I've noticed my entries have been getting longer and longer throughout the semester. My apologies for feeling the need to share every minute detail of my life abroad, I just wish you all could be here to share them with me! Hope all is well.
Gobble Gobble
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I love Paris Oh my Oh my
Another week has come and gone! Time is slipping away like summer. I spent last week in Paris and it was more incredible that I could ever have imagined. The city is absolutely beautiful and there is so much to see. I did all I could but I will have to go back because there is so much that I missed.
The transportation system in France began a strike on Tuesday night and while it has become less intense it is still going on. Worried that we might not be able to get to Paris on Wednesday, our professors arranged another mode of transportation. We ended up flying there which worked out well because we ended up with more time in the city than we had initially planned.
Wednesday we had a free afternoon and so a few of us decided to go to le Centre Pompidou, which is a modern art museum. There was a large Giacommeti exhibit with some early portraits and tons of sketches and sculptures. So talented. We also checked out the modern works on the floors below his exhibit, which always confuse me but were fun to look at. I’ve decided, for my own sanity, not to take modern art too seriously.
Thursday morning our group met up after breakfast and walked to Le Louvre. It was a beautiful clear day out, though it was pretty cold. The walk took about an hour and we actually walked along the Seine! It was so unreal for me to walk along that famous river and see Notre Dame just a couple blocks away. We arrived at le Louvre to discover that it would be opening an hour late because there weren’t enough personnel at work due to the strike. Eventually we went in, via the famous pyramid and began looking at art. We spent every day at the museums from about 9-5 looking at only a small handful of paintings. We sat in front of each painting for about an hour and drinking it in and discussing the work. It was such an incredible experience. I have never seen art in such a way. We were separated into two groups throughout the week excluding when we talked about the first and last paintings.
After we finished Thursday evening Libby, Mandy and I took a stroll down the Champs-Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe. We walked around Place de Concorde and Les Tuileries then headed home. We ate at a tiny falafel place and ordered a bottle of the 2007 Boujelais. The release of this wine is a huge event in France and everyone goes out the night it is released and drinks a glass. It was released Thursday so we felt it was our duty as cultural conessieurs to have a glass.
Friday we walked through the city to the Musee d’Orsay. It was another amazing day of discussions and that afternoon they finally had enough staff to open up the Impressioniste floor, which is our class’ focus. After the museum we walk to Notre Dame and around Hotel de Ville. Then Libby and I bought some wine, cheese, baguettes, fruit and chips for dinner and lunch the next day. We were supposed to have free dinner at the hostel but it was nearly unedible so after the first night we didn’t go back. Our homemade dinner was cheap, french and delicious! After dinner Libby, Mike, Becca and I went out in search of a bar. Our hostel had a 1 am curfew so we went to the first bar we saw and after about 5 minutes of sitting inside we realized it was a gay bar. We saw a series of Britney Spears videos followed by J. Lo and watched the bartenders in tight shirts dance behind the bar. It was pretty entertaining.
Saturday we returned to the Musee d’Orsay for the morning and then went to the Orangerie in the afternoon. The Orangerie is a museum designed by Monet to house 8 of his waterlillies series. Downstairs they have works by other artists like Renoir. The Monet’s were so impressive. The building is two ovals that connect through two hallways so the paintings are on giant curved canvases which really connect you to the painting.
Saturday night the strike was beginning to ease up a little and about 1 out of 3 trains were running on the metro so Libby headed out to Sacre Coeur. Libby’s friend from high school is a student in Paris and she has the most incredible flat I have ever seen. She literally lives across the street from Sacre Coeur. It’s on the 5 floor so the living room doors and windows give a perfect view of the old church. Outside her kitchen window you can see the Eiffel Tower sparkling. Julia and her flatmate invited Libby and one lucky friend (me) to their dinner party that night. There were 10 people there in total. Libby and I represented Texas and NY, there were a couple people there from Italy, a girl from Finland/Russia, and the remaining 5 were from different parts of England and Scotland. We had drinks and appetizers like olives, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Then we sat down and had warm goat cheese wrapped in thinly sliced ham over salade fraiche. Our main course was a Moraccan dish with couscous, chicken, chick peas? and a delicious sauce. For dessert we had macaroons, hagaandaz ice cream, fruit salad and warm apple tart. Great food, great wine, an incredible view and good conversation topped off with a cab ride home and a mad dash to the hostel to beat curfew. This night goes in my top ten for the semester.
Sunday we headed to our last museum but unfortunately I cannot remember the name of this one. We spent some time walking around on our own then we all met back up as one group, like we did for the first painting we looked at, in front of a Monet painting. We spent probably an hour and a half sitting together talking about the painting. I can’t describe the feeling I had that afternoon but it was so powerful. This trip was such an amazing experience for me and I couldn’t be happier about it all.
Over the course of the week we examined works by Gorgioni, Titian, Van Gogh, Renoir, Daubigny, Daumier, Monet, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec. They gave us time to walk around the museums before each session and look at other works too. It’s such an overwhelming feeling to be surrounded by such amazing talent. I saw a beautiful portrait by Van Gogh that he completed in 45 minutes! I’ve never felt such awe and incompetance at the same time. I will never look at art the same way again. I am so thankful for the past 5 days.
This week I am back in the swing again in Aix. Thanksgiving is coming Thursday and I can’t help being sad that I can’t spend it with my family. I realized when I was in Paris talking to my friends about the holidays that I will not be cuddled up on a couch wrapped in a blanket watching It’s a Wonderful Life with you all on Thursday night and it brought me to tears. I love you family and I wish more than anything that I could be with you on Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving and remember…
Every time a bell rings an angel gets it’s wings.
Gros Bisous
The transportation system in France began a strike on Tuesday night and while it has become less intense it is still going on. Worried that we might not be able to get to Paris on Wednesday, our professors arranged another mode of transportation. We ended up flying there which worked out well because we ended up with more time in the city than we had initially planned.
