This Must Be A Dream, Part 2: Disneyland Paris

My trip continued the next morning, early as I left Caen to return to Paris and on to Disneyland. My train left just before 8 and I gave myself plenty of time to take the bus back to the station. After waiting for 10 minutes and no bus I double checked the schedule and consulted my phrase book. I learned that the buses did not run on Sunday which was not what the website told me. Oh well. I walked back the the hotel and asked about the buses. Fortunately they had a number handy for a taxi and they called one for me. A few minutes later I was at Gare Caen and on my train. Soon we were headed back to Paris.

Back in Paris I walked the block from Gare St. Lazare to the RER A Auber station. The RER A ends at Marne-la-Vallee which is also the stop for Parc Disneyland. It takes about 30 minutes from the center of Paris. I got off a few stops from Disneyland to drop my stuff off at my hotel, Mister Bed City Hotel. I love the names of chain hotels in France, they are very fun. Back on the RER A, I was at Disneyland before noon, giving me plenty of time to see the parks. I was so excited walking in. Now that Normandy was crossed off my list, this was all I needed to see. The Disneyland Hotel serves as the Main Gate for Disneyland. Once inside you walk under the train and onto Main Street (U.S.A. I think). It all feels the same, but yet somewhat different. The shops and food establishments are arranged differently. I decide to go to the left and work my way around the park.

I first go to Adventureland and ride Indiana Jones et le Temple du Peril. While walking through Frontierland and past the Mark Twain which goes counter-clockwise around the island I thought I saw something white falling and while I was in line for Indiana Jones it began to snow. It was snowing at Disneyland. I could not believe it though it was cold enough. After that I made my way around through Fantasyland. It is a lot bigger than the one in Anaheim. Compared to Anaheim, they have the same rides along with a maze inspired by the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland and they have an area just for Belle. I walked around the back towards Its A Small World but it was down. I headed over to Discoveryland (Anaheim's equivalent of Tomorrowland). I immediately got a Fastpass for Space Mountain: Mission 2.0. I had an hour or so and I decided to take the train around the park. I walked past Star Tours and thought to my self, I am sure it is the same, I can skip this. But then a light bulb turned on, the robots should be speaking in French, how can I not see this. It was glorious. Enjoy this little gem of a video I recorded.



After Star Tours I decided to have lunch. At this point it was snowing, flurries I believe would be the correct term. By the tie I had finished eating, there was a layer o snow on the buildings and shrubbery. I went on to Space Mountain and it was fantastic; there were loops and multiple inversions, much better than Anaheim.

I went over to Walt Disney Studios. You walk in and are directed through a sound stage type building. Inside is a 'main street' type layout. On the right is a commissary and on the left is a gift shop. Once you walk through you come to a hub area, complete with Walt and Mickey statue. I went straight to Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. I love this ride, it was just like the one in Florida. I also went on Tower of Terror. I was hoping it would be like Florida but it was set up like Anaheim. It was still fun, especially to hear it French.

The language completely threw me off. I knew the park and what they should be saying but it was completely different. It was like a dream where I know this place, I am familiar with it but it was different, something was off. I walked around a bit more and did some shopping.

The sun had set and I went back to see Disneyland at night and do a bit more shopping. It was beautiful. I was ready to go back to my hotel. I was a little cold and I think my feet were wet since it has been sprinkling since the afternoon when it stopped snowing. I was walking down Main Street when I heard the train in the station. I could not resist so I rode the train once around the park. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day, not even the cold or wet could hinder the great time I had.

I hopped back on the RER A to my stop, Torcy, and went to bed in my nice warm bed. I took my time the next morning and made my way back to the center of Paris. I was not sad about only seeing train stations in Paris because I knew I would be back next week. And then it would also be with my brother.

It was a great weekend. I saw some unbelievable places, it seemed so surreal. Normandy was just the beginning and I cannot wait until I can return and go more in depth. Disneyland was a bit of home in Europe, it was nice even with all the differences. So fun!

Until we meet again,

-Maggie the traveler

This Must Be A Dream, Part 1: Caen

I had an amazing, first trip to France. This was my dream trip. When I came to London, I said there were two places I had to go to, everything else would be gravy. I had to go to Normandy and the D-Day beaches and I had to go to Disneyland Paris.

As November began, we all felt the crunch of time. Our time in London was over half done and there were only so many weekends left to travel. I did not notice much interest from anyone in a combined trip or there was a conflict on dates so I decided to go alone. It was a nice break from the group traveling.

