The goods

I just returned from a week-long excursion to London and Paris! I went with my roommate Liz because we couldn't leave Europe without having travelled a wee bit. We had two full days in London and a bit less than three in Paris, with one day travel in between. When I got home I just felt exhausted. We saw so much in those five days that even listing it off gets me tired. But it was a great experience. I learned a lot about travelling. I learned a lot about history. I learned a lot about(ha, get ready for cheese) ..... life.
I had to get one with me at the Victoria Tube station before we left. One of my favorite accomplishments of the whole trip was mastering the London and Paris underground systems and being able to get everywhere we needed to go. I love travelling in big cities because it is so convenient, even if it is smelly, crowded, and hot.

So on our first day in London we saw the British Museum, the National Gallery, Trafalger Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and Wicked. That last one wasn't a tourist attraction, but a show on the West End at a discounted student price! My favorite was Westminster Abbey because of all the amazing history there. Above is a pic from when we stopped for lunch (sandwiches) in Russell Square by the British Museum. The next day we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Hyde Park, Kenzington Gardens, Kenzington Palace, St. Paul's, the Tower of London, and the Tate Modern. I love modern art. While some of it may be a bit graphic and difficult to look at, I think the really good stuff gives you a new way to look a beauty and the world. I don't have a very trained eye, so I just like what looks pretty, or interesting. I liked this pic above because we caught one of the red double-deckers in the background.

I am so glad that we didn't do a double-decker tour. While it is a nice way to see everything, I hate being immediately labeled as a tourist and staying in the tourist bubble while travelling around. I didn't exactly venture away from the tourist sites (due to lack of time), but at least I wasn't surrounded my Americans the entire time.This bus was our home for eight hours. We travelled from London to Paris through the chunnel tunnel. A lot of the time was spent collecting passports and waiting for passage on to the chunnel, but we also got to see a bit of the French countryside. It really didn't impress me after being in Ireland with the green, rolling hills for two months. In Paris we stayed at an actual TWO STAR HOTEL!!! We had a bed and a bathroom and everything. We came back to the hotel exhausted every night so this was a definite plus. The food in Paris made me very, very happy. It was good that we did a lot of walking to compensate for the pastries and crepes. Here are a series of pictures of some of my favorite foods:

This was on the window of the bakery we went to. I still don't understand why there is a sexy dear trying to sell anything. But hey, it's France, so who knows?

Here are some favorite shots from Paris:

We started with a touristy bike ride through the main Parisian sites. It was really nice to have a break from walking for a bit, but I still don't like really organized tourist affairs.
We even stopped at a cute, but expensive outdoor cafe. I had a chocolate crepe, of course.

Notre Dame
Jardin de Luxembourg
Our dirty feet
Arc de Triomphe
Me (sunburned) on top of the Arc de Triomphe
Mona Lisa
Crowd around the Mona Lisa (I really don't get it, I think there are many other amazing works of art)
The inverted pyramid!

Henri Mattisse painting at the Pompidu

Well, I have many more pictures and stories, but I feel that this blog post is getting way too long. I will update soon.

Ireland is beautiful! I mean just look at the historic buildings! Especially this one:

Wait a second... I mean the next one. This one is the state-of-the-art facility where I do science everyday. And where I will cure cancer.
This is the old one. This is Dunlace Castle. I met up with some friends (see below) and went travelling around a bit. This castle is only about a 10 minute drive from where I live. Amazing, huh? I would have to agree.

Here's my artsy one of us on the edge of the causeway... looking out into the deep blue waters of the ocean/sea/body of water.

We then proceeded on, like the good lil' tourists that we are, to go on this very trecherous rope bridge in a restricted area! Actually, we had to pay to walk on it, and it was very highly secured since someone almost got hurt on it a few years ago.

Liz and I decided to go explore the two nearby towns today (and just happened to get sunburned in the process) - Port Stewart and Port Rush. We took the bus to Port Stewart, looked around the shops, ate some famous ice-cream, then walked a few miles to Port Rush, played on the beach, ate some famous chips and irish stew, and took the bus home!

During our walk to Port Rush we found a little park where people were fishing and picnicing right on the shore. So we studiously took out our respective novels and read for a wee bit. It was quite tranquil, I must say. And doesn't Liz look mysterious.

These are our feet. In the ocean. It was really sunny and warm today, so the coldness of the ocean wasn't really that bad. In fact, it was rather refreshing. But... the overweight European men in speedos quickly quenched all feelings of peacefulness that we may have had.

Here is a nice shot of the beach at Port Rush (wow, and I'm in it too, isn't that handy). We've now successfully mastered the bus system, so weekend trips to the beach may be a frequent occurance... weather-permitting that is.

One my first day here I went with Liz (the other BYU student) and found this beautiful waterfall right behind the where we're staying. It's amazing how things just... grow here. No sprinklers or anything!

This is my wee room. I actually have my own sink, which is grand.

Here is the view from my window. Out on a small grassy knoll, or something, on campus. It has been so nice lately that I just keep my window open all the time (don't worry, I'm on the second level, so no burglers can get in or anything).

A brief stroll down to Port Stewart (a nearby town) to have a look at the sea.

Here's me forcing Liz to be in a picture. I think I look way too excited here...

Here is a little shack right by the beach. I like colored doors.

Last Thursday we went to see a practice race for the Northwest 200, the biggest motorbike race in Ireland. I got this shot of a bike going by at about 160 mph! I wasn't expecting to time it right, but I got lucky, even if it is a bit blurry...

We walked home from the practice race down this backroad that had beautiful, green fields all around.
Here's another from our walk home.
And here's a pic from the actual Northwest 200 races on Saturday. They were going so fast! A lot of spectators gather around this corner right by the University because they slow down here enough so that you can actually see them!

I am in love with a boy. Just thought I'd write that down for the world. His name is Henry and he makes me ridiculously happy.