So I've had an ultra busy week, what with preparing for the arrival of my dad and my little sister, so we have much to catch up on. So last weekend I went to Normandy with the IES program. It was a long 4 hour bus drive with ultra cramped seats. We all tried to catch some Zs but it was not happening. I found my self in the most awkward positions at times! You would have laughed if you'd have seen it.Megan and I ended up listening to the "Legally Blond the Musical"soundtrack the rest of the way. We practically got through the whole thing! Anyway, upon arrival in Normandy, we were given nearly 2 hours to walk around the city and get food. I hung out with this guy Andrew whom I've become chumy with. We tagged along with two other girls for a while, grabbed paninis and explored some old churches in the city. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, and everyone was lounging on the grass near the ruins of the old Donjon (keep) built by William the conqueror. Andrew and I decided to explore this said donjon and sit on the edge of the huge wall surrounding it. We made some rebel moves and explored some forbidden and ultra high territories, but don't worry- it was perfectly safe- or at least I didn't die as a result of it so it couldn't be too bad! It was pretty cool and enjoyed the view from the top. When we all got back to the bus, we headed to the Caen Memorial museum. It was a really intense experience. There was so much information about WW I and WWII, I was speechless. They had real nazis flags, and footage from the Blitz of 1940. There were war kits and jeeps and maps of central europe indicating where all of the concentration camps were and what kind they were- work camps, or extermination camps or etc. It was really eye opening. I had no idea how many there were! And they had letters sent by soldiers to their families during the war. This museum gives you a stronger visual of the war than any film can. It made it all the more real for me and thus more difficult to distance myself from it. Some of the boys in our group had bought beers in the city and got drunk before they went in the museum because they said it would be "easier to handle." I was so embarrassed to be an American at that moment- or at least to be in the group with them. Midway through or visit, we watched a video of the Normandy Landings on D-Day June 6th, 1944. I couldn't believe it, but they had actually footage of the soldiers landing on Omaha beach and being shot at. I saw real people really being killed! It was...it was not Saving Private Ryan, I'll tell you that much. Young men, some younger than me even, were walking to their death to fight for our freedom. They knew they were going to die and they did it anyway. That is scary and incredible. The film also gave us a day by day month by month view on the map of the German occupation and the progress of the Brits, Americans, and Canadians during the war. I hope we never have to see a war like that again. Men and guns are such a bad combo. After the film, Megan, Andrew and I checked out a photography exhibit done by this French photo journalist named Raza. His photos were incredible. He showed all of these dark sides of third world countries, but also showed the life that the people in those countries had. I was really moved by many of his photos and their was much to read about each one. He was actually at the museum that day for a book signing. After the Raza exhibit, Megan and I visited the British Garden and the Canadian Garden which are memorials dedicated to those who fought in the war. The British Garden has tall bush trees designed in the shape of a huge Celtic cross that you can walk into with a fountain in the middle and a "quite" place for reflection at the head of the cross. The Canadian Garden was very subtle. It was kind of on a hill that had a winding path way down where you could walk along the base of the museum and go into the Nobel PRize exhibit. I went in this exhibit alone because Megan already looked at it- but it was a bad idea. The exhibit was bigger than it looked, the music was creepy, the lighting was utlra creepy (think 80s space ship with those ugly green and neon lights), and there were only 2 other people in the exhibit. I certainly learned a bunch about the Nobel prize but I walked through it quickly so as not to linger. I took a quick gander at the American Garden because it was time to leave and I managed to take a photo of the memorial plaques for New York, Indiana, and Chicago. I must say that this was the coolest garden of them all with a huge fountain that spilled over into a pond- there was a path under the 'waterfall' where all the state plaques were. It was cool. When we got to the hotel, we all pigged out at the french food buffet (we were all ultra excited about the all u can eat aspect- Americans love to eat!) The desserts were incredible and I think everyone had about 5! Don't worry, they small things. I was ultra tired so I stayed in and played president with a big group of people for a really long time before getting to bed.
Sunday was the big day. We went to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The first thing our chaperon told us was that we were officially on American soil- America owns the property. We all cheered and hollered, but the celebrating stopped as soon as we got to the cemetery. When you walk in, you see this grand Memorial horizontal arc (like a Grecian building, almost, with pillars) facing the wave of white grave stones in the shapes of crosses or stars of David. In the center of the marble arc is a 22 foot tall statue called "The Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves" Its a nearly nude man with his arms lifted like when you stretch or raise your arms. There were maps on either side of the walls of the arc indicating the progress of the Americans/Brits/ Canadians during the war by plane , by boat, and by land. The clock rang 9 and the bells chimed "Oh Beautiful For Spacious Skies" and a few other American patriotic songs. I went to the Overlook that gave a panorama view of Omaha beach and the English Channel and I was stunned by the absolute beauty and melancholy of the view. The day was grey but the water was clear and the beach looked perfect. I tried to imagine what it looked like on that fateful day. It was hard and painful, but I think I managed to visualize a semblance of what it was like. I headed down the steep path/hill to the beach and made my way to where it all happened. The sand was so soft, it was hard to believe that something so tragic could happen in such a peaceful place, but I could hear the gunfire and see the boats being shot at and sinking as they made their way to the shores. I could see the bodies of the young and the loved lying on the sand and dying it red. This soft sand that made cushioned grave. Some of the kids in my group took off their shoes and socks and ran into the freezing water- typial American thing to do. I strolled along the beach and took in my surroundings. I looked at the dunes that are now covered in vegetation, and I walked up to the tide where they water rushed and foamed as if someone had dumped 100 gallons of ivory soap in it. I collected red stone to bring back with me in rememberance of this day and this place. Andrew joined me and I watched him make an American flag sand castle. We then went back to the cemetery to see the graves and the chapel. There are 9,387 headstones. Imagne rows and rows of white crosses and the occasional Stars of David. It was a sea of graves. Our guide plan states that their are 38 sets of brothers in that semetery. WOW. Could you imagine losing all of your children to the war? I definitely wouldn't want to out live my children. The chapel was in the middle of the cemetery and it was like a small, marble, inclosed gazebo with a grand mural on the ceiling. Following our visit to Omaha beach, we went to Pointe du Hoc where the Germans had many bunkers and big guns. It was on the far west side of the beach and high on a cliff. The Americans climbed ladders to get up there and many of them were shot. I don't know much about the history of the place, but I'll look it up and get back to you. The land was full of massive craters where bombs fell, but the craters were over grown with wild flowers and grass- quite the paradox. Most of the bunkers were bombed and partially destoryed, but there were a few still intact so we took a peek. There was no light and it was very scary! We used our cell phones or cameras to see, and they are really harrowing places. I couldn't even begin to imagine spending many days in there where not a drop of sunlight can be found at any time of day. Vampires would certainly love it. Seeing the craters put things in to perspective for me. I was seeing the results of a a war that happened over 50 years ago! The remnants are still there and still as evident. Next we went to Bayeux to grab a bite- probably the best lunch ever! Grilled panini bread with scrambled eggs and emmenthal cheese! And a waffles with sucre glace. It made me feel warm inside and less melancholy about the day. It was a quaint city with qute shops but the streets were totally bare! The only people we saw were tourists. It was almost like a French ghost town. And of course everything was closed excpet for food places because it was Sunday. Our last stop on our trip was Le Harras du Pin- the Versaille for horses. Its this big chateux for raising, racing, riding, breeding, and trading the best horses in the world. It was ridiculous and impressive. People are hardcore about their horses I guess. The museum offered a lot of information about the different kinds of horses, their bone structure and evolution, and the different breeding methods. You could even watch the differents kinds of breeding- lets just say, I'm glad I'm not a female horse. They actually have an airport just for horses in France. Ins't that crazy!!! I guess it makes sense- you wouldn't put animals that weigh several tons on the same planes as people. Planes would fall out of the sky everyday! They are real elitists when it comes to horses in France. We took a guided tour of the place and got to see some of the horses. All of the horses are male because they have some stallions on the property that would break down the door to get at the females- sounds like teenage boys at an all boys school haha. Each horse has its own stall, and each stall has a sign indicating who the mother and the father are (to prevent inbreeding), who the grandparents are, when they were born and where. The horses were all really friendly and ready for their closeups. I really want a horse, and I miss riding. (I was a girl scout- that's the only way I got to ride). One day I would like to buy a horse, and I am going to name it Mephistopheles if it is Black, Nulla if it is Brown, or Angelus if it is white. There was a massive memorial/grave site for their best horse named Furioso who died a few years back, it makes me feel so warm inside to know that while some people die in the streets and barely get a grave, great horses get bigger and more elaborate graves than political figures (please tell me you caught my sarcasm). Some of the horses are older than me (27)! I had no idea they could live so long- before the become glue :(Anyway, it was a very interesting and unexpected experience, but overall it was a great weekend. I will remember it always. I have more to tell you about the rest of my week, but I must get some sleep so it will have to wait. I leave for Paris tomorrow to meet my dad and my sister!!! I'm so excited!! I expect many hugs for they are so scarce in France.
Bon nuit mes amies et bisous!!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
I Love French Children!!
So Monday afternoon I went to Notre Dame de Toute Joies which is a primary school and I made an observation for my teaching internship. It was so much fun! I helped out more than I observed but that made it even better. So I got to the classroom at 2:30 and it didn't look that different from the classrooms we have in the states. There were only two girls in the room and the teacher was getting prepared for the next art plastique activity because of the kids had a 10 minute pause - the equivalent of recess. The girls starred at me with anxious curiosity making feel like an alien or some other newly discovered creature. They had big smiles on their faces and I could hear them whispering about me, "Les dents sont blanche!" -her teeth are white! The girls ran back outside to be with their friends, presumably to announce my presence, and I chatted with the teacher a bit. When the bell rang, the teacher and I went outside to collect the children. The organization of this school building is very different from that of grade schools in the states. The building structure is like a big hollow square with a courtyard in the center where the children play during their 10 minute pauses. There are soccer goals and picnic tables but that's about it. And each classroom has a door that you enter through from the courtyard- basically there aren't any long hallways connecting all the classrooms. If you want to go from one room to another, you have to go outside. So anyway, we collected the children and the teacher introduced me to them- this is all happening in french of course. Only half the class was participating in the art plastique at the moment so there were only around 10 or 15 kids starring at me at this point(all 9 years old). Once we got into the room, the kids were all situated at different clusters of desks that were put together for a painting activity. They were painting stained glass window images with the first letter of their name decorated on the paper. When the activity started, I was sitting at a table with a few boys. I asked them a few questions like what were their names and if they had any siblings. Then the children started to bombard me with questions of their own:
What music do you like?
Do you know Pokemon?
Do you like Hannah Montanna?
Have you seen the third High School Musical?
Do you like the cheetah girls?
What do you think of Obama?
It was so cute but a bit overwhelming. I bonded with these little girls named Marguerite, Danny, and Gabrielle who like Miley Cyrus and HSM, so we talked a bunch while they did their work. Then all of the boys and girls started asking me how their names are pronounced in English. The were a ball full of giggles then! It was so cute! Marguerite made me a pretty drawing of us together with the note: Pour Kimi! Of course my hair in the picture went down to my feet :) Then they had another 10 minute pause and I went out to play with them! IT was so much fun! I taught them how to play freeze tag and toilet tag, and they loved it. They were chasing me all around and ever time they tagged someone they shouted "Touche" (pronounced Toosh). Then a bunch of boys and girls from other classes who were on pause asked if they could join - it is really hard to explain the rules to these games in french especially multiple times to 9 year olds, lemme tell ya! Then these boys wanted to race, so I did quite a bit of running. At the end of the pause all of the girls fought to hold my hands as we walked back to the classroom. It felt just like working at the YMCA day camp only better because the kids speak french! During the second half of the my observation, the entire class was present and they were working on making angles for math. They were very distracted by my presence and the teacher had to be stern to maintain order. I helped a few of the students who were having some difficulty, and eventually they finished their work. When I looked at the world map on one of the student's desks, I noticed that they have Indianapolis located in Illinois ! How messed up is that! During the last 15 minutes of the class I introduced myself to all of the students and talked about where I come from. Then each kid had the chance to ask me a question. Half of the questions were about Obama! One kid, the cutest little boy ever named Augustine, asked me if Obama has picked out a dog for his daughters yet! How do they know about that! I guarantee that if you ask any 9 year old American, or even an 18 year old, who the president of French is they would draw a blank. The French are so connected with world news, it amazes me! Its a shame how apathetic our society is with the outside world when there isn't a tragedy occurring somewhere. One kid also asked me who I voted for which was pretty funny! The teacher berated him for it and told me not to respond. At the end of the class I received more drawings from the kids, some of them saying "Miley Cyrus" with hearts everywhere or "Je t'adore." They all asked me to comeback some time soon, and I really hope a can!
Thursday was a national grève so the buses and trams weren't running as often and I had my teaching internship that morning. Luckily I made it on time but only 2 students showed up to the first class and only 4 at the second. I spent the bulk of the first class talking with this French-Cambodian student and the teacher about video games, american actors, and lacrosse (which was fun to explain). Durning the second class, I gave a totally breakdown of my high school's system. I showed them the film clip of Brebeuf and explained to them homecoming, student council, SATS, ACTs, college applications, prom, legacy children, tuition...etc. They were all astonished by the major differences between us and them, especially the teacher. It was fun watching their reactions to everything. Extracurriculars, team spirit, and athleticism do not exist in French high schools. They don't have championships or anything of the sort like it. All of the kids at the school have no plans of going to university after they are finished with high school. More kids go straight to work after the BAC. After the class my teacher showed me a float some of the students and teachers are working for Carnival. It was so cool! They modeled it off of the film The Fifth Element. with Bruce Willis' car, the elemnts, and stop lights and a bunch of other stuff. It was rally creative and exciting. The French teachers were all really enthousiatic about showing it to me which was cute. Well, despite the low numbers of students, it was a pretty good day at St. Jean Baptiste. Unfortunately, though, I was 20 minutes late to Art History because of the grève. Megan and I watched a french film online called La Belle Personne after lunch. It was a pretty good but there were a lot of "What the heck just happened!" moments. I love the director so of course I love the film, but this one had its stereotypical French film moments (basically meaning that many Americans wouldn't get it or like it). Its a bit of a downer but then again life isn't always sunshine and rainbows ( and neither is art imitating life). So for those sappy Americans who can only tolerate comedies and happy films (which I find utterly astonishing and quite sad-being a filmmaker myself), this movie is not for you. After the movie, we went for a walk outside because it was so nice out (20° C) and we wanted to see the grèvistes in action. There were hundreds of people in the streets protesting/striking anything and everything. It was ridiculous, and the police were everywhere. We didn't linger long because you never want to get caught in the middle of a grève unless you actually care about what they protesting and you want to lose your voice shouting as well. Well, that's it for now mes amies. Tomorrow I head for Normandie with the rest of the kids in the program. Good thing I already saw the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan so I'm good to go! Bisous!
Update:
So I went to the Chateaux museum with a group from IES (There's a chateux in Nantes) this afternoon, and I was surprised by what I saw on my walk over there. Apparently the grèvistes were a bit violent yesterday because there were stores that were damaged and burn marks in the middle of the street where they started fires or blew stuff up! I couldn't believe the damage they caused! Some really nice stores had cracked or shattered windows! When Megan ad I were walking ahead of the grèvistes yesterday, we noticed that some stores were closing up for protection, but I guess some people weren't quick enough. Isn't that terrible? Could you imagine what the US would be like if people went on strike all the time and caused damage in the streets. Out of the 3 months that I've been in France I've only gone to class at the university twice because my professor is on strike. I don't see how any body learns anything when there are never any classes. It would be a total waste of money for me and my family if I was taking more than one class, but there are others in the program who are jut now switiching into classes at IES so that they can get credit! I guess its easy to do whatever you want when education is free and the salary is cheap. Doesn't work that way for us. I just wanted to share that with you. Bon nuit!!
What music do you like?
Do you know Pokemon?
Do you like Hannah Montanna?
