Week 3

I meant to write about our third weekend trip to Stratford Upon Avon and the Cotswolds earlier, but instead my week has consisted of sleeping, watching tv, drinking lots of tea, and scoping out new websites to follow (love-and-hisses.com was my favorite find by far! Check it out, even if you don't like cats, because who can resist kitties?!).

The morning that we went to visit Blarney in Cork, Amy said she had a tickle in her throat. By Thursday, that tickle had evolved into a pretty harsh cough and cold. But by Saturday she was doing much better, just in time for Stratford and such. And by the time Monday evening rolled around, I was patting my awesome immune system on the back for keeping me sick-free for over a week. Of course, by the time I went to bed that night, I could feel my luck slipping away... It had to happen eventually.

Tuesday was not fun. I was ready for someone to put me out of my misery. But yesterday was a better day, and today is even better. Hopefully the trend continues tomorrow!

Alright, enough of that. Onto weekend trip #3...

On Saturday morning we woke up early to head down to the bus station. We took a bus from Newcastle down to west-central England. We were only about two hours away from London, so that gives you an idea of how far we traveled.

Our first stop on Saturday was in the Cotswolds, a hilly region often referred to as the heart of England. We stopped in a little town called Stow-on-the-Wold for about an hour.



I probably would have liked this town a little more if it hadn't been seriously raining. We sought refuge in an in an antique fair for a bit, then ventured back outside in the rain.



It did clear up eventually, but of course we had to leave. Our next stop was Bourton-on-the-Water.



We had more time to spend here and better weather to walk around in! The sky looked darkly ominous from time to time but thankfully it didn't rain.



Bourton-on-the-water sits on the River Windrush, which is home to many ducks. The river definitely didn't compare to any of the three rivers back home, but I thought the name was cute. We walked around town, visiting a few interesting shops and stopping for scones in a tea house. I got excited when I saw a milkshake on the menu, but it turned out to be just chocolate milk with whipped cream on it. It was still good, though.

After that, our friendly bus driver took us to our hotel for the night. We had dinner and watched some sort of big Europe concert thingamajig. The name of it escapes me right now...

The next morning, we got up for breakfast and I may have confused the server when I asked for ham, but I also pointed at the ham aka gammon, so he gave me some gammon aka ham. haha.

Then, it was onto Stratford Upon Avon, Shakespeare's neck of the woods. It was rainy but our bus driver arranged for us to have a tour, and he drove us around while the tour guide did her thing. She was super cool and very knowledgeable.



We stopped by Anne Hathaway's cottage for a pit stop. You can probably tell from the picture that it was rainy and kinda blah. After our tour, the skies cleared for a bit and the sun even came out!



Of course, another big draw in the area is Shakespeare's birthplace. We drove by it briefly but Amy and I went for a closer look after the tour. We didn't go inside because it cost like 12 pounds or something, and we didn't want to pay that much.



We walked around town, going into little shops and looking around. There was a nice little Christmas store we found, plus I was lucky enough to find a gift shop that was all about London! I was pretty happy about that because I didn't make it to one in London. After looking around main street Stratford, we headed to the church where Shakespeare is buried. It was a nice little walk away from town. There was pretty scenery along the way, and you can see above how the rain cleared up and a pretty blue sky came along!



How cool would it be to get married in this church? Our tour guide said she was lucky enough to snag it. It's a beautiful church, and the grounds are just as pretty.



Once we had seen Shakespeare's final resting place, we headed back into town for some lunch (or dinner? I can't remember) at Subway before getting back on the road, destination Newcastle. It was a good weekend, albeit a smidge rainy. You can't have it all, I guess.

Ireland

This past weekend, we jetted off to County Cork, Ireland. It is the most southern region of Ireland situated on the coast. Once we arrived at the Cork Airport and settled in for a bus ride into the city, I noticed this in the sky...



Ireland welcomed us with a rainbow. It was quite fitting. :)



On Saturday, we went to Kinsale, a bustling little village on the coast.



There was lots to see in Kinsale. We went into many little shops that lined the village streets, a church and a castle, though we went to check out the view of the harbor first.



This part of Ireland boasted rolling hills and greenery as far as the eye could see.



After walking to the harbor, we walked back into town to see this church.



Inside, it was very beautiful and peaceful.



If there is a cat anywhere nearby, we seem to find each other. I think I have found and petted cats in every country I've been in! haha.



This cat was very friendly and I was a little sad to leave him...



We found our way to Desmond Castle after lunch. It used to be a customs house for Kinsale, then a prison.



Everywhere you looked, there were colorful buildings. I think we saw every color of the rainbow represented at one point or another all over County Cork.



After visiting Kinsale, we went back to Cork City, where our hotel was, to walk around the area. I think Cork City is the largest city in the region, but it seemed to have a small-town feel. There were restaurants and shops on little side streets, while the main streets featured bigger department stores and the like.



This is the Holy Trinity Church. Outside, it is elegant and striking.



