Royally Entertained

Let's be honest: Everyone likes some sort of celebrity gossip. Whether it be the bitchy women on reality TV, or some movie star couple that you will never interact with in your entire life. We all like some form of it. And for many of us, that includes news about royalty. Because we all want to hear about real life fairy tales. 

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Yep. Kate Middleton is preggers, and that baby is gonna be third in line for the throne regardless of gender. 

Should I be as excited for this as I am? Probably not, but I'm certainly interested. I like learning about royalty, and considering how much I've learn about royalty while over here, I can admit I'm pretty pumped.

Also? I can say I was in London when Kate announced she was pregnant with the heir to the throne. It's cool to say you were there for historic events.

One of the papers (because you know that's all they're talking about over here) commented on the fact she mentioned the pregnancy pretty early in the pregnancy at eight weeks. Well, she kind of had to considering she couldn't go to the hospital for severe morning sickness for anything else. She's got some kind of rare morning sickness that affects a small percentage of pregnant women. Also, women who get it are more likely to have twins. Oh man, that would be awesome. How would that work for receiving the crown though?

Anywho, it's silly but I'm excited. I'm ready to see a royal baby. I wasn't around for Diana, and I bet there was as much hype for her.

Did you know Harry is a bastard child? I did not know that until yesterday. The rest of the world probably did though. Huh.

A bit random, but that's what is on my mind. Only a week and a half of school left... and only sixteen days left in Europe. Wah.

What celebrity gossip do you love? Are you excited for a royal baby?

Exciting Changes

Well, Obama won. That's exciting, isn't it?

Wait, that happened almost two weeks ago? Good lord, where does the time go?

Seriously, since I've been here time has been flying by. I only have a month left across the pond, and I'm not excited to go back. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see my family again but I adore it here. I love the tube, despite its crammed cars and minor delays. I love walking in this city. I love that there's always something happening. I dunno, it's just exciting.
Speaking of exciting....

I got a haircut.
I've never had my hair this short before, and it's a lot of fun. I'm always annoyed with how long my hair is, and how it's always getting in my way. I shake my head around a lot now simply because it's perfect for swishing. It's ridiculous though, because everyone keeps saying "You're so brave." It's hair. It's not like a ran into a burning building to save some people. I'm just not that emotionally attached to it.
I kind of hate long hair, but I know why I've never cut it. I know I look good with long hair. My mom always says how I shouldn't get it cut. So a bit of teenage rebellion on my part here? Except I keep forgetting I'm not a teen?
I think it might be more of a confidence thing. I've been a lot more confident since I've been here. I've been more social. I've tried new things. I've taken more risks.

So perhaps that might be part of the reason I've been loving London so much. I'm changing. I'm growing up. Although I don't think turning 21 while being here really helped that. Plus, I've gotten to see so much of Europe as well which is good... though my bank account might say otherwise.

Yeah. That's about it from me right now. Also being a terrible procrastinator. Gaahh...

One more month. Here we go.

What was the last thing you did that affected your personality?

Celebrating Holidays Differently

Happy Halloween! 

Oh wait, that passed? Whoops. Actually, a LOT has happened in my life recently. As for part of the reason I've been gone for so long. What have I been up to, anyways?

Well, I was in Portugal...

...And Spain...

...And Stratford-Upon-Avon.

I had my birthday too.

Also played in the leaves. 

So it's been a good time. I'm sorry if it sounds a bit gloat-y, but it's more of a recap if anything.

Some of the strangest things I've experienced have been holiday situations. For instance, I did not get my slut on for Halloween. I went home and ate dinner, had some trick-or-treaters stop by. Odd. Y'see, Halloween is not a big thing over here. It's only just becoming bigger, with the trick-or-treater numbers getting bigger and bigger each year. My host family ran out of candy, but it was about a third of what my family buys for the kids. It's just so odd not to see the costumes EVERYWHERE. I like dressing up. And I may say slutty, but at least I try to be creative.

Another odd thing about holidays here? Fireworks in the grocery stores at the same time as Halloween stuff. Guy Fawkes day is tomorrow, and fireworks have been going off since Halloween. Strange to me.

I have yet to feel truly homesick, but I think that might happen at Thanksgiving. For now, I'm just laughing at all of the Christmas stuff coming up already. Hey, since they don't have another holiday, why not I guess. 

