April and I have gone and returned from London! The city seemed to like me better than last time, so it made the trip a lot more fun. We ended up doing quite a lot for the time we had (and we even snuck in a few naps) with the time we had. April decided that we needed to have themes to our days and that actually worked out rather well. So! London...

We landed early the day we flew in so we had a little less than a full day. Here's what we did:

Day 1: Theme - Modern Art

Lunch - We wandered around and had a quick bite in a restaurant that was part of the Vinopolis...a huge compound devoted to wine.
Coffee and Tea Museum - We found it, but alas, it was closed. I was nervous that London still hated me.



Tower Bridge - We wandered around a came across Tower and London Bridge...they were lovely!



The Telectroscope - It's a giant telescope that tunnels underneath the Atlantic ALL THE WAY to New York City...and you can see people there! I have seen it with my own eyes and I am a believer! Google it and learn more :)



Tate Modern - I dragged April to the Tate Modern (it went with our theme, she couldn't refuse!) and we saw some great stuff. Unfortunately, we were low on time since we had Avenue Q to see that night so we only stayed an hour. We couldn't find the "Poo in a Can" piece again, which was disappointing. We think they rotated it out. I really do absolutely love modern art. If you read the descriptions it really IS deep and important!



Avenue Q - It was great! All those little questions I had about, "Hmm...I wonder how they do that on stage?" were answered. You could hear the actors struggling to hide their accents some time, but it was a really good cast. They changed lyrics occasionally to fit the London crowd which was fun. Great show :)

Day 2: Theme - Gruesomeness

British Museum - We started early at the British Museum, but only to see one thing. A CRYSTAL SKULL. Like the one in the new Indiana Jones movie! It was as amazing as I wanted it to be. Unfortunately, we now know it's a fake that was made in the 19th century, not by the Aztecs. It was still cool though :) We also popped by to see the Rosetta Stone. Even when the museum first opened it was swarmed by tourists.



Museum of Surgical Instruments - It was closed! I was really started to get nervous that London was still mad at me. We went with the back up plan which was...

The Clink - a museum about prisons ...this prison is the one from which all other prisons get their names! It was silly, but fun. It's a good thing we beat all the school groups there!



The Vinopolis - We decided to take our tour of the Vinopolis which was AMAZING. We learned how to taste wine and April was as giddy as a schoolboy when we went into the Bombay Sapphire Experience where we got to touch each ingredient it's made out of. We had lunch there as well which was good, but I'm definitely becoming a food snob because it wasn't THAT good to me...and the place had Michelin Stars.



Rest - We took a nap because being tourists is hard work :)

Phantom of the Opera - This time I actually got to see it! YAY! The cast was very good, although our Christine had a very...odd voice. I never could decide if I liked it or not. But she could hit those high notes like nobody's business. Our Phantom was Iranian (interesting) and a giant! Very good voice too :)

Day 3: Theme - Dork Day

The Huntarian Museum - The father of modern surgery now has a newly renovated museum which made both April and me feel queasy. It was very cool stuff, but brains and feet in jars make my stomach turn a little. I watched real brain surgery and practiced my own surgical skills (I killed the patient for sure). The best part was that there were these fun jackets we could try on...one with all our organs and one with the skeleton. Good times!



The National Maritime Museum - We made the long haul out to Greenwich to see the Meridian Line. April had fun calling me a geography dork but come on! Wouldn't you like to stand in two hemispheres at once? We also explored the Planetarium which was really cool. We saw a show about stars. Whenever I get to thinking about the universe and how small we really are it makes my mind break a little. I could never be a philosopher. The whole area is a really big compound so it took up most of our day.



Foo Fighters concert - Well, I went to the concert, April went to see Wicked. It was COMPLETELY worth all the issues I went through to get that ticket. The Foo Fighters are what rock bands are supposed to be. David Grohl is such a rock star! It was a great concert. As a side note, it was the biggest one they have ever played. Wembley Stadium is RIDICULOUSLY huge. It's hard to imagine, but try to visualize 82,000 people rocking out ALL together! Amazing! Seriously though, it was the most respectful crowd I've ever seen at a concert. Until I got closer to the front, I had my very own personal space. ON THE FLOOR. AT A ROCK CONCERT. Those crazy Brits :) And there were absolutely no crowd surfers until the encore. Even then there were only a couple and the crowd didn't really seem to know what to do with them. One thing that disturbs me is that more and more people are standing around taking pictures and videos instead of really enjoying the concert. Technology can be a bad thing people! Live in the now!

So that was our trip to London. We really stayed away from most of the tourist-y stuff (sorry Mommy, no Tower of London for us. You can blame me...I wasn't willing to pay the entrance fees) but I had a great time. It was a great way to finish up my European Education! Oh! One interesting thing was that a lot of the Underground was closed while we were there because workers had uncovered an unexploded bomb from WWII and then they accidentally set it ticking! No one was hurt...I thought that was fun :) Now I'm five days and three flights away from being back home. I have to confess I'm ready, although I'm not entirely looking forward to getting back to real life. C'est la vie! It will go on!

Well my last day in Paris has come and gone. I went mainly to see a concert by Flogging Molly (WOOT!) but of course spent a little time exploring. Naturally, it wouldn’t have been Paris if there was beautiful weather. It was sprinkling/raining all day long! Ahh, but who cares…c’est Paris!

I got in around 2 pm and checked into the hostel, St. Christopher’s Inn. By the way, this hostel made me wish I was staying two weeks, not one night. It was a great place for a mere 30 euro. The receptionist even helped me out since I accidentally made the reservation for the wrong day. Anyway. I checked in and then headed over to Opéra. You’re allowed to go inside for free but only into the lobby. I could have forked over the 4 euro to explore further, but it was a little full so I decided to just look around from the lobby. Maybe it’s because it was raining but it was so dark inside with just the lamps for light that it felt like I had stepped into Phantom of the Opera. Of course, it would have been more convincing without all of the tourists but even with them there I still felt it. Very cool.

After Opéra I went to a church called Madeleine. It looks like a Greek temple more than anything. The church has this long history where the purpose of the building kept being changed. Well, it ended up a church and I think that worked out okay. It’s dedicated to, you guessed it, Mary Magdalene. Inside it was very quiet (hardly any tourists…in MAY) and dark (because of the rain) which created a different atmosphere than what I’m used to inside of churches. Well, tourism churches anyway. It was really lovely inside with a huge statue at the altar.

Since it was literally just down the road I passed through Place de la Concorde before going to find the Centre Georges Pompidou. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it. I really wanted to see some modern art but it was raining and I was tired and hungry. I passed by another church, St. Eustace, but didn’t go inside. Outside of the church there is this huge sculpture called “L’Ecoute” (The Listener – roughly) which is very cool. It had graffiti all over it, which is sad but I guess there will always be stupid kids out there.

I gave up trying to find the Centre Georges Pompidou and went back to the hostel to grab by ticket for the concert! It was around 6:45 pm when I left and the ticket said the concert started at 8 pm. It was only a matter of about seven metro stops to get to where the concert was but I figured it would be okay to be early. Well. It’s a good thing I left early! I didn’t get lost ALL DAY, including when I found the hostel in an area I’d never been to before. I walked around for over an HOUR trying to find the club where this concert was. I just want to say one thing. Do NOT name two streets Boulevard du Ménlimontant and rue du Ménlimontant and put them RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER. Honestly.

Well, I found the place eventually and remarkable I got there right at 8 pm. This ended up being a good thing because apparently 8 pm meant doors open at 8 pm. There was an opening band, Pepper, who was pretty good. At the end of Pepper’s set I started to get that sick feeling like I was going to pass out, like I used to get when I worked at Disney. I’m going to guess it was because I hadn’t eaten since 1 pm. Low blood sugar…blah! Between sets I went and grabbed a panini and a coke which pepped me right up. Since it was so hot inside the club I felt it was wise NOT to go into the pit, which was REALLY intense by the way. The kids down there were really serious. I might have gotten killed. I stayed up on the little balcony area where people were hardly moving to the music, which was depressing. A good concert means the band is awesome with good stage presence (which Flogging Molly is and has) and that the audience is completely into it! Our audience wasn’t that good. Maybe it’s a French thing to stand there without cheering or singing? Who knows! Annnyway, the concert was GREAT. I would have liked to get closer (it would have been easy; it was a really small club) but I didn’t want to pass out.

