Tuesday 7/31:
With such little sleep from the night before, waking up this morning was not an easy task! Fortunately, I was able to make it to class on time-- which was mostly pointless for me today because my creative non-fiction class didn't meet and we had a grad student come speak about Virginia Woolf for my Women's authors class. I was zoned out the entire time the woman was speaking because my mind was on my laundry that I had left back at the flat and the fact that no one told me it was a bad idea to wash all of my pants at the same time... anyway, after class my friend and I fully intended on going back to the flats and napping but instead we went to our favorite Bagel place and as always, it was delicious! We ended up sitting in the small restaurant and talking for almost 2 hours! I think above and beyond all of the amazing-ness that London has to offer, my favorite part of this trip has been making the friends I have and just getting to bond with people I probably wouldn't have met otherwise. After lunch we went back to the flats and quickly got ready to go meet up with the rest of our class at the Handel House (the house that the famous composer spent most of his life). After getting lost and walking in the wrong direction for a few blocks, we finally made it there! It was really interesting to see the kind of environment he typically composed in...very dark and solitary... We were also surprised to find that Jimi Hendrix lived in a flat connected to the main house for a year or so! They had some pictures of him living there displayed- so cool! After the tour was over, we were treated to a short concert of some of Handel's famous works played on a harpsichord modeled after the one he used to play. It was lovely! After the concert and a lesson in the biology of the instrument, we walked down to SoHo and Oxford circus for dinner and ended up at this small little bar/club place- it was really cute and delicious, and since everyone loves to know what I'm eating- I ordered a chicken and avocado club sandwich YUM! I feel very fortunate that I haven't eaten bad once since I've been here!!
After those afternoon festivities, I returned to my flat and hung my laundry up to air-dry (let's hope that I'll have a dry pair of pants for tomorrow!) to work on some homework for the rest of the night.
I hope my last few days haven't been boring you to tears!
xoxo
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Literally "A Long Day's Journey into Night"
Monday 7/30:
As my trip is nearing an end, all of the rain, late nights, cold flats, missed meals, long walks and polluted air are finally catching up with me. Yesterday after class, I came back to my flat and took a GLORIOUS two hour nap and woke up feeling so refreshed and ready for whatever the rest of the day had in store in for me. My friend came over and did my hair (she curled it for me!) and we got all dressed up to go to the play that our professor booked us tickets for. We went to see "A Long Day's Journey into Night". It was a lot different than every other play we've seen so far. It was set in one day in one house in America in 1912 (1918 maybe?) and it was essentially about a dysfunctional family and the issues they had like an alcoholic father, a morphine addicted mother, and a son who was diagnosed with consumption. It was really interesting and thought provoking, though I couldn't help but get ancy during the long stretches of dialogue... After the play, a few of us went to a bar called "O'Neill's" in Leicester Square, it was within walking distance of the theater, and oddly enough- I'd been there before for dinner (my first week on this program!) It was a lot of fun, it was a lot of tourists, and we ended up meeting some guys from The Netherlands who were in London for the Olympics, they were so funny to talk to with their broken English! There ended up being a live band there, so it was really fun and the bar was full of tourists so we even met some more american girls from Pennsylvania- they were super nice and fun!
Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures, I'm more concerned with keeping you guys updated!
xoxox
As my trip is nearing an end, all of the rain, late nights, cold flats, missed meals, long walks and polluted air are finally catching up with me. Yesterday after class, I came back to my flat and took a GLORIOUS two hour nap and woke up feeling so refreshed and ready for whatever the rest of the day had in store in for me. My friend came over and did my hair (she curled it for me!) and we got all dressed up to go to the play that our professor booked us tickets for. We went to see "A Long Day's Journey into Night". It was a lot different than every other play we've seen so far. It was set in one day in one house in America in 1912 (1918 maybe?) and it was essentially about a dysfunctional family and the issues they had like an alcoholic father, a morphine addicted mother, and a son who was diagnosed with consumption. It was really interesting and thought provoking, though I couldn't help but get ancy during the long stretches of dialogue... After the play, a few of us went to a bar called "O'Neill's" in Leicester Square, it was within walking distance of the theater, and oddly enough- I'd been there before for dinner (my first week on this program!) It was a lot of fun, it was a lot of tourists, and we ended up meeting some guys from The Netherlands who were in London for the Olympics, they were so funny to talk to with their broken English! There ended up being a live band there, so it was really fun and the bar was full of tourists so we even met some more american girls from Pennsylvania- they were super nice and fun!
Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures, I'm more concerned with keeping you guys updated!
xoxox
Catching up! Friday 7/27-Sunday 7/29
Friday 7/27:
I could have slept forever, but my better senses told me to wake up around 10am and my friends and I decided to head over to Notting Hill/Portobello Market for some shopping and fresh-air. When we got there, we just walked around for a bit. Honestly, it wasn't anything special and I didn't have any cash on me so buying things was out of the question. We went to this place called "Mike's Cafe" for lunch and I had a cheese, tomato and wild mushroom quiche. It was SO good! After lunch we took the tube back toward home and went to this popular bookstore in the area. I ended up picking up a book called "Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America" I bought it for my Creative Nonfiction class but it's actually turning out to be a good read! After the bookstore we went back to the flats and got ready for the night. OPENING CEREMONIES FOR THE OLYMPICS! We went to this pub near our college called "The Globe" and it was so much fun. We got a table and had a perfect view of the TV and were having so much fun watching all of the performances! When all of the countries came on, we anxiously awaited for USA to come around and when it did, we cheered louder than ever! We even met some people from Wisconsin who were really nice and cheered with us and even started a "USA" chant. It was so awesome when Paul McCartney played "Hey Jude" and everyone in the bar sang along. We got home sometime around 2Am and it was so funny to log on facebook and see people's statuses from home where the recording of the ceremonies had only just started... it did make me feel pretty cool!
Saturday 7/28:
Coming off the "high" of the opening ceremonies, my roommate and I decided to have a more relaxed day and go hang out at Camden Market. It was my most successful shopping trip to date. I bought all of my souvenirs and even a few things for myself, and it wasn't expensive at all! I spent around 30GBP and got so much stuff I can't even believe it! I was very very proud of myself for finally doing the souvenir shopping I needed to do. (I'm still in search of some authentic olympic apparel because there's only a few authorized sellers of it near me! I will find it though!) After the market, I was exhausted. There was talk of going to a bar to watch some of the olympic events but instead I went to go see the new batman movie: The Dark Knight Rises. IT WAS AWESOME! The last 30 minutes of the movie made it completely worth it! It was so so good! After I got home, I ended up just falling asleep-- my last week of activity was finally catching up with me-- the trip as a whole is really catching up with me!
Sunday 7/29:
Only for the sake of making this a full "weekend post"...I went to Regent's College to use the free wi-fi and got some homework done and skyped my parents. I went home and just hung out at the flats with my friends and ate ben & jerry's ice cream while watching the swimming events for the Olympics!
Sorry there aren't any pictures with this post!
xoxox
I could have slept forever, but my better senses told me to wake up around 10am and my friends and I decided to head over to Notting Hill/Portobello Market for some shopping and fresh-air. When we got there, we just walked around for a bit. Honestly, it wasn't anything special and I didn't have any cash on me so buying things was out of the question. We went to this place called "Mike's Cafe" for lunch and I had a cheese, tomato and wild mushroom quiche. It was SO good! After lunch we took the tube back toward home and went to this popular bookstore in the area. I ended up picking up a book called "Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America" I bought it for my Creative Nonfiction class but it's actually turning out to be a good read! After the bookstore we went back to the flats and got ready for the night. OPENING CEREMONIES FOR THE OLYMPICS! We went to this pub near our college called "The Globe" and it was so much fun. We got a table and had a perfect view of the TV and were having so much fun watching all of the performances! When all of the countries came on, we anxiously awaited for USA to come around and when it did, we cheered louder than ever! We even met some people from Wisconsin who were really nice and cheered with us and even started a "USA" chant. It was so awesome when Paul McCartney played "Hey Jude" and everyone in the bar sang along. We got home sometime around 2Am and it was so funny to log on facebook and see people's statuses from home where the recording of the ceremonies had only just started... it did make me feel pretty cool!
Saturday 7/28:
Coming off the "high" of the opening ceremonies, my roommate and I decided to have a more relaxed day and go hang out at Camden Market. It was my most successful shopping trip to date. I bought all of my souvenirs and even a few things for myself, and it wasn't expensive at all! I spent around 30GBP and got so much stuff I can't even believe it! I was very very proud of myself for finally doing the souvenir shopping I needed to do. (I'm still in search of some authentic olympic apparel because there's only a few authorized sellers of it near me! I will find it though!) After the market, I was exhausted. There was talk of going to a bar to watch some of the olympic events but instead I went to go see the new batman movie: The Dark Knight Rises. IT WAS AWESOME! The last 30 minutes of the movie made it completely worth it! It was so so good! After I got home, I ended up just falling asleep-- my last week of activity was finally catching up with me-- the trip as a whole is really catching up with me!
Sunday 7/29:
Only for the sake of making this a full "weekend post"...I went to Regent's College to use the free wi-fi and got some homework done and skyped my parents. I went home and just hung out at the flats with my friends and ate ben & jerry's ice cream while watching the swimming events for the Olympics!
Sorry there aren't any pictures with this post!
xoxox
Catching up! Thursday 7/26
Sorry for skipping wednesday, nothing too significant to note happened...I went to school, came home to my flat, got dinner with people on my trip and met up with a friend from home for drinks...
