Getting way behind on my posts....

Since my last post I have had adventures in Zurich, Vienna, Venice and Florence! Can't believe how fast time is flying. So, it has become much more difficult that I originally planned on it being to post while on the road. Not having a laptop and having to pay for computer access with foreign keyboards have made me either A) not want to post, or B) end up posting a lot less than I had intended to.
So what I have decided is to just enjoy this last week or so of my trip- keep track of my activities in my personal journal that I write in and then do a whole bunch of massive posts when I get back. Don't worry- I will actually post because I'm having a wonderful time here and want to share all the little details. :)

Ciao
-Emily

STRIKE!!!

Hey everyone.
I made it to Venice ok via the night train. An experience I'm not sure I'd like to repeat but hey it got me here.
I do have a LONG update to post and finally have access to an English keyboard which is super exciting... alas there is only one computer here and so I have to wait my turn to post. Maybe later today.
The most interesting thing right now is that fact that the Italy transportation people have gone on strike. That means everything except for the major train routes (like  to Rome) and the super important ferries are shut down here right now. Here's hoping it is fixed soon or this is going to be a seriously frustrating trip!
Missing all of you.
<3 Em

Art, Fireworks, and Trains

Wow, I have a lot to update- didn't plan on the lack of good computer time at my second hostel in Paris, and now I am typing on a German computer here in Switzerland which is making it really difficult to type. So I will do a very quick run down of my last few days in Paris, and then update more when I get to Vienna and have access to my friend Andy's computer tomorrow night or Tuesday morning.

Tuesday night I didn't end up going to the Effiel Tower, but I did do laundry. That was an experience and very expensive!
Wednesday it was rainy again which was annoying. But I went to the Museè de Orangerie where the Monet lilly paintings are. It was absolutely magical. I spent most of the morning there. Then I went on a 2 plus hour search for some leggings because it was so cold. Shopping in Paris is a bit overwhelming and they don't carry much for tall people so it was an adventure!
Thursday was Bastille Day. I spent the morning- early afternoon at the Effiel Tower. Wow. That was an experience. It was one of those moments that took my breath away. I then wandered around and spent an hour or so at a cafè reading and eating yummy sweets. (best of my life by far... and this is why I could not live in Paris- i would get fat!) Then in the evening around 9 two of my dorm mates and I went and bought wine and snacks and headed to the gardens surrounding the Effiel Tower and had a picnic while waiting for the fireworks. There had to be at least five thousand people there if not more all around the tower on both sides of the river. It took us forever to walk through the streets because they were so full of people. We ended up with a great view however and that night was definitely the highlight of my Paris trip. Here is a picture of the fireworks.

Friday was a bit of an ucky day for me- spent the morning dealing with the pharmacies trying to get some cold medication and got really frustrated. But the afternoon was more fun and I got to do some more touring and saw some neat stuff.

Saturday I got up super early and caught my train to Zurich. It took about 6 hours because I had to get a connection through Geneva. The Swiss train was a double decker which was neat. When I got in I walked around the Old City for a bit and had a dinner of cheese fondue. It was totally out of my comfort zone but I figured I had to try it. I was pleasenty surprised... although I probably would not get it again. :) Then I spent some time in the hostel bar before bed.

Today it is rainy and ucky and most of the shops are closed here which is making it difficult to do really anything touristy. There is one museum that is open that I might go to. Other than that I'll just play it by ear.

- Em

Parlez-vous anglais?

This is the French phrase I utter the most after Bonjour. :)
While some people seem to speak at least a few words of English , navigating Paris only knowing about 10 phrases has been interesting to say the least.

So here's a run down of what I've been up to.

