Greetings,
Looks like my posts are getting less and less frequent. We keep spending time doing other fun activities instead of coming to the restaurant and blogging. Last week when we were here, Tuesday, we planned our trip to Dublin, Ireland for next weekend (1/31-2/1). Jenna and I will be going with two girls we met in orientation and a guy that works on my ward that has never been to Dublin and has made a New Year's resolution to travel more. So we will have tons of people to enjoy Dublin with! We will do things similiar to Bath, and leave Saturday morning around 8 and then get to Dublin around 10 am and have the whole day and most of the day Sunday (we leave around 7pm on Sunday evening). We plan on definitely doing the Guiness factory, but no other places for sure yet. Any recommendations welcome if you've been!
After spending Monday out for Dirty Dancing and Tuesday night at the Putney Station, we took it easy on Wednesday evening and did laundry and relaxed in our rooms. It is nice to just lay around sometimes, but you can't do it too much b/c there is no tv or common room so things get boring quickly in the small bedroom. Things with clinical have been going well. I enjoy all the people I work with and have been learning a few things along the way. Like I've said earlier, the pace is awfully slow compared to back home, but I think this has a lot to do with the patients' conditions. I have acquired a few patients that I'm leading treatment sessions with and getting more involved altogether. It has been a good learning experience, but I have mostly been watching a variety of patients and even OT and Speech therapies. I feel there is so much to see in this setting that I will be watching and putting my input in more than I will be leading large amounts of treatment sessions (which is a little odd for one of my last 3 rotations). But, I'm learning some and mostly spending my time having a blast enjoying Europe!
On Thursday, Jenna and I went out with Laura and Georgia (the 2 girls who will be coming to Dublin) and had a nice dinner and a drinks. It is so fun to go out with people from here because you always hear new things or learn things about their culture that we never knew. They learn tons from us too! We stayed out later than we should've on a "school night" but managed to get out of bed on Friday and make it through the day. Friday night, Jenna and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire which was a great independent film. I believe it is out in the states too, so if you get a chance, check it out. A little harsh to watch during some scenes, but overall a good flick to see. Our dinner before the movie was at TGI Fridays...which was amazing b/c we had boneless buffalo wings and I had a caesar salad (two things it's been very hard to find around here). It amazing how quickly you can get tired of certain things and really start to crave the things you're used to.
Saturday morning we slept in a little then headed out to Borough market, which is known as a great eclectic food market near central London. Unfortunately, much of the tube line we use and many of the ones towards the market were closed, so it was a long out-of-the-way trip, but proved to be well worth it. The market had butcher stands, fresh produce, bread, specialty items, coffee, sweets, grills and stands making food, everything! The best part was that the majority of the stands were giving samples of things, so we ate tons for free. Jenna and I were in love and we found a few things to buy and take home including feta dip, cheese with cumin seeds (taste like chili), fresh mozarella, and garden fresh tomatoes. After the filling time at the market, we walked along the Thames and saw the reconstructed Globe theatre (where Shakespeare did plays), did a quick trip inside the Tate Modern museum (Jenna and I both can't appreciate modern art and were making jokes about the works so we quickly came and went), crossed the Millenium bridge over the Thames (a modern looking steel bridge constructed in 2000 and had to be repaired early b/c it swayed too much), and went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married and it holds the crypts of The Duke of Wellington, Christopher Wren [designed the cathedral], and Andrew Fleming [founder of penicillin] including others). Despite the busy day so far, we started to walk some more and found the Bank of England, stumbled upon Chinatown and Soho, and saw The Ivy where all the stars go to eat when in London. We kept on from there and saw the theatre where "We Will Rock You" is running right now (the play featuring songs of Queen)...we decided to be spontaneous and found they had standing room only tickets for the evening's show for only 15 pounds! We bought them, headed off for a great tapas dinner that was recommended in one of our guide books, and then went back to the show. It was an amazing rendition of all the songs and the storyline was decent too. We enjoyed standing in the back, most of the time, because the view of the stage was great and there weren't any heads to block our view. It's a show I would definitely recommend to any one wanting to see something lively and fun while in London. After the exhausting day filled with 12 hours of walking, we came back home and crashed!
This morning, we slept some and decided we would take the Tube down to Wimbledon to see the area. As you may expect, right as we went to leave, it started to pour! We waited things out, caught the tube and began another day filled with walking. After about a 15 minute walk from the station, we got to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the stadium/area that holds the Wimbledon Championships each summer). We decided not to take the tour, but ventured in the shop and at least can now say we've been to Wimbledon. We found a nice lunch spot and from that have come to the conclusion that the only thing we like to each here is Mexican or Spanish tapas..which aren't always easy to find. During the time in Wimbledon, we got lost a few times b/c we were without a map, but enjoyed the trip for Sunday. Now we have made it to our destination here at the Putney Station and will start another week tomorrow.
No big plans for this week, except preparing for our trip to Dublin. Hope all is well back home!!!