I woke up Thursday morning with a terrible migraine. I choked down a muffin and a large coffee from Cafe Nero (my FAVORITE coffee place right around the corner from my flat) and went to Marylebone station to meet up with my class. Instead of the typical classroom setting, we went to the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon. Our train left around 9am and even though I fully planned on sleeping on the train, I ended up sitting with my friends and enjoying the views of the English countryside as we moved toward our destination. When we got to Stratford-Upon-Avon we went right to the birthplace of Shakespeare. It was a decently sized house, the most notable thing about it was that the floors that we walked on were the original floors that were in the house while Shakespeare's family was living there. We got to walk around the few rooms that were available for touring. I think my favorite part was the guestbook room because so many famous people including: John Adams & Thomas Jefferson, Princess Diana, The Obamas, and Queen Elizabeth had visited the house since it became available to the public. (I was most mesmerized by the first two...two future presidents traveling to London together to go visit the place I just got to tour as well?? Unreal!) After the house tour, we went outside in the garden where some people in costume were acting out scenes from Romeo and Juliet as well as some of Shakespeare's other plays. We then had some time to explore the giftshop ( I may or may not have picked up a few nerdy Shakespeare goodies for my house at school next year...) and walk around the small touristy town.
Shortly after we headed to the Royal Shakespeare Company's theater to see "Twelfth Night" another play of mistaken identities which had the same actors as "A Comedy of Errors" which we saw earlier in the summer. Our seats for the play were so odd, they were up off the ground and we were looking down at the stage so we could only see the tops of the actors' heads!!
After the play we were given money and found a "tea-room" to eat dinner at! It was actually pretty good, I had chicken and chips which was essentially chicken nuggets, yum.
After dinner, we headed back to the train station and went home- another 2 hour train ride back!
I woke up Thursday morning with a terrible migraine. I choked down a muffin and a large coffee from Cafe Nero (my FAVORITE coffee place right around the corner from my flat) and went to Marylebone station to meet up with my class. Instead of the typical classroom setting, we went to the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon. Our train left around 9am and even though I fully planned on sleeping on the train, I ended up sitting with my friends and enjoying the views of the English countryside as we moved toward our destination. When we got to Stratford-Upon-Avon we went right to the birthplace of Shakespeare. It was a decently sized house, the most notable thing about it was that the floors that we walked on were the original floors that were in the house while Shakespeare's family was living there. We got to walk around the few rooms that were available for touring. I think my favorite part was the guestbook room because so many famous people including: John Adams & Thomas Jefferson, Princess Diana, The Obamas, and Queen Elizabeth had visited the house since it became available to the public. (I was most mesmerized by the first two...two future presidents traveling to London together to go visit the place I just got to tour as well?? Unreal!) After the house tour, we went outside in the garden where some people in costume were acting out scenes from Romeo and Juliet as well as some of Shakespeare's other plays. We then had some time to explore the giftshop ( I may or may not have picked up a few nerdy Shakespeare goodies for my house at school next year...) and walk around the small touristy town.
Shortly after we headed to the Royal Shakespeare Company's theater to see "Twelfth Night" another play of mistaken identities which had the same actors as "A Comedy of Errors" which we saw earlier in the summer. Our seats for the play were so odd, they were up off the ground and we were looking down at the stage so we could only see the tops of the actors' heads!!
After the play we were given money and found a "tea-room" to eat dinner at! It was actually pretty good, I had chicken and chips which was essentially chicken nuggets, yum.
After dinner, we headed back to the train station and went home- another 2 hour train ride back!
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| Back of Shakespeare's house! |
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| my name in the guestbook at Shakespeare's house! |
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Catching Up! Tuesday 7/24
Tuesday 7/24:
From now on (because I sound stupid saying it every time) just assume that every weekday morning starts with class from 9-1:30.
After class, we all quickly scurried to get ready because at 5PM we were touring the sets where Harry Potter was filmed!
It was quite troublesome to get there, but it was worth it. We had to take a tube to a train to a shuttle (and repeated that on the way back).
When we got there, we picked up our tickets and went into the "queue" to wait in line for our tour to start.
First, they brought us into this room where they showed a bunch of the Harry Potter movie posters in all different languages and gave us a little background on the famous movie series. After that we were escorted into another room where we watched a short film about the backlot and the set that we were about to tour. The video ended with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint (Harry, Hermoine and Ron) standing in front of the doors of Hogwarts (the school) and then the screen lifted up and the door was right there. It was so amazing!
We entered Hogwarts through the Great Hall and got to see from of the famous costumes worn by the characters as far back as 2001, when the first film came out! We then got to walk around the studio/sets and see a bunch of sets and actual props from the movie (i'll spare the details because there was so much there I couldn't even hit everything if I tried!)
We then did this "broom ride" simulator thing where you get to "ride a broom" on a greenscreen and then they put you with a background and it's actually pretty cool because you get to wear a robe and everything! We ended up doing it and buying our pictures because in a group they were only 5GBP each.
It took us about 4 hours to get through the entire set (it was self-guided for a majority of it) I was so overwhelmed with everything that was there, it was amazing how much detail Warner Brothers put into each and every prop and character, they even had someone hand paint portraits to hang in the background of some of the sets.
We finally got home around 11PM and as usual, I fell asleep immediately-- this trip is truly wearing me down!
