Campeones, Campeones!

      Again, I'm going to apologize for the delay between blogs, I guess a lot happens in a week! Plus my classes are already keeping me very busy, that should please you Mom and Dad. As a general overview, it has been a very full and entertaining first week, although the weather has been a little chillier. Hopefully it gets warmer quickly! My Monday and Wednesday class is one about cultural studies in modern Spain. A lot of it is going to reference the 15-M movement that happened here in 2011. So that you don't have to look it up, 15-M is basically the Spanish equivalent of Occupy Wall Street, however it happened in Spain first. Occupy was inspired by 15-M. On the other hand, my Tuesday and Thursday class is based on 19th and 20th century Spanish literature and artwork. So the two are pretty different, but they do connect at points. Both require a lot of time spent reading and writing outside of class.
       Tuesday was the first real day of class, and the three hours took a long time, but it also wasn't too bad because we got to watch a movie. We talked about paintings of 'vasos' (glasses) and analyzed them - let me tell you it is a very good thing that I am not an Art History major, because I don't know where half of the points our professor made came from. It is definitely interesting, but I could never take more than a class or two like it. The movie we watched was about the life of Francisco de Goya, and it was pretty true to his life story, apparently. After class, before taking the metro home for our 3:00 lunch, Katie and I and some friends went to a cafe for donuts and coffee. The break between 9 am and 3 pm for lunch is a large one, we needed a snack! After lunch we cranked out our homework assignments and then had dinner and then our first experience with night life in Madrid. Katie and I are lucky enough to live in an apartment that is literally a block and a half away from Puerta del Sol and very close to Plaza Mayor as well. For those of you who don't know what that means, those are two of the busiest and most famous plazas in the city. Puerta del Sol even has free wi-fi everywhere! It's also the place where the 15-M movement took place three years ago. Anyways, some friends came and met us and we went over to Plaza Mayor and had a pitcher of sangria. It was pretty nice, but it was also way over-priced because of the location. So, since we are poor college students, we will not be returning to purchase more sangria there. Then we walked around for a bit, and if you ever are looking for something to do in Madrid, go stand in Puerta del Sol, because at least 20 different people will approach you asking what your plans are for the night and trying to sell you on their club or bar or pub crawl or whatever it is they are promoting. We had fun though!
       Wednesday we watched the movie "Inside Job"(in English!!!) and then had a short discussion and our professor explained about some of the parallels between the Spanish and American economies. After class, Katie and I walked home. It takes about the same amount of time to walk as it does to take the metro, so we decided we are going to walk almost always (unless the weather is really bad), because we actually get to see some pretty buildings and experience Spain when we walk as opposed to when we ride. On the walk home we were mistaken for Spaniards three separate times. When we told Cristina, she said that I actually look very Spanish. Who knew? Especially since, as far as I know, there is no Spanish blood in my family... Anyway one of the guys asked if we wanted to subscribe to Spanish Netflix (not sure why the real deal doesn't work here. Probably copyright issues. It's also probably a good thing because it makes me go out and experience my surroundings), and another asked if we wanted to help start a company. All in a twenty minute walk. For lunch we had Las Lentejas, a soup made of lentils, it was probably my favorite dish we have had thus far. It made up for dinner, which was a cold salad that neither of us really liked because there was too much mayonnaise. After dinner, we went on an adventure for churros y chocolate, and it was absolutely delicious.
