today was pretty chill and we lazily walked around the city and saw the sacre creu, and the moulin rouge. We had a delcious crepe from a little stand in a back alley and just wandered around. I am excited to come back to Paris again some day and do somethings I really couldn't do this short trip....this city is so beautiful (a little smelly) and has so much to offer! I really do admire Europe....
Since I am so exhausted we decided to come back to the hotel and chill for a while before heading out to see some fireworks later tonight and then calling it quits and going to bed early so we can get up early and catch out train back to London! I am so excited to get to Sweden I can hardly stand it....only a few more days.
xoxo Jackie
Saturday, August 2, 2008
catch up day
30 July, 2008
Today we spent all day in Dublin walking around the city…I think I walked 100 miles, or at least 10 for sure. I saw all of the typical tourist stuff like St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Stephen’s Green, The Customs House, the Famine memorial, Christ Church, and St. Catherine’s. Of course we did not miss the Guinness storehouse tour! That actually may have been my favorite part of the day! Just to touch on some key points of the trip:
- When we tried to go to bed the night before, there were people in our beds….drunk passed out teenagers….American too. Oh, well. We got it sorted out and slept for a few house before getting up at 630am and walking to a coffee shop.
- We couldn’t get into Christ Church because they were filming a TV show called the Tudors. It didn’t matter too much because it was good enough just looking at the outside.
- We went to the Guinness factory as soon as they opened at 930 in the morning. It was actually really interesting and we spent over an hour walking around and learning about beer! Barley, Hops, Water, Yeast….that is all!
- I got Dad to split a Donor Kebab with me for lunch and for a man who says he doesn’t like lamb, he sure liked the Kebab as it only last 10 seconds on our plate.
- When we went to St. Steven’s Green we sat in the park for an hour and watched the Irish Army Band play. They were quite good and it was a much needed rest for the ole feet.
- We decided that we had seen enough and had enough fun (aka spent enough money) and headed to the airport a little early just to chill. We got back to England around 10 and just packed and went to bed early because our train was leaving at 853 the next morning.
31 July, 2008
Oh what an early morning it was. I woke up at 530am to shower, get completely packed, checked out, and ready to leave. I also must say that lugging a 50+ pound bag one mile is definitely not what you want to be doing at 630 in the morning. We caught a train then switched to a tube (which meant lugging that same bag up and down flights of stairs) and finally made it to Kings Cross to catch our Eurostar train to PARIS! I can’t say that I remember much about the train ride because I slept the whole two hours it took to get there…I must have been very tired and trains just rock me to sleep.
When we finally got to our stop at Disneyland, we took a quick little bus to our hotel where I had an interesting encounter with a Swedish family. I figured out that they were a Swedish family when the mother was laughing at a large American southern woman who was being rude to the bus driver for not knowing exactly what to say to her in English as he was French. When we got off the bus, the husband grabbed by bag for me and took it off the bus for me and I thanked him in Swedish. The funny part was when the mother continued to speak Swedish to my dad assuming that since I said thank you in Swedish that he would obviously know it too! Anyways, I continued to have a quick five minute conversation with her and her 10 year old daughter in Swedish of course, before parting ways. My dad was in awe because I don’t think he knew I could actually hold a little conversation with someone, and continued to ask me what I had said. I am excited to get to Sweden to learn more and try to practice!
Anyways, we checked in and walked over to the parks to check them out for a bit. We wandered around, grabbed some lunch and then walked back to the hotel to get our bags into our room. Oh it is so nice to have a big bed, and a shower that I don’t have to get out of to think. We went back to the parks later to catch some of the shows like the Lion King Stage show and of course a parade with all of the Disney characters. Side note, I sat next to a Danish dad and his 2 daughters during the parade….random I know.