P.S. Suzette...yes the bathrooms are community. Get ready for the fun!!
P.S. Angie...I'm so jealous of your warm trip to Puerto Rico! Tell Adriane hello and that I hope she feels better soon. Also, the respect for "physios" here seems to be generally good .
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Life in Putney
Hi!
Sorry it's been so long since the last blog, but we weren't able to make it back to the restaurant with internet after last Tuesday and we went to Bath this past weekend.
Jenna and I ventured out last Thursday to the "Fulham Broadway" tube stop which is a little more city-like than Putney to walk around, see some new sites, and find some dinner. We stumbled upon a very nice Spanish tapas restaurant that had some of the best food we've had so far. It was great to have things with a little spice in it! Friday we had a "going-away" party for a girl who was leaving the Physio department and taking a new job. We went to the same restaurant we come for internet and had lots of fun (and a few too many drinks for some more than others). I was pretty well behaved, but had more to drink than I should have b/c we had to take the train the next morning.
Saturday morning arrived and we were up and out of bed around 5:45 in order to pack and leave to catch our train to Bath for 8:30. As we walked out the door, we saw it was pouring down rain and we didn't have time to wait around for it to clear up. Therefore, we walked 15 minutes in the storm to the tube station...needless to stay it put a damper on the beginning of the trip. We got to the train station, boarded the train, and pulled away to see lots of sunshine in the distance. The ride was an easy 1 1/2 hours and we were in Bath and ready to explore. We hoped off the train and my expression was "Now what?" b/c we had no idea what to really see in the city or where to stay that evening. Our first priority was to find a place to stay (which wasn't very hard b/c it's not a big time for travel this time of year) and we negotiated the price down by 20 pounds and our hotel included breakfast! What a steal! We took a map and headed out for exploring the city. Bath is known for the Roman Baths that were discovered thousands of years ago and continue to bubble away, a Fashion History museum, and a long drag of shops. We stopped at all these places our first day, stopped for lunch at a chinese buffet (haha b/c we wanted something different) and got caught in another rainstorm walking to dinner. We loved our hotel room as it had a great music channel, Magic, that played awesome countdowns including Top 50 Love Songs of the 90s! It was hard to pull ourselves away and we decided to call it a night early.
We slept in some Sunday morning, had a great filling breakfast, and headed to the modern Thermae Bath Spa, which has steam rooms, warm pools, and even a rooftop heated pool. We decided to go for a 2 hour spa session and tried all these things out and they were amazing! Definitely what we needed after our first full week of clinicals! After the spa, we did a little more shopping (mostly Jenna did shopping b/c I only bought 1 shirt all weekend) and grabbed some nachos (which are everywhere here!!) and a beer, then boarded our train back to London. The weekend was great, despite the little bit of rain and I would definitely recommend a trip to Bath for anyone heading this direction. It's an easy day trip from London and you can easily fit most things in if you have all day.
Yesterday...I was so delighted to make it to the showing of "Dirty Dancing" on stage. It was a great show, but so hard to compare to the movie. They were able to fit almost all the scenes in the play and I was so grateful to just be able to see one of my favorite movies on stage!!! It was a late night, especially after the weekend trip, so we're now here at the restaurant blogging and will head back to the dorm early. We will be planning a few more trips (probably Dublin and Barcelona), so if you have any tips on these places, feel free to post in the comments! Hope all is well at home and I'll be in touch!
-Melissa
P.S. Socrates, I will already be back in the States on March 4th, but thanks so much for offering to bring me something from home. Just a note, if there is anything you can't live without while you're traveling over here...be sure to bring it along b/c many things are hard to come by!
Sorry it's been so long since the last blog, but we weren't able to make it back to the restaurant with internet after last Tuesday and we went to Bath this past weekend.
Jenna and I ventured out last Thursday to the "Fulham Broadway" tube stop which is a little more city-like than Putney to walk around, see some new sites, and find some dinner. We stumbled upon a very nice Spanish tapas restaurant that had some of the best food we've had so far. It was great to have things with a little spice in it! Friday we had a "going-away" party for a girl who was leaving the Physio department and taking a new job. We went to the same restaurant we come for internet and had lots of fun (and a few too many drinks for some more than others). I was pretty well behaved, but had more to drink than I should have b/c we had to take the train the next morning.
