More Scandinavian adventures

Day 2 in Stockholm started off with some sleeping in for once in our spring break trip. It felt great and definitely was a nice break from waking up at 3 or 4 am. We had our breakfast at the hostel of just a croissant, orange juice and fruit and we were on our way to do some more exploring around Stockholm.

We walked around Gamla Stan and went through the Gardens and the area around the Royal Palace. It was cool to see the guards and the fountains that went along with the Palace. We ate lunch at this small cafe where I tried this "chokolatebal" which is exactly as it sounds, a ball of chocolate! After passing through and visiting more of the Old Town we went to the trendy district of Soldermalm where we saw this beautiful canal that was still covered in ice.... pretty weird to see since it was about 45 degrees outside but it was really awesome. It was a sunny day so we went exploring and took lots of pictures of the different islands. Since they don't check any tickets on the public transport, we decided to go bus hopping to see more of Stockholm then we could on foot. We explored more of Soldermalm and of Djurgarden, where we were able to see the Skansen fairgrounds, which is the largest open-air market/folk musueum in the world.

In front of the icy canal

The view from Djurgaden to the rest of Stockholm was amazing, especially seeing the white swans and wildlife. Although it was a little chilly, we had so many layers on that we felt fine. Once it got dark though we decided to go back to our hostel to warm up and take a nap before going back out for dinner. We found another traditional Swedish place were we enjoyed some more Swedish meatballs and we tried reindeer! It tasted a little like a mix between venison and a steak but it was delicious.  After dinner we just decided to stay in and hang out at the hostel were we met some really interesting Austrailans, Italians and some Germans. That is oneof the great things about staying in a hostel is you are able to meet some many cool people from different nationalities. We had a very early flight, having to wake up at 4 so staying in probably was a good choice since we were off to Copenhagen the next day!

Once we arrived in Copenhagen we were really exhuasted/hungry. We found our hostel which turned out to be a really cute bed and breakfast in the central of Copenhagen on the main pedestrian shopping street of Frederiksberggade. The lady that owned it was really nice and gave us some great recommendations of stuff to do and places to eat. However we felt like eating some American food so went to the Hard Rock Cafe that was about a 5 minute walk from our hostel. The food was as you would expect and but it was kinda nice not to eat as exotic as we had been earlier that week. We walked down Frederiksberggade and found a huge LEGO store!

Famous Marina

 As Denmark is the home of Legos, they are quite popular there and apparently they have a gigantic Legoland park outside of Copenhagen, but sadly we didn't have to the time nor the money to go see it. We also walked around to see the Tivoli Amusement Park, which is the oldest amusement park in the world. Sadly it was closed because it wasn't warm enough yet but it was neat to see. We found one of the most famous and photographed marina's in Copenhagen so we spent some time just hanging out near there until we ate some Japanese food for dinner. Since we took a good 3 hour nap during the day we couldn't see as much as we wanted too, but we ended our night with some Pelsforth beer which is Danish and delicious, just hanging out in our hostel. A little lame but it had been a loooong week!

Rosenborg Castle and Gardens

The next day was our last official day of spring break so we still had a lot that we had to see in Copenhagen. We had a typical Danish breakfast at a restaurant which included eggs, a strange kind of bacon, fruit, picked herring (didn't try itsince it was breakfast) and bread with lingonberry jam. It was so much food since most Danes eat a much bigger breakfast than other Europeans. It is nice that everyone in Copenhagen spoke English but I also looked up someDanish words just to help me out! It was a great meal and then we were off on our day. We decided to rent bikes which was both really fun and really scary since we both hadn't ridden bikes in so long. Copenhagen is ranked #2 in Europe in terms of bike usage and they even have their own designated lanes in traffic, complete with turn signals and stoplights for the bikers. We biked around the city centre and found these amazing botanical gardens hiding behind this normal house... ate some "pigs in a blanket" at a 7-11 and then went to the Rosenberg Castle which had some of the most amazing gardens. We didn't have the time to go inside, but it was nice just to relax outside the gardens and go around the outside of the Castle. It was built in the 1600's by the king at the time but it has been virtually untouched since then! After the gardens we biked to the Little Mermaid statue,since Hans Christian Anderson who wrote it was from Copenhagen.

