Last two weeks highlights

February 6th: Stonehenge and Salisbury

IES sponsored a day trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury. We got lucky and had a gorgeous sunny day.

Whitney, Becca, Kristina, Hannah and I at Stonehenge

February 12 – 14: Dublin

I spent a fantastic weekend in Dubiln. There were about 30 IES students who traveled to Dublin, so the weekend was full of excitement. The Irish were incredibly friendly people. The first day we visited the Guinness factory and I tried my first pint of Guinness.

We did a fascinating guided tour at Dublin Castle and got to see the state rooms. In the afternoon, we watched the Ireland vs France rugby game in a pub jam packed full of locals! The energy of the crowd during the game was definitely an experience to remember.

Christ Church Cathedral

February 18th: Architecture Class

I’m taking a course called Architecture in London. Every week for 2.5 hours we walk around the city and learn about the rich history of London’s buildings. We had an especially gorgeous day last week, so I brought my camera along.

St. Stephen Walbrook, by Sir Christopher Wren

The Lloyds tower, all the stairs, toilets, elevators and pipes are on the outside of the building.

February 20th: Oxford and Charlbury

Becca and I took a trip to visit cousin Susie yesterday. We spent the morning exploring Oxford and then bussed to Charlbury and spent the evening with Susie. Charlbury was very peaceful. We had tea and scones with Susie, followed by a lovely dinner at a local pub.

Christ Church in Oxford, where scenes of Harry Potter were filmed. 

Becca and I at Christ Church

Road in Charlbury

Paris

Last weekend I traveled to Paris with four girls from my program. Our train from London to Paris left at 7:30 am and, to my disappointment, our whole group slept through the Chunnel. We arrived in chilly Paris midday and started our whirlwind tour of the city of lights. The first day we visited Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and got into the Louvre for free!

Notre Dame

Arc de Triomphe

Day two we tried to get up at 8am so we could make it to the Eifel tower first thing, but we snoozed for two hours. By the time we got to the Eifel Tower, it had turned into a gorgeous Parisian day. The sun was out and the skies were clear. We chose to clime the 700 stairs to get to the second level.

Whitney, Megan and I at the Eifel Tower

We filled up with a delicious crepe lunch (I had two, one savory, one sweet) followed by a trip to see the famed Moulin Rouge! The day ended at Sacre Coeur and a traditional Parisian dinner in Montmarte. Our final day, we visited James Morrison and Oscar Wilde’s graves. Oscar Wilde’s grave was covered in lipstick kisses and scratched into the stone was “The best man who ever lived.”

Oscar Wilde’s grave

Although my second trip to Paris was fun, I’ve decided that I don’t care for Paris. It is great for a few days, but I wouldn’t want to live there. The city is very dirty and all the metro stations smell terribly. We encountered many helpful Parisians, contradicting the stereotype, who were sympathetic to our extremely lacking French vocabulary. I also noticed the mass amount of dogs and cats in Paris. Apparently, there are more dogs in Paris than children. There were animals in almost every shop and restaurant. At one crepe cafe, a cat was sitting on the bench with my friend Lauren and I. I tried to move the cat away from me and it bit me! That was an eventful lunch. Despite that, I had the most delicious nutella and banana crepe at that restaurant. I searched long and hard for a Tour de France shirt, but all were exorbantly expensive. Overall, it was a very enjoyable three days and I was very pleased to return to clean, English speaking London.

Kristina, Whitney, Megan and Lauren

This week’s fun facts:

• While it is cool to say I’ve been through the Chunnel, it was quite uneventful, being a dark tunnel and all.
• I cooked ground beef for the first time!
• Starbucks and McDonalds are as easily found in Europe as they are in the States.
• My friend Becca and I went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Afterwards, we studied in the library at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was wonderful! I’ve decided to try to explore the vast range of libraries London offers.

Finally, I always welcome mail! My address is:

IES Student Residence Hall

Manresa Road (at Kings Road)

Chelsea, London SW3 6NA 

Great Britain