As I was so busy posting all the spring break updates, I forgot to mention that my mom and brother, Thom, are visiting this week/weekend! They will get here tomorrow morning and leave on Sunday morning, so I get a few good days with them. I am beyond ecstatic to see them. I miss people from home so much, so it's great to get a piece of it brought to me. I'm not really sure what we'll end up doing on their visit. Thom I know wants to see the Tower of London, which we saw on our last family vacation here, and Mom wants to do Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's. I've seen all this stuff, but I loved it and am happy to tag along again. I've got work off on Friday, so I think we'll be able to see a good amount of stuff between the three days they're here. I'm also really excited because my Uncle Dan and his wife, Ellen, are meeting up with us Friday evening for tea/dinner/drinks and whatnot. They were just married in the fall, so this will be my first time officially meeting Ellen, so I am really excited for that. And to catch up with Uncle Dan, of course. He's an amazing world traveler, so it's always cool to hear what he's been up to.
In other news, this week's been pretty quiet. Everyone's still recovering from our breaks, and have kept pretty low-key. This obviously will change for St. Patrick's Day next Monday.
Today, our last major all-day class trip was to Bleinham Palace, where the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough live, and Oxford University. Bleinham is a gorgeous baroque palace that's been around since the 1600s and has housed that line of dukes. It also has a strong tie to Winston Churchill, as his uncle was the 9th Duke of Marlborough, and Churchill was the godfather of the current duke. So it was an interesting morning of exploring the aristocratic history of the building and taking in the luxuriousness of it all. They allowed us more time than necessary to explore the palace in my opinion, which probably wouldn't have been that much of a problem if we could have spent some it outside exploring the gorgeous grounds. But unfortunately, it is FREEZING here and very windy. There's a weird storm system affecting the isles and Europe right now that's causing really rainy weather everywhere (hence, our rainy days in Rome). Wales is apparently getting beaten by wind and huge waves on the coast. So we were kind of trapped indoors as much as possible during the day.
Oxford was extremely fun to go to as well, though we weren't really able to explore all the college campuses in it because of it being so cold. Oxford is not one college, but over 40 self-governing colleges and halls, all located in the same area and operating under the general Oxford system. I did not know that until I came to the UK. We took a tour of the famous Christchurch campus, which is absolutely gorgeous. It houses the smallest cathedral in the UK and its dining hall is where the scenes of the dining hall in Harry Potter movies are shot. Yeah, I was REALLY excited about that. There were no floating candles or anything, but it was still really cool to see. Harry Potter nerds like myself really enjoy that kind of stuff. After our tour, my flatmates and a couple others explored the town of Oxford. We were so happy to stumble across a place that is the closest thing I've seen to Chipotle in the UK. I had to get some chips and guacamole. I added Chipotle to my mental places of American restaurants I need to go to as soon as I get back. Restaurants here are great, but sometimes, you miss your old faves.
I'll upload the pictures I have of Bleinham and Oxrford soon, but I think I'm calling it quits for tonight.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
No rain to RUIN our exploration of ancient Rome
I'm so lame. I love puns. Pete's even more of a fan of them than I am, so I partially blame him for the cheesiness of my blog titles.
Day 8: A hands-on history lesson (Hooray! You made it to the last day!)
This was probably my favorite day in Rome, even beating out the amazing Vatican experience. Weather was warm and sunny, so I really got to see just how beautiful of a city Rome is. Plus, I'm a bit of a history buff, and I got to learn first-hand what ancient Rome was like by walking among the incredible ruins in the heart of the city.
We started the day at the Colosseum where women got in free for some random women’s appreciation holiday. Once again, luck was on my side, or at least on my budget's. To treat myself, I got an audioguide, which really gave such comprehensive background about how the Colosseum was built, what it was used for and of course, information on the gladiator battles. It’s really such intriguing stuff. I just wish I could see what it looked like during its hey-day. The Colossuem is legitimately huge. All of its arches kind of reminded me of the old Busch Stadium, actually.
A view from outside.
Inside, amidst all the excavation work that's been done to show all the cages beneath the old arena floor where animals and equipment were kept.
Pam and I spent the rest of the day exploring the Palatine and the Roman Forum, both areas of Roman Empire ruins dating back to the earliest centuries. Pam and I had so much fun, randomly exploring these ruins and discovering the history behind ancient castles, gardens, stadiums and forums. Our method of sightseeing was find a sight, look it up in this amazing guidebook I brought along, and read what it’s all about. That’s pretty much how we approached our entire Roman trip. See following photo:
We had a nice lunch basking in the ruins in the sun. I felt so at peace and never wanted to leave.
People basking in the ruins. We soon joined them.
Here are a couple more pictures of the Palatine and Roman Forum.
A stadium that was part of the Imperial palaces built in the 1st century A.D. They are not exactly sure what it was used for.
The Roman Forum with the Palatine hill behind it.
Me and the ruins.
