A Museum, An Organ Recital, The REAL London Night Bus, and an Airport Marathon

Sunday/Monday, May 23/24
Day 25/26 LONDON




Sunday we slept in a little later than planned and then went to the British Museum. The museum is huge so we couldn't see everything, not even close. However, we went through the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman exhibits and saw some pretty interesting things, including the Rosetta Stone and some cool mummies. After about an hour and half we'd had our fill of ancient artifacts (as cool as they were) so we left and went in search of some food. Unfortunately we chose poorly on this count. We found a French cafe (I know, in London, I'm not sure what we were thinking) where we ended up spending two hours eating. The service was so incredibly slow. I think that's just how Frenchstyle cafes are though, which is very frustrating. The food was good, but we were in a hurry to do other things so it was unfortunate that we ate there. By the time we left it was too late to make it to the British war museum, which I had been looking forward to, so instead we went to Buckingham Palace. The palace was cool to look at but I was disappointed that the guards were inside the gates so I couldn't even tell a joke to one of them. Sad day.

The British Museum

After milling around the palace square, which was blazing hot in the sun, we decided to go over to Westminster Abbey to attend an organ recital--which was the only way we would be able to get inside the abbey to see it for free. It was really cool. The recital was by an up and coming organist who is very accomplished in England (whose name I don't have on hand right now, but I have the pamphlet with my bags upstairs). Anyways, the recital was good and it was a cool experience to hear it in the abbey. I'll admit though I was so exhausted that I slept through most of the performance. Oops.

Westminster Abbey

After the recital we went out and lounged in the waning sunshine on the lawn next to the abbey. Around 7:30 we began to make our way home on the bus and stopped along the way at a corner grocery store because all the restaurants in the shopping center were closed (Sunday). We bought ourselves some cheap dinners and ate them back at the apartment where we met up with Kimber and Julian again who were back from their trip. We ate our dinners together and watched some more episodes of Arrested Development and packed up our things. I took a quick one hour nap around 1am and at 2:15am we went to wait at the bus stop to take a bus to another bus to take us to the train which would then deliver us to the airport. Unfortunately we missed our second bus by only a few minutes and so we had to wait for the next one for half an hour. This would normally have been fine but it was the middle of the night in London and we were just three young college girls, so it was a little sketchy.

While we were waiting a guy and a girl came up to wait by us. She was drunk and kept asking everyone for a lighter. It was funny too because she made a similar comment to the one that the man had said the other day after we had dinner at Wagamama's. When we told her we didn't have one she replied, "Man, no one smokes anymore! Its like you're afraid of getting cancer or something." It was funnier in person, I promise. She had a lot of personality--especially in her drunken state.

The man who was with her turned out to be really nice too. He started chatting with us about what we were doing in London and when he found out we were American he told us how he had spent several years in the U.S. in several different regions (I think he said he was in Chicago and Portland). It was nice to have him there because there were some creepy people nearby and across the square (our stop was at Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery) came the strong scent of marijuana--gross. Luckily the bus finally came and we took it to this obscure stop where we walked to the train station entrance only to find that it was closed there and we had to go to a back entrance. This was really sketchy because the entrance was down an alleyway and didn't look like a entry at all. We walked quickly.

Thankfully we caught the train on time and I had a brief nap to the airport. Once at the airport we spent the rest of our pounds (I bought 10p of candy as souvenirs) and then went up to security because we had already done our check in online. However, here is where the story really begins...

As I make it through the line to the counter where I am to present my boarding pass, I start searching through my backpack for my paper. I can't find it at first so I move to the side and start rummaging. As I continue tearing apart my bag my heart begins to beat faster and faster as I realize that I don't have my boarding pass. In fact, I had accidentally printed off my ticket to go to London twice, instead of printing my return pass. My stomach turns as I realize that our plane is going to board in thirty minutes and I still had to go through security. Meridith and Andrea had already gone through the check so I told them to head through security and I would meet them at the gate. I then start half running half walking back through the airport to the check in desk where I wait in line anxiously for ten minutes. While I'm waiting, every few minutes a voice would come on the intercom and announce that passengers must hurry and get in line to check in if they haven't yet for the flight to Paris (my flight). About seven minutes later the lady at the ticket desk calls to see if anyone in line is on the Paris flight and waves us up to the front. I check in quickly and then grab my boarding pass and run back up to security.

When I am waved through to security my heart stops again as I realize that the line has grown exponentially and is at least a twenty minute wait (the line filled every turn). I knew my plane boarding by now but I didn't know what to do so I got in line and waited. After about another ten minutes (I kept sneaking glances at peoples watches, and even asked someone the time once) I saw a few men cut the line immediately. When no one said anything to them I decided that it was an emergency so I ducked under the rope and went to the front of the security line and hurried to get my bag through. What a poor time to have a lap top.

Once I got through the scanner I grabbed my lap top, coat and backpack from the table and, without stopping to put my computer in the bag, or even close my backpack, I took them in my arms and started to run. In my rush to find my gate I neglected to stop and ask which gate my plane was at. I assumed it would be posted outside the security check, but silly me, that's in America where things make sense. NO. I was supposed to ask an airport agent who was at the security check before leaving. Well, instead I just ran. As I ran I looked around for a tv monitor to tell me the gate but there were none to be found. Finally I came to a fork that had twenty gates on one side and twenty on the other. Not knowing which gate I was supposed to go to I prayed that I would pick the right side and run into it and just turned left.

I guess I didn't pray hard enough.

I picked the wrong turn. I ran down the terminal for about five minutes--I must've run about a half mile at least--and even called out in my desperation to a group of people if any of them were on the Paris flight (they looked at me like I was crazy--which, I was). Finally I came to the end where there was a gate closing to Amsterdam (which I knew was leaving around the same time as mine because it had been announced with mine when I was waiting to check in). I must have looked like a maniac when I ran up to the lady at the desk with my coat and laptop in my arms and my backpack gaping open, breathing like I'd run a marathon. I breathlessly asked her which gate was to Paris and she indicated that it was, in fact, on the other side of the terminal and I would have to turn back. Commence heart attack number 1232039293.

