The Last Day

Today is my last full day in Grenoble, France. Tomorrow, I leave for my hotel, and on Saturday morning I depart from Lyon and make my way to Amsterdam, and from there, I make my way home to Chicago. 

My last full day in France. I should be sad, I should be dreading going home, I should be crying, I should be saying goodbye to Grenoble...but I'm happy. I'm radiant. I am super. Because this experience was not a waste. I have met so many, almost countless, amazing wonderful people, I have learned so much about myself and about the world around me, and also, I don't need to say goodbye to Grenoble. I don't need to say goodbye to France.

Because I will be back. This isn't a goodbye, this is only a "see you later". :)

I would like to thank all of you that followed my blog and kept in touch with and and followed me on my adventures. I sincerely apologize for my consistent tardiness in updating my blog, but...well, I was in France, speaking French, studying French, and trying my best to be French, can you blame me? ;)

Updated or not, I hope you all enjoyed my blog, and I plan to share all of my memories with all of you lovely folk in person back home. I truly look forward to seeing each and one of you again! My friends and family have truly been something I missed while over here.

As my last blog post, I would like to make a small list of things that I have learned and that I want to "bring back with me" to the States, things that I feel have changed me for the better, and things that I would like to keep in my life as I make my voyage back home:

• I want to have more family dinners, concentrated around home-cooked food and conversation

• I want to establish stronger family and friendship ties 
• I want to learn how to cook, both for my own survival purposes, and for the purpose of having guests over and serving them (hopefully) delicious meals
• I want to take control of my own education. There are a lot of things thrown at me day after day at school, but the real learning needs to take place at home. It's up to me to find the motivation to study on my own, get out there on my own, and learn on my own.
• I want to embrace the joy of hosting (parties, get-togethers, brunches, everything!)
• I want to be more open to meeting new people in class, at work, etc. - I might meet some really incredible people!
• I want to open myself up to learning culture and history on my own. Nothing is more humbling than being ignorant about the country you're living in!
• I want to open up, be myself, and be honest to people about myself - nobody will ever be honest with me unless I'm honest with them.
• Take time to enjoy nature. It's all around, I just need to know the right places to look.
• Take care of my body. My body is my temple. Walk whenever possible, eat healthier foods, keep unnecessary snacks out of the house!
• Find a passion, or a few passions, and really embrace them. Don't pick up a hobby, half-ass it, and claim to enjoy doing it. Really go all out, all or nothing!
• Never ever be afraid to speak French. Or Spanish. Or even German, after studying it for only one semester. Everybody starts somewhere, and everybody makes mistakes, but keeping those mistakes silent won't do anything. Get out their, speak the language with friends, and destroy those fears and mistakes!
• Appreciate friendships, and let go of the little things. Don't let small arguments, misunderstandings, or jealousy get in the way of what could be a wonderful friendship. And appreciate the friendships you do have more while you've got them - you don't realize how important people are to you until there is literally an ocean in the way. 
• Really sit down and think twice before saying "I hate it here" or "I need a vacation" or "I need to just get away". Suddenly, when you are away, you find yourself missing all of those places and people and things. Make the best out of it, and enjoy it while you can!  
• Have less things. There were a lot of times where I missed home or I did not feel comfortable because I wasn't surrounded by all of my 'things'. When in reality, those 'things' don't define me at all. I would like to consume less, and keep fewer things to my name, things that are really important, and just the right amount of things where if I had to get up and go at any given moment, I could pack a small bag, leave, and still always feel at home.
• Never, ever judge anyone's ability or inability to do something, and never put your abilities above those of others. I used to always believe that I was a hot-shot in French, that I was the best student, that I could be dropped into a French society and survive no problem. Well, being dropped into France was definitely a humbling experience for me. I don't speak fluent French, and there is a lot, a lot, that I still have to learn. I found myself stumbling on words when ordering a piece of bread at the bakery. Yeah, okay, "best student". I am on the same track as everybody else, and the only way we can all reach the end successfully is if we all help each other reach it together. 
• Finally, embrace life. Enjoy it. No matter what your mind is telling you, no matter what people are telling you, no matter what is happening all around, I want to be able to take at least two minutes out of every day, look at myself in the mirror, and just smile and appreciate who I am, what I have, and the life that I live. 

I really have to thank France for everything she has given me these past four months. She will forever be an important chapter in my life, and I will never forget her. I'll see you again soon, France - I look forward to it! =)