And inside, it is warm and welcoming.



On Sunday, we went to Blarney. We walked along a babbling creek, destination...



Blarney Castle!



Blarney Castle, of course, houses the Blarney Stone.



We climbed a spiral staircase to the top of the castle, where there were pretty views galore.



And here is the Blarney Stone. It is a block of bluestone that is supposed to endow the kisser with the gift of gab--great eloquence or skill at flattery.



Kissing the stone is quite a production. You have to lie on your back, hold onto two metal bars and lean backwards as someone holds you while you kiss the stone.



Surrounding the castle, there were extensive woodlands and guided paths. We walked around the woods for about an hour, admiring waterfalls and pretty flowers.



We found trees that were perfect for climbing...



...and even a little playground area with a tire swing. :)



All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. The weather was on our side--it only rained one morning before we went out, but otherwise we were rain-free. It was a little chilly, but I had my winter coat handy. I really liked Ireland. There was pretty scenery everywhere and the people were very nice. I'd definitely go back if I could. :)

Back to Paris

After a tearful goodbye to everyone heading back home at the Paris airport, I set out for baggage claim and began my second leg of life abroad. I gathered my two near-50 lbs bags with surprisingly little trouble (thanks, Dad, for teaching me that handy dandy putting-one-suitcase-on-top-of-the-other-and-buckling-them-together trick!) and went outside to the main terminal to wait for Amy.

I landed in terminal 2F and she was due to land in 2B. I figured I would walk down to 2B and wait for her there. Talk about a walk... it took probably 15 minutes to get all the way down there. And after I met up with Amy, we had to walk all the way back anyways to catch a train to Paris.

It was a little confusing at first but we ended up navigating the RER system just fine. About a half hour to 45 minutes later, we were in Paris at the Chatelet Les Halles station, which is huge and mighty confusing. By some stroke of luck we ended up taking an exit that was pretty close to our hotel, though we didn't know it at first.

Amy looked at the map outside the metro station and said our hotel was in the opposite direction of the Louvre. I said the Louvre was *points* that way, which would mean we would have to go *points* that way. And I was right. Score!

Our hotel was really nice. Much better than my previous Paris home, the FIAP. But I digress. We couldn't check in for another half hour, so we ventured outside in search of food nearby. We found Pizza Hut and I had a Pepsi for like the 3rd time in 4 months! It was glorious.

After that we went back to the hotel to check in and put our stuff in our room. Then it was onto the Louvre and more specifically, the Mona Lisa. Before heading inside, I led Amy to the interior courtyard where there is a huge fountain. The perfect place for a photo op. But as Amy sat down to pose for the picture, her sunglasses fell off her head and into the fountain. She tried to grab for them but it was too far down. The fountain was surprisingly deep. Then I tried to unsuccessfully get them. Which led to Amy holding my waist as I practically dove into the fountain to retrieve them. Good stuff.

After rescuing Amy's sunglasses, we went to see the famous pyramid and entered from there. We headed for the Mona Lisa and walked around that wing of the musuem for a bit. We left soon after and walked from the Louvre to Notre Dame. It was a pretty long walk along the river but it was a nice day.

Once we reached Notre Dame, we saw that there was a long line to get inside, but decided to get in line anyways. The line moved fairly fast so it wasn't too long of a wait. There was mass going on inside but visitors are still allowed to walk along the perimeter of the church. I guess this wasn't as surprising for me as it was for Amy because I've been to mass there twice and know how it goes. Also, Notre Dame being such a famous church, I guess it just seems practical that that's how it would be set up...

Right across the river from Notre Dame is the Latin Quarter. It's a funky little section of Paris whose streets I've walked many a time with my friends. We passed restaurants we had been to, places where we had grabbed a drink, and so on...

After that, I suggested that we go to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. We took the metro there and walked the millions of steps up to the highest point in Paris. Then we walked to a little square where all the artists hang out and back. It was still pretty early in the evening and there was still a lot of day left. So we decided to head to the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower was as gorgeous as I had remembered it. Amy was impressed with its size... it is pretty massive in person.

By this time it was probably about 8:00 and we had been going strong since 3pm without any food. We thought it was as good a time as any to head back to the hotel and grab a late dinner.

The next morning, we ventured out in search of breakfast...but since it was Sunday a lot of places were still closed. We found a little bakery inside the metro station and I had what will probably be my last apple tart... :(

After that, we headed for the Arc de Triomphe. We decided to go up it and the view was as pretty as it had been the last time I was there. Then we went back to the Latin Quarter so Amy could pick up a few souvenirs. We had lunch at a place on the way back to the hotel, then it was time to catch the RER again back to the airport.

The flight to Newcastle was not too long and we were here in no time. We took the metro from the airport to Amy's home station. There seems to be a lot to explore around here (and there's an H&M, which is just what I need within walking distance...). My new digs are pretty nice and I have no complaints. We are going to Ireland this weekend, so I'm looking forward to that. :)