This summer I went with people to people student ambassador programs to europe on a European Hertitage Adventure so that we could share the Understanding of many other cultures! I would just like to share with you my day to day adventures!
Day 1 a new journey begins
June 18th,2004
Today was the big day, I was so excited that i just couldn't sleep a wink last nite! I arrived at the Pittsburgh Airport and i saw a bunch of kids in red people to people polosi was so happy! This was going to be my first time on a plane so you can bet that i was pretty nervous!Well it was time for our flight to leave for Atlanta Airport. Wow airplanes aren't really that bad! Then we had about two hours in the airport to shop, eat, ect. Then our flight was called a BIG 8 hour flight to London... how exciting! Well most of us drank lots of water and got some sleep so that we could beat the jet lag!
Day 2journey continues
June 19th, 2004
Wow today we landed in London. Then we exchanged money and met our Delegation Leader: Catherine DaGraca wow at first I thought that she was from Austrailia but i guess not... she was from South Africa! She gave us money and we had some lunch! Our first stop or tour was Sir Winston Churchill's house! wow was it big and beautiful i had never seen anything like it before I got some really good shots of his garden! I ended up bunking with Veronica Shaw in room 409!
Day3to the tube
June20th,2004
My first time on the tube/subway. wow it was pretty dirty but hey im not expecting royalty or anything! Today we suposably walked 12-16 miles! And man is gas over here expensive first off you buy it by the liter and then it's like $12 a liter o my gosh. wow i walked down the sidewalk and then all i could see was the london eye and we got to ride on it woot-woot! The view from the top was absolutly amazing!Then a tour of the tower of London! Yea i got to see the tower bridge, the torture chaimber, and the crown jewels! o yea! I got to meet a beefeater! And we ate dinner at Hard Rock cafe'! Wow that was so cool cheeseburgers!
Day4let's go to the Abbey
June 21st,2004
This Morning i was pretty tired! first of we went to the war cabinets. Then a long walk to lunch were we had Fish&Chips ((french fries)). After lunch we went to see Westminster Abbey...beautiful i loved it! I didn't like the fact that we were walking on dead people though! We went to this little store called Surprise*Surprise and it was so amazing! Dinner i thought would be like home but it was different we went to ChinaTown and it wasn't the kind of chinese that we have at home but it was still really good! After dinner it was off to the musical about Joesph and al of the graphics and songs were so cool!
Day 5and we leave the hotel in Wembley
June 22nd, 2004
We left the hotel in Wembley and it was so sad because they have been so nice to us in the the past couple days! Today our first stop was the Shakespeare globe. The speaker was so funny we were all laughing! Then we went to give our regards to Buckingham Palace for the last time! Then off to the british museum... it was ok but we were rushed to whole way. We had about a 3 hour drive to were we would meet our homestay families! wow mine was so amazing they catered us the best way thet could and they helped us do laundry! It was like home.
Day6climbing to a whole new disco
June 23rd,2004
It rained today... :( i was sad! we went to a local school and went rockclimbing insted of absieling it was too wet! We went to another Abbey and some people acually live there! wow It was really windy! Since the dance was soon i tought Jake how to dance!we went to a school with very young kids and talked to them about our lives back at home. ttime to disco... well not really but it was so fun they played our music!
Day7let's go to the city of bath
june 24th,2004
We had a grand tour of the Roman Baths today1 It was so eww the water was like nasty green1 But hey thats what we are here to learn about right? We ate lunch and fed the pigeons and duckies! We went to Claires boutiques today! w00t-woot!
Day8out to sea
June 25th,2004
We went to the mysterious Stonehenge today! We ate at a place called Ship&Castle.. After dinner we had to go to the ferry port! I was sad because i did not get ahold of my dad but yet I got ahold of my best friend Emily! wow was the ferry big!
Day9and they were gone
June 26th,2004
We woke up at 5:30 this morning1 I roomed with Ashley,Jozzie,&Nichelle. I was tired and cranky today! Well we went to visit the crosses at normandy...and i was really upset when we only had 15 minutes in the whole place whenever it was an American memorial! grr but it was still sad. We ate at flunch.. the food was okay but it was expensive! We got back and just hung out at the hotel.
