best of the best

Now that the trip to end all trips is done and we are all home safe, sound, and in one piece, it is time to reflect on some of the very best moments of the whole shebang. Behind the cut (look! Even my lingo is technologically savvy.), you will find photographic evidence of fantabulous, fairly foolish, fantastically... fantastic? fun. (Alliteration is for the cool kids.)

There is no particular order or segregation by geographical location, because Blogger added them willy-nilly and I am too lazy to attempt to exert order, but the collection was carefully curated for representation of maximum awesome. If you really, desperately need to know where a picture was taken, or under what circumstances, ask me and I guarantee I will know the answer, something I can only do rarely. However, I very much doubt that you will have questions, seeing as NO ONE EVER COMMENTS EVER, BUT WHATEVER, I'M NOT BITTER. (Just kidding about the capslock.)

Enjoy.

(And try not to be too jealous.)

(I was just kidding. Again. Be jealous. It's a reasonable reaction.)

what in rome

It’s been too long, friends.

You see, we have had an unfortunate lack of reliable Internet connection since arriving in Italy (and yes, it’s been painful and horrible and child of the 21^st century am, because I think I would rather not eat than not have internet – and I really like food.)(OK – I exaggerated. I would rather eat. But I would go down to two meals per day for Internet.), and so you have suffered. I did try, to be fair, but posting to Blogger on your phone doesn’t quite work and the post didn’t go where it is supposed to. So is life.

ANYWAY

Rome.

 FOOD

 VATICAN CITY

 TREVI FOUNTAIN

 PANTHEON

 

 BEACH

Yeah, Rome’s pretty. Incredibly, wildly, gorgeous. The streets are all very distinctly Roman (or Italian – I wouldn’t know), and that’s not a bad thing at all. Also, if I was impressed by the old castles and such in Ireland, I am awestruck by the ancient buildings/ruins/streets/walls that are all over the place here. In Arizona, the 50 year-old houses are old – here, the 100 AD churches are, sure, pretty and big but whatevs. More where that came from.

Meanwhile, my brain is going: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Know what else is fabulous about Rome?

€1 McDonald’s milkshakes!

More on Roman adventures to come. 

pickpocked in Paris, and other adventures

Why, yes, actually, we have been pickpocketed. Specifically, Miles was pickpocketed at the Eifell Tower on our first afternoon in the city. Get this: They snatched his iPod while he was wearing his headphones. It most definitely put a damper on things, and has sort of tainted our perception of Paris. I mean, it's been great and all, but pickpockets. At the icon of the city. We were in London when the Olympics started and the metaphorical anthill spilled open, and managed just fine. Once afternoon in Paris, and...

Anyway!

Let's look at pictures and places, yeah yeah?

 Notre Dame Cathedral

~

 

 Pretty Parisean building

~

Eifell Tower 

(pre and post pickpocketing - can you tell by Miles' face?)

~

Arc de Triomphe  

~

Balancing

 on a chain near the Champ Élyseés

~

Outside the Louvre 

~

OH MY GOSH IT'S THE MONA LISA

It was not actually all that exciting at all. But it certainly drew a crowd. 

~

We've been here about 30 hours, and we've hit all those sites. As is ever the case, our poor feet have been taking quite the beating. Pedometers are almost as unreliable as my brain, so I won't give you a specific distance, but suffice it to say that we've walking more than you have .Unless you're training for a marathon or something equally unlikely and confounding. 

In order to make sure that it is clear that we are enjoying ourselves and not moping about how sucky it was to get robbed at the Eifell Tower and moaning about how much we miss London (LONDON!), here are some of the highlights of our stay:

1. BEING A EU CITIZEN! Yay for red passports! Why? Because they made the Louvre free. Saved €30, right there. It is awesome.

2. The pain au chocolat I bought at one of the only grocery stores we've seen. It was very delicious.

3. The chocolate icecream Jonathan bought at that same grocery store and that we all ate on a bench across the street. It was store brand, but it tasted like Håagen Dazs. Yum. 

4. Paris streets. They are pretty pretty.

5. The receptionist at the first place we stayed at responding to my very broken, very hesitent, most assuredly horribly American-accented query of "Parlez vou engles?" with a "Yes! But your French is very good!" AHAHAHAHA. You are too nice, good sir, but I speak only that one phrase. 

