Food For The Soul

I don't think I really knew what that phrase meant until I experienced the food culture of San Sebastian, Spain. When we planned to go to San Sebastian during our trip, I expected to just go to a beach town with some beautiful views and relaxed atmosphere. San Sebastian definitely had that but little did I know, we also came to the town with arguably the best food in all of Spain.

My first pintxo!

Located in the heart of Basque country, San Sebastian is famous for its pintxos. Pintxos are the Basque version of tapas and with the most 3 star restaurants per capita in all of Europe, you really couldn't go wrong wherever you went.

Tortilla sandwich...most delicious thing ever

I tried everything from small toasted sandwiches and sea scallops to duck liver, cows cheek, and even dove. I really couldn't believe I ate all that because I am usually really fussy about my food. But one of my goals for this trip is to experience foods of the different cultures and in all honesty, they weren't as bad as they sound!

Such a beautiful place

The culture of "pintxo hopping" was something that I absolutely loved. After traveling for six hours from Paris, it was so fun to meet up with all the people from our hostel and bop around from bar to bar getting a small dish or two from each place. Much better than plain old bar hopping if you ask me!

Considering this was my first time staying in a hostel, I must admit that it was much better than I expected. We stayed in a smaller hostel that was right in the middle of town but that still had a really homey feeling to it.

We met such interesting guys from all over the world that each had their unique story. We became such good friends with them all so quickly, it's weird to think we will probably nevet see them again. But nonetheless, I really enjoyed meeting them and I hope the people in the rest of our hostels are as nice as they were in San Sebastian.

LOVE

Although we didn't get the beautiful sunny weather that we were hoping for, it was such a wonderful and relaxing place anyways. We walked up to the castle and statue of Jesus that overlooks all of San Sebastian and got some of the most breathtaking views. I think it may have been one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Looking out over the ocean

I am continuously in awe of just how big this world keeps getting as I arrive at each new place. There is always people to meet, places to go, and something new to discover and appreciate all of the glory that God created for us here!

We are currently on another 6 hour train ride to our next stop- Madrid! Back to the hustle and bustle of another big city! Wish me luck!!

AMOR

Parlez Vous Anglais?

If I can give one piece of advice, it would be this: Do not start your month long journey in a city where you don't know the language whatsoever. It really just doesn't get you off on the right foot.

Outside Notre Dame

I started my journey at about 9 am, way too early for my liking. But Ed was nice enough to take me to the train station to see me off, but I didn´t realize how hard it would be to say goodbye to him. I cried like a little baby and I will only be gone for one month. I don't even want to know what it is going to be like when I actually have to go home.

Getting to Paris was a breeze, it was once we actually got there that I realized I was in a little over my head. It took us over an hour in the train station to get money changed, find luggage lockers, but tickets, and figure out where we were headed.It was a bit of a nightmare but we made it and thats all that matters.

Our first stop in Paris was Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris. It was a really beautiful place but I could honestly not believe how many people were there.It was kind of like just a big tourist place and they forgot that it was a place of worship and they needced to be respectful.  It was really a shame.

It as pouring rain when we left Notre Dame so we ducked into the first restaurant we saw.  I had my first taste of French crepes and they were SO delicious.

Walking across one of the many bridges in Paris

Luckily, the rain let up for a bit so we could walk down the river towards the Eiffel Tower.  Looking back at it now, I cant believe we walked that far - it was a long ways! But we knew that if we stayed along the Seine River and kept our eyes on the prize, we would be okay.  We ended up passing some really big landmarks along the way like Pont Neuf, Musee dOrsay, and Invalides.

The Eiffel Tower at night

We made it just in time to see the sunset and the lights come up on the Eiffel Tower.  Seeing that alone made all the trouble before totally worth it.  I couldnt actually believe my eyes.  There I was - standing at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in Paris watching it light up the sky- amazing.

So great to spend time with my oldest friend

I was so relieved when we got to my friend Beths apartment in Versailles the first night.  It was so great to see such a familiar face after a long day of traveling.  Beth has been studying in France for the entire school year so it was really nice of her to take a break from all her archetecture work to show us around Paris the second day we were there.

