Travel Bug

Well let me start off by saying that a lot has happened in this past month! I've traveled to new places with my Mom, finished studying at Sciences Po, had to say goodbye to some amazing new friends, and today I packed up my little apartment room in Paris.

Besides exploring Paris, mom and I had a wonderful time in both Amsterdam and London, but both decided that we liked Amsterdam a lot more. I won't go into the full details of all of our adventures but will highlight a few of my favorite parts.

Lets make a run for it!

Mother's Day at Monet's Gardens

To start off our trip on the right foot mom and I had to run to board our plane to Amsterdam. You might be scratching your heads.. Teresa and Lily are such worry worts when it comes to time! Well the internet got in our way and made us print our boarding tickets before departure. Long story short we got kindly escorted to the front of the ticket line to get our passes, but then had to run to the gate. We got on the plane with 5 minutes to spare! Sorry mom!!!!!!!

Flowers Flowers Flowers

My hands down favorite day of the trip was going to the Keukenhof Gardens, the largest flower garden in the world! Not only did it smell good, every where you looked was beautiful.

My Paris

Seeing new places was a lot of fun, but I really enjoyed taking my mom to a few of my favorite spots around Paris. We window shopped (in the rain) in the fancy district of my school, went on a picnic at the Eiffel Tower, and went to my favorite museum Muse d'Orsay.

Summer Awaits

Although I'm packing up my small room in Paris, I'm not leaving Europe yet! Tomorrow morning I will go back to the airport once again, but this time to pick up Coleman!!!! I'm beyond excited to see my little bro. Then we're off to Berlin, Munich, and Prague. Once Coleman leaves I'm putting my big girl pants on and am spending two full days in Venice, by myself! Really looking forward to the rest of my stay here, and of course unknown adventures!

Never Say Never

I've got the Bieber fever now!!!!! Just Kidding

These past few weeks have been full of unexpected events that I thought would never happen!

Violin Metro Serenation

Last week I got onto the metro during its rush hour, 6 o'clock , to find myself surrounded by fellow metorers and a busker. Cool I thought, free show for the ride, little did I know that I would soon be part of the act! I was standing pretty close to the busker and when he started to play I smiled: bad move and number 1 rule on the metro; no smiling! Welp he figured he had a target and turned to me to start playing. Thankfully? Harry was there to record the whole event. As you can see I didn't know what to do with myself and was terribly embarrassed. Never did I ever think that I would be serenaded in Paris, let alone on the metro! He was good too!!! (Note everyone on the metro abides by the no smiling rule....) Sorry if it's upside down!

76 and humid

Before I left for Paris I prepared myself for the gloom and doom of grey skies and rain. Sunday was an exception to the rule. It was a beautiful day of 76 degrees full of sunshine and humidity, it was like I was back home in the Midwest, minus the mosquitoes. I ditched my homework and my lingering spring time cold for a tulip festival outside of Paris, and fully enjoyed being hot and sticky!

Facial Tattoos

Little did I know that Parisians experimented with body art, but I never expected to see facial tattoos. But also I never ever expected to see two individuals sporting them in the same week! The first one I spotted was on the metro and it was of a soaring eagle. The second was on my way to class and it was to elaborate for my to decipher! It covered most of the women's  face...

Rando French Friends

This past weekend I had the chance to hang out with more French people! But they just happened to be randos hanging out at Sacre Coeur at 1 am like my friends and me. I got to speak some french and enjoy a beautiful view with Parisians.

Class PARTY!!!!

Lastly, today my french teacher announced that we would be having a party for our last class on Thursday! Never did I ever think I'd get to have a class party in college, but at Sciences Po?!?! Crazzzzy this is clearly only happening because my French prof is the most amazing women in Paris.

Having Problems with the Smartboard as usual  

Spring Fever

It's hard to believe that today marks my halfway point in Paris! I have exactly three months left abroad and so much to do in those 90 days!

Top 5 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Seeing my Mom! She's spending two weeks with me; going to flower gardens in the Netherlands, Big Ben in London, and much much more in Paris
2. My Coleslaw (Coleman) is coming to visit! No final plans but Germany and Czech Republic are in the works
3.Finishing Sciences Po: 3 more weeks of French style lectures!!!!
4.Weekend in Amsterdam with my favorite guy pals
5. The many unknown to me adventures I'm sure to have!

