Buy Bye Baguettes

The plan was to wake up around 830am and get to d´Orsay museum my 9. In actuality, we woke up around 930 and didn´t get to the Orsay until almost 11am. But it worked to our advantage. The first round of visitors had already gone through the ticket counter and the second hadn´t arrived yet. So there were no lines, and once again we got free entrance into the museum. That´s 4 for 4 on free museum admissions (if anyone´s counting). The museum was cool. The Van Gogh and Monet paintings were awesome. I actually got to see The Self Portrait, but I´m sort of over the painting scene.

By 1pm, we were out and on to the fountain at Tuillerie Gardens, where we people watched. They were turning on the fountain for the first time since last fall, so the water was brown and the pressure was all wrong. The fountain was spraying people everywhere, which just made our experience that much better. You sort of wondered if somewhere there was a hidden camera show filming it.

We tried to get to the Picasso Museum, but after an hour walk from the Louvre, we found that the museum was under renovation until 2012. Not helpful. So instead, we just went to get ice cream and go souvenir shopping. The ice cream was amazing and I found a sick boutique that sells really crazy, random stuff.

That night we went to a small french restaurant recommended to us by a local. Sooo good. Then we tried to endulge in all our favorite french things: baguettes, croissants, crepes and cookies.

Paris in the morning!

House Hunting: Versailles Edition

Being a student at a UK university is the shit! All you gotta do is put on a fake English accent, whip out your student card, and tell them you forgot your passport at home. Free entrance into the Louvre: Check. Free entrance into Versailles: Check. Works every time.

If I had on word to describe Versailles, it would be GOLD. From the gate that greets you at the entrance to the Egyptian statues inside to the crown molding throughout, this place is Blinged out.

If I had another word to describe Versailles, it would be CONQUERED! By the peasants during Henry XIV's reign and by Steve the 1st in 2011. As some of you may know, my parents are thinking about moving and have threatened to do so without leaving a forwarding address. Which means I was in the market for a new house, and why not a palace...I deserve it. Luckily, security is shotty at best in the Chateau...apparently they stopped preparing for invasions after the whole King thing sort of died off. Suckahs! I'm moving in soon and you all will be invited to the Chateau for a little late summer house warming in the gardens. nbd.

Food was pretty good today. Did the whole French Onion soup thing without consideration for my travel mate, Courtney. Didn't really think about the whole breath situation afterwards. Another Croque Madame for lunch, and some french cookies from a bakery. I'm not sure if we just pick really good restaurants, or if all French food really is amazing!

Weather.com predicts rain for tomorrow, so we left the museums for tomorrow. With any luck, I'll get to see some legit Picasso (Picasso Museum) and Van Gogh (L'Osprey) before the day is over.

I still believe it when you say, its another perfect Parisian Day

Everyone has a sacred day: Muslims called Friday, Jews stole Saturday, Christians took Sunday, so Parisian Museums took Mondays off. Which must be great for the curators, but not so great when you plan to go to Versailles for the day.

A little change of plans never hurt anyone though. New plan: Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Eiffel Tower, and the Arc du Triumph.

We headed up the montmartre to see some random church, but the best thing to see was the view from the top of the mountain. We strolled through a market of artists before making out way down to see the Moulin Rouge (trans: red windmill). I'll be honest, the red district in the mid-morning is a little underwhelming. All those prosties have gone to bed for the day, so we were just stuck with some street venders to satisfy ourselves.

Afterwards, we sat down outside at a cafe for some lunch. We each ordered a Croquet Madame, which is like the best grilled cheese you could ever imagine. Crusty bread with ham and cheese melted on the inside...add a layer of cheese on top and an egg sunny-side up, and you've got yourselves a delicious mid day snack.

You might think we were done eating with the grilled cheese. But you'd be wrong. After a quick metro ride down to the Eiffel tower, we stopped in a local grocery store to pick up some picnic-ing food: Baguette, Camembert, Brie, Honey, and our own little personal bottles of red wine. Five minutes later we were sitting beneath the Eiffel tower on a patch of grass, not a cloud in the sky, 65 degrees, drinking wine and eating cheese. Life doesn't get much better than today.

After soaking in all the Parisian sun I could handle, we climbed the tower...actually almost forgot to do this with everything else going on. If anyone is looking for an ariel picture of Paris, then I think I'm the one to come to. I pretty much took a picture at EVERY angle known to man.

