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Here's a taste of what we did in London on day 4: - Holy Communion at St. Paul's Cathedral: It was beautiful and the Church of England service was very nice! - Tate Modern Art museum: Hint.... We were not fans of much. It may make sense to other people, but we did not understand. - Old Operating Theatre where they used to teach medical students how to amputate... Before the invention of anesthesia! Some of the tools were pretty crazy looking. - Cabinet War Rooms where Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet secretly held headquarters during WWII. This was one of the coolest museums we have been to so far! Most of the rooms were kept exactly as they were when they shut the doors and turned off the lights at the end of the war! - Proper Bangers and Mash for dinner: YUM! - Apple Crumble and custard for dessert: YUM! Cheers, Nicole and Meghan

#england #london #chuchill #travel

Day 3 in London!

Nicole and I started the day with a visit to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. According to the flag flying over the palace, the queen was not currently there, although you would have thought differently from the crowds of people outside. We snagged some spots with a good view and waited for about an hour. At 11:15, the guards arrived, some marching, others on horseback. We watched as they ceremoniously changed posts. They played a medley of Billy Joel songs at the end, which was unexpected and made us laugh. We were pretty entertained by the kids pretending not to notice the officers blowing their whistles and telling them to get off the fountain statues.

Later in the day, we rode the London Eye. We were really lucky to get a clear afternoon! The giant ferris wheel offered great views of the city throughout the 30 minute ride. Afterwards, we walked around Soho for a while and stopped for some Thai hot pots.

Cheers, Meghan and Nicole

#london #england #travel

Day 2 began early at the Tower of London, which Meghan and I were both surprised that it's not actually a tower. It was a palace for 15th century monarchs. Our favorite part of this was getting a close look at the Crown Jewels, including the crown and jewels that are currently used today, which are housed in the museum when they are not needed. We also saw where many people were executed, including Anne Boleyn. The Tower offered a great view of the beautiful and infamous Tower Bridge! Next, we went to Westminster Abbey which was just finishing a service for ANZAC day. It is a Remembrance Day for those from Australia and New Zealand that lost their lives during the First World War. The Abbey was absolutely beautiful inside! Later in the evening, we went to the National Gallery to get a glimpse of Van Gogh's infamous sunflowers paintings, among other paintings and pieces of art. We finished the day off by seeing Once, a show we have both been waiting to see for a while! Both of us wanted to see it again immediately after it ended... It was that good! Cheers, Nicole and Meghan

#london #england #travel

Day 1 in London! We arrived in London to begin the very last leg of trip! We are staying with a very nice couple at their flat in Chiswick. Here's a little sampling of how we spent our first afternoon and evening: -Westminster walk (thanks, Rick Steves) -First glimpse of Big Ben and the London Rye!!! -Pub stop at The Red Lion and discovery our new favorite beer, Honey Dew -Bought our Oyster cards and tried out The Underground -Byron Burger...yummm -The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theater (This was definitely the highlight of the first day! We both laughed so hard throughout the entire play. Thanks to my brother, Hunter, for the brilliant recommendation!!) Cheers, Meghan and Nicole

#london #england #travel

We stopped in Oxford on our way to London for a wonderful visit. Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University's theological college, was kind enough to host us. Rev. Dr. Lloyd, the college's principle, was the most gracious host we could have asked for! He toured us around the town and took us to all his favorite places. It was such a treat! We visited Queen's College, where Rev. Dr. Lloyd had been chaplain. The chapel was beautiful and the dining hall looked as though it were fit for Hogwarts. Speaking of Hogwarts, we got to see the divinity school of the Bodelain Library, which was used as the infirmary in the Harry Potter movies. The Duke Humpries Library in the Bodelain was the most incredible library we've seen! The first thing you notice is the wonderful smell of old books. The ceiling is something to see in and of itself, decorated in navy and red with carvings of books. The library dates back to 15th century and is filled with the oldest of books. It was definitely a favorite of ours! Our last stop on the tour was the garden at Worcester College. We have seen some beautiful gardens on this trip, but these were truly breathtaking. The colors of the flowers were extraordinary, deep purples and blues. The pond, filled with mallards and swans, looked like it was straight out of painting. Rev. Dr. Lloyd told us that a Shakespearean play is performed in front of the pond every summer! Nicole and I were really excited to have a drink at The Eagle and Child, affectionately known as The Bird and The Baby. This small pub is where J.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the other Inklings used to have spirited conversations over a pint of Guinness back in the day. We also went to The Nosebag, a small tea shop that sits over a creaky flight of stairs on a little side street, for a pot of tea and a flapjack. When we were told they had flapjacks, we both got very excited for pancakes. Come to find out, a flapjack in an oaty-granola cookie bar sort of thing. It wasn't what we were expecting but I am definitely hooked! We spent quite a bit of time browsing around Blackwell's bookstore, which is not hard to do considering it is massive! I think it was about 4 floors. We especially loved the medical section. We both added lots of books to our lists! One of the best parts about our visit was the Evensong service at the Christ Church. The service was absolutely beautiful, as was the church. We couldn't have asked for a better visit or a better tour guide! Cheers, Meghan and Nicole

