A few weeks back API took us on our last excursion- a day trip to Normandy.

We started as usual with with warm croissants and pain au chocolate (generously provided by API) at place de République, where we catch our bus, and set off for Monet’s house and gardens in the town of Giverny. I originally wasn't interested in going here but I must say that it was absolutely incredible!!! The gardens were among the best that I’ve ever seen: there were blossoming trees and flowers of every color and shape! There were literally thousands upon thousands of blooming flowers - and they looked amazing (not tacky like some gardens that have so many different types of flowers everywhere). After, we toured Monet's house which was cool - especially the kitchen which was bright blue and had wonderful tile designs, etc. After the tour of the house we walked over to the Japanese gardens, where "Monet's" water lilies are, which were amazing! No wonder Monet painted so much nature- living there it would be hard not to. After a few hours, and souvenir shopping we hopped back on the bus and...

After another hour and a half we found ourselves in the picturesque Norman port of Honfleur. The port wasn’t destroyed in World War II, so it retained its old-world charm and is a popular weekend destination with the Parisian crowd. A bunch of us had lunch on the harbor which was great fun. After, we wandered around, did some souvenir shopping, and went to the town's main church, St. Catherine's I believe, which is really like two churches smushed together as there are two alters in the front.

On the way back, we saw the Pont de Normandie from the bus which was the world’s largest suspension bridge when it was built, and it connects Honfleur with the massive port city of Le Havre.

All and all it was a great day - although a lot of driving on the bus was necessary!

On Saturday I finally went to Versailles with my friends Mary and Jenna, and Jenna's friend Kelly who was in Paris for the weekend. From Paris, Versailles is only a half hour metro ride, so we got up early and headed to the castle when it opened at 9AM in an attempt to prevent waiting in line. Apparently if you want to beat the crowd you need to show up about 2 hours prior to the castle's opening as we had to wait over 1.5 hours just to make our way past security and into the compound. The castle itself is situated smack dab in the middle of a small town (well obviously the castle came first but still...) and as such is a little awkward with its huge golden gates and gold rimmed roofs and windows. Once we made it onto the grounds we got audioguides and started the tour of the manor - which is HUGE. The memorable rooms for me were the King's Chapel, and of course, the Hall of Mirrors. You here about Versailles in history class, but you don't really understand it until you see it with your own eyes. Marie Antoinette's room was also interesting as we got to see the door she used to escape the castle during the Revolution. After the tour of the house we wandered the grounds which must be at least 10 times the size of the castle, and wandered down to Marie-Antoinette's village - which she created so she could discover how a peasant lived. The village is quite charming- it actually reminds me a lot of Belle's hometown in Beauty and the Beast. My favorite part of the town were the animals- but the buildings were quite incredible as well. There is a small stream that runs through the village where people were looking intently into the water. Being a fan of ducks I assumed that there must be a really cool duck down there- but turns out that there was a cluster of literally hundreds of large catfish-type fish. It was absolutely disgusting and reminded me of when the fisherman force fed the dying fish the dead fish at the dock in Marseilles. Overall, I had a great time exploring the compound - we had a wonderful day weather wise, and the fountains were on which is amazing since they only go off on certain days during certain time slots. However, despite the marvels of the castle, I must admit that it was really not my favorite French castle. It was super crowded and hard to move around and see everything, sometimes we would have to wait upwards of 20 minutes just to get into an adjoining room because of the amount of people. Case and point - at one part during our tour of the castle there were so many people that I accidentally placed my foot under a wire and set off the alarm, after which I promptly ran away. However, it was a worthwhile venture for sure.

Saturday night was La Nuit de Musée in Paris where all of Paris's museums stay open late and all exhibits are free of charge (some museums even stay open until 2:30 AM). My friend Ellen and I decided to go to Les Invalides, the national "army" museum where Napoleon is buried. This museum is probably my favorite museum in Paris - it is absolutely amazing. In addition to Napoleon's tomb, the museum also has one of the largest World War I and World War II exhibits in the world and it is truly spectacular. There are countless army uniforms, memorabilia from concentration camps, video footage, newspaper articles from around the world, etc, all displayed in a remarkable way. After the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C., this would probably rank as the best and most moving museum that I have ever been to.

