Brew Crew!!!

 I guess some of the perks from working near Miller Park, where the Milwaukee Brewers play, is that you can come across some free tickets to a game. I was working last Thursday and one of the employees of the Brewers dropped off four tickets and gave them to Levi (one of the guys I work with) while he was at register that day. Levi was unable to go to the game so he gave the tickets to me. I  never turn down tickets to a baseball game.

The game was last Friday. The Brewers ended up losing to their biggest rival the Chicago Cubs. We went to the game with one of Holly's friends from class and her boyfriend. Her name is Lauren and her boyfriend is Aaron. We went out for dinner before the game and stopped for treats before getting to the game. They allow you to bring your own stuff in, except for alcohol. We all had a really good time. It was nice to get away from the usual things we do and it was awesome to enjoy the great seats we got for free.

 These were our seats for the game. Pretty freaking good seats. It was near the foul line on the 3rd base side of the field. I think that they would have sold for over $40 each and we got them for free!

Miller Park is only 10 years old but it was already time for them to get a new scoreboard. This is the new one that they put in. It was all nice and pretty. I am not the biggest fan of Miller Park, it kind of feels like a dome whether the retractable roof is open or closed. Also, they got the stadium when Bud Selig owned the team. He was the guy that tried to get rid of the Twins from baseball over 10 years ago.

 The Brewers are not the most successful team in baseball. I am pretty sure that the Twins have a few more banners than them.

 Here is the one guy we could cheer for, Carlos Gomez. Former Twins player, although no one that I am friends with really likes him.

Overall it was a great time with Lauren and Aaron and I hope that I can come across some more free tickets.

London- Days 6-9

Day 6: France!

 The cat that resided in the hotel we stayed at in Paris.

 After checking into our hotel we headed to Notre Dame de Paris

 Dad's favorite part of the whole trip- feeding the birds with a random French man outside Notre Dame.

 Inside the cathedral.

 Kinda blurry, I know, but it shows off how awesome the inside of the cathedral was.

 

 Amazing stained glass. Mom, you should make one this big!

 More inside.

 Obviously no cathedral would be complete without a gift shop...

After Notre Dame we made our way to the Eiffle Tower. Here's my first glance of La Tour Eiffel!

 Looking out onto Champ de Mars

 Looking up into the tower

 Look! I'm at the Eiffel Tower!

 Possibly my favorite picture. I think Pete's mauling the Eiffel Tower...?

 Why am I so short? I can't even take a proper picture :(

After the visiting the Champ de Mars and la Tour Eiffel, we went on a cruise down the Seine. It was rainy and gray, so no pictures will be posted, but the tour was fun (and educational)! We were able to see lots of Paris without walking around- which Mom and Dad enjoyed. In Paris we stayed in the Opéra area. This photo is of the opera that was 2 blocks away from our hotel, Palais Garnier, known also as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier for more info).

Day 7- The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and baguettes!

 There are random statues all over Paris, like this one near our hotel.

 The glass pyramids of the Louvre

 Ducks! They were hopping between all the ponds outside the Louvre. It must be nice to call the Louvre home! I bet the brag to their duck friends about it.

 Lots of fancy ceilings in the Louvre

 Deliciousness: a pistachio french macaron

 If you look closely you can see the Eiffel Tower in the background

 The Louvre is really, really long.

 Arc de Triomphe. We didn't go around the round-about because Mom and Dad were pooped.

 We did, however, find a French McDonald's to stop and rest at. We powered up with some fancy food- triple chocolate mousse, a pistachio frappe, and some sort of muffin-thingy with chocolate chips and a chocolate center.

 After our afternoon adventures we (Mom and I) decided we wanted to eat dinner near the Eiffel Tower and find some baguettes. We also found some delicious crepes along the way to dinner. Pete is enjoying his chocolate crepe, which was the same as my Nutella crepe (even though they were advertised as being different).

 We found baguettes! Fresh, French baguettes! Pete was so excited he bought his own. I bought 2 to share later in the hotel as a snack, and we also bought a bottle of wine for 2 euros!

Eiffel Tower at night- so cool!

It also sparkles on the top of each hour! So cool to see it during the day and again at night!

 Day 8- Return to London, Notting Hill, and traditional English food

 We were sad to leave Paris, but it was nice to see this again :)

 Here are Mom and Dad on tube back to our London hotel room from the airport. This pretty much sums up the trip: Dad is annoyed with us, and Mom is ignoring us.

 Siblings! We love riding the tube and annoying our parents!

