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@surewinindeutschland
15. Juli - Home
It took me a couple of days to write this one.
On the 15th of July, I headed onto a shuttle (that was twenty pounds more expensive than I heard) and headed off to the airport. Once there, I ate my last meal in London and hopped on a plane.
The flight was uneventful and the lady beside me was nice but desperately needed some sleep after her long days.
I had a layover in Ottawa which wasn't too bad and before I knew it, I was home.
Home sweet home.
14. Juli - Harrod's
Vicky and I met up back at the museums today because we wanted to visit the shops again hahahaha. I did show her the rest of the Natural History museum though since we missed out on the dinosaurs, mammals, and human anatomy stuff.
We walked over to Harrod's afterwards and frankly, I was a little underwhelmed. Liberty and Selfridges were both very high-end convenience stores but they also had a lot of class and were well organized. Harrod's was kind of a hot, tacky mess.
Anyways, once that was over, we met up with two of my friends from CSSG 2012 and had dinner near my hotel. It was nice to see those two again and just to sit and chat.
And that's that. That wrapped up my last day in London. Weird to be ending such a long trip but I'm looking forward to heading back home.
-S
13. Juli - Jamboree
Today was our power museum day. We intended to hit up both the Victoria & Albert Museum along with the Natural History one.
I met up with Callie, a fellow writer for Soundboard, at my hotel before zipping off to the museums. It was SOSOSOSO nice to finally meet her. She has wonderful taste in music and it's nice to meet the person behind the blog posts. We headed off to South Kensington to meet up with Vicky.
Once there, the three of us visited the V&A which was extremely vast. We didn't get through all of it but we did see a lot of very interesting things.
We snagged a bit of lunch afterwards at an italian restaurant and went back to the Natural History museum.
We met up with my lovely friend and fellow Soundboard writer, Rosie, in line. It was a fantastic reunion since I hadn't seen her for two years. The four of us wandered through the museum together and I got to show them all the ugly stuff that was there. I may not know anything about art, but toss me in a scientific museum and I'm a pig in mud.
Once finished there, we grabbed coffee and talked about the last time we threw up. Lots of laughs much to the chagrin of the lady beside us, I'm sure. It was a lovely afternoon with people I absolutely adore.
We parted ways with Callie afterwards since she had some schoolwork to do. The three of us then left to get some indian food.
Once we had that in a little bag, we zipped off to a "secret venue" called Jamboree. It was a bit of an adventure to get there but once there, we just sat outside and devoured our Indian food.
They were showing the world cup and bands were playing along as commentary (the game was muted). I got to see Germany score the winning goal and thus, win the world cup. Excellent.
I had to say goodbye to Rosie which is always a bummer. But I can honestly say that this won't be my last time in London by any means.
I made it home without any difficulties, full of food and tired from the day's activities.
-S
12. Juli - Donuts.
Today, Vicky and I met up at her cousin's place because he had enticed me with amazing donuts. They were, in fact, absolutely amazing. Also there was the cutest little pop up coffee place.
Afterwards we hit up some stores and bought stuff that we didn't need. Liberty and Selfridges were probably my favourite despite being quite expensive. It was nice to find some moderately priced things that were worth the splurge though. I managed to snag myself some really nice cologne and I'm super excited about it.
In the evening, we just grabbed some dinner before heading our separate ways home.
-S
11. Juli - British Museum
I went to pick up Vicky today from the train station because she had a ton of stuff with her. Upon arriving at her cousin's place, we learned that their upstairs roommate wasn't there to get the stuff (In fact he was, there was cross wiring in the doorbells...)
We went back to St. Pancras before realizing how expensive it was to keep luggage there. Thankfully her cousin sent her a message telling her to go back since they were defs there.
We headed back and nope, not there (crossed wires) but another neighbour opened their doors for us.
Once that kafuffle was over, we headed over to the British museum which was actually really quite cool. There were lots of old artefacts (as usual in museums) and it was quite a massive building.
Yeah, that's a barfing lion.
Afterwards, we headed down Oxford for a bit before checkin' back into her cousin's place for some pizza.
I got a little waysided on my way home but all was well.
