tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57429895880884160882024-02-07T14:39:59.049-05:00Adventures In The Great Wide SomewhereBelle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-82501199646819622642013-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:002013-12-20T00:00:08.322-05:00Day 15--Vatican City<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><st1:date day="3" month="5" year="2012">May 3<sup>rd</sup>, 2012</st1:date><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Arrivederchi Roma! Buon
giorno <st1:state><st1:place>Vatican
City</st1:place></st1:state>. And
buon giorno indeed. Holy holy, is it a prerequisite to be a sexy Italian man to
protect the Pope. My word. Hot. Everywhere. So we had the most amazing tour
guide for The Vatican. She knew everything. She legit had a lady boner for The
Vatican. The small courtyard we started in was so pretty! I love churches and
cathedrals. She showed us a small replica of the ceiling of the Sistine Chape
depicting the story of Jesus on one side and Moses on the other and the middle
photos and what they represent. They are so cool! The Last Judgment was talked
about, too and this is beyond amazing. The facts she gave us were so cool just
explaining the different sections. So excited to see it live!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Walked through some
sculptures which were pretty cool. Saw the porfino marble that takes 1 hour to
cut <st1:metricconverter productid="3 cm">3
cm</st1:metricconverter>. Shit son.
Then we walked through some beautiful tapestries and paintings. THEN out of
nowhere the guide tells us we’re going through the Borgia apartments. Say.
What? I didn’t even know this existed! And that they were preserved! Eep! The
Pope after them didn’t want to touch the rooms because of all the horrible
things that happened there. Sad yes. But so cool! I was standing in the same
rooms Rodrigo, Lucrezia, and Cesare were in. Holy hell. Pun intended. I could
NOT get over it. Wow. And so unexpected! I did know some of the stuff she
talked about which made me feel pretty damn awesome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then it was the Sistine
Chapel!! Not as big as I pictured it but wow. I know many people wont get it or
appreciate it which I get. T and I were the only Catholics on the trip.
Represent! If I wasn’t I probably wouldn’t have really enjoyed it. So anyways,
it was so breathtaking. I couldn’t grasp that I was looking at the legit artwork
of michaelangelo. So moving. Bought a magnet and a rosary for Nonna. Then
walked around St. Peter’s Square and stood in 2 places at once! <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:state><st1:place>Vatican City</st1:place></st1:state>! Seriously, the structures around the square are
gorgeous. Perfect day. Just loved it. Everything is so beautiful. Now it’s off
to <st1:city><st1:place>Venice</st1:place></st1:city>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 2 hour nap we passed
off as a night of sleep finally caught up to us all. Rach had puked
approximately 4 times by now. Relaxing evening. Fantastic dinner. Journal time
for the evening. SO EXCITED FOR <st1:city><st1:place>VENICE</st1:place></st1:city> TOMORROW!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-55616766156540664672013-12-18T00:00:00.000-05:002013-12-18T00:00:13.401-05:00Day 14--Rome, Italy <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><st1:date day="2" month="5" year="2012">May 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2012</st1:date><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Viva la Roma!! The tour
group hijacked the bus to the Metro station and into <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city> we go! We started out at the Spanish Steps that
was filled with flowers. Gorgeous. The plaza around it is so pretty. I love it
here already. After the steps we walked to the Trevi Fountain. Eeep!!! Holy
crap it is huge! And stunning! Seriously, words, pictures, nothing can do this
justice! It is so pristine and clean looking. The sculptures are way more
interesting and pretty than I thought. I enjoyed this SO much more and was so
much more impressed than I thought I would be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So they say, if you throw
2 coins over your opposite shoulder the first coin grants you a wish, the
second coin guarantees your return to <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>. So romantic *sigh*. Of course, we all did that.
Cross your fingers my wish comes true! There is also a drinking fountain to the
side and the story goes that if you drink out of it your virginity is returned
to you. Teresa and Rachel are going to have to drink quite a lot, haha. I drank
it too even though clearly I didn’t need any help in this area. Still, ya gotta
do it. When in <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, right? I love this fountain. I just want to sit
here and stare all day. Definitely in awe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then it was on to the
Pantheon. Holy shit. This building is huge and epic and has been standing since
27 BC. Are you for real?! It. Was. Incredible. Oh my gosh, I couldn’t believe
how old it is and how so many important people so long ago met here and
discussed important things. Its unbelievable. Truly. The inside had beautiful altars
and the hold in the ceiling is the only source of light so they obviously have
a drainage system in the middle of the floor. Crazy! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gelato shop was our next
stop and had roughly 100 flavors. Caramel, tiramisu, and kit kat. Solid choice.
After that we went to the Victor Emmanuelle Memoirial. Wow, I mean wow. It is
intense! First, it’s huge. Nexty, it is so white and bright it almost glows.
And after that, it is so intricate and detailed its literally insane. I could
not believe how effing gorgeous it is. This is the man that nified <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Yay! But I guess to build it they had to destroy
a lot of Roman ruins that included a medieval village. That quite sucks. The
locals hate it for that reason and that it is so white it doesn’t fit in with
the surrounding browns. Whatevs. I think its gorgeous. And they hve two eternal
flames for the toms of the unknown soliders. Very cool. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We also saw Mussolini’s
balcony where he lied to the Italian people during WW II about how he was going
to restore <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> to its former glory. Lying bastardo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that a short walk to
the Coliseum!! They view on the way there is breathtaking. <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city> is officially my favorite city. Everything is so
old and the ruins are so beyond beautiful. I want to stay and never leave. All
of it I just want to take with me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SO! The Coliseum. Um,
yeah. So. Frickin. Cool. First, the actual structure itself is everything and
more of what I imagined. Its immense and old and just so amazingly cool. We
ended up buying tickets from a tour guide who would give us a guided tour as
well as entrance into the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum that also includes a
guided tour. Our tour guide was incredible. He knew everything! It was so
interesting and so worth doing. He walked us through the small rooms they got ready
in, where they went oup through the floor, where they slept and the entrance
they walked through. Wow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was absolutely
beautiful inside. The floor was not there and you could see the tunnels of the
Coliseum where they used pulleys to lift people up into the arena. Little
unknown face for me was gladiators were a huge financial investment and because
of that the battles between gladiators rarely ended in death; weird. Only <st1:metricconverter productid="1 in">1 in</st1:metricconverter> 10 actually died in battle. And a lot of times the
people would use hand gestures (thumb tucked in fist to stay alive) to signify
what they wanted to happen to the losing gladiator (thumb sideways to kill
them). At the end of the day thought it was the Emperor who decided life or
death. I also didn’t know that animal were the first creatures to fight in the
arena. People would spend tons of money to import exotic animal to fight.
Weird. Oh! They also flooded it one time to stage naval battles with ships.
WTF?! How cool is that?! Like I couldn’t believe that! Amazing. We also went in
a small tunnel/room where they threw the dead bodies. Ugh, it still stunk like
they were there yesterday. Ick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the tour we walked
around and took some pics; had a very nutritious and late lunch of Pringles and
it was off to the Palatine Hill tour which I hd never head of until today.
Oops. So this place of ruins used to be a palace. It if effing huge! Parts of
the wall are still standing and actual pieces of the marble floor are there. It
was so wicked cool to see. PS-our tour guide is a legit voide twin to Robin
Leach. That shit was crazy. You close your eyes and you couldn’t tell the
difference. Amazing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The palace was really
interesting to see actually, moreso than I thought it would be. I kept trying
to imagine what this place looked like when it was in all its glory. Probably
ridiculously lavish. Most interesting story was about one of the men who lived
here and used to have like 50 course dinners and for people to accommodate the
massive amounts of food, they would have people in the bathroom tickle their
throats with feathers to make them throw up. Then they would go back out there
and keep eating. Ew. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sidenote: after the
Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and reading Julius Caesar, I have come to the
conclusion that Suzanne Collins was so inspired by Roman history. All this
stuff is in her books. From the puking, to the arena, the fight to the death,
the fighters coming up from the floor, the names, all of it! Incredible! It is
unreal and totally amazing. She is even cooler than I thought. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the hill we did a
quick walk through the Forum and took a pic of T stabbing me. Et tu, Brute?
Famished—walked around until we found a restaurant. The entire staff was very
attentive…and creepy. Meh. They gave us free champagne, so whatever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually made it back to
near the Spanish Stephs. Long story short, Jarrah wanted to buy sunglasses so
we went into a lot of the high end stores; Louis Vuitton, D&G, Burberry,
etc. to try and find some. Well, she is so damn indecisive she can’t make up
her effing mind and I’m dragging ass with this task because I don’t give a
shit. They’re sunglasses. C’mon, it’s not that big of a deal. We literally
walked in and out of each of these stores at least twice. Back and forth, back
and forth. What also grinded my gears is that it was getting late, stuff shuts
down early, and the ONLY thing I wanted to do and that I’ve been talking about
for days is go to this bookstore underground that Becs told me about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I finally asked the lady
in Max and Co. where it was and I snapped that I was going to find my bookstore
and I’ll be back and hauled ass out of there. Probably not the best decision
objectively but I have a short fuse, I’m irritated with this superficial
material bullshit, and I want out for a few minutes. But honestly, I’ll take my
chances against a mugger or rapist rather than take it out on Jarrah for a few
reasons. One- I would feel bad about snapping on her. Two-awkward would not
begin to describe the feelings of the next 9 days after my having exploded
verbally at her. And three-at least my rage at a raist would be rage well
spent…SO, off I went. Got slightly turned around BUT I did eventually find the
bookshop! Yay! And no English books. Fuck. <st1:state><st1:place>Me.</st1:place></st1:state> Bookshop worker told me about the galleria and
they have inglese libres. Success! Bought a non-fiction book about the Borgia
family. Score. Done. Purchased. Finito. Let’s go before Teresa ends up calling
my mother to tell her I ran off alone in <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>. That rage I spoke about prior, remember that?
Yeah, that would be child’s play compared to the Sicilian wrath that would be
reigned down on me if my mother found out I started blindly running around by
myself…in an unknown city…in a foreign country. I’d be fuckign every way for 20
years of Sundays. Shit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, made it back to
the store, they were all there. Thank goodness. Hopped the Metro and bus back
to the hostel. Stopped at the mini market the hostel has and bought a pack of
cards for my Nonna, she’s gonna love it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Started getting ready,
skulling rose wine, pure class. Rach and T finished a whole bottle of
limoncella. Wonder how that’s gonna feel tomorrow? So we finished putting on
the hot girl disguises, tried for longer than I’d like to admit to to tie a
toga, and we were off to the bar. It was <st1:time hour="11" minute="30">11:30</st1:time> by this point…oops. Still had a rockin good time. I don’t think you
can’t NOT have fun running around in a toga. There was this totally cute lawyer
from the other tour that Rach made take shots with us and I coerced into
dancing with me. Apparently the girls on his tour told me he doesn’t do shots
or dance…welp, I can be quite persuasive and I really don’t take no for an
answer. However, while adorable, he was super awkward and made no move. Story
of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Super fun time dancing.
And then one of the chefs kept flirting with me…I said to him, ‘I thought you
had a girlfriend.’ He said, ‘I do, I love her more than anything.’ Um…how about
you stop telling me how beautiful I am then? Not that I was interested but if I
had a boyfriend (lol), and he was telling other girls they were beautiful, he
would no longer hold the prestigious title of boyfriend. Gosh, guys are such
retards.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-69615724808309058592013-12-16T00:00:00.000-05:002013-12-16T00:00:06.716-05:00Day 13--Rome, Italy<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><st1:date day="1" month="5" year="2012">May 1<sup>st</sup>, 2012</st1:date><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, after wonderful 3 ½
hours of sleep its up and out for a walking tour of <st1:city><st1:place>Florence</st1:place></st1:city>. Kill me. My feet hurt so badly it feels as if
they are bruised across the entire bottom of my foot. Oh my gosh, the pain.
