Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Baguette is my newfound love

k, not really, i have always loved the stuff. anyway, had long weekend last week and went to paris, which was a blast. went with a small group, we had a lot of fun, took many wacky pictures, and ate baguette like the world was ending. btw, i have pictures on facebook, and i believe everyone who would read this can access them so i'll just keep putting them on facebook.

anyways we went to paris and saw some sights and it was definitely awesome. we went to the louvre and covered, what, 1/8 of A wing? the place is huge!!! half of the museum is below you as you walk up. we saw a lot of the classical greek and roman sculptures and some medieval/neo-medieval paintings (u know, the androgenous people with the halos?). got to see the mona lisa, which was definitely an experiance.
1)the room it's in is almost hidden lol
2) the walls are covered with paintings of all shapes and sizes, while it just sits on its own
3)its tiny, especially compared to the other painting across from it, which covers the whole wall

afterwards we headed out to this little park area and got into all types of shenanigans from failed jumping pictures to leaf fights to stopping katie from molesting becca haha (dirty birdies). took a nap then went to the eiffel tower which was definitely an experience. the thing is huge, way bigger looking when ur right there. took some bomb pictures, lying on the floor as still as possible to get the whole thing exposed properly with no flash and no tripod to help me haha. and then it was dinner time!!!!!!

we went to this little cafe right by the tower and i had THE BEST boeuf bourguignon ever. u touched it with ur fork and it fell apart, it was soo tender and delicious. only thing better would have been with nana's rice! well, we finished up there and headed back and discovered that the eiffel tower has hourly seizures where random lights just start flashing for a couple minutes. really cool to see.

next day we saw notre dame, which was amazing. that whole seen in the disney movie where they sing about the eyes of notre dame really hits you. there are A BOATLOAD of eyes. statues, gargoyles, busts, etc etc etc all staring at you. the place was incredible and beautiful.

also i found what can only be described as heaven on earth. i spotted this little store called shakespeare and company from across seine, behind bushes, while focused on notre dame. i saw "ake" out of the corner of my eye and immediately thought shakespeare. i found out its this little book store which i immediately fell in love with. the smell of old books hits you as you walk in (best smell in the world, no arguments. its scientific fact). the place is covered, floor to ceiling, with books. literally floor to ceiling. even the stairs had shelfs along the edge with books on them. and it was all in english, and the two clerks there actually knew about literature and were english nuts themselves!!!! i found my people! i could've spent hours in there but katie and alex and becca wouldnt let me, so i had to leave it behind. may go back during christmas just to spend time there. soooo cool. i mean, cmon, they had a shakespeare wall!! u cant beat that! (unless you had a shakespeare room!!!!! i may swoon now) btw lynsey, the clerk at the register was a jane austen nut too!

anyway, last day we went to the northern part of paris to these little shops and a cathedral up on a hill which had the most amazing view of the city. the eiffel tower was just out of the view, but still, it was a really cool sight. we meandered through the shops and then i headed out for my flight back. it was fun but i love being back in london, definitely chose the right city for the year. and i was greeted by the ice rink by the natural history museum which is finally up!! still need to go but should be fun.

prague is this weekend which should be great! and then thanksgiving week and my parents come over for the week. going to phantom, windsor, thanksgiving day service at st. pauls, horseback hopefully, and eat some wagamama's and da'marios!!!!! and then time to buckle down for finals. i can't believe the first semester is almost over, it feels like i've only been here a couple weeks. time has literally seemed to slow, which is wonderful because i love it here, but at the same time its going by so fast. and adjusting really hasnt been bad. europe is just awesome, and definitely this is the most incredible experience i've ever had. still need to go see stratford, but not until i have picked my soliloquoy to recite at his grave (maybe edwards in act 1 scene 2 of king lear? or there's always hamlet's many speeches.... maybe macbeth?? soo many choices, lynsey help me decide)

finally booked my tickets for harry potter 7!!!! im going to see it the first day in LONDON! soo cool. cept that the uk doesnt have midnight showings :( what kind of crap is this?? THIS IS WHY YOU LOST THE WAR ENGLAND! NO MIDNIGHT SHOWINGS OF HARRY POTTER BACK THEN, AND NONE NOW lol at least i get to see it. should be fun, specially cause all the harry potter junkies from the other programs are coming in that weekend (we're hanging out allie kirk i miss your quirkiness) anyways, time to go find food

Im Back?!?

I should feel terrible for not posting anything in forever, but I'm listening to Don't Stop right now and it's not possible to feel sad when being serenaded by Steve Perry's amazing vocals.... so sue me.

k, i think im going to forgoe punctuation because its really bothering me. this is not an essay. im fighting the power. haha. and i think i will post in updates like i should have to keep things organized. hahaha. so here we go.

lion king was amazing btw, even though ive seen it already its only one of the greatest stories of our time (how could i not love something based on hamlet???? i ask you?) oh wait, dont stop is ending.....and now its back!!!! my itunes nows what i want (i have probly 5 copies of the song in my journey folder, can you tell its my favorite song of all time???) anyway was fun to see. ghost stories was shocking! not scary, just shocking. i cant reveal more than that (they made me promise). but it was definitely entertaining. it was really cool to because you know all those times in horror movies when u want to yell "DONT GO IN THE DOOR!!!!" but they cant hear you??? well now they can hear you...... though they still dont listen, and the ushers will kick you out lol.

we had our weeklong educational field trip in greece which was, in a word, FANTABULOUS! i love greece. i love greek food. i am greek. i love me! (narcissus aint got nothing on me lol). but honestly what is better than a pita full of the juiciest, tenderest, best cooked meat and freshest vegetables ever??? nothing, thats what (cept for italian pasta, which will be my next happy experience hopefully)........YES! straight from dont stop to faithfully! thank you itunes....... where was i? well saw the acropolis and the new museum, went to delphi and a monastery, went to aegina and had a beach day, got rained on, went to corinth and WATCHED the other lunatics bungee jump in the corinthian canal from a safe, reasonable, sturdy, place..... heights and me dont mix. at all. whatsoever. no. not happening. (odd that i have a loft bed then....) but it was sooo much fun, full of bonding over not wanting to trudge through more museums lol.

came back to london and had midterms, which was not fun, definitely not at all. oh well. next up: PARIS