The Final Countdown

Sup loyal blog readers,
This will be the last post that you will see from us! This moment has to be the most bittersweet moment of our lives. We love it here with all our hearts, and the experiences we've had will always be dear to us, but the promise of our own showers, beds, pets, friends, and (let's not forget) family is incredibly exciting. All the times we were lost, tired, and frustrated were nothing in comparison to the amazing people we met, places we saw, and experiences we had. We spent months and months planning this trip, and we can hardly believe how quickly it passed. Today was our last day in Madrid and our last in Europe. We tried to be adventurous and take a day trip to Cordoba, but we can thank the railway workers that decided to go on strike for squashing that idea. I'm all for working rights and such, but really? They couldn't have held off until we left? Oh well. Instead of our day trip to Cordoba, we decided to take a day trip to Parque de Retiro: a beautiful park in Madrid. In the center there is a man-made pond, and the best part about that pond was that you could rent little boats to out on the water with. Sarah and I couldn't pass up the opportunity, and we eagerly hopped in. I made Sarah paddle at first and laughed at her efforts... Boy was that dumb, cause when it was my turn, I did way worse. You all know my lack of hand-eye-coordination. Enough said. After that, we pulled out our kindles, found a free patch of grass, and relaxed. We didn't realize that we would spend hours in that spot drinking in the sunshine and enjoying the light breeze. Sarah and I love one specific Spanish tradition: the siestas. We made it our goal to have one everyday. After our brief nap, we went out for our last dinner and had a traditional Spanish rice dish. Now, it's time to pack up and get ready for a long day of traveling tomorrow. USA here we come!
Love and miss you all!
See you soon!

Built above water; walls made of fire

Wow, I cannot believe today marks our last destination! It is a strange feeling to finally accept the fact that we are on the homestretch, but nonetheless, still have time to see Spain. So we were up bright and early and were energized with a full night's rest (100% sarcasm) for our train to Madrid. It was really hard to say goodbye to Barcelona not only because of the beach, but because of the wonderful friends we made as well. Shortly after arriving to Madrid, we actually learned that the Real Madrid football team is in Ann Arbor today. Looks like we traded places! Of course, I was wearing a Michigan shirt and some local was pointing at my shirt and muttering something in Spanish. I put the pieces together and knew he was referring to the event. How weird! Well anyways, we made it to our youth hostel and were pleasantly surprised at the central location (literally the first time that ever happened to us). We were able to relax for a few moments then walk around the square and meet up for our beloved activity: the free walking tour! This one was our favorite from any city and we owe it all to our amazing tour guide. She had story after story about the city and her own experience living here, which gave us a really good mix of the history and current culture. Also, Madrid's history is insanely fascinating. The city is filled with Muslim architecture and influence, yet there is also a blend of Christianity and Jewish customs. The picture we had in front of a gated cathedral is a super interesting area. The Catholic cathedral is shown on the hill, but underneath is the historic Muslim wall. Back in history, the Muslims built the wall with flint so that when he Christains attacked the area with arrows, the wall would spark into flames and scare them away.Behind us in the picture is a fairly new fountain of the Jewish star. That particular area was once a place where all three religious groups lived in harmony, and it's a small piece of history that we learned about. After our walking tour, we came back to the hostel and took full advantage of the siesta. We only just barely woke up in time for a late dinner out on the town square with some delicious tapas (however, we both agree our tapas in Barcelona were better). We are now back in the hostel and await our final day as tourists!







- Sarah and Ruby

Bye-bye Barcelona!