I moaned a cry of despair and turned tail and ran again. By this point I was really tired and hot carrying all my junk. And in the madness things started falling out of my open backpack. What luck. My cardigan fell out and my purse with some coins that I had to stop and pick up--people passing me were probably scared because I screamed in frustration when I saw my things fall behind me. Ha. And even though things were falling out, I didn't bother to put them back in the bag or even close it. No, instead I just add all the fallen items to my collection already in my arms and keep on running.

Finally, I catch site of my gate, which is empty except for the gate attendant and Meridith and Andrea waiting anxiously. I run up to them (looking really awkward with my arms-full-backpack-open-redfaced-run) and they help put my things back in my bag. Then we all board the plane together, with about five minutes to spare before they close the gate (miraculously I wasn't even last!). However, in my airport plight there was one casualty. My favorite sweatpants. They must have fallen out in my mad mile-long dash to the gate (yes, I ran at least a mile through that stupid terminal). I wish it had been my cardigan. I loved those sweatpants. I wore them all the time, every day. They were the best. And my roommate Marissa knows how much I miss them too, because I make a sad comment about them about once a day. Tragic.

But, at least I made the flight! My whole body was shaking during the hour flight back due to the adrenalin pulsing through my veins. That adrenalin is pretty potent stuff. Eventually I fell asleep on the plane and took a restless nap until we arrived in Paris.

Once in Paris we had to spend 5 euro on a train ticket to get back to Vesinet (which is stupid because we only needed a ticket for one of the zones because our navigo passes cover all the zones except the last one where the airport is). But they don't take that into account in Paris so we had to pay in full for the ticket. When then took the train for about an hour and a half back to Vesinet. When I got home I dropped my things and then fell into blessed slumber for the next five hours (from 2-7) and didn't wake up until dinner.

Dinner was another experience because this time Frederique's husband, Christian, was there! He had been away on vacation this whole time so Marissa and I hadn't really met him (I had briefly the week before but Marissa hadn't even seen him yet). That made for a very interesting dynamic during dinner. It was fun watching Frederique and Christian interact--sometimes they fought to be heard over the other, although not in a mean way. It was just funny.

Our dinner was very good. It consisted of pork, potatoes (yum!), cooked mushrooms, and mushroom and cucumber salad that was actually good, and a big flan for Marissa's birthday. It was so nice of Frederique. She made a big flan cake for Marissa because her birthday had been that weekend, and we even sang to her and Frederique gave her a gift. It was a video documentary of the French landscape from an aerial view. It was really nice of her. And luckily Marissa liked flan (she's very picky and doesn't often like Frederiques food, not even the desserts) so she actually ate it. That would have been awkard if she hadn't liked it....

First impressions:
I liked Christian a lot. He was pretty open and nice and he talked a lot which made it easy to just sit back and listen. The only downside was that it was awkward trying to make it a true conversation and not just a monologue on his side. But he talked about reality and rental prices in Florida and Paris, and I just don't know much about that stuff. So that just made for a lot of, "Oui" 's on my part. Other than that though he was very nice and he corrected my French more obviously it seemed than Frederique would. However, I don't mind being corrected anymore, in fact, its really helpful, so it wasn't too intimidating. What is funny is that Frederique addresses Marissa more and Christian tended to direct his questions to me, so I had to pay more attention to what he was saying.




All in all, it was a very long day which really began the day before....and I felt it. I saw the sites of London, ran through the London airport, almost missed my flight, lost my sweatpants in the excitement, made it back to Paris alive and then slept all of Monday and met my host dad.

By the time I got back I needed a vacation from my vacation!

A Memorial Day to Remember

Monday May 31
Day 33

Monday was a bittersweet day. I woke up around 6:30am and gathered my things together that I had packed a few hours before. After checking to make sure I had all my things I grabbed a quick bite to eat (yogurt with granola), Christian put my bags in the car, we took a picture (they looked very French as they didn’t really smile--it was more of a strained look like they were fighting not to smile or show emotion) and then Christian drove Marissa and I to the Super U in Vesinet to meet the coach bus. We were a few minutes early (and the bus was about twenty minutes late) so we waited in the car for a little while. I was proud of myself because I made an effort to talk a little more with Christian before we left. I did a pretty good job too I think, although he did have to correct me on a few small points (ex: To say ‘There wasn’t enough room in the suitcase’ You would say “Il n’y avait pas assez de place dans la valise/le bagage’...I had said espace or something, which I knew was wrong but I didn’t know what the correct term was). After a few minutes a small group of us had arrived to wait so we decided to get out so Christian wouldn’t have to sit with us. So we said goodbye, gave our bisoux and he left. I figured out the other day though why I liked him and Frederique so much. Its because Frederique reminded me of Coco (in looks and a little bit in personality) and Christian reminded me of Papere (mostly in looks although occasionally in his personality--I think he talks more than Papere).

Ma Famille d'accueil

The bus finally came at about 8:35 I think and from there we left for the town of Bayeux, which is home to the famous Bayeux tapestry. In actuality it is not a tapestry at all but a very very long embroidered cloth (a tapestry has continuity of construction--its all woven together, not embroidered on top). The town of Bayeux was very cute and the tapestry was pretty interesting. I liked it because it was exciting to see something that I had learned about in my French classes, and even Humanities and History classes, over the past several years--and there it was right in front of me! It is enormous--at least in length. And the audio guide was pretty decent--it went through each scene of the “tapestry” in sequential order so we walked from beginning to end. Some of the information was actually really interesting and it was cool to observe some of the subtle details and artistic liberties that were included into it. The tapestry tells the story of the Battle of Hastings when William, King of Normandy (who would be known as William the Conqueror because of this event), battled King Harold of England. As his name would suggest, William came out conqueror and thus became king of England and Normandy. The tapestry itself is especially important because it is one of the only examples of art that depicts a real event near the time that it occurred, and is a realistic representation of many of the cultural aspects of society at the time, including a view into the architecture and dress of the period.

