So I can't just start with Paris, because there's been a lot between the last post and now!
What I forgot from the last post:
AT&T FINALLY UNLOCKED MY PHONE SO NOW I DON'T HAVE A CRAPPY ANDROID (sorry.. I'm just super team iPhone) AND THUS I DON'T NEED TO CARRY AROUND TWO DIFFERENT PHONES WHEREVER I GO.
The days before Spring Break:
The entire group went out for Gabby's birthday to Casino, where we discovered there was a bottom floor - OK, maybe I was one of the few people not to have known about it. It was a lot of fun and it was great to hang out with the entire group. Then, Gabby's birthday celebrations continued to Tuesday night as well, where we hung out with more friends and went into town again. But then Adam and I had to finish writing our portions of our group essay for Travel and Transport, which our group finished early and turned it in well before the deadline!! Thank God.
Back in Florida, I got sick at least once a month, but here -even with the cold weather- I never once got sick... until that Thursday. Great. That Thursday I had gone to London twice in one day.. once early in the morning with Courtney and then again in the evening to see my friend, Tim and to catch up with my cousin, Kiran. After meeting up with Tim, his cousin and one of his friends, I headed to Victoria Station to meet up with my cousin (who recently got married and is soon moving to the States, where her husband lives). Since she's moving while I'm on my Eurotrip, then was the time to see her. It was great catching up with her!!
NORWAY:
The next morning, I woke up and headed to Gatwick Airport to meet up with Adam, Courtney and Emma. We all traveled to Norway together and had a fantastic weekend. On Friday, we just chilled out. They walked around and I just kinda relaxed due to the fact that I was trying to get over being sick so I could do more activities during the weekend while we were there. I realized when trying to buy shampoo at a local convenient store that the language was completely different (reminded me a little of when my parents and I struggled buying toiletries and groceries in Turkey). Since it was an early night, there was a relatively early start the next morning. Saturday, we headed out around 9 am. We walked around the beautiful city of Bergen. I got my "Bergen Card" which basically gave me free transportation and free entry to certain museums. The three of us got breakfast then took a cable car up to Mt. Ulkriel (spelling check?) where we took beautiful pictures of the mountains and the view of the town from them. Afterwards, we went to this church in the forest which was built in the 1100's and is now being restored. We walked around the town some more and got some souvenirs. Lunch was EXPENSIVE. Actually, EVERYTHING was expensive, but it was still a great time. Emma and I returned to the hotel early, because we were both not feeling well. After Adam and Courtney had come back/ we had time to rest, we decided to go to the cafe near/in the lobby of our hotel to get some tea. We also tried two different types of Norwegian beers, which were ON POINT. But otherwise, it was a very, very chill night. Sunday morning, we all walked around and went to a tower/ castle near the city centre to explore. We went to a really small (and expensive) cafe to eat lunch before I had to leave for the airport.
And the countdown to Spring Break begins:
That journey back to Guildford was STRUGGLE CITY and I was the driver of the struggle bus. I had a different flight than the three of them, because of the way everything was booked. I got to London maybe an hour before they did, but none of us made it home before 9 pm. When I landed, immigration was alright, but the train station in the aiport was awful. I found a way to cut the lines and get a ticket to Guildford.. BUT it was a bus that didn't leave for 45 minutes. Then I got lost on the way to the bus and I was feeling awful still. After I finally found the bus, it took forever to get home... then I had to walk with all my stuff uphill to get to my flat from the station. I was exhausted when I got home, but ended up going next door to Aubree's flat for Roast Dinner (even though I couldn't eat the meat part of the dinner). This week was the best and worst. Monday and the majority of Tuesday was dedicated to essays on essays on essays. Tuesday was the anniversary of my adoption day and it was difficult knowing I won't be celebrating it with my family and not seeing them until June 26th. ): But I still had fun after turning in my essay. Weds was the worst, because we had an early class followed by me needing to run last minute errands before Adam and my bus that night. I went to town with my friend, Laura, and got a lot of much needed supplies for my trip. Then Courtney, Adam and I went to this Student Exchange Pizza Party with Aubree and Jessika. It's where us as incoming students got to talk to the outgoing students from Surrey who will be studying abroad in UCF in the fall. Not necessarily UCF, but universities in America, as well as other universities around the world. Afterwards, I quickly packed and got ready before the biggest journey begun.
