Day 23: Paris

Another good day in Paris. We woke up and headed straight to the Eiffel tower since the weather was good. We had to wait in line for a while to get our tickets, then we started our climb to the first platform. The height didn't freak me out too bad because the stairs are solid and I just looked up the whole time. The view from the first platform was great, or so we thought until we hiked up to the second platform. We took more pictures and looked around before buying our tickets to go to the top. let me tell you, that elevator ride is terrifying. I was taking pictures though the glass the whole time and as long as I was staring at my phone, I was fine. But the moment I actually looked outside, I just pictured the whole thing crashing down.  The view from the very top is gorgeous though. We had a great time looking around and taking pictures before deciding we were starving and it was time to go down.

From there we headed straight back to the metro (grabbing some ice cream on the way) and went to Ile de la Cite, which is an island in the middle of the Seine river. We found Notre Dame which is totally gorgeous, had lunch, ( I had a hot dog on a baguette, covered in cheese which I've seen all over the place here) then went inside. This city is seriously so pretty, and honestly all I could picture the whole time was Esmerelda running around from the Disney movie, we left the building, and walked around it to Then Square Jean XXIII which is a little park just behind it, then we circled the building and walked along the river for a block or so before heading to the Louve.

We ended up finding some really cool things on our walk to the Louve, we walked through a flower market, past what could only be a film set (all we saw was a camera and a prom/costume truck), and at the very end of the island we thought we found the bridge that you see all over pinterest, where couples lock a lock onto the bridge and throw the key into the water. We were really confused thought because there were not very many locks and the dates on all of them were in the past two years or so, but we crossed the bridge and walked along the water towards the Louve, passing some really cool street venders,  when we found the real bridge. There were locks all over it, some we're engraved with names and dates, and others were just written on in sharpie, but it was so cool! The earliest one we found was from 1989 I think, but it was seriously awesome. Just spending time on that bridge alone pretty much convinced me that some day, at least part of my honeymoon has to be in Paris just so I can be one of those adorable couples.

Eventually we got to the Louve, and by this time, we had walked a TON. I mean just the Eiffel tower alone was enough to make us sore. And the Louve is HUGE! I don't think I ever had any idea how big it was because I always just pictured  the glass pyramid. so we got in, and sat around a little to make a game plan before exploring. We set off just to see the highlights, but we were still in there for quite a while, and I'll be honest, by the end I was totally done. But we got to see the Venus de milo, and the Mona Lisa. We saw lots of other famous ones but those were definitely the ones I was most excited about.

From there we dragged ourselves out of the museum and to the tube stop to head home. We grabbed some pizza, went back to our hotel room, and are all ready to go to bed early after all the walking.

Days 21 & 22: Paris!

It's been sort of a crazy two days, after class on Monday, we were free to leave for travel week. First, I just want to point out that this is all I brought for 5 days in Paris:

Me and three other girls took the Chunnel from London to Paris. It was only about a two hour train ride that took us under the English channel.  the idea of going under water freaked me out a little, but I had no idea we even went under the water. We left London, traveled through some English countryside and then went into a tunnel but it didn't feel like we went under ground at all, so it wasn't until about an hour and a half into our journey that we realized the few signs we saw were in French and that we made it across the channel after all. But we finally made it to Paris, got some dinner, and with the help of a nice French lady, figured out what sort of tickets we needed for the metro and got those as well. One thing I will say about the metro in Paris is that it isn't nearly as easy to navigate as the tube in London, the signs don't make nearly as much sense and I'm not just saying that because they are in French. 

We finally made it to our hotel, which is guess what?? Literally right across the street from the moulin rouge. I discovered this that morning before we left, and it was so ironic because when we were booking a hotel we were trying our best not to book one in the area. So the street we are on isn't the greatest, and I think is sort of known for prostitution, but we are literally right next to the metro stop and since it's a really touristy area, it's totally safe during the day, its really only sketchy at night, and ALL of Paris is sketchy at night, plus it's like a block or so away from a really nice area, so all together, not too bad.