Definitely a very good day.
-S
10. Juli - Museum of London
I started the day off by visiting the Museum of London and it was actually really interesting. Learning about the history of any specific place is always super cool (even if you don't retain it all).
Afterwards, I headed off to Regent street to do a bit of shopping. Somehow, I didn't end up buying anything.
I did learn that I was near two other museums though so I went to visit those.
The National Gallery had a special exhibit on colour going on so I checked that out. In the twelfth grade, I had written a 4000-word essay for the end of my program on colour theory and perception and if that affected how children developed. I got a D on it. Anyways, this was giving me war flashbacks. It was actually a really cool exhibit though. The only shame was that, due to a strike. the other exhibits were closed.
After leaving that museum, I stopped by the National Portrait Gallery which had shit like this:
Like what the fuck.
Anyways, got some Nando's for dinner and now I'm holdin' out until ~9:30 to get some half price sushi. My life is thrilling in this bustling city.
-S
9. Juli - Wicked
I started the day off by going to the Tate Britain. I had planned it so that I would be able to get through it before heading to the matinee performance of Wicked!
It was a pretty cool museum. More art that I didn't truly understand (typical) but there were some really cool pieces too. Most weird was the one video of a man ripping himself out of a poorly-fitted gorilla suit by just jumping up and down, over and over, exposing his naked self. Not a clue what it meant but it was kind of funny, so there's that.
Once that was done, I was about two hours early for the show. Oops. I decided to wander around Victoria for a bit before finally heading in to get seated. The stage looked absolutely amazing. The audience, however, was FULL of children. So many children. Oh god.
The show was just wonderful. I don't go to many musicals but it just blew me away. The casts' voices were clear and beautiful and the costumes were amazing. SOSOSOSOSO worth it. I bought the CD and programme package because why the hell not. And now I've been listening to Defying Gravity all day.
After the performance, I headed off to a place near the hotel for some dinner. During the evening, I just watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi which was an adorable film about a sushi master and his quest for perfection and his craft. Definitely recommend.
I also finished my bottle of wine. Bummer.
-S
8. Juli - Oxford
I spent an obnoxious amount of money today. Oy.
I didn't even start off with a museum on this day. I just went straight to Oxford. In my defense, I did walk from my hotel so at least I got a good amount of exericse.
After a quick breakfast at Pret a Manger, I headed down and walked the entirety of the street and back. I hit up more shops than I can really remember and the one major purchase was a weekender bag to carry new stuff (to really redistribute the weight) because I didn't think that my dinky gym bag was going to cut it.
I'm pretty fired up on these purchases and I promised Vicky I would go back with her. Dangerous, I know.
The evening was spent takin' it super easy. I can't even recall where I had dinner. Ha!
-S
7. Juli - Tate Modern
Today I woke up at like 9 and didn't actually make it out of my room until 11 for breakfast. It was freakin' great.
I think Pret a Manger will be my go to for breakfasts and general food things because it's reasonably priced and I don't feel like death after eating there.
After grabbing breakfast there, I headed off to the Tate Modern. I have zero knowledge about modern art so it was interesting in the sense that I liked how weird things looked. It was a pretty big museum though and it was free, so i can't complain.
I grabbed some lunch and walked down Southwark afterwards to visit the Design museum because their shop is supposed to be really cool. Halfway through the exhibit, the power for 2 miles or so went out. They eventually opened the shop up again but the exhibit was down for a bit longer which is a shame because it was actually super cool.
Once finished there, it began to rain so I headed back to my hotel room to drop shit off before checking out a flagship J. Crew near my hotel. I was a little disappointed since it was super expensive (not really that surprised) but it was also super cool. It was smack dab in a wicked boutique-y neighbourhood so I checked out a few other stores.
I grabbed my first fish and chips in London before heading off to a Starbucks to bum their internet. As glamourous as my hotel seems, it costs 15 pounds for a day of internet which is fucking obnoxious.
I'm looking forward to heading back just to eat all the strawberries I bought. So stoked.
-S
6. Juli - Eurostar
Today was basically a travel day and a get-settled day. I woke up early enough with Steph and Vicky to grab breakfast at our breakfast buffet and then we headed away from our beautiful hostel.
