I realized upon crossing the Italy/Switzerland border that I have never met anyone from Switzerland. I know people who have gone to Switzerland and come to think of it I have not heard from those people in awhile. Here is why... Switzerland is so beautiful! The whole country, well at least every part that I saw. Mountains, snow, green, rivers, lakes, blue is what rushes through my head when I remember my time there. And the people, oh the people are so wonderful!
First we went to Zermatt and did some skiing, which was full of adventures. I will highlight one of them...So Zermatt is I believe the highest ski resort in the Alps. Therefore, if we were skiing in Zermatt, we have to go to the highest point in Zermatt, Stockholm. In order to get to Stockholm, we took a train, then 3 different gondolas. On the way up the gondola's were getting smaller and smaller, as were the number of people. By the time we reached Stockholm, there were probably about 13 people with us (not alot!). We looked at our map, yep we are in the right spot, and the slope just says it is a yellow, and yellow means downhill skiing. Well shortly we would find out that yellow is just not classified because it is too difficult and varies! Also we see a sign that says that ski patrol does not come down this part, basically we are at our own risk. Why this didn't scare us away, I don't know!
So everyone that was on our gondola starts busting out cross country skies, backpacks, water, ice picks! The smart thing for us at this time would have been to turn around, but of course we did not. We came to the top and we will ski down! So we start following the crown who is now hiking up a ridge. At this time what is running through my head, is well 'if everyone jumps of a cliff are you?'. Apparently yes, because we are literally hiking on a ridge with cliffs on either side of us, with our ski boots on, carrying our skis.
We reach some Italian ski instructors that we had met on the lift, who of course proceed to laugh at us. But thankfully, after 30 minutes of hiking they show us the way to get down. Well in order to reach the slope, unless we want to hike for another hour minutes, we have to traverse basically three feet above a cliff. We watch them all go, and looks simple, just stay in their tracks. Right as we are gearing up to go, two airplanes flight in front of us, yes right in front of us! Two like fighter jet air force air planes, that is how high we are right. So naturally, we wait for a little while just in case there is an avalanche or something caused by the planes.
Now we have mustered up the courage to go. We click in our boots and away we go! Thankfully we make it to the slope, which isn't really a slope, it is a glacier! Yes we are glacier skiing. Which was really cool, a little difficult, I prefer powder, but no complaints, I am in the Alps and I am alive and I have not yet fallen off a cliff. That will happen when I reach Interlaken.
samedi 28 avril 2007
mardi 24 avril 2007
Mes Vacances: Part 1
There is so much to say and I feel as if I may bore you because I could write a novel of just desciptions on landscape, and then another on people. I will touch upon my favorite things.
Sunday: Passport, secret passport fanny pack thing (very good Christmas present from Mama Jan), Euros, more Euros, Train tickets, Eurail, Backpack, Books, Journal, cell phone, Claire, ready to go.
2:15: Claire andI have been standing at the wrong platform for one hour, our train leaves at 2:15. We sprint to our train, and make it on as the doors are closing, phew….
….switch trains in Milan seven hours later. Again, a dead sprint to our platform after waiting for the wrong train and a poor attempt at Italian. However, we made it.
11 hours later we make it to Naples. Best part about the train ride, this wonderful Italian man who really watched after us despite our language barrier. He spoke a little English and did his very best to point us in the right direction and tell us exactly what to do and see while we were in the south of Italy. I am just so blessed because God places such helpful people around me all the time. He will be in engraved in my memory as my Italian “godfather.”
Now it is Monday:
Sorrento: Citrus. Charming little town just on the Mediterranean filled with oranges, lemons, pesto, and pizza. An excellent combination.
Pompeii: I loved imaging life in this ancient Roman city.
Tuesday:
Capri: Capri is a little island, just off the coast of Sorrento. It is about a 30 minute ferry ride. Capri is this beautiful island surrounded by breathtaking cliffs, and unbelievable blue water. Roman emperors used to vacation in Capri, and other historical figures such as Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, and Roosevelt and Churchill had a few meetings on this small island, oh and how could I forget Mariah Carey’s villa there. Once we arrived on Capri, Claire and I did exactly what our Rick Steve travel guide said. We went directly to the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is this beautiful little cavern hidden in the cliffs. In order to get to the Blue Grotto you must take a large boat to the location, then get in a teeny little canoe type boat, once in the canoe boat with one other person and the guide, you got into this little opening. You have to duck to get into. Once in the cavern, there is an indescribable blue light. The sunlight passes though an underwater cavity and then shines up through the water and illuminates the cave. This was the ancient swimming pool on emperors, and there are steps that go up to their villas. Also once there were Roman statues found in the cavern. Today, locals still go swimming in it after all the tours are done.
