Bonjour. J'Adore Paris.

Wednesday, September 29th we had our first dreaded British Studies exam which consisted of three essay questions. We bolted out of there at 4pm and had a cab waiting for us to depart to London Luton airport. We were in a slight crunch for time, as our flight was leaving at 7pm and it takes about 2 hours to get to the airport. Prayers were answered and we arrived with time to spare for a yummy Krispy Kreme doughnut!! Our direct flight from London to Paris didn't take long at all and we arrived into the City of Love that evening. Our first feat was finding the apartment we would be living in for the next three nights. As this particular week we were going was fashion week, finding a hotel room proved to be challenging. Our wonderful travel agent, Kelley Hartley, found us an Eiffel Hideaway apartment that was perfect! Having the apartment made our experience so much more enjoyable. We were living as the Parisians were!

We took a bus and the metro to finally find our quaint, tiny, apartment complete adorable window boxes and art throughout. That evening we stayed in playing some scrabble and listening to classical music. It was quite hilarious -- I felt so old!

The next day we woke up and got brunch at the cafe across the street from our apartment. I got a yummy baquet sandwich and chocolate croissant! We began strong by making our way to Notre Dame, the famous cathedral.

It's beautiful inside and out. We used Rick Steve's self guided tour and also joined a group to learn about the architecture and history of the cathedral.

We continued on Rick Steve's awesome tour making our way through a park for a little play time --and on to a memorial to the 200,000 French that died in World War II. Next on the agenda was the magnificent Saint Chapelle. This is a gothic chapel with the prettiest stained glass I have ever seen. It was beautiful.
Next we made our way to the Louvre which I never realized so so huge -- it's enormous. We visited the pyramid which was really cool to see as well as the famous Mona Lisa. Everyone has to see the Mona Lisa -- They say it takes about 6 hours if you really want to see all of the Louvre. We made a B line for Mona and called it a day; taking in the gorgeous art along the way of course.

Leaving the Louvre I found it necessary that we make a pit stop for some crepes. I had never even had a real crepe, I was waiting for Paris. I was so happy to find a yummy crepe stand and ordered a nutella and banana crepe. Here's the man making mine- It was soooo delicious, and such a mess!!

From the crepe man we made our way to the Champs Elysees, the famous shopping street which ends at the Arc de Triomphe. It's a humongous arch way and we climbed up the 284 steps to the very top for a fantastic view of Paris. We got to hold the Eiffel Tower in our hand. Shelby's mouth was as big as the Eiffel tower. hahaha.

It was a big day, so what better way to end the night than going to see the Eiffel Tower up close at night time when it's all lit up!

When we turned the corner after getting off the metro, there it was! It was no disappointment. For some reason, I was not expecting to be very impressed - but I was! While we were standing there beneath the Eiffel Tower, on the side where no other tourists were we ran into a group of 4 other Harlaxton students that we didn't even know were traveling to Paris as well. It's such a small world - and it continues to get smaller as I explore it. Every night, on every hour the Eiffel tower literally SPARKLES! It was so gorgeous.

We left the Eiffel tower and made our way back to our apartment with a pitstop at the local market where we got all the fixins' to make a gourmet spaghetti dinner- complete with french bread and cheese!

The next day we planned to visit Versailles -- pronounced Ver-SIGH! Not like the Kentucky pronunciation. :) We took the train and made our way to The Palace of Versailles where King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette lived. The best part was Marie Antoinette's cottages and gardens in the very back part.

After our long day in Versailles, we took the train back to our apartment to get our rain gear and head out to the Eiffel tower in order to go up in it! It wasn't the best night as it was super windy and rainy but nonetheless it was really cool. The elevators went up the tower at a slant and we made our way up in several different elevators to the very top. Someone even got engaged while we were up there! So romantic.

Next on our to do list was Moulin Rouge -- we needed to see it and take some pictures! It's just one of those photo ops you can't pass up. Back to the metro we went to go to the Montmarte area where the beautiful basilica, Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur is at the very top of a hill and you have to take a tram up. When we go to the top it was 9pm but there was a service going on. We went in and listened for a little while -- very interesting having it all in french!

