À bientôt Paris

Because I haven’t blogged in a really long time I will start with 2 Sundays ago when I went to my host brother’s (Julien) Rugby game. My host mom invited me because I had kept asking her when Julien had a game close to home so I could go. So finally I got to go to one and it reminded me of when I would go watch soccer games. All the parents sitting in the stands cheering on their boys and then after the game both teams ate lunch and the parents had prepared all the food. It was very family oriented and everyone was very happy and friendly. I remember receiving a lot of bisous that day!

So the first week of May I had 3 finals and so I basically studied and had a boring week in Paris. My 3 exams were all essay and my hand cramped up multiple times, especially during my 3 hour exams. I think I wrote for 2.5 hours nonstop in 2 of my classes.

Saturday May 8 I went shopping with Kirsten and I finally found my dress that I have been looking for my whole time in Paris. J It is an off white color with pink florals on it as if they were painted on by Monet. I also bought 2 skirts and my host brother tried them on just to see how they would fit on him…hilarious. Kirsten bought me 2 macarons for my birthday and I had the chocolate caramel and vanilla. They were absolutely amazing and especially the chocolate caramel and vanilla. YUM!! After leaving the mall in the afternoon I then went home dropped off my clothes and I went to the art festival along the canal near my apartment. There were skits and theatrical acts going on all along the canal and in the park. It was very relaxing to walk around and I definitely enjoyed this one skit with a man and a woman. The man was doing different tricks for the kids and my favorite was when he was juggling apples and he took a bite out of the apple every time he caught one and then when his mouth was full he spit out all the apple pieces on the kids sitting in the front row. So adorable! Later it started to rain and then I went back to the apartment. Because my host mom had gone to the hospital me and Julien went to his best friend’s house for dinner. His mom also had a foreign exchange student and she was from Canada. She was going to Parsons in Paris which is a fashion school. She was so sweet and I spent the evening talking to her after dinner while Julien hung out with his friend.

Sunday May 9 I met up with Michele at St. Michel and we went to Angelina’s for some hot chocolate! It was SOOO YUMMY! It was thick and creamy and probably the best hot chocolate I have ever had! After that we walked around Paris a little more and then we departed. I went back to my neighborhood to walk around because there was like a huge garage sale going on but yet it was along the street. So I walked through that and Michele called me back and she came to meet me again. So I took her to the art festival along the canal and we enjoyed a baguette listening to a concert for the evening!

Monday May 10…MY BIRTHDAY J I went to Disneyland with Daphne and it was probably the BEST birthday I have ever had! I felt like a kid again and I was sad leaving the park at the end. Daphne had been to Disneyland in Paris multiple times so we didn’t even need a map. I believe we used it one time just to make sure we were taking the shortest route to see Jack Sparrow. I first got my picture with Buzz Lightyear and he blew me a kiss as I said good bye. We then went on to ride the Hollywood Tower ride and that was soo much fun! I had a blast and the workers played the part So well! They never smiled and they kept straight faces the whole time and made jokes about us needing good luck and to hold on tight so we don’t die. After riding that we then went to go take a picture with Sully who is a Monster in Monsters Inc. In the studio park we also rode the Finding Nemo roller coaster and that was AWESOME! We watched the parade go by with all the characters and we also did the Armageddon attraction. My favorite part was when the floor dropped and the fire blazed in the middle of the room! Later we had our picture taken with Minnie! In the main park I had my picture taken with Winnie the Pooh and we walked all through the castle and I ate a candy apple while Daphne had popcorn. We then went and saw Jack Sparrow and got our picture taken with him with our pirate faces! And we also rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. We then went to Space mountain….My FAVORITE!! I loved it when we swirled on the coaster with the ride lights surrounding us! It was awesome! After we did everything that we wanted and we saw everyone and took tons of pictures we did some souvenir shopping and I got a tigger mug, some mickey suckers, a keychain, a Disneyland pen, and some candy for my birthday present to me! I would have to admit that I went with the best girl because she was just excited as I was the whole time! And she stood in a long line with me to see Winnie the Pooh! I’m very lucky for her to go with me because she knew where everything was and I saw everything!! O and we even went through the Alice in Wonderland maze which was cute!

