Paris Pictures!

Here is a slideshow from my trip to Paris, France!

Did I Love Paris? Oui Oui!

Oh, Paris! What a wonderful city!

The weekend started off with us leaving Friday morning and trekking through London to the Embankment tube station which is about a 45 minute walk...at 5:15 am. It was a little rough, but we made it with 10 minutes to spare! At 6:20 am our tour bus pulled up and we hopped on toward Dover!

When we reached Dover, it was amazing to actually see the White Cliffs in person...you always hear about the "white cliffs of Dover" but actually witnessing it was impressive. The bus drove onto the boat then, and we had an hour and a half ferry ride across the English Channel! Usually I hate boats, but this wasn't such a bad ride. It was short, and it was fun to think we were going to another country!

When we arrived in Calais, France, we still had to drive about 4 hours to Paris, but we finally arrived! We went straight to our hotel that we stayed at the first night, which was exceptionally nice due to a mix-up with the travel company, and then headed out on a bus tour and then river boat cruise of Paris! It was so exciting to finally see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame up close!

After the cruise on the Seine, we decided to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower! It was so scary, but the view was amazing! Definitely worth it. Then, as we exited the Tower, as soon as we stepped out of the elevator, the tower began to sparkle! Literally! I guess it does that ever hour at night, but the sight was spectacular and seemed like it was Paris welcoming us to the city. Here are some pictures:

Freaking out all the way at the top!

After that, we walked all the way back through Paris to our hotel which took much longer than we had planned. We were all tired and hungry and on the verge of cranky, but our hotel beds were so soft, we woke up the next day ready to go!

Saturday was a very busy day filled with a lot of famous sites in Paris. We started by going to Montmartre where the Sacre Coeur is. There were also a bunch of artists, and I bought a beautiful oil painting by an artist who did it right there the day before! It was an awesome market place. Here is the Sacre Coeur!

From there we made our way down some streets and saw Moulin Rouge! That was also extremely exciting to see:

After the trip to Montmartre, the bus made its way to Notre Dame where we were able to go inside and I was also able to eat an entire baguette for lunch. It was the most delicious bread I have ever had in my life and I'm pretty sure nothing in the US will compare!

From there we went on a half-day tour of the Palace of Versailles. We were able to see where Marie Antoinette lived, and saw the famous Hall of Mirrors. The palace was HUGE and the gardens outside are beautiful. Here are some pictures:

Palace on the outside!

Inside, the Hall of Mirrors.

Posing outside of the Palace Gardens.

That night was free for us to do whatever we wanted, and we decided to head back down to the Eiffel Tower to take pictures during the sunset. We walked back from the Eiffel Tower and ate at a French cafe for dinner which was delicious, and then went and saw the Arc de Triumph lit up at night. It was a fantastic way to end our last night in Paris. Here are some pictures:

Delicious "Croque Monsieur" which is the French version of Ham and Cheese with the cheese melted on the top!

Sunday we went to Louvre Museum where we saw the Mona Lisa and some other famous pieces of art, and then we were on our way back to London!

Overall it was a great weekend! Paris truly did seem like a magical place, and I'm so grateful I was able to spend some time there! It was my last trip out of the UK until I go home, and so it was a little bittersweet...I'm definitely going to come back to Europe as soon as possible in the future!

Theatre and The Eye!

The past two days have, yet again, been completely surreal. I have seen two musicals in two days, and also been 300+ feet in the air right over London.

Tuesday, we went and saw the show "Britain's Got Bhangra" in the outskirts of London, and I left grinning from ear to ear. It was a show about how Bhangra music was brought from India to England in the 1970's, and how it has changed to include hip-hop remixes and R&B infusion. It was a spectacular show and we had really close seats right in the center of the theater. The show was filled with flashing lights and booming music, and Bollywood style dancing in every other scene. The audience loved it, and we all left feeling the need to dance down the streets of London and on the tube on the way home! Unfortunately the show is so brand-new that there is no soundtrack, but as soon as it comes out, we all will be buying it!

