Cheerio and Spit Spot!

The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” 

                                                                                             -J.M Barrie, Peter Pan

I spent last weekend in the land of the Beatles, Kate Middleton and Annie from the Parent Trap, so I basically felt like a celebrity the entire trip. London is the biggest city I've been to since studying abroad and I had a great time.

Kristin, Chelsea and I all flew in to London together on Thursday night. We were soaking in our free drinks and allowance of two carry-on bags we had on British Airways, since we've been flying discount airlines lately that charge you extra if you sneeze!

Mark and our best friend Lauren were waiting for us at the train station when we got in and it was a very happy reunion to say the least! Mark and I headed to his flat where I got to meet some of his roommates. One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was getting to see where Mark lives and meet all of his friends. That night we went to a 3-story pub with a live band playing some great Blink-182 hits. It was a great introduction to jolly old London.

We got up the next morning and headed to the main sight-seeing things. First we walked through Trafalgar Square, which Mark walks through everyday on his way to class! After that we saw Big Ben, House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. I just love seeing all of these iconic places that I've always heard about. And I was obviously loving standing outside Westminster just imagining how it looked when Pippa held Kate's dress on her wedding day. 

Having a blast at Trafalgar Square

Lauren and I climbing lions and stuff

Had to do it

Saying a quick hello to the Queen!

After all the walking and the seeing of sights we had to take a break and get some food. Obviously we went to a cute little pub and ordered fish & chips which were AMAZING. 

We spent the afternoon walking through Kensington Gardens. I really wish I could have been there when everything was in bloom because I imagine it would be beautiful. However, despite the weather we still had fun taking a stroll and saw some cool statues!

Peter Pan

The boy who would not grow up 

This bronze, a gift of Sir James Barrie OM 1860-1937,

the creator of Peter Pan, was placed here 

1st May 1912

The Peter Pan Statue was my favorite part of Kensington Gardens

Although we were frozen like popsicles after walking through the gardens we had to make one last stop that day - Abbey Road. My friend Kristin is the biggest Beatle's fan ever and if we didn't make it there I think she would've cried the whole way home. After walking in the wrong direction for a while (you'd think being in a country where everyone spoke English we'd be able to find our way around!) we made it to the famous Abbey Road crosswalk. 

Residents of this area HATE tourists, because traffic is always getting stopped for people to pose for pictures. I'm proud to say that we were one of those tourists. 

Got the picture!

Running after getting honked at

After stalling traffic Mark and I split up from the group to go get ready for our evening on the town. He bought us tickets to see Les Miserables in the West End! The West End is basically Europe's Broadway, and it's here where all the great theater happens. 

To talk about how amazing the show was would be an entirely different blog post. We loved every minute of it, and I obviously cried about 5 times, so that's good. Seeing the show might have been my favorite thing I did while I was there! 

The next morning we woke up and met up with the group at Tower Bridge. It looked so familiar, and I realized why once Lauren reminded me that it's the bridge the Olympic rings hung from this summer!

All the girls at Tower Bridge

We took a scenic walk down the bank of the river after that and stopped at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which was one of the things I was most excited to see while there! Mark and I took a tour of the inside which was really great.

This Globe is actually the third one. The original theater, which was built in Shakespeare's time, burned down during a performance when they tried using a cannon as a special effect. Not sure who's idea that was in an entirely wooden structure with a thatched roof. The second one was rebuilt a year later, but later destroyed by the Puritans who thought theater would lead to a life of corruption. The current Globe Theater is an exact replica and was built in 1997. It's made completely out of wood and was made entirely by hand, just as the original one. No modern tools or technology was used to build it!

View from the best seats in the theater! 

Outside the Globe

We continued walking after that and crossed Millennium Bridge, which is destroyed by the Death Eaters in the final Harry Potter movie, so that was cool. We made our way to St. Paul's cathedral where I attempted to feed the birds but it wasn't going too well.

We then persuaded the boys to let us make a little shopping stop at Harrod's. It was an enormous department store and I was completely overwhelmed the entire time. We saw clothing by Alexander McQueen and Oscar de la Renta, and held Louboutin shoes! It was unreal trying to fathom how much everything we were looking was worth! 

