TravelStream™ news feed for member mferrand on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mferrand en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:55:36 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215557280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215557280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215557280/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:55:36 -0400 Europe 2008

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Paris, France

I wasted my whole day walking back and forth, looking for my parental unit. My plan was originally to see the Musee Guimet. Sadly, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WASN'T OPEN ON TUESDAYS! DAMN! From there it went down hill; I won't even bother talking about it.

Two useful things I did learn today, despite the crappiness of the day:
Cabbies will go the long route just to spend your money.
Also, the Batobus, on the the Seine is a GREAT inexpensive way to get around Paris. It stops at all the major sights along the River (which is most of the sights in Paris). It's a hop on, hop off deal and only costs 17 euros for 5 days. Stops are at the Louvre, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, d'Orsay, St. Germain, Notre Dame, and Jardin Plantees. It's a bit slower than taxi, but guarenteed to be there and it's in English, unlike the subway. There are some sights you can't get to from it without a super long walk (ie Versailles, Sacre Ceur), but those are far from the city center and could be an easy single subway or cab ride. Check it out.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/3/1216438440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/3/1216438440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/3/1216438440/tpod.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:45:52 -0400 Las Vegas 2008 (Coldplay!)

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Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

So, as per the usual, the plane ride from LAX was like the longer version of MAGIC MOUNTAIN ROLLER COASTER! It sucked. Luckily, the aiport shuttle to the major hotels was easy to use and I was soon settled in my room at the MGM Grand (the room was even ready early!).

I was really tired so I, eh, slept from like 3 to 7. I then proceeded to meet my dad who had been playing poker for dinner. We ate at a restaurant called Shibuya in the hotel. It was amazing. The sushi, tempura, and beef I tasted were A grade creations of YUMMINESS! My wallet wasn't as happy, though...

After walking through all the cool shops in the MGM Grand, I got bored. So, being the mature adult I am, I went to the arcade. And it was highly entertaining, though I didn't win anything =)

THEN I LEARNED THERE WAS AN ICE CREAM PLACE IN THE HOTEL. Yes, I went and had some. It was gooooooood. The sugar totally helped me go to sleep at 2 AM.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215406860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215406860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215406860/tpod.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:16:31 -0400 Europe 2008

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Paris, France

I walked a ridiculously large distance today. I got up. OH
AND EVEN MORE AMAZING. I GOT UP BEFORE MY MOM AND JEFF! That's epic. Amazing.
Rare. F-ING UNHEARD OF! I left before them, too! Anyway, I told Chelsea that I would meet
her at the Louvre at 9. That was just a little stupid, since when I woke up at
8 I was growling and half dead because it was so early. But, still, I was able
to leave the house only 25 minutes late (I have tardiness issues, as you might already
know).



The plan was to take a cab, but after having many drive by
and not stop I just decided to walk. I'm not sure what delusional idea made me
think the Louvre was close by, but whatever. After navigating traffic, nearly
being run over, and being forced to walk around certain areas because certain
sidewalks weren't open all the time thanks to the Bastille Parade setting up
people, I finally arrived around 9:40. I apparently walk like a speed demon,
cause that was from the Eiffel
Tower to the Louvre. And
that's faaaar.



After searching about the glass pyramid and not finding Chelsea, I just went in (through the special stairway
cause we had bought museum passes while walking down the Champs
Elysees yesterday). I made my way through all the stuff in the
Napoleon Hall and into the Denon Gallery. Whilst browsing the many paintings, I
ran into Chelsea and her family. I think I have subconscious people finding
radar.



We split from her family and walked through the Italian,
French, German, Dutch, - well basically all the European paintings. After
consulting the map, I determined that that is one GIANT FUCKING MUSEUM. Sorry,
but there are no other words for it. It was actually enjoyable. I spent 3 hours
looking at art and that is scary amazing for me; I'm stunned by people who say
they could spend a week in any museum. The thought kind of makes me want to
kill myself. Seriously, though, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE LOUVRE!



Eventually we met up with Chelsea's family again and ate lunch at one
of the many cafés there. Did I mention that they can put anything on bread and
make it taste good? It's like a French super power! I got in contact with Jeff
and mom and learned that they had finally made it to the Louvre.







