Bye bye London -- Here we go France!

Hey guys!

We are in Paris, France! Finally, there is service!! I don't even know where to start but London was .. an adventure, I must say. Professor Ryan and the group will probably agree with me that we checked off almost all the things that we each wanted to experience in London.

We met with Charlie Forman on Thursday, which honestly changed my perspective of the Olympics. Charlie went through all the details of each component as to what needs to be part of the proposal during the Olympics. Although they received the bid seven years ago, it is a time constraint for all the people that is part of the London Olympics 2012 Committee. They have to incorporate every aspect, from the games, safety, athletic departments to the local issues with the citizens. There are just so much that it is mind-bottling that each Olympics, cities get it done! London 2012 is focusing on creating something that will sustain for a preferably revitalized new community to bring about better economic standards. Unlike the Beijing Olympics, which was centralized in the best parts of the country, London is trying to change. The change is so in-depth that it will take about 20-25 years in order to evaluate whether this project becomes a success for the long run. On Friday, we met with Paul Deighton,the CEO of the London Olympic Committee Olympic Games. Professor Burton helped us confirm this meeting which intrigued me to get into the Olympics. I never looked at the Olympic as such a huge project because we usually watch the games. Not many people look deep into all the background, support systems that needs to be put in place in order to make the Olympics happen.

Aside from the Olympics so far, how can we forget that it was Professor Ryan's birthday on Saturday. Based on a late Friday night, only part of the group was able to join Ryan to go to the Portobello's market. It was a beautiful neighborhood that had blocks of clothes, foods, fresh fruits, and many other antique shops. It was a great walk but we were exhausted from the days before, so we decided to go to the Westminister Abbey to learn some history of London. We saw Big Ben which was just ridiculously beautiful. At night, we went to Angus Steakhouse to celebrate Ryan's birthday. Of course, since we love him so much, we couldn't allow him to enjoy his birthday himself. We understand what happened for his birthday's last year but we wanted him to remember. I'm sure he enjoyed the unbelievably friendly waiter, the walks and talks throughout the night. Let's just say, he had a great night sleep.

Since it was the last night at London, we didn't want to put it to waste but we didn't want to just go to sleep. My roommate and I walked all around. We made a visit to college town, found some nice souvenir shops, and searched for a dessert place. We went to Leichester Square and dreams came true. You can imagine how beautiful it is. Let's just say, it's comparable to 42nd Street in New York City.

We are currently in Paris, France. The trip here was a hassle, I must say. We had to take the "tube" in London to take the Eurostar to get here. With all the amounts of luggage we had, there were some issues. No big deal, we got through it but hopefully our travel to Lausanne, Switzerland won't be as tiring.

Since we are here on Sunday to Wednesday morning, there really isn't much of a nightlife that we can do. The most exciting part is that we are able to go SHOPPING! We will visit the Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, possibly Church de Notre Dame, and many major sightseeing places. I came to France a few times already and I absolutely love the French culture. We went to a restaurant for late lunch/early dinner and had issues with the French menu already. It just makes me want to learn French and its culture even more. We'll see as the days goes by what the similarities and differences between London and France are.

Oh, I tried to keep it short. But how is that possible, when we are on a trip in Europe? Haha! I hope everyone is enjoying our slow updates.

Paris, France
Out&About.

Olivia.