#oxford #england #travel

So, apparently traveling in England by train is expensive! We had planned on traveling from Edinburgh to Oxford by train, but it was about £136 (about $220) per person! So instead, we decided to make a quick 3 hour stop in Liverpool to cut the cost in half! As most of you know, Liverpool is the home of The Beatles! So we HAD to go to The Beatles Experience Museum! On our 20 minute walk from the train station to the museum, we walked down a busy pedestrian street full of great stores and cafés! There was even a book swap, where you could leave old books and pick up new ones for free! We finally reached the museum and had a wonderful time learning the full history of The Beatles! It was a very cool experience. After our quick Beatles tour, we stopped for a pint, mac and cheese, and some potato skins. Can you tell we are getting homesick? We made our way back to the train station and headed south toward Oxford! Cheers, Nicole and Meghan

#liverpool #england #travel #the beatles

Our second day in Edinburgh began early because it was our only full day. We started with the Hop on Hop off bus tour to learn more history and see everything quickly. We made a stop at Edinburgh Castle, which was really beautiful! The history between Scotland and England is so rich, and we really enjoyed learning about it. After Edinburgh castle, we hopped back on the bus to see Greyfriar's Bobby. This is a little statue of a dog that represents the loyalty of dogs to their owners. Legend has it that Mr. Greyfriar died and left behind his poor dog, Bobby. Bobby went and laid by his owner's grave everyday until he died himself. Meghan and I both have a love of dogs, especially our own, so we thought this was a cute story! We also went to the National Museum of Scotland and saw a wonderful exhibit of wildlife photography. We walked down Rose street to find a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hotel to pack and get prepared for England!! Cheers, Nicole and Meghan

#edinburgh #scotland #travel

Day 1 in Edinburgh was rough! We arrived by plane at 7:50 with only 1 hour of sleep. We had no time for a nap and decided to just head out for the day! It was a rare sunny day in the UK, so we opted to climb Arthur's Seat! It was also something that would keep us active so we wouldn't feel the need to sleep. The climb was about 45 minutes! It was very windy, so it was a little difficult! The hike was well worth it as the view was beautiful. We sat up there for a while and even read our Easter Gospel because we weren't able to go to church. On the walk down, we were both thinking of our families back home. We began reminiscing about our favorite family recipes and holiday traditions! Our mouths were watering just talking about our grandmothers' and mothers cooking. At that moment, we were really missing home! We called it an early day so that we could rest and plan the rest of our 10 days left! Cheers, Nicole and Meghan PS Sorry that it's so short, but we are behind on blogging and filling our days with so much more.

#edinburgh #scotland #arthurs seat #travel

Day three in Dublin started with a tour of Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). Kilmainham jail is where the leading members of the 1916 Easter Uprising were executed by firing squad when Ireland tried to take back the city from England to begin a war of independence. They were unsuccessful this time, but only a few short years later they did gain independence from England (1922). After the tour, we decided we needed something a little more uplifting...So we went to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. The tour shows you how Guinness is made right from the very beginning, where they harvest the barley and hops, all the way to the end, packaging and pouring. The Guinness storehouse felt like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory but for adults, of course! They had a tasting room that was all white and had four pots with steam coming out. Each of the pots was releasing a smell of the main ingredients in Guinness, and after you've smelled each, you get to taste a fresh poured Guinness! It was wonderful! We also had a great Guinness marinated burger for lunch. We finished our day by learning the art of pouring the perfect pint of Guinness that we got to drink afterwards... Yum! After the Guinness storehouse, we headed back to our favorite stomping grounds, Temple Bar. We had a few drinks, listened to great music, met some awesome people, before realizing we needed to run to catch the last train to Booterstown! We slept for about an hour and then had to get up, pack, get ready, and walk to the bus station at 4am on Easter morning, praying that a bus would actually stop to take us to the airport! We made it to the airport and got on our flight to Edinburgh, Scotland! Sláinte, Nicole and Meghan

