Kelly's visit

Kelly's first French cafe

At Versailles

Tour Eiffel from the Trocodero

Our boat cruise on the Seine

Hello all....so I know it's been over 2 weeks but in my defense I have been quite occupied with a certain special visitor :)

Yes, Kelly was here from the 14th-21st. The night prior to her arrival my friend Alex and his roomate had a dinner party (which was AMAZING) at their homestay location and I did not return to my apartment until about 4 hours before I had to leave for the airport to get Kelly. So, after a quick catnap and a slap you in the face shower I was off to Aeroport CDG. I arrived just as Kelly's flight was landing and as I waited for her to walk though the arrival doors I was watching other seemingly "annoying" travlers get in everyones way as they greeted loved ones. I thought to myself, "as soon as I see Kelly I'll pull her off to the side and then we can get excited." Well apparently all that went out the window when I saw her smiling face. I literally RAN up to her and we were hugging and kinda jumping up and down-just like all those other annoying people x10. So much for being discret. :) I can't tell you how happy I was to see a familar face, and not just any familar face, but Kelly! I've been looking forward to her coming since the day I left and her arrival really couldn't have come at a better time.

I pretty much had her entire week planned out (like a month in advance) and I couldn't wait to get started. We began the journey back to my apartment which went rather smoothly eventhough Kelly really didn't make very good friends with the tram...haha. I guess I'll just give a brief break-down of the week and add some pictures.

Sat March 14th: grocery shopping, Historic Paris walk including Notre Dame, il-de-la-cite, deportation memorial, ile-st. louis, and the latin quartier. Dinner near Notre Dame at Le Petit Pont (I think Kelly was overwhelmed by the commotion and being tired) followed by my favorite raspberry beer at Taverne de Cluny.

Sun March 15th: Kelly claims this was one of her favorite days. Sunday market on blv. brune, Monmartre walk including the Sacre Coeur, a taste of Bohemian Monmarte, walk through the area, and of course Moulin Rouge. My friend Alex lives near the area so we stopped and had coffee with him and Kelly had her first French cafe. Dinner in the apartment with Becky.

Mon March 16th: Marais walk includingnla Bastille, hotel de Sully, Place des Vosges (with the dancing man), the Holocaust Memorial and a quick lunch near the Centre Pompidou. For dinner we headed to Paris little "China Town" with my friend Nina to a place popular for Fou-a delicious meal soup. I tasted tripe for the first time (cow tendons) not bad actually.

Tues March 17th: Kelly spent the day with Marie since I had a lot of class and we tried to make it to the Musee d'orsay in time, but it was closed. Detour to my planned Seine boat cruise. Bought the tickets and went and had some cafe while we waited for our 7pm ride. Great way to see Paris and it started while it was still light and finished up near the Eiffel Tower at dark. She even sparkled for us :) Met up with Alex, Becky, and Amaresh for dinner on Les Grands Blvds. at a great little place Jacques recommended (Alex's host dad). Since it was St. Patty's day we had to go get some beer and went to a crowded Irish place. I had some amazing cider called apple frost. I do love my cider!

Wed March 18th:Spent the entire morning up until lunch at the Louvre. Saw all the famous stuff as well as Napoleons Apartments-which are amazing! and of course did the Egypt exhibit for Kelly. After my classes we did the musee d'orsay. By this point we are already tired from walking though museums but we push on. Head to Place de la Concorde for the start of the Champs Elysees walk where Kelly was successful in finding the exact sweater she wanted as well as gifts for her friends and my parents. Then we hauled it all the way to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for a night view of Paris. Made it back to the apartment with just enough energy to make some dinner.

Thurs March 19th: Some Latin Quartier shopping in the morning for Kelly (along with a stop at Starbucks) after my classes Becky and I took her to sample a delicious Waffine at Les Halles. Of course there had to be a strike while she was here so the other museums we planned on going to were closed. We did make it to the Eiffel Tower, but of course the top was closed so we had to settle for the 2nd floor. It was really windy and chilly so we basically just scampered around for a couple minutes, took some pictures and headed back down. Kelly got her touristy souvenir-a light up blinking Eiffel Tower for 2.50 euros. It's actually kinda cool. Met up with Amaresh at Chez Papa's for a late dinner.

Fri March 20th: Got up early to head out to Versailles which is about 35 min out of the city. We spent about 5-6 hours there and I think we saw just about everything from the main palais to the retreats and Marie-Antoinettes Hamlet. Had a delightlful lunch in the sun at a place near le grand canal. Back to Paris for Kellys last night. Went to the infamous Auto Passion for some happy hour drinks then to probably my favorite restaurant Chez Pierrot which is right across from my apartment for an extensive French dinner complete with a complementary digestif.

Kelly really couldn't have come during a better week. The weather was amazing-now its cloudy, windy and a little rainy again. I hoped her trip increased her interest in studying abroad or at least more travel to Europe. Wish we could have gotten to Spain, but we can make that another trip for another time. I loved having her here and like I knew it would, it went way too fast. Now I get to look forward to Ash and Steph coming and then my mom in May!

Discovering Normandy.

Pictures from Normandy:


Me and Mont St. Michel


One of the many signs leading everyone to the tapestry.
We liked to joke that we never actually found it.



Travel buddies at Mont St. Michel


Looking out over the bay at Mont St. Michel.


The Cathedral in Bayeux.


Omaha beach: D-Day landing site.


Memorial at the American cemetery.




A sea of graves.


The town of Bayeux.