We had fun with the museum displays

The rest of the museum didn’t have much of interest in it--I amused myself by taking goofy pictures with Betsy (I know, real mature). After going through the museum and getting a couple souvenirs from the gift shop we went down the street and got a bite to eat in a little shop by the church. Unfortunately by the time everyone had finished eating it was time to get back on the bus so I didn’t get to go in and see the church, but I’m not too heartbroken because I’ve seen a lot of churches in the past few weeks. So, we headed back to the bus and drove a little ways to Omaha Beach in Normandy, which is recognized by the French government as official U.S. territory (ahh, so good to be back on American soil), to see the battleground and memorial.

It was a perfect Memorial Day.

I went through the visitors’ center first, which gave individual stories of soldiers who fought at Normandy, as well as an impressive history and background of the battle and the consequences. There was a really good film that gave a beautiful tribute to the men who fought and died there and as you walked through the next room a woman’s voice can be heard listing off the names of all the fallen heroes of Normandy. It was an incredibly beautiful and impressive memorial and I’ll admit I got surprisingly emotional.


Continuing on from the visitors’ center you walk outside and can follow the path to the beach or the cemetery and monument. I went to the beach first, where I ran into Jessica and Isabelle so I walked with them (I had gone through the memorial alone). The beach is beautiful and it reminded me of home. It’s hard to imagine a battle being fought on its pristine sandy shores. All I could think of while I was there was the movie Saving Private Ryan, and the initial battle scene when the boats approach the beach. So much chaos, carnage and death occurred in such a small amount of time and yet, today there is little left to indicate that anything so horrible ever happened here.

After spending a little time on the beach and taking a few pictures (I waved to New Hampshire from the opposite end of the Atlantic!)

Bonjour East Coast!

I headed back up the hill towards the cemetery. The cemetery was immense. The lines of white gravestones continue on and on standing out against the rich green grass and scattered trees. There are so many that the graves are organized into sections according to alphabetical order. I think what was most impressive to me was the fact that so many of these men were boys my age. I had always thought of soldiers as being older than me, but in reality this battle was fought and paid for with the lives of thousands of young boys, many still teenagers. This really touched me and I reacted in a way that surprised me. When I go to memorials or see or talk about sad events, I usually feel pretty solemn and grateful. However, although I felt both solemn and grateful, I was especially angry. Anger wasn’t something I was expecting to feel here. It just frustrates me and truly angers me that so many people had to die, and this was only one battle, in war. It makes everything seem so pointless. Why did the world go to war? Why can’t people see how stupid it is and do more to avoid it? War makes no sense. All I know is that I’m so grateful that these brave young men had the courage to do what was necessary to ensure the freedom of not only their countrymen, but that of the French and the rest of Europe. Their belief and commitment to so great a cause gives me so much respect for them and I am honored that I can live in a country that raised such valiant men.



In the middle of the cemetery there is a small memorial chapel erected in honor of the fallen sons of America. There is a nice dedicatory memorial on the side, both in French and English. Surprisingly I liked the French version better--somehow it seemed more eloquent and fitting. I’ll write both versions here:

Cette chapelle a ete elevee par les Etats Unis d’Amerique en souvenir reconnaissant de leurs fils qui tomberent au cours des debarquements sur les plages de la Normandie et pendant la liberation de la France septentrionale
***
Leurs tombes sont le symbole eternel de leur heroisme et de leur sacrifice a la cause commune de l’humanite

******

This chapel has been erected by the United States of America in grateful memory of her sons who gave their lives in the landings on the Normandy beaches and in the liberation of Northern France.
***
Their graves are the permanent and visible symbol of their heroic devotion and their sacrifice in the common cause of humanity.

We spent about two hours at Omaha Beach and then took the bus another ten minutes away to Pointe du Hoc, which is another battle site that has been left unchanged and preserved since World War II. We were able to see the original foxholes and bunkers and had some fun taking pictures inside some of the "secret holes and passageways." Unfortunately we only had about twenty minutes there so I couldn't see all of it, but it was cool to walk around it briefly.

We left Pointe du Hoc for dinner in Saint Lo where we had a first course of salad that came with a kind of French hotpocket that was filled with cheese and spinach and I think tuna or shrimp. It was really tasty. Better than the main course which was pork in sweet rum sauce, with a cooked tomato (that was pretty good--I ate mine and two others!) and fries. The pork was good, but it was still on the bone and it looked a little bit like a heart so most of the girls were freaked out by it. I liked it but the rum sauce was really sweet so it was hard to finish such a rich dish. For dessert we had a weird apple quiche thing. It was definitely egg, so it was like a quiche but topped with baked apples, so it was a mixture between a quiche and a slice of apple pie. It was pretty good, but not my favorite. And I felt really sick after dinner because I ate so much. The other girls felt sick too, but that was because they were grossed out by the pork. Pansies.

The main dish of pork, tomato and fries in rum sauce

SIDE NOTE:

While at the Normandy Memorial, on our way out we passed some restrooms and decided to make a quick pit stop before continuing on the bus trip. As we turn the corner to enter the doorway lo and behold we see the most amazing site ever! Yes, not one, but two, drinking fountains!!!! Please take a moment to appreciate this victory. France does not have drinking fountains anywhere, or bathrooms for that matter, and here we find both! Indeed we were on U.S. territory. Ahh, it felt good to be home!

Note the pure, unadultered joy

Oh la la

June 6, 2010
Day 38


So I know I probably talk too much about the boy situation in France (thanks for pointing that out Mom) but I have a story, so bear with me.

Let me take you back to earlier this night when I was in the lobby of the residence I'm staying at here in Nice. We can only access the internet in the lobby so I came down and started talking on skype with my parents. To be polite I went and sat on the steps outside in the garden so I wouldn't interrupt the others who were using the internet here. I'd been outside for a while when a boy walks by and says "Bonsoir." At first I didn't hear him because I had my headphones in to listen to my mom, but then I replied "Bonsoir," he acknowledged, looked back, and kept walking. So I didn't think anything of it...

