Guess who's going another trip tomorrow morning??! This girl.

Berlin and Switzerland here I come.

I feel like I spend a lot of my time in airports and or on some form of public transportation. But, don't worry, I've rested since Spain and am ready to go! The past few days I've been the laziest person ever... part of me feels bad for not doing anything, but the other part of me is like, "last semester was the busiest on-the-go 24 hours a day semester, it's not a big deal if you relax and don't do anything for a few days."

But because I am usually such a busy person, it's weird to have no responsibilities. Classes and exams are finished. I'm literally just.. hanging out. Aside from a few errands here and there (did some grocery shopping today, went to a market the other day), my to do list: zip zero zilch.

Until tomorrow morning (or a few hours from now)!! Off to Berlin with Jackie, then Jen and Alex will be meeting us there on Thursday. From Berlin, me, Alex and Jen are continuing on to Switzerland, where the weather forecast is 72 degrees F and sunny!!! wooooo!!! Ever since Spain, I've had nothing but good weather. Knock on wood. (Touch wood, as they say here)

I am so excited to get back to the German culture, and to see such an historical city like Berlin!! Berlin was another last-minute add on to my travels, and was one of the cities I knew I had to get to while I was abroad. And SWITZERLAND! cannot wait for beautiful mountains and lakes and trees... nature, basically.

With this trip also comes April 2, the official one month countdown until I have to leave London. I can't believe it's already been 3 months! Ahhh! Time has flown by way too quickly... but I've done so much so it's hard to complain. I'll be happy to get back home and hang out with the family, but I don't want this adventure to come to an end. Can my family and friends just come here? And bring Panera Bread and Target with them?

Alright, time to catch some zzz's before the car service picks us up at 3 a.m. Yep. Life of a young traveler.

xxx

Another day of beautiful weather!! This is the 4th day in a row I think... if that's even possible. I'm not complaining though! Love the start of spring..

I took a nice little walk up to the center of Islington today to pick up my photo prints (300 of them, free thanks to buying a new camera), and then do some quick grocery shopping at Sainsbury's. But as I'm leaving Sainsbury's — keep in mind it's about noon on a Friday afternoon — I run into a little gang fight of the sorts. Two groups of guys are yelling at each other, hitting each other, whipping each other with their belts and throwing crates of fruit at each other. Meanwhile, everyone is out and about because like I said, it's noon on a Friday afternoon, so it caused a HUGE scene. But it was rather scary, because they were taking up the whole street and running into cars and moving toward the group of us spectators (a mom and her baby had to like scram out of the way... I felt so bad).

Several thoughts were running through my head.

#1- This is quite exciting to watch.
#2- Where's the police?
#3- Where's my notepad and camera? I'm a journalist. I need to report this.
#4- This is actually getting pretty scary.
#5- Where's the police?
#6- I'm gonna get out of here. But really, where's the police?

20 minutes after the fight started, I could hear police sirens. But the guys in the fight... were long gone. It was pretty absurd that it took the cops THAT long to get there, even when everyone around me was calling them. Islington is actually a really safe, nice area of London, and I've never ever felt unsafe here. So it was surprising to see such a calamity in the middle of the day, in such a public area (literally outside the grocery store, restaurants and shopping). But it was also really frustrating and kind of nerve wracking that the cops weren't on top of their game.

anyway.

Marquette plans UNC in the Sweet Sixteen tonight!!!!!! I can't imagine what campus is going to be like tonight... I wish I was there to watch the game with everyone. Instead, me and few Marquette kids at City U. are heading downtown to catch the game at the Sports Cafe. Should be fun!

GO MARQUETTE!

Madrid!

drum roll

Madrid blog post!! I'm finally through a few final exams and papers... and now, I have a lot of time on my hands until my trip to Berlin/Switzerland next week.

Anyway... re-wind to last Friday morning at 9 am, after an 8 hour bus ride from Barcelona. I arrived at the bus station in Madrid, figured out the metro system, and navigated my way to the hostel (Equity Point Hostel Madrid) to wait for Mel and her friend Megan. Lucky us, our hostel was right in the center of the city, El Sol. Such a perfect location... and I soon found out Madrid isn't that big of a city anyway. It was easy to walk wherever we needed to go.

