My favorite things about Paris:
1. Being called Madame
2. Shopping
3. Outside dining at a Bistro
4. The Eiffel Tower when it sparkles at night
5. Did I mention shopping yet??
My least favorite things about Paris:
1. The language- it's impossible to even guess what a word might mean, and what's with not pronouncing the last letter of a word and practically all the letters inbetween... what a waste of letters!
2. Vendors at tourists attractions. I must have had a million people ask me to buy a light up Eiffel Tower replica while I was there. One would try to sell it to me and I would say no thanks and 2 seconds later someone else would. I was thinking, "didn't you just see your friend try to sell me one and I said no??"
3. Bad picture takers. We specifically would ask to have our picture taken with the attraction in the background and often just got close-ups of us. The people we asked spoke English but clearly have never seen a camera.
4. Taxis drivers who take the long way to make you pay more. I may not be a local but I'm also no fool!
5. Security guards who don't let you sit on the display to rest. It wasn't like we were in Louis Vuitton!!
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
The roller coaster ride that is Paris
Paris... what to say about it. It is such a roller coaster ride. Sometimes I think this town is overrated and other times I love it!
We had one free day in Paris. That is not enough time to see everything and it was very overwhelming so we decided to just do a few things and not plan too much. We started out at the Arc de Triomphe built by Napoleon to present his armz when they came back from war. This marks the beginning of the Champs Elysees. Napoleon built this road to be extra wide for military parades so now it is a pretty awesome shopping area. We did lots of shopping and experienced a very unfortunate incident (read Utz's blog for details). We continued down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre, a very famous art gallery that used to be the Royal Palace before Versailles was built. It is where the Mona Lisa is. We walked around the gardens and waited out a small rain storm under a tree. Next we went to see the Ritz Hotel. It is the first Ritz ever and was where Princess Diana spent her last night (she was killed less than a mile from the hotel). Our love for Diana continues.. The Ritz's love for us did not... they would not let us walk around the hotel. Clearly they looked at us and thought we were not worthy to stay in their hotel. From there, we continued to walk through the city, taking it all in. We made a stop at a famous pedestrian bridge over the river where many artists sit and paint. Our next stop was seeing Notre Dame. It was beautiful... just like all the other cathedrals in Europe. Supposedly, the crown of thorns is in Notre Dame and only is shown during lent- that is pretty cool! We did a lot of walking and were pretty tired so we went back to the hotel for to rest for a little bit before dinner and the Eiffel Tower.
We had a really awesome dinner. Definitely my favorite so far and maybe my favorite part of Paris. We took the metro to a quiter, less touristy, very Parisian area. It is small street lined with cute apartment balconies and flowers everywhere. We ate dinner outside, right on the street. It was delicious! We had salad, pizza, garlic bread, and wine. We just sat for awhile enjoying the view and felt like locals! After dinner, we went to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Like I said earlier, the Eiffel Tower is not the coolest thing during the day but it definitely makes up for that at night. We went to the tower and stood under it but the best view is across the street, up a bunch of stairs. We waited there for the tower to "sparkle", which happens for about 5 minutes every hour or so. This was such an awesome sight! It looks like there are hundreds of people standing all over the tower with their flashes going off... but even cooler. It's hard to capture on camera and is definitely worth the trip!
Here are some pictures from our day:
Dinner at a French Bistro
Cute Parisian street!
Outside the Ritz
Almost inside the Ritz
Arc de Triomphe (such a great photographer... thanks random man!)
The pedestrian bridge
The sparkling Eiffel Tower... this picture doesn't even come close to capturing it!
We had one free day in Paris. That is not enough time to see everything and it was very overwhelming so we decided to just do a few things and not plan too much. We started out at the Arc de Triomphe built by Napoleon to present his armz when they came back from war. This marks the beginning of the Champs Elysees. Napoleon built this road to be extra wide for military parades so now it is a pretty awesome shopping area. We did lots of shopping and experienced a very unfortunate incident (read Utz's blog for details). We continued down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre, a very famous art gallery that used to be the Royal Palace before Versailles was built. It is where the Mona Lisa is. We walked around the gardens and waited out a small rain storm under a tree. Next we went to see the Ritz Hotel. It is the first Ritz ever and was where Princess Diana spent her last night (she was killed less than a mile from the hotel). Our love for Diana continues.. The Ritz's love for us did not... they would not let us walk around the hotel. Clearly they looked at us and thought we were not worthy to stay in their hotel. From there, we continued to walk through the city, taking it all in. We made a stop at a famous pedestrian bridge over the river where many artists sit and paint. Our next stop was seeing Notre Dame. It was beautiful... just like all the other cathedrals in Europe. Supposedly, the crown of thorns is in Notre Dame and only is shown during lent- that is pretty cool! We did a lot of walking and were pretty tired so we went back to the hotel for to rest for a little bit before dinner and the Eiffel Tower.