Dear lovely blog readers,
If you want a little piece of heaven, then I suggest you go to Barcelona. The beach, the sun, and the city combine to make a delicious slice of perfection. We woke up today refreshed and ready to go. The best part about our youth hostel is that there is free breakfast... You have no idea how beautiful that is. Today was also the day we made some amazing friends! Our roommates are from Hungary, and they are fantastic. We decided to go to the beach together and soak up some sun (like Sarah and I needed any more... Picture a bright red tomato). At least this time, we came prepared with sunscreen. If you want the ultimate relaxation technique, then go to Barcelona, go to the beach, buy a cup of sliced pineapple, and watch the water. Where was this stress reliever during school? After we added another layer to our burns... I mean tans... We set out with our roommates to the FC Barcelona stadium. Sarah is the soccer fan, but don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a man in uniform. And there were plenty of pictures of them to look at. The Hungarian girls know some Spanish, and they had a blast teaching them to us. I guess they enjoyed hearing us butcher the accent. After we walked through the stadium, we realized how hungry we were. We ran into a supermarket and armed ourselves in order to battle the hunger. We made it back to the hostel and feasted on sandwiches, chips, Oreos, milk, chocolate, and melon. It was cheap, but it was perfect. We ended the night with our new friends, and I could not have pictured a better way to spend our last day in Barcelona!
Love and miss you all!












- Sarah and Ruby

Location:Carrer de la Pobla de Lillet,Barcelona,Spain

Barcelona!

Why hello readers, it's been crazy that today we finally made it to Spain, our final country. Do you know what I love more than early morning trains? Early morning flights! And not just any flight- the delux and luxurious Ryan Air!! So yeah this is my written confession of mistakenly thinking that an 8:30 flight to Barcelona was a good idea.. We woke up at a whopping 3:30 am to make the trekk from the cab to the shuttle to the airport, then back in the cab and to the youth hostel. Fortunately, one look outside the airplane window was enough to keep us alert and ready all day: water! Once we arrived and dropped our bags off, we immediately set out again to the downtown beach area where we enjoyed a beautiful walk on the coast which led us to a popular beach. Those of you who know Ruby and I well are well aware of the fact that all we need to entertain ourselves is a place to sit and a good book. Throw in the Mediterranean Sea and a clear blue sky and you will have us lost in our own worlds for days. Nature literally had to snap us back into reality with a sudden storm, so we made it out just in time to miss the rain. It was actually insane once we entered the metro because the storm had everyone ducking for cover. We didn't even make it down the stairs without getting caught in a tangle of tourists. After coming back to the hostel yet again, we showered and made another quick turnaround to meet Laia, the Spanish assistant student from last year. She lives here in Barcelona and graciously took time out of her busy day to walk us around the city and show us the main historic and modern areas. On our way through the town, we found a nice restaurant to enjoy our first tapas meal. We desperately tried to eat at a normal Spanish time, but in our attempts, we ended up devouring our dishes way too quickly. In the short time we had to digest our meals, sleepiness had struck us, and it struck us hard. Wandering around the plaza at night, we had some ice cream and watched the streets transform into a lively night life setting. However, we were running on a few hours of sleep and had been nonstop moving all day. We headed back to the hostel in the hopes of rejuvenating our energy for another day in Barcelona tomorrow.

Last Day in Roma

Ciao blog readers!

Today was a good day. Nothing too exciting, but a good day nonetheless. Forgive me if this post is a little dry. We have been on our feet nonstop for the past 12 hours, and I am beyond pooped. We decided to take two walking tours today: one that led to the Vatican and one that led the 