Wednesday: Florence, good gelato, good friends from Georgia.
Thursday: Florence, more gelato.
Friday: Trains in Italy decide to strike, and we must take a 6 am train to La Spezia. I am really happy they went on strike actually because we arrived in Cinque Terre really early, and then we had to take a boat instead on a train from the bigger city of La Spezia where our train arrived to the little fishing villages of Cinque Terre. The boat ride was awesome just along the coast on the Italian Riveria.
Arrived in Riomaggiore, the southernmost town of the five fishing villages in Cinque Terra. I am going to have to borrow this description from Rick Steve travel book, “Eighteen kilometers of sheer rocky coastline in northern Italy, terraced hills and vineyards sloping steeply down to the sea. Five little villages are built into the rocks between the beach and the hills. You can hike, swim, drink red wine, and watch blazing Mediterranean sunsets away from the tourist throngs in the Italian cities and the French Riviera. Centuries old footpaths and mule tracks wind about 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea, leading through olive groves and vineyards, orchards and chestnut woods.Each village has its own character, they are a few minutes apart by train.There are almost no cars as the villages are not easily accessible by road.”
So that is Cinque Terre, there is a beautiful seven mile trail from the first town ( where Claire and I stayed) to the fifth town. The trail was so beautiful that after we did it once, relaxed, ate, swam, we had to do it again. Cinque Terre is by far the most the most beautiful place I have ever seen in Italy. It was this little utopia almost, that as so untouched by the modern world, and no one seems to be capitalizing on tourism but every citizen subtly reaping the benefits of their beautiful villages and not changing a thing from their daily lives.
Sunday: We peeled ourselves off the beaches, and headed to Switzerland.
Sunday: Passport, secret passport fanny pack thing (very good Christmas present from Mama Jan), Euros, more Euros, Train tickets, Eurail, Backpack, Books, Journal, cell phone, Claire, ready to go.
2:15: Claire andI have been standing at the wrong platform for one hour, our train leaves at 2:15. We sprint to our train, and make it on as the doors are closing, phew….
….switch trains in Milan seven hours later. Again, a dead sprint to our platform after waiting for the wrong train and a poor attempt at Italian. However, we made it.
11 hours later we make it to Naples. Best part about the train ride, this wonderful Italian man who really watched after us despite our language barrier. He spoke a little English and did his very best to point us in the right direction and tell us exactly what to do and see while we were in the south of Italy. I am just so blessed because God places such helpful people around me all the time. He will be in engraved in my memory as my Italian “godfather.”
Now it is Monday:
Sorrento: Citrus. Charming little town just on the Mediterranean filled with oranges, lemons, pesto, and pizza. An excellent combination.
Pompeii: I loved imaging life in this ancient Roman city.
Tuesday:
Capri: Capri is a little island, just off the coast of Sorrento. It is about a 30 minute ferry ride. Capri is this beautiful island surrounded by breathtaking cliffs, and unbelievable blue water. Roman emperors used to vacation in Capri, and other historical figures such as Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, and Roosevelt and Churchill had a few meetings on this small island, oh and how could I forget Mariah Carey’s villa there. Once we arrived on Capri, Claire and I did exactly what our Rick Steve travel guide said. We went directly to the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is this beautiful little cavern hidden in the cliffs. In order to get to the Blue Grotto you must take a large boat to the location, then get in a teeny little canoe type boat, once in the canoe boat with one other person and the guide, you got into this little opening. You have to duck to get into. Once in the cavern, there is an indescribable blue light. The sunlight passes though an underwater cavity and then shines up through the water and illuminates the cave. This was the ancient swimming pool on emperors, and there are steps that go up to their villas. Also once there were Roman statues found in the cavern. Today, locals still go swimming in it after all the tours are done.
Wednesday: Florence, good gelato, good friends from Georgia.
Thursday: Florence, more gelato.