From now on (because I sound stupid saying it every time) just assume that every weekday morning starts with class from 9-1:30.
After class, we all quickly scurried to get ready because at 5PM we were touring the sets where Harry Potter was filmed!
It was quite troublesome to get there, but it was worth it. We had to take a tube to a train to a shuttle (and repeated that on the way back).
When we got there, we picked up our tickets and went into the "queue" to wait in line for our tour to start.
First, they brought us into this room where they showed a bunch of the Harry Potter movie posters in all different languages and gave us a little background on the famous movie series. After that we were escorted into another room where we watched a short film about the backlot and the set that we were about to tour. The video ended with Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint (Harry, Hermoine and Ron) standing in front of the doors of Hogwarts (the school) and then the screen lifted up and the door was right there. It was so amazing!
We entered Hogwarts through the Great Hall and got to see from of the famous costumes worn by the characters as far back as 2001, when the first film came out! We then got to walk around the studio/sets and see a bunch of sets and actual props from the movie (i'll spare the details because there was so much there I couldn't even hit everything if I tried!)
We then did this "broom ride" simulator thing where you get to "ride a broom" on a greenscreen and then they put you with a background and it's actually pretty cool because you get to wear a robe and everything! We ended up doing it and buying our pictures because in a group they were only 5GBP each.
It took us about 4 hours to get through the entire set (it was self-guided for a majority of it) I was so overwhelmed with everything that was there, it was amazing how much detail Warner Brothers put into each and every prop and character, they even had someone hand paint portraits to hang in the background of some of the sets.
We finally got home around 11PM and as usual, I fell asleep immediately-- this trip is truly wearing me down!
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| Harry Potter poster in Hebrew! |
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| Hogwarts doors that were behind the screen |
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| Wands! |
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| some of the costumes/set! |
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| Potions classroom! |
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| some handmade props |
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| me in front of the Ministry of Magic! |
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| Butterbeer! (it's basically cream soda and caramel with icecream on top!) |
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| Me in Diagon Alley! |
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| Scale Model of Hogwarts! |
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| More Hogwarts |
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| Me with the model! |
Catching up! Sunday Night- Monday (7/23)
Sunday Night 7/22:
After returning from Paris, I decided to go on a walk and enjoy the weather not knowing how long the sunshine and warmth would last. I ate dinner outside at a little restaurant called Nando's (a recommendation from a friend) and it was so delicious! I got a mango-lime chicken wrap, yum! After dinner, a friend and I went to Hyde Park and walked around the serpentine and then after that we walked to knightsbridge and saw Harrod's all lit up at night and it was lovely. We took the bus home and all at once my exhaustion from Paris caught up with me and I fell asleep.
Monday 7/23:
A usual day that started with school from 9-1:30 (our professor extended our class time so each class would get the attention that it deserves) it was a little annoying because we had a full group meeting at 9am but then my classes didn't meet until 12:30... after class I went shopping and got my london phone...and all I have to say about that is "meh." it's certainly not an iPhone but it will have to do for the next two-ish weeks. After that, my class went to see Billy Elliot at the Victoria theater. It was so lovely, I had no idea what the musical was actually about but it was so well put together with all of the choreography and music, I absolutely loved it! I even teared up a few times during it. While walking through the theater district down there we saw a lot of advertisements (or adverts as the Brits call them!) for Wicked, so we're going to try to get cheap tickets to see it while we're still here--it's one of my favorite musicals, so I really hope it all works out!
This is the first of 4 "catching up!" posts so stay tuned!
xoxo
-Lauren
After returning from Paris, I decided to go on a walk and enjoy the weather not knowing how long the sunshine and warmth would last. I ate dinner outside at a little restaurant called Nando's (a recommendation from a friend) and it was so delicious! I got a mango-lime chicken wrap, yum! After dinner, a friend and I went to Hyde Park and walked around the serpentine and then after that we walked to knightsbridge and saw Harrod's all lit up at night and it was lovely. We took the bus home and all at once my exhaustion from Paris caught up with me and I fell asleep.
Monday 7/23:
A usual day that started with school from 9-1:30 (our professor extended our class time so each class would get the attention that it deserves) it was a little annoying because we had a full group meeting at 9am but then my classes didn't meet until 12:30... after class I went shopping and got my london phone...and all I have to say about that is "meh." it's certainly not an iPhone but it will have to do for the next two-ish weeks. After that, my class went to see Billy Elliot at the Victoria theater. It was so lovely, I had no idea what the musical was actually about but it was so well put together with all of the choreography and music, I absolutely loved it! I even teared up a few times during it. While walking through the theater district down there we saw a lot of advertisements (or adverts as the Brits call them!) for Wicked, so we're going to try to get cheap tickets to see it while we're still here--it's one of my favorite musicals, so I really hope it all works out!
