Adventures in London!

Alright, it's time to tell you a little about London! London was so fun -- it was everything I expected, had like a movie-theme to it. I felt like I was in a movie! There were so many times that I walked across the bridge towards Big Ben and I just said, "Am I really here?!?" Our time was somewhat short in London, but we were able to get everything done and see a great deal!



The first day in London we just walked around and kind of explored. We came across many of the main attractions like Big Ben, the London Eye, Trafalgar's Square, Piccadilly's Circus, and some stores. We just walked around and explored this day and we did a lot of walking! London is kind of spread out, so there is a great deal of walking done.



I was soo excited for fish n' chips in London -- Owen talked them up a great deal. Consequently, our first day out in London was a Friday. Soo, I thought what better time to get fish n' chips than a Firday during Lent in London! We looked and looked for this meal. We came across one and decided to eat there. I was pretty impressed with it... at first. Then I saw they keep the scales on them under the breading --- ewwwww! I still ate them though because it's fish n' chips from London! We left and started exploring again and I felt sick - sooo sick. We ended up heading back to the apartment and ending our first day in London pretty early because of the much anticipated fish n' chips! However, we were able to get some much needed rest.



We decided to take a bus tour the next day. This was pretty interesting. We were able to go all over London in an open-top tour bus. Not going to lie, I always saw them on movies and wanted to do it. haha I was really excited, it was windy and cold up there, but I made Owen sit up there! Our tour guides were really interesting and very humorous. They showed us the major sites of London while informing us and making us laugh at the same time. A good thing about the tour was that you could get off and certain stops and catch a bus back whenever you wanted -- the buses stopped every 15 minutes. This was a really good way to see London; we were able to get acquainted with the city and learn how to get around. We stopped and walked around such things as Buckingham Palace, St. Jame's Park, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and many others! Don't worry - I have TONS of pictures:) There were soo many people by Buckingham Palace it was crazy! However, the Queen was not in residence; the flag that represents her absence was flying. On the other hand, we were informed the Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and some others were currently staying in a hotel that we passed. I was pretty excited and thought every limo was one of theirs. haha We saw some night life in London that night -- pretty expensive!!



Oh, I also had fish and chips that day -- got sick again! It was a deal with our bus tour at Sherlock Holme's Pub. It was a neat little pub, but didn't go over well with me. I didn't get as sick, but a little bit. haha I realized that London's fish n' chips didn't go over well for me. Some good news though, Owen's family bought me some from their favorite place to eat and that worked out much better! Must be the downfall of London! haha

Our ticket was still good until noon the next day because it's vaild for 24 hours. We decided to do the Changing of the Guard tour. This was a walking tour and again, the tour guide was so nice and so funny. He took us to the spot where the guard change begins -- which is at the old residence of Princess Diana and her family. We saw the guards march out, get inspected and the band march out. Once they were ready to take off, we walked along with them but at a little faster pace to get to the spot where they came to. We were able to see them again, but it was hard to see them actually change positions because there were SOOOO many people there. I think all of London was there to see the changing of the guard. However, our tour guide took us to where Prince William and Prince Charles live now and we saw their guards change. We got a bit of a laugh out of it, the one guard went to the wrong side and got yelled at. haha It was a really good tour and was definitetly a good experience. It's a pretty big thing in London. Oh, Prince Charles and Prince William were also out of London:(

The crowd at the Changing of the Guard..



We took part in a St. Patrick's Day celebration on this day. Trafalfar's Square, where they hold a lot of events, was PACKED with people celebrating St. patricks' day. We were told that there is a bigger Irish population in London than there is in Ireland. There was a parade and a big celebration to celebrate this. There were St. Patty's Day bards and souveniers everywhere; I wanted a shirt, but they didn't have my size:/ Owen got a green balloon & a Guinness and he was set! We also took a stroll through Hyde Park on this day -- absolutely gorgeous. So full of life, but peaceful at the same time.




Our last day in London was short. We only had the morning to finish up and we knew saved the London Eye for this day! We got our ticket at the tourist center and didn't wait in any line! It was so neat. I think it's the largest ferris wheel in the world and each capsule thingy can hold 25 people. It took you above London and you can see everything. It was gorgeous; it was definitely a good way to end the London trip!





Oh & I got my picture for Pap!


Overall, I loved London! It was so pretty and full of life. I don't even know how to explain it. We had limited time, but I feel like we did pretty good. Well, that was the London trip in a nutshell!

Rome will be soon:)

spring break's over:(

It's been awhile since I updated and I'm sorry! I was just too busy having fun on spring break:) aha Anyways, the internet wasn't always accessible & I just didn't really have the time to sit down and write a blog.

