Paris

Apologies for the delay on the blog. I've been really busy exploring all of the bars...er I mean studying

On Wednesday, April 8 Lauren came in town very late. So on Thursday, we got up early and walked to Oxford Circus (shopping area pretty close that Lauren really liked) Then we took the Tube to the Picadilly Circus/Leicester Square/Covent Garden Area and had lunch. (Covent Garden is one of my favorite areas) Following this, we took the tube back to campus and took a nap because walking around is so tiring. Around 6 Lauren and I went to a pub called the Tudor Rose with Corey, Newk, Newk's Sister, Torey and Steve. We all had a few beers and Lauren really liked a beer called Strongbow which is a cider beer that tastes kind of like apple juice. We walked back to campus and ate at the on campus restaurant with everyone. Later that night the whole group went to my favorite local pub/dance floor called O'Neil's where they have a live band that plays great music. After dancing the night away and taking a bus home, we finally went to sleep.

Friday morning, Steve, Corey, Lauren and I went to see the London eye, Big Ben (aka Big Bend), and Westminster Abbey. After fighting through the rain, Buckingham Palace was the next stop on the tour followed by Churchhill's War Bunker. Churchhill's bunker was really interesting. It is literally where he ran the country during WWII and was relatively unchanged from when it was last used. We took the tube back home and took another nap. Friday night I took Lauren to famous and well blogged about Gordon's wine bar. We decided to stay up all night for our 4 AM bus ride to the Luton Airport for our flight to France.

Saturday we took a 6 AM flight to Paris. Upon our arrival, we found our hostel and immediately took a nap after not sleeping the night before. We stayed about 3 minutes from the Arc de Triomphe which is a war memorial surrounded by a giant round about. So that was pretty cool. We walked around for a while and found the famous Eiffel Tower and luckily it was a beautiful day and we were able to walk outside in just shirts. I'm a big fan of the Eiffel Tower and the park that is below it along with the river. From the Eiffel Tower, we had a late lunch and took another nap at the hostel. Saturday night, we ate dinner and walked back to the Eiffel Tower. Amazing view at night very light up and occasionally sparkling lits go off all over the tower.

Sunday morning, we woke up and had breakfast. For Easter, we found a Catholic Church and went to a mass all in French. All I could understand was Alleuia and Amen, but it was still worth going. After mass, we walked to the Louvre and walked around that area for a very long time. I had heard that in Paris I needed to get a banana and Nutella crepe and we shared one. It was heaven on Earth. After the crepe-goodness, we went for a late lunch in a tourist area (can't remember exactly the name) After this, we left and checked out of hostel and took a bus to the airport for our flight back to London.

Final thoughts on Paris: From what I had heard, the people and Paris are jerks and are Anti-American etc. It may have been our luck or overall attitude, but we did not feel this way whatsoever. I thought the city was very pleasant and the people did not bother me at all. Paris was a great place to go and we were very lucky that the weather was excellent because it just made a beautiful city all more beautiful.

Continuing on... Sunday night was low key, just stayed in and hung out with my friends here. Monday we got up early and Steve Lauren and I walked along the River Thames to see the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We also had a fish and chips lunch along the river which was cool to do. Monday night, we went back to Gordon's with Steve and had a bottle of wine.

Tuesday we got up at 6:30 and took the tube to Heathrow Airport for Lauren's 10 AM flight home.

We had a great time! I was happy to be able to show off the city that I love!

Cheers, Paul