Day 10 (Morning)

Hello everyone!

So update from yesterday: the class went very well, though waking up early did make it difficult to pay attention. All the doctors that taught the class really knew what they were doing there. Afterwards they served a delicious lunch, then one of the employees drove me back to the hotel where I was able to hang out and relax. When my mom got home from teaching the class to a second group, we went swimming, then I watched YouTube and ate cookies while she exercised. Afterwards, we went to a nice sushi dinner and fell asleep (I went to sleep a little later because I was on Hulu). 

Today is going to be super fun! I'm in the cab on the way to Universal Studios! I've never been before, but this is where Harry potter world is, so yay!! I'll probably  post pictures later. Details later. 

See ya!

Aviva :)

  

Days 7, 8, and 9 (Morning)

Hello everyone!

Yes, I have been terrible at keeping up with blogging, and I'm sorry. I don't have any excuse besides that I was tired all the time, seeing as we were walking at least eight miles a day. But day seven, we went to 221B Baker St. It was fantastic. Now, if somehow you do not know the significance of 221B Baker St., it is the home of Sherlock Holmes. I recently ordered the books online, but I have been hooked on the TV show, Sherlock. All three seasons are on Netflix, so go watch them! Anyway, we went to his house, which was built in the 19th century, and turned into a museum after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle completed the series. Oh my goodness, it was fantastic! There were old pictures that had been there since the 1800's, Sherlock's pipe and hat, whips, tools of all kinds, guns, pictures/drawings of the characters, Watson, Sherlock, and Ms. Hudson's room, and so much more! It was overwhelming. Then we went to the National Portrait Museum, which would have been fascinating if I was more interested in museums. I loved the portraits of the queens, though. Their clothes and their faces, and how poised they were, it was beautiful. 

The next day wasn't eventful, it really involved making sure everything was packed, and getting to the airport. The plane was great, we flew business class because my mom feels a lot of physical pain when traveling overseas in an upright position. We arrived in Florida around six, met up with some of my mom's coworkers for dinner, then hung out until we went to sleep. 

Right now, we are waiting for the class that my mom is teaching. Details later. That's all for the last couple days! 

See ya!

Aviva :)

Day 7 (Morning)

Hello everyone!

I actually have time to blog in the morning, yay! Today is going to be packed because it's our last day in London and I am very upset. However, I did not blog yesterday because we were out for the entire day and returned around eleven thirty. Yesterday we woke up at eleven thirty, even though we were planning on attending services. However, my mom found a synagogue that began a little later in the day, so we managed to attend that one. Afterwards, we walked around London and ate a quick snack in Starbucks before walking to Charing Cross and buying last minute tickets for the Commitments, but first we ate dinner at this amazing restaurant there called Noodle House. So far Spaghetti House and Noodle House have become my favorite Italian and Chinese food restaurants. The Commitments was amazing! It's about a group of people who form a band and are trying to get by in Ireland. The movie has a different plot, though, just warning you. That about sums up yesterday.

I'm not 100% sure about today's details, so I'll update later.

See ya!
Aviva :)

Day 6 (Evening)

Hello everyone!

Today was a busy day. We woke up around 6:45 AM to catch the Chunnel (channel tunnel) to Paris. The ride took about two hours, but was very smooth, so I slept. One of my school friends was in Paris with her family, so we met them at the Louvre. We walked around the Louvre for a couple hours (and of course, we saw the Mona Lisa), looking at all the different colors and shapes of the paintings before leaving and walking around Paris, mainly searching for a gelato/sorbet shop. Before finding gelato, we came across a bridge right outside the Louvre covered in locks. The tradition is that people will put a lock on the bridge fence and throw the key into the water. My friend and I put a sparkly purple lock on the bridge just for fun. The lock came with three keys, so we each took one and threw one in the river. We walked through Paris for about fifteen or twenty minutes afterward before finding a gelato shop. After eating, we walked to Notre Dame. The line was far too long, so we strolled around outside and took pictures of the flying buttresses. We were aimlessly walking around the city when we came across what is said to be Paris' best ice cream shop. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the name of the shop it, but it's in Ile Saint Louis (sorry if my spelling is incorrect). Not long after that, our friends walked with us to a cab and we all said good-bye. Then we jumped on our train and came back to London. We were famished, so we walked to a delicious Italian restaurant about a block away from the Cumberland. That about sums up our day.

See ya!
Aviva :)

Days 4 and 5 (Evening)

Hello everyone!

I'M IN LONDON! I am extremely excited, as this is my first time in Europe, but before I begin on London details, time to recap yesterday's events. We found out that our plane left at 10 PM instead of 7 PM, so we felt a little more relaxed. We had wanted to eat breakfast at IHOP, but we didn't have enough time because we would be taking the train into New York City about an hour later. By the time we boarded the train, it was 11-ish, so all the commuters were already at work and the train was pretty calm. However, once we stepped off the train into NYC, one might say it was the opposite of calm. Streets were busy and noisy, and there was hardly any standing room. We took a cab to New York City College to visit my Uncle George who works there and to have lunch together. After lunch, we when to the Schomberg Museum and visited my Aunt Karen at the Bloomberg News Station. At first, New York City was exciting because I had never been in the heart of New York before, but soon it became overwhelming, what with all the people and the plethora of smells and sounds, so we left and took a subway and two trains back to Summit, New Jersey, where we climbed into our car and began our adventure to the airport (where we didn't receive our food in our restaurant for 45-50 minutes).