The weather was AMAZING, for all three days of our time in Madrid. 70 degrees, blue skies, sunny, cool breeze in the shade. I came back to London with a bit of a sunburn, actually. But it's faded now and I have a nice little glow going on. Thank you Spanish sunshine!

Using a Rick Steves guidebook (thank you Rick Steves) we went on a quick, little tour of Madrid which brought us to our first stop: a little pastry/coffee shop in El Sol. I got a napolitana, a chocolate-filled pastry with powdered sugar on top. My mouth has never thanked me more. It was delicious, beyond words. After that we headed to Plaza Mayor, San Miguel market,  a huge church (I should be able to remember the name, but I don't), and to Palace Real (the old Spanish royalty's crib).

We took a tour and... ornate, much? It was beautiful, though. Again, I'm not a big fan of touring homes. From the Newport Mansions, to that estate in Manchester I went to a few weeks ago, to Palace Real... I just don't like looking at people's homes. Maybe it's just so difficult to imagine people actually living in these kind of places, but anyway, Palace Real was still pretty cool. The throne, the sparkling chandeliers (I wanted to bring one home with me.. turns out it wouldn't meet luggage policies), the paintings on the ceilings and intricate decor... all stunning.

After that we headed back toward our hostel, stopping at Cien Montaditos (100 little sandwiches) for a yummy lunch. There are 100 types of sandwiches on their menu, each for only 1 euro or so. An affordable meal? I'm not in London anymore.

Then it was time for a siesta at the hostel. One of the negatives of having a hostel right in the heart of Madrid, is also having a lot of noise outside your window. Oh well, traveling and a rather noisy residence hall has taught me how to sleep through it.

Up next: El Prado! Free from 6-8 p.m. so we took full advantage of that. It was a pretty cool museum, and there was a lot to see... but, still not my type of museum. I know what you're thinking.. how is EL PRADO not your type of museum? Because even though I appreciate the artist and his skills, I can't look at this type of painting for 50 rooms in a row...

Thankfully on Sunday we went to La Reina Sofia where Picasso and Dali have a lot of their work. Picasso's La Guernica was incredible!! So many people lined up to see it... Picasso is wacky but I love him!

I wish I could've spent longer in that museum, but by Sunday mid-afternoon, after being on my feet for five days... I was way too exhausted. At that point I'm surprised my legs and feet were still attached to my body. Even though I had my share of napolitanas and tapas, I had one heck of a workout last week.

Anyway... back to Friday. After El Prado, we got dinner at a tapas bar, El Buscon, recommended to me by my dear friend Marie, who studied in Madrid last spring. She told me El Buscon has the best sangria in Madrid... and even though I didn't try sangria anywhere else, El Buscon's was delicious. I felt so Spanish, sitting in a tapas bar, drinking sangria. It's customary for tapas bars to give you a tapa when you order a drink, so we ended up with some potato, mayo thing. And then we ordered Patatas Bravas for another tapa. So many potatoes. All yummy.

To end the night, we went to the oldest churros place in the world.. San Gines. Here's me, happy as a clam, with my churros con chocolate!

On Saturday we went to El Retiro park, a huge, beautifully landscaped park behind El Prado.

Looks even better with a blue sky and sunshine, doesn't it? We walked around there for a little bit, found a pond where people could rent rowboats, and listened to an awesome mariachi band of the sorts. With such amazing weather, there were a lot of people out walking around with family and friends.

Then we headed back to Plaza Mayor, grabbing lunch at the San Miguel market, before joining Sandeman's walking tour (same company I've gone on tours with in Munich, Paris and London). Our tour guide (who was British, fancy that) was great! Very enthusiastic, entertaining and lively. No wonder why I keep going back to Sandeman's... I definitely recommend them to my fellow travelers! Their website is... http://www.neweuropetours.eu/

Here is our tour guide, Col, in the red shirt, showing us the oldest restaurant in the world! (Guinness world records even says so)

After the tour it was back to the hostel for a siesta... I love siestas. I'm glad the Spaniards realize the importance of taking a nap. I would fit nicely into the Spanish culture.

