Officially Christmastime.

Well folks, the lights are strung along the streets, the air smells of winter, and the Christmas trees are up. The ice-skating rinks have been opened and the Christmas markets are set up and busy. There's even a chance of snow. So yes, it is officially Christmastime here in London! and it's awesome.

I only have 11 days left until I return home and I think I'm in denial. I can visualize myself getting home, hugging my family, and enjoying a Franklin Christmas, but I cannot imagine not being here anymore...so strange to think about. So of course these last few days are jammed packed full of last minute activities (aka: things I should have been doing in London earlier, but had put off). I feel like I have converted back into a tourist.

This last week has been busy as usual! Besides classes and internship, I have also gone to see Harry Potter! So much more fun seeing it actually in England, with scenes filmed in places I have just been. I also had the opportunity to go to the Chelsea football match! My mom's friend Marianna (who lives here in London) was able to get us tickets and they were fantastic seats! We were on the lowest section, almost eye level with the field and only 10 or so rows back. Attending a football match (soccer game) in England is an experience unlike any other! They go crazy for their team. There was one section in the stadium that cheered and chanted the whole time. Nonstop for 90 minutes. That is dedication right there. It was a great game, Chelsea won 2-1, scoring their winning goal in the last 4 minutes! Couldn't have come home without seeing a football match and it was a great night!

I also experienced my first school riot this week. The UK government is tripling the cost of tuition for university students, so they have been protesting this change for the last couple of weeks. However, they have now encouraged the secondary school (high school) students to get involved and protest too, since they will be paying this tuition soon. So on Wednesday (the day planned for students to protest), I was at my internship at Hornsey and a student pulled the fire alarm. The entire school came out to the basketball court and there was mass chaos. The principal was yelling through a megaphone, trying to create some order. She suggested that the student council members meet to come up with an effective solution and allow the students to sign a petition. This was received with boo's and yells and many girls started walking away, planning to leave the school. Teachers were encouraging them to stay, saying "you will only hurt yourself, think about needing to do well on your graduation exams!" etc. Some girls listened. Others did not. Since Hornsey is a gated campus, the girls had to jump the fences. They ended up damaging one of the gates and then reeking havoc on the houses in the neighborhood around the school. One teacher was sent to the hospital with 3 broken ribs. It was insane. The rest of the day was filled with girls yelling and chanting in the hallways, students jumping the gates, and teachers trying to create order. The ridiculous part is that most of the girls had no idea what they were protesting! Most of the year 7 students just stood there, holding hands, and looking very scared. On a humorous note: we found out that some students thought that they were protesting because they were going to have to pay for William and Kate's wedding, some thought that they were protesting for better food in the cafeteria, and some thought that the Queen was coming to their school. Just goes to show how poor the communication was. The high school students met up with the university students from all over the city and they marched and protested the whole day. We found out later that the Police held the protesters for 10 hours! Also, a girl was trampled to death in the chaos. And another student was arrested for throwing a fire extinguisher over the side of a building, trying to hit policemen. Surely there must be a better way to get your point across.

A group of us went with our neighbor Roger to a Piano Quartet concert at the Goldsmith's hall, which he was able to get us for free! The hall is immaculately decorated, with gold everywhere. I have never seen a concert hall like it. And of course the music was amazing! There was a pianist, a violist, a violinist, and cello player and they played as if they were one person. All of the notes melting together into masterpiece after masterpiece.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in a foreign country was a bit surreal. I had my internship that day (since obviously the British don't take off a day of work) and it was rather fun explaining Thanksgiving to the people I work with and the students in my classes. It is shocking how very little they accurately know about America. Of course, I could probably say the same for American students when talking about Britain. After work, I came home to help the heating-up process. I forgot to mention that preparation and cooking for our Thanksgiving began on Monday! We needed to feed 40 people and we only have one tiny oven. A daunting task to say the least. So delegated dishes to different people, they were cooked, and then refrigerated. The problem was that we had to heat them all back up the day of! We ran a little behind, but overall the food was a success. There was plenty of food for everyone (even seconds) and I think everyone had a great time. Thanksgiving could have so easily turned out badly, with everyone being sad about being away from home and missing their families, but that didn't happen. Everyone was in a great mood and I don't think I have laughed that hard all semester! It was such a great time of food and fellowship, a Thanksgiving I will never forget! :) We even had a British tradition thrown in, with the "poppers" at the tables. You pull each end and it makes a loud pop and there is a paper crown and little toy inside. We also had the living room decorated for Christmas, with the tree up and bows tied all over the place. It feels so much more homey here at the Daniel House and I love it.

