April abroad

Me rollerblading in Nice on Easter sunday

Venice at sunset.

Hiking through the Cinque Terre.

Varnazza...one of the 5 towns.

Minnesota love in Paris :)

Yes, I may have been off the radar for almost a month now but believe me I have some good reasons. And isn't it more important that I am out enjoying this continent rather than writing about it all the time? This entry will get you all up to date on the most important happenings of the past month including: spring break and visits from Ashley and Steph. Lets dive right in shall we?

Spring break: April 10th-19th (Nice, Venice, & Cinque Terre)

Never thought I would do an Easter candy hunt in my hotel room in Nice on Easter sunday (thanks to Alex), go rollerblading along Les promenades des anglais (paths along the ocean) and have lessons in cultural competence all in the same day.

Incredible market in old nice. It had everything: olives, spices, handmade soaps, flowers, fresh tea, candy...the list goes on. It was a feast for the eyes.

Can't get enough of the gelato in this town. With 80 some flavors to choose from we just had to go 3 times.

Experienced Monaco (the place and the drink) and all you can eat moules (mussles) in the same day. Talk about indulgence.

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Very first night we arrived we wandered the confusing streets of Venice for about 2 hours before we found our hotel (again, thanks to Alex. I think he deserves MVP for the trip).

Excellent B&B that we stayed at called Al Tramonto Dorato with it's friendly owner, delicious breakfast and off the tourist path location.

Not a complete trip to Venice without a gondola ride. Alex talked the gondalier down from 80 euros to 60 euros.

Incredible Saint Marks cathedral with it's shimmering interior and Saint Marks square with it's after dark concerts and romantic atmosphere.

Cashed in on some beach time on Lido (another island of Venice). Got to ride Vaperetto to get there (Venice's version of a taxi-the only thing is, that if you get off before your designated stop you might drown).

Evening in Venice is the best time of day, even better after dark. The tourist crowds are gone and the island is quiet.

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Chanced it and didn't make plans for a place to stay in the cinque terre and ended up at a great little place in Monterosso (the northernmost of the 5 towns) called Hotel Souvenir.

Italian as a language, as I have learned, is very passionate. Everyone seems to be fighting when they speak, but really they are just carrying on normal conversation. Big change from the discrete French.

Naturally the entire midwest was in the Cinque Terre at the same time. Met a couple from Bloomington Minnesota, a lady who graduated from Gustavus "many years ago," and a nice old lady from Toronto. Also, randomly on the train between towns I met a man who works for Bigger, faster, stronger (sports training) and started talking athletics...see I can be productive on vacation ;)

Quite possibly the best Italian food I've ever had came from a place called Via Venti. Family owned and operated I had TO DIE FOR fresh pear and cheese ravioli. If you want the full details ask Becky, she could talk about it all day. All I have to say is everything from the service (we became friends with the son/waiter because we ended up going there twice) to the ambiance and of course the cuisine were top notch.

Undoubtably we hiked. Breathtaking views (and climbs) in the misty rain satisfied Becky and my desire for some outdoor adventure.

E verything about this place (the mountains, the ocean, the food) all lent itself to creating an atmosphere for the perfect vacation. No museums, no lines, no crowds. Just nature and all the time to do whatever you want. The perfect end to an incredible, once in a lifetime spring break.

TERRE

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On April 20th Steph arrived in Paris-it was great to have another visitor and of course we both got emotional at the airport. It means so much to me to have visitors...the fact that they chose to take time (and money) to come see ME across the ocean means more than I can say. I can only hope that they were able to see Paris and France the way I do. For them to share time here with me lets me show others where my passion for this culture comes from. It was the most fun for me to see Steph's reactions to every site we visited-I saw Paris again through new eyes.

Ash arrived on April 23rd but spent time from the 27th-May 1st in Nice and along the cote d'azure since she has already been to Paris once before. Having them here at the same time was a really fun experience and gave them a chance to finally meet. Don't worry Ash we will be instituiting our own French club when I get home!

Having visitors a second time around has really changed my philosophy on the best way to experience Paris. Perhaps its the fact that I've spent more time here and begun to realize what Paris and France is really about, but as important as seeing all the monuments are, to truly understand the French you must act like one. I have a full and utter appreciation for long, lazy days in the park and extended meals. Maybe I've inhaled too many fumes from the boulangeries, but I'm beginning to completely comprehend why the lifestyle here works.

