I'll take a few minutes from what I should be actually doing (5 essays, plus studying for a final?!) and update, although nothing of severe excitement has happened in the last week. Most of us are scrambling to get our work done; time for being tourists has just about run low.
Last Tuesday night, as a class we went to see a production of Oliver! on Drury Lane (I'll spare you any Muffin Man jokes). It was almost impossible for Dr. Beynon to get our whole class tickets. Mostly because Fagin was played by Rowan Atkinson (aka Mr. Bean) who was great, as expected, and brought a brush of comic relief and got more empathized with from the audience (as opposed to the book). After the show, Shannon, Teresa and myself bought matching FAGIN'S GANG tshirts and wore them to class the next day. All the while, the soundtrack was uninvitingly playing over and over in my head.
Friday, I went to Camden market for the first time. Awesome clothing of a rather punk/hippy-ish genre. Remind me never to visit markets by myself - always best to get a second opinion other than the vendor's. I tried on a grey tunic with a wide belt and ended up buying it. Teresa says that it looks good on me (apparently), but it really isn't my style.
After that episode, Teresa and I dolled ourselves up and got ready to see Les Miserables, my birthday gift to Teresa. We got to our local underground station and were shocked at how packed it was. Mind you, we rarely (if ever) rode the tube on a Friday night, because we were usually always out of town. But the Piccadilly line is used to get to Heathrow airport, so it was jammed with weekend travelers. Two trains passed through before we squeezed our way onto the third one. Once off the tube, we were able to breathe (and be blinded by the lights). It took us awhile to find the theatre, but when we did, the people at the box office were not able to find our reserved tickets - not under Teresa's name, my name or our school's (whom we booked our show tickets through for discounts). This had happened once before when we went to see Phantom, they didn't have a ticket for Teresa even though she paid for one. Even though Teresa had a reference number and our seat numbers, the reference number didn't even exist in the system and the seats were already occupied for the night. After thanking them for being patient with us, we walked back to the tube station with absolute lividity - Teresa, especially. That was like 80 pounds down the drain.
I booked again for another showing for this Thursday night through Ticketmaster (a little more money, but damn better seats) while Teresa wrote the secretary of our school an email. She better be able to get the money back. Losing her tickets twice is just ridiculous.
Enough ranting for now. Shannon left for Scotland yesterday while Teresa and Rebecca left early this morning for a day trip to Bath. I don't know what was in the air, but I managed to wake up earlier than usual both yesterday and today. I got ready this morning and rode the tube to Marylebone Station where they have a walking Beatles tour. The tour guide was Richard, highly gifted in Beatleology and owns the Beatles cafe in London, and the group was of about 15 people (primarily Americans). It was quite interesting - we started at the station itself (it's where the opening scenes of A Hard Day's Night was filmed) and we saw a few flats owned by Ringo and Paul, the Indian restaurant in the movie Help! (someone remind me to buy that movie when I get home) and of course, Abbey Road herself. Pictures are already up in my Picasa page.
When I got back to the flat (carrying lunch) I was still cold from the tour. The weather was sunny and warm one minute, and cloudy and rainy the next (thank you, bipolar London weather). I closed both windows, turned our heater on and brewed some tea .... I'm barely warming up now. Right now, I should get at least one essay done and study for my communications final.
Cheers,
Laura
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
York
Sunday night, it is now. Don't ask me why I'm starting to type like Yoda.
The trip to York was fun, particularly on Saturday morning when we went to Fountains Abbey, ruins of an old church with a forest and meadows. It was like a giant playground for us to take pictures in.
The previous evening, Friday, was when we were supposed to tour York minster (looks just like Westminster Abbey), but they screwed up our scheduled time, so we had to wait until Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, we went to Jorvick, the site of an old Viking village. We shopped around and ate at an Italian restaurant after that. Our visit to York Minster was excruciating, since most of the group opted to walk up to the top of the tower - 275 steps on the narrowest staircase in all of Europe. Definitely not for the claustrophobic or those with vertigo. I think I'll forgo the buns of steel workout, thanks.
