So last Friday I went to Paris! It was definitely the most beautiful city I have ever seen. We left early Friday morning and took the eurostar there. Once we finally got there, we had a panoramic bus tour of the city. We saw the Concorde square with the new Paris eye, then our first and only stop was at the Eiffel tour. Of course, I basically had a photo shoot there, taking pictures of myself from every angle. We then got back onto the bus and went passed the Arc de Triomph. It was a lot bigger than I was expecting it to be. Gotta love that Napolean complex. We then drove along the river, which was so pretty. There were little stalls that sold used books all along it. After the tour we went to our hotel and then went to a genuine French restaurant. It was so good, even though the portions were really small. It kinda forced me to get some crème brulee for dessert, not that im complaining. After dinner, we went to the Louvre. Even the outside is amazing, with the glass pyramids. We went in for free, which makes it even better, and walked through the museum until we reached to Mona Lisa room. It was so weird that we were able to just walk right up to it ad take pictures too. It was a lot smaller than I was expecting, but it was still so cool being in the presence of such a masterpiece.
Saturday, we had a walking tour. We walked all over. I loved seeing the outdoor cafes and flower shops and even an original statue for Louis XIV, and I learned that there are 18 Louis-es. Our walking tour ended at Notre Dame, and it was really cool seeing the gargoyles and everything. After that, Meaghan and I walked across the river and had lunch at a creperie. It was so delicious. Maybe the best crepe like in the world. It was banana, hot chocolate, ice cream, and whipped cream…yum! From there we went shopping where I bought a beret. We then went real shopping on Champs-Elysees, which was so incredible. It put 5th Avenue in NY to shame. Meag and I decided that we can’t leave Paris and visit the original Louis Vuitton there without buying anything. Might have been a mistake, but it was definitely worth it. After our amazing day of shopping, we went and had some French pastries, which were of course amazing. After all of that, we were exhausted and took a nap, then went out to dinner for another real French meal. I tried escargot, and it was so good! Once I got over the part that I was eating snails, I really liked them. That night we went to the Eiffel tour. Seeing it twinkle was so unbelievable. It was so pretty! We wanted to go to the top, but it was closed because of overcrowding which totally sucked, but nothing we could do. Even from the bottom just looking up at it was gorgeous.
Sunday we had another walking tour. This time it was in northern paris where all the artists are. We saw the place where all the artists used to go when they were struggling. We then saw the square where all the current artists are that do the caricatures and everything. I would have liked to have gotten one done, but we didn’t have enough time. I liked seeing them there, because I had always heard that paris had a lot of them, so I’m glad I saw them. I also saw a mime there! After that, meag and I decided we needed to have escargot one more time while in paris, so we had it for lunch. Again, so good. After that, we needed to go back and get our stuff from the hotel and leave. I definitely loved paris, with the exception of their metro because it was super confusing. Other than that, it was great. The shopping, the food, the unbelievable beauty, it was all perfect.
Monday was my last day of my british history class. We were expecting a final of some sort, whether it was a paper or a test, but we received neither. I definitely was not going to complain about that. Even though it wasn’t a serious class, I did learn a lot about history and my professor was the most brilliant man I have ever met.
Tuesday was my day in parliament. When I first got there, I went to a boring environmental meeting. After that was cool though. I got to go to a reception in the House of Commons and meet some pretty interesting people, including other MPs. After that, I went to lunch with her researcher. After lunch, I got to go to a cool meeting. Then, I was given a ticket to the public gallery and sat in on the debate going on in the House. It was a really good day, definitely an experience most people don’t get.
Wednesday, I interned then handed in my portfolio. It was such a relief once it was handed in to know that I was done with all my work. After that, a few of us went to Oxford street to look at the Christmas lights. They were pretty, but definitely not as dramatic as the ones in America. I like the American ones better with more color and detail.
Yesterday was my last day interning. It really was sad. It is hard saying goodbye to the people that you spend 8 hours a day with 4 days a week. We went a restaurant in parliament to celebrate my last day. I really really enjoyed my internship, especially the people. I liked going there every morning because of what I got to do and who I got to do it with. In the afternoon we had 2 cakes, because 1 apparently wasn’t good enough. They also got me a label maker because they knew how much I loved it! It was definitely a good few months there that I am surely going to miss.
Today I went to CAPA to drop off my internship evaluation and time sheet. I am officially done with everything!! It is such an awesome feeling. From there I went to see 10 Downing Street, which was such a disappointment. I couldn’t see the house or anything because of the security they have there. It in no way compares with the White House. From there I went to Knightsbridge, I felt like I needed to see Harrods one more time. Later this evening, we had our departure dinner. It was so weird having that considering it feels like we just got here. The food was really good, and it was nice to have (almost) all of us together for one last time before our goodbyes.