Every step is agony. But I supposed it’s better than my hip…perspective. <st1:city><st1:place>Florence</st1:place></st1:city> is gorgeous. The Piazzas are supre pretty, the
Duomos and Baptistery is where we started. Michelangelo designed the Duomo’s
dome. The woman doing the walking tour was excellent. Super knowledgeable and
informative but had way too many erroneous details that took too long to
explain. We saw the pig in the maret that I rubbed for good luck and threw some
money in. Hope that means I’ll be back!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMKuszOrlXgNX2AaG-VP4gHS7EBMt2cGsY_akHUSSMlMesenze6a3Tg_TDuxhFzHaeuPluPTKiPQsztsdq4blNcMkjlXN7JBXscCFf43vy-P2EiIX-x8S0YFm6KOPY4OQraUQ3xE8-J0/s1600/1020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqMKuszOrlXgNX2AaG-VP4gHS7EBMt2cGsY_akHUSSMlMesenze6a3Tg_TDuxhFzHaeuPluPTKiPQsztsdq4blNcMkjlXN7JBXscCFf43vy-P2EiIX-x8S0YFm6KOPY4OQraUQ3xE8-J0/s320/1020.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Ponte Vecchio bridge
was quite pretty. The Piazza della Signoria had some amazing sculptures. I
totally have a thing for sculptures. After the tour we had a short demo at
Leonardo’s Leather which was actually really cool to see. And the guy was from <st1:state><st1:place>Minnesota</st1:place></st1:state>. Go <st1:country-region><st1:place>USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>! We at lunch at a restaurant Becs suggested—diavola
pizza…delicious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did some market shopping
after that and ate some tasty gelato. I am gonna eat my weight in this. No
joke. When in <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>…er, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. And F me, we made it to the bus JUST as it
started pouring. Phew. Then it was off to <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>! Eeep!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Got to <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city>, had some amazing food. There was a traffic light
party tonight but no appearances by us. I did buy a hilarious green t-shirt
that says, ‘F*** Me I’m Famous @ Ciao Bella.’ My mother is going to kill me but
I find it hil-arious! Spend the night hanging out and relaxing and writing in
the journal. It’s nice to have a chill night every few days. Walking tour of <st1:city><st1:place>Rome</st1:place></st1:city> tomorrow! So excited!!!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-52677259392496705442013-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:002013-12-13T00:00:09.822-05:00Day 12--Florence, Italy<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 30th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adieu <st1:country-region><st1:place>Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region>! <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>, here we come! Super long drive this morning and
afternoon. I’m personally pissed at the world because Team New <st1:place>Zealand</st1:place> shoved their lame asses up to the front of the line for the bus and
each took a seat for themselves. There are 6 of them. When the 4 of us have our
own seat, we rotate. 2 of us go solo, the other two share. It’s just so
childish that they all scrambled ahead, obviously so, to swipe their own seats.
This is why I don’t get along with females, they are too transparent and
predictable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">THEN the subject of
reading came up and one of the guys told me he thinks a day spent reading is a
day wasted. Are you fucking kidding me? I told him, ‘I think it’s the best way
to spend a day. Why wouldn’t you want to spend a day enhancing your
intelligence?’ Then they all started mumbling so I turned around and shut up
before I said something id’ maybe (probably not) regret. Stupid, ignorant
fools. People that don’t read or at least appreciate reading, I feel honest pity
for. <st1:city><st1:place>Reading</st1:place></st1:city> give you stories and experiences of people and
situations you would never be exposed to otherwise. You can travel the world
and in time without leaving your house. Keep on with your linear
one-dimensional experience of life. Have fun. Morons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok, enough with the angry
writing, I’m over it…ish. K, so loooong bus ride to <st1:city><st1:place>Florence</st1:place></st1:city>. Buon giorno Italia!! Ah! So excited! I felt home.
I really did. I was also irritated at everybody on the bus because I felt
protective of my homeland. I know that sounds weird but I did. Nobody else
knows how much I’ve wanted this or how long I’ve waited for this. I felt it in
my soul and my heart and I wanted to hear and know everything <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> has to offer in its history. Becs was talking
about how Italians are super family oriented and they Momma runs the household
and they have long life expectancies and 600 different words for pasta—all I
could think of was, yep that’s about right! I felt so proud to be a part of a
nation with such distinct and amazing history. I am home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJc5v03hFAe9HaVTuGhmQC_4qJgiVACnRNO29KLAI4nJd0KT70UUW9gXeiDhN6L5ej9znCw043kS7s9zKOLvSViu57z4Jz4p5prNr2RTkimZXR9crPrb5NDzGQ8jjo9Wd6M3nT38Um70/s1600/1960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJc5v03hFAe9HaVTuGhmQC_4qJgiVACnRNO29KLAI4nJd0KT70UUW9gXeiDhN6L5ej9znCw043kS7s9zKOLvSViu57z4Jz4p5prNr2RTkimZXR9crPrb5NDzGQ8jjo9Wd6M3nT38Um70/s320/1960.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And if I wasn’t sure of it
before I def felt at home in <st1:country-region><st1:place>italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> after <st1:city><st1:place>Pisa</st1:place></st1:city>. Its in a small square that is walled off in a
courtyard and its beautiful! The Leaning Tower of Pisa is gorgeous and just
incredible to look at. But the best part was Becs telling us how the Baptistery
here has one of the jugs of water that Jesus turned to wine. AND there is
building with a cemetery inside that is supposed to have the sand from Christ’s
crucifixion, and if you bury somebody in there, the body disappears in 24 hours
because of the sand. Goo. I just go chills. I love <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I love that we are in a Catholic nation with a
huge emphasis on Jesus and spirituality. I cannot gush enough!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Got to our hostel in <st1:city><st1:place>Florence</st1:place></st1:city>, or <st1:place>Firenze</st1:place> in
Italian, and it has a kickass bar, good drinks—strong—and good food. Run the
World was playing when we started actively drinking. Bitch, please. Like that
isn’t my favorite song of the moment. It was fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hostel dancing was quite
fun. Great jams. T and I did the Dougie and the Crazy in Love dance. Of course,
Team New <st1:place>Zealand</st1:place> had to comment and ask why we always knew all the
dances?...um, idk, because we’re awesome? We headed for the karaoke bar after
that and the streets were PACKED. It was Notte Bianche (White Night) so
everything was open all night long. It was a legit cluster fuck trying to get
all these people to the same place. Wall to wall people. Becs said they usually
see about 50 people on the walk…there were easily thousands. We finally got
there and immediately signed up to sing the only song that mattered…Spice Up
Your Life…hells to the yes. Shots tasted awful but were cheap so choking that
down wasn’t the most fun. Ick. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0vKzwdyYEcAX04gUxc09Kq0VxyW6FtLZ2H2Tfimmx_CXJfMiqP31WhqzIlpRoW1FSS5X3GFsGcUDcQEK2cQ7-a3IWVcSTZn__OCJHS34YCv6nVL98noeeN39Z9kUyZuIT_1U9kyZENA/s1600/1981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0vKzwdyYEcAX04gUxc09Kq0VxyW6FtLZ2H2Tfimmx_CXJfMiqP31WhqzIlpRoW1FSS5X3GFsGcUDcQEK2cQ7-a3IWVcSTZn__OCJHS34YCv6nVL98noeeN39Z9kUyZuIT_1U9kyZENA/s320/1981.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the way, Italian men
are aggressive. Fuck. I like an assertive man but this was insane. Keep our
hands to yourself, sir and stop being such a creepy bastard. Attention is nice
and flattering but whoa. Rachel literally kicked a guy in the sternum. Yes…that
happened. The guy made the mistake of saying he thought she was prettier than
Teresa so Rachel yelled back, ‘don’t talk shit about my friend!’ and proceeded
to kick him in the chest. Well played. We ended the evening with ‘It’s Raining
Men’ because some fucking retard jacked Barbie Girl from me. Uh…that was my
pick! I was so upset! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, I lost the other
girls at one point and walked home with Becs. She is the best tour guide ever.
She is just awesome. Lots of creeps overall for the night though. I think
Teresa may or may not have punched a guy in the face at some point…not too
sure. <st1:country-region><st1:place>Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> must bring out the aggression in everyone, eh?
Stumbled in to the hostel at around <st1:time hour="4" minute="0">4 am</st1:time>…oops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OMG!! I forgot the BEST
part of the night! One of my life’s bucket list check marks has been completed.
Drumroll please…I threw some guy The Face…and held it…and it worked!! Jenna
Marbles, I thank you! So, here’s the story. Creeper was bothering us, rach
tried to throw The Face and couldn’t hold it so I did it. I threw it, committed
to it, and the guy totally laughed at first, looked around, and slooooowly
walked away. Works every time. Jenna Marbles, you are genius. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go <st1:city><st1:place>Florence</st1:place></st1:city>. Play hard. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-30006338447655541902013-12-11T00:00:00.000-05:002013-12-11T00:00:04.500-05:00What I Learned in Switzerland<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">What I Learned in Switzerland</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Don't trust anyone from the Czech Republic </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">according to the lovely woman at the desk</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...or anyone from the Eastern Bloc</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...cuz that's isn't totally prejudiced or anything...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not that it matters that not only am I Czech but also Polish and German</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...Eastern European mutt and proud of it right here.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Apparently the entire town of Lauterbrunnen knows when a Czech man is in their midst. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turn your locks...oh wait, you don't have any...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Dancing on tables singing Spice Girls and N***** in Paris and Miley Cyrus, in that order, is totally normal and totally epic.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Swiss people go crazy over 'a little wind.'</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Switzerland does not need to be in the EU because they are financially stable enough not to need it. This is because of all the money they basically embezzled after the Nazi's couldn't get their money back out of their Swiss bank accounts. I have quite an opinion about this and it is not a positive one. </span></div>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-85102151502148673932013-12-09T00:00:00.001-05:002013-12-09T00:00:14.782-05:00Day 11--Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 29th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This. Weather. Sucks. The wind is too strong and we cannot go up
the mountain or skydive. Noooo!!! I am so frickin’ sad I wanted to do it so
badly! I would have felt so badass. Ultimate sad face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYVff8qnKHEa0u02UN1WLAhj1OM1eQonXWC1nXRbI9WWlAdPoIa9Huc4Z4lWxxRcKt1s9sfTIuibCB2wAcBGCp1jtZoarFbOymmI592L99WhsIizl4PcaaWm5KxbA32_jf5xbVjgQBJc/s1600/917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYVff8qnKHEa0u02UN1WLAhj1OM1eQonXWC1nXRbI9WWlAdPoIa9Huc4Z4lWxxRcKt1s9sfTIuibCB2wAcBGCp1jtZoarFbOymmI592L99WhsIizl4PcaaWm5KxbA32_jf5xbVjgQBJc/s320/917.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">So we spent the morning writing. Went and sat at a bar. Walked up
a hill to overlook the town. Breathtaking. Wow. I couldn’t believe where I was
in my life. How did I get so blessed? I felt so lucky to be sitting there
enjoying lunch just overlooking the town. God’s work. It was a perfect day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We walked around the little town, saw some Swatches and Swiss Army
knives. Went to a café where they had this book swap thing where you can
exchange books. They actually had quite an impressive collection! Lots of
populat books! Except they had a copy of The Historian and it was so destroyed
I had to walk away, it was too sad. But since I didn’t get a book in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, I bought an English UK edition of
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I’m saying I bought this in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and it counts as my daring sword fights,
magic spells, and princes in disguise book. I almost bought The Alchemist for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Switzerland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> to count as my inspiration book but I
decided I didn’t need it…I have to watch the luggage weight after all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And we got hot chocolate! Check! It actually tasted only okay but
still, gotta do it. Rachel talked to the waitress and she told us about a
walking trail to see waterfalls inside the mountain. Sweet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br />So we set off and it should have only taken about 30 minutes to
walk there…it took 50. I was so slow, my hip didn’t hurt but it was weird achy.
I finally found a walking stick which helped kind of. Teresa kind of irritated
me because I was getting kind of cranky because I was kind of hungry, my hip
ached, like wtf? I just got off crutches 4 days before we left. You’re gonna be
a doctor so you should know that the way I pushed this hip to walk probably
wasn’t the best way to go. Rachel and Jarrah were all, ‘we’ll take a bus back,
are you okay?’ So nice and supportive. Teresa? Opposite. I ask one time, not even
in a mean way, ‘how much farther?’ and I get massive attitude and this
response, ‘Well do you wanna go back? It closes in 20 minutes and then this
walk is for nothing.’ Whoa. What the fuck. I just got off crutches and limped
about </span><st1:metricconverter productid="3 miles"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">3 miles</span></st1:metricconverter><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. Show a little fucking compassion.
Some future doctor. Do I still feel this way? No. was I pissed and enraged at
the time? Yes. So I didn’t talk to her the whole time we were in the mountain.