After that event, Teresa and Courtney stayed for the evensong service while Shannon and I shopped around that area some more. We went into this dress boutique that was nothing but womens' 50's clothing; I mean, all the way down to the bras and garter belts. Shannon tried on and bought the cutest dress, red with white polka dots. She looks like a Leave It to Beaver housewife. All she needs to complete the outfit are peeptoe heels, pearls and a vacuum. It looked really cute on her.
For dinner, we were starving so we absently decided on a Tex-Mex place, (apparently we were starving that badly). I had a pizza, while Teresa and Shannon ordered the fajitas. No flavor, as per usual in England, but loaded with the scariest spices ever. Ick. That was also the place where I had my first tequila shot with Shannon. According to her, it was lousy liquor, but it worked fine for me.
Today, we had our usual English breakfast at the hotel, but this time they included blood pudding. Yes, I tried it - it tasted like burnt squishy sausage. Shannon insists we never speak of it again.
On the way back to London, we stopped at Castle Howard, a more modern house with amazing gardens. Or I am sure they would look amazing once everything's in bloom. The one thing about coming to England this time of year, I have to leave before everything blooms. Maybe that's a good thing, my sneeze reflex can only take so much.
Until next time,
Laura
The trip to York was fun, particularly on Saturday morning when we went to Fountains Abbey, ruins of an old church with a forest and meadows. It was like a giant playground for us to take pictures in.
The previous evening, Friday, was when we were supposed to tour York minster (looks just like Westminster Abbey), but they screwed up our scheduled time, so we had to wait until Saturday afternoon. In the meantime, we went to Jorvick, the site of an old Viking village. We shopped around and ate at an Italian restaurant after that. Our visit to York Minster was excruciating, since most of the group opted to walk up to the top of the tower - 275 steps on the narrowest staircase in all of Europe. Definitely not for the claustrophobic or those with vertigo. I think I'll forgo the buns of steel workout, thanks.
After that event, Teresa and Courtney stayed for the evensong service while Shannon and I shopped around that area some more. We went into this dress boutique that was nothing but womens' 50's clothing; I mean, all the way down to the bras and garter belts. Shannon tried on and bought the cutest dress, red with white polka dots. She looks like a Leave It to Beaver housewife. All she needs to complete the outfit are peeptoe heels, pearls and a vacuum. It looked really cute on her.
For dinner, we were starving so we absently decided on a Tex-Mex place, (apparently we were starving that badly). I had a pizza, while Teresa and Shannon ordered the fajitas. No flavor, as per usual in England, but loaded with the scariest spices ever. Ick. That was also the place where I had my first tequila shot with Shannon. According to her, it was lousy liquor, but it worked fine for me.
Today, we had our usual English breakfast at the hotel, but this time they included blood pudding. Yes, I tried it - it tasted like burnt squishy sausage. Shannon insists we never speak of it again.
On the way back to London, we stopped at Castle Howard, a more modern house with amazing gardens. Or I am sure they would look amazing once everything's in bloom. The one thing about coming to England this time of year, I have to leave before everything blooms. Maybe that's a good thing, my sneeze reflex can only take so much.
Until next time,
Laura
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Plays/EuroDisney
Our updates have gotten sparse as of late, school is winding down fast and we find ourselves with more to do than we've got time for . I'm finding semi-salvation with Twitter, it makes do in the time between posts. As Curt Smith says, "Twittering = fewer words more often; blogging = more words less often."
Last Tuesday night, we went as a class to see "Austentatious", a musical based on Jane Austen. I wasn't sure what to expect, having grown up with Jane Austen fans in my family. It's about a small group of people who try to put on a play based on Pride & Prejudice. It was actually a cute, simply musical ... and about half the play I spent doubled over, crying from laughing so hard. I really want to take my mom and aunt to see it when they come to London, but the play closes at this venue in a few days, hopefully I can find it at another location soon.
Wednesday night, a group of ten of us went to see "We Will Rock You" ... a musical based on Queen and their music. The songs were all from Queen, the plot was futuristsic, set in a time when everything is cyber/Matrix-y and all rock music/instruments are banned. I shudder to think of such a time ... oh wait, I practically live in it. But I loved the musical, even if the plot was a little under ... but it did rekindle my love of Queen music and appreciate Freddie Mercury all the more.
