Dinner Cruise

The Seine River Dinner Cruise is probably the best dinner I have ever had during the whole trip. It is not because of how delicious the food was, but I saw a beautiful Paris with a different view. After we got stuck in the traffic for almost an hour and being so hungry, I did not expect any nice views but food. But I was really touched by seeing the flash of the Eiffel Tower. The first impression of Paris was from a mini bus tour, which somehow disappointed me. I expected to see a lot about this romantic city, but I did not feel that much of Paris. And later I had some bad experience, which made me want to get out of Paris, but later on I saw another side of Paris, and I started to feel the city and like it. On the boat, I saw the flash of Eiffel Tower for several seconds, which is good enough for me to fall in love with the city.

Dana

Parliament Buildings

Honestly, I think that one of the coolest things we saw was the Parliament Building in London. First of all, we finally got to see the famous Big Ben and Victoria Tower. We always see pictures of this building, but I think it was very cool to finally see the inside, with its ornate architecture and rich history. I thought it was very interesting to see just how similar the structure of the legislative branches of England and the United States are -we both have a two house system with a lower and upper house. Also, each house is split into different sections: one for the government and one for the opposition, much like the Congressional houses are split for democrats and republicans. The many different rituals and traditions that take place during Parliamentary sessions is fascinating, like how the Queen is not allowed to enter the House of Commons and how MPs must always "toe the line" during debates. I also found the fact that each house is represented by a different color: the House of Commons is decked out in green even though no one seems to know why, where as the House of Lords is decked out in red, which represents the royal nature of the House of Lords. I also liked how they tried to preserve some aspects of their history in the building, such as the archway that was built out of the rubble from the destruction caused by the German Blitzkrieg during World War II. All in all, I think that this was one of the major highlights of our trip; one that we will never forget.

Cheers,
Dave Gravel

Notre Dame

Home to the famous fictional character "Quasimodo," Notre Dame was by far one of the prettiest sites I have ever seen. Lauren, Kristen, Steve, and I were amazed at the intricate architecture and detail put into every aspect of this historical landmark.

Once inside we were overwhelmed by the feeling of serene calmness which surrounded us entirely. While we sat on the chairs in front of the gorgeous alter, someone (we're not sure who) began to play the organ both beautifully and eerily. With the organ busting out notes and all of the powerful displays, I think that Notre Dame was by far one of my favorite things I went to while abroad.

-Stephanie Rochefort

Shout out to Carol

Hey there Carol,

Our thoughts and prayers are with you! We miss you. Hope you are feeling better and that you can come home soon!

Cecilia

Abbey Road

One of our first days in London, a group of us took a trip see the most famous crosswalk in the entire world. I am talking of course about the crosswalk at Abbey Road, where The Beatles had their picture taken walking across the road. This picture was made into the album cover of one of their last albums, also titled "Abbey Road" and was released in 1969. "Abbey Road" became the most successful Beatles album, debuting in the UK at #1.

We took the tubes straight to the stop where Abbey Road is and it was a 10 minute walk from there. When we first got there we didn't even know which crosswalk it was. It looked nothing like it did on the album cover, but of course that's because 1. it was Winter and the original picture was taken in the Summer and 2. because the original picture was taken almost 40 years ago.

It took Brian Peters and myself 20 minutes to get two good pictures each walking across the crosswalk because of the heavy traffic. We still got the shots and proceeded to check out the famous Abbey Road Studio which you can see in the background of this picture. This studio is where the Beatles recorded almost all of their albums 50 years ago.




There is a white wall in front of the Abbey Road Studio covered in graffiti, song lyrics, and signatures and the dates they wrote them all, which I read later is encouraged. However the one thing that surprised all of us is that this wall had no date before Christmas of this past year. Meaning, this wall is whitewashed every few weeks. We found this amazing because the whole entire wall was covered in writing. As you can see, the entire wall is filled after only being whitewashed blank barely 2 weeks earlier. Here is some pictures of the signatures that were present on the wall.













The Abbey Road Studio doesn't grant access but I was able to take a picture from outside of it after walking through the graffiti gate. Overall this was a really cool experience to take the pilgrimage that many thousands of Beatles fans have taken over the years and to walk across the same crosswalk the Beatles once did, as well as other famous bands and singers such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Green Day, Pink, and Wings to name a few.

-Sean Haddad (Danbury, CT)

Life Lessons

So, one of the most important warnings we recieved before we left for our trip was, "Beware of the pick-pockets!" I unfourtunatley learned first hand at how swift some Europeans can be. To set my story staight, I didn't get mugged. It all started the night we saw Chicago. After the show, a few friends and I walked thought the Leicester Square area to China town and stumbled upon a bar/night club called O'neils. We had heard that other people from the trip had already been, so we decided to check it out. Upstairs we found a lively bar atmosphere with a live band playing American songs and a crowded dance floor. First things first, we went to check our coats and along with it I checked by purse aswell. I realize now that this was a stupid move in itself (handing over my belongings to a complete stranger) but this is besides the point. We paid the lady, recieved our ticket numbers, and headed to the bar for the first of many 3lbs drafts.

As the night progressed, I carelessly misplaced my ticket numbers for my coat and purse so I decided to head to the counter to straighten things up before the rush at the end of the night. I told her how I lost my number, and after giving me some trouble for it, I was able to pursuade her to find my pusre on the ground, look up my ID, and hand it over. Now I was stuck lugging around a chuncky purse. I skeptically decided to set my purse down near the stage where I saw many other unwanted coats and such so figured it would be okay, we would be leaving soon anyway. For the next hour or so, I checked on it periodically between dancing and getting some drinks from the bar. Unfourtunately, after my last drink of the night, I went to get it and it was gone, along with its contents: my camera, cell phone, atm/credit cards, ID, and some money.

All I can say is lesson learned. At first I was pretty shook up by it but now I realize I really didn't lose all that much. In fact, I gained a very valuable life lesson and an experience that I will never forget.
-Colleen Scanlon

Warwick Castle

It seemed as if I had climbed over 1,000 winding stairs to the high towers of Warwick Castle. As I reached the top step of the tallest tower, I caught my breath and looked through the fog at the entire compound and the city beyond. As I looked at the elaborate layout of the castle, it was hard to believe that it was built almost 1,000 years ago! All of the rooms, towers, and stairs were still in tact and open for touring. The view from the tower was beautiful, despite my fear of heights. As we made our way down another set of spiral stairs, we found ourselves in various rooms. After seeing many rooms filled with wax figures, I was startled when a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes greeted me; I thought she was wax! Besides the many dark rooms, the towers, and the prisoners' dungeon, I also enjoyed the grounds in general. There was a beautiful conservatory and dozens of peacocks roaming the gardens. We were able to get within inches of them to take pictures. Despite the long bus ride and the many stairs climbed, the Warwick Castle was a great place to visit with such an interesting history.
-Mallory Rousseau