The two weeks went SOO fast, but I feel like I did and saw so much! I saw soo many things that I never thought I would see. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you all at once; I will write random blogs describing the trip for ya. I'll just give a little preview right now.

Anyways, the trip started out with London -- loved it!! Some of the sights we saw there were Big Ben, the London Eye, 18 million dollar houses (Madonna has one), Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, and many many more. London was so beautiful. It was so full of life and we had perfect weather, some days we didn't even wear a coat! One of my favorite things about London was ... ENGLISH LANGUAGE! haha I felt so much more comfortable there.

Owen's family was soo nice. They did soo much for us and it was nice to be able to meet them and for Owen to spend time with them. They planned out all of our adventures and we had a blast. We went to Silverstone, a race track where an F1 car was being tested, Oxford, Strafford Upon Avon(where Shakespeare was born and lived), and a Jaguar plant. It was a lot of fun.

From there we were off to Rome. Rome has great history and the sites we saw were beautiful. However, Rome wasn't my favorite. To me, it was kind of dirty and was FULL of graffiti. I felt like it just ruined the atmosphere. Also, there are soooo many people trying to sell you things and it just got annoying. Owen and I were sitting out at a pub one night and 5 guys came up to us trying to sell us flowers. The one wouldn't leave either, he was like "you bought beer you have money." It got kind of old and ruined the city to an extent. Our landlord of where we stayed was so nice. She spoke English very very well and was very helpful. She had maps all marked out for us upon arrival at midnight and was so happy to see us. She definitely helped to make Rome a memorable trip. Some sights in Rome were: The Vatican, Collesseum, the Forum, Capitaline Hill, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and many many more!

I'll update later with some pictures and I'll add pictures to my picassa. I'll try and do it soon, but I just arrived in Paris today so I probably won't have that much free time!

Spring break, here I come:)

Just finished packing!! I'm becoming a pro at the "under the weight limit" thing. haha. I hate packing though, especially because we're gone for a little over 3 weeks and the weather will probably change a good bit. Anyways, I packed & saved some room to buy some stuff:)

The bus will be here in a little over an hour & then we're off! Most of us are flying out tonight. First destination -- LONDON! I'm really excited; London always looked so neat in pictures. I can't wait to see it! and get my picture with Big Ben & my poster:) After a few days there, Owen and I will head up to his family's house. This will be fun, he says they are a lot like some of my family.. (Aunt Deb!) haha So I'm pretty excited. Annd then we head to Rome! It's going to be a blast, but the time will probably fly by:/

I'll try to update throughout spring break:)

oh how i love the french language.

Not much has happened since I last updated. Saturday we went to a rugby game! Some of our group painted their faces and were the Albi fanatics of the game! haha Before the game, we were in Albi for a bit. We were in the supermarche (supermarket in French) and we came across some fellow English speakers. They were from London and we talked with them for a bit; it's nice to communicate with people we don't know in a familiar language, haha. But, when we were getting to say goodbye the one kid goes to Owen, "hey i remember you! You were the one kid yelling at the rugby match!" haha Needless to say, we have made our faces known in Albi.. and the rugby games! haha

On to the French language.. we had our first quiz/test today! Ahh! It's a pretty tough language. I either did okay or really bad. Let's hope for the best! It's such a tricky language and there are so many options for one word! Annnd my Spanish is hindering my ability again. Quick story on that! So, I thought I remembered how to say, "How do you say ___ in English?" in French and there was a word written on the board that I didn't know. Well, I confidently raised my hand and blurted out "Comment se dice ___ in anglias?" Sandra, our teacher, looked soo confused and every one started laughing. I was like guys I just tried it in French. Leah and Owen look at me and go .. "Lynds, you said it in Spanish!" haha I got all embarrassed and just said, "At least I tried!" haha Soo I quickly learned that I should have said, "Comment on dit.." haha Almost the same, but not really! There are many similarities, but MANY differences at the same time! I don't think I will ever confuse those two again!

Well, I'm working on a paper for my Pilgrimage class. It's due on Thursday and that's the day we leave for spring break so I'm trying to get it done today! Oh & I'm soo excited for London -- English is the language:):):)

a la karaokeee!!

We found a new hobby in Albi.. karaoke!! Tuesday night Tim and Gerry took us to a local bar in Albi called L'Estabar. Here we met up with some Albi and Brens students. Everyone let loose and had some fun!! Of course, Owen and Ian started off the karaoke by singing "I Will Survive." They turned this song into a hardcore screaming session. Needless to say, everyone was entertained. And after their performance, I wasn't afraid to get up there and sing. haha We piled everyone into Tim's van around 12:30 AM and headed back to Ambialet. We had a really fun night and hope to do it again!! The Albi and Brens students also had a blast! I feel like we were able to socialize with them more and get to know them on a more personal level.