Yesterday, six of us took a Eurostar train to Paris again, just to go to Disneyland for the day. The park is on the outskirts of Paris, so we payed a hefty sum for a cab to get there. We didn't trust the Metro at this point. We made it there right after the park opened, and got a deal on tickets for students. We got a bite to eat before mapping out what we wanted to go on and skipping down Main Street. We managed to make really good time, riding all the rides we wanted, the longest we had to wait was 45 minutes. The only ride we couldn't get on was Hollywood Tower of Terror due to technical difficulties. It is less hyped up than the Anaheim park, less rides, but that equates to less people. We all enjoyed ourselves, and set aside a few hours at the end to go shopping. I didn't splurge much, just a few things for my niece and baby brother, and a few things for myself. We managed to make it back to the train station in time for our train, after going to British customs and security (hopefully the last time I have to put up with those stuffy people).
My Disneyland pictures are up ... enjoy!
Now unfortunately begins the two-week cram session of getting all my papers done, and preparing for class to end. The light at the end of the tunnel - my aunt and mom will be arriving in London!
Last Tuesday night, we went as a class to see "Austentatious", a musical based on Jane Austen. I wasn't sure what to expect, having grown up with Jane Austen fans in my family. It's about a small group of people who try to put on a play based on Pride & Prejudice. It was actually a cute, simply musical ... and about half the play I spent doubled over, crying from laughing so hard. I really want to take my mom and aunt to see it when they come to London, but the play closes at this venue in a few days, hopefully I can find it at another location soon.
Wednesday night, a group of ten of us went to see "We Will Rock You" ... a musical based on Queen and their music. The songs were all from Queen, the plot was futuristsic, set in a time when everything is cyber/Matrix-y and all rock music/instruments are banned. I shudder to think of such a time ... oh wait, I practically live in it. But I loved the musical, even if the plot was a little under ... but it did rekindle my love of Queen music and appreciate Freddie Mercury all the more.
Yesterday, six of us took a Eurostar train to Paris again, just to go to Disneyland for the day. The park is on the outskirts of Paris, so we payed a hefty sum for a cab to get there. We didn't trust the Metro at this point. We made it there right after the park opened, and got a deal on tickets for students. We got a bite to eat before mapping out what we wanted to go on and skipping down Main Street. We managed to make really good time, riding all the rides we wanted, the longest we had to wait was 45 minutes. The only ride we couldn't get on was Hollywood Tower of Terror due to technical difficulties. It is less hyped up than the Anaheim park, less rides, but that equates to less people. We all enjoyed ourselves, and set aside a few hours at the end to go shopping. I didn't splurge much, just a few things for my niece and baby brother, and a few things for myself. We managed to make it back to the train station in time for our train, after going to British customs and security (hopefully the last time I have to put up with those stuffy people).
My Disneyland pictures are up ... enjoy!
Now unfortunately begins the two-week cram session of getting all my papers done, and preparing for class to end. The light at the end of the tunnel - my aunt and mom will be arriving in London!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Amsterdam!
It's Monday afternoon, just finished lunch (Ramen as per usual). This morning we had our British Literature class, discussing Mrs. Dalloway and watching The Hours. Last night we got home from Amsterdam around 10:30 ... Teresa and I have to agree that Amsterdam was quite better than Paris. I plan on keeping this the censored version of my trip to save anyone embarrasment or blackmailing, anyone who wants the details I can give them to you one-on-one.
Friday morning, the usual protocol - Catch the coach at Great Portland Street station, drive to Dover, catch the ferry, land in Calais. This time was better than Paris, because for one thing, our group was half the size of that last week, so everyone got there own seat. Makes for better naps on the drive to Dover. Our guide was Rob, whom I've met before and is really nice. Our driver was Paul, who was an eccentric British combination of Disco Stu and Chef from South Park. It was better this time around because it was a smaller group of us - Paw, Rebecca, Shannon, Jenn, Teresa and myself.
