Paris

I just had the time of my life in Paris. Going into it, I was expecting to enjoy the trip, but I loved the city way more than I thought I would. I think it is tied with Washington D.C. for favorite cities I have visited. A friend, Taylor, and I flew in Friday night. The next day, we walked into the main part of Paris (about 2.5 miles from us) and met Holly at Notre-Dame. We went inside the church, and it was definitely a beautiful building. Next we went across the street to the bookstore Shakespeare and Company. It was closed then, but we went back later and it was a really neat store. I didn't buy anything since it is hard to travel with books, but I got some new read ideas.

On our walk to the Louvre, we saw several of the iconic bridges with the locks on them. Also on the way, I bought a painting of the Eiffel Tower at one of the pop up street vendors they have lining the Seine River. I am excited about my new art piece :)

When we got to the Louvre, the lines were sooo insanely long that we decided to wait until Sunday morning to visit it. We took many pictures including of the famous pyramid (that I guess the Parisians hate). After that, we headed in the direction of the Arc de Triomphe. Along the way, we passed the Obelisk, which is the oldest French monument. Next was the Champs-Élysées. What girl can complain about a mile long street with endless shopping possibilities?

I was impressed at the size of the Arc de Triomphe. It is bigger than I had imagined. I loved how intricate the designs on it were. A lot of buildings in Paris had that real intricate look. I think part of what I liked so much about Paris was the architecture. It wasn't like some cities where the typical Parisian look was just in the heart of the city. It was everywhere. Even where our hostel was, which was quite a bit outside of the main part.

After we were done at the Arc, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome. Again I was amazed at the sheer size of it. Something I didn't realize until I saw it in person was there are words right below the first level of the tower. I just looked up what they mean, and they are the names of 72 scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who contributed to the building. We each bought a crepe at a stand near the tower. Mine was Nutella with banana and whipped cream. It was probably the best crepe I have had to date. We continued walking to the L'Hôtel national des Invalides. We were going tour it that day, but all that was still open was Napoleon's Tomb, so we decided to wait until the following day. That was the point where we walked back towards Notre Dame and visited Shakespeare and Company. From there, Taylor and I took the subway back to the hostel (Holly was staying in a different place).

The following morning, Taylor and I visited the Louvre. We were very glad we waited, as the lines were essentially non-existent around the time they opened. We started in the statue section, which was really cool. We then made our way through a bunch of the paintings. By the time we got to the Italian section (which is where Mona Lisa is), the crowds had really started to pick up. To see the Mona Lisa itself was a real struggle, probably the most crowded place I have ever been in my life. But we managed to see it. I had been told so many times, "It's not as big as you think it is." So I have been imagining for the past few years that it was about the size of an 8X10. And I also had the weird notion, I am not sure from where, that it was high up on some wall surrounded by other paintings, not really any different than the others (except in reality none of the walls were super crowded with paintings like I had in my head). Instead, it was in a room off the main hall. There it was, on its own wall roped off at least 10 feet away. And it was bigger than I imagined. More like what I originally had in my head before everyone was saying it was so small.

Next we met Holly at the Invalides. First we went to Napoleon's tomb, which I got to say was quite a large tomb for such a little man. Then we went into the WWI and WWII part of the museum, which was really cool. There were a lot of uniforms, weapons, and many other relics. Then we went to the armory part. There were full body suits, shields, and more weapons. The one I found most interesting was a triple barrel gun. And I don't mean an over-under or a side by side. This thing had three prongs. It was very weird, and I am not sure how it worked.

We then headed back in the direction of the Eiffel tower. Along the way, we stopped at a souvenir shop. I bought a couple of shot glasses for several people, a spoon for Luke's grandma, and a key chain for my sister. Unfortunately, I forgot them where we ate dinner. And being that dinner was the very last thing we did in Paris, I never even had a chance to replace the ones I lost with new ones :(

Any ways, after the souvenir shop, we stopped at a cafe and each had a drink and a crepe. I had a Chocolat Viennoise and a Caramel and whipped cream crepe. Yummm. ( I liked the one the day before better though)

We saw the Eiffel Tower again and were going to climb it, but the lines were even longer that day. We decided to wait until night to see if they would be better since we planned to see the tower at night. We ended up changing plans though and went to Chipotle (which I had never heard of, but people in the CEA group talk about all the time). It was over by the Louvre, so we took the subway to the Louvre stop. That meal was amazing because I sure do miss Mexican food over here since it is non-existent in France. You can't even buy quality Mexican food ingredients at the store.

