Au revoir!

Sorry this blog is so late, the wifi in Paris was awful. But here is my last post!

Yesterday was our full day in Versailles and the Chateau de Versailles.  This was the most beautiful palace I have ever seen.  We walked through all the rooms of the palace catching a tiny glimpse of how the King and Queen lived.  They didn’t live too differently from us…you know, a bedroom, a dining, a room  to brush your hair, a room to wash up, a room to draw, a room to read, a room for your body guard…you know just like us!

The palace was insanely packed with people, so we were happy to make it out to the gardens.  The gardens of Versailles is…I’d have to say a magical place (I know, terrible), but it truly was.  I’ve never see bigger tulips, greener grass, or more perfectly shapes trees.  We walked around the fountains and the flowers taking pictures of each other and everything.  Then we decided to go through one of the mazes where we found a hidden away little restaurant.  We had homemade pizza, French onion soup, and an assortment of desserts (éclair, cheesecake, espresso, tart).  It was delicious.  Then we walked to the Queen’s Hamlet where Antoinette built her home away from home in the very back of the gardens.  These houses were quaint but big, they kind of looked like the seven dwarfs’ mansion.  The grass was tall and soft.  I really wanted to run in the middle of these meadows, lay down and just disappear in the grass. 

While walking back to the Chateau, we found Marie’s own private theater hidden in the gardens, we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but we just kept finding little surprises like that.  It was a wonderful day, I think we spent about 8 hours in Versailles.

Today we went to Notre Dame.  It was a beautiful day, so the pictures were nice outside.  Mom got a little emotional inside the church, but to be fair, it was an amazing sight with all the statues of Christ and the stained glass windows.  No, we didn’t see the hunchback, but I could definitely feel his presence.  Then we walked to the Louvre and took pictures  of the Pyramid in center while mom waited in line for tickets.  We walked around the Louvre for about an hour and then decided to go shopping and come back.  Morgan and I of course got lost and couldn’t find anything but parks.  We finally turned on a street with a lot of shopping but it was basically Rodeo Drive of Paris….so Jimmy Choo, Gucci, and Prada.  We finally found a store we could afford…I bought a t-shirt (whoohoo)!

Then we had dinner at the Grand Louvre restaurant and then found the Mona Lisa.  We saw a lot of other paintings…couldn’t tell you what they are.  My feet have never hurt so much in my life.  We ended the day with a glass of wine in St. Cathrine’s square.  Now I’m in the hotel and looking forward to traveling home in the next two days!  Thanks for reading my blog, friends.  It’s been fun!

Paris: Day 1

We arrived in Paris around noon.  I never knew when I was underwater, by the way.  Mom just tapped me on the shoulder and said "my phone says we are in France!"  By the way, I'm a 6 hour time difference from y'all now.  Immediately we began planning the Metro routes and where we were going to go. We began walking from the hotel, which is in historical Paris.  We got to the river that showed the Notre Dame in the distance.  I thought to myself Wow this would be a lovely picture.  I take my camera out. BAM no memory card.....had to walk all the way back to the hotel.  Mom and Morgan were quite pleased with me I'd say.  So we decided to catch lunch by our hotel in this little court yard.  We said bonjour to our waiter who started to rattle off in French.  We giggled and played dumb cause we have no idea what he said.  Turns out he speaks English.  So we learned to just say "hello" first and see what happens.

I've only run into 2 really rude people today, which I think is great considering all the French personality horror stories I've heard.  One called me stupid, guess I'm a slow walker or something.  She made a hideous noise in my ear.  I found it quite ammusing though.  We decided to walk in the opposite direction then before since we are visiting Notre Dame later this week.  We walked toward the Bastille and saw a really interesting and beautiful monument (thats sarcasm...its green and tall).

We took the Metro from Bastille to the Arc d'Triumphe.  This thing is huge.  If you have seen it in a James Bond movie or on TV...its 3 times as big as you think.  So we took some picutres and then walked underground to end up under the arc.  You don't want to battle the biggest round-about in the world. 

Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower.  You'll find on my facebook later this week that I took an obscene amount of pictures.  But when will I ever go back, right?  We took the elevator all the way to the top.  I almost melted into jelly when I looked down.  It was so high up...I was clenching onto my camera like it was going to fly out of my hand, through the guard fence, and down 1000 feet.  But I managed to live.  My favorite, other than the view, was at the top where you could find your country's flag, and find out in what direction, and how far in that direction your home country is located.  I took pictures of Denmark and America and then took the elevator back down to the ground (thank goodness).  We got a french hotdog (suggested by a very good and cultured friend) and walk back to the Metro and then into a little hole-in-the-wall cafe by the hotel.