We opted for a taxi because we were too freakin' lazy to metro it. We waited for quiet a while but then we said our goodbyes since their train left to Paris earlier than mine.
I had bought a book that I would finish in the same day earlier so I kept myself busy with that until I got hungry.
Shortly after finishing my food, our platform was open to check in. Passport checks, security, yada yada.
The train ride was uneventful and getting to my hotel was as well. My room is great. It's a little small and there's sadly no fridge but it's lovely just to have my own space. I have a lot more crap than should be in this room but oh well.
I got a few groceries, dinner, a bottle of wine, and some toiletries. I shelled out the crazy amount of money for internet just so I could skype with Riley (best part of the day) and do some research to figure out what I would be doing tomorrow. Yeesh.
Anyways, I'm tuckered out so I'm going to go do bed!
-S
5. Juli - Brussels
I feel like I can use the city name as the title of this post because we literally explored it in like 4 hours.
Okay, maybe that's a little false - we explored the inner city in four hours.
We met up with Stephanie in Paris after checking out and hauling our shit to the train station. The ride itself was pretty uneventful and it took a while to get to the hostel from the train station.
However, once we were here, we fell in love with the hostel. It's super modern and hip and our room is CRAZY spacious. Like actually three times the size of our Paris one WITH A REALLY NICE BATHROOM AND SHOWER. LIKE SHUT UP.
Anyways, we headed off to find food and found ourselves at a vietnamese restaurant which was great. Afterwards, we meandered around and found ourselves devouring waffles because, duh, Brussels.
We made it back and I tried to skype with Riley but the internet was just being the absolute worst so I chatted with him on Facebook instead. I miss that guy a lot and I can't wait to see him in a little over a week. Super stoked.
Tomorrow we're off and I'm heading off to London to see Rosie and others! Super fired up!
-S
4. Juli - D'Orsay & Orangerie
Today was my major tourist day. I headed off at an early enough time to check out the Orangerie museum and saw the Lily paintings. They were actually super cool. I then saw a kid get pegged in the head with a camera and laughed. It was great.
We headed off to the D'Orsay afterwards which was a MUCH bigger museum. The art was super cool and Vicky and I had a delicious lunch in the cafe (which cost an arm and a leg but hey, we're in Paris).
We headed off towards the Eiffel Tower afterwards and then the Arc de Triomphe before heading back to the hostel. On the way, we got some grub which was great.
We packed most of our shit after a long day since we were leaving the next day. While I liked my time in Paris, I don't think I could call it one of my favourite cities. It would be nice to come back once I learn the language/am older though.
-S
3. Juli - Centre Pompidou
Today started off with our two hostel roommates peacin' out. Bye. And then we skipped breakfast in lieu of having lunch at McDonalds by Bastille. Sure. Why not?
The area around Bastille was super cool since there were lots of little boutiques which was really nice. It was very quaint and there were TONS of small cafes everywhere. Definitely a good start to the day.
We headed over to the Centre Pompidou afterwards which was this MASSIVE modern art museum. The outside was impressive but the inside was even more so. Neon signs littered the place and an impressive line of escalators brought you to the fourth and fifth floor to check out the sweet exhibits. Now, I'm no art buff by any means so all of the modern art basically just confused me a little bit. It was interesting to see so many types of modern art though!
After spending a few hours in there, we stopped and hung out at the cafe for a little bit. That's probably one of my favourite things about museums - cafes. Hot damn.
We went down the main shopping street afterwards where I bought myself a taco tank top. We were feelin' like pizza so we grabbed that for dinner before heading back to our hostel. We lucked out and saw that it was empty but the celebration was short lived since someone walked in about half an hour afterwards. Bummer.
-S
2. Juli - Timber Timbre
Today was a pretty busy day. We woke up early enough that we managed to get some free breakfast (which consisted of a bun, a croissant, and some weak-ass coffee).
Afterwards, we headed off to Notre Dame to check it out. I had only ever known of it via the Disney film (and having a related toy) but it was pretty cool to see in person.