By this time my brain felt like it had imploded. Really, I
had a killer headache, so I searched them out using my skillz. After being whined
at for going home over a "little headache" - I TOOK TYLENOL AND IT DIDN'T HELP,
DAMNIT!- I got the key for the flat and left.Once Again I could find no cabs, so I walked. It started to
rain. Really Hard. Great. Just Dandy. In the distance to my left I could see
the Invalides. Oh wasn't it my lucky day, it's a public space conveniently
covered by my museum pass! I made my way there to learn just what exactly that
place was.



After wandering confusedly about, finding myself in a pretty
chapel, and then exiting said chapel, I found the Army Museum.
They had canons and guns and swords and stuff. It was awesome. After being
entertained by France's
military history from 1870 to post WWII, my headache had gone away. I must say,
it's a great museum. Well laid out, informative, and with lots of visual aids.
If you have any interest in that sort of thing, go!



Like most museums, there was a gift shop at the end; I fell
victim to this one in a big way. You see, I just planned on looking, but then I
happened to see a 15 euro letter opener resembling a sword. That led to me
looking at the boxes in the area. I saw a model of Napoleon's dagger. I guess
it was his favourite or something. Well it was shiny, and a large knife, and
yeah. And 60 euros. I bought it. There went 90 bucks. Oh well, money is meant
to be spent, right?



Whatever! Napoleon's tomb is also at the Invalides, so I
went to see that. If you are a history buff, you must see it; I think it's
obvious why. Even if you aren't, there are some large paintings and huge
statues there that are worth a look. Also, the huge gold dome over it that can
be seen for miles, is cool to see up close. The interior is actually quite
interesting. I can't explain why, it just felt interesting. Maybe it was
because it's so dark and like ethereal. Just go see for yourself. I found it
really funny that the tomb itself, looks like a giant toy box. Really, I think
it looks like it's made out of plastic. I seriously almost started laughing.



Napoleon II's tomb is also there, though he didn't do
anything awfully important It's right there, so you might as well look at it. Oh,
here's a tip when exciting Invalides, go through the gate, because there is an
empty moat around it. I had to walk all the way along the edge of it cause I
didn't know it was there until I had walked across the lawn, toward the flat.I thought
it would be shorter, but no! There was a moat in my way.







I walked back to the flat and kind of just died because my
feet hurt. When Jeff and my mom got back five minutes later, I was forced to
walk to the store because my mom was sick and we needed stuff. I swear, though,
the people in the store nearest us are such freaks. They have been super rude
every time we've gone there. And for no reason! It's just east of the Rue St.
Dominique and Avenue Rapp intersection (on St, Dominique). Sorry, but I don't
know the name. But, don't go there. Really, just don't.I did absolutely nothing until we went out to dinner around
10 pm. We were lucky to find a restaurant open that late, which I think is
silly. Everyone is awake then, but things close so early! All the museums are
closed by 7. What the hell are you supposed to do after that?!







Something I learned today: Well, actually this was when I
wrote this, which sadly, was a couple days after the actual day. I GOT A 4 ON
MY AP EUROPEAN HISTORY TEST. MWAHAHAHAAH! I know you don't care, but whatever.Side Note: The Paris Museum
Pass (that's its exact
name!) is well worth the buy. They come in 2, 4, or 6 day passes. The 2 day
pass is only 30 euros. Not only does it cover all the major museums, it also
allows entrance or special tours at many of the popular sites (Notre Dame,
Sainte Chapelle, Versailles, Arc de Triomphe...) The pass also allows you to cut
lines at many of the places it covers. I was able to go through the Louvre, Army Museum,
and Napoleon's tomb much faster because I didn't have to wait to buy tickets or
in the Louvre's case, go through the normal entrance.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/2/1182098280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/2/1182098280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/2/1182098280/tpod.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:39:39 -0400 Japan 2007

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Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

Once I find my handwritten stuff about this trip, I'll put it up.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204720/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:55:27 -0400 Europe 2008

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London, United Kingdom

Today my mom and Jeff went to Liverpool; I didn't go, though. They wanted to go on the Beatles tour and whatnot, but I thought that it'd just be some tour making some boring town seem exciting because the Beatles lived there a long time ago.

Turns out, it was pretty cool. Apparently there's a lot of shopping to be done there and the eating is better than London (the food really does kinda suck, unless you know where to go). Also, they said that the Beatles in a Cab thing is actually pretty fun. You get to go in some of the Beatles houses and see all their old haunts.

