Friday I woke up at 8 to get ready to go to Giverny. I wore a cute orange ruffley dress and my new sandals. It was me, Kara, Lynn and Attiya and we headed to the train station to figure out where we were going. The metro was pretty short so we got there with plenty of time but then we had to find the train that would take us to Giverny. We tried buying our tickets at a little kiosk and they wouldn't accept any of our credit cards despite the fact that there was a sign saying they take Visa and Master Card. We then find out that the ticket office isn't opening until ten because yesterday was a holiday. Our train was supposed to leave at 10:20 so needless to say we were nervous.
The office finally opened and we had to elbow our way past some grannys to secure a spot. We got our tickets but the guy working there seemed really confused and I wasn't sure he was aware he was at his job. He couldn't figure out the change. I gave you 20 bucks and the ticket is 19.80. Even Caitlin can do that kind of subtraction. He was strugglin. We got our tickets and got a little snack, I got a Diet Coke, and headed to the platform. We hopped on the train and it was so crowded people were just sitting in the aisle, on the stairs, on any available platform. We picked a set of stairs and met a nice mom from Philadelphia. There was some little kid screeching the entire time which was lovely. The train ride was about 45 minutes long and then we got to Vernon and had to run to get on this big bus to take us to Giverny.
We finally got there around noon or something and waited in line to go to Claude Monet's house. I was starving so I got a hotdog that was encased in a balloon. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen, but I ate it anyways. The bread was really good so that was nice to snack on. Lynn and Attiya are stupid and didn't bring cash with them and Giverny is a really small town so there were no ATMs. Not my problem. While standing in the long line in the hot sun we talked to this adorable old couple from Canada that has been all over the world. They are also a fan of Rick Steve's and knew the hotel that mom and dad are staying at. They were fun to talk to. I like old people. We finally got inside made our way through the gardens. It was really beautiful except that it hasn't rained in like 7 or 8 weeks and you could tell the plants were really thirsty. We walked through the gardens and then to the lily pad pond and it was very pretty. Even though it was packed with people it was still very peaceful. I took a lot of pictures of flowers.
Then we made our way into the house and you couldn't take any pictures but it was very quaint and had his artwork all over. The rooms have been preserved and they are in the same spots and positions as when Monet lived there. They had a few photos of him in the rooms and it was cool to see that they were the exact same. I loved the bedroom upstairs. It has these big windows that open to the gardens and it was so pretty. The dining room and kitchen area were also really pretty. The kitchen was where the stove and all the prep work would be done and it was this pretty blue and it also had a ton of natural light. The dining area was very informal because I think of it like a kitchen. It was yellow and had a little glow to it. It also had big door windows you could open up. The table was huge too it seated like 8 people. I really enjoyed going through the house. It was very calming and serene.
We walked around for a bit and just looked at the town. It is really small and the streets are really narrow. The old couple was telling us that ten or fifteen years ago, Giverny wasn't in any of the guide books or recommended places to go and now it is something you have to see. That was pretty interesting. We walked to this church where Claude Monet is buried, but there are a lot of graves there so I'm not sure which was his....they had a memorial for a British plane that went down and so they had a replica of a propeller blade to commemorate it. Lynn and Attiya had an attitude and any time I asked what everyone wanted to do and gave options they didn't say anything. It is really annoying dealing with people. We decided to just head back because everyone was really tired from being in the hot sun.
We got to the spot where the bus dropped us off and we had to wait a solid forty minutes for the next one and of course all the benches were in the sun. Some people lined up to wait for the bus and I'm like forget that I am going to run at that thing and make sure I get a seat. And that is exactly what I did. The bus took us back to the train station where we had to wait another fifty minutes for the next train. It was the dumbest thing of my life. The train finally came at five and we got seats this time and everyone fell asleep except me. We took the metro back and there was this creepy old drunk guy yelling at all the girls on the train. Shut up dude you're annoying. We got off and headed to trust Subway because I had coupons. I inhaled my sandwich and it was amazing. Then I Skyped with Anthony for a bit which was nice and then got ready for the night.
Gabby had talked to some kids from Negocia that invited us to go out with them. Um..we drank a little bit then had to leave and it took a solid hour to get there because it was like across the city. Gabby and Meredith had been drinking for like two hours so they were sauced up and Gabby was screeching and everyone in the metro was staring at us. It is really embarrassing to be associated with them. We get to the metro stop where the kids were at and of course we can't find them and it is some deserted old people area. After like twenty minutes of walking around we find the apartment and it was the dumbest thing ever. There were like 5 people there and it was awkward and we stayed for way too long and we kept asking when we were leaving. We didn't leave till like 1 a.m. umm I wanted to be in bed by then. At that point we find out we are going to a club across the city and I'm like no way I am going home. The metro was going to stop running and I'm not taking a 70 euro taxi home.
So were on the metro with everyone and half the French people get off and start puking in the metro station so they are gone. A few stops later the other half gets off and apparently that was the stop we were taking so we lost them. So we decided to just head back to Bastille and get food and go home. Gabby wanted to go to a bar to meet some dude and I'm like no. We got crepes instead and there were a bunch of weirdos out so I was ready to go to bed. I got turkey and cheese and it was delicious! It was really good and I would get it again. Attiya and Sallie kept stopping to talk to all the weirdos and it's like okay that's how bad stuff happens just keep walking. Whatever. Half the French people showed up at Bastille and we had to tell them we were going home. I didn't feel bad. It was stupid.
We got home at like 2:30 or later and I just got ready for bed and went to sleep. It was a dumb night because it was rushed and we had to go so far. Forget that. I am moving really slowly today so that's a good sign. I'm on my own schedule.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Lazy Thursday
Thursday we did not have school because it was Ascension. I was woken up at like 8:30 by Meredith talking to her ex-boyfriend on the phone. It lasted for about thirty minutes and then he called back like five minutes later. That was stupid. I forced myself to go back to sleep and woke up at like noon and was rushed to get ready so we could go to lunch. I literally got ready in ten minutes and met Kara, Lynn, Kaitie, Lauren and Attiya to go to this American breakfast place. It took forever to get there and then we had to wait about 40 minutes in line so I was pretty cranky.
It is a really small place that is kind of 50s themed with random American memorabilia on the walls. I got a bacon cheeseburger that came on this huge bun with fries and a Dr. Pepper. It was really good except mine was really bloody and medium well means pink. So order food very well done in Paris. Seriously.
