Between one of the the three we were managing to communicate roughly. We arrived at the airport in Barcelona late the other Friday, around 10pm. We were rather ill prepared I must admit, we had only the name of our hostel and the name of the closest metro stop to it. We found someone who could speak french and they directed us to the train we needed to get on. We felt pretty good once we got on the train and settled down in our seats. Every stop we would refer to our paper, nope not it. The screen in the train showed the next 3 stops only, so after a while of not seeing our stop we started getting a little uneasy about whether or not we were on the right train. Finally we see that we are 3 stops from the end of the line, and none of them were ours so we get off in nowheres village to wait for the train back in the other direction. We are walking down the ramp to the other side and a couple stops us and starts speaking spanish to us, somehow me managed to get their message that the trains were stopped for the night, there would be no more passing through that station. We stood there looking confused as they walked away but I guessed they sensed our pitifulness because they turned back around and came to our aid.

the conversation went a little like this…

“Barcelona, c’est ou? where? Bar-ce-lo-na? Donde esta??”

“ohhh Barcelona, cinco pueblos. five village.”

“Where is taxi?”

“si, taxi.”

“No, wheeere is taxi? Donde esta taxi? appelle taxi? taxi numero? (phone gestures)”

“ohh si, si..” (gesturing to follow they lead us to some sketchy covered parking spaces with a sign “TAXI”)

[this photo does not do justice to how sketchy this place was at night]

The woman calls the number, which was hiding in some strange crevice of the post. As it turned out, not even the taxis wanted to come 5 villages away from Barcelona at night. The woman so kindly offers us to stay in her home, explaining that she has an extra bedroom. We asked her if there was a hotel in this village, which didn’t seem very likely. To put this into perspective, this would be like trying to go to Galveston and ending up lost in texas city near the refineries. Who wants to stay in Texas City? Who wants to stay in Montmelo? Fortunately, no one. She brought us to a little diner cafe which apparently had a room available. The person at the counter then took over. The starts leading us through what looked like it’d be the kitchen door and I’m thinking to myself, great we are sleeping in the kitchen of a diner 5 villages from Barcelona…perfect….

Luckily I underestimated the place, she opens the door and reveals what turned out to to be a really nice room, even nicer and cheaper than where we were supposed to stay in the first place. We were SO relieved. I really think that this village must have this room just for people like us that got lost trying to go to Barcelona.

The next morning we get up and go down to the cafe and the whole staff (of like 2 people) are running around like crazy trying to find someone who could talk to us. They finally find someone who speaks english and push them our way….I felt kinda bad when all I had to say was, we just came down to look around! We decided to walk through the village and see what was there, as it turns out, it wasn’t much. As we walked down the street, I guess we must’ve stuck out because it felt like the whole world was staring at the lost girls who were 5 villages away from Barcelona.

Before we headed out, we documented our trip to the village of Montmelo

When we finally made it to Barcelona we hit the stores, spent too much money blahdey blah. First things first ya know…

After a few hours in the stores we walked down las rambas and saw the sights.

Checked out this market place…

(look at those shocking prices!)

Oh yes, I’d like some french fries with a side of brains. thank you

not everything in the market was disappointing…

After carefully weighing our options we decided to ditch the brains and go for some KFC for dinner instead. Brains would’ve just been too messy…

It was extremely exciting to see some fast food that wasn’t mcdonalds. Spain is on their game, they even have Dunkin’ Donuts.

To top it all off, for desert I got Kinder Sorpresa gelato!

Passed by this cathedral, it was alright…I’m kinda over churches. We’ve got more than enough in paris.

oh hey palm trees, long time no see!

Riding some Spanish monuments. No biggie…

I have no idea what this is….

Where is christopher columbus?

And yeah, after exploring we had to get to the airport before the trains stopped because our flight left early the next morning. Slept in the airport and got back to paris around noon the next day. I’d never been so happy to hear french again!

Amsterdam was like Disneyland for grown-ups. Amidst it’s quaint little cobblestone streets, one can find just about anything (assuming that it’s completely risque or distasteful)

e.g., The Comdomerie (like chit-chat art for condoms…)

Think this sign seems a little distasteful? Wait till you see what it’s referring to…

(yeah so, I realize taking a picture of a stranger doing his business is a little creepy, but I really felt the need to document this. When I first saw this, there were 4 men all using it at the same time which was even more shocking but I couldn’t get my camera out in time. Really though, in America, men just pee in alley ways and we just do our best to pretend like it doesn’t happen. Maybe we should invest?)