I semi regret not going. Ah, whatever. I had a good time anyway! I finally got to sleep in, until 2 pm!!! Sweeet. I kinda just lounged around for a few hours, messing around on the computer and stuff. Did I mention the TV doesn't work? -_-

Finally, around 3 or 4 I decided to actually get ready and go out. And I did. I took the subway to Covent Garden and actually had a lot of fun. There is a lot of cool shopping around there; all the travel books say so, so this is nothing new. Across the street from Covent Garden is a little area called the Jubilee Market and it has lots of cheapish clothes and bags at independent stalls. I didn't buy anything there, but it's interesting. I walked around the area nearby the exit for Covent Garden Station and found an H&M. I tried on stuff for like an hour and eventually bought a cute jacket and shirt. Then, I went back to Covent Garden and found some food to eat in the form of a pizza and coke. It was the first not ridiculously expensive food that I have had in London. It was good, too; so look for the food stands there.

After that I headed back to the flat and called the old ones. They hadn't even left Liverpool yet, and it was a 2 hour train ride back. Until after 10, when they got back, I talked to my peoplz online.

Something I learned today: The underground is not air conditionered. The massive amounts of people on it cause it to get really hot. All the poor people sweat. Thus, making it the stinkiest place in the city.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204840/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:28:31 -0400 Europe 2008

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London, United Kingdom

Today, I met up with Chelsea again. They went to Harrod's and I decided to join them because I didn't see the food section when I was there last. And I'll say, it was awesome. There is so much food, and all of it delicious looking. Sadly, all of it very expensive. I even saw a 60 dollar lollipop. Granted, it was a giant lollipop, but still! All in all, it was fun, though, and if you have the money, BUY STUFF!

After that, we went to King's Cross and went to seek out Platform 9 ¾. You know, from Harry Potter (Chelsea is an HP FREAK). It doesn't look at all like in the movies, and there is no wall in between platforms 9 and 10. Instead, the station has a sign saying Platform 9 ¾ on some wall near it and half a basket going through the wall, so it looks like its passing through. OOOH aaah. It really isn't exciting. You need to be a just under super Harry Potter freak to enjoy it, because if you're too freaky, you'll start pointing out all the inaccuracies. Um coughchelseacough. I was forced to be in pictures, though I adamantly refused to pretend I was going through the wall. I still have some dignity left.

They had planned to get afternoon tea near Kensington Palace, and I decided to join them for this, too. We took the Piccadilly line from King's cross and connected to the Circle line at Holborn. Alighting at Queensway, we walked through a small portion of Hyde Park and entered Kensington Gardens. The restaurant café thing was right there. We were so hungry that we didn't wait for the traditional English Tea, and instead just ordered food and drinks. My eyes were bigger than my head; I ordered scones, cake, and shortbread. Then I found out they had mushroom soup, and I just had to have some. I only ate like half, but it was my mom's money, so what the hell? Just so you know, the mushroom soup at Cheesecake Factory and Whole Foods is better. The scones and shortbread, though, we're yummyyy.

I got on the subway at Queensway, but got off at Marble Arch because I wanted to see it. I ended up walking half way through Hyde Park. It was pretty, but noisy. There is some music festival going on there now. The Police were playing there the other night!! I wanted to go, but tickets were expensive and it was just way to last minute. Anyway, there was music playing and lots of people milling about. I walked reaaaaaaaalllly realllllllllly far.

I ended up at the corner near Buckingham Palace, so I walked there to see it and the sky started thundering and raining. Crap. That was just dandy. Luckily, it eased up soon and I walked through St. James Park to St. James station. If you go to London, go there. Hyde Park is a great place to lounge about and St. James has beautiful trees and ponds. Buckingham Palace, is of course worth the visit. Even if you can't see the Queen ;), it's a pretty building.

After all this walking, it really started to rain hard and I got on the underground just in time. St. James St. circle line to Monument then Northern Line to Old Street had me at the flat. It was then I decided to on a mission sense it was my last day in London.

I have made it my goal to try McDonald's in every country I go to, just to see if it tastes different. And let me tell you: IT DOES. Japan's McDonald's did at least. So, I looked up the nearest one online and found it to be under a mile away. I walked there and it seemed a lot longer -_- After my hike back while carrying my quarter pounder and fries, I ate them. And it was good. The fries were more potatoy and the meat must have been at least half beef rather than 5ish%. WOAH! It's almost like real food.