A Great Day with a Great Friend

24 November 2012

Today I took a very pleasant road trip with my French friend Lise. We have already spent so many weeks getting together and chatting over coffee, why not explore France together as well? Well, more exploring for me, more tour-guiding for her! She picked me up in the morning and we drove off to Annecy, aka the "Little Venice of France", and she definitely was a French driver - these French roads are scary! Driving back home in the States is going to seem calm! =P No, but seriously, I really enjoyed my car ride with her (we shared a lot of smiles and laughs!), and driving through the mountains was absolutely incredible…they were towering all around, and the mountain ranges stretched out for what seemed like forever! This is definitely going to be a special gem I am going to miss back home. My goodness, I love these mountains! We ended up arriving in Annecy in just under two hours, and after Lise found a spot to park we started our adventure into town. We walked through a huge park where families were having picnics and tossing around Frisbees, and we walked for a while alongside the lakeside. What a gorgeous view - crystal clear waters stretching out to the other side of the lake where the water met with the mountainside. Gorgeous does not even do this sight justice! There was also a man with his dog, and the man would toss a stick into the water and the dog would swim after it, a little game of aquatic fetch. We watched that for a while, I was absolutely hypnotized by just the sheer…well, joy and cuteness of the whole event. =) After enjoying the lakeside, we explored the ins and outs of the old-town Annecy, zipping through market stalls and over bridges, and she shared with me how Annecy is one of her favorite places in France, and how she would really love to live and settle down here one day. It was just that little story of hers that made this Annecy trips one of the best trips I have taken here in France, even better than Paris. Just the fact that this place meant something to the friend I was with, it made me feel like there was a reason for me to be visiting Annecy. I wasn't there to see the sights, and I wasn't there to take pictures like a tourist - I was there to share an experience with a friend. And now, Annecy will always have a special meaning for me, too! =) After she told me about her story, we continued walking through town, meandering through the old houses and churches, bustling through the crowd and counting all the German Shepherds that walked by (I counted six - I knew I would enjoy this town!), and eventually we wandered down a small street and we bought some sandwiches for lunch. We ate as we walked, and we made our way to a mall in town where the place was decorated - heavily decorated - for Christmas. They had fake snow in the hallways, little log cabins with mechanical elves making toys, a mechanical Santa in a sleigh guided by wooden reindeer, and a grand Christmas tree that towered over all of the Christmas cheer. We went shopping through the stores, and Lise bought a spy-gear kit for her little sister, and I was content gazing at all of the decorations, counting down the seconds until Christmas, despite it being an entire month and one day away. Once we got our fill on soaking up the Christmas cheer, we walked through a small park and made our way back to the car so we could drive a little farther and visit a neighboring town, Aix-les-Bains. The town was a small town meant for two specific crowds of people: Either the rich who enjoyed driving down to toss their Euro bills around in the many casinos in town, or the elderly who were…well, also rich. Needless to say, we avoided the casinos and enjoyed our time instead by walking around the town, taking in the pretty sights of the fountains, the parks, and the gardens. There was even a fountain that was filled with flowers instead of water - very pretty! After walking through town for a little bit, we got back in the car, and took our third and final voyage for the day - our voyage to Lac du Bourget, the biggest lake in France! It was such a gorgeous lake, resting at the foothills of the mountains, the shored lined with colorful kayaks and sailboats, the hillsides dotted with small lakeside cottages and pathways that swerved into patches of forest…it was actually a very calming visit. It was really one of those moments to take it all in, really realize where I was, and just be thankful. After scouring the shores of the gorgeous Lac du Bourget, we got back in the car, and made our way home (Lise couldn't stay out too late, she had tickets to a concert later that night!). After a good two hours of stories and laughter, we arrived back in Grenoble, and Lise dropped me off near the apartment. We said our goodbyes and I gave her my most sincere thank-yous, and I ended this glorious day by meandering through the freshly-opened Christmas Market in town =)

Geneva, Switzerland

18 November 2012

Buying the tickets just yesterday, Paige, Natasha, Jimmy and I made a last-minute trip to Geneva Switzerland this weekend! Being a last minute trip and having to wake up at 6 AM for the train, practically all of us almost missed it. We all launched ourselves off of our respective trams, giving each other "you're late too?!" looks, and we rushed to the train and jumped on, and fortunately there wasn't a lot of people and we were able to find two couches in a car where we were all able to sit together. We were on the train for about two hours, some of us reading, some of us napping, switching roles every now and then. Before we knew it, we arrived in Geneva, Switzerland - stepping outside of France for the first time of my study abroad journey! =) We all bought some day passes that would let us take the trams and the boats on the lake, and we started our journey on foot, exploring the city. Unfortunately, since we came to Geneva on a Sunday, everything was closed. No, seriously, everything