In other news I have only 11 more days left in France. Where has time gone? It seems like I just got here - and now I'm procrastinating studying for finals. If anyone has any souvenir requests let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

In France, people don't have individual yard sales. Instead, every few months or so each neighborhood of Paris hosts a giant flea market/ collective yard sale. Luckily for me, this occured right outside of the FEU on boulevard Jourdan last week. I spent a good while looking at things people had brought, but the sale went on for miles down the street so I didn't get anything/look at everything, but they had quite the spread- jewelry, books, dolls, statues, antiques, even saddles!

Yesterday was my last day of classes. So now only 4 (although potentially only 3) finals are left before I return home to the US in less than 20 days! What a ride this whole process has been. I'm excited to go back but at the same time wish that I was never leaving Paris. Living an "American lifestyle" is going to be very, very weird.

The Quick and Dirty on SPRING BREAK!

So as you could all tell by my last post, the beginning of spring break was rather depressing. However, in the end, I had a great time, thank goodness for my friends here who were able to pull me out of my depression!

On the first Monday of vacation- I stumbled into the API office to see my friends Mary and Christine (whose plans were also screwed up) and we ran into the API Director Anne Marie who -like the rest of us- had a strong hatred for volcanoes. One look at all of our sad faces and she exclaimed "You need chocolate!" and she proceeded to feed us all candy. After, she decided to make us lunch! We had a smoked salmon pasta, plenty of bread, and for dessert she gave us 60 euros and told us to have fun at the pastry shop next door! We ended up having a great lunch together - drowning your sorrows in food is always a good time - especially when you have a great cook like Anne Marie!

In lieu of going to Prague with Auntie Kate (damn volcano) I went to Bretagne on Saturday (a region of France) with my two friends Annie and Aaron (whose trip to Italy was permanently grounded). We stayed in Rennes (the capitol) which is in reality a pretty small, but beautiful town. We went to a park (which is actually the number one tourist destination of Rennes) and it was absolutely beautiful. The park becomes a botanical garden at the end and - after discovering the macro feature on my camera- I proceeded to take a million photos of all the pretty flowers and plants. Dad would have really loved this park - I think I took so many photos so I could show them all to him. Later, the three of us grabbed dinner at a crepe place and ate savory and sweet crepes along with a bottle of cider (one of the region's specialties). We procedeed to grab drinks on the Rue de la Soif (literally translates as the "Street of the thirsty") which is known as the student area with many cheap bars. On Sunday, we took a day trip to Mont Saint Michel - which is an incredible place. Words can not describe the beauty here. In essence, Mont Saint Michel is a small island that depending on the tide is either completely surrounded by water or has a walk way with plenty of dunes and beaches. When we went the tide was out, but still incredibly beautiful. Everything here is extremely old and as you are walking through the narrow streets you feel as though you have been transported back in time to the middle ages. We checked out the abbey (the islands big draw) which was incredible. Fun fact: in order to get into the abbey for free I convinced the man at the ticket booth that I was a french citizen. After the abbey we wandered around the town more, took lots of pictures, and ended up buying a pass to see the museums there. The museums were really cheesy but we had a good time and definatly got a few good laughs. When we got back to Rennes we had dinner, grabbed a quick drink (I drank my first ever glass of beer - it was a struggle (as I hate beer) but I did it!), and went back to the hotel. However, on our way back we saw an ambulance but a man into a body bag and take him away - it was really freaky and needless to say we basically ran back to the hotel. The next morning we got up early, checked out of the hotel, had lunch (we had the regional specialty- a sausage wrapped up in a savory crepe- which I liked at the time but now thinking about it makes me nauseous- weird I know) and explored the city more. It was a holiday so a lot was closed, but just walking around and souvenir shopping was a lot of fun. Afterward I needed to head back to Paris in order to catch my plane to Rome the next morning and my friends continued onwards to Saint Malo. On my way back, I was almost kicked off the train (literally - they will stop the train and kick you off- no lie) for not being on the correct train. It took a lot of explaining to prove that I was in reality supposed to be on the train but that there was a mistake at the ticket booth (as I switched my ticket for an earlier train but it was not noted on my new ticket) but luckily I was able to continue onto Paris. Talk about getting nervous!

