Too much turkey

Well, our last day is almost over, sigh. Last night was really fun though because we met lots of cool people, and as in the last hostel, they all left a day before us so now we have to find ourselves some new friends. There are so many aussies here, they're seriously invading Europe...not that I mind. This morning we went to Buckingham Palace, and it wasn't as impressive as I had hoped. Westminster Abby and the Houses of Parliment were a lot cooler. The detail of the architecture is amazing! I can't imagine how long it took to build them. Later we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, and from what we could see it was beautiful. We wanted to go in but once we figured out the exchange rate we've had to cut out food and entrance fees from our budget. It's ok, we get free breakfast so we eat 3 bowls of cereal in the morning and are set till our non-existant dinner.

This afternoon Lindsay went back to the hostel to sleep (she does massive amounts of sleeping, she reminds me of Jess). I meant to go to the British Muesame but I got lost and then just walked around. It was great though because I went down whatever street I wanted and didn't worry about where I was going. Somehow I ended up back at the hostel though. Well, there is not much more to say. I guess I'll see the fam tommorow and my "university mates" Sunday, as my aussie friends like to say. K, later

One more day

Well today was fun because I got to go the art muesams in the morning. Lindsay is not a big fan of them so she went and got her nails done instead. I went to the British Muesame first because it is only a 3 minute walk from our hostel. I saw the Parthenon Marbles like I wanted, and also a lot of famous greek scultpure (although I liked the Louvre collection more). After that I took the tube to the National Gallery. It has an amazing collection! Everywhere I turned I saw paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michealangelo, Degas, Suerat, and Monet, to name a few. I went and saw their special Raphael exhibit. It had over 80 of his paintings and sketches. Unfourtantely, I wasn't aloud to take any pictures in the National Gallery, so I just bought some postcards of my favorite parks.

In the afternoon Lindsay and I went to the Tower of London again; this time when it was open. The history of the building goes back over 600 years, and tons of famous people were kept there and then beheaded, like Sir Thomas More and Anne Boylyn.

Now I'm just killing time and waiting for 3 pound dinner they serve here (cheapest food we can get). I'm not sure how good it will be, but considering how hungry I am I really don't think it will matter what it tastes like!

Tommorow we're hoping to see Buckinham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul's Cathedral, and go to Cambridge Market.

On a random note, Lindsay and I are having serious trouble figuring out how the heck you walk on the sidewalks here. We've got the one leg in front of the other part, but everyone keeps running right into us (or maybe vice versa). We thought maybe because they drive on the opposite side of the road, maybe they all walked on the opposite side of the side walk as well? If anyone has an answer to our pecuilar problem, we'd be really grateful (and maybe even bring you back a souvenir).

I'm off to eat. Adios!

Around town

Well I thought I would post again because I have more time now, and more coins. Hmmm, so what did I write in my last post.

Well today we finally worked out our train tickets and got to the hostel by 2. We lost an hour, so now we are only 5 hours ahead, so that gave us some more time to check out the city. It was really weird though when we came out of the tube at 4:30 pm and it was dark out! I knew that London is gray this time of year, but I didn't know it gets dark that early. So we went to the Tower of London in the dark at 4:30, but they said it closed. So we're going to go back tommorow afternoon.

After the tower we went to Oxford street. It was paradise! Breathtaking! What is it you ask? Perhaps a thousand year old section of the city? Buckingham Palace? Nope...shopping...lot's and lot's of amazing shopping! K, all you men and pretty much anyone else can tune out at this point, but I'll continue. I loved the shopping because the Londoners have the most amazing sense of fashion. Since I have way too much clothing my new rule has been that I will only buy new pieces for my wardrobe if they are unique. Well, that is why Oxford was heaven, because everything there is unique and thus I can shop, shop, shop! (my mom at this point wants to say, Laura save your money!! don't worry madre, it's all christmas presents :-)

For dinner Lindsay picked out a restaurant that sounded interesting on the Thames. When we got there it was perfect! We had a cute little table for two right by the window, overlooking the London Bridge. Until I got here, I always thought that the London Bridge was just part of a song, hmm, learn something new everyday.

The funniest part about dinner was our faces when we looked at the menu. It was the most British menu ever created. We counted, and out of about 12 dishes, we only recoginized 2 or 3. What we did choose was great though, and it finally filled us up for the first time.....well since we've gotten here. The constant baguette, mystery meat, and cheese has just somehow lost it's appeal.

