June 19, 2012

LAST DAY!!! Wow, I cannot believe how fast this trip has gone!  It seems like just yesterday I was landing in London, and that was 45 days ago.  I am so thankful for my parents for making this trip possible and for Anoop, Scott, and Mark for dealing with all of us for so long.  At some points in the trip I was missing certain things about the states but now that it is almost time to leave… I don’t want to go back.  I’m pretty positive I will be back, if not living here after graduation. 

As for today, I do not have much to say about it.  Brady, Sumner, and I woke up at around lunch (even though we were planning on visiting the catacombs).  We didn’t end up going to the catacombs because we couldn’t find out where exactly they were and we had a train to catch so we didn’t want to get goofed up with that.  Brady and I were on the train together and we left the hotel two hours before we had to catch it; it is a good thing we did too.  We had to go through UK’s customs in the train station and it took us awhile to find where we needed to go.  Eventually we found it and hopped on the Eurostar that took about two hours.  We arrived in London and it was a good feeling to hear English and know where we needed to go.  I thought I had reservations at the Mentone (where we stayed the first time in London) but I missed a few messages from pops letting me know that I didn’t.  I found a room, actually several rooms, at St. Athans Hotel.  I have to switch rooms every day, it’s not bad but it’s a bed, which is pretty scarce now in London because of the Olympics. 

Well, thank you all for viewing my blog over the course of my trip.  I had a blast and I am sure I will talk to each of you about it when I get back.  I am in London for a couple more days but I have to say I am pretty tired of blogging so this will be my last post.  Thanks for viewing and WAR EAGLE!!!

T

June 18, 2012

Today we met downstairs at 11 o clock and learned that we had a pretty short day.  We took a train to the bottom of the hill that Sacre Coeur Cathedral sits on.  I say hill but it was more like a small mountain; we climbed to the top of the mini mountain and visited the Cathedral.  Sacre Coeur is one of the oldest Cathedrals in all of Europe; it was very impressive to see the inside of the church.  We were prohibited from taking pictures inside so you will have to just take my word for it.  After visiting the church we were done for the day until 7.00 PM.  We all got a little shopping done in the area around the Cathedral.  The area is famous for its art but I did not get any because I didn’t have any cash on me.  I did get a few things for various people but nothing too big or expensive.  We were told that we were doing a picnic tonight and to bring food for ourselves and some to share.  The rest of the day I just took it easy and caught up on some blogs.  Brady, Sumner, and I went to a famous wine store near our hotel and I picked up a bottle of their most famous wine every made.  Brady and I then went and got food for the picnic; I got some sandwiches and salad to share.  We met up in the hotel lobby and all walked to the Eiffel Tower.  We picnicked there for a couple of hours and watched the light show again tonight.  While we were there Anoop asked us all to share something/anything we thought about the trip so it was good to hear what everyone thought about the last month and a half of our summer.  After the picnic we had to catch a cab, because the subway was closed, and eventually called it a night.  It was a good way to end the trip.

T

June 17, 2012

Today we met downstairs at noon in the hotel lobby.  We took a train and then walked to a local market and had lunch.  I had Chinese food that was better than any Chinese food I have ever had in the states.  After the market we walked to the Invalides.  The Invalides is where Napoleon Bonaparte and his sons are buried.  There are many stories surrounding this building, I will tell you a few.  Napoleon Bonaparte was Adolf Hitler's biggest hero.  Hitler visited Paris only one day during WWII and he stayed at the Invalides for 4 hours.  Let me back up... Napoleon's casket is on a lower level from where you stand viewing it.  It is this way so that even in death people would still have to bow to him (you have to bend over the railing to see the coffin, creating a bow).  Hitler heard about this trick and vowed he would never bow to anyone.  Upon his visit he had a set a mirrors installed so he could look straight ahead and see the tomb.  When he was viewing the tomb, a gust of wind came and blew his had off.  As he bent and reached to grab his hat he performed one of the most elegant bows.  This may or may not be a true story, the bike tour guide told us this.  After seeing Napoleon's tomb we walked to the back of the Invalides and visited the Arms and Armour Museum.  The museum contained military artifacts dating back to Napoleon's rule.  We then visited the Rodin Museum; the Rodin Museum is home to many different statues and works of art by August Rodin, the most famous of which is 'The Thinker'.  I have a really cool picture with the statue but it is on my facebook so check it out.  We then proceeded to walk to the Eiffel Tower and subsequently scaled the, what seemed like, 9 billion stairs to the second level.  At the second level we took an elevator to the top; I am not scared of heights at all but I developed a mild case of acrophobia being at the top.  It took us two hours to get up and then get down, and afterwards a few of us went and ate at the Moose.  I didn't eat there the other night so I decided to tonight, I had the moose burger and it was really good.  After this I went home and called it a night.

T

June 16, 2012

Today we met in the hotel lobby and took a train to the Orsay Museum.  I only have one picture from the museum, it was against the rules to have photos.  The Orsay Museum has works of art ranging from paintings by Van Gogh to sculptures from the early 20th century.  We met outside the Orsay and walked to the Louvre.  We heard a statistic that if you were to look at every piece of art in the Louvre, you would be there for 9 months and walk a total of 5 miles.  We were there for two hours so needless to say we didn't even make a dint.  We saw Hammurabi's Code, Venus di Milo, and Mona Lisa just to name a few.  After the Louvre we met and walked about three miles to the Arc de Triomphe.  We walked to the top and had an amazing view of the Paris skyline.  We came down and walked another 5 miles to Paris's New Town.  The worst part of the walking is the fact that you can see where you are walking in the distance and it is a lot worse when you can see how far you have to go. After New Town we were done for the day.  We all decided to go to the Eiffel Tower tonight and watch the light show.  The others left early and Brady and I left at about 11.30 PM.  We got a little turned around but finally made it to the tower and got a spot on the lawn to watch the show.  The Eiffel Tower is amazing at night and we sat there for about two hours.  Brady and I walked around for a little while and eventually called it a night.  Check back tomorrow.

T

June 15, 2012

Today we met in the hotel at ten o clock and we went to the train station.  We went to the Eiffel Tower and met up with our tour guide from Fat Tire Bike Tours.  We walked a little ways to the bike tour office and took the 4 hour tour.  We stopped in a park and had lunch.  The tour was just like the others, just in another city.  I have come to really enjoy these bike tours, I have been thinking about getting myself a bike when I get back to the states.  After the tour, we went to the National Museum of Modern art.  I can appreciate and semi enjoy seeing old, famous art... but this museum was filled with (in my opinion) random junk.  Some of the exhibits I could recreate with miscellaneous stuff from my apartment.  You will have to check the pictures to see what I mean.  After the museum we were done for the day and we all came back to the hotel.  We showered and got ready to go out for the night.  Everyone had gotten themselves some alcohol and we ended up not going anywhere tonight.  Kendall and I had enough of that and we went down the street to a pub and got a drink.  I ordered a beer and they gave me a liter of beer.  When it was time to leave I was given a tab for one beer that was 20 euros... I have had bad luck with the beer buying over here.  I was a little aggravated after this so I called it a night and hit the hay.  Check back tomorrow.

T