Pip Pip Cheerio!

We made it to England! Cheerio! This morning after waking up at some obscene hour of the morning we got on a bullet train and headed to our next stop, Bath, England. We were only on the train for about an hour and a half and on it we had a quiz that was way harder than it should have been. There is just one week left of the trip and I'm starting to be grateful I didn't sign up for the usual 6 week summer program. All the constant traveling and attempted learning is exhausting, and it doesn't help that I never had time to recover after finals week either. We never have enough space or stay somewhere long enough to unpack and we have to eat out every meal every day. Home, Charley, and my cloud-like bed are all sounding pretty good about now. But, our bus driver today absolutely raved about how fun London is going to be so I'm excited to finally make it there! There is a big soccer game playing tomorrow night so everyone is going to go to a pub and watch it with the British people and their fun accents 😎 

Studying on the train 

I'm going to rant about my teachers real quick. The same two teachers have been leading the trip for the last 15 years together; we are going to call them Jim and Bob. Jim teaches the upper level horticulture class and LOVES plants. He is always talking about how gardens should make you feel and telling us to discover ourselves. Bob teaches the classics class. He spends every summer in Europe and averages 7-9 espresso shots a day. Bob talks a mile a minute (which should come as no surprise to someone who drinks that much espresso) and can be known for being condescending to us students when we ask basic questions. He makes up for these minor flaws by sitting at the front of the bus while we sit with our notes and write down 5 things we have learned to count as our quizzes. There is more work that we need to do after the trip, but he understands that with all the traveling we do, along with the insane amount of new info he throws at us, it would be hard to absorb everything. Jim on the other hand does no such thing and makes his quizzes way harder than necessary. We don't have a real textbook for this class and we can only study the notes we get from his lectures. Even the students majoring in horticulture are taken aback by the quizzes. I was also very surprised by how unapproachable the teachers were outside of the classroom, they both seem like they would be very personable. I have been in groups of 2-3 students and just them before, walking around gardens, and not once have they asked a student about their personal life or attempted to get to know them. Usually this isn't the biggest deal, they aren't here to be our friends, but they get very snappy about little things and it comes across as very rude especially when there is no relationship built there. A few times I have reached out to them but they were very cold with their answers and made it so where I felt uncomfortable to ask more. I just find it strange that both teachers are this way. Janae made the comment that Jim calls himself a "compulsive teacher", and always talks about how he loves teaching, but I think that lots of people would agree that a teacher is more than someone who can regurgitate information. I would never say this to them, I don't even know if they've remembered my name, but I feel like the trip would be more enjoyable if the teachers tried to get to know the students at least a little bit. And not just the students who have similar majors so they can talk more about their subjects. Ok I am done. They can be really nice too though sometimes!!  

We walked around two really pretty gardens today. It's also freezing here though so I was too bundled up to take notes. I need to find some gloves ASAP. Compared to some other people here though I am golden! One girl only brought one pair of jeans... Clearly her weather channel app was not working when she was packing for the trip. We were in a bus for about 5 hours after the train ride, one hour between gardens and about 4 to the hotel. All I have to say about that it PTL. (Praise the lord). For some reason all vehicles now put me to sleep so whenever we have more than 30 minutes I am out. 

England countryside 

Stonehenge - not that cool looking - pretty small 

The first garden is apparently the second most famous garden right behind Versailles. It had a castle and multiple different sections throughout the garden. I feel bad for not appreciating it like other people but flowers just don't do it for me. Shout out to my mom though, she would love it. The second garden was more like a park so it was really fun to walk through! I think it is one of my favorites along with a few in Italy. I still don't care about plants, but I love a good view! 

Harry Potter is in just two more days!!' Woohoo!!! Ok time to sleep again, first time in bed before 1:00 am almost all trip YAY! 

*** in deep dark depression right now because my favorite vampire diaries character went shopping in Paris on the same street I was on yesterday AND IM NOT THERE ANYMORE. WHY ME. WHY.  ***

On that note, time to cry myself to sleep. Goodbye. 

~emily

America: Land of the free and home of Chickfila

Last night left everyone asleep till 10:30 this morning and craving chick fil a breakfast. Usually I'm against starting your day at noon, but since we are rounding day 11 of the trip, I was in desperate need of some extra sleep.

Paris has been a very different experience compared to Italy. First off, the people are not as friendly. In Italy people were teaching us Italian left and right, I actually learned some of it. In France, no one gives you the time of day. This attitude is  especially noticeable when we are served at resturaunt and you only see your waiter when he takes your order and brings you your food. Today while we were shopping I very loudly mentioned how,  "wow I should have got a small in this!", to my friend Liba. Usually the people working would offer to go get it for you or check to see if someone recently tried one on, but not in Paris! It has also been noted that there are no taxes added to any of the prices you are shown. The city also smells like pee every time you walk to the metro, and occasionally above ground too. We are still trying to figure out if there's a correlation.  

