Author: leahy.97

Today was our free day, so I enjoyed sleeping in before a long run along the river and exploring Paris on my own. I did a little bit of shopping on my way to the Pantheon, which was extraordinary. My favorite part of the Pantheon was the Foucault Pendulum, the first experiment to demonstrate Earth’s rotation. I headed toward St. Chappelle and stumbled upon what I think was a farmer’s market. I spent a bit of time there before visiting the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company. I walked along the river to a train station to go to the Picasso Museum.  I ran into John there, so we got coffee and cake at a nearby café afterwards. Then, I went to the umbrella tunnel near the Louvre, and from there I went to the Musee D’Orsay. The most direct path was barricaded by police due to the protests, so I had to go a bit out of the way to get there. I enjoyed seeing original Van Gogh and Monet pieces. When I left the museums, there were still sirens droning almost non-stop, so I bought a crepe and went down to the river to find some quiet while I reflected and journaled. I couldn’t believe that this trip was nearly over. I met up with a big group for our last dinner in the city, and we recapped our favorite parts from the week. To conclude our spring break, a group of us went out to the bar across from the hotel.

Today was primarily a class day. We started off at the Eiffel Tower, where we told we would not be able to go to the top of it due to wind. I was interested to hear that they had originally planned to tear this iconic structure down after it was constructed. The views from the third tier were insane, so I was fine with not going all the way up. We headed to the Musee de l’Homme, which was not what I expected. The exhibits were very spaced out with few people, which was actually pleasant break from the chaos of the Louvre and other museums. I liked exploring this without a guide. Afterwards, we got lunch at very Parisian restaurant near the train station. The Pasteur Institute was of special interest to me, as he was my favorite scientist to learn about before the trip. Walking around his lab, I was not only impressed by the work he performed there, but also how he had to blow his own glass and make his own equipment for each experiment. From there, we went to the Musee de Arts et Metiers which also houses Lavoisier’s laboratory. I appreciated our guide’s enthusiasm, but it was no match for our class’s lack of energy. We headed back to the hotel and found a restaurant with happy hour deals where a large group of us could sit outside together. A lot of inside jokes came from this meal. Later, I went to see the Bastille which was a little disappointing. John later informed me that the one still standing isn’t even the real one.

We started the day at the Jardin des Plantes, and I was glad we walked there so I could run to it later. I loved how these museums were set up; all separate but surrounding a common garden. I found the size of each museum to pretty manageable, so I took my time exploring most of them, including the comparative anatomy and paleontology, mineralogy, greenhouses, and secret garden. It was cool that bones from Ohio were in the paleontology museum. Next, I went to the Arc de Triomphe to enjoy the views of the city from there. We stopped by the grande and petit palias on our way to a crepe restaurant for lunch near the Louvre. The Louvre was absolutely overwhelming, and I broke off from the group to do some exploring on my own. After the Louvre, we went back to the hotel before heading out to Sacre Couer to see more views of Paris at night. The cathedral up there was beautiful, and we could see all of Paris. We got dinner at a restaurant in the square, and I bought some souvenirs. We thought it would be a cool and easy trip to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, but we somehow made the short journey take over an hour and a half. Eventually, we made it to the tower and decided we needed a drink after so much travel distress. We bartered with a guy that was selling wine, which was another cool cultural experience to end the night.

We boarded a Eurostar train to Paris in the morning. I appreciated the ease of traveling between countries via train rather than plane. We arrived in Paris and met our tour guide, who directed us through the metros and to our hotel. I immediately missed the efficiency of London’s tube compared to Paris’s metro. In Paris, the train pass is a small raffle-ticket sized piece of paper and must be physically inserted into the gate for it to open. A few classmates had problems keeping track of it, but my problem was that the magnetic strip on the back stopped working multiple times. This was frustrating, but I had fun sneaking around the gates with my classmate’s tickets before John made me speak French to the attendant to get a new one. We took a quick breather at the hotel before heading out to see Notre Dame. Just the walk to Notre Dame was beautiful; I love the narrow streets lined with stores and restaurants whose owners stand outside to greet. Notre Dame was impressive, and I would have loved to stayed in that area to explore more, but I had skipped my morning run and needed to get some miles in before it became too dark. Running along rivers is my favorite, so the path along the Seine proved to be a scenic and cultural treat to me. In the US and in London, it is easy to tell which side of a path to run on. Paris was a free for all: people were biking and running and walking in both directions on every side of the paths. This made me a little frustrated, but I found a guy that was running a bit faster than my pace so I followed in his wake to the Eiffel Tower. He definitely noticed what I was doing and abruptly stopped as the path diverged. I ran back to the hotel, weaving across bridges and passed many famous sites that I would visit in the coming days such as the Arc de Triumph, the Louvre, the lock bridge, and St. Chappelle. We had group dinner at a nice place near the hotel. Since the dinner lasted close to three hours, I enjoyed passing the time laughing and getting to know my classmates over a delicious meal.