After that we headed back home and went to a few different stores. We were looking for this store Jennyfer that Meredith had talked about but nobody knew what we were talking about and we walked for like a solid hour trying to find it. Half the group went home so it was me, Kara and Lynn walking around and we went to a lot of cute little stores. I got one pair of sandals for 12 euro and they are really cool and now everyone wants them and is trying to copy me. But now I can throw out my one pair of flats and sandals because they are falling apart. We walked around for quite a bit then made our way home. I had one of my pasta box meals and it was less than satisfying. Thank goodness for chicken flavored chips. I worked on some homework for part of the night and just listened to music. I had to get up pretty early the next morning so I didn't want to be up late.
Not much happened on Thursday, but I'm okay with that. I feel like we are so busy during the week that on the weekends I just want to sleep in and be lazy.
It is a really small place that is kind of 50s themed with random American memorabilia on the walls. I got a bacon cheeseburger that came on this huge bun with fries and a Dr. Pepper. It was really good except mine was really bloody and medium well means pink. So order food very well done in Paris. Seriously.
After that we headed back home and went to a few different stores. We were looking for this store Jennyfer that Meredith had talked about but nobody knew what we were talking about and we walked for like a solid hour trying to find it. Half the group went home so it was me, Kara and Lynn walking around and we went to a lot of cute little stores. I got one pair of sandals for 12 euro and they are really cool and now everyone wants them and is trying to copy me. But now I can throw out my one pair of flats and sandals because they are falling apart. We walked around for quite a bit then made our way home. I had one of my pasta box meals and it was less than satisfying. Thank goodness for chicken flavored chips. I worked on some homework for part of the night and just listened to music. I had to get up pretty early the next morning so I didn't want to be up late.
Not much happened on Thursday, but I'm okay with that. I feel like we are so busy during the week that on the weekends I just want to sleep in and be lazy.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
A Trip to the Supermarket
Today we had class with Mickey this morning and we were supposed to have our written final today but she pushed it to next week so we wouldn't be rushed. It was a pretty interesting class because she uses a lot of real examples from her life to explain things. She is kid of a badass apparently. She always talks about how Holland is a very direct country and likes to get straight to the point and Paris is not like that so she has had a lot of issues with bosses and the Negocia. I like her a lot though. We have to do a presentation in her class about a region of countries and how their business practices compare to the U.S. I need to get working on that, but I'm not too worried.
Then we had lunch and it was pretty delish. I got this chicken thing stuffed with like asparagus or something green and it was very good. I also had these little potatoes that had some seasoning on them and they were also good and I got a salad with greens, diced up ham, some sliced cheese, olives, eggs, carrots and other stuff. It was pretty good. It was one of the best lunches that I've had so far. I just don't know how my money goes so quickly on my lunch card; I feel like I'm always reloading it.
Then we had class with Henri and he took us to this supermarket that's in a mall. He is by far everyone's favorite teacher. He is adorable and so nice. We took the bus and then got on the metro and went to the store to look at branding. It is in a really neat area; very industrial and business like. You can see the Arch de Triumph down the way from it. The stop was La Defense- Grand Arch so the building is also a giant arch that you can go up but we didn't have time to. We had to pick a product and my group did cereal and look at how the brands are positioned on the shelf, how many brands there are, the colors, who are they advertising to, etc. It was an interesting exercise, especially looking at price because there is a pretty vast difference although I am pretty attuned to price differentiation thanks to shopping trips to Jewel with Dad. You have to scope it out.
They had a discount section in the store, which I'm not sure what that was all about, but everything was pretty cheep. They had these beers in big bottles that were like 90 cents and this guy put about 20 in his basket. Stockin up. I got two pasta things and a bag of Lays potato chips that are grilled chicken and thyme flavor. They are so good! I haven't stopped eating them since I got home. They have a lot of crazy flavors here like blue cheese, quesadilla, ham, bologna and other wacky stuff. It was a huge store so after a while we headed to the bottom floor that was all alcohol and Henri gave us a mini lecture about different wines. We looked at some red wines, which I'm not a huge fan of, and then sweet white wines, and champagnes. He made a few recommendations and surprisingly the prices weren't that bad. Like 7 euro for a nice bottle of French wine. I may go back and get a bottle of Champagne for Emma as a wedding gift. And maybe get one for myself haha. They had a really great selection though and Henri mentioned that it would be the best place to get a bottle because the smaller shops will be more expensive.
We made our purchases and headed home. It was a solid hour train ride and I was so tired and my feet were hurting so it was a struggle to stay awake. I came home and took a nap and then ate some sad pasta that I bought. A few people are going to the Moulin Rouge tonight, but I wasn't feeling it. I want to relax and chill out so I can spend money this weekend. We are going to Giverny on Friday so I'm really excited. We also want to check out Champs-Elysee and Arch de Triumph and a few other places too. We may go to this club called Le Duplex on the Champs-Elysee that is pretty classy so I'm excited for that. I can't believe it is the last weekend! I'm glad I get to stay a few extra days and see some more things with dad and Loretta. It will be nice to stay in a hotel and have my own spaaacee. I hope it gets really hot because my jeans are sick and I don't want to wear them anymore. I'm too cheap to do laundry. I need to work on some projects tonight and catch up on reality tv hollaa
Then we had lunch and it was pretty delish. I got this chicken thing stuffed with like asparagus or something green and it was very good. I also had these little potatoes that had some seasoning on them and they were also good and I got a salad with greens, diced up ham, some sliced cheese, olives, eggs, carrots and other stuff. It was pretty good. It was one of the best lunches that I've had so far. I just don't know how my money goes so quickly on my lunch card; I feel like I'm always reloading it.
Then we had class with Henri and he took us to this supermarket that's in a mall. He is by far everyone's favorite teacher. He is adorable and so nice. We took the bus and then got on the metro and went to the store to look at branding. It is in a really neat area; very industrial and business like. You can see the Arch de Triumph down the way from it. The stop was La Defense- Grand Arch so the building is also a giant arch that you can go up but we didn't have time to. We had to pick a product and my group did cereal and look at how the brands are positioned on the shelf, how many brands there are, the colors, who are they advertising to, etc. It was an interesting exercise, especially looking at price because there is a pretty vast difference although I am pretty attuned to price differentiation thanks to shopping trips to Jewel with Dad. You have to scope it out.
