Final Exams

Sorry I have not been able to post, I'm currently studying for exams. When I get a break this week I'll put more pictures up from Paris : )

Middleham, England

After I went to London I drove north with my friend Thiago to his home in Middleham, England. He works as a veterinarian there on a horse racing farm. I was in paradise the entire time! He let me follow him during the day as he treated the horses, and took me to a neighboring village called Hawes. The English countryside is absolutely beautiful and I took a few long hikes while I was there. What I wasn't used to were the narrow roads and driving on the opposite side of the road! I always felt like we were going to crash into an old stone wall! The horses were the most beautiful I had ever seen and I spent a lot of time just going around to visit them at the stables. : )

With Thiago's puppy Haragana on a hike

One of the practice tracks

With Layali Al Andulus, the #1 ranked horse in all of England!

More of Haragana who I miss already!

The town of Hawes

Morning workouts

Thiago bandaging a leg

FC Copenhagen vs. FC Randers

Today I took a break from studying to attend the "football" game here in Copenhagen. The business school I go to gave my friends and I free tickets. Randers is a city to the Northwest of Copenhagen. They lost 2-0. For being such a large stadium it wasn't very full, most likely because Randers isn't a well known team. All the same, it was still fun.

Sofie, Roald being goofy, and I before the game.

London

I flew into London to meet my Brazilian friend Thiago who has been living in northern England for a few months. We decided to visit his cousin Susana and her husband Xande in London. They have two adorable girls named Sofia (5) and Anna Luisa or Isa for short (2). We were only there for a couple of days but saw a lot of the city. At night we would play with the girls. I brought them licorice from Denmark but Thiago brought them finger puppets so he pretty much won that competition! Sofia would teach me words in Portuguese speaking slowly so I would learn the correct pronunciation. Isa likes to say funny expressions and then after yell "It's a joke!" in Portuguese. The whole family was very sweet and I'm happy I got to know them.

Jame's Park

Oxford Street

Isa imitating a butterfly

Westminster Abbey

The "Eye of London"

Changing of the guard at the royal palace

Thiago, Susana and Xande!

Little Isa

Giving out the finger puppets

The national History Museum

Versailles

Today we visited the amazing, massive Versailles castle. I was shocked by its size and opulence! We walked through the grand apartments, snuck into the Dauphine`s rooms, and explored the gardens. I wondered what it would have been like to be Marie Antoinette! One cannot imagine living in such luxury until they visit the palace. I will of course post many more pictures when I return to Copenhagen. The first is a view of the castle from the gardens, followed by Marie Antoinette`s bedrooom, and one of the drawing rooms of the castle.

Lovely Paris!!

I`ve made it to Paris! My friend Thiago and I have already been to London and Middleham, England. Now we are staying with his cousin Maria. Today we visited Notre Dame, Jardin des Plantes and the Latin Quarter. There are TONS of shops to buy amazing cheeses, chocolates, and meat. The French people have been very nice to us when we ask for directions even if they don`t speak English very well. I think tomorrow we will spend the day with Maria seeing her version of Paris. I will try to update again before I head back to Copenhagen! Au revoir!!

Recycling in Copenhagen

I thought I would do a little piece on how the locals recycle here in Copenhagen. I collected some bottles (don't worry Mom and Dad they aren't mine) and photographed the process of turning them in for money. The used bottles, take note of the little recycle symbol on the side. Only these bottles can be exchanged for money.

You take the bottles to any grocery store where you will find this type of machine. You place the bottles in and it adds up how much money you will receive in return. Each bottle is usually the equivalent of 20 cents but some plastic or glass bottles are worth more. It prints out a receipt that you hand to a cashier who will give you money. I feel that the system here is much more effective and actually pays off if you save/collect bottles. I've been able to buy eggs and milk for the week off of it!

Oslo, Norway

I just returned yesterday from the mini cruise to Oslo, Norway. About 400 exchange students boarded the Pearl of Scandinavia in Copenhagen to spend a couple days at sea. I stayed in a cabin with Sofie and two other girls. We had a gala dinner with a three course meal, dances, and of course spent a day touring Oslo. It was a small enough city where I felt like I saw almost everything in about 5 hours. We got off the boat at 9:30am and my apartment neighbors Sofie and Roald and I visited the Sculpture Park, the Royal Palace, the main square, an old cemetary, and the opera house. It was a wonderful experience to be on a boat with so many students and explore a new city.

After the gala dinner they served us coffee with cognac in the lounge. I felt very classy with my friends! This is Theresa from Germany and Sofie from Belgium.

The new opera house

Look at these socks Mom!! I came across a market with a bunch of knitted pieces and really liked these baby socks. The lady asked me if I had knitted my hand warmers and I told her no but that my mom was an expert knitter. : )

The famous sculpture park. This was huge, with big forests and a bridge lined with art. I liked it because it was not just a tourist attraction. The locals were out and about walking their dogs.

One of the pieces

Sofie outside of the Royal Palace

We walked through the neighborhoods to get to the sculpture park. It was so quiet, I didn't feel like I was in a busy city.

The Royal Palace

I'll be leaving this week to travel around England and France with some Brazilian friends. I am going to try and post during the trip!