After that we all went back to our hostels. All three of us were completely exhausted. I wish I had used my running app that tracks the number of miles walked because I can't even fathom how far we went this weekend. But it was a long ways. And definitely worth it.

 

March...

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged, I hate writing so it's a challenge for me to get motivated to write it.

My spring break was amazing. We started in Berlin where we visited the Sauchsenhausen concentration camp a little outside in a town called Oranienbourgh. Then we went to Ireland for about four days and rented a car. Ireland was amazing, and I didn't want to ever leave! The people were incredible, the pubs were awesome, and the country was beautiful. I never had to drive but I did have to navigate while Luke managed to get us safely through the country. It was rather scary at times being on the wrong side of the road. We visited Newgrange, a structure older than Stonehenge. We then drove to the west coast. A lot of the little towns in the countryside as well as along the coast were really cool. The Cliffs of Moher were probably the highlight of the trip. They were beyond words. The last day was spent in Dublin and I wish we had some more time there as well. We visited the Guinness Storehouse. That night there was live Irish music and a group of very talented Irish dancers. I take it back, that might have been the highlight of the trip, or at least tied for it.

Since then I have also went to St. Tropez, which wasn't busy since it's the down season. We've been having an exceptionally bad winter here I guess. It never seems to stop raining. I leave for Paris in a few hours and come back Monday. It's the last major trip I have left, with three more CEA day excursions. It's almost a month until I'm home.

Provence and Biot

I have to apologize because as I write this, I am sick. Which means my brain isn't working correctly, but what else do I have to do other than lie in bed (oh, and procrastinate on my homework), so I am going to catch you up on what I did the last two weekends.

The weekend of the 9 and 10th, we had a CEA excursion to the Provence region. The first town we visted was Arles. The two most important things there were the influences from Van Gogh (he lived here a while, including when he cut his ear), and the Roman Ampitheater.

The next place was Les Baux de Provence. It was a really cool medeival castle/fortress. It also had the most amazing views that I have seen so far in France. Which is sayin a lot, because I have seen some amazing ones. This place was probably the highlight of the weekend.

 

 

Our next stop was Avignon. It was where we stayed the night. We ate at an amazing, cute French restaurant. We had eggplant (I have never liked eggplant until I tasted it here), braised beef with a side of some kind of rice, and then a chocolate and caramel mousse for dinner. The next day, we toured the Pope's Palace. For the most part, it was really bland as there wasn't any of the furniture and most of the paint was long gone. But in the rooms with some of the original paint still remaining, it was really cool. 

Next we went to le Pont du Gard, which is the tallest Roman aqueduct. It was really cool and the water was an amazing, clear blue-green, which wasn't captured in my photos.

 

On the way back to Antibes, we stopped at Chateau Sainte Roseline, a vineyard/winery. We toured the wine cellar and where they make wine. Following that was a wine tasting. Between this and the wine tasting I had a few days prior to it, I think I have finally learned to like wine.

 

Last weekend, I wasn't able to go to Rome like I had been wanting due to a test, but I traveled the local area instead. I started by going to the Picasso Museum here in Antibes. After that, I went to a local town known for its glass blowing factories (Biot). When they say glass blowing, they really aren't kidding as they actually blow through a tube, which expands the glass. The finished product is really cool and is apparent that it is from Biot. They use something (baking soda?) during the making, which creates bubbles in the glass. After I was done at the glass blowing factory, I made the hike up to the town itself. It is a perched village with cute cobblestone streets.

 

Well that is all for now. Only three more days until Luke comes, and four more until the most epic spring break ever!

 

 

 



London

I know, I know, I have been slacking on my blog. A week ago, I was on the plane bound for London. I didn't get there until late, so I didn't get to really see much that night. That was the first experience I had staying in a hostel. I was surprised, it wasn't as bad as I had been expecting it to be. The first floor of our hostel was a bar and everyone was really loud, but I couldn't hear it from my room so I was happy. The first night stunk a lot (it seemed like the more you went up the stairs, the more it smelled), but it was bearable. There were also condom and other related items vending machines everywhere which I thought was weird because its not like you have a private room. Well when me and one other girl from the program got to the room, everyone was asleep. It sucked. Bumping around in the dark trying to find your bed was not fun. But it was clean, the beds weren't too uncomfortable, and ultimately the 4 hours of sleep I got weren't bad ones.