So anyway, we get to the hotel, and try to check in, but have sort of a problem with that since there are four of us trying to stay in a 3 person room. The website we booked through said that they can bring in a cot and I emailed them a few weeks ago asking but never heard back. Honestly, I was worried they just flat out were not going to let us stay there, but luckily the nice man at the front desk called his boss and let us stay, and didn't even charge us for the 4th person like we expected. Now this morning when we got up a woman gave us a little trouble for this but the two men who normally work at the front desk know our story, and they are really nice. So we are basically just hoping we don't get told we all cant stay between now and when we leave saturnday morning. 

So on Tuesday, we got up and headed to Starbucks for breakfast and free wifi. After the we took the metro over to Avenue de champs élysées which is a famous street and walked up it to the arc de Triomphe, where we climbed about a million stairs to the top and got a beautiful a view of Paris.

 From there we walked back down the street trying to get to a palace, when it started raining, pretty hard. We got to the palace which is actually a museum. It's a beautiful building, but we didn't want to go in so walked down, over the Seine river to what we thought was another palace, but turned out to be another museum. By that time we were all wet and cold so we decided to go in. It was a war museum, so went through the exhibits about world war one and two, then went to, dome church, which is connected to the museum and is where Napoleon is buried.

 At that point the rain had started to let up and we were starving so we decided to find a place to eat on our way to the Eiffel Tower. We found a bagel, hotdog and crepe place which was sort of an interesting combo, but the man working there was really kind.  After we ate we walked to the Eiffel tower. The park surrounding the tower is so pretty, and we we're planning to go to the top until it started pouring rain.after a few minutes of that we were all pretty miserable, and I had decided that I hate Paris so we decided to head back towards our hotel and check out the surrounding area.

Up until this point I had actually been pretty homesick for London. I was wet, uncomfortable, worried that we were going to be kicked out of our hotel, and the areas of Paris that we had been to, although full of some really gorgeous, big buildings, didn't interest me a ton, that all changed when we started to explore the area of town behind the Moulin Rouge. By then, the rain had stopped which was such a blessing, and we knew that there were some cool old churches in that area of town so we decided to just start walking and see what we found. 

What we found was SUCH a beautiful area of the city.  Its a big hill that as far as I can tell is called Montmartre. There were lots of cool shops, and restaurants, and bakeries. We went to a French bakery where I got a macaron and baguette which totally made my day, as we continued to explore we found cool parks, windy streets, adorable houses and a park full of portrait artists until we got to the Sacre-Coeure, a beautiful catholic church on top of this hill that looks over Paris. We went inside, and just happened to be I there when it was time for prayers so we listened to the Nuns sing for a while before heading back, as we explored our way back home we ran into all sorts of other awesome things, like one of the only remaining vineyards in Paris, and some really cool residential areas, I also had a crepe and some gilado which was great! Honestly, the things I eat when I travel are right up there with what I see, so it was definitely a good day for that!

So my first day in Paris may not have started out too great, and it looks as though it will be raining for the rest of the week which isn't too good,  but it ended up being great, and I'm excited to explore the rest of Paris!

London Days 19 & 20: Portobello Road, and A Midsummer Night's Dream

I really do love this city so much. On Saturday we went to Portobello Road again and did some more shopping. We looked at more antiques, which is so much fun, had some Chicken Paella, which was really really good, I bought a bracelet, and we just enjoyed the abundance of interesting things to look at.

That night we went to the Globe to see A Midsummer Night's Dream. we got in line two hours early to make sure we would be able to stand right up next to the stage. We had a perfect view of the show, and it really was amazing. Probably one of the very best theater experiences of my life. The show was absolutely hilarious, wonderfully designed and acted. I honestly think it was just about perfect. I really couldn't think of anything to complain about.  I looked online for pictures of this production but couldn't find any, which is lame, but just trust me when I say this show was amazing. Both shows that Ive seen at the Globe were pretty mind blowing. I am really excited to go to Stratford in a few weeks and compare them to the royal Shakespeare company.