Wednesday we had a free afternoon and so a few of us decided to go to le Centre Pompidou, which is a modern art museum. There was a large Giacommeti exhibit with some early portraits and tons of sketches and sculptures. So talented. We also checked out the modern works on the floors below his exhibit, which always confuse me but were fun to look at. I’ve decided, for my own sanity, not to take modern art too seriously.
Thursday morning our group met up after breakfast and walked to Le Louvre. It was a beautiful clear day out, though it was pretty cold. The walk took about an hour and we actually walked along the Seine! It was so unreal for me to walk along that famous river and see Notre Dame just a couple blocks away. We arrived at le Louvre to discover that it would be opening an hour late because there weren’t enough personnel at work due to the strike. Eventually we went in, via the famous pyramid and began looking at art. We spent every day at the museums from about 9-5 looking at only a small handful of paintings. We sat in front of each painting for about an hour and drinking it in and discussing the work. It was such an incredible experience. I have never seen art in such a way. We were separated into two groups throughout the week excluding when we talked about the first and last paintings.
After we finished Thursday evening Libby, Mandy and I took a stroll down the Champs-Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe. We walked around Place de Concorde and Les Tuileries then headed home. We ate at a tiny falafel place and ordered a bottle of the 2007 Boujelais. The release of this wine is a huge event in France and everyone goes out the night it is released and drinks a glass. It was released Thursday so we felt it was our duty as cultural conessieurs to have a glass.
Friday we walked through the city to the Musee d’Orsay. It was another amazing day of discussions and that afternoon they finally had enough staff to open up the Impressioniste floor, which is our class’ focus. After the museum we walk to Notre Dame and around Hotel de Ville. Then Libby and I bought some wine, cheese, baguettes, fruit and chips for dinner and lunch the next day. We were supposed to have free dinner at the hostel but it was nearly unedible so after the first night we didn’t go back. Our homemade dinner was cheap, french and delicious! After dinner Libby, Mike, Becca and I went out in search of a bar. Our hostel had a 1 am curfew so we went to the first bar we saw and after about 5 minutes of sitting inside we realized it was a gay bar. We saw a series of Britney Spears videos followed by J. Lo and watched the bartenders in tight shirts dance behind the bar. It was pretty entertaining.
Saturday we returned to the Musee d’Orsay for the morning and then went to the Orangerie in the afternoon. The Orangerie is a museum designed by Monet to house 8 of his waterlillies series. Downstairs they have works by other artists like Renoir. The Monet’s were so impressive. The building is two ovals that connect through two hallways so the paintings are on giant curved canvases which really connect you to the painting.
Saturday night the strike was beginning to ease up a little and about 1 out of 3 trains were running on the metro so Libby headed out to Sacre Coeur. Libby’s friend from high school is a student in Paris and she has the most incredible flat I have ever seen. She literally lives across the street from Sacre Coeur. It’s on the 5 floor so the living room doors and windows give a perfect view of the old church. Outside her kitchen window you can see the Eiffel Tower sparkling. Julia and her flatmate invited Libby and one lucky friend (me) to their dinner party that night. There were 10 people there in total. Libby and I represented Texas and NY, there were a couple people there from Italy, a girl from Finland/Russia, and the remaining 5 were from different parts of England and Scotland. We had drinks and appetizers like olives, artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Then we sat down and had warm goat cheese wrapped in thinly sliced ham over salade fraiche. Our main course was a Moraccan dish with couscous, chicken, chick peas? and a delicious sauce. For dessert we had macaroons, hagaandaz ice cream, fruit salad and warm apple tart. Great food, great wine, an incredible view and good conversation topped off with a cab ride home and a mad dash to the hostel to beat curfew. This night goes in my top ten for the semester.
Sunday we headed to our last museum but unfortunately I cannot remember the name of this one. We spent some time walking around on our own then we all met back up as one group, like we did for the first painting we looked at, in front of a Monet painting. We spent probably an hour and a half sitting together talking about the painting. I can’t describe the feeling I had that afternoon but it was so powerful. This trip was such an amazing experience for me and I couldn’t be happier about it all.
Over the course of the week we examined works by Gorgioni, Titian, Van Gogh, Renoir, Daubigny, Daumier, Monet, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec. They gave us time to walk around the museums before each session and look at other works too. It’s such an overwhelming feeling to be surrounded by such amazing talent. I saw a beautiful portrait by Van Gogh that he completed in 45 minutes! I’ve never felt such awe and incompetance at the same time. I will never look at art the same way again. I am so thankful for the past 5 days.
This week I am back in the swing again in Aix. Thanksgiving is coming Thursday and I can’t help being sad that I can’t spend it with my family. I realized when I was in Paris talking to my friends about the holidays that I will not be cuddled up on a couch wrapped in a blanket watching It’s a Wonderful Life with you all on Thursday night and it brought me to tears. I love you family and I wish more than anything that I could be with you on Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving and remember…
Every time a bell rings an angel gets it’s wings.
Gros Bisous
Recovering from Break
Last week came and went very quickly. Time is starting to be that way here. Only five weeks until I come back. I remember thinking 3 ½ months was a long time. The first half of the week I spent catching up on all the sleep I missed out on over the break and the rest of the week I spent enjoying Aix. Thursday night I went to a cocktail party with a mix of American students from IAU and French students from some of the universities in Aix. I ended up talking with a student who studied in Austin for a year about local bars and living in west campus. What a small world, huh?
Friday I went wine tasting again with another group of IAU students. We tried some really great Rose, a red that I didn’t care for and a really good dessert wine. This time around our host was not so drunk so it was slightly less entertaining but fun all the same. Later that night, after a nap and dinner Annabelle and went out on the town. We ended up running into some other students from IAU and going to a party for an art exhibit with free drinks and appetizers. It was a lovely free evening.