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Paris, je t'aime...

Time is of the essence...

Japanese Gardens at Giverny.

Our fondue in Annecy.

Beautiful lake Annecy.

Vaux-le-Vicomte.

Fontainbleau.

So I figured I should probably blog before spring break because that will be blogable on its own.

The last two weeks have been quite eventful and varied in their activities. Everything from visits to chateaux, jazz clubs, marathon (shopping and running), Monet, and a taste of the Alps. As I type this now I realize how many amazing things I've had the opportunity to be a part of in just these last 14 days.

The chateaux of Fontainbleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte were a full day just south of Paris. France takes this palace business seriously (take Versailles for instance). Fontainbleau was built to be just a simple hunting lodge for the kings within close proximity of Paris. I was impressed that the chateau still seemed lived-in with all the furniture and decorations still adorning each and every room. I'll have to say that Napoleon's rooms and the piped-in time period music really were the real clinchers for me. As for Vaux-le-Vicomte, I think I like the story behind it more than the chateau itself. It was owned privately by Nicolas Fouquet, Louis XIV's finance minister, and when Fouquet threw a house warming party Louis got so jealous he threw a fit and had Fouquet arrested. Then just to rub it in his face he went and had Versailles built. Boo ya. The gardens there are really great with many large fountains and prime picture taking opportunities that no doubt we took advantage of.

Acting on an itch to get out of Paris, Becky and I literally headed for the hills when we decided to go to Annecy for the weekend. Located just at the foothills of the Alps we were pumped for a weekend of biking and hiking and being near the lake. Unfortunately as our TGV rolled into the station the rain was coming down and didn't seem to have any intention of letting up. There went our biking plans for that day, but we took a dose of some optimism and headed out with our umbrellas to explore what we found to be an amazingly charming town complete with canals running through the old part of the city. We were enchanted by beautiful swans, a crystal clear lake, and mountains that just didn't quite want to show their peaks with all the fog and rain. Without any shame I can say I was really looking forward to the local cusine of fondue. And oh we fon-did-it! After about 5lbs of cheese, 2 potatoes (each), a huge salad, and enough bread for an army we sat in stunned silence as to what had just occured. I challenge anyone to say they wouldn't do the same. Hiking was on the adgenda for the next day and just like the day before we were faced with a challenge. The boat that was supposed to traverse the lake to the location we wanted to hike from didn't begin operation until April 24th. But of course. Armed with a local map I scanned it looking for any signs of camping or regional parks. We ended up walking and exploring for a good 3 hours, then back to the hotel for a much deserved lunch and nap. Our last night was spent discussing when we could come back next over another delicious dinner. Convieniently Annecy is a bid city for the 2018 winter olympics...keep your fingers crossed.

This past weekend started off with an IES trip to Giverny (Monet's home where he did his famous waterlily paintings) and a visit to the medival city of Rouen where Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake. Giverny is famous for its gardens which had only opened two days earlier so we didn't get to see them in all their glory. I couldn't help but think about my dad while I was there and how he would just love roaming around and tending to all the flowers and plants. It was unfortunate that it was such a gloomy day when we went and there were no waterlilys to be seen, but on the bright side we got lunch paid for!

Saturday was all about the shopping. The day started off in the Marais area of Paris. We hit up the vintage shops with the help of our friend Chenault after brunch at the American Diner. For our afternoon adventure Becky and I hopped on the RER A and headed east-almost to Disneyland Paris to experience a real French mall and outlet shopping. I can tell you it did not feel like we were in France there-could have been anywhere USA outlet shopping, and you know what? I liked it. My mom seems to be excited about the prospect of experiencing it as well. ;) The day ended with some Latin jazz and a late night walk home after missing the last metro. A successful day in Paris.

Sunday morning came much too quickly, but we tore ourselves out of bed to go play spectators at the marathon de Paris. 35,000 participants (only 6% women) and over 200,000 spectators. It was a unique experience to get to watch a marathon while abroad and I hope that someday I can come back and participate. I was intrigued by how different the atmosphere was from the races I've been to and participated in at home. I was expecting shouting and cheering and noisemakers, but all I got was some clapping and the occasional "allez!" I had to restrain myself from getting too out of hand. The winner completed the race in 2 hours 5 min. I sat at a cafe with an expresso and ate a banana.

Putting a whole new spin on "I love Paris in the springtime."

Talk to you after spring break!

Bisous!