Oh and Uncle Michael, Monmontrae probably didn't come up on google cause I have no clue how to spell it, lol. Unfourtantely we didn't make it there because we were so tired from jet lag, but it is the artsy section of the city with lots of unique restaurants and the Moulin Rouge.

Tommorow morning I am finally sparing Lindsay the torture of spending hours in the Muesame with me. She is going to go get her nails done and I'm going to the National Gallery of Art, and the British Muesame. The Gallery has a Raphael exhibit I want to see, and the British Muesame has the Elgin Marbles (the marbles removed from the Parthenon I think around the turn of the century?). Of course there is a lot more to see, but that's what I want to spend the most time on. In the afternoon our plan is to go back to the Tower of London when it is open, then maybe a cathedral or two. Tommorow night we might see a play (Lindsay doesn't know this yet, and I think I'll put off telling her). Well, that is about it for now. Only two more days :-( Errrr, well I keep reminding myself I'll be back next fall when I study abroad in Madrid. But what will I do without Lizard?

P.S.- Mom if you wrote, my e-mail isn't working right now so I'll try checking it again tommorow.

Word of the day:dodgey

Moved on to London

Hey guys! Well I must write quickly because I only have 5 minutes left on my internet time. The past few days have been awesome. Yesterday Linds and I went to an amazing chateau outside of Paris. We had to walk about a mile through the woods to get there and then just as we went up the hill it came into view. We b0th just stood there so amazed because it was so massive and overlooked the most adorable town. Later we went to see the Eiffel Eower again at night and we took the elevator up. We were all ready to climb it but unfourtantely you're not aloud to climb at night. This morning our alarm clock didn't go off so we missed our Eurostar train to london (the chunnel). Luckily we rescheduled for the 11:45. Our new hostel looks so cool! It has hundred's of bedrooms, a restaurant, and lots of hot water lol. We're going now to see the Tower of London, and then who knows what. It's lindsays birthday today so we're going out to a nice dinner (gracias madre) then out for a fun night on the town. Well, write later.

au revior, oh wait we're in london,
see ya

Paris!!

Bonjour! Well Lindsay and I arrived in Paris around lunch time yesterday. We went scavaging the local grocery stores for something edible and cheap and came up with 2 cans of spaghetti and water. Mmmm! Lindsay is having some trouble with her credit card, so we spent forever trying to find a place to cash her traveler's checks. Well apparently they're a thing of the past, because absolutely no one would cash it. We went into a lot buildings that looked like banks, but weren't. I still have no idea what type of business' we went into. I swear the one place was a real estate agent.

So we gave up on cashing them, and made our way to the Eiffel tower. It was so cool because it's so big that you don't need directions to get there, you just keep walking till you get there. We went through all sorts of small winding streets. It's amazing, no matter how small and obscure a street you might think it is, there is always a small grocerer and bakery. When we finally made it there it was getting dark and they had just turned on the lights on the tower. Every so often the whole thing shimmers with millions of little flickering lights. Lindsay, being the amazing photographer that she is, took a lot of cool pictures. I can't wait to see her black and white ones.

Last night we were going to go Momonatrea with some friends we met at the hostel, but by 10:30 we were both falling asleep so we went to bed early. This morning we got up early and went to Notre Dame. The cathedral was having a service, which made it all that more amazing. No where can I feel the presence of God more than in a church where people have been worshipping for over 700 hundred years. I think that is part of the reason I love centuries old cathedrals.

Of course we couldn't go to Paris without going to the Louvre, or at least I think so. Lindsay isn't all that into art, so she was a good sport. I left her in about 2 or 3 spots where she fell asleep and I went off for a while then came back later and woke her up. Other we are very similar, we're also really different. For example, we were standing outside the Louvre and I said, "Linds! We're in the Louvre. There is so much art to see!" She replied, "What else would I want to see other than the Mona Lisa?" lol

We realized that all the shops are closed on Sundays, so we ended up getting pizza. But it was the best meal we've had yet. The hostel has a dumb rule about lock out hours from your room so they can clean from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Like they really need 6 hours. Oh well, I'm off to beg the woman at the front desk to let us in so I can change my shoes. Lindsay might fake sick so she'll let us in. Au revoir!