So that was our first day in Paris.  Not much, but it was relaxing.  It feels nice to not be pushed to do everything in one day like London and Liverpool.  Tomorrow we are going to Versailles which is an all day trip.  So be jealous :)

"Mind the Gap"

Mom, Morgan, and I traveled to London yesterday morning from Sheffield.  We are staying at the Hilton on Edgeware Road.  We bought 2 day London Passes right away and attempted the tube.  Which by the way is freaking awful if you don't know where you are going...or even where you are.  So that was stressful, and with my anxiety and all the people underground...lets just say I didn't handle it well.  But we finally got to the hotel, put down our stuff, and went to St. Paul's Cathedral, Christopher Wren's masterpiece.  And a masterpiece is was.  The ceiling were so sparkly and golden with all the biblical mosaics.  We climbed over 500 steps (glad mom finally made it up!) to the Whispering Gallery which is basically an observation deck.  However, we were that much closer to the ceiling artwork.

Then we raaaaaan to the Tower of London and got there 30 seconds too late.  I begged the lady to let us in, and I explained we had just battled the tube for 30 minutes to make it to the Tower.  And guess what she said!? ..."no."  So I had nice things to say about her back.  So we walked along the outside perimeter and took pictures of the Tower grounds, the Tower Bridge, and the Thames water.

When we got back to the Hilton, we went to the 23rd floor to have an Asian cuisine dinner and a bottle of wine.  We could see all of East London while it turned from afternoon to night time.  We have a perfect view of the London Eye..and then noticed a car was missing at the top...hmmm.  We decided we wouldn't to the Eye after that...

Day 2 was much more eventful.  We went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard.  There must have been 2000 people there watching.  I love the furry hats and all the horses!  We walked by the parliament building which was humongous and Big Ben was absolutely beautiful at the top.  Then we went down to the Thames and hopped on a river cruise to the Tower.  We saw Shakespeare's Globe Theater, the Aquarium, the London Eye, and much more architecture along the river.  Then we got off and went into the Tower of London where we took a tour with a "Beef Eater."  He told stories of be-heading...pretty much everyone at the Tower.  There were 1500 unidentified people buried in the chapel walls that have no heads.  They are buried along with queens who were considered traitors for treason against the king.

Then we went to the Jewel House where we saw the Crown Jewels....AMAZING! I've never seen so many diamonds and such BIG diamonds.  I now know how big I want my engagement ring to be one ;)  jk I'd drown if I fell in the Thames.  Then we went to the White Towers, built in 1066 by William the Conqueror.  That had all the past king's armour and swords.  The armour was interesting because you could tell a lot about that king by how his armour was designed.

We ended to day in Harrod's with a quick peek, and then an Italian dinner underground at Kensington.  We are leaving for Paris early in the morning on the EuroStar and staying in downtown historical Paris :)  See you on Friday, America!

Goodbye Sheffield

Today was my last day at Rainbow Forge Primary.  The school had two special assemblies today, one to say goodbye to us, and one for Star Awards where one student from each class was given a certificate for being a great student.  They surprised us with our own Star Awards as well, and that was when the first set of tears came.  Then we went back to the classroom and said individual goodbyes.  I can honestly say I have never cried saying goodbye to students before today.  The whole school assembly was a little emotional, but when all my girls were crying in the classroom, I got little upset and started to tear up.  Then Harry, my little trouble maker, (I'm always on his case) gave me a hug and started sobbing.  I had no idea he was so attached to me..so that's when I lost it.

It felt good to be so loved, but it is a bitter sweet situation because now my mom is here in England with me, and I'm ready to start traveling again! London tomorrow, then after about three days we will take the EuroStar to Paris.  Next Friday I will be in Atlanta, landing around 2pm.  Can't wait to see Morten, Dani, and my lil bro! Sweet Water Festival on Saturday then back to the boro.  Lots of places to go!  Missing you all!

For freedom!...and for beer.

This past weekend, the girls and I went to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.  The train ride from Sheffield was about 4 hours long.  The scenery was gorgeous (I mainly saw it on the way back cause I was passed out with my mouth open on the way there…whoops).  The tracks went right up the coast of the North Sea.  We were on top of cliffs looking over the ocean which looked like glass.  Absolutely no waves, nothing like our oceans.  There were beautiful light houses and of course…tons of sheep.  My favorite J

We arrived in Edinburgh around 130 pm and took a taxi to the Point Hotel on Bread Street.  The hotel gave us a little room next to the penthouse on the fourth floor, so let’s just say we had a pretty great view.  Check out picture one of my Scotland album on facebook.  The hotel was right down the road from the Grassmarket, which is where all the famous pubs are located.  We walked to the main strip and found the tourist information shop where we bought a two day city pass.  We decided to go on a literary pub tour and then an underground terror tour later that night, (I personally wanted to go shark diving at the aquarium, but it was a little pricey…and cold). 

The pub tour started at 730pm at the Beehive Pub.  The tour guide told us to buy a drink and meet the rest of the group upstairs…so we did!  We got up stairs and the tour began with a man who introduced himself as a actor…and then another man in the audience who kept interrupting him and correcting him on his history facts (obviously a part of the act).  The two actors were hilarious…too bad I couldn’t understand a word they said in their Scottish accents.  I did get the universal dirty jokes though.

