Bonjour Paris

                                                          View from Sacre Coeur

             

                                                  Us getting ready for our Christmas dinner at the Eiffel Tower

                                             Jumping in the streets at the Arc de Triomphe

                            Outside Moulin Rouge since you are not allowed taking photos inside

                                                                        self explanatory

                                    Krystal and Kristi on our 'after dinner' cruise Christmas day

                                                   Eiffel Tower all lite up and sparkling

                                                 The back of  the Notre Dame because it was prettier

                                                   Krystal outside of the Louvre

                                                   Krystal in front of the Sacre Coeur

                                         Krystal and our French treats from the pastry shop around the corner
What to say about Paris....its completely magical.  I could have spent all four days just sitting and staring at the Eiffel tower, after probably two hundred photos I still do not think I took enough.  We landed in Paris Christmas eve and met up with Kristi before heading to the apartment we had rented for the four days we would be there.  When we got to our place we needed food and since all the stores were closed by then we somehow ran into a market and were able to get all fresh produce from them to last us a lifetime for really cheap too.  Waking up on Christmas felt anything but Christmas-sy but it was our first real day in Paris so we hit the streets where things were more lively then I thought they'd be since Christmas day is their boxing day.  We walked to the Sacre coeur  and even went inside.  From there we tried walking to the Arc de Triomphe but found out it was way too far so ended up having to take a tram.  The trams are interesting since no one pays and they all jump the gate that is supposed to try and stop your from entering without a pass, we soon joined in this escapade.  The Arc was super busy so to try and get a good photo we took to the streets where we were nearly run over but no worries we survived and have the photos to prove it.  To celebrate Christmas we were able to do something very special thanks to some amazing parents we have.  We had Christmas dinner in the Eiffel Tower! then to top it off we went on a river cruise then to Moulin Rouge to end the night.  It was a Christmas I will never forget.  The rest of our stay in Paris was very casual, we spent the days walking around seeing the sights and experiencing Paris life which was a nice break from the fast paced travels we experienced in Ireland. It was so great being able to experience all these amazing things with my sister I only wish I had more time with her but I am thankful that we got any time at all and were able to do all that we have done.

Krystal and Whitney's adventures to Ireland

                                                         Krystal kissing the Blarney Stone

                                                        Whitney kissing the Blarney Stone

                                                    View from the top of the Blarney Castle

                                                                    The Blarney Castle

                                                                       The Cliffs of Moher

                                                The spectacular view of the Cliffs of Moher

                                             Whitney in front of the Cork County University gate

                                                                      The town of Cork

                                                       Inside the Jameson Whiskey distillery

                                                      Standing by the Atlantic Ocean in Galway

                                                           Sister shot by the Atlantic Ocean

                                        Croke Stadium in Dublin third largest stadium in Europe

                                   Krystal posing by the guinness pint in the guinness storehouse

                                                             Krystal pouring a perfect pint

                                                                   Our perfect pours

                                                   Whitney pouring a perfect pint of Guinness
We are back from our escapades to Ireland and Paris but I will have to write about them separately since there is so much to tell.  We flew into Cork on the 20th and decided to kick off the trip with a visit to the Blarney Castle.  The Castle was really cool, and we got to hang upside down and kiss the Blarney stone.  The town of Cork is situated around a canal so walking around town was very scenic with the water always around you.  We decided to only stay there one night though so that we could see more of Ireland but before leaving on the 21st we made a trip to a town near by to take a tour of the Whiskey distillery.  Our next stop was Galway which is on the Western side of Ireland right along the water.  We arrived late and left fairly early the next morning since our hostel was anything but inviting.  Before heading to Dublin, our final stop in Ireland, we took a bus out to the Cliffs of Moher which was in the running to be one of the wonders of the world.  We probably would have been eliminated from the amazing race at this point of our journey since we got off the bus at the wrong stop! We were far from the cliffs and soon to miss the only bus back into town so we hailed a cab and ran the cliffs in a panic in order to make it back on the right!  After having seen the beautiful Country side of Ireland we were regretful to be in Dublin.  The big cities are never as nice as the little towns so we found it hard to adjust to the dirty loud atmosphere of the city.  We  made the best of it though by visiting the Guinness storehouse and becoming certified Guinness bartenders.  On our last night in Ireland we spent it as true Irish people would, drinking beer and watching Irish dancing! It was so good, we could not believe how fast there feet were able to move! Next stop Paris!!