Well it's been almost a month since my last post so some of you might be wondering what I've been up to.

Oh so I am going to School?

Aix-en-Provence

The last weeks were an overload of school work! French test and 6000 words written over 3 papers. I had been coasting by all semester on a pretty easy street so school work shocked my system a bit! I had to write one essay in complete French format, so Welcome Week did prove to come in handy. Once I was done with my tests and essays it was time to have some fun!

France: Southside

I spent last weekend exploring the South of France, and falling in love with the area! Over all I was excited to see mass amounts of natural tree growth and grass!!!! Two things that you don't see often in Paris. I spent

Castle walls

View from the Castle

one day in Aix-en-Provence and had the chance to visit with a Grace Reynolds a fellow Bloomingtoner! It was nice to chat about home and hear about her experience aboard. Then I was off to Cadenet, a cute little town about 45 minutes away from Aix-en-Provence. The highlight here was climbing to an old castle! The view from the top was amazing and it was a perfectly sunny day. The next day was spent in the town next Cadenet, Lourmarin. It was very small town, but that made it even cuter! Lots of little boutique shops and nice restaurants. Everyone seemed to own a dog and not have anything else to do but sit in the sun and enjoy a nice meal. I hope that some day I can live like that! My last day in Cadenet was spent in the sunshine missing my flight home! All in all that was okay, because I was able to take the train back to Paris. The view was amazing and the train went so fast!

                            

                                 Street in Lourmarin 

Last day's view 

Now I'm back in Paris enjoying its beauty. Spring time is upon me, and I've got the fever!

Toto I don't think we're in Florida anymore: SB13 abroad

When I normally think of Spring Break I picture myself getting in the car for a long car ride down to some beach in Florida or shopping in the windy city of Chicago. But this spring break was totally different!

I spent 10 wonderful days and 4 plane rides split between Marrakech, Morocco and Madrid, Spain!

MOROCCO:

Place ben Youssef

Souks

How can I even begin?!?! I love love love love Marrakech! Such a beautiful city with the most friendly people (even if they are trying to buy you for camels!). The first day in the city was spent doing the major tourist things; tanneries(worst smell of my life), Place ben Youssef, and an old Royal Placace whom's name escapes me. Place ben Youssef was very lovely, it is an old school that is the closest looking thing to a mosque that tourist are allowed into. Our group of 9 girls also hit up the souks and the food stalls later that night. The souks are a spirit of their own! You get to haggle with the vendors for the best prices and everyone is trying to get to you go in their stalls; "nice girls, nice price", "student discount", but my all time favorite was, "everything's free!". You have to walk threw these windy paths that are packed full of different items for sale. The next day was spent getting a sun burn visiting some gardens. Day three and four were probably the most exciting though; I got to ride a camel!!! But before I got to ride a camel I had to take a 10 hour car ride to the desert. All the other travelers I talked to complained about this car ride but I loved it for two reasons; it was absolutely beautiful and I had an awesome driver Abdul. Abdul had been doing the tours for about 15 years and he knew so many cool things. He also knew all of the shop owners that we stopped at, and even called a police officer so he could speed back to Marrakech to get us back sooner! Once we got to the desert we rode camels for about an hour and arrived at our camp site. Our host was also an amazing man! He spoke; English  French, Spanish  and Bebber, but couldn't write his own name! He had learned all of this just from listening! He made us a delicious tagine and then sang us songs around a campfire. To end the night he gave us a blanket to watch "desert television" aka the stars! But the most exciting/scary part of this trip was waking up at 3 am thinking I was being attacked by desert thieves! There was an awful wind/rain storm that shook our tent violently  My New Zeland friend thought it was an earthquake! Although we ended up getting rained in on we had a mostly restful night! Days five and six were spent doing some shopping and hanging with new hostel friends! I already know that I  want to go back to Morocco!