From the top of the Eiffel Tower

We loved the Eiffel Tower so much at night that we decided to go back during the day.  But this time we climbed all 669 steps to the second level to get some amazing views of Paris.  I absolutely loved getting to see all of Paris from up there and learn about some of the best places in the city.

Outside the Louvre

We had some lunch out by the Musee dOrsay before heading over to the Musee du Louvre.  The walk to the Louvre was really pretty.  Inside, it holds some of the most famous pieces of art in the world, including the Monna Lisa.  Some of the pieces we saw there were just so great that it didnt even seem real.

Arc de Triomphe

The rest of the afternoon is Paris was spent at the Place de la Concorde, getting some macaroons, and visitng the Arc de Triomphe.

Hot apple, caramel, and vanilla ice cream crepes. YUMMM

We had another go at French crepes for dinner that night and this time they were even better than before.  I had one with sausage and cheese for my main meal and then one with warm apples, caramel, and vanilla ice cream for dessert.  It was a little bit of a doozy trying to order in French but compared to these really funny American guys that were also there, we were doing just fine.

The gardens of the Chateau de Versailles

The weather finally decided to cooperate with us on our last full day so we decided to stay in Versailles and explore the beautiful city.  For some reason, everything closes on Mondays there so we couldn go inside the chateau.  Luckily, the gardens were still open so we walked around for hours admiring the immaculate plants, trees, and fountains while soaking up the sun.  We also had some tasty baguettes and took our hand at rowing with the boat that we rented to travel the canal.

Rowing along the grand canal in Versailles

It was a nice relaxing day followed by dinner back at Beths and hanging out with her and her roommates for the rest of the night.

Paris and Versailles were really great places but I am so thankful that l that Beth was there.  I really couldnt ahve done it without her.

We are now off the Spain- first stop, San Sebastián on the west coast near the French border.  Hopefully knowingSpanish quite well should make this country a little easier to manage.

Please keep praying for my safety on all of these trips.  It really means so much to me to have so many people wishing me well. I will update again when I can!

L`amour

The Start of an Incredible Adventure

Tomorrow morning I am starting the most amazing adventure of probably my entire life and it really hasn't even hit me yet.  In the matter of 32 days, I am going to be in 7 different countries around Europe with only a backpack and a duffel bag.

I am going to try to write on here as much as I can but considering we will be on the move nearly every day and I won't be bringing my computer, it might be a little bit more difficult.

I am so excited for this journey but I will admit that I am a bit nervous.  This is taking a massive leap out of my comfort zone because I have never done anything like this, or even thought I would do anything like this in my life.

I have been itching for something different lately and I feel like the world is literally knocking at my door.  And tomorrow... I'm opening that door and jumping in head first.

Although I am fully confident that the Lord will send a guardian angel with me during this next month, please keep me in your prayers while I travel. 

LOVE

The Biggest of Our Lifetime

The Bath Abbey at night

     The moon that is :) March 19th was a wonderful day with a wonderful ending...Supermoon!! The moon was the closest that it will be to Earth in our lifetimes and it was absolutely nuts. Being the weather weenie that I am, I probably should have known this was happening. But it took about 30 minutes of thinking an insanely bright light behind a cloud was a spaceship before I actually realized that it was the moon.  

Bath is an absolutely gorgeous city

     You see, I didn't see this supermoon from just anywhere.  I saw it from the rooftop pool of the new spa in Bath, England.  Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I wish we could have taken a picture of it from up there, but considering we were at a spa, that would have been stage 5 creeper status. Mental picture will have to do.

     Since I kind of already started this way, I think I'll write this post backwards. Break out of the mold a little bit...starting at the end of our day adventure to Bath, England.  We took a super late train back from Bath, the latest I think we have ever stayed somewhere.  And let me tell you, the best of the best come out at night.  Including some really obnoxious drunk kids who probably weren't even old enough to spell alcohol.

Along the River Avon in Bath. Check out the bird!

     While we waited for our train to get there, we had some time to kill and some people watching to do.  We ended up making friends with a homeless lady at the station who talked to us after her dog came to rest his head on my lap and Stacey gave her some money.  Very sad to see people having to live like that, but I hope we made her day just a little bit better.

