5/14/2023 0 Comments Champs-Elysee and Eiffel TowerAfter saying goodbye to my family this morning, I headed to the train station and took the Eurostar to France! It was so fun and soo nice not having to fly for once! After changing for dinner, I took the bus from my hotel to the Champs-Elysee to walk up the street with a beautiful view of the arch. It was a beautiful evening and the weather was perfect! It was absolutely breathtaking walking up the street. I got up to the roundabout infront of the arch to take pictures and then figured out where the tunnel was underneath to go straight to the arch. It was so cool being right under the arch and getting to read all of the inscriptions. The sun was slowing setting and the view was just spectacular! The beginning of many dreams coming true. I decided instead of taking the bus to the Eiffel Tower that I would do the 30 minute walk over to enjoy the night and views of the city. It was a nice walk and crossing over the bridge of the Seine was incredible. That first view of the Eiffel Tower was just jaw dropping. Still in shock that I was here. Walking up through the garden paths everything was just stunning. Again the sun setting around the Eiffel Tower had the views so beautiful. I went down to the docks and found a floating restaurant with outdoor seating directly infront of the Eiffel Tower. I had an amazing glass of wine, salmon, and dessert just appreciating the views. The food was incredible and not as expensive as I was thinking for a restaurant right there! The sun finally set around 10 and we got the lights show of the tower from the Seine. It was so freaking beautiful, I couldn’t believe I was there finally fulfilling this dream!! I walked back up under the lights of the Eiffel Tower for more pictures and headed back to my hotel for the night.
5/13/2023 0 Comments WindsorToday we got up early and took the train over to Windsor for a tour of this beautiful castle! We got to see the changing of the guard again which was a ton of fun. This was my first European castle and it was an amazing one to start with! We were full on tourists today, renting the audio tour headphones to walk through. It was quite chilly in the morning so we got into the castle quickly. All of the rooms were so beautiful, it's crazy that the Queen (and anyone) lives here! The paintings were so beautiful, and learning about the knighthood society was fun. Going through the old bedrooms always feels odd thinking about someone living and sleeping in these beds that are now on display. The whole castle was so breathtaking and I am really happy that we did this. We went through the church as well and viewed the resting place of Queen Elisabeth II. The church was so beautiful on the inside and out. Afterwards we went over and took a few pictures with the guard. Then we went out and had a traditional afternoon English Tea Service with biscuits and tea. It was so scrummy! Biscuits, and clotted cream and jam, oh my!! I also got a salad because I hadn't eaten anything yet haha. It felt like a perfect last day in the UK! 5/12/2023 0 Comments HamiltonWe got to be in the room where it happens! Haha I know that's cheesy but ahhh it was soo cool to see this show in person!! I loved the changes they made from the filmed version, it was so much more comical and interactive with the audience. We were laughing out loud a ton, and then equally stunned from the choreography and singing throughout the show. It was really fun getting to share this experience with my family, especially with my Dad and his love of Hamilton. Almost all of the main male cast members were understudies, and we could not tell until we looked it up at the end! They were freaking incredible and the chemistry was amazing. I loved the King and his jokes, the Cabinet battles were interactive and so cool. I loved the show so much!! AND there was someone from Elon in the cast!! We all enjoyed it so much, and I feel so grateful for my parents for them giving us this experience.
5/12/2023 0 Comments Buckingham Palace & Notting HillWe started the morning with going to Buckingham Palace. This was so beautiful and really cool to see where the royals (sometimes) live. We ended up being there around the time for the changing of the guard so we stayed to watch. It was really fun seeing all the horses and music. I didn't know there was that much pomp and circumstance that comes with the changing of the guard. I don't know that I would need to see it again, but it was really cool to experience at least once! Then we headed out and went to the Natural History Museum for a bit, then Delaney and I traveled to Notting Hill. This area was so fun and funky, I loved it! All the streets were closed off with tons of booths set up with homemade goods. We stopped at the Notting Hill bookstore, and bought ourselves and our parents a Blind Date with a Book books. These are always so much fun! Then we just walked around and caught up on how we've been doing. It's hard being away from Delaney for too long because we're really close. I really appreciate the time we had together to just bond and mess around with each other. We found the door from the Notting Hill movie, gotta be honest it was underwhelming haha. It's just a blue door that is someone's real door/house haha. We walked back and had a unwrapping session with the family, giving them the blind date books we got, as well as gifts for Mothers day, Delaneys birthday, Fathers day, and Moms birthday. Haha I made sure to get everything in before I get home in August.