Then came time for dinner... Marie recommended a tapas bar on a street, Cava Baja, where she said she had a goat cheese and caramelized onion tapa.. the "best thing I ate in Spain." So, with her advice, we went off to find this tapas bar. She didn't remember the name... just that it was in the middle of Cava Baja, and had wine bottles in the window. Well, we found it! And of course I got the goat cheese/caramelized onion tapa. YUM.

For the second part of our dinner (people do a lot of tapas bars hopping for meals), it was back to Cien Montaditos. Such a go-to restaurant.. and so affordable. I can't believe how affordable Madrid was. 1 euro metro, meals for 6 or 7 euros (or less). I could get used to it, that's for sure.

I could get used to a lot of Madrid and Spain actually. I cannot express how much I LOVED being able to use my Spanish. Even though it was pretty simple Spanish, and I'm not the best at understanding someone speak Spanish to me... I was still able to communicate. To the hostel receptionists about needing a map, some more time on the computer... to the airport worker about where the RyanAir terminal is... or the napolitana guy... about how I want a napolitana.. haha. It was just such a treat to be surrounded by the Spanish language all week.

While I do love London and am so glad I studied here (especially now that the weather is getting better), I can picture myself studying in Spain... and part of me wishes I did. Madrid is such a living city (as Marie told me). Barcelona was beautiful and incredible... but Madrid just seemed so comfortable. Easy to get everywhere, affordable, great people, great vibe. And I can only imagine how much better my Spanish would've gotten!

On Sunday in Madrid, we went to La Reina Sofia, and back to El Retiro. Because it was another warm, sunny day... everyone and their mother were out laying on the grass, kicking around a "football", reading, having a picnic, socializing, etc. I was thinking it was going to be all tourists, but I really only heard Spanish. So cool that the locals just hang out at the park on a sunny day... again, why I could totally live in Madrid.

Then we walked to Gran Via, a huge shopping street. Here's a cool picture from our walk to that area...

Many of the stores were closed because it was Sunday, but a few of the side streets (leading into the Chueca district) were open. After some window shopping, we headed back to El Sol, to grab some dinner before Megan and Mel had to leave for the airport. I couldn't depart Madrid without one last sangria from El Buscon. Then I said adios to the girls, and stayed at the hostel on the computer for a few more hours until it was my time to head to the airport. For my slumber party. Joy.

It actually wasn't as horrible as that one sleepover in the London airport before my Munich trip. I didn't have to sleep on the ground this time! I had a little table, instead. So after a while of doing random things, like painting my nails, organizing my purse, re-packing my suitcase and looking at all my pictures I had taken... I took a little nap. Not much of one, but once I got on the plane, I passed out. And by passed out, I mean I don't even remember the plane taking off... and I only woke up when we landed. You can only imagine what kind of spastic movement I made when I was awoken to our plane landing.

So that was my Spain trip. Incredible in so many ways... beautiful place, language, people and culture...  I cannot say enough good things about Barcelona and Madrid. It makes me wish I was seeing more of Spain! If only I had known... because I hear southern Spain is a world of its own.

Guess that means I have to go back sometime in the future. Hasta pronto, Espana!!! Te amo! <3

Barcelona!

Hola!

I’m back in London, safe and sound, after the most amazing week in Spain. I’m physically drained from all the walking I did, and exhausted from a lack of sleep the past few nights. Sleepovers at the airport don’t make for the most restful nights. But, it was all completely worth it. Spain was a last minute addition to my travel plans, but I’m so glad I did decide to go (even if it meant traveling to Barcelona by myself)

Anyway, this is the Barcelona blog post, because as I said in my last post, Madrid and Barcelona need two separate posts! They were both completely different experiences.

I arrived in Barcelona last Tuesday evening, catching a glimpse of the beach and ocean from the plane. I hopped on the train and then the metro, and finally made it to the apartment of Shivani (a friend of Alex’s from the states, who is studying in Barcelona for a year). It was so nice for her to offer up her couch for two nights… thanks Shivani! And her two roomies, Alicia and Steph were super nice and welcoming, too.

