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ETAMPES and PARIS

megangobeille — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:07:00 GMT

Today was amazing!!! I woke up at 830, just so I wouldn’t start the day too late. Last night I got a message from a boy I met on my birthday asking me out on a date! Woohoo…(just to let you know, he has nice teeth) Anyways, I woke up and we ate breakfast and headed to the market. The market was so cute! There were stands selling everything you could possibly imagine, from fruit to olives, bread, meat, flowers, bags, etc. It was very cute and very interesting to see. So, we got all we needed and went home to eat lunch. In France, they eat really big meals, so we had a huge lunch! First course was some kind of pastry filled with melted cheese. It was ohhhh so good! I love cheese and it was amazing! Our second course was our main meal, we had Rabbit, which was really good, cous cous and spinach (which louise says her teacher tells her they call it spinick in English HAHA) After that, we sat around and ate bread and 3 kinds of cheeses (YUM) It was wonderful!! Then, we had a fruit tarte, or some kind of fruit pie. Needless to say, I wouldn’t need to eat for a long time! After lunch it was around 2, so the girls and I explored their backyard, and then they all took me on a walk to explore the town, ending the tour at the train station, where I needed to go back to Paris from. It was very sad and I almost cried, but I held it in. I made it back to my hotel around 630 and took a nice shower and got ready. By then the girls were back from their various rendezvous and we set off back to the Eiffel Tower. This time, we climbed the Tower. We could only go to the second floor because of how windy it was. The view from it was even more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined. The sight was breathtaking. You could see around the city for miles and miles! It was amazing.

PARIS & ETAMPES

megangobeille — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:06:00 GMT

Bonjour! I made it to France!! It is beautiful!! We (me, my friends Bianca and Cely) left London at 530 this morning and arrived in Paris at Galle du Nord at around 7am. We are in a cute little hotel on the Rue de Faunberg Saint Denis-So precious!! We got lunch and met up with our roommates Courtney, Lindsey and Alisha and took forever to make our way to the Eiffel Tower! It was so surreal to see- and it really hit me- IM IN PARIS!! It was so great, the Eiffel tower is beyond anything you can ever imagine, and you really have to see it to experience Paris. We made a decision to climb the Tower tomorrow, so I set off to meet up with Renee Pombriandt, (moms friend Lise’s sister) who works for BU study abroad right near the Eiffel tower. She took me with her to the train and we made our way to her home in Étampes, France. I got to see Denis and Louise and Lucie and I’m staying with them for the night. Its about an hour south of Paris, but it is so beautiful! It is cute and rural, with little streams and rivers running through it everywhere. There is so much greenery and lots of cute old brick homes and cottages. It is so lovely, and I can see why she chose to settle down there. It is beyond amazing. I wish I could stay so much longer! But Im only here until tomorrow, so I have to go back to Paris. We got to their home around 6, ate a quick snack and headed off to bring the girls to Badminton practice, which they love. It was so cute! Renee and I left to go buy bread and grab a pint at the pub and catch up. It was so nice! We had dinner when we got home and I was exhausted. Bed Time!!!

Field Trip! Westminster Abbey

megangobeille — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 01:35:00 GMT

Today, we took a field trip with my history of london class to Westminster Abbey. It is unbelievably beautiful. It is pretty much a gothic style church, and there is detail everywhere, the ceilings were by far the most beautiful part og the whole church, but the whole thing is amazing! Unfortunatealy we couldnt take pics inside, but i got some pictures of the outside. There are so many people buried there, so many famous kings and queens up until the mid 1700s, tons of poets, isaac newton, generals, noble civilians,etc.. its crazy the amount of people that are buried there! It is rediculously huge too. The abbey is not only a church, but theres so many things that make up westminster abbey, like an abbey, gardens, cloisters, chapter house, chambers, and hallways everywhere. It was amazing!