Friday: Trains in Italy decide to strike, and we must take a 6 am train to La Spezia. I am really happy they went on strike actually because we arrived in Cinque Terre really early, and then we had to take a boat instead on a train from the bigger city of La Spezia where our train arrived to the little fishing villages of Cinque Terre. The boat ride was awesome just along the coast on the Italian Riveria.
Arrived in Riomaggiore, the southernmost town of the five fishing villages in Cinque Terra. I am going to have to borrow this description from Rick Steve travel book, “Eighteen kilometers of sheer rocky coastline in northern Italy, terraced hills and vineyards sloping steeply down to the sea. Five little villages are built into the rocks between the beach and the hills. You can hike, swim, drink red wine, and watch blazing Mediterranean sunsets away from the tourist throngs in the Italian cities and the French Riviera. Centuries old footpaths and mule tracks wind about 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea, leading through olive groves and vineyards, orchards and chestnut woods.Each village has its own character, they are a few minutes apart by train.There are almost no cars as the villages are not easily accessible by road.”
So that is Cinque Terre, there is a beautiful seven mile trail from the first town ( where Claire and I stayed) to the fifth town. The trail was so beautiful that after we did it once, relaxed, ate, swam, we had to do it again. Cinque Terre is by far the most the most beautiful place I have ever seen in Italy. It was this little utopia almost, that as so untouched by the modern world, and no one seems to be capitalizing on tourism but every citizen subtly reaping the benefits of their beautiful villages and not changing a thing from their daily lives.
Sunday: We peeled ourselves off the beaches, and headed to Switzerland.
dimanche 18 mars 2007
Last week and a weekend in the Loire Valley
Last week was really lovely, the weather was amazing! Monday night I had dinner with a friend of mine from UGA. It is so nice to see familiar faces, we went to this delicious French restaurant, and splurged a little. The name of the restaurant is Chez Janou, and it is this little ‘hole in the wall.’ It was so nice because it is entirely French, nothing on the menu was translated into English, so we were not entirely sure on what we were ordering, but when the entrees, plats, and desserts all came, each were delightful.
Tuesday and Wednesday I babysat, and took the kids to the Park. I have such a good time with them! Wednesday night, the Richers (my home-stay family) had a huge dinner party for Claire’s parents and sisters who are in town. It was really great and so funny because no one in Claire’s family speaks any French, and Madame Richers speaks a little French as does Monsieur Richer. At one point Monsieur Richer was talking about their garden in Normandy and he said very proudly, “We are tomatoes!,” it was hilarious because he meant to say we have, he really reminds me of a cartoon character, in a good way. Their youngest daughter Sixtine joined the dinner party as well (they have 4 children and 10 grandchildren). Anyways, Sixtine is what I envision an elegeant, charming Frenchwoman to be like. She was so nice and so poised. Sixtine worked in NYC for a few years so her English is perfect. She works in communications for Fidelity, and I had a great time talking to her about that since I am Speech Communications major.
Thursday, my friends Amy, Amanda and I, we discovered a store/restaurant called La Grande Epicerie! It is so a huge gourmet grocery store, a lot like Fresh Market or Whole Food, and they have an incredible Salad Bar. It honestly was a little taste of heaven! So I will be going there for lunch everyday from now on. Not to complain, but I am kind of over crepes and bread.
Thursday night I went to the Musee D’Orsay with Claire’s family, and also had dinner with them. Claire has two older sisters and one younger brother. Her younger brother could not make it, but it is so fun to see the dynamics between he and her sisters! Also because Claire is the youngest girl and I am the oldest. I really enjoyed being with her family, they were so sweet to me.
Friday night is the Louvre night, because it is ‘til 9:45, and free if you are under 26. I love going to the Louvre at night, it makes the whole building feel more mysterious, and the artwork in it!
Saturday morning, bright and early, and unfortunately in the cold rain, I left for the Loire Valley. Loire Valley is a region jsut a few hours south of Paris, known for its chateaus (mansions) and wine It was a great trip, I visited four the major Chateaus there and also did a tour of a Vineyard. Even though it was raining the whole time, the area was beautiful, lush and very green! My favorite chateau is Chambord. It is this enormous chateau; the roof of the chateau is meant to look like a mini-village, and it really does. In the 16th and 17th centuries they used to have balls and all kinds of parties on top of the chateau! Also the area surrouding the cheateau is a forest as big as Paris. It is one of the best places to hunt in France.