Colosseum. Both tours started by the Spanish steps, and both tours covered a lot of the same monuments as yesterday's tour. It got a bit repetitive, but at least it was free. The funny thing is that while the monuments were often repeats, the information for each one varied depending on who was leading the tour. Some facts completely contradicted ones that we heard earlier, and it became almost a game to see how many anomalies we spotted. The Vatican tour ended outside the Vatican, and Sarah and I decided to buy a ticket to explore it. When yesterday's tour guide told us that this was the worse time in the year to visit the Vatican, we thought he was being dramatic. Yeah, we were wrong. The Vatican was packed, and I mean PACKED. Sarah and I were herded from room to room like cattle, and we could barely breath in the stifling atmosphere. We tried to tour the area as fast as possible, but the I swear that place is just one huge maze. Like the maze in the 4th Harry Potter book, it seemed like there was no end in sight. Yeah, I just had a nerd moment. After we escaped... I mean exited...the Vatican, we had to book it back to the Spanish steps, once again, for our second tour. The Colosseum tour was pretty cool because we walked by the Roman Forum. The ancient structures looked epic, especially with the modern buildings standing in contrast with them. The tours were informational and all, but two in one day may have been a bit ambitious. We made it to the hotel and collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. Not gonna lie, Rome is not Sarah and I's favorite city. Sure the history behind it is amazing, but the enormous crowds, the suffocating heat, and the icky public transportation system has left a bad taste in our mouths. So, it's been real Rome, but tomorrow we are traveling to Barcelona, and beach day here we come! 

HAPPY EID TO ALL MY MUSLIM READERS OUT THERE. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Love and miss you all!

Sarah and Ruby

When in Rome- day 2!

Why hello loyal followers! Today was our first full day of Rome and boy did it feel good to spend the day exploring rather than traveling. We are extremely happy with our change of hostels and we left for the city center in great moods. We decided to spend the afternoon in the main square of Piazza Delia Replubblica. What's crazy about Rome is that you can walk anywhere and somehow find an ancient monument. I honestly don't even know what the half of them were, but every building seemed to have an importance. We quickly stumbled upon a fountain and readily dashed to stick our feet in. (On a side note, the weather has been crazy. Constant heat and humidity with random rainstorms). Since we were still pumped from the Bastille concert last night, we chilled with our feet in the water while listening to music. We were really living the life until a crazy old man yelled at us to take our feet out of the fountain. I don't know what gave him the authority to do that since he himself was walking through the fountain to retrieve coins, but we didn't mess with the insanity. We hopped out and kept moving through the city. Of course, we stopped for lunch and had some pasta because a day in Rome isn't complete without it. Exploring several shops and monuments, we finally made it to the Trevi fountain with high hopes, but were in horror with the image that we saw: scaffolds. Left and right. The entire fountain completely drained. Unfortunately, we were not able to make our wish with a coin into the fountain. They totally stole our Lizzie Maguire/Mary Kate and Ashley/ every other movie based in Rome moment. But nonetheless, the day must go on, so we walked to the Spanish steps and were able to bask in the glory of that with some delicious (and extremely expensive) gilato. Once there, we met up with another free walking tour group and spent the next few hours learning about the Spanish square, Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, and much more. Our tour guide was an Italian and super entertaining. He said that Rome was made of three things: marble, water, and scaffolds. Definitely spot on with that description! We ended the tour at a cheap pizza shop which was too convenient to not take advantage of. After dinner, we made our journey back to the hostel where we had to endure the most stuffy train and tram rides of our lives. The tram from the train station is 8 stops away, which takes about 25 minutes. Not too bad compared to the rest of our trip, except for the fact that it was hotter than the sun with more people crammed in than I thought was humanly possible. But let's be real- anytning is better than walking. Now we are back at the hostel ready for another day in Roma! 