They had a discount section in the store, which I'm not sure what that was all about, but everything was pretty cheep. They had these beers in big bottles that were like 90 cents and this guy put about 20 in his basket. Stockin up. I got two pasta things and a bag of Lays potato chips that are grilled chicken and thyme flavor. They are so good! I haven't stopped eating them since I got home. They have a lot of crazy flavors here like blue cheese, quesadilla, ham, bologna and other wacky stuff. It was a huge store so after a while we headed to the bottom floor that was all alcohol and Henri gave us a mini lecture about different wines. We looked at some red wines, which I'm not a huge fan of, and then sweet white wines, and champagnes. He made a few recommendations and surprisingly the prices weren't that bad. Like 7 euro for a nice bottle of French wine. I may go back and get a bottle of Champagne for Emma as a wedding gift. And maybe get one for myself haha. They had a really great selection though and Henri mentioned that it would be the best place to get a bottle because the smaller shops will be more expensive.
We made our purchases and headed home. It was a solid hour train ride and I was so tired and my feet were hurting so it was a struggle to stay awake. I came home and took a nap and then ate some sad pasta that I bought. A few people are going to the Moulin Rouge tonight, but I wasn't feeling it. I want to relax and chill out so I can spend money this weekend. We are going to Giverny on Friday so I'm really excited. We also want to check out Champs-Elysee and Arch de Triumph and a few other places too. We may go to this club called Le Duplex on the Champs-Elysee that is pretty classy so I'm excited for that. I can't believe it is the last weekend! I'm glad I get to stay a few extra days and see some more things with dad and Loretta. It will be nice to stay in a hotel and have my own spaaacee. I hope it gets really hot because my jeans are sick and I don't want to wear them anymore. I'm too cheap to do laundry. I need to work on some projects tonight and catch up on reality tv hollaa
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Rodin Museum, Napoleon's Tomb & The Invalides
This morning my alarm didn't go off at 8 a.m., but I had been woken up at 7:15 by Meredith's four alarms. She didn't wake up to any of them so I figured I'd just get up when mine went off. I finally looked at the clock and it was 8:15 and we had to be downstairs at 8:30. I quickly got up and woke up Meredith, who didn't seem to have any sense of urgency. It drives me absolutely nuts. Every single day we are late because of her. I constantly say hey we have ten minutes, hey we have to be downstairs in two minutes and she is never on time. Plus all of her stuff is in the bathroom and she takes her sweet time so I do my makeup on my bed and look at my hair two minutes before we leave. Sheesh.
We headed to school and had class with Thomas. We were all dreading it, but it wasn't TOO bad today. I felt really awful though when Kaitlin was giving him a bunch of attitude about how she didn't care about marketing and wouldn't need it for her career and acted so rudely to Thomas. When he walked away John was like he isn't attacking you so stop being so defensive he is just trying to help. Kaitlin is so rude. She really likes to argue with people and is very ignorant and it made me feel bad that she is representing ISU. Class carried on and we were supposed to finish at 12:30, and he went over by about ten minutes. Sallie decides to make huge movements with her arms and says wrap it up while Josh keeps tapping his watch and making comments and finally Sallie is like It's time to go you need to wrap it up. Thomas looked so offended and everyone was literally staring at her. My mouth was hanging open. She is so ignorant and disrespectful. I couldn't believe she acted that way. We were all completely embarrassed to be associated with her.
Of course at lunch when everyone is talking about it, Sallie and Attiya see no problem with the way anyone acted. Really? Are you that stupid? We all made the point that it was rude and shouldn't have happened so they better figure it out.
Then we had to meet Armoogum at the Rodin museum. Rodin sculpted the Thinking Man and The Kiss but we didn't know much about him so it is hard to be interested in something you don't know about. There were really beautiful gardens though so I took a lot of pictures. We weren't there for long and then we headed to Napoleon's tomb. It was really beautiful inside, with ornate ceilings and different tombs. It was very lavish and pretty, but luckily we got in for free because I would not pay seven euro for that. The tomb is gigantic and apparently they don't even know if it is his remains in there or not. I took some cool pictures in there, but again I really don't know much about Napoleon or the other people there too fully appreciate it. That seems to be a running theme with this program...
After Napoleon's we walked to the Invalides which is a hospital where military people hurt from war go. It has all these cannons and things like that around it. It was really beautiful. We were only there for about ten minutes because it was really cold out today and everyone wanted to go home. I know we are going to amazing places and I want to appreciate them, but it is hard to do so when I have no background knowledge. Everything is pretty and I can appreciate its beauty but the significance seems to be lost. At least I actually have an interest to learn about things unlike some stupid people on this trip.
We got home and checked out a couple shops, but I didn't get anything. I came home and talked with Kara for a while and then made some dinner. It was a tomato, basil, and cheese pasta that was really good. We have a ton of projects due next week and almost everyone is leaving for the weekend. So we have no time to get anything done and everyone is freaking out. On top of that everyone is running out of money and kind of ready to go home. I don't feel like I was well informed about this trip and I think they should change a lot of things. They need to better explain the budget. If we are paying $3,000 to stay in a dorm shouldn't they provide the soap and toilet paper for us? Like really? Or clue us in to the fact that you need to budget a lot of money for food because everything here is expensive. We are all pretty frustrated with both Accent and ISU. Oh well. A bunch of people came in my room and talked for a while and then I just showered and I'm going to relax and go to sleep because we have to be downstairs at 8 a.m. tomorrow. We have our written part of our final with Mickey tomorrow so that should be interesting. I don't think it should be too bad. A lot of what we have learned in her class is review for me. We'll see how it goes. Some people are going to the Moulin Rouge tomorrow, but I didn't want to go so I may go out with other people or try to get some work done. Time is flying by and I feel really behind on everything. Especially sleep.
We headed to school and had class with Thomas. We were all dreading it, but it wasn't TOO bad today. I felt really awful though when Kaitlin was giving him a bunch of attitude about how she didn't care about marketing and wouldn't need it for her career and acted so rudely to Thomas. When he walked away John was like he isn't attacking you so stop being so defensive he is just trying to help. Kaitlin is so rude. She really likes to argue with people and is very ignorant and it made me feel bad that she is representing ISU. Class carried on and we were supposed to finish at 12:30, and he went over by about ten minutes. Sallie decides to make huge movements with her arms and says wrap it up while Josh keeps tapping his watch and making comments and finally Sallie is like It's time to go you need to wrap it up. Thomas looked so offended and everyone was literally staring at her. My mouth was hanging open. She is so ignorant and disrespectful. I couldn't believe she acted that way. We were all completely embarrassed to be associated with her.