The concert was over around 11 pm which relieved me because I was afraid that it would end so late that the metro wouldn’t be running and then I’d be in trouble. But the metro was running (and Daddy, I know you don’t approve of wandering Paris alone at 11 pm, but it wasn’t Pig Alley and I used my S.A.) so I hopped on to go back to the hostel. While I was waiting for the train this SERIOUSLY drunk guy came up the stairs on the other side of the platform and was yelling something in French at everybody. Now, my French is much better than before but I can really only understand it when it’s spoken clearly and at a moderate pace. This guy was yelling drunken gibberish really quickly. I did understand, however, when he started pointing at people individually and calling them communists. I laaaaaaaaaughed! The guy next to me gave me an odd look but it was just funny! For some reason the idiots on my platform started to talk to him (never engage drunken morons) and after some yelling he got down on the tracks and started crossing! Now, at night the metro trains run a lot less frequently, about every ten to fifteen minutes instead of every three to five. As soon as this guy gets down onto the rails we hear our train coming. He got up on the platform okay, and it wasn’t like a movie where people miss death by a millisecond, but had he lagged for maybe three more seconds I would have been giving a witness report to the police. Scary. I’ve never seen anyone cross the tracks before because, of course, no one is quite that stupid. The guy actually got on our train (going the wrong way for him) with the guys who had been talking to him and continued arguing. I got into a different car so I don’t know how it ended but I’m going to guess he had trouble getting home.

So that was my last day in Paris! I kind of wish I had explored more but too late now. C’est la vie. I’ll just have to wait until I come back!

After much putting off, I finally went to Paris on Saturday. I was feeling sort of apathetic about it, and I’m not sure why. I had planned to go on Tuesday, but things just kept coming up that prevented me from going. Anyway, I finally went on Saturday. Unfortunately, the trains were on a wacky schedule for some reason I have yet to determine (maybe a strike or because of the holidays), and instead of the normal one hour train ride into Gare du Nord, it took over two hours. No worries though, I had my iPod!

So I finally get into Paris, albeit a little later than I expected, and the first thing I wanted to do was go to the Musée d’Orsay. I haven’t been to one museum in Paris since I’ve gotten here (okay, the Salvidor Dali museum, but I’m not counting that) and I remember loving the d’Orsay when I came to Paris in high school. It was as good as I remembered! One funny point: When Kasey and I were there in high school we mimicked a statue of a woman sitting for a picture. When I visited this time, a guy was doing the exact same thing! I mean come on! After five years (I think) people are still doing the same stupid stuff for pictures :)


If you look, you can see the guy posing behind the statue. I didn’t want to obviously take a picture of him.


The same statue with me being super cool!


A statue in the PAAAAAAARTY room. I stumbled into this room as I was leaving. I really like her…she reminds me of a character from Fantasia 2000, and yes, I realize that’s sad.


Polar bear (which was a big hit the first time I was in Paris) with the clock. I love that clock!

After the Musée d’Orsay I started my pilgrimage to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal for my mother. Not so surprisingly, as soon as I arrived it was closing time. That was okay though, because they were opening again in an hour and a half. That gave me time to go grab lunch. I’ve wanted to explore some of the gardens in Paris since the first time I visited, but I’ve never had the time. As far as sights go, gardens are pretty low on the list for most people. Well, living only an hour away from Paris has many perks, one of which is the ability to enjoy lunch in the jardin du Luxembourg. I should have bought a sandwich outside of the park, but like an idiot, I didn’t. I ended up paying 8€ for a water and a ham and cheese sandwich. That was okay though; I figured I was paying a little something for the scenery as well. It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside (it’s been beautiful all week actually) with clear blue skies and a temperature around 80 degrees but NO humidity like Florida. I sat in some shade to eat my sandwich, but I also walked around and saw most of the jardin by skirting the edges. I was mainly on a mission to find the mini Statue of Liberty, which I DID after much walking (it’s a big park). It was an extremely pleasant way to spend lunch.


From inside the park you can see the Pantheon.


Parisians relaxing and tanning in front of the Palais du Luxembourg.


Mini Statue of Liberty! Now I’ve seen three versions, but I can hardly count the one in New York which is odd…

With an overpriced sandwich in my stomach I headed back to the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal. There were nuns around which always impresses me. The actual chapel was really elegant. It was all white with the shrines, which were really delicately ornamented, in blue and gold. I only got a few pictures, and not very good ones at that, because apparently mass starts at 2:30. I sat in for about 30 minutes (the nuns sang a lot and it sounded pretty with the acoustics) but left when communion started. The service, as far as I could tell, was not in French. I swear it was in Spanish, but how does that make sense? Anyway, I wish I could have explored the chapel some more, but I had to get going.


A statue above the exit when you’re leaving. I THINK the translation of the text above is, “I was appointed guardian” and below it reads, “The protection of God is everywhere.” I think.


The best shot of the chapel I could get. Notice the priest on the bottom left!

After that I went over to the Virgin Megastore on the Champs-Elysée to pick up my ticket for the Flogging Molly concert later this month. THAT is going to be good times. I had planned on staying the city until 7PM when the last train to Amiens left, but I was really exhausted. I decided to take the 5PM train back but I was about an hour early. In retrospect, I’m really glad I was. Since the trains were on such a weird schedule, and there weren’t as many trains running to Amiens as there normally are, my train was PACKED. There were also a lot of reserved seats, so if I had been late instead of in the station when the platform was announced I might have had a really horrible time finding a seat. And two hours in a long time to be uncomfortable on a train. Everything worked out peachy though, and I felt I had a really productive day.

This past Saturday was the last school sponsored trip. This time we went to Bruges, Belgium. We had to get up EARLY so we could leave around 7am since it’s a three hour bus ride to get there. Our first stop upon arrival was a canal tour. It was really pretty (and oh-so-warm…I think spring is finally here) and pleasant, but not too informative. The guide spoke in French, English, and Spanish, but I didn’t catch much of what he said. He actually told us at the beginning of the tour that he was expecting tips! I’m not sure if it was because we were all students or if that’s how he gets tipped well, but the guilt trip worked on me. Only 70 cents though! Anyway, after the canal tour we had two and a half hours for lunch and wandering around. We ate in the main square at a terribly over priced restaurant, but what can you do? People in my group were starting to get testy from lack of food, so we just stopped at a place that looked nice. My meal was fine, and two girls got the traditional mussels and fries dish. I’m not sure why those pair together, but they do! I had a couple of mussels and they tasted like delicious salt water. It reminded me of the beach! After lunch we went on the brewery tour that I went on last time I was in Bruges but it was still a good time. Our guide was really energetic and knowledgeable so it made the tour worth taking twice. After the brewery was had about an hour and half to wander the town before the bus left. I bought some chocolates and just enjoyed the scenery. One point worth mentioning is the massive amounts of tourists…in Bruges! It’s such a small city (one I had never heard of before coming to Europe this time) that I was surprised to see so many people there. I can only imagine what Paris looks like right now. So…tourist season has really begun! Amiens is also beginning to get a little more foot traffic. Whenever I walked through the square with the cathedral now there are always several groups of people standing around and looking up. So anyway, Bruges…it was a fun day! It doesn’t sound like we did much but I was exhausted when we got home anyway. Some quick pictures:


The group on top of the brewery!

Nora with traditional Brugge mussels


Zenepe and me on the canal tour


Brugge!

