I've been posting a lot on the blog tonight. I'm trying to get everything together. As I type this, I have all of my stuff surrounding me- clothes hanging above me, drying before they can be packed, open, stuffed suitcases on the ground and empty shelves in front of me. Tonight is my last night in Aix. The past two days have been a rollercoaster. I keep trying to get myself to understand that I'm leaving. But this place has come to feel like home so much that I really can't process the fact that I'm not coming back. Ashely made a good point- we've left Aix so many times on little vacations, that this just feels like one more week long excursion. Yet its not. My semester in Aix is officially over and its nearing the time to go home. I leave tomorrow morning at 10 with Ashley's family for my 2 week tour of France. I can't think about that yet. I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm leaving this room. That must seem silly, but this truly feels like home. The people sleeping in the other rooms have become a part of my family. I've never been good with saying goodbyes and that holds true now.
This has meant so much to me. It has been the fastest five months of my life and yet I feel like I've been here forever. It's been a growing experience and I wonder how I will have changed when I get back. I can tell that I'm more adventerous now. I was talking to my mom ealier about how I will need to get around in Chicago's O'Hare. I almost laughed- though she's worried about it, I have no fear of navigating that airport- they speak English. I feel like a lot of things will seem a lot simpler now when I go back home, after having had to work for it here.
I have so many good memories I'm taking with me. I just wish I could take the people I've met with me too. I've made so many great friends- people from school, my amazing French family, my language partner Kathia, Sylvie and Eric who own the jewlery store, and of course Ashley. There's a lyric from "Chocolate" by Snow Patrol that keeps running in my head.
"This could be the very minute I'm aware I'm alive. All these places feel like home."
In the end, that is what this experience has been for me. A wake up call of sorts. Certainly an experience that has shown me that home is anywhere you make it. Though its hard to to say goodbye, I'm ultimately glad it is- it means that it meant something. And it did- it meant a lot.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
written Friday May 11
Ah, c’est presque le fin. Today I took my last final, thus officially concluding my study abroad program. It felt great to be done with school. It was stressful, as any finals week will be, but there was an added weirdness this time. As I was walking out, I knew that there was little chance that I would see most of these people again in my life. It felt strange.
I repeat that I have the best French family. Isabelle threw me a going away party and I invited my French friends and Ashley. Kathia (my language partner) came as well as two of my cousins, my French aunt and uncle, Yamina (our school’s housing director who I have likened often to a yippy lap dog), Marie (a friend of Isabelle), her son, a friend of Guillaume, and of course Guillaume and Maxime. It was bittersweet. I was happy to see Kathia. We had a great time together and I hadn’t been able to see her because of conflicting schedules with exams. She gave me a really cute black top as a souvenir of France. Isabelle also surprised me with a gift- a really adorable French bracelet. I had seen her and many of her friends wearing jewelry and I loved it as soon as I saw it. It was a great night for me to share with all of those who made my stay in France so special.
I wore a new dress that I had bought here. For the first time since I had gotten in france, I was complimented for my style. Lol Everyone kept repeating how cute I looked and how French I looked. Haha perhaps this sounds conceited that I’m including this- its just that I have tried endlessly to imitate the Aixoise fashion sense and up to this point, have not succeeded. Being complimented by women who are fashionable from birth was a major success for me. Haha I think some of them were just surprised to see me out of the sweatpants or jeans and t-shirt I was sometimes caught wearing.
Afterwards, Ash and I met up with our American friends to “boire une verre” and say our goodbyes. Once we finally finished our “a bientot”s (we’re scheming to meet up in Chicago for New Years) I called up Guillaume and Ashley, Guillaume and I went to a club and danced- I got to salsa with my French brother. It was really fun. A lot of reminiscing was done tonight. It’s always hard to say goodbye, and now is certainly not an exception. I keep pushing it from my mind- delaying the time I will have to deal with it. It creeps back though and I’ve begun reflecting on my time here. As we were walking home, scenes from the semester started playing in my head- the first time Isabelle pulled up to our apartment, Maxime helping me with my suitcases up the stairs, going out with my cousin Marie to Divino (a club), hanging out with new friends in Spain, the first time we returned from a weekend trip and had Aix feel like home… a lot of memories. I know I’ll take them with me when I go.
I repeat that I have the best French family. Isabelle threw me a going away party and I invited my French friends and Ashley. Kathia (my language partner) came as well as two of my cousins, my French aunt and uncle, Yamina (our school’s housing director who I have likened often to a yippy lap dog), Marie (a friend of Isabelle), her son, a friend of Guillaume, and of course Guillaume and Maxime. It was bittersweet. I was happy to see Kathia. We had a great time together and I hadn’t been able to see her because of conflicting schedules with exams. She gave me a really cute black top as a souvenir of France. Isabelle also surprised me with a gift- a really adorable French bracelet. I had seen her and many of her friends wearing jewelry and I loved it as soon as I saw it. It was a great night for me to share with all of those who made my stay in France so special.
I wore a new dress that I had bought here. For the first time since I had gotten in france, I was complimented for my style. Lol Everyone kept repeating how cute I looked and how French I looked. Haha perhaps this sounds conceited that I’m including this- its just that I have tried endlessly to imitate the Aixoise fashion sense and up to this point, have not succeeded. Being complimented by women who are fashionable from birth was a major success for me. Haha I think some of them were just surprised to see me out of the sweatpants or jeans and t-shirt I was sometimes caught wearing.
Afterwards, Ash and I met up with our American friends to “boire une verre” and say our goodbyes. Once we finally finished our “a bientot”s (we’re scheming to meet up in Chicago for New Years) I called up Guillaume and Ashley, Guillaume and I went to a club and danced- I got to salsa with my French brother. It was really fun. A lot of reminiscing was done tonight. It’s always hard to say goodbye, and now is certainly not an exception. I keep pushing it from my mind- delaying the time I will have to deal with it. It creeps back though and I’ve begun reflecting on my time here. As we were walking home, scenes from the semester started playing in my head- the first time Isabelle pulled up to our apartment, Maxime helping me with my suitcases up the stairs, going out with my cousin Marie to Divino (a club), hanging out with new friends in Spain, the first time we returned from a weekend trip and had Aix feel like home… a lot of memories. I know I’ll take them with me when I go.
Sorgue, Vaucluse and Cassis
Notes of Final Excursions while stationed in Aix
Isle sur la Sorgue and the Fontaine de Vaucluse
Our school took an excursion to Isle sur la Sorgue and the Fontaine de Vauclose. It was about an hour bus trip. I always liked those because it was so scenic. Southern France is extremely picturesque and taking a bus ride (as long as its not an 11 hour one to Spain) is never taxing. Ashley and I shared my headphones and soon enough we were there. Isle sur la Sorgue was an adorable French town that has a little river running through it. There are giant watermills turning in the water. We went on a Sunday. Typically Sundays in a French city mean that the town is dead. Everything is closed on Sunday’s except outdoor markets. Isle sur la Sorgue took the Provincial market to a new level- it was jam packed with people and absolutely huge. It was far from the quiet Sundays we had observed in Aix. Everyone split up in the market and we all did our shopping. We walked around for a long time and enjoyed shopping. It was crowded, but not too bad. We bought picnic supplies and after an hour or two met back at the bus.
We then drove close to the Fontaine de Vaucluse, another village. We were not quite in the village yet, but just outside, still by the river. We got off and picnicked under some trees by the water. It was calm and relaxing. Then we walked into town. Fontaine de Vaucluse is known for the source pool in the village. It is fed by an underground river. No one knows exactly how deep the pool is, though scientists have tried for years to discover it. In the 80s they sent a submarine robot down into it 315m but it did not reach the bottom. Because it was a drier season than normal this year, we saw the pool lower than its typical level. We climbed down to see it. We were told that it usually not only covered the rocks that we had to climb down to get to it, but that it actually flowed over them onto other ones behind us. Very impressive.
It was a really fun excursion and enjoyable to soak in more Provincial life. We had beautiful weather and it was great with our friends from school there. Though it was more relaxed than our other excursions, it was one of my favorites.
Cassis
Last week we had Tuesday off because it was a French holiday. It was finals week and Ashley and I wanted to blow off some steam by going to the beach. Our chosen destination? Cassis- a charming seaside town not too far from Aix. I had seen pictures of Cassis in a book on Provence in Peoria before I left and I had really wanted to get there. Because it was a “jour ferrier” (free day) we had trouble getting there. My French brother Guillaume (again our hero) kindly drove us there, insisting we could not leave France without seeing it. It was again a beautiful sunny day, and the drive was only about 30 minutes. We took Guillaume out to eat, and enjoyed a good meal in one of the port side restaurants. He left and we explored the town. Isabelle and Guillaume were right- Cassis was great. Very quaint. Isabelle made us promise her that we would take a boat along the calanques, which are the cliffs that jut out into the water. We took one after lunch. It was fun. We could only go on the 45 min one because there was a lot of wind that day and the sea was choppy further out. Yes it was. Though it was calm between the calanques, I got completely soaked once we were back in the open sea. Huge splashes of water got me and Ash drenched, and we decided to move to the back of the boat. People in the back- completely dry- laughed as they saw us walk back. It was worth it though- the scenery was beautiful, especially a tucked away beach we saw between the calanques. After the boat ride, we layed out on the pebbly sand to dry off. I got in the water after a little bit. Brisk but fun. After a while, we packed up and went to a portside café. Guillaume picked us up and we drove home. We had to leave the vacation-y mentality behind as we were forced to prepare for the finals we had the next day.
It was a wonderful day spent basking in the sun spent with a good, good friend and another example of how wonderful my host family is.
Isle sur la Sorgue and the Fontaine de Vaucluse
Our school took an excursion to Isle sur la Sorgue and the Fontaine de Vauclose. It was about an hour bus trip. I always liked those because it was so scenic. Southern France is extremely picturesque and taking a bus ride (as long as its not an 11 hour one to Spain) is never taxing. Ashley and I shared my headphones and soon enough we were there. Isle sur la Sorgue was an adorable French town that has a little river running through it. There are giant watermills turning in the water. We went on a Sunday. Typically Sundays in a French city mean that the town is dead. Everything is closed on Sunday’s except outdoor markets. Isle sur la Sorgue took the Provincial market to a new level- it was jam packed with people and absolutely huge. It was far from the quiet Sundays we had observed in Aix. Everyone split up in the market and we all did our shopping. We walked around for a long time and enjoyed shopping. It was crowded, but not too bad. We bought picnic supplies and after an hour or two met back at the bus.
We then drove close to the Fontaine de Vaucluse, another village. We were not quite in the village yet, but just outside, still by the river. We got off and picnicked under some trees by the water. It was calm and relaxing. Then we walked into town. Fontaine de Vaucluse is known for the source pool in the village. It is fed by an underground river. No one knows exactly how deep the pool is, though scientists have tried for years to discover it. In the 80s they sent a submarine robot down into it 315m but it did not reach the bottom. Because it was a drier season than normal this year, we saw the pool lower than its typical level. We climbed down to see it. We were told that it usually not only covered the rocks that we had to climb down to get to it, but that it actually flowed over them onto other ones behind us. Very impressive.
It was a really fun excursion and enjoyable to soak in more Provincial life. We had beautiful weather and it was great with our friends from school there. Though it was more relaxed than our other excursions, it was one of my favorites.
Cassis
Last week we had Tuesday off because it was a French holiday. It was finals week and Ashley and I wanted to blow off some steam by going to the beach. Our chosen destination? Cassis- a charming seaside town not too far from Aix. I had seen pictures of Cassis in a book on Provence in Peoria before I left and I had really wanted to get there. Because it was a “jour ferrier” (free day) we had trouble getting there. My French brother Guillaume (again our hero) kindly drove us there, insisting we could not leave France without seeing it. It was again a beautiful sunny day, and the drive was only about 30 minutes. We took Guillaume out to eat, and enjoyed a good meal in one of the port side restaurants. He left and we explored the town. Isabelle and Guillaume were right- Cassis was great. Very quaint. Isabelle made us promise her that we would take a boat along the calanques, which are the cliffs that jut out into the water. We took one after lunch. It was fun. We could only go on the 45 min one because there was a lot of wind that day and the sea was choppy further out. Yes it was. Though it was calm between the calanques, I got completely soaked once we were back in the open sea. Huge splashes of water got me and Ash drenched, and we decided to move to the back of the boat. People in the back- completely dry- laughed as they saw us walk back. It was worth it though- the scenery was beautiful, especially a tucked away beach we saw between the calanques. After the boat ride, we layed out on the pebbly sand to dry off. I got in the water after a little bit. Brisk but fun. After a while, we packed up and went to a portside café. Guillaume picked us up and we drove home. We had to leave the vacation-y mentality behind as we were forced to prepare for the finals we had the next day.
It was a wonderful day spent basking in the sun spent with a good, good friend and another example of how wonderful my host family is.
Italy
Ah, the long delayed Italy post. I meant to get this up sooner but finals and getting ready for leaving took priority. Here it is finally- the extremely long and detailed tale of two girls living la dolce vita :-)
Italy Begins…
Oh Italy! In hindsight, all I can say to this country is: well done! Ashley and I left Italy with huge grins and recounting our trip in high-pitched, excited voices. We swear it was the best food we’ve ever had and the nicest, most generous people we have ever met in our lives. The funny thing is while we were there, the slogan for Olive Garden kept playing in my head, “When you’re here, you’re family!” because that’s what Italy felt like to us- like we were part of the family. It was a great vacation and some of our best times during our European exploration. We left the Saturday morning after we got back from Paris and stayed there until early Sunday. Sat-Wed were spent in Rome and then Wed-Fri was spent along the Amalfi Coast. Saturday night we came back to Rome and then left from there Sunday morning. One fun week in charming Italy.
Bella Roma!!!
We caught our plane from Marseille ridiciculously early in the morning that Saturday. Which means that we got a bus from Aix to Marseille even ridiculously earlier. Ashley had spent the night before that trip like she usually does before we go somewhere (since I live in the centre ville it just makes sense) and we hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. The plane ride took only an hour and soon we were in the Rome, the Eternal City. We had to take a shuttle bus from the airport which is 35ish minutes outside of town into Rome. There were a lot of people who needed to get on the bus and we missed the first one. We waited a few minutes and got on the second one. Haha actually- it wasn’t that easy. I had a rolling suitcase and Ashley didn’t so she got on the bus and I put my suitecase underneath with the luggage. Well there was a huge line and places were going fast. I look up and see Ashley looking worried and pointing to the line as in “Quick!! Hurry!!” I thought about being separated from my traveling partner and how horrible that would be for both of us and turned my “city power mode” on. I say “city power mode” because this is how I get when Ash and I are in large cities. I was like this especially in Paris. City power mode is when you have to be pushy to be able to move. There were a few moments on the Paris metro where Ash, who is too polite and sweet to push through, almost didn’t make it off at the desired stop. So often I would go first and grab her hand if necessary. Haha so anyways, I see Ashley’s desperate look and I look up and return it. In my eggagerated story version I hear the theme to “Chariots of Fire” start to play and in slow motion push my way to the front. (Dun dun dun dun dun… dun…) I thrusted my ticket in front of the driver and pushed my way on the bus and to Ashley where we both crack up at what had just happened. Problem averted. Haha but it was a frantic few seconds where in my mind I was like, “NOOOOOO! AAAAAASSSSSHHLLEEEEY!!” and then I had to barrel my way through people to get to her. Lol. Funny.
After we were both safely on the bus, we rode it to the train station which was not far from our hostel. We found our hostel with little problem. We asked a few Romans along the way, who happily helped us. It was a beautiful day- pretty hot. We found the hostel and was shown our room by a guy from Boston. He ended up serving us breakfast everyday and would talk to us about the States, Italy, current events and give us advice where to go in Rome. Because we were exhausted, we crawled into bed and passed out. We deserved it- it was our vacation. We woke up about 6:00PM. We showered and started walking around Rome looking for grub. We were hearing “ciao bella!!” from passing drivers and were getting the notorious staredown from Italian guys. We finally found a restaurant that looked good. The food was great! We laughed because like Dorothy told Toto, we weren’t in Kansas anymore- or France. The portions were huge compared to the ones in we were used to in France. For once we had ordered something we couldn’t finish. The male waiters in the place kept flirting with us, and one gave us free refills on our wine. One wrote Ashley love notes in French, asking her out. We laughed each time a new note was delivered to our table. Sadly for the guy, he was ultimately turned down but we did admire his pluck. When I asked where the bathroom was, one waiter offered me his arm and personally escorted me there. I tried not to laugh. After dinner we walked around a bit and then went back to the hostel and went to bed.
The next day was Sunday so we woke up, figured out what crowded bus to take, and got to the Vatican in time to catch mass. It was crazy walking into the outdoor courtyard of the Vatican and hearing the mass said by the pope. Talk about surreal. We were a far way away but we could see him from where we stood and there was a TV screen not far from us, broadcasting the mass. After mass was finished we waited and saw him drive past on the little pope mobile. As the moment where he passed neared, all the people around us started clumping and pushing to get a good view of him. It was a cool moment.
Cool moment, but hot day. After we left the Vatican we started shedding layers. Our Boston breakfast friend had told us that there was a big flea market going on, so we decided to check it out. True Kreienkamp method, no? The funny thing is we started to take a bus and had to ask the bus driver how to get where we were going. He stopped the bus almost immediately and told us the best was to walk along the river. An old Italian woman heard what where we were trying to go and helped point us in the right direction. We had limited time before the market closed so Ashley and I hoofed it. We powered along the stinky river passing bridge after bridge. I was in charge of the map, and I kept trying to make sure we were going in the right direction. At one point, looking at the map, I asked Ashley the name of the bridge we were standing by. She replied, “I think this bridge is called Roma.” Haha. I stopped, gave her a look and had to explain to her that Roma was the Italian spelling of Rome. Oh Ash… (haha she’s probably going to kill me for posting this but it was a hilarious moment that we laughed about later) We scurried along and found the market in time. We shopped for a while, made some purchases and then headed back to our hostel, this time taking a bus. A crowded bus. At one point, I literally got knocked over by someone and Ash looked over just in time to see me kneeling on someone’s luggage. At a later time, she had the following to say about the incident:
“ I know! I looked down and saw you on the ground! And I thought to myself, (said in a perplexed voice) ‘Kelly never chooses to be on the ground…’”
hahaha. Classic.
After a while, we headed back out and went to see the Trevi Fountain. We were told that if you throw one coin in your are allowed to come back to Rome, two and you will fall in love with an Italian, three and you will marry your Italian. Some of us got wish happy and threw four in. I’m not sure what that means for me. There are some cute pictures of us throwing our coins in the fountain- check them out in the Rome albums. After the Trevi fountain, we got some gelato (mmmmm) and walked around a bit. We found a narrow road that ended in a ton of steps. Naturally we climbed these steps and saw a large building, and a cool view of Rome. We saw two guards standing at the door of the official looking building and a couple of policemen standing around. Pulling a dad, I walked over, smiled at them and asked them what the building was. It was the Quirinale, or as the kind police officer explained to me, the White House of Italy. We took some pictures and continued our walk. We next stumbled upon the Foro Traiano, Colonna Traianna and the Mercati Traianei which were old ruins- the forum, an important column and a market area. We also saw the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuelle II (sorry all of these are in Italian- we wrote them down in our journals based off our map which was in Italian) which was one of the most impressive monuments we saw. My first, uncontrollable reaction? “Awesome!!! It has fire!!!” haha, yea, some of us never grow out of our 1st grade selves. Ashley and I both laughed at how easily impressed I was. After that, we walked around some more. We walked past the Santa Maria in Aracoeli with all of its steps and were excited by what we first believed to be the lit up Colosseum.
