So once again I found myself too busy to write, so now I am catching up! First I would like to say that I had a visiter come and see me who happens to be the love of my life, and I couldn't have been happier! My boyfriend came to visit me for ten days at the end of March and I was running around everywhere! It started off as me having to get up at the crack of dawn to catch a train at 06:00, and going to Paris to pick him up at the massive and confusing Charles de Gaulle airport. Once I got there, after getting lost in the airport for a good 15 minutes, I managed to find the arrivals section and waited impatiently for Joe to arrive. It's weird calling him Joe, but for the sheer sake of keeping it simple, Joe he will be. :p. So He finally arrived off the plane and I was exstatic after not seeing anyone from home for over 2 months. From the airport our ridiculous adventure began. We took the bus to the part in which I knew our hotel was located, which wasn't too big of a deal, but then after getting off the bus too early, we managed to land ourselves in the typical tourist position. We wandered about trying to figure out maps and destination spots, ran into a lot of Parisiens who had no idea where our hotel was and they kept leading us in the completely opposite direction. Finally we cracked under pressure, well Joe did seeing as he was carrying a 50 pound bag, and we called for a taxi.
A quick hint for when you are in a big city with a lot of traffic and congestion; don't take a taxi unless you are willing to throw money away, or in our case, you have a lot of luggage and can't take the bus. So we took a taxi out of sheer desperation and it ended up being about 5 minutes down the road, with traffic. So our hotel was literally in the smallest street ever, it was no wonder that people were confused when we asked them where it was. So we finally got inside, rested up a bit because Joe's arms were about to fall off, and I skimmed through the giant bag of goodies my parents had packed in the bag with the rest of Joe's luggage. One thing you will find while'st in Europe.... the lack of simple American pleasures one cannot have. For example: peanut butter, recees cups, ramen noodles, goldfish and mac n cheese. Ah those tasty treats are almost gone as I write this... tragic. So anywho, on with Paris.....
After our rest,we did the typical tourist thing and wandered about Paris in search of what else but the main attractions that are free to take pictures of! So we started our typical roam through Paris by wandering up the Champs Elysees and checking out that lovely monument the French dedicated to the lost soldiers in the war.... I'm talking about of course the Arc de Triomphe. It really is a wonderful piece of architecture. I have never seen anything so huge with so much detail! It was like staring right through history as we looked at all the names of the soldiers, and the firepit that they have lit all the time was surrounded by tons of flowers left there by anonymous frenchmen. So after joining the crowds of Asian and American tourists taking pictures, we spotted that everlasting symbol of France in the distance, and made our way to what else, but the infamous Tour Eiffel.... the Eiffel Tower. At last! Oh how many years I spent staring aimlessly at posters of this masterful monument, and making pitiful whining noises everytime I saw it in a movie or media hype. I was happier then ever as we walked a good 2 kilometers towards the metal masterpiece. Joe made fun of me as I squeeled and skipped towards it, but I really haven't seen anything so magnificant upclose and personal before. It's rather an ugly looking thing as your get close to it, but when that frenchman decided to build that bit of architecture, he did the world some good. It was one of a kind, and at any angle I took a picture, I was making art and I, like many others, felt like a photographer in the making.
Seeing as I am madly in love with both the Eiffel Tower and that cute Italian boy I took along with me, it only made sense to take pictures of the both of them at the same time, and the extreme joy I had at having them both with me in the same moment in reality. Thus, I took what could be my favorite picture of all time. The stereotypical,gushy, mushy, love-ridden, romance attracting kiss in front of the monument itself. Ah, l'amore. I can now check that off my list of what to do with my life. Check. So after having that special moment in my life, we walked around Paris some more and went back to our hotel for a much needed nap. Well, Joe napped, I munched on goldfish while watching French television. Great combo if you ask me.... So by now you may need a break from reading so I am going to make a part two. What's in store for everyone? Well I'll leave you with some images... Joe's first bite of French food, a very hectic morning and our arrival in Rennes, and Joe's tries the one bit of French culture that no other country can compare with... cheese. Au revoir, et a bientot pour la jour prochaine!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
I know.... i've been lazy
Okay, so I know that it has been a few weeks since I have written on this, and I do apologize, it's been kinda hectic! So to start off, I'd like to say that I went into an extreme state of home sickness. I was really upset to hear about all the crazy weather crisis's going on in the states, and I got all worried and upset because I kept seeing these horrific headlines and news stories online, and from my friends and family. So this home sickness thing was going on while I was in.... Ireland!! I know, how amazing?
Ireland is possibly the nicest place to vacation in my opinion because not only are the people these super nice and extremely fun to hangout with, but the scenery there is beautiful! Me and the girls were all in shock when we saw daylight in Ireland because we have never seen such amazing scenery! The mountains were lightly dusted with snow when we were on our busride to BallyVaughn (the town we stayed in) and we saw numerous amounts of cows, sheep, and horses roaming freely about the countryside. It was really cool to see all the old stone walls too! They were EVERYWHERE! Every piece of property was shaped around these stone walls, and the mountains themselves were just pure rock.
We stayed with a group of people in a little house about a 1/2 km down the road (don't worry i'll use miles when I'm back in the states ;)and we got to meet some pretty awesome art students! The first day, when we arrived in B.Vaughn, we started out by getting a mini tour from our friend and then he had to leave to get back to class; none of the other attendants were home yet. So we took one look at the messy kitchen and bedroom and decided it was our personal duty to clean every inch of them. It was exactly like in Snow White when all the animal friends come to help clean, though in our case it was just two horses nextdoor :p. So after cleaning we played a crazy game of B.S and sipped our "tea" and spoke french to eachother. Within the next few hours we were yelling in french obnoxiously and the dwarfs came home from the mine. "Hi! We cleaned your kitchen!" were basically our first words as we met them, and they seemed to be in shock by the 4 random girls sitting at their kitchen table sipping drinks from teacups and playing cards.