We had a really awesome dinner. Definitely my favorite so far and maybe my favorite part of Paris. We took the metro to a quiter, less touristy, very Parisian area. It is small street lined with cute apartment balconies and flowers everywhere. We ate dinner outside, right on the street. It was delicious! We had salad, pizza, garlic bread, and wine. We just sat for awhile enjoying the view and felt like locals! After dinner, we went to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Like I said earlier, the Eiffel Tower is not the coolest thing during the day but it definitely makes up for that at night. We went to the tower and stood under it but the best view is across the street, up a bunch of stairs. We waited there for the tower to "sparkle", which happens for about 5 minutes every hour or so. This was such an awesome sight! It looks like there are hundreds of people standing all over the tower with their flashes going off... but even cooler. It's hard to capture on camera and is definitely worth the trip!
Here are some pictures from our day:
Dinner at a French Bistro
Cute Parisian street!
Outside the Ritz
Almost inside the Ritz
Arc de Triomphe (such a great photographer... thanks random man!)
The pedestrian bridge
The sparkling Eiffel Tower... this picture doesn't even come close to capturing it!
Confessions of a Shopaholic
I'm pretty sure the book/movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic" was written about me (minus the crazy debt and everything that doesn't have to do with loving to shop). Good thing I came to Paris... there is lots of shopping to be done! Our first stop on our full day is Paris was the Champs Elysees. It is basically a long road filled with shops from Louis Vuitton to H&M aka HEAVEN! It was fun to walk down the street and go into all the cheaper (but cute) stores and wish to go in Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, etc. Surprisingly, I did not go crazy and only bought a few things... I still have more places to go so I must save up for them!
Friday, 15 May 2009
Bonjour!
We arrived in Paris around 2pm this afternoon on the Eurostar (much faster than bus/boat). The ride was about 2 and a half hours. We went straight to the tour bus to have our tour of Paris. To be honest, Paris is slightly overrated... atleast so far. It was raining when we arrived and the traffic was TERRIBLE! It took us over an hour to go a few miles. Our tour guide was only okay. In London, we had a terrific tour guide who told us so much. This guy just pointed out things and gave us a brief description. Anyway, I sound like a Debbie Downer but I'm still in Paris which is awesome! We have all day tomorrow to go wherever we want so I'm sure that will be great!!
After we got to the hotel, we had about 30 minutes to rest and get ready for dinner. We went as a group to a Bistro for dinner (which was paid for already making it much more delicious). Being the simple (or picky as some would say), I was nervous about the meal but luckily they had a vegitarian meal of rice, garlic mashed potatoes, and vegetables... it was pretty good! We had creme brulee for dessert. It was fun to hang out with everyone without having to walk around a city and take pictures. We sat with Andrew and Blane (and a couple of others) but mostly talked with those two. Turns out, Blane (she's a girl) lives in the house across the street from the YL House... small world! We talked the whole meal and really like them:) Our trip guide is really great too. Everyone likes him a lot. We are off to see the Eiffel Tower right now!
After we got to the hotel, we had about 30 minutes to rest and get ready for dinner. We went as a group to a Bistro for dinner (which was paid for already making it much more delicious). Being the simple (or picky as some would say), I was nervous about the meal but luckily they had a vegitarian meal of rice, garlic mashed potatoes, and vegetables... it was pretty good! We had creme brulee for dessert. It was fun to hang out with everyone without having to walk around a city and take pictures. We sat with Andrew and Blane (and a couple of others) but mostly talked with those two. Turns out, Blane (she's a girl) lives in the house across the street from the YL House... small world! We talked the whole meal and really like them:) Our trip guide is really great too. Everyone likes him a lot. We are off to see the Eiffel Tower right now!
Thursday, 14 May 2009
wooooooh!
I came straight to the computer this morning to check the score to the Canes game and for those of you who have been living under a rock... they won!! I was very nervous while I was waiting for the page to load. It sounds like it was a very exciting game! Can't wait to go to a game when I get home (hint hint, Dad).
taking pictures
Most of our pictures have been taken by us setting up some sort of contraption with our bags and using the self timer... I think it's hilarious!