Saturday morning arrived and we were up and out of bed around 5:45 in order to pack and leave to catch our train to Bath for 8:30. As we walked out the door, we saw it was pouring down rain and we didn't have time to wait around for it to clear up. Therefore, we walked 15 minutes in the storm to the tube station...needless to stay it put a damper on the beginning of the trip. We got to the train station, boarded the train, and pulled away to see lots of sunshine in the distance. The ride was an easy 1 1/2 hours and we were in Bath and ready to explore. We hoped off the train and my expression was "Now what?" b/c we had no idea what to really see in the city or where to stay that evening. Our first priority was to find a place to stay (which wasn't very hard b/c it's not a big time for travel this time of year) and we negotiated the price down by 20 pounds and our hotel included breakfast! What a steal! We took a map and headed out for exploring the city. Bath is known for the Roman Baths that were discovered thousands of years ago and continue to bubble away, a Fashion History museum, and a long drag of shops. We stopped at all these places our first day, stopped for lunch at a chinese buffet (haha b/c we wanted something different) and got caught in another rainstorm walking to dinner. We loved our hotel room as it had a great music channel, Magic, that played awesome countdowns including Top 50 Love Songs of the 90s! It was hard to pull ourselves away and we decided to call it a night early.
We slept in some Sunday morning, had a great filling breakfast, and headed to the modern Thermae Bath Spa, which has steam rooms, warm pools, and even a rooftop heated pool. We decided to go for a 2 hour spa session and tried all these things out and they were amazing! Definitely what we needed after our first full week of clinicals! After the spa, we did a little more shopping (mostly Jenna did shopping b/c I only bought 1 shirt all weekend) and grabbed some nachos (which are everywhere here!!) and a beer, then boarded our train back to London. The weekend was great, despite the little bit of rain and I would definitely recommend a trip to Bath for anyone heading this direction. It's an easy day trip from London and you can easily fit most things in if you have all day.
Yesterday...I was so delighted to make it to the showing of "Dirty Dancing" on stage. It was a great show, but so hard to compare to the movie. They were able to fit almost all the scenes in the play and I was so grateful to just be able to see one of my favorite movies on stage!!! It was a late night, especially after the weekend trip, so we're now here at the restaurant blogging and will head back to the dorm early. We will be planning a few more trips (probably Dublin and Barcelona), so if you have any tips on these places, feel free to post in the comments! Hope all is well at home and I'll be in touch!
-Melissa
P.S. Socrates, I will already be back in the States on March 4th, but thanks so much for offering to bring me something from home. Just a note, if there is anything you can't live without while you're traveling over here...be sure to bring it along b/c many things are hard to come by!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Weekend 1
Greetings!
After my last written post (not the pictures), Jenna and I went to see Bride Wars which was very cute, very predictable, and pretty funny. It was nice to hear things spoken in all American accents, so it was hard for us to exit the theatre and realize we were still in London.
Saturday morning Jenna and I finally slept in some and then headed over to Notting Hill to exlpore the charming neighborhood. Thankfully, they had a large street market and lots to see in the area. Unfortuntely it was very very cold (even a few snow flurries) while we walked around so it was a little uncomfortable and we headed for the warm shelter of a Mexican restaurant we read about in our guidebook. It was a great relief to have options besides Fish & Chips, Shephard's Pie, Bangers & Mash... The food here has been an overall letdown, so it was nice to get some chips and salsa and quesadillas. The people were very nice and Jenna and I vowed we would definitely go back soon. After that we planned on heading back home, but jumped off the tube at the same stop where I stayed with Mom & Dad before they left and hit a few pubs. Jenna and I called it our own mini-pub crawl and thoroughly enjoyed it. We headed home and prepared for another day in Lonon.
Sunday, we went to "London's Best Bloody Mary" stop called The Grenadier, which is near Hyde Park. The Bloody's were very good and we enjoyed the tiny pub and headed on our way. By the way, I had a great ham and cheese sandwhich with chutney, so it was 2 great lunches in a row! We headed out to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to do some leisurely walking as it was actually about 50 degrees and sunny. The area was very nice, but not as beautifully if in the spring with flowers/leaves on trees/etc. We then walked on to Princess Diana's memorial fountain and Kensington Palace where she lived. Very quaint and nice, but nothing huge and elaborate. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the dorms.
This week has started off nice and I have seen tons of different patients. The pace is much slower as I've seen approx 2-3 patients PER DAY, which is so different to things back in the US. These patients are very severly injured and require lots more time, but still the pace is much different. They hoist all patients in and out of bed, in/out of wheelchairs, etc. so those in the medical field can imagine the time it takes for this. I feel I will see a lot on this clinical, but things are very very different. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with patients and see what I can learn from this system here. Jenna and I, and possibly our friend Laura from Windsor, England that we met in orientation, may go to Bath this weekend. Keep tuned for more updates!
-Melissa
After my last written post (not the pictures), Jenna and I went to see Bride Wars which was very cute, very predictable, and pretty funny. It was nice to hear things spoken in all American accents, so it was hard for us to exit the theatre and realize we were still in London.
Saturday morning Jenna and I finally slept in some and then headed over to Notting Hill to exlpore the charming neighborhood. Thankfully, they had a large street market and lots to see in the area. Unfortuntely it was very very cold (even a few snow flurries) while we walked around so it was a little uncomfortable and we headed for the warm shelter of a Mexican restaurant we read about in our guidebook. It was a great relief to have options besides Fish & Chips, Shephard's Pie, Bangers & Mash... The food here has been an overall letdown, so it was nice to get some chips and salsa and quesadillas. The people were very nice and Jenna and I vowed we would definitely go back soon. After that we planned on heading back home, but jumped off the tube at the same stop where I stayed with Mom & Dad before they left and hit a few pubs. Jenna and I called it our own mini-pub crawl and thoroughly enjoyed it. We headed home and prepared for another day in Lonon.