I have this week off from classes so there will probably be a trip to Paris at some point. Then, two more classes and I’m done at Sup de Co! I get to hang around Amiens for a little longer, but no more wasting time in class :)

Last weekend the public university in Amiens, Jules Verne, sponsored a day trip to see two chateaux nearby. There was the initial problem of finding where the bus was stopping, and then actually getting on the bus, since apparently Sup de Co failed to mention that we were going on the trip at all. Anyway, that got taken care of and two charter buses set off towards Chateau du Chantilly. The chateau was more like a large summer home for royalty than the huge fortress I was imagining. Don’t get me wrong – it was lovely! We got a guided tour, in French, which I understood some of, and then I just started reading the explanations in English that were in every room. The building was a little run down inside, but I guess not everything can have as much grandeur as Versailles. After our guided tour we had a couple of hours to wander the grounds and have a picnic lunch (which, by the way, we were told nothing about…you had to BRING your picnic lunch…luckily, there was a stand that sold sandwiches and fries). I should stop here and say that the weather was absolutely AMAZING. It had to be near, if not above, 80 degrees. There was a blue sky with just a few wispy clouds hanging around. It was, hands down, the best weather I’ve ever seen in France (finally!). We (most of the international students from Sup de Co and myself) lounged around on the grass enjoying our extremely large baguette sandwiches and the nice weather.


The group outside Chateau du Chantilly in front of the gardens


Chateau du Chantilly


Another shot of Chateau du Chantilly

After lunch we hopped back on the bus and set out of Chateau du Pierrefonds. Pierrefonds was the little city the chateau was located in and it was a really adorable city. Lots of cafes and ice cream shops, plus a lake where you could rent paddle boats. The good weather held which made it extra lovely. The Chateau du Pierrefonds was the kind of chateau I had imagined. It was used in warfare, or it would have been if it had ever been completed after it fell into ruin. I think it only saw action once (before that it had just be a fortified residence) and when it was taken, it fell into ruin and was never restored. It’s mostly the interior that incomplete, meaning it’s just rough, hewn walls in some rooms. However, the bedrooms and the Salle des Preuses (used for paaaaarties!) were definitely completed. One more bit of history is that there are eight towers each named after “valiant warriors,” as the pamphlet puts it. One tower (which contained the Emperor’s chamber) was named Julius Caesar! Okay, I just finished a biography on Caesar which is why it excited me. But that’s enough history! Everything was really green and warm so it was nice to just walk around the grounds. The city is actually about a 15 minute drive though some untouched forest, so there was plenty of green to be had. Everyone grabbed some ice cream and hung around the city for a while before we got back on the bus and headed back to Amiens (where it was raining and colder, by the way). It was a really fun way to spend a Sunday, which is inevitably boring in France since NOTHING is open.


Chateau du Pierrefonds


Me with a fun statue of a griffith


Carving above the fireplace in the main hall.

One thing I forgot to mention! When I woke up on aforementioned Sunday, there was this dull murmuring outside of my window. I look out and what do I see but a makeshift flea market setting up below me, as far as the eye can see! April 27 is a national holiday in France, the Journee national de la Deportation (those who are faithful readers may remember the monument in Paris I took a picture dealing with the same issue). I’m not sure if it’s a tradition to have a huge garage sale in the city center, but that’s what happened this year. You apparently sign up for a space in the weeks leading up to this event (I realize now what all those posters around town meant) and it’s literally a giant garage sale, and everyone’s invited! People were set up and shopping at 7 AM. I get the feeling they were late. I was really amused, but Josy, my Swedish roommate, just couldn’t understand the concept. There were really interesting things on sale from what I saw. Then again, I’m sure it was because it was French junk that I was so amused. So, I thought that was interesting!

Next I'll have an update on the trip we took to Brugge!

Back from Madrid! It was a short trip, but it was plenty for me. Classes start Monday so I've been gearing up for that. Madrid was nice, mostly because the weather stayed in the upper 70's the whole time. France is getting warmer, but it's not as warm as Spain! Anyway, it was sort of a whirlwind tour of the city where I saw the palace (and it's cathedral), had lunch in the park, and the Plaza de Toros, although unfortunately I didn't get to go inside or see a bull fight. C'est la vie. I'm not really sure if I'm okay with the bull fights anyway, since they kill the bull at the end. It seems a little messed up. A few photos:


Outside of the Palace




The icon at the cathedral, which you could actually walk directly up to it.

It was really nice having my friend Gemma take me around because a) she knew the city and exactly where to go and b) she speaks Spanish fluently, so I never had to worry about the language barrier. Overall, a successful trip.

On Sunday another university here in Amiens (Jules Verne) is heading up a trip to see two chateaux. It should be a good time; a fun little day trip. Classes start again on Monday and a professor from UWF is teaching the first one. I've started to make plans for work and school when I get home, so things really are winding down! Only one month left until I'm done in Amiens...time does fly!

I'm back in Germany after my wonderful vacation in Greece. Most of the time I didn't do much at all! April and I spent a few days just laying in the 80 degree weather by the pool. It was exactly what I had hoped for. Of course, we also saw some historical things as well. In Athens we saw the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum and in Rhodes we saw the Old Town plus a LOT more of the island thanks to a tour offered by the hotel. Mostly, I bathed in the warm weather, trying to soak it up and save it for when I came back to Germany and France. So let's see...highlights...

The Acropolis was really fun. April was thrilled (and so was I) at the complete lack of tourists in the area. We got there right after it opened and got to see most of the sights (especially the Temple of Athena Nike and the Porch of Caryatids) with no one else around. By the time we left, though, the cruise ship groups were coming in, so I'm glad we went early. I made a little friend while hanging around the Parthenon too! I jokingly mentioned that I would take a piece of rock with me (there are signs everywhere threatening to decapitate you if you take anything or leave graffiti or something) and then this dog would NOT stop following me. I thought he was trained to kill upon hearing certain phrases, but all he wanted was a little loving. Anyway!

Rhodes was really nice, like I said, relaxing. April and I wanted to do some day trips (I wanted to go to Turkey, April wanted to go see the cave of the Apocolypse on a nearby island) but since it was the off season, no tours were running. It was nice having the island practically to ourselves, but then again we had to walk about a mile to the nearest functioning ATM and there were only two restuarants open, including the hotel restuarant. We took a little day tour of the island of Rhodes which was nice but unfortunately something on the bus agitated my allergies and I could NOT stop sneezing! The highlight for me was definitely the Bee Museum! It was not quite as good as the Bread Museum, but almost :)

On our last day in Rhodes April and I went into the Old Town, which reminded us both of Disney World, but without the piped in music. It was a really nice was to spend the morning though. We saw the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent and walked down the Street of the Knights. Unfortunately, a few days before we arrived the Palace of the Grand Masters (which is the main thing to see) was struck by lightning, so it was closed. After that we hopped on the ferry and went back to Athens and flew back to Germany, where it's cold and cloudy :(

So that's our trip in brief! The Greek people are some of the nicest I've encountered at Europe. Everyone asked where we were from, what we had been doing, etc. We got a couple of lectures on Greek history (did you know our "F" comes from the Greek double gamma?) along with some fun conversations while we were waiting for our ferry to leave. Now, in a few days it's back to France, but only for a month and a half. I can't believe how quickly the semester has gone!

A few pictures:


April at the Bee Museum


Outside of the Old Town in Rhodes


My friend and me at the Acropolis!


Sippin' on coffee in Old Town of Rhodes with our new friend, Manuel!

All the pictures on my flickr page.

This past Saturday the school sponsored a trip for all of the international students to Reims (pronounced more like 'rawns' than 'reems'), which is in the Champagne region of France. When I say "sponsored" I mean they paid for everything. They rented two vans and we drove about two hours to get there. Our lunch was paid for as were all of our entrance fees. It's was really nice only having to pay for souvenirs! Okay so anyway, about the trip!

The first thing we did upon arrival to the city was go see Notre Dame. This is the church where many of the kings of France had their coronation ceremonies. Unfortunately for my photos, they were doing some restoration to the front facade, but it was still a very pretty church. There was a sculpture on the facade of the Virgin Mary getting crowned. The stained glass inside was all very pretty and the rose window directly above the door (the smaller one) is dedicated to the Virgin. According to church literature, "at the center of the large rose window Mary rises from the dead assisted first by the twelve apostles and then by 24 musicians. This is a reminder that the church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption." Aren't you glad I pay attention to things like this Mommy? Anyway, I lit a candle for my mom and then we went off to lunch!


The statue of the Virgin Mary getting crowned on the facade of the cathedral.