In terms of what we saw, you really need to look at the Facebook albums, which gives some background on the ruins and buildings. Just copy and paste this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241844&l=28e35&id=1592183
The end of my break…finally. Thanks for hanging in there with me. We caught another early flight from Rome to London on Sunday morning. It feels good to be back, but it's always hard going back to school and work after a vacation.
Final thoughts on my first mainland Europe trip:
-Being in France and Italy made me realize how embarrassed I am to speak only one language fluently. Almost everyone I encountered was able to speak English as a second language, and perhaps another language as well. I think that American schools should put an even greater emphasis on having kids learn a foreign language at a younger age. The experience really put this in perspective for me, and I realized as I was trying to somewhat converse with my Argentinian roommates in Spanish, that I really wanted to buffer up my Spanish a bit before I go to Spain for two weeks at the end of my time abroad. Yeah, I’ll have Pete there to guide me, but it’s not the same. I don’t want to get by just knowing the standard, “Please,” “Thank you,” “Sorry,” and the worst, “Do You Speak English?”
-I love traveling. I’ve always liked it, but it was really fun planning my own trip this go-around, as stressful as transportation issues were at some points. It gave me confidence for future trips.
-Pete and I are better than ever. The Paris trip was one of the best times of my life. I can’t wait to see more of Europe with him during our future adventures.
OK, I’m done. Until next time…
Day 8: A hands-on history lesson (Hooray! You made it to the last day!)
This was probably my favorite day in Rome, even beating out the amazing Vatican experience. Weather was warm and sunny, so I really got to see just how beautiful of a city Rome is. Plus, I'm a bit of a history buff, and I got to learn first-hand what ancient Rome was like by walking among the incredible ruins in the heart of the city.
We started the day at the Colosseum where women got in free for some random women’s appreciation holiday. Once again, luck was on my side, or at least on my budget's. To treat myself, I got an audioguide, which really gave such comprehensive background about how the Colosseum was built, what it was used for and of course, information on the gladiator battles. It’s really such intriguing stuff. I just wish I could see what it looked like during its hey-day. The Colossuem is legitimately huge. All of its arches kind of reminded me of the old Busch Stadium, actually.
A view from outside.
Inside, amidst all the excavation work that's been done to show all the cages beneath the old arena floor where animals and equipment were kept.Pam and I spent the rest of the day exploring the Palatine and the Roman Forum, both areas of Roman Empire ruins dating back to the earliest centuries. Pam and I had so much fun, randomly exploring these ruins and discovering the history behind ancient castles, gardens, stadiums and forums. Our method of sightseeing was find a sight, look it up in this amazing guidebook I brought along, and read what it’s all about. That’s pretty much how we approached our entire Roman trip. See following photo:
We had a nice lunch basking in the ruins in the sun. I felt so at peace and never wanted to leave.
People basking in the ruins. We soon joined them.Here are a couple more pictures of the Palatine and Roman Forum.
A stadium that was part of the Imperial palaces built in the 1st century A.D. They are not exactly sure what it was used for.
The Roman Forum with the Palatine hill behind it.
Me and the ruins.
In terms of what we saw, you really need to look at the Facebook albums, which gives some background on the ruins and buildings. Just copy and paste this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2241844&l=28e35&id=1592183
The end of my break…finally. Thanks for hanging in there with me. We caught another early flight from Rome to London on Sunday morning. It feels good to be back, but it's always hard going back to school and work after a vacation.
Final thoughts on my first mainland Europe trip:
-Being in France and Italy made me realize how embarrassed I am to speak only one language fluently. Almost everyone I encountered was able to speak English as a second language, and perhaps another language as well. I think that American schools should put an even greater emphasis on having kids learn a foreign language at a younger age. The experience really put this in perspective for me, and I realized as I was trying to somewhat converse with my Argentinian roommates in Spanish, that I really wanted to buffer up my Spanish a bit before I go to Spain for two weeks at the end of my time abroad. Yeah, I’ll have Pete there to guide me, but it’s not the same. I don’t want to get by just knowing the standard, “Please,” “Thank you,” “Sorry,” and the worst, “Do You Speak English?”
-I love traveling. I’ve always liked it, but it was really fun planning my own trip this go-around, as stressful as transportation issues were at some points. It gave me confidence for future trips.
-Pete and I are better than ever. The Paris trip was one of the best times of my life. I can’t wait to see more of Europe with him during our future adventures.
OK, I’m done. Until next time…
Isn't Rome supposed to be warm?
Day 3: Keeping busy in rainy Rome
We were originally banking on sunnier weather while in Rome. Unfortunately, it reminded me a little too much of London weather and rained 3 out of the 4 days we were here. We had planned on traveling out to a nearby beach on our Friday, but the cold rain kept us in Rome, as opposed to spending money on transportation. I was set on seeing the beach, but I know I'll get my chance in a couple of weeks when I travel to Spain. Pete and I are planning a weekend in either Alicante or Valencia on the Mediterranean. I think I can wait until then.