#dublin #guinness #ireland

Friday morning was Good Friday, one of the two days a year when almost everything is closed in Dublin (the other one is Christmas). We decided it would be the perfect day for a day trip so we went on a tour to the Cliffs of Moher. This was a big bucket list item of the trip so we were really excited. We stopped along the way to see the River Shannon and a rock that was famous for some reason I can't for the life of me remember. I think it had to do with some treaty or something. (C'mon guys, we've learned a lot of history in the past 7 weeks and it's beginning to run together!) When we arrived at the cliffs, it was very foggy. We were trying to be optimistic because the weather could have been even worse but we were both a little disappointed. Within about 10 minutes of getting there, the fog lifted and the sun came shining through, making a very faint rainbow over the cliff side. It was amazing! The cliffs were absolutely breathtaking! It was a beautiful place to spend Good Friday. We drove along the coast of Burren National Park, which is 250 square kilometers of limestone. It was really beautiful. We stopped for a few minutes for a couple quick pictures by the water. Our guide took us to a proper Irish pub in Doolin for some fish and chips. We also stopped in Limerick, drove through Galway, and visited a 12th century abbey called Corcomroe Abbey. Finding somewhere to eat dinner was a bit of a challenge since mostly everything was closed. We eventually ended up at The Shack for some incredible seafood chowder and Clonakilty (black pudding) salad. Fortunately, we didn't find out until the next morning that black pudding is basically fried pig's blood...mmmm. Sláinte, Meghan and Nicole

#dublin #cliffs of moher #ireland #travel

Day 2 in Dublin started with a proper Irish breakfast of porridge. Nicole enjoyed some good ol eggs Benedict. We hopped on the Dart (the local train) and headed into the city center. Our first visit was to Dublin castle. We were excited to have an actual tour of the castle and start learning some of Ireland's rich history. I think what interested us the most was being able to piece other elements of our travels together. For example, the king who lived in Dublin castle had it styled after Versailles, which we had just visited. We also loved that the ceiling was painted by an Italian artist. We went down into one of the tower that used to be part of the moat. They've actually found many skulls down there. This is because they used to stick heads on spikes outside the castle after people were beheaded. The heads stayed on display until they rotted and fell into the moats. Next on the agenda was the Christ Church, the first and only Anglican Church we have seen on our trip. The crypt under the church was really cool. Our favorite part was the cat and the rat, the mummified remains of a cat and the rat it was chasing. It apparently chased it right into the organ where they stayed for quite a while and as a result were well preserved. There were also costumes from the show The Tudors on display because the show has been filmed there a bit. We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral next. Here, we leaned a new phrase, "chance your arm." They have a door on display with a hole cut out. Many years back, two families were involved in a messy feud. One of the heads of one family decided to call a truce but the other was hesitant about trusting him and wouldn't open the door. The first decided to cut a hole in the door and stick his arm through to show that he was truly willing to shake hands, thus ending the feud. They also have an incredible organ and a beautiful manuscript of Handel's Messiah which is performed there annually. We headed down to the Temple Bar area to find some food, beer, and great music. We found our favorite pub of the trip, The Quays. The singer sang Wagon Wheel for us Florida girls! The Irish Clap song was another favorite! We ended the evening at The Brazen Head, the oldest surviving pub in Dublin, with some beef and Guinness stew. Cheers, Meghan and Nicole

#dublin #ireland #travel

One of the bars in the Temple Bar area! A couple of guys playing my (Nicole) favorite song! So perfect!

#slainte #travel #templebar

Hello from Ireland!

After an early morning flight, we made it to Dublin to start off week 7 of the grand tour. Nicole and I are staying in Booterstown with a wonderful host named Helena. We decided to start the afternoon with a visit to the local pub…we are in Ireland after all. We toasted to our travels and enjoyed our first pint of Guinness at The Old Punch Bowl, one of the only two pubs in Booterstown.

We hopped on the Dart (the local train) and headed to Trinity College in the city center. The Old Library in the college houses The Book of Kells, a manuscript of the Four Gospels written around 800 AD. The book’s page were beautifully illustrated by monks, who decorated the words and letters with bright colors and interesting figures and flourishes. We walked through the Long Room and learned about Ireland’s early history.

Afterwards, we ventured down to Grafton Street. This was our first glimpse of the vivacious city life of Dublin. There are great shops along Grafton Street. We stopped in Bruxelles for some long-awaited fish and chips. Then, we went across the street to McDaid’s Pub, which was established in the 1700s ad frequented by Oscar Wilde and James Joyce. We started talking to a father and son next to us. The father was impressed with us because we were drinking Guinness so naturally, we were impressed with ourselves too. As it turns out, the son was in several episodes of Dawson’s Creek back in the 90s.