        Thursday was the longest day of class, by far. Even though we were there for the same amount of time, it wasn't broken up by anything. I thought it was never going to end. Eventually it did though. Later that night we found a different place that sold sangria with cinnamon in it, definitely one of the best jarras I have had. We also had a tapa that was eggplant cooked in honey. I thought I was going to hate it, but it tasted like a sweet, yummy French fry. We went back to the apartment for a little and did some work and then went out again later to meet up with some people at a tapas bar called El Tigre. The way it works is that for every drink you buy, you get a free tapa - that you don't get to choose. Five of us were there so we got five different plates, and they were all delicious. There was paella, bacadillos, potatoes, tostadas, literally everything delicious. As well as the biggest cup of beer I have ever had in my entire life.
       Fridays we never have class, but they are field trip days. We went to Toledo, and it was absolutely beautiful. We visited a mezquita (mosque), the famous cathedral, an artisan shop where the handmade items were absolutely beautiful, El Greco's famous painting El entierro del Conde Orgaz, tried some famous mazapán (marzapan), and ended the day with a trip to a synagogue. It is the city that is described as being dead but having an immortal soul. It was very clear that it functions almost completely based on tourists. Also, completely random, but during our lunch break we went into a clothing store and some girl approached one of the girls I was with (Nivi) because apparently she is part of the Gamma Phi Beta chapter at Virginia Tech and had rushed Nivi. Pretty small world to have that happen in a clothing store in Toledo, Spain. Anyways, we got back at around 6 and had dinner and then prepared ourselves for a real evening out. We went to a club called El Kapital, which is a 7 story discoteca. It was absolutely unreal. There were bars and different DJs on every floor, one even had karaoke. It was also a late night because the Spaniards are psychotic. The place doesn't open until midnight, but you aren't supposed to get there until 1:30 or 2. Which we did, so then we didn't leave until 6 am. It also cost 16 Euros. Money well spent.
       The late night meant that I didn't get up until 2 in the afternoon on Saturday, and then we had lunch. Then Katie and I went on another adventure on the metro to find a bookstore that sold the books we needed for class. We found them, returned home, started reading them and then ate dinner. Then came my favorite part of the experience so far. Saturday night was the Champion's League final, and the two teams playing were Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. This meant that every single Spaniard was walking around the city with some sort of team's paraphernalia in plain sight. Katie and I went to a bar in Puerta del Sol to watch the game with two friends, and it was absolutely the greatest experience of my life. I can't even begin to make up how passionate these people are about their teams. Luckily for me, I was watching in a place full of Real Madrid fans. So for the first 93 minutes of the game all we heard was swearing and stress, but when Real Madrid tied the game in the 93rd minute, the little bar (probably normally holds 30 people, but had at least 60 people jammed in) went insane. I have never seen anything like it. And it just kept getting better as Real Madrid went on to score three more goals in the overtime. After the game, we went to Plaza de Cibeles, the place where all of the Real Madrid fans were congregating, and there were hundreds of thousands of people there. It was crazy! Katie and I now know the Campeones (champions) songs by heart. We called it an early night and were home by 1:30, but thousands of people were there at 6:30 in the morning when the team arrived to celebrate.
       Sunday was a day devoted completely to readings. Not the most fun, but I wouldn't trade what I got to do during the week and rest of the weekend to have a day not devoted to school. It was a great week overall! Hopefully this one will be great as well. Although I have a big presentation to do, but we also have a long weekend. Katie, Briana and I are going to Valencia and actually meeting up with some people from a Washington University (in St. Louis) program who Katie and I both know from home. Small world again!