And of course, there’s the red light district…

Despite the fact that the city was crawling with tourists anxious to legally indulge in all kinds of normally illegal activities, the city somehow miraculously managed to remain picturesque and somewhat innocent all at the same time…

  (traditional stripper clogs)

We went on the tour of the Anne Frank house. I was really surprised by how big their hiding space really was. I was impressed. It was interesting because the house was for the most part bare of furniture as it had apparently all been removed by the Nazis after they were removed from hiding. It was interesting however because you could still get the feeling of people there, and what it would have been like. There were a lot of different artifacts, letters, books, etc that made it really interesting. At the end, there was a whole section about the founding of the house as a museum. Otto Frank’s purpose was to “promote peace between people and encourage international contacts between the young.” He was all about making young people understand that discrimination still happens and was invested in empowering each generation with a greater acceptance for each other. What an incredible way to do so. Finally to top it off, when you exit through the gift shop, you see the walls lined with The Diary of Anne Frank translated into 55 different languages.

Here we are posing with the giant amsterdam letters. couldn’t fit them all in one pic

The first night we stayed in this hostel. It was right in the center of everything but a little loud when it came time that you actually wanted to sleep.

the second and third nights we stayed at this campground that was on the outskirts of town. It was much more peaceful, very nice, and much much cheaper.

While in Amsterdam I indulged in the best food I’ve had since I’ve been in Europe. They had more fast food options than McDonalds, presliced pizza, ice in their water, and  
Capri-Sonne (Caprisun)

Oh iced water, how I’ve missed thee…

I recognized this FEBO place because I’d seen it on the food channel before. It is the fastest fast food ever. Basically there’s no human interaction, it’s all coin operated. You want a hamburger, you put in your 2.50 and the door magically opens for your take your food. It’s pretty sweet, I was excited to see it in person.

 Somebody need’s to bring one of these to the states, perhaps the most perfect combination for our family. Dad can have his steak, I can have my pizza.

And finally, me posing in front of the Route 66 Coffeeshop which was decorated with cacti, cowboys, cars and such.

Overall, I give Amsterdam 5 stars. Though at the end of the weekend, I was still happy to be coming home to Paris!

I know it’s been too long since I’ve last posted so here commences my effort to get caught back up, starting with daily life excursions.

A Monday night trip to the ballet to see Paquita at the Opera Garnier. The theatre was incredibly gorgeous. We had already toured it the week before in one of my classes. It was even better at night though.

I was a huge fan of the ceiling. 

At the bottom of the grand staircase posing like a true aristocrat.

Visited the Musee Rodin with my art history class. This is the only Rodin I was already familiar with. It’s called The Thinker

Last week our museum day (we have class 2 days every week, one day in a classroom and the next at a museum) for art history was at this Paris photo archive place, which is not really open to the public, so it was a very unique opportunity. We got to see some of the first ever photographs called Daguerreotypes among many others. Some of my favorites were by Marville who was Paris’ official photographer in the second half of the 19th century. His work was mostly to document the old Paris as the city was being reconstructed by Haussemann.

Moved back our clocks last weekend when we were in Amsterdam, this week was hard seeing the sun go down before i could get home on some days. Not cool!

Good morning eiffel tower, bright and early.

Oh and now I get to say bonsoir too. Yuck.

This week is a 3 day week! Due to more french holidays we have thursday and friday off! Woohoo! Also, Charlotte is coming to Paris this weekend! It should be a nice break! After two weekends of traveling I am happy to be staying home in Paris for a while!

It has been a long and busy week so I haven’t been able to get around to posting until now. Last weekend’s trip to Normandy was so worth it! We went to a really good WW2 museum and then headed on to the WW2 American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. We were informed that we were officially back on American soil again, as the land had been given to the US by the French after the war as a token of gratitude. The beaches were beautiful, it was hard to imagine what a hell they once were for so many men. The water was blue and it seemed so peaceful. It was a beautiful and meaningful place for a cemetery I thought.

Next we got to go down to this area that had a bunch of German bunkers…it was really cool. I liked climbing around in them, it really gave you the feeling of what it would have been like.

….we decided that smiling was kind of awkward in this situation. I mean, it’s not Disney Land, you can’t just go pose next to the German bunker like you’re taking a picture with Mickey…

…and so you have, the Nazi face….(the Nazi face was later discontinued and replaced with no emotion faces)

climbing amongst barbed wire…so hardcore

and queue photoshoot

We stayed the night in the old town of St. Malo. It was this little walled port city. In the middle ages the wall was built around it for protection, the city was mostly destroyed by WW2 bombings but they took the bricks and rebuilt it back.

On Sunday we stopped at Mount St. Michel and toured that. It was really old and cool.

We studied these little pillar things in two of my classes already. Each one has a different story sculpted onto it.

the whole thing is surrounded by quicksand…

And that was my weekend in a nutshell. Unfortunately this week has drained my brain and I am too lazy to write more. Taking it easy this weekend!