The series of unfortunate events.. Except for the last one

Hi blog readers!
Let me begin by saying that this post will feature mostly my complaints and laminations about today. It all started with our train from Venice to Rome. As if leaving Venice wasn't hard enough, Sarah and I had to endure a frightful experience on the train. Let me set the seen for you guys: picture me innocently reading on my kindle in the aisle seat of a moving train. Now picture a man running down the hallway of said train, projectile vomiting on everything in sight. I cannot thank God enough for sparing me and Sarah from the spray, but not everyone was so lucky. One poor girl got it in her hair *insert shudder*. So, that was a great way to start the day. It gets better from here...not. We made it to our youth hostel, but our journey included a 30 min wait at the bus stop, a 20 min hike up a road with our backpacks, and a 30 min wait in the reception line in the rain. Well, turns out our hostel was a tad bit sketchier than Sarah and I were comfortable with. So, in an effort to regain some sanity, we decided to find a different hostel. Well, you might be thinking: hey, problem solved. Wrong again. We had to make another 20 min journey up another hill and wait another 45 min for the next bus. This time the rain was gone, but the sun was unforgiving. At last we made it to our new (not sketchy) hostel, and collapsed into bed for a much needed hour nap. The only thing that got us out of bed was the promise of the Bastille concert, only a few short hours away. We decided to take a cab (having had enough walking for today... And a lifetime), and we instantly knew that we made the right decision. Our feet were especially happy. The concert was 50 shades of perfection. We had a great view of the band, and Bastille did an incredible job. It made us completely forget about our awful day! We owe you one Bastille! Now, we are back at the hostel chugging down a liter of coca-cola and getting ready for bed. It was a perfect night!
Love and miss you all!









- Sarah and Ruby

Location:Piazzale Prenestino,Rome,Italy

Venice day 2

So day number 2 in Venice was perfect. Literally. It was a perfect day! We woke up and decided that today would be the day we found other means of transportation besides walking. Yesterday's discoveries on foot were amazing, but we had certain places to see and we felt the water taxis were necessary in Venice. It worked out perfectly because not only did we arrive to our destinations without getting lost, but also we had an amazing view of the sea at the same time. Today was sunny with not a cloud in the sky and the only thing keeping us from jumping in the water was our desire to see the rest of Venice. So as we restrained ourselves from jumping off the boat, we were able to make it to Piazza San Marco square and enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the water. After wandering through the various street vendors, we arrived in the main area where we could see some of Venice's most famous monuments. Among them was the Basillica cathedral where we were able to look inside for free. After easily passing hours in the square, we took a long boat ride to the island of Burano. It took about an hour to get there, and we weren't able to stay long, but it was totally worth the trip. The island is a burst of color with every building having it's own spectrum of the rainbow. We were having such an amazing day that we felt it was necessary to top it off with a dinner on the Grand Canal. It was such a fun day and we don't want it to end, but we leave tomorrow morning for more of Italy. Ciao!!










- Sarah and Ruby

The City That Stole My Heart: Venice

Heyo blog readers!
My, what an adventurous day Sarah and I had today. It all started with a little night train from Vienna to Venice. See, with our Eurail passes, there are certain trains that you don't have to reserve seats for (this train being one of them). Funny thing is that this train was full, and they didn't have any seats for us. But did we let that stop us? Heck no. Sarah and I (along with a handful of other young travelers) took to the train corridors with our pillows and blankets. That is how we spent last night... Sleeping in the train hallway. After a night full of rest (yeah lol not), we finally made it to Venice. I literally felt my eyes widen as they tried to take in all the beautiful sights that Venice had to offer. Every building was a masterpiece, and the grand canal was breathtaking. Antsy from our long (and cramped) train ride, Sarah and I took to the streets and wandered. I actually had to physically restrain myself from entering every shop that sold those beautiful handmade Venetian masks. I think I have a new obsession. The streets curved and spiraled, and with every new corner, our sense of direction faded. Getting lost in Venice is an amazing experience though. When you don't have any time commitments or places to be, you just lose yourself among the buildings and the vendors. You would be glad to learn that Sarah and I joined the ranks of the Europeans today when we were caught in a rain storm and were forced to buy umbrellas. I swear I saw a couple flickers of approval in the eyes of the locals. Instead of being those typical Americans decked out in plastic rain ponchos, we became sophisticated members of a higher class of society. There is something about a city as beautiful as Venice when it is caught in the rain. The city seems to brighten as if all the grime is being washed away. Of course, we could not come to Italy without eating pizza, and we stopped for a quick lunch break. Holy moly that was good pizza. We decided that an early dinner was in order, but we quickly learned that the Venetian restaurants do not open for dinner until 7. So, in my attempt to "stick it to the man," I enjoyed two scoops of gelato for dinner. Our thirst for adventure was not yet quenched, but we easily found a remedy: an awe inspiring gondola ride. This was my first time, but I can promise you all that it will not be my last! Seeing the city from that different angle is definitely worth every Euro spent. If my future husband is reading this, you can expect a trip to Venice in our future. We have a big day planned tomorrow, and we better get our rest! Oh, and one more thing: we came across and American family today that lost a little girl named Kate. We don't know if her family has found her yet (although we are hoping for the best), and it would be wonderful if you could keep her in your prayers tonight. We hope Kate is reunited with her family safe and sound.
Love and miss you all!!