The view walking home from class. 

Cerveza y tapas.

La vista de Toledo.

Mezquita.

Cathedral.

Cathedral's organ.

Hand-crafted.

Synagogue.

Metro before El Kapital.

People going insane.

People going insane take 2. 

Unfortunately it's not letting me post the videos of everyone celebrating the goals, but they are on Facebook!

Wee-Fee

       Shortly after my mom and BB left, Katie got to the hotel and the two of us took a cab to meet Cristina - our host mom. We live on a really small street, so the cab couldn't actually drive up it so we were dropped off on a parallel street. When we got the building we buzzed Cristina's apartment and she came right down to help us with our stuff. Thank goodness the building has a small elevator so that our bags could go up like that instead of being carried. We live on the second floor, but here all of the first floors are labeled as 0, so we technically had to go to the third floor. Anyway, the apartment is literally one and a half blocks away from Puerta del Sol, which has everything you could imagine, except, as it turns out, normal, inexpensive shampoo.
       Katie and I went on a mission to buy her phone, the first time, she forgot her passport. You'd think I would have reminded her to bring it given my experience. The second time, Orange's system crashed so the payments wouldn't go through. We have yet to return. We did find an ATM though, which was important to do. We went into Corte Ingles to buy shampoo and the cheapest bottle they had was 14 Euros... And it was a small bottle of something we had never even heard of, so as we decided we didn't need it and were leaving, Katie randomly got a nose bleed. We dealt with that and then returned home for lunch. Cristina informed us of the basic rules of the apartment at this meal, most importantly that we have to speak Spanish with her, that we all share a bathroom, that she eats lunch but not dinner with us, and that we have to lock the door even when we are inside the apartment. For lunch we had a delicious Spanish Tortilla, in other words, an omelette with potatoes, onion, and salt. We also had some roasted tomatoes kind of similar to the ones my mom makes at home. And for dessert we had some vanilla ice cream and cherries. It was wonderful.
      The tradition of siestas is by far my favorite though. I was ready to pass out like I had jet lag despite having been in Europe already for 10 days... But we had our siesta, I took a short one and then proceeded to try to figure out the Wi-Fi. It was a struggle, let me tell you. First of all, it is not called Wi-Fi here, it is pronounced Wee-Fee. I was reprimanded for saying Wi-Fi. Second of all, we did not know the name of the network or which password was the correct one. By the time Katie woke up from her nap an hour or so into my attempts at getting the Wee-Fee to work, I knew the password and I knew the network name, but I had screwed something up within my computer and the IP address. So, I gave Katie the information and it worked perfectly for her! I almost screamed. Long story short, I ended up giving Katie my computer and she has the magic touch, because I am now able to use the internet!
       After the Wee-Fee episode we just hung out for a bit and then had dinner early. It was date-like with just the two of us, but it was fun. We had a really yummy pasta dish that was cooked with lots of vegetables and some chicken. There was also a plate of salami and sardines, the salami was eaten and the sardines were not. The best thing is that Katie is allergic to shellfish and fish so that means my picky eating habits of no muscles, clams, oysters, shrimp, etc go unnoticed because we can't eat them! Anyway, dessert was fresh apricots and then Katie and I hung out some more. It was at that time that I realized she is my soul mate because she is just as addicted to Harry Potter as I am. We are currently in the process of transferring all of the books on tape onto her computer from mine and hopefully the movies onto mine from hers. Side note - Netflix doesn't work in Spain, a very sad realization for me, but Katie has an extensive movie collection on her iTunes account, so it should be ok. Luckily, the Slingbox does work! So we were able to watch both the Duke Mens Lacrosse game as well as the Blackhawks game. As my dad was watching the lacrosse game (it was against Hopkins) I typed into the search menu go duke, which he quickly erased and tried to write go hopkins, but it only let him get to 'go hop'.
      Bedtime came and morning came earlier. I did wake myself up before my alarm and was brushing my teeth when it went off so Katie had to turn it off for me because I didn't hear it. Yes, the alarm makes the "bee-doh" sound from Despicable Me 2, yes it annoys everybody on the planet, except Katie! Breakfast was some coffee and watermelon and a small cookie and then we took the Metro, with Cristina's help, to class. We were among the first ones there for orientation, and two kids weren't there at all today because they had passport issues. I would have been stressed out of my mind. Anyway, our two classes were explained to us (kind of), and one of them had a topic change. The first one is a cultural studies class that will use primarily literature and artwork from the 19th and 20th centuries. The second one is also a cultural studies class but it is based on 2008 until the present. The focus is the Spanish social movement that was the inspiration for the U.S. "Occupy" movement, and most of it is economic-based, but it has to do with the culture as a whole apparently. Should be interesting! After the orientation we went on a bus tour of the city and everywhere we had stopped, I had seen. So I guess BB, my mom, Aunt Kait and I did a good job! Katie and I found a place for regular shampoo on the way home and made it back just in time for our lunch. Today we had a dish that I don't know the name of, but it had ham, potatoes, and green beans with delicious seasoning. Cristina had also made a homemade guacamole that had a little kick to it and was yummy. Dessert was the best though: roasted apples. Cristina told me how to make them, and it is so easy! She put three apples in the microwave for 10 minutes with a little bit of water and some sugar and then they were done. Beautiful, healthy, delicious. I know what my desserts will be the second half of the summer when I'm in Durham!
       After lunch was siesta, hallelujah. I think I'm dehydrated though, so Katie and I are going to buy water bottles, and hopefully third time is the charm for her phone. Regular class starts tomorrow, so we are going to use our last ours of freedom well: sleeping, listening to Harry Potter, and drinking water.  I also put some pictures up of my room here, hopefully it actually stays this clean!