Saturday I woke up and headed out to La Rotonde to meet Annabelle and Jenna to go olive picking. We took a bus into the country and were dropped off with no clue where we needed to go. We walked around a bit and finally a car drove by and it happened to be the woman whose farm we were looking for. She took us up to her house and gave us our baskets and sent us out into the fields. We picked olives all afternoon, breaking only for lunch, which the woman made us. While some might see this as slave labor we looked at it as a true cultural, provencal experience. We headed back into Aix at 5 and I got ready for our dinner party.
Marie T’s nefew and his fiancee came over for dinner and it was quite an event. They arrived just before 7 pm and I have no idea what time they left. From 7 to 8 we had drinks and appetizers in le salon. I drank pastis, which is a provencal specialty. It’s a liquor that you water down that ends up tasting like black licorice. A little after 8 we headed to the table for wine and our amuse bouche. It was crab and shrimp over some sort of sauce, very refreshing. Second course was roasted chicken and rice with apples and raisins. DELICIOUS! Next Marie T. brought out crème brulee hot from the oven. After that we each had a marangue and finally to top it off we had chocolate covered raisins and peanuts and some other chocolates. It was delicious and we sat eating and talking for hours. At midnight I was completely shattered. I said goodnight, put on my headphones and went to sleep. I have no idea what time their guests ended up leaving but when I woke up at 10:45 Saturday morning neither Maries were up yet and the table looked like it did when I went to sleep. What a great night.
I spent Sunday reading at an outdoor café, walking around Aix with friends and going to a movie that night. We went to see the Assination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. We saw it in a tiny French theater, in English with French subtitles. Their translations were crap but I guess there isn’t really any way to convey “Howdy partner” in french…
Friday I went wine tasting again with another group of IAU students. We tried some really great Rose, a red that I didn’t care for and a really good dessert wine. This time around our host was not so drunk so it was slightly less entertaining but fun all the same. Later that night, after a nap and dinner Annabelle and went out on the town. We ended up running into some other students from IAU and going to a party for an art exhibit with free drinks and appetizers. It was a lovely free evening.
Saturday I woke up and headed out to La Rotonde to meet Annabelle and Jenna to go olive picking. We took a bus into the country and were dropped off with no clue where we needed to go. We walked around a bit and finally a car drove by and it happened to be the woman whose farm we were looking for. She took us up to her house and gave us our baskets and sent us out into the fields. We picked olives all afternoon, breaking only for lunch, which the woman made us. While some might see this as slave labor we looked at it as a true cultural, provencal experience. We headed back into Aix at 5 and I got ready for our dinner party.
Marie T’s nefew and his fiancee came over for dinner and it was quite an event. They arrived just before 7 pm and I have no idea what time they left. From 7 to 8 we had drinks and appetizers in le salon. I drank pastis, which is a provencal specialty. It’s a liquor that you water down that ends up tasting like black licorice. A little after 8 we headed to the table for wine and our amuse bouche. It was crab and shrimp over some sort of sauce, very refreshing. Second course was roasted chicken and rice with apples and raisins. DELICIOUS! Next Marie T. brought out crème brulee hot from the oven. After that we each had a marangue and finally to top it off we had chocolate covered raisins and peanuts and some other chocolates. It was delicious and we sat eating and talking for hours. At midnight I was completely shattered. I said goodnight, put on my headphones and went to sleep. I have no idea what time their guests ended up leaving but when I woke up at 10:45 Saturday morning neither Maries were up yet and the table looked like it did when I went to sleep. What a great night.
I spent Sunday reading at an outdoor café, walking around Aix with friends and going to a movie that night. We went to see the Assination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. We saw it in a tiny French theater, in English with French subtitles. Their translations were crap but I guess there isn’t really any way to convey “Howdy partner” in french…
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Last Leg
I woke up a few hours later and crawled to McDonald’s for a quick dinner. I’m not proud of this but I was groggy, hungry and it’s the first time I’ve eaten since before I left so don’t hold it against me. I headed back to the hostel and spent at least an hour if not two catching up in my journal. I’d been sitting in the common area the whole time and eventually a guy came up and asked me if I wanted to come over and sit with him and his friends. Turns out they were all studying in Lyon, France and were on their fall break as well. There were 4 Australians (one guy and 3 girls) and a girl from Seattle. We sat talking for a while and invited me to come out with them for the night.
We met up with some of their friends who are studying in Madrid for the semester at a bar and moved around a bit until about 3 in the morning when we headed back to the hostel. They invited me to hang out with them for the rest of the weekend and they were all really cool so I agreed.
Saturday we spent shopping. I was on a mission to buy boots and I succeeded! Finally! Spanish boots of spanish leather. ☺ We made lunch at the hostel and continued shopping. That night we ate on the terrace at a restaurant north of Las Rambla. I actually thought it was pretty bad but they all seemed to like it. My ravioli dish was cold, the sauce was bad and there was very little of it. However I did eat some spicy potatos that were really good but I think it’s pretty hard to mess those up. Then again they messed up ravioli so who knows? Anyway after dinner we met up with their Madrid friends again and hung out in the hotel room before moving the party to a bar. The bar we went to had a forrest theme and was pretty cool. It was a little weird because there was no music…at all. But we had some good conversations going on so it was good. When the bar closed around 3 we walked around for a while before we decided to head home and crash out. I nearly cut off my own legs on the way home because my wonderful new boots were killing me but eventually…slowly…I made it home.
Sunday morning we woke up and headed out to see some more of Barcelona. The first museum we tried to go to was closed and after that our group ended up splitting in two because we wanted to see different things. They wanted to go to the Picasso museum and I was really not about to put myself through that again. (I really didn’t enjoy it if you can’t tell.)
So Steve, Gillian and I went to a parc, whose name I forget, and took a gondola up to Castle Montjuic. The view of the city was incredible from the gondola and from the castle. We could see in all directions and the ocean looked beautiful. After the castle we spent about 2 hours looking for the Cultural Center to see a photo exhibit Andrew had recommended to me. It was a rough two hours but it was well worth it. It was a collection of the best pictures in photojournalism in the last year. It was incredible. I got a packet that described the background story for each picture because all the plaques were in Catalyn sp? And Spanish. These pictures were so amazing, I can’t even describe it. Good recommendation Andrew.
