Let me start off by apologizing for taking so long between posts. Traveling back and forth all over Europe does not leave a lot of free time for blogging, but it leaves plenty of time for sleeping on public transportation.
After navigating the craziness that is the Tokyo metro I finally found my way to the stop closest to the temple. After that I had to locate the temple itself, but luckily the shining Moroni in the sky makes it hard to miss.
After depositing all my stuff there I decided lunch was in order so I stopped by a 7/11, grabbed some food, and headed to the nearest park to eat and read a book. Shocking, right? That doesn't sound at all like me.
After eating I had to hustle back to the temple. I was able to meet this really sweet lady (Sister Wata-nabe) at the temple who, turns out, knows some of my friends from Sapporo! Instant bonding happened and she was nice enough to help me find where I was staying that night (it was the temple annex) and get me checked in.
The world really is a small place. So that was pretty surprising. Not nearly as surprising as running into the mother of a boy that I dated and haven't talked to in 2 years. What are the odds? Now that was straight up unexpected and slightly disconcerting.
Anyway, after the temple I met up with Minami whom I've known since my girls camp days. It was shocking meeting up with her in Tokyo 2 years ago, but almost more shocking to do it again now. Who knew I would be back in Japan so soon?
Anyway, here's a glance at the ROOM FOR 6 that I had all to myself that night. So awesome. This was the most space I've had in weeks and I could stay up reading as late as I wanted without disturbing anyone!
(Except I couldn't really stay up as late as I wanted since I had to get up at 6 am for my next flight. *sigh*)
The next day I caught a flight from Tokyo to Moscow to Paris.
The bad news: I sat next to this supremely overly-helpful man who seemed to have combined 'chivalry' and 'helpless females' because he would NOT let me do anything. If I tried to open my package of earphones (in the little plastic wrap) he was there, taking it from me and opening it for me. (Thank you, strange sir.) If I blew my nose (because my allergies were killing me) he was offering his napkins to me before I had the chance to get up and go for more. (Thank you, stranger.) If I tried to rest my head on the tray in front of me, he was there, telling me how bad that was for my neck (oh but in very broken English) and offering his shoulder to lay on. (Thank you, but um, no.)
The good news: On the connecting flight from Moscow to Paris the flight karma caught up with me and I had 3 seats to myself. So, I slept the sleep of the undisturbed and unobserved. (Thank you Russian man for not being there.)
When I eventually landed in Paris all I needed to do was navigate my way from the airport to my hostel. It didn't seem too difficult. Until my phone got stolen (or lost?) on the metro. For about 2 minutes I freaked out realizing that the metro taking off in front of me carried my phone and I had no way to get it back (and also no way to get to my hostel.)
Luckily, I'm not shy about asking for help. So by asking a series of strangers if I could use their google maps I was able to make my way (in a completely safe manner) to my hostel. After alerting my family that I'd made it safely (sans cell) I went to sleep.
Kidding. There was definitely a shower before the sleep.
We started off by going to the Latin Quarter which is around Notre Dame. I was getting some serious flashbacks from 4 years ago at this point. (Although I was hoping to avoid dropping my water bottle in the Seine, getting stuck in the metro, getting poop on my bag and all of the other less desirable occurrences from 4 years before.)
We ate lunch at the crepe shop that David introduced me to (indirectly) and Emily and I struggled to resurrect our French which was at death's door as we deciphered the menu.
We explored along the Seine after eating and looked at all of the book stands and carts that were open before heading over to the Louvre.
Now we didn't actually go into the Louvre (once through that line was enough.) but we did relax in the gardens outside for like 2 hours. In fact, I think I even fell asleep while sitting here enjoying the view. And what's not to enjoy?
After that we got hot cocoa (even though it was summer.) We'd heard the place was delicious. It was. If you like your hot chocolate so thick that you can't actually suck it through your straw. (At least I seemed to not possess that particular ability.)
Finally, the time had come to meet up with Whitney in Paris once again. So with no working phones (or in my case no phone at all), we set out for the Louvre pyramid to meet her. Turns out I take my cell phone for granted a lot, but after crowd searching for 20 minutes we finally met up.