All of that aside, my favorite thing about Disneyland Paris is definitely its multilingual experience. At first, I was put off that a lot of the stuff was in English and basically a smaller scale of Disneyworld in Orlando, which is nothing new for me. However, the more time we spent in the park the more I realized the real diversity of the park. We went in this one presentation called “The Art of Animation” and the last part of the show was in a theatre where they showed a movie montage of different classic Disney movies. At first I thought that they were all in English and French but as I continued listening, I realized they had almost every language recognizable. Just a few clips I saw was Mulan in Chinese, Aristocrats, Beauty in the Beast, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in French, Pinocchio in Italian, Lion King in Spanish, Jungle Book and Lady and the Tramp in German, and Aladdin in Arabic….there were a few clips in English, but I’ve seen those so they weren’t as exciting! I honestly have not heard any Americans since we have been here and the only English speaking people I have heard have been British or Irish. I don’t mind though and I like being able to use the little bits of other languages I know ( I ordered in French today…thank goodness the menu was numbered because that is all I know in French beside hello, thank you, goodbye, and Do you speak English?)
Dad and I are spending the next 2 days in Paris which I am very excited for! I definitely am enjoying traveling a lot and may have opened Pandora’s Box. Oh well, I’ll run out of money and then I won’t be able to travel until I get a job….no fun! Oh, I’m not so happy about the fact that the wifi is broken at all of the hotels here so I can’t get online….evidently it has been broken for 2 weeks, which I don’t understand with how much people rely on the internet when traveling internationally which is the majority of the people in these hotels. I hope it gets fixed soon!
1 August 1, 2008
Bonjour and greetings from Paris! Today we spent all day in Paris and I had a wonderful time. We woke up around 6 and went and got breakfast downstairs at our hotel. One thing I love about Europe is the amazing breakfast food. I think I am permanently hooked on Yogurt and granola with sandwiches! Yuuumy! After we got all ready to go we caught a train into Paris and got off around the Notre Dame Cathedral. We took some pictures and walked around a bit and then caught a boat to Champs Elysee (walk of champions) to the Arc de Triumph! It was so cool!! There were a ton of designer stores too!! We walked around a bit and went into some random shops and then decided to walk to the Eifel tower. It was good 15 minute walk to the tower and once we got there I was surprised at just how tall it really was! Dad and I got in line and walked up 686 stairs to just the second level! What a view of the city! We didn’t go all the way up because the top floor was closed for some reason when we were there but it was still an amazing view! We saw the Socre Creaue, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, and other great landmarks. After we made our descent, which I must admit was a little painful and I am quite proud of my dad for sticking it out, we got back on the boat and made our way back to the Louvre. It was only around 5pm and I wanted to wait until 6pm when it was free for students. We walked around the area and I ended up finding a great painting of the Eiffel tower that I think will compliment the painting I have of Big Ben from London….my new decorating scheme is definitely international! Finally it was 6 and we went into the Louvre and straight to the Mona Lisa. Weirdly enough they let you take picture in the museum so I have some great ones of the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s Dying Soldier and Venus de Milo! I couldn’t believe how many people were there to see the Mona Lisa…I mean it was like a fight to the death just to get up and see the painting…people were more vicious than the day after Christmas sales.
After the Louvre we decided to head home since it was already past 8 and time for a nice dinner. We ended up having an amazing dinner with such amazing food including salmon, duck, cheese and bread, prawns, and other assorted gourmet dishes. I must say that the cheese was absolutely amazing second only to the great wine we had. Dad and I split a bottle, which we efficiently knocked out in an hour, which was a chardonnay from France…probably one of the best wines I have ever had. Oh yes, btw, I couldn’t take the heads off the prawns and I made Dad do it because it freaked me out. However, when it came time for dessert, I was slightly disappointed because they were out of tiramisu by the time I wanted dessert. I was so sad that I really almost cried. I made it through and dealt with the dilemma as best I could. By the end of the meal I think I tried everything there, and have thus determined that French food and wine is in a whole other league than the rest of the world. More to come tomorrow!