As we discovered as we looked at the map and later walked up closer, it was not the Colosseum but rather the Teatro Marcello (the theater). From a distance it does resemble the Colosseum. Haha random side note: as I was documenting our trip in my journal at the hostel, we had the following conversation concerning the Colosseum. See if you can guess what she was asking me.
Ashley: “They don’t…”
Me: “No. No, they don’t…”
Ashley: (laughs) “Yea, that’d be really illegal.”
Hahaha, we had just discussed how they had gladiator fights in the Colosseum. Ash wanted to know if they still had them. Haha oh goodness. Anyways…
The next day we took a tour of the Colosseum. We payed for a combined tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum by a group of student tour guides. I guess they had to have so many hours of working before they could be officially hired. The tour guides were great! Although they had a thick Italian accent, they gave us tons of information about both sites. It was fun walking around the Colosseum and getting all of the history. It was a crazy hot day though and we were baking as we stood there listening to him. We took a lunch break after the Colosseum and got some more great pizza and gelato before heading back for the Forum tour. We were taken to the Palatine hill where legend has it Remus and Romulus were nursed by the wolf and upon which, the two later founded Rome. We also saw remains of the Flavian palace as well as the birthplace of Augustus. It was cool and we learned a lot of history for our tour guide. One interesting fact? Senators used to eat for 10 hours at a time. How, you ask. By making themselves vomit so they could eat more. Grossssssss. Haha I cracked a joke to the tour guide about how I knew that Italians liked to eat, but shoot! Haha sadly, the joke was not bilingual and he did not laugh. The tour ended overlooking the remains of the Roman Forum. I took a lot of pictures. We later walked among them- very impressive.
Then we decided to try to go to Santa Maria in Cosmedin to see the famous Mouth of Truth. It’s the statue where you put your hand in the mouth. If you lie, it eats your hand. Due to our faulty map, this proved harder than expected and then it started raining. Grrr! But thanks to friendly Italians, we were navigated around the city and wound up in front of it. Sadly, we got there a few minutes too late and it was closed. We still got pictures of it, even though they aren’t pictures of us losing limbs while we lie to the old statue.
Then, because we are dedicated travelers, we decided to try to go see the Pantheon (for you Tommy). Let me remind you, it was raining. We were hopeful the drizzle would cease. We were wrong. It increased and we trudged through the wet streets of Rome looking for the Pantheon. We walked quite a bit. We got our pictures of it, looked around and then got some dinner close by and dried off. Mmmm… good lasagna. After our meal, we headed back to our hostel because I had to register for next semester’s classes that night.
We tried to hurry the next morning because we wanted to get to the Vatican before the crowds. We were not successful and had to wait in a long but fairly quick moving line to get inside. Well sorta. Once we got through the line, we realized we were not in line for the museum as originally desired, but rather in line for the basilica. We had heard that you could get into the basilica from the museum so we decided to walk around to the other part of the Vatican and get in the even longer line. It was quite the wait, and the wait continued once we were inside. However, we were patient and finally got through. The true excitement for us in the museum was the chance to see the Sistine Chapel. Although the lovely tapestries and intricate ceiling paintings of the other rooms were interesting, we were on a mission- to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece. We went room from room, wondering if it was going to be on the next ceiling. We kept seeing signs for it and yet, the Vatican always kept us guessing. Well done popes. Room to room, we saw a lot of beautiful art. It was quite exhausting though, and we could see how people could get lost in the enormous museum for a while. Finally, we came to the room. It was a crowded room and everyone was staring up. It was really neat to see it in person- it was beautiful. They had guards on duty who would say “NO PICTURES” every few minutes but everyone was snapping away anyways. Some left their flash on. I did take an illegal picture, but I did mine sans flash. I’m sneaky like that. We marveled at the ceiling and then proceeded onto the basilica itself. It was beautiful and we took a lot of pictures. The coolest part was knowing that there were holy relics stored there- the tomb of St. Peter, the skull of St. Andrew, part of the cross, and St. Veronica’s veil. It was very cool to be able to be in one of the most sacred places of the Catholic world.
We left the Vatican and headed to Castel Sant’Angelo, which was the tomb of the emperor Hadrian. Its this strange looking round building. We wandered around for a while and took in some views from the top walls of it. There were some beautiful rooms inside with intricate detailing on the walls.
The next day we went and saw the Spanish steps. Again, faulty map caused some setbacks, but eventually we got there. It was a really pretty day and the stairs were lovely, lined with flower boxes. When we got there, we realized we were actually already standing at the road at the top of the stairs. Ashley voted that we just climb the few that remained to the church that sat atop the stairs. I mandated that we go back down and climb them all up. She gave me a dirty look, I laughed and then dragged her down all of the stairs. We took a picture then I raced her back up Rocky-style. Lol it was funny. Then, we realized we needed to be down at the bottom to get to the next monument on our list. Ashley again glared at me as down we went, step by step. We then walked to the “Piazza del Poplo” which Wikipedia informs me was once a travelers first view of Rome upon entering the city. It also used to be the sight of public executions. It was pretty and we took some pictures and sat by the fountain. Then we rushed off to take the metro to San Giovanni Laterano which is one of the holy basilicas in Rome and close by where there are steps that Jesus walked on during the Passion. You can go up these steps on your knees and they were the site that Ashley and I originally jetted off to see. We sadly arrived during the afternoon period where it was closed. We were bummed. We explored the basilica and were amazed- it was absolutely beautiful. I thought it seriously challenged St. Peters for impressiveness. It is the cathedral of Rome. Here’s Wikipedia’s info:
The Basilica of St John Lateran — in Italian, the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano — is the cathedral church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope, as Bishop of Rome. Officially named Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris ("Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior"), it is the oldest and ranks first (being the cathedral of Rome) among the four major basilicas of Rome, and holds the title of ecumenical mother church (mother church of the whole inhabited world) among Catholics.
It houses 6 papal tombs and also the holy relics including part of the table that Jesus made His last supper on and also the heads of Saints Peter and Paul. The alter is made from the wood of the table that St. Peter had communion on. Also there is a stone from Jesus’ scourging. It was an awesome church to see- I’m glad we decided to go.
After exploring, we headed back to the hostel. We ate at the family restaurant downstairs and then headed to take a train to Napoli. We were seated in a car with a nun, a married couple and a man. I had a big bag and there was limited space. Our car-mates quickly moved to help me and the man helped me store my bag overhead. We started talking to them. Language barrier was hard. The husband knew some English, as did the woman but the nun and the other guy didn’t. We spoke French to the wife because she was fluent. They were eager to talk to us. Like most Italians we had encountered, they had family in America and quickly asked us if we had ever been to Ft. Lauderdale. They wanted to know what we thought of Italy and where we were going next. He was a Florentine native and was quick to tell us that it was the best city in Italy. They expressed regret that we were only there for such a short time. They quickly gave us their info to contact them if we ever went to Florence and wanted tour guides. We told them we were Almafi Coast bound. After they assured us of its wonderful beauty, they started telling us history. They told us that many famous people- even Americans- had vacationed there. Jackie O and Eisenhower had spent time there. Haha- then he quickly turned to Ashley and asked her if she knew about Eisenhower. Ash said “Oh yea- he was a president” and then shot me a frantic that’s right, right? look. Lol funny. I had fun watching Ashley be in the hot seat as a proud Italian asked her questions. They then told us that their son was 25 and working in America. The man was particularly taken with Ashley and asked for her information for his son. Ashley wasn’t really paying attention and happily answered “ok” to the man’s asking for her email address. The best part came a few minutes later, while Ashley was gazing out the window. I turned and saw the man pull out his camera phone and very obviously hold it so it was directed at Ashley and –click- his son was sent a picture of his future American bride. HAHA!! Ash gave me a look and I couldn’t stifle the laughter. I seriously had to turn my head and try to stop shaking from my silent laughter. The wife didn’t seem to notice and I kept sending Ashley sly smiles reminding her of it during our entire trip. They departed, gave us kisses and wished us a good vacation. We were passing stops and I started getting nervous that we were going to miss ours. I asked the nun and another guy who had gotten on which stop Napoli would be. They assured me it would be the last stop and then the guy advised us to take of our jewelry before we got to the station. The nun departed and told us bye and we talked with the guy for a while. I had to use the bathroom so I went to the back of the train where the bathroom was. There were a ton of people waiting to get off at the next stop. Confused which door was which, I tried asking them where the bathroom was. They nodded at me and spoke to me in rapid-fire Italian. Eventually a door was pointed out to me. The door wouldn’t open- was it empty? I tried asking them and they tried responding. Haha I had no idea what they were saying to me. They knew it too and smiled at me. I walked back to my seat, slightly defeated and completely amused. I tried explaining what empty was to the man sitting in our car in order to learn the word and say it to the people. The man didn’t understand. Ashley and I tried to demonstrate with the empty bottle of fruit juice we had. It was no use. I waited until some of the people had cleared out and then walked back and tried again. Door wouldn’t open. Lol there were still some people there from the first time, and smiling, they watched me try again. After looking like a fool for a few more minutes, I accepted that I would have to wait. I laughed and shrugged to the people watching me and returned once more to my seat.
We arrived in Napoli and then took an hour train to Sant Agnello, where we were staying. As we got in, we heard an older English couple talking to an older American couple about Pompeii. The Americans were just arriving and the English couple, quite tan, had obviously been there a while. I jumped into the conversation and tried to get some tips. The American couple was excited to hear that we were studying abroad- they had children who studied abroad and loved it. The little group of us chatted for the hour ride to Sant Agnello and by the time we got off had become our friends. They too wished us a fun vacation and, in a parental tone of voice, advised us to stay away from those Italian boys.
We lugged our suitcases around Sant Agnello, trying to follow the directions we had been given by the hostel. Not sure if we were going the right way, we asked a local woman who kindly pointed us in the right direction. We continued on a little ways further, and then, wondering if we were still correct, stopped. A little old man was walking our way so we decided to ask him for directions too. He too was more than willing to help and told us that we were on the right direction and pointed to where we should go. Even a little girl on rollerblades stopped when she saw us talking to the old man and asked if we needed any help. Ah, Italian hospitality! We eventually saw our hostel and the amazing view that accompanied it. We were on vacation!! It was beautiful. Our hotel was a once a monastery and was picturesque with its white walls and blue accents. We unpacked a bit and then went to a lookout point where there was a café and an amazing view of the sea. We had a drink and watched the sunset, just soaking up the scenery. There was a lovely scent to the Almafi Coast. It could have been because of the lemon trees that it’s well known for- very sweet aroma. After sitting there for a while, we went to a family restaurant and had some pizza. We headed back to the room, snuggled in and watched Italian Harry Potter until we fell asleep.
The next day we woke up fairly early and hurried off to see Pompeii. It was a short train ride. It was another beautiful day and we were excited to be there. Pompeii was cool. I must admit, after having an archeology class and seeing other sites, the experience was slightly dulled for me. However, it was cool to see an entire city so well preserved. We had headsets to listen to but they went into way too much detail and we would have been there ages, so we would sneak up to other tour groups and listen to them, or listen to a few seconds of the headset before moving to the next room. We scampered around the remains for a few hours and then took the train back to Sant Agnello. We were pumped to go get some sun, so we asked the front desk where the most beautiful stretch of laying out area was. She told us the name of her favorite spot and told us it was a little hard to get to. Undaunted, we took her quick notes on how to get there and then went to find a bus to catch. We again had to rely on locals. One woman told us where to catch the bus and where to buy a ticket (after we sat at the wrong stop for a few minutes) and then the bus driver told us when to get off and pointed us in the right direction towards a huge hill. We walked down the hill, got to a path and then asked two girls coming up the path if we were on the right way. We were. Down, down, down we walked on the very long path. About halfway down, I am in desperate need for a bathroom. We passed some men working on the pavement of the path near a house. In true Italian style, they all smiled at us. We walked past and then I see what appears to be a Bed and Breakfast. I decided that I’m in desperate need- I will plead with them to let me use their facitilites. No luck, no one answered. I turned back to the group of men and decide I will ask them if there is a bathroom further down the path. I go back, they all smile and say hello and I ask them if anyone speaks English. One of the men did and I asked him my question. He told me that there weren’t bathrooms down there anymore because there was some work being done. The men looked like they were all part of the same family- there was one old man and a few of what appeared to be his sons. The older man asked what I had said, and then began walking towards a gate and motioned us to follow- his son told us that we could use theirs. Again, I love Italians. It was a beautiful house, with a huge Lemon tree grove and little cabins. I assume that it was a hostel of sorts. There were a few girls lounging out and he asked them if they could show us a bathroom. They let us into one of the cabins. It was so sweet! We thanked them profusely and then continued on our way. We followed the trail down and finally could see the sea. The path led to a wooden bridge over the water that continued over some rocks. Then the bridge connected to a open air restaurant type thing that was being worked on. We then had to climb big rocks to get to the flatter rocks where people were laying out. Hahaha- we were not prepared for this. Both wearing flip flops, we seriously wondered if it could be done. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We scaled the rocks and finally settled down into our spot. It was a beautiful view- the sea and the rocky coves were around us. I was slightly bummed it wasn’t more beachlike so I could swim. I walked down to where the rocks met the water and bent down to feel the water. Soon, a British woman came over to me and told me that an Italian fisherman had walked over to her and told her to tell me that there were a lot of rocks in the water and that I would get hurt if I tried to swim there. I thanked her and walked back. The fisherman walked over to us a few minutes later. He was without a doubt one of the most colorful people we have met during our travels. A short smilely man, holding a fishing pole, he came over and tried to talk to us in his broken English. He was about 25ish probably. He asked us where we were from, how we liked Italy, etc. The language barrier was really difficult this time- sometimes we had to rely on miming or using very basic words to express ourselves. As the conversation went on, he asked us if we liked the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He then asked us to sing it. The man was a bit eccentric. Ashley laughed and prodded me on to sing. I wanted to kill her. Soon the two of them were chanting my name so I reluctantly sang a Beatles song to get them to stop. Eventually we got him to leave and we layed out a little longer before heading back. Along our route to get to the beach, we stopped in Sorrento. A quaint, adorable, slightly touristy town, Sorrento is one of the hotspots along the Almafi Coast. It reminded me of a town in Michigan. We decided to stay in Sorrento for dinner. We walked around looking for a restaurant. We walked past a cute one and all the waiters were standing attentively in their black vests and crisp white shirts, waiting for customers. We smiled at them and they all said “bueno serra” and one of the men, who turned out to be the owner beckoned us forward. He extended his arm to me and said, “Please, let me show you our food inside.” We giggled and walked inside and saw an incredible array of food. We told him it looked very good and that we would most likely be back. He seemed to like me and he asked me my name. He told me his, told me he was the owner and gave me his card. He told us he hoped to see us back. Ash and I walked around the block, decided to avoid the inevitable and walked back to the restaurant. I smiled, shrugged and said “We’re back” and he happily told us to sit wherever we wanted. It was a nice night so we sat outside. Ashley left to go tidy up in the bathroom and while I was waiting a waiter brought us two glasses of champagne, curtsey of the owner. We laughed and thanked the owner who did a slight nod of the head. We ordered our food and then it was my turn to freshen up. When I got back to the table, I saw bread and some yummy looking antipasta waiting for us. Confused, I looked at Ashley who laughed and told me it also was a gift from the owner. Our food was later brought out- I got a delicious apple salad. We complimented and thanked the owner for the food, and then ordered dessert. The owner insisted we go inside to what was essentially a patisserie inside (there was so much stuff!!) and we decided to get some of the amazing cake in front of us. The waiter was very kind and suggested that we order two kinds and that he could make a one serving sampler. We liked this idea- I chose the two that looked good to me and Ash chose three. We go back to our seats and the cake is brought out. They were not portions- they were whole pieces of cake. Hahaha. We cracked up- the owner was once again spoiling us. Then the waiter came out and gave us two tiny glasses of lemoncello- the lemon liquor Sorrento is famous for, again kindly donated by the owner. We giggled some more, again thanked the owner and enjoyed the evening some more before finally saying goodnight. We gave him the bisous, said goodnight to the waiters who had been so nice to us all night and walked away, shaking our heads at how amazing Italy had been to us. We shopped and then eventually took a bus back. We hopped on the wrong bus though, and had to wait a few minutes before the bus route switched back in the other direction. The bus driver was nice- a young guy. We were the only ones on the bus so he talked to us for a while and asked us about our stay. We had fun talking to him and then the bus continued on its route, going towards Sant Agnello. As we drove back through Sorrento we passed the restaurant we had eaten at, and to our delight, all of the our new friends (a majority of the waiting staff) saw us and waved to us as we passed. As Ashley and I walked home from the bus station, we were absolutely giddy at how wonderful the night had been.
The next day we went to Positano. It was BEAUTIFUL! Absolutely charming. It’s a village nestled into the cliffs between the sea and the sky. We had to take a bus there. The bus ride is harrowing. The Almafli Coast has some crazy roads that run along the cliffs. Luckily Ash and I were on the wrong side of the bus to see the dangerous drop. We had to walk down into town. The roads just wound back and forth down until you reached the beach. Before we got to the beach, we enjoyed a beverage under a vined terrace. Very cute. We spent the day on the beach. It was slightly pebbly but enjoyable all the same. I got in the water- Ashley thought I was insane. I thank Michigan vacations and cousins who challenged me to cold water withstanding competitions for preparing me for the chill of the Mediterranean. After spending hours on the beach, we walked around for a while before finding a place to eat. We dined along the beach at a cute place named the Three Sisters. We were again spoiled by our kind waiter- we were given more free lemoncello and, upon hearing that we had already tried lemoncello, a free melon liquor which was very good as well. The food was good and we enjoyed yet another Italian evening. We climbed up the top of the hill where the bus stop was and gazed at the beautiful lit up Positano. I tried to take some pictures- they’ll be posted soon. We got back to Sant Agnello, hung out for a bit at the hotel, heard some live music and followed it to what turned out to be a relatively empty local bar across the sleep. Hung out there for a while, watched the band and then went home to sleep.
The next day we packed up, checked out of the hotel and headed to this dock type thing near our hostel where there was sea access. There were really nice chairs to lay out on, steps down to the water and a restaurant type thing close by. We had to literally walk down through the cliff to get to it. It had a scary cave-like atmosphere as we followed the path down into it. We basked in the sun and I got to swim a lot in the water. It was great. We tried to stay there as long as possible, then we collected our things, dashed back to the hostel to change and grab our bags and then take a train to Naples then take a train to Rome. We got back into Rome and checked into the hostel again and then headed out. We meandered, walking past the Trevi fountain again, past the Pantheon again and eventually got to Piazza Navone which was our destination for the evening. We ate a good meal, enjoyed the activity of the square and said our goodbyes to Rome. The next morning we woke up very early, caught a bus and then caught our plane back to Aix.
