Penzance, Land's End, St. Ives, St. Michael's Mount

  Today Kelsey and I woke up, had a lovely breaky of Nutella and toast, and headed out for the day. We decided that we were going to go and see Land's End today and so we got a relatively early start.  We stopped by Pound World on our way to the bus station, which is like Dollar Tree, and got sandwhiches and snacks to take with us.  There is a bus that will take you to Land's End, St. Ives, and St. Micheal's Mount stopping along the way at smaller towns and we could get on and off wherever we wanted.
Our first stop was Land's End. It was really nice and not raining yet so we could see out a little ways.  We walked along the sea wall and stopped and took pictures, it looked like it was out of a pirate's movie.  We got hot chocoalte at the shopr at the top and sat and ate crackers. It was really lovely. Then we took the hike down to Sunnen's Cove. The walk was kind of fun because it was along the coast and rocky, it is about a 2 mile walk. Sunnen's Cove is a really cute little beach town and surprisingly enough there were people on the beach and in the water depsite the over cast and cold day. Kelsey and I sat and ate our sandwhiches and watched the crazy people on the beach.
 After that we got back on the bus on the way to St. Micheal's Mount. We decided not to actually stop in St. Ives, even though it's really beautiful, because the bus only comes every 2 hours and we really wanted to make it to St. Micheal's.  We took pictures as we drove through the town though.  Our last stop of the day was St. Micheal's Mount, which is a really cool castle out on an island off the coast off Marzion. If the tide is out you can walk to the castle, otherwise you have to take a boat. When we got there the tide was out, YAY, but coming in, boo... so we had to walk quickly! We had to take off our shoes part of the way there and the water got up to our calves, but it was still really fun. We were laughing because the water was freezing and I was really hoping it wouldn't get to much deeper otherwise I would have had to take my pants off! We got there and then made the trekk up to the castle. It was a little bit treacherous because it was raining kind of hard and the steps up to the castle were kind of treacherous. We made it though and the view was georgeous and the castle was really pretty and people actually live in it, which is cool. We had to take a boat back to the main land though because otherwise we would have had to swim and I forgot my swimming costume ;)
We got on another bus on the main land and headed back to Penzance. We were really tired and hungry at this point and quite frankly we just really wanted a beer. So we tried to find a place in Penzance, but everything here closes at 5. No joke. We finally found a pub that was open though and got a burger and beer... very American, but also sooo yummy! There was a rugby match on, I think I should watch more rugby, those boys are nice looking. Also, the bartender asked if we were on holiday and we said yes we were from America and she said she really wanted to go there because, "she really wants to go to Hooters." OOHH dear. Anyway, we are home now and exhausted. Tomorrow we are heading back to Plymouth, are train leaves at 10:30 am. And then back to school and no more holiday :( But this has been a really nice Holiday and Kelsey and I have had a really nice time!

Penzance, England

So after a good first week in classrooms in Plymouth, we have arrived at the weekend! AND it's a long weekend! This being the case, we all wanted to go someplace for the weekend, however it's a bank holiday weekend and so everything was expensive or sold out. Kelsey and I found a place to stay in Penzance though, which is in Southern England and it was cheap to stay and get there! So we booked it and made the trek down this morning.
We had a train ticket for this morning at 10:30 and we decided to take the bus to the train station. We left the house this morning at 8:45 and stood IN THE RAIN for at least 30 mins before we finally got on the bus that would take us to the train station. By the time we got there it was 10:05 ish and we had to scramble down to the station. My first bump to get over was that I had accidentally booked my ticket for Sunday istead of Saturday, genius I know. I managed to switch it quickly and for only a small fee. Kelsey made a very true statement about traveling in Plymouth, "the busses are late and the trains right on time... makes things interesting." The train ride was uneventful and pleasantly warm and dry so we had a really nice ride down to Penzance. When we got here we asked the tourist center where the place we are staying was, it's YMCA Cornwall. We, of course, got a little lost but managed to get there and checked in.  It's actually pretty nice and the people here are really friendly. We were going to go down to Lands End today and St. Micheals tomorrow, but we can get an all day bus pass tomorrow so we decided to save all of our sightseeing for tomorrow. Today we walked back down to the Town Centre and walk around. We got the most delicious fish and chips I have ever had at a place called The Fat Fish Cafe. Then we walked around town and down to the Barbican. The town is really pretty and right on the ocean, it was especially nice when the sun would poke out. We got ice cream after that (because we weren't feeling like we had enough fat for the day) and walked back to the hostel. Now we are relaxing and getting ready to write Dr. V's paper and then prob an early night as tomorrow we are planning a full day of tourist activities! Maybe tomorrow night we will see what the town has to offer for nigth life, although like Plymuth things were closing here at around 5:30 tonight. We are just playing it by ear pretty much. Today was nice though and we are excited to be seeing different parts of England.