This is the first of 4 "catching up!" posts so stay tuned!
xoxo
-Lauren
Monday, July 23, 2012
"We'll Always Have Paris"
Thursday 7/19/12
My train to Paris left London at 5:30PM, I ended up having an entire row to myself and got to enjoy the "countryside" in a nice, quiet tranquility. The chunnel was really intense, my ears popped the whole way because of the pressure surrounding the tunnel in the water. Only about 30ish minutes of the entire two hour trip were spent under the English Channel. I was dozing in and out of sleep for most of the ride but it still seemed to fly by in no time at all. When we got to Paris, we tried to find a bathroom and you ended up having to pay 70 euro cents to use it, I was really desperate so I didn't mind dishing out the money. The weird/cool thing about the bathrooms was that the flush was on the floor so you just tap it with your foot to flush the toliet. We arrived at the hostel a bit later (we took cabs and they drive on the right side of the road/car in France!!) and decided to venture out into the area that we were staying in- Belleville. We found a cool outdoor bar with a lot of young people and stopped there. When we got back to the Hostel, we were sitting in the courtyard patio area just casually talking when a guy introduced himself after hearing our accents. He was from Canada and he was actually really cool- he's backpacking through Europe with friends as a post graduation gift from his parents. We ended up staying up fairly late and talking to him and even made plans to hang out the next night.
Friday 7/20/12
We got a bright and early start to the day and ate breakfast at our hostel. We got croissants and coffee for free, it was simple but delicious. We then got on the metro toward the louvre. I've taken a lot of public transportation in my life, but the metro was by far the dirtiest most disgusting thing I have ever stepped into (I haven't been to New York though, so I really have no point of reference). When we came up from our stop we ended up being right on the Seine and had a really pretty early morning view that absolutely took my breath away. We then walked along the river toward the Louvre. We took a bunch of pictures outside of the Louvre by the pyramids and fountains and just enjoyed the warmth (It was 70 and sunny while London's been about 60 and rainy since we've gotten there). We went inside the Louvre and headed straight for the Mona Lisa. I was surprised at how not underwhelming it actually was...sorry double negative...but I was preparing for a small 8x11 sheet of paper, and it was probably more the size of a wall poster. There were so many people surrounding it and taking pictures so I only got a few. Some other things we saw at the louvre were: The Winged Victory, Venus Di Milo, Ramses statue, The Coronation of Napoleon, Cupid and Psyche and so many more random things. We wandered around the entire museum for almost 6 hours, it was TIRING! After the museum we hopped back on the metro and went to the Eiffel Tower. We ended up right underneath it and the sun was officially out and at full force. We got ice-cream from this small stand and laid in the grass beneath the tower. It was so beautiful and quiet (compared to the busy London atmosphere) we laid there for probably 2 hours just staring up at the large monument. After that we found this small cafe near the metro and enjoyed a glass of wine-country champagne and some pizza (yes, I ate Italian food in Paris...). From there we went back to the hostel and met up with Jay (the guy from Canada) and just hung out on the patio again, then got wine and walked around the streets of Belleville. We walked up the hill that our hostel was on and could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night, it was so beautiful and breathtaking.
Saturday 7/21/12
Up early again for a day packed full of sight-seeing and other fun things. We got breakfast and got on the metro toward Notre Dame. When we were crossing the Seine to get to the famous Church, a bunch of crazy people trying to get me to sign a petition to help disabled people started crowded around me. Since I had just snapped a picture of the river on my phone, it was in my front pocket. The people started pushing me and swarming me and crowding around me and not letting up. We walked as few blocks when I reached for my phone to take another picture and it wasn't there. I slowly put together the pieces to realize those "petitioners" were actually gypsies and I was just pickpocketed. I didn't know what to do, I started freaking out. If it weren't for the help of my amazing friends I think I would have jumped into the river...my friends let me borrow their phones to call home and then made sure I was okay all day, constantly trying to make me smile and make sure I was still having fun despite the circumstances. So after that minor meltdown (mostly at my own stupidity) we went to Notre Dame and it was stunning inside. After doing a lap around and admiring the stained glass windows, we got lunch at a small cafe a few streets over. I decided I was going to order something "french" so I decided on a Croque Madame which is essentially a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top, it was DELICIOUS, I want to make it at home sometime (though I can't imagine mine turning out very good) after lunch, we went to Pére Lachaise, the famous cemetery where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. It was huge, but we got to visit both Jim and Oscar (yes, we're on a first name basis) and it was really cool to see all of the stuff that people had left at the gravesites of both. They were very vandalized, however, but it was interesting to see all of the different languages- there were even some messages written in hebrew! After the cemetery, we went to Trocadero square to see the eiffel tower from a distance and get some pictures there. It was breathtaking (as most things this trip have been!) and we got some really good pictures. We just sat on the steps for awhile and just looked at it, basking in its beauty. After that we went to the "Lover's Lock" bridge where a couple writes their names on a lock, secures it to the wired fence of the bridge and throws the key into the river. Though I didn't secure a lock to the bridge, it was really pretty to sit there for awhile and write in my journal as we watched the sun set. After that, we went back to the hostel to freshen up and then headed back to the Eiffel Tower and eat dinner and watch the sparkling light show in person. Dinner was delicious, I got Ravioli (Yes, more Italian food...) and we had a nice view of the tower. We got to watch it sparkle at midnight... Midnight in Paris :)! After that I collapsed in my hostel bed, it was so glorious to finally be able to sleep!