was closed, including each and every chocolate store. We all stood outside of the windows, staring at all of the collections of delicious Swiss chocolate, day dreaming about it and screaming "Why, WHY?!" in our heads. And out loud… We made the best of our day anyway, strolling across bridges and watching little kids feeding bread to the ducks and the swans in the crystal clear waters. We also walked through a small park that was right on the edge of the water, full of small statues and patches of gorgeous yellow flowers here and there. After enjoying the sights and taking a few pictures, we jumped on a tram and made our way towards the United Nations. We got off the tram at some stop that we thought was near the UN, but it wasn't as close as we thought, so…we started our adventure on foot again! Fortunately for us though, we stumbled upon a gorgeous and miraculous botanical garden! This place was gorgeous, there were plants, trees, and flowers from all over the world, growing tall in the grass, sprouting from between rocks in fountains, or steaming up greenhouses that were located all around. We decided that this place would be the perfect spot to set up camp and enjoy our sandwich lunches that we packed, and that's exactly what we did. I enjoyed my chicken sandwich and little nutella dessert while glancing all around me, taking in nature's beauty from all around the world, conveniently located in one quaint garden. After exploring through the gardens, we made our way back to the nearest main road, and followed that for a little bit, and before we knew it, much to our surprise, we arrived at the UN! Well, at least the rear entrance where there were enough security gates to make a Lady Gaga concert jealous. And for some reason, there were sheep scattered all around the rear lawn of the UN building…my guess is that each one of those sheep represented a nation, but one can only hope. After taking a few pictures, we walked a bit further and made our way to the front of the UN, which was pretty impressive. It was awesome getting to see all of the nations' flags line up, one after another, fluttering in the wind. And to imagine that so many important government figures have walked this road before…I really felt like I was somewhere important and meaningful, it was really cool! After admiring the UN, we hopped on another tram and made our way back into town, where we explored through some parks where we played human-size chess, watched families ice-skate, and admired some nice little gazebos and flowerbeds full of dozens of brilliant colors. Eventually we made our way to the Jardin Anglais, and from there we walked to a nearby harbor and we jumped on a small boat that took us across the lake to the other side. That was really fun, especially considering it was only the four of us on this little boat. We all took pictures and enjoyed this special and magical moment together, sailing across the water, taking in the sights of Geneva that surrounded us on three sides, the fourth side an endless field of water that stretched out into the horizon. Before we knew it we were on the other side (thankfully, too, because the early-winter wind was starting to become a little too much for us to handle), and we walked down that harbor and made our way to a small lighthouse in the water. It was a rather small lighthouse, nothing too impressive, but just the fact that it was a tiny white lighthouse in Geneva, Switzerland, made it so much better! On our way back to the "mainland", we passed by something truly European - a little something called a nude sauna. Not a nude sauna with towels, oh no. A nude sauna with *****es and ******s. And there were some ******s and ****s too. Oh, and ****s. And a few ****s that were a little too *****. However, it was really cold outside, and we didn't want to even imagine putting naked and cold into the same thought process, so we hurried our merry way back to old-town Geneva, where we found a nice little café where we sat down to enjoy some hot chocolates and coffees. I fancied myself to a Swiss hot chocolate, a REAL Swiss hot chocolate, and oh my god I kid you not, I almost flipped over the table and screamed it was so good. It was literally sipping heaven out of a mug. I swear a tear fell from my eye when I finished it off. It was too good, I didn't want to say goodbye. =( Unfortunately, I had to, and after enjoying all of our drinks, we made our way to a chapel on top of a hill in old-town Geneva, and we went inside and found some seats because there was going to be a small concert with a choir singing religious songs from across the world. I wasn't able to see the choir because I was seated behind a column, but I was almost lucky in a sort of way. Since I wasn't able to see them, I was only able to hear their angelic voices echoing off of the grand walls and high ceilings of the church, and it was magical. I closed my eyes and I was taken to a truly magical place, serenaded by such soothing and melodic voices. It was also a great opportunity to do some self-reflection, too, and I will gladly take any opportunity to do that. =) After behind serenaded by the voices of the angels, we left the chapel and made our way back to the train station, since our arrival time was sneaking up on us. On our way back, we passed a Starbucks, and we dared to step inside…and we were welcomed by so many too-familiar scents. I was reminded of home, of friends, of Christmas…I had to leave before I either started crying or before I spent all of my money. Besides, I'm glad I saved that money, because when we arrived back at the station, we came across a small shop that was open and they sold Swiss chocolate - VICTORY. Well all pulled a tourist and shoveled chocolate bars off of every shelf, and the cashiers must have thought we were either crazy or…well, American. But I don't care. I am bringing this Swiss chocolate home, because without it, my mother would not let me back in the house! =)

