Quent Hartt’s Travel Journal

The day started off early by going to the palace of Versailles. I now have a better understanding of why the people revolted after seeing what the living conditions of the nobles were. This palace was beautiful and extravagant on a level I could never understand. My one regret is not walking around the gardens. On the train ride back from the Palace, my day took a turn for the worse as I had a pretty severe allergic reaction so I had to rush home and take some medicine and lay down for a while. Once I recovered I visited the Pantheon which was an amazing building but I could never figure out the purpose for its construction. Next I caught up with some other students and went shopping downtown and then took a train to the Place du Tetra where I had been the first night in Paris and had an amazing Crepe.

Sunday was full of sitting with some relatively easy plane rides. Much easier than the way to Heathrow.

This morning started off with going to the Eiffel Tower, but only going to the second floor because it was very windy. The view was just as good as you would imagine. After the Tower, we took a short walk to the Museum de L’Homme, which was quite underwhelming. Most of the exhibits were no particularly interesting to me, but the view of the Eiffel Tower was most likely the best one in all of Paris. Next there was a guided tour of the Pasteur Institute where we saw some of the original autoclaves as well as Pasteur’s living situation in the last years of his life and his permanent resting place. Pasteur’s grave is one of the most impressive crypts I have ever seen. Lastly, the class attended another tour at a science museum. For dinner, some of us ate at a small fondue restaurant near the hotel and had a good time.

This day was full of museums. First, as a class, we went to the archaeology museum. It was incredible to see this many bones and fossils of so many animals, although it was hard to decipher what some were because there were no English translations. After this museum, a couple of us walked through the botanical gardens and it was nothing like I expected. There were so many plants and water features inside these two buildings that one would not guess from looking on the outside in. The “Secret Gardens” were also visited and while it was beautiful, I’m sure it would have been much more enjoyable in the summer. The last museum in this square was the geological museum which was a relatively small exhibit, but there were lots of interesting rocks and explanations of where some dyes for art come from. Next the Arc de Triumph was visited again but in the day time, and then the best part of the day was going to the Louvre. I had no idea how large this art museum was, but it was one of the most majestic parts of the trip. There was so much to see in the short two hours that I toured around

The morning was a train along the Eurostar which was a quick ride from London to Paris, where very shortly after went to Notre Dame. Next a small group went to Sacre Couer and got to see a magnificent view of the city. It was amazing how big the city of Paris actually is. After the cathedral, we went to a small square recommended to us by an elderly British couple which had some nice art stores and a nice piano bar. After dinner we went to the top of the Arc de Triumph where we got to see the Eiffel Tower light up. It was nice to see how both London and Paris had graves to an unknown soldier or soldiers lost in the war. England’s grave was in Westminster and France’s grave was underneath the Arc de Triumph.

This day was jam packed. Starting off the day with Westminster Abbey looking at plaques commemorating generations of scientists and poets as well as the coffins of many members of the monarchy. The London Eye was next which was amazing apart from the decreased visibility from the rain. After the Ferris wheel, a tour of the Royal Society was given, where we were able to see original documents from people like Robert Hooke as well as agendas for the actual meetings. Some members visited Buckingham palace, and then I went to see the musical, “Wicked”, which was nothing short of amazing.

The entire day was spent walking around London. Some of the important places that were visited were St. Pauls Cathedral, the London and Tower Bridge, as well as Burroughs market. The tour through the engine room involved with raising and lowering the Tower Bridge brought insight into how such a magnificent mechanical procedure operated before it was modernized with electricity. Another marvel was the Tower of London, which was a fortress. Seeing and reading how different kings or invaders would take over the keep and improve it was very interesting to learn.

This was a very busy day. It started off at the British Museum, where items such as the Rosetta stone or a Moai Statue from Easter Island could be found. There was a lot of interesting items from Ancient Egypt I had not seen before such as recognizing what a mummy really was. After the museum, some went to Camden market to get food and souvenirs. Kensington park was the next and best part of the day as it was filled with beautiful statues and greenery over a very large area. Most items in the park were dedicated to Prince Albert or Princess Diana.

This day was full of flights, which involved little to no sleep unfortunately, but this was ignored as we landed in Heathrow and actually entered the U.K. We first ate at the pub for lunch and I had my first Fish n’ Chips which was amazing, I would continue to have it through the duration of being in London. After the pub, the class went to Darwin’s house which really put into perspective that he was a wealthy man and was able to perform the experiments he did because of this. The day ended with a bus tour of London, which I did not participate in as I was asleep. An excellent start to the Trip