Today, I was able to see the sequel to "Phantom of the Opera" called "Love Never Dies" at the Adelphi Theater that is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber himself! The show itself was spectacular...the music was haunting but different than "Phantom", and the stage effects were intricate and impressive. The actual story was shockingly different than expected, but included most of the same characters as the first show. I can see why some people haven't given it very high ratings, but by not expecting the show to be a duplicate of "Phantom" it was excellent. Here is a picture of me outside of the theater...

After the show we made our way to the London Eye where we took a "flight" at 7:30 pm. Outside of the Eye, we got stopped by a security guard because one of the girls was wearing an old Spice Girls shirt! After a few jokes at her expense, he asked her to sing one of their songs before we could pass. We all broke out in the song "Wannabe" and he put it over his speaker to ALL of the workers at the London Eye! Every person we came across on the way to the Eye from then on asked us to sing, or made a joke. We were famous!

The London Eye itself was spectacular. I was so nervous to go that high, but once I got over the height I was entranced by the views. We could see all of London stretched out around us on all sides. Here are some pictures of the view:

It was another great two days in London...next up...Paris this weekend!

Slideshow #2!

Here is a slideshow of more pictures from my two weekend trips to Stonehenge and Rome, Italy!

The Globe Theater and my Roman Holiday

And so begins one of the longest blog posts in history...

This past week has been so unbelievably busy and hectic, but at the end of it I've realized that not only did I have a fantastic time, but I can also check off two major things off my life's to-do list.

1. Watching a play in the Globe Theater.

2. Going to Rome.

It's hard to believe I fit both of those things in one week, but I started going non-stop on Tuesday and didn't stop to breathe until today! On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to see a "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Globe Theater. While it isn't the EXACT theater that Shakespeare's plays were performed in while he was alive, it is a re-creation and it looks straight out of Shakespearian times! The theater is open on top, which made for a chilly show, and the seats we had were so far on the side that we couldn't see the actors for a lot of the show...BUT just being there was enough for me. And the show itself was actually hilarious! I had never seen it before, but of course I knew it was one of Shakespeare's classics. The actors did a modern version with modern-day costumes and props, but used all of the poetry from the original. It was very impressive, and VERY entertaining.

Here is a picture from inside the Globe...

Then, my maniac week continued with a weekend in Rome, Italy! It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I fell in love with Italy, their culture, and their people! I was traveling with two other girls, one of which who has distant cousins that live in Rome. This ended up being the best part of the trip...we met up with her cousins family and friends and ended up hanging out with real Italians for most of the weekend!

The first day we got there, of course we went and saw the Colosseum and Roman Forum. These are staple Roman things to do, and they were absolutely mind-blowing! It was amazing to stand in the midst of such history. Here is a picture of me in the Colosseum...

Roman Forum ruins!

After that, we ended up meeting up with Jayme's cousin and were able to experience the craziness that driving is in Rome! Her cousin was an excellent driver, but people in Rome don't exactly follow traffic rules. There really isn't such a thing as lanes or speed limits! I can't imagine learning how to drive there. Her cousin's name was Beatrice (pronounced Bay-a-tree-chay) and her friend Lucilla (pronounced Loo-chee-la) and they took us over to Beatrice's dad's house where Jayme was able to connect with her relatives. We also were served REAL Italian food which was to die for. Fettucini, chicken, parmesan bread, and super rich chocolate for dessert. I was in heaven. Beatrice and her family were so welcoming and some of the nicest people I have ever met. After dinner, we went out to a restaurant right next to the Colosseum where we had drinks and just sat and talked. We met Beatrice's boyfriend, Francesco, who was very interested in all things American. We had a blast answering all of his questions!

Having drinks next to the Colosseum!!