Today was our full day of class. We started off the day at Westminster Abbey. It was as grand as it looked when I watched Prince William and Kate Middleton get married. I was overwhelmed by just how much history was packed into that space, from Queen Anne to Charles Dickens to Stephen Hawking. I paid special attention to Darwin and Newton’s burial sites, but I was most moved by the tomb of the unknown warrior. In middle school, I was given the opportunity to lay the wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier at a service in Washington D.C., so it was neat that England had something somewhat equivalent to that in Westminster Abbey. After Westminster we went up in the London Eye. I have an affinity for getting to the highest place in a city, so even though the weather was pretty crumby I appreciated the elevated views. We headed to a different part of London and got lunch at another pub before going to the Royal Society. At the Royal Society, I saw the original manuscripts of Isaac Newton and Robert Hooke, among other artifacts like the telescope. Hooke had incredibly detailed drawings of what he saw under the microscope. There was a banner with the name of every president of the Royal Society since it was founded in 1660, and I was grateful that our tour guide made special note that there has never been a woman president. I am hopeful that will change soon. Then we stopped by Buckingham Palace. I finished the night at a group Italian dinner. I was bummed that the Book of Mormon play was sold out, but I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I’m not sure I could have stayed awake for it. Instead, I went with a few classmates to buy chocolate before going to bed.

Today was my free day, so I decided to go to Salisbury to visit Stonehenge. Navigating the trains was so much easier than expected, but I was glad to have a couple classmates with me. The 90-minute train ride to London felt like nothing as we chatted away; the English countryside is so stunning that its beauty prevented me from catching up on sleep that I desperately needed. We arrived in Salisbury and took a short cab ride to Stonehenge. Our driver could not have been more friendly, though his driving gave me an incredible amount of anxiety. Once in Stonehenge, it was absolutely picturesque standing in front of one of the wonders of the world. The mystery surrounding who put the stones there / how they put the stones there is fascinating to me. The arrangement of the stones so that the sun hits them a certain way during the solstices only adds to the mystique. We returned to Salisbury to explore and found a cute pub for lunch before catching the train back to London. Salisbury itself is very old with one famous cathedral and what seemed like one thousand barber shops. Seriously, I would love to know what the barber-to-resident ratio of Salisbury is; it has to be ridiculously high. Back in London, I couldn’t resist the allure of Primark, so I ended up spending too much time perusing the aisles there but came out with a few good purchases. This was my favorite night of getting to know my classmates while roaming the streets of London.

I started off the day my favorite way, with a short run. I always take time to appreciate the unique perspective running brings me of new cities, and London was no exception. When I got back we walked to the British Museum, but stopped along the way at a few blue plaques. The British Museum was massive. I was happy to get there before most of the exhibits opened so I had more time to spend at the few that were open. The “Cradle to Grave” exhibit stood out to me, as it illustrated the medical story of a man and woman by laying out the estimated 14,000 pills they took over the course of their lives. I appreciated that contemporary take among the famous ancient exhibits, such as the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon Marbles, and mummies. After we finished the museum, a group of us headed to Camden Markets. This was not something I had planned to do, but I’m so glad I did because it ended up being one of my favorite experiences in London. Being in the middle of the bustling streets lined with every type of store imaginable revealed the diversity of London. From there, we went to Kensington and toured the palace. Princess Diana has always been of interest to me, and we were lucky enough that the temporary exhibit featured the original sketches of her most famous outfits. We headed back to the hotel where I grabbed dinner with a different group of people, and then I met up with more classmates in what would become an infamous night out.

I expected to be dragging through this day since our flight landed at 8 am London time (3 am Columbus time), but I think my general excitement to be in Europe helped keep me awake. We boarded a coach bus, and so began our journey of visiting scientifically significant sites and my personal battle of staying hydrated in cities with a scarcity of water fountains. We ate at George & Dragon in Down before visiting Darwin’s house. I love fish and chips, so my first authentic British meal was no disappointment. Across the street from the pub was the church that Darwin and his family attended. While his family is buried there, he is separated from them in Westminster Abbey. I was happy to walk a bit to get to his house; it was sunny and warm and felt nice to stretch my legs after a long flight in a middle seat. We were given audio guides to take us through Darwin’s home, which is my preferred way to explore. It was surreal to be in his actual home, and I especially enjoyed his greenhouse and backyard. Afterwards, we went to the hotel and I enjoyed my first night in London pub-hopping while getting to know my classmates.