Going across the pond

What will the sun rise look like from the other side of the Atlantic? Will I see the images I've dreamed of in travel magazines come to life right before my eyes? I will walk through the historic streets I've always heard about in novels and seen in movies. The very roads beneath my feet bore witness to countless historical events that have shaped the world as we know it, for good or ill, who's to say?

This summer, I will be studying abroad in London and Paris for 10 days from May 17-26. This will be the first time I will go over seas, and I am beyond excited. When I first heard about the possibility of studying abroad last year, it hardly seemed real. When I officially signed up, it seemed ages away. Now, with only about 13 days remaining, its difficult to fathom.

I've always wanted to go to England ever since I was old enough to know what England was. I grew up listening to stories about the mysterious land of tea and crumpets from my grandmother who came to America from England when she was about my ago now. She was a war-bride from Swindon, now in her 80's and very much looking forward to seeing photos from her homeland. My interest in England has grown, the same as I have. Through movies and literature, by way of the news and history classes, I've caught myself dreaming of Big Ben, and castles and the Queen more than once. And oh the history! What better way to discover not only one's personal past but national heritage than to travel to the mother of America.

In the past few years I've also become increasingly interested in France. Thanks to literature, mostly the Charles Dickens novel with which this blog shares its name and The Scarlet Pimpernel, I have come to love the French Revolutionary era. Marie Antoinette and the Rococo era also fascinates me so you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that we would be visiting the Rococo Mecca: The Palace of Versailles.