Plymouth: First day in the classroom!!!

Today was our first day in the classroom. It started out with my alarm not going off, I was supposed to be up at 6:30, but didn’t wake up until 6:50… oops! At least I woke up! I was still ready by 7:45 though and Reid, Kelsey, Heather, and I headed to the bus stop to start our journey to St. Peter’s Roman Catholic School. The bus ride is about 30 mins., I think. The bus drivers are really nice here and they always help and let you know where to get off at. Once we got off where he told us to we had to find the school, our head teacher already told us that we were probably going to get lost and not to worry about being late… but the other Americans weren’t from UF and we were determined to get there on time! We asked a few people and some school children, who laughed at our accents, and finally we made it, on time! They showed us to our classes and we began our first day in an English primary school. The first thing that I came across was my last name, Bumsted here would be the equivalent to Buttsted in America, and so everyone got a good laugh about that. Some of the children later in the day told me my name was offensive, HAH! It’s pretty funny; I told them that if they wanted to they could call me Ms. B instead. The school day here is structured differently than ours, they have a 20 min. break in the morning and the teachers go and drink coffee and tea while the children play. Also at lunch it is an hour and the whole school goes at the same time, granted there is one class for every grade, and the teachers all get break at the same time. It was very different, but kind of cool to all be in there together. It’s also funny because we are the Americans and we are International students, which is a foreign (BAHAHA) idea to us. The students are really cute, they wear little uniforms, the girls in gingham dresses and the boys have little ties, and they are very interested in America and my accent. There is too much to put here about all that I observed today, but it was really fun being in the classroom again especially one that is different and offers different things for me to learn (Dr. Jacobbe would love the way they do math). I am excited to spend more time here and with the students! Also, the 5th year teacher is REALLY cute and he has a really nice accent. The four of us today were practically drooling at him! Should be an interesting 4 weeks 

An Introduction to Plymouth

Today was our introduction into Plymouth. We woke up early and got a tour of the Marjon Campus, which is teeny tiny, we had basically seen everything  . After that we had lunch with the head teachers (principals) and talked about the schools we would be at. Then we were off on a tour of Plymouth! Plymouth is really lovely and the weather here has been unusually warm and sunny which means everyone is out and about. We went down to the ocean and saw where the Mayflower left from and there were the names of all the Pilgrims there as well. It was really neat! We walked up the hill from there and saw the community pool down by the ocean, it’s a cool pool… if it were warmer I might have a go, buuuut. There were some boys jumping off the cliffs into the ocean, we asked them if it was cold and they said freezing! Guess I won’t be doing that either. After that we got ice cream for a pound (what a deal!) and then explored Plymouth on our own. Kelsey and I took the bus back to Marjon and just hung out the rest of the evening. We made baked potatoes and Mediterranean veggies (came in a pack at ASDA, don’t be too impressed) for dinner which was very yummy. We are trying to figure out what to do this weekend, but as it is a Holiday weekend and it’s so close everything is booked or REALLY expensive. So I think that we might stay in England and maybe go south, we aren’t sure yet. Anyway, tomorrow is going to be an early day and I am a little nervous about the bus and the classroom and everything, but we’ll see how it goes!

Plymouth 2

Today was our second day in Plymouth and I spent the majority of it settling in. I woke up early and ate breaky, I figured out how to make coffee! Then I showered and took my Santa Sack FULL of laundry to the machines in the main reception area.  I have never done laundry in a dorm or at a lundry mat before and so this was a new experience for me. I forgot that I could use multiple machines at the same time. I brought my book and since it was a beautiful day in Plymouth I sat in the sun and read while I waited for the machines to be done. After everything was clean and dry I lugged it back to my room and got ready to meet everyone at 1 for our grocery shopping adventure. There was a bus and our site director took us to ASDA which is owned by and the equivalent to America's Walmart. It was definitely an exprience though! Kelsey and I split all of our groceries, I felt a little like we were on a reality TV show because we had an hour to figure out where everything was in a foreign supermarket and for the least amount possible. It was pretty dodgy at times, but we managed to get out with some good deals and everything we needed... we think. After that we unpacked at our place, our fridge and freezer are quite tiny so this was another adventure. Kelsey and I made turkey sandwhiches for lunch and it was a nice relaxing afternoon of folding laundry, skyping with Renee, and reading in the sun. 
At 6:30 we all went to Dr. V's cottage and she made us dinner; lasagna, salad (with delicious salad dressing), and bread. It was really nice and yummy, we were joking that it was probably the nicest dinner we would have in the next 4 weeks. Then we all walked to the local pub and had a pint to get to know eachother a little better. Everyone is really nice and it's kind of fun that we all have the same major and so automatically have something in common. The bar tender liked us because we had accents, which is just silly! We don't have accents, they do! ;) Now we are getting ready for bed and our first day of things to to do tomorrow. We aren't in the classrooms yet, but we are getting an introduction to the college, meeting our supervising teachers, and getting a tour of Plymouth. So a very busy day ahead!! It will be fun to get in the swing of things, I hope I can get myself back into school mode because right now I am still in holiday mode! Kelly and I just spoke and agreed to wake up at 7:30 tomorrow morning so I think it's time for me to go to bed! Goodnight from Plymouth! <3

Tata London! Hello Plymouth!

