Paris

I did not know what to expect in Paris other than the Eiffel tower being pretty amazing. It did not disappoint. It is a site to see. The only downside is the wait time to go up in it. That and the 300 guys selling miniature Eiffel Towers saying "one euro, one euro" for two hours while you wait in line. There are also a lot of "gypsies" that ask you if you speak English and hand you a card asking for money. It really is heart breaking, there was so much begging across the city. By the end of the stay, you end up saying no before they even ask. That was the toughest part of being in Paris. But the city itself was magnificent. We took a river cruise after we went to the Eiffel Tower and that is where we really started to see the city. After the cruise we went to the Arc De Triumph. The Arc was impressive and HUGE inside. The first night Jeff and I went to the top right as it was getting dark to see the cityscape and the Eiffel Tower lit up. It was a great night, beautiful!

The following day we took a tour on a "hop on, hop off" bus. My favorite site on the tour was the Notre Dame Cathedral. Unlike other cathedrals I have visited, Notre Dame is not ornate with gold and bright colors. It is majestic with its stone work and pure mass. It is unbelievable, the interior and exterior. And unlike St. Paul's, you can take pictures. The Louve was also cool to see but we only were able to enter the lobby and not the galleries b/c they closed at 5:30 and we got there at 5:45. The gift shop was cool though! And the Louve has a shopping mall in it too, who knew? After the Louve, we saw more of the Champ Del Elysees near the Arc. I also saw the Moulin Rouge where the Cancan was invented and "women of less virtue" go to work, so said our guide. We walked up to the "Basilica" where monks used to live in the 1600s. All in all superb! The plan was to go back to the hotel for awhile and then have dinner at Hard Rock. We opted to skip dinner on account of being worn out. We almost ordered a pizza, but that too took too much effort. We did eat 1 french meal while we were there. I thought it was good but Jeff disagreed and so McDs became helped us out a few times. We left for London early the next morning. So long Paris!

Oxford

I decided to take a day and visit Oxford because I had read so much about it. I remember several years ago reading a historical fiction novel called "The Inklings." I don't remember much of the plot, big surprise I often re-read books b/c I forget I have already read them. What I do remember from the book was that the "Eagle and Child" was the pub that a literary group met at to discuss what they were working on, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien among them. They called themselves the "Inklings." I have always loved these two authors because their stories were some of the first ones that introduced me to the world of literature. Since college, reading has been a huge part of my life, thanks to a push from my mom too. I have always thought it would be great to write a book of fiction. To have a story and be inspired to put it to the page is a very romantic idea to me. I doubt I will ever actually do so, but if I was an actor, I would play a writer :). Anyway, I say all of this because Oxford is FULL of character that inspires. I think it would be tough not to let your imagination run wild being there, it oozes from the walls. How's that for literature! You have to keep your eyes open in Oxford because there is so much to see. It's like The Shire, Narnia, and Hogwarts all in one. The history and the great men and women that have studied at an Oxford University was fascinating to learn as well. I am fairly certain most of the day my jaw was to the floor and I said the phrase "you've got to be kidding" alot.

Getting Lost In London...

So it has been several weeks since I posted anything because I haven't really done anything extraordinary. But, I have had some amazing ordinary experiences. on Sunday, I went to Hillsong and it was amazing and I needed to just worship. it was incredible. After church, I went to lunch with some people from the church and ad a great time too! I was running a few minutes late to a Harry Potter walk that started at 2 but luckily, the tour had not yet left the station. I do realize that this lets the cat out of the bag that I am a big Harry Potter fan and I lose cool points but let's be honest, I hate math so whose counting!! I do have to say that I ruled at the HP trivia asked by the guide but there were some tweens that nailed some off the wall questions between the books and movies that left me in the dust. Always more to strive for muggles, don't fret!!

Monday and Tuesday were devoted to softball games with Jeff and friends. Wednesday I went to the show Avenue Q with a few friends from softball. That show was hilarious but SO inappropriate! Definitely not kid friendly although I did see a few kids, yikes! Today was amazing....(the following will be ridiculously cheesy but all true)

this morning I finished a good book, got ready and headed for the tube with no inkling as to where I was headed. I stopped and got coffee at a little cafe across the river and it was actually great (haven't had much coffee here b/c it is SO strong). At the tube, I grabbed 2 nectarines from my favorite fruit stand (80 pence). I had grabbed another book to stop on my way out of the flat and so I took a seat on the tube and started to read "Water for Elephants" (3 pounds, second hand bookshop) Still had no idea where I was headed. Decided to switch trains at Earls Court and go to High Street Kensington.

Ahhh High Street Kinsington. First of all, the weather was perfect today. Blue skies and in the sixties. after leaving the station there I started to window shop a a little. My favorite store was "Kew". It was a store of linen sundresses, tops and shirts but also had cute tops and bags. Even the sale items were out of my price range but it was one of those stores that if you could pick what you would like to dress like if you had funds and were petite and lived in a climate where linen made sense and not the humidity capitol of the world. Ahhhh linen and flannel...have I told you about my dream of wearing linen and flannel? I mean dream as in something to aspire to not like a dream I had last night. Needless to say, I love linen and flannel! But, I hate to iron, go figure. Anyways, so after Kew, I just started walking. The great thing about London, to me, is that everywhere you go and anywhere you look there is always something worth seeing. The architecture is beautiful , the trees are mature, and the people fascinating. Once you are off of high street, the city noise is gone and every house/neighborhood unique. Still lost, I kept walking and ended up in Notting Hill and found Portabello Road Market. more window shopping to do but now I have the song Portabello Rd in my head. I didn't treck to find the travel book shop b/c I found it last time and I knew I would buy a book I don't need. I had lunch at Nandos, yeah mash potatoes and crunchy ice!! From Notting Hill I went to Kensington Gardens and did the Princess Diana memorial walk. I love that there are so many parks in London. So many great spots for picnics and walks and dogs everywhere, it's awesome! I feel like I am living in my imagination here, it's silly but it is so beutiful here. it's the kind of place you would go to get inspired to write a novel or something. I certainly felt inspired today. Too bad I am not channeling my inspiration into anything at the time, ha!