Little Mermaid

It was right on the harbor surrounded by rocky beaches which was really amazing to see. We also saw some other tourist sites such as the Opera house, the Royal Library and also the National Art Museum. That night we wanted to eat on the Marina so we ate at an amazing Danish restaurant that was actually outside. Although it was freezing, we felt fine because they had high powered heat lamps and huge fleece blankets that we wore over our clothes. It was an experience but it was fun to be outside in the cold with that many layers on people watching! I had some lobster and some mussels, yum yum :)

Wall of Legos!

We had another chill night because we were so exhausted from biking all day and sightseeing but it was an amazing spring break with memories I will never forget!

Spring Break (part 1)

Sunday night was the start of my spring break, Europe Style!  I took the night train to Orleans, a city an hour south of France with my friend Olivier, Alexandrine and Valentina. It was a beautiful city but unfortunately we had to leave almost immediately after we got there we had to drive to Barcelona with our friend David. We drove by the Orleans cathedral though which was amazing! We were a little smashed having 5 people in a small 2 door car barely fitting 5 people but it was an adventure driving through south France on our 8 hour drive to Barcelona.

University of Barcelona

I didn’t really sleep very much, but we arrived in Barcelona at about 8 am, then checked in to our apartment and went exploring for the day. I ate some amazing tapas of mussels, mozzarella salad and fried shrimp (prawns.) The city was so beautiful but very different from Paris, from the architecture to the weather and of course the language. It was about 65 degrees and sunny which was an amazing way to start off spring break. We walked to the University of Barcelona, the main square where all of the shops were, and to Parc Guell.

Parc Guell

 It is a huge park on a hill overlooking Barcelona that a famous Spanish architect built? It is a little strange, but it looks like a mosaic/dreamland. We hung out there for a while drinking some Spanish sangria and enjoying the view and the beautiful weather. I also bought some delicious gelatto since it was so hot… what a treat! I bought a really awesome ring and a bracelet that my friend Valentina was able to barter down for me; both had cool gems and were made out of these crazy wire designs… hard to explain but they look sweet J After doing some exploring we decided to go take a nap because of the lack of sleep that we had… 3 hours later I woke up feeling not so great. We went to get a late dinner at this Spanish restaurant where I had some really interesting chicken with a salad and fries. Since we were so tired, we didn’t go out or do anything that night and Valentina and I had to leave early in the morning to go to Brussels. I wish we could have stayed in Barcelona longer, but unfortunately we left a little later for Barcelona than planned. I loved the weather, the Spanish style architecture and just the city/food otherall… but we were of to another adventure of Belgium!

Valentina and I had to wake up at the crack of dawn and after some difficulties we finally managed to navigate the Barcelona metro and airport. Our flight was delayed so we had to take a power nap in the airport, but finally we took off and landed in Brussels at aboutSince we were only there for the day, we wanted to get in as much sightseeing as possible. The weather was similar to Paris, but it was colder than Barcelona which was sad. We dropped our suitcases off at a really cool hostel in downtown Brussels and then walked around the city exploring. We got to see the Brussels Botanical Gardens, which were beautiful and the Grand Place. It is a central square in the middle of the city where there are lots of shops, city hall, museums, restaurants, cathedrals, and a mini flower market. It was beautiful and the architecture really was amazing. As Belgium is famous for its beer, chocolate, waffles, and of course French fries (they really aren’t French!) we had to try all of them! We got some fruity beer (which was delicious) and a waffle with nutella, ice cream, strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and chocolate syrup. It was more like a huge desert than anything to eat for lunch, but I was pretty impressed. After taking the break we walked to the famous Manneken Piss (the Pissing Boy) which was cool but not as big as I expected.