Adiós Mamá

       On BB and Mom's last day we were pretty relaxed. We went back to the Orange store after a yummy breakfast and I got the most high-tech phone ever, it's WAY better than any iPhone. Kidding, this phone doesn't even have a camera. The man who sold it to me said that all of the Spaniards know that whenever they see someone with the phone I bought, they know that you're an American. The point, though, is that it will function as I need it to! After the Orange store we did a little bit of shopping and then went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.
       After a short break we hopped on a double decker tour bus and rode around the city. We thought we had seen a lot of Madrid, but that was definitely not the case. Where our hotel is located and where my home stay is are both in the older part of the city, so it was cool to see the more modern part. We even got to drive past the Real Madrid stadium, which is absolutely gigantic. After the bus we went to a place called Casa de Lucio for lunch, and it was delicious. I think the theme of my blog has become food, but I had one of the best steak filets I have ever eaten in my entire life. It came with the middle pretty raw on the hottest plate I have ever seen. I cut the filet into strips and then proceeded to cook my meat on my plate, it was incredible! After lunch, which didn't start until about 3 and didn't finish until about 5 - a schedule I am still trying to adjust to - we walked around some more on the way back to the hotel. We got back at about ten til 6, so just in time for the huge fútbol game to start between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. We watched the game with our cocktails and popcorn on a live stream from my computer, because for some reason our hotel didn't get the channel that the game was on.
       Atlético Madrid ended up winning, and thus the city went insane. We went downstairs to eat dinner outside in the plaza (and had a delicious apple dessert with cinnamon ice cream) and it was crazy! Drunken, singing Spaniards were everywhere as they celebrated their team's victory. Because our hotel is in such a central location, the fountain (Neptune's Fountain) where all of the cameras were is located just down the road. We can see it from the end of the plaza, and we saw people jumping in, crowds waving and screaming, and fireworks lighting up the sky as it got dark. It was a very entertaining way to spend the evening and a great sendoff for BB and my mom. Now it is morning and they have just left. My roommate Katie's flight just landed and she is taking a cab to come pick me up so that we can arrive at our home stay together. The beginning of a new adventure!

PS Rachel - I found your new office building!!