Have you seen the third High School Musical?
Do you like the cheetah girls?
What do you think of Obama?
It was so cute but a bit overwhelming. I bonded with these little girls named Marguerite, Danny, and Gabrielle who like Miley Cyrus and HSM, so we talked a bunch while they did their work. Then all of the boys and girls started asking me how their names are pronounced in English. The were a ball full of giggles then! It was so cute! Marguerite made me a pretty drawing of us together with the note: Pour Kimi! Of course my hair in the picture went down to my feet :) Then they had another 10 minute pause and I went out to play with them! IT was so much fun! I taught them how to play freeze tag and toilet tag, and they loved it. They were chasing me all around and ever time they tagged someone they shouted "Touche" (pronounced Toosh). Then a bunch of boys and girls from other classes who were on pause asked if they could join - it is really hard to explain the rules to these games in french especially multiple times to 9 year olds, lemme tell ya! Then these boys wanted to race, so I did quite a bit of running. At the end of the pause all of the girls fought to hold my hands as we walked back to the classroom. It felt just like working at the YMCA day camp only better because the kids speak french! During the second half of the my observation, the entire class was present and they were working on making angles for math. They were very distracted by my presence and the teacher had to be stern to maintain order. I helped a few of the students who were having some difficulty, and eventually they finished their work. When I looked at the world map on one of the student's desks, I noticed that they have Indianapolis located in Illinois ! How messed up is that! During the last 15 minutes of the class I introduced myself to all of the students and talked about where I come from. Then each kid had the chance to ask me a question. Half of the questions were about Obama! One kid, the cutest little boy ever named Augustine, asked me if Obama has picked out a dog for his daughters yet! How do they know about that! I guarantee that if you ask any 9 year old American, or even an 18 year old, who the president of French is they would draw a blank. The French are so connected with world news, it amazes me! Its a shame how apathetic our society is with the outside world when there isn't a tragedy occurring somewhere. One kid also asked me who I voted for which was pretty funny! The teacher berated him for it and told me not to respond. At the end of the class I received more drawings from the kids, some of them saying "Miley Cyrus" with hearts everywhere or "Je t'adore." They all asked me to comeback some time soon, and I really hope a can!
Thursday was a national grève so the buses and trams weren't running as often and I had my teaching internship that morning. Luckily I made it on time but only 2 students showed up to the first class and only 4 at the second. I spent the bulk of the first class talking with this French-Cambodian student and the teacher about video games, american actors, and lacrosse (which was fun to explain). Durning the second class, I gave a totally breakdown of my high school's system. I showed them the film clip of Brebeuf and explained to them homecoming, student council, SATS, ACTs, college applications, prom, legacy children, tuition...etc. They were all astonished by the major differences between us and them, especially the teacher. It was fun watching their reactions to everything. Extracurriculars, team spirit, and athleticism do not exist in French high schools. They don't have championships or anything of the sort like it. All of the kids at the school have no plans of going to university after they are finished with high school. More kids go straight to work after the BAC. After the class my teacher showed me a float some of the students and teachers are working for Carnival. It was so cool! They modeled it off of the film The Fifth Element. with Bruce Willis' car, the elemnts, and stop lights and a bunch of other stuff. It was rally creative and exciting. The French teachers were all really enthousiatic about showing it to me which was cute. Well, despite the low numbers of students, it was a pretty good day at St. Jean Baptiste. Unfortunately, though, I was 20 minutes late to Art History because of the grève. Megan and I watched a french film online called La Belle Personne after lunch. It was a pretty good but there were a lot of "What the heck just happened!" moments. I love the director so of course I love the film, but this one had its stereotypical French film moments (basically meaning that many Americans wouldn't get it or like it). Its a bit of a downer but then again life isn't always sunshine and rainbows ( and neither is art imitating life). So for those sappy Americans who can only tolerate comedies and happy films (which I find utterly astonishing and quite sad-being a filmmaker myself), this movie is not for you. After the movie, we went for a walk outside because it was so nice out (20° C) and we wanted to see the grèvistes in action. There were hundreds of people in the streets protesting/striking anything and everything. It was ridiculous, and the police were everywhere. We didn't linger long because you never want to get caught in the middle of a grève unless you actually care about what they protesting and you want to lose your voice shouting as well. Well, that's it for now mes amies. Tomorrow I head for Normandie with the rest of the kids in the program. Good thing I already saw the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan so I'm good to go! Bisous!
Update:
So I went to the Chateaux museum with a group from IES (There's a chateux in Nantes) this afternoon, and I was surprised by what I saw on my walk over there. Apparently the grèvistes were a bit violent yesterday because there were stores that were damaged and burn marks in the middle of the street where they started fires or blew stuff up! I couldn't believe the damage they caused! Some really nice stores had cracked or shattered windows! When Megan ad I were walking ahead of the grèvistes yesterday, we noticed that some stores were closing up for protection, but I guess some people weren't quick enough. Isn't that terrible? Could you imagine what the US would be like if people went on strike all the time and caused damage in the streets. Out of the 3 months that I've been in France I've only gone to class at the university twice because my professor is on strike. I don't see how any body learns anything when there are never any classes. It would be a total waste of money for me and my family if I was taking more than one class, but there are others in the program who are jut now switiching into classes at IES so that they can get credit! I guess its easy to do whatever you want when education is free and the salary is cheap. Doesn't work that way for us. I just wanted to share that with you. Bon nuit!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Paris, Je t'aime et Paris m'aime!
So I have officially decided that I am going to live in Paris as soon as possible- or as soon as I can afford it. I had the most incredible experience ever. I am in love! Now, let me start from the very beginning...
Friday the 13th was the most beautiful day Nantes that we've had so far. The sun was shining, the flowers were beginning to make an appearance, all of the fountains were turned on, and people were laying in the grass in the parks like it was summer. The water was gorgeous- did I mention that there is a river that runs alongside the tram line. I wanted to stay outside forever- but of course I had a date with Paris. I was worried because my friend Alvaro, whom I was meeting in Paris, had failed to give me his mobile phone number and I had no idea how he was going to find me at the train station. Madame Rouchet, the director of my program, gave me some hostel information in case we couldn't find each other. The train ride was pretty smooth, the only glitch was that I forgot to stick my ticket in the ticket thingy that stamps it before you leave, but luckily I ran out of the train and found a conductor to help me out. When I arrived in Paris, I took 3 steps out of the train and saw a blur of my Spanish friend running towards we calling my name. He gave me the biggest hug ever and kept on regarding my face with incredulity, "Oh my, you are a woman now!" he said. Let me explain: I met Alvaro at my high school in the first few weeks of my senior year when he and 3 other students from Barcelona made an exchange and took classes at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School (Go Braves!). I became close friends with them very quickly and we've kept in touch ever since. It's been nearly 4 years since we last met, but nothing about our relationship has changed. We hugged each other for a long time and starred at each other as if one of us could disappear at any moment. He told me he hadn't practiced his English very much since his last visit to the states and he apologized profusely in advanced for his terrible English. He took my bags, and as we walked to the metro he kept grabbing my hand and saying, "I just want to make sure that you're really here." We had so much to catch up on! He took me to the dormitory where he is living this year- he is studying abroad like me but for both semester. We dropped my stuff off and went for a magical walk through Paris talking about anything and everything. Paris is gorgeous at night. Alvaro took me by the Seine and through the courtyards of the Louvre. From the far side of the Louvre I could see le Tour Eiffel and Notre Dame! I had no idea how huge the Louvre is! It goes on for days! The clear pyramids that everyone is familiar with are really amazing, and there are fountains all over the main courtyard. The architecture is so epic. We walked past le Jardin des Tuileries as well. Along the Seine, there are many boat houses and as we walked along the path by the Seine, we peeked in certain boat homes and were astonished by the luxury of each home. They had big flat screen tvs, computers, and big kitchen tables just like any normal home. They looked like normal houses on the inside except for the lack of privacy. I mean we could see almost everything! So we spent most of the night walking along the river talking and looking at all of the splendid french architecture. We could see the Hotel des Invalides from the Seine and it was crazy huge! Finally we ended the night off with an up close and personal view of the the Tour Eiffel. It was unbelievable! I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. The lights and the splendor of it all was breathtaking. I was so happy in that moment. I had finally made it!!! Not to the Tour Eiffel but to Paris. It didn't seem officially real until then. So a few small yet interesting facts: 1) The Tour Eiffel stays illuminated all night, 2) a search light spins around the top of the Tour for most of the night, and 3) at each hour, the Tour Eiffel sparkles with white lights that flash all along the Tour (Alvaro says its very kitsch). So after taking many photos and gazing endlessly into the proverbial eyes of Paris, we went back to Alvaro's room. The dorm he's staying in is pretty cool. They don't have the best communal bathrooms and it use to be an abbey and later a nut house or an infirmary so it was kind of creepy, but they have a decent kitchen and the place is filled with students from all over. I was the only American in the whole building, and I met people from Moldavia , Algeria, Spain, England, Germany, Italy, etc. They were all very nice, and they all wanted to practice their English with me. It was like heaven to me because I love being surrounded by people from different cultures. You can learn so much from them! We went to bed pretty late Friday night. Alvaro gave me his bed and he slept in a friends room. He was so hospitable, it made my experience even better!
On Saturday, we woke up at 10 AM, showered, and had breakfast (tea and french biscuits with Emmenthal and Breton cookies). We both didn't sleep very well, but we decided to make the most of the day. We started off by heading to Montmare. For those of you who are Paris challenged, Montmare is the area where all the artists and bohemians work/live. For those who appreciate good French film, Montmare is the arrondissement where most of Amelie takes place. Our first stop was Le Sacre Cœur - a grand and very famous church on a hill. It was incredible! There were many stairs to climb but it was well worth it! The view from the top was...WOW! It was a great view of Paris and we could see almost everything. For Amelie fans, Sacre Cœur is the place where Amelie left all those arrows for Nino Quincampoix which led to the top where he watched her leave his photo album in his motorcycle. If you don't know what I'm talking about, as soon as you finish reading my blog go straight to the video store or straight to your netflix (netflix is the best) and rent Amelie. It is a must-see before you die! No, a must see before tomorrow!!!. Anyway we entered the church and looked at all the beautiful stained glass windows and saintly sculptures. We saw many French nuns in action! Alvaro, who has a crazy obsession with Whoppie Goldberg, said it reminded him of The Sister Act. Believe me when I say that the French nuns look nothing like Whoppie! After Le Sacre Cœur, we went to the square where all the artists work. It was amazing! There were many painters displaying there work on easels and working on new canvases. I had never seen painters in action before. It was really interesting. We walked all through the squares as artists offered to sketch my picture and others tried to sell me their landscapes. I wish I had the money to buy something. It was a really special experience. We saw street performers down the road singing great french music and trying to sell cds. As Alvaro continued our exploration of Montmare, we sang french songs as well- mainly by Edith Piaf. (In fact we sang everywhere we went the entire weekend!)We also saw the Lapin Agile, the bar/cafe where Picasso and other well known artists frequented. For the théâtre aficionados reading, you might recognize that this is the same Lapin Agile from Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile"- a great play that my readers should check out after they've watched Amelie. Speaking of which, Alvaro took me by the bar from the film! Unfortunately it was under construction at the time, but we peeked in anyway and it looks exactly like it does in the movie! Well, at least the parts that were still on the wall and the bar look the same. The rest of the place was vacant. Finally, we made it to the place I had been waiting to see for some time: The Moulin Rouge!! I'm in love with the film, so I was excited to see that it really exists even if it is nothing like the movie, but there really is a windmill on top! And the women actually do the can-can and get naked! I only read the information about the history of the place and viewed the pictures in the lobby. Tickets are around 127 euro or more. We walked along the main road and saw an assortment of seedy shops and theatres. I won't go into too many details about what I saw in case the young are reading, but if you really want to know ask and I will give you the deets because it was crazy! (5 clues: humongous video collection, toys not made for children, booths not made for telephones, "massages" and debauchery- ok so they are pretty big clues). Anyway Montmarte isn't what you'd call the chapel district if you catch my drift. So, after Montmarte, we headed to the Opera Garnier aka the opera house where The Phantom made his home. Yes, I saw box 5. Yes, I saw the Chandelier. Yes, I'm listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera non-stop now. The Opera Garnier is unbelievable! The beauty of all the decor was wonderful! How amazing would it be to perform in such a theatre! All of the seats and walls were red and all of the boxes were magnificent. There was a long hall filled with windows and mirrors on the second floor, and you could go out onto the balcony and see the district of the bourgeoise. I can't even begin to imagine how expensive it must be to live there. Anyway the opera house was beautiful, but I was surprised by how small the infamous chandelier was. I guess I was expecting something epic beyond belief, but when I first saw it I was like "That's it?" The one in the movie seemed enormous! Alvaro explained to me that it probably looked so small because the theatre was dark. They were in the middle of working on stage construction or rehearsing something. Our next stop was the Place Vendôme where Princess Diana breathed her last breath. It was so pristine and lavish! All of the buildings were very posh, and it looked like the perfect place to house a royal on holiday. There were many famous perfumeries and shops along the way. We went back to the dorm for a nap to catch up on the sleep we missed the night before and then headed out very quickly to see if we could get 10 euro tickets to see Le Roi Lion (The Lion King). Unfortunately they only do the cheap tickets on weekdays, so we checked out some more sights. First, we went to the Galerie Lafayette which I have to say is the most intense department store I've ever seen! The architecture was so extravagant and I didn't even bother to check out the prices for things. We just walked straight through and kept our poor college student eyes away from things we couldn't even afford to look at. We promenaded around Paris and I got excited at every Gap (my favorite clothing store) I saw. We saw La Madeleine (a big church) and headed towards the one... the only...Champs-Élysées!!!!!! It was so INTENSE! There had to be 8 different movie theaters, loads of stores, cafes, and off shoot mini malls! The street was illuminated with many glowing signs luring people in like weak little moths. I got so excited when I saw a Virgin Megastore- they got rid of the one in Chicago- so we went to check it out. There was a ridiculous amount of American cinema there. American cinema pretty much dominates France. After strolling down the entire 1.25 miles of the Champs-Élysées we headed back home for dinner. Alvaro made me a good meal and we talked with many of his friends. This guy from Manchester, England actually studied in Nantes last September. We are going to meet up at the end of April when he comes back to visit his host family! That night I watched Ladies in Lavander on Alvaro's computer and had a good night's rest.