Aaaaaaand tomorrow, we're off to Rome! It's one night on a train away. Yay!

OLYMPICS IN LONDON

.... Well, we watched the opening ceremony on the TV at the place we're staying.

Does that count?

We tried to watch the events on the bigscreen at a park. It looked like this:

And cost £65. Which was not what the Internet said was going down, but whatever.

ALSO: Today is Miles' birthday. YAY! Congrats! He's a big boy now, and I am even more decrepit.

We ate good food. Look!

Then we ate cake.

I couldn't wait long enough to devour the chocolatey goodness to take a picture, so you get to see my licked-clean plate instead.

We are leaving tomorrow. Eden is hopping back across the pond, bound for the land of sun and cacti. Miles, Clare, Jonathan and I are going to Paris. Qui qui.

This is exciting, yes.

But.

But.

London, my love, I shall miss you dearly.

Brighton!

BRIGHTON

SUN AND SEA AND BOOKS AND GELATO AND SUNBURNS

Today was (as my days are so often) fairly fabulous. 

Thanks to my incredible friend Jessica, I was able to hope a train to Brighton, the beach city about an hour out of London.

Friends. It was fantastic. 

Here's the story the above photo-montage tells:

- Nero's coffe: I do love you. Woke me up on the train ride over.

- Went from train station to a stupidly scrumptious and reasonably priced lunch: Brie, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cranberry sandwich. Um. YUM. I'm drooling.

- Meandered down the pretty, busy streets to the beach. Looked at the pier. 

- Made faces at the sun. That squinty expression is actually what my face does when I am reacquainted with one of my BFFs - which the sun is. 

- Picked out my spot on the beach. At first, the lack of sand and abundance of rocks made me question the quality of said beach. But, then, two hours later and totally free of sand-filled clothing and crevices, I reversed my opinion. Pebbly beaches: I approve of you. 

- Read my book and stuck my feet in the water and basked in the fact that, oh hey, this is my life and it is actually breathtakingly wonderful.

- Ate gelato. Ate a lot of gelato. It was this banana chocolate crunch delicious nonsense that was like Chunky Money but better. Yet, that's a thing. I know, I know, hard to believe, but I am a master of all things carbohydrate-y, and I know my business.

- Why, yes, that's a sunburn. You may be asking yourself, "Why, how is it even possible to get a sunburn in England? Isn't that a contradiction of terms?" Well, it ought to be. But my name's Marie and my skin never got the memo that it was raised in the land of 350 days of sunshine. Alas.

Moral of the story: I am –––––––– this –––––––––––– happy.

Also: Burned.

London Week Two: A Review

This was a very exciting week here in the UK! As you should now know, Marie hung out in Bristol for awhile and did fun things, but the excitement didn't wait for her. 

This is a picture-heavy post chronicling the week through the eyes of Miles, Clare and Eden . Fun happenings include Stonehenge, Bath, top-like chairs, and the European The Dark Knight Rises premier. No big deal, or anything.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IT A BIG DEAL?

The sun, friends. The sun, which is out and about today, shining all pretty and bright and I love you so much, blue sky. So. Much. The universe is in on our plan to ask strangers to take surveys in the park today.

Anyway.

Pictures.

Bristol!

Fact: I have fabulous friends.

Case in point: Joanna.

See, Joanna has been hanging out in Bristol for the last ten months, going to grad school like a boss. Seeing as I've known her for ages (EIGHT YEARS, WE FIGURED OUT. That is a LONG TIME. And we weren't even infants when we met! That makes us OLD OLD OLD.) and Megabus makes the 2.5 hours bus trip cheap as can be, I went to visit her!

She was, of course, a perfect hostess and I am so insanely thrilled to have had the chance to spend thirty-odd hours flailing around with her. 'Twas brilliant.

Since the kids had the camera, you will be treated to an Instagram montage. Complete with foolish, too-close pictures of MY FACE. Yay!

Notable happenings included:

Hiding in a coffee shop while the stupid rain pounded and catching up on years of missed time.

Walking along the water and being shocked by how cute everything is.

Seeing old buildings every five seconds, but, you know, no big deal that's only from the 1700s. Boring. (!!!!!)

