Is is summer yet?

I just want it to be summer, I want to be home and be able to go to the beach. To drive with friends and sing stupid songs at the tops of our voices. I keep thinking about coming home early but I know I wont. My flat-mates are all moving out at the end of February. That is going to be hard for me, they are the only people I know here. And I really like them they are great people and I have been very lucky to be able to live with them. It just makes me sad and think how much easier it would be to leave early and go home. But I would always regret not being brave enough to see this through. When I started this plan, I did not think it would ever happen. I think a lot of those people close to me did not think it would happen. I was not sure if I could do it, but I have so far proved myself wrong and am very proud of myself for it. I have about 2 and a half months left on my visa and have some great travel planned in that time. Including my parents coming to visit for a week in march. This has been such a great and difficult time for me so far, I can not wait to see what else happens and know that I can do this in a different country not knowing anyone. I was not sure I could do that in the beginning. Hope everyone is well and miss you all loads. 

   Ang

NKOTB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past weekend was great, on Saturday I went to aerobics class and hung out in the flat with my flat-mates. Kate one of my flat mates and I had tickets to TKNOB and were listing to the music and watching videos online all day. For those who do not know TKNOB is The New Kids on the Block! AKA the first and best boy band ever! Kate had tickets to the concert and I was lucky enough to go with her!!! It has been 15 years since they toured and I was only 8 when they were at the highest point, but they were amazing! They were so great, they did new songs and old songs. It made me fall in love with them all over again. After kate and I got home from the concert on Saturday night when we were very excited and possibly a little tipsy we decided to buy tickets for the standing stalls for the next nights concert. 

    When the morning rolled around we did question our choice but we did go and had a great time again. We had to wait for about an hour to get in then an hour of the opening act, which was not very good. It was great to be so close that you could see them talking to each other and making faces at each other. It made me like them even more! That could be bad. But it was a great weekend full of childhood memories and dreams revisited! 

    On Monday I worked a half day in the morning at a school I go to quite a bit, and it was a good day.  

Much better....

Since last week when I wanted to quite things have gotten better. Last weekend was a nice weekend, I went to an aerobics class at a studio up the road and it was a lot of fun. I came home and then went out to lunch with the girls. We went to this really great italian place up the road about three blocks. It was really good food, lots of it for only about 8 pounds which is pretty amazing. Kate and I walked around for a while after that just around Fulham and looking for baking things since our kitchen did not have any. Up until this point when we needed to measure anything with Milliliters for baking we used a medicine cup that I got with cough syrup. So it is nice to have proper stuff now, well more proper! We went home and kate baked Peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies which were really great. That night we went and saw Slumdog Millionaire which was great!!! I really enjoyed it. On sunday I walked around a few street markets and then the south bank witch is my favorite spot in London. It is nice to walk when it is sunny and just take loads of pictures. I am sure I know have a picture of big ben and the london eye from every angle as my family would attest to. 

     On Monday I worked, it was fine nothing to exciting or depressing. That night I went to a hip hop class again. It was fun and I released that everyone kind of sucks so I am less self cautious of my skill level or lake there of I should say! On Tuesday I worked at a school that I have been at before I was in three different classes throughout the day. Two of the three were great and the other was horrible. I got home as fast as I could and watched the inauguration. It was great to see and made me really excited.  I found out that I could have gone to the was museum for free that night and have my picture taken with the was Obama. All America citizens gout in free, but I did not find out until it was to late to go. 

     On Wednesday I worked at a new school and it was a really great day. I had started to feel sick so I went home and fixed Chicken Pot Pie. I have only ever made it one other time and it was better the last time, but it still has not tasted as good as my mom's! I was meant to work at this Jewish school I have gone to a few times, but I called in sick. I woke up with no voice and a horrible headache.  I spent the day hanging out and watching movies that had gotten delivered that day from I love film, its like netflix. 

    ON Friday I worked just a half day in the morning, the school is one I have been there a bunch. It was a fine day and went quickly. I do not want to quite like I was wanting to last week. 

