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Time flies when you are sitting on a train for 4 hours on your way home from a lovely weekend in London, England.
This past Easter weekend, my friend Whitney and I traveled to London to visit our other friend Megan. We left Friday morning to catch a plane out of Perugia. The train travel wasn't horrible...no creepy Italians asking us to put eye-drops in for them (if you haven't heard of this story yet...ask me later.) However, when we arrived in the train station, we had to then find the airport...which we had heard...is in the middle of a corn-field (holler out to Indiana.) Anyways, after 20 min. of searching we caught a cab and headed to the airport.
At the airport, we got through security okay, and then awaited our take-off time. Nothing too exciting happened during this time, and soon boarded our plane....2 hours later....we landed in London, and had to wait to catch a bus to Liverpool Street. waiting.....waiting...waiting...and finally jumped on the bus and drove an hour. When we arrived Meg was waiting for us at the Tube Station and we got on to head to her flat.
When we got to her flat, we met some of her roommates and then we were told that we were living immediately because the show we were going to go see, Spamalot, was all the way across town and we were going to be late! So we departed ASAP and LITERALLY ran through London...we Whitney was in heals and I was in flats that barely stayed on my feet...and we were running through London. When we finally got to the theater, we found out that our seats were on the 3rd floor and there was no elevator...great...so when I got to my seat...I was fanning myself with my ticket stub. The show was amazing though and we had so much fun.
The next morning we did a whirl wind tour of London and all the touristy sights...they go as follows: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, House of Parliament, the Themes River, The Globe Theater, St. Peter's Cathedral (from Mary Poppins), London Bridge, the Tower Bridge, the palace where the crown jewels are kept and finally Kings Cross Station where Platform 9 3/4 is accessible. After that tour we went back to Meg's flat and ate Chinese food and then hit the town...
Easter was a wonderfully memorable day. It snowed hard core all day long and so our trip to a small church was almost more that we could handle. But we got there and sat among 8 other people. The smallest church service I have ever been too....and this was on Easter. But it was great all the same. We left church and headed to find Abbey Road and imitate the famous walk of the Beatles. Good thing that it was so terribly cold and I froze in my capri pants. But we got the pictures and then...came back to Meg's...changed...and then went to Hyde Park to see the Peter Pan statue, Princess Di's old house and the Price Albert memorial. Soon we came home and rested because Monday....well...read below.
Our Monday began at 1 am...because we didn't go to sleep. We caught a taxi to Liverpool station, got our bus back to the London airport. Hung out there for about 2 hours...not sleeping...because it was so noisy, and then boarded our plane at 6:10 am. Now...you know you are tired when you are sitting in your seat...while people are still boarding the plane....fall asleep...and you wake up...look out the window...and you are mid-air. Slept through escape instructions, learning how to buckle my seat belt, and take-off. Anyways, we flew into Rome and then got train tickets for the 12:15 train to Macerata. Hung out in the Termini for a while...ate some McDonalds...and then had a 5 hour trip home, boarding and unboarding different trains until we finally got home at 6:30 pm Monday night.
One of my favorite weekends here in Europe and one of the most tiring...
I leave for Roma tomorrow morning at 6 am....I'm feeling another "London Weekend"...miss you all and can't wait to come home in 12 days!
Love,
Audrey
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Bonjour! From Belgium and Paris!
How can I describe Spring Break…I will try to do my best in the following paragraphs…but make sure to ask me more about it when I get home. Some of the infamous stories can only be told verbally.
Thursday 28th of February and Friday 29th of February:
This was the departure date for Spring Break. We left on a train from Macerata around 9 pm and traveled through the night…changing trains about every 2 hours until we reached Pisa, Italy. Sadly I didn’t see the leaning tower, but I did see their amazing airport. Our plane left around noon and we arrive in Brussels, Belgium around 2:30 pm. From there, we trained to Brugge, Belgium and arrived around 7:30 pm. That was a 23 hour day if my calculations are correct. That evening we arrived at our hostel and had a really good dinner at the restaurant that was attached to the hostel. Amazingly enough, the food was really good, and the server spoke in English…what a relief…didn’t have to use my “French” that night.
Sunday 2nd of March:
Saturday we left early in the morning for Brussles and got in early to our hotel. We dropped our luggage and then explored around Brussles. We didn’t stay in the nicer area, so we had to walk about 30 min. to the center of the town and again, adorable. The pictures don't even capture how amazing it was. We hung out in the square and shopped around.
Monday 3rd of March:
In the morning we went to a Second-hand market, recommended by Lonely Planet (a book) and it was basically a really terrible garage sale by all these random people. So we got out of there quick and walked to another part of Brussles that we hadn’t been to. Did some more shopping and then headed back to the hotel to get a little rest and get ready for dinner. We walked 30 min to a restaurant…that was AMAZING! The food was really good and we stayed there from 7:30 till about 10 pm. Then we walked home and packed because we were leaving mid-morning for Paris.