After getting to know them after a bit, we all decided to go out and see the nightlife in B.Vaughn. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up in 3 different pubs to check out what they each had to offer, and then it was back to the house to get some much needed rest. The next day we all wanted to get out and explore so we went and visited the Fairy Forts that were just a few km's down the road. We had so much fun taking pictures and seeing the views from above! After the Fairy Forts we visited the Alwee Caves which were inside the mountain itself, and we had a tourguide show us around the dark and dripping caves. The caves were so cool to be in, and at one point the tourguide made us shut off all lights and cameras so we just stood in complete and utter darkness for a good 5 minutes. It was really bizarre not being able to adjust my eyes to the light, and he explained that there was no natural light and no matter how hard you try to squint and stare at your hand in front of your face, you are not actually seeing your hand, it's the illusion your mind has made up because it wants to see it. Cool, right?
Once out of the caves and back into the sunlight, we set out to the giftshop and bought some really amazing cheese, different gifts for our friends and family, and some delicious fudge. We walked home after this and decided to plan out the rest of the night and what to do. We went to a pub where, in my opinion, was truly awesome because the owner had met the actor Daniel Radcliffe, and as I'm a serious Harry Potter nerd I was so very happy, and she even showed me a picture of him with her kids. I wish i were those kids so bad! She then went on to explain that his girlfriend's parents live in B.Vaughn and he visits sometimes. AH! How amazing is that???
Once back at the house after our pub excursion we decided to have a "dance party" and blast the music and dance till we couldn't dance no more! It was a blast and we all ended up being extremely tired the next day, and very sore from all the dancing and walking back and forth. The next day we wanted to get out of B.Vaughn and check out Galway, which is a really really fun city about an hour away from where we were. We had the most amazing fish and chips at a popular restaurant in the city and amused ourselves by drawing on the paper fish fact placemats that were in front of us. From there we went back to our hostel called, "the sleep zone" and tried this extremely weird wine called "Buckfest"... it had caffiene in it and was really not my cup of tea! So from there we checked out a club in the city and danced, and danced, and danced! Not one of us in the group wanted to stop when they closed the club at around 2 or 3 in the morning.
The next morning we all woke up, rather reluctantly and had to catch the bus back to B. Vaughn by 10:30. So we checked out and grabbed some food at Subway (I know weird) and then we were on our way back to our town. Since the four of us were living off our hosts food, we decided to buy them back what we ate and drank and then went back to the house to take naps and organize what we were going to do that night as well. In the end we decided to go back to one of the more popular pubs where they had live irish music, and lots of interesting people to see. We danced to some irish tunes and watched rugby on the tv above the bar. What a fun sport!! I especially like the fact that there is no stopping every 5 seconds and the guys are pretty cool too ;).
The next day was our last day so we wanted to make sure we got everything done that we wanted. A few of us decided to go back to the giftshop outside of the caves to get more cheese and stuff to send back to our families (at least try to send back) and once back at the house we were all bombarded by a few of the art students to take a polar dip. I did not contribute to this because I can barely take a cold shower. haha. So most of the people there (all the art students) led us to this secluded stretch of beach about an hour away (by foot) and there we met some really cool animals. My friend Woody the horse, and donkey... the donkey haha. They were very nice and let us pet them. Then woody started trying to eat our clothes and stuff so we had to make them go find something else to eat. During the zoo time, the member of the polar dip decided to run into the ocean in either in underwear or their birthday suits, and I had the happy job of taking pictures since I was definitely not going to catch hypothermia!
After the crazy kids were done with their dip we warmed them up and started for the long trek back to the town. We decided to check out the art students work up at the school,and ended up seeing some really amazing stuff, as well as our friend's work which were both absolutely fantastic! The night ended with some card games back at the house and some interesting games we each knew including zimmy, the shoulder game, and thumper. Too long to explain those!
The next day was the day of our departure and it was very somber because we didn't really want vacation to end and the other girls were totally determined to just switch out of the French program and just become and art student in Ireland. So we flew back to France and didn't end up getting back till much later at night. We had way too much fun and can't wait to go back there at some point! This concludes my Ireland adventure! Sorry there wasn't any French to let you all learn, but as I was in an English speaking country, it was difficult to find French things! Miss you all and a bientot pour la prochaine jour!
Ireland is possibly the nicest place to vacation in my opinion because not only are the people these super nice and extremely fun to hangout with, but the scenery there is beautiful! Me and the girls were all in shock when we saw daylight in Ireland because we have never seen such amazing scenery! The mountains were lightly dusted with snow when we were on our busride to BallyVaughn (the town we stayed in) and we saw numerous amounts of cows, sheep, and horses roaming freely about the countryside. It was really cool to see all the old stone walls too! They were EVERYWHERE! Every piece of property was shaped around these stone walls, and the mountains themselves were just pure rock.
We stayed with a group of people in a little house about a 1/2 km down the road (don't worry i'll use miles when I'm back in the states ;)and we got to meet some pretty awesome art students! The first day, when we arrived in B.Vaughn, we started out by getting a mini tour from our friend and then he had to leave to get back to class; none of the other attendants were home yet. So we took one look at the messy kitchen and bedroom and decided it was our personal duty to clean every inch of them. It was exactly like in Snow White when all the animal friends come to help clean, though in our case it was just two horses nextdoor :p. So after cleaning we played a crazy game of B.S and sipped our "tea" and spoke french to eachother. Within the next few hours we were yelling in french obnoxiously and the dwarfs came home from the mine. "Hi! We cleaned your kitchen!" were basically our first words as we met them, and they seemed to be in shock by the 4 random girls sitting at their kitchen table sipping drinks from teacups and playing cards.