I hope everyone has been doing well! Time to work on EU homework. Bah.

What interesting ways have you seen other countries/people celebrate certain holidays?

I Am The Crimson Dot

Sure, there were things that happened this week. I went to an excellent play featuring Julie Walters. I wrote a paper about the Eurozone. I went to Oxford, but sadly had no time to get anything preppy. I saw another section of the Victoria and Albert Museum. But those things are not important. What is important is what I did yesterday.

Yesterday, I ran a race.

The race I ran was called the Resolution 5k, 10k and 15k. I decided to do the 15k, because I always want to get my money's worth. I had been looking for a race for some time, and despite having trouble entering the first race I wanted to, I was able to order my race number easily for this race.

On the morning of the race, I made sure to get there an hour before it actually started. To the park at least.  What ended up happening was wandering around for about a half hour trying to find the registration booth, mainly because I forgot the map at home. Oh dear. Thankfully, with a bit of help (some of it not so helpful) I was able to get to the area, check my bag in, and get ready to run.

When I do races at home, I tend to not wear the shirt from the race the day of the race. I think it's bad luck. Apparently today however, that was what I should of done. In a sea of purple, I was the crimson dot in my Portland marathon shirt. There were a handful of others not wearing the shirt, but not enough to not be noticed. Oh well.

Thankfully, the day was gorgeous, perfect for a run in the park. The running itself? Could have been better. I felt slow. I was pretty slow for me, but for some reason I just felt exhausted. I think my body hasn't recooped on sleep I've been missing. I dunno. My body also decided it was a good moment for cramps. Ick. However, overall it was pretty good. It was honestly just like going for a run in the park, except this time I got a medal for it.

One of the weird things about this race? It wasn't blocked off, so you had to duck and dive through people walking through the park. A bit odd, really. Only an annoyance when jerks were smoking right in your pathway.

For now? I can officially say I'm an international runner. And that's pretty neat.

How far away from home have you run a race?

The Globe, Markets, and Transportation Issues

Is this becoming a weekly thing? I think this is becoming a weekly thing. Boo, that's no good.

However, no time to worry about that for we move on.

On Saturday we went to the lovely area known as Brighton. It was explained to me as a mix between Seaside and Eugene, but in reality it's a lot like San Francisco. A ton of cool indie shops, a lovely beach pier,  a very strong LGTB community. So yeah, San Francisco. Pretty much all that we did there was wander around, but it was good wandering. The thing to do there is to have Fish n' Chips on the shore, so that was done. Funny thing: The shore is completely pebbly. I'm so not used to that. But it acts just like a sandy beach in which the further you dig the wetter it becomes. So weird.

Sunday was a rest day. I ran around and got a bit lost, ending up running 10 miles instead of 7, but it was all good. I also signed up for a race! But more on that later depending on the packet scenario currently in play.

Monday was a normal day for the most part, but that evening I went to this alumni meet up thing for my university. The few of us who were from UO went basically as advertisements to donate to the school. Why did I go? Networking. You never know. I did end up talking to a guy who told us about UO football games somewhere, so that's a plus.

Tuesday we went to the Globe! We were groundlings, meaning we stood for three hours. It's quite the unusual experience. The play was fantastic, and it was interesting due to the fact it was an original production. This means that all of the parts were played by males.

Wednesday I was very lame. I had a paper due on Thursday, so I worked on that all day. And night. Which is why my sister happened to be able to Skype me for the first time since I've been gone. That was nice. All I can say is I'm glad I got that done.

Thursday was the Russian National Orchestra. It also included a dragging myself across the pavement run, but other than that it was pretty swell. Even the run wasn't so bad.

Friday, seeing as it's our free day, was the day I decided to go visit the BBC studios. There's a show here called Strictly Come Dancing, and people were already lined up for the audience at 10:30 in the morning. Oh goodness. Strictly is like Dancing with the Stars, so I guess I can see some appeal.
I do love myself a good studio tour. The tour itself was okay, but I'm always a fan of seeing how productions are created.
After the tour, I went over near Chinatown and explored some old bookstores. Anywhere I go, I love going to bookstores. I was also able to find the big bookstore called Foyles I've heard a bit about. It's about a block long, so it's pretty legit.