Stonehenge and Salisbury

megangobeille — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:21:00 GMT

Today, I went to see the famous Stonehenge and the town of Salisbury, England. It was a long and not too interesting day. We saw Stonehenge, and it was really interesting, but we really couldn't go near it, so that wasn't too fun. Salisbury was all about old 16th century buildings, with a bit of shopping. The big attraction that they have is Salisbury cathedral, and inside of the cathedral is a copy of the original Magna Carta, the basis of our government in the USA. It was a chilly day, but still a great day!

Thames River Boat Cruise

megangobeille — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:27:00 GMT

Yesterday, Thursday, we went on a Halloween River Cruise through london! It was so much fun! We got to dance and socialize with everyone from my school. Everyone was dressed up..there was lady gaga, beetlejuice, billy idol, lots of cats and other tiny short outfits, and of course there was me! Me and my friend Bianca dressed up as Wilma and Betty from the Flinstones! Everyone loved our costume, and the best thing about it was that we made it ourselves! It cost me 4pounds for my outfit! There was a costume contest, and we actually won second place!!! We got a gift for HMV (a music store) for 25 pounds! Its awesome! WOOHOO!!! We were so excited and suprised..we looked so cute!!

Bruge, Belgium (Sunday)

megangobeille — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:16:00 GMT

We woke up around 8am to eat breakfast before our long day on a trip to Bruge and home. We left the B&B and headed to Bruge, which took only about 2 hours, I believe. Once we got there, we explored the town. It has been virtually untouched since the 16th century, and it is such a charming and beautiful town! I loved it! We ate lunch in the main square and then had a pint at one of their famous pubs, which was really good food. It was a quick, but fun trip! We made our way home, and by 10pm, we were back to our flat in london.

Amsterdam (Saturday)

megangobeille — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:09:00 GMT

The next day of our trip was so much fun.. We woke up late because no one wanted to get up. When we finally did, we made our way to the cheese and clog factory that was so close to our B&B. It was really cool to see how the people of holland made clogs, and the cheese was SO GOOD!! After that, we made it on the bus and to Amsterdam for a few hours, where we got to experience a "coffee shop" -- in amsterdam, you go to a cafe to get coffee and a coffee shop to get marijuana. Anyways, the other girls ate some brownies, but i wasn't feeling good, so I didn't try any. We ate some lunch and walked around and shopped a bit. There was a big carnival at the center of the city, so we walked through that and had fun. Around 6, we caught our coach and rode back to our B&B for dinner. After dinner, we decided to stay in because we were so tired and had to get up early for our trip the next morning.

Holland (Amsterdam)

megangobeille — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:03:00 GMT

AMSTERDAM!!! We made it!! We've been here since last night and its pretty sweet! We took a bus at 630am friday morning and rode for 2 hours til we got to the ocean, and then took a ferry over to the Coast of France! We then got back on the bus and headed to the Netherlands!! It took a few hours, but no conplaints here! We stopped in Amsterdam for just about an hour of so just to familiarize ourself with the area, and of course to check out the famous red light district, where prostitution is a both legal and union job. In the red light district, the prostitutes sit in rooms illuminated with red lights above their windows..it is quite a sight! When we finally got to our hotel, we had dinner and we got free drinks with our trip, so we all took full advantage of it. (Needless to say, I paid for it in the morning.) We ended up going out that night to the pubs in amsterdam and dancing all night. It was so much fun and we made tons of friends

BATH, ENGLAND

megangobeille — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:32:00 GMT

Today we took a trip to the Town of Bath, England. It was so beautiful! (and only an hour and a half away by bus) There were rolling hills and history everywhere - Jane austen set her novels based on Bath and Bath was princess Dianas favorite shopping town. When we got to Bath, we started off on a tour of the town. We walked up and down the streets and saw such beautiful views! Then, we went to the Fashion Museum at the Assembly rooms. They have each years outfit of the year since 1969 on display. It was really cool to see! Then, we walked about and went shopping a bit. after that, we got to go to the Roman Baths and Explore. The roman baths are really cool because it comes from a natural underground spring. They used to bathe in it, but now we cant because all of the original lead pipes are still in place, it has some radioactivity in it, and plus the water is green. Ick! After that, we went to tea time! We actually got to have tea and pastries and wine and dine like royals. It was so much fun!

