2 weeks to go!

04.29.09

This past weekend was hands down one of my favorites so far in France. Don’t get me wrong, I loveeee traveling, but it was so great just to relax after our long adventure. Mare and I basically spent the entire weekend at Maddie and Laurens, just hanging out. Saturday we made tacos, could life get any better? This weekend, the majority of my program is headed to Barcelona, Spain. I decided not to go, since I already went to meet up with my girls abroad. Lauren and Maddie are not going either, so we will basically have a repeat of last weekend, with a little studying for finals mixed in. Vero informed me yesterday that she ‘might’ be gone Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and return Sunday. Her ‘might’ quickly became affirmative, but she said that she would make me meals for every night she would be gone. She usually makes way too much food, thus Mads, Lauren, and I can hopefully have a feast!

Last night Lily and I rode the tram home and an adorable British lady in her mid twenty’s started talking to us. She had just arrived to Montpellier last Saturday, and was so happy to hear ENGLISH. We were able to comfort her, tell her we have been living here for about 3 months, improving, and loving France! It is crazy to think that we were in her exact situation such a short time ago; trying to meet friends, yet now we are able to help out and give advice.

2 weeks from Friday my parents come to Montpellier! I am soo anxious for them to come and can’t wait for them to meet the fam. I told Vero they were coming, and she seemed excited! Let’s just hope she doesn’t plan an extravagant dinner out with Pierre for the same day. The plan so far with the rents is to stay in Montpellier the first night, then train it out to Avignon for a night, and then make it up to PARIS! This will be my mom’s first time to Europe, and for both, their first time to France, so I really hope they enjoy it!

Before I can get too excited though, I have to get through my finals! I have my two optional class finals (Civilizaton of the South and Culture et Patrimone), in which the final is definitely not optional. We were given an overview of what we need to study for one, but not the other. We have our last class tomorrow, so hopefully we can get things cleared up before next Thursday! As for my other classes, we have a 3 hour Comprehension Ecrit final the following Monday, a 2 hour Grammaire Final on Tuesday, followed by a 1 hour Comprehension Orale, where we will listen to a reading and answer questions. I still have no idea where my grade stands in any class, but hopefully the fact that I am one of the few who goes everyday will help!

Until then, BIS!

Part deux- GREECE!

04.24.09-GREECE!

Athens. Santorini. (April 13-18) Our flight was incredibly nice and relaxing, we were even served lunch! We arrived in Athens, took an hour and a half bus ride in attempt to find our hostel. We met a really cute woman who lives in Athens, but is originally from England, who explained to us how to maneuver around and where to buy ferry tickets. Even with her help, we got a little lost, and scored a taxi. Athens is so lively, and there is a ton to see and do! After meeting up with our other friends (Mare, Lexi, and Lauren) we made our way to the Acropolis and Parthenon. It was crazy to see something soooo old, and still intact. The views from atop were once again incredible of the city, and we stayed until it began to get dark.

We caught an early ferry to Santorini in the morning, leaving the port around 7:30am. It took 7 hours, so we arrived around 3pm and were greeted by the adorable family of Villa Alizia. The women who owned it were so adorable, and only spoke a little English. They were hilarious and would smile franticly at us from afar, and even made us breakfast in the morning. I don’t think any of us could believe we were in Greece, it was so different and I could live there in an instant. The picturesque views, incredible sunsets, and delicious GYROS (we quickly became obsessed with lamb and baklava), were only a few of the great wonders of Santorini. Our hostel was located in Fira, the capital city of the Island, and where most of the action was. That day, we took a boat ride out to a volcano and to some hot springs. The views from the volcano were amazing, minus the fact it started raining, but it cleared up quick! Maddie, Nick, and Lauren jumped into the ‘hot spring’ from our boat, in all of their clothes! We were not informed we were going to be able to swim, so I did not prepare/dress appropriately! They claimed it was freeeezing and that the hot spring was maybe near the means of ‘warm’. We were also able to take a two hour donkey ride around the city, thanks to our friends at Villa Alizia. It was so much fun, and at various points our donkey leader, decided to gallop away, kind of terrifying, but ridiculously fun. The night life was hopping on the island and it was great to catch up with our other friends and hear about their adventures. We rented ATV’s the next day, an incredible deal for only 15 euros for an entire day.