Of course at lunch when everyone is talking about it, Sallie and Attiya see no problem with the way anyone acted. Really? Are you that stupid? We all made the point that it was rude and shouldn't have happened so they better figure it out.
Then we had to meet Armoogum at the Rodin museum. Rodin sculpted the Thinking Man and The Kiss but we didn't know much about him so it is hard to be interested in something you don't know about. There were really beautiful gardens though so I took a lot of pictures. We weren't there for long and then we headed to Napoleon's tomb. It was really beautiful inside, with ornate ceilings and different tombs. It was very lavish and pretty, but luckily we got in for free because I would not pay seven euro for that. The tomb is gigantic and apparently they don't even know if it is his remains in there or not. I took some cool pictures in there, but again I really don't know much about Napoleon or the other people there too fully appreciate it. That seems to be a running theme with this program...
After Napoleon's we walked to the Invalides which is a hospital where military people hurt from war go. It has all these cannons and things like that around it. It was really beautiful. We were only there for about ten minutes because it was really cold out today and everyone wanted to go home. I know we are going to amazing places and I want to appreciate them, but it is hard to do so when I have no background knowledge. Everything is pretty and I can appreciate its beauty but the significance seems to be lost. At least I actually have an interest to learn about things unlike some stupid people on this trip.
We got home and checked out a couple shops, but I didn't get anything. I came home and talked with Kara for a while and then made some dinner. It was a tomato, basil, and cheese pasta that was really good. We have a ton of projects due next week and almost everyone is leaving for the weekend. So we have no time to get anything done and everyone is freaking out. On top of that everyone is running out of money and kind of ready to go home. I don't feel like I was well informed about this trip and I think they should change a lot of things. They need to better explain the budget. If we are paying $3,000 to stay in a dorm shouldn't they provide the soap and toilet paper for us? Like really? Or clue us in to the fact that you need to budget a lot of money for food because everything here is expensive. We are all pretty frustrated with both Accent and ISU. Oh well. A bunch of people came in my room and talked for a while and then I just showered and I'm going to relax and go to sleep because we have to be downstairs at 8 a.m. tomorrow. We have our written part of our final with Mickey tomorrow so that should be interesting. I don't think it should be too bad. A lot of what we have learned in her class is review for me. We'll see how it goes. Some people are going to the Moulin Rouge tomorrow, but I didn't want to go so I may go out with other people or try to get some work done. Time is flying by and I feel really behind on everything. Especially sleep.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Day trip to Chartre
Today we had class with Henri and the metro was having problems so we were late, but when we got there Henri asked us about our weekend and then suggested a coffee break where he treated us all so we didn't start class for a solid hour. None of us minded. Then we slowly got into the material and it was pretty interesting; we talked about local and global brands. I really like Henri because he keeps things interesting and relevant. He has an interest in getting to know us and wants us to have a great experience in Paris.
After class he asked if he could join us for lunch so we sat and talked. I got green beans, some beef skewer thing and chocolate pudding. It was alright. The beef was cooked kind of weird so a lot of the pieces didn't seem edible. Then we had to leave to meet someone from Accent outside school at 1:30 to go to Chartre. We got on the coach bus and I sat in the back in this VIP style couch. I put my ipod on and fell asleep for most of the hour and a half ride. We got out and had an hour to walk around before our tour so we went to this overlook and took a lot of pictures. There was a really pretty garden that we checked out too. The whole town was beautiful and our Accent person made a great point that Paris is not France, it is only one part so we need to experience the other parts too. Chartre is beautiful and really quaint. It is much different than Paris, there is no hustle and bustle or craziness. It is exactly what you would think of a French town looking like.
We went into the cathedral and got our headsets and met our tour guide, Malcolm Miller. He has to be like 70 years old and has been lecturing at the cathedral since 1958. He is from England and is a total sarcastic hardass so he was really fun to listen to. He mentioned that visiting the cathedral is like visiting a library, you can't read all the books in one day or even in a life time, and you can't see or fully appreciate the cathedral in one day either. And we only had an hour. He started off telling us a brief history about the cathedral and how it has been under construction for a year and will be for another five. Every time the workers made noises he stopped and made some comment about working with animals. He also is not a fan of kids as there was a big group of them running around.
He explained how the stained glass is original and tells all different types of stories. You have to read them top to bottom then left to right. He showed us one stained glass window that has all the zodiac signs on it. He also explained that apparently there is a long piece of material that was Mary's from the nativity when she had Jesus, but it is kept in this beautiful casing that thieves tried to steal and they ripped the cloth so now only a small piece remains. It was pretty neat to look at everything, but we only had an hour with him and clearly needed more time. Mr. Miller is extremely knowledgeable and was great to listen to. I just got really annoyed when Sallie was sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM and was asleep for about 50% of the lecture. She is so stupid. A lot of people looked pretty bored, but I really really enjoyed it. I wish I had more time there though. I think it is my second favorite place we have been to after Sacre Coeur.
It took two hours to get home so we got dropped off at Bastille and there were a ton of police army people in front of the Opera house and they asked where we were going. I have no idea what happened. There was red tape in front of the entrance to the opera so clearly something was going down. We stopped at Monoprix to get groceries and then I headed home and had some yummy cheese tortellini and a tomato and basil noodle salad thing. It is my roommate's 22nd birthday today so some people are going out, but I'm exhausted and will be going to sleep shortly. We have class with boring Thomas tomorrow and then our last visit with Armoogum. It's going to be a long day....
After class he asked if he could join us for lunch so we sat and talked. I got green beans, some beef skewer thing and chocolate pudding. It was alright. The beef was cooked kind of weird so a lot of the pieces didn't seem edible. Then we had to leave to meet someone from Accent outside school at 1:30 to go to Chartre. We got on the coach bus and I sat in the back in this VIP style couch. I put my ipod on and fell asleep for most of the hour and a half ride. We got out and had an hour to walk around before our tour so we went to this overlook and took a lot of pictures. There was a really pretty garden that we checked out too. The whole town was beautiful and our Accent person made a great point that Paris is not France, it is only one part so we need to experience the other parts too. Chartre is beautiful and really quaint. It is much different than Paris, there is no hustle and bustle or craziness. It is exactly what you would think of a French town looking like.