Meeting our group and Day 2
Our new hotel in London
We met up with our group at our new hotel after our Princess Diana Day. Read Em Utz's blog if you want to know about our unfortunate adventure finding the group.
After we arrived and checked-in to our new hotel, we went to a local pub to meet everyone. I will tell you all about the group when I get home (and can tell you in person). We did not stay long because we were all tired from the day.
Our tour started out in the morning on the coach bus. We pretty much just drove around the city and had an awesome tour guide! She was very fun and told us so much interesting information about the city. We went to Buckingham Palace to see the end of the changing of the guard. This can be a very long ceremony so we just saw the last 10 minutes which is the most interesting part. Around lunchtime we were finished with our group tour and we were on our own. We have decided we like being on our own a lot because a) we have already mastered the city...everyone else was holding us back and b) we can be on our own schedule and spend as much or as little time wherever we go. It was great to have a tour guide to tell us so much cool stuff. She did point out the Queen's bedroom window to us. It was not very easy to see but here is a picture. Look in the center at the arched window and balcony... there she is waving to me!
We traveled on our own to see the Royal Mews (the Queen's horse stables). This was really an excuse to technically be in Buckingham Palace. We got lunch and rested our poor feet. We then found our way to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. After taking lots of pictures, we went to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Since Big Ben is right at Westminster Abbey, we decided to go to the worship service. It was pretty awesome to be in there. We wanted to worship AND get in Westminster for free... what a way to kill two birds with one stone! We spent some time laying in the grass outside of Westminster to eat a snack and listen to Em's ipod... we are such locals! We are getting ready to go back to the hotel and get some sleep before our 6:15 am wake-up call and trip to France. Bonjour!
Pictures from Day 1 in London
My future residence (the white building) aka the home of Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Prince Harry!!
Westminster Abbey
Us with Kensington Palace in the background.
Kensington Palace
Outside St. Paul's Cathedral
Day 1 in London: Princess Diana Day
We spent our first day doing all things related to Princess Diana! Em Utz and I both love her (who doesn't excpet the British Monarch maybe). Anyway, it was a great day! First we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral where Diana and Charles got married. It is so beautiful. I cannot wait until Prince Harry and I have our wedding there... I will invite all of you! We did not pay to go inside, I mean, we're not made of money. However, we did walk inside as far as we could go for free. We actually got a pretty good look and even said the Lord's Prayer in there... priceless. Our next stop was Kensington Palace where Diana and the boys lived years ago. Kensington Palace is in the middle of one of the most beautiful parts of London. On one side is Hyde Park, very similar to Central Park, and the other side are some of the most expensive and beautiful houses. Some of them our where a few countries have their embassy (we looked very hard for USA's but couldn't find it). Sticking with our same plan, we only went in as far as the ticket counter would allow. It was not very far but we were still IN Kensington Palace. We also hit up the gift shop... all for free! Not too far from Kensington is Harrod's. If you don't know about Harrod's then you are not a true shopaholic. It was once the biggest department store in the world though a few newer stores have since beat it. Quick fact about Harrod's: The youtube video where the two men are reunited with a tiger the once owned and the tiger recognizes them..anyone seen it? Well, that tiger was bought at Harrod's- that's how crazy this place is, you could once buy a tiger there. Obviously, that is illegal now but you can buy pretty much anything here if you have lots of money... I do not so I left empty handed. Another interesting fact about Harrod's that I did not know until this trip is that Harrod's is owned by the family of Princess Diana's boyfriend (whom was killed in the car accident with her), Dodi. There is a small memorial to the two of them on the bottom floor with the last wine glass they drank from and the engagement ring he bought and was planning to propose with soon. Again, our day was devoted to Princess Di!
That night, we went to Picadilly Circus. It is kind of the Time's Square of London and a meeting place for everyone! It has lots of lights and is very pretty. We just sat in the circle and people watched. As we were walking, we passed a bunch of paparzzi and people running to cars. I even heard someone say "Michael Jackson!!" Being on the other side of the street, we ran over with our cameras in a second. It was not MJ but some footballers and "famous" socialites here in London according to another watcher. If I don't know them then they are not famous because I know all the celebs. Unless we know them in America, nobody really cares!