Met up with others, ate Chinese food, relaxed. 'Twas all good.

Yesterday I went to a magical little market called the Borough market. It's a big food market, so I was excited to eat my lunch there. Oh goodness. So many good things. You want nice cheese? They have nice cheese. You want to try to cook with quail eggs? They have quail eggs. Craving falafel? They have that too. I ended up getting a pasty and a brownie. First time having a pasty! Yah.
After lunch we went back to the Globe to watch Richard the Third. Good show, good show. Then I went out with some of the others, which was a fiasco within itself, but that's a long story. All that matters is that I went into the city, had some fun, and went home.
Getting home though... that was a bit of an adventure.
Y'see, on the rail I take home, it forks at Harrow. One fork goes north, the other south. We asked the guy working at the Harrow tube when the last train would come. He said 1:20. So, we decided to stay in Harrow for a bit longer.
We arrived at the tube station at 1:00. The tube guy told us, "Oh. There's a train coming, but it's a fast one and it's the last one." The fast ones pass our stop. He had said there would be one to our spot. What the hell. Luckily, I knew a bus stop on the other tube's stop so we went on the opposite fork's tube. When we arrived to the bus stop... the buses were no longer coming. I realized we were actually close to our spot by walking, so that's what we did. At about 1:30 in the morning. Luckily my partner was a guy, but I honestly didn't feel too worried.
I still shouldn't have told that story to my parents when I Skyped them this evening though. Eh.

And here we are to today! May the next posts be less list-y. Today was just chilling. Yup.

I'll talk to you soon! For now, here are pictures.

I'm not a Dr. Who fan, but I found it necessary to get a snap.

Tower of brownies. YUM.

Lordy these smelled amazing. Lookit all of that cheese.

What's the weirdest getting home story you've ever had?

Harry Potter, Open Air Museums, and Random

I know. I don't even have to say it. Ridiculous.

For the Harry Potter Friday, I'll let my video explanation do all of the talking.

Yep.

Saturday was a lazy day for the most part, but I was also able to go on a run through Hyde Park. Can we just say gorgeous? It's amazing. I wish we had parks like that in Oregon.
Sunday, I was able to meet up with two other Oregonians I knew! They happen to be staying in England for awhile. We had lunch, we went to the British Museum, we hung out. It was nice. That night I was also able to Skype with my family for the first time since I've been here! Of course some event was going on, so it was a lot of loud noise at my cousins' house. Per usual. I was going to bitch my sis out a bit simply because she didn't tell me stuff. I had to learn important information from the people who are here in ENGLAND. What the hell sister? However, she had work.

Monday was dreary weather and ickyness in general. No one wanted to go outside, so we huddled in the center and chilled out. Tuesday was about the same chill level, but the weather was nicer. I did check out a bit of the Tate Modern, so that was interesting. I still have two levels to go in there.

Wednesday was very relaxed simply because one of my classes was cancelled. She had to take another group around somewhere, so I had no class until 2. I decided to use this opportunity to explore Camden Market! Give me a market, and I will be pleased.
Now, I've gotten to the point where I've probably bought myself enough things (some fashion journals in Paris, two dresses, a hat and a HP stein), but one thing I've always wanted has been a pocket watch. They're just so cool. Pocket watches are everywhere when it comes to markets, but originally I had been seeing them for about 15-20 pounds. The more markets I went to, the lower the price got. When I got to Camden, I found some for 10. I decided to haggle. I ended up taking four pounds off of it. Awesome!

Later that evening, I met with my relative to return his flat keys. You shall be missed, access to a flat in the city. Sigh. We ended up going to his gym (I snuck in as a guest), ate food and watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Nice.

Thursday was mostly a wandering around day, with a play in the evening. 'Twas a Spanish translated play called Yours for the Asking, and it was quite interesting. A bit odd when the characters talked about never going to London though... that's just me.

Friday was an excursion day! We went to the Fishbourne Roman Palace and the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. If you don't know what either of those are, well neither did I. The Roman Palace is exactly what it sounds like, but it has art from both Roman and English craftsmen. The mosaics are from 1st and 2nd centuries. CRAZY.
As for the Open Air Museum, it's a place where they bring old buildings from around England and rebuild them there. It's actually very neat. You see very Snow White style cottages. Mostly this made me glad I live in a day with electricity and heating. I love my heat. Then again, it was cold and wet when we went there, so of course I was thankful for normal heating when I got home.