We went into the cathedral and got our headsets and met our tour guide, Malcolm Miller. He has to be like 70 years old and has been lecturing at the cathedral since 1958. He is from England and is a total sarcastic hardass so he was really fun to listen to. He mentioned that visiting the cathedral is like visiting a library, you can't read all the books in one day or even in a life time, and you can't see or fully appreciate the cathedral in one day either. And we only had an hour. He started off telling us a brief history about the cathedral and how it has been under construction for a year and will be for another five. Every time the workers made noises he stopped and made some comment about working with animals. He also is not a fan of kids as there was a big group of them running around.
He explained how the stained glass is original and tells all different types of stories. You have to read them top to bottom then left to right. He showed us one stained glass window that has all the zodiac signs on it. He also explained that apparently there is a long piece of material that was Mary's from the nativity when she had Jesus, but it is kept in this beautiful casing that thieves tried to steal and they ripped the cloth so now only a small piece remains. It was pretty neat to look at everything, but we only had an hour with him and clearly needed more time. Mr. Miller is extremely knowledgeable and was great to listen to. I just got really annoyed when Sallie was sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM and was asleep for about 50% of the lecture. She is so stupid. A lot of people looked pretty bored, but I really really enjoyed it. I wish I had more time there though. I think it is my second favorite place we have been to after Sacre Coeur.
It took two hours to get home so we got dropped off at Bastille and there were a ton of police army people in front of the Opera house and they asked where we were going. I have no idea what happened. There was red tape in front of the entrance to the opera so clearly something was going down. We stopped at Monoprix to get groceries and then I headed home and had some yummy cheese tortellini and a tomato and basil noodle salad thing. It is my roommate's 22nd birthday today so some people are going out, but I'm exhausted and will be going to sleep shortly. We have class with boring Thomas tomorrow and then our last visit with Armoogum. It's going to be a long day....
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Amsterdam: Day Three (Van Gogh Museum)
Saturday morning I decided not to get up for breakfast so I showered because I was sweating all night in that hot box of a hotel. That's what you get for staying in the attic; musty and hot. Sallie stayed behind too so I had to wait to shower so I started working on my blog and emails. I take my shower, which was literally a room in the hall that has a shower head at one side, it was bizarre. I come back and Sallie is laying on my bed..in her towel..on my computer..and listening to music. I was like ...hi. She is really weird and a huge moocher so I was uncomfortable. So as I am getting ready I plug my camera in to charge it for the day and five minutes later Sallie asks if it's charged. I told her no that I had just plugged it in. Two minutes later she unplugs it so she can charge her phone. Wtf don't you understand? She is so stupid. Luckily me and John were leaving to go to museums and everyone else was going shopping so I wouldn't have to deal with her.
It was very cold out, but we were going to walk to the museum district and check out a few places then meet back at the hotel around 4p.m. We stopped in a few stores on the way and I ended up getting a pretty cool track jacket that I put on about ten minutes later because it was around 50 degrees and windy. Perfect. We walked for what felt like forever so we asked one guy where the museums are and he said we just had to go down the street and then we asked about the Dutch Resistance museum and he just laughed. Lovely. We walked over to the museum area and spotted the I Am Amsterdam sign so we took some pics. Then we decided to go to the Van Gogh museum which was poppin off. I had to get a hotdog before hand because I was famished and it was delicious.
While standing in line we were both pretty dead and it was only like 1p.m. My legs were really sore and my feet were starting to blister. But we walked all that way so we decided to check it out. I didn't know too much about Van Gogh prior to this trip other than a few very famous works so it was interesting to read all the stuff about his life. He became a painter when he was 27 and then died when he was 37, but managed to create mass amounts of art. He admitted himself into an insane asylum and had some form of epilepsy, which may be how he accidentally cut his ear off. Ouch. He ended up shooting himself in the chest and dying two days later with his brother by his side.
There were a lot of sections to the museum so the first part was all his influences, and believe me there were a ton of them. Then he had a Japanese nature section which was really pretty. There was a huge peasant section. There was a paper section, which was newer and had works that were new for the times for like newspaper type things. There was some Monet and Manat thrown in there also. Then we got to the top section which featured Montmarte where Van Gogh lived for a while. This was the symbolic section and had a lot of cool works. We were both pretty dead after walking around so much but there was a small Picasso in Paris exhibit so we checked that out. It was pretty cool, I didn't realize he did some sculpture work so those were interesting pieces to check out.
After the museum we headed home and made a beeline for the hotel. We got all the way up the death stairs to our room and tried for a solid two minutes to get the stupid key to work but it kept making an angry sound so luckily a maid was around and helped us. Dumbest hotel ever. We got there right around four and then I Skyped with mom and dad. That was fun. I played around on my computer as we waited for the other group to get back and when they did they showed us what they bought and then everyone fell asleep. We got up around seven and decided to go to this Italian place for dinner because the hotel gave us a card for 5% off.
It was a pretty quaint little restaurant but not many people were there. I got a margarita pizza and a beer. The pizza was absolutely delicious and I ate the entire thing and could have had a second. After din we headed to the liquor store and then to the room to drink, but ended up sitting around for a while. Around ten everyone started getting ready so we drank and planned to leave around eleven. Gabby asked for some of my wine which was fine and then go figure moocher Sallie wants some too so she helps herself to the rest of the bottle. I was like really? Did you just finish that? We headed out and walked towards the Red Light District as there are a ton of bars over there. We walked around for a while and met some characters on the way. There are a lot of weirdos in Amsterdam. We finally decided to go into a place and it had big couches so we sat by a group of three guys from London or something. They were really boring so me, Gabby and Meredith chit chatted and got drinks. We left and were heading towards other bars when one of the guys from the last place sprints down and says he wants to come with us but he has to go get his jacket...uhh okay.
He was apparently trying to lead us somewhere, but we weren't members of the hotel so we couldn't get in. Good job. We decided to try a few other bars that were also failures so we ditched the guy and decided to go to the same bar from the night before. It was pretty crowded in there and everyone but me got drinks so we chilled there for a while. The dj played a lot of American music but mainly old stuff like who let the dogs out. As we were in there we slowly concluded that it was an African American bar and we were by far the youngest people there..by a solid 10 or 15 years. We left and headed home and I went to sleep while everyone talked.
