Le Fin du Journee and other European Travels

Hello all!

There will be pictures added later, but as i am currently in an internet cafe with 11 minutes left, that is more or less impossible right now.

So Thursday was the last night of the program. It was really sad to realize that the time has flown by so quickly! We had speeches, tears and wine, and then went our seperate ways. I´ve made some good friends in this program, and I definitely want to stay in touch with them. I can't believe it has been 3 months...I remember struggling with French life and all that came with it. I know that I will miss Paris, for all of its ups and downs. It is now another home for me.

On Friday morning, M and I had a very early start to Dublin! Amazingly, everything Malcolm did that morning worked out so specifically so that we caught the bus just in time. But we finally made our plane. The city was alot of fun! A lot of bars, pubs, and the like. We had lunch at famous chef´s Stephen McAlister´s The Pigs Ear. It was amazing, and priced at only 10 euro! We shopped for souvenirs and walked along the river. We had a pint of Guinness at the famous Temple Bar, where they played good music. I also had a personal revelation of a sort, and got out of my head for a while. :-)

The next morning, we flew into Dusseldorf, Germany. From there, we transferred on three trains to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is my new favorite city. Everything stays open all night, the food is great, and the culture is really international. And apparently, has the best Mexican food I have ever tasted. M and I went to a club and danced all night.We also people watched a bit. Amsterdam is definitely the party capital of the world...Everyone was high or drunk or both. After laughing at people for a while ("DUDE, I just can't stop smiling, and NOTHING IS FUNNY!!!!") we went back to our hostel and promptly passed out until 2.

The next day, we ventured down to the Anne Frank House. It was really sobering,and amazing to see the real diary of this little girl who should have lived....

That night, we went to the infamous Sex Museum of Amsterdam. It was hilarious, and not at all uninteresting. Amsterdam has a serious preoccucapation with all things sexual--the streets were decorated with little phalluses, and a triple x seems to be their slogan of choice. No matter, M thought it was hilarious.

After the museum, we went to the Red Light District.

Oh Boy.

It was...interesting. There really arew windows, and yes, there really are girls posing in them. But it was also kind of funny how blase it all was for them. One was eating s burger, another was talking on her cell phone....Some were hanging out with their friends, and others were more serious and were working it. I have never seen so many costumes and bikinis outside of Halloween.

But what really struck me was how YOUNG they were...some looked no older than sixteen. It just makes you think--what has to happen in your life where you feel that doing that is your only option?

The next morning, we missed our bus and had to take a train to the airport, where we caught a flight to Barcelona! We landed,and it was HOT and humid. I couldn't wait to find the beach. But first, we had to find an internet cafe, so here we are.

Next adventure--the beach, promise rings, and other wanderings in Europe.

A bientot!

--C.

Le Mois de Mai

First things first;

I'M SORRY!

I know that its been forever...Almost a month, to be exact. It's been a crazy month though...

So I've been to Versailles twice this month. Once with my group, and once with M. While going with my group was educational, it was rainy and cold, and I didn't have that much fun. Going with M, however, was a blast. He kept tripping out over the sheer opulence of the palace and gardens. We walked REALLY far into the gardens, and actually made it out to Petit Trianon, where Marie Antoinette's house was. There was a regal looking building, and then, we caught a glimpse of things in the distance. It was a 17th century village, along a pond. There were about 6 little buildings, and it was amazing! I wasn't sure if they actually belonged to Antoinette herself, or were just added later, but I think they were where she played "peasant."



Le Petit Trianon=Marie Antoinette's Escape.



I also went to the Cannes Film festival this month!! It was a lot of fun, and we saw a lot of films. Some were awesome, some weren't that great, but all in all, it was a great experience. I looked for celebrities, but I think they were in hiding. Although it was a tad heartbreaking to hear Robert Pattinson was there at the same time I was.... In Cannes, though, I spent most of my spare time on the beach. There was a brief trip to Antibes, which is one of my favorite French cities, but I made sure to get lots of sun and water.



Renoir's House and Antibes.



M arrived in Paris about two weeks ago. This has added a whole new dimension of challenges to our relationship--who knew travelling in Europe would be this testing? But we're still happy and disgustingly in love, so don't worry.



I got extremely sick last weekend....I couldn't get out of bed! M was here, and attempting to take care of me, but I know he was a bit disappointed that we lost a good three days of sightseeing. Now we have to cram everything into the next 4 days.

On Wednesday, we were supposed to go to Italy, but apparently, I can't read military time, so we missed our flight. I am so incredibly sick of everything happening to me! It seems like no matter how many times I double check, or plan for errors, something comes in to throw it out of whack.

Thanks, Dad, for passing down your amazing luck with travel. :-)

So we went to Normandy instead.

This ended up working out incredibly well, because June 6th was the anniversary of D-Day! We rented a couple of bikes for 5 euro and just rode along the beaches. We even rode into the next town, Harfleur! It was nice to get out of Paris for a while. It may be Paris, but it is still a city, with all the normal stresses of being in an urban environment. It was nice to escape.



Today I focused on my schoolwork. I've been maintaining pretty good grades this trip, but it's been incredibly hard to stay focused on things like tests and papers when I want to travel, be with M, and soak in my last days of Paris. But I wrote and turned in an 8 page paper today, and I think I did decently well. We'll find out soon.

This week, we'll be in Paris until Friday. I have classes and tests and our goodbye dinner. Friday morning, M and I will be going to Ireland to see his ancestor's roots, and meeting up with Co and S in Amsterdam on Saturday evening. From there, we are cramming in a quick sprint around Spain and Italy, before arriving in Paris on Sunday night to fly back to the States on Monday morning. It will be crazy, it will be busy, and I may kill M before we land, but it will also be magically worth it, and will give us memories for a lifetime.

I can't believe that this is my last week in Paris! It's gone by so fast, and I know that I will miss it when I get back....

...But only after I have Razoos again.

A bientot!



--C.