The two men took our group of twelve to 4 pubs and gave us story after story of Scottish writers and their best works and dirty secrets.  Our group was diverse, we had people from Spain, Ireland, Britain, and America.  I got to try McEwans (a Scottish Ale), which was tasty but gave me an instant headache.  After tour, they quizzed us on our knowledge, I got 2 questions right! Yay! America REPRESENT!

Then we walked to Starbucks, got a hot chocolate because of the wind was brutal, and then stopped in the meeting place of the terror tour which began at 10pm.

So the tour guide pops pretty much out of nowhere.  He is British, short, skinny with dyed maroon spiky hair.  He tells us to follow him.  (Um I am pretty sure this guy was a vampire because of how fast he walked.)  We would start walking behind him, then find ourselves running to catch up every couple of minutes.  Keep in mind, Edinburgh is super hilly.  Everywhere you go there are stairs up, stairs down, steep hills…absolutely ridiculous.  I think my butt and legs got a month’s worth of work outs in just this past weekend. 

ANYWAYS! He began the tour in a creepy, tight alley and told us how the citizens of Edinburgh lived in the 16^th century.  Basically, there was obviously no indoor plumbing and a law was passed that all bodily excrements had to be put in a bucket and could only be emptied once a day at 10pm.  At 10pm they would ring a bell and if someone was throwing a bucket out the window, they would yell, "Garde loo!" (from the French 'garde a l'eau').  SO the end of the story, was that if you were a drunk, walking home from the pub and you heard someone yell from above, what would you do? …Look up.  And that where the term sh*it faced comes from.  So there ya go.

The creepiest part of the tour was when they took us to the torture museum and showed us all the tools they used torture so called “witches” and the criminals (including the homeless).  Then they took us to the underground vaults that were built for merchants, but ended up being used by criminals and homeless to escape from the authorities that were torturing those who broke the law.  The authorities refused to go down into the pitch, black vaults because of the crazies and diseases festering in there.

So unspeakable things happened in these vaults and that is why it is the most haunted place in Edinburgh.  Now I’ve always believed in angels, so I guess I believe in demons as well.  But I never thought I’d be in one’s presence, and I didn’t expect it to happen this weekend.  But I swear to you….no doubt, something was down there.  We would go from one vault to the next hearing stories of what happened in each vault, or what the daily life would be like living there, hiding from the law.  Some vaults’ temperature would just drop and you could all of the sudden see your breath in front of you.   That was a little uneasy, and seeing a live witch’s temple was weird too (they rent out the temple for worship…currently).  But the worst was the last vault all the way in the back.  They spilt the women and men up on different sides, because they said the spirits usually target the women on the left side of the vault.

The story was that there was a fire in Edinburgh, and the men put the women and children in this vault for safety while the men went to fight the fire.  What actually happened, is that the vault acted as a furnace and they were all cooked to death.  As he is telling this story…I look behind me…my back is to the wall and I see a short women with a wide face and prominent sunken eyes.  Um…I freaked out and grabbed Amanda.  The tour guide told me to basically shut up.  I looked again and she was gone.  Then something pulls on my purse…twice.  My back is against the wall…no one is behind me.  Then a girl in the group screams and everyone bolts.  But let’s think how smart these people are…they are freaking out, but they run into the vault…not out towards the exit….idiots.  The girls basically knock me down into the mud while everyone is screaming and trampling me, and everything is echoing.  Ugh it was terrifying…and painful.  The tour guide helps me up, and we get the heck outta there.  I’m not one to believe in stupid ghost stories…but I don’t have an explanation of what was behind me.

Day two, we went to the Edinburgh Castle…so gorgeous and the view was stunning.  You can check out all the pictures on my facebook.  Then we did the Scotch Whiskey Experience where we learned how whiskey is made and what regions certain tastes come from in Scotland.  Then we had a taste test…found out I don’t like straight scotch.  But, alas, the experience was interesting.  We also went to the 3D Lochness Experience…awful and bootleg video.  I fell asleep and I now believe there is no Lochness Monster….thanks for killing my fairytale.  Then we freshened up and went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe where we waited at the bar for an hour and a half for our table.  However dinner was nice, drinks were delish, and the music was great.  We walked back and stopped at the Beehive for some local pub experience and then headed back to the hotel.

In the morning, we went shopping on the Royal Mile and then caught the 1pm train back to Sheffield.  The 4 hour train ride turned into a 5 hour plus train ride cause apparently people were stealing train cables for copper and the train signals stopped working…this would only happen on our train.  By this time I was out of cash and couldn’t even afford a scone or tea on the train.  So slept until Leeds and then finally got home around 6 or 7.

Edinburgh was my favorite weekend so far.  I loved the views and scenery.  The history was so fascinating and I actually didn’t want to leave.  I have to go back to Scotland one day.

Next Friday my mom will get here and Morgan, she and I will leave for London Saturday morning.  We will stay there a couple of days and then head to Paris.  Now all I have to figure out is how to pack for a week’s worth of London and Paris in one little duffel bag…hmmm.