Wednesday:

Unfortunately it was rainy and cloudy that day, but the temperature was still low 50s so it was completely bearable. Walking around Barcelona makes you feel like you're in such a tropical destination, spanish and gothic architecture, palm trees, the ocean. Some people say there is Barcelona and then there is Spain, just because Barcelona is so different from the rest of Spain. Also, Barcelona is in Catalonia, so they speak Catalan, an official language that sounds nothing like Spanish. 

The first thing I did was to take the metro to La Sagrada Familia, the world’s oldest construction site and one of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous architectural wonders. I had seen pictures before, but nothing can prepare you for this cathedral. It’s pretty crazy looking. From afar it looks like... a blob of melting stone, but when you look closer you can see the details... like fruit on some of the steeples? No wonder why this is such a work in progress.

Then I headed to the bus station to get my bus ticket to Madrid for Thursday night. Standing in line, I prepared my Spanish, saying it over and over in my head… ready to put my Spanish knowledge to the test. When I got up to the counter, I said, “Do you speak English?” I guess I got a little nervous. But lucky me, he didn’t speak English, so it was back to my Spanish and I was successfully able to get the bus ticket I wanted. Go me!

Afterwards I walked to the Gothic Quarter, I think it’s called, and saw a few beautiful churches, and navigated my way to the Picasso Museum. I absolutely love Picasso’s work, so I was really looking forward to the museum. It was awesome! I can’t believe how much Picasso’s work changed over time, but it really took a 360…from his early landscapes to his wacky, colorful cartoonish paintings. Being able to take as long as I wanted in that museum, or at any of the other sites I went to, was such a great positive of traveling alone. I was able to do what I wanted, when I wanted to, for however long I wanted to. Complete freedom. Those questions — What do you want to do? Are you hungry? Bathroom break? Can we go?  — were all up to me to answer.

After the museum I grabbed a quick croissaint and café con leche at a café nearby, and then headed toward La Rambla, or the main touristy, restaurant/shop street in Barcelona. So of course it was full of street performers, vendors and… pickpockets. You better believe I was hugging my purse like a teddy bear the whole time (as I usually do when I’m traveling). I stopped at La Bocqueria, a huge open air food market. I’ve never seen so much fruit in my life. I treated myself to a mini xuxo (crème filled pastry) at one of the stands.

And then, right next to the market, in a angelic glow, was a Dunkin Donuts (or a Dunkin Coffee as they called it).  Dunkin Donuts iced coffee lovers will understand my joy, especially after living in England without Dunkin Donuts for 3 months. Of course I had to get an iced coffee… but it tasted nothing like the iced coffee in the states. Oh well.

I walked all the way down La Rambla and ended at the pier, where there were hundreds of boats lined up by the docks. I walked along the docks until I ended up at the beach. Ocean! Sand! Beach! It was so great to be able to not only see the ocean, but to see the Mediterranean, which I’ve never seen before. No one was out on the beach because it had just rained, so aside from a few stragglers, it was just the Barcelona beach and I.

Then I took the metro back to Shivani’s apartment, where I cooked a frozen pizza for dinner. Yes, a frozen pizza. Traveling alone, while great, also means you don’t have company to eat a nice meal with. But it was fine by me to save some money! And then I slept. 7 hours of walking around Barcelona = a tired Jen.

Thursday

Unlike Wednesday, the weather was beautiful on Thursday! Sunny and mid-60s. Barcelona is pretty rain or shine, but I was glad the weather was nice on the day I was going to a few parks. First up was Montjuïc (Hill of the Jews), where Franco imprisoned Barcelona’s Jews.  Montjuïc is kind of like a park and landscaped gardens, thrown on a mountain, with a huge museum, a few smaller museums, an Olympic stadium and a castle. It was far too large for me to see all of it, but I did some exploring and caught some beautiful photos. And again, while it would’ve been nice to delight in the scenery with company, it was good to just take it all in on my own.

Then I took the metro to the northern part of Barcelona, to Park Guell, Gaudi’s attempt to build a neighborhood for Barcelona’s elite. Instead we were left with a theme park, wacky Alice in Wonderland type place. I climbed up to a stone pedestal that overlooked the whole city. I could see everything!

