Feet burn

What a day! After a great breakfast at the hotel we were off to check off eight sights off our list

first we went to Sainte-Chapelle with the most beautiful stain glass

Then we went to La Conciergerie- the prison and guillotine. Lovely

And then we went and heard the Bells of Notre Dame! It was incredible  

I was surprised to find that Disney captured the building to every detail in the hunch back of Notre Dame. It look just like I expected it to be. 

for lunch MaCall Kelsey kate and I got crepes for lunch right under Norte Dame. 

 We then wandered and found the Pantheon . . .

And then the Luxembourg Gardens 

Where we sat basking in the sun

 But our day was not over yet. By now however our feet and legs hurt so badly!
We made our way to the Hotel de les Invalides to view Napoleon's tomb and such.

And finally we were off the the Musee d'Orsay!

Which maybe we should have done first. . .

our feet hurt so badly that involuntarily one by one we would fall over.

In one room even Kelsey Kennedy and I laid down in the middle of the floor. 

But what big names this museum had! 

Monet

Manet 

Cezanne

Daga

Renoir

Van Gogh

and on and on 

after draging ourselves and clutching our growling stomaches we found a lovely little place to eat

EVERYTHING is in French! We could not read anyting on the menu except carbonara and spaghetti

But we had a great day anyway. . .

"Paris holds the key to your heart"

Well I have been in Paris the past three days! What an incredible city. I truly loved it. But it was in Paris when I realized how used to London I had grown. . .

After first visiting Hugo, and after dropping our stuff of at the hotel, we were well on our way. We took the metro to the Louvre and started our tour of Paris!

We walked from the Louvre all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe. The colors were so bright and everything was so beautiful. The Arc was quite Larger then I first believed.

 The Buildings are so detailed it hurt. I did not know where to look or how I was to capture it all.

 We got to climb to the top. It was Great to get a perspective of the City but it was after we Climbed the Eiffel Tower that we really got to see the city! Holy cow! Yes I did, I climbed 668 stairs and took an elevator to the top of the Tower! It was so crazy High!

 One could see everything and anything. And looking down from there up there really changes the way you look at the City. And what a BIG City. Can we even call Salt Lake a city? What was so cool was the fact that you could see just how big the City is from up there because it is the only tall building around.

 After such a long hike we sprawled out on the grass for a while, but our growling stomaches got us up to go eat. We found a great little place right under the Tower by the river. I ate the best thing ever! It was called Croque Monsieur. . ? along with Strawberry Sorbet.

We ended the day with a Boat ride along the river during sunset and into the night.

We got to see the Eiffel Tower light up and everything. 

Such a magical place

I really did fall in love with this city!!!!!

Once again after a three hour English class- we were sent free to do as we wished! 

We MaCall, Kate, Kelsey, Kennedy and I were not going to let this go to waste!

We started our day with a lovely walk which lead us around to the British Library 

                                            

So much cooler then you would ever think it to be! We had such a great time in there. There were so many books and so many treasures. we were able to see the Magna Carta, Gutenberg Bible, Da Vinci math and architecture notes, Shakespeare's folio, Handel and beethoven, Jane Austen;s notebook and writing desk, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, The Beatles original lyrics, and two pieces of St. Johns Gospel. . . just to name a few

We continued our walk just right next door to St Pancras. . . and just about fell over from the power of the beauty of the building. . .

And then right next door to St Pancras was King's Cross. . . 

Sadly we missed the Hogwarts Express. 

At the end of our walk we saw a little type of outdoor mall where we went to Nandos. Quite good, quite good.We then took the tube down a bit and came out to find little St James. To be honest it was a really fun part of town I thought. We followed past St James to find ourselves in front of 

Buckingham Palace. And what a fitting place for the Queen to live. We spent a lot of time here just sitting and enjoying the life in London.  

Everything about London is Big and Impressive! 

 Soon we found ourselves wandering around, and we wandered right into St James Park. This by far has been my favorite Park or Garden yet. I think I could live in this park. It was such a beautiful wilderness.

If all of this was not enough, we stumbled upon Whitehall, which is now one of my favorite streets in London. Every building was elegant and important. I got to see the Banqueting House which really is one of the most visually pleasing buildings in London. 

To finish off such an incredible day we all went to a convenient store, got candy, went to The Champion to eat our candy/ desert. . . and now we all get to do our homework!!! Wahoooo! But no worries, after checking off over 6 things off my list, tomorrow is another freeday!

After a three hour class we had a FREE DAY! 

Waaahooooooo!

So Kate MaCall Kelsey and I went to Portobello road

 I stopped at every antique store and stand- which is a lot because this market is known for antiques. . .

 I was in love with it all and I am defiantly going back soon! Plus we got waffles and listened to some street performers.