Day10welcome to Paris city of Light & love
June 27th,2004
Today we went to the eiffel tower and i tell ya it was BIG and it was like black copper colored! I went all the way to the top! The view was awsome i made a movie from at the top! Once back on the ground i had two icecreams! Then it was off to a french resturant: Au Berge de la bonne Franquette there we two singers there.
Day11these french people can really make perfume
june 28th,2004
Today was off to the Louvre the biggest museum in Paris! It would take 4 months to get through the whole thing! They moved the Mona Lisa because of putting in air conditioning. Then off to lunch where we had 1 liter bottles of coke...woo hoo! Then to the perfume shop and i tell ya it smelled good but i spent alot of money on it! Then off to Notre Dome... me and steph hung out and went shopping and did some fun things. o no im so glad ate lots of icecream because well we had to eat liver and snail and it wasn't pretty! We then took a cruise on the Seine River! It was ok but the seats were really small!
Day12off to a new start in Belguim
June 29th,2004
Me and Steve were talking and he read my journal and we crossed the Belguim line and all the sudden i felt different! We had already seen some windmills. Off to In Flanders field museum... it was so sad i cried! Tomorrow will be Anne Franks house i can't wait! Time for the taste test of the wonderful chocolate... ummm it was so good i bought some and brought it home! Then we took a buggy ride around town. In the hotel I got to stay with Jozzie.. we were so happy it was so much fun! Tonight we got our Fan Mail from our parents... i cried then we went swimming and we felt so much better!
Day13In Remeberance of Anne Frank
June 30th,2004
Today we move onto The Netherlands. Yea!!!It is suposed to be double the size of New Jersey! We had a lunch cruise and i sat with patrick, chris, and Nathan. It was great to get to know them better!
Anne Franks House was so much smaller than in the movies omy gosh i can't believe that she lived there Tonight in the hotel I am assigned with Jozzie in room 131!
Day14dutch living
July 1st, 2004
WOw breakfast then Holland... Did some shopping with steph and we bought matching outfits! plus me, her, and Chris got dutch photos taken! Then we went to the clog & cheese factory and i bought a pair of clogs! They are so cool.Me and Jozzie packed and went to sleep!
Day 15take me to the Rhine river
July 2nd, 2004
Now another cruise... yea i bought some icecream. I got some pictures of the castles and other cool things. After that we did some majior shopping! coo coo clock shop and the steiff teddy bear place.
Tonite we saw a funny commercial and it was a purple dancing hippo.
Day 16along walk in Germany
July 3rd,2004
It rained today... yea well not really.. we toured a castle it was kinda cool an di bought Haribo gummis just what i needed! Now at the hotel i am in room 218 with julia Flores Julia is a blast to hang out with!
Day 17proud to be American
July 4th,2004
We planted our tree first thing an dthen we ate some lunch. O my now the long 2 hour hike. At least we had Black Forest Cake! The waterfalls were so awsome! Time for another cruise... woo hoo and we met other p2p ambassadors... We went downstairs for an all american seramony... yea then we shooted off some fireworks yea the real big ones... hand held sparklers! Then we ate some icecream!
Day18The swiss alps and falls
july 05th 2004
We saw the Pretty Rhienfall today it wasn't that tall but boy was it wide! It was raining today.... we did some window shopping today and went to the glass blowing factory.
Day19the best way is on the farm
july 6th,2004
we did alot of farm activities today and we went on another hike... we saw some pretty waterfalls! our team won but we tied with the other team. Tonight we had a surprise b day party for courtyney and we put make-up on Nick... it was so fun!
Day20the last day in europe\...tear
july 7th,2004
today we saw the wonderful Swiss Alpsthey were so amazing! today i bought a Swiss army knife with my name on it! We also went on a lil hike to see all the waterfalls. Then we went to the hotel and it was connected to a McDonalds... o yea and another cool thing..... \NO CURFUE\ it was so cool but i already miss europe!
Day21back to the USA
july 8th,2004