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.