We headed back to the hostel to meet up with Priyaka, Lizzie and Sammie and I got my stuff together because I had to go to the bus station at 9:30. We grabbed dinner at the same place Andrew, Emma and I went to, funny enough, and it was just as good the second time around. I was in a serious rush so I just got 2 plates of tapas for myself, some water and ran out the door before half the table’s food had arrived. I had a blast with the Aussies and Gillian. They were a good laugh and really friendly.
I made it to the bus station in plenty of time and hopped on the bus at 11 pm. Elsie and Elle, from my program, were on the same bus so we caught up on the rest of our week and then I took some tylenol pm and passed out until we arrived in Aix at 6 am Monday morning.
I crashed on Emma’s floor with Elle until my 9 am Art History class because Emma lives very close to the bus station and I live about 15-20 minutes away, Elle lives about 50 minutes away. Yikes. I am proud to say I made it to my class on time and then headed home where Marie T. fixed us a wonderful lunch on the balcony overlooking the East and South of Aix in all it’s fall glory.
What an amazing 10 days it has been!
We met up with some of their friends who are studying in Madrid for the semester at a bar and moved around a bit until about 3 in the morning when we headed back to the hostel. They invited me to hang out with them for the rest of the weekend and they were all really cool so I agreed.
Saturday we spent shopping. I was on a mission to buy boots and I succeeded! Finally! Spanish boots of spanish leather. ☺ We made lunch at the hostel and continued shopping. That night we ate on the terrace at a restaurant north of Las Rambla. I actually thought it was pretty bad but they all seemed to like it. My ravioli dish was cold, the sauce was bad and there was very little of it. However I did eat some spicy potatos that were really good but I think it’s pretty hard to mess those up. Then again they messed up ravioli so who knows? Anyway after dinner we met up with their Madrid friends again and hung out in the hotel room before moving the party to a bar. The bar we went to had a forrest theme and was pretty cool. It was a little weird because there was no music…at all. But we had some good conversations going on so it was good. When the bar closed around 3 we walked around for a while before we decided to head home and crash out. I nearly cut off my own legs on the way home because my wonderful new boots were killing me but eventually…slowly…I made it home.
Sunday morning we woke up and headed out to see some more of Barcelona. The first museum we tried to go to was closed and after that our group ended up splitting in two because we wanted to see different things. They wanted to go to the Picasso museum and I was really not about to put myself through that again. (I really didn’t enjoy it if you can’t tell.)
So Steve, Gillian and I went to a parc, whose name I forget, and took a gondola up to Castle Montjuic. The view of the city was incredible from the gondola and from the castle. We could see in all directions and the ocean looked beautiful. After the castle we spent about 2 hours looking for the Cultural Center to see a photo exhibit Andrew had recommended to me. It was a rough two hours but it was well worth it. It was a collection of the best pictures in photojournalism in the last year. It was incredible. I got a packet that described the background story for each picture because all the plaques were in Catalyn sp? And Spanish. These pictures were so amazing, I can’t even describe it. Good recommendation Andrew.
We headed back to the hostel to meet up with Priyaka, Lizzie and Sammie and I got my stuff together because I had to go to the bus station at 9:30. We grabbed dinner at the same place Andrew, Emma and I went to, funny enough, and it was just as good the second time around. I was in a serious rush so I just got 2 plates of tapas for myself, some water and ran out the door before half the table’s food had arrived. I had a blast with the Aussies and Gillian. They were a good laugh and really friendly.
I made it to the bus station in plenty of time and hopped on the bus at 11 pm. Elsie and Elle, from my program, were on the same bus so we caught up on the rest of our week and then I took some tylenol pm and passed out until we arrived in Aix at 6 am Monday morning.
I crashed on Emma’s floor with Elle until my 9 am Art History class because Emma lives very close to the bus station and I live about 15-20 minutes away, Elle lives about 50 minutes away. Yikes. I am proud to say I made it to my class on time and then headed home where Marie T. fixed us a wonderful lunch on the balcony overlooking the East and South of Aix in all it’s fall glory.
What an amazing 10 days it has been!
Adventures with Andrew and Emma
Thursday morning we ate a crappy breakfast at the hostel and headed out to check out some Gaudi. First we went to his park, I think it was called Parc Guell but I am probably spelling it wrong. It was massive. We to the metro from the hostel and then had to walk up a GIANT hill. There were actually 4 or 5 escalators that take you up because it’s that steep and I think a lot of tourists complained. I was thankful because intensive hiking and red wine hangovers do not mix well. We got up to the top and could see the whole city. It was really overwhelming. We walked around the park, through nature trails, a playground, a game court, a wide open area with some really interesting architecture and some really cool houses that he designed. There were musicians spread out everywhere. One guy sat playing a type of drum I had never seen before. It had the most beautiful sound, so peaceful.
After that we went to Sagrada Familia (also probably spelled wrong…my apologies). It’s the gigantic church Gaudi designed. They began building it in 1886 and it is scheduled to be finished in 19 years. I was thinking about how strange it would be to come back for my 40th birthday and see it completed and look back on my time here this semester. It’s a scary thought but if I have the money I think I’ll do it. Anyway, the church is so intricate you could study it for years. It’s the most beautiful building I have ever seen. We went inside and we happened to go at a really good time of day. The light was exploding through the stained glass and making the most amazing colors on the scaffolding inside the church. Downstairs there is a museum with Gaudi’s sketches, photographs of progress through the years, models,, etc. It was really cool. We spent our entire day checking out Gaudi and it was all incredible. We headed back to the hostel around 5 pm and I checked out and we dropped my stuff off at my final hostel for fall break, Centre-Rambla Barcelona. It was better than the White Tulip in Amsterdam but that doesn’t really say a lot. The food was complete crap, the computers were constantly broken and the staff wasn’t very nice. Plus it wasn’t really a youth hostel, there were a lot of people staying there that were much much older.