That done, I ate pizza when my mom and Jeff got back with some. It was good.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215204600/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:12:20 -0400 Europe 2008

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London, United Kingdom

My friend from home, Chelsea, is visiting Europe at the same time as we are, and we had planned to meet up. Today was the first day we did. I met her at Westminster Abbey after taking the subway there and being about 15 minutes late... I have time estimation problems.

Oh and another reasosn I was late: the evil washing machine. I put my clothes in to wash last night, then set them to dry this morning. That was after looking up how to use it online -_- The damn thing wouldn't let me get my clothes out, though. I tried for like twenty minutes, but couldn't get it open to save my life. Finally, I left it alone and came back a bit later and it opened. That made me even more late. Grrr.

Anyway, I eventually found her and we wandered around the Abbey for maybe an hour. And I'll say this: There are a lot of dead people there. I mean A LOT! The floor and the walls and special tombs for especially famous people have graves in them. It's insane. Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin's tombs are there, though it took us forever to find them =) I have to say, though, Westminster is cool, St. Paul's is prettier. Just my opinion!

I then went to meet my mom and Jeff at the British museum. Leaving was amusing, because Chelsea's grandma and dad were totally freaked out that my mom let's me roam around by myself. Psh, I say it's more dangerous at home. Besides, I take Kung Fu and have a better sense of direction than my mom and she's allowed to wander around alone (though I don't think she should be...)

I took the underground as far as I could, then walked the rest of the way. I got there just in time to join them for high tea, which was quite good. If you go to the British museum (WHICH YOU SHOULD) do the whole high tea thing. It's fun and chocolatey!

I only had a little over and hour to see stuff, but I did it! Cause I'm just so skilled. I walked through the China and Southeast Asia (a must see!), the Japan (good but small), Korea (meh), and Egypt (everyone knows about this, so LOOK AT IT) sections. Then, I quickly went through the Greek and Roman section just to see the Rosetta stone. That was cool and stupid. Stupid, cause I walked right by it, asked a curator, and had him look at me like I was crazy while pointing to it behind me. I'm so smurt!

Anyway, the British museum is cool; you must go. The only problem is that it is terribly laid out. You get liked trapped in certain areas and though some other exhibit might be in the room adjacent to the one you're in, if it's in a different section you have to go all the way back to the entry area first. It's a pain in the ass. Still, go see it =)

After that, we walked to Russell Gardens. They're pretty, but not much of a Garden, more like a park. It isn't really worth seeing unless you're at the British Museum and want somewhere nearby to chill at outside. There's a little café to, if you get hungry of thirsty.

My mom and Jeff went to Euston station to get tickets for a train trip the next day. I, however, went back to the flat and chilled. I read, I wrote, I TV watched on the crappy broken TV, and ate some dinner.

What I learned today: British washing machines are pieces of crap.



]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215123900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215123900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1215123900/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:35:04 -0400 Europe 2008

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London, United Kingdom

I. Woke. Up. At. Five. Bloody. Thirty. AM. Ow. You have no idea how painful that was for me; I couldn't even go back to sleep. Funny thing was, I wasn't able to get out of the house until like 10, which was when we took a 60 US dollar cab ride. And to Harrods, too. That was the first time I'd gotten to see a lot more of the city, though; so it was semi worth it. Being a typical male, Jeff didn't want to go shopping, so we dropped him at the National Gallery. Did I mention that he is such a museum freak it makes me sick?

Now, I knew Harrods was supposed to be expensive; and I was prepared for that. But, it was still super depressing. I did the "OH! That's a cute coat! Oh, that's a 2000 dollar coat..." thing many times while browsing the designer fashions sections. And let me tell you: the designer fashions section is basically the ENTIRE STORE. I have to say, though, that a lot of designer clothing is ugly as hell; and I really don't know why people would pay massive amounts of money for them. However, some stuff was pretty sweet and I promised that when I become extremely rich, I will come back and buy stuff just because I can. Also, I enjoyed playing the "lets guess how much that shirt is" game.

Before I even went in the expensive section, I spent a lot of time in the Harrods shop, which is like a gift shop. They sell all sorts of things at reasonable prices, most of them saying Harrods somewhere on them. We bought a few all purpose bags for people who were watching our house and dogs for us. They were really cheap because- OH MY GOD. I forgot! Harrods just started their only sale of the year; though it doesn't help much because that 2000 dollar coat just becomes a 1000 dollar coat- Anyway, the sale made the bags cheap. I even decided to get one for myself, though it turned out to be one of the ones not on sale. They were the prettiest bags, too. All black (my favourite color) and awesome. Now, I am an indecisive person when it comes to unimportant things, so I ended up agonizing over the shiny version or the not shiny version of this one bag for like 45 minutes. Meanwhile, my mother had gone into hungry mode and had gone off to find something to eat. Though, it might have been that she was tired of waiting for me to pick out a bag after she told me that one reminded her of Las Vegas and that the other one was classier. The Las Vegas one was much prettier on the inside tough...