SCOTLAND! Day 2 and 3

megangobeille — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:22:00 GMT

The Ceilidh was so much fun!! We danced the night away and learned to do so many dances...i wish i could remember how to do them...a lot of spinning and stomping and partners. I danced with so many people. It was so much fun! We went out to the pub after that and met a few cute scottish boys. they were pretty precious, but their accents were kind of hard to decipher on some of them.

We took a day trip to Loch Ness (loch means Lake in celtic) wehre the "Lochness Monster" is supposed to live. Unfortunately, we didnt see nessie. boo. Anyways, we got to stop and get out at many places to sightsee and explore. It was a very good, but long and tiring day.

We went pub crawling at night, which is always fun. We went to 3 pubs, a reggae bar, and a club called the Hive that was really fun!

We went to Edinburgh castle for our last event on the third day. It was so cool and the architecture was beautiful! Overall, my trip was amazing! I made new friends! I would so much rather be here in london, but oh well, its time to go back. Its so peaceful but very excitng! (Not to mention men in kilts)

SCOTLAND!

megangobeille — Fri, 9 Oct 2009 19:18:00 GMT

Today, we're in Edinburgh, Scotland!!! We're on a weekend trip. I bought a scottish tam (hat with pompom on top!) for my head. Its so cute! Kaley, my friend is rooming with me and she got one too..we look adorable!

So far, we've just been exploring and shopping. It is very hilly here and it is very windy and kind of cold, but thats okay because it is beautiful! I love every second of my trip so far!

Tonight, were going to something called a "ceilidh" (pronounced Kaley) where we get to learn how to do scottish dancing and theres traditional scottish music! it should be so much fun!

First Week

megangobeille — Thu, 8 Oct 2009 19:12:00 GMT

Yesterday, I went with my History of London class to the Museum of London. We couldn't stay long, but what we got to see was really cool. We looked at the exhibits of "London before London" or what London was like when it was a jungle inhabited solely by animals and then eventually a tiny colony. Then We got to see Medieval London, and that was really interesting also.

Last night, we went on a Hidden Pubs of England crawl where we got to explore 5 pubs throughout the city that have been there for centuries. It was so much fun and me and the girls (my roomates) really bonded. I really do like my roomates a lot!

I had accesories class today and in our class we get to make a couture hat!! Im so excited about it!! But, its going to be a TON of work!

First Day of Classes!

megangobeille — Mon, 5 Oct 2009 19:28:00 GMT

Today was my first day! I had 2 Classes. My first one was History of London. I think that its going to be a really good class. My professor is highly intelligent and i think that he will teach me a ton about London. I'm excited! On Wednesday, were already taking a trip to the Museum of London! It should be really exciting! My second class of the day was Fashion Styling. It is going to be rediculous and so much fun. my first assignment is to bring in 3 images of fashion that i LOVE and 3 images that i detest. It seems pretty good. I also have to go shopping and get something for a photo shoot for 2weeks from monday, a still life photo shoot of anything we want. We're going to a vintage market to get objects for it. Seems pretty cool. And my professor is rediculous and entertaining and flamboyant and oh so amazing!Im excited so far about both of my classes!! Theyre going to be great!

Day 4. Greenwich, England!

megangobeille — Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:06:00 GMT

Our trip to Greenwich was really awesome! We started off by taking the Tube to Westminster Station. Right when we got off, Big Ben was right there in front of us. It was so amazing! We got on the Thames River boat and took it all the way to Greenwich (a little over an hour). We saw Cleopatras Needle, The Wellington, St Pauls Cathedral, Blackfriars bridge, Millenium Bridge, Shakespeares Globe theatre, Golden Height Ship, HMS Belfast Ship, Tower bridge, The Mayors office (who he refers to it as the glass testicle), Tower of London, Olivers Wharf, and Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant, among so many other things. I learned that the river is 225 miles long! and i saw where the Mayflower started from. So cool! When we got to Greenwich finally, we first went to the observatory which was at the top of a HUGE steep hill. At the top is where the prime meridian of the world is, or where the longitude is Zero Degrees. So cool to experience! We then went to eat lunch and then went to a big farmers market where I bought photos and went to the Maritime Museum, which was really interesting and fun. It was really cool! Later on, I went out with Laney, a girl who lives in my flat. We got off at Morning Crescent station and went to the Crescent Pub and Bennigans Pub. We met four british boys!! They were absolutely adorable!

