Author Archives: ewh5124

Day Trippin’ to Oxford

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Along with other international students, I had the opportunity to visit Oxford for a day. The place was no doubt beautiful; and I’m pretty sure I became about 50 times smarter just from being there (kidding).

When we arrived, my friend and I first stopped by Oxford Castle. Since we didn’t have a lot of time (nor money), we didn’t actually visit the castle. What I found quite strange was the amount of restaurants just built inside the castle. There was a Pizza Express and other chain restaurants, which was odd because I was used to other castles being treated strictly as places for tourism, not dining.

Next my friend and I visited the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. At this church, we climbed to the top for a view of Oxford. I’m a really big fan of skylines, and this one didn’t disappoint (although there were a few cranes that I could have done without).

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After that, my friend and I started walking toward the Bodleian Library. Along the way, we encountered some rebellious bike riders.
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At the Bodleian Library, my friend and I really didn’t feel like waiting around for the next tour, so we simply visited the places we were allowed to see. It was strange to see all the students walking around in normal, every day clothes. I think I had a misguided vision of what to expect at Oxford. I imagined everyone looking incredibly post and well dressed; instead, everyone looked just like everyone else.





Next, my friend and I almost completely walked passed the Bridge of Sighs. This bridge was designed to be like the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, except for one small problem. It looks nothing like the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

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Past the Bridge of Sighs, my friend and I walked to the Turf Tavern, a place famous in Oxford. We didn’t actually get anything, just looked at it because of its notoriety.

Afterward, we walked back through the town centre, where we did some shopping and later stopped for lunch at a caf�.
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After our light lunch, my friend and I set off to find one very specific ice cream shop: George and Danver’s. Once we found it, I ordered a delicious Banana Split all for myself. Although not even coming close to the Creamery’s ice cream at Penn State, this ice cream was still a fantastic treat.

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Afterward, my friend and I visited Alice’s Shop, a store dedicated to Alice in Wonderland. Apparently, the original store was included in one of Lewis Carroll’s tales of his character, Alice. I’m not entirely sure what the whole story is, but one of my good friends back home is a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, so I had to visit for her.

Following this quick visit, my friend and I visited Oxford University’s Botanical Gardens, which were absolutely beautiful.
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Above on the right, some people are “punting.” My original thought was that this would be some sort of kicking game (YAY American Football!) but instead it’s basically just a gondola ride.
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After leaving the Botanical Gardens, my friend and I decided to spend the rest of our time just walking around and seeing what we could find.  We ended up finding a really cute display for a wedding that was taking place that day.
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We also found what I have dubbed “the street of the century.”
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After walking back through Oxford Castle, my friend and I headed back to our bus stop to begin the long drive home. It was a very nice day overall. I can’t imagine ever being intelligent enough to actually be in Oxford, but being able to pretend I was for a day was enough.

Until next time,

Emily .xx


Location: Oxford, United Kingdom

Easter in Paris, Part III

IMG_1240.jpgOn our final day in Paris, my friend and I had to visit the Eiffel Tower. Again, we woke up early to beat the lines, and again we found ourselves stuck in them. However, it was nothing compared to the lines when we came back down. My friend and I elected to take the stairs to the top, as the line was shorter, and we could stop to take pictures.
At the top, the skyline view was, once again, beautiful; however, it was strange to not see the Eiffel Tower. You know, since I was standing on it and everything.
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My friend and I unfortunately didn’t go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower. We would have needed to buy a ticket to get up there, and there was a line for the ticket booth (which wasn’t even open at the time) followed by another line to actually take the elevator to the top. My friend and I decided looking at the top of it was good enough for us, so we went back down again.

At the bottom, we (naturally) took more pictures of the tower itself. I came to the conclusion that if I had ever studied in Paris, I would have been out on the Eiffel Tower lawn nearly every day the weather was nice.