After I returned to Paris from Bretagne (around 8 at night) I ran around and packed for my one week trip to Rome and Dublin. The next morning I woke up at 3am and met my friend Hillary in the lobby of our dorm to take a taxi to the airport. Our flight was delayed by over an hour but the flight itself was smooth. When we arrived in Rome we checked into our hostel, met our friend Christine for lunch (real Italian pizza - very different then American pizza but good none the less- and a regional specialty which had a mixture of rice, cheese and tomato sauce rolled into a ball and fried with breadcrumbs). After Hillary and I went to the Colosseum (as our friends already went). It was absolutely incredible! We decided to take a tour and so we learned a lot of interesting facts. At one point, our tour guide stopped to talk to some "gladiators" about their lives and I was picked to stand with the gladiator as the representative of their..."lady-friends" as they and the tour guide explained the history of the Colosseum and the role that the women played. It was rather mortifying and I am in about a million photos taken by the other tour group members but I got to take a picture posing with the gladiator after so I guess it was worth it. The inside of the Colosseum is incredible - it is hard to believe that people built such amazing things so long ago! Today the Colosseum is shorter than it used to be (which is pretty incredible considering how big it is) because an earthquake destroyed parts of it a long time ago. After the Colosseum we continued the tour and went to the ruins across the street which consist of the Palatine Hill - the hill where according to legend Romulus first established the city of Rome- and the Roman Forum. On the top of the hill is the ruins of the first palace of the Roman empires- which at one point stretched over the course of a mile with indoor plumbing and a gym that contained three indoor pools of different temperatures (one hot, one cold, and one at room temperature). These guys were SMART. Also on the grounds is a house that was built by Mussolini as he wanted a residence on the ancient grounds of the Roman empires' palace (it has now been converted into a museum). After our tour we headed back to the hostel and rested for a bit before meeting Jenna, Christine, and Courtney for dinner near the Trevi Fountain. This is a huge and very magestic fountain that if you throw a coin into (while turned around so that you are throwing the coin behind you) is supposed to make your wish come true. I probably threw in about 10 coins - hey I need all the help I can get! We found a cute Italian restaurant not far from the fountain and I had the most amazing ravioli's EVER. The next day we went to the Vatican which was absolutely incredible. Because we went on a Wednesday we even had an audience with the Pope! I'm not particularly religious but the whole thing was really moving. The Pope blessed us all (and our family and friends - so you're all blessed!) and spoke to everyone in the audience in their language (Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, English, and German) it was really incredible to see. After the ceremony we went to the Vatican museum. Words truly can not describe. There is more art and history here then can be found in a million Louvre museums. Part of the Museum also contains the Sistine Chapel which was not at all what I expected it to be but was really cool none the less. After the Vatican Museum we climbed Saint Peter's Basilica - a hard feat but completely worth it. There were over 550 steps to get to the top and half way through the walls slant horrifically so you feel as though you are on a carnival ride! At some points the stairs are so steep and narrow that you need to hold onto a rope to climb up them! However, the view from the top is incredible and I was able to take some great photos. After another wonderful pasta filled dinner and gelato desert we headed back to the hostel. The next morning we woke up early and decided to visit the oldest catacomb in Rome which lies on the outskirts of the city. We took a bus there but ended up getting off about 3 stops to early and so had to walk several miles to the catacombs along a busy road in the country that had no sidewalk. It was quite the adventure and despite many potentially bad situations we finally made it there in one piece! The catacombs were very cool and very different from those in Paris because they are so much older. There are no bones only the shallow cutouts of graves and occasional markers. There is also a part of the catacomb that was used as a crypt for three important Roman families. The catacombs lead into a chapel were the remains of Saint Sebastian are buried and where the footsteps of Christ can be found (which are pretty cool even if they may or may not be authentic). We were able to find a small restaurant near the catacombs which is at a flower garden (very beautiful) and there were many ruins around so we checked those out as well. We went back to the bus station and had to wait over an hour in the hot sun for the bus to come! It was quite the scene the four of us sitting on the ground on the relatively nonexistent sidewalk amusing ourselves in the extreme heat. At one point I made up a story about Captain Nemo Sparrow and his merry pirates which was quite amusing if I say so myself. The next day was our last day in Rome and so we visited an old castle and the Pantheon. Both were very cool. We caught a late flight to Dublin and finally arrived in our hostel in Dublin around 1AM.