Saturday morning we packed up and headed to a large market before making our way to the airport to say Au Revoir to Paris!

It was a wonderful trip -- having the apartment made a big difference and I loved every minute of it. It's possible that I left some things out since I'm doing this so late. My goal this week is to get caught up.

Ta ta for now.

*Kitty Kait-Oprah*

*Yes, there is a story behind these nicknames. First there's Kitty Kait; I have been forced to begin to answer to this name. Miss Shelby Rader has decided that this is the perfect nickname for me. I don't really understand it but everyone, well Shelby at least, seems to find it hilarious. As far as Oprah goes, Shelby and I compare our friendship to that of Oprah and her friend Gayle. I, of course, am the sensible Oprah while she is the wild Gayle. Together = a good time!*

Birthday Bash Week!

After our weekend in York it was my birthday week! Turning the big 1-9! haha. The week started with the usual class on Monday, a wonderful day of no classes on Tuesday. Tuesday evening our meet-a-family picked us up for dinner and we met them for the first time. Our parents names are Vincent and Penny and they are an older couple but have children ranging from 25 to 30. Vincent is a retired CPA and Penny just seems to do a lot of things including volunteering at the Red Cross. They drove us to their farm in Grantham and they have a lovely farm house that is hundreds of years old. We still haven't gotten to see the whole thing -- hopefully we will get a tour soon! They are really nice and it's great to be able to get away for dinner every once in a while. That night she made us chicken stuffed with cheese and sun dried tomatoes! It was delicious. It is very interesting to be around English people and learn their customs- we don't get to experience that here at Harlaxton with a school full of Americans. Back to class on Wednesday and then I went on a trip to Tattershall Castle. The brick castle is not very far away and was an optional/free trip with the school. Wonder how many castles and cathedrals I can possibly see during one semester?!

That evening was Harlaxton's Jersey Shore Party downstairs in The Bistro. Everyone dressed up like they were from the show and we had a dance. It was pretty fun. The best part was just getting ready. We put huge poofs in our hair and put bronzer on so we'd look orange, and then put on some not so tasteful clothing. Here is a pic with me and my new WKU friend, Jessie!

The next day, Thursday, September 23rd, was my birthday!!! I was so excited to open all my cards from people and just have a great day regardless of the one class I had. I ordered myself cupcakes from Grantham, I know - kind of pathetic, but I treated myself. They came that afternoon and were so cute. Carrot cake and Banana Cake with chocolate icing. That evening me and 9 friends walked down our mile long driveway to The Gregory, a semi-fancy restaurant that was delicious. Thursday nights are steak nights so it was perfect! 2 people get 2 steaks, fries, and a bottle of wine for 25 pounds! Good deal, right?! We all had an awesome time together. It was a night filled with great friends, good food, and lots of laughter! We came back to the castle and had cupcakes in the room and the traditional game of hot-and-cold for me to find my presents. This tradition started in London when I decided it would be fun to hide Stephanie's present. The game has progressed and this time I had to find 4 different spots where gifts were hidden. They thought they would be clever and hide my earrings under the beer hat that Shelby was wearing -- that was the first place I looked. Here's a picture of Shelby for you mom! It was a really fun birthday!

It was complete with cards from all of my friends and family, thank you!!

The next day, Friday, we had class and the rest of the weekend we stayed at Harlaxton and enjoyed some sleep!! We also went out in Grantham one night and had a lot of fun dancing! They played really good music. So that was our exciting week in Harlaxton.

The weeks are going by surprisingly fast. Today, 10/10/2010 is exactly two months from when I will be waking up in my very own bed.

My blog about Paris is coming up next. Thanks for being patient with me. These blogs take me forever!

Love and miss you all!

Cheers!

Purple: The color of Royalty, purple rain and purple chocolate. What more could you ask for?!