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After finally seeing enough of the Eiffel Tower, my friend and I walked over to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees. The Arc was, of course, having construction done on it. The walk down the Champs-Elysees was beautiful, but what I found humorous was the line outside of none other than Abercrombie and Fitch. Not only did the store have gates before its entrance, but there were “bouncers” outside controlling how many people went into the store at a time. It was hilarious because, while there were store like Louis Vuitton and other designer names, everyone was waiting for Abercrombie and Fitch (????)
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At the end of the Champs-Elysses, my friend and I decided to visit the famous Catacombs. After roaming the streets for nearly an hour, my friend and I finally stumbled upon the Catacombs, which were…closed. Unfortunately, my friend and I didn’t think that the Catacombs would be closed for Easter.

With the day nearing its end, my friend and I went back to our hostel. However, we still had one last thing to see. Our hostel was only a 10-minute walk from Moulin Rouge, so we decided to go. After eating some dinner on the lawn, my friend and I did some tourist-y shopping.
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To celebrate our last night in Paris, my friend and I visited the Bastille District, which probably the best place for a night out in Paris. We bought ourselves a couple of insanely overpriced drinks and enjoyed our last night together for quite awhile. It was a lovely ending to a fantastic weekend.

 

Overall, I loved Paris. I think that, even if I lived there, I would never be able to see everything. Although its metro wasn’t anywhere near as nice as the London Underground and its streets may be dirty, Paris has so much history; it’s hard not to fall in love. One weekend was most definitely not enough, and I hope one day I can return.

 

Until next time,

Emily .xx


Location: Paris, France

Easter in Paris, Part II

On our second day in Paris, my friend and I woke up bright and early to hop on the metro to Versailles. Despite our attempts to arrive there before the crowds, we ended up stuck in a line that wove around and around the entrance to the castle. We wound up waiting for around 2 hours (again!) just to get inside.

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 A picture to show our excitement at waiting in line
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Anyway, once we got inside, I was blown away by the decadence and immense size of Versailles. I mean, I had heard about how extravagant it was, but nothing could actually compare to seeing it. Of course, everything was made of marble (again!), but the details were where I found the most beauty in Versailles. Every single item was encrusted with gold somewhere on its surface. It was so over-the-top. It’s no wonder that the building of Versailles crippled France and sent them so far into debt they didn’t have a chance of getting out.
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However, for me, the best part of Versailles was the gardens, which I kept getting a glimpse of during the castle tour.
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Before actually going outside to the gardens, however, my friend and I needed some lunch. Within the castle, there was this beautiful little restaurant called Angelina’s. Having come recommended by one of my friend’s mates, we decided to stop there for lunch. It was absolutely delicious, but the best part was dessert. After splitting a delicious �clair, my friend and I decided that if we were ever going to try macaroons, Paris was the place to do so. And man, they did not disappoint. They were absolutely the best dessert to round off our visit to Angelina’s.
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After our lunch, my friend and I wandered off to the palace gardens. These gardens are huge, and we knew there was no way to see everything, so we made the logical choice of just wandering around and seeing what we found. My friend lovingly made me a flower crown (hipster alert) from some daisies we picked along the way. There were masses of fountains, of which my friend and I found one that was synchronized to music. The gardens were beautiful, but the highlight for me came at the end of our day at Versailles. My friend and I sat along the bank of one of the ponds and watched the swans swim as visitors went rowing. It was peaceful and a nice break from all the craziness that is Paris.
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With rain clouds rolling in, my friend and I headed back to our hostel to prepare for our final day in Paris.

Next up: Easter Sunday at the Eiffel Tower

– Emily .xx


Location: Paris, France

Easter in Paris, Part I

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This update is coming quite late in the game. Over the Easter Weekend, I traveled to Paris to reunite with one of my best friends, who is currently studying abroad in Dublin.

I arrived on Friday around noon. After roaming around aimlessly for what felt like an hour, I finally stumbled across my hostel, where I met my friend a bit later.

We decided to kick off our weekend with a visit to none other than Notre Dame Cathedral. Being Disney fanatics, my friend and I were looking forward to following in Quasimodo’s footsteps.