After getting to know them after a bit, we all decided to go out and see the nightlife in B.Vaughn. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up in 3 different pubs to check out what they each had to offer, and then it was back to the house to get some much needed rest. The next day we all wanted to get out and explore so we went and visited the Fairy Forts that were just a few km's down the road. We had so much fun taking pictures and seeing the views from above! After the Fairy Forts we visited the Alwee Caves which were inside the mountain itself, and we had a tourguide show us around the dark and dripping caves. The caves were so cool to be in, and at one point the tourguide made us shut off all lights and cameras so we just stood in complete and utter darkness for a good 5 minutes. It was really bizarre not being able to adjust my eyes to the light, and he explained that there was no natural light and no matter how hard you try to squint and stare at your hand in front of your face, you are not actually seeing your hand, it's the illusion your mind has made up because it wants to see it. Cool, right?
Once out of the caves and back into the sunlight, we set out to the giftshop and bought some really amazing cheese, different gifts for our friends and family, and some delicious fudge. We walked home after this and decided to plan out the rest of the night and what to do. We went to a pub where, in my opinion, was truly awesome because the owner had met the actor Daniel Radcliffe, and as I'm a serious Harry Potter nerd I was so very happy, and she even showed me a picture of him with her kids. I wish i were those kids so bad! She then went on to explain that his girlfriend's parents live in B.Vaughn and he visits sometimes. AH! How amazing is that???
Once back at the house after our pub excursion we decided to have a "dance party" and blast the music and dance till we couldn't dance no more! It was a blast and we all ended up being extremely tired the next day, and very sore from all the dancing and walking back and forth. The next day we wanted to get out of B.Vaughn and check out Galway, which is a really really fun city about an hour away from where we were. We had the most amazing fish and chips at a popular restaurant in the city and amused ourselves by drawing on the paper fish fact placemats that were in front of us. From there we went back to our hostel called, "the sleep zone" and tried this extremely weird wine called "Buckfest"... it had caffiene in it and was really not my cup of tea! So from there we checked out a club in the city and danced, and danced, and danced! Not one of us in the group wanted to stop when they closed the club at around 2 or 3 in the morning.
The next morning we all woke up, rather reluctantly and had to catch the bus back to B. Vaughn by 10:30. So we checked out and grabbed some food at Subway (I know weird) and then we were on our way back to our town. Since the four of us were living off our hosts food, we decided to buy them back what we ate and drank and then went back to the house to take naps and organize what we were going to do that night as well. In the end we decided to go back to one of the more popular pubs where they had live irish music, and lots of interesting people to see. We danced to some irish tunes and watched rugby on the tv above the bar. What a fun sport!! I especially like the fact that there is no stopping every 5 seconds and the guys are pretty cool too ;).
The next day was our last day so we wanted to make sure we got everything done that we wanted. A few of us decided to go back to the giftshop outside of the caves to get more cheese and stuff to send back to our families (at least try to send back) and once back at the house we were all bombarded by a few of the art students to take a polar dip. I did not contribute to this because I can barely take a cold shower. haha. So most of the people there (all the art students) led us to this secluded stretch of beach about an hour away (by foot) and there we met some really cool animals. My friend Woody the horse, and donkey... the donkey haha. They were very nice and let us pet them. Then woody started trying to eat our clothes and stuff so we had to make them go find something else to eat. During the zoo time, the member of the polar dip decided to run into the ocean in either in underwear or their birthday suits, and I had the happy job of taking pictures since I was definitely not going to catch hypothermia!
After the crazy kids were done with their dip we warmed them up and started for the long trek back to the town. We decided to check out the art students work up at the school,and ended up seeing some really amazing stuff, as well as our friend's work which were both absolutely fantastic! The night ended with some card games back at the house and some interesting games we each knew including zimmy, the shoulder game, and thumper. Too long to explain those!
The next day was the day of our departure and it was very somber because we didn't really want vacation to end and the other girls were totally determined to just switch out of the French program and just become and art student in Ireland. So we flew back to France and didn't end up getting back till much later at night. We had way too much fun and can't wait to go back there at some point! This concludes my Ireland adventure! Sorry there wasn't any French to let you all learn, but as I was in an English speaking country, it was difficult to find French things! Miss you all and a bientot pour la prochaine jour!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My trip to Nantes!
It's really amazing how no matter where I go in Bretagne so far, the cities all seem so much alike. Well obviously they are different, but I'm so fascinated with the architecture and the amount of time they must have spent on one châteaux. The group and I went to Nantes this past saturday and it was a very interesting time! The bus ride itself was similar to the last one, we passed a lot of countryside and cows and deer, and then we got into the outskirts of the city and of course, like any outskirt it was a bit dingy. But as soon as we got to the heart of the city we all started getting very excited because we drove around the châteaux by the Loire river. It was magnifique! The bus let us off right in front of it and we all fought our way through the wind and cold to go across the mote and into the courtyard. Once inside, a really intricately designed well was just to the right of us, as well as the stairs up to the chateaux. The view from the top of the stairs was so pretty! We could see a far ways out and saw a lot of old buildings, the church and all the natural beauty like the twisted trees. I kept saying it throughout the entire day that the trees all reminded me of something one would see in a Dr. Seuss book, they are very bizarre.
Once we roamed around the top of the watchtowers we walked about the city in search of the old church. The Cathedral de saint paul was one of our next stops, and it was absolutely beautiful! The domed ceiling was so high up, and the hall leading down past all the little chapels looked like it could go on forever. There were a lot of chapels placed to the sides of the corridor, and in each of them was either a painting, statues, a memorial, stained glass window, or a confessional. I took the most amazing picture ever of one of the paintings consisting of Jesus on the cross and his desciples in different scenes, and a beam of light from the window just above the painting gave this amazing angelic affect to my photo. Once we wandered to the back of the church, we saw the ceremonial candles that one lights to give respect. Also we made a little friend... a black and white, 15 year old dog who was the most adorable dog ever. He waddled up to each person as they came up to his owner and loved being held and petted. The majority of the time the dog was more the center of attention than the church itself!
