Movie Premiere

A few days ago we saw in a newspaper that "The Accidental Husband" would be holding its premiere in Leicester Square. We decided to go (just for the hell of it), so we showed up a few minutes before it was set to start. The stars of the movie didn't show up for another 45 minutes, and we were thisclose to leaving, but we ended up being glad we stayed. I actually squealed when Colin Firth got out of the car! I am so ashamed of myself- I never thought I would be starstruck! He went around signing autographs (so did Uma Thurman, the other star of the movie) and I was totally 3 feet away from him (and her). Our friend Meryl stuck out her hand and he shook it!! I should have tried that but I was too busy trying to get a good picture in the dark. I think we might actually try to go to another one sometime- they're all held on Wednesday nights, and it's not like we usually have something better to do!

Waitangi Day

Last Saturday was Waitangi Day, the national day of New Zealand. In London, that means all the young New Zealanders and their friends dress up in black (the color of NZ's sports teams) and ride the Circle Line around central London, drinking at each stop. I went to meet my friends for brunch, and we observed big groups of drunk youths wandering around. We didn't know how crazy things were getting until we reached our neighborhood Tube station (Gloucester Road) and saw literally a thousand people crowding the sidewalks (see picture above). We made the mistake of stopping in a convenient store for snacks before trying to get out of London to visit a park, and while we were in the store the station closed due to the huge drunk crowd. Waitangi Day would have ruined our Saturday, but we ended up going to the British Museum instead, which is a pretty cool place!

Photos!

Here are links to all the pictures I've taken over the past month:

Canterbury:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2229567&l=76a86&id=3200197

Battle of Hastings:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2229568&l=547ea&id=3200197

Stratford-upon-Avon (home of Shakespeare):
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2229571&l=205c9&id=3200197

Paris:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2229572&l=f63be&id=3200197 (Part One)

http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2229576&l=f4428&id=3200197 (Part Two)

http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2229578&l=1575f&id=3200197 (Part Three)

Paris!

On Saturday morning I took the Eurostar to Paris. It's such a pleasant way to travel. :-)

I arrived in Paris and walked to the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up my Paris Pass. I had arranged to meet my friend there (she had bought the same pass), but after waiting outside the restaurant for half an hour, I decided to head out on my own. I was never able to get in contact with her, and I have no idea what happened. She's travelling around Europe for the next month, so maybe I'll find out what happened after she returns to the States!

I checked in at my hostel ("Young and Happy Hostel"), dropped off my bag, and then went to see the sights. On my first day I went to the Pantheon, Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, Conciergie, did part of the Open Top Bus Tour, and went to the Louvre. I met Basil that night for dinner, and I ended up staying on his futon for the two nights I was there (instead of at my hostel, which unfortunately I had already paid for, but Basil's flat was a more comfortable option). The next day I woke up late and went to the Musee d'Orsay, did more of the Open Top Bus Tour, went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, took pictures of the Eiffel Tower, did a boat tour of the Seine, and went back to the Louvre again. I think I filled up my two days pretty well. :-)

My favorite things I saw:

- The Pantheon: WOW. Never seen anything like it.




















- Sainte Chappelle: A tiny little church near Notre Dame. Its main room is completely surrounded by stained glass windows. Very pretty.




















- Musee d'Orsay: What an amazing building! I loooved the big main room (it's a converted train station) with all the statues.




















- Louvre: LOVED it. I wish I had more than two days to see it all.




















I left Paris early Monday morning and arrived back in London in time for work. I was really tired, but it was a great trip. I don't know what I had expected, but know I didn't think I would love Paris as much as I did. It definitely lives up the hype. I made a fool of myself constantly due to the language barrier, but I ended up being glad I toured Paris by myself. I got to do everything at my own speed, and I think I fit in more sights than I would have if I had met up with my friend. I can't wait to go back with my family.