Katie

Kelly's visit

Kelly's first French cafe

At Versailles

Tour Eiffel from the Trocodero

Our boat cruise on the Seine

Hello all....so I know it's been over 2 weeks but in my defense I have been quite occupied with a certain special visitor :)

Yes, Kelly was here from the 14th-21st. The night prior to her arrival my friend Alex and his roomate had a dinner party (which was AMAZING) at their homestay location and I did not return to my apartment until about 4 hours before I had to leave for the airport to get Kelly. So, after a quick catnap and a slap you in the face shower I was off to Aeroport CDG. I arrived just as Kelly's flight was landing and as I waited for her to walk though the arrival doors I was watching other seemingly "annoying" travlers get in everyones way as they greeted loved ones. I thought to myself, "as soon as I see Kelly I'll pull her off to the side and then we can get excited." Well apparently all that went out the window when I saw her smiling face. I literally RAN up to her and we were hugging and kinda jumping up and down-just like all those other annoying people x10. So much for being discret. :) I can't tell you how happy I was to see a familar face, and not just any familar face, but Kelly! I've been looking forward to her coming since the day I left and her arrival really couldn't have come at a better time.

I pretty much had her entire week planned out (like a month in advance) and I couldn't wait to get started. We began the journey back to my apartment which went rather smoothly eventhough Kelly really didn't make very good friends with the tram...haha. I guess I'll just give a brief break-down of the week and add some pictures.

Sat March 14th: grocery shopping, Historic Paris walk including Notre Dame, il-de-la-cite, deportation memorial, ile-st. louis, and the latin quartier. Dinner near Notre Dame at Le Petit Pont (I think Kelly was overwhelmed by the commotion and being tired) followed by my favorite raspberry beer at Taverne de Cluny.

Sun March 15th: Kelly claims this was one of her favorite days. Sunday market on blv. brune, Monmartre walk including the Sacre Coeur, a taste of Bohemian Monmarte, walk through the area, and of course Moulin Rouge. My friend Alex lives near the area so we stopped and had coffee with him and Kelly had her first French cafe. Dinner in the apartment with Becky.

Mon March 16th: Marais walk includingnla Bastille, hotel de Sully, Place des Vosges (with the dancing man), the Holocaust Memorial and a quick lunch near the Centre Pompidou. For dinner we headed to Paris little "China Town" with my friend Nina to a place popular for Fou-a delicious meal soup. I tasted tripe for the first time (cow tendons) not bad actually.

Tues March 17th: Kelly spent the day with Marie since I had a lot of class and we tried to make it to the Musee d'orsay in time, but it was closed. Detour to my planned Seine boat cruise. Bought the tickets and went and had some cafe while we waited for our 7pm ride. Great way to see Paris and it started while it was still light and finished up near the Eiffel Tower at dark. She even sparkled for us :) Met up with Alex, Becky, and Amaresh for dinner on Les Grands Blvds. at a great little place Jacques recommended (Alex's host dad). Since it was St. Patty's day we had to go get some beer and went to a crowded Irish place. I had some amazing cider called apple frost. I do love my cider!

Wed March 18th:Spent the entire morning up until lunch at the Louvre. Saw all the famous stuff as well as Napoleons Apartments-which are amazing! and of course did the Egypt exhibit for Kelly. After my classes we did the musee d'orsay. By this point we are already tired from walking though museums but we push on. Head to Place de la Concorde for the start of the Champs Elysees walk where Kelly was successful in finding the exact sweater she wanted as well as gifts for her friends and my parents. Then we hauled it all the way to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for a night view of Paris. Made it back to the apartment with just enough energy to make some dinner.

Thurs March 19th: Some Latin Quartier shopping in the morning for Kelly (along with a stop at Starbucks) after my classes Becky and I took her to sample a delicious Waffine at Les Halles. Of course there had to be a strike while she was here so the other museums we planned on going to were closed. We did make it to the Eiffel Tower, but of course the top was closed so we had to settle for the 2nd floor. It was really windy and chilly so we basically just scampered around for a couple minutes, took some pictures and headed back down. Kelly got her touristy souvenir-a light up blinking Eiffel Tower for 2.50 euros. It's actually kinda cool. Met up with Amaresh at Chez Papa's for a late dinner.