Getting oodles of awesome extra info on the city because, hello, that's what happens when you prowl the streets with an archeologist.

Bemoaning people and pop culture because there are some fads that make our brains melt.

Trying and failing to bus to a castle and Costco. We asked for directions in a strange hotel, switched buses three times, and still ended up just coming back to Bristol and eating Subway to help ease the pain of defeat. It was crazy foolish and crazy awesome.

Having British children on the bus with us carry out loud, animated conversations about the differences between American and English.

Hiking up many considerable inclines.

Climbing (and climbing and climbing) a tower that let us see the whole city.

Visiting an apparently important suspension bridge. I was distracted by the sunshine. And the perfect weather. And the grassy hill that was perfect for collapsing on and almost-sleeping.

Seeing street art by an apparently famous dude. Banksy. 

SEEING JOANNA DUH THAT WAS THE BEST OBVIOUSLY.

London: Week One

So far, London has treated us fairly well. Of course, by this I mean that London has joined my list of cities that, if someone were to offer, I would move to in the time it took me to pack a purse.

The kids (Eden, Miles, Clare) are not so enthused. Probably because they've been seeing London through the eyes of busy students, while I mostly cruise around at my own pace and log hours and miles (and miles and miles) with Jessica. 

Ha!

Below, please find photographic evidence of our numerous and varied exploits, named for your convenience and to help inform your jealousy.

Green and green and green and only a little rain. In case you were wondering, I felt very at home in the desert room. So did Jessica.

~

Well, it was a little lame and a lot more complicated than it should be, but no good geek's trip to London is complete without a visit to King's Cross. And we are nothing if not good geeks.

~

An adventure I was sadly not a part of. This was Clare's favorite part of the week, though, likely due to the fact that they got to visit and walk through the hedge maze Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was filmed in. 

~

Because, duh, we're dorky dorks who dork-out whenever possible. If you haven't understood that already, no worries. More evidence this way comes! Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street was funny, funny, and made Clare giggle like the fifteen year-old girl she is.

~

Sadly (awfully, horribly, heartbreakingly) we failed to spot and flail over any of our celebrity friends, but the BBC Studio tour was still very happy-making. Witness the right side of your screen: Miles got to play a fake game show (and lost horrible), and Eden and I got to be pretend newscasters (with stumbling and giggles). Next time, though! Next time we will see our friends!

~

Picture in the upper right hand picture was stolen from here, which is from Sherlock, that TV show you should watch. We like going places from our favorite TV shows/books. A lot. What of it? 

~

Like The Beatles, in case you missed that one. We walked for ages to reach Abbey Road, because I, ahhhh, seriously underestimated the length of our journey. It was mostly GoogleMaps fault, really. Also, if you ever think you want to try to take a picture like that above, consider trying at, like, two in the morning or something. Because when we were there, so were a lot of other people. And innocent Londoners trying to, you know, drive their cars. Result? Lots of running, getting in other pictures' ways, and honking. But. Still fun. And we have the picture!

And now I'm tired. And cold. And the rain won't go away. Wish us luck and sun. 

LONDON

LONDON, FRIENDS

LONDON

It's pretty fabulous. So fabulous, you get this dinky little post composed on Instragram shots me myself and I have taken. See, while the little people are cruising around the city with the camera and the tour guide (and the homework. Ha!) I am wandering like a wanderer and taking awkward self portraits as I go. Secret: Sometimes, I end up making really stupid faces in my pictures, because at the last moment, a stranger looks over and I have to stop grinning at my phone like a fool, because I somehow still have a sense of shame, or something. 

On to the main event.

In the past four days (I think?) I have...

Visited, prowled around, and taken terribly foolish pictures of myself at the British Museum. Saw the mummies through gaps in the monstrous crowds. Also saw the Picasso exhibit, and was distinctly underwhelmed. Most likely because I lack refined tastes.

~

Walked around Regent's Park for a few sunny minutes. Saw old people (like, legitimately old. Think seventy year-olds) dancing salsa as part of some exhibit. I was terribly humbled by my own lack of coordination. I also has to make the above serious face because I was pretending to take a picture of the garden, and once does not take pictures of flowers with stupid, 'CHEESE' smiles. 