We made our way over to Temple Bar and went on our first real Irish Pub crawl, which was a blast. Every pub has it’s own atmosphere, complete with the greatest live music. Even the street outside is lined with performers and musicians. We met a couple Irish girls named Nadine and Kyra who cracked us up dancing with every old man who walked into the pub!

Sláinte (to your health/cheers), Meghan and Nicole

#ireland #dublin #travel #slainte

Our last day in Paris consisted of a hunt for food suggested to us by friends or strangers we have met during our travels. We began with coffee in our neighborhood before heading to the Marais neighborhood. Marais is the trendy/artsy and fashion area of Paris. In Marais we had the best falafel for lunch, and then we headed to a little bar for a beer while we soaked up the Parisian culture. Next, we headed to the Latin Quarter to get our sweet fix! We went to a little pastry place called Malo for some croissants, financiers, and pain au chocolat. They were so good that we went back for more, so that we could eat it the next morning before our flight! Our final food stop was a little hole in the wall crepe stand for crepes made by a little old man named Nico. We had a cheese crepe and a banana and Nutella crepe for dessert. They were the best crepes either of us had ever had! We headed back to the apartment to repack our bags and had a nice little chat with Pascale, our host. That night we had our final foie gras for dinner and decided to splurge for a little creme brûlée! Our Paris experience was so incredible and both of us cannot wait to come back! Au revoir, Nicole and Meghan

#travel #paris #foodie

Day 5 in Paris... By chance, Nicole found a perfect Rick Steve's audio guide that took us on a historical walk through the West Bank of Paris including the Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, and the Conciergerie. We started with a visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral. We were really interested to learn that this cathedral took over 170 years to build because it was built completely by the people of Paris, resulting in the 'hunchbacks of Notre Dame'. Next, we walked across the love lock bridge to the West Bank. We decided to put a lock on the bridge dedicated to our late grandfathers, Poppi and Papa. The lock signifies that your love will last forever if you throw the key into the Seine River. After walking through town a little bit we stopped into a wonderful little bookstore that used to be the stomping grounds for some great authors like Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, And Ezra Pound. We both found it interesting that the apartments above the shop are rented out for free to struggling writers trying to make it work. Our next stop was the Saint Chapelle, which was built by King Louis IX to house the crown of thorns from the passion of Christ. Standing in the chapel, you feel as though you are in a jewelry box because the walls are entirely made of stained glass depicting various scenes from the bible. The crown of thorns is no longer on display here, but rather in the Notre Dame, where you can only see them on certain days at certain times. We made our way to the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned during the French Revolution. It was very eerie to see the actual prison cell she was in before she was taken to the guillotine. Prisoners with money could actually pay for a cot so they didn't have to sleep on a pile of straw on the floor. Of course, it wouldn't be a post without some mention of food. We had the most wonderful duck marget for dinner with Roquefort (blue cheese) escargot. To top it off, we had half-baked chocolate pie with chili and a side of coconut ice cream! Au revoir, Meghan and Nicole

#travel #paris #france

Day 3 in Paris was most definitely the highlight of our trip so far! We began by heading up to the highest point of Paris in the Montmartre neighborhood where the Sacre Coeur church looks out over all of the city! The church was really beautiful and the view was even better! Afterwards, we made our way to Parc Butte Chaumont to have a picnic with my (Nicole) friend from Ocala, who is currently living in Paris. We picked up a baguette, some cheese, clementines, and some wine, which was the perfect lunch for a beautiful afternoon in the park. After our picnic, we went to the Arc de Triomphe situated in the heart of the city! The view of the Eiffel Tower could not be beat! Next, we traveled back to our neighborhood to have some authentic French cuisine. Of course, we had escargot again. We also had smoked salmon. The food was really great!! After dinner, it was time to finally go climb the Eiffel Tower! Meghan and I were beyond excited and both squealed when we turned the corner and saw how colossal it was! As we waited in line, the sun began to set, and turned the sky the color of cotton candy! We could not believe how perfect this night was becoming! We waited in line for about an hour before finally getting our tickets to take the elevator to the top! The elevator stops on the second floor and then you have to change elevators to go all the way up. As we were riding up the first elevator, which has glass walls so you can see the view, the tower began to sparkle for the first time of the night! It sparkles and lights up on the hour every hour after dark. There was a collective gasp as everyone turned to look up at the sparkling beauty, and again Meghan and I were in tears. We finally reached the top, after waiting in another very long line. But the view from the top was totally worth it! We walked around the top and looked out at all of Paris, the city of lights! At the top, there is a champagne bar. We decided to splurge for this once in a lifetime opportunity! We made a champagne toast to the amazing adventures we've had and the ones lie ahead! It was an incredible moment that will be engrained in our memories forever!

#paris #travel #eiffel tower

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