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Unfortunately for use, my friend and I both forgot that it was Good Friday, which meant there were huge crowds of people assembling all around the Cathedral. While waiting in line to see the inside of the Cathedral, my friend and I had numerous opportunities to take photographs of this amazing structure. Although I knew I would love it, I never would have expected it to be just so incredibly extraordinary. And the inside was even better. The benefit of it being Good Friday was that we actually could see a church service taking place inside the Cathedral. It was definitely something to cross off the bucket list.


I tried to take pictures on the inside, but none of them did the Cathedral justice.

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After touring the inside of the Cathedral, my friend and I knew we couldn’t actually leave without a climb to the top. Alas, so did everyone else. We ended up standing in line for over 2 hours waiting for our chance.


Fortunately, we found a crepe stand across the street to keep us entertained while we waited.
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After our 2-hour wait, we finally got to climb up. And I was definitely not prepared for that journey. There were so many stairs to climb and, of course, they were made of marble. If you didn’t know, marble is a terrible surface for stairs, especially in a historical cathedral. They were worn down and incredibly slippery. I had to give myself a pat on the back for not falling down on the way up or on the way down. But, in the end, the view was so worth it. There’s nothing quite like the Paris skyline.
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After spending essentially the entire afternoon at Notre Dame, my friend and I headed over to visit the Lourve, which was free for students that night. I really didn’t know what to expect, except that the Lourve was huge. And, indeed, it was.
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Naturally, when we first arrived, I had to take a clich� photo.

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Once we were inside the Lourve, my friend and I first decided to seek out the Mona Lisa, as most do. We ended up walking past where she was about 4 times before finally realizing where she was. Once we found her, I couldn’t believe it took us so long to find her as people surrounded her. But we weaseled our way to the front and took a selfie, of course.
Then we decided to just walk around other portions of the Lourve. We went through the Egyptian exhibit and then found some statues, which were all too fun to imitate.


At the end of our visit, we went to the Middle Ages exhibit, which ended up just being a bunch of stone walls that formerly made up a castle that stood where the Lourve now is. As my friend said, those stone walls pretty much summed up what happened in the Middle Ages.
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After concluding our visit to the Lourve, my friend and I took an evening walk, and it was beautiful. First, we spotted the Eiffel Tower, lit up in all its glory.
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Then, we just walked. We found the Bridge of Locks by accident and walked along the river. It was the perfect ending to a perfect first day in Paris.



Up next, Day 2: 

A Journey to Versailles.