After I locked my stuff up in my room we walked around Las Rambla, the main street. This road has it all: little souvenier stands, pet stands, artists, musicians, beer vendors, prostitutes, drug dealers and street performers. We stuck to the artists, musicians and street performers. I actually hate this road and will be happy if I never see it again. Every five feet a tourist is stopping to look at something or take a picture. You move to keep walking and run into someone pushing beer in your face or trying to steal your purse or sell you sex or drugs…ahhh so stressful! I loved Barcelona but I wish someone would blow that street off the face of the earth! Anywho…
We stopped to watch a Michael Jackson impersonator because he had quite a crowd going. We waited for about 30 minutes while he ordered people to pay him immediately or he wouldn’t dance. He was such a jerk. At one point he walked around with his hat and shoved it in people’s faces, one in particular…mine. I told him no (mind you he hadn’t even done anything yet). I guess he preferred it when people avoided his gaze and felt ashamed that they didn’t pay him to my response because he stormed off “Incroyable!” What a jerk. Finally, after he had walked around to everyone and shoved his hat in their faces he started his dance, which was terrible. When his mother shoved his hat in my face we decided we’d wasted enough time there and left.
Next we watched an Australian guy who was more of a comedian than anything but also did some acrobatics on a pole he had set up that was about 25-30 ft tall. He was really really funny and Andrew, Emma and I were standing front row. When he backed up to take a running start at the pole he backed into the giant camera Andrew had slung around his neck. He played it up like someone pinched his butt and turned around flirtatiously pointing back and forth between Andrew and a girl next to him. Emma and I immediately threw Andrew to the wolves, like any true friend would. The Aussie turned to Andrew and said, “In Barcelona it’s customary for a man to kiss another man on the cheek when you meet.” He stuck out his cheeck for Andrew to kiss. After a little hestitation and some encouragement from Emma and I, Andrew leaned in to peck him on the cheek. All of a sudden Aussie turned and planted one right on Andrew’s mouth. God I wish I had a camera because his face was priceless. None of us were expecting it. The whole rest of the show Aussie kept turning around to blow kisses at Andrew and wink at him. It was great.
After that we walked around, had a beer at an Irish pub, and explored the Gothic Quarter. We sat down in the Place de Rei and talked and listened to a man play an amped up spanish guitar until abour 11 when we decided to grab dinner. It’s actually completely normal to eat dinner at 11 at night, some even consider that early. Even most of the stores are open until around 11 at night. So we sat down at a nice restaurant off Las Rambla and ordered a few different plates of Tapas. We ordered a bottle of wine and had eggplant with tomatoe and goat cheese, smoked salmon stuffed with seafood, potato stuffed with cheese and kind prawns and an egg and potato omlette. It was sooooo delicious! It was the first time I have had eggs in probably years and it was really really good. The meal was absolutely incredible. To end the evening we took a long walk down the pier to look at the yatchs and then Emma and Andrew walked me back to my hostel.
The next morning I met back up with Andrew and Emma and we headed out to see the Picasso museum. The exhibit was 85% early work and 5% porn and 10% cubism. I really didn’t care for it at all. I hope to see more Picasso in Paris when we go next week and maybe I will change my mind but right now I don’t really care for his work at all. By the time we were done it was 4 o’clock and time for Andrew and Emma to head to the train station to go to Brussels. We parted ways and I headed back to my hostel for a much needed nap. I’d been getting an average of about 5-6 hours of sleep since I arrived, except when I stayed at Anna’s, so I was pretty exhausted come Friday evening.
After that we went to Sagrada Familia (also probably spelled wrong…my apologies). It’s the gigantic church Gaudi designed. They began building it in 1886 and it is scheduled to be finished in 19 years. I was thinking about how strange it would be to come back for my 40th birthday and see it completed and look back on my time here this semester. It’s a scary thought but if I have the money I think I’ll do it. Anyway, the church is so intricate you could study it for years. It’s the most beautiful building I have ever seen. We went inside and we happened to go at a really good time of day. The light was exploding through the stained glass and making the most amazing colors on the scaffolding inside the church. Downstairs there is a museum with Gaudi’s sketches, photographs of progress through the years, models,, etc. It was really cool. We spent our entire day checking out Gaudi and it was all incredible. We headed back to the hostel around 5 pm and I checked out and we dropped my stuff off at my final hostel for fall break, Centre-Rambla Barcelona. It was better than the White Tulip in Amsterdam but that doesn’t really say a lot. The food was complete crap, the computers were constantly broken and the staff wasn’t very nice. Plus it wasn’t really a youth hostel, there were a lot of people staying there that were much much older.
After I locked my stuff up in my room we walked around Las Rambla, the main street. This road has it all: little souvenier stands, pet stands, artists, musicians, beer vendors, prostitutes, drug dealers and street performers. We stuck to the artists, musicians and street performers. I actually hate this road and will be happy if I never see it again. Every five feet a tourist is stopping to look at something or take a picture. You move to keep walking and run into someone pushing beer in your face or trying to steal your purse or sell you sex or drugs…ahhh so stressful! I loved Barcelona but I wish someone would blow that street off the face of the earth! Anywho…
We stopped to watch a Michael Jackson impersonator because he had quite a crowd going. We waited for about 30 minutes while he ordered people to pay him immediately or he wouldn’t dance. He was such a jerk. At one point he walked around with his hat and shoved it in people’s faces, one in particular…mine. I told him no (mind you he hadn’t even done anything yet). I guess he preferred it when people avoided his gaze and felt ashamed that they didn’t pay him to my response because he stormed off “Incroyable!” What a jerk. Finally, after he had walked around to everyone and shoved his hat in their faces he started his dance, which was terrible. When his mother shoved his hat in my face we decided we’d wasted enough time there and left.