After leaving the Cathedral we headed off to another spot near the center to view some more really old architecture, and after a few more of these excursions we were let off our leashes and were able to roam around the city. By the time our tour had ended we were all starving and literally found the closet restaurant nearby. It was a really cool, chic little place, and when we went upstairs into their dining area, the ceilings seemed like they were only high enough to fit a person who is about 5'9, and after that you need to crouch.
So after being very touristy and taking more pictures of the decore we ordered our food, and I got leg of duck with sliced seasoned potatoes and a salade verte. In France their side salads are not the usual tomato, cucumber, onion and carrot kind of salad, its literally just lettuce. Along with some light dressing on top. The other girls ordered duck with a red fruit sauce (Sarah), a caramelized salmon over cooked veggies (Jess) a burger with all the fixings (kayla) and Kathleen ordered the same as I got. They were all extremely tasty and we were very full... though not full enough to get a cafe au lait!
Once we left the little restaurant it was time to explore the city and see if we could find any good shopping. We stopped in the main shopping center in the middle of the city and looked in on all the cute little boutiques and bijouteries (jewelry stores) and by the time we got done at what resembled a Barnies, our time was almost up to roam around the city. So we left the Galerie Lafayette and headed back to our meeting spot. Once we believed everyone was accounted for we started to make our way back to where our bus was parked.
So I know the French love their food, but I think if there is anything they love more it's their alcohol. We met the prime example of what a drunken French person really id. Our first encounter happened while we were walking past the stores and an old, squat man started pouncing on the back of peoples shoulders and laughing hysterically. We all ignored it and thought, oh well, he will soon go away. No. He did not. He followed us all the way to the bus, and during our walk he would randomly started running towards peoples backs screaming "CHARGEZ!" or charge in English. Yes he was quite the character. It wasn't until Sarah egged him on by talking to the crazy, old kook, that we found out he thought he was a general in the Battle of Waterloo, and we were his troops. I kid you not. He continued to scream Charge! every minute or two and when we were getting onto our bus he wanted to come to. He was very upset however when the bus driver said he couldn't come with us. And thus, the general's troops were gone, and he was alone once more.
After trying to focus once more on the trip, and every now and then people would shout CHARGEZ! on the bus, we ended up going about a mile or two down the road to this Japanese temple. Why we stopped there is a mystery to us, it was a very random place to go. We walked into the building and saw fish tanks with different types of fish in them, as well as small lobsters and an eel. Then in the next hallway there was an expedition of Japanese/French artwork hanging from the walls and mounted around the center of the room. Some of the works included pictures of Asian cops speaking French and playing baseball with baguettes on a street corner, and Asian markets with some oddly distorted drunken Asian men. I know I'm sure you're wondering what on earth we were doing here too. The next hallway consisted of mini models of the Japanese temple, and a large glass window which showed the zen garden in the middle of the temple itself. Complete with lines in the sand, and mossy boulders strewn around in the yard. I'm going to take a guess that it all would have made more sense if we hadn't just randomly pulled over and got out.
So that basically ended the day right there, and the busride home was us all planning our dinner. I made shrimp scampi for me and the girls :). So there is another wild and amusing trip, and we are going to be having another one to Vannes, another city by the coast, and also very historique! Time to take a well deserved nap! Miss you all, and a tout a l'heure! A bientot pour la jour prochaine!
Once we roamed around the top of the watchtowers we walked about the city in search of the old church. The Cathedral de saint paul was one of our next stops, and it was absolutely beautiful! The domed ceiling was so high up, and the hall leading down past all the little chapels looked like it could go on forever. There were a lot of chapels placed to the sides of the corridor, and in each of them was either a painting, statues, a memorial, stained glass window, or a confessional. I took the most amazing picture ever of one of the paintings consisting of Jesus on the cross and his desciples in different scenes, and a beam of light from the window just above the painting gave this amazing angelic affect to my photo. Once we wandered to the back of the church, we saw the ceremonial candles that one lights to give respect. Also we made a little friend... a black and white, 15 year old dog who was the most adorable dog ever. He waddled up to each person as they came up to his owner and loved being held and petted. The majority of the time the dog was more the center of attention than the church itself!
After leaving the Cathedral we headed off to another spot near the center to view some more really old architecture, and after a few more of these excursions we were let off our leashes and were able to roam around the city. By the time our tour had ended we were all starving and literally found the closet restaurant nearby. It was a really cool, chic little place, and when we went upstairs into their dining area, the ceilings seemed like they were only high enough to fit a person who is about 5'9, and after that you need to crouch.
So after being very touristy and taking more pictures of the decore we ordered our food, and I got leg of duck with sliced seasoned potatoes and a salade verte. In France their side salads are not the usual tomato, cucumber, onion and carrot kind of salad, its literally just lettuce. Along with some light dressing on top. The other girls ordered duck with a red fruit sauce (Sarah), a caramelized salmon over cooked veggies (Jess) a burger with all the fixings (kayla) and Kathleen ordered the same as I got. They were all extremely tasty and we were very full... though not full enough to get a cafe au lait!
Once we left the little restaurant it was time to explore the city and see if we could find any good shopping. We stopped in the main shopping center in the middle of the city and looked in on all the cute little boutiques and bijouteries (jewelry stores) and by the time we got done at what resembled a Barnies, our time was almost up to roam around the city. So we left the Galerie Lafayette and headed back to our meeting spot. Once we believed everyone was accounted for we started to make our way back to where our bus was parked.