I keep talking to my mom, trying to plan our rendezvous at the end of the week and catching up since I haven't had a lot of internet access all week. A little later the same boy and a friend were in the courtyard again and his friend asked for a lighter (a question I have been asked countless times now) and then left. About an hour later, its almost midnight, the same kid (the first one) walks by and asks to sit down on the steps by me. Please picture this. I am in the middle of talking to my mom on skype (he comes up to me in midsentence) and sits down when I give him the affirmative (thinking he was just going to ask for a smoke or something). Wrong. He starts talking to me--yes, I'm still online with my mom, and yes, she can hear every word--and he asks about what I'm doing here (study abroad with my class) and what room I'm in (don't worry, I didn't tell him) to which my mom writes on skype chat, "Don't give him your room number." Thanks. I'm so glad my mom can be a part of my "getting hit on by a French boy" experience. Not awkward at all.

Realizing the kid was not about to leave, I quickly typed back, "I won't. Ttyl." and promptly closed my computer before my mom could eavesdrop any more...

...I then engaged in a nice long chat with this random French boy. We talked about school and what we were studying (he's studying economics after dropping out of the information systems program) and compared American and French culture (he asked what Americans think of the French and I told him we consider their military a joke--he retorted that the French saved the Americans in the Revolution though and then we saved them in WWII). He asked what kind of shows I liked (House, NCIS...) and if I knew any famous French singers, athletes, actors etc. I named off some presidents and he mentioned a few famous actors whose names I didn't know but I knew the name of the film (La Vie en Rose). He spoke English in a thick accent because he wanted to practice and I attempted to speak in French, but it was difficult because I wasn't thinking in French with him speaking in English--so it was more a franglais conversation. He said I spoke French well, but I think he was lying haha.

I decided to put in some random stalker pictures of my own...
I feel like it fit the theme, even if the roles are reversed...

After talking about school and such and asking where I was staying (I told him we were spread on all floors--no precise location, don't worry), he asked where we would have class. Lucky me we have class in the morning in the courtyard (where we were sitting). He was like, "Oh, here?! Really? What time?" I tried to be general (we have class at 10:30) so I just said, "Oh, I don't know, sometime arrrrround 10? Maybe. Ten-ish." And he was like, "Ten? Oh, down here? Hm, I can come? Your teacher will be here? I come in the morning?" I just stuttered. I'm pretty sure that does not ca va with Lebras (my teacher). He was like, "Hm, that is a little bit early for me. So if I don't come, I am in room 101 and you can come knock at noon and I will be there to see you." Huh. Yeah. Ok. I did not know what to say, I just said something along the lines of, "Oh, yeah, okay....heh heh...suuure. Well, we have a lot of homework to do in the afternoons--we're required to visit some museums and tour the city etc...." But he didn't seem too bothered by that. I'm not sure what he thinks we're going to do. But he was pretty adamant about joining our class in the morning...which poses a very potentially awkward situation for me...yup.






......One hour and 15 minutes later....



After trying to excuse myself once (unsuccessfully because he changed the topic and kept talking) I finally was freed by his friend who came over and asked to get into their room to go to bed. He turned to me and said, "Oh, I have to go now...but I will see you in class here? Okay. Goodnight." Giles and Jenny were in the lobby and had heard that I was talking to him so we had a nice moment of laughter and comraderie in my bizarre experience. I stayed in the lobby with them to write this blog entry and finish up an email I had started while talking with my mom earlier when the kid returns! He walks in and sees me sitting down and comes over saying, "I'm sorry, I was rude. I did not even ask your name. What is it?" I told him and asked his (its Vincent). He stayed a moment talking to Giles and me about the basketball game (Lakers v. Celtics tonight) and how I'm a Celtics fan and he likes the Lakers like Giles, and then he said goodnight and left.


Hm. Wow. If only these things happened to me in America...in less awkward situations...



....Oh, hold the phone. He just came back again with his friend. And yes, he just reminded me to come find him after class if he doesn't make it in the morning ("Ten thirty right?"). Oh dear. Looks like I'm going to have to stay low for a while...stick close to the three boys in my class. Yes. Good plan. Maybe I'll eat garlic and tease my hair into an afro or something. I won't shower. That should be enough to get rid of him...

Now the problem is facing him (and my parents..."ttyl mom!") tomorrow....that'll be so fun!

Oh la la.




Ps. Mom, (and Marci, if you're reading this), I am alive. He doesn't know where I am. Giles is aware of the situation and I know where he and the other two boys are staying so I can go there for safety. But I don't think this is a dangerous situation. More awkwardly funny....the boy is like a stray dog or something. But I will not be fooled and I will not be taken. No worries. I just hate awkwardness--when it happens to me. Haha.




.....





So, do you remember when Vincent said he would come to class in the morning? I was thinking that he probably wouldn't because he was up so late and would sleep in. Welllllll....no. We start class at 10am in the lobby, with all the chairs arranged in a circle. I was sitting with my back facing the doors and sittting next to Ryan. This turned out to be a good thing because half and hour later I hear footsteps come up behind me and I realize that Vincent showed up after all! I didn't see his face because my back was towards him, but Meridith told me that he apparently walked in and looked around the room for me. I guess it was kind of weird because Dr. Lebras said "Bonjour" to him (and he replied "Bonjour") and then he went to the vending machine (probably to avoid being even more awkward) and then left. Phew. I don't know if he saw me but decided that it would be too weird in that situation (with Dr. Lebras there) or if he just didn't see me because I wasn't facing him, but either way I'm really glad I didn't have to make eye contact with him!

Also...I did not go to his room at noon. For the first time in my life I stood someone up--for which I feel slightly guilty, but really, what did he expect? I'm not going to see him again.....I hope.

Chateau, Chateau, Chateau, MOTH!

Thursday, June 3, 2010
Day 36

This morning I was rudely awakened at 6:30am by one of the girls in our group, who shall remain unnamed, who went outside her room, which was directly next to ours, to chat on skype with her friend. She was talking extremely loudly and wasn’t using headphones so we could also hear her friend. The volume on the computer must have been up all the way because it sounded like the girl was standing right there, instead of being on skype in Mexico. She chatted for about forty minutes. Zut. To make matters worse I had gone to bed at 2am trying to download pictures (it didn’t work, I only got about 25 online) so I only got about four hours of sleep. Oh well.

