I can’t believe I have been on this crazy adventure for almost a week. It still feels a little surreal that I am having all these adventures and in another country. This morning I decided to walk from the Metro to my Eiffel Tower tour instead of taking the bus. As I was crossing this bridge I got my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, and I just couldn’t believe I was in Paris.

After walking around the Eiffel Tower, and yes I did go all the way to the top, I ate some lunch (got attacked by pigeons who wanted my fries), and then walked about 48 minutes to the Louvre. When I started on this walking Journey I was very optimistic…after about 20 minutes I considered hailing a cab. However I stuck it out and made it. The Louvre was beautiful. I did find out that if I wanted to really look at everything in the Louvre it would take me a little over 4 months to do so…as I don’t have 4 months I took a picture with the Mona Lisa (it’s smaller than I thought it would be) and saw some of the other beautiful paintings.

From the Louvre I took public transportation to the Cathedral of Norte Dame. It was absolutely beautiful from the outside. I didn’t have time to actually go on a tour inside but I did hang around outside and was able to hear the bells chime.

My final adventure for the day was taking a sightseeing cruise. My tour guide in the morning said the best time to ride the boat would be at 8 when they are turning on all the lights and the sun is setting. My tour guide was right. When we left on the boat it was still light out and when we returned the Eiffel Tower was all lit up and sparkling. The pictures really don’t do it justice. It’s a view I will never forget.

Well that was more of an update than I planned on giving. I am completely wiped out and have another full day of adventuring tomorrow, so it’s off to bed for me.

So Disneyland Paris was not the original plan today. But I slept super crappy last night and then slept in pretty late this morning. I decided spending the afternoon and evening at Disney was plenty of time to see and do the things I wanted. So after dragging my lazy butt out of bed, I took the train to Disney!

I was able to see both Parks in the course of my day and had a magically fun time. Turns out when you are just a single rider you get your own special line, that is half the time of the normal one. I rode every ride I wanted and the lines really were not too bad. I may have splurged on myself for souvenirs, but hey it’s Disney so I really should not be that suprised. I did not go in expecting it to be like Disney world or Disney Land back in the states, so I had an absolutely marvelous time. I think it was a great way to spend my first full day in Paris.

I really think I am starting to get the hang of all this public transportation stuff (hopefully I did not just jinx myself). I also have walked so much over the last week that my legs sort of feel like they are going to fall off. I was talking to my mom and godmother Ginny over video last night, and Ginny was trying to teach me some French so I would feel slightly more comfortable communicating with people. I sort of feel like Joey from the episode of Friends when Phoebe tries to teach him French and nothing he says came out like she was trying to teach him. I practiced some today while I was out, so hopefully by the time I leave France I will sort of sound like I know what I am talking about….at least when it comes to saying Wine, Cheese, water, hello, and toilet.

Hoping for a better nights sleep tonight, since I have another long day ahead of me tomorrow. Goodnight!

Hi friends and family! So since I am a day behind I am going to write about two days in one. It will just be the highlights, so hopefully I can keep this short and sweet.

My last day in London was perfect. I walked around Hyde Park, almost got attacked by Pigeons, and had a quite good cup of coffee (ok so really I had two cups of coffee…don’t judge). From Hyde Park I took a stroll to Buckingham Palace, and while I was too late to catch the changing of the guards, I was able to take a tour of Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms. From their I met up with a friend from K-State and was introduced to a proper Friday night in London. It was another rare nice day full of lots of walking. At least I can say I’ll be in shape when I return home in October.

Day 5 (or today) can be known as the traveling day. I woke up and packed up my stuff ( which is a lot harder the 2nd time around) nothing quite fits the same way. I then thanked my lovely host and headed down to the tube to catch a ride to Kingscross station to head to Paris. There were some slight delays, as one of the trains was not running, so I was feeling pretty frantic once I finally made it to Kingscross station. Thankfully, I was right on time, and had no issues going through security to board my train to Paris.

Paris is beautiful…at least what I’ve seen of it. Once I arrived at the Paris Gare Du Nord train station I had to buy a ticket to ride the Metro to where I am staying in Bastille. Some of the ticket machines were not working and by the time it was my turn to work the machine I accidentally bought 6 tickets. Yeah I don’t really know how that happened, or what I pushed but I did get on the right train and did not get lost to my airbnb #2.

After getting settled in I walked around my new neighborhood for the next 4 days and drank some lovely wine and ate some delightful cheese for dinner. I feel like I am truly getting a sense of what it means to be an outsider in another country, especially when you don’t speak the language or know the culture. Communication is such a big thing, and when you can’t communicate easily with other people it makes you feel pretty lonely. Thankfully I have my trusty Google Translator app and I don’t mind looking or sounding like an idiot, especially if it means gaining new friends. Well bonne nuit family. I will update again soon.