That night, we went to Picadilly Circus. It is kind of the Time's Square of London and a meeting place for everyone! It has lots of lights and is very pretty. We just sat in the circle and people watched. As we were walking, we passed a bunch of paparzzi and people running to cars. I even heard someone say "Michael Jackson!!" Being on the other side of the street, we ran over with our cameras in a second. It was not MJ but some footballers and "famous" socialites here in London according to another watcher. If I don't know them then they are not famous because I know all the celebs. Unless we know them in America, nobody really cares!
British Airways... more like British Failways
This is just a quick post to inform aka complain about British Airways. To start off, we practically had to run out on the runway to get on the plane. Apparently, the walkways to the plane from the gate (I don't know what they're actually called) are not a guarantee on BA. We picked new seats the night before so we would have exit row seats with more room. When we got on the plane, we realized the seats were not numbered as they were on their website. We were now in First Class... if they had a First Class. Instead of roomy seats, we were scrunched into seats in which arm rests do not move!! What?? Who has ever heard of that?? Luckily the arm rests had what we think were ashtrays. This plane must have been from the 1960's. This assumption was confirmed when we heard the engine. It was either from the 1960's or a lawn mower. We were offered ham & chicken salad (we think on one sandwich) for our snack/lunch. Obviously, we did not accept. It's safe to say we were very excited to land in London!
We arrived in London!
At Heathrow Airport in London
We had a great stay in London. We arrived and went straight to the airport. The room was SMALLER than our Hostel, if you can imagine that! After we settled into the room, we went out to look for lunch. It took us awhile but we did have fun just walking around the city and obviously stopping in a Topshop (a lot like H&M). We finally found a place suitable to eat at (I was up for anything but Utz is very picky). I ate Mac & Cheese, of course!
It took awhile to find an eating place and once we were done, it was early evening. We walked to Trafalgar Square and sat and people watched... it was very interesting! People are weird! We were getting tired so we decided to walk back to the hotel and on the way, we had a quite a treat. That night was the premiere of Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller. We heard a lot of yelling and paparazzi... YES it was Ben Stiller!!! It was hard to see him but we kinda caught a glimpse. I did see another of the stars- can't remember his name but I think he is the guy who starred in the British version of The Office (y'all would probably recognize him). This concluded our night and we went back to the hotel to plan the following day and sleep.
This was the "red carpet." You can't see Ben Stiller but he is somewhere around there...
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Leaving Edinburgh...
We are waiting in the Edinburgh Airport right waiting for our flight to London. Edinburgh was very beautiful and we had a great time but we are looking forward to being in London and hanging out with Prince Harry!
The most annoying thing so far are the keyboards!! The @ button is next to the enter and the shift is just a tiny arrow... so confusing!
Anyway, we are going to eat some breakfast then wait for our plane. We'll check in again in London.
The most annoying thing so far are the keyboards!! The @ button is next to the enter and the shift is just a tiny arrow... so confusing!
Anyway, we are going to eat some breakfast then wait for our plane. We'll check in again in London.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Harry Potter!
I have been excited all day to write about this (just ask Em Utz). This post goes out to my dear friends Morgan Dunlap and Teresa Rouse who are both HUGE fans of Harry Potter (why, I will never understand). I am NOT a fan but was still very excited for them when I learned about J.K. Rowling on our tour so this is for both of you and all the other Harry Potter fans out there...
We learned today that J.K. Rowling attended the University here in Edinburgh. There is an all boy's school down the road established by some rich guy name George Heriot... apparently it is a big deal here. Anyway, word on the street is that J.K. modeled Hogwart's after this school! I didn't get the best picture but from the few seconds of the Harry Potter movie I had to endure, I definitely see the resemblance. Here is the picture I took... it is the building in the background:
Edinburgh- Day 2
We started out in the morning and of course went straight to Starbucks! We ate some breakfast then went to take a tour of the city on a double decker bus. It was a little chilly riding on the top of the open bus but overall a very nice, sunny day! Here are a few pictures from the day. We are headed back to the Hostel to freshen up then are going back out for dinner and to enjoy our last night in Scotland. We are flying to London in the morning and will check back in once we are settled.
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Emily Utz's blog
Check out Em's blog for more info about our trip
It is emilyutz.blogspot.com incase you didn't know it already!
It is emilyutz.blogspot.com incase you didn't know it already!
Go Canes!
