J'ADORE LA FRANCE

For as long as I can remember it has been my DREAM to come to France. And all I gotta say is, France, you dreamy thing you...you lived up to the expectation.

The first stop in France was Avignon where we just briefly stayed the night, went on a beautiful Sunday walk, went to a quick sacrament service and were back on the bus. We stopped at a beautiful chateau called the Chateau Amboise. The gardens were beautiful! This is also the burial site of Leonardo Da Vinci, which was super cool to see!

After Amboise, we hopped back on the bus (the bus was becoming somewhat of a second home at this point) and headed to le Chateau de Chanenceau aka Fairytale Castle of my Dreams. That place was b-e-a-utiful. I was already mentally packing my bags and moving in, the place was that good. The castle itself was gorgeous but it was the grounds that took my breath away. The walkway to the castle was encased by trees and it felt like I was walking into a fairy land. The entire castle was then surrounded by water and set in a river. Cue the swooning. 

The kitchens were beautiful, full of copper pots which made up my mind on the fact that this is basically what my future kitchen is going to look like. 

The place is basically a dream. That's the only way to put it. I was a melted puddle of love by the end of the visit, I just couldn't take it. I could've frolicked through those trees forever.

Now that we'd all died and gone to heaven, we jumped back on the bus and drove to Paris! Now, I should just apologize now because I didn't take very many pictures in Paris... seriously things were so hectic and constantly moving that there wasn't even time to stop and take many pictures. The first day we got there we settled in and then headed out to the Sainte-Chapelle which had the most beautiful stain glass you'll ever see. Then we walked to the Notre Dame and had a quick history lesson about it. The weather was freezing that day and so our group broke and we were given free time to explore the city. A group of us went for lunch and I had French Onion Soup. And it was delicious! Check 'eat authentic French onion soup in France' off the bucket list! That night we did a bus tour with our group and went to the Eiffel Tower! We hopped off the bus just in time to see it sparkle. And, just in time for all my dreams to come true. I nearly started crying I was so excited. A girl in our group even got her first kiss! A group of boys were there at the same time as we were and one thing lead to another, and believe it or not, they kissed. I'm pretty sure there aren't many who can say their first kiss was as amazing as that. 

Sorry for the poor quality, this is a phone picture. My camera was left at home by accident. Lets have a moment of silence for the sadness of the situation.

The next day was spent at Versailles! And my, oh my, that place is unreal. I LOVED Marie Antoinette when I was younger. I had a fascination with her so it was cool to see where she lived. The gardens were so amazing and went on for miles. You really could spend DAYS in there. We of course took a break in the cafe for some of their famous hot chocolate and a macaron. Both: to die for.

That night was spent at the Louvre. Amazing, of course. Saw the Mona Lisa, saw all the other famous works, yada yada. It's the Louvre, there's not much you can say besides it was awesome.  Finally, by Thursday, we were given a free day and most of us shopped, as most girls do that come to Pairs. We went all down the Champs-Elysées and tortured ourselves in the Galeries Lafayette. I probably saw 20 things that I was dying over but cost a million and one euros (give or take). Yeah, we were all a puddle of tears at the end. Word to the wise: don't go in that place unless you're filthy stinkin' rich or else it will be torture to the fullest extent. But of course, we did stop at Laduree to sooth our poor, fashion deprived souls, and splurged on macarons. Then, things were all better. And, let me tell you, never have I ever had a better macaron in my life. Death my macarons is the way I'm planning to go, fyi.

Now! In case this post isn't long enough, let's talk about Monet's Gardens! Which is where we travelled to next as I'm sure you've gathered. Well, you know, those gardens, they are beautiful. Nuff said. I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

That day we also saw Van Gogh's burial site in the lovely little town of Auvers. I loved that quaint little town.

Our final stops were in to the D-Day beaches in Normandy and the town of Bayoux to see a tapestry famous there. The D-Day memorial was beautiful and it was cool to have a small piece of the US so far from home. It's amazing to see where that famous day all took place and to see all the graves of those who bravely fought for our country. It was a very humbling experience. Bayoux was just as beauiful of an experience. It was quaint and charming and the tapestry we saw there was very cool. We were only there for a day before we were on our way to London. By the end we were all about ready to get settled down there. That traveling was very fun but a bit tiresome all the same; it was time for a bit of normalcy (and also the rest of my luggage). Well now, we are all up to date! Currently I'm in London and starting school so stay tuned to hear about my adventures over the next semester here! Let's pray that I don't fail my classes...