Yesterday morning I decided to sleep in and just relax as there was no where I had to be. I left my lovely airbnb home around noon and started walking. I started at the Tower bridge and then just kept going wanting to see everything I could see. I was intentionally getting lost and I loved every minute of it. After walking around for about two hours, I decided I should have a destination so I walked to the London Eye and took a ride. London from up high was mesmerizing. While looking at London from the “eye” I realized I had walked around several attractions while walking around. Oh well I guess I will just have to decide what I want to see today, that I didn’t see yesterday. After riding on the London Eye I contemplated stopping…but I was so close to Big Ben, I decided I was not that tired and kept walking on my journey through London. Although, I did not take any professional tours yesterday I liked being able to go at my own pace, and see things I might not have seen otherwise.

After wandering around all afternoon I decided I was hungry and I walked into this pub looking for a beer and a plate of Fish and Chips. My waitress was very helpful, and picked out a local lager for me to try (which was very good). I contemplated going home and changing for the theatre show but decided to have another beer instead. Plus the people watching was incredibly enjoyable.

After Dinner, I headed to the Prince of Wales Theatre to see the Book of Mormon. On my way there I saw the biggest M&M store I had ever seen. It was called M&M world for a reason. Since My 2nd mom Paula loves M&M’s I knew I had to go in and see what it was all about. It was amazing they have every color and kind of M&M you could think of, I was in shock and pretty sure I had to pick my own jaw off the floor.

The Book of Mormon was hilarious and I am so glad I picked that as my show to see in London. I can definitely see why my Cousin Susan loved London Theatre so much. The cast was amazing and it was a wonderful way to end such a wonderful day. After the show I made it successfully back home and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, which is why I am posted my update today instead of yesterday. Since this is my last full day in London, I guess I better go off and explore. Talk to you all soon.

Before I get into the Amazing World of Harry Potter, I feel that I should inform all of you that Jet Lag is real and it is not my friend. I woke up at 5:00am this morning wide awake and ready to go. While this might be from excitement, I was definitely not a fan.

I started my morning with Turkish coffee (it was delicious) and a wonderful conversation with my airbnb host. She has so much knowledge and life experience to share that I am just soaking it all in.  Learning and growing from other people during this experience is one of the things I am looking forward to the most, and so far there have been so many experiences already that have just humbled me and taught me more about the world and myself.

Ok Now on to Harry Potter…..I have no words to describe how amazing the Warner Bros. Studio Tour The Making of Harry Potter was. I only spent 5 hours there (the record is 14 hours….it was made last Saturday) but I could have spent so much more. Although the delux tour I booked was more expensive it was definitely worth the extra money as I got to skip ahead of the line and fly on a broomstick, special access to the entire tour and didn’t have to wait in any other lines all day. The tour consisted of me and 10 other people and the tour guide was so knowledgeable and spectacular. I loved learning all the little behind the scene secrets that led to one of my favorites book/movie series. The minute I stepped into the Great Hall I teared up and seeing the life like model castle also brought tears to my eyes (hey what can I say I am an emotional person). I took up close pictures of the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets door (which is the closest I will ever be to snakes), and Fell in love with the books all over again. J.K Rowling says it best ” The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.” During our Lunch break on the tour I sat with this lovely family and found out some of the must see sight seeing things to check off my list. It was nice to connect with some new people and I might potentially see them when I head to Paris as we will be there at the same time.

I did not get lost today at all and navigated the tube, train and buses like a seasoned pro (well almost a pro). I thought about trying to explore more once I dropped off my luggage but I was tired (due to the 5 am wake up call) and a cup of tea and some warm clothes sounded like a better option (due to the cold and rainy weather in London). Sending Love to all of you back in the states, and I will update the blog again soon.

Hiya, from London. So after traveling 10 hours from Austin to Frankfurt, I arrived at the Frankfurt airport slightly tired from no sleep and anxious because I had missed my connection due to the delay in Austin. The easy part was getting my new ticket, the difficult part came when I went through security and my bag got flagged and they had to test it for explosives…apparently you are supposed to take out all electronics, including your tablet. Oh well lesson learned. Once I boarded my flight in Frankfurt it was only another hour until I reached Jolly Old London. Now many of you know I am directionally challenged and I was worried about getting lost…well I did not disappoint and got completely lost on my way to the airbnb. As in it took me like 3 hours to find it rather than an hour and a half. The good news is I figured out the Tube, and have started to figure out the bus system. Maybe getting lost on the first day means I wont get lost anywhere else? I doubt it lol. My airbnb host is absolutely wonderful and stuck with me as I walked past the street to turn on three different times, and then helped me feel settled by making me a cup of tea. I can’t wait to see what adventures and excitement tomorrow brings. Until then Cheerio!

I’m all packed and ready to head to the airport to start my amazing traveling adventures…now I just have to wait like 6 more hours. The first stop will be London, and I am so excited. The last month has flown by and I can’t believe my 6 week trip starts today. My plan is to update this blog as much as I can to keep you ( my friends and family) updated on my traveling tour of Europe. I am sure I will get lost and make several mistakes, but I am so excited to see what comes out of it. So ta-ta for now, and I will post again soon. Love you all!