After getting ready and having the same breakfast as yesterday (lots of apple sauce and a bowl of cereal--no bread!) we got on the bus and left at about 8:45 for the Chateau d’Azay le Rideau. It is a beautiful castle situated on the bank of small river, equipped with a bridge and everything! It looks like a Disney princess castle to be honest. It is white with several towers that have pointed domes on top. The roof is blue as well, just like in the movies! It was one of the more picturesque things I’ve seen thus far. And the town of Azay is so quaint! It also falls under the category of a “Bonjour!” town (my new name for all towns that look like Belle’s opening scene in Beauty and the Beast). I do have a confession to make: I barely listened to any of the audio guide tour. But that’s just because its getting so boring. I’d rather just walk through and take pretty pictures and imagine myself as a beautiful Disney princess--yes, the dress is included in that dream, no laughing.

Example of a "Bonjour!" town.
Can you just picture the people singing from the windows?

Chateau d'Azay le Rideau:
Notice the white and blue and the round towers...Disney princess anyone?

After going through the inside rooms of the chateau we came back outside and had a short photo taking spree. Let’s just say there was a lot of jumping and smiling involved. And Betsy may or may not have looked like a chimpanzee in one of the pictures...

Jumping in front of Alzay Castle

One of my favorite pictures, for sentimental purposes, is of Sarah sitting under a big tree. The story behind this? As we’re walking back we pass this beautiful huge tree and Sarah comments how it looks like the tree in Lord of the Rings (Fellowship) when Frodo is sitting under a tree reading. I exclaim that it does indeed look like that and we keep walking a few more feet looking at the tree longingly. Within a few moments I mention that it makes me want to take a picture....pause....look at each other...Me: Do you want to take a picture of it? Sarah: Yes. Me: Okay.

It took a lot of convincing obviously.

Frodo Baggins Shire Reenactment

So that’s the story behind that picture. I had Sarah sit under it reading my pamphlet on the chateau and voila! Frodo in the Shire impersonation.

After our Shire reminiscing we followed the others into town and searched for lunch. I was lucky enough to find a place that served quiche (not just sandwiches) so I was able to once again avoid bread! Huzzah! Ironically enough Katherine (who is unaware of our LOTR moment) commented that she was considering having two small lunches since it was still a little early, like in Lord of the Rings...to which I replied that she was having her elevensies (it being 11:15). It was a really good moment in my day.
Yes, I do love France.


After Azay le Rideau we took a short twenty minute drive to the Chateau Chenonceau which is a really beautiful castle on a river. It has a few towers, one of which looks like its from Rapunzel, and a wishing well so it looks like its straight out of Snow White. Pretty much every Disney princess could find a part of the castle that belonged to her. It was great. I especially liked the gardens and a little "village" on the castle grounds. So picturesque. It felt medieval and I was all ready to don a peasant dress...or a princess dress. Basically I was ready to reenact all of Beauty and the Beast...Besides the castle being asthetically pleasing, it was also cool to imagine that a lot of important monarchs and members of the royal family came through here, including Francois I and Louise of Lorraine. One random thing that I liked about this chateau was the kitchens. They were located in the basement and there were about six different rooms dedicated to all kinds of cooking and food preparation, including a bread oven, a room for cooking on a stove, an area for chopping meat etc...it was just very grand and that was the first large kitchen I've seen in a chateau thus far so it was kind of neat.

Had to check for food...

At 2:45 we headed to the Chateau Amboise where we were given a guided tour with a real tourguide (not this silly audio guide business). Unfortunately by the time we're on the third chateau I'm not in the mood to hear about it...because honestly how different are castles from each other really? Also, I hadn't had much to eat today and basically no water so I was hit by a wave a fatigue, likely due to the combination of hunger and dehydration, and probably the general stress of seeing amazing sites all day long! What a hard life I lead...

Chateau Amboise, view from the top...

Anyways, a few cool things I will mention about the Chateau Amboise are that this is where Leonardo da Vinci is buried! Yeah, I know, its awesome. We were listening to our tourguide in the small chapel next to the castle and I was zoning in and out when I caught the name Leonardo da Vinci and heard her mention that he asked to be buried at this castle. At first I thought it was just a memorial to him, but no, its his actual final resting place! I didn't realize he was buried in France (or I had forgotten that fact) so that was cool to see. Another funny story is that it was at this castle that King Charles VIII died when he was on his way to attend a medieval tennis match (which is more like handball) when he hit his head on the doorway and died from his injuries. How embarrassing...I mean, tragic.

It just Leo, no big deal...

View of town and river below...

Livin' the dream

After visiting the chateau, which was of course very beautiful, etc. etc., we went to our hotel (the Etap Hotel) in Bloise, which is a block away from another castle, incidently named Chateau Bloise. We walked to dinner which was at an outdoor restaurant in a courtyard outside the castle, so it was a lovely picturesque setting in which to dine. The dinner itself wasn't as fancy or pretty as last night's, but it was good. My favorite part was that there was a salad in two of the courses, instead of just one! And it was a good salad that actually had dressing on it (aka. it was salad greens with two slices of tomato and a light dressing--not much substance but more than usual). The first course was the salad and a quiche with chevre cheese and vegetables. Luckily the chevre was suprisingly mild so I actually really liked the quiche. Also, Mom you would be proud, I ate my tomatoes and those of the other girls who didn't like theirs. They weren't amazing but except for the last one I was able to eat them without grimacing! Yes, progress!