I went to Covent Garden on Saturday and it is decked out in Christmas decorations (including a giant Rudolph carved from a bush and huge ornaments hanging from the ceiling). They have live street performers doing crazy stunts and tents set up everywhere full of food, clothes, and anything else you can think of. My favorite thing was that they had a place where you could pet reindeer! So great. I felt like a little kid again.

The Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is also in full swing! They put up this giant Christmas market in Hyde Park every year and it stays up from November to January. There are rows and rows of tents, filled with presents to buy and tempting hot food and drinks (since it is freezing outside now!). They also have a ton of carnival rides and an ice rink to enjoy, with Christmas music playing wherever you go. There is no better way to get in the Christmas spirit than to go to the Winter Wonderland! I hope I can go back...

Today I went to Harrod's, the largest shopping center in London. And they have gone all out for Christmas! They have an entire floor dedicated to Christmas decorations, toys, gifts, ornaments, etc. Kelsey and I spent well over an hour enjoying the wonderful atmosphere and exploring the many floors. You could literally spend an entire day in Harrod's and still have more to see!

As you can tell, I am thoroughly enjoying my holiday season here in London. I have not done it justice whatsoever, but trust me when I say that there is no better place to be during Christmas! (except for maybe at home...) Which is so very close! I have loved my time here in London very much, but I am also ready to get home and be with my family and friends. Only 4 more days in London and then a week of travel in Italy and then I will be on a plane back to the states! So hard to believe. Please be praying for travel mercies for everyone here and that we all stay healthy. Now to go bundle up and brave the cold to go see Billy Elliot, the musical. :)

All my love!

Ireland!

So contrary to popular belief, Ireland is not full of red heads. Shocking I know. I maybe saw 10 the whole time we were there (which is more than London!) but yes, most people in Ireland actually have brown hair. Just wanted to say that first. ;)

We had a fantastic weekend in Ireland! The first day Elizabeth, Hannah, and I spent the day in the city of Dublin, where we got a good taste of Irish city life. We went to Trinity College, the oldest college in Ireland. The campus is really pretty, with stone buildings and large trees. We saw the Book of Kells, the most decorated illumination of the Gospels still in existence today! The pages are filled with beautiful calligraphy and very detailed pictures, often making a word or letter into an elegant decoration. I cannot even begin to imagine how long it took the scribes to make this book! We also had the chance to walk through the old library hall, which is the largest single-chamber library in the world!! I walked in and had to just stand there with my mouth open. There are books from floor to ceiling, with two levels and stretching longer than a football field! The smell of old books was intoxicating and I wanted to just stay and soak it all in for hours. The room made you want to read, write, and study. Crazy I know. Thousands upon thousands of manuscripts, filling every space, holding millions of ideas and thoughts. Tiny little ladders scattered throughout for the librarians to run up and grab books from the top shelves. I don't know how they stay on!

After leaving Trinity College, we stumbled upon an open air market out in the courtyard of the Bank of Ireland. We almost didn't go in, but I am so glad we did! There was live Irish dancing in the middle of the market and lots of little booths filled with hand made goods and delicious smelling food. It was just fun to walk around and get a taste of local Irish culture (and enjoy a free dance show! those dancers were incredible!) We then made our way to Dublin Castle. Although most of you have the idea of a grand castle in your head, this was not the case for Dublin. The castle is in a parking lot. Surrounded by office buildings. And the back side of it has large brightly colored walls covering the whole left side. Not really sure why....needless to say it was not my favorite castle this semester!