CEA Trip to Saintes Maries de la Mer, France

11 November 2012

Day two of our mini CEA vacation - Saintes Maries de la Mer! I woke up in the morning and quickly took advantage of the hotel's continental breakfast, which consisted of a lot of…breads, and then from there I got on the tour bus with the rest of the group, and we made our way down south to Saintes Maries de la Mer. The bus ride down was very interesting. The scenery all around was rivers and marshlands, an environment I never expected to see in France. When one thinks of France it's usually cafés and bakeries and Paris, not swampy marshlands. However, I still enjoyed it - it was a change of pace, and there were flamingos every now and then grazing in the small ponds. That's right, wild flamingos! They were so much more majestic than any old flamingo in a zoo! After about half an hour of driving, we finally arrived in Saintes Maries, and we all debarked the bus and made our merry way into town. I absolutely adored this town! It was such a stereotypical seaside harbor town, with boats on the shore, white houses with blue rooftops, and scents of the fresh sea-air breezing through the houses and shopping stalls. It was so refreshing! I walked through some of the stalls searching for some nice trinkets, and I ended up buying some neat postcards and a divine smelling bar of soap made in the South of France. After shopping around for a little bit, some of us headed down to the beach to take some pictures by the water and on the rocks. Oh my goodness, I have missed the beach! It was so wonderful being here! And the fact that it was a beach full of French-speaking people just made it even better! After exploring the beach for a little bit, we went back into town to meet up with Patrick, and then we made our way down the coast, way down the coast, to set up camp and wait for a special event that they host down here: A running of the bulls! That's right! Right alongside the beach, horse riders would run down the coast on their horses, with a bull in between all of them, and they would herd it all the way back into town. It was really exciting! Although it only got more exciting when the bridge that brought us back to the mainland collapsed, and then one of the bulls escaped, but…nobody was hurt, so yay! After watching the horses run down the beach, we eventually made our way back into town as well, and I bought a delicious sandwich and an ice cream cone and enjoyed my lunch on the beach. I found myself just staring out at sea, just in complete awe of the beauty that I was witnessing. After finishing my lunch, I ended up walking along one of the rock "peninsulas" that stretched out into the water, which was an incredible experience. The waves were splashing and crashing against the rocks, spraying them with water and making them glisten in the sun. It was so beautiful! After enjoying the beach and the coast, I made my way back into town to meet up with the rest of the group, one by one, and then together we made our way back to the tour bus, and soon we were on our way to a small horse ranch in the marshes, where we were going to go horseback riding! Oh my goodness, this is the point I was looking forward to all weekend! I had only been horseback riding once in my life, and that was at least six years ago, so this was going to be thrilling! They ended up giving me the biggest horse (which is what happens when you're the only guy in a huge group full of girls. Nothing makes you feel like a fatty than being given the biggest horse.), and they didn't tell me his name so I just called him Clap-Clap Kitty Kat. He seemed to respond well to that, so I suppose it was his name anyway. We rode the horses through the gorgeous marshlands, weaving through small ponds full of flamingos, striding through fields of tall grass, and crossing small country roads, under the late afternoon sun. Clap-Clap was feeling aggressive and ended up pushing his way towards the front of the line…I felt a little bad for the other horses that he bit, but he was the big alpha horse, so get out da way. After about two hours of horseback riding in the marshes of France, we made our way back to the ranch where we played with some of the border collies that ran around the ranch (it had been so long since I played with a dog - I miss my puppies back home!), and then we all hopped on the bus that took us back to Arles, and from there we hopped on a train that took us back to home-sweet-home Grenoble. What a wonderful and amazing weekend with the "CEA Grenoobles"! =)