We intended on seeing some museums and mostly staying indoors on this day, but many of the museums were closed or had ridiculous prices and booking policies. Museo Borguese for instance not only was outrageously priced but required advanced bookings. Boo. Coming from London, where most museums are free, Pam and I were not happy with this discovery. So instead, we spent most of the afternoon walking around and seeing some of the sights we had missed earlier, such as the Piazza del Popolo, the Castel Sant’ Angelo, the shopping area Piazza Navara where Pam and I each devoured our own delicious 12” pizza (All the walking worked up an appetite! What can I say?), and the Pantheon.
Piazza del Popolo. We didn't get a chance to go in the twin churches because they shut down for afternoon services.
The Pantheon was really cool since it’s a mix of both pagan and Christian origin and it really has withstood the test of time, unlike most of the other Roman structures built that long ago. It was originally a temple to the Roman gods, but was converted to a Christian church in the Middle Ages. Currently, it’s used as a church and has some kings buried there as well as the famous artist Raphael.
The Pantheon.
Honestly, the sightseeing was really fun. We covered a lot of area and learned a lot during our adventures. The only bad part was that since I anticipated warmer weather, I left gloves at home, and thus my genetically poor circulation to my hands lead to a really painful afternoon. By the time we sat down to eat our pizza my hands were so numb that I could hardly hold a knife and fork, let alone slice my pizza.
Sorry, I digress. We ended our excursions back at Piazza del Popolo, where we visited the church Santa Maria del Popolo. This gorgeous church transported me into Dan Brown's novel, "Angels and Demons," which made me happy. There is a ton of religious significance at this place. It's walls are lined with famous little chapels including the Chigi Chapel, which was designed by Raphael. On the floor of the chapel is a mosaic called the Kneeling Skeleton, which is pretty famous. Unfortunately, we couldn't see that or most of the chapel because of what else?--scaffolding. But there were a lot of other cool chapels, including Cybo Chapel, which is totally made of marble. It was absolutely stunning. Sorry, there are no pictures from this part of the excursion. My batteries were dead. But if you want to see some good pictures, copy this link: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/popolo/popolo.html
Our long day of walking in the cold left us once again exhausted, but Pam and I toughed it out and had a really fun late night at the hostel’s bar with a few of our roommates. The hostel had free sangria hours and good happy hour specials all throughout the month ,and a lot of the visitors like to come down there for the evenings, so it made for a really fun time every night we were there.
We were originally banking on sunnier weather while in Rome. Unfortunately, it reminded me a little too much of London weather and rained 3 out of the 4 days we were here. We had planned on traveling out to a nearby beach on our Friday, but the cold rain kept us in Rome, as opposed to spending money on transportation. I was set on seeing the beach, but I know I'll get my chance in a couple of weeks when I travel to Spain. Pete and I are planning a weekend in either Alicante or Valencia on the Mediterranean. I think I can wait until then.
We intended on seeing some museums and mostly staying indoors on this day, but many of the museums were closed or had ridiculous prices and booking policies. Museo Borguese for instance not only was outrageously priced but required advanced bookings. Boo. Coming from London, where most museums are free, Pam and I were not happy with this discovery. So instead, we spent most of the afternoon walking around and seeing some of the sights we had missed earlier, such as the Piazza del Popolo, the Castel Sant’ Angelo, the shopping area Piazza Navara where Pam and I each devoured our own delicious 12” pizza (All the walking worked up an appetite! What can I say?), and the Pantheon.
Piazza del Popolo. We didn't get a chance to go in the twin churches because they shut down for afternoon services.
The Pantheon was really cool since it’s a mix of both pagan and Christian origin and it really has withstood the test of time, unlike most of the other Roman structures built that long ago. It was originally a temple to the Roman gods, but was converted to a Christian church in the Middle Ages. Currently, it’s used as a church and has some kings buried there as well as the famous artist Raphael.
The Pantheon.
Honestly, the sightseeing was really fun. We covered a lot of area and learned a lot during our adventures. The only bad part was that since I anticipated warmer weather, I left gloves at home, and thus my genetically poor circulation to my hands lead to a really painful afternoon. By the time we sat down to eat our pizza my hands were so numb that I could hardly hold a knife and fork, let alone slice my pizza.
Sorry, I digress. We ended our excursions back at Piazza del Popolo, where we visited the church Santa Maria del Popolo. This gorgeous church transported me into Dan Brown's novel, "Angels and Demons," which made me happy. There is a ton of religious significance at this place. It's walls are lined with famous little chapels including the Chigi Chapel, which was designed by Raphael. On the floor of the chapel is a mosaic called the Kneeling Skeleton, which is pretty famous. Unfortunately, we couldn't see that or most of the chapel because of what else?--scaffolding. But there were a lot of other cool chapels, including Cybo Chapel, which is totally made of marble. It was absolutely stunning. Sorry, there are no pictures from this part of the excursion. My batteries were dead. But if you want to see some good pictures, copy this link: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/popolo/popolo.html
Our long day of walking in the cold left us once again exhausted, but Pam and I toughed it out and had a really fun late night at the hostel’s bar with a few of our roommates. The hostel had free sangria hours and good happy hour specials all throughout the month ,and a lot of the visitors like to come down there for the evenings, so it made for a really fun time every night we were there.