So I know the French love their food, but I think if there is anything they love more it's their alcohol. We met the prime example of what a drunken French person really id. Our first encounter happened while we were walking past the stores and an old, squat man started pouncing on the back of peoples shoulders and laughing hysterically. We all ignored it and thought, oh well, he will soon go away. No. He did not. He followed us all the way to the bus, and during our walk he would randomly started running towards peoples backs screaming "CHARGEZ!" or charge in English. Yes he was quite the character. It wasn't until Sarah egged him on by talking to the crazy, old kook, that we found out he thought he was a general in the Battle of Waterloo, and we were his troops. I kid you not. He continued to scream Charge! every minute or two and when we were getting onto our bus he wanted to come to. He was very upset however when the bus driver said he couldn't come with us. And thus, the general's troops were gone, and he was alone once more.
After trying to focus once more on the trip, and every now and then people would shout CHARGEZ! on the bus, we ended up going about a mile or two down the road to this Japanese temple. Why we stopped there is a mystery to us, it was a very random place to go. We walked into the building and saw fish tanks with different types of fish in them, as well as small lobsters and an eel. Then in the next hallway there was an expedition of Japanese/French artwork hanging from the walls and mounted around the center of the room. Some of the works included pictures of Asian cops speaking French and playing baseball with baguettes on a street corner, and Asian markets with some oddly distorted drunken Asian men. I know I'm sure you're wondering what on earth we were doing here too. The next hallway consisted of mini models of the Japanese temple, and a large glass window which showed the zen garden in the middle of the temple itself. Complete with lines in the sand, and mossy boulders strewn around in the yard. I'm going to take a guess that it all would have made more sense if we hadn't just randomly pulled over and got out.
So that basically ended the day right there, and the busride home was us all planning our dinner. I made shrimp scampi for me and the girls :). So there is another wild and amusing trip, and we are going to be having another one to Vannes, another city by the coast, and also very historique! Time to take a well deserved nap! Miss you all, and a tout a l'heure! A bientot pour la jour prochaine!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Welcome to classes
So classes have officially started and I'm getting used to my schedule. I don't even realize how fast the time goes by, but it seems like I just arrived yesterday and had no idea what to expect. I have now used up all my minutes on my not so fantastic french phone, attempted to do laundry (just the delicates) in my sink and bidet (I bleached the sink and bidet first don't you worry!!) and I'm starting to plan trips and little voyages of my own outside of Rennes.
The next trip I am going on is this coming weekend, and it's a little city called Nantes. Well maybe not little city, but to me all the cities here seem adorable and cute so I call them little! I can't wait to go explore some more, and me and the girls are going to be planning a trip to Italy soon to go visit some of our friends! I couldn't be more excited about this! If there is any other food on the planet I would like to try it's Italian food haha. Speaking of food, the girls and I went to the market this past weekend and got to explore downtown with the crowds of hungry french people. It was amaaaazing! I've never seen so many food stands with vendors alike yelling out prices and weights and selections of food. They had a variety of meats, cheeses, beers, wines, chickens and ducks, butters and creams, vegetables and fruits, jelly's and desserts. I can name just about a dozen more items you can find there, all coming in a variety of flavors, colors and tastes.
The people at the market seem to be regulars because they know exactly what they want, how much it costs, and how much they want to get. I loved watching people swarming to the fresh seafood and meats. There were a million different things to look at as well as the old fashioned buildings that loomed in the background, giving the girls and I something to sing about. We literally did sing. And it was beauty and the beast. How were we supposed to help that?
After the market we decided to hit up a little café and grab something to drink before we made our way back into the swarms of people doing their shopping. If there is one thing I love about France, it's the coffee. Everyone knows how much sugar and milk I put in my coffee, when I do drink it that is, but here I only add a sugar packet to my café au lait and I am good to go. It's amazing what certain places make me do: cut my hair, drink coffee with practically no sugar, air kiss perfect strangers. I don't know exactly how the French make the "kiss" so impersonal, but it's amazing how extremely normal it is to go up to a stranger you just met and air kiss them on both cheeks without a second glance back. I'm still getting used to this odd phenomenon, and I severely miss hugs! (I better get lots of them when I return home in May!)
So back to my afternoon at the market! We did some more shopping after our little break in the coffee shop, and took advantage of the wonderful sales going on. I have already told myself I need to go back to the center and shop some more before the sales stop completely. Like I have stated in previous posts, the sales in France are only about 2 or 3 times a year and they run for about a month each. I don't know how they don't go out of business in between that time, everything is so expensive here! It's no wonder the French all drive tiny little cars that don't work very well, they probably can't afford them with this euro! I'm afraid to look at my bank account everyday and see just how much I really spent on food, groceries, withdrawals and shopping.
So by the end of our market day excursion we were all pretty tired and were in desperate need of sustenance so we bought some fresh butter and brussel sprouts and made our way back to our ghetto dorm to steam them on the only two hot plates on our floor. They took a very long time to steam but weren't too shabby in the end... we also made nachos and of course our ritual bread and cheese routine took place while we cooked as well.
By the end of the day none of us wanted to stay cooped up in the ugly, stuffy,cold dorm so we packed up and went out to a local bar called Funky Munky. The atmosphere was really laid back and very cozy, and we got a round of these very interesting, all natural shots. They had the most interesting flavors! For example, the different flavors I tried, without knowing what I was going to get, were: Cucumber, tropical citrus, blackberry, and nutella. They were all very interesting to taste! Other flavors were the normal strawberry and raspberry and peach, but they also had violette, chocolate mint, lichy, and mango flavors. The bartender was very passionate about his knowledge for shots and he gave us a few pointers before diving in. 1) The shots came on this long board called a baguette and you had to twist them out of the holes to get them out, 2) Don't sniff them before we take the shot because it will mess up the taste for the other shots we take later, and 3) Take our time and indulge in every flavor. Unfortunately in the end we were scolded for not taking our time, haha, but we didn't smell them, and we twisted them out as we were told! We definitely need to go back for a second round and try the other flavors they have!