We explored 3 different beaches, including two black and one red sand beach. Driving the ATV’s may have been my favorite thing, even though they did not go that fast. We were able to see amazing views of the coast, and it was so easy to get from place to place. Our plans were interrupted when our ferry to Ios was cancelled, due to an ‘accident’ with another boat. Our delightful ladies at our hotel, told us we could stay another night, which was a relief! I’m so happy we had another day in Santorini, where we were able to explore Oia, and see the sunset (where they filmed sisterhood of the traveling pants!) and lay out on the beach. We actually all got a little color, since it was incredibly nice! Every dinner we had in there was absolutely delicious. We tried all of the Greek specialties, even the flaming cheese and ouzo! Santorini was incredible; I don’t think I can say it enough. AND I neeed to go back to Greece sometime/hopefully more than once when I am older. We took an overnight ferry back to Athens, where we got in around 6am. Only problem was that we could not check in our hotel until 10am, so we dropped off our bags and grabbed starbucks and chatted for a few hours. We split up after we checked in, since a few of us wanted to shop, a few to see the new Olympic stadium, and a couple to nap. I was involved in the shopping crew, and definitely did quite the shopping! There was so much to see and look at in all of the stores and even down the streets. We ended our trip with a delicious family style greek meal, and got a few hours of sleep before our adventure began in the morning! Waking up at 3am and getting home at 3am, was not ideal, but we did it! Overall, I am still incredibly exhausted, but I had the time of my life, with awesome new friends! I am very sad it is over; it literally went by so fast. Hopefully I will get to venture back to Italy and Greece one day!

Being back in France is a little crazy, since we haven’t spoken French in over 2 weeks and it seems like we have been gone for around a month. I was greeted by Arthur when I arrived home with 3 bisous, and it was great to see the fam! Vero came home later, but I was greeted first by her best friend, Katrine, who is in town from Strasbourg for the week. She is gorgeous, straight outta Vogue, and is very friendly. Vero told me Katrine is dating a man who doesn’t speak French, but only English and German. She doesn’t speak German, thus they speak English. This seems a little crazy, but I guess they are teaching each other! Quick update on Vero. She is now dating a man named Pierre, hence why she is hardly home! I met him before I left for break, and he seems nice, so I’m happy! I have received delicious meals so far this week through from her friend Katrine, since Vero has been out on some hot dates. ALSO. I half got scolded today. I was the last one to leave the house and locked both locks, out of habit. I somehow managed to forget that the boys don’t have the key to the top lock, thus they were locked out of the house! I felt bad, but it was an honest mistake, so nothing I could really do!
This weekend should be relaxing, since I’m staying here, and hopefully saving a little money! The weather is supposed to be nice, so hopefully we can spend the weekend at the beach!

CIAO my loves!
… I officially have one month left in FRANCE!

Trip of a Lifetime-Italia

04.22.09

WE finally made it home! 24 hours of traveling, all modes of transportation taken, including a broken down train, but we arrived! Our last train from Nice to Montpellier literally broke down 2 hours into the ride, and we were stuck in the middle of NOWHERE France, in the dark. We were a little bit scared, first of all since it was getting dark and we were stuck in a forest. AND our train kept making bizarre creaking noises; basically we were partaking in a new horror film! 2 and a half hours later, we somehow miraculously started moving after the problem was fixed, and arrived home by 2:30 am. Other than this minor flop, this was the best trip/SPRING BREAK I have ever had!