Fri March 20th: Got up early to head out to Versailles which is about 35 min out of the city. We spent about 5-6 hours there and I think we saw just about everything from the main palais to the retreats and Marie-Antoinettes Hamlet. Had a delightlful lunch in the sun at a place near le grand canal. Back to Paris for Kellys last night. Went to the infamous Auto Passion for some happy hour drinks then to probably my favorite restaurant Chez Pierrot which is right across from my apartment for an extensive French dinner complete with a complementary digestif.

Kelly really couldn't have come during a better week. The weather was amazing-now its cloudy, windy and a little rainy again. I hoped her trip increased her interest in studying abroad or at least more travel to Europe. Wish we could have gotten to Spain, but we can make that another trip for another time. I loved having her here and like I knew it would, it went way too fast. Now I get to look forward to Ash and Steph coming and then my mom in May!

Discovering Normandy.

Pictures from Normandy:


Me and Mont St. Michel


One of the many signs leading everyone to the tapestry.
We liked to joke that we never actually found it.



Travel buddies at Mont St. Michel


Looking out over the bay at Mont St. Michel.


The Cathedral in Bayeux.


Omaha beach: D-Day landing site.


Memorial at the American cemetery.




A sea of graves.


The town of Bayeux.

I figured it was time to update again, and we've been back from Normandy for a week now so I really have no excuses.

All in all everything is going really well here. I can't believe how fast the weeks are starting to go now that we are busy with school and everyday there seems to be something to go to or prepare for. Today Becky's friends arrive from the good ole U. S. of A so it's about to get busy around here for the next 2 weeks. Kelly will be here in less than a week so I'm finishing up planning her time here as well. Before I know it, it's going to be the end of March and almost time for spring break!!

We've decided on or destinations. First we'll take the train to Nice and spend 3 nights there, hopefully getting to Monoco for one of the afternoons. Then, a train from Nice to Venice where the plan is to spend 2 nights. The part I'm most excited for is the Cinque Terre (west coast of Italy just north of Pisa and Florence). We plan on doing some hiking, swimming and lots of relaxing.

No rest for the wicked because when I return from spring break Ashley Koskiniemi and Steph are planning on visiting. It's so great to have them coming-gives me another thing to look forward to. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Back to our trip to Normandy which was Friday Feb 27-28.

-Just because we love being on the first metro in the morning we took the 7am train to Bayeux from Paris. We chose Bayeux as our home base for Normandy because of it's proximity to the D-Day beaches and it's famous tapestry the locals are so proud of. Bayeux is actually very charming and we were pleased to find that this is where all the friendly French people are hiding!

-We arrived just before 10am and set out to find our Rick Steves recommended hotel: Le Petit Matin. We found it located just across from the huge cathedral, dropped off our bags with Pascal (the owner) and went in search for a little something to eat. After a nice little petit dejeuner we enjoyed the weather by walking through town before we had to catch a bus out to the D-Day beaches. We were so lucky and ended up with amazing weather for the two days.

-After a 35 min. bus ride we arrived at the American Cemetary and Memorial at Omaha beach. Walked through the impressive visitors center and watched a short film honoring specific soliders who died in battle. It was a very moving video as they read letters the soldiers had written home and interviewed family members. The memorial and cemetery were incredibly impressive. 9, 387 white-marble crosses stretch as far as the eye can see. Perfectly manicured, the grounds are impecable. The cemetery is on a bluff overlooking Omaha beach itself. From our vantage point the beach seemed to stretch on forever and I had a difficult time imagining this tranquil beach being a site of such carnage. The water had almost a tropical look to it, and with the sun shining down it gave the entire area a sense of being content. Time will never change what happened here, but on a day like that it's easy to think of the good that came from all those soliders actions.

-After a slightly nauseating bus ride back to Bayeux, (Voigt, where's your dramamine when I need it) we decided to follow the advice of the million signs posted around the city and discover the Tapisserie de Bayeux. This 70 yard long wool and linen cloth tells the story of William the Conqueror. It's basically the story of his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Just one of those things you have to see so you can say you did.

-Our evenining in Bayeux consisted of a traditional local meal at l'Assiette Normande complete with various meats, cider and a delicious pudding dessert. We thought we would check out "the bar scene" which consisted of about 2 bars and all the young locals. We met up with 3 guys we had met on the way to the D-Day beaches and ended up at a bar called Pub Fiction where you could actually buy pitchers of beer.

