Cardiff!

Hello again. I know I've been terrible at blogging lately. Have been in a bit of an odd mood. With the end of the program approaching, it's occurred to me that I really don't want to leave! I will be very glad to see my family friends and cat back home, but I absolutely adore London. So the knowledge that my time here is coming to a close has been quite depressing.

However, it is not yet time to leave and I have had some fantastic adventures since my spring break. The one I'm most excited about is the trip to Cardiff that I took a few weeks ago!

For the trip in question, my friends Sara and Shira and I got up far too early on a Sunday to catch a bus to Cardiff. It is amazing to me that in the time it takes normally to get to my grandparents in upstate New York, I can take a bus to another country!

Anyway, when we finally got there, we still had some time, so we grabbed burgers for lunch. Upon finishing, we caught a city bus to Cardiff Bay and the main attraction of our trip - the Doctor Who Experience! From the minute we caught sight of the building, we were all far too excited!

The inside was covered with art and decor from the show, including paintings of the various villans, a Lego Dalek and memoribdlia from the show! We looked around a bit before joining the queue for the experience. While in line, we noticed that our Internet printed tickets were significantly less pretty than the tickets purchased on site. One of the staff members, hearing our disappointment in this actually came back a few minutes later with on site tickets for us! It may have been a small gesture but the fact that she was so willing to do that meant a lot to us!

Finally, it was time to enter the experience. None of us were really sure what to expect but were excited anyway! It transpired that the Doctor Who Experience is a walk through that reminded me very much of a walk through ride at Disney World!

We began with a short video that was essentially a trailer for Matt Smith's time as the Doctor. At this point, I was a little underwhelmed since I'd hoped for a more inclusive experience. However, all that changed when the screen split open, leading us into another room. This room was set up with a variety of props from the series, and we were introduced to it as a museum of the Doctor. However our tour was interupted by the alarm sounding and the Doctor appearing on one of the screens! He told us that he was trapped and needed our help and was sending the TARDIS to us. And sure enough, a few lights went on and the TARDIS appeared. We went through the door into the control room! The kids in the group were able to take positions at the console and follow the Doctors directions to fly it. Not only did the lights and sounds go off, but the floor moved too, giving the amazing impression of actually flying in the TARDIS! When we landed, we left the console room to be faced by animatronic Daleks and narrowly escape extermination before encountering weeping angels and eventually saving the Doctor!

When the experience was over, we werw let out into the museum itself, which featured an impressive amount of Doctor Who props, including costumes from all of the Doctors and most recent companions!

Upstairs were many of the villans and creatures! Primarily, these were from the new series but I was surprised at how much had survived from the old series as well!

Once we'd finally seen enough and visited the gift shop, we set off back into the main part of Cardiff. Since our return bus wasn't for a few more hours, we decided to visit Cardiff castle. Of all the castles and fortresses I've seen, this one is probably my favorite! It looks like it jumped right out of a fairy tale and made me want to be a princess there!

We were able to climb to the top of the keep and enjoy a gorgeous view of the city and explore some if the more recent structures. The staff noticed our Doctor Who bags and showed us around the library which was used as the TARDIS library in one of the recent episodes!

Our tour of the castle left us with enough time to grab dinner and get back to the station to catch our bus home. Overall, this trip was one of my best this semester and I hope to get back to explore more of Cardiff and Wales at some point!

Denmark Part 2

As my mother has been reminding me, it has been much too long since I last posted here. And I am sorry about that, but life gets crazy when studying abroad! I'm hoping to play catchup today and tomorrow but we'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I present to you the second half of my spring break. Following my previous post from Phil's class, we hopped on a bus which led us to a train which took us to Copenhagen! I don't remember a whole lot of the train ride because I fell asleep. Which will surprise no one who has taken a long trip with me. However, once we got there and checked into our hostel, I was feeling much more awake.

The fantastic view from our hostel window

I won't drag you through a blow by blow of the exploration of the city, but instead some of the aspects that really stuck with me. 

On Friday evening, we took a walk through the main sites of Copenhagen, including the palace, the old castle and the Little Mermaid statue! Despite the rather chilly walk along the water, seeing that statue was totally worth it. I'm not entirely sure why I was so drawn to it, but I really loved being there! While checking out the statue, we met a group of three Italian girls who were traveling together and exchanged group photos. Despite some communication barriers, we found them to be very pleasant and Phil was able to give them directions to the fountain they were looking for. 

