Adventures in Paris - Part 2

This is Part Two of my Paris adventure...you can read Part One here!

Our first stop on our second day in Paris was to visit the Eiffel Tower up close! We got some baguettes for lunch (of course) and sat admiring this incredible landmark before having a literal photo shoot in front of it in the freezing cold for half an hour. Also pretty sure my selfie stick made an appearance in the back of some couple's wedding photos...oops.

All smiles 

The Froomie (Flat Roomie/Future Roomie), Nicole 

Stylin'

I don't think it gets more touristy than this (not pictured: obnoxious blue selfie stick)

Next up we headed to the Louvre! The building itself was beautiful, especially the iconic glass pyramid entrance. We made our way through some exhibits of classic Greek sculptures before heading to see the main event: the Mona Lisa. Luckily, since we were there on a weekday, it wasn't too crowded and we actually got a really good look at the painting! I decided that she is, in fact, smiling. 

Despite the beautiful blue skies, it was actually freezing this day...

Another #JustTouristThings

Even the ceilings of the Louvre were beautiful

Mona!

She draws a pretty big crowd

Sent this one to the family group chat

We walked through a few more galleries (including a very bizarre modern art installation of deck chairs, ceiling fans, and purple mood lighting ??) and then Susie took us to Angelina's, a bakery she discovered while studying in Paris last summer, for hot chocolate and pastries. It was by far the BEST hot chocolate I have ever had...I'm actually pretty sure it was straight up melted chocolate but nevertheless it was absolutely delicious!! 

French bakeries are actually my favorite

Kind of regret not buying some hot chocolate mix to bring back

Later that evening, we walked back to the Eiffel Tower so we could take a ride to the top. Unfortunately, the top level of the tower was actually closed, but we still got some incredible views of the city from the middle level. One of my favorite parts of the trip was how every hour on the hour, the Eiffel Tower illuminates the park area with a glittering light show display. We were actually on the tower when the first light show started, but we stayed until the next hour to see the entire tower from afar. It was magical! 

Iconic 

We got such an amazing view just as the sun was setting 

Pictures really don't do it justice...

Afterwards, we headed back to our flat and enjoyed another French-inspired feast of baguettes, cheese, grapes, and wine. It was a great ending to an even better day.

Stay tuned for Part 3...coming soon! 

Adventures in Paris - Part 1

More than a dozen baguettes, a few macarons, and at least six pain au chocolats later I have returned from amazing long weekend in Paris! For everyone in my study abroad program, this past weekend marked our first opportunity to travel outside of the UK during our stay (the other part of the group went to Rome - we'll definitely be comparing notes for future excursions!). We saw so many incredible sights over such a short period of time and I all I can say is that the City of Love will always have a special place in my heart...Because I took so many pictures I'll have to break this up into a few posts!

A 7 am flight out of Heathrow meant that we had to order a MiniCab to pick us up from our flats at 4 in the morning on Thursday. I have to admit that Nicole and I didn't actually go to sleep at all because we were up late writing an essay for macro - yes, I am actually doing school work here :) - packing, and just because of our pure excitement. Luckily I was able to get some sleep on the flight, although I missed out on the free chocolate croissant they were serving for breakfast on the plane. After arriving in Paris we took our bags and dropped them off at the Airbnb apartment we had rented for the weekend and celebrated our arrival in France with croque monsieurs for lunch! And then we set off for a full day of sightseeing - the first stop was, of course, to see the Eiffel Tower. 

After that, we walked down the Champs-Élysées, a road lined with glamorous, high-end retail stores, including the original Louis Vuitton! It was a beautiful day, but just as we were crossing the road in front of the Arc de Triomphe it started to downpour and hail out of nowhere! We all just started laughing and ran across the street - not even painful icy rain was going to kill our happiness that we were in Paris! As quickly as it had started the storm passed and we headed to Ladurée for some delicious macarons. 

Not even rain or hail could bring me down

As cute as they are delicious!

Didn't last much longer after this...