Before karaoke, we had a pretty busy day! First, we went to Cagnac de mines. This is a mining museum that used to be home to a mine. We got to wear hard hats and go on a little tour of a stimulated/fake mine. Quick story about that.. we were told we were going down 200 meters to visit the mine. We go into an elevator and it's all old and kinda scary. I started getting scared, haha. The elevator ride was very bumpy and the lights would go on and off. We finally reached our destination and I was like "wow that was crazy!" ...and then I found out, we didn't go anywhere. haha It was a stimulated elevator ride. Obviously, it would be too dangerous to go into a real mine. haha That was my blonde moment of the day!


After that, they took us to some old castle/ruins place. I completely forget the name because Tim didn't know much history about it. However, it was built in the 14th century and was the tallest building in the South of France until some building dominated it in Toulouse. This place was beautiful and had an amazing view of Albi. The tower was soo soo high and we climbed it!!! It was a little scary because it was a very narrow spiral staircase and there were a lot of dark parts. I feel like I conquered my fear of heights a bit and it was definitely worth the climb!





Next, we went to Notre Dame de la Derche. Here we met some Franciscans and they showed us around the church. It was very very pretty! One guy did all of the paintings and it took him about 17 years. It was so pretty. We also had the opportunity to climb the bell tower and play the bells. I forget the name of it, but it was the type that had a series of bells and you played them like a piano! It was a lot of fun! Then we got another view of Albi by walking around the top of the church. Again, it was gorgeous! The Fransicans then hosted us for dinner. We had a very good dinner of soup, chicken, green beans, salad, and dessert!! It was very very good!


Tuesday was a pretty busy day, but we had tons of fun!! Yesterday was a pretty laid back day and I caught up on some sleep! We had no class or anything, so it was a pretty good day for relaxing!

We made some soup tonight for tour de table! It was really good!! I like cooking here on Thursdays and learning different types of recipes. The stuff we make isn't very hard either, so I'm excited to bring the recipes back home for everyone to try:)

I hope the pictures are working out for everyone who wants to view them! I update that site quite a bit, so check back if you're interested:)

a very french weekend!

Owen and I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with some of the students from Brens. Benjamin offered his apartment to us for the weekend. He picked us up in Ambialet Saturday afternoon and from there we ventured to Toulouse. He showed us around a bit and then we visited Geoffrey's work placement. This was a very big wine store and there were so many wines. My favorite part of the store was probably seeing the 16 liter wine bottles!! I can't believe someone buys those!! haha. We also tasted a few wines there and they were very good.

From there, we went to Benjamin's work placement. I really, really liked this place. It was a wine store, but also a restaurant. The restaurant is only open on certain days though. It was two levels and it was very relaxing and sociable. Many people come in there just to drink a glass of wine. It had a very modern style to it and I really liked it.

That night, Benjamin and Geoffrey showed us what they do on weekends. Of course, it consisted of drinking some wine! haha. So, we drank some wine and we met some of their other friends. They then took us to a discotech and it was a fun time! I thought it was crazy that we don't go out to the discotech until about 1am and it's open until 6am. Also, there were tons of older people there. And by older I mean people in their 40's and stuff; I was completely surprised! I would never catch my parents at something like that! haha

On Sunday, Geoffrey's family invited us over for a lunch. They were very very nice. His father and his brother spoke English VERY well; I was very impressed. I kind of feel bad that my French is so poor. His 13 year old sister spoke a little bit of English, but she said she is still learning. They cooked us a HUGE lunch. For the apperatif, we had muscles and a glass of sparkling wine. That was the first time Owen and I ate muscles and we really liked them! For our meal we had tomatoes and mozarella, pork and some type of potato. For dessert we had homemade cake and fruit salad. Not to mention, they had 3 different wines during the meal. Everything was very good! The family was very nice and welcoming. They showed us around their house and explained many of their traditions. Geoffrey's father also taught us French billiard. It was interesting; there are no pockets in the pool table and there are only 3 balls used. The que ball is hit and it must touch both of the other balls in one turn. It looks very difficult and you must be able to distinguish different ways to ricochet the ball. Owen and I were invited back whenever and they definitely want us to go back in April for some pork. They hang and dry their own pigs and they say it is very good that way.

We returned to Ambialet last night and finished up our French homework!! Overall, we had a very good weekend and got some good insight of life in French. And I must say, the lives we encountered were based around wine!