Kareem Zades travel journal

Saturday was our free full day in Paris (and sadly the last day). I started it off by going to Versailles pretty early in the morning to visit the palace of Versailles. The train ride was pretty smooth and I was kept awake by the man playing the accordion on the train for about 10 minutes. Once we finally got into the palace after waiting the huge line, I was astonished at how lavish King Louis XIV’s home was, and could only imagine the time and hard work that went into all of the little details all throughout the palace. After visiting the palace, we made our way back to Paris, where we then went to sacre cœur. The day was so nice, and the whole area and the cathedral was beautiful! We got lunch, hung out on the stairs of sacre cœur, and strolled around Montmartre. Afterwords, we made our way back to the hotel, and a group of us got dinner at a nice restaurant close by. After dinner, Myah, Erin, and I continued to walk around Paris in search of a scooter to ride around the city in. Unfortunately, every Lime bike we found was either dead or broken, so we ended up walking and getting really lost and wound up in jardin nelson-Mandela, where a ton of locals were just hanging around. We then found our way back to the river, where we walked towards Notre Dame. Once nearby, we stopped at this cafe overlooking Notre Dame, and had a glass of wine and just people watched (this made us really feel like the locals). Overall, I was upset that we had to leave, but I had an amazing trip and got to know many amazing people!

On Friday, we went to the Eiffel Tower! We’re were supposed to go to the top, however it was too windy so we were only able to go to the second observation deck. Nonetheless it was really cool to have gone up the Eiffel Tower and see Paris in a different position from when we saw it on top of the arc the night before. After the Eiffel, we made our way to the musee de l’homme, which is a famous anthropology museum in Paris. There, we saw a lot about the history of mankind, as well as many unique exhibits that showcased the varieties of mankind. Next, we went for some lunch, and I tried escargot for the first time (I was actually surprised how good it was). Next, we went to the Pasteur institute. Although I personally found it really hard to understand our tour guide, I still enjoyed seeing all of his lab equipment and house, since the movie we watched really gave me a good background about Pasteur and his life. Next, we went to Musée des arts et metiers. I liked this museum and I learned a lot about many little things I would a have never known about on a self guided tour, however I do wish that we had more time there, since we were basically kicked out due to the museum closing. Afterwords. A large group of us ended up going to a restaurant in the ally ways near the hotel, and I got to try fondue for the first time as well (it was amazing and I’ve been craving it ever since)! 

Thursday was by far the most eventful day of the trip and one of the most memorable. We started off by visiting the Jardin des plantes. It was an amazing experience and I loved how many museums (and a zoo) they had. We visited the paleontology and comparative anatomy gallery, the mineralogy and geology gallery, and the zoo. Each gallery/experience was unique and interesting! Afterwords, Kaleb, Brendan, Myah and I walked around for a while and got some lunch. We then went to the Pantheon, which was one of the most impressive architectural structures that I have ever seen in my life. Afterwords, we visited saint chapelle, which was by far the most beautiful building I have seen on my trip. Next, we visited the Louvre museum, and I got to see many famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de milo, winged victory of samothrace, liberty leading the people, etc. After the Louvre, Myah, Erin, and I decided to continue walking around the area while some others went back to the hotel to freshen up a bit. We ended up walking for an hour and half until we got to the arc de triomphe. We stopped and got some pastries/sweets along the way of course, and also walked the champs-elysees. We then met up with Kaleb, Brendan, and Khadijah at the Arc and went to the top to witness the Eiffel Tower lighting up at the hour. Afterwords, we decided to go to L’Auberge Aveyronnaise, which is an amazing restaurant that is famous for their aligot (or cheesy mashed potatoes).

BF0881DC-99CC-42B5-ACDD-8242E6C589DE-1pdo1fe

We woke up early on Wednesday and took the Eurostar to get to Paris. The ride was really smooth and we got there fairly quickly. Once in Paris we put our stuff in the hotel and then made our way to Notre Dame, while strolling through all the ally ways near or hotel to get there. I liked all of the shops and restaurants in the area, and seeing Notre Dame in person was amazing. It’s crazy to see such an impressive building such as Notre Dame and thinking that it was built such a long time ago. After Notre Dame we tried going to Saint Chapelle, however it was closed at the time. Later that night, we went to the group dinner at La Petit Prince. It took forever for the food to come, but once it did I was very happy with the taste and quality. After dinner, a couple of us just roamed the streets of Paris and got lost until finally finding our way back to the hotel

. 

On Tuesday, we woke up pretty early to head over to Westminster Abbey. It was a really cool experience to see so much history in one building, as well as all of the graves of so many important people such as many kings/queens, Darwin, Hawking, Newton, Charles Dickens, etc. Afterwords, we all went to the London eye and rode around it once. Although it was raining, it was still cool to see the entire city from every angle. After the eye, we toured the Royal society which I thought was a very cool experience. I especially liked how we were able to see the original journals/instruments of Cook and other scientists. Next, a couple of us heading over the buckingham palace, and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest before we leave to go to Paris early the next day. 

Monday was our full free day in London. I spent it walking around the entire city of London with Myah, Kaleb, Brendan, and Amanda! We first went to Burroughs market and just explored the area and got some lunch. Afterwords we started walking further into the city in which we stopped into some of the cathedrals and ended up by London bridge and Tower bridge. Afterwords, we all went to the natural history museum of London. We walked around looking at all of the skeletons of dinosaurs and the huge room of gems and minerals. Next, we went to Kensington and walked the area. We took a stroll through Hyde park which was huge and very scenic. We took a couple pics of Kensington palace, and then boarded on a double decker bus to make our way over to Harrod’s department store. Once in Harrod’s, I was blown away by all the things they sold (I also never felt more broke in my entire life than when I was in there). Afterwords, we ended the night by going to a cool steak restaurant that lets you cook your own steak on a sizzling hot plate (and yes I know that defeats the purpose of going to a restaurant, but we did it for the experience).

p.s. she’s totally judging me in that last picture.

It’s our second day here in London. Got some much needed rest the night before after a long day of traveling. We met pretty early and heading down as a group to the British museum. On the way we also stopped to appreciate some of the Georgian architecture as well as seeing Henry Cavendish’s house. We then got to museum and we’re allowed to just roam around and see all the interesting artifacts. I saw famous artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone, the Hoa Hakananai’a Easter island stone, etc. After touring the museum, a bunch of us met at Cambden market, where we walked around for a couple of hours browsing all of the shops. Afterwords, I split from the group and made my way to Emirates stadium, where I finally got to watch my favorite soccer team win an amazing game against one of their biggest rivals!

DE2B17CA-361B-4007-B1E8-CDBECAB68684-zlcqbk

It’s been a long journey but we finally made it to London. The first thing we do is board the coach and make the drive all the way to Down, the village where Charles Darwin once lived. Once at Down, we ate at George and Dragon, which is one of the pubs in the village. It was my first time ever having fish and chips, and I was not disappointed. Afterwords, we the graveyard where many members of Darwin’s family were buried. Then, we went to Down house, and toured Darwin’s amazing home. I liked seeing how ornate everything was, and it really put me back in time when I walked into his study room and felt all the history in that room. It was really cool to know that I was standing in a room where so much took place that changed the way we know about science today. After the tour, we made our way to downtown and took a quick tour of the city while on the coach. Then, after getting settled into the hotel, a lot of us went to some of the local pubs near the hotel and got some dinner!