We have officially had three quizzes and our next one is tomorrow. I forget that we are actually here to learn sometimes (I'm writing this in bed and Taylor just flung her arm across me ahhhh! Too close!!)  I'm hoping if I just believe in myself and think really hard, the answers will come to me.  

I'm avoiding writing about today because it really wasn't that interesting. We spent a lot of time on busses trying to find our way around the city. In Italy it was wild if we did anything outside the group, but in Paris I feel like I've only seen about 7 people this whole time. We went to the padlock bridge where I made a lock for Ryan and myself, and Liba made one too. Apparently they are taking all the locks off the bridge though because it makes it weigh too much. So I guess me and Ryan's eternal love is going to end here pretty soon and my 5€ lock will be all for naught. After we hung out on the bridge we went to notre dame where I ran into my friend Charlotte who went to high school with me! I had been Facebook messaging her about fun things to do in Paris since she had spent the whole semester here and then next thing you know we were both in line! What a small world. 

Tomorrow my alarm is set for 5:45 and we leave at 7:30 for a bus to Bath in England. Apparently the train goes underwater. I'm pretty pumped. Time to go to sleep, hopefully tomorrow will be a little more exciting! 

Goodnight! 

~emily

Third Stops the Charm

Today was ANOTHER travel day. We went to three gardens, each one 1 hour and 45 minutes away from each other, and we stayed at each one for at least two hours. So basically everyone just slept all day and looked at flowers in between naps.

I didn't like the first garden we went to, Giverny, it was the garden that inspired  Monet. There was no organization and all the plants were just dumped and over flowing. Pretty! But I was not inspired. 

This was a street that I thought was pretty 😊

After a two hour bus ride it started raining at the next garden. Almost no one brought a good, heavy coat to stay warm so it was not the most pleasant experience. I brought a coat and boots thank goodness but even I was still cold with that. This garden was less stressful than the last one and more organized, but it looked like the neighborhood, Chimney Springs. It had a lake with a path around it, an open field, some clusters of trees, and no flowers just woodland stuff. But nature rocks it was still cool!! 

The last two hour bus ride took us to chateau de vaux le vicomte and it was SO PRETTY!!!! We were there for five hours and got to walk around the grounds and inside the house. Inside the house was definitely my favorite because it was staged to look like how people lived when the house was occupied. I think with some air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and maybe an TV and microwave, I could definitely see myself living here! 

At night they lit candles all throughout the grounds. In France it's so strange, the sun doesn't set until 10:00 pm. It was twilight when we could walk around the candle lit grounds and it was beautiful. For dinner we had weird cafeteria food that cost way more money than it was worth, but the always dependable bread and butter were quite good. 

On the ride back we had to listen to some "over-served" classmates shout about nothing and be obnoxious. Eventually they went to sleep which meant so could everyone else. The bed in our hotel is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. The pillows are clouds and the comforter is puffy and incredibly soft. Time to sleep and get ready for tomorrow, we are going to see Versailles and the Eiffel Tower!!

Bonnuit! 

~emily 

P.S. - I understand zero French. Absolutely none. 

The Best Day Ever

Today was the BEST day ever!! Hands down my favorite day of the whole entire trip. Get ready.

We started out the day going to Versailles which, surprisingly, wasn't as grandouis as the other gardens we have been to. It was built because the person who owned the chateau we went to yesterday threw a party and the king felt "upstaged". He then proceeded to imprison the owner, hire his architects and designers, and demand they make him a palace bigger than the other one. The grounds were cool but the fountains only ran at certain times so it was a little difficult to plan around those.

After walking around with the group we broke off and grabbed some food. While we were eating we saw a sign for paddle boating along the giant canal in the gardens, it ended up being only around 5€ per person and it was SO FUN! We had no idea how to steer the boats and whenever someone came toward us we would just have to yell to get their attention and hope that they were better at paddle boating than we were. Janae was not nervous at all about the boat tipping but me and Katie were freaking out, Janae thought it was funny to make the boat the rock. Janae is lame. (Just kidding she rocks). We were only on the canal for 45 minutes but the weather was perfect, everyone was in a great mood, and best of all no walking was involved.  