Some other sights that we saw included the Brussels stock exchange, Palace of Justice, and many neat museums. There was some really cool graffiti that I took lots of pictures of and lots of gay bars which surprised me. However, as a city Brussels was much better than I expected. The people were really nice and spoke French (which helped for me!), Flemish and German. After eating some Greek food for dinner since we napped too long to eat at a normal restaurant, we relaxed with a couple of the world famous beers Leffe which is even better in Belgium! The next day we had to leave for Stockholm so we hung out at the hostel café and then went to sleep.We left for Stockholm early the next morning and arrived a little nervous for some Scandinavian adventures. I don’t speak any Swedish so I looked up some phrases such as Thank you and Do you speak English but I didn’t have a big need for it as everyone spoke English fluently, but I tried to use Thank you as much as possible which is “Tak.” After getting off the plane and taking a metro “tunnelbana” to the city centre, we were extremely overwhelmed not speaking any Swedish and trying to find our hostel. Luckily this really nice woman basically walked us there which was on the island of Norrmalm. Stockholm is made up of 14 islands so unfortunately we were only able to visit about 5 of them. Our hostel was one of the coolest places I have ever stayed in! It had a mini-café/restaurant thing attached to the hostel with an outdoor patio as well. You had to take your shoes off when you entered the hostel (It’s a Swedish thing!) but it wasn’t too weird. There was about 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and a huge kitchen with a mini-fridge for each room complete with 2 stoves and sinks. In the middle was a big common room with couches, a TV and a couple Mac computers. It was pretty cheap and we met some really neat people.

After unpacking our stuff we decided to do some sightseeing. There was literally an H & M on every corner and most of the streets in the city center of Norrmalm. We ate a hotdog for lunch because they LOVE those in Scandinavia for some reason… really small bun and long hotdog was a little awkward but it works. We walked through Norrmalm and Djurgården, which is an island famous for the world’s largest folk museum, fair and zoo all in one area. We saw some beautiful buildings, fountains, and parks bordering the lake…. 

The weather was a little chilly at about 35 degrees but we wore about 5 layers so we were okay. On our long walk on the way there we saw one of the most beautiful sunrises in my life. Since Stockholm is so close to the Arctic Circle, then sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking. We went to the Vasa Museum which had the Vasa warship, which houses the world’s oldest fully recovered warship. It is from the 17^th century and the museum is housed around this giant ship. It was really amazing to see it looking almost good as new and learning about Swedish history and culture. After exploring the museum, we went to a highly rated restaurant (according to frommers.com) and gave it a try. The service was awesome... (All Scandinavian people are the nicest people I have ever met!) and we each tried Swedish meatballs and Swedish brand beer. I have tried the meatballs at Ikea (another Swedish product) but these were so delicious and creamy, with the fresh lingonberries on top. The beer was pretty good as well. After dinner we were just gonna go back and hang out at the hostel but we met these cool guys from Spain that were going out so we decided to join in. We walked around after going to the Seven-11 and getting some beer and finally found a really neat club called Sky Bar. There were about 5 different rooms with each one having different music and decoration. It was pretty fun to meet some other European guys and we danced with some Swedish people as well. We didn’t get home until late after a looong day but I was in love with Stockholm.



Swedish meatballs with ligonberries and mashed potatoes



vasa warship

Family Visits Paris (Part 2)

Gardens of Versaille

Monday I had class in the morning and evening so I couldn’t hang out with the family very much during the day. After my French class I met them at the Eiffel Tower and we were able to go out up to the second floor. Before they met me there, they were able to go up on the towers of Notre Dame, something I still have not done yet! Unfortunately though we couldn’t go any higher on the Eiffel Tower because the wait to the top was probably an hour so we just called it quits… still an amazing view though with nothing to complain about! After the Eiffel Tower I had class again and a presentation for my Global Marketing Class, but they were able to go to the Louvre and do some more exploring. One of my good friends Doug Mullins from high school was in Paris on spring break with his family so we met up at a really authentic French restaurant called Roger la Grenouille that I found online. It was the best meal that I have had in Paris so far and my family agreed! I had foie gras and this amazing steak…The first time I have ever had foie gras and although it was rich, I enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it, and it was nice to catch up with one of my old swimming friends.