I figured it was time to update again, and we've been back from Normandy for a week now so I really have no excuses.

All in all everything is going really well here. I can't believe how fast the weeks are starting to go now that we are busy with school and everyday there seems to be something to go to or prepare for. Today Becky's friends arrive from the good ole U. S. of A so it's about to get busy around here for the next 2 weeks. Kelly will be here in less than a week so I'm finishing up planning her time here as well. Before I know it, it's going to be the end of March and almost time for spring break!!

We've decided on or destinations. First we'll take the train to Nice and spend 3 nights there, hopefully getting to Monoco for one of the afternoons. Then, a train from Nice to Venice where the plan is to spend 2 nights. The part I'm most excited for is the Cinque Terre (west coast of Italy just north of Pisa and Florence). We plan on doing some hiking, swimming and lots of relaxing.

No rest for the wicked because when I return from spring break Ashley Koskiniemi and Steph are planning on visiting. It's so great to have them coming-gives me another thing to look forward to. But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Back to our trip to Normandy which was Friday Feb 27-28.

-Just because we love being on the first metro in the morning we took the 7am train to Bayeux from Paris. We chose Bayeux as our home base for Normandy because of it's proximity to the D-Day beaches and it's famous tapestry the locals are so proud of. Bayeux is actually very charming and we were pleased to find that this is where all the friendly French people are hiding!

-We arrived just before 10am and set out to find our Rick Steves recommended hotel: Le Petit Matin. We found it located just across from the huge cathedral, dropped off our bags with Pascal (the owner) and went in search for a little something to eat. After a nice little petit dejeuner we enjoyed the weather by walking through town before we had to catch a bus out to the D-Day beaches. We were so lucky and ended up with amazing weather for the two days.

-After a 35 min. bus ride we arrived at the American Cemetary and Memorial at Omaha beach. Walked through the impressive visitors center and watched a short film honoring specific soliders who died in battle. It was a very moving video as they read letters the soldiers had written home and interviewed family members. The memorial and cemetery were incredibly impressive. 9, 387 white-marble crosses stretch as far as the eye can see. Perfectly manicured, the grounds are impecable. The cemetery is on a bluff overlooking Omaha beach itself. From our vantage point the beach seemed to stretch on forever and I had a difficult time imagining this tranquil beach being a site of such carnage. The water had almost a tropical look to it, and with the sun shining down it gave the entire area a sense of being content. Time will never change what happened here, but on a day like that it's easy to think of the good that came from all those soliders actions.

-After a slightly nauseating bus ride back to Bayeux, (Voigt, where's your dramamine when I need it) we decided to follow the advice of the million signs posted around the city and discover the Tapisserie de Bayeux. This 70 yard long wool and linen cloth tells the story of William the Conqueror. It's basically the story of his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Just one of those things you have to see so you can say you did.

-Our evenining in Bayeux consisted of a traditional local meal at l'Assiette Normande complete with various meats, cider and a delicious pudding dessert. We thought we would check out "the bar scene" which consisted of about 2 bars and all the young locals. We met up with 3 guys we had met on the way to the D-Day beaches and ended up at a bar called Pub Fiction where you could actually buy pitchers of beer.

-Saturday morning we woke up and were gently shaken awake with a traditional French breakfast in an adorable dining room. You just can't get that kind of experience from a hostel. At 9:30 we got on our train headed to Mont St. Michel which took us further west along the coast of the english channel. Anually 3.5 million tourists invade this tiny island for a glimpse at a thousand years of history. The island is connected to the mainland by a 2 mile causeway followed by a walk through the one street of the village leading you up to the abbey. Once you reach the abbey at the top there is a self-guided tour taking you through the abbey (thanks Rick). Along the way are amazing vantage points with great views of the bay. Before the causeway was built pilgrims had to wait until low tide and take the risk of encountering quick sand to make it to the island. Thankfully our bus took us directly to the enterance. The entire experience was only made better by the fact that our student cards got us in free. After a lunch consiting of a galette de champignons (salty crepe with mushrooms) we wandered around the island to take pictures and enjoy the amazing weather.

-Our day ended with a train ride back to Paris. I really enjoy rding the trains here-it's such a fast and easy way to travel. You don't need to worry about driving or the hassle of the airport. I really don't miss driving one bit here, it will probably be a slap in the face to have to do so much driving once I get back home. One of our barcelona friends had an early flight out of Paris on sunday so he came back to stay with Amaresh. We ended up going to our local Auto Passion bar and got more than we bargained for. No sooner had we sat down and ordered a round of drinks when a girl slinked out, covered in too much make-up and in need of a dye job, and proceeded to perform a strip-tease for some poor sap. Now, I don't claim to know anything about what it takes to be a stripper but she was not good. I mean, come on. If it's your job at least be good at it! She looked totally bored and the entire thing was just slightly disturbing. Thankfully it didn't last long. On the bright side my drinks were delicious.

-In other news...

This weekend I went to a park in Paris that is twice as big as central park in NYC called bois de Vincennes. It's fun to go to places you never plan on-my friend Nina who is a year student has wanted to go so Becky and I tagged along. Ended up being pretty sweet we even got to see a chateau. Who knew? For dinner we ended up going to this amazing Indian restaurant in the Latin quatier. Becky loves indian food and I love trying new things so along with Nina and Marie and one of her roomates we had an amazing meal. Trying to plot when I can go there again. Went and listened to some live music and went to a couple bars to complete the evening. Rode into Porte d'Orleans on just about the last train of the night.

Paris is good to me.

Until next time...

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