My indecisiveness led to me searching out my mom. I found her eating a sandwich, which I had some of and learned that Harrods food was ridiculously good. I also got a diet coke - a SEVEN DOLLAR DIET COKE! Preposterous. It was then that I finally chose a bag, and it turned out not to be the Las Vegas one or the supposedly more classy one.

After Harrods my mom and I walked to Knightsbridge station to take the Piccadilly line to Charring Cross. This involved me getting unceremoniously pulled out of an H & M and my mom exchanging some money. Luckily, we eventually got on the train and arrived at Charring Cross a few minutes later.

The plan was to meet Jeffrey at the National Gallery, because it and Charring Cross are in (or under in Charring Cross's case) Trafalgar Square. It took us a while to find him, but we did eventually. By that time my mother was hungry again, which resulted in us going to a "tearoom" recommended by the guide book. It ended up being more of a deli for the National Portrait Gallery. Liars! The book was Knopf Mapguides, if you care. They are really great because they have compact labeled maps of each area of the city, making them easy and convenient. You can get them for many major cities around the world, but unfortunately sometimes the places are played up a bit. Now that I am done advertising for them, I will continue with my story. We got some food and drinks then split up again. Jeff suggested what we should see in the National Gallery and went into the National Portrait Gallery.

I'm not a big fan of museums. Actually, I hate most of them, so I zoomed through half of it in under half an hour. I only bothered to stop at things I liked, and then only for ten seconds or so. After that I followed my mom around and gave what I thought was genius commentary on a few chosen paintings I had learned about in my AP European History class. In fact, I was able to give more info and background on the Marriage a La Mode by Hogarth than the plaques did. It's a fairly interesting set of paintings that tell the story of a couple's marriage arranged by their greedy parents in 18th or 19th century France. It shows the ugly side of unwanted marriages in a group of exquisite paintings. You should look them up! Sadly, the second painting of the set was missing.

After the all the museuming (just add ing and it becomes a verb) I could take, we met up with Jeff again. Just so you know, he said the National Portrait Gallery is very interesting, but the repetitiveness of seeing faces gets dull after a while. Anyway, we walked up Haymarket Street to Piccadilly Circus and went in some of those very touristy shops where everything says either London or England on it (or both!). We also stopped in a pub and got some fish and chips, but they weren't very good. We cruised down Shaftesbury Avenue for a while, until... BEHOLD! CHINA TOWN! I was stocked. I had found Chinatown. That had made me very happy because I love Asia.

First thing my mom did wass go into some little gambling place and proceed to win money. That woman is so lucky it's disgusting. After that, I went into a grocery store because Asian grocery stores are just about the coolest things ever. I bought a bottle of Ramune and a box of Pocky. I was very happy, though I couldn't figure out how to open the Ramune. Somehow, during this time, my mother and Jeff had scheduled themselves massages for 7pm. Thus, I was left alone to shop for half an hour. I came back with hairclips and shoelaces, cause those are totally Chinese, right? I even managed to find myself a meat bun, which as far as I am concerned is the best culinary creation in existence. Sometime during this I figured out how to open the Ramune.

Once the massages were done, we went to Pizza Hut. But not any ordinary Pizza Hut. This was the nicest Pizza Hut I had ever seen. There were waiters and real food! It was amazing. The eating completed, we walked to Tottenham Court Road station and took the tube back to the apartment.

I then proceeded to make my friends mad by reminding them that I was in England and they weren't. Oh, the wonders of instant messaging

Something I Learned Today: British people don't understand the concept of lanes while driving, or the lines that divide the street into two directions of traffic.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1214798340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1214798340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mferrand/1/1214798340/tpod.html Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:34:16 -0400 Europe 2008

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London, United Kingdom

I only got 6 hours of sleep, thus causing my brain to hurt for half the day. I don't even remember what the I did for breakfast. Actually, that's not true; I think I had a croissant and some more suspicious food from Marks and Spencer in the form of a fruit smoothie. After getting ready for 2 hours and being whined at by Jeff for taking 2 hours to get ready (May I add that my mom also took this long), we departed by way of cab at around 11.

