Fun in France | Part One

Paris was our first stop in France, after a ferry ride to Calais (saw the White Cliffs of Dover on the way) and then a bus ride. Having heard so much about Paris, it was incredible to actually be there. We started off with an evening bus tour of the city, then we had the following day to sightsee, and the next morning we made a pit stop at the Louvre since it was closed on our free day.

Highlights in Paris:
- at dusk, the Eiffel Tower was just amazing: we were there just before dark and by the time we reached the top we were able to see all the lights twinkling, it really looked just like a postcard
- lunch in the Latin Quarter was great: Ally and I got paninis at a little stand and ate them in a park across the way, then got cinnamon sugar crepes for dessert!
- went with the group to the Moulin Rouge that night for dinner and the show. what a fun night that was! the dinner was fine, nothing special, but the show really was a good time. it even featured a woman swimming/dancing in a big tank filled with pythons and a really impressive acrobat couple, can't even describe it. and of course there was the usual cabaret show.

warning: the london bridge is a fraud

After arriving in London early in the morning, I anxiously got through Customs, picked up my suitcase, and got onto my first ride ever on the Underground. Public transportation is such a foreign concept to us Southern Californians, so I was (and still am) just amazed at how it was all set up.

Took the Piccadilly Line to Russell Square, where my hotel was, and it was about a 45-minute ride. Was extremely humored by the fact that at every single stop the British woman's voice said "Mind the gap," and that I got to hear "Piccadilly Line to Cockfosters" more times than I could count.

Once my first ride on the Tube was over, I made my way to the Imperial Hotel where Ally and I would be staying for the next two nights. And I can't forget the absolutely ridiculous key that they gave me upon check in. It was just unreal -- reminded me of a bathroom pass from, like, 2nd grade, with a big long metal stick at the end of it.

But anyway, with a few hours to spare before Ally's flight arrived, I made my way to the British Museum -- a view of which we had directly out of our hotel room window. Of course I didn't realize this before I left and spent a little while lost in London trying to find it. But since it was early in the trip and I was so excited to be there, I didn't mind at all (a month later, and exhausted, I would not have been amused).

London Highlights:
- went to the British Museum (got a little lost on the way back to the hotel)
- went to Covent Garden for fish 'n chip dinner ($20 each for a little take out joint!)
- saw Buckingham Palace at night, after a walk through Green Park
- gawked at our hotel's breakfast buffet, with all of the ambiguous foods in big vats of increasingly ambiguous liquids (My favorite was the red, and by red I mean red, meat (?) floating around in steaming red juices. Whatever that was, I didn't dare touch it.)
- early morning adventure finding the London Bridge (and I expected a COOL bridge)
- long, rainy walk to the "nearby" Tate Modern museum (loved it!)
- crossed the bridge over the Thames to St. Pauls
- went to see the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye
- went to Harrod's and had a blast shopping around, got an amazing raspberry+pistachio tart
- saw Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery (didn't go in), and the Westminster gate

I'm still shocked at how much we were able to see in such a short time. Our departure time the following morning was 6:45 am, headed to Paris. Though we expected early mornings, little did we know just how often and early they'd actually be... that was just the beginning.

can't forget the special stopover in canada, though!

Started out the trip with a great few days in the one and only Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was such a nice visit, staying with Grammy and Grampy, enjoying a few days relaxing and gearing up for such a busy upcoming month. Good food and good times spent with some of the Canadian family -- to include G&G, of course, my aunt Jane + cousins Sam+Tom, and my cousin, Emily.

the month-long europe recap | city by city, day by day

So after the past 30 days in Europe, I'm thinking (after bouncing some ideas around and a chat with my Aunt Sue) that a blog would be the best way to share some of my favorite memories, experiences, and pictures with you all. I'm hoping that it serves as somewhat of an overview of the good times and pretty much an easy way to showcase some of my favorite pictures, since that way there is no need to email them/download them, etc. Not sure how fast I'll be able to keep up with this, but I did keep a journal and that will surely make it easier. As will the 1,643 pictures I took! But I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to at least get a good start on it before leaving for Asia on Thursday night.

(It's a tough life I've been leading, I'll say...)

Love,
Lindsay

PS. Contiki (the company I booked the Europe tour through) allowed us each to start out with one suitcase, 20kg or less. So here's what I went with:

Just wait until I post the picture of what I came home with. Needless to say it was far more than the 20kg initially allowed.