5/11/2023 0 Comments Phantom of the operaSomeone pinch me, I have now seen the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway AND on the original opening theater on the West End. We were four rows back from the stage and it was absolutely breathtaking. The actresses and actors for Christine, Phantom and Raoul were all freaking incredible!! Our Christine's voice, just amazing. The Phantom, Delaney and I agreed, was better than we saw on Broadway, and the whole trio worked in such perfect harmony!! Being that close to the chandelier was a ton of fun, and what a dramatic ending to Act 1. I said before the show started that I thought I would cry 5 times, and I did indeed cry 5 times by the end of the show. 1. opening music/chandelier rising 2. Music of the Night 3. Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again 4. Phantom sad at the end 5. Bows. This show is just top tier. The music and the ensemble and the leads, it is all beautiful and perfect. I am must in love, there will never be enough times that I see this show. Walking out of the theater I was just crying and speechless. Thank you to my parents for getting us these tickets and the experience!
5/10/2023 0 Comments Harry potter mixologyTonight Delaney and I went across London to the Cauldron for a magical mixology class. We entered the Harry Potter themed bar, and were given a complementary drink, that you magically start through a unicorn! Then we headed upstairs and put on our Gryffindor school cloaks. Each table had a wand to perform the magic, and we had Voldemort's wand which was fun. Then we got to pick two out of three drinks to make throughout the time. We chose one flowery and one spicy drinks to make, and then our helper brought over the supplies and two cauldrons for our first drinks. It was sooo much fun playing around with making the drinks and feeling like we were in a Harry Potter potions class. The atmosphere is cool and you really feel like you're in the magic. Our second drink was a little more dark with curses, and we had fun playing into the madness of the 'potions' class and even more fun drinking the 'potions' we made. I highly suggest doing something like this if you are a Harry Potter fan!! 5/10/2023 0 Comments Royal Albert hallThe gangs all here!! Mom and Dad got in around 8am, Lane getting in around 10am. YAY everyone is together again! After a bit of chaos and rain getting to the Royal Albert Hall, we went on a tour of this magnificent hall. It was so cool getting to go inside the theater where I've watched so many of the anniversary shows filmed. It felt surreal getting to walk through all of it, learning the history of the place. Seeing some of the windows outside that are large arches it was crazy to think that those used to be open for people to be pulling up in carriages! Like that's amazing!! I wish I went to theater shows in a carriage lol. Afterwards it was beautiful just to walk around the gardens and get to catch up in person with the family again, it feels surreal how much time has passed and that we're together in ANOTHER COUNTRY!
5/9/2023 0 Comments Double Decker Bus tour!I accidentally booked coming to London a day early lol. So I decided to do a double decker bus tour to get to see all the sights. I booked with the BigBus Tours, which was a hop on hop off tour. We did a whole big loop of the city. The commentary and music was silly but they put in a good amount of information. I hopped off first at the Sherlock Holmes area, and stopped by Baker Street and at the Sherlock Holmes home on 22B Bakers Street. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed walking around. I hopped back on and went around Big Ben, it was soo incredible!! I can’t believe how really big it is, and the whole parliament building. Then I hopped off for an included river cruise that took you between the stops. The guy doing the commentary was so funny I loved it! It was a beautiful day and so nice being on the water and getting a large view of the city. Then I hopped back on the bus, getting another view of Big Ben and the Westminster Abbey. It was interesting learning about the different bridges and which one is the true London Bridge. I thought the bus tour was a ton of fun, I loved getting to relax on the bus and just enjoy seeing all the sights! Afterwards I went to a pub, and had a nice pint and fish and chips. It was so delicious and a great first night in the UK! I’m very excited for the family to get in tomorrow. 5/8/2023 0 Comments TübingenWhile the girls were at school, Leah took me to the beautiful town of Tübingen. There was a lake running through it, and beautiful old style building with flowers and willow trees all around. We started in a bookstore and we each couldn’t help ourselves from buying a book haha. Then we just walked around and chatted while admiring the town. It was so beautiful and like something out of a movie! We went down and walked by the lake, stopping for lunch at this restaurant that overlooked the water. I got my ceremonial glass of wine from the region and these tasty potato dumplings! It was a very nice time getting to be with Leah and talk about life. At the end of the night Leah made homemade mac and cheese with broccoli and it was soooo delicious and special having a homecooked meal. I am so grateful the that I was able to come to Germany and spend time with my wonderful cousins! I feel so much closer to the family now ❤️ |