I can’t believe I will be home on Saturday. Home as in…BEDFORD, TEXAS. I’ve grown so much from this experience and I have seen so many things. I have seen multiple ways of life and I don’t want to take those small things in life for granted like I used to. I have made life-long friends and I know I will be back to this city of love in the future. I will definitely be visiting my host family again and they have invited me back to visit. I feel like I have changed for the better and I have become more focused and determined and I’m back on track. I can’t wait to get home and get a new dog and to spread some more happiness and smiles! I feel like I have grown in my independence and I have been told that if I can make it in Paris I can make it anywhere. Although this last week has been gloomy with cloudy weather and rain, I’m going to make the best of my last 2 days here! Thursday I plan on going to the Louvre one last time and then Friday a picnic at the Eiffel if it’s not raining and not too cold. Saturday my plain takes off from Paris at 7:40am. My shuttle is picking me up before the crack of dawn at 3:30am and I’m not excited. I am going to miss Paris and I will definitely cry leaving my host family. But it will feel sweet coming home to a place where everything is familiar and everyone speaks English J Here I come Texas!

It's not Goodbye Paris...it's See you later!

Amsterdam

Let me begin with Wednesday April 14. That day was my host mom’s birthday! After my morning classes and finishing my presentation in economics I set out to buy my mom some flowers for her birthday. I went to this flower shop near my school and I explained to the flower shop lady that I would like to buy some flowers for my host mom because it was her birthday. She showed me everything and I picked out these cute yellow flowers and I pot a silver pot for them. It was perfect! As I was paying the flower shop lady said my French was very good. That comment made my day so much better! She was very nice and helpful and she wrapped up the flowers very nicely! As I walked in the door with the flowers, I saw Francoise and immediately said “Joyeux Anniversaire!” and she said Merci and gave me bises (kisses on the cheeks). That evening for her birthday dinner, her niece and sister came over and Rochelle (her niece) had made an apple crumble cake. It was DELICIOUS. And we also had strawberries and kids champagne because her sister can not have alcohol. I didn’t mind. I loved the apple flavored bubble soda. It reminded me of the sparkling wine we always had as kids for new years. It was a good night spending it with the family and although I was super tired from a stressful day of my presentation it was relaxing to sit back and enjoy a French meal.

Thursday evening at 9:30pm I left the apartment to meet Kirsten and we were off to Amsterdam. We departed from the bus station later then the set time but I was happy to be getting out of Paris finally! Our bus was packed with Americans, which was kind of annoying, but they soon quieted down and fell asleep. Kirsten and I did not expect to have a full bus so we originally sat in separate seats across from each other so we could have the window seats. But as the bus filled up we were separated and I sat next to a guy who later in the night fell asleep with his head on my shoulder and his leg practically on top of mine. Our seats were not very big and there wasn’t really any room to stretch out and he was taking up 1/3 of my seat so I moved my shoulder and he woke up and finally moved away and out of my bubble. He made my shoulder quite sore and I was really happy when we were finally in Amsterdam! We arrived in Amsterdam at 6:30am and we found the metro and we were on our way to Centraal Station.

We first started by taking the tram to Kirsten’s hostel and she checked in and then we found my hostel and I checked in. When we were at Kirsten’s hostel we arrived 30 minutes early so we waited around and while we were waiting Kirsten made a comment about sitting on the couch and I thought she was being funny because the cushions were all messed up. 5 minutes later she said… “Is that a person?” At first I was like “Nah!” and I made a double look and I was speechless..IT WAS! Haha ..Her hair had looked like just one of those furry pillows and her body was covered by all the pillows. The guy working there then got up and woke the girl up and told her to get out. It was confusing as to why she was there. We thought maybe a prostitute but who knows, its Amsterdam! After we both checked in we headed out to find the Anne Frank house. The museum was very interesting but I was bummed that we could not take pictures at all. The stairs throughout the house were extremely steep and skinny. I wonder how those Nazi’s ran up the stairs so quickly. As we walked through Anne Frank’s room, it was completely quiet and all you heard were the sounds of the wood cracking from the people walking above you. It was very moving and it made me think of how quiet they must have been in order for no one to hear them. Part of the museum was under renovations so we could not view the real diary of Anne Frank so we saw the replicate which was a bummer too.

