(Rich) Provincial Towns

{I now continue on my recap of our two week trip}

We left Venice early on a Saturday morning. That day was spent driving, driving, and more driving. The highlights of the day included watching Toy Story 3 as a bus, finding crispy m&m's, driving past Morocco, and seeing gorgeous things out the bus window.  

 That night we arrived in Avignon, France. Half of the group staying in a hostel, the other half stayed in a hotel. I was in the hostel and it was fun- until I had to shower in the flooded bathroom, I was overly tired and my wifi wouldn't work, and I just wanted to chat with my momma. After a little cry in the shower, the wifi worked, I slept and it was a new day. The hostel provided us with a breakfast that included a croissant, a baguette, and juice.

On Sunday we toured the grounds of the Papal Palace and admired the Rhone river valley. (There was also a jet ski competition on the river... it was cool).

We went to church in Avignon, and could only stay until right after the Sacrament. I fumbled through the French hymns but I was happy to give it a try. We again drove the rest of the day and landed that night in Tours. All we saw of that city was the budget hotel.  That morning we drove a short while to a gorgeous little provincial town called Amboise.

This chapel on the corner of the castle complex is where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. (My BFF. You will hear more about him later). 

This is the result of eating gluten free baguettes.

Next was Château de Chenonceau, a li'l castle to be enjoyed.

After Chenonceau, we drove into Paris! Next up, The City of Lights and the Time I Wrecked My Knee on an Escalator at the Louvre. (Or just Paris)

Love,
MM

New and Improved

First of all, can I completely gush about my new blog design? Holly is an absolute wizard and whipped this up for me in a day. With just a few more tweaks I'll be all set. Thank you, thank you twinner!

Today involved a full day of school, Shake Shack for lunch, Benito's Bar for dinner (sub-par tacos), and then seeing a performance of A Doll's House which was perfection. 

photos of our food- it's what we do.

Off to bed. It's a full two day trip back to the southeast of England in the morning. Stonehenge, Salisbury, Stourhead, and also Bath and more!

Top of the evenin' to you,

Megan

A Week in Review

Hello all!

It's been quite the week and I wasn't sure I'd be here tonight blogging about it all- I'm ready for bed.

My first full week in London with my group has been filled with excursions, plenty of good food, and plenty of Primark. We also took a day trip to Brighton and also to Virginia Woolf's house. I started classes on Tuesday and have loads of homework to prove it. We also went to St. Paul's Cathedral as a group and I climbed all the way to the tippy-top. I saw The 39 Steps and met a British comedian. Today I went to church in my new ward that I was assigned to and tonight we heard a fireside from a man in the stake who was a little boy in London during WWII. I finished the night off eating my Thai Break leftovers and watching Downton Abbey after a small birthday celebration involving Ben's Cookies. Overall, I'd say it was a very successful week. 

dress: thifted. 

Talk to you soon loveys,
MM

Ve (ry) nice

We were only in Venice for but a short time, but we were not short on a good time. 

We drove from Cinque Terre on that Thursday and arrived late at night. We got the permit for the coach to enter the city limits, tickets for the people mover, waited to get on the people mover, got off the very short people mover, trekked over three bridges and through the narrow streets to our hotel. Sometime between getting on the first bridge and and getting off, half of my handle disappeared. THAT was an adventure. Once we got to the hotel, there was another massive miscommunication, and if it weren't for my professor, we would have been sleeping back at the train station. The man helping us had quoting Kristin "had his scarf on too tight". Really, he was wearing a full sized scarf as an ascot. We were chatting outside the hotel in the alleyway as a group and he yelled,

"SILENCE! THIS IS NOT YOUR HOME!"

That is now a running joke, for good reason.

passing the time like normal people do

Body bags, playing the waiting game in the lobby

We made it into the hotel, and the next day we hit the ground running! Photo dump.

People everywhere.

The best 3 euro pizza I ever had.

Did you know Venice is known for their lace?

smirkin' eatin more gelato

That night featured a gondola ride. The best 20 minutes with our driver Antonio, who claims, " I was born on a gondola."

Saturday morning we left for a day in the bus. We drove all the way to Avignon, France. I was happy and sad to leave Italy. I have my Grazie and Prego down pat.

Love,
MM