Hall of Mirrors

Tuesday I had class in the morning and then we were off the Versailles! I had never been before so I was really excited! We took to RER there, which took about 40 minutes. When we got off the station at Versailles we were starving so we decided to eat some McDonald's. My family actually enjoyed it and got to use their automatic order machines which was awesome. We then walked to the front of Versailles and it was huge! I can't believe how amazing and intricate everything was. We were able to have free audioguides which was great and I got to see most of the main chateau and the gardens. My favorite part was definitely the Hall of Mirrors and the King's Bedchamber. It is just ridiculous to think of how important the King was to France and how life literally "revolved around him." We didn't get there until a little later in the afternoon so we weren't able to see Marie Antoinette's chateau and a couple other minor things, however I was quite impressed with everything that I saw. It was a beautiful day outside and I took some amzing pictures of the gardens and the chateau. After a long day at Versailles, I decided to take my family for their last meal to Leon de Bruxelles, a Belgium restaurant in Paris. The Belgium national dish is mussels and fries so of course that is what I had. They had about 20 different styles of Mussels along with other traditional dishes. We had a great last meal in Paris with lots of food and wine, and I couldn't believe a week had gone by that fast!

Wednesday was the day my family left so after class that day I was able to get some sleep. I love having people visit, but sometimes it sure is exhausting having to be a student and a tour guide at the same time. I feel so blessed that they were able to come and it really was amazing to have them here in France.

Thursday was the day after my family left so it was a little sad. At the same time however, it was nice to relax and actually get some sleep and not walk all through Paris! I hung out with my friend Evi and Nelson and made some authentic breakfast burritos with sausage, avocado, salsa, cheese, and eggs.  It was so delicious. J Then following hanging out with them I went over to Valentina’s family apartment (her family moved to Paris a couple of months ago) to make our spring break plans. I ate dinner with their family and had some home cooked food for the first time since I have been home. We booked our flights and hostels to Barcelona, Brussels, Stockholm and Copenhagen so we were really excited! It was Saint Patrick’s Day so we wanted to go out and see how Paris celebrated the traditional Irish holiday. We met up with some of her friends and went to Rue Moufftard, which is a popular bar district in the 5^th arrondisement. It was packed with people and there were so many people in the street drinking and celebrating. There were French people, Americans, British and some occasional Irish.It was a good night afterall and I met some really cool people, ended by eating some really good Greek food!

St Pauls Cathedrale

Friday after sleeping and napping for a good part of the day was spent doing some more exploring around the Bastille area. I went to “The Red Wheelbarrow” which is an English bookstore (amazing selection of books and nice just to be able to speak in English.) I got a European Guidebook to prepare for my spring break adventures and a French phrasebook to carry with me just to help out when I get confused on some words. I went to see the St.Pauls church, built in the 1500’s and it was nice just to get away for a while. After going to a neat vintage shop with designer labels such as Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vitton I met with some friends to try a new barbeque place.  The owner was born and raised in Texas and served some authentic barbeque. There was also 1 free refill on soft drinks which doesn’t exist in Paris. I am so used to just getting unlimited refills on drinks so that’s one thing I’m not so fond of. I was really impressed with the food and excited to go there again. That night I spent the night at my friend Valentina’s apartment, which was really huge compared to normal apartments! We drank wine, ate chocolate and watched “The  Next Three Days.” It was really suspenseful and actually one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time.

Saturday I was feeling pretty tired so I decided to hang out most of the day and just relax. I wanted to go see a new museum after having a good lunch at Indiana’s with my friend Valentina which is a tex/Mex steakhouse type restaurant. I had an enchilada which wasn’t as good as in the US but it was still delicious. I went to the Musee Carnavalet, which is a museum about the history of Paris. It was really interesting because they had artifacts, paintings and information about Paris until recent. It was free which made it even better and it was nice just to walk around and learn more about French History. I wasn’t in the mood to really go out so I just decided to be lazy and watch True Grit. I was surprised about how good the movie was!