Next we watched an Australian guy who was more of a comedian than anything but also did some acrobatics on a pole he had set up that was about 25-30 ft tall. He was really really funny and Andrew, Emma and I were standing front row. When he backed up to take a running start at the pole he backed into the giant camera Andrew had slung around his neck. He played it up like someone pinched his butt and turned around flirtatiously pointing back and forth between Andrew and a girl next to him. Emma and I immediately threw Andrew to the wolves, like any true friend would. The Aussie turned to Andrew and said, “In Barcelona it’s customary for a man to kiss another man on the cheek when you meet.” He stuck out his cheeck for Andrew to kiss. After a little hestitation and some encouragement from Emma and I, Andrew leaned in to peck him on the cheek. All of a sudden Aussie turned and planted one right on Andrew’s mouth. God I wish I had a camera because his face was priceless. None of us were expecting it. The whole rest of the show Aussie kept turning around to blow kisses at Andrew and wink at him. It was great.
After that we walked around, had a beer at an Irish pub, and explored the Gothic Quarter. We sat down in the Place de Rei and talked and listened to a man play an amped up spanish guitar until abour 11 when we decided to grab dinner. It’s actually completely normal to eat dinner at 11 at night, some even consider that early. Even most of the stores are open until around 11 at night. So we sat down at a nice restaurant off Las Rambla and ordered a few different plates of Tapas. We ordered a bottle of wine and had eggplant with tomatoe and goat cheese, smoked salmon stuffed with seafood, potato stuffed with cheese and kind prawns and an egg and potato omlette. It was sooooo delicious! It was the first time I have had eggs in probably years and it was really really good. The meal was absolutely incredible. To end the evening we took a long walk down the pier to look at the yatchs and then Emma and Andrew walked me back to my hostel.
The next morning I met back up with Andrew and Emma and we headed out to see the Picasso museum. The exhibit was 85% early work and 5% porn and 10% cubism. I really didn’t care for it at all. I hope to see more Picasso in Paris when we go next week and maybe I will change my mind but right now I don’t really care for his work at all. By the time we were done it was 4 o’clock and time for Andrew and Emma to head to the train station to go to Brussels. We parted ways and I headed back to my hostel for a much needed nap. I’d been getting an average of about 5-6 hours of sleep since I arrived, except when I stayed at Anna’s, so I was pretty exhausted come Friday evening.
Barthelone
I arrived in Barcelona and took an hour bus ride into the city. I managed to find my hostel, Barcelona Sound and it only took me about an hour. It should have taken about 20 minutes but that city is very poorly signed and makes no sense whatsoever. Streets sprawl out in all directions. My advice…fork out the cash and take the metro. Anyway so I met up with Andrew from IAU and we waited for few hours for our friend Emma but she never showed up so we went scouting for boots and a jacket for Andrew. We ended up having tea and coffee by the pier until it was time to meet up with our other friends who were staying in Barcelona. Thankfully Emma finally arrived, her flight had been delayed for 6 hours in Charles de Gaulle. I really do hate that airport. So we met up with Elsie, Katie, Elle and Elle’s boyfriend and celebrated Halloween over cheap wine in the square at the start of Las Rambla, the main road in Barcelona. When it started raining on us we moved the party to Elle and Stan’s hostel. Their room was up about 10 flights of stairs, if I would have stayed there I think I would have never left the room because it takes way too much effort to leave or come back. So anyway, Halloween was good but it hurt a bit the day after. Cheap red wine is great if your shooting for a massive hangover.
Last Day in Amsterdam
Elsie, Katie and her friends left for Barcelona Tuesday morning and I checked out of my hostel and into the last hostel for Amsterdam, The White Tulip. The White Tulip was SHADY! Zach booked it because it was the only place he could find that could accommodate 7 people on such short notice without costing an arm and a leg. It was on the outskirts of the Red Light District and across the street from Dirty Dick’s, the gay bar. I reluctantly locked my belongings in my locker and headed out to spend my last day in Amsterdam. The weather was beautiful which was a nice change from the gray, overcast and drizzly sky that I’d seen since I arrived. I walked to a bike rental shop and got a classic dutch bike and tooled around for about 3 hours. I spent most of my time at Vondelpark. I went a little picture crazy but it was so beautiful and I couldn’t help myself.
After my bike adventure I headed back to the hostel and had a beer in the bar. I met up with Libby’s friend Chris and we hung out until Libby, Annabell, Mike, Zach and Jenna arrived from Dublin. We had dinner and went to a hookah bar. When everyone else from my program arrived we sat in a coffee shop and caught up on everyone’s travels. I stayed out with them until about 2:30 or 3 when I decided to grab a quick siesta before I had to get up at 4:15 am to catch a bus to the airport in Eindhoven. I woke up and hurried through the streets to the bus stop and slept the whole way to the airport and throughout the filght to Barcelona.
I was really sad to leave Amsterdam. I loved it there. I can’t wait to go back again someday.
After my bike adventure I headed back to the hostel and had a beer in the bar. I met up with Libby’s friend Chris and we hung out until Libby, Annabell, Mike, Zach and Jenna arrived from Dublin. We had dinner and went to a hookah bar. When everyone else from my program arrived we sat in a coffee shop and caught up on everyone’s travels. I stayed out with them until about 2:30 or 3 when I decided to grab a quick siesta before I had to get up at 4:15 am to catch a bus to the airport in Eindhoven. I woke up and hurried through the streets to the bus stop and slept the whole way to the airport and throughout the filght to Barcelona.