The rose windows

We ate at L'Apostrope and it was pretty good. The best part was dessert, which was a different take on tirimisu. Instead of chocolate and coffee it was vanilla and strawberry. DELICIOUS. After lunch we had our champagne tour to go on! We had to walk for about 20 minutes which was no good, but once we got there the tour was very interesting. Taittinger was the name of the winery (champagnery?) we visited. I realized I recognized their brand after the little introductory movie. We got to walk around in the cellars, which were built on top of an old abbey that had been destroyed during the French Revolution. The cellars were all that survived. Now, the real champagne is made in a huge modern facility in the middle of town while they keep the cellars open for tourists. It was pretty interesting. Our guide took us through how champagne was actually made, and that it consists of three grapes, one of which is pinot noir. I was surprised at that. Annnyway. It was fun just to walk around down there (I came across a carving of a horse in a wall and took a picture for Kasey) and we got a glass of champagne at the end! It was better than the whiskey tour in Scotland...it didn't feel so much like a Disney ride!


Zenepe and me with lots of champagne bottles.


Champagne being stored...too bad the bottles were empty.

After our champagne tour the group decided they wanted to go to the Planetarium. I would have rather gone to the Basilica, but such is life. The Planetarium was little more than a 45 minute lecture (LITERALLY) by a guy doing a slide show that was projected onto a tiny dome. Oh, and it was all in French. I tried to understand for about the first five minutes, and I got the gist of what he was saying, but then I just took a nap! One good thing was that before we went to the Planetarium we had some time to kill so we hopped over to a free exhibition next door. The art was by a man named Fero Liptak and I really liked his paintings. If I was an art collector I would definitely buy some of his stuff. I was really glad we stumbled across it.


By Fero Liptak


Nora, Josy, Zenepe, and Ana waiting to go into the Planetarium.

After all this everyone is really tired, so we only go back to the city center for about 30 minutes to do a little shopping. Daddy got a couple of presents! By then it was 6:30 PM and we decide to head home. It would have been nice to have a little more time in the city and see some of the other sites, but for a free day trip I'd have to say it went very well. And now I've tasted real champagne, IN Champagne.

On Wednesday I'm off to Germany and then on Friday April and I fly out to Greece! Look forward to a warm update on that!

Okay, the post below is from last weekend, but I need to put a little note first. Last night...it SNOWED here! SNOW! IT'S SPRINGTIME! Or so they say. I think this was the fourth time I've seen snow my whole life. Needless to say, I stayed indoors. I got a little giddy and I think I freaked my roommates (who are from Sweden incidentally, and it's been snowing in Sweden for months) out a little but...SNOW! IN LATE MARCH! Ahem. Sorry, done now.

Last night my roommates and I decided we really needed to get out of the apartment. With no classes to attend, the awful weather (yeah right, it’s “spring” here) and our general laziness, there have been too many days just hanging around. We braved the weather and went to dinner and a show. Dinner was pretty good – I had the duck. The show we went to was part of the annual Amiens Jazz Festival. Of course, we didn’t know any of the artists so we picked one that performed at a convenient time. We ended up seeing Departementale 985: un Spectacle de Fred Poulet with music by Gilles Coronado. So, this was basically modern art + music. It. Was. Awesome. The drummer was wearing this tiny red hat and Fred Poulet, the singer, was most like William Shatner than anything. A lot of the lyrics were a “spoken word song.” It’s too bad I couldn’t understand what he was saying because I’m pretty sure the show would have made a little more sense if I had. Okay, so, let me try to paint a picture for. You’re in the petit theatre at the Maison de le Culture, which is a little bigger than the main stage at UWF (it’s the only reference point I can think of, okay?) and definitely nicer. The stage has all the musical equipment on the left side of the stage and on the right side are a microphone and a chair. There is a big screen taking up most of the stage, but it doesn’t extend to where the band members sit. The lights go down and the band walks out (I think the French only clap at the end of a show…there was a bit of an awkward silence for me. There was also no clapping between songs.) and takes their places. Fred introduces himself (I got that much) but the stage is completely dark, with only a tiny spotlight on his face. They start to play (it’s not really jazz per se…it’s more of a progressive thing…hard to describe) and throughout the entire show Fred and the guitarist (who, if I’m reading my program right was Gilles Coronado) are in front of the big screen which transforms from a white screen to random pictures to an actual movie that the band stops to watch. The stage is never actually lit, so you were forced to concentrate on the screen more or less. Fred and Gilles were silhouettes on the stage most of the time and the rest of the band was just in darkness. Maybe it meant it was more about the music than the musicians. Like I said, had I understood either the lyrics or the narrative maybe I would have had some deep realization, but as it is, it was just random and fun. Anyway, it was a fun cultural experience!

I'm officially on Spring Break now! Ahh, but in France, nothing is normal. How long is my Spring Break you ask? Why, SIX WEEKS obviously! I know, I know, it's ridiculous. Take comfort in the fact that regular students only get a couple of weeks. UWF only required me to take ten modules while I'm here, so I have quite a lot of time off. I only have three more classes to take, but I don't have to worry about them until late April. Ahhh yes. My education.

Since I have such a break I took a little trip over to Germany to see April and Sid. Initially the reason I was going was to work on getting a visa to get into Russia. April already posted about this but I feel the need to reiterate. On top of there being a charge of $131 once they decide to give you the visa, the process is ridiculous! I had to do less work to get my visa to LIVE in France for six months. I really advise everyone to Google "Russian visa requirements" and download the application. It's INSANE. They want all of your educational history, your parents full names, your last three employers, to know whether or not you have any special training in chemical, nuclear, or biological weapons...the list goes on! The point is, we're not going to Russia. The consulate in Germany only speaks German and Russian, neither of which April or I speak (well). Instead, we've changed our tickets to Athens where we'll spend a day or two before hopping over to an island (Rhodes) to do not much at all. I'm looking forward to the beach, even if it won't be too terribly warm (low 70's if we're lucky). There may be a day trip to Turkey involved, which I personally would be really excited about. Anyway, that's on tap for mid-April.

SO! What did I do in Germany since we didn't do battle with the Russians? We decided to take a little day trip over to Ulm, Germany. It's home of the highest steeple in the world. It's 768 steps to the top. Of course, we climbed that beast. I'm not saying it was easy (okay, I think I almost died) but I'm glad we did it. Luckily for us (okay, mostly for me) there were little landings every 300 steps or so, so we took little breaks. On one of the landings there was a room with drawings of cathedrals all over Europe. There was even a picture of the one in Amiens! April and I went around pointing to the ones we had seen. She had more than me, but I had plenty on my own.


On the way to the top...I think around step 300 or so. If I only knew how much worse it would get...


April at the top...how does she look so happy?!


Our view from the top...you should see how big those towers looked from the bottom! Now they're so tiny...

After that invigorating experience we walked over to the bread museum, or the Museum der Brotkulter. April couldn't have been more excited. We saw many bread related artifacts and bread related art. There were four floors! Of course, on the first floor there was the Salt Exhibition. The whole museum was just so odd (I mean, really? A BREAD museum?!) but it was fun to see. There was even some modern art! I found a new favorite piece. There was also a sculpture by Salvador Dali! Who would have thought?


Outside the Museum der Brotkulter


My new favorite piece of art.

After the museum we walked around a little while waiting for dinner only to find that the restaurant we wanted to eat at had no tables available. They did have a sort of mascot though. While Sid was getting directions to another restaurant, this FAT cat came up and started meowing. You got the impression that he was fed every night about 6 PM because he sounded hungry. It made me miss my stupid cat! Anyway, we found the other restaurant and it ended up being pretty good. We had to change waiters because our original guy didn't speak enough English, and I think he was freaked out by us anyway. The best part of the meal was the dessert. April had the best cheese plate EVER and I had a two course dessert! There was thing mandarin-chocolate soup that was phenomenal, out of this world good. April didn't particularly like it. There had been plans initially to go on and see Neuschwanstein (the Cinderalla castle), but we decided to save that for another day. Back to Bruchmuehlbach!


Course one of my dessert...on the left is the delicious mandarin-chocolate soup. Amazing.