Sunday was great as well. we went to church, which was great. I love the ward here so much. I cant even explain it. the people are just amazing and I love going there.

and I guess thats it! it really has been an amazing few days, even if I didnt have much to say, or any pictures to show for it. all thats left to do today is some packing because tomorrow, travel week begins!! People from the program are going to quite a few places, and Im going to spend the next 6 days in Paris!

London Days 17 &18: One Man, Two Guvnors, St Paul's Cathedral, and afternoon tea

yet another great two days here in London! on Thursday, after a day of laundry and relaxing, we went to see One Man, Two Guvnors with the class. this show was absolutely hilarious, one of my favorites that I've seen in London.

the first act in particular was great, it had lots of audience participation and improve and was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen. 

Friday was also great. in the morning, we met the class at St. Pauls Cathedral where we toured around, and climbed to the top of the dome. hopefully this can give you an idea of what we did.

this is St. Paul's Cathedral:

This is where we climbed to:

This is what we saw:

It was such an amazing view of London. unfortunately it was freezing cold and raining, and I was once again reminded of my great fear of heights as we climbed all of the stairs inside the dome, but the view was worth it.

That afternoon we went and had tea and scones at the Orangery at Kensington Gardens. I learned that I really just don't like herbal tea, like at all. But it was fun to spend the afternoon in such a beautiful place.

later that night, we got went and saw The Winslow Boy. its a play that only had a day or two until it closed so we decided to get tickets if we could. it was a well done show. the story wasn't my favorite of everything we have seen, but it was a very realistic play and I enjoyed it.

London Days 15&16: fabric shopping, and 3 west end shows in two days!

Tuesday was a great day. we spent the morning at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was so amazing. this place was huge! and while I'm not one who likes to spend hours and hours in museums, we went to some really cool exhibits that I really enjoyed. particularly, the fashion and theater exhibits (I know, my interests are really broad.)

After that, I spent a large portion of the day fabric shopping, which was great. It is so nice to be in a city where a Joann Fabrics doesn't exist and there are so many better options. On this one street alone (goldhawk road if anyone is wondering or if I ever forget and want to go back and find it) we probably went to over 10 fabric shops. I only walked away with one cut of fabric, but I'm excited to go back! and to explore the other areas of town that I know are full of more fabric stores.

That Night I got home, and my roommates and I were planning on taking the evening to relax and do some homework, until we got a knock on the door and were invited to go see Woman in Black. I don't think I've ever been to a scary play in my life, and didn't really think it was possible, but seriously, this show was terrifying. despite the row of the loudest most obnoxious 13ish year old girls sitting in front of us, we all loved this show.  I found it so interesting because the actual woman in black doesn't actually show up that many times. when she does, the way she moves is really scary, but for the most part you just live in fear of her showing up, or the shrieking scream that happens a few times in the show. for the most part, the scary parts of the play come from lighting and sound, which I loved.

Wednesday was a crazy day. after class, a few of us went to get tickets for the matinee show of Chorus Line. I knew a couple songs from it, but I didn't really know the story line before hand. Im not sure what exactly I was expecting, but it was a lot different than I thought it would be. It was a great show and actually was a really interesting idea for a musical. the entire story line takes place during one audition as we learn about the different characters and find out who gets hired. It wasn't my favorite thing that I've seen since being in London, but I enjoyed it a lot. I love that it was a musical about the theater business and that there was a ton of dancing.

After the show was over, my roommate and I grabbed some food and headed over to Billy Elliot. This show wasn't what I was expecting either, but It was great too. Again, this show had a ton of dancing which I loved. and this kid who played the lead was incredible. Im not sure how old the actor was but the character was 12 and this kid was an amazing dancer. So impressive. This show didn't make it to the short(ish) list of my favorite shows I've seen in London, but I'm really glad I saw it too.

I'm not sure if I am going to try another two show day any time soon since it turned into a LONG day. But it was awesome , I got to see two great shows, and now Im ready to sleep in tomorrow, and get some much needed rest before seeing ANOTHER show tomorrow night with the class