We headed over to Shakespeare and Company afterwards which was a really wonderful little bookstore. Sadly, I have no room for books so I left with simply a tote bag and some postcards.
McDonalds has been a good standby for us while in France and it's always been a reliable source of 'food'. After a quick stop, we headed over to the Natural History museum here in Paris.
Upon arriving, I learned it was actually a museum dedicated to evolution which made me all sorts of happy. It was four floors of taxidermied animals, preserved specimens, skeletons, and even exhibits in German! They had a special exhibit on "Night" as well which was really interesting. Didn't help us since we were super exhausted by the end of it but what can ya do?
We headed off closer towards a metro station that would take us to our concert in the evening and had some Korean food. I have never been so happy to eat stuff on rice and with chopsticks. 8 weeks is a long time to go without a variant of your own food.
Once we were finished with our bibimbap, we headed off to Cité de la Musique to see Timber Timbre. Neither of us were really super into them so we opted to sit down after a day of walking. It was actually quite a wonderful concert and we enjoyed it a lot.
We returned back to our hostel to find another man in our room (it's a four person room) which was unpleasant. Finding new hostel roommates is like going home to your house to find someone basically sleeping on your couch. I know this probably makes me a 'bad traveler' for not being able to share but let's be real here: I like my privacy. I'm excited for that private hostel in Brussels and for the hotel in London. Oy.
-S
1. Juli - Paris
Vicky and I woke up at our usual time and because I had a dinner of gummy bears last night, I got ZERO sleep whatsoever. After packing and checkin' out, we headed across the street to the diner there and ate a delicious burger.
After grabbing our stuff and bussing over to the train station, we were off to Paris. Today is one of our take-it-easy days, so once we got settled into our hostel, we headed off to grab some McDonalds before retiring to the hostel to just hang out.
We were definitely spoiled by the private room in Lille and I wish we could have our own bathroom and that much space again but oh well. That's what Brussels is for. I'm a little apprehensive about Paris but as long as I keep my wits about me and not be a huge target for pickpockets, I will be alright.
-S
30. Juni - Musée d'Histoire Naturelle de Lille
Today was a nice and slow day which was what I needed.
Vicky and I started the day off by grabbing some lunch/breakfast at a lovely little cafe nearby our hostel. She ordered everything which was fine with me because I know zero French.
Afterwards, we walked to the Natural history museum in Lille which was really cool. Lots of taxidermied animals (especially birds) and if you think that I'm over these types of museums, you'd be dead wrong.
We meandered over to see the University afterwards before heading back to the little shopping district. We didn't end up buying anything since our luggage is already pretty full to begin with. I've even resorted to throwing out my underwear to free up some space. Yeesh.
Now we're bumming around in our hostel room since we are too tired to go anywhere else. Might be a dinner of gummy bears and chips tonight. Classy, really.
-S
29. Juni - Gastama
I woke up bright and early to get dressed and packed up to leave Delemont. Dylan walked me and my stuff down and bought me a chocolate croissant before sending me off. Dylan's one of my favourite people but I can say with some serious confidence that Delemont was not my favourite stop on this trip.
I hopped on a train to Basel and managed to catch my connecting train to Paris without any problems. Once in Paris, I hopped on the metro to head over to the other gate (which again, no problems!) and made it to my train with a lot of time to spare.
Once at Lille, I was greeted with the familiar face of my best friend, Vicky. I haven't seen her in person since September since she's been in France teaching English for a year and as a result, I'm SUPER stoked to be spending time with her.
We lugged all of our shit to our little hotel room. We opted for a private one because it was the same price as a shared one and boy, are we spoiled. It's a beautiful room on the third floor with our private shower and it's the best.
We went out for McDonalds and walked around the shopping district. Afterwards, we headed to Casino to grab some groceries before heading back to the hostel to eat a little bit.
In the evening, I had a chance to skype with Riley which made me reaaaaally happy since I hadn't been able to in a long time. Vicky even got to meet him through skype which was super nice. I miss that guy like crazy. Yeesh.
Anyways, we're loving our time here and it's a great change from Delemont and I'm excited for tomorrow!
-S