We left sunday morning on an early afternoon train and got back to London! Now, to get back into the swing of things, and get myself a cruddy 'pay-as-you-go" phone... :( Overall, I LOVED Paris. I definitely want to go back there and climb the Eiffel tower and go to Versailles and do some other things I missed out on- hopefully I'll be able to in the future!
sidenote: sorry this isn't as picture filled as I would like, most of the pictures from friday were on my phone...I stole a few from my friend Gabbi who took them of me!
My train to Paris left London at 5:30PM, I ended up having an entire row to myself and got to enjoy the "countryside" in a nice, quiet tranquility. The chunnel was really intense, my ears popped the whole way because of the pressure surrounding the tunnel in the water. Only about 30ish minutes of the entire two hour trip were spent under the English Channel. I was dozing in and out of sleep for most of the ride but it still seemed to fly by in no time at all. When we got to Paris, we tried to find a bathroom and you ended up having to pay 70 euro cents to use it, I was really desperate so I didn't mind dishing out the money. The weird/cool thing about the bathrooms was that the flush was on the floor so you just tap it with your foot to flush the toliet. We arrived at the hostel a bit later (we took cabs and they drive on the right side of the road/car in France!!) and decided to venture out into the area that we were staying in- Belleville. We found a cool outdoor bar with a lot of young people and stopped there. When we got back to the Hostel, we were sitting in the courtyard patio area just casually talking when a guy introduced himself after hearing our accents. He was from Canada and he was actually really cool- he's backpacking through Europe with friends as a post graduation gift from his parents. We ended up staying up fairly late and talking to him and even made plans to hang out the next night.
Friday 7/20/12
We got a bright and early start to the day and ate breakfast at our hostel. We got croissants and coffee for free, it was simple but delicious. We then got on the metro toward the louvre. I've taken a lot of public transportation in my life, but the metro was by far the dirtiest most disgusting thing I have ever stepped into (I haven't been to New York though, so I really have no point of reference). When we came up from our stop we ended up being right on the Seine and had a really pretty early morning view that absolutely took my breath away. We then walked along the river toward the Louvre. We took a bunch of pictures outside of the Louvre by the pyramids and fountains and just enjoyed the warmth (It was 70 and sunny while London's been about 60 and rainy since we've gotten there). We went inside the Louvre and headed straight for the Mona Lisa. I was surprised at how not underwhelming it actually was...sorry double negative...but I was preparing for a small 8x11 sheet of paper, and it was probably more the size of a wall poster. There were so many people surrounding it and taking pictures so I only got a few. Some other things we saw at the louvre were: The Winged Victory, Venus Di Milo, Ramses statue, The Coronation of Napoleon, Cupid and Psyche and so many more random things. We wandered around the entire museum for almost 6 hours, it was TIRING! After the museum we hopped back on the metro and went to the Eiffel Tower. We ended up right underneath it and the sun was officially out and at full force. We got ice-cream from this small stand and laid in the grass beneath the tower. It was so beautiful and quiet (compared to the busy London atmosphere) we laid there for probably 2 hours just staring up at the large monument. After that we found this small cafe near the metro and enjoyed a glass of wine-country champagne and some pizza (yes, I ate Italian food in Paris...). From there we went back to the hostel and met up with Jay (the guy from Canada) and just hung out on the patio again, then got wine and walked around the streets of Belleville. We walked up the hill that our hostel was on and could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night, it was so beautiful and breathtaking.
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| at the Louvre! |
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| The Louvre! |
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| Mona Lisa |
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| laying under the Eiffel Tower! |
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| Ice Cream by the Tower! |
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| Champagne at Dinner |
Saturday 7/21/12
Up early again for a day packed full of sight-seeing and other fun things. We got breakfast and got on the metro toward Notre Dame. When we were crossing the Seine to get to the famous Church, a bunch of crazy people trying to get me to sign a petition to help disabled people started crowded around me. Since I had just snapped a picture of the river on my phone, it was in my front pocket. The people started pushing me and swarming me and crowding around me and not letting up. We walked as few blocks when I reached for my phone to take another picture and it wasn't there. I slowly put together the pieces to realize those "petitioners" were actually gypsies and I was just pickpocketed. I didn't know what to do, I started freaking out. If it weren't for the help of my amazing friends I think I would have jumped into the river...my friends let me borrow their phones to call home and then made sure I was okay all day, constantly trying to make me smile and make sure I was still having fun despite the circumstances. So after that minor meltdown (mostly at my own stupidity) we went to Notre Dame and it was stunning inside. After doing a lap around and admiring the stained glass windows, we got lunch at a small cafe a few streets over. I decided I was going to order something "french" so I decided on a Croque Madame which is essentially a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a fried egg on top, it was DELICIOUS, I want to make it at home sometime (though I can't imagine mine turning out very good) after lunch, we went to Pére Lachaise, the famous cemetery where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. It was huge, but we got to visit both Jim and Oscar (yes, we're on a first name basis) and it was really cool to see all of the stuff that people had left at the gravesites of both. They were very vandalized, however, but it was interesting to see all of the different languages- there were even some messages written in hebrew! After the cemetery, we went to Trocadero square to see the eiffel tower from a distance and get some pictures there. It was breathtaking (as most things this trip have been!) and we got some really good pictures. We just sat on the steps for awhile and just looked at it, basking in its beauty. After that we went to the "Lover's Lock" bridge where a couple writes their names on a lock, secures it to the wired fence of the bridge and throws the key into the river. Though I didn't secure a lock to the bridge, it was really pretty to sit there for awhile and write in my journal as we watched the sun set. After that, we went back to the hostel to freshen up and then headed back to the Eiffel Tower and eat dinner and watch the sparkling light show in person. Dinner was delicious, I got Ravioli (Yes, more Italian food...) and we had a nice view of the tower. We got to watch it sparkle at midnight... Midnight in Paris :)! After that I collapsed in my hostel bed, it was so glorious to finally be able to sleep!