So I'm almost there! We've got Saturday and Sunday to recap, but I'll write about those later. Only Saturday had anything interesting happen. For now, enjoy these pictures.

Catching Up, For the Most Part

What's that you say? The last time I posted was a week ago, and I had only gotten to the 12th in my entry? Good lord. I'll have to do some summarizing, but it shouldn't be too hard.

13th- Went to the play King Lear. It was a good show, I had never seen it. Lear was played by Jonathan Pryce, who you might know from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Honestly, I remember him as the bad guy from What a Girl Wants.

Ayup.

14th- Went to the pub with the group that night. 'Twas a good time. A lot of people didn't bring their licenses, they brought their ISIC cards. That was dumb when we tried to move around. Ah well, they know for next time.

15th- A few of us went to Portobello road! Oh my goodness, there is so much to see there. I'm definitely going back, but possibly on my own. With a group, you're constantly looking for the other members of the group within the throngs of people. Also, I want to do some shopping. I've probably done enough shopping for myself... I should look to getting other people gifts. I have vague ideas, but at the same time I'm stuck. We also tried finding Abbey Road, but were terribly unsuccessful. I ran after that.

16th- Prepared for the next week. Cooked, did readings, all that jazz.

17th- Not too eventful. Had classes, lasted most of the day. Did more trip planning.

18th- Went out for drinks again (Tuesday? I know). There was a deal that happens on Tuesday, so a few of us went out for a bit.

19th- That night we went to a play called The Busy Body. It was hilarious and adorable. I was a sucker for the costuming, which happened to be very 18th century. The buttons seemed to keep popping off though. After the play, we got to see the Bridge all lit up. It was gorgeous.

20th- Apparently was not that eventful, because I even forgot to write about it in my travel journal. Oh, I did go see Platform 9 3/4s, and that was fun. Whoops. However, the next day was eventful because... I went to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

And that I'll talk more about in my NEXT post. Don't worry, it won't be as long of a wait! Plus I know, these list type posts are obnoxious, but it's hard to get everything down so quickly. I swear I'll get normal again.

How do you post when you have a lot to catch up on?

Adventures Abroad: Orientation

Now is the time we get to talking about the actual program! Huzzah!

I traveled to the orientation with the two girls across the road from me. Random thing: There was going to be a girl living in the same house with me, but sometime during the week right before she dropped out. Not just out of the program, but of University. Last time I heard, no one had been able to contact her. Super duper weird. Anywho, we traveled to the tube station, looking at where we needed to transfer and all of that. As we got off one train and onto another, we ran into some issues. Mainly, one of the members of our group didn't get on the train with us. The doors shut in her face before she was able to get on.
I went back to the other station while Catie (the other girl) stayed at the tube station we arrived at. Unfortunately, there was no Catherine to be found. We decided to head to the school anyways, hoping she would find her way (she did).

Orientation was basically just that. We got a review on basic etiquette in the country, some overviews of the classes, and conversed with each other. It was all good. After Orientation was over, I led a large chunk of the group to the place where I bought my phone. Just an easy way to get your phone, somewhere nearby you know? So that was that.
That night, the neighbor students and I (the ones from the tube) went to a local pub to celebrate the start of the program. I tried Pimms Lemonade. It is SO GOOD. Seriously. It's a summer drink, but I'll for sure bring Pimms home to make drinks for the peeps back there.

The next day, we went to a place called Kew Gardens. This was one of the places that quite a few people told me to go, so I was interested. The neighbors and I wanted to make sure we weren't late, but we ended up getting there way early. Our mode of transportation to the gardens was a ferry. The tour certainly was interesting, but I think I've come to the realization that as far as trips go, ferries are not at the top of my list. Or any ship type thing really.
The Gardens had some incredible sights, and I especially liked the color of the Kew Palace. It's a strange orange color, but I think it looks fantastic. There were also lily pads big enough to sit on! How wild.