We truly loved Rome. I smile each time Dean Martin’s “Volare” plays on my iTunes now. I can’t wait to someday return. I threw my coin in the Trevi fountain so I know it will happen- I just hope its soon. ☺
Italy Begins…
Oh Italy! In hindsight, all I can say to this country is: well done! Ashley and I left Italy with huge grins and recounting our trip in high-pitched, excited voices. We swear it was the best food we’ve ever had and the nicest, most generous people we have ever met in our lives. The funny thing is while we were there, the slogan for Olive Garden kept playing in my head, “When you’re here, you’re family!” because that’s what Italy felt like to us- like we were part of the family. It was a great vacation and some of our best times during our European exploration. We left the Saturday morning after we got back from Paris and stayed there until early Sunday. Sat-Wed were spent in Rome and then Wed-Fri was spent along the Amalfi Coast. Saturday night we came back to Rome and then left from there Sunday morning. One fun week in charming Italy.
Bella Roma!!!
We caught our plane from Marseille ridiciculously early in the morning that Saturday. Which means that we got a bus from Aix to Marseille even ridiculously earlier. Ashley had spent the night before that trip like she usually does before we go somewhere (since I live in the centre ville it just makes sense) and we hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. The plane ride took only an hour and soon we were in the Rome, the Eternal City. We had to take a shuttle bus from the airport which is 35ish minutes outside of town into Rome. There were a lot of people who needed to get on the bus and we missed the first one. We waited a few minutes and got on the second one. Haha actually- it wasn’t that easy. I had a rolling suitcase and Ashley didn’t so she got on the bus and I put my suitecase underneath with the luggage. Well there was a huge line and places were going fast. I look up and see Ashley looking worried and pointing to the line as in “Quick!! Hurry!!” I thought about being separated from my traveling partner and how horrible that would be for both of us and turned my “city power mode” on. I say “city power mode” because this is how I get when Ash and I are in large cities. I was like this especially in Paris. City power mode is when you have to be pushy to be able to move. There were a few moments on the Paris metro where Ash, who is too polite and sweet to push through, almost didn’t make it off at the desired stop. So often I would go first and grab her hand if necessary. Haha so anyways, I see Ashley’s desperate look and I look up and return it. In my eggagerated story version I hear the theme to “Chariots of Fire” start to play and in slow motion push my way to the front. (Dun dun dun dun dun… dun…) I thrusted my ticket in front of the driver and pushed my way on the bus and to Ashley where we both crack up at what had just happened. Problem averted. Haha but it was a frantic few seconds where in my mind I was like, “NOOOOOO! AAAAAASSSSSHHLLEEEEY!!” and then I had to barrel my way through people to get to her. Lol. Funny.
After we were both safely on the bus, we rode it to the train station which was not far from our hostel. We found our hostel with little problem. We asked a few Romans along the way, who happily helped us. It was a beautiful day- pretty hot. We found the hostel and was shown our room by a guy from Boston. He ended up serving us breakfast everyday and would talk to us about the States, Italy, current events and give us advice where to go in Rome. Because we were exhausted, we crawled into bed and passed out. We deserved it- it was our vacation. We woke up about 6:00PM. We showered and started walking around Rome looking for grub. We were hearing “ciao bella!!” from passing drivers and were getting the notorious staredown from Italian guys. We finally found a restaurant that looked good. The food was great! We laughed because like Dorothy told Toto, we weren’t in Kansas anymore- or France. The portions were huge compared to the ones in we were used to in France. For once we had ordered something we couldn’t finish. The male waiters in the place kept flirting with us, and one gave us free refills on our wine. One wrote Ashley love notes in French, asking her out. We laughed each time a new note was delivered to our table. Sadly for the guy, he was ultimately turned down but we did admire his pluck. When I asked where the bathroom was, one waiter offered me his arm and personally escorted me there. I tried not to laugh. After dinner we walked around a bit and then went back to the hostel and went to bed.
The next day was Sunday so we woke up, figured out what crowded bus to take, and got to the Vatican in time to catch mass. It was crazy walking into the outdoor courtyard of the Vatican and hearing the mass said by the pope. Talk about surreal. We were a far way away but we could see him from where we stood and there was a TV screen not far from us, broadcasting the mass. After mass was finished we waited and saw him drive past on the little pope mobile. As the moment where he passed neared, all the people around us started clumping and pushing to get a good view of him. It was a cool moment.
Cool moment, but hot day. After we left the Vatican we started shedding layers. Our Boston breakfast friend had told us that there was a big flea market going on, so we decided to check it out. True Kreienkamp method, no? The funny thing is we started to take a bus and had to ask the bus driver how to get where we were going. He stopped the bus almost immediately and told us the best was to walk along the river. An old Italian woman heard what where we were trying to go and helped point us in the right direction. We had limited time before the market closed so Ashley and I hoofed it. We powered along the stinky river passing bridge after bridge. I was in charge of the map, and I kept trying to make sure we were going in the right direction. At one point, looking at the map, I asked Ashley the name of the bridge we were standing by. She replied, “I think this bridge is called Roma.” Haha. I stopped, gave her a look and had to explain to her that Roma was the Italian spelling of Rome. Oh Ash… (haha she’s probably going to kill me for posting this but it was a hilarious moment that we laughed about later) We scurried along and found the market in time. We shopped for a while, made some purchases and then headed back to our hostel, this time taking a bus. A crowded bus. At one point, I literally got knocked over by someone and Ash looked over just in time to see me kneeling on someone’s luggage. At a later time, she had the following to say about the incident:
“ I know! I looked down and saw you on the ground! And I thought to myself, (said in a perplexed voice) ‘Kelly never chooses to be on the ground…’”
hahaha. Classic.
After a while, we headed back out and went to see the Trevi Fountain. We were told that if you throw one coin in your are allowed to come back to Rome, two and you will fall in love with an Italian, three and you will marry your Italian. Some of us got wish happy and threw four in. I’m not sure what that means for me. There are some cute pictures of us throwing our coins in the fountain- check them out in the Rome albums. After the Trevi fountain, we got some gelato (mmmmm) and walked around a bit. We found a narrow road that ended in a ton of steps. Naturally we climbed these steps and saw a large building, and a cool view of Rome. We saw two guards standing at the door of the official looking building and a couple of policemen standing around. Pulling a dad, I walked over, smiled at them and asked them what the building was. It was the Quirinale, or as the kind police officer explained to me, the White House of Italy. We took some pictures and continued our walk. We next stumbled upon the Foro Traiano, Colonna Traianna and the Mercati Traianei which were old ruins- the forum, an important column and a market area. We also saw the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuelle II (sorry all of these are in Italian- we wrote them down in our journals based off our map which was in Italian) which was one of the most impressive monuments we saw. My first, uncontrollable reaction? “Awesome!!! It has fire!!!” haha, yea, some of us never grow out of our 1st grade selves. Ashley and I both laughed at how easily impressed I was. After that, we walked around some more. We walked past the Santa Maria in Aracoeli with all of its steps and were excited by what we first believed to be the lit up Colosseum.
As we discovered as we looked at the map and later walked up closer, it was not the Colosseum but rather the Teatro Marcello (the theater). From a distance it does resemble the Colosseum. Haha random side note: as I was documenting our trip in my journal at the hostel, we had the following conversation concerning the Colosseum. See if you can guess what she was asking me.
Ashley: “They don’t…”
Me: “No. No, they don’t…”
Ashley: (laughs) “Yea, that’d be really illegal.”
Hahaha, we had just discussed how they had gladiator fights in the Colosseum. Ash wanted to know if they still had them. Haha oh goodness. Anyways…
The next day we took a tour of the Colosseum. We payed for a combined tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum by a group of student tour guides. I guess they had to have so many hours of working before they could be officially hired. The tour guides were great! Although they had a thick Italian accent, they gave us tons of information about both sites. It was fun walking around the Colosseum and getting all of the history. It was a crazy hot day though and we were baking as we stood there listening to him. We took a lunch break after the Colosseum and got some more great pizza and gelato before heading back for the Forum tour. We were taken to the Palatine hill where legend has it Remus and Romulus were nursed by the wolf and upon which, the two later founded Rome. We also saw remains of the Flavian palace as well as the birthplace of Augustus. It was cool and we learned a lot of history for our tour guide. One interesting fact? Senators used to eat for 10 hours at a time. How, you ask. By making themselves vomit so they could eat more. Grossssssss. Haha I cracked a joke to the tour guide about how I knew that Italians liked to eat, but shoot! Haha sadly, the joke was not bilingual and he did not laugh. The tour ended overlooking the remains of the Roman Forum. I took a lot of pictures. We later walked among them- very impressive.
Then we decided to try to go to Santa Maria in Cosmedin to see the famous Mouth of Truth. It’s the statue where you put your hand in the mouth. If you lie, it eats your hand. Due to our faulty map, this proved harder than expected and then it started raining. Grrr! But thanks to friendly Italians, we were navigated around the city and wound up in front of it. Sadly, we got there a few minutes too late and it was closed. We still got pictures of it, even though they aren’t pictures of us losing limbs while we lie to the old statue.
Then, because we are dedicated travelers, we decided to try to go see the Pantheon (for you Tommy). Let me remind you, it was raining. We were hopeful the drizzle would cease. We were wrong. It increased and we trudged through the wet streets of Rome looking for the Pantheon. We walked quite a bit. We got our pictures of it, looked around and then got some dinner close by and dried off. Mmmm… good lasagna. After our meal, we headed back to our hostel because I had to register for next semester’s classes that night.
We tried to hurry the next morning because we wanted to get to the Vatican before the crowds. We were not successful and had to wait in a long but fairly quick moving line to get inside. Well sorta. Once we got through the line, we realized we were not in line for the museum as originally desired, but rather in line for the basilica. We had heard that you could get into the basilica from the museum so we decided to walk around to the other part of the Vatican and get in the even longer line. It was quite the wait, and the wait continued once we were inside. However, we were patient and finally got through. The true excitement for us in the museum was the chance to see the Sistine Chapel. Although the lovely tapestries and intricate ceiling paintings of the other rooms were interesting, we were on a mission- to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece. We went room from room, wondering if it was going to be on the next ceiling. We kept seeing signs for it and yet, the Vatican always kept us guessing. Well done popes. Room to room, we saw a lot of beautiful art. It was quite exhausting though, and we could see how people could get lost in the enormous museum for a while. Finally, we came to the room. It was a crowded room and everyone was staring up. It was really neat to see it in person- it was beautiful. They had guards on duty who would say “NO PICTURES” every few minutes but everyone was snapping away anyways. Some left their flash on. I did take an illegal picture, but I did mine sans flash. I’m sneaky like that. We marveled at the ceiling and then proceeded onto the basilica itself. It was beautiful and we took a lot of pictures. The coolest part was knowing that there were holy relics stored there- the tomb of St. Peter, the skull of St. Andrew, part of the cross, and St. Veronica’s veil. It was very cool to be able to be in one of the most sacred places of the Catholic world.
We left the Vatican and headed to Castel Sant’Angelo, which was the tomb of the emperor Hadrian. Its this strange looking round building. We wandered around for a while and took in some views from the top walls of it. There were some beautiful rooms inside with intricate detailing on the walls.
The next day we went and saw the Spanish steps. Again, faulty map caused some setbacks, but eventually we got there. It was a really pretty day and the stairs were lovely, lined with flower boxes. When we got there, we realized we were actually already standing at the road at the top of the stairs. Ashley voted that we just climb the few that remained to the church that sat atop the stairs. I mandated that we go back down and climb them all up. She gave me a dirty look, I laughed and then dragged her down all of the stairs. We took a picture then I raced her back up Rocky-style. Lol it was funny. Then, we realized we needed to be down at the bottom to get to the next monument on our list. Ashley again glared at me as down we went, step by step. We then walked to the “Piazza del Poplo” which Wikipedia informs me was once a travelers first view of Rome upon entering the city. It also used to be the sight of public executions. It was pretty and we took some pictures and sat by the fountain. Then we rushed off to take the metro to San Giovanni Laterano which is one of the holy basilicas in Rome and close by where there are steps that Jesus walked on during the Passion. You can go up these steps on your knees and they were the site that Ashley and I originally jetted off to see. We sadly arrived during the afternoon period where it was closed. We were bummed. We explored the basilica and were amazed- it was absolutely beautiful. I thought it seriously challenged St. Peters for impressiveness. It is the cathedral of Rome. Here’s Wikipedia’s info:
The Basilica of St John Lateran — in Italian, the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano — is the cathedral church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope, as Bishop of Rome. Officially named Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris ("Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior"), it is the oldest and ranks first (being the cathedral of Rome) among the four major basilicas of Rome, and holds the title of ecumenical mother church (mother church of the whole inhabited world) among Catholics.
It houses 6 papal tombs and also the holy relics including part of the table that Jesus made His last supper on and also the heads of Saints Peter and Paul. The alter is made from the wood of the table that St. Peter had communion on. Also there is a stone from Jesus’ scourging. It was an awesome church to see- I’m glad we decided to go.
After exploring, we headed back to the hostel. We ate at the family restaurant downstairs and then headed to take a train to Napoli. We were seated in a car with a nun, a married couple and a man. I had a big bag and there was limited space. Our car-mates quickly moved to help me and the man helped me store my bag overhead. We started talking to them. Language barrier was hard. The husband knew some English, as did the woman but the nun and the other guy didn’t. We spoke French to the wife because she was fluent. They were eager to talk to us. Like most Italians we had encountered, they had family in America and quickly asked us if we had ever been to Ft. Lauderdale. They wanted to know what we thought of Italy and where we were going next. He was a Florentine native and was quick to tell us that it was the best city in Italy. They expressed regret that we were only there for such a short time. They quickly gave us their info to contact them if we ever went to Florence and wanted tour guides. We told them we were Almafi Coast bound. After they assured us of its wonderful beauty, they started telling us history. They told us that many famous people- even Americans- had vacationed there. Jackie O and Eisenhower had spent time there. Haha- then he quickly turned to Ashley and asked her if she knew about Eisenhower. Ash said “Oh yea- he was a president” and then shot me a frantic that’s right, right? look. Lol funny. I had fun watching Ashley be in the hot seat as a proud Italian asked her questions. They then told us that their son was 25 and working in America. The man was particularly taken with Ashley and asked for her information for his son. Ashley wasn’t really paying attention and happily answered “ok” to the man’s asking for her email address. The best part came a few minutes later, while Ashley was gazing out the window. I turned and saw the man pull out his camera phone and very obviously hold it so it was directed at Ashley and –click- his son was sent a picture of his future American bride. HAHA!! Ash gave me a look and I couldn’t stifle the laughter. I seriously had to turn my head and try to stop shaking from my silent laughter. The wife didn’t seem to notice and I kept sending Ashley sly smiles reminding her of it during our entire trip. They departed, gave us kisses and wished us a good vacation. We were passing stops and I started getting nervous that we were going to miss ours. I asked the nun and another guy who had gotten on which stop Napoli would be. They assured me it would be the last stop and then the guy advised us to take of our jewelry before we got to the station. The nun departed and told us bye and we talked with the guy for a while. I had to use the bathroom so I went to the back of the train where the bathroom was. There were a ton of people waiting to get off at the next stop. Confused which door was which, I tried asking them where the bathroom was. They nodded at me and spoke to me in rapid-fire Italian. Eventually a door was pointed out to me. The door wouldn’t open- was it empty? I tried asking them and they tried responding. Haha I had no idea what they were saying to me. They knew it too and smiled at me. I walked back to my seat, slightly defeated and completely amused. I tried explaining what empty was to the man sitting in our car in order to learn the word and say it to the people. The man didn’t understand. Ashley and I tried to demonstrate with the empty bottle of fruit juice we had. It was no use. I waited until some of the people had cleared out and then walked back and tried again. Door wouldn’t open. Lol there were still some people there from the first time, and smiling, they watched me try again. After looking like a fool for a few more minutes, I accepted that I would have to wait. I laughed and shrugged to the people watching me and returned once more to my seat.
We arrived in Napoli and then took an hour train to Sant Agnello, where we were staying. As we got in, we heard an older English couple talking to an older American couple about Pompeii. The Americans were just arriving and the English couple, quite tan, had obviously been there a while. I jumped into the conversation and tried to get some tips. The American couple was excited to hear that we were studying abroad- they had children who studied abroad and loved it. The little group of us chatted for the hour ride to Sant Agnello and by the time we got off had become our friends. They too wished us a fun vacation and, in a parental tone of voice, advised us to stay away from those Italian boys.
We lugged our suitcases around Sant Agnello, trying to follow the directions we had been given by the hostel. Not sure if we were going the right way, we asked a local woman who kindly pointed us in the right direction. We continued on a little ways further, and then, wondering if we were still correct, stopped. A little old man was walking our way so we decided to ask him for directions too. He too was more than willing to help and told us that we were on the right direction and pointed to where we should go. Even a little girl on rollerblades stopped when she saw us talking to the old man and asked if we needed any help. Ah, Italian hospitality! We eventually saw our hostel and the amazing view that accompanied it. We were on vacation!! It was beautiful. Our hotel was a once a monastery and was picturesque with its white walls and blue accents. We unpacked a bit and then went to a lookout point where there was a café and an amazing view of the sea. We had a drink and watched the sunset, just soaking up the scenery. There was a lovely scent to the Almafi Coast. It could have been because of the lemon trees that it’s well known for- very sweet aroma. After sitting there for a while, we went to a family restaurant and had some pizza. We headed back to the room, snuggled in and watched Italian Harry Potter until we fell asleep.
