ Church Cathedral crypt


Costumes from "The Tudors".

On Saturday, we decided to leave the city and take the train to the coast. We ended up in a town called Howth, which is directly built onto a beach. While it was cold, the beach was still magical. It was low tide, revealing a sand bar covered in washed up jellyfish and shells.


Claremont Beach in Howth.

We decided to take a hike up the hill and came across the remains of an old abbey with phenomenal views of the sea.


St. Mary's abbey in Howth.

On the very last day, the group explored the countryside. We took a hike in Glendalough to see an old monastic city abutting two lakes. The scenery was something out of Lord of the Rings.


One of the lakes at Glendalough.


Remains of the monastic city at Glendalough.

Lastly, we went to Powerscourt Estate, one of the most prominent country houses in Ireland and home to the world's third most beautiful garden. The site was home to a 13th century castle which was extensively renovated in the 19th century and today is a tourist attraction. The gardens were designed in the Italian Renaissance style by Daniel Robertson and eventually developed to include a Japanese garden. There also remained one of the original towers, which we were able to climb into for a better view of the estate. Fun fact: the estate was a prominent filming location in The Count of Montecristo (which I highly recommend).







Hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did!