Took my pics, saw the waterfalls, and had a good time. It really was cool. It reminded
me of that movie Gold Diggers for some reason. It was cool. AND the elevator up
the mountain was like a mine shaft. So of course, I had to drop a District 12
reference…obvi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We did catch the mine shaft down and started walking back, which
clearly I was dreading…however, the man who ran the elevator drove up and asked
if we wanted a ride. Now I must premise this with yes, objectively this is a
very, very bad idea. Random stranger man, foreign country, accepting to get
into a car…BUT this is the safest country we will be in, these people don’t
even put locks on their doors, my hip hurts, there are 4 of us, it’s down the
road…well, giddy up, let’s go. One safe ride and we arrived at our hostel all
in one piece. Solid. BTW, the second he asked if we wanted a ride, 2 thoughts
popped into my head. 1. Only Teresa and me 2. How do I get in these situations?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So one of the Team New Zealand girls was outside and goes, ‘who is
that guy you got a ride with?’ L.O.L. We totally called that in the car that we
hoped these bitches would see us riding in style—well, you know what I mean.
THEN 2 other Team New Zealand girls came out and told us the lady inside asked
who we were, about how dangerous it is, we were so unsafe, yadda yadda yadda.
These bitches are so passive aggressive and catty I just wanna punch them. Shut
up already. Keep wearing your “trendy” clothes in bumfuck </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Switzerland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, population 20 and wasting a perfectly
good outfit on nobody. You’re so cool. I can’t stand these girls. After this
encounter, we all decided to be as obnoxious as possible. Might as well live up
to the perception. You’re nobody until you’re talked about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Dinner was amaze. Chicken with roasted potatoes. *drool* We
started drinking a little after that and another tour group had arrived and we
were challenged to a flip cup game. Oh. Hell. Yes. Fools. You don’t know who
you’re dealing with. 30 minutes later these idiots finally got organized. We
were the anchor of the team. Duh. And after a very nerve-wracking observation
of the front half we pulled it out and legit dominated. Holla! We ended up
talking to the other group and were super cool…while the people from our group
went back to being hermits. Have fun!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Drank a little more and eventually got on the tables to dance.
Eesh, I am so not like this at home. Going out in other countries is so much
better than at home. Must bring out my wild side. Of course, our fan club were
very keen observers. Such loyal fans we have. This place was hot as hell by the
way. I was sweating like I was in a boiler room. I had to sleep in my underwear
because I just couldn’t cool down. Oof. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-84527900069139868152013-12-06T00:00:00.001-05:002013-12-06T00:00:07.124-05:00Day 10--Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 28th, 2012</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhiTY1mrwKKJlC44L3nnnX3Z-InL9WEpWihFCb3V6LOAQRH0Mn-BLe35lHDotgyxTwhXzr4VTt1sbDiOoYxYbFKcM4yA5itCDcoXGr6ZJzwfxIR1gGn98mP6OQtPmk1zWsw7wam-7KpA/s1600/908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhiTY1mrwKKJlC44L3nnnX3Z-InL9WEpWihFCb3V6LOAQRH0Mn-BLe35lHDotgyxTwhXzr4VTt1sbDiOoYxYbFKcM4yA5itCDcoXGr6ZJzwfxIR1gGn98mP6OQtPmk1zWsw7wam-7KpA/s320/908.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After another very restful night of 4 hours of sleep, we're back on the bus. Croissant breakfast and eggs--tasty. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Everyone on the tour was
all, ‘oh, how are you feeling? What time did you get in? Blah blah blah.’ Shut
up. Story trying to pretend you actually care when in reality you’re wishing we
looked and felt like shit because you know you’re lame as hell. I don’t know
what’s wrong with these people that they don’t want to go out and have fun. I
mean, that’s fine, do what you want but don’t judge me for my choices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Anyways, got a seat to
myself which was glorious. Totally able to curl up and sleep sporadically.
Various stops throughout the day until we got to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Switzerland</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> around 5:30 pm. The scenery during the drive was
(of course) beautiful. Pictures don’t do it justice—again. You can’t see the
depth and color and intricacy of the landscape. It’s ridiculous. The cabin
we’re staying in are nice. Only bad part is that the bathroom are like across
the street. No lie. It’ll be fine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The optional for
Lauterbrunnen are the train up the mountain to the highest point you can get to
without being a legit climber. Totally want to do that. And skydiving!! Out of
a helicopter!! Made of a glass floor!! Over the </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Alps</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">!! Eeep! Sign me the F up. YOLO. However, the weather is debatable due
to the wind so I’m HOPING it all works out because I wanna do this SO badly. It’s
just a little wind, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After settling in we had
dinner at the bar at the camp grounds. This is the bar where all the coasters
are all over the walls and hanging up! Teresa said Adam and his sister have
coasters somewhere in here; he wants her to find it…good luck with that. In
Swiss fashion, we had fondue; so good!! I love using the little skewers. We
stayed around for a little while chatting and hanging out but hell, we partied
hard last night, we were tired and left to journal. And get a good night’s
sleep in prep for skydiving!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-66677414879110656492013-12-04T00:00:00.001-05:002013-12-04T00:00:14.888-05:00What I Learned in Paris<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">What I Learned in Paris</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. The Notre Dame was almost torn down until Victor Hugo wrote a book about it and it was saved. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yay Quasimodo!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Children will pretend to be deaf and mute in order to steal from you. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bastards.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. It is ok to drink in the public; </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">one does not need to skull wine from the inside of jackets.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Good to know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Apparently they can 'make sex' in Paris.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who knew?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. Boys names Romeo actually do exist in real life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amazing.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. Louis XIV was a prick and spent all the people's money building Versailles; </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Louis XV enjoyed it all;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Louis XVI paid for it all in death alongside Marie Antoinette.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. The Lourve used to be a palace where Louis XIV lived--he built Versailles because the Lourve was too small.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">WTF.</span></div>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-13611486146950169872013-12-02T00:00:00.001-05:002013-12-02T00:00:04.611-05:00Tips and To-Dos--Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Paris. The city of love. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> <b>Use an over the shoulder purse that can zip.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found Paris to have a TON of pickpocketers. Beware the children around the Louvre and along the Champps Elysses trying to get you to sign a petition. DO NOT SIGN IT. It is their attempt to rob you. Just ignore them and keep walking. Harsh but true.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. Go off the beaten path. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Restaurants close to the Champps Elysses will be super expensive. Wander around a little and find something farther away to keep from paying an arm and a leg for a baguette.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Use the Metro system. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This will be my tip in every city. Familiarize yourself with the public transportation system. It will save you heaps of time and headaches and money from trying to hail a cab.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Speaking of cabs...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's obvious you won't have any clue where you are going, that's what cab drivers are for, right? Just make sure you're not being driven in circles. This happened to me and I refused to get in a car if the driver didn't speak English. This might sound rude but it's true. Keep your guard up. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. The Lourve will try and trick you.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't experience this personally but a friend of mine was trying to exit the Lourve and the signs were completely confusing AND misleading. Be aware of this if you venture inside to try to expand your cultural knowledge. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Must See!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>The Sacre Cour Cathedral</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think this is prettier than the Notre Dame. The view is unlike any other I've ever seen. <span style="color: blue;"><b>Hidden tip! </b></span>Beware of the men that weave bracelets on your wrist. They will come right up to you and start to make a bracelet...then refuse to let go until you give them whatever amount of money they want. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>The Lourve</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm cheating a little because I didn't go inside BUT if you don't have time to see the Mona Lisa, just going to see the former palace is beautiful. And you can see that pyramid monstrosity. Shudder.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The Eiffel Tower</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obiv. I'd also suggest taking the free steps up to the first level. I didn't get a chance but I hear the view is amazing!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Cabaret Show</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's not necessary to go to the Moulin Rouge, but see a show somewhere. It is so perfectly Parisian that you can't miss it if you're there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>The Champps Elysses</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The street glows. Just walk it. You don't even have to buy anything. Just walk to the walk girlfriends. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Notre Dame</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The church is beautiful. The architecture of the building is amazing. You can't miss taking a picture looking like a hunchback in front of it...look out for the gargoyles!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hope this can help you guys in some planning! I'm always available via Twitter or email if you want more details, have questions about my experience, or just want to talk traveling! </span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-72068892070317971792013-11-29T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-29T00:00:06.914-05:00Day 9--Paris, France<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 27th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Wow, big day today. Got up
early and headed out with our newly purchased Metro cards to the Notre Dame.
First we found a totally local, all French menu for some brekkie. Had my first croissant in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;">! So delicious. It was like it was melted in butter
*drool*. It felt amazing to just sit in a Parisian café and eat breakfast.
Check.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Notre Dame was a short
walk away with amazing scenery. These buildings are incredible. The Notre Dame
was no joke. Wow. I cannot believe how beautiful it was. The gargoyles have
been spotted! Quasimodo is that you?! Insdie was gorg. Another candle lit for
the fam. Of course, the angels were my favorite part. There was one at the back
that I loved. It was just so neat to bein the place that inspired The Hunchback
of Notre Dame. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We did some street
shopping and I found a Tour de France hat for my Dad! Yay! He’s gonna love,
love, love it! The Lourve was next and after narrowly missing getting robbed by
a 10 year old with a cigarette in her mouth we made it to the courtyard of the
Louvre. Sidenote: these children pretended to be deaf and mute and as you sign
their petition to “help” them, they try and rob you. Ew. </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, I’m not impressed right now. Dirty. Anyway. SO.
Holy hell, this courtyard is no joke. Neither is this former palace. This used
to be the home of Louis XIV before he built </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Versailles</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. I had no idea how big it was! It is massive! And
that glass pyramid that is famously in the middle of the courtyard felt so out
of place to me. I did not like it at all. It was this huge, modern monstrosity
in the middle of all this old architectural glory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The fake Arc de Triumph
was right in front so we decided just to walk straight down to the Champps
Elysses to the real Arc. Um, the Champps Elysses is ridiculously legit. First,
it’s beautiful. Its like this shiny, bright spot with marble and gold and
beautiful clothing everywhere. The Louis Vuitton store was unreal. I want
everything. The Zara store had so many cute things I want to hoard it all. The
damage I could do with unlimited funds would be ridiculous. I would like
Victoria Beckham fabulous every frickin’ day. I did personally splurge and buy
a clutch that’s cream with gold studs—it’s bloody beautiful. And I bought a
really nice scarf for Mom which I can’t WAIT to give her. She can tell all the
wonderers she got it from her daughter when she went to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. Yeah, I’m excited about that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We got yelled at—twice—in
H & M because the line for the dressing room was entirely too long. So we
guerilla changed into the dresses we wanted to try on over our clothes in the
corner. Yeah, that didn’t go over well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We finished the shopping </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mecca</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> and found the Arc de Triumph to take some
pictures. Then we went in search of food. All we wanted were some baguette
sandwiches and macaroons. It wasn’t too much to ask for in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. It took forever and our blood sugars were
probably about 36 and we were cranky as hell. We finally found some macaroons
and then a little café to eat at. Seriously though, how hard is it to find a damn
café in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. What the F. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">On the way home we stopped
at the liquor store where we spend a whopping 5.37 Euro on wine and 1.33 Euro
on champagne…no joke. So of course, we bought another bottle. We drank, got
ready, jammed to Disney music, and headed out for a night out in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. A frickin’ hour Metro ride later as well as a
confusing walk in front of the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Eiffel</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Tower</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> later—as well as a pitstop in a bar—we finally found our tour
group…we were only 50 minutes late…oops. Becs saved us food, thank goodness. We
skulled (Australian for chugged) our bottle of wine—classy—and headed to the
cabaret show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sidenote: So we made time
in our day to make sure to go back to the hotel to change and look nice.