The drive from Calais to Amsterdam was fairly flawless. Right after arriving in central Amsterdam, we got on yet another boat tour. Jenn and I were going nuts on this boat (she was dying for a cigarette and I was just anxious for food). And this boat was so low and encased in glass, we couldn't really see anything. Finally, we got out and grabbed the luggage from the coach and walked to our hostel. Since it was a smaller tour group, Rob let us switch our roommates around - it ended up that Paw and Rebecca roomed on their own, and the other four of us shared another room. The 'lobby' of this hostel was the bar Belushi's, loud and hopping at night.
After settling in, we went out and walked around, admiring the view, so to speak. Out hostel was in the middle of the Red Light District, and anyone who knows anything about the Red Light District has some clue as to what I'm talking about it. I had really no inclination before I came here, but I really got no shock factor at all. Some of the time I kept on getting flashes of one of the first scenes in Pulp Fiction - yeah, you know the one.
Breakfast served the next morning left more to be desired, but we were on our coach again to a town on the outskirts of Amsterdam, where they have a tourist area that shows you how they make clogs and cheese. Thrilling, no? They had samples of said cheeses, and the pesto was my favorite. We were back in Amsterdam by around 1:00PM, and we were dropped off by the area of museums, which was about a mile away from the Heineken Brewery. We spent over an hour in that place, engaging in the activities they had to offer and got a couple of free glasses of beer. I had never had Heinken before, it wasn't too bad. Afterwords, we ended up walking in what we thought was the way to the hostel, but in fact it was the opposite way. A taxi saved us, luckily, and dropped us off right in front of the building. We all napped for a few hours to be able to stay up later, then we went out in search of food. We found a Chinese place where I ordered a huge steaming plate of chicken fried rice, yum! We went in and out of some cafes/bars, looked inside some shops and just peered in the windows of others before getting a drink in Belushi's and heading up to our room.
The next morning was the same with breakfast, except this morning they had mini-Baguettes which I feasted on. We packed up our stuff and headed to Brugge, a cute town in Belgium known as the "Venice of the North." We were given a couple of hours to eat lunch and do whatever. We were told by Rob of this pub that serves lunch and has a huge menu - 25 pages of beer, 3 pages for food (you can sense the priorities). I had tomato soup and a cherry-flavored beer, which was okay. Teresa had an extra-sweet peach beer which pretty much just tasted like sparkling cider, I call that cheating. We headed around looking Belgian waffles for dessert. Shannon and I had the sundae - Belgian waffle, two scoops of ice cream, maple syrup, whipped cream. It was more like a Heart Attack in a Haagen-Daaz Take-Away Dish dessert. We walked back to the coach to drive to Calais, on the way we stopped at a chocolate factory then a wine outlet for last minute purchases.
The ferry ride back to England was hell, we were caught in a storm and the ferry was rocking back and forth pretty badly. It was very rough, and poor Teresa and Shannon were getting seasick very badly. Even myself, I never get motion/air/seasick, but towards the end I was feeling nauseous. Not to mention a huge group of German kids were being extremely loud and obnoxious and were making fun of those who were getting sick. I seriously wanted to punch the lot of them, but in the meantime Rebecca and I cursed them with impotence and a lifetime of sexual frustation. That'll teach them. Midway through the ferry ride, I heard not one, but two Tears for Fears songs on the intercom (Shout and Mad World), and for a split second had a panic attack that someone hacked into my iTunes account.
I uploaded my pictures onto my pictures page, anyone who wishes to see any *other* photos that I may or may not have, let me know. ;)
Friday morning, the usual protocol - Catch the coach at Great Portland Street station, drive to Dover, catch the ferry, land in Calais. This time was better than Paris, because for one thing, our group was half the size of that last week, so everyone got there own seat. Makes for better naps on the drive to Dover. Our guide was Rob, whom I've met before and is really nice. Our driver was Paul, who was an eccentric British combination of Disco Stu and Chef from South Park. It was better this time around because it was a smaller group of us - Paw, Rebecca, Shannon, Jenn, Teresa and myself.
The drive from Calais to Amsterdam was fairly flawless. Right after arriving in central Amsterdam, we got on yet another boat tour. Jenn and I were going nuts on this boat (she was dying for a cigarette and I was just anxious for food). And this boat was so low and encased in glass, we couldn't really see anything. Finally, we got out and grabbed the luggage from the coach and walked to our hostel. Since it was a smaller tour group, Rob let us switch our roommates around - it ended up that Paw and Rebecca roomed on their own, and the other four of us shared another room. The 'lobby' of this hostel was the bar Belushi's, loud and hopping at night.