 After bringing all of our stuff back to the London hotel we decided to make the most of our last day in London. We headed to Notting Hill to check out the cute houses and the shopping.

 In Notting Hill we found a cute pub we wanted to eat dinner at. It took us a long time to commandeer a table, but we finally did. Dad was angry with us because he thought we stole it from a child, but we really didn't. He wouldn't let us eat dinner there he was so angry, but he did buy us beer. Mom thought hers tasted like Christmas ham.

 After finishing our beers we headed back to our the area our hotel was in to find dinner. We ended up eating at St. George's Tavern, which was right across the street from our hotel.

Mom and Dad had fish and chips.

 Pete and I had bangers and mash. It was delicious!

 I figured I should take a pic of the hotel since it was our last night. Walking down the street you would never guess it was a hotel- it blended in with all the surrounding buildings.

Day 9 was spent traveling back to the states. We also made a stop at the local grocery store before leaving London so I could buy candy to bring home to Paul (and of course some for me...). Overall it was a great trip and I would love to go back some day! There was so much more to explore, I could have spent a whole month just in London. Thanks for the awesome trip Mom and Dad!

LONDON! Days 1-5

Day 1- Camden market, Tate Modern museum, walking around London, St. Paul's Cathedral, and eating at the neighborhood pub

Camden- basically a town with a (huge) outdoor market... and lots of punk. I think it may be where the punk look originated.

Look! Mom found westie rain boots at the market! This was especially fitting since it was raining the whole time we were in Camden.

Since it was rainy in Camden we left and decided to explore London. Pete and I wanted to stop at King's Cross for a pic at Platform 9 3/4. Turns out it is just a lame poster slapped onto a wall. AND to top it all off it wasn't even on platform 9...it was on platform 8.

Tate Modern- lots of weird art. But free weird art.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Mom and Pete at the pub just across the street from Pete's flat. It was appropriately dimly lit.

London beer!

Dad asleep at dinner after a long first day.

Day 2- Windsor, Stonhenge, and Bath

Windsor Castle- and yes the Queen was there!

Windsor Abbey

 

 

 

Me- and rocks!

More Stonehenge

Roman baths- the oldest of the 3 baths in Bath (that's a lot of baths...).

Don't worry- the water they sell is from a fresh spring, not the stagnant baths in the above pics.

Why not try? So we did. And it was...warm. Mom and I shared a glass and couldn't even drink it all.

Bath was a very cute town. Mom and I would have liked to spend a weekend there!

 Day 3-  Out and about in London

Buckingham Palace

Green Park- directly across from Buckingham Palace. Look, flowers already!

The London Eye and Parliament...?

I couldn't pass up on this quintessential photo op!

Big Ben! Complete with the Union Jack waving cheerily in front.

Westminster Abbey. Terrible lighting, I know. Beautiful nonetheless.

Trafalgar Square. We had quite an adventure trying to find this... But on the plus side we were able to see parts of London we weren't planning on seeing :)

The reason for the trek to the square- so I could take this picture to show Paul.

There was still time left in our day so we decided to visit the natural history museum, which was free! We even got to go on a free tour and see part of Charles Darwin's specimen collections, and a (preserved) giant squid!

And of course, a trip to London wouldn't be complete without a stop at Harrod's. Mom and I ditched the boys for this part. Too bad Pete wasn't with us- apparently some of Princess Di's jewels are in Harrod's and he forgot to tell us before we went!

 

 

 

 

 Day 4- The white cliffs of Dover

It was rainy, cold, and windy the whole time we were in Dover, which explains the lack of pictures. Mom, Dad, and I were all pretty miserable, so we left early.

White chalky cliffs. This is the best picture I have. On a clear, sunny day they say you can see all the way to France, which is only 21 miles across the channel. We were lucky just to see this one cliff!

Dover Castle. It is HUGE! It has 4 layers of underground tunnels. During WWII they built a tunnel to use specifically as a hospital. Crazy!

View of the channel from the castle.

Day 5- Tower of London and Kensington Palace

Tower where the crown jewels and armor are displayed.

On the right is the abbey, and in the middle is the green where Anne Boleyn was executed.

Tower Bridge, NOT London Bridge.

The White Tower- where the royalty lived.

View of Kensington Palace from Hyde Park

The Sunken Garden

The Orangery! With what I believe are holly bushes lining the path.

Squirrels and pigeons were chasing each other on the grounds of the palace. It was quite amusing.

Swans that reside at Hyde Park

Swan in action!

Holy birds!