The name of the vineyard we went to is Vouvay. They specialize in white wine, and it is a smaller vineyard, which was really nice. We were given a tour of the caves where the wine is held, and we were talked through the wine making process. In the end we were able to taste many of their wines! And they were so good, I bought three bottles! One of their specialties in semi-sparkling white wine, and it very tasty! Very few vineyards makes semi-sparkling.
So back to Paris, unfortunately is a little wet and cold right now. But oh well, a good opportunity to used my museums passes!
Tuesday and Wednesday I babysat, and took the kids to the Park. I have such a good time with them! Wednesday night, the Richers (my home-stay family) had a huge dinner party for Claire’s parents and sisters who are in town. It was really great and so funny because no one in Claire’s family speaks any French, and Madame Richers speaks a little French as does Monsieur Richer. At one point Monsieur Richer was talking about their garden in Normandy and he said very proudly, “We are tomatoes!,” it was hilarious because he meant to say we have, he really reminds me of a cartoon character, in a good way. Their youngest daughter Sixtine joined the dinner party as well (they have 4 children and 10 grandchildren). Anyways, Sixtine is what I envision an elegeant, charming Frenchwoman to be like. She was so nice and so poised. Sixtine worked in NYC for a few years so her English is perfect. She works in communications for Fidelity, and I had a great time talking to her about that since I am Speech Communications major.
Thursday, my friends Amy, Amanda and I, we discovered a store/restaurant called La Grande Epicerie! It is so a huge gourmet grocery store, a lot like Fresh Market or Whole Food, and they have an incredible Salad Bar. It honestly was a little taste of heaven! So I will be going there for lunch everyday from now on. Not to complain, but I am kind of over crepes and bread.
Thursday night I went to the Musee D’Orsay with Claire’s family, and also had dinner with them. Claire has two older sisters and one younger brother. Her younger brother could not make it, but it is so fun to see the dynamics between he and her sisters! Also because Claire is the youngest girl and I am the oldest. I really enjoyed being with her family, they were so sweet to me.
Friday night is the Louvre night, because it is ‘til 9:45, and free if you are under 26. I love going to the Louvre at night, it makes the whole building feel more mysterious, and the artwork in it!
Saturday morning, bright and early, and unfortunately in the cold rain, I left for the Loire Valley. Loire Valley is a region jsut a few hours south of Paris, known for its chateaus (mansions) and wine It was a great trip, I visited four the major Chateaus there and also did a tour of a Vineyard. Even though it was raining the whole time, the area was beautiful, lush and very green! My favorite chateau is Chambord. It is this enormous chateau; the roof of the chateau is meant to look like a mini-village, and it really does. In the 16th and 17th centuries they used to have balls and all kinds of parties on top of the chateau! Also the area surrouding the cheateau is a forest as big as Paris. It is one of the best places to hunt in France.
The name of the vineyard we went to is Vouvay. They specialize in white wine, and it is a smaller vineyard, which was really nice. We were given a tour of the caves where the wine is held, and we were talked through the wine making process. In the end we were able to taste many of their wines! And they were so good, I bought three bottles! One of their specialties in semi-sparkling white wine, and it very tasty! Very few vineyards makes semi-sparkling.
So back to Paris, unfortunately is a little wet and cold right now. But oh well, a good opportunity to used my museums passes!
jeudi 15 mars 2007
Independent in Ireland
Independent in Ireland
I arrived in Dublin Thursday evening with my friend Annie.We arrived just in time to find our hostel and set off on a pub crawl. The pub crawl was really fun, we went to about 8 different pubs with a guide who knew everything about each one. My favorite was the one were Bono had his birthday party. The next day we woke up and decided to discover Dublin the daylight. Well Dublin is nice, but there really is not too much to discover. Dublin has about 2 million people and is the biggest city in Irealnd. Annie and I started our tour 10 and finished everything by 2, the most notable site was probably the Guiness factory. We toured the factory, and it was really awesome, Guinness is so good, I loved the foam on the top, it kind of tasted like a beer milkshake.