Even though I had already been to the beach, I needed to go back because the weather was just too nice. So I crossed some sites off my to-do list, and headed back to La Rambla and the beachfront.  I found a nice little patch of sand, laid out my raincoat (which I definitely didn’t need that day) and sat in the sun for about a half hour.

Me sitting on the beach in Barcelona? Is this my life?

After that I walked back to Shivani’s apartment… it’s not really walking distance but I made it happen. My legs hated me afterward, but the weather was too beautiful not to walk everywhere!

I headed to the bus station Thursday night, for a 1 a.m. bus ride to Madrid. A 8-hour bus ride... but hey, seeing the sunrise in the Spanish hillside was so worth it.

I absolutely loved Barcelona, and I'm so sad I had to leave! Definitely my favorite city thus far... my trips keep getting better it seems. The culture, the art, the architecture, the weather, the ocean, the general vibe of the city... everything was just perfect! And I can honestly say I had "fun" by myself. Yeah, I wish I had company at some points, but I still felt completely satisfied with everything I did and everything I saw. 

I cannot wait to return to Barcelona in the future ...Hasta pronto!

Espaaannnaa!

hola mis amgos!!

I´m currently sitting in my hostel in Madrid... it´s right in El Sol (the hub or center of the city). It´s the perfect location and we can walk anywhere. Madrid isn´t a big city (or so it seems) so we´ve been walking everywhere pretty much. There will have to be a whole other blog post about Madrid, because my experiences in Barcelona and Madrid are completely different and deserve their own blog posts.

I´m probably going to hold off on the Barcelona blog post, too, until I return to London and can upload some pictures to break up the novel. So this blog post really isn´t that substantial, but I´m on a strict 30 minute computer session at the hostel. The third, 30-minute session. Í like to think they keep granting me extra sessions because I ask them in Spanish (even though I know they speak English).

But, I will say that Barcelona is by far my favorite city in Europe thus far. I LOVED it. The scenery, the beach, the weather, the people, the architecture, the art, the culture, the food, the shopping... everything. I cannot say enough good things about Barcelona. It will be the first city I come back to (after London of course) in the future. That being said, transitioning into Madrid from a city like Barcelona... was kind of a letdown. Not a huge letdown, because Madrid is beautiful and has a really great atmosphere, too, but Barcelona won me over. Madrid didn´t stand a chance. I still have two more days of Madrid, though, so we´ll see what great things this city has to offer me.

Lots of more Spain blog posts to come in the next few days!!!

Adios mis amores!

Pictures from my weekend in Manchester!

Lowry Theater where we saw A Doll's House

University of Manchester

at the Dunnen estate

gardens at the estate

me, Jackie (Pat's daughter), Pat (my host!)

at Old Trafford Stadium!

I forgot to mention, last night I tried duck for the first time. Never again. All I could think about was this little fella , who I met at St. James Park and how I was probably consuming his niece's daughter's cousin's fiance's mother-in-law's ex-boyfriend. Or something.

On a happier note, I went to an old estate with Pat today and we took a tour of the huge, beautiful home. So extrravagant. I don't know if home-touring is my thing.. I remember going through a lot of the Newport mansions when I was younger (for fieldtrips and all) and being bored out of my mind. We all know I'm much more appreciative of the arts, but old fancy homes... I'm working on it. What I did love were the gardens outside. My inner National Geographic photographer came out and I took some pictures of flowers, plants, etc. It was a lovely day outside, too, which made walking around a lot more pleasant. And there were British children, galore! Cute, British babies and little toddlers running about and talking in British accents. It's just so cute.

On the drive I got a nice tour of some English countryside (maneur smells included), and oh I just love England. Don't make me leave this place!

Can someone send me some Panera Bread? I'm craving broccoli/cheddar soup in a bread bowl.

Manchester.. so far

I am loving my little weekend in Manchester, away from the stresses of coursework, the big city and traveling (yes, traveling gets stressful no matter how fun it is!)

Yesterday I go to the bus station nice and early so I could get first dibs on a seat. Ever since Alex and I ran to the bus that one trip to Glasgow and ended up in aisle seats. Lucky me ended up with the first row, second level of the bus, with the best view of the whole journey. There was a girl sitting across from me who goes to U. Manchester, so we chatted a little bit. She's lived in Venezuela, Cuba, Belgium and now lives in Shanghai. I love meeting people with such interesting stories!