Everyone else must have come straight from whatever they chose to do that day
because they were all staring at us like wild animals. I don’t understand. Um,
hi, yes we dressed up, that’s what Becs said to do. Sorry you all didn’t time
manage properly and look like scrubs. I don’t know if you know this but we are
in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">—fashion capitol of the world, the hell if I’m not
busting out my hot girl disguise and smokin’ fabulous dress. This is what I
brought it for. Stop staring. I know that sounds terrible but it was so weird.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The cabaret show was
really cute. Topless girls, shirtless guy dancing on a rope and trapeze. Pretty
entertaining. Not the best thing I’ve ever seen but I’m glad I’ve seen a
cabaret show. Check. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So yeah, after the show
everybody, I mean everybody but us, bitched out and went home. What the flying
hell?? We are in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">! Why aren’t you partying!? If I’M telling people
to party, there is a serious problem here. Idiots. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We almost got scammed by
our first taxi driver who drove around in circles trying to get to the Notre
Dame. Jara was finally like um, no. Threw 5 euro at him and yelled for us to
get the fuck out of the cab. Good girl. We walked around skulling wine out of
Jara’s jacket. Pure class. Oh yeah, I kind of stole that bottle of wine from
the cabaret show…sorry not sorry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After Rachel asking a
police officer where we can party, we found a trip of Latin bars aka the </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Latin Quarter</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. It was okay. Nobody really knew what was a good
bar to go to, everyone we asked was clueless. Do you people not live in this
city? I knew the French were arrogant but I didn’t think they were this stupid.
Random French guy we were talking to tried to all of the sudden kiss me on the
mouth. What the fuck? Then he told me he wanted to take me back to his house to
make sex…and this is when we walked away. How does one make sex? Strange
wording. Creep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, all was not lost.
This adorable English-speaking French boy came up to us and asked if we would
accompany them to an Irish bar because they can’t get in without girls. Sure.
Why not? He was skinny and I told him I could take him down if I needed to. His
name is Romeo. Is this real life? And he’s half Italian. I think I’m in love.
HAHA. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We get to the Irish bar
and the boys still couldn’t get in. Oops. Sorry not sorry. This place had
excellent music and we danced and had a fabulous time. Ok, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, you have redeemed yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So, another hidden talent
I found I have is busting out random French. Sweet. Trying to flag down a cab I
refused to get into one that didn’t have an English-speaking driver. So the
first four cabs I saw, when I opened the door I asked, ‘parle-vouz ingle?’
Yeah…it’s a common phrase but I don’t know where that came from. 5<sup>th</sup>
cab was the charm and we made it back safe and sound. Tomorrow we say au revoir
to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> but stay tuned for some thing I learned while
there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-16041431973162817572013-11-27T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-27T00:00:01.217-05:00Book Breakdown--France<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvfSQGub66VmyvoZmnrLPDlQibXOqoqpJOlP9mnd5_mGKHJL5cNqs3KGo_FgmbjAPs3SqcHfsK7ZhQ49hjCJMqGsvi2t4EPecJT6GKCBs8hI_GUp57xmLLD2Tvie1F5cEzLtsBJFRzmA/s1600/Book+Breakdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvfSQGub66VmyvoZmnrLPDlQibXOqoqpJOlP9mnd5_mGKHJL5cNqs3KGo_FgmbjAPs3SqcHfsK7ZhQ49hjCJMqGsvi2t4EPecJT6GKCBs8hI_GUp57xmLLD2Tvie1F5cEzLtsBJFRzmA/s320/Book+Breakdown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'I'm goin to France, y'all!!'...Who doesn't a Bridesmaid quote?...Anyone? Ok, so here are my picks for some books that take place in France and are definitely worth to check out prior to touching down in Paris...or if you'd like to feel like you're there :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2013/03/just-one-day-by-gayle-forman.html" target="_blank">Just One Day by Gayle Forman</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This book is phenomenal and will be featured in my future 'Inspirations to Travel' post. This book captures the beauty and freedom of France perfectly. The whole book does not take place here but the story afterwards is just perfection. This book is one of my favs and it could be yours, too! Just keep in mind, this book will inspire you to do more than just travel; it will inspire you to live life to the fullest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-be-sheep-when-you-can-be-wolf-grave.html" target="_blank">Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Historical fiction about how Brittany fought to keep their independence. You learn about the history of France a bit and the story will be impossible to put down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12851538-code-name-verity" target="_blank">Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This book is a bit of a stretch for France but it does take place there...you just don't get a lot of scenery. This book is SO worth it though. It could probably count for England more than France but I had so many for England I waned to share the wealth. This book is one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITES so if you get a chance just read it because you want to. It's incredible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do YOU have any books that take place in France that I missed?</span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-45005166232413791762013-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-25T11:34:03.550-05:00Day 8--Paris, France<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 26th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Top Deck tour!!! Day One! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After a whopping 4 hours
of sleep—which felt like I blinked and my alarm went off—it wasn’t as bad as I
anticipated waking up. We checked in and met our tour guide Becs who seems
super sweet. Quick breakfast and it was on the bus to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">! 2 hours later we got to the ferry…’I have a thing
for ferry boats.’… Sadly, no McDreamy on this boat. I was so nervous I was
going to be sick with all the rocking and swaying but after sitting down and
some food it was all good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">90 minutes later we officially
arrived in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">France</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;">…</span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Calais</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> to be exact and all I could think of was the
battle in ‘The Queen’s Fool.” Such a good book but such a sad part, however
still amazing to have been there. More bus ride with beautiful scenery. Green
valleys and I was thinking of Beauty and the Beast. Besides YOLO, my other
motto for this trip is ‘I want adventure in the great, wide somewhere; I want
it more than I can tell.’ Which is so true. I felt anxious at certain points,
like really scared and nervous to be away for so long in a strange place where I
really have no fall back or resources. But then I remembered that life doesn’t
happen when you’re sitting on your ass. Life doesn’t happen until you step out
of your comfort zone. I read that somewhere and I didn’t understand it fully
until this trip and it is SO true. You have to go out and find life. I want to
find life and experiences. I want to be able to tell my kids stories one day of
all the amazing places I’ve been and seen and all the cool ass things I’ve
done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Emo moment over. We got
into </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> around </span><st1:time hour="17" minute="0"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">5 pm.</span></st1:time><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> We got ready and went to a local restaurant across the street. We all
know how adventurous I am with foods so y’all might want to sit down. I ate
escargot—yes, that is snail, tasted like a mushy meatball—and frog’s
legs—bland, soft chicken, haha. The dinner was SO good! Onion soup and beef
bourgeon with noodles. Yum! Oh, and of course, tons of baguettes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We did a city lights tour
after supper and got to do an impromptu stop at the Sacre Cour cathedral. Oh my
gosh, it was breathtaking! Its on top of a hill which took a hike to get up but
was so worth it! We were looking out at the entire city of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. Shit son. I cannot describe how amazingly
beautiful it is. Indescribable. Pictures do not do it justice. The church
itself is gorgeous and I made a donation and lit a candle for Granny, G-Pa and
Auntie Nina. It’s tradition. Gotta do it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After that we saw the rest
of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> via bus. I’ve had the Anastasia song ‘Paris Holds
the Key to Your Heart’ stuck in my head since we got here…well, that and N*****
in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Paris</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. The first thing we saw was the Red Light District
which is home to the Moulin Rouge!! It was so frickin’ cool. Weird though
because it’s stuck in the middle of the strip of building on the street. The
Arc de Triumph with Napoleon’s eternal flame which I didn’t know existed until
today, was beautiful. We got some night pics at the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Eiffel</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Tower</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">! Eep! I could not believe I was seeing it in person with my own eyes.
Unbelievable. I can’t wait to just walk around and be in the city. We also
drown down the Champps Elysses. Holy hell. Can I puh-lease have the means one
day to afford a small shopping spree through this amazingness? It’s not even
that I want expensive things. I want the design and look of the expensive things,
haha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Early night after the tour
for a big sight-seeing day tomorrow! Eep! Oh and since ive left </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">England</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> now I can recap what I’ve learned! Stay tuned!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Peace out, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. It’s been real.</span><br />
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-4849366707795647312013-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-22T00:00:04.134-05:00What I Learned in England<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">What I Learned in England</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. They treat ketchup like a gold commodity--really, it's just a condiment, c'mon people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. London is quite ashamed of the bloody history of the Tower and would really love for it to be recognized as a palace--not gonna happen, give the people what they want. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Hampton Court Palace is the most underrated tourist attraction...ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. I have an innate talent to get men I barely know to buy me 267 pound champagne and rack up a 500 pound bar tab.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. British girls suck major if we Americans can wrangle in men with no make-up, casual clothes, and flat boots on. Charming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. I really want a castle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. Harry Potter is still the greatest thing of all time and always will be. </span></div>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-28891336085797739162013-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-18T00:00:06.745-05:00TIps and To-Dos--London<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, I know I said I wouldn't use this as anything but a transcription of my journal...yeah, I wanted to do more than just "read" my journey to you guys. Now, I am NOT an expert by any means. This feature is for very basic tips and tricks and my favorite to-dos in each city. Everyone is different, everyone has different likes and dislikes and ways of doing things so don't take my word as law is all I'm sayin'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">London. One of my absolute FAVORITE cities in the world. I have now been there twice and have a plan to go back in June with my sister who has been dying to go there forever! There is so much rich history and culture. The West End holds the theater district and it is just incredible. You could easily spend 2 weeks there doing something everyday and there will STILL be things you haven't done. My goal the next time I go is to get out to Wales and Oxford. I wanted to go this year and we just didn't have time! Plus there was a wind issue--eep. Ok, here we go.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> <b>Get an Underground map and buy your Oyster card.</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">London is massive and you just cannot walk everywhere you need to go. The Underground is also massive and the system can be confusing but DON'T FREAK OUT. Calmly look at the lines and connections. Or ASK FOR HELP. Once you get the hang of the Underground, you can get anywhere. The world is your oyster...see what I did there?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2. SAVE SAVE SAVE! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">London is SUCH an expensive city and don't be fooled by thinking the British pound is equal to the American dollar (if you are American and reading this, if you are from another country, sorry. However, the conversion still won't be the same...anyway). Every attraction you want to go to will cost money. Food is expensive. Shows are also expensive (see next tip). Just make sure you really look into your finances and save as much as you can before you go because London is the most expensive city I've been to. Of course, it is also where there is EVERYTHING I want to do.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3. Love the theater? Want to see a show? </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Research into the show's Day Tickets.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I went to see Let It Be and We Will Rock You when I was just there and because I bought my tickets the day of the show during a certain time, I got AMAZING seats at a very cheap price. Grab brochures for shows you want or inquire at the box office. You will save yourself a ton of money buying the day of. Of course, not every show will have this, just do your research. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>4. Don't overestimate yourself and the concept of time. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because there is SO much to do you might think you can get in all 3 attractions you want to go to. Don't overreach. Traveling via Underground takes more time than you will probably think, especially if there isn't good service on the line. Don't get frustrated with crowds either. It is a huge tourist city so lots of people want the best experience. Give yourself more time than you think to get around and get to your destinations.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>5. Do a hop on-hop off tour.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would recommend this in any city. If you are traveling along and not with a tour group, it might be overwhelming to know what are the best things to see in each city. With London, there are too many things to see unless you move there. Doing a hop on-hop off tour will get you around to at least SEE all the major palaces and churches. You might not have time to go in all of them but at least you can say that you've seen it. London, again, is huge. Get a feel for it by getting on a bus tour. They usually run about 2 hours if you stay on for the whole tour. It also is a good way to get around during the day. Hop off at the Tower, hop back on and it will eventually get you to Buckingham Palace. Efficient.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>6. Research your accommodation site. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do a little research into where you are staying. Make sure it is near a Tube station and, if at all possible, a popular one. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Must See!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The Tower of London</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lots of history. Site of executions. Crown Jewels. What's not to love?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The Making of Harry Potter</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Uh...need I really explain?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Buckingham Palace</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Quick stop. Take some pictures. See the change of the guard--check the schedule. Off season they only change the guard every other day. Peak season (summertime) they do it every day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Westminster Abbey</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See where Kate and Will got married! The cathedral is beautiful on the outside and my number one goal my next trip is to get inside! It was closed when I went :(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SO underrated! This place is outside of London so you will have to take a train, takes about 30 minutes, but it is so worth it. I swear, the gardens inspired Lewis Carroll. Home of Henry VIII, it is a must see for me, if you love history, it will be for you, too. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You Can Skip</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Shakespeare's Globe</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was so disappointed in this. Small exhibition. Nothing really to see. If you LOVE Shakespeare, go to say you've been there, if you're not, you can definitely skip this. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Abbey Road</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't be fooled by the Underground stop labeled Abbey Road. I learned the hard way it is NOT the infamous Beatles site. That is much more centrally located in London. Do your research. I would tell you myself but I can't remember either!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hope this can help you guys in some planning! I'm always available via Twitter or email if you want more details, have questions about my experience, or just want to talk traveling! </span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-10519590581306987652013-11-15T00:00:00.000-05:002013-11-15T00:16:13.424-05:00Day 7--London, England<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 25th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Shakespeare and Harry
Potter today!!! Morning actually felt fine. No hangover. Score. Plan is to hit
up shakespeare’s Globe and then journey to Harry Potter—eep!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So the weather sucked…I
mean really sucked. Rainy as all hell, windy as all hell. We got lost from the
Underground to the theater no less than three times. Miserable cannot begin to
describe. My umbrella flipped inside out no less than 12 times until it finally
broke. Eff. My. Life. FINALLY found the Globe. Honestly, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">London</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> needs to work out their maps, they suck hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Walked through the
exhibition, and honestly, I was pretty underwhelmed. I was so looking forward
to seeing The Globe but it burned down a second time! How did I not know this?!