The next day we woke up fairly early and hurried off to see Pompeii. It was a short train ride. It was another beautiful day and we were excited to be there. Pompeii was cool. I must admit, after having an archeology class and seeing other sites, the experience was slightly dulled for me. However, it was cool to see an entire city so well preserved. We had headsets to listen to but they went into way too much detail and we would have been there ages, so we would sneak up to other tour groups and listen to them, or listen to a few seconds of the headset before moving to the next room. We scampered around the remains for a few hours and then took the train back to Sant Agnello. We were pumped to go get some sun, so we asked the front desk where the most beautiful stretch of laying out area was. She told us the name of her favorite spot and told us it was a little hard to get to. Undaunted, we took her quick notes on how to get there and then went to find a bus to catch. We again had to rely on locals. One woman told us where to catch the bus and where to buy a ticket (after we sat at the wrong stop for a few minutes) and then the bus driver told us when to get off and pointed us in the right direction towards a huge hill. We walked down the hill, got to a path and then asked two girls coming up the path if we were on the right way. We were. Down, down, down we walked on the very long path. About halfway down, I am in desperate need for a bathroom. We passed some men working on the pavement of the path near a house. In true Italian style, they all smiled at us. We walked past and then I see what appears to be a Bed and Breakfast. I decided that I’m in desperate need- I will plead with them to let me use their facitilites. No luck, no one answered. I turned back to the group of men and decide I will ask them if there is a bathroom further down the path. I go back, they all smile and say hello and I ask them if anyone speaks English. One of the men did and I asked him my question. He told me that there weren’t bathrooms down there anymore because there was some work being done. The men looked like they were all part of the same family- there was one old man and a few of what appeared to be his sons. The older man asked what I had said, and then began walking towards a gate and motioned us to follow- his son told us that we could use theirs. Again, I love Italians. It was a beautiful house, with a huge Lemon tree grove and little cabins. I assume that it was a hostel of sorts. There were a few girls lounging out and he asked them if they could show us a bathroom. They let us into one of the cabins. It was so sweet! We thanked them profusely and then continued on our way. We followed the trail down and finally could see the sea. The path led to a wooden bridge over the water that continued over some rocks. Then the bridge connected to a open air restaurant type thing that was being worked on. We then had to climb big rocks to get to the flatter rocks where people were laying out. Hahaha- we were not prepared for this. Both wearing flip flops, we seriously wondered if it could be done. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We scaled the rocks and finally settled down into our spot. It was a beautiful view- the sea and the rocky coves were around us. I was slightly bummed it wasn’t more beachlike so I could swim. I walked down to where the rocks met the water and bent down to feel the water. Soon, a British woman came over to me and told me that an Italian fisherman had walked over to her and told her to tell me that there were a lot of rocks in the water and that I would get hurt if I tried to swim there. I thanked her and walked back. The fisherman walked over to us a few minutes later. He was without a doubt one of the most colorful people we have met during our travels. A short smilely man, holding a fishing pole, he came over and tried to talk to us in his broken English. He was about 25ish probably. He asked us where we were from, how we liked Italy, etc. The language barrier was really difficult this time- sometimes we had to rely on miming or using very basic words to express ourselves. As the conversation went on, he asked us if we liked the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He then asked us to sing it. The man was a bit eccentric. Ashley laughed and prodded me on to sing. I wanted to kill her. Soon the two of them were chanting my name so I reluctantly sang a Beatles song to get them to stop. Eventually we got him to leave and we layed out a little longer before heading back. Along our route to get to the beach, we stopped in Sorrento. A quaint, adorable, slightly touristy town, Sorrento is one of the hotspots along the Almafi Coast. It reminded me of a town in Michigan. We decided to stay in Sorrento for dinner. We walked around looking for a restaurant. We walked past a cute one and all the waiters were standing attentively in their black vests and crisp white shirts, waiting for customers. We smiled at them and they all said “bueno serra” and one of the men, who turned out to be the owner beckoned us forward. He extended his arm to me and said, “Please, let me show you our food inside.” We giggled and walked inside and saw an incredible array of food. We told him it looked very good and that we would most likely be back. He seemed to like me and he asked me my name. He told me his, told me he was the owner and gave me his card. He told us he hoped to see us back. Ash and I walked around the block, decided to avoid the inevitable and walked back to the restaurant. I smiled, shrugged and said “We’re back” and he happily told us to sit wherever we wanted. It was a nice night so we sat outside. Ashley left to go tidy up in the bathroom and while I was waiting a waiter brought us two glasses of champagne, curtsey of the owner. We laughed and thanked the owner who did a slight nod of the head. We ordered our food and then it was my turn to freshen up. When I got back to the table, I saw bread and some yummy looking antipasta waiting for us. Confused, I looked at Ashley who laughed and told me it also was a gift from the owner. Our food was later brought out- I got a delicious apple salad. We complimented and thanked the owner for the food, and then ordered dessert. The owner insisted we go inside to what was essentially a patisserie inside (there was so much stuff!!) and we decided to get some of the amazing cake in front of us. The waiter was very kind and suggested that we order two kinds and that he could make a one serving sampler. We liked this idea- I chose the two that looked good to me and Ash chose three. We go back to our seats and the cake is brought out. They were not portions- they were whole pieces of cake. Hahaha. We cracked up- the owner was once again spoiling us. Then the waiter came out and gave us two tiny glasses of lemoncello- the lemon liquor Sorrento is famous for, again kindly donated by the owner. We giggled some more, again thanked the owner and enjoyed the evening some more before finally saying goodnight. We gave him the bisous, said goodnight to the waiters who had been so nice to us all night and walked away, shaking our heads at how amazing Italy had been to us. We shopped and then eventually took a bus back. We hopped on the wrong bus though, and had to wait a few minutes before the bus route switched back in the other direction. The bus driver was nice- a young guy. We were the only ones on the bus so he talked to us for a while and asked us about our stay. We had fun talking to him and then the bus continued on its route, going towards Sant Agnello. As we drove back through Sorrento we passed the restaurant we had eaten at, and to our delight, all of the our new friends (a majority of the waiting staff) saw us and waved to us as we passed. As Ashley and I walked home from the bus station, we were absolutely giddy at how wonderful the night had been.
The next day we went to Positano. It was BEAUTIFUL! Absolutely charming. It’s a village nestled into the cliffs between the sea and the sky. We had to take a bus there. The bus ride is harrowing. The Almafli Coast has some crazy roads that run along the cliffs. Luckily Ash and I were on the wrong side of the bus to see the dangerous drop. We had to walk down into town. The roads just wound back and forth down until you reached the beach. Before we got to the beach, we enjoyed a beverage under a vined terrace. Very cute. We spent the day on the beach. It was slightly pebbly but enjoyable all the same. I got in the water- Ashley thought I was insane. I thank Michigan vacations and cousins who challenged me to cold water withstanding competitions for preparing me for the chill of the Mediterranean. After spending hours on the beach, we walked around for a while before finding a place to eat. We dined along the beach at a cute place named the Three Sisters. We were again spoiled by our kind waiter- we were given more free lemoncello and, upon hearing that we had already tried lemoncello, a free melon liquor which was very good as well. The food was good and we enjoyed yet another Italian evening. We climbed up the top of the hill where the bus stop was and gazed at the beautiful lit up Positano. I tried to take some pictures- they’ll be posted soon. We got back to Sant Agnello, hung out for a bit at the hotel, heard some live music and followed it to what turned out to be a relatively empty local bar across the sleep. Hung out there for a while, watched the band and then went home to sleep.
The next day we packed up, checked out of the hotel and headed to this dock type thing near our hostel where there was sea access. There were really nice chairs to lay out on, steps down to the water and a restaurant type thing close by. We had to literally walk down through the cliff to get to it. It had a scary cave-like atmosphere as we followed the path down into it. We basked in the sun and I got to swim a lot in the water. It was great. We tried to stay there as long as possible, then we collected our things, dashed back to the hostel to change and grab our bags and then take a train to Naples then take a train to Rome. We got back into Rome and checked into the hostel again and then headed out. We meandered, walking past the Trevi fountain again, past the Pantheon again and eventually got to Piazza Navone which was our destination for the evening. We ate a good meal, enjoyed the activity of the square and said our goodbyes to Rome. The next morning we woke up very early, caught a bus and then caught our plane back to Aix.
We truly loved Rome. I smile each time Dean Martin’s “Volare” plays on my iTunes now. I can’t wait to someday return. I threw my coin in the Trevi fountain so I know it will happen- I just hope its soon. ☺
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Whew- Paris Post!
Hello all! Below is the Paris Post. Also about spring and Aunt Char's visit. Originally I meant to post all of the topics: Aunt Char, Spring, Paris and Italy in one post but its taken too long. Italy is partially done, but it wont be finished tonight. So... please await the final Italian post, and enjoy this until then!
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So let us begin….
I am settling in for the longest blog post yet. It’s my own fault that I’ve been negligent and once the stories pile up, it gets harder and harder to find time to sit down and write them all out. But I have an obligation to these memories… some are too hilarious to not be shared electronically with all of you. So here I am, ready to relay in detail my life for the past few weeks.
Shall we?
First a quick recap. The past few weeks have been extremely exciting for me. My Aunt Char came to visit Aix and then right after that, Ashley and I jetsetted off to Paris to spend an extended weekend there. After the adventure that was the “City of Lights” we had a few days of school and then left for a week in Italy where we went to Rome and the Amalfi Coast. While we were away in Italy, “spring” arrived in Aix. I put that in quotes because spring here is like summer back home. We’ve had great weather the whole time we’ve been in France (from an Midwesterner’s perspective) so to classify this warmer weather as spring doesn’t feel quite right. Before I go further into details about Char, Paris and Italy lets discuss springtime in Aix.
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It’s like they finally understand its hot.
For the first time since my arrival in France, I am seeing the French people actually accurately dress for the weather. Normally, on what I would consider a spring day (a little cool but nice enough to wear long sleeves with no jacket) the French walk by me still dressed in their down coats. They take their warmth very seriously and pile on the jackets and scarves even when I find them to be completely unnecessary. I went over to my French aunt’s house once at night wearing a short sleeve t-shirt a few weeks ago and as I took off my coat she said, “What? Do you think its summer?” to which I replied “For me, yes” and explained that our weather was much colder than theirs. But now, spring has arrived and the French are walking around in capris, skirts, t-shirts, sandals, and other warm clothes. Their clothes are bright too, with much more color than the typical dark or neutral colors I’ve seen them sport up until now.
The funny thing is all of this happened while Ash and I were in Italy. But as we were rolling our suitcases off the bus and towards the Cour (as we locals like to call it- la cour mirabeau, for those new to the blog, is the main street in Aix) I turned to Ashley and said “I bet the Cour has bloomed.” I was excited. I had been waiting to see that street (which is lined with trees) in its full splendor seeing as how it was always on the Aix websites and on Google images when I compulsively researched Aix time after time before coming here. I knew Aix would look even more beautiful once it was fully in bloom. And sure enough, as I struggled to keep my rolly suitcase on the cobblestone sidewalk, we turned the corner and there it was. The tree lined street fully in bloom and its fountains spraying full force. It was beautiful.
All of the trees in Aix turned green while we were away. There’s even one by the fountain near my apartment that I never noticed existed that suddenly has leaves.
Also with the spring has come more tourists. Its fun to walk past them and think, “Ha! Tourists…” with the local attitude. Lol I think I am allowed this after having played the clueless tourist more times than I would like to admit during this 5 month adventure. There’s even this little tram that carts tourists around the sites of Aix. It drives past my school. Maybe I should try to sneak on it for a free ride up the street. Hm… there’s an idea…
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Bienvenue Aunt Char!
On April 5th and 6th I got the pleasure of showing my Aunt Char around Aix. I was extremely excited to see my aunt. I could hardly wait for her call on the first day she was there and I even checked the hotel to see if she had arrived (she had not). I love my aunt very much and she’s a fun travel buddy- we’ve done trips to Florida together in the past. I was pumped to show her my new French life and to catch up with her.
When she got into her hotel, she called me and I quickly walked to meet her. She was staying at a hotel that was literally down the street from my school. As I rounded the corner I saw her standing there and yelled “Bonjour” at her. I predicted she would cry and I was right. Like Old Faithful, she is. With a huge grin on my face and tears in her eyes the Aunt Char and Kelly team were reunited. We walked into her hotel and started catching up. Afterwards, we started to walk around Aix a little bit. I showed her the cathedral, which she found interesting. Then, because I get my jewelry gene from my aunt, we headed to Eric’s shop. We visited Eric and we spoke a mix of English and French. I enjoyed showing Aunt Char one of my French friends and we talked to him for quite a while. He complimented Char’s French as she was picking up on the pronunciation quickly. It started to rain and Eric lent us an umbrella. I walked Char back to the hotel and then had a glass of wine with her and her travel group. Everyone was extremely nice and it was funny to hear Lee Ranson, our weather guy, tell me it was nice to finally meet me. (She was on a tour of Provence lead by him). I was tempted to ask him to predict the weather for the next few days but refrained for my aunt’s sake. After that, I left her and ran back home to help Isabelle prepare dinner. Isabelle offered to have Aunt Char over for dinner. How much do I love my French family! Classic Isabelle.
After I sliced kiwi, I ran back to the hotel to pick up Aunt Char and walked her to my apartment. She thought it was adorable and I liked showing her my French pad. Introductions were made with her and the French fam (minus Guillaume who was off somewhere) and we settled into the sitting room to “boire un verre” (drink a glass). The French family and Aunt Char got to know each other. I played translator because Isabelle doesn’t speak English as well as the boys. It was fun. Ashley came over too and we moved into the kitchen and ate the WONDERFUL meal Isabelle has prepared. I had asked her to make Provincial foods and she did. Mmmm… I remember that meal fondly. It was a wonderful night- great people, good conversation, and a union of my real family and my new French one. Both my aunt and Isabelle had nice things to say about the other one afterwards. I spent the night at Aunt Char’s hotel and we stayed up late talking.
The next day after I went to class, Aunt Char and her travel buddy Sherry met me at my apartment and we saw more of Aix. We went back to Eric’s shop so that Sherry could see it and so that Aunt Char could make her purchases. We walked along the streets and stopped in at shops along the way. We wound up on the Cour Mirabeau and Ashley met us for lunch. We went to “Les Deux Garcons” which is a historic restaurant on the Cour that Sam Brown from the travel channel described as “timeless.” Maybe one requires a camera crew to be treated well by the waiters at “Les Deux Garcons” because we did not find it to be a pleasant attitude that had persisted through time. No, they were not nice to us there and the only one who was fed was Aunt Char. Ash and I decided we would take the ladies to a favorite stop of ours to get their grub on. Good ole “Crepes a go-go.” Always enjoyable. Crepes in hand, we continued giving them the tour of Aix and kept shopping. Eventually we stopped at a café and then we decided that we would try to get a view of St. Victoire (the mountain Ashley and I had climbed) from a Cezanne stop that Isabelle had suggested to me. This proved easier said then done, and I dragged our group up a GIANT hill. We did get a view of the mountain and then climbed back down. I’m lucky they were such sports about it. That night we went to a beautiful restaurant “Le Passage” that Isabelle had recommended. It was a really cute place. The four of us dined and enjoyed discussing what we had learned about French culture. After dinner, entertainment was provided, courtesy of Aunt Char and our waiter. I am laughing just thinking about it. Aunt Char asked the waiter (who spoke English) if she could have a Kahlua and coffee. His reaction?
“Oh my God. What is this?” (said with a French accent and a slightly disgusted expression on his face)
Aunt Char laughed and tried to explain it to him. She then asked if there could be whipped cream on it. He was really confused and not at all helpful. Lol. He actually sounded slightly grossed out as he listened to Aunt Char describe it. He then teased her by telling her
“I will bring you the three things separately and you can mix them together, ok?”
More laughter by our bunch and Aunt Char. Eventually he did bring her the drink and I got a picture of the two with the empty glass once she was done. Funny moment. After our dinner, we parted ways. Ashley came over and spent the night and I packed for Paris. We were leaving really early the next morning.
It was a really neat experience for me to get to share my new French life with a special loved one. I am very thankful that Aunt Char came and that we got to have two days in Provence together. I know we’ll have fun reminiscing about it in the States once I’m back. There are pictures from the visit posted on the left. :-D
Continuing on… the two big cities we tackled, Paris and Rome. When I was walking around Rome I kept trying to figure out how to describe the two cities. I think of it like this… Paris left us speechless and Rome kept us laughing. Maybe that’s cheesy. Its how I feel though. Both were awesome. I shall continue telling my story in chronological order…
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Paris, je t’aime!
The next day Ashley and I embarked on the TGV bound for Paris. Major thanks should be given to Guillaume at this part of the story. He not only drove us to the TGV station at a ridiculous hour of the morning, he also woke us up when we slept through our alarm. MERCI, MERCI, MERCI! Maybe I should have kept that to myself to preserve my image as a mature, responsible adult in all of your eyes. But I chose to share it, seeing as how Guillaume truly deserves international recognition for his greatness that morning. As for Ashley and me, we blame severe lack of sleep :-D But all’s well that ends well, and we caught the TGV as planned.
Isabelle has another son, Nicholas, who lives in Paris with his girlfriend Charlotte. They had kindly agreed to let us stay in their apartment during our stay. In fact, not only could we stay there but we would have the place to ourselves because they were going skiing. They live in a beautiful area of Paris too. Again, we luck out. The funny thing is because we were so scatterbrained the morning we were leaving, we just happened to remember we had no idea where the apartment was on the way to the TGV station. All Guillaume could tell us was the metro stop we get off at, a store near the apartment, and the address. I guess that sounds like a lot, but bear in mind that Paris is huge with many windy streets. Anyways, it was up to us to find out where it was. Being the expert travelers we are, however, we had no problem finding the place because we asked around until someone knew the shop that we mentioned. We found it and settled in to the cute but tiny Parisian apartment. We then went to get food at a grocery store. We then set out see more of Paris. We took the metro to Notre Dame. First, I should share that this metro trip was probably one of the funniest moments of the trip. As we sat down, two Arabian guys came on the train with a boombox and started dancing for money. They had some American rap with French lyrics played over it and started booty dancing. We happened to be sitting right in front of where they were dancing and this one guy started swinging his hips like a girl right in front of Ashley. We were both struggling not to laugh, and also trying to avoid eye contact with them. It was hilarious seeing Ashley trying to look casually around the cab as this guy was dancing like Shakira right in front of her. Great moment.
We got off and saw Notre Dame. It was a beautiful day and was even nicer than the weather in Aix. Notre Dame was beautiful and there were many people out. We took pictures and walked around. We decided to follow our Rick Steve guidebook and check out some of the things nearby. We went to a Holocaust monument right behind Notre Dame. It was a really moving tribute to those who died during that time. It was designed to be like a prison. Outside you could only see walls and sky and inside there was very little light and iron bars. There was an eternal flame in the middle and quotes from all different people etched into the stone walls about the horrors of war. It definitely created a solemn feeling and made you reflect on what life must have been like in Europe during the war.
After the monument, we headed back out into the sunshine and walked around for a while, over a bridge. We saw a bride and a groom taking pictures, many street performers and a lot of people out enjoying the weather. After meandering, we decided to head out to Montmarte to see Sacre Coeur. With the help of people at the Metro we quickly got ourselves to Montmarte and walked up the hill to Sacre Coeur. It was beautiful- look at the pictures. A ton of people were out enjoying the weather. After hanging out for a while, we climbed the stairs to the church and then decided to try to get to the top of the dome. We ended up having to walk around the church and down some stairs to wait in line. By the time we got to the door, the man admitting people started shutting the door and saying that we could not go up! We were actually the cut off point! I was not going to stand for that, lol so we made extremely disappointed faces and lingered and soon enough, a new cut off point was made. Lol He also told us we must get up to the top crazy fast and that after a certain point, it would be the Paris police who would escort us out if we were too late coming down. Haha. So we powered up those stairs. I shall compare us to Richard Simmons on speed working the new Stairmaster at the gym. Needless to say, it was intense. The staircase was steep, narrow and dark. Finally we reached the top. Once we regained our breath and the vertigo had subsided, we took in some amazing views of Paris. And yes, we did climb back down before the Paris police could get to us. After that, we walked around some shops and then went back to the apartment where we dinned on a classy meal of chicken nuggets and wine. Afterwards we hopped on the metro to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up.