The second, and main course, was chicken with a side of fries and the same salad. Quite good, and I made a point of not finishing the fries (and I didn't eat the appetizer bread either!). Success. And for dessert we had a tasty chocolate cake morsel that was not fully cooked in the middles so it melted onto the plate--someone called it volcano cake, or maybe lava cake. Very tasty.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and a little while later about ten of us girls (we're all on the same floor) went out into the hall and did "8 minute abs" and a couple of us went for a run around the town. While we were running I thought to myself how funny it was that no guys had hit on us here and figured it must be a Parisian thing. However, afterwards I learned that a lot of guys had apparently been calling out to us but I had had my ipod in so I couldn't hear anything. Ignorance is bliss. We passed Giles on our way back and he was with a bunch of strange boys. When we asked him about it later he said that he had gone out to find a soda and those guys had come up to him and asked if he knew any girls. He bragged that he was studying abroad with 24 girls and they proceeded to follow him to the hotel so they could pick us up. He said he tried to lose them but they didn't leave until he got to the hotel and the concierge sent them away when Giles said they were bothering him. Haha, that kid was going to lead them right to us! Good thing we're fast runners! Ps. The run was amazing. I haven't felt this good since I've been in France. Why did I not think of exercising sooner? Pastries do not a healthy person make.

After taking a shower I worked on downloading my pictures and happened to check to see if we had internet (it has been down all evening) and made the brilliant discovery that it was finally working. Hence this blog entry. Marissa is now in bed so we turned off the lights and a few mintues later I scream because of a pesky moth flying into my face. This inevitably lead to a moth hunt (there were two) which consisted of me luring the moths to my computer screen then turning on the light and chasing it to the wall. There I made good use of a shoe that ended in the sudden demise of the nasty intrusive voleurs and the shutting of our window (which has no screen--what savages, I was told France was not a third world country! No screens on the windows, psh).

And so concludes my day in Western France. Started in Tours and ended in Bloise. Tomorrow we see Bloise Chateau and another one I think and by the evening we'll be back in Paris to spend the night and fly out Saturday morning for a beautiful (I hope) week in Nice on the southern coast of France!

Bad hair day, blisters, and the Apocalypse...

Wednesday June 2, 2010
Day 35

This morning I woke up to my alarm at 6:45am, although I didn’t get up until another ten minutes later, to go running with Andrea. We left at 7:10 and ran for twenty minutes, doing two big loops around the hotel area. It felt so good to exercise again, albeit a little painful. Luckily though the weather was really nice and I was awake enough to have a nice hard run. Andrea is a solid runner so it was nice to run with her because she pushed me. Unfortunately I got blisters, as usual with my blessed flat feet, so I wore flip flops the rest of the day. Also on the negative, because I ran in the morning I had to shower so my hair was wet and I waited too long to fix it for the day so it ended up being a weird half fro monstrosity. I had Paige French braid it on the bus, so at least in my plight I made an attempt at being cultural! It was disappointing though because we visited castles today and my hair wasn’t cute--you’re supposed to look like a princess in castle pictures! Dang it. Good thing we’re going to see more later!

Our first stop of the day was at Angers Castle, a chateau overlooking the river Maine and which acted as both “a fortress and a sumptuous residence.” The site has been occupied since the Neolithic period and has been used as a place to mass royal troops, a social hotspot in the 14th and 15th centuries, and a military enclosure and prison. The oldest part of the site is a cairn (a burial ground) dating back to the Neolithic period, and to the rear are two rooms dating to the Roman period, one a chimney and waste water drainage, and the other has pipes for heating the upper room.

Chateau Angers

Top of Angers Castle overlooking the town

One of the most famous and important aspects of the chateau isn’t the chateau itself but what is contained therein: the Apocalypse Tapestry. This tapestry, the largest medieval tapestry in the world, measuring approximately 100 meters in length and 4.5 meters high. It was commissioned in 1375 by Louis I, Duke of Anjou and brother to Charles V, and was likely completely in 1382. It took seven years to complete, a remarkable feat for such a large piece, and is made entirely of wool. There are six pieces to the tapestry and each has smaller scenes representing the story of the Apocalypse with a literal interpretation from the account of Saint John.

Personally I thought the work was amazing to look at strictly for its massive size. I can’t imagine making even one section of the tapestry. And if I remember correctly, not a single part was painted--all the scenes were sown, not painted on over the wool, which makes the work even more impressive when you see the detail and subtlety of colors and depictions. I will admit though that the audio guide was a little too long. I went through every single scene of the Apocalpyse tapestry, which took about half an hour I think (although its impossible to say in that dark cavelike gallery).

After going through the chateau, the beautiful gardens of the inner courtyard, and viewing the tapestry, we walked a few blocks to a cheap sandwich stand where I had a “panini pizza” which was a panini with tomato sauce and ham. It was pretty good. I tried to find something to eat that didn’t include bread but that is nigh impossible in France so I settled with the panini. I’ve made a new goal though to cut bread out of my diet for a little while because we eat so much of it here! Its really difficult though because there’s not much else...I’m doing alright however. I didn’t eat any rolls at dinner and I don’t eat bread at breakfast. We’ll see how long this lasts.


We then drove to Langeais Chateau. It was really pretty, nestled at the end of a cute little street that looked perfectly French. Betsy made the astute comment that she expected townspeople to pop open their shutters and start singing “Bonjour!” from Beauty and the Beast, and that’s not a bad description. I wish they would. We went through the chateau, where Anne of Brittany and the King of France were married, and took some pictures. We only stayed about an hour and half then took the bus to our next hotel in Tours.

Chateau Langeais

We walked about four minutes from the hotel to dinner which was in a very nice restaurant. The table setting was beautiful and every course was a piece of art--and tasted as delicious as it looked! Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera because the dishes were photo-worthy, but trust me, they were beautiful. We had tasty little appetzier samplers, and then our first course was some sort of shrimp and veggie mix on thin parmesan cheese cakes and a delicious salad that had two dried fruits on it that tasted like baked fruit chips. I know one was apricot but I don’t know what the other one was. All I know is it was delicious and I wish I could replicate it.