- Sarah and Ruby

Location:Viale Antonio Paolucci,Mestre,Italy

Vienna day 2

Today was our second day in Vienna and we started it off with an early morning walking tour. Let me just take a second to say how amazing these tours are. Not only do they teach you the history of the city, but they are also FREE! Ours today was actually very long and took up the entire morning. On our way to the tour, we stumbled upon the Naschhmarkt, which is a huge strip of the local market. We were so intrigued while walking through that we knew we would head back later. So our ending point for the walking tour was exactly next to the St. Stephens Cathedral, so we walked inside and were amazed of how much it reminded us of Notre Dame. Look at us young travelers making cultural connections! After the cathedral, we headed back to the market and slowly walked through the various clothing, merchandise, and food shops while getting bombarded with the street vendors. Yes, we have found it slightly annoying to get harassed by these locals trying to skeev us, but today, it worked out in our advantage. The food markets were filled with delicious dried fruits and each shop gave us a free sample. So basically, after walking through the entire market, we had enough to eat just off the samples alone! We thought it was comparable to Costco's free sample day, except at least you don't get harassed in Costco... After this stop, we spent the rest of the day at the schonbrunn castle garden. Our happy,  sunny day suddenly took a turn for the worst when it started down pouring. Add in a strong wind and loud thunder, and then you will have a perfect scene of our day: watching hundreds of tourists sprint from the delight of the garden into the safety of the castle. However, it was quite pricey to actually look around inside, so we found an inch of dry space and curled up as best as we could. It turned out to be really entertaining to sit in the rain and watch the tourists flock to shelter. We are very good at staying preoccupied and were able to pass the time with singing and laughing. After the rain stopped, we were able to make it back to the market area where we enjoyed a delicious dinner and now await a long night on a train!

-ruby and sarah

Guten Abend blog readers,
If you can't tell by now, our traveling routine has basically been established: wake up unnaturally early, endure another train ride, and then get lost on the way to the youth hostel. Our first day in Vienna was no exception. I would like to give a brief shout out to Janie Barner for being such an incredible German teacher. She gave me the confidence to approach others in the street and ask for directions in their native tongue. I know she isn't reading this, but if she felt any warm fuzzy feelings today, that was me sending out a huge thank you. Since luck seems to follow us everywhere (...I wish), the second we decided to leave the hostel, the rain gods decided to have some fun with us. It was actually a learning experience because we quickly learned that Europeans don't think too highly of raincoats. As if Sarah and I didn't look touristy enough squinting at every street sign, add in the raincoats among a sea of European umbrellas, and we might as well have had a neon sign pointing at us stating: "Ignorant Americans. 1 Euro per mocking stare." At least we would have gotten paid that way. In our effort to escape the rain, we stumbled upon a modern art museum that was free for students. Let me tell you something, modern art makes no sense to me. Half the stuff looked like broken furniture, and the other half looked a 3rd graders pottery project. Maybe it's above my intellectually level, but man some of that stuff was down right ugly. After our dinner, we thought it was best to return to the hostel to rest up. Tomorrow we will be taking a walking tour early in the morning, and then we have a night train to Venice.
Love and miss you all!