On Sunday, we spent a wonderful, no, incomparable morning at the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was the most beautiful garden I've ever seen, not to mention the biggest. There was this awesome playground that rivals all others with the coolest things to play on! I totally wanted to join the hundreds of kids playing with there parents. Seriously every parent brought there kids out to play and spend time together in the park. It was totally adorable. Now I know why France has everything closed on the weekends. I saw something there that I don't often see in America: beautiful families devoting 100% of their time together, enjoying each others company and in no rush to go any where else. They were totally free and easy and happy. Happiness filled the air and I absorbed it like a starving woman. There was a grand fountain in front of the Palais du Luxembourg where children pushed big model boats around with long sticks with the help of their parents. It had to be the cutest thing ever. Alvaro and I spent around 30 minutes just watching the children play with the boats, with their parents, and with each other. It was innocence and pure bliss. Others were spread out on the grass and on benches reading or just spending time with each other. It was like something out of a Manet painting. It was magnificent day with the sun shining and the weather too perfect to be considered a part of March. We visited L'Eglise Saint-Severin and the Sorbonne before heading through the Latin Quarter which was quite the cultural experience. There were stores playing latin music, so Alvaro and I danced in the street! He took me to this really cool English book store called Shakespeare and Company. It was amazing, like one of those odd bookshops you read about in fiction that are awkwardly overflowing with books but it works perfectly. You can just sit in the book shop and read or do homework or play the piano! The owners sleep in the shop, and you can chill on there beds during the day, and there's a little reading desk hidden on the second floor which could almost be called a crawl space if it were a bit smaller. Just imagine books stacked everywhere in organized chaos! Surprisingly it wasn't very difficult to find specific books. I never wanted to leave, but of course I had to. Next we went to Notre Dame- which is quite the church, let me tell ya. We arrived just as the bells tolled 2:00- Thanks Quasimodo! Notre Dame is immense and covered with gargoyles just like in the Disney movie. The inside is monstrously huge and full of tourists (there is also a gift shop-eck!) The stained glass was beautiful and the architecture was very impressive for having been made ages ago- construction began in 1163 AD. I spent a lot of time walking around and regarding this massive piece of French history. After leaving Notre Dame, we walked through a flower market filled with many different colors and different kinds of plants. The air smelled sinfully good, I almost wanted to taste the flowers. There were also many colorful birds and bunnies for sale. They were so cute! We grabbed a galette for lunch and checked out L'eglise de St. Eustache and the Bourse du Commerce. Alvaro went back to the dorm to study for an exam (he doesn't have class either because of the greve, so he has to learn everything on his own) while I headed to Pere Lachaise Cemetery- from Paris, Je t'aime for French film lovers ( the scene with Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer) . It was the most immense and elaborate cemetery I've ever seen- but then again I haven't seen too many thankfully. The graves weren't of your garden variety tombstones. They had hardcore statues and columns and sculptures and small rooms or towers. All of the graves were practically on top of each other. The dead were crowding in, but so were the living. There were many tourists promenading down the many cobblestone paths and resting on tombs or benches or in the grass in the few free spaces that could be found. You're probably wondering why I would visit this cemetery. Well, there are many, many famous people buried there whose graves I wanted to see. For example: Moliere, Jim Morrison, Balzac, Proust, Chopin, Gericault, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt, Salvador to name a few. It was amazing! Its hard for me to put into words how I felt and what exactly I saw, but it was incredible. The sun shined, the crows cawed, and I explored the graves of the known and the unknown. The cemetery is over flowing with more than a million bodies buried there, and the government digs up any grave unvisited in 10 years and moves the remains to another cemetery- how sad is that! Its quite the contest to get your body laid to rest there, and the dead have to compete for importance in order to keep there place. Some of the tombstones I saw were covered in moss and totally illegible. Its sad to think that those few will be replaced because they aren't "important" enough. I gave a few of the neglected graves a good long look in the hopes that maybe they could remain another good 10 years where they belong. So there are 44 hectares in this cemetery, and I didn't have the chance to see everything- but its a good excuse to return. If anything, it really is peaceful not to mention a good place to write. After nearly being chased out of the cemetery at closing time (I sneaked around to see a few important graves before I left- who knew monstrous tombstones would make excellent hiding places), I scrambled over to the Centre George Pompidou which is a modern art museum that offers a great view of the city. You have to pay to get in, so I just looked around the free areas and watched a bit of a comedic show happening in the square by the entrance. Finally, I checked out the Hotel de Ville which is basically a huge, extravagant building. Then I returned to the dorm- navigating the metro all by my self- and Alvaro and I wrote postcards to our other 3 free friends in Spain about our weekend. It was so sweet and I love Alvaro for thinking of it. Afterward, we said our sad farewells at the train station and promised to see each other soon. My parting was like something out of a black and white Hollywood film (Casablanca comes to mind). It all happened so quickly in yet I saw so much. I can't believe how much I walked. If you look on a map and see all of the ground I covered based on all the sites I visited you wouldn't believe it! I had a blast, and I'm truly lucky. I got to catch up with a friend I haven't seen in years, I got to explore a beautiful city that I've always dreamed of visiting, and I also fell in love... with Paris. There's nothing in the world that can match it, I'm sure of it it. Paris, Je t'aime. Nous serons ensemble très bientôt.
Bisous(kisses) my readers and Happy Saint Patrick's day!
Update:
March 10th I met my host family's grand parents on my host mom's side. They were so cute and really nice. We all at shrimp and had a good chat. The boys all shared their stories about pranks students have pulled on teachers at school, and my faux mom talked about how she didn't like one of the teachers because of a bad encounter. It was pretty funny hearing them joke around about stuff like that. The shrimps we ate were massive and they had their whole bodies intact. It was intense, but luckily I like shrimp. Thibaud likes to eat their brains- Yuck!!!!!!
Friday the 13th was the most beautiful day Nantes that we've had so far. The sun was shining, the flowers were beginning to make an appearance, all of the fountains were turned on, and people were laying in the grass in the parks like it was summer. The water was gorgeous- did I mention that there is a river that runs alongside the tram line. I wanted to stay outside forever- but of course I had a date with Paris. I was worried because my friend Alvaro, whom I was meeting in Paris, had failed to give me his mobile phone number and I had no idea how he was going to find me at the train station. Madame Rouchet, the director of my program, gave me some hostel information in case we couldn't find each other. The train ride was pretty smooth, the only glitch was that I forgot to stick my ticket in the ticket thingy that stamps it before you leave, but luckily I ran out of the train and found a conductor to help me out. When I arrived in Paris, I took 3 steps out of the train and saw a blur of my Spanish friend running towards we calling my name. He gave me the biggest hug ever and kept on regarding my face with incredulity, "Oh my, you are a woman now!" he said. Let me explain: I met Alvaro at my high school in the first few weeks of my senior year when he and 3 other students from Barcelona made an exchange and took classes at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School (Go Braves!). I became close friends with them very quickly and we've kept in touch ever since. It's been nearly 4 years since we last met, but nothing about our relationship has changed. We hugged each other for a long time and starred at each other as if one of us could disappear at any moment. He told me he hadn't practiced his English very much since his last visit to the states and he apologized profusely in advanced for his terrible English. He took my bags, and as we walked to the metro he kept grabbing my hand and saying, "I just want to make sure that you're really here." We had so much to catch up on! He took me to the dormitory where he is living this year- he is studying abroad like me but for both semester. We dropped my stuff off and went for a magical walk through Paris talking about anything and everything. Paris is gorgeous at night. Alvaro took me by the Seine and through the courtyards of the Louvre. From the far side of the Louvre I could see le Tour Eiffel and Notre Dame! I had no idea how huge the Louvre is! It goes on for days! The clear pyramids that everyone is familiar with are really amazing, and there are fountains all over the main courtyard. The architecture is so epic. We walked past le Jardin des Tuileries as well. Along the Seine, there are many boat houses and as we walked along the path by the Seine, we peeked in certain boat homes and were astonished by the luxury of each home. They had big flat screen tvs, computers, and big kitchen tables just like any normal home. They looked like normal houses on the inside except for the lack of privacy. I mean we could see almost everything! So we spent most of the night walking along the river talking and looking at all of the splendid french architecture. We could see the Hotel des Invalides from the Seine and it was crazy huge! Finally we ended the night off with an up close and personal view of the the Tour Eiffel. It was unbelievable! I had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. The lights and the splendor of it all was breathtaking. I was so happy in that moment. I had finally made it!!! Not to the Tour Eiffel but to Paris. It didn't seem officially real until then. So a few small yet interesting facts: 1) The Tour Eiffel stays illuminated all night, 2) a search light spins around the top of the Tour for most of the night, and 3) at each hour, the Tour Eiffel sparkles with white lights that flash all along the Tour (Alvaro says its very kitsch). So after taking many photos and gazing endlessly into the proverbial eyes of Paris, we went back to Alvaro's room. The dorm he's staying in is pretty cool. They don't have the best communal bathrooms and it use to be an abbey and later a nut house or an infirmary so it was kind of creepy, but they have a decent kitchen and the place is filled with students from all over. I was the only American in the whole building, and I met people from Moldavia , Algeria, Spain, England, Germany, Italy, etc. They were all very nice, and they all wanted to practice their English with me. It was like heaven to me because I love being surrounded by people from different cultures. You can learn so much from them! We went to bed pretty late Friday night. Alvaro gave me his bed and he slept in a friends room. He was so hospitable, it made my experience even better!
On Saturday, we woke up at 10 AM, showered, and had breakfast (tea and french biscuits with Emmenthal and Breton cookies). We both didn't sleep very well, but we decided to make the most of the day. We started off by heading to Montmare. For those of you who are Paris challenged, Montmare is the area where all the artists and bohemians work/live. For those who appreciate good French film, Montmare is the arrondissement where most of Amelie takes place. Our first stop was Le Sacre Cœur - a grand and very famous church on a hill. It was incredible! There were many stairs to climb but it was well worth it! The view from the top was...WOW! It was a great view of Paris and we could see almost everything. For Amelie fans, Sacre Cœur is the place where Amelie left all those arrows for Nino Quincampoix which led to the top where he watched her leave his photo album in his motorcycle. If you don't know what I'm talking about, as soon as you finish reading my blog go straight to the video store or straight to your netflix (netflix is the best) and rent Amelie. It is a must-see before you die! No, a must see before tomorrow!!!. Anyway we entered the church and looked at all the beautiful stained glass windows and saintly sculptures. We saw many French nuns in action! Alvaro, who has a crazy obsession with Whoppie Goldberg, said it reminded him of The Sister Act. Believe me when I say that the French nuns look nothing like Whoppie! After Le Sacre Cœur, we went to the square where all the artists work. It was amazing! There were many painters displaying there work on easels and working on new canvases. I had never seen painters in action before. It was really interesting. We walked all through the squares as artists offered to sketch my picture and others tried to sell me their landscapes. I wish I had the money to buy something. It was a really special experience. We saw street performers down the road singing great french music and trying to sell cds. As Alvaro continued our exploration of Montmare, we sang french songs as well- mainly by Edith Piaf. (In fact we sang everywhere we went the entire weekend!)We also saw the Lapin Agile, the bar/cafe where Picasso and other well known artists frequented. For the théâtre aficionados reading, you might recognize that this is the same Lapin Agile from Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile"- a great play that my readers should check out after they've watched Amelie. Speaking of which, Alvaro took me by the bar from the film! Unfortunately it was under construction at the time, but we peeked in anyway and it looks exactly like it does in the movie! Well, at least the parts that were still on the wall and the bar look the same. The rest of the place was vacant. Finally, we made it to the place I had been waiting to see for some time: The Moulin Rouge!! I'm in love with the film, so I was excited to see that it really exists even if it is nothing like the movie, but there really is a windmill on top! And the women actually do the can-can and get naked! I only read the information about the history of the place and viewed the pictures in the lobby. Tickets are around 127 euro or more. We walked along the main road and saw an assortment of seedy shops and theatres. I won't go into too many details about what I saw in case the young are reading, but if you really want to know ask and I will give you the deets because it was crazy! (5 clues: humongous video collection, toys not made for children, booths not made for telephones, "massages" and debauchery- ok so they are pretty big clues). Anyway Montmarte isn't what you'd call the chapel district if you catch my drift. So, after Montmarte, we headed to the Opera Garnier aka the opera house where The Phantom made his home. Yes, I saw box 5. Yes, I saw the Chandelier. Yes, I'm listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera non-stop now. The Opera Garnier is unbelievable! The beauty of all the decor was wonderful! How amazing would it be to perform in such a theatre! All of the seats and walls were red and all of the boxes were magnificent. There was a long hall filled with windows and mirrors on the second floor, and you could go out onto the balcony and see the district of the bourgeoise. I can't even begin to imagine how expensive it must be to live there. Anyway the opera house was beautiful, but I was surprised by how small the infamous chandelier was. I guess I was expecting something epic beyond belief, but when I first saw it I was like "That's it?" The one in the movie seemed enormous! Alvaro explained to me that it probably looked so small because the theatre was dark. They were in the middle of working on stage construction or rehearsing something. Our next stop was the Place Vendôme where Princess Diana breathed her last breath. It was so pristine and lavish! All of the buildings were very posh, and it looked like the perfect place to house a royal on holiday. There were many famous perfumeries and shops along the way. We went back to the dorm for a nap to catch up on the sleep we missed the night before and then headed out very quickly to see if we could get 10 euro tickets to see Le Roi Lion (The Lion King). Unfortunately they only do the cheap tickets on weekdays, so we checked out some more sights. First, we went to the Galerie Lafayette which I have to say is the most intense department store I've ever seen! The architecture was so extravagant and I didn't even bother to check out the prices for things. We just walked straight through and kept our poor college student eyes away from things we couldn't even afford to look at. We promenaded around Paris and I got excited at every Gap (my favorite clothing store) I saw. We saw La Madeleine (a big church) and headed towards the one... the only...Champs-Élysées!!!!!! It was so INTENSE! There had to be 8 different movie theaters, loads of stores, cafes, and off shoot mini malls! The street was illuminated with many glowing signs luring people in like weak little moths. I got so excited when I saw a Virgin Megastore- they got rid of the one in Chicago- so we went to check it out. There was a ridiculous amount of American cinema there. American cinema pretty much dominates France. After strolling down the entire 1.25 miles of the Champs-Élysées we headed back home for dinner. Alvaro made me a good meal and we talked with many of his friends. This guy from Manchester, England actually studied in Nantes last September. We are going to meet up at the end of April when he comes back to visit his host family! That night I watched Ladies in Lavander on Alvaro's computer and had a good night's rest.
On Sunday, we spent a wonderful, no, incomparable morning at the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was the most beautiful garden I've ever seen, not to mention the biggest. There was this awesome playground that rivals all others with the coolest things to play on! I totally wanted to join the hundreds of kids playing with there parents. Seriously every parent brought there kids out to play and spend time together in the park. It was totally adorable. Now I know why France has everything closed on the weekends. I saw something there that I don't often see in America: beautiful families devoting 100% of their time together, enjoying each others company and in no rush to go any where else. They were totally free and easy and happy. Happiness filled the air and I absorbed it like a starving woman. There was a grand fountain in front of the Palais du Luxembourg where children pushed big model boats around with long sticks with the help of their parents. It had to be the cutest thing ever. Alvaro and I spent around 30 minutes just watching the children play with the boats, with their parents, and with each other. It was innocence and pure bliss. Others were spread out on the grass and on benches reading or just spending time with each other. It was like something out of a Manet painting. It was magnificent day with the sun shining and the weather too perfect to be considered a part of March. We visited L'Eglise Saint-Severin and the Sorbonne before heading through the Latin Quarter which was quite the cultural experience. There were stores playing latin music, so Alvaro and I danced in the street! He took me to this really cool English book store called Shakespeare and Company. It was amazing, like one of those odd bookshops you read about in fiction that are awkwardly overflowing with books but it works perfectly. You can just sit in the book shop and read or do homework or play the piano! The owners sleep in the shop, and you can chill on there beds during the day, and there's a little reading desk hidden on the second floor which could almost be called a crawl space if it were a bit smaller. Just imagine books stacked everywhere in organized chaos! Surprisingly it wasn't very difficult to find specific books. I never wanted to leave, but of course I had to. Next we went to Notre Dame- which is quite the church, let me tell ya. We arrived just as the bells tolled 2:00- Thanks Quasimodo! Notre Dame is immense and covered with gargoyles just like in the Disney movie. The inside is monstrously huge and full of tourists (there is also a gift shop-eck!) The stained glass was beautiful and the architecture was very impressive for having been made ages ago- construction began in 1163 AD. I spent a lot of time walking around and regarding this massive piece of French history. After leaving Notre Dame, we walked through a flower market filled with many different colors and different kinds of plants. The air smelled sinfully good, I almost wanted to taste the flowers. There were also many colorful birds and bunnies for sale. They were so cute! We grabbed a galette for lunch and checked out L'eglise de St. Eustache and the Bourse du Commerce. Alvaro went back to the dorm to study for an exam (he doesn't have class either because of the greve, so he has to learn everything on his own) while I headed to Pere Lachaise Cemetery- from Paris, Je t'aime for French film lovers ( the scene with Rufus Sewell and Emily Mortimer) . It was the most immense and elaborate cemetery I've ever seen- but then again I haven't seen too many thankfully. The graves weren't of your garden variety tombstones. They had hardcore statues and columns and sculptures and small rooms or towers. All of the graves were practically on top of each other. The dead were crowding in, but so were the living. There were many tourists promenading down the many cobblestone paths and resting on tombs or benches or in the grass in the few free spaces that could be found. You're probably wondering why I would visit this cemetery. Well, there are many, many famous people buried there whose graves I wanted to see. For example: Moliere, Jim Morrison, Balzac, Proust, Chopin, Gericault, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt, Salvador to name a few. It was amazing! Its hard for me to put into words how I felt and what exactly I saw, but it was incredible. The sun shined, the crows cawed, and I explored the graves of the known and the unknown. The cemetery is over flowing with more than a million bodies buried there, and the government digs up any grave unvisited in 10 years and moves the remains to another cemetery- how sad is that! Its quite the contest to get your body laid to rest there, and the dead have to compete for importance in order to keep there place. Some of the tombstones I saw were covered in moss and totally illegible. Its sad to think that those few will be replaced because they aren't "important" enough. I gave a few of the neglected graves a good long look in the hopes that maybe they could remain another good 10 years where they belong. So there are 44 hectares in this cemetery, and I didn't have the chance to see everything- but its a good excuse to return. If anything, it really is peaceful not to mention a good place to write. After nearly being chased out of the cemetery at closing time (I sneaked around to see a few important graves before I left- who knew monstrous tombstones would make excellent hiding places), I scrambled over to the Centre George Pompidou which is a modern art museum that offers a great view of the city. You have to pay to get in, so I just looked around the free areas and watched a bit of a comedic show happening in the square by the entrance. Finally, I checked out the Hotel de Ville which is basically a huge, extravagant building. Then I returned to the dorm- navigating the metro all by my self- and Alvaro and I wrote postcards to our other 3 free friends in Spain about our weekend. It was so sweet and I love Alvaro for thinking of it. Afterward, we said our sad farewells at the train station and promised to see each other soon. My parting was like something out of a black and white Hollywood film (Casablanca comes to mind). It all happened so quickly in yet I saw so much. I can't believe how much I walked. If you look on a map and see all of the ground I covered based on all the sites I visited you wouldn't believe it! I had a blast, and I'm truly lucky. I got to catch up with a friend I haven't seen in years, I got to explore a beautiful city that I've always dreamed of visiting, and I also fell in love... with Paris. There's nothing in the world that can match it, I'm sure of it it. Paris, Je t'aime. Nous serons ensemble très bientôt.