Our next course was tender veal in a sweet gravy sauce, with a side of some kind of potatoes, and a small wonton filled with dried fruits. The veal was especially tasty because it had cooked citrus fruit with it (I don’t know what kind it was) and it was amazingly scrumptious. For dessert they brought out the most beautiful-looking plate of thin green colored cakes (they were pistachio) with strawberries and a sweet cream in the middle with a small scoop of beautiful red strawberry sorbet that had basil and pistachio in it. I have never tasted any sorbet like it. I don’t know who thought to put basil in sorbet but it was amazing!
That was our best meal thus far, in my humble opinion. The whole meal was also served with tasty apricot juice. Apparently last year a boy liked it so much that he drank too much and threw up later in the restaurant. Ha, I did not drink that much. The best part of the drink was the two fruit slices on the side--one was star fruit but the other I’m not sure of. It had a bright red skin with a white interior and black seeds. Anyone know? In any case it was delicious. They really know how to make a good meal.

After our meal we walked back to the hotel where I attempted to write some more journal entries and put up pictures, although the latter failed because the internet was so slow. But what’s another day to being behind by 2,000 pictures?

Ps. I just tallied the picture count. I’m up to 3,549 photos.

London is Wicked Fun

Saturday, May 22, 2010
Day 24 LONDON


Saturday morning I woke up around 8 o'clock, although I had been waking up every hour since 4am, probably from being in a different place. The apartment is adorable, but it has character, one trait of which comes out when you try to take a shower...to do so requires patience and some TLC towards the faucet. You have to turn on the hot water in the morning to heat it up in advance and then when you turn on the shower you have to fiddle with it just right.
Step 1: Turn on the hot water to a drizzle. (Which is more difficult than it sounds).
Step 2: Turn the cold water on all the way for pressure.
Step 3: Slowly turn the hot water on in miniscule incrememts (also, not as easy as it sounds)
Step 4: Adjust to preferred temperature
Step 5: Repeat steps 1-3 several times (took about ten minutes) until you can reach step 4

I showered first so I had some trouble figuring it out and by the time Andrea went to shower her hot water ran out in about ten minutes (which she had been using to figure out how to adjust the temperature). In conclusion, it was quite a fiasco and took up a lot of our morning. The task is more an art than science and it was certainly an adventure. Unfortnately Andrea and Meridith had to rinse by turning it on and off and also using the faucet of the sink...not the most effective or timely manner of "showering" so we ended up leaving later than planned.

Hi Tory!

We finally were ready and left around 11:30am and headed over to Victoria Station to buy tickets for Wicked which was showing that night at 7:30. After successfully acquiring our tickets (which were for seats in the middle-ish a little farther back--but not bad--for 40 euros) we got on a bus and tried to find Portobello Road. Unfortunately we got on the bus that was going in the opposite direction of Portobello Road (which has a famous market) so we ended up wasting an hour getting there. We did eventually find it though after some walking and crowd-following and we perused the market for about forty minutes. I bought a small antique tin soldier as a souvenir. And I will admit that the whole time I was at the market I was thinking of the Disney song "Portobello Road."




After having our fill of the market, which began to repeat itself in theme after a while, we took the metro over to Westminster Station which comes out under Big Ben. So we saw Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, with the flag flying, meaning that Parliament was in session, and we walked across the bridge and made a loop around to see the London Eye, crossed Millenium Brideg (Harry Potter anyone?) and then went to see Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's. Along the loop by the Eye there were many street performers, including a few human statues one of which was Michael Jackson, and a man completely painted blue.

A one-man blue man group

'Ello Ben!

Westminster Abbey was cool but we couldn't go inside, so after making our loop we went back to Victoria Station and walked a little ways to a shopping center where we ate dinner at a restaurant recommended by Julian and Kimber called Wagamama's. It was a kind of Asian-esque restaurant. Andrea and I each ordered an entree and shared the two. I ordered an Asian salad and she got a chicken and noodle dish--both were quite good. After dinner we walked back over by Victoria's station to the theater where we went in to see Wicked! There was a slight mix up at the door because the ticket lady earlier that day had given us seats for the matinee accidentally, but luckily a nice lady switched them out for us and we only had to move down a couple seats (same aisle though). It worked out nicely and the seats weren't too bad. The show was really good (its a fun story) and the music was enjoyable. My favorite was Defying Gravity and Changed for Good (or whatever its called), and the special effects were great too. Pretty much a wholly entertaining production. I think Meridith and Andrea liked it a lot more than I did (maybe because I've seen so many musicals that I'm picky) but it was a lot of fun and it was all the more magical being in London! Did I mention there was a cute boy sitting behind us? Yes, he was British (I could tell) and yes, we made weird eye contact a few times. And yes, that is him in the background of my picture, and no, that was not intentional, only a plus! (Although you actually can't really see him so never mind...too bad).





After Wicked we took the tube to our stop to catch the bus to Julian and Kimbers' apartment. They had left that morning to spend Saturday and Sunday with family so we had the apartment to ourselves. We watched a couple episodes of Arrested Development but fell asleep pretty quickly. It was a really long day, but so good! I do love musicals. And in London to boot!

Since when did I become so lucky?

Cheerios and all that good stuff...

Friday, May 21, 2010
Day 23

After getting about three hours of sleep I woke up at 5:20am to get ready and leave for the airport. Meridith and I had agreed that the three of us would meet at the RER station (train station) at 5:55am sharp to catch the 6 o'clock train to the airport. I had taken too long to get ready so by the time I left the house it was 5:45, and it takes about 15 minutes to get to the station. So I did a speedwalk-run combination to the station and made it just in time (at 5:57am) to discover that Meridith and Andrea were not there yet. I called them to see where they were and found out that they had slept late and had only just woken up and would be on their way shortly. So, I ran with a fully-packed, heavy-as-heck backpack, dressed in jeans, a three-quarter sleeve shirt and a coat with a scarf...became tired, messed up my hair and got sweaty, only to wait for twenty minutes at the stop. Zut alors. I should have walked.

No matter though. Meridith and Andrea arrived around 6:17 and we caught the next train a few minutes later to make our connection at Chatelet to the RER B line to Charles de Gaulle airport. We made it to the airport without any incident, although we came to find out that if you don't have a ticket to go to zone five (our navigo passes only worked for zones 1-4 of the metro network) that you can't get through the ticket machines. So we had to jump them--or, more precisely, we illegally walked through the widedoor gate that was to the side and less conspicuous...we didn't get caught.