How stupid do I feel? I guess we were on the grounds of the original site of
the plays which is cool. The replica of the inside is pretty legit so it looks
like all the images I’ve seen. Really glad I went…buuuuut I would not go back
again. Or recommend others to go there. Not worth the time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Now, ladies and gentlemen
is the main event. The Making of Harry Potter. Oh. My. Gosh. !. word cannot
describe the feelings of elation and excitement. For real. The lobby gave me
chills. Legit. They had huge pics of all the main characters. Some old, some
young, all very amazing. We stood in awe for a few minutes then went to pick up
our audio tour and our guidebook. Yes! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The first part is a short
movie about how influential and popuilar the moves are. They showed peope
screaming and crying at the premieres…and yes, I did tear up. It was so cool;
so freakin’ cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After that, we sat in the
theater for another shortmovie; this one narrated and introduced by Harry, Ron,
and Hermione…oh boy. They talked about how the cast and crew worked so hard and
they are like a family. And it ended with them in front of the doors of the
Great Hall inviting us in…and the screen lifted…and there were doors…the actual
doors to the Great Hall. I would be lying if I said I didn’t cry. Because I
totally did. Like a gush of just pure emotion. I love Harry Potter. Oh so much.
I had to just stand back and realize the magnitude of this moment. This is the
Great Ha. This is where all the amazing actors worked and brought Harry Potter
to life. Holy crap. The costumes inside representing the staff and the students
were amazing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The next section were
props and costumes and then we saw the Gryffindor boy’s dormitory—eep! The
common room was just as amazing but my favorite thing was the display of the
wands. I don’t know why I find this so sool but I do. The fact that each want
is so different looking and unique and reflect their personality I find so
clever and amusing. JK Rowling is beyond genius. Next were some more props and
Dumbelore’s office! His huge desk and background were beautiful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">OH! My other favorite
display was of all the Horcruxes. The tiara, diary, and locket were
phenomenally cool to see. So sparkly yet dark and intense, I just loved it!
Then it was time to ride a broomstick…no, I’m serious. You sit on a broomstick
and they CGI that shit so you look like you’re flying through Hogwards. Wore a
robe and everything. Baller! Pretty sure a large portion of T’s and my life
goals were completed with this task. We can die slightly—ok a lot!—happier now
that we have rode a broomstick. Nerds for life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Had some Butterbeer and I
hate to say this but the drink at Universal in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> was way better…sorry not sorry. Outside they had
all the huge chess pieces, the Knight bus, Number 4 Privet drive and the bridge
from the last movie! So many amazing pieces! Diagon Alley was next!! Eeep! Felt
like I should have had my book list with me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then…it was the big
finale…the Hogwarts castle. Oh. My. Gosh. Every screen shot of footage of the
outside castle was taken from this 1/24 size scale model. I was looking at
Hogwarts…no joke. More tears. Seriously, how could you not?! It was beautiful.
It was Hogwarts. I finally made it. I was so moved and inspired a part of me
really felt like I was coming home. Ugh. I just love Harry Potter so much *crying
tears of joy*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Wow, end of the tour. Last
but not least we enter the room before the gift shop that is filled with wants
and a huge quote on the wall by JK Rowling and it says this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i>‘The stories we love best really do live in us
forever, so whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will
always be there to welcome you home.’--JK Rowling<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And I promise you this, it
was the last time I cried. Final count of four; I expected around 7, which
would have been very fitting. I just can’t take that quote. Speaks to my soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ok, as if I haven’t enough
already, I am going to gush about Harry Potter just for another minutes. I need
to get out all my feels. People that don’t read it or don’t get it I honestly
feel bad for. It’s not just about wizards and magic (but to believe in magic
and put that out there for people to believe in is genius). It’s about so much
more. It’s the ultimate battle between good and evil. It’s about standing up
for what you know is the right thing. You don’t follow the pressure of what is
evil or what is the easiest. You have to fight. It’s not pretty, its not easy.
Its hard. As is risking your life for others. The scene in the Deathly Hallows
where they all change into Harry in order to protect him was my defining moment.
Everything looked different after that. The fact that so many people were
willing to risk their lives for one person and potentially made the greatest
sacrifice is so inspiring it give me chills…always. If people can’t get that
there is no hope for them. Rowling is so freakin’ clever that she writes books
that can be read and interpreted by so many ages its ridiculous. You can read
them throughout your whole life and get a different perspective every time.
Phenomenal would be an understatement. Awe-inspiring. *sigh*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">End note—They say people
typically take 3 hours to go through The Making of Harry Potter…we did in
4.5…and hardly spoke the entire time…oops<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-43501955689960836062013-11-14T01:08:00.000-05:002013-11-14T01:08:15.722-05:00Book Breakdown--What To Read Before London<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcof8mkEHDoHxGirefsvLoZYWxR6hJxDb4okcTJFUsd6Par-Dh3tvRlO2N8H2hOEQz0HlQUnTZ2z7cpNZe1EZRXdWwJvhyTEydvK7oMT4q3inANbAlrU9jpnRa_lak7hWnI0woq6mxoAc/s1600/Book+Breakdown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcof8mkEHDoHxGirefsvLoZYWxR6hJxDb4okcTJFUsd6Par-Dh3tvRlO2N8H2hOEQz0HlQUnTZ2z7cpNZe1EZRXdWwJvhyTEydvK7oMT4q3inANbAlrU9jpnRa_lak7hWnI0woq6mxoAc/s320/Book+Breakdown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So as many of you may know, I also blog books over at <a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Belle of the Literati</a>. I love my books and I thought as a fun feature on the blog I could put down relevant books to certain cities or countries. I won't have this for every country but for some major ones, there are definitely some books you might want to check out before traveling to these amazing places!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So. London. It is no secret I am a HUGE history geek, so this particular city will have a TON of books you can read in prep for London. OR if traveling isn't your thing or you can't get over there, these books will make you FEEL as if you are in London. A lot of these are historical fiction, so if that's not your thing...sorry, bro.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone?ac=1" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone?ac=1" target="_blank">Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone...or the entire Harry Potter series by JK Rowling</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Um...must I even explain this one?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-white-queen-and-kingmakers-daughter.html" target="_blank">The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (review)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This book takes place in the 1400s and it just gives you a feel of the history of this amazing country. It is bloody but it is steeped in romance and sweeping descriptions of the palaces and landscape. I love this book and you get to learn while you read.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTMBIszP2qOrLzj5q9cXJLUPBeZlBTdHSpMHg1ICfzo_EbJIPeSCASZojscarToViAgxcWS9T11f6mAIQsFd-BlljNH05gdjIyYWeHKrP1OzHtI8l4P8u4C-eS6cBCBEVD_irNtZZQrw/s1600/Tarnish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTMBIszP2qOrLzj5q9cXJLUPBeZlBTdHSpMHg1ICfzo_EbJIPeSCASZojscarToViAgxcWS9T11f6mAIQsFd-BlljNH05gdjIyYWeHKrP1OzHtI8l4P8u4C-eS6cBCBEVD_irNtZZQrw/s320/Tarnish.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2013/06/tarnish-by-katherine-longshore.html" target="_blank">Tarnish by Katherine Longshore</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I LOVE Anne Boleyn. I am a hardcore fangirl and this book takes place when Anne is a young girl. I love the characterization and humanization of this woman who is often painted as a villain. The emotions are strong and the story is beautiful. Get to know Anne Boleyn the way I think of her. Fiercely intelligent, independent, and misunderstood. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwwTHCXuh71DfdgBWoUYExK_3W0NDdMNGz-7DMu0PeUK-_bNURNnGOPA0Ypf31Fgan-LFNE9rnaHp9ZussgjTOvxRSMpziIgSLmxtyBcZLAbkJyJrad-jIgJIaQiz7bXo9MHzG_LHwSM/s1600/Clockwork+Angel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwwTHCXuh71DfdgBWoUYExK_3W0NDdMNGz-7DMu0PeUK-_bNURNnGOPA0Ypf31Fgan-LFNE9rnaHp9ZussgjTOvxRSMpziIgSLmxtyBcZLAbkJyJrad-jIgJIaQiz7bXo9MHzG_LHwSM/s320/Clockwork+Angel.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2hKd_VftcoVVNMwJJEsb8c2RIisFjLXJ1JFV-V2AuHRWXN0d4FQJEkakl9qbdShMfycjA-M8SuOVkUPqQ7pH9S9aiKEuO80DK0loDi1J8dhSwlKIX57ktsulBLeoaSyGC2aXSyGepkA/s1600/Clockwork+Prince.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho2hKd_VftcoVVNMwJJEsb8c2RIisFjLXJ1JFV-V2AuHRWXN0d4FQJEkakl9qbdShMfycjA-M8SuOVkUPqQ7pH9S9aiKEuO80DK0loDi1J8dhSwlKIX57ktsulBLeoaSyGC2aXSyGepkA/s320/Clockwork+Prince.jpg" width="210" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzh3MuM3TVecUPlCXAFnVRB-d86fJswAuoiMA5ZeSH0vbVjpy33rXAZ4gK027_CAcW8yhEfzHZ9fnhwq4EYfWf-7dfmk22Der7R52w4FDfWITDjQItDMpqHxlnS-QqkVzD8ZjZRUcPnU/s1600/Clockwork+Princess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnzh3MuM3TVecUPlCXAFnVRB-d86fJswAuoiMA5ZeSH0vbVjpy33rXAZ4gK027_CAcW8yhEfzHZ9fnhwq4EYfWf-7dfmk22Der7R52w4FDfWITDjQItDMpqHxlnS-QqkVzD8ZjZRUcPnU/s320/Clockwork+Princess.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2013/04/clockwork-angel-by-cassandra-clare.html" target="_blank">Clockwork Angel </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2013/04/clockwork-prince-by-cassandra-clare.html" target="_blank">Clockwork Prince</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/2013/04/clockwork-princess-by-cassandra-clare.html" target="_blank">Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This series is one of my favorites!! I have a few issues with a certain epilogue but STILL these books bring London in the 1800s to life. The scenery, the romance, the angst, SO MANY FEELS. I love this book and love that it takes place in London. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-dRHG6tIHou3iyje4InhBxijiJdEyLDvUPm6jIYo9yaAtI49COF0MuIhqkPkwJHanmuMvw5Q6m2N7ehMiDcz1AIVS5QQwZTOK83yK73fl8DczV9zdthGKrGHhNJF4hWngDghPnu7gSI/s1600/Jane+Eyre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-dRHG6tIHou3iyje4InhBxijiJdEyLDvUPm6jIYo9yaAtI49COF0MuIhqkPkwJHanmuMvw5Q6m2N7ehMiDcz1AIVS5QQwZTOK83yK73fl8DczV9zdthGKrGHhNJF4hWngDghPnu7gSI/s320/Jane+Eyre.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10210.Jane_Eyre?ac=1" target="_blank">Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let's be serious. This classic is to die for. Jane is a phenomenally strong woman for the time and the story will just grab you. Perfect book to read to check off classic English literature off your list before you make your trek. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33724.Can_You_Keep_a_Secret_" target="_blank">Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I adore this book! It is an adult contemporary and is super cute, funny, and such an entertaining read. You won't be able to put this down because it is just hilarious! If you like this one, check out any of her other books, another personal favorite is Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgzOmZtyFqg7U_YT4v8SImnLhqEQTwQ8019FjSxCxFIiWKpWBL3Ms10VpEsjhnSi9G1Mh2DoCps-Ji-NWyEcr_rItRsl4QbsVSeso7SuQA6sDOunZQZejDe4Llbe7CEHlCJTr_apIj8I/s1600/Pride+and+Preudice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgzOmZtyFqg7U_YT4v8SImnLhqEQTwQ8019FjSxCxFIiWKpWBL3Ms10VpEsjhnSi9G1Mh2DoCps-Ji-NWyEcr_rItRsl4QbsVSeso7SuQA6sDOunZQZejDe4Llbe7CEHlCJTr_apIj8I/s320/Pride+and+Preudice.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1885.Pride_and_Prejudice?ac=1" target="_blank">Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like you can really go to London and NOT read one Jane Austen book. This is my FAVORITE book and the love story is unbeatable. It is so swoony and sigh-inducing...*sigh*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">OK, not every city or country will have this many books BUT London is a huge city with lots of history and culture SO we got lots of choices! Happy Reading!