CEA Trip to Arles, France

10 November 2012

Happy CEA trip #2! This weekend, we are all going to Arles and Saintes-Maries de la Mer together, both of which are closer to the South of France. Being day #1 of this weekend trip, we started our adventure in Arles. We all woke up very early to catch a 6:00 AM train (which, let's be realistic, all of us slept on…) that took us to Valence, and from there we caught another train that took us to Arles. Once we arrived, we were welcomed with gray skies and a chilly drizzle, but no matter - we were all still going to have a wonderful weekend! Our first stop was at our hotel where we dropped off our things and pampered ourselves up a bit (we all looked like wrecks after collapsing and falling asleep on two trains), and after that we all went out to explore the markets in Arles. My goodness, these French markets. Most of the time the markets sell the same things as the next, such as spices, food, clothing, meats and cheeses, but the sights and smells are always so new and inviting every time! We all shared a nice large bag of croissants and pastries, and then we adventured through the town a bit. Arles was such a cozy town. All of the houses had painted shutters and flowers on the windowsills, little cats and little dogs running down the allies and barking from doorways (well, at least the dogs were!), and some houses had magnificent vines and flowers scaling the sides of the walls. It was just so quaint, I could only dream of living in a cozy place like this someday! After adventuring for a bit we sat down and some of us grabbed a bit to eat or a nice cup of ice cream for an afternoon dessert, and after that we all met up with Patrick at the hotel and we began our group adventure and guided tour in Arles. On the tour, we visited the ancient Roman market and forum that was actually underground, because it was built on a hillside, so half of the forum was above ground, and half was underground. We visited the underground half, and it was actually pretty cool! It was practically an ancient underground mall, who would have thought?! After visiting the forum, we made our way further into town where we visited an ancient Roman theatre, which was amazing for two reasons: 1) it's always amazing visiting these ancient theatres where Romans would put on skits and plays so many years ago, and here it is in front of me today as if it were just built yesterday, and 2) I ran into Tyler and Vince, two friends from Northern who are studying in Aix-en-Provence right now, and they were in Arles for the weekend on a class trip! What are the odds?! We only had a few minutes to chat, but it was still very surprising and very pleasant to run into them, in France, of all places! =) After visiting the theatre, our group made our way to an ancient Roman coliseum right here in the city of Arles, standing so tall and grand, like a mini coliseum that one would see in Rome! We explored around inside for a bit, which was really awesome, and we learned about the gladiator fights that would happen in this coliseums. In fact, contrary to popular belief, gladiators never had the intent to kill anybody. The fights were performed for entertainment and were rehearsed most of the time, and the fights would stop after one gave up or once one was injured. These gladiators and their performances were purchased by the rich nobles and lords of Roman culture to entertain and please the people of the city, increasing their popularity. I thought it was very interesting - I'm learning something new every day! =) After exploring the coliseum and getting a wonderful view of the city from one of the towers, we journeyed back into the center of town where we saw, in person, the café that inspired van Gogh's famous painting Le café de nuit. This was the first time that I've seen an artist's inspiration up close and in person, with my own eyes! It really was amazing and impressive! I stood there and stared at the café, and imagine that years and years ago, van Gogh was sitting in the same spot, painting the work of art that inspires us today. How cool, too cool! After visiting the area and learning a little more about van Gogh and his adventures to Arles, we had a few hours of free time, so we decided to visit a local museum. It was rather lack-luster and it was the type of museum that featured rocks sitting on…other rocks, so we didn't really spend much time there. We head back to the hotel, freshened up, and met Patrick in the lobby again, and we all made our way to our group dinner. Our dinner was absolutely delicious, and not only was it delicious, but it was fun! We were served a fish soup, and with it we were served slices of tough bread, garlic cloves, shredded cheese, and a delicious spicy sauce. What we had to do was put the garlic, cheese, and sauce on the bread, chop it up, and toss it in the soup like little homemade croutons, and you could either pour soup on the crouton and eat it like that, or let the croutons soak up the soup and eat them like…well, croutons! The soup itself was rather…fishy, but once I tossed the croutons in there, it was divine! Plus, for dessert, we were served delicious pear tarts, which I have absolutely no complaints about! =) After such a delicious feast, we left the restaurant and made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out into town for a small drink. We found a pleasant bar near the hotel where we ordered some beers and wine, and we sipped and chatted the night away. After such a lovely evening among friends, we eventually made our way back to the hotel to call it a night, and I freshened up, threw on some pajamas, made myself a nice cup of tea, and eventually fell asleep - it wasn't hard, considering all that was on the hotel TV was professional golf. Yawn!

