Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Spontaneous Trip to London!






























Hi there!

For the second half of spring break, my friends and I spontaneously booked a trip to London! The minute we got to our AirBnb in Paris we sat down and booked everything. I am so happy we did; I have wanted to visit London for so long (probably due to my obsession with British Youtubers) and it completely lived up to my expectations.

Our first day there we really wanted to relax, so we spent the day shopping around Oxford Street and Covent Garden. We went to a lot of the typical British stores: Primark, Boots, Lush, etc. We walked all through Soho, Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, and Leicester Square. The weather was super nice compared to Paris and we had a really chill day. 

The second day we did literally all the touristy stuff. Our hostel was in a pretty good location (right near Kings Cross Station) so we walked mostly everywhere, and this day was completely exhausting. We started by walking to the Tower Bridge, then along the water, which has a beautiful path leading past loads of tourist attractions. We wandered around the Globe Theater for a bit, and passed Millennium Bridge and the London Eye, before heading back over the river to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham palace. We sat in the park next to the palace for a few hours to recharge, and then went back to the Covent Garden area to see a West End show! We saw The Woman in Black, mostly because it was the cheapest, but it was actually pretty good. I hate scary things so I was terrified, but objectively speaking the show was pretty great. 

We spent the majority of the third day wandering around Portabello Market in Notting Hill. This market had been particularly high on my list of things to see ever since my boyfriend sent me a picture of vintage cameras for sale there when he visited a year ago. And the market didn't disappoint; there were tons of vintage things, food, jewelry, and other random knick-knacks, and the neighborhood was beautiful. I ended up buying two vintage cameras and I love them so much.

The hostel we stayed at was in an amazing location and was very cheap, but it was a very odd experience. It was in a converted court house, so they had actual prison cells to sleep in. It was also a bit of a party hostel, so it was incredibly loud and filled with people at all times. But breakfast was free and overall it wasn't the worst hostel experience ever!  

London was one of my favorite cities I have visited so far and I cannot wait to go back!

xo, Sophie

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Sunday, April 17, 2016

Spring Break in Paris!














































Hi there! 

For the first part of spring break my friends and I went to Paris!! And it was kind of a mess...

Day 1: Eiffel Tower + Marais + Montmartre
Day 2: Versailles 
Day 3: Musée de l'Orangerie + Notre Dame + Latin Quarter 
Day 4: Musée d'Orsay + Ferris Wheel + Champs Élysées 
Day 5: Louvre + fly to London! 

I don't feel the need to go into detail about what I did each day, because I have been to Paris before so I have already experienced a lot of the things I did. But this was definitely my toughest trip; things just kept going wrong! Lines were crazy long because of the increased security, and it was pouring rain with heavy winds the whole trip. My phone also got blown into one of the fountains in the Jardin des Tuiluries! Luckily, a really nice family helped me get it out and it miraculously still works. There were a lot of little issues throughout the trip, but overall Paris is still one of my favorite cities. My favorite spot to explore is definitely Marais (the Jewish quarter). There are amazing little boutiques there and awesome food, as well as a lot of Jewish book stores and historical sites. The buildings in the area are also beautiful and it's so easy to just get lost in that spot of the city. I also love the markets in Paris. We stumbled upon a massive one just across the river from the Eiffel Tower, and it had amazing food, flowers, and accessories. My favorite museum is definitely the Orangerie. The museums is much smaller than most, and has incredible artists like Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, and of course Monet's Water Lilies. These aspects of Paris (and of course Angelina's hot chocolate) were definitely the highlights of the trip for me.   

When we arrived in Paris, we also spontaneously decided to extend our trip and go to London, so those photos will be up next!

xo, Sophie

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