As we were walking down the street we came across a set of ornate black and gold gates in front of a beautiful garden...it turned out to be Abercrombie!! Of course we had to go inside, which was just as incredible as the outside - although I have to say that the classically painted murals and statues of shirtless guys were a bit much for me. 

Reminded me of Buckingham Palace

Only in Paris would A&F look this nice

We continued our walking tour of Paris (led by my friend Susie who studied there two summers ago) by visiting La Madeleine, a huge, beautiful Catholic church filled with amazing artwork. All of the old churches I have seen in Europe have been so incredible...they're starting to be some of my favorite places to visit.

Sat for a while in awe of this church (and my life right now) 

View from the steps of the church 

After the church, we walked over to the Paris Opera House, also known as the Palais Garnier. The architecture of this building, like pretty much all of the architecture in this area of France was stunning and decorated with beautiful gold accents. 

Andrew was brave enough to travel with just us girls for the weekend...

Our last stop for the day was the flagship location of the French department store called Galeries Lafayette. For me, walking into that store was like walking into a dream - everywhere you looked were designer clothes, bags, shoes, and jewelry as far as the eye could see. The ceiling featured stained glass domes that illuminated the entire (huge!!!) building in a glowing light. Susie told us that she had been there over the summer and that if we wanted to see the best part we had to follow her. So we took about seven escalators and arrived at the top floor of the store. Usually you can go out onto the rooftop terrace but it was closed because of the rain, which we didn't know until we got up there. Although we were a little disappointed the view from the windows was still so amazing. We were getting ready to go back downstairs when the man attending the door told us we had ten minutes and sneakily let us go out! The view of the city was INSANE. We were on the roof just as the sun was setting and it was just so incredibly beautiful to see almost all of Paris from above. 

The ceiling of the store...unreal

This is what going to Paris on zero hours of sleep looks like :)

V for Villanova!

City of Love

After an incredibly long day of sightseeing we headed back to the flat for the night. We found a bakery right down the road - which we quickly became regulars to - and had a dinner of just baguettes (It was hands down the best bread I have ever eaten). We were all asleep by 9pm...

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon...Au revoir for now! 

#JustTouristThings

As of today I have officially survived my first week in London! There have definitely been a few surprising things about life in a different country (Eggs aren't refrigerated?? No one talks on the tube?? Pulp is called juicy bits?!?) but I think I am finally starting to get the hang of things around here. This week I had my first class - taught by a hilariously quirky Scottish professor - and I got the chance to see many of London's most iconic landmarks and locations. I am continuously in awe of the amazing history this city has to offer and cannot wait to explore more!

On Thursday a small group of us decided to go and see Big Ben and Buckingham palace. I think Big Ben is probably one of my favorite sights in London! Besides being so amazing to look at - the detail is incredible - it's just such an iconic British landmark. The weather on the day we went was beautiful and the sun hitting the gold on the clock tower was spectacular!

Amazing view of Big Ben right when you exit the Westminster tube station - definitely one of my favorites!

Big Ben is attached to the British Houses of Parliament, which is another destination on my bucket lists of places to tour - you can actually go in and watch debates going on! The architecture of this massive building is like nothing I have ever seen before. It's places like these that remind me of how young America is in comparison to the UK.

British flag looks especially majestic here :)

Such amazing detail

View from the River Thames

Me and MaryP!

Our next stop was Buckingham Palace, which I have to admit was a bit underwhelming. I think I was expecting to see those guys in funny hats standing outside but since we got there in the early evening we missed the changing of the guards. It was still really cool to see although I think I like the White House better :) I'll definitely be back in hopes of catching a glimpse of the queen (the flag was up which means she was home while we were there!!) or anyone royal for that matter. 

Showing off my new crib...

The next day we had our first excursion with EUSA, our program hosts. Our calendar said we had a London Dungeons tour so we all thought (or at least I did!) we would be going underground to see some real dungeons in the city. As it turns out "The London Dungeons Experience" was a somewhat cheesy and actually pretty scary tour and reenactment of some of the major historical events in England - definitely made just for the tourists. However, I actually learned a few things about King Henry VIII, medieval torture, the plague, and Jack the Ripper. It was right by the London Eye too, which we get to ride later this month - I can't wait! 