Xoxo Jackie
Today we spent all day in Dublin walking around the city…I think I walked 100 miles, or at least 10 for sure. I saw all of the typical tourist stuff like St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Stephen’s Green, The Customs House, the Famine memorial, Christ Church, and St. Catherine’s. Of course we did not miss the Guinness storehouse tour! That actually may have been my favorite part of the day! Just to touch on some key points of the trip:
- When we tried to go to bed the night before, there were people in our beds….drunk passed out teenagers….American too. Oh, well. We got it sorted out and slept for a few house before getting up at 630am and walking to a coffee shop.
- We couldn’t get into Christ Church because they were filming a TV show called the Tudors. It didn’t matter too much because it was good enough just looking at the outside.
- We went to the Guinness factory as soon as they opened at 930 in the morning. It was actually really interesting and we spent over an hour walking around and learning about beer! Barley, Hops, Water, Yeast….that is all!
- I got Dad to split a Donor Kebab with me for lunch and for a man who says he doesn’t like lamb, he sure liked the Kebab as it only last 10 seconds on our plate.
- When we went to St. Steven’s Green we sat in the park for an hour and watched the Irish Army Band play. They were quite good and it was a much needed rest for the ole feet.
- We decided that we had seen enough and had enough fun (aka spent enough money) and headed to the airport a little early just to chill. We got back to England around 10 and just packed and went to bed early because our train was leaving at 853 the next morning.
31 July, 2008
Oh what an early morning it was. I woke up at 530am to shower, get completely packed, checked out, and ready to leave. I also must say that lugging a 50+ pound bag one mile is definitely not what you want to be doing at 630 in the morning. We caught a train then switched to a tube (which meant lugging that same bag up and down flights of stairs) and finally made it to Kings Cross to catch our Eurostar train to PARIS! I can’t say that I remember much about the train ride because I slept the whole two hours it took to get there…I must have been very tired and trains just rock me to sleep.
When we finally got to our stop at Disneyland, we took a quick little bus to our hotel where I had an interesting encounter with a Swedish family. I figured out that they were a Swedish family when the mother was laughing at a large American southern woman who was being rude to the bus driver for not knowing exactly what to say to her in English as he was French. When we got off the bus, the husband grabbed by bag for me and took it off the bus for me and I thanked him in Swedish. The funny part was when the mother continued to speak Swedish to my dad assuming that since I said thank you in Swedish that he would obviously know it too! Anyways, I continued to have a quick five minute conversation with her and her 10 year old daughter in Swedish of course, before parting ways. My dad was in awe because I don’t think he knew I could actually hold a little conversation with someone, and continued to ask me what I had said. I am excited to get to Sweden to learn more and try to practice!
Anyways, we checked in and walked over to the parks to check them out for a bit. We wandered around, grabbed some lunch and then walked back to the hotel to get our bags into our room. Oh it is so nice to have a big bed, and a shower that I don’t have to get out of to think. We went back to the parks later to catch some of the shows like the Lion King Stage show and of course a parade with all of the Disney characters. Side note, I sat next to a Danish dad and his 2 daughters during the parade….random I know.
All of that aside, my favorite thing about Disneyland Paris is definitely its multilingual experience. At first, I was put off that a lot of the stuff was in English and basically a smaller scale of Disneyworld in Orlando, which is nothing new for me. However, the more time we spent in the park the more I realized the real diversity of the park. We went in this one presentation called “The Art of Animation” and the last part of the show was in a theatre where they showed a movie montage of different classic Disney movies. At first I thought that they were all in English and French but as I continued listening, I realized they had almost every language recognizable. Just a few clips I saw was Mulan in Chinese, Aristocrats, Beauty in the Beast, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in French, Pinocchio in Italian, Lion King in Spanish, Jungle Book and Lady and the Tramp in German, and Aladdin in Arabic….there were a few clips in English, but I’ve seen those so they weren’t as exciting! I honestly have not heard any Americans since we have been here and the only English speaking people I have heard have been British or Irish. I don’t mind though and I like being able to use the little bits of other languages I know ( I ordered in French today…thank goodness the menu was numbered because that is all I know in French beside hello, thank you, goodbye, and Do you speak English?)