Afterwards, we nearly got killed trying to cross the round-about to get to the Arc de Triumph. Just to give you an idea, we tried to cross a roundabout that connects 12 different streets and has at least 7 lanes. We made it safely, only to find out afterwards that there is an underground tunnel that apparently connects the little island to the rest of the pedestrian areas.

We finished the night off at a little cafe near our apartment. We had tea and ate Macarrons. Best things in my life. They are like really moist cakes (a little bigger than a quarter) with various types of jellies or cream spreads inside. I thought I'd be happy with just a few, but Courtney and I are already planning our Macarron run for tomorrow.

I think the plan is to try and get to Versailles before the rain comes. Then, we are going to spend the afternoon visiting l'Orsey (apparently a pretty important museum according to Rick [Steves]) and the Picasso Museum.

Blockbuster Hits: Paris

What do I have to show for my first full day in Paris: baguette crumbs in my backpack, a church bulletin from Notre Dame, and free ticket stub from the Louvre.

Woke up this morning starving and itching to get started. Courtney and I started our day at a local bakery, where we discovered a wonderful surprise: price regulated baguettes and croissants. Yes, the government actually regulates the price of both croissants and baguettes to under 1 euro. So my entire breakfast (1 croissant, 1 chocolate croissant, and 1 giant baguette) was 2.80 euro. We then took our steal of a breakfast over to Notre Dame to eat...but not before having a little baguette sword fight.

HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

After breakfast, we took the remnants of our baguettes into Notre Dame and tried to find Quasimodo, but apparently he got famous and moved to Beverly Hills. And what about Esmerelda? Not one belly dancing gypsy in the entire area. So feeling a bit gipped, we went inside to see what the deal was in Notre Dame. Of course, we forgot it was Sunday morning, and we literally walked into the middle of mass. But it wasn't like we were the only ones...we were in a massive line of hundreds of people walking, pilgrimage style, around the sanctuary during the mass. It makes me wonder if the French have ever heard of the story of Jesus and the Temple Venders...you know those guys he threw out for selling shit in the house of God.

Mona Lisa Smile

After Notre Dame, we headed over to the Louvre, where I finally got to see some art that I actually recognized. First, Venus de Milo, which, for all intents and purposes, is the female equivalent to the David in Florence. Then, the Winged Goddess of Victory, which just makes me think about track. And last, but definitely not least, La Joconde. What, you've never heard of it? Oh that's right, in Amuuuurrrica, we call it the Mona Lisa. Although its a little smaller than I expected, it did not disappoint. She looks like she's got a secret to hide. I heard the secret is that Leo da Vinci painted a self portrait underneath and then painted over it, because he didn't feel completely male or female. All I want to know is, what the heck does this painting have to do with Julia Roberts and the movie Mona Lisa Smile.

Chocolat

I feel like this is sort of a cop out, seeing as how its a french movie and I'm in France. But we went to some chocolate shops today to look at candy and Macaroons. We didn't find anything great yet, but I'll keep you informed.

Tomorrow is supposed to be clear and warm, so we are heading to Versailles in the morning, then Arch of Triumph and the Champs-Élysées in the afternoon.

Paris at Night

Yesterday was pretty much just a travel day. We left Brussels for Paris via the Eurolines bus. We didn't get into Paris until 5pm and didn't get to Courtney's friends place until nearly 6pm. We hung out in the apartment for an hour to wait for the rain to calm down. So by the time we actually got onto the streets of Paris, it was pretty much dark.

Luckily, they don't call it the city of lights for nothing. Everything is it up! We stuck to the major River: the Seine. We stopped by Notre Dame and heard the bells ring, strolled passed the Louvre, up to the Royal Palais, and were greeted by a sparkling Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was absolutely incredible. I don't think you can quite appreciate the spectacle until you are here, because it is just so big and massive. Part of the mystique obviously comes from history and lore of the whole thing, but really, who even puts a giant sculpture like this in the middle of the city?

We decided to navigate the roads of Paris on our way back to the apartment, which proved more difficult than we first anticipated. But with the help of our map and a quick stop at a Crepe place (nutella and banana crepes are AMAZING!) we made it back safe and sound.

Today's agenda: Louvre, Royal Palace, and Orsey, among other things.

Brussels: Where the Attraction is the Cuisine

I'll give ten dollars to anyone who can (without looking) name 10 things to see in Brussels. Five? One? If you're having trouble naming any Belgian attractions, then you're probably right on par with the rest of the world.

