Claire Lavoie’s Travel Journal

Kelly and I were supposed to go to Versailles with a group of others but we slept through it (we were sleepy gals).  We eventually got up, shopped around a bit, then I spent some time packing.  I went to a little cafe by Pantheon, and stayed there writing in my journal for so long they actually asked me to leave (I’m embarrassed).  I didn’t do a ton on my free day, which part of me regrets.  The other part of me understands that I was very tired and also sometimes less is more.  I guess I’ll just have to go back sometime.

This was the big class day, which started by going to the Eiffel Tower.  We could only go to the second floor because of the wind, but it was still a good experience and I enjoyed seeing the views of the city.  Then we went to Musee de l’Homme, which was fairly underwhelming to me.  It wasn’t bad or anything, but I think I wasn’t in a ~museum~ mood.  We got some crepes for lunch, then went to the Pasteur institute after getting some coffee.  Interacting with the people in the coffee shop was interesting because they spoke no English (which I don’t hold against them, it was just an interesting experience for me).  Inside the Pasteur institute, I never ended up finding the picture of Pasteur smiling, which was sad for me.  My favorite museum was actually the next one, the Musee de Artes et Metiers.  We didn’t get to spend nearly enough time here, which was a little disappointing.  After our long day of museuming, Kelly and I got some dinner, and a group of us went out before going to bed.

We were late for the Garden of Plants, whoops.  We got to see a bunch of skeletons at the first museum we went to, which was really interesting to me.  Then we saw the museum of Minerals, which was really pretty but I couldn’t understand the labels so it wasn’t as educational as it could be.  We also walked through the greenhouse, which was very cool.  Then a group of us went to Arc de Triomphe, which was awesome but a lot of stairs.  After that, we walked to the Louvre, which was a very long walk.  It was worth it though, because there were a lot of sights along the way.  I was surprised at the size of the Louvre, and definitely didn’t get to see all the big attractions there.  I did see Mona Lisa, which was slightly underwhelming.  Later that night we went to Sacre Coeur, and then tried to get to the Eiffel Tower, which took a long time.  That adventure and everything else from the day made it very easy to go to bed once we got back.

The train ride to Paris was pretty smooth.  Our hotel in Paris was set up very strangely.  We had a long narrow hallway leading from the door to our room, and the bathroom was two separate rooms.  We took a hot second to chill, then went to Notre Dame, which was as beautiful as I expected it to be.  Then we walked aimlessly and ended up at the Pantheon, and got to see the Eiffel Tower glittering.  That night we had the group dinner at Petit Prince, which was really good but took a very long time.  I tried young pork cheek, and duck.  After dinner we were so tired we just passed out at the hotel.

We started off the day by going as a group to Westminster Abbey, and boy oh boy we were all as dead as the people in the floors.  Then we went to the London Eye, but it was rainy and Big Ben was covered in scaffolding.  It was still cool though.  Kelly and I got some lunch and then walked to Buckingham Palace.  We also went to tour the Royal Society, which had a lot of interesting history, but could have been portrayed more interestingly.  That evening was the group dinner, which was one of the few times Kelly and I were not together.  I got Italian and she got Indian, but then we met back up at Phantom of the Opera.  Afterwards we tried to find some food to pack for the train but couldn’t find anything so we just went to bed.

We (Kelly and I) got to sleep in today, then got some brunch and coffee.  We shopped at Primark and I got a ton of stuff.  Then we went to the National Gallery and saw a lot of famous paintings and a lot of religious paintings.  We got some more coffee in a cafe in the basement of a cathedral.  We then made our way to Bond St. (I don’t think we ever actually found Bond St. but we were in the area).  We got amazing food at a pub that I can’t remember the name of but it was the most delicious food I had in London.  We went to the John Snow pub and a couple other places, and then to bed.

I was surprised about the breakfast in the hotel; it was a lot bigger and more crowded than I expected.  Then John led us around a cute little square of apartments and then to the British Museum.  The first room was the only one open at first, but it had some pretty cool stuff.  Eventually we got into the main room with the big glass ceiling and then to the room with the Rosetta stone.  I walked around various exhibits, and eventually met up with some more people and went to Camden.  There were a lot of little vendors and shops, and I got a cute little ring.  Then a group of us went to Kensington Palace, which had a cool exhibit on Princess Diana, and some beautiful crowns.  After the palace we walked around and shopped for a bit.  That night, a big group of us went to Gordon Ramsay’s Bread St. Kitchen, which was very tasty.  Then we went to a ball pit place, and eventually went back to the hotel and to bed.

We left Columbus Friday afternoon, and arrived at Heathrow Saturday morning.  I didn’t sleep a lot on the plane despite my efforts, but that’s okay because I’m used to being sleep deprived.

First we went to the town of Down, where we went to a pub, George and Dragon, and I tried fish ‘n’ chips for the first time.  It was good, but I probably wouldn’t get it again (I’m not much of a fish person).  On our way there, a crazy lady almost hit us and then cussed us out.  After eating, we played in a tree at a chapel, and then walked to the Down House.  It was really cool to see where Charles Darwin lived, and his labs.  I especially liked walking around the gardens and greenhouse.

After the Down House, we drove around London for a bit and got a “tour” then ended up at our hotel.

Then we went to “The Rising Sun” for dinner, and then went to a couple other pubs before heading back for bed.