Dining area

Driving view

Nadja, Bre, and I 

SPAIN:

Arriving in Spain was like going threw time travel! For starters we had to take a metro to get to the city. Once we arrived there were tall buildings, neon lights, and cross walks; things we hadn't seen for 6 days. I must admit that Madrid didn't thrill me as much as Marrakech, but it was still a fun city. Our first full day was spent on a walking tour put on by our hostel. Our guide was a lot of fun and knew a ton about the city. Although it was raining he knew how to keep us entertained and took us to a friend of his restaurant after the tour for some authentic Spain food; paella: cheesy rice with meat or seafood served in a deep dish pan. Very yummy! One cool thing about our hostel in Madrid was that they put on a happy hour from 9-10 every night that served free sangria and beer! Bre and I got to meet a lot of really awesome people there. On our final day in the city, and the nicest day in the city, we went to a really beautiful garden that was massive! We spent almost 2 hours walking around, but probably only covered a little more than half of it!

Our last ours in Spain were spent a small bar drinking cheap beer and playing truth or dare! Then it was off to the airport to catch our 6 am flight! 

I had so much fun this spring break! I didn't know what to expect out of my super spontaneous location selection, but I couldn't have asked for a better time!!!! Now I'm back in Paris where it's snowing :[ but hey....I'm still in Paris!

People of Paris

Before I crossed the pond I knew I could look forward to the amazing stylish people of Paris. But I was in for an even bigger treat, not only are the people stylish here, they are have their own very unique style (minus the wedge heel, which is only basically every other women's feet). I've also experienced quite a variety of people of the metro, something I will touch on later.

OMG SHOES!!!!

Studs at Fashion Week

Both men and women here rock the coolest kicks. As you've read in past post my French teacher makes the cut for cool kicks; bright blue doc martins, and purple/silver metallic sneakers. Men seem to rock a variation of the wingtip shoe the most. I've seen them in natural leathers, colored suede, sneaker version, loafer style, and boot style. They've been mixed with dress pants and blue jeans, but always pull together the outfit for a nice polished look. Studs are also really big here, something that surprised me. Studs became super popular in the states last year, so I assumed that the Parisians were le tried of the them. Some of my favorite studs have been; a 4 year old's ballet flats a mix of gold and silver so she can wear them with any outfit, man's sneakers with  studs on the strips (imagine the Adidas strips, but made of different sized studs!), and cute bootie with studs just on the heel. Heels in general. Props to the women in Paris who trek around in sky high heels like it's their job, rain or shine. I have yet to see one wobble, you go girls!



BUSKERS

Actual Paris Metro

Back in B-town I was used to seeing the occasional guitarist on Kirkwood trying to make some cash to buy some Jimmy Johns or a 40oz beer, but here in Paris the buskers are everywhere, well underground that is. My first few days I was a little bummed that I hadn't been serenaded on the metro by an accordion player, but like they say , "be careful what you wish for". Now I can count on seeing a busker at least once a day, maybe not on my cab, but on the same train. Like any musicians some are a lot better than others, so go solo, some play with their 12 year old son, some play with 8 people, and some even lug a bass on the metro! So far I've only given money to two buskers. The first was a man in the passage ways on the metro singing No Women No Cry, and he did a really good job! I even made my friends stand at the end of the platform so we could hear him as we waited for the metro. The second was this weekend. I've seen the same violinist about 7 times now, and he finally got to me......He's this cute old man who always wears a brown jacket and black pin strip pants, a little brown hat, and a smile.

PEOPLE OF THE METRO
Upon request I will now be adding little stories of my best metro experiences. Normally on the metro strangers don't talk to each other, everyone keeps their heads down and is on their own path. Well not the other night! I was sitting on the bench waiting for my metro to arrive, and all of the sudden this man sits down next to me. I have to add that he had a plastic bag in his hand with a neck sticking out the top. I had my headphones in as a false sense of security, because he just started talking to me in French. I say sorry I don't speak French, he goes "Oh! that's okay I speak some English", ugh  I think to myself as I search the metro for at least one person to make desperate save me eye contact, no savor. Well he ended up being pretty harmless, told me he liked my music asked me why I was in Paris, then switched back to French. I wished him a good night and my metro arrived! On a lighter note here are some of my favorite people of the metro; old man decked out in fur; fur boots, fur pants, fur coat, fur hat, and a fur handbag with more fur stuffed in it! The tannest man I've seen so far, with a full size surfboard. Older lady rocking some awesome bright orange pants. And last but not least Erykah Badu's twin, the lady was soooo beautiful  I couldn't stop looking at her, she had Afro, very soulful eyes, and of course sky high heels!