Ughh...

On Monday I worked and I feel like I got pimped out by my agency! I called into work and said I was available to work I waited and did not get a call until about 8:45 in the morning which is leaving only 15 min in the window for them to call me. I was told to go to a tube stop and that directions would be sent to my phone. I was only sent an address, and then had to call and say I needed more then that. When I finally got to the school at about 10:30 I was told I would be a teachers aid, which I was fine with. The day went fine, when I was filling out my time sheet they said no I dont do a teach London time sheet because I was with Global. I said no I am not I dont know who that is, they said that is who booked me. Well in my agencies office there are other offices so I figured it was someone who was in the office and associated with my agency. I called my agency and they transferred me to who sent me and I asked how much I would be getting paid since it was a different agency and he said half what I normally get paid because I was the teacher aid not the teacher. I told him that its not right I was not told I would be an aid or that I would be getting less. He said that was what they were paying me and I would have to talk to my agency about it. I did call my agency and I said it was not fair, I was called and told I had work, nothing was said about being an aid, or a different agency or less money. I was pissed they called me back and said that I would get paid my normal rate. I was so annoyed and pissed at my agency, I just felt like I got pimped out. That night I went to a hip hop dance class at a studio close to my flat. It was for beginners and was so much fun. It was a really great work out also! I will definitely be going back. 

   On Tuesday I went to a school I have been to before it is a ways a way but I was in reception and nursery. So it was a really easy day. 

     On Wednesday I went to an Orthodox Jewish school. I was the Literacy teacher so I had three different classes at different times. It was interesting! They had prayers in the morning and it was all in Hebrew, I just had to sit there. I had to wear a skirt that covered my knees and could not bring any meat and if I did I needed to bring my own cutlery. So I just eat the school lunch. 

   On Thursday I woke up in a horrible mood hating with a passion my agency. I was ready to quite right then. I do not know why I just woke up in that mood. I wrote my mom and email saying so. I was just sick of traveling about an hour and half each way most days. Or feeling like my agency is lying to me. I have asked why I am not placed in schools closer to me in the West of london and am told that most of their schools are in the east! I cant stand it!!!! I did work and it was a school I had not been to and it was kind of a bad day. It was just annoying kids as bad as that is to say. They complained about one another and where just really trying in my nerves. I talked to my mom and she said well just do not work tomorrow and take a day off. It's hard because I have been here for three months, Wednesday was my half way mark. I love being here and living in London but am so sick of my agency! So I called and said I would not be available for Friday and am happy that I did. 

    On Friday I decided to go to Burogh Market, which is a food market. It has great cheeses and oils and olives and sweets. Its great you can sample a lot of stuff. I had lunch there witch was pumpkin ravioli from a stall and it was great. I bought cheese that was wrapped in rosemary it is really good and have been eaten it the rest of the day. I walked around Lecister square area and went into a bunch of used book stores. It was a really nice day. I came home and had some of my cheese and some nice wine and watched a movie. I hung out and watched tv and talked with my flatmates. Which is a pretty typical night here but it was nice. The photos are from the market, and one of them is the great cheese I got! Hope all is well!

A couple great London days!

I was able to work last Tuesday and Wednesday and I was in the Nursery so it was just a couple of fun days playing with play-dough! I did not work on Thursday and just had a very lazy day, I went to starbucks and read, took a nap went and rented a few movies and watched them. On Friday I called and to work and was called at 8:30 to go and work at a school in the east. It took me two hours to get there! I had to take the tube, a train and a bus. The school thought it would only take an hour for me to get there and I had told my agency it would take me that long to get to the train station. The day was fine and thank goodness it was Friday. When I got back to my flat the girls and I made cupcakes. We were going to order in and watch movies but our internet was down so we could not order whet we wanted. We ended up just going to a pub and hanging out for a while. We went back and watched a movie and then the girls and I just talked for a while. 