It's very cool being able to walk about the streets at night and see hundreds of people just chillin' out and relaxing with their drinks. It was a very good atmosphere to be in, and we made a lot of friends that night just for being 4 American girls! They apparently love or hate Americans here, well I find most of the men love Americans, but it's all the same, they are a very curious bunch and love to sing American songs to us and see if we know them! Of course we know the majority of them and like to sing along too!
Well it's classtime! Gotta go do that French speaking thing ;) ... a tout a l'heure et a bientot pour la jour prochaine!
The next trip I am going on is this coming weekend, and it's a little city called Nantes. Well maybe not little city, but to me all the cities here seem adorable and cute so I call them little! I can't wait to go explore some more, and me and the girls are going to be planning a trip to Italy soon to go visit some of our friends! I couldn't be more excited about this! If there is any other food on the planet I would like to try it's Italian food haha. Speaking of food, the girls and I went to the market this past weekend and got to explore downtown with the crowds of hungry french people. It was amaaaazing! I've never seen so many food stands with vendors alike yelling out prices and weights and selections of food. They had a variety of meats, cheeses, beers, wines, chickens and ducks, butters and creams, vegetables and fruits, jelly's and desserts. I can name just about a dozen more items you can find there, all coming in a variety of flavors, colors and tastes.
The people at the market seem to be regulars because they know exactly what they want, how much it costs, and how much they want to get. I loved watching people swarming to the fresh seafood and meats. There were a million different things to look at as well as the old fashioned buildings that loomed in the background, giving the girls and I something to sing about. We literally did sing. And it was beauty and the beast. How were we supposed to help that?
After the market we decided to hit up a little café and grab something to drink before we made our way back into the swarms of people doing their shopping. If there is one thing I love about France, it's the coffee. Everyone knows how much sugar and milk I put in my coffee, when I do drink it that is, but here I only add a sugar packet to my café au lait and I am good to go. It's amazing what certain places make me do: cut my hair, drink coffee with practically no sugar, air kiss perfect strangers. I don't know exactly how the French make the "kiss" so impersonal, but it's amazing how extremely normal it is to go up to a stranger you just met and air kiss them on both cheeks without a second glance back. I'm still getting used to this odd phenomenon, and I severely miss hugs! (I better get lots of them when I return home in May!)
So back to my afternoon at the market! We did some more shopping after our little break in the coffee shop, and took advantage of the wonderful sales going on. I have already told myself I need to go back to the center and shop some more before the sales stop completely. Like I have stated in previous posts, the sales in France are only about 2 or 3 times a year and they run for about a month each. I don't know how they don't go out of business in between that time, everything is so expensive here! It's no wonder the French all drive tiny little cars that don't work very well, they probably can't afford them with this euro! I'm afraid to look at my bank account everyday and see just how much I really spent on food, groceries, withdrawals and shopping.
So by the end of our market day excursion we were all pretty tired and were in desperate need of sustenance so we bought some fresh butter and brussel sprouts and made our way back to our ghetto dorm to steam them on the only two hot plates on our floor. They took a very long time to steam but weren't too shabby in the end... we also made nachos and of course our ritual bread and cheese routine took place while we cooked as well.
By the end of the day none of us wanted to stay cooped up in the ugly, stuffy,cold dorm so we packed up and went out to a local bar called Funky Munky. The atmosphere was really laid back and very cozy, and we got a round of these very interesting, all natural shots. They had the most interesting flavors! For example, the different flavors I tried, without knowing what I was going to get, were: Cucumber, tropical citrus, blackberry, and nutella. They were all very interesting to taste! Other flavors were the normal strawberry and raspberry and peach, but they also had violette, chocolate mint, lichy, and mango flavors. The bartender was very passionate about his knowledge for shots and he gave us a few pointers before diving in. 1) The shots came on this long board called a baguette and you had to twist them out of the holes to get them out, 2) Don't sniff them before we take the shot because it will mess up the taste for the other shots we take later, and 3) Take our time and indulge in every flavor. Unfortunately in the end we were scolded for not taking our time, haha, but we didn't smell them, and we twisted them out as we were told! We definitely need to go back for a second round and try the other flavors they have!
It's very cool being able to walk about the streets at night and see hundreds of people just chillin' out and relaxing with their drinks. It was a very good atmosphere to be in, and we made a lot of friends that night just for being 4 American girls! They apparently love or hate Americans here, well I find most of the men love Americans, but it's all the same, they are a very curious bunch and love to sing American songs to us and see if we know them! Of course we know the majority of them and like to sing along too!
Well it's classtime! Gotta go do that French speaking thing ;) ... a tout a l'heure et a bientot pour la jour prochaine!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
going on week two!
Time is definitely flying! In the past week I had the majority of my new classes, and I took a wonderful trip to a little city called Saint Malo. It was freeeeezing there, and it was also "bizarre weather day" because not only was it snowing when i left, but it was sunny in a matter of an hour, then cloudy, then sleeting, then cloudy, then snow, and then amazingly blue skies. I know, I thought I left New England?? But the bus ride there was probably an hour long and I sat and stared out the window at the pretty country side most of the time. Once we got to Saint Malo it was extremely cold, snowing, and windy. Wonderful combination.
Our tour guide was this solid as a rock, 60 something, weathered skin, blonde lady. She seemed to have no problem with the fact that none of us could hear her over the wind and 50 some odd people who came on the bus. Also the cold didn't seem to affect her in any way, even though us youngsters were shivering uncontrollably against the cold. The city itself is GORGEOUS! It is a little walled in, "ville de corsaire" or pirate town, and the massive wall surrounding the place was used to keep out its invaders. They used to set dogs out at night during the time of the curfew so that people would be less likely to break their curfew. Also since the city is right on the coast there was a beautiful watch tower jutting out into the sea, and a very old lighthouse. Inside the city was a maze of tiny streets and very old architecture. During the morning it was not very lively, but as we moved on into the day the city came to life and it was really quite nice seeing all the townees with their shopping. We ended up going to a cute little crêperie and I got a delicious galette with cheese, tomato, bacon (or as they call it here lardons) and mushrooms. It was delish! After sitting in the little restaurant we didn't want to face the cold so we ended up running into the store across from it to do some shopping and I got some nice things including some gifts for the boyfriend, a new scarf and purse for myself (and mom because I know the purse will be confiscated at some point) and also some things for the parents. No I haven't sent them through the mail yet haha.