Emily .xx


Location: Paris, France

A Weekend in Belgium, Part II

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On Sunday, my last full day in Belgium, my host family and I explored even more places. But the day started out much slower than that. In the morning, I walked to the local bakery with my ‘host mom’, as it were, to buy breakfast and, of course, pick up some famous Belgian chocolate. 
As a self-professed chocolate aficionado, I have to admit that Belgian chocolate was just as, if not more, delicious than anticipated. I ate so much of it throughout the weekend and then even more once I got home. I don’t really care to admit how much I actually ate. However, it was delicious, so I don’t regret any of it.
After breakfast, my host family and I drove to the coast again and took a walk along the beach. Living right along the coast in England, I had grown used to beaches of stone, so finding sand was amazing…until it got stuck in my shoes.
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On the drive back from the coast, we drove through ‘Lissewege’, known as the white village since all the houses are painted white. This village is well-known amongst artists of all sorts, who visit to sit at one of the cafes in town and find some inspiration.
For lunch, we returned to my host family’s house for a traditional Flemish meal. We ate a Flemish beef stew that was prepared in brown beer and absolutely delicious. As I was eating it, I kept thinking that, had my dad been there, he would have been begging for the recipe. As a side, we ate Flemish fries, because French fries aren’t actually from France and are therefore improperly named.
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After lunch, we visited Gent, a medieval town much like the town I had visited yesterday, Brugge. My host family explained to me that people who live in Brugge think that Brugge is better than Gent, while people living in Gent believe that Gent is better than Brugge. Since I was only in each town for a few hours, I can’t really say which is better. But, Gent was nice because everything was more spread out, so I could see every building and maneuver my way around other tourists with ease. On the other hand, I like Brugge because it seemed prettier than Gent. Also, Gent had a tram service that operated above ground using wires. These wires were quite obnoxious as they constantly got in the way of pictures. Both places were lovely, however, and I am happy I got to see both of them.
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In Gent, my host family and I bought some traditional candies. They looked remarkably like something grape-flavored, but they were actually cherry-flavored. They were pretty good, and that’s coming from a girl who rarely liked cherry-flavored things. Apparently, many candy companies have tried to recreate these candies for mass production, but they haven’t been successful.
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We also stumbled across another beer wall. Belgians sure to love their beer!
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Before leaving Gent, we stopped at one of the cafe’s terraces for a quick drink. I found myself wishing that American restaurants had more outdoor terraces like nearly every restaurant had here. It was so nice to sit outside and enjoy a hot chocolate in the nice weather.
After Gent, we drove back to my host family’s house for a quick rest before visiting a local bistro for dinner. While in the bistro, something immensely strange happened. A man walked in…with his dog…in the restaurant. Although my host family was quick to assure me that this type of situation usually doesn’t happen, I was still surprised. 
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After dinner, my host family took me to a restaurant right by their house for a dessert that I just needed to have: a Dame Blanche. This ice cream dessert reminded me of a hot fudge sundae, but so much more delicious. It was the perfect way to end a weekend in Belgium.
After another full day of traveling, my host family and I returned to their house for an evening of television and some relaxation. We wound up watching The Voice, but the Netherlands version. I couldn’t understand anything the judges and contestants were saying to each other, until they started to sing. That’s because every contestant surprisingly sang a song in English. It was especially funny when the coaches had to teach one of the contestants how to pronounce each English syllable in his song. After the conclusion of that show, I went to bed to get ready for a day of traveling home.
In the morning, I returned to Calais, France to catch my ferry home. Having originally sailed over on the ‘Spirit of Britain’, I was amused to discover that I’d be sailing home on the ‘Spirit of France’. Before arriving in Dover, I had plenty of time to view the famous white cliffs and Dover Castle. It was beautiful, and I wish I could have spent more time in Dover as opposed to just traveling through it.
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Looking back, I really enjoyed my weekend in Belgium. I got to see a lot of places and things that I would never have seen otherwise with a host family who was incredibly kind and hospitable. I only with I could have visited longer.
Next up: my Easter Weekend in Paris!
– Emily .xx

Location: Gent, Belgium

A Weekend in Belgium, Part I

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During the first weekend of my Easter Holiday, I had the incredible opportunity to visit Belgium, staying with long-time friends of my grandparents. Although I was only there for 3 days, I completely fell in love with the places I visited. I can’t even begin to count how many times I thought to myself, “I’m definitely going to learn to speak Dutch and move here.” In fact, I think it might have just been permanently engrained in my mind all weekend.
To get to Belgium on Friday, I took the ferry from Dover in England to Calais, France. After driving for around 90 minutes, we arrived at the home of my host family. Their house was absolutely beautiful, full of antiques and other relics collected from my host family’s travels all around the globe. After a lovely dinner at their house, I went to bed quite early to prepare for a full day on Saturday.
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On Saturday, I spent a lot of time traveling around, but the day started in Brugge. Brugge is a very old town, much older than anything I could ever find in America. The majority of the buildings still look old as well. That’s because the governments doesn’t actually allow contractors and builders to tear down old buildings. Instead, they have to refurbish the outside of the building, although they can gut and update the inside. I, for one, liked this policy as it made the town look unique and beautiful. I was speechless for most of my time in Brugge, as I found the town so breathtaking.
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Brugge is also surrounded by a network of canals, which make for some amazing photographs.
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One of the things Belgium is most famous for is its various forms of beer, illustrated here by a humongous beer wall. Along with each beer bottle is a specific glass, which is only used to serve that specific type of beer.
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This cathedral is made entirely of bricks. Not long before I arrived, they had just finished a multiple year cleaning project. Many of the bricks had become blackened from dust and dirt building up over the years.
After visiting the market to buy some chicken, my host family and I began the somewhat long walk back. On the way, we stumbled across some beautiful tulips in bloom.
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While walking, we also stopped to look at what I dubbed ‘Swan Lake.’ This stretch of canal was covered in beautiful swans.
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Another feature we passed on our walk was something I wasn’t planning on discovering: a bridge covered in locks, much like those in Paris.