Sunday I spent most of the day packing and getting ready for my spring break week, which included packing for 3 different climates! As I was flying Ryanair and other discount airlines, I had to pack extremely light because you are only allowed a small carryon bag. Before leaving however I decided to do a little more exploring around Paris since it was a beautiful day outside. I visited Eglise Saint Sulpice, made famous by the movie the Da Vinci Code. It was an amazing church that used to conduct science experiments and funny enough had a sign posted about “the absurdity of the claims made by Dan Brown about the church hosting the Priory of Scion. Then I walked to Luxembourg Gardens and was able to have a little picnic in the amazing weather. Surprisingly enough I have never been to Luxembourg Gardens even though it is seen as one of the top 10 sights of Paris. It was really beautiful with sculptures, fountains,flowers and trees. I will definitely be having some picnics there for the rest of the semester.

View from the Eiffel Tower

The family comes to Paris! (part 1)

 

On Ile de la cite!

Wednesday was the day that my family came to visit! I unfortunately had a test and a project due before they came so I spent all Tuesday night doing homework. After class Wednesday I went to their apartment to pick them up to get some lunch. Their apartment was huge compared to mine and in one of the nicest districts in Paris, the 6th right along the Seine River. It was an amazing place and luckily I stayed there most of the time that my family was here. It had 2 bedrooms and size wise was about 4 times the size of my place!My grandma, mom, and two sisters were able to come and I had an amazing week! We started Wednesday by eating at this local restaurant near their apartment and then walking around at Notre Dame and the Palais Justice. We spent about an hour inside Notre Dame because it is so beautiful... and I was glad that I could share it with my family. We were really tired; me because of no sleep because of homework and they had some bad jetlag. That night we went out to eat and then decided to get some sleep because we had a long week ahead of us!

 

Thursday we took a river cruise on the Seine after having some delicious French croissants, pain au chocolate and coffe. It was a little chilly but it was great to see the Parisian sights from the boat, plus gave my family an overview of the city. After the cruise, we went to the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero gardens, but the line for the tower was so long that we decided to wait til another day. We walked in the general area, eating the best french onion soup I have ever had at a cafe, and then we went to Les Invalides. Napoleons tomb was closed but it was beautiful to walk around the gardens and the different museums near Les Invalides. After resting for a couple minutes, we finally went to the amazing baby bottle wine/fondue place and I had a great time. We shared a meat and a cheese fondue and drank some delicious wine out of the bottles. It was cool to show my family this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and show them some different areas of Paris.

Oscar Wilde's grave

Friday was market day so we had the adventure of navigating through vendors, people yelling, and carts of food. We bought some really fresh and vegetables to cook for the cheapest prices in all of Paris and although a little overwhelming, I think my family had fun. The market takes place every Tuesday and Friday and stretches what seems to be for miles near my apartment. We met some very interesting people that were really excited to see some Americans/tourists because they don't really frequent the area that I live! After some shopping at the market, we went to a really good restaurant near Pere Lachaise and followed it up to a visit near the cheese shop to show my family the amazing cheeses of France. We walked to Pere Lachaise (One of the most famour cemetaries in the world) and visited some of the graves of some of the famous people including Oscar Wilde, Frederick Chopin, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison. Altough a little hilly it was really cool and a nice day to explore! That night we decided to cook some food that we bought from the market and we made artichokes and ratatouille :) I wanted to take my sisters out and show them some of the Parisian nightlife so I took them to the Absinthe bar near the Bastille. They had a great time trying absinthe for the first time and I took them to another bar to meet some of my friends from ABS.

Saturday we decided that we were going to do a bus tour of Paris to see some of the sights without having to walk around or take the metro. It was also nice for me so I didn't have to play tour guide all day :) We had the bus tour for an 1 1/2 and saw Place de la Concorde, the Louvre, Arc de la Triomphe, Musee d'Orsay along with many others. My family went to a Saturday vigil mass at Notre Dame while I did some homework unfortunately. They loved it but said it was kinda weird seeing people take pictures all around you! After mass we went to a restuarant called La Bouteille d'Or, or the Golden Bottle. My grandma went there 13 years ago when she visited France so it was cool to be able to go there again so much later. We had a good meal with some good wine and my sister Sarah tried escargot and loved it... so proud :)