The French don't have sales year round like they do in the US,and thank God we came at this time because their sales, or "soldes", are going on until the 16th of February. I don't know how these stores stay in business year round because it is very hard to find anything we would consider cheap! But it's always nice to go around a corner and see a nice packed store with "SOLDES!" plastered on signs all over the store. So back to Saint Malo! We toured the city and ended up trying to follow around some singers who we were trying to listen to, and they ended up being this cute christian singing band that go around and sing about their beliefs and praising God. It was rather adorable. So at one point we ended up just sitting and watching them while they sang, and watched as crowds of people went by, some singing along. People watching in France is possibly the most fun I've ever had when it comes to staring obsessively haha. There are always dogs running around, always babies, and what seems like crowds of models who just flock the streets in their stylish outfits, and warm scarves. I've never seen such fashionistas! Not only the women here are fashionable; the kids are more stylish than me, no matter what age, and the men are always properly dressed with their matching scarves, and skinny jeans. I'm getting used to all the skinny people walking about, although it doesn't stop me from eating as much as I can!
Last night me and the girls were VERY healthy and made a whole wheat pasta with an amazing sauce! We put in green and red peppers, onions, spinach, lots of garlic, ground beef, tomatoes and sauce. It was fantastic!! I mean we ended up evening out the healthy for the non healthy by scarfing down baguette, brie and nutella while waiting for the meal, but still! Kudos to us for making a very healthy meal!
The days aren't really changing weather-wise, and I cannot wait until the Spring! The city of Rennes is beautiful even in the dreary wintertime, so I can't imagine when the trees start to blossom and flowers are spotted all over the town hall square. I've been thinking about going to church too. In a way it's been very interesting hearing about the religions here, and I'm kind of interested in just being in an old French cathédrale. I've been collecting everything French, so why not collect some religious value too? It will be interesting enough just hearing the prayers and sermons in French, and that way I will have to pay attention! We shall see!
Classes here are hard! I haven't had to pay attention in French class since High School so now I'm really hitting it hard and I have to focus one hundred times more than I would in any non-French class. I think my professors must think all Americans are just dumb because we are always picked on first to make sure they know we are understanding the topic at hand. I mean they are probably right because I look around and see a lot of dumbfounded faces a lot, and it's not just me thank goodness! I am REALLY glad we are refreshing our grammar because I don't remember a thing! It's pretty bad. I like my modern art class the best so far because the teacher is very easy on us and speaks in a slower manner than the younger professors. And she is just funny so it helps. I will update you all some more when I have taken all my classes but for now I think I should hit the books and actually do some hw! Say hello to the US for me! Au revoir, et a bientot pour la jour prochaine!
Our tour guide was this solid as a rock, 60 something, weathered skin, blonde lady. She seemed to have no problem with the fact that none of us could hear her over the wind and 50 some odd people who came on the bus. Also the cold didn't seem to affect her in any way, even though us youngsters were shivering uncontrollably against the cold. The city itself is GORGEOUS! It is a little walled in, "ville de corsaire" or pirate town, and the massive wall surrounding the place was used to keep out its invaders. They used to set dogs out at night during the time of the curfew so that people would be less likely to break their curfew. Also since the city is right on the coast there was a beautiful watch tower jutting out into the sea, and a very old lighthouse. Inside the city was a maze of tiny streets and very old architecture. During the morning it was not very lively, but as we moved on into the day the city came to life and it was really quite nice seeing all the townees with their shopping. We ended up going to a cute little crêperie and I got a delicious galette with cheese, tomato, bacon (or as they call it here lardons) and mushrooms. It was delish! After sitting in the little restaurant we didn't want to face the cold so we ended up running into the store across from it to do some shopping and I got some nice things including some gifts for the boyfriend, a new scarf and purse for myself (and mom because I know the purse will be confiscated at some point) and also some things for the parents. No I haven't sent them through the mail yet haha.
The French don't have sales year round like they do in the US,and thank God we came at this time because their sales, or "soldes", are going on until the 16th of February. I don't know how these stores stay in business year round because it is very hard to find anything we would consider cheap! But it's always nice to go around a corner and see a nice packed store with "SOLDES!" plastered on signs all over the store. So back to Saint Malo! We toured the city and ended up trying to follow around some singers who we were trying to listen to, and they ended up being this cute christian singing band that go around and sing about their beliefs and praising God. It was rather adorable. So at one point we ended up just sitting and watching them while they sang, and watched as crowds of people went by, some singing along. People watching in France is possibly the most fun I've ever had when it comes to staring obsessively haha. There are always dogs running around, always babies, and what seems like crowds of models who just flock the streets in their stylish outfits, and warm scarves. I've never seen such fashionistas! Not only the women here are fashionable; the kids are more stylish than me, no matter what age, and the men are always properly dressed with their matching scarves, and skinny jeans. I'm getting used to all the skinny people walking about, although it doesn't stop me from eating as much as I can!
Last night me and the girls were VERY healthy and made a whole wheat pasta with an amazing sauce! We put in green and red peppers, onions, spinach, lots of garlic, ground beef, tomatoes and sauce. It was fantastic!! I mean we ended up evening out the healthy for the non healthy by scarfing down baguette, brie and nutella while waiting for the meal, but still! Kudos to us for making a very healthy meal!