   On Saturday it was about 25 degrees. It was ridiculous! I had planned on going to a few outdoor markets but that was out of the question. I hung out in the flat for a while and went to starbucks and read. It is nice to just go hang out and enjoy my book. I am reading "The Posinwood Bible" it is really go and would recommend it to anyone. Today, Sunday it was about 45 degrees and sunny! I went and walked around Hyde Park. It was so great there were lots of people out and it was great. The lake was slightly iced over but it was almost warm. I ended up in Speakers corner where anyone can go and speak. People bring their own step stools and climb up and yell what ever they want to. Its funny to watch, other people yell back and it is just great to watch! Hope you are all doing well and having a great January! Lots of love Ang

Second Part/ Second Week!

On December 26^th we woke up in time for food and did not have to go search the city for it, which was nice. As well Starbucks was open so that was great! Sarah myself and the two other girls that we hung out with on Christmas day spent the day walking around Edinburgh. We started the day by taking a free walking tour, they actually have them in a few cities all you do is tip the guide at the end if you want. The tour was great and covered a lot of old Edinburgh and the guide told us a lot of great stories about the places we were visiting. One of the highlights was to see the school that helped inspire Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but the winner for highlight of the tour was the Elephant house. Which is where the great author J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  So that was really fun for me!  We went and had lunch after the tour at this place that was like an American restaurant. It had all kinds of car pictures and gas signs from the 50’s-60’s it was good food and they had soda with ice which is defiantly important enough to talk about and those of you who have ever been to Europe know that is true! We walked around the city and the large park that is in the middle of the city, it was really cool and strange that there is a huge park with this almost mountain in the middle of the city.  We went into a few different shops because there are huge sales everywhere from Christmas till the end of January. We were all so full from our late lunch that we just found this place that had proper milkshakes. Again in the UK a chocolate milk shake is like frothy chocolate milk, so for a real shake we were all pretty excited. We headed back to the hostel and Sarah and I packed because we had an early flight the next morning. I watched the old Hairspray in the lounge that night which was nice; it was a very homey nostalgic day.

 

On December 27^th we flew from Edinburgh to Dublin again on Rynair, this was the only time that I was charged for by bag weighing to much. We got in to Dublin no problem and then waited in line at customs for an hour and a half. I have never waited more then 10 min in any customs line at any airport in any country. We finally made it through and took a bus to the city center and found our hostel. It was not that nice it actually ended up being the crappiest one that we stayed in the whole time. We left our stuff and then went walked around Dublin for a bit and got some lunch. I started felling really gross, so we went back to the hostel and laid down for a bit.  Sarah went and walked around for a bit, and I just stayed in bed. It was a kind of lame day but I was just happy that I never got really sick.

 

            On December 28^th We took a tour into the country side. We were able to drive by the coast, I never knew Dublin was so close to the water, it was cold but a really sunny day which made the tour so much better. The tour took us by this house way out into the hills and had amazing gardens. We walked around for a while and just took pictures and walked through the amazing garden. It was such a beautiful place!  We went and did a little shopping in the souvenir stores in the city. After we were both done buying enough crap to put our bags more over the weight limit. We went back to the hostel when we went to our room our keys did not work, so Sarah and I went to the desk and then another girl from our rooms key did not work. We finally got into our room and as a new girl was entering and the door shut the doorknob fell of the door from the outside. Someone went and told the hostel and they were like oh ya we thought that would happen. So what they ended up doing was tape the handle to the door. It worked but it was just so ridiculous! We went out to dinner with a few girls from our room. Then went back to the hostel and we all just hung out in the room and talked. All the other girls where going on a tour through our hostel, which is what this hostel is famous for. Sarah and I had signed up for a tour but it ended up that they were not running it. So it was sad to have fun girls going on a tour and hearing about other tours and not being able to go one. We were meant to go the second day we got there not the one with the girls but still, it would have been nice.