Tuesday 4th of March:
We hung out a little more in the morning in Brussles. Went shopping at H&M (it has a European flare to it, sp it’s not something that I could do in the USA!) Then in the afternoon…we headed over to the train station and trained from Brussles to Paris. The ride was amazing, because we got to see the country side of France that we wouldn’t have been able to if we flew. Got into Paris around 7 pm and check into our hostel. It was brand new and we had an amazing view of an off-shoot of the Seine River. We had dinner at a Crepe stand….I know…so French and then went back to the hostel to go to sleep.
Wednesday 5th of March:
Our first official day in Paris! Began our day with a free tour of Paris given by one of the funniest tour guides I have ever had. Matt – the tour guide. We walked all over Paris...The Seine river, Notre Dame, the Louvre, a random park – with a fashion photo shoot going on, everywhere. Then we broke for lunch and we all got amazing sandwiches…and then I had Starbucks. Loved it. Continued our tour around the city…and when we got to our final resting point (learning about Churchill) I get pooped on. Yes…pooped on. Standing under a tree…in Paris…pooped on. Some animal…pretty sure it wasn’t a bird because the poop was rather large. Anyways, my wonderful friend Megan helped scrape it out of my hair and we soon metro-ed back to the hostel where my other amazing friend Whitney helped me wash my hair in a sink. If you are going to pooped on…it might as well be in Paris. Since we were delayed, we ended up taking another tour of the city. It was located in the Red –light district, where we saw that Moulin Rouge, Van Gogh’s house, The Artists District and the best night view of Paris, including a lit up Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful. Then we headed to the Jewish Dirstict in Paris and had Falafel (yeah Kristen!) and it was so good.
Thursday 6th of March:
Whit and I departed early in the morning to go to Notre Dame to take a few pictures and get some good video. Too bad the weather didn’t want to cooperate, and rained the whole day. So we still took pictures inside the famous church and then headed out to shop around and get some lunch. Met up with our other friends and shopped around a little more.
Friday 7th of March:
This was by far my favorite day of Spring Break. We woke up extra early to go to the Champs Elise and the Arc du Triumph. Arrived and got some amazing video and pictures of the whole area…and in the background…the Eiffel Tower. Shopped around the Champs Elise and went into their Disney Store. Yes, there is a Disney store on the most expensive shopping street in the world…right next to a McDonalds. Awesome. Then we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower…waited in line for about an hour…and then went up in it. It was so cold, but so awesome. You could see everything from the top. Again, took more pictures and then headed to the other landings. After we got off the Tower, we grabbed a quick bite and then headed back to the hostel to change and then take another metro over to the Louvre. Fridays night’s it’s free to get in, so there was a little crowd, but nothing horrible. Got in around 6:30 and walked most of the museum. However, the Louvre is HUGE…so I barely saw anything. However, I did see the Mona Lisa, Aphrodite's Statue, Napoleon’s Apartment, and so much more. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Left the museum around 9:30 pm and headed over towards the Eiffel Tower…again…We all had dinner at this place about a block from the Tower and ordered Onion Soup (because it’s already French), Crème Brule, and Champagne. Then we all ventured over the Eiffel Tower and ever hour, on the hour, it glitters. I felt like a little kid again…I was jumping up and down the whole time going… “I can’t believe that I’m here!!!” I loved Paris.
The last day we just hung out and packed because we left around 4:30 in the morning on Sunday.
We got home safely Sunday night and promptly ate dinner and went to bed.
Spring Break was amazing. The other 3 girls that I went with made it so much fun and I couldn’t have asked for a better time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. They were well received. But consider next time to pray that I don’t get pooped on. Thanks
Ciao Ciao,
Audrey
Thursday 28th of February and Friday 29th of February:
This was the departure date for Spring Break. We left on a train from Macerata around 9 pm and traveled through the night…changing trains about every 2 hours until we reached Pisa, Italy. Sadly I didn’t see the leaning tower, but I did see their amazing airport. Our plane left around noon and we arrive in Brussels, Belgium around 2:30 pm. From there, we trained to Brugge, Belgium and arrived around 7:30 pm. That was a 23 hour day if my calculations are correct. That evening we arrived at our hostel and had a really good dinner at the restaurant that was attached to the hostel. Amazingly enough, the food was really good, and the server spoke in English…what a relief…didn’t have to use my “French” that night.
Saturday 1st of March:
Friday we woke up early and explored Brugge. I would have never thought that I would spending my Spring Break in Belgium, let alone a town that I had never heard of, but I loved Brugge. It was so beautiful. All of the shop and important buildings had this Dutch feel to them. They were all cookie-cutter shapes and sweet colors that glazes over all the walls. I loved it. It was such a different feel than…all of Italy. We went shopping, ate French fries, went to a chocolate museum, ate chocolate, ate waffles…we ate a lot. Then we found a cute restaurant for dinner.