The days aren't really changing weather-wise, and I cannot wait until the Spring! The city of Rennes is beautiful even in the dreary wintertime, so I can't imagine when the trees start to blossom and flowers are spotted all over the town hall square. I've been thinking about going to church too. In a way it's been very interesting hearing about the religions here, and I'm kind of interested in just being in an old French cathédrale. I've been collecting everything French, so why not collect some religious value too? It will be interesting enough just hearing the prayers and sermons in French, and that way I will have to pay attention! We shall see!
Classes here are hard! I haven't had to pay attention in French class since High School so now I'm really hitting it hard and I have to focus one hundred times more than I would in any non-French class. I think my professors must think all Americans are just dumb because we are always picked on first to make sure they know we are understanding the topic at hand. I mean they are probably right because I look around and see a lot of dumbfounded faces a lot, and it's not just me thank goodness! I am REALLY glad we are refreshing our grammar because I don't remember a thing! It's pretty bad. I like my modern art class the best so far because the teacher is very easy on us and speaks in a slower manner than the younger professors. And she is just funny so it helps. I will update you all some more when I have taken all my classes but for now I think I should hit the books and actually do some hw! Say hello to the US for me! Au revoir, et a bientot pour la jour prochaine!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
just a side note
So I figured since I'm going to be here a while I will prob start grouping my days, or even just weeks together. Also the days are starting to become more about schoolwork and less about the crazy happenings going on during my first few days. So don't you worry when my posts get behind because I'll sum the days up at the end of the week!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Day Six
Jour six. So we are almost at a week in France, I can't believe it!! Today was pretty chill and I ate some more delicious food haha. So some highlights of the day:
1) Ate an amaaaazingly tasty sandwhich from the boulangerie down the street; it had mozerella, roasted red peppers, olive oil, some kind of pork or ham... i still don't really know, lettuce, tomato, and a tar-tar sauce. simply delicious!
2) Bought some nice post cards and bought some stamps.... I have to lick them in order for them to stick haha, old school!
3) Went to lunch at a little asian restaurant where I had a spring roll and some cantonese rice. Not too shabby!
4) Went into the boulangerie next door to the asian restaurant and bought the most delicious three layered chocolate mousse cake. Heaaaveeennnn!Oh mon Dieu!!
5) Went window shopping, or lécher les vitrines en français (literally to lick the windows... haha weird)Almost bought a really cute pair of red velvet flats with a silver buckle, buuuuut they didn't have any left... malheureusement. Must be a sign to not spend my money :P
6) Spent some time taking pictures of the most beautiful sunset while eating my chocolate mousse cake. Truly an amazzzziinngg boost to my day!
So some fun facts about the French here:
1) They love scarves. And I mean love them. They will wear two if they really want and they still look like they just happened to have stepped off the runway. I want a new puffy scarf.
2) They are very, genuinely nice people, but only if you make the first move to say hello and talk to them. So my thought is, how do the French make friends with each other if they don't like making the first move? It's quite confusing.
3) They can be extremely forward. And by forward I mean they do not mind being very upfront with you about something, not that it can be a bad thing. Sometimes they can go a little overboard like the intoxicated man who told us we eat too many crêpes. Hey drunky, casse-toi pov-con! And I will not translate that last one haha.
4) The French are also very helpful. They never turn you away when you ask for directions. Also always know gauche/left, droit/right, and toute droite/straight and you can make your way around France no problem.
5) Don't tip. If you do it's like your tipping them like 50% or more, and then they just think your crazy, or they were just really good, and they probabaly weren't haha. Not to mention they aren't like American waiters where they come over every 5 minutes and ask you how your meal is. Mealtime is their time to relax and talk with their family and friends so they probably don't want to be disturbed.
Well that's all for now! Get back to your microwave popcorn, and fluff (which the French do not have here) and a bientôt pour la jour prochaine!
1) Ate an amaaaazingly tasty sandwhich from the boulangerie down the street; it had mozerella, roasted red peppers, olive oil, some kind of pork or ham... i still don't really know, lettuce, tomato, and a tar-tar sauce. simply delicious!
2) Bought some nice post cards and bought some stamps.... I have to lick them in order for them to stick haha, old school!
3) Went to lunch at a little asian restaurant where I had a spring roll and some cantonese rice. Not too shabby!
4) Went into the boulangerie next door to the asian restaurant and bought the most delicious three layered chocolate mousse cake. Heaaaveeennnn!Oh mon Dieu!!
5) Went window shopping, or lécher les vitrines en français (literally to lick the windows... haha weird)Almost bought a really cute pair of red velvet flats with a silver buckle, buuuuut they didn't have any left... malheureusement. Must be a sign to not spend my money :P
6) Spent some time taking pictures of the most beautiful sunset while eating my chocolate mousse cake. Truly an amazzzziinngg boost to my day!
So some fun facts about the French here:
1) They love scarves. And I mean love them. They will wear two if they really want and they still look like they just happened to have stepped off the runway. I want a new puffy scarf.
2) They are very, genuinely nice people, but only if you make the first move to say hello and talk to them. So my thought is, how do the French make friends with each other if they don't like making the first move? It's quite confusing.
3) They can be extremely forward. And by forward I mean they do not mind being very upfront with you about something, not that it can be a bad thing. Sometimes they can go a little overboard like the intoxicated man who told us we eat too many crêpes. Hey drunky, casse-toi pov-con! And I will not translate that last one haha.
4) The French are also very helpful. They never turn you away when you ask for directions. Also always know gauche/left, droit/right, and toute droite/straight and you can make your way around France no problem.
5) Don't tip. If you do it's like your tipping them like 50% or more, and then they just think your crazy, or they were just really good, and they probabaly weren't haha. Not to mention they aren't like American waiters where they come over every 5 minutes and ask you how your meal is. Mealtime is their time to relax and talk with their family and friends so they probably don't want to be disturbed.
Well that's all for now! Get back to your microwave popcorn, and fluff (which the French do not have here) and a bientôt pour la jour prochaine!
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