Sunday:
Ate breakfast at the hostel (consisting of granola, a croissant, and a baguette.... um the French love their carbs!) then adventured the Metro again to head to the Notre Dame. It was a bit easier this time to figure out where I was going- but I still like the London tube better. Walked through the cathedral, but didn't get to see all of it because there was a service going on. I was going to go to the top, but there was an hour and a half line and I really didn't feel like waiting for it. So instead I walked back to the hostel. It didn't look very far on the map, but it ended up taking over an hour. But it was nice to see different neighborhoods in Paris. I got to talk to my family for the first time which was nice- but the wifi at that hostel sucked and so we had to talk on my cell. (Hello phone charges!) I went to bed early but was woken up at 2am when some people showed up for the empty beds. :(
Monday:
In the morning I headed to the Lourve and spent about 4 hours there. I spent most of my time looking at the paintings- especially the Italian and French. I really enjoyed the Botticelli and Raphel paintings, and of course saw the Mona Lisa.
Afterwards, I went the the little shopping center right next to the Lourve, saw a free concert at the Apple store while I charged my ipod, and then walked the Jadin Des Tuileries which was pretty. (Although a lot less trees than London parks). From there I walked up the Avenue Des Champs Elysees, which is a HUGE shopping street. I stopped at the flagship store of Louis Vuitton (drool!) and then headed to the Arc de Triomphe. There I climbed the super winding staircase to the top and saw wonderful views of Paris.

Today (Tuesday):
I had to change hostels and spent all morning doing that as I accidentally read the Metro map wrong and ended up spending an hour+ riding trains. Yay me. :) This afternoon I went to the Musee d Orsay and saw a bunch of impressionist paintings including Monet, Manet, Degas, and Renoir. <3 This is my favorite type of art and so it made me so happy to see such famous paintings in person. I then went for another random walk down city streets and got a yummy crepe with Nutella in it. :) Tonight I'm debating heading to the Eiffel Tower before the sun goes down- but weather hasn't been great so we'll see. I need to do laundry as well so that may end up being my fun evening. LOL.

I have a ton of pictures to post, but I can't figure out how to upload them on the French computers. I'll have to try it via wifi on my itouch. Worse case scenario I can add them in Zurich- they should have computers in English.

Well I better go- there is a long line for the computers here at the hostel.
<3,
Em

Paris

Well, my first impression with Paris is mixed.
I had the most horrific time at arriving at the Paris train station on the Eurostar. I needed to reserve my rail tickets for the rest of my trip and it took over 30 minutes for me to find the right place because no one would help me locate it and it had really bad signage. Then, I had to pay to use the restroom... but I didn't have any Euros. So I had to go on a search for the ATM, which again no one was very helpful in assisting me. Finally, trying to figure out how to buy a ticket for the metro was horrendous. The information booth person decided to close right as I got up to the counter (even though they were supposed to be open for another hour) and if it wasn't for the Metro app on my itouch that I have I would have been horribly lost. I bought a one way ticket... I figure once I talk to the hostel people I can decide what type of pass to purchase. Then I got on the train. Compared to London, the Paris metro system is AWFUL. They don't have good signage, it is really dirty, and trying to figure out where to get off is difficult. Once I finally got to the correct stop it took me ages to find my hostel. It prolly would have been easier if I wasn't so flustered- but I walked up and down the street with all my luggage 3 times before I found it (and only thanks to a kind gentleman in a cafe). I ended up eating at said cafe for dinner and had a wonderful crepe and a coke for 8 Euros- very reasonable for dinner. One thing I've realized is that I am totally overwhelmed and feel like a deer in headlights with this whole French thing. I know all of 10 words and even trying to order my meal tonight was difficult. Thankfully he spoke broken English so we made it work. I'm really hoping that I get used to all of this and learn a few more words so I can survive. I feel a bit like a fish out of water right now and I really don't want the language barrier to take away from all the amazing things that I want to see here in Paris. Well I wanted an adventure... lol

Well I'm off to take a large dose of advil and try and find some ice for my back... between walking around London today after I left my hostel and before my train and then here in Paris I've easily walked 5 miles today with my luggage. (reminder to myself to post a picture here later!) Between my main bag, my carry-on, and my purse it weighs overall probably around 45 pounds. YIKES! and OUCH. I even have lovely backpack shaped red marks on my shoulders. :)

Here's to hoping my impression of Paris changes for the better tomorrow!!!
Miss you all!
Love from Paris-
Em

♫ London Calling♫

Wow.
The past few days have been quite a whirlwind!
My last post was from Boston, so I'll update what has happened since then. I had a ridiculously long lay-over in Boston, but finally it was time to board my flight to London. Unfortunately, when I got on the plane, I realized they had downsized the plane. Instead of a 757? that had a 2 -3-2 seat format, we flew a 737 which was just the normal 3-3 seat format. This was a disappointment for me because I had a window seat and dislike being closed in by two other seats, but oh well. I was able to cat nap a bit so that was good.