La Llegada

       We arrived in my home for the next six weeks on Wednesday evening. We headed straight for the hotel and I had a lovely conversation with our cab driver who gave me some good information on cell phone providers. After some Cava (my favorite, it's Spanish champagne) and pistachios we went out for a late dinner for us, but a normal dinner for all of the Madrileñas. Dinner was tapas style at a place called Cerveceria Servantes where we had some great food and some not so great food. Lots of garlic, good for sharing rooms...
       Thursday morning we were up bright and early because it was Aunt Kait's last day. We started off with the hotel's buffet style breakfast and it was delicious. One of the most colorful breakfast plates I've had in a while, plus some good strong Spanish coffee. First stop after breakfast was trying to find my host mom's house, even though she isn't currently here, we wanted to see if we could find it. Along the way we found a store called Futbol Mania where many great purchases were made, and I am sure many more are still to be made. Hopefully the World Cup jerseys will be purchase-able soon! We then found the house and it is in a fabulous location: very close to the Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and at least one Metro station. I can't wait!
       We then walked to the Palais Real. It was absolutely incredible. Each room was more lavishly decorated than the one before it and the colors and fabrics were incredible. Almost every single room had some sort of fresco painted on the ceiling, all of the doorways were marble with huge curtains and tassels that were ginormous (my mom was a big fan). My favorite part, though, were all of the clocks. They were absolutely incredible and ranged in size, shape, color, simplicity, etc. Side note, we did the audio tour and my thing died halfway through. So much for my pigeon poop luck. Anyways, outside of the palace was a courtyard that had a fantastic view out over the hills as well as the cathedral that was located across from the palace, which happened to have The Godfather song playing. We didn't go over that way because when we left the palace we were very hungry.
        We stopped at a random little restaurant and it ended up being fantastic. It was called Paradita de Santiago. The weather here is hot and sunny unlike Paris and London, so cold cervezas tasted heavenly. We had a delicious house salad with tomatoes, dried cherries, almonds and walnuts, figs, and brie cheese; a mushroom risotto with shrimp, chicken, asparagus, and manchego cheese; and an incredible fried codfish. By far one of the best meals, and also tapas style, so we all got to try everything!
       After lunch we walked over to the Reina Sofia Museum, which ended up being closed due to the holiday that we weren't completely aware of celebrating Madrid's patron saint San Isidro. The Reina Sofia is home to many of Salvador Dalí's works as well as Pablo Picasso's extremely famous painting La Guernica, which is actually Spain's national piece of art. We are sorry Aunt Kait missed it! We went back and saw it today and it was breathtaking. The piece itself is something like 286 square feet and is guarded by two workers making sure nobody takes pictures. I personally was more fascinated by the pictures on the wall across from it that show a timeline of how it was made. It was very cool to see it as it developed and which things were changed and which things stayed the same. Anyway, because the museum was closed we made our way back towards the hotel along Calle del Prado and passed the Botanical Gardens. The line was far too long at the Prado Museum so we sat outside on a bench in a shady area. It was wonderful. Plus there was an ADORABLE little boy running around which always makes everything better.
       When we had sat long enough, we went back to our hotel, the Villa Real, for some cocktails. We sat outside on the plaza and took in the beautiful surroundings which include a view of a church down the road, a fountain of Neptune, and a statue of Miguel de Cervantes. We then made our way to look at the Plaza Mayor, which was hopping. A concert was going on in honor of the holiday and we were lucky enough to get to sit in the plaza and eat a little dinner. It was a very fun atmosphere. After we were finished we headed back and called it a night after saying good-bye to Aunt Kait. She had been the navigator up until this point, but she taught my mom and BB well!!
       This morning we caught the tail end of the breakfast buffet and then headed out. First stop was the phone company Orange, but because I'm a genius, I didn't have my passport with me so I couldn't buy a phone today. So we shall return tomorrow. We went to Corte Ingles next, which is basically the biggest department store I have ever seen, second only to Harrods, but infinitely less crowded. I got some nice bath towels and then we were on our way back to the hotel. We paused quickly then headed back to the Reina Sofia, which was a successful visit this time. Then lunch was at the oldest restaurant in Spain and one of the oldest restaurants in the world: Sobrino de Botín. The gazpacho was absolutely incredible as were the Iberian cured ham and huge artichoke hearts. After lunch we stopped at the hotel again before going to our second museum of the day, the Thyssen-Bornemisza. We got there just before the extremely long lines and got to see an exhibit of works by Cezanne before it leaves Madrid on Sunday. This time my audio guide didn't die halfway through!! And the still life pictures were really beautiful in person, plus I learned that Cezanne thought that fruit liked being painted better than flowers, so that's why he painted more fruit. Odd.
       After we were finished we came back to the hotel and sat outside again and I had some ginger ale and palomitas (popcorn). We read through the Duke study abroad summer guide on Madrid and learned all about things ranging from how to tip, to table manners, to climate changes throughout Spain, to information on hospitals. No more switching hands after cutting my food because that's impolite here, plus I'm supposed to keep both hands on the table. I'm going to come home with those table manners and hope that my mom doesn't kill me. After we were finished we called it a night. Which meant blogging and of course hours of Candy Crush. Don't worry, my mom is addicted. She's playing on both her phone and iPad now, too. I'm a great influence....