We (me, Maddie, and Nick) started our wonderful adventure in Monte Carlo, with a 3 hour layover to explore. It is seriously unlike any where I have ever seen; kind of surreal. Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, and we literally walked the entire width within a few minutes! We tried to check our bags, but since the train station is so small, lockers did not exist here. Thus, we had to truck our bags across town looking like MAJOR tourists, but life was good. It was gorgeous weather and we were starving, so we opted to find a little sandwich shop. This was not as easy as you may think. We started walking by the shore, only spotting huge yachts, expensive seafood joints, and pricy designer labels. We finally came across the local ‘mall’, where a giant escalator took us down to find a gorgeous shopping complex, while chandeliers covering the ceiling. We found a sandwich joint and took them to the park to enjoy the weather and people watching. Every blade of grass was cut to perfection and all the locals were strolling around the park in their Sunday’s best accompanied by their chic little dogs. Seriously, this place was nuts! Afterwards, we hiked up to a palace (with luggage in hand) and got a beautiful view of the city. Milan was our next destination, and we couldn’t wait to arrive!

Milano. (April 4-5) Definitely not the prettiest city I have ever seen, but it was a great place for us to start our adventures! We were able to stay with Maddie’s friend, Emily, which was extremely convenient and so nice. The city is much more industrial, and has tons of great shopping. Most importantly, the duomo (Cathedral) in Milan is hands down worth going there for. It is the thrid largest Catherdral in the world, and is seriously incredible. We were able to climb to the top, and walk on the entire roof and explore. The architecture is extremely intricate, simply stunning. Seeing it in the night was even more incredible, with its while color jumping off the night sky. We dined on some tasty gelato, and made a great dinner Sunday. A delicious mozzarella and tomato salad, chicken and potatoes, Italian wine, and a fruit salad. It was actually quite fun to cook, since I am so used to Vero making me dinner! I was also able to meet up with my friend Tara for dinner and gelato one night, which was great to catch up and see her in her city!

Venezia. (April 6-7) This was definitely one of my favorite places we visited. Such an incredible city, with around 420 islands all connected by bridges. It was everything I imagined, and so much more. It is a little strange since there are no cars, and their only form of transportation is by boat. It was funny to wake up and see the delivery men on their boats delivering goodies to different shops. We were able to spend two days here, which were so enjoyable. The weather was perfect, beautiful and sunny. We roamed the streets for hours; there was so much to see! Incredible mask shops, gondola men all about, gorgeous views, so many canals, and fun window shopping. We even scored a gondola ride, SO MUCH FUN! Our gondolier (Lucas) was a cute Italian man (who even sang to us!) and pointed out various sites around the city. We watched the sunset on a dock by our hostel that night, and it could not have been a more perfect day. We even scored an adorable dinner overlooking a main canal, where we ate their specialty of risotto. Delicious! I am in LOVE with Venice, and would love to go back.

Firenze. (April 8-9) We arrived in Florence mid afternoon and found our hostel after a minor detour, getting lost around the duomo. Florence’s duomo is the fourth largest in the world, and quite incredible indeed. We walked all the way up it (484 steps!) and got an incredible view of the city. We met up with one of Nick’s friends who is studying there who took us around to a few hot spots. We went to Michelangelo’s lookout point, with yet again another beautiful view of the entire city and we were able to see the duomo in all of its glory. He also took us to Vivolvi, a gelato shop, which was definitely the best gelato I had in Italy. I tried chocolate mousse and carmeled pear, soo yummy! We went to two different museums, with the Uffizi being the first. After waiting in a painfully longgg line (2 and a half hours!) we went inside and went straight to exploring. I really wanted to see the painting the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, which we found quickly. It is huge in person and is quite beautiful. Soon after, we ventured off to the famous leather market of Florence, where there were TONS of vendors everyone. They were selling every color scarf imaginable, leather bags, silk ties, random souvenirs, and it went on forever! Me and Maddie went home with a few too many scarves, but we couldn’t resist! We also went to the Galleria, where the infamous David is. The statue is seriously incredible, and huge! Seriously he is around 12ft tall! There is an immense amount of detail, you can literally see all of his veins popping out. There wasn’t much else to see in the gallery, but David was definitely worth going to see. We had a really interesting dinner that night too, someplace Nick’s friend recommended we try. We went into this cute artsy bar, ordered a drink (we all got Chianti, the specialty) and then got a free buffet of food! It was interesting since it was not Italian food, but it was delicious. Around 3 dozen different plates of vegetables, pastas, and various appetizers. It was a very fun and enjoyable way to eat! We were able to explore around the Old Bridge at night, there was even a full moon. Florence was definitely a close second to Venice, and I wish we would have had another day, since it had RIDICULOUS shopping. I even think it was better than Milan, which is supposedly the fashion capital of the world?