-Saturday morning we woke up and were gently shaken awake with a traditional French breakfast in an adorable dining room. You just can't get that kind of experience from a hostel. At 9:30 we got on our train headed to Mont St. Michel which took us further west along the coast of the english channel. Anually 3.5 million tourists invade this tiny island for a glimpse at a thousand years of history. The island is connected to the mainland by a 2 mile causeway followed by a walk through the one street of the village leading you up to the abbey. Once you reach the abbey at the top there is a self-guided tour taking you through the abbey (thanks Rick). Along the way are amazing vantage points with great views of the bay. Before the causeway was built pilgrims had to wait until low tide and take the risk of encountering quick sand to make it to the island. Thankfully our bus took us directly to the enterance. The entire experience was only made better by the fact that our student cards got us in free. After a lunch consiting of a galette de champignons (salty crepe with mushrooms) we wandered around the island to take pictures and enjoy the amazing weather.

-Our day ended with a train ride back to Paris. I really enjoy rding the trains here-it's such a fast and easy way to travel. You don't need to worry about driving or the hassle of the airport. I really don't miss driving one bit here, it will probably be a slap in the face to have to do so much driving once I get back home. One of our barcelona friends had an early flight out of Paris on sunday so he came back to stay with Amaresh. We ended up going to our local Auto Passion bar and got more than we bargained for. No sooner had we sat down and ordered a round of drinks when a girl slinked out, covered in too much make-up and in need of a dye job, and proceeded to perform a strip-tease for some poor sap. Now, I don't claim to know anything about what it takes to be a stripper but she was not good. I mean, come on. If it's your job at least be good at it! She looked totally bored and the entire thing was just slightly disturbing. Thankfully it didn't last long. On the bright side my drinks were delicious.

-In other news...

This weekend I went to a park in Paris that is twice as big as central park in NYC called bois de Vincennes. It's fun to go to places you never plan on-my friend Nina who is a year student has wanted to go so Becky and I tagged along. Ended up being pretty sweet we even got to see a chateau. Who knew? For dinner we ended up going to this amazing Indian restaurant in the Latin quatier. Becky loves indian food and I love trying new things so along with Nina and Marie and one of her roomates we had an amazing meal. Trying to plot when I can go there again. Went and listened to some live music and went to a couple bars to complete the evening. Rode into Porte d'Orleans on just about the last train of the night.

Paris is good to me.

Until next time...

<3>

London pictures...it's about time.

A few pictures from London a couple weekends ago. I'll do a better job with pics-just got new batteries for my camera :)


Classic fish and chips. Yes it was delicious. ALL the food there was.


A beautiful day in London. Big Ben and Millenium Bridge.



Loving London. With Tower Bridge in the background.




The obligiatory phonebooth pic. Yes I will act like a tourist outside of Paris.





Proabably my favorite picture from the weekend. Awesome view along the Thames.

The daily life of one temporary Parisian

Salut tout le monde!

Thought I would get another update in before I head about for the weekend tomorrow. This time it's off to Normandy for some d-day beaches and Mont St. Michel...updates to come :)

Without further ado my continuation of "what I love about France"

11. True French jobs. So specific and have remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years. I'm talking about bread and cheese makers...it's incredible the work they do. They honestly keep this country on it's feet. It's such a talent that deserves some recognition. The beauty is in the details. They've got something going here.
12. Being able to run here. For all the walking I do I think my legs just feel restrained because everytime I go running I don't want to stop. It's also a great time for me to just have to myself and reflect. I love running by the parks and watching the little kids play and laugh at the overly serious frenchmen who jog in all spandex and never like when a girl runs past them ;)
13. Becky and I have been slowly transforming into true French citizens as our dinners have gradually gotten later and last longer. It's amazing how we can end up sitting there for 2 or 3 hours just talking and eating. It's really a great way to end the day. Lets see if I can incorporate that into my life at home.
14. My "l'histoire de Paris" professor. He's got to be at least 70 years old but doesn't have any signs of alzheimers. He lectures for an hour and half without referencing anything and all the dates, names etc. come right out of his head. It's amazing. He's like a walking textbook on the history of France.

As for interesting events of the past couple weeks here are a few to take note of...

-Since I'm dumb and used a blowdryer with an adapter that said not to, I managed to ruin 2 adapters now since I've been here. So in an attempt to save money I headed to Fnac (an equivelant to Best Buy) where I bought it to try and exchange it. After a 50 min wait (when I was told by the handy "take a ticket" machine that it would only be 12 min) I got up to the counter armed with excuses and simply said en Francais "l'adapteur ne marche jamais" meaning this adapter never worked. He smiled at me (probably my accent) and just said back "well a new one is a good idea then." A signature later I was out the door with my new adapter. No questions. Sometimes I really like this country.