Then it was time to make a trip to Kings Cross station, because what trip to London would be complete without a little Harry Potter? We all took our picture at Platform 9 3/4 which was so fun :)

We didn't do much else that night because we had to wake up around 3 am to make to the airport for our 6:45 flight. Despite a few minor scares we all managed to make it there with time to spare! 

Being in London was so much fun and it's the first place I really felt like I needed more time. There is so much to just walk around and look at there and I was trying to soak it all in while attempting to walk quickly to the next warm location. I would definitely like to go back some day and see not only more of London but of England in general! 

A Very Memorable Weekend

The past few days have been full of excitement and I got to spend Valentine's weekend in Paris with my boyfriend - and that wasn't even the best part!

I have to start this blog post by sharing some amazing news! I got the best news EVER while in Paris when I got a call saying that my sister was going into labor and that by the end of the weekend I'd have a little niece! I anxiously waited for any news from home and finally while we were at dinner on Saturday night I got the call. 

Peyton Therese Nagel was born on February 16th, and was 4 lbs. 8 oz. She is beautiful and precious and perfect and I cannot wait to meet her in May! 

While all of these exciting things were happening in Illinois, I was walking down the Champs Élysées and taking pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower. Paris is that romantic fantasy-land that always looks beautiful and magical in movies and pictures. And it did not disappoint. 

My friend Maggie and I flew into Paris on Thursday night and met her friend Christina at the airport. We then took a taxi driven by the meanest French man in the world to our hotel. Welcome to Paris. 

Things got a lot better when we walked into the hotel lobby and Mark was waiting there with flowers for me, since it was Valentine's Day! We went out for a quick drink and snack that night but wanted to get an early start in the morning so got to sleep quickly. 

Full Disclosure: The only reason we got ANYWHERE around the city is because Mark is a navigator extraordinaire. 

We started Saturday by getting breakfast at Angelina, a famous tea room in Paris. We had delicious chocolatey breakfasts that tasted much more like dessert than anything else. The restaurant was elegant and was the perfect way to begin or adventures in France.

                         

                              

Then we walked to the Louvre. The museum itself is a piece of work, inside and out! The whole place is incredibly overwhelming, but thankfully Maggie did some research before we left. She had a list of 6 "must sees" at the Louvre and the history behind the artwork. This really trumped me, who would've just walked in to see the Mona Lisa and then leave.

The Mona Lisa

The Wedding Feast at Cana

Me and Maggie outside the Louvre

We saw some beautiful art there, and could've easily spent over 5 hours admiring all of it. But, we had other things on our list so it was time to move on. 

We headed towards the Champs Élysées next, which is a street famous for its shopping! Mark loved it when we wanted to stop in the Louis Vuitton store (this is what happens when I tell him I'll meet him in Paris and bring two other girls along with me). While we walked we stopped to get macaroons at a famous shop called Laduree. This was my first experience eating a macaroon so I don't have much to compare it to, but they were DELICIOUS. We tried lemon, raspberry and salted caramel. Tres Magnifique!

So excited to eat our macaroons!

We continued our walk then and made it to L'Arc De Triomphe! The arc stands in memory of those who fought in the French Revolutionary War. It took us a while to figure out how to actually reach it, because it stands in the middle of a roundabout with about 12 streets leading out of it. We finally found the stairs that take you underground and spit you out right at the arc!

After that we headed to the Moulin Rouge! Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I loved seeing the theater all lit up at night.

We headed back to our hotel to freshen up a bit before heading out to finally see the Eiffel Tower! Our first sighting was when it was all lit up at night, and it was even more beautiful than I thought it would be! We walked around and just stared at it for a while and then found a place to eat dinner with a view of the tower! 

It was such a fun first day! When we got back to the hotel we met my friends Chelsea and Shelby who were meeting up with us there!

Day two of Paris was just as much fun! We all headed out in search of a crepe place for breakfast, but got terribly lost and once we found the place it was closed. So we ate sandwiches instead and decided to go see the Eiffel Tower during the day! It was amazing how different it looked in the sunshine! 

After we took a ton of pictures and made poor Mark hold our coats while we took them, we went to see The Pantheon. This is a Greek-style building that King Louis XV had built in 1744 in honor of France's patron saint, Genevieve.

The Pantheon

 Next stop was Notre Dame. When I first saw it all I could think of were the gargoyles from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and wondered if they actually come to life at night and help the poor bell keeper. Probably not.