The next morning, I had to get up early to go to the Universal Studios London-The Making of Harry Potter. Best experience I had in London!! It was amazing. Everything they had displayed were the original props they used in the movies. The first step of the tour was a short video clip, then we stood at the entrance doors of the Great Hall. After a dramatic entrance, we entered the most amazing room of Hogwarts. The hall was so big, and the tables were set for dining, there was manequins dressed up in each of the four houses' clothes, and the professors were all standing up in the front. One thing I learned is there is a big crest in the fireplace. However, you never actually see it in the movie because the fire is always going. I am not really sure what the point of it is then, but it was cool.

 

The next part of the tour was all self guided. We got to go through and see about everything imaginable. There was wigs from the cast, sets from important scenes, and full rooms. The rooms were probably my favorite part of this section. There was the Gryffindor common room, the potions room, the Burrow, Umbridge's office, Hagrid's hut, and Dumbledore's office. They were all so amazing! This part is where I spent the majority of my tour as there was an incredible amount to see.

Next was the outside portion of it. There was the night bus, the flying car, Privet drive, and the potter cottage. Also was a place where they were selling butterbeer; it is one of the two places in the world they sell it. It was so delicious!

The last part was more the technical part. First was some of the molds and mast for characters, followed by drawings and mini models. These were really cool, but what followed was breathtaking. It was a huge model of Hogwarts. It was so intricate and large. It is what they use for the flyover scenes in the movie. I had already seen a picture from someone who went the day before, but pictures just don't do justice and I didn't get the real scale from them.

After that was Diagon Alley. That part was amazing! I felt just like I was in the movie. After that was the inside of Olivander's wand shop. Every box was named after a person who helped in the movie. It was really cool.

That concluded my trip at Universal Studios, and next was some siteseeing. I went to my hostel just to drop off some stuff, and headed straight out. I went to Big Ben/House of Parliament first. The Eye was also right across from that and I got some pictures. Next I went to Westminster Abbey. It was too late in the day to go in, but I did get some souveniers in their little shop for the first time since I have been here. Then I made my way over to Buckingham Palace. I was amazed at the size of it. After that I went over to the Arch, then took a train back towards the hostel. I stopped at a Turkish Cuisine restaurant. It was really good (also insanely expensive after taking into account the exchange rate, which killed me all weekend). I went to the hostel after that and finally found some people I knew. We went to a pub/restaurant where I got a coconut beer which I really liked. I also tasted Juli's beer and really liked it as well (I usually hate beer). It sucks, I think I am finally going to find beer over here that I like but not be able to drink it back home.

After that, we went and got a few drinks at a grocery store. I finally got carded for the first and only time since I have been here! The German girls thought it was so weird when they got carded. We went back to the hostel and hung out and drank what we had. Then most everyone had to go to the concert, but me and a few others didn't go. We went up to our room and played cards for a while. There was one guy from Michigan that is studying in Germany that was on my top bunk that played as well.

That was it for London, I didn't really have a lot of time. Honestly, it wasn't quite as cool as I had been expecting it to be and I am not dying to go back. It was also insanely expensive, and I wonder if all parts of England are like that.

We have our Spring break booked; Leave Saturday for Berlin, go to a concentration camp Sunday, and leave Monday for Ireland. Then, we are renting a car and driving the countryside, not even booking hotels since we don't know where we will be any given night. We will leave Ireland Friday, and stay in Antibes for the rest until Luke has to fly back Sunday morning.

Tomorrow I am going to Provence for a CEA excursion, and won't get back until Sunday night. Hopefully it won't take me a week to post about it, but no promises!

Culture

As I was making my gnocchi and mashed potatoes, I was think about how different cultures are. Here I am, cooking two foods made out of the same ingredient (potatoes) yet are both very country specific. While my potatoes were boiling, Francoise asked me what they are. If you saw someone boiling potatoes in the US, you would probably assume the person is making mashed potatoes. But I am not sure if Francoise had even seen mashed potatoes before. And last night after I finished making my gnocchi with pesto, tomatoes, and goat cheese (which I found I strangley love even though I am not a cheese person!), I told my mom about it and she asked, "What is gnocchi?" You would think coming from the Potato State, we would have a grocery store shelf dedicated to the stuff. Yet I had to come to France to eat this dumpling-like pasta that is made from the ingredient our state is known for. I have learned that while France and the US have many similar ingredients, their purpose varies widely.

 On the note of ingredients, that has been one difficult thing about here. Their grocery stores are much more limited in variety. On the other hand, France tend to care more about fresh ingredients. There are many fruit/vegetable only stores, markets on any day of the week, and I have yet to find a frozen chicken breast. There are also boulangeries filled with delicious chocolate filled croissants, fresh baguettes, eclairs, torts, etc, watever your heart desires, on every single block. Yet it is the US that is fat. You just don't find fat French people. I am pretty sure they don't exist. Part of this is due to the lack of fast food restaurants. Sure, they have McDonalds and a few other places, but you can drive for more than two minutes through a city and not see a fast food place. I also think they are better at limiting their portions, and they truly love their food. They do not starve themselves, and excercising is not something that is in their everyday routine. But they don't really need to, because they walk everywhere rather than getting in their car to drive two blocks to get more food. It is rare to find them sitting around watching tv (which they don't do because apparently French tv flat out sucks).

