London

It was a late beginning this morning. But I am currently reading through the chapter on John Huss from The Great Controversy. Very good read.

Eventually, my cousin came to my Aunt’s house and we were off to the National Gallery. From there we saw the London Eye and took pictures of the House of Parliament and Big Ben. And then a quick trip through China Town. It was quite enjoyable. Hope the pictures turned out well.

Getting to London

Today was a late rise. Even after waking up, I just laid down and then my friend and I began to talk until it was necessary to get up. For lunch we ate a Pasty (pronounced Past-ie). It was pretty good. Then, I quickly caught my train to London.

After arriving in London, I waited for nearly an hour and a half, while also trying to call my Aunt. Finally, I decided to pay for the internet and called her. We quickly reconnected (for the first time in nearly 20 years) and were off to get me an Oyster Card - a convenient card that I can use at any place with its symbol, such as a tube (subway) or bus. After getting an Oyster Card we were off to a Vegan restaurant. The food was pretty good, but a little oily and salty for my preference.

We then arrived at her place. Spent some time talking with my cousin and her boyfriend and eventually fell asleep.

Birmingham, England

Since my friend and I spent a good amount of the night and early morning talking, we were both very exhausted. Nonetheless, we made it early to Leamington Spa Mission. It was a unique service with communion at the end. Afterwards, we stayed for a bit and ate there. Potluck is a bit different here, you bring your own food and have your own meal with others there who do the same.

One interesting thing. I met a man who was a mission for about 5 years and is now studying Theology at Newbold College. So we were able to talk for quite some time about some things.

For the afternoon the church made shoe boxes to send to some foreign country. After which my friend and I went for a walk around some park and then return to their place. That was basically Sabbath. After its closing I treated her out for her birthday at some Italian restaurant. It was pretty good. But now calculating the price, I’m not sure if it was fully worth it. I guess it is also not so easy to go out to eat and be a vegan - even though I made a lot of requests in my order.

Château de la Fontainebleau

Our last day we had a late start because of factors that are probably best to forget. But we had a visite libre du château de la Fontainebleau. It was amazing. After which, for those who were staying, we caught a train to Paris.

Simply, I missed my flight, had to pay for a new one and am now in Birmingham, England. When I arrived in Birmingham I felt interrogated by the immigrations official. But I guess that’s just how they have to be. We then took a train from Birmingham to Coventry, where I accidently forgot my backpack on the train and had to quickly run back. Then we took a bus to Warwick (pronounced Warick) Uni (University).

le Louvre et Paris

Today was our day to be on our own. So today a few of us actually went to the sights that we passed by yesterday. We went to l’Arc de Triomphe, les Grands boulevards, le Louvre, la Opera, et Notre Dame.

Most of our day was spent at the Louvre where I was able to see a good portion of archaeology and a quick trip to see the Mona Lisa. I have obviously posted pictures below, so there is no need to really explain what I’ve seen.









































































































































For the evening we had a rendez-vous au pied de la tour Eiffel à 19h15. We were able to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and take some wonderful pictures. After which, we had a départ ensuite pour le port de la Bourdonnais: promenade nocturne en bateau parisien sur la Seine. Basically, we took a trip down the Seine and were able to see many famous bridges in Paris.

Versailles et Paris

Have you ever heard of Versailles? Well, that was where we were at for a good portion of our day. We had an interesting guidée du châtue. Of which we afterward had a lunch. This was the first time I ordered my food without the aid of anyone in French. It turned out well enough to where I got what I wanted and was able to ask for my check afterward.





































































Then we left for Paris to continue our guided tour. We pasted by some major sights: les Champs-Èlysées, l’Arc de Triomphe, la Tour Eiffel, les Grands boulevards, les Invalides (where we stopped and saw the Crypt, or tomb, of Napoleon), Notre Dame (where the President of France just happened to be, so we were not able to really see it), etc.


















































































After our tour we were dropped off near Montmarte where we could walk around. We spotted Moulin Rouge and also found a wonderful view of Paris, then at 19h30 (7:30) we had Dîner en commun sur la butte Montmartre. By the way, if you are vegan, which I am, it is very hard to eat around here. But it is possible.

Château de Chambord, Cathédrale de Chartres, et Paris

This morning we had an early petit-déjeuner à l’hôtel (breakfast at the hotel). About 09h00, we left for château de Chambord. This is one amazing castle. After spending a few hours there we went to Chartres, had lunch, and then visited the Cathédrale de Chartres. It was amazing. Officially the first Cathédrale I have seen in Europe. A few minutes before leaving, though, a friend and I were able to run up the North Tower and take a few shots. Truly a wondrous view.








































































































































Afterwards we found ourselves officially leaving and arriving in Paris. Since we were able to travel around a bit after we checked into our hotel a few of us were off at once. I’ve included pictures of some of the sights we saw.