Wednesday was the start date of actual classes, but a lot of the information was simply Syllabus stuff again. Honestly, I don't mind. However I soon realized that I might have a difficult time in the class about British government. The teacher is a bit hard to follow. One class I am excited about the more I get involved with it? Shakespeare the Dramatist. This isn't because I'm a huge Shakespeare fan (he's a'ight), but the teacher seems to be quite interesting. Plus, it's big on discussions, and I'm all for that.

I will continue this at a future point, but for now we must depart. Tata!

Adventures Abroad: My Last Few Days On My Own

I swear I'll get back to the current situation. Right now, it's so hard. But we move on.

We're now to the 7th, where I simply did a bit of wandering. I got some items I needed like an adaptor for my computer, notebooks for school, and things like that. I ended up seeing the Georgia State basketball team too. Weird. I wonder why they were there.
Managing to explore new areas, I found the South Bank and St. Paul's Cathedral. I only got a taste of the cathedral as it was closing in a half hour I believe, but it was still incredible.

I ended up staying up pretty late that night uploading pictures, but I'm glad I did. The next day I went on a light run with my cousin. It's always nice to have a running buddy. We ran over to the South Bank and saw the Thames Festival going on. I always like exploring festivals. After we returned to his flat, he went off to talk to his best friend and I was all alone. It's alright, I ended up finding Drury Lane. I also ended up having some AMAZING Indian food. I had this thing that was chicken stuffed with spinach and lamb covered in a sauce. Odd, but so good.

Continuing on, it was now the last day of staying with my relative and moving onto staying with my homestay. My relative and I went to the Bombay style restaurant for breakfast and had some tasty stuff. I'm usually not a yogurt person, but when you have vanilla bean yogurt you become a fan.
He led me to Covent Garden and the Olympic store which happened to be having its get rid of everything 50% off sale. I got a 1948 London Olympics poster. Not sure if I should keep for myself or give to someone.
I headed to the South Bank after exploring Covent Garden a bit. On the way, I got to see the Paraolympic marathon going on! I was so excited, I thought I had missed it. Man, just thinking about that arm strength hurts my arms.

Soon, it was time to head to my homestay. It was fairly easy to find, but when I arrived it was a bit stressful. I couldn't get service to call them, so I wandered around trying to see if they were already there. No luck. I ended up finding a payphone (which didn't give me change back!) and calling them.

My host mom was full of excitement upon my arrival. They had had homestays twice before, so they knew what they were doing. One of their daughters was there too, and she runs! That's exciting. We had chili and some crumble, which were both delicious.
When I tried to connect my Internet with the code, it wasn't working. My host mom didn't know much about the Internet, so we had to wait until the next day to get my Internet working. I said it was fine, but as soon as I shut the door I broke down. I think it was the fact that I now had no connection to anyone I knew. With the relative, despite not knowing each other before, we still had a connection through a relative, so we could... well, relate. Here I was alone. So I freaked out.
Looking back, it could have also been due to being tired. It was silly, but whatever.

Getting closer to the more recent stuff, which takes less time to recap! Yes! For now, I'll leave you with that.

Adventures Abroad: Returning to the UK

Alright, back to more recap. Goodness, I'm behind aren't I? Well to be fair I haven' had a lot of Internet time available until now, and even now I've only got a bit of time.

We last left off with my return to London. And goodness, that was quite awhile ago. I returned... the night of the 3rd? Ten days? Good lord.
The first day back was more of a recoup day. I internet-ed, I got razors to shave, (did I mention I hadn't shaved since I was back in Oregon?), and bought some groceries. I ended up meeting my relative I was staying with at a pub near his flat. I met his best friend and his co-worker friend, and we all went to dinner at a lovely Italian place.

The next day (5th) I went to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. The National Portrait Gallery had a fantastic portrait contest going on with portraits from artists around the UK. There are some INCREDIBLE artists around, that's for sure. In the National Gallery, I didn't realize Van Gough (sp?) famous sunflower painting was in there, so that was a pleasant surprise. Oh by the way, did I mention I got there by going on a run? Yes. It was nice. Almost positive I went a much shorter distance than anticipated, but what are you going to do?

On the 6th was something very exciting. Y'see, I was looking up events happening in London, and I happened to find an event called Fashion's Night Out. This is where many of the stores in the Soho area were having free events and sales and such. I was so there. Before that though, I was off to the National History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. I only saw the Ball Gown exhibit in the VA Museum (for now), but it was so worth it. God I love fashion.