Paris Palooza - Day 4

4 November 2012

The last day of Paris Palooza =( What a sad day, realizing I will have to leave Paris in the evening, but I certainly was not going to let my last glorious day in Paris escape me! It ended up being just me, Paige, and Natasha, because Katie and Jimmy went their own way after going to the bar the night before, and the three of us started our journey by visiting the famous catacombs. We were very excited, and after taking a few metro rides, we finally arrived, only to find out that the catacombs were closed due to an air conditioning malfunction. Wonderful…failed plan number one, check! But our day was far from a failure! We hurried back to the metro station and made our way to Place de la Bastille, where the famous Bastille in Paris stood that was raided by French revolutionaries. It was interesting being there, and it was really interesting seeing the monument there as well. Just another famous place in Paris that we learned oh-so-much about in our History class! After seeing the monument and stopping by at a local restaurant to pick up a quick bite to eat, we made our way back to the metro station and made our way closer to the center of Paris, and we saw a lot more interesting landmarks on points of interest, all on foot: Pont Neuf (where we also saw a bunch of locks locked to the rails of the bridge with lovers' names written on them, so cute!), Palais de Justice, Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame again… everything was so amazing to see, and the architecture of all of these bridges and buildings was just remarkable and phenomenal! We really got to see up close and personal the ideal French architecture, right in the heart of Paris! From Notre Dame, we took a metro ride to go and see the Grand Opera of Paris (where the Phantom of the Opera lives supposedly…spooky!). While we were there, there was a group of students that made a band of their own, and they were playing music in front of the Opera. It was like a free show in front of the Grand Opera of Paris! How amazing! I really enjoyed my time there, and it's just another box to check off on my amazing-sights-to-see-in-Paris. =) We decided that before ending our glorious trip in Paris, we wanted to head over and see the Pantheon. So, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower to see her glory and beauty just one last time, and then we made our way to the metro and made our way over to the Pantheon. What an amazing piece of architecture! It was much larger than I expected it to be, and it was very impressive. Yet again, Paris threw one of it's many wonders at me, and I received it full force and was floored with amazement. After visiting the Pantheon, Paige, Natasha and I made our way to the closest metro station and made our way back to our hotel to check out, which is where we ran into Katie and Jimmy. Ironically enough, everything they did during the day were the exact same things that we did, just at different times and in a different order. It's a shame we couldn't all see everything together, but at least we can all share the same memories! Once we gathered up all of our bags, we made our way to Gare du Nord, picked up a quick bite to eat for dinner, and then we caught an RER that took us back to Paris Gare de Lyon. Our TGV was there as soon as we arrived, so we hopped on, each with our own fond memories of Paris, and we waved goodbye to the grand city of lights as the train pulled away, ready to take us back to our home - that's right, our little French home - Grenoble. What an amazing weekend in Paris, a weekend that I will never forget, and a weekend that I will forever hold close to my heart. Don't worry, Paris. I'll be back. =) 

Paris Palooza - Day 3

3 November 2012

Happy Day 3 of Paris Palooza! Unfortunately, today was a horrible morning in Paris because there was a steady rainfall and grey skies, and it didn't look like it was going to get any better. Even Natasha checked the weather on her phone, and they called for a 100% of rain all day. Well, I suppose then there will be a 100% chance that we'll be staying indoors today. Therefore, we decided that today would be the best day to go visit Le Louvre, since it's an indoor museum and it's huge. We could definitely benefit from a whole day set aside for the Louvre! We went to the metro station and caught a metro that took us straight to the Louvre, which was nice; no walking through puddles for us! Once we arrived, the place was crowded, and it was crowded with tourists. I have never heard so much English and Chinese in one place in my entire life, and do not get me started on how blind I was after walking through at least twenty camera flashes. Once we bought our tickets, Katie and I went one way while Jimmy, Paige, and Natasha went another way (not really by choice, the crowd split us up a bit). Katie and I ended up going through the Egypt, Greek, and Roman exhibits first, where I saw plenty of statues of sphinxes, Greek lords and ladies, and lady Venus. Unfortunately, Venus was literally a Venus flytrap of tourists, so it was difficult to get up close. But I still got to see her and I got a picture from afar, so I was content. After wandering through those exhibits, we went to another exhibit that featured jewelry, armor, and weapons from various past ages, and that was really interesting. The jewelry was marvelous, and the armor was very interesting as well, but I was mostly surprised by the fact that all of these artifacts survived against time for so long and still managed to look so pristine! From there we made our way through the Italian art wing, where we were bombarded by walls upon walls upon walls of grand paintings, including a painting that practically everyone knows, Miss Mona Lisa herself. Oh lord, if I thought Venus drew a crowd… I honestly thought I was going to die. Have you ever seen those Discovery Channel shows where there's a lion hunting down a crippled, three-legged zebra? Well Mona Lisa was the zebra, every single tourist in that room was a lion, and I was just some poor, lost and confused flamingo that feared for my life in this arena of tourists and camera flashes, which aren't allowed, but whatever. After narrowly escaping the Mona Lisa death pit, Katie and I made our way to a smaller exhibit that featured African art and South American art. I thought these were really interesting, and they were possibly some of my favorite exhibits that I've seen at the Louvre. It was nice to step back from all of the artwork of the renaissance and experience a type of art that's a little less appreciated. I especially enjoyed the tribal theme of most of the art, and it was easy to tell that a lot of this art was handmade, which gave it even more of a special desire. While in the exhibit, we noticed that it was lunchtime and we were getting hungry, so Katie and I decided to head back up aboveground, make our way to the glass pyramid, and then go back to the entrance of the museum to find the others, and we'd take a Louvre lunch break. To our surprise, however, when we got to the surface, we realized that the weather was gorgeous. The sun was shining bright, there was a gentle breeze, and birds were chirping like nobody's business. Thank you for the accuracy, weather report… I did not want to waste a beautiful day like this inside, and the others agreed, so once we all regrouped, we made our way through the gorgeous gardens and fountains to Place de la Concorde, a historical location where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had their heads "removed" by the guillotine. I was honestly a tad upset…well, very upset, to be standing where poor Marie Antoinette died. Just yesterday I was visiting her palace, and today she's dead. Such a cruel world. After visiting this little slice of history, we made our way to a metro station in search of lunch. We all knew what we wanted for lunch. We'd been dreaming about it ever since we arrived in Paris and found out that this restaurant actually existed here. …Chipotle. After searching high and low and through various metro lines, we finally found it. It's a little sad, but this was the most excited I had felt since arriving in Paris. No regrets. I mean, it's Chipotle in Paris, that's special! The menu was pretty much the same, except here in Paris they added margaritas to their menu, which Katie ordered, and it tasted like pure 100% tequila. A little strong, Paris Chipotle, a little strong. Either way though, I thoroughly enjoyed my French spicy chicken bowl, and I will remember this glorious little moment in Paris every time I go to a Chipotle back home! After enjoying our delicious lunch, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. This was it! This was our time to climb la Dame de Fer! You heard me correctly: Climb. We bought our tickets to climb the staircase all the way to the middle floor. It was a pretty intense workout, but I couldn't pay attention to how out of shape I was because I was too busy admiring the Eiffel Tower that I was climbing. Once we got to the middle floor, we were greeted by the most beautiful sight I have ever set my eyes on: The sun setting over the horizon of Paris. I was in awe. My eyes even misted up a bit I was just so…inspired. This is a sight I will never, ever, ever forget for my entire lifetime. We stayed up there for quite a while, staring off into the sunset, gazing across Paris and taking it all in, pointing out sites that we visited that looked so tiny now. We stayed up there until the sun finally set, and we enjoyed the sparkling Eiffel Tower light show up close and personal. It was so magnificent and so beautiful… Moments like this are when I remember why I fell in love with France, why I wanted to study French, and why I wanted to come here. All of it just has this hold on me, some otherworldly dominance,  but I won't struggle. France can have me. After descending the Eiffel Tower on foot, we went back to the little crêpe shop that we went to our first night here, and sat around enjoying more nutella crêpes, basking in the warm and recent memories that we all shared together on top of that glorious tower. Once we got back home to the hotel, we decided to go out on the town and have a little fun on our last full night in Paris. We met up with one of Jimmy's friends, Vincent, and we made our way to a bar that he knew pretty well. We spent a super fun evening sipping beers and wines, playing never-have-I-ever and would-you-rather (games that get pretty intense after a glass of wine or beer…), and just enjoying each other's company. It was a really pleasant evening, and I am so glad that we were all able to spend our last night in Paris together. I love these folks! =)