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One of the highlights in Brugge was definitely the dog in the window at the right. According to my host family, that dog will sit at the window all day nearly every day, hamming it up for the thousands of tourists that snap photographs of him.
After a delicious lunch at my host family’s flat, we (temporarily) said goodbye to Brugge and drove for a quick visit into the Netherlands. On the way, we drove through a small village called Damme, which is famous for its unique church tower. Once in the Netherlands, we took a small walk through a village called Sluis before heading back to Belgium.
One of the most interesting things that I noticed during this trip was the ease with which one can move from country to country in Europe. If a country has joined the European Union, then there is rarely any border control between that country and other in the European Union. It was a very strange thing for me to wrap my head around, considering I grew up dealing with traffic at the border every year before my family’s annual vacation in Canada.
Once back in Belgium, we drove along the coast, then decided to stop for some famous Belgian waffles at a well-known cafe, ‘Marie Siska.’ My Belgian waffle was absolutely delicious, although I do have to admit I may have stuffed myself a bit too full trying to eat it all.
After briefly revisiting the flat in Brugge, my host family and I set out for dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant. I ordered a pizza despite the fact that I was still full from my Belgian waffle. In the end, I only ate about 1/3 of the pizza, with the rest being boxed up to eat later.
With aching feet (as per usual) and tired legs, I found myself easily falling asleep in the car on the way back to my host family’s house. And with that, a good night’s rest was in order to prepare for my last full day in Belgium.
Until next time,
Emily .xx

Location: Brugge, Belgium

A Day in London

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It’s been quite awhile since I’ve last updated. And I have a lot to talk about. I just finished my spring break, where I traveled quite a bit. So as to not make one giant entry that would take up far too much space, I’ll be breaking up my spring break into several different posts that I’ll post throughout this week and next.

At the start of my spring break, I had to opportunity to travel to one of my British friend’s homes. Seeing as she lives right outside London, I leaped at the opportunity to visit…even if just for a day.

We began our day in London at Nelson’s Column and the National Gallery. Although I can’t say I’m an art aficionado at all, it was interesting to walk through a few of the rooms and see some famous pieces of art.

With Big Ben in our sights, my friend and I set off to find the London Eye. When we made it to the London Eye, I was definitely impressed with its size. I’m not sure why I imagined it to be smaller, but it was huge. We didn’t walk to the London Eye, but just seeing it across the Thames was good enough for now.

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And then we came to Big Ben. Seeing as Big Ben was one of the “must-sees” on my list, I have to say I was surprised when we actually found it. Although it was amazing to see, it really is just right on the side of road, leading to a slightly anticlimactic discovery. But nonetheless, it was a great sight to see.

Right by Big Ben was a statue I wasn’t expecting to see: the statue of Boudicca. Upon arriving in the U.K., I have to admit my knowledge of British history was definitely lacking. However, in one of my history courses, we learned all about the life of Boudicca. So, discovering her statue was great moment for me since I (for once) knew why a statue had been created.

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After Big Ben, my friend and I raced over to Buckingham Palace to see what I think every other tourist in London also wanted to see: the Changing of the Guards. My friend and I showed up later than most, but we managed to weasel our way to the gate where we could see some of the event itself happening.

IMG_0662.JPGEven though I couldn’t see everything, I could still hear. And let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like hearing Star Wars music blaring from royal guards. It was certainly unexpected (and even reminded me of Penn State football games with the Blue Band).

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After a short trip on the tube (London’s subway system), my friend and I arrived at Hamley’s. This store quickly became one of my favorite places in London. Hamley’s is a toy store, but not just any toy store, oh no. Hamley’s is a 5-story toy store with more toys and gadgets than I had ever seen before. The child in me came alive, and I didn’t want to leave after quickly racing around each floor; however, my friend and I had more to see.