 

            On December 29^th We went and toured the Guinness factory. It is a really great tour, I had done it three years ago but it was great to go again. It talks about the history of Guinness and how it is made. I was able to pull my own pint of Guinness and I even drank most of it. We hung out in the Sky bar, which is on the 7^th floor. It has great views of the skyline of Dublin. From there we just walked around the city for a while then we went back to our hostel got all our crap and headed off for the airport. We got back to my flat at about 10 at night. It was nice to be back in my flat and feel at home and settled.

           

            On December 30^th we just slept in and hung out in my flat for a while. We ended up walking around and re visiting sights that I had dragged Sarah to the first day. We went back to my flat and hung out, watched movies. We made dinner that night which was nice since we had been eating out so much and it was a salad, which was double good since I felt like all I have been eating, was brown fried food.

 

            On December 31^st we hung out at the flat and walked around my neighborhood a little bit. We hung out during the day, we did not want to be outside all day to only stand outside even longer that night as we waited for fireworks. We watched the fireworks from the embankment right across from the London eye. The fireworks were light off literally from the London eye as well as boats below it on the river. It was such a cold night at 10 that night they started playing music, old music including salt and peppea “ Push it” and “Whop there it is” it was funny that they played so much old music but we danced non the less just cause it was so freaking cold and it warmed us up a bit. There was a countdown and big Ben is what rang in the new year. It was a pain to get home. They closed Tube stations right in the center because they did not want them swarmed, what you had to do was walk in the direction you were going for a few miles and go to a tube stop in the direction of your home. We walked to the tube station and it was crazy so many people and the bussed where all so crazy. We were waiting for our bus and I saw Kate and Rory my flat mates walk by. We walked with them for a while and were crazy lucky to find a cab to take us home.

 

            On January 1^st Sarah had a flight at 11 and to get to the airport you have to take a train. So we went to the tube station at about 7:30. I went back to my flat after she got on the train and just slept. I was so tiered. I did not really do much on the first or the second. I was a bit of a hermit just hanging out in my flat and watching movies.

            Toady the 5^th I called into work and there was none but I have work for Tuesday and Wednesday. It was sort of snowing off and on today. But not nice snow it was almost like hail but smaller and still fluttered. It did not stick except in the parks a little. I went to the Natural History Museum and went to a photography exhibit for nature photos. The photos were amazing and made me want to devote time to doing that only. It even said what cameras and lenses people used and they were all supper fancy expensive photos so that is lame. I went and read in starbucks and watched the strange snowfall. Not to bad of a day. I also got a Christmas card from Dennis and Tessa which made me think to say thank you for the birthday cards and Christmas cards that I was sent. I love them, thank you. It is so nice to get  mail, hint hint.  800 Fulham Road, Fulham London SW 6 5SL Hint Hint. Kidding sort of! Ok hope everyone is well and had a fun and safe New years. Lots of love Angie

The first week of traveling!

I do not even know where to start. These past few weeks have been completely crazy Sarah a friend from High School came to London to visit and we traveled around for two weeks. We were in 6 different countries (7 but Germany does not count), more trains than I can count and saw so many amazing things. 

    On December 15^th Sarah flew in to London, I meet her at the train station that has a link to the airport, and because the tube line that I am on sucks most of the time, I was an hour late to meet her. We were told our trains breaks were not working and had to wait for about half an hour until they could get a different train for us all to get on. When I meet her she was exhausted but that did not stop me from dragging her all over London that day. We went back to my flat to drop of her stuff then set out. We took the bus into city center so she could see more of London. We got of at Piccadilly Circus and walked all over ending at the London Eye. It is probably about a three mile walk that takes you by Lesciter Square, Trafalgar square, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Westminster Abby, House of Parliament and ending with the London eye. We then got on the tube and walked down to London Bridge and Tower Bridge (not the same thing by the way) and then to the Tower of London. We went back to my flat and figured out the last details of the trip and then went to Pizza Express for dinner. It is a chain but has pretty good Pizza in my opinion.

