Hello old friend

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben
Tower Bridge, London

The Eiffel Tower
Gardens at Versailles
Hall of Mirrors, Versailles
Biking in Barcelona

I guess I'm a failure as a blogger- it's been too long! Time has been flying by with mid-term exams, spring break, and my parents coming to visit, but I'll start from where I left off...

For spring break I went to London, Paris, and Barcelona with three friends. Each city was awesome in its own way, so I don't think I could even choose a favorite. We stayed in a cute hostel in London right by a Tube station, so it was easy to get around. we saw Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The Globe Theatre, and the Tower of London. The Tower of London was probably my favorite- it was stange standing in the same place where Anne Boelyn entered the tower to be beheaded. Also in the tower were the royal crown jewels- can't imagine how heavy some of those crowns and tiaras are to wear. While in London we also bought cheap tickets to "We Will Rock You"- a "jukebox musical" with all Queen songs. The plot was kind of silly, but the music was great and everyone was stomping their feet at the end yelling "we will we will rock you!". The cast also did an awesome job singing Bohemian Rhapsody as an encore.

A flight later and were in Paris. The first day we went to Versailles, the palace of many royals including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Every corner of every room was intricately decorated. The most amazing part of the palace was the hall of mirrors. It had ceiling to floor mirrors down a long hallway, with glass chandeliers covering the entire ceilling. The mirrors faced windows looking out onto the gardens. It was rare for most people to own a handheld mirror back then, so you can imagine how extravagant an entire hall of mirrors must have been. The most impressive part of Versailles was the gardens that seemed to neverend. You could literally get lost in the maze of trees, bushes, fountains, and ponds. The rest of our time in Paris was spent seeing the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysee, and the Moulin Rouge. It was incredible seeing the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo in person, but my favorites were 'Winged Victory' of Samothrace and da Vinci's 'Virgin of the Rocks' (I always want to say 'Virgin on the rocks', which sounds like some kind of mixed drink). The last thing we did in Paris was go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was a cloudy day, but the view was awesome.

There was so much to see in London and Paris we had to have every hour of every day planned out- which worked out perfectly, but was tiring. Barcelona was a great city to end with because we had no plans made beforehand. We slept in later, took our time, and enjoyed the warm sunny weather. The highlight of the trip was renting bikes and riding along the beach. We checked out some 'Gaudi architecture' and also went to a flamenco show on our last night. We returned to Perugia rejuvenated and with great pictures and memories. All in all, a superb spring break.