Sunday, we went to "London's Best Bloody Mary" stop called The Grenadier, which is near Hyde Park. The Bloody's were very good and we enjoyed the tiny pub and headed on our way. By the way, I had a great ham and cheese sandwhich with chutney, so it was 2 great lunches in a row! We headed out to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to do some leisurely walking as it was actually about 50 degrees and sunny. The area was very nice, but not as beautifully if in the spring with flowers/leaves on trees/etc. We then walked on to Princess Diana's memorial fountain and Kensington Palace where she lived. Very quaint and nice, but nothing huge and elaborate. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the dorms.
This week has started off nice and I have seen tons of different patients. The pace is much slower as I've seen approx 2-3 patients PER DAY, which is so different to things back in the US. These patients are very severly injured and require lots more time, but still the pace is much different. They hoist all patients in and out of bed, in/out of wheelchairs, etc. so those in the medical field can imagine the time it takes for this. I feel I will see a lot on this clinical, but things are very very different. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with patients and see what I can learn from this system here. Jenna and I, and possibly our friend Laura from Windsor, England that we met in orientation, may go to Bath this weekend. Keep tuned for more updates!
-Melissa
Pictures from the end of exploration
Here are some more pictures from Paris and Frankfurt:
-The Mona Lisa
-Family picture in front of the Eiffel Tower
-The Eiffel Tower at sunset from The Arc de Triomphe
-French Onion Soup with tons of cheese
-Rhine River tour in Frankfurt, Germany
-The Mona Lisa
-Family picture in front of the Eiffel Tower
-The Eiffel Tower at sunset from The Arc de Triomphe
-French Onion Soup with tons of cheese
-Rhine River tour in Frankfurt, Germany
Friday, January 9, 2009
Lots of time away!
So...
It's been awhile since my last blog for many reasons. 1) No internet access in our dorm rooms or anywhere on the hospital campus (for fear of someone hacking into the network). 2) We have been dealing with "Jenna drama" most of the week as her bag (also known as purse in the US) got stolen with everything inside...wallet with credit cards/ID/debit cards, passport, phone charger, checkbook, cash, etc. Therefore, you must know understand why I have been distant.
This past week:
-After 4 days of orientation to the hospital, Jenna and I felt like we knew more about this place than we ever wanted to know. Also, these people are completely paranoid about fires and we spent almost 1 of the 4 days talking about what to do if there is a fire. We also spent time going over more needless information, but according to Sue Hall (our clinical director) it was mandatory.
-I encourage you to read Jenna's blog (jennaandnapesineurope@blogspot.com) under the section, "The Sunnier Side of London", to hear more about the hospital. She has filled in lots of info about what the hospital is like, why it is what it is, etc.
-We spent Monday at the "lovely" restaurant where Jenna's purse got stolen and then later at the police station (after riding in the Police van), Tuesday I went to ASDA (UK Walmart) to stock up on groceries, Wednesday we came to check some emails and got Subway but I began to get a cold and went home early to rest, Thursday we went to The US Embassy to get Jenna's new passport, Friday (today) was our first day working with patients.
-The hospital experience today was very nice and I will be working on the wards with very involved patients that have had traumatic brain injuries. This ranges from people who have been in car accidents, had strokes, or crazy illnesses that have led them to be completely debilitated and dependent on others. The system is very different here compared to the US so many people stay for months or even years. Hopefully I can make an impact during my short time and I'm very much looking forward to the experience.
I encourage y'all to ask any questions about things because I'm sure you're curious and I may not respond to everything. Leave them in my comments and I'll be sure to tackle the questions in the next post. Like I said, internet access isn't very easy to come by, so I'll respond as quickly as possible, but unless you don't hear from me for weeks...don't be scared!
Take care, pray for Jenna and I to stay safe and sane!!!
Melissa
It's been awhile since my last blog for many reasons. 1) No internet access in our dorm rooms or anywhere on the hospital campus (for fear of someone hacking into the network). 2) We have been dealing with "Jenna drama" most of the week as her bag (also known as purse in the US) got stolen with everything inside...wallet with credit cards/ID/debit cards, passport, phone charger, checkbook, cash, etc. Therefore, you must know understand why I have been distant.
This past week:
-After 4 days of orientation to the hospital, Jenna and I felt like we knew more about this place than we ever wanted to know. Also, these people are completely paranoid about fires and we spent almost 1 of the 4 days talking about what to do if there is a fire. We also spent time going over more needless information, but according to Sue Hall (our clinical director) it was mandatory.