My Holy Pilgrimmage
Day 6: Hello, God!
I got one step closer to God last Thursday. Or at least I felt like it. I made a holy pilgrimage to the Vatican City, which ended up being one of the coolest experiences of my life. Pam and I wanted to avoid the crazy long lines that form during the day, so we got there by 8 a.m. and walked right in to St. Peter’s Basilica. Yes, we are hardcore. Check out the absense of people in the piazza at this ridiculously early time of day.
The basilica is an absolutely huge structure, easily twice the size of Notre Dame. And it is one of the most gorgeous buildings I have ever seen, with it’s walls and floors made of over 20 different kinds of marble. Unfortunately, the lighting didn’t make for good photos at all, so it’s definitely something you should try to see in person at least once in your life. One of the highlights for me was Michelangelo’s famous “Pieta” statue in one of the side chapels of the basilica.
There is also stairs in the middle leading downstairs to the point where St. Peter is buried. We did not have access to that, unfortunately, but being that close worked for me. We also explored the crypts of the basilica and stood literally feet away from where John Paul II is buried. It was a little surreal. At the Vatican, I was sure to buy some Holy Water. It ended up leaking a bit, leaving Pam and I with the question of what to do with leaked Holy Water…do you let it go down the sink? Try to get it back in the bottle? I’ll have to call the Pope for an answer, I guess.
Here's a cool picture looking out at the square from the basilica. Very rainy, but a little promise of sun. It never actually came, but it was a cool picture.
The Vatican Museums aren’t ajoined to the basilica, so we did have to wait in a long line to get in. Part of the Museums is the famous Sistine Chapel, the chapel where Michelangeo painted images of the Old Testament on all the walls and ceiling. It is an absolutely huge chapel, so you really understand and come to appreciate all those years Michelangelo spent painting on his back. And the artwork is incredible. We literally spent 15 minutes at least staring up at this ceiling. It was the only room where you couldn’t take photos, so I didn’t, though I probably could have gotten away with it just like hundreds of other tourists. I’ll post a better photo from online for you.
Also inside the museums were some amazing rooms painted by Raphael, including one of his most famous works “School of Athens.” I really enjoyed going through each of those rooms and learning a bit about each work. I think my mom would be proud of all the art history I’ve experienced while abroad.
Raphael's "School of Athens."
Again, here's the link to this Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37878783&l=12c7e&id=15921830.
It's definitely worth taking a look at because I've included a lot more information about each individual photo.
I got one step closer to God last Thursday. Or at least I felt like it. I made a holy pilgrimage to the Vatican City, which ended up being one of the coolest experiences of my life. Pam and I wanted to avoid the crazy long lines that form during the day, so we got there by 8 a.m. and walked right in to St. Peter’s Basilica. Yes, we are hardcore. Check out the absense of people in the piazza at this ridiculously early time of day.
The basilica is an absolutely huge structure, easily twice the size of Notre Dame. And it is one of the most gorgeous buildings I have ever seen, with it’s walls and floors made of over 20 different kinds of marble. Unfortunately, the lighting didn’t make for good photos at all, so it’s definitely something you should try to see in person at least once in your life. One of the highlights for me was Michelangelo’s famous “Pieta” statue in one of the side chapels of the basilica.
There is also stairs in the middle leading downstairs to the point where St. Peter is buried. We did not have access to that, unfortunately, but being that close worked for me. We also explored the crypts of the basilica and stood literally feet away from where John Paul II is buried. It was a little surreal. At the Vatican, I was sure to buy some Holy Water. It ended up leaking a bit, leaving Pam and I with the question of what to do with leaked Holy Water…do you let it go down the sink? Try to get it back in the bottle? I’ll have to call the Pope for an answer, I guess.
Here's a cool picture looking out at the square from the basilica. Very rainy, but a little promise of sun. It never actually came, but it was a cool picture.
The Vatican Museums aren’t ajoined to the basilica, so we did have to wait in a long line to get in. Part of the Museums is the famous Sistine Chapel, the chapel where Michelangeo painted images of the Old Testament on all the walls and ceiling. It is an absolutely huge chapel, so you really understand and come to appreciate all those years Michelangelo spent painting on his back. And the artwork is incredible. We literally spent 15 minutes at least staring up at this ceiling. It was the only room where you couldn’t take photos, so I didn’t, though I probably could have gotten away with it just like hundreds of other tourists. I’ll post a better photo from online for you.
Also inside the museums were some amazing rooms painted by Raphael, including one of his most famous works “School of Athens.” I really enjoyed going through each of those rooms and learning a bit about each work. I think my mom would be proud of all the art history I’ve experienced while abroad.
