Europe: France Pictures

notre dame

notre dame window

mass at notre dame

notre dame inside

the padlock bridge- you write your name/initials on a padlock, lock it on the bridge, and throw the key in the river.

the louvre

mona lisa!

the arc du triumph

a view from the eiffel tower

our nice suited-up friends... not.

the eiffel tower

us with the eiffel tower

the eiffel tower

the sacre cour

getting our charcoal drawing done!

mont saint michel

the view from mont saint michel

~Ashley

Europe: Paris: Days 6-7

Bonsoir!

That means good evening.

(pictures still have ** at the end :D)

Well, Paris is FANTASTIQUE!!! Yesterday, we got croissants from a nearby bakery. The man refused to speak to us in English, although we could tell he understood what we were saying. I think they think that they're too good for our language. Pfttt.

So we got up and went to Notre Dame. ** Since it was Sunday, they were having mass and we sat for a few minutes for it- but since it was in another language with no translation, we left soon…

We took some pictures around the cathedral as well. 

Then we left and walked a long way to the Louvre! We waited in an enormous line for about and hour, then waited for my dad for another while to get tickets. We saw a bunch of statues that weren't…. greatly…. modest….. :D

We saw a bunch of random other things as well… but then!!!!!!

The MONA LISA!!!! And you could take pictures with it! **

We left soon after… ish… but yeah.

Then we walked along the river Seine and bought some prints for super cheap of some beautiful Paris paintings. And keychains. Yeah. 

We tried to catch a few subways, but they were closed down for a very cool (and dangerous) (and scary) reason- there was a protest happening in Paris today! It was against the recent law that legalized gay marriage and boy it was LOUD!!! We could hear the speaker from about 10 blocks away ALL OVER the city. We went and saw the crowds, but all the bridges over were closed off by patrolling policemen in full defense gear :) **

Then we walked down some streets for a long time and found a nice café. We got Nutella crepes and tea (of course, I didn't drink that disgusting dried herb brew, I got hot chocolate). 

Then we walked and saw the Arc du Triumph! Very neat. **

That's pretty much all for Sunday.

Today- first thing, we saw the Eiffel Tower! ** We were in line for a total of one hour and 23 minutes… But then we hopped on the elevator crammed with smelly people and rode up to the second floor, which is the second little tier in the pictures. 

When we got to the top, it was a fantastique view!!!!!! SO PRETTY!!! **

We also went down on the green beside it and ate lunch and took pictures. **

We rode the subway to the Sacrè Coure or however you say that, which is a tiny little town with an enormous Buddist-temple-looking Catholic cathedral… ** It had a great view as well. **

Then we went back down and got our charcoal picture drawn! 

That pretty much explains it as well. 

Au revoir!

~Ashley

Picture time :)

Notre Dame

Um... I hope you don't need a caption for this one.

The Arc du Triumph!

Think I could ask for a picture with them? Nah.

my hero!

my hero!

the view from my hero!

us in front of my hero!

the view from the Sacre Coure or whatever.... :D

the Sacre Coure catholic cathedral.

~Ashley

Europe: London/Bath/Oxford: Days 3-5

'ello Mates!

(All my pictures are at the end again- the events have **) 

Sorry about the delays- I've not been allotted any of the 30 free minutes, and on the night with free internet, I was too tired to write.

So anyway, Tuesday! We went on the London Eye first thing in the morning- beautiful views. A half hour of picture taking :) **

Then we went…. to Kings Cross Station! We found the monument for Platform 9 3/4 and took pictures :) **

Then we exited the tube and went to the British Library. Too boring to give a picture.

Yeah.

So then we went to the Royal Opera House, where the Royal Ballet performs, and took a picture with the ballerina statue :) ** 

Then we went to High Tea at the Lounge- sandwiches, scones, and desserts :) 

The British Museum was…. boring…. I'm also not a museum person, at all. We went to Harrods (HUGE department store, the size of Park City but ONE store, for all you Lancastrians) and shopped as well.

That was really all we did that day. So then- Wednesday.

We left right away from the hotel and went to get a car from the airport. Then we drove (I slept in the car :D) the two-ish hours to Windsor. The town was quite beautiful and quaint- we had British pizza, which is not quite as, uh, delicious… as American pizza we found… and Tango, which is the British version of Fanta- except they had green apple! So good!

Then we went and toured Windsor Castle. **

We left and drove to……. Highclere Castle, where they filmed DOWNTON ABBEY!!! We trespassed to get a picture and I popped on the zoom lens :D **

We drove many more hours to Stonehenge and found a fence around it and you had to pay 20 pounds- which is 30 dollars- to get in twenty feet closer… so we stood outside the fence and snapped some pictures. We were there for a total of about three minutes. No kidding. **

Then we drove the rest of the way to Bath, had dinner, and went to the hotel.

Next day! Thursday.

We toured the Roman Baths, went shopping, and saw Bath Abbey.

We had "cream tea" in which I had a 

" chocolate milkshake", which consisted of chocolate milk with a little dollop of ice cream floating in it! Not what a milkshake is in America, I ASSURE you. 

Very nice town. 

We drove to Oxford and found our hotel, then drove into Abingdon for a nice… dinner. I was sick and therefore did not eat much :( It was delicious and I wish I could have, though!

The next day, Friday, we went to Mcdonalds for breakfast- porridge is oatmeal as we found! Then we drove into Oxford and spent the entire wet, rainy, FREEZING day touring the town. Not very nice AT ALL. Terrible. But we had a marvelous three course dinner at a pub- we loitered there for three whole hours!

Then we went back to the hotel and attempted to find a good British show- but ended up watching 5 USA. We're not original at all.

Saturday, we woke up and had croissants and muffins from Tesco, the British supermarket, and then flew from Heathrow Airport to Paris, France. Our time in England is over, but we are coming to something MUCH better. Maybe.

Yeah. So when we got there, we took the subway (tube no longer) to our hotel and checked in. It looked very scary in the hallway, but the room is nicer than the other ones!

Oh, and did I mention? We have FREE WIFI now!!!! Hurrah! Yeah.

Cheers! (or should I say au revoir? or however you spell that…)

~Ashley

Pictures are here!!! :D

T-Minus 2 Days

And there you have it. T-minus 2 days until we depart on the adventure of our LIVES!
 Bath.

 London.

 Oxford.

 Versailles.

 Normandy.

 Orleans.

Who's excited to hear all about the updates probably every night? That's right, folks, I'll be posting probably every night! Keep posted, or even subscribe **hint hint**

~Ashley