Anyways, as we finished our Guinness’ we rushed to the bus station, and caught the 3:00 bus to Cork. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, and I think it has a population of 200,000. The bus to Cork was great, it was very long though because of some traffic (a.k.a. sheep in the road!). We made it to Cork and met up with Annie’s friend who is studying abroad there. We walked around Cork for a while and there really wasn’t too much to do. So I decided that I wanted to see more, you know everything that you see in the pictures of Ireland. Annie, however,wanted to stay in Cork, which was fine with me. I felt like I could do anything I wanted in Ireland because they speak English!
I woke up early Saturday morning and caught a bus to Killarney National Park. The bus ride was so beautiful, everything is so green, there are sheep everywhere. Killarney National Park is the most well-known Irish landscape in the world, it has huge lakes, rocks, mountains and castles. The mountains looked kind of like the appalachians, all covered in forests. There were big oak trees everywhere, and lots of streams. The town of Killarney was so cute too, much better than Cork or Dublin. So I checked myself into a hotel, well that was after I went to a hostel and thought it was sketchy, so I decided I would
splurge on a hotel room, which was so wonderful! It was the first time I have had my own room in a very long time.
Sunday I woke up and went for a walk in the park up to Ross Castle, which is just a really cool old castle. I also went horseback riding for 2 1/2 hours later that morning around the park! It was so fun, it was just me and the guide, who is also 20 yrs old. She was really great, I told her that I had some riding experience and she flipped out! She was so excited that we would be able to canter, and canter we did for almost half of the tour. I also have not ridden English in a very long time so it took some getting used too. We cantered through this awesome trail in the woods for about 10 minutes, which is a really really long time for a canter. And my horse jumped over a stream, which was kind of scary but really fun, I am normally not a fan of jumping at all. But I saw Anna's horse jump it and I was just like well here we go! It was so awesome, I love to ride, and just the fact that I got to ride through Killarney was seriously like a dream come true.
Everyone in Ireland is so nice too. Killarney was great because everyone there is so active, there are tons of people out in the park running or walking the trails (it is a huge park, I mean like hundreds of square miles). I met this man on my walk Sunday morning named Patrick, I asked him for directions and he was like you know I don't have much to do today I will just walk with you to the stables. And he walked the two miles with me to the stables. Same with some other boys when I couldn’t find the bus station, and everyone at the hotel was so helpful.
I sadly left Killarney on Sunday evening and flew out of Cork Monday morning. Just in time to make it to my 12:00 cass. So that is my independent Ireland story!
I arrived in Dublin Thursday evening with my friend Annie.We arrived just in time to find our hostel and set off on a pub crawl. The pub crawl was really fun, we went to about 8 different pubs with a guide who knew everything about each one. My favorite was the one were Bono had his birthday party. The next day we woke up and decided to discover Dublin the daylight. Well Dublin is nice, but there really is not too much to discover. Dublin has about 2 million people and is the biggest city in Irealnd. Annie and I started our tour 10 and finished everything by 2, the most notable site was probably the Guiness factory. We toured the factory, and it was really awesome, Guinness is so good, I loved the foam on the top, it kind of tasted like a beer milkshake.
Anyways, as we finished our Guinness’ we rushed to the bus station, and caught the 3:00 bus to Cork. Cork is the second largest city in Ireland, and I think it has a population of 200,000. The bus to Cork was great, it was very long though because of some traffic (a.k.a. sheep in the road!). We made it to Cork and met up with Annie’s friend who is studying abroad there. We walked around Cork for a while and there really wasn’t too much to do. So I decided that I wanted to see more, you know everything that you see in the pictures of Ireland. Annie, however,wanted to stay in Cork, which was fine with me. I felt like I could do anything I wanted in Ireland because they speak English!
I woke up early Saturday morning and caught a bus to Killarney National Park. The bus ride was so beautiful, everything is so green, there are sheep everywhere. Killarney National Park is the most well-known Irish landscape in the world, it has huge lakes, rocks, mountains and castles. The mountains looked kind of like the appalachians, all covered in forests. There were big oak trees everywhere, and lots of streams. The town of Killarney was so cute too, much better than Cork or Dublin. So I checked myself into a hotel, well that was after I went to a hostel and thought it was sketchy, so I decided I would
splurge on a hotel room, which was so wonderful! It was the first time I have had my own room in a very long time.
