Day 30 - 31: London

On Tuesday, Chiara and I spent the morning in Covent Garden. We sort of accidentally ended up there as out actual intention was to go to Camden Market but I got the names confused haha! However it turned out to be a good decision! The Apple Market was on whilst we were there, which was a handmade designer market, filled with jewellery, clothes, cuff links and art. Chiara and I bought a few items of jewellery there, we love that it was all handmade! 

Then we eventually headed to Camden Town haha! We went to the markets to check out the bargains, we found the food at the markets to be super cheap and very fresh! We also saw our favourite European treat, Nutella crepes! The crepes were being made fresh in front of us! Later that day we got henna, the girl doing henna was amazing, she was great at drawing designs to the most minute detail. 

Yesterday Chiara and I split up for the day, each on our own adventure! Chiara headed to Oxford for the day and I decide to stay in London as I only have a very limited time here. I spent most of the day at museums. I started at the Natural Museum of History, mainly to see the dinosaurs haha! I really liked the musuem, the only problem was that there were kids everywhere so it was super noisy haha! They had some beautiful crystals in the gift shop, so I bought a Rose quartz bracelet. 

The next museum I didn't even plan on going to, though I walked passed it on the way to the first museum, and really liked the look of it, plus like most museums in London, it was free! It was definitely my favourite museum, I wish I had more time there. The "Disobedient Objects" was my favourite European exhibition. It basically consisted of a series of radical protest movements. One I really liked was a group that switche the voices of Barbie and GI Joe, to protest against sexism. 

I also liked the Guerrilla protest, which was a feminist movement protesting against the lack of women artists in museums. I also admired that they kept campaigning even after getting some pretty violent hate mail. 

Finally I paid a visit to Tate Modern. I'm a big Picasso fan, and this was definitely my favourite:

I found I got quite emotional over this drawing, I think I stared at it for 10mins. It was apart of the post WW2 exhibition, depicting a scene from the Vietnam war:

The tapestry artworks were beautiful: 

Day 27 - 28: Reims & Paris

On Saturday, we visited the city of Reims, which is situated in the Champagne region of Northern France. It is definitely one of my favourite cities on the trip thus far. Our main intention for going there was to drink champagne in Champagne lol. A friend from uni recommended we visit the Pommery Champagne House. 

I really loved the Pommery Champagne House. I remember arriving, and thinking we were visiting a castle, the grounds were very impressive! As part of the tour we got to go down into the Pommery caves, where they store and produce 20 million bottles of champagne. We were lucky we bought jackets, as it was only 10 degrees down in the caves! Madame Pommery decided to start producing in the caves as it provided the perfect conditions for the production of champagne in terms of humidity and temperature. The feminist inside me was really happy we chose a champagne house that was founded by a woman, in a time where (19th century) the champagne business was a very male dominated industry. Our tour guide described Madame Pommery as a fierce, intelligent business woman, with a strong sense of compassion for those less fortunate (she built orphanages and ran campaigns for various other causes.)

Madame Pommery

During the 19th century, champagne was very sweet, Madame Pommery set out to change this. Instead she opted for top-of-the-range wines, natural and as dry as possible. She accused producers of the sweet champagne of denaturising the true character of wine. Madame Pommery penetrated that gap, and was soon one of the most popular producers in the region. Madame Pommery was also an avid art fan, the caves pay tribute to this, they are filled with amazing works of art. 

Afterwards Chiara and I tried four different Pommery Champagnes. We liked the vintage champagne and the rosè the best. It was funny as the vintage champagne turned out to the most expensive haha! 

Yesterday, Chiara and I decided we should make sure we catch the end of the Tour de France, at the Champs Élysées. The crowds were insane, there were people sitting in trees, on top of bus stations and on ladders - everyone was trying as hard as they could to just get a glimpse of this amazing race. I don't know much about the tour, however the electric atmosphere combined with the excitement of being at a major sporting event meant I really enjoyed myself. Even though Chiara and I waited 2 hours in the blistering heat just to secure a good spot at the finish line! Here's a short video:

http://vimeo.com/101950284

In the evening we met up with one of my family friends and her boyfriend, who'd just arrived in Paris after visiting Nice. I had been trying for a couple of days to find a cheap place for dinner, which is basically impossible in Paris, unless you want to compromise drastically on quality. However eventually I found one near the Eiffel Tower, called Le Petit Cler. Chiara, Ella and I went for the "Sunday Roast" which consisted of a free range roast chicken with mash potato and gravy. Dad, if you're reading this, I'm sorry to say but the mash was even better than yours haha! Laz got the fillet steak which also looked fantastic. I was so proud of myself for finding such a good quality restaurant with amazing food for reasonable prices! Great location too! 

Day 25 - 26: Paris

On Thursday we went to one of Paris' most iconic sites, the Eiffel Tower. When I walked out of the metro station I was envisagining the many articles, movies and photos I'd seen referring to the tower, but there is nothing quite like seeing it in real life. It was a beautifully, warm Paris morning, the sun was shining through the tower. The combination of the tower, the glorious gardens and the surrounding buildings was exquisite. 

  

The line for the lift to the Eiffel Tower was ridiculous long, so we quickly avoided that. We noticed a reasonably short line, however we soon realise it was the stairs line... There was no way we were climbing 357 stairs in 32 degree heat haha! We decided to postpone going up the tower, and perhaps come back at night.

Yesterday, we visited the Marais district, famous for it's boutique shopping and bars. For me it was definitely a window shopping expedition as my bank account is wearing pretty thin...maybe I'll come back in 5 years and ball out haha! The area kind of reminded me of Paddington, there were a lot of trendy couples walking around and beautiful boutique clothes and jewellery shops. 

Afterwards we headed towards Notre Dame. This area was super touristy and with tourists come the pigeons... However the sheet size and sharp aesthetics of Notre Dame detracted from any annoyance I was feeling, I was amazed. A feeling of nostalgia swept over me as I remembered watching cartoons of Quasimodo climbing the towers of the cathedral! 

 

We then ventured to Ponte des Arts bridge, more commonly known as the "Love Lock" bridge. Because it is just that, covered in locks engraved with couples professing their love for one another. This is kind of cheesy, but I felt a powerful sensation walking over that bridge, it felt so wonderful to know that so much love exists in this world. There was no gaps on the bridge, it was filled with locks, I don't think I could fit a lock on their if I tried! 

The whole day I kept saying to Chiara I wanted to try a Parisian macaroon, a girl from our contiki tour mentioned that there was a beautiful pastry shop behind the Ferris wheel, near the Louvre, called Angelina. We thought we'd give it a try! We got strawberry, caramel and vanilla macaroons - they were the best damn macaroons I've ever tasted!!!

Then Chiara was feeling pretty tired so she headed home, however I had to stay as I was super keen to visit the Louvre! As I was a student, entry to the Louvre was free for me - bonus! Once I entered the main area I felt overwhelmed by the size and I was surrounded by such rich culture, art and history I had no idea where to start. I decided to start with the Monna Lisa, boy it was crowded! It was almost impossible to take a photo, I found myself fascinated by the piece though, I couldn't believe I was standing so close to one of the most talked about artworks of all time!

 

I Ioved that everywhere you looked in the museum there was always something to see, even on the roofs! I think the roofs were my favourite, I loved the gold colour schemes. 

I think some of my most favourite areas were the more ancient ones, I enjoyed viewing tools, jewellery and plates that people would have used so long ago.