Today was THE craziest day ever. We woke up at 8:30 and got dressed and had breaky with Sam and Knight, they have one more day in London. My bus and Kelsey’s train both left at 11 so we were all going to the tube and then Kelsey was going to head to the train station by herself. We got everything packed up and ready and we headed out into London… Gigantor in tow. The trouble began at the Clink really where Kelsey and I tried to take the elevator up to reception instead of lugging our suitcases, but it was taking forever and by the time one came some girls got in ahead of us. So we decided just to take the stairs up, which would have been OK except that there is one staircase in the whole stinking place and so I was causing a major traffic jam and people were trying to get by and help and really all I wanted was for them to get out of the way and let me get up the stairs on my own. We finally made it though and headed towards Kings Cross. When we got there we realized that we didn’t have very much time left, Kelsey ran to catch her train and Catherine, Kiwi, Vic, and I ran to catch the tube to the bus station. They are doing construction on some of the lines so it made the Victoria Line, the one we needed to be on, really crowded. Luckily Vic is forceful and she got us and Gigantor on the train. Vic told us on the train that when we got off we needed to RUN to the bus station if we were going to make it on time. So I had to knock a lot of people over to get running through the tube station and the streets of London to make it to the bus stop. Vic and Catherine ran ahead to tell them I was coming. I made it just in time for them to throw my bag on give everyone a quick hug goodbye and jump on the bus. The bus ride was uneventful, I sat next to a nice Italian woman, we didn’t talk though because I don’t speak Italian. 5 and a half hours later I was in Plymouth, but not Marjon which is where I needed to be. So I walked around the entire bus station looking for a taxi or a bus or an information center of some kind. I finally asked a man in a green vest and he took me to the bus I needed to be on. The bus driver was really nice and he said he would let me know when I needed to get off and it was only 2 lbs (Kelsey’s taxi was 10). At the bus stop the bus driver let me know to get off and then told me to walk down the road stay to the left, about 45 mins, and I should get to Marjon. That’s right 45 mins. So Gigantor and I trekked it 45 mins. Down the road to Marjon, I was singing and talking to Gigantor because by this time I was little tired and getting slap happy. I finally made it though and Dr. V and Kelsey were there in the lobby waiting for me! I was very happy to be here, very happy.


The places we are living in are really cute. They are little townhomes 4 people, Kelsey, Kelly, Kaitlyn, and I are in a cottage together. I have my own room and Kelsey and I share a bathroom, we are on the top floor (yay for lugging Gigantor up more steps!). There is a little kitchen and a living room, or I think that’s what it’s supposed to be. After I got settled in we all walked over to Dr. V’s place, it’s very nice and you can see the ocean from her room! She got us all a cab and we went to dinner down by the ocean at a Chinese restaurant place. It was really nice and fun getting to know the other girls. Tomorrow they are taking us into town for grocery shopping and I am doing LAUNDRY! It’s nice to be in one place and to be able to unpack and not have to repack for a while, but I miss everyone from tour already… a lot! I am prob. Going to be doing a lot of facebooking in the next few weeks because I really miss everyone. This blog is super long already though and so I won’t write about the awesome people I am missing right now, but tomorrow will be more adventures in Plymouth! 

London 2 Continued

After our friends got back, we were very excited to see them! They were really tired, but they said it was fun going out to Stonehenge so hopefully Kelsey and I will get a chance to go out and see that sometime. We were all really hungry at that point so we went to a pub and had a bite to eat and went back to the Clink. Vic was there and SHE was hungry so we went back to the pub and sat there for a while. It was nice because we just got to hang out and socialize before we all go our separate ways tomorrow. After that we went to the Clink and got ready for bed. Tomorrow Vic, Kiwi, and Catherine are going to take me to the bus stop, which is nice because I am scared of getting places by myself since I have been on tour and had a wonderful bus driver to drive me and a FABULOUS tour director telling me where to go. Tomorrow will be interesting; I hope I make it to Marjon!