After settling in, we went out and walked around, admiring the view, so to speak. Out hostel was in the middle of the Red Light District, and anyone who knows anything about the Red Light District has some clue as to what I'm talking about it. I had really no inclination before I came here, but I really got no shock factor at all. Some of the time I kept on getting flashes of one of the first scenes in Pulp Fiction - yeah, you know the one.
Breakfast served the next morning left more to be desired, but we were on our coach again to a town on the outskirts of Amsterdam, where they have a tourist area that shows you how they make clogs and cheese. Thrilling, no? They had samples of said cheeses, and the pesto was my favorite. We were back in Amsterdam by around 1:00PM, and we were dropped off by the area of museums, which was about a mile away from the Heineken Brewery. We spent over an hour in that place, engaging in the activities they had to offer and got a couple of free glasses of beer. I had never had Heinken before, it wasn't too bad. Afterwords, we ended up walking in what we thought was the way to the hostel, but in fact it was the opposite way. A taxi saved us, luckily, and dropped us off right in front of the building. We all napped for a few hours to be able to stay up later, then we went out in search of food. We found a Chinese place where I ordered a huge steaming plate of chicken fried rice, yum! We went in and out of some cafes/bars, looked inside some shops and just peered in the windows of others before getting a drink in Belushi's and heading up to our room.
The next morning was the same with breakfast, except this morning they had mini-Baguettes which I feasted on. We packed up our stuff and headed to Brugge, a cute town in Belgium known as the "Venice of the North." We were given a couple of hours to eat lunch and do whatever. We were told by Rob of this pub that serves lunch and has a huge menu - 25 pages of beer, 3 pages for food (you can sense the priorities). I had tomato soup and a cherry-flavored beer, which was okay. Teresa had an extra-sweet peach beer which pretty much just tasted like sparkling cider, I call that cheating. We headed around looking Belgian waffles for dessert. Shannon and I had the sundae - Belgian waffle, two scoops of ice cream, maple syrup, whipped cream. It was more like a Heart Attack in a Haagen-Daaz Take-Away Dish dessert. We walked back to the coach to drive to Calais, on the way we stopped at a chocolate factory then a wine outlet for last minute purchases.
The ferry ride back to England was hell, we were caught in a storm and the ferry was rocking back and forth pretty badly. It was very rough, and poor Teresa and Shannon were getting seasick very badly. Even myself, I never get motion/air/seasick, but towards the end I was feeling nauseous. Not to mention a huge group of German kids were being extremely loud and obnoxious and were making fun of those who were getting sick. I seriously wanted to punch the lot of them, but in the meantime Rebecca and I cursed them with impotence and a lifetime of sexual frustation. That'll teach them. Midway through the ferry ride, I heard not one, but two Tears for Fears songs on the intercom (Shout and Mad World), and for a split second had a panic attack that someone hacked into my iTunes account.
I uploaded my pictures onto my pictures page, anyone who wishes to see any *other* photos that I may or may not have, let me know. ;)
Monday, March 2, 2009
Paris!
Friday - Caught the coach outside the Great Portland Street station. The group was almost 40 of us - 11 of which were from my school group. The coach drove about two hours to Dover, an English port city .. I slept pretty much the entire way. You would too after only four hours of sleep. The coach was loaded onto a ferry, we ventured to the top deck for lunch. I looked in the ferry shop, where they sold almost every brand of perfume. I didn't partake. After a few hours, the ferry docked in Calais in France, we boarded the coach again for a three hour drive to Paris. Once in Paris, we drove around the Arc de Triomphe (which is in the middle of the biggest/scariest round-about in the world). We parked at a dock for sightseeing tours on the River Seine, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. Our tour guide Yan met us then, he was such a cool guy. We took an hour-long boat ride, which was kind of pathetic. All the sites I wanted pictures of were on the opposite of where I was on the boat.