</span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-73626137649446292572013-11-13T15:59:00.003-05:002013-11-13T15:59:43.385-05:00Day 6--London, England<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 24th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh. My. Gosh. I don't even know where to begin with today. After a long and annoying walk we finally found the start place for the hop-on, hop-off tour. This city is confusing as all hell direction-wise. We were hassled getting on by the tour guide because he wanted us on his bus. Love it. He was hilarious! The tour itself was freezing but we saw a lot of stuff. Tons! This city of so full of history almost every single building has some significance. Crazy. The only bad thing was because the tour was so quick and fast-paced, it was hard to see some things and get good pictures. It was cold as hell but still absolutely lovely to just sit and enjoy the city. It's so compact and busy with all these phenomenal architecture buildings. Ugh, it's incredible. I could stand and stare all day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We finally made it to the Tower! :) :) :) :) :) :) :)...:) K, so overall my life is more complete after being here. I have wanted to visit here and bask in Tudor glory for so long it hurt. The grounds were so unbelievable. So old and just oozing with history. They were trying to hype up the positive features of the Tower and it's primary use as a palace...let's get real here. I want execution and imprisonment stories. Besides the fact that it was freezing like the 9th circle of Hell, it was incredible. The Tower Green is beautiful and the smaller section is where Anne Boleyn, Jane Grey, Catherine Howard, and Jane Boleyn were executed. There is this very simple art structure in memory to hose who died on the Green with a small poem (which I took pictures of in pieces) and it is so beautiful. It's honorable and a lovely remembrance to them. I have to say I almost (well, I did actually) tear up standing there thinking that these women who I've read so much about i feel like they are my long lost distant friends, lost their lives here. I kept trying to imagine what the last thing they saw was. It's eerie and creepy but there is something so raw about trying to put yourself in that place in time. My heart broke for the first time that day...</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDpgLYwk0F6Khh44Y0kzgxGJF1MadCe3fPA7PuCCvkpix6Tox9qqdRJ4DzBZsXGIhYG5wF8dC2V3ATtTb-iChFECLuoGspoSy4k2VWEmmLC6h1R4M0FxeIDLxoY01YgZ0cGRJvdZveMw/s1600/296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDpgLYwk0F6Khh44Y0kzgxGJF1MadCe3fPA7PuCCvkpix6Tox9qqdRJ4DzBZsXGIhYG5wF8dC2V3ATtTb-iChFECLuoGspoSy4k2VWEmmLC6h1R4M0FxeIDLxoY01YgZ0cGRJvdZveMw/s320/296.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Beauchamp Tower was right behind the Green and this was another 'Oh, shit yes' historical moment. Not only is it said that Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned there, but this is where the Dudley Family was also held. So this is where their carvings are. Whoa. I was surprised at them though but in a good way. John Dudley's had a small speech and an intricate looking family crest-like image. It was detailed! I am amazed at all the carvings and how they were accomplished. Robert Dudley also had a small picture with his initials carved in. So amazing. Again, I had to just stand and imagine that these people really existed, stood in this exact room and carved into these walls. It's unbelievable. So intense, I f'ing loved it. Another check on my Bucket List :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking of intense; the Crown Jewels...ugh, seriously?! I never thoughts such big diamonds, etc. could even exist. Oh my word, it is redic. Gorgeous. I want to be royal. Dammit. Kate's so lucky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We finally made it to the White Tower because they wouldn't let us in with our lattes. Bastards. Very pretty obvi but lots of artillary and horses and armor. Very cool to see Henry VIII's armor, like, wicked cool. He wore that?! He touched that, he had that exact and specific suit in his wardrobe. Wtf. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lastly we go tto the <st1:place><st1:placename>Bloody</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Tower</st1:placetype></st1:place> where the two little Princes
disappeared. Such a sad and twisted story. Teresa asked me who I thought did it
and I still don’t know which way to go. My gut says Richard III but my brain says Henry VII. Either way it is seriously
so sad and traumatizing for his mother. Looking at the walls and trouchign the
pillars made me wonder is this wehere they were taken? Is this the last thing
they saw? Did they touch these walls? So intense (no better word can I think
of) to be in the last place that they were. This whoel experience has been
amazing. I cannot belive I actually visited the placed I’ve read dso much about
and where they actually were. Life is amazing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But wait a tick, I must go back to the small chapel next to
the Tower Green. This is where Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Katherine
Howard are all buried. Holy. Hell. I teard up and just felt so at peace at that
moment. Maybe not at peace but my mind and body stilled at the realization that
their bodies are actually there. Incredible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the Tower it ws the journey to <st1:place><st1:placename>Hampton</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Court</st1:placetype> <st1:placename>Palace</st1:placename></st1:place>!
Never in my life did I actually think I would get to see this place. And wow am
I thankgin God we figured out a way to get out here. Upon walking up the gravel
to the palace I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life. My jaw
literally dropped open and I didn’t know what to do. Breath. Taking. Seriously.
Sorry <st1:country-region>Ireland</st1:country-region>,
this palace takes the cake. The outside is unbelievable and the courtyard just
inside is just as incredible. I have walked the steps of Anne Boleyn and Lady
Jane Grey. Check.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MmGtL5niIbt0TuawWuhTkW6ySopMjHdZXkB4a5Y1wKpiHwP2ROiAaez7tvOVjP0fJVrj1dBpGH7Bnm8T3gooKvpXJdk1bgyWRNql1F2OSq9BzUg6mfzMRxFYRG8RK6QtCFah5XAdLFs/s1600/389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MmGtL5niIbt0TuawWuhTkW6ySopMjHdZXkB4a5Y1wKpiHwP2ROiAaez7tvOVjP0fJVrj1dBpGH7Bnm8T3gooKvpXJdk1bgyWRNql1F2OSq9BzUg6mfzMRxFYRG8RK6QtCFah5XAdLFs/s320/389.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Henry VIII” himself walked by. Nice. Totally took a
paparazzi shot. The garden was beautiful! Holy wow, there were like five
different ones at least, all sectioned off. A beautiful trellis that was
probably <st1:metricconverter productid="100 feet">100 feet</st1:metricconverter>
long. Gravel pathways, the works. These tree shaped like mushrooms lined the
back walkways and I am convinced that Lewis Carroll came here many times as a
child or young adult and hot got his inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. Legit
looked straight out of a fairy tale. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, we went to Henry VIII’s rooms. Eeh eeh eeh ooh.
Breath. Deep breaths. Amazing. His dining hall was rivaling Hogwarts. For real.
And each room, along with what it was used for, walked you through the story of
the wives. Amazingly cool. I hate and love to admit that I knew pretty much
everything already but it was so cool to literally be where they were. Walk
where they walked and lived and loved and lost. One of the new things I did
learn was that Katherine Howard was arrested here. A letter to Thomas Culpepper
was on display…oh my gosh. It’s also said she haunts these halls; that was
awesome. T made a comment about how she shouldn’t have cheated on Henry VIII
and she wouldn’t have gotten her head chopped off. Well hey now, I had to
defend my girl and remind Teresa she was about 17 years old when she was
married; you don’t say no to Henry VIII—look at his track record and what’s a
17 year old girl to do? She was young and in love and married to a man three
times her age who was foul and ruthless. The poor girl gets a bad rep. I said
out loud I got your back Katherine, haha.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The chapel was <i>really</i> pretty. The emblem of his
marriage to Jane Seymour was outside which was really cool to see. Even though
she wasn’t his true wife, whatever…in my opinion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh yeah, and Jane Seymour had Edward IV here, and then sadly
died. Wow. I mean, again, I had to stop and just take in the magnitude of my
surroundings. It is legit unbelievable. I want this palace. It is the most
amazing and beautiful thing I have ever seen. Pictures do not do it justice.
You have to see it to believe it. I must take my Mom here, if I can get her on
a plane. She’s the only one who not only gets but loves my obsession with the
Tudors. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Quick train to Picadilly Circus for some real British fish
and chips. We ate at a random pub we found and—get this!—there was ketchup on
the tables! Holla! After dinner we just wandered around, ended up in <st1:place>Soho</st1:place>,
unbeknownst to us, where some rando told us a bar with ½ price cocktails…ok
then. 2 cosmos (1 each) in hand, we started talking to these two random guys
next to us and the two trainwrecks that crashed in after them. Anyways, long
story short, very nice guy names Sonny, songwriter for the Jonas Brothers and
many others apparently, invited us to a different bar. We talked to him for a
while so my rape and murder internal sensor was giving me a green light. With
him came his 37 year old creepy man friend, who was married and asked Teresa if
he should get involved with one of the trainwrecks…uh, what? Go home to your
wife, creep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Short walk to a bar in Picadilly we found ourselves outside
of a velveted off entrance with bouncers and security guars. Um…? Sonny pulls
out his waller, flashes a ‘Member Only’ card and up the velvet rope goes. What
the hell?! I felt like I was in a scene from Gossip Girl. Seriously. Oh, by the
way, during dinner we decided not to go out. Because of that we are in the same
clothes we wore all day, which for me included faded jeans and flat knee-high
boots…NOT going out clothes. Oh and my huge tote…Thank goodness I had a nice
shirt on. If I wasn’t with Sonny, I would have never been let in here with what
my scrub ass had on. I didn’t even have heels on!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjor7C0_ImTEEE9nwhRhMySImLZllR7A_IDU24q1vv_hiptRVlYm63LB5YOUPHov0140LYGFSERM0NKHHBvQ78GfacurgwkDpmC5N6GtLGrIR9nwvsruW1hmBxpOkVyQhqOwQlPZT-1Oog/s1600/414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjor7C0_ImTEEE9nwhRhMySImLZllR7A_IDU24q1vv_hiptRVlYm63LB5YOUPHov0140LYGFSERM0NKHHBvQ78GfacurgwkDpmC5N6GtLGrIR9nwvsruW1hmBxpOkVyQhqOwQlPZT-1Oog/s320/414.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They bought us drink all night. Gary (creepy man friend)
bought us a drink that had Absinthe in it..WTF?! Sonny had a taste of mine and
immediately said, ‘you ladies shouldn’t drink this.’ Cool. Thanks ya creepy
bastard. Not that I was going to drink it anyway, it tasted like balls. So we
continue to dance our asses off, it was amazingly fun! Who expected this? Sonny
keeps saying he can’t believe an “American girl” can dance so well…uh, excuse
me? I have a bum hip, you ain’t seen nothin yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a few hours, I’m in the mood to go. I’m sick of
hearing Sonny telling me he wants to take me to <st1:state>New York</st1:state>.
Pump the brakes, bro, who do you think you are Christian Grey? I wish…*drool*.
But before we go he insists on a bottle of champagne. Fine…whatever. Make it
fast I wanna go home. So he orders it, proceed to hand me his bank card, tells
me the PIN number and walks away. I’m standing there with my mouth
agape…literally. What do I do? I turn around and the bartender is staring at
me. So I hand him the card, punch the number in, and the bottle is ours. Teresa
and her Ravenclaw self sneaked a look at the total…274 pounds…roughly 425
American dollars…what the hell?! How do Teresa and I get ourselves into
situations like this. Who is this guy? Is this what it feels like to be a rich
wife? Goo. I like it…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A glass later—4 for Teresa—I’m being a crabby bitch and want
to go hom. I finally dragged Teresa out of the club and proceeded to find out
that the Underground is closed—F***!!!! Sonny bartered a taxi for us but I
would have NEVER known how to do that. They all congregate on the street and
then we had to walk TO HIS TAXI. I was so pissed. Creepiest walk ever to the
taxi. My radar was up and I was livid at the literal world for being in this
situation. This is not me. I do not do this. This is how people get raped and
murdered. I love Teresa but I wanted to take out all my rage on her because it
was just so typical. I do not feel that way now looking back but at the time I
was enraged at her. Praying and thaking God for a safe delivery home we made it
back. Annoyed, buzzed and pissed at the world I welcomed sleep like no other.