     We hoped to spread the generosity because the people of Bath were so kind to us.  Even though we came back after hours, the nice lady at the Italian restaurant that we eat at, opened back up the ice cream shop just so that Stacey and I could have a midnight snack after our spa session.  If you are ever in Bath, I highly recommend The Real Italian Pizza Co.  Nicest people I have encountered on one of our adventures.

The most delicious dinner ever.

     The ice cream was just an added bonus to the awesome night that we had already had.  Bath is known for being centered around a natural hot spring, so Stacey and I decided to have a girls night at the spa.  We got to spend two hours in the many different naturally heated pools (including the rooftop pool were we saw supermoon rise), steam rooms, and massaging showers.  After all the hard work we have put into school and trip planning over the last couple weeks, it was some much needed and appreciated relaxation.

     A lot of people at the spa were there as couples which was actually quite funny because it just added to the date like day that Stacey and I had.  We had another dinner for two at a really delicious Italian restaurant. We shared a pizza that was to die for.  Seriously, one of the best meals that I have had here, if not THE best.

Sally Lunn's Buns...Eh

     Since I am going backwards in time, this probably would make more sense since we actually had somewhat of a desert before dinner (with a bit of shopping in between!).  Apparently, the oldest house in bath is now home to the most famous buns on Bath, Sally Lunn's Buns.  Seems like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight they were totally overrated and overpriced but an experience nonetheless.

The Roman Baths

     The city of Bath was actually founded way back in the time that the Romans lived in England around 70 AD.  They created a bath house that became their version of a "weekend getaway spa resort" kind of place.  Now the Roman Baths are one of the biggest tourist attractions in Bath and really are quite remarkable when you think about.  Walking around somewhere that was built nearly 2,000 years ago and learning about their ways was so interesting. There is so much power and mystical essence of the hot water.  We were so very lucky to have one of our other American friends, Moriah, with us up until this part of the adventure.

This water was rainfall that fell 8,000 years ago!

     Before doin' as the Romans do, we had to nourish our bodies and souls with a lunch down by the river.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day so we were soaking up the sun and loving every minute of it.  Every corner that you turn in Bath is another photo opportunity so it was really nice to just sit and enjoy the beauty of it all.  

Picnic by the river on a beautiful day

     We knew exactly where to go for our picnic lunch because we had the best tour for most of the morning when we first got there.  It was probably the greatest tour I have been on here, and it was completely free! Our wonderful guide took us around the whole city and brought us to some of the most famous spots in bath including the  Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, Empire Hotel, Bath Rugby Stadium, Laura Place, Queen Square, Royal Crescent, The Circus, and the Assembly Hall.  There was so much history and so much beauty to take in for such a short trip.

The Royal Crescent...One of the many stops on our tour

     We were lucky that we even made it to the tour considering our train was over 30 minutes late.  That really is unusual since all of our trains had been so on time up to that point.  But it made for an exciting and funny start to our day.  When I asked the platform manager if our train would drive any faster to make up for lost time, his reply was, "No ma'am, they already go 120 miles per hour" And my question of "Well what if they go 130?" went with a simply reply of a shake of the head. Glad I could be amusement to people in a stressful time. 

The sunshine just shines right out of me these days!

     Outside of London, I think that Bath is my favorite English city that we have visited thus far.  The cost of living there is out of this world, but given the chance (and by chance I mean money) it would be such an amazing place to stay. 

Love, love, love Bath

     I know I have a lot to look forward to considering I will be in 7 different countries over the next month. But right now, I am so content here in England and love discovering new reasons why I love this place every day :) 

Punting Isn't Just In Football!

I got my traveling party pants back on, ladies and gentlemen! Despite having an entire day off from class in the middle of the week, Stacey and I just couldn't help but spend a day on campus.  But this time in Cambridge, home of the many colleges of the world famous University of Cambridge. 

The River Avon in Cambridge

It was quite a trek to get out to Cambridge. Between a bus, a train, a tube, and walking, it took us about 3 hours to get there from Reading. When we finally got there, we were so determined to finally have our picnic lunch that we found a park in the middle of Cambridge and ate in the freezing cold.  It always seems like a good idea until the weather decides not to cooperate with us!