Mark and I waited in the chaotic and seriously long line to get into the cathedral, but we're so glad we did! The inside was absolutely beautiful. There was some sort of service happening while we were in there but it was all in French and we couldn't seem to figure out what it was. Either way, it was amazing to be inside of there. We tried to go to the top, but just as we got in line they cut the line off and told us it was closed for the day.  It was a bummer but we were still happy we got to see it.

Inside Notre Dame

We met up with the rest of the group at Sacré Coeur, or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It is located at the highest point in Paris, and we got there just in time to see the sunset over the entire city. I loved getting to see Paris from a completely different view!

After the sun set we quickly headed back to the metro and caught a boat tour on the Seine, which was so great! We saw some beautiful bridges, the Eiffel Tower twinkling and the original statue of liberty (which was small and dark but still so cool!). 

Me and Chelsea on the boat tour

We got a late dinner after the boat tour where I got the call saying I was an aunt!! I was an emotional basket case and couldn't have been happier! 

My weekend in Paris was absolutely amazing, and I would love to go back one day to see even more. Paris is such an iconic city and I am so glad I got to be there. 

Amsterdam

I just got back from a 3-day weekend in Amsterdam, and am still trying to figure out exactly how to describe the city.

Amsterdam is unlike any other place I've been, and certainly a stark contrast to Italy. The buildings were old and there was definitely an abundance of culture and history in Amsterdam, but we weren't walking among ruins like we do in the piazzas in Italy. 

After getting ove my confusion of realizing that Holland and The Netherlands are the same place, I was ready to see Amsterdam! The city was vibrant and lively and so much fun! This trip was especially fun because Kristin, Chelsea and I met up with our friends from school who are all studying abroad in Europe for the semester

When we arrived on Friday evening we made our way to the hostel (8 girls in one room with one bathroom, yikes!) and then immediately found food. We decided to explore the night life of Amsterdam together and found Club Nasty (not nearly as exciting as it sounds), casually walked into a club that charged €16 cover charge for free, and were persuaded to go into the "VIP"section by a man with a striking resemblance to Snoop Dog. All in all it was a pretty interesting night. 

The next day we got up early and were ready to do some sight seeing! First, we went to breakfast, where I basically ate as much food as I possibly could. I have no regrets about this breakfast.

After I stuffed my face, we headed to the Anne Frank House, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Amsterdam. The actual building that Anne Frank and her family hid in during the holocaust has been preserved and turned into a museum. Throughout the exhibit there were quotations from Anne's diary, as well as a number of artifacts that were actually used by the Frank family. Diagrams showed how 8 people hid in the small attic for over 2 years. 

"To build a future you have to know the past"

Otto Frank, 1967

As we walked up the stairs to the "secret annex" we saw the actual bookcase that was put in place to hide the entrance to the attic. Once we were up there, I had an overwhelming amount of emotions. I was standing in the room where "The Diary of Anne Frank" was written, and I saw markings on the wall of where Anne's mother had measured her and her sister's heights while they lived there. The entire experience was incredibly moving and I kept wishing I remembered more from when I read Anne Frank's Diary in fifth grade.

This was definitely my favorite tourist attraction in Amsterdam. Seeing video of interviews with Anne's father, Frank, and some of the people who helped hide them was so amazing. The whole museum was a great example of why history should be studied - so that we don't repeat ourselves.

After the museum we grabbed lunch and did some souvenir shopping. We spent a lot of time in a shop with Delftware pottery. Holland is famous for this hand-painted artwork, although the technique originated in China. 

On Saturday night we took a tour of the famous Red Light District. I was especially excited about this, mainly due to the fact that this are is the one aspect that separates The Netherlands from everywhere else in the world. 

Our tour guide explained the history of the area to us and brought us to some "famous" attractions there. I think the part that startled me the most was that half-naked women stand in windows and beckon to people walking down the street, trying to get them to come inside. But it wasn't just seeing this, it was seeing how normal it is there. Sex is not taboo or negative or look down upon, but rather something that is part of everyday life. 

Women are grouped in "categories," such as race, weight or even hair color. Our tour guide showed us the "elite" streets where apparently the best prostitutes work. None of us were exactly sure how this status is determined and we decided we didn't really want to know.

