Getting Ready to do some Traveling!

So it is past 6pm on a Sunday afternoon and I am proud to report that I've been sitting on my bed since I woke up at noon, on my computer. However, I have been quite productive, and I finally have everything settled for my trip to the UK for my Toussaints vacation, for which I leave 2 weeks from today!

On Thursday, though, I'm heading up to Paris to meet up with Michael, which will be really fun. I'm excited to do the things I didnt get to do when I flew in to Paris in August, like actually going up the Eiffel Tower, going inside Notre Dame, seeing the Moulin Rouge (!!!) and Sacre Coeur, and going to Musée d'Orsay! We'll have 2 full days and 3 nights, so hopefully it will be enough time!

Then, the next weekend, I'm flying out of Lyon on Sunday afternoon, stopping at London Stansted, and continuing on to Edinburgh, Scotland that night. I'll be staying there with a buddy from UCSB, Brio, until Tuesday night, when I fly to Dublin. I am staying at a hostel in the heart of Dublin by myself on Tuesday night, then Brio is coming on Wednesday and I'll have some company. Thursday night, I leave Dublin for London, and will be staying with Meghan, my really good friend from UCSB! Meghan is one of the girls I lived with in the Res halls my 2nd year at UCSB, so I'm really excited to see her. She has tickets to see a Chelsea soccer game, so I'm hoping she can get another one for me...if not, I'll be satisfied to hang out and enjoy the city in the meantime!

But I'm really excited to do some traveling...by myself! I'm not really too nervous, I figure it can't be too bad, since everything will be in English!
If anyone has been to the UK and has recommendations of what I should do and/or see, let me know! I have never been, and I have no plans! Leave me a comment at the bottom of the post :)

This weekend was really fun. After doing nothing except the excursion last weekend, I actually went out Thurs-Saturday nights this weekend (although I caught the 12am bus home the past 2 nights). Went to a lounge/bar on Thursday night with Robert and his roommates and some of their friends (finally, a group where Americans were the minority!), and I couldn't make it back in time for the last bus, so I stayed at Roberts apartment. Don't worry parents, Robert is gay...Ha ha. His 2 roommates, Thierry and Laura, are super nice, so I'm excited to hang out with them more! The next morning, Robert and I went downtown and ran some errands...That night, we went to a Spanish style bar with some Californians. Yesterday, Eva and I went to IKEA to pick up some stuff for our place...that was INTENSE! I'd never even been to an Ikea in the US before! And last night I watched the French football team's game at Roberts place and hung out...Good weekend for sure!

Here are some photos, just to keep everything exciting...

Yes, yes...this is me drinking an alcoholic beverage that I purchased -- legally!! But as you can see, the small size of the drinks (and their large price) makes the whole "study abroad binge drinking" thing that I thought was so typical of European students pretty preventable...

After an overwhelming trip to IKEA, my roommate and I arrived back at Place Bellecour to find a bunch of trinkets...also featured were circus dancers, tigers, and a huge hot air balloon!!! Still have no idea why it was all going on...as per usual

I think I may have a future as a European car model, no? The cars are generally petite here in France, as you can see...

Some of the more tame DVDs that my friend Robert and I found at FNAC, a mainstream electronics store here in Lyon. His says "Penis: A question of size?" and mine say "Big boobs: Living with a huge rack" and "Little tits: Mini, pointy and sexy", respectively.

Have a good week!