As a newly initiated Belgian tourist, I can safely say there are two worthwhile attractions: 1) The Atonium and 2) the Mannekan Pis.

The first is a giant atom shaped sculpture built in the fifties for their giant world expo. These days, it just looks like aliens are invading the city via ball and stick models. There is a thoroughfare running underneath it and everything. Its pretty much the coolest thing in Belgium.

Despite the language barrier, I think the name of the second attraction pretty much says it all: Mannekan Pis: the pissing boy. Its really odd. People from across the world flock to this small 12 inch peeing baby to take pictures of it. But it doesn't end there, on every street corner and in every shop, there are statues of this peeing baby, postcards adorned with his little wee wee...he can't seem to get any privacy. The do have the decency to dress him in patronizing outfits on occasion, so maybe that makes them feel better for spending so much time staring at naked peeing babies...but idk.

Although Belgium may be replete with attractions for its tourists, they make up for it in cuisine.

1) Chocolate: delicious but expensive. Chocolate stores on every street willing to sell you small little chocolates for 5 euros each.

2) Beer: smooth, crisp, flavorful, and potent!

3) Waffles: these things are the shit. In America, Belgian waffles are made with pancake mix, but in Belgium, they taste more like a doughnut. I had one with chocolate sauce and another with whipped cream and chocolate sauce...diabetes here I come.

Paris here I come!

SPRING BREAK 2011

Like the Willie Nelson song, I'm "on the road again, goin' places that I've never been, seein' things I may never see again, on the road again." Last time was eastern Europe, this time western Europe. I think I'll call this the "highlights tour" because it pretty much consists of what Rick Steve's considers the most important sites to see in Europe.

The plan is to start in Brussels (cheap to fly into: 18.99 pounds), bus down to Paris, fly down to Barcelona, head up to Geneva (and the Olympics museum), then finish in Bristol with some day trips to Stonehenge, Bath, and potentially my family's castle (we're kind of a big deal lol).

Unlike my last adventure, no need to worry about me getting lonely and going crazy. I've got a travel partner: Courtney!! All you need to know is that she has platinum blonde hair and we share the same birthday.

As with my trip to eastern Europe, I'm not sure what my computer status will be throughout, so I assume the posts will be short and sweet. Also, I'm gonna be typing on French computer keyboards which are nothing like English keyboards, so typing takes forever (this post has taken nearly 30 minutes to write).

Let the traveling begin!

RT11: Glencoe and Glenfinnan

Cast of characters:

Sharan
trusty (and affordable) Volkswagon minivan

Liz

intermediary with the "woodland creatures," diplomat with local scottish musicians, and cage fighter (read on)

Mike

Co-pilot, resident taylor swift expert and baby-bird impersonator.

Brenna

voice of reason and flexibility specialist

Michelle
Scottish snake "expert" and sandwich maker

Me

Driver, arbiter of all bathroom stops and fielder of all "are we there yet?" questions.

I think its only appropriate to begin this story from the beginning. It all started when I was going to bed on Saturday night. It was about 12:20am and I had just brushed my teeth when the shrill of death came from outside my bathroom: fire drill. Really? But it wasn't just a drill, there was actually a fire in one of the New Hall kitchens. While I might have enjoyed this on another night (actually I'd never really enjoy this), i had to wake up at 8:30 am the next morning to begin our road trip. So I was pissed. And by the time we finally got let back into the building, it was pushing 3am. Needless to say, I was exhausted when I woke up the next morning.

After a quick pitstop at the dining hall and the St. A's Shell station, we headed out on our road trip to Glencoe.

Our first stop was at some random loch on the side of the road. Beach/bathroom break. After a series of obligatory beach pictures, I turned around to find Liz in a broken metal garbage can, throwing "punches" at Mike. She brought new meaning to the term, "cage fighter."

Watch out Sasha, we are Scotland Fierce!

the rumble: jets v sharks

Cage fighting...literally.

After about an hour, we finally got to Glencoe. We stopped at a waterfall and climbed to the top. I think this was the last point in the trip where I had dry feet. The grass looked deceivingly dry until you stepped on it and your foot sunk six inches into murky water. But we managed a pretty spectacular boy band album cover photo shoot. And Mike managed to keep himself out of the waterfall, so that was positive.