Raphael's "School of Athens."
Again, here's the link to this Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37878783&l=12c7e&id=15921830.
It's definitely worth taking a look at because I've included a lot more information about each individual photo.
Just Rome-ing Around
Rome wasn’t built in day, but you can definitely see it all in three or four. That was Pam and my opinion, anyway. Rome really grew on me while I was there. It’s a lot smaller than Paris, so waaay smaller than London, but that made seeing all the sights really feasible. And that was our plan. Also, I was happy to find that most people were able to converse with us in English and were incredibly friendly.
Day 5--The day my calves will never forget:
After arriving to Rome around lunchtime, Pam and I had our first genuine Italian food at a little pizzeria across the street from our hostel. Our pizzas were good, but in general, I wasn’t overly impressed by the Italian food we had on our trip, but this is likely because we chose the cheapest ones we could find. I have no doubt that the higher-priced ones serve the most amazing Italian food you can get.
We decided afterwards to just explore the area nearby, but we kept getting curious by things we saw, and ended up walking literally one-half of the city. We explored the ruins around the Roman Forum and Trajan Markets, dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.
Me with the Trajan Markets, the world's first shopping centers. As a female, I really appreciated this bit of history.
Knowing that we were going to see these areas more in detail later, we decided to see the famous Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, both huge tourist attractions.
The beautiful Trevi Fountain. You are supposed to throw coins over your shoulder into the fountain--the first to make a wish and the second to return to Rome. I didn't know about the second one, so I don't know if I'll ever make it back to Rome. Hopefully I do though.
The busy Spanish steps.
They look prettier during the summer when they are full of flowers.
Me on the steps.
Walking a bit further, we entered a great park that housed the Museo Borguese, an art museum we were interested in visiting that housed what we at first thought was Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, David. Turns out that it actually is in a museum in Florence, so I guess it’s good that we didn’t pay that time. All the walking sufficiently wore us out for the day, so we had a relaxed chill night at the hostel.
Pam and I stayed at a pretty cool youth hostel, but through a mistake in booking, ended up being in separate rooms. At first, we were kind of worried about staying with six or seven people we didn’t know at all, but it ended up being really cool. During my four nights there, I ended up rooming with a French family, guys from Japan, girls from Argentina, a girl from Mexico and a couple of Americans. (The variety coming from the fact that people left and arrived to the hostel on different nights. I had new roomies almost every night.) It was a cool cultural mesh that I haven’t experienced here yet. Pam had just as much diversity going on in her room, so I got to meet a bunch of other people that way. As long as you’re laid back and open to the rooming-with-strangers situation, these kinds of hostels are definitely the way to go.
Check out more photos by copying and pasting this link to my Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37878517&l=6dc60&id=15921830.
Day 5--The day my calves will never forget:
After arriving to Rome around lunchtime, Pam and I had our first genuine Italian food at a little pizzeria across the street from our hostel. Our pizzas were good, but in general, I wasn’t overly impressed by the Italian food we had on our trip, but this is likely because we chose the cheapest ones we could find. I have no doubt that the higher-priced ones serve the most amazing Italian food you can get.
We decided afterwards to just explore the area nearby, but we kept getting curious by things we saw, and ended up walking literally one-half of the city. We explored the ruins around the Roman Forum and Trajan Markets, dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.
Me with the Trajan Markets, the world's first shopping centers. As a female, I really appreciated this bit of history.
Knowing that we were going to see these areas more in detail later, we decided to see the famous Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, both huge tourist attractions.
The beautiful Trevi Fountain. You are supposed to throw coins over your shoulder into the fountain--the first to make a wish and the second to return to Rome. I didn't know about the second one, so I don't know if I'll ever make it back to Rome. Hopefully I do though.
The busy Spanish steps.
They look prettier during the summer when they are full of flowers.
Me on the steps.
Walking a bit further, we entered a great park that housed the Museo Borguese, an art museum we were interested in visiting that housed what we at first thought was Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, David. Turns out that it actually is in a museum in Florence, so I guess it’s good that we didn’t pay that time. All the walking sufficiently wore us out for the day, so we had a relaxed chill night at the hostel.
Pam and I stayed at a pretty cool youth hostel, but through a mistake in booking, ended up being in separate rooms. At first, we were kind of worried about staying with six or seven people we didn’t know at all, but it ended up being really cool. During my four nights there, I ended up rooming with a French family, guys from Japan, girls from Argentina, a girl from Mexico and a couple of Americans. (The variety coming from the fact that people left and arrived to the hostel on different nights. I had new roomies almost every night.) It was a cool cultural mesh that I haven’t experienced here yet. Pam had just as much diversity going on in her room, so I got to meet a bunch of other people that way. As long as you’re laid back and open to the rooming-with-strangers situation, these kinds of hostels are definitely the way to go.
Check out more photos by copying and pasting this link to my Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37878517&l=6dc60&id=15921830.