I met Pat (she sponsored my mom when my mom studied a year at U. Manchester) at the bus station, we hopped in her car and I experienced my first taste of driving on the opposite side of the road. It was weird. There's a reason why every other country drives on the right side of the road... it just seems to make more sense. Instead of crossing over 4 lanes of traffic to turn a corner and whatnot. Oh well. Pat's house is so lovely! Her husband designed it, and it reminds me of an Ikea catalougue. The colors, wooden furniture and unique shapes of couches, chairs, etc. It's difficult to describe. My room is so cozy, too! Finally, a bed that I can't feel every spring in while sleeping. For dinner she cooked us a beef and potatoes stew, with red cabbage (soaked in apple, vinegar, salt). Delicious. And they say British food isn't good...
For dessert she had baked an apple pie... basically, I've been eating well. She cooked me an English breakfast this morning (bacon, award-winning sausage from the local butcher, egg, toast).  Yummmmm. It's so nice to be taken care of.. I've been depending on myself for a few months, so having some meals cooked for me, a nice bed and cosy house... it's really wonderful.

Today we went over to an art gallery by Univ. of Manchester and saw some neat exhibits. It was different being in a small art gallery versus the Louvre or the museums in London that take hours to get through. \For lunch we grabbed some Moroccan tomato plum soup. Also delicious. From there we went on to explore the University a little bit. It was so cool to see my mom's old stomping grounds! 30 years later... Manchester is so student-y....lots to do, and a ton of young people around.

We then went to a shopping outlet by the Lowry theatre where we were going to see a play tonight. After looking around some stores, we went to a little Lowry art gallery in the theatre. I had never heard of the artist Lawrence Lowry before, but I fell in love with all his work! Here we go again with the modern art. It was wacky in some ways, but simplistic in others. I'm really starting to get a hang of this art thing.. and then the theatre! Art galleries and theatre.. all in one day?! Can you believe it, Mom?

After grabbing some delicious chinese food for dinner (expect, they didn't give us fortune cookies. what kind of chinese restaurant doesn't give you fortune cookies?!) we went to see A Doll's House at the Lowry Theatre. It was a great show! The ending was a little unexpected considering the plot up until that point, but hey, can't have a fairytale ending in every story.

So that's Manchester for now! Tomorrow should be another good day, and then I'm back to London on Sunday for 2 days until I head to Spain!!! Can't wait!

xx

J'aime Paris

Bonjour!

I'm taking a break from writing a few papers...just one of the many breaks I've taken in the past day or so. It's almost impossible to change mindsets from the carefree world traveler to the university student with two, 2,000 word papers to write by Tuesday.

Anyway, on Saturday night I returned from the most wonderful 3 days in Paris. And by wonderful I mean, sitting by the Seine River with good friends, eating crepes and looking at the Eiffel Tower in the distance... taking in the sunshine at the Jardin des Tuileries, watching the fashionistas set up for fashion week, walking through the Louvre and seeing the Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa... watching street performers and talented oil painters at the Sacre Coeur (the highest point in Paris), climbing the Eiffel Tower and getting the most wonderful view of Paris...

Jen, Jackie and I had been looking forward to Paris for so long and now that it's come and gone, we're all pretty bummed I think. Our trips just keep getting better and better. Ireland was great, Munich was awesome, Paris was incredible... up next is Spain!

On Thursday we went right to our hostel from the airport and lucky us, ended up with our private bedroom even though we signed up for a 12-bedroom dorm (it was cheaper!). The hostel was in the Montmarte area of Paris, a great district with a lot of cafes and amazing views of the city. The Sacre Coeur was only about a 10 minute walk away... too bad we only discovered it on our last day because I think it was one of our favorite places in Paris! After checking into the hostel, we headed for Champs Elysees (famous shopping street), stopping at an antiques market right on the river and grabbing a crepe for lunch.