At that point, the sun was starting to go down and our stomaches reminded us that it was dinner time. Earlier in the day, we'd crossed over a large river with several ships docked along the edge. One of them had been advertised as a restaurant and hotel, which caught our attention. Despite the worry that it was going to be super fancy, we decided to check it out. So we walked back and Phil hopped onboard to chat with the owner who was quite pleased to seat us. It turns out that instead of the fancy restaurant we expected, the main ships cabin had been converted into a small dining area with a few tables that led right onto the kitchen. We really felt like we'd just wandered into this guy's living room. But the owner gave us each a beer and made us this delicious soup and some sort of traditional Danish potato thing (I'm still not quite sure what it was but it was yummy!) While we chatted with his friend who was sitting at the next table. It was very low key but also really cool! I'm so glad we took the chance to stop by. 

The following day, we our main goal was to go see the changing of the guard. Though we showed up a few minutes late, the crowd wasn't too horrible and we enjoyed watching the soldiers (who were actually like 16-18!) march in formation. It turns out that the guards are split into shifts based on their height for a more uniform aesthetic. Next to the tall shift, the shorter one coming on looked a bit silly! 

Following the guard change, we explored a little more, seeing the old buildings and churches of the city. Because Phil's studying to be an archaeologist, he was able to tell me far more than I wanted to know about a lot of it! We stopped by the National Museum (I really love the free museums in Europe!) and spent a few hours wandering around the medieval and Egyptian sections. 

As far as buildings go, one of my favorites was the Round Tower, a tower connected to a church. Its one of the higher structures in Copenhagen and you're able to climb it to get a great view of the city! But what was really unique about it is that the king at the time demanded that it be built so that he could get his carriage up it. So rather than stairs, you climb up a huge ramp! 

In addition, there were rooms off the tower periodically, including a cafe, gift shop, and small art gallery and a bell tower. 

Following our trip up the tower, it was about time for our dinner reservation at Copenhagen's oldest restaurant where Hans Christian Anderson hung out! We had more of Copenhagen's open faced sandwiches which were DELICIOUS! 

The next day, we took a tour of Nordic films, the main film production studio of Copenhagen! Though the tour was in Danish, Phil was able to translate for me and I had a good time! We had a chance to see some of the more famous short films from the studio and went through some of the history of Danish filmmaking. 

By the time the tour was over, we were pretty exhausted from sightseeing and decided to take a break and find some lunch and pastries before heading back to the train station. We still had some time before our train, but decided it was much better to be early. So we found a bench to hang out for a while. It turns out that the bench in question was the favorite hangout of some of the homeless people of Copenhagen. At first, I was a bit uncomfortable with them but we actually got to talking and they turned out to be some of the most fantastic, friendly people I'd ever met. In particular, we spoke to this one guy and his dog who sell newspapers on the street. 

After that, our trip back to Phil's place was a bit uneventful and we got back safely with plenty of time for me to pack up before going to the airport the next day! 

Denmark! (Part 1)

Since this week is my spring break, I decided to take the opportunity to visit Phil, a friend of mine who I hadn't seen in about 5 years. We used to fence together years ago, but he eventually had to move back to Denmark. So as weird as it felt making travel plans without my mother's guidance, I booked a flight and here I am.

(Forgive the current lack of eloquence, it is currently 8:30 am here and I'm only about halfway done with my coffee.)

Since my last post, I safely arrived in Denmark. Luckily, Phil met me at the airport and was able to help me navigate the bus routes back to his apartment. I'll spare you a description of my first day in Denmark because it largely consisted of me being kind of grumpy because I was running almost entirely on caffeine and 4 hours of sleep. So there was Doctor Who and a nap involved before I started feeling human again. Luckily I was properly awake when his mother dropped by with some fantastic homemade pizza dough (I desperately need the recipe) and a camp bed for me.