MY WEEK IN ITALY

So yes, I know I haven’t posted in ages!! Slap me on the wrists, put me in the corner, etc. etc. I have a good excuse though guys! Goodness, things have been pretty crazy over here. As I said before in my last post I haven’t had my computer for 2 weeks while I was traveling abroad in Italy and France. Wifi was also pretty hard to come by seeing as that many of our hotel’s WiFi was horrible (or they didn’t even have WiFi....stupid). Currently I am (finally) back in London! With my computer and the rest of my luggage. I’ve never been so happy to see my clothes in my entire life!! Living for 2 weeks with just a tiny carry on was frustrating, but hey, I survived, I can do hard things, yada yada. Anyways, let me update everyone on what’s been going on in my life that past few weeks!

Cute gelato sign in Rome.

So the first stop on our European adventure was Rome! We hit all the major attractions: The Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, St. Peters Cathedral, Vatican, Coliseum, and a bunch of beautiful chapels. We also went to some pretty cool museums, like the Borghese, which I absolutely loved. The statues in there were so unbelievable you guys, let me tell you.  Seeing all of these famous monuments in person was so cool! The word of the trip so far has probably been ‘unreal’. No joke, everything here is so unreal beautiful it blows my mind.

Next we traveled to Florence to see the Duomo, tour the Uffizi museum and, of course, see the David. The Duomo is by far one of the prettiest, most amazing buildings I’ve ever seen. It took my breath away. The second we walked up to it everyone’s jaws just dropped. Unfortunately our group missed the David (sad face). There were some booking issues with the museum and we weren’t going to have time so we were given the option to do it in our own free time. The line was super long however and would’ve taken 2 or more hours so I didn’t have the time to do it myself. That was a bit of a let down but hey, I guess it just gives me an excuse to come back here one of these days! Most of us just explored the city, shopped a bit, ate good pasta and pizza and, of course TONS of, gelato. Now I can check ‘eat gelato in Italy’ off the bucket list! And let me tell you, it lives up to the name, every gelato I had was amazing!

Next we took a little day trip to Cinque Terra. You know, that little Pinterest city that looks like it’s from a storybook. And in person it looks just like the pictures! We did a hike from one city to the next and then had lunch. There I had the BEST pizza of my life: a cheese pizza with amazing pesto on top. I will definitely be trying to recreate that pizza at home because it was just that good.

Our final stop in Italy was Venice, where we stayed for a couple days. That little city is so quaint and charming I couldn’t get enough. I feel like it’s not a real place. There we did a museum and saw some ancient art works including Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and a bunch of other smaller pictures and documents that he’d done. It was SO cool to see those in person and to think that Da Vinci actually handled these pieces of paper. It was crazy to think about. Other than that we mostly just toured around, ate pasta and pizza (again). I need to go back to Venice with my husband one day because, holy cow, that place is romantic! I didn’t take a gondola ride because I felt silly doing it with a bunch of girls… call me weird or whatever but that is way too romantic to do with friends. I’ve gotta do that with my hubby before anyone right? But, again, gives me another excuse to go back one day!

After Venice we hopped on a bus and headed to France! I will post about France tomorrow. But here is just quick little update about what I’ve been up to lately!

A CRAZY START

  

Get ready for a novel post. So let me tell you people this has probably been the CRAZIEST past few days of my life! Also. Terribly sorry for being completely MIA for the past couple days. My computer is currently being stored back in London with the majority of our luggage while our group travels around Italy and France. So these posts are coming to you live from my handy dandy iPhone. Which also explains for the lack of pictures because all my pictures are on my camera. Don't judge me for them being low quality!! But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let me start at the beginning. 

So Thursday morning I headed to the Salt Lake City airport to get the trip started. Everything was going smoothly, security went fine and I found my gate with plenty of time to spare. When I got there I found out that there were 9 other girls going to London with me on my same flight so I was feeling wonderful! We boarded the plane and were all getting so excited to start our adventure. Suddenly, the pilot came over the intercom and told us that there was something wrong with the engine so they had to have it looked at really quick and make sure it was okay before we took off. In my mind I figured everything would be fine so I just relaxed and read while we waited. But oh no, everything was not fine! The plane was broken and we had o get off and our flight was cancelled!!! Um hello! This is not okay! Also lemme tell you this was my first time flying without a parent and this is also the first time something has ever gone wrong. Go figure. 