Monday, 10 March 2008
Paris part two: The Gypsy Saga
Finishing up the last two days in the City of Love...
Day 3-The InSEINE adventures of Sam and Pete
Pete gave this day the highly politically incorrect title of Samantha Schaefer’s Bataan Death March. When I’m in tourist mode, I’m kind of hardcore, apparently. I was determined to see a lot of sights, and when I'm in that mood, strap on your walking shoes or else.
We started out the day by doing a little shopping because Pete needed another sweater, and I wanted to see if I could capitalize on the better exchange rate. I ended up getting nothing, but Pete got a couple of good shirts. I honestly think he has a better sense of style (guy’s style at least), than I do.
We were planning on doing a group walking tour of some of the city’s sights, but at the last minute, decided to set our own itinerary so as to take our time and see what we wanted to see most. We started at Notre Dame again, but this time, took a tour through the inside. Its stained-glass windows are just as incredible as everyone says.
The beautiful South Rose Window, one of the most famous pieces of stained glass in the world.
We then took a leisurely stroll down the Seine River that cuts through the heart of Paris. We had an incredible afternoon on our journey, staging ridiculous photo shoots and visiting vendors that set up tourist-trap shops along the river banks. We ended our walk at the Eiffel Tower. By that time, the line was over an hour long and a little more pricey than we would have liked, so we both enjoyed the experience of looking up at it as opposed to looking down from it.
The Eiffel Tower from where we stood.
Looking at the Eiffel Tower from where we stood.
It was at this point when we were accosted by a number of women (who we were informed were gypsies) who approached us one by one, handing us a sheet of paper to read about their sad situation, and begging for money. One after the other handed us the EXACT SAME sheet of paper with the exact same story, so we eventually crossed the street to avoid them. We ended up buying a waffle on this side, but moved out of the way to eat it in secret so they wouldn’t see that we actually had cash on us. We then had to map out our escape route to the metro that best avoided their territory. OK, it was all a little immature, but really funny to us at the time.
Eating my tasty waffle in secret.
Lauren, my suitemate from freshman year, is studying abroad in Paris, so she, Pam, Pete and I all met up for a nice wine night near Lauren’s apartment. It was nice having someone with us who could at least speak French a little (well, a lot) better than us. And her apartment is absolutely adorable--very Parisian chic.
Day 4-Beware the Early Flights:
Pete, Pam and I had a fairly casual day, just exploring little shops in the Saint-Germain area and enjoying one last panini before Pete left to catch a train back to Pamplona. It was a sad goodbye, but I get to see him again in a little over a week for Easter break, which definitely helps out with the heartache.
Pam and I ended up having a bit of a freakout when we realized that the Regional Express Railroad, which we had planned on taking to Orly Airport the next morning, would not be running early enough to catch our flight, so after dinner, we tried to figure out that situation. Lauren luckily saved the day by getting a cab to pick us up bright and early the next morning. He picked us up at 4:10 a.m., so honestly wasn’t that bright at all, both in terms of sunlight and our moods. Words of wisdom for you: Do NOT get early flights in cities where you have to rely on public transportation to get to the airport. Generally, the subways and trains are down until about 5:30 in the morning, so you end up relying on the pricier cabs. So not fun.
That about wraps up the Paris portion. I absolutely loved the city and would not mind going back again. I felt like I only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. I'll have to buffer up my French a bit and go back for a longer stay one day
Check out my facebook album for this portion: http://www.facebook.com/photo.phppid=37826212&l=885e5&id=15921830.
Also, Pete has made a good video montage of our photos and posted them on his blog that you can access by going here: http://pamplonaprose.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Day 3-The InSEINE adventures of Sam and Pete
Pete gave this day the highly politically incorrect title of Samantha Schaefer’s Bataan Death March. When I’m in tourist mode, I’m kind of hardcore, apparently. I was determined to see a lot of sights, and when I'm in that mood, strap on your walking shoes or else.
We started out the day by doing a little shopping because Pete needed another sweater, and I wanted to see if I could capitalize on the better exchange rate. I ended up getting nothing, but Pete got a couple of good shirts. I honestly think he has a better sense of style (guy’s style at least), than I do.
We were planning on doing a group walking tour of some of the city’s sights, but at the last minute, decided to set our own itinerary so as to take our time and see what we wanted to see most. We started at Notre Dame again, but this time, took a tour through the inside. Its stained-glass windows are just as incredible as everyone says.
The beautiful South Rose Window, one of the most famous pieces of stained glass in the world.
We then took a leisurely stroll down the Seine River that cuts through the heart of Paris. We had an incredible afternoon on our journey, staging ridiculous photo shoots and visiting vendors that set up tourist-trap shops along the river banks. We ended our walk at the Eiffel Tower. By that time, the line was over an hour long and a little more pricey than we would have liked, so we both enjoyed the experience of looking up at it as opposed to looking down from it.
The Eiffel Tower from where we stood.
Looking at the Eiffel Tower from where we stood.