Krystal Arrives in London

Hey great news my sister is now here visiting me! I am super excited to be able to show her the ropes out here.  I met her at the airport on the 17th and we went straight into London where we stayed in a hostel, it was Krystals first time doing that.  I took her to Abbey Road where the Beatles famously crossed the street, Big Ben (Krystals favorite), the London eye, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Diana's memorial, Buckingham Palace, Oxford street, Tower Bridge, Camden Town, and even platform 9 and 3/4 from the Harry Potter film.  As her Christmas gift I had gotten us tickets to the Lion King Musical which was beyond amazing and a perfect way to end our stay in London.  From there we had some difficulty getting back to my town as we missed the train by a split second from buying the wrong tickets which caused us to have to take the next train after exchanging our tickets for the right ones. Then to our enjoyment the driver of that train didnt show so we had to change trains therefore delaying us even more so that we missed the last bus to my school so we eventually had to cave and take a taxi....  But we made it to Colchester! I will show her my town which is small but cozy and then we take off to Ireland on the 20th.

Canterbury

                        The Cathedral and below is some of the stain glass from inside

                                                              The remains of the Castle.

The University of Essex has been very nice to organize trips for us exchange students.  We had already been taken to Cambridge earlier this year and this weekend they decided to take us to Canterbury, my second choice of school had I not gotten into Essex.  The town is very historical and beautiful and the main attraction is the Cathedral which was the first built in England.  Kristi and I took a tour of the Cathedral as soon as we got there because we had heard so much about it and we were able to marvel at the amazing stain glass windows, probably the best I have ever seen.  Canterbury had been bombed in the war, not sure which one, but the stain glass was removed and protected under ground to keep it from being destroyed.  We somehow had chosen to visit Canterbury the day of their Christmas Parade which was fun to see but it being so busy and all made me appreciate my little town.  We later had to meet up for a walking tour with the group which was very informative about the King's School which is a boarding school in Canterbury where the famous Canterbury Choir is from.  We even got to hear the choir practicing when we were walking around the streets.  In our free time after the tour we walked over to see the castle which has not been preserved and is merely a square block of stone now.  The bus ride to Canterbury is only an hour and forty five minutes of so depending on traffic however on the way home there was an accident ahead of us and we were stuck dead for four hours, making the trip take six and a half hours to get home.

Hola from Spain

 Kristi, Nacho, and I on our road trip out of Madrid.  This was their ski hill so we stopped to take pictures.

 Kristi and I playing on the statues in the fountain at the royal gardens...don't worry the fountain was empty and the time. (The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso is an 18th century palace in the small town of La Granja de San Ildefonso in the hills near Segovia, 80 km north of Madrid, formerly the summer residence of the Kings of Spain since the reign of Philip V. The palace is surrounded by extensive gardens and sculptural fountains)

 In Segovia, my favorite part of the trip.

 The Cathedral in Segovia, I tried taking a picture inside but got in trouble.

 The geometrical center of Madrid, or maybe Spain, its the center of one of the two.

 Jumping outside the Egyptian monument.  Apparently the stone was brought from Egypt piece by piece and assembled in Madrid. This is also one of Madrid's most famous places to watch the sunset.

 Outside the Kings Palace, although no ones knows if he actually lives there or not.

 Monument to Alfonso XII in Retiro Park

The Monument from across the lake where people were renting row boats.

