Half Way Home

I've officially reached the half-way point of my journey. I only have 7 weeks until Maxwell arrives, and 8 weeks until I am home in my own bed. It's starting to sink in that in just a short amount of time I will be thrown back into a culture that I once knew as my own. I currently am experiencing a tizzy of emotions: excitement, depression, fear, stress, etc. I am happy to be back home in America, with my friends and family, being able to eat a burger and fries. Being able to drink a Venti coffee, a giant diet coke, and eat pizza with my hands. I'm excited to have heating, washers, and dryers. I'm stoked to have all my clothes, and texting back on my phone.
I'm sad because I will be leaving Paris. I will be leaving this lovely city that I have called my home for the past few months. I don't know when I will be coming back to Europe, and I don't know if I will ever be given the opportunity to live here again. While I've seen most of the sites, I feel there is so much left to see and do that I haven't had enough time to experience.
I'm afraid to go back to America. Believe it or not, a lot of things about re-emerging myself into that culture is scaring me. Driving in cars. Huge portion sizes. Having to deal with people yelling at you in a language you can understand.
I'm stressed because I have a ton of school work left to do. A European adventure to plan with Maxwell. A flight home to get situated, and above all making the most of the few weeks left.

I have vowed to myself that over the upcoming fall break I will do something new every day. I will go somewhere or do something that I have yet to do since living here in France. Even if it's just walking down the street with my camera, I don't want to miss a beat. It's been hard because it's so easy to get sucked into the everyday life of just sleeping in, or watching movies on my laptop. While I've been able to experience so much, I don't want to leave here feeling like I didn't live it up to its fullest potential. Prepare for a plethora of blog entree's this next week because I have a feeling I will have a lot of new experiences to talk about.

Tomorrow I am ditching class and going to the Catacombs, and Friday my friend Brett and I are going to Disneyland Paris !!! Just to kick off our Fall Break in the right kind of way!

Fontainebleau

So yesterday my program took us to the beautiful city of Fontainebleau. We did an early (and freezing cold) morning hike in the forest, and then walked through town and had lunch. After lunch we were free to roam and do whatever it was we wanted. They gave us an open-ended train ticket home and various trains left the town about every half hour.
After lunch we decided to find the castle. It was massive, and one of the most beautiful that I have seen thus far on my trip abroad. I've learned much about in in my various classes, so to see it up close was unbelievable.
My friends, Erin and Brett, and I decided that we wanted to be outside because it was a gorgeous day and we wanted to roam the grounds. We rented a small boat and rowed around the lake. We wandered the gardens. Most importantly we had a great time pretending to model where ever we went. We set up mini photoshoots and just laughed our way through them all and it was such a fun time!
The weather was gorgeous, sunny and bright. It was cold enough to be in jeans and a sweater, but we no longer had to wear our bulky jackets. We left Fontainebleau at around 4 and came back to Paris where we all slept and enjoyed the heaters in our apartment.

A Day in Haute Couture

So on Wednesday for Haute Couture we had an excursion. Our professor took us around this area of the city over by the Louvre. It was originally were all the diplomats and jet setters use to shop. We were able to see where Chanel had her first shop.

Eventually she bought the entire block for her growing empire. This is where the house of Chanel currently is. While we were outside we saw these four women walk into the building covered from head to toe in Chanel attire. It was crazy. My professor explained to me that they were board members...executives.

It's sort of difficult to see through the reflection, but we were able to look at the famous Chanel stair case. I was in love.

City and Colour

So on Tuesday night my roommates and I went to a concert down the street from our apartment, the band was City and Colour. They are Canadian, and really only Mackenzie and Gabby had heard of them prior to us purchasing our tickets. I downloaded their music and have been listening for a while.
We were surprised how many people were at the concert, we didn't think that many would know who they were and would want to come listen. It was so much fun as we swayed to the tunes, and got to know the band a little better. It was a great night for only 13 euro.

My favorite part of the concert was when Dallas Green told the audience to just put down our camera's and phones...to just enjoy the moment...to go back to a time where memories were created with just our minds and we weren't obsessed with just capturing the memory with our technology. Everyone put away their devices and we all just were together enjoying the music.

Home

It was really interesting at the end of this weekend because my roommates and I kept talking about how much we couldn’t wait to go “home”. How we missed “home”. Home referring to our Parisian apartment. At first we were slightly alarmed by the way we were describing where we lived. Home tends to have such an emotional connotation, but to be honest, it felt so natural. Home can mean so many different things to a person, and I guess to us home is now our apartment.