It was at this point when we were accosted by a number of women (who we were informed were gypsies) who approached us one by one, handing us a sheet of paper to read about their sad situation, and begging for money. One after the other handed us the EXACT SAME sheet of paper with the exact same story, so we eventually crossed the street to avoid them. We ended up buying a waffle on this side, but moved out of the way to eat it in secret so they wouldn’t see that we actually had cash on us. We then had to map out our escape route to the metro that best avoided their territory. OK, it was all a little immature, but really funny to us at the time.
Eating my tasty waffle in secret.
Lauren, my suitemate from freshman year, is studying abroad in Paris, so she, Pam, Pete and I all met up for a nice wine night near Lauren’s apartment. It was nice having someone with us who could at least speak French a little (well, a lot) better than us. And her apartment is absolutely adorable--very Parisian chic.
Day 4-Beware the Early Flights:
Pete, Pam and I had a fairly casual day, just exploring little shops in the Saint-Germain area and enjoying one last panini before Pete left to catch a train back to Pamplona. It was a sad goodbye, but I get to see him again in a little over a week for Easter break, which definitely helps out with the heartache.
Pam and I ended up having a bit of a freakout when we realized that the Regional Express Railroad, which we had planned on taking to Orly Airport the next morning, would not be running early enough to catch our flight, so after dinner, we tried to figure out that situation. Lauren luckily saved the day by getting a cab to pick us up bright and early the next morning. He picked us up at 4:10 a.m., so honestly wasn’t that bright at all, both in terms of sunlight and our moods. Words of wisdom for you: Do NOT get early flights in cities where you have to rely on public transportation to get to the airport. Generally, the subways and trains are down until about 5:30 in the morning, so you end up relying on the pricier cabs. So not fun.
That about wraps up the Paris portion. I absolutely loved the city and would not mind going back again. I felt like I only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. I'll have to buffer up my French a bit and go back for a longer stay one day
Check out my facebook album for this portion: http://www.facebook.com/photo.phppid=37826212&l=885e5&id=15921830.
Also, Pete has made a good video montage of our photos and posted them on his blog that you can access by going here: http://pamplonaprose.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
Paris, je t'aime
I returned home to London yesterday from my amazing spring break in Paris and Rome. Both places were so much fun and I have a ton to share about each day, but to avoid giving you a long novel and you consequently hating me, I’ll break it up a bit for you.
Overall, the whole trip was amazing. I traveled with Pam the whole time and met up with Pete in Paris for a couple days at the beginning of the trip. The whole thing went pretty smooth travel-wise, despite a little trouble getting to the Paris airport to catch an early flight to Rome. It feels great to be home in London now and not having to feel incredibly awkward searching for the appropriate French or Italian phrases to use. I felt like we did pretty well with our first really big traveling experience in mainland Europe. We did more walking and sightseeing than I thought imaginable, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I’ll do my best to break my trip down a bit for you, and make it interesting with some pictures. Of course, these are just a tip of the photo iceberg, so be sure to check out some of the links to my Facebook albums and some other sights.
Paris:
I absolutely fell in love with Paris. I had a fun few days there, obviously with my experience being enhanced by having Pete there with me. I really just liked the city’s atmosphere a lot. It’s a bit smaller than London, so everything’s a little more attainable with walking and public transportation. Also, there’s tons of outdoor cafés and little vendors on the streets selling delicious paninis and crepes (both of which we had too frequently) so there is a distinct street life and general romantic European ambience in the city.
Day 1—McDonalds and a late night stroll. So romantic, right?
Pam and I took the Eurostar from London to Paris, and arrived around 2. Pete had taken an overnight train in, so he had been in the city for a couple hours. I met up with him and we walked around a bit, exploring some of the neighborhoods outside the city center before making our way down to the Saint-Michel area, where Notre Dame is located. I had taken a couple of years of French in high school, but we were both a little intimidated by the language barrier at first, so sadly, our first night’s dinner was McDonalds. I vowed after that to have no more American fast food chains while in Europe. We initially were going to check out a pub crawl in the St. Michel and Saint- Germain des Prés area, which is a hot spot for bars, restaurants and nightlife, but the days travels left us both tired, so we decided to scratch that idea.
Here's Notre Dame, glowing at night. Apologies for the blurry picture.
Day 2—I like the way you Louvre
Pete and I ended up a little more rejuvenated than the day before, so we set off to do some serious sightseeing. First stop was exploring Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, were Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. It was an old cemetery, full of these moss-covered mausoleums, which ended up being quite pretty to stroll through. Jim Morrison’s grave was pretty cool, and an obvious pilgrimage destination for Doors fans of all ages.
The really old and beautiful cemetery.
Jim Morrison's grave. On a wall of a mausoleum next to his grave, people had graffitied their tributes, with things like “This is not the end…break on through” and “Ciao Jim.”