Ok I'm going brag for a minute, I packed  perfectly for this trip. We spent 7 days in Italy (roughly), and now we are in France and going to the UK very soon. I packed 3 pairs of shorts, two dresses, 2 tank tops, three solid tshirts, a few vnecks, sweaters, 5 pairs of jeans, a heavy jacket, a light jacket, converse, boots, and AMAZING walking sandals! Some people didn't check the weather and only packed shorts and dresses.. It is currently around 50 in Paris. So while people complain about hypothermia I am toasty warm inside my layers and jacket that I remembered to bring! In the morning it always starts out really cold and so far it has been hit or miss if it's going to be cold or not that day. In the shade it's always cold but if the sun happens to be out it can be either freezing OR slightly under freezing. Moral of the story, I did a great job packing; thanks mom 😊

After our boating experience we made our way towards the Arc de Triomphe. Paris is way bigger than any of us thought and it takes forever to get place to place. It's also a lot nicer than Rome which was a pleasant surprise, I don't feel like everyone around me is trying to pick pocket me. It's still not as great as America but I'm probably biased. We got a student discount and walked to the top of the arc for only 7.50€, which is not bad at all! It was so cool, you could see for miles! It wasn't until I got to the top that I fully realized how massive Paris was. The view was definitely worth the huge spiraling staircase we had to climb to get to the top! 

Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower twinkles at 10:00 pm, so we decided to plan a picnic. We went to a small, local grocery store and bought champagne, candy, chips, and all kinds of things to munch on. Then we went back into the park to a  restaurant/food truck and all got more food, we were having a feast. I got a ham and cheese sandwich with a donut and it was awesome. The park by the Eiffel Tower filled up very quickly. It was a mix between families, foreigners, couples, and friends. Since the sun doesn't set until 10:00 pm everyone had lots of daylight for their picnics and games. We sat around, eating and drinking, playing different games and taking pictures. All in front of the Eiffel Tower. In Paris. It was insane. 

Janae popped the cork and it literally flew 15 feet and hit a couple

We rounded out the night with a solid 2 hour trip home, only getting lost 3 times and taking about 5 separate metro trains. A bed has never sounded so good. Everyone on this trip is so welcoming and fun, people who love to laugh are my favorite kind of people. Tomorrow is a free day and so far our only plan is to sleep past 7:00 am, so who knows what we will get ourselves into tomorrow! 

~emily 

"I pee and you cry, we leak from different places" - Katie talking about what happens when we laugh too hard (I'm the one who cries) (just to clarify)  

Passport to Paris

** title refers to Mary-kate and Ashley movie ** 

I got laughed at today because I tried referring to a picture we took yesterday or Wednesday, but really we took it this morning. So that tells you where my brain is at. We saw two gardens this morning but it started raining at the second one. Neither garden was that wonderful and I honestly don't remember the fun facts that our teacher told us about them. (Sorry mom and dad) I got some pretty pictures though!! After the two gardens we hit up the Pisa airport and flew out to Paris! 

Side story: I'm not very good at math but leaving home in Atlanta my bag weighed 42 lbs, and when I weighed it at the airport it was 30 kg. That's like 55 lbs. I haven't bought anything. I do not understand. 

The flight was fine, I kept trying to not fall asleep and I kept waking up after falling asleep. We didn't land in the big airport instead we went to a smaller one. In case you didn't know, in the movie, Taken, the girl met the guy at the big Paris airport. So I think we are safer already avoiding that place altogether. 

After the flight we went straight to the Louvre. Our reservation was for 8:15 so we didn't have any time to eat (😵) and we only stayed until 9:30. I am forever starving and then eating excessively large amounts of food at the strangest hours of the day and night. We definitely did NOT have enough time at the Louvre, but we still got to see some cool stuff. I think we barely got the reservation we did so at least we got to go! It actually worked out really well for us because the museum wasn't crowded at all. We were able to get right up to the rope at the Mona Lisa! 

We've only been in France for a few hours but something I LOVE is how late it stays light out! We left the Louvre at 9:30 and it looked like 5:00 outside. So awesome. After we checked into our shoebox of a hotel room, a group of us headed to find dinner. Apparently people in Paris don't like to eat late because we had to ask around for somewhere that was still open. We ran into a cute restaurant where I got a killer cheese burger and fries that would put The Grill's to shame. After topping the night off by splitting some cream brûlée we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our 7:00 a.m. breakfast. Yay...

Ttyl! 

~emily 

It's not goodbye it's see you later

Two days is NOT enough time to spend in Florence. It's such a cute town and there are boutiques, leather stores, and gelato on every square! While in Florence you can definitely tell it's a more ritzy part of Italy. I think I've heard more people speak English than Italian here and there are street vendors who barade you around the extra touristy areas. The annoying vendors are only in certain areas though so if you power through and don't look at them it's not a big deal. 

