At the Top of the Eiffel Tower
Hi everyone! Sorry this post has been so late getting to you. This is the first time I have been able to get online in a while. We just got to Rome on an overnight train ride from Paris. I will try to update you on everything that has been happening….
Paris was absolutely beautiful. When we first got there a guide took us on a quick bus tour of the city. We got to see a lot of great sights in a short amount of time and figured out where in the city we wanted to go over the three days we would be there. That night we all dressed up and ate a delicious dinner at an authentic French bistro. Afterwards, we took a river cruise on the Seine and were able to see the city at night. It was a breathtaking sight.
On Tuesday we had the entire day free to do whatever we wanted. A lot of us went to see Notre Dame and then to the Perfume Museum. We then headed to The Musee d’ Orsy where we saw a lot of paintings by Van Goh, Monet, and Matisse. It was so surreal to be standing in front of these paintings we have learned about all our life but only ever seen in books. That night we all had dinner at a few different cafes and then headed out on the town to experience French nightlife.
Wednesday was my favorite day in Paris! Most of the group took a train ride to Versailles and saw the palace of Louis XIV. It was unbelievably beautiful and so much bigger than I expected! I almost fainted when we walked into the Hall of Mirrors. After Versailles we all split up and met back at the hotel to make our way to the Eiffel Tower. Even with a few problems navigating the metro, we were able to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. When we came back down I made my way with a few others to the Louvre where we were able to see the Mona Lisa and get lost several times just trying to find the exit.
Thursday was entirely dedicated to shopping! We were excited to see that a street market had popped up beside our hotel overnight and enjoyed walking through. Our guide for the trip is named Fedora and we were able to by her a Fedora hat at the market! She loved it! We spent the day walking around Paris and buying souvenirs. We had one run in with a pickpocket but don’t worry, everyone still has their passport! The overnight train from Paris was 17 hours long but we had a lot of fun and brushed up on our Italian.
I will let you know what we get ourselves into here in Rome!!
Ciao!!
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Hello again! Right now we are on a train out of London and on our way to Paris. It seems like we have only been in London a few hours, but we have done a lot of sightseeing. Our first night in the city we had an authentic fish and chips dinner at an old pub where criminals used to eat their last meal before they were beheaded. After dinner we spent the rest of the night on a pub crawl back toward our hotel. A few of us learned the next morning that jet lag, pub crawls, and early morning sightseeing don’t mix all too well. The guided morning tour took us past Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and ended at Buckingham palace with the changing of the guard. With our free afternoon, a lot of us went to the Tower of London to take a tour and see the Crown Jewels (Fun Fact: The doors to the room that holds the Crown Jewels weigh 2,000 tons. The entire Eiffel Tower only weighs 7,000 tons). After a busy day of sightseeing, our group met up with Robert Kilhstrom ‘66 and Jim Wade ‘69 for dinner. It was so great to hear their Wittenberg stories and wonder where we all will be in the next 20 years- I wouldn’t mind ending up in London! They gave us some great tips on where to spend our last night in jolly ol’ England, and we ended up at a pub in Covent Garden very soon after. There we got a taste of an authentic London bar fight and decided it was time to head home. All in all, the time spent in London was absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to get to Paris!
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Joining Robert Kihlstrom
We have finally arrived in London! Within our first few minutes at the Norfolk Towers Hotel Robert Kihlstrom ‘66 was tracking us down to show us the sights. He has already scoped out a restaurant for our alumni dinner tomorrow night and volunteered to take a few of us on a quick tour of London and to a pub before we checked in to the hotel. Glad to have a few friends around! Robert has lived in London for 37 years and has given us some great advice on sightseeing in the area. Wittenberg is everywhere!
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London Here We Come
Well I have finally finished packing and am sitting on my couch, staring at my suitcase, wondering what I forgot. I guess I will have to wait until I get to Europe to find out. Underwear? Toothbrush? Who knows…the only thing that I am certain will make it on the plane is this netbook (aka little computer that will fit in my backpack) that I will be blogging from for the next two weeks. That’s right Wittenberg, Witt Nation is heading to Europe with 16 other alumni. You can follow along here as I document the alumni travel tour of England, France, Itlay and Greece. There are sure to be some great stories and even better pictures (excluding this boring one of my suitcase). Bon Voyage!
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On Tuesday we had the entire day free to do whatever we wanted. A lot of us went to see Notre Dame and then to the Perfume Museum. We then headed to The Musee d’ Orsy where we saw a lot of paintings by Van Goh, Monet, and Matisse. It was so surreal to be standing in front of these paintings we have learned about all our life but only ever seen in books. That night we all had dinner at a few different cafes and then headed out on the town to experience French nightlife.