Masters of the Metro

       Sorry for the delay - shout out to Uncle Steven who claims he is paying big bucks for this. If that's the case, you can make the check out to Carolyn Fishman, please and thank you. Lots has happened in the last few days so this post will be about Paris. The city is absolutely beautiful, from the buildings, to the Seine River, to the food. French is also a beautiful language, but I do not speak more than about 15 basic words so that made navigation and communication a bit difficult.
       On the morning of our first full day we went on a Fat Tire Bike Tour of the city. Our guide was a young woman named Anya from just outside of San Francisco, so she spoke a language we could understand! She took us all over the place and gave a great history of the city and the buildings. Who knew that the penthouse was for the peasants and servants? Or that the guillotine had to be repositioned throughout Place de la Concorde during its prime because all of the blood softened the ground and made the killing contraption much less effective? Or that a large portion of the city is symmetrical? Or that the easiest way to remember the important King Louis's is that King Louis XIV built the city, King Louis XV enjoyed the city, and King Louis XVI paid for the city? You're all welcome for that lovely little history lesson. We got to see some beautiful buildings including the Louvre, the Military School, the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triumph, Iglese du Dôme (Napoleon's burial site), and many more. We also enjoyed a lovely stop in the Tuileries Gardens where we had some incredibly delicious hot chocolate. Just as we got back to Fat Tire headquarters it started to pour. We made our way to lunch at Leon de Bruxelles where we ate some muscles and steak and french fries. Shout out to BB who told us that she was too full for a dessert, but when we all ordered desserts she decided to order one as well. Not only did she finish all of it, but it took her less than five minutes to inhale her vanilla ice cream with warm hot chocolate sauce.
       We returned to the apartment as the rain continued and all took a much needed nap. Which lasted about four hours.... We woke up and the rain had stopped and we walked to dinner at Meres et Filles where they were closing down as we arrived. They were kind enough to let us in, but as we were so late, we did not get to order. We were served pork with golden raisins and rice pilaf and fresh French bread. Never would I have ordered something like that, but it was one of the most amazing meals I have had on this trip. We got back late and were surprisingly all tired despite our long naps.
       The next morning we woke up to take a tour of the beautiful Luxembourg gardens before the expected rain, but on the way we stopped for our first round of croissants. There is nothing quite like a Parisian croissant, I have now been spoiled. The gardens were absolutely beautiful and all was going well until I looked down at my shirt to unzip my jacket further as it had gotten warmer out. I looked down to find a most unpleasant surprise: pigeon poop. I was unaware that I had been pooped on, but trust me the evidence was there. (shoutout to Annie Apple, I now know how you felt at my sister's soccer game). Aunt Kait was a champion and helped me clean it as BB and my mom looked on and laughed. Apparently it's good luck to get pooped on though. I'm willing to bet that what that really means is that next time I will be lucky enough to not get pooped on.
       After the gardens we made our way toward Conforama, something I would describe as similar to Ikea, which we were all unaware of. We stopped at a crepe stand and I had the most scrumptious Nutella crepe that ever existed. We also stopped at a really cute stationary shop. Afterwards we bought tickets to a concert at Saint Chapelle and then made our way through the pouring rain to a Mexican restaurant called Fajita for some yummy fajitas. We sat the showers out and then walked toward a famous linen shop to buy a present for the people who own the apartment (thank you Frinks!). I think it was on this trip that we stopped outside of Notre Dame again and walked through the giant tent that was set up on the area outside of the cathedral. It ended up being a bread exhibit that was kind of cool to walk through. Then we went into the cathedral, and it was absolutely beautiful. This is probably the only time I will have anything nice to say about anything named Notre Dame. We then headed back to the apartment to change before our concert. We got there a little bit late (shocking I'm sure to everyone who knows anyone in my family) but the music was beautiful and the ambiance of the chapel and the sun streaming through the stained glass windows made for an incredible experience. Once it was over we went to a restaurant called Le Caveau du Palais for some beef bourguignon. Then we made our way home but stopped for a dessert of crepes.
       Our last day in Paris was really only a morning as we had to leave for the airport at 14:30 (yes I will be using military time because that is what my class schedule uses). We had delicious croissants for breakfast again and then went to the Musée d'Orsay where we saw some incredible artwork by people like Monet and Manet. On our way back to pack we stopped for lunch to-go and had quiche, grapefruit, and ham and brie sandwiches.