Dad and I are spending the next 2 days in Paris which I am very excited for! I definitely am enjoying traveling a lot and may have opened Pandora’s Box. Oh well, I’ll run out of money and then I won’t be able to travel until I get a job….no fun! Oh, I’m not so happy about the fact that the wifi is broken at all of the hotels here so I can’t get online….evidently it has been broken for 2 weeks, which I don’t understand with how much people rely on the internet when traveling internationally which is the majority of the people in these hotels. I hope it gets fixed soon!
1 August 1, 2008
Bonjour and greetings from Paris! Today we spent all day in Paris and I had a wonderful time. We woke up around 6 and went and got breakfast downstairs at our hotel. One thing I love about Europe is the amazing breakfast food. I think I am permanently hooked on Yogurt and granola with sandwiches! Yuuumy! After we got all ready to go we caught a train into Paris and got off around the Notre Dame Cathedral. We took some pictures and walked around a bit and then caught a boat to Champs Elysee (walk of champions) to the Arc de Triumph! It was so cool!! There were a ton of designer stores too!! We walked around a bit and went into some random shops and then decided to walk to the Eifel tower. It was good 15 minute walk to the tower and once we got there I was surprised at just how tall it really was! Dad and I got in line and walked up 686 stairs to just the second level! What a view of the city! We didn’t go all the way up because the top floor was closed for some reason when we were there but it was still an amazing view! We saw the Socre Creaue, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, and other great landmarks. After we made our descent, which I must admit was a little painful and I am quite proud of my dad for sticking it out, we got back on the boat and made our way back to the Louvre. It was only around 5pm and I wanted to wait until 6pm when it was free for students. We walked around the area and I ended up finding a great painting of the Eiffel tower that I think will compliment the painting I have of Big Ben from London….my new decorating scheme is definitely international! Finally it was 6 and we went into the Louvre and straight to the Mona Lisa. Weirdly enough they let you take picture in the museum so I have some great ones of the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s Dying Soldier and Venus de Milo! I couldn’t believe how many people were there to see the Mona Lisa…I mean it was like a fight to the death just to get up and see the painting…people were more vicious than the day after Christmas sales.
After the Louvre we decided to head home since it was already past 8 and time for a nice dinner. We ended up having an amazing dinner with such amazing food including salmon, duck, cheese and bread, prawns, and other assorted gourmet dishes. I must say that the cheese was absolutely amazing second only to the great wine we had. Dad and I split a bottle, which we efficiently knocked out in an hour, which was a chardonnay from France…probably one of the best wines I have ever had. Oh yes, btw, I couldn’t take the heads off the prawns and I made Dad do it because it freaked me out. However, when it came time for dessert, I was slightly disappointed because they were out of tiramisu by the time I wanted dessert. I was so sad that I really almost cried. I made it through and dealt with the dilemma as best I could. By the end of the meal I think I tried everything there, and have thus determined that French food and wine is in a whole other league than the rest of the world. More to come tomorrow!
Xoxo Jackie
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Greetings from Dublin!
So this morning Dad and I set out for Ireland for the next 2 days. We got up and had an english breakfast then caught the train to Gatwick and finally got to Dublin around 5. We checked into our hostel and then set out into the Temple Bar district. We walked around a bit and scoped things out then foudn this one pub called Oliver St. Gogarty right in the center of town with real irish music and everything. We had some AMAZING irish food ( cornbeef and cabbage and fish and chips) and then washed it all down with a pint of Guiness!! mmmmm.....I can't think of anythign more Irish to do while in Ireland! After we were finished drinking and eating ourselves silly we wandered around Temple Bar somemore and on O'Connell's Street ( the main drag in Dublin) then eventually found our way back to the hostel. My dad and I are going to play some billiards/pool upstairs then hit the hay because we are getting up really early to see all that we can before we have to catch our flight back to London at like 7 or 8 tomorrow night. We are hitting all of the historical places like the Guiness Storehouse, Jameson Whiskey Distillary, and Christ Church....all you need booze and god...word to live by. I'm going to Hell.....