Bisous(kisses) my readers and Happy Saint Patrick's day!
Update:
March 10th I met my host family's grand parents on my host mom's side. They were so cute and really nice. We all at shrimp and had a good chat. The boys all shared their stories about pranks students have pulled on teachers at school, and my faux mom talked about how she didn't like one of the teachers because of a bad encounter. It was pretty funny hearing them joke around about stuff like that. The shrimps we ate were massive and they had their whole bodies intact. It was intense, but luckily I like shrimp. Thibaud likes to eat their brains- Yuck!!!!!!
Monday, March 9, 2009
More Major Differences I've discovered!
More delightful differences noticed between the states and France brought to you by me!
1. The French can bring their dogs anywhere! Restaurants, stores, etc
2. It is expensive to recycle so most people don't do it.
3. Parents get money from the government for each child that they have, even more money if they have 4 or more. Apparently, they had a population problem for a while so now you're paid to have kids here!
4. Everyone drives stick here! Everyone!
5. They pay a lot of attention to American news and politics. Obama is always in the newspapers in France whereas you don't often hear about Sarkozy in the States.
6. They don't have sleep overs here. They think it is bizarre that Americans stay over night and sometimes in the same bed as their friends.
7. They listen to records more than cds because records are way cheaper. My host brother received record albums of The Police, ACDC and Indochine for his birthday.
8. Plain Yogurt (with sugar) or any other kind of yogurt is for dessert, not breakfast.
9. Universities sell alcohol at their cafes and such because the drinking age for beer is 16.
10. High schools don't have swimming pools or swim teams nor are there places like the YMCA.
11. Most of the films people watch and the music people listen to are American or at least in English wheras in the states you'll be hard pressed to find a french film in cinemas or a french song on the radio. The funny thing is though that French kids rarely know what the lyrics in english mean. One of my students in my teaching internship asked me what rape meant, and when I told him he freaked out about the fact that he sings "Rape Me" by Kurt Cobain all the time everywhere! It was pretty funny.
12. Butter, milk, jam, and cheese stay in a cubboard rather than in the fridge.
13. PDA is so popular here! People make out wherever, whenever: on the bus, in the street, right outside their front door, in the park, in the grocery store, on the tram...
14. France is not as strict about having a green card to live here. I mean they have their problems with immigrants just like Americans do, but if I wanted to chill here for a few years or an indefinite peroid of time it'd be no big deal.
15. Everyone and their mother smokes! Not even kidding! Kids start smoking before they hit puberty! Outside the school I walk out, the sidewalk is littered with cigarette butts, and the kids go out to smoke at every 5 minute break they have. Its insane! Luckily most of the host families of IES do not smoke but they are the minority. I have a few French friends who are 16 and 17 who are smokers and it shocks me every time they smoke up especially with their parents!!
Well I hope this has been an educational post for you all. Let me know if you have any questions about things I have or have yet to mention!
1. The French can bring their dogs anywhere! Restaurants, stores, etc
2. It is expensive to recycle so most people don't do it.
3. Parents get money from the government for each child that they have, even more money if they have 4 or more. Apparently, they had a population problem for a while so now you're paid to have kids here!
4. Everyone drives stick here! Everyone!
5. They pay a lot of attention to American news and politics. Obama is always in the newspapers in France whereas you don't often hear about Sarkozy in the States.
6. They don't have sleep overs here. They think it is bizarre that Americans stay over night and sometimes in the same bed as their friends.
7. They listen to records more than cds because records are way cheaper. My host brother received record albums of The Police, ACDC and Indochine for his birthday.
8. Plain Yogurt (with sugar) or any other kind of yogurt is for dessert, not breakfast.
9. Universities sell alcohol at their cafes and such because the drinking age for beer is 16.
10. High schools don't have swimming pools or swim teams nor are there places like the YMCA.
11. Most of the films people watch and the music people listen to are American or at least in English wheras in the states you'll be hard pressed to find a french film in cinemas or a french song on the radio. The funny thing is though that French kids rarely know what the lyrics in english mean. One of my students in my teaching internship asked me what rape meant, and when I told him he freaked out about the fact that he sings "Rape Me" by Kurt Cobain all the time everywhere! It was pretty funny.
12. Butter, milk, jam, and cheese stay in a cubboard rather than in the fridge.
13. PDA is so popular here! People make out wherever, whenever: on the bus, in the street, right outside their front door, in the park, in the grocery store, on the tram...
14. France is not as strict about having a green card to live here. I mean they have their problems with immigrants just like Americans do, but if I wanted to chill here for a few years or an indefinite peroid of time it'd be no big deal.
15. Everyone and their mother smokes! Not even kidding! Kids start smoking before they hit puberty! Outside the school I walk out, the sidewalk is littered with cigarette butts, and the kids go out to smoke at every 5 minute break they have. Its insane! Luckily most of the host families of IES do not smoke but they are the minority. I have a few French friends who are 16 and 17 who are smokers and it shocks me every time they smoke up especially with their parents!!
Well I hope this has been an educational post for you all. Let me know if you have any questions about things I have or have yet to mention!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Have you ever driven a feesh!
So this week wasn't the most eventful, but it was fun nonetheless. On Monday, my friend Kelsey and I made dinner for my host family. The menu included: Meatless Chili, Cornbread, Hay Stacks, and Snickerdoodle cookies with ice cream. I couldn't find cream of tartar or shortening anywhere so we used substitutes that we learned about online. The cornbread was an epic fail- initially- and we decided to spare my family the shock. The rest of the food was great! The snickerdoodles didn't look the way they do at home because we used way to much butter to replace the shortening, but my family loved them! My host mom especially ate all the cookies she could get her hands on :) The meal was a success, everyone was happy and full, and my mom said it was so nice to come home and eat dinner without having to cook. Maybe I'll give it a try again sometime soon.
Tuesday I did my teaching internship and I got a new group of younger boys who were all 16. They were adorable! We did fill in the blanks to the lyrics with the song Don't Speak by No Doubt, and they loved it. Our second time listening to it, they were all singing along! It was great. We also played charades in English which was hilarious!!! My second group was the older boys that I've had for 2 weeks now. We did the same thing plus one other song: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. They all were already very familiar with the song but it was funny hearing them sing the words they hadn't known before! Being an English teacher in France is so fun!! At conversation club, we played Catchphrase which made me ultra happy!
Wednesday for my teaching internship class, we went to a school to observe some classes. I choose music and French class. The music class was ridiculous! The kids were playing the recorder and they had a "test" that day on their ability to play. The teacher had small groups play one at a time, so I heard the same song 50 times in 1 hour! It was painful, but watching the kids battle with their recorders as swords was pretty entertaining. Children really have no respect for their teachers in France. They talk the entire class and ignore her and she doesn't really try to demand respect either. In the French class, they were watching a movie called the Beauty of the Devil which is basically Faust. It was pretty interesting. The school was intensely huge and spread out. We had to go outside to get to certain class rooms.
Thursday is when all the real fun happened. A few girls and I went to the Tonus which is a student hosted dance party at a dance club that happens every Thursday night at 11 PM. This Thursday it was at this club called CooKoo. Each week has a different theme, and this week it was masquerade. Tickets in advance cost 9 euro which includes free coat and purse check and 2 drinks. The venue had two floors with a balcony on the top overlooking the first floor, and their were pillars you could dance on and comfy couches tucked away in corners and along the walls. The bouncer gave us each a mask, but they were cheapish so we didn't use them. Other people brought their own though. The music was techno for about 2 hours and I thought I was gonna die! We kept on screaming "Britany Spears!" The club got ultra crowded and the 6 of us were packed in tight while dancing. We stayed close because many guys kept on trying to pull us away from each other to dance with them but we weren't interested. One time while walking to the balcony, we were all holding hands an pulling each other along when this guy just put his arm around me and pulled me away from the girls. He didn't even say anything, he just held me and kept talking to his friends. It was bizarre, but my friend Megan saved me! That happened a few times throughout the course of the evening but I was not deterred. Finally, at 1:30 AM, the normal dance music came on. All the music they played was in English which surprised me! They played songs by Lady Gaga, Danity Kane, Britany Spears, the Spice Girls.... and then their were random songs like Summer Nights from Grease and a techno version of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie theme song. I had a blast! I really needed to go out and dance! Even though I had a 45 minute walk home and I didn't get back til 4:30 AM, it was worth it!
Friday I had to wake up early after 4 hours of sleep to go to grammar class, but I survived and we didn't really do much in class. I had done my homework way in advance because I knew I was going to go to the Tonus. My university class was once again canceled for the 5th week in a row so I went to the Machines De L'ile with a group from IES. It was incredible!! There is this humongous mechanical walking elephant that you can ride around the island and a gallery with many other mechanical animals. We only had tickets to the gallery, but it was so cool. There was a crab, a squid, one of those blind fish with the big light hanging in front of it (think the scary fish in Finding Nemo), a shrimp, a sting ray, and many more! It was incredible!! The tour guide choose people of different ages to ride each different animal. Multiple people on each animal have a speccific device they move whether its bike pedals with their feet or knobs or pulleys which make the animals blink, turn, rock, blow steam or water etc. The title of this blog is a direct quote from the tour guide who asked one of the girls form IES "Have you ever driven a fish" before commencing with the ride. But when he said "fish", it sounded like "feesh" which made it even funnier! There was also a boat with a simulated storm. Me and this guy Justin from IES got chosen to ride the boat and it was hilarious! We wore yellow sailing slickers and I had to control the utter as we tipped and rocked and water splashed on me and the wind blew! It felt real! Apparently there is this big plan to turn the island into this huge metal/plant tree with "branches" people can stand on to see all of Nantes "Herons" that people can ride. All of the mechanical animals we saw are going to be put in this 3 leved carousel that people can ride. Its going to be amazing! It won't be complete until 2011. I definitely want to come back to see it! We watched a video showing us how the animals were made and how the tree is being made, and then we got to walk on the branches that have already been complete. It is going to be awesome when its done! Next time I want to ride the elephant!
Saturday I saw the worst French film I've ever seen! Its called Le Premier Cercle and we thought it would be good because it has Gaspar Ulliel in it, but no! Mathilde, the French girl who organizes conversation club, told me he has never been the same since he came to the states to play Hannibal in Hannibal Rising. It was a horrible action flick with annoying music and a predictable plot. On our way back from the movies, this European man on the Tram -he's an immigrant from I dunno where- he called Megan and I FBI. We were like "No we are just students." Then he explained that in France FBI means fabulous, beautiful and intelligent! It was hilarious. We spilled out of the tram cracking up with Mathilde! That night, though, was very important because..... I HAD MY VERY FIRST HAMBURGER!!!! IN FRANCE!!!! Isn't that ironic? My friends were so shocked by the fact that I'd never had one, that they insisted on going to The Burger House- which is actually run by a guy from Seattle- and making me try one. I had a Bacon Cheese Burger which was actually pretty good! I dunno if I'll become a frequent hamburger eater, but at least I've covered the "milestone" haha. We shall see what waits in store for the future!!
Update:
I forgot to mention this but I wanted to add it so that at least I would remember it. So the day we went to the Machines De L'île, we all walked there from IES and saw a tram stopped on the tracks. As we walked closer and closer, to our horror, we saw a cluster of people surrounded by a man on the tracks in front of the tram. Apparently he had been hit!! We were so freaked out. It was such a nice day and we were all so excited about seeing the elephant, and then we see a potentially dead or soon to be dead man on the tracks! Not only was it a buzz kill, but it was pretty traumatic. That was one thing I didn't expect to see. Anyway, its not the best of news, but I wanted to include that in my blog because its important.
Tuesday I did my teaching internship and I got a new group of younger boys who were all 16. They were adorable! We did fill in the blanks to the lyrics with the song Don't Speak by No Doubt, and they loved it. Our second time listening to it, they were all singing along! It was great. We also played charades in English which was hilarious!!! My second group was the older boys that I've had for 2 weeks now. We did the same thing plus one other song: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. They all were already very familiar with the song but it was funny hearing them sing the words they hadn't known before! Being an English teacher in France is so fun!! At conversation club, we played Catchphrase which made me ultra happy!
Wednesday for my teaching internship class, we went to a school to observe some classes. I choose music and French class. The music class was ridiculous! The kids were playing the recorder and they had a "test" that day on their ability to play. The teacher had small groups play one at a time, so I heard the same song 50 times in 1 hour! It was painful, but watching the kids battle with their recorders as swords was pretty entertaining. Children really have no respect for their teachers in France. They talk the entire class and ignore her and she doesn't really try to demand respect either. In the French class, they were watching a movie called the Beauty of the Devil which is basically Faust. It was pretty interesting. The school was intensely huge and spread out. We had to go outside to get to certain class rooms.
Thursday is when all the real fun happened. A few girls and I went to the Tonus which is a student hosted dance party at a dance club that happens every Thursday night at 11 PM. This Thursday it was at this club called CooKoo. Each week has a different theme, and this week it was masquerade. Tickets in advance cost 9 euro which includes free coat and purse check and 2 drinks. The venue had two floors with a balcony on the top overlooking the first floor, and their were pillars you could dance on and comfy couches tucked away in corners and along the walls. The bouncer gave us each a mask, but they were cheapish so we didn't use them. Other people brought their own though. The music was techno for about 2 hours and I thought I was gonna die! We kept on screaming "Britany Spears!" The club got ultra crowded and the 6 of us were packed in tight while dancing. We stayed close because many guys kept on trying to pull us away from each other to dance with them but we weren't interested. One time while walking to the balcony, we were all holding hands an pulling each other along when this guy just put his arm around me and pulled me away from the girls. He didn't even say anything, he just held me and kept talking to his friends. It was bizarre, but my friend Megan saved me! That happened a few times throughout the course of the evening but I was not deterred. Finally, at 1:30 AM, the normal dance music came on. All the music they played was in English which surprised me! They played songs by Lady Gaga, Danity Kane, Britany Spears, the Spice Girls.... and then their were random songs like Summer Nights from Grease and a techno version of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie theme song. I had a blast! I really needed to go out and dance! Even though I had a 45 minute walk home and I didn't get back til 4:30 AM, it was worth it!