Saturday started off with a visit to Vatican City, where we walked through St. Peters, and then walked through the Vatican museums and saw the Sistine Chapel! It was all incredible. We actually saw where Pope John Paul II was laid to rest in the tombs. It was emotional for me, even though I'm not Catholic. Just seeing all the people surrounding the tomb, some on their knees, made me realize how much he meant to some people. The Sistine Chapel was also impressive, although darker and smaller than I imagined. Just thinking of Michael Angelo painting all the ceilings though, made it worth it. After Vatican City, we were picked up by Beatrice and Francesco again, and we went and got real Italian Gelato at a cute place hidden in the more residential area of Rome. Of course, it was delicious. From there, we were taken on a tour of the non-touristy areas and we visited a bridge that overlooked the Tiber where couples will leave locks attached to the bridge and then throw the key in the river! It's a popular spot for the locals, as well as the mountain we drove to next where we could see the entire city from above. It was breathtaking. After that we went to another real Italian restaurant and spent the night laughing and talking with our new friends. It was a surreal experience, and we were so sad to say goodbye to them!

Here are some pictures of Saturday:

Me in front of St. Peters!

View of Rome from the mountain we went to!

Sunday we woke up early to go see Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Both where obviously impressive, but we were a little preoccupied with getting to the airport, due to airspace being closed all morning to the Iceland volcanic ash cloud. Unfortunately, the wind blew it right over Italy Sunday morning, so we were forced to get to the airport super early to keep track of our flight. Luckily, they re-opened airspace at 2 pm, so we were able to make our flight that night.

Trevi Fountain!

It was an amazing weekend in Italy, and we have our new friends to thank. It was great to be able to see the city outside of the touristy sites, and I feel so lucky to have been able to do so.

Next weekend: Paris!

Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Old Sarum!

Today has officially become my new "favorite day" in the UK. Notice, I don't say London. That's because we escaped the city limits by hopping on a National Rail train to the town of Salisbury, about an hour and a half outside of London.

Once we got off of the train, we immediately hopped on a double decker bus that took us to...STONEHENGE.

I've seen pictures of Stonehenge a million times, but I never thought I would actually end up staring at it in person. It was incredible, and although you can't get too near to the rocks, I was thoroughly impressed with the sight. Here are some pictures :

The beautiful Stonehenge!

Posing as always!

While we were waiting for the bus to come back, four of us climbed up on top of a burial mound that is part of the hundreds that are scattered all over the Salisbury area. From the top of the mound, the view was absolutely incredible. I was literally speechless...all I could do was stand and stare off into the rolling green hills. The pictures I took definitely don't do it justice, but here are a few:

View from around the mound...

Me conquering the mound...

View from the top.

From there, the bus took us to Old Sarum, which are ruins of an old castle on an enormous mound. It took us about an hour to walk up it, and along the way we could see the entire town of Salisbury and the beautiful surroundings as we wound our way up the mound. It was breathtaking. Here are some shots from Old Sarum:

Some outlines of the castle ruins.

View from our walk around the mound.

Loving life with Salisbury in the background.

After that, we took the bus back into town and spent a little time exploring the adorable Salisbury. We went into the cathedral, which was insanely gorgeous, shopped at the little boutiques, and wandered around the parks and winding streets for a couple of hours before catching the train back to London. Here are some pictures of the fantastic Salisbury:

A shot of the outside of the Cathedral...I'll post more of the inside in a slideshow.

Beautiful park we passed.

My future home.

I've decided that if I ever move to England, I would love to live in a town like Salisbury, preferably closer to the city. I would love to have the country and city life at my finger tips, and I realized I find the English countryside completely enchanting. It was a magical day, and I couldn't stop smiling. It was a much-needed break from the city, and I'm so glad I could experience it.

Next weekend: Rome!

Slideshow!

So, I've finally figured out how to put videos on here!

Here is a slideshow of pictures that I have taken in the first 3-4 weeks of the trip.

I haven't been able to post many on here, so here is a chance to take a more detailed look into my trip!