Paris etc

Wow a lot has happened since my last blog.

a. turning 18

Had such an awesome birthday weekend. It almost felt like i had two birthdays - as I was totally spoiled by my Rydal family and real family.


Celebrations started on the Friday when I got a fab cake as well as going out to Karaoke in Ambleside with the community. Karaoke was fun. Well...fun for me.

Apparently for everyone else it was quite painful when we sung our favourite song Dancing Queen. It was a song chosen because it is regularly on in the Kitchen and results in us sometimes dancing around (much to the chef´s dismay at times) singing the lyrics "you are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen". So my friend Melissa and I braved the stage and had decided to sing what had been named Steph´s Song.

I had the best time singing this song at the top of my lungs (due to the fact that i didn´t actually want to hear what we sounded like) as well as dancing around while we sung. Oh dear.



For days we had people telling us how bad we were at singing and that noone in the pub could talk because it was so loud and horrible. We had the best time, though.


b. paris and london

what a weekend. it sounds crazy but i only spent two days in Paris. By the end everything was aching and I think it was an indication that I had seen a lot in those two days.

There is something very magical about Paris. The small pastry shops as well as the flower shops found on many streets are amazing and assult your sense of smell as you walk past.

One of my favourite parts of Paris was the area around Sacre Coer. The small cafes with chairs facing outward (hence creating the perfect opportunity for people watching) and the many artists asking if you want your picture drawn. Exploring is one of the best things to do. Although getting lost can be stressful, one also discovers hidden parts of city and little places which aren´t known to the normal traveller. Getting lost in Paris was quite fun at times. Seeing and experiencing more of this city.

Ofcourse, the Eiffel Tower is one of those attractions which just blows one away. I decided to walk up the stairs for a fair €3.50 to see the views again. I even attempted to be up there to see the sunset. However, summer is coming and hence it is getting later and later that the sun decides to go down.



It was awesome to be together with my family again. We went to some of the places we were six years ago. Even the same crepe place!



There are lots of random stories I could tell but other places I visited included:
- Montmarte (outside the Moulin Rouge and the outside of te cemetery)
- Bastille (walked along a 4.5km old railway line which had been turned into a plantation/garden walkway)

London

- Outer London:

Got to explore a bit of where my faily lived. What a blessing it is to know that God has provided for them the best place to live, work, go to school and to church. It is the cutest area and their little house is just right! It was really amazing to see all that God had done!!

- Central London:

I had a few hours to kill in London while I waited for my train back to Rydal. I wandered down to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge (after ending up on London Bridge and remembering that it wasn´t actually the Tower Bridge - oops!) and sat in the sun for a while. Yes - the sun. It was quite warm in London. There is so much history in London and it was nice to just sit on a bench by the Tower Bridge and just relax and reflect. So many people have walked along the cobbled paths to this bridge, their feet taking from one country to another, another experience to another.

It was a huge weekend but by the time I got back to Rydal I was feeling very relaxed and ready to go!

Love
x
P.S. sorry for being all over the place! Just typed as things came to mind! There were a lot of memories which would pop up when i started to think about last weekend´s adventure.