Another thing that is strange is how much the French smoke. Every break at school, all the French students conjugate outside. It is not because they think it is warm. It is because they need to smoke. As soon as you open the door, a cloud of smoke rolls in.

Well that is all for now, I am going to go outside to the beach to enjoy the amazing weather that we are having today that is supposed to reach 67. Then I am off to London tonight!!!!

Italy!

Last Saturday, my CEA group had an excursion to Italy. Unfortunately, the weather decided not to cooperate by raining all day. The first city we visited was San Remo. This is where we spent most of our time. Every Saturday, the town has a market which consists of a lot of clothes, some jewelry, and an inside food market. Europe in general has an incredible amount of markets, for example there is one every morning in Antibes with the exception of Mondays. I didn't buy a whole lot of the market, just a puma coat and an umbrella in order to prevent from getting too soaked by the end of the day.

After our free time was up, we headed to a traditional, family-owned Italian restaurant. In total, we got to eat 5 different types of pasta, including some ravioli, gnocci, and spaghetti. After we were full off of that, we got to choose between tiramisu, panna cotta, or creme caramel (which is more of a French dessert). I opted for the tiramisu, and it was heavenly!

Oddly enough, I decided I did not like the Italian language. Maybe I just got the wrong impression of it, I am not sure. I still think that my favorite language I have heard so far is German.

The next town was Dolceacqua, which is a little town made "famous" by a Monet painting of the bridge. It was a very cute, older Italian village.

Menton was our last stop, which is the last French city before entering Italy. It was pretty, but they said it is very incredible when the weather is nice. It is a place I would love to go back to when the weather is better. We had free time here as well, which most of us ended up using by going to a little caffe/bar. Several of us tried the "hot wine"--which I was skeptical of since I am not a wine lover--but it was amazing! I am going to try to make it sometime.

The other day, me and Caitlin had a conversation with Francoise about how French breakfast differs from American breakfast. She was intrigued about pancakes and wanted to try our version. Later that day, she made us crepes. One of them was more similar to a casserole: it had a crepe topped with cheese, ham, and creme fraiche, and then another crepe placed on top of that, multiplied X4. We also had plain crepes that we put nutella, speculoos, jam, etc, whatever our heart desired. Last night, I made Grandma's homemade buttermilk pancakes. Let me tell you what, this was not easy. Finding buttermilk was my first task. They didn't have any true buttermilk, at least down in this region, but more of a fermented milk which I ended up using. But the real issue was finding baking powder and baking soda. I think I found baking soda in the grocery stores, but not baking powder, which I have found trying to find even the most familiar items that are listed in French can be tricky. I ended up going to the British store, and since everything was in English, I found them both there. There were a lot of other American-type things in the store that cannot be found in the French stores, but everything was very expensive. So I finally found the ingredients, but then when I went to make them, we had to convert all of the measurements. This was also very complicated. Nevertheless, Francoise learned how to make buttermilk pancakes. She said she preferred them to her mom's recipe, something about those being too thick/dry/dense, something along those lines. And they even tasted pretty close to the ones I make back home, just with a little less buttermilk flavor.

Snow on the Riviera?

Yesterday when we were leaving our apartment for school, it was pouring rain. But next something unexpected happened: it started snowing. Let me tell you one thing, I did NOT come to the Riviera for snow. I was expecting lows of 50, with improving weather in time. Well Mother Nature, you sure fooled me. The up-side of this though, is the Riviera inhabitants are definitely not used to snow. Even though it melted as soon as it touched the ground, for some reason the busses decided the couldn't run in such "terrible" weather. So...snow day! Several of us went to the girls' apartment right below mine to watch Friends for a while.

One thing about living in a foreign country that speaks a language you don't is the food. Sometimes I order something and have no idea what it is, crossing my fingers that it will be good. Because of their preparation and ingredient differences, sometimes I don't know what I got even after I start eating it. These next 3 1/2 months will sure be an adventure in that respect.

My roommate is really sick, I think she managed to catch what I was fighting off. Hopefully she is well enough to make it to our excursion tomorrow, the Italian Riviera. Stay tuned, I will post more updates following that trip.