After my plane landed I had about an hour through customs and then it was time to get to my hostel. I took the Heathrow Express train to Paddington station (very nice btw) and then took the tube from there to my hostel here in Pimlico. I felt a little funny with my suitcases on the tube but no one seemed to have a problem with it. (I'll have to post a picture of my suitcases next post- I'm so proud of how little I brought with me!)

After checking into my hostel I went exploring. I took a bus to the Victoria area, and from there walked all over the city of Westminster and took in the sites:

Buckingham Palace!
I also went to the Queen Victoria Memorial, walked through Green Park and St. James Park, and stopped by Big Ben and Parliament! (Those photos will have to wait to be posted when I can get them off my camera)
By the end of the day Wednesday I was absolutely exhausted and went to bed fairly early.

On Thursday the 7th, I woke up to rain. Lots and lots of rain. Apparently it rains a lot in London. Also apparently 65 degrees F is a NORMAL July temp. WTF. I seriously did not bring correct clothing! So me in my flowy skirt and sandals braved the downpour to head to Leichster Square (aka West End) to buy half price tickets for a show. I wanted to see Le Mis, but it was sold out (maybe I can see it in August) and so I bought tickets for the evening showing of Billy Elliot. I then met up with my friend Beth who I went to high school with (she married a Brit and lives in Canterbury now) at the British Museum. It was so nice of her to come up to London and see me, and we had a wonderful time exploring the museum where I saw the following:

Roman Shoes from 200AD (can't believe they are still intact!)

and the ever famous Rosetta Stone!

Seeing history like that was really awe inspiring.
We then headed to Covent Gardens where we window shopped a bit and sat for a few hours catching up at a local coffee shop. I am so glad I got to see her!

After Beth headed back home, I grabbed a quick dinner and then headed to Victoria to see Billy Elliot. The show is an adaptation of the movie. The original writer of the movie helped with the adaptation and wrote all the lyrics to the songs and Elton John did the music. The play was absolutely amazing. The boy who played Billy was extremely talented- the dancing and singing was absolutely fantastic. He couldn't have been more than 12 or 13 years old.  Wow. Here is a picture of the outside of the theater:

Today, I slept in a bit- which I needed because I haven't been able to sleep very well on the hostel beds-and then had to change rooms at the hostel. After that I headed to the Tower of London. It is HUGE! I don't know what I was expecting, but not the sprawling fort that I ended up touring! I spent almost 4 hours walking around immersing myself in royal history dating back to 1066. I love visiting places like this where you just look around and think I am standing in the same room that a King slept in during the 11 hundreds. WOW. It's a very humbling feeling. I love that Europe has this history, and I love thinking/ learning about what life was like then. The Tower was pretty full of visitors, and I had quite a wait to see the crown jewels, but it was worth it. They have the crowns dating back to Charles the 1st used for coronations as well as the scepter that has the world's largest perfectly cut/ clarity diamond in it. Something like 503 carats? It was ridiculous.
The Tower Bridge is right next to the Tower of London and so I took a few pictures of it/ with it. I thought about walking across it, but was too tired. Maybe in August.

Tonight, I'm taking the night off from touring, and just catching up on stuff/ planning. Of course, I am drinking a pint of beer from the hostel bar as I write this. :) I'm hoping to see one of my sorority sisters who is doing a summer internship here  tomorrow morning and then I'm off to Paris in the afternoon!!!

Until next time,
Em

On my way!

I am currently sitting at the Boston airport waiting for my flight to London. I had a long layover so I took the subway into town a bit (with all my luggage because there are no lockers here!) and had a nice early dinner at this famous market. I met a Boston native on the subway named Woody and he showed me around a bit and got me a discount on my meal because he knew the owner! So maybe people from Boston are nice after all?
Free wifi is almost done so I better sign off for now. Next post will be from London!
~ em