The Hurricanes are playing for the chance to win the series against Boston tonight. The game starts at 1:30am here in Edinburgh. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I might come down to the lobby to check the score. The Hostel is open 24 hours and there is always staff working so I feel good about that decision! I hope they win and are still playing when we return.
GO CANES!!
GO CANES!!
Edinburgh- Day 1
We spent the early part of the day traveling, resting, and waiting for our room. After freshening up a little, we went out in the town with no agenda. Our only requirements were to get a snack and go to H&M! We went to a little Italian cafe to get a panini (which wasn't half bad). The girl asked where we are from and I was thinking does she want me to say America because I thought that was pretty obvious from how we talk so I said "North Carolina" and added quietly, "in America." She probably had no idea where NC is and thinks I'm an idiot. Maybe next time I'll say "we're from one of the original 13 colonies... the town named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Remember him, he had an affair with your queen" but probably not...
We took a bus to the center of town which dropped us off right at H&M! I was very good and only bought one thing... there will be plenty more trips to H&M in the next two and a half weeks!! We decided to head back to our room to shower and rest. We watched Friends and fell asleep until 9:30pm. We made ourselves wake up and come down to the computer... it is now 10:52 pm here so we will probably go back soon. About 10 very loud teenagers have just come in the Hostel... I really hope none of them end up in our room!
We will post pictures of our journey so far soon!
We took a bus to the center of town which dropped us off right at H&M! I was very good and only bought one thing... there will be plenty more trips to H&M in the next two and a half weeks!! We decided to head back to our room to shower and rest. We watched Friends and fell asleep until 9:30pm. We made ourselves wake up and come down to the computer... it is now 10:52 pm here so we will probably go back soon. About 10 very loud teenagers have just come in the Hostel... I really hope none of them end up in our room!
We will post pictures of our journey so far soon!
The Hostel
The part of our trip in Edinburgh is without the rest of our tour group. We decided to stay in a Hostel because it is so much cheaper than a hotel. Also, Josh and Jessica stayed here two years ago on their trip and recommended we stay here. We couldn't check in until 3pm. Our original plan was to store our luggage here then explore the town. What actually happened was we couldn't store all of our stuff because the lockers were full so we ended up napping in the lobby of the Hostel. It was a good nap... about 3 hours! We still couldn't get to our room (they are very strict about that 3pm check-in) so we just sat around, checked e-mail, and waited.
When we made it the our room it was a flashback to the first day of college and moving into the dorm. That's pretty much where we're staying except it's a little nice, a little smaller, and we probably have more stuff with us than when I moved into the dorm. The toilet, sink, and shower are all in the room with us. Now about this shower... first of all, it is pretty clean and to make it even better, the water pressure is amazing. Almost too amazing! The room is clean and has a nice view and is much better than I could have imagined. We are unsure if there are going to be more girls joining us (it's doubtful but I don't want to jinx it). Everytime we here noise outside the room, we're thinking please don't come in
here!
When we made it the our room it was a flashback to the first day of college and moving into the dorm. That's pretty much where we're staying except it's a little nice, a little smaller, and we probably have more stuff with us than when I moved into the dorm. The toilet, sink, and shower are all in the room with us. Now about this shower... first of all, it is pretty clean and to make it even better, the water pressure is amazing. Almost too amazing! The room is clean and has a nice view and is much better than I could have imagined. We are unsure if there are going to be more girls joining us (it's doubtful but I don't want to jinx it). Everytime we here noise outside the room, we're thinking please don't come in
here!
Leaving and the flight
Our flight was scheduled to leave at 4pm on Saturday the 9th. I attended my graduation ceremony at 1:30pm that same day.... Luckily, I was able to walk across the stage and straight out the door with my family who took me straight to the airport (I hope nobody noticed). We left at 2:30pm and got to the airport before 3pm. There were no lines and I was at the gate in no time. As I'm walking to the gate, I see Princess Emily Utz having her toenails painted and getting ready to have a massage. For those of you that know her...I'm sure you are saying, of course! Turns out the massage was terrible and left her in pain. I think she learned her lesson about airport spas!! Her toes look good, though.
We sat in RDU awaiting our flight when I noticed the flight across from us was headed to Boston. I saw some local sports reporters waiting and I contemplated tagging along with them... If you don't know why, you probably don't live in Raleigh or are living under a rock (or are Jessi Kelly). I did continue on my way to Europe...