-I encourage you to read Jenna's blog (jennaandnapesineurope@blogspot.com) under the section, "The Sunnier Side of London", to hear more about the hospital. She has filled in lots of info about what the hospital is like, why it is what it is, etc.
-We spent Monday at the "lovely" restaurant where Jenna's purse got stolen and then later at the police station (after riding in the Police van), Tuesday I went to ASDA (UK Walmart) to stock up on groceries, Wednesday we came to check some emails and got Subway but I began to get a cold and went home early to rest, Thursday we went to The US Embassy to get Jenna's new passport, Friday (today) was our first day working with patients.
-The hospital experience today was very nice and I will be working on the wards with very involved patients that have had traumatic brain injuries. This ranges from people who have been in car accidents, had strokes, or crazy illnesses that have led them to be completely debilitated and dependent on others. The system is very different here compared to the US so many people stay for months or even years. Hopefully I can make an impact during my short time and I'm very much looking forward to the experience.
I encourage y'all to ask any questions about things because I'm sure you're curious and I may not respond to everything. Leave them in my comments and I'll be sure to tackle the questions in the next post. Like I said, internet access isn't very easy to come by, so I'll respond as quickly as possible, but unless you don't hear from me for weeks...don't be scared!
Take care, pray for Jenna and I to stay safe and sane!!!
Melissa
Monday, January 5, 2009
Clinical Day 1
Hi,
I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday b/c time went by quickly. Therefore, I don't have any pictures to put up. We went to a local market yesterday morning outside London and walked across the real London Bridge. Mom got quite chilly walking around so she decided to go back to the room, and Dad and I went to Tower of London (where many famous people got beheaded and the Crown Jewels are stored). We went back to the hotel, packed my stuff up and headed to Putney to move me in. I was about 15 minutes to walk to Hospital from the nearest tube station, so it was quite cold. I got moved in into my tiny dorm room and we headed out with Jenna and her friend for dinner. After 3 bottles of wine between 5 people, the walk in the cold wasnt nearly as bad.
Jenna and I started orientation this morning and we have tons more stories to tell about this. Now we're at dinner (with a girl from our orientation too), sitting next to a crazy drunk woman who is talking to herself by the way, so I need to eat. Hopefully we'll find some more free wi-fi soon so we can tell more about our early experiences. Cheers!
Melissa
I didn't have a chance to blog yesterday b/c time went by quickly. Therefore, I don't have any pictures to put up. We went to a local market yesterday morning outside London and walked across the real London Bridge. Mom got quite chilly walking around so she decided to go back to the room, and Dad and I went to Tower of London (where many famous people got beheaded and the Crown Jewels are stored). We went back to the hotel, packed my stuff up and headed to Putney to move me in. I was about 15 minutes to walk to Hospital from the nearest tube station, so it was quite cold. I got moved in into my tiny dorm room and we headed out with Jenna and her friend for dinner. After 3 bottles of wine between 5 people, the walk in the cold wasnt nearly as bad.
Jenna and I started orientation this morning and we have tons more stories to tell about this. Now we're at dinner (with a girl from our orientation too), sitting next to a crazy drunk woman who is talking to herself by the way, so I need to eat. Hopefully we'll find some more free wi-fi soon so we can tell more about our early experiences. Cheers!
Melissa
Sunday, January 4, 2009
My home for 2 months
Greetings from Foggy London town (except it's not foggy right now),
We had such an easy trip out of Paris yesterday morning b/c we decided to go for a taxi and avoid the metro. This was the best money we've spent by far b/c we had no problems with luggage and made it very quickly to the station. This train was very different b/c in order to get into London, you had to have your passport checked, baggage scanned, and check in. I was interrogated by the passport control b/c I was staying in London for so long but didn't not have an address to give them. This made me quite nervous, but they finally let me through. Our seats were in 1st class and we got a big breakfast once we got on (despite us already eating breakfast at the hotel). The train ride was very smooth and going through the Chunnel was nothing but going through a very dark tunnel for about 40 minutes. I did meet a very nice lady on the train that gave me here number here in London and told me I should ring her sometime and she would take Jenna and I around to some neat areas. She also gave me a list of some local things I must do while here. It was really nice.
Once off the train, the station we arrived at was very nice with no graffiti, but was very busy. Dad and I waited in line to get my Oyster (subway pass) card b/c I will need that for the next 2 months to travel around. We all got our tickets and easily rode one line to our stop in Earl's Court. Today was really a breeze! Our room was not ready so we headed down our street and found a local pub and had some beers while waiting. Mom was in heaven while drinking in a real English pub! We went back to the room, changed our clothes for the evening, and headed out to do some sightseeing before dinner and Wicked. We were able to see The Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, ride the London eye (big ferris wheel thing), and walk and see Buckingham Palace. It was great how much we could knock out in one day. We went to our dinner (which had the worst/slowest service so far) and then to Wicked. The show was awesome...a little technical glitch caused the show to stop for about 15 minutes, but who cares! We also saw Jenna and her friend b/c they got tickets to the same show. It was great to see other people we knew. We planned on getting a drink after, but it was getting late and they had to try and figure out which tube was still running to their stop. We called it a night and hit the sack.