This is when the life is good moment happened... Jackie, Jen and I just sitting by the river on a beautiful, sunny day, eating delicious crepes and looking at the eiffel tower in the distance. so awesome. Here's a romantic picture of me and Jackie that Jen took haha nothing says love like nutella crepes and an antique market.

After a casual stroll down the Champs Elysees, not going in any store because that would just be a tease, we made it to the Arc de Triomphe, and headed on over to the Eiffel Tower. I wasn't sure if I would be impressed by it... just because I've seen it in so many pictures before. But I thought wrong. It was incredible... 

To save some money, we decided to forgo the elevator and take the stairs instead. Never have I climbed so many stairs in my entire life. So. much. exercise. But so worth it. I do have to admit that I listened to my ipod for part of the way up because I have a severe fear of heights. Oh well, whatever it takes! We finally made it to the middle level (stairs don't go to the tippity top). It was breathtaking, literally. We were out of breath from that climb. But the views were spectacular. 

I didn't realize it at the time, but our tour guide explained that the views from the Eiffel Tower can be a little hazy considering the amount of pollution in the air. That was one of the negatives of Paris.. pollution, dirty streets/metro, a lot of beggars and gypsies, I was always holding onto my purse for dear life so I wouldn't be pick pocketed... made me appreciate London's "cleanliness" a lot more. 

After the Eiffel Tower we went back to the Champ Elysees to grab dinner at a little Italian place (don't worry, they had French food, too!). I got pasta carbonara, which was super delicious. We had french bread, some french wine and tiramisu for dessert. Worth the hefty price of the meal. It's hard to avoid spending a lot of money on Paris.. I didn't buy myself much beside a scarf and some postcards, but I still left feeling like all the money was sucked out of me!

Thursday night we went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for the most spectacular view of Paris... the Eiffel Tower is so beautiful at night. We even saw the hourly light show, when the tower sparkles for 5 minutes.

Then we took the metro to the Moulin Rouge, snapped a few photos and headed back to the hostel for some much needed rest. 

On Friday we took a free walking tour with the Sandeman's New Europe company, which we've done a few tours with before. Our tour guide Linda was so awesome, and kept us entertained the entire 3 hours. She told us a lot of quirky facts about the city and its history.. for example, one time, at the statue of Louis XIV, his scroll was replaced by a giant light saber. Yes, star wars style light saber! After the tour finished up we grabbed some lunch and found a seat at the Tuileries Gardens, which are right next to the Louvre. We felt so Parisian, sitting in our lawn chairs, looking at the little kids and their toy sailboats in the pond, taking in the French sun. Another life is good moment!

The Louvre is free for students after 6 p.m. on Fridays so we went there for about 3 hours. Even though we didn't see everything, we saw  A LOT. And while some people are underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa, I thought it was still pretty neat. It's the most famous piece of artwork... ever... and there it is, the original.. right in front me. How is that not cool?!

After some dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, we went back to the hostel for some sleep... yet another long exhausting day.

On Saturday we had a good amount of time before we had to get to the airport, so we checked out Notre Dame. Such an incredible church... but I wish I caught a spotting of the Hunchback.. or Esmerelda... no luck. Here's a picture of the girls and I....

Then it was over to the Montmarte District (near our hostel) and the Sacre Coeur. I couldn't believe how much was going on in that area! Cafes, artists, tourists, street performers everywhere. And these weren't your average street artists... these guys had so much talent... painting landscapes with acrylics and oils, drawing spot-on portraits of people sitting in front of them, etc. It was so great! Then we finally made it up to the Sacre Coeur basilica!

and had the most incredible view of Paris...

And on that note... our trip to Paris was complete. Back to the airport, and back to London (still the greatest city in the world!)

Overall, we all had a great time but we wish we had MORE time! I wanted to see Versailles so badly, but we just couldn't fit it in... I would've loved more time in Montmarte and at the Eiffel Tower... oh well. That just gives me reason to go back! :)

Some more good news: I will be editor in chief of the Marquette Journal next year! That's our university magazine for those of you who don't know! I am so excited, and can't believe how crazy of a year this has already been, and will be!

So this blog post was a longer break from my papers than necessary... but now it's back to work. Manchester on Thursday! Madrid and Barcelona next week!

xxx au revoir!