Be Mine?

Yesterday marked the one month anniversary for Paris and me! And it got me thinking of the things that I've loved and not so much loved about Paris.

1. The Metro <3 & </3

I have a love hate relationship with the metro. The Thing that I love about the metro is ; every station, ride, metro number, and time of the day are a different the metro experience! Tonight I happened to get on a metro cab and a busker was playing “You are my Sunshine” a song that I love! But there was also a passenger spitting on the floor….Which leads me into things that I don’t like about the metro; some of them smell really super bad, shout out to Bastille!!! Being around so many people at once can be over whelming and uncomfortable! And I saved the worst for last…..the metro ticket police. :[

2. Everything is so old and beautiful <3

Today I went to one of the older churches in Paris, Saint Germain de-Pres. It was built in 543! The stone work was beautifully and the ceilings and columns were painted with intricate designs. I also recently visited Notre Dame which is celebrating it’s 850^th year! Such and amazing church and view of Paris! If Quasimodo did exist he certainly had a beautiful view! Besides the churches there are old mansions and kings palaces that are now used as museum and other public buildings that I get to explore!  So far I’ve been in Musee d’Orsay an old train station and the Louvre which was built in 1190 by King Philippe-Auguste to protect Paris from Viking raids!!!!!

3. There are so many cool things to do <3

Museums,  gardens, shopping, amazing food, every things cool to look at, adventure outside of Paris, and the occasional getting lost! I recently got to see my all time favorite Salvador Dali painting!!!

4. School </3 & <3

Besides not being in classes that I’m supper into or the fact that I can never find an open computer I like going to school.My favorite days of school are Tuesdays and Thursday, because of my French level 0 class. My professor is probably the coolest lady that has ever existed in Paris . She rocks some pretty cool outfits; first day bright blue doc martins, tight pants and white blousy chiffon top, an other day deep maroon leather pants, and lately she has been wearing these cool metallic sneakers. And of course love all the people I've met so far at Sciences Po.

5. They don’t have peanut butter </ 3

This is a self-explanatory thing I don’t love about Paris. 

I would like to end this post by asking; Paris. Voulez-vous être mon Valentin?

Yes/ No/ No Maybes!!!

The Tourist

The Louvre:

Last week I went to the Louvre twice! It's really great having a French student ID card, because a lot of museums will let you in for free. Since I can come and go as I please I've just gone in 2 hour spurts. Two hours at the Louvre is definitely enough for me! It's a pretty over whelming place to be, and some artsy people may hate me for this, but it got kind of boring after awhile! Don't get me wrong most of the painting are very impressive and so big! (anyone know how they do that, one big canvas or multiple ones?) But it can also get pretty repetitive.... naked babies, Jesus, prorates, repeat. Another half good, half bad thing is that all of the descriptions are in French, which I can not read. So it gave me an excuse to just look at the painting how ever I'd like, but if I wanted to know more I'd have to ask a friend to read to me... I also learned that going at night is pretty amazing. On Wednesday and Friday the Louvre is open till 9:45 and it's not crazy busy. I just waltzed right up to Mona Lisa and got her picture! Pretty great.

Musee d'Orsay:

I also made it to Musee d'Orsay this weekend. I'm in love!!! This museum had my two favorite things: impressionist paintings and things from the art nouveau period. The museum is a really nice size and you can cover it in one day. We spent almost 4 hours browsing around, and only missed one floor. I might be mistaken but the location used to be a metro station so there are a bunch of cool big clocks, one of which you can stand behind and look out on to Paris, so lovely. The only down side to the museum was that they don't let you take pictures :[ I tried to sneak a few, but they didn't turn out to well. I am definitely planning a trip back to Musee d'Orsay.

My last tourist activity of the week was taking an accidental  stroll by Hotel des Invalides and the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and everything looked so wonderful :]