We enjoyed a panini and crepe after the cemetery before heading off to the Louvre. By luck, the first Sunday of every month is free entry, so being the budget-watcher that I am, I was probably too excited about this. The Louvre is absolutely gigantic. There is no way you could see the whole thing in one day. Honestly, it might take you at least 3 whole days to see the whole thing. We obviously saw the Mona Lisa, along with all the other hundreds of tourists, clamoring to snap a photo. Mine ended up blurry, but it’s ok. The Mona Lisa is actually quite small, and they keep you back so far from it that you really don’t get a good look, which was a little disappointing. We checked out a couple of other DaVinci’s and Renaissance paintings and explored some of the richly decorated rooms of Napolean III (not Bonaparte), who actually lived in the Louvre during his reign.
Pete at the Louvre, as I experimented with "artsy" photo angles.
The one and only Mona Lisa. Sadly, blurry again.
To celebrate our one year since starting to date, Pete treated me to a nice French dinner down in the Saint-Germaine area. Every restaurant experience was so funny because we were both so tense before we ordered due to the language barrier. Immediately after ordering our food, we both became noticeably more lighthearted. We enjoyed some wine and great conversation, so our wine and dining anniversary was a truly romantic Parisian evening.
Check out the full facebook album by going to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37820758&l=f2c4c&id=15921830
Overall, the whole trip was amazing. I traveled with Pam the whole time and met up with Pete in Paris for a couple days at the beginning of the trip. The whole thing went pretty smooth travel-wise, despite a little trouble getting to the Paris airport to catch an early flight to Rome. It feels great to be home in London now and not having to feel incredibly awkward searching for the appropriate French or Italian phrases to use. I felt like we did pretty well with our first really big traveling experience in mainland Europe. We did more walking and sightseeing than I thought imaginable, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I’ll do my best to break my trip down a bit for you, and make it interesting with some pictures. Of course, these are just a tip of the photo iceberg, so be sure to check out some of the links to my Facebook albums and some other sights.
Paris:
I absolutely fell in love with Paris. I had a fun few days there, obviously with my experience being enhanced by having Pete there with me. I really just liked the city’s atmosphere a lot. It’s a bit smaller than London, so everything’s a little more attainable with walking and public transportation. Also, there’s tons of outdoor cafés and little vendors on the streets selling delicious paninis and crepes (both of which we had too frequently) so there is a distinct street life and general romantic European ambience in the city.
Day 1—McDonalds and a late night stroll. So romantic, right?
Pam and I took the Eurostar from London to Paris, and arrived around 2. Pete had taken an overnight train in, so he had been in the city for a couple hours. I met up with him and we walked around a bit, exploring some of the neighborhoods outside the city center before making our way down to the Saint-Michel area, where Notre Dame is located. I had taken a couple of years of French in high school, but we were both a little intimidated by the language barrier at first, so sadly, our first night’s dinner was McDonalds. I vowed after that to have no more American fast food chains while in Europe. We initially were going to check out a pub crawl in the St. Michel and Saint- Germain des Prés area, which is a hot spot for bars, restaurants and nightlife, but the days travels left us both tired, so we decided to scratch that idea.
Here's Notre Dame, glowing at night. Apologies for the blurry picture.
Day 2—I like the way you Louvre
Pete and I ended up a little more rejuvenated than the day before, so we set off to do some serious sightseeing. First stop was exploring Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, were Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. It was an old cemetery, full of these moss-covered mausoleums, which ended up being quite pretty to stroll through. Jim Morrison’s grave was pretty cool, and an obvious pilgrimage destination for Doors fans of all ages.
The really old and beautiful cemetery.
Jim Morrison's grave. On a wall of a mausoleum next to his grave, people had graffitied their tributes, with things like “This is not the end…break on through” and “Ciao Jim.”
We enjoyed a panini and crepe after the cemetery before heading off to the Louvre. By luck, the first Sunday of every month is free entry, so being the budget-watcher that I am, I was probably too excited about this. The Louvre is absolutely gigantic. There is no way you could see the whole thing in one day. Honestly, it might take you at least 3 whole days to see the whole thing. We obviously saw the Mona Lisa, along with all the other hundreds of tourists, clamoring to snap a photo. Mine ended up blurry, but it’s ok. The Mona Lisa is actually quite small, and they keep you back so far from it that you really don’t get a good look, which was a little disappointing. We checked out a couple of other DaVinci’s and Renaissance paintings and explored some of the richly decorated rooms of Napolean III (not Bonaparte), who actually lived in the Louvre during his reign.
Pete at the Louvre, as I experimented with "artsy" photo angles.
The one and only Mona Lisa. Sadly, blurry again.
To celebrate our one year since starting to date, Pete treated me to a nice French dinner down in the Saint-Germaine area. Every restaurant experience was so funny because we were both so tense before we ordered due to the language barrier. Immediately after ordering our food, we both became noticeably more lighthearted. We enjoyed some wine and great conversation, so our wine and dining anniversary was a truly romantic Parisian evening.
Check out the full facebook album by going to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37820758&l=f2c4c&id=15921830
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