            On December 16^th, my dad turned 60 or 61! (we cant get a very definitive answer out of the man) and Sarah and I went to Paris! We took a 5:20 train out of Kings Cross station, but you have to be there 45 min before for security and check in. But the tube does not run that early, so we had to call a cab and come pick us up at like 4 am. So that sucked. But we made it in to Paris at about 9:00 I do love the Chunnel! When we got into Paris we decided to get our train tickets for the next day to Salzburg. We had bought a Euro rail pass, it allows you to have unlimited travel on 5 days in three countries or that is the one that we bought. WE picked France, Austria and Italy, the countries have to be touching and those where the places in Europe that we wanted to go to. But since to get to Salzburg from Paris we would have to go through Germany and switch trains there we had to pay for the part of the journey for when we were in Germany. We were a little disappointed that we had to pay because we did not think we would have to with our pass. But we did not completely understand it before but now we do.

            We went and checked in to our hostel and left our stuff. We took the metro to the Louver, we did not go in but walked around it from there we walked to the Champs Elise and to the Arc De Triumph. We then walked down to the Seine and to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately it was cloudy and we were not even able to see the tip of the tower.  We took all our photos from every angle then went and had hot chocolate at a café. It was so cold! We then took the bus to Notre Dame and toured inside of it. It is an amazing cathedral the work and detail in it is beyond amazing to look at! We went and had dinner at a place that I had eaten at last time I was in Paris. We both ordered Onion Soup, which is French, and Frittes, which are French Fries. So we had French onion soup and French fries in France, I love it! We took the bus back to the Effie tower and got there just as it started to sparkle, it is an amazing site to see. So we took more photos from every angle then took the metro back to our hostel. We were so tiered from our early train and had another early train the next day also, but we had girls who were ridiculous in our room. Granted it was about 10 at night but there were about 5 girls trying to sleep in our room but two turned on music and were just taking as if they were alone in the room. No one said anything so the fault is ours I guess. We should have spoken up instead of lying there not sleeping getting annoyed, I learned my lesson so next time watch out.

            On December 17^th we woke up and grabbed a chocolate croissant from a bakery and took the metro to the train station. We were on one train for about three hours and another for four. It sure felt like we were wasting valuable time on the train already. It was really pretty though going through the countryside. We stopped at a train station in Germany and had lunch. I had McDonalds not very authentic Germany food but that is what I had. We got back on a train and finally got to Salzburg. We again got our train ticket for leaving the city. We decided that it would take so long to get from Salzburg to Florence so we decided to take a night train. We found our hostel and checked in that went and had dinner at a place the guy at our hostel recommended. It was good food and the wait staff was very helpful with speaking to us in English. So on that day we had breakfast in France, lunch in Germany and Dinner in Austria. We went and walked around old town Salzburg for a while. It is a really amazing city it has a castle on one side and sharp cliffs on either side. There were Christmas lights everywhere and it was a very magical fairytale city.

            On December 18^th we had breakfast at the hostel and then got picked up for our sound of music tour. We were able to go to different sights farther out of the city that they had filmed such as the gazebo and the back of the house where they filmed the backyard scenes. We were also able to go out in to the hills and look at a few small towns where different scenes where filmed. It was really fun they told little secrets about the movie and the real family. It was fun they played music and people sung! When we got back to the city they told us where to go to see more sights mostly from the Do-Rae- Me scene so that was fun. When we got back into the city it was snowing so obviously so cold. We walked around a little then went and had a hot coco at a hotel where they have a café on the top floor with windows all over the place so it was great to watch the snow fall and drink coco. We went and had dinner at the same place we had before and then hung out for a little at our hostel before our night train. We took one train that was 2 hours and then switched to a different one. We were in a sitting car with three other people. We were both in the middle seat, I was between to large Italian old men and Sarah was next to an Austrian women. It was so hot in the car and I could not get comfortable to I went and slept at the end of the train car by bike storage on the floor. I wrapped up in my coat and had my travel pillow and actually slept.