London 2

Today everyone but Kelsey and I went on a tour of Stonehenge so we had breaky with Vic and then Kelsey and I went to Harrods. We wandered around in Harrods for a really long time, we looked at the food, souvenirs, shoes, dresses, and jewelry!! I am going to need to marry wealthy man and go back to Harrods for a shopping adventure . We grabbed some sandwiches and crisps and went to Hyde Park and sat in the sun and ate a yummy picnic lunch. We walked around Hyde Park after that and saw Swans and the Peter Pan statue and then made our way over to Kensington Palace. The gardens there are really pretty and we decided we wanted to go into the palace to look around. There was this weird exhibition going on though. It was cool; it talked about 7 Princesses that have lived in Kensington Palace, all of whom lived rather tragic lives. It was definitely different, but we kind of liked it. We then stumbled upon a playground when we were leaving which was really neat looking, complete with pirate ship! We decided we wanted to have a look at it and went inside only to be kicked out because we didn’t have children with us… I felt the lady was a little harsh and it made me feel like a pedophile or something, but whatever. We took the tube back to the Clink and showered, because it is super hot here, and we are now waiting for our friends to get back so we can do something before everyone has to leave tomorrow. I am nervous about Plymouth, but hopefully I will get there and everything will be OK. I can’t wait to do laundry.

London

Today a few of us decided that we were going to go on the free walking tour of London. We were all up and getting ready and Catherine and I were going to find a bathroom when who should we see? Sam and Knight!! It was really funny and really random to see them, but nice to see some familiar faces from home. We said hello, but they were really tired from the flight so we went on to our walking tour. When we were approaching Kings Cross Station I looked up and who should I see? Kelsey!! She was making her way to The Clink and was VERY happy to see us. She went to The Clink to settle in and we kept trekking on toward our walking tour. The walking tour was very fun and it was cool to see the places and here some more history about the things we were seeing. Our tour guide was really funny and quite energetic, to say the least. He gave us a good walking tour chalked full of history and funny stories! We then went back to The Clink to get Kelsey and see who wanted to go on a ghost tour later that night. We also met up with Patrick and he came back to the Clink with us as well and met everyone and hung out with us for a bit. Kelsey, Glen, Jamie, Kiwi, Catherine, and I ended up going and it was really cool seeing that side of the city as well. The only problem is that it gets dark here really late and so it wasn’t very spooky… but still interesting because it was with our same tour guide as in the afternoon. We were really tired, poor Kelsey was falling asleep on her feet, and hungry by this point so we grabbed a quick bite and ate it back at the Clink. It was a very nice day; busy, but fun!

London via Belgium

Today we made the drive back to Calais to catch the ferry back to London. We started early and made a stop in Brugge. It was a really nice little city with lots of chocolate shops… yum! We had lunch and strolled the streets and explored the different chocolate shops that were all around. It was nice relaxing and having fun before we had to start saying goodbye. We had another 2 hourish drive to Calais after that, we had to say goodbye to De in Brugge and in Calais we had to say farewell to Jess and Lee. It was sad, but I think we will all see each other again, hopefully soon! In Calais we also had to say goodbye to the bus and Tom Tom… I really hate saying goodbye, I wish we could just be on tour together forever. It was a really pretty day in Calais and so we sat on the top deck of the ferry in the nice warm sun. The bus was waiting for us when we got there to take the remainder of us back to London. In London we said goodbye to everyone else except 8 of us: Vic, Catherine, Jamie, Gillian, Kiwi, Lindsay, Glen, and me, who are staying in the Clink for a few more nights. We had Thai food- delicious- and climbed into our teeny tiny little bunks for sleep. Tomorrow Kelsey gets here!

Amsterdam 2

Today was our second day in Amsterdam! We woke up early and went on a bike tour through the city; it was fun but kind of scary. There are a ton of bikes in Amsterdam so people are everywhere trying to get where they need to be in a hurry plus the cars and the fact that it’s just a pretty big city in general. It was fun though and we all survived. Then we wandered down to the Anne Frank house, everyone went in and I sat outside on the steps and watched the boats go by in Amsterdam. It was lovely and a pretty nice day… a little chilly, but nice and sunny! Then we found this nice little place to eat, Catherine and Jess and I had hot dogs with mustard, the mustard was REALLY intense, but very yummy. We then continued walking down the canals looking in stores and just taking in the city. We went back to our hostel to take naps and freshen up before our last dinner together  our dinner was at a floating restaurant, it was super yummy Chinese! I loved it and it was nice since we hadn’t had Chinese food in forever! After dinner we made our way to the docks where we went on the river cruise boat for a little final farewell party. It was really fun and the boats that they take you down the river in our cool; they are really low to the water and have glass tops. We all had a really nice time together, it’s going to be sad to say goodbye to everyone. We went and met up with another Top Deck group after the boat cruise and danced A LOT and then went home to bed for our drive back to London tomorrow.