-Sarah and Ruby

Praha: Shallow waters (Day 2)

Day number 2 in Prague has come to an end and I couldn't be more sad. Today we had a late start to the day since we had a late night on the town (my body is progressively getting in worse conditions from traveling- sickness is upon both of us!). But once we made it to the town square, we joined a walking tour which taught us the history of the city. Prague has proved to be so much more than a uniquely beautiful place- it is a blend between the new and the old- during Communist rule and after. We walked through the old Jewish ghettos and learned about Hitler's invasion, watched the famous clock shift gears at the hour strike, and saw Wenchester Square in its newest form after learning about the bombings and protests during Communist rule. We really got a taste of the real Prague and we both enjoyed the tour tremendously. It's still summer but here we are learning things- crazy, right? Something that was fun to learn was that Prague is the English name of the town, which is actually called Praha meaning shallow waters because the town was built around being the only area with shallow enough water for the bridge. So there is your fun fact of the day! Anyways, after returning from the tour, we walked around the town and met up with two 18-year old girls we met last night who are from Washigton and traveling through Europe as well. We all went out for dinner to an authentic restaurant and talked about our trips, etc. Once we left, it was pouring rain, and we decided to head in early for the night instead of making a hike up in the rain to the famous castle since we had already seen it lit up the night before. All in all, Prague has been exciting and we are happy to leave knowing we are filled with more knowledge and experience of the culture. 

-Sarah and Ruby 

Prague Day 1!! Song of the day: heat wave

Sup my fellow blog readers! We really should rethink our whole early train ride thing. Waking up that early and carrying the backpack in the extreme heat is really getting to us! After a 7 hour train ride (it should have been 5 hours) we finally arrived in Prague. Let me tell you, the traveling by train part is probably the hardest part of being in Europe. Each country had its own system, and once we get the hang of one, we move on to the other. Once we finally arrived in Prague, we had an authentic meal at an authentic restaurant. The food was amazing, and we even had the waiter take our picture. We got to Prague so late today that we only had time for dinner and what Austin and Ben called "an amazing night on the town." The city really is a beautiful place, and it seems to be an incredibly fun place for the young. We took it easy today, but tomorrow we are preparing for a tour and major sightseeing. We love and miss you all!





- Sarah and Ruby

Last day in Munich

Hello all, today was our last day in Munich and was very bittersweet! We started off the day by sleeping in (aka not getting up at the crack of dawn) and setting off to a nearby palace, called Nyphenburg. Overconfident with our ability to navigate the train system, we thought, how hard could the tram system be? That was very poor judgment on our part. Of course, we hop on the tram and slowly realize we are heading the other way than the castle. However, for the first time ever, this mistake happened to be the best thing that could've happened to us. Why do I say that? Because once we looked out the window, we saw the Munich gay pride parade taking place on that very street. We immediately hopped off the tram and joined in on the festivities. Float after float crawled by overflowing with people and loud music. There were rainbows and colors up the wazoo, not to mention an enormous amount of cross dressers strutting their stuff through the parade. It was a crazy afternoon filled with energy and no filter. Once the parade was done, we finally headed over to the palace where we spent the rest of the day touring various museums and gardens within the Nyphenburg grounds. Our brief stop on a bench turned into a century as I noticed Ruby sound asleep. I let her sleep for a little as I watched a bride and her groom take their wedding photos in front of the palace (we have honestly seen 4 brides take wedding photos in front of famous monuments). After we left, we decided to head back to the Marienplatz center and see what was going on for the Gay Pride Festival. Sure enough, it was jam packed with people and beer stands. Live music and a techno rave were crowding the streets, so we walked around and observed the festival as we ate some doeners (German sandwhich). We topped the night off with some ice cream and shopping and are now back in the hostel in travel mode for a new day in a new place.









- Sarah and Ruby

Slight technical difficulties

Hey hey. Sorry our post from last night didn't get posted until now. We are having issues with the wifi at our hostel. We tried to post it with the pictures, but for some reason the pictures aren't showing up. We will post the pictures from Munich later on when we get better wifi connection!