            On December 19^th we got into Florence at about 7 am. We found our hostel and I tried to talk the guy into letting us into the room then instead of wait until 1, but there were people in the room so we could not do that. We went and got breakfast at a bakery nearby, Sarah ordered a hot chocolate and it was sludge. We ended up taking a day trip to Pisa; it was about one hour away from Florence so it was nice we were able to sleep on the train again. We walked around the city a little and made our way to the tower. It was incredible to see it in person. I have seen so many pictures but never understood how dramatic you incredible it is that it is still standing. We took the must have pictures of us holding up the tower and walked around for a while. We had lunch in Pisa and went into a few different shops I got a pair of earrings that I like but are not really my style but I still love them! We took the train back to Florence and were able to check into our hostel and so we took naps and showers, which felt great after the night train from hell.  We went to the Muse De’ Academia to see the statue of David. You are not able to take pictures, which I don’t really understand because its stone you cant hurt it but that was the rule. Again I had seen pictures of the statue and how large the statue is. The statue from head to foot was probably 20 feet tall. We walked around the museum for a while and looked around and then headed back to our hostel. We had dinner there and ended up playing cards with people at the hostel and drinking wine.

            On December 20^th I turned 23! The night before we had signed up do a vespa tour of Tuscany. We meet our driver and guide it ended up that it was just going to be Sarah and I with the guide. He was a few years older than us and I was a little concerned that it would be uncomfortable but it was not. We drove a way out of town and rented two scoters. Sarah did not have her driver’s license so she was not techniquly meant to drive so she was going to ride with the guide. We did a little test-driving in a little car park, Sarah went first and did well, and then it was my turn. I was having trouble turning with out putting my feet out. I also had trouble slowing down on turns not speeding up. So I was trying to turn and I jumped a curb, and ran into a light post. Only my arm hit the post and then I jumped off the scoter and let it fell. When It fell the mirror broke off, so at that point I thought I had just bought a scoter. I ended up riding with the guide, which was fine with me because it allowed me to take pictures as we went. It was not strange until at one point he said he would be my Italian stallion, but it was ok. It ended up being a great day, and a fabulous birthday! We went to three different little villages in the area and stopped in them. At one we got coffee and at the next we had an amazing lunch. We had four different types of wine to sample from the region, a meet and cheese plate, three different pastas the best definitely being the one with truffle sauce, now I see what the fuss is all about with truffles.  We even got a few different desserts to sample. The whole meal was amazing and possibly the best meal I have ever had! We made our way back to wear we started and I had to pay for the mirror which was not as bad as I thought so I was ok with it. Our guide took us back to Florence and dropped us off at the Square of Michelle Angelo, which has a great view point of the city. We were able to take photos and saw the sunset from there which was amazing. We walked down and along the river and across the bridge. I don’t know the name but it is one of three in the world where there are shops and homes on the bridge. We got gelato, I got tiramisu flavor and that was my birthday cake.  We walked around a while and looked at all the different stalls at the markets all around the city. We went back to our hostel and ended up playing cards with some people again. It was a really great hostel called PLUS they have them in a few different city’s but it was just really nice.

            On December 21^st we took the train to Rome, we got to Rome no problem and found our hostel and checked in. We started walking and went all over the city. We walked to the Coliseum, the Parthenon,  a few different plazas that were beautiful and the treve fountain. We went back to our hostel and found out that we are in a room with smelly boys, we did not care about the boys but that they smelled so rank!