We woke up this morning around nine and I packed and then got breakfast. We had to check out at 10:15 so we got a taxi and headed to the train station. The train was on time and pretty crowded but I grabbed the window seat and listened to my ipod. I was pretty tired and kept dozing off and slammed my head into the window. I finally stopped resisting and took a nap, which was great. We got home around 3:30 so I unpacked and then fell asleep. I woke up not too long ago and I am still exhausted so I hope to go to bed around nine or ten. The weather here is great so that was really nice to come home to since Amsterdam was like Chicago November. We have to drop our metro passes off at Accent tomorrow to recharge them and they want them there at 7:15 so of course everyone is being quiet about who is going to take them. I'm not. That's for damn sure.
Tomorrow we have class with Henri and then we are taking a day trip to Chartres, which I believe is southwest of Paris. We are taking a coach bus and we get headphone guides which is sweet. I've been looking up a little bit of info so I have an idea of what we are going to see and it sounds pretty, except for the name. I'm not sure what time I get back tomorrow though. I hope not late. Tuesday will be a long day too, but then we only have class Wednesday and then a four day weekend. I don't have any set plans yet, but we are talking about going to Giverny. I went through a lot of money in Amsterdam so I need to be pretty conservative the rest of the trip, but I only plan on buying a bottle of wine and then that is the last souvenier. I have to send postcards and those things are expensive to mail! But I'm a nice person so I'll do it.
I feel like I've been here for months. I like it in Paris, but I will be very happy to go home where things are simple and convenient. I need Taco Bell for real.
It was very cold out, but we were going to walk to the museum district and check out a few places then meet back at the hotel around 4p.m. We stopped in a few stores on the way and I ended up getting a pretty cool track jacket that I put on about ten minutes later because it was around 50 degrees and windy. Perfect. We walked for what felt like forever so we asked one guy where the museums are and he said we just had to go down the street and then we asked about the Dutch Resistance museum and he just laughed. Lovely. We walked over to the museum area and spotted the I Am Amsterdam sign so we took some pics. Then we decided to go to the Van Gogh museum which was poppin off. I had to get a hotdog before hand because I was famished and it was delicious.
While standing in line we were both pretty dead and it was only like 1p.m. My legs were really sore and my feet were starting to blister. But we walked all that way so we decided to check it out. I didn't know too much about Van Gogh prior to this trip other than a few very famous works so it was interesting to read all the stuff about his life. He became a painter when he was 27 and then died when he was 37, but managed to create mass amounts of art. He admitted himself into an insane asylum and had some form of epilepsy, which may be how he accidentally cut his ear off. Ouch. He ended up shooting himself in the chest and dying two days later with his brother by his side.
There were a lot of sections to the museum so the first part was all his influences, and believe me there were a ton of them. Then he had a Japanese nature section which was really pretty. There was a huge peasant section. There was a paper section, which was newer and had works that were new for the times for like newspaper type things. There was some Monet and Manat thrown in there also. Then we got to the top section which featured Montmarte where Van Gogh lived for a while. This was the symbolic section and had a lot of cool works. We were both pretty dead after walking around so much but there was a small Picasso in Paris exhibit so we checked that out. It was pretty cool, I didn't realize he did some sculpture work so those were interesting pieces to check out.
After the museum we headed home and made a beeline for the hotel. We got all the way up the death stairs to our room and tried for a solid two minutes to get the stupid key to work but it kept making an angry sound so luckily a maid was around and helped us. Dumbest hotel ever. We got there right around four and then I Skyped with mom and dad. That was fun. I played around on my computer as we waited for the other group to get back and when they did they showed us what they bought and then everyone fell asleep. We got up around seven and decided to go to this Italian place for dinner because the hotel gave us a card for 5% off.
It was a pretty quaint little restaurant but not many people were there. I got a margarita pizza and a beer. The pizza was absolutely delicious and I ate the entire thing and could have had a second. After din we headed to the liquor store and then to the room to drink, but ended up sitting around for a while. Around ten everyone started getting ready so we drank and planned to leave around eleven. Gabby asked for some of my wine which was fine and then go figure moocher Sallie wants some too so she helps herself to the rest of the bottle. I was like really? Did you just finish that? We headed out and walked towards the Red Light District as there are a ton of bars over there. We walked around for a while and met some characters on the way. There are a lot of weirdos in Amsterdam. We finally decided to go into a place and it had big couches so we sat by a group of three guys from London or something. They were really boring so me, Gabby and Meredith chit chatted and got drinks. We left and were heading towards other bars when one of the guys from the last place sprints down and says he wants to come with us but he has to go get his jacket...uhh okay.
He was apparently trying to lead us somewhere, but we weren't members of the hotel so we couldn't get in. Good job. We decided to try a few other bars that were also failures so we ditched the guy and decided to go to the same bar from the night before. It was pretty crowded in there and everyone but me got drinks so we chilled there for a while. The dj played a lot of American music but mainly old stuff like who let the dogs out. As we were in there we slowly concluded that it was an African American bar and we were by far the youngest people there..by a solid 10 or 15 years. We left and headed home and I went to sleep while everyone talked.
We woke up this morning around nine and I packed and then got breakfast. We had to check out at 10:15 so we got a taxi and headed to the train station. The train was on time and pretty crowded but I grabbed the window seat and listened to my ipod. I was pretty tired and kept dozing off and slammed my head into the window. I finally stopped resisting and took a nap, which was great. We got home around 3:30 so I unpacked and then fell asleep. I woke up not too long ago and I am still exhausted so I hope to go to bed around nine or ten. The weather here is great so that was really nice to come home to since Amsterdam was like Chicago November. We have to drop our metro passes off at Accent tomorrow to recharge them and they want them there at 7:15 so of course everyone is being quiet about who is going to take them. I'm not. That's for damn sure.
Tomorrow we have class with Henri and then we are taking a day trip to Chartres, which I believe is southwest of Paris. We are taking a coach bus and we get headphone guides which is sweet. I've been looking up a little bit of info so I have an idea of what we are going to see and it sounds pretty, except for the name. I'm not sure what time I get back tomorrow though. I hope not late. Tuesday will be a long day too, but then we only have class Wednesday and then a four day weekend. I don't have any set plans yet, but we are talking about going to Giverny. I went through a lot of money in Amsterdam so I need to be pretty conservative the rest of the trip, but I only plan on buying a bottle of wine and then that is the last souvenier. I have to send postcards and those things are expensive to mail! But I'm a nice person so I'll do it.