All in all it was a very successful trip to Paris, although next time I am there I will be sure to stay longer so I can experience more of everything.

A few side notes:
1. My fitbit is very happy, over 12,000 steps every day!!
2. We are masters of the Metropolitan
3. In the wise words of BB "p-r-u-n-e-s = h-a-p-p-y!"

 

Mother's Day

       First and foremost, I feel like I should recognize the fact that although it is no longer Mother's Day here in Paris, it still is at home. So Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mothers I know, I hope you all have amazing days! We had an incredible one here, that's for sure.
       I have to rewind before I can get to today though. Yesterday was an absolutely incredible one in London. The day started off nice and early with Gary picking us up from our hotel. The journey started as we parked on Barton Street (BB, Aunt Kait, and my mom LOVED that) in order to get into Westminster Abbey. It is incredibly beautiful. On top of getting a standard tour, Gary gave us all of the details about how everything went during the Royal Wedding, as he was in attendance! It was so fun getting to hear all of his personal anecdotes about conversations he or his friends have had with the royal family. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures within the actual building so my words can only describe so much, but it was incredibly beautiful, from the stained glass windows to the choral pews to the little side chapels to the graves of the Unknown Soldier and Bloody Mary, it was absolutely incredible. Fun fact, outside of the abbey there is a school, one of the seven public schools in England, if I'm remembering correctly. Their food smelled amazing (I was hungry per usual) but they were also all in attendance on a Saturday. How awful.
       Next stop was Windsor Castle. Gary drove us the 45 minutes it took to get there and left us to an audio tour of the castle, which worked perfectly. The views of the surrounding area were spectacular, especially of Eton College. Within the Castle we got to see St. George's Chapel, which was absolutely stunning. My favorite parts were the ceiling and the intricate design on the organ's pipes. After the Chapel we went into the actual Castle itself. We saw the most amazing doll house I have ever seen in my entire life, complete with electricity and plumbing. We then saw some of the most beautiful paintings and rooms ever. The splendor was unbelievable. My favorite room was the room where the current Queen Elizabeth's state portrait is hanging.
       After the Castle we went to a shop and restaurant started by Prince Charles (I think!) The food was absolutely delicious and one of the things we bought in the shop was something called Kracklecorn. My mom and I polished off a whole bag by ourselves when we got back to the hotel later and rested while playing Candy Crush. What can I say, we are both addicted! (to Candy Crush of course)
       Our last outing before our break was to Harrod's. I think it was my personal version of hell. It was a Saturday afternoon and the place was full to the brim. I will say that all of the food court was fascinating, and I am really happy I went for the experience. I also got to see a 116,850 pound Rolex. Didn't know that was possible. However, as my aunt pointed out, I would never want to be caught in there during a fire.
       We then had our break and headed to dinner shortly after at a place called Como Lario. Don't worry Uncle Rich, I'm pretty sure one of us put it on Trover :). Gary picked us up when we were finished and took us to our final sight-seeing experience in London. We were lucky enough to experience the closing of the Tower of London, a tradition of over 700 years called the Ceremony of the Keys. It is true that it was frigid with the wind blowing off of the Thames, but it was incredible to get to witness something like that first hand. Also, that exact thing has happened every single night at the same time (except for during one of the World Wars when bombs were being dropped on the Tower). Pretty cool stuff.
     Afterwards we said our final good bye to Gary from the hotel and turned in for the night. The next morning we got to sleep in!! I was finally a little bit of a person at breakfast since we didn't have it until just before 11 am. Then I got to take my classic tourist picture in a telephone booth in London; it felt like I was in the Parent Trap. Next was St. Pancras Station to catch the train to Paris. Fun fact, part of the first Harry Potter movie was shot in St. Pancras. The scene where Hagrid gives Harry his ticked and then just disappears. It's a classic one! Anyway, we boarded the train and arrived in Paris 2 short hours later.
       We are lucky enough to be staying in the apartment of my uncle's friend, and it is beautiful. Windows overlook the Luxembourg Gardens and we even got to walk to dinner! Although my sense of time is clearly off because I thought we could make it back in 15 minutes while BB said it would take at least half an hour and most likely more. I didn't tell her when we got back, but I stopped the timer I had set when we arrived 'home' and it was over a 45 minute walk back.... Sorry BB! The place we went for dinner is one that my mom, Aunt Kait and BB went to 15 years ago when they were on a similar girls' trip called L'llot Vache (I think that's how it is spelled). The food was amazing.