Friday we woke up early and explored Brugge. I would have never thought that I would spending my Spring Break in Belgium, let alone a town that I had never heard of, but I loved Brugge. It was so beautiful. All of the shop and important buildings had this Dutch feel to them. They were all cookie-cutter shapes and sweet colors that glazes over all the walls. I loved it. It was such a different feel than…all of Italy. We went shopping, ate French fries, went to a chocolate museum, ate chocolate, ate waffles…we ate a lot. Then we found a cute restaurant for dinner.
Sunday 2nd of March:
Saturday we left early in the morning for Brussles and got in early to our hotel. We dropped our luggage and then explored around Brussles. We didn’t stay in the nicer area, so we had to walk about 30 min. to the center of the town and again, adorable. The pictures don't even capture how amazing it was. We hung out in the square and shopped around.
Monday 3rd of March:
In the morning we went to a Second-hand market, recommended by Lonely Planet (a book) and it was basically a really terrible garage sale by all these random people. So we got out of there quick and walked to another part of Brussles that we hadn’t been to. Did some more shopping and then headed back to the hotel to get a little rest and get ready for dinner. We walked 30 min to a restaurant…that was AMAZING! The food was really good and we stayed there from 7:30 till about 10 pm. Then we walked home and packed because we were leaving mid-morning for Paris.
Tuesday 4th of March:
We hung out a little more in the morning in Brussles. Went shopping at H&M (it has a European flare to it, sp it’s not something that I could do in the USA!) Then in the afternoon…we headed over to the train station and trained from Brussles to Paris. The ride was amazing, because we got to see the country side of France that we wouldn’t have been able to if we flew. Got into Paris around 7 pm and check into our hostel. It was brand new and we had an amazing view of an off-shoot of the Seine River. We had dinner at a Crepe stand….I know…so French and then went back to the hostel to go to sleep.
Wednesday 5th of March:
Our first official day in Paris! Began our day with a free tour of Paris given by one of the funniest tour guides I have ever had. Matt – the tour guide. We walked all over Paris...The Seine river, Notre Dame, the Louvre, a random park – with a fashion photo shoot going on, everywhere. Then we broke for lunch and we all got amazing sandwiches…and then I had Starbucks. Loved it. Continued our tour around the city…and when we got to our final resting point (learning about Churchill) I get pooped on. Yes…pooped on. Standing under a tree…in Paris…pooped on. Some animal…pretty sure it wasn’t a bird because the poop was rather large. Anyways, my wonderful friend Megan helped scrape it out of my hair and we soon metro-ed back to the hostel where my other amazing friend Whitney helped me wash my hair in a sink. If you are going to pooped on…it might as well be in Paris. Since we were delayed, we ended up taking another tour of the city. It was located in the Red –light district, where we saw that Moulin Rouge, Van Gogh’s house, The Artists District and the best night view of Paris, including a lit up Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful. Then we headed to the Jewish Dirstict in Paris and had Falafel (yeah Kristen!) and it was so good.
Thursday 6th of March:
Whit and I departed early in the morning to go to Notre Dame to take a few pictures and get some good video. Too bad the weather didn’t want to cooperate, and rained the whole day. So we still took pictures inside the famous church and then headed out to shop around and get some lunch. Met up with our other friends and shopped around a little more.
Friday 7th of March:
This was by far my favorite day of Spring Break. We woke up extra early to go to the Champs Elise and the Arc du Triumph. Arrived and got some amazing video and pictures of the whole area…and in the background…the Eiffel Tower. Shopped around the Champs Elise and went into their Disney Store. Yes, there is a Disney store on the most expensive shopping street in the world…right next to a McDonalds. Awesome. Then we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower…waited in line for about an hour…and then went up in it. It was so cold, but so awesome. You could see everything from the top. Again, took more pictures and then headed to the other landings. After we got off the Tower, we grabbed a quick bite and then headed back to the hostel to change and then take another metro over to the Louvre. Fridays night’s it’s free to get in, so there was a little crowd, but nothing horrible. Got in around 6:30 and walked most of the museum. However, the Louvre is HUGE…so I barely saw anything. However, I did see the Mona Lisa, Aphrodite's Statue, Napoleon’s Apartment, and so much more. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Left the museum around 9:30 pm and headed over towards the Eiffel Tower…again…We all had dinner at this place about a block from the Tower and ordered Onion Soup (because it’s already French), Crème Brule, and Champagne. Then we all ventured over the Eiffel Tower and ever hour, on the hour, it glitters. I felt like a little kid again…I was jumping up and down the whole time going… “I can’t believe that I’m here!!!” I loved Paris.
The last day we just hung out and packed because we left around 4:30 in the morning on Sunday.
We got home safely Sunday night and promptly ate dinner and went to bed.
Spring Break was amazing. The other 3 girls that I went with made it so much fun and I couldn’t have asked for a better time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. They were well received. But consider next time to pray that I don’t get pooped on. Thanks
Ciao Ciao,
Audrey
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