Friday I had to wake up early after 4 hours of sleep to go to grammar class, but I survived and we didn't really do much in class. I had done my homework way in advance because I knew I was going to go to the Tonus. My university class was once again canceled for the 5th week in a row so I went to the Machines De L'ile with a group from IES. It was incredible!! There is this humongous mechanical walking elephant that you can ride around the island and a gallery with many other mechanical animals. We only had tickets to the gallery, but it was so cool. There was a crab, a squid, one of those blind fish with the big light hanging in front of it (think the scary fish in Finding Nemo), a shrimp, a sting ray, and many more! It was incredible!! The tour guide choose people of different ages to ride each different animal. Multiple people on each animal have a speccific device they move whether its bike pedals with their feet or knobs or pulleys which make the animals blink, turn, rock, blow steam or water etc. The title of this blog is a direct quote from the tour guide who asked one of the girls form IES "Have you ever driven a fish" before commencing with the ride. But when he said "fish", it sounded like "feesh" which made it even funnier! There was also a boat with a simulated storm. Me and this guy Justin from IES got chosen to ride the boat and it was hilarious! We wore yellow sailing slickers and I had to control the utter as we tipped and rocked and water splashed on me and the wind blew! It felt real! Apparently there is this big plan to turn the island into this huge metal/plant tree with "branches" people can stand on to see all of Nantes "Herons" that people can ride. All of the mechanical animals we saw are going to be put in this 3 leved carousel that people can ride. Its going to be amazing! It won't be complete until 2011. I definitely want to come back to see it! We watched a video showing us how the animals were made and how the tree is being made, and then we got to walk on the branches that have already been complete. It is going to be awesome when its done! Next time I want to ride the elephant!
Saturday I saw the worst French film I've ever seen! Its called Le Premier Cercle and we thought it would be good because it has Gaspar Ulliel in it, but no! Mathilde, the French girl who organizes conversation club, told me he has never been the same since he came to the states to play Hannibal in Hannibal Rising. It was a horrible action flick with annoying music and a predictable plot. On our way back from the movies, this European man on the Tram -he's an immigrant from I dunno where- he called Megan and I FBI. We were like "No we are just students." Then he explained that in France FBI means fabulous, beautiful and intelligent! It was hilarious. We spilled out of the tram cracking up with Mathilde! That night, though, was very important because..... I HAD MY VERY FIRST HAMBURGER!!!! IN FRANCE!!!! Isn't that ironic? My friends were so shocked by the fact that I'd never had one, that they insisted on going to The Burger House- which is actually run by a guy from Seattle- and making me try one. I had a Bacon Cheese Burger which was actually pretty good! I dunno if I'll become a frequent hamburger eater, but at least I've covered the "milestone" haha. We shall see what waits in store for the future!!
Update:
I forgot to mention this but I wanted to add it so that at least I would remember it. So the day we went to the Machines De L'île, we all walked there from IES and saw a tram stopped on the tracks. As we walked closer and closer, to our horror, we saw a cluster of people surrounded by a man on the tracks in front of the tram. Apparently he had been hit!! We were so freaked out. It was such a nice day and we were all so excited about seeing the elephant, and then we see a potentially dead or soon to be dead man on the tracks! Not only was it a buzz kill, but it was pretty traumatic. That was one thing I didn't expect to see. Anyway, its not the best of news, but I wanted to include that in my blog because its important.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Falling Back in Love With Nantes
This week was pretty incredible. Although I was starting to get slightly bored with Nantes(being a small city and all), it went way up in cool points over these past few days. So Monday was pretty chill, nothing major happened. Tuesday I had mon stage pédagogique aka my teaching internship. It was pretty fun; I did tongue twisters with the boys and I had them look at some Fox Trot comics (my favorite comics in the world!!!!) They were great and it was funny to see them try to do the tongue twisters faster when they could barely say them slowly. A few of them even had me try some French onese- not easy at all! That night is when all the action happened. I was invited to go to the movie premier for the new french film La Premier Étoile by Deedee and Justine- the two French people I have become well aquainted with- because their cousin directed and starred in the movie. It was so awesome! When I arrived at the cinema with my friend Kelsey M. we were introduced to a bunch of French people (adults mainly) and they were all fascinated by our American-ness. They all pretty much interrogated us about our lives and told us about their experiences in the states. Before the movie started, the director came to the front of the "stage" by the movie screen and gave an introduction. He is a pretty clever and funny guy. Anyway the film was hilarious! I had never seen a black comedy before in French- by black comedy I mean about black people and black sterotypes. The whole time I was thinking how much my mom would love this movie if she a) spoke french or b)had english subtitles. It was a family comedy about this out of work black man with a small gambling problem who goes agains his white wife's wishes and promises his three kids that he will take them on a ski trip. The wife is pissed because they don't have the money for it, and all of the friends of the kids and the dad laugh at him because black people don't go skiing. The joke was: the snow is white therefore only white people do it." The father manges to scrounge up the money and the supplies for the trip and tricks his crazy uber religious mom into going with them so maybe she'll pay for some of it and take care of the kids because the wife refuses to go and divorce is imminent(or is it?) The real fun starts when they hit the slopes and a lot of the people in the mountains are racist- but in a funny way if that's possible. Its a really good movie though! At the end, the director took questions and talked about his efforts to make the film happen. It took him 4 years to get his movie in to cinemas! Apparently the film was pretty autobiographical. When everyone went outside of the movie theater (to smoke of course), I got to talk to him one on one. He told me about his journey to becoming a director and what I need to do to make it. He never went to film school, he was an actor originally and he's been in tons of films. It was an incredible experience getting to talk with the star/director. He gave me a huge signed poster of the film. Then Dee Dee and Justine invited Kelsey and I to go for drinks to celebrate their cousin's success. It was really exciting! Wednesday was pretty chill. I hung out with Thomas before dinner, and Thibaud helped me with practically all of my homework. It was cool. Thursday was a majorly hectic day. My art history class met at La Musee de Beaux Arts at 10. We observed and analyzed several paintings, some of which we talked about in class. It is a nice museum and not to big. I'd say you could cover all of it in half a day. After the museum, I went to the Fac for African dance classe. It was a real intense work out, but it was so much fun. Our instructor really gets into it when he dances and it makes us all want to do the same. I worked up quite a sweat, which made changing back into my normal clothes and running to my teaching internship oh so sweet! haha I was working with 2 new classes this time and 1 new teacher. The first group was interested in talking about what American high school is like which was fun to talk about. They all hate school, but I loved high school so I explained to them what made the experience so great. They were a large group, probably the biggest I've had so far. Some of the guys were kind of mean to the others and called them geeks when I asked if all of them hang out together. For the most part, though, they were a good group. My second group was much smaller with 4 boys. One of them, Christian, is very weak in English so we are going to have to work extra hard. Funny story, so I asked my student Maxhause what he did for winter break, and he replied "Orange Juice?" haha I had to resist laughing my head off, but all the other boys laughed including Max so it was okay. When I asked them what they thought of Americans, they told me that the believed Americans all have guns and are all violent. I was quick to correct them about that stereotype. They told me they thought that because of all the American films they've seen. Sorry to rain on your parade boys but the only gun I've come in contact with is a water gun!! Right after my internship, I had to run to my phonetics lab. I didn't have anytime to eat lunch so I felt like I was going to faint the entire time. I actually fell asleep while we were playing a game, and when it was my turn to go everybody cracked up because I had crashed in the minute that passed between my turns. My teacher was understanding though because she knew what my day was like. That night, my family ate galettes and crepes!!! My favsies- to reprise, galettes are crepes made with buckwheat so they look black and you put egg, ham, bacon, mozerrella, goat chesse, any kind of cheese on it and cook it in a frying pan. It is so good!!! We eat it almost every week. Friday, my class at the Fac was again cancelled because my prof is still on strike. I've only had 2 classes there!!! This is week 4 of no class at the Fac and I'm really getting worried. Friday night was incredible though! Thibaud took me with him too a bar to meet his friends and watch a rugby match between France and Wales. His friends were so cool and really nice. I had never seen a rugby match before, and all the guys were so helpful with explaining the rules of the game. The bar was so packed we had to sit on the floor right in front of the big projector screen. I was virtually looking straight up to see what was going on. Thibaud had me try this strange drink called carton rouge which includes tabasco sauce and a few other mixes- if u really want to know, ask and I'll message you. Anyway it was intensely hot and I decided that was probably a one time thing. The guys watching the game were outrageous! Screaming "ALLEZ! ALLEZ! ALLEZ! NON! NON! Oh Putain! EN TOUCHE!" It was crazy! Guys were screaming, singing, throwing there arms up. France won 21-16! It was awesome. Thibaud was like "You better have been rooting for the blue!" and "Congragulate the French!" We hung out at the bar for a little while and I met Thinaud's cousin Delphine. Then we went to his friend- now girl friend, as of that night- Lucie's apartment for a small party. It was so much fun! All of his friends were really nice and they talked to me a bunch about where I live and what I think of France. Then we had a dance party and went nuts! It almost reminded me of the parties I have at school with my friends only with French music. We listened to a lot of english songs too. This curly red head named Benjamin was probably one of my favorites. He was so cool and really funny. He did silly dance moves with me. I got to know Lucie and Delphine a bit and their friend Brunie (they call her that because she's brown, but she chose that nickname for herself). The music was soo loud, and everyone smoked excpet me and Thibad but it was cool cause they only smoked out the window. This may sound terrible but I'm starting to get used to the smell of smoke. Its not like I enjoy it or anything, but it isn't terrible anymore. Anyway, long story short, I love Thibaud's friends, and I loved friday night!!
Saturday, I met up with my friend Megan and we went exploring. We checked out a cool open air market- the biggest one I've ever seen! They had everything. They were selling underwear, blank dvds, fresh fish and fruit, meals, converse sneakers, clothes, jewelry, perfume...anything legal that you can think of, they had it. The centre ville was packed and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day, and I didn't even need my coat! Then we went to The Ile de Versaille. I've been longing to go their for the longest time. I pass it everyday I take the tram. Anyway its this little island in the middle of the river that is decorated in the Japanese style. Its so beautiful and peaceful with waterfalls and rock bridges and ponds. It was a nice escape from the crowds. We even ran into a gril from IES there. Later we grabbed lunch and ran some errands before grabbing dinner at her place. Megan's host family is so nice, and we ate galettes for dinner. I made the mistake of telling the host mom about my grammair exam, and she went on a 45 minute lecture about the passive voice. It was very helpful, but we were late meeting up with some friends because of it. Megan, Anna, Lauren and I met up and randomly ran into 6 other IES people at Place Royal just sitting at the big fountain. Its crazy how we run into people everywhere! I don't go a day with out bumping into someone I know on the tram, the bus, or a public place. Anyway, the 4 of us wanted to check out Havana Club, but when we got there it was empty- probably because it was only 10:30. Havana Club is located just up the stairs from the Karaoke bar I went to 2 weeks ago, so we chilled there for a while. It was so much fun! I sang "Its My Life" with Anna, "SOS" (the ABBA version) with Lauren, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Megan. We got so into it and the French people at the bar loved it! Sometimes they even sang along, and they cheered for us at the end of each song. All of the French people sang really depressing songs like "Ziggy" by Celine Dion. The lyrics talk about a girl who is in love with her one and only best friend but he like boys. It was such a downer. And this other guy was singing a song about being all alone in the world and the karaoke guy actually cut him off because he sounded so bad! It was hilarious!! After our grand finale with the Bohemian Rhapsody- which I went all out with- we went to Havana club, which was packed, and salsa dance for a while. It was so much fun! The place we went to has like 6 different dance clubs/bars on different floors. Its like a mall made specifically for the night life, and you never even have to go outside to find another place to go! Well, now its study time! Later!!
Saturday, I met up with my friend Megan and we went exploring. We checked out a cool open air market- the biggest one I've ever seen! They had everything. They were selling underwear, blank dvds, fresh fish and fruit, meals, converse sneakers, clothes, jewelry, perfume...anything legal that you can think of, they had it. The centre ville was packed and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day, and I didn't even need my coat! Then we went to The Ile de Versaille. I've been longing to go their for the longest time. I pass it everyday I take the tram. Anyway its this little island in the middle of the river that is decorated in the Japanese style. Its so beautiful and peaceful with waterfalls and rock bridges and ponds. It was a nice escape from the crowds. We even ran into a gril from IES there. Later we grabbed lunch and ran some errands before grabbing dinner at her place. Megan's host family is so nice, and we ate galettes for dinner. I made the mistake of telling the host mom about my grammair exam, and she went on a 45 minute lecture about the passive voice. It was very helpful, but we were late meeting up with some friends because of it. Megan, Anna, Lauren and I met up and randomly ran into 6 other IES people at Place Royal just sitting at the big fountain. Its crazy how we run into people everywhere! I don't go a day with out bumping into someone I know on the tram, the bus, or a public place. Anyway, the 4 of us wanted to check out Havana Club, but when we got there it was empty- probably because it was only 10:30. Havana Club is located just up the stairs from the Karaoke bar I went to 2 weeks ago, so we chilled there for a while. It was so much fun! I sang "Its My Life" with Anna, "SOS" (the ABBA version) with Lauren, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Megan. We got so into it and the French people at the bar loved it! Sometimes they even sang along, and they cheered for us at the end of each song. All of the French people sang really depressing songs like "Ziggy" by Celine Dion. The lyrics talk about a girl who is in love with her one and only best friend but he like boys. It was such a downer. And this other guy was singing a song about being all alone in the world and the karaoke guy actually cut him off because he sounded so bad! It was hilarious!! After our grand finale with the Bohemian Rhapsody- which I went all out with- we went to Havana club, which was packed, and salsa dance for a while. It was so much fun! The place we went to has like 6 different dance clubs/bars on different floors. Its like a mall made specifically for the night life, and you never even have to go outside to find another place to go! Well, now its study time! Later!!
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Best Experience of My Life So Far
So I left for London and Dublin on February 14th, and I had quite the adventure. Let me give you a play by play of my days:
Saturday, Feb. 14
So I met up with my friends Kathleen, Madelyn, Michelle, Kelsey, and Ana at the airport in Nantes and we had a good wait before getting on the plane. Unfortunately, I had to throw away my new and last bottle of lotion because I was only doing carry on luggage. I almost had to throw away my hair product which would have ruined my life, but another friend who flew with us let me put it in her suitcase. Phew!! Ironically enough, the British kids I met last week were on the same plane as me! We talked a bit and took some photos, they were really cool and I hope I get to see them again someday. I mean it must be fate that we met again right? Or just chance perhaps. Who knows. So we flew on Ryanair which is super cheap, and it shows. They sell duty free perfume and lotto tickets during the flight. Nothing is free- not even the water. And they sold random things like Pringles and doughnuts. The plane landing... I give it a 3.3. haha it was not graceful. And they played this funny trumpet sound to celebrate arriving on time. Customs was a good walk from the gate and the customs guy was a pain. We had to fill out these forms indicating a bunch of info like our passport number and the address of where we are staying and where we live yadda yadda. The guy at customs made me show him all of my ticket and host information as proof, and I had to indicate the purpose of my visit in just the right way- he corrected me twice! After that not so brief encounter, I said farewell to my new British friends. We found an ATM with free withdrawals but of course things never run smoothly. I was only able to take out 50 pounds (which still put a major hurt on my money supply. Our flight came into Gatwick which is about an hour away from the center of London, so we bought tickets for a shuttle bus and merrily rode on our way. One of the first things I saw as we approached the city was a Starbucks, and we all got excited!! How strange right? Well it was something familiar which comforted us haha. I also saw a huge billboard of a a naked rugby player diving for a ball in a Powerade ad. It was quite strange and the ads were everywhere! There was this baby coughing up a storm on our bus, and we joked that we were all gonna get bird flew! It was quite funny yet slightly sad :) Anyway when we finally arrived at the shuttle stop, we had to take the tube to Borough station. It was really quick and easy- way better than the El in Chicago. We had to buy an oyster card which is the transportation card that you swipe to use the tube its much more efficient and cheaper because a single ticket on the tube is 4 pounds. Its a strange system but whatevs! Finally we got to Dover Castle Hostel and Bar. The receptionist was quite attractive. We paid for our room and received our sheets and keys and what not. We had to make a deposit for everything! Want a towel? 5 pound deposit. Want a key to your room? 25 pound deposit or leave your passport. Want to borrow a dvd? 10 pound deposit. It was nuts. We would make jokes like "Oh, you need toilet paper? Well that'll be a 5 pound deposit." So we are on the top floor where there were 10 beds that were bunked. Co-ed of course. Thankfully I was on the bottom cause I don't do the top (of a bunk bed guys, don't be gross, haha) So we got settled and explored the bathroom and showers we'd be using for the next 4 nights. The bar was nice, and we even got a free drink (schnapps or soda). Go figure, they were out of schnapps all week. We went back to the receptionist and asked him about some good places to eat. He gave a few suggestions, and we ended up picking the Chinese food place (aka the furthest place from the hostel that he suggested) But it was 4 pounds for a lot of food, so it was totally worth it. We all thought it was odd that we were eating Chinese food in England, but it was really good and hit the spot. After dinner, we returned to the hostel, made a plan for Sunday, and went to sleep.