So needless to say we were all freaking out. We would miss our connecting flight in Dallas which meant no London. And we were on a deadline! Our flight to Rome left the morning after we were supposed to arrive.. Panic attacks were ensuing left and right. 

So we go to the ticket counter and this ever so kind(sarcasm) woman was being extremely helpful(sarcasm) and told us that there was nothing she could do to get us out that day, there weren't any other flights that would get us out until the next morning! The panic attacks continued... But we just told her we'd deal and she began rebooking our flights.

After about half of us were rebooked his woman aka AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN came over to help us out as well. We explained the situation to her and as said, "Wait what?? There's a flight that goes at midnight tonight that will get you there in time!" Oh blessed day! I tell you, I wanted to kiss that woman on the face at that moment! So the re-rebooking began.

So all was well. We ended up in London late Friday night and made it in time for our flight to Rome Saturday. 

Yesterday in Rome was crazy! Our flight left at 6am so we'd had a well rested night(sarcasm) with a beautiful 2 hours of sleep. So it had been about 48 hours and I'd slept for 2 of them. Energy was at an all time high. But we were given some free time once we got here so I took a quick power nap before we went out exploring.

Yesterday we did the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain before I and 13 others got ditched by our group while we were grabbing gelato so we missed the Pantheon. I tell you, my luck has been really good on this trip!(again, sarcasm) 

Rome is beautiful and I love it. The Trevi  Fountain was gorgeous, just like I'd seen in the movies. Don't worry, I threw a coin in and made my wish! 

The picture above (the only picture I've taken on my phone so far) was from church today. It was amazing to experience church in another culture and language. It was just the same as it is here, and I love knowing that that is always a constant.

Tomorrow we will be doing the Vatican and a few other places (can't remember at the moment). But lemme tell you, I beyond stoked for the Vatican. My dream!! I was a teensy bit obsessed with Angels and Demons and The Davinci Code when I was younger (what a nerd) so I'm way excited to see that!! 

Well, there's more to come (and hopefully more pictures soon) but there is a little update for now! Love and miss you all! 

xoxo 

PEACE OUT, AMERICA

A little photoshoot my sister Sara and I did a couple days ago. She's brilliant. 

In about 12 hours I will be boarding a plane and be off on my adventures in the U.K for 3 months. I'll be living in London but traveling around to other parts of England with a few excursions as well to Scotland, Italy, and France. And let me tell you people, I'm pretty darn stoked about it. I've known about this trip for about 9 months and man, it's been a long time coming!! I mean of course I had to save money and stuff but I was ready for this ages ago. But, strangely enough, now that it's finally here, it doesn't feel like real life! Me?? Living and going to school in Europe for 3 months?? I never do anything exciting so this is kind of a big deal guys.

For all those wondering I will be going to school through BYU. They have this awesome program where you travel with a group of students and two BYU professors so you're all kind of a little family who sticks together the whole trip. While for some people this might not seem like an "authentic" study abroad experience because I won't be actually going to a British school (I had someone tell me that he thought it was pretty lame because of exactly this reason) this program is pretty much perfect for me and was exactly what I was looking for. For anyone who wants more information about it, you can find it here.

Hat: Target Sandals: Target Leggings: Nordstrom T-shirt: UO Jacket: AE Outfitters

Packing has been crazy. How does one pack everything they need for 3 months in tiny suitcases?? Being a compulsive over-packer is really not helping. Also being obsessed with all of my clothes is really REALLY not helping. I love my clothes way to much guys, it's kind of a problem. Anyways, I digress.

So, for the next 3 months I'll be posting all my adventures here on this little blog. I hope to post as much as possible, hopefully at least once a week! The next two weeks will be a bit spotty on the posting as we'll be traveling around Italy and France and I'm not sure how often I'll have WiFi, but hey, we shall see how things go. Love you all, and see you in December!

P.S. If you'd like me to send you a postcard while I'm gone, shoot me an email and I'll be sure to do it for ya! (You can find my email address in the "connect" section on the sidebar). Also, make sure to follow me by clicking "Join this site" on the side bar as well!

xoxo