And the next day we woke up early to BRIGHTON! HELLO 

What a pleasure palace. Quite good fun to see this in person. I loved how it was like walking back into time. They have kept the place so nice and great for tours. But even more exciting then the Pavilion was the beach and pier of the beach town. 

 This is Kate and I pointing out to "Open Shea" towards our beach in the Outer Banks! (sorta. . .)

 WHile it was a record cold day- colder then Christmas- we all had a great time exploring the beach

 I even got to be amongst my fellow brethren the pirates. . .


We then were back on the bus to visit the town of Canterbury. What a fairy tail that place was. . .

There were little hidden treasures everywhere including the Cathedral. It was such a great example of the Gothic power to raise your eyes up towards heaven. It was an over powering yet spiritual place. We were able to be there for evensong. Surrounded by beauty, both visually and audibly, it was a great end to a great day.

Want to know why its called "BIG" Ben? 

Because it is so BIG!

I really never thought too much about Big Ben until I came out of the tube and saw it towering over everything- no pun intended. 

But as usual we had to run right by it to hurry and get our Blue Badge tour- Which was amazing

 COOLEST PLACE EVER! But no, really. I think that Westminster Abbey was, could be, the best thing we have yet done on our trip. The whole time I was in there I was holding my jaw closed, whipping the drool off my face, and getting a crick in my neck from looking every which way 360 degrees.

It was way nippy and windy 

It was way too crowded however and we were just rushing through like there was no tomorrow. 

But after we were rushed out, some of us went to go lift our cold spirits up with some waffles!!! FINALLY!! However. . . . Kinda a let down- not as good as BRUGES in Salt Lake City.

This was a sugar ice and cinnamon waffle (I split with Cree) 

 Not to mention that later that day we had ribs for dinner. . . what a great day. . . and to top it all off. . .

We only went to the Best Musical EVER
                                                         Les Miserables !

 Amazing, wonderful, powerful, stirring .  .   .   .    .     One of my favorites. Everyone in our group was crying. Our group especially was very audible. We have been singing songs all day long




After a three hour long English Lit class.. . . . loud groan. . .
We all went to the British Museum! !!

What a crazy event!!! This is my textbooks coming to life!

I saw so many things that I have been studying in my classes, but the real deal!

Luckily this time I was not alone in the museum, Kate and I stuck together the whole time and tackled the WHOLE place!

It took us roughly over three hours to semi zoom through the galleries

My arm and leggs became very sore after such a long day!

But it was so worth it!

                 This is me and a Lamassu .   .    .    . 

                                                                        .       .    .  And me with the three goddesses 

I also got to see mummies, jasper ware, funeral portraits, early Egyptian stools. . the list goes on and on!

To end a great day, I had the perfect moment in the underground as I ate some chinese noodles, in my left over Ben's cookie cup, while a street performer played, "Wouldn't It Be Loverly." I have been singing that song this whole trip!

Hampton Court

Early morning ride to Hampton Court

What a crazy cool place! It really is out in the middle of nowheres land though. . . It was a lovely day for us to wander out and about. I did not even need my jacket! Being there is so different then seeing pictures. We had to take the audio tours however, and I did not find them that entertaining. . .

But the building was magnificent. I really could hardly keep myself together. I underestimated the power of buildings- and how hard it is to take in. A beautiful pice of art or music is just as lovely, but they are easier to handle. Gigantic stone buildings are quite out of my league.    .        .

the gardens are are enchanting 

they have such a different idea of "Garden"

I really want to come back and read or draw. 

Mum, dad- here is a picture to try and style our backyard after

Rocky Road to Shakespeare

We took our first little day trip out into the London Country side. How lovely! 

 What a lucky shot right? We were all traveling by bus today and out the window I saw these sheep. Had to have a picture. Now I fully understand the meaning of "rolling hills". There was green, yellow, blue, and random old buildings as far as the eye could see. We visited a little town called Chipping Norton, and what a hustle and bustle for such a little and insignificant town.

Back on the bus, we drove to find the Anne Hathaway house. It was so quaint I LOVED it. Major through back to history of Architecture. . .

 Luckily it was one of the most brilliant and sunny days we have had! Actually it was the only nice day we had had. 

Going along with the journey of Shakespeare, we visited both his birthplace and his grave in the Trinity Church. They were both fun little sorts of places. But really it is the history and the ancientness of them that made them so great. 

We were then set free to wander the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon to try and find dinner. Kate and I decided to share a mustard sandwich. . . what a strange sensation! The mustard was SO strong it stung my nose!

After buying magnum bars we all went to the Royal Shakespeare Company to watch Twelfth Night. 

What     a          day      .       .              .                 .                 .                                      !