ROMA. (April 10-12) We arrived on Good Friday, were a little exhausted, but excited to see this great city! By this city, we were masters of the Italian lingo. And by masters, I mean we had three words perfected. Grazie, Prego, and tres (the number three). The meaning of prego was quite hysterical to all of us, since it seems appropriate to add it into any conversation. It can mean can I help you, you’re welcome, and probably oh so much more. Our hostel was kind of in the china town of rome, but was in a really good location. We had a few crazy Austailians who ‘lived at the hostel’, but other than them, it was a great place. The showers there were great and we even had a kitchen. Our new friend/manager of the place Azad, was adorable and always checking in on us to see where we were going next. He made me feel a little inadequate, since we found out he can speak NINE languages, including ones like Polish and Hindu. This fact kind of amazed me and makes me want to learn another asap. We went to the Colloseum that day, but to our surprise it was closing early. The pope was going to give a procession that night from the Colloseum, and people were already lining up outside at 5pm. After grabbing a quick dinner, we headed to the action ourselves. We were able to see the Pope from afar! His mass was given in 5 different languages, with French being the second and English being the third. The English voice, was a mix inbetween a Scottish lad and a southerner. It was difficult to understand, thus French was easier. Kind of ironic. That night we watched Gladiator in our hostel (cliché I know, when in rome), and prepared ourselves for an early night. We were headed to Vatican City in the morning and wanted to get there before it opened to avoid the lines! We took the metro, got there and only had to wait around thirty minutes, and even scored ourselves a free tour. Vatican City is the smallest county in the world, pretty crazy since we visted the second smallest as well. We toured St Peter’s Basilica, which is hands down the most gorgeous church I have ever seen. It looked as if there were gorgeous frescos all over, but to our surprise these frescos, were actually mosaics! Thus, the reason why you are able to take flash photography inside. We also saw Michealangelo’s famous statue of Pieta, translated to pity in English. It is now behind a bullet proof glass wall because in 1972 one man claimed he was Jesus, and smashed the statue fifty times with a hammer. Miraculously all the pieces were returned, since the pope made a public announcement to the city. We went to the Vatican Museums after, where the Sistine Chapel is. Walking through the ‘museum’ was truly insane. I have never been so in awe of the amazing amounts of detail covering the ceiling, floor, everywhere! The Sistine chapel was unbelievable as well, but absurdly overwhelming! You could hardly move, people were literally back to back. We soon found out this was the WORST day to be in the Vatican City, as our tour guide told us. The Museums and the Basicalla are closed Good Friday, then on Easter, then on Monday, HENSE everyone tries to go Saturday. We were able to see the Trevi fountain at night, we threw in a coin to make sure we returned to Rome one day. The fountain is gorgeous, especially at night.

The next morning(EASTER) it was off to the Colleseum again, bright and early hoping it would not ‘close’ this time. We all dressed springy, showing off a little Easter cheer. Once again I did not dress appropriately for the weather, but it was all in all good. We purchased our own personal tour guides aka audio guides and went off to exploring. The coliseum is amazing, and used to hold around 40,000-70,000 people for Gladiator matches. They would also have trap doors, where animals would jump out to distract them. We made ourselves a cute little Easter dinner, and even bought an Italian Easter cake. We saw people buying these ‘strange’ things at every grocery store in every city we visited, so we figured we should give it a try. It was delicious, and supposedly in the shape of a dove. We had leftovers, and brought it to the train station in the morning, and ate it while we waited for our train to the airport. Two Italian women saw us chowing down on their Easter tradition (mind you we were all wearing ‘Italia’ shirts), and were uncontrollably laughing. We stated cracking up ourselves, since I’m sure we looked ridiculous. Overall, Rome was great, minus the crazy amount of tourists!

Greece to come, soon!