The next day, Phil had to go to class because he isn't on spring break and takes his education seriously. So I had the chance to settle in and get some much needed sleep. Luckily for me, the apartment complex is literally a stones throw from the grocery store. They share a very small parking lot. Unluckily for me, absolutely everything is in Danish. Which is reasonable considering that I am in Denmark. But it was still quite an adventure trying to find food that I recognized that I could prepare quickly in a microwave (I was starving and not in the mood to figure out a new kitchen for real cooking). It took a few laps around the store but I did eventually find something that I'm still pretty sure was lasagna that had microwave instructions on the back (at least numbers are pretty universal if a language uses the same alphabet)
Even though everyone I passed was perfectly pleasant, or at least indifferent, to me, it was actually rather scary being somewhere on my own where I spoke absolutely none of the native language. At least in Paris I as with a group and could manage a few basic words. Hello and thank you get you a long way, I've found. Plus, in Paris, I was with a group. Here, I was on my own and feeling very much the ignorant American. Even though I know most Danes speak some English, I still felt weird being completely ignorant of their language.
Despite this grocery store experience only lasting about 15 minutes, I left it with a very different perspective. I've never had much occasion to think about how fortunate I am to have grown up in an area where my family and I speak the dominant language. I really can't imagine moving somewhere and having to make a living in another country that speaks an entirely different language, particularly if they also didn't speak mine. I like to think that I could make it work, but I know it would still be terrifying.

Later that night, Phil took me into the nearby city of Århus (or Aarhus) to meet his friends from University. We wound up at the Sherlock Holmes pub, which was surprisingly similar to the pubs I've been frequenting in London. But I learned that Danish beer is pretty fantastic and that the stereotypical American to Danes is a southern, conservative Republican. Denmark is a very liberal country so I was thankfully able to smash that stereotype to pieces. That plus the fact that I was able to keep up as far as beer went seemed to make a good impression. About halfway through the evening there was a pub quiz which was good fun even though I wasn't much use. Though there were a few America related questions so I didn't fail entirely.

Yesterday, Phil's classes let out earlier than usual so we took the opportunity to catch a bus back into Aarhus and wander a bit. The main stop of the day was an art museum called Aros, which was pretty cool. It contained a wide variety of work and was a reasonable size, so we actually got through the whole thing! I particularly enjoyed the basement, which featured 9 rooms of various light art (some short films projected uniquely, a few optical illusions and things like that) which had a really unique quality to them. Also, the director's choice exhibit upstairs contained a room full of art based in horror which I was fascinated by. So I'm a bit twisted...

After the art museum, we wandered around a bit more. It is apparently art week in Aarhus so there were odd installations of modern art all over the streets. That was neat to check out in addition to the city itself. Aarhus is composed mainly of red brick, very unlike London. Plus, I was walking around with an archaeology student so I learned far more than I could retain about the history of nearly every building. Eventually, hunger forced us to stop for a small lunch. We picked up fairly traditional hot dogs from a stand on a corner. The Danes are rather clever about this actually. Instead of the bun Americans are used to, the bun is actually round and hollowed out in the middle so you don't have the problem of the hot dog falling out so much and the bun didn't fall apart on me. I think that this needs to catch on in the US.

That night, Phil took me out to the restaurant where he works. I don't even know where to start with that. Not only was it a fairly upscale restaurant, the food was AMAZING and we were served a different type of wine with every course. I'm not sure how I'm going to go back to the cheap wine I've been drinking in London after that! Since Phil works there, we had a chance to chat with the manager and waiters a bit more than normal and it was neat to get to know them. Apparently it was a big deal that he had a girl with him and everyone in the kitchen seemed to be taking turns bringing us water refills and such. But anyway, I'm feeling very spoiled and enjoyed dinner immensely.

With that, I'm more or less up to present. I'll post another entry with some pictures when I get the chance. At the moment, I'm in class with Phil because we're going to Copenhagen this afternoon and I can't get my phone (that has the pictures online). So I've been writing this on a Danish keyboard, which has been an adventure. They moved some of the keys on me! But at least I understand this better than the lecture on archaeology that is all in Danish!

Spring break, here I come

Hello all,

More complete entries of my recent doings will come soon but for now I am sitting in the Stansted airport enjoying my hour of free wifi and a mocha before my flight boards. I like to think that I'm a pretty seasoned traveler for my age, having been flying since I was about 7. In that time, I've had all sorts of airport adventures. Mostly good ones because I learned early how they work and how to be prepared. That being said, I would like to note how much I love the Stansted airport. Yes, I did have to get up at 5:30 am for a 9:55 flight because it's almost 2 hours away from Kensington, but so far it's worth it. Apart from the fact that my flight is about $100 cheaper than flying out of Heathrow, I'm amazed at how friendly everyone is here. The British are known for being polite, but being used to the US TSA, I wasn't sure what to expect when my backpack was flagged for a check at security. What liquids had I forgotten to put in my small, resealable bag? However, the woman simply explained very kindly that my electronics were packed too closely together (that's what happens when a film major travels) and that they should be removed for a rescan. She even smiled at me and answered my question about which conveyer belt it would be coming out on without seeming annoyed at all. When she had to put my stuff in two bins, she came back to tell me that too and wished me a pleasant flight.