Despite the fact that the whole freaking country gets a month payed vacation every year, it seems to be a favorite past time of the French to take random “holidays,” and disguise them as strikes. Today, it was the metro workers who obliged themselves to a personal day off, so the subways this morning were a huge mess. The saddest part about metro strikes is that there is never total closure of the metro system, just a few lines that wont run, the rest will have 1 out of every 2 or 3 trains running, therefore no one can use the excuse of the metro not running to get out of school or work. Since they announce it before hand, I knew last night that my normal line would not be running so I had to plan an alternate route to class and wake up extra early to get there.

The picture above is of the train that I had just gotten off of. It was ridiculously packed. I squeezed on thinking that I would be the last person to fit in that car, but of course I realized quickly how wrong I was as another 6 people follow me in. When the doors start to close, the person closest to it has to push their body into the crowd so that the doors will close all the way, sometimes this doesn’t work and the doors will reopen again so you can get another go at it. At every stop I was certain that no one else would possibly be able to fit, and yet somehow at every stop, a few more would get on.

It seemed that everyone had a different technique for handling their closterphobia. There were quite a handful of people who just stood the whole time with their eyes closed, just imagining they were somewhere else I guess.

Fortunately enough, most people who take the subway at 8am are on their way to work, so yes, it was uncomfortable, but considering that I was surrounded by men in nice suits and women in heels and business attire I hardly felt unsanitary rubbing shoulders with their Armani coats and cashmere sweaters.

I had a bit of a walk after I got off my line but the scenery was nice at least.

Of course “la grève” would be on the day that I had class on 2 different campuses, so after the first one I had to hop on for round two of the metro. Fortunately it wasn’t quite as ridiculous.

After class, in hopes of skipping a few transfers and sparing myself of claustrophobia I decided to walk a really long way so I could just get on the line that takes me home and not have to bother with waiting forever for a crowded train to come every time I had to transfer. The weather this afternoon has been really beautiful so I actually really enjoyed the walk. Oh yeah, and the scenery wasn’t half bad either.

It’s kinda sad, but the most beautiful thing about the Eiffel Tower these days is that being able to see it means I can at least be able to navigate my way back home. Without it, I am completely lost.

I think the morning must have freaked everyone out because when I walked down into the subway this afternoon for the last leg of my journey home, the place was completely empty! I’d never seen it so deserted before. The rough morning made it that much sweeter to be able to get a spot to sit down on the way home.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the metro workers will get over themselves and come on back to work tomorrow.

Credit: Mary Beth Yale and Mary Beth Yale’s mother.

Love this map! It’s so true! I have been learning a lot of French history in my classes that makes me actually understand why they think this way.

Due to my computer being broken, expect a shortage of blog post in the future. I still have the little mini computer but it is small, difficult to see and type on, plus I dont have any of my pictures on it. I am currently posting from the AIFS computer which has the AZERTY french keyboard and it sucks. I miss my macbook. :( In addition to the bloggage shortage you can also expect an increse in whining. (And no, I would not like any cheese with that! That line is NOT funny!)

Our trip to Giverny inspired me to look up some more of Monets works. I was so shocked at the things I found and how similar they were to some of the photos I took in his garden. It is incredible to think of Monet in his garden seeing the same things as I saw. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but some things are just so incredible that they become the exception to that rule.

Pizza making with Quentin for lunch. Apparently a pizza isn’t a pizza unless it has more than cheese on it, otherwise its a “margarita.” Psh, these French people don’t know anything, especially about pizza. Here is Quentin with his tainted ham, egg, and tomato pizza. sick.

I am really enjoying being a part of a family. I feel very lucky! What a unique opportunity, very few if any others in our program have kids in their host families not to mention families that they have been able to interact with in such a way that we have been with ours. I am loving it!

I was seriously going through some Blue Box withdrawals these past few days. I asked my host brother Quentin if he knows macaroni and cheese and he replied “No, Macaroni, it does not exist in France.”

This was extremely depressing. Fortunately, thanks to me, great things are emerging in France. No, it’s not blue box. Yes, it is just noodles with milk and melted slices of cheddar cheese mixed in. Not the best I’ve ever had, but the best France has ever seen. So there you have it…Macaroni DOES exist in France.

You’re welcome people of France, you’re welcome.

Thoughts on Versailles.

1.Chateau de Versailles was the most massive and outrageous display of wealth I have and probably will ever will see in my lifetime

2. The lack of furniture was very disappointing. Apparently most of it was destroyed in the French Revolution

3. Louis XIV seems like he was a real pompous asshole, way to go France for having him beheaded

Marie Antoinette’s Bed

After Versailles we went to Giverny and visited the home of Monet and got to see the gardens that inspired many of his paintings. The gardens were incredible and his home was left just as it was when he was living in it. His workshop had a lot of his original work. Sadly they wouldn’t let us take pictures in the house but I got a ton in the garden. I was loving my camera!

Tonight is “Nuit Blanche” in Paris. Direct translation: White Night

Basically it means all nighter. Museams, restaraunts, the metro, and pretty much everything stay open till 7am so it should be pretty exciting. Updates on that later.