We were able to see Christ Church Cathedral and Sr. Patrick's Cathedral, which were both beautiful! We were able to go back that night and attend an evensong service at St. Patricks and that was great. I do not think there is much that comes closer to angelic sounds than the men and boys choirs in the cathedrals of Europe. Other than that, we loved walking around the city and enjoyed a long and relaxing cup of tea (while it rained). The Christmas lights are all up, draping across the streets and covering the light poles, etc. It was so wonderful to walk around at night and take in all the beautiful lights. We also found a really great Irish pub and enjoyed a warm delicious dinner.

The second day, we were able to get out of the city! We met up with Lindsey, Chris, and Lindy and took a bus out to Glendalough, which is a national park known as "the heart of Ireland." Glendalough is tucked into the Wicklow Mountains, which were absolutely fantastic! It was so nice to get a taste of Irish countryside, and not just the city. Although it is November, it wasn't too cold and we were able to hike the trails up to the Upper Lake. And it didn't rain! We were so lucky. I would love to go back to Ireland in the summer one day, when the countryside is neon green. :) But I was glad that we were able to do a little hiking and take in mountains. We also had a chance to see the ruins of an old monastery, and one of the largest cemeteries I've ever seen! The stones were overflowing with history and there was a sense of rough beauty everywhere you looked. Gravestones have begun to lean and the roof is missing from the building, but the Celtic crosses and beautiful river complete a truly tranquil scene.

We returned to Dublin for the night and since everything shuts down (besides the pub and clubs) at 5pm, we decided to see a movie. It is really funny to watch an American movie in Ireland, let me say. The three of us were the only people laughing in the theater. Apparently the Irish don't know what Craig's list is. :)  We left at 5am the next morning to fly home after getting very little sleep (from ridiculously loud people coming in at 1am and 4am to the hostel). Overall it was a good weekend! So good to have a balance of city and country. I think I would have been disappointed if I had only seen the city side. There is still so much of Ireland that I want to see and hopefully I can go back someday!

Life after fall break

So after a very full and fantastic 10 days of travel, I have made it back to London. It's funny, but as awesome as fall break was, I began to miss London and was really excited to get back! This city has begun to feel like a second home. Of course, I am also starting to miss my first home very much, only one month left! How crazy is that?! Time has flown by....There is so much I still want to do here!

Here is a brief recap of this last two weeks (after fall break):
On the 2nd, I went to a production called Ghost Stories which was actually pretty scary. I went into it pretty skeptical, I mean how do you really scare your audience from the stage? But actually they did a really good job! When you first walk in, the room is really dim, there is the sound of dripping water, and numbers are scrawled across the walls. Definitely eerie. Everyone had a fun time jumping out and scaring one another the rest of the night. :)

On the 3rd, I had afternoon tea at the Ritz! It was to celebrate my friend Kelsey's 21st birthday and it was such a treat! We all felt like we were in a movie or something. The walls are covered in ornate gold decorations and larger than life mirrors. There was live piano music playing, which made everything more magical. Don't be fooled by the title 'tea' because there was enough food for a full meal! They bring finger sandwiches and if they ever get low, the waiter brings more out! There was also little cakes and sweets, not to mention the tea and scones! whew. Makes me full just thinking about it. Every inch of our table was covered in delectable foods and drinks. There were times when I had to sit back in my gold rimmed chair and soak it all in. We had a fabulous time and felt like royalty for and hour and a half.

On the 4th the whole house had a 'show-n-tell' time where we shared pictures from fall break. It was so nice to see all the different places that everyone went! We were able to feel apart of their adventures and laugh together about all our mishaps.