(September 17-19, 2010)

Our next stop along the journey is the English town of York. We arrived in York on Friday evening with reservations at a bed and breakfast, Heidi's Bed and Breakfast to be specific. We take a taxi there and it is the cutest room ever -- it's purple!! Which is so fitting due to the title and I didn't even realize that until writing this...but it was adorable. That evening we decided we were going to do a Ghost tour in town after getting some dinner at The Punch Bowl, a pub restaurant that our cab driver recommended for cheap and cheerful eating! Our ghost tour started at Kings Arms Pub where our tour guide introduced himself to the large group. He was quite a character. We basically had a walking tour of the cute and quaint town of York with some added ghost stories here and there. One thing we distinctly remember is him making the loudest knocking noise ever by knocking on his head! It was disturbing. Must not have been much inside---sounded hollow! We were so glad we went on this tour because the next day we knew exactly where we were going. Everything in York was in walking distance and it was one of the cutest towns ever. Saturday morning started with a delicious traditional English breakfast made by Heidi, our York Mom, complete with her to-die-for homemade blackberry jam! After that we ventured into town, over the River Ouse (pronounced ooze), passing by Hartley's deli and rounding our way up to the spectacular York Cathedral. We were really able to appreciate the details of the cathedral after taking British studies, yes, I just admitted that. Next we walked down The Shambles. This is the most colorful and old street in the town and was once the 'street of the butchers'. Now it is the cutest street ever lined with shops, chocolate stores, and restaurants. On this particular weekend, because we have such wonderful luck, it was the Food Festival! We walked around from booth to booth sampling free items and buying a few things along the way. I got a spicy chicken wrap, Shelby got a giant hamburger, and Stephanie got a hot dog! We finished the day off with some shopping..where I probably spent a little more money than I should have buying a winter coat, but hey, I will need it! It's very European...you will inevitably see pictures down the road when it gets colder. We finished the day off by hopping on a train from the cute town of York, to Birmingham.

Our only plans for Birmingham were to go to Cadbury World, the famous world of delicious chocolate. We arrived Saturday night at our next Bed and Breakfast where our new Mom, Marlene, took great care of us! We have met some great locals by staying at Bed and Breakfasts...it's really the way to go! Sunday we started with yet another yummy English breakfast and headed out to catch a bus to Bourneville, home of Cadbury World. Before entering into the world of chocolate, Stephanie and Shelby were unaware of my true love for it! I was so excited. We finally get there for our tour, that they suggest will take a couple of hours, but we spend the entire day there! They started by giving us a candy bar and a bag of chocolate buttons. Those don't last long...afterall, you have to get in the chocolate spirit.

We learned the origins of the cocoa beans, how the first chocolate was made, and what makes Cadbury's dairy milk chocolate so delactable-- 1 and 1/2 cups of fresh dairy milk! Or as Shelby put it, basically the first Cadbury chocolate was made with backwash- cause they showed the video of two men having a glass of milk, and one drinks half before pouring it into the chocolate...and therefore, 1 and 1/2. We saw the conveyor belts where the chocolate was packaged, enjoyed a Cadabara ride, and even wrote our names in chocolate, after receiving another chocolate bar of course! We finished our tour inside and made our way into Cadbury's largest chocolate store! We all bought so much chocolate!

Next we went out to the Spots vs. Stripes game area where they were promoting since they are the sponsor of treats for the London Olympics. We played a couple rounds of shoe golf, which I won..and we all won another chocolate bar! Yes! Next we did a tour of what is called, Essence, another part of Cadbury world, where were were able to 'create our own treat'. We could choose anything behind the counter including popcorn, gummies, krispies, marshmellows, and what I chose, biscuits (aka..English cookies) to mix into our delicious, creamy, melted, warm chocolate that they poured into a cup and we literally ate with a spoon. It was the best thing ever! I was licking up every bit. My two friends on the other hand, couldn't handle the sugar! haha. Overall we had a great day at Cadbury World complete with loads of chocolate to show for it! We made our way back to Grantham for another week at Harlaxton that night. Another fantastic weekend under our belts.

At this time I would like to make a special shout our to some of my awesome followers, the Moms of the Three Amigos -- Sus, Robin and Nancy! We love and miss you all :)

More to come!