One of the highlights was the Lego level, which featured Lego creations of the Royal Family.

After visiting Hamley’s, my friend and I decided we weren’t done looking at toys just yet. So, we went to the Disney Store. Growing up on Disney movies, this store was fantastic for me. I didn’t know where to look first or which stuffed animal to hug. It was incredible, and I definitely will be visiting again.

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Next, my friend and I decided to visit a few museums. First, we went to the Science museum, which was amazing. My friend and I spent nearly an hour on the ‘body floor’, and we could have spent even more time there. The museum was so much fun as it had plenty of interactive activities to take part in.

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Realizing we were running out of time to see museums before they closed, we ran off to the Museum of Natural History. Although we didn’t have a lot of time to explore, just the entrance of the museum was jaw-dropping. After looking at the earthquake and volcano floor, my friend and I had to leave to find a very important store.






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Being American, I grew up munching on M&M’s. As such, an M&M store sounds like heaven to me. And, indeed, it was. This massive store had so many M&M’s. I could have spent hours roaming the floors finding any and every color and design. However, my friend and I still had one more place to visit before the end of our day.

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Perhaps one of the most famous stores in London, Harrod’s is known for its up-scale, designer products. Just walking through the halls, I could tell there was no way I could ever afford anything inside. But, I could still visit their Disney Store. That’s right, my friend and I ended up right back to Disney. This store wasn’t nearly as big as the other, but it certainly brought some entertainment for me, especially being a fan of Marvel.

With aching feet and sore legs, my friend and I decided to finish our day after Harrod’s. And, although I may have woken up the next morning with a terrible cold, London was most definitely worth it. I cannot wait to visit again.


Until next time,

Emily .xx


Location: London, England

Beautiful Bath

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It’s been quite a bit of time since I last updated. But since my last post, all but one of my courses have finished. In addition, I had two massive assignments to finish, which I finally turned in last week.

Anyway, since I’ve pretty much been holed up on campus these past two weeks, I thought I’d take some time to talk about a day trip I took to Bath.

Bath has successfully stolen my heart. It’s absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful. Since the Romans originally built Bath, the style of the town definitely has a more Italian feeling than other English towns I have been to. Its Italian influence is probably part of the reason I loved Bath so much, given that visiting Rome is my dream.

Naturally, my friends and I started the day by touring the Roman Baths because…well, what else do you do in Bath?

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The Baths were incredibly impressive. Although they were doing some construction, the sheer size and intricacies of the Baths were easily identifiable. Although I can’t say I’d ever actually want to swim in the water there, it was surprisingly warm.



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After losing half of my friends inside the Roman Baths (they wound up spending more than 3 hours inside), my 2 remaining friends and I decided to walk around the town. We passed by the Jane Austen Museum but didn’t pay to go inside because we had no money.

With hunger sinking in, my friends and I found a tiny coffee shop to get some food. However, little did we know this ‘coffee shop’ was actually more of a kid’s diner attached to the children’ theatre. So, we enjoyed our food in the sun surrounded by children screaming and chasing each other around.

Then my friends and I visited one of the markets in Bath. Although smaller than I expected, it was still fun to walk around and see all the humorous items on display.

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To finish off the day, my 2 friends and I reunited with the rest of our group. We spent about an hour just sitting in a park alongside the river. It was sunny, beautiful and the perfect way to end the day.

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While Bath has certainly solidified itself as my favorite place, next week starts my Easter Break, where I’ll be visiting all new places and having all new adventures.

Until next time,

Emily .xx


Location: Bath, United Kingdom

More to see than meets the eye

Lately, I’ve been feeling bogged down with assignment work, so I haven’t really been traveling anywhere. However, I did have the opportunity to explore my local area of Bognor Regis. Last Wednesday, my year had what was titled our ‘Enquiry Day.’ We were sent out into Bognor at various stations with the idea to explore the village and decide if Bognor Regis was ‘just another seaside town.’ My group and I had a ton of fun throughout the day, despite some giant mud puddles and temporary bouts of feeling lost. We started the day bright and early at Butlins, a kind of vacation destination for British folk. There, we learned about the history of Butlins and were given our group assignments.