That's about all I have in me for now as it is almost 2 am and I have to be up in 6 hours (we are going on a biking tour in the morning!) But I'd say that it was a Mother's Day well spent!

Update 1

        Hopefully my post titles will get more interesting as I write more, but for now it is late and boring will have to do. In the past two days a lot has happened. Beginning with the journey from Heathrow to our incredible hotel, The Langham. We took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and from there proceeded to have our first encounter with the Underground. Let me tell you that it was extremely difficult since we each had two big rolling bags. We got many strange looks. But eventually we made it and got poured on as well.
       Once we were at the hotel we had about half an hour to freshen up and then our tour guide Gary arrived. He took us on a driving tour of London and gave us some great ideas for things to do. Along with ideas, he had stories. Gary worked as a policeman for many years and then served as a driver for Queen Elizabeth and Lady Di and is very involved in the secret service still. After being dropped back off at the hotel we made our way over to the Tower of London but found out that the last tour of the day had already ended. So naturally we went to a bar instead, and then dinner. We then crashed early as the jetlag was kicking in.
       Today was very busy. It started off with an incredible continental breakfast and leaving the hotel at 9:30 am and not returning until 11:30 pm. First stop was the Wellington Barracks just up the road from the Buckingham Palace. We watched as the 'fresh' guards prepared to replace the 'tired guards' and even got an up close picture because Gary told us exactly the right place to stand! We didn't stick around for the actual ceremony because the street was SO crowded, but we got the idea. We then took the Underground to Tafalagar Square to see if we could find tickets for a show. As it turned out, we got tickets to see Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at St. Martin's Theater. But more of that later. The woman who sold us our tickets advised us on the best place to get fish and chips and that pub is where we had lunch. The Salisbury had an amazingly beautiful interior and the nicest bartender.
       Next stop was the Tower of London. We had an incredible beefeater tour guide who made the Tower come to life. We heard many a gruesome story of beheading, but getting to see the crown jewels made up for all of the gore. They were spectacular. On top of that, the weather was nice, which was lucky as we spent so much time outside! After the Tower of London we went to the greatest place on earth: Platform 9 3/4. Let me tell you that it was the pilgrimage to my mecca. I even got to put a Ravenclaw scarf on, and my mom wore Hufflepuff of course. Afterwards was a small snack. My mom and I found a small little cafe that sold yummy sandwiches and lattes and was super speedy, lucky for us because we were cutting it close for the start of the show. We then hurried over to St. Martin's to see our show. The theater was very small but the show and actors were amazing. I highly recommend it to anybody who finds himself or herself in London with nothing to do for an evening. We then went to a delicious Italian place that was in a word, very hipster. The wine and pizza hit the spot.
      Upon our return back to the hotel we went to BB and Aunt Kait's room and proceeded to receive a noise complaint because we were FaceTiming too loudly. Only with the Barton women. Go figure. This trip has already been incredible, and I know it will only continue to get better.

London-Bound

The journey begins as we sit in O'Hare International Airport with my 20 minutes of complimentary Wi-Fi from the local sponsors... And thus the blog begins (with a short post so that I can make sure that it goes through). My mom, BB, and I are waiting to board the plane. But naturally, because I am flying, our flight has been delayed. Aunt Kait will be meeting us in London, which would have been timed perfectly with our arrivals, but again the delay. Before I forget in a later post, BB gets credit for the title.  She is also shamelessly plugging taking a selfie upon arrival... We shall see how that goes down.