 On the 5th, I attended my first 'teacher training day' at the school where I am interning. It was a really good learning experience, since I was able to see the other side of teaching. The day was a curriculum conference and the teachers spent the day brainstorming effective ways to improve the 'Key Stage 3 curriculum' (which for us is 7th, 8th, and 9th grade). They had so many great ideas and I hope that some of them actually get implemented at the school. I was also grateful for the chance to meet more of the teachers and continue to build relationship with the staff at Hornsey. The 5th was also Guy Fawkes day! If you don't know who he is, he was the man who attempted to blow up Parliament on November 5th, 1605. "Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Gunpowder treason and plot. I don't see a reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." V for Vendetta, the movie, is about Guy Fawkes. A great movie I might add! Anyways, every fifth of November people in the UK make bonfires, in remembrance of Guy Fawkes getting caught and not blowing up Parliament. His effigy is often burned on the fire and then fireworks are shot off all over the city. We didn't get to see much of the fireworks and missed out on the bonfire, but were able to make up for it the next night!

That weekend we went out to Chipping Camden, a small village in the Cotswolds (English countryside) to stay with Hannah's grandmother, who lives in a cottage there four months out of the year. Lala (which is what we called her grandma) was such a sweet lady and took such good care of us the whole weekend! All five of us did not want to return to London to eat our pb&j's and have to do homework, rather than sit by a warm fire or look at the stars. Chipping Camden is the sweetest little town, with one street running through it and tons of fields, full of sheep. :) People ride their horses through the town and there is only one little grocery store. That first night, we were invited to a local Guy Fawkes bonfire and had a blast roasting marshmallows, teaching the British children how to make s'mores, and playing with sparklers. There was tons of good food and good fellowship. I much prefer the small town get-togethers. We also got to hang out with sheep during the day and had afternoon tea in one of the small tea rooms. The whole weekend was very relaxed and it was so nice to spend time with Lala, and the four girls I went with (Hannah, Elizabeth, Lindsey, and Lindy)! Oh and we also had the chance to go out to Gloucester Cathedral, where a lot of the scenes for Hogwarts were filmed for the Harry Potter movies. We have a lot of big Harry Potter fans in this group, so every opportunity we have to see something Hogwarts related, we go. haha. Gloucester is one of the oldest cathedrals I have been to and was by far the most unique! They were having a modern art exhibit while we were there and there were many strange, even disturbing, pieces that didn't really seem to fit the cathedral atmosphere.

I love my theatre appreciation class. Mark is a wonderful professor who is taking us to several theatres/museums all over the city. We even had a chance to dress up this week. ;) There is no better city to make theatre come alive than here in London.

On Tuesday, we went to the production Railway Children, which was a really fun kids show and had a real train pull onto the set! Talk about realistic. It was fun feeling a bit like a kid again, getting caught up in the steam, train noises, and bright colors.

This weekend has been really relaxed, which is exactly what I needed. I don't feel like I've stopped going since getting back from fall break, so I needed this weekend to get my head above water (aka: doing lots of homework and catching up on sleep). I even had a chance to do a little shopping! Regents street is all lit up with Christmas lights, and Hamley's (the three-story toy store) is bustling with people buying their gifts and children enjoying the endless supply of toys. I also had a chance to go back to Camden Market on Saturday, which is always so much fun! That place is full of amazing ethnic foods and funky, unique gifts. You can enjoy yourself by simply walking around and looking at the diversity that surrounds you.

Today I went to Hillsong and they were having a special Uganda-awareness day. Men, women, and children from Uganda that are apart of the 'Watoto Tour' came and performed for us. They began with fantastic,energetic tribal dances that displayed their amazing talent and the wonderful culture of their people. However, it quickly took a serious tone as they reenacted what happened when the rebels would come to their villages. Several stories were shared through a video and I pretty much spent the entire service crying. My heart is so broken for these amazing people. At the end, the people took turns telling us how they had forgiven the soldiers who had killed their parents or abducted them into the child army. There is nothing more powerful than forgiveness! All I could think about was the petty things that I hold onto and stay mad about. How stupid. Who am I to hold a grudge when these people, who have lost everything, can forgive such cruelty and rebuild their lives out of the ashes? I feel a bit wrecked today. But in a good way. I need to be reminded of the power of God's unfailing love and hope! And I need to reminded of the suffering of my brothers and sisters in Uganda (and so many other countries). If you feel led, please stop and pray for the people of Uganda right now.

Love and miss you all so much!

