[Written Tuesday, 5/31/16]
Just left Paris, and are now on the way to Amsterdam: the
city of sin! On the way we will stop in
Ghent, Belgium for some lunch and to fit-in all things Belgium in two hours.
To catch up …
London Day 3
Up bright and early to have a day trip to Oxford, England,
the home of the University of Oxford. I
was interested to learn that it isn’t one united university such as we have in
the states, but is actually comprised of many smaller colleges that you apply
to. We saw several while there: Christ
College, New College … etc
From top left: The Radcliffe Camera, Me at New College, New College, Matilda, the group at New College
It was magical at Oxford!
We were shown the location at which C.S. Lewis was inspired to write The
Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The story goes that he was leaving a
church service early one winter day and exited through a makeshift coat closet
in the hallway towards the door. After
emerging from the coats, he was greeted by a great deal of freshly fallen snow,
lit up by a lamp post. Out the door in
the alley way to his right, there was a door with a lion carving, whose eves
are held up by golden fauns. And there
you have it! In the LW&W, Lucy emerges from the wardrobe full of fur coats
to a snow-covered wood and the lamppost.
The first person she runs into is Mr. Tumnus, a fawn.
Inspirations to the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: Lamp post, Lion carving on door, Golden Faun
We saw several other sights pertaining to Harry Potter. We saw several filming locations and the
inspiration for Harry Potter’s scar.
Clockwise from top left: mason's mark on the stone, the building that housed the library used in filming Harry Potter, the tree from HP4, the infirmary from HP1
We had lunch at Eagle and Child, the favorite haunt of the
famous authors C.S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkein, and Lewis Carroll. It was the best fish and chips I have likely
ever had, though it is hard to say that definitively.
Overall, visiting Oxford was so wonderful and really made me
want to go back to there specifically and get another graduate degree … yes,
already.
After the bus ride back to London, a few of us were dropped
off at Baker Street—nearly on top of the Sherlock Holms statute—so that we
could get dinner by where we were seeing Matilda that evening. We stopped at a wonderfully tasty Indian
Place. Matilda the musical was cute and
entertaining.
Paris Day 1
While packing up my London accommodations, my zipper broke
on one of the suitcases I had brought up.
Oh the joys of travel! We took
the Eurostar to Paris and arrived around 3pm Paris time. Immediately outside Gard
du Nord, we were greeted by our Paris tour guide Pavel, a Polish guy. He was
quite funny and entertaining. We were
bussed around some of the sights of Paris: Champs Elysée, Arc de Triomphe, La
Tour Eiffel, Moulin Rouge, and so many others.
It was enjoyable and informative!
Me at L'Arc de Triomphe
Following the tour, we were dropped off at our Hostel: St.
Christopher’s. We unpacked, got cute,
and went out to a Bistro night in the Latin Quarter. This dining experience has probably thus far
been one of the highlights of my week. A
three-course meal (I picked Escargots, Salmon, and Chocolate Mousse), the wine
was flowing, and accordion and guitar music was playing. It was spectacular! Every bite I savored was
an experience, we laughed, we danced, and boy did we sing! I cannot describe
how much fun it was enough. Needless to say, we were all a bit tipsy and there
were some antics in the street, such as some Parisian dumping water out of
their window at the loud, somewhat drunk Americans in the street. Our tour director, Fabrice (Fab to us), told
us that this is something the locals enjoy doing to loud drunks in the street.
Another hijinks happened when all but one of us missed getting off on our Métro
stop, and gypsies being present in the station. Many, too many, laughs and
delicious food and drink consumed that night. It. Was. Marvelous.
Me, Aleah, MaRiah, and Erin
Aleah and Me, being serenaded.
Paris Day 2
The second day in Europe, consisted of a half day trip to
Versailles. On the RER (suburban rail system) one in our group got a 45 euro
ticket for having his foot on the seat in front of him, despite having no signs
posted. Typical French railway police.
Once at Versailles, we were awed by the ornate details in
the painted walls, ceilings, furniture, etc. Of course, my favorite part inside
the palace was the Hall of Mirrors. My
true favorite part of the Palace was the gardens. As we walked around, there was classical
music of the 18th century playing throughout the gardens. It was truly an experience.
 |
| In the Garden of Versailles |
Hall of Mirrors
After our quirky, older, and batty French woman finished our
tour, we went into the town center of Versailles to walk around, shop, and eat
lunch. First, my friend Daniel and I
found the Sunday market still going on and took it in. It was such a delight. I could smell the ripeness of the juicy,
sweet melons over five feet away from them.
For lunch, we ended up eating at this new French burger place. Best
fries! We also got some macaroons from
one of the local patisserie and chocolaterie. DELICIOUS.
Macaroons: Violette, Coconut, Chocolate, & Pistachio
The evening after Versailles, some of us attended a Cabaret
show in the Red Light District just down the street from Moulin Rouge. It was a variety show with some topless
dancing. It was very entertaining! Of
course, they also included the can-can. My favorite acts were actually the two
half-Brazilian brothers and then also the drunken acrobat (a batty older
Frenchman). So funny!
Paris Day 3
Well, our third day in Paris was … a challenge. It rained nearly the entire time we were in
Paris, but it rained all day on the
third day, our sight-seeing day. We
attempted (and somewhat succeeded) in going to Notre Dame area. We were able to go into the church and have a
look around. Daniel and I also got some souvenirs and went into Shakespeare
& Co., a famous English bookstore in Paris.
The group then hopped on the metro again to the Louvre. We hit it at lunchtime so it was a bit
crowded, but we also had an excellent lunch in their multicultural restaurant
center.
Notre Dame de Paris
Munching pastries minis at Festival of Bread outside Notre Dame
Cheesy bread photo at bread festival
Mona Lisa
My favorite, the inverted triangle under the Louvre
Following our time at the Louvre, we headed over near the
Eiffel tower for our seine boat cruise.
As I mentioned, it was raining. A. lot. After the boat cruise we went up
the tower. I was so glad I had
previously gone up the tower on a day with much better weather. Once at the 2nd
floor, my friends and I only stayed at the top for five minutes, because as we
ascended, the wind increased. It was
cold, very windy, and raining. Miserable is probably the best word to describe
what it was like up there.
On the Seine boat cruise!
We then went our separate ways, grabbed crepes, and then I
went off alone to buy a new suitcase. My friends and I did dinner at our Hostel
last night and then we went off toward Amsterdam this morning.
MaRiah enjoying her crepes a little TOO much.
On the way to Amsterdam, we stopped in Ghent, Belgium. It was a wonderful town! We only had about an
hour and forty-five minutes to get all of our Belgian experiences in such a
little amount of time. My friends
MaRiah, Daniel, and I stopped in two of the churches, bought chocolate, got
some fries (for which Belgium is known for), and Waffles and beer at our last
stop. We really fit a lot in!!
PICTURES
Next onto Amsterdam!
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