Sunday I woke up and went for a walk in the park up to Ross Castle, which is just a really cool old castle. I also went horseback riding for 2 1/2 hours later that morning around the park! It was so fun, it was just me and the guide, who is also 20 yrs old. She was really great, I told her that I had some riding experience and she flipped out! She was so excited that we would be able to canter, and canter we did for almost half of the tour. I also have not ridden English in a very long time so it took some getting used too. We cantered through this awesome trail in the woods for about 10 minutes, which is a really really long time for a canter. And my horse jumped over a stream, which was kind of scary but really fun, I am normally not a fan of jumping at all. But I saw Anna's horse jump it and I was just like well here we go! It was so awesome, I love to ride, and just the fact that I got to ride through Killarney was seriously like a dream come true.
Everyone in Ireland is so nice too. Killarney was great because everyone there is so active, there are tons of people out in the park running or walking the trails (it is a huge park, I mean like hundreds of square miles). I met this man on my walk Sunday morning named Patrick, I asked him for directions and he was like you know I don't have much to do today I will just walk with you to the stables. And he walked the two miles with me to the stables. Same with some other boys when I couldn’t find the bus station, and everyone at the hotel was so helpful.
I sadly left Killarney on Sunday evening and flew out of Cork Monday morning. Just in time to make it to my 12:00 cass. So that is my independent Ireland story!
samedi 3 mars 2007
Le début de mars
The beginning of March has been wonderful...so far. The weather here right now is lovely, and keeps getting better. It rains off and on somedays, but when it clears up it is so beautiful. There is a word for this kind of weather here, I think it is jubilee, but I am not positive. I think I got sick at the best time, because now I am fully recoverd, rested, and ready for spring!
For the past two weeks, all the children in France have been out of school on "holiday." So all the parks have been filled with kids. It is so cute to see them play. My favorite thing to watch, in Luxembourg Gardens, there is a little stand where you can rent little sail boats and put them in the fountain. Yesterday, the fountain was filled with all these little boats, and the kids think they are the greatest things ever invented. Also, I have found that contrary to popular belief, the French are very into exercising. The parks are always filled with joggers, and there are rollerbladers everywhere and bikers too. I went running around the park near my appartment, Monceau Park, this morning, and I felt like I was running around a track because there were so many people.
Last night I went to a very interesting restaurant. It was this fondue place near the Moulin Rouge and Montmartre area (kind of a sketchy area at night). Anyways, this restaurant was recommended by one of my travel guide books, and it is widely known because they serve wine in baby bottles! Yes, welcome to France, wine in baby bottles! The restuarant is actually supposed to resemble an insane asylum, so there is writing all over the walls and you have to climb over the tables to get to your seat, well some people do. Nonetheless, the fondue was pretty good and so was the wine.
Last week, there was a 6 nation Rugby tournament, and we went on kind of a pub crawl to watch the games. Sports here are so great! We got seats to watch the England vs. Ireland rugby match last weekend, it was awesome, and the pub was filled with people from each opposing team. It was so fun to watch!
I am headed to Ireland on Thursday for a few days. I cannot wait!
Oh, and my good friend Billy is here this week, so Claire and I have our first shot at being tour guides! This should be interesting.
For the past two weeks, all the children in France have been out of school on "holiday." So all the parks have been filled with kids. It is so cute to see them play. My favorite thing to watch, in Luxembourg Gardens, there is a little stand where you can rent little sail boats and put them in the fountain. Yesterday, the fountain was filled with all these little boats, and the kids think they are the greatest things ever invented. Also, I have found that contrary to popular belief, the French are very into exercising. The parks are always filled with joggers, and there are rollerbladers everywhere and bikers too. I went running around the park near my appartment, Monceau Park, this morning, and I felt like I was running around a track because there were so many people.
Last night I went to a very interesting restaurant. It was this fondue place near the Moulin Rouge and Montmartre area (kind of a sketchy area at night). Anyways, this restaurant was recommended by one of my travel guide books, and it is widely known because they serve wine in baby bottles! Yes, welcome to France, wine in baby bottles! The restuarant is actually supposed to resemble an insane asylum, so there is writing all over the walls and you have to climb over the tables to get to your seat, well some people do. Nonetheless, the fondue was pretty good and so was the wine.