Amsterdam

Today we drove from the Rhine Valley in Germany to Amsterdam. We stopped along the way in The Rhine Valley at a cuckoo clock making shop and a beer stine making shop. Both were really neat! I like the beer stine one because there are so many different kinds of beer stines, the guy even had one with a piece of the Berlin Wall on it, awesome! Then we drove onto Amsterdam and stopped at a cheese and clog making farm.  The man was a little crazy, maybe too many drugs, I don't know but it was fun.  It's pretty cool the way they make the clogs and we got to taste the cheese which was good as well.  We are staying in a Hostel that is apparently supposed to be gorss, I didn't think it was so bad and we have our own bathroom which is always a plus for me!
We then went walking to downtown and Vic gave us a little walking tour, which was good as usual. We walked around in the Red Light district for a little while and went into a sex shop that I think scarred me for life. Then we went and ate some delicious Indian food. The rest of the group went to a sex show while Lyndsay, Kiwi, and I walked around and laughed at the things going on. We may have had a brownie as well... it's part of the experience! If you want to know more about that you will need to ask me I guess ;) Then we went and met back up with the people in the sex show, which apparently was quite the experience, and hung out some more and then went home for bed. Tomorrow we are going on a bike tour through Amsterdam and dinner on a floating chinese restaurant. I can't wait!

Rhine Valley

The Rhine Valley is beautiful! They are known for their wine, Riesling. The vineyards grow literally on the side of the mountains. The towns line the Rhine River which has a really strong tide. The towns are really tiny and getting the bus through was a bit dodgy, but Tom Tom is a skilled bus driver and we finally made it to the top of the hill where our castle was! The castle was really pretty and a cool place to stay. We had dinner down stairs and the trekked down the mountain into town to find a beer garden. We found this tiny little place and I had a glass of really good sweet wine and Catherine got a delicious pretzel. We hung out down there for a while and then trekked back up the mountain. My bum is going to be very toned from all the stair climbing on this trip. We all went to bed early tonight in preparation for some crazy nights ahead in Amsterdam!

Austria

Today was a long drive into Austria. The road was really windy and when we got closer to the top it started snowing… ugh! The place we are staying in Austria is really cute; it’s a little house B&B kind of place. We are having a BBQ and then a party down stairs with just our group. Vicky said we need a theme so we are doing an anything but clothes party. So we went to the market and got trash bags. After that Vicky and I went on a jog through the countryside with the Alps in the background. It was really pretty and the fresh mountain air was good for the lungs! It was cold though and I got hives. We took showers and then got together for our group picture. I love everyone on the trip and I have made some really great friends. I know we are going to stay in touch and I am hoping to make visits to see them soon! After our picture we went and at BBQ… steak!!! It was so good and then we went upstairs to finagle ourselves into our trash bags. It was really funny, but we made some decent looking outfits. The boys opted for a shock your mother theme and so they all borrowed our skirts and tank tops and dressed up like girls. We made Vicky a dress out of toilet paper and we said she looked like the bride and we were her bridesmaids. So we have a pretend wedding, which was funny because we were in trash bags and the boys were dressed like girls. It was really fun and we played games and had a good time with just our group. Tomorrow we are getting up for our drive into the Rhine Valley, Germany.

Venice 2

The toga party last night was so fun! We all had a blast in our togas, everyone looked awesome and we danced and had a really great time with our group and the other group that was there with us. Today we went into Venice and went to a lace making demonstration which was pretty awesome, it’s so intricate! Some of the group went on a Gondola ride, I went with Jamie, Brandon, Jess, and Damian and we got lost in Venice. When we got to a turn Jamie would flip a coin and head or tales would decide if we should turn right or left. It was really fun and a cool way to see that back streets of Venice. We decided to go back on the bus to our camp site. We walked to the bus station and there was a very rude woman selling the tickets, she called me stupid… not that I am surprised the Italians are probably the rudest people I have come in contact with so far. The bus was tricky too and we ended up getting on the wrong bus for about half an hour. We finally made it back to camp though and I took a nap and then we went and had our final dinner in Italy. We had a quiet night and went to bed pretty early since we had to be up early the next day for our trip to Austria.

Verona and Venice

Verona was a very beautiful city. I loved the streets and market place and most of all Juliet’s house! I took a picture with Juliet and put a letter on the wall. It had just rained when we got there, but the sun was shining and so we walked through the market and looked at all of the pretty jewelry and things for sale. We got a little caught up in the sites though and had to run back to the bus to make it on time. They don’t joke around on Topdeck… they’ll leave you behind! Tonight in Venice we have been informed that they are giving us sheets and we are having a toga party!! I am really excited; I haven’t been to one before. We had a really yummy dinner by candle light and of course with wine. Getting into our togas was a bit dodgy, but we all managed to get them on nice and tight and we looked great! I had to braid everyone’s hair and we put leaves in. We all looked great and I am sure the pictures will be awesome.

