Where the heck are the trashcans?????

So it's a mundane Monday. We have a lot of class today, and then to top it all off, a test tomorrow. Luckily this material is something I've really already covered, and I'm sure that out of the 100 questions, some will answer themselves upon comparison. After class I headed back to our dorm area, Moor Close to study. It was a beautiful day and as has been my custom, I've always grabbed a couple apples from the cafeteria to snack on throughout the day. However with this snacking comes a need to throw them away once complete and thus brings up my question...where are the trashcans? I mean seriously the nearest trashcans are located in the bathrooms, not even one in a public area....Yes I know it's a rant, but still...anyways I was up pretty late, till like 2am before I decided to catch some shut eye. Till Tomorrow!

Down a Lazy River

So today was...lets just say unique. It was not...as thrilling as other days were. In fact, I wish I had not gone. We went to Wales and rather than...really doing much of anything, we simply went down a nasty, muddy, bug infested river...to say I was bored is a supreme understatement. It was miserable and I'm glad that it's over. The bus ride also was long, 3 hours each way!!! Next time I hope that our time is not as wasted.

A Perfect Day, Meeting Old-Yet New Friends

So today was just about awesome. It was a nice day when I woke up and eating breakfast I was not disappointed. Despite the fact that I've heard England is famous for rain, I'd not seen any yet and it was a great day to meet with a couple friends who were coming down to visit. They arrived around one in the afternoon - Rus, Peter, and Janet. After hugs and a bit of a talk we proceeded down the way to a nice Pub. We sat and talked away the afternoon, simply enjoying each others company. It was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The evening passed by fast and before I knew it they had to leave. While that was sad, I do look forward to future meetings. Afterward the evening passed fast as I began to anticipate a trip to Wales on Sunday.

The Louvre and Saint Chapelle, then off to London!

So today was the day we would get to see the Louvre. I was looking forward to that as I wanted to see the Mona Lisa. We got there and checked in around 10am and were told to meet up around noon to head to lunch. Well lets just say the Louvre is enormous. You can not keep up with it all. I went to the Mona Lisa first and then proceeded to walk around looking at the different era's of original art they had inside. While it was cool to see all of it preserved, I must admit that I did get a tad bit bored - I guess I am not much of an artist. We headed to lunch and afterward though the original group plan was the Arch de Triumph - which I had seen already and was going to skip - we instead had free time due to a couple members of our group being late to meet back at the Louvre and therefore canceling the Arch de Triumph plans for others. I was happy I had gone to see it earlier and felt sorry for those who had not.

I hopped on the metro and headed to Saint Chapelle though my battery died, due to forgetting to charge it after yesterday's events, I was awestruck by the Church itself. While Notre Dame may be more famous, this church outshines it with the intricacy of its glass work. At least...in my opinion it does. Nevertheless, I was happy to have seen both, stopping at a couple shops on the way back to grab souvenirs from Paris.

We all loaded the bus and headed for Gare du Nord, the train station we would depart from to head to England. It was a nice train ride and a surreal experience upon arriving in London to see cars driving on the WRONG side of the road. Several revelations occurred for me at that time. First of all when our bus was traveling in the far right lane, it was not the 'fast lane' instead it was the 'slow lane.' Secondly I wonder...do they call it the left of way for faster cars? As we call it the right of way in the US. Thirdly why on earth would they drive this way...I mean most of the world drives the other way. Anyways we arrived on the campus which was small and headed to our rooms which I must say are more than a bit crowded - we have 6-9 to a room - before checking the internet and going to sleep.

Versailles, the Bastille, and the Eiffel Tower!

So today was the best day of my trip, I was going to Versailles! This has been my dream since just about...forever! The morning started relatively early as I headed downstairs to grab breakfast. A group of around 10 of us set out with 8 planning to only see the garden. That left myself and one other to go inside and see the entirety that Versailles had to offer. Words can not describe what it was like, it was simply awe inspiring, to think that someone made something of this magnitude. I do not know if any man-made structure can exceed it. In fact thus far I've not seen one that can. From the Palace itself to the Gardens to the numerous areas that surrounded it, I can easily see why the French revolution occurred. After spending several hours there, we left around 130 to head to lunch afterward going to see the Bastille monument. I guess in a way we were tracing the events of the french revolution around. It was cool to see and after being unable to head inside Saint Chapelle, we headed back to the hotel to await the time when we would go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Luckily this monument had an elevator, so it was easy to get to the top and see things. The view of the city was gorgeous, yet still cold. Luckily I was wearing several layers. After the sun went down the tower lit up and you could see the rest of the city light up as well. It was very pretty, you have to be there to see just how pretty it is. A long day it was and I quickly fell asleep upon getting back. I'd have to say that this was my best day.

Arriving in Paris, a Tomb, and the Arch de Triumph!

So, today was a pretty exciting day. We finally left the Collonges area to head for Paris. I've been looking forward to this trip for awhile and despite the early morning start we had to have, it was still going to be a blast! We almost missed our train on the way there due to several late individuals, but luckily we did not, though it was close, very close. It took a couple hours to get there and once we did, we headed to our hostel, dropped off our stuff, and then went to eat at a buffet. The buffet was pretty filling and afterward we left to head to Notre Dame - a couple of us made a side visit to the Catacombs under it. All in all Notre Dame was pretty cool and we were now able to check into our hostel, so we headed back. I was lucky enough to get my own room, even if it was on the 6th floor...and began to head up the long staircase. To say my room was nice would be a lie....it was kinda...grungy. I'd have to say this is one of the worst hostel's I've ever stayed in. It really encouraged me NOT to stay around in my room.

So after checking in a group of us headed off to explore the city. We rode the subway and got off near Napoleon's Tomb. Basically it's held inside a church with a golden dome. Afterward he headed off to the Arch de Triumph. I was really looking forward to this part and several of us purchased tickets to climb to the top. Thanks to a discount for students it was around 5 euro. There was no elevator to get to the top so we had to climb, one stair at a time... That was a long climb up. The view was nice and you could see a good amount of the city. We headed down Champs-Élysées to see the sights and stuff. It was cool to be on that street, grabbed some food, and then headed back to the hostel for sleep. Tomorrow I go to Versailles and I am really looking forward to that!!

Rain...Rain

Another slow day today. The rain was coming down, a downpour at times. I just decided to take the day to do laundry and pack. Tomorrow will be exciting, we leave for Paris! I cannot wait! Another leg to the journey.