We saw it from a distance. It was surreal seeing it for the first time. This sounds cheesy, but for two kids who had prepared for a while for studying abroad in France, the Eiffel Tower always seemed to us the symbol of our trip. And here it was. Hence why I took so many pictures. We sat under it on a park bench and after a while it began to sparkle. We got in line to get tickets to go up and then decided we wanted to do it another day. We got back on the metro and went home.
We had set the next day aside for Versailles. Rick Steve had suggested an early half day there. So Easter morning we sent off for Versailles and took the metro then waited a long time in the RER train line. We finally got our tickets, as well a paper that said to take a metro stop to get there. We were slightly confused seeing as how good ole Rick Steve had told us to take the train we were standing in front of. Deciding in a split moment when the train pulled up to trust our handy tour guide, we hopped on the train. We kept trying to figure out if the train was following the route we needed. Sure enough it was following the right route, but then why would they tell us not to take this line? Then the two idiots flipped over the paper which explained it- there was construction on the Versailles stop that weekend. ZUT!! So we got off at the last stop and went with a bunch of other people having the same problem to wait for a bus. We then took a long bus ride to another train station where we had to catch another train to get to Versailles. Again, we looked at our Rick Steve book to decide where to get off next. It looked like there were two, so we waited for the second stop to get off at. Then, in a moment of panic, I asked in French to the couple sitting next to us where we get off for Versailles. They informed us we should have gotten off at the previous stop. So we got off at the next stop and then had to wait for the train in the opposite direction to Versailles. Finally it came and we took it one stop back and then walked the 10 minutes it takes to get there. And saw the HUUUUUGE line we had to wait in. As I was later told by a French woman who worked in Versailles (who mistook my American accent as an Italian one- hey at least its European now!) that Easter was one of the busiest days of the year because it’s during the French vacation. But because Ashley and I are expert travelers now, we had packed a lunch and ate it in line as to save time. Finally we made it inside.
It was awesome to see the inside. We had the audioguides and listened to the history of Versailles. Very interesting. I took many pictures for Tommy’s class and we enjoyed walking room to room. The famous Hall of Mirrors was cool to see even though it was under construction. We spent a lot of time there and then realized we needed to get back. We did a very quick turn of the gardens and then power backed to the train station to get back. We then scrambled from the bus to the metro and then speed walked back to the apartment. Because I can be a time freak (just ask Ashley) I made sure we were dressed crazy fast for church and then we got back on the metro and got to Notre Dame. There was a line to get in so we were happy we were there when we were. We got seats without a problem and enjoyed Easter mass there. It was said by the archbishop of Paris and there were cameras filming it and broadcasting it on flatscreens throughout the church. It was a very beautiful mass with an impressive choir.
Our friend Katrina met up with us for mass and afterwards we wandered around for a little while. We saw Pompidou Centre, the famous building with all of the tunnels on the outside. I likened it to a gerbil cage. We saw the sun set on the Seine and then decided to go for a Seine River boat tour. When we got on our boat, we decided the best views would be from the back of the boat. Only problem was the back of the boat was standing room only- no chairs. Well, we were not discouraged. We went to the very back of the boat (front row!) and sat down. We were kinda waiting for people to tell us we couldn’t do that. Instead, people began sitting around us. We cracked up that we had started a trend. People got the floatation devices and sat on them, making it like an arena type seating area. Paris was beautiful at night. We saw all the sites lit up at night- the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Musee D’Orsay, and much more. It was beautiful. As we sat under the Eiffel Tower Edith Piaf started to be played on the boat’s speakers. We also heard the history about all the buildings as we passed them. And the boat went under all the bridges of Paris. It was an awesome way to view the city. There’s this bridge where you’re supposed to make a wish under. It was an exciting moment, being on the Seine River, with the lights of Paris all around you and then the darkness of the bridge for that moment where you close your eyes and make your wish and then when you reopen them the boat is pulling through under the bridge, showing you glowing Paris again. Just beautiful. It was a great night that I think I will always remember.
We headed back to the apartment where we ate pizza and listened to Edith Piaf and the Amelie (it’s a French movie) soundtrack and gazed out of our Parisian apartments windows.
The next day, we cleaned the apartment thoroughly (Nicholas is a notorious clean freak) and then went to the Champs-Elysee. At least, that’s where I think we meant to go. We took it very leisurely that day. It was another beautiful day in Paris so we just meandered. We walked along the prettiest bridge on the Seine (we nicknamed it the Sex and the City bridge for its famous final scene of the series on it) where we could see the Eiffel Tower. We stopped in a charming park along the Champs-Elysee, ate our picnic lunch and people watched. Afterwards we walked along the Champs-Elysee and stopped at the Arc de Triomphe. It was too beautiful of a day to linger there too long, so we didn’t go up it. Instead we hopped on the metro for Luxembourg. I am glad we did. Luxembourg was one of my favorite Paris memories. Seeing as it was a beautiful day, everyone was out enjoying it. Couples were lying on the grass among the tall hedges in the gardens, people were playing Frisbee and kids were pushing boats through the water of the main fountain. People were laying out and tanning and everyone seemed relaxed. It felt like we had discovered the Parisian’s Paris. It looked like they would really come here to hang out on the weekends. It was fun to be a part of that. We sat by fountains where the kids were playing with the boats and after a while, we reluctantly left. We grabbed some sandwiches at a boulangerie and headed to the Eiffel Tower. We picnicked under the Eiffel tower and watched and the sun started getting lower in the sky. We then got in line and climbed up the Eiffel Tower to the second level to watch the sun set on Paris. Magnifique! Very beautiful- there are pictures posted. Then we had to wait a long time before we could get to the top. I’m not quite sure why anymore, but there was some sort of delay. Ashley, nervous about her test the next morning, suggested we skip going to the top this trip. (I blame the fatigue of traveling- she wasn’t thinking right) I told her there was no way I was leaving without going to the top. She agreed and we waited in line. We talked to another American couple behind us to pass the time. Finally, we got to go. We were glad we did. Although I had to close my eyes on the elevator ride upwards, it was worth it. We were again silent as we looked out over the lights of Paris. It was awesome. They take you first to this conservatory look out point and then you climb a few stairs to get to the outside part. Both provided excellent views. It was a great final night in Paris.
We truly loved Paris! We quickly mastered the metro system (minus the RER disaster) and had no problem with the locals (no Parisian attitude- in fact, helpful). There’s this air about Paris, and Ashley and I kept talking about how we would love to live there someday. We are going back at the very end of our trip, so it softened the blow of having to say goodbye to the “City of Lights”. For now, we say a bientot and look forward to our return.
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So let us begin….
I am settling in for the longest blog post yet. It’s my own fault that I’ve been negligent and once the stories pile up, it gets harder and harder to find time to sit down and write them all out. But I have an obligation to these memories… some are too hilarious to not be shared electronically with all of you. So here I am, ready to relay in detail my life for the past few weeks.
Shall we?
First a quick recap. The past few weeks have been extremely exciting for me. My Aunt Char came to visit Aix and then right after that, Ashley and I jetsetted off to Paris to spend an extended weekend there. After the adventure that was the “City of Lights” we had a few days of school and then left for a week in Italy where we went to Rome and the Amalfi Coast. While we were away in Italy, “spring” arrived in Aix. I put that in quotes because spring here is like summer back home. We’ve had great weather the whole time we’ve been in France (from an Midwesterner’s perspective) so to classify this warmer weather as spring doesn’t feel quite right. Before I go further into details about Char, Paris and Italy lets discuss springtime in Aix.
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It’s like they finally understand its hot.
For the first time since my arrival in France, I am seeing the French people actually accurately dress for the weather. Normally, on what I would consider a spring day (a little cool but nice enough to wear long sleeves with no jacket) the French walk by me still dressed in their down coats. They take their warmth very seriously and pile on the jackets and scarves even when I find them to be completely unnecessary. I went over to my French aunt’s house once at night wearing a short sleeve t-shirt a few weeks ago and as I took off my coat she said, “What? Do you think its summer?” to which I replied “For me, yes” and explained that our weather was much colder than theirs. But now, spring has arrived and the French are walking around in capris, skirts, t-shirts, sandals, and other warm clothes. Their clothes are bright too, with much more color than the typical dark or neutral colors I’ve seen them sport up until now.
The funny thing is all of this happened while Ash and I were in Italy. But as we were rolling our suitcases off the bus and towards the Cour (as we locals like to call it- la cour mirabeau, for those new to the blog, is the main street in Aix) I turned to Ashley and said “I bet the Cour has bloomed.” I was excited. I had been waiting to see that street (which is lined with trees) in its full splendor seeing as how it was always on the Aix websites and on Google images when I compulsively researched Aix time after time before coming here. I knew Aix would look even more beautiful once it was fully in bloom. And sure enough, as I struggled to keep my rolly suitcase on the cobblestone sidewalk, we turned the corner and there it was. The tree lined street fully in bloom and its fountains spraying full force. It was beautiful.
All of the trees in Aix turned green while we were away. There’s even one by the fountain near my apartment that I never noticed existed that suddenly has leaves.
Also with the spring has come more tourists. Its fun to walk past them and think, “Ha! Tourists…” with the local attitude. Lol I think I am allowed this after having played the clueless tourist more times than I would like to admit during this 5 month adventure. There’s even this little tram that carts tourists around the sites of Aix. It drives past my school. Maybe I should try to sneak on it for a free ride up the street. Hm… there’s an idea…
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Bienvenue Aunt Char!
On April 5th and 6th I got the pleasure of showing my Aunt Char around Aix. I was extremely excited to see my aunt. I could hardly wait for her call on the first day she was there and I even checked the hotel to see if she had arrived (she had not). I love my aunt very much and she’s a fun travel buddy- we’ve done trips to Florida together in the past. I was pumped to show her my new French life and to catch up with her.
When she got into her hotel, she called me and I quickly walked to meet her. She was staying at a hotel that was literally down the street from my school. As I rounded the corner I saw her standing there and yelled “Bonjour” at her. I predicted she would cry and I was right. Like Old Faithful, she is. With a huge grin on my face and tears in her eyes the Aunt Char and Kelly team were reunited. We walked into her hotel and started catching up. Afterwards, we started to walk around Aix a little bit. I showed her the cathedral, which she found interesting. Then, because I get my jewelry gene from my aunt, we headed to Eric’s shop. We visited Eric and we spoke a mix of English and French. I enjoyed showing Aunt Char one of my French friends and we talked to him for quite a while. He complimented Char’s French as she was picking up on the pronunciation quickly. It started to rain and Eric lent us an umbrella. I walked Char back to the hotel and then had a glass of wine with her and her travel group. Everyone was extremely nice and it was funny to hear Lee Ranson, our weather guy, tell me it was nice to finally meet me. (She was on a tour of Provence lead by him). I was tempted to ask him to predict the weather for the next few days but refrained for my aunt’s sake. After that, I left her and ran back home to help Isabelle prepare dinner. Isabelle offered to have Aunt Char over for dinner. How much do I love my French family! Classic Isabelle.
After I sliced kiwi, I ran back to the hotel to pick up Aunt Char and walked her to my apartment. She thought it was adorable and I liked showing her my French pad. Introductions were made with her and the French fam (minus Guillaume who was off somewhere) and we settled into the sitting room to “boire un verre” (drink a glass). The French family and Aunt Char got to know each other. I played translator because Isabelle doesn’t speak English as well as the boys. It was fun. Ashley came over too and we moved into the kitchen and ate the WONDERFUL meal Isabelle has prepared. I had asked her to make Provincial foods and she did. Mmmm… I remember that meal fondly. It was a wonderful night- great people, good conversation, and a union of my real family and my new French one. Both my aunt and Isabelle had nice things to say about the other one afterwards. I spent the night at Aunt Char’s hotel and we stayed up late talking.
The next day after I went to class, Aunt Char and her travel buddy Sherry met me at my apartment and we saw more of Aix. We went back to Eric’s shop so that Sherry could see it and so that Aunt Char could make her purchases. We walked along the streets and stopped in at shops along the way. We wound up on the Cour Mirabeau and Ashley met us for lunch. We went to “Les Deux Garcons” which is a historic restaurant on the Cour that Sam Brown from the travel channel described as “timeless.” Maybe one requires a camera crew to be treated well by the waiters at “Les Deux Garcons” because we did not find it to be a pleasant attitude that had persisted through time. No, they were not nice to us there and the only one who was fed was Aunt Char. Ash and I decided we would take the ladies to a favorite stop of ours to get their grub on. Good ole “Crepes a go-go.” Always enjoyable. Crepes in hand, we continued giving them the tour of Aix and kept shopping. Eventually we stopped at a café and then we decided that we would try to get a view of St. Victoire (the mountain Ashley and I had climbed) from a Cezanne stop that Isabelle had suggested to me. This proved easier said then done, and I dragged our group up a GIANT hill. We did get a view of the mountain and then climbed back down. I’m lucky they were such sports about it. That night we went to a beautiful restaurant “Le Passage” that Isabelle had recommended. It was a really cute place. The four of us dined and enjoyed discussing what we had learned about French culture. After dinner, entertainment was provided, courtesy of Aunt Char and our waiter. I am laughing just thinking about it. Aunt Char asked the waiter (who spoke English) if she could have a Kahlua and coffee. His reaction?
“Oh my God. What is this?” (said with a French accent and a slightly disgusted expression on his face)
Aunt Char laughed and tried to explain it to him. She then asked if there could be whipped cream on it. He was really confused and not at all helpful. Lol. He actually sounded slightly grossed out as he listened to Aunt Char describe it. He then teased her by telling her
“I will bring you the three things separately and you can mix them together, ok?”
More laughter by our bunch and Aunt Char. Eventually he did bring her the drink and I got a picture of the two with the empty glass once she was done. Funny moment. After our dinner, we parted ways. Ashley came over and spent the night and I packed for Paris. We were leaving really early the next morning.
It was a really neat experience for me to get to share my new French life with a special loved one. I am very thankful that Aunt Char came and that we got to have two days in Provence together. I know we’ll have fun reminiscing about it in the States once I’m back. There are pictures from the visit posted on the left. :-D
Continuing on… the two big cities we tackled, Paris and Rome. When I was walking around Rome I kept trying to figure out how to describe the two cities. I think of it like this… Paris left us speechless and Rome kept us laughing. Maybe that’s cheesy. Its how I feel though. Both were awesome. I shall continue telling my story in chronological order…
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Paris, je t’aime!
The next day Ashley and I embarked on the TGV bound for Paris. Major thanks should be given to Guillaume at this part of the story. He not only drove us to the TGV station at a ridiculous hour of the morning, he also woke us up when we slept through our alarm. MERCI, MERCI, MERCI! Maybe I should have kept that to myself to preserve my image as a mature, responsible adult in all of your eyes. But I chose to share it, seeing as how Guillaume truly deserves international recognition for his greatness that morning. As for Ashley and me, we blame severe lack of sleep :-D But all’s well that ends well, and we caught the TGV as planned.
Isabelle has another son, Nicholas, who lives in Paris with his girlfriend Charlotte. They had kindly agreed to let us stay in their apartment during our stay. In fact, not only could we stay there but we would have the place to ourselves because they were going skiing. They live in a beautiful area of Paris too. Again, we luck out. The funny thing is because we were so scatterbrained the morning we were leaving, we just happened to remember we had no idea where the apartment was on the way to the TGV station. All Guillaume could tell us was the metro stop we get off at, a store near the apartment, and the address. I guess that sounds like a lot, but bear in mind that Paris is huge with many windy streets. Anyways, it was up to us to find out where it was. Being the expert travelers we are, however, we had no problem finding the place because we asked around until someone knew the shop that we mentioned. We found it and settled in to the cute but tiny Parisian apartment. We then went to get food at a grocery store. We then set out see more of Paris. We took the metro to Notre Dame. First, I should share that this metro trip was probably one of the funniest moments of the trip. As we sat down, two Arabian guys came on the train with a boombox and started dancing for money. They had some American rap with French lyrics played over it and started booty dancing. We happened to be sitting right in front of where they were dancing and this one guy started swinging his hips like a girl right in front of Ashley. We were both struggling not to laugh, and also trying to avoid eye contact with them. It was hilarious seeing Ashley trying to look casually around the cab as this guy was dancing like Shakira right in front of her. Great moment.
We got off and saw Notre Dame. It was a beautiful day and was even nicer than the weather in Aix. Notre Dame was beautiful and there were many people out. We took pictures and walked around. We decided to follow our Rick Steve guidebook and check out some of the things nearby. We went to a Holocaust monument right behind Notre Dame. It was a really moving tribute to those who died during that time. It was designed to be like a prison. Outside you could only see walls and sky and inside there was very little light and iron bars. There was an eternal flame in the middle and quotes from all different people etched into the stone walls about the horrors of war. It definitely created a solemn feeling and made you reflect on what life must have been like in Europe during the war.
After the monument, we headed back out into the sunshine and walked around for a while, over a bridge. We saw a bride and a groom taking pictures, many street performers and a lot of people out enjoying the weather. After meandering, we decided to head out to Montmarte to see Sacre Coeur. With the help of people at the Metro we quickly got ourselves to Montmarte and walked up the hill to Sacre Coeur. It was beautiful- look at the pictures. A ton of people were out enjoying the weather. After hanging out for a while, we climbed the stairs to the church and then decided to try to get to the top of the dome. We ended up having to walk around the church and down some stairs to wait in line. By the time we got to the door, the man admitting people started shutting the door and saying that we could not go up! We were actually the cut off point! I was not going to stand for that, lol so we made extremely disappointed faces and lingered and soon enough, a new cut off point was made. Lol He also told us we must get up to the top crazy fast and that after a certain point, it would be the Paris police who would escort us out if we were too late coming down. Haha. So we powered up those stairs. I shall compare us to Richard Simmons on speed working the new Stairmaster at the gym. Needless to say, it was intense. The staircase was steep, narrow and dark. Finally we reached the top. Once we regained our breath and the vertigo had subsided, we took in some amazing views of Paris. And yes, we did climb back down before the Paris police could get to us. After that, we walked around some shops and then went back to the apartment where we dinned on a classy meal of chicken nuggets and wine. Afterwards we hopped on the metro to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up.
We saw it from a distance. It was surreal seeing it for the first time. This sounds cheesy, but for two kids who had prepared for a while for studying abroad in France, the Eiffel Tower always seemed to us the symbol of our trip. And here it was. Hence why I took so many pictures. We sat under it on a park bench and after a while it began to sparkle. We got in line to get tickets to go up and then decided we wanted to do it another day. We got back on the metro and went home.
We had set the next day aside for Versailles. Rick Steve had suggested an early half day there. So Easter morning we sent off for Versailles and took the metro then waited a long time in the RER train line. We finally got our tickets, as well a paper that said to take a metro stop to get there. We were slightly confused seeing as how good ole Rick Steve had told us to take the train we were standing in front of. Deciding in a split moment when the train pulled up to trust our handy tour guide, we hopped on the train. We kept trying to figure out if the train was following the route we needed. Sure enough it was following the right route, but then why would they tell us not to take this line? Then the two idiots flipped over the paper which explained it- there was construction on the Versailles stop that weekend. ZUT!! So we got off at the last stop and went with a bunch of other people having the same problem to wait for a bus. We then took a long bus ride to another train station where we had to catch another train to get to Versailles. Again, we looked at our Rick Steve book to decide where to get off next. It looked like there were two, so we waited for the second stop to get off at. Then, in a moment of panic, I asked in French to the couple sitting next to us where we get off for Versailles. They informed us we should have gotten off at the previous stop. So we got off at the next stop and then had to wait for the train in the opposite direction to Versailles. Finally it came and we took it one stop back and then walked the 10 minutes it takes to get there. And saw the HUUUUUGE line we had to wait in. As I was later told by a French woman who worked in Versailles (who mistook my American accent as an Italian one- hey at least its European now!) that Easter was one of the busiest days of the year because it’s during the French vacation. But because Ashley and I are expert travelers now, we had packed a lunch and ate it in line as to save time. Finally we made it inside.