So I headed past security feeling pretty good (once I'd tetrised my camera and such back in the bag)

I was also quite glad I'd flown out of a London airport before and with instructions from my mother because they function very differently than American ones. Instead of sitting at your gate for the time before departure, you sit in a large pre departure lounge and shopping area, watching huge boards to find out where your gate is and when it opens for borarding. You only actually go to your gate about 20 minutes before departure. So I'll be doing that shortly. 

Anyway, that's about it. I'm currently running on about 3 hours of sleep and 2 Monster Energy drinks and a mocha. So I'll either be bouncing or passed out on my flight.

Off to Denmark for spring break! Looking forward to Copenhagen and visiting an old friend! My mother would be appalled because we have very few specific plans and will be mostly winging it. Wish me luck!

Hogwarts - A Dream Come True

Be prepared for a long entry here. I'm far too excited about this subject.

If you've so much as met me, you're bound to know that I'm an extreme Harry Potter fan. One of my favorite sets of memories is listening to the audiobooks with my family while growing up and waiting eagerly for the next book or movie to come out. I really can't remember life before Harry Potter and it was an integral part of my childhood.
So of course, I not only jumped but leaped at the chance to go to the Warner Brother's Studio Tour with my school when the trip was offered. So the day after our Bath and Stonehenge tour, I leaped out of bed early again to get on the bus to see the Harry Potter sets in person. I was even more excited when I found that my friends Sara and Morgan had a seat saved for me. We were also next to Ashley who I think is in one of Sara's classes.
The ride to the Warner Brother's Studios was about 45 minutes but on a bus full of people excited about the same thing, that's no time at all. Pulling into the parking lot and seeing the sign was absolutely breathtaking even though it really was just a basic looking studio.

Inside, the lobby was lined with photos of the main cast throughout the movies and, of course, the flying Ford Anglia. We had a bit of time before our ticket times, so we wandered through the gift shop and picked up our audio guides. It turns out that Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the movies, narrates the audio guide which was very exciting. It was really cool to hear his stories and just to have him talking to me in general! 

At about quarter of 1, which was our ticket time, we decided to get in line. The entrance to the tour was situated next to our first set piece, the cupboard under the stairs where Harry sleeps in the first movie. After only a short wait, they let us through into the first room. Immediately, Disney world came to mind and we decided to stand close to the next door to be first out of the room. Once everyone piled in, a short presentation began. It was primarily various movie premiere posters and a few comments from the producers. This presentation led us into the next room which was a very Disney style theater where we got to see a short film involving an introduction from Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who played Harry, Hermionie, and Ron in the movies. They shared some of their experiences from living on the sets for ten years. The film ended with them turning away and leaving through the Great Hall doors, leaving us pretty hyped up for the next thing. Then, the screen lifted in front of us revealing the actual Great Hall doors! 

So we got to enter Hogwarts through the actual Great Hall doors that were featured in the movie. We found ourselves in the Great Hall itself, set up for a feast! 

We were able to wander and explore for a few minutes before our guide spoke to us again, pointing out the details and sculptures around the walls as well as the costumes that were placed around the walls. There were student costumes from all four houses as well as many of the teacher costumes at the front of the hall. Interesting fact: the fans were generally displeased that the students stopped wearing hats after the first film. However, it wasn't the decision of the studio. In one of the last scenes of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, the students in the Great Hall all throw their hats into the air. When they shot this scene, many of the hats actually hit the candles and caught on fire! So health and safety shut that down and the hats were gone in subsequent films. 

After our time in the Great Hall, the self guided part of the tour began. Even beginning at the beginning, I don't know where to start here. There were so many little pieces and props and sets from the films. I was absolutely surrounded by the world I dreamed of throughout my childhood and I admit that I cried a bit from excitement. 