The rest of my stay was dominated by American things, such as Taco Bell, and I had a pretty good time just watching TV (for the first time in two months). I also ran two miles with Sid (April kept going and ran seven...show off) so I feel good about that. I'm going to try running in Amiens with my roommate Josy, but it's so much colder here! Well, that's the update for now!

Well I haven’t updated in a while but that’s because I’ve had actual work to do for school. I know, isn’t that ridiculous? I really didn’t know what to do with myself, having an actual assignment to do and all. Anyway, in order to shake off that distasteful feeling of hard work, this weekend I went to Paris!

Sid had tickets for the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Saturday so I took the train in that night. The show was really good, even if I couldn’t understand half the lines. It’s definitely more thorough than the show in Pensacola. There are two groups that perform every Friday and Saturday (apparently the Saturday group is better) and it’s the only place you can see Rocky Horror in all of France! The cast had really elaborate (and accurate) costumes and props and there was a LOT of audience participation. Sid sat us in the second row, which was bad enough…I’m just really glad we didn’t sit in the front row. They must have been sexually assaulted by the cast six different times before the show was over. People brought rice to throw (at appropriate moments) and I’m still digging it out of my hair! There was also a lot of water thrown around, so my jeans were a little uncomfortable after the show. Sid was really popular because he knew a lot of lines and sometimes he’d say a line in English before the cast could get it out in French. There were three other Americans at the show and they all came to say hello after the show was over. Two were from Pennsylvania and one was from New York. After a little confusion about getting to the hotel, we got there and slept for a solid four hours. WOO HOO. Breakfast at 7 AM…who does that?


People in the front row getting assaulted by the cast.


Learning the Time Warp


The Cast!

So Sunday morning the tour guide was nice enough to let me ride on the bus with everyone to get into town (the hotel was in a suburb called Rungis). I got to hear some history about the sites around town which was nice. Bridges and buildings are much more interesting when you know why they were built and by who. I need to get a really good guide book that will tell me all I want to know. That way I don’t have to wait for another free tour to come along. So the bus dropped everyone off at the Eiffel Tower and Sid and I wandered off in the other direction because neither of us really wanted to go to the top. Or the middle actually…the group wasn’t going all the way up. We went under the tower and across the street to what looked like a theatre. Whether or not it’s still in operation, I don’t know. From the top there was a really good view of the Eiffel Tower, so we got some good pictures out of it.


Ahhh...Paris.


From the top of the theatre.

After that we decided we needed to see the mini-Statue of Liberty since neither of us had seen it yet. I’m not sure what the French call it exactly, so I’m going to refer to it as mini-Statue of Liberty. Clever, no? It was a little bit of a walk from the Eiffel Tower, but not too bad. Unfortunately, it was windy, cold, and raining a little so the walk wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it wasn’t awful. I liked the mini-Statue of Liberty. Somehow it was comforting to know that it was looking at New York. I waved to the United States from the base of the statue. Know that I was thinking of everyone at home Sunday around 3 AM central time!


Looking towards New York


Sid and the French Statue of Liberty

After that we headed back towards the Eiffel Tower since Sid had to be on the bus by 11 AM. Along the way we ran into the Monument de la Deportation (1940-1945), a WWII memorial. Roughly translated, the inscription at the base of the statue read, “The Republic of France gives homage to victims of racism and anti-Semitism and crimes against humanity under the authority of the government of France. Never forget.” It was an interesting diversion.



After Sid went back to the bus I decided I might check out the Musee d’Orsay since I haven’t seen it in about five years. I remember I really enjoyed it when I went in high school so I was excited to go back. Unfortunately on a rainy Sunday everyone has the same ideas. The line was MONSTEROUS. So instead I took a picture of a horse statue outside for Kasey and went on my way. (I still remember the first time Kasey and I were in Paris together and we somehow found our way to the Musee d’Orsay by a complete accident. We had no idea we were even in the area! I can’t believe my father let us wander around by ourselves. Sixteen year olds loose in Paris!)



I wasn’t quite ready to get on a train for Amiens so I wandered over to the Place de la Concorde since it was close. By the time I made it over there the wind was pretty fierce so I didn’t stay long. I was wishing I had that guide book already to learn about the history of the obelisk (which I took pictures of for April…she just loves obelisks) and the fountains, etc. It’s an interesting area. Actually, Paris is pretty interesting!



My legs were starting to hurt and I was getting tired of fighting with my umbrella (I constantly hit my glasses with the pole…it’s annoying) and the elements so I jumped on a metro. The first train I was on had a little jazz band on it. They played Blue Moon and When the Saints Go Marching In. I enjoyed it quite a lot! It’s the fun little things like that that make me happy. On the next train I took there was a guy reading a book about Algerian warfare. I thought that was just plain random. I’m going to assume it was for school, but he looked pretty into it. Anyway! I took the train home. The end!

Plans for Russia and Morocco are moving along…I’m very excited. Also! I bought tickets to see the Foo Fighters in London and Flogging Molly in Paris. Y-E-S. We’re going to buy tickets for Avenue Q and Phantom soon too I hope. So much to do!

So much accomplished this last weekend! On Friday I went to my first European football game, Amiens vs. some team I couldn't pronounce. It was really fun! The stadium was bigger than I expected, although it was still about 1/4 of the size of a stadium at home. Amiens won 4-0 so it was fun cheering every time we scored a goal. It turns out people watching sports is a pretty universal thing. It felt just like home except that the "Nah-Nah-Nah-Nah Hey-Hey-Hey Goodbye" song was sung with a French accent. I'm pretty sure we were sitting in the equivalent of the student section because the guys in front of us didn't stop singing the entire game. By the end of the match I had most of the songs down pat! I think the team plays at home every other week and I'm definitely going again, especially since it's just four euros for a ticket.

So Saturday my friend Laura and I met Sid in Lille and then we all went on to Brugge, Belgium. Saturday we basically just checked into the hotel and had dinner (where Sid had some DELICIOUS ribs) then checked out the night life a little. On Sunday we went to see two churches, one with one of the only statues by Michelangelo outside of Italy (The Madonna and Child, see my flickr page for pictures) and one which apparently housed a piece of cloth that wiped away Christ's blood after he was crucified. We also took a tour of a brewery which was fairly interesting but there were a LOT of steps. They were so steep we had to go down them backwards! It was really interesting though, and we got to go up on the roof so we got a good view of the city.

It seems to be a thing in Brugge to have roaring fires wherever you eat. Even in a tea room there was a fireplace! But of course the best part of Belgium was the chocolate. I restrained myself and only bought one box but...I could buy plenty more without issue. Overall it was a good trip! The school is taking a trip to Brugge later in the semester, so I'm looking forward to that. Okay, back to class for now!

Oh, P.S. the weather is awful here...windy and rainy! Oh Florida I miss you! Or at least the weather...

I’ve officially done Scotland! This past weekend was really fun. I now understand why April thought of England as “The Fatherland.” She had been around non-native English speakers for so long that it was a wonderful relief to be around people who expected you to speak English. I definitely think Scotland is the best place I’ve been so far, mostly because everyone spoke English! Well…sort of. An example: We were waiting in line at McDonald’s (yes, I know it’s awful, but it was late!) and a Scottish guy struck up a conversation with me because of my American accent. To be honest I only had a vague idea of what he said. The accent is SERIOUS in Scotland but…it’s still English! Anyway.

I flew into Glasgow on Friday about five hours before April and Sid were scheduled to land. I had almost no trouble getting to the hotel. On the train I talked to some fun, older Scottish ladies who were really funny. Also, not two minutes out of the train station I see a golf course. They’re all over the place! Scotland IS where golf was invented but…way to fit the stereotype! Anyway, all we did on Friday was eat at McDonald’s (see above) and go to sleep. Crazy.