During the museum I received the BEST text message. My friend Brittney from Texas had finally made it to Amsterdam and they were at their hotel. After the Anne Frank Museum we booked it to her hotel and as we were walking down the right street I hear…KIRSTEN…and it was Brittney running up to me and her orange UTArlington sweatshirt on was not hard to miss! I gave her the BIGGEST hug and I started crying. It was not just little tear drops, it was like a waterfall on my face. It was so nice to see a really good friend and to get a HUG. After hugging her mom and grandma and finally I stopped crying, we dropping our backpacks off at brittney’s hotel and we went out to see Amsterdam together. We did most of our sight-seeing Friday and walking everywhere and then in the evening we picked up some food and went back to the hotel and ate and relaxed there. At night, they walked me back to my hostel and I noticed that my hostel was in the Red light district…haha. My hostel was horrible, 16 girls in a room, (I think none of them have never been in a hostel before because they didn’t act like they had been), the lights were turned on for about 2 hours during the night, girls were talking endlessly, phone alarms went off without being turned off, and finally when I left in the morning, the breakfast was packed so I just checked out and left. I picked up some bread, orange juice and an apple at the boulangerie next to my hostel and then I went to Brittney’s. Her hotel was so nice and they let me eat there. I had 2 pieces of toast and on one of my toasts I put half nutella and sprinkles and the other half blueberry jam. That jam was to die for!!! So because they let me eat there I saved my bread and apple for lunch!

Later that Saturday we found Kirsten and we headed out to the local market and I bought some caramel and chocolate fudge. It was soooo good! Everyone else bought cheese and other meats and vegetables. After the market, we walked around most of the day and then in the evening we ate along a bridge and below us was a boat full of people. We yelled out asking how much he charges for a ride and he said 100Euros. We were shocked by how expensive but we figured he was joking and then he said jokingly that Amsterdam is expensive…which is not true. Amsterdam is one of the cheapest cities in Europe. After sitting on the bridge for a while the man on the boat came up and invited us for a ride! It was SO nice of him and we of course could not deny his offer! We all got on the boat and he took us all through the canals through Amsterdam and behind Centraal Station where the big port is. The guy was hilarious, with a joint in one hand and a cigarette in the other and glass of wine sitting beside him! His dog in the boat was the first dog that I have gotten to pet while in Europe. I miss dogs SOOOO MUCH! His name was toby and he was absolutely adorable. Anyways, the guy showed us where the oldest part of Amsterdam is and he showed us where the celebrities stay like Sting when they come. After having a relaxing boat ride along the canal, we left the rest of our candy with the kids on the boat and the wine with the adults and we headed back to the hotel to rest for an hour before we left for the bus station. It was sad to leave Brittney and her family but we had to get back to Paris. Once again our bus was packed. Many of the people on the bus were trying to get home any way they could because the airports are closed and the trains are full so the buses are the only option for many. I don’t know why that volcano decided to erupt now! It better stop and the air better clear up because I have to get back to Texas soon! I hope Brittney and her family have a safe trip home and I hope they are able to leave on time! Overall, Amsterdam was relaxing and the only thing that I didn’t get to do was go to the Van Gogh museum but I think the free boat ride around the canal made up for it! J

PS: Amsterdam had TRILLIONS of bikes and I’m so happy I didn’t get run over by one.

Loire Valley

This past weekend was one of the best weekends! Saturday morning I got up early to catch the bus with ISA and head south of Paris to the Loire Valley. I sat next to Regina on the bus and I had so much fun talking to her and we basically spent the rest of our time together on our trip! We first stopped at the Chateau de Chenonceau and it was under renovations so the whole front was covered up by a tarp. It was a letdown. Inside the castle was quite small and the room extending over the river was actually a dance room where they had all of the masquerades. But the gardens were gorgeous and we later went to the maze and ran through it with Erik. He then took our picture by the flowers and by then it was time to head back to the bus. After the first chateau, we then went to Leonardo Da Vinci's house and it was quite beautiful inside. His garden was beautiful with his inventions scattered throughout. There were old paddle boats that you could rent and paddle around in the small river but we did not have time to do that. Visiting his house was quick so that we could get our surprise for the day. The surprise was not really a surprise because considering that the Loire Valley is known for its wine (like Bordeaux, France) we had a wine taste test. We tasted about 5 different wines and we also had some goat cheese which was pretty good. After the wine test we headed out to Tours, France and we checked in at our hotel, Holiday Inn.

