London pictures...it's about time.

A few pictures from London a couple weekends ago. I'll do a better job with pics-just got new batteries for my camera :)


Classic fish and chips. Yes it was delicious. ALL the food there was.


A beautiful day in London. Big Ben and Millenium Bridge.



Loving London. With Tower Bridge in the background.




The obligiatory phonebooth pic. Yes I will act like a tourist outside of Paris.





Proabably my favorite picture from the weekend. Awesome view along the Thames.

The daily life of one temporary Parisian

Salut tout le monde!

Thought I would get another update in before I head about for the weekend tomorrow. This time it's off to Normandy for some d-day beaches and Mont St. Michel...updates to come :)

Without further ado my continuation of "what I love about France"

11. True French jobs. So specific and have remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years. I'm talking about bread and cheese makers...it's incredible the work they do. They honestly keep this country on it's feet. It's such a talent that deserves some recognition. The beauty is in the details. They've got something going here.
12. Being able to run here. For all the walking I do I think my legs just feel restrained because everytime I go running I don't want to stop. It's also a great time for me to just have to myself and reflect. I love running by the parks and watching the little kids play and laugh at the overly serious frenchmen who jog in all spandex and never like when a girl runs past them ;)
13. Becky and I have been slowly transforming into true French citizens as our dinners have gradually gotten later and last longer. It's amazing how we can end up sitting there for 2 or 3 hours just talking and eating. It's really a great way to end the day. Lets see if I can incorporate that into my life at home.
14. My "l'histoire de Paris" professor. He's got to be at least 70 years old but doesn't have any signs of alzheimers. He lectures for an hour and half without referencing anything and all the dates, names etc. come right out of his head. It's amazing. He's like a walking textbook on the history of France.

As for interesting events of the past couple weeks here are a few to take note of...

-Since I'm dumb and used a blowdryer with an adapter that said not to, I managed to ruin 2 adapters now since I've been here. So in an attempt to save money I headed to Fnac (an equivelant to Best Buy) where I bought it to try and exchange it. After a 50 min wait (when I was told by the handy "take a ticket" machine that it would only be 12 min) I got up to the counter armed with excuses and simply said en Francais "l'adapteur ne marche jamais" meaning this adapter never worked. He smiled at me (probably my accent) and just said back "well a new one is a good idea then." A signature later I was out the door with my new adapter. No questions. Sometimes I really like this country.

-Visited the Cluny museum (medival art) because we needed to for a class, but went to the musee d'orsay (impressionist museum) this week with Becky before class. Why? simply because we can, and since we're taking an art class we get a special art students card that gets us into all public museums for FREE. So we enjoyed the morning and then had lunch at a great little place we stumbled upon on the way to the metro. Will for sure be going there when Kelly and I go to the orsay.

-Last weekend was pretty eventful. Thurs night Becky and I after having dinner with a couple friends decided to hit up a bar that we always pass on the way to the metro. So we saddle up to the bar and after a couple beers we decide to call it a night. Well as soon as we move to put our coats on this man about ohh 55 or 60 walks up to us and tells us he wants to buy us a drink. We politely decline, telling him we're on our way out. Then once the coats are on, one of the waiters approaches us and tells us these 2 guys near us at the bar have offered to buy us drinks. They looked more our age so we gave in and sat back down. The guys ended up being really nice and within normal age limits for us-24 and 28. They were from Biarritz which is in SW France near Spain and own a microbrewery. They invited us to dinner for the next night, so we exchanged numbers and told them we'd call them the next day. Well, our friend Amaresh here had a friend coming from London and asked us to go out with them the same night. We decided to go with our friends here and told the guys maybe another time...

-Went to a great live music bar near St. Michel/Latin quartier on friday night after dinner and met up with some other people from our program. We also had a little (almost american) gathering at our apartment early this week. It was the day of Mardi Gras, but we never made it out anywhere but it was nice to hang out and just have some drinks with friends. The only thing that's unfortunate about being here for just a short amount of time is that I'm sure once you just start to feel like you are getting to really know people it will be time to leave. Just the way the cookie crumbles I guess...