After that we walked to the Eiffel Tower (we walked every where today-probably 13 miles or so.) and finally, finally I righted the wrong from 4 years ago. Emily and I climbed the Eiffel Tower! Here's the pictures to prove it.
We set off of the Bois de Bologne to go bike riding and enjoy the scenery. Let it be noted though, that we didn't set off TOO early. We know how to relax on vacation. Here's some pictures from our bike ride.
Sadly, this was really only a half day since Waite and I had a train to catch to London. So around 1 I said good-bye to the girls, hopped on the metro home, packed up my stuff, and then off we went. Waite and I met at home (she was off on her own adventuring today) and then we braved the Paris metro together. And by that I mean that we struggled to get through the turnstiles with our suitcases and backpacks (such foreigners.)
Question: Would you rather ride a train from France to England or sword fight a porcupine? Ya, me too.
And that's how I found myself with a porcupine.
Kidding. That's how I ended up in London.
We found our airbnb and went grocery shopping before falling asleep in our new room.
Anyway, let me begin with the day I left Sapporo because that was my last post. I decided to fly into Tokyo a day early so I could meet up with my friend, Minami (whom I've known since I was 16-crazy!) and go visit the Tokyo temple.
After navigating the craziness that is the Tokyo metro I finally found my way to the stop closest to the temple. After that I had to locate the temple itself, but luckily the shining Moroni in the sky makes it hard to miss.
After depositing all my stuff there I decided lunch was in order so I stopped by a 7/11, grabbed some food, and headed to the nearest park to eat and read a book. Shocking, right? That doesn't sound at all like me.
After eating I had to hustle back to the temple. I was able to meet this really sweet lady (Sister Wata-nabe) at the temple who, turns out, knows some of my friends from Sapporo! Instant bonding happened and she was nice enough to help me find where I was staying that night (it was the temple annex) and get me checked in. 
The world really is a small place. So that was pretty surprising. Not nearly as surprising as running into the mother of a boy that I dated and haven't talked to in 2 years. What are the odds? Now that was straight up unexpected and slightly disconcerting.
Anyway, after the temple I met up with Minami whom I've known since my girls camp days. It was shocking meeting up with her in Tokyo 2 years ago, but almost more shocking to do it again now. Who knew I would be back in Japan so soon?
Anyway, here's a glance at the ROOM FOR 6 that I had all to myself that night. So awesome. This was the most space I've had in weeks and I could stay up reading as late as I wanted without disturbing anyone!
(Except I couldn't really stay up as late as I wanted since I had to get up at 6 am for my next flight. *sigh*)
The next day I caught a flight from Tokyo to Moscow to Paris.
The bad news: I sat next to this supremely overly-helpful man who seemed to have combined 'chivalry' and 'helpless females' because he would NOT let me do anything. If I tried to open my package of earphones (in the little plastic wrap) he was there, taking it from me and opening it for me. (Thank you, strange sir.) If I blew my nose (because my allergies were killing me) he was offering his napkins to me before I had the chance to get up and go for more. (Thank you, stranger.) If I tried to rest my head on the tray in front of me, he was there, telling me how bad that was for my neck (oh but in very broken English) and offering his shoulder to lay on. (Thank you, but um, no.)
The good news: On the connecting flight from Moscow to Paris the flight karma caught up with me and I had 3 seats to myself. So, I slept the sleep of the undisturbed and unobserved. (Thank you Russian man for not being there.)
When I eventually landed in Paris all I needed to do was navigate my way from the airport to my hostel. It didn't seem too difficult. Until my phone got stolen (or lost?) on the metro. For about 2 minutes I freaked out realizing that the metro taking off in front of me carried my phone and I had no way to get it back (and also no way to get to my hostel.)
Luckily, I'm not shy about asking for help. So by asking a series of strangers if I could use their google maps I was able to make my way (in a completely safe manner) to my hostel. After alerting my family that I'd made it safely (sans cell) I went to sleep.
Kidding. There was definitely a shower before the sleep.