- Sarah and Ruby

Song of the Day: A Thousand Miles (read on to find out why!)

To our loyal followers: Today was probably the longest day of the trip (at least it felt that way). Sarah and I awoke in Paris at 4 45 a.m feeling refreshed and ready to go (you didn't actually believe that did you? We had to drag ourselves out of bed.) Then came the most exciting part of the day: the 6 hour train ride to Munich. Once again, I hope my sarcasm was evident. Do you want to know what if feels like to backpack from the train station to the youth hostel? Well, I'll give you an idea. Strap a bag of bricks to your back, run your feet over with a car, and then make sure the sun is up at it's hottest point. There you go. That might have been a slight exaggeration, but it paints a picture. Once we dropped off our bags at the hostel, we decided to head into Marienplatz, the center of the city. I love Munich so much because one moment you are walking by an H&M, and the next, you are standing in front of a beautiful historic building. It's literally a mishmash of modern and ancient. Frau Barner (Janie to a few) advised us to go the the Beer Garden in the middle of the English Gardens, and really, when does anybody ignore Janie's advice? The smart thing to do would have been to take the subway there, but like the naive tourists we are, we decided to walk. And walk. And walk. Realize we are going in the wrong direction. Turn around. And walk again. The food was really good though, and the garden was alive with people. Some people were even swimming in the rushing river that flowed by (you can kind of see the people in the background of our beautiful selfie). You'd think that since we got to the English Gardens we could get back right? Wrong. We added on a couple of miles to our return journey (due to our numerous mistakes), but we did make it back to the Marienplatz in one piece. We finished off the night with milkshakes and a gorgeous view (little hard to see it in the picture). I just have one more comment to add to tonight's blog. Sarah and I have been seeing a crazy amount of cute babies and little children in Europe. So whatever the Europeans are doing must be working. Good night from Munich! 

 

Paris Day 3: Anything Could Happen

Hello fellow blog followers, I can't believe we are already done with our second city! Paris truly is beautiful beyond its major attractions. Since we had a third day in the city, we were able to be more flexible with our schedule. Ruby and I soon realized that a song to describe today was "Anything Could Happen" because the day was up in the air for whatever we stumbled upon. We started the day off at Notre Dame and were in awe with the cathedral. The only vision I had of it was from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame and I am here to say that no, we didn't stumble upon any pick-pocketing gipsies, but yes, the area still holds a magically spiritual feeling. The cathedral was open for all visitors and we entered the embellished walls along with hundreds of other travelers. Candles lit in memory of loved ones surrounded the historic walls and it immediately dropped to a whisper as everyone felt the place coming to life. After leaving the cathedral, we walked around the town to get a feel for the city life and ate lunch on a bench overlooking the beautiful site. After such an amazing afternoon, things took a turn for the worst (only slightly, but I will make it more dramatic for a good read!). We traveled all the way towards the Catacombs of Paris and were shocked to find out that a small tourist attraction could somehow prohibit us from even seeing the catacombs the entire day. With our spirits slightly crushed, we last minute hopped on the metro towards St. Michel and hoped for the best. Honestly, we had no idea what we were looking for and ended up in the garden of a museum without even knowing it. Somehow that happens a lot in Europe. One minute you are walking down a street full of shops and then the next minute you realize there is some large, historic castle right in front of your eyes. So yeah, we kind of just walked into what we soon found out was the National Museum of Middle Ages and spent a few hours learning about art and such. Since we are typical girls, our usual walking around the town turned into a small shopping trip. Talk about turning our day around- who needs dead people in tombs when you can have dead people's art followed by shopping!! So basically, we had regained our excitement and it was topped off after (yet again) stumbling upon the Luxembourg Gardens (where we literally stopped to smell the roses). It was a perfectly sunny day, so we chilled with our feet dangling in the pond and watched all of the young foreign kids playing with sailboats. We finally made it back to the apartment where my dad took us out to dinner (and was shocked to see how hungry us busy girls were!). Now, we enjoy our last night of Paris and get to bed early for that bright and early train in the morning! (We really should have rethought the whole 7 am trains...) Au Revoir Paris!