Last week, there was a 6 nation Rugby tournament, and we went on kind of a pub crawl to watch the games. Sports here are so great! We got seats to watch the England vs. Ireland rugby match last weekend, it was awesome, and the pub was filled with people from each opposing team. It was so fun to watch!
I am headed to Ireland on Thursday for a few days. I cannot wait!
Oh, and my good friend Billy is here this week, so Claire and I have our first shot at being tour guides! This should be interesting.
jeudi 22 février 2007
Sick and the City
Well it has certainly been an interesting week, and one in which I feel like I have had to do some serious growing up. Last friday, my throat started to feel very sore, by Monday I had a fever and a very bad sore throat, swollen glands, and serious nasal congestion. So, I went to the Pharmacy, tried to explain my symptoms in french ( a little tricky), the pharmacist loaded me up with some medicine and I went home hoping to recover in a day or two. Unfortunately, things did not get better. Luckily, by Wednesday after talking to my dad he suggsted it may be strep and that I should go see a doctor. Going to see a doctor in France was about the last thing I wanted to do. No offense to any doctors reading this (DT), I love doctors, the only ones I like going to are generally the ones I am related too, and that is only if I have to. Nonetheless, I called the American Hospital of Paris, trying to speak French through a sore throat was a bit of a task, but they could not see me 'til Friday. Luckily, my sweet host family came to the rescue, they called their doctor, and made an appointment for me that afternoon.
So I made it to Doctor LeBlonde's office, and interestingly enough it was in an apartment building. However, that is normal I was told. I make it inside, the nurses are dressed like they would have dressed in my opinion in 1945. Oh well, I thought, just get me some medicine. I finally met with Dr. LeBlonde an hour after my scheduled appointment (the french are always fashionably late). Anyways, we go into his office, and he goes behind a little room divider (i guess) and that is his examining room. Odd again, I thought, but go with it. So he examines me, and is saying things to me in French, some of which I am catching, some I am not. He notices that I am beginning to tear up based on my lack of understanding, and says things a bit slower and even a little bit in english, which was nice. So it turns out I have just what my dad diagnosed, strep. A red throat, swollen glands, both covered in white spots, those are the only details i will give. He prescribed me some medication, was very nice and sent me on my way. A side note though, french doctors only accept cash or checks! (luckily I had cash). After about a day on medication, i feel so much better! I am beginning to be bored out of my mind, but better. Some may laugh, but having to go to the doctor, take care of myself, buy my medicine and things like soup and tea, all in a foreign country, i now feel like i can take on anything. I am serious, this is the first time i have been really sick since I graduated high school and I have survived, and in France. So that is it for this week, hopefully I will be ready to come out of quarantine on Friday, and run around Paris this weekend.
So I made it to Doctor LeBlonde's office, and interestingly enough it was in an apartment building. However, that is normal I was told. I make it inside, the nurses are dressed like they would have dressed in my opinion in 1945. Oh well, I thought, just get me some medicine. I finally met with Dr. LeBlonde an hour after my scheduled appointment (the french are always fashionably late). Anyways, we go into his office, and he goes behind a little room divider (i guess) and that is his examining room. Odd again, I thought, but go with it. So he examines me, and is saying things to me in French, some of which I am catching, some I am not. He notices that I am beginning to tear up based on my lack of understanding, and says things a bit slower and even a little bit in english, which was nice. So it turns out I have just what my dad diagnosed, strep. A red throat, swollen glands, both covered in white spots, those are the only details i will give. He prescribed me some medication, was very nice and sent me on my way. A side note though, french doctors only accept cash or checks! (luckily I had cash). After about a day on medication, i feel so much better! I am beginning to be bored out of my mind, but better. Some may laugh, but having to go to the doctor, take care of myself, buy my medicine and things like soup and tea, all in a foreign country, i now feel like i can take on anything. I am serious, this is the first time i have been really sick since I graduated high school and I have survived, and in France. So that is it for this week, hopefully I will be ready to come out of quarantine on Friday, and run around Paris this weekend.