This morning we are planning on going to a local market, see London Bridge, and possibly some other sites before heading to Putney to move me into the dorm. I don't know about internet access at the dorms, so I don't know how frewquently I will blog after today. I will come back and post some pictures hopefully before I head out.
Melissa
We had such an easy trip out of Paris yesterday morning b/c we decided to go for a taxi and avoid the metro. This was the best money we've spent by far b/c we had no problems with luggage and made it very quickly to the station. This train was very different b/c in order to get into London, you had to have your passport checked, baggage scanned, and check in. I was interrogated by the passport control b/c I was staying in London for so long but didn't not have an address to give them. This made me quite nervous, but they finally let me through. Our seats were in 1st class and we got a big breakfast once we got on (despite us already eating breakfast at the hotel). The train ride was very smooth and going through the Chunnel was nothing but going through a very dark tunnel for about 40 minutes. I did meet a very nice lady on the train that gave me here number here in London and told me I should ring her sometime and she would take Jenna and I around to some neat areas. She also gave me a list of some local things I must do while here. It was really nice.
Once off the train, the station we arrived at was very nice with no graffiti, but was very busy. Dad and I waited in line to get my Oyster (subway pass) card b/c I will need that for the next 2 months to travel around. We all got our tickets and easily rode one line to our stop in Earl's Court. Today was really a breeze! Our room was not ready so we headed down our street and found a local pub and had some beers while waiting. Mom was in heaven while drinking in a real English pub! We went back to the room, changed our clothes for the evening, and headed out to do some sightseeing before dinner and Wicked. We were able to see The Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, ride the London eye (big ferris wheel thing), and walk and see Buckingham Palace. It was great how much we could knock out in one day. We went to our dinner (which had the worst/slowest service so far) and then to Wicked. The show was awesome...a little technical glitch caused the show to stop for about 15 minutes, but who cares! We also saw Jenna and her friend b/c they got tickets to the same show. It was great to see other people we knew. We planned on getting a drink after, but it was getting late and they had to try and figure out which tube was still running to their stop. We called it a night and hit the sack.
This morning we are planning on going to a local market, see London Bridge, and possibly some other sites before heading to Putney to move me into the dorm. I don't know about internet access at the dorms, so I don't know how frewquently I will blog after today. I will come back and post some pictures hopefully before I head out.
Melissa
Friday, January 2, 2009
Paris Day 2
Bon Soir (good evening in French),
We have had another great day on our journey. We spent our 10 hour day walking and riding the bus around town to see the amazing sites of France as quickly as possible. The first amazing thing was that we woke up to it SNOWING this morning. According to the locals, this is quite rare b/c the temperature hardly ever reaches the freezing level. It quickly melted, but to look out our window this morning and see snow falling and the Eiffel Tower in the distance was just incredible. We walked to the Rodin musuem and saw The Thinker (outside with snow), The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell, which are just a few of his great sculptures. We were heading to The Louvre, but then detoured to the Musee d'Orsay b/c it was supposed to hold the famous Van Gogh painting Starry Night. But as luck would have it, the painting we saw was another version of starry night, not the more famous one. We did see other great paintings of his including his self portrait. We then headed to the Louvre, which was an incredibly amazing, confusing, and large museum. This was the busiest tourist spot we've seen so far; therefore, we fit in the main things (The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Raft of Medusa) and flew past other works of art. We walked on to the Cathedral Notre Dame, which wasn't nearly as impressive as St Peter's Basilica or Basilica of St Mark, but still great to see with lots of beautiful stained glass.
Next we caught our tour bus to the Arc de Triomphe and walked to get some lunch. After lunch we caught the metro to Montmarte (Bohemian area) so mom could walk around as it was one of the places she most wanted to visit and also to see the famous Moulin Rouge. It was just like you'd expect with the big red windmill and all! It was a great stop but the area was more crowded and dirty compared to the rest of Paris. We hopped back on the metro and went back to the Arc de Triomphe, hiked the 250+ stairs to the top, and I saw one of the most amazing views of the trip. The sun was setting over the city and the Eiffel Tower was beautifully placed amongst the sunset. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip!. I highly recommend taking the time to travel up the stairs of the Arc if you ever make it to Paris. After seeing such a great view of the city, long lines, and freezing temperatures, we decided to forgo riding up in the Eiffel Tower. We all agreeded the day was so perfect and we appreciated the views of the Tower from afar, we didn't want to ruin things by standing in line all night and freezing our tails off. We made a quick stop into a pastry shop and came back to the hotel to prepare for the trip tomorrow.