Sunday, Feb. 15
So we woke up pretty early and all got dressed. There were only 2 showers on my floor, so I waited for a good while. Our hostel provided breakfast for us which included two pieces of toast with jam or butter, a bowl of corn flakes, and tea or coffee. After breakfast we walked a good ways till will finally got to the Thames River and saw Big Ben, The London Eye, and the Parliament Building. It was incredible. We took a bunch of photos and crossed Westminster Bridge to see Westminster Abbey where all the royals have their coronation. We had to pay to get in, and the tour wasn't cheap, so we just looked around the outside and then walked around. Of course we did the British phone booth photo! We saw 10 Downing street where the Prime Minster lives which is gated and hard core guarded, Horse Guards Parade, and St. James's Park. Kathleen, Madelyn, and I made a Starbucks stop to indulge in our American bad habits ( well Kathleen resisted because she goes home next month for her sister's wedding) and the three of us took the original bus tour which I totally recommend. It is a hop on hop off double decker bus tour that takes you all around London. They have 5 different tour routes you can hop on. The entire tour takes 2 hours. Because its the winter season we got a 48 our deal that let us hop on and hop off for two days. Normally it only lets you do one day I think. And we got a free river cruise ticket for the Thames tour. So the bus took us nearly everywhere we wanted to see including but not excluding St. James's Park, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, Covent Garden (where Eliza Doolitle meets Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Fleet Street, St. Paul's Cathedral (Mary Poppins! anyone...anyone?), London Bridge, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Shakespear's Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Sherlock Holmes Pub, and Piccadilly Circus (aka London's Time Square) It was incredible! I was so overwhelmed by the amount of history I learned about. Our tour guide was cool and really funny. He told us about the London Fire and pointed out where Michael Cain, Dame Judi Dench, Chris Martin/Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebs live. We saw the famous hotel where Elizabeth Taylor spent her 5 honeymoons. We saw so much I don't think I could possibly share it all with you but I wish I could. It was quite the experience. We were freezing the whole time and huddled together but we were determined to stay on the top of the bus for the best view of everything . Our tour guide showed us the monument tower made in memory of the London fire that destroyed the entire city and he told us that the fence around the top of the tower was added because of the large amount of people who committed suicide off of it in the past- Crazy isn't it!! We also saw where they filmed part of the Duchess. The name of the building escapes me at the moment but its kind of a big deal in London. We passed the City of London School where Daniel Radcliffe and Pettyfer went to school- they are well known British actors for those who aren't in the know. The HMS Belfast is this huge ship with massive guns on it that sits on the Thames. Oh and We passed the Waldorf Hotel- the guy who helped design the rooms in there also designed some of the rooms on the Titanic. Oh and the Tower of London was intense. I really wanted to go in but again tickets are a fortune. So I got to see the outside of where Guy Fawkes, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Thomas Moore were some of the many to be held and put to death. So during the tour, we passed a lot of theatres in London's West End. I saw a sign for a play called THREE DAYS OF RAIN starring James Mcavoy. I nearly freaked out and decided that I had to see it regardless of the cost. After the tour, we found a cool place called Costa Coffee where we warmed up and had a teeny weeny lunch. Mine consisted of the best triple chocolate muffin of my life and an incredibly huge small hot chocolate. New flavors of chocolatey goodness just kept on unfolding. We went to the same MacDos twice that day cause that was the only free bathroom we could find it was pretty funny. The three of us went to the box office to get tickets to see a show. Luckily tickets were only 25 pound for the THREE DAYS OF RAIN on Monday so Madelyn and I bought them. Kathleen's friend who was also in London already got them tickets to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Mads and I went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar square while Kathleen met up with her friend. We saw some really amazing and historic paintings, including some that we had studied in our Art History class in Nantes! When the museum closed, we grabbed dinner at a restaurant called the Silver Cross. We ended up sitting at our table for like 15 minutes before we gathered that we had to place our order at the bar. The food was great! I tried some of Mads' fish and chips, and I had this chicken kebab meal with rice. We tried to make it to the Jack the Ripper tour but we missed it and decided to walk around before heading back to the hostel. We got great night shots of St. Paul's Cathedral where the Feed the Birds scene from Mary Poppins takes place. We got great shots of the Tower Bridge and the London city at night. It was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe I was there...in London!! It was all like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. We crossed the Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames. Its the most beautiful city I've ever seen at night- granted I haven't seen Paris at night yet but... We got some amazing pictures of Big Ben and the Parliament Building with the reflection in the river. My feet were dying at that point but I still loved it. We got majorly lost on the way back to the hostel which made our arrival all the sweeter.
Monday, Feb 16
Kathleen and I rode the London Eye which was so exciting!! We had a 360 view of the city and it was unbelievable. I'm so glad we got to do that. We met up with Madelyn and took our free Thames river Cruise. It was great because the sun was making an appearance that day. It had rained a bit the day before. Our tour guide was quite the joker and we once again learned a lot. The Thames tour was a lot shorter but we covered a lot and got to go under the London Bridge. After that we got a bit turned around and we tried to grab an original tour bus but a protest march was holding up traffic so we just picked a reasonably prices place to grabbed lunch. It actually turned out to be great! After that we caught a bus to the Globe Theatre while Kathleen peaced out and went to Harrods (aka the most intense department store in the world- Macy's who?) The Globe was everything I thought it would be and more. It is a replica of the original which was actually commissioned by the American director and actor Sam Wanamaker who died before construction was complete. It isn't in the exact location of the original because that property is already occupied, but it is designed almost exactly the way it was during Shakespeare's time. The only major difference is the fact that the floor in the pit is cement instead of nut shells due to health codes- but they did put nutshells in the cement to make it more authentic. The reason the floor was covered in nuts before was because they would cram 1000 people in the pit and there was no way for people to get out to use the bathroom so they would just go right there and the nuts would absorb the mess and make the smell not as bad. The open air roof is thatch and the entire theatre structure is made of wood- not a bit of metal- even the pegs are wood. The stage is gorgeous!! Our guide explained that they only do performances in the summer due to the weather and that the plays are audience interactive as they wood have been during the period. People would talk during the show and say things to the actors. The nobles who sat in the balcony(Juliet's balcony) on stage would arrive late and stop the play to inquire about who the characters were by directly addressing the actors. People in the box seats would throw there orange peels and food in the pit, the people in the pit would throw it at the actors, and the actors would pick it up and throw it back in the boxes. Our tour guide told us loads of interesting stuff like this. Seeing it and learning about it there is far more informative than what we learned in class at school!. We walked around the exhibit connected to the theatre a bit, but there was so much to see and so little time! After the Globe, it was time to go see THREE DAYS OF RAIN. We walked through Soho to get to the Apollo Theatre- Madelyn had to drag me through there because there were so many interesting shops to see! The play was incredible!! I loved it so much! James was top notch. He's even better on the stage than he is in films. The set was subtle and very creative. The first act follows Walker, his sister Nan and their oldest and dearest friend Pip as they sift through the mysteries that their dead parents left behind in their father's old apartment. My favorite line has to be when Walker (Mcavoy) shouts, "I feel like Hedda Gabbler" when he burns the notebook his father left behind with all the answers at the end of act one. I was one of maybe 6 people who laughed at this because you have to be a real theatre nut to get the humor there. His character was so funny, sharp, thoughtful and very Mamet- esque. I have to give props to Nigel Harman who probably gave the best monologue I've ever hear. I wished I was a boy for about 5 minutes just so I could actually try to pull it off like him! James was great, but Nigel rocked it! Second act follows their parents years earlier. James plays his father and he has the cutest stutter ever! Downstage there is a path that functions as a sidewalk outside the apartment and they have actual rain water coming down in this act. It is so awesome! I was like "Now I remember why I love theatre so much!" The dynamic between the characters was addictive. Every inch of the space on the stage was used to perfection. I give it 5 stars!! I totally would go see it again if I could- it was that good not just because of James but because it was such a good story. A family drama- what most plays are about( at least the successful ones). After the show, I waited at the stage door and got to meet James!! He signed my playbill, talked to me a bit and even took a photo with me (he totally put his hand around my shoulder) I nearly died, but I kept my cool till I walked away. He was so nice, incredibly gorgeous (human flaws and all), and his scottish accent tickled me pink! I asked him what character he played in Beauty and the Beast the musical and he told me Billy somethingorother (I forgot the last name ironically) I then asked him if he sang, which of course he did. I had all these thought provoking questions I had wanted to ask him but that was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I thought saying "I loved you in Penelope" would be too fan obsessive of me. The rest of my night I had to remind myself to breathe! I wanted to call everyone I know but I was still calm enough to realize how bad that idea was. Needless to say, I went to bed a happy girl!
Tuesday, Feb 17
Kathleen left for Paris with my hair product safe in her suitcase! Phew! I was on my own that morning as I rushed to Harrods to see if they had an Estee Lauder because I ran out of eyeliner cartridges (I thought I had an extra one but 'fraid not!) Luckily they have everything in the world at Harrods so I was cover there. It was actually cheaper there than it is in the states, and you can pay in Dollars there. I did some exploring of the intense department store for a while before I decided to force myself to leave in order to avoid spending more money. I went to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and found it to be very anticlimactic for all the hullaballu people make about it. I mean it was cool, don't get me wrong, but people get there like an hour ahead of time to watch these guards walk around for 45 minutes. The bands played random songs like the theme song from Indiana Jones, The Lion King, "Thunderbirds" and WICKED. A couple of Royal Carriages left the Palace which was exciting but I have no idea who was in them. Could have been the Queen, could have been the Royal dog walker. The Guards aren't as still and stiff as the American soldiers are. They were talking to one another, fumbling with things, and they weren't always perfect. They seemed more relaxed and cool. I think I like it better that way because it makes them seem more human. And they had the coolest uniforms! Buckingham Palace wasn't that impressive actually. Not after all of the chateaux and other castles I've seen. Meh. It was cool none the less. I ran into some girls from IES her were in London too which was random! We caught up and then I headed to the Tate Modern to meet Michelle. We saw some intensely modern Modern Art and I was disgusted with what passes for art these days. We also saw some disturbing things that I want to forget! So I've decided that I'm going to bend a bunch of paper clips, throw them at a canvas, toss some paint on them, call it THE FURY OF FEMINISM and hope that they give me a million dollars for cause seriously...seriously... My 3 year old cousin could have done some of the stuff I saw. There was one cool exhibit where this artist had a bunch of metal bunks with a book chained to each one and this huge, weird, creepy spider thing filled with white eggy things in a clear globey thing hanging from the center, and a screen showing the final scenes of 23 different old movies, a huge apple core, and a bunch of other strange things. It was the coolest thing I saw besides some of the Picasso and Salvador Dali works. Michelle and I went to platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station so I could take a picture. It was so anticlimactic!! Its just a brick wall with half a luggage cart sticking out of it and a sign saying Platform 9 3/4. So we dragged our melancholy and tired butts over to the British Library where I saw the Magna Carta, original notes by Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, The First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, original song writings of the Beatles...etc tons of historic and epic works! There was also a small exhibit on Darwin which was cool. That night, I went on Jack the Ripper tour through London. I won't get into all the gruesome details but I learned a lot and I'm all the more intrigued. That guy was vicious! Still nobody knows who he is!! After the tour, I spent my last night with Michelle, Kelsey, Ana, and Madelyn at Young Founder's Arms- this cute cafe and bar on the Thames that has small fires by tables outside and blankets for people to cuddle under the stars and by the river. It was a nice way to spend our last night there.
Wednesday, Feb 18
Kelsey and I went to see the famous Peter Pan statue in Hyde park, and we ran into 4 girls from IES randomly!!! It was hilarious. I heard someone call my name and then I saw this girl running towards me ready for a hug! It was Mathilde- our Conversation Club leader. She's french so of course she spoke to me in French. I had been so relieved to have a break from brain overload of French upon arrival in London, and I wasn't read to go back to it yet haha. Anyway, we walked around with them a bit before parting ways. We saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which was actually pretty blah. I expected more I guess. It was just a huge flat, hollow circle of concrete with water spouting ou. It looked like an elevated sidewalk with vertical sprinklers installed. We walked through Hyde and Kensington Parks a bit and headed back to the hostel to collect our things. We took a train to the airport and left for Dublin. The flight was super short and the customs guy was much nicer although the walk from the plane to the exit took like 15 minutes. We caught a bus to O'connell Street, got a bit lost and finally found our hostel - The Bunkhouse. This was much nicer! Using the internet for the day cost a euro opposed to London where it was a pound for 30 minutes- ridiculous. Anyway the bathrooms were much nicer and the breakfast was awesome( Irish Sausage- which I could actually stand to eat- one egg sunny side up, ham, toast, beans, cereal, and tea) But my bunk bed was right next to someone else- literally it was like one ultra bunk bed- and the guy next to me reached for me in his sleep. It creeped me out and I literally slept on the edge of the bed to avoid his arm and his snoring. That night we ended up eating Chinese again because that was the only place serving past 9. All I can say is I refuse to eat Chinese in Italy! Oh and there was an Irish film festival going on in Dublin which was ultra exiting!! The receptionist at the hostel told me the Colin Farrell was there!! So was Clive Owen!!! Oh and two girls from IES were stying in the same room with us!- It really is a small world when u run into people from school everywhere in Europe!
Thursday, Feb. 19
Our first full day in Dublin was pretty chill. Kelsey went off and did her own thing like she did in London. Madelyn, Michelle, Ana and I walked past Trinity College and checked out the National Library of Ireland. We learned about the History of Ireland and saw a really cool Yeats exhibit. He created his own religion and he was definitely a playa playa with the ladies. He went from Maude Goode to her daughter- they both ended up rejecting him in the end and he got married at 52 to a 24 year old. His life was very interesting to say the least, and they had a lot of originally drafts of his works. I also saw his Nobel prize medal! We headed over the St. Stephen's Green and took pics. Then we all parted to do our own things. I walked down Grafton street and checked out some cool stores. Then I went to Temple Bar (a famous area in Dublin where all the cool pubs and shops are). I checked out the Joy of Coffee and had the best blueberry muffin ever!!! I went to the filmbase and grabbed some stuff on films in the area and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. Later I went to the Ireland Film Institute and checked out some really cool movies and film books. There were so many things I wanted to buy, but I resisted and met back up with the girls. Madelyn lost both of her gloves in London and I lost one of them on the tour bus, so we went to this store called Accessorize and bought some glittens!! I've always wanted a pair. Then we went to the bus/train station to inquire about tickets to Belfast for the next day. That evening was a bit of a messy affair with the Belfast tickets- monetarily speaking- but everything got straightened out for the most part. We were supposed to eat dinner with Kelsey and the two girls from IES we were co-habitating with but we couldn't find the pub and we ended up eating at Farrington's Pub. It was hard to find a place that was cheap, but this place was almost reasonable. The food was great! I got an Irish beef lasagna with bolognaise sauce and tons of cheese! The pub even had live music playing which was cool. Thankfully, my bed mate didn't reach for me this time so I slept pretty well this time around.