After we put our stuff in our rooms I went out with a bunch of girls to find the ice cream shop that was supposedly amazing...it was. I had Tiramisu and Cookies ice cream. And because Christelle (our ISA leader) knew the lady working there we got free cream on our ice cream. I'm not a big fan of cream but hey I'm only in France how many times in my lifetime!!?! After the ice cream the girls stopped to get some pasta and then after we headed back to the hotel to try out the showers. I think our expectations were too high from the last hotel we stayed at in Normandy and this shower was just not good. BUT the beds were WONDERFUL! The covers were fluffy and the bed was stiff and perfect for my back and overall I just wanted to take that bed home with me to Paris. I think it took me less than 10 minutes to fall asleep. Besides the hotel alarm going off at midnight, I slept the best that night since the whole time I've been here. Breakfast in the morning was very good too. They had little jars of jam of Bonne Maman and I took 4 to bring home to the family. They are perfect size for my luggage and I instead of buying a regular size at the Franprix (grocery store) I'm now bringing 4 different kinds of jam. They are perfect for taste testing!

Later after breakfast on Sunday we checked out of the hotel and we went to the Chateau de Chambord. When we walked up to the castle I remember Tommy asking me if he could carry me to the castle. lol. I responded by saying, "can I carry you?" and so I carried him first and then he carried me! He always puts a smile on my face! Although I had already seen this castle the weekend before with my other friends, it was still amazing to see and I got to go inside of it this time! It was enormous and there were over 400 rooms in this castle. It was very spacious inside and not a lot of furnishings. The fireplaces were huge and the view from the balcony was spectacular. I could definitely live there! After walking around the castle and buying some gifts in the boutique, I went on the motor boat with Regina and Tommy and that was one of the highlights of my trip. We had a photo shoot on the boat with the castle in the background and it was so much fun! They are hilarious and we laughed nonstop! It was refreshing to be around people like me and to just be myself and have fun! After the castle and the boat ride, we had another surprise which was a no brainer....more wine. But we also had homemade cookies too. We taste tested 2 wines and had a wide selection of cookies to eat. The cookies and wine were a great lunch! (I know mom....totally nutritious). Then we hopped back on that bus and back to Paris.

I would have to say that this past weekend was very relaxing and I enjoyed every minute of it! I'm certainly going to miss the friends that I have made through ISA and hopefully we can visit each other in the US!

This Thursday night I leave for Amsterdam with Kirsten by bus and we will get there Friday morning around 7am. Brittney (from Texas) will arrive in Amsterdam with her family and I'm SO excited to see her! I LOVE seeing Texans! It definitely helps my homesickness. We're going to spend 2 days in Amsterdam and then we will be back in Paris Sunday morning.

School work has picked up and I have 3 presentations and 2 papers to write. One of my presentations is tomorrow and then 2 the next 2 weeks. I'm definitely ready for these group projects to be over with because for some reason I get stuck with most of the work. I question the importance of group projects??? There's always those people who don't do anything but yet they get the same group as the whole group. Anyways after all of my presentations are over with I will just have finals left and then it will be my birthday and then I will be on my way back to Texas. I have one month left!! Thats IT!!!

Amboise, Vouvray, and Blois

This past weekend was absolutely wonderful! My friend Dipesh and his girlfriend Eugenie took me out to see the country of France. Having a car was perfect so we could go wherever we wanted and to see whatever we wanted! It was so exciting! First we went to Ambroise and we stopped and walked through the village market and had a picnic by the river then headed up to see the chateau in Ambroise. Most of the chateau was renovated because almost all of it was torn down but there was still some of the castle left and it was beautiful to see! It was the highest point of the village and had a spectacular view of the city. After walking through the castle and trying to understand the French tour guide (Eugenie translated and helped me understand things about the castle) we walked through another small market by the chateau and I bought some gifts for the family!

sidenote: the coolest thing about the castle was that when the King died they used the very bottom level as a prison. I thought that was really interesting!