Prague

Alright! I am finally on part 4 of 4 with my fall break recap.
Prague was by far my favorite city during our week of travel! I don't know if I have ever been somewhere that was more naturally romantic. But at the same time, rustic. Paint is peeling off the walls and the cobblestone roads are not even, but it is all so beautiful.

On our first day, we did a half-day "Premier tour" of some of the major sites in the city. We took a bus through Wenceslas Square, and up to Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. There was an amazing view of the city from the castle, overlooking the river, the many bridges, red roofs, and sunlit trees. Pictures completely failed to do it justice. And the cathedral (built in the center of the castle complex) is staggering! The two spires stand unmatched in Praque, their dark hands piercing the bright blue sky. I didn't know at the time, but Prague Castle is actually the largest castle complex in the world and it covers the most square kilometers than any other castle! Pretty crazy. After making our way down from the castle, we took a river cruise and saw all the buildings that line the Vltava river . Charles' bridge is by far the most impressive of the bridges that we went under! It was the first bridge to connect the 'Old Town' with the newly developing part of town. This bridge is lined with 30 statues that stand as guardians, watching the thousands of people cross from one side to the other. During busy times, the bridge is literally packed from one end the other with people buying from vendors, taking in the view, or snapping a photo.

Our tour ended at the Old Town Square, where the Astronomical Clock is located. This is probably the most beautiful clock I have ever seen. Not exactly sure how it all works, but every hour the bells chime and 12 statues come out and parade on top of the clock. You know the hour is about to change because a  large crowd always gathers to watch the performance. After a delicious lunch, we found the 'Lennon Wall', which is a wall of graffiti art that was created in memory of John Lennon after his death. Most of it has been covered up by others who have painted graffiti over it, but some of the art still remains. It would have been so neat to see the wall it's original glory. We then walked up to Petrin Hill (near Prague Castle) where the model Eiffel Tower is located. It is a replica that, although smaller, still stands very tall on the hill (300 steps) and gives a fantastic view of Prague! We thoroughly enjoyed our walk downhill and spent the remaining hour of sunlight enjoying the sunset over the river, walking along Kampa Island. The following day was Halloween, so we asked some locals what people do for Halloween and apparently it isn't really celebrated in Prague. Unless of course you are in Kindergarten and carve pumpkins or an elderly person who goes and visits the graves of the deceased. I suggested that we go hang out with some Kindergartners. :) Oh I forgot to mention our hostel! Hostel Elf, as it was called, is a very funky diverse sort of place. There is graffiti art on all the walls and doors. Every sort of person, from ever walk of life, could be found sitting on a couch in the living room, playing cards or drinking a beer. Definitely geared more towards teenagers/20's people. The beds were very comfortable and after walking for over 8 hours that day, we slept hard.

The next day was a lot more relaxed, since we had visited most of the major tourist attractions. I simply enjoyed walking around, enjoying the quiet that comes with being out at 10am on a Sunday. There was a slight fog, so walking across Charles' Bridge felt like being in a movie. We went up to the Royal Gardens and enjoyed a peaceful walk among the fall-colored leaves and beautiful flowers. The day we went was actually the last day that the Gardens were open for the year, so our timing was perfect. I would have been so sad if we had missed out on that amazing garden. The paths wind on for a long time and encircle the Queen's old summer palace. And once again, we had a great view of the rest of the city. After returning to Charles Bridge (we couldn't get enough) and going to the Old Town Square to watch the Astronomical Clock go off, we decided that we needed a few hours just to sit, rest, and enjoy a Sunday in Prague. We curled up on couches in a coffee shop and spent several hours writing in our journals, reading, listening to music, and drinking coffee. And of course looking out the window to see the the gorgeous buildings and people walking along the streets of Prague. Such a needed break from our constant walking and 'go-go-go' mentality. Since it was the last night of fall break, we decided that we wanted to have a really good dinner to celebrate! Ironically, we decided on Friday's, one of the only American restaurants in the area. I think we all just wanted to eat somewhere that we knew that we would get good food! We walked in to find that they had completed decked the place out for Halloween! All of the employees were dressed up with face make-up and all. There were leaves on the floor and netting/spider webs hung from the ceiling. So we got to celebrate Halloween after all, haha. A fun way to end the trip!