In Communications class on Tuesday we broke into groups and had to analyze certain quotations. One of them was “Everywhere is home, if you know enough about how things work there”. I thought this was so interesting coming from the weekend, where I couldn’t quite understand why we kept using this word.

At the beginning of this trip (as you can read in earlier blogs) I felt so disconnected. I counted down the days until my return flight. I would sit in my room and look at pictures from the summer or school. I didn’t want to make this my home, it simply was a temporary house. Now I have become so comfortable where I live. The people in the U (our grocery store) know us…and tend to get annoyed when we walk in and it’s busy because they know we will need extra assistance checking out. Our neighbors are polite when we cross them in front of the mailboxes. Even certain regulars in our area know our faces. I know how to get around our part of the city. I’ve mastered the subway. I can order food. I’ve become more comfortable in my environment, and have allowed myself to accept this as my “home”.  That quote is true, once one starts learning about the way things work and how things are done, it becomes your home.

I had this same experience when I moved to college. At first I was resistant and didn’t want that “foreign” place to be my “home” but now I can’t imagine not calling it my home. I reference SLO as my home, moreso than La Quinta.

It’s interesting that the number of “homes” is increasing as years fly by. Acquiring new one’s as my life progresses. La Quinta, San Luis Obispo, and now Paris. I feel like I will always consider Paris one of my “homes”. While I don’t speak fluent French. I may not know all the best restaurants. It has captured my heart and will always have a small piece of me.  

Miss You

I miss everyone so much!!!!

Strasbourg and Germany !!!

This past weekend our program took us to Strasbourg and Germany. We left bright at early (at 7:45) on Saturday morning, and returned late Sunday night. A big group from our school went and the best part about the trip, in my opinion, was getting to know all the people just a little bit better. We had so much fun with all our fellow classmates, laughing, joking, and just enjoying our time together. The dynamic is so different when no one has access to a cell phone, and we are all as out of place as those standing next to us.
We took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, which was about a 3 hour trip. We were all so exhausted from the soccer game the previous night that we slept. I wish I could have stayed awake to see the gorgeous scenery, but I was exhausted and needed so well deserved rest. 

We had a tour guide named Pierre-John and he was HILARIOUS. He was Parisian, but his sense of humor in English was amazing. He kept us laughing the entire trip and was witty and sarcastic. Usually those don't translate well with the language barrier but he was great.

We arrived in Strasbourg and a bus picked us up to drive to the Hotel, but unfortunately the rooms were not ready for us yet. We all placed our bags in the luggage room and then went off with Pierre-John to explore the city. We were given about an hour to go off and enjoy lunch, and then met back in the main square for a walking tour of the city. It started raining and being the super Parisians that we are, we of course had our umbrella's ready to go.

All the buildings were super adorable and quaint. It seriously looked like Disneyland. Every building was a different color, with various shades of shutters. The majority of my photographs from the weekend are of the buildings just because they were so interesting and beautiful. 

My favorite buildings were those with the flowerpots on the windowsills. They were so gorgeous and it made me happy to see. I really would like to have a garden when I get back to the states. 

Strasbourg is filled with just amazingly adorable streets, buildings, and plants. This was one of my favorite alleyways in the heart of the town. The archway was covered with plants, and all throughout the city the streets were made of cobblestones. 

In the main square of the city there is a giant cathedral. It was just as spectacular as those in Paris. I loved all the details, and colors that were put into the building. 

After the walking tour we headed across town to a winery where we did a wine tasting. We had four different wines and were taught about all the different smells, regions, and tastes that are in each wine. There was also delicious cake, so I was happy.

 The leaves have started changing colors all throughout Europe which I find beautiful and unbelievable. Coming from Southern California, I feel I have never experienced the "seasons". Being in Europe, I'm finally getting a sense of fall. Orange leaves slowly dropping to the ground. Crisp cold air. The clouds covering the sky in a layer of blankets. I. LOVE. IT.










 Our school paid for us to have a really nice dinner which was delicious. We had appetizers, a main course, beer/wine, and then creme brulee for dessert. We finished dinner at around 9 and since we had taken naps earlier in the day we decided to go explore the city at night, potentially find a bar to sit and have a drink.

