London, England

  London Calling! My trip to London on February 15-17th was amazing! On this trip our whole group of friends went which made it a lot more enjoyable and a lot more hectic all in one. There was a total of 8 of us, 4 guys and 4 girls. We all stayed in a hostel in London. We were fortunate to have 8 of us because we were able to buy out en entire room in the hostile rather than sharing it with strangers. The hostel was decent, definitely not a 5 star hotel but it worked well for us. Since we had a makeup class on Friday our weekend was cut short. This made for a whirlwind of a trip in London. We pretty much took London by storm in one day.
 We got there late on Friday so we just walked around he neighborhood of the hostel. It was located close to the Tower Bridge and London Tower. From that first night I had already fell in love with London. The city is so pretty and has a magical feel to it. We called it an early night on Friday because we had our Saturday booked with plans. On Saturday we bought tickets for one of the double-decker tour buses. We hopped on one of those at 9 am and toured the city. We got off at any of the stops we wanted and walked around.

The Group

 Some of the places we saw were of course Big Ben (the famous clock tower), Parliament, West Minister Abbey (where the Prince and Princess got married), Tower Bridge (often mistaken for the London Bridge), Buckingham Palace (where Royalty lives), and we rode the London Eye which is the huge Ferris Wheel thing that lets you see stunning views of the city. We saw so many picture worthy monuments. I feel like that's just how London is though- very touristy. Everything we did was the typical London thing. All the sights, phone booths, cool taxis and even the food. We of course ate Fish n' Chips. And yes, they were actually the best fish n' chips I have ever eaten. Saturday night we went out and found a Karaoke Bar. We had the best night of our lives! All of us got up and sang some crowd pleasers including Smashmouth, Rihanna and our specialty, The Spice Girls. We were the life of the party without a doubt. 
  Sunday morning came too soon but we still had places we wanted to see- Abbey Road (the famous Beatles' crosswalk picture) and The Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. We attempted Abbey Road but later found out after traveling 45 mins it was the wrong Abbey Road. Who knew there were 2 Abbey Roads in London. We then tried to go the the Changing of the Guards but the metro was under construction so all the trains were delayed and off normal routes. We ended up spending our entire day trying to get back to the main train station for our departure back to Paris. We finally made it and hopped on our 2 hour train ride.
 Overall I have to say that I loved London! Although it was tough getting places and making decisions with 8 teenagers, we made it work. All of us got along and became a lot closer as friends. The memories we made in London will last us a lifetime. I definitely want to return to London someday and take on the city all over again!

Harry Potter- Platform 9 3/4

Metro- Mind the Gap

Parliament and Big Ben

Hostel Breakfast

Our Room

West Minister Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Fish n' Chips

Tower Bridge

View from the London Eye

Buckingham Palace

The London Eye

Dublin, Ireland!

   On February 7th, Emily and I headed off to Dublin, Ireland. This was the first trip that we went on by ourselves and probably one of the best trips we have taken so far. We flew over and landed around 5pm. We took the bus to the center of Dublin where we met up with my cousin Jennifer. Jennifer has lived in Ireland for almost 5 years now so it was awesome to have someone who knows the area. Aside from having a personal tour guide, I was so happy to have a comfy home to stay in and see some family! That night Jen and her fiance Rob took Emily and I out to dinner with their friends. We had an amazing dinner. Emily and I both ordered pork belly that was served with beans and cabbage. We shared great conversation at the restaurant with our party. It was nice to reminisce on memories of great grandma Ida and our family with Jen. Jen and her friends are all in their late twenties and early thirties so Emily and I tried to look and act a little older which didn't last long when we went to the bar next door after dinner and tried to order drinks. We weren't really sure what to get so Rob helped us out. Two tall pints of beer it was! Our first night in Dublin was so much fun. We really felt welcomed by not only Jen and Rob but the people of Ireland. From the moment we got off the plane people were 100 times more friendly than the Parisians.

Pork Belly, Beans and Cabbage

St Patrick's Cathedral

Complimentary Pint of Guinness

 Our next day in Dublin was a touristy day. Emily and I went off on our own for the day and hopped on a tour bus of the city. We made visits to St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Guinness Factory, and just sat on the bus and enjoyed the sights of Dublin. We walked around a shopping district similar to Santana Row in San Jose but they had street performers and tons of people walking around. That night we took it easy and stayed in for a girls movie night since Rob was gone. On Saturday Jen took Emily and I around the city. We went to a little cake and tea place for brunch. I ordered an open faced sandwich that consisted of bacon, fried banana and lettuce on freshly homemade bread. It was literally the best thing ever! After brunch we made our way to the Jameson Distillery. It isn't an active distillery anymore but they still offer tours and complimentary drinks after :) Emily even volunteered to be a whiskey taste tester where she had to sample 3 different kinds of whiskey and compare them to Jameson. After that Jen took us to the oldest pub in Ireland, The Brazen Head. Its almost 1000 years old! I ordered an Irish coffee that was delicious. We ended up running into a few other St Johns students that traveled to Dublin that weekend too! That day there was a rugby game on so all the men were watching the game in the pub and chanting team songs. It was a very authentic Irish experience. For dinner Jen made us tacos...something I had been craving since being in Europe.it being our last night in Ireland, we went out for drinks. Jen took us to a bar up the street that her and her girlfriends had been to before. 