I was really sad to leave Amsterdam. I loved it there. I can’t wait to go back again someday.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Elsie and Friends
After getting my stuff organized at the Pig I headed out for some dinner and to scope out the night life. I ate at Walk to Wok and it was delicious! I actually ended up eating there three times which is sad but everytime I hung out with someone else they really wanted to eat there and it was always good so I didn’t argue. After dinner I went to The Bulldog which is a bar and coffee shop and hung out there for a while. Outside is Leidsplein Square where I listened to a couple different musicians and watched a guy juggle a football. He was really really good. I headed back to the hostel, took a nap and woke up to go down to the bar and see what was happening. They were showing movies so I watched the end of Sin City and ran into Elsie and her friend Katie. Elsie is in my program at IAU and we planned on either running into each other on Sunday night or meeting up Monday morning at breakfast. We hung out for a few hours in the bar until I crashed out.
Breakfast at the hostel was actually really good. Simple but good. After breakfast we headed out to explore. We went to the Foam Museum to see their photo exhibit which was really good and then met up with some girls Katie is studying with in Lyon, France. We had lunch and some tea and found out that the Heiniken Experience and most of the Rijkstad Museum were closed. To console ourselves because our plans were shot we bought waffles and I soon forgot about our foiled plans. Later we had dinner at Walk to Wok, still amazing, and went out to enjoy the night life. We returned to the hostel and drank in the bar while they played more movies and games.
Breakfast at the hostel was actually really good. Simple but good. After breakfast we headed out to explore. We went to the Foam Museum to see their photo exhibit which was really good and then met up with some girls Katie is studying with in Lyon, France. We had lunch and some tea and found out that the Heiniken Experience and most of the Rijkstad Museum were closed. To console ourselves because our plans were shot we bought waffles and I soon forgot about our foiled plans. Later we had dinner at Walk to Wok, still amazing, and went out to enjoy the night life. We returned to the hostel and drank in the bar while they played more movies and games.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
With Anna
Anna and I crawled out of bed around 11 on Saturday morning and it felt great. I treated myself to a hot, stand up shower and ate toast with peanut butter! PB is really expensive in France so I never eat it. I actually bought a jar in the Netherlands to bring back with me. It was .70 Eurocents whereas in France it would have cost me about 8 Euros. I am in heaven!
Anna took me to Haarlem for the day, which is a city about 20 minutes away from Hoofddorp with some cool shops, a really nice big church and a market. I tried two holiday specialties. The first were little cookies that tasted like gingersnaps and the second was two thin waffles with something similar to caramel inbetween. They were both really good. Then we had movie night and vegged out in front of the TV. It was so nice to watch a movie in english and not have to do all the mental work of translating.
Sunday morning we enjoyed our extra hour of sleep, thanks to daylight savings. We got up, I ate more peanut butter toast ☺ and we drove into Amsterdam. She used to work at the hostel I was staying in so showed me the way there and I dropped off my stuff in my room. I stayed at the Flying Pig, which is a really popular hostel in Amsterdam. It’s my favorite hostel so far. Then Anna showed me around that end of town, the shopping areas, the really expensive street where all the celebrities shop and the Red Light District. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough for a hooker so I just window shopped. Lovely.
Anna left around 5 pm and I headed back to the hostel.
Anna took me to Haarlem for the day, which is a city about 20 minutes away from Hoofddorp with some cool shops, a really nice big church and a market. I tried two holiday specialties. The first were little cookies that tasted like gingersnaps and the second was two thin waffles with something similar to caramel inbetween. They were both really good. Then we had movie night and vegged out in front of the TV. It was so nice to watch a movie in english and not have to do all the mental work of translating.
Sunday morning we enjoyed our extra hour of sleep, thanks to daylight savings. We got up, I ate more peanut butter toast ☺ and we drove into Amsterdam. She used to work at the hostel I was staying in so showed me the way there and I dropped off my stuff in my room. I stayed at the Flying Pig, which is a really popular hostel in Amsterdam. It’s my favorite hostel so far. Then Anna showed me around that end of town, the shopping areas, the really expensive street where all the celebrities shop and the Red Light District. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough for a hooker so I just window shopped. Lovely.
Anna left around 5 pm and I headed back to the hostel.
Tackling Amsterdam Day 1
I spent the morning drinking tea in a hookah bar, reading more of my David Sedaris book and writing in my journal. I met up with Debbie and her friends who go to IAU and Debbie’s friend Eva who is studying in Amsterdam for the semester. We walked around exploring different shops and eventually arrived at the Van Gogh museum. By then it was just Debbie, Eva and I and we spent a good 3 hours walking around looking at Van Gogh paintings. As cliché as it is, Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters and the exhibit was incredible. I loved every minute of it. After we finished there we decided to make a new route back to Central Station but got insanely lost, for about 2 hours. Since I had to catch a train to Hoofddorp to meet up with Anna from camp I gave up and hopped on a tram back to where I needed to be.
I grabbed my train to Hoofddorp, which was about a 20 minute ride. Anna’s brother Tim picked me up from the station and then we went to get Anna from work. I had the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted at the restaurant Anna works at. The hot chocolate in France is crap so it was a nice change. Tim cooked me a burger and fries for dinner and we hung out at their place until about midnight drinking beer and watching Tim’s friend do his impressions of Elvis, which by the way were fantastic. Around midnight we decided to go to a couple bars in Hoofddorp. Anna let me use her bike and she rode her mom’s. I felt like a native weaving through the back streets, along the canals on a classic dutch bike in a pack to the bars. The first bar we went to was a pretty average bar. We drank and played pool and eventually decided to change our scene. Tim said I had to go to the next bar because it was a true Dutch bar. The Dutch are officially crazy. I can’t really describe it but it was loud and packed. People were bouncing off the walls, dancing, singing and drinking. It was fun but unbearably hot. We headed home and passed out around 2 or 3 am.