~

Ended up in the National Gallery as I was attempting to escape bizarre sunny-RAIN-sunny-drizzle-RAIN-drizzle-RAIN.  It was big. And pretty. And occasionally surprisingly amusing. 

~

I also walked. A lot. A lot a lot. Especially for someone who essentially needs to be dragged around the block at home. I am impressed with myself. Oh, the measures to which one will go for the love of money. Or the love of not spending money. Yay cheapness! Anyway. In my walking, I walked by Big Ben, Parliament, etc. Good times. IF ONLY IT WOULD STOP RAINING.

~

On Sunday, I hiked (actually, legitimately walked myself two+ miles) to Westminster Abbey for the Evensong service. Which was great. Did you know that sometimes, the people that sing in the church choir are good? I know. Crazy talk. But there were these adorable little boys in cute little outfits singing in their pretty tiny voices and it was a painless hour and a half. Totally awesome experience - I recommend it highly. 

~

FOOD! My favorite, always. I made Jessica tramp on down to Camden Market to get some ethnic grub with me. Here, see our yummy yummy shared meal of Italian and Ethiopian deliciousness. Add a sangria and BOOM! Perfectly awesome. Love the markets. 

~

Kew Gardens is a world of green. Apparently, they have 1 in 8 known plant species. That is crazy talk. Think about that for a minute. Crazy talk. It is also very pretty, and sometimes reminiscent of Jurassic Park. Their dessert exhibit was also very homey. Jessica and I were both overwhelmed with the sense of home. Which is a little pathetic. 

~

And the best for last: WICKED.

On the West End. Yes yes yes. You are jealous. It's ok: I would be too, if I were you. But I'm not you, I'm me, and I saw the (fabulous!) show with Jessica about five hours ago and my heart is happy. Very fabulous experience. Wicked awesome, actually. 

Cardiff: Photo Review

As you should all be aware, we spent about a week in Cardiff. The other adventures we had were lost amid the joy of BBC PILGRIMAGE OH MY GOD WE ALMOST SAW MERLIN AHHHHHH!  

But. Even without the adventures of July 5, Cardiff and Wales were fabulous. Cold and wet, but green and pretty and fabulous. See the (many many) pieces of photographic evidence below.

There are an insane number of pictures in this post, so I'm about to get fancy. They call what I am about to do 'inserting a jump break.' Watch carefully.

BOOM!

update

Roppongi, Tokyo all lit up.

At least I am freezing to death surrounded by beauty.

The host family and I take a picture after the Nihongo Happyoukai - a performance put on by the foreign exchange students to showcase out (theoretically) improved Japanese.

This was my Halloween costume. I bought it for approximately $3.50USD. It is one of the best investments I ever ever made.

___________________________________

I have gotten really horrible about updating this.

It is just very, very, very difficult to keep up with everything that has been going on! Every single day is a new series of adventures, and recording these adventures on a consistent basis would take away from adventuring time. Seeing as I am in my final month (WHAT?), I have been trying my very hardest to do/see as much as possible.

I have been doing pretty well.

Since I have last checked in, some new experiences include:

sleeping/lounging/eating/studying sprawled out on the floor, because the floor is where the heat it; writing and memorizing the script for Little Red Riding hood in Japanese; performing, with two friends, that same story - in Japanese; watching my classmates flex their acting muscles quite impressively as they performed their own Nihongo skits; going to beautiful, elegant museums in Tokyo; walking through streets that reek of class and money in (what I assume) are some of the richest neighborhoods in Tokyo; getting to see real, live, red/orange/yellow/green fall in all its glory; exploring the city and enjoying every minute, despite the bone-chilling rain; falling asleep on a stranger on the train and not realizing it until I was poked awake because he had to get off; acquiring a mastery of the train system that allows me to decide on a general direction or specific location I want to go and actually get there; meeting my family's foreign exchange student to-be; walking around Ueno Park and Ueno Zoo by myself and being able to take in the awesome all around (pygmy hippo! I WANT ONE); going to a Neko Cafe and playing with some of the cutest cats in the history of the world; somersaulting down a hill; seeing a light display that rivals in Zoo Lights; having long, gossipy conversations with the host mother; going to a salsa club in Roppongi and having the awesome Emily lead me through the steps in a semi-competent manner.