The cute park where Stacey and I had a picnic

One of those things that you just HAVE to do when you go to Cambridge is to go punting...so of course Stacey and I couldn't pass it up!  Punting is kind of like a form of rowing where the punter stands on the back of a flat bottom boat and drops a long pole into the river and more or less pushes the boat through the water.  Sounds confusing trying to explain it but it really is quite simple.  

Our punter/tour guide

But it was so cute because we had our coffees and blankets and got a little tour down "The Backs" aka the back sides of all the Cambridge colleges along the River Avon.  It was a really great experience and we learned a lot about Cambridge!

Punting was so much fun!

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the different colleges of Cambridge including Trinity College and King's College.  It was kind of fun to imagine what it would be like to actually be a student there.  Some of the most intelligent people in the world have come out of Cambridge.  It really is remarkable.  

Trinity College...I look like a elf next to it haha!

The end of our day at Cambridge consisted of attending a service at King's College Chapel to hear the world renowned choir, visiting The Eagle pub where Watson and Crick discovered DNA, and eating a nice candlelight dinner for two at a really unique restaurant.  It was actually really funny because the place we went for dinner was a tad bit on the romantic side.  I think it might be safe to say that I have been on as many dates with Stacey as I have with Ed by now.

Stacey and I inside King's College

But this weeks Uk adventures didn't stop there...next stop, Bath!!

"Just Put It On the Tab"

Between insanely busy schedules, gotten debit cards and IDs, and a series of unfortunate events, "Just put it on the tab." became a common phrase when my friend Natalye came to visit me in London last week.  Although Natalye may have forgotten money, one thing she definitely brought with her was the sunshine.  Which was a really good thing because we had lots of fun things planned for her stay here.

First night out with Natalye in Reading!

When Natalye arrived in Reading on Wednesday afternoon, we all walked up to the station together to go pick her up. Since Natalye is another meteorology major at OU, both Stacey and Nathan know her as well and were excited for her arrival.  We had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant in town and gave Natalye a little tour of Reading before heading back to campus. That night we had a fun night out at the union but it was overall a pretty relaxing day.

My first ever squash match...He kicked butt!

The next day we had class right in the middle of the day which is always such a bummer because the rest of the day is a lot of just sitting and waiting. Natalye came to our climate change class with us which was actually pretty fun because it was Natalye's first meteorology class abroad (She is still just in her German language classes in Hamburg).  After class, Natalye, Stacey and I went to Henley-on-Thames to watch Ed play in a squash match.  I had never seen a squash game before so I was really excited to see what it was like. Turns out it's a lot like racquetball. (Even though Ed will probably kill me for saying that because apparently it's not at all haha)  But we had a really nice time catching up and getting a change of scenery.

Silly girls on a night out in Henley!

By the time Friday rolled around, we finally had enough time to take Natalye to London.  Even though I had already been to London four times before then, there is always something new to see and do.  We started the day out by going to the Tower of London.  The Tower of London is like a little city within the city were prisoners were held and a lot of beheadings occurred. Some people still live there today, but now it is more like a museum.

Natalye and I at Tower of London

We walked all around and got a tour by one of the yeoman warders.  He gave us a lot of history of the Tower of London and had some really great stories. Mine and Natalye's favorite part by far was getting to see the crown jewels  I admit that I am a sucker for anything that sparkles, but these crowns were the most amazing things that I had ever seen.  We even went around the conveyor belt again so we could see them for a second time.

These yeoman warders were the funniest guys ever!

After the Tower of London, we had a nice walk down the River Thames to the Monument.  The Monument was built after the Great Fire of London of 1666. It was a great place to climb to 311 steps to the top and get some awesome views of London.  We finished up our lovely Friday with a trip to Trafalgar Square were we had a nice little photo shoot with the lion statues, dinner at a really yummy traditional English food restaurant, and a venture through the National Gallery which was filled with art from some of the most famous artists in the world! Monet is definitely my favorite...all of his work is SO beautiful.

We loved the lions at Trafalgar Square!

The adventures definitely didn't stop there though.  The next day we went up to Stonehenge and Salisbury.  We went as a part of an international focus group which was actually really funny because we were definitely the minority group on the bus.  But nonetheless, Stonehenge was really fascinating.