I will be writing again after my trip "up north"

Keep it real.

<3katie

A Tale of Two Cities Part II: London

This bonus blog will get you up to speed on my travel adventures. This edition concerns my long weekend voyage to London. It may be just a 2.5 hour high speed train ride from Paris but it's really a world away...



Friday Feb 13th was the commencement of our whirlwind tour. We left our apartment around 5:30 am to make it to Gare du Nord (the train station) for our 7am train. Neither Becky or myself slept for more than an hour or two the night before, not sure why, all I know is it involved viewing of Sex and the City at about 3am. As we walked to the metro station is was snowing. We made it to the station and through airport-like security and customs and onto our train. The portion of the ride where you are actually in the chunnel under the english channel is probably the most uninteresting part of the trip. It's silent and black. I thought there would be a clear tunnel where you could see all the fish. I'm sort of kidding.

Upon our arrival amist being excited to speak english again we were handed roses by englishmen and free apples...why not? Next step was to buy tube tickets for the weekend and head to our hostel to drop our bags off. Our hostel was located in Kennington which is just south of the center of the city. We wasted no time in getting started on the city.



Friday Feb 13th

-Our first task was to find the London School of Economics where Becky is considering attending grad school. We grabbed a quick lunch beforehand and then visted some of the schools buildings. Seems pretty impressive to me. And then because I just can't resist, we stopped in a bookstore and I got sucked into a 3 for 2 book deal. At least they're english authors.

-Our next plan was to visit the British Museum but got sidetracked and ended up at Covent Garden-a famous shopping/market area. We enjoyed the shopping, entertainment, and amazing cookies for a couple hours before finally making it to the museum. The attractive aspect of much of London's sightseeing is that things are free. One of my favorite words. The British museum has an amazing collection of art and artifacts from all over the world along with the famous Rosetta Stone. We spent time walking through the Egyptian rooms and got to see an amazing preserved mummy that still had all its skin and even some hair still on it. I've seen great mummies quite a few times and they just never get old.

-For dinner we headed to a place called Belgo Centrale-another Rick Steves suggestion, and of course it was great. I had an amazing Vegetable and goat cheese tarte and some great cherry beer. Afterwards we walked around for a while and got to see Trafalger Square at night-think a mini Times Square.

-For a true British tradition and experience we headed to a classic pub called "Ye old Cheshire Cheese." Tacky name but amazing and cheap beer. I'm really into hard cider here and this place had the best stuff I've had here hands down and it was less than a pound and 1/2 for a pint. Can't beat that. We met a couple British guys, Mike and Guy who were fun to talk to and learn more about city from. Becky and I also managed to get free drinks from this random guy at the bar and our new friends. Reason number 574 it pays to be a female.



Saturday Feb 14th

-Got up way earlier than intended and started our day at Westminster Abbey, in the top 4 of largest churches in the world. It's absoultely beautiful and so cool to think about the history of kings and queens being crowned there as well as high profile weddings and funerals. A walk through St. James park was next on the adgenda which led us to Buckingham Palace. I'll have to say France does have something going for it with it's castles. The ones in London just seemed to look like big government buildings. It was really crowded around the palace and we were't planning on going inside so we started walking down the main road away from the palace and all the guards on black stallions were riding up to the palace for changing of the guards. We didn't stick around but Becky did almost get run-over by a horse while taking pictures so that was exciting.