Some of the GCP girl squad 

Cute pictures were in order of course...

Stopped for a quick snack - preparing for my trip this weekend (!!!)

On Sunday a few of us went to a service at Westminster Abbey. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but it was literally the most beautiful church I have ever been in. Nicole and I got to sit in the main section, the same place where the boys choir and actual real life royals sat during Will and Kate's wedding. I think I died a little inside. After the service we popped into the National Portrait Gallery for a bit. It's so nice that most of the museums here are free so we didn't feel too guilty that we left after only 45 minutes...

This week I have more classes and then I'm off to Paris for the weekend (casual, I know). Stay tuned! 

72 Hours in London

Hello everyone! I arrived safely in the UK and have spent the past few days moving in, going to orientation, exploring the city, and adjusting to life in Europe (still cannot believe I will be here for 4 months!!!). I thought I would share a few snapshots of my trip so far...

Getting to London was not bad at all! I booked the window seat so I was able to sleep for some of the flight. Since I had never flown for a long distance or overseas before, I had never gotten to eat a meal on a plane which was kind of exciting (even though the food was not that great). The plane was full of families and a surprising amount of study abroad students! The people sitting next to me were local college students also studying in London for the semester (or "term" as they call it over here!).

Almost there!!

View from above

After getting off the plane and making it through customs, we met with the directors of our program here in London and took a shuttle to our housing. Our flats are SO small. You can stand in the middle of the room and pretty much touch both walls - they make dorm life seem glamorous! However, despite the lack of square footage the rooms do have a surprisingly good amount of storage which my roommate, Nicole, and I are making the most of. 

Here's my bed...

...and here's Nicole's!

Some London essentials...my passport and travel guides

After unpacking and settling into our new home, we took a walking tour of the area we are staying in (so many cute shops and restaurants!), did a little shopping for the room, and then went out and got crepes for dinner! After a good night's sleep, we all got up and went to a coffee shop across the street for breakfast before heading to a full day of orientation. 

These pastries were too good!

When we got a break halfway through orientation, a group of us decided to walk around and see what we could find in the area. We quite literally stumbled upon Kensington Gardens, a beautiful public park that used to be the private gardens for Kensington Palace (Will and Kate's palace!). We didn't have much time to explore but it is definitely on my list of places to go back to. 

Got a little too excited when we saw our first red telephone booth...I think we must have taken at least fifty photos

A map of the gardens

Turned the corner to see this huge memorial to Prince Albert

Later that day I went grocery shopping and cooked my first meal! It was admittedly harder than I thought it would be (you were right, Mom!). The whole group gathered in the common area and we discussed where we wanted to travel during this trip since we have most of the weekends completely free. Six of us ended up booking a trip to Paris for our first long weekend coming up later this month which is very exciting! I love that travel from one European country to another is relatively inexpensive and I can't wait to see where I get to go!

Yesterday we got to take a real walking tour of Central London with a certified tour guide who was basically the epitome of an old British man. He took us all around the city and we saw some really cool historical London landmarks - and got to take a ride on an old red double decker bus! After the tour our program coordinators treated us to a delicious lunch at a French restaurant and we spent the rest of the evening exploring on our own.

Westminster Abbey (I recognized that balcony from the royal wedding right away)
 

Took an elevator to the rooftop of an office building to get a better view of St. Paul's Cathedral...you can also see the London Eye and Big Ben in the background (on the left!)

Definitely the best meal of the trip so far!

Still dreaming about this dessert...

We ended the day with a little shopping on Oxford Street before heading back to the flats. This whole trip has seemed so surreal so far. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn't just a vacation and that I'm actually going to be living here for the next four months - so crazy and exciting! Feeling very lucky to have such an amazing opportunity. More to come...

Hello from the other side (of the pond)