Until tomorrow, HOGWARDS HERE WE COME!! I’ve been waiting 14 years for my damn
Hogwarts letter and tomorrow I go!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-58259305078720214842013-10-01T09:28:00.000-04:002013-10-01T09:28:05.492-04:00Day 5-London, England<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4IGzaABes6fI8Wb4-DnbxwgutlbuBBGdjJnhxvV_aBgBhfPc7gtDyQYNifivrwpNgxxLXYH4e8bgUvrFWUMin3_DZaUGOIfbq1rTiPEViDloEJVxfBucAmVFP0Cr9dhEBQIOAbMqSnjs/s1600/200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4IGzaABes6fI8Wb4-DnbxwgutlbuBBGdjJnhxvV_aBgBhfPc7gtDyQYNifivrwpNgxxLXYH4e8bgUvrFWUMin3_DZaUGOIfbq1rTiPEViDloEJVxfBucAmVFP0Cr9dhEBQIOAbMqSnjs/s320/200.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 23rd, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'Just dropped down in London town!'--Thank you, Kanye. But yes, here we are! London, London, London, LONDOOOOOOON!!!!! I cannot believe I am here!! Flight went fine and figuring out the Underground was long but meh, it's all good. King's Cross Station (at least the part we saw) was not what I expected. It was kind of dirty, not fancy, I mean I was picturing Platform 9 3/4 and it wasn't...disappointing :( Our exist from King's Cross was met by a lovely young chap you yelled, "GO PACKERS!" due to Teresa's shirt...amazing! This guy was so sweet and if it wasn't raining we would have totally continued talking to him but it was and it was miserable. The walk sucked, like sucked major. But we finally our hostel and it's nice. 6 occupant suite. Tight but totally doable. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_Z6qLe6PvIOrDyIegxtLTZextbHyoWXolyHS8gk42HN1xK3s_ceQtXxnQ6CT2S7jiQ34NrJZxALV8MzVLOeHbO5eIVTwA1eg8aTyFNRojp1QqFtYAH3b1ju-QkpgMVZBX5LjFoq8moI/s1600/197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_Z6qLe6PvIOrDyIegxtLTZextbHyoWXolyHS8gk42HN1xK3s_ceQtXxnQ6CT2S7jiQ34NrJZxALV8MzVLOeHbO5eIVTwA1eg8aTyFNRojp1QqFtYAH3b1ju-QkpgMVZBX5LjFoq8moI/s320/197.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After regaining our wits we emerged looking like humans again and made our way to the Big Chill for a burger...but the kitchen wasn't open. Had to wait a half hour until 5:30...Seriously? Oh well, by the time our food came you could have served us dog food and we would have thought it was gourmet. But the food ended up being quite fantastic...probably due to starvation but whatever. Another weird thing, they gave us a hard time about getting more ketchup. Do Europeans not do ketchup? WTH. They gave us these little tin cans like it was precious booty not to be parted with. What. Ever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that, and with much difficulty due to the incompetent travel store employee, we bought tickets to the London Eye! Eep! Bought an oyster card for Underground travel and came out by Westminster Abbey--wow! Absolutely lovely. It was incredible to see such an amazing structure in person and Big Ben, too! But no pun intended...I expected it to be bigger...(that's what she said)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we got to the Eye, it wasn't running so to kill time we found a little bookstore :) :) :) They have so many different editions and covers and almost all new books are in paperback...weird! Clockwork Prince was in paperback and it SO is not available in the States like that. Totally went around snapping pics of all my favs...and no I am not ashamed...AND I bought a bitchin' Shakespeare magnet with 'The world's a state' quote on it. Love it! AND I bought my very own copy of Julius Caesar (how did I not already own this?...) eeek! To be able to say my copy of Shakespeare came from London makes me happier than it should, oh well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The London Eye was incredible! It's view was just as amazing as you think it would be with all the lights and the Abbey. This is what I expected London to look like; I retract my previous statement. It was hard to believe we were actually that high up! Another bucket list check mark!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exhausted, we got back to King's Cross and took a different exit where we found the bricks!!! We did not get to Platform 9 3/4 but we saw Platform 9!! Close enough! WE DID, however, pretend to be walking through the brickwall...yeah, couldn't NOT do that, let's be real.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tomorrow I may actually induce a heart attack. We plan to go to the Tower of London (*gasp*), the Globe (*double gasp*), and...a trip to Hampton Court Palace (*OH MY F'ING GOSH*). This was something I NEVER thought I would get to do but it is SO gonna work! Holy hell I am too excited for words!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I"m going to see, feel, walk, and BE where Henry VIII held court, where Anne Boleyn and all the other wives lived!!! The Tower--where Anne and Jane Grey and Katherine Howard lost their lives...*sniff*...and where two little boys disappeared without a trace. I'm going to go dream of beheadings and court life...*sigh*...</span><br />
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-88168724976822773492013-09-13T21:21:00.000-04:002013-09-13T21:21:05.903-04:00What I Learned In Ireland<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">What I Learned in Ireland</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. 'Feck' is the polite term for 'fuck'...excellent and useful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. 'Craic'-Term used for an amazing time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Example: 'Last night was good craic.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can't wait to use that and sound like a drug addict...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Ireland has quite the depressing history...very bloody.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">was filmed at the Cliffs of Moher--bloody brilliant</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE Journal :)</td></tr>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-24839125011225576822013-09-12T23:20:00.003-04:002013-09-12T23:20:53.026-04:00Day 4--Galway to Dublin, Ireland<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 2nd, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last day of Shamrocker today :( </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First stop was the Cliffs of Moher...holy hell, it was amazing! Windy, waves crashing, and oh yeah, this actually IS where they filmed HP6 with the cave Horcrux...unbelievable. Breathtaking, really. Again, the work of God seen my mortals. I'm sure I'm gonna be saying this a lot but I feel so blessed. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cliffs of Moher</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After Cliffs, we stopped at the Burrn, this glacier something that eroded to uncover these intricate rock planes. So cool! Had to watch your footing though, one wrong move and your ass is stuck with a broken ankle and a cracked skull. We had to do a small rock climb (hop-very small) because the entrance was so narrow. Damn, it made me want to go rock climbing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, then we went to Galway for lunch! LOVED this city! Had lunch at a posh little restaurant we rando found. I love this. Just eating as small little hole-in-the-wall cafes. Ador. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that it was back to Dublin! I wish we could have stayed in Galway longer but it was a quick stop :( and then we had to get back moving. Sad. Nothing too exciting back in Dublin. Walked around, ate some Tiramisu ice cream (yum!) adn went back to Temple bar for some legit Irish music. 2 bands, both good! Well, quite amazing actually. Such a nice change from the previous night! First was this traditional fiddle player. He was un.real. He moved so fast my mind couldn't compute what I was seeing vs. what I was hearing. That shit was cray.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next band was two young guys who played a lot of covers, but still so good! Jason Mraz and Mumford & Sons covers-holla! At break we left and the accordian player told us (we were front and feckin' center by the way) it was 'quite cheeky' for us to be leaving. Then proceeded to tell us he knew we were American because we sang along to all the American songs, LOL! So ador. And he was insanely cute. We wanted to propsition him to sing up to sleep but he had another set to play---le sigh. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BTW--our 2 person room is so feckin' small, it was comical to say the least trying to maneuver around. Honestly, we couldn't close the bathroom door. Lame! But it's a hostel, what are ya gonna do?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Called home tonight, too! It was Rachel and Nicks' confirmation today, so sad I missed it but so relieve to hear she didn't burst into flames when the oil was placed on her forehead. She told me she was equally surprised -lol. Everyone sounds good, though! I wish they were here to share this experience :( Alyssa would love it here and have a coronary episode with all the picture opportunities and amazing music. Can't wait to take her here!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">LONDON TOMORROW!!!!....!!!!!! Excited <u>IS</u> the understatement of the century! I am going to see and be in the home of my favorite literary greats--Shakespeare, Austen, Bronte, JK Rowling...*squeel*</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galway, Ireland</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not to mention my favorite fictional characters!!!!! Harry, Ron, Hermione, Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Darcy, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, all Kate Morton books...WILL HERONDALE!!!!!! *DROOL*SIGH*DROOL* My heart is soaring! I love books. My heart and soul may belong in Italy, but my brain belongs to London...and back in time with Anne Boleyn and Jane Grey and Edward IV and Jaquetta and Lord Rivers and Elizabeth Woodville...okay, I'm done....kinda...for now...*sigh*....</span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-27059434310285256502013-09-12T23:20:00.002-04:002013-09-12T23:20:43.525-04:00Day 3--Ennis, Ireland<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 21st, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So after staying out until 2 am last night, this morning was a wee bit rough. Waking up was fine...the bus rides were not. Ugh, death to this godforsaken bus ride. Bright side though, today was all about breathtaking scenery. We took some pictures overlooking Killarney--so pretty! Then we went to Inch and took some pictures of the coast which I thought was the most beautiful thing yet..oh, I was to be proven wrong, stay tuned. Dingle was next but we came back there for lunch so more on that later. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went to Coumeennole Beach...oh.my.gosh. This is Ireland. At least what I imagined. Huge green hills, massive rock walls complete with the Atlantic ocean breaking waves onto the sand. Again, understatement to say that this sight was breathtaking...this was awe-inspiring. This place had God's work cared right before our eyes. Wow. I just stood there in amazement of what I was looking at. I mean, honestly, words cannot describe it. I feel blessed to have been witness to this beauty of this country. I hope I have these same moments in all the other places we're going because...wow, just incredible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We stopped at another lookout point that had a rectangular doorway cared into the side of the rock. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, anyone? Totally could have been filmed here and looked like the place Voldemort hid his locket Horcrux. Speaking of, Teresa dipped her feet in the ocean at the beach. They say if you do, you leave a part of your soul in Ireland to come back and claim one day. How amazing is that?! I sat this one out though...my soul belongs in Italy :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back to Dingle again, completed our tour of the Dingle Peninsula I cannot say, write, or hear the word 'Dingle' without stifling a mental giggle. How mature of me, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The afternoon was filled with driving, stopped to look at a beehive house and in the town of Adare, where I bought a Murphy's Law for Alyssa--so perfect. Other than that it was trying not to pass our from lack of sleep and trying to look attentive and polite while the tour guide would talk. I love learning but I am betting annoyed with their anecdotes. Blah.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We're staying at Rowen Tree Hostel. Nicest rooms so far, big bathroom. There's 6 of us tnoight. T, Claire, Lucy, me-self and 2 other girls whose names I don't recall...I should find out...maybe...meh. Tour ends tomorrow and I'll never see these people again. We're in the town of Ennis. Knows for it's traditional Irish music, whoo!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Walking around this town is my favorite so far. It's got narrow little cobble streets, adorable shops, it reminds me of what I believe Italy to look like...we shall see! :) We ate dinner at Knox Bistro. Super cute and trendy! We went with Clare (yes, I've been spelling it wrong this whole time, doy!) and Lucy. We sat at the restaurant for a good 30 minutes just talking which was great, it really showed me how relaxed-paced other cultures are. America is so go, go, go! And it was nice not to feel rushed...but also felt kinda awkward, too...oh, well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brogan's was supposed to have the real Irish music...uh yeah, no. It was super mellow and they played Pink Floyd and Walking in Memphis..what the feck? I want my upbeat, crazy fiddle Irish music dammit! What a disappointment! We tried to find another live music bar which you think wouldn't be that difficult, oh but it was. We ended up just going back to the hostel where I called Mom and she told me Rouge got asked to prom! Yay!! So happy for her...why does all the exciting stuff happen when I leave? Everyone is doing well, though :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OH! Totally forgot to mention during the "traditional Irish music," a rando guy brought us a plate of food with fries, little weiners, a lemon chicken kabob, spring roll and...white and black pudding. And with MUCH coercion and the YOLO mindset, I tried it...not so bad. Tasted like a potato pancake, white was like breakfast sausage patty. They must have fried that black pudding really well that it didn't taste like congealed blood...sick. I can't believe I actually tried that. I mean, I love a good, dark, sexy vampire but eating blood?! Blech. Different culture's cuisine...to each their own, I guess. I would like to know who thought that was a good idea initially. Yeah, let's eat dried, coagulated blood. Yeah, that sounds tasty! I guess we all have our weirdness though, the Australians told us they think PB and J is weird...say what?! It's not clotted blood! Whatevs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alright, must sleep. Last day of Shamrocker tomorrow! Sad! I'm gonna miss our Aussie mates...See what I did there? :)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Streets of Ennis, Ireland</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Quote of the day: "You cheeky little bastard."--Courtesy of Clare</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PS--Nope, lied there's more. So when we got to Brogans's we sat at an open table, were there for like an hour before the bartender came over and told us this huge slab that was sitting on the table (written in another language, mind you) said 'Reserved for Band'...oops, awkward kangaroo. Found another table right around the corner...stupid Americans...