Notre Dam

one can't rally visit Paris without visiting Notre Dam. It is probably the second most visited place in the whole city. In my entire life, I never remember going inside, though I am sure, over all the many times I was in Paris as a child that we must have gone inside at least once.

We went up to the front and there was a large, stadium style seating in front of it. We weren't quite sure what it was for, but in front of these stadium style seating, we're hundreds and hundreds of people, changing and singing and standing right in front of the doors to the church. I was really worried that me might have accidentally turned up to one of France's famous protests, and coincidentally, not be able to go inside. We found out not too long after, that this huge mass of people was being allowed into the church, through a huge door that they opened for them. Turns out,

they were pilgrims. I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure why they had signs and staffs with shells on them, and huge loudspeakers. They all had matching shirts too, so they must have come as an entire group. We were still able t get in via the main door, so I was pretty happy regardless.

Inside, the church is incredibly huge. It wasn't as ornate as I had expected, but it was nice and warm, and welcoming. And full of people. There were so many people there you could barely move. There was a service going on with the cardinal visiting, and everyone was singing and it was lovely. Unlike Saint Chapelle, there were only a few little stained glass windows. Towards the Back f the church there were a lot more windows, and a lot less people! There were private areas for praying and a bit more history about the church

We walked around the church, and considered going up to the bell tower, but there was a ally big queue, so instead we decided to wander over to the Louvre. We didn't get very far before I wanted to stop and get a yummy Nutella crepe. It was amazing, and perfect for an after lunch snack!

Saint Chapelle

Right near the Metro, we found a nice little restaurant to have lunch in. I'm always a little wary of choosing restaurants that are too touristy, but this one was just right - and we had a croque madame and the most amazing French onion soup (which has now become one of my favourites!)

After our super delicious lunch, we wandered around some more until we came to the Palace of Justice. Inside of the Palace is Saint Cheppele, this lovely lovely church which was by far the most beautiful thing we went and saw on our trip to Paris. I got in for free, because I was under 25 and also an EU citizen. Paris has an awesome policy like that meaning a lot of young people now have access to great cultural sights. When you go in the main level, it doesn't seem like anything special - actually a little bit like a crypt with a few statues. Thankfully, we went up

a set of stairs which was such a good plan, as the whole church was up there! It was so incredibly beautiful and full of amazing stained glass windows, on every single surface. They were full of pinks and oranges and yellows, alongside these geat stone statues and candelabras hanging from the ceiling. It was so amazing!

Wandering around Paris

After visiting the Sacre Cour, and heading down all the many, many steps, Josh's aunt left to go run some errands. We hadn't expected to be left alone, and were quite unsure where to go, or what to see, but armed with a little tiny metro map, we set off. I was quite grateful to be pointed in the right direction, because once we got off of the Metro, I knew kind of where I was, or at least recognised that we needed to wander along the river. We had a great time wandering around the town, and learning how to orientate ourselves.

We wandered around, and had a really lovely lunch, and dessert too, and discovered this cute little side street which had this building covered in ivy - it was so pretty, and so traditional and French. The ivy was growing out of this great tree that snaked right up the side of it. It was a little cold, but we were having a lot of fun taking it at a more relaxed pace. For once we had no destination and could just wander and soak it all up.

A cloudy morning at the Sacre Cour

On Friday night, I took the Eurostar to Paris - while Josh tooka plane from Germany. It was so nice to be with him again - and this time in the city of Love! We stayed with his great aunt, and then in the morning she took us to the Sacre Cour, which is this big church on top of this hill all the way in the north of Paris,

and from it you can see all over Paris. It was incredibly cloudy on Saturday morning, which didn't make for great pictures, but it was still nice to walk around the area surrounding the church, which is full of art galleries and little artists painting people on the street. It was really quaint. One time, we will have to go back so that we can see the whole view of Paris!

The NFL at Wembley

Another thing I ended up going to, which was quite out of character for me, was an NFL game. I had seen a bunch of people in Steelers jerseys a couple weeks before but hadn't really thought about it. It turns out that there was another game happening, and so me and my classmates ended up buying tickets and going along.

It was a Jacksonville Jaguars and San Fransisco 49ers game. Probably not a very difficult game for them, but either way, the game is always a big deal because we just dont have an NFL team here - so when they visit London - people come and watch it - both expats and locals alike so that they can watch an American football

team - regardless of what team they usually support. We had such fun, and the highlight for me was watching the American Anthem being sung at an arena, a HUUUUGE arena, in my second home. It was really special for me. The game was a bit lopsided, and of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost, but because they were the

home team, they had given each and every person a cool flag to wave around! I loved it - and I even tried really hard to learn some of the rules and follow the game! We left a little early, so thankfully we had no wait at the tube stop, and got home not super late!

Glow Run

Sadly, Josh's week of holiday came to an end, and I was hysterical, but he had to go back to teaching in Germany. I know he loves his job, but I had gotten really used to him being around so much, especially when I came home after school each day. I kind of threw myself into my school stuff with my university friends. When we had first arrived at Uni, my friends Cara and Emma had signed up to do this Glow Run with me. It was only 3Km, and was to benefit the Royal National Institute for the Blind. It came

up on us much faster than we had intended - I hadnt even been to the gym since about April! But we went anyway, all the way out to Mile End Stadium where it was set up. They turn the lights off, and put up black lights in certain places around the stadium, and then in two places, they spray you with this incredibly cold UV paint. It was so sticky, and felt yucky - especially afterwards, we felt quite gross - but it was so much fun and we looked pretty cool doing it!

Madam Tussauds

Now that Madam Tussauds has a waxwork museum in several countries, maybe its not quite as special - but I love the one in London because of the sheer range of people that they have in them. I remember seeing Oprah in America - which was cool, but in England recently they added a whole section of the

British Olympians from the 2012 Olympics, and of course - we have the Royal family - complete with Kate, who was added since last time! Josh and I lined up and got the lady that works the photography section to take our photo- so of course it turned out great!