Day 3

megangobeille — Fri, 2 Oct 2009 23:56:00 GMT

Last night was really fun. I met up with Kaley and Vanessa who go to lasell with me and we took a long walk down one of the main streets in london. we probably walked over a mile each way and ended up at the london eye. It was beautiful at night! Today we had orientation. We got to see campus and where everything is around. Its pretty close together so i dont have to travel too much. We stopped at a cute pub with stained glass windows. it was very cute! I got a half pint to drink ( my first of the trip!!)

Day 2

megangobeille — Fri, 2 Oct 2009 01:36:00 GMT

So, today was our first full day of exploring around London town. We Met up with a group of students around 930 and walked with our guide til about 230pm. Needless to say it was a long day! The first thing that we did when we got off of the tube was to walk through the town to where we were meeting at St Paul's Cathedral, where Princess Diana got married. It was absolutely beautiful! The detail on the church was so elegant. It was very nice. After that, we took a walk through what our guide, who is a teacher, called "Shakespeare's London." The cobblestone roadways, the tiny churches, quaint pubs, and a huge open market where they sold everything from bread and cheese to chicken, and whatever else you wanted to eat. It was really awesome! We saw the London Bridge, which is actually not what I expected. The Tower Bride is what you think of when you think of london, the huge bridge with huge towers on it is not infact the London Bridge. The London Bridge looks like any other bridge, it was just positioned in a spot that was very famous, and so they named it as such. We continued on our journey, walking over the Tower bridge and passing by a castle, which was very beautiful also, although I'm not sure of the name of it. Then we ate lunch at a place named EAT. I had a Brie Tomato and Basil Baguette. it was so good! We decided to take the Tube back instead of going to Harrods because we were exhausted, but we will get there soon. We picked up some fruit at the outdoor market and headed home. So im just hanging out for now..its almost dinner time and im going grocery shopping

Gallery: My Trip Abroad

megangobeille — Thu, 1 Oct 2009 07:43:00 GMT

LONDON, UK

megangobeille — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:24:00 GMT

So, yesterday I left Boston at 745pm and arrived at Heathrow at 645am (145am Boston Time)...I only cried for a little bit and the flight was good. It was the biggest plane I have ever seen, and it was very comfortable. I was so excited when we were landing! All i could see was the sunset, a beautiful pinkish yellowy orange sunset :) and it made me so happy! Then i saw all the bright lights of the City that Im going to call home for the next 10 weeks. It was so exciting and so beautiful! I loved it!

After Arriving, we grabbed our bags, and the two girls from my school and I left to go get our housing allocations. Of course we were not put together, in fact I dont even know where they are! I am staying in an apartment building only about 15 minutes from campus with 4 other girls. I have the top bunk :/ but they all seem really swweet. I cant wait for the semester to start, but i know that its going to go by way too fast! The street we live on is basically full of international convenience stores, one or two pubs and a few international restaurants. Not too bad.

We took the tube and went to a meet and greet with some aiu students, but it wasnt very exciting. I had my first London drink, some fruity concoction, and then we left and went home. Ive only slept 2 hours in the past two days, so Im exhausted. I wish I couldve slept on the plane. Oh well..

Im so looking forward to this semester, but im really nervous and hate to admit it but a bit homesick already. But im gonna keep busy and see where it takes me. Im so excited :)

T minus 6 Days

megangobeille — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:10:00 GMT

So this is My travel blog so you guys can follow me on my trips throughout Europe for the 10 weeks that Im away. I cant wait to get started!