Following dinner we went to the Arch de Triomphe, which is beautiful and lit up at night. We saw the tomb of the unknown soldier and took lots of pictures, and at the hour everynight the Eiffel Tower glitters for 5 minutes so it was awesome to see as well. We walked back on the Champs d'Elysee and saw all the famous shops, including Louis Vitton, Chanel, concept cars in Toyata, and we ate ice cream at a 3 story Haagen-Daz! Life is good.    Sunday was a day of exploring Montmarte. We went to mass at Sacre Coeur which was really cool, except for the fact that it was all in French. It wasn't bad, but the homily was kinda difficult to understand. It is such a beautiful chuch that I didn't mind too much! After walking through Sacre Coeur we walked through the artsy part of Montmarte and got to see a little market area where all the artists came to display there work. My family also got some touristy souvenirs to bring back home to their friends/significant others. We ate at this delicious restaurant right in the center of Montmarte where we could look out the window and see street dancers, singers and artists doing their work. We also went to see the Moulin Rouge and explored some more of the Red Light District. We were pretty tired after all that walking so we decided to eat something a little different near their appartment: Italian! A couple of amazing pizzas, pasta dishes and wine glasses later we were much happier and full.

When the weather gets a little better :)

Hello again! I know that I am a couple weeks behind on my blog but I am doing my best to catch up.. things have been really busy with school, traveling, and enjoying Paris.

I forgot to add to my last post that the Friday before the Raclette party I went to my first concert in Paris. It was Pete Bjorn, pretty popular indie rocker from the USA. I went with my friend Matt and met up with some people from ABS. Luckily the concert hallwas really close so I could just walk and there were a lot of Americans there as well so that was neat :)

After the Raclette party and sleeping most of the day Friday (don't judge) I went to a "Jersey Shore" themed party at my friend Evi's house. After a mad hunt for some ripe avacados to make some guacamole we couldn't find any but we made pizza, chips and salsa and Evi made this really good date coverd in proscutto ham appetizer. It was a good group of people and fun to watch the Jersey shore and try to explain why it was so popular in the US... which I'm still not pretty sure why. After watching some episodes and a couple bottles of wine later, we headed to a really cool absinthe bar. It had a little bit of a gothic feel which was a bit strange but had some amazing absinthe. It was really neat to light the sugar on fire, let it carmelize, and then drop it on the absinthe which lights it on fire, and then put water in the absinthe to put the fire off. It was pretty neat :)

Saturday I decided to go to the 13th arrondisement to try and go to and buy a new computer cord because mine stopped working... I found a really cool 4 story mall that had some great shopping including Printemps(Nordstrom of France except more expensive) Darty and Fnac (electronic stores like Best Buy), and some other really cool boutiques and shops. I got lunch at a Tex-Mex place which sadly wasn't as good as in the States but c'est la vie. It was cool to explore a new area of Paris and see some more sights. That night was my friend Kari's 21st birthday. It isn't as big of a deal as it in the US but we still had fun. We had a pregame at her place and then we attempted to go to 2 huge clubs near the Champs d'Elysee. They are really hard to get into to begin with since this is Paris after all :) and since we had such a big group of 20 we weren't able to get in but we went to a neat bar called Hideout and enjoyed our night there!

Sunday I rested and did homework all day since I pretty much played all weekend... It was a nice day though so of course I had to walk around and enjoy some more of Paris.

Monday I had 2 classes which were really hard to stay awake... Advanced French and Global Marketing, but luckily I was able to take a nap during the day. Monday night I got drinks with some friends in one of my classes which was a good way to meet new people!

