This trip was one of two trips I've taken with classmates. This trip, we went to London for five days and Paris for five days.

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On Day One, we rendezvoused at JFK Airport in New York where we took a flight to Heathrow in London. From there we went to Westminster Abbey, where we toured the building. After this, we went to the hotel we were staying at and we then one of four scheduled dinners.

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On Day Two, we took the Tube to the British Museum and toured the most significant pieces of its collection like the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. After this we left for Kings Cross, where we toured a new development that was under construction, we stopped at St. Pancras, Kings Cross Station, and we toured most of the development, including Coal Drops Yard by Thomas Heatherwick. After that we left for Fosters + Partners' London offices, where we were given a small tour and we discussed some projects they were currently working on. Lastly, me and a group of my classmates left to go see Battersea Power Station, which is currently under redevelopment. After that, we returned to the hotel.

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On Day Three, we took the Tube to the Palace of Westminster where the toured the significant spaces of the building. After that we took the Tube again to St. Paul's Cathedral, which we toured as well. After that, me and most of my classmates walked along the Thames back to the hotel.

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On Day Four, we took the Tube to St. James' Park, we then walked through St. James's Park, along The Mall to both Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace, we then walked through Hyde Park Corner and entered Hyde Park. Once in there we walked to the Serpentine and walked along it until we reached Kensington Gardens. We toured the gardens and stopped at Kensington Palace to eat. We then took the Tube and went to the Tower of London. We toured the grounds of the Tower and we saw the Crown Jewels. After this, with the help of our tour guide, I went to the Tate Modern alone. After spending time there, I walked along the south bank of the Thames and across Tower Bridge to return to the hotel.

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On Day Five, we took the Tube to an area near Trafalgar Square, we walked around several of the buildings like the Covent Garden Markets and St. Martin-in-the-Fields before we arrived at the National Gallery, the final stop on our final tour. We entered the National Gallery where I spent a couple hours going through it on my own. After that, I took the Tube alone to Tate Britain. After going through Tate Britain, I returned to the hotel and we went to our second of four scheduled dinners.

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On Day Six, we took the Tube to St. Pancras again. This time, we entered St. Pancras, boarded a train, and took the Channel Tunnel to Paris. Once we arrived in Paris, we drove around the city on a bus for a while. We stopped at Notre Dame de Paris, which we walked around. We originally intended to enter the cathedral but a procession started just as we arrived, so we walked around the cathedral and left soon after. We arrived to the hotel and we had our third of four scheduled dinners.

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On Day Seven, we took the Paris Metro to the Louvre. We had an hour and a half to go through the Louvre. I saw the three biggest treasures in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, and the Venus de Milo. After that, we reconvened and took a bus to the Eiffel Tower. Once there, we went up as high as we could, we spent a bit of time there. We got back on the bus and returned to the hotel.

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On Day Eight, we took a bus to the Musee d'Orsay, which we had about an hour and a half to go through; I covered as much of the museum as I could. After that, we took the Paris Metro to the Tower of Biodiversity, a newly constructed building in an outlying suburb of the city. After touring the tower with one of the architects, we left for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the most famous church outside of Notre Dame in the city. I chose to go inside and tour it as much as I could. We were told to walk back to our hotel from there; I took pictures of the Abesses and Anvers Metro Station entrances by Hector Guimard before I returned to the hotel.

 

On Day Nine, we went to the district of La Defense, Paris' business district. We toured the district for about an hour and a half. After that, we got on a bus to the Fondation Louis Vuitton, we spend a half hour looking around the building. We left the Fondation Louis Vuitton and we went to the Palace of Versailles. We used an audio tour to help us through the building; at the end we had a choice of three locations, I went to the Hall of Great Battles. After finishing at the palace, we returned to Paris and the hotel.

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On Day Ten, we took a bus to the Paris Opera House by Charles Garnier, which we toured using an audio tour. After that, me and a couple classmates walked to the Pompidou Centre by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano. I toured the Pompidou Centre and reconvened with my classmates outside. We left to have our final scheduled dinner.

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On Day Eleven, we left the hotel and went to an airport where we took a flight back to JFK.