After we saw everything that Eugenie had a list for we got back in the car and drove to Vouvray, France. Here she had planned for us to do a degustation which is wine taste testing. We were driving by the river the whole time with amazing scenery and we started to pass these rocks with windows and I then learned from Eugenie that these are houses or apartments built in the rocks or in French "troglerdyte." We drove around looking for this one wine testing place then stopped to ask for directions and thank goodness Eugenie and Dipesh were there because their French is perfect!...Obviously because Eugenie is Parisian and Dipesh has lived in Paris for 5 years. Anyways, we finally found them but they were all closed. She wanted to take us to one that was in a cave or again what was a troglerdyte. We parked the car outside the wine place and walked up this street to look at the view of this small country village. It was a phenomonal view and so peaceful. As we started heading back to the car, Eugenie and Dipesh saw a man in his troglerdyte and asked him if he knew about any wine places around that are open on Sundays. He walked out and started talking to us. From right off the bat Dipesh knew he was not French. Come to find out he was actually from England but he spoke French very well. He was very nice and he actually gave us a tour of his cave or troglerdyte. It went far back and right now he uses it for storage and his house is across the road. The farther back of the cave the more humid it got. He owns a bed and breakfast and he gave us all his card if we ever wanted to stay there. He is thinking of putting like a dining area in the back of the cave for his guests. We thought that would be very neat and we thanked him for showing us his troglerdyte! So we then got back in our car and we finally found a wine taste testing place that was open. It was all free and we could taste as many wines as we wanted and we also got a free tour of the cave where they store the wine. There were racks after racks of bottles and he explained everything in French so once again Eugenie translated for me! I'm pretty sure he said there were over a billion bottles in that cave. The cave was built long ago for taking the rock and using that rock to build chateaus that were surrounding the village. After the tour we tasted some more wine that was much sweeter (because we started from dry to sweet) and then Eugenie and Dipesh bought some wine and we headed out. It was getting late so we went to the hotel (B&B) to check in and then we went to get some food. My stay in the hotel was free because Eugenie's dad travels so much and when he travels he stays in a B&B so he got us a free nights stay and breakfast in the morning. All we had to pay was 0.90Euros and I of course paid that! ha! I had to after all they have done for me! So we checked in then we had a choice to go to Flunch or McDonald's. Dipesh wanted Mcdo so I broke my promise and we ate at McDonald's. This place was PACKED. I thought it was quite funny but it was shocking to see so many French people in an American restaurant.

Anyways, the night in the hotel, the room all to my self was AWESOME. I took a shower, watched some soccer then went to bed because I was exhausted. The next morning we got up and had breakfast and it was wonderful! (Usually you have to pay to eat breakfast in European hotels and to have it paid for was awesome and very generous of Eugenie's father!)

So we hit the road and set out for Blois. We first went to Chambord which is the largest chateau in France and it was beautiful! After walking around the chateau we then rented a row boat and rowed around the chateau along the river. I started out rowing because Dipesh and Eugenie have never rowed before. When I was rowing Dipesh just laid on the boat as if he really was a King. It was absolutely hilarious when Dipesh tried to row. It took us about 20 minutes to get around the corner and to the other side of the chateau. I do have to admit that the boat was fit for fast rowing and because the boat was wide in the middle it was easier to have 2 people row at the same time. The rowing was relaxing and I needed that relaxation in the sun badly. The exercise, the fresh air, the beautiful scenery, it was a perfect hour to think about nothing but laugh and smile and enjoy my time with wonderful people.

Later we had a picnic near the chateau and we enjoyed some conversation then headed to explore the city of Blois. We started out by visiting the Royal Chateau of Blois then walked around to see the major attractions. My favorite was the statue of Joan of Arc! It was right at the lookout of the whole city and the river that ran through it! After walking around for about 2 hours we sat down and I had some hot chocolate because the wind had made me cold and I needed something to warm me up. The ice cream looked DELICIOUS but I had to be smart and say no to that wonderful looking goodness. We sat and relaxed and I helped Dipesh with his accounting homework then we walked back to the car and I got a baguette for the road back to Paris.

On the ride back to Paris Eugenie drove through all the villages and through the countryside to show me more of France instead of just the highway. Everything was spectacularly green and there were old bridges and she told me that every village in France has a church. There are around 52,000 cities in France and probably over 100,000 churches. She was very intelligent and I loved learning neat facts about France from her! As we were driving I also noticed all the huge wind turbines there were in the fields. There were so many of them! After a 3 hour drive back we finally get into Paris and there is no where to park so they drop me off at a metro and I head home. I am SO grateful that I have met them and they were so generous to take me to see things that I would have never seen probably. I plan on sending Eugenie's father a thank you note from Texas and also send Eugenie and Dipesh something as well. Going on this trip allowed me to not just see France but spend money on gifts for my family instead of a hotel or transportation. It was a wonderful trip and it was very nice to get away from Paris for 2 days.

Next weekend I'm back to the Loire Valley but I will be with ISA this time and we will be visiting more chateaus. Although we will be seeing the same chateau..the Chambord, its worth seeing again and this time I will get to go inside!