My trip started off with an early morning ride on the Eurostar from St. Pancras International in London, through the Channel Tunnel (otherwise known as the Chunnel), to Gare Nord Paris. It was my first trip on the Eurostar and I was very excited. After 45 minutes you enter the English side of the tunnel and outside its black for 20-30 minutes then suddenly, you come back outside and you have arrived in France. Another hour or so later, I was in Paris. I had to cross town to get to another station, Gare St. Lazare. I traveled there on the RER, similar to the Metro. It looks like a Metrolink train underground. It was bizarre to see split level cars underground. I have gotten used to the Tube in London. Once I arrived at St. Lazare, I tried to print out my tickets to Caen from a self-service kiosk, but I do not have a chip card (a chip on the credit card, very popular in Europe) so I had to wait in line at the station to get the printed. The line was long and even though I had over an hour from one train to the next, by the time I got m tickets my train left. Luckily, trains go to Caen every hour or so and I waited in the station for a bit ad took the next train out. No problem.

After a two hour train ride, I arrived in Caen. I took a tram and bus to my hotel, Fasthotel Caen Memorial. After I checked-in I walked to the Memorial, about 10 minutes away, super close. I had booked my tour ahead of time, which included admission. Due to all my traveling and delays, I did not get to the Memorial until after 4. That only gave me two hours to look around before they closed. I saw the Pre-1945 side which begins with the end of World War 1 in 1918 and goes through the end of World War 2. They had some really cool models of ships and lots of photos. They also looked at the French people and their role in the invasion. After I headed back and grabbed dinner from the grocery store. I enjoyed some French television, including Star Academy, similar to that of American Idol in The States and The X Factor in the UK.

The next day was very exciting. I had been looking forward to the tour of the beaches for years. The morning I spent more time at the Memorial, saw a few short films, and walked around the Post-1945 area which focused on the Cold War. After a quick bite to eat I was off on my tour. There were four other. A family of three and a girl from Australia. We got into a van with the tour guide and set off. We had five destinations ahead of us. First we stopped in Arromanches, code name Gold Beach. This is where the British built their artificial harbor. There are still remains of this harbor out in the surf. Next we went to Batterie-de-Longues where there are three intact German bunkers with a fourth partially damaged. They were huge. The guns were so long and the concrete housing around it was impressive. Rommel added these to help camouflage and protect the guns. These were not aimed at the beaches but out to sea at the ships bringing in men and supplies. Our third stop was the American Cemetery. There are nearly 10,000 crosses lined up representing the Americans who died during the entire European campaign, not just Normandy. It is a sight I will never forget. The rows seem to go on forever. It is cross after cross and row after row, quite an impressive and moving sight. Each cross is engraved with the name, rank, state of birth, and date of death. The crosses all face west looking towards The States. Scattered among the crosses are ones that read, "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God". Those are the ones that really left an impression on me. The cemetery left me speechless. We then continued on to Omaha Beach. This where the Americans built their artificial harbor but after two weeks of using it a huge storm came through and it was destroyed. The only piece of it that remains is a ramp that was beached and is used for part of the pier. We then took off for our final destination, Point-du-Hoc. This separates Gold beach from Utah beach. The Army Rangers climbed this cliff to make their way inland. During the hours before landing, the US Navy bombarded this spot with artillery. Today it remains as it did after the fact. Up on that cliff there are craters some 6+ feet deep. There are also pieces of concrete 3 feet x 4 feet x 5 feet as one German bunker exploded from the inside. It is truly amazing the capabilities of ammunition. They took us back to the Memorial and I went back to my hotel to go to bed because tomorrow is Disneyland.

My tour of Normandy was all over so quickly. I am glad I chose the tour I did, it was an overview of the Battle of Normandy. I can't wait to go back and take more tours going more in depth about how the battle was fought and the war was won.

Until we meet again,

-Maggie the traveler

She Works Hard For The...Class Credit

I am now in my fourth week of my internship out of eight. I am half way done. I can hardly believe that I have been working for four weeks. Here is a rundown of my internship.

I work at Dynamite Models, a casting agency for models and background talent (fancy word for extras). There are two other interns, Kaori from Japan and Rachel from Philadelphia. We are not all there on the same day but we do work on projects together.

My first week I worked as the receptionist so I could get to know who everyone is and how the company works. There is Robert the director, Zuleyka the Head Booker, and Magda the Office Manager. It is a small company, a boutique agency meaning we manage 50-60 models compared to the big agencies who look after 200+ models.