Tomorrow is devoted to packing, considering I leave in less than 48 hours and my suitcases are still empty. Depending on how much packing I get done, I might check out the winter wonderland in Hyde Park. Sunday I am traveling home all day. I cant believe that day is actually here, it came out of no where.
This was a pretty incredible last week. I did so much, including visiting Paris. I think I ended an awesome semester pretty well. It definitely ended on a good note.
One more overall reflection blog to come…
Friday, November 21, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Beginning of November
So last Friday night was Halloween. I very quickly learned here how different it is from America. In America, we would have been celebrating for about a week. Here, most people dont even celebrate it. We went into Camden town because if people were going to be celebrating anywhere, it was going to be there. There were a few people dressed up, but the majority of people were not. Im glad though that I did not dress up and my costume was an America, so easy to do! Pat and I went to a few places, but in the end we were home earlier than normal since Halloween here is just so lame.
Saturday, Meaghan and I went to Westfield. Westfield just opened two days before, and is now the biggest mall in Europe! It was huuuuuuge! When I told people at work that, they could not believe that an American thought that a European mall was huge. We spent our whole day shopping. The mall was unbelievable gorgeous. There was even an orchestra playing in the middle of it! The only problem was that a lot of the stores were still closed since the mall had just opened. I did a lot of shopping, and got a few ideas to put on my hanukkah list when I get back to the states and all the prices are back to normal for me :). Since the mall had just opened, it was PACKED! We later learned that there were ove 100,000 people there. Because of this, they had closed the tube station due to it being so overcrowded. We then had to walk in the pouring rain to the next one, which totally sucked. But except from the part, it was an awesome day.
Sunday was my day to stay in and do some homework. People always forget that when you are studying abroad, there is that part about studying. So far I am the only one who has even started their portfolio, which I am really glad that I did since it is going to take a lot of work. 26 pages done already!
Monday I went to work then class. Class however was a little different than usual. This is because our professor decided that his lesson was going to be boring, so he brought in wine and candy for all of us. That always makes a class better!
Tuesday was of course election day. First though, I had to go to work during the day. It wasnt bad though because they let me be on CNN website all day to follow the election coverage. After work, I met Jen for dinner at this really good Thai restaurant in West Hampstead. I didnt know I liked Thai! And West Hamstead was a really fun area, there were a lot of young people there and seemed completely different from the area that I live in, which is kind of stuffy some times with nothing to do. When I got home, it was all election coverage. We had been planning this night since we got to London! It was so exciting all of us Americans watching the election together. And it was even weirder that all 16 of us were hoping the same person won. We stayed up til around 430 am since that is only 1130 NY time. It was sooo exciting when we found out Obama won! We were having such a party for it, at 5am. And I thought that his speech was so excellent, I almost cried during it.
Wednesday was Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire day. Class was cancelled so that we could watch the fireworks. Since we live right at Primrose Hill, we didnt need to leave the flat to watch them, which was really nice since it was so cold! The fireworks were really nice, but compared to the fireworks on July 4, these were like nothing. But it definitely beat class!
Thursday night whoever was home this weekend stayed in. This is because most people are away for the weekend, and we all finally have our own rooms! This was definitely better than going out, just staying in and having a nice relaxing night :)
Friday I went to Portobello Road market to pick up some gifts for some people. I could not do anything that would take too long since I had to register for classes. I was hoping that with the time difference I would be able to register 5 hours earlier, but no such luck. But I did get all of my classes that I wanted which I was super happy about. After that, I met Christina for mexican food since she went to Oxford for the day. I liked Oxford when I was there a few years ago, but definitely did not feel the need to go back.
Yesterday I went to Wales! I liked that I was able to hop on a bus and just go to another country. The Welsh countryside was really pretty on our drive over. It was very green and reminded me a little of Scotland, although I thought Scotland was prettier. The bus dropped us off at the Cardiff city centre. We definitely didnt know that the biggest rugby game of the year was going on, wales v. south africa. There were people all over the streets trying to sell stuff for the game. While they were all at the game, we went to the Cardiff Castle. It was gorgeous, just like all of the other castles that I have been to while Ive been over here. There was however a watch tower that I climbed that I didnt get to in the other places. The stairs were so scary though since they were so small. I guess people back in the day didnt have huge feet like I do. The gardens in there were so pretty too. Inside the main part was my favorite though. Im convinced even if you wanted to you couldnt make a place look like the inside of these castles. The drawings and architecture are just so pretty that I dont think anyone these days could make them. Overall, I liked Wales and am glad I went. However, it is number 3 of the 3 UK countries I visited, with England of course first then Scotland. But now I can say that I have been to Wales too :)
I think today Pat and I are going to go to the Victoria and Albert museum. I was told they have a huge fashion and jewelry exhibit that I want to see. Then back home to do some homework.