Paris Palooza - Day 2

Happy Paris Palooza day two! Today's adventure was probably one my favorites: A trip to Versailles Palace, home of the late Marie Antoinette, queen of France, obsession of mine! We all met up in the morning to grab a quick cup of coffee, and then we went to the metro to catch an RER train that would take us to Versailles where we would find the Palace of Versailles. After about an hour train ride of chit chatting, we finally made it to Versailles, where we were greeted by a flood of tourists, grey skies, and a downpour of drizzle. Not exactly the brightest and happiest day, but I was not going to let anything ruin my Versailles adventure! We walked through town and made our way up to the grand palace, it's gold-trimmed windows and rooftops shining in the distance. We finally reached the great golden gates, and after seeing the mile-long line of tourists waiting to get inside the palace, we decided to explore the gardens first. My oh my, these gardens were absolutely stunning! They literally stretched out as far as the eye could see, with stone staircases and cascading fountains dotting the landscape every here and there, resting in the shade of grand oak trees that towered over flowerbeds and grand statues. I couldn't help but imagine what it was like, way back in the day, for the lords and ladies of the French royal court to wake up and step outside to such a gorgeous garden. I don't understand how Marie Antoinette could complain about her head getting cut off when she had a garden like this in her backyard for most of her life. And she was a queen that got to eat delicious little cakes all day…but I digress. Anyway, we continued our journey through the twisting and turning gardens and found our way to the King's Garden, a nice little patch of gardens and trees, fenced in by a little wooden fence covered in flowering vines. Since the gardens were so huge, we were alone there without the noises and "ooh"s and "ahh"s of other tourists, and it was just so peaceful and tranquil. I found myself walking to and fro, admiring the nature and the tranquility under a gentle fall of rain and the sound of thunder rumbling in the distance. As the skies grew darker and as the rain grew heavier, we decided to trek our way back to the front of the palace, join the mile-long line, and shiver together under Natasha's umbrella, waiting to enter the grand palace. After what seemed like an eternity of playing twenty questions and confusing the German-speaking and Chinese-speaking tourists on either side of us, we finally got to the front of the line and entered the Palace of Versailles. Another dream of mine coming true right before my eyes, stepping from gold-trimmed room to gold-trimmed room, admiring all of the silk curtains and sky-high mirrors, diamond-studded chandeliers and velvet-draped beds, imagining the lives of the royalty as these grand and noble things were just part of their daily lives. I stared into the roped-off cathedral, seeing all of the marble pillars and gold-trimmed altars, imagining Marie Antoinette's wedding, imagining how gorgeous of a ceremony it must have been. As I stepped into Marie Antoinette's room, I was in awe. It was such a royal chamber, fit for a queen. Everything she owned - from her bedspread to her wallpaper - seemed to have a delicate floral pattern that danced in the light of the grand chandelier. Next to her room was an even more impressive sight: The Hall of Mirrors, always my favorite part of Versailles. A grand hall that stretched for what seemed like forever, with mirrors covering one wall, and windows covering the other. Whether I was staring outside at the gardens and fountains or staring at the reflections of golden statues, I was in awe everywhere I looked. There was just something so magical about this room that I can't describe. What I do know for sure is that it will always have a special place in my heart and in my dreams. =) We continued to weave our way through tour groups upon tour groups, fighting to make a path, sometimes even struggling just the breath, and we eventually made our way to the end of the visit. While others visited the restroom or waited by the exit, I explored my favorite part of the tour - THE GIFT SHOP. I fancied myself to some postcards and bookmarks that featured the Hall of Mirrors, and I was a content little Frenchie-American-Tourist! We stepped back outside and admired the outside of the palace up close and personal, and took some time to take some pictures of ourselves standing in ankle-deep puddles in front of the palace. Soaked feet and wet socks mean nothing when you're at Versailles. Sorry, rain, but you won't rain down on my Versailles-parade! We walked back into town, with me stopping every now and then to look back at the palace, Rose from the Titanic screaming "I'll never let go!" in my head, and we found a nice little restaurant where we sat down to enjoy a quick croque-monsieur and coca-cola lunch. From there we made our way through some tourist shops, and then we went back to the train station and caught an RER and made our way back to the city of Paris. We got off at a station near the bridge Pont Alexandre III, which we crossed and took plenty of pictures standing next to the golden-trimmed rails of the bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background. It was a very impressive bridge with golden flowers sprouting from the metal rails, and golden statues guarding each end of the bridge. I also saw a bride and a groom having their wedding photos taken, and I may have snuck in a few pictures of my own - so romantic. From the bridge, we headed to Les Invalides where Napoleon is buried. We toured around Les Invalides and looked at all of the cannons and weapons they had on display, and it was really interesting - even more up-close-and-personal experience with more things I learned in history class! After visiting Les Invalides, we walked a bit and found a metro station and made our way to the grand ol' Notre Dame de Paris. Like yesterday at Sacré Coeur, there was a mass taking place inside of Notre Dame, which was just as impressive as it was in Sacré Coeur, if not more. It definitely was busier than Sacré Coeur! And just like yesterday, I was really able to take a moment and let reality sink in, and realize just how important of a place this cathedral is to so many people today, and to so many people in the past. I was standing in years upon years of history! After exploring the inside of Notre Dame, we made our way across the bridge and did some in-town shopping, and then we found a quaint little restaurant where we sat down both to eat dinner and to escape the rain outside. I fancied myself to a delicious dinner that consisted of a cheese crêpe, roasted chicken, and a sugar crêpe for dessert. And all of that only cost about 10 Euro - I was very content with this dinner! After enjoying dinner, we decided to call it a night, and started our search for a metro station, when we came across a group of dancers that were break dancing in the street, and clearly drawing a crowd, which included us.  We watched them for at least half an hour, and even a kid from the audience just jumped in and joined them. Seriously, some eight year old kid just jumped in, and started break dancing, even better than them! I was really impressed by him! After their little show, they walked around with their hats asking for money, and I dropped some coins in one of their hats. Their show was just too good to ignore! As the crowd dispersed, we eventually found a nearby metro stop and made our ways back home. Once we arrived at Gare du Nord, we decided to go out for a quick glass of wine before heading back to the hotel, and there we sat under the stars of Paris, sipping our glasses of wine and discussing the dream city that is Paris. After polishing off our glasses of wine, we all went back to our hotel rooms, and Natasha, Paige and I spent the night talking, sharing jokes, and sharing laughs until we all drifted off to sleep, awaiting another great day of Paris adventures. 