Don't go chasing waterfalls. (Sorry, I got desperate and just finished watching "The Other Guys")

Our Boy-band's Album Cover

Awkward

talking him down from the ledge.

We attempted to find Glencoe Village (apparently a hot tourist destination), but after "passing" it twice, we decided it wasn't worth the time. Next stop, the Harry Potter Bridge.

Doesn't get much more Scottish than this.

Bacon Rolls!

I feel like this bridge probably has a formal name, but I can't be asked to look it up, so I'll continually refer to it as the HPB (Harry Potter Bridge), not to be confused with HPV which is a whole different animal. There was some talk about whether or not the trains ran on the HPB at this time of year. Brenna told us that she saw the last train of the season in the fall, and we all figured that the trains probably wouldn't start running for a few more weeks at least. Bummer.

Screw Harry Potter World, its the HPB!

After seeing it from afar, we decided to get a little more intimate with HPB. Our little "scenic look-out" wasn't doing much for us, so we crossed the field, up the mountain, to the railroad, and walk on the HPB. I was a little worried about snakes in the tall grass (its my parental instinct), but Michelle insisted that there were no snakes in Scotland...none! So we trekked on. Unfortunately, what we thought was a field turned out to be more like a bog. Every stop was precarious. Even the "solid" patches of grass seemed to sink in. Needless to say, we were all soaking wet. But we managed to get all the way to the bridge and get some pretty cool pics from the center. We even got the obligatory "damsel in distress" picture.

On the top of the world!

Liz was Simba, because she was the smallest.

Lion King or King of the World?

This is safe.

Harry Potter Bridge.

Group Picture.

Behind us.

At this point, we were all exhausted and making our way back to the car, when Brenna directed our attention back to the bridge. And what do you know, good ol' Harry and his Hogwarts clan were chugging along on the very bridge we were just on. So much for the train not running. And remember that thing about there being no snakes in Scotland...turns out that was also incorrect.

Remember that time when the trains weren't running?

...And there weren't any snakes in Scotland?

But we made it back safely and that's all that matters. Right?

Miss Kate or Mis-take?

At last, an update from the official royal stalker...I mean blogger. Many of you have been on my case to get some info up about Kate and Wills. I haven't had much time in the last few weeks to write, because I've been doing that whole job search thing. This whole blogging thing isn't gonna really pay the bills in the future (allllllllthough...I do make a little profit if you click on the advertisements to the right...go ahead, try it lol). But moral of the story is, job search takes away from blog time. Therefore, if you get me a job, I'll have more time to write to you about my Scottish adventures. Incentive?

But back to Wills and Kate. Apparently my invitation "got lost in the mail" (or that's at least what I'm telling myself). Basically, I got royally screwed (not that way...i wish). I was pretty offended by my lack of invitation, so I vowed not to fall into the royal trap, but the pre-teen girl in me couldn't resist a glimpse of royalty. So I joined the hoards of people packed into North Street outside of St. Salvadore's Quad. And I waited...and waited....and, "oh is that...no?...and waited...

At this point, the crowd had pushed itself so close to the barricades that I was practically grinding up on the girls in front of me and nearly supporting the entire body weight of the girl next to me. Meanwhile, I had my hand in the air taking pictures of any and every person who entered or exited the quad, just in case it might be Wills in disguise. So my arm was exhausted. And all the while, I was thinking about how I should have been in the reception, making arrangements to be in Westminster Abbey on April 29th.

But it was all worth it for the moment when Wills and Kate left the quad through the arch way (see below). Unfortunatley, I didn't realize they were going to walk down the street in the opposite direction from where I stood. So I sort of missed my chance to meet Kate. Anti-climactic story much?

The only good that came out of this story was finding the Wills and Kate biscuits being sold at the local bakery. And at 1 pound/cookie, they were a steal.

Check out the pictures. I might have stolen the last couple from facebook (gotta love that new download feature).

The Scene

The street was lined with people from all over Scotland.

Saw some New Hall Friends!

and KATE!

"I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew"..it was because that's where Kate and Will met.

Oh, hello sniper.

Disgustingly cute.

I would be really jealous of him, except...

Royal genes come with complimentary male pattern baldness.

fake smile.

So cute, I could just eat her up.

literally.

Ordering these biscuits was interesting: Would you like to get the Royals head or their bust?"
Hmmm would I like Royal head or Royal Bust. "Umm both?"

Bye Kate!