Though we initially stayed close, everyone had a slightly different pace with the tour and audio guides, so Sara, Ashley, Morgan and I eventually went our own ways so we each could get the individual experience we wanted. 

 Ron's Bed

The entrance to Dumbledore's Office. 

Dumbledore's Office 

Umbridge's rather distinctive costumes

I was really struck by the amount of detail in everything. Absolutely everything was thought out and created to give the most believable world possible for the films. Even the tiny details that would never be seen on screen are there and quite often hand created. Just walking through it was insanely clear that everyone involved in the process loved every minute of it. 

One of my favorite displays was a board the showed pictures of the animal actors used for some of the main animal characters in the films. As an animal lover, it was wonderful to see the animals involved and to hear about how much everyone involved loved the actors and some of the challenges faced by the trainers. Each animal had their own personality. For instance, one of the cats who played Crookshanks was particularly good at being carried around and being lazy, while one of the others loved to chase Scabbers the rat. Many of these animals were rescues and found wonderful homes after the filming was complete. 

According to Tom Felton, one of the most popular days on the set was the day that they created the plates for Umbridge's office. In case you don't remember, Professor Umbridge's office was decorated with plates that had kittens on them. So they had 40 kittens on set being filmed in front of the green screen, all wearing tiny hats and bows and all sorts of adorableness. 

Halfway through the tour, we moved from one soundstage to the other, by way of the backlot. The backlot is where the outdoor sets were constructed and filmed and many of the sets were still there. This was the one place on the tour we can eat and drink and they were selling Butterbeer!! I was far to excited about this and did spend the extra money to get a reusable tankard cup to take home. 

YUM!

We also had the chance to take pictures with a few of the set pieces (well, replicas). Hagrids Bike, the Knight Bus, and the Ford Anglia were all out there in addition to Tom Riddle Sr's grave and Number 4 Privet Drive. 

Sara and I in the Ford Anglia! 

I didn't take pictures with the Knight Bus because at that point I couldn't feel my fingers, so I moved on to the rest of the tour. The first stop in the next soundstage took us through their prosthetic displays. I never fail to be amazed by special effects make up and really would love to give it a shot sometime. 

One of the coolest things in there was the animatronic Hagrid head. Since Robbie Coltraine wasn't actual half giant, they actually wound up using a taller stunt double for some of the longer shots. They put an animatronic model of Hagrid's head on their shoulders so that they could keep the illusion that it was actually Robbie Coltraine. 

There was also some fantastic concept art on display that I really loved having the chance to examine. The creative minds behind so much of the magic astound me and I really loved having the chance to see how it began. 

The very final stop on the tour was probably my favorite - the scale model of Hogwarts itself that was used for all the exterior shots. Cue the tears again because it was Hogwarts and it was right in front of me. I can't even begin to describe how happy I was. Every detail was perfect and I felt like I could just dive right in and settle into Transfiguration class. 

Sadly, the tour was over too soon, but I'd made sure to leave myself enough time in the gift shop before the bus left. I wanted absolutely everything but I managed to boil it down to a few things. Sadly, they didn't have ANY shot glasses, so I was really glad I'd picked up the Butterbeer cup. I also couldn't resist the Death Eater Picture that my friends and I had taken at the beginning. 

After a quick bite of late lunch/early dinner, we all piled back on the bus for the trip home. I feel so blessed to have a chance to tour the studio that was such a part of my childhood. If I did nothing else in London, I think I'd go home satisfied (don't worry Mom, I'm still doing ALL THE THINGS!). If you have the chance, please, go do this tour if you love Harry Potter! 

Stonehenge and Bath

Prepare yourself for some crazy catch up! I've gotten behind on my blog but so much has happened this past week! So we're going to do it in order!

Starting from Saturday - not the one that was yesterday, the one before that! Our Professor took our entire class on a tour across the English countryside to Stonehenge and Bath. I was particularly excited because I had never been to Stonehenge but always wanted to go. We had to get up far too early, but the bus was thankfully comfortable and we were able to catch a few winks on the way to Stonehenge.

Recently, a new welcome center/museum was built to change the way visitors enter Stonehenge, so we had to take a short tram ride to the rocks themselves. It's hard to describe the feeling of stepping out of the door and seeing them in person for the first time. In a way, its a bit anti climactic because it really is just a relatively small collection of rocks. However, there's something about it that is so very powerful and worth the travel. It's a big place of Druidic worship and there is a definite energy that hangs around that I was very struck by. In addition, I'm fascinated by the mystery behind the site because no one really knows why or how they came to be there.