The first day of our trip was probably my favorite. We got up early and took the train to a small Irish town named Howth. The town is exactly what you think of when you think of Ireland - a marina, small shops, and cliffs. We did a cliff walk and took some amazing pictures. Afterward we went to a pub and got sandwiches for lunch where they had actual diet coke! It was quite exciting. While in Howth we also went to an old castle which was gorgeous. I loved Ireland- it is so peaceful, while climbing the cliffs I kept thinking about how much Dad would have loved the view with the sailboats. I took lots of photos for him though! When we got back to Dublin we explored the city a bit and did some souvenir shopping before grabbing dinner and heading out to explore the nightlife. We ended up coming home pretty early but we had a good night out and I discovered a love for cider beer. On Sunday we got up and went to the Guinness Factory (nothing screams Ireland more than getting free pints at 9:30 in the morning). The factory itself is pretty cool- and the view from the top is awesome. After, we went to Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells and the Old Library (stunning) followed by the Dublin Castle. Feeling truley American we decided to go to TGI Fridays for dinner. For the first time I felt 21 as I ordered myself a few cocktails from a truly American establishment! The next morning we got up early and headed back to Paris - but before we left I bought some really great Celtic jewelry.

Spring Break defiantly had it's ups and downs but overall I had a really great vacation!!!!

A volcanic eruption in Iceland has literally frozen all of Europe. The funny thing about it is that here - where you would expect there to be a lot of news coverage- there is literally nothing. I have to look at American newspaper websites to keep up to date with what is happening.

The eruption could not have come at a worse time - everyone's spring break has been effected in one way or another. My parent's trip has been canceled, and although I still hold out hope that they will somehow make it here this week I'm starting to think that it will not happen. I didn't realise how much I wanted/needed them to come until I woke up this morning and they were not here. It looks like Prague is not going to work out as well, and Dublin and Rome are still up in the air.

Unfortunately, the majority of my friends were able to get out of France before the eruption began to effect French airlines and so I'm stuck here by myself until next Tuesday (unless a miracle happens). I know it could be worse - let's face it Paris isn't the worse place to be stuck- but right now I really want nothing to do with Europe anymore.

On the plus side I will have a lot of time to do all of my homework for the next month.

I really wish things had worked out differently- I feel badly that my Mom won't be able to get her first passport stamp.

I could have sworn that I already wrote this entry but apparently not.

So...

Last weekend was the Loire Valley 2 day weekend trip with API.

We got an early start (the bus left at 8AM) and began our trek to the ville of Tour. We arrived at our destination around 11h00 and for once the weather was perfect!

Our first stop was le Château de Chenonceau- which is built over the Loire River. Despite being under some renovations the castle is very impressive and has a beautiful garden and a forest with a maze in addition to many walking trails. Besides being pretty the castle has a rich history - it had been fought over by the Queen and the mistress of the King (and their families) for over 200 years! I was able to get some great pictures and even got to eat lunch (albeit it was only a greasy hamburger and fries) in one of the castle's gardens.

After spending several hours at the castle we went to the Musee de Camponnange - a small museum dedicated to trade guilds located in the town where our hotel was. I think that the majority of people were more interested in the Pizza Hut down the street from the museum than the museum itself - but regardless there were a few neat things such as a very realistic violin and bow made out of sugar, and various replicas of very elaborate staircases. After, we went next door to a candy factory and learned how to make the four main kinds of candy that the shop specialized in. The best part of this tour was defiantly the free samples. We tried a type of candy that resembled a cough drop, some small chocolates filled with an orange flavored cream (called Les Muscadines), a chewy cake with different nuts and fruit, and prunes filled with apricots, rum, and apple filling. The prunes were actually not that bad - I was going to buy a box for my Dad (he would have LOVED them) but unfortunately they would have gone bad before I got them to him. That night I had dinner with some friends, walked around the town a bit, and then returned to the hotel.