We then went through the necessary airport procedure to our gate and waited for around twenty minutes until boarding. Oh, and funny story. As were began boarding there was a boy ahead of us, he looked to be around our age or a little older, and he looked really familiar to me. When I caught a glimpse of his face I realized that he was a boy I had seen the other day on the metro who got off at the Louvre (yes, I remember the stop). I recall this because I remember thinking he was unusually attractive for the Parisian crowd. His presence on the flight confirmed to me that this is due to the fact that he must be British, and therefore his attractiveness makes much more sense. Because, let's face it, there really aren't many good-looking French men...ca n'existe pas! So, yeah, I may have been ogling him a bit on the metro the other day, and so what if I just happen to recognize him again? What I think is the real story here is how on earth we managed the coincidence of riding the same metro one day and then taking the same flight to London from Paris the next!? Too bad he didn't have a seat next to him--totally could've creeped on him during the flight. Oh well...


On the flight it was quite refreshing to hear flight attendants speaking English--and with an accent too! The flight was only an hour and we gained an hour so we arrived in London at the time that we left Paris--pretty cool eh? After getting through customs, exchanging money (a painful experience since the pound is stronger than the euro--I don't even want to think about how that translates into dollars), and finally getting transportation to and from London and day passes for the metro, we embarqued on an hour trip into London. When we made our connection to the train we found a vending machine on the quai and naturally had to try the foreign British candy contained therein--it was for research purposes obviously. I tried a bar of candy that was called a Yorkie and the caption below said, "It's Not for Girls!" So, obviously, I had to try it. Turns out it was only a chocolate bar, but the wrapper was fun!

Eating the forbidden Yorkie--I'm such a rebel!

We got onto the tube (the British term for the metro, which is the French term for the subway) and picked a stop that looked promising--London Bridge. Luckily I remembered a lot from last year when I came with my grandparents, so we weren't completely turned around when we got off. We went out to the Thames and walked along it awhile and then crossed Tower Bridge (the one that most people mistake for London Bridge) and saw the Tower of London. We didn't go inside though because it costs money and we were still smarting from our exchange earlier in the airport. Instead we took pictures of it and basked in the glory that was London...oh, and we searched for food. We ended up eating at a little natural foods restaurant called Pret a Manger (ironically enough). But it was really good--I had a falafel wrap, banana and yummy British-style yogurt that was really tasty with granola and fruit.

Deciding what to do next...

So good I took a picture!

After relishing our breakfast/lunch we decided to explore the city some more. I should mention that we had a place to stay with Meridith's brother's old mission companion and his wife. However, they wouldn't be able to meet us until 5:30 so we had the day to ourselves. Thus, we trekked through London with our backpacks and coats in tow and....wung it? ....decided to wing it. Yes. I remembered a few places we could go so we made our way to Trafalgar Square and went through the National Gallery and then to Picadilly Circus. The National Gallery was really cool--I saw lots of masterpieces and works by famous artists--per usual. Unfortunately I was so tired by this point everything became a bit of a blur, but it was still cool to go through. And actually one of the things I liked the most about the museum was that each painting had a small summary description that explained the painting's scene and context. It really added to the experience to be able to read about the art we were viewing. For example, I learned that in one painting by Renoir I believe, on one half of the picture the women are wearing a certain fashion and the other half the clothing style is different because he went back and painted the other side a few years afterwards when the fashion trends had changed. A neat little fact n'est-ce pas?

National Gallery with a Mary Poppinsesque statue-lady

Anyways, after struggling to stay awake and on our feet in the National Gallery (not because it was boring, but because we'd already been up and moving for eight hours and it was only 2) we walked over to Picadilly Circus. We went into a few shops here and there and checked out some souvenir shops too. We mostly went into the stores to find shelter from the sweltering heat. When we first arrived that morning it was pleasant, but by 1pm it had become hot and humid and it was not comfortable, especially considering I was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, lugging a backpack and holding my coat. I was so ready to crash.

After what seemed an eternity (but in a good way right? because it was London) we finally took the tube to meet Julian (Mer's brother's friend) and his wife Kimber. We were a little late but it worked out nicely because they were also equally late so we both arrived at the same time. It was quite fortuitous. At first I was afraid that it was going to be awkward and weird, but they were so nice and friendly. It helps too that they are close to us in age (only a few years older) and they both went to BYU and Kimber is actually American and met Julian in London while on a study abroad (I guess I picked the wrong program!) and they were married two years later. Anyways, they helped us with everything and we had dinner with them which was such a relief because I was too tired to think about making myself food by this point.

Their apartment is this adorable little flat along the Thames. It is really small but a perfect little space for a young couple and it was so cozy. Luckily they had a foldout couch and a blowup mattress so we slept comfortably in the living room/dining room. We ate a yummy pasta casserole dish that tasted refreshingly American and homey while watching episodes of Arrested Development. Not a bad night at all. It was so nice to relax and speak to people, other than our classmates, in English. And I found a new show to enjoy! Not a bad day indeed.


Other observations:

While exploring London we happened upon the business district and discovered to our visual pleasure that London men are not only more attractive than French men, but they are also in greater supply. Right and left we saw goodlooking Brits and it was so refreshing, you have no idea! So, of course, it was necessary to take pictures of them....

The funny thing about this picture is that you will notice the man waving. He is not the attractive one I was targeting for the photograph, and I didn't realize he knew I was taking a picture of them. I was trying to be sneaky and make it look like I was photographing a cute building they were standing next to...but maybe he's used to being photographed by foreigners? Either way I had quite a laugh when I downloaded this picture and saw that the man was waving--because I didn't see that when I took the picture!

Another observation:
There are lots of miniature elephant statue things scattered around London that you can buy. Its kind of like in Bennington, VT when they had the same thing only it was moose statues...in any case it makes for a fun picture!

A commentary on men in London and Europe in general: They are not like American men.
They are much more metro and they it is true, they wear European shoulder bags, just like that Progressive commercial says! ("It was a gift").

Exhibit A: Three young boys, all wearing fruity colors , and each has a man purse, or "European shoulder bag"