I hope that one day I can return to Prague. If you ever get a chance to go, you should! There is just something about the city that feels simple and yet intricate. An artistic vibe permeates the streets and buildings and my memories are filled with golden amber colors.

Bavaria

Now this is when the story gets interesting (or maybe just ridiculous/funny/frustrating)...all of the above.
We woke up early the next day in Salzburg and took a train to Ingolstadt, Germany. The town seemed cute and small (just like we wanted) and arrived at our hotel that was super sweet. However, when we actually sat down to plan out our next few days, we realized that Ingolstadt wasn't anywhere near where we wanted to go! We had literally chosen a town in the middle of nowhere. The most embarrassing part about all of this is the fact that we thought Bavaria was a town in Germany, not AN ENTIRE REGION. You are probably thinking to yourself, "How did they mess that up so badly?!" Well I will tell you: in my search for fall break destinations, I googled 'Top 10 things to do in Germany' and Bavaria showed up as the top result. So then we searched Bavaria on Google maps and a little point showed up in Germany. In our ignorance, we thought this was where 'Bavaria' was located when in all reality what we had done was google an area the size of Switzerland.....brilliant. Needless to say we were a little frustrated with ourselves and quickly got train tickets into Munich to take a day tour for the following day. At the time I was really upset at my own stupidity, but looking back, I know that that experience will make me a better traveler in the future! I would rather make mistakes now and learn from it so that future trips can go that much smoother. We spent the rest of the day walking around Ingolstadt, enjoying the good weather, and appreciating the quaintness of it all. There was only one main street and some beautiful churches, houses, and museums. And apparently they have a famous Audi museum there, random I know.

Ingolstadt?! What were we thinking?

The next day went much better! We took a train from Ingolstadt to Munich and had a couple of hours to walk around Munich before our tour started. On our train ride to Neuschwanstein Castle, our Swiss/Indian tour guide told us all about the history of Bavaria and we couldn't help but laugh at ourselves since Bavaria was a country of it's own only 100 years ago, and we thought it was a city....
As we approached the castle, the Bavarian Alps came into view and we couldn't stop taking pictures of them! They are a striking dark blue and stand in all their elegance with snow capping the tops. And of course all that is below them is cute German houses and glass-like lakes. It was comical as the three of us girls, along with several other people from our tour group, moved from one side of the train to the other, trying to get the perfect picture of these incredible mountains. I'm sure our tour guide thought we were very entertaining!

We arrived in the little town of Fussen, where the Neuschwanstein Castle is located. This castle was the inspiration for Walt Disney's Cinderella castle and I can see why! It is unlike any other castle I have seen. The funny/ironic part about it is that King Ludwig ordered a castle to be built to replicate the great medieval castles of old and yet it looks nothing like those castles! I learned that Ludwig was really just a spoiled brat, who became King at 18 and all he cared about was building his own castles. He even sold Bavaria to the King of Germany, just so he could have more money to build his castles....a pretty ridiculous man. Ludwig never actually lived in this castle and actually died before it was finished. The outside of the castle, and the landscape around it are much more impressive than the inside...but we got a great view from some of the top floors! This castle is literally tucked into the foot of the Bavarian Alps and looks out over gorgeous rolling countryside. We had about a 30 minute hike up the castle, in the snow, and the view was beautiful all along the way. All of the leaves were changing color for fall and there were several water falls close by. We were so grateful that, despite our epic mistake, we still managed to see the parts of Bavaria we wanted to! And with snow to make it that much more magical! :) On the hike back down, we stopped at a little food tent and I had the best doughnut I have ever tasted in my life. Note to all: go to Fussen if you would like to have a doughnut that will change your life! haha. After the castle, we had some time in Fussen to explore the little town and grab some dinner. We then made the 3 hour journey back to our hotel in the middle of nowhere....We had a great tour group though and that made it all the more fun.
This part in our fall break in Ingolstadt really made me have to stop and think. In our moment of panic and frustration, I thought about all those sermons and devotionals that tell us to trust God is hard circumstances, give your plans over to Him, etc. and I realized, "Wow, it only matters if we actually put our trust in Him right this moment, in the midst of our stupidity and mistakes. When our plans don't work out." I had to just take in all in stride and roll with the punches (including extra train fare, travel time, etc) and make the best of it. In the end, God still provided and that part of our trip wasn't a complete loss. I have learned my lesson for sure! Never wait to research the places you are going and make sure you are staying in an actual city, not a region....may you all benefit from our mistake!