Last full month in Paris

So this past week has been eventful and tiring. Monday I went to the Centre Pompidou museum and it was the biggest letdown. It is a contemporary museum and the exhibition was Lucien Freud and all I have to say is...not my thing. I was uninterested in his paintings of naked people. He has a wonderful talent but I walked through the exhibition quickly and I was done probably within 5 minutes. After the exhibition I walked through the permanent collection and again I wasn't impressed. I spent 9Euros and the best part about the museum was the elevator. I spent most of my time going up and down the elevator and also looking around the boutique.

Tuesday, I went with ISA to the Le Maroc en Lumiere Exposition at l'Institute du Monde Arabe. This exhibition was much more interesting and I enjoyed walking through it! After walking through it, we got a surprise and we had tea and gateau at a Moroccan cafe. The room was very relaxing and the tea was wonderful. I had a crepe with raisins in it and it was SO GOOD. Before we were leaving, the server came over and took my hand and awkwardly asked me to marry him. All I could do was laugh and everyone else was laughing and taking pictures. He was kissing my hand and he told me to feel his heart and to see how fast it was beating. After this bizarre moment we got up and walked out. As we were walking out, the guy walked away from customers to ask me if he could have my number. Christelle (my ISA representative) said we should have given him the ISA director's number! It was all for fun and we all had a good laugh!

Wednesday, I had a french test and my last midterm for the semester in economics. Wednesday was a very stressful day and a long 8 hours of class really wore me out.

Thursday, I woke up early to go the Musee de la Vie Romantique to see the Frederic Chopin exhibition. It was very interesting and Nadine (my ISA representative) was extremely informative about Chopin and she helped me translate most of the labels next to the paintings of the people related to Chopin or were friends of Chopin. We also walked through the permanent collection and then I had to get to my french class. After I went to the ISA office to book my trip to Amsterdam in which I will be leaving for April 15 and coming back to Paris at the crack of dawn (6am) Sunday morning.

This weekend I was invited to go along on a road trip around Tours, France, which is about 2 hours south of Paris. It will be a nice 2 day get-a-way and it will basically be free because they are driving and they have free passes to stay at a bed-and-breakfast. So right now my April is looking pretty busy...

April 4-5 Tours, France

April 10-11 Loire Valley

April 15-18 Amsterdam

2 of those weekends are basically free and I just have to pay for food. Amsterdam...roundtrip and one night in a hostel was only 82Euros which is awesome! I'm excited and I think Amsterdam might be the last trip I make. For my birthday I might go to Disneyworld in Paris because I heard its only about 30Euros and it would be a good birthday present to me! Plus it's the only Disneyworld in Europe! There is still a lot for me to do in Paris like going up the eiffel tower and notre dame and Montparnasse. Right now I can not go all the way up the eiffel tower because of renovations so I am waiting for it to get warm and very nice outside for me to go up! I'm planning on going up in May before I leave. Lately the weather has been awful!....cold and rainy and cloudy. Not amazing. But with the not so beautiful weather I have been able to get some school work done. Coming up I have 3 big presentations with 2 20 page papers due all in April. Then in May, I have finals and I will soon be flying back to Texas.

Would you like some Fish with those Chips?

The past 3 days have been the best 3 days yet during my stay in Europe. London was absolutely incredible! It was beyond refreshing to hear english and the people there are way more friendly and more happy. There is a obviously a HUGE difference between Paris and London. The moment I stepped off the train into St. Pancras International I knew that London was going to be awesome, and it was.

Let me begin at the train station in Paris...Kirsten (the girl I went with) was lost and we could not find each other. Also I kept looking up at the screen wondering why there were 2 dots next to our train number...I finally asked someone and learned that it meant that Eurostar departed from the first floor and I was on the ground floor. I ran upstairs and I found out that I have to go through customs and passport checks and security. As I was standing in line for passport check, I saw Kirsten at the front of the line and we learned we had to fill out an immigration form. At this point, our train would be leaving in 13 minutes. We were frantic and filling out the form in a hurry and when we got to the man, he asked us a thousand questions..."Why are you going to London?" "What are you doing in Paris?" "Where are you staying in Paris?" "How long are you staying in London?"...and on our immigration form there was a space for a UK address and I told the man that we are just there for vacation and we don't have an address and we were just staying at a hostel. He replied "Well I suggest you find an address then." After I hurried to find the papers for the hostel and writing the address down and finally getting cleared, the security checkpoint was next. Thank goodness we didn't have to completely undress to go through the metal detector. After security we started running to our train but it was too late. The doors had closed 4 minutes before departure. So we got on the next train and we were off to London. On the ticket we noticed that it was only an hour long ride...this was our first blonde moment. There's a time change between Paris and London so after an hour we were confused as to why we were still in France and that we thought the chunnel everyone talks about was a scam! We soon realized that the ride was 2 hours long and that London is an hour behind Paris! We had a good laugh!