SPRANNNGG BREAK 2014:
Weds night, Adam and I left Guildford for London Victoria Station. We took an overnight coach from London Victoria to Paris. I fell asleep for the majority of it, thankfully. We arrived in Paris kinda late (between 8-9 am) and headed straight to Disneyland Paris. We managed to check in/ leave our luggage before heading to the Disneyland Park. By the time we actually got into the park (for free), it was around 12:30/1 pm. We had an AMAZING time. We rode everything that was open in Fantasyland and we rode the important rides in Discoveryland/ Frontierland/ Adventureland. We critically analyzed everything. Our cast member discounts are insane! We get 25% off instead of 20% off, and we can get discounts on the food within the park which we can't even do at WDW. We could go inside the castle and explore, which was super cool. SPACE MOUNTAIN 2 > SPACE MOUNTAIN & DISNEY DREAMS > DISNEY WISHES! Soooo great! We also watched the "5 o'clock" parade, which was spectacular. Some things were a little disappointing, but I loved everything about being there. We, of course, had to ride the Carousel, since I work at that attraction in WDW. There were problems.. of course, it's the Carousel. But it was such a great experience! After the park, we went to Disney Village to explore. We turned in early though, because we were so exhausted from the 24 hours + of non stop traveling/ on-the-go-ness. The next morning, we accidentally slept in, missed our comp breakfast (we were staying at Hotel Cheyenne), and started our day way later than planned. We went into the Walt Disney Studios park, where we had a great time going on Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror (which is so different), Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, another version of backlot studios tour, and rides that don't even exist in our Hollywood Studios. We got a lot done in the 4 hours that we had in the park. We went to Disney Village again to go into the World of Disney shop to get souvenirs before our character dinner in Cafe Mickey. Our character dinner was relatively cheap.. Literally 16 Euros for my meal with green tea... AND it was a character dinner. We went back to Disneyland park to see Disney Dreams (fireworks show) again before leaving to go to Rainforest Cafe for dessert and then to go back to the hotel.
Today:
We woke up and rushed to check out and get our comp breakfast.. We headed to the actual city, where we found our hotel, dropped off our stuff and headed to the Eiffel Tower. We didn't get to go up it- yet- but we still saw it and walked around the city. We went to Arc de Triumph and walked down to the opalesk thing on the other end of the street. We walked even further to see the Louvre, but it was unfortunately closed by the time we got there. We saw a lot of random sites and somehow managed to walk on the most expensive street as well. Always. We grabbed lunch earlier at a cute cafe and felt relatively Parisian. Well we have 2 more full days in Paris before heading to Brussels! Courtney is joining us on Monday, before we continue the rest of our planned Eurotrip!! Can't wait for whats in store!! It's just gonna be a tiring month! Oh and we're no longer going to Scotland at the end of our Eurotrip in the beginning of May. We have to finish another essay due by May 5th and also we realized how exhausted we'll be at the end of the month, so we decided to postpone it... Although, I might not be joining later on, because I've already been and this month is burning an abyss in my wallet.
Same as on top (Emma, myself, Courtney and Adam)
What I forgot from the last post:
AT&T FINALLY UNLOCKED MY PHONE SO NOW I DON'T HAVE A CRAPPY ANDROID (sorry.. I'm just super team iPhone) AND THUS I DON'T NEED TO CARRY AROUND TWO DIFFERENT PHONES WHEREVER I GO.
The days before Spring Break:
The entire group went out for Gabby's birthday to Casino, where we discovered there was a bottom floor - OK, maybe I was one of the few people not to have known about it. It was a lot of fun and it was great to hang out with the entire group. Then, Gabby's birthday celebrations continued to Tuesday night as well, where we hung out with more friends and went into town again. But then Adam and I had to finish writing our portions of our group essay for Travel and Transport, which our group finished early and turned it in well before the deadline!! Thank God.
Back in Florida, I got sick at least once a month, but here -even with the cold weather- I never once got sick... until that Thursday. Great. That Thursday I had gone to London twice in one day.. once early in the morning with Courtney and then again in the evening to see my friend, Tim and to catch up with my cousin, Kiran. After meeting up with Tim, his cousin and one of his friends, I headed to Victoria Station to meet up with my cousin (who recently got married and is soon moving to the States, where her husband lives). Since she's moving while I'm on my Eurotrip, then was the time to see her. It was great catching up with her!!
NORWAY:
The next morning, I woke up and headed to Gatwick Airport to meet up with Adam, Courtney and Emma. We all traveled to Norway together and had a fantastic weekend. On Friday, we just chilled out. They walked around and I just kinda relaxed due to the fact that I was trying to get over being sick so I could do more activities during the weekend while we were there. I realized when trying to buy shampoo at a local convenient store that the language was completely different (reminded me a little of when my parents and I struggled buying toiletries and groceries in Turkey). Since it was an early night, there was a relatively early start the next morning. Saturday, we headed out around 9 am. We walked around the beautiful city of Bergen. I got my "Bergen Card" which basically gave me free transportation and free entry to certain museums. The three of us got breakfast then took a cable car up to Mt. Ulkriel (spelling check?) where we took beautiful pictures of the mountains and the view of the town from them. Afterwards, we went to this church in the forest which was built in the 1100's and is now being restored. We walked around the town some more and got some souvenirs. Lunch was EXPENSIVE. Actually, EVERYTHING was expensive, but it was still a great time. Emma and I returned to the hotel early, because we were both not feeling well. After Adam and Courtney had come back/ we had time to rest, we decided to go to the cafe near/in the lobby of our hotel to get some tea. We also tried two different types of Norwegian beers, which were ON POINT. But otherwise, it was a very, very chill night. Sunday morning, we all walked around and went to a tower/ castle near the city centre to explore. We went to a really small (and expensive) cafe to eat lunch before I had to leave for the airport.