Friday, Feb. 20
The 4 of us sans Kelsey took a train to Belfast early in the morning and met up with Madelyn's friend's Irish boyfriend Phil. Phil drove us around hs university and took us t get food at Subway of all places haha. We saw the two big yellow cranes David and Goliath that helped make the Titanic. Then he took us to the Giant Causeway and the cliffs on the shore of the ocean. It was incredible There were these hexagonal, tall rocks that we climbed up. The waves were crashing against them and it was beautiful just to sit their and watch. It is called the giant causeway because of a myth about a Giant in Ireland who challenged a Giant in Scotland to fight. They threw rocks in the ocean to make a pathway but didn't finish. The Irish Giant even cut off his hand and threw it in the ocean to up his challenge. The rocks were scary at times, and we climbed pretty high for photos. We then walked up the cliffs a ways and saw some sheep. It was beautiful. Phil and I were wondering why no one has made a film there yet. Perhaps I'll be the first! He then took us to this beach area were there were cool shops and the best ice cream place in Northern Ireland apparently. It was pretty good actually! Northern Ireland is incredible and driving through it was so amazing. We saw so many farms and fields and different trees. Life was all around us! It was totally unlike the countryside in the states. It was soo green! We had dinner at pizza hut ironically and Phil took us back to the train station to go back to Dublin. (we covered his gas money of course although he didn't ask for anything) He was probably the nicest guy I've ever met and a pretty entertaining tour guide( the fact that he was a movie buff was a plus). Us girls all agreed that we wish more guys were like him. When we got back to the hostel, we had to move to a different bedroom which was annoying but at least it was a room of all girls and I didn't have creepy Mc creeperson next to me anymore. But I had to sleep on the top! bummer. Oh well
Saturday, Feb 21
Kelsey and I went back to the Yeats exhibit because I didn't get to see everything. She peaced out pretty quickly and went to the cliffs at Howth. I then went to the National Museum of Ireland and saw some pretty cool stuff. They found really well preserved bodies from 400BC-200BC in bogs! They were gruesomely killed and the scientists think they were sacrifices. Some of the bodies still had hair and teeth and well defined fingers and skin! It was incredible! I wanted to get a few things before I met up with Madelyn so I left the museum pretty quickly and searched for a claddagh ring because that was at the top of my to do list! I never wanted to buy one in the states because I always knew I would make it to Ireland someday and get one. Its a ring with hands of holding a heart with a crown on top of it. If the hear faces inward, it means you belong to someone. If the crown faces inward it means you are single. There's more to it than that depending on which finger you put it on but I'm not going to get into it. Google it if you're interested. Afterward I went to the Temple Bar outdoor book market. One of the book sellers was extra friendly and flirty which was funny! He was adorable in that Irish book seller guy kind of way until he started talking about the female midget who used to stalk him and even got a hotel for them. He suggested a bunch of books to me, and I bought an Irish fairy tale book and a historical fiction book. I finished my English books already and every time I try to read Harry Potter et Le Prince de Sang-Mêlé my head explodes! I met up with Madelyn at the Winding Stair( The name of a Yeats poem and also an Irish bookstore). It was the 4th Irish bookstore I went to that hadn't heard of Herbie Brennan or his books which is odd since he is an Irish author. We saw a major protest going down O'Connell street, and we ducked into a souvenir shop where we both got real cheap t-shirts. Mine cost 5 euro! We made our way to the Guinness Factory and got distracted a few times by Christ Church Cathedral and The Brazen Head pub aka the oldest pub in Ireland. It took us forever to find the entrance to the factory and we met these girls outside who sold us their tickets for 5 dollars each- rather than 11 dollars inside. We quickly accepted but realized we might have been scammed. We weren't and we totally got in. It was so cool! There were 7 floors of information on Guinness. Arthur Guinness paid 47 euro for a 9000 year lease on the property that the Guinness factory owns. Guinness is made of hops, yeast, barely, and water. They use the same yeast that Arthur Guinness used when he first created the drink. We got to see how it is made and check out the old machinery they used to use. They even gave us a small taste. We saw how they made the barrels and they had a lot of information on the adds. 1 in 3 persons in Dublin made a living off of the Guinness Factory in the early 1900s. They really took care of their workers and even provided them with housing and medical. "Guinness is Good For You" there cartoon toucan would say. Doctors even used to prescribe it for patients because it lifted their spirits and other things I can't remember but isn't that wild?! i watched some of the adds, and they are hilarious. They used cartoons a lot. "Oh my Goodness! Oh my Guinness!" was the slogan. The company even made a film in Africa staring their main commercial actor Michael Powers. Anyway when we finally reached the Gravity Bar on the 7th floor, we got a 360 view of Dublin and a complimentary pint of Guinness. I finished the whole thing! It was tough cause I'm not a beer drinker but it was a part of the tour experience. Pints are so big! Guinness is very filling! I dunno about it being good for you though haha. Well after the Guinness Factory, we went to dinner at this pub called Madigans. I had an Irish stew which was really good!It had leeks, lamb, mashed potatoes, carrots and some other veggies. My taste buds were thanking me for this new discovery. We then went to Temple Bar were music performers play in the streets all over. We saw this Spanish group, oddly enough, paying instruments and singing. These old Irish guys started dancing in the street, it was ridiculous! I loved it! For dessert we went to this gelato place were I got the best strawberry sorbet and nutella gelato ever!! It was a great finish to our last night in Dublin.
Sunday, Feb. 22
The next day we got up extra early and caught a bus to the airport. On the plane I met a cool French girl named Floriane who gave me a free metro ticket and told me where we need to go to get to the train station. We rode on the shuttle bus to Paris together and chatted/napped some. The 4 girls I traveled with and I took the metro to the Montparnasse train station. On the way there, I saw Le Tour Eiffel for the 1st time. It was stunning even in the gray haze of the morning. I can't wait to visit Paris properly. The houses and architecture are amazing! There's nothing like it in the states. We tried to get out tickets changed for an earlier train but it was really expensive, so we ended up waithing for 6 hours- with 4 other girls from IES that we ran into. It was a painful wait but it made the arrival home all the sweeter. We rode first class cause that was cheaper with our student discount card and it was ultra nice!.
Now I'm home, well I'm back in Nantes anyway, and I'm so glad to be able to wear different clothes and sleep in my own bed in my own room! It was an incomparable and unmatchable experience. I love London and hope to one day live there. It is the best of Europe with a few American things thrown in which make it easy to adapt. I love the accents and the history and of course the theatre! Well, now that I've given you all a blow by blow of my current adventures- bon nuit!
Saturday, Feb. 14
So I met up with my friends Kathleen, Madelyn, Michelle, Kelsey, and Ana at the airport in Nantes and we had a good wait before getting on the plane. Unfortunately, I had to throw away my new and last bottle of lotion because I was only doing carry on luggage. I almost had to throw away my hair product which would have ruined my life, but another friend who flew with us let me put it in her suitcase. Phew!! Ironically enough, the British kids I met last week were on the same plane as me! We talked a bit and took some photos, they were really cool and I hope I get to see them again someday. I mean it must be fate that we met again right? Or just chance perhaps. Who knows. So we flew on Ryanair which is super cheap, and it shows. They sell duty free perfume and lotto tickets during the flight. Nothing is free- not even the water. And they sold random things like Pringles and doughnuts. The plane landing... I give it a 3.3. haha it was not graceful. And they played this funny trumpet sound to celebrate arriving on time. Customs was a good walk from the gate and the customs guy was a pain. We had to fill out these forms indicating a bunch of info like our passport number and the address of where we are staying and where we live yadda yadda. The guy at customs made me show him all of my ticket and host information as proof, and I had to indicate the purpose of my visit in just the right way- he corrected me twice! After that not so brief encounter, I said farewell to my new British friends. We found an ATM with free withdrawals but of course things never run smoothly. I was only able to take out 50 pounds (which still put a major hurt on my money supply. Our flight came into Gatwick which is about an hour away from the center of London, so we bought tickets for a shuttle bus and merrily rode on our way. One of the first things I saw as we approached the city was a Starbucks, and we all got excited!! How strange right? Well it was something familiar which comforted us haha. I also saw a huge billboard of a a naked rugby player diving for a ball in a Powerade ad. It was quite strange and the ads were everywhere! There was this baby coughing up a storm on our bus, and we joked that we were all gonna get bird flew! It was quite funny yet slightly sad :) Anyway when we finally arrived at the shuttle stop, we had to take the tube to Borough station. It was really quick and easy- way better than the El in Chicago. We had to buy an oyster card which is the transportation card that you swipe to use the tube its much more efficient and cheaper because a single ticket on the tube is 4 pounds. Its a strange system but whatevs! Finally we got to Dover Castle Hostel and Bar. The receptionist was quite attractive. We paid for our room and received our sheets and keys and what not. We had to make a deposit for everything! Want a towel? 5 pound deposit. Want a key to your room? 25 pound deposit or leave your passport. Want to borrow a dvd? 10 pound deposit. It was nuts. We would make jokes like "Oh, you need toilet paper? Well that'll be a 5 pound deposit." So we are on the top floor where there were 10 beds that were bunked. Co-ed of course. Thankfully I was on the bottom cause I don't do the top (of a bunk bed guys, don't be gross, haha) So we got settled and explored the bathroom and showers we'd be using for the next 4 nights. The bar was nice, and we even got a free drink (schnapps or soda). Go figure, they were out of schnapps all week. We went back to the receptionist and asked him about some good places to eat. He gave a few suggestions, and we ended up picking the Chinese food place (aka the furthest place from the hostel that he suggested) But it was 4 pounds for a lot of food, so it was totally worth it. We all thought it was odd that we were eating Chinese food in England, but it was really good and hit the spot. After dinner, we returned to the hostel, made a plan for Sunday, and went to sleep.
Sunday, Feb. 15
So we woke up pretty early and all got dressed. There were only 2 showers on my floor, so I waited for a good while. Our hostel provided breakfast for us which included two pieces of toast with jam or butter, a bowl of corn flakes, and tea or coffee. After breakfast we walked a good ways till will finally got to the Thames River and saw Big Ben, The London Eye, and the Parliament Building. It was incredible. We took a bunch of photos and crossed Westminster Bridge to see Westminster Abbey where all the royals have their coronation. We had to pay to get in, and the tour wasn't cheap, so we just looked around the outside and then walked around. Of course we did the British phone booth photo! We saw 10 Downing street where the Prime Minster lives which is gated and hard core guarded, Horse Guards Parade, and St. James's Park. Kathleen, Madelyn, and I made a Starbucks stop to indulge in our American bad habits ( well Kathleen resisted because she goes home next month for her sister's wedding) and the three of us took the original bus tour which I totally recommend. It is a hop on hop off double decker bus tour that takes you all around London. They have 5 different tour routes you can hop on. The entire tour takes 2 hours. Because its the winter season we got a 48 our deal that let us hop on and hop off for two days. Normally it only lets you do one day I think. And we got a free river cruise ticket for the Thames tour. So the bus took us nearly everywhere we wanted to see including but not excluding St. James's Park, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, Covent Garden (where Eliza Doolitle meets Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, Fleet Street, St. Paul's Cathedral (Mary Poppins! anyone...anyone?), London Bridge, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Shakespear's Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the Sherlock Holmes Pub, and Piccadilly Circus (aka London's Time Square) It was incredible! I was so overwhelmed by the amount of history I learned about. Our tour guide was cool and really funny. He told us about the London Fire and pointed out where Michael Cain, Dame Judi Dench, Chris Martin/Gwyneth Paltrow and other celebs live. We saw the famous hotel where Elizabeth Taylor spent her 5 honeymoons. We saw so much I don't think I could possibly share it all with you but I wish I could. It was quite the experience. We were freezing the whole time and huddled together but we were determined to stay on the top of the bus for the best view of everything . Our tour guide showed us the monument tower made in memory of the London fire that destroyed the entire city and he told us that the fence around the top of the tower was added because of the large amount of people who committed suicide off of it in the past- Crazy isn't it!! We also saw where they filmed part of the Duchess. The name of the building escapes me at the moment but its kind of a big deal in London. We passed the City of London School where Daniel Radcliffe and Pettyfer went to school- they are well known British actors for those who aren't in the know. The HMS Belfast is this huge ship with massive guns on it that sits on the Thames. Oh and We passed the Waldorf Hotel- the guy who helped design the rooms in there also designed some of the rooms on the Titanic. Oh and the Tower of London was intense. I really wanted to go in but again tickets are a fortune. So I got to see the outside of where Guy Fawkes, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Thomas Moore were some of the many to be held and put to death. So during the tour, we passed a lot of theatres in London's West End. I saw a sign for a play called THREE DAYS OF RAIN starring James Mcavoy. I nearly freaked out and decided that I had to see it regardless of the cost. After the tour, we found a cool place called Costa Coffee where we warmed up and had a teeny weeny lunch. Mine consisted of the best triple chocolate muffin of my life and an incredibly huge small hot chocolate. New flavors of chocolatey goodness just kept on unfolding. We went to the same MacDos twice that day cause that was the only free bathroom we could find it was pretty funny. The three of us went to the box office to get tickets to see a show. Luckily tickets were only 25 pound for the THREE DAYS OF RAIN on Monday so Madelyn and I bought them. Kathleen's friend who was also in London already got them tickets to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Mads and I went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar square while Kathleen met up with her friend. We saw some really amazing and historic paintings, including some that we had studied in our Art History class in Nantes! When the museum closed, we grabbed dinner at a restaurant called the Silver Cross. We ended up sitting at our table for like 15 minutes before we gathered that we had to place our order at the bar. The food was great! I tried some of Mads' fish and chips, and I had this chicken kebab meal with rice. We tried to make it to the Jack the Ripper tour but we missed it and decided to walk around before heading back to the hostel. We got great night shots of St. Paul's Cathedral where the Feed the Birds scene from Mary Poppins takes place. We got great shots of the Tower Bridge and the London city at night. It was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe I was there...in London!! It was all like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from. We crossed the Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames. Its the most beautiful city I've ever seen at night- granted I haven't seen Paris at night yet but... We got some amazing pictures of Big Ben and the Parliament Building with the reflection in the river. My feet were dying at that point but I still loved it. We got majorly lost on the way back to the hostel which made our arrival all the sweeter.