When we got to London we first exchanged our Euros to Pounds and then we headed out the door to find our hostel and it was very close to the train station which was perfect. Our hostel was very nice and with the lounge area and the flat screen tv it was a perfect area to relax in the evenings after long day of walking through the city. The first day, we put our stuff in our room and we booked it to start our day of site-seeing. The tube, which is like the metro in Paris, was a 2 minute walk away and as we were about to buy our day tickets, a older man came up and asked if we were buying day tickets and I said yes and he handed me his and he said he was finished with it for the day! A free day ticket!! It was super sweet of that man and it saved us 6 pounds! Me and Kirsten decided to just split the other ticket for the day! The tube has much higher security than in Paris and they are very strict upon who gets on and who gets off. You always need your ticket with you because you need it to enter and exit! Also, its much CLEANER than Paris. And the seats are so nice!

After getting off the tube we walked everywhere! We had a photoshoot in the yellow flowers in Hyde Park, walked around the Buckingham Palace (which wasn't that impressive), walked to Trafalgar Square, and finished off our first day at the Tower Bridge. We stopped to get Hot chocolate at Cafe Rouge and when we left we went back to see the Tower Bridge at night and we walked across it! It was beautiful. We saw the london bridge lit up and the HMS Belfast lit up in many different colors. We headed home and we ate dinner at Pizza Express and I got a cheese pizza with Strawberry Gelato for dessert! YUMMY! It was so good!

The second day we got up early and once again got our tube ticket and got going! We visited more parks and more monuments and we had another photoshoot at the Chelsea FC soccer stadium! It was so much fun! It started to rain but we kept on going and we finally found a grocery store and I bought a baguette and some bananas for snacks. It was so hard to find a grocery store! There wasn't one near our hostel so we had to always search for one elsewhere. We then tried to hunt down Wimbledon and for some reason the tennis courts are hidden and we never could find them. We gave up and headed back to an area that we recognized. We kept on walking where the bus driver told us to go but it just felt wrong to keep walking that way so we just headed back. It was annoying to not find the tennis courts but atleast we tried to find them! The courts are more outside London and are more in the suburbs which is not what we had expected! I think next time I go to London I will have a better map and idea of where to go! Trying to find the courts was kind of a spur of the moment thing which didn't work out well! During our site-seeing we had found PASTYS in the tube station and I thought of my Grandma! We were looking for places to eat and I recognized the shape of this amazing goodness and I told Kirsten about them and she wanted to try one so Kirsten bought one with pork and apple I think it was and she liked it! They had all kinds of Pastys and their traditional Pasty was the same exact Pasty my Grandma makes!...Another reason why I LOVE London!

The last day we hunted down the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in the Kensington Park because we couldn't find it the day before. Once we found it we were completely shocked! It was such a letdown! There was no fountain! It was a stream of water that went in a circle. We took a sad picture and walked away from that so fast! But we were happy to have found it because it was frustrating to not find it! We then took pictures in a traditional telephone booth and kept checking things we wanted to do off our list! After doing some last minute things, we went back to the Irish Pub that was next to our hostel and Kirsten had some fish and chips to get it out of her system. She was dying to try some and she finally had them. It really is just breaded fish and french fries....no biggy I thought. Around 4 in the afternoon we headed back to our Hostel to get our backpacks and we went back to the train station to hangout before our train left. At the train station I bought a chocolate cupcake (because everyone seemed to be buying them and they looked SO GOOD) and I bought some traditional lemon curd. When I got back to Paris I tried the lemon curd and it was AMAZING.

The train ride back to Paris was awesome. I sat next to Freddie Keen. He is a musicien in London and we talked the WHOLE 2 hours and it made the time go by so fast. I'm sure people around us got annoyed but I didn't care! I had so much fun talking with him because once he told me that he was in Dallas/Fort Worth last year to play we couldn't stop talking! He said he wants to go back to Austin and play there! He told me how much he loved Sonic Burgers! It made me want a slushy so bad! I asked him if he is going to play in the Dallas area again and he said he doesn't have a schedule right now because he is in the middle of recording but he definitely wants to go to Texas again! I told him he if ever does to let me know and I will drive him to Sonic to get a burger haha! (He doesn't know how to drive so I offered to drive him!) Anyways, we had the best time talking about movies, music, sports, etc. He's a very friendly guy and another reason why I love London so much more than Paris! A Parisian probably wouldn't have said a word to me during the train ride!