-We decided going to a show/play in London was a good idea and since it was Valentines day we needed to do something special. We headed to Trafalger Square where there were some discount ticket lines. We ended up getting 6th row tickets to The Taming of the Shrew. It's a modernized Shakespearen play and the theatre troop was from Stratford so it was truly a British show. The actors were really funny and the entire experience was very enjoyable. After the show got over we stopped at an Italian restaurant for some dessert and then headed out for our last night in London.
We ended up meeting some young French guys at the first bar we went to...figures we can't even escape them for one weekend. That bar closed at midnight so we went in seach of something different. Club Inferno was our final destination and it ended up being a very unique place to be. The atmosphere was dark lighting, somewhat spanish/salsa themed loud music with some people dancing in small areas and then scattered areas for seating. Something for everyone. At this point I was feeling a little fed up with Valentines day, watching everyone hold hands and kiss each other and by this time I was nearing a breaking point. So when a wannabe Usher was creeping on Becky and his buddy who thought he was God's gift to American women started chatting us up I had lost all patience. Once Mr. Texas (thats what I'm going to call him since he continued to tell me he lived in Texas for 2 years) offered me a suspicious looking piece of "gum" I pretty much gave him the cold shoulder. And no I wasn't being mean-he asked me at least 3 times where I was from and how long I was going to be in London. Again, I had no patience. All in all it was a really great night and we even utilized the night buses and arrived back at our hostel just in time to watch the clock turn to 4am.

Sunday Feb 15th

-We allowed ourselves to sleep in a little bit, but I was insistant on getting my free breakfast before 9am. By 10:30 we were out the door on the way to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels. Apparentley everyone else had the same idea. We bought our tickets to get into what I came to find out was not just a tower, but an entire castle complex where the kings used to live. We were both in dire need of a cup of coffee so we thought we would sit for a minute with a warm beverage. I of course had to ruin the mood by knocking over half of my coffee all over the counter we were sitting at. You just can't take me anywhere. And mom, Becky is learning that if it's not spilled on it's not mine. :)
The whole Tower of London experience was really amazing actually. We got to see everything from the famous crowned jewels, (one of them is the largest diamond in the world with 3, 075 carats!!!) torture devices, the exact spot Anne Boleyn was beheaded, and much to Becky's liking, Henry VIII bed.
Finally around 2pm we decided it was time for lunch and at the suggestion of our buddy Rick headed to Wagamamma noodle bar which had a location convienently located just outside the grounds of the castle. Again, another amazing place to eat with decent prices and all the FREE green tea you can drink.

-Our last stop of the day was the British Library which has a collection of original and priceless pieces of literature. I was most impressed by the original writings of musical composers like Beethoven and The Beatles, the Gutenberg Bible, DaVinci's notebooks. original manuscripts by Shakespere himself and Charlotte Bronte and the impressive Magna Carta. Thats one intense room let me tell you.

-We ended our day camped out at a Starbucks before dinner journaling and reading and then headed back to our favorite part of town (Coveant Garden) to find a place to eat. We ended up at a truly British place called the Cole Hole where we indulged in British food and drink for our last night.

*Monday morning we headed back to Paris just in time for a quick lunch and then back to reality with class. We had an incredible weekend and I can't wait until I can go back again someday.
And no worries, I did have fish and chips, and it was all it's cracked up to be. If Paris is about fancy cuisine, London is all about comfort food, and that is something I can relate to.

Until my next adventure,
<3 Katie

A Tale of Two Cities Part I: Paris

Hello all. Shame on me for not updating this for about 2 weeks. So much has been happening and I have intentions of writing but then something always seems to come up. I know, not a great excuse but c'est la vie!



Here's a continuation of what I love about France:

8. French baguette. There is nothing like it in the world. I love that I can run downstairs to the grocery store below our apartment, and pick up a baguette for 90 cents. It's almost a fashion statement to carry one around.
9. Laughing about French antics. They just give us so much ammo. Everything from strikes, to creepy men, inefficency, and how they never seem to care about much but always move like it's a life or death situation to get out of the metro, only to be seen moments later standing on the middle of the steps out of the metro texting and in everyones way.
10. French cafes. I love going into one (they all have their own personality) and getting a warm beverage and then sitting and engaging in conversation for excessive amounts of time. When you buy something at a cafe you are renting real-estate.



So now on to the main event. The last 2 weeks of my life.

I'll start with the week of Febuary 2nd-8th.