7/21 - My first day in Paris
I was actually on my own for most of the day as my friends weren't due in until that night. So I explored around on my own a bit and desperately tried to catch up in my journal. After moving from the hostel to our airbnb I developed a system. Mainly it involved finding a cool spot to explore, sitting down and writing in my journal, listening to people speak French, and then repeat.
When I went home for the night I relaxed for a bit, and by frequently creeping through the window for signs of Emily and Michelle I was able to spot them wandering down the street. Nailed it. That's 3 out of 4 of us.
I was actually on my own for most of the day as my friends weren't due in until that night. So I explored around on my own a bit and desperately tried to catch up in my journal. After moving from the hostel to our airbnb I developed a system. Mainly it involved finding a cool spot to explore, sitting down and writing in my journal, listening to people speak French, and then repeat.
When I went home for the night I relaxed for a bit, and by frequently creeping through the window for signs of Emily and Michelle I was able to spot them wandering down the street. Nailed it. That's 3 out of 4 of us.
7/22 - Exploring Paris while really knowing how to relax
We started off by going to the Latin Quarter which is around Notre Dame. I was getting some serious flashbacks from 4 years ago at this point. (Although I was hoping to avoid dropping my water bottle in the Seine, getting stuck in the metro, getting poop on my bag and all of the other less desirable occurrences from 4 years before.)
We ate lunch at the crepe shop that David introduced me to (indirectly) and Emily and I struggled to resurrect our French which was at death's door as we deciphered the menu.
We explored along the Seine after eating and looked at all of the book stands and carts that were open before heading over to the Louvre. Now we didn't actually go into the Louvre (once through that line was enough.) but we did relax in the gardens outside for like 2 hours. In fact, I think I even fell asleep while sitting here enjoying the view. And what's not to enjoy?
After that we got hot cocoa (even though it was summer.) We'd heard the place was delicious. It was. If you like your hot chocolate so thick that you can't actually suck it through your straw. (At least I seemed to not possess that particular ability.)
Finally, the time had come to meet up with Whitney in Paris once again. So with no working phones (or in my case no phone at all), we set out for the Louvre pyramid to meet her. Turns out I take my cell phone for granted a lot, but after crowd searching for 20 minutes we finally met up.
After that we walked to the Eiffel Tower (we walked every where today-probably 13 miles or so.) and finally, finally I righted the wrong from 4 years ago. Emily and I climbed the Eiffel Tower! Here's the pictures to prove it.
7/23 - Final half-day in Paris
Sadly, this was really only a half day since Waite and I had a train to catch to London. So around 1 I said good-bye to the girls, hopped on the metro home, packed up my stuff, and then off we went. Waite and I met at home (she was off on her own adventuring today) and then we braved the Paris metro together. And by that I mean that we struggled to get through the turnstiles with our suitcases and backpacks (such foreigners.)
Question: Would you rather ride a train from France to England or sword fight a porcupine? Ya, me too.
And that's how I found myself with a porcupine.
Kidding. That's how I ended up in London.
We found our airbnb and went grocery shopping before falling asleep in our new room.
7/24
Today was pretty simple.
Catch the 9 am church.
Leave after sacrament meeting for our 11 o'clock bus.
Journal the entire 3 hour trip to Wales (and still be a little behind.)
Spend the evening with Brian, Margaret, and Eira-a nice Welsh family that somehow Whitney knew and we ended up staying with.
It was kind of like having a mom in Wales to take care of us. She was fussing about if we ate enough and if we needed more snacks at night. Score.
Okay, I'm going to end before the Wales adventures begin because there's already too many pictures in this blog and the next part will be even worse. So until next time! (I'll try to not take another month to post it.)
Catch the 9 am church.
Leave after sacrament meeting for our 11 o'clock bus.
Journal the entire 3 hour trip to Wales (and still be a little behind.)
Spend the evening with Brian, Margaret, and Eira-a nice Welsh family that somehow Whitney knew and we ended up staying with.
It was kind of like having a mom in Wales to take care of us. She was fussing about if we ate enough and if we needed more snacks at night. Score.
Okay, I'm going to end before the Wales adventures begin because there's already too many pictures in this blog and the next part will be even worse. So until next time! (I'll try to not take another month to post it.)
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