Our plane was fantastic. We had beds and meals and a TV, I loved it! I slept for the entire ride, though, to adjust a bit to the time change of eight hours. When we landed, we took a cab to our hotel which we weren't allowed to check into for another couple hours. I knew that my friend, Lila, was in London, so we met up at the London Eye, took a ride, rode a carousel, walked around London, and ate together, before parting our separate ways. My mom and I wandered around London for a bit before returning to our hotel, where I am blogging right now. We walked around the London Eye, Trafalgar Square (where people were holding a huge Brazil day for World Cup), and Covent Garden (where we ate dinner). It is so beautiful here and I can't wait to go to Paris tomorrow!

More tomorrow!

See ya!
Aviva :)

Day 3 (Night)

Hello everyone!

We were at our friends' house until around 6:30, so I had a lot of time to catch up on Dr. Who, which was fantastic. Afterwards, we went to the hotel and changed for dinner. I had forgotten to mention in my previous post that we had made plans to eat dinner with some of our family that lives here. We went to an Italian restaurant that is known for its pizza, but I forget what the name of the business was. Anyway, I was surprised because I finished off an entire cheese pizza. It wasn't the kind that people serve at parties, but they are usually split between two people. It was delicious, though. 

Tomorrow we are going to visit Times Square and I might visit another family member. Afterwards, we leave for London! I am unbelievably excited. Today, I discovered that one of my friends is in London as well, so I will be able to visit with two of my close friends. 

I think that is all for now. 

See ya!

Aviva :)

Day 3 (Afternoon)

Hello everyone!

I'm starting to think that I'll only be able to blog during the day because in the evening, my mom uses the computer to do work, so I can't update you guys during the night. Yesterday afternoon, we spent a surprising amount of time at the Short Hills Mall. We were there from about noon to six thirty! For about $50, we bought a pair of shoes (black, turquoise, neon green, and hot pink Nikes-see my instagram: @aviva_lasdavis) and a professional skirt for when I attend my mom's class in Florida. However, if it had taken less than six hours to find these two objects, that would have been ideal. Later, we ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was fantastic (I highly recommend the chicken pasta), and went to bed.

This morning was a little busy. We woke up around 9:30, my mom exercised, I ate, we went grocery shopping, went to Starbucks, and now we are at one of our friends' house. We'll be eating lunch here, but I'm not really sure what our plan is for the rest of the day. Knowing my mom, she'll want to visit every museum within driving distance. I just downloaded the Blogger app on my phone, so if anything happens, I'll make sure to update you guys (and now I won't have an excuse for not blogging at night).

Alright, I'm being called for lunch.

See ya!
Aviva :)

Day 2 (Afternoon)

Hello everyone!

We touched down safely last night around 9:45 Eastern time in New Jersey and checked into our hotel. We were famished so we ordered room service. They have this delicious chocolate cake. It's flour-less, so it's very rich, but they drizzle it in raspberry sauce and whipped cream. It's to die for! I would have blogged last night, but I didn't have time to. Besides, details about a 5 hour flight aren't very exciting, right?

Today, we woke up around 11:30 (so long as I'm in New Jersey, I'll be telling time in Eastern time). We missed the breakfast menu, so we went to the hotel restaurant for lunch. Since my mom and I are from California, we have a very picky sense of taste, but the food was very well-made. So far, the best part of my day was watching Adventure Time while my mom exercised. It's been a while since I watched that show.

Right now, I'm sitting in Starbucks at the Short Hills mall. If you're from the Bay Area you'll know what I mean when I say that this mall is a mixture between Bay Street and Westfield. If you aren't familiar with these two shopping centers, come to the Bay Area, you will not be sorry. We were supposed to spend the day with a friend of ours, but it's raining where she lives-about two hours away-so it's too dangerous to drive. It seems like it will be a pretty relaxing day. We may drive into New York later today, we'll see. So far, that's all that's been going on, sorry to disappoint if any of you were expecting a huge adventure. We'll be participating in more exciting activities tomorrow.

See ya!
Aviva :)

Day 1 (Morning)

Good morning, everyone!

If you are viewing this page, you probably know who I am and what's going on here. If you don't, I'm Aviva, and this is my travel blog! School is out for me, so my mom and I are going on vacation! Earlier this year when my mom and I were discussing where we should go, she asked me where I had always wanted to go on vacation, so I said, "England!" I was surprised when she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Okay." So here I am, sitting in the airport, introducing you guys to my blog as we make our way to the UK (that rhymed!).

Now, as you might imagine, we are not taking a direct flight to London. We are first going to stop in New York and New Jersey because we have family and friends there whom we haven't seen in a while. I believe we are going to be staying with some of my cousins in New Jersey. I'm excited! I haven't been to the East Coast in a while, so this will be fun.

After a couple days, my mom and I will take a plane with to London! There will be beds on the plane, so I'll be able to catch up on all the sleep I lost during the school year. I am an ecstatic Dr. Who and Sherlock fan, so I know I'll be taking the Sherlock tour. If you have any suggestions for other Dr. Who or Sherlock-related activities, let me know in the comments. Of course my mom and I are going to be extremely tourist-y and take a ride on the London Eye, see the crown jewels, etc. I heard there was a place where you can buy last-minute theater tickets the night of the show, so we'll also be visiting there. One thing I'm extremely excited for is taking the chunnel into Paris! We have friends who are vacationing in Paris, so we'll meet them there and spend the day with them. If there is anything else you think we should do, don't be afraid to comment about it.

Before we return home, we'll be stopping in Florida, I think, for a meeting/conference my mom has. I'm not sure how else to comment on visiting Florida, so pardon the lack of description.

Our plane just touched down, so I should pack up.

See ya!
Aviva :)