-Becky and I decided to dig deeper into Paris and it's dark side. Our visit to Pere Lachaise cemetery, which opened in 1804 to accomodate Paris' expansion has 70,000 graves! Our Rick Steves guided tour included the grave sites of some of the most famous residents including Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Haussmann just to name a few. We actually did the tour in 2 days because the first day we went we had to leave because it closes at "dusk" which is a very inaccuate time, but since it's France thats to be expected. At this point in my time here I have learned to accept the fact that there is often no rhyme or reason to things and just because it would make more sense to do something a certain way doesn't mean thats the way its going to be done.

-To continue our morbid adventures we headed to the Catacombs which are conveiently located near our school. The catacombs are underground tunnels that contain bones of six million Parisians. In 1746 the governement of Paris decided to relieve congestion and improve sanitation it would be a good idea to empty the cities cemeteries. The perfect location were the miles of underground tunnels from limestone quarries. The bones are piled in stacks about 5 feet high (often arranged into shapes or patterns). I have to admit I got a little closterphobic being 60ft. underground in low ceilinged tunnels. I told Becky afterwards that I had to talk myself through the first 5 minutes so I wouldn't have a mini panic attack.

-On saturday Feb 7th we headed to Reims (pronounced "rance") for a daytrip out of the city. Reims is famous for its Gothic cathedral where 26 French kings were crowned, it's WWII history (the Germans offically surrendered there in 1945) and its champagne caves.
We arrived in Reims before lunch and wanted to visit the Museum of the Surrender, the location where the Germans signed the document to end the war. Of course, in true French fashion, the museum was closed for construction. So, in the rain with our one umbrella we decided to sit down for a relaxing lunch. Rick never lets us down and led us to a fun brasserie where we had the plat du jour and enjoyed the ambiance.
After lunch we headed to the cathedral where construction begun in 1211. During WWI it was devestated by severe bombing but completely rebuilt just in time for the start of WWII.
Our day ended with a tour and tasting at Martel champagne caves. When I was a senior in H.S. we came to Reims when we were on spring break in Paris and I visited the Taittinger caves which are just down the road from Martel. We got to taste 3 different champagnes and the tour was very relaxed and personal. It was a true French experience. Becky bought a bottle and we plan to celebrate with it at the end of the semester.

- The next day found me on the way to Tours with Marie. Tours is her hometown and it is about a 2.5 hour train ride SW of Paris in the Loire valley which is well known for it's castles. We arrived in Tours just after lunchtime where Marie's mom picked us up at the train station and we headed back to their house where I got to catch up with her family who I haven't seen in 7 years. Marie's mom is a high school social studies teacher so when we went on a walking tour of the city I was with the right person. Tours is a middle-sized city and is divided into north and south areas by the Loire river which I came to find out is the most dangerous river in France. After seeing all the historic sites and churches we returned to their house for a dinner that started with appetizers and champagne just before 8pm and finished with dessert around 11pm. It was a great experience to spend time with her whole family, and I got to meet her two older brothers who I'd never met yet. It was an intense day since I was completely immersed in French but I'm lucky to have those kinds of priceless experiences.

-Monday the 9th was my first day of classes and I'll have to say I was pretty overwhelmed the first week. I have 5 classes and since they are all taught in French they actually require focus. I also have to get used to the fact that they last for an hour and a half. I miss 50min Gustavus classes. I do enjoy the topics of most of my classes and the profs seem to be competant. I guess I'm just a little bitter they're interfering with my sweet life.

Paris continues to have much to offer and I'm really looking forward to Kelly coming (just about 3 weeks now!) I'll finally get around to some more touristy activities. Hope everyone is doing well and hopefully I'll hear from you all soon.

Salut et bisous,
Katie

Pictures of the week...

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles...or snows

Salut mes amis!

So much has happened in the past week...I'll get you caught up as best as I can. Thanks to all of you who are keeping up with this as well as keeping in touch via facebook-miss you and love you all!!