After the boatride, we paid 10 euros to go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower. Poor Teresa and her fear of heights, she made it to the very top! It was just around dusk when we were at the top, and we missed the lighting of the tower. After going back to ground level, we walked back to the coach while trying to hoard off the gypsy/street vendors who will bug you to buy their souveniers to no end. We drove to the hotel, I roomed with Teresa of course. Our room decor was awesome - it was like a modern/60s mod/Austin Powers motif. We rested before going to Japanese food with the others, which turned out to be awful. Like typical French food - horrible food in tiny quantities for a ridiculous price. I was too tired to complain, so I went back to the room and changed into my jammies and watched French TV.
Saturday - Woke up, showered, went down to breakfast - scrambled eggs, sausage, baguettes, juice and coffee. I haven't had coffee since I left the States (I've been drinking only tea in England), I wasn't disappointed. We loaded to the tour bus, to visit the Sacre Coeur church (almost pure white), souveneir shops (where I started my search for a figurine of the Opera House), and then the Moulin Rouge (looks nothing like the movie). After getting some lunch, we went on the bus again to visit Notre Dame. Now I'm starting to get Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack stuck in my head. We looked inside and took pictures, but didn't go to the top this time (line was too long). Looked at a line of street vendors' booths, still nothing with the Opera House.
On the coach again, we went to Palace and Gardens of Versailles which Teresa was super excited for. We spent an hour looking inside the Palace - I seriously was about to lose my baguette/Sprite lunch from all the gold/floral print decor. There was not a blank spot of wall in that entire place. To quote Lewis Black - 'I never really understood why the people of France chopped off Marie Antoinette's head, now I f---ing get it.' Outside we went into the gardens - which were completely dead. Teresa and I walked around for another hour and took pictures before heading back to the coach. The coach drove us back to the hotel, it was dinnertime and we were starving and our feet were killing us. We walked across the street to an Italian restaurant (a trip to France, and we eat Italian food). My tummy was happy and filled with spinach/ricotta tortellini. Back to the room and watch the Disney channel in French before going to sleep.
Sunday - Usual routine again with the waking up with showering and breakfast. Then we went to our rooms to pack our suitcases and vacate the room. On the coach, we found ourselves being few of the non-hungover people on the tour. We drove to the Louvre Museum, and it being the first Sunday of the month, it was free! We really just wanted to see the Mona Lisa, and a few others. We just went to one of the three wings and walked up and down some stairs and down some halls before realizing we passed by the Mona Lisa which was in one of the side rooms. You would think it was the paparrazi in there taking photos of the celebrities in there. The painting was roped off for 10 feets, everyone was taking pictures of it. My photos kept getting glare because the painting is behind bulletproof/vision-proof glass. Still an amazing site to see.
Once outside the Louvre, Shannon and Teresa wanted to spend the last hour getting lunch before we had to go back to the coach. At this cafe, you could down this opposite street the Opera de Paris, the site I really wanted to see. I opted to walk down the street (barely under a mile) to get a good picture of it. Walking back down the street, I popped into more souveneir shops, still finding no figurine. Finally, I found a shop that sold mostly porcelein/figurines. Finally, finally, FINALLY I found an Opera House figurine for only 10 euros! I was a happy little tourist.
On the coach, we journeyed back to Calais for the ferry. Before going to the port, we made a pit stop at a wine/beer/cheese joint. Shannon got a bottle of rose wine from Germany, Teresa got a bottle of white zin from France, I got a bottle of red wine from Italy. Each cost like 2 euros. Onto the ferry, after going through the border control with our passports (we didn't have to show our passports to get into France). Finally we docked in Dover, England and I slept all the way home on the coach. We made it to the flat at 10PM, where we found that Paw and Rebecca (our flatmates who didn't go to Paris), made Teresa a birthday cake. So sweet!
My legs are hurting, I'm still tired and, more importantly, my mouth and throat hurt from trying to talk in French. I will agree with anyone who say that France is overrated. Maybe they're snobby as well, but anyone I interacted with was really nice to me.
Just when I thought I've enough of Paris for the next few years of my life, right now we're booking EuroStar tickets to go to Disneyland in Paris next week. Egads!