Now, here is further evidence that the concierge hates us. We asked him where we could pick up a cab to the tower of London and he told us that the cabs don't run on Sundays. Now, at the time I thought this was just a tiny bit suspicious, but we went outside and stood near the bus stop. Our best buddy, the concierge then came outside and told us that it's only a 15 or 20 minute walk; and just as we started walking, I saw a cab come around the corner. While hailing the cab, I debated whether to write the concierge off as a moron or to punch him because he was a evil. Sadly, before I could do anything, we got in and watched him scurry away looking as if he had been caught red handed.

This time, the cab was a normal black one, rather than that piece of crap we sat in yesterday. We chit-chatted with the cabbie for the duration of the ride and learned that cabs do run on Sundays. The whole trip took about 15 minutes and was probably 2 or 3 miles, which would have taken me at least 25 minutes just to run that far. Sure glad we didn't decide to walk that "15 or 20" minute walk.

The Tower of London is right by the shore of the Thames, so I was able to get my first glimpse of said river for this trip. It was pretty cool, though I seriously wouldn't want to swim in that water. We bought tickets for the Tower and after entering, then arguing over whether or not to get audio guides, we set off. I didn't want them, and we didn't get them ;). All in all, I'd say the Tower of London is a must see. Historically, it's interesting; and architecturally it's pretty sweet. It doesn't really have that castle-y feeling I would have liked, since with all the plaques and whatnot it feels more like a museum. This is common in European castles these days, so it isn't a turn-off or anything.

The Bloody Tower was not all it is cracked up to be. I mean, it was interesting but not all that exciting. I much preferred the White Tower; probably because I have a, what my friends call disturbing, affinity for weapons and things of that nature. The tower is full of weapons and armor. At each floor I thought that I had seen the whole thing; then I'd see a sign pointing up, saying that there was more upstairs. Of course, I had to see it all and it took me a while to actually get outside again. It was then that I saw the biggest crow or raven (I would have said it was a crow, but they have ravens there.) that I have ever seen. The thing was flippin' gigantic and it didn't run away when I sat near it. The best part was when it scared some lady who sat down and didn't realize it was there.

Of course, I went and saw the crown jewels; that's most of the point of going there. They were ridiculous; there are hats in there worth more than my house. It makes me feel poor = ( Jeff and I determined that the royal scepter and royal orb are actually the royal club and royal grenade. That sounds much more exciting; and what better way to show your power than bopping someone on the head and blowing something up?

Along the way we had to stop and get my mom snacks 2 or 3 times, not counting the lunch we had half way through. This was only over a couple hour period, but we had to stop her from eating some poor tourist. That would have been very bad, indeed. It could have started an international incident; and we really didn't want the headliners to be AMERICAN EATS BRITISH PERSON! The United States already has a bad enough foreign image as it is.

Once we exited the Tower of London, we walked along the Thames to the Tower Bridge. Of course, we absolutely had to walk over it; but that was okay because we needed to get across the river anyway. Only afterwards did I realize that we could have gone up and walked on the higher part. That mad me sad =( but I decided that I ought to leave stuff for my next visit... whenever that will be. At this point, my goal was to reach Hay's Warf to do some shopping, but after wandering aimlessly for 15 minutes we still hadn't found it. I determined that some small we saw area was it and I thought it sucked. I did, however see the HMS Belfast, which I wanted to go on but didn't get to because mom and Jeff didn't. It might be wise to tell you that I used to want to be in the military before I learned that you can't if you had asthma. I was very sad when I found that out.

Around 4:30 or so, we found a pub. By this time, my mom was hungry again so we ordered her a salad and got a set of fish and chips because that was the British thing to do. I was also very stoked that the drinking age is lower; and even though I thought the beer tasted like crap, I was happy to try it.

When we finished, we left and rounded the corner. BAM! Hay's Warf with all its little shops. -_- I was pissed, but at this point my feet hurt to much to shop, except for buying a sweet little wallet with Japanese characters on it. The old ones' feet were hurting to so we decided to head back to the flat. If they read this, I'm 99% sure my mom will slap me =)

One trip on the Northern Line and a minute's walk later we were in the elevator at our building. I then proceeded to learn something. There were two concierges. One was a dip, and the other slightly less of a dip. They look alike, so I hadn't realized it at first. At this point I was super tired, so I crashed around 7pm.