I feel like I've been here for months. I like it in Paris, but I will be very happy to go home where things are simple and convenient. I need Taco Bell for real.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Amsterdam: Day 2 (Anne Frank's Annex)
We woke up at 9 so we could catch breakfast downstairs and it was pretty good. They gave us really good bread, hard boiled egg, different jellys, this other little square of bread, a slice of some meat, a slice of cheese. It was surprisingly tasty. After breakfast we got ready and headed to Anne Frank's annex. The long was already pretty long but it moved quickly. We couldn't take any pictures so I took a few of the outside and I'll just have to do a good job of explaining the rest.
You walk into this room with a few different quotes on the wall from Anne's diary and then you basically walk the layout of the whole building where the annex was, although some rooms aren't available to go into. I then went into a room prefacing the tour and had a video playing that read more quotes from her diary and showed a ton of images. Right away I knew it would be hard to get through. I went upstairs and saw the office area where Miep and everyone worked. There was a video of Meip and she talked about how she didn't think twice when Otto Frank asked her to help them. She worked in the kitchen at first and then Otto said she would basically be the receptionist and information person. None of the rooms have the original furniture in them because Otto Frank did not want it there. He wanted it to be restored and shown but not to have all the original things there. We went through a living room and dining area and a few rooms that showed models of what the place used to look like.
There is a huge staircase that Anne and everyone would have to sneak down during the night to get out of the annex for a little bit. Then we headed up to the annex and you go into this room with the blackout curtains and it was a kitchen area and has recipes and things that actually used. There isn't much in any of the rooms except a few artifacts and explanations so it was kind of hard to imagine an entire family living in the space for so long. Then I saw the bedrooms where they all slept and they are so tiny for three people to sleep comfortably. Anne's room was eery. She shared it with Fritz Pfeffer It is also very small and she wrote in her diary of how bare it was so her dad had grabbed her postcards and pictures before they went into hiding and Miep got her glue and stuff to hang them up. There are sections of the wall that still have the original pictures on them. It really started to hit me there. She had so many pictures of Shirley Temple and famous actresses. There were also a lot of silly magazine clippings and comics too. We also saw Peter van Pels room which was in a random room under a staircase that lead to this attic that he and Anne would sneak up to at night.
In all the rooms were more quotes on the wall from Anne's diary saying how scared she was or how they couldn't do anything all day and had to be quiet at mice. It was really hard to read them especially the one that said she just wanted to yell or laugh or run around. I can't even fathom that. After you see the bedrooms You can go down to different levels and just learn more about their situation. There was one section that had all of the people hiding and their cards they got when they had to go to the concentration camps. Anne's had a video playing behind her that was so gruesome and showed the camps and bodies literally just piled up and people so emaciated and withered. It made my stomach turn. Then there was a video of Anne's friend Hannah talking about how they were separated for so long and she got wind that Anne was at the camp next to hers so she tried to send her packages. Hannah was in a different kind of camp because her family's ethnicity or heritage put them on a higher level than other Jews. It was really sad to hear her talk about Anne because when Margot and her mom died Anne didn't feel like she had anything to live for because she didn't know her dad was still alive and so she kind of gave up and died just weeks before the camps were liberated.
Then I went into rooms that started talking about her diary and getting it published and there was a video of Otto Frank where he said when he found out his children were dead he read Anne's diary and realized that she had a lot of feelings that she never brought up to anyone. He said that parents may never really know their children. It was really sad to hear him talk about Anne and it was very difficult to not start crying. I headed downstairs and saw a collection of Anne's journals and other writings and things she had done while in the annex. She went back and wrote some new things in her journal so you could see the red pen marks. Her journal is translated in about 70 languages. One of the last parts of the tour is a section dedicated to Margot who does not get a lot of credit. They had videos of her friends and school mates that were angry that she does not get much recognition probably because the diaries that she kept were never found. She was extremely intelligent and would send her Latin teacher letters and exercises so she could practice and improve. Otto said that she was much deeper than Anne was. I thought it was really nice that they had that section for her because it really highlighted her as an interesting person. She wanted to be a nurse, but died in the camps.
There was also a section with brief videos discussing injustice and things like that so for example there are groups on Facebook that deny that the Holocaust ever happened and is it okay for them to say that because freedom of speech or should that be illegal. It was interesting and definitely thought provoking so they had mini polls for each one. Then we went to the gift shop and I got a few postcards. We all met up outside and agreed that it was a great presentation and experience.
We walked around for a while and checked out the town which is adorable. It doesn't even feel real. I don't think I could ever live here, but it is the perfect weekend spot. I took a ton of pictures and then we wandered over to this place called Gray Area that apparently is a famous cannabis shop. A couple of the people in our group were very excited to be there. There were a bunch of old stoners in there and really loud music and a ton of smoke so it was not comfortable. I looked completely out of place because I had on my skinnies, my cute flower scarf that mom bought me, my blazer and a giant pink Gossip Girl style headband. It was interesting to see all the people and know that smoking is legal? It was strange. A couple people bought stuff and then we left to walk around. It was pretty cold outside so we quickly made our way to get food.
After a while we got pretty lost because we were trying to get to the Red Light District and made one wrong turn and wound up prowling all around the city. We came back home and everyone slept for like two hours. It was so nice to nap. My legs and feet are so tired. When we woke up I got a chorizo and cheese sandwich downstairs and it was delish. I decided to treat myself and got a diet coke. Everyone else wanted to try Indonesian food so we went to this restaurant down the street. There was this hokey island music playing with sad decorations and this German lady had to be 65 and was a total hardass. She didn't really greet us so Gabby went up to the counter and told her we were ready and she was like I'm busy I'll be there when I'm ready. All in all the food looked like the same stuff you can get at any chinese restaurant around home. Then we came back to the room and drank and hung out for a bit then headed to the Red Light District.