Spain was not what I had originally imagined.  I guess I pictured this architecturally fantastic oasis but Madrid being a bigger city, although beautiful, was just a big city.  However our couch host who was so very accommodating and kind hearted decided to take us to explore the country side and that is where I fell in love with Spain.  We spent the morning driving through the mountains, which reminded me a lot of home, to get to La Granja de San Ildefonso where we walked through the Palace Gardens and enjoined all the amazing fountains and ponds, and beautifully trimmed trees.  From there we continued heading North West to Segovia, my favorite town.  The main feature in Segovia is the aqueduct which you can see pretty much from any point.  The town was so quaint and beautiful and it overlooked the country side.  We spent the rest of the day walking around, exploring the Cathedral and Castle although we did not go into either of them.  That night once back in Madrid Nacho, our couch host, wanted us to experience the night life so we went out for a beer although had no energy to fully partake in the eccentric night life in Spain.  The following day we stayed in Madrid and went to the Sunday market.  This market probably spanned over ten or fifteen blocks with millions of people crammed in to take a look at the goods.  It was beyond huge!  After an eventful morning of shopping we had lunch in a tapas bar which was delicious and cultural.  We continued on to the Christmas market in Plaza mayor which wasnt far from the other market we had just been to.  After that Nachos had prior engagements so he left us to explore the rest of the area which housed the Opera, the Palacio Real, the Temple de Debod (Egyptian Monument), and the Cathedral de la Almudena where we attended Sunday night Mass.  We later attempted to find a Flominco bar but being a Sunday everything was closed.  This time we decided to fly out early Tuesday so that we would have one whole extra day however we learnt our lesson and will never be doing that again since Monday we were exhausted and did not see much and then we were required to sleep in the airport Monday night since our flight was at 6 in the morning Tuesday and no transit would be open before 6 in order to get us there in time.  Worst night of my life as we could not even go through security until four in the morning so we had to sleep near the check in counter on the cold hard linoleum....was an experience but we made it through and we had fun.  For the next couple of weeks I will be remaining in England, my next trip wont be until Krystal arrives and we begin our travels to Ireland and Paris for Christmas.  Can't wait!

Turkish Delight

 Jumping outside the Blue Mosque

 Getting ready to go inside the Blue Mosque, had to cover your hair, take your shoes off, and I was wearing leggings so I had to wear a skirt.

 Hagia Sophia, once a Mosque but has been turned into a Museum although many mosaics are still visible on the walls

 Blue Mosque from the window of Hagia Sophia

 The view of Istanbul from Topkapi Palace

 Lunch at a cute Turkish restaurant were I had gozelmeme, a crepe thing with either cheese, meat or spinach inside

 The spice bazaar, where we ate Turkish delights and bakliva.

 The Grand Bazaar, where I bought some pretty bowls.

 Me, Steph, and Stef, on the ferry over to the Asia side of Turkey.  Only three percent of Turkey is in Europe, the rest is a part of Asia.

The view of the Black Sea from Steph's campus.

I don't even know how to begin to explain my trip to Turkey.  It was as fun and jam packed as the city itself is full of people.  I left bright and early Friday morning with fourteen hours of traveling ahead of me.  I had a short layover in Paris which was only a tease since I have yet to visit Paris, but will be soon with Krystal at Christmas.  As something always goes wrong this time it was our landing into Istanbul.  We were already behind schedule and were ready to land, I could see the cars on the streets we were so low and suddenly the plane shoots back upwards into the air. The announcement to explain to everyone what had happened  was of course in French since we were coming in from Paris, but because they speak a different dialect I didn't understand and everyone began talking when they were announcing it in English.  After clinging to my seat until we properly landed I later found out we were too close to the plane ahead of us so we had to go back up to avoid crashing.  Good start to the weekend I must say.  Once I did finally land Steph was there waiting for me. We headed back to her place which she likes to call the bomb shelter since it is in a concrete wall with barb wire on the top, similar to a bomb shelter I suppose.  As Steph does not disappoint she had the weekend filled to the max with activities which began the moment I stepped off the plane.  That night we had ended up going to a Canadian bar to see if they could compare and we ended up walking into a Canadian bar confused with Mexico.  Although it had nothing to do with Canada it was something to remember.  The following day we spent power sight seeing, energizer bunny style.  We started at the Blue Mosque, then off to Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace.  We shopped a bit in the Grand Bazaar, and the Spice Bazaar, and then on our way home we walked across the Galata Bridge.  Sunday we ventured over to Asia by ferry, who would have thought I'd get to see two countries in one city. Although I was sad to leave it was probably good as I was spent for energy, I can definitely say that this trip was by far the most dynamic and eventful.  Istanbul is such an interesting city, so different from what we see on a daily basis, everything just seemed more unique and inspiring.  The Mosques, the food, the people, even the nightlife are above and beyond anything you've ever experienced but even out of all the amazing things I did and saw I have to say my favorite part of the whole trip was simply hearing the prayers being read throughout the city during prayer times.