The past week has been amazing, but a very different experience than usual. After my parents picked me up on Friday we headed immediately to the lake district. We had to traverse some incredible country roads to get there but after only a few minor near death/dismemberment incidents we all managed to make it to the beautiful Lake District in good health. Props to my dad for not only mastering driving on the other side of the road, but also mastering soothing my mom and my tense nerves for the journey.
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| Beautiful Lake District |
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| Some of the many sheep we saw on our journeys across England |
Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to York where we saw the beautiful York cathedral and walked the long Roman Wall guarding the city. After York we headed to Stratford home of William Shakespeare. This was one of my personal favorite stops. I have always loved the Bard so it was amazing to see his hometown. We went to Will’s grave and visited the Royal Shakespeare Company both of which were incredible.
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| Shakespeare's grave! |
After Stratford we headed down to the Cotswold city of Stow. Stow is an adorable little town that looked like something out of the 1600s. Unfortunately, it also functioned like something out of the 1600s and there was no wireless Internet access, which was a tough feat for my father and I on our 3-day stay there.
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| Roman Baths |
After sleeping in a little later on Sunday morning we headed to Stonehenge. Although we got a bit lost, we managed to make it to the countryside where the national monument is located. I never really knew what all the fuss was about Stonehenge, but after seeing it myself I have to say I was blown away. The entire thing is so massive, and its right in the middle of nowhere so its just incredible to marvel at those rocks and imagine how and why they were put there. I really enjoyed my visit and definitely have a bigger appreciation for Stonehenge’s importance. After Stonehenge we made a quick stop at the Salsibury cathedral then headed to Bath. Bath was a little more modern and large than I anticipated but we headed straight to the cathedral and Roman Baths, which were amazing. Both are super well preserved and the tour of the baths was incredibly educational and great.  |
| Adorable Bibury |
We spent all day Monday driving around the Cotswold’s various towns. Most of them were adorable and my mom certainly enjoyed many a freak-out admiring the various buildings and towns. My personal favorite was this adorable little weaver town called Bibury. It had a ton of quaint little cottages surrounded by a beautiful creeks and grassy fields. It was like a scene from Pride and Prejudice. Later that night we also managed to find the door in Stow that inspired Tolkien to create the door to the Mines of Moria. That was definitely a huge highlight for me.
Tuesday morning we made a quick stop at Windsor Castle before beginning our journey to London to catch our train to Paris. This was a journey made slightly more difficult by the fact that our GPS routed us through downtown London and thus my father, who had been driving in the UK for the grand total of a week, had to traverse the congested streets of London with ever-decreasing time to make our train. If I ever had any doubts about my dad’s driving abilities (which I didn’t) they would have all been laid to rest by watching him somehow maneuver a three-point turn in the middle of Piccadilly circus. Seriously ridiculous.
After barely making our train we wound up in Paris on Tuesday evening. I was never too sure what I would think of Paris but its safe to say that after a full ten minutes in the city I was in love. Someone once told me that London is a boy’s city and Paris is a girl’s city and I have to say I totally agree. Paris is just so pretty and there’s so many wonderful things to see. Its reputation as the most romantic city in the world is definitely justified.
Wednesday morning my mother and I woke up early and headed to the Louvre so I could see the famous pieces on display there. I’m hardly an art-buff, but I am definitely a history-buff and so I do know a bit about Da Vinci, Raphael, The Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, etc. And getting to see these amazing masterpieces was just incredible. Every piece I’ve seen in pictures absolutely lived up to its reputation including the Mona Lisa, that although smaller than I thought , was stunning.
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| Paris from the Eiffel Tower |
After the Louvre and another amazing French meal (I think I’m going to have a serious love-affair with French food from now on, every meal I ate was pretty much one of the best of my life) we headed up to Notre Dame. I loved seeing the cathedral and we got to climb all the way to the top and see amazing views of Paris which was great too. Thursday was our last day in Paris and we did it right, waking up early and climbing the Eiffel Tower (although mom did chicken out on this one due to her large fear of heights so dad and I traversed the monument together), and then heading to a rooftop restaurant to eat an amazing lunch in the shadow of the most beautiful city in the world. After lunch we walked around the city a bit, of course stopping to get ice cream at one of the many delicious cafe's. Later that night, I was able to meet up with Melanie and Alex and a few of my other USC friends for dinner and a fun night out.
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| Dad and I at the top of the Eiffel Tower |
Although its expensive going out in Paris is like no other city. As my friend Alex put it, "the river is the best bar in Paris" a fact I completely support after a wonderful evening drinking wine on the banks of the Seine. It was a wonderful last night to study abroad and I loved seeing everyone.
So now, after a long eight hour flight, I am home in Atlanta. I'll be here for nine days, and then I head back to LA for the summer. I cant believe this whole experience is over, and that I am now a Senior in college. Its a very bittersweet feeling because I am so sad that I don't know when I'll return to Europe or see all the amazing people I met again, but I feel so lucky that I had this experience. There is definitely nothing like going abroad and I would recommend it to all. I have had a great time keeping this blog, and thanks to all who kept up with it over the months.
Love you all and talk to you soon!
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