-Visited the Cluny museum (medival art) because we needed to for a class, but went to the musee d'orsay (impressionist museum) this week with Becky before class. Why? simply because we can, and since we're taking an art class we get a special art students card that gets us into all public museums for FREE. So we enjoyed the morning and then had lunch at a great little place we stumbled upon on the way to the metro. Will for sure be going there when Kelly and I go to the orsay.

-Last weekend was pretty eventful. Thurs night Becky and I after having dinner with a couple friends decided to hit up a bar that we always pass on the way to the metro. So we saddle up to the bar and after a couple beers we decide to call it a night. Well as soon as we move to put our coats on this man about ohh 55 or 60 walks up to us and tells us he wants to buy us a drink. We politely decline, telling him we're on our way out. Then once the coats are on, one of the waiters approaches us and tells us these 2 guys near us at the bar have offered to buy us drinks. They looked more our age so we gave in and sat back down. The guys ended up being really nice and within normal age limits for us-24 and 28. They were from Biarritz which is in SW France near Spain and own a microbrewery. They invited us to dinner for the next night, so we exchanged numbers and told them we'd call them the next day. Well, our friend Amaresh here had a friend coming from London and asked us to go out with them the same night. We decided to go with our friends here and told the guys maybe another time...

-Went to a great live music bar near St. Michel/Latin quartier on friday night after dinner and met up with some other people from our program. We also had a little (almost american) gathering at our apartment early this week. It was the day of Mardi Gras, but we never made it out anywhere but it was nice to hang out and just have some drinks with friends. The only thing that's unfortunate about being here for just a short amount of time is that I'm sure once you just start to feel like you are getting to really know people it will be time to leave. Just the way the cookie crumbles I guess...

I will be writing again after my trip "up north"

Keep it real.

<3katie

A Tale of Two Cities Part II: London

This bonus blog will get you up to speed on my travel adventures. This edition concerns my long weekend voyage to London. It may be just a 2.5 hour high speed train ride from Paris but it's really a world away...



Friday Feb 13th was the commencement of our whirlwind tour. We left our apartment around 5:30 am to make it to Gare du Nord (the train station) for our 7am train. Neither Becky or myself slept for more than an hour or two the night before, not sure why, all I know is it involved viewing of Sex and the City at about 3am. As we walked to the metro station is was snowing. We made it to the station and through airport-like security and customs and onto our train. The portion of the ride where you are actually in the chunnel under the english channel is probably the most uninteresting part of the trip. It's silent and black. I thought there would be a clear tunnel where you could see all the fish. I'm sort of kidding.

Upon our arrival amist being excited to speak english again we were handed roses by englishmen and free apples...why not? Next step was to buy tube tickets for the weekend and head to our hostel to drop our bags off. Our hostel was located in Kennington which is just south of the center of the city. We wasted no time in getting started on the city.



Friday Feb 13th

-Our first task was to find the London School of Economics where Becky is considering attending grad school. We grabbed a quick lunch beforehand and then visted some of the schools buildings. Seems pretty impressive to me. And then because I just can't resist, we stopped in a bookstore and I got sucked into a 3 for 2 book deal. At least they're english authors.

-Our next plan was to visit the British Museum but got sidetracked and ended up at Covent Garden-a famous shopping/market area. We enjoyed the shopping, entertainment, and amazing cookies for a couple hours before finally making it to the museum. The attractive aspect of much of London's sightseeing is that things are free. One of my favorite words. The British museum has an amazing collection of art and artifacts from all over the world along with the famous Rosetta Stone. We spent time walking through the Egyptian rooms and got to see an amazing preserved mummy that still had all its skin and even some hair still on it. I've seen great mummies quite a few times and they just never get old.

-For dinner we headed to a place called Belgo Centrale-another Rick Steves suggestion, and of course it was great. I had an amazing Vegetable and goat cheese tarte and some great cherry beer. Afterwards we walked around for a while and got to see Trafalger Square at night-think a mini Times Square.