Tuesday was pretty much the nicest day weather wise that I have had since my time here!! I only had one class in the morning and then sat and drank some wine by the Canal St.Martin with some friends. Near my school is one of the best hole-in-the-wall Mexican places in the city so I went there with my Colombian friend Valentina to get some amazing homemade guacamole and chips. It was so relaxing and nice to be able to enjoy a good meal (and wine) with friends in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! After I left hanging out by the Seine, my friend Matt told me that him and some friends were drinking more wine, eating and hanging out by the Eiffel Tower! I couldn't resist and bought some wine and a snack and went over to the Eiffel Tower. It was gorgeous, with some many families, couples, dogs and other people were hanging out and playing. We stayed for almost 3 hours until it got dark, and then I had to go home because my family was coming the next day and I had an essay to write and a presentation.... Not the best thing to procrastine but happy that I was able to enjoy my day in Paris

Me, Matt and my friend Barrett at the Eiffel Tower

Raclette and Masks :)

Thursday night was a great time at the Mask Party... One of my friends knew someone in VIP so it was nice to be in the VIP section and be able to drink/dance/hang out for free :) There were so many kids from ABS and the other schools in Groupe IGS so it was nice to mingle and meet some new people.



Sightseeing on the Seine



Friday I was pretty much a bum. I was feeling a little under the weather so I decided to just stay in and relax, watching "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest." I read all of the books and I was pretty impressed with the movies even though they weren't as good as the books. I know that they are making the American version of the movies and I hope that they somewhat to compare to the Swedish movies.

Saturday I went to go sightseeing and walked on the Seine for a while to relax and listen to some music. It was a really beautiful day so it was nice to just kind of hang out for a while. Later that day I went to the movies with my friend Blake which was an experience within itself. We bought the tickets and then the room where the movie was for some reason was down the street. We saw the movie 127 hours which was actually really good but pretty graphic at the same. James Franco should win some awards for his acting.... especially the scene where he saws his arm. Gross hahaha. Luckily the movie was still in English with French subtitles so that was nice that we didn't have to translate.The ads were mostly in French and there were some movies that looked really good!!!

Saturday night we decided to hang out with my friends from cali Evi and Brittany as well as my roomate Adrianna. We didn't feel like going out so we just decided to go to this delicious Japanese restaurant for dinner and then desert and this strange fruit place that has a full menu with all fruit. The Japanese restaurant is in a huge bar/restaurant district that was packed when we got there at 10:30 and it was pretty cool to people watch.We got this ice cream/exotic fruit/desert concoction but it was really delicious. I will definitely be going back there :)


Basilique Saint Denis



After dinner/desert we decided to just hang out and watch "Love and Other Drugs" on my friends computer. It was definitely a little more depressing than I thought the normal romantic comedy would be, but it was pretty good at the same time. I spent the night at their place which was at the Bastille, a really nice place in the 11th arrondisement. My friends live on Place des Vosges with is  a square built in the 1600s by one of the Louis... there are so many that Im not sure which one it was. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful squares in the city.

Thursday I had a very interesting day to say the least. I broke my camera at the mask party so I went to Avenue Montgallet in the 12th arrondisement to try and fix it. Unfortunately they only really fix computers but they literally had about 20 computer stores on one small stretch but it was pretty interesting to see the area because I have never been to the 12th arrondisement so I was able to sightsee and see a different side of Paris. After doing some window shopping I had to go to a French Party put on by ABS that gave the opportunity for American students to speak French and for French students to speak English. I met some really cool people and got to eat some cheese and work on my french! It was really nice to meet some French students that were around my age.

Group for the Raclette Party

After the French party my friend Blake and I had to run a couple quick errands and then we tried to get to our friend Chadi's house who lives in the suburbs of Paris for a dinner party. We had to take the metro to this sketchy suburb of Paris called Saint Denis and had to wait 20 minutes for a tram to take us to another train to Chadi's house. While we were waiting for the tram we decided to walk to go see the Basilique Saint Denis, a basilica built in the 7th century and every king from the 10th-18th century was buried there. Because its not in Paris, its not as widely visited but it was really cool to see. After taking the tram, taking a train 20 minutes the wrong way and then having to take buses 40 minutes because the trains stopped going the way we wanted. Finally after almost 2 1/2 hours of traveling we finally made it to Chadi's at 11:30 at night! It was exhausting. We missed the dinner of raclette(kind of fondue where you pour cheese on top of the food) but luckily my friend Evi made me and Blake little plates. He lives with his parents (very typical in France) but it was cool to be able to have a house party in the suburbs. It was really pretty and reminded me of the US a little bit.Everyone had a great time even though we had to wake up at 6:30 b/c Chadi had class! I pretty much slept most of the day Friday because I got about 3 hours of sleep but when in France :)