Saturday we woke up really early to go to Edinburgh. We were there REALLY early because I accidentally woke us up an hour ahead of schedule since my French phone apparently doesn’t change time zones automatically. So we get off the train and we’re basically right in front of the Scott Monument, which was in honor of the work of Sir Walter Scott. After that we found the Royal Mile which has a lot of the historical buildings up and down it. We went to see the castle which ended up being really interesting and fun. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels (I wouldn’t pay to see the English ones…the exchange rate is killer), the royal apartments, and other fun historical things. Also the view was spectacular! Then, I was TRICKED into walking down an extremely large hill (which we had to walk back up again) to visit a church Sid wanted to see because of a Dungeons and Dragons reference. I was willing to scale that mountain in the name of architecture and acoustics…but D&D is NOT an acceptable reason. Anyway, we saw that and got to walk through a pretty little park (that surely is prettier in the Spring and Summer). Then we went on a whiskey tour which was…a little silly. We got free samples (April had to finish mine) and a complimentary glass to take home! Other than that is was more like a ride at Disney World, complete with slow moving train through rooms full of mannequins. It was fun though!

It was about time for lunch at this point so we found a nice little restaurant and I tried haggis! It’s actually not bad at all, although I’m still not sure what exactly it is. It was a really good lunch. After lunch was the best part – the modern art museum! It was really good. My favorite piece was this mirror that had some charred pieces of paper and ashes at the bottom of the frame. The ashes were supposedly a burnt picture of the artist, so when you stood in front of the mirror it was a “self-portrait – me and you” meaning the artist and the viewer. Very deep. There was some Andy Warhol as well. The current featured artist (I forget the correct term) was a woman who did really detailed landscapes of parking lots, etc from the point of view of an airplane. I liked them the more I looked at them. I should I written her name down…OK! Enough about modern art. After modern art we figured out the bus system because the museum was pretty far out in the suburbs. It was back to Glasgow after that and, long story short, we ate dinner at the hotel and went to bed at 9:30. It was an exhausting day!

Sunday we had the morning to kill. So…OBVIOUSLY we went to the modern art museum in Glasgow! Few people are as lucky as me! We did go to Borders first which thrilled April and, I must admit, it was a thrill for me too. A REAL bookstore. Refreshing! Anyway, the museum was a lot smaller than the one in Edinburgh but it was still really interesting. There was a sculpture by Niki de Saint-Phalle, whose work I really like. Even though it was small, I really enjoyed all of the pieces. There were two sculptures of dogs that symbolized Winston Churchill’s depression. I liked them too. That was about all we did since I had to be at the airport around 2 PM. I did buy a Cadbury Egg McFlurry before I left though…it was good, but unsurprisingly, after two bites I couldn’t eat more.

So I made it back into France with no problem. Of course, as soon as I’m in a country where I don’t speak the native tongue, things start to go wrong. I didn’t make a reservation for the bus to Amiens so it didn’t show up. That was my own fault, but it still sucked. I was really frustrated and mad at myself (and tired). I took a taxi to the Beauvais train station but I miss the train that I need to take. What that meant is that by the time I got to Paris the last train to Amiens had left. So I got to spend the night in Paris! At Beauvais I had a little panic attack, but then I just calmed down and made a plan. I found a cheap hotel about a block from Gare de Nord and took the first train back to Amiens in the morning. It wasn’t ideal, but I got home in the end.

So that was Scotland! I really had a good time and it was nice to be with family for a while. I need to start planning and buying tickets for all of my other trips but I keep putting it off. I’m not really sure why. Anyway, it’s late here and I have a presentation in class tomorrow, so that’s all for now!

One good note is that I finally figured out how to upload photos! It’s amazing what checking one little box in your internet options can do. So go to my flickr page and check out the pictures. The pictures from Scotland are on April’s site; I didn’t think it was necessary to upload them twice!

Two more posts below from the past week. Lucky you..lots of reading!

My friend Gemma (from England) left a few days ago. I was pretty upset even though I’ve only known her about three weeks. I know we would be really good friends if she was staying all semester. Before she left her boss at Sup de Co (the school’s name) invited her over for dinner. It’s the same woman we went to St. Valery with, so she invited me too. We walked to her place which is a little far off, but in Amiens nothing is too far. We had what she called a little dinner but I was quite full at the end. Bread, quiche, salad (just lettuce with some delicious dressing over it), tomatoes with a vinaigrette sauce and...oh yes...cheese for dessert. Her whole family was there and they’re all really nice. They’re a funny family though. Brigette (Gemma’s boss) is actually German, her husband is English, but both of her kids were born and raised in France. Anyway, it was a really pleasant evening. After that we went out to Le Lipstick, a night club in Amiens. The other club in Amiens is called, creatively enough, Le Club. They’re both just awful. Europeans (or maybe it’s just the French) love their techno music. I have to say it’s just not for me. But we met some people and had a good time despite the horrible music.

I hope to figure out how to get some pictures up soon. I was looking over some of the pictures I’ve taken and I love them! Working on it…

Tonight my roommates and I finally tried out the bar that’s right across the street from our apartment. It turned out to be a great night! There was a live band playing and they were really fun. They played music like Elvis and Little Richard as well as The White Stripes and the Rolling Stones. It was quite a versatile playlist. It was really good to hear live music though. I think it soothes my soul or something because I felt really good after we left. There was a slight downside though. Apparently the people behind us were being really rude (I didn’t notice but Zenepe and Josy did) which makes me mad. We don’t really know why they were being so mean but I guess you can’t worry about making stupid, drunk French people happy. Anyway, Le Charleston is a fun place to go!

I normally wouldn’t write about class but today, I think, warrants an exception. Class “starts” at 9:30 AM. So around 9:45 we actually get going because French punctuality just doesn’t exist. The class is called Inter-cultural Communication so we’ve being doing a lot of role playing and group work. So OBVIOUSLY the first thing we do in the morning is blow up some balloons. Literally. I’m so not kidding. There was more to it than that of course, and the activity was supposed to teach us to be sensitive to different culture’s communication styles and to be aware of our own. I think. But basically we took an hour and a half and blew up about 200 balloons. That’s the morning. The professor lectures a little and then we go to lunch. After lunch, guess what we did right off the bat? You’ll never guess. The entire class went for a jog! The school is located in a little park so in order to wake everyone up we took a lap around it. It was ridiculous to be jogging with a large group of French students and our professor. So THAT was fun. There’s a little more lecture (which incidentally is pretty interesting in itself) and then to round out the day, we watch a little bit of a romantic comedy from the 90’s. Again, I suppose it was relevant in a way, but basically we watched ten minutes of a movie. So that was my day in class!

Well the week has come and gone! My class ended up being more boring and pointless than hard. The entire last day was spent giving presentations. THE ENTIRE DAY. That’s six and a half hours of sitting and listening to droning from students. My group presented last but as soon as we got started the computer shut down and refused to reboot. Since the class had already run over (it was about 5:20 PM and we were supposed to get out at 5:15 PM) the professor just looked over our presentation and let the rest of the class go. It was probably one of the most boring days of my life. One fun thing did happen though! Towards the end of the day and accordion player started to play right outside our window, so a few presentations had some very French theme music. It made me happy 

Also this week I started my French language and culture class. The teacher speaks almost entirely in French (which is good) and I can keep up with her pretty okay. Unfortunately I still can’t speak very well. It’s easier to understand than to actually talk. Anyway, I suppose that will come with time.

Next weekend April, Sid, and I are going to Glasgow! I’m pretty excited about it. Everyone will speak English for one thing! Plus I wanted to go to Scotland and now it’s as easy as figuring out how to use a weird bus in Amiens to get to the airport and wandering around Scotland for five and a half hours by myself while I wait for April and Sid! No worries, I’ll figure it out one way or another.

I’ve finally discovered the “UniCaf” as well. It’s the university cafeteria and students get lunch for less than three euro. It’s a good lunch too! Not gastronomique or anything but it’s very European, very French. You get a main dish which is normally some sort of fish or chicken (although I got a weird omelet thing yesterday) and three side dishes, such as fruit, pudding, or various European food like eggs with mayo or shredded carrots in this really odd (meaning I don’t like it) sauce. Anyway, it’s a good value for the money! The hard part is you need to get a special card first and charge it with your credit card. This is the THIRD card I’ve gotten from the school. I never realized how convenient the Nautilus card at UWF was before.