Despite being unfamiliar with Druidic Gods, I have to admit that I thoroughly believe in them. This is because we clearly angered them. Two students from our group will remain unnamed (because the Study Away office reads this!) decided to cross the ropes and touch one of the rocks. I don't think that security noticed, but the gods definitely did because it started hailing about two minutes later! At that point we had seen about enough of the rocks anyway and were able to head back to the tram without feeling disappointed, though we were now soaked and freezing!
We spent a while in the gift shop, of course, where I picked up a few post cards and a shot glass for my collection. In addition, there was hot chocolate and meat pasties for sale which was perfect after being soaked! After a trip around the small museum, I decided that I really wanted to read more about the history and theories behind Stonehenge so I picked up a book on the subject that I'm sure my father will want to borrow when I've finished.

Shortly after all this, we all piled on the bus and began the drive to Bath! I was a bit more awake this time and was able to enjoy the gorgeous countryside, particularly the sheep! Our tour guide told us a bit about the area and it's history, but one line particularly stood out - "In the Bronze Age, people were defined by their bling. In the Iron Age, people still had bling but they were going to hit you with it."

When we finally got to Bath, it was a bit dreary and cold, but we quickly got into the Roman Bath museum. Unfortunately, 2 hours wasn't really enough to explore much of the city, so I decided to really make the most of the museum and enjoyed the audio tour and the history. I did recognize a lot from my previous trip several years ago but loved it just as much this time around. It did make me want to have a spa treatment though, something that I don't say very often. Once we all finished the Bath tour, our professor did buy us lunch and I was able to pick up some postcards and, of course, another shot glass! 

Then, it was back on the bus for the trip home! 

The Roman Baths

The City of Lights

First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone, particularly my mother for the long delay between posts. Things got a little crazy this past week or so. However, I'm going to take the next few days to try to get caught up, starting with my adventure last weekend (not the one that just ended, the one before that)

It amazes me to be able to say it so casually, but I went to Paris! Yes, you heard me right, a few friends and I just went to Paris for the weekend. My roommate Sammie and our friends Olivia, Morgan and Sara all signed up to be part of the same tour to the magnificent City of Lights. So after our internships, we gathered and headed to Victoria station to meet the tour bus that would take us to Paris. Traveling to another country with just a purse and a backpack was the strangest sensation ever. I certainly had packed plenty for just a weekend but it still felt surreal.

Thankfully, Sammie and Olivia had traveled with this tour group the previous weekend, so they were familiar with the meeting point, so that part was relatively easy. Even better, it was right next to what felt like a gas station convenience store right in the station. So we were able to grab a bit of dinner and snacks for the trip.
We all piled onto the bus and Karleen, our tour guide ran down the plan - namely that we were going to drive to Brighton to pick up some more people for our tour before heading to France. I slept most of the way through that leg of the trip, despite the fact that the man in front of me had leaned his seat back pretty much in my lap.
From Brighton, we were finally on our way! I'd been wondering how the whole crossing the channel in a bus thing was going to work, so it was a bit mind blowing to find out that we would be going by train. As in our bus was going to get on a train and go under the channel. The train was huge! That was about as much as I established before falling asleep again because we were going to be traveling all night and jumping right into the tour when we got there at around 8:30.
When we eventually got to Paris, it was pretty much pouring. Thankfully, the first item on the itinerary was a guided coach tour, so we got to stay on board as we drove around central Paris.

Victory Arch in the rain! 

Finally, the bus dropped us off right at the base of the Eiffel Tower! It was still a little dreary, but the worst of the rain had stopped. Our walking tour began with breakfast! Though the main group went to one cafe, they were only offering two options because of the huge group. Therefore, our little group plus Emily, an American college student who was by herself on the tour, went next door to another cafe where we found some fantastic crepes with Nutella! Yum! I thought I liked crepes before but having them in France was something entirely new! 

After breakfast, our guide took us on a walking tour of some of the main sites of Paris. We hopped on the metro to Notre Dame! It was absolutely incredible to be there and walk around such a beautiful and influential site! 