Yay Stonehenge! Such a magical place!

It really is exactly what you think it would be, just a bunch of rocks in a circle.  But it was interesting to think about how they got there and why they were put there in the first place.  The stones have been there since 2500 BC, weigh up to 50 tons each and came from the south of Wales, hundred of miles away!  I just can't even imagine how they got them all the way they there and then placed them in a perfect circle and on top of each other and stuff!  But we got some really great pictures out there, including an awkward family photo that is definitely going down as one of the best pictures of England.

Awkward family photo hahaha

The rest of Saturday we spent exploring the town of town of Salisbury. We got to go into Salisbury Cathedral which has the second tallest spire in the world and had a nice afternoon tea in the cloisters.  There was a market going on in the streets of Salisbury so we wandered around for a bit until I decided that Salisbury would be the perfect place to get my pet fish.   My hopes wee very quickly shot down when they told me they wouldn't allow me to busy a fish since the water is Salisbury was different than the water in Reading. Totally lame.

Salisbury Catherdral

 The bus ride back was interesting because it was almost two hours of me dying to go to the bathroom.  Everyone else thought it was hilarious, but I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it.  When we got of the bus, I dropped my backpack and sprinted back to Windsor.  I haven't run that fast in a long time haha.

Waiting for the changing of the guards in the pouring rain
Big time bummer

One trip to London was definitely not enough to show Natalye this wonderful city, so we spent all day Sunday there too.  I have always wanted to go to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and of course, the day that we finally make it in time, it was pouring rain and they only did one little part of it.  I was really disappointed but it was still really fun to see the crazy amount of people that come out to see it.  We had to to deal with the rain for most of the morning which was kind of a bummer.

Underground station at Piccadilly Circus

We went around to most of the major areas of London including Piccadilly Circus, Millennium Bridge, the London Eye, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and back to Buckingham Palace.

Outside the front of Westminster Abbey

Natalye and I were lucky enough to get to go to evensong at Westminster Abbey.  I still can't even believe we got to go to a service at one of the most famous churches in the world.  We were in the second row, in the same place were the royal wedding is going to walk down the aisle! That is one of those memories that I will definitely never forget.  Our God is so great!

We love London!

After the service, Natalye and I met back up with the boys to watch a rugby match at a pub with Ed's uncle.  I still do not understand rugby at all and I probably never will.  But it was funny to see the boys get all riled up about it!

Such a beautiful end to the day

Despite the day starting off really rainy and yucky, it ended with a beautiful sunset and a trip back to Buckingham Palace after all the people had left.  We took so many pictures, it's hard to decide which ones to put on here.  But it was overall a really successful day in London.

SO happy she came to visit!!

Natalye left to go back to Germany on Monday and I was really sad to see her leave.  Her stay in Reading was the longest time that a friend of mine has stayed here but the time really flew by.  I don't even like living in my room anymore...It was much better when she lived here instead!  But I am going to be visiting her in Germany in a month so I really can't wait.

The most ridiculous picture I have ever taken.
 But I figured if you made  it this  far, you deserve to see this...

This has probably been the longest blog I have ever written, so I am really thankful and impressed if you managed to read all the way down to here. I miss everyone so much and send lots of love back to the states.

Who Says Paris is the City of Love? My Money's on London :)

Date night on the London Eye
Couldn't ask for a more wonderful boyfriend :)

I am so incredibly blessed.  There really is no other way to say it. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.  I am in the middle of the most amazing experience and I have met some of the most wonderful people.  But when it all comes down to it...I know that it's not luck at all.  A friend once told me that there is no such thing as a coincidence for Christians.  Every situation, every adventure, every setback, every triumph, every tribulation, every moment...is all part of God's plan for your life.  I am showered with love no matter where I am and I honestly couldn't be happier. Even when things get tough and I feel overwhelmed or stressed or missing friends and family from home, God has put people in my life here to pick me back up when I'm down.  No matter what, He always shows me that I am loved. I can only hope that I can love others as He has loved me.

One of my oldest and best friends came to visit London
Love you to the moon and back, Mols :)