We will leave Paris in the morning and take our "1st class" train to London (We don't know how we got first class!). We will have a short bit of time for sightseeing before our dinner and show of Wicked, which we're so excited about. By coincidence, Jenna let me know that her and her friend also have tickets to the same show tomorrow, so hopefully we can meet up. Hope all is well and depending on the day tomorrow and availability of internet at the next hotel, I hope to blog soon. We will spend Saturday and Sunday in London and move me into my dorm Sunday evening. Mom and Dad fly out Monday morning and I will begin my clinical rotation the same day (January 5th). Hope all is well and hope to blog again soon.
-Melissa
We have had another great day on our journey. We spent our 10 hour day walking and riding the bus around town to see the amazing sites of France as quickly as possible. The first amazing thing was that we woke up to it SNOWING this morning. According to the locals, this is quite rare b/c the temperature hardly ever reaches the freezing level. It quickly melted, but to look out our window this morning and see snow falling and the Eiffel Tower in the distance was just incredible. We walked to the Rodin musuem and saw The Thinker (outside with snow), The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell, which are just a few of his great sculptures. We were heading to The Louvre, but then detoured to the Musee d'Orsay b/c it was supposed to hold the famous Van Gogh painting Starry Night. But as luck would have it, the painting we saw was another version of starry night, not the more famous one. We did see other great paintings of his including his self portrait. We then headed to the Louvre, which was an incredibly amazing, confusing, and large museum. This was the busiest tourist spot we've seen so far; therefore, we fit in the main things (The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Raft of Medusa) and flew past other works of art. We walked on to the Cathedral Notre Dame, which wasn't nearly as impressive as St Peter's Basilica or Basilica of St Mark, but still great to see with lots of beautiful stained glass.
Next we caught our tour bus to the Arc de Triomphe and walked to get some lunch. After lunch we caught the metro to Montmarte (Bohemian area) so mom could walk around as it was one of the places she most wanted to visit and also to see the famous Moulin Rouge. It was just like you'd expect with the big red windmill and all! It was a great stop but the area was more crowded and dirty compared to the rest of Paris. We hopped back on the metro and went back to the Arc de Triomphe, hiked the 250+ stairs to the top, and I saw one of the most amazing views of the trip. The sun was setting over the city and the Eiffel Tower was beautifully placed amongst the sunset. It was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip!. I highly recommend taking the time to travel up the stairs of the Arc if you ever make it to Paris. After seeing such a great view of the city, long lines, and freezing temperatures, we decided to forgo riding up in the Eiffel Tower. We all agreeded the day was so perfect and we appreciated the views of the Tower from afar, we didn't want to ruin things by standing in line all night and freezing our tails off. We made a quick stop into a pastry shop and came back to the hotel to prepare for the trip tomorrow.
We will leave Paris in the morning and take our "1st class" train to London (We don't know how we got first class!). We will have a short bit of time for sightseeing before our dinner and show of Wicked, which we're so excited about. By coincidence, Jenna let me know that her and her friend also have tickets to the same show tomorrow, so hopefully we can meet up. Hope all is well and depending on the day tomorrow and availability of internet at the next hotel, I hope to blog soon. We will spend Saturday and Sunday in London and move me into my dorm Sunday evening. Mom and Dad fly out Monday morning and I will begin my clinical rotation the same day (January 5th). Hope all is well and hope to blog again soon.
-Melissa
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year
Bonjour!
I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. We spent New Year's Eve in Frankfurt and have spent today, New Year's Day, in Paris. First about our 2nd day in Frankfurt. Thankfully after the plane delay and long day touring the castle, we were able to sleep in a little and eat a casual breakfast before heading out for our Rhine River tour. We were on a small bus for this tour (about 18 people total) and the day was pretty nice and very cold. We saw a beautiful statue outside the city, saw many vineyards and were very entertained by our tour guide on the bus. We then stopped for lunch in a small German town and we had lunch with all kinds of people at our table (even Asians!). The food was not very typical German (baked chicken, french fries, and some cabbage slaw), but still it was very good. We then went next door for a short wine tasting b/c the area we were in is famous for their wine (including red wine and a special variety called Ice Wine). The story behind ice wine is very cool...On the night of the first "real" freeze (-7 degrees Celsius), people storm from their homes around 1 or 2 in the morning to pick the frozen grapes and immediately press them to make the ice wine. Because the grapes are naturally frozen, it gives it a super concentrated flavor but requires lots of grapes for only a few bottles; therefore, it is very expensive. The guide said places in Canada, upstate New York, and even New Zealand have tried to copy the act, but nothing compares to "true" ice wine from Germany. Glad we got to try this for sure!
After the wine tasting, we got on the bus ago for the actual river tour. Unfortunately, the tour lasted only 1 hour and it was raining most of the time so we dind't have great views, but it was still very enjoyable. Once off the river, we drove to a small town where people could get out and do some quick shopping, but since it had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped, the streets were covered in ice. Two people from our tour fell while getting off the bus, so we were hesitant to leave, but we strolled into a small restaurant and ordered 3 bratwurst to go (hehe go Daniel family). Once back on the bus, we ate, took naps and headed back into the city.