Salzburg

 

So after Paris, we hopped on a train and made our way to Salzburg, Austria (which was over 10 hours of travel). The train ride was absolutely gorgeous as we passed French countryside. I would look out the window and be in shock at the beauty of the vivid green grass, towns tucked into the hills, and bodies of water that reflected the bright blue sky. This was the day that I realized how much I love traveling by train! Why don't we have this in the states? It is relatively cheap, you can get anywhere, it is very comfortable and smooth, and you can look at amazing scenery the whole time! I have definitely been converted.

We arrived in Salzburg around 9pm in the dark and in the rain. Luckily our hostel was not very far away and it was really nice! Everthing was super clean, they had a lounge and computer area, and served breakfast in the morning for cheap. We were able to have a private room, so that was a definite positive. We awoke early the next morning to get picked up for our Sound of Music tour! In case you didn't know, Salzburg is where the Sound of Music was filmed and it is actually the town that the real Maria lived in. I had not realized before this trip how much of the movie is accurate to the true story! (of course there is a lot more to Maria's story that they couldn't squeeze into the film). But she really was a nun. She really did get asked to leave and be a governess. Captain Van Trapp really had seven children. And they really did get married! And we were able to see the real convent, house, etc. And of course all the places where the movie was filmed as well. Our tour guide was fantastic. She wore a traditional Austrian dress and sung throughout the tour. She also knew a lot of 'behind the scenes' facts that were really fun and interesting. We saw the gorgeous house where the 'back of the house' scenes were filmed, we saw the I am 16, going on 17 gazebo, and went up into the small town of Mondsee to see the church they used to film the wedding scene. And of course, we sang Sound of Music songs on the bus everywhere we went. :)

In Mondsee, we ate lunch and I had my first ever apple strudel. Let me tell you, it was fantastic! There isn't much that can beat apple strudel with hot vanilla sauce.
At the end of our tour, we went into the palace gardens that were used for the Do-Re-Me scene. We had a lot of fun reenacting the different parts (such as running along the fountain, patting the troll statue on the head, going through the statues whose fists were in the air, climbing the stairs that the song ends on, etc.)
After our tour, we spent some time exploring the city of Salzburg. The city is rather small, so there was only one main road for shopping.We enjoyed window shopping, laughing at the souvenirs they offered, and walking underneath the wrought iron shop signs (even McDonalds had one..). We also went inside Salzburg Cathedral, which was beautiful. We wandered around the area surrounding the cathedral and stumbled upon markets,pony and carriage rides, beautiful cemeteries, and water wheels.
Since we had pretty much done everything there is to do in Salzburg, we decided to go up to the top of the fortress (which is by far the highest point in the city). They take you up in one of the those little tram cars that climbs almost vertically up the side of the mountain and we were up at the fortress in 30 seconds! The view from the top was unmatched! We could see miles and miles of the Austrian Alps and take in all of the little city in one glance. The sight of staggering mountains, with snow-capped peaks that pierce the clouds and cast shadows on the little houses dotting the countryside, is a sight that will never get old for me.

After touring the fortress (and the Marionette museum) we went back down and enjoyed a great hot dinner and spent some time in the hostel lounge catching up on reading/journaling etc. as well as getting to know some of the other students staying there. It is always so fun to hear other people's stories for where they are from, why they are here, and where they are headed next. Everyone is on an adventure and it is all rather exciting. :)

I'll just end this by saying - the hills ARE alive with the sound of music.

Paris

Oh man.
So I have the daunting task of trying to tell you all about my amazing 10 days of travel and adventure. I think I'm going to attempt this in segments, doing one post for each city we went to. So this post is about Paris!