- Sarah and Ruby

Paris Part Deux

Yo yo my loyal blog readers. Are you ever sick of being in control or knowing where you are going? Well Sarah and I have a cure that is sure to work: try using the metro or train stations in France. We decided to take a day trip to Versailles, and we managed to turn a supposed 30 min trip into a 3 hour fiasco. No information desks were open, and all the locals seemed to think Versailles was in a different place every time we asked. We were starting to question the worth of this day trip, but those thoughts instantly vanished when we got our first glimpse of the Chateau de Versailles. The song All Gold Everything came to mind as we gazed upon the lavish palace. Everything from the gates, the walls, and even furniture had gold embedded somewhere in it. As we toured the rooms, the splendor and extravagance never ceased to awe us. We took our time wandering through the gorgeous royal garden, and let me tell you, the views were stunning. Once we returned to the apartment and took a brief nap (something we rightfully deserved), we were ready to get back out there. This time Sarah and I had no trouble navigating the metro, and we made it to Paris successfully on the first attempt (no judging). As we were waking to the Eiffel Tower, we came across a group of street performers that danced to everything from Single Ladies to Gangnam Style. It was entertaining to say the least. Then we grabbed a basket of fries and plopped down on a bench. There's something about having the Eiffel Tower as your background that makes fries taste a 100 times better. I have a little tidbit of advice for any boys or husbands reading this blog. If you want to impress a girl, there is one easy way to do it. Take her to Paris, wait until the sun goes down, buy her an ice cream, and watch the Eiffel Tower light up. It's Ruby and Sarah tested and approved. The view is actually breathtaking. The beautiful weather and delicious ice cream certainly didn't hurt either. We made our way back to our apartment (once again, on the first attempt), and we even helped someone on the metro get directions to their destination. Just goes to show that the young grasshopper really can become the wise master. Well, it's off to bed for the both of us. Our last day in Paris is tomorrow, and we have to make it count! Au revoir!









- Sarah and Ruby

Bienvenue a Paris!

Today was our first day in Paris and we started our morning off right with a 5 am wake-up to catch our train through the Chunnel. Being two extremely eager and equally naive young girls, we booked many trains for early in the morning thinking it would give us the entire day in the new city. Lucky for us, early trains mean even earlier wake ups and we are quickly realizing the consequence of that decision- sleep deprivation. However, that didn't stop us from having a wonderful day in the city, and enjoying our last moments in London (yes, we relished in the glory of King's Cross' 9 and 3/4 platform). After arriving in Paris, we were able to meet up with my dad with whom we get to stay while he is here for business. Our apartment is right around the corner from his office, so we had the privilege of touring Ducker and having lunch with a business partner of my his, Jochn. He took us to a local French restaurant where Ruby and I decided to be brave souls and get the most "French" item on the menu. Of course, it had to be raw meat called "tartar." Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad and we paired it with some French wine and bread. After immersing ourselves in the food of the city, we headed for the city center with my dad to begin the day of site seeing. We began at the Eiffel Tower and wandered our way towards the Arc de Triumph. We all agreed that climbing to the top of the Arc would be worth the efforts, but after five seconds of the steep, winding staircase, we nearly had enough. We braced ourselves for the epic view at the top which indeed proved to be worth the trouble. It was a remarkable view that really brought the city to life. After the trek back down, we walked through the Champs Elysees and further immersed in the French way of life with some crepes. Half asleep yet reluctant to call it a day, we walked by the famous Louvre museum and continued across the Love Lock Bridge (of course me and Ruby contributed to the locks!). Finally, we made the journey back to the apartment and await another fun-packed day.












- Sarah and Ruby