Here's a running list of things I love about Paris:
1. On my walk to school there is a small grocery store owned by a man who often stands around with his siamese cat in his sweater. I'm bound and determined to get a picture of the cat and that man. He seems quite friendly actually.
2. Old people. They are everywhere and the women always seem to travel in groups of 2 and always are purchasing oranges. Also, while walking to class friday morning there was an elderly man walking ahead of me (probably 75ish) carrying a briefcase...you can't tell me HE was going to work?!
3. French children. They have adorable voices and dress so fashionably.
4. When you get genuinely smiled at on the metro. Let me tell you-to fit in you have to look bored and disinterested in everything. I can't help but smile sometimes and it's nice to get a return.
5. Dinners/meals in our apartment. I love the food here and between the two of us we put together a pretty good meal if I don't say so myself.
6. Waffitines. They are these amazingly delicious hot waffles with nutella (or other toppings) inside of them from this place called the Waffle Factory in Les Halles (an underground shopping mall). Could be the start of an addiction.
7. My new "navigo" pass. This is my public transporation pass-with my picture on it. No more stupid tickets-I'm a real Parisian now!

*For starters our first day of language intensive classes was last wed 1/28. I have a great professor Jeanne Fourneyron-she's hilarious and I'm looking forward to having her for the semester. Not suprisingly there are 5 Katherines/Katies in my class of like 15 people...figures.

*Prior to that on mon 1/26 after orientation jargon Becky and I along with a couple other girls took advantage of the "soldes" (sales) that are happening in France right now and finish up at the end of this week. On tues 1/27 Becky and I headed out to the 17th arrondissment where our friend Alex lives in a homestay which is near Monmartre/Moulin Rouge. We started out at the cafe where Picasso frequented with some wine and conversation. After that we headed out in search of some dinner which lead us through the redlight district. Nothing says Paris quite like trashy neon lights. After witnessing public urination we stumbled upon this very eclectic bistro that had a little something for everyone. Becky had indian food, Alex had coq au vin (rooster cooked in wine-a French classic) and I had une sandwich provencale. On top of it all our server was a cross-dresser.

*Survived my first French strike-if you want to even call it that. We got thurs off from class for it so I'm not complaining, but I guess most people had no problem getting around the city. I'm convinced its the French way to get a day off.

*Becky and I are offically headed to London Feb 13th-16th for a long weekend. We'll be taking the Eurostar train through the chunnel-pretty excited about that!

*Finally got to go running in Paris for the first time on sat. From Marie's apartment there is access to this great path system called the coulee verte. It felt so good to do something other than walk! I'm sure I'll be utilizing that as often as I can.

*Experienced some Parisian nightlife on friday and saturday. Went to a club called Redlight (should have been a warning) on friday with a group of people from our program. Interesting night to say the least...did some dancing which was fun for the most part until this Don Juan French dude decided he would try and pull out all the stops and tell me that I had a "jolie (pretty) voice" and "eyes that were like looking into the night sky" Please. After I escaped his clutches we got out of there. Saturday night was much more my speed...Becky had discovered a couple unique bars in the Quartier Latin which is sort of the student area of Paris. Our friend Alex met up with us and we went to the Guilliotine bar which was really neat. It had a guilliotine in it...not sure if it was the real thing or not. Then we headed over to a piano bar which was fun with the live music.

*I'll give you a quick run-down of my marathon of a day sunday. All the museums are free the first sunday of the month so Becky and I decided to hit that up. We got up early and headed to the Centre Pompidou (modern art museum). Glad I got to experience it but also glad I didn't have to pay for it. Kinda bummed because I wanted to see the work of Andy Warhol but it's not on display right now. I was entertained enough by riding the tube escalators and seeing the view of Paris from the top. Headed to the Holocaust museum after that...very interesting and moving as can be expected. Next stop was the Musee Carnavalet which is an amzing castle turned French history museum. Quick stop at Victor Hugo's former apartment where he wrote Les Mis. Our last stop was Place de la Bastille (the royal fortress turned prision and stormed and demolished by angry revolutionaires). Now a monument stands in its place commerating the revolution. On our way home we stopped at an amzing Patisserie (bakery) and I had a delcious pain au chocolat avec framboise-pastry with chocolate and raspberry. Need I say more.
Best part of the whole day-spent less than 2 euros.

I'll let you go rest your eyes. So, until next time...
A bientot!
Katie