This past weekend my roommates (Zenepe and Josy), Nora (a girl from Mexico), and I took a little day trip to the city of Lille. It’s about an hour North of Amiens and quite a bit larger. This trip was mostly about shopping but I would love to go back to see more of the city, like the cathedral and other things. The architecture is really beautiful, although it reminded me of Germany. Or maybe Germany reminds me of Lille. Who knows? There was a lovely opera house that I wouldn’t mind seeing an opera or symphony in, but I don’t think anyone here would really be interested in going with me. Since Lille is up north is was a little bit colder, and at this point every degree counts. I don’t know what I’ve done with my gloves but I really need to find them ASAP. We tried to stay in the sunshine (or in the stores) as much as possible. When we first arrived we had a late breakfast/early lunch at a cute little brasserie that I rather enjoyed. We didn’t really sit down and have a meal – just snacks all day. There are these waffle-like things that are really popular there and I had one with Nutella…it was pretty ridiculous. I couldn’t finish it because it was so rich but I wish I could have. Then later I partook of some French onion soup. The soup was from a restaurant called Hippopotamus that was basically a steak house. It looked like it would be delicious if I was hungry enough and could afford to actually get a steak. It was a really pleasant day overall. At first, we did have a hard time finding the area with all of the shops. We wandered around aimlessly for about an hour and a half but I didn’t mind because the city was just so pretty and busy (there were people EVERYWHERE – it was kind of a shock after being in Amiens for two weeks) that it was fun just to walk around. I don’t think Nora felt the same way however; she was in heels. By the end of the day we were all exhausted and took a little nap on the train home.

There was a party later that night for Gemma (an English girl who is leaving on Thursday) and I was the only one who could stay awake enough to go. It was worth it though. The party ended up being really fun. A lot of French people came and the few I talked to actually knew where Pensacola was! It was pretty amazing. Most of the time when I say I’m from Florida I get the reaction of, “Oh! Florida! Miami!” Yeah…except I live ten hours from Miami. I blame the stupid movie Bad Boys. Anyway, it was a fun party but when I woke up the next day I felt completely sick. I’ve been fighting off some sickness ever since I’ve arrived in Amiens and it finally got to me on Sunday. Normally I start feeling bad at night (sore throat, headache, general grossness) but then I go to sleep and feel better the next day. Sunday I didn’t shake it off so I just stayed in bed all day. Literally. I feel better now at least, so it’s okay.

Tuesday I start my new class, International Affairs. I’ve heard that this professor is hard which makes me upset. I guess I couldn’t get lucky two weeks in a row. The class is an ISAM3 course which means it’s the equivalent of my sophomore year classes. Unfortunately at ISAM there are exams for every class. Blah. It’s only three days though, so even if it’s bad, at least it will be quick! I really love the way the French school system works.

This update is from earlier this week..sorry for the tardiness! Also, there's another new post below...two for one!

I had quite a lovely weekend. On Saturday Sid came to pick up his car, but since his train was delayed we didn’t get to go sightseeing around Amiens. Instead we basically went to eat and get a few drinks. We ate at Les Marisson, which apparently is one of the best restaurants in Amiens. It was quite delicious. I had the veal and discovered that, yes, I still don’t like veal. Oh well! I tried it.

Sunday was a really good day. Gemma (a girl from England) works for the school and her boss invited Teresa, me, and her to go to the seaside. We drove about 45 minutes away to a town called St. Valery. It was entirely too quaint. I bet it’s really nice in the summer because even in January it was lovely. We first saw the bay (in French, baie) and just walked around. Apparently Joan of Arc was held prisoner for a while in the town. Even though the air was a little chilly it was fine once we started walking. After walking for a while we got into town and stopped at a crepirie for lunch. We had the traditional crepe from the region (it had the word provence in it, although I forget the full name) and for dessert I had a crepe with pear and ice cream (poivre et glace vanille). It was DELICIOUS. It was actually pretty late at this point so we drove a little while and then stopped to watch the sun set. So now I have a new body of water checked off my list – I’ve seen the North Sea! The water was this beautiful azure blue color and very clear. Since I’m used to the green waters of the Emerald Coast the blue water was pretty amazing for me to see. The tides in that area are very interesting. When the tide is low there’s a sort of sand bridge created. All of the water leaves the bay and you can walk across it to the other side to visit the other town. The tide comes in very quickly though, so it’s easy to get caught in the middle of the bay if you’re not paying attention to the time. Apparently it’s pretty common for tourists to get caught in the tide and die. YIKES. So…pay attention!

Sunday night Teresa and I cooked dinner for a few friends. I made chicken marinara (it was alright – I’m not a fan of red sauces) and Teresa made a dish that’s common in Spain called a Spanish omelet. That was scrumptious! It’s basically potatoes, eggs, and onion as far as I can tell but…wow. I might go to Spain just to get some. The meal was so fun though. We had bought some fresh baguettes and we had some wine…it was all very French. I rather enjoyed myself!

Today I started classes. My class is called Organization Development but as far as I can tell it’s a management class. The professor is from England and he’s pretty funny. It’s not hard at all; basically we get into groups and discuss what we think about certain concepts. There are maybe eight of the other international students in the class but I’ve spent most of the group time with the French students. They speak some English but I thought they would be more fluent for some reason. Anyway, they can communicate without a problem, which is more than I can say when it comes to my French. The professor has made several Bush jokes…luckily I’m not overly sensitive. He also shot down Tony Blair quite a bit. He must be liberal  One more quick note (this one is for Mommy) is that he quoted the serenity prayer in class (the part about accepting change, etc). I was amused anyway!

This post was written a while ago but I couldn't get it onto livejournal until now...sorry for the delay!

Yesterday it was happy hour at an Irish pub called My Goodness. We went and got a few pints (and by we I mean almost the entire international program). It turned out to be a pretty entertaining place to hang out. The funniest part of the whole experience was the extremely drunk French people. They go to the same school as us and so they had a really good time teaching the traditional school songs. Oh, well I actually mean the traditional school drinking songs. It was seriously hilarious.

Later that night my roommate, Teresa, and I were walking home and somehow we started talking about the proper conjugation of the verb ‘to drink.’ Perhaps not so surprisingly, Teresa had to teach me the appropriate use of drank versus drunk. It’s extremely confusing! I was thoroughly amused that my roommate from Spain whose second language was English was teaching me proper English grammar.

Another fun tidbit is that I saw a strike march going on here in Amiens. I think it was for the workers who are employed by the government, like garbage pick-up and all of that. I’ve just never seen a strike before so I was a little wide-eyed. The fact that I had NO IDEA what they were shouting made little difference to me.

I’ve now had the pleasure of opening a bank account in France. That is an experience NOT to be missed, let me assure you. One quick note however – try to be fluent in French first. I’m so lucky Teresa went with me because I got the woman who doesn’t speak English and I had only an inkling of what was going on. I had to sign three different papers and for all I know I promised to give BNP my first newborn child. The important thing is that I got it opened (I think) and should have my debit card in a week or so. One good item is that in order to open an account I had to get a train pass that gives me half off on every fare! Don’t ask me why I HAD to have it to open an account, but I suppose it’s good to have anyway.

Classes start on Monday. I’m not exactly looking forward to it but I suppose I can make it through. The class runs from Monday through Wednesday and that’s it! Of course, we go from about 9:30 AM, break for lunch around noon, and come back around 2 PM until 5:30 PM. Six hours in class a day for three days in a row may be a little rough. I think I have the class with some of the other international students so that will be nice.