starting to get into the swing of things

So after 2 weeks of traveling... I was so tired! Monday was French and Global Marketing. In French, we are reviewing stuff that I learned about 4 years ago: Personal Pronouns. Not very fun at all! We are reading a very popular French childrens book and then next we are reading a play. Oh well it helps with my language skills! We only have about 10 people in that class now and our teacher has so much energy for being 8:30 on a Monday morning. Wow almost too much to handle. Monday was a pretty relaxing day overall, just caught up on some American shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl and Glee. Since we finally have internet I had about 4 weeks to get caught up on. In my Global Marketing class I am friends with a group of guys that I learned were really interesting. One, Max has his own energy drink called Magic Potion that is circulating the club scene and the other Gordon has his own clothing line in France and Germany.... I thought the US were entrepreneurs but I have seen more from the French than my friends/peers in America.


Mille Feuille



Tuesday was morning class in Intercultural studies and then I went to the market to get some groceries.... and I finally got some artichokes which all of you know is my favorite thing in the world to eat :) I was asked for about the 4th time since I have been here if I am Swedish which I don't think I look like at all! I guess its the blue eyes and the blond hair. Tuesday was spent preparing for a 40 minute presentation in my International Relations Class on the foreign policy in Lebanon. It was an enormous job bc the country has been in EXTREME turmoil for the past 30 years.



Wednesday was a delicious Pastry Tasting in my French Civilization class... I brought in Mille Feuille, which is a creamy cake thing thats amazing. I got to sample famous pastries such as eclaires, religeux, Napoleon, Madelienes along with some others. It was a great time even though we spent the first 2 hours of class actually learning.... what a drag :) French Pastries are literally one of my favorite parts about France, there are patisserie’s every block with has a fine sample of the best of France’s Delights. Our presentation on Lebanon went really well, I was really nervous but it went a lot better than I thought it would go and the whole presentation with questions lasted almost 2 hours. Wow! After our class I went to eat at this really good noodle to go place. In France it is really rare to get anything to go, if you see anyone eating or drinking on the streets it means they aren’t French! I made the mistake of eating breakfast on the metro once when I was running late and I got some weird looks. Oh well.

Grand Palais

Thursday was great to be able to sleep in….. I decided since I didn’t have too much to do that I would go sightseeing. I went to the 7^th and 8^th arrondisement because I haven’t been there yet. I saw the Petit and Grand Palais, 2 old beautiful palaces that are now museums. They were both built in 1897 for the Grand Exposition. It was really beautiful and had such great architecture. I loved it and took tons of pictures outside and inside. There was a free museum in the Petit Palais but decided since it was such a nice day to just walk around outside. After walking around the both the palaces I wanted towards a huge palace with a big wall around it that I learned was Palais d’Elysee which is the presidential palace... Something was going on with an foreign ambassador because there were so many armed guards surrounding the Palace and a couple of the embassies that were on the same street. I got to walk on one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. I saw Christian Louboutin, Hermes, Prada, Chanel and some designers I have never even heard of before. It was really neat to see all of these boutiques. After seeing all of those stores I walked back through Place de la Concorde (the old Egyptian obelisk) and then passed Assemble Nationale (National Assembly) then proceeded to go see Les Invalides. Its now a military museum but it used to be a military hospital built in the 1670's. Also there are some very famous French military figures buried there including the most famous Napoleon. He has a huge tomb and although I didn't pay to go inside, the outside was gorgeous enough... but the guy definitely had an ego! After exploring around Paris for the day, I finally decided to go home and get ready for the Masquerade party hosted by our school at a popular club. I went with one of my good friends Blake who goes to USC also. It was fun, but things definitely got out of control a little bit. It was good though to meet some new people and to hang out with some ABS friends.



Les Invalides