Overall, London was SUPER expensive but I absolutely loved it and for some reason I felt like I didn't want to go back to Paris. In London people where brighter clothes and they smile and laugh more. They just seem happier than the people in Paris. The atmosphere was relaxing and more loving. It was definitely more me.

Spring break 2010 was awesome and I'm ready to start classes again! I'm not really ready to start doing all my big presentations but it'll be over with faster than I know it and I will be back in Texas in the sun! My next adventure is in April to the Loire Valley in France!

Mid-Spring Break

Today I met with my professor from UTA who came to Paris for his spring break. Whenever I see a familiar person in Paris it makes me love Paris even more! We met at St. Michel by the fountain and then we walked a little while until we found a cafe. We had some cafe au creme and talked for a good hour. After we stopped at a boulangerie so I could get a baguette :) and he got a crepe! We then walked over to Notre Dame and sat and talked there for a while before we finally departed. It was a relaxing beautiful day in Paris with the sun out and I didn't even need my jacket it was so warm. Well...a light jacket was perfect.

Talking to my professor made me realize how much I have grown and how independent I have become. It's very easy to learn to be independent in Paris. I think that if anyone has the chance to they should study abroad during their college education. It is truly life changing and worth every second. You learn so much about yourself and how you want to live your life. I know what type of person I want to become and how I want to live my life. Before coming to Paris, I was literally a disaster and I had no clue what I wanted to do in my life or how I wanted to live it. Now I have found peace and control. But my professor did say that I will have reverse culture shock once I get back to the US and I will have to get used to the US again. Hopefully I can bring my love of walking and being outdoors and doing things by myself back to the states with me. I know I can't bring baguettes home with me but this heavenly tasting goodness will lead me back to Paris in the future.

I've been in Paris for 2 months now and I am half way done already. Time has flown by and each day I am loving it here more and more. French kids are absolutely ADORABLE and I will always remember the time I saw a kindergarden class outside for a walk and each boy had a hand of a girl and they were bundled up so tightly with scarves and hats and mittens. They were nonstop talking in french and o how I wish that I could talk like them in french. It was the cutest moment and it made me want to take one of those kids home....just for a day and then give it back! haha! Besides seeing the darn tootinest kids, the beautiful monuments, different cities in France, and meeting people from all over the world, I enjoy my independence the most. From the time that I first arrived at the airport and basically had an emotional breakdown on the phone with the ISA director, I have become stronger as a person and I know that anything is possible if you just tell yourself to "just do it." (I totally agree with Nike.) There's not a person in this world that can make you do something. Only you can. Just believe in yourself and get out there in the world and do it. Make it happen. My professor and I talked about how dependent Americans are and that many women my age are so focused on finding the right man and getting married and already starting families. At my age, I am still young and I think that if women do not have the independence and strength to be on their own, they should find it in themselves before they go looking for it in a man. A man does not complete your life. Money does not complete your life. In Paris, there are SO many single people and I remember my ISA rep Christelle tell me "I don't need a man! I got myself!" I admire her. She is super outgoing and friendly and always smiling and happy! She's just the type of woman that I want to become! Overall, I think that I could live in Paris and be happy. J'adore le metro and I'm going to miss that the most! I love walking to wherever I want to go. I love the family lifestyle here...going out during the day to work/school and coming home and spending time together in the evening. Parisians don't sit at home during the day. They get out and find something to do even if they don't have work. And there is always something to do in Paris which is another thing I love. Tomorrow I leave for London and my professor told me to compare London to Paris and see if after 2 days in London I still want to come back to Paris. This is because I told him that whenever I went to Bordeaux, Cannes, Nice, and Monte-Carlo, near the end of my time in those cities, I just wanted to get back home to Paris. For some reason when I travel to other places now, after a few days I start missing Paris BEAUCOUP. I love it here. I love the Parisian life. While me and Michele were in Nice, we overheard a few people say "sont Parisians" while looking at us and that made me feel good. Although Parisians are thought to be somewhat stuck-up, atleast they didn't call us stupid Americans.

Right now I am packed and ready to leave for London in the morning. I will be staying for 3 days and I get back to Paris Saturday night. Then spring break is over for me. I have an essay to write that is due Wednesday and I have to start studying for my last midterm.