Also yesterday it was the traditional time for the French to celebrate with la galette, which seems to be the equivalent of a King’s Cake at home. It must coincide with Mardi Gras, although I think this is a little earlier. The story behind la galette is that back in Roman times when there was a group of slaves condemned to death, they would be fed this cake. Whoever got the piece inside got treated as a king or queen for a whole week, but then they were killed anyway. It’s a little messed up to be sure. But anyway, we ate the cake and I got the piece inside! Luckily, they’re not going to kill me in a week. I don’t think…

Well, I'm starting to get settled here in Amiens. Today there was a lunch for all of the international students to kind of welcome everybody. There are students from Canada, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Finland, Spain, England, Brazil, and just EVERYWHERE! It's pretty amazing. A lot of people are about to leave though because they've already been here a whole semester. So it's a little difficult trying to remember everyone's name and nationality PLUS if they're actually going to be here while I'm here. Also, I'm the only American which I was a little surprised at. I'm not sure why that's surprising, but it is. There are three Canadians though and I think about five Mexicans, so at least there are other North Americans. Today at the lunch I was informed (in front of everybody mind you) that I get to join the France-Etates-Unis club. It's promotes relations between the French and the Americans apparently. It's made up of local French mostly, plus a few of the Americans living here. They meet twice a month in some restaurant around town and just speak in English and whatnot. I'm not really sure what exactly it all means but I DO know that I get free lunch twice a month (the school pays for me) so I'm all for it. Anyway.

I've been really lazy this week. I'm spending most of my time getting to know people but I really should be doing errands and getting everything sorted out so I can concentrate on my classes next week. Apparently it takes three meetings and a lot of paperwork to set up a bank account here. I really need to do it I just don't want to have to deal with the hassle. It's inevitable though.

Also, I think this weekend the Canadians and some other people are going to Paris so I might go with them. I've been told that Amiens is really boring on the weekends because everything is closed. Well see!

Sorry that there are no pictures yet; I promise I'm trying. I've been having to use school computers since there's no internet at my flat (as they say here) but I'll try my best to have them up soon. The good news is is that I'm getting better at typing on the French keyboards. I think I have it almost down pat although the M and the W keys being out of place is really annoying. So anyway, I hope my next update will have pictures. That's all for now!

While I was in Germany I felt bad for not updating, but I didn’t update because I wasn’t really doing anything. WELL. All that is over! This is going to be a seriously long update because quite a bit has happened over the past few days! Let’s begin…

Thursday night Sid, Jackie and I left the house around 6 PM and headed off to Peronne (pronounced like the Argentinean dictator, but spelled differently), a city about 45 minutes outside of Amiens. It all goes well, except we don’t really get to eat dinner because we got to the hotel past 10 PM. Oh well! It’s a true European hotel because my bed pulls out from underneath Sid’s bed, and it’s basically just a cot. So we get up BRIGHT AND EARLY (okay, 7 AM), eat breakfast, check out, hop in the car and…nothing. The car won’t start. Oh, just super. The staff of the hotel don’t speak a lot of English (since we’re down a country back road), so we have to convey, “We need a mechanic or a rental car” to them. Loooong story short, we get a mechanic to look at the car and he tells us he can’t fix it until Tuesday because Sid’s Honda needs a new distributor. Perhaps if he drove a BMW or a Mercedes it could have been fixed that day but Germans don’t have a lot of Honda parts lying about. Anyway, in the end Sid has the car towed to a local garage (where it’s still sitting) and we take a 100 euro taxi into Amiens.

We arrived in Amiens (albeit several hours late) and find the school easily (it’s right next to the HUGE cathedral) and I scouted out the international office. They were very nice and helpful there and we didn’t have to do any paperwork. After dragging ALL our luggage through the rain and down cobblestone roads for five minutes we arrived at our new apartment. It’s monstrously huge which was a great surprise to me. I’m already very fond of the place and our view is spectacular. We had lunch, and then we went back up to the school to sign up for classes. I’m taking another accounting course which I swore I would never do but it’s with Dr. King (from UWF!), and she’s great at teaching. After that’s done with we find the train station and head to Paris.

The train to Paris takes only a little over an hour. Quite convenient. Since we didn’t have a car like previously assumed we ended up taking the metro and (luckily) we found our hotel fairly easily. Sid and I went to go grab dinner and a little restaurant down the street (where the waitress spoke only French and Spanish) and then we went to pick up April at the train station (she came in later because of work). The end of that exhausting day (remember we started in Peronne with car trouble) was falling into bed after picking up April.

Now it’s Saturday! We all got up around 9 AM and headed out to see the Catacombs. First we had breakfast (Sid and Jackie went to McDonald’s, April and I ate at a little brasserie) and then Sid discovered the Catacombs are closed until March. Oops. Oh well. We moved on to an old arena that the Romans built when they were in Paris. It’s very out of the way and there were some guys playing AMERICAN football, which struck me as odd, but to each their own I suppose. I enjoyed it a lot and if I was studying in Paris I might go there to do my homework. April was less impressed. After that we went to the Pantheon where people such as Marie and Pierre Curie, Alexandre Dumas, and Victor Hugo are buried. By the way, Marie Curie is my new favorite person. She was completely amazing! I’ve always known what huge contributions she had made to science, and doing as a woman back when woman had very few rights is even more remarkable but…I guess I just realized how great she was FINALLY. Anyway. There’s also a famous science experiment at the Pantheon (by who, I forget…Google it!) that proves that the Earth is actually rotating. Basically it’s a huge swinging pendulum. They’ve placed a sort of clock around the pendulum so it tells you what time it is. I was thoroughly amazed. I really enjoyed the Pantheon but since April and Sid has seen the real one that it was modeled after, I think they weren’t as stirred as me.

After the Pantheon we went to Notre Dame so Sid could feed the birds. It was definitely the highlight of his trip. April, Jackie, and I went inside and walked around while he did that then we went to find the “Great Mosque of Paris.” Well, we found it, but it was time for prayers so we couldn’t go in. We had lunch after that at a delicious Mediterranean sort of place. I forget the name of what I had but it was DELICIOUS. Montmartre was next on our list so off we went! We wanted to see the Sacre Coeur and the Dali Museum mostly, but wandering around in Montmartre is fun no matter what. The Sacre Coeur was beautiful and since we had to climb the horrible hill that IS Montmartre, there was a great view of the city! We spent a considerable amount of time looking for the Dali Museum and then we found it exactly where were had come up into Montmartre. I was a little frustrated to say the least. It all turned out okay though because we did find it and it was a great little museum. It had a lot of Dali’s sculptures and then other art pieces (paintings, drawings, fashion outfits) by other artists who had been inspired by Dali. It was interesting to read about what each piece meant exactly. Dali had some crazy metaphors. After that Jackie decided to hit the shops and I got a delicious crepe. We hung out at some cafes while deciding what to do for dinner. There was a LOT of walking and a lot of discussion, but in the end we found a place that was very gastronomique (read: expensive) which is what April really wanted. I’m glad we held out because it was wonderful. April said it was better than the restaurant in Bitche, but I think I like Bitche better. It was close to midnight at this point so we took a taxi back to the hotel and called it a night.

Sunday April and Sid left early for Germany and Jackie and I left a few hours later for Amiens. Jackie and I explored Amiens a little (we found the school’s computer lab!) and unpacked some as well. Basically a relaxing day.

Two things I didn’t mention were the walking and the talking. The walking was…copious. I didn’t wear my tennis shoes because they were wet from the day before and my throat was already starting to get sore. Instead, I wore my comfortable boots. I figured I’d be okay since the heel was wide and I’d never had a problem with them before. I forgot to take into account the fact that they have no padding and also that Paris has a lot of uneven cobblestone roads. By the end of the night I could hardly walk. I was doing multiplication tables in my head in order to keep my mind off the pain. That would have worked except that the pain was so blinding I couldn’t keep the numbers held in my mind long enough to do the multiplying. When we finally got back to the hotel and I took off my shoes my feet were terribly swollen. My feet have never looked like that…ever. Even after standing for 13 hours at work or walking around Slovakia to the point of my feet bleeding…even then…my feet felt better than they did Saturday night. Anyway, most of the swelling has gone down now.

Now, the talking is a more positive point. Even though I’m nowhere near fluent or even able to speak with the slightest amount of ease I spoke more confidently than I ever had before during this trip. I ordered food and tickets and could answer simple questions from waiters. Already I feel my French is improving although I have a LOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go. A very long way. Extremely long. Tremendously. Enormously. The point is I’m taking baby steps. I felt proud. Then of course I get back to my apartment and listen to my roommate speaking fluently and I get a little freaked out again. It’ll come though. They say immersion is the best way to learn a language. Well I will be immersed!