Monday, Feb 16
Kathleen and I rode the London Eye which was so exciting!! We had a 360 view of the city and it was unbelievable. I'm so glad we got to do that. We met up with Madelyn and took our free Thames river Cruise. It was great because the sun was making an appearance that day. It had rained a bit the day before. Our tour guide was quite the joker and we once again learned a lot. The Thames tour was a lot shorter but we covered a lot and got to go under the London Bridge. After that we got a bit turned around and we tried to grab an original tour bus but a protest march was holding up traffic so we just picked a reasonably prices place to grabbed lunch. It actually turned out to be great! After that we caught a bus to the Globe Theatre while Kathleen peaced out and went to Harrods (aka the most intense department store in the world- Macy's who?) The Globe was everything I thought it would be and more. It is a replica of the original which was actually commissioned by the American director and actor Sam Wanamaker who died before construction was complete. It isn't in the exact location of the original because that property is already occupied, but it is designed almost exactly the way it was during Shakespeare's time. The only major difference is the fact that the floor in the pit is cement instead of nut shells due to health codes- but they did put nutshells in the cement to make it more authentic. The reason the floor was covered in nuts before was because they would cram 1000 people in the pit and there was no way for people to get out to use the bathroom so they would just go right there and the nuts would absorb the mess and make the smell not as bad. The open air roof is thatch and the entire theatre structure is made of wood- not a bit of metal- even the pegs are wood. The stage is gorgeous!! Our guide explained that they only do performances in the summer due to the weather and that the plays are audience interactive as they wood have been during the period. People would talk during the show and say things to the actors. The nobles who sat in the balcony(Juliet's balcony) on stage would arrive late and stop the play to inquire about who the characters were by directly addressing the actors. People in the box seats would throw there orange peels and food in the pit, the people in the pit would throw it at the actors, and the actors would pick it up and throw it back in the boxes. Our tour guide told us loads of interesting stuff like this. Seeing it and learning about it there is far more informative than what we learned in class at school!. We walked around the exhibit connected to the theatre a bit, but there was so much to see and so little time! After the Globe, it was time to go see THREE DAYS OF RAIN. We walked through Soho to get to the Apollo Theatre- Madelyn had to drag me through there because there were so many interesting shops to see! The play was incredible!! I loved it so much! James was top notch. He's even better on the stage than he is in films. The set was subtle and very creative. The first act follows Walker, his sister Nan and their oldest and dearest friend Pip as they sift through the mysteries that their dead parents left behind in their father's old apartment. My favorite line has to be when Walker (Mcavoy) shouts, "I feel like Hedda Gabbler" when he burns the notebook his father left behind with all the answers at the end of act one. I was one of maybe 6 people who laughed at this because you have to be a real theatre nut to get the humor there. His character was so funny, sharp, thoughtful and very Mamet- esque. I have to give props to Nigel Harman who probably gave the best monologue I've ever hear. I wished I was a boy for about 5 minutes just so I could actually try to pull it off like him! James was great, but Nigel rocked it! Second act follows their parents years earlier. James plays his father and he has the cutest stutter ever! Downstage there is a path that functions as a sidewalk outside the apartment and they have actual rain water coming down in this act. It is so awesome! I was like "Now I remember why I love theatre so much!" The dynamic between the characters was addictive. Every inch of the space on the stage was used to perfection. I give it 5 stars!! I totally would go see it again if I could- it was that good not just because of James but because it was such a good story. A family drama- what most plays are about( at least the successful ones). After the show, I waited at the stage door and got to meet James!! He signed my playbill, talked to me a bit and even took a photo with me (he totally put his hand around my shoulder) I nearly died, but I kept my cool till I walked away. He was so nice, incredibly gorgeous (human flaws and all), and his scottish accent tickled me pink! I asked him what character he played in Beauty and the Beast the musical and he told me Billy somethingorother (I forgot the last name ironically) I then asked him if he sang, which of course he did. I had all these thought provoking questions I had wanted to ask him but that was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I thought saying "I loved you in Penelope" would be too fan obsessive of me. The rest of my night I had to remind myself to breathe! I wanted to call everyone I know but I was still calm enough to realize how bad that idea was. Needless to say, I went to bed a happy girl!
Tuesday, Feb 17
Kathleen left for Paris with my hair product safe in her suitcase! Phew! I was on my own that morning as I rushed to Harrods to see if they had an Estee Lauder because I ran out of eyeliner cartridges (I thought I had an extra one but 'fraid not!) Luckily they have everything in the world at Harrods so I was cover there. It was actually cheaper there than it is in the states, and you can pay in Dollars there. I did some exploring of the intense department store for a while before I decided to force myself to leave in order to avoid spending more money. I went to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and found it to be very anticlimactic for all the hullaballu people make about it. I mean it was cool, don't get me wrong, but people get there like an hour ahead of time to watch these guards walk around for 45 minutes. The bands played random songs like the theme song from Indiana Jones, The Lion King, "Thunderbirds" and WICKED. A couple of Royal Carriages left the Palace which was exciting but I have no idea who was in them. Could have been the Queen, could have been the Royal dog walker. The Guards aren't as still and stiff as the American soldiers are. They were talking to one another, fumbling with things, and they weren't always perfect. They seemed more relaxed and cool. I think I like it better that way because it makes them seem more human. And they had the coolest uniforms! Buckingham Palace wasn't that impressive actually. Not after all of the chateaux and other castles I've seen. Meh. It was cool none the less. I ran into some girls from IES her were in London too which was random! We caught up and then I headed to the Tate Modern to meet Michelle. We saw some intensely modern Modern Art and I was disgusted with what passes for art these days. We also saw some disturbing things that I want to forget! So I've decided that I'm going to bend a bunch of paper clips, throw them at a canvas, toss some paint on them, call it THE FURY OF FEMINISM and hope that they give me a million dollars for cause seriously...seriously... My 3 year old cousin could have done some of the stuff I saw. There was one cool exhibit where this artist had a bunch of metal bunks with a book chained to each one and this huge, weird, creepy spider thing filled with white eggy things in a clear globey thing hanging from the center, and a screen showing the final scenes of 23 different old movies, a huge apple core, and a bunch of other strange things. It was the coolest thing I saw besides some of the Picasso and Salvador Dali works. Michelle and I went to platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station so I could take a picture. It was so anticlimactic!! Its just a brick wall with half a luggage cart sticking out of it and a sign saying Platform 9 3/4. So we dragged our melancholy and tired butts over to the British Library where I saw the Magna Carta, original notes by Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, The First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, original song writings of the Beatles...etc tons of historic and epic works! There was also a small exhibit on Darwin which was cool. That night, I went on Jack the Ripper tour through London. I won't get into all the gruesome details but I learned a lot and I'm all the more intrigued. That guy was vicious! Still nobody knows who he is!! After the tour, I spent my last night with Michelle, Kelsey, Ana, and Madelyn at Young Founder's Arms- this cute cafe and bar on the Thames that has small fires by tables outside and blankets for people to cuddle under the stars and by the river. It was a nice way to spend our last night there.
Wednesday, Feb 18
Kelsey and I went to see the famous Peter Pan statue in Hyde park, and we ran into 4 girls from IES randomly!!! It was hilarious. I heard someone call my name and then I saw this girl running towards me ready for a hug! It was Mathilde- our Conversation Club leader. She's french so of course she spoke to me in French. I had been so relieved to have a break from brain overload of French upon arrival in London, and I wasn't read to go back to it yet haha. Anyway, we walked around with them a bit before parting ways. We saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which was actually pretty blah. I expected more I guess. It was just a huge flat, hollow circle of concrete with water spouting ou. It looked like an elevated sidewalk with vertical sprinklers installed. We walked through Hyde and Kensington Parks a bit and headed back to the hostel to collect our things. We took a train to the airport and left for Dublin. The flight was super short and the customs guy was much nicer although the walk from the plane to the exit took like 15 minutes. We caught a bus to O'connell Street, got a bit lost and finally found our hostel - The Bunkhouse. This was much nicer! Using the internet for the day cost a euro opposed to London where it was a pound for 30 minutes- ridiculous. Anyway the bathrooms were much nicer and the breakfast was awesome( Irish Sausage- which I could actually stand to eat- one egg sunny side up, ham, toast, beans, cereal, and tea) But my bunk bed was right next to someone else- literally it was like one ultra bunk bed- and the guy next to me reached for me in his sleep. It creeped me out and I literally slept on the edge of the bed to avoid his arm and his snoring. That night we ended up eating Chinese again because that was the only place serving past 9. All I can say is I refuse to eat Chinese in Italy! Oh and there was an Irish film festival going on in Dublin which was ultra exiting!! The receptionist at the hostel told me the Colin Farrell was there!! So was Clive Owen!!! Oh and two girls from IES were stying in the same room with us!- It really is a small world when u run into people from school everywhere in Europe!
Thursday, Feb. 19
Our first full day in Dublin was pretty chill. Kelsey went off and did her own thing like she did in London. Madelyn, Michelle, Ana and I walked past Trinity College and checked out the National Library of Ireland. We learned about the History of Ireland and saw a really cool Yeats exhibit. He created his own religion and he was definitely a playa playa with the ladies. He went from Maude Goode to her daughter- they both ended up rejecting him in the end and he got married at 52 to a 24 year old. His life was very interesting to say the least, and they had a lot of originally drafts of his works. I also saw his Nobel prize medal! We headed over the St. Stephen's Green and took pics. Then we all parted to do our own things. I walked down Grafton street and checked out some cool stores. Then I went to Temple Bar (a famous area in Dublin where all the cool pubs and shops are). I checked out the Joy of Coffee and had the best blueberry muffin ever!!! I went to the filmbase and grabbed some stuff on films in the area and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. Later I went to the Ireland Film Institute and checked out some really cool movies and film books. There were so many things I wanted to buy, but I resisted and met back up with the girls. Madelyn lost both of her gloves in London and I lost one of them on the tour bus, so we went to this store called Accessorize and bought some glittens!! I've always wanted a pair. Then we went to the bus/train station to inquire about tickets to Belfast for the next day. That evening was a bit of a messy affair with the Belfast tickets- monetarily speaking- but everything got straightened out for the most part. We were supposed to eat dinner with Kelsey and the two girls from IES we were co-habitating with but we couldn't find the pub and we ended up eating at Farrington's Pub. It was hard to find a place that was cheap, but this place was almost reasonable. The food was great! I got an Irish beef lasagna with bolognaise sauce and tons of cheese! The pub even had live music playing which was cool. Thankfully, my bed mate didn't reach for me this time so I slept pretty well this time around.
Friday, Feb. 20
The 4 of us sans Kelsey took a train to Belfast early in the morning and met up with Madelyn's friend's Irish boyfriend Phil. Phil drove us around hs university and took us t get food at Subway of all places haha. We saw the two big yellow cranes David and Goliath that helped make the Titanic. Then he took us to the Giant Causeway and the cliffs on the shore of the ocean. It was incredible There were these hexagonal, tall rocks that we climbed up. The waves were crashing against them and it was beautiful just to sit their and watch. It is called the giant causeway because of a myth about a Giant in Ireland who challenged a Giant in Scotland to fight. They threw rocks in the ocean to make a pathway but didn't finish. The Irish Giant even cut off his hand and threw it in the ocean to up his challenge. The rocks were scary at times, and we climbed pretty high for photos. We then walked up the cliffs a ways and saw some sheep. It was beautiful. Phil and I were wondering why no one has made a film there yet. Perhaps I'll be the first! He then took us to this beach area were there were cool shops and the best ice cream place in Northern Ireland apparently. It was pretty good actually! Northern Ireland is incredible and driving through it was so amazing. We saw so many farms and fields and different trees. Life was all around us! It was totally unlike the countryside in the states. It was soo green! We had dinner at pizza hut ironically and Phil took us back to the train station to go back to Dublin. (we covered his gas money of course although he didn't ask for anything) He was probably the nicest guy I've ever met and a pretty entertaining tour guide( the fact that he was a movie buff was a plus). Us girls all agreed that we wish more guys were like him. When we got back to the hostel, we had to move to a different bedroom which was annoying but at least it was a room of all girls and I didn't have creepy Mc creeperson next to me anymore. But I had to sleep on the top! bummer. Oh well
Saturday, Feb 21
Kelsey and I went back to the Yeats exhibit because I didn't get to see everything. She peaced out pretty quickly and went to the cliffs at Howth. I then went to the National Museum of Ireland and saw some pretty cool stuff. They found really well preserved bodies from 400BC-200BC in bogs! They were gruesomely killed and the scientists think they were sacrifices. Some of the bodies still had hair and teeth and well defined fingers and skin! It was incredible! I wanted to get a few things before I met up with Madelyn so I left the museum pretty quickly and searched for a claddagh ring because that was at the top of my to do list! I never wanted to buy one in the states because I always knew I would make it to Ireland someday and get one. Its a ring with hands of holding a heart with a crown on top of it. If the hear faces inward, it means you belong to someone. If the crown faces inward it means you are single. There's more to it than that depending on which finger you put it on but I'm not going to get into it. Google it if you're interested. Afterward I went to the Temple Bar outdoor book market. One of the book sellers was extra friendly and flirty which was funny! He was adorable in that Irish book seller guy kind of way until he started talking about the female midget who used to stalk him and even got a hotel for them. He suggested a bunch of books to me, and I bought an Irish fairy tale book and a historical fiction book. I finished my English books already and every time I try to read Harry Potter et Le Prince de Sang-Mêlé my head explodes! I met up with Madelyn at the Winding Stair( The name of a Yeats poem and also an Irish bookstore). It was the 4th Irish bookstore I went to that hadn't heard of Herbie Brennan or his books which is odd since he is an Irish author. We saw a major protest going down O'Connell street, and we ducked into a souvenir shop where we both got real cheap t-shirts. Mine cost 5 euro! We made our way to the Guinness Factory and got distracted a few times by Christ Church Cathedral and The Brazen Head pub aka the oldest pub in Ireland. It took us forever to find the entrance to the factory and we met these girls outside who sold us their tickets for 5 dollars each- rather than 11 dollars inside. We quickly accepted but realized we might have been scammed. We weren't and we totally got in. It was so cool! There were 7 floors of information on Guinness. Arthur Guinness paid 47 euro for a 9000 year lease on the property that the Guinness factory owns. Guinness is made of hops, yeast, barely, and water. They use the same yeast that Arthur Guinness used when he first created the drink. We got to see how it is made and check out the old machinery they used to use. They even gave us a small taste. We saw how they made the barrels and they had a lot of information on the adds. 1 in 3 persons in Dublin made a living off of the Guinness Factory in the early 1900s. They really took care of their workers and even provided them with housing and medical. "Guinness is Good For You" there cartoon toucan would say. Doctors even used to prescribe it for patients because it lifted their spirits and other things I can't remember but isn't that wild?! i watched some of the adds, and they are hilarious. They used cartoons a lot. "Oh my Goodness! Oh my Guinness!" was the slogan. The company even made a film in Africa staring their main commercial actor Michael Powers. Anyway when we finally reached the Gravity Bar on the 7th floor, we got a 360 view of Dublin and a complimentary pint of Guinness. I finished the whole thing! It was tough cause I'm not a beer drinker but it was a part of the tour experience. Pints are so big! Guinness is very filling! I dunno about it being good for you though haha. Well after the Guinness Factory, we went to dinner at this pub called Madigans. I had an Irish stew which was really good!It had leeks, lamb, mashed potatoes, carrots and some other veggies. My taste buds were thanking me for this new discovery. We then went to Temple Bar were music performers play in the streets all over. We saw this Spanish group, oddly enough, paying instruments and singing. These old Irish guys started dancing in the street, it was ridiculous! I loved it! For dessert we went to this gelato place were I got the best strawberry sorbet and nutella gelato ever!! It was a great finish to our last night in Dublin.
Sunday, Feb. 22
The next day we got up extra early and caught a bus to the airport. On the plane I met a cool French girl named Floriane who gave me a free metro ticket and told me where we need to go to get to the train station. We rode on the shuttle bus to Paris together and chatted/napped some. The 4 girls I traveled with and I took the metro to the Montparnasse train station. On the way there, I saw Le Tour Eiffel for the 1st time. It was stunning even in the gray haze of the morning. I can't wait to visit Paris properly. The houses and architecture are amazing! There's nothing like it in the states. We tried to get out tickets changed for an earlier train but it was really expensive, so we ended up waithing for 6 hours- with 4 other girls from IES that we ran into. It was a painful wait but it made the arrival home all the sweeter. We rode first class cause that was cheaper with our student discount card and it was ultra nice!.
Now I'm home, well I'm back in Nantes anyway, and I'm so glad to be able to wear different clothes and sleep in my own bed in my own room! It was an incomparable and unmatchable experience. I love London and hope to one day live there. It is the best of Europe with a few American things thrown in which make it easy to adapt. I love the accents and the history and of course the theatre! Well, now that I've given you all a blow by blow of my current adventures- bon nuit!
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