My group and I first hit the streets of Bognor. We had to map one street of the town, bearing in mind what elements were thought were necessary and which we thought were not. Slightly neglecting this task, my group and I just walked down the main street to Poundland (the British equivalent of a dollar store) and bought ourselves some lovely breakfast cheese sticks.


After that, my group and I explored the local Catholic Church, which neither my group nor I even knew existed. It was here I began to wish that the American education system placed more of an emphasis on religious education. In my classes thus far in England, I have learned more about various religions and beliefs than I have in all my years in the American education. Given the immense amounts of religious persecution taking place in today’s society, I think it would be most beneficial to teach about differing religions to combat ignorance and promote an environment of tolerance.


Next, my group visited Hotham Park, home of the friendly squirrels, fat pigeons and many, many well-behaved dogs (albeit leash-less). First, we had to walk around the park, which resulted in me completely coating my sneakers in a nice layer of mud (should’ve worn my wellies!), but then we were sent off to find historical places throughout Bognor. This prompted my group and I to visit the pier, which I found out used to have a pavilion attached the end. Buuuuut, the pavilion broke off and sunk into the sea in 1965…and, to be honest, it’s looking like the rest of the pier may not be too far behind. Many pieces of wood appeared to have rotted, and some pieces aren’t even nailed down on one end. To give you an idea of its age, here’s a picture of a warning sign:


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Sometimes it’s nice to be able to read the signs…sometimes.


My group finished our enquiry day with a trip to the Bognor Museum: another place I didn’t even know existed beforehand. However, I really loved it there. It was exceedingly interesting to learn about the town I am living in and what its place has been throughout history.


So, is Bognor Regis just another seaside town? I really can’t say. All I can say is this: no matter how run down it might be, Bognor Regis is still the place that first welcomed me to England. Bognor Regis is still the place where I’ve met all my friends abroad.  Bognor Regis is still the place that I’m learning to love.  And Bognor Regis is, dare I say it, the place I now call home.


– Emily .xx


Location: Bognor Regis, United Kingdom

No Longer Laptop-less

With the return of my laptop, I’m happy to say that I once again have access to all my files and photos. As such, I can (finally!) finish talking about my week off.

After running around like crazy visiting a new place every day, my friend and I decided to take Thursday off. But on Friday, we picked right back up again.
On Friday, we went to Southsea, which is located right by Portsmouth. Once there, we visited the D-Day Museum. I thought the museum was particularly fascinating in that I got to see how D-Day was viewed from the British perspective. In my American history courses, D-Day was always treated as purely an American by design, implementation, and success. At the museum, the focus was much more on the collaboration of all the Allied countries and how that collaboration allowed for the success of the mission.
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After the museum, my friend and I made our way down to Southsea Castle. On the way there, we met a very friendly rubbish bin.
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Built by King Henry VIII, this castle was much less glamorous than the other castles I had been too. Since it’s closed for the winter, we couldn’t go inside, but exploring it outside was good enough for me. It was incredibly windy and there were quite a few moments when I though for sure I was going to topple over. Nonetheless, I did get some amazing pictures of the skyline before my friend and I were pelted with rain. Once the rain passed, my friend and I walked over to Portsmouth for some food before heading home.
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On the last day of our adventure week, my friend and I ended up back in…that’s right…Portsmouth. We originally went back to visit the birthplace of Charles Dickens, but, upon our arrival there, we found out that it was closed. So, we went back to the city centre of Portsmouth, grabbed a late lunch, then went to sit in the (what I could call) town square for a bit. There, we watched some rugby on the giant screen in the square. 
With nothing really left to do, we went back to uni. And with that, my week off had ended.
The past two weeks, I’ve been getting back into the swing of my classes and have actually begun working on my final assignments. Let’s just say I’ll probably be spending a lot of my evenings in the library from here on out.
Cheers,
Emily

Location: Bognor Regis, United Kingdom