See you all there!
xoxo Jackie
Monday, July 28, 2008
Very Long day
Today we woke up early and took a train into the city in efforts of seeing all of the things I have not seen in the month I have been here. The first place we went was Westminster Abbey, and it was a sight to see. If anyone ever goes to London spend the time (at least an hour) and the money to go inside the abbey. It was amazing to see the graves, memorials, and tombs of so many influencial people in Britain. (Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Issac Newton, Edward the Confessor, Handel, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Chaucer, and all monarchs dating back hundreds of years as well as the memorials of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Winston Churchill). It was easy to be humbled.
After that we wandered up to Whithall again and took pictures of the guards, then caught a tube to St Pauls, which we elected to just take a look inside rather than pay the inflated entrance fee. We decided to walk back to Westminster from St Pauls which was quite a trek, but at least Dad got to see Shakespeares Globe and part of the Queen's Walk. After that we headed to south Kensington to Harrods, but got side tracked by a pub called The Bunch of Grapes. We had a pint and split a fish and chips then made our way to Harrods. We didn't go in any stores but just hung around in the food halls which was fine with me....I may have gained 10 pounds just by looking at all of the candies and chocolates for sale in those rooms! After that we simply made our way home and relaxed being that we had been on our feet for 8 hours and walked nearly 10 miles! Tomorrow it's off to Dublin and I am very excited to be doing something new!
Until Then,
xoxo Jackie
After that we wandered up to Whithall again and took pictures of the guards, then caught a tube to St Pauls, which we elected to just take a look inside rather than pay the inflated entrance fee. We decided to walk back to Westminster from St Pauls which was quite a trek, but at least Dad got to see Shakespeares Globe and part of the Queen's Walk. After that we headed to south Kensington to Harrods, but got side tracked by a pub called The Bunch of Grapes. We had a pint and split a fish and chips then made our way to Harrods. We didn't go in any stores but just hung around in the food halls which was fine with me....I may have gained 10 pounds just by looking at all of the candies and chocolates for sale in those rooms! After that we simply made our way home and relaxed being that we had been on our feet for 8 hours and walked nearly 10 miles! Tomorrow it's off to Dublin and I am very excited to be doing something new!
Until Then,
xoxo Jackie
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Dad is Here!
Today Dad flew into London and I was going to pick him up at the airport around 730 or so. unfortunatly, the train stations had other plans for me. There was a fatality on my line earlier in teh morning which altered, delayed, and cancelled all of the trains going from Surbiton to Waterloo. I had to wait until half past 8 to leave the station and then all of those delays made delays on the tubes, so I didnt get to the airport until 10:30! I felt really bad because he had been waiting fo rme for 3 and a half hours! Oh well.....at least I got heathrows number and left him a message at the front desk so he didnt worry too much!
We headed back to Surbiton to drop off his bags and then off we went into the city! Our first stop was Camden Market where we had some great Indian Food and Potstickers, follwed by a dessert of a nutella crepe...ohh so good! We headed back toward central London and saw Buckingham Palace, said hi to the Queen for Grandma, and walked to Hard Rock Cafe. After that we headed toward oll of the tourist stuff liek BIg Ben, House of Parliment, Westminster Abbey and all that jazz. The coolthing was that this guy asked me for directions to 10 Downing Street which is where the Prime Minister lives so we decided to stop by there too! We walked through St. James Park and saw all of Whitehall (government district) and Gordon Browns current Prime Minister residency!