Blog Update

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well! Thank you again to all of those keeping up with my updates, I appreciate it! Over here in Grenoble final exams are starting up, so I'll be a bit of a shut-in while studying, and I'll be finding a lot of time to update my blog as well, so be prepared for quite a few new blog posts, including Paris, the South of France, and Geneva, Switzerland!

Also, unfortunately, my blog has reached its limit of photo storage, so I am no longer able to update any photos on the blog itself. However, I'll be bringing all of my photos home with me and making a scrapbook, so everyone will be able to see them then! Or, if you are really antsy and wish to see them sooner, please feel free to e-mail me at: rbirmantas@gmail.com, and I will be more than happy to send you a few "sneak-peeks" from my trip!

Thanks again for following my blog updates and keeping in touch, everyone!

Paris Palooza - Day 1

1 November 2012

JOYEUX PARIS PALOOZA! Oh what a fantastic morning I am so excited! When my alarm went off, I threw myself out of bed, quickly jumped in the shower, threw myself together, and ran (seriously, I am not kidding, I ran) to the Victor Hugo tram stop to meet up with Katie, Paris Palooza Voyager #2. We hopped on the B tram with our bags and our smiles and met up with Paige, Jimmy, and Natasha, Paris Palooza Voyagers #3, #4, and #5, at the Grenoble Gare - our entire Paris Palooza Team has successfully assembled, voilà! After a brief moment of screaming and yelling at each other in excitement, we jumped on the TGV and awaited our grand departure for Paris. I sat next to Paige, and we had a pleasant little bright-and-early morning conversation, mostly about how excited we were for Paris. The train left the station within a few minutes, and we were off! A three hour train ride might seem like a long time, but it's a wonderful three hours when everything outside the train windows is fields, rolling plains, and small French farms and cottages dotting the countryside. Every now and then there would be a small patch of cows or sheep, roaming around, grazing in the fields. It was just so beautiful. Calming, even. This is the type of thing I only dream about when I imagine a countryside, and here it all is right in front of my eyes. I was so tempted to stop the train and get off and just wander, just soak up all of the beauty that is the French countryside. However, doing that would require missing Paris, so…I stayed on the train. =) We eventually arrived in Grand Ol' Paris three hours later, and then we began our difficult and scary adventure to find our hotel. After getting completely turned around and lost in the Gare de Lyon, we finally made it to the metro station and pulled out our map and looked for Rue de Magenta, where our hotel was supposedly located. We eventually found Rue de Magenta (quite a ways on the outskirts of Paris), and we hopped on three connecting metros and eventually made it to Rue de Magenta. After hiding under an overpass for a few minutes due to a  freak and impromptu hailstorm, we wandered around a bit, looking for the hotel, and we were a little…frightened. The metro seemed to have dropped us off in one of the more "ghetto" regions of Paris, but we were on Rue de Magenta, getting looks and glares from all over the place. After finding the address of the hotel and discovering that it was a store that sold weaves, we decided to pull out the map again - quickly - and also pull out the reservation sheet for the hotel. That's when we came to the terrible realization. Our hotel was on Boulevard de Magenta, next to Gare du Nord, inside the city of Paris. And with that, we ran back to the metro station, jumped on another three connecting metros, and we arrived at Gare du Nord, feeling a little bit happier, and a whole lot safer. We explored the boulevard a little bit, searching high and low for our hotel, and we finally found it! We ran inside, so excited and full of life, only to discover that there was a problem with Jimmy and Katie's reservation. In other words, they didn't have a room. We tried to discuss an option with the manager where Katie and Jimmy could just stay with me, Paige, and Natasha, and we would pay extra money, but he was having none of that. So we entered Super Panic Round #2, and really just had no idea what to do. However, we decided that given all of the travel and excitement of the morning, it would be best for us to just put all of our stuff in the one hotel room, and go out to find a quick bite to eat, and have a few minutes to just sit back and relax. So we threw all of our bags in our room, and we went down the street and had lunch at Subway! You heard that right, Subway. I know, I know, not very cultured, but every other restaurant was so expensive, and why not enjoy Subway while in Paris? So, we sat down to enjoy some sandwiches, which were even better than the Subway sandwiches I've eaten back home in the States, and tried to figure out, calmly, how to get Jimmy and Katie a place to stay for at least the night. After lunch, we pounded the streets looking for any hotel that wouldn't empty their wallets for just a night's stay. Fortunately, we found a quaint little bar and restaurant that rented out rooms upstairs for visitors and guests, and Jimmy and Katie got a room for the weekend for a pretty decent price! All was finally good in the world, and we were ready to officially start our weekend adventure in Paris! Our first visit was to Sacré Coeur, which actually wasn't that far from our hotel! What a gorgeous sight! It was such a pretty cathedral, and it was really impressive having to climb so many steps just to get up to the cathedral itself, walking past fountains and statues and tourists of all nationalities, shapes, and sizes. We also went inside of the cathedral, and what an amazing sight I was about to behold: The church was packed from wall to wall with people attending the All Saints mass. It's always one thing to visit an empty cathedral where nothing is happening, and then there's visiting one "in action". It made the place seem so much more alive and so much more significant. I realized that these aren't just tourist attractions and nice photo op locations, but these are real places that serve a real purpose to so many people. While inside I put my camera away - it felt almost wrong to be a tourist in such a precious moment. After observing the mass for a few minutes and exploring the inside of the cathedral, we went back outside to explore a little market right next door to Sacré Coeur. We walked down the street, sifting through scarves and postcards, until we reached a gate that overlooked the city of Paris, and there it was - the Eiffel Tower, all the way in the distance, standing tall against the sunset. We all stopped and stared in awe. We would be there soon! In the meantime, though, we still had other things to visit and see, so we jumped on another metro and made our way closer to the center of Paris to see the Arc de Triomph. What an amazing structure! And after having learned so much about it in History Class, it was really nice to finally see it in person! It was really amazing and impressive to stand under it, so close to it, and take it all in. And we were there as the sun was setting, so we got to be there up close and personal when they turned on the lights to illuminate it in the night. Just another moment that reminded me how lucky I am to be here! =) After getting our fill of the Arc, we went right across the street to the Champs-Elysées and started our hike down the grand street under the bright and shining lights of all the stores that were too expensive for us to even be able to step inside. Empty wallet or not, it was still so wonderful walking down this famous street. Walking down this street has always been something I've dreamed about, and here I am, under the moon and the stars, strolling down the Champs-Elysées. =) As we kept walking, we eventually hit a turn in the street that would take us straight to the Eiffel Tower, and, of course, we turned. We walked alongside the Seine River, getting closer and closer to the heart and soul of Paris, when suddenly stopped to stare in awe and wonder as the lights on the Eiffel Tower started to glow and twinkle against the night sky. How wonderful, how gorgeous, and how amazing! Getting only more excited now to see the tower up close and person, we trotted across a bridge to the other side of the river, bustled our way through the night shift of tourists, and finally found ourselves under the grand Dame de Fer. I sat down on a bench and started up at the Eiffel Tower and got lost for a moment, drowning out the world around me, and realizing…here I am. In Paris. Under the Eiffel Tower. It isn't just a dream anymore - I am living it, I am here, and I am in love. A smile stretched so far across my face and my heart felt so warm and cozy, and everything felt so right and wonderful. Even as the rain started to fall down on us, I didn't care. I was too happy to care! However, I couldn't stay there all night, unfortunately, so we head back across the bridge and walked our way through Place du Trocadéro, looking back and sneaking another glance of the Eiffel Tower every now and then, and made our way to the closest metro station. Before heading back towards the hotel, though, we all stopped at a little vendor to all buy and share some nutella crêpes together. Eating nutella crêpes in the rain across from the Eiffel Tower…how tourist were we? Very, and proud of it. =) We hopped on a metro and made our way back to Gare du Nord, stopped in at a McDonalds to grab a quick dinner (we had very little money and we wanted to experience McDonalds in France, we had our reasons, I swear!), sat around for a little bit to chit chat together, and then we made our way back to our hotels to sit back, relax, dry off everything (ourselves, our clothes, our shoes…stupid rain), and cuddle up in our beds to sneak our ways in the Paris dreamland and await the next day's adventures.