After some dinner, it was time for the Fashion's Night Out! There were sales everywhere, and places were giving little things out such as champagne. I didn't grab any of the drinks because honestly, I was nervous to. I know, I know. Mostly I just browsed the clothes.

I'm quite exhausted right now, so I'll stop for the evening. I'll be sure to post more later!

Adventures Abroad: Where I Do a Bit of Shopping

Here we are, continuing on to our next part of the adventures!

I wake up on my last day at the hostel bright and early. On that day, I was going to do something I hadn't done since I'd gotten to Europe. I went on a run. 

I had a general idea of where I was going, and was going to run for at least 30 minutes. i don't know how far I actually went, but I ran for at least 40 minutes. The crazy thing is, I didn't hurt at all. I felt GOOD. 

I did end up getting lost for a bit, but managed to get back to my hostel before needing to check out. 

Being my last day in Paris, I was going to buy gifts for my family. Also fromage. 

I wandered FOREVER trying to find a place to get cheese, but I couldn't find one anywhere. So I settled for a plait a fromage instead. I know, it's typically a dessert thing, but I did not care. I got my cheese. 

Later I went back over to the area around the Notre Dame. Google maps told me there were a few places over there to buy books, so I went with it. (I was planning to buy books for my family. Cool books. I think books are a cool thing, especially foreign books.)

As I got off of the metro, I noticed a guy opening a green box with a padlock on it on the bridge. Inside of it were old vintage books. How cool! I look through, but didn't see any that I liked. Too bad. I wish there were more I thought... then I saw it.

If you've ever seen Midnight in Paris, there's a scene where Owen Wilson is passing by this area with all sorts of vintage things. Kind of like an outdoor market. Welp, I believe I had just found it. 

The green boxes went on as far as the eye could see, filled with old vintage posters, books, and other goodies. I was seriously overwhelmed.

After I covered a huge chunk of the area and bought some things, I wandered over to the more city area. Over here, I found people going into buildings with yellow tents outside the front of the store. Not knowing what it was, I took a closer look. It happened to be a bookstore that took over two different blocks! Wild.

Later I had some duck. I'd never had duck before, and it's quite French. Pretty delicious. I also went back to the Notre Dame and actually went inside this time. I'm glad I did, it's incredible in there. I felt a bit blasphemous taking pictures. (I still took pictures.

I took the Eurostar home (to London at least) and went back to my relative's flat. What a lovely trip.

I'm not going to say what I got for my mom, as she might be reading this soon, but I just want to say what I bought! For my dad, I bought him this old Scrooge Mcduck comicbook. Strange? Not really. My dad has this special collector's Scrooge Mcduck book, and it's a special thing to him (Probably just for value, but eh). I just think the old Scrooge Mcduck comic is a cool idea. If he doesn't like it, his loss.

I got my sister this awesome vintage Elle Magazine. There were so many cool old magazines, it was hard to choose! I think the one I got is neat.

Then... I went a little crazy with myself. Yes, I got things for myself. Can you blame me? One of the things featured at many of the areas were vintage fashion prints. Like 1900s prints and papers. I LOVE old fashion.  Still why History of Fashion was my favorite class. I was so ticked at myself in the museums when I couldn't remember the names of the articles of clothing in the paintings. 

So I originally was just going to get one. Then I saw a cool 1961 print (love those early 60s fashions). So I wanted that too. But then there was a deal for three prints...

Yes, I got three. I know. I'm still super excited about them all.

I didn't expect this one day to be so long! But it was. I will continue on my adventures tomorrow: Back in London!

For now, here are more pictures. 

Took this on my morning run. There are beautiful sights everywhere you go in Paris!

This bridge was near the market area. It's covered in padlocks that lovers lock there for "eternal love" or something like that. I'd heard of it before, but I still can't remember what it's called.

Inside Notre Dame

Near the Train station. Just cool lookin'.

I'm still giddy. (Okay, they're technically journals. Whateves.) 