We finally found it and it was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. All the prostitutes looked completely bored and they were texting or reading magazines. It was pretty funny to see all the groups of drunk guys freaking out at the windows. It's basically only one street with a canal in the middle so there isn't a lot to it so we went to a bar that was on a side street and it was pretty fun. It wasn't jam packed and everyone was in a good mood so it was cool. We hung out there for most of the night and then headed home around 2:30 or 3 a.m. Can you say laaaate night? I've been having fun with the group here though, living so close forces you to get to know each other. I'm ready to go back to Paris though and be back in more of a comfort zone. I can't believe how quickly time is going! Before I know it mom and dad will be here and then we will be heading home! Ayeee
You walk into this room with a few different quotes on the wall from Anne's diary and then you basically walk the layout of the whole building where the annex was, although some rooms aren't available to go into. I then went into a room prefacing the tour and had a video playing that read more quotes from her diary and showed a ton of images. Right away I knew it would be hard to get through. I went upstairs and saw the office area where Miep and everyone worked. There was a video of Meip and she talked about how she didn't think twice when Otto Frank asked her to help them. She worked in the kitchen at first and then Otto said she would basically be the receptionist and information person. None of the rooms have the original furniture in them because Otto Frank did not want it there. He wanted it to be restored and shown but not to have all the original things there. We went through a living room and dining area and a few rooms that showed models of what the place used to look like.
There is a huge staircase that Anne and everyone would have to sneak down during the night to get out of the annex for a little bit. Then we headed up to the annex and you go into this room with the blackout curtains and it was a kitchen area and has recipes and things that actually used. There isn't much in any of the rooms except a few artifacts and explanations so it was kind of hard to imagine an entire family living in the space for so long. Then I saw the bedrooms where they all slept and they are so tiny for three people to sleep comfortably. Anne's room was eery. She shared it with Fritz Pfeffer It is also very small and she wrote in her diary of how bare it was so her dad had grabbed her postcards and pictures before they went into hiding and Miep got her glue and stuff to hang them up. There are sections of the wall that still have the original pictures on them. It really started to hit me there. She had so many pictures of Shirley Temple and famous actresses. There were also a lot of silly magazine clippings and comics too. We also saw Peter van Pels room which was in a random room under a staircase that lead to this attic that he and Anne would sneak up to at night.
In all the rooms were more quotes on the wall from Anne's diary saying how scared she was or how they couldn't do anything all day and had to be quiet at mice. It was really hard to read them especially the one that said she just wanted to yell or laugh or run around. I can't even fathom that. After you see the bedrooms You can go down to different levels and just learn more about their situation. There was one section that had all of the people hiding and their cards they got when they had to go to the concentration camps. Anne's had a video playing behind her that was so gruesome and showed the camps and bodies literally just piled up and people so emaciated and withered. It made my stomach turn. Then there was a video of Anne's friend Hannah talking about how they were separated for so long and she got wind that Anne was at the camp next to hers so she tried to send her packages. Hannah was in a different kind of camp because her family's ethnicity or heritage put them on a higher level than other Jews. It was really sad to hear her talk about Anne because when Margot and her mom died Anne didn't feel like she had anything to live for because she didn't know her dad was still alive and so she kind of gave up and died just weeks before the camps were liberated.
Then I went into rooms that started talking about her diary and getting it published and there was a video of Otto Frank where he said when he found out his children were dead he read Anne's diary and realized that she had a lot of feelings that she never brought up to anyone. He said that parents may never really know their children. It was really sad to hear him talk about Anne and it was very difficult to not start crying. I headed downstairs and saw a collection of Anne's journals and other writings and things she had done while in the annex. She went back and wrote some new things in her journal so you could see the red pen marks. Her journal is translated in about 70 languages. One of the last parts of the tour is a section dedicated to Margot who does not get a lot of credit. They had videos of her friends and school mates that were angry that she does not get much recognition probably because the diaries that she kept were never found. She was extremely intelligent and would send her Latin teacher letters and exercises so she could practice and improve. Otto said that she was much deeper than Anne was. I thought it was really nice that they had that section for her because it really highlighted her as an interesting person. She wanted to be a nurse, but died in the camps.
There was also a section with brief videos discussing injustice and things like that so for example there are groups on Facebook that deny that the Holocaust ever happened and is it okay for them to say that because freedom of speech or should that be illegal. It was interesting and definitely thought provoking so they had mini polls for each one. Then we went to the gift shop and I got a few postcards. We all met up outside and agreed that it was a great presentation and experience.
We walked around for a while and checked out the town which is adorable. It doesn't even feel real. I don't think I could ever live here, but it is the perfect weekend spot. I took a ton of pictures and then we wandered over to this place called Gray Area that apparently is a famous cannabis shop. A couple of the people in our group were very excited to be there. There were a bunch of old stoners in there and really loud music and a ton of smoke so it was not comfortable. I looked completely out of place because I had on my skinnies, my cute flower scarf that mom bought me, my blazer and a giant pink Gossip Girl style headband. It was interesting to see all the people and know that smoking is legal? It was strange. A couple people bought stuff and then we left to walk around. It was pretty cold outside so we quickly made our way to get food.
After a while we got pretty lost because we were trying to get to the Red Light District and made one wrong turn and wound up prowling all around the city. We came back home and everyone slept for like two hours. It was so nice to nap. My legs and feet are so tired. When we woke up I got a chorizo and cheese sandwich downstairs and it was delish. I decided to treat myself and got a diet coke. Everyone else wanted to try Indonesian food so we went to this restaurant down the street. There was this hokey island music playing with sad decorations and this German lady had to be 65 and was a total hardass. She didn't really greet us so Gabby went up to the counter and told her we were ready and she was like I'm busy I'll be there when I'm ready. All in all the food looked like the same stuff you can get at any chinese restaurant around home. Then we came back to the room and drank and hung out for a bit then headed to the Red Light District.
We finally found it and it was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. All the prostitutes looked completely bored and they were texting or reading magazines. It was pretty funny to see all the groups of drunk guys freaking out at the windows. It's basically only one street with a canal in the middle so there isn't a lot to it so we went to a bar that was on a side street and it was pretty fun. It wasn't jam packed and everyone was in a good mood so it was cool. We hung out there for most of the night and then headed home around 2:30 or 3 a.m. Can you say laaaate night? I've been having fun with the group here though, living so close forces you to get to know each other. I'm ready to go back to Paris though and be back in more of a comfort zone. I can't believe how quickly time is going! Before I know it mom and dad will be here and then we will be heading home! Ayeee
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