We went back to the hotel and prepared for our New Years Eve celebration...although we didn't have plans yet. We headed to one area recommended by the front desk man at the hotel which he said was more "local" but everything was closed. We then went into Old Towne, which looks less like a big city and more like typical Germany. There we found a very crowded, very hectic German restaurant and decided to wait amongst the chaos for a table. After almost an hour, we sat down to huge steins of beer and a large platter of German sausages, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Needless to say, we were all very happy by the end of the dinner. We got done around 11:35 and decided to head back to the hotel room since we would be up early this morning, but made sure to stop and get some bubbly on the way back. We opened the bottle on the public transportation, started drinking and rang in the New Year.
This morning we woke up to a cold Frankfurt and headed to the train station. This time we were more prepared for the experience, and the train was very much nicer than the previous ride. We were able to relax and cruised into Paris on time and ready to see the city. It required 3 metro line changes to reach our hotel (disasterous with all our luggage), but once here it was amazing. You can see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel window!!! We got onto a bus that we are allowed to use to tour for the next 2 days and started to ride around the city. We hopped off at the Notre Dome stop and walked to find some late lunch/early dinner and as luck has it, found an awesome place. The waiter was very kind and accepting of us Americans and the food was very nice. We enjoyed everything, got back on the bus to our hotel while seeing the Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Elysses street, and the Eiffel Tower up close. What a great way to end our first day in Paris. We plan to go into most of the sites tomorrow (as all were closed today) and hit as much as possible in one day. Again, Happy New Year!!!
-Melissa
I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. We spent New Year's Eve in Frankfurt and have spent today, New Year's Day, in Paris. First about our 2nd day in Frankfurt. Thankfully after the plane delay and long day touring the castle, we were able to sleep in a little and eat a casual breakfast before heading out for our Rhine River tour. We were on a small bus for this tour (about 18 people total) and the day was pretty nice and very cold. We saw a beautiful statue outside the city, saw many vineyards and were very entertained by our tour guide on the bus. We then stopped for lunch in a small German town and we had lunch with all kinds of people at our table (even Asians!). The food was not very typical German (baked chicken, french fries, and some cabbage slaw), but still it was very good. We then went next door for a short wine tasting b/c the area we were in is famous for their wine (including red wine and a special variety called Ice Wine). The story behind ice wine is very cool...On the night of the first "real" freeze (-7 degrees Celsius), people storm from their homes around 1 or 2 in the morning to pick the frozen grapes and immediately press them to make the ice wine. Because the grapes are naturally frozen, it gives it a super concentrated flavor but requires lots of grapes for only a few bottles; therefore, it is very expensive. The guide said places in Canada, upstate New York, and even New Zealand have tried to copy the act, but nothing compares to "true" ice wine from Germany. Glad we got to try this for sure!
After the wine tasting, we got on the bus ago for the actual river tour. Unfortunately, the tour lasted only 1 hour and it was raining most of the time so we dind't have great views, but it was still very enjoyable. Once off the river, we drove to a small town where people could get out and do some quick shopping, but since it had rained earlier and the temperature had dropped, the streets were covered in ice. Two people from our tour fell while getting off the bus, so we were hesitant to leave, but we strolled into a small restaurant and ordered 3 bratwurst to go (hehe go Daniel family). Once back on the bus, we ate, took naps and headed back into the city.
We went back to the hotel and prepared for our New Years Eve celebration...although we didn't have plans yet. We headed to one area recommended by the front desk man at the hotel which he said was more "local" but everything was closed. We then went into Old Towne, which looks less like a big city and more like typical Germany. There we found a very crowded, very hectic German restaurant and decided to wait amongst the chaos for a table. After almost an hour, we sat down to huge steins of beer and a large platter of German sausages, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Needless to say, we were all very happy by the end of the dinner. We got done around 11:35 and decided to head back to the hotel room since we would be up early this morning, but made sure to stop and get some bubbly on the way back. We opened the bottle on the public transportation, started drinking and rang in the New Year.
This morning we woke up to a cold Frankfurt and headed to the train station. This time we were more prepared for the experience, and the train was very much nicer than the previous ride. We were able to relax and cruised into Paris on time and ready to see the city. It required 3 metro line changes to reach our hotel (disasterous with all our luggage), but once here it was amazing. You can see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel window!!! We got onto a bus that we are allowed to use to tour for the next 2 days and started to ride around the city. We hopped off at the Notre Dome stop and walked to find some late lunch/early dinner and as luck has it, found an awesome place. The waiter was very kind and accepting of us Americans and the food was very nice. We enjoyed everything, got back on the bus to our hotel while seeing the Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Elysses street, and the Eiffel Tower up close. What a great way to end our first day in Paris. We plan to go into most of the sites tomorrow (as all were closed today) and hit as much as possible in one day. Again, Happy New Year!!!
-Melissa
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