My London Excursions + Paris

Over the 2 weeks I have been here in London I've been filling my free time with touristy things: the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, and Big Ben. They were all nice places, but they didn't "wow" like over landmarks in other cities in Europe. To the cities I've been to throughout Europe, they are gorgeous compared to London. Even though, New York was based on London, it is still better and prettier. You just can't beat the city that never sleeps! What I miss the most is having 24/7 running subways. I spent about 200 Euros on taxi's in Barcelona because the concierge at the hotel told us to avoid the subway because it is notorious for pick-pocketers.

One of the most exciting places for any Harry Potter fan is to go to the studio tour in London, which is approximately 30 minutes away from the city. It was just a great experience! There were a bunch of people there, therefore, the crowds of people made the process rush a little more. I was there for a total of 3 hours. It may seem like a lot of time spent on a movie set, but it was well worth it! Here is a video of my Harry Potter adventure (Click Here).

Just this past weekend, I venture out of the UK, and went to Paris! With the short amount of time to spend in Paris, it seemed like I accomplished a lot! I went to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Llouvre, Notre Dame, and the Palace of Versailles. I somehow found a way to pack all these places within 2 days. When I first arrived, I went straight to the Eiffel Tower, and managed to get tickets to go up the elevator to the top. As a heads up, there were these women carrying "petitions", where they would ask you to sign and give money or possible steal your stuff while signing. It has happened to a fellow Drexel student, so beware when you go to very touristy destinations. Even though, it was entertaining while waiting in line, it was so sad how people who couldn't speak english or french very well were taking advantaged of. So I had to choose to go in the Llourve or Notre Dame, and I choose the Llourve. There were lines, everywhere I went, but this designation wasn't that bad. The last day (which took all day), was the Palace of Versailles. When getting there around 11am and not purchasing tickets/tour beforehand, I was able to get in around 1:30pm. The line for the tickets, and the line to get in were very long. The wait was well worth it!. Paris was worth running around, and cramming it in a weekend.