After the boatride, we paid 10 euros to go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower. Poor Teresa and her fear of heights, she made it to the very top! It was just around dusk when we were at the top, and we missed the lighting of the tower. After going back to ground level, we walked back to the coach while trying to hoard off the gypsy/street vendors who will bug you to buy their souveniers to no end. We drove to the hotel, I roomed with Teresa of course. Our room decor was awesome - it was like a modern/60s mod/Austin Powers motif. We rested before going to Japanese food with the others, which turned out to be awful. Like typical French food - horrible food in tiny quantities for a ridiculous price. I was too tired to complain, so I went back to the room and changed into my jammies and watched French TV.
Saturday - Woke up, showered, went down to breakfast - scrambled eggs, sausage, baguettes, juice and coffee. I haven't had coffee since I left the States (I've been drinking only tea in England), I wasn't disappointed. We loaded to the tour bus, to visit the Sacre Coeur church (almost pure white), souveneir shops (where I started my search for a figurine of the Opera House), and then the Moulin Rouge (looks nothing like the movie). After getting some lunch, we went on the bus again to visit Notre Dame. Now I'm starting to get Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack stuck in my head. We looked inside and took pictures, but didn't go to the top this time (line was too long). Looked at a line of street vendors' booths, still nothing with the Opera House.
On the coach again, we went to Palace and Gardens of Versailles which Teresa was super excited for. We spent an hour looking inside the Palace - I seriously was about to lose my baguette/Sprite lunch from all the gold/floral print decor. There was not a blank spot of wall in that entire place. To quote Lewis Black - 'I never really understood why the people of France chopped off Marie Antoinette's head, now I f---ing get it.' Outside we went into the gardens - which were completely dead. Teresa and I walked around for another hour and took pictures before heading back to the coach. The coach drove us back to the hotel, it was dinnertime and we were starving and our feet were killing us. We walked across the street to an Italian restaurant (a trip to France, and we eat Italian food). My tummy was happy and filled with spinach/ricotta tortellini. Back to the room and watch the Disney channel in French before going to sleep.
Sunday - Usual routine again with the waking up with showering and breakfast. Then we went to our rooms to pack our suitcases and vacate the room. On the coach, we found ourselves being few of the non-hungover people on the tour. We drove to the Louvre Museum, and it being the first Sunday of the month, it was free! We really just wanted to see the Mona Lisa, and a few others. We just went to one of the three wings and walked up and down some stairs and down some halls before realizing we passed by the Mona Lisa which was in one of the side rooms. You would think it was the paparrazi in there taking photos of the celebrities in there. The painting was roped off for 10 feets, everyone was taking pictures of it. My photos kept getting glare because the painting is behind bulletproof/vision-proof glass. Still an amazing site to see.
Once outside the Louvre, Shannon and Teresa wanted to spend the last hour getting lunch before we had to go back to the coach. At this cafe, you could down this opposite street the Opera de Paris, the site I really wanted to see. I opted to walk down the street (barely under a mile) to get a good picture of it. Walking back down the street, I popped into more souveneir shops, still finding no figurine. Finally, I found a shop that sold mostly porcelein/figurines. Finally, finally, FINALLY I found an Opera House figurine for only 10 euros! I was a happy little tourist.
On the coach, we journeyed back to Calais for the ferry. Before going to the port, we made a pit stop at a wine/beer/cheese joint. Shannon got a bottle of rose wine from Germany, Teresa got a bottle of white zin from France, I got a bottle of red wine from Italy. Each cost like 2 euros. Onto the ferry, after going through the border control with our passports (we didn't have to show our passports to get into France). Finally we docked in Dover, England and I slept all the way home on the coach. We made it to the flat at 10PM, where we found that Paw and Rebecca (our flatmates who didn't go to Paris), made Teresa a birthday cake. So sweet!
My legs are hurting, I'm still tired and, more importantly, my mouth and throat hurt from trying to talk in French. I will agree with anyone who say that France is overrated. Maybe they're snobby as well, but anyone I interacted with was really nice to me.
Just when I thought I've enough of Paris for the next few years of my life, right now we're booking EuroStar tickets to go to Disneyland in Paris next week. Egads!
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