We finally found a cute little locals bar and about 8 of us girls just grabbed a table and had some solid girl talk. It was so much fun getting to know everyone outside of school and just acting like old friends, even though we've only known one another for 2 months. I seriously have met so many amazing people through this program that I hope to keep in contact with once we leave.

 

 

We stayed the night in Strasbourg in a "hotel". It was essentially just a really nice hostel. There were four to a room...but we only had three since Megan decided last minute not to come. We had bunk beds, our own sinks, and a private shower. It was nice and we all fell in love with the blankets. We seriously considered stealing them for back home.

In the morning we had breakfast (provided by the hotel) and then hopped on the bus for an hour drive to Germany!!!! We drove through the country side and it was gorgeous. I was taken aback by the simple beauty of the country. I listened to mellow music and just looked out the window thinking about how amazing it feels to be in Europe.

 We arrived in a small town called Titisee, which is in the black forest. We were given about an hour and a half to explore and just have fun. We took pictures, and walked around the town (which was extremely small). We considered renting a boat to take on the lake, but to be perfectly honest it was FREEZING and my desert blood was not prepared for the weather.

 Instead we decided to find a restaurant and grab some lunch. None of us were really that hungry, but "when in Germany...". Unfortunately it was too early to grab a beer. I decided to order an authentic Bratwurst! It was delicious and filling. Eventually we tried a pretzel and other German sweets.





After Titisee we went to the town of Freidburg which is also in Germany. Our group went on a walking tour and saw the amazing cathedral and adorable houses in the city. We then hopped back on the bus and drove back to Strasburg where we had a boat tour. At this point we were all exhausted and really just wanted to be "home" aka Paris. The boat tour was about an hour long and most of us spent it playing peek-a-boo with a baby sitting in the front of the boat.
Prior to our ride, Mackenzie (my roommate) dropped her ring into the Ill river. Our tour guide (who didn't go on the ride) spent the entire time trying to figure out a way to get the ring out of the river. When we returned he had a metal coat hanger and told one of the boys in our program that he was to hop the fence, and use the hanger as a hook to catch the ring. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult because the wall was sloped and the water went right to the edge. Billy, another gent in our program, held onto Colin's arm and lowered him near the water.

Eventually Mackenzie got her ring back, and now we all have a funny story/funny pictures of Colin.

All in all a very fun yet tiring weekend!!! I can't wait to travel more and more, especially in December with Maxwell!!!

Futbol!

Every week our program has a raffle, and a few weeks ago my roommates and I all entered to win soccer tickets. We found out that we each received 2 tickets, and were able to go to the game, which was held last Friday. The teams were France vs. Albania, and boy-oh-boy was it a fun time! Since all of my roommates (including myself) won the tickets we all got to invite friends! I decided it would be fun to invite a friend from high school who is also studying abroad in Paris, Michael.

We had some difficulty finding one another since we don't have very reliable French cell phones, but eventually it all worked out (like I'm starting to realize everything does). I felt bad because the tickets said "section Z", all of us felt like our program had jipped us and gotten the nose-bleed seats just to be cheap. Upon arrival we discovered just how wrong we were.

We were about 5 rows back and right behind the goalie. So much fun! We spend our evening surrounded by children with their father's screaming "Allez les Bleus". It was just such an experience! A couple of people bought French flags that we were waving all night long!

All in all it was such a fun night! France won 3-0 and we all had a great time. Unfortunately for us we got home really late and had to wake up early the next morning for our excursion.

Just another day in Architecture

So for architecture today we went to Hotel des Invalides. This is a place that was built in 1674 under Louis the XIV to house and care for the veterans who returned from the war. The site is now a museum, working building for the government, and still functions as a church for veterans of war. This first photograph is of the soldiers church, where a service had in fact just taken place. The flags that you see up along the top are flags captured by the French army since the time of the Revolution. They are showing all the battles won, and places conquered.

  

 This next photograph is inside the double, dome roof which is where the King sat during services. The ceiling was in fact painted on and covered with gold for the King's delight.

   

What is crazy about this photo is that it is the tomb of Napoleon!!! I was in shock. The tomb itself is massive, it is seven layers thick, housing the body of the famous conqueror. It originally was under the ground of the church; however, it has now been dug out so that we can in fact see the tomb. Around him are names of famous battles he won, and in various rooms in the church his son, and brother, are also buried.

This is the outside (and the back) of the Hotel des Invalides. This is the dome church in which all the photograph's above were taken. This was such a beautiful place to visit, filled with history and culture. I really want to come back and go to the museum!!!