After a short flight to JFK in New York, we had about 2 hours until our international flight. The first thing we learned is JFK is the hottest airport on the planet. Second, people in JFK are concerned about the Swine Flu... or SARS. Either way, the people we saw wearing masks was quite comical to us (but it did make me feel a little sick). We ate a quick dinner at "Chili's." I use quotes because this was not like a normal Chili's. The salsa was clearly just a can of Picante. Before we boarded, Utz tried to work her magic to get us an upgrade on the plane. She did! We could fly first clas for only $700...each! Obviously we stayed with our original seats.
The flight to Edinburgh was about 7 hours. Em and I had the two seats closest to the aisle (not the window). We kept hoping nobody would come sit there and with every person that walked by, we feared they would be sitting with us! An older, bigger, sneazing man starting coming down the aisle and without having to look at each other or say anything, we both thought "Oh pleaseeeee not him!" We were lucky to sit with a girl who goes to school in Virginia but is from Scotland. I couldn't understand half of what she was saying so I did a lot of nodding. Across the aisle from us was a sweet lady who had been on "holiday" (That's how we say vacation over here...hence, the movie "The Holiday." Don't get me started on how annoying Cameron Diaz is in that movie...) in the Carribean. She talked to us about Edinburgh and the best way to get to the Hostel and even gave us money for the bus when we left the plane. It was only 1 pound 20 pence or as Emily would say, $1.20! We did have the individual tv's at each seat and watched The Office, Friends, and listened to music. The coolest thing was you could track our flight and they showed a map of exactly where we were flying! After a few hours, I fell asleep and Em continued to track our flight for the next few hours.... Read her blog to hear more about the flight. She has lots of thoughts on it. We arrived at 8 am (3 am to those back in America the beautiful).
After all of this (and more), we finally landed! It took a little bit of work but we found the right bus. Apparently they can only come within a 10 minute walk of the Hostel (not really but it seemed that way). We dragged our suitcases all the way through the town and miles (maybe 3/4 of a mile) of construction. Edinburgh is officially the road construction capital of the world! We finally made it to the Hostel about 9:30 am.
We sat in RDU awaiting our flight when I noticed the flight across from us was headed to Boston. I saw some local sports reporters waiting and I contemplated tagging along with them... If you don't know why, you probably don't live in Raleigh or are living under a rock (or are Jessi Kelly). I did continue on my way to Europe...
After a short flight to JFK in New York, we had about 2 hours until our international flight. The first thing we learned is JFK is the hottest airport on the planet. Second, people in JFK are concerned about the Swine Flu... or SARS. Either way, the people we saw wearing masks was quite comical to us (but it did make me feel a little sick). We ate a quick dinner at "Chili's." I use quotes because this was not like a normal Chili's. The salsa was clearly just a can of Picante. Before we boarded, Utz tried to work her magic to get us an upgrade on the plane. She did! We could fly first clas for only $700...each! Obviously we stayed with our original seats.
The flight to Edinburgh was about 7 hours. Em and I had the two seats closest to the aisle (not the window). We kept hoping nobody would come sit there and with every person that walked by, we feared they would be sitting with us! An older, bigger, sneazing man starting coming down the aisle and without having to look at each other or say anything, we both thought "Oh pleaseeeee not him!" We were lucky to sit with a girl who goes to school in Virginia but is from Scotland. I couldn't understand half of what she was saying so I did a lot of nodding. Across the aisle from us was a sweet lady who had been on "holiday" (That's how we say vacation over here...hence, the movie "The Holiday." Don't get me started on how annoying Cameron Diaz is in that movie...) in the Carribean. She talked to us about Edinburgh and the best way to get to the Hostel and even gave us money for the bus when we left the plane. It was only 1 pound 20 pence or as Emily would say, $1.20! We did have the individual tv's at each seat and watched The Office, Friends, and listened to music. The coolest thing was you could track our flight and they showed a map of exactly where we were flying! After a few hours, I fell asleep and Em continued to track our flight for the next few hours.... Read her blog to hear more about the flight. She has lots of thoughts on it. We arrived at 8 am (3 am to those back in America the beautiful).
After all of this (and more), we finally landed! It took a little bit of work but we found the right bus. Apparently they can only come within a 10 minute walk of the Hostel (not really but it seemed that way). We dragged our suitcases all the way through the town and miles (maybe 3/4 of a mile) of construction. Edinburgh is officially the road construction capital of the world! We finally made it to the Hostel about 9:30 am.
Here we are outside of the airport...waiting for the bus:
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