For me, the appeal was of course the historical value and general majestic nature of the building. It amazes me just how huge it is, particularly because of how long ago it was created. I can't even begin to imagine what went into building it. We were given some free time to walk though the main floor which was incredibly powerful, even though I'm not religious. What was even more incredible was watching Morgan look around because she is actually Roman Catholic, so the experience was even more meaningful to her. 

From Notre Dame, we walked a bit further to the Louvre! They tell you that it's big, but until you get there and see this museum that covers so many buildings, you don't really believe them. Our free time for the rest of the day started there, so we were free to explore the museum as we chose. Of course, we had to go see the Mona Lisa. You hear about this piece of art your whole life and then all of a sudden it's right there in front of you! The crowd wasn't too bad, so I actually got to the front, about 5 feet away. While the painting itself is relatively small, looking at it and knowing the history it has seen and the many thousands of people who have passed by is incredibly powerful. 

Mona Lisa Selfies!

We spent a bit longer in the Louvre, walking around to Aphrodite, Cupid, and a few pieces in between, but with so much museum, we eventually had to call it a day and move on. Thankfully, the sun decided to put in an appearance and we began our exploration! In case you didn't know, Paris is HUGE! We were navigating with our map, but everything looked so much closer on the map than it actually was. So walking anywhere took a bit longer than we anticipated. By this point, we were hungry and somehow managed to wind up at a pizza place which may be a bit odd for Paris but it was INCREDIBLE pizza. I got one with seafood on it to try something a little different and didn't regret it for a moment! 

After lunch, our real adventure began! We had a few sites in mind that we wanted to get to, the first being Pompidou, a building designed to have the pipes and other generally exterior aspects on the outside. It was certainly far from pretty but a very interesting architectural design. 

Our next destination was the opera house that inspired the story of the Phantom of the Opera! Since that's one of my favorite shows, I was very excited to see it. Apparently, the idea for the story came when a crystal from the chandelier fell and killed an audience member. 

But before we could see that, we had to find our way. We found it on the map and had a good plan, but didn't quite anticipate the distances involved. We also made a few stops on the way to find French wine and macaroons! Yum. I didn't know what macaroons were before this trip but now I'm craving another. They're this great cookie-ish thing with a slightly crisp outside and chewy inside and is delicious! 

After we finally got to the opera house, we began the next leg of our trip to the Victory Arch, built by Napoleon. Sadly, it was getting late by this point so we had to rush a bit and exhaustion was starting to creep up on us. But we did make it to the arch without getting too lost. However, at this point we only had 15 minutes before meeting the tour group, so we decided to hail a cab. Thankfully, Sara speaks fluent French which had saved us a few times throughout the day and helped now. Between 5 of us, the fare wasn't too bad and we were perfectly on time. 

The Eiffel tower is absolutely gorgeous at night. 

After all that walking, getting back on the coach was an absolute blessing and we were all very excited to get to the hotel. Thankfully, we were only at that hotel one night because the rooms were about the size of an average dorm room and there were 3 of us in each one. But you can do anything for one night and we really were just there to sleep and recover for the next day. Emily, Morgan and I shared a room and had a bit to recover before we went and found dinner. 

The next morning came too early, but the hotel thankfully provided breakfast and more importantly, COFFEE. Their coffee machine was the fanciest I've ever seen in a hotel and had options for things like lattes and mochas. Plus more Nutella! 

I was very glad that day to have met Emily because the main tour portion of the day was an optional trip to Versailles that cost and extra 30 euros and my companions from FIE decided against it. However, I wanted to go and was very excited to have a friend to go with! So most of the tour group piled on to the bus for the ride. The best part was that we were able to doze off a bit on the way. 

The gardens of Versailles are absolutely incredible, even in January! I can't even begin to imagine what they would be like in spring or summer! Emily and I took a walk around, but couldn't even cover a tiny fraction! You really could spend a few days just exploring these beautiful gardens. 

I do have to admit that my favorite part was the fact that I met a cat in the garden! He was super sweet and actually let me pet him and seemed to really like me! I miss my kitty so much and meeting another one did help me a lot. 

From Versailles, we took a short walk to a local traditional food market. Emily and I bought a baguette and walked around eating it while looking at the various fruits and such. We found a stand selling French wine and each bought a bottle - I'm developing quite the taste for wine while over here! 

The final stop of the day was Montmartre, the very Bohemian area of Paris that contains the Moulin Rouge and was where they filmed the movie! We got some souvenir shopping done there before getting back on the bus to head home!