            On December 22^nd we walked to the Vatican, it was far away and is its own country which is amazing. I brought my passport hopping that I would get a stamp but I did not L.  The Vatican was un real to be in a place that is so old and has seen so much it makes you feel small and a part of something much larger all at once. While we were in line to go through security there was a nun walking by me who sneezed, I said bless you as I do to anyone who sneezes, she smiled only after she walked away did I think that it was strange that I just told a nun bless you. It is definitely a high light! We took the audio guided tours and that was great it gave us a lot of information, I little bit to much at times but it was still really great. We also went into the copula that is the dome on top of the Vatican. We took an elevator half way up then walked up stairs so small with walls leaning in you had to lean on the other wall to keep walking upward. There were also spiral stairs that were so skinny and also so many of them that we had to take breathers every once in a while. You are able to stand on the inside of the copula looking down at the Vatican and able to see all the mosaics up close. Up towards the top there are a ton of mosaics of cherubs and saints, they are so detailed that it is so incredible the detail and time that must have gone into them. Then you walk up more stairs and get to outside of the dome at the very top. The view of Rome was amazing; the weather was so nice it was sunny and warm to us. I walked around in jeans with a long sleeve shirt and jeans on which is incredible compared to all the snow in Salzburg. We hung out up top for a while then went down a level and walked around on the roof. There is a little shop up there which is sad yet I still went in. Inside there are nuns who are working, they were all so friendly and it was great to talk to them. We then hung out in the sun for a little while and overheard a young priest whom it looked like was with his parents where the pope’s room is. It was so funny to look at the windows and think that Pope Benedict could be right behind the curtains. We went back down and got food from a street vendor, luckily we looked to see what time our train left that night, it left 3 hours early then we thought so we had to hurry, We skipped the crypt of other popes but went to the Vatican museum. We pretty much ran through it because it was important to both of us that we see the sis tenth chapel. It was amazing to stand under it and gaze at the detail as well as the affect that it had on others around us. I wish we would have had more time to spend there and in Rome in general. We went back to our hostel and packed and headed for the train station. This night train was so much better than the last; we were in a sleeper car!!!!! There were three beds and we were in the top two, the other person came into our room in Florence, it was a women who seemed nice but was a little strange. It was so great to be in a bed and not have strange Italian men in the room with us.

            On December 23^rd we got into Paris and checked into our hostel, it was the same one that we were at last time so it was nice to know where it was and all that. We went up to Sacla Cur ( SP?) which is this temple that overlooks the whole of Paris it was a sunny day and it was nice to sit up there and just take in being in Paris. We then went to the Eiffel tower and were able to take pictures of it now that we were able to see all of it this time. We then went over to the Catacombs. It was creepy but mostly walking to where the bones were, you have to walk in long tunnels where there were sometimes no one else with you. When we saw other people we definitely tried to stay with them so it was less creepy. When we got to the bones it was kind of amazing and you were able to look at them with out thinking that they are bones in designed patterns. That was the strange part, that they made patterns, at one point there was a heart made out of skulls! It also got really slippery so now I was so worried that I would trip and reach for the walls to hole me up and I would freak out because they are made of BONES! We left and got wine at a café by the tower and waited for it to sparkle again because it is so magical to watch. We went back to the hostel and ate dinner with a few girls in our room.

            On December 24^th we went to the airport which was a pain to get to, we had to take the metro for an hour and then ride a bus for an hour and a half. It was a crappy airport but that is what you get when it is just a ryanair airport. We flew to Glasgow and took a train into the city center. When we got there we asked about trains to Edinburgh on Boxing day and where told that there would not be trains that day. So we decided to go to Edinburgh that night so that way would be able to make our flight in two days. We took a train that night to Edinburgh and went to our hostel. We hung out and watched Muppet Christmas Carroll which was the movie for move night.

            On December 25^th when we woke up the hostel had hung stockings from all of our beds. There was just a bag of crisps and candy but it was just such a nice thought and it made it feel more like Christmas. We went and walked around the city and looked for food since we missed breakfast we finally found snacks at a news agent which was all that was open besides tourist shops, which we also went into. When we were waiting for Christmas lunch we started playing cards with a few girls and ended up eating with them and a brother and sister. It was nice to have a Christmas dinner. It was not as good as moms cooking but it was still really nice! After lunch Sarah and I and the other two girls went in search of dessert, we ended up buying ice cream bars at the news agent and went up to Edinburgh castle and ate in the parking lot over looking the city and looking at the stars. It was my first Christmas away from home and I thought I would have been a mess, I defiantly missed home and would have loved if I could have been transported home for that day but it was a pretty great Christmas day considering.