Adventures Abroad: The Next Two Days in Paris

And the adventure continues! The story picks back up on the first morning in Paris, where I had actually gotten some rest. I slept in much later that I hoped, but it was probably a good thing. I had missed the free breakfast, so I decided to do the stereotypical American in Paris thing and buy a Pain au Chocolat. The verdict? Delicious. It's strange though since I've actually been seeing a lot of places selling Pain au Chocolat here. Oh, by the way, if you didn't know a Pain au Chocolat (I believe I'm spelling it right) is a chocolate filled croissant.

I wandered around until I finally reached the Arc de Triomphe. It's really a marvel to see. Actually, everywhere you walk has beautiful architecture. After some time at the Arc, it was time to head to the Eiffel Tower.
On my way, I stumbled upon a marketplace selling all kinds of foods. Cheeses, meats, bread... Unfortunately, it was shutting down, so I bought a Nutella crepe quickly. It was also later in the day, so I was hungry. Yes, this means all I had eaten since I'd gotten in Paris had been chocolate and pastry. Classy.
I went to the Eiffel Tower, and it was exactly how you would expect it to be. Fun, but not something you do multiple times. Only once.
Later I wandered back the the hostel, eating some beef thing with caramelized onions on top of it for dinner. It doesn't sound like I did much, but I spent the whole day walking.

Day two was the Lourve! I got up earlier this time in order to get breakfast. This is about the time when I discovered that France might be an hour ahead of England. Well. For breakfast I received a croissant and a mini loaf of bread, or roll. I ate the croissant and saved the roll for later.
Despite my time mix up, I was able to get to the Lourve a few minutes after it had opened. Being the first Sunday of the month, it was free too! Awesome. I heard that you needed to go to the Lourve early, but I didn't think 9AM was early. Hence my confusion on why it seemed so empty. Ha. Around noon it was PACKED.
I stayed until 45 minutes to closing, and I still didn't get to everything! I know. I should have stayed until the very end, but my feet were aching. I think I saw enough Egyptian sculptures, it's okay that I didn't see ALL of them. Paintings are what mattered to me. The crazy thing is, it's been hard to tear myself away from exhibits to eat. That roll did not count as lunch as much as I wanted it to, so I had a sandwich as well.
Speaking of paintings, I think it's a little strange when people take pictures of paintings. What are you going to get from that painting with your crummy photo? I dunno, it kind of seems ridiculous to me. I digress.
Leaving the Lourve led me to a Fight or Flight scenario, and I definitely know which one I am now. A 30-40 year old guy approached me, and started talking at me. I didn't know how to respond. A side note: I had already been told fuck you by two other French men since I'd gotten to Paris (this does not include my metro saviour). Having no desire to interact with this guy, I mumbled some words and literally scampered away into a garden area. I wish I was kidding.

Soon after, I was approached by a guy my age. He told me I was cute and perhaps we should go for a coffee sometime while I was here? I got his number. He didn't get mine. I never texted him. Whoops.
My next stop I decided was to visit the Notre Dame. Why not, right? But wait! What's that over there? Is that a macaroon shop? Yes indeed, it was. I was determined to make this trip as much of a food experience as possible, and that meant trying a real French macaroon.
I bought a chocolate one, a raspberry one, and a green apple one. I ate them in front of the Notre Dame. I didn't want to think they were amazing but... Oh my goodness. They tasted like something that kicked an Oreo's ass, but that's not giving it enough credit.

After enjoying my macaroons, I wandered a bit more and started to get a bit snap happy. That's when a random guy noticed it, and knew I was in Paris for the first time. I don't know much of what we said, but one thing that he told me was,
"Sometimes it's better to live in the moment."

Honestly? This whole trip thing has been the most living in the moment I've ever done. But I totally understand.

I later had an unsuccessful trip trying to find a certain restaurant, then went back to the area around my hostel. I had an overpriced hot chocolate while I wrote in my journal.
Oh, did I mention sometime before I went to have hot chocolate I had another Nutella crepe? As "dinner"? Oy.

Tomorrow's post: Last day in Paris and London Adventures continued! For now, here are some pictures.

My hostel was behind this. Pretty good indicator at night.

View from up the Arc de Triomphe

The problem with traveling by yourself? No one to take pictures with, or to have take pictures of you!

Saw this ad around, it's just so bizarre.

I know what I said about pictures of paintings, but this room was incredible.

Real life bunny slippers. Did not know that was a thing.

Look at all the people. Madness.

I usually don't take pictures of my food, but this was an exception.