On Sunday we got up early to go to another castle called le Château d'Amboise. It was here that Leonardo di Vinci spent the last few years of his life and is where he was ultimately buried. It was very cool to see his grave and the castle itself is very beautiful. After a guided tour of the castle I had lunch on the go with a few friends and we quickly explored the town and bought some souvenirs (and ice cream) before we needed to return to the bus. On our way back to Paris we stopped at a bakery and learned how to make different types of bread. It was actually really interesting and the baker gave us all a huge roll/loaf of a bread with nuts and orange flower water for the road. Finally we stopped at a chocolate factory where we had a tour and many free samples. It was interesting to learn how chocolate goes from a bean to a bar of candy but by that time all I wanted to do was get back on the bus and go to sleep (as did everyone else). However, as we were leaving the factory a parade of very old cars came through the parking lot! My Dad, Uncle Steve, and cousins would have died. I tried taking some pictures for them but unfortunately we had to leave before I got many good shots.

Tonight I went to see my first French film at the movies with my friend Mary! It was called Adele Blanc- Sec and it was very funny and very good! I was surprised by how well I understood everything- especially since the movie is about mummies, pterodactyls, and overall crazyness.


On Sunday my parents are finally supposed to come to Paris - however due to the recent volcanic erruption in Iceland the French airports have been closed and the majority of flights have been canceled. Please pray that things clear up before they fly out tomorrow!

This has been a very busy and eventful week!

I am happy to announce that Easter Sunday at Cite went very well! My friend and I had decided to host Easter dinner at our residence (because there is a big kitchen/sitting area/ping pong table in the basement of Cite) and in total there were about 12 of us! On Saturday, Hillary and I had gone to the market to pick up some supplies, including champagne and wine (what Easter is complete without these goodies), stuff to make a salad (by this I mean lettuce and a red pepper), and our main meat dish. Originally we decided to bake a ham (traditional American Easter fare) however wouldn't you know that the French do not sell full hams - just ham lunch meat. So we scratched that idea and walked out of the supermarket instead with a "BBQ pack" of pork chops, steak, sausages, chicken, and some sort of bacon- no lie it said "BBQ pack" on the label! We got back on Saturday and organized some of the food and then I was able to chat with home which was very nice indeed. On Sunday people started showing up around 5 PM and we set off searching for pots and pans to cook in (which required raiding the 10 different kitchens at Cite). Finally we had what was required (sharp knifes, silverware, plates, pots, pans, utensils, a strainer, etc) and we started cooking! When we were finished cooking we had our BBQ pack meat selection, spaghetti in an olive sauce, fried rice, potatoes with cheese, a salad, fresh strawberries and grapes, beans, bread and lots of cheese, Oasis (an amazing fruit drink, limonade, and a lot of wine! It was a lot of fun because everyone brought something and we ended up having a great spread! After dinner we organized two Easter egg hunts which were a ton of fun and we also played some intense games of ping pong that may or may not have consisted of using cutting boards as paddles.

Tuesday was my 21st birthday! What a strange sensation! I ended up going out for dinner (we went to Bistro 32)with my birthday twin Michelle and a few friends, and after we went back to her dorm and had a great cake, limonade, and cider. I also tried my first ever Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - which I had mixed feeling about. Overall a great night, although it consisted of absolutely no alcohol (hey, I had class early on Wednesday)! Anyways, I'm sure I'll make up for at some point in the near future ;)

Tonight I saw Alice in Wonderland (called Alice au Pays des Merveilles in French) in 3D at the cinema in Forum des Halles. The movie was in English, with French subtitles and we used very funny looking 3D glasses. This was my first movie since being in France and I had a great time. Interesting fact: in France you can choose to have salty or sweet (kettle) popcorn at the movie theater!

Tomorrow I leave for a two day trip to the Loire Valley with API. Should be a great time!