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| laying by the eiffel tower, i'm in the orange! |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Inside Notre Dame |
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| close up of the windows |
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| Notre Dame |
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| Lunch- Croque Madame |
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| Oscar Wilde's grave |
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| Jim Morrison's grave |
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| Arc De Triomphe |
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| In front of the Eiffel Tower! |
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| Love Lock bridge! |
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| Sun starting to set over the Seine |
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| Eiffel Tower sparkling at night! |
We left sunday morning on an early afternoon train and got back to London! Now, to get back into the swing of things, and get myself a cruddy 'pay-as-you-go" phone... :( Overall, I LOVED Paris. I definitely want to go back there and climb the Eiffel tower and go to Versailles and do some other things I missed out on- hopefully I'll be able to in the future!
sidenote: sorry this isn't as picture filled as I would like, most of the pictures from friday were on my phone...I stole a few from my friend Gabbi who took them of me!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Having an EYE on the World.
Sorry I haven't updated at all about my life since Sunday, but to be honest- nothing really exciting has happened to me since then and I think I'm finally starting to settle in a routine here which is uninteresting and hardly worth blogging about so only expect long-winded picture filled updates when I actually do something fun and exciting.
EDIT: this was written but never published on 7/19/12
Wednesday 7/18/12:
Unlike most other weekdays, I didn't have to go to class in the morning. Instead, I got to sleep in for an extra hour (Rather, I was supposed to sleep in for an extra hour but our cleaning service woke me up by busting in my room). I met up with my class around 11am at Samuel Johnson's house. For those of you who don't know who he is (don't feel bad I didn't know who he was either until 11am yesterday) he wrote one of the first standardized English dictionaries-- it was used in the writing of our Constitution! Anyway, his house was actually pretty interesting- our tour guide had tons of fun little anecdotes about Johnson's life. After the tour, our group went to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for lunch which is this little pub that many writers (such as Charles Dickens) spent time at. I got Macaroni and Cheese which was really good except I think it expanded in my stomach because I was disgustingly full afterwards. From lunch, my friend and I walked along the Thames toward the eye and decided that we were finally going to ride the famous London attraction. The London Eye experience started with a 4D movie where they simulate what it would be like to be a bird flying past the eye and they spray with a little bit of water and fill the room with scented air as you travel around the south bank of the river. Afterwards we "queued" to get on the eye and got into a pod almost instantly. We were with about 10 other people in our pod, a lot of little kids which was slightly annoying but I got over it once we found a spot to sit with an excellent view. The Eye never actually stops moving unless someone requires assistance getting on, so when we had to get into the pod, we had to run into it while it was still moving, it was a little scary but still awesome. As we began to ascend into the sky, the view was magnificent! They also had these little computer screens that you could click on and see what everything you were looking at was and important historical events that happened there. After the eye, we called it a day, both of us were feeling a little under the weather but it was still a lot of fun and I'm glad I can say that I did it.
EDIT: this was written but never published on 7/19/12
Wednesday 7/18/12:
Unlike most other weekdays, I didn't have to go to class in the morning. Instead, I got to sleep in for an extra hour (Rather, I was supposed to sleep in for an extra hour but our cleaning service woke me up by busting in my room). I met up with my class around 11am at Samuel Johnson's house. For those of you who don't know who he is (don't feel bad I didn't know who he was either until 11am yesterday) he wrote one of the first standardized English dictionaries-- it was used in the writing of our Constitution! Anyway, his house was actually pretty interesting- our tour guide had tons of fun little anecdotes about Johnson's life. After the tour, our group went to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for lunch which is this little pub that many writers (such as Charles Dickens) spent time at. I got Macaroni and Cheese which was really good except I think it expanded in my stomach because I was disgustingly full afterwards. From lunch, my friend and I walked along the Thames toward the eye and decided that we were finally going to ride the famous London attraction. The London Eye experience started with a 4D movie where they simulate what it would be like to be a bird flying past the eye and they spray with a little bit of water and fill the room with scented air as you travel around the south bank of the river. Afterwards we "queued" to get on the eye and got into a pod almost instantly. We were with about 10 other people in our pod, a lot of little kids which was slightly annoying but I got over it once we found a spot to sit with an excellent view. The Eye never actually stops moving unless someone requires assistance getting on, so when we had to get into the pod, we had to run into it while it was still moving, it was a little scary but still awesome. As we began to ascend into the sky, the view was magnificent! They also had these little computer screens that you could click on and see what everything you were looking at was and important historical events that happened there. After the eye, we called it a day, both of us were feeling a little under the weather but it was still a lot of fun and I'm glad I can say that I did it.