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Walking back to the hostel, the nightlife seemed amazing. Trendy lounges, girls in cute clothes, if I had to live anywhere in Ireland, Ennis would be it...hands down, amaze. </span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-76087789562467041792013-09-12T23:20:00.001-04:002013-09-12T23:20:28.173-04:00Day 2--Killarney, Ireland<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 20th, 2012</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irish Countryside</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First day of the Shamrocker Tour! Woot woo! 13 girls and 1 guy, so the girls are runnin' the world on this one, thanks Beyonce. Thank goodness T and I condensed the weekend's luggage to a backpack adn duffel, my Mama is gonna be so proud of my conservative packing...if she ever believes it...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So our first stop was Abbey Leix. We had a 30 minute stop where we got a coffee and sat in the cafe. So adorable. Savour's was the name and I did exactly that with my caramel latte. So. Good. And we already made friends with two lovely ladies from Australia ("AUSTRALIA!!!!"--ANTM) named Lucy and Claire. If not aren't the two most adorable names, I don't know what are. So friendly and nice. I love Australians. In fact, most of our group is Australian, the accents are amazing, openly obsessed.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cashel Castle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, after that little town we headed to Cashel castle where Queen Elizabeth visited recently. I guess it was the first time since 1901 that a ruling monarch visited Ireland. Fun fact of the day. Castle was beautiful. Rested on a hill overlooking the town. Love. I want a castle. *sigh*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then we went to Blarney Castle!! The grounds were beautiful. They have a poison garden where right before we walked through I said to Teresa, 'Is this where they grow the Mandrakes?' which was a joke...oh, but wait a second, not 15 feet away under a metal cage is the sign explaining the Mandrake plant. How awesome am I? And the sign mentioned Harry Potter...double awesome! Next to that was Rue! What up, Hunger Games<i> </i><u>and</u> Harry Potter!? Oh but hold on, there's more! Down a little farther was Wolfsbane...um, I didn't think that was real. Turns out it is. Holla!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The castle itself is epic. The stone entrances, the extremely narrow, spiral stone staircases were more than difficult, not to mention slightly scary, to walk up. They have a rope attached to the center to help you up and a metal railing to help you down. What the hell did these people do when the castle was actually inhabited?! There had to be mass casualties due to falling down stairs. I bet a lot of murder plots, too. Push your enemy down the stairs, oops they tripped! JK, I bet that only happened in Tudor England a la Robert Dudley's wife...poor Amy...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blarney Castle</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, when we got to the top, of course it was raining...eff. Oh well, our trip to the Blarney Stone was even better then. We had true Irish rain mixed with a little danger. But I did it! I kissed the Blarney Stone! *MUAH* and let me tell you, you really have to lean down and back, it is quite a ways to lean and suck face. Exhilarating, for sure! Quick lunch of fish and chips, go figure, and we were off to Killarney where we'll spend the night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh yeah, forgot the other random fun fact. Blarney castle is in the town of Cork where actor Cillian Murphy is from! Random fun fact! Brilliant actor from this small little town? So cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So yeah, Killarney. Hostel is Neptunes. Super cute rooms. Got the top bunk, holla!...not... Reminds me of my Oshkosh days...can't say I miss it. Boo hiss to lofts and top bunks. So we settle in and then go for a walk to the National Park. Beautiful. Pictures cannot do this place it's justice. The scenery and landscape is gorgeous. This is what I pictured Ireland to be. Lush green hills and the countryside most definitely is just that. The sights we drove by were amazing! Walked around to town after that. Very cute, but every store closed at 6. Don't know what's up with that. There's a store called Blackthorn house I'll need to get a picture of in honor of the future Dark Artifaces Shadowhunter series...And I forgot...Eff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />So after a quick rest, we went to see Pa for good ole' fashioned Irish story telling...yeah, I could have done without that. He yelled randomly for no reason, I didn't understand what he was talking about half the time. Incoherent babbling. Not amused.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, the bar afterwards, The Grand, made up for it ten-fold. Half was life music, the other half was a legit club. Bright strobe lights, pounding bass music and writhing bodies on the dance floor. Hell. Period. Yeah. Period. I felt like J-Woww comin' home to Karma. This was what I pictured when I said I wanted to party in every country we go to. After a few shots of baby Guinness' (thank you for telling us about that amazingness, tour guides) T, Lucy, Claire and myself lit up that dance floor. First song played...Call Me Maybe. To say T and I were excited is an understatement. Overall, they played good music. Niggas in Paris was also a fabulous highlight. Hell yes. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We danced all night, so much fun! I felt bad for everyone in our group who wasn't there. Seriously. And standard, creepers gonna creep. We were stalked by the French Borat and some aggressive Irishmen, but besides that the night was a success with meeting a cute native who gave us each a kiss on the cheek. Parrying in Ireland-Check! Kiss from a local Irish boy-Check!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Death-defying Staircases</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poison Garden at Blarney Castle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Mandrake cries are fatal to those who hear it."</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Killarney....Bookshop...go figure</td></tr>
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Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-20101743518353499722013-09-12T23:20:00.000-04:002013-09-12T23:20:12.241-04:00Day 1--Dublin, Ireland<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">April 19th, 2012</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'We are here! We are here! We are here!' Only too appropriate to start off with a quote...and Dr. Seuss at that. But there really is no other way to express the excitement of <u>actually</u> getting to Europe! Ireland to be exact! :) But honestly, I've wanted to travel to Europe for longer that I've been alive it feels, and to <u>finally</u> be here feels like a blessing beyond comprehension. Even though it has been planned for roughly 6 months, it's something that never felt real until we were actually at the airport. *SIGH* So blessed, so excited!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The flight was...uncomfortable to say the least. T and I were the only two seats on the side but that was the only bonus. I dozed and napped but woke with such pain in my quads and ankles I was scared I was going to get a DVT. BTW, hip feels good :) The Lord has blessed me without a lot of pain and I am grateful. Anyways, we finally landed and the view when we landed was breathtaking! The coast looked picturesque with lush green scenery and it looked just how I imagined Ireland would look but better...obvi.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*SIDENOTE: Every time I write 'Ireland' I'm saying it in my head with a thick Irish accent...it's quite amusing...to myself...oh well...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Patrick's Cathedral--Dublin, Ireland</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a short bus ride and walk we arrived at our hostel, Barnacles. My sisters will hear this name and immediately think of Spongebob; guaranteed. We very luckily (get it? Luck? Irish?) got our room, showered, and napped. I have never welcomed sleep so much. I would have stabbed somebody in the leg on that airplane in exchange for a place to sprawl out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a much needed respite it was out to explore Dublin!! We did the Dublin hop-on, hop-off tour which was really cool. Double-decker bus and all! So cliche, but I loved it! Dublin is beautiful; full of old, completely structurally amazing building of old. Ya know what I think the coolest thing is? The small walls that run along the sidewalks. They look ancient and historical like they've stood the test of time (and most likely have) and lived to tell the tale. I don't know what it is but it looks so historically pure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So we only got off at two stops. The first was St. Patrick's Cathedral. Very pretty. We walked along the gardens and the flowers are beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next stop, much to Teresa's joy...the Guinness Storehouse! The tour was so sleek and modern looking it was surprising. We trained at the Academy and are now certified to pour the perfect Guinness. Whoo hoo! AND believe it or not, I drank about 1/3 of the beer...I know, I am such a daredevil. I'm trying to go out of my comfort zone and this was a big step for me so everyone else can calm it down.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guinness Storehouse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After finishing the bus tour it was off to get food because we were famished. We walked into a random restaurant off the street into a room that was so silent we could hear people's silverware clinking...*awk turtle--slowly backed away and out the door*...Whatever. So we went across teh street and sat at the bar of a nice pub and had some fish and chips. Legit Irish fish and chips, tastes no different than American fish and chips but now I can say I've had it in Ireland. Can you?! Talked to some lovely young chaps and it turns out he has been to Milwaukee because his cousin studied at Marquette. What are the odds?! About the same as finding 10 people from the Milwaukee area in the same Guinness Academy class...at the same time...in Dublin feckin' Ireland. Yeah, that happened, too. Only Teresa and I. Oh, and only Teresa and I would get hit on by 50 something year old Norweigan men pretending to be Irish...um...okay? But hey, I got a totally free, totally unwanted, and totally invading of my precious personal space back rub. WTF?!?! Why do men seem to think it's okay to touch strangers? Especially young women?! Creepers, apparently, are in countries everywhere.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temple Bar--Dublin, Ireland</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lastly, we went to get a drink at Temple Bar and listened to live Irish music. Now let me start of by reiterating how much I detest live music at bars...but his changed my outlook. It was so fun and upbeat; crowded as all hell but that must be some kind of prerequisite for an Irish bar. *cough Trinity cough* But seriously, so much fun! I could listen to that every night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, enough babbling, off to bed to try and fix my majorly screwed up internal clock. Until tomorrow!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PS--Best line of the day:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guy at bar: 'Oh, are you Italian?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: 'Yes.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guy: 'You're from the States?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: 'Yes.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Guy: 'You from New Jersey!?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: 'NO!'</span></div>
Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5742989588088416088.post-69938684830760722402013-08-23T22:33:00.000-04:002013-08-23T22:49:55.134-04:00Buon Giorno!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ciao. Bonjour. Hola. And hello. Hi, hi, hi there! So, if you're reading this you probably know me from my other blog <a href="http://belleoftheliterati.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Belle of the Literati</a>, where I talk, review, gush, fangirl, and freak my shit over all things written. If you DON'T know me from there, well color me surprised and welcome! I hope you stick around for my ramblings :)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to the airport before Europe! So excited!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, this is my intro post where I will introduce myself to friends of old and new. Me in a nutshell is as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My name is Kelly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I work as an RN full-time--I love my job.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I read like it's my second job--I love that job, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I'm not working or reading I absolutely am obsessed with traveling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is pretty much me. I have a mean case of wanderlust and I don't plan on ever really getting over that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now you might be asking yourself why I decided to start a SECOND blog. Am I crazy? Completely. But here's why this baby was conceived. I am going on a month long European vacay in October and, feeling nostalgic, I was reading over my journal entries from when I was in Europe last year for 3 weeks. It was AMAZING! And I'm not gonna lie, while reading, I was quite amused by my own musings so, hey, why not share with the world. Also, I have this horrible fear that if something ever happened to my journals and I lost them (unlikely) or they were, I don't know, burned in a fire, I will have lost them forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SO, I wanted another place for all my thoughts and feelings that I had while traveling. This blog will mostly serve as a journal. I wont' be advertising. I am an amateur world traveler so I won't really be giving a lot words of wisdom...because I don't really have any. If you want to ask me simple things or places I would recommend going, I can totally do that. Other than that, I will be making a weekly post transcribing one day per week from my excursions. I hope you laugh. I might be a little biased but my astute observations about the world and those around me can be pretty entertaining.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking of entertaining, because this is going to be word for word from my private journal, I don't sugarcoat things. I traveled with my best friend and met some amazing people...however 3 weeks with the same people naturally causes a little friction. There were also some terribly annoying New Zealand chicks you'll get to know pretty well. Warning: I'm not very nice about it. I write what I feel so Teresa, Rachel, Jarrah, I love you all dearly, so if you ever read this (which you probably won't) I still adore you...but you also irritated me at points as I'm sure I irritated you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will be first transcribing my European adventure from 2012, then Toronto 2012, New York 2013, Savannah 2013, and eventually Europe 2013. Yay! Can't wait to get to know any new travelers or readers and for my current friends to relive my travels along with me! Enjoy! </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10418783/?claim=suypt54n5ag">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Belle of the Literatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01014781249826788311noreply@blogger.com0