We walked back to Waterloo and hopped a train home, stopped by the grocery store and jsut relaxed....i think its a about bed time too bc we are both falling asleep and it's only 9:30. Oh well, we will just get up early tommarrow and head into London and see more things....I think Abbey Road, the Tower of London, and St. Pauls catherdral are on the docket tomorrow, then Westminster Abbey and other such things on Monday...thens its off to Ireland and Paris!! YEAH! Then I guess I will go to Stockholm and see my lovely boyfriend, who I miss a lot! :)
Until then,
xoxo Jackie
We headed back to Surbiton to drop off his bags and then off we went into the city! Our first stop was Camden Market where we had some great Indian Food and Potstickers, follwed by a dessert of a nutella crepe...ohh so good! We headed back toward central London and saw Buckingham Palace, said hi to the Queen for Grandma, and walked to Hard Rock Cafe. After that we headed toward oll of the tourist stuff liek BIg Ben, House of Parliment, Westminster Abbey and all that jazz. The coolthing was that this guy asked me for directions to 10 Downing Street which is where the Prime Minister lives so we decided to stop by there too! We walked through St. James Park and saw all of Whitehall (government district) and Gordon Browns current Prime Minister residency!
We walked back to Waterloo and hopped a train home, stopped by the grocery store and jsut relaxed....i think its a about bed time too bc we are both falling asleep and it's only 9:30. Oh well, we will just get up early tommarrow and head into London and see more things....I think Abbey Road, the Tower of London, and St. Pauls catherdral are on the docket tomorrow, then Westminster Abbey and other such things on Monday...thens its off to Ireland and Paris!! YEAH! Then I guess I will go to Stockholm and see my lovely boyfriend, who I miss a lot! :)
Until then,
xoxo Jackie
Friday, July 25, 2008
Last Day of Classes!!!!
So today was my last day of class and I am soooo happy! Now I can vacation and be stress free from school...no more learning for another 4 weeks! :)
I've done a few things this week that are worth mentioning:
-went to Brick Lane and ended in a pub with my class and professor...and then he bought us all a drink. London is such a different world....
-I won an award in my British Culture and Society class for the best independent essay....it was the one I wrote on Abbey Road! I got a little bag from the contemporary art museum.....if anyone wants it, its yours. It was nice though to be picked out of 80 other people for the best essay
-the farewell dinner was last night, and it was so fun! They provided each table (10 people) with 3 bottles of wine...weeee......and then we had a 3 course meal!! It was yummy!!!!!! After that almost all of us went out to a bar in Kingston and celebrated our last day....class was a little difficult this morning though.
-I'm alll done with class and I am ready to travel...I pick up dad at the airport tommarrow morning and then the fun begins!
cheers!
xoxo Jackie
I've done a few things this week that are worth mentioning:
-went to Brick Lane and ended in a pub with my class and professor...and then he bought us all a drink. London is such a different world....
-I won an award in my British Culture and Society class for the best independent essay....it was the one I wrote on Abbey Road! I got a little bag from the contemporary art museum.....if anyone wants it, its yours. It was nice though to be picked out of 80 other people for the best essay
-the farewell dinner was last night, and it was so fun! They provided each table (10 people) with 3 bottles of wine...weeee......and then we had a 3 course meal!! It was yummy!!!!!! After that almost all of us went out to a bar in Kingston and celebrated our last day....class was a little difficult this morning though.
-I'm alll done with class and I am ready to travel...I pick up dad at the airport tommarrow morning and then the fun begins!
cheers!
xoxo Jackie
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Oxford
Today I went to Oxford with my class. It was ok, but nothing too incredibly exciting. The only really exciting part was that we found some really cool teeny tiny pubs and had a few pints of local brew. One of the pubs was where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein go to relax....I'm sure they don't go anymore now that it is relatively famous and well known as their hangout. WE went on a walking tour and then into the Christ Church which is the Hall that Harry Potter was modeled after. We spent alll day there and that was really all we did....oh well, at least I went and saw it. Oh I almost forgot. In the middle of one of the streets there is a section of the pavement that is old cobble stone that wasn't removed and paved over. It is the spot where The Arch Bishop of Canterbury was burned at the stake during the reformation....I'm pretty sure that is right?!? Oh well, my brain is on information overload right now so excuse my uncertainty. Well, only 1 more paper to write and a test on Thursday...then I am done!!!!!!! I am off to a rock and roll party downstairs then its off to bed....talk to you all later!
xoxo Jackie
xoxo Jackie
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