However, no matter where in the district they work, each woman there is a registered worker in the city of Amsterdam. Each "visit" costs the same amount no matter where in the district you work, and each woman has access to button that when pressed sends a signal to the closest police station in case of any trouble.

Before the tour I thought that all of the women in that industry chose to be there, but in reality, only 30% of Red Light District workers are there of their own free will. 

The city of Amsterdam is attempting to "clean up" their image, and within the next 10 years the Red Light District will be reduced to only one strip, as opposed to the multiple streets it currently occupies. 

The next day we walked around the city and made it to the famous I amsterdam sign. Well, one of them. Apparently there are four throughout the city! Being the typical sorority girls that we are we took over the sign and had our own little photo shoot right there. 

After we'd had our fill with the pictures, we decided to take a canal tour! The city of Amsterdam is made up of about 90 different islands connected by over 160 canals. 

fun fact: There are more canals in Amsterdam than in Venice!

I loved the canal tour because we got to see the city from a completely different point of view. We drove past the oldest house in Amsterdam, a community of house boats and the only cat shelter in the city (which also happens to be on a boat)!

A House Boat

Now, of course, my description of Amsterdam just wouldn't be complete without the ever-present aroma of Marijuana that drifted out from the . The fact that you can just purchase drugs and use them right in public still completely baffles me, but this it just another aspect that sets The Netherlands apart from everyone else! 

The Bulldog, one of the oldest chains of coffee shops in Amsterdam!

Thanks to Jessie, our wonderful host for the weekend!

Amsterdam is such a unique and diverse city and I am so glad that I had the chance to visit there with some of my best friends! 

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Yesterday marked exactly one month since I've come to Italy! 

I've been in Italy for a whole month already. 

I only left home a month ago. 

I'm already 1/4 done with my program. 

I can't explain how, but all of these sum up how I feel about the way that time is passing. I'm trying hard to absorb everything that I see and do so that I dont' forget one minut of these four months!

On Saturday a few of my friends and I took a day trip to Pisa! We figured we had to see the leaning tower of Pisa while in Italy. However, up until now (thanks to my Disney-driven childhood), this was the image I've had in my mind every time I think of the tower:

Boy was I glad when it wasn't made of cheese!

Pisa

To get to Pisa we decided to take a train that left at 6:15 Saturday morning. This sounded a lot better when we were buying our tickets than it did when I was walking to the train station at 5:30. But, nevertheless, we made it onto the train despite the torrential downpour around us.

Now just to be clear, when I say "we took a train to Pisa" I really mean that we took about 4 trains to Pisa. A fast train would be a direct shot but also at least € 20 more, so we usually opt for the route with multiple connections in different cities. Sometimes this means your train gets in late and you sit in a train station in a random Italian town for 2 hours, but at least we're saving money!

Study abroad is like some sort of game - see who can travel to the most places while spending as little money as possible.

But, no matter how long it took, we finally made it to Pisa! The first thing we noticed as we walked through the city was the beautiful orange trees everywhere. Between those and the palm trees, we could definitely tell we weren't in Verona anymore.

When we finally got to The Field of Miracles where the tower sits next to a beautiful cathedral, it was amazing. This is one of the most iconic images of Italy that I've seen pictures of my entire of life and there I was-standing in front of it!

The tower itself is about 180 feet tall (8 stories) and leans at a 4 degree angle. When it was first constructed in 1173, the builder stepped back after finishing the base and noticed it was a little crooked. This was due to the sand on which the structure is built.

Due to battles between other Italian cities at this time, construction on the tower was sporadic and took over 300 years to be completed! Obviously they never "removed" the lean. In 1990 the tower was shut down completely for over 2 years for restorations. It is not open to the public and you can even walk to the top! (although Rick Steves advises not to do that when it's raining as the stone steps get slippery, so we listened to him)

Had to take at least one picture leaning against the leaning tower!

The back of the Tower

The Field of Miracles

                            Me & Maggie                                         Chi Os in Pisa!

After taking about a gazillion pictures in front of the tower, we walked around and enjoyed Pisa for a while.

Pisa was beautiful and I'm so glad I got to see it!

Yesterday our friend Jessie came to visit! She's studying in Amsterdam and is spending a week in Italy. It's been a blast being able to show her around the city!