We began fall break with a trip to Paris as a whole group. I did not realize how much I enjoyed listening to and speaking the French language until this trip! (Not that I know much French, but Jessica has been teaching me). It is one of those languages that rolls off the tongue and leaves a sweet taste in your mouth. One of the first things we did when we arrived was to go to the Louvre. After 6pm, it is free for students so we took full advantage of that! It was my second time at the Louvre and there is still so much more that I need to see! The amount of amazing artwork and the size of the building can be a bit overwhelming...I just tried to soak up as much as I could. Although I must say, it wasn't nearly as fun without my mom, the artist, there with me. Not only is the artwork amazing in France, but the food is pretty fantastic! There is no better place to get crepes (which I had several), and the coffee is so much better there too! I also tried French Onion soup, which was wonderful.

On the second day, we visited the church Sacre Cour and had a great view overlooking the city. Paris is a very flat city, with the Eiffel Tower standing alone, very much unchallenged in height (which does make it more romantic I guess). We then went to Notre Dame and I enjoyed feeding croissants to the little birds. I had been to both of these churches before, so I would not say that was the highlight of my time in Paris. Afterward, we ventured into a park and before long large and dark clouds loomed in and we knew a bad storm was coming! The wind began to pick up and the rain started so we took shelter in the closest Metro station. After waiting out the storm and getting a cheap but delicious dinner, we made our way to the Arch de Triumph. A few of us climbed to the top and that was by far my favorite view of Paris! You could see Sacre Cour, the Eiffel Tower, and all the city lights that lined the major streets (such as Champs Elysees) that converge on the circle around the Arch.

The last day in Paris was the highlight of the weekend for me. The Grand Palais is having a Monet exhibit for a few months and it has over 200 of his works! It is the largest collection of his paintings in history and I knew that I wanted to witness that. I ended up going by myself because no one else had an interest in going. I show up to find out that it is a 3 hour wait to get in! Apparently it stays crazy busy every day, at all hours. I stood for a long time trying to decide whether to stay or not and eventually decided to wait it out. There was nothing in Paris I wanted to do more, so I waited. The 3 hours went by fairly quickly and the exhibit was well worth every second I waited! I have always liked Monet's work, but after visiting the exhibit I realized that I knew very little about his life or most of his work. Each and every painting was phenomenal. I wanted to stand and soak each one in for hours. I had not realized how diverse his work was and how much his style changed over the years. The exhibit was set up chronologically, so it was neat to see the progression. His works are so full of color and hang heavy with the layers of paint. Up close the canvas is just a collage or tiny dots of color, thousands of paint drops on top of each other, but you take a step back and it's the most beautiful landscape with jagged cliffs or water lilies. He captured light and shadow in a way that can bring tears to your eyes. Especially later in life, the subject of the painting wasn't nearly as important as portraying the light on the subject and how the light could change. I so badly wish that I could have taken pictures, but sadly that was not allowed. After, I met up with Christina and Jessica (my traveling buddies) and we had a great cafe dinner overlooking the river and went to the see the Eiffel Tower at sunset....mmmmm...

Luckily Jessica has family friends that are now living in Paris and let us stay with them for the night. The best way to describe that night - home. They were the sweetest couple and were our temporary Paris parents. :) Deborah had home made banana nut bread baking when we arrived and we spent hours in the living room drinking tea, eating the amazing bread, and talking with her and Keith. Oh and the Titans game was on TV! I got pretty excited about that. It was the first time we had really be in a home in two months. Needless to say we were so grateful for the warm food, good conversation, parental care, and soft beds for the night. I told Jessica that I wished we could have stayed longer! Unfortunately we had to be up at 5am to catch our train to Salzburg...Deborah even got up and made us breakfast in the morning! All three of our parents can rest assured that we were well looked after!

So yes, that briefly sums up my time in Paris! I loved it there. I love the language. The food is to die for. And there is almost nowhere better to go to see great art and architecture. And of course the Eiffel Tower is pretty cool too. ;)