And the countdown to Spring Break begins:
That journey back to Guildford was STRUGGLE CITY and I was the driver of the struggle bus. I had a different flight than the three of them, because of the way everything was booked. I got to London maybe an hour before they did, but none of us made it home before 9 pm. When I landed, immigration was alright, but the train station in the aiport was awful. I found a way to cut the lines and get a ticket to Guildford.. BUT it was a bus that didn't leave for 45 minutes. Then I got lost on the way to the bus and I was feeling awful still. After I finally found the bus, it took forever to get home... then I had to walk with all my stuff uphill to get to my flat from the station. I was exhausted when I got home, but ended up going next door to Aubree's flat for Roast Dinner (even though I couldn't eat the meat part of the dinner). This week was the best and worst. Monday and the majority of Tuesday was dedicated to essays on essays on essays. Tuesday was the anniversary of my adoption day and it was difficult knowing I won't be celebrating it with my family and not seeing them until June 26th. ): But I still had fun after turning in my essay. Weds was the worst, because we had an early class followed by me needing to run last minute errands before Adam and my bus that night. I went to town with my friend, Laura, and got a lot of much needed supplies for my trip. Then Courtney, Adam and I went to this Student Exchange Pizza Party with Aubree and Jessika. It's where us as incoming students got to talk to the outgoing students from Surrey who will be studying abroad in UCF in the fall. Not necessarily UCF, but universities in America, as well as other universities around the world. Afterwards, I quickly packed and got ready before the biggest journey begun.
SPRANNNGG BREAK 2014:
Weds night, Adam and I left Guildford for London Victoria Station. We took an overnight coach from London Victoria to Paris. I fell asleep for the majority of it, thankfully. We arrived in Paris kinda late (between 8-9 am) and headed straight to Disneyland Paris. We managed to check in/ leave our luggage before heading to the Disneyland Park. By the time we actually got into the park (for free), it was around 12:30/1 pm. We had an AMAZING time. We rode everything that was open in Fantasyland and we rode the important rides in Discoveryland/ Frontierland/ Adventureland. We critically analyzed everything. Our cast member discounts are insane! We get 25% off instead of 20% off, and we can get discounts on the food within the park which we can't even do at WDW. We could go inside the castle and explore, which was super cool. SPACE MOUNTAIN 2 > SPACE MOUNTAIN & DISNEY DREAMS > DISNEY WISHES! Soooo great! We also watched the "5 o'clock" parade, which was spectacular. Some things were a little disappointing, but I loved everything about being there. We, of course, had to ride the Carousel, since I work at that attraction in WDW. There were problems.. of course, it's the Carousel. But it was such a great experience! After the park, we went to Disney Village to explore. We turned in early though, because we were so exhausted from the 24 hours + of non stop traveling/ on-the-go-ness. The next morning, we accidentally slept in, missed our comp breakfast (we were staying at Hotel Cheyenne), and started our day way later than planned. We went into the Walt Disney Studios park, where we had a great time going on Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror (which is so different), Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride, another version of backlot studios tour, and rides that don't even exist in our Hollywood Studios. We got a lot done in the 4 hours that we had in the park. We went to Disney Village again to go into the World of Disney shop to get souvenirs before our character dinner in Cafe Mickey. Our character dinner was relatively cheap.. Literally 16 Euros for my meal with green tea... AND it was a character dinner. We went back to Disneyland park to see Disney Dreams (fireworks show) again before leaving to go to Rainforest Cafe for dessert and then to go back to the hotel.
Today:
We woke up and rushed to check out and get our comp breakfast.. We headed to the actual city, where we found our hotel, dropped off our stuff and headed to the Eiffel Tower. We didn't get to go up it- yet- but we still saw it and walked around the city. We went to Arc de Triumph and walked down to the opalesk thing on the other end of the street. We walked even further to see the Louvre, but it was unfortunately closed by the time we got there. We saw a lot of random sites and somehow managed to walk on the most expensive street as well. Always. We grabbed lunch earlier at a cute cafe and felt relatively Parisian. Well we have 2 more full days in Paris before heading to Brussels! Courtney is joining us on Monday, before we continue the rest of our planned Eurotrip!! Can't wait for whats in store!! It's just gonna be a tiring month! Oh and we're no longer going to Scotland at the end of our Eurotrip in the beginning of May. We have to finish another essay due by May 5th and also we realized how exhausted we'll be at the end of the month, so we decided to postpone it... Although, I might not be joining later on, because I've already been and this month is burning an abyss in my wallet.
Laura, Mike, and I during Gabby's birthday celebration
First telephone booth photo since starting the program
Bergen, Norway
The view from Mt. Ulkriel
Same as on top (Emma, myself, Courtney and Adam)
Church in the woods
Tower in Bergen
Pic of me and the girls (Indi, Kiri, Aubree, Jessika and Laura) on my Adoption Day
Disneyland Paris Castle
I'm so happy to ride the Carousel...
Walt Disney World Studios
Disney Dreams
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