dimanche 18 février 2007
Life in Paris
This past week has been very busy as well. I now have class everyday. My classes are fine, I am taking a French conversation and composition class everday for two hours, I also have a phonetics lab which is about an hour, and I am also taking a class on french books and poetry of the 19th and 20th century every Monday. All my classes are u the area right by the Sorbonne, Luxembourg Gardens and St. Michel. My classes are great, a little overwhelming at times, but nonetheless I better be able to speak french after all this is over! Monday night I went to a modern ballet at the Grand Palais, which was so beautiful. Apart from the nutcracker, it was the first real ballet that I have been too. Everything about it was so cool. First the Grand Palais, on the inside looks like a mini-Versailles. Everything looked very rich, gold, deep reds, I mean I understand now why the French rebelled against the royalty in the revolution, they were spending all their money! The ballet itself was so interesting, from the actual ballerinas to the costumes, The movements, costume, and music were all modern, So it was a little different than I imagine a classical ballet would be.
I babysat Tuesday and Wednesday, which is one of my favorite things about living here. However, it can be quite exhausting. The kids I babysit, Antoine, Ocean and William, are so much fun and so full of energy! We just run, or in their case ride their scooters, all over Paris! They are such sweet kids.
The weather here, besides one rainy day this week, has been amazing! Sunny and fairly warm, warm enough that we were able to outside for dinner last night. It is very unusual and I was definitely expecting really cold weather, but I am enjoying it so much. Almost everyday this week I eat outside in the Luxembourg Gardens after class, Oh, expect one day this week I walked over to the Jewish District, which is very close to Notre Dame, just on the other side of the river. I think that so far, the Jewish district has the best food that I have had in Paris! It is this little area, almost all cobblestone, in which the majority of the stores and deli’s are owned by mostly jewish people. They have the best pastries, sandwiches, and falafel that I have ever had. Today, we went after church again, and the Jewish District was packed because everything there is open on Sundays. We had to wait 30 minutes for three of us to eat at this falafel place. It was the longest I have had to wait to be seated in Paris, which that should tell you how good this place is!
Oh, Friday night I went to Chartres Cathedral, a cathedral about an hour away from Paris. Chartres is the most interesting and beautiful church I have seen so far! The story behind it, the building, its windows and its relics! I was lucky enough to be given a tour by a man who has dedicated his entire career, over fifty years to studying specifically Chartres. He said that you could spend nearly a week on just on window, that is how detailed and beautiful the stain glass there is. And there are lots of windows in Chartres! Something very interesting too, is that Chartres has a relic that is supposedly the veil of Virgin Mary. Of course they are not positive, but I believe that studies and tests done on the veil do prove that it is 2000 years old! Well that’s about it for now, this weekend has been a little uneventful, which is kind of nice.
I babysat Tuesday and Wednesday, which is one of my favorite things about living here. However, it can be quite exhausting. The kids I babysit, Antoine, Ocean and William, are so much fun and so full of energy! We just run, or in their case ride their scooters, all over Paris! They are such sweet kids.
The weather here, besides one rainy day this week, has been amazing! Sunny and fairly warm, warm enough that we were able to outside for dinner last night. It is very unusual and I was definitely expecting really cold weather, but I am enjoying it so much. Almost everyday this week I eat outside in the Luxembourg Gardens after class, Oh, expect one day this week I walked over to the Jewish District, which is very close to Notre Dame, just on the other side of the river. I think that so far, the Jewish district has the best food that I have had in Paris! It is this little area, almost all cobblestone, in which the majority of the stores and deli’s are owned by mostly jewish people. They have the best pastries, sandwiches, and falafel that I have ever had. Today, we went after church again, and the Jewish District was packed because everything there is open on Sundays. We had to wait 30 minutes for three of us to eat at this falafel place. It was the longest I have had to wait to be seated in Paris, which that should tell you how good this place is!
Oh, Friday night I went to Chartres Cathedral, a cathedral about an hour away from Paris. Chartres is the most interesting and beautiful church I have seen so far! The story behind it, the building, its windows and its relics! I was lucky enough to be given a tour by a man who has dedicated his entire career, over fifty years to studying specifically Chartres. He said that you could spend nearly a week on just on window, that is how detailed and beautiful the stain glass there is. And there are lots of windows in Chartres! Something very interesting too, is that Chartres has a relic that is supposedly the veil of Virgin Mary. Of course they are not positive, but I believe that studies and tests done on the veil do prove that it is 2000 years old! Well that’s about it for now, this weekend has been a little uneventful, which is kind of nice.
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