It was awesome to see the inside. We had the audioguides and listened to the history of Versailles. Very interesting. I took many pictures for Tommy’s class and we enjoyed walking room to room. The famous Hall of Mirrors was cool to see even though it was under construction. We spent a lot of time there and then realized we needed to get back. We did a very quick turn of the gardens and then power backed to the train station to get back. We then scrambled from the bus to the metro and then speed walked back to the apartment. Because I can be a time freak (just ask Ashley) I made sure we were dressed crazy fast for church and then we got back on the metro and got to Notre Dame. There was a line to get in so we were happy we were there when we were. We got seats without a problem and enjoyed Easter mass there. It was said by the archbishop of Paris and there were cameras filming it and broadcasting it on flatscreens throughout the church. It was a very beautiful mass with an impressive choir.
Our friend Katrina met up with us for mass and afterwards we wandered around for a little while. We saw Pompidou Centre, the famous building with all of the tunnels on the outside. I likened it to a gerbil cage. We saw the sun set on the Seine and then decided to go for a Seine River boat tour. When we got on our boat, we decided the best views would be from the back of the boat. Only problem was the back of the boat was standing room only- no chairs. Well, we were not discouraged. We went to the very back of the boat (front row!) and sat down. We were kinda waiting for people to tell us we couldn’t do that. Instead, people began sitting around us. We cracked up that we had started a trend. People got the floatation devices and sat on them, making it like an arena type seating area. Paris was beautiful at night. We saw all the sites lit up at night- the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Musee D’Orsay, and much more. It was beautiful. As we sat under the Eiffel Tower Edith Piaf started to be played on the boat’s speakers. We also heard the history about all the buildings as we passed them. And the boat went under all the bridges of Paris. It was an awesome way to view the city. There’s this bridge where you’re supposed to make a wish under. It was an exciting moment, being on the Seine River, with the lights of Paris all around you and then the darkness of the bridge for that moment where you close your eyes and make your wish and then when you reopen them the boat is pulling through under the bridge, showing you glowing Paris again. Just beautiful. It was a great night that I think I will always remember.
We headed back to the apartment where we ate pizza and listened to Edith Piaf and the Amelie (it’s a French movie) soundtrack and gazed out of our Parisian apartments windows.
The next day, we cleaned the apartment thoroughly (Nicholas is a notorious clean freak) and then went to the Champs-Elysee. At least, that’s where I think we meant to go. We took it very leisurely that day. It was another beautiful day in Paris so we just meandered. We walked along the prettiest bridge on the Seine (we nicknamed it the Sex and the City bridge for its famous final scene of the series on it) where we could see the Eiffel Tower. We stopped in a charming park along the Champs-Elysee, ate our picnic lunch and people watched. Afterwards we walked along the Champs-Elysee and stopped at the Arc de Triomphe. It was too beautiful of a day to linger there too long, so we didn’t go up it. Instead we hopped on the metro for Luxembourg. I am glad we did. Luxembourg was one of my favorite Paris memories. Seeing as it was a beautiful day, everyone was out enjoying it. Couples were lying on the grass among the tall hedges in the gardens, people were playing Frisbee and kids were pushing boats through the water of the main fountain. People were laying out and tanning and everyone seemed relaxed. It felt like we had discovered the Parisian’s Paris. It looked like they would really come here to hang out on the weekends. It was fun to be a part of that. We sat by fountains where the kids were playing with the boats and after a while, we reluctantly left. We grabbed some sandwiches at a boulangerie and headed to the Eiffel Tower. We picnicked under the Eiffel tower and watched and the sun started getting lower in the sky. We then got in line and climbed up the Eiffel Tower to the second level to watch the sun set on Paris. Magnifique! Very beautiful- there are pictures posted. Then we had to wait a long time before we could get to the top. I’m not quite sure why anymore, but there was some sort of delay. Ashley, nervous about her test the next morning, suggested we skip going to the top this trip. (I blame the fatigue of traveling- she wasn’t thinking right) I told her there was no way I was leaving without going to the top. She agreed and we waited in line. We talked to another American couple behind us to pass the time. Finally, we got to go. We were glad we did. Although I had to close my eyes on the elevator ride upwards, it was worth it. We were again silent as we looked out over the lights of Paris. It was awesome. They take you first to this conservatory look out point and then you climb a few stairs to get to the outside part. Both provided excellent views. It was a great final night in Paris.
We truly loved Paris! We quickly mastered the metro system (minus the RER disaster) and had no problem with the locals (no Parisian attitude- in fact, helpful). There’s this air about Paris, and Ashley and I kept talking about how we would love to live there someday. We are going back at the very end of our trip, so it softened the blow of having to say goodbye to the “City of Lights”. For now, we say a bientot and look forward to our return.
Je suis desole!
Hey all! Although I haven't posted in a long time, I assure you I've had good reasons. However, there is a crazy long blog post under the works, soon to be up for your enjoyment. But to tie you over until then (MOM) here are my Paris pictures. I promise the stories for these will be up soon!
Much love! Hope all is well with everyone!
BTW they are in chronological order (hence the no. 1, no. 2)
Much love! Hope all is well with everyone!
BTW they are in chronological order (hence the no. 1, no. 2)
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Palm Sunday
Hey again. This is my attempt at being better at blogging.
Today I went to Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral. They didn't really give out palms but rather branches from some tree. Slightly random. I'm sure there's meaning behind it, but this time i really don't know. The church was pretty- there were big ferns in the front and on the sides on the balconies where the musicians play.
In other news, the evil cat strikes again. Max has a bandaid right below his eye where Liza punctured the skin. Story has it, he scared her and she attacked. I voted for sending Liza into the streets indefinitely to think about what she's done, but ultimately she stays.
Last night Isabelle had some friends over. Max and I ate dinner with them. I kept purposely zoning in and out of their conversation. Bad thing was, one of her friends kept asking me if I understood. lol I'd just make a confused face and say that I understood some of it but not all of it. They would then recap and then I would try to pay more attention. They were all so cute and stylish. It did motivate me to try to put more effort in forming my outfits. I am a college kid though, so sweats will still trump all chic looks for me.
Well, today was relatively uneventful. In order to rest up for Paris and Rome, we chose to stay here this weekend. Good idea. I caught up on sleep and (obviously) blogging.
That's all for now! A bientot
Today I went to Palm Sunday Mass at the Cathedral. They didn't really give out palms but rather branches from some tree. Slightly random. I'm sure there's meaning behind it, but this time i really don't know. The church was pretty- there were big ferns in the front and on the sides on the balconies where the musicians play.
In other news, the evil cat strikes again. Max has a bandaid right below his eye where Liza punctured the skin. Story has it, he scared her and she attacked. I voted for sending Liza into the streets indefinitely to think about what she's done, but ultimately she stays.
Last night Isabelle had some friends over. Max and I ate dinner with them. I kept purposely zoning in and out of their conversation. Bad thing was, one of her friends kept asking me if I understood. lol I'd just make a confused face and say that I understood some of it but not all of it. They would then recap and then I would try to pay more attention. They were all so cute and stylish. It did motivate me to try to put more effort in forming my outfits. I am a college kid though, so sweats will still trump all chic looks for me.
Well, today was relatively uneventful. In order to rest up for Paris and Rome, we chose to stay here this weekend. Good idea. I caught up on sleep and (obviously) blogging.
That's all for now! A bientot
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
ah, she returns
Hello all! Yes, I'm still alive :-) I've just been swamped lately and havent had the time or energy to post. I had midterms for the past two weeks that just finished Monday. I have a lot to share, so buckle in for a long post :-)
First: A Very Quick Review of Today- Sometimes its bad to dwell.
haha, so I had a bit of a troubled moment at the post office. The woman was just rude that I was working with. It wasn't because I was foreign (though that might have had some effect later) but rather because thats just how they are at the post office here. When my French family asked me "Ca va?" today I answered "Non- pas de tout" which means that no, things were not going well. They listened and were like "Even the French hate the people working at the post office." haha I thoroughly gave my opinion to Gig (shortened version of Guillaume) and he listened. He had a bad day today too. He's studying to be a chiropracter here and its a big deal in France that chiropracters are not recognized as full doctors and don't have a medicine license. Apparently, there's a law (maybe starting today?) that said that chiropracters couldn't work with babies, do any manipulation of the neck, etc. and Gig was furious because he's been studying really hard and they've been taught to do these things. By the time he's done, he will have studied for this major for 6 years. That's a long time to work really hard and not be able to fully practice what you've learned. So, rough day here in France. But by the end, we were all laughing and watching "Nouvelle Star" here which is the French version of American Idol. I happen to be hooked and was getting choked up today when I was watching it. (One of the canidates is this really sweet cute blonde and she has a BEAUTIFUL voice and she teaches singing lessons and works with the mentally challenged because her sister is mentally challenged. It was really touching cause they were interviewing her sister about her and her sister was saying how much she loved her big sis and then looked into the camera and begged that France voted for her- it was really sweet)
haha. ok, now that all of you can follow along with the Nouvelle Star... let's go back to recent developments in my life.
we'll start with last night.
Mon Anniversaire Francais (My French Bday)
So yesterday was my bday. It was a really really great day. I had class, came back home and went running. After coming back from the run, I had a huge beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me from Brian :-) It was funny because my face was already so red because I had just finished running and then I was so excited and blushing- haha anyways, I was a mess. So I was cooling down by drinking water when my French mom was eating lunch. She offered me champagne so that we could toast to my bday. haha So I sat down my glass of water I had been chugging and took the flute of champagne. It was a funny moment- you have to picture me in workout clothes, still sweating from my run and taking time to drink champagne. Pretty hilarious. After that, I talked to the parents on Skype which was fun. We got to chat for a while and then I had another class. After that, one of my French cousins came over and started making dinner. Maxime helped. I kept offering but wasn't allowed to lift a finger because I was the bday girl. Ashley came over too and gave me my bday gift, a necklace I have been drooling over in Eric's jewelry shop. Soon after, my other two cousins and my French aunt came over. My French aunt gave me this very delicate shell that was supposed to give me "bonheur" (good luck) from this island off of Madagascar where they used to live. Marie, my French cousin gave me a beautiful blue necklace. It was really sweet of her. We moved into the other room and all sat down and drank the apperatif (before meal drink, which was some yummy apple? wine) and then dined on tartes specifically made for me (sans meat) and this other pizza like thing. After dinner, they dimmed the lights and brought in a tarte au pomme with 20 candles on it and sang me "Happy Bday" in English. It was really cute, especially because they forgot the "dear" in the line "Happy birthday dear _____, happy bday to you" and just sang "Happy Birthday (pause) Kelly, Happy birthday to you." Ashley and I laughed. Afterwards Ash spent the night. It was a really great bday. :-D
Last Weekend: Toulouse- la ville rose.
Last weekend my friends Starlynn, Vanessa, Ashley and I went to Toulouse. It was four hours by train. Toulouse is known as "la ville rose" (the pink city) because of the color of the stones used for the buildings. The train ride passed by quickly. A kind man vacated his seat (and later persuaded a woman to do the same) so the four of us could sit together. Again another example of the French being sweet (darn that post office woman for trying to ruin my opinion of the French). We were disappointed when we walked out of the metro station that it was raining. It was a cute city and (as promised by one of our guide books) was a refreshingly unique French city. It had a slightly different look than most, probably because of the pink bricks. Toulouse is on of the biggest cities in France. Because it was raining, we decided to shop to stay warm. We hit up some stores and then got lunch. Afterwards we shopped some more and got coffee. One might characterize our weekend by shopping and eating. lol We tried to go see a movie at night but there was a huge line and no movies we really wanted to see. We walked past this huge young hippie fest in the courtyard in front of one of the movie theaters. The next morning, we walked around and saw that everything was closed. France kind of shuts down on Sundays. So we walked around in the cold rain and went to a museum. It was a pretty building. The museum was housed in an old monestary and had many Romanesque works of art. We decided to have fun by interpreting the works ourselves. You can see this in the picture album. After the museum we again walked around in the rain, found some food and then saw a little festival going on in front of the city hall. It was a festival for the region of Aquitaine (I think- I'll double check). We saw people doing American country line dancing which cracked me up. Then we saw people dressed in the traditional clothes do a dance from the region. There were tents where people were selling food representative of the region. I tried some lemonade, yogurt and some chocolate from the region- it was good! After that we headed again out of the rain, waited at our hotel and then left on the train. It was a fun weekend despite of the rain- Ash and I had a good time with the other two girls.
The Weekend Before That: Glanum, Arle, and the Luberon Region
Sat Mar 17th, I went with my archeology class to Glanum and Arle. Glanum was an archeological site. I shall now write from the brochure I kept with me, "The original settlement grew up in 7th/6th century BC around a spring. The town developed from their relations with the Greek world, namely through Marseille. Under Roman domination, Glanum was forced to accept the status of Latin colony early in the first century AD." This is all I will write about the history. It was cool to see and it was in a very pretty area. I took pictures which will be undoubtably posted for your viewing pleasure. After we walked around the ruins of Glanum, we went to Arle. Arle was another Roman city. Arle sits along the Rhone river. It was established by the Greeks as early as 6th century BC (thank you Wikipedia) and in 46 BC it was developed by the Romans. Arle was a sweet little town. We happened to be there on a day where they were celebrating their local language. Our French archeology teacher explained to us that each region had a day where they celebrated their local language (and culture) in order to demand attention from the presidential canidates, and to ask them what the canidates would do in order to preserve that culture. It was funny to be standing in front of the Arle ampitheater and to watch little old men and women dressed up in the tradtional garb (they looked like santons- the Provincial figures placed in the Nativity scenes) wearing wooden shoes, head cloths, full dresses and carrying signs. It was cute. We took pictures. Men were on horses and people played music. There was a little parade. Back to the archeological side of things, we went to the ampitheater (or arena) which was cool. It was once used for glatiator fights, now (as we learned at the bullring in Seville) it is a popular place to watch bullfights. It was beautiful weather when we were there. We had the chance to disperse and eat lunch and my group chose to eat our food from home in the arena, basking in the sun. Mmmm, it was nice. We then walked around for a bit. Then we went to the theater in Arle. Not much really remained of the theater but it was cool to see. After that, we headed to the Musee de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques (archeological museum) and checked out some more things about Roman life in Arle. Then, we piled on the bus and fell asleep. The ride to Arle and Glanum was amazing though. Again, I got to see the beautiful Provincal countryside. Tree lined roads, open fields with little cottages and usually with some mountains as a backdrop. Just beautiful.
The next day, we went with my school to the Luberon Region. It too is in Provence. That was one of the most beautiful bus rides I have ever taken. It was a gorgeous day with the sun out in full force. Again, we passed Provincial countryside and saw the barren lavendar fields. We drove through the mountains for a while and then saw more countryside. We first stopped at the town of Gordes. Talk about picturesque. It was adorable. There we saw the Chateau de Gordes (the fortified castle) from outside and then took a round about way (next to some fields) to get into the town. We had a cafe there and meandered for a little bit. Then we went to Bonnieux, another cute little town. We climbed to the top of the town where there was an old church and everybody went and found a place to eat lunch. We had a great view over the town and the region. Very fun. Then we went to Roussillon which is known for its red and pink buildings. Starlynn said it looked like Mexican buildings. It is close to what is known as le Petit Colorado, where pigment used in a special kind of paint is mined. It does kind of look like Colorado with its natural formations. Check it out in the pictures. It was a very fun day and we got to see some of the prettiest views of Provence.
Well that is all for now. Again, I promise to try to be better about posting more regularly. :-D hope all is well with all of you! Next weekend is Paris, followed by spring break in Italy. I'll let you know how it goes! Much love!
First: A Very Quick Review of Today- Sometimes its bad to dwell.
haha, so I had a bit of a troubled moment at the post office. The woman was just rude that I was working with. It wasn't because I was foreign (though that might have had some effect later) but rather because thats just how they are at the post office here. When my French family asked me "Ca va?" today I answered "Non- pas de tout" which means that no, things were not going well. They listened and were like "Even the French hate the people working at the post office." haha I thoroughly gave my opinion to Gig (shortened version of Guillaume) and he listened. He had a bad day today too. He's studying to be a chiropracter here and its a big deal in France that chiropracters are not recognized as full doctors and don't have a medicine license. Apparently, there's a law (maybe starting today?) that said that chiropracters couldn't work with babies, do any manipulation of the neck, etc. and Gig was furious because he's been studying really hard and they've been taught to do these things. By the time he's done, he will have studied for this major for 6 years. That's a long time to work really hard and not be able to fully practice what you've learned. So, rough day here in France. But by the end, we were all laughing and watching "Nouvelle Star" here which is the French version of American Idol. I happen to be hooked and was getting choked up today when I was watching it. (One of the canidates is this really sweet cute blonde and she has a BEAUTIFUL voice and she teaches singing lessons and works with the mentally challenged because her sister is mentally challenged. It was really touching cause they were interviewing her sister about her and her sister was saying how much she loved her big sis and then looked into the camera and begged that France voted for her- it was really sweet)
haha. ok, now that all of you can follow along with the Nouvelle Star... let's go back to recent developments in my life.
we'll start with last night.
Mon Anniversaire Francais (My French Bday)
So yesterday was my bday. It was a really really great day. I had class, came back home and went running. After coming back from the run, I had a huge beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me from Brian :-) It was funny because my face was already so red because I had just finished running and then I was so excited and blushing- haha anyways, I was a mess. So I was cooling down by drinking water when my French mom was eating lunch. She offered me champagne so that we could toast to my bday. haha So I sat down my glass of water I had been chugging and took the flute of champagne. It was a funny moment- you have to picture me in workout clothes, still sweating from my run and taking time to drink champagne. Pretty hilarious. After that, I talked to the parents on Skype which was fun. We got to chat for a while and then I had another class. After that, one of my French cousins came over and started making dinner. Maxime helped. I kept offering but wasn't allowed to lift a finger because I was the bday girl. Ashley came over too and gave me my bday gift, a necklace I have been drooling over in Eric's jewelry shop. Soon after, my other two cousins and my French aunt came over. My French aunt gave me this very delicate shell that was supposed to give me "bonheur" (good luck) from this island off of Madagascar where they used to live. Marie, my French cousin gave me a beautiful blue necklace. It was really sweet of her. We moved into the other room and all sat down and drank the apperatif (before meal drink, which was some yummy apple? wine) and then dined on tartes specifically made for me (sans meat) and this other pizza like thing. After dinner, they dimmed the lights and brought in a tarte au pomme with 20 candles on it and sang me "Happy Bday" in English. It was really cute, especially because they forgot the "dear" in the line "Happy birthday dear _____, happy bday to you" and just sang "Happy Birthday (pause) Kelly, Happy birthday to you." Ashley and I laughed. Afterwards Ash spent the night. It was a really great bday. :-D
Last Weekend: Toulouse- la ville rose.