Rome and Vatican City

We got up this morning, early as usual, and headed to Vatican City. One of the boys commented on our outfits because we all had scarves and longer skirts on, he said we were so modest! It was warmer too which was a nice change that I could wear a skirt instead of pants. We had a really great tour of Vatican City and we even got in before the rest of the public and skipped some of the other lines as well. We saw the Sistine Chapel and the beautiful paintings of Michael Angelo. Everything has so much history and is so grand. After out tour we climbed to the top of the Basilica and got a breathtaking view of the city of Rome. We then took the tube to the Colosseum and Roman baths. This again was a very iconic place and it was hard for me to take in that I was really there. Rome is huge, so we were all exhausted and decided to go back to camp to relax and wash up before dinner. Dinner was delicious, in Italy they give us wine with our dinner… yummy! Tomorrow we are going to Venice with a stop in Verona.

Florence 2 and Rome

We were up really early today and went on a walking tour of Florence. It was raining but we made the best of it and the sights made us forget about our wet shoes. We saw the major things on our walking tour of Florence, our tour guide was really good, and at the end there was a leather making demonstration which was very interesting. Florence is known for its leather products. We didn’t have much time though and so we didn’t get to see all that we wanted. We got a little lost on the way back to the hostel and when we were staying in looking at our maps an Italian man came and gave us a history lesson… in Italian, we caught about 3 words. We finally made our way back to the bus and headed to Rome.


When we got to Rome we had a walking tour, with our fabulous Topdeck tour director, Vicky! She took us to all the major sights of Roma; the Pantheon, Colosseum, Trevi fountain, all of it was so cool and so big! I can’t get over how big everything is because they didn’t have the technology we do today and it amazes me that they were able to build such amazing structures. You are walking down a normal city street and all of the sudden there is a huge fountain or might building at the end, its crazy! I think my favorite building was the Pantheon because it is HUGE! The inside is so majestic and… Roman. We also had pizza and gelato at the Trevi fountain, it was delicious! Tomorrow we are spending the morning in Vatican City on a tour and then the rest of the day is ours to explore Rome.

Florence

Today we drove to Florence and stopped at Pisa along the way. Pisa was really cool! It is so iconic that it was hard to believe that I was there with the leaning tower right in front of me. We of course took the usual pictures and Catherine and I kept saying that it looks like we photoshopped ourselves into the pictures. We hopped back on the bus and continued on our way to Florence. We got to our hostel in Florence, which was really nice, and got ready for dinner. Dinner was very Italian with bruschetta, bread, and pasta. There was a bar with a dance floor and so we all put our dancing shoes on after dinner and danced the night away in our first night in Italy.

Switzerland Day 2

Today we went up to the top of Jungfrauben (spelling?) and it was really awesome! We packed a picnic lunch to take up to the top with us at brecky (breakfast) and we all walked into town to catch the train that would take us to the top. The ride was of course, beautiful! The mountains and pretty little houses dotting the hills were very pretty and definitely Swiss! The top of the mountain was REALLY high up and I was super dizzy and nauseous it wore off a little bit after I got used to the altitude and ate some chocolate! It was snowing at the top of the mountain and so we were all really enthralled by this! I was in a group with Catherine, Jess, Jamie, Brendon, Damian, Lyndsay, and Maria (Kiwi). They are all really fun and we are all becoming really good friends. We explored on the top of the mountain for a while- there is an ice palace and places to slide down the mountain on sleds. We ate lunch inside and then took the train back down the mountain. Then we wandered through the little town and back to our cabins and took naps and got ready for dinner. Dinner was great, again, and then we hung out at the bar for our final night in beautiful Switzerland. Tomorrow we are heading to Florence to begin our travels in Italia!

Switzerland

Today we got up early and said auvoir to Paris. We had about a 10 hr. bus ride to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland where we will be spending the next 2 nights. We stopped for lunch at a little area and had a picnic with a beautiful backdrop. They always have good food  and always lots of yummy cheese! We played games on the bus; I could name everyone’s name and won a key chain! We also do this thing called “Top dick of the day” which is where we pick the person or people who did something stupid and they have to wear a bright yellow safety vest and we have to put something on it from the place we wore it in. Brendon and I got it because in Paris we crashed our bikes into each other and almost died, almost it was funny. We got into Lauterbrunnen at about 6:30 pm, the drive in was absolutely gorgeous! The Swiss Alps are the backdrop for the tiny city we are staying in and I every time I see them my mouth still hangs open in awe. Pictures and words can’t even do them justice. We are staying in these little cabins, really cute and we don’t even get keys because it’s so safe! It’s pretty cold here though and I am really glad I have a scarf (Thanks Morgan!) and a sleeping bag. We had a really nice dinner and headed over to the little bar for some fun and socializing with the other tour groups that also are staying here. Tomorrow we are going to the top of Jungfrau- which is a mountain with the highest railroad in the world! I can’t wait!

Sorry!