-For a true British tradition and experience we headed to a classic pub called "Ye old Cheshire Cheese." Tacky name but amazing and cheap beer. I'm really into hard cider here and this place had the best stuff I've had here hands down and it was less than a pound and 1/2 for a pint. Can't beat that. We met a couple British guys, Mike and Guy who were fun to talk to and learn more about city from. Becky and I also managed to get free drinks from this random guy at the bar and our new friends. Reason number 574 it pays to be a female.



Saturday Feb 14th

-Got up way earlier than intended and started our day at Westminster Abbey, in the top 4 of largest churches in the world. It's absoultely beautiful and so cool to think about the history of kings and queens being crowned there as well as high profile weddings and funerals. A walk through St. James park was next on the adgenda which led us to Buckingham Palace. I'll have to say France does have something going for it with it's castles. The ones in London just seemed to look like big government buildings. It was really crowded around the palace and we were't planning on going inside so we started walking down the main road away from the palace and all the guards on black stallions were riding up to the palace for changing of the guards. We didn't stick around but Becky did almost get run-over by a horse while taking pictures so that was exciting.

-We decided going to a show/play in London was a good idea and since it was Valentines day we needed to do something special. We headed to Trafalger Square where there were some discount ticket lines. We ended up getting 6th row tickets to The Taming of the Shrew. It's a modernized Shakespearen play and the theatre troop was from Stratford so it was truly a British show. The actors were really funny and the entire experience was very enjoyable. After the show got over we stopped at an Italian restaurant for some dessert and then headed out for our last night in London.
We ended up meeting some young French guys at the first bar we went to...figures we can't even escape them for one weekend. That bar closed at midnight so we went in seach of something different. Club Inferno was our final destination and it ended up being a very unique place to be. The atmosphere was dark lighting, somewhat spanish/salsa themed loud music with some people dancing in small areas and then scattered areas for seating. Something for everyone. At this point I was feeling a little fed up with Valentines day, watching everyone hold hands and kiss each other and by this time I was nearing a breaking point. So when a wannabe Usher was creeping on Becky and his buddy who thought he was God's gift to American women started chatting us up I had lost all patience. Once Mr. Texas (thats what I'm going to call him since he continued to tell me he lived in Texas for 2 years) offered me a suspicious looking piece of "gum" I pretty much gave him the cold shoulder. And no I wasn't being mean-he asked me at least 3 times where I was from and how long I was going to be in London. Again, I had no patience. All in all it was a really great night and we even utilized the night buses and arrived back at our hostel just in time to watch the clock turn to 4am.

Sunday Feb 15th

-We allowed ourselves to sleep in a little bit, but I was insistant on getting my free breakfast before 9am. By 10:30 we were out the door on the way to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels. Apparentley everyone else had the same idea. We bought our tickets to get into what I came to find out was not just a tower, but an entire castle complex where the kings used to live. We were both in dire need of a cup of coffee so we thought we would sit for a minute with a warm beverage. I of course had to ruin the mood by knocking over half of my coffee all over the counter we were sitting at. You just can't take me anywhere. And mom, Becky is learning that if it's not spilled on it's not mine. :)
The whole Tower of London experience was really amazing actually. We got to see everything from the famous crowned jewels, (one of them is the largest diamond in the world with 3, 075 carats!!!) torture devices, the exact spot Anne Boleyn was beheaded, and much to Becky's liking, Henry VIII bed.
Finally around 2pm we decided it was time for lunch and at the suggestion of our buddy Rick headed to Wagamamma noodle bar which had a location convienently located just outside the grounds of the castle. Again, another amazing place to eat with decent prices and all the FREE green tea you can drink.

-Our last stop of the day was the British Library which has a collection of original and priceless pieces of literature. I was most impressed by the original writings of musical composers like Beethoven and The Beatles, the Gutenberg Bible, DaVinci's notebooks. original manuscripts by Shakespere himself and Charlotte Bronte and the impressive Magna Carta. Thats one intense room let me tell you.

-We ended our day camped out at a Starbucks before dinner journaling and reading and then headed back to our favorite part of town (Coveant Garden) to find a place to eat. We ended up at a truly British place called the Cole Hole where we indulged in British food and drink for our last night.

*Monday morning we headed back to Paris just in time for a quick lunch and then back to reality with class. We had an incredible weekend and I can't wait until I can go back again someday.
And no worries, I did have fish and chips, and it was all it's cracked up to be. If Paris is about fancy cuisine, London is all about comfort food, and that is something I can relate to.

Until my next adventure,
<3 Katie