Last weekend my friends Starlynn, Vanessa, Ashley and I went to Toulouse. It was four hours by train. Toulouse is known as "la ville rose" (the pink city) because of the color of the stones used for the buildings. The train ride passed by quickly. A kind man vacated his seat (and later persuaded a woman to do the same) so the four of us could sit together. Again another example of the French being sweet (darn that post office woman for trying to ruin my opinion of the French). We were disappointed when we walked out of the metro station that it was raining. It was a cute city and (as promised by one of our guide books) was a refreshingly unique French city. It had a slightly different look than most, probably because of the pink bricks. Toulouse is on of the biggest cities in France. Because it was raining, we decided to shop to stay warm. We hit up some stores and then got lunch. Afterwards we shopped some more and got coffee. One might characterize our weekend by shopping and eating. lol We tried to go see a movie at night but there was a huge line and no movies we really wanted to see. We walked past this huge young hippie fest in the courtyard in front of one of the movie theaters. The next morning, we walked around and saw that everything was closed. France kind of shuts down on Sundays. So we walked around in the cold rain and went to a museum. It was a pretty building. The museum was housed in an old monestary and had many Romanesque works of art. We decided to have fun by interpreting the works ourselves. You can see this in the picture album. After the museum we again walked around in the rain, found some food and then saw a little festival going on in front of the city hall. It was a festival for the region of Aquitaine (I think- I'll double check). We saw people doing American country line dancing which cracked me up. Then we saw people dressed in the traditional clothes do a dance from the region. There were tents where people were selling food representative of the region. I tried some lemonade, yogurt and some chocolate from the region- it was good! After that we headed again out of the rain, waited at our hotel and then left on the train. It was a fun weekend despite of the rain- Ash and I had a good time with the other two girls.
The Weekend Before That: Glanum, Arle, and the Luberon Region
Sat Mar 17th, I went with my archeology class to Glanum and Arle. Glanum was an archeological site. I shall now write from the brochure I kept with me, "The original settlement grew up in 7th/6th century BC around a spring. The town developed from their relations with the Greek world, namely through Marseille. Under Roman domination, Glanum was forced to accept the status of Latin colony early in the first century AD." This is all I will write about the history. It was cool to see and it was in a very pretty area. I took pictures which will be undoubtably posted for your viewing pleasure. After we walked around the ruins of Glanum, we went to Arle. Arle was another Roman city. Arle sits along the Rhone river. It was established by the Greeks as early as 6th century BC (thank you Wikipedia) and in 46 BC it was developed by the Romans. Arle was a sweet little town. We happened to be there on a day where they were celebrating their local language. Our French archeology teacher explained to us that each region had a day where they celebrated their local language (and culture) in order to demand attention from the presidential canidates, and to ask them what the canidates would do in order to preserve that culture. It was funny to be standing in front of the Arle ampitheater and to watch little old men and women dressed up in the tradtional garb (they looked like santons- the Provincial figures placed in the Nativity scenes) wearing wooden shoes, head cloths, full dresses and carrying signs. It was cute. We took pictures. Men were on horses and people played music. There was a little parade. Back to the archeological side of things, we went to the ampitheater (or arena) which was cool. It was once used for glatiator fights, now (as we learned at the bullring in Seville) it is a popular place to watch bullfights. It was beautiful weather when we were there. We had the chance to disperse and eat lunch and my group chose to eat our food from home in the arena, basking in the sun. Mmmm, it was nice. We then walked around for a bit. Then we went to the theater in Arle. Not much really remained of the theater but it was cool to see. After that, we headed to the Musee de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques (archeological museum) and checked out some more things about Roman life in Arle. Then, we piled on the bus and fell asleep. The ride to Arle and Glanum was amazing though. Again, I got to see the beautiful Provincal countryside. Tree lined roads, open fields with little cottages and usually with some mountains as a backdrop. Just beautiful.
The next day, we went with my school to the Luberon Region. It too is in Provence. That was one of the most beautiful bus rides I have ever taken. It was a gorgeous day with the sun out in full force. Again, we passed Provincial countryside and saw the barren lavendar fields. We drove through the mountains for a while and then saw more countryside. We first stopped at the town of Gordes. Talk about picturesque. It was adorable. There we saw the Chateau de Gordes (the fortified castle) from outside and then took a round about way (next to some fields) to get into the town. We had a cafe there and meandered for a little bit. Then we went to Bonnieux, another cute little town. We climbed to the top of the town where there was an old church and everybody went and found a place to eat lunch. We had a great view over the town and the region. Very fun. Then we went to Roussillon which is known for its red and pink buildings. Starlynn said it looked like Mexican buildings. It is close to what is known as le Petit Colorado, where pigment used in a special kind of paint is mined. It does kind of look like Colorado with its natural formations. Check it out in the pictures. It was a very fun day and we got to see some of the prettiest views of Provence.
Well that is all for now. Again, I promise to try to be better about posting more regularly. :-D hope all is well with all of you! Next weekend is Paris, followed by spring break in Italy. I'll let you know how it goes! Much love!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
mardi le 13 mars
Quick Post:
I just wanted to share the fact that there is a French movie being filmed outside my apartment. Maybe you've seen the fountain in my earlier pictures of Aix. It's very cute and apparently is an ideal place for a scene in a movie. ( My French family informed me that this was the second time that the fountain was used as a backdrop for a film.) There is a full crew set up in the fountain area in front of a shop called "Lady Jane." Lady Jane is actually the title of the film. I guess the director and the main actor and actress are famous in French cinema. lol, Sadly, this cool moment is lost on the American who is only familiar with Hollywood names. All the same, its somewhat exciting to be around. I say somewhat because I do have to cross that fountain area to get to school, so it can be a bit annoying if I'm late for class. Ashley and I went to get fruit yesterday and I forgot my keys to the apartment. No one was home so we had to sit outside and wait. We watched them filming. They would stop traffic on the streets and try to get everything quiet. There were guys working on windows of an apartment and one of the fim crew guys kept yelling up to them to stop for two minutes while they filmed a scene. They would do a few takes and then yell up to them that it was ok for them to work again.
I was curious about the film. So I, being my father's daughter, walked up and asked one of the actors about the film. He was an extra and explained the plot to me in French. It's a mystery with a kidnapping. They're filming here and in Marseille. I had asked another woman who was sitting around- another extra I bet- before what the title was. When she told me "Lady Jane" she said, "like the song." I told her I didn't know the song. She was surprised and started singing it. So did the ladies sitting around her. lol It was funny and still didn't jog my memory.
After having harrassed the extras for long enough and wanting to wait somewhere else instead of the street, Ashley and I went into the tea store right next to my apartment (still in clear view of the filming). We got some tea and I talked to the owner of the shop and reminded her that I met her my first day in Aix. We also talked to an old man who lives in Paris but who was staying at his vacation apartment in Aix. We were drinking our expensive flavored carbonated water in the second story of the tea store when Ashley spotted Maxime walking down the street. haha My French brothers are tall so its fairly easy to spot them. Excited, we quickly paid and scurried next door to have Maxime let us in before he left again. lol... oh goodness.
A day in the life.
It was interesting though- I'll keep you posted about the developments with the film, if I see any more of it. Much love to all, and to all a goodnight.
I just wanted to share the fact that there is a French movie being filmed outside my apartment. Maybe you've seen the fountain in my earlier pictures of Aix. It's very cute and apparently is an ideal place for a scene in a movie. ( My French family informed me that this was the second time that the fountain was used as a backdrop for a film.) There is a full crew set up in the fountain area in front of a shop called "Lady Jane." Lady Jane is actually the title of the film. I guess the director and the main actor and actress are famous in French cinema. lol, Sadly, this cool moment is lost on the American who is only familiar with Hollywood names. All the same, its somewhat exciting to be around. I say somewhat because I do have to cross that fountain area to get to school, so it can be a bit annoying if I'm late for class. Ashley and I went to get fruit yesterday and I forgot my keys to the apartment. No one was home so we had to sit outside and wait. We watched them filming. They would stop traffic on the streets and try to get everything quiet. There were guys working on windows of an apartment and one of the fim crew guys kept yelling up to them to stop for two minutes while they filmed a scene. They would do a few takes and then yell up to them that it was ok for them to work again.
I was curious about the film. So I, being my father's daughter, walked up and asked one of the actors about the film. He was an extra and explained the plot to me in French. It's a mystery with a kidnapping. They're filming here and in Marseille. I had asked another woman who was sitting around- another extra I bet- before what the title was. When she told me "Lady Jane" she said, "like the song." I told her I didn't know the song. She was surprised and started singing it. So did the ladies sitting around her. lol It was funny and still didn't jog my memory.
After having harrassed the extras for long enough and wanting to wait somewhere else instead of the street, Ashley and I went into the tea store right next to my apartment (still in clear view of the filming). We got some tea and I talked to the owner of the shop and reminded her that I met her my first day in Aix. We also talked to an old man who lives in Paris but who was staying at his vacation apartment in Aix. We were drinking our expensive flavored carbonated water in the second story of the tea store when Ashley spotted Maxime walking down the street. haha My French brothers are tall so its fairly easy to spot them. Excited, we quickly paid and scurried next door to have Maxime let us in before he left again. lol... oh goodness.
A day in the life.
It was interesting though- I'll keep you posted about the developments with the film, if I see any more of it. Much love to all, and to all a goodnight.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Kelly Stonebock- Mountain Climber Extraordinaire
Alright, maybe that's a slight exaguration. But I have climbed two mountains in two days, so I've gotten some climbing in.
Yesterday, Guillaume, Ashley and I climbed Saint Victoire, the BEAUTIFUL mountain near Aix. It was an absolutely perfect day- the sun was out and it was clear. Ashley and I asked Guillaume earlier in the week if it was hard to climb the mountain. He asked "Just you two?!" and after we nodded he laughed and told us he would go with us. So off we went. It was a very scenic (and short) drive there. Quaint country cottages, blooming trees and the greenest grass I've ever seen. We started our hike- Ashley and I had to walk fairly fast to keep up with Guillaume- he has the longest legs! We laughed when Guillaume pulled out a cigarette to smoke as he hiked. Oh, the French! It was a fairly difficult hike. The higher we got, the more slippery the rocks got. The little rocks kept sliding out under our feet and I didn't have hiking boots like Ashley and Guillaume (I put my faith in my Nikes) so it was a challenge. It took at least 2 hours for us to get to the top. There was a chapel and a cross at the top of the mountain. We had a really calm moment where we sat on the base of the cross and overlooked Aix and the countryside. It was one of my favorite moments thus far on my trip overseas. Gorgeous. Please check out the pictures- I think you'll get a good idea of what it was like.
Ashley and I plan on going to St. Victoire as much as possible.
"Today" (I am finishing this post at a later time then when it was started- so on Sunday) I went with a group from my school to a village called La Ciotat that was is fairly near Cassis. When I signed up for the excursion, I was under the impression that I would get to go to Cassis. Unfortunantly, I was slightly mislead as we did not get to see Cassis except from a high cliff. Oh well. Ciotat was charming. It's a small costal village. It's claim to fame is its being the site of the first showing of an animated film. The film was by the Lumiere brothers. Luckily I had taken a film class at U of I so I knew a little bit about them. They were pioneers in film- and one of their first films was filmed in La Ciotat. The film shows a train pulling into the station and people getting on and off the train. Simple by our standards but incredible by theirs. The train station is in Ciotat and as you enter the town you see a bush in the middle of a cirlce drive shaped in the form of a train in honor of the film. Ciotat also has the oldest movie theater in France. We didn't stay in Ciotat very long. We grabbed food to picnic with and then went to a pretty park along the coast (still in Ciotat I believe) and ate. Very nice. There were the Mediterannean palm trees and a very unusual mountain by the water- our tour guide George described it to us. George spoke to us soley in French. It was a great way for me to measure my French. Safe to say, it has improved. I had no trouble understanding what he was saying. He cracked a joke on the bus that Ciotat was reknown for another reason- it was his hometown. I was very proud that I could follow along.
After we ate, we boarded the bus and went to the highest cliff in Europe. lol- yes. We had a great view of Ciotat and (I believe, on the other side) Cassis. The landscape was beautiful. We hiked up a while. It was easy in comparison with St. Victoire, though Ashley's and my muscles were considerably sore from the day before. We got to what Ashley and I believed to be the top. Whew, what a drop. Terrified (because I am a coward and afraid of heights) but still wanting to get the full effect, I layed down on the rock and looked over the edge. Needless to say, it would have been a long and painful fall. Ash and I took a few pictures and then climbed a bit further up. We could see our bus so we figured we were almost done. Tired from yesterday, we went and sat by the bus. haha Little did we know, the cliff followed up for longer than we thought. Oops. We didn't really regret it and didn't mind taking the bus to the top of it. We fell asleep on the ride back.
Did I mention it was a windy day? Made walking along the highest cliff in Europe seem slightly undesirable.
It was a long weekend. Long, but great. I cannot tell you how much I loved our day at St. Victoire. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
A bientot!
Yesterday, Guillaume, Ashley and I climbed Saint Victoire, the BEAUTIFUL mountain near Aix. It was an absolutely perfect day- the sun was out and it was clear. Ashley and I asked Guillaume earlier in the week if it was hard to climb the mountain. He asked "Just you two?!" and after we nodded he laughed and told us he would go with us. So off we went. It was a very scenic (and short) drive there. Quaint country cottages, blooming trees and the greenest grass I've ever seen. We started our hike- Ashley and I had to walk fairly fast to keep up with Guillaume- he has the longest legs! We laughed when Guillaume pulled out a cigarette to smoke as he hiked. Oh, the French! It was a fairly difficult hike. The higher we got, the more slippery the rocks got. The little rocks kept sliding out under our feet and I didn't have hiking boots like Ashley and Guillaume (I put my faith in my Nikes) so it was a challenge. It took at least 2 hours for us to get to the top. There was a chapel and a cross at the top of the mountain. We had a really calm moment where we sat on the base of the cross and overlooked Aix and the countryside. It was one of my favorite moments thus far on my trip overseas. Gorgeous. Please check out the pictures- I think you'll get a good idea of what it was like.
Ashley and I plan on going to St. Victoire as much as possible.
"Today" (I am finishing this post at a later time then when it was started- so on Sunday) I went with a group from my school to a village called La Ciotat that was is fairly near Cassis. When I signed up for the excursion, I was under the impression that I would get to go to Cassis. Unfortunantly, I was slightly mislead as we did not get to see Cassis except from a high cliff. Oh well. Ciotat was charming. It's a small costal village. It's claim to fame is its being the site of the first showing of an animated film. The film was by the Lumiere brothers. Luckily I had taken a film class at U of I so I knew a little bit about them. They were pioneers in film- and one of their first films was filmed in La Ciotat. The film shows a train pulling into the station and people getting on and off the train. Simple by our standards but incredible by theirs. The train station is in Ciotat and as you enter the town you see a bush in the middle of a cirlce drive shaped in the form of a train in honor of the film. Ciotat also has the oldest movie theater in France. We didn't stay in Ciotat very long. We grabbed food to picnic with and then went to a pretty park along the coast (still in Ciotat I believe) and ate. Very nice. There were the Mediterannean palm trees and a very unusual mountain by the water- our tour guide George described it to us. George spoke to us soley in French. It was a great way for me to measure my French. Safe to say, it has improved. I had no trouble understanding what he was saying. He cracked a joke on the bus that Ciotat was reknown for another reason- it was his hometown. I was very proud that I could follow along.
After we ate, we boarded the bus and went to the highest cliff in Europe. lol- yes. We had a great view of Ciotat and (I believe, on the other side) Cassis. The landscape was beautiful. We hiked up a while. It was easy in comparison with St. Victoire, though Ashley's and my muscles were considerably sore from the day before. We got to what Ashley and I believed to be the top. Whew, what a drop. Terrified (because I am a coward and afraid of heights) but still wanting to get the full effect, I layed down on the rock and looked over the edge. Needless to say, it would have been a long and painful fall. Ash and I took a few pictures and then climbed a bit further up. We could see our bus so we figured we were almost done. Tired from yesterday, we went and sat by the bus. haha Little did we know, the cliff followed up for longer than we thought. Oops. We didn't really regret it and didn't mind taking the bus to the top of it. We fell asleep on the ride back.
Did I mention it was a windy day? Made walking along the highest cliff in Europe seem slightly undesirable.
It was a long weekend. Long, but great. I cannot tell you how much I loved our day at St. Victoire. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
A bientot!
Thursday, March 8, 2007
le 8 mars
Hi all!
Last night we had an impromptu dinner party at my host house. Marie, my French cousin, and my aunt and uncle came over to dine with us. We had this dish that I have had a few times now where you melt cheese and put it on a potato. I really should remeber the name of it. It was nice that they all came over. I didn't hesitate this time to walk up and kiss them hello. Marie is also one of my favorite people here- always extremely friendly to me. I wasn't prepared for this dinner party though, and was a bit surprised when I walked out of my bedroom and they were there. Parties in general (especially French ones) can be a bit exhausting for me because its like a 4 hour long oral French test. They talk really fast (faster now that I've been here a while and am getting better) and there are ususally a few different conversations going on at once. Plus I had a full day yesterday- I will describe a bit further on- and was tired to begin with. lol They kept offering me wine which I politely declined until after the meal. I thought falling asleep on the dinner table probably wouldn't be very polite and I figured if I drank it after the meal then I wouldn't have to wait very long before they left. haha- Wrong. It was funny though because it kept reminding me of my first night in France. We ate pizza and champagne with the aunt and uncle that first night and I was soooo tired after my long flight and walking around Aix twice. lol It was almost the same situation- me being acutely aware of exactly how far I was from my bed and me zoning in and out of the French coversations. Except this time I was more comfortable and more ready to join in. All the same, I definitely thought back to that first night and smiled. It seems so long ago.
The reason I was tired: long day with Ashley. After class, Ashley and I hung out at my French house, got some lunch and then went to talk to Eric- our jewlery shop owner friend- for a while. Eric waved hello to us as we entered (I was careful not to wave to him) and we chit chatted for a while. He wanted to know how our Barcelona trip went. He had given us shopping tips before we left, so I was sure to tell him that we hit up all the stores he had suggested. Ashley had a project for her business class that required that she interviewed a business owner in Aix, so she asked him questions while I looked at the jewlery. I love his shop. Because I am a jewlery freak anyways, its like a little piece of heaven for me. He makes each piece by hand. Did I ever mention that he has some celebrity clients? Sharon Stone, John Malcovitch and the Queen of Sweden. No joke. haha and me- I bought a necklace from here after the first time I went in. After a good conversation, we left and went grocery shopping. Afterwards I worked on my computer for a while.
After typing that, I realize that does not sound like I did that much. Just take my word for it that it was a full day. Wow, this post doesn't seem so interesting. Let me share a few gems from my archeology class to redeem this post.