I cant believe that I will be back in America in only 2 weeks from today! It is going to fly by! Especially since this wednesday I will be shadowing an MP which I can not wait for, then Paris for the weekend! The next 14 days are going to be so great, and so bittersweet at the same time.
Saturday, Meaghan and I went to Westfield. Westfield just opened two days before, and is now the biggest mall in Europe! It was huuuuuuge! When I told people at work that, they could not believe that an American thought that a European mall was huge. We spent our whole day shopping. The mall was unbelievable gorgeous. There was even an orchestra playing in the middle of it! The only problem was that a lot of the stores were still closed since the mall had just opened. I did a lot of shopping, and got a few ideas to put on my hanukkah list when I get back to the states and all the prices are back to normal for me :). Since the mall had just opened, it was PACKED! We later learned that there were ove 100,000 people there. Because of this, they had closed the tube station due to it being so overcrowded. We then had to walk in the pouring rain to the next one, which totally sucked. But except from the part, it was an awesome day.
Sunday was my day to stay in and do some homework. People always forget that when you are studying abroad, there is that part about studying. So far I am the only one who has even started their portfolio, which I am really glad that I did since it is going to take a lot of work. 26 pages done already!
Monday I went to work then class. Class however was a little different than usual. This is because our professor decided that his lesson was going to be boring, so he brought in wine and candy for all of us. That always makes a class better!
Tuesday was of course election day. First though, I had to go to work during the day. It wasnt bad though because they let me be on CNN website all day to follow the election coverage. After work, I met Jen for dinner at this really good Thai restaurant in West Hampstead. I didnt know I liked Thai! And West Hamstead was a really fun area, there were a lot of young people there and seemed completely different from the area that I live in, which is kind of stuffy some times with nothing to do. When I got home, it was all election coverage. We had been planning this night since we got to London! It was so exciting all of us Americans watching the election together. And it was even weirder that all 16 of us were hoping the same person won. We stayed up til around 430 am since that is only 1130 NY time. It was sooo exciting when we found out Obama won! We were having such a party for it, at 5am. And I thought that his speech was so excellent, I almost cried during it.
Wednesday was Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire day. Class was cancelled so that we could watch the fireworks. Since we live right at Primrose Hill, we didnt need to leave the flat to watch them, which was really nice since it was so cold! The fireworks were really nice, but compared to the fireworks on July 4, these were like nothing. But it definitely beat class!
Thursday night whoever was home this weekend stayed in. This is because most people are away for the weekend, and we all finally have our own rooms! This was definitely better than going out, just staying in and having a nice relaxing night :)
Friday I went to Portobello Road market to pick up some gifts for some people. I could not do anything that would take too long since I had to register for classes. I was hoping that with the time difference I would be able to register 5 hours earlier, but no such luck. But I did get all of my classes that I wanted which I was super happy about. After that, I met Christina for mexican food since she went to Oxford for the day. I liked Oxford when I was there a few years ago, but definitely did not feel the need to go back.
Yesterday I went to Wales! I liked that I was able to hop on a bus and just go to another country. The Welsh countryside was really pretty on our drive over. It was very green and reminded me a little of Scotland, although I thought Scotland was prettier. The bus dropped us off at the Cardiff city centre. We definitely didnt know that the biggest rugby game of the year was going on, wales v. south africa. There were people all over the streets trying to sell stuff for the game. While they were all at the game, we went to the Cardiff Castle. It was gorgeous, just like all of the other castles that I have been to while Ive been over here. There was however a watch tower that I climbed that I didnt get to in the other places. The stairs were so scary though since they were so small. I guess people back in the day didnt have huge feet like I do. The gardens in there were so pretty too. Inside the main part was my favorite though. Im convinced even if you wanted to you couldnt make a place look like the inside of these castles. The drawings and architecture are just so pretty that I dont think anyone these days could make them. Overall, I liked Wales and am glad I went. However, it is number 3 of the 3 UK countries I visited, with England of course first then Scotland. But now I can say that I have been to Wales too :)
I think today Pat and I are going to go to the Victoria and Albert museum. I was told they have a huge fashion and jewelry exhibit that I want to see. Then back home to do some homework.
I cant believe that I will be back in America in only 2 weeks from today! It is going to fly by! Especially since this wednesday I will be shadowing an MP which I can not wait for, then Paris for the weekend! The next 14 days are going to be so great, and so bittersweet at the same time.
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