OK everyone sorry about the delay, I have been super busy and the internet when there is any has been expensive. So I have just been typing up what's been going on and now I will update it, it's a lot but keep reading!!! :)

I LOVE PARIS aka France Part Trois

   I am officially in love with the most romantic city in the world! It's amazing. Today was super jam packed with all of the sights of Paris. Catherine, Gillian, and I got up super early to be able to see everything, we left at about 7:30/8. We successfuly navigated the metro system, thanks to our guide Tom Tom, he's awesome... and very cute.We went to the Arc De Triumph, then the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Louvre, then a bike tour through the city. The bike tour was so much fun, our guide was American which made us feel right at home and he was very funny. It was a bit "dodgy" as the Aussies would call it, going through the traffic. It was scary navigating our bikes in the streets with the crazy Parisian drivers, there are no lines on the road!!
   Overall it was an awesome day in Paris, we didn't get to see everything though, so I will need to come back to see everything!
   After our bike tour we have our picnic under the Eiffel tower. It was lovely and we had some really good cheese. One of the other tour groups we are traveling with challenged us to a snail eating contest and we had to pick 3 girls and 2 boys to do it, so I volunteered! I have never eaten snails before, they're different, Chewey. Our group didn't win, but we are hoping to get them bacl some other time ;)
   Then we chnaged on the bus and headed to the Cabaret, which was very unique. I liked the show and it was a very Parisian thing that I don't think I cold experience anywhere else. We also got a half bottle of wine each. The girls were topless alot which didn't really appeal to me, but the boys were nice to look at and as Cathiner put it it was like naked Ballet.  There was a unicycler and a trapeze artist so it was all very entertaining.  The boys liked the boobs, one thing I have learned on this trip is that all boys are the same in every country. 
   We are all super tired though from our super long day and we are going to bed becuse we need to be on the bus at 8:30 tomorrow morning for our 10 hour drive to Switzerland. We are going to be there with a few other Topdeck tour groups so I think we are going to have a get together so that will be fun. I have met some really great people on thie trip so far and can't wait to meet more people from other tours.  On the drive tomorrow we are apparently playing games and "speed dating", I don't know what all that is about but it should be interesting. Goodnight for now:)

<3 Amore from Paris!
PS Pictures are coming soon it just takes awhile to upload.

PARIS aka France Part Deux

Tonight we went to dinner at this little restuarant down the street. It was nice to eat with all of the people in the tour and get to know them.  We had some sort of salad thing, bread (of course), and chicken and french fries (I don't know if that's actually what they call them). Then we went back to the bus for the city lights tour, which was FANTASTIC! I love Paris, it's so beautiful and there is so much to see and at night it's really awe inspriring. 
Our first stop was the Sacre Cure...? A huge church ontop of a hill. We had to climb up 275 stairs or something like that, but the view of Paris from the top was awesome. The church was very impressive as well. After we walked through the church we walked in the little side streets around the church. Catherine and I shared a Nutella Crepe, which was delicious, and I am so glad we shared.  I also got my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tour. We then walked back down to the bus to finish our tour.
One of the cool things on the tour was when we stopped to see the Eiffel Tour it did its light up sparkly thing. It was very pretty. We saw so much, and there was French Music in the background.
The people on the trip are very nice.  The Aussie boys are very friendly and they like to poke fun at me for all of my bags, I think I have officially been pegged as the high maintenance girl. Which is alright because they seem to like me anyway. I told one boy that my pink duffel was full of shoes and make up, he believed me. 
Tomorrow we have a VERY full day so it's into the shower and off to bed for me.

<3 Amore from Paris!

France Part 1

   So we made it to Paris and the hostel has free wifi... SWEET!!! Today has been really nice so far. We woke up this morning at 5:15, yuck, and had breakfast at the Clink. Then we shlepped our baggage up to the lobby where we checked in with our group. Our tour director, Victoria, is really nice and she told me to bring my other bag for Marjon with me and just leave it on the bus, so it looks like I have 2 giant bags... I got lots of funny stares and even a few jabs... but all in good fun.  There are 21 people on our trip, which is small and we all have our own seat on the bus.  Catherine and I are the only Americans, there are people from Canada, Singapore, and lots of Australians (and a few cute boys!). 
   We drove for a little bit and then got on the ferry across the English channel, it was pretty rough and really cold on deck. After landing in France we drove through the French countryside to Paris, where we are now. The current time is 5:28. We are staying in a Hostel in a room with me, Catherine, and Jillian... we have our own bathroom, this place is snazzy! We have until 6:20 until we meet for dinner and our city lights tour. Tomorrow we are exploring the Louvre in the morning until 3and then we have our bike tour, a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, and we opted for a Cabaret show because our tour leader said it is a really good experience... we'll see :)
  Tomorrow should be fun and very busy and then it's off to Switzerland!!!