Our archeology teacher asks "What do we get at night?"
The Americans (genuinely trying) respond, "Drinks??!?!"
Teacher's desired response- the moon.
A phone goes off in class. Archeology teacher tells student whose phone rang, "Thatz not the first time. Next time, itz a finger."
On the subject of cave art: the slide showing is a picture of a hybrid creature. Half bison, half man.
"If you see such guy in the street, you come find me. Phone me immediately."
Archeology teacher asks us to the characteristics of the bison guy. One student offers the the animal has "tusks." Archeology teacher looks confused. Five minutes later he goes "OH, TUSKS!!! I heard toast. I was thinking breakfast."
Hahaha- I don't even remember the exact context of this one. Maybe on the topic of how nature grows over archeological remains.
"Yes? Mushrooms popped up...(does a boddy wiggle) smurfs er-merged? (emerged)
a few minutes later... in a very serious tone-
"Yes, the smurfs are not the friends of the archeologists. I hate the smurfs."
I'm still working on putting up those pictures- should be coming at ya shortly. Much love!
Last night we had an impromptu dinner party at my host house. Marie, my French cousin, and my aunt and uncle came over to dine with us. We had this dish that I have had a few times now where you melt cheese and put it on a potato. I really should remeber the name of it. It was nice that they all came over. I didn't hesitate this time to walk up and kiss them hello. Marie is also one of my favorite people here- always extremely friendly to me. I wasn't prepared for this dinner party though, and was a bit surprised when I walked out of my bedroom and they were there. Parties in general (especially French ones) can be a bit exhausting for me because its like a 4 hour long oral French test. They talk really fast (faster now that I've been here a while and am getting better) and there are ususally a few different conversations going on at once. Plus I had a full day yesterday- I will describe a bit further on- and was tired to begin with. lol They kept offering me wine which I politely declined until after the meal. I thought falling asleep on the dinner table probably wouldn't be very polite and I figured if I drank it after the meal then I wouldn't have to wait very long before they left. haha- Wrong. It was funny though because it kept reminding me of my first night in France. We ate pizza and champagne with the aunt and uncle that first night and I was soooo tired after my long flight and walking around Aix twice. lol It was almost the same situation- me being acutely aware of exactly how far I was from my bed and me zoning in and out of the French coversations. Except this time I was more comfortable and more ready to join in. All the same, I definitely thought back to that first night and smiled. It seems so long ago.
The reason I was tired: long day with Ashley. After class, Ashley and I hung out at my French house, got some lunch and then went to talk to Eric- our jewlery shop owner friend- for a while. Eric waved hello to us as we entered (I was careful not to wave to him) and we chit chatted for a while. He wanted to know how our Barcelona trip went. He had given us shopping tips before we left, so I was sure to tell him that we hit up all the stores he had suggested. Ashley had a project for her business class that required that she interviewed a business owner in Aix, so she asked him questions while I looked at the jewlery. I love his shop. Because I am a jewlery freak anyways, its like a little piece of heaven for me. He makes each piece by hand. Did I ever mention that he has some celebrity clients? Sharon Stone, John Malcovitch and the Queen of Sweden. No joke. haha and me- I bought a necklace from here after the first time I went in. After a good conversation, we left and went grocery shopping. Afterwards I worked on my computer for a while.
After typing that, I realize that does not sound like I did that much. Just take my word for it that it was a full day. Wow, this post doesn't seem so interesting. Let me share a few gems from my archeology class to redeem this post.
Our archeology teacher asks "What do we get at night?"
The Americans (genuinely trying) respond, "Drinks??!?!"
Teacher's desired response- the moon.
A phone goes off in class. Archeology teacher tells student whose phone rang, "Thatz not the first time. Next time, itz a finger."
On the subject of cave art: the slide showing is a picture of a hybrid creature. Half bison, half man.
"If you see such guy in the street, you come find me. Phone me immediately."
Archeology teacher asks us to the characteristics of the bison guy. One student offers the the animal has "tusks." Archeology teacher looks confused. Five minutes later he goes "OH, TUSKS!!! I heard toast. I was thinking breakfast."
Hahaha- I don't even remember the exact context of this one. Maybe on the topic of how nature grows over archeological remains.
"Yes? Mushrooms popped up...(does a boddy wiggle) smurfs er-merged? (emerged)
a few minutes later... in a very serious tone-
"Yes, the smurfs are not the friends of the archeologists. I hate the smurfs."
I'm still working on putting up those pictures- should be coming at ya shortly. Much love!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
le 6 mars
I never anticipated the day where I would walk away from a group of boys and feel genuinely guilty that I didn't kiss each of them goodbye. When I signed up for study abroad, I was fully ready to embrace a new culture- I just didn't figure it would be so literally.
Stupid bissou. Making me feel like a fool.
France is going well- I am happy to be "home" from Spain. It was thoroughly exhausting and amazing. Many good memories and pretty pictures to share. They should be posted soon.
Tonight I went bowling with Maxime. It was fun- I was doing well for a while but then started slacking. I blame the pressure of representing my country. Each time, I would tell myself "This one is for America." Ok, maybe not. The kids were nice but it was hard to break into the group because of the langauge barrier. They asked me to go dancing with them afterwards but I was tired so I headed home. Hence my "do i kiss all of you?" moment. You have to kiss each of them twice. Always awkward to intiate it to boys too.
I watched trials for a Europe wide talent show with Guillome. We laughed at the contestants- Guillome told me that France hadn't won in a long, long time. After seeing their final choice, I understand why.
All I have for today- too tired. Much love
Stupid bissou. Making me feel like a fool.
France is going well- I am happy to be "home" from Spain. It was thoroughly exhausting and amazing. Many good memories and pretty pictures to share. They should be posted soon.
Tonight I went bowling with Maxime. It was fun- I was doing well for a while but then started slacking. I blame the pressure of representing my country. Each time, I would tell myself "This one is for America." Ok, maybe not. The kids were nice but it was hard to break into the group because of the langauge barrier. They asked me to go dancing with them afterwards but I was tired so I headed home. Hence my "do i kiss all of you?" moment. You have to kiss each of them twice. Always awkward to intiate it to boys too.
I watched trials for a Europe wide talent show with Guillome. We laughed at the contestants- Guillome told me that France hadn't won in a long, long time. After seeing their final choice, I understand why.
All I have for today- too tired. Much love
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Spain Recap- started in Spain, finished in France
CORRECTIONS TO THE LAST HURRIED BLOG
Montjuic is the name of the hill overlooking the city that we climbed up in Barcelona to get to the fortress type thing. Poble Espanyol is the name of the Spanish village that we skipped. Also, funny story about climbing the hill- we discovered that the behavior of construction workers is universal. There is a lot of construction going on around the fortress and as the three of us climbed the hill, all work stopped and we got many "hola senioritas" as we walked. It was hilarious. Our personal favorite was this man in a mini bulldozer. He smiled and waved at us, honked his horn twice, swiveled his machine left and right and then raised the claw to make it wave at us. He then honked this other horn that no joke sounded like the cat calling whistle you make- roo roo- type. I guess we could have taken offense, but was rather endearing. We joked that the Spaniards took flirting to new levels by having it built into their machinary. We laughed because ALL of the workers had something to say to the three girls walking up the very tall hill.
Seville activities: we paddle boated on the river, saw a bull ring called La Maestranza and learned about bull fighters (bullfighting season doesn't happen until april, so we couldn't see a show even if we wanted to- and after learning about it, we didnt want to), saw the third largest cathedral in the world called Cathedral de Sevilla and the belltower attatched called La Giralda (btw it was the largest Gothic cathedral- the actual motivation for the architects, i kid you not, was "let's build a cathedral so big that the rest of the world thinks we're crazy," the tour told us so), saw a beautiful palace called Reales Alcazares that had some awesome gardens and walked around Seville and ate gilatos. It was nice. At first I was a little hard on Seville because it was under construction a lot and it was similar to Aix, except Aix is more quaint and adorable. But Seville with its sunshine eventually won me over. I loved the bull right. Ashley and I went right when the sun was starting to set and took the last tour of the day. The guide was awesome and Ashley and I asked her so many of our bullfighting questions that it was almost like a one-on- one tour. Very cool. Paddle boating was funny too. Ashley let me steer for a moment and we started heading towards the side of the river where there were a ton of people laying out. A group of Italian (? maybe Spanish) boys started yelling at us and pointing to the other side of the river. Seeing as how a large group of foreign guys were yelling at me in a language I didn't know, I freaked and Ashley laughed- she turned the boat more towards the center and we kept going. There was also a moment when Ashley and I decided to get to the other side of the river as a large tour boat was coming forward. I got nervous and thought that we couldn't get out of the way fast enough. Again, Ashley laughed and we safely made it to the other side. It was a funny moment though- paddle boats don't move very fast, no matter how hard you peddle so here we are peddeling furiously (in the path of a giant tour boat) trying to quickly move to the other side.
Other Seville moments: we met up with Mike and Inyego (don't know how to spell his name... Mike, the Brit explained the pronounciation as "Something you say to your mates when you want to go in the pub... in ye go" haha which cracked us up cause we would never say that). It was so much fun hanging out with them. The guys were sweet and we were sad to part with them. Mike cracked me up with all of his British phrases, On the phone with me he told me to "drop a bell" when we were ready later that night. Drop a bell?? It means give someone a call. He also kept saying he had to buy something for his mum. He had many memorable phrases, but I'm forgetting them now.
We endured an 11- yes 11- hour bus ride back to Aix. We were all testy and irratable and badly in need of showers and fresh clothes. Living out of a backpack (sidenote to Aunt Char and the girls who went to FLA with me as well as those who saw how much I packed for that week- I USED ONLY MY TINY BACKPACK FOR THIS TRIP! ONE WEEK WITH ONLY A BACKPACK) is extremely difficult. I feel that I have challenged myself to new levels after accomplishing one week with such a limited wardrobe. We all missed France on the trip- our host families and French food. Not to mention not living out of a backpack which means fresh towels and clothes. Oh yes, France is great. And it truly feels like home. Not to say that I don't have my moments where I long for the blessed US of A. But relatively speaking, France is my home. It's rough speaking French again. It's funny how much you can forget in a week. I'll get it back though.
Alright, this is the end of my notes on the Spain trip- next vacation: Italy.
Thats all for now
Montjuic is the name of the hill overlooking the city that we climbed up in Barcelona to get to the fortress type thing. Poble Espanyol is the name of the Spanish village that we skipped. Also, funny story about climbing the hill- we discovered that the behavior of construction workers is universal. There is a lot of construction going on around the fortress and as the three of us climbed the hill, all work stopped and we got many "hola senioritas" as we walked. It was hilarious. Our personal favorite was this man in a mini bulldozer. He smiled and waved at us, honked his horn twice, swiveled his machine left and right and then raised the claw to make it wave at us. He then honked this other horn that no joke sounded like the cat calling whistle you make- roo roo- type. I guess we could have taken offense, but was rather endearing. We joked that the Spaniards took flirting to new levels by having it built into their machinary. We laughed because ALL of the workers had something to say to the three girls walking up the very tall hill.
Seville activities: we paddle boated on the river, saw a bull ring called La Maestranza and learned about bull fighters (bullfighting season doesn't happen until april, so we couldn't see a show even if we wanted to- and after learning about it, we didnt want to), saw the third largest cathedral in the world called Cathedral de Sevilla and the belltower attatched called La Giralda (btw it was the largest Gothic cathedral- the actual motivation for the architects, i kid you not, was "let's build a cathedral so big that the rest of the world thinks we're crazy," the tour told us so), saw a beautiful palace called Reales Alcazares that had some awesome gardens and walked around Seville and ate gilatos. It was nice. At first I was a little hard on Seville because it was under construction a lot and it was similar to Aix, except Aix is more quaint and adorable. But Seville with its sunshine eventually won me over. I loved the bull right. Ashley and I went right when the sun was starting to set and took the last tour of the day. The guide was awesome and Ashley and I asked her so many of our bullfighting questions that it was almost like a one-on- one tour. Very cool. Paddle boating was funny too. Ashley let me steer for a moment and we started heading towards the side of the river where there were a ton of people laying out. A group of Italian (? maybe Spanish) boys started yelling at us and pointing to the other side of the river. Seeing as how a large group of foreign guys were yelling at me in a language I didn't know, I freaked and Ashley laughed- she turned the boat more towards the center and we kept going. There was also a moment when Ashley and I decided to get to the other side of the river as a large tour boat was coming forward. I got nervous and thought that we couldn't get out of the way fast enough. Again, Ashley laughed and we safely made it to the other side. It was a funny moment though- paddle boats don't move very fast, no matter how hard you peddle so here we are peddeling furiously (in the path of a giant tour boat) trying to quickly move to the other side.
Other Seville moments: we met up with Mike and Inyego (don't know how to spell his name... Mike, the Brit explained the pronounciation as "Something you say to your mates when you want to go in the pub... in ye go" haha which cracked us up cause we would never say that). It was so much fun hanging out with them. The guys were sweet and we were sad to part with them. Mike cracked me up with all of his British phrases, On the phone with me he told me to "drop a bell" when we were ready later that night. Drop a bell?? It means give someone a call. He also kept saying he had to buy something for his mum. He had many memorable phrases, but I'm forgetting them now.
We endured an 11- yes 11- hour bus ride back to Aix. We were all testy and irratable and badly in need of showers and fresh clothes. Living out of a backpack (sidenote to Aunt Char and the girls who went to FLA with me as well as those who saw how much I packed for that week- I USED ONLY MY TINY BACKPACK FOR THIS TRIP! ONE WEEK WITH ONLY A BACKPACK) is extremely difficult. I feel that I have challenged myself to new levels after accomplishing one week with such a limited wardrobe. We all missed France on the trip- our host families and French food. Not to mention not living out of a backpack which means fresh towels and clothes. Oh yes, France is great. And it truly feels like home. Not to say that I don't have my moments where I long for the blessed US of A. But relatively speaking, France is my home. It's rough speaking French again. It's funny how much you can forget in a week. I'll get it back though.
Alright, this is the end of my notes on the Spain trip- next vacation: Italy.
Thats all for now
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
sevilla time
hi all-
quick review of yesterday and then on to todays events...
YESTERDAY
Still in Barcelona. We started out the day, slow as usual. We caught the metro and went to the Spanish village at the top of a huge hill. We didn´t feel like going in so we opted to head to the castle at the top of a mountain. Wow, I know I´m currently lacking proper names for these places. I have to hurry though, so I´ll correct this all later. The castle turned out to be more of a fortress but it was cool all the same. It offered a spectacular view over all of Barcelona. We laughed cause we thought we had done well in really covering the entire city... turns out it spanned way further than we had initially thought. No matter. I felt like I really saw a lot of important sites from the bus tour. It is entirely possible that with a felt tip pen we might have been able to doctor up our bus passes so that they were extended one more day. It´s a distinct possiblity. Anyways, we took some pictures then took a bus down back into the city. Ashley and Amy headed to the Picaso Museum, and me, all museumed out decided to people watch at the port. I bought a gilato and chilled out. I took some really cool pictures and loved watching the different people. So many different nationalities represented. I hopped back on the tour bus and rode back to the hostel. It was a great moment- the sun was setting and I got have my final moment sitting on the top of the bus. Ashley laughed at how much I loved riding that stupid bus. After that, we chilled at the hostel then went out for a tapas feast. I do mean feast. Though all the food was tiny, it was great and we all shared. And of course, sangria graced our table. It was a nice night. We plan on going back when we hit up Barcelona on the final night.
Seville
We took a plane early this morning to Seville. Our hostel is awesome. Seriously, I could get used to this life. Everyone here is young and open to meeting new people. I´ve never encountered so many nationalities in my life. You never know where the person sitting next to you is from. We had a lazy day. Sleep deprived after the whirlwind that was Barcelona, Ashley and I slept in the hostel and then got food and walked to the river and basked in the sun. We´ve yet to really discover the pretty part of Seville yet, but we will. We enjoyed the weather- it was so great. I wore my yoga capris and a camisole... the three of us sat at the water and wrote in our journals and joked around. Because our hostel ROCKS, they´re having a dinner here tonight and then maybe an activity afterwards. We also plan on going out. I really wish I could explain this atmosphere- music is playing, its an open floor plan and I can look up and see the other rooms. There´s a rooftop terrace, mod decor with a lot of wood and candles. Cool place with even cooler people. I´m psyched to be here.
Alright- gotta get ready. I hope you all know that I am continually mocked for my obsession with blogging. I sacrifice myself for all of you. lol no, but its true. Tell Ashley to be nice. haha
much love- you´ll be hearing from me soon.
quick review of yesterday and then on to todays events...
YESTERDAY
Still in Barcelona. We started out the day, slow as usual. We caught the metro and went to the Spanish village at the top of a huge hill. We didn´t feel like going in so we opted to head to the castle at the top of a mountain. Wow, I know I´m currently lacking proper names for these places. I have to hurry though, so I´ll correct this all later. The castle turned out to be more of a fortress but it was cool all the same. It offered a spectacular view over all of Barcelona. We laughed cause we thought we had done well in really covering the entire city... turns out it spanned way further than we had initially thought. No matter. I felt like I really saw a lot of important sites from the bus tour. It is entirely possible that with a felt tip pen we might have been able to doctor up our bus passes so that they were extended one more day. It´s a distinct possiblity. Anyways, we took some pictures then took a bus down back into the city. Ashley and Amy headed to the Picaso Museum, and me, all museumed out decided to people watch at the port. I bought a gilato and chilled out. I took some really cool pictures and loved watching the different people. So many different nationalities represented. I hopped back on the tour bus and rode back to the hostel. It was a great moment- the sun was setting and I got have my final moment sitting on the top of the bus. Ashley laughed at how much I loved riding that stupid bus. After that, we chilled at the hostel then went out for a tapas feast. I do mean feast. Though all the food was tiny, it was great and we all shared. And of course, sangria graced our table. It was a nice night. We plan on going back when we hit up Barcelona on the final night.
Seville
We took a plane early this morning to Seville. Our hostel is awesome. Seriously, I could get used to this life. Everyone here is young and open to meeting new people. I´ve never encountered so many nationalities in my life. You never know where the person sitting next to you is from. We had a lazy day. Sleep deprived after the whirlwind that was Barcelona, Ashley and I slept in the hostel and then got food and walked to the river and basked in the sun. We´ve yet to really discover the pretty part of Seville yet, but we will. We enjoyed the weather- it was so great. I wore my yoga capris and a camisole... the three of us sat at the water and wrote in our journals and joked around. Because our hostel ROCKS, they´re having a dinner here tonight and then maybe an activity afterwards. We also plan on going out. I really wish I could explain this atmosphere- music is playing, its an open floor plan and I can look up and see the other rooms. There´s a rooftop terrace, mod decor with a lot of wood and candles. Cool place with even cooler people. I´m psyched to be here.
Alright- gotta get ready. I hope you all know that I am continually mocked for my obsession with blogging. I sacrifice myself for all of you. lol no, but its true. Tell Ashley to be nice. haha
much love- you´ll be hearing from me soon.
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