Dynamite Models has a sister company called Le Studieau a graphic design consulting firm. They are located in the same office.

The office is located in Islington off the Northern Line at Angel in a building called the Business Design Center. It used to be an agricultural hall. It is beautiful inside. All the offices are around the perimeter of the building and the middle has a wide open space used for conventions, shows, etc. So far there has been a Christmas craft fair, a small clothing designer fair complete with runway show, and a college fair. There are skylights so the building gets a ton of natural light (that is when there is light, the sun sets around 1630 these days).

I work from 900 to 1700 and get an hour lunch. There are lots of places in the area to eat at including two burrito bars (similar to that of Chipotle), a couple prepared food places, and grocery stores. The BDC also has a cafe inside where I get a discount.

When I am not answering phones, I am working on projects. So far I have helped put together a book about London Fashion Week that happened in September, pick models to go to a casting, and created a Intern Welcome Packet. Currently we are planning a model workshop to get ready for the new year.

I am excited to see what the next four weeks bring.

Until we meet again,

-Maggie the traveler

A New Side of London

For our last British Life and Culture field trip, we went to the National Army Museum. We were there to learn more about Britain's involvement in WW1. Instead of walking around the museum, we had a presentation including a dress-up bit. The museum is located next to the Royal Hospital Chelsea which is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the very same borough that I live in. We decided to walk back to our flat and it was fun discovering a new part of London that is within 10 minutes of where I live.

I went back the next day to Chelsea and walked along the Embankment up towards Parliament. It was nice to see this side of London. It was less crowded compared to my usual walk from Parliament up to Tate Modern plus there are more trees so I could clearly see the season changing to autumn.

Until we meet again,

-Maggie the traveler

A Sea of Poppies

This British Life and Culture trip was to Westminster Abbey. It is located across the street from Parliament and is where royal coronations and weddings occur. This is also the burial site of many major English royals and cultural figures. Our visit coincided with the Armistice Day, UK's version of Veteran's Day. Where the US remembers veterans from all wars, Armistice Day commemorates the day the Great War, World War 1, ended on 11 November. In the weeks leading up, there is a collection drive for the Poppy Appeal. For a one pound donation you get a red paper poppy to wear. The poppy was chosen as it was the first flower to grow on the battlefields of WW1. In addition to the poppies people wear, out front of the Abbey is a field of crosses and poppies.

On the day of the field trip we only walked by and took a tour of the inside where we saw many famous burial sites of famous composers, politicians, writers, and royals. The one that meant the most to me was the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in honor of all the soldiers who were never identified. Because of the Poppy Appeal it was surrounded by red poppies, it was beautiful. There is a tradition that began with the wedding of King George VI, when his bride Elizabeth placed her bouquet on the tomb in honor of her brother who died in the war. Since then every bride to be married in the Abbey has placed her bouquet on the tomb.

The following day, I went back to the Abbey to see the Field of Remembrance filled with poppies and crosses. It was raining that day but was still a beautiful, touching site to see.

Until we meet again,

-Maggie the traveler

What Am I Eating?

Halloween saw the return of my British Life and Culture class after two weeks off for the semester break. This week we discussed immigration and visited East London, more specifically Brick Lane. Over the course of history, the east side of London is where the newest wave of immigrants lived. The wind normally blows west to east, so in the days of the Industrial Revolution the smells would blow in the direction of the immigrants/poor and not the rich on the west side. In the 1600s it was the Huguenots, the 1800s saw the Irish, and the early 1900s Jewish immigrants from the Slavic nations moved in. Now it is populated by Middle Eastern and Indian immigrants.

First we did a walking tour of the area. Throughout the different occupants, the area has a history of garment making. Many of the items created here would show up on the west end for the rich to buy. Walking through the area reminded me of the garment district in LA. After the tour we ended up at a Pakistani restaurant. I had never had Pakistani food before (shocker, I know) nor have I ever had any Middle Eastern or Indian food so I did not know what to expect but I was willing to try. First came a sort of salad: cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, etc. Then came the starter. Lamb kebabs, lamb chops, and chicken shish all cooked tandoori style. Nan (a sort of pita) came out with it along with a rice similar to that of fried or Cantonese. It was delicious. The main meal came along with a mango smoothie that was similar to that of eggnog. I did not like it very much. I did like the main meal though. More chicken and lamb each in a curry/stew type sauce and some sort of lentil dish. It was all very good and I would be more than willing to have a similar meal again.

Until we (m)eat again,

-Maggie the traveler