Later, my mom told me that she and Jeff had gone to the store and that there were tons of really gay people walking around. On the bright side, at least the worst that thing that could happen to you outside, at night would be some gay man verbally attacking you about your shoes being way to last season. So, it isn't dangerous!

Something I learned today: British people don't believe in air conditioner.
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Paris, Île-de-France, France

I was once again forced to get up early, early being 8:30. At least that was an improvement over some of the previous days =) Anyway, I got ready really fast (fast for me) and packed all my clothes and stuff into my bags. I was so rushed that I was unable to do my hair which meant that it looked retarded for the entire day. Just thought I'd put that out there.

We were out of the horribly decorated apartment and into a cab by 10. I, being the genius I am, forgot to eat breakfast. I do that a lot, though, so it was all good. The cab ride was uneventful, except for my mom's laptop falling on the ground with a loud thud. That was fun! Luckily, it still worked later.

St. Pancras wasn't interesting, but it was well decorated. Besides that, the security was almost as annoying as the airports. To make matters worse, our train was supposed to leave at 11:05 and we were supposed for board 20 minutes beforehand. Come 10:45 they told us it was time to start, and then proceeded to not open the doors for fifteen minutes. Incompetent idiots.

The train ride itself was uneventful and the seats just a little cramped in coach class. I was stuck with the plebeians =( I did, however, have one of the best sandwiches ever to meet the face of this earth. The sandwich did not take away my disappointment at the Chunnel, though. I thought it'd be like all sweet and awesome, but noooo; you didn't even see the ocean for the whole trip and only knew you were in the Chunnel when one of the turns through the many tunnels went for longer than usual. The only reason I knew we had for sure arrived in France was that my phone attached to a French network, rather than a British one.

I was super shocked when entering Paris Nord; there was so much graffiti. It was the most I had ever seen, more than New York or Los Angeles. Jeff was kind of upset, but I convinced him it was because the major airports/ train stations of cities are always in the dodgiest part of town. Turned out, that wasn't bullshit; the rest of Paris was graffiti free, for the most part.

We ended up taking a van limo thing, which was ridiculously expensive, because we didn't want to wait in the literallythreehourslong taxi waiting line. Hell no! Whatever. Paris, it turns out (though I suppose I already knew that) is really pretty. Most of the buildings aren't really tall and they all have flower beds or terraces. Our flat here certainly does.

Speaking of said flat, my mother has redeemed herself. This apartment is awesome. It's tiny, but well decorated and just generally very adorable. There are two balconies, and one is only, oh like FIVE HUNDRED YARDS FROM THE EIFFLE FRIGGIN' TOWER! THE VIEW IS AMAZING! At night it lights up blue and sparkles sometimes. I've only taken like a hundred pictures so far; it's ridiculously sweet.

After we arrived at the apartment around 4, we set off to find food. First, it came in the form of an extremely expensive restaurant where I had a fish that was still staring up at me. I must say, though, it was quite good. Unfortunately, I had to endure my mother and Jeff making the fish talk. And people wonder why the world hates Americans. That, and Bush, I guess.

Next, food came in the form of a grocery store where I almost peed my pants because they had no bathroom and I ended up having to run back to the extremely expensive restaurant to use theirs. That was most definately the highlight of my day.

Last, my mother stopped in a bakery. Big surprise. Luckily, not too many sweets were bought. Eventually we made it back to the apartment, where my mom decided to be very French and just sit on the balcony and drink wine. I, however, was totally engrossed in watching Raptor Island in French. I didn't really know what was going on, but I did get to see stupid people get eaten by small dinosaurs even though they had large guns. That was very enjoyable, indeed.

Here's where the real fun started. The couch. Ah, the lovely lovely couch. So, here's what happened: We decided to see if the pull out bed worked. After disassembling half of it and discovering a set of levers and metal that's worthy of an Apollo, we analyzed and attempted to get it to fold out. We did this for an extremely long time, but were unsuccessful.. I will continue my crusade to figure out said coach because there was a breakthrough involving clicking right before I was forced to give up. According to my mother, this is not uncommon with Italian furniture.

After that I watched cartoons in French and had no idea what was going on. Then, I proceeded to use the washing machine. Though, it was nearly as loud as the British one, it wasn't evil.

Something I Learned Today: Italian furniture is like NASA's and the Devil's illegitimate child.

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