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| Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese |
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| Maura and I on the Eye! |
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| One side of my view! |
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| the other side! |
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| it started raining... Westminster Abbey/ Big Ben! |
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| Me! |
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| view from the top! |
Thursday, July 19, 2012
!!!
I apologize for being so terrible about updating this past week, I promise to fill you all in on Monday!
For now, I'm off to Paris for the weekend!
Au revoir!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Making up for Lost Time (Sunday)
Sunday 7/15/12
I set my alarm for 9:30, and actually woke up on time with my alarm. After lazily browsing the internet, I got dressed and headed out for the day, and guess where we went, THE TOWER OF LONDON! We finally made it out to that part of town and it was absolutely stunning (as almost every part of this city is) it was amazing how the tower is literally right there as you come up from the underground. It was so beautiful. The first thing we did after buying our tickets was go to the Crown Jewels exhibit, it was amazing and sparkly and I wish I could take pictures to show you all, but it wouldn't even begin to encompass the beauty of all of the crowns and scepters on display. It's unreal how old some of the things there are, and how they're still in mint condition. We ventured around the other exhibits and saw the old tower torture devices and the prisoner's cells. I learned so much about the Royal History and I absolutely loved it-- I don't think I can say that enough.
When we exited the tower, we got a perfect view of the Tower Bridge with the Olympic rings on it! It was amazing how big it actually was (The only other time I've seen it was from the top of St. Paul's)
After the tower, we decided to go back to Picadilly circus to do some shopping, because my friend Molly (that I spent the whole day with) hadn't really spent time there yet... When we got off to transfer tube lines we realized we were at King Cross station, and there was something that we needed to do... We walked upstairs in the station toward the National Rail service to the small spot between Platform 9 and Platform 10. For anyone that's seen Harry Potter, you know that Platform 9 3/4 is the only way to get on the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts!
We then went to Picadilly Circus and walked around there for a bit, we went into stores like Cool Britannia (which I'll definitely return to for souvenirs) and then we went to M&M world, which was so much fun, and I might have even picked up something for someone special who I know is probably reading this...!
After shopping, we went to dinner in Chinatown which was so delicious and then headed back to the flats to finish up some school work and go to bed.
I had such a productive day! :)
I set my alarm for 9:30, and actually woke up on time with my alarm. After lazily browsing the internet, I got dressed and headed out for the day, and guess where we went, THE TOWER OF LONDON! We finally made it out to that part of town and it was absolutely stunning (as almost every part of this city is) it was amazing how the tower is literally right there as you come up from the underground. It was so beautiful. The first thing we did after buying our tickets was go to the Crown Jewels exhibit, it was amazing and sparkly and I wish I could take pictures to show you all, but it wouldn't even begin to encompass the beauty of all of the crowns and scepters on display. It's unreal how old some of the things there are, and how they're still in mint condition. We ventured around the other exhibits and saw the old tower torture devices and the prisoner's cells. I learned so much about the Royal History and I absolutely loved it-- I don't think I can say that enough.
When we exited the tower, we got a perfect view of the Tower Bridge with the Olympic rings on it! It was amazing how big it actually was (The only other time I've seen it was from the top of St. Paul's)
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| Walking into the tower! |
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| Guard! |
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| outside of the Crown Jewels exhibit |
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| Tower of London! |
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| Tower Bridge! |
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| torture device |
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| miniature model of the tower! |
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| I am here! |
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| I found another artist Phonebooth outside the Tower! |
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| another view of the Bridge! |
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| One of the oldest (original) walls at the tower |
After the tower, we decided to go back to Picadilly circus to do some shopping, because my friend Molly (that I spent the whole day with) hadn't really spent time there yet... When we got off to transfer tube lines we realized we were at King Cross station, and there was something that we needed to do... We walked upstairs in the station toward the National Rail service to the small spot between Platform 9 and Platform 10. For anyone that's seen Harry Potter, you know that Platform 9 3/4 is the only way to get on the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts!
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| Just going to School...:) |
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| Just walking with the M&M's down Abbey Road! |
After shopping, we went to dinner in Chinatown which was so delicious and then headed back to the flats to finish up some school work and go to bed.
I had such a productive day! :)
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