Schlepping

 So today was the longest day ever, probably because it was 2 days and I only got like 3 TOPS hours of sleep.  Catherine and I made it to MIA airport and onto the plane without any glitches, suprisingly... the weight of my bag was a cuase for some stress but it went through OK. We took off on time and landed in London, England at 7 ish... then we went through cutsoms, collected our bags and looked for the Heathrow Express, the train to take us to Kings Cross Station where the Hostel was. We found that OK, got on and in 15 mins. we were in Paddington Station... well that's where the schlepping started. We COULD NOT figure out how to get on a second train that would take us to Kings Cross Station. We asked about 8 different people who all told us to do different things. Stairs have never been more my enemy... We finally figured it out after about an hour of schlepping up and down stairs speaking to unfriendly people and some friendly people who obviously didn't know what we were asking.
  After making it to Kings Cross we had to find the Clink, we asked a few people who thought we were talking about a jail. We schlepped our bags from about 270 something Kings Cross Roda to 78 Kings Cross Road... They told us we couldn't check in until 2:30, it was about 12:15, so we decided to buy a bus pass and see some sights. We went down to Westminister and found Buckinham Palce, Parliment (where we noticed there was a lot of hulabaloo, TVs, guards, people, protestors, apparently they are electing a new prime minister!), Big Ben, and Catherine road the London Eye. We took the Bus back, no glitches, and checked into the Clink. This place really is like jail, but nicer. I have gotten lost so many times and I have gotten lots of funny looks at my matching luggage, I am VERY out of place, but I switched over to my duffel so I think I will fit in a little better.
When we got settled into our room of 14, we made friends with some Australians, they are going on a 36 day tour tomorrow, and then we decided to brace the cold again (it was very chilly here today, I don't know the actual temp.) and took the underground SUCCESSFULLY to Oxford Carnival or something like that. We did much better this time and made it there and back all on our own.
There were times today when I really really really wished my parents were here so I could ust follow them and they could decide what was a good deal for money and they could figure out where we were supposed to be. I have never been more appreciative of our family vacations together when they did all the planning. I almost cried and I am not going to lie there were a couple of times that Catherine and I were about to kill each other, but by the end we were just laughing because really that's all you can do. Overall it was a successful day and we feel a bit more conifdent in our navigation abilites and my map reading abilities (I bought one Mom, it's pretty good). Tomorrow we leave for Paris and I need a shower and some sleep. Hopefully I will get to write about Paris tomorrow, I am very excited! They are taking us on a city lights tour, should be fun!


Because Morgan wanted to know: I had chicken and veggies for dinner with taramasu? for dessert and I slept through bfast this morning, but Catherin gave me half of her bagel egg and cheese thing.
I watched Julie and Julia... very cute!
Sleep tight, as the current time here is 9:45 ish :)

<3
Amanda

Day one...

So I guess I would call today day one of my European adventure. My mom and I finally got all of my stuff packed up and my room cleaned. I rushed to see Sam graduate (YAY!!!)  After seeing Tori graduate yesterday (YAY!!!) and met Catherine so we could get on the road. It felt good to be on the road, finally on my way home for a day and then onto Europe!

Well this is my life  and so nothing is ever easy, simple, or smooth and so the adventure began for this trip in about Ocala, that’s right Ocala… one county over. Anyway, there was quite a bit of traffic as was to be expected on A Sunday afternoon. Catherine and I were driving along in the middle lane chitchatting without the radio on and with our cell phones tucked away in our bags, just for the record. As we were driving a Florida Highway Patrol Officer went past us with their lights on in the left lane, of course causing people to slow down, Catherine and I started discussing that and the times we got pulled over. As I was talking about the times I have gotten pulled over (headlights, UGH) a person in the left lane slammed on their brakes causing a man in a black truck to slam and swerve into my lane. I swerved so he wouldn’t hit me, but being that there was a lot of traffic, there was someone on my other side and I served back into my lane. I think that I may have overcorrected too much and in combination with that the man in the black truck hit the back of my car, causing my car to spin like a top in the middle lane of I-75. When I finally regained control of the car we were facing the wrong direction on I-75, SCARY. I turned the car off, took a deep breath, turned it back on, and turned my car around. Luckily everyone behind me stopped and we weren’t hit and luckily the 2 other people involved weren’t hurt and aside from some small dents on our cars, everything was OK.

The FHP officer couldn’t tell whose fault the accident was and so no one got charged with causing the accident. It was quite the trip home and I am EXTREMELY glad that everything turned out the way it did because it could have been way worse.  Catherine and I both said that at one point as our car was spinning like a Mario Kart that we thought we were going to die. We hope that the rest of our trip, while being fun, isn’t as… exciting as the drive home tonight.

As a side note, my Mom left about 30 mins. Before we did and so as we were involved in our own accident my Mom’s tire blew out. She is fine, but it was weird that the 2 incidents happened almost simultaneously. She had to call AAA, put a spare on, and then drive 50mph the rest of the way home. We are all home now, but WHEW, day one…