I grabbed my train to Hoofddorp, which was about a 20 minute ride. Anna’s brother Tim picked me up from the station and then we went to get Anna from work. I had the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted at the restaurant Anna works at. The hot chocolate in France is crap so it was a nice change. Tim cooked me a burger and fries for dinner and we hung out at their place until about midnight drinking beer and watching Tim’s friend do his impressions of Elvis, which by the way were fantastic. Around midnight we decided to go to a couple bars in Hoofddorp. Anna let me use her bike and she rode her mom’s. I felt like a native weaving through the back streets, along the canals on a classic dutch bike in a pack to the bars. The first bar we went to was a pretty average bar. We drank and played pool and eventually decided to change our scene. Tim said I had to go to the next bar because it was a true Dutch bar. The Dutch are officially crazy. I can’t really describe it but it was loud and packed. People were bouncing off the walls, dancing, singing and drinking. It was fun but unbearably hot. We headed home and passed out around 2 or 3 am.
Fall Break Begins
Well midterms week is nothing but a blur to me now. I managed to get everything turned in and so far my test grades have been much better than I expected. I headed for the airport on Thursday afternoon after a long day of two tests and finishing a paper at the last possible second. I saw it rain in Provence for the first time since I arrived in September. Unfortunately it was pouring down rain all over our baggage for about 20 minutes while they waited to load it onto the plane. Ryan Air, the airlines I fly with in Europe, is dirt cheap and for good reason. The only fly a limited number of places, the seats don’t recline, not even the peanuts are free, they can cancel your flight without reimbursing you and they don’t have tarps for their luggage carts. Luckily for me my REI bag is waterproof, others were not so fortunate.
The plane ride went well. I read my first David Sedaris book and it was hilarious. I actually had to stop reading it because I was laughing uncontrollably and people were staring. I sat next to a musician from Montpillier, France who was traveling with the 85 person orchestra he plays in to Germany for a concert. We spoke in french about school, his music, traveling and Bush, of course. Everyone in Europe wants to know what Americans think about Bush and how the hell he got re-elected. When the plane landed the passengers all cheered, as if they seriously doubted that we would actually land safely. This lack on confidence did not reassure me for my flight with Ryan Air to Barcelona.
From the airport I hopped on a bus from Eindhoven to Amsterdam. It was about 1 ½ hours long and I ended up talking to some people from France. There were 5 guys and 1 girl all traveling together for the weekend to Amsterdam. They were a couple years older than me and really funny. They didn’t speak any english so it was pretty cool. They ended up inviting me to hang out with them for the night and stay in their hotel since I traveled alone. So I went out with them for the night but decided to just stay in my hostel since I already paid for the bed. We went to a coffee shop for a couple hours and grabbed some food and then parted ways. It was really awesome hanging out with them. I actually ran into them the next day when my friends and I were walking to the Van Gogh museum. Small world.
After I left the frenchies I headed to my hostel. At this point it was about 2 in the morning and so I put my stuff down and sat down in the bar inside the hostel to have a beer. As soon as I put my purse down this drunk Canadian kid waved me over to sit next to him so I went and sat down. He told me the most ridiculous stories I have ever heard come out of someone’s mouth. They were really entertaining so I just nodded and oohed while he told lie after lie. At one point he told me he was photographing a riot from a rooftop and a helicopter spotlighted him so he jumped off the roof, sprained his ankle and started running. Then suddenly one of the police officers from the helicopter, in full riot gear hunted him down, threw him on the ground, pinned him down with his shield and took him to jail. Right. Earlier in the evening he told me he wasn’t able to smoke, drink caffine or eat chocolate because he had a heart condition and they would cause him to have some sort of anxiety attack. An hour later when I busted out my Beuno Bar (my personal version of crack…chocolate style) he practically drooled all over me until I offered him some. He snarfed half my bar and I kept waiting for him to pass out but it never happened. Damn. Around 4 am I got tired of hearing his rubbish so I crashed out.
End first night in Amsterdam.
The plane ride went well. I read my first David Sedaris book and it was hilarious. I actually had to stop reading it because I was laughing uncontrollably and people were staring. I sat next to a musician from Montpillier, France who was traveling with the 85 person orchestra he plays in to Germany for a concert. We spoke in french about school, his music, traveling and Bush, of course. Everyone in Europe wants to know what Americans think about Bush and how the hell he got re-elected. When the plane landed the passengers all cheered, as if they seriously doubted that we would actually land safely. This lack on confidence did not reassure me for my flight with Ryan Air to Barcelona.
From the airport I hopped on a bus from Eindhoven to Amsterdam. It was about 1 ½ hours long and I ended up talking to some people from France. There were 5 guys and 1 girl all traveling together for the weekend to Amsterdam. They were a couple years older than me and really funny. They didn’t speak any english so it was pretty cool. They ended up inviting me to hang out with them for the night and stay in their hotel since I traveled alone. So I went out with them for the night but decided to just stay in my hostel since I already paid for the bed. We went to a coffee shop for a couple hours and grabbed some food and then parted ways. It was really awesome hanging out with them. I actually ran into them the next day when my friends and I were walking to the Van Gogh museum. Small world.
After I left the frenchies I headed to my hostel. At this point it was about 2 in the morning and so I put my stuff down and sat down in the bar inside the hostel to have a beer. As soon as I put my purse down this drunk Canadian kid waved me over to sit next to him so I went and sat down. He told me the most ridiculous stories I have ever heard come out of someone’s mouth. They were really entertaining so I just nodded and oohed while he told lie after lie. At one point he told me he was photographing a riot from a rooftop and a helicopter spotlighted him so he jumped off the roof, sprained his ankle and started running. Then suddenly one of the police officers from the helicopter, in full riot gear hunted him down, threw him on the ground, pinned him down with his shield and took him to jail. Right. Earlier in the evening he told me he wasn’t able to smoke, drink caffine or eat chocolate because he had a heart condition and they would cause him to have some sort of anxiety attack. An hour later when I busted out my Beuno Bar (my personal version of crack…chocolate style) he practically drooled all over me until I offered him some. He snarfed half my bar and I kept waiting for him to pass out but it never happened. Damn. Around 4 am I got tired of hearing his rubbish so I crashed out.
End first night in Amsterdam.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