Fried Banana, Bacon, Lettuce on Homemade Toast

  It was pretty apparent to me just after just a few days spent in Ireland that people love to drink there. Everything is centered around food and drink! My weekend in Ireland was nothing short of a good time. I was so thankful to see family and spend such a relaxing weekend in a very beautiful country. The weather was so nice compared to the usual rain Ireland experience this time of the year. Grey skies with an occasional ray of sun coming through, we couldn't have gotten any luckier. If I could I would definitely make another trip out to Dublin. Jen offered an open invitation to me and Emily which we might take her up on sometime. Cheers!

Jameson Distillery

Traditional Irish breakfast made by Rob

Last Night in Paris

My 5 weeks in Paris has officially come to an end. I am all packed and ready to take on Rome, Italy! My last day in Paris was spent taking two final test and turning in 3 papers. It was definitely a busy week. Aside from all the homework and studying, we had to cram in all the last minute Paris adventures and to-do's. I knew I definitely wanted to grab one last crepe from my favorite stand a few blocks away so we did that on Monday...and today :) Emily and I also wanted to try escargot but we never found a place near by that had any on the menu unfortunately. Today a group of our friends went to Laduree, which is the world famous french macaroon place. They are the little cake/sandwich macaroons not the coconut ones. They are delicious! Another last minute thing we wanted to do was go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We went tonight after dinner. Me, Emily and a few of our guy friends trekked our way up to the top! We walked up the stairs to the second level and then took the elevator the rest of the way up. The view was breathtaking to say the least. It was such a great way to end my time here in Paris. Overall I would say that Paris isn't my favorite place in the world, but it is a very beautiful and fun city. I am sad to be leaving because this was our first place we had to accommodate and adjust to. So many memories rest here for all of us! I will miss the views, crepes, and places I have experienced in Paris. Now off to Rome!
P.S.- I will write posts for my trips to Ireland and London soon!

Birthday, Normandy, Sacre Couer, Louvre

Hello again! So much to talk about, I'm not too good at updating often.

Rewinding back to a few weeks ago, it was Emily's birthday. Of course we have to do a fabulous birthday celebration! On here actual birthday, January 30th, we had previous plans doing community service so our whole group went out on Thursday night to a local Italian restaurant that we LOVE! The owner is an Italian man who is very friendly and welcomed us with open arms. We enjoyed a filling meal and great conversation with our friends. We had to end the night early due to our full day of activities on Friday.

On Friday morning we headed to Normandy. This was a private excursion we signed up for a few weeks before. Normandy was probably one of the greatest places I have been to thus far. We took a coach bus 2 1/2 hours from our school to Omaha Beach. The weather was much like that of D-Day,  wet, gray and cold. We got to see Omaha Beach, where the US entered French territory. Climbing onto the shore and up the hill must've been nearly impossible by the looks of the terrain. We also walked through the American Cemetery on sight. It was such an emotional experience. I shed a few tears but the rain seemed to hide them considering it was down-pouring at this point. After spending about an hour walking around Omaha beach we headed off to another battleground- Pointe du Hoc. I loved this place the most because we got to run around and explore the bunkers and craters. It was fun because we all felt like little kids again. The amount of craters was crazy! There was barely any flatland. The bunkers we pretty cool too. We actually got to go into them and really imagine what it was like in WWII.  We ended up getting really muddy while exploring and running in and out of the craters. The bus driver really mad at some students and made them remove some dirty clothing before they got back on the bus. On the way home they showed Saving Private Ryan, which I had actually never seen before. Watching that movie made me really get an idea for the conditions the soldiers fought through at Normandy. Overall it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The whole time I was wishing that my dad, Austin and Tanner were there. They would've loved it!

American WWII Cemetery

in a crater

Bunker

A bit windy

Exploring the bunker

    One of the most beautiful places I have been to so far is the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. Sacré Cœur is a very pretty church that sits up on a hill over looking all of France. We had an excursion to the neighborhood below the church where we saw the Moulin Rouge, a famous painters village and the sex district of Paris. It was quite an interesting walk to say the least. The walk up to the church is more like a hike. The stairs leading up there are infamous. I was just happy to actually get a little workout in :) Emily and I plan to make one last visit to Sacré Cœur before we leave Paris just to take in the view one last time.

The Moulin Rouge

View from Scare Couer

Scare Couer

Street Performer...he's famous on YouTube!

 
















I finally went to the Louvre! I know every says this but..... The Louvre is MASSIVE! I cannot believe how much artwork they have to fill that place! We only went to about 1/4 of the museum. We hit the main spots of course. Saw the Mona Lisa, Venus with no arms and some other amazing work. I can honestly say that I wish I had more knowledge and understanding of the art there. I almost felt unappreciative of the art because we breezed on through the halls ignoring so many paintings that were probably worldly famous. I am just not that knowledgeable in that subject unfortunately.It was still pretty cool just going to the Louvre and seeing the building itself.

MONA!

Me Emily Sharron Anthony and Victoria at the Louvre