I got excited because I love maps and they had map everything all over bags and wallets. But it was real leather and the smallest thing was 150€ so I cried on the inside and left 😔

This morning we got to see the David which was actually really cool. Sometimes I find it hard to appreciate art but the David just looked incredible. I will never understand how some people  have so much talent. The museum also had these statues called the 12 slaves, and they were unfinished sculptures by Michael Angelo. I really like those because it showed you a little of the thought process being his sculpting. Only 2 out of the 12 were finished but I think it's funny he got halfway on all 10 of the other sculptures. Rough drafts or long term projects?? 

After the museum we went to the Boboli garden. I never realized how important gardens were to castles, but the past two days the gardens have been really unique in their designs. Yesterday, the garden had a long rectangular slab of rock with the middle carved out and about 2 feet for still water. When I looked closer I realized the water was actually slowly flowing from one end to the other. Our teacher explained that the servants would put food on one end and it would float down and you would grab out the middle, how fun! We got to try it with a Tupperware container of Italian honey candy, it was delicious. I think I want one of those my garden when I too get a castle or estate. 

Medici castle where the Boboli garden was 

"Stop! Collaborate and listen!" 

~The inspiration behind the song ice ice baby ~

When we were released for our free day, Janae went to go enjoy historical old stuff while we went straight for the food. You don't realize the stuff you will miss from home until you don't have it anymore. Everywhere in Europe you have to pay for water. There are no water fountains and only sometimes can you drink from sinks or public areas. Rome was really awesome because it had those cool aqueducts that still worked, so you had unlimited cold water. In Florence they don't have that system so you have to buy a 2-3€ bottle of water if you want to stay hydrated. I still fill up at the hotel when I can but it pains me when I have to buy water. It pains me even worse when we get charged a sitting fee.. A fee to sit. For each person. What is that??? Who knew simply "existing" in Europe was so expensive! We only ran into this near the very touristy/ritzy area but I hope Paris doesn't have that! Your girl is going broke here! 

When you are so sleepy you drop your phone in your pasta and you aren't even mad about it (pictured above: Liba)

We walked around for a while and then went back to take a nap before dinner. Of course our one hour nap turned into two and a half hour nap and we ended up leaving around 8. Everyone is freaking out because for our flight to Paris tomorrow you only get ONE carry on, meaning either purse or backpack but not both, and the suitcase must be under 44 lbs. There are also limits on the carry on size so anyone who brought duffle bags is out of luck. We tried to eat quick so we could get back and re situate our bags, but then we got sad about leaving Italy so we walked around, shopped, and got gelato instead of heading home. I'm sure we'll figure it out tomorrow. 😊 

Here they have MOUNTAINS of gelato. It's fantastic. 

Super cool street art 

Shops over the river. On the other side of the shops there was a band playing music all night and people were surrounding them dancing and having a good time. I will miss Florence. 

Tomorrow night I'll be in Paris! ✈️

Bona nota! 

~emily  

Travel Days = Sleep Days

Today was not a day of much excitement. We left Rome at 8:30 and hoped on a bus that would take us to two villas on the way to Florence. I didn't pay much attention during the lectures so I don't have any fun facts for you BUT here are some pictures! Also the Lizzie McGuire movie filmed here so that's awesome. 

I took a nice three hour nap on the bus and woke up when we arrived in Florence. I immediately fell in love with the city. It is quaint, beautiful, and just nice enough to give you a sense of security when waking around. It's so different from Rome where you could tell there was a large homeless population and lots of poverty around the area. I feel like Florence is a slightly cheaper version of Buckhead in Atlanta. Lining every street is a gelateria with, no exaggeration, MOUNTAINS of gelato! My teachers keep talking about finding inspiration, well I find mine at the bottom of my coconut gelato cup! We only got the see the streets on our walk to dinner but tomorrow we will have more free time. 

For dinner we went to a very fancy restuant. There were 5 courses and we got a special deal since we were in a group. I think the teachers worked some magic so we didn't have to wait in line, which was out the door and around the corner. The food was incredible! It was an Italian style meal where they put out a few dishes and you passed them around the table. My favorites were the ravioli, the pork/chicken (I'm not sure what it was), the roasted herb potatoes, and the gnocchi. We all fought over dessert and didn't even bother putting it on our plates, we just ate off the platter it came on. Soooo delicious! 

After dinner